Yoga Flow to Build Strength
Join me for a sweaty vinyasa flow designed to increase your strength, focus, and endurance. invigorating Power Yoga Flow designed to enhance your balance, strength, and flexibility!
Join me for a sweaty vinyasa flow designed to increase your strength, focus, and endurance. invigorating Power Yoga Flow designed to enhance your balance, strength, and flexibility!
In this dynamic session, I'll guide you through a series of deep hip-opening postures as we build strength through planks and connect our breath to our movement.
What to Expect
Strong Flow: Connect your breath to movement with some challenging and mindful vinyasa moves that will create heat and build strength in your body.
Mindful Movement: As always, show up for yourself as best as you can. There may be some things you struggle to do, and that’s okay. You may also sail through the practice in a breeze, and that’s also okay. Just be mindful as you explore, wherever you are.
Whether you're looking to challenge yourself or just continue to grow your physical practice, this vinyasa flow is all you'll need.
See you on the mat!
Yoga for Grief: Bargaining
So often, we get wrapped up in thoughts of “why” when tragedy strikes. Why did this happen to us? Why did this happen to them? Why does this hurt so much? These questions are a journey within and of themselves, and can frequently lead to trying to bargain with the Powers That Be, whatever that may mean to you, to try and change the sequence of events.
“The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not get over the loss of a loved one; you will learn how to live with it.”
A Recap from Yoga for Grief: Bargaining
So often, we get wrapped up in thoughts of “why” when tragedy strikes. Why did this happen to us? Why did this happen to them? Why does this hurt so much? These questions are a journey within and of themselves, and can frequently lead to trying to bargain with the Powers That Be, whatever that may mean to you, to try and change the sequence of events. If you’re grieving a breakup or a job loss instead of a death, you may try and change the minds of your former lover or employer. On the journey toward acceptance, this is the stage where you spend the most time wishing things were different or hoping you can change what is happening to you. You’ve likely made it through at least some of the denial stage, perhaps you’re dealing with your anger, or maybe you’re struggling between feeling depressed or accepting what’s happening. Wherever you are, the grief yoga practice is here for you.
Today, we tapped into that energy and worked on finding a deeper opening through our heart space. The process of grief can close us off to others, and a sequence of chest openers and backbends can help us tap into the “why” questions on a deeper level. Sometimes, the challenge yoga provides in and of itself can be a “why” question of its own, but the practice offers us the opportunity to relax, come back, and try it again when we feel more ready.
Today’s practice comes with some challenging transitions and some strength, but is meant to leave you feeling more calm and open. While you explore, you may find yourself frustrated at some of the challenges if you find yourself unable to do them. Remind yourself that’s okay, be kind to yourself as you explore, and remember:
It’s okay not to be okay.
Whether that’s on or off the mat, it’s all right if you’re a total mess. It’s okay if you stumble, fall, make mistakes, and try again. It’s okay if you have days where everything is perfect — again, either hitting all the poses and transitions or simply keeping your emotions in check — and equally okay if you have days where that is very much not the case. The challenge becomes keeping your focus on the progression you experience as you explore and letting go of the need to change anything you can’t.
I understand this is hard. All of it is. Grieving will never be easy, and it’s not a linear process. If it were, we wouldn’t need things like yoga to come and help us heal, because we would be able to follow a certain path that would lead us to the same results. What you need to focus on as you explore is the reminder that you should be proud of yourself for even showing up in the first place, for choosing to meet your grief head-on, and for working toward a better place of healing.
As hard as all of this is, just stay proud of yourself for staying strong. If you need permission to do so, you have it from me today.
For further breathwork off the mat, consider alternate nostril breathing
When you’re looking for a place of calm, try Alternate Nostril Breathing. In a nice seated position, take your right hand and place your pointer and middle fingers on your forehead between your eyebrows. Place your right thumb on your right nostril and your right ring finger on your left nostril. Plug your right nostril with your thumb, inhale through your left nostril, then plug your left nostril at the top and release out of your right. Inhale through your right nostril, plug it at the top, then let it go through your left.
Repeat this for a few minutes as you work to align both sides of your brain and bring yourself into a more relaxed state. This may be a challenge if one or both of your nostrils are clogged — which could be an additional challenge if you’ve been crying — but it’s a good practice to do in places like the shower or right before bed or times you may feel a wave of emotions coming on.
If you’re seeking a journal entry, write down all of the things you’d change if you could.
