So it is the weekend, and the best time to take a moment and simply sit and be. 

I understand sitting is not always the easiest for everyone these days, particularly when we're talking about sitting on the floor. Our highly sedentary lifestyles and repetitive one direction activities, such as running, cycling, walking, mean that we have lost a lot of the flexibility and movement in our hips, which makes sitting on the  floor challenging.

Add to this the inflexibility created by stress, toxicity from our foods and environment as well as dehydration, just to name a few other factors and you start to see the bigger picture of things.

So if you can find an excuse to sit on the floor for some time today. 
Be it at home, at the beach, or a picnic. 
For one hour, 30mins or 5mins.

Watch the video to see some hints and advice for how to prop yourself up to get the most out of the practice.

It can help to have a mirror to one side so you can see yourself side on to check out your posture.

In meditation, it is often suggested better to sit with your hips higher than your knees, so don't be afraid to experiment and find the position where you can comfortably sit for some time. And then repeat often. And then notice if it gets easier with time and duration spent there.

More stretches will be coming up to help you if you find this area an issue for you.

Happy Sitting Saturday,
Tx

PS: as I mentioned at the end of the video, if you aren't able to sit on the floor because you are at work (hopefully not on a saturday) but if you are, draw your attention to your posture as often as possible. You could do it now whilst you read this. Find the sitting bones, as  you sit on them feel the core muscles gently engage (this means the belly can still expand with the abdominal breath, such as you were introduced to in yesterday's video) to support the spine that naturally lengthens up from this position and then ensure you're not holding any tension through the shoulders and jaw. Notice how long you hold this posture for and what your fall back posture is. This is why it's called a practice :) Watch the video for the on the floor practice tips.

 


In case you're not sure what the sitting bones are???
Here is a great image of a man sitting in the meditation position with hips higher than knees that I mentioned earlier. 

Image: Kaminoff, L. (2007). Yoga Anatomy. Human Kinetics Books: U.S.A 

Today is Sunday, so I have decided to keep things short and sweet with the practice.

Yesterday I gave you an excuse to watch TV. 
Not something I do a lot of myself or promote often, but a useful excuse to sit on the floor and work with the hips. 

So today I am giving you even more excuses to stay there for a lil while longer, 
2mins at least to practice along with me as you watch today's video ;)

The more time we spend reminding the hips that they move in more than just two directions the better. 

Our bodies are a whole unit, when muscles don't function as they are meant to they put undue pressure on other muscles to perform actions that they were not designed to do and all matter of issues can arise from here.

Hence it is important for us to keep the body strong and flexible and access all directions of movement possible.

So when you can, incorporate this awareness into your day. 

As with the other awarenesses and practices shared thus far, each only takes a minute or two really, but over time those minutes or two here and there taken throughout the day and spread over the course of a week, a month and a year add up to freedom of movement, greater mindfulness and deeper sense of wellbeing. 
And this is my wish for you through this 30day challenge.

The challenge isn't always about the physical movement but rather getting over the mental chatter that tells us we can't do it, we don't have time, it isn't important, blah blah blah…

The challenge for me hasn't been about the physical practice, I can't get up without first moving in some way to stretch and open the body. It has become a more natural way of being for me. 

The challenge for me has been about stepping up, confronting my fears and insecurities and getting in front of the camera each day to make these videos for you.

So each of us in our own way is challenging an old belief, creating new habits and stepping into a new way of being.

I truly hope you are gaining some new insights and awarenesses from these daily videos and blogs, and reconnecting with your bodies in new and exciting ways each day.

Even if it is just one movement that you are managing to consistently integrate into your everyday, that is a wonderful start, and every step taken should be celebrated.

So if you have something you'd like to celebrate or you have a road block you'd like me to help you overcome, please either email me or comment below. 

I love hearing from you and look forward to seeing you tomorrow.
Tx

What's the diaphragm, you may be asking?
It's the muscle that extends across the bottom of the ribs and lungs and is integral to the function of breathing.

I think of it as an umbrella or mushroom that sits between the lungs and the abdominal organs.
When it draws down expanding into the abdominal cavity it creates a vacuum that draws the air into the lungs,  
and when it moves back up, it pushes the air back out. 

This is the muscle we engage in abdominal breathing, and if you get a chance click this link to see a simple, yet useful animation on Wikipedia. If you watch babies, breath you will see that they do this naturally. Unfortunately as we get older, busier and more stressed we tend to forget this, and there's this misconception that we are supposed to suck the air in through our nose, which uses the muscles of the neck and shoulders, and uses up a tonne more energy. So if you experience tension in these areas of the body, notice if your breath might be contributing to it.

