Yoga master Carter Miles guides you through a soothing breathing routine to reduce stress and anxiety and restore emotional balance

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Ten minutes…that’s all it takes for this gentle breathwork to calm and restore your brain. Of course, you can repeat it as often as you like. If you find yourself off-kilter, unfocused, nervous, anxious or overwhelmed…give it a try. It’s particularly helpful before bedtime.

If you want a more ambitious breathwork routine, try Carter’s Best Self Breathwork: Daily Practice.

If you want a short, restorative yoga practice to realign your spine, relieve back pain and improve your flexibility (and mood!), try Carter’s Yogic Posture Reset.

The post Brain Reset: Gentle Breathwork to Calm Your Nervous System and Mind appeared first on BEST SELF.

This 20-minute, yoga-inspired practice is medicine for back pain and tightness, and a salve for your mental wellbeing

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This practice, while benefiting nearly everyone, will be especially helpful for you if you have sciatica or notice achiness in your joints, hips, spine, back, shoulders or neck. Sitting at a computer all day? Take a break with these postural alignments, which you can do on the floor or carpet — no mat required.

Looking for a gentle morning yoga routine to help you wake up and greet the day with an energized and open mind and body? Try Carter’s Morning Yoga & Meditation.

Want a higher-intensity yoga practice? Try Carter’s Inner Power Warrior Flow.

The post Yogic Posture Reset for Flexibility and Back Pain Relief appeared first on BEST SELF.

Join Carter Miles in this introductory breathwork practice for improved health and emotional wellbeing.

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If you haven’t experienced the power of breathwork yet, you are in for a treat. This 25-minute practice will guide you through a few simple breathing techniques which will help you get a feel for how breathwork works.

The two reasons why I practice & teach breathing… One, for a healthy body and Two, for a healthy mind.

The way that we breathe affects how well oxygen (our primary source of energy) is delivered to the cells. Enhancing or optimizing the circulation and delivery of oxygen is a vitally important part of health maintenance and of healing. It is easily possible to increase the oxygen delivery within our cells 50-100% which means much more available energy for the body to perform it’s life sustaining functions and much more available energy for us to play, learn, explore and live.

The way that we breathe also affects how our nervous system behaves (I’m calling this the mind). Keeping a light, steady and calm breath creates a similar experience in the mind. The nervous systems calm down, we shift out of Sympathetic (fight or flight) and into Parasympathetic (rest, digest & restore), which is also a necessary part of health. No organism can live long or well in Sympathetic activation, but so many of us are living with much sympathetic dominance, which leads to all sorts of stress-related issues, diseases and psychological disorders.

If you’d like to learn more about breathing, check me out (Carter Miles) at cartermilesyoga.com or on my instagram @cartermilesyoga. Feel free to reach out with any questions.

You may also enjoy Best Self Yoga: Inner Power Warrior Flow with Carter Miles

The post Best Self Breathwork: Daily Practice appeared first on BEST SELF.

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

A quest for balance and healthy living inspires celebrity yoga twins to share their chakra-loving “recipes” for life

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Lions, tigers and chakras…oh my!

Balance has become a buzz word. In this world of constant hustle and bustle, gadgets and gurus—attaining this notion of “being balanced” is enough to make one dizzy. And when we are overwhelmed with not knowing how and where to start…we often don’t.

There’s a lot to sort through on the path to achieving this harmonious peace we all seek. It starts by pausing and uncomplicating things. One of the most powerful lessons that life has taught us is that most of the answers to life’s dilemmas are already right there inside each of us. Seek no further…you’ve got this! Isn’t that a relief in itself?

Our journeys may look very different from the outside, but it is the same energy flowing through each of us that guides us along the way.

The key to staying in balance is recognizing when we are out of balance. There is no golden recipe or magic wand to achieve a state of constant bliss. Life is a perpetual ebb and flow of falling in and out of harmony in different areas of our lives. To feel and to flow is to be human.

We get it—we’re both moms and entrepreneurs who run our own businesses and have houses full of teenagers (enough said). So, feeling a degree of chaos is to be expected in the busyness of life. It’s what we do with our “chaos” and how we navigate it that matters most. Learning and understanding the merit of our chakras and our “energy bodies” has helped us both understand how to recognize when we need more self-care in certain areas of our lives. In other words, it’s how we reset and recalibrate. When we are out of alignment, it is simply shining the spotlight on where our attention is needed.

The Yogic principles of the energy system can be confusing, but instead of trying to understand all the complexities of an ancient philosophy, sometimes it’s better to just learn how to feel it.

We all know what anxiety feels like; for me it might be a queasy feeling in my stomach, but for you the muscles in your lower back might tighten up. Regardless, we both need to get grounded in our root chakra. A simple walk outside barefoot or the right essential oil can bring you right back to feeling secure and trusting in the Universe again. I’m serious, it’s that simple once you begin to understand the power of connection to yourself.

The chakras are like a recipe that help categorize and integrate the ingredients for creating balance. We each have different measurements (and different needs) to make it right for us. Most of us have long been connecting to our chakras without even knowing it. The last time you got dressed up and went out dancing because you were in a rut—you were healing your sacral chakra. You probably left the dance floor invigorated. You felt more confident after a hard ab workout because your solar plexus was on fire. We all know that self-care helps us to care for those around us, and who doesn’t feel more alive after belting out their favorite song in the car or shower? When we can slow down and quiet all of the noise that surrounds us (even if just temporarily), we start to hear that little voice that is always there ready, to guide us back to feeling centered. If we stumble or feel off our game, we can get back up simply by realigning with our chakras.

It is from this quest and desire that our journey to creating “The ChinTwins”, our new show airing on The Design Network (debuting February 16^th), was born.

This series explores how we can seek balance in everything we do. Each episode highlights a chakra and illustrates how our energy centers can be balanced through mindful living by cultivating a holistic approach to our homes, style, beauty routines and cooking. 

