Free Home Practice Online: Release Tension, Reconnect To Your Breath & Wellbeing

Join me for a practice today (and everyday) with a FREE online class I offer through Yoga Journal:

This week, many of us will take time to remember what we are grateful for in our lives. Simultaneously, much of our country is experiencing great stress and trauma. Wherever you may be this week, may you be able to pause, for even a moment, and experience a few deep breaths. And, if possible, may you take time to try one of these home practices to help create a healing shift in your body and mind.

May you be safe and well. May you be at ease.

Thank YOU for practicing.
With gratitude and love,
Jillian

A Supple Psoas Series to Leave You More Feeling Calm, Centered, and Spacious.
Known as the Stress muscle, a tight psoas can contribute to feeling irritable, restrict your breathing, and be the underlying cause of pain in your low back, hips, and even digestive system. When at in a more malleable state, this same muscle can leave you feeling grounded yet buoyant and spacious. And when free from unnecessary tension and congestion the psoas is also known as the love muscle. In this class I’ll share how the psoas relates to stress, digestion, breathing, and posture. Then we will flow through Supple Psoas Sequence that weaves together mindful slow yoga and restoratives. You'll need a mat, two blocks, and three or four yoga blankets or pillows.

Restore Your Core; Reboot Your Digestion and Wellbeing. 

In Yoga and Ayurveda we believe that digestion is the cornerstone of good health; everything that is taken in must be chewed and broken down. We must be able to assimilate that which will contribute to our wellbeing and release that which would become toxic if built up. We also know that complete digestion can only happen when our bodies and minds are ‘safe’ to Rest and Digest (parasympathetic nervous system). When we are not in this state, when we are stressed, our bodies pause all digestive functions and instead focus on the potential need to ‘Fight, Flee, or Freeze’ (sympathetic nervous system). An incredible system to heal the body, Restoratives help the kick in relaxation response, balancing the nervous system and optimizing energy flow to the organs and enhance the process of digestion. Basically they set the whole body up for deep healing, growth and repair. Join me for a simple but profound series to restore your core and help heal and reboot your entire digestive system.

You'll need two blankets, two blocks, a two bed pillows.

Pause In Gratitude to Increase Your Wellbeing!

Learn more about the incredible health effects of practicing gratitude.

There is a new generation of gratitude researchers out there who are examining the health effects of gratitude. Some of the findings are really amazing read more here.

The Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude program, a collaboration between UC Davis and the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, which studies the the psychology, sociology and neuroscience of well-being published research that shows, "when we think about someone or something we really appreciate and experience the feeling that goes with the thought, the parasympathetic (calming-branch) of the autonomic nervous system is triggered.”

This is the part of the nervous system that kicks in our Rest and Digest. Keep in mind that when the other branch - fight and flight - is activated, your body's digestion and elimination systems are stunted.

In short, pausing in gratitude, allowing yourself to connect with compassion and warmer states of heart actually help you process every thing you ingest more fully.