If you breath through your mouth, this is a whole other story. 
See if you can be more conscious of breathing in and out of your nose for a while.

So how can we stretch the diaphragm? 
The way I am showing you in today's video is through a breathing technique, a pranayama, called the Crocodile breath.

This is a great pranayama if you are struggling to connect with the abdominal breath in your practice, as it really draws your attention there, and helps to loosen any tension in the diaphragm muscles so it moves more freely for you.

Why the crocodile?
As I mentioned in Day 7, many poses, and pranayamas, are inspired by animals or what the yogis saw in nature.
When the crocodiles were studied, it was found that this was how they breathed and it was thought that this may be the reason for their longevity in life.

The reason for this is that breathing in this way, works on the autonomic nervous system, which is made up of two other systems. The sympathetic nervous system, our fight and flight mechanism in the body, and the parasympathetic nervous system, which acts like a brake for the sympathetic/stress response. In particular, the abdominal breath activates  the parasympathetic nervous system which is located at the front of the body, this turns on the "rest & digest" response, 
that keeps the body calm. 

You may have noticed this effect if you have kids and they have ever thrown a tantrum, if they end up on their belly kicking and screaming they tend to calm themselves down eventually.

Try it for yourself. 
The breathing that is, not the tantrum.

Remember to check in with your breath before and after so you start to be more aware of the affects it has on you.

Keep calm & do the crocodile breath ;)

Look forward to seeing you tomorrow,
Tx

Day 8 and we are rolling quite literally today.

Today we are working with the spine again. 
It really is pivotal not only to movement, but to our consciousness as well. 

It is the channel of communication between the mind and the body and when working well will have us feeling lighter, more vibrant and aware. 

Today's movement is rolling on the spine. 
If you have any concerns about doing this movement, it is better to heed them, and work with the stretches from Day 3. 

But if you can they are another great stretch, similar to the helicopter swings, that I find quite liberating for the body.
It is so lovely to roll like we were when we were kids and explore the muscles of the spine as we do so.

Always listen to your body. Go gently and rest if it asks you to.

Many are now coming into classes with lower back issues. In these cases, I always ask what sort of activities they do or not do. Are they seated for long hours at work? Do they do a lot of running or walking or cycling?  Are they getting enough water? or enough protein? These things are just some of the things that affect the strength and flexibility of the spine. 

Tight hamstrings can cause the lower back muscles to also become tight, so if this is the case for you, you may like to incorporate more hamstring stretches, such as in the video for Day 4 into your daily life.  Remembering to keep the knees bent to ensure the lower back is relaxed, if you're not sure, check yourself out in a mirror whilst you do it.

We also sit a lot more these days and when we slouch and round out the lower back, we are not using the core muscles that support the spine, so this too can create issues. 

And then there's the question of are you hydrated enough? 
The body is approximately 70% water, with more in the brain, and a high content in the muscles, as well as required for the cerebrospinal fluid amongst so many other things. So can you see how water intake could cause spine issues?

Finally there is the question of the amount of protein you are getting in your diet. 
One of the huge ah-ha moments for me when I was completing my yoga teacher training, was when I was taught about protein. Protein is vital to our health, it is involved in almost every metabolic process in the body and part of every cell structure of the body.

The point that struck me most was when I was told that when there isn't enough protein in our body it will take it from the areas of the body such as muscle fibres where there is plenty, which is often from areas such as the spine.

So these are things you could now start to consider as you become more aware of your body.

A point to note now as we are into the second week, is that no two mornings will be the same.
So become the silent observer of your body each morning. 
Look at things with new eyes as if for the first time.

And as always, Enjoy!
Tx

Welcome to day 6!

Just one day short of a week of daily "yoga" if you have been doing the videos each day 
and even better if you have been stringing movements together 
or fitting them into other times of your day as well.

The more you move, the more you hear the body's call for movement and the more you heed the call, the more messages you will start to hear from within, then you start to act from your own innate knowing.
It all starts with the commitment to move your body every day. 

 Did you see the quote on Facebook from Day 3?

The beautiful thing about yoga is the intention behind each and every move. 
The yogis knew things about the body well in advance to science proving them right ;)

So today,…
As I said in Day 3, the spine is pivotal to movement. 
It moves in 6 directions, 7 if you include lengthening as we did in the lying stretches.

We've all heard the phrase, use it or lose it. 
This is very much the truth in our physical bodies. 

So to ensure we have strong yet flexible spines, we need to move it.
The 6 movements are forward and back, side to side and twisting left and right. 

We did twisting yesterday and today we are looking at side to side.

