Yoga for Digestion and Detox

Many people take supplements or go on a cleanse to aid in digestion or to detox. A regular yoga practice can help the body digest better and to detoxify. Add in a nutrition component and the process can be natural.

A yoga practice that involves twists, forward folds, and side stretches stokes the digestive fire. Yoga Journal has an online sequence that you can follow if you are looking for a set series to help you get started.

A rule of thumb when eating that will help your digestion is to fill your belly 1/3 with food, 1/3 with water, and 1/3 leave empty. Adding prebiotic fiber like that found in Gutzy is helpful to maintain your digestive flora. Gutzy is an on-the-go pack that you can take in your car and eat after a class if you feel you need to refuel.

Yoga's Simple Seated Twist

Parivrtta Sukhasana or simple easy twist stretches your lower extremities: hips, knees, and ankles. The pose has many variations which I will explore with you over the course of this month.

You can use this pose to increases flexibility throughout the spine, shoulders, hips, and chest.

This pose allows you the opportunity to reduce stress and anxiety.

The benefits of abdominal twists are many. Twisting stimulates and tones your abdominal organs so it is beneficial it is done when your stomach is not FULL (hint ... you need room to twist). Be kind to your kidneys and digestive organs and twist! 

Twisting allows your body to detox, boosts your energy, and can improve your health. As Tubby Checker sings, "Come On Everybody ... Lets Twist Again"!

Meet me on the mat to twist!

TIP: Sit with your non-dominate leg (if right handed it is your left leg) in front to begin. Do twist twice ... once with each leg in front. 

TIP: Twist the RIGHT side first (ascending colon) then the left (descending colon) to help with digestion.

TIP: Twist AFTER your food is digested ... perhaps 2 hours after a meal

Replensish Yourself to Give to Others

If you are a giving person and share your time and talents through communicating with others, you understand that you need to take a step back from time-to-time to replenish yourself. One great way to take a few minutes to reset is to have a cup of tea. Traditional Medicinals Organic Throat Coat is the perfect supplement to help you get through a long day of talking and sharing with people ... the thing you enjoy doing!

YogaLean

Beth Shaw’s YogaLean is a remarkable book meant to help readers develop lean consciousness. She lays out a simple plan to achieve lean consciousness, formatted after the eight limbs of yoga; she calls the path the Eight Limbs of YogaLean. The path involves clearing clutter from your life, understanding your body type, emotionally committing to stay positive through the journey, exercise, and nutrition.

Each one of us has transformations to make in our lives. Beth Shaw is here to help us on our journey; we are not alone. She walks us through the eight limbs, she is our coach as we embark on our transformation.

YogaLean is a positive book. It does not tell you what NOT to do rather it gives you tips on what TO do to have a healthy lifestyle, something I have been trying to do for as long as I can remember. My favorite part of the book is the section that gives you an opportunity to learn about your body type. This section helped me better get to know myself and those around me. Now I can understand why my family orders such diverse foods when we go to a restaurant together! Understanding MY body’s natural tendencies has helped me let go of judgment and competition. I am focused on being the healthiest person I can be, not comparing myself to others. I cannot change my genetics, but I can make the best of what I have!I connected with the book right away!

I lead a healthy lifestyle and understand that life is a matter of choices, YogaLean encourages readers to make more positive choices than not.

I will share a few recipes from the book from time to time!

For more information about living the YogaLean lifestyle, visit their website, www.YogaLean.com. Interested in buying the book? You can find it available by following this link.

Reduce Stress...BREATHE...YOGA will help!

Sometimes it is just a simple change that we need to make that will improve our daily lives. The change seems simple once we hear it, but it is not obvious to us in the moment of stress and the hectic hustle-and-bustle of our daily lives.

If we take time to breathe, really breathe, we can unlock (or begin to) the tension we are holding inside.

Follow these simple instructions to find your breath. Once you have the muscle memory, you can take the breath with you into all aspects of your daily life.

Let your breath help you find inner calm. In sport, when your adrenaline is running high, your breath will help you fell calm and prepared to perform in the heat of the moment. In a stressful situation in work or at school...with a deadline approaching...your breath will help you find the peace you need to accomplish your goal.

Start by sitting upright in a chair.
Let both feet touch the floor with your ankles resting UNDER your knees.
As your inhale lift your shoulders to your ears.
As you exhale allow your shoulders to roll down your back and toward your hips.
Place one hand on your heart and the other on your belly.
As you inhale feel air enter the space under the hand on your heart.
As you exhale feel air enter the space under the hand on your belly.

Begin to lengthen your breath. Take even inhales and exhales.

Imagine your lungs are sponges. Fill the sponge with an inhale. Empty it with the exhale.

This long, even breath will help balance you mentally AND physically.

This is the yoga you TAKE OFF THE MAT and INTO YOUR DAILY LIFE.

Start a new routine in 2015
Cultivate a Healthy Body and a Healthy Lifestyle