Vinyasa

VINYASA 

Nyasa= ‘to place’ 

Vi= ‘in a special way’

To place your awareness in a special way

Vinyasa yoga is a flowing style of yoga where the breath and movements are linked together. The movements are initiated and inspired by the breath. In a yoga sequence expansive, opening and rising movements are initiated by an inhalation. Contractive, closing and grounding movements are initiated by an exhalation.

Vinyasa yoga teaches us to cultivate an awareness around and within our transitions both in our practice and life. It’s a practice of being present in the space between poses, actions or places. It’s in the transitions, the flow in between, where the beauty and magic lies. The flow is a catalyst for shift and transformation. 

Our breath is our best guide in our practice and life. When I teach a yoga class I always remind my clients that the most important thing is their breathing. We want our breathing to lengthen and deepen and we want our movements to mirror that. The movements and the breathing become one. 

The movements tell us a lot about our breathing and state of mind. Our breathing tells us a lot about our state of mind. I believe just as our breathing can effect our movements, our movements can effect our breathing. The entire flow is to create harmony in body, mind, heart and soul.

It’s easy to put the main focus on the poses themselves, to rush through a transition just to get to the pose. The vinyasa flow gives us a beautiful reminder that everything is a process.

Namaste, Helén

Savoring Simple Pleasures

“To affect the quality of the day,

this is the highest art.” -Henry David Thoreau

This month I’m focusing on savoring simple pleasures... I give attention to the small things, I pause, I practice being in the moment, I take note of what brings me pleasure and elevates my spirit. 

Simple pleasures have the potential to change the way we feel and the way we experience our moment-to-moment life. By savoring simple pleasures we have an opportunity to elevate ourselves, become present, slow down and cultivate a feeling of contentment.

I love to begin my day with a moment of stillness and silence, watching my breath and get grounded.

I enjoy drinking my morning coffee while reading a book or gazing out through the window.

I put lavender oil on my hands before I make the bed and the bedroom fills with a lavender smell.

On my daily walks I always make sure to stop and smell the roses, literally.

Afternoon coffee or tea = cup of quiet reflection

I always keep a book with me. When I have a moment I read a passage for joy and inspiration.

Music elevates my spirit and brings me inspiration to the mundane. I listen to music everyday to connect to my heart and inner muse.

I love an evening practice. To release what happened during the day and just step into the moment. My favorite is VinYin; flow into ease and stillness. I make sure to light a candle and have a bottle of essential oil close by.

What simple pleasures can you begin to savor in your everyday life? What elevates your spirit? What inspires your inner muse?

“It is the sweet simple things of life 

which are the real ones after all.”

-Laura Ingalls Wilder

Peace & Light, Helén

Reflection

What practice is going to serve you best today or at this time in your life?

Movement and flow, deep breathing, stillness, mudra, dancing, 

nature walk, a moment of yin yoga or a creative mix…?

Breathing

“In the end, it all comes down to the art of breathing.” -Martha Graham

When I teach a yoga class I always remind my clients that the most important thing is their breathing.

The quality of our breathing has a direct impact on our body, mind and emotional health and wellbeing. Breathing relaxes and revitalizes our body. It also quiets the mind and calms our emotions. 

The fourth limb of yoga is mindful breathing: pranayama. Pranayama is a sanskrit word meaning: prana = lifeforce yama = to extend

Through mindful breathing we can regulate the flow of prana within our body which effects the mind and body. When we deepen our breathing the body receives more oxygen and we release pent-up emotions. The breath also help release serotonin in the brain which is a neurotransmitter that promotes feelings of happiness and joy.

I want to share a breathing exercise with you that I love to practice. It’s called Nadi Shodhana - Alternate Nostril Breathing. It has a very calming and harmonious effect on the body and mind. 

Take a comfortable seat. Sit for a moment and connect to the natural rhythm of your breathing. 

Bend the right index and middle finger into your palm and place your right hand in front of your nose. 

Close your right nostril with your right thumb and inhale through your left nostril.

Close your left nostril with your ring finger and exhale out of the right nostril.

Inhale through your right nostril, close the right nostril, exhale through your left nostril. Repeat, alternating nostrils.

Practice this for 3-5 minutes 

Enjoy!

Namaste, Helén

Contemplation

“By nature Mercury and mind are unsteady: there is nothing in the world which cannot be accomplished when these are made steady.” - Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Words of Wisdom

"Silence and stillness are nourishment for your mind and spirit, and reflection is a time for you to tap into your true beauty so that you can shine internally and externally." ~Sierra Bender, Goddess to the Core

3 Simple Tools to begin a Meditation Practice

Today I want to share 3 simple tools that’s been really helpful in my meditation practice.

Get Comfortable
The most important part of your meditation practice is making sure you are comfortable in your body. You want to sit onto a firm pillow or a blanket so your hips can be higher than your knees. If cross-legged position isn’t comfortable sit on a chair. You want the spine to be straight and chest open, that way the breath can move into your heart and lungs. 

