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Tag: benefits of yoga

Yoga Nidra Explained in 5 Points
Yoga Nidra, or the Yogic Sleep, is an integral part of the Art and Sciences of Yoga. One of the most accessible ways of practicing yoga, Yoga Nidra is not necessarily the most well known one. Read here briefly what it is all about, in 5 points.
Yoga Nidra translates as “Yogic Sleep”
Yoga Nidra, or the Yogic Sleep as can be described, is a technique of achieving a state of conscious rest. It follows a specific format that can take anything between 10 to 90 minutes. During the practice of Nidra, the practitioner appears to be asleep, but maintains a consciousness at a deeper level of awareness. Yoga Nidra is always guided, and in expert hands can allow for the practitioner to feel complete physical, mental and emotional relaxation.
A non-physical practice, it is suitable for most individuals
Yoga Nidra can be practiced lying down or seated, in any type of clothing, and regardless of one’s physical ability. The main thing is to have a set up that feels comfortable, safe, and free of distractions.
Scientifically proven health benefits
In several studies Yoga Nidra has been proven to calm the nervous system, improve blood pressure, heart rate variables and hormone irregularities. It can also be an incredibly soothing experience for those suffering from anxiety, depression and PTSD, to name but few.
Yoga Nidra does not require a lot of time
Not much time? No problem! Yoga Nidra can be practised as a standalone method, and at any point of the day. You can listen to a Nidra recording in your bed first thing after waking up, do a 30 minute one during your lunch break, or enjoy it as an addition to your sweaty Vinyasa Flow. Most Schools of Yoga Nidra follow reasonably similar structures. This means the practice is highly adaptable and works just as well, regardless its length.
Can be practised by listening to a recording, or in a live setting
Interested in trying out this practice? There are plenty of very good recorded and free resources: My favourites include the recording as Yoga Nidra Network page, and those you can find on the Insight Timer app. You can also find them on YouTube. There is no wrong way of doing a Yoga Nidra so you can easily start by picking up one and moving on from there and discover if you have preferences: Female voice, male voice, with or without soundscape in the background… There are several different types of Nidra available.
Twice a week I teach a 60 minute Restorative Yoga and Yoga Nidra class on Vivaya Live. The Friday class is at 17:00 BST, and the Sunday class is at 18:00 BST. Drop ins are welcome, you can book your spot from here.
June 1, 2020
Treat Yourself to Restorative Yoga
Restorative yoga is a relaxing and mellow type of yoga with the aim of, well, restoring the body and the mind. It complements perfectly more dynamic type of asana practises and is also very suitable for complete yoga novices.
A typical restorative yoga sequence has very few poses. Depending on the length of the class the sequence has 2-6 asanas. Props such as blocks, bricks, bolsters, blankets and straps are used to support the body so literally no effort is required. The support of the props allows each pose to be hold for an extensive period of time, up to ten minutes. This means that the body can relax and let go completely.
Restorative yoga is a perfect antidote for the hectic city life as it allows us to unwind, de-stress and practise mindfulness whilst gently stretching the body. I often describe restorative yoga as “just lying around” but I don’t mean it in a dismissive or impolite way. Keeping still can actually be quite challenging for many at the beginning, but most people do reach a point during the practise when any resistance melts away.
With the current heatwave going on it is very important to remember that humans are not machines and it is necessary to slow down. Therefore restorative yoga is a great thing to practise these days. I will be teaching it most Saturdays over the next 5-6 weeks at The Canada Water Studios in South East London (next to the Canada Water tube station you can access on Jubilee Line and Overground Trains.)
The class is 90 minutes long from 16:30 to 18:00 and costs £14. Please book your class directly from the Canada Water Studios website, and of course let me know if you have any questions!
Oh, and we also have an air conditioning in the studio so really, be kind to yourself and come along!
July 26, 2018
About Yoga, Spirituality …and Discussion Forums.
Recently I have been reading several articles and studies on the growth of fitness and wellness boom during this decade which, as most of you I am sure would agree, does not show any signs of slowing down.