From preparing meals for our families, to throwing a party to commune with others, and indulging in self-care to organizing your kitchen—every aspect of this series will take the viewer on a journey to reconnect with their chakras. Each week, The ChinTwins will simplify some of yoga’s more complex principles and to make it fun, accessible and easy to slow down and look inward. 

Join us as we prepare a dish inspired by visiting local artisans in Woodstock, New York, where we learn their craft and hear their stories. Each dish hosts a “Golden Ingredient” that we twist into a DIY beauty treatment. From your root chakra to your third eye chakra, we will explore them all and discover how to nourish ourselves while feeding others. The kitchen is where we gather, where we stop everything and work together to create a common comfort.

We focus on each other, share our lives and savor memories from the past and most of the time we learn something new. Sometimes we laugh, sometimes we cry, but we always share a little bit of our heart in our food. 

Please tune in as we gather, ground, feast and spread the love…one chakra at a time!

Root Chakra 

Join us as we connect with our roots by visiting a local market steeped in tradition, and by preparing our grandmother’s famous dumplings. If you are grounded to your foundation, you can move mountains! Allow your roots to support you and stay connected by passing on your family’s traditions in the kitchen and beyond. 

Sacral Chakra 

We have always valued the idea of balancing work and play, so when it comes time to take a break, we love to express our creativity through entertaining! Let’s explore how our passions can create our realties, and how to harness that energy! Join us, as we throw a Fiesta and visit local creatives who express themselves through their craft. 

Solar Plexus 

Discovering your inner strength is the key to a happy and successful life. Come with us today as we visit a breathtaking location that will inspire us to declutter and get organized and then heat things up in the kitchen with a healthy competition! Let’s discover how to clean out old habits and find our own power! 

Heart Chakra

Let’s get down to the heart of the matter! Before we can care for others, we need to start with loving and caring for ourselves. It’s time to scrub away the past and shower ourselves with self-care at a fabulous spa, then create a succulent dish inspired by our beauty treatment. By embracing the present moment with an open heart, we can all glow and share our inner light.

Throat Chakra

Get ready to bite into the bread of life at a local bakery and soothe your soul with their creations, then head back to our kitchen as we try out the new techniques we learned. When we get into the flow of life, we can communicate our own unique magic.

Third Eye Chakra

Roll up your sleeves and join us as we dig deep into a local garden to harvest roots and herbs for a seasonal Ayurvedic dish that will balance all of our elements. True balance is found when we listen to what our bodies need and let nature be the guide. 

TRAILER FOR THE SERIES

You may also enjoy reading A Body of Art: A Celebration of Life in Motion, by the ChinTwins

The post One Chakra at a Time: Shifting into Your Best Self with the ChinTwins  appeared first on BEST SELF.

A 60-minute Warrior-centric Yoga flow for unblocking energy, cultivating INNER power and Embodying peace.

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We grow from challenge, it’s how we become stronger. And it’s in the face of challenge, if we can stay calm, that we become more resilient, less reactive, and more empowered. This yoga series is to bring out the peaceful, powerful warrior within us.

After breathing in stillness, we’ll move quickly through the Surya series’ (Sun A’s and B’s), then slow down for our standing series and finally we’ll sit for our cool down.

** If you are new to yoga or if your body isn’t feeling so great today, try one of our more restorative practices:

Best Self Yoga Flow for Flexibility and Relaxation

Morning Yoga & Meditation for Energy, Awareness and Intention

Sleep Better… A Few Stretches for Bedtime

The post Best Self Yoga: Inner Power Warrior Flow appeared first on BEST SELF.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Whether we need to forgive ourselves or others, it’s important that we process our healing not just in our minds, but in our bodies.

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Whether we need to forgive ourselves or others, it’s important that we process our healing not just in our minds, but in our bodies. So much of our past trauma and lived experience is held in the physical body. In the yoga tradition it is believed that true healing comes from the combination of equal parts action and equal parts intention. Couple this physical yoga sequence with the intention of forgiveness to experience a profound release and transformation of heart.

A shift of consciousness

Guilt in its healthy expressions is a temporal emotion which allows us to experience genuine remorse. Similarly, anger toward someone whom we trusted and let us down, helps us to reflect on our boundaries, expectations, or maybe standards within a relationship. However, when either of these emotions become a permanent theme of consciousness, they begin to drain our energy and create a self-sabotaging cycle. A good practice for allowing ourselves to fully feel our emotions without getting stuck is to give ourselves a physical practice such as this sequence to process our hurt feelings while simulating a physical experience to release and move through our emotions.

All of the following poses should be practiced with full presence on the situation you are processing. All poses can be modified or adjusted to fit your abilities or comfort.

Fire Log Pose (Agnistambhasana)

Our emotions are held in our second chakra, the sacral chakra. Thus, whenever we are carrying heavy emotions our hips tighten. Invite the hips to release any stored guilt or anger with every exhalation. As the hips relax, notice a shift in your emotional body.

Hold for 3-5 minutes per side.

• Sit square with the edge of your mat and stack one shin on top of the other.
• Activate your feet.
• Place your hands on your top knee to add weight or hinge forward at the hips upon exhaling to fold forward.
• You can create a pillow for your forehead on your forearms.

Camel Pose (Ustrasana)

Our heart chakra is home to our eternal soul. Everything we have experienced in this life up until this point has shaped our heart. Every struggle, every set back, and every mistake is a perfect part of our story. As you lean into this pose, honor all of your life experiences (the good and the bad) with love, acceptance, and total grace.

Hold for 3-5 full breaths

• Separate your knees hip width apart to stand on your shins
• Bring your hands to your low back, fingers pointing down
• Roll your shoulders back and done until you feel the tips of your shoulder blades pressing your heart forward
• Inhale, press your hips forward while you arch back any amount
• Option to stay here with your hands on your low back or on an exhalation reach back for your heels one hand at a time
• You may tuck your toes under to bring your heels up higher
• When exiting the pose, bring your hands back to your low back and sit onto your heels to rest

Wheel Pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana)

Continuing to open and release the heart chakra, take wheel pose while repeating these affirmations either silently or aloud.