Same Time Same Space
I have found that if I stick to a certain time and space I am more likely to stick to my meditation practice. After a while it becomes a routine that triggers my mind. I prefer to meditate in the morning. It’s so easy to let it slip away if I wait...

Start Small
Begin with 5 minutes. You can practice 5 minutes of meditation for a week and then you add 1 more minute everyday until 11 minutes. Stay with 11 minutes for a while, get comfortable. I started with 5 minutes and I thought it was torture to sit still and trying not to think... You see when I started meditating I thought that I needed to completely blank my mind and not think. Well... Accept your thoughts, they will be there. It’s how you engage with them. Don’t let your thoughts take over, instead be in charge over them. As soon as you begin to drift you gently bring yourself back to your breath and body.

I like to think of my mind as a blue sky and my thoughts as clouds. Let your thoughts come and go like the clouds in the sky.

Meditation Blessings, Helén

Contemplation for your meditation

"Release your thoughts, for they are merely storms you have clung to. Return to the shore of your body. Breathe the warm light your lungs had forgotten. ~Victoria Erickson

A Simple Meditation Practice

Meditation is a practice with many great benefits. It’s a way to slow down, focus and be close to yourself. In meditation you give yourself room and space to relax into who you are. 

Take a comfortable seat. Set your timer (5-11minutes) and close your eyes. Sit up straight, lengthen your spine and open your heart. Settle into your breathing. As you sit in stillness allow thoughts and feelings to come to the surface, don’t give them a title or judge them as good or bad. Breathe into them and let them go, release them and see them move away like clouds in the sky. 

This will allow you to create space within and clear away what is no longer healthy. When we do this we can begin to connect and hear our intuition more clearly.

Meditation Blessings, Helén

Sacred Space

My sacred space. A space to regroup, reflect, meditate and re-connect. A space where I can pause, listen and feel.

Do you have a sacred space just for you?

Magic in You

"The magic begins in you. Feel your own energy, and realize similar energy exists within the Earth, stones, plants, water, fire, colors and animals. -Scott Cunningham

Pause to look within…

Words of Wisdom

"All spiritual practice comes down to applying teachings to your own self, going inside, and listening to your body and heart." -Rodney Yee

So many yes to this. Keep it simple; stillness, silence and listening. Breathe and allow. Trust.

Look Within

Empowerment: to draw forth what's already within you.

You have it within you. Don't search for it outside of yourself, look within.

Reflections

"When you become in tune with the known and the unknown, you will realize that you are never alone. When you open yourself up to the mysteries of the universe, you open your heart to feel your worthiness and open your mind to see your true potential." 

~Sierra Bender, Goddess to the Core 

Healing Mudra

Mudras are mysterious gestures, like yogasanas in your hands, that brings healing to your body, mind and soul.

Mudra of unshakable trust is a new favorite that I’ve been practicing for some time now. It’s a wonderful mudra that brings a grounding, calming and peaceful feeling within. This mudra is nice to practice when you feel insecure and dis-connected to Spirit.

Cross the fingers of both hands and place the palms against your chest. Close your eyes and begin to connect to the rhythm of your breathing. You can focus on your breathing only or on the sensations within your heart or maybe repeat a mantra or affirmation. Hold for 3-5 minutes.

Namaste, Helén

A Personal Practice on the Yoga Mat

A personal practice is about tuning in and listen. What practice is going to serve you best today or at this time in your life? It doesn't matter what it looks like, how long the practice last or what advanced asanas you can achieve. The first most important thing is just stepping onto the mat, checking in and meet yourself. THAT is a practice in itself.

Namaste, Helén

A Personal Practice

A personal practice can be simple. It can be 15, 10 or 5 minutes of mindful stretching, deep breathing, a mudra practice, a restorative pose, a few asanas or free movement. Just agree to show up and see what unfolds.

Healing Mudra

Mudras are mysterious gestures, like yogasanas in your hands that brings healing to your body, mind and soul. Today I want to share a highly effective and powerful mudra that is one of my favorites. It’s a mudra for self-confidence. 

Press the middle knuckles of the last 3 fingers together. Thumbs are touching, point your thumbs in toward your solar plexus. Index fingers are touching, point them away from you. Hold this mudra for 3 minutes or more, breathe deeply and focus on your third eye between your eyebrows.

This mudra helps prevent self-defeating thoughts, has an uplifting, positive and inspiring effect on your whole being.

Self-Trust

Building self-trust...

There are so many ways in which we can engage in our personal practice. You can simply carve out a few moments for yourself daily. Your practice is just as valid at 5 minutes as it is at 1 hour or more. The important thing is that you show up with consistency. 

Showing up to yourself again and again and again with clarity and with an open heart and mind will help you build self-trust. 

Begin to acknowledge where and how you already are showing up for yourself.  Embrace all of you; both strengths, fears and weaknesses. Stand in the truth of it all. Take it in. Own it. 