Think over your daily life how often do you do this movement?
Personally I can not think of any examples. 
Please let me know if you can think of one, apart from in a yoga class ;)

 If you are doing these first thing in the morning, remember the body will not be as flexible, 
so keep observing the body and heeding its calls.

As with all movements, the aim is to move slowly consciously with joy and ease.

Enjoy this morning's practice!

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow,
Tx

PS: Found this page on the internet that has some great, yet simple information about the spine if you want to more info.

Welcome to Day 7. 

My hope is that these daily posts are inspiring you to explore moving your body throughout the day, rather than simply saving it for one hour at a class or when you have the time. And learning a little about your body along the way.

If we look to animals we would learn a lot about how to live in our bodies. 

The little staffy I had the pleasure of looking after for 3 months never comes off the couch with out stretching first before she does anything else. This is a picture I took from an earlier 5mins for you I ran in November 2013 and you can see how she stretches through the back and then the front. 

If you watch a cat when startled from sleep, it doesn't jump up in a panic as we might, it opens an eye or two, arches it's back and then looks around to see what all the noise is about. 

With the nervous system housed in the spine, it seems a natural response to do this to calm the nerves before responding to the "emergency", so why don't we do this? ;)

For this reason, many poses are drawn from the study of animals and named after them.

So today we are exploring the last two directions of the spine in the cat pose.

As you move, do so with grace and ease, listening to the cues from the body 
and focusing on synchronising the breath with the movement.

Visualise one vertebra at a time moving. 
Really tuning into your spine and the muscles and enjoying the exploration of the body.

Imagine as you do the amazing fact that there are 33 vertebrae, (5 fused to form the sacrum, and 3-5 forming the tailbone/coccyx) with some 120 muscles connected to the spine, and around 220 ligaments keeping it stable to protect the nervous system it houses.

This amazingly designed "machinery" is your body. 

Nothing is left unthought of. 

It has even been said that the movement of the tailbone is integral to the movement of cerebraspinal fluid that flows in and around the nerves within the spine and the brain within the skull. 
{interesting thought when you think of a dog wagging its tail?!}

All the more reasons to ensure the continued mobility of the whole of the spine.

Remember to get creative with your practice.

During the day see if you can fit in a moment or two where you move your spine in the 6 different directions.

Notice the difference it makes to your energy and day after you do so.

By the way, did you find an example of where you move your spine sideways?
I still haven't ;)

See you tomorrow,
Tx

Commonly called helicopters or easy swings, today's practice will really wake up your body and get things moving!

What can I say about these?
I love them!

It's such a freeing movement. 
In day two I mentioned the muscles going in several different directions around the torso and abdominals, such as the obliques, but there are also the intercostal muscles between the ribs, hence this is another great movement to open these up. It also frees up the spine, all the muscles around the torso as well as the shoulders and if you like to visualise it can be great for cleansing the energy around you as you sweep it with your arms.

It is yoga to me in motion. You're aware of the whole body at once, watching the hands, feeling the spine, grounded through the feet, breath flowing, full awareness of your Self, as well as having to be aware of the things around you!

This is the joy of experiencing union. 
{I believe sports people would liken it to being in the zone}

Things to think about:
Is it the same for you? 
Are you completely in the moment? 
Or do you find your mind distracted?
Noticing the distraction can a good sign, as it brings you back to the present moment, even if only briefly.
As the arms settle, allow your mind to simply be in the body? 
What do you sense?
Tingling? Warmth? 
Do you feel the fullness of the breath?

When we have bad posture, or slouch often the muscles around and between the ribs and torso shorten, making breathing shallower, i.e. less vitality for the body. 

Loosening these muscles through this movement allows them to expand more freely with the breath.

Observe it for yourself. Before you do the swings, even before you start your stretches in the morning, pause for a moment, tune into your body, watch the breath, notice your muscles, and then do the practice. 

Then Pause Again. 
Tune into your body, watch the breath, notice your muscles…Do you feel the subtle changes?

Keep practising. 
Keep taking these moments for you.
You're awarenesses will deepen with time. 

May you move better, feel better and think better as a result,
Tx

PS: I'd love to hear how you are going, drop me a line in the comments below. 
Have you watched all the videos? Are you stringing them together or fitting them in where you can?  
Hope you are enjoying the "excuse" to pause and practice.

It's day 4 of the challenge. How are you going?

I hope it's  a little easier to watch the videos now that I have made a few changes in the "studio" 
{I am in real dire need of a good camera man} ;)

So are you finding it easy enough to get moving in the morning with the lying/bed stretches?

How do you find this making a difference to your day?

I'd love to hear from you.

