Friday 24 November 2017

and there's more...: Nadi Sodhana

and there's more...: Nadi Sodhana: Its fair to say that I am finding my yoga course very challenging ( I believe in saying it as it is....no good lying about it ��) But becau...

Nadi Sodhana

Its fair to say that I am finding my yoga course very challenging ( I believe in saying it as it is....no good lying about it 😉)
Image result for nadi shodhanaBut because of it, I have had to research some stuff...such as

Nadi Sodhana
(or to me and you...alternate nasal breathing )
If you are anything like I was before I started doing yoga, you are probably still thinking..'what ever is she on about?'
It is a fascinating subject.
As it sais on the can it is the practice of breathing through the nostrils alternately.
So the right nostril is gently pinched and you breathe in for a count of four through the left nostril and then left nostril is pinched and at the same time the right one is released and you exhale through right one for 4 counts.   Then you breathe in through the same one (right) that you have just exhaled through. Pinch that nostril and breath out through the left nostril for a count of 4 and then in for a count of 4. ( I know that probably sounds really complicated).
So here is how the professionals explain it.....
  1. Close the right nostril with your right thumb and inhale through the left nostril. Do this to the count of four seconds.
  2. Immediately close the left nostril with your right ring finger and little finger, and at the same time remove your thumb from the right nostril, and exhale through this nostril. Do this to the count of eight seconds. This completes a half round.
  3. Inhale through the right nostril to the count of four seconds. Close the right nostril with your right thumb and exhale through the left nostril to the count of eight seconds. This completes one full round.
BY holisticonline.com

I have done this before but it was very interesting to delve into it a bit more.
Its something you can do pretty much anywhere at any time although they do say it is better in a morning on an empty stomach or several hrs after eating.
Apparently we alternate between our nostrils with out realising it, at various times of day, and a healthy person will alternate nostrils on average every couple of hours. and also one is usually more difficult to breathe through than the other.
According to yogis if the breath continues to flow through just one nostril for more than 2 hours that it can have an adverse affect on our health, and that the longer that continues the worse the health will get.
If the breath continues to flow through the right then the result can be a mental and nervous disturbance.
If it is the left then the result is chronic fatigue and reduced brain function.
recent scientific studies have revealed similar results.
 The right side of the brain controls creative activity, while the left side controls logical verbal activity. The research showed that when the left nostril was less obstructed, the right side of the brain was predominant. Test subjects were indeed found to do better on creative tests. Similarly when the right nostril was less obstructed the left side of the brain was predominant. Test subjects did better on verbal skills.For example, the yogis have known for a long time that prolonged breathing through the left nostril only (over a period of years) will produce asthma. They also know that this so-called incurable disease can be easily eliminated by teaching the patient to breathe through the right nostril until the asthma is cured, and then to prevent it recurring by doing the alternate nostril breathing technique. The yogis also believe that diabetes is caused to a large extent by breathing mainly through the right nostril. (by holisticonline.com )

Related imageWhat a fascinating subject.  I love looking/practicing this pranayama. 
 Yogis believe that this exercise will clean and rejuvenate your vital channels of energy.  And I can certainly do with some of that.....
(should be practiced with an experienced teacher if not done before  x )

Thursday 23 November 2017

and there's more...: !st day

and there's more...: !st day: Yes its the !st day and the exclamation mark is deliberate ( I know its hard to tell with my blogs! ��) So my decision to take my yoga p...

!st day

Yes its the !st day and the exclamation mark is deliberate ( I know its hard to tell with my blogs! 😉)
So my decision to take my yoga passion forward ( see previous blog ) is well under way.
Image result for and remember to breathe
So my !st day was a day full of mixed emotions... and I thought it might be a valuable life lesson to revisit it ( whilst its still fresh in my mind ) and use it for my journal. ( which I need as part of my Yoga instructor course )

It was made marginally more comfortable by the fact that I was coming along with someone else. 
Katie,  one of my instructors in another class, was also on this course, but other than at the leisure centre,  I didnt know her.
BUT I really felt out of my depth.  Was everyone else feeling the same as me?  Everyone else had probably done a lot more yoga than me! (hadnt they?) They definitely seemed more knowledgeable than me.  They were all different ages but I would say I was one of the oldest.  I was expecting at least half of them to be wearing some kind of 'yoga attire'  beads, braided hair etc ( but there wasnt any ... no I didnt have any on either lol )
Just shows what kind of stereotypical pictures I had in my head!
But there was all different types.  9 women and 1 guy. From different walks of life, including a nurse a cosmetic tatooist amongst others.
Image result for yogis at the ready cartoonThe tutor was not what I expected either. I dont really know what I expected!  probably someone who looked more like a 'YOGI'?  lol  ( what even does a yogi look like )
well they look a lot like the rest of us, a very mixed bunch.
Ist day consisted of explaining the course and an awful lot of information crammed into a short amount of time.
There was an opportunity to do some practical too.
And then the awful realisation that we all would get an opportunity to have a go at teaching!!!
Each of us had to teach several class members. It was only Introduction and mobilisation BUT I was so stressed. I have never had to do anything like this before and I was well out of my comfort zone.
And its fair to say I did NOT enjoy it.
And the strange thing was I had done all the moves/sequences etc hundreds of times before ( they were a very simplified version of what I do ) YET when it was my turn to teach I couldnt remember anything..HELL I'd even forgot how to breathe!!!!
( did I really choose to do this ? )

Tuesday 14 November 2017

and there's more...: 3 weeks? that cant be right

and there's more...: 3 weeks? that cant be right: Hi there.... I cant believe it has been 3 weeks since my last blog reason.... for the love of my yoga ( or not at the moment �� ) Wh...

3 weeks? that cant be right

Hi there.... I cant believe it has been 3 weeks since my last blog

reason.... for the love of my yoga ( or not at the moment 😣 )

Why do I do this to myself?
Related imageEverything was going fine, I was not working, I was doing 6 classes a week, yoga and body balance, and going to the gym!!! yes I was feeling damn good.
No stresses ( well hardly any, obviously still got my husband, 5 children and 8 grandchildren...but hey, thats norm...right? )
But could I be content?   No!
I had to find something extra to do!
I could do more classes?
I could do more retail therapy ( theres only so much you can do ! )
I could do more girly lunches?
OR........ I could train to be a yoga instructor!!!!!!!!  Mmmmmm 
So how lucky was I, when I found out that one of the instructors from my local leisure centre was just enrolling on such a course 😃 and would I like to join her?
( I hadnt thought of doing it quite that soon!!! )
So the suggestion was no sooner said and I had enrolled.
 ( Yes its fair to say I have seriously lost the plot)
So its been several weeks and the stress is killing me ( yes I know ..I thought yoga was supposed to relieve stress too )
I knew it was going to be tough but really, I had no idea what I was letting myself in for.
1st practical weekend was so intense, Asanas, breathing exercises, teaching...
And the assignments, well they are something else.
By the end of the 2nd day I was numb, I seriously could not take any more information in.
Uttanasana Image result for uttanasana    I couldnt even remember where my knees where!!!!!



Image result for yoga exhausted cartoon
Yep all I wanted was sleep  zzzzzzzzz

But as we all know.....stress levels do not equal a good nights sleep.....or good digestion or anything else that good !
When I am awake all I am thinking of is yoga yoga yoga and I am praying for sleep...and when I am asleep I am dreaming about it and wide awake after an hour or so ... full of energy NOT!!!!
Hence...why I am wide awake at 3am blogging.....
Wish me luck on my journey
(I am definitely gonna need it ! )

Image result for namaste