YogaXoga Blog Has Moved…

Hi folks…this is long overdue…but we’ve actually moved this blog to a new site, with tons of new yoga tips, stories and mini-classes for you.  Our apologies if you were wondering where we ran off to…Here are some of the more recent posts that I hope you enjoy:

Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice

Yoga Stretches Before Bed, In Bed

Yoga for Runners, Walkers & Cyclists

Energizing Stretches

Yoga for Hypothyroidism

 

Here’s the new blog — come join us there. We’re at www.yogaxogablog.com 

Enjoy and be well…

Heidi

Thoughts on Sharing Yoga…

As YogaXoga turns 6 this week, I find myself looking back (& forward) on this journey. Teaching yoga is something that I truly treasure. I  love the tangibility of that hour.  Someone walks into class and they’re tired, irritable, stressed, stiff, sore, anxious – you name it…and on a good night, they leave feeling better. more relaxed. calmer. clearer.   Sometimes I get to know that result right then…someone will walk up after class with that blissful smile and say “that’s just what I needed”. Often, I can see the peacefulness on the faces of those who leave quietly with no words.  No words needed.

As I think more about it, we’re all teachers, sharers of yoga…and you don’t have to go to yoga teacher school to pass on the knowledge and awareness of something beneficial.  Maybe you have a co-worker with terrible neck & shoulder pain, or a neighbor who desperately wants to keep gardening but her low back has another plan… every day we come into contact with people who could benefit from yoga…maybe it’s just one stretch that you really like and want to share…maybe it’s a favorite teacher or favorite class.  Invite a friend…or even better, share your story.  Share how yoga has helped you.

When I’m needing my own “personal boost”, the best medicine is when I  reach out to others…and share something that’s been of benefit to me. Maybe it’s yoga.  juicing.  journaling.  rest.  saying no and not feeling guilty.  What’s your wellness secret?

We can get isolated…but sharing with each other our stories and what works for us connects us and draws us into a closer community.   Sometimes we’re afraid we’ll come off preachy or pushy…like we’re carrying our yoga/wellness soapbox around all day.   But if our intent is just to share it… so that maybe someone else will feel better, who can fault that?  You might not get to see the results of your sharing right then or ever…but there’s a blessing for each of us in sharing and giving to others.

Energizing Stretches

Maybe it’s the week after the home projects-filled holiday weekend or just that we’ve finally hit those hot and humid summer days… Either way, I’ve been dragging…no energy to do what I need to do. Maybe you feel the same…  Here are some of my favorite energizing stretches. Maybe try these in the afternoon instead of that third cup of coffee.

As always, try to practice these after your muscles are warm – either from full flows (sun salutations) or from other exercise (walk, run, bike, etc.)

Standing Cat & Cow – Stand with your feet wider than your shoulders, knees slightly bent. Inhale and open your arms out to the side, lifting your sternum, and exhale as you round your spine, tuck your chin towards the chest and bring the arms back in front. Continue moving each way 4-6 breaths.

5 pointed Star – Continue in that same wide stance, with feet straight ahead and arms out in a “T” shoulder height.  Draw your belly button towards the spine and stand tall, relaxing the shoulders.  Feel the strength in your arms and lift the sternum without arching the low back. Hold for 3-5 breaths.

Reverse Warrior – Turn your right foot out and bend into the right knee. Make sure the right knee is stacked right over the right ankle.  If you need to, widen your stance to make this more comfortable.  Drop your left arm down by your side and lift the right arm overhead.  You should feel grounded in the legs, but a nice lift in the upper body. Gaze up at the right hand or down at your left foot. Hold for 3-5 breaths and switch sides.

Chest Expansion – Standing in Mountain pose, draw your arms behind you and lift with your sternum. Try to keep the low back in a neutral position.  Draw the shoulder blades closer together behind you. Hold and breathe for 3 breaths.

Standing Forward Fold – From Chest Expansion, soften your knees and fold forward, allowing your upper body to dangle and relax. Hold opposite elbows if that’s comfortable, relaxing the head, neck and shoulders. Breathe and hold for 4 breaths.

