Posts in Balance
Have Your Own Back

A 60 minute full practice with the intention of supporting posture, spinal alignment and upper back tension. There also virtually no pressure placed on the wrist joints, so it is a relief for an area that can get taxed while it is getting stronger. Expect to explore a mudra said to relax "tightness" in the upper back and a reflection on where in your life to "have your own back"

Transitioning from Day to Night

A 60 minute practice designed to help you shift gears from the workday to the evening hours. A mudra and breath technique is offered to support the wind down, the intention of letting go of the day is held throughout and the practice closes with deep relaxation to help you shift into nighttime activities feeling refreshed, present and at ease.

Managing Stressful Thoughts

This 65 minute practice offers the opportunity to “watch” your thoughts rather than identify with them or react to them, explores how breath and movement can affect the quality of the mind and displays the empowering skill of choosing a thought to create more contentment which may ultimately create a condition where we can open to the truer, softer voice of the heart.

Yang Yin with Pranic Balancing

Yoga teaches us we are much more than a physical body. We also have a mental body, a wisdom body, a bliss body and a pranic body that are effected by everything we do. Our pranic body is our energy body, prana is our life force. Breath practices along with many other things affect our vitality. This 60 min practice utilizes the breath in several ways to help harmonize our energy while the physical practice is a balance of more warming, followed by cooling postures. Enjoy!!

Free the Upper Back

A practice to tend to upper backs and necks sore from increased screen time. Movement to mobilize the upper back, strengthen weak muscles and stretch tight ones. Closes with a breath technique and visualization to support healing and a softer way of relating with muscle tension of the body. Try this practice every other day for improvement over time but keep mobilizing the upper back daily. *Note, continued pain related to the spine may require further investigation from a Dr. or PT

Practice for Healthy Digestion- Get Things Moving!

A morning practice designed to support your body in elimination and digestion. Start by sipping hot water and continue with a breath technique and movements intended to stimulate and enhance digestion followed by a mudra that supports digestive fire, not to mention our ability to properly digest our life experiences- taking what we need, and releasing what no longer serves us!

30 Minutes, Balance, Calm, bodyLisa Dumas
Soothe a Stiff Neck

A practice for occasional neck and shoulder stiffness (if neck pain is acute, sharp, electric please see a health professional) When we work with freeing the neck and shoulders we are also tending to the 5th chakra-this practice can also be useful for those wanting to address challenges with communication, listening or clearly expressing truth. Practice closes with a mudra to help release neck tension and balance energy.

Deluxe Practice to Cultivate a Tranquil Mind

This 75 minute experience begins with a 10 minute meditation known to be helpful for the “pitta” dosha in the mind, an Ayurvedic concept that can describe the state of mind/body when we are pushing ourselves (and maybe others) to get things done, to achieve and do more, perhaps to the detriment of our energy and relationships to others and ourselves. The sequence is meant to be engaging and strengthening, ultimately supporting more contentment with the way things are, as they are.

Wake Up Happy

A first thing in the morning refresher. An invitation to focus on the good, get inspired, breathe and move in ways to uplift and invigorate (no yoga mat required- you could do it next to the bed!). Then, have your journal ready for some gratitude listing to take you into your day ready to receive more of what you love.

Unwinding the Tightly Wound

A strong practice featuring an engaging and relaxing breath technique throughout while tending to core awakening, twists and a challenge or two to help you work out the excess tension and stress and finally relax. Note, the closing practice of “focusing on what’s going right” cuts off a little early, so please take a few moments in contemplation of what’s going well in your life after the recording stops.

30 Minutes, Balance, Calm, mind, CoreLisa Dumas
A Meditation for Unrelenting Thoughts

Anchor the mind with a meditation that invites you to inwardly repeat the sounds associated with aspects of the energetic body. The intention of this practice is to harness our ability to focus our attention on one point and to create balance in our systems eventually creating more harmony in the mind. The sounds we repeat are said to be the sounds that harmonize internal centers of energy called chakras.

Meditation, Balance, mind, soulLisa Dumas
Meditation: Presence Through Body Awareness

For those of us who count ourselves as worriers, focusing on our breath during meditation can be anxiety-inducing. This meditation invites you to focus on sensations of the body- the part of you that’s always present. You might find this technique to be very relaxing, because it helps us to arrive in the present moment where we belong and feel the most content. It’s also useful for those of us not accustomed to feeling our bodies and helps us befriend them and the sensations within.

Meditation, body, Calm, Balance, soulLisa Dumas
Morning Ritual: Go With the Flow and Glow

The second sheath in the yogic map of a human being is the “pranic body” or energetic body. This aspect of us is affected by everything that we take in or put out. When our energetic system is out of balance we might feel depleted, or we might feel overly activated. This practice consists of 15 minutes of guided breath work, visualization, fluid, gentle movement and mudra with the intention to get the energetic body harmonized and glowing while encouraging the mind to be present with life, one flowing breath at a time.

Morning Ritual: Ground and Connect to a Sense of Safety

The yogic map of a human being consists of five sheaths (koshas) that we can work with to balance our system and connect with our true nature more often. The first sheath or layer is the physical body. For many of us, connecting with our physical body is a path to feeling more at ease because we become present, the only place life really exists. Use this morning ritual when you want to ground and calm a nervous mind and body and focus scattered attention.