Browsing Tag

yoga

Indie

Sober Up Your Monkey Mind

Posted on November 16, 2020

The (Drunken) Monkey Mind

This is perhaps the aptest description for your mind I’ve heard. Buddha described the human mind as being filled with “drunken monkeys.” In other words, he is saying that without discipline, our mind can be a wildly uncontrolled space. (Forgive me, as much as I searched, I couldn’t find a direct citation here – it seems like fairly common knowledge – but if you’d like to dive deeper into the origins of this expression – forgive me twice because here’s a Wikipedia article).

Your brain wants to work and it’s not always linear. On any given day, we have over 6,000 thoughts.  We’ve trained it to work. Of course, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this, but there is another integral piece of the puzzle here. The brain also needs rest, and our hearts and minds sometimes need a break.

Test it out.

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Resources & Info

Slow Down with the 3 Most Meditative Yoga Poses

Posted on July 23, 2017

“Slow down, Brianna.” My teacher said to me succinctly, albeit lovingly. She said this a few years back in an attempt to reign in my intensity. “You’re ‘go go go’ all the time, you need to balance your life out with something slower.” Admittedly, I needed to hear it. So, with that, restorative yoga breezed into my practice in 2012, when I was in yoga teacher training. Now, it’s my primary focus of teaching. Sure, I still teach vinyasa (and I still love it), but restorative brings me peace.

Each Monday night, I watch students walk into class, brows furrowed and shoulders tensed. They plop down their props, grab a seat, and stare at me as if thinking, “help me, relax, lady!”  At the end of the 60 minutes, they barely shuffle off their mats, pace slowed and breathing tempered. It’s an incredible transition in such a short time, with a small amount of effort.

Slow Down

The practitioner in restorative yoga or yin yoga is working their way to meditation. It is a slow transition. She focuses only on breathing and stillness to start. Eventually, he finds himself in a zone of sorts. Zero focus on the body.

I highly recommend adding a restorative class to your practice when you can. Try it once a week at first and go from there. You’ll find added flexibility and calm.

Check out this awesome info graphic from Positive Health Wellness and check out their site for even more fun recipes and healthy recommendations!

 

The 3 Most Meditative Yoga Poses

Slow Down with the 3 Most Meditative Yoga Poses

Indie

What is Yoga Anyway? Listen to this Podcast

Posted on August 16, 2016

Attention yoga practitioners: Listen to this Podcast! The origins of yoga are very different than most know.

This podcast episode blew my socks off. Driving in my car, my mouth fell open. Since my RYT-200 training 3 years ago, there have been very few things that have been mind-blowingly new to me about the practice. Although I am by no means an expert, even the smallest snippets of this podcast prove that, but I thought I had a pretty firm grip on the origins of yoga as we know it in the West. Continue Reading

Indie

Give Your Clients What They Want

Posted on January 13, 2016

There is one commanding truth in customer service, it’s simple: Your clients will surprise you.

Let’s take, for example, me. I choose my yoga studio based, in-part, on the ceiling. It’s guaranteed none of my yoga teachers know this (until now). There’s no way to know this about me unless it’s specifically asked. This is a perfect example of a consumer whose purchasing decision is not tied directly to the obvious or marketable aspects of the organization. Continue Reading

Indie

6 Ways to Energize a Sluggish Day

Posted on December 22, 2015

Let’s face it, we don’t have 100% of our energy 100% of the time. There are days where task-completion is easy and the day whirls by before you know it’s gone. There are other days that feel like you’re jogging through molasses. An extra click needed there or even your ordinary email or two email here, can feel like a chore. Continue Reading