Listen to your inner voice. Not the voice of fear and judgement. But the more subtle voice that comes from your heart, your gut. The practice of deep listening, of acknowledging our intuition; builds trust. 

“Let your practice be a means to discover your fullness.” ~Victoria Erickson

Love & Light, Helén

Spring Blessings

"I can tell you some things I know about spring. That it's about bursting. It's about renewal. It's about relearning. And it's about becoming. And you know what? It's also about discomfort. It burns to become. But you can't avoid it. Step into it. Own it. You can't escape from what your heart actually aches for no matter how hard you might try. The brain hardly ever wins. The core does." ~Victoria Erickson

Step into it. 

Own it.

Deep Rest

Savasana - Deep Rest
Savasana is an essential part of our asana practice. This pose is about deep relaxation. We return to ourselves, we release, we let go. Lying down against the earth we drop into ease, calm and trust.

"Let go now of any need to do anything or be anybody, letting your entire being fill with gratitude and praise to the mother earth and father sky." from the book Heart Yoga

Reflection Friday

“We tend to approach our postures the way we approach our lives. In our culture, results get all the attention and the process overlooked. Approach both your life and your postures with an eye to the process, and let go of the results. Stand easy in all the postures of your life, firm but relaxed.” from the amazing book Meditations from the Mat

Daily Tending

Afternoon practice. Re-connecting. Releasing. Awakening.

If only for a few minutes give yourself that space of re-connecting to yourself in a deep soulful way. A few deep breaths, 3 minutes of stillness, a child’s pose, some energizing movements, some soothing hip stretches.

Daily tending...we all need it.

Love & Light, Helén

Sacred Mudra

Jnana mudra with a variation. Jnana mudra is one of the most common mudras of hatha yoga. It’s simple but powerful. The circle of the thumb and the index finger is a symbol of union and wholeness. Jnana mudra has a calming effect, brings clarity and improves concentration. 
Circle the thumb and index finger on your LEFT hand and rest you left hand into your right palm. You can rest this mudra in your lap or hold it in front of your navel area or solar plexus. This variation I find has a very grounding and soothing effect on me.

Namaste, Helén

Spiritual Journey

"And then I learned the spiritual journey had nothing to do with being nice. 

It was about being real, authentic. Having boundaries.

Honoring my space first, others second. 

And in this space of self-care being nice just happened, 

it flowed not motivated by fear but by love.  ~Michelle Olak 

Quiet Time...

You want to find some clarity and calm?

Give yourself some quiet time... Movement helps too... Free flow, just you and your breath. No rules or asanas to follow. Then, sit in stillness and listen to the silence deep within you.

“Quiet your mind. Breathe and let go of words, worry and plans. Go into that space of silence deep within you, that vortex of peace where the world doesn’t enter.” ~Doreen Virtue, Goddess Oracle Cards

Reflection

Self-study - Svadyaya 

"Analyze what inspires you." 

words by Danielle Laporte

Tools...

"The master sticks to her tools." - Lao-Tzu

This is something my husband and I talk a lot about...our tools. What tools we can use to find balance, feel empowered, for healing, vitality and wholeness.
We are both exploring our own tools and keep reminding each other to bring them out and use them. After a while they become gently embedded into the flow of everyday life, like subtle habits. Before my asana practice yesterday I sat down to draw this wheel and write down my tools. It's like ingredients I can choose to create a "healing recipe." 

What tools do you use when stress, dis-connection and tension shows up?

Love & Compassion

How about letting love and compassion rule everyday…? 

Small acts of self-love... Subtle habits of self-compassion...?

How about being gentle and kind toward yourself…? 

Pause and hold a space of gratitude for yourself, your body and spirit.

Imagine the shift...

Love & Namaste, Helén

Reflection Friday

Svadyaya - Self-study
“Whether you are a student or a teacher, expose yourself constantly to those writers, poets, singers, songwriters, movies, actors, yoga teachers, meditation teachers, and anyone else who lights your fire.
Svadyaya is about connecting to the energy you find healing and inspiring.” from the inspiring book Meditations from the mat

What do you find healing and inspiring?
Who and what lights your fire?

Namaste and Happy weekend, Helén

Devotion

"Nothing cures like devotion." 

Words by Danielle Laporte 

photo credit @ricky_sears

Hakini Mudra

Hakini Mudra
Hakini - God of the forehead, third eye chakra
This mudra helps us develop concentration and has a calming and tranquil effect on body and mind. 
I like to practice this mudra both in my asana and meditation practice. 
Place the fingertips together and bring your hands either above your head with slightly bent elbows or hold the mudra in front of your heart.
Close your eyes and gaze up to your third eye between your eyebrows. Gently begin to deepen your breathing. Soften your thoughts, let them come and go like clouds in the sky. Relax your body without collapsing. Keep your sense of presence vibrant and awake. Namaste, Helén

Attention

"Attention is what allows us to see ourselves, in order to learn how we can elegantly approach anything, everything." 

from the book Art of Attention by Elena Brower & Erica Jago