I’ve had quite a bit of grief and loss in my life in the past year, and yoga has helped me endlessly navigate these tumultuous waters.
Many of us spend a lot of time sitting and, sometimes, standing up to exercise and stretch is simply not an option. Here are five yoga poses you can do without getting up from your chair. Some of them can also be done in a tight airplane seat, like side twists and eagle pose. You may take each pose as far as you are comfortable, or hold back a bit and make it relaxed. Do them all in a sequence, or choose a couple for a when you´re feeling tired and tense.
The title of this post is exactly what I entered in Google search a few years ago after my first Yin Yoga class. I felt fine physically, but I was emotionally wiped out, dragged down by a heavy feeling that I couldn´t shake off. I was certain I would never go back to that kind of class again. Who wants to feel like crap after yoga?
Desde fuera, una secuencia de yoga y una sesión de pilates sobre una esterilla pueden parecerse mucho. Entonces ¿cuál es la diferencia? Estoy segura de que obtendrás respuestas muy diferentes dependiendo de a quién le preguntes.
This is my version of 56. I turned this age on August 25. In the past year, I have lost dear friends to cancer, like beautiful Belinda. She was younger than me and all she wanted was to grow old and see her kids grow up. I miss her dearly. This was my first birthday without her yearly greeting. I also have way too many friends battling disease.
In one of my recent instagram posts on arm balances, someone commented that at 52 they had kind of given up on conquering arm balances and complex yoga poses. For those wanting to pursue these, please know that despite a lifetime of fitness, dance and yoga (yoga came in and out of my life at different times), to name a few, I did not accomplish my first crow pose until I was 51. And it did NOT look like this.
I’m turning 56 in a couple of weeks and I have a goal by 60. It is to do a “floating handstand” away from the wall. I am able to get on my hands and flip myself upside down (see photos) and get some “hang time.” Note the wall behind me in two photos, in case I fall back (I sometimes do). My goal is to get up there mostly with my core strength and hold it for a while and be able to play around with the position of my legs.
From the outside, an asana yoga flow and a mat-based Pilates workout may look similar. So, what is actually different between them? I’m sure you will get a variety of answers depending on whom you ask.
Yoga is not about the poses, and even less so about complex pretzel twists or crazy circus-like antics. That said, I´m a sucker for an arm balance. You see, every time I pull off one of these, I feel like a freaking goddess. I really do. I feel strong, and powerful, and happy, and joyful, and free! Because, heck, why shouldn’t I? It took me a lifetime to get to this point of self-love and empowerment inside and out, and I´m sure as hell going to enjoy it.
At nearly 56, I finally and fully realize that THIS in and of itself, and as much as I enjoy it, is not yoga. This is an asana posture,ardhachandrasanachapasana. The real yoga is actually a way of life and happens mostly off the mat.
Ways I practice yoga daily: