Paddleboard Yoga?

I have only tried paddleboarding once, and it did not go well. I don’t know if it had to do with the fact that I was getting on the board whilst in the ocean, rather than off a dock or however else you are supposed to get on a paddleboard. It also didn’t help that my younger brother kept trying to knock me off by rocking the board. Regardless, balancing, even standing-up alone, on a paddleboard is quite a feat. However, I have always heard that it is great exercise so I am more than willing to try it again. This post was inspired by an article I saw on The Huffington Post the other day about Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga, aka SUP Yoga. The article was titled 10 Reasons to Try Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga, by Jamie Walker, and provides great reason to try the fascinating practice.

Although the practice seems difficult, Walker says “it’s really a great activity for anyone looking to get a good workout, relax and enjoy nature.”

So basically, SUP Yoga is right down my alley. Here are the 10 reasons why we should try the practice.

“1. Find peace: There’s something so magical and peaceful about being out on the water. It’s a great way to find your zen and set your mind at ease. You can truly leave everything you came with somewhere deep in the water beneath you.”

This aspect definitely matters to me. 50% of my practice is intended to ease my mind. I find that nature always helps to clear my mind and get me truly relaxed.

“2. Develop a deeper sense of mindfulness: Because SUP yoga is all about balance, it will help you develop a new awareness of your breath, body and mind. Every breath, body movement and placement of your hands or feet will influence your balance.”

“3. Enjoy nature: One of my personal favorite parts about SUP yoga is that you can truly practice out in nature. You never know when a playful seal or curious bird might pop up near you. Aside from wildlife, you get sunshine, water and incredible views that you can’t get from any yoga studio.”

Nature is so very important to me. I just love being outside. If I go a day without being in the sunshine I feel as though I am losing my charge, so to speak. When I partake in yoga I prefer to be outdoors, immersed in nature so I can fully relax and focus on the practice. Yoga in the studio is not the same as yoga outdoors.

“4. Learn to balance: SUP Yoga is all about balance. If you want to work on your balance, SUP yoga will help you learn where you’re weak and where you’re strong when it comes to your balance.”

“5. Challenge yourself: Yes, it can be challenging to practice yoga on a stand up paddleboard. You can use that challenge to your advantage and deepen your practice. You might be surprised how hard some moves are (Warrior I, for instance) vs. others. Beginners to advanced yogis can benefit from challenging their practice on a SUP.

6. Slow down: We’re always rushing — whether to the office, to pick up kids or run errands — and even sometimes in our yoga practice. Being on the board will naturally slow you down and force you to focus on breath, body movement and balance. It’s a great reminder to slow down your pace and be in tune with your movements.”

“7. Amazing for your core: There’s no doubt about it. Adding SUP to your yoga practice is great for developing core strength. You no longer have the stable ground to help root you, instead you have to engage your core stabilizer muscles in order to maintain your balance and move on the board.

8. No class is ever the same: Nature is unpredictable! Some days are sunny, others might be windy (or even rainy!) and as a result your class and practice will differ each time you do it. Little waves, wind, and even sunshine will bring you to new places each time we practice.”

“9. It’s a great way to bond: SUP yoga is fun! Every class I’ve ever done has resulted in new friends and a lot of laughs.

10. Laugh a little: Sometimes we can all take ourselves a little too seriously; SUP yoga is a great way to get grounded again. When you get on the board, you leave your ego behind and let the practice take you wherever its going to take you on that day (sometimes it might even take your overboard… and you just have to laugh it off!).”

Besides sounding like a great time, SUP yoga seems like it would be perfect for me. I love nature, sunshine, and yoga! Paddleboarding I’ll have to try again though. However, it has been quite some time since the first and only time I attempted the sport, and I have been practicing yoga consistently since then. My balance has greatly improved, and I think I would be much better this time. Maybe I will just have to try and see for myself! Hopefully I have inspired others of you to try it as well.

-Namaste!

The Power of Meditation

Although meditation is not quite part of Yoga, the two practices run hand in hand. At the end of every yoga session I partake in at least 20 minutes of peaceful meditation. I prefer to sit in the sunshine when I meditate, but you can really meditate wherever you are. I used to think I was incapable of meditating since I suffer from anxiety, in which I find it difficult to control my thoughts and focus my mind. However, I found it is easiest to do both when outdoors and after a nice session of yoga.

