Trying to jump-start your day with a vigor and energy? You must be thinking of coffee or tea, right? If not caffeine, you may be wondering what else could work! An energizing morning yoga routine can work as a natural stimulant, and set you up with clarity and focus for a productive day.
Yoga and strong breathing practices in the morning, will help refresh your body and give you energy. It is common for people to sleep with their spine and hips rounded in a position similar to the fetal position. This can feel calming while you rest, but can also leave lingering tightness upon awaking. It also takes the mind longer to awake, in unison with the body. Sun salutations, backbends, and even forward bends, stretch and extend the hips and spine, nicely, and provide a counterpose of sorts to this sleeping position.
Simply put, yoga can take you from sleepiness and lethargy, to openness, energy and alertness, both mentally and physically. Yoga can also bring clarity and focus to the mind to prepare for a more productive day. Benefiting from yoga in the morning does not have to be a time commitment either. You can do just one pose, or 10-30 minutes of yoga, depending on how much time you have and what you desire in a practice. So let's look at 1 sequence and 2 poses that are ideal for an early morning yoga routine and will help you have a powerful and energized day ahead.
1. Sun Salutation - Surya Namaskar
Why does it work?
The Sun Salutation Poses are essential when you want to stretch your body and improve your blood circulation as well. Along with this, if you do 12 sets of this Sun Salutation A poses, it is equal to a total of 288 individual poses in a relatively short amount of time, making it efficient in terms of benefits for a small time commitment. The symbolism of Sun Salutations, is the idea of infusing your body with the energy of the sun, which is vibrant, bright, and full of life giving energy.
Also, this sequence can be considered as a mini cardio workout and will certainly build heat in the body and have you feeling warm, making it even better for a chilly morning.
How to do it?
1. Begin in downward dog and breathe for 5-10 breaths. 2. Walk or hop your feet to the top of your mat between your hands 3. Lift your hands overhead while inhaling. 4. Now, start exhaling and bend forward from your hips till your hands touch your feet or the floor beneath. Remember to let your head drop. 5. Rise halfway so that your back surface becomes parallel to the floor, while you let your hands rest on your shin. 6. Come to a plank position. 7. Lower, than shift to a cobra pose. 8. While exhaling, come back to the downward dog.
2. Dancer's Pose - Natarajasana
This pose improves concentration and balances action and thought. Also, it releases stress and soothes your mind. Furthermore, backbends are the perfect remedy for any sleeping posture and give a feeling of being energized after practicing them.
Please note this is a more advanced posture, so be gentle coming into it, especially first thing in the morning. If you do have extra time, a warm-up pose or two, can make a big difference. If you just have time for this pose, take your time coming into your full expression, and listen to your body.
1. Stand in the Tadasana Pose. 2. Bend your left knee and place your heel towards the left buttock. 3. Bend your left elbow and grab your inner left foot with your left hand. 4. Push the right thigh bone into the hip joint and to pull your kneecap upwards so that your standing leg becomes straight and strong. 5. Keep your spine lengthening to avoid the crunching in your lower back. 6. Start to kick back lift your left foot upwards and parallel to the floor. 7. Maintain this pose for about 15 to 30 seconds. Release and repeat the same steps with the other leg as well.
3. Forward Fold - Uttanasana
With this exercise, you are able to stretch the entire backside of your body. Also, it soothes the entire nervous system and stimulates the internal organs as well. Furthermore, enhances circulation to your pelvic organs. If you wake up feeling overwhelmed with all their is to do in a given day, this pose is perfect for a calm, clear, and energized start. This will leave you feeling not only focused and awake, but a little more calm and centered as well.
How to do it:
1. Stand comfortably with your body weight on both the feet equally and knees slightly bent. 2. Bend forwards with your core engaged and your hips stacked directly over your ankles. 3. Engage your core and pull your abdominals slightly towards your spinal cord. Option to hold your elbows with the opposite hand, while letting your head hang loose for a more relaxed variation that is nice in the morning. 4. Take 5-15 breaths in and out of your nose.
Whether you have time for one pose or all, these poses are responsible for building a connection between the body and mind. So the consequent breath that you are going to inhale and exhale will set you for an amazing day ahead.
By Frey Lowe Frey Lowe is the Founding Editor at CouponsMonk.com.
Practice these classes for an energized and focused morning!
Morning Yoga Fix with Jackie Casal Mahrou
Morning Yoga Ritual with Elise Fabricant
We all know how the next day feels when we don’t sleep well. Missing out on the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep nightly does more than just make you grouchy, it can affect your physical and mental health. During sleep, your body heals itself and restores its chemical balance.
Practicing Yoga before bed to wind down is a better option than stimulating the mind with your computer, television or smartphone.
There are different types of yoga for different goals. The best option to promote sleep is a sequence of gentle, basic postures at a slow pace. Bedtime is not the time for an energizing practice, save that for morning, afternoon, or early evening.
*It is not unusual to fall asleep in the final pose, Savasna, so you might want to set your alarm before you start the sequence!
Try these 5 Yoga Poses tonight for better sleep (they can all be done in bed):
Happy Baby Pose
Lie on your back, bend your knees and reach for big toes or the outside edges of your feet with your hands. Gently pull your knees down towards the bed. Head, neck and shoulders stay down for this pose. Hold the pose for five deep breaths – option to rock your body side to side if it feels good.
*If your toes or feet are not available you can reach anywhere along the outside of your legs.
Bridge Pose
Lie on your back, both feet flat on the bed with knees bent. Place your arms at your sides with your palms down. Press into your felt and shoulders (not neck) and slowly lift your pelvis up toward the sky. If you are feeling unstable, move your feet back closer to your seat. Head, neck and shoulders stay down for this pose. Enjoy holding this pose for five deep breaths.
*Option to take the hands to the low back to provide support.
Butterfly Pose
Sit up with your knees bent and the soles of your feet together. First, practice sitting up tall, spine straight. Take five deep breaths here before folding forward over your legs. You might like to grab hold of your toes/upper feet and slightly pull them towards your face. Stay here for an additional five deep breaths.
Supported Child’s Pose (with blanket or pillows)
Experiment with a combination of blankets and pillows for this gentle pose. Place a pillow vertically on the bed or roll up blanket and place it on top of the pillow for more height. Start in a tabletop pose with your belly above the pillows/blankets. Spread your knees a little more than hip width apart and slide the edge of the pillows/blankets towards you. Rest your belly and chest on the pillows/blankets. You also want to allow your head and neck to relax by either placing your forehead on the pillows/blankets or turning your head to one side and resting your check down (If you do this option then turn your head and switch to the other check half-way through). Allow your arms to drape down to your sides. Stay here approximately five minutes.
Savasana (Corpse) Pose
This is typically the final pose of a Yoga sequence, the importance easily overlooked. Lie down on your back with your legs long and arms long at your sides. Palms can face up or down or you might want your hands to rest on your stomach. Allow your feet to fall apart in opposite directions. Allow your back body to feel heavy and sink into the bed. Relax your face and jaw, allow your lips to separate. Close your eyes and focus in on your breathing. Notice the rise and fall of your belly as you breathe. Just observe the breath and any activity of your mind. No need to cling to any thoughts that may arise, just acknowledge them and move on. Option to add a body scan where you scan your body from the tips of your toes to the top of your head. Take your time and notice if you are holding any tension anywhere. If you find a spot of tension, see if you can focus your breath on that particular area. Breathe into the specific area and breathe out from that same area. Breathing in relaxation, breathing out tension. There is no time limit for this pose.
Enjoy this bedtime Yoga sequence to help counteract stress and promote relaxation, make it part of your nightly routine for self-care.
Sweet Dreams!
By Julie Christy
Julie has twenty years experience as a mental health professional combined and expertise as a yoga teacher, and meshes them together. She is known for her detailed descriptions while teaching yoga and recently transferred those skills to writing.
Need help sleeping? Practice Yoga Download's Yoga for Better Sleep package or treat someone who needs it!
“Yo-yo”ing between little to no sleep can be frustrating, unproductive and draining both physically and mentally. We’ve all been there at some point, making it worse with the anxiety of knowing we’re supposed to get 8 hours of sleep every night. Whether your sleep is hit by insomnia, children or pressure at work, here are sure shot ways to take back your night and sleep soundly.
1. No Really, Cut Your Caffeine
This is not new, but maybe you thought you were immune from this rule because you don’t feel jittery before bed. Well, the caffeine from your afternoon cup of coffee or tea is staying with you longer than you might think. Everyone’s cut off time is different, so say no to caffeine after noon and when hit by the urge for something warm try herbal tea. What’s even better at helping you stay awake and focused is meditation. Try Keith Allen’s 15-minute Meditate and Cultivate Calm. The happy hormones released during meditation will set you up for a goodnight's sleep later.
2. End Work On Time
This is a big one. We’re all participants in the modern 24/7/365 economy. Even when we are not working, we’re working. Poor sleep doesn't happen overnight (even though it does), it may be the result of late nights at your desk, or big deadlines ahead. Does your salary pay you enough to justify restless sleep, or no sleep at all? We didn’t think so. Allocate your workload so that you can finish early enough to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Make a commitment to an after work activity, sign up for a special yoga challenge, take a photography walk in the evening. Your work, and your sleep, will only get better if you can share your headspace with something different.