1. “I forgive myself and others. I let go of the past.”
2. “It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay for others to make mistakes.”
3. “I extend the same love and compassion to myself that I would give to another.”

Hold for 3-5 full breaths

• Lie down on your back, bend your knees and plant your feet hip width apart
• Bring your hands over head and place your palms down next to your ears with your fingers pointing toward your body
• On an inhale breath, press your feet and hands into the mat you lift yourself off of the mat
• Begin to straighten your arms while hugging your elbows in toward your ears
• Let your head hang freely or try to look toward your feet
• To exit the pose, slowly bend your knees and elbows to gracefully lower yourself back to the mat
• Option to modify and replace this pose with bridge pose instead.

Happy Baby (Ananda Balasana)

Connect with your inner child and feelings of innocence. We are all doing the best we can with what we know and what we were given.

Hold for 1-3 minutes

• Lay on your back and bend your knees to grab the insides of your feet
• Draw your knees down to the floor outside of your rib cage
• Stack your heels over your knees and flex through your feet
• Draw your sacrum down to the mat and imagine all your vertebrae imprinting on the earth
• Option to rock side to side

Three Part Breathing

Allow yourself to be born anew, letting go fully of the past. Remind yourself that every new moment is another opportunity to start over and choose again.

Breathe for 3-5 minutes

• Lay on your back and bring your heels together to breathe butterfly wing legs. (If you feel pressure in your low back straighten your legs instead)
• Place one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly
• Take a deep inhale breath through your nose and intentionally fill first your low belly, then expand your ribs, and lastly fill your chest with air
• Exhale all three parts out through your mouth making an audible sigh out

If you are stuck in loop thinking from past hurts, please give yourself this gift of forgiveness.

“Thinking” about it usually doesn’t create healing. We’ve got to penetrate our subconscious mind and get deeper into the soul. Body movement, breath work, and intention are just some of the tools that can help us get out of our heads and into our body and soul.

You may also enjoy reading Sleep Better… A Few Stretches for Bedtime, by Carter Miles

The post A Yoga Practice for Forgiveness appeared first on BEST SELF.

Slow down, take some deep breaths and release the tension from your body with these stretches to sleep better tonight!

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Finally, the day is done and we make our way towards the bed, we crawl in… but no sleep comes. Sometimes the mind-body has trouble fully relaxing, the excitement (or stressors!) and memories of the day are still alive in our minds and active through our muscles.

This yoga series provides a simple and calm way to release the stored up energy of the day, slow down and prepare us for sleep (total time 20-25 minutes).

Baddha Konasana

Start in a seated position, bring the soles of your feet together with the knees falling outwards. Inhale: open your arms; exhale: give yourself a hug and fold forward. Let your skull hang heavy and breathe into your back body. Stay for 2-3 minutes.

Paravrtta Janu Sirsasana

Extend the left leg out and bring the sole of the right foot to the left inner thigh. Sit up tall, inhale: right arm up; exhale: reach your right arm outside your left thigh, calf, ankle or foot. Hold on with your hand, but relax everything else. Let your skull hang and breath into your low back. Stay for 2 minutes and then switch sides.

Upavistha Konasana

Extend your legs outwards with the toes straight up. Sit upright and inhale: lengthen your spine. Exhale: fold forward as much as you can and then relax totally. Breathe easy. Stay for 2-3 minutes.

Kapotanasana

Bring the right leg forward with the knee at 90 degrees (or a little less), the left leg is extended back. Even your weight so your hips are pointed forwards and your weight is not falling to one side. Stay upright for 1 minute, this is to open the left hip flexor. Inhale slowly then exhale: fold forward laying over your right leg; this is for the right outer hip and glute muscles. Stay here for 2 minutes and then switch sides.

Jathara Parivartanasana

Start lying on your back, bring the right knee in and inhale. Exhale: take your knee across your body and open your right arm out. Bring your left hand onto your right thigh and gaze over your right shoulder. Breathe slowly, down into your belly and allow your breath to unlock the twist. Stay for 2 minutes and then switch sides.

Halasana

Press your hands down by your hips and then swing your legs up and over head (they may touch the ground, but maybe not). Hands can be on the spine for support, lazy by the sides, or reaching back towards the feet (as the photo shows). Keep your neck long and soft, breathe into your back body. Stay here for 2-5 minutes and then roll out.

** If this is too much on your neck, bring your knees into your chest and hug around your shins instead.

Svasana

Lay flat on your mat for a few minutes or crawl right into bed and rest!

You may also enjoy Best Self Yoga Flow for Flexibility and Relaxation with Carter Miles

The post Sleep Better… A Few Stretches for Bedtime appeared first on BEST SELF.

Is yoga beneficial for sciatica? Yes! Here are the 7 best yoga poses for sciatica pain

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If you have sciatica, you know how challenging it can be to get through daily life without pain. But there is a solution that could help relieve your pain and assist your recovery. 

Yoga is well-known for benefits centering on flexibility, core strength, and mindfulness. But it’s also a great way to treat a variety of ailments, including sciatica. Yoga can help you build strength, alleviate pain, and may even help improve your quality of life.  

Below, we’ll dive into how it can help including the best poses for sciatica relief…

What Is Sciatica?

When you have pain along your sciatic nerve, this is referred to as “sciatica.” The sciatic nerve is the longest in the human body, beginning in your lower back and traveling through the backs of your legs to your feet. When you have sciatica pain, you may feel sensations akin to burning, tingling, or numbness. This pain can range from slight to severe discomfort, often making menial tasks difficult to complete.

Sciatica has a number of different causes. Anything from inflammation to irritation to pinched nerves or a herniated disc. Compression can also cause sciatic issues, as can conditions like pregnancy or obesity. Severe cases may require surgery to correct this issue, but yoga can be beneficial in milder cases.

Yoga can help relieve sciatica pain by stretching and strengthening the affected areas such as the lower back and legs. Certain poses aim to realign the back and improve posture, which helps reduce the symptoms and associated risks of sciatica.

