I’ve talked to many people over the years who want to meditate, or maybe tried it once but didn’t find it effective. One of the biggest misunderstandings about yoga practice is that it’s something other than meditation. The whole intention of yoga postures, according to the old texts, is to prepare for meditation, and for each pose itself to be a meditation. This, to me, takes a lot of the stress out of meditating. I can stay focused just fine in chair pose, maybe not for long, but it seems more tangible than just sitting and breathing. In this class, we’ll prepare the body to meditate with postures, breathing and then stillness. Recommended Props: 1 blanket. 

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The glutes are meant to be the strongest muscle in the body. For many of us, the reality of sitting for several hours a day has made the glutes weaker than we’d probably like them to be. Sitting also tends to put a lot of stress on the shoulders. This practice works to alleviate shoulder tension and strengthen the glutes. Recommended props: 1 block. 

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Thank you to everyone who has listened so far, I was surprised to check my stats for the first time and see there have been over 1000 listens to this podcast! Today’s episode begins Season Two, focusing on practices for the fall season; grounding, centering, warming the body with things like twists, chair pose, eagle pose and crow pose. If you’re listening outside of the fall season, these are still good practices for those intentions, any time of year, especially if you have a Vata Dosha imbalance, which i’ll talk about during this episode and in future classes. A student in this class requested work for the lower back, which is a common area to have issues when Vata gets imbalanced. So we’ll also do some stuff for the low back. A block is recommended for this class, but not required. If you have any feedback, questions or requests email [email protected]. 

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A solid, all around, full body practice to move, stretch and strengthen the whole body. One block suggested but not required. 

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Start Your Yoga Practice with 7 days of free Gentle Yoga at http://www.quietmind.yoga/

In my first years of practice I dreaded the word “core.” I had a few experiences of classes with intense, fast paced movements that felt jarring to my body, that I was assured would strengthen my core. That mysterious part of my body where all sugars and fats seem to stay for weeks at a time. I didn’t know about the transverse abdominus. I didn’t know about the psoas. I didn’t understand how to truly engage and strengthen the muscles of my abdomin. They’re not as big and obvious as the biceps or the quads. They are layered, complex muscles, and i’ve found they require a unique approach to learning to activate and strengthen. Having experienced stressful events in my past, I found it took some work to awaken sensation and awareness of this are of my body. Now I get what people mean when they say its like a second brain. When the core is truly strong, it supports balance, focus, clarity and presence in the body. Suggested props: 1 blanket and 2 blocks. 

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The central nervous system plays a huge role in what we’re doing in yoga practice. It can essentially be in two different modes: either sympathetic response (fight, flight and freeze) or parasympathetic response (rest and digest). In yoga we learn to regulate this system to be able to access both as needed. Hatha Flow is essentially a Vinyasa yoga practice with some longer holds in poses. 

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Welcome to Episode 6 of the Quietmind Yoga Podcast. This week is a Gentle Hatha practice for low back pain. This is something I worked with a lot a few years ago and learned some very effective movements and postures to relieve my own back pain. In this episode I will share what has been most effective for me. The only prop I recommend for this class is a yoga blanket. If you don’t have one, you could use a basic throw blanket you have at home. 

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Hip and shoulder tension are two of the most common issues people come to their yoga mat with. This is a Yin Yoga practice to release tensions held in the body. As always, we’ll include movements for the whole body, but emphasize hip openers and shoulder openers. In Yin Yoga we hold postures longer, up to 5 minutes in some poses. You can always come out of the pose or adjust if you need to; listen to your body. As best you can, stay in the pose with steady breathing to allow your nervous system to shift into it’s resting parasympathetic mode where tension can be released. Props suggested: a bolster, a blanket, a strap, 2 blocks. If you have any questions or requests, email [email protected]. 

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Have you ever noticed how sickness can start days or even weeks before you actually get sick? Your nervous system starts to feel frazzled, maybe your routine gets thrown off, maybe you have digestive issues. These symptoms can all be caught well before they become a bigger issue. The breath is a great way to notice these issues and address them before they become illness. This is because breath is a carrier for Prana (life force). We can go weeks without prana from food, days without water, but only minutes without the breath. This yoga class is an all levels hatha flow focused on the breath. It’s a whole body practice with strengthening and stretching poses, grounding, energizing and balancing poses. A block is recommended for the balancing poses and triangle pose, but not required. ——- if you enjoy this podcast leave an honest review. If you have questions email [email protected]. 

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Start Your Yoga Practice with 7 days of free Gentle Yoga at http://www.quietmind.yoga/