3. No Electronics Before Bed
Even better, no screens in the bedroom. The light and stimulation from TV and phones is keeping your brain buzzing when the rest of you is not. What’s more important than being up to date on your Instagram or Facebook feed? Sleep! Yoga teaches us to simplify, so start by disconnecting from technology and logging off your mind the old fashioned way. Check in with yourself via Erin Wimert’s relaxing Bedtime Yin with Body Scan to close the browser tabs in your brain one by one.
4. Keep A Regular Bedtime Routine
Make it a point to be in bed at the same time every night. Make it earlier than feels appropriate for someone your age. Yes, young, hip go getters can benefit from a 10pm bedtime. Your body will reward you by releasing hormones at the right time to make you feel sleepy. Create a bedtime routine where you read a calming book, wind down listening to soothing music, or embrace a gentle Yoga Nidra practice and keep it consistent so your body and mind learn these as signals that it’s time to sleep. Try Nighttime Nidra with Denelle Numis right before you head hits the pillow.
Start prioritizing your sleep in your lifestyle, and the quality zzzzzs will follow. With better sleep comes a better outlook and better opportunities ahead.
Sign up for the specialized Yoga For Better Sleep program and get 11 custom created classes to help you sleep better than you ever have!
Classes include:
1. Pranayama for Better Sleep - Maria Garre
2. Yoga for a Good Night's Sleep - Elise Fabricant
3. Nighttime Nidra - Denelle Numis
4. Therapeutic Yoga for Stress, Anxiety, & Insomnia - Shy Sayar
5. Bedtime Yin with Body Scan - Erin Wimert
6. Tibetan Yoga Nidra - Shy Sayar
7. Intro to Yoga Nidra - Erin Wimert
8. Yoga for Better Sleep - Jackie Casal Mahrou
9. Meditate and Cultivate Calm - Keith Allen
10. Yoga Nidra - Celest Pereira
11. Daily Decompression - Jackie Casal Mahrou
Month three of sobriety and I find myself back in NYC, in the last hurrah of winter.
The bitter cold hasn’t broken yet and my warm blooded skin is so ready for spring. My relationship to alcohol is tepid. I go out with friends and feel comfortable not drinking, but I do notice this desire to give to myself not only alcohol, but other indulgences that don’t necessarily serve my best self, not to mention my waistline.
So this month I decided to explore what my alternatives are for treats, self care, and ways to give to myself.
This month it was in the form of a fairly expensive facial, which I haven’t given to myself in 8 years. Sure, I keep my nails and toes well manicured and my hair is trimmed and my color is in shape, but that feels more like professional upkeep, rather than an indulgence, something extra, or a way to wind down and let some of the daily stress shake off. This feels like a turning point.
Some people have a regular bar tab of $50. I have may have just developed a monthly facial habit for $200. So it feels similar but actually is quite different. In addition to my facial habit, I also have a mild addiction to the tropics and so after 5 weeks of working everyday, I’m flying down south for a week of surfing. I have discussed my current decision to abstain from alcohol with friends and have thought about making an exception for foreign soil. Can I go to my friends wedding in Spain and not have a glass of Rioja? I’m not sure exactly what I’ll do.
Tune in to month 4 for more of this journey.
By Anna Farkas
Anna is a Brooklyn based yoga teacher and writer. She loves looking at all the sides of the health and wellness industry and shedding some playful light on tough issues. Her favorite hobby is buying plane tickets and she leads retreats internationally. She is AcroVinyasa certified and pursuing her 500 hr certification with Dharma Mitra. She will eat all the avocados in the sunshine.
Give yourself a Spring Detox with Yoga For Detox, Cleansing & Vitality!
We’re excited to share a new 80:20 recipe with you!
One of Jules’ family's all-time favorite candy is the special chocolate peanut butter eggs that Reese’s makes. So good. So addicting. So full of sugar and other crap.
To help us all avoid the candy, and subsequent sugar hangover, we whipped up these delicious Chocolate Almond Butter Cups. They’re as decadent (without being too sweet) as they are cute. Be sure to Amazon Prime this little silicone baking mold if you don’t already have one.
Enjoy!
Chocolate Almond Butter Cups
Yield: 12 cups
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted, raw almond butter ¼ cup pure maple syrup, divided 2 TB. coconut flour ¼ cup plus 2 TB. coconut oil, melted 2 tablespoons cacao powder Pinch of Himalayan sea salt, to taste
Instructions: To make the filling: In a small bowl, whisk together almond butter, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, and coconut flour. Whisk until well incorporated. When the filling gets harder to stir, switch to folding with a rubber spatula. Cover the bowl and place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes, allowing the filling to chill and harden for easier molding.
To make the chocolate sauce: Whisk together the coconut oil, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, cacao powder, and salt until no clumps remain.
Remove bowl from freezer. Use a silicone candy mold and portion the almond butter mixture into each mold and press down until even and smooth. Top with chocolate sauce distributing evenly. Place in the freezer for another 30-45 minutes, until firm. Pop out the cups & enjoy immediately! Store in freezer.
Jo Schaalman and Jules Peláez are co-authors of the book The Conscious Cleanse: Lose Weight, Heal Your Body and Transform Your Life in 14 Days, a best-selling, step-by-step guide to help you live your most vibrant life. Together they’ve led thousands of people through their online supported cleanse through their accessible and light-hearted approach. They’ve been dubbed “the real deal” by founder and chief creative director Bobbi Brown, of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, beauty editor of the TODAY show.
Complement your healthier food choices with Yoga for Detox, Cleansing, & Vitality, which include a yoga class with Jo Schaalman!
I have been an avid yoga enthusiast for several years now. I started when I saw an insane post on Instagram of a guy pouring a cup of tea with his leg behind his head while standing reading a magazine. I couldn’t even touch my toes.
I’ve also loved writing for as long as I can remember, so much so, that I’ve made a career out of it. I used to write stories, create fantasy worlds or make up imaginary characters. Creative writing brought my imagination to life.
Creative writing and yoga can both take your mind to a state of presence and fuel the imagination.
Here are five ways that yoga and creative writing, two seemingly different activities, can complement each other.
They Create Balance
Yoga and creative writing can be a mental yin and yang of sorts for each other. When you’re practicing a yoga flow, you’re concentrating on your breathing, you’re accepting the thoughts and feelings that come into your head, and accepting that not knowing all the answers is fine, because you’re focused on being present.
However, creative writing is all about finding and creating answers. What happens next, what’s going to happen in the future, and what’s going to happen to this character, are all questions flying around your head. As you can see, through both practices, you’re allowing your brain to go deeply in opposite directions.
Both Encourage Enjoying the Journey
Both yoga and writing are very similar in this regard. Both practices have a start, a middle and an end and you are the primary character, or protagonist, in both.
It doesn’t matter what happens along the way, whether you change your practice halfway through or the story completely changes, you’re in control of your own mind and body. The point of each is to be with the journey, whether creating a story, or practicing an entire class. There will be moments when things flow easily, others that are challenging, or feel blocked, but the process is rich in self-discovery.
Exercise for your Body & Mind
Yoga is one of the best physical exercises you can do for your body, without even mentioning the enormous mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits there are also. Creative writing is one of the best exercises you can do for your mind, especially just before you go to bed. It is a richly mentally stimulating activity and the act of letting one's imagination run wild, while still needing to craft a complete product or story, is solid exercise for the mind. Yoga, while more physical than creative writing, also encourages mental fitness, as a mind and body connection is crucial for the performance of the poses.
It’s a Moment to Catch Your Breath
Today, we all live in a fast-paced world that’s full of distractions, whether it’s a smartphone in one hand, our boss shouting at us in the other, or children, partners, lovers, friends, or strangers buzzing around us and to us; it can be hard to get a moment’s break. David Thomas, a Personal Coach and a writer at Assignment Help, comments: “Both yoga and creative writing give you the opportunity to unwind, disconnect for a little while and have some well-deserved time to yourself”. Furthermore, yoga is a practice focused on the breath. It is literally a moment to breathe, while writing is more a symbolic moment to breathe.
It’s Yours
How often can you say that about something? Whether you’re writing or practicing yoga, your practice is your practice, and that’s all that should matter. You’re going into your own world where you can truly be yourself, without fear of judgements of others and there’s no right or wrong way to do anything. It is your sacred practice and your time. Your writing has the same beauty. No one else has power over your imagination and creativity. When you immerse yourself in creating a world or story with your imagination, it's a deeply personal experience.
Both can be powerful ways to get to know yourself and discover the person that you are and want to be.
Conclusion: Using Tools to Combine Your Yoga & Writing Practices into your daily routine isn't always easy and it took me several years to get to where I am today. However, making time to enjoy both each day can be powerful!
Here are some tools that can help you along the way:
State of Writing - writing is always better when you can master how to do it properly, something you can do using this online blog.
Essayroo - an online writing service where you can speak to professional writers who can help you improve your writing accuracy.
Academadvisor - an online blog full of writing guides you can follow to make your writing perfect.
