May 4th, 2020
Hello Yoga Friends,
Our online yoga resourcing and support for you this week is all about being gentle with ourselves. Bed yoga is a thing! Please try one or more of these ideas, or practice in sequence for your own personal yoga class at home.
1.Take your seat and Warm up: Yoga in Bed – 15 Minute Gentle Morning Stretch and Meditation:
Here is a lovely way to gently warm up your body and gather your your focus while still in bed.
Find this luxurious start to your day – or anytime – here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRBUPkgxfrA
2. Breath focus: 3 Deep Breathing Exercises to Reduce Stress and Anxiety:
As we know, working with our breath pattern is a pathway to reducing our experience of stress. Please find some helpful and timely information about breath focus, and guided techniques for ‘pursed lip breathing’, ‘equal breathing’ and ‘alternate nostril breathing’ right here in this 8 minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ04nsiz_M0 . Which one is most calming for you?
3. Foundation pose: downward facing dog pose:
Enjoy this 8 minute video complete with a live dog guest, transitioning from table top to a gentle puppy pose, evolving to a moving down dog pose, and concluding with child’s pose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j97SSGsnCAQ
4. Spring detox theme:
a) Health tip from yoga’s sister science of ayurveda medicine: ‘How to Eat in Spring, According to Ayurveda’: find out about the benefits of eating green in spring along with a recipe for ‘Clean Green Soup’ right here: https://kripalu.org/resources/how-eat-spring-according-ayurveda.
b) Detox yoga pose: yoga for lymphatic system detox: Find an 8 minute informative sequence that targets the lymph system here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt6J4Cy9d9UNote there are some additional links below the video for even more info and support for the lymph system.
5. Guided gentle yoga class: Bedtime yoga:
How are you sleeping these days? Here is a 10 minute bed yoga routine that supports soothing the nervous system for a restorative sleep. Find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNfyg_sxEJI This instructor offers many gentle yoga routines, and specializes in yoga for chronic illness, She writes: “Yoga is for everyBODY! Here we are all about finding yoga practices that nurture mind, body and spirit so that we can live an abundant life even with chronic illness. Learn more at http://www.sleepysantosha.com
6. Intention:
Take a moment to create an intention or focus to take with you into the rest of your day or evening. What focus or just one word will support you at this time? My word today is ‘gentle’.
7. Namaste:
And finally, let us take a bow to each other, and 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
