Day 5
Build a Consistent Home Practice
April 1 – 29, 2016
Day 5
Breathe to stay alive! Welcome to Day 5!
Way to rock your yoga practice!
Yesterday’s practice was a doozy! You should hopefully have felt your tummy working for you. Know that I am purposefully building you up (strength, flexibility, hopefulness) in each yoga practice to help prepare you for the next sequence. This way the practices feel more welcoming and less of a surprise.
5 is a number that represents a half way point and often challenges. But every challenge that comes our way is just another opportunity to discover a new part of ourselves. A new strength, more creativity, industrious solutions, tenacity, perseverance. No longer can we function in the same manner, we are being highly encouraged to come up with a new solution.
They say necessity is the mother of all invention.
Just think how many times we have been caught in a bind, not knowing which way to go, what to do, clock is running, pressure is on!
If we don’t stop a moment and breathe, we’ll probably regret our decisions. It’s like speeding to a yoga class only to get caught in a speed trap and end up with a ticket! Erg!
When we stop and breathe things become less overwhelming. Solutions have a way of popping up because we stop focusing on the challenge and open up to possibility. And we open up to asking for help.
So I invite you to give this simple breathing exercise a go. You’re sure to feel better for it.
For inspiration on aspiration check out the benefits of doing breath work listed below. And watch out for saber tooth tigers! 🙂 Just kidding. Breathe. (Because I can’t help being silly, life is too short!)
Quick Reminder:
The intention for this 21 Day Challenge series is to do something everyday Monday – Friday. We are focusing on doing the basics at home and getting into a rhythm. Pace and modify according to you needs. I will always give you options. Remember you know yourself best, listen to your instincts.
The breathing practice today will help you to release fatigue and you will feel better! Remember, you’re just one yoga practice away from a smile!
I invite you to give this a try.
Download Your Journal Page
Click on here to download the Journal Page (then simply click the print icon or download arrow to save it to your computer). I have filled in a sample one for you to see at the bottom of the page. Get creative and find wonderful color pens!
Let’s play!
Here’s the video to guide you through the breath work (pranayama). Check it out! Remember to share comments on my Facebook page or share pictures of your 21 Day Challenge with me on Instagram.
Benefits of Pranayama
(Breath Work):
Lower Blood Pressure
- I was able to experiment with this benefit. I took my blood pressure before doing a breath work exercise and then again after I did the breath work. My blood pressure did lower!
Decrease Overwhelm, Stress, Anxiety, and Depression
- We’ve all heard the “take 10 deep breaths” before we act on a strong emotion. The deep breath will trigger receptors in the bottom of our lungs that send messages to our parasympathetic nervous system that even though things may be stressful, there is no saber tooth tiger waiting to pounce on us. It’s not a situation of fight or flight. Just every day craziness. Which means there is no need to pump stressful cortisol hormones into our system that make us retain or gain weight! Ack no! Stress is not bad, it makes us stronger. It’s when stress becomes overwhelm, too much, that we move into di-stress or dis-ease. Breathe 🙂
Clarity of Thought
- When we’re agitated our breath is usually shallow and short. Think about the angry red faced person. Sometimes we’re fearful that they’re actually not breathing! When we take those deep breaths the big emotions start to dissipate and we are left with a bigger vision. Solutions become more apparent and we are no longer swayed by distractions.
Boost Your Energy
- Breath is life force, energy, prana. When we make space for a deeper breath, we are making room for more life. More energy. There is a Sanskrit proverb that says, “For breath is life, and if you breathe well you will live long on earth.”
Journal Example
with light and love,
Missed a Challenge?
No worries, click on the day below to catch up. 🙂
Day 1
Restorative Yoga – Reclined Bound Angle
Day 2
Vinyasa Monday – Flowing Yoga Sequence
Day 3
Day 4
Vinyasa – Fire Up the Core Yoga Sequence
Comments or Questions? Send them to me here and I will get back with you as soon as I can.