Yoga is something we all commonly think of as what we do on the mat, but really it is a way of life. 

Yoga means union, which implies wholeness. Connection of mind and body, body and spirit. 

But our busy lifestyles and busy modern worlds often have us very disconnected to the body as we get stuck in our thoughts and what can sometimes be mindless endless chatter. It is said that we have something in the range of 70,000 thoughts a day, with 80% of them being repeats from the past.

So the aim here is to have you more connected to your body. To start to live from there. 

When we tune into the body, the mental chatter starts to quieten as we are focussed on what is going on within rather than externally. And it is in that inner stillness that the true voice of our heart and soul can be heard. We then start to make better choices for ourselves, based on the feedback we are getting from our body. Even more motivation to have an efficient working nervous system.

These morning stretches are a great way to tune into the body and an even better way to start the day, setting the intention that what is going on within is important to you. 

My hope is that you will feel the benefits from continued practice and find it easy to maintain at least these first few days of stretches every day or that you will find yourself connecting within more and more throughout the day.

So enjoy your stretch!

Have a wonderful day & I look forward to seeing you tomorrow,
Tx

Well, we're now at Day 3.

We're picking up momentum. 
I hope you are feeling the benefits of being more aware of your body.

The aim of the course is to have you add the stretches one on to the other, particularly these first 3 videos which you can do all in bed or lying down on a mat.
 
By the end of the 30 days you will have thirty  2-5min tools you can incorporate in and around your Every Day.

If you did this that would be between 1-2.5hrs you stopped and tuned into you!
Brilliant, hey?!

So today we are focussing on the spine, in case you hadn't worked it out already from the title ;)

The spine is pivotal to movement, designed to move in 6 different directions supported by many muscles, tendons and ligaments that connect to it, it needs to be both strong and flexible. Most importantly, it houses the Central Nervous System of the body. These are the nerves that run from the brain, down the spine as the spinal cord and connects to all the different parts of the body, forming the communication system between mind and body. As Wikipedia puts it, "it integrates information it receives from, and coordinates and influences the activity of, all parts of the body."

So needless to say it is pretty damn important and we need to ensure the spine is healthy and that we maintain the space between the vertebra of the spine to allow the nerves to radiate out from it unrestricted. 
It is often said in yoga and Chinese Medicine, we are only as young as our spine is flexible. 

It's time to get it moving.

So today's challenge is to start to pay attention to the spine, firstly through the stretches and then as you move throughout your day. We'll be talking more about the spine in future days, but for now, watch the video, move the body and observe what's happening for you today in the spine. And as we're ever changing beings, every day will be different.

Enjoy and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow,
Tx 

Welcome to Day 2's Stretches.

If you haven't seen yesterday's video yet, you can watch Day One here first.

Today's stretches follow on from Day One's and these too can be done in your bed before you get out. 

Sometimes it's a case of better to fit it in where you can than not at all right. 

But once again if you are out and about already, you can simply do these standing up wherever you are.

Remember when practicing first thing in the morning, it is best to take it slowly moving into the stretches as we are always a bit stiffer from lying for so many hours. It can help to have a glass of water first if you keep one by your bed. Or even better still warm water and lemon is a great detoxer for the body, especially when you have it first thing in the morning before brekky. As my teacher often says, "more on that later."

The first of today's stretches is focussing on opening up along the abdominal muscles at the front of the belly region of the body as well as the muscles around the back. These all make up what are known as the core muscles of the body, along with the pelvic floor, and run in various directions. The obliques, which run on a diagonal, are what these stretches are targeting in particular. Loosening up these muscles allows us to breath better as it creates greater freedom for the diaphragm to expand for the abdominal breath. The better we breath, the more vitality we draw in, the better we feel. This makes for a bigger case against having a rock hard 6 pack. In yoga we are all about strength as well as flexibility.

In the second stretch, pay particular attention to the different muscles you feel being stretched. Its works best to keep your lower back drawn down towards the floor, so your tail bone feels like it is tucked under and pointed towards your feet. This way you are not arching through the back, and you may notice the abdominals engage slightly. 

Once again, remember to always, move slowly in, out and during the stretch.
Enjoying the process is the aim, being in your body, with a gently flowing breath!

You may enjoy it so much you'll do it more than once a day ;)
That's my hope!

Look forward to seeing you tomorrow. And hearing how you are getting along between now and then

Move well & be well,
Tash x

PS: Don't forget anyone that participates, with shares, likes, comments, is in the running to receive the one hour yoga coaching session I am giving away at the end of the 30days!  Maybe you know someone else that could use this course? It is never to late to join in. xx