The Best Yoga Poses for Sciatica Pain

All of the following poses for sciatica relief can be achieved with a beginner’s level of experience or modified to accommodate for less flexibility. You can also employ any modifications that feel comfortable or are safer for you. 

Child’s Pose (Balasana)

Child’s Pose aims to strengthen and lengthen your spine as well as relax your entire body. This pose also stretches your hips, thighs, and lower back to increase flexibility and openness through these areas.

This is also a great pose to return to whenever you feel tired or overexerted. You can rest easy in this position, and the points of contact on your body will help to re-center your focus.

• Begin on your hands and knees.
• Sink backward onto your heels, keeping your arms extended above your head.
• Rest with your knees on either side of your torso and your forehead against the yoga mat. If necessary, use a pillow under your chest, forehead, or thighs for extra support.
• Allow yourself to completely relax.
• Breathe deep and hold this pose for up to five minutes.

Downward-Facing Dog (Adho mukha svanasana)

This pose helps to realign your spine while also providing relief from pain and lower back tension. Beyond its advantages for sciatica, Downward-Facing Dog also promotes balance and strength for your entire body.

• Begin on your hands and knees.
• Raise your hips and push into your hands to bring yourself into an upside-down “V” position.
• Straighten your back and neck to keep your head aligned with your arms.
• Relax your shoulders and breathe deep.
• Bend your knees slightly for a greater stretch through your lower back.
• For further intensity, slowly peddle your feet (lift one heel as the other drops, and repeat on the other side).
• Hold this pose for up to one minute.

Cobbler’s Pose (Baddha Konasana)

Also known as the Bound Angle Pose or the Butterfly Hinge, the Cobbler’s Pose opens your hips and relieves the tension in your lower back.

• Begin seated on your mat.
• Place the soles of your feet together, similar to the butterfly stretch.
• Allow your knees to fall gently into an open position. For extra support, use pillows under your knees.
• Sit up straight and tall to lengthen your spine, breathing deep.
• For a more challenging position, bend at the waist and walk your hands forward on your mat until you are folded over your legs.
• Hold your folded position for about thirty seconds at a time and an upright position for up to one minute.

This pose might increase discomfort when the additional forward bend is attempted. If this is the case, avoid the bend and instead stick with the upright position as a modification.

Locust Pose (Salabhasana)

This pose helps to bring stability to your core and lower back while also strengthening your spine, thighs, and glutes. In addition to helping sciatica symptoms, it also helps with circulation and flexibility through your hips. A controlled movement will better increase your strength and decrease the risk of pulling a muscle.

• Begin lying on your stomach.
• Slowly raise your head and shoulders off the mat as high as possible while lifting your arms behind yourself.
• Lift both or one of your legs off the mat for a greater challenge, engaging your core and your glutes.
• Breathe as deeply as possible.
• Hold this pose for up to thirty seconds at a time.

Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

Similar to the Locust Pose, the Cobra Pose strengthens and stabilizes your spine. It also promotes circulation and helps to strengthen your glutes. The key with this pose is to invoke good posture by putting your shoulders back and opening your chest. This will help to better align your spine and take any pressure off your lower back.

• Begin lying on your stomach.
• Bring your hands up to your shoulders and place them firmly on the mat.
• Lift your shoulders and chest while inhaling deeply, keeping your elbows close to your sides.
• Open your shoulders to keeping your chest open while descending your shoulder blades.
• Engage your abdominal muscles and thighs.
• Breathe and hold for at least thirty seconds.

For a modified Cobra Pose, keep your forearms on the mat instead of just your palms.

Reclined Pigeon Pose (Supta Kapotasana)

This version of the Pigeon Pose helps to take the strain off your lower back while stabilizing your position. Pressure is alleviated from your hips as you stretch your glutes, hips, and piriformis muscle, a muscle found in the hip that can cause sciatica by being too tight.

• Begin laying on your back. 
• With knees bent, place your feet flat on the floor.
• Lift your left leg and put your left ankle over top of your right knee to form a number “4” shape.
• If you feel a deep stretch, stop here.
• For a more intense stretch, lift your right foot off the ground.
• Bring your hands around the back of your right thigh and lace your fingers together to hold your leg as close to your chest as you like.
• Breathe and hold for up to one minute.
• Repeat for the other leg.

If this pose is too difficult even with your foot on the floor, try moving it further away from your body. This will soften the angle of your knee and put your crossed ankle at a less severe angle to the hip you are stretching.

Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)

Predominantly known as an abdominal exercise, the Bridge Pose helps to strengthen and stabilize your core. It also stretches the front of your spine and hip flexors while building musculature in your glutes and thighs.

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
• Leave your arms at your sides with your hand’s palm down.
• Lift your hips up from the floor to make a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. Keep your hips level to prevent rotation or a twisted torso.
• If required, use a pillow between your knees to keep them apart and help with alignment.
• Hold in place for up to one minute.

You may also enjoy Best Self Yoga Flow for Flexibility and Relaxation with Carter Miles

The post Yoga for Sciatica: Seven Poses to Relieve Lower Back Pain appeared first on BEST SELF.

A podiatrist muses about more than feet, he celebrates life and a surprising secret ingredient for happiness…movement

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Put your best foot forward…
Baby Steps…
Put one foot in front of the other…
Jump in feet first…
Put your toe in the water
One step at a time…

So many choices. What direction are your feet taking you?

Where is it you want to go? What is your biggest dream that’s still sitting inside of you? Is there a project, a great idea? Challenges getting started? Could your feet have the answer? If not, why so many foot metaphors? Hmmmm.

As a foot doctor for over 35 years, these sayings come in handy, especially for a podiatrist who admits to enjoying puns. And my patients smile and some even chuckle when I share one of the above or say it’s time to “get back on your feet.”

And yes, I too had a project I had been putting off for years (decades actually). I got moving because my patients inspire me. They inspire me to teach, to share, to do. And I do my best to inspire them too.

