Category: Yoga

Practicing a morning yoga routine is a great way to start the day on a positive note. In this new digital age, it is so easy to slip into the habit of checking your phone the moment you wake up. It is important to begin your day with a non-digital interaction such as a nice hot shower, meditation, reading, or my favorite…yoga. Listed are four yoga poses to say good morning to your body.

1. Child’s Pose- Child’s pose is a resting pose that helps stretch the hips, thighs and ankles. The pose stretches the muscles of the back torso and relaxes the front of your body.

2. Downward Facing Dog – This asana deeply stretches your shoulders, calves, arches, hamstrings, and spine. In order to perfect the downward dog you have to lift your hips so your knees are not on the mat, engage your low belly, and straighten your legs.

3. Upward Facing Dog- This asana improves posture, strengthens the spine, arms, and wrists, and stretches your chest, shoulders, and abdomen. Begin by lying down with your legs extended behind you. Place your hands on the floor alongside your body next to your lower ribs. Press your hands through the floor.

4. Plank Pose- This pose tones the abdominal muscles as well as strengthens the arms and spine. It helps you achieve less back pain and better balance.

I am wearing our ‘Falling Colorband’ from our ‘Original Collection’

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Yoga is a practice that can help those who suffer from anxiety, low self-esteem, or depression. Yoga can slowly heal these emotions and gives those who practice an opportunity to connect with oneself on a deeper level. Listed are a few tips on how you can develop self-love through yoga.

1. Set Intentions, But Know Your Value- Many people have aspirations, desires, and goals. Acknowledge your desire to work towards your goals and desires through your set intentions. However, declare your current state as ENOUGH. Some days, it may be challenging to accept where you are at, but it is SO important to keep trying.

2. Don’t Be Afraid of Your Body. Become more familiar with your body and don’t be afraid to physically move to deepen a posture through your practice.

3. Modify Your Practice. There is often a sentiment, which practitioners need to fit their body into a certain shape or posture during practice. However, this is false. Understand what your body is telling you and cater to your particular needs. Take a various pose and make your practice more enjoyable.

4. Express Gratitude. Express gratitude through positive self-talk.  During moments of physical difficulty, repeat quiet declarations of the strength and capabilities of your body.

Always finish your practice with a moment of self-congratulations and a promise to always continue the path of self-love.

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The benefits of yoga surpass the improved posture and defined shoulders. Here are 4 surprising ways that yoga can improve your life.

1. Improve Memory- Dharna is also known as concentration yoga. This portion of class focuses on meditation. Dharna involves fixing the mind and attention on a single object. This increases circulation to the brain, improving it’s ability to recall information.

2. Sleep Better- Studies show that people who had insomnia practiced yoga for 45 minutes before bed for two months. Participants fell asleep fourteen minutes faster then they normally would have. This is because breathing and stretching helps people become physically and mentally relaxed. This allows the brain to switch off faster.

3. Better Mental Health- Research shows that regular asana practice raises levels of the brain chemical GABA. Low levels of GABA are linked to depression. Asana is defined as a body posture or pose.

4. Healthy Heart- Practicing yoga is beneficial for your heart and improves how your blood vessel functions. According to a recent study created from the Yale University School of Medicine, those who practiced yoga for six weeks improved the function of their blood vessel by 17 percent. People who practiced and had heart disease prior showed a tremendous improvement to the function of their vessel of about 70 percent.

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Research has made a strong case that taking the time to practice yoga outside can enhance your practice in a different way than your studio does. 

1. Natural Scenery Can Heighten Awareness. Nature will help you to be in the present. Practicing yoga outside will help quiet mind chatter, as your mind will be focused on all that is going on around you. Endorphins are released when looking at beautiful scenery. Connecting with the actual, physical earth will help you feel more grounded.

2. Spending Time in Nature Can Replenish Depleted Energy. Studies show that spending time outdoors can give us more energy. A group of researchers from several Canadian universities conducted an experiment to learn more about vitality. They defined vitality as “having physical and mental energy…that one can harness for or regulate for purposive actions.” Participants took a fifteen minute walk. Half of them spent the walk inside and the other half walked outside regardless of the weather. The participants who spent there walk outside felt a significant increase in how energized they felt.