As you can see, there are many ways yoga and creative writing fit together perfectly. All you need to do is start by making 10-minutes a day for each, or more if you can, but even just 10-minutes of writing and 10-minutes of yoga can be a noticeable difference in your well-being.
By Gloria Kopp
Gloria Kopp is a personal coach and a psychology writer at Ox Essays. She also works as a content writer and editor at Best Australian Writers writing company. Besides, Gloria writes a Studydemic blog where she shares her guides and articles with international students and educators.
Practice this yoga class to spark your creativity from yoga teacher and author, Claire Petretti Marti!
Yoga to Spark your Creativity
When is the last time you were “in the flow?” You know, when you were doing something you love, like surfing with the sun warming your face and the water glistening around you? Or, when you were dancing to your favorite band and responsibilities disappeared or when you were running with the breeze kissing your skin? When you’re so immersed in the activity, you aren’t conscious of the doing; you are simply doing.
We’ve all slipped into involuntary Dhyana and often believe we need a certain activity to find that beautiful sense of being in the moment, free from external distractions. What if you could achieve that state voluntarily without the ocean, concert hall, or running shoes? You can. Yoga can help you discover this place. Roll out your yoga mat because you can get into your zone right now.
We bring you four new flow classes this week, all focusing on different aspects of finding your flow state through breath and movement.
"Flow, also known as the zone, is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity."
When we practice asana or physical postures, we are working to gain control of our body. When we focus on Pranayama, breath control or extension, we are working to gain control of our mind. When we focus on connecting the power of physical movement with the practice of breathing in certain ways, we can expand our prana or life force energy and get energized or relaxed, depending upon the technique. Many flow classes focus on linking the breath to the movement and encouraging the mind to quiet down as you sink into sensation and breath. An alternate way to tap into your flow state is to hold a pose and direct your energy to the flow of your inhales and exhales.
However you prefer to practice, you can be confident if you direct your attention to sensation in your body and the rhythm of your breath, that you are working toward a flow state. Patanjali teaches in the Yoga Sutras that a steadier mind is a clearer mind and clarity arises when the “senses are perfectly mastered” through minimizing distractions and focusing on sensation. You aren’t trying to remember to concentrate, you are simply concentrating. Sound heavenly? Immerse yourself today!
Get into the flow with this week's four new classes!
1. Celest Pereira - Half Lotus Flow
2. Claire Petretti Marti - Luminosity Flow: Pacify your Pitta
3. Jackie Casal Mahrou - Empowerment Flow 3: I am a Warrior
4. Pradeep Teotia - Feel the Flow (FREE CLASS)
It’s no secret that yoga is great for your body. It helps build strength, flexibility and overall body awareness. However, did you know yoga is also has powerful benefits for your brain?
Here are just a few of the ways doing yoga benefits your brain and why!
1. Stay in the Present
The practice of yoga, is really the practice of being present on the mat. Yoga has the power the bring back into the present, a mind that is off in the future trying to plan dinner for the rest of the week or worrying about an important phone call with your boss.
By learning to be present during your yoga practice, you’re actually retraining your brain. You’re teaching it to stop worrying about the future and to concentrate instead on the present more in life. This results in less stress and an increased ability to think things through logically instead of defaulting to your typical stress reactions. Presence is powerful, can help our minds recognize the present moment.
2. Learn to Chill Out …
As you might expect, your body and brain are always talking to one another. They take cues from each other and work in tandem to help you get through your day in one piece.
This works in your favor when it comes to something like yoga. Yoga is all about relaxing the body, stretching it, strengthening it, and finding peace with it. Because yoga relaxes your body, your brain gets the message and it relaxes as well. This helps your brain to be less anxious and more calm.
The feeling you get after savasana, is a calm that isn't only physical, but also profoundly mental. It is an example of your mind being so relaxed, because of the powerful work of your body did.
3. … But Also Stay Alert
Of course, it isn’t always practical to be calm and relaxed though! There are plenty of situations in life that require extreme concentration and alertness. If we went through our entire lives in a state of perfect calm, we’d never be equipped to handle these moments.
Yoga is the perfect training for your brain in this area, to stay sharp. While yoga encourages a relaxed and peaceful mindset, it also demands intense focus and precision. After all, you can’t master difficult poses without learning to concentrate. The great strength of yoga is that it teaches us to focus and work hard without entering a stressed mindset.
Too often in the real world, difficult situations trigger our fight or flight reflexes. Through yoga training, we learn that not every challenge requires a panicked stress response. Instead, we learn to work and focus without ever entering a state of alarm.
4. Age with Grace
Yoga helps your body stay limber and strong, but it can also help your brain stay young as well. Studies have shown that after exercises in mindfulness and meditation, your brain experiences lots of benefits. Memory is shown to have improved, as well as executive functions, increased emotional resilience and a decrease in depression symptoms.
In fact, after just eight weeks of meditation practice, studies have shown increased gray matter development in the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain most associated with memory and learning.
5. Even Improvement to Your Eyesight
Did you know that yoga isn’t just for your body and mind? You can also do eye yoga.
Your eyes are one of the most complex and intricate organs in your body, and yet they’re also one of the most commonly neglected. By practicing a little eye yoga, you can help keep them healthy and even improve your vision throughout the day.
Try this. Close your eyes and sit quietly, and start taking deep breaths to relax completely. Rub the palms of your hands together briskly until they grow warm, then place your palms gently over your closed eyes. Let your eye muscles relax as the heat from your hands is slowly transferred to your eyes. Stay here until the heat is entirely gone from your hands. Repeat this entire process three times.
Start Improving Your Brain Today
Just because the new year is past doesn’t mean you can’t still make a resolution to improve both your body and your brain! Start your yoga practice today and let us know how your brain has improved.
By Corinne Keating
Corinne Keating is a health blogger who loves coffee, yoga, and writing for her blog - whysowell.com.
Practice this class now to give your brain and mind a boost!
Mind in One Place with Jack Cuneo
Our bodies are incredible. In our natural state, we are designed to function perfectly, and our systems are formulated to eliminate toxins. When we eat whole, natural foods, stay active, and practice yoga, we shouldn’t need help to maintain digestion, circulation, and lymphatic flow. Environmental factors such as the air we breathe, the soil where our food is grown, and the water we drink, however, are often out of our control. Even if we are doing our best to take care of ourselves, external influences accumulate and can leave us feeling heavy inside and out.
If you aren’t diligent with your movement and diet, lethargy and lack of focus can weigh you down. When our bodies feel bloated and cluttered, our mental focus suffers too. Our emotional lives can spiral out of control at times when we’re in the midst of changing careers, moving homes, experiencing relationship challenges, or simply succumbing to everyday stress. To counteract these tamasic or heavy feelings, practice yoga to encourage your body to recharge its inherent cleansing powers. The proper yoga practice will help you stimulate your digestive, lymphatic, and circulatory systems and clear out mental clutter at the same time. You’ll boost your energy, improve your sleep, stimulate your digestion, and be your most vibrant.
In terms of the best postures to kick your body into self-cleansing mode, try twists, forward folds, and inversions. An excellent twisting pose is Revolved Chair Pose, which will encourage your liver and kidneys to release toxins, stimulate your digestive organs to get moving, and pump up your circulation. Try a wide-legged forward fold like Prasaritta Padottanasana to compress your abdomen and organs, and speed up elimination. Inversions like Downward Facing Dog or Headstand help reverse fluids from the feet and legs back toward the heart. Use strong, controlled breath to increase the power of each posture.
To assist you in uncovering your most buoyant, light, clear self, we’re thrilled to offer a 7-class package for internal cleansing and detoxification.
This program is designed to support your body's natural cleansing abilities. All you have to do is practice! To complement the yoga classes, access healthy recipes on our blog, and eat natural foods. Access your energy and passion this week and let us know how it goes!
Sign-Up to Cleanse Now!
Classes Include:
Pradeep Teotia - Daily Detox
Les Leventhal - Guidelines for a Balanced Life: Detox Flow
Celest Perreira - Twist it out Detox Flow
Jo Schaalman - Conscious Cleanse Detox Flow
Maria Garre - Digestive Reset for a Happy Belly
Pradeep Teotia - Kapalabhati
Kylie Larson - Qi Detox Flow
If you happen to be new to cleansing, it’s easy to find yourself spending extra time in the kitchen as well as the grocery store filling your cart with all the new ingredients and healthy alternatives. At first glance, eating healthy may seem to be more costly, but today we’re gonna show you how to cleanse on a budget and save yourself some cash.
For years, I ate almost every meal out. I bought prepackaged convenience snacks, indulged in specialty coffee and tea drinks and only shopped at “Whole Paycheck.” The Thai food takeout driver and I were on a first name basis. My thinking was, “since I’m just one person, it’s cheaper for me to eat out and not waste money and/or food by cooking for just myself.” Turns out, just the opposite was true, not to mention not as healthy.
Over the last five years, I’ve learned that in order to make a quantum leap in my health I would have focus on fresh whole foods and prepare most, if not all of my meals at home. These practices not only make me feel good, but they’ve also made my bank account much happier too.
Ready to see how I do it? Below are some of our best tips and tricks to keep the grocery budget in check. Please share with me how you manage to eat healthy on a budget in the comments section below. I’d love to hear your ideas too!
