Breathe

We take breathing for granted. I've been fighting a cold for over a month now, so I am very thankful for any moment that I can take a deep breath that doesn't result in a coughing fit.

Such a simple act it is to just breathe, but so elemental to life.

So many of our common sayings have to do with our breath: Feeling angry or anxious? take a deep breath! Feeling renewed? like a breath of fresh air! Feeling overly busy? stop and take time to catch your breath! Surprised? that took your breath away!


In our yoga practice, breathing is essential. We focus on the inhale and exhale in order to calm our constantly spinning "monkey"minds. We connect our movements with the rhythm of our breath in order to flow with awareness of our body.


For more information and some simple breathing exercises, check out this great article from Harvard Medical School.



 1.On an inhale, lift both shoulders up to your ears, exhaling as you relax them back down again. Repeat that 4 more times, always moving with the breath: lift on inhale, lower on exhale.

2. Roll shoulders up on inhale, then back on exhale, repeat 4 more times

3. Turn head to left on inhale, face forward on exhale, turn right on inhale, face forward on exhale, 3 times each side

4. Inhale with face forward, exhale as drop chin, inhale as roll head to left side, ear toward shoulder (shoulder stays settled), exhale chin to chest, inhale as roll right ear to right shoulder, exhale chin to chest, 3 times each side

5. From chin down position, inhale as look up at ceiling, lifting chin, keep back of neck long not pinched, exhale back down, repeat 3 times

6. Lift hands from lap, on inhale squeeze into fists then exhale as splay open fingers, repeat 4 times

7. Rotate wrists 3-4 times in both directions, ending with hands pressed together (fingers and palms flat as in prayer/heart center position) in front of sternum (breastbone), take 3 slow breaths

8. Open arms widely to your side, palms down and arms parallel to floor, reaching fingers to side walls, shoulders stay relaxed notice opening through your chest, continue to breath and hold here, reaching away from your body for 5 full breaths then let your hands rest on your lap

9. Push chair away from desk enough so make room for legs to lift. Sitting up tall, tighten your lower belly, on inhale lift right foot off floor until knee is straight, toes pointed to ceiling as you lift, push into heel, exhale slowly brings foot back to floor, switch to left foot, and continue alternating lifting on inhale and lowering on exhale, repeat 4 times each side

10. Settle both feet on floor, inhale arms up with fingers reaching for ceiling, elbows can be bent if your shoulders feel tight, exhale hands to heart center position (hands pressed flat together at center of chest), repeat 3 more times

11. Let hands rest gently in your lap, lean back against chair, let your eyes close or look down at your knees, return to slow breath, letting belly rise and fall with each breath

12. Relax and breath for a full minute, count 20 deep, slow breaths, before returning to your day!

Equinox

Happy Fall! My favorite time of year. I love the brisk mornings and the crunchy leaves. The brilliant colors on the trees never cease to amaze.

Since we are now exactly halfway between the summer and winter solstices, now is a great time to take stock and consider balance once again.

In yoga asana, we often work on our physical balance, a worthwhile practice to keep us steady on our feet.

What about balance in other aspects of your life? Is your sleep cycle in balance with your activity level? Or could you add more movement to your day to balance a sedentary lifestyle?

For you science buffs, here's the meaning behind the equinox, from timeanddate.com:

On the equinox, night and day are nearly exactly the same length – 12 hours – all over the world. This is the reason it's called an "equinox", derived from Latin, meaning "equal night".

The September equinox occurs the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator – from north to south.





 
1. Imagine you could breathe in through one nostril then exhale through the other. Picture your breath cycle as drawing the breath up from base of your spine and up the left side of your body as you inhale through your left nostril. Then picture the exhale leaving your right nostril and traveling down the right side of your body back down to the base of your spine, where is continues into the next inhale up the left side again. Use this visualization for 3 cycles of breath then reverse direction: inhale up the right side and exhale down the left.

2. Sitting up tall in your chair with the lower belly firm, inhale your arms straight out to the sides. Exhale and bring your fingertips to your shoulders. Continue this movement for 5 breath cycles, bending at the elbow with upper arms parallel to the floor.

3. Bring hands to rest hands in your lap, still sitting up tall, lift right foot off the floor as you straighten the knee. Ankle is flexed with toes pointing up, lift the thigh right off the chair just an inch or so, using the belly muscles and holding 3 breaths. Repeat with left leg.

