Find Out How 5 Minutes of Yoga Can Change Your Day
By Sandy Schroeder
Wherever you are with yoga, totally new, or longtime fan, you may want to use 5 or 10 minutes out of your day to take a timeout that lets your mind and body totally relax and regroup. When it starts to work you may feel yourself picking up energy and escaping from stress.
Yoga really can make the difference when stress and chaos just keep coming. If you are totally new to yoga, you may want to stop by your local gym and observe a class and talk with an instructor. As always, check with your doctor before beginning new exercises.
Getting Started
Take your mat with you to work to use in breaks or at lunch, or do these poses before breakfast, after dinner or before bed. Just find a quiet spot and let go of all of the issues of the day. If the weather is good you might want to move the session outdoors.
Try These 7 Simple Poses
Beginning seated position - Start seated on your mat with legs crossed. Take a deep breath and think about how your body feels from your head and neck all the way down to your feet and toes. Absorb the feeling of stillness and quiet to let go of everything else.
Neck circle - Slowly allow your head to fall forward to your chest. Then move the neck to the right, the back and the left, completing a circle in front. Notice if any part of the circle feels stiff and needs more attention.
Roll the shoulders - Move your shoulders forward in a circular motion four times, and then roll back four times. Inhale, raise your hands over your head, and exhale, bringing your hands down and together in front of your chest.
Go to a tabletop position - Move onto your hands and knees. Keep your wrists under the shoulders and knees under the hips. Keep palms on the floor with weight evenly distributed and your head in a central position.
Cat pose - Exhale and pull your stomach toward your spine and let your head drop forward toward the floor.
Cow pose - Inhale as you let your belly drop toward your mat. Lift the chin and chest and look up to the ceiling. Move your shoulders away from your ears. Repeat the cat to cow poses in a rhythm of 5-10 times.
Mountain pose - Bend your knees and roll your body up to a standing pose. Inhale and place your hands together at chest level.
As you become comfortable with using yoga sessions to lower your stress, you may want to find a class that suits you and learn more poses for better sleep, balance, strength and flexibility. I predict once you experience that stress relief as you settle onto your yoga mat, you will be back again and again.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Dacula, Ga.