How to practice yoga during your period? Today we’ll do Queen’s Pose, one of the best yoga poses to do during your menstrual cycle. Queen’s Pose helps relax, recharge your batteries and honor your monthly flow. Ready for royalty? Here we go:
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Do you suffer from stage or public speaking fright? You have perfected your performance or your speech. And now you’re about to step on stage. But suddenly you are paralyzed, your heart is racing and your palms dripping in sweat. It’s the dreaded stage fright! The good news is that yoga can help! Here are 5 ways yoga helps manage stage fright.
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Sitting all day? Feeling like you have fused with your desk chair or your couch? Sitting all day can cause a lots of not-so-fun physical and mental issues. Back and hip pain are just one example. So, here are 3 Yoga Poses for the hips and lower back to counter the effects of sitting all day.
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“Does yoga help for weight loss?” That’s a great question I get asked every now and then. We’ll have a look at calories burned, but also at how yoga helps manage stress, change your relationship with your body and even sleep better. And how yoga – even the more gentle styles – can help shed the pounds AND keep them off.
From a purely physical perspective, yoga is considered a low to medium impact activity. Of course, some yoga styles burn more calories than others: 2 hours of vigorous Astanga Yoga will burn more calories than a short Yin Yoga practice.
But overall, if we are just counting calories, you’ll burn approximately the same amount of calories in a one-hour all-level yoga class as brisk walking for an hour (about 150-200 calories for an adult). So, I totally understand if most people do not naturally reach for the yoga mat to lose weight and slim down.
However, weight loss is not only about how many calories you burn while exercising. It is also about what we eat, calories-wise and quality-wise (we all know that eating a 100-calorie cookie is not the same 100 calories as a bowl of feta and olive salad –also about 100 calories).
Staying in shape is also about mental well-being and stress levels. The more stressed we are, the more we likely we are to make choices that do not really serve us: eat a tub of ice-cream, have the 4th coffee of the day, snack on a bag of chips… Similarly, if we are chronically sleep-deprived, we also tend to gain weight.
And this is precisely how yoga can help for weight loss. And for keeping the extra pounds off!
Yoga increases your awareness: the more you practice, the more in-tune you are with your body and mind. It can change how you perceive yourself, your body, and your life!
This may not happen overnight, but in the long run, this is what will give you the power to change your eating habits. Being more mindful means we can tell more clearly when we are hungry, or if we are eating to fill an emotional need. Overall, yoga makes us more mindful. This in turn helps us listen and respond better to our body’s needs.
Need some chocolate? A glass of water? Or maybe just to talk to a friend?
Being in tune with your body and mind can not only help you change your eating habits, but also help you make lifestyle changes, for the better! Yoga teaches us to be more mindful and better listen to our body.
Over time, it becomes easier and easier to understand when the body tells us it needs more rest, or when it craves a peaceful or more energizing environment. Or more loving and supportive company.
Basically, the takeaway is this: yoga can help you make better choices for yourself, whether this concerns food, people, activities or habits. And often, the benefits of your choices and changes will ripple out and touch your loved ones, your community and even the planet.
Is it the mindful breathing, meditative moments, final Savasana, the teacher’s or the group’s feel-good vibes, or the thousand-year old movements done by generations of yogis before us? Well, maybe all of the above!
Yoga helps the body lower its cortisol its levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone. It is totally natural and essential to the body. Cortisol regulates blood pressure, blood sugar, sleep cycles, the use and storage of fats, carbohydrates and proteins… A great synergy.
The problem is when we are permanently in a state of stress. The body produces more cortisol, and this disrupts the functions that depend on the hormone. As a result, blood pressure and blood sugar levels rise, sleep cycles get disrupted, and the… body stores more fat!
Yoga helps relieve stress, and thus, lowers the body’s cortisol levels. That’s why less stress has a direct impact on your health, on the quality of your sleep, and yep… that’s how yoga can help on weight loss (or rather, fat-loss)!
Get down to your meditation and do Savasana!!
Hold a yoga pose long enough and you’ll feel your muscles working. Yoga poses very often involve different muscle groups at the same time. For example the quadriceps, glutes, torso muscles (and even arm muscles) are all working in Warrior 2, Virabhadrasana 2.
In yoga, we’re not using weights to build muscle, just the weight of our own body. That may seem pretty accessible in Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) or even in Plank pose. However, carrying your own weight gets harder in Crow Pose (Bakasana), or whole-body inversions such as the Handstand or Pincha Mayurasana, the Feather of the Peacock Pose (see below!).