Yoga is of course an integral part of this growth and according to one study I came cross, “yoga” was among the 15 most Googled words in 2017 in the UK ! Furthermore, in 2016 Yoga Alliance and Yoga Journal found out in their study entitled “Yoga in America” that whilst 28% of the American yoga practitioners are male and 72% are female, there had been a 250% increase in the male yogis between 2012 and 2016! My purely empirical observations across yoga studios in various European countries helps me to have confidence in that in the Old Continent the tendency is the same – and this is wonderful news obviously!
Whilst 28% of the American yoga practitioners are male and 72% are female, there was a 250% increase in the male yogis between 2012 and 2016.
“Yoga in America” Study of 2016.
People come to yoga for different reasons: to alleviate back pain or other type of physical discomfort, as a means to deal with stress, anxiety and insomnia, as an alternative form of physical exercise… with so many styles and yoga teachers out there these days there is a yoga class to suit everybody. However, there are as many yoga stereotypes out there are as there are styles of yoga. And as with all the stereotypes, they do not come completely from nowhere, just as much as they do not represent the whole truth either. Yet, they can still form a barrier of entry for those who are curious but sceptical about yoga.
One of the more common remarks I hear from people who express interest in yoga is the concern about the level of spirituality that they might come across in a yoga class. About a year ago I wrote about this topic after I had stumbled upon an interesting conversation thread touching upon this subject on Reddit which I am re-posting here for the benefit for those of you who did not see it the first time around (Hello You! Thank you for reading my blog!)
So, this Reddit conversation started by this brilliant comment:
”I started yoga about two months ago and I am really enjoying it. I’m a 30 yo male. My back feels great despite my 40+ mile running weeks and I am already a lot more flexible.
But I’m somewhat turned off by the spiritual and meditative aspects of it. I don’t care about dedicating my practice to something, sealing my intention, being one with the ground, or anything like that. I just want to work on strength, stretching, and flexibility. I have only tried two studios so far and they are both pretty heavy into the spiritual/ meditation part of it, and the websites for all the others around me give the same impression.
Is this something I just have to get used to?” […]
My first reaction was laughter because this so hit the nail in the head. Just last night when teaching a class I encouraged people to “set an intention” at the start, and during savasana I said something along the lines of “feel supported by the ground.” Touché!
The second reaction I had was to get a little defensive. ”Well, technically we ARE supported by the ground when lying down, nothing spiritual there.” However, we all get the gist of the comment and many of us either recognise ourselves in it or know somebody who shares the feeling.
There were many great comments in the threat as a response to the above. Many expressed having similar feelings. Some suggested taking up pilates or other type of a stretching/conditioning class rather than yoga, no spirituality there. Some expressed their disapproval of what they saw as not understanding or trying to embrace the whole concept of yoga and everything it entails. Several people identified themselves as “atheist engineers”, leaving me wondering if this is seen as the highest form (or just stereotypical?) of a scientific and pragmatic individual, immune to any type of “spiritual bullshit about chakras and stuff.”
The comment that was voted the best started with “Dedicate your practice to fitness. Seal your intention to workout like a m*********r.” The runner up commentator chipped in with, ”most of what sounds like spiritual hippie nonsense is actually creative language/metaphor leading you to a concrete action: focus. You can tune out and just do the moves, but without breath and focus, you are headed for injury.”
I liked these comments a lot and I find them genuinely helpful. Of course as a yoga teacher I do believe in what I say in my own class but I also get that some of the stuff might sound a bit out there for some. Like with everything, not every yoga class, teacher or style resonates with me either. But it is always my choice how I choose to go about things and how to own up to my choices in a given situation. I trust the teachers whose classes I take to be professionals and having something to offer and therefore deserving my attention: this is also about safety. I can then choose to go to a different class next time – there are plenty of yoga classes with very minimal spirituality (or offering a different way to go about it) in them on offer.
