Love Your Brain: An Interview with Adi Amar

Love Your Brain: An Interview with Adi Amar

Loving our brains and bodies, no matter current status, is fundamental to our whole health. Yet, we forget.

Through decades of outdoor adventure sports, I’ve been lucky to experience countless inspirational people within our crazy community of go-getters. I’ve also learned through personal and professional experience that many of us may or may not realize our brain function has been compromised - sometimes due to a traumatic brain injury. 

As holistic health guides and yoga teachers, everything we teach promotes bettering our brains so that we can excel beyond our yoga mats, surfing immense oceans and climbing magnificent mountains.

It was super to connect with Jackson Hole local, Adi Amar of Teton Yoga Shala, on her work with LoveYourBrain, creating awareness and offering support to those with TBI’s.

Originally posted on YogaToday.com.

We snagged a moment with Adi Amar to peek into her recent affiliation with LoveYourBrain. If you’re familiar with YogaToday, you recognize Adi Amar, one of the original yoga teachers who offers endless insight into the yoga practice, streamed online to you, anytime anywhere.

LoveYourBrain‘s mission is essentially improving the quality of life of people affected by traumatic brain injury (TBI). Kevin Pierce, professional snowboarder and co-founder of Love Your Brain, sustained a traumatic brain injury while training for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Kevin was at the top of his game when the tragedy struck, and he then entered a lengthy road to recovery. This time period brought to light an opportunity to support others while transforming the experience of traumatic brain injuries and the road to recovery altogether. With his brother, Adam, he created a source of inspiration, education and awareness in the movement Love Your Brain. Through yoga, meditation and mindfulness programs, Love Your Brain is improving lives, creating community and optimizing health for everyone they reach.

“We believe that yoga, mindfulness, and community are essential to transforming the wellbeing of people impacted by traumatic brain injury (including concussion).”

– LoveYourBrain

Luckily, we now have LoveYourBrain’s affiliated studios throughout the country providing tools to optimize brain health and foster connections with yourself and with others who have experienced TBI’s. Adi’s Teton Yoga Shala is now one of these studios, launching LYB’s programs this April.

What we also discovered in our conversation with Adi is that trauma to the brain is more common than most people probably realize. It turns out that you don’t have to be hurling yourself off of cliffs to hurt your head.

EVERY 11 SECONDS SOMEONE SUSTAINS A TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

CAUSES of TBI’s:

• Falls – 40.5%

• Other/unknown – 19.0%

• Blunt trauma – 15.5%

• Motor vehicle accidents – 14.3%

• Assaults – 10.7%

• Main causes of mild TBI 

  • Sports

  • Blast (common military injury)

It’s important to recognize that even a slight concussion is considered a TBI and that all TBI’s manifest in different ways. They can be tough to recognize. We encourage everyone to please learn more about TBI’s HERE.

Love Your Brain Interview with Adi Amar

YogaToday: How did you initially came to love the practice of yoga?

Adi Amar: As a teenager I was first attracted to yoga after my mother’s car accident. I needed tools and techniques to deal with the mental and emotional ramifications of such a traumatic event. It became necessary to find an outlet to process heavy emotions and feelings that were coming up that I simply did not have the tool kit to manage at such a young age.

Though this process, I found that the reason I was so vulnerable to this particular happening was because of previous intense trauma lying dormant until stimulated by this current event. My mother’s accident, and then yoga, became an opportunity to learn how to neutralize my nervous system. The “fight or flight” response was in full play and I was in need of a method that would rectify my physical, mental and emotional state for where I was at that time in my life. Yoga become the way forward.

YogaToday: What attracted you to Love Your Brain?

Adi Amar: I met Ramsey Pierce when she visited Jackson Hole seeking yoga studios to align with Love Your Brain. My studio was a fit as our mission is to meet every person who walks through the door exactly where they are. We focus on using props and modifications as well as have history of working with other disabilities and limitations. We strive to accommodate “every body”.

I was further inspired to work with them as my son sustained a head injury at only 5 years old. This alerted me to the consequences of this type of trauma and the alarming fact that many people may not even realize they have experienced it.

YogaToday: You recently dropped into the LoveYourBrain TBI-specific yoga teacher training with some of your teachers. Tell us about that.

Adi Amar: Yes. The timing and synchronicity of my son’s head injury and later meeting Ramsey simply directed me to Seattle with a few other teachers for their training to prepare Teton Yoga Shala to further accommodate people with TBI’s.

Their program highlights four areas of focus:

                   • Gentle yoga

                   • Meditation

                   • Breathwork

                   • Facilitated conversation

I found this to be so well balanced and integrated into one program which very much aligns with what I strive for at Teton Yoga Shala.

