“Patience: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, difficulty, or annoyance without getting angry or upset.” Patience can mean different things to us, and its definition can also vary depending on the situation. Usually patience has an underlying realisation that we want, need – or lack – more self-control in situation we face. Here are few thoughts on how to map where we stand on this issue and…
…I took an evening flow yoga class, taught in Greek and in Russian. It’s always good to explore what’s out there. It was a nice class, with music too. …Finland had her 99th Independence Day. I celebrated it at a reception where I met another yoga teacher. We talked about our respective teacher trainings and how we both like a slow practise. …”My” Teacher Anna Zorzou is on…
Yoga can be very beneficial during pregnancy for several reasons. In addition to the “general” (in the absence of a better word…) benefits I talked about earlier here, here’s a few pregnancy specific points that are interesting: An asana practise can be very grounding both physically and emotionally: It can literally improve balance as the centre of gravity of the body shifts during pregnancy. It also offers hightened…
In our lifes, we all have the right for the following: The right to be treated with respect The right to say “no” and not feel guilty The right to experience and express our feelings The right to take time to slow down and think The right to change our minds The right to ask what we want The right to do less than we are humanly capable…
This post was first published in HappyGirlYoga. Lue suomalainen versio teksistä tästä. No matter how busy we are, there are several ways to practice self-care everyday., These are the moments we put ourselves first. It’s not necessarily about getting a mani-pedi ahead of a an event, or having time for a cup of coffee. In addition to taking care of our basic needs, we also need to decompress…
Mudra is a Sanskrit word that means ”seal” or ”closure.” The idea is that different parts of our body and brain are connected and with our hands we can make gestures – yoga mudras – to direct the flow of energy within the body. Positioning the fingers in different mudras are a way to bring our body balance and help to stimulate a specific state of mind. Yoga…
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 1.33 offers us an useful – but not always easy to follow – advise on how to cultivate a calm and clear mind, even in challenging situation. Sounds good right? This Sutra is often referred as ”four locks and four keys” Sutra, as 4 locks and 4 keys comes – you guessed it – with four points, or actions to practise. There are various translations…
Breathing. Natural, pretty essential and still so many ways of doing it. Many of us tend to breath with our chest only, i.e. only using the top part of our lungs. Yet, the power of the belly breath is far greater than we realise and deep breath works on many levels: it can bring almost instantenous stress relief, improves oxygen intake (surprise, surprise) and helps to detoxify your…
…and it’s a yoga pose! Legs-up-the-Wall-Pose, or Viparita Karani, is an asana favoured by many and no wonder as it is said to help with many different ailments, such as: Anxiety Arthritis Digestive problems Headache High and low blood pressure Insomnia Migraine Mild depression Respiratory ailments Urinary disorders Varicose veins Menstrual cramps Premenstrual syndrome Menopause This pose is a restorative one, so in a yoga class you would…
Sleeping! One of my favourite things to do and I do it well. Unfortunately not everybody is as lucky as I am and lack of sleep or inability to fall asleep is a real issue for many. Talking to people I have realised that in addition to my natural sleeping abilities there have few things I have done all my life that mean I have a specific bedtime…