I guess the point I am trying to make is that it is ok to have questions and even doubts but do not stop them having a go at yoga if you are interested. In a good class nobody is (or at least should not) force anything spiritual or esoteric down your throat. Be open-minded, remember that there is more and more hardcore scientific evidence about the benefits of yoga and meditation (watch the video I posted earlier on this topic here) and see for yourself.
What amount of spirituality in a yoga class feels right to you?
May 23, 2018
That Moment of Genuine Gratitude
The below text is from yesterday morning, something I wrote straight after the yoga class I had taken. It was one of those moments when the right words to express what had until then been just a slightly uncomfortable feeling came to me and demanded to be written down straight away. So I sat down and typed everything on my phone, in the fear that I would lose the essence of what was, and posted it on Instagram. As Insta is not the most comfortable platform for longer reads, here is a repost.
I did a vinyasa flow class this morning. The type I tell myself I am not too keen on, the type that I feel requires too much effort. “It’s dark, cold and almost the Winter Solistice”, I have been telling myself (since start of November), “In order to take care and nurture myself I better to just yin and restorative classes. And maybe something with chanting. No vinyasa.”

However I have some free classes to use as I volunteer at my local studio in exchange of yoga classes (karma yoga!), and somewhere in the back of my mind I knew I needed to venture out my comfort zone to cheer myself up/give myself a good kick on the backside. See, I am a typical Cancer and being moody and withdrawn comes to me very easily.
So I walked to this vinyasa class, chosen because it was only 60 minutes, not the usual 75. I like to threat carefully, hedge my bets, and this tells you how much I was expecting to, well, not enjoy the class.
I lie down on two blocks to open up the upper body and make my way up to seated when the teacher walks in. After the usual “who is new to yoga/any injuries” questions, the first thing she says is to use the practise to look back at the year and reflect on the things and people we are grateful for, as “gratitude gives us perspective.”
BOOM! Whilst I always aim to be realistically aware and grateful for everything and every day, so often I have been struggling (and feeling bad for it) to really genuinely FEEL it. The feelings of sadness and hopeless often seem to take the upper hand, no matter how hard I try to chase them away. But here was the invitation to try again this morning, an opportunity to let things come up on their own – when I least expected it. And maybe it was because of that, because I truly had no expectations, this morning I had one of those practises that people talk about with glowing eyes: Everything came easy (although the practise was not physically easy), with joy and gratitude for my ability to move, in that space, in this time, at that very moment. And for everything else. It was the type of yoga practise non-yoga people probably think we have all the time, and those with a regular practise know does not happen very often.
It is a weird feeling when things come up on their own, when you observe without forcing it, yet being so fully aware. Yes it has been a hard year. But it has also been a year of conscious effort to figuring out my s**t even when I really did not want to, learn about the whats and whys, causes and consequences. Cleaning out the past and making space for the new, in all meanings of the term. Accepting that going forward sometimes means you first need to stop and even go backwards and that is ok.
We need to contract in order to expand, like the lungs contract and expand when we breath.

It’s been a year of horrible losses and bottomless sadness, reconnections, letting go – some things unwillingly, some because it just had to be done. It has also been a year of plenty of happy moments, deeper connections, and reconnections, and being incredibly lucky with everything I have had and everything I have.
And this morning, in that vinyasa class, when I least expected it, I feel genuinely grateful for it all.
December 15, 2017
The Open Yoga Day Cyprus 2017
The Third Open Yoga Day Cyprus is coming up on the 8^th October, hosted this time in Larnaca, under the theme of Satya, truthfulness. To learn more about this free & open for all event I sat down with two of the organisers, Mayka Sabova and Marilena Shyama Shakti, for a chat.
This is the third year this event is being held in Cyprus. Where did the initial idea for the Open Yoga Day Cyprus come from and who are the people behind it?
Inspired by similar events around the world, the Open Yoga Day Cyprus was founded by Marilena in 2015. There are many community events in other countries that offer various kinds of free services to citizens. The main principle of these types of events is to find enthusiastic and like-minded people who are willing to offer selflessly to others, without expecting a tangible reward in exchange.