3. Fresh Air Can Motivate People to Take Deeper Breaths. More oxygen that comes into the body will enable you to improve your body’s systems and relaxation. 

4. The Outdoors can Further Boost the Benefits of Meditation. This is because being outside helps people clear their minds and offer a new perspective. A clear and balanced mind will enable the practitioner to make better decisions. Yoga outside will essentially reconnect you with nature and de-stress the mind.

Practicing yoga is a positive journey for both your physical and mental health. Mentally, you will notice more strength to move away from negative situations. Physically, you will become more flexible and improve your posture. Here are my top six reasons to start practicing yoga.

1.    Relieve Stress.  One major component of yoga is meditation. Yoga meditation was designed to calm your mind and move into a deeply meditative state. This is mainly practiced in order to be more relaxed. Meditating often will help control stress, decrease anxiety, and improve your cardiovascular health. Learning to focus your mind on one thing at a time seems difficult at first, but with practice you start to develop new habits towards a more relaxed internal state. Meditating becomes easier changing your life for the better.

2.    Breathe More Effectively. Yoga mainly focuses on pranayama techniques giving you the opportunity to use your entire lung capacity. Practicing enables you to learn how to breathe better. These techniques have an extremely calming effect.

3.    Become Stronger Mentally. Not only will you notice that you will become more positive, but you will be able to accept whatever life brings to the table. Not all life experiences are good. Yoga teaches you that both positive and negative things in life come and go. Understanding this on a deeper level makes it easier to accept, stay present, and be positive. You will slowly become more aware of how things influence you. You will naturally make changes that will impact your life in a favorable way. Overall, you will become more aware of everything in life. Once you develop self-awareness you are able to change your thoughts and interpretations.

4.    Become Stronger Physically. Yoga is a full body workout that targets muscles within the body through specific poses and postures. Yoga increases mobility and flexibility bringing more ease into your movement. Essentially you won’t feel so stuck within your body. You will notice that your posture will improve.

5.    Be in the Present. People tend to get bogged down thinking about the past or the future and in today’s society checking out completely into the land of cell phones or social media however, yoga gives you the ability to unplug and focus on what is going on in your body and in your life right now. Happiness can only be found here and now in the present.

6. Manage Your Pain. Studies suggest that practicing yoga reduces pain for people with conditions including hypertension or arthritis cancer.

Do you practice yoga? Will you consider trying a yoga class after hearing these benefits?

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Ever wonder what the chants whispered throughout class are all about and why they mutter them? Here is your chance to learn what the words are and what they actually mean.

Mantra yoga is believed to have both spiritual and psychological influence and is used to engage the mind through concentrating on sound, duration, and the number of repetitions. The literal meaning of ‘Mantra’ means ‘muttering or whispering’. This chanting helps the mind to enter a meditative state. This leads the mind of the practitioner to connect with the divine within himself or herself. Each mantra and chant has a specific meaning. Below are sixteen of the most important yoga mantras to know.

1. Om– One of the most sacred spiritual yoga mantra is also known as ‘OM’ and pronounced A-U-M. This mantra is the sound of immortality and infinity.

2. Om Namah Shri– This chant is used to appreciate and honor deity Svaha. Deity Swaha is a hindu goddess. The chant means giving of self and letting go.

3. Om Shanti Shanti Om– This chant means peace.

4. So Hum– This chant is a universal mantra sound of the breath. ‘So’ is inhalation and ‘Hum’ is exhalation.

5. Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya– This chant is a spiritual formula for attaining freedom.

6. Hari Om– This chant removes and purifies obstacles. 

7. Sita Ram–  This chant celebrates love. 

8. Om Shri Saraswataya Namaha– This chant represents inspiration in art, music, and literature.

9. Om Shri Kali Durgaya Namaha– This chant dispels negativity.

10. Om Shri Ramaya Namaha– Ram is a name for god. It engenders God consciousness, truth, and blessings.

11. Om Namah Shivaya– This chant honors the divine within oneself and others destroying negativity and replacing it with positivity.

