Milkin' it

Asana poses that incorporate a twist are helpful for invigorating organs with fresh oxygen, and known to "wring out the toxins that may have taken up residency". They are also great for releasing lower back tension and when done with props like bed pillows, are what I like to call "yummy".

Since I've been experiencing more tension headaches than normal, likely due to more travel in the past month than I've had in awhile, this is a great gentle pose to practice first thing in the morning, and even just before bed. Here's the how to:

(This can be done without props, or with...whatever you prefer.)

Photo sourced from Motleyhealth.com

• Sit on a bolster or large bed pillow, with your tail bone in the middle of the pillow.
• Tuck your chin and with your hands helping to walk you backwards, lie supine on your mat. Reposition the pillow as necessary.
• Hug your knees into your chest and hold the pose for 2 full breathes.
• On your next exhale, drop both knees to your right side, and extend both arms out in a "T". (A pillow between your knees and the floor helps ease the stretch, as well as a pillow between your knees.)
• Focus your awareness on your lower back, picturing the tension you feel easing on the inhale, and releasing from your body on your exhale. I find it useful to visualize a color; like that of a warm and gentle sun on a summer afternoon.)
• Rest in this pose, bringing your awareness to your breathe, and focusing on opening any areas in your body that feel tight. At least 5 mindful breathes on this side.
• Inhale your knees to center and give them a hug on the exhale. On your next exhale, drop them to the left side, repositioning pillows as needed. 
• Repeat the above steps on your left side.
• To come out of the pose, place your feet on the mat and gently lift your sit bones up to the sky, pulling the pillow out from under your bottom. Slowly lower down back to the mat, bringing your knees into your chest and roll back up to sitting.
• In a comfortable seated position, see if you notice any shifts in your body.

I find it very challenging to only do one yoga pose, and usually end up with at least a 25 minute practice every time. Good for the body, great for the mind, blissful for the heart.

Relieving & releasing upper back and shoulder tension...

I can't stress how often I do this pose and the relief it brings. You need only as much space as you take to stand, with about a 2 foot perimeter around you so you don't knock into anyone...

If you've noticed your shoulders slowly ascending to the point that they've become neighbors to your ears, try this pose and start with the modification if you encounter tightness that makes clasping your hands behind your back uncomfortable. It's not about pushing through the pain. It's about being mindful of when you reach your edge and feel challenged, and stopping there and breathing through it. Your breath is your greatest asset in deepening a pose.

• Stand with feet hip distance apart and take a moment to root to the earth (Tadasana a.k.a Mountain Pose). You may want a slight bend in your knees, and start to consciously move your shoulders away from your ears, shoulder blades easing down your back. Feel the strength in this pose. 

• Inhale arms overhead, letting hands come together, palm-to-palm, and then exhale arms back down to your sides. Repeat 3x, slowly.

• On the 4th inhale, pause at the top, and when you exhale bring your hands to clasp behind your back (modification: placing palms on either side of your lower spine bringing warmth to your kidneys). Take 3 breaths here, allowing your neck to follow the curve of your spine, but not dropping your head back. Protect your lower back by remembering to slightly bend your knees and engage your core. If your hands are clasped, focus on drawing them down towards the earth instead of backwards. You will likely feel some level of a stretch in your shoulder girdle and creating space in the chest. 

• On the 4th inhale, pause, and then on the exhale hinge at your hips coming into a forward bend. If this creates discomfort in your shoulders (hands still clasped behind your back or palms pressing into lower back), release your arms and cradle your elbows drawing your weight to the ground (again, being cautious not to lose your balance and fall forward). Remain in the pose for 3 breathes, releasing your arms to the floor and allowing them to hang heavy once you've completed the breathes.

Photo sourced from About.Com:Yoga

• Shake your head yes and no, releasing tension in your neck.

• Then slowly, vertebra by vertebra, roll back into standing position, head last. 

• Pause for one breathe. 

• Inhale arms overhead, and back down to your sides at your exhale. 

Observe any changes in your body, mind, and spirit.

Just in case you thought Traveler's Yoga was hooey...

The New York Times did a feature in yesterday's paper.

Sitting for long periods of time...in the same place

Been waking up the past few mornings and rolling into this position. And gotta say my back has been thanking me. This asana highlights the 6-movements of the spine, and if you think about it, we rarely do most of them in our everyday. Unless you're reaching into the backseat of your car to grab something in a quick movement, and end up with a muscle spasm because there's few everyday activities that promote conditioning of all 6-movements of the spine in a mindful manner (flexion, extension, side bending to the right and left, and rotation to the left and right).

So try and roll yourself out of bed and do this pose for 2 minutes and see if it changes your range of movement after a few days/weeks...