LYB has created an incredible community of people who understand one another. TBI’s often leave people feeling isolated due to both cognitive and physical effects that can lead to emotional experiences such as irritability, sadness, anxiety, denial, depression, and lack of self-efficacy. These injuries can leave people lonely and feeling “stuck”.  Much like in life, being seen and heard are basic human needs. The program and community include facilitated conversations that address these needs.

LoveYourBrain’s evidence-based program is showing that people suffering from brain injury have the ability to rewire their brains creating new neural pathways toward healing. Doing this work within community is a key ingredient.

Essentially, I chose to affiliate because their intent is to meet people where they are. This is what Teton Yoga Shala strives for – to accommodate each individual, each body, in a specific manner that addresses their current physical, mental and emotional state.

YogaToday: How do you feel YogaToday and LoveYourBrain are intimately connected to one another and the practice of yoga?

Adi Amar: Living in a community full of brave athletes, there is a good chance that many people are unknowingly walking around with a brain injury that has been unattended. This is so unfortunate because it can be confusing and unsettling.

YogaToday and Love Your Brain both offer the yoga practice which holds many tools and techniques to gently rewire our neural pathways to benefit those with TBI’s and/or any limitation – physical, mental or emotional – as that is exactly what yoga and related practices do.

All too often, athletes alongside many of us in modern society, do not want to slow down. They don’t want to miss out on a day of skiing. What’s scary about that is that it’s recurring impact to the brain that is most detrimental to long term brain health. If we don’t take the time to slow down, we simply aren’t able to repair, heal and return to a balanced state.

With TBI’s and all other limitations, we know that deep down, people want to find balance, live a more peaceful existence and ultimately feel great. A lot of times, they just don’t know how. With yoga, we learn to neutralize our nervous systems so that we are acting from a place of healthy response versus reactivity. YogaToday offers a plethora of gentle yoga, meditation and breathing practices, so it’s an excellent place to start.

With a TBI, whether from falling on the ski hill or from a car accident, you have the added community of LoveYourBrain locally and nationally to support you in cultivating the strength, flexibility, adaptability and resilience to rise to this challenge and progress.

If one has never tried yoga, even better.

YogaToday offers numerous classes for the beginner such as Begin with the Basics and Yoga Basics – Turn Your Attention Inward. Tune in to practice gentle yoga, meditation and breathwork which are all appropriate practices for those suffering from TBI’s.

We know that the practice of yoga benefits proprioception, the understanding of where our body is in space. Simultaneously, it cultivates an awareness of internal and external stimuli and how we respond. LYB’s program focuses further on interoception referring to the process of stimuli coming from inside of the body such as heartbeat, thirst, hunger, breathing, or other textural sensations, which can be altered with TBI’s.

Yoga reinforces the mind-body connection which is essential to enhancing both proprioception and interoception. This reinforcement supports anyone in better understanding and managing how we react, or better respond, to both external and internal stimuli.

Beautifully, LYB additionally creates a safe place to honor the space and time that it takes to heal from brain injuries. We should cultivate more of this in the world toward any trauma, large or small, which is what yoga supports.

YogaToday: What are your hopes for the future in terms of TBI’s and yoga?

Adi Amar: With both yoga and traumatic brain injury my hope is to create more awareness so that we can heal through these ancient and revered practices to overcome any limitation.

When life challenges us, it changes us. We must step up and show up even if that means coming to class and lying in savasana the entire time.

We take steps toward creating these new neural pathways through these practices that provide ways to build resilience to anything life hands us. Resilience is how we rise to meet our challenges. It’s not IF we will face challenges, it’s WHEN.

Gathering tools, techniques and creating community – this is how we move forward with purpose and thrive. To me, this is the purpose of yoga.

The effects the LYB communities and their evidence-based programs have on the individual, their families, friends, peers, and careers is exponential. With support through the following, the benefits are ten-fold:

         • Self-regulation and self-control

         • Support for depression, anxiety, any feelings of isolation or falling victim to one’s circumstances

         • Support in taking responsibility to grow and evolve beyond injury

• Integration back into community

It’s beyond gratifying to see that their evidence is showing the practices of yoga, meditation, breathwork and cultivating community are truly beneficial. My hope is to see all of these practices and communities grow. Everything is connected. With this awareness, we can all support one another in moving beyond any type of limitation in life.

Hold Yoga Poses for Longer to Build Mental Strength

It’s challenging to post about work with all that is going on in America and the world right now. I look at my website and it reeks of white privilege.