12. Om Gum Ganipati-ya Namaha– This chant removes obstacles and brings success upon us.

13. Om Shrim Lahshmi-ya Namana– This chant represents noble abundance, prosperity, beauty, and grace.

14. Om Tara Tu Tara Tu Ray Swaha– This chant represents compassion, strength, and healing.

15. Gate gate Para gate Para sum gate Bodhi Swaha– This chant represents to go beyond enlightenment. 

16. Om mani padme hum– This chant represents the jewel of the lotus of the heart.

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“The Eight Limbs of Yoga” were created by Patanjali as a road map to lead a meaningful and purposeful life, essentially reaching the summit of human experience!

Fun Fact: Patanjali is believed to have lived in the second century BCE and wrote Ayuveda, the ancient Indian system of medicine as well as Sanskrit grammar.

Below you will find an overview of the Eight Limbs of Yoga.

1. 1. Yama– The first limb has to do with one’s ethical standards. This is mainly about how we practice off of the mat, focusing on our behavior and how we conduct ourselves in life. There are five yamas:

      • Non-Violence (Ahimsa)

      • Truthfulness (Satya)

      • Non-Stealing (Asteya)

      • Continence (Brahmacharya)

      • Non Covetousness (Aparigraha)

   2. Niyama– The second limb focuses on self-discipline and spiritual observances. Examples include saying grace before a meal,  attending church regularly, or developing your own meditation practices. There are five niyamas:

      • Cleanliness (Saucha)

      • Contentment (Samtosa)

      • Spiritual austerities (Tapas)

      • Study of Sacred Scriptures and of one’s self (Svadhyaya)

      • Surrender to God (Isvara Pranidhana)

   3. Asana– The third limb refers to the postures and poses practiced in yoga. Due to the fact that the body is a temple of spirit; taking care of your body is an important stage in spiritual growth. FUN FACT: Practitioners develop the habit of discipline and the ability to concentrate.

   4. Pranayama– The fourth limb is also known as breathing techniques that are practiced among yogis. These exercises are designed to not only gain control over the respiratory process, but also to recognize the connection between your emotions, the mind, and the breath. The literal translation of pranayama is “life force extension”, it has been researched and is strongly believed that practicing these techniques will extend life itself.

1. Pratyahara– The fifth limb means gaining mastery over external influences. This is one of the most important stages in which we make the effort to draw our awareness away from the external world and outside stimuli.                                                       3 Levels of Ahara:

   1. 1.  Physical Food– The five elements that we need to nourish the body (earth, water, fire, air, and ether)

   1. 1. Impressions– Sensations of sound, touch, sight, taste, and smell.

   1. Associations– People who serve to nourish the soul and affect us with gunas of ssattva, rajas, and tamas (Harmony, Distraction, or Inertia)           Pratyahara involves WITHDRAWING the wrong food, wrong impressions, and wrong associations, while simultaneously opening up to the right food, right impressions, and right associations. By withdrawing our awareness from negative impressions, this strengthens the mind’s powers of immunity. A healthy mind resists negative sensory influences around it. This article IS an amazing read about Pratyahara and I encourage you to read it to learn more about how important this limb truly is, especially in today’s society : https://yogainternational.com/article/view/pratyahara-yogas-forgotten-limb

2. Dharana– The sixth limb is also known as concentration. This stage enables us to deal with distractions of the mind itself and how to slow down our thinking process. Our attention tends to travel and practicing yoga regularly will enable you to develop powers of concentration and full attention on a single point. Extended dharana leads to meditation which brings us to the seventh limb, dhyana.

3. Dhyana- Dhyana is the uninterupted flow of concentration, also known as meditation. In this stage, there are few thoughts and your mind has been quieted. The amount of strength it takes to reach ‘Dhyana’ is impressive, as it is difficult, but still possible.

4. Samadhi– The eighth and final stage is a state of ecstasy, where they experience bliss and being at one with the universe. Overall, Patanjali, described is the path to peace, happiness, and pure joy. The ultimate stage in yoga is enlightenment that can neither be bought or possessed, only experienced.

