Oct 31, 2011 |
Happy Halloween! I’m teaching a yoga class tonight and couldn’t resist the urge to mix in a little flavor of the holiday. No, I won’t be showing up to teach in a costume, but hopefully I’ll be dispensing a few treats for my students. The treats are going to come in the form of practicing loving kindness for ourselves.
How many times during the week do you trick yourself out of doing good things for yourself? We tell ourselves we don’t have time for yoga, that it will be much better to stay glued to the desk, plugged into email, and that we’ll feel much better that we accomplished one more task on our to-do list. Right…and that right is delivered with a very deep sarcastic tone. This is the biggest trick in the book and one that I used to be the queen of.
When I was a little girl, I would hide my Halloween candy (yeah, I had to hide my candy, I had four older siblings) and allow myself to have a few of those mini treats each day. Now as a grown up, I try to follow this same simple routine of giving myself bite-size daily goodies of yoga and meditation. If you don’t have time to carve out an hour for class, just spend a few minutes in silent meditation or step away from the desk and do a few simple poses to release the part of your body that may be feeling tension. Give your mind a break from the i-[fill in the blank] for a few minutes and just relax and sink into a few yummy breaths. It’s even more rewarding than candy.
Speaking of candy, do you remember that one cool house in the neighborhood that always gave out the full-size candy bars or something special like a caramel apple to trick-or-treaters? Well, the Daily Downward Dog wants to be that really cool house today and offer up a restorative pose as an extra special treat. No worries, you won’t need to do a trick first, and you don’t need any special props other than a blanket and a towel.
Halloween Relaxation Treat
All you need is five minutes. Lie down on your yoga mat or a blanket and then place a pillow, rolled up blanket, or a bolster under your knees. Roll up a towel and place it under your neck. If you want to really block out the outside world, place something over your eyes. Begin to breathe deeply into your belly and feel your body melt into the floor. Let go of any areas of tension around the eyes, neck, and shoulders by breathing into these areas and feeling the release on the exhale. With eyes closed, simply listen to your body, allowing yourself to reconnect as you experience the delicacy of simply slowing down. Restorative poses like this help soothe your nervous system. Focusing on the breath aids in quieting the mind and helps you release deep-rooted chronic stress. Think of it as a big hug that heals your body.
Give yourself a treat this week, spend some time practicing yoga, and enjoy a few blissful moments that come from a balanced mind, body, and spirit.
Halloween Image courtesy of Graphics Fairy
Sep 20, 2011 |
With the change of season from summer to fall I know many of us are feeling overloaded and stressed. When we get busy we tend to let go of really important things like exercise, breathing, and doing good things for ourselves. I know, because I have been struggling with this very thing and knew I needed a little kick in the butt. I went searching for a message I could share in my yoga classes about the importance of taking time to breathe and relax and dusted off this poem that I found a while back. I actually used this poem in the very first yoga class I ever taught, so it felt good to come back to it.
I love the message and so did my classes, so I thought I would share it again. Thanks to Aaron Hoopes of The Art of Zen Yoga for these beautiful words.
Too Busy to Relax By Aaron Hoopes
Too busy to relax they say… complaints, excuses everyday
They sound so weak, so stressed, so tired… a mundane world in which they’re mired
No time to sit and just be quiet… their mind’s a rush of thoughts, a riot
No chance they have to hear the sound… of nature’s wonder all around
Of birds and trees and clouds and air… too much work, it’s just not fair
This really seems quite sad to me… so much to do, no time to be
Breathe I say and move a bit
Then after that we can just sit
And watch the world at its own pace
There is no rush, it’s not a race
And if it were, what is the goal?
Where are you going mind, body, soul?
Too busy to relax I hear… these words seem like they’re based in fear
Tired, weak and too much stress… how did our lives turn such a mess?
We don’t need to look above… to find a place that’s based in love
Turn instead and look within… find your self, it is no sin
Forgive, let go, open your heart… it is the only place to start
Think on that and you might find… throughout your life you have been blind
Breathe I say and move some more
Run, walk, jump, stretch on the floor
Move your body, get up and go
Feel the energy, let it flow
Don’t get caught in negative
Habits that won’t let you live
Too busy to relax? Not true! … this hoax must end, it starts with you
If all you do is just the same… you never will escape this game
Do something new, do something Zen… begin right now, not ‘if’ or ‘when’
Do one thing different, or two, or five… change how you live, become alive
Do or do not, there is no try… step off the cliff and start to fly
Begin with this, you won’t go wrong… remember to breathe, deep and long.
Image: Greg Toran
Aug 18, 2011 |
Don’t you just love when you hear a song and it instantly makes you happy (and maybe even a little high)?
You hear it on the radio, groove into a little happy dance, and the smile starts to spread across your face.
When a song has a title like “Lovely Day,” you know it has a damn good chance of being one of those feel good songs, and this classic from Bill Withers (circa 1977 ) is my new yoga theme song. Go on, hit the play button below, you know you want to feel the love…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYi7uEvEEmk[/youtube]
I’m convinced that Bill has to be a yogi with amazing breath control, because at 3:05 in the video he holds a note for 18 seconds! According to Wikipedia that note remains the longest held in any Top 40 hit in the United States. Yowza – nice pranayama Bill!
This song will be on one of my yoga class playlists real soon, and when it does, I’ll be singing the official Daily Downward Dog song parody lyrics….
…
A Yoga Day
When I wake up in the morning
love
and the muscle ache hurts my eyes
And stressful mindless chatter
love
bears heavy on my mind.
