A practice that begins with a breath technique intended to restore depleted energy, followed by a fluid sequence of asana meant to be approached with effort and ease. The experience closes with guided imagery to continue to rebuild and nourish.
Here are three more ideas for tiny, easy habits that you could connect to activities you already do each day. This week, I offer inspirations for shower time, the moments we spend waiting and a quick pre-meal ritual that can turn eating into a sacred moment of gratitude.
Small practices to help you let go of one activity before shifting into another are threaded through this 45 minute mellow practice intended to release the tension of the day and past events to arrive back in the present moment, refreshed and renewed.
Throughout the month of May, I will be offering simple, accessible ideas to add to your daily routine to help you stay connected to your wellness goals, even in tiny ways. Watch this resource page each Monday this month for a new short video inviting you to sample small habits that can add up to big results.
A calming, grounding 60 minute therapeutic hatha practice that intends to connect you to the undercurrent of peace that exists within us no matter what is happening around us. Expect to explore mindfulness and presence throughout mellow movement and breath and relax deeply with a guided meditation.
A short practice including a breath technique, mantra and grounding, gentle movements to reconnect with the present moment and an undercurrent of tranquility within resistance to change.
A 60 minute therapeutic hatha sequence beginning with a breath visualization intended to clear the mind, followed by a concept to help with presence, acceptance and contentment and a flow that can contribute to greater freedom in the low back and hips.
A 90 minute experience featuring alternative ideas to bring into your mornings to counter habitual thoughts and feelings.
-An inspirational reading to encourage new thoughts and feelings. I shared the classic poem, The Guest House by Rumi. (text to follow)
-Focus enhancing breath to support the body and mind
-The "welcoming" of intentions during a joint freeing series
-Morning movements to promote energy and refreshment
-A guided meditation utilizing the imagination to help actualize your intentions.
The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
A movement practice intended to uplift and cultivate self-compassion when you’re spending a lot of time with yourself, or, to foster a more loving connection with yourself.
When you need to take your time and ease into movement, a 60 minute therapeutic practice beginning on the floor, warming joints and muscles before slowly inviting you into a flow.
An antidote to stiffness due to sitting, feeling low or stuck, this standing micro practice frees the joints, warms the muscles and re-energizes.
A quick breath technique and set of movements to energize the body and remind the brain to take in the sweetness of life a little more often.
Our practices can be a good time for cultivating specific qualities and thoughts we'd like to grow in our minds and our lives. That focus is threaded through this 75 minute therapeutic hatha flow using posture, breath visualization and guided meditation to support the concept.
Our time on the mat can be a moment to press pause on our day and connect with how we are feeling physically, mentally and emotionally. Pausing with what is can help us make space for skillful thought and action moving forward. Expect to "pause" throughout this moderate physical practice for a chance to feel and be rather than do and achieve.
An engaging 60 minute practice that encourages your awareness to tether to sensations of the hands inviting an opportunity for presence and an embodiment of receiving what the moment offers. A therapeutic and balancing sequence for the body, blended with the opportunity for acceptance for the mind.
An offering of movements to provide flexibility where there is chronic tightness and strength where there is often weakness along with techniques for the breath and focus skills for the mind. Practices that cultivate balance can help part of us stay tethered to the consistency of contentment in the face of inevitable change.
A creative, strengthening and focus-enhancing 60 minute sequence is offered with the invitation to apply a balance of effort and ease throughout.
Yoga Nidra, which means "yogic sleep" is a meditation that invites the practitioner to lay down and listen as she is guided through relaxation, a body scan and imagery with the intention to deeply relax the body, rest the busy mind and drop into a profoundly healing state. Please enjoy this version customized for the season of spring any time you need a refresh.
A 60 minute moderate experience with an invitation to focus on a heart-based quality like acceptance for another or self, empathy, compassion and love as a means of balancing the mind and its tendency for ceaseless chatter. The breath technique and sequence offered is meant as an embodiment of growing these qualities through our practice.
For my birthday I created a sequence intended to celebrate the strength and mobility we have available now. This 75 minute feel-good hatha flow features fluid and challenging movements intended to free the upper back while invigorating and inspiring appreciation for health and wellbeing. Closes with a guided body scan to enhance restoration post-practice.