Cleaning House

While the weather outside may not necessarily reflect it, spring is here. It's a great time to clean your house, purge things you no longer need or use and get organized. But it's also a great time to clean your figurative house...your body. It's time to throw out the trash so why not take this time to toss what no longer is serving you....junk food, soft drinks, negative thinking.

I recently received a nice email of simple ways to welcome the spring, courtesy of Yoga Journal:

1) Shed the winter weight by adopting a vigorous vinyasa home practice. If you don't know what vinyasa yoga is, there are many classes offered in studios around town. Vinyasa is linking the breath with movement. You'll create lots of heat in the body and begin to burn off those toxins and unwanted pounds.

2) Incorporate a twisting sequence in your practice for an internal cleanse. Twists aide digestion and massage the internal organs. They are also a great way to get the kinks out.

3) Try a juice fast to reset your digestive system. If you are new to cleanses or fasts, definitely consult your doctor first and research the appropriate cleanse for you. If you are new to it, try it for one day, where you take in only liquids: juices, vegetable broths, herbal teas and 8-10 glasses of water. Maybe you can build to 3 days. If this seems too extreme, try #4

4) Incorporate the bounty of nature, but eating more fruits and vegetables and "simple" foods and weaning yourself off of junk food, fast food, food drowning in gravy or cream...you get the idea.

Embracing some simple yogic techniques can help you celebrate this season of rebirth and possibilities. So get out there. Enjoy the weather, breathe in fresh air, practice yoga and be happy.

Blessings,
Susan

http://www.yogajournal.com/newsletter/myj_353.html

Walking Meditation

As the weather gets warmer, I find I do want to spend more time outdoors...and not just outside, but outside in nature. I love shedding my winter clothes and my body loves feeling the light and warmth of the coming summer months. One way you can take your yoga practice outside is by going on a meditation walk.

If you can find a nice trail or even path, walking mindfully outside is a great way to incorporate your yoga and mediation practice into your hectic schedule. It's easy to do but deceptively difficult too. It's walking with complete awareness of each step and being mindful of the breath as it comes in and out. And as you focus on your breath, you begin to focus on your thoughts and the dialogue or chatter that comes up as well. Being mindful of each step, you begin to slow down your monkey mind and become completely absorbed in the sound of your breath or the sounds of nature and trees all around you. You may even silently say a mantra to yourself as you walk.

With the budding of new life flourishing all around you, take your practice outside. If you walk with a friend, try to walk in silence for a bit and just enjoy the experience. There are great nature trails all over the city or just walk in your own neighborhood. One of my favorites is Red Bird Hollow, introduced to me during my yoga training. So, enjoy the spring and I hope to see you on the trails AND on your mat.

Namaste,

Susan

A Yogic Spring Forward

It's almost officially spring. Daylight savings has already hit and it's staying lighter a little bit longer. A lot of people take this time to do a little spring cleaning in their homes and offices, but what about a little spring cleaning for your body, for your mind and your spirit? If you are feeling like you've failed at your attempts for a New Year's Resolution, why not change your intentions and take a spring forward, yoga style?

Yoga studios do stay open during the warmer months for those yogis who must get their fix to stay toned, vibrant and healthy through the spring and summer months. But it's also a fabulous time for beginners to put their big toe in the water and try a class or for novice yogis who want to try a different style of yoga or try a class that's completely different from what they've been doing.

Why do I suggest this? Because there is a strange phenomenon that occurs every year when it gets warmer. People naturally want to spend more time outdoors and they start to abandon their practice. They stop doing what was helping them feel so good in the first place and go on to other things. And the yoga studios have smaller class sizes or must cancel classes altogether.

So, if there are smaller class sizes, then perhaps you won't feel so much fear or angst about trying yoga. There's less pressure there, plus you'll get more personalized attention from the teacher. Now is the time to do it. There are so few things out there we can do for ourselves that are really good and healthy, and yoga is one of them. You'll be rewarding your body with a practice that has been studied for thousands of years and you'll be supporting local studios who need you.

Blessings,

Susan

ps you can also check out my teaching schedule below.

http://www.radiantfitness.com/index.html