Yoga Tip: Yoga for the Holidays 1

The holiday season sort of stresses me out, and I know I'm not the only one. I thought that I'd take the opportunity to bring some calm into your lives over the next few weeks by putting together a series of yoga videos to get through the holidays. :) Today's video offers 15 minutes of heart-pumping vinyasa that'll simultaneously quiet the mind. It's suitable for all levels, but I recommend going into it warmed up (it's so hard to cram a good warm up in there when I only have a 20 minute limit)! So here's to the holiday season- may we remain at peace during the madness. :)

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PPS- Here are some songs you can play during the practice.

Yoga Tip: Video for Balance

Here's a 6 minute yoga flow that works on balancing. Warm the body up first before you go into it, and be sure to always move in a pain-free range. Subscribe to my YouTube channel to be updated when I post new ones. Happy Friday, friends! 

Movement: On Feet & Spreading the Toes

If you're new to yoga, you might be surprised that yoga is practiced barefoot and often involves focusing on your feet. After all, since we were babies our feet have been shoved into socks and shoes, and now you're in a yoga class grabbing your toes with your hands, interlacing your fingers between your toes, and getting acquainted with your feet. Why?  

There are a number of reasons. In yoga, we work from the foundation up. This means that if you're doing a standing pose, you start not by jumping right into it, but by looking at your feet and building a stable foundation. You ground down through all four corners of both feet, you spread the toes. For all standing yoga poses, start with the feet. You'll be surprised at how it can transform your postures.

As for spreading your toes- just as you have muscles in your hands to help your fingers to spread, you have muscles in your feet to help spread your toes. When our feet are shoved into tight shoes, our toes get crunched and we lose the muscles that help our toes to spread. A number of bad things can occur when our feet are squished from shoes- plantar fasciitis, poor circulation, fallen arches, Morton's neuroma, etc.

The good news is that it's never too late to retrain those muscles. You can start by standing tall, lifting the toes, spreading them as wide as you can, and setting them down. You can always interlace your fingers between the toes.

(Source)

Another option is wearing vibram five fivers shoes (pic above, link to the left). My cousin swears these have cured his fallen arches (and subsequent back problems). My husband wears these during weight lifting, saying that he feels more balanced and stabilized when doing squats, etc. A good friend wears them when he runs (he's a marathon runner!) and says he has less injury as a result. I have a pair and have worn them for running and weight lifting. You don't need to wear them all the time, but a few hours a week will help retrain those muscles.

As previously documented here, I love these Gaiam toe socks as well. They also work to spread the toes, and have these little non-slip nodes on the bottom. All you'd have to do is put these babies on and walk around the house going about your business.

Ultimately what I'm trying to say here is that our feet are important, and they can be the root of a number of health problems, so it's time they come out of the tight shoes and sweaty socks and get some attention! :)

Yoga Tip: 12 Min Power Vinyasa

Here's a twelve minute power vinyasa routine that will get your heart pumping. It has some ab work, tricep work and back bends. It's a faster pace, so it might be beneficial to watch it first before trying it out. Make sure your body is warmed up before going into it, and always move in a pain-free range. Hope you enjoy!

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3 Reasons Why Every Athlete Should Do Yoga

If you're an athlete, rolling out the yoga mat and saying, "Namaste" likely isn't on your list of things to do after practice, but I've got three reasons why you should.

1. Aids in Recovery. Lactic acid build up is a constant in athletes' muscles. When lactic acid builds up, the muscles fatigue quicker and become sore. A yoga practice efficiently circulates the lactic acid out of the muscles and into the blood stream where it will be processed through the liver. 

2. Improves Mental Clarity. The beautiful thing about yoga is that it combines a physical practice with breathing and relaxation techniques that train the body to work hard, but the mind to be calm and clear. Using these techniques off the mat and during an athlete's training, game preparation, and in the sport itself can be vital to consistent improvement and success. 

3. Reduces Injury. Sports like golf, hockey, baseball and tennis are dominant on one side of the body. While everyone has a side they're slightly stronger on, athletes who play sports like these take it to the extreme which renders their bodies off balance. Yoga can be key to preventing this musculoskeletal imbalance from leading to injury or chronic pain issues. 

So, athletes, get out there on the mat, take a deep breath, and get your yoga on!

Yoga Tip: On Posture

Did your mom ever nag you to stand up straight? Mine did, and as it turns out, she was right (as moms usually are)- I should've stopped slouching long ago. My grandmother used to tell me to "Stand up straight!" and even my wedding coordinator told me, on our first meeting, to put my shoulders down. I guess I had noticeably poor posture, and truth be told, a lot of us have posture problems. 

If you think about it, our environment isn't conducive to good posture. A lot of us sit at desks all day. Or we stand all day. Or our couches or beds are too soft (a bad thing, believe it or not!), or...the list goes on and on. Here's the thing. If you're sitting most of the day looking at a computer chances are your upper back hunches forward, your head is slightly forward and your chin is tilted down. This strains the back muscles, causing them to overstretch and weaken. The weight of your head being unnaturally forward also will cause tension in the neck muscles.

Another type of poor posture caused from sitting for a long period of time is a sway back. Prolonged sitting causes your hip flexors (the muscles in front of your hips) to shorten and bring about a forward tip of the pelvis. This causes a sway back, which contributes to a crunching in the lower spine and muscle tightness. Over time, the weight in the lower spine can cause back pain and arthritis. Fortunately, there are a few yoga poses that can help.

The first thing to do is recognize the natural curve of the spine. You'll see it in the middle picture of the set above. Your pelvis should be even, your shoulders slightly back, your head slightly back. Your fingers should be slightly forward. This is also known as Tadasana, mountain pose. Have someone look at your normal standing posture compared to the pictures above. Once you determine whether you slouch or have a sway back, you can do the poses below to help.

People who slouch need to increase the flexibility of the ribs and thoracic spine (click here to see where that is). Slouchers will also want to shorten and strengthen the muscles in the upper back. One pose that will help is cobra pose (above). Start laying on your stomach, hands under your shoulders. Inhale and draw the legs together, pressed into the mat, and exhale. On your next inhale, press evenly into the fingers, and peel the chest up using your back strength. You may not get very high. That's ok. Just be wherever you are. Breathe here for at least 30 seconds, with a goal of eventually holding it for 1-2 minutes. 

Another pose to help slouchers is a supported backbend. (These feel so good!) Use a few firm cushions or two yoga blocks. Place one under the thoracic spine and one under the head. This opens up the chest, which is usually tight and collapsed in a sloucher. Stay here for at least 2 minutes.

For people with sway backs, a series of hip stretches like the ones I blogged about here, or lunges like the ones in this yoga video I made for runners (who often have tight hips).

Note that it will take a while to strengthen the muscles and train your body to hold itself up differently, and likely it may feel uncomfortable at first. This is because your muscles simply aren't used to the correct alignment. Pay attention to how you sit and stand and make a conscious effort to work on your posture. Stay persistent- Good posture can save you from arthritis, back pain, and of course, and moms everywhere will likely be pleased. :)