It’s important for all of us to get some stretching in on a daily basis. Equally as important is regular mindful breathing. We’re lucky enough to have our senior yoga advisor Lee Marie guide us here with an easy to follow practice to help us loosen up and let go of any tension we may be holding. We hope you find Lee’s video beneficial, either on an “as needed” basis, or as part of your daily routine! Namaste.
Category Archives: Yoga for beginners
Happy National Yoga Month = a free week of yoga for you!
September is National Yoga Month and to help celebrate celebrate, the Yoga Health Foundation is offering one free week of yoga to new students at 1600 participating studios in the US! You don’t have to be new to yoga (but it’s cool if you are), you just have to be new to the participating studio.
What’s extra nice is that even though September is National Yoga Month, you have until October 30 to redeem your free week of yoga. You can find out more details at the Yoga Health Foundation’s website.
What a great way to start the fall season!
Tai Chi and Hatha Yoga – Stronger Together
My dear Yoga enthusiasts, namaste. I want to briefly talk about my newly discovered attraction to Tai Chi.
Tai Chi has been practiced for centuries. But until recently, I had never studied it, even though I had been curious about it for some time. I was very interested to see if it shared any of the same benefits as Hatha Yoga, which Continue reading
Meditation for the mind, body and wallet
Did you know that relaxation response techniques can greatly reduce health care costs? According to recent a study by Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, regular practice of yoga and meditation can reduce the need for health care services by 43%.
According to the Harvard University Gazette, “The paper’s authors noted that stress-related illnesses, such as Continue reading
Cobra Pose – A mini-lesson with Lee Marie
It has been said that “you are as young as your spine is flexible”. I believe there is a lot of truth to that. In yoga, the Cobra pose, also known as Bhujangasana, can help keep your spine youthful and flexible.
There are other numerous, wonderful benefits of the Cobra pose. It can help your digestive tract by stimulating your digestive organs. It helps to open up your chest, improving your breathing.
The Cobra pose also will help tone and firm the muscles in your upper arms, your chest your abdomen and buttocks. Performing the Cobra is also Continue reading
Complete Breath Standing mini-lesson with Lee
For this mini-lesson we will pay attention to The Complete Breath Standing. The room should be well ventilated and quiet. Soft, gentle music playing in the background is okay.
It is strongly advised to never practice on a full stomach. Please wait at least 90 minutes after having eaten a full meal. And always be sure to check with your physician to make sure these exercises are okay for you.
Complete Breath Standing
Let us now begin. Standing with feet together, slowly raise your arms while simultaneously inhaling and lifting your heels to stand on your toes. If you have trouble standing on your toes you may keep your heels down. Continue the inhalation, and raise your arms until your hands touch overhead. Hold to the count of five.
Slowly exhale as you lower your arms and rest on the soles of your feet. Continue a deep exhalation until your abdomen is contracted entirely. Allow yourself Continue reading
Back to Yoga
Namaste. Back to school, back to work, back to eating healthier, back to the gym, back to yoga. So you got away from it all. But perhaps you got a little further away than you had planned. No need to worry. Every day is a new day to embrace and start fresh.
Pick it up and put it down
As with many things, sometimes the hardest part is just getting started, or in this case restarted. Often, all it takes is Continue reading
Yoga and Creativity
Did you ever think to yourself: “I wish I could write, paint, act, sing, dance, garden, bake, create some specialty cuisine, etc.?” Well, the possibilities of what you can do are endless. That’s because they are there within you, but perhaps just hidden.
Yoga and Creativity
There are often many distractions or excuses for not activating your creative chakras. Yet there is no real reason for not being creative since everyone has the ability if the desire is there. However, one can often feel stuck, as if something is in the way of you “getting there”, or even just getting started.
Yoga can be a good friend to help you open up these closets of creativity. There isn’t one specific yoga exercise, or in Sanskrit “asana”, Continue reading
10 Minute Morning Yoga – Mini Yoga Lesson with Lee
Good morning, Namaste. Before you go for that strong cup of coffee, try this brief eye opener mini yoga lesson. Afterwards you just may want to forget about the high-test and make it decaf because you no longer feel the need for the caffeine!
You can keep your pj’s on…sure, keep them on! You will want to awaken slowly, no hurrying or rushing. Allow yourself to begin your day in a more Continue reading
Mini Yoga Lesson with Lee – Breathing for Relaxation
Breathing. The life force of our being. How we all take for granted the beautiful rhythm of our breath. When we are hurried or under stress, we tend to hold our breath and in turn lose vital energy. Let’s take a couple of moments to focus on our breath and hopefully find ourselves a little more relaxed, refreshed and energized.
You may want to sit in a Lotus position, seated on the floor cross legged, if you are able to. Or you can choose to lie down on a blanket, towel or mat. You can even practice the following if you are seated at your desk. You may also want to consider practicing this at bedtime to help you fall calmly to sleep.
Ideally you will practice the following in a room that is comfortably warm, without any Continue reading