Move down to your back on the floor…

Knees to Chest - Hug your knees in toward your chest. You may rock side to side or just hold here and feel your back supported by the floor.

Flowing Bridge - Place your feet hip width apart and right under your knees with arms down by your side, palms down.  As you inhale, gently press into your arms and feet and lift the hips off the mat. As you exhale, release back to the floor. Continue 6-8 times, moving with your breath.

Yoga Before Bed: General Tips

I get this question all the time…while I have several posts on Yoga Stretches Before Bed (see below), I thought I’d spend a little time explaining what type of poses you want to do at night vs. what type you might want to avoid.

First, the answer is YES.  Absolutely you can do yoga before bed…and if you have trouble getting your mind to wind down, you should do some gentle stretches and breathing exercises to aid sleep.

Breathing before Bed

What you should do:

• Slow, steady breaths – breathing in and out through your nose – 3 part breath helps us get out of our head, our to-do list and by focusing on our breathing pattern, it calms us.
• Longer exhale breathing – We call this a 2:1 breath, where your exhale is twice as long as your inhale.  Start by simply counting the length of your inhale and exhale in your mind and start to make your exhale longer.  You don’t want to overdo where you are gasping for breath – this should always feel comfortable.  Work up to the exhale being twice as long as the inhale…continue for 6-8 breaths.

What you should avoid:

• Breath retention – holding the breath creates stimulation (& stress) in the body…if you’ve learned breath retention techniques in a yoga class, save them for during the day.
• Mouth breathing – A wise teacher once told us “our mouth is for eating and talking and our nose is for smelling and breathing”… our nose is a natural filter for the air we breathe. Steady breaths in and out through the nose are more calming than breathing in and out through the mouth.

Stretches before Bed

What you should do:

• Slow, gentle movements – try to find movements where you’re slowly able to move with your breath.  The movements shouldn’t be complicated…we want the mind to be winding down for the night.  So, Cat & Cow stretch,  Modified Plank to Child’s Pose flow are good choices.
• Forward-folding stretches – when we fold forward, it calms our nervous system.  1 leg forward fold is a nice option…gently allowing your upper body to come towards  your leg without force or strain. Standing forward fold with knees bent, allowing gravity to help coax your upper body towards the floor.  And a favorite before bed: Child’s pose with your arms alongside you, resting.

What you should avoid:

• Quick, active movements – I will give one exception here.  If you are really wound up and anxious, doing some Full Flows (Sun Salutations) or Sunflowers to burn off excess energy may do you some good…but in general, we want to find calming movements.  You might try more active poses and movements earlier in the evening – maybe after work.
• Energizing poses – Whenever we lift the chest in poses like Camel, Chest Expansion, we’re increasing our energy… great poses to do in the morning or in lieu of that afternoon coffee break…but not at night.

Other posts on Yoga Before Bed:

Breathing Awareness Exercise

Yoga Stretches before Bed

Mild Inversions Can Aid Sleep, Reduce Stress

YogaXoga Product Finds: Scouting the Divine by Margaret Feinberg

Every once in a while I venture off the yoga, breathing, stress relief subjects to something that has very little (at least at the onset) to do with yoga.  This is one of those cases.

Several years ago, my dear friend who lives in Juneau, AK introduced me to Margaret Feinberg’s books: Organic God, Sacred Echo and now this, her latest creation: Scouting the Divine.  Whether you call yourself a Christian or someone who’s spiritual or maybe someone who is seeking, exploring, learning about God, life, what we’re doing here…this is a treat!

Margaret spends time with a shepherdess, a winemaker, a beemaker and a farmer to really explore all those analogies and images in the Bible about sheep, vines, honey and working the land.  The nuisances and discoveries she finds by sitting down with and getting into the daily lives of these modern-day versions of ancient vocations are rich and insightful.

