amyddaniels

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A Detoxifying Sequence for Digestive Health

Try this simple, detoxifying sequence for digestive health to feel grounded, supported, and comfortable inside out.

We often feel stress this time of year. Instead of letting worry and anxiety get the best of you, take a deep breath and roll out your yoga mat. In just a few minutes, you can rebalance your energy and strengthen your body's healthy inflammatory response.

Try this simple, detoxifying sequence for digestive health to feel grounded, supported, and comfortable inside out. 

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Product Review: Cliganic Organic Eucalyptus Oil

This essential oil can perk up your mood and help you breathe easy

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Yoga Journal Review

Step aside, coffee. Inhaling a few whiffs of Cliganic Eucalyptus Oil has become our new mid-afternoon pick-me-up.

Native to Australia, eucalyptus trees are now grown all over the world (Cliganic sources their eucalyptus from India, where farming the trees creates employment in rural areas). The tree's oval-shaped leaves produce the distinctive-smelling essential oil, which has a number of healing powers. Eucalyptus oil contains eucalyptol and alpha-terpineol, compounds that, when inhaled, can open airways, calm a cough, and loosen chest congestion. Research shows it can also soothe sore muscles, freshen breath, and combat stress. 

Our tester liked that Cliganic Eucalyptus Oil was gently energizing but not overpowering. She found that adding a few drops to a diffuser near her desk helped her feel re-energized when her energy started to flag in the afternoon. 

She also added a few drops to a carrier oil in the morning and massaged it on her temples before meditating. "It was a lovely way to wake up and begin the day."

View the original article to see embedded media.

Yoga Journal Reader Reviews

The Eucalyptus oil has a pleasant, slightly minty and spicy fragrance. I used it as a scalp treatment by blending a few drops with rosehip oil and working it into the roots of my hair and scalp. The essential oil was carried into the steam of the shower and became a refreshing aromatherapy treatment. For the price it is a great quality and comparable to more expensive oils I’ve used. - Mary D.

Just one whiff of the minty, menthol-like aroma opens my sinuses. When I have a stuffy nose, I like to add a drop or two to a sink full of steaming hot water, drape a towel over my head, and breathe in the vapor for a few minutes. The scent reminds me of the smell of my favorite spa: soothing, fresh, and invigorating. - Nora W. 

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Target Your Obliques With These 3 Yoga Poses

Try these side body-centric poses to refine your asana practice and deepen your core connection

When we think of our cores, our obliques aren’t typically the first set of muscles that spring to mind—rectus abdominus, aka six-pack, I’m looking at you. However, your obliques muscles are key in many yoga postures and daily life moves. After all, they stabilize your spine when you rotate your torso and pelvis.

Located on either side of your rectus abdominus, your thin yet powerful external obliques run diagonally from your ribs to your rectus abdominus. Your external obliques are situated just below, perpendicular to your external obliques.

In asana practice, challenging poses like Parivrtta Trikonasana (Revolved Triangle Pose) engage your obliques, as do more grounded poses like Jathara Parivartanasana (Revolved Abdomen Pose). Off of your yoga mat, you use these muscles when you throw a ball (your obliques pull your shoulder around.) And when you kick a ball, your obliques rotate your pelvis. Your obliques are in play when you strength train as well: they help stabilize your vertebrae to maintain spinal alignment when you lift a heavy weight.

As you move through these three yoga poses, use the cues provided to focus on your oblique muscles in each shape. Bring the awareness you cultivate into your next longer yoga practice, and with you into day to day life, and feel your connection to your center deepen. 

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4 Steps to Help Manage Overwhelming Emotions

Ways to stay calm and grounded during unpredictable times.

This challenging year has depleted our emotional well-being in unpredictable ways. During times like these, failing to remember our innate unbreakable wholeness—and its qualities of indestructible joy and peace—can cause us to over-identify with our emotional responses. Our egos may translate physical illness, emotional trauma, or even day-to-day challenges as “something’s wrong with me.”

Are you clinging to what "should be" rather than what is? 

Tense? Scattered? Struggling to find balance ? Well, we don’t have to list the ways we’re all struggling to cope with an unprecedented year. If you’re seeking joy and peace amidst the challenges, join Richard Miller—psychologist, yoga therapist, and founder of the iRest institute—for a four-week program that will help you transform emotional turmoil into enduring resilience and an unbreakable sense of well-being. Learn more and register today.