With love and cold-hard cash,
5 Tips to Cleansing on a Budget
1. Use Online Resources. When menu planning, make sure to check out your grocery store’s website. Most large grocers post a weekly circular of all the in-store sales online. Whole Foods, for example, publishes “The Whole Deal,” which features sales, recipes, and coupons. Sadly, most clippable coupons are for processed foods, but Whole Foods actually offers coupons for healthful staples such as coconut oil, almond milk, and boxed dried beans.
Another way to tackle your grocery list is to check out home delivery grocery services like King Soopers/City Market or Pea Pod. These sites will let you compile a shopping list online, while giving you a cost that is similar to shopping in-store. By doing this “test run,” you’re able to see what your trip to the store will actually cost. Perhaps trying out that new halibut recipe AND buying all your superfoods in the same week isn’t such a good idea for your wallet.
2. Buy In Bulk or Whole Foods. Some grocery stores have bulk sections and this is the place to save money. Here you want to buy all non-gluten grains, dried spices, nuts and seeds since they’re almost always cheaper compared to their boxed counterparts. Organic white quinoa, for example, rings in at $6.99 for 16 ounces while a packaged bag of the same costs $7.49 for only 12 ounces.
A Costco membership can also come in very handy while cleansing! We’ve found great deals on organic greens, organic frozen fruit, dried dates, and organic chicken breasts at this big-box store. As we head into the bountiful summer months, try buying extra in-season produce when it’s ripe and cheap. You can easily bag and freeze it for future months.
3. Get to Know Your Grocer! We don’t mean you have to ask that hunky produce guy or gal out for date (although the perks would be marvelous), we only mean to get to know how the store works. Some grocers have double coupon where you’ll benefit from the sales of two overlapping weeks. This can come in very handy when stocking up on organic produce! Other stores, like Whole Foods, will usually give you a discount when you buy produce by the case. Since you’re making green smoothies or fresh juices everyday, you could easily breeze through a case of spinach, bananas or lemons. Another good tip to garner is to find out when your produce department re-stocks. Many stores will weed out soft or bruised fruit (perfect for smoothies!), and sell it at a discount.
4. Grow your own. There is no need to be intimidated by gardening! There is also no need to run out and buy a farm. You can start right where you are – whether it’s a windowsill, balcony, backyard plot, or a few pots. If you’re intrigued but don’t know where to start, try growing your own sprouts or herbs. We love fresh herbs like parsley, thyme, oregano, and basil, in so many dishes because they pack such a big punch of flavor (and nutrition). When they’re clipped right from the plant, washed, and sprinkled on food, they’re even more amazing, not to mention a lot more costly! For the cost of a small plastic package of organic thyme, for example, you can buy one packet of approximately 200 seeds. Now, you will have to find some dirt and a planter and wait about 90 days, but then you’ll be able to skip that section of the market completely because you’ll have all the thyme in the world! A few of our favorite sites to research and order seeds are Botanical Interests and Seeds of Change.
5. Practice Leaf to Root Eating. Gardens love compost, which is where many of your vegetable and fruit scraps may end up. We challenge you make the most of your produce and see just how far you can stretch that carrot. You may have heard of “Nose to Tail” eating, or the idea where one tries to eat every little bit of the beast. Did you know that you could also practice the same theory with produce? Instead of trashing or composting your zucchini ends, onion husks, and cilantro stems, start collecting them in a gallon bag in the freezer. When the bag is full, make veggie stock! You can do the same thing with apple cores or mango skins for green smoothies or juices. Are you merely squeezing juice from that lemon? Why not zest it first and freeze the zest for later! Once you start thinking in these terms, you’ll be able to see so many lost opportunities for stretching your buck. A few of our new discoveries are putting kale ribs on the grill or making crackers from leftover almond milk pulp.
Complement your food cleansing with Yoga for Detox, Cleansing, & Vitality!
The inevitable urge to clean up their home, car or closet will soon emerge for people doing a food and/or yoga cleanse.
We call this the natural spillover effect. When you cleanse yourself on the inside and your mind isn’t running wild on caffeine, sugar, or stress, you start to think more clearly. When you’re thinking more clearly, you start to connect more deeply with your surroundings, oftentimes producing a spontaneous desire to clean out the junk drawer, reorganize your closet or donate the growing pile of stuff in the basement.
Tackling some of these big projects can feel quite liberating, especially if they’ve been energetically weighing you down (in come cases for years!).
I had one cleanser tell me this week that she cleaned out her basement and now she keeps going back downstairs just to look at it because it makes her feel so happy and light.
Sounds good, doesn’t? How would you like to feel this way about your entire life?
While this might sound like a grand idea in theory, the reality is oftentimes much different. It can feel daunting and even downright overwhelming to think about all the ways in which you want to detox or change your space. For many of us, we can’t even keep up with the mail and the recycling, let alone all the other “should dos.”
It’s a big long list that can feel intimidating – skincare, make-up, cleaning products, paint, toys, carpet, plastic Tupperware, microwave – where do we begin?
Like we do on the Conscious Cleanse, we’re going to take baby steps and start somewhere that feels easy and doable. I like to think about it one room or one category at a time.
So today we’re starting with household cleaners because the reality is they are one of the most toxic and chemical-laden products in our home.
Not only are some of these chemicals carcinogenic, they can also wreak havoc on other systems in the body. And what’s the point of an organic, gluten-free diet, if you’re using a formaldehyde-filled cleaner on your countertops?
Are you ready to get clean and green from the outside in? Check out my tips below on tackling your household cleaners and be sure to stop by True Goods stock up on some safe toxin-free products.
With love and toxin-free baby steps,
5 Ways to Detox Your Household Cleaners
1. Ditch your all-purpose cleaner:
Most store bought multi-purpose cleaners promise a shiny countertop but leave a trail of toxic chemicals. In fact, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air can be 10 to 100 times more polluted than outdoor air! Try products that have less of a toxic impact like Seventh Generation, Ecover, or Earth Friendly Products. Or better yet, make your own using our Lemon Rosemary All-Purpose Cleaner recipe above.
2. Re-think the way you dust: Synthetic dusting wipes and aerosol sprays release a lot of unwanted chemicals into your home. Feather dusters are also not ideal because they tend to move the dust around in the environment rather than trapping it. Instead opt for a wet cloth or microfiber cloths. Microfiber cloths work well because their smaller fibers cling to the particles. I use an old cloth diaper and it does the trick.
3. Say good-bye to antibacterial soaps: Triclosan – the ingredient found in antibacterial soaps and detergents that lower or reduce bacterial contamination not only kills the bad bacteria, but also the good! And we need the good bacteria to survive. Research has shown that triclosan can actually cause antibiotic resistance and may be harmful to the immune system. I love hand soap from Napa Organics and Pangea. They smell delicious, are gentle on the skin and will get you clean without the carcinogenic potential.
4. Stop using bleached products: The EPA says that chlorine byproducts are 300,000 more times as carcinogenic as DDT (a commonly known insecticide). Whoa! This would include products like white chlorinated paper towels, toilet paper, and coffee filters. These are good options but take it another step by cutting up the old t-shirts that are sitting in the bottom of your dresser. Invest in some pretty cloth napkins. Buy a reusable coffee filter or switch to loose tea instead.
5. Dump your detergent and dryer sheets: Dryer sheets sure do smell great, but most will coat your clothes with chemicals like quaternary ammonium compounds and acetone, which have been linked to health ailments like asthma. These chemicals can also make your towels less absorbent! Big name laundry detergents like Tide and All contain tons of unnecessary chemicals that can be both hazardous to your health and the environment. We like Molly’s Suds, Ecover Lavender Fields and Boulder Liquid Laundry detergent. They’ll still make your laundry smell great without the worry of what might be lurking in them.
Detox your body before or after you detox your house with Yoga Download's Yoga for Detox package!
In a recent recipe and blog post, I dropped the “caffeine bomb”. Many of you reading are saying, “Ugh, I’d rather not talk about that anymore.” But just in case you missed it, here are some reasons to consider giving up your beloved coffee drink!
This week we’re here to offer an alternative, to soften the blow of going sans coffee with a “too good to be true” coffee alternative.
Enter, Dandelion Root Coffee.
Dandelion root, often associated with the pesky dandelion weed, has been used for centuries to treat depression, scurvy and even diabetes. It’s difficult to find dandelion root in most health food stores, so you’re best bet is to buy it online. We bought our dandelion root and chicory from Frontier Natural Products and Starwest Botanicals. A great liver detoxifier, dandelion root, it is also known for aiding in digestion and weight loss. The other magic ingredient in this nutty warm elixir is chicory, which gives this drink its rich coffee flavor. Chicory is full of antioxidants and helps to reduce inflammation in the body to boot.
Not only does Dandelion Root Coffee taste delicious, you might even feel a healthy herbal buzz from all the goodness that’s packed into this drink.
Ready to try it?
Give this nutty herbal ”coffee” drink a try and tell us what you think. Does it meet your coffee standards or at least let you get by for a few days? Remember, you don’t have to give up coffee forever. Try it for yourself and tell us how you feel.
