Mindful Monday: Open Your Heart

Good morning, dearest mindful ones! I hope you had a lovely weekend.

On Saturday, we had a memorial service for my dearest friend who left us way too early. Of course it was heart wrenching and so very sad. But there’s something about pausing from our day to day routines to drill down that allows us to connect to the bigger picture.

It was a heart achingly beautiful day surrounded by so many loved ones. It really shifted my perspective and opened my heart immensely. Death is the greatest teacher about life. Here are my thoughts.

When we move from FEAR, we live in a state of anxiety, anger, confusion, malcontent, discontent, greed, jealousy, hatred; we feel disconnected and unhappy. We then seek physical pleasures and material possessions to find temporary reprieve from the negative spiral of emotions.

When we move from LOVE, we realize that there is nothing stronger than kindness, compassion, patience, tolerance, graciousness and forgiveness. There is nothing to fix or change or recover. We realize that we are ALL connected to every living being, both great and small. When others hurt us, we try to find ourselves in that person. We seek to understand. We will, inevitably, be hurt. As we sit with our pain, we are reminded that it is part of the deal of being HUMAN. It’s inescapable. We feel it and feel it and feel it until it passes. And it ALWAYS passes. And we take the lesson and move on. We seek to destroy barriers. We seek to liberate others from their wheel of misery as we work arduously each day to free ourselves.

We remember that everything is temporary and so fleeting. And we try not to attach. We practice releasing our expectations of how life should be, and we work really hard to appreciate what we have when we have it.

And as life inevitably shifts, we work so hard to open our hands and our hearts and let everything go.

I’ll definitely be seeking some serious mat time this week to support myself as I work on letting go and opening up.

Make it a great week, yogis! Remember that whatever you may be going through, it is so temporary. And that you are never, ever alone in our YBD community.

Anicca! Be happy!

Mindful Monday: Get Grounded

Happy Mindful Monday, yogis! Let’s take advantage of this lovely weather and get grounded!

No, not the kind of grounded where you’re stuck at home with no contact with friends, no TV or electronics. (Although that may also prove beneficial! And actually sounds pretty lovely to me in moderate doses.)

I’m referring to connecting with Mother Earth by walking barefoot! Ideally on the beach, but until spring break, we’ll have to make do with the wet grass. Or even in the mud! It’s called “earthing,” and aside from being a super yogi thing to do; it has amazing mental, emotional and physical health benefits!

Here are just a few of the amazing and maybe even surprising benefits of this practice.

Rejuvenates your senses and calms your mind

Earthing is usually done in the morning or evening – but fit it in wherever you can!

Taking deep breaths of fresh air provides oxygen for your entire body to function more efficiently.

The calm atmosphere and brief moments of unplugging from the matrix and plugging directly into Mother Nature helps relax your entire body and mind, allowing you to release your stress.

The green color of grass helps stimulate your body to produce calming hormones that help you relax.

The feeling of cool grass beneath your feet, the calm stillness of early morning or early evening, connecting with nature and feeling the warmth of the sun will certainly boost your mood!

Connects you to the earth and neutralizes your electrical field

When we walk barefoot on grass, we are directly connected to the magnetic field of the earth, which affects the entire electrical and magnetic field of the human body.

This exchange of energies helps neutralize negative electrical impulses in our body which are known to cause certain ailments.

It is said to also neutralize the effects of spending hours in front of our computer, TV and smart phone screens.

Cleansing our bodies of negative electrical energies can definitely have a positive effect on our overall health.

Provides your body with the precious properties of sun energy

The sunlight warms your winter body to the bone and naturally replenishes your essential vitamin D stores.

Sun energy is a great source of healing our energies and restorative powers. In Naturopathy, it is referred to as the source of life and energy.

Studies show that it helps disinfect the body, tones muscles and nerves and supplies the entire body with energy!

According to experts, we can get the maximum sun energy benefits between 6:30 to 9 in the morning and between 4:30 to about 6:30 in the evening. Be mindful of over exposure to the sun in the harsh afternoon sun hours.

So get off the pavement, take off your stuffy shoes, and go get grounded!

Have a great week, my earthy, grounded yogis! See you on your mat this week!

Mindful Monday: Spring Ahead!

Happy Mindful Monday, friends!

When we changed the clocks early Sunday morning, we didn’t magically create extra daylight … we just shifted the time that the sun rises and sets. This affects your circadian rhythm, your 24 hour body clock.

Setting your clock forward 1 hour for Daylight Savings Time (DST) in the spring means losing an hour of sleep on the morning after the change. For most people, this may just be a minor annoyance. However, for others it can be quite disruptive.

Some studies show that tiredness induced by the clock change contributes to an increase in traffic accidents on the first Monday after the clock switch.

Other studies show an increase in heart attacks and even triggers for mental illness and depression due to that one hour of less sleep.

Even though disrupting the circadian rhythm can have some serious effects, most studies find that they pass during the days following a DST change.

Interestingly, during the fall when we gain an hour, the opposite effects have been measured and observed. A decrease in traffic accidents and even a decrease in heart attack rates!

Being tired can decrease productivity, concentration, and general well-being. It can also make you feel crabby, unmotivated and even depressed!

There are some simple ways of making it easier to handle the clock change, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

• Eat a healthy breakfast first thing. Food tells your body it is the start of the day.

• Go for a walk. Light, and especially sunlight, helps to adjust your internal body clock.

• Use the light wisely. Head outside early to get sunlight and wake up, and dim your lights in the evening to get your body ready for sleep.

• Adjust evening activities. To fall asleep more easily (particularly when losing an hour in spring) limit caffeine and alcohol before bed, and avoid strenuous nighttime workouts. Yoga is fine!