Perhaps your neighbor keeps turning down your invitations for a socially distanced walk. You might feel angry and rejected and interpret their unavailability as “I’m not worth their time.” In reality, they may be stuck in endless Zoom meetings or dealing with family obligations.

Welcoming and mindfully responding to your emotions can help you see that your inner wisdom, wholeness, and well-being are always close at hand. This is the unbreakable promise that yoga offers us all. The next time a challenge arises, follow these five steps to help break the cycle of assumptions.

1. Welcome Sensations as Messengers

We experience feelings as sensations in our bodies and minds, such as a tight belly, a pounding heartbeat, or agitating thoughts. Pausing and tuning in to these sensations can help you identify your emotions. For example, if your muscles tense when your friend says they can’t meet up, notice and accept the sensation as a sign that their actions upset you.

2. Develop Your Witness Consciousness

Witness the sensations and the stories you might be creating around them. Inquire, “What is the underlying expectation or belief that’s giving rise to this emotion?” Witnessing and accepting your emotions helps you disentangle from them, break free of conditioned reactions, and grow your capacity for compassion toward yourself and others.

3. Create Calm

No matter which emotion is present, realize that there’s nothing inherently wrong with you. Tap into the somatic sensations you associate with peace, such as slowing and steadying your breath or grounding your palms on your abdomen or chest. Notice how your feelings transform and how you are more connected to yourself and to what life is asking of you.

4. Release Unrealistic Expectations

Clinging to narratives about how things “should be” leads to suffering and prevents you from recognizing new information, such as the fears and challenges your friend might be dealing with. By seeing their situation more clearly, your feelings may soften, and you might be able to talk things out with them and together find a supportive solution.

5. Try This Brief Meditation

From a seated or lying position, open your senses to the environment around you. Feel the air on your skin and where your body is in contact with the chair or ground. Witness emotions that arise and how they show up as sensations. Welcome them just as they are.

Then, set your attention free. Feel yourself everywhere and nowhere, a spacious presence that expands in all directions. Gently inquire, “Is there some action I am being asked to take that will enable me to feel authentic and harmonious within myself and in my life?” Listen for the inner voice that whispers its answer to you. Welcome the wisdom that has been sent from beyond.

Seeking more emotional support and practices that help guide you toward balance and peace? Start Richard's four-week program today!

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The Best Ways to Use Rosehip Oil

Here's how to utilize rosehip oil to get the most benefits out of this extract.

Rosehip oil is a highly versatile extract derived from pressing the fruit and seeds of the rose plant. With uses ranging from skincare to boosting the immune system, we explain all the different ways that rosehip oil can help your body and how to apply it.

Cliganic 100% Pure Organic Rosehip Oil

Hydrate Sensitive Skin

Rosehip oil is naturally rich in antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and vitamins A and C—all of which are excellent for hydration. The linoleic, linolenic, palmitic, and other essential fatty acids contained within rosehip oil strengthen the cell walls and stabilize the cell membranes, keeping water in. When you place a few drops of rosehip oil on your hand and rub it into target areas, over time, the result is naturally plump, smooth, and glowing skin.

Try Cliganic 100% Pure Organic Rosehip Oil.

Teddie Organics Organic Rosehip Oil

Freshen Up the Face

The antioxidants in rosehip oil shine when it comes to treating acne, dark circles under the eyes, and fine lines and wrinkles from aging. It contains vitamins A, C, and E, which are powerful antioxidants that can penetrate the skin to reduce redness and inflammation. The vitamins fend off damage from free radicals and sun exposure while balancing the production of oils on your face. To apply, simply rub in a few drops on target areas.

Try Teddie Organics Organic Rosehip Oil.

Kosmea Organic Rosehip Oil

Boost Your Immune System

Hydration isn't the only benefit to having stronger cell membranes. The polyunsaturated essential fatty acids like linoleic acid in rosehip oil prevent the breakdown of cell membranes, keeping bacteria out. Plus, the vitamin C helps encourage the production of white blood cells which protect the body from infection. Rosehip oil absorbs quickly into the skin, so any application of it will provide the immune-boosting benefits.

Try Kosmea Organic Rosehip Oil.

Radha Rosehip Oil

Heal Your Hair

Rosehip oil acts as a natural conditioner for hair and the essential fatty acids and antioxidants within it can heal hair follicles, moisturize hair, nourish thinning hair, and even help with hair loss. It's non-greasy and treats dandruff, comforting dry scalps. To apply, squirt a pipette directly into your hair or palm and rub it in gently.