A little about my background… please reach out if you’re seeking support during this time.

I grew up on the outskirts of New Orleans which was about 70% black in the 1970’s. My friends were white. My friends were black. Because we were living in “Cancer Alley” surrounded by chemical plants, my parents moved our family away to a small culturally mixed city. I was lucky. We had the privilege of living in a modest middle-class neighborhood. While there were plenty of times that money was extremely tight, I was lucky. I was never handed cars or homes or fancy educations or $1 as I walked out the door to hang out with friends. I started working when I was 15. I then made my way out into the world on my own as a white female. Again and again, I was lucky. I can’t imagine the strength it would take if this was not my story.

Originally posted on YogaToday.com.

Do you feel like you might lose it when you hold yoga poses for more than a few seconds? 

Do you avoid demanding classes or poses at all costs? 

You certainly aren’t alone! 

When you learn to hold yoga poses for longer, you’ll actually receive all kinds of benefits that will hopefully outweigh your aversions: let’s take a look.

Build Mental Strength By Holding Yoga Poses Longer

Building mental strength is as important as the physical benefits of holding powerful poses. A good deal of yoga classes today are more akin to a fast-flowing workout rather than what the practice was originally designed to accomplish. The physical practice was constructed to develop strong supple bodies as well as minds. The purpose is to prepare both body and mind to sit still in meditation. Given our fast-paced society, quick-moving classes may ultimately work against the purpose of this holistic practice.

The practice of holding postures for a longer period of time stems from Iyengar Yoga. This form of yoga was developed by B.K.S. Iyengar. He masterminded these techniques and made them available to all practitioners of yoga. Iyengar Yoga promotes precision within alignment, the importance of sequencing to properly prepare the body for the next postures, as well as the use of props. The focus is on quality of pose versus quantity of poses. Postures are also held for a relatively long period of time compared to other styles of yoga. This is to encourage awareness within each pose of both the body and the mind. The benefit is creating a strong, supple, receptive body, as well as a steady, understanding, and growth-oriented mindset.

To hold a yoga pose for longer is to cultivate the ability to be still and accept ‘what is’ under any circumstances. The cool part is that everything we need to know about holding powerful poses is essentially the same as what we need to know to build mental strength, all in the same process. Yoga for the win-win!

If we are solely focused on the body, all too swiftly moving through poses, then we may be altogether dismissing “strengthening” the mind. When we gravitate toward attending fast-paced classes, this is an alert. It alerts us that we may be avoiding exactly what need. To cultivate more balance in our lives, we may need to slow down.

Holding poses is challenging for the body. This coincidentally is where the mind comes into play. When we slow down, we are granted the opportunity to notice where the mind goes.

Are we complaining?

Are we berating ourselves for not being strong enough to hold the pose for too long?

Are we cursing?

Are we sending our teacher dirty looks?

If the answer is “Yes.” to any of these questions, know that this is common and not a reason to pass judgment on our personal challenges. It’s our opportunity to genuinely notice our thoughts. Then, we have the responsibility to take ownership of our thoughts so that we can better understand them. Within this style of practice, we are essentially training our brains to transmute and transform our thoughts for the better.

Build Poses from the Ground Up

Begin by holding tadasana or mountain pose for a longer period of time.

When yoga teachers speak about “building the pose from the ground up”, they are instilling two components:

1. A safe practice that creates physical strength, stability, and flexibility while allowing for longevity within one’s practice

2. A more beneficial practice that gradually allows the mind to also become strong, stable, focused and adaptable

By practicing Tadasana, or Mountain Pose, we begin to “work” the pose from the ground up, which begins in our feet. This method ensures greater stability akin to the roots of a tree plugging into the ground.

Next, we grow a stable tree trunk. First, place attention on the feet ensuring correct alignment. Depending on the style of practice, the instructions on foot placement will vary. Let’s begin with the feet hip-width apart. The outer edges of the feet should generally line up with the outer edges of the yoga mat. The body weight is evenly distributed over the mid-arch of the foot. Toes are spread wide as all four corners of the feet press evenly, rooting into the mat. The inner arches are “pulling up” while the outer ankles are “firming in”. This counteraction creates stability.

Without going into the details of each body part as we would in class, we continue to stack and align our body parts. The knees stack over the ankles. The hips stack over the knees. Then we slowly work our way up placing attention on our ribs, chest, sternum, collarbones, shoulders, and shoulder blades. Finally, we elongate through the entire spine, up through the neck, and crown of the head. Now, standing tall, the arms are relaxed alongside the body with palms of the hands open facing the top of the yoga mat.