Well here’s to Monday! We got this, y’all; we are yogis! Getting proper rest and self-care are our top priorities.

Have a great week my friends. See you on your mat!

Pose of the Month: March 2018 Parivrtta Anjaneyasana

Happy March, yogi friends! It’s the time for new beginnings. New energy flowing in and sweeping out the old stagnant air.

Nothing is better for creating new space than twisting, twisting and …. twisting!

Our pose of the month is Parivrtta Anjaneyasana or Revolved Crescent Lunge.

Parivrtta: to turn around, revolve

•Anjaneya: salutation

•Asana: pose

This gorgeous pose offers many benefits:

• Strengthens the quadriceps and gluteus muscles

• Stimulates abdominal organs

• Improves digestion and elimination

• Stretches the psoas and hips

• Relieves sciatica pain

• Develops stamina and endurance in your thighs

• Improves your balance, concentration and core awareness

Ok let’s get to it!

1 From downward facing dog, step your right foot between your hands. Extend your left leg back as you press through the ball of your foot. Engage your core. Rise up and bring your palms together at heart center. As you press your left heel back, reach the crown of your head forwards to lengthen your spine and sides.

2 Take a deep inhalation, as you begin to exhale, twist towards your right leg. With your palms still together, place your left tricep on your right thigh, attempting to get your torso as close to your leg as possible.

3 Push your palms together to engage your arms and try to twist in deeper, sending your chest in the direction of the ceiling and shifting your gaze upwards over your right shoulder.

4 Stay here, or extend your left fingertips down to the ground on the outside of your right leg, and reach your right fingertips up the ceiling.

5 Stay here for five breaths. To exit the pose, unwind and place your hands down on the mat, then step back to Downward Facing Dog. Repeat with your left leg forward.

Tips:

*Option to lower your left knee. This will make the pose less intense and provide more opportunity to deepen the twist.

*Deepen the twist by using your breath: Inhale for length and let the exhalations happen naturally to turn the torso around the axis of the spine.

*Stabilize your shoulder girdle to isolate the twist in the spine. Often once we start to twist, the bottom shoulder head rolls forward, pulling the bottom shoulder blade off the back. Instead work on stacking one shoulder directly on top of the other and working to maintain equal width in both shoulder blades and collarbones as you twist.

*Squeeze your back thigh muscles to the bone, activate your back glutes and internally rotate you back thigh to keep your hips square and pelvis stable.

Meet Denise, YBD Teacher of the Month

As one of our very own teacher training graduates, we are lucky to have Denise as part of our teaching staff. Originally from Singapore, Denise came to love yoga after finding that breath to movement connection could be very therapeutic. She thoughtfully sequences her classes in a unique and enjoyable way. Her kind smile greets students at the desk and she strives to personally connect with everyone she encounters. Here’s where you can find her!

Mondays

5:45 YBD HOT, Downers Grove

Tuesdays

6:00AM YBD 2 95, Elmhurst

Thursdays

4:30 HIIT Pilates, Downers Grove

When and how did you come to yoga?

I came to yoga when I experienced the loss of a loved one and was seeking comfort and some form of catharsis. I actually started out with martial arts yoga, which is yoga with a little bit of martial arts movements and I found the linking of breath to movement very therapeutic.

Why did you start teaching yoga?

I have always wanted to teach yoga after experiencing the benefits of it but I was working long hours in a corporate job back then. After making a big move to Chicago from Singapore, I decided that it was time to take the plunge after discovering Yoga by Degrees by a flyer that was mailed to my house and it was one of the best decisions I have made.

What is your favorite pose?

Eight-angle pose. It is a strong pose which requires a stable foundation even though it is an arm balance and there are many fun transitions that you can play from this.

Who inspires your teaching?

Everyone and everything. I have always been an observer and just watching how things move around me, even how the trees sway and how animals and people move inspires me to create movements that are enjoyable and fun.

Tips for beginners…

Keep breathing no matter what.

What’s your favorite quote?

By one of my favorite authors, Kurt Vonnegut Jr: “I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different.”

Mindful Monday

Good morning, lovely and mindful ones! Somehow we blinked, and suddenly it’s March!

After a long, cold and beautiful winter, this is our final push toward the warmer, sun-filled breezy months ahead.

When I think of March, I think St. Patrick’s Day, March Madness, Spring Equinox, spring break shamrock shakes (don’t judge) and dating back to my days in politics and community organizing, Women’s History month. What are some of the things that you look forward to this month?

As we prepare for spring, we focus on detoxing and renewing. We do this in our homes, right? Spring cleaning! Opening the windows to let the breeze carry away stagnant, stale air.

Spring is also the time for cleansing the body from the winter’s slumber. In the winter, we have a tendency to get sluggish, and so spring becomes the opportune time to shed heavier layers and clean the body of excess toxins in the tissues.

From an Ayurvedic perspective, the Kapha dosha, which is the water and earth element, is highly accumulated in the body from the winter months. This can be experienced as winter weight gain and feeling lethargic.

This is a great time of year to consider a detox or cleanse of your digestive system. Cutting processed foods, caffeine, sugar, alcohol and dairy for a few to several days will reset your system and leave you feeling light and lifted.

As sunlight creates longer days, the warmth and dampness of this time of year has the potential to leave congestion and upper respiratory conditions in their wake. Spring is the time for releasing deep-seated emotions of sorrow and sadness. You’ll be seeing quite a bit of twisting postures, backbends and deep forward folds in your yoga classes this time of year to guide you in releasing and renewing.

Let’s enjoy these next few weeks of transition as much as we love the transitions we practice on our mats!

Make it a great week, friends!