Think of your home yoga practice as basic self-care.
Self-care is taking care of yourself physically, emotionally and mentally.
As well as attending to the body, mind, and emotions, regular yoga practice creates a container for developing interoception – your ability to hear your body’s signals, messages and intuitions.
Remember that yoga means the union of the body, mind and spirt.
A daily practice can take as little as 10 minutes!
In general, a daily yoga practice can consist of three elements:
- Physical movement – it can be a simple as decompressing the spine and moving the major joints through their range of motion
- A breathing practice – think of the breath as the link between body and mind
- Meditation – this helps cultivate healthy mind states and minimizes negative thought habits
Below are a few suggestions for each category.
Physical Movement
Decompress your Spine:
- on your back, hug your knees, rock side to side
- or Child’s pose
- or Standing forward bend
- then cats/cows (in a chair, or on hands and knees, or standing)
Add range-of-motion movement to the major joints:
- Shoulder rolls, elbow circles and rolling wrists
- Standing hip circles and ankle circles
- Side bending (either sitting or standing)
From here, you can add any favorite poses you feel comfortable with.
Breathing Practices
Below are two relatively simple yogic breathing techniques. Choose one and do it for 1-2 minutes. Never strain when working with your breath. Always keep it easy and comfortable.
- Belly breathing (diaphragmatic breathing)
- 3-part breath
Meditation
Developing awareness is key to cultivating a steady mind and overriding the stress response. Meditation is the main tool for developing that awareness. Below are 3 simple meditation techniques.
- Breath counting
- Mantra: use any two words, like Peace and Joy. Silently say one word on the inhalation and the other on the exhalation. Don’t change the rhythm of your breath.
- Breath-centered meditation (focus on the sensations of breathing)
Let me know how it goes! Ask me questions. Share your wins!
Photo by Scott Broome on Unsplash
Michelle Stortz 