“In recent years, mindfulness meditation, which is derived from Buddhist Vipassana techniques, has exploded in popularity. This practice centers around focusing on in-the-moment emotions, thoughts and sensations. The goal? To be able to observe whatever you’re feeling without judgment — and truly pay attention to and accept the here and now.”

According to the article How To Meditate (Even If You’re Really Impatient) by Alex Orlov, about 90.6 percent of Americans have not meditated within the last year. Contrary to that fact, “Plenty of busy people are making time for meditation: Athletes like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter, successful entrepreneurs like Arianna Huffington and Russell Simmons, and even the U.S. Army is hoping veterans can reap the benefits of mindfulness-based training.”

If you are still unsure about the practice, “Over 3,000 studies on mindfulness have demonstrated that meditating can lower anxiety, increase productivity, improve sleep and memory and reduce your risk of heart attack — in addition to a few dozen more benefits.”

Not only does it reap physical benefits, but meditation can assist one in making decisions related to business and personal matters. For example, “if you’re plagued by indecision or prone to making poor choices, meditation might help you make smarter calls, faster. One study conducted by The Wharton School and INSEAD showed that just 15 minutes of meditating helped participants concentrate on making a business decision instead of getting distracted by irrelevant factors like sunk costs.”

Still not convinced about the benefits of the practice? “…Meditation can change your brain composition — just like exercise can change your body. MRI images taken during one study conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital showed that eight weeks of meditation can increase the grey-matter density in a person’s hippocampus (an area crucial for learning and memory). The images also revealed that participants had decreased grey-matter density in the amygdala, an area that regulates stress and anxiety.”

Personally as I have gotten older, my memory capacity seems to have diminished. I meditate for a stronger mind, so that I can have better control of my thoughts. I meditate so that I can improve my memory and retain information longer. I meditate because it makes me feel good, and relaxes me while also relieving my stresses and anxieties. If you are ready to try meditating, the following are a few steps to assist you in the process.

“1. Find 10 minutes of time.
“There is a common misconception that you need to sit for hours on end and often, in our busy lives, this just isn’t possible,” says Puddicombe. He recommends that beginners start off with just 10 minutes of meditation a day. No clue how to start? Try one of these apps to help guide your practice. Or, simply set a timer to ring once your session is up.

2. Limit distractions.
Find a quiet place where other people won’t disturb you. Leave your phone in another room or, if you’re using a meditation or timer app, remember to turn it to silent mode so you won’t be interrupted by texts or Facebook notifications.

3. Get comfy.
Assume a relaxed position — but no lying down! (You don’t want to doze off.) In the Headspace Trial, Puddicombe recommends sitting upright in a chair with both feet planted on the ground and both arms at your sides or resting on your thighs. You can either close your eyes or leave them open.

4. Pick a point of focus.
Dr. Michael Gervais, Ph.D. a sports psychologist to top athletes from the Super-Bowl winning Seattle Seahawks, recommends focusing your mind on just one thing as a way to ease yourself into your practice. Pay attention to your breath, a spot on the wall, a word or even a particular sound. According to Gervais, counting your breaths can be especially effective if you’re struggling to stay present.

5. Recognize when your mind wanders.
Can’t stop your thoughts from drifting to yesterday’s big meeting or that party next weekend? Meditation is all about training yourself to “course correct in thinking and movement,” says Gervais. When your mind begins to stray, Gervais suggests gently saying “hello and goodbye” to a distracting thought in order to bring your mind back to the present moment. Acknowledge that you have become distracted. Then, without berating yourself, redirect your attention back to your practice.

6. Accept that frustration is normal.
“It is very normal to experience uncomfortable feelings during practice at first, in fact, it’s very natural,” says Puddicombe. Thoughts will invade your consciousness and your mind might be anything but calm and focused during your first meditation sessions. You might be bored, discouraged or even angry. The key is to embrace those emotions. “Simply acknowledge the feeling, recognize it is part of being human and understand that all human beings experience something similar — even if it sometimes feels like we are the only one,” he says.

7. Make meditating part of your routine.
You won’t truly see the benefits of meditation unless you commit to practicing regularly. Since building a new habit can be tricky, your best bet is to piggyback your meditation practice onto an already existing habit, says Dr. Gervais. For example, if you usually run or do yoga when you wake up, try a short seated meditation after you’ve stretched or once you’ve finished your flow.”