Leave a comment below.
We hope you enjoy!
With “it’s too be good to be true” caffeine-free kisses,
Dandelion Root Coffee
Yield: 4 cups
6 cups of water 2 TB. roasted chicory, finely ground 2 TB. roasted dandelion root, finely ground 2 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces 1-2 vanilla beans, chopped into pieces Stevia to taste
Directions:
In a 2-quart pot combine dandelion root, chicory, cinnamon sticks and vanilla beans. Bring to boil and then simmer for 10-15 minutes. Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove the grounds. Serve with a few drops of stevia or steamed nut milk. Enjoy!
Support yourself with Yoga for Detox, whether you're detoxing from coffee or just giving your system a nice boost!
Do you label your feelings as good vs bad? Do you push away the painful and only welcome the pleasant? Do you offer each of your emotions and experiences the same amount of energy? Do you ever feel grateful for your anger? For most of us, the answer is a simple no. We prefer to feel the good over the "bad". It can be said it's better to be in a state of positive emotional health, more than in despair and suffering. Still, a full range of feelings is an inevitable part of the human experience and each unique emotion has the potential to teach us something worthwhile. For many, we welcome positive emotions with open arms, and kick and scream when negative emotions such as anger, disappointment, and sadness, are felt. If the end goal is one of acceptance and self-love, shouldn’t we have as much acceptance for our perceived weaknesses and uncomfortable emotions, as we do in our celebrated emotional triumphs and perceived strengths?
We can only truly be at peace with ourselves, when we are able to experience peace even in the midst of uncomfortable emotions. If we only accept certain emotions and sides of ourselves, we can’t truly say that we accept ourselves and our whole self. Love isn’t about “liking” all parts of who you are and every emotion you experience. Rather, it’s knowing and welcoming every bit of who you are, without judgement, or a wish for things to be different. If you look at each emotion, especially the ones we label as negative, there is often a valuable lesson and positive side to them. Part of living a more enlightened life, is about recognizing the silver linings of our tougher moments and less desired emotions.
Take anger as an example, in all of it's complex forms such as frustration, annoyance, displeasure and irritation. Seen from a simpler perspective, anger can be explained as a wish for things or circumstances in a given moment, to be different than what they are. Anger can sometimes be one of the most destructive feelings when it gets the best of people.
It is possible, instead of wallowing in anger, to practice presence and awareness when it is experienced. Next time you feel angry, remind yourself to take three deep breaths. Then, rather than focusing on what is making you angry, focus instead on what is it you want to change or what you are are finding hard to accept in your present situation.
You have the power to listen to your anger, and to learn from it.
There are far more benefits of listening to your anger, instead of being swept away by it. Listen to the answers your anger gives you and see the boundaries that you want to expand. Soon you will see that anger holds a gift. It is the wrapping paper that hides the present inside.
So be angry, but then be inquisitive and see what the anger is telling you.
Get real, be raw and be accepting of what you dig up. Who knows, it might just leave you feeling a little lighter, more accepting of who you are, where you are at, and help your anger pass through you more quickly.
By Amy Booth
Amy Booth is a yoga and pilates teacher based in Brisbane, Australia, where she runs a riverside yoga studio, as well as a personal training business. Her passion lies in strengthening the mind, body and soul and sometimes the best way to do that, is to teach the dominant to step back, so the subtle can shine.
You can find out more about Amy, her studio and the worldwide retreats and hikes she runs below: Website: www.ambertreeyoga.com.au Instagram: @ambertreeyogaandretreats Facebook: Amber Tree Yoga and Retreats
Practice one of these yoga classes to move through any of your uncomfortable emotions!
Taming your Temper with Channing Grivas
Turn Your Day Around with Keith Allen
What if we told you that by strengthening your core, you could not only reap physical benefits like improved posture, a healthy back, toned abdominals, better digestion and organ health, but also fire up your self-confidence and inner radiance?
This week we’ve got four new classes to power up every aspect of your center from the outside in and the inside out. Your core houses the Manipura or navel chakra, which is considered the source of your identity and the center of your ego and personal power. Self-confidence, willpower, self-discipline, and fire are all qualities associated with the third of seven main chakras or energy centers. By employing asana, pranayama, mantras and guided meditation to stoke the fire in your belly you can burn through any layers of self-doubt and trust in your self.
Look at it this way: You aren’t simply working to create toned abdominals.
The benefits of focusing on your core run deeper than simple aesthetics and muscular strength. Rather, you are creating a powerhouse that will aid you in keeping your spine healthy and avoid or eliminate back pain. You will create a girdle of muscle to support your organs and encourage healthy digestion and elimination. More than seventy percent of your immune system resides in your gut, so it’s vital to keep it healthy. The core is involved in every movement you make throughout the day from sports, yoga, walking, performing housework, and dancing the night away.
Focusing on the energy in your navel center will help you keep the prana flowing smoothly through the Sushumna Nadi or central channel that runs the length of your spine. When your life force flows freely, you are optimizing your energy whatever you do. Balancing your center will help you overcome insecurity and also prevent excessive ego or arrogance. Enjoy the process of tapping into your personal power, while making your core stronger in the process! A flat toned belly doesn’t hurt either.
Enjoy the benefits of a strong core with these four new classes this week!
1. Pradeep Teotia: Strong Core
2. Claire Petretti Marti: Pilates Yoga Fusion: Lower Body Focus
3. Shy Sayar: Therapeutic Alignment: Side Crow
4. Eric Paskel: Sturdy 30
Most modern yogis agree it is a huge relief to focus on the simple “be”-ing of life, and that keeps us coming back to our mats every day. It really is easy to understand, considering how busy most everyone is in the Western world.
However, the westernization of yoga through hatha yoga doesn’t change what yoga is except in that it evolves the practice. The word “hatha” in Sanskrit means “force”, and hatha yoga was established in hopes of “forcing” the benefits of the practice, as well as the practice itself, upon the individual. This branch of yoga is where we see a driven focus on the asanas.
A contemporary twist to yoga offered by the western world are more fitness and sculpt based styles of yoga. As this trend continues to sweep North America, it has evolved quickly over the past five years alone. Many classes teach it as “yoga with weights” while others incorporate less yoga and more body-weight exercises, modeled as “fitness-style yoga”.
These classes are much more challenging than a regular Vinyasa flow, or even a hot class, but since most still incorporate a Surya Namaskara (sun salutation) sequence, it is still considerably hatha yoga.
One fascinating aspect of these higher intensity practices is the impact they can have on meditation. The word meditation immediately brings to mind for most an image of Buddha sitting under a tree, likely in lotus pose, with eyes closed and blank contentment on his face. This state of “be”-ing is rarely regarded as what it is, a conscious effort to be with the divine. It is also an act of doing. Expanding upon this concept therefore, allows meditation to truly be anything.
Yoga, and yoga and fitness styles, can be considered forms of movement meditation. Movement meditation has also begun to stir the consciousness of many individuals all over the world, as classes continue to take forms which fuse yoga, dance, and movement.
Although sitting still in the dark or under a tree is one way to meditate, it doesn’t diminish the fact that meditation is an action which is performed, and that there is no real right or wrong way to make meditation happen.
Rather than only enjoying who you become by the action, enjoy the process of the action itself. You may realize the product or result is actually much more fleeting than the process, which must always churn out a new product.
“Do”-ing more with your yoga and meditation practice, such as fitness styles of yoga, serve to enhance your focus, eventually allowing you to perform more advanced functions later on in your life journey, likely at a quicker rate. Speed isn’t the end goal here; the end goal is simply getting the absolute most out of your practice. It all comes down to your motive.
Ultimately, everything comes in moderation and equilibrium. It’s important to relish the “do”-ing at least as much as the “be”-ing.
Allowing this mindset to take fold increases the “yoga anywhere and everywhere” mentality by opening up new insights into just what yoga is and can be.
Hanuman, the famous Eastern half-monkey God, is notorious for praising the “do”, in his devotional service to Lord Rama. His lesson was that there is and always will be more karma and dharma to serve, so it is best to happily put the required work in, to reap as many benefits as possible.
Yes, you’ll need to cross the barrier of having to do more work to getting to do more work, but you’ll also recognize many benefits to your regular practice. If you do more you’ll be more.
By Moses Hunter
Moses is a young artist living in Denver, CO with huge aspirations to travel the world, entertaining large crowds. Whether that be through music, poetry, dance, yoga, or comedy, he is always willing to put forth the necessary effort to ensure a quality time is had by all. His most recent efforts include self-publishing four poetry books in 2017, with another on its way in '18. Find and follow Moses on his social media, Instagram @family._.man, his platform for business inquiries and as a writing platform to showcase and share his creative endeavors.
Practice a Yoga with Weights or a Meditation class now, to enjoy their unique benefits!
Meditation classes
Yoga with Weights classes
Purification is all about slowing down and tuning in. Take a brisk walk to soak up the elusive sunshine with your favorite pup, go to the yin yoga class you’ve been thinking about all week, or spend some quality downtime with friends and family.
