As The Yoga Social’s OM into Spring continues, both Sasha and I are enjoying the diet changes we are making as part of our commitment to let August hear our OM at full resonance! So what’s gone for us? Coffee, alcohol, sugar, dairy, gluten for a start and instead we have a better sense of listening to our bodies to hear what it really wants for nourishment. To support us in our change of increasing protein and healthy fats into our diet we are using coconut oil in our cooking. It’s tasty and staves off sweet cravings. As yogis we know that the practice of yoga incorporates the philosophy of food as life affirming medicine. We begin to review our food choices and look for products that provide us with real nourishment on a physical level, and nourishment on an environmental and social level. Coconut oil has a versatility of uses and health giving properties. Check this list out for some of them. Generally used as a food product, the oil is safe to use in a range of settings away from the kitchen. I take mine into the bathroom for use on my face and body and into the bedroom. I eat a teaspoon when I feel like something sweet and it suffices to take away any cravings. You might have noticed as you come into reception at The Yoga Social that tucked on a shelf above, are a couple of jars of coconut oil, and not just any old coconut oil. The Yoga Social has been stocking and selling Niuguini Organics Coconut Oil for the last four months, with buyers delighting in its deliciousness. Due to the purity of the product, this particular oil does not have a strong flavour, so your food is not going to taste like coconuts in a major way. We love Niugini Organics at The Yoga Social, not only because the oil is incredibly pure compared to other oils on the market, but the food miles are low – it comes from our neighbours in Papua New Guinea, its organic, raw and best of all, fair trade. Coconuts are sourced from local farms, which are regularly checked to maintain organic certification. No plantation farms, with coconuts picked by monkeys (yes this happens elsewhere), but local farms which employ local workers and deliver profits back into the local community. Just knowing that back story of Niuguini Organics, nourishes me. Sasha has put together a little recipe or two to help you see how you might integrate coconut oil into your life. x Leonie & Sasha SOME FAVOURITE DELICIOUS RECIPES Simple Chocolate Fudge
Makes 30-35 pieces, you can easily half the recipe to make a smaller quantity. Best kept in the fridge, or even in the freezer for a fudgey frozen treat! Almond Joy Fat Bombs
Optional: Once firm, use a toothpick to grab and dip each ball in a thin layer of melted dark chocolate. Place on wax paper and put back into the freezer for 5 minutes. These fat bombs store well in the fridge and freezer. BEAUTY RECIPE Homemade All Natural Deodorant Ingredients:
1. In a medium bowl, mix the baking soda and arrowroot flour until well combined. Baking soda can be quite irritating on some skin, so if you think you may be sensitive to it, use less baking soda and more arrowroot flour – or you can substitute arrowroot flour for baking soda completely. 2. Add the coconut oil (room temperature works best) and mix until you reach a smooth consistency – there shouldn’t be any leftover powder. If you feel that your mixture is too dry, add a bit more coconut oil and mix some more. 3. Almost done! Add your essential oil mixture – this is totally optional, but it’s a great addition to smell great. Happy Om'ing :)
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This awesome image is of me interpretive dancing. Yep, I said awesome, cos that is how I feel whenever I pull out a contemporary 'So You Think You Can Dance' move. It's what I do to release stress. Dance around and be a goober! About four months ago I was sick. Sick for at least two months (or more) with a cold/flu I just couldn't shake. It was hard to teach, hard to work, hard to laugh. I went to the doctors to have all of my bloods checked and surprisingly they came back exceptionally healthy, which was also a surprise for my doctor as I've been a lacto vegetarian for over 20 years. My iron levels were actually slightly higher than normal. So my diet wasn't the problem. Anyway, this got me thinking. Why am I sick? The only thing I could think of was stress. My