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.

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!  

In an Injury Rut? Quit Skimping on Your Rehab and How Yoga Therapy Can Help

Being involved with outdoor sports, I am around lot of people who have or had injuries.  One thing that we all have in common is that we want to heal fast and get back at our activities and our lives.  However, if you want to fully heal from your injuries, you can't take short cuts, so it's best to have a holistic plan that involves both treatment and rehabilitation. 

There are many treatments for an injury; examples are surgery, prolotherapy, acupuncture, or any other choice that involves a specialist doing something to your injury to help stabilize it.  Rehabilitation, such as physical therapy and/or yoga therapy can either follow or be included along with the treatments.   In both PT and YT, the purpose is for you to learn to move your body again using kinesiology principles that you learn from your therapist.  Then you move your body through the exercises in a pain free zone until it becomes engrained in your mind and body and you develop necessary strength and flexibility. 

Yoga therapy is a tool for healing that looks at the whole person—body, mind, and spirit to achieve your goals.  So, in a yoga therapy session not only do you learn physical movements that you can do to heal your injury; but you learn better ways of breathing to release tension and create stability; and awareness exercises for your mind so that you can be aware of how you are holding yourself on a daily basis and during your activity.  You are also encouraged to look at what your injury means on a deeper level—what personality traits are causing you to move in such a way as to cause injury?  Are you rushing through a movement because you don't have proper technique?  Is your mind somewhere else, such as on the perceived outcome?  Are you tense and nervous?  Are you trying to move your body faster than you are able?  Do you constantly push yourself past exhaustion?  These traits are human nature and by becoming aware of them, they no longer will control you.  You can learn these things about yourself just by being mindful of how you do your physical exercises in a yoga therapy session.  The purpose of the session is to learn to slow down and pay attention to what you are doing so that you can hold your body in a way that is healthy and effective, and you learn how to observe where your mind is so that you can bring it into the moment and apply yourself fully.  

Any injury rehabilitation is not a passive process and can take a few weeks to years.  Actually, it is a process that never ends.  I'm sorry, but there are no shortcuts in this step.  Saying that there is would be like saying you can become a great cyclist by going out one time, or that you can learn to climb or kayak instantaneously.  Just like the outdoor sports that we love, rehabilitating after an injury is a learning process.  If you skip steps, the only person that you cheat is yourself.  Plus, if done thoroughly and mindfully and with the appropriate therapist, your rehabilitation will probably make you better at your sport or activity than you were before!  

So if you've recently been injured and you're cutting corners on your rehab, I encourage you start fully participating in it now!  You don't have anything to lose except the couch!