We have come up with a bright, tasty, and creative soup. It’s full of phytonutrients, minerals, and fiber. All of these contribute to overall nervous system health while being comforting and a little classy too! The gremolata puts to use the zest of the lemon and reminds us that spring is just around the corner. Use your creativity to swirl and twirl the Coconut Crema on top of the soup. Like a mini art class!
Enjoy! And Happy Purification!
Love,
Green Goddess Soup
Yield: 6 cups
1 TB. coconut oil 3 cloves garlic, minced and divided 2 stalks celery, chopped 1 large leek, thoroughly washed and sliced 1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets 2 medium zucchinis, chopped ½ bunch Swiss chard, chopped ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg 1 tsp. sea salt 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 4 to 6 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth Juice of 1 lemon ½ cup parsley, chopped Zest of 1 lemon ¼ cup olive oil Pinch of sea salt Pinch of freshly ground black pepper Coconut Crema, optional
Instructions:
In a medium pot over medium-high heat, warm the coconut oil. After a minute, add the 2 cloves of garlic, celery, and sliced leeks, and cook for 5 minutes or until wilted.
Put the cauliflower, zucchini, and Swiss chard in the pot, add the cayenne pepper, nutmeg, and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Pour in 4 cups of broth and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the cauliflower is fully cooked, 5–8 minutes. Add additional broth to reach desired consistency.
Carefully transfer the soup to a blender and blend on high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add lemon juice. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and black pepper if needed. The soup should be thick but still light. If it is too thick, thin it with a little more broth or water. Before serving top soup with Coconut Cremadrizzle and Lemon Parsley Gremolata.
To make the Lemon Parsley Gremolata, in a small bowl combine the parsley and add lemon zest, olive oil, remaining 1 clove of garlic, sea salt and pepper to taste. A mortar and pestle works great for this too.
Support your healthy eating with Yoga for Detox!
Does seeing #yogaeverydamnday make you wonder how do people do it?
Because you for one, are struggling to find the time to do yoga ANY damn day? We know why we should practice, sometimes we just need help with the when, and how.
The old adage ‘you don’t have time, you make time,’ is not very helpful. We know you’re busy, we’re all (insanely) busy. And if by some miracle we do find the much needed ‘me time,’ it’s hard not to sink into the familiar urge to relax into Netflix. But the truth is, the busier you are, the more you need a daily practice (which is way healthier than binging Black Mirror).
Practice takes practice, so we’ve put together our 5 favorite tips to get busy yogis on the mat every day, for both, a quick and instant pick-me-up, and the long term benefits of yoga.
Wake up on your mat
The snooze button is now your enemy - it is trying to keep you from living your best life. Instead, your yoga mat is now your snooze button. Keep your mat by your bed, and instead of rolling over for 10 extra minutes of low-quality sleep, roll onto your mat and wake up there. If you can, make it the very first surface your feet touch. Start in child’s pose, give yourself a few cat/cows, and work your way up to a full body stretch. Commit to 10 minutes, but stay as long as it feels good.
Try: Morning Yoga in Bed, for gentle stretches and asanas that are sure to awaken your senses, faster than any latte.
Yoga for lunch
We’re not saying swap food for yoga, we’re saying there are lots of ways to nourish. Pack healthy meals to work and eat them in stages. Eat something an hour before lunchtime and then have the rest after you get back to your desk. Use your lunch break to melt away the workplace stress and burnout, so it doesn’t take over your life and gives you the energy for demanding work environments.
Try: Yoga for Desk Jockeys for shorter practices that can be done in just a few minutes. Some classes are designed for a quick breather at work, and others are sequenced to alleviate tension and counteract your workday. Find your perfect lunch break.
Make it a bedtime routine
Doing yoga right before bedtime guarantees you a good night’s sleep. It does not have to be a high intensity practice, on the contrary Yin yoga and other restorative flows are wonderful ways to destress and work away the built up negative energy.
Try: Nighttime Nidra to relax and release any tension and surrened into yogic sleep. Enjoy this blissful state of stillness and you’re sure to wake up feeling rested, refreshed and rejuvenated.
Set a calendar reminder
During the week, dedicating time to an hour-long yoga practice may seem unimaginable. But how does a 15-30 minute practice every single day for 14 days sound? Take the 14 day Yoga for busy people challenge and see how the fourteen days of yoga transforms into a regular practice.
Try: Anytime Sun Salutations, one of the classes from the challenge or choose between two diverse classes each day; continue doing this for 14 days and witness how your mind gets conditioned to yoga everyday.
Reward yourself
Finally, and most importantly, remember to practice compassion towards yourself. Stressing out over not being able to do yoga is counterproductive. Take it one day at a time and be grateful for whatever you are able to do.
Try: Meditate with Gratitude to thank yourself for the great job you are already doing. Breathe joy into your practice and your daily lives and focus on the good within. This practice will help you create a happy place you would want to return to.
In the end, it’s important to remember that yoga is so much more than just performing postures. Getting on the yoga mat is a tiny part of a yogic lifestyle. You can make whatever you are doing right now part of your practice, be it the way you interact with people or the way you engage with your own mind. Yoga offers guidance for every aspect of life not just the way you hold your poses. This means busy yogis don’t always need their mats to practice, you can do so at any moment, anywhere and anyhow.
#GoYourOMWay and share your journey with us here.
Need motivation to fit yoga into your busy schedule? You can still join our 14-Day Yoga Challenge for Busy People.
Are you stressed out and sleep-deprived? If you’re a student, you probably answered yes. You’re constantly looking for a way to relax. You’re trying to be more focused on the lectures, but you’re too tired to understand what the professors say. It’s okay. You shouldn’t feel guilty about facing challenges that all other students are dealing with. The only question is: what can you do to reduce your stress?
Have you been thinking about trying yoga, but haven’t found the trigger yet? You’ve been admiring those popular Instagram yogis, but you were probably thinking: “I could never do this.” Guess what: you can. Plus, yoga is much more than just the poses. Under the surface you see on Instagram, there’s peace, focus, and success. Why should you practice yoga as a student? Because it’s good for you? How? Let’s elaborate on that, shall we?
Here are 7 Ways Yoga Benefits Students:
1. Yoga Helps You Relax
Science backs up this fact: yoga helps you relax, both physically and mentally. In one study, the scientists observed that the amino acid GABA was significantly higher in people who did yoga. What does this mean? This amino acid supports functions of the entire central nervous system and promotes calmness in the body. Anxiety and depression are associated with low levels of GABA.
You’ll find many other studies that tell you how good yoga is for your mental and emotional health. However, you’ll find the greatest proof when you try practicing it. Most students feel calmer after their first session.
When you’re in the middle of exam week and you’re deprived of sleep, a simple 10-minute relaxation will make you feel like you just had hours of sleep.
2. Yoga Makes Your Back Strong
All that time sitting in front of the computer and in uncomfortable chairs in lecture halls takes its toll on your posture. If you keep doing that for years, you’ll start experiencing back pain. You can prevent that from happening if you start practicing yoga.
3. Yoga Makes You Focused
How many times have you been forcing yourself to complete a research paper, but you simply couldn’t focus? Many students procrastinate when they have to write papers. When the deadline comes dangerously close, they realize there’s no chance for them to complete the project.
We suggest something better: do yoga! Yoga and meditation support and strengthen focus. You’re training your mind how to focus on a particular thing. Even when you’re doing your physical yoga practice, you’re still focusing. When you get in Natarajasana (Dancer's Pose), your mind has no other choice but to stay focused. Otherwise, you lose balance.
With regular practice, you’ll notice how your ability to focus improves.
4. Yoga Makes Helps You Gain Self-Confidence
Do you think you can do a headstand? If you’ve never tried yoga or you’re at the beginning of this journey, that seems like an impossible mission. But, it’s possible. A good teacher will guide you properly through the practice that leads to a headstand.
When you finally achieve this inversion pose, you’ll feel safe and secure. You’ll realize you’ve moved the limits of your body, but you also extended the limits of your mind. You gain confidence that you can do much more than you thought you were capable of. This pose is just one example of the ways your yoga practice can improve confidence in all areas of your life.
5. Yoga Is Fun!
You want to try new things, don’t you? That’s what being a student is all about - experiencing life and learning from it. Yoga is a very fun discipline. You’ll explore new techniques and methods all the time. You get to move your body in new and interesting ways. It never gets boring.
6. You’ll Learn How to Breathe
What do you notice when you get stressed? Is your breath getting shallow and fast? Stress affects the way you breathe, but there’s a reverse situation: the way you breathe affects stress. If you try to slow down and breathe through your belly, you’ll notice how you’re slowly calming down. Through pranayama - the practice of controlling the breath, you’ll be supplying your body with more oxygen.
7. Yoga Is a Workout, After All
It’s hard to stay in shape when you can’t find the time to cook healthy meals every day. You absolutely need to work out. Yoga will help you keep your body in shape.
It’s an amazing practice for increasing flexibility. However, it also gives you a core workout. It builds muscles in the arms and legs. It makes you stronger (and more beautiful).
Are you convinced? You don’t need to buy expensive equipment to start practicing yoga. Just get a plain mat and you can start doing it today!
By Chris Richardson
Chris Richardson is a journalist and editor at EssayGeeks.co.uk. He is fond of traveling, sports, and playing the guitar. Chris finds his inspiration in writing. Meet him on Google+.