Phew. At this point, we’ve already held the pose through several minutes when well instructed on each body part to ensure proper alignment. This is the first part of teaching the mind to focus.

Once we “find” the pose, regardless of whether it’s close to perfect or not, we take this use of our left brain, the logical and linear center, and release all instructions. Now, further holding the pose, we tap into our right brain, the intuitive and creative center, by placing our attention on the breath.

This is where it might get tricky. Thoughts will go to:

“What’s for lunch?”

“OMG, I have so much to do after this class.”

“Geez, how long is he going to hold this pose, my quads are DYING!”

The teacher may be incessantly talking. The teacher may become silent for what seems like an eternity. The body may begin to visibly tremble. The sweat may begin to cascade. The music may be annoying. The music may be the one thing getting us through every dang second. Or, the silence could be deafening.

Your job as you hold yoga poses for longer is to notice. Notice the thoughts as they drift across the mind.

This is where we train the brain to be okay with where we are right here, right now.

This is where we train the mind to be at ease with whatever is happening in this precise moment.

This is where we train ourselves not to judge our thoughts, oneself, or another.

This is where we train the body and mind to breathe and BE.

This is yoga. 

As we continue to hold the pose, the mind will stray as it always does. We bring our attention back to the breath. Noticing the breath going in through the nostrils and back out through the nostrils, over and over. We place our attention on the temperature of the breath. We consider the texture of the breath. The mind will move to what the next meal will be. And then we pull our attention back to the breath.

Next thing we know, we’ve held the pose, like, forever. We’ve kept our “monkey mind” at bay. And thank goodness, the teacher finally releases us to the next pose.

“Second side,” she says. Now we get to repeat the process!

Try becoming a mental warrior with this FREE video tutorial of Warrior II.

Click to practice a tough class with long holds on YogaToday. Your first two weeks are always free.

Hold Yoga Poses for Longer to Cultivate Patience and Loving Kindness

When we hold a yoga pose for longer, we develop mental strength. Best of all, we cultivate listening skills, patience and unconditional love. 

Ultimately, this is an embodied practice. Once we embody these tools on the mat, they are integrated into the self and become more naturally and effortlessly applied to life.

Everything we need to know about building mental strength by way of holding yoga poses ultimately becomes our process toward holding steady holistically with confidence, ease and grace.

Discover the Psychological Benefits of Meditation

Originally posted on YogaToday.com.

Let’s talk about the many psychological benefits of meditation that might spur you to start a simple meditation practice.

Does the thought of sitting still in meditation have you running for the hills?

Not to worry. Like yoga, meditation is a practice. Some folks gravitate easily towards sitting still, and some do not. Either way, “stuff” will come up as you start to meditate. But that’s the point! The tendency is to want to stop, get up, and run away when negative thoughts arise. Meditation allows us to let all thoughts rise up fully so that we can release them without attachment.

Newer to meditation? First drop into this kundalini flow class, Balancing Rajas, with Sarah Kline. Sarah explains how our yoga and meditation practices can move us to a more balanced state. For those of us who would rather escape than sit still in meditation, moving and breathing through a physical practice first allows us to burn off “stuck” energy in our minds and bodies.

The Power of Thought

As human beings, we all have a natural negativity-bias meaning most people lean slightly toward negative thinking. At its core, this is just an embedded survival mechanism to keep us out of danger. Some experts estimate that the average individual has 50,000 – 70,000 thoughts per day. Meditation can give us the freedom to choose which thoughts we give our attention to.

However, the psychological benefits of meditation aren’t solely about focusing on the positive. The benefits come with acknowledging and addressing all of our thoughts. It is imperative that we equally embrace negative thought patterns to gain a better understanding of them. Then, and only then, do we have the chance to shift them to become growth-oriented and uplifting. This practice can mean major breakthroughs for both our minds and bodies.

Modern society urges us to suppress the negative, while simultaneously focusing (often too much) on the positive. This has proven to create imbalance with a massive ripple effect toward our family, friends, co-workers, and teams. It also creates a self-environment of being too hard on oneself for not meeting and exceeding expectations beckoned by today’s world.

Marketing, advertising, social media, our upbringings, and even our most intimate relationships can create this unconscious drive to be perfect. Endlessly striving to be the most successful, adaptable, supportive and strong person possible only creates severe imbalance. Health and wellness practitioners see these manifestations expressed psychologically and/or physically in clients every day.