Again, when you’re in the bargaining stage, there’s a lot of “I wish I would have done this differently” or “Things might have changed if only” or any other variation or iteration in between. As stated above, it’s okay to have these moments when you’re not okay or you’re thinking over all of the things you wish you could change about what’s going on.
What isn’t as okay is holding all of that in, because that makes it harder to explore and move through the emotion. Sharing it with others can be complicated and convoluted, but writing it down assures that you get it all out of your head and out into the physical universe. Plus, when you have these tangible journals to look back on, rereading them may help you heal more because you can track how much your emotions have changed along the way,
Then again, if a full release is on your agenda, air out all of your grievances on paper, grab a match, light it up, and let it go. Just do so mindfully so the fire stays contained.
Be sure to check out other Yoga for Grief videos, and if you’re interested in booking the 2024 Yoga for Grief retreat, do so before tickets sell out!
WHAT ARE YOU GRIEVING OR WORKING TO LET GO OF? LET ME KNOW DOWN IN THE COMMENTS! ALL ARE WELCOME HERE.
Yoga for Grief: Anger
Today, we tapped into our rage on the mat and worked to “punch out” the feelings that we’re going through. We moved through some punches and kicks incorporated with our yoga poses to tap into the rage we’re feeling but then to settle back into the experience as we returned to the poses and postures.
“For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.”
A Recap From Yoga For Grief: Anger
The most common emotion people openly admit they’re feeling during the grieving stage is anger. They may not open the conversation with the rage they’re feeling, but anger is easy to feel and a very dominating presence when it’s there. You may be mad at God for letting it happen. You may be mad at the person for dying, even if they didn’t do it on purpose. Or you may be mad at your ex for leaving you, your boss for letting you go, or any other number of reasons that make you feel like punching a hole through the wall or kicking something that will shatter after your foot makes contact with it. You may also still be in denial about what’s happening, wondering why it happened to you, depressed over your situation, or maybe working toward a better place of acceptance. This is why the grief yoga practice is here for you.
Today, we tapped into that rage on the mat and worked to “punch out” the feelings that we’re going through. We moved through some punches and kicks incorporated with our yoga poses to tap into the rage we’re feeling but then to settle back into the experience as we returned to the poses and postures.
Throughout the practice, our main focus of breathwork was on “Breath of Fire.” This breath had a lot of attention throughout the day, as it is a type of breathing associated with stress relief, as well as helping the overall health of our breathing. It is done by forced and quick exhales followed by natural and short inhales that come out of your nose in a short staccato rhythm as directed by your diaphragm.
Today, You Were Meant to Feel Your Anger.
Look, I get it, this can be the hardest thing to do. Actually, when it comes to feeling angry, when that anger mixes in and is influenced by grief, it is a rage unlike anything else you’ve ever experienced. It’s scary. It’s raw. It’s visceral, it’s real, and it feels like you swallowed a knife that’s been sitting in a fire that winds up coming alive in your stomach and eating you from the inside out. Honestly, it’s probably the last emotion you actually want to feel.
It, however, will also likely be the loudest emotion you’ll have. If you’ve never felt like an actual emotion was screaming at you, you’ve never felt the rage associated with grief. You want to claw your skin off your body and destroy everything in sight. It removes any semblance of “sense” and replaces it with confusion and adds to the loss.
As scary as it is to feel, though, the more you suppress it, the worse it will end up being in the end.
For Further Breathwork off the Mat, Consider Keeping The Breath Of Fire
The Breath of Fire causes heat within your body and helps keep your blood purified while keeping your energy levels high. Contracting your belly also massages your internal organs, which can help improve digestion and increase your immune system.
A slightly different practice is Kapalabhati. With Breath of Fire, the quick pace and rhythm of your exhales an inhales are the same. With Kapalabhati, there are short, vigorous exhalations are longer than your inhales, which become passive.
Practicing this outside of your mat or before or after a meditation will also help bring your awareness more inward.
IF YOU’RE SEEKING A JOURNAL ENTRY, WRITE ABOUT Where in Your Body You Feel Your Anger.
We don’t always think about where in our body we feel emotions. Whenever I ask people where they’re feeling certain emotions, it’s always interesting to me the different answers people give. Some feel sadness in their shoulders, joy in their stomach, anger in their chest. We actually carry a lot more emotions and trauma in our hips than we give ourselves credit for, which is why doing hip-opening postures can bring up so many emotions.
