Yoga with Melissa

Without Effort

As we are only a couple of days away from the Christmas here, it is easy to get caught up in the energy of excessive effort and struggle. We overwork and exhaust ourselves. Today we will explore letting go of effort, starting right here.

You have a choice whenever you do something, to try harder, to apply effort or to let go and allow yourself to flow naturally with the world around you. Focus on what you are doing, allow your attention to go into it, but you do not need to strain.

Restorative yoga can be a fabulous container to practice without effort. We can come into the poses and allow the props to support us. Then when we come back into our lives we can ask ourselves, how can we go with the flow? How can we be conscious and aware and yet have ease as we go about our day? We can still do our work, we probably just do not need to try as hard most of the time, just like in our yoga postures, the yoga posture will do the work on our body once we get into the shape. When we meet our lives half way with effortless action, we do not need to work so hard.

When you focus on letting go of effort, you are releasing tension from your physical, mental emotional and energetic bodies. Deeply relaxes your body, stills your mind and calms your nervous system.

Letting go of effort will open you up to the natural ebb and flow of life. Helps you open a more compassionate understanding towards yourself and others and will enhance your emotional connection with yourself and those you love.

Yoga Poses/Asana:  guided relaxation, child’s pose or balasana, downward facing dog or adho mukha svanasana, reclined twist, reclined bound angle pose or supta baddha konasana, savasana or corpse pose

Props Needed: blanket, blocks, bolster, eye pillow

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

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Thank you for your donations: Joshua, Donna, Hilary and Carla

Yoga Balance

If you want to have great balance you need to focus on your proprioception, your vestibular system and your visual system.

Somebody who has excellent balance has a high degree of proprioceptive awareness, a highly attuned vestibular system and visual system. However, somebody who feels that their balance is off or experiences a lack of stability or even trips and falls often could have problems with their proprioceptive, vestibular and visual systems.

Yoga is an excellent movement practice to train your proprioceptive system. When you take off your socks and shoes and placing your bare feet on the ground, you are accessing nerve signals through your feet, ankles, knees, and hips. Your proprioceptive experience allows you to feel where your body is in space. Normally a lot of this information is cut off through the shoes we wear. So practicing yoga heightens your proprioceptive system and improves your balance.

Secondly, your vestibular system provides sensory information about motion, equilibrium and spatial orientation. Each ear has a utricle, saccule and three semicircular canals. Your vertical and linear movement is detected by the utricle and saccule when move head up and down. This often happens in movements like cat/cow. When you rotate your head side to side the semicircular canals detect rotational movements. This could happen in a pose like a twist or half moon balancing pose.

In our culture we move our head very little. Because of screen time, our head is often locked in place for hours on end. In addition to that, cameras in automobiles mean that we have few reasons to move our heads to look around. When we were children our vestibular systems were engaged all the time as we did somersaults, cartwheels and swung on swings. As adults it is important that we engage this underused system again, otherwise our balance system suffers.

Finally our visual system contributes to our overall balance. This is the ability of your eyes to figure out where your head and body are in space and also your spatial location relative to other objects. In yoga we often train with our eyes closed, therefore improving our proprioceptive system (our sense of self in space). And we can also spend some time improving and training our balance by playing with our visual system, opening and closing our eyes.

Yoga Postures/Asanas: Guided Relaxation in Legs Up The Wall or Viparita Karini , Figure Four or Keyhole Stretch, Cat Pose or Marjaryasana, Half Cow’s Face Pose or Ardha Gomukhasana, Cow’s Face or Gomukhasana, Mountain Pose or Tadasana, Standing Twist, Chair pose or Utkatasana, Eagle Pose or Garudasana, Sphinx Pose or Salamba Bhujangasana, Front Lying Twist, Child’s Pose or Balasana

Props: blocks, yoga strap

Did you like today’s show?

* If you know somebody who would enjoy today’s show, please feel free to share it with them.

* We put out a new class like this every Friday so if you are new to our channel, then please subscribe so our class will show up in our feed on Fridays.

* Please leave us a 5-star review on Itunes

Thanks to all of you who have contributed to the Dressember campaign to end human trafficking:

Maria, Nancy, Randy, Anny, Sue, Michele, Linzi, Kelly, Hannah, Lisa and Laura I’m at 915/1K goal

If you are receiving value from Yoga with Melissa you can make a monetary donation by clicking .

