“Innovate, don’t hibernate!”

The cold weather just keeps hanging on.  Welcome to DOWNdog this week for some warmth and feeling good inside kind of heat.  This week’s yoga practice will be soothing and centering like a cozy warm blanket.

We will start our practice with breath of fire: Kapalabahti.  Kapalabahti pranayama stimulates the solar plexus which lights up your internal flame and releases natural energy from your head to your toes.  It might feel weird at first but with practice it feels amazing!

We will then move into the repetition of forward fold flows (as we did last week).  Forward fold flows are introspective, calming, soothing, and grounding, all of these, while opening and warming your body from the toes right up to the finger tips. (Resting the upper body on the thighs for the warm up rounds will be used to create a wonderful release.)

The practice will also include planks, rainbows, many different dogs (up dogs, down dogs, three-legged dogs) chairs, and warriors to stoke that inner fire.

Eagle pose, Garudasana, (a focusing, strengthening, centering pose) will be the peak of our warming sequence.  We will end with a twist to detoxify, warm and soothe the entire body, and a restorative legs up the wall to create stillness and  prepare us for savasana.  

Savasana will be followed by alternate nostril breathing and meditation.

Staying warm and cozy on the inside is an innovative way of dealing with winter. And who knows… maybe when life throws us those curve balls we will be able to draw from this warm centering energy and deal with those curve balls in a positive, innovative way.  More on this theme at this week’s practice where it’s all about feeling good on the inside!

Have a great day!   

Namaste!

Jocelyne and Dr. Jake

Let’s Salute the Sun!..

(It’s like Rice and Beans!)

There are many different stories about the origin of Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation).  Some believe  it was the  King of Aundh who introduced Sun Salutations first. He instructed that Surya Namaskar must be maintained on a regular basis and without fail under his reign in the Maharashtra region of India. Whatever the true story is, Sun Salutations have become the most popular exercise across the world to start the day!   

Surya Namaskar, is a beautiful sequence of asanas that when practiced regularly, can make such a difference in your daily life.   It is a beautiful sequence of asanas that I would easily compare to a musical composition.  The instrument is our body, mind and spirit uniting as one to strengthen and balance our energy.

Surya Namaskar means “I bow my head with gratitude before the Sun”.  In bowing to the Sun without, we are in fact celebrating, bowing to the Sun within us, the fire energy that is in our hearts.

Finally, Sun Salutations will give you a complete workout.  They help tone, strengthen and stretch all the important muscles of the body.  They are a wonderful way not only to fire up the energy but to relax the body, mind and spirit. They improve digestion, circulation, and will promote weight loss. When practiced regularly, they provide equanimity (emotional stability).   These are just a few of the benefits.  The bottom line is: they will make you feel great!

Today the sun is shining.  And so on sunny days, doing Sun Salutations is especially powerful to both boost and calm our energy.  It’s like rice and beans. You put them together and the nutritional value increases exponentially!

See you tonite for a great energy boost and deep relaxation!

Namaste!

Jocelyne and Dr. Jake