4.  Camel: Slide a few inches forward away from the back of your chair, bring the palms of your hands to your lower back. Look up at the ceiling as you arch your back and come into a gentle, supported back bend, hands on lower back, letting your head and neck relax and drop back. Breathe for 3 breath cycles. Slowly use your hands to come back up, then shift hands to your knees, folding at the hips to rest your belly on your thighs in a forward fold. Take 3 breaths then use your hands to push to sitting,

5. Eagle: Cross your right thigh over your left thigh. If you can, wrap the right foot all the way around the left calf. Cross your left arm over the right one at the elbow. Bend the elbows and bring your palms to touch.  Lift the elbows while dropping the shoulders away from the ears. Hold three to five breaths. Repeat with left thigh over right thigh this time.

6. Repeat #1 for 3 cycles each side, then rest for a few minutes with your natural breathing.

Inspiration

Two ways to think about inspiration:

 

-the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, esp. to do something creative.

-the drawing in of breath; inhalation

The new school year is well underway and our thoughts turn to new undertakings. All those blank notebooks and shiny new pens lining the school supply aisles remind us of the exciting possibilities of this time of year.

Are you feeling inspired to make some changes this fall? Before the holiday craziness begins, reflect on how 2013 has unfolded for you so far. Is there something new you have wanted to add to your life, but the time was never right? Or maybe you have wanted to remove something less than fulfilling from your life and just never got around to it.

Now is the time! The lazy days of summer are behind us and brisk fall air gives us renewed energy. What will you "breathe in" during your practice today and the rest of the week?




 1. Neck massage: Lean your head toward your left shoulder and use your right hand to massage your right shoulder and side of your neck with a slow, circular motion of your fingers continuing for at least 5 slow, full breaths (inhale and exhale). Repeat with head tilted to the right and using your left hand.

2.Bring both hands behind your neck. Use all your fingers to massage the base of your skull down to your upper back with a slow, circular motion of your fingers continuing for at least 5 slow, full breaths (inhale and exhale).

3. Point and flex ankles: Rest your arms on the chair armrests. On an inhale, flex your right ankle, toes pointing up and heel on floor. Exhale as you lift the heel and point the toes into the floor. Repeat 5 times then switch to left foot.

4. Torso twist: Sit up straight in your chair with hands pressed together at heart center. As you exhale, still with hands pressed together, bring right elbow to rest on the left thigh, turning chest to face the left side of the room. Stay here for 3 breaths then inhale back to sitting up tall. Repeat by bringing left elbow to right thigh and twist to the right this time, again for 3 breaths. 

5. Warrior 1: Slide to the front edge of your seat and turn your body and both knees to the left side with the chair seat supporting the left butt cheek and thigh. The right thigh hangs off the front edge, perpendicular to the floor while the right knee points toward the floor. Slide the right foot back so that the right leg begins to straighten. Turn the foot out so that you can comfortably place it flat on the floor. Keep your upper body sitting tall, resting your left hand on the chair arm support and your right hand on your left thigh.  Keep your torso facing to the left, and if you feel steady on the chair, you can raise your arms up to the ceiling on a inhale. Hold 5 breaths then repeat on right side.

 6. Close your eyes and breathe slowly and calmly for one or two minutes before returning to your day.

Grandparents Day

I am very lucky that three of my four grandparents were alive and well long enough to get to know my children. Nothing better than getting four generations together in one room!

When I talk to someone who never knew their grandparents, I am ever grateful for the privilege of having mine in my life for so long. Both of my grandmothers took care of me and my sisters in the summertime during grade school. We have so many fun memories of playing with cousins on hot summer days. Those two grandmothers are still alive but not in the best health. I am thankful that my children have memories of spending time with them both over the years.


Whether you had a grandparent who played an active role in your life or if you only know them through photos, you are affected by the generation that came before your parents. Begin your practice today with gratitude for what they brought to your life.





1. Become aware of your breath by placing one hand on your lower belly and the other hand on your chest. Just notice the rise and fall: where do you sense the beginning of the inhale and what changes come with the exhale? Stay here and pay attention for the next 5 breaths until you feel calm and focused.

