Restorative yoga is a passive style of yoga where each pose (asana) is supported by props—bolsters, straps, blankets, or blocks. The support enables the practitioner to comfortably sink into a pose and hold it for between 5 and 10 minutes. This is an aid, allowing them to let go, be present, and completely relax in the moment.

“I am calm and balanced, the way I was designed to be.”

Perhaps the most therapeutic of all yoga poses, Legs Up the Wall is often referred to as the “cure-all”  pose. A rejuvenating posture, it can be done: actively (without wall support, legs simply balanced in the air), or passively (legs supported by a wall or other supporting structure).

 

“Yoga carves you into a different person – and that is satisfying physically.”
Adam Levine

Why You Should Try Legs Up the Wall

Either way, this asana is effective for blood flow to every part of the body. In turn, the boost in circulation is great for:

• Improved digestion
• Headache relief
• Loosening tight hips and hamstrings
• Decreasing insomnia
• Easing back tension
• Diminishing PMS symptoms
• Resetting the body’s clock from exhaustion or jet-lag
• Cutting a cold off at the pass
• Shifting one’s perspective from overcast to sunshine
• Enhanced libido—woot woot!

 

Here’s how this restorative yoga pose is done:

 Note: this inverted pose can be done with hips on a bolster or on the floor—I prefer the floor.

1. Sit on the floor with your side fairly close to the wall.

2. As you slowly lower your back and head to the floor, gently swing your legs up, folding them into a cross-legged position against the wall—maintain this soft hold for a minute as you settle your torso.

3. Once your sacrum is comfortably flat on the floor (or bolster), cross your legs the other way and maintain this soft hold for another minute.

4. Extend your legs up the wall—hold your legs just firm enough to keep them vertically in place. The cascading weight of the legs into the pelvis serves as an excellent hip opener.

Note: some people will feel completely at ease when they rest their heels and calves flush against the wall; other’s will be more comfortable with their calves away from the wall a bit — this is adjusted by the distance of your sit bones from the wall.

 

5. Rest your hands and arms where they feel pleasantly at ease: on your stomach, at your sides, or on the floor above your head.

6. Now that you’ve settled into position, surrender to the tranquility of this pose by softly closing your eyes and intentionally relaxing your brow, jaw, neck, and shoulders.

7. Belly breathe—with each inhalation feel your belly naturally rise; with each exhalation feel it naturally fall. The vast inner space this pose creates bids, “Welcome, stay as long as you like.”

8. To end the pose simply draw your knees toward your chest, gently roll to your side. And, finally, sit up slowly.

Legs Up The Wall

This is one of my favorite restorative yoga poses. Indeed, I love how I feel when I drift into the stillness of this therapeutic posture. And, then, I mentally affirm, “I am calm and balanced, the way I was designed to be.”

As a proud Mom, I have a deep desire to instill manners, values and wise habits into our daughter, Aurora.  To me, this is the foundation of kindness and morality – lessons for living and a set of principles that most of us have learned from our elders.  And, if we didn’t however, we’re not alone. In fact, western civilizations don’t revere the elderly like they once did.

With the issues we are facing today and the need for our actions to be in alignment with future sustainability,  I think now, more than ever, is the time to reflect and LIVE the wisdom of our dear elders. I’ve been thinking a lot about this since my grandma left from her recent visit, so I felt compelled to write.

As I spend time with her, I am reminded of the same things she would teach me as a child. You know, the same things I would think “Ok – Grandma, what is the point of this?”  Now, I understand and realize more than ever that it’s important to live this wisdom and pass it on.

It’s our goal to make the world a better place for our children and their generation. We wish for them to be healthy and well, to live abundant lives and to achieve their greatest dreams. Therefore, it is our duty to remain conscious and live the wise adage of Gandhi, “Be the change we wish to see.”

5 G.R.E.A.T. Lessons for Living from our Elders

GRATITUDE

Adopting a more gracious and thankful attitude is really the key to living a happy life. It’s a small (but BIG) secret to success and fulfillment.  I remember my grandmother telling me often when I would feel upset or sad about something that life is good. She would remind me, “You have eyes that can see the colors of the trees. A nose that can smell delicious food. A tongue that can taste.  Feet that can take you anywhere. Clean water to wash. Electricity to turn on a light.” etc.

Sometimes when things aren’t going our way, it’s good to stop and look at all the things that ARE going well. We really can switch our focus on to ANYTHING we truly want at any moment. Sure, it’s not always the easiest thing to do. But, with conscious practice it gets easier and easier until it’s a way of life.  Living with an attitude of gratitude every day doesn’t mean life will be perfect, but it does make it BETTER! 😀 It also means life will be filled with fun, magical surprises.

