Yoga for a Quiet Mind

      Today's yoga class was great!  It really crystallized some thoughts that have been running through my mind.  We always begin sitting and I ask for requests for a focus for the class.  One student asked for yoga to cool a "hot" brain.  Without thinking much, I was up and running.  What I realized about halfway through the class was that I was teaching my "Take the Sting out of Stress" class in yoga format.  Who knew?
     Here is a YouTube video of a highlights version of the class.

      Better yet, if you are looking for the yoga version, here is an outline of a home practice to accomplish the same steps.  For clarity I will use the common English terms for each yoga pose.  This is going to be a bit long, so here are two versions (the Readers Digest and the full length...)

Short Version

Breathe- Sit quietly, noticing your breath.  Encourage the exhale to become longer than the inhale.

Affirm- Give your mind something concrete to focus on, rather than running loops around whatever subject is currently driving you crazy.  In class we used 4 alignment points (feet, hips, shoulders and hands).  For our purposes, pick one and as you do your active practice, notice the alignment in each pose.  A few sun salutations would be a good choice.

Relax-  Come into a wide legged forward bend, resting your head on a block (or stack of blocks).  Let the mind begin to quiet.  Do a few standing poses like Warrior 2, side angle and triangle.  In each pose, place your back hand on the base of your skull and relax into it. If your toes are turned toward the right, use your left hand.
             Lay down in corpse pose (savasana) or sit for seated meditation.  Set a timer for 5 minutes and allow the body and mind to rest.  Enjoy.

Long Version



Breathe

• Sit quietly, notice how you feel. Crazy is okay, just notice it.  Feel the texture and quality of your emotions.
• Begin to notice your breath.  Allow the exhale to lengthen.  As you breathe with a longer exhale and a shorter inhale, the parasympathetic nerve system rises to the top relaxing the body.

Affirmation

• The affirmation is to give your mind something positive to think about.  In yoga we can accomplish the same thing by moving the body with care and attention.
• As you sit, set an affirmation that for the next few minutes you will focus on your body.
• Begin by noticing your feet.  Look down and make them parallel through the second toe.  Move the heels out slightly to encourage a relaxed low back.  In our class we used 4 points of alignment, but for a quick home practice, one is enough
• Move through a sun salutation, noticing your feet with each posture.  Move from mountain, to standing forward bend, into a high lunge, back to downward facing dog.  Keep noticing your feet with each move. Come forward into plank, slowly lower down to the ground.  Feel the tops of the feet as they press down into your mat.  Press up to a small cobra, and move back to downward facing dog.  Bring one foot forward into a lunge, then the other to a forward bend.  Inhale up to mountain.  Repeat several times, really paying attention to the four corners of the feet and making a beautiful arch.

Relax

• Lay down with your feet up the wall.  Allow the hips to be very heavy.  Touch the big toes together to inward spiral the leg and move the flesh of the bottom out to the side. Place one hand on your forehead or place an eye bag on your forehead and let your body relax into the floor.
• After a few minutes, slide the feet down to about knee height and move a bit away from the wall. Let the hip creases become very deep.  If you need help to release the low back, move the feet apart and drop the knees, one at a time, inward towards the floor.  Keep inward spiraling the legs until the low back clears.
• Roll to your right side and come to standing.  Grab a brick or stack of books and place it in front of your mat.  Come to a wide legged stance, making sure to move the heels out to protect the knee joint.  Forward bend onto your support and adjust as necessary, we'll be here awhile. Let your body relax.  If your head gets closer to the floor, adjust your support again (turn the block to a narrower width or remove a book).
• Come back to standing.  Bring your feet together if your legs are tired, then move into warrior 2.  Bring the back hand to the base of the skull and press your head into your hand.  Notice how this alignment relaxes the body.  Repeat this on the other side.
• Come into triangle with your hand on a block (remember we are relaxing!). Turn the upper part of your body towards the floor and place the hand on the back of the head as before.  Gently press the back of your head into your hand, then roll the body open toward the front of the room or towards the sky.  Extend the arm if you like. Repeat on the other side.
• Come back to upright, move the legs together, then lay down on the floor.  Notice your body, if it would like any other poses (like happy baby or a prone twist), do them now then begin to settle.  Again, you may place something (your hand, a towel, an eye bag) on your forehead.  Relax the body. If you like someone to talk you into savasana, here is my meditation video.  Start it playing at 1:15 to skip me talking about the meditation.

• Enjoy!