#TimeOutTuesday: Root Chakra Meditation
If you’re feeling a bit unstable and unsettled this time of year, you’re definitely not alone. Meditate on the root chakra (muladhara) to help yourself feel more grounded. So find a comfortable seat or reclined position, focus on the base of the spine, and repeat the following mantra: I am grounded. I am strong. I am at peace.
Peace out,
Debra
#FeelGoodFriday: Dance of Joy
Do something today that makes you feel so good you want to do the Dance of Joy.
#ThoughtfulThursday: What’s Going On
In Monday’s post, I mentioned that I would share an update explaining why I’ve not been posting regularly for a while. Basically it’s because my life has been full of changes and, while I know that’s always true, these have been some fairly big ones.
- I’m trying to get the house I’ve lived in for 20 years ready to sell. My ex and I didn’t do a lot of updating and I’ve had to make some pretty major updates so that I won’t take a loss on it. It’s taking A LOT more time than I thought it would.
- I’ve got a new guy. He’s awesome and helping me with my house and providing me amazing emotional support.
- I’ve got a part time job. It took me my entire adult life to figure out that I wanted to teach yoga but it’s a hard way to make a living, so I’ve had to take an office job to pay the bills. One of my goals this year is to improve my hustle and/or find a part time job in the wellness industry that doesn’t suck my soul out.
- I’m taking more yoga teacher training. It’s like being in grad school all over again but I love it!
I think I’ve finally found my groove again and plan to post more regularly this year. Thank you for tuning in!
Peace,
Debra
#WellnessWednesday: Keep It Simple Yin Practice
This week’s yin practice is focused on keeping things simple with accessible poses. I put it together while thinking of a friend who has knee issues. A lot of yin poses can strain the knees so these poses focus on opening the hips and back while keeping the knees safe.
Each pose can be held three to five minutes and you can use as much support as you need to make yourself comfortable.
(Note: Sorry I haven’t had time to get photos of all the poses, but I’ll get them eventually!)
Easy Resting Pose: Lying on your back, bend your knees and bring your feet to the floor with your knees bent. Your feet should be a comfortable distance from your hips. You can choose to support your knees with blankets or a bolster. (Click here for more info.)
Reclining Butterfly: Staying reclined, heel-toe your feet together until the inside edges are touching. Let your knees open out to the side while bringing the soles of the feet together. You can support the legs with blocks or blankets, especially if your knees are not close to the floor.
Supported Caterpillar: Come to a seat and stretch your legs out in front of you. Support your knees with a blanket or bolster. Lengthen the spine and fold from the hips over the legs. If you want to give your internal organs a little massage, you can keep the legs close together; if you want to make a little more room for the breath, separate the legs a comfortable distance apart.
Crocodile: Transition to lying on your stomach and stretch your legs out behind you. Let the legs be a little wider than hip distance apart and rotate the legs out from the hips so your toes turn out. Bring your arms forward and let the hands stack on top of one another. Bring your forehead to your hands and breath. For a slightly deeper back bend, make gentle fists to take the forehead a little higher.
Twisted Root: Roll onto your back and bend your knees and bring your feet to the floor. Cross your right leg over your left with your knees close together. Shift your hips a little to the right and let your legs drop over to the left. You can support your legs with a bolster and your right shoulder with a blanket for comfort. Make sure to do both sides
Mermaid: Bring your bolster across your mat. Bring your legs to deer pose and lie on your side with your waist supported by the bolster and bottom arm extended. You can either let your top arm rest on the body, reach overhead, or rest behind you. Keep your shoulders stacked. Make sure to do both sides.
Supported Twist: Turn your bolster to parallel with your mat and sit with your hip next to the short end of the bolster, legs out to the side away from the bolster. Turn your torso to face the bolster and place hands to either side of it. Lengthen the spine before releasing your torso onto the support of the bolster. Depending on what’s most comfortable for your neck, you can turn your head toward or away from the knees. Again, make sure to do both sides.
Pentacle: Lie on your back and take your legs wider than the hips, letting the feet turn out. Extend your arms straight out from your shoulders, palms turned up. Stay in this one for 10 to 15 minutes.
Hope you enjoy!
Debra
#MondayMotivation: Keep It Simple
I know I’ve been absent for a while and I’ll post a personal update soon, but for now I’ll just share my motivating phrase for this week: Keep it simple.
Classes this week will focus on simple poses and breath work. My gentle hatha yoga classes will build on Jason Crandell’s ten poses to practice daily, and my yin and restorative classes will focus on a few poses that foster deep relaxation and contemplation.
My motivation for this week’s theme? I tend to overthink things in a pretty significant way, which leads to stress and anxiety. Life goes much more smoothly when I relax and trust the process, so that’s what I’m reminding myself of this week. I’ll share my tips and experiences the rest of this week, so I hope you’ll tune in.
Keeping it simple,
Debra
National Gratitude Month
24. Drangonflies;
25. Farmers;
26. People who do jobs that I don’t want to do;
27. Flowers;
28. Trees;
29. People who are smarter than me;
30. Books.
National Gratitude Month
It’s Thanksgiving Day and National Gratitude Month continues. Here’s the fourth installment of my list of what I’m thankful for:
20. Somebody brave enough to try shrimp for the first time;
21. Runny eggs on top of anything edible;
22. Fine point pens; and
23. Butterflies.
Hope everyone was a safe, joyful, and not-too-stress Thanksgiving!
Debra
World Diabetes Day
November 14 is World Diabetes Day and the them for 2017 is Women and diabetes – our right to a healthy future.
According to the International Diabetes Federation website:
Supporting facts
- There are currently over 199 million women living with diabetes. This total is projected to increase to 313 million by 2040.
- Two out of every five women with diabetes are of reproductive age, accounting for over 60 million women worldwide.
- Diabetes is the ninth leading cause of death in women globally, causing 2.1 million deaths per year.
- Women with type 2 diabetes are almost 10 times more likely to have coronary heart disease than women without the condition.
- Women with type 1 diabetes have an increased risk of early miscarriage or having a baby with malformations.
What needs to be done
- Health systems must pay adequate attention to the specific needs and priorities of women.
- All women with diabetes should have access to the essential diabetes medicines and technologies, self-management education and information they need to achieve optimal diabetes outcomes.
- All women with diabetes should have access to pre-conception planning services to reduce risk during pregnancy.
- All women and girls should have access to physical activity to improve their health outcomes.
If you are unfamiliar with diabetes, you may not know that it does more than wreck your endocrine system; it affects your circulatory system, your eyesight, your heart, and more.
Whether living with diabetes or trying to prevent it physical activity, including yoga, is important. So let’s get up and get moving today.
In peace and health,
Debra