Cat / Cow Pose

(image sourced from womenshealthmag.com)

• Position hands under your shoulders, knees directly below your hips. 
• Press the tops of your feet into the floor, engage your core, shoulder blades move down your back.
• On the inhale; lift your tailbone to the sky, stomach drops towards the mat, and head lifts up to the sky.
• On the exhale; tuck your tailbone in, pretend your spine is being lifted to the sky with a gossamer string and let your head drop-chin into your chest. 
• Repeat slowly syncing your breath and feeling the movement progress from your coccyx to the crown of your head. Repeat for 5 breathes.
• Then come into Table pose. Inhale, and then exhale looking over your right shoulder. Inhale and come back to facing front, exhale and look over the left shoulder. Repeat 3-5 breathes.
• To complete the pose, push back onto your heels, keeping arms extended in front of you, into extended child's pose. Rest for 3-5 breathes.

Also known as Marjaryasana (Cat/Cow) & Balasana (Child's pose)

Breathing with intention...helps shift your viewpoint and your nervous system.

I've found myself practicing Dirgha Pranayama ("3-part breathe) a lot this week.

Breathing is a right we're given from birth, but only after delving deeper into my yoga practice did I recognize how little I was optimizing my available life force, or prana, and at least once a day I find myself bringing my awareness to my breath with this mindful practice. It's a somewhat complex breath that I've seen students hyperventilate trying to do "right". But at its root, it's simply about being mindful of the inhale and exhale and guiding the breathe up your spine that helps to encourage a serenity that envelopes your senses during less-than-serene moments in the day.

• Inhale, grabbing the breath from the base of your spine and allowing it to naturally rise to your abdomen, rib cage and lungs as you slowly count to 3. 
• Exhale, noticing how the breathe glides back down to your core (also known as root chakra or coccyx), gently massaging your organs as you count to 4, pulling your navel towards your spine to expel any nervous or unwanted energy. 
• Repeat 3-5 times and notice the shift in your mind-body-spirit.

I've found that after about five breathes like this; my anxiety lessens, my mind clears a bit more, my shoulders inch further down from being up by my ears, and it becomes easier to look compassionately at the guy who just picked his nose before grabbing a hold of the subway car railing that I'm holding onto as well. (And even better, it's taking your yoga off the mat and into your real life...you did the work, might as well use it!)

Photo is a dramatization of the above noted episode and sourced from The NY Times

Music also helps, and Dirgha pranayama sounds a bit like this to me: Bliss "Blissful Moment"

Monday morning is worse if you can't fall asleep on Sunday night

I turned off the light and was looking forward to falling asleep around 11:30pm last night. Instead at 1am I was still awake and wondering what a girl has to do to pass out these days...

So I rolled myself into Supported Garbhasasana (Child's pose) using my pillow. Fun fact: Garbha means fetus in Sanskrit. (This is the pose without a prop just as a visual reference.)

Sourced from YogaJournal.com

Here's how:

Position your pillow lengthwise in front of you, and come into Table pose (hands on either side of the pillow, knees apart). Extend back onto your heels, your big toes touching, your knees still on either side of the pillow. Rest your head to one side (it will be slightly lower unless you use another pillow to rest your head on). Deepen your breathing by inhaling slowly to the count of 3, and exhaling to the count of 4 (you're also massaging your organs as they press gently against the pillow).

Child's pose is a restorative pose in general; it's known to heal, relax and rejuvenate the entire body and using the pillow as a prop it's even more supportive. It must have worked, cause I don't remember anything else after that.

So if you're fighting with insomnia and the bugger is beating you, try it before you pop an Ambien and end up waking up with a hangover two hours later than your alarm was set for. (Or is that just me?)

Roll out of bed into Apanasana

I literally do this every single morning. There is only one carpet in my apartment and it is right beside my bed. Originally I just thought it looked nice there, now I realize I was just making it as hard as possible to not do yoga every morning.

Sourced from Yogajournal.com

Here's the how to for an Apanasana & Jathura Parivartanasana [Knee down twist] sequence that takes about the length of a song to do:

• Roll out of bed and begin your practice in whatever clothes you went to sleep in the night before. 
• Have playlist cued to your favorite yoga track...this morning I began the day with One eskimO's "Amazing".
• Bend your right knee and hug it into your chest using both hands wrapped below your knee. 
• Inch shoulders closer together, shoulder blades flat on the floor. 
• Inhale for 3 counts and exhale for 3 counts; holding the stretch for about a minute.
• Cross your right knee across your body towards your left side. Use the weight of your left hand on your knee to help ease into the stretch. Extend your right arm out in a "T" and look over your right shoulder. 
• Inhale for 3 counts and exhale for 3 counts; holding the stretch for about a minute. 
• Bring your right knee back to center and bend left knee so that you are hugging both knees into your chest. Rock from your left to your right side gently. 
• Extend right leg, keeping your left knee bent and hugging it to your chest. Repeat above on the left side. 

You can modify Apanasana to be a core strengthener by lifting your head and reaching for your knee with your nose. You can further add to the stretch by lifting the extended leg no more than 1 foot off the ground, remembering to breathe, and hold the pose for 15 counts.

It takes about the length of a song to do, milks your organs sending fresh oxygen to the cells, releases lower back tension from sleeping weird, creates space in the chest, and gives a nice stretch to your glutes. And since you've essentially rolled out of bed and done your practice, you can pat yourself on the back for being productive within 5 minutes of waking up!

Amazing - One eskimO