I read Scouting the Devine on my Kindle while we were away in this little town in Missouri…ironically, we visited a winery on our trip which made my reading all the more timely. I can’t tell you how many times I yearned to have a physical book that I could bend the corner and make notes in…(lesson learned for you Kindle folks out there – sometimes you need the paper book still)

So…how is this like yoga?  First of all, I guess it doesn’t have to be…I reserve the right to blog about things non-yoga.  But if I really ponder the comparisons…Margaret’s book is about taking verses and stories that some of us have read numerous times and some of us haven’t read at all…and turning them over, around, upside down and looking at them in a different way for an “ah-ha” or an insight that we didn’t have before.  Each time we step on our yoga mat, it’s a new day, a new moment.  Hopefully, that means that something about that experience feels new and unique as each day and each one of us is unique.

Maybe you get a new insight or feeling in a pose.

Maybe a new idea or thought comes to you as you’re quiet and still with your breath.

Maybe you feel a new sense of acceptance and peacefulness with your body, its strengths and limitations…

Maybe it has nothing to do with yoga.  Go ahead and explore Scouting the Divine….and you tell me (fyi – you can get the best deal on a hard copy autographed book at her website).

Breathing Basics

We got on the subject of breathing this week in one of my classes…easy to do in a yoga class.  Students were asking how to breathe correctly, when to breathe in or out during certain poses, and wanting a general breathing refresher. I thought it might be good for all of us…Here goes…

Belly Breath

Start by lying on your back with your legs bent, feet on the floor.  Rest one hand on your belly and the other along your side.  Close your eyes and breathe.  Notice where you feel your breath first.  We want to feel the belly and diaphragm lift as you inhale. As you exhale, the diaphragm contracts and the belly lowers.  Try this breath a few more times, letting the belly lift and lower with your breath.  This is a very calming breath for us – great to practice when you’re stressed out or need to unwind before bed.

[Note – if you are a chest breather – where you lift your chest and shoulders when you inhale, you’ll want to start with this belly breath lying on your back.  When we’re lying down, it’s easier to really feel the difference between breathing from the belly and breathing from the chest.  When we breathe just from the chest, we’re actually creating more stress for our nervous system by breathing short, shallow breaths.]

Counting an Even Breath

Our breathing is such a great tool for stress relief.  Lying down or in a comfortable seated position, close your eyes and begin to observe your breath – in and out through your nose, lips sealed.  Start to count the length of your inhale slowly – think “1, Mississippi, 2 Mississippi” and then count the length of your exhale… Try to start by counting to 3 (1, 2, 3) and then exhaling (3, 2, 1).  It doesn’t matter how high you count, but that you’re letting your inhale and exhale be the same length.  This focus on our breathing helps calm our nervous system and lengthen and improve our breathing capacity.  Continue for 6-8 breaths.

Whisper Breath

Find a comfortable seated position or lie down on your back.  Breathe in and out through your nose with your lips sealed.  As you exhale, create a whisper sound in the back of your throat. It sounds like you are saying “Ha” or fogging up a mirror but your lips are sealed.  Don’t force the whisper to be louder – just allow it to happen at your own pace and volume.  This breath helps us to find a calm alertness, increasing our ability to focus and be still. Continue for 6-8 breaths.

Yoga Poses for Anger

In working with various clients, I’ve been learning more and more about how yoga can help us release emotions, including anger.  Naturally, as I’m learning about the effects of different poses, I share those in my other classes; mentioning that this or that pose is helpful for anger.  The responses from classes have been interesting.  I’ve heard giggles and seen smiles and looks of surprise and awkwardness.

Anger isn’t a very popular emotion.  We don’t usually talk about anger. Maybe it’s just with women.  It’s acceptable to talk about feeling anxious, nervous, even sad at times…but angry? Nope.  But, that’s ok. Maybe we’re not ready to talk about it…but here are a few poses that might be helpful…and an interesting article that I found to be insightful.

