A week ago Friday, was International Yoga Day. I was too busy living my yoga to write about it then. Last Sunday I was a sub teacher for a yin yoga class at 5pm at Beloved Yoga Studio in Reston, Va and thought I would share a few thoughts.

Yoga is a philosophy. It’s a roadmap for healthy living that includes rules for living, exercises to enable a closer relationship with self, and prepare you for meditation. I often share with my clients how the body follows the mind and the mind follows the breath. Due to early conditioning, most of us don’t know how to fully breathe to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, (PNS). Through deep belly breathing, we can teach our bodies that it is safe to rest and repair, rest and digest, and mate and ovulate. This is the yin within the yin and the yang.

There is a yoga for everyone. You are never too sick or never too old to learn, or to begin. Even if you’ve been practicing on and off for decades as I have, it’s important to always have a beginners mind. I believe this is true in business and in life too. In keeping a beginners mind, you cultivate discernment. You can practice moving from fear to curiosity. Notice when you feel challenged, breathe into the pose and relax. Notice any automatic negative thoughts or self limiting beliefs arising. Practice compassion and self love for your current limitations. Notice where you are holding tension. Visualize and breathe healing oxygen into the space.  With practice your body will begin to change. Your mind, your body and your spirit will open up.  One of my students in my Wednesday morning Carpe Diem Dance class (movement to music with yoga and breathwork) told me this week that before coming to the class she hadn’t raised her hands over her head for decades! She risked stretching her comfort zone and is pleased with her results.

Speaking of stretching…It’s easy to overstretch muscles and to pull a tendon or a ligament when moving mindlessly or too fast. The more you try to force a stretch, the tighter your ligaments and tendons work to protect you. This is an innate, self loving response. Remember the body is self loving, self healing, and self repairing. The way to stretch and nourish tendons and ligaments is through deep relaxation. Yin is a way to move into a pose just to the point of resistance and then to practice relaxing and letting go. This may seem counter intuitive. For those of us who are action oriented, this can be a challenge. Practice quieting your mind when it starts to breed old negative thoughts that no longer serve you.

This practice is not about what you look like or how far you can go into the pose. It’s about connecting to how you feel. In this respect, it is a more advanced practice. It’s a practice in discernment over effort and ease. It’s a practice in self care. How challenging you make it is up to you. You choose whether you want to practice yin or relaxation, within every pose. Discover how each moment allows you the opportunity for choice and discernment.

You can easily see the value of taking these lessons off the mat and into your consciousness.
Modern living stress our nervous system. It’s easy to stay stuck in the sympathetic nervous system. Yoga can teach you to use your breath, your body, and your mind to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system necessary for optimal health.

Currently, I am teaching a beginners yoga 7:30am Wednesday mornings at Rise Wellbeing Center in Reston. If that is too early for you, then join us at 10am for a yoga dance class @ Rise.

There are many styles of yoga now being offered. Explore this rich diversity and find a class that speaks to you. Better yet, see if you can add some diversity in your exercise routine for balance.  Better balance equates to overall peace.

Carpe Diem,

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, FDN-P, AFMC

Lisa is an author, functional nutrition and functional medicine trained health coach, yoga teacher, and retired Registered Nurse with the mission to “Inspire, Educate and Empower” individuals and corporations to achieve optimal health.