Short on time and stuck at a desk all day for school? Practice the Yoga for Desk Jockey's series that are quick and effective!
So my Dry 2018 has met the big Kahuna: a break-up!
As I mentioned in Month 1, I’m not a huge drinker, but when this time of life comes around, your girlfriends (and sisters or guy friends, etc.) will no doubt hit you with “You need a drink” or “You can let that not drinking thing go now, right”? Well, not exactly.
The advantage to being 36 and a yogi is that I don’t actually want to drown my sorrows. I actually want to feel them.
I want to fully experience my feelings and learn from them. I want to sit with them and see how I’ve helped create my current situation and how I can create something different next time. Mild drinking or smoking a joint or shopping or staying busy are all relatively acceptable forms of escapism in some yogi circles, but you reach a point in your life where you realize you either deal with it now, or deal with it later.
As my teacher Dharma Mittra reminds us, we can either learn our lessons now, or we can learn them later. As an overachiever, I always pick now. So at this time in my life, break up or not, I want to be present.
It helped that shortly after this occasion, I was whisked off to teach on a vegan cruise through the Caribbean for 11 days. Synchonicity, I think so! So cruising I went, with my best friend as my roommate and security blanket and about 2,000 vegans to support healthy choices. Full transparency: I did have a few sips of champagne but not even half a glass. I still consider this a win.
Wanting a break from alcohol also? Support yourself with Yoga for Detox from Overindulgence package!
The other night we had our cleanse-friendly community dinner at Zeal and we met a young woman who had severe eczema. Allergy tests confirmed several food intolerances, chocolate being one of them.
As diehard chocolate lovers, of course, we gasped. Allergic to chocolate? What could be worse? True to form, we started to dig deeper.
This young woman, all of 13 years of age, wasn’t allergic to chocolate, she was allergic to dairy! So we asked her if she had ever tried cacao.
Not to be confused with cocoa (or cocoa powder), cacao is the purest form of chocolate you can eat.
Bitter in taste, cacao beans look a lot like coffee beans. All chocolate and cocoa is made by heating cacao beans, so the raw, less processed version, cacao is always our first go-to choice when living our 80:20 lifestyle.
We’re just wrapping up another live cleanse and know that many people (ourselves included!) will be looking for healthy alternatives to their old standbys. Well friends, today’s recipe is a superfood homerun.
Try it out for yourself and be sure to leave us a comment below. Are you a chocolate lover? Have you been able to replace your chemical-laden Hershey kisses with a superfood alternative?
With love and chocolate bites,
Raw Cacao Bites
Yield: 16 bites
Enjoy a yummy yoga class before or after enjoying this delicious dessert!
Yummy Yoga Flow with Claire Petretti Marti
Short, Sweet, & Powerful Flow with Christen Bakken
In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few. -Shunryu Suzuki
Do you remember your first yoga class? Or maybe you’ve never stepped onto a mat and something intangible is holding you back from beginning a yoga practice. Wherever you are on your yoga journey, pause and take a moment to let go of all you think you know about yoga, whether you’ve been practicing for a decade or a day. It’s great to go back to when you were a beginner and remind yourself of how far you've come and that there isn’t only one way.
A certain freedom exists when you come from a place of curiosity and openness.
If you’ve been practicing for a while, you might have your favorite teachers, classes, and regular practice schedule. While that’s great, there’s a thin line between continuing to grow and sinking into a rut. This week, return to that place where you are open to hearing, processing, and accepting new information. You know, before you knew it all? Be open and step outside your comfort zone.
We believe hitting the pause button and taking a beginner class occasionally will reinforce the longevity of your yoga practice.
Focusing on alignment and breath and hearing fresh cues for familiar postures can take your practice to the next level. Whether you are a true beginner or a seasoned yogi or somewhere in between, healthy alignment and a strong foundation are essential. Why not invest the time to create a practice that will last for a lifetime? You may evolve and change, but your proper foundation will remain.
This week, we bring you four new beginner-focused practices. These classes will challenge you and open you to possibility. Your only responsibility is to be open to refining and learning healthy habits. Embrace your beginner’s mind and enjoy a fresh perspective!
Get back to the basics with one of this week's new classes!
1. Pradeep Teotia: Practice with a Smile
2. Kristen Boyle: Foundation Flow
3. Shy Sayar: Posture Therapy: Inner Thighs
4. Eric Paskel: Wall Flower: Legs
Vacation on your mind, but yearning for something different? Let’s retreat with a cause in the yoga haven of India, where the ancient science of the Vedas has proliferated into a compelling alternative lifestyle which is sustainable, self-empowering, and enriched with deeply seated wisdom.
The legacy of yoga, meditation, and Ayurveda ricochets in this birth land of ancient yogis and world peace leaders. In the far North, the Himalayas stand in all its majestic glory where yoga has been a way of life since long ago. And in the deep South, in the tropical stretches of Kerala, Ayurveda, the priceless medicine of the Vedic civilization is still maintained in lived practices. Where else can you spend your days off to get rejuvenated and feel the power surging within at a cellular level, but here in India!
Here are reasons why you must experience this awesomeness as your next vacation.
Rest Because You Need To
To work is to live, but to work without break to catch your breath on is a menace! Once in a while, you need to give your body and mind a rest, press pause, and go somewhere far away. With a weeklong retreat planned away in India, you can finally get that much needed wink of rest. How rejuvenating it can be to be on a meditation retreat, laying out a deck chair and experiencing sunsets without any other responsibility!
Bleeping Out of Network
To remain unconditionally connected with the fast moving life around has become so naturalized in each one of us, that it seems like a dream to be alone with one’s own thoughts for a while. If you are desperately wishing your phone, and mail boxes to shut the hell off, a retreat in India can be a super excuse. Bleep out of network range for a few days and feel the stress building up in your body and mind drifting away. Take a book to read, the one you had no time to sit with in a long while, plug into your soul music, do yoga, travel to a faraway land, experience their culture, talk to someone new, see how the world becomes your oyster again, without the constant distraction of your phone.
Cellular Level Purification
Can you feel toxins accumulating and working their way into your health? Some common indicators of falling health show with chronic pain, fragile skin and hair, as well as a deep sense of fatigue. When you know the toxins have reached the brimful, come to a retreat to get back into optimal health. At many standard yoga retreats in India, Ayurvedic herbal spas and rejuvenating massage therapies will be availed to you in-house, so that you can completely detoxify and take home only good cheers from the duration of your stay at a retreat center.
Good Old Indian Food!
Anybody who has ever had a taste of food made with delectable Indian spices can never forget what joy it is to the taste buds! Indian food is an explosion of heightened sensations, and not just that, but a pack of health benefits come along with every dish. At a retreat in India, you are going to have great food served to you every day and bunch of priceless recipes handed out at cooking classes too. Holidaying with yoga retreats in Kerala has got more attractions for cooking enthusiasts, because the enchanting spice gardens of the Nilgiri Hills is so close by!
Reconnecting With ‘Yourself’
Our day to day hectic life has a way of letting our true Self slip away amidst all the fray. You cannot remember what your heart’s true desires were and your prayers to the divine. In the tussle of keeping up with the world around creates a disruption of our spiritual process which can only be re-claimed through meditation. At a retreat in India, you will be given the best of guided meditation and a space conducive to the practice. Happy coming back to yourself!
A lot of Yoga!
Practicing yoga has a plethora of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits. What better way to recharge, than to make this the focal point of your next holiday? This is it, the best possible way to travel footloose and fancy-free, spend quality time with people you want to travel with, and come home with golden memories and undeniable mind-body benefits.
So, what are you even waiting for!
By Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh is a yoga enthusiast himself; freelance writer Manmohan lets his free spirit flow with his thoughts as he pens them down in his writings. He loves travelling and believes that ‘knowledge shared is knowledge gained.’ This concept inspired him to set up his own yoga institute in Rishikesh,India and other countries to spread the message of yogic sciences. His Yoga school (Rishikul Yogshala) imparts teachings on Yoga and Meditation under guided instructions of traditional yoga teachers. Interact with him through his website: https://www.rishikulyogshala.org.
Can't make it to India today? Still, learn and practice the Indian science of Ayurveda with yoga, in the Yoga & Ayurveda 101 program!
"Moon is two, the duality that is the basis for the workings of the mind and emotion. It is relationship, balance, and interchange." -Dr. David Frawley
We're all luna(r)tics. Isn't it wonderful to know the fluctuations of the mind are more cyclical than radical. You can better understand the aspects of the mind and subconscious by connecting to the energetic shifts within the lunar cycle.
The right + left hemispheres of the mind are activated by specific lunar days. Each side alternating like a perfectly balanced symphony, naturally conducted by the phases of the moon to bring balance between active/receptive, masculine/feminine. Actions and life force (prana) are improved when aligned with the energetic phases of the moon. One is able to draw down the cosmic nourishing powers of the moon to strengthen their mind, body, and spirit. A harmonic expansion of consciousness + vital energy (prana) begins to unfold to evolve beyond conditioned karma.
The magic lies within the breath.