REUSE

While my grandma was visiting, she put into perspective how much I could reuse. We typically recycle and reuse some things when we can but we have a small home; so to avoid clutter, we don’t like to keep too much around that we don’t use frequently. However,  there are clever ideas that can take a simple item and turn it into useful tools.  You can probably google or use Pinterest to find fun ideas. Here are some examples of reusable items:

• Glass Jars for storing item like dry goods, spices, buttons, screws, etc.
•  Plastic containers (butter, milk jugs, food containers, etc.) to store leftovers or drinks made at home.
• Toilet Paper Rolls to start seedlings in the garden

• Vegetable trimmings for broth:
  Save up all of the trimmings and put them in a pot of water.  Boil for a while until the flavor is strong enough for your taste, then take out the trimmings and voila!

• Vegetable trimmings to plant:
  Did you know that when you plant the bottom of a stalk of celery (the end that usually gets cut off), it will grow into a whole new stalk of celery? The same goes for potatoes and many other vegetable trimmings that usually get tossed in the trash.

• And here are even MORE clever ideas I found on Pinterest.

Many of our grandparents grew up during the depression/WWII era, where rations were given and supplies were scarce.  If any generation alive today knows how to get the most out of their things, it’s this one. Ask your elders what they do to reuse. I’m sure you could discover some pretty cool ideas. 😉

EAT LESS

“Want to learn to eat a lot? Here it is: Eat a little. That way, you will be around long enough to eat a lot.” – Tony Robbins

60 years ago, eating habits were completely different than what we consider normal today.  People are so busy that they eat what they can, when they can, where they can.  This can lead to a sort of binge eating that doesn’t balance nutrition.  And when people eat, the amounts eaten continue to grow.

For example:

In the 1950’s, the standard fast food meal included:

One 7 ounce drink
One 3.9 ounce hamburger
One 2.4 ounce order of french fries.

Today, the same fast food meal includes:

One 42 ounce drink
One 12 ounce hamburger
One 6.7 ounce order of french fries.

Suddenly, the obesity epidemic seems equal to food portions. Even if you control the TYPE of food you eat, you always have to watch the amount of food you eat. A while back I read a very inspiring article about a  116 year old man said “to eat light and live long”.

Every time my grandma visits, I find myself growing fond of her tender table manners.  Not only does she put less on her plate than many of us, but she is also always the last to finish.  As we all eat, she happily takes a bite, chews slowly, and discusses the day and life’s memories in between.  How lovely is it to sit and enjoy a meal?  Not just the food itself, but the people eating together, and the discussions created among us during the meal.

ATTITUDE

Changing your attitude is one small adjustment that makes a world of difference.   One of the lessons for living I’ve learned from our elders is to maintain a high level of emotional intelligence. They’ve learned through the years that most upsets are not worth the upset at all – the calm is always more precise and powerful than the storm.

During times of struggle, our elders have always been resolute to raise their head, count their blessings, and look toward the good things to come.  They have witnessed more “depression” than we could probably ever imagine, but what do they focus on?  They focus on the positive; our elders hold the wisdom of how precious time really is. They’re up early in the morning and thankful to be alive, talking happily with people they know and waiting for that next family visit.

TRAVEL

Countless stories have been shared from generations past about the sights of the world.  Our elders have been all over this planet sightseeing, making history and meeting new people. Experience also comes from that.

Today, with the cost of living and busy life, travel isn’t as often and may mostly come from a Google Map or photo from Facebook. However, travel is beautiful and everyone should have the opportunity to experience it in some capacity. Even if it is not something extravagant or costly, it’s important to take time and do something new.

“It’s very interesting to see all the different types of people.”

My grandma, at 82,  still travels to visit us. In fact, she will bravely opt to independently venture on a Greyhound bus back home! Regardless of any reservations about her taking an interstate bus ride, she will remind me in her soft and peaceful voice, “I enjoy taking the bus.  I get to meet every type of person you could imagine – all colors, ages, nationalities, and backgrounds…   It’s very interesting to see all the different types of people.”

Our world is an amazing place with an incredible spectrum of personality.   There are amazing people and experiences available everywhere, but much like a rainbow, you have to see them just right for their true beauty to be revealed.  Welcome new experiences and locations – they’re going to change your life and add a new dimension of richness.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON LESSONS FOR LIVING

So, there are 5 GREAT lessons for living from our elders. These are things I have personally learned from my grandma – a family photo of her and I are on the left. I could actually write dozens more, but that would turn into a book. 😉

I want to hear from YOU! Please comment and add to the conversation – we can all learn from each other.