Try Radha Rosehip Oil.

Now Organic Rosehip Seed Oil

Enhance Relaxation

Beyond all of the health benefits to rosehip oil, it's no secret that it smells good, too. Adding a few drops into your bathwater or essential oil diffuser can add a pleasant aroma to your space, helping you to unwind after a stressful day.

Try Now Organic Rosehip Seed Oil.

We independently source all of the products that we feature on yogajournal.com. If you buy from the links on our site, we may receive an affiliate commission, which in turn supports our work.

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Holistic Hamstrings: Poses to Stretch and Strengthen These Key Muscles

Try this yoga sequence to elongate, strengthen, stabilize, and balance the backs of your legs

We work with our hamstrings a lot in yoga, oftentimes focusing quite intently on stretching these muscles. But healthy hamstrings aren’t just flexible—they’re strong and nimble too. After all, these muscles are key for everyday activities, such as walking and squatting. This sequence offers a variety of hamstring moves. Yes, there are plenty of stretches, but you’ll also work on your stability and balance, strengthening your hamstrings and, eventually, relaxing them.

Pro tip: in the poses that offer a stretch, focus the stretch on the belly of the muscle rather than at the attachments (your hamstring attachment points are at the knees and sitting bones). If you feel pulling in either of these areas, back off by bending your knees slightly and engaging your core a bit more diligently. 

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Foundation Awards Funds to Yoga Teachers in Marginalized Communities

The Yoga Alliance Foundation launches a new program to support teachers bringing yoga to historically marginalized communities.

The Yoga Alliance Foundation is introducing a second phase to their emergency fund for yoga teachers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Dubbed the “Eka Recovery Fund," its pilot program, Teaching for Equity—in partnership with the nonprofit Ivy Child International—will place stipends directly in the hands of yoga teachers around the world, who are bringing yoga to historically marginalized communities.

All yoga professionals in financial need with at least two years of experience teaching in communities that have traditionally faced barriers to access are eligible to apply or be nominated for the program, through December 18th, 2020. “This program is meant to amplify and celebrate the expertise of people who have dedicated years of their lives to yoga outreach and service. We want to be a force of support for yoga professionals throughout the world,” says Kristina Graff, Managing Director of the Yoga Alliance Foundation. “We’re humbled by what they do and are honored to be a part of it.”

The Teaching for Equity pilot is based on a program model created by Maya Breuer, the Yoga Alliance Vice President of Cross-Cultural Advancement, who has been working at the intersection of yoga and community outreach for decades. Breuer saw that teachers offering yoga in marginalized communities needed support, and that funding these teachers would allow them to continue their work in these communities.

In addition to providing immediate financial relief, Breuer sees the Eka Recovery Fund as a long-term agent of change. “This has been a long road, and we had to take a step back and ask How do we invest in recovery? This program is for the aftermath of COVID-19 and everything that follows,” Breuer says.

See also As COVID-19 Reveals the Cracks in the Yoga Industry, Could a Universal Teachers’ Union Help Reshape Our Community?

Breuer, who managed to breathe life into the program when she brought it to Graff, sees a two-pronged approach to recovery: financial stability and mentorship. “We are starting with people who have experience teaching in historically marginalized communities, and in the future we would like to encourage other teachers to begin offering classes in these communities,” Breuer says. “If we support teachers working in communities that have faced barriers to yoga access, we’re helping the teacher and the community. This program helps bring yoga to people where they are,” Graff says.

Breuer maintains that Yoga Alliance and the Yoga Alliance Foundation are committed to equity in yoga. That is why Teaching for Equity has a diverse advisory committee of people who represent different lived experiences who consult on questions of access and outreach. The goal is to encourage people from a variety of backgrounds to practice yoga, and to support the teachers who are already trusted members of underserved communities. “We want to shine a light on the disparities and lack of inclusion” Breuer says.

Graff Agrees. “The program comes in response to what we heard from the community for what was needed," she says. "COVID-19 is the current crisis, and the crisis is worse in historically marginalized communities.

Ivy Child International has many years of experience with grassroots organizations across the world. They will serve as the administrative arm for the selection of teachers and awarding of program stipends. The amount of the stipend will be adjusted based on the GDP of the country in which the awardee lives or teaches.

“This program is for any yoga professional, it’s not limited to Yoga Alliance members. We want to engage the full yoga community, worldwide” Graff says.