Thank you for your donations: Peige and Hannah

You can also contribute of your time and influence the direction of the next Yoga with Melissa by answering the following question in the comments:

What balancing poses do you find the most challenging and why? I am planning on doing a whole series on balance and I will include the yoga b...

Yoga Balance If you want to have great balance you need to focus on your proprioception, your vestibular system and your visual system. Somebody who has excellent balance has a high degree of proprioceptive awareness, a highly attuned vestibular system and visual system. However, somebody who feels that their balance is off or experiences a […]

Yoga Balance

If you want to have great balance you need to focus on your proprioception, your vestibular system and your visual system.

Somebody who has excellent balance has a high degree of proprioceptive awareness, a highly attuned vestibular system and visual system. However, somebody who feels that their balance is off or experiences a lack of stability or even trips and falls often could have problems with their proprioceptive, vestibular and visual systems.

Yoga is an excellent movement practice to train your proprioceptive system. When you take off your socks and shoes and placing your bare feet on the ground, you are accessing nerve signals through your feet, ankles, knees, and hips. Your proprioceptive experience allows you to feel where your body is in space. Normally a lot of this information is cut off through the shoes we wear. So practicing yoga heightens your proprioceptive system and improves your balance.

Secondly, your vestibular system provides sensory information about motion, equilibrium and spatial orientation. Each ear has a utricle, saccule and three semicircular canals. Your vertical and linear movement is detected by the utricle and saccule when move head up and down. This often happens in movements like cat/cow. When you rotate your head side to side the semicircular canals detect rotational movements. This could happen in a pose like a twist or half moon balancing pose.

In our culture we move our head very little. Because of screen time, our head is often locked in place for hours on end. In addition to that, cameras in automobiles mean that we have few reasons to move our heads to look around. When we were children our vestibular systems were engaged all the time as we did somersaults, cartwheels and swung on swings. As adults it is important that we engage this underused system again, otherwise our balance system suffers.

Finally our visual system contributes to our overall balance. This is the ability of your eyes to figure out where your head and body are in space and also your spatial location relative to other objects. In yoga we often train with our eyes closed, therefore improving our proprioceptive system (our sense of self in space). And we can also spend some time improving and training our balance by playing with our visual system, opening and closing our eyes.

Yoga Postures/Asanas: Guided Relaxation in Legs Up The Wall or Viparita Karini , Figure Four or Keyhole Stretch, Cat Pose or Marjaryasana, Half Cow’s Face Pose or Ardha Gomukhasana, Cow’s Face or Gomukhasana, Mountain Pose or Tadasana, Standing Twist, Chair pose or Utkatasana, Eagle Pose or Garudasana, Sphinx Pose or Salamba Bhujangasana, Front Lying Twist, Child’s Pose or Balasana

Props: blocks, yoga strap

Did you like today’s show?

* If you know somebody who would enjoy today’s show, please feel free to share it with them.

* We put out a new class like this every Friday so if you are new to our channel, then please subscribe so our class will show up in our feed on Fridays.

* Please leave us a 5-star review on Itunes

Thanks to all of you who have contributed to the Dressember campaign to end human trafficking:

Maria, Nancy, Randy, Anny, Sue, Michele, Linzi, Kelly, Hannah, Lisa and Laura I’m at 915/1K goal

If you are receiving value from Yoga with Melissa you can make a monetary donation by clicking .

Thank you for your donations: Peige and Hannah

You can also contribute of your time and influence the direction of the next Yoga with Melissa by answering the following question in the comments:

Transitions

This past weekend in our Monthly Motivation Meetup, one of our members, Sandrine, spoke about how she takes time when she gets home instead of rushing to the next thing. She makes a ritual of it. She takes off her hat and and her coat and she sits down for a moment or two. She allows herself the time to transition from her work life to her home life with a moment of pause.

This is direct opposition of an awareness that grew out of her rushing from one event to another. She would come home from work, rush as quickly as possible to walk the dogs, so she could have dinner and hurry up and relax.

How many times do we do this in our lives.

Rush from one event to another, rarely even noticing what is happening?