For a journaling activity today, write about where you feel your anger. You can also write about any other feelings you have, of course, but since we’ve been focusing on our anger today, at least start there and let the examination take its own course.
Be sure to check out other Yoga for Grief videos, and if you’re interested in booking the 2024 Yoga for Grief retreat, do so before tickets sell out!
WHAT ARE YOU GRIEVING OR WORKING TO LET GO OF? LET ME KNOW DOWN IN THE COMMENTS! ALL ARE WELCOME HERE.
Yoga for Grief: Denial
Today was our first practice together on the mat and our first opportunity to get to know each other. As we connected with our breath and our bodies, we moved through a series of twists to help detox and wring out all of the stress and tension we carry within ourselves.
“You will find peace not by trying to escape your problems, but by facing them courageously. You will find peace not in denial, but in victory.”
A Recap From Yoga For Grief: Denial
Sometimes, we literally cannot believe what has happened to us. Our body goes into a state of shock or a sense of protection when we witness or hear about something that's too painful to process. When something comes to an "end" -- whether it be a death, breakup, divorce, etc. -- our brains try to imagine what life will be like now as we adapt to a new normal without the ones we love at our side. Oftentimes denial is considered the "first stage" of grief because it comes right at the start when the information is still fresh. Although not linear, the other stages include anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. This is why grief yoga is here to support you.
Today was our first practice together on the mat and our first opportunity to get to know each other. As we connected with our breath and our bodies, we moved through a series of twists to help detox and wring out all of the stress and tension we carry within ourselves.
Practice today began in a seated position of your choice as we engaged in our Ujjayi breath. For those who were just introduced for the first time, this "ocean breath" helps keep your mind calm and steady as it faces challenges, with the intent of that focus following us off of our mats and into our daily lives.
After some gentle movement and before we started to sweat, we took a moment to look inward and to simply give our grief a name, to acknowledge it, and to have a short conversation with it so we could learn how to recognize it and meet ourselves where we are in wherever we are in the process of our grief. Remember:
Our grief feels the same pain we do.
We're here to move toward a place of understanding and accepting it, not trying to "get over" or forget about it.
We also assigned our grief or our emotions a specific color. Giving it a name or offering it a color may have seemed strange at first, but doing so will allow you to connect with it a little bit deeper. It makes it more real. This may be what you fear, but it’s also what you’re trying to move through, so do your best to give it a go. If you find yourself unable to on the first round, be kind to yourself and try it again whenever you’re ready.
For further breathwork practice off the mat, consider box breathing.
To do so, inhale to the count of four (or whichever number aligns with you), hold for the same count at the top, exhale for the same length of time, then hold it again at the bottom. When you finish, repeat as needed, increasing or decreasing your count as you go.
This form of breathwork helps aid feelings of panic and stress and can help you cope when you start to feel overwhelmed. This is a form of breathwork that can also be practiced at any time. You don’t have to be on your mat to feel overwhelmed, so you don’t need to be on your mat to practice box breathing.
When you feel ready, consider taking a journal and writing out all of your thoughts and feelings, especially as you finish your denial practice on the mat. It’s likely a lot of fresh emotions will come up as you think about all you’ve lost, so give yourself the space to get your thoughts in order. Again, be kind to yourself as you move through this.
If you’re seeking a journal entry for the first time, write about the name or the color you assigned to your emotions and your grief.
Write about where you feel those emotions in your body, why you named it as such or assigned that specific color, and let yourself write freely. No one else is reading this, unless you let them, so there’s no need to fear any judgment here.
It’s okay if this is the hardest thing to do during the denial stages. Denial can hit even years later, and there’s nothing wrong with that happening, either. Moving through grief is not a linear experience, and there’s no one right or wrong way to handle it. Continue to work toward being kind to yourself, showing up when you’re ready, and letting it all out in the most healthy way possible.
Be sure to check out other Yoga for Grief videos, and if you’re interested in booking the 2024 Yoga for Grief retreat, do so before tickets sell out!
What are you Grieving or working to let go of? Let me know down in the comments! ALl are welcome here.
The last thing you’re likely thinking about during your grief process is anything to do with joy or happiness. Depending on where you are in your journey or whether you’ve gone through any of the other grief yoga videos, you may be more willing to start moving forward into that sense of healing. You also may not, which is equally okay, but it’s what we’ll look at today anyway.