hmmm…I think we need to find balance between effort and effortlessness, and if we keep trying the same things but they aren’t working, learn to let go, and either try something else or just give it a rest…what are your thoughts on “trying” and how does it show up on your yoga mat? Is there a balance between the effort of trying and the effortlessness of being? Do you notice this interplay in your daily life?
Category Archives: Yoga as Therapy
bridges
“asanas act as bridges to unite the body and the mind, and the mind with the soul” ~ BKS Iyengar
my yoga practice builds clarity, dissolves resistance, and helps me move from one place to another
even one conscious breath can connect your mind to your body and this present moment in time
In yoga asana, “bridge pose” or, (SET-too BAHN-dah)
setu = dam, dike, or bridge
bandha = lock
has many benefits
- Stretches the chest, neck, and spine
- Calms the brain and helps alleviate stress and mild depression
- Stimulates abdominal organs, lungs, and thyroid
- Rejuvenates tired legs
- Improves digestion
- Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause
- Relieves menstrual discomfort when done supported
- Reduces anxiety, fatigue, backache, headache, and insomnia
- Therapeutic for asthma, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and sinusitis
There are many variations, both restorative and more energizing! Use your pose to connect you to better health!
Learning
guidance
I practice yoga with guidance from my instincts, and yet the voices of my Teachers are a consistent undertone… Continue reading
I heart yoga
“Yoga is the Uniting of Consciousness in the Heart” ~ Nischala Joy Devi
I love this image. It is a nice analogy to see thoughts as passing clouds, and the mind as the big blue sky behind them…maybe not all thoughts are of love or loving things, but let this remind us to stay uplifted, be uplifted, and look to be uplifted! Feel this as you lift your heart, relax your shoulders and allow yourself to focus on a calm breath
Yoga and the Fountain of Youth
Really? Ladies! Seriously this is too cute not to remind us that regular practice of yoga can reverse the aging process. Actually this pose (halasana/plow pose) has several other benefits:
-Calms the brain
-Stimulates the abdominal organs and the thyroid gland
-Stretches the shoulders and spine
-Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause
-Reduces stress and fatigue
-Therapeutic for backache, headache, infertility, insomnia, sinusitis
There are some really great ways that props can be used therapeutically to help bring the pose closer to your…flexibility level…Yes…so be fit and fab as you hit forty + ! Get your yoga on soon:-)
How to Handle Major Life Changes Like a Spiritual Warrior
How to Handle Major Life Changes Like a Spiritual Warrior
- Stand tall and straight in Mountain Pose, legs parallel
- Step one leg forward, while keeping the back leg straight, rooted through the heel, and slightly angled
- Exhale and bend front leg without lunging forward
- Keep spine vertical
- Inhale raise arms to align with ears or where comfortable for your shoulders or just resting them
- Tuck pelvis under, and by pushing into feet, feel the upper body become light and free as you reach up through fingers
- Breathe steadily for about 10 breaths, comfortable in balancing with one leg forward, and the other leg back then repeat on other side…process by standing still after…
The Modern Yogini: 7 Tips to Prevent Headaches
7 Tips to Prevent Headaches
By Rana Waxman posted on MINDBODYGREEN
7 Tips to Prevent Headaches
The Modern Yogini Goes Retail Shopping
The Modern Yogini Goes Retail Shopping. ~ Rana Waxman
just published on Elephant Journal!
Mindful Shopping
“Intuition is soul guidance, appearing naturally in man during those instants when his mind is calm… The goal of yoga science is to calm the mind, that without distortion it may hear the infallible counsel of the Inner Voice.”
“In order to rise above our conditioning, free ourselves from suffering, improve our relationships, or find a deeper meaning and purpose in life, we must ‘go within ourselves.’”