stress seemed like normal stress to me, stress because I'm the owner of a relatively new business and finances were always in my mind, stress because I was doing a lot, and stress because I was thinking about the future of my business and always trying to create ideas on marketing etc ... After lots and lots of reflection it dawned on me that It was actually worry. It was worry which was making me sick and not stress. It was my reaction to my stress. I chose to worry. I chose to attach to these thoughts and dream of them, make up 'failure' scenarios as to what 'could' happen and dwell on them. My reactions to my stress were so powerful they made me sick. Things needed to change. I was anxious and sick. So, how did I turn it around? Firstly, I observed my stress, broke it down, and I got myself out of the stressful situations I could get myself out of, the simple, realistic ones like cutting the stuff the business couldn't afford. I looked at my current situation and chose to praise myself and what I'de accomplished, and saw my thoughts of jealousy, anger and fear as a chance to 'self study' and mostly didn't attach to them. Notice I said 'mostly'? I'm only human right :) I also realised I couldn't do everything. And my business couldn't be everything. A few years ago I got super excited and thought my yoga business could be a studio, a school, a mentoring service, an art gallery and an online resource. Realistically, this couldn't work. So I chose one thing the business was good at, and one thing only, and let the other stuff go. I chose to take time out even when I had stuff to do, because I knew that If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have time off at all ... and things can wait, and I also acknowledged that every single worry I had was a choice. Stress is normal. Worrying is not, and it can be so harmful, it can make you ill and can prematurely age every cell in your body. Our reactions to our experience mean everything. They shape who we are and determine where we are going. Everybody experiences stress. We are not alone, although our reactions can make us stand out from the crowd ... and sometimes not in a positive way. Some people lash out in fear, some of us (me) worry instead. Both of these are not healthy reactions. I now feel healthy and finally have energy again. This wasn’t about changing my diet, or my lifestyle, it was about changing how I reacted. There are meditation / mindfulness exercises we can practice for this. When you are feeling stressed out, try sitting and focusing on your breath. Feel your breath enter and exit through your body and observe your stress instead of reacting straight away, then make a conscious effort to not attach to it and simply watch it pass. Make a decision to not react in a negative or harmful way to yourself or to anyone else. This decision, this choice, will change everything and it could take less than five minutes. Check out this cool animation. Or, next time you're feeling stressed, get out your ghetto blaster (okay ... maybe your iPod) and dance around to 'Flashdance, What a feeling', Seriously, turn it up and pull some moves, dance and jump around the room like you're on so you think you can dance, or better still, dance for no competition and just do it for yourself. It works every time for me and it feels so good!! :) Just one more thing. A few of my friends have looked at the image of me above and seriously have almost wet themselves laughing. So, if the meditation or the dancing doesn't quite work for you .. there's always my photo .... just saying. Namaste. Ambika x Introducing our guest blogger, Aileen David Aparigraha: Having Joy in what you Have I bought this gorgeous Esprit bag as a post-Christmas present for myself. It is tan in colour, soft suede, stylish flap-over design, spacious and really, really gorgeous. I have a bag obsession. Not any kind of bag though; I prefer slings and back packs. Big enough that I can stuff everything I need and, of course, it has to be cute. I also tend to only buy from specific brands. So when there's something new, I start reasoning the purchase to myself and start obsessing over it. It would always feel so good when I finally get it. But after, the bag would wind up getting stuck in storage with all the other bags that I really, really wanted. Needed, even! Where am I