I hope I have inspired you to try the practice. I promise you will only reap benefits. If you like yoga, I think you will definitely like meditation. For more on meditation, visit How to Meditate for guidance on various forms and methods of the practice.

-Namaste!

Guys Can Do Yoga Too

I was getting my daily dose of yoga when I stumbled upon a great article as inspiration for my latest post. There is no doubt that when you think of yoga, you automatically assume it is a practice that is only for females… which could not be any further from the truth. In fact, a lot of the great, well-known yogis are male. For example Larry Schultz (Rocket Yoga), B.K.S. Iyengar (Iyengar Yoga), and even the Buddha were all males. Anyways, I am sharing this article with you in hopes of breaking the stereotype of yoga being solely for women!

Dude, Where’s My Mat? Meet the Guys Shattering Yoga’s ‘Housewife’ Stereotype

Did you know that “yoga was actually created by men and historically practiced by Indian warriors to strengthen themselves both physically and spiritually for battle“? Sophia Herbst goes on to say, “Sixteenth to 18th century India even saw some areas hire out bands of yogis as mercenaries (making Warrior Pose all the more aptly named).”

Not only is this interesting, but it makes so much sense! I sometimes wonder how yoga poses were formed and how they got their names. The Warrior Pose is always incorporated into my sessions, along with the few variations which I will have to get into in another post.

Herbst goes on to mention how there has been a rise in men participating in yoga, with the number increasing to 27 percent in 2013.

“1. Yoga is definitely not just for women…

Beach and Werner both had something in common when they started: They didn’t walk in with stereotypes in their heads.

“I never felt like it was a ‘woman’s’ sport, especially because of how you can take it, and how strong you can get from it,” says Werner.

2. But yoga can be a good place to meet women (if that’s your thing)

“Taking yoga classes full of girls is never a bad thing,” says Werner. In fact he met his girlfriend, another prominent yogini, Ashley Galvin, through yoga and went on to pursue his teacher training because he wanted to support her on her journey towards becoming an instructor.”

“3. And yoga clothes for men generally suck

Lululemon has announced that it plans to roll out men’s storefronts in 2016; however, only 12 percent of its sales come from its menswear line. “Men’s yoga clothes are the worst. It drives me crazy… I feel all this stuff is designed by women that have no idea how to make clothes for men,” says Werner, who mostly practices in board shorts. Anecdotal evidence shows that many male yogis will shop the women’s section of Lululemon in search of a more unisex fare, like pants where “the crotch isn’t down to my ankles.”

Here are three tips for men who have considered getting into yoga. If you want more insight, and maybe even proof of the benefits it has served these fellas, you can check out Patrick Beach and Dylan Werner on Instagram. I hope this advice has encouraged you males to check out the practice!

~Namaste

What is the Meaning of Namaste?

Today’s post is semi-educational, semi-off-topic, but mostly interesting. As I was browsing through Yoga Journal the other day, I stumbled upon an article that gave me a great idea for a post. Given it is a part of my WordPress name, I figured I would write a post on the meaning of namaste. Most yoga classes either begin or end with the teacher saying it and the class repeating it back. The problem is most people repeat it back without having any idea of its meaning. Namaste is a term associated with the practice of yoga, but it also has a much deeper meaning.

In the article The Meaning of ‘Namaste,’ Rita Geno interviews famed yoga teacher Aadil Palkhivala. “The gesture Namaste represents the belief that there is a diving spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra.” He says, “The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in by the soul in another.” Beautiful, right? In Sankrit, the work can be broken down to ‘nama’ meaning bow, ‘as’ meaning I, ‘te’ meaning you- therefore ‘i bow to you.’

In order to properly greet someone in Namaste, place your hands together at the heart chakra, close the eyes, and bow the head. The heart chakra is located in the center of your chest. To show deeper respect, you can place your palms together in front of your third eye chakra (located in the center of the forehead), bowing your head and bringing your palms down to the heart chakra.

“We bring the hands together at the heart chakra to increase the flow of Divine love. Bowing the head and closing the eyes helps the mind surrender to the Divine in the heart. One can do Namaste to oneself as a meditation technique to go deeper inside the heart chakra; when done with someone else, it is also a beautiful, albeit quick, meditation.”

Namaste is also incorporate into many yoga poses, for example, this one with Laura Sykora and her daughter practicing the more formal namaste.

