Think Calm

 

Happy April!

Today I wanted to share a breathing exercise that I’ve been practicing lately with quite some dedication. I’m 29 weeks pregnant and I started practicing this breathing exercise to lower my blood pressure and stress level. Doing this exercise consistently helps calm the mind and nervous system, release tension in the body and lower your stress level. The key in this exercise is to make your exhalation double as long as your inhalation. This is very individual so you have to feel what is best for you. You might want to start with inhaling on 2 and exhaling on 4, and work your way up to inhaling for 3 and exhaling for 6, inhaling 4 and exhaling 8. You should feel at ease when you do it and not strain yourself. Because if you strain yourself and push yourself to hard then the whole purpose of this breathing exercise goes out of the window.

Take a comfortable seat, either on a chair or in a crosslegged position using a blanket to sit on. You want your spine to be long, hips and shoulders relaxed. Lift the center of your chest to create some openness. Close your eyes and take a moment to just feel the flow of your natural breathing. When you feel ready inhale for 2, 3 or 4 counts and then exhale for 4, 6 or 8 counts. Choose what is best for you. Continue like this for at least 5 minutes and work your way up to 11 minutes.

May I suggest that you use a timer so you don’t have to worry about the time.

Try it and see what happens. Only good things can come out of it.

Tip for everyday calmness:
You can do this breathing exercise ten times (an inhale and an exhale counts as one time) where ever you are. Just inhale for 2 or 3 counts and exhale for 4 or 6 counts. You can do it in your car (don’t close your eyes), walking, waiting in line etc. 

Namaste,
Helén
 

A Simple Meditation

 

Happy Spring!

Sometimes a simple visualization meditation can change the course of your day or the way you feel, and it doesn’t have to take up much of your time. The meditation that I’m sharing with you today is a visualization meditation to draw your attention within to leave external stimuli. Your supportive tool is to focus on the physical body and breathing. You'll feel grounded and calm.

A Simple Meditation Visualization

Namaste,
Helén
 

My Meditation Practice

 

The deeper I dive into my yoga practice the more I appreciate the beauty of meditation. Through my own journey I've come to realize that there is no yoga without meditation. What I also come to realize is that there are many pathways to meditation. I find it very helpful though to have a daily seated practice. Simply watching my breathing, allowing my thoughts to come and go in stillness. The more I practice I weave in moments of meditation into every day living. These moments are often short but very rejuvenating. It can be meditation through a certain action, walking, gazing, pausing to feel and breathe, noticing beauty around me...

Turning Inward

Pratyahara is the 5th limb in the eight-limb path of yoga. Pratyahara means turning inward and it is a process in which our senses withdraw from external stimuli. Here we settle in and become aware of our inner landscape. The process and practice of pratyahara prepares us for deeper meditation. Taking a moment to pause and slow down give us an opportunity to reflect and draw within.

Give yourself the gift of taking a pause. Turn your mind gently inward. Breathe and let tension melt away.  Listen attentively. Feel. This is  pratyahara, to freely choose to leave external stimuli and direct the attention within.

Cozy up

Savasana - Corpse Pose or Deep Relaxation

As you bring your yoga practice to a close let yourself rest in savasana. Personally I have to remind myself of the importance of this elegant and simple pose. By resting in savasana after our practice we make a smooth transition that will sustain the qualities that we cultivated during our practice.

Savasana, teaches us to surrender into the moment and to relax in a wakeful state. Practicing this pose is an art, because here we want to move into a state of pure feeling, pure awareness.

Props for your savasana

Here I use a soft scarf under my head, an eyepillow for my eyes (a scarf or a soft towel also works), a rolled blanket under my knees and a blanket to place over my whole body to stay warm. Be creative with your supportive props.
As you lie on your back with your props supporting you, let your arms rest alongside your body with palms facing up. Let your arms and legs become heavy. Let your breath flow in a natural rhythm in and out of your nose. Begin to progressively release tension from the body. Allow yourself to completely relax. Exchange thinking to pure feeling.
Stay for about 10 minutes or longer. Here is some wonderful soothing music to use for your savasana:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW1XKdeLDPM
 
Getting out of the pose
Take your time getting out of the pose. Deepen the breathing. Wiggle your fingers and toes. Slowly bend your knees into your chest. Stretch the arms over your head and roll over on to your right side. Curl into a fetal position and stay there for a moment. Slowly lift up to sit and take a moment to notice how you feel. Namaste.

“Savasana is about shedding... We have many skins, sheaths, thoughts, prejudices, preconceptions, ideas, memories and projects for the future. Savasana is a shedding of all these skins, to see how glossy and gorgeous, serene and aware is the beautiful rainbow-colored snake who lies within.” B.K.S Iyengar

A Restorative Practice

Spending some quiet time in a restorative pose is a gift to give to yourself. Restorative yoga is a deeply restful and meditative form of yoga. This rejuvenating practice allows both the body and mind to move towards harmony, balance and calm. The body is supported by props like blankets, and bolsters or pillows. This practice helps us to dive into the moment and experience deep relaxation. If only for 10 minutes, it will do you so much good. Be creative with your supportive props.

 

New Beginnings

January...the beginning of a new journey...

New question to be asked.

New dreams to discover. 

New lessons to embrace.

Thinking about the lessons 2016 brought; all that made me smile, all that made me grow and the fresh new year ahead. Above else to focus on love, kindness, respect, authenticity and acceptance of the beauty of imperfections in our lives.
 

This is really a month to dream. To look forward to the journey ahead of us and the journey within.
 

Happy New Year!

 Namaste, 

Helén

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.