Playful Standing Poses Sequence

My motto is "Relax, Breathe, Play."  As life takes its toll, we often get really uptight, take shallow breaths, and forget how to be playful.  When I get yoga students in class, they are often sooooo serious.  We are only living for such a short time, why not use it to be more playful!  It's yoga poses--it's movement, which is fun and relaxing, so lighten up and have fun!  

So, in this series of poses, I'd like to help you invoke the relaxed and playful you.  As you move through this sequence of poses, there are only a few directions:  In each pose think: relax, breathe, and play.  There are often all of these yoga cues that you hear in class, and that I tell you in my videos, but just let those go for now.  Let go of the thinking mind.  Feel the pose in your body.  Don't worry about the shape of the pose or emulating what I am doing in the photos, just feel the pose for you.  If a pose hurts you, back out and move in a range of motion in which you can relax, breathe, and play.  

Also, hold the poses for however long you want.  Do what feels good to you.  There are no rules!  

Upward Arms Pose with a backbend.  Do one that feels good to you!

Tree Pose One Side

Balance, laugh!

Tree Pose Other Side

Warrior 2 Pose and flow into

Reverse Warrior and flow into

Flow, Breathe!

 Extended Side Angle  and flow into

Half Moon

Come down to Mountain Pose and repeat the sequence on the other side. 

Then:

Warrior 1 Pose and flow into 

Intense Side Stretch Pose and flow into

Warrior 3 Pose--don't worry about how far you do or don't get in a pose!  The journey is the destination!

Repeat the sequence to the other side.  Now you can continue with more yoga postures of your liking or come down into Childs Pose and then move into Corpse Pose for naptime!

By finding a state of relaxation, of full breathing, and of playfulness, you will find freedom.

This sequence was shot in the Waves of Freedom Pants from Soulflower on the West Fork of the Pigeon River in Pisgah National Forest of North Carolina.

Late Fall Appalachian Hiking

I recently went out for a hike in the mountains near my house and snapped a few photos.  I noticed that this time of year, it's hard to take interesting photographs--everything is so stark and gray.  So, I played around with some of my iphone photo apps to see what was possible.  I don't know if these are any good or not, but it sure is fun playing around!

Take It Easy Restorative Yoga Session

It's that time of year when things get really busy, people get on your nerves, and colds and flu start making the rounds.  When you are super busy, and your body and mind are exhausted, it's a good time for restorative yoga.  The goal is to promote rest and calmness while stimulating your lymphatic system.

For even more benefit, practice pratyahara, sense withdrawal.  As you do each pose, concentrate on relaxing each and every part of your body and feeling your breath move through your whole body.  Become absorbed in what you are doing and feeling instead of letting anything distract you.  Unless something is an emergency, just let it be and deal with it later.  You will learn to become less reactive and begin to understand that many things that we think need our attention actually don't.  You end up saving more energy for the things in life where it is needed.

Begin in Supported Child's Pose:

Cat/Cow moving with the breath:

Supported Half Down Dog:

Supported Standing Straddle:

Gate Pose:  

Staff Pose:  

Smile during your yoga practice--don't take yourself too seriously!

Forward Fold, being sure to take it easy.  

Twist, broaden the collarbones, be gentle: 

Reclining Supported Twist:  

Ahhhhh

Hump the bolster pose...JK!  This is Supported Inverted Reclining Bound Angle to gently open the hips:    

Supported Reclining Bound Angle:  

Supported Bridge--backs of the shoulders and all of shoulder blades on the floor:  

Legs Up the Wall:  

You can end in Corpse Pose or you can end after Legs Up the Wall.  If you are on your period, skip the last 2 poses.  

Here are some other resources to get you through the holidays:

How your family can help you practice yoga

Breathing Exercise  Be sure and check out the audio version at the bottom of the page!

My bolster is hand made from Inner Space Yoga.  Bolsters are great to have for restorative practice!  

My sweatshirt is from Soulflower--if you're looking for some cool gifts for yogis this year, be sure and check them out!

Enjoy!  

Pisgah Fall Mountain Biking

The weather has been dry and warm here in the Southern Appalachians of Western North Carolina--perfect for mountain biking!  I went out just before peak color and got a few shots of this gorgeous place on a gorgeous day!

I headed down into here:

And saw all of this:

 Ahhh, clean mountain water!

We had a great time together!

Authentic Practice

I've been practicing yoga for a long time, and I've been through many phases with it.  I've been in phases where I went to tons of classes and workshops, and I've been through periods where my practice was purely mental.  Right now, I am taking a break from classes and balancing my mental and physical practices.  In my physical practice, I am following a different teacher--I am listening for inner guidance.  I am listening to my body by paying attention to all of the details of what I am doing, but not getting caught up in those details.  I am letting my practice be more playful and explorative.

I am doing yoga when and where I want and moving how I feel like moving.  Exploring, feeling.

To me, this is what it's all about.  It's not about doing what a teacher tells you to do or trying to mimic a pose in a picture.  It's about feeling your own body and exploring movement that feels good and natural to you.

It's not about doing as many poses as possible or doing certain poses, but exploring movement however slow or fast you want to move.

Try it!  Whether your yoga practice is in classes or elsewhere, I encourage you to start feeling more.  Find your authentic practice.

Russell Fork River!

I love fall in the Southeast US for many reasons, but the number one reason is that we have a plethora of dam releases through river gorges to choose from for whitewater paddling!  In the fall, in preparation for the winter rains, many lakes are drained through the rivers below the lake.  The result is warm water flowing through river gorges with beautiful fall colors!  One of my favorites is the classic class 4, 5 whitewater of the infamous Russell Fork River.  Enjoy our photos and a write up from one of our recent weekends up in this area tucked away in the Kentucky/Virginia coal mining country:

At the Put-In

Contemplating El Horrendo

Andria At El Horrendo

Andria at Second Drop

Andria at First Drop

Drew prepares for the race at El Horrendo

Happy Ending!

Jeff at Climax

Jeff at First Drop

Leland lands ElHo

Crazy Rafters!

Sean Climaxes

Sean Runs 3rd Drop

Jeff has the wood out before Climax

Our friend and Colorado Kayak Supply team paddler, Joe Keck did a nice write up of the weekend from a Colorado boy's perspective and a discussion of the great whitewater guidebooks of all time:

Forkin' Fun