Reality Yogi: Kitchen Yoga

Sometimes it's really hard to make the time for yoga practice. Especially when it becomes one of those things - you know all about those THINGS. Things that you need very specific set of circumstances to do CORRECTLY. In my perfect yoga world, every day there would be 90 to 120 solid, consecutive minutes, falling exactly three hours after I last ate (a light, healthy, organic, free-range, local meal) in a day that I was perfectly hydrated (but for some amazing yogic reason, I wouldn't have to pee during those 90 to 120 minutes) and wearing the perfect yoga outfit (and it would have to be Lululemon from head to toe, because what is more ironic than a $300 yoga outfit?) in a room that had been smudged with (organic) white sage approximately 30 minutes before I began my practice, candles (I made myself) lit, and a perfect playlist cued up.And of course I'd be on my Manduka Black Mat Pro. Duh.

I think those exact circumstances happened once. Well, except for the Lulu outfit. Oh, and I've never made a candle in my life. And I don't have a Manduka Black Mat Pro, except I think I'm getting one for my birthday!! But yeah, something like that happened one time. In 1996. That's the ticket.

Okay, it never happened.

And let's face it - it probably never will.

But you don't need the perfect amount of time, the perfect space, the expensive mat, and definitely not the $300 yoga outfit to practice YOGA. You can practice yoga anytime, anywhere.

Today I did some yoga in my kitchen. In between folding laundry and drinking coffee. And thinking about how I need to start eating more celery because it's supposed to be good for your heart, or at least that's what I read in some magazine yesterday.

Luckily the beauty of yoga is that I stopped thinking about celery for a hot second and had a very fleeting moment of blissful peace and concentration.

You can, too.

• Stand with your feet a little wider than hip with apart. 
• Being to twist, allowing the arms to gain momentum like empty coat sleeves of a trench coat draped over your shoulders. Lift the opposite heel as you look behind you. 
• Coordinate it with some strong pranayama practice - a sharp inhale through the nose as you come through center, a forceful "HA" breath out the mouth as you twist. 
• Let the momentum build and build, and let your hands hit you wherever they may (it's probably somewhere you have a big concentration of lymph nodes, and they need a love tap now and then!) 
• Continue for a minute or two, then let the momentum slow down, like the battery in the toy is slowly dying.
• When you are finally still, notice how you feel. Breathe deeply. 

This incredibly simple twist is SO therapeutic and beneficial. It's a nice squeeze and soak for all of the organs in the abdomen - flooding them with freshly oxygenated blood, and it also keeps the spine supple and creates space for all of the nerves traveling out of the spine to the rest of the body. Hooray! 

Or go throw on your Lulu clothes, roll out that Manduka, light the candles, smudge the room and have that perfect, enlightening two hour practice. I'm jealous already. ;)

Love,
The Reality Yogi

Reality Yogi: Deep Relief for Aching Shoulders

Start in SUKASANA. Bring the attention to the breath. Do it again. Do it again. Everytime you notice that the mind has wandered, bring the attention back to the breath. Do it again. Again.

BREATHE. Deeply. Dirgha-Ujjayi if you dig it. Five minutes. Or more.

GENTLE RESTORATIVE CHEST OPENER on a folded blanket. Knees bent, soles of the feet on the floor. Knees fall together, feet apart. Five minutes. Ore more.

CHEST OPENER ON TWO BLOCKS. Legs in BADDHA KONASANA. Breathe. Breathe some more.

Table - cat/dog spine stretch.

Step one foot through. KNEE-DOWN LUNGE. Arms up. Drop arms down like you could reach the edges of the mat. Work the heart center forward, shoulders down. Breathe.

WIDE STANCE DOWNWARD FACING DOG. Floss the shoulders - drop the heart through. Moving toward 5-point pose.

Walk back to STANDING FOWARD FOLD - UTTANASANA.

SLOWLY roll up to stand.

TADASNA. Raise arms for FULL UPWARD SALUTE.

STANDING YOGA MUDRA ARMS with or without a strap. Shimmy and floss the shoulders. Repeat at least two times. Three for good measure. Breathe, breathe, breathe.

Standing. Release the neck with a positional therapy move: bring one arm over the head, droping the inside of the elbow onto the head and leaning the head toward the raised arms. Repeat on the other side.

SAVASANA. Relax. Let go.