Yoga poses, breathing and meditations can help us acknowledge feelings of anger and begin to let them go vs. stuffing them down inside or lashing out at those around us.  Try these and let me know what you think…

Hare/Rabbit Pose:  From child’s pose, bring your arms down and along the sides of your body, palms up.  Gently lift your hips, leaving your arms and legs where they are, so that the crown of your head is in contact with the floor. It shouldn’t feel like a headstand – you want to keep your weight in the body with slight pressure on your head.  Hold for 3 breaths and rest back to child’s pose.

Child’s Pose

Rabbit Pose

Thunderbolt Pose w/ Block: (Caution on this one if you have trouble with your knees…lift the hips higher to accommodate) From a kneeling position, place a yoga block longways from midcalf to ankles and set your hips on the block.  If your knees are comfortable, try placing the block vertically to lift the hips higher.  Close your eyes and rest your hands on your thighs, palms up.  Breathe and hold for 4-6 breaths or as long as you’re comfortable.

Yoga Journal Article with meditation tips on anger: Unmasking Anger

Real Yoga Stories: Thoughts on Yoga and Faith

I’m finding more and more controversy and discussion about Christians and yoga, Christian Yoga, etc.  There are of course two sides to every issue. On the one hand, many (including myself) believe that Christians can practice many aspects of yoga and incorporate them into their faith, leaving behind the aspects of yoga that don’t align with Christianity.  (I also believe that you can practice the physical and stress-relieving benefits of yoga to improve your health without any religious aspects…which would include our Demystified Yoga classes).  Others believe that no aspects of yoga can be separated from the traditional and spiritual parts and that Christians should steer clear.

With that in mind, I’m very excited to have stumbled upon Beth and her blog: lovecoloredglasses.  Below you’ll find a recent post from Beth’s blog on yoga and her Christian faith. (Thanks Beth, for sharing!) While I’ve studied the linkages and differences between a Christian point of view and yoga, and I’ve certainly gotten into many healthy discussions on these topics, I was struck by how well organized, insightful and scripturally grounded Beth’s post is…and wanted to share with you.  Whether you have hesitations about starting a yoga practice or just want to think on the idea of yoga and your faith, read on….  Yes, it’s a long post – maybe something to print and noodle on now and then…feel free to add your thoughts as well…let’s all keep talking…

——————from Beth & lovecoloredglasses————————————–

Alright. A question or pondering to answer, both for others and myself.

How does yoga fit with your faith?

Granted, yoga is a spiritual practice and discipline that is different from my own Christian faith.

And yoga is something to be careful with.  If you’re attending classes, you can end up with one that teaches a lot of the Eastern theology that goes with yoga. However, a lot of the principles of yoga fit in very well with my health and my relationship with God.

My main thought comes from Ephesians 5:9 – “(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)”, and Philippians 4:8 – “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” There is conflict between some of the Christian and Eastern spiritualities, which is where a lot of the fear comes from, but just because I don’t think they have it all right, doesn’t mean I think they have it all wrong either. I think some of the practices are helpful to me, and bring me closer to God, and others don’t help me, so I don’t utilize them.

Granted, I don’t know all of the answers, and if I am ever convicted by God’s Spirit that there are other places to direct my energy, there they will go. But as my experience has afforded me, parts of yoga, like the postures, and being aware of breathing and relaxing has been helpful. Instead of emptying my mind, I focus on resting in God’s love, and instead of focusing on connecting to the “divine spirit”, I try to focus on how centering my focus allows me to become a better vessel for the Holy Spirit. Yes, it’s changing language, but language structures how we see reality and the world.

For the rest of the post, the text I’m quoting will be in black, while my thoughts and scripture verses will be in italics.

Here is an illustration of the parts of yoga in relation to a tree.

The parts labeled on the tree are these:

• The “Yamas” or “restraints” outline the five things that the yogi must abstain from in his path to enlightenment.

