"hearty" yoga practice

just as a sunny day, the right company, good news... can brighten your mood and with that put a smile on our face and let you walk around with an open chest - an open heart. if you really pay attention your body feels different on days like that. even your breath might be deeper, allows you to vitalise better.

now not all of us can have a sunny day every day, we might not always be able to see and interact with the people that lift us up, there is definitely days when the news are not so good...

here is where the practice comes in :-)

we usually do notice a change in mood after a yoga practice of any kind. usually we feel calmer, see things more relaxed, yes, people also told me they feel lighter. well, there is many ways to express that special feeling after class (and I am aware that not only a yoga class can give you that feeling - we all need different things!).

so despite the effect of every Asana class, there are certain poses that definitely put the focus more on your heart center - yes, it's mainly all the chest opening - clearly backbends!

I personally am not one with the bendiest back and it took me a long time and some good teachers (you know who you are!) to start to embrace backbends a little more. also, you don't have to go straight to the full version of things, remember!?

here are a few ideas how to put the focus towards the heart in your everyday practice:

Surya Namaskar

practiced in many different ways, I mainly follow the Sivananda tradition:

now on the "hearty" days I include a backbend once I stepped one leg back. simply by bringing the arms behind the back, interlacing the fingers, opening the chest, gazing up and stretching back through the arms, call it a crescent moon variation if you like :-)

some days that's enough. and we all know that a few rounds of surya namaskar always bring on the sun!

here is a 30min sequence if you want to go further! 

stand in Tadasana - Mountain pose, ground and connect with your breath

step back into Warrior I (step your right leg back first) - keep your hands on your hips to help you align the hips forward, reach your tailbone towards the floor and pull your elbows together to keep the chest open

move into Warrior II - opening up to the side, keep your hands on the hips and again help to align the hips to the side now, it's up to you if after that you'd like to open up the arms or keep them at your hips

straighten the front leg and turn fully to the side, take the legs wider apart and interlace your fingers behind your back, on your inhale open the chest, exhale and fold forward and down, letting the arms come up and over your head - Prasarita Padottanasana (C - for the Ashtanga yogis out there)

turn to face forward again to come into a high lounge, hands in front of the heart. you could also lower the knee of the back leg down to the floor to stabilise better. inhale when you reach your arms up over head and on your exhale bend backwards - crescent moon

now either step back into down dog or forward into a fold, rolling up to tadasana - starting the same thing on the other side from one or the other posture!

lowering down onto your belly after you've done the second side move through:

Bujangasana - Cobra in any variations (for opening the chest more I again prefer to have the arms in the back)

Dhanurasana - Bow

add a full wheel - Urdhva Dhanurasana - if you feel like and that's part of your practice

press back into a child pose and add a seated twist here - your favourite is best :-)

finish off with a shoulder stand variation of your choice, adding a supported(!) fish pose - again, many ways to do, just one example:

Savasana

any questions - don't hesitate to ask! but mainly, be open and let the heart see ;-)

Monday-Mantra

I do like singing anyway and so chanting Mantras is just another way of getting my body to vibrate, create energy and feel good.

yes, that's what it is to me. simple, not complicated. to me it is not so much about the words. yes, if you do choose a Mantra you'd want to know a little bit about it's meaning or main purpose. especially so you can choose what's good or important for you in that moment. but truly the whole idea behind it is to get your whole body into positive vibrations and create positive energy - with the right words this energy can be guided...

every (other) Monday I'd like to share a Mantra with you. not only singing yourself can have a truly positive effect, also listening to a certain Mantra can truly lift you up.

today I chose the Gayatri Mantra. if you follow the link you find it beautifully sung by Deva Premal, repeated for 2 hours. it is one of the Mantra's I love to listen to - while practicing, while relaxing, while cooking - yes, it truly lifts you up. go, give it a try!

find out more about what it all means here.

take a moment, make a list

it's still winter and it's starting to feel very long...especially the grey days are taking over here. necessary to take a moment more often to remind myself of what I love and I am grateful for, right here, right now.