These days it can be rare to find people who have the ability to offer selflessly, people who are committed, loyal and driven to dedicate their free time and energy for creating something for others. Yet these are the qualities of the people behind the OYDC. We share passion for yoga and we aim at bringing it to as many people as possible. Alongside our founder, we are a small group of volunteers (mostly yoga teachers and practitioners), who share the common vision and are willing to walk an extra mile for the benefits of others. We operate with the support of local municipalities and every year we have few private sponsors and supporters who offer financial or other assistance.
In addition to fostering a community spirit and sharing the passion for yoga, what is the main message you wish to promote with the Open Yoga Day Cyprus?
Our vision is to promote wellbeing through yoga, while contributing in building healthy communities. The more people practice yoga, the better our society can become. We want to offer an opportunity to everyone, regardless their level of physical fitness, age or familiarity with the practice, to try yoga, enjoy the outdoor group practice and cultivate the sense of belonging and unity. The world has become more and more selfish with people focused strictly on their own lives without considering the others. With this even we want to encourage people to interact. In this sense, we use yoga as a tool for social interaction, while spreading the message of selfless giving, togetherness, sharing, love and unity.
These are also the reasons why the event is organized every year in a different location across the island. This way, the people already familiar with the event mix with newcomers and the message can reach more people.
This is the third time the Open Yoga Day Cyprus is taking place. Have you noticed any changes in the yoga community in Cyprus during this time, and has that influenced how you are setting up the event this year?
We noticed that more and more people have started practicing yoga over the recent years, and more and more of them have become yoga instructors too. This has not influenced the way we planned our 3rd edition, but it will influence the future events to come. For instance, we would like to bring new instructors closer to the more experienced ones, as well as the new approaches of teaching yoga with traditional ones. In yoga we learn to go with the flow so we try to go with the flow of changes, the evolution of the yogi community and most importantly, with the flow of people so we can all open up, learn, feel and grow further.
How did you choose Satya, truthfulness, as the theme for this year?
Every edition of the event has a set intention. The power of collective intention is immense and when we do things, whatever they are, with an intention, we deepen the purpose of any activity. This year our intention is Satya, truthfulness. Satya was chosen by the founder of OYDC, Marilena Shyama Shakti, as the theme of this year’s event after she went through the gift of being pregnant and giving birth. For her, the experience of giving birth to a new life was so true and real and, of course, deeply personal, with truthfulness present in every moment. Whether it was the eye contact, reactions or the sounds of the baby, all of these profoundly impressed Marilena, as it made her realize that human beings are born so pure and it is our duty to preserve the ability to stay innocent and true to ourselves.
I don’t want to get ahead of things as this years’ event is still ahead of us, taking place on the 8^th October, but can you already talk a little bit about your future plans?
We wish to bring yoga community in Cyprus closer together by encouraging those who share our values to offer their services and contribute in any way they can. For this purpose we would like to boost our reputation as a non-profit initiative through the annual event, and perhaps with even more events in the near future. We promote yoga, which indirectly benefits all yoga teachers across the island as we create potential audience for them. Therefore, we would like yoga teachers and instructors to bond and cooperate through our events in order to create an effective and efficient yoga hub.
We are also collecting data about yoga instructors and centres across the island, with a vision to create a central online yoga platform with directories and many other features. Everyone who wishes to give something back to the community and is ready to offer selflessly can reach out to us and contribute with their talent, skill or service.
Thank you very much for your time Marilena and Mayka – I am sure this years event in Larnaca will be even bigger than the events of the past two years. I’ll see you in Larnaca on the 8^th October!
Click here for the Open Yoga Day Cyprus’s Facebook page and check out the programme of the below. The event is open and free for everybody but you are requested to bring your own mat and something to drink.
Tallenna
Tallenna
September 24, 2017
Who Owns Yoga?
If you found my previous post interesting, there is more! In a documentary entitled “Who Owns Yoga?” the Al-Jazeera correspondent Bhanu Bhatnagar “explores the impact of our modern obsession with one of the world’s oldest physical and spiritual practises.”