1. Ahimsa: The Sanskrit word Himsa means violence, so Ahimsa translates literally as the avoidance of violence, or non-violence. However, the meaning of this extends far beyond refraining from physically harming your fellow man. The succinct definition of Ahimsa is to abstain from harming any sentient being in thought, word, or deed.
   This correlates with Christian concepts very well. Jesus talks about this. Matthew 5:21-22: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.”
2. Satya: The “Truth” referred to in the Sanskrit word Sat is the Ultimate Truth, the eternal truth of existence.
   Yes, we should seek the Ultimate Truth, God, revealed in Christ Jesus.
   Psalm 31:5 – “Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.“
   Our God is the God of truth.
3. Asteya: Sanskrit Steya means robbery; Asteya is translated as abstention from theft or stealing. Like the other Yamas, Asteya extends beyond the theft of an object from someone else. A person can steal or covet many intangible things, as well, such as attention, the control of a situation, or a child’s opportunity to learn something for himself.
   Don’t steal. It’s in the Ten Commandments. And Jesus takes the commandments to a similar letter when he talks about wanting to kill your brother is the same thing.
   Exodus 20:15 “You shall not steal.”
4. Brahmacharya: Brahma is the name of any one of a number of deities mentioned in the Vedas, Hinduism and Buddhism. The Sanskrit word char means to walk, and ya means actively, most often the compound word charya is translated as practice. The word Brahmacharya has been translated as “brahmic conduct” or “walking with God”, though frequently it is simplified even further into non-lust, or continence and self-control.
   Okay, so we’re not following a bunch of deities, but walking with God (the one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is important.
   Micah 6:8 – “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.“
5. Aparigraha: The Sanskrit term for “hoarding” is Parigraha, thus Aparigraha is to abstain from possessiveness, greed, selfishness, acquisitiveness.
   Again, I think this fits very well. If you have two coats, give one to your neighbor.
   John the Baptist says in Luke 3:11 – “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.”
   Act 4:32 – “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.”

• The “Niyamas” or “observances” are the five things that the yogi must strive to maintain in his life:

1. Shauca: Translations of Shauca are “purity” and “cleanliness”. This Niyama relates to the English cliché “cleanliness is next to godliness” and the idea of treating the human body as a temple.
   Temple of the Holy Spirit anyone?
   1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.“
2. Santosha: The word Santosha translates to the English word “contentment”. One key part of understanding Santosha is living in the present – neither longing for the past nor worrying about the future. It brings an awareness of the student’s responsibility for being where they are right now, acceptance of this, and understanding of how to move forward.
   We can’t change yesterday, and God tells us not to worry about tomorrow. Check.
   Matthew 6:31-34: “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
3. Tapas: The Sanskrit word “tapas” translates literally as “to generate heat”. Often, the English word used to summarize this concept is “austerity” or “discipline”, which does not explain the heart of this Niyama. What it really refers to is the student’s commitment, diligence and hard work.
   Keep on keeping on. “Run the race with diligence so as to get the prize” or something like that.
   Hebrews 6:11-12: “We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”
4. Swadhyaya: Swadhyaya has been subject to various interpretations: from the study of sacred texts to introspective self-study or self-analysis. This Niyama also refers to the Socratic concept of “Know thyself” – for it is only through an understanding of our own selves that we can see how they influence our interactions with the world around us.
   Maybe not specifically Christian, but I’m all about learning to understand myself.
5. Ishwarapranidhana: The English translations of this Niyama range: “Dedication to God”, “Living with an awareness of the Divine”, “Devotion to the Divine”, and “Surrender to God”. The central idea surrounding it is to offer one’s life to God, dedication of the fruits of all efforts to the Divine.
   Again, remember that we don’t worship a bunch of Gods, we worship one. But He does want our lives.