What lessons for living have your elders passed down or are eager to pass down to our future generations?

Addiction is prevalent in society.  Food is one of the more frequent, but often unnoticed addictions. Food addicts, much like addicts of any other nature tend to abuse in times of strong feeling or emotion. This release of negative emotions that lead to food abuse, or “emotional eating” can be drawn from oneself and/or the treatment received from others.

“Emotional intelligence is key to living a balanced life. Eating habits can be in perfect alignment with that.”

Everyone has seen or heard of the stereotypical “break up with your bf/gf then go home and eat a half-gallon of ice cream”. The good news is that these sudden episodes don’t have to open the refrigerator door of abuse. Emotional intelligence is key to living a balanced life. Eating habits can be in perfect alignment with that.

Intelligent Eating

“Emotionally intelligent eating” as we like to call it, can bring balance to the body as well as the mind. Before the cycle of emotional eating can be released and emotionally intelligent eating can be adopted however, the recognition of abuse itself must be made along with the source. Does emotional eating strike as a comfort, or as a stress release? You may spur this cycle with a self-reward. Indeed, we often reward even young children with food..

Begin to understand why emotional eating is taking place. Do this alone or through an outer support system. Whether that support comes from a friend, a therapist, or a group, it doesn’t matter. This support network is helpful in its own way.

Eliminate Emotional Eating With These 5 Tips

• Write down feelings before, during, and after eating to help with recognition.
  Writing in a journal to release feelings and emotions that trigger emotional eating is a valuable outlet for many. Analyze entries often, then meditate or reflect on moments that stand out to help understand why the feelings come up.  This can provide a solution for how they can be prevented in the future.

• When the urge to abuse is present, ask “Am I really hungry?” 
  If you are not, try to recognize and understand the true feelings that sparked the need to feed. Don’t worry, it may take time, patience, and a few calories to get it figured out, but stay focused and the process will work itself through.
• Stay positive
  There may be times where the rogue bowl of ice cream finds it’s way in despite every attempt to recognize, question, and prevent.  Be reminded that you may not be where you want to be, but you’re awful grateful you’re not where you used to be!  Affirm that the right track is being taken and positive growth is being made.

• Enjoy every bite
  During regular meal and snack times, savor the flavor of food.  Often, emotional or comfort eating episodes happen quickly, where there’s no time to taste.  Between bites, put your fork down and enjoy the food.  Take a few breaths before taking another bite.  Enjoy your meal, it’s keeping you alive after all.
• Appreciate what good food can do for your body.
  Using the words “good food” should not be misconstrued with fried cheese wrapped in bacon, fried again and sprinkled with salt.  Thinking outside the bread box can go a long way in making smart food choices.  It’s a fact that raw fruits and vegetables take up more room in the stomach than cooked foods, and even much more room than oils and fatty foods with far fewer calories.  Celery is only 6 food calories per 8″ stalk – have one!

The Bottom Line on Emotional Eating

If you connect with this, we connect with you and want to hear from you in the conversation below.  You can be free of emotional eating if you’re feeling afraid, abandoned, or abused.  Even in the darkest hour, there is a glimmer of hope.  Seek it.  Find it.  Follow it.

Forgiveness can be one of the most rewarding experiences you can give to yourself. Yes, that’s right – yourself!

I call it For”GIFT”ness.

Here’s why . . .

Forgiveness is a decision to let go of bitterness and resentment towards another person or situation. It’s letting go of the negative feelings and removing the focus and attention to the unwanted. When you change the direction of your focus, the direction of your life changes too.

Holding on to anger or grudges will not bring justice to the other person nor will it hold them accountable for their wrongdoing. The grief and pain only affect you. Holding on does not give you power – it leaves you powerless.

I like to remind myself that it’s not my place to bring justice to anyone. I believe everyone has their own personal karmic energy and will experience a result from their actions.   The good news is that although you cannot control their actions or their decisions, but you CAN control yours.

“Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.” ~ Hannah Arendt

5 Reasons This Is The Gift You Give Yourself:

1. Forgiveness can bring you a renewed peaceful spirit.

When you forgive others, even those who severely did you wrong, you find yourself feeling more positive overall and less stressed. You may even experience health benefits like lower blood pressure. It’s important to forgive others, not because they deserve your forgiveness, but because YOU deserve peace. You deserve to feel renewed and healed; you will. Just forgive. . .