Although Namaste can be used as a greeting, it is more than just saying hello. It is acknowledging the eternal spark located in the center of us, that connects all beings together. It encompasses the idea of yoga, which is why it is said and used so much in the practice. The more you know!

Namaste

@laurasykora

We all know what Instagram is; the famous picture sharing app that was purchased by Facebook a little while back. I think it’s even safe to say that most of us have an Instagram, or wanted to get one but have been too lazy to sign up for another social media site. Well, for those of you that don’t have it you are really missing out. Instagram is a fantastic way to share your ideas, creations, and simply photos with others. This allows for the user to engage with others that have similar interests. Like other social networking sites, Instagram allows for the user to follow other users that post content they like. As a result you essentially create a stream of content that is tailored specifically to what you want to see. Since I am very passionate about my bulldogs and yoga, my Instagram feed consists mainly of smooshy-faced bulldogs followed by bendy, almost impossible looking yoga moves. One of the most popular, and easily one of my favorite, users to follow is @laurasykora. Laura Sykora is a zen master, mother, and a yoga teacher who shares her talent with the world. She has over one million followers, and soon you will be able to see why.

After scrolling through a handful of her pictures, you may notice her funky, multicolored yoga pants. As a result of her talent and her InstaFame (a term for being famous on Instagram), Laura is the paid model of certain active-wear clothing lines, and as a result gets to rock their eccentric, fun yoga gear! There’s no question as to why she is so popular on the site. Not only is she incredibly talented when it comes to yoga, but she also posts pictures that people like to see. Laura sometimes features her husband and will post some partner yoga pictures. Likewise, Laura will sometimes feature her children and post some adorable mommy-and-daughter photos, like this one which features them in matching yoga pants!

Without even trying to be, Laura Sykora is a great marketer. By sharing her love for yoga she is exposing thousands of people to the practice. The poses that she shares almost invites the reader to join in and try the practice. Her posts challenge and inspire at the same time.  Furthermore, simply by photographing herself in the various yoga pants of the companies that she models for, Laura is advertising those brands to her million followers. By wearing those brands Laura is also inadvertently endorsing what they stand for. It would be interesting to see how well those companies are doing as a result of Laura. I’m sure having her wear your yoga gear would bring great attention to the brand. On that note, I am going to end this post with one more photo of the ever-flexible Laura and her funky yoga pants.

Hilaria Baldwin & Her Public Displays of Yoga

I know my previous post had to do with celebrities, but when it comes to this particular celebrity I thought she deserved her own post. For those of you who follow yoga, or those who follow celebrity gossip, you may be aware of Hilaria Baldwin and her various public displays of ‘yoga’. Hilaria is not shy to show her moves, and given how advanced she is at the practice you’ll soon understand why. Some may think that Hilaria takes it too far with her multiple displays, but others give her credit for incorporating yoga into almost every aspect of her life (or so it seems). Hilaria knows no boundaries when it comes to the practice. She strikes poses while driving, shopping, and even making smores!

Hilaria Baldwin Striking a Pose While Getting a Pedicure- Via Instagram.

Although some would say Hilaria is simply seeking attention, whatever she is doing seems to be working since she has risen to fame out of nowhere. Of course it helps that she married Alec Baldwin, but she does seem to have talent of her own. As a result of her public displays of yoga, Hilaria was recently featured on the September issue of Yoga Journal- a magazine that shares tips and lessons regarding the practice.

Hilaria Baldwin Featured on the September Issue of Yoga Journal- Via Instagram.

Hilaria takes the practice to a new level by incorporating it into regular aspects of her life. Although a lot of it may be for show, she is still finding the time to partake in the practice while also raising awareness of the practice. On her Instagram page, Hilaria posts updates of her life including a daily Yoga Posture of the Day picture. Usually she likes to get creative when coming up with daily poses, for instance one of her daily updates featured her vacuuming while striking semi-tough pose.

Hilaria Baldwin Vacuuming while Striking a Pose – Via Instagram.

Hilaria’s crazy, but totally acceptable antics have gained her the spotlight from celebrity media outlets. She has been featured on Extra, Today, and other various news sources due to her whacky yoga poses she shares with the world. Although we can safely expect Hilaria to continue with her public displays of yoga, the creative ways in which she displays her poses will continue to surprise us.

Hilaria Goofing Around with Extra TV – Via Instagram.

To get daily updates and Yoga Posture of the Day posts from Hilaria, follow her on Instagram here.

-Namaste!