During this uncertain time, more than ever, our yoga practice has a LOT to offer us. The challenges we’re facing are various and different people will, of course, be suffering in different ways and to different degrees.
But if you practice yoga, or are interested in it, now is a really good time to find new ways of taking your yoga off the mat and integrating it into your way of life. Really, that’s what yoga is — it’s never just postures on a mat. Sometimes, we need the motivation of new challenges to make us see that.
In the fast-paced rhythm of life, it's easy to find yourself dancing to the beat of stress and anxiety.
If your days feel like a never-ending playlist of sleepless nights, a mind on overdrive, and perhaps the occasional reach for that unhealthy snack, trust me, you're not alone.
Let's embark on a journey together, exploring three keys to unlock the door to tranquillity in the midst of life's chaos.
This May at Yoga for the Soul Retreats, we’re focusing on mindfulness. Have you heard this term before? I’m guessing so! More and more, mindfulness is used in all kinds of settings to support mental health, learning, and personal development — from offices and schools, to therapeutic settings and even prisons.
Mooladhara, the Root Chakra, is a powerful source of strength and steadiness. It is associated with security, money, possessions and reproduction.
Although Mooladhara is the first chakra, it’s important to note that if you're just starting to incorporate chakra work into your practice, you should begin with Ajna — the sixth chakra.
This will allow you to develop your ability to witness, observe and process any intense emotions that might arise before you start creating profound shifts through intensive work with the other chakras.
Ready? Read on to demystify the qualities of the root chakra!
Do you catch yourself humming absent-mindedly while you’re walking round a shop, or filling in paperwork? Studies show that the sounds in our environment have a direct impact on our stress levels — so it’s no surprise that lots of us make sounds to soothe our own stress, or aid our concentration.
Bhramari Pranayama is a breathing which does exactly that. It uses the creation of sound in the throat, combined with closing off the ears to external sounds, to calm the nervous system and settle the thoughts.
How Bhramari Could Help You
The steady, bee-like humming sound you create during bhramari pranayama has an instant soothing effect on the mind. It’s an ideal practice for you if you ever feel anxious or overwhelmed because its effects are so immediate.
You can use it to calm down at any time.
As well as this wonderful, speedy anxiety relief, the benefits of bhramari include:
Nadi Shodana is a traditional pranayama practice — a breathing technique — which promotes free and flowing movement of energy throughout the physical and subtle bodies.
The nadis are the energy channels that carry prana (our incredible life-force-energy) through and around the body all the time. There are a lot of them: around 72,000! And Shodana means ‘to cleanse’ or ‘to purify’.
So Nadi Shodana does exactly that; cleanses the energy channels to ease out any blockages or imbalances so that we can benefit from all of the energy available to us. It’s particularly effective at balancing two of the main nadis (energy channels) in the body, called Ida and Pingala.