• my love for baking and trying out new recipes
• all the books I still get to read with my kids
• the lovely friend who provides me with Austrian authors, who's books are just like a journey through time
• a new book that came in the mail
• my body for showing me exactly what it needs
• the smell of the lake, the wind and waves showing us what time of year it is
• tea in all it's different variations
• all that fresh fruit in a bowl after an exhausting shopping trip
• little red cheeks after a day skiing
• healing mantras
• and as my little girl reminded me this morning "the sun that always shines, it's just a little hidden sometimes" ;-)

so if you can't see the sun right now, try the list and you'll find out how much sun there always is - wishing you all lots of sunshine!

après-ski

a little sequence for the ones who are still in skiing mood :-) - no matter what, take care of your body!

start off in mountain pose - ground  and connect with your breath

reach your arms up and come into a standing forward bend - gentle in the knees, let the upper body hang, take 5 deep breath

step the right leg back into crescent moon - sink into the hips, reach the arms up and exhale into a gentle backbend, take 5 deep breath

release and step the other leg back into downdog - stay for 5 long, deep breath

step the right leg forward into crescent moon on the other side!

step both legs forward into a standing forward bend once more - take it as gentle as in the beginning or deepen by holding on to your toes, ankles, calfs..., stay for 5 deep breath

roll your spine up, you're back in mountain pose

Savasana - release the body to the floor, but hold on to your breath, prepare for shoulder stand

shoulderstand - get into your favourite version of the Asana, take 10 long, deep, breath

plough - releasing the feet behind your head, stay for 8 deep breath

fish - gently roll your back and legs back onto the floor, come to rest on your arms and lift up the chest into fish pose. again, any version is fine, so do a supported fish posture if that's what your body asks for, hold the pose for 5 deep breath

cobra variations - roll onto your abdomen and do any cobra variations you like. I personally prefer to bring the arms into the back and interlace my fingers to help roll my shoulders back, hold the pose for 5 deep breath, repeat if you like!

child pose - sit back into the pose and release the back for 5 deep breath

half spinal twist - twist to each side, hold each side 6-8 breath

release the feet - kneel, tuck your toes under and rest on your heels - to stretch out the soles of your feet after along day in your ski-boots!

headstand - round off in headstand for as long as you're comfortable, stay connected with your breath!

Savasana - take at least 10min to rest...you happen to have a guided relaxation with you, go for it!

practice and all is coming

oh how true...

many things, thoughts, people can distract us from our practice and make it really hard for us to get to it on certain days. isn't it!?

there are also days we just know, that no matter how we arrange things, a full Asana practice just won't fit in. that's alright, especially when you know before and well, that's life :-)

so, how wonderful, when out of the blue, there is an hour - a beautiful gift of time - to be used in many ways...

accept it, as a gift to yourself. the one thing that was cancelled or you couldn't do, did make space for YOU...

just think of how you feel after your practice of Asanas. the moment you get out of Savasana, slowly and gently, the moment you roll up your mat and smile. either to others, if you've been to a class, or simply to yourself. there - you touched a glimpse of your true self. the true nature of pure love and joy and peace. and that's what makes you go back to it. over and over again...isn't it!?

again, embrace this gift of time, whenever it is given to you. use it fully for yourself, or at least part of it. realise that by doing yourself good, you can be there and do good to others. if you're drained what should you give? no need to feel guilty. and if it's not a yoga practice, let it be something else. something that's for YOU and makes you feel good, gives you energy. (I do believe in the Yoga powers though. simply because I didn't come across anything else that made me feel so good and gives me energy.)

so, this beautiful gift of time was given to me yesterday and a proper practice was definitely needed. only for my first round of surya namaskar the mind was still spinning and trying to take me off to all the other things that I also need to take care of. but the breath took me where I needed to be - grounded and strong - every move and every breath took me a little deeper, filled my heart with all the love and joy and peace - all I needed at that very moment.