going with this, you ask. I'm painting you a picture of my psychology when it comes to buying "stuff". Sometime last year I saw a unique oil burner. It was a laboratory flask attached to a wood stand with wing screws to keep the flask aloft. It was cute and it made sense to me. No boiling over, no spillage, aesthetically pleasing and I found it in a shop at Melbourne Central! I wanted it and clearly, finding it was a sign from the Universe that I was meant to have it. But it was expensive; $130 for the small one and $190 for the larger. But I wanted it. I didn't have the money to throw at it. But I wanted it. I could have asked my husband to buy it for me, and he would without hesitation. Because I wanted it. But I didn't get it. I left it on the shelf and walked away. Why? It wasn't pre-purchase buyer's guilt. That wouldn't have made me let it go. It was this simple sentence that rang through my head: "Don't be wasteful". It was then that I remembered one of the Yamas (self-restraints) of Patanjali, Aparigraha: the practice of non-greed, non-avarice, non-covetousness. But my definition was, as I said, simply being non-wasteful. I don't think anyone would disagree that we live in a highly commercialised world and being part of this world, we participate in this practise of near constant acquisition. We buy stuff regardless of whether we need it or even whether we can afford it. And more often than not, these stuff end up in storage or as clutter or as contributions to the landfill, all a big waste in the end. Apart from minimising adding to the strain on our little planet, I believe practising Aparigraha can help us appreciate the material things we already have. I'm not saying we can't buy new stuff or replace some of our old or broken things. But wouldn't it be better to use what we have to their fullest service thereby increasing their value and the value of the replacement. I'm not merely talking about monetary value either. We work hard for the money we use, so what we use it on should match that effort. We honour ourselves and the ones who support us by being wise about our purchases and possessions. Aparigraha can also make our spirits feel lighter because we free ourselves from digging our mental and emotional claws into an obsession, any obsession. So, going back to my oil burner, I decided to make one (it's the photo above). While making it, I was telling myself "Restrain yourself from being wasteful. Make rather than buy, give rather than throw, create rather than destroy, and have joy in what you have rather than want what you don't need." Aileen David holds an advanced Diploma of Yoga Teaching, and a Masters in Yoga. She has attended numerous workshops and trainings throughout the years including a certificate in Ayurvedic healing, and from this, She has developed her own flowing style of Yoga called Dosha Vinyasa, which has strong elements of Ayurveda as well as Yoga. You can enjoy her blog Discover Yoga HERE And her Facebook page HERE "I want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over " Kurt Vonnegut In Yin Class tonight we explored the hips and I used this quote to support the wisdom of finding our personal edge in a practice and that is certainly something you find when sitting with the discomfort of strong hip openers that Yin offers as an experience. But what is our edge and what is this part of the practice that we are looking at? The edge could be our physical limits where we are pushing our body to extremes or perhaps a deeper emotional edge where we don’t want to go that far into the movement. What I was wondering when I came home is, “What is this edge and what would happen if we went over it?”. There is a sense that as we teeter into facing the abyss perhaps the letting go would allow us to find freedom or release. In a physical sense this push beyond our limitations may not be a wise move, causing pain or even injury however do we have an emotional or psychological edge that we dare not cross? Is there something that holds us back from feeling a more direct encompassing and freeing experience of existence.It may not be the body but the mind that holds us to the edge looking at the view and wondering. Louise is a Melbourne Yoga Teacher specialising in Prenatal, Restorative and Therapeutic Yoga. You can find more of her experiences and insights below.