These unrealistic expectations keep people from dropping into vulnerability and sharing their truths. Vulnerability drives connection with ourselves and with others. Sitting still in meditation benefits us in that we give ourselves the opportunity to create awareness around all of our truths. We then learn where our thoughts come from and why. This awareness, with continual attention and practice, eventually allows for massive shift. Our thoughts become more positive. Our beliefs are improved. Then our actions and expressions become much more constructive, creating a positive ripple effect into the world. 

Want to meditate but not sure where to start? Check out this complete guide on YogaToday!

The Benefits of Meditation Can Extend to Our Physical Bodies, Too.

Let’s start with a very common issue psychological issue: stress.

We’ve all experienced stress. There is no way of getting around it, physically, mentally or emotionally. Unless we have the luxury of moving to a far-away land, removed from society, meditating with the masters for the rest of our lives.

When we experience stress, the brain interprets the event as positive or negative. If negative, the brain sends a message to the body to respond.

Body responses to a negative message include:

• releasing stress hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine

• increased heart rate

• increased blood pressure

• muscle tension

• extraction of vital energy out of the organs to prepare for “fight-or-flight”.

Living in a state of chronic stress, our bodies are never given the opportunity to recover. The parasympathetic nervous system is unable to reset itself. This can go on for years, resulting in weight gain, heart disease, adrenal fatigue, and so on.

Meditation can begin to break down our stress-inducing thoughts and patterns, allowing our parasympathetic nervous system to reset and our body’s stress responses to finally let go.

Ready to medi? Adi Amar guides you through a ten-minute meditation to Neutralize Negative Patterns, changing negative thoughts to more positive thoughts.

More Surprising Benefits of Meditation

Meditation truly bolsters our minds, bodies and their incredible connection to one another.

1. It offers the opportunity to better understand our thoughts and shift them to the positive.

2. We give ourselves the gift of a precious time-out from this fast-paced world to go within and create exactly what we desire.

3. We reduce inflammatory stress in a constructive manner. We feel better physically which always translates to feeling better mentally and emotionally – and vice versa.

4. Meditators are regenerating on a cellular level resulting in youth, vitality, and optimal wellness. Studies have shown increasing support of meditation as a way to decrease the chances of heart disease as well as benefit those living with cancer.

5. Research offers that practiced meditators may have an increase in tissue in the areas of the brain that involve impulse control and attention.

6. Research also presents that those who meditate may just become a little bit more kind.

These are the precious muscles we are strengthening with meditation. We learn to pay attention to ourselves which in turn cultivates awareness. This new-found self-awareness aids us in the ability to listen, pay attention, step out of our own shoes and into another’s, growing a more conscious awareness of our entire collective.

Beautifully, the result of meditation is the ability to respond, rather than react, to life’s happenings from an authentic, grounded, heartfelt place. What’s not to love?

Want to meditate but not sure where to start? Check out this complete guide on YogaToday!

Spring Cleaning for the Mind, Body, & Soul: Practice These 5 Yoga Poses for Detox

Originally posted on YogaToday.com.

Try these 5 yoga poses to detox your body and clear your physical, mental and emotional realms, bringing your whole being into balance.

Our time to go inward is currently being extended to the collective. With this extra time, why not pay some attention to spring cleaning? Clear away the cobwebs of your mind and body like you might organize a closet or drawer: make space for new things to take shape and give yourself a fresh start.

What we practice physically on the yoga mat to benefit our physical health directly affects the subtle, or not so subtle, mental and emotional realms. Let’s detox our mind, body and soul to benefit all.

5 Yoga Poses for Detox

seated twist

1. Seated Twist (Parivrtta Sukhasana)

A gentle seated twist is an excellent way to begin the day as well as your practice.

From child’s pose, move back into a cross-legged seated position, crossing the right chin in front of the left fo easy pose. Sit on a bolster or blanket for support.

Placing the left hand behind the sacrum and right hand on the left knee, inhale and sit up tall through the spine while dropping the shoulders down away from the ears. Exhale twisting to the left from the navel up. The right hip continually draws back to remain even with the left. Both hips face forward to protect the lower back. Finding the twist in the thoracic (upper) spine, continue to lengthen and grow tall on the inhale, while gently twisting on the exhale. Take 8-10 breaths. Switch the crossing of the legs and repeat on the second side.

high plank

2. Plank and Forearm Plank

Build heat to begin the process of cleansing and clearing. Preparing the body to detox, it is important to first naturally build heat to move into the following deeper postures.

Think mountain pose in both Plank and Forearm Plank to assure correct alignment.

For Plank: Feet are hip-width. Shoulders are stacked directly above the elbows. Elbows are stacked directly above the hands.