As we journey through many of yoga’s weight-bearing poses, we’re toning the body, AND learning to love it more.
Yoga does not necessarily make you lose weight if you only look at the number of calories burned.
But staying in shape is more than numbers!
What also helps shed pounds and keep them off? Becoming more aware of your relationship with your body, with food, your well-being. And also being less stressed-out and sleeping better.
All these are yoga’s side-effects and perhaps the secret to having –and keeping- the weight that’s the most adapted to you.
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Garbha Pindasana, Embryo in the Womb Pose, is one of those funny-looking yoga poses that make you go mmmmh?!
Yep, you heard it right: Embryo in the Womb Pose. Do baby yogis sit in Lotus Pose (and hold their ears) while in-utero? I don’t know (and definitely not my babies, from what I saw on the ultrascans!), but hey, that won’t prevent us from having fun with this kinda crazy yoga posture.
Garbha Pindasana comes from the Sanskrit “Garbha”, uterus or womb, and “Pinda”, embryo. It is a variation of Lotus Pose, Padmasana, or Kukkutasana, Rooster Pose. Basically, Embryo in the Womb Pose is a buttock-balancing Padmasana, with arms going into the (very) small space behind the knees, and the hands coming out in front.
I think a picture here is worth a thousand words:
Wondering what are the benefits of compacting your body into an itty-bitty ball – like an embryo in the womb – AND trying to balance on your butt while trying to hold on to your ears? Sounds pretty crazy.
Well here goes: the benefits of Garbha Pindasana:
Start in Padmasana, Lotus Pose.
If Padmasana isn’t part of your practice yet, you can do a half lotus pose – one leg in lotus, or cross your legs in Sukhasana, with your feet as close as possible just below the knees.
(Important note: don’t force on your knees to get into Padmasana. Work on hip opening instead with postures such as Half Lotus, Marichyasana, Janu Sirsasana, Baddha Konasana, Supine Figure 4 Pose (Thread the Needle), Fire Log Pose…)
From Padmasana, thread your arms through the (tight!) space between the lower legs and the thighs, as if coming into Kukkutasana. Go all the way until the elbow! Sometimes it helps to go sideways, rather than straight. Some yogis also wet their forearms (to help slide). And if you’re a bracelet-wearing yogi like me, take them off!
From there, bend your elbows and grab your ears with your hands! I haven’t found my ears yet in Garbha Pindasana, so I put my hands in prayer or gyan mudra!
Then, to come out of Garbha Pindasana, put your hands on the ground and pull your arms out from your Lotus. OR, stay in the pose, curl up into a tighter ball, and roll back and forth on your yoga mat. You can also roll in a circle – usually done clockwise in the Astanga Yoga first series. It’s a super nice back massage and a very energizing movement!
Who’s a Happy Embryo after rolling around in Garbha Pindasana?
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Do you make a circle with your thumb and index finger when you meditate? That is Gyan (or Jñana) Mudra! What does it mean? And how can this mudra help?
“Gyan” or “Jñana” is a Sanskrit word meaning “knowledge, wisdom”. A mudra is a symbolic or ritual hand gesture.
See What is a mudra?
Hence, Gyan Mudra is known as the “Knowledge or Wisdom Mudra”.
When placing hands on the thighs or knees, this mudra can be done either with palms facing up, or palms facing down.
When palms face down, it is often also called Chin Mudra, the Mudra of Consciousness. And when palms face up, it is called Gyan Mudra.
(Note: There are different variations around the names of Gyan (or Jñana) and Chin Mudras. Some teachers call it Gyan Mudra when your palms are up, others when they are down. Some speak of Chin Mudra when the palms are up and Gyan when they are down. For this article I based the info on Indu Arora’s extensive work on mudras, in which Gyan Mudra = Palms up and Chin Mudra = Palms down). Just know you’ll find the same mudra called differently).
Make a circle with the tips of your thumb and forefinger touching. Soften the other fingers.
So get your Gyan Mudra on in meditation and in pranayama practice!
Besides meditation and pranayama, Gyan Mudra helps concentrate when learning / studying, and when taking an exam (pen in one hand, mudra in the other!).
I remember learning this mudra when I was in elementary school, and doing it to study for assessments (it wasn’t as convenient for piano lessons)! Then, by the time I was in high school and university, I no longer practiced this mudra for exam cramming. Sigh! Maybe a more regular practice would have saved me long evenings in front of my books!