We do this in our yoga class as well. We may pay attention in one yoga pose but then check out between the yoga poses. In this class we are going to pay attention to the spaces between the yoga poses. This was one of my students’ favourite yoga classes back in the day of studio classes. I hope you enjoy it too :)

Namaste, Melissa

Yoga Poses/Asana: Supported Bridge Pose or Setu Bandhasana, Cat Pose or Marjaryasana, Lunge Pose or Anjaneyasana, Downward Facing Dog or Adho Mukha Svanasana, Cloud Salutation, Tree Pose or Vrksasana, Standing Backbend or Ardha Anuvittasana, Legs up the Wall or Viparita Karini, Matsyendrasana or Half Lord of the Fishes Pose, Seated Forward fold or Paschimottanasana, Savasana or Corpse Pose

Props Needed: Wall, Blocks, Bolster

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

Did you like today’s show?

* If you know somebody who would enjoy today’s show, please feel free to share it with them.

* We put out a new class like this every Friday so if you are new to our channel, then please subscribe so our class will show up in our feed on Fridays.

* Please leave us a 5-star review on Itunes

Thank you for your donations: Sean and Viola

Thanks to everybody who has donated to Dressember: Hannah, Lisa, Laura and Maria :)

 

If you would like a short 10 Minute Yoga for Anxiety Meditation to help relieve the pressure of your life then put your email in the opt in box and we will be happy to send that to you.

Weekly Yoga with Melissa #361 Photos of Yoga Poses

Transitions This past weekend in our Monthly Motivation Meetup, one of our members, Sandrine, spoke about how she takes time when she gets home instead of rushing to the next thing. She makes a ritual of it. She takes off her hat and and her coat and she sits down for a moment or two. […]

Transitions

This past weekend in our Monthly Motivation Meetup, one of our members, Sandrine, spoke about how she takes time when she gets home instead of rushing to the next thing. She makes a ritual of it. She takes off her hat and and her coat and she sits down for a moment or two. She allows herself the time to transition from her work life to her home life with a moment of pause.

This is direct opposition of an awareness that grew out of her rushing from one event to another. She would come home from work, rush as quickly as possible to walk the dogs, so she could have dinner and hurry up and relax.

How many times do we do this in our lives.

Rush from one event to another, rarely even noticing what is happening?

We do this in our yoga class as well. We may pay attention in one yoga pose but then check out between the yoga poses. In this class we are going to pay attention to the spaces between the yoga poses. This was one of my students’ favourite yoga classes back in the day of studio classes. I hope you enjoy it too

Half Moon Balancing Pose

As you learned in Yoga in Melissa 354, your balance relies on your vision, your proprioception and your vestibular system. Your body takes in these signals from your vision, proprioception and vestibular system through nerve impulses through special nerve endings called sensory receptors and sends signals to your brain. In this class on how to do half moon balancing pose or ardha chandrasana we will continue to train your proprioceptive system and your vestibular system.

Half moon balancing pose is such a great pose to teach us about balance. We live in a world that expects us to move at a highly productive pace at all times. We are expected to have the same amount of energy no matter what is happening in our lives, no matter the season, no matter what time of day, no matter where we are in the moon cycle.

There is a natural balance that happens when we flow with the energy of the moon. When the moon is new we can plant new seeds, plan, think, and quietly build our energy in a gradual way. When the moon is full, it is natural to feel an excess of energy and then it is time to let go again and begin to release. This is balance following the flow of the moon and the energy of the earth.

The moon sets the stage for us in our lives by letting us know when to begin things (new moon) and when to rest or let go (full moon). When we align with the energy of the moon we are not so surprised when our energy is wild, creative, and expressive as the moon waxes and when we need to retreat into nurturing as the moon wanes take time to rest.

As the moon grows so does your own energy. It is a time to move with that momentum, take action in and nourish your creativity. You will feel the support of the moon’s energy during the waxing phase. The Full Moon is our most active time energetically. At the full moon you will feel energy and emotions peak, you may even find that you respond strongly to energies at this time.

As the moon begins to wane, you will start to notice that your energy wanes with the moon as well. You will observe a natural tendency to turn inwards. This is a time for surrender, rest, recuperation, reflection and contemplation. The waning moon is also a supportive time for releasing and letting go. The energy of this phase allows you to release negativity, stress, worry, tension, anxiety. This is balance. We can’t always be go, go go. We need time to come into our inner world for inner reflection to balance our outer world of outer action.