Then I grab my mat and the world’s alright with me
Just one breath and stretch and I know it’s gonna be –
A yoga day – yoga day
yoga day
yoga day
yoga day
Yoga day
yoga day
yoga day
yoga day
A yoga day – yoga day
yoga day
yoga day
yoga day
When the day that lies ahead of me is full of stress and angst
And someone else instead of me always seems to know the way
Then I grab my mat and the world’s alright with me
Just one breath and stretch and I know it’s gonna be –
A yoga day – yoga day
yoga day
yoga day
yoga day
…
To me a lovely day = a yoga day. Just a little yoga every day and the world’s alright with me. Just a few asanas and some breathing and suddenly the day seems possible to face. Wishing you a beautiful yoga daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy (that was 22 seconds a new DDD record!).
Image: Yasin Oztürk
Jul 28, 2011 |
A few weeks ago I was perusing Spa magazine. I really shouldn’t read this magazine because all it does is make me pine away for a week of massages, herbal wraps, yoga, and a whole host of other yummy organic treatments at a cushy spa retreat (preferably somewhere exotic). This is a fantasy of mine, and reading Spa magazine helps me visualize the trip and encourages me to save my money for a week of yogalicious, spa-filled bliss.
As I was flipping through the pages, recently I saw a little snippet about the Joy of Yoga by Sharon Liao. The short article cited research done recently at Boston University’s School of Medicine. They found that people who practiced yoga for 60 minutes a day for more than three times a week had higher levels of GABA than those who did a walking workout for the same period of time. In case you are not familiar with GABA, it is the equivalent of a natural antidepressant in that it is a brain chemical that boosts our moods. The yoga participants in the study also felt more cheerful and less anxious.
I always feel a little high after I practice yoga, and now it is really cool to know that one of the reasons I feel so damn good is all the GABA flowing out of my brain and boosting my spirits.
To quote one of my yoga students, “GABA, GABA, DOO!”
I know not everyone can dedicate three hour-long yoga sessions each week to get those elevated GABA levels, but next time you are feeling a little stressed or anxious, take a few minutes and do a few downward dogs or a simple breathing exercise. The deep breathing and poses used in yoga can calm your nervous system and make you feel more relaxed, even if you only practice for a few minutes.
I knew the Ramones were on to something! Gaba Gaba Hey!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ6_YSYCWu8[/youtube]
Image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy
Jul 14, 2011 |
“You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day—unless you’re too busy; then you should sit for an hour.”
–Old Zen adage
I’ve had a crazy couple of weeks. I’m not complaining, because they have been filled with lots of wonderful summer activities, family visits, and good, fulfilling work. Summer is a busy time for many people, and the problem is that when we get busy, our regular yoga and meditation practices get pushed to the side, and that is precisely when we need it most.
We need to step away from the notion that we don’t have enough time and just carve out at least 10 to 30 minutes for a little breath meditation and yoga. You may not think this is enough to get the benefits, but your body and your mind will thank you for giving it a little respite from the incessant chatter and stress of your day. Just spending a few minutes sitting still, closing your eyes, and breathing deeply can be highly therapeutic. I can testify that the time I spend each morning meditating helps me stay focused, alert, and ready to take on the day with a joyful spirit.
One of the best places I know to get the instruction you need when you don’t have time to make it to the yoga studio is the web site My Yoga Online. The cool thing about My Yoga Online is that you just dial in the amount of time you have (under 15 minutes, 15–30 minutes, 31–60 minutes, or over 60) and shazam! a whole list of online yoga video classes come up in the search results.
My Yoga Online co-founder Michelle Trantina, courtesy MyYogaOnline.com
I just did a search for yoga videos that are under 15 minutes in length and found an 8-minute guided meditation focused on contentment, a quick 10-minute yoga class video that focuses on stretching and releasing your lower back and limbs, an 11-minute session great for people who sit at school or work all day, and an 8-minute routine to open the heart and the shoulders, just to name a few.
My Yoga Online has hundreds of videos covering different yoga styles from beginner to advanced, Pilates and dance, meditation, workplace wellness, and workshops that cover topics like anatomy, breathing, and the chakras. If you would like to learn more, read “My Top 10 Reasons To Try (and Love) My Yoga Online.”
One of my favorite videos on My Yoga Online (and I have a long list) is “Morning Yoga Flow,” with Neil Mark. Neil starts out the class in savasana and progresses to sun salutations, with a special emphasis on the lower back and sacral spine. The class takes just 36 minutes, but when it is done, my body is tingling, and that yogalicious feeling stays with me throughout the entire day.
There is nothing better than attending a live yoga class at a studio (or a beach!), but when you are short on time, don’t rob yourself of the benefits of a daily yoga practice. Just turn on your computer and spend a few minutes nourishing your body and your soul.
WIN A FREE YEAR OF MY YOGA ONLINE!
My Yoga Online co-founder Kreg Weiss, courtesy MyYogaOnline.com
Aren’t you glad you kept reading this post?! Yes, it’s true; because the yogis at My Yoga Online are so cool, one lucky Daily Downward Dog reader will win a free year of online membership to My Yoga Online. Here’s what you need to do to win: Visit My Yoga Online and take the site tour of all they have to offer. Maybe like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter if you’re feeling a little love in your heart, and leave a comment below just letting me know what you would be most excited about trying if you had your very own membership to My Yoga Online. You will get an extra entry if you tweet or share this giveaway on Facebook (just be sure to let me know in the comments below). The contest is open until July 25, 2011, at noon, when I will pick one person from the comments below in a random drawing and they are going to feel like it is Christmas in July! Woot Woot!
If you already subscribe to My Yoga Online you can still enter. Just leave a comment below and let me know your favorite videos, so I can check them out too!
All images courtesy of My Yoga Online.