• Asana, the third branch of the Eightfold Path is the one with which most Westerners are familiar as “yoga” In most yoga classes, the Sanskrit word “asana” is used to interchangeably in English with pose or posture.
  This most familiar branch of yoga is helpful for taking care of our bodies and keeping them healthy.
• The fourth limb is called Pranayama and is about the lengthening and extension of the breath. With mindfulness and concentration, we can send the energy of the breath throughout the body, releasing tensions, supplying strength, and bringing stillness to areas where we are troubled. When practicing yoga, we often discover parts of our body that are tight, sore, numb, or painful of which we were not even aware. This is the process of developing mindfulness. The breath is also a useful tool for meditation. By bringing our awareness to the breath, by actually sitting in physical stillness and taking the time to simply listen to it, we can quiet the mind. Most of our thinking is simply illusions the mind creates to distract us from reality. We often miss out on our own lives by living inside our heads. When we calm the mind, we open our awareness to the direct experience of the present. It is at that moment that you discover your true nature and the nature of the world around you.
  God breathed life into man, and it is each breath that He grants us that enables us to keep on living. I don’t see anything wrong with learning how to utilize each breath to its fullest. And breath for meditation? I use breath prayers all the time when I’m stressed. (Inhale: Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, Exhale: Have mercy on me, a sinner.)

• Pratyahara is the withdrawal of the senses, or turning one’s mental focus inward. This is simple to describe or explain, but difficult to learn to do.
  Introspection is good, just don’t forget that God calls us outward to serve as well.
  Galations 5:13-14: “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
• The sixth limb is Dharana or concentration, described by Patanjali in Yoga Sutra 3:1 as “fixing of the mind within a point or area.” Whether by focusing on a specific chakra or energy center in the body, or by chanting a mantra such as “Om”, the meditation is centered on a specific space, sound or image. If the student is aware of distractions at all, then they are still making an effort to focus, or practicing Pratyahara.
  I agree with learning to focus, but be careful, as C.S. Lewis warned in The Screwtape Letters, that you don’t mistake God to be an object, or an object to be the focus of your worship. This is a lesson to be used in all areas of life though. Things are symbols, like the cross you wear, or the altar in your church, or the songs that you sing. Very useful tools, but remember that as we learn to focus, that God is beyond the object we use to learn to focus.
• One does not technically begin to meditate until reaching the seventh limb, or Dhyana. It is described as “uninterrupted flow”. Dhyana is effortless and seamless. The senses have been completely withdrawn.
  This one starts moving beyond where I’d like to be. I modify this step to being aware of being in communion with God. God is always with us, but we’re not always aware. The goal should not be to empty your mind completely, but to rid it of unhealthy things to make room for the things that God has for us.
  John 14:26-27: “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
• The ultimate goal of the yoga student is Samadhi. This is the same Sanskrit word used in Buddhism for “enlightenment”. In The Storytelling Monk‘s glossary of metaphorical meanings in Sanskrit, Samadhi is described as “a state of inner calmness, which is born out of sincere practice.” Linguistically, the word Sama is derived from Samahita, meaning “balanced”, “complete”, “pure”, or even “dissolved”.
  A state of inner calmness is good. God desired to make us whole and complete beings. We were designed that way, but in our fallen world, things don’t work out that way. Again, like I’ve said before, this is one of those places where we must remember that the road that we take to get there is God, through His filling us with His Spirit, not emptying our minds before many deities.

**Taken from Suite101: Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga: Spiritual Practice of Eightfold Path in Classical Yoga Sutras http://eastern-philosophy.suite101.com/article.cfm/patanjalis_yogic_philosophy#ixzz0m3bbDWNZ

And now returning my font to black. I’m done quoting. So yoga can be a very useful tool, but there are things to be aware of and be careful about.  You’ll find that everywhere though.  When I’m in a liturgical setting I have to be careful about falling into the routine and forgetting why the routine is there, and when I’m in a charismatic setting I have to be careful to remember that worship is not all about how I feel, because my feelings change.

I find that yoga is useful to me in many ways, and I try to be careful and aware of how it affects me. I try not to go into it with a blank or empty mind, leaving myself open to danger. Again though, going into anything with that mindset could get you into trouble.

Thoughts?