2. Forgivenesss allows you to move in the direction of your goals.

When someone hurts or offends you, negative feelings of bitterness or revenge are created. Don’t let yourself pay the price over and over. Oftentimes, the focus on the past and the hurt will keep you from enjoying the wonders of today and the potential of tomorrow. Although you may think you’re a great multi-tasker (and you may be), your mind can only focus on one thing. When you allow yourself to forgive others immediately, you can focus on what truly matters, your goals, dreams and life purpose.

3. Forgiveness can bring more LOVE into your life.

Many act out in negative ways to somehow fulfill a desire for love and attention. When we forgive, we acknowledge that we are all imperfect and that we all make mistakes. With this new open-minded and compassionate perspective, we can learn to easily forgive and send well wishes to even those we feel you should “hate”.

Forgiving others is about releasing the role of being the victim. When you no longer see yourself as a victim, you will find people, in turn, treat you better and there is less need to forgive. You have opened your life up to more love and expanded your consciousness to a higher frequency of love. Ooh la la . . . 🙂

4.  Forgiveness allows you to have more understanding and compassion.

Embracing forgiveness is wonderful and can lead to positive feelings of understanding, compassion and empathy for the one who upset you. Believe it or not, everyone is doing the best they can, with what they have, where they are. We are all truly positive, loving beings by nature. Although, it doesn’t always appear that way, that is our true intention at heart.

With so much hurt in the world, it can be hard to see it that way. We want to point blame and hold grudges.  But, if we can see life as our school and ourselves as students then, in some way, everyone is a teacher.

This new perspective allows us to take the pain and transcend it into a lesson. Then, you no longer have to keep repeating the same pain. Everyone is brought into our lives to teach us something. What can the one your hate teach you right now, so you can release it and forgive?

5. Forgiveness allows us to take control of our own happiness.

Law of Attraction enthusiasts know that like attracts like and that our outer world is a reflection of our inner world. We always have the ability to take control of our own happiness and life when we take responsibility for our emotions.

No matter the chaos around us, when we can stay centered from the inside and make wise and mature decisions (like forgiveness), we pave a life filled with happiness and love. On the contrary, if we allow others to steal our peace and rob us of our joy, we are essentially giving them the driver’s seat in our life.

Forgiveness is a lifestyle commitment. It’s letting go every day and letting happiness in.

 

Overall, if you find forgiveness to be too difficult – it’s okay. Take it one step at a time and re-read the above tips. Briefly reflect on the affect the situation has had on you thus far in your life, health, well-being and choices.  Then, think about being free from the pain. How does it feel?

You’ll know you’ve truly forgiven when you can think of that person and feel okay about them. Someday you may even feel good about them. Taking it even further – you’ll may even be able to see that person (even hug them) without feeling any negative emotion.

But, let’s take the first step.

Make the decision to forgive.

You deserve it.

Join the Conversation:
Is there someone that doesn’t deserve your forgiveness, but you deserve the peace?

 

It’s Namaste Thursday! Dr. Laurie Buchanan was happy to stop by and share one of everyone’s favorite restorative yoga poses, supported child’s pose. Read along and learn through Dr. Buchanan to relax, restore, and rejuvenate!

“The most important purpose of Yoga is to bring about a deep transformation of the individual–an awakening of intelligence that is free of dependencies and romantic beliefs and ready to meet the accelerating challanges of the 21st century.” ~ Ganga White

About Restorative Yoga

Restorative yoga is a beautiful style of yoga that’s both powerful and gentle. As mentioned in previous articles, this style of yoga is a term for poses done with the full support of bolsters, straps, blankets, or blocks—allowing the practitioner to comfortably sink into a pose that’s held for between 5 and 10 minutes so they can be completely relaxed, absorbed, and present.

Our body is the physical package we reside in during life’s sojourn. If we were told at birth that we’d have one vehicle—one vehicle only—to last our entire our lifetime, you can be certain that we’d take extra good care of it. Just like a vehicle, our body’s reliability and value is extended with care and preventive maintenance.

One of the best preventive and curative methods of self-health—body, mind, and spirit—is yoga. Not a religion or a replacement for your current spiritual path, yoga supplements whatever path you’re on. It teaches us to listen to our breath, which inherently leads us to listen with our heart.