The project I put off for years: writing a book. It’s now done. Finished. It’s in the books. (Yes, I warned you — I love puns.)

My goal: Inspire as many as I can to keep your body in motion, your mind active, and to feel and appreciate joy.

My podiatry practice is a representation of our world. From babies to seniors. Cradle to grave as they say. I see a runner with foot pain training for the marathon, followed by a senior with a walker who has suffered the pain and indignity of too many falls.

I see a disappointed athlete with a broken foot, followed by a diabetic who fears losing theirs. Bunions straightened and painful ingrown nails removed.

I feel so fortunate to do what I do. I make people feel better. I improve the quality of a person’s life. Someone comes in with a challenge and leaves with a solution. It’s rewarding. I perform a service; this is the job I’m fortunate to do. I have been gifted an amazing profession that each day inspires me to give back to my patients.

The giveback comes in the form of education, a kind word, a compliment — hope. I start my workday with great energy and enthusiasm. At end of day I usually finish with a run. My run does not deplete more energy; it restores it. 

Movement is my reset button.

Who are my patients that inspire me the most? I get the most joy when I see a senior in their 90’s (or above) who comes in with a smile and a story. I am especially delighted with seniors who maintain an active lifestyle. They walk, they play cards, they read, they laugh, they get out, they socialize, they are happy. I ask them to share their secrets.

Trust me, I see too many who are unhappy with the life that has become theirs. They are in pain. They feel old. They are stiff. They can’t do what they used to do. They feel life has cheated them, and they always say “getting old isn’t what it is cracked up to be.” And the more familiar “don’t get old!”

What do I believe? That life is a choice. That there are options. That all are not created equal. That you can’t always get what you want. That too many people give up. That people are stuck in their beliefs. That too many have stopped learning. That emotional pain can be more destructive than physical pain.

What else do I believe? That you can change. That it’s never too late. 

That a smile is easy to put on your face. That kindness never gets old. That you get more than one chance to do it right. That your best self is still inside of you. And most importantly, life is amazing.

I listen to my patients and learn. Both from the happy and the not so happy. I am a trusted confidant. I hear the voices that say I wish I did more with my life. I hear the regrets of those who stayed in abusive relationships. I feel the sorrow of those who have lost love or have never loved. I hear loneliness. I hear the fear of moving from the only home they have known to a nursing home. I hear the struggle to stay independent. I hear the wish if only I could do things over.

Then I see those who feel joy and bring joy to others. They see the good in people. They see gifts all around them. They marvel at the life they have lived. They still want to make the world a better place.

I have found evidence of what separates the happy from the less than happy (yes, you can call them ‘the unhappy’). It can feel like a secret because we don’t all have access to the clues. The preponderance of evidence has revealed to me my most important lessons.

Happiness is about movement. Movement of your body and movement of your mind. 

The mind/body relationship cannot be separated. The more you move your body, the more your mind is free to seek joy.

Movement provides thought, creativity, and solutions. Movement returns energy and removes negativity. Movement improves both mindset and matter. And the matter we are talking about is in your brain. It responds to and grows from exercise. And this is one place where size truly does matter.

So, I want to inspire anyone I can to stay active. Especially as you age, we must remember Newton’s law of physics which states: An object in motion stays in motion, and an object at rest stays at rest.

So please stay in motion. Keep your body moving, keep your mind active. This is a fact of life. You can’t defeat gravity and you can’t stop the clock. But you can be the happiest and healthiest person you can be.

Life is a continual series of choices. Choose exercise and movement, then make it so it’s not a choice. Make it your life.

So, get out and walk, pick up pickleball, find an exercise partner. Do something new. Get a step counter. Listen to podcasts. Take an exercise class. Join a meetup group. Go to a concert. Take a walk in the rain. Plan a trip. Find your passion. 

Whatever you do… just keep moving.

So, baby steps or a toe in the water? Just make sure to put your best foot forward. Maybe your feet really do have all the answers. Where would you like them to take you?

You may also enjoy reading Morning Yoga & Meditation for Energy, Awareness and Intention by Carter Miles

The post Put Your Best Foot Forward (Literally): Embracing The Power of Movement appeared first on BEST SELF.

A gentle, relaxing and energizing yoga flow followed by body-focused meditation for a morning (or anytime) self-care ritual

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Our yoga flow today starts with simple motions to integrate our awareness, breath and bodies all together. We’ll loosen up the major joints of the body, start to activate the muscles and then work into some vinyasa (breath to movement) work.

We’ll then work into Sun Salutations, which are one of the oldest yoga sequences we know, designed to release tension through the body, energize the spine, increase circulation and coordinate the different nervous systems of the body and the opposite hemispheres of the brain. We’ll play with a little balancing work to focus the mind and open it into a more receptive, experiential state.

We’ll finish off with a short meditation. We’ll rotate our attention to different parts of the body as a means of solidifying the mind-body connection and quieting down the thoughts.

All together this flow is perfect to ground down, to energize, to awaken the mind-body connection and start the day or to reset!

You may also enjoy Best Self Yoga Flow for Flexibility and Relaxation, by Carter Miles.

The post Morning Yoga & Meditation for Energy, Awareness and Intention appeared first on BEST SELF.

A fitness expert reveals a journey of transformation — from depression, detachment, and eating disorders — to a healthy, connected life of movement 

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I grew up as a dancer. You may think being a dancer must be fabulous (and it can be), but let me tell you — it’s a lot of pressure to feel like you always have to be skinny and perfect!

I looked at the other dancers — some of them were tall and really skinny with legs for days. I, on the other hand, was just 5’4” and starting to get curves. I thought I was supposed to look like those other girls, so I not only monitored everything I put in my mouth, I obsessed over it. What I didn’t know is that when you don’t eat, your anxiety and obsessive behavior only get worse.

My need for perfection escalated when I went off to earn a dance degree in college. It was strange to be graded on my every move. The joy was sapped right out of me, and suddenly, dancing became only about becoming a better dancer. I began to believe that whatever I did and how I did it was never enough. I believed I wasn’t enough.