To apply for the program, nominate an impactful teacher, or make a donation to the Eka Recovery Fund, click here.  

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David Lynch Wants to Make Meditation Free for 300 Million Americans

The inagurual “Meditate America” campaign kicks off December 3 with a free virtual benefit concert and fundraiser featuring a star-studded lineup.

As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, the mounting collective stress and trauma in the nation was the impetus for Meditate America, a new campaign led by the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace bringing free meditation to at-risk populations.

When asked what inspired the cause, David Lynch unambiguously replied, “Take a look at America today.”

David Lynch

See also Coronavirus, the Pandemic, and the Myth of Your Insignificance

Meditate America launches December 3 with a free virtual benefit concert streamed on YouTube featuring pre-recorded performances by Elvis Costello, Angelique Kidjo, Kesha, Sting, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and others, including live talks with media personalities, and an interview with Hugh Jackman and Katy Perry on meditation and motherhood. The fundraising event will draw awareness and support for the initiative that aims to make meditation free to anyone in America who needs it.

The campaign is part of the David Lynch Foundation’s ongoing efforts to provide the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique to at-risk groups experiencing stress and trauma. Founded in 2005 by the acclaimed filmmaker and avid meditator who bears its name, the David Lynch Foundation has already offered free meditation to 1 million students in underserved schools in 35 countries, as well as thousands of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and their families, and survivors of domestic violence.

See also Prudence Farrow on The Beatles and the '60s TM Spiritual Revolution

The new initiative will focus on the effects of pandemic-related stress and trauma on healthcare and essential workers on the COVID-19 frontlines, as well as families in underserved communities living in hard hit areas where hospitals are underfunded, and once again, overwhelmed as virus cases continue to rise. Meditate America will also continue to serve veterans at-risk for depression and suicide during the pandemic.

The State of the Nation’s Mental Health

A recent CDC report detailing the impact of COVID-19 on mental health in the country showed that at least 40 percent of adults struggle with substance abuse and mental health issues, with 31 percent experiencing anxiety or depression and nearly 11 percent considering suicide. Some experts have already warned of a potential for long-term psychological effects.

Meditate America’s goal to serve demographics that currently reflect nearly half the U.S. population may seem lofty, but Bob Roth, CEO of the David Lynch Foundation, says he has no doubt the campaign will be a success. Though the virtual benefit concert is free, Roth says donations supporting the cause are already rolling in.

“We just wanted to give the country something wonderful to think about and celebrate,” Roth said by phone. “And meditation is the counter-opposite to absolutely everything that's going on in the country today, which is fear and anxiety.”

Roth says the production costs were covered by donors and explains that other campaigns led by the foundation are often subsidized by the generosity of the TM community, which includes a growing roster of celebrities. “It's all very grassroots,” Roth says. He explains that the Starbucks Foundation, for instance, recently provided the David Lynch Foundation with a $250,000 grant to offer free TM to healthcare workers in underfunded hospitals as part of the foundation’s “Heal the Healers Now” campaign, which launched in April in response to the rising rates of physician burnout.

The Beatles and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of TM

Why Make Transcendental Meditation Free?

Transcendental Meditation is a trademarked meditation technique developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the mid-1950s and famously adopted by The Beatles. The evidence-based practice involves sitting and silently reciting a mantra to yourself for 20 minutes twice a day. The popularity of TM can be attributed to its simplicity and accessibility for most adults and children, including those with ADHD. “It gives the body a profound state of rest and relaxation and a different constellation of changes take place in the body,” Roth says.

See also The Science Behind a Mantra

The average cost of initiation for TM ranges from $500–$1,000, which is why the David Lynch Foundation remains committed to providing it for free.

Meditate America is garnering support to fund rigorous scientific research on the efficacy of the Transcendental Meditation technique. Most studies to date have been small in scale. If successfully funded, Meditate America plans to conduct large-scale studies and clinical trials on the scientifically proven benefits of TM for healing trauma, reducing high blood pressure and the risk of heart disease and stroke, and reducing anxiety and depression.

See also Meditation and Yoga Alleviate Chronic Pain and Depression

By completing large-scale phase III clinical trials, TM could potentially qualify as a medical intervention covered by public and private insurance companies. This would make the TM technique free for anyone in the U.S. with insurance, as many as 300 million Americans according to the David Lynch Foundation. “The whole country is at risk,” says Roth. “The whole country is traumatized.”