For Forearm Plank: From plank, drop down to the forearms. Shoulders are stacked directly above the elbows. Forearms extend from the elbows to the top of the mat. Hands and elbows are shoulder-width apart. Modify by bringing palms together and interlacing fingers for additional support.

Heels are directly above the balls of the feet. (It’s ok to look down at your body!.) Legs are straight and strong. Inner thighs are rotating internally toward one another and up toward the ceiling as the tailbone reaches toward the heels. Lower belly moves toward the spine. Draw front ribs toward the midline and to the frontal hip points as the chest and sternum extend. Move the shoulders down away from the ears. Neck is long. Gaze is soft.

Inhaling, extend through the heels creating length through the entire length of the spine, and up through the crown of the head. Gently exhale. Hold for 5-8 breaths.

low lunge

3. Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana)

Opening up through the hip flexors and tops of the thighs allows for forward movement. It fosters a trust in our creative and intuitive centers related to the 2nd Chakra, or Svasdisthana. The 2nd Chakra houses our emotions, joy, creativity, intuition, enthusiasm and sensuality.

It holds the key to unlocking and riding out the energy necessary to become innovative and adaptable when moving through periods of change.

Our modern lifestyles keep us desk-bound and car-bound. This physical reality as well as emotional trauma or chronic stress can block access to connecting with our passions. Individually or in combination, this can manifest as tight hips, mysterious lower back pain, and sexual organ or reproductive challenges.

Take this time to detox in low lunges, reconnect, shift and see opportunities this spring.

Learn Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana) in this YogaToday practice with Sarah Kline.

you can also practice revolved side angle with the back heel lifted, as seen above.

4. Revolved Side Angle Pose (Parivrtta Anjaneyasana)

Revolved side angle pose is a deep twisting posture that stimulates the digestive system while strengthening, stretching and toning the entire body.

Challenge yourself and deeply detoxify with YogaToday’s Twisting Postures for Perspective.

This posture also improves balance, stimulates the abdominal organs, aids in elimination and increases stamina. It is also believed to activate Manipura, or the 3rd Chakra. Manipura is the power center and our source of confidence, internal strength and courage. It is believed to protect and counter against fear and insecurity.

preparing for prone pose

5. Reverse Corpse Pose (Prone Pose or Advasana)

In order to go inward, we need to root ourselves and allow the nervous system to settle. Taking savasana face down is a soothing and settling variation. Connecting our power center, Manipura (3rd chakra), and our intuitive nature, Ajna (6th chakra or third eye) to the earth offers the opportunity to pull our energy inward and reset in order to become open to what spring brings.

Reconnecting with the earth belly down, we can relish in solace. This can reduce stress, underlying anxiety and related feelings of fatigue.

Classically, arms are extended overhead with palms turned down to the ground with forehead on the mat.

Another variation is with arms alongside the body and head turned to one cheek. Turn the head halfway through holding this posture to neutralize the neck. Take care if issues exist in the cervical spine. Like savasana, the breath becomes neutral in this pose as though you were asleep. This is a beautifully restorative variation, helps detoxify the body, and is a great way to end practice.

How Yoga and Meditation Can Help Cope with COVID-19

Originally published on TrustedNutrition.com

Are anxiety and stress creeping in?

Considering COVID-19, no one is escaping the underlying anxiety that is part of today’s “new normal”. Yoga and meditation are now more available than ever to help us cope.

Globally united by the coronavirus, we are being asked to sit still.

We’re being asked to be more present with ourselves and our loved ones. Both of these realities can be immensely challenging. Most of us are accustomed to non-stop action, consciously or unconsciously avoiding what is within us and sitting right beside us. Here lies our opportunity to embrace the present moment. Yoga and meditation offer the tools and techniques we need.

Yoga and meditation offer an abundance of opportunity to cultivate these skill sets to better cope with modern life. The physical yoga practice prepares our bodies to sit still in meditation. The ability to sit with oneself, and observe our thoughts, feelings and reactions is priceless. We learn to create a space between what crosses our mind and how we react. In time, we cultivate healthy neutralized responses rather than knee-jerk reactions.

What to Know Today:

1.     Creating a learning environment at home is an epic and equally challenging place to start. Now more than ever, yoga classes are readily available online for everyone. Classes for kids, prenatal offerings, mental health focused classes, and even “chair yoga” for office workers, the physically challenged and elderly, are all easily sourced. Remember, it may take time and patience to find what works for each of us.

2.     Keep in mind that yoga and meditation are both practices. Throw perfection out of the window. This is not a place for competition. There is no need to be hard on ourselves. We are human and simply must start where we are. Know that what comes up during these practices is 100% okay and may be exactly what we need to address. If anything at all becomes “too much”, back off during this strenuous time we are all now experiencing.