As I continued through that first semester, I began to feel really ‘off’. It got harder and harder to drag myself to dance class each day. I didn’t feel like socializing, and in my down time, all I wanted to do was sleep.

Then I came across a magazine article about depression. It listed the symptoms, and I was shocked to recognize myself within them.

Really? I was depressed? How did this happen? 

Keep in mind, this was before there were hundreds of drug commercials on TV offering up a solutions for depression. It wasn’t talked about that much, so the stigma was even more widespread than it is today.

After reading that article, I still felt alone, but I was relieved to find out there was a name for what I was experiencing and perhaps even some help for it. But before I could do anything about my depression, I received news that dwarfed everything. 

My mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

It further shook every foundation I had managed to build in my young life. The idea that I could possibly lose my mom before I was 20 made me feel helpless and out of control.

Even so, there was an amazing aspect to the experience. Mom had always believed in the mind-body connection, so while she had chemotherapy and a hysterectomy like her Western doctors advised, she also found a wonderful cancer wellness center where they taught meditation, Tai Chi, and nutrition.

When I was home from school, I watched my mother in awe. She wasn’t about to let her illness stop her. Every day, she put on her cute hat to cover her bald head, and went out into the world, making the most of whatever energy she had. The power of her fierce attitude taught me a lot about how to be in the world. 

My mom has always been a profound role model for me, but her courage throughout this challenge turned her into superwoman in my eyes. And I’m happy to report that all these years later, my mom is here and doing great!

Thanks to her, I became aware of how much power my mind has on my ability to heal, and I was determined to make a change for the better.

Using my mom’s example as inspiration to heal my depression, I sought help. I started seeing a therapist and attending a local yoga class.

The yoga class was taught by an old man with a long white beard. I instantly loved the spiritual aspect of yoga in which moving the body teaches devotion, intention, and connection with the divine, even if yoga was a bit of a ‘no-no’ among dancers at the time. I still loved dance, but it included a lot of pressure. Yoga was movement with an entirely new dimension that didn’t only feel good to my body, it also nurtured my soul. And my poses didn’t have to be perfect!

Then, during a visit home from school, I came across a book in my parents’ basement. It was called The Greatest Salesman in the World, by Og Mandino. Now, I wasn’t planning to go into sales, but this book contained daily readings filled with lessons on success in life, not just sales. Each lesson was to be read three times a day and contained affirmations or positive phrases that immediately attracted my attention. 

And while I didn’t sell anything, I did start to feel a whole lot better just by virtue of thinking more positive thoughts. I didn’t yet know how to use my body to help me reinforce those positive thoughts and manifest what I wanted, but Mandino’s book planted an important seed in me.

It wasn’t until years later and living in New York City when I started coaching, that my clients would tell me how hard they’ve tried to follow all the advice they’ve been given about creating a life and a body they love.

They had written their affirmations, created their vision boards, chanted mantras, meditated, and on and on. Yet they continued to contend with self-doubt, perfectionism, procrastination, depression, anxiety, or all of the above. 

They still found it hard to stick up for themselves, take good care of their bodies, or allow their authentic selves to step out into the world. They struggled to figure out what they wanted, or they couldn’t seem to create it in their lives, whether it was a job, love, or financial security.

I’ve come to understand that so many of our efforts don’t create a lasting impact because they don’t include all of who we are.

The power and energy of these glorious bodies we were given aren’t used nearly enough. 

Writing down affirmations is an excellent exercise and a great place to start, as it begins to engage and change the mind. Chanting mantras is also wonderful because your physical voice is involved in the process. Meditation is powerful, because it reduces stress and improves concentration. Now imagine, if you could take the benefits of all of these practices and combine them into one full body experience! This is what happens when you take a focused, powerful mindset and put it into motion.

Over the last 10 years, I have developed my own process that combines dance, yoga, coaching, meditation, and transformation. I’ve taught over 90,000 students online and in person.

I’ve taken all those years of experience, and my best coaching techniques, and turned them into a new book, Mantras In Motion: Manifesting What You Want Through Mindful Movement, where I teach my methods of combining mind, heart and body practices to help you achieve the sweet life that you desire. 

If you’re ready to get out of your head and get more connected to your body, if you want to manifest your desires with flow and eases, I’d love to show you how. 

Movement in your body, creates movement in your life…the whole of your best self!

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Check out my new book and to get an exclusive 5 minute Movement & Mantra Workout, my FREE gift to you.

You may also enjoy Best Self Yoga Flow for Flexibility and Relaxation with Carter Miles

The post Mantras In Motion: Leveraging the Medicine of Movement appeared first on BEST SELF.

Soothing our nervous systems through yoga, meditation and the sacred pause

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Modern life moves at a frenetic pace. Though technology was intended to make our lives simpler, it seems the consensus is quite the opposite. We are constantly bombarded by text messages, emails, phone calls, and countless other forms of stimulation that can actually have a perilous cumulative effect upon our health and wellbeing. In fact, over 90% of the people walking into a doctor’s office are there due to a stress-related issue.

There is no greater enemy to our health than stress. Yoga and meditation practices provide us with a means to step away from the stress of the rat race of life.

Travis Eliot guides a gentle 30-minute yoga flow for relaxation and vibrancy

In certain parts of southern India, people are often forced to walk great distances to acquire the most basic of needs, like food and water. It’s not uncommon for villagers to travel several miles on foot with a jug of water balanced strategically on their head. Periodically along the path, stone columns are placed to provide resting spots where the jug of water can be easily slid off and supported. Once refreshed, the water bearer can continue the journey back home.

Pressing the sacred pause button in life is like removing the heavy jug from your head. But instead of a jug of water, imagine releasing the stress of work, relationships, world news and daily responsibilities.

Although there is a time and need to take care of worldly affairs, there is also a time and need to shift from doing into being, from striving into arriving, and from grinding into allowing. Without, it’s easy to become suffocated by these stressful things.