Alignment of breath with the energetic cycles of the moon releases life-giving energies and the mind reflects the purity of the soul-self. The dominate nostril will dictate which hemisphere of the brain is activated.
The left nostril (Ida) activates the right hemisphere. A dominant right hemisphere is creative, receptive, more inward, magnetic, feminine, nourishing. Active external expressions diminish, such as: extended speech, time/space restrictions, and egoic/acquisition goals. Internal expanded expressions heighten, such as: greater sensitivity to sounds/tones, awareness of gradient colors, and, enhanced sensing and intuition.
The right nostril (Pingala) activates the left hemisphere. A dominant left hemisphere is analytical, logical, more outward, electrical, masculine, driven. Active external expressions heighten, such as: more talkative, greater awareness of self-others, and, outward abstract expression increases. Internal receptive expressions diminish, such as: subtle frequencies, less awareness of intonation and subtle sounds, decrease imagination and perception, and lessened sensitivity around environmental energies.
Like the intersecting snake it is the inverse-the dance between Shiva + Shakti. To synchronize your breath with the rhythms of the moon aligns you with profound renewal and life-giving energy. The two phases of the moon can be broken down into two parts. Ascending: new moon to full moon, and descending: full moon to new moon. The Ascending cycles of the moon are led by the left nostril and right hemisphere and move our mind and body into an increase of electrical and outward expressed masculine nature. The descending cycles of the moon are led by the right nostril and left hemisphere and align the mind and body with more magnetic, inward expressed feminine nature. As you can see there is a natural harmony, balancing our masculine + feminine.
Deep within we are naturally unfolding with the universal principals. To master your mind and body with the cosmic life-giving powers of the moon is to empower mind and body to become refined instruments of consciousness. The refinement of vibrations and divine frequencies.
By Geenie Celento
Geenie fosters the body’s intelligence as the medium to cultivate one’s evolutionary connection. She guides her students with a dynamic free spirit through an approachable energetic flow, focused on sourcing self awareness and inspiration. Innately curious, she is continually deepening her knowledge in Tantric philosophy, and expanding her certifications in herbalism, and the modalities of yoga. Based in Denver, Geenie holds a 500 HR RYT and attributes her yoga development to her great teachers: Kevin Durkin, a student of B.K.S. Iyengar, Santosh Powell, student of Baba Hari Das, and recently under Shannon Paige. In addition, she holds a certifications in Barre and Herbalism. Her expansive education has graciously provided the opportunity to have studied Ayurveda in India, under the world renowned Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar with the Chopra Institute & Chopra University. You practice can her classes with Yoga Download.
Combine Yoga + Astrology with Geenie right now!
One of the primary benefits of yoga and main reasons to practice is to achieve balance in your body, your mind, and your heart. Yoga Sutra 2.46, Sthira Sukham asanam, is commonly translated to mean the posture should be steady and comfortable. By finding a balance between effort and ease on your yoga mat, you can create a sense of wholeness in your life.
Hatha yoga is the broad umbrella under which most physical forms of yoga are housed. ‘Ha’ means sun and ‘tha’ means moon. Hatha yoga seeks to balance the masculine solar energy and the feminine lunar energy that exists within all of us.
Because at any given time, each of us is experiencing some level of imbalance, right? Your career is on fire, but your personal life is in shambles or vice-versa. Playing with the concepts of effort and ease through asana and pranayama helps bring the energy within you into a sustained state of balance.
By working to create a sense of symmetry in your physical body, you are also encouraging your thoughts and your feelings to align. A yoga practice focused on balance won’t just help bring you back into a more symmetrical physique; it will also help you hone focus and calm an overactive mind.
If you work on improving your balance on your yoga mat, that effort will stay with you when you step off the mat for the rest of your day. Sure, you’ll be better at balancing on one leg, but you’ll also feel more in equilibrium in life.
Life is a juggling act and we live in a multi-tasking world and often we hear the phrase, “I’m too busy to…” (fill in the blank). By taking the time to nurture your individual challenges through yoga, you have the opportunity to achieve the perfect balance for you.
That’s the beauty of yoga: it’s not a one size fits all type of practice. Depending upon what’s dominating your life, you can choose a practice to bring yourself back into balance.
This week, we offer you four unique classes designed to help you find balance in your body and your life. Three of this week's classes have a special emphasis on balancing postures and a more in-depth breakdown of principles of balancing on one leg. One class strikes a perfect balance between effort through vinyasa yoga, and ease, with some yin. Enjoy!
1. Eric Paskel - Fly Like An Eagle
2. Kylie Larson - Vin with a side of Yin
3. Keith Allen - The Art of Balance
4. Shy Sayar - Therapeutic Alignment - Tree Pose
The last year has been full of doubt and uncertainty in my own craft. I’ve been teaching yoga and barre full-time for nine years and I’ve felt far less sure and confident of myself today than I did in the beginning.
In a world where our worth as a yoga or fitness teacher seems dependent on class numbers, high amounts of followers and likes, and publicly-available Classpass and Google reviews, I have felt like I can’t compete. I’m not a competitive person and I never have been.
I feel the pressure to be something extraordinary, to become a celebrity, to get people’s attention and have them care about me and praise me.
I see the efforts that others in my community put into their social media and a sense of failure immediately fills my being. Everyone seems to have a professional photographer with them at all times, has unsurmountable inspiration and motivation while sporting the newest gear, the most perfect hair and a perfectly toned body to match.
Now I know what you’re thinking, “are you just jealous?”
Hell yes I’ve experienced jealousy! And doubt. And inadequacy. And envy. I also want to acknowledge the incredible amount of work that my community members put into building their brand. I’ve racked my brain trying to figure out how I might do the same, where I can take a visually-appealing yoga picture, how I can get people look at me and pay attention to me so that I might have bigger classes and amazing reviews and more followers because…society says that matters…
I finally realized, after reading The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson, that my standards are way too high.
They’re unrealistic and feel disingenuous. The goal of yoga and meditation is about releasing our attachment to the ego, about letting go of our identity, our need to be seen and heard and admired and noticed. THAT makes sense to me. That feels like an honest and attainable goal. No doubt it requires an immense amount of work and focus (as does becoming a yoga or fitness celebrity), but this goal actually makes my heart light up with excitement.
My merits for success have been unattainable. I needed to change my perspective to focus on what does feel authentic and the things that I have control over right now such as:
Being authentic and present in my classes is a massive success alone. In fact I feel silly now thinking that I ever needed to be more. And sure, there are teachers who can be authentic and present and also be a yoga/fitness celebrity and that’s great for them. But if I can just show up and create a safe and comfortable space for people to have a present moment experience, then I would feel as though I’ve contributed positively to my community.
I wish I had realized this all sooner. In this day and age, in this society, it’s not as easy as it seems to just “be yourself”. Simple, yes. Easy, no. It’s obvious that part of our job as yoga and fitness teachers is to be likeable, if you’re not, students don’t come. Being myself unfortunately does not mean that I will build my class numbers, it won’t get me more Instagram followers (in fact, my numbers seem to drop the most when I think I’m posting something “epic”) and it might not get me better ratings online. BUT…but…it’s the only thing that I know I can actually live up to.
Right now, just simply being myself is the only standard of success that I can honestly strive towards. I don’t have a grandiose personality, I probably don’t teach the most amazingly creative flows, I don’t have the prettiest pictures to post on social media and I won’t tell you that everything is “love and light”. I can give it to you straight, I want to be able to talk about the imperfections of my humanity without being ashamed.
I can only live up to being ordinary.
I don’t work out every day. I sleep a lot. I overindulge. I fall off the wagon. I get back on the wagon and feel like I have things figured out and then fall off again. I set goals. I fail. Sometimes I am myself and people respond well. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes I clean my house. Lots of times I don’t. I experience insecurity about my personality, my body, my hair. my food, my mind, my choices. Sometimes I experience so much anxiety about teaching, about showing up perfectly and making people like me that I can’t even show up for my class. I’ve made myself sick trying to live up to these unrealistic standards.
So here I am, an ordinary woman, with ordinary goals. And I happen to teach yoga. I won’t try to drop esoteric spiritual knowledge on you, I’m not special and I don’t know things that you don’t know. I’m just an average person. All I can commit to is being present with my classes. I can’t think of anything more rewarding or satisfying.
By Erin Wimert
My name is Erin and I have been teaching yoga, barre and fitness classes for the last nine years in both Denver and San Francisco. I specialize in Vinyasa (Beginners-Advanced), Yin Yoga and Yoga Nidra and I run the teacher trainings for the barre program at Endorphin in Denver, Colorado. I have trained with and am deeply influenced by Annie Carpenter, Amy Ippoliti, Jason Crandell and Jeremy Wolf. Through my study of the mind and body, I feel that I’m able to provide detailed yet accessible alignment cues in any style of class to create purposeful adjustments- improving safety, efficacy, and overall physical and mental performance. In my free time, you can find me reading my Kindle, loving on my cats, or working on music with my partner, Michael. Together, we co-teach and co-DJ in a group called Sonic Flow; you can find us teaching regularly on Friday nights and at different events and festivals around the state. I look forward to sharing some time and space with you!
Practice yoga with Erin now!
Action & Rest
Melt & Let Go