https://aplaceofpractice.wordpress.com/ http://louiseavery.com/ I have had digestive issues and anxiety since I was a teenager, and it's been a long, painful journey trying to find the cause. After years of tests, seeing various GP's and natural practitioners, I feel I'm getting somewhere at last and have nailed down most of my food intolerances (a lot!) and emotional triggers with a regular yoga and meditation practice. But, it wasn't until I started drinking Kombucha daily that I've felt the freedom that comes with a non bloated tum, so much more energy and, well, other benefits relating to ones toileting which I won't go into because I am a lady (??!!). Our 'second brain' is housed in our gut, where serotonin (happy feel-good chemicals) are produced. The gut is the only organ with it's own nervous system with an intricate network of 100 millions neurons embedded in the gut wall (1.) Stress can affect gut bacteria, disrupting digestion and creating a vicious cycle of psychological and physical reactions feeding back to the nervous system. For me it has been a bit of a question of chicken and egg - did the anxiety cause the gut distress or did the gut distress and lack of serotonin production cause the anxiety? I think it's probably a bit of both, but what I am sure about is feeding my gut with probiotics and prebiotics has helped amazingly, and thanks to Karen from The Yoga Social who donated me my first Scoby baby (more on that below!) I am now perhaps just slightly obsessed with prebiotic filled Kombucha! Below you will see an alien like substance which are the Kombucha scoby's in some of the tea. DELICIOUS! The Scoby (is this not the best word ever??) is actually an acronym for Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast. That might sound like some form of venereal disease (mmm yum), but the good bacteria in the scoby helps to seal off the fermenting Kombucha tea of the outside air and bad bacteria. The results are not as disgusting as you fear, and I find the tea can actually be quite refreshing. See below for basic instructions, there is also a lot of info online. To start out you will need to either purchase a SCOBY or get one donated (as Karen did for me and now I have Scoby's coming out my ears!) Step 1. Preparing the tea (this recipe is for 1 Litre to start out)
Step. 2 Fermentation
Step. 3 Flavouring & Second Ferment (optional) If you are not so keen on the natural taste of the Kombucha and would like an extra fizz you can go for a second ferment.
Happy Digestion! Written by Polly Wilson 1. American Psychological Association By Dr. Siri Carpenter September 2012, Vol 43, No. 8
We asked her a few questions about her Yoga journey. Sasha, in just one paragraph can you tell us a little about yourself? I am a positive, honest and fun loving Yogi. I adore colourful leggings, my dog Mr Foxy (and pretty much all dogs in general!), food, healthy living, the outdoors, sunshine, my husband, family and friends. I also love music, travelling and connecting with like-minded people. What made you want to be a Yoga Teacher? A combination of 3 things: 1) encouragement from my Yoga Teacher/mentor Ambika, 2) my huge passion for Yoga and wanting to share this with everyone I come across, and 3) to continue my journey of transformation. Yoga has many paths; The four main paths being, Asana and Meditation (Raja), Philosophy (Jnana), Chanting and Prayer (Bhakti), Selfless Service (Karma). Which path do you connect with most, and why? I would say Raja (Asana & meditation) as I find an incredible amount of peace and calmness through this path. Asana is where I started my Yoga practice some 17 years ago, and Meditation is something I have incorporated into my practice since completing my 200hr Teacher Training. To me, Asana was always my “moving meditation” and still is to a certain degree, but I now find sitting in stillness focusing only on the breathe and what is happening in that moment to be very liberating and cathartic. What is your favourite Yoga Asana at the moment and why? Oooooh, it’s a very close one between 2 poses!! Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand) because it’s just so damn fun, reminds me of being a carefree child and I have a slight obsession with balancing on my hands! :-) Pincha Mayurasana (Feathered Peacock pose) because I find it a very strong yet graceful pose. Advice for the beginner? Have patience & compassion for yourself (physically & mentally), and practice, practice, practice! We know you love to cook healthy food, do you have a favourite recipe and would you like to share it with us? Mmmmm, I certainly do love to cook! Wow, so many recipes I could share with you!! But since I have a big love of chocolate, this is what I am going to share: SIMPLE CHOCOLATE FUDGE: 1 cup organic Raw Cacao Powder 1 cup organic extra virgin Coconut