Roth, a respected leader in the Transcendental Meditation community with 48 years of experience teaching the technique, says the world is changing and it won’t be long before alternative healing modalities like TM are covered by insurance. This of course, will depend on the outcomes of the phase III trials, which could be about three years in the making, according to Roth.

In the past, medical intervention had been reserved for pharmacology and surgery, but today, Roth says that complementary and integrative therapies like acupuncture, yoga, and meditation are already becoming more widely accepted as forms of medical intervention.

See also New Study Finds That Kundalini Yoga Can Treat Symptoms of Anxiety

“There is no medicine, no pill that anyone can take that’s going to help reduce and neutralize the buildup of anxiety,” Roth says. “We should equip our citizens with enough evidence-based tools to be able to handle the world that's coming to us.”

Meditate America airs December 3 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Register and attend the event for free and learn how to make a donation at meditateamerica.org.

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Cobra Pose

Begin on your belly with your feet hip-distance apart and your hands placed beside your ribs.

Extend your big toes straight back, and press down with all ten toenails to activate your quadriceps.

Spin your inner thighs to the ceiling (to broaden your lower back) while firming your outer ankles into your midline (to prevent your feet from sickling).

Pressing down lightly with your hands, start to raise your head and chest while rolling your shoulders back and down.

Keep the back of your neck long, and focus on lifting your sternum versus lifting your chin.

As your arms start to straighten, move slowly and mindfully.

Make sure to emphasize pulling your chest forward and coiling your thoracic spine rather than pushing onto your lower back—this is an important distinction, because your pelvis remains on the floor.

Move the bottom border of your shoulder blades in and up to open your chest from behind.

Only straighten your arms to the degree that allows your shoulders to remain away from your ears.

Keep at least a slight bend in your elbows to reinforce drawing out of your lower back and into your upper back.

Take your gaze up only to the degree that the curve of your neck is a continuation of the curve that has already been established in your upper back.

Hold for 5–10 breaths, then release back onto the mat.

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Crane (Crow) Pose

Begin in a squat with your feet together and your knees wide apart.

Tilt your torso forward so that your shoulders fit between your knees.

Grip your outer shoulders with your knees, and place your palms together in front of your sternum.

Extend your sternum away from your navel while descending your tailbone toward the floor.

Place your hands on the floor shoulder-distance apart and 6–8 inches ahead of your feet.

Come high onto your toes, and shift forward until your elbows stack over your wrists.

Continuing to reach your chest forward, lift your heels toward your buttocks.

Roll the heads of your upper arms back and up, away from the floor.

Your knees can either grip your outer shoulders or balance on your triceps.

Press your arms as straight as possible while bringing your feet and buttocks toward each other.

Hold for 5–10 breaths, then either release your feet to the floor or exit into Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose).

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BHARADVAJA’S TWIST

Begin in Dandasana (Staff Pose); move your sacrum in and up toward your navel, and extend your sternum away from your navel to lengthen your front body.

Feel your pubis and tailbone dropping equally toward the floor—the bowl of your pelvis is upright, neither spilling forward nor spilling back; also notice that the two sides of your waist are equally long.

Imagine a central axis running through your torso from your pelvic floor to the crown of your head.

Emphasize both the length and the integrity of this axis; the column is straight and is not tilting or curving off to one side or another.

Keeping the imprint of this central axis, lean onto your right hip and swing your legs to the left, bending your knees and placing your feet to the outside of your left hip.

Nestle your left ankle on top of your right arch, and descend your left sitting bone to recreate the evenness in your side body from Dandasana.

Inhale, and lengthen along the central axis.

Exhale, and twist your torso around that length to the right; keep your left sitting bone heavy.

Place your left hand beneath your right knee with your fingers pointed back toward your knee, and take your right hand to the floor behind your right hip.

Draw back with the head of your left upper arm so that the hand position doesn’t cause your shoulder to hunch forward.

Take your gaze to the right, but make sure the twist in your neck is not happening at the expense of rotation throughout your spine and torso.

Continue the essential pattern of breath; use inhalations to lengthen and exhalations to twist any amount more.

Hold for 8–10 breaths, then release back to center.

Repeat on the other side.

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Bound Angle Pose

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Half Lord of the Fishes Pose

Begin seated with Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose) legs, right knee on top.

Root down with your sitting bones to rebound up the length of your spine.

Imagine a central axis running through your torso from your pelvic floor to the crown of your head.

