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How to Practice Dirga Pranayama; Three-Part Breathing
This post contains affiliate links, for more information read disclaimer Dirga Pranayama translates to three-part breathing and is often one of the first breath techniques taught to yoga practitioners. This breath helps focus our mind and invites us to tune into the sensations of our bodies. By intentionally manipulating breath into three separate parts of our body, dirga pranayama takes us into the present moment and out of worries or fears in our minds. The three areas we focus on while practicing this breath are our belly, ribs, and chest. On a daily basis, we perform very shallow breathing patterns. Predominantly, we stick to surface level chest breathing. By training ourselves in three-part…
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Benefits of Viparita Karani – Legs up the Wall
Viparita Karani or legs up the wall is by far one of my all-time favorite yoga poses! If I don’t make it to my mat one day, for whatever reason, as long as I practice this pose I feel grounded and accomplished. Legs up the wall is incredibly rejuvenating and relaxing. This pose is extremely accessible, so whether you’re a seasoned practitioner, or you’re just starting out, this pose is for you! Physical Benefits of Viparita Karani physically, this pose gently works our hamstrings and creates space in our low back. By elevating our legs, it increases circulation and drains any excess fluid. People who suffer from edema or sciatica can benefit greatly…
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Gentle Evening Yoga Flow
Practicing a gentle yoga flow in the evenings is a habit I’m trying to get back into. Since a lot of us have been gifted with some quiet time alone during this self-quarantine, it’s nice to turn inward and maintain good habits and routines. Since sleep plays a large role in our overall health, it’s important that we allow ourselves ample rest. If you have a hard time trying to quiet your mind before bed, or you often feel it’s difficult to get a full night’s rest, practicing yoga before you sleep can help! Taking time to calm your mind and release tension through your body, can ease you to a better night’s…
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Yoga Poses for Anxiety and Stress.
With the coronavirus resulting in a pandemic, and a serious lack of accurate information there is a lot of stress floating around in the air. While I’m no expert on the virus, I do know that stress is not good for anyone’s health. Stress can actually reduce the strength of our immune system making us more susceptible to sickness. Throughout times of uncertainty like this, it’s important to take care of ourselves. This means making our physical and mental health top priority. Luckily we’re all self-quarantined so we’ve got some time to relax and unwind. In general, yoga can be a very relaxing, stress-reducing practice. Still, certain styles, postures, and exercises will affect…
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The 5 Yoga Yamas: Yoga Philosophy and the Eight-Limbed Path
This post contains affiliate links, reash disclaimer for more info. I recently wrote a post about the eight-limbed path and the yoga philosophy. Traditionally the first limb taught to students is the yamas. In today’s day and age, yoga has become more of a mainstream exercise than a truly spiritual practice. This means philosophies such as the yamas and eight-limbed path often get overlooked. While I’m not here to get into the debate of “what is yoga,” I do want to share the philosophies of the practice so we can have a deeper understanding of its purpose in our lives. If you haven’t checked out my post about the eight-limbed path I recommend…
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The 8-Limbed Path; a Guide to the Spiritual Practice of Yoga
When I tell most people I’m a yoga instructor, a lot of people have a picture in their brains of what that means. Typically it involves pretzel-like shapes and circus-style acrobatics. While yoga asana does include some crazy shapes, the actual application of the yoga practice extends far beyond the physical aspects. Yoga asana is just one of the eight limbs of the yoga practice. Traditionally, through the Ashtanga method, yoga was taught in segments. Starting off with one limb, and working your way up. The traditional eight-limbed path was intended to guide yoga students to the ultimate freedom of Samadhi, or total liberation. The Eight Limbs The eight limbs are intentionally sequenced.…
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10 Yoga Poses to Help Release Aches and Pains in Your Lower Back
Low back pain is one of the most common complaints I hear from students in Yoga. Not necessarily from the yoga practice, that’s a whole different conversation, more so from everyday life. Luckily, yoga can help relieve some of those aches and pains, as well as build strength in key muscles to avoid aches and pains in the first place! Ragdoll Ragdoll is a more passive posture that can feel really good on our low back when we add a gentle bend to our knees. It’s a great pose for relieving stress and tension not only in your low back but your neck and shoulders as well. How To From standing, heel-toe your…
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Gratitude Mapping and The Law of Attraction
I have been on a manifestation high lately and I am loving it! If you haven’t read my post about manifesting your dream life, I recommend you take a look after reading this. As conscious beings, we have the ability to create whatever life we want for ourselves. It all starts with us, our energy and our vibe affect the world around us. Adopting an attitude of gratitude may help us out in life in more ways than we think. Gratitude and the Brain Science has shown, that people who hold more gratitude tend to work through stress easier, are able to release toxic emotions quicker, and can build stronger connections with others…
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Chakra Basics: Balancing the Third Chakra
I recently wrote a post talking about the third chakra. In that post, I discussed what a healthy, balanced third chakra looks like. I also talked about what it looks like to have an imbalance in the third chakra. Whether you’re in balance or not, it’s important to know what we can do to maintain a healthy chakra three! Movement When we find ourselves out of balance in chakra three, rebalancing through movement is relatively simple. There isn’t a whole lot we can do wrong when it comes to balancing our third chakra with movement. More vigorous activities are going to ignite a fire within our belly, opening and activating our third chakra…
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Chakra Three: Confidence and Willpower
Moving on up in the chakra system! If you haven’t read my posts on chakra one and two then I encourage you to read those first. The chakra system builds upon itself, therefore it’s important to understand chakra one and two before diving into three. The Basics The third chakra can be extremely energizing when we start to tap in. The energy of the third chakra is fire, and the Sanskrit name is Manipura meaning lustrous gem. The element of fire, and the third chakra, deal heavily in the process of transformation. Therefore, personal growth and development is ruled by chakra three. Located between the navel and the solar plexus, the third chakra…