Brief Overview: 1. Yama (Ethical Standards) 2. Niyama (Self-Discipline) 3. Asana (Postures) 4. Pranayama (Breathing) 5. Pratyahara (Mastery of External Influences) 6. Dharana (Concentration) 7. Dhyana (Meditation) 8. Samadhi (Pure Bliss)

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed.

Similar Blog Posts:

–6 Reasons to Practice Yoga

–5 Ways to Be Kind to Yourself

–3 Benefits of Meditation

In this photo, my beloved cousin, Emily, is wearing our ‘Dirty Pink Colorband’ from our ‘Original Collection’. 

Yoga has many health benefits associated with it, as it is an ancient practice that connects the mind, body, and spirit through body postures, breathing, and meditation. Below are seven benefits of yoga therapy within the body.

1. Blood Pressure – Yoga focuses mainly on breathing. Breathing is the process of moving oxygen-rich air into and out of the lungs. Respiration refers to how the cells of the body use oxygen to create energy.  A consistent yoga practice decreases blood pressure through these circulation and oxygenation exercises.

2. Pulse Rate – Practicing yoga frequently provides a lower pulse rate. Essentially your heart will become strong enough to pump more blood with fewer beats.

3. Circulation– By transporting nutrients and oxygen throughout your body through the breathing techniques, yoga practice improves blood circulation.

4. Organs– Practicing improves the ability of the body to prevent disease. Not only does this allow your body to have a quicker response to head off disease, but a practitioner would become better tuned to his or her body knowing at first sign if something is not functioning properly.

5. Immunity– Research shows that people who practice yoga have a stronger immune system.

6. Pain– Pain tolerance is higher and chronic pain is eliminated or limited for people who practice yoga regularly.

7. Metabolism– There are specific yoga poses for metabolism. These poses will help you improve your overall metabolic rate.

I began practicing yoga in 2016 and since then I have found that there have been so many unexpected benefits on top of the obvious, be more flexible. Below are six things practicing yoga has taught me.

1. That I need to relax!

I cannot tell you how much I resisted the ‘Savasana’ when I first began yoga. The ‘Savasana’ occurs at the end of yoga practice. The savasana enables us to bring yoga from asana into self-awareness through meditation. My mind wondered to a million different topics instead of focusing on resting and recharging. This is completely normal for your mind to resist deep relaxation and it takes practice and patience. Yoga has a way of quickly showing us the short-lived nature of our attention. This is an important lesson, as the more we can identify how our mind works, the less we feel detoured by its skittishness. With practice we can learn to redirect our mind back home.

2. How to breathe.

Yoga without the familiarity of the breath is not yoga. When we practice inhalation and exhalation we are gifted a direct line to positively affect our mood and our energy. The point of yoga requires our full attention, and one way to harness this attention is the breath. Breathing techniques have essentially taught me to reduce my own stress response and I use this ALL the time.

3. That yoga doesn’t just occur on the mat.

Yoga is SO much more than just an hour practice at my gym that I attend three times a week. Yoga truly is a lifestyle, a science, and route to well-being and completion in mind, body, and soul.

3 Examples:

1. When I am present, focusing on today, the here and now, the current task at hand, I am practicing yoga.

2. When I am being open to what the world might bring, I am doing yoga.

3. When I am spreading the message of well being, I am doing yoga. Everything that goes on off of the matt is just as important as what occurs on it.

4. Be present… and okay with it.

Yoga has taught me to be present. Yoga is about the here, the now. It takes away everything else and just brings peace of mind. This brings you away from negative emotions, stress, anxiety, regret, and makes you appreciate how awarding the breathe is. Yoga enables us to escape from confinement and release your limitations in order to allow yourself to expand and grow.

5. You can achieve more than you think.

Throughout my life, I have always had the “I am not good enough” mindset and am still working on it. Yoga has helped me get out of this entrapment. This is a HUGE reason I practice, as it teaches me I am not decided, to be willing to do more than you decided. Your life becomes LIMITLESS.

The most IMPORTANT lesson, is that yoga is the experience of realizing ourselves as love. Yoga practice says come here and be you. As we practice MORE and MORE, we learn to strip away and release toxic stories that keep us from ourselves.