2. Use your left hand to slowly massage your right forearm, moving the thumb in wide circles with gentle pressure. Continue to massage the wrist then the palm of the hand and finally each individual fingers. Take your time, breathing calmly as you feel the tension melt away. Repeat with left forearm and hand. 

3. Sit up straight with shoulders relaxed back. Bring your forearms across your chest so that you can use your hands to clasp the opposite elbow. Still holding your elbows, lift the arms to shoulder height and tuck in the lower belly. Taking a deep inhale, fold at the hips and bring the forearms down to rest on the thighs, still hand-to-elbow. Tuck your chin to your chest and keep your back flat, belly tucked in. Breathe here for 5 full breaths.

4. Come back to sitting upright, sitting tall with belly tight, straighten one leg with the foot flexed, toes pointing up. See if you can lift your thigh off the chair seat, just an inch or two. Slowly pulse the leg up and down with your breath: lift on an inhale and lower thigh to the chair on an exhale. Leg stays straight the whole time. Lower the foot back to the floor after 5 lifts then repeat with your other leg.

5. Warrior 2: Move to the edge of the seat and open with legs wide, with left knee turned out to the left side and right leg straight out to the right with foot flat on the floor. Torso, with belly tightened, stays facing forward toward your PC monitor. Use an inhale to lift both arms out to the sides, parallel to the floor. Turn your head to look out over your left hand. Take 5 full breaths here then repeat on right side.

6. Settle back comfortably in your chair and repeat #1 for 10 breaths before returning to your day.

Labor Day

This long weekend will mark the unofficial end of summer with a variety outdoor celebrations. Labor Day began to honor the industrial workers of the late 19th century.

Very few of those unions exist any more, and the service workers who keep our economy ticking will very likely not have time off to enjoy the holiday.

"Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country. All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. 

Labor Day...is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation."

~Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor

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 1. Let's begin with the 3-part breath. Breathing through your nose, inhale and notice that your belly lifts, your ribs expand, and your chest rises. As you exhale, your chest drops, your ribs contract, and your belly softens and lowers. As you continue to breathe, keep your awareness on this three-part movement. Close your eyes and continue for 5 full breath cycles.

2. Sit up tall in your chair and extend your arms straight out to the sides so that they are parallel to the floor. Flex at your wrists so fingers are pointing up and palms face away from your body. Keep your arms straight as you push through your wrist, as you rotate your shoulders making small 5 circles in each direction with your hands and arms. Maintain the 3-part breath throughout. Still with arms extended, now flex your wrist down so that fingers point to floor. Repeat mini-circles, 5 in each  direction. Then let hands rest in your lap.

3. Lift your right foot about 4-6" off the floor. Rotate the ankle a few times in each direction, then place the heel on the floor with your toes flexed up. Take a breath here and allow the calf and Achilles to open. Next breath, point the toe onto the floor as you lift the heel. Now slowly alternate with each breath: inhale and point, exhale and flex. Complete 5 rounds then let the right foot rest and repeat on the left side.

4. Check to see if you are still sitting up tall in your chair. If your seat back is higher than your shoulders, you'll need to move to the edge of the seat. Extend your arms straight out to the side once again as in #2. This time palms face up toward ceiling. Take an inhale then bend your elbows, slowly exhaling and bringing fingers to touch your shoulders. As you inhale, twist the entire torso toward the right, still with hands on shoulders and elbows pointing out. Your lower body stays still in the chair. The exhale brings you back to center, then inhale as you twist to the left. Complete 3 full cycles of this torso twist to the right and left.

5. Supported high lunge: If you are not already sitting on the front edge of your seat, slide there now. Turn your body and both knees to the left side with the chair seat supporting the left butt cheek and thigh. The right thigh hangs off the front edge, perpendicular to the floor while the right knee points toward the floor. Slide the right foot back so that the right leg begins to straighten while the right toes are balancing the foot, heel is lifted. Keep your upper body sitting tall, resting your left hand on the chair arm support and your right hand on your left thigh. Guide the right leg to straighten even more by breathing into the back of the right knee as you push through the right heel. Stay here for at least 5 full breaths then slide the knees over to the right and repeat with the left leg extended behind you this time.

6. Sit back in your chair and relax. Return to the 3-part breath that we started in #1. Close your eyes and complete 10 full rounds of the 3-part breath.