In a world that places tremendous value on busy-ness, you might wonder how being still could possibly be beneficial? First of all, the “active stillness” of restorative yoga is a challenge, and who doesn’t love a good challenge? But more importantly, consistent yoga practice has transformative effects:

• Strengthens the physical body
• Focuses the mind
• Boosts serotonin level
• Decreases anxiety, depression, and fear
• Enhances sleep
• Boosts the immune system
• Balances blood sugar levels
• Releases muscle tension
• Staves off illness
• Slows the aging process

Supported Child’s Pose

This pose is like a refuge from life’s storms—a personal sanctuary that soothes frazzled nerves. Protective in nature, this forward-bending posture shields the vital energy centers of the body, providing us with the confidence to release and let go, even from a place of overwhelm.

Here’s how it’s done:

• Slowly lower yourself so that both knees are on your yoga mat a little wider than your hips (if you need more padding, place a folded blanket beneath your knees). Your shins should be flat on the mat with your feet behind you, soles facing the ceiling.
• Sit on your heels.
• Place a bolster (pillow, couch cushion, or rolled blanket) lengthwise between your thighs; exhale and lay forward onto the bolster, turning your head sideways and let the bolster support the full weight of your head.
• Allow your arms to relax to the ground, reaching forward a bit.
• Close your eyes and focus on your breath. As humans, we breathe approximately 22,000 times each day. Allow this pose to help you find a deep connection with each breath.
• Halfway through the pose, turn your head the other way so that your neck receives an even stretch.

Modifications

• If you want more height in the forward bend, use two bolsters—stacked—one between your thighs, the other staggered toward you so it’s just under your belly (or more blankets and pillows).

• If your feet or ankles are uncomfortable or cramp, roll a towel or small blanket and place it under your ankles.

 

One of my favorite restorative asanas, I love how I feel when I melt into supported child’s pose and mentally affirm, “I draw from my inner strength and light.”

On 9/11, we all learned valuable lessons.

“Tragedy is a hell of a teacher. It’s much too strict, but it’s a hell of a teacher.” – Harlan Coben

8:46 am EST: Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower (1 WTC).
9:03 am EST: Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower (2 WTC).
9:37 am EST: Flight 77 crashes into the western side of the Pentagon.
10:03 am EST: Flight 93 crashes into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

We will remember the events that transpired on September 11th, 2001  forever be. And, the day will go down in history as a marked point of significant change – one that opened up many new possible directions for the fate of humanity.

As the anniversary of 9/11 passes, people share stories that well up buried emotions of fear, anger, and tension from within. How do these feelings still affect our everyday lives? How can we use these events and the strong emotions that go with them to ultimately transform the future?  What can we do to commemorate these events from a positive perspective?

Here are three lessons tragic events like 9/11 teach us about ourselves, and how we can light a pathway toward true freedom in the future.

The Lesson of Perspective

Take a moment to ask yourself “How do I see the future? What can I focus on to be the love this world so desperately needs to journey from fear and pain to peace and freedom?”

“Even though nothing changes, perspective changes everything.”

The past has passed, and the future is what we make it. If we continue to focus on that simmering barbaric anger there will be more anger toward us. If we take on an “eye for an eye” mentality, we will all surely be blind to a possible vision of peace. The power of perspective gives us the chance to change the future, and it’s up to us individually to choose to make a reality from that perspective.  See and act on that perspective starting with your thoughts.  Let it find its way into your words, and eventually into your actions.  Even though nothing changes, perspective changes everything.

The Lesson of Forgiveness

The events of 9/11 will forever be in the minds of those who experienced it, but these are events that only shape us to be who we are right now.  The choice to grow into a compassionate human being is ours to make.  There were surely a series of events in the lives of the responsible terrorists that lead them to believe what they were doing was righteous.  What authority are we given to pass judgement on the people responsible for these heinous crimes?  The answer is none.  Souls were placed within our bodies to experience and grow wiser, to return to Source and bolster its strength.  Let us all forgive for the acts that do not come from the soul, knowing that forgiveness from within provides a chance for peace that stretches outward.

The Lesson of Love

Love is normally directed toward those who also love.  The thought of loving those who show aggression is almost unheard of.  The lesson here is that those who show aggression are the ones who need love the most. If a well was dry, would you neglect it of water? Our souls seek only love, and therefore, those who are deprived of love are the ones who need it most.  As Mother Teresa said,  “I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”

Begin with a declaration to yourself.  Make the statement:  “Today and every day in the future I will start with myself, seeing from a true perspective of love, peace, and forgiveness.  I will let go of the past and move only into a future that can be if I choose it.”

No matter what may occur, we all have a choice to learn again…