Within these practices, it’s normal to feel intense waves of anger or helplessness. This current pandemic is a prime example where such emotions may arise. These modalities are not about suppressing or ignoring rightful emotions and feelings. 

With healthy boundaries in place, we have every right to feel and express what is ok and not ok for us individually. Yoga and meditation are paths to creating awareness around whether our thoughts, feelings and emotions are valid. We then learn to work with our minds and allow these waves to roll by so that we can better respond during times of increased stress and anxiety.

Try this free meditation today to relax and destress.

The Mind-Body Connection

Now backed by science, our minds and bodies are proving to be inextricably linked. At times, what we are experiencing emotionally can manifest in our physical bodies. Today’s stress and anxiety can lend to our immune systems potentially functioning less than optimally. Given a healthy immune system is now more important than ever, yoga and meditation are top tactics we can employ to boost our immunity now and year-round.

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America has addressed managing anxiety and isolation during the quarantine. For anyone with a history of trauma, be sure to seek out “trauma-informed” yoga classes for extra support. 

Many people dedicated to holistic health have also offered pro-bono services during this time.

Why? Because we all deserve the opportunity to live stress-free.

After all, stress is the #1 source of doctor visits today. Certainly, circumstances arise when we should be supported. However, we must also take responsibility in supporting ourselves. 

The coronavirus pandemic has presented a time to dig deep and discover our holistic health individually. Yoga and meditation support our cultivation of self-awareness. This leads to increased conscious awareness of how we all affect one another.

If you enjoyed the free meditation, find more Mind-Body Training HERE with code “JONI30” for additional support during this time. 

Let’s come together and better support ourselves so that we can better support one another in training for this “new normal” as well as life moving forward.

Holistic Remedies to Say “So Long” to Tension Headaches

Originally published on YogaToday.com.

Tension headaches getting in the way of your day?

Let’s hone in on the root cause to make it go away. We’ve all experienced that tinge of a headache coming on mid-afternoon while working on a deadline, when the baby is crying, or when our phones are endlessly buzzing. Taking a few minutes to identify the source can solve this riddle in a holistic way.

Try this quick yoga class designed specifically to relieve and prevent tension headaches! Your first two weeks are always free on YogaToday.

Lifestyle Choices

1. Hydrate with quality water. Dehydration is often the root cause of headaches. Surveys show that 60-75% of Americans do not drink enough water. Learn to love water.

2. Movement. Exercise, dance, pilates, or yoga. Do what you love to release endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers.

3. Sleep. Quality sleep is the key to life. Stay away from digital devices for at least 30 minutes before bedtime. Create a cool dark room. Add a sleep mask and ear plugs to successfully go down for the night.

4. Keep caffeine to a minimum. Everyone is different. Find a sweet spot that works. Avoid it after mid-day. Be sure to read labels and know that options such as green tea also contain caffeine. Still craving a warm cuppa in the morning? Try a pretty turmeric latte instead: turmeric has been known to alleviate inflammation and headaches.

5. Eat your greens. Tension headaches may fool us into reaching for a cheeseburger because a) we may think we are hungry when we simply need to hydrate, and 2) because “stress-eating” is a thing! Reach for greens instead. They are high in folate as well as magnesium-rich, which at suggested levels in the body have both been shown to reduce symptoms such as headaches.

Keep Stress in Check

1. Are your shoulders reaching for your ears? This is a sure sign of stress. This tension in the neck and shoulders can lead to headaches.  Try this 15-minute Neck Release class with Mona Godfrey. This is a perfect practice to incorporate into the workday while seated at a desk.

2. Drop into one minute of conscious breath. The 4-7-8 Breath, also known as the Relaxing Breath, taught by Dr. Andrew Weil is a great go-to. Then take it to the next level with a pranayama class (yogic breathing technique) to decrease overall stress and anxiety as well as those pesky headaches.

3. Commit to a digital detox 1x per week. Let’s be honest. Our phones ultimately stress us out whether alerting us to endless emails or social media hits. Try a 12- hour detox during waking hours one day per week such as 8 a.m – 8 p.m. on Sundays. Let your nerves chill out.

Self-Care

Long hot Epson salt baths are beautiful, but time-wise, not always realistic for our modern day lifestyles, right? Schedule one for the weekend, but otherwise, every day self-care looks a lot more like the following:

1. Take ten minutes before starting the day. Salute the sun rising with this Classical Surya Namaskar yoga class to move forward in a fresh, empowered and relaxed way.

