April 20, 2020
Hello Yoga Friends,
Stilly Valley Health Connections and I have missed our yoga time together! When we last left off, we were just starting up another eight week gentle yoga series, with a spring detox focus. I was enjoying seeing your familiar faces again, along with some new ones! While we do not yet know when classes will resume, we thought we’d offer a little something to keep the spirit of yoga going, considering that we need our yoga now more than ever during these challenging times. With that in mind, I’ll write a little something over the next weeks to tide us over until we can practice together again, as well as offer some support for the broader audience that might be seeing this. Please see if anything here can be of some aid to you at this time. And please take time to take good care of yourself.
1.Take your seat:
Consider how we begin our class, and try this at home: find a comfortable seat, free from distractions. Sink in, and feel the floor or the chair beneath you. Notice how you arrive to this moment. How is your breath, your posture? Notice your current ‘weather’: what emotions or thoughts do you observe? Just stay in this gentle, non-judgmental watching. Feel free to return to practicing this mindfulness focus any time you feel overwhelmed.
If you’d like to try a guided five minute noticing practice to work with emotions, go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlc93GxlVZw.
2. Breath focus:
Focusing on our breath can be a supportive anchor for yoga practice or any time off the mat. One of the foundational yoga breaths is called Ujayi in Sanskrit, which translates to ‘Victorious Breath’.
Find out how to do it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQrsJ-yZWV8 and learn more about why it’s victorious here: https://chopra.com/articles/learn-the-ujjayi-breath-an-ancient-yogic-breathing-technique.
3. Warm up focus on the spine:
If you only have a few minutes to practice yoga, warming spinal movements are perfect; and if you want a longer practice, they are a great way to begin moving after taking your seat and working with your breath. Focusing on your breath and body is a wonderful way to re-set and support the nervous system.
Here’s a lovely and short demonstration of a seated cat cow that also uses the arms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4iy-yl79Gs.
4. Foundation pose:
The forward fold is sometimes seen as symbolic of turning inward to ourselves, or letting go.
Let go of your worries as you relax in this pose, and find out more detail about the forward fold right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7Uhp5tphAs.
5. Spring detox theme:
- Health tip from yoga’s sister science of ayurveda medicine: Try some warm lemon water first thing in the morning and find out ten ways (including immune boosting) it’s good for you here: https://chopra.com/articles/benefits-of-lemon-water.
- Detox yoga pose: See a short video on three seated twist variations here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWcFhF43PuMand find out more about the detox benefits of twists and other yoga poses here: https://www.doyou.com/can-yoga-really-detox-your-body-20481/.
6. Guided gentle yoga class:
If you’d like to be guided in some gentle yoga that is especially supportive for these times, here is a lovely 35 minute class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=523&v=h5CEOjPY_uw&feature=emb_logo
Note: feel free to modify any of the poses to suit you better, such as placing the knees wider for child’s pose.
7. Intention:
Whether you practice for a few minutes of noticing and conscious breath, or give yourself a longer practice, as you conclude your practice but before you go on to the next thing, take a moment to consider how you want to enter the rest of your day and evening. What intention or attribute do you want to take off the mat? What focus or just one word will support you at this time? Just do now. What can you, or do you feel drawn to do, right now?
8. Namaste:
And finally, let us take a bow to each other, or better yet, to each one on the planet. Namaste: the divine light of consciousness in me honors the divine light of consciousness in you.
Thank you for tuning in to this yoga moment, and blessings to you and your loved ones,
Heather Harmony