Oil 1/2 cup organic honey Pinch of sea salt (optional) Handful or 2 of frozen raspberries OR Macadamia Nuts 1) In a small saucepan on very low heat, melt the honey and coconut oil, 2) Stir in the cocoa and a pinch of salt if using, whisk until smooth, 3) Pour carefully in to a small slice tin lined with baking paper (you could also use a small plastic container or kids shoe box lid) - add raspberries and/or nuts if using, 4) Place in the freezer for 1-2 hours to set, 5) Remove from the freezer and transfer to a chopping board. Carefully peel off the baking paper, then cut in to bite size pieces. Makes 30-35 pieces, you can easily half the recipe to make a smaller quantity. Oh my goodness, soooooooo delicious!! Do you have a favourite Yoga book and why is it your favourite? 'A Life Worth Breathing' by Max Strom. So much amazing wisdom and knowledge of Yoga, he (Max) has defied the odds and difficulties of his childhood to become a well-respected international Yoga Teacher. I have post-it noted half the pages in the book to refer back to often! :-) Are there any Yoga teachers in the world you would like to practice with (or learn from)? Tell us about them. Kathryn Budig – an internationally renowned Yoga teacher, she studied under Maty Ezraty, who is the founder of YogaWorks and this is the school I completed my 200hr YTT with. I find her incredibly passionate, inspirational, strong, and knowledgable, yet I love her playfulness and feel I can totally relate to her. Jason Crandell – he is another internationally renowned Yoga teacher who is known for his YogaGlo classes. Jason has a deep knowledge of anatomy (which I love) and the attention to detail in his teachings are what I aspire to, yet he comes across as extremely down-to-earth, grounded and humble. In one sentence, what is Yoga to you? Yoga to me is a beautiful connection between body, breath & movement; it is strength, belief, honesty, truth, happiness, acceptance and love. Now you know a little bit about Sasha, our awesome new Assistant Manager. You can check out her classes on a Wednesday night at TYS. She also has her own website/blog SashaYogaLife If you bump into her at the studio, don't be afraid to give her a high five (oh, and seriously try her fudge! She really is a guru in the kitchen) Namaste x Aaaah, the great Australian Christmas, burnt bbq food, lots of booze, family arguments, and having to ‘catch up before Christmas’ leaving you feeling frazzled. Does this sound familiar? Change the way you feel and approach the Christmas break with yoga and Ayurveda. Ayurveda, the sister science of Yoga is one of the oldest health care systems in the world and can be literally translated as the ‘science of life’. Ayurveda says we all have a unique mind/body type called a Dosha. There are 3 different Doshas based on the elements and associated with a particular season– Vata (air - winter), Pitta (fire - Summer), Kapha (water – Spring). To find a full sense of wellbeing and harmony, Ayurveda says we need to balance these Doshas with diet, lifestyle, meditation, and yoga. As Pitta is driven by the sun and the heat, summer can bring out the excess in this Dosha – ever heard the term ‘gone troppo?’. Aussie slang that came from the stories of settlers in the northern parts of Australia going crazy from long spells of heat! Excess heat and excess Pitta can result in feelings of irritability and anger. Couple this with the silly season, over indulgence and rushing from here to there for family Christmas catch-ups, and it’s easy to see how we can feel burnt out by January. Find some balance during your Christmas break, and enjoy the sunshine and parties while staying nourished, rejuvenated, cool and calm. 1. Yoga Asana San salutations are awesome for warming your body, but probably not the best to do on a 40 degree summers day. If you are finding yourself running around and feeling burnt out, take time out for yourself for some cooling yoga postures. Some of the best for this are: Prasarita Padottanasana and Paschimottanasana – Beautiful cooling forward folds, that will also allow yourself to turn inside. Viparita Karani – An underated yoga Asana in my opinion! Take your bottom in close to the wall and put your legs up the wall. Very calming, and relaxing and great to relieve tired legs. Perfect to do before bed or just to take a 5 minute time out. Ardha Matsendrasana – Seated spinal twist. Twists create pressure on your digestive organs and can help with the detoxification process. Practice after a day of over-indulgence to get things going! 