In yoga, Gyan Mudra (Wisdom) or Chin Mudra (Consciousness) are most often done sitting, for meditation or pranayama.
For example, you can place your hands on your thighs, in Sukhasana (sitting cross-legged), in Virasana (Hero’s Pose), in Padmasana (Lotus Pose)… Many yogis also do this mudra in more active postures, like Vrksasana (pronounced “Vrikshasana”), Tree Pose, or any other pose where the hands are free!
In Ayurveda, the Thumb represents the element Fire (Agni), and the index finger symbolizes Air (Vayu). In this mudra, you connect the thumb and index, meaning your are connecting the elements Fire and Air. From an Ayurvedic point of view, this mudra increases the element Air in the body. Air, or Vayu, is associated with the functions of the nervous system and the brain (among others things). This explains the effect of this mudra on concentration and relaxation.
The index is also associated with the Ego, the Individual Self or Individual Consciousness. The thumb is associated with the Universal Self or Universal Consciousness, with the Universe.
With this mudra, we are connecting our Individual Self to our greater Self and the Universe that is greater than us.
Well, that’s quite a feast! Rock your Gyan Mudra and become the entire Cosmos! WOOT!
More on mudras and the elements (Fire, Air, Water, etc.) associated with the fingers, check out: What is a mudra?
Info on mudras in meditation, pranayama and asana and how to use them to deepen your yoga practice, see How to use mudras? (coming up – Read it in French!)
And here are some other mudras to inspire your hands, body and soul!
Vishnu Mudra, the Mudra for Alternate Nostril Breathing (coming up)
Ahamkara Mudra to live the life you want!
Ganesha Mudra, to cultivate courage
Abhaya Mudra, to dispel fear and be You!
Padma Mudra, Lotus mudra, to open up your heart to Love
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108 beads on your Mala, 108 Sun Salutations, chanting OM 108 times… What does the number 108 have to do in all this? Magic? Mathematics? Sacred number? The mysteries of 108!
“Mala” means “garland” in Sanskrit.
Malas are Hindu or Buddhist prayer beads, or “rosaries”. Malas are used to recite mantras and prayers : touch a bead, say your mantra, then touch another.
Long malas have 108 beads, with an additional head bead or guru bead, most often a bigger or different bead.
But why 108 beads? Let’s get to know more about 108:
In Hinduism, Shiva and Krishna are known to have 108 assistants each. There also are 108 Upanishads or Vedanta, sacred texts from the Vedas. (note however that some sources say there are over 200 Upanishads, that’s more than our number 108!).
In Buddhism, 108 turns up as 108 sacred texts, as well as 108 kleshas, the “afflictions” or mental states that are at the root of all suffering (think: ignorance, jealousy, anger … and list 108!). Some schools also count 108 temptations to turn your back on in order to reach Nirvana.
Yep, these are pretty good reasons to have 108 beads on your mala!
Sky side, we find 108 too.
Astrologers talk about the 12 houses of the zodiac, and 9 planets – including Pluto, like astrologers do! My complex scientific calculation tell me that 12 x 9 = 108.
And, this is one of my favorite 108 facts: the distance from the Sun to the Earth = 108 times the diameter of the Sun, and the distance from the Moon to the Earth = 108 times the diameter of the Moon. (approximately!)
I’m a fan of 108, are you? I’m up for 108 Sun Salutations now!
Or shall we repeat OM 108 times instead?
A friend of mine comes to yoga class with a T-shirt that says “I came for Savasana”. It always makes me laugh, because I’m probably more often in class determined to work hard on crazy inversions!
After all, what could be easier than lying down and doing nothing?
Aha! Well, Savasana (pronouced shavasana) or Corpse Pose (or Final Resting Pose, as I also call it in my classes), is often considered the most difficult of all yoga poses!
Why? Lie down and see for yourself! Thoughts start zooming through your mind at full speed. Muscles refuse to surrender to the mat. Or perhaps savasana sends you straight to sleep (and now you’re snoring!).
Tempted to skip Savasana at the end of practice? Don’t make that yogic mistake: Savasana allows the body to rest and relax deeply, integrate your yoga session, and connect with yourself. And don’t we all need some down time?
Mmmm! Yum! Let’s go?
– Lie down on your back, and notice how you feel before adjusting.
– Adjust the pelvis so that it is neutral (lower back not arched nor flat on the mat).