2. Set healthy boundaries. Saying “yes” to every request from others is a hard habit to break. Learning not to over-schedule our days is a vital component of self-care.

3. Discipline creates freedom. Take a few minutes toward the end of the day to schedule out the following day. Set an alert in your calendar. A little structure goes a long way toward taking care of needs, so that we can better take care of everything else. These few minutes of discipline can likely free up precious moments that add up to a lot more fun.

Three Yoga Poses to Mitigate Tension Headaches by Relaxing the Neck and Shoulders

Experiment with these yoga poses to find relief today.

1. Balasana • Child’s Pose

Discover a few variations in this two-minute instruction and use the one that feels most supportive. Dropping the chin slightly toward the chest offers a gentle stretch for the back of the neck.

2. Simple Seated Twist

This pose relieves tightness in the back by rotating the torso. It includes the option of a gentle neck stretch.

Sit in a cross-legged position. Use blankets beneath the knees for support if needed so that the lower back can lengthen, sitting up tall. Inhale and elongate the spine, including all the way up through the crown of the head. Shoulders stay neutral, down away from the ears. Exhale and twist to the right from the navel up, placing the right hand behind the right thigh while the left remains in front. If it’s ok on the neck, gently look over the right shoulder. Repeat on the left side.

3. Adho Mukha Svanasana • Downward Facing Dog Pose

Deeply stretch the back, shoulders neck, (and legs) as Adi Amar lends her expertise in maximizing this pose. This pose allows for full body tension release.

The key is to find a daily combination of small steps offered above that suits our daily routine. Start with one. Commit to that one step for the next two weeks. Calendar it into your day. Every two weeks add in a new step. This might look like adding a second serving of greens to one meal every day or one-minute of conscious breathing. This way, each step eventually becomes a habit. Soon you are on your way to naturally relieving tension headaches, feeling more fully expressed throughout each day.

Try this quick yoga class designed specifically to relieve and prevent tension headaches! Your first two weeks are always free on YogaToday.

Yoga and Pilates Can Play a Huge Role in Spine Health

Originally published on YogaToday.com

If you have ever suffered from low back pain, then you know how spine health can be so important for day to day quality of living. How can you keep your spine healthy and prevent back pain before it begins?

Yoga and Pilates maintain a consistent focus on the back and abdominal muscles which are the essential components of the muscular network of the spine. Joseph Pilates, inventor of the Pilates method, proclaimed, “A man is as young as his spinal column.”

The gentle strengthening and elongating offered through yoga and Pilates sessions can alleviate the many mysterious and interconnected issues that arise in and near the spinal column. With these practices, we can maintain good spine health by stretching and strengthening our spines.

Try this Pilates class for spine mobility on YogaToday! Your first two weeks are always free.

Defects and disease in the spine’s structure can occur from aging, injury, genetics and/or sitting at a desk and commuting every day. Discomforts are also derived from stress and fatigue that we tend to shrug off versus taking the time to realign. Harvard Health Publications offers that four out of five Americans will eventually suffer from back pain, but yoga appears to help.

We commonly think of our spine as simply the bones supported by the network of muscles which when healthy is erect, strong and flexible. This is true! However, spine health also ensures the efficiency and longevity of the nervous system. Through the yoga practice, we recalibrate the parasympathetic nervous system. This means the practice can help reset and restore our rest-and-relaxation response, which is paramount. This takes us out of the “fight-or-flight” response created primarily by unresolved trauma (big and small) and copious amounts of stress (read more about the science of stress here) which most people in modern societies experience daily. When we never allow our nervous systems to recover, we eventually experience various forms of dis-ease. Joseph Pilates suggested that his method was just another way to ensure we could fully engage with life.

When practiced consciously, both yoga and Pilates decompress and elongate the spine, providing a feeling of space. When we create more space in our physical bodies, we can move and breathe with much more ease. From this relaxed and spacious place, we become less reactive to life and more responsive from a neutral, intelligent, and grounded perspective. This is one reason why it is strongly suggested to remain in savasana, or corpse pose, for a bare minimum of five minutes at the end of a yoga class. Lying down with the spine in a neutral position allows the nervous system to integrate the physical practice and reset itself.

Essentially, the practices of yoga and Pilates are two-fold toward spine health. They keep our spinal column physically fit while simultaneously supporting our nervous system allowing for comfort, ease and vitality for life.

Want to kick your spine health into high gear? Try this yoga practice from Adi Amar, Healthy Happy Back, to keep the spine strong and supple.

Add this short sweet pilates session for the abdominals. Pilates Core Fire with Nikki Beck to round out 50 minutes toward a healthier spine today.