The documentary is only 50 minutes long. It features well established names from the yoga world in the West and East, such as Sharon Gannon and David Life (founders of the Jivamukti Center in NYC), Sri Dharma Mittra, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Tara Stiles and many more. Check it out, and why not leave your thoughts about it in the comment section.
September 11, 2017
How to turn a bad day to a better one
Bad days happen to all of us. Sometimes you just know the day is not going to be the best one straight after waking up. Sometimes a bad day creeps up on you slowly, starting with an innocent coffee spill, followed by signal failure in the tube and the realisation the keys were left at home… When things start going wrong it can feel like you are watching a car crash happening: there is nothing to do but to let day run its course and hope for the best.
The good news is that it does not have to be like that. We have all the power to turn a day that has started badly to one that is, if not amazingly brilliant, a pretty good one. Here’s how.
1. Acknowledge things are not going smoothly and make peace with it
About a month ago I was few minutes late for a morning yoga class I was teaching. Not a big deal, being less than five minutes late, especially in Cyprus. Only this was few days after I had written a blog post how one should never be late for a yoga class. I was embarrassed and felt like a hypocrite. During the class I kept confusing my cues. Instead of shrugging it off, trusting that people were still following the class, I got annoyed and the rest of the class things continued to come out from my mouth sounding more or less strange: lefts became rights and so one. After the session, when somebody wanted to pay for a monthly pass, I realised I had left my purse home. At that point I let out a small “argh!” and the lady paying looked at me. “You are having not the best morning, are you? It’s ok, we all have those.”
For some reason those words gave me real comfort. Yes, bad days do happen for everybody and guess what, people understand that. They are not going to judge me for small mistakes. So why on Earth was I getting so worked out over things that quite frankly were very, very minor? Why was I calling myself a hypocrite for being three minutes late when nobody else was doing that?
And just like that, I made peace with the not so great day. I was not letting it to dictate my day. There is no great book of destiny that orders us to have x amount of s**t days a year, on specific dates on top of that. Instead, we can all do the following:
2. Reflect on the triggers and keep things in perspective
Things might not go great early on a given day because you are tired, or already overwhelmed by something that has happened earlier. When acknowledging and making peace with the not so smooth day so far, take a moment to check in with yourself. Ten deep breaths (I know, easier said that done but that’s why we practise yoga) by your desk, in the bus or even in the nearest toilet cubicle already help to calm the nervous system working on overdrive. Try to avoid catastrophising the events so far along the lines “This only happens to me” and “I might just give up and go home because the rest of the day is only going to be rubbish.” Trust me, there is no “bad day conspiracy” going on, aimed particularly at you. Instead, try to keep a positive (or at least a neutral) outlook and think what in particular has triggered you to react emotionally. Once you have identified them it is easier to find ideas that will help, if not to turn them around, at least keep them in perspective.
3. Modify your plan respecting your resources
So you are not feeling the best but need to get through the day. Have a look at your schedule and decide what are the things that have to be done, things what you can do and things that can wait. Is there a challenging one-to-one meeting coming up? Rescheduling is not great but as long as it is not what you are famous for in the office, maybe today is the day to do it. First draft of a report to be passed on to a colleague – you probably do not need to go it over with a comb, if it is the first draft nobody will care about few typos or less-than-perfect headlines. In short, treat yourself with compassion rather than punishing yourself for expecting excellence when you clearly are not up for it.
4. Switch your “to-do” list to a “done” list
Most of us have our lists (or ten) for things we must and want to get done during the day. Most of us also have things on those lists that we really are not too keen on, even on a good day.
One thing I often do, bad day or not, is to change my “to-do” list to a “done” list. I write down every task I do, whether it figures in my notebook or not. Sometimes the things I get to mark down on the “done” list are the same that I have on the “to-do” list – if that is the case, great. Sometimes I end up with a list of things that are entirely different. The point is, the things I end up doing are always tasks that needed to be sorted sooner or later. And so what if your “done” list includes things like sending a postcard to your cousin who lives in another country, and stretching in front of three episodes of your favourite series on Netflix. Because at the end of the day your cousin will probably appreciate your postcard more than your colleagues would be impressed by your intellectual contribution to the company Intranet you had planned to do originally. And gentle stretching whilst unwinding in front of a good program is just as good as going to a two-hour power vinyasa class you really did not feel like.