The moon phases show us the way to balance in our lives. Just like a balancing yoga posture, we are not always in the creating phase. There are times to plant the seed, prepare, create, be in the pose and then there is time to come out of the pose, restore, and reflect on the effect of the pose in our body. The same is true in our lives. Our energy waxes and wanes like the moon. When we take time to look up at the moon, we can see that our energy follows the energy of the moon and we need not be so frustrated when we can’t keep going and going and going. We can allow ourselves times in our lives so move more slowly, gather momentum and then retreat again.

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

Yoga Postures/Asanas: Supta Padangusthasana or Hand to Big Toe Pose, Pigeon or Eka Pada Rajakapotasana, Melting Heart Pose or Puppy Pose, Adho Mukha Svanasana or Downward Facing Dog, Parsvottanasana or Pyramid Pose, Half Moon Balancing Pose or Ardha Chandrasana, Legs up the Wall or Viparita Karini, jathara parivartanasana or Reclined Twist, Baddha Konasana or Bound Angle Pose, Savasana or Corpse Pose, Shakti Mudra

Props Required: Yoga Strap, Bolster, Wall, Blocks

Did you like today’s show?

Yoga to Help Fight Violence Against Women

November 25th is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Together we can take our yoga off our mats to create a culture that rejects violence as a way to deal with problems. Through our yoga practice we cultivate the resources to speak up against messages that say violence or mistreating women is okay.

In a culture that objectifies and commodifies women, women are dehumanized and treated as anonymous goods to be looked at, ogled, touched and used and once used discarded and replaced with a newer, younger form. Their human rights to be here, to feel, to be empowered, to love, to speak, to envision a future for themselves, to experience their own spirituality is often ignored.

In a culture that dehumanizes women and treats women as objects it becomes easier for women to be abused. In a world of advertising and media messages which creates on impossible standards for women in order to drive consumerism, women lose touch with who they are and an environment of justification is entrapment of abuse is sustained.

In the world of yoga, unfortunately many times these same media messages exist. The underlying narrative of yoga videos, yoga images, yoga in social media is that women must be beautiful, skinny, flawless, curvy, lifeless, and God forbid if you speak up or say anything meaningful! You should be a glossy figurine moving gracefully across a screen without any words. Remember an object has no personality, values, passions or dreams.

Yet for the past seven years here on Yoga with Melissa we have been focusing on something different. So many of you have told me you come here because we have a different message. We are real yoga for real people. We have real bodies, with real limitations. You have told me you appreciate my real personality. And, we are connecting with something deeper, our true nature and trying to overcome violence on a deeply personal level, starting with ourselves, our relationships with others and our place in the world.

Today we will practice with Bhuvaneshwari the Goddess of infinite space. Her motherly embrace will gather us into her vast, spacious womb. We will allow her to support us, hold us, and renew us, helping us to let go of anxiety and fear.

Bhuvaneshwari spaciousness swallows all that needs to be cleared. So take this time to offer her whatever you are holding onto. Whether you or somebody you love has been the victim of violence, Bhuvaneshwari will take whatever your burden, dissolve it and offer it back to you transformed.

Throughout our class today, we will allow Bhuvaneswari's comfort to wrap around us like an invisible loving blanket creating a still, calm center. Bhuvaneshwari acts as a nonjudgmental, loving witness holding space with a subtle generosity.

Yoga Postures/Asanas: Reclined Bound Angle Pose or Supta Badha Konasana, Sleeping Pigeon or Eka Pada Rajakapotasana, Half Happy Baby Pose or Ardha Ananda Balasana , Square Breath, Goddess Victory Squat or Utkata Konasana, Ardha Chandrasana or Half Moon Balancing Pose , Wide Kneed Child Pose or Balasana, Savasana or Corpse Pose, Shakti Mudra

Props Required: Bolster, Blocks, option strap

Weekly Yoga with Melissa #359 Photos of Yoga Pose

 

Yoga to Help Fight Violence Against Women November 25th is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Together we can take our yoga off our mats to create a culture that rejects violence as a way to deal with problems. Through our yoga practice we cultivate the resources to speak up against […]