Incorporate Yoga practices into your daily life

Think back to the reason you first came to Yoga…. perhaps it was for tight hips, a bad back, anxiety and stress to name just a few reasons.  Initially it might have felt a bit odd, awkward even – how often do we slow right down and focus on ourselves?  But with time, we begin to look forward to the calm and simplicity that our Yoga class brings.

Whilst Yoga almost certainly will help you soothe aching body parts, de-stress, replenish burnout, energise, feel good or relax, it can also offer so much more than just ‘fixing’ problems.

Yoga works at the root level to help us avoid developing these problems in the first place.  It helps us subconsciously change, for example, our posture, or our patterns of thought.

It’s not a quick fix.  Yoga is a long game.  It takes time to install new patterns and then maintain them.  Like weeding a garden, it's a continual process.  But with practice we find it gets easier, and the results become more sustaining.

Some simple ways you could incorporate Yoga practices into your daily life:

• For stress release:  As you inhale draw your shoulder blades up to your ears, squeeze them really tight and hold your breathe for a count of three.  As you breathe out, relax your shoulders.  Repeat three to five times.

• To calm the nervous system: Place both hands over the heart space (centre of your chest).  Close your eyes and take three to five long slow breaths feeling the belly, ribs and chest expand and contract.

• To ground: Remove shoes and socks and stand in Tadasana (Mountain pose) with arms long by the sides, palms facing forwards.  Close your eyes and notice the sensations through the feet.  Get curious about how the feet and toes move, how your weight is distributed, what happens if you sway side to side or rock from toes to heel.

• For sleep:  When lying in bed get as comfortable as you can, making the body really heavy.  Once comfortable lay still and conduct a body scan starting from the crown of the head and working down through every part of the body, consciously relaxing it.

• For balance: Take the opportunity of a spare minute to practice balance, perhaps in Vrikshasana (Tree pose), whether it’s brushing the teeth or waiting for the kettle to boil. 

I’d love to hear of ways you incorporate Yoga into your daily life. Drop me a line.