2. Eat Cooling Foods · Eating hot, warm and spicy foods will only aggravate the Pitta Dosha. Your body will naturally gravitate towards more cooling foods in summer, so listen to your body and seek out healthy salads, smoothies and fruit. Avoid chilli and cayenne pepper. · Try and avoid over-indulgence by eating mindfully, savour every bite, really taste and experience the flavours and eat in a calming atmosphere. · Add herbs to your food that help to balance the Pitta dosha like coriander, fennel and cardamom. · Coconut Oil is a cooling oil and the best to use in Summer to lightly cook foods or add to smoothies.. · …And.. yep this one is hard over Christmas, but try and limit alcohol intake (!!), caffeine and drink plenty of water. 3. Meditation Take time out, even just 5 minutes first thing in the morning to set your intention for the day and simply be with yourself. Your day will start from a calm, centred place. This year I’m going to start my day with a gratitude meditation, to make me really appreciate what Christmas is about. 4. Pranayama An effective cooling Pranayama is Shitali (or sitali) breath. If you can roll your tongue (that thing you’d do when you were at school to gross people out), this is perfect to cool down. -Breathe in through your mouth (with your tongue curled up at the sides) and then out through your nose. - If you can’t curl your tongue have your teeth closed and open your mouth wide with teeth closed (kind of like the Joker from batman) and breathe in through your teeth and out through your nose. These sound like bizarre instructions, but I’m not making it up! I’ve found this Youtube clip here that talks you through in more detail. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4B_Kestynw. Give it a try! Stay cool Yogis and have a healthy and happy Christmas and New Year with your loved ones! xx Stressed? Does this image remind you of anyone? We all get stressed from time to time. It's how we react and deal with our stress which is the major concern. Do we make ourselves sick or injured, or do we acknowledge, slow down and change our habits? (sometimes, it's the illness or injury that kicks us up the butt and helps us realise we are stressed and need to change things!). Here's our top 5 Yoga Techniques to help calm the mind and chill. 1) 5 minutes of stillness/meditation everyday! - Just 5 mins is all you need to help calm that scatty mind. When we meditate, or even sit in stillness, we tend to focus on only one thing instead of 10. This helps to lower stress levels and helps us to think clearly. 2) Asanas - Try to do at least 2-3 Yoga classes per week. These classes can help to calm the distracted mind, release tension and can also help to improve insomnia. Practicing Asana can also help to lower blood pressure, strengthen, stretch and tone the body and improve fitness. Often you leave with a huge smile or 'blissed out' look on your face :) Don't forget, It's important to learn the basic technique from an instructor before you plan to practice Yoga Asana at home. 3) BREATHE! Pranayama and focusing on our breathe has a tremendous effect on our mood and stress levels. Sit in a quiet space (you can do this as a form of meditation) and feel your breathe enter and exit through your body. Notice the rise and fall of your belly and your chest when you breathe. Try this everyday or when you're feeling a little stressed. 4) Swadhyaya - Self Study. Studying Yoga philosophy and Yogic texts can help us to understand the mind and surrender. We can then ultimately let go and detach from all the DRAMA and the stuff that doesn't matter. 5) Practice Gratitude - For a short moment each day, stop and acknowledge the things you are grateful for. This can make you feel all warm and nourished inside. Inspiration and enthusiasm can also stem from gratitude and you may even start that project, dream or goal you've been thinking about. Ambika x How much have we all been loving the sunny weather the past few days? With summer on the horizon, many of us will start to head out for a run in the outdoors. While there's nothing like the feeling of the wind in your hair, the high impact on your joints can often cause problems. Runners often complain of bad backs and knees, tight hamstrings and sore feet, and while running is an excellent cardiovascular exercise, it does put a lot of stress on the body. This increase in stress can exacerbate any imbalances that are already in the body, which is where Yoga comes in. Yoga helps us to become more effective at using and conserving strength by practicing Sthiram and Sukham (effort and ease). Balancing the opposing movements of the tightening and shortening of the muscles with elongating and stretching the muscles with yoga postures (Asana) is the best way to ensure you are running freely, with minimal stress on your body. Pranayama & Meditation The practice of Pranayama (breath control) in yoga can also help the runner to bring their focus internally. Coordinate your breath with each subtle movement and build the internal fire from the inside out creating prana (otherwise known as your energy or qi in Chinese