Nonstop striving and grinding activate the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. This occurrence is often associated with the ‘fight or flight’ response of the limbic brain. In this sympathetic state, the body produces the stress hormones: cortisol and adrenaline. If these chemicals linger in the body and become chronic, they can trigger the following imbalances (nothing good):

• Increased food cravings
• Fat gain
• Shrinking of the brain
• Immune system suppression
• Diminished sex drive
• Decreased muscle mass
• Decreased bone density
• Increased anxiety
• Panic attacks
• Increased depression
• Mood swings
• Decreased brain function
• Increased PMS symptoms

The parasympathetic nervous system, in contrast to the sympathetic nervous system, is responsible for growth, recovery, regeneration, repair, and relaxation. Practicing yoga and meditation are an effective way of activating this healing energy. The more rest and restoration you experience, the more dominant the parasympathetic nervous system. And as a result:

• The more you can effectively manage stress
• The better your quality of sleep will be
• The more you will be able to regulate the body’s inflammation response
• The healthier the cells will be
• The better you will feel
• The higher your brain performance will be
• The more you will slow the ageing process
• The healthier and happier you will be
• The higher your quality of life will be

Doesn’t that sound like a better idea?

Poet Martha Postlewaite suggests you “create a clearing in the dense forest of your life.” Time on your yoga mat or meditation cushion can be such a clearing. In this place you pause, become still, and ultimately access your inner most essence. This essence is sacred. It is the very source of all that you are.

When you tap into this wellspring of sacredness, you replenish and recharge on a profound level.

The sacred pause can be an hour on your yoga mat or it can be just a few stolen moments in the middle of your day. Moments of deep beauty are endlessly unfolding around us in infinite ways. The question is, are we noticing? Mindfulness teaches us to be more present — to notice a stunning sunset, or tree leaves dancing in the wind, or a young child smiling, or the sparkle in a loved one’s eyes. These moments are sacred because they transcend time and space. They remind us that we are so much more than our job title, wardrobe, bank account or nationality. They are glimpses into our shared humanity.

A nurturing 19-minute meditation created by Travis Eliot & Lauren Eckstrom

It is estimated the average adult makes approximately 35,000 choices a day. How many times have we acted or spoke in a way we deeply regretted? We are all just one poor choice away from negatively altering our lives. Implementing the sacred pause throughout our day minimizes poor decisions and self-created suffering. The sacred pause also empowers us to rise above reactivity into a mindset free to act with compassion and integrity.

We all know you can’t give to others what you don’t have to give. When you pause, you are giving back to yourself. You are filling up your energetic cup, so you have the capacity to fully show up in all the various dimensions of life. Holocaust survivor, Victor Frankl, probably said it best: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.”

Certain times of the day call for you to be a little ‘selfish’ in order to be ‘selfless.’ So, go ahead and take time to slow down, to be still, to allow the waves of the mind to settle. These simple, but powerful moments of initiating the sacred pause will benefit you — and everyone you meet.

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Editor’s Note: Out of the ‘sacred pause’ of Travis Eliot (who began his spiritual journey at 9-years old when his mother introduced him to meditation), and following a near-death experience and the 2005 Tsunami in Thailand — a passion project emerged to teach yoga and meditation to people across the world who seek to live into their full potential.

He co-founded Inner Dimension Media with Lauren Eckstrom as a full-service media company which creates and distributes videos, books and music. Inner Dimension TV is a cinematic streaming site with a diversity of practices including power yoga, beginner’s yoga, yin yoga, restorative, gentle, meditation, functional fitness, and pranayama — that changed the game forever for the yoga CD culture. Their latest experience, California Dreaming, is the world’s first guided meditation program in virtual reality based in live natural settings. Teachers Travis and Lauren guide participants on a powerful meditative journey to some of California’s most iconic locations, including Yosemite National Park, Big Sur and Joshua Tree National Park, among others.

You may also enjoy reading Daring To Rest: The Post Trauma Healing Powers of Sleep by Karen Brody

The post The Sacred Pause: The Art of Activating Healing Energy appeared first on BEST SELF.

A yogi discovers a path to serving others in a Parisian park

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I have always had a desire to contribute to the global good. While connecting with and serving others may appear to be an elevated pursuit, it is one I feel deeply committed to, however it needs to unfold.

And yet, truth be told, I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to make it happen — how I was going to thread my interests, vision and skill sets together. Growing up, I tried a variety of sports and had aspirations to be just about everything I learned about in school: archaeologist, artist, singer, actor, writer and fashion designer to name a few. The one constant in my life however, was dance — and an underlying interest in world peace, to add to my other lofty goals. In college my studies were in the dramatic arts sprinkled with French, but my heart remained rooted in the desire to help others.

Even though I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to get where I was heading, that is often how the seed of desire is planted: with tiny steps of intention, even if on wobbly legs.

Somewhere along the way to finishing my thesis on sustainable fashion (not surprisingly, sustainable fashion is connected to this overall arch of sustainable living), I discovered that I was able to help others through yoga and nutrition — two things that went hand-in-hand and had turned my world right-side up.

After moving to New York in 2010, I dedicated myself to deepening my yoga practice by becoming a teacher while also pursuing wellness consulting. I learned how to work with my body with attention to alignment, to listen to my body, and connect to what it means to live an authentic life. I became increasingly more certain that this ongoing work of infusing mindful practices into modern day life was not only my mission, but also the continual undercurrent of my vision of being in service to others, both personally and professionally.

One of my mantras this year has been: I am a global leader.

The undertaking feels massive, but also exhilarating and in complete alignment with my personal path. It is an enormous privilege and, although I do not take myself too seriously, I do not take this task lightly.

I have always been an avid traveler. After hosting several retreats in the Caribbean and Costa Rica, I knew I would somehow find a way to keep sharing this work worldwide. So, after a week of teaching and co-hosting The Provence Experience at a chateau in Aix en Provence in the south of France this past June, founder Danielle Imperato and I decided to take the Provençal joie de vivre to Paris. As they say: Paris is always a good idea.