Peace (Shalom), Love (Agape), and Yoga (Practicing the Presence of God?)
-Beth

Just for Fun: Anyone can do yoga…

I’m sure you’ve experienced this at home if you have animals and try to exercise….My mom and dad try to do one of my yoga dvd segments at least a couple of times a week, when they can’t make it to class – yes! I’m very proud – they are model yoga students.  Today, they had an extra student: my soft-coated Wheaten/Poodle mix, Charli.  She does yoga at home with me too…dogs are natural yogis.  Thought I’d share…

Chest Expansion...this yoga stuff is exhausting...

Just getting started...

I've got my strap, I'm ready...

Final Relaxation...

Warrior 1...

Real Yoga Stories: Senior does Yoga While Traveling to Israel

The following post is from one of my longtime yoga clients and friends, Judi Stradinger.  Thanks Judi – for sharing with us!

Included below is a 20 minute yoga class incorporating the poses Judi did every morning into a user-friendly routine great to do while traveling…

————————————————

I have just returned from a very strenuous trip to Israel (my life and my Bible will never be the same!).  On about the 3^rd day of our 13 day trip I decided to do some yoga poses because we were on the bus by 7:30 am and did not arrive home until 5 pm and I wanted to enjoy and do “everything”.

I took one of the towels and laid on the floor of my room with my feet in the air to stretch my back and shoulders ; I did hip stretches; I did lower back; hips and legs to one side; arms by my side and hold hips up, then standing up I did Side stretches and Sunflowers.

This took only about 20 minutes, but then I was good for the day of walking on uneven surfaces (over 2000 years old!) and up and down many, many steps! Doing Yoga helped me to have a wonderful trip and many, many fabulous memories….

God Bless,

Judi Stradinger

20 minute Traveling Yoga Routine:

This would be best to do at the end of your travel day, while your body is still warm from the activities of the day. Begin lying on your back with your legs bent, feet on the floor and arms by your side.  Take a few deep breaths here relaxing and letting go of distractions.

Pelvic Tilt: Inhale and as you exhale gently press your low back towards the floor. Inhale to release, exhale to tilt. Repeat 6-8 times.

Flowing Bridge: Keeping your arms along your side, gently press into your arms and feet and lift the hips off the floor. As you exhale, release the hips back to the mat. Continue to move with your breath, keeping your gaze on the ceiling.  Repeat 6-8 times.

Knees to Chest: Drawing your knees in toward the chest and rock side to side.  Hold and breathe for a few breaths.

Happy Baby: From Knees to Chest,  separate the knees wide and let your soles of your feet turn towards the ceiling. Hold on behind the thighs, calves or soles of your feet and draw the legs towards you – allowing the back to feel supported by the floor. Hold and breathe for 4 breaths and draw knees back to chest and rest.

Legs up in a Strap/Towel: While lying on your back, take a bath towel and roll long ways to make a makeshift yoga strap.  Place your feet in the middle of the towel and let them lengthen up toward the ceiling. Hold the edges of the towel so that your shoulders can relax.  Breathe here for 8-10 breaths, making sure your back feels supported on the floor.

After this pose, take time to rest on the floor in a comfortable position for 3-5 minutes.  Perhaps finding a gentle Recline Twist to each side – holding each side about 6-8 breaths. Then, allow your mind to be still and your body to rest.

5 minute Yoga Pick-Me-Up for the Morning:

These are great poses to do first thing in the morning to relieve stiffness and get energized for your travel day…

Mountain Pose: Stand tall with your feet hip width apart.  Roll the shoulders up and away from your ears. Inhale and reach your arms overhead. Exhale and release.  Continue for 6-8 times.

Side Stretches: Leaving both arms overhead, exhale as you lower your right arm and reach the left one towards the ceiling.  Inhale to lift both arms up again, exhale to lower the left one, right arm reaches up. Continue to alternate sides for 8-10 breaths.

Sunflowers: Find a wider stance with your feet wider than your shoulders and slightly turned out.  Inhale and lift your arms overhead, exhale as you bend the knees and hinge slightly at the hips.  Continue moving with your breath and warming up the body.