Each week we’ll be exploring a restorative yoga pose or breathing technique with images/video and tips. Check in at Lacuna Loft on Wednesdays to anchor your week with peace, grounding, + community (and don’t forget to join the dialogue all week long)! Excited to journey together.
Restor(y)ing Mind+Body+Soul (pt.1)
The weather is getting colder (at least where I live), the trees are changing colors, my feet are bound up in wooly socks, and I’m wearing a jacket outside. It is fall. And as it gets colder, I find myself hugging in more, wrapping up more, staying in more. Physically, my shoulders start to cave forward and my back curls with them to hold the heat near my essential organs. And then I’m looking down at the pavement instead of into the eyes of those I pass by. I’m hurrying to my next place to get warm again. The night falls sooner and I hide away in my cave (home).
Much of the withdrawing that fall (and winter) invite us into is a beneficial season of rest after long playful summer days. But it prompts me to wonder, how much of this physical withdrawing translates into how I’m living? Where am I pulling away, guarding my heart, and staying small? Cold, tight, difficult, and dark seasons in our lives can often leave us pulled into ourselves… and yet I want to be like the bright colorful trees, sharing their joy and creative love-dance with passersby. I want to be a human with an open heart, expressive, vulnerable, and ready to love, no matter the season (or temperature), because we are made to be connected. Â
Nurture yourself while keeping your heart open to LOVE as the weather gets colder by practicing this yoga pose with me this week:
Ingredients:
1 perfect space (big enough to lay down, warm, relaxing, quiet/soft music, and cozy floor or carpet/rug/blanket/towel)
1 rolled blanket, yoga block, or book wrapped in a thick towel
15-20 minutes (and maybe a timer)
In your perfect space, lay down on your back. Grab your block/roll and place it underneath your shoulder blades, about halfway down the blades. Relax into the support of the block/roll and the ground. Invite your heart and chest to open up to the sky, lifted by the support. Let your head, neck and lower back sink into the earth. Send your breath to the front of your body, opening the ribs wide as you inhale, making room for the heart. Breathe intentionally like this for 10-20 breaths and then relax the breath and body. Enjoy!
Note: If you want to set a phone timer so that you aren’t worried about the ‘next’ thing, just make sure you put your phone on airplane mode so you are free from interruption!
Bonus: Wear your favorite fuzzy socks and add a blanket on top to keep you cozy and warm. Journal (and comment below!) about how you feel after each practice – aim for once a day for a whole week and see what you notice in your body and in your life.
 and uses it everyday. I will admit that I love the feel and smell of a real book but I may be converted one day 🙂  When walking around a big city, finding a bench outside or place to perch in a department store is pretty easy.  Just sit down for a few minutes, letting your friends/family that you’re traveling with know where to find you and when they might expect you to be ready to go again… and relax!
 or 
? Â If you can convince a friend to take a break with you, the two of you (or more?) will be set for 30 minutes of relaxation no problem!
, 
, and am about to start 
. Â (I’m typically reading more than one book at once.) Â If you’re looking for more of a memoir kind of read, an acquaintance of mine just published one entitled 
 about his journey as a young adult with cancer.
 if you haven’t seen it already!  Really fun spy show 🙂
 and your 
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 is nicknamed the wookie in my house and is loved by humans and dogs alike. 🙂
. Â I am also a huge fan of 
.
