posture | Yoga for real…

The other day, I was thinking how important two things are: breathing and posture. I thought “If I could get everyone to breathe better and to have better posture, what a difference that would make!” Well, I happen not to know everyone, but I do know you, so we’ll start there!

Then a bit later, I thought “Oh. And move! Gotta add that one!”

So, let me encourage you (and me) on these three things and allow yourself feel the difference in your health and well-being!

First, stop throughout your day for “breathing breaks” and just focus on your breath. Notice if you’ve been holding your breath or breathing shallow. Deepen your breath and take time to draw the life in on the inhales and relax as you exhale. Do this for 15 seconds to a minute several times throughout your day.

Second, take mind of your posture! Stand and sit up nice and tall! Draw your lowest shoulder blade tips down your back as you lengthen the base of your skull up. Lengthen your sternum (breast bone) up as you draw your lower front ribs down. Notice how much easier it is to breathe! See how this goes hand-in-hand with the first thing?!

Third, move your body!! We were designed to move. Moving helps every system in your body. Be grateful you can move and do it! Move in a way that’s fun to you whether it’s yoga, running, swimming, taking a walk, dancing in your living room… just move! Start with five minutes, then build up to 30 minutes a day if you can – any amount of movement is better than none!! By moving your body, you are increasing your health and well-being and you are honoring the One who designed you to move.

Be blessed in your breath, your posture and your movement.

Written By: Cheri Harvey, Owner/Founder Yoga For Real

When you were growing up, do you remember that commercial for Brylcreem – the hair styling product for men – that said “a little dab’ll do ya!“? The point being that you didn’t need a whole big glob of the product to make a big difference – just a little bit would do the trick.

I feel the same way about yoga! Even just a little bit of yoga makes a huge positive difference! Let’s face it – some yoga demonstrations and classes can be quite intimidating. But, just starting with very easy do-able stuff like learning to breathe better, learning better posture, learning even a few poses, and giving yourself permission to relax will bring about changes you cannot even imagine right now!

It’s so cool when people come to my class saying, “I really don’t think I can do yoga.” and when class is over, they say, “That wasn’t hard and I feel SO much better!” Yep, a little dab’ll do ya!

Of course, once you taste the goodness of yoga and start feeling it’s benefits, you will want to do more and you will know that you can.

Here are a few tips as you begin exploring yoga:

Start simply and honor your limits. Don’t dive into the deep end and over-do by trying hard stuff you aren’t ready for! Listen to your body – and find the right class and teacher that will honor where you are.
Focus on what you can do. Don’t worry about what you can’t do. You’ll get so many benefits from practicing what you can do, that the rest won’t really matter.
Be patient and keep practicing. Don’t expect all your problems to go away after a couple of classes. You didn’t get this way overnight and yoga won’t correct everything overnight, but keep practicing and the benefits keep coming!
Build up gradually. To grow, we must challenge ourselves. In yoga, we want a gentle challenge and to stretch our limits – but never pain, strain or ignoring limits. Take your time – there’s no clock you are racing against.

There’s so much to be gained from a good yoga practice, but you’ve gotta start! So, give yoga a try! Even a little dab’ll do ya!

Yoga for real…

It's Yoga… for real People… for real Life… for real Results

Tag Archives: posture

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A Little Dab’ll Do Ya!