Celebrate the even small accomplishments with good consciousness. Your best today is good enough or did somebody tell you something else?
Finally, remember that everything in this life is temporary and tomorrow is another – and with all likelihood – a better day.
What are your best tips for improving a day going not too well?
Tallenna
Tallenna
July 4, 2017
International Yoga Day in Platres
Since 2015 the 21st June has not only marked Summer Solistice but also the International Day of Yoga, as agreed (by an unprecedented consensus) by the United Nation’s General Assembly in December 2014. The idea to observe Yoga Day came from India’s Prime Minister Narenda Modi who at the time stated:
“For us in India, respect for nature is an integral part of spiritualism. We treat nature’s bounties as sacred. Yoga is an invaluable gift of India’s ancient tradition. Yoga embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change and in bettering our well being. Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day.”
Ever since its conception Yoga Day has been embraced internationally with mass yoga sessions across the world, from Times Square in New York to events hosted in rural villages. The latter is exactly what took place in Cyprus this year. For the 3rd International Yoga Day the High Commission of India to Cyprus organised a sunset mass yoga practise in collaboration with the Community of Platres, a village situated some 1000 metres above the sea level in the Troodos Mountains. It was a beautiful event with great level of participation, definitely worth the drive up the mountains.
Here are some pictures from the event.
No Commandaria for me!
Not even falling rocks could have stopped me!
How was your International Yoga Day?
Tallenna
June 23, 2017
7 Yoga-inspired Tips for Anxiety and Stress
This past week has been the Mental Health Awareness Week. However, mental health is obviously not an issue just for one week a year, just like a good mental health is more than just absence of a mental health problem.
Stress and anxiety for instance are issues that touch all of us at least some point in our lives: school or university exams, professional demands and relationship challenges are unavoidable but luckily there are way s to ease their toll on us. It widely recognised through clinical studies that yoga can be an effective way to help us during tough times. Here’s how.
1. The power of breath – pranayama – brings calm and relieves anxiety. There are various breathing exercises available and you can find few of them here. If you prefer keeping things simple, just focusing on lengthening inhales and exhales, whilst breathing through the nose, is a very effective way to bring stillness to the mind. You can try counting during inhales and exhales to help to keep the rhythm even, with the added bonus that when you count quietly in your mind, it is pretty hard to have other thoughts disturbing you.
2. Yoga postures – the asanas – relief physical tension and can help the mind to refocus. Some of the asanas that are especially recommended for relieving anxiety are hastapadasana (standing forward fold), adho mukha svanasana (downward facing dog), setubandasana (bridge pose) and of course, savasana (corpse pose.) Even a ten minute practise a day, done regularly, can have a huge positive impact.
3. It is said that well planned is half done and preparation is the key. If you are reading this the night before a deadline you might find this annoying but take the lesson and next time plan ahead. Carving out the time to preparing in advance and making a plan will help manage both the situation at hand and our reactions, even if things end up not going to that plan (and do they ever?) If we are disciplined with our yoga practise, we can be disciplined with other aspects in our lives.
4. Find an affirmation that works for you to start the day. For instance, making a conscious decision every day to act with best of our abilities means we are less likely to have regrets and more peace of mind.
5. One of the reoccurring themes in yoga is that everything – absolutely everything – is temporary. Things will pass. It might not always feel like and it can be annoying to be reminded of this when the feeling is everything but. But things will pass.
6. Meditation, with help of an app or without, does not need to take more than few moments. It is always helpful to check in with ourselves to inquire how we are REALLY feeling and why, even more so if we have a chance to remove ourselves temporarily from a taxing situation. Noticing what triggers our worries and concerns might take some time initially but will pay itself generously back once we learn to take preventative actions.