Medicine) By bringing this focus internally it will make you as a runner, more in-tune with your body’s natural ebs and flows and help you to understand your own limitations, when to back off and perhaps when to push yourself a little harder. Perhaps also try and bring the meditative aspect of Yoga into your runs. Become aware of every sensation in your body as your body moves with your breath. If your mind has a tendency to race, and you are always caught up in your thoughts, use your runs as an opportunity to bring your awareness back to the present moment. Focus on your breath, on your stride, run outside in nature and really be present. Your run will become a way to balance your body and mind and you will feel more at ease, refreshed and invigorated post-run. Top 5 Yoga postures Physically, all yoga postures help to create the balance, strength and improved range of motion needed for running. But by practicing the below 5 yoga postures, holding for a minimum of 5 slow breaths, you will really start to reap the benefits. If you can combine with two or three complete yoga classes a week, you’ll be well on your way to keeping your body in tip top shape for many more years of running! Anjayanasana (low lunge) Hip flexors can shorten quite a bit with running, so practice this at the beginning and end of your practice. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog) is the most used posture in Yoga for a reason, Down Dog creates an almost full body stretch of your shoulders, back, hamstring, calf muscles and feet, as well as strengthening the arms and shoulders. Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana (one legged king pidgeon pose). Runners often get piriformis syndrome and tight glutes. If you have sore knees from running, come to your back and take ‘thread the needle’ which will target the same muscles. Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide legged forward fold) Any posture that increases the strength and flexibility in hamstrings is going to be a winner for running! Khumbakasana and Chataranga (plank to half push up) Often imbalances can occur in runners when the core is not strong enough, hold high plank for 5 breaths and work up to 10, engage your core and slightly engage mula bandha (your pelvic floor). Written by Polly Wilson. If you are anything like me, when I was starting out with my Yoga practice I just didn’t ‘get’ the benefits of the breath. The teacher would be telling me to focus on my breath and I’d be all ‘blah blah blah’, and start thinking about the veggie lasagne waiting for me at home or start picking at my chipped nail polish (I know, I know.. gross habit). Pranayama can seem daunting, and frankly, a load of woowoo to those first starting out in Yoga. So what exactly are the benefits of Pranayama and how can you start to practice the infamous Ujjayi breath (Victorious breath) in your class. Breaking it down, Prana means Life force/energy/qi or chi.‘Yama’ is control, so essentially Pranayama is the control and lengthening of the breath and energy throughout the body. Using our breath as as focus in our practice can give us the following benefits. Top 5 benefits of Pranayama 1.Yoga is all about the internal focus and focusing on your breath encourages you to simply be. As many yoga teachers often say, practicing Yoga without the breath is simply series of gymnastics postures. It is the breath that allows us to focus, gaze internally, bring mindfulness and a meditative aspect to our practice. 2. Pranayama can be calming and energising depending on what our nervous system needs. I enjoy practicing Nadi Shodana (alternate nostril breathing) both in the morning and afternoons for an energy boost and right before bed to help calm my mind for a good night of shut eye. 3. In Yoga, we are aiming for that balance between Sthira (effort and strength) and Sukha (ease, sweetness) our breath can help to decrease the tension in our muscles to softly ease our way into postures bringing the Sukha into our practice. 4. Focusing on our breath can help to keep us in postures for a longer period of time and helps with endurance. Kind of like childbirth where the woman is encouraged to breathe! (ok maybe not that intense…) 5. The breath and in particular the Ujjayi breath can help to heat the body from the inside out, energising the internal organs and creating ‘Tapas’ the inner fire to protect our bodies in the stronger poses. The breath allows us to move in and out of each posture safely with body awareness. The breath creates a natural rhythm in our flow classes in particular when we use the breath to flow through our sequence of postures. Top 5 Tips for starting out with Ujjayi
Breathe in… breathe out.. Written by Polly Wilson. |
AuthorThe Yoga Social Team Archives
March 2019
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