With each inhalation, emphasize both the length and the integrity of this axis; the column is straight and is not tilting or curving off to one side or another.

Keeping your left leg in its current position, place your right foot to the outside of your left knee.

Root down with your right big toe mound while simultaneously descending your right outer hip.

Inhale, and take your left arm to the ceiling.

Exhale, and hook your left elbow to the outside of your right knee. Take your right hand to the floor outside of your right hip.

Notice how your right knee tends to buckle into your midline; instead, press it to the right to create more resistance for the left elbow to work against.

Inhale, finding more length along the central axis; exhale, and use that length to revolve deeper.

Repeat on the other side.

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Half Moon Pose

Begin in Utthita Trikonasana with the right leg in front and the upper torso square to the long side of the mat.

Bring the left hand to the hip and turn and look to the floor to the right without allowing the left ribs to collapse forward.

Bend the right knee, tracking it in line with the second toe.

Adjust the right hand and the left foot to the right, shift the weight into the right foot and lift into Ardha Chandrasana.

Place the right hand beneath the right shoulder and take the left hand to the ceiling, stacking it above the right hand.

Have the left thigh parallel to the floor with the foot flexed –make sure you can just see your left big toe.

With each inhale find more length along the spine; with each exhale revolve around that length.

Spin the right ribs forward and the left ribs back.

Firm the right buttock forward and under while pressing the left thigh bone back.

Gaze can be straight forward or to the top hand.

Hold for 5 to10 breaths.

To exit, keeping the chest open and square to the long side of the mat, bend the right knee a couple of inches.

Track the knee in line with the second toe, then deepen the bend and step back with the left foot, returning to Utthita Trikonasana.

Keep the right hand on the floor and the torso horizontal during the transition.

Having re-entered Utthita Trikonasana, root down through the feet on the next exhale; on the subsequent inhale use the strength of the legs to raise the torso and return the feet to parallel.

Repeat on the other side.

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Handstand or Downward Facing Tree Pose

Begin with your mat at the wall in Adho Mukha Svanasana, with the fingertips about 5 inches from the wall

Practice all the classic AMS hand, arm and shoulder actions.

On an inhale, rock forward so the shoulders stack directly over the wrists.

Fix the gaze on a point between and slightly ahead of the index fingertips.

If the hips are not well higher than the shoulders, walk the feet in a couple of inches.

On an exhale, step one foot about 1/3 of the way to the hands.

Point the second foot, keeping the leg absolutely straight and neutral.

At the end of the exhale, push off the forward foot to propel the pelvis and legs to the wall.

Once both feet are up the wall, flex the ankles and climb the heels up any amount higher.

Spin the inner thighs towards the wall and take the flesh of the buttocks towards the heels.

Direct the front ribs towards the frontal hipbones.

Hold for 5-10 breaths, then, keeping one leg at the wall for as long as possible, release the opposite leg lightly to the floor and hang in a soft Uttanasa (Standing Forward Bend).

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Half Frog Pose

Begin in Sphinx Pose, pressing down with all ten toenails, spinning your inner thighs to the ceiling, and firming your outer ankles into your midline.

Keeping your left elbow in front of your left shoulder, move your hand so your fingers point toward your right wrist and your forearm is at a diagonal.

Press down with your left forearm to roll your left shoulder back and up away from the floor.

Extend your sternum away from your navel, and broaden your collarbones to lift and open your chest.

Place your right hand next to your lower ribs with your fingers pointing forward and your shoulder at elbow height as in Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose).

Bend your right knee, aiming your foot toward your right buttock; keep your right knee pinned into your midline.

Keeping the Chaturanga shape, place your right hand on the top of your right foot with your fingers still pointing forward.

Gently press down with your right hand while moving your right heel to the outside of your buttock.

To deepen the stretch in your quadriceps, descend your tailbone and lift your right knee any amount.

Continue to lift your chest and pin your left shoulder back and up.

Hold for 5–10 breaths, then release. Repeat on the other side.

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3 Common Sleep Issues—and Yoga Practices to Help Salvage Some Rest

Whether you're too wound up to drift off or wake up in the middle of the night, four yoga therapists share the yoga poses, breathing techniques, and full-body scans you can call on.

Ah, sleep. It's a pleasure we take for granted until it stops coming so easily to us. Unfortunately, even before this year's pandemic, insomnia itself was becoming a worldwide epidemic; this year's collective crisis only worsened an issue that was already brewing. So, what can we do? YJ talked to four expert yoga therapists from our recent summit, Restore Your Sleep: Reclaim Deep Rest and Wake Up Energized, for the practices that can help.