7. Feeling like going all the way with a lifestyle change? Always best to introduce changes slowly in order to make them stick but if you are ready to go for it, check out my post about yamas and niyamas for some inspiration.
Tallenna
Tallenna
Tallenna
Tallenna
May 14, 2017
7 x Joogan inspiroimaa vinkkia stressin hallintaan
Mennyt viikko oli henkisen hyvinvoinnin teemaviikko (ainakin joissain maissa) mutta aihe on ajankohtainen vuoden jokaisena päivänä. Hengen ja mielen hyvinvointi kun on paljon muutakin kuin mielenterveysongelmien välttäminen. Koulu ja opiskelu, työelämän vaatimukset ja ihmissuhteet aiheuttavat useimmille meistä stressiä ja ahdistusta jossain vaiheessa elämään. Vaikka näitä tilanteita on hankala välttää kokonaan, voi joogasta löytyä iso apu elämän vaikeiden vaiheiden helpottamiseksi. Alla muutamia keinoja miten.
1. Hengittäminen – pranayama – ja erilaiset hengitysharjoitukset auttavat rauhoittamaan mieltä ja helpottavat ahdistusta. Kirjoitin muutamista harjoituksista aiemmin tässä postauksessa mutta sisään- ja uloshengitys nenän kautta on tehokas harjoitus jo yksinäänkin. Kokeile laskea hiljaa mielessäsi kolmeen tai neljään sekä sisään että uloshengittäessäsi. Näin hengityksen rytmi pysyy tasaisena ja laskiessa muiden ajatusten päässä pyöriminen on mahdotonta.
2. Jooga-asanat auttavat rentouttamaan kehoa ja auttavat mieltä keskittymään. Hyviä asanoita ahdistukseen ovat eteenpäintaivutus, alaspäin katsova koira, silta-asana ja tietenkin kuolleen miehen asana. Jo 10 minuutin päivittäisellä harjoittelulla voi olla positiivinen vaikutus mieleen.
3. Sanotaan että hyvin suunniteltu on puoliksi tehty. Järjestelmällinen joogaharjoitus voi auttaa siirtämään saman suunnitelmallisuuden elämän muihin osa-alueisiin. Hyvä ennakointi auttaa sietämään stressiä paremmin silloinkin kun suunnitelmat muuttuvat kesken matkan.
4. Voimalauseet voivat tuntua alkuun hölmöiltä mutta joskus eteen osuu sanonta joka resonoi. Päivän voi vaikka aloittaa lupaamalla tehdä parhaansa joka asian suhteen – näin myös toimiessa jossittelu ja harmittelu jaa myös vähemmälle kun tietää tehneensä vilpittömästi sen minkä sillä oli paras mahdollinen suoritus. Muista myös nämä asiat ja ole itsellesi armollinen.
5. Yksi joogan keskeisistä teemoista on tietoisuus siitä, että kaikki on väliaikaista. Oli olo tai tilanne kuinka kamala tahansa, ja vaikka ne tuntuvat kestävän ikuisesti, asiat tulevat muuttumaan. Aivan varmasti.
6. Erilaiset meditaatioharjoitukset tarvitsevat vain muutaman minuutin ja niitä varten löytyy myös erilaisia applikaatioita. Ottamalla päivittäin hetken aikaa oman mielentilan tarkasteluun voi tuntua alkuun hankalalta mutta omien ärsykkeiden tunnistaminen mahdollistaa selviytymismekanismien luomisen hankalia tilanteita varten. Alun vaivannäkö maksaa siis itsensä takaisin ajan kanssa.
7. Jos stressi ja ahdistus eivät ota helpottaakseen, ehkä edessä on kokonainen elämäntyylin muutos tai ainakin sen suunnittelu. Inspiraatiota tätä varten voi hakea vaikka aiemmista yama ja niyama-postauksistani.
Tallenna
Tallenna
Tallenna
Tallenna
Tallenna
Tallenna
May 14, 2017