Reality Yogi: More Evening Yoga

In the spirit of my recent confession of having a reality TV habit, along with a reality yoga practice during said TV, I'm offering another sequence I love to do at night with or without bad TV in the background:

• SUKASANA for one to two minutes, gently deepening the breath
• FORWARD FOLD in SUKASANA for five deep breaths.
• fingers interlaced, gaze gently up, heart forward mini-backbend for five deep breaths.
• SIDE STRETCH in SUKASANA five breaths each side.
• TWIST in SUKASANA five breaths each side.
• DOUBLE PIGEON with forward fold five full breaths each side.
• SUPPORTED CHEST OPENER on blocks: bottom block at medium height at the base of the shoulders, top block at medium height under head, shoulders relaxed: 3-5 minutes.
• SUKASANA / meditation for as long as you like.

Sometimes I really like ending with a restorative backbend like that - I feel like I spend a LOT of time in forward folds, just in real life - in my day to day activities. The verrrrry gentle, supported backbend just releases SO much of that forward folding, shoulder-rounding TENSION of the day. Ahhhhhh.....

Breathe deep, sleep easy...

Love,
The Reality Yogi

photo credit: stress-relief

Your friend, the Reality Yogi

Let's say it's the end of a long day and you FINALLY have a bit of downtime to yourself. And if we're being honest (and we are, or at least, I'm about to be) you're probably most likely to grab a glass of wine, or maybe some chocolate, and definitely a lime La Croix, and sneak a moment to catch up on your DVR. Maybe it's Top Chef, Housewives, Weeds, The Sing-Off, or a Hereos marathon on Netflix. Or some Law & Order: SVU. Or you catch up on your internet-world for a minute - Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger. Maybe read a few Mind-Body-Green posts or the YogaGlo blog. Or maybe you do both at the same time. (By the way, if this is true for you, word for word, it also seems that WE ARE THE SAME PERSON. Haha!) And then you think, because you're my yoga student, hmm, my yoga teacher is always saying to incorporate yoga in my REAL life, to do a few poses before bed, maybe 15 minutes in Legs Up The Wall or something like that. BUT WAIT! She also says that my yoga practice is supposed to be this sacred, spiritual time - so I have to choose!

OH MY GOD I HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN HOUSEWIVES OR ENLIGHTENMENT?!?!? NOOOOO!!!!!

(this may, actually, be true, but, we'll just overlook that for the moment!)

=)

Okay. You don't have to choose. At least, I don't think you have to choose. Here's what I've figured out, on my personal journey of yoga - in my own practice.

Have your wine, have your chocolate. Drink your La Croix. Watch Housewives. Or ESPN. Or the History channel. Or listen to your favorite very UN-YOGIC music. Whatever floats your boat. And while you do:

• Spend 20 deep, full breathes in PIGEON pose on the right leg.
• Keeping the right leg forward, bring the left leg around, foot to the outside of the right thigh, and TWIST to the left for a few breathes.
• Bring the left leg down on top of the right, shins and knees stacked, coming into DOUBLE PIGEON for 10-20 breathes, folding forward over the hips if it feels right.
• REPEAT on the LEFT side.
• Sit in SUKASANA - easy pose, or simple cross-legged post and take a few, long deep breathes. Maybe a few Ujjayi breathes. Notice how you feel.

(All the while, you're still paying half your attention to listening to Camille and Kyle discussing Taylor's marriage, or Kim being totally crazy, or Lisa and Adrienne just being uber rich. Or all of them screaming at each other. Simultaneously.)

Listen, I'm not saying this should REPLACE your mindful, focused SADHAHA, or practice of yoga. Truly. I know I could catch a lot of flack from some yoga camps that think that if you're not completely focused on your alignment and breath (because, let's face it, you CAN'T be totally mindful or those things when you're also listening to Housewives, and yes, yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind) then you're not doing yoga and you're risking injury. But at the same time, as an ADDITION to your mindful practice, this is a great way to work some additional yoga, gentle stretching and deep breathing into the REALITY of your day.

Try it. Let me know what you think. Take any modifications you need to take, and BREATHE into it.

PS - you can replace any of those shows to the shows that are YOUR guilty pleasure, that you're maybe wise enough to keep to yourself, unlike me. ;)
PPS - My other favorite, which takes just about the same amount of time, is 15 minutes in Legs Up The Wall. You can actually WATCH the TV, not just listen to it when you do this. =)

SHANTI!
Love,
The Reality Yogi