Interested in watching the Restore Your Sleep yoga summit to access discussions and practices to enhance the quality of your rest? Join now!

Are you tossing and turning most nights? You're not alone. 

Sleep Issue: You spent all day glued to your screen—now you’re too hyped to unwind.

“Sometimes forcing calm in a chaotic world just isn’t possible, or even advisable,” says Lisa Sanfilippo, psychotherapist, yoga teacher, and author of Sleep Recovery. “Our bodies are primed to activate the stress response when our natural desire to take action is immobilized.”

In other words, when things are out of your control, your body responds by accumulating tension, which can create anxiety and interfere with sleep. Lisa’s expert advice? Try discharging tension during the day.

“Stomp your feet into the ground, floor, or better yet, earth. Then, through yoga asana, you can pull even more tension out of hotspots where stress collects,” says Sanfilippo. “For example, Eka Pada Supta Virasana (One-Legged Reclined Hero Pose) releases the line of tension from the quads—your thickest muscle group—through the hip flexor and into the abdominals, lengthening the front of the torso, which creates more space for a calming breath.”

Sleep Issue: You’re lying awake—and growing increasingly anxious about it.

Often the most stressful parts of not being able to fall asleep is the awareness that we can’t sleep, which works us up into a tizzy—making the odds of drifting off even more elusive.

"If you can’t sleep, don’t panic," says Dr. Gail Parker, psychologist, educator, and author of Restorative Yoga for Ethnic and Race-Based Stress and Trauma. "Getting into a Restorative Yoga pose not only evokes our nervous system’s relaxation response and settles any agitation, but it can help us accept our current condition. Even if you can’t sleep, you can always rest."

Dr. Parker suggests that something as simple as a Supported Savasana (Corpse Pose), which you can do right there in bed with an extra pillow under your knees, can help you find peace in frustrating circumstances. 

In those moments, you can also tap into the power of the breath, says Jillian Pransky, yoga therapist and author of Deep Listening: A Healing Practice to Calm Your Body, Clear Your Mind, and Open Your Heart.

"When we are feeling anxious or thinking stressful thoughts, we make ourselves even more tense by inhaling longer than we’re exhaling. Exhaling, which is linked to the parasympathetic nervous system, influences our body's ability to calm down. Research shows that longer exhales further stimulate your Vagus nerve (the direct switch to turn on our ability to "rest and digest"), which can really help us relax and settle," says Pransky. 

In fact, making the exhalation twice as long as the inhalation is a classic yogic tool, she says.

"I like to pair this breathing practice with yoga nidra when I need extra help getting to sleep. I use a 4-count inhale and 8-count exhale, but you can try counts of 2 and 4, or 3 or 6—whatever is comfortable." 

Start at your feet. On your inhale, on a count of 4, bring awareness in your feet and imagine the breath melting any tension in that area. On the exhale, on a count of 8, imagine liquid tension releasing onto your mattress. On your next inhale, continue bringing your attention to the next area, and so on.

Lower Legs

Thighs

Full Length of Legs

Seat/Pelvis

Belly

Lower Back

Mid Back

Upper Back

Hands

Lower Arms

Upper Arms/Shoulders

Full Length of Arms

Face

Head 

Sleep Issue: Falling asleep wasn’t an issue. Now it’s two in the morning, and you’re wide awake...

...and worrying about Covid-19...or ruminating about your morning schedule...or getting irrationally irritated that your partner is snoozing away peacefully. So, what can you do to salvage your rest? Yoga therapist Pamela Stokes Eggleston suggests a full-body, squeeze-and-release breathing practice that will help release tension and lull you back to slumber:

“Draw your attention to your breath. Inhale fully and deeply, and exhale completely, continuing to focus on your breath. After a few mindful breaths, tense your feet and toes on an inhale, and release the tension of the feet and toes on an exhale. Next, as you inhale, tense your legs; as you exhale, release. Continue moving up your body: Inhale, tensing your glutes and hips, exhale the holding; and so on. Once you complete your head and face, you can then tense the entire body, inhaling deeply, and release the holding, exhaling slowly and completely. Then focus on the breath again. If you have to, run through it again, starting at your feet and toes.”

 For more great tips, watch the Restore Your Sleep yoga summit to access discussions and practices. Join now!