– Adjust the head so that it is straight, neck extended, shoulders away from the ears. If you want, put a folded yoga blanket under your head.
– Extend your arms along your body with space between your side body and arms. Turn your arms so that the palms of your hands face the sky.
– Let your breath flow. Soften your body.
– Sink into your mat.
– Welcome to yourself!
– To transition out of Savasana, start by waking the body gently.
– Return quietly to a sitting position.
Want to decline Savasana in an infinity of ways (or nearly!)? There are lots of Savasana variations, we’ll talk about in another post.
Are you addicted to the peace that Savasana brings? Or do you just need some rest ? Discover the benefits of Restorative Yoga, perfect for nourishing and recharging deeply (post in translation).
Are you pregnant? After the 2nd trimester, you may not feel great to lying flat on your back. It may compresses the vena cava and may not be pleasant for you or your baby. Very soon, I’ll post How to do Savasana when you’re pregnant. Look out for it!
Warm up to spring with fun and invigorating Baby Grasshopper Pose! Read on and hop on your mat!
Baby Hopper pose isn’t a yoga classic – but may become one day! Plus, it’s fun to do!
It also stretches the legs and hips. The forward fold and slight twist fire up the abdominal muscles, wake the body up and massage the belly area.
This pose is an easier variation of Grasshopper Pose, a twisting arm balance. Grasshopper Pose is a strong hip opener, and requires a little more core strength.
We’ll keep “Mom Grasshopper” Pose for another post. For today, we’ll keep the Baby!
(note: we’re not talking about Salabhasana, Locust Pose, sometimes also called Grasshopper)
Start by warming up and stretching the hamstrings and hips. You can do some Sun Salutations and seated postures such as Pascimottanasana (seated forward fold) or Marichyasana C (seated twist), for example.
When you are ready to get your Baby Grasshopper hopping:
1. Sit on the floor, legs stretched out in front of you.
2. Cross your left leg over your right thigh, and place your left foot on the mat just outside the right knee.
3. Turn your torso to the right.
4. Bend your elbows and place the palms of your hands on either side of the left foot.
5. Lean forward towards the floor.
6. Hold your right foot (the foot of the straight leg), with your left hand (the hand closest to the right foot).
7. Keep leaning towards the floor, lift the pelvic floor up into your body, use your abs, lift your hips. And there you go : you are a Baby hopper!
Have a hopping weekend!
Express the depth of your ideas and emotions, flow as you speak in public, and get clear about your path. Give YOUR VOICE some oomph with the Mantra HAM!
The Throat Chakra, or 5th Chakra is called Vishuddha. In Sanskrit Vishuddha means “pure, purifying”.
The Throat Chakra is located between the Heart Chakra (the 4th, Anahata Chakra), and the 3rd Eye Chakra (the 6th Chakra, Ajna Chakra). Vishuddha links your heart to your head!
More on Chakras here
The Voice is associated with the Throat Chakra. We use our voices to communicate and to express ourselves. A balanced Throat Chakra allows us to express ourselves clearly and with compassion. We give voice to our ideas, our creativity, our needs, our emotions, our decisions. And we also listen with the same compassion!
Our Voice is a powerful way to bring us out into the world.
When Vishuddha is in harmony, the connection between your thinking head and your feeling heart is fluid. You feel connected to yourself and connected to others.
Here’s a simple Throat Chakra balancing exercise. Try it before teaching a class, to prepare for public speaking, or to build confidence in your voice and your place in this world every day.
The Throat Chakra’s elements are ether and sound. For today’s Chakra harmonizing exercise, you’ll just need your… voice!
We’ll use the Throat Chakra’s Bija Mantra, HAM.
The musical note corresponding to Vishuddha is usually G (So). But go ahead and try different notes and see which works best for you.
(HAM’s “A” is pronounced as in “arm”, not as in “green eggs and ham, Sam I am“)!
1. Sit comfortably, or lie down if you prefer.
2. Take a few deep breaths to center. Close your eyes if you want.
3. Inhale and chant the Bija Mantra HAM: “HAAAMMM”
4. Let the vibration of the Mantra HAM resonate in your throat, and surround you.
5. Inhale and start again! Chant HAM for as many or as few breaths as you wish!
6. When you are done, resume regular breathing.
7. Gently open your eyes!
How do you feel ? Ready to speak with your true voice!
Find your Voice and your path with the mantra HAM!
HAAAAMMM!