In Provence, we buzzed around for a week creating a well-rounded experience that involved morning yoga paired with French-style breakfast spreads, local excursions, relaxation by the pool or in the garden, beautifully prepared meals by a local chef, plus evening apéro and late-night conversations. It was, in a word, parfait.

Our team had no idea that we would then go on to host wellness pop-ups for the remainder of the summer.

We did, however, have every intention of creating community around culture, cuisine and a balanced healthy lifestyle (where wellness meets wine). Of course, behind the scenes of our rejuvenating pop-ups was exhaustive planning. Yoga mats, food, décor and swag were artfully arranged in a tiny Parisian apartment. Our days were spent running up and down stairs to cabs parked half on the sidewalk with bags of gear which we whisked from one pop-up location to the next — fueled with immense gratitude from our full yet slightly delirious hearts.

We were blown away by the incredible international crew that showed up to hang out with us and be a part of this spontaneous pop-up experiment. We couldn’t have imagined the new friends we would make and the deep connections amongst our group that would occur. It was a summer of a lifetime.

The locals and expats were happy to slip easily into a new, like-minded community of people who were seeking an outdoor experience in celebration of yoga and movement classes, and something fun to do on a sweet summer day (especially as it involved rosé).

We gathered on a few weekday evenings and Sunday afternoons in iconic parks like the Jardin des Tuileries and Jardin du Luxembourg; designated a spot for everyone to join, plop down their yoga mats and indulge in a typical picnic of baguette or viennoiseries and beurre demi sel.

Eventually, attendees began bringing their own potluck contributions as we transitioned fluidly from yoga and meditation into an open-air gathering of music, food, and sharing.

It was not uncommon to stay late into the afternoon or evening getting to know new people, playing with the local acro-yogis, rolling around the grass, and generally just enjoying each other’s company set amidst gorgeous Parisian backdrops. It was love at first pop-up.

The Provence Experience in Paris was an unforgettable season. It was also an enormous honor to teach this community — and more importantly to be taught: how to be a better teacher, how to use my words more clearly and intentionally, how to see myself in others,  how to listen and be present, and how to fully enjoy the moment (and the butter).

Bottom line: Keep doing what you love, even if the outcome is a total mystery and you have no clue how the pieces can possibly thread together. It may very well result in something much more magical than you could have ever imagined.

Enjoy this relaxing 12-minute mediation from Sasha Nelson

You may also enjoy Morning Yoga & Meditation for Energy, Awareness and Intention with Carter Miles

The post Service, Purpose & Paris: From The Yoga Mat Into The World appeared first on BEST SELF.

A gentle 25-minute practice to enhance flexibility, breathing and relaxation

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First we start in child’s pose. Resting the forehead onto the mat will activate the 3^rd eye center, helping to focus our attention, as well as release serotonin and melatonin into the body. We close our eyes to bring our senses within and take deep breathes to oxygenate and connect mind and body together. Then we use some easy movement to warm the body, side stretches, cat cows, simple backbends.

The flow that we repeated is known as Surya Namaskara A (or Sun Salutation A) and is the opening sequence for the Ashtanga primary series. Flowing through these asanas (postures), starting slow and then moving into vinyasa (breathe to movement) can be used to loosen up the major joints/muscles of the body, oxygenate the blood, wake up the mind-body and can even be used as a form of meditation. Sun Salutation A is a great way to wake up, energize the body when feeling tired, or use some extra energy if you have it.

We close off our sequence with a seated forward extension to lengthen the spine, a backbend to open the heart and a twist to reset the spine and reactivate our organs. Finishing, as always, with Svasana (corpse pose) which puts the body back into its parasympathetic nervous system, allowing the muscles to reform to a more natural structure and reactivating our body’s natural healing system. All in 25 minutes!

Namaste.

You may also enjoy Morning Yoga & Meditation for Energy, Awareness and Intention with Carter Miles

The post Best Self Yoga Flow for Flexibility and Relaxation appeared first on BEST SELF.

Understanding the connection between mobility and longevity connects us to greater wellbeing and vibrancy

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What comes to mind when you hear the term ‘physical therapy’? Is it only necessary when your doctor tells you to go? Only when you’ve just had surgery or incurred an injury? Do you think of things like ultrasounds, electrical pads that tingle and make you feel good? Or maybe you think more of exercises to strengthen your core, increase balance and improve mobility?

Whatever it is that comes to mind, the most common theme I hear amongst most people seeking either physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, or massage therapy is that they’re looking for someone to ‘fix’ them.

The problem with relying on another person to ‘fix’ you, is that you are no longer in control of whatever the problem was to begin with — and therefore it will most likely return.

When the problem, pain or injury is coming from our own body, the one body we will move through this life with, it is essential that we start to rely on ourselves to fix the problem! This is not like taking your car or computer to go get serviced or indeed, fixed. Your car and computer are ultimately replaceable. Your body…not so much.

As a Doctor of Physical Therapy myself, I am not saying we do not play integral roles in healing, pain relief and prevention. Of course, we do! But, we truly help when we become the facilitators, NOT the person who will fix you. A facilitator will be able to help identify the reasons behind the problem and then guide you toward solutions that would be most beneficial. Yet, it is then up to YOU to then choose whether you think those solutions will truly benefit you in order to implement them into your life.

Here’s the thing, if you do not understand why the exercises would be of benefit to you, or you’re not really feeling the pain anymore, why keep doing those boring therapy exercises?!

If you don’t understand the ‘why’ you’re implementing something into your life, I guarantee it will not become habit within your life.

Think about some of the habits that you currently have. I would assume brushing your teeth falls into the ‘daily habits’ category. Why? Because you know that daily maintenance on your teeth helps to prevent cavities, root canals and basically protects your smile. Not to mention, most go see a dentist at least twice a year for a checkup to make sure those teeth are still intact.

Now I want you think if there are any daily habits you implement to prevent pain, injury and possible surgery. Proper sleep, healthy eating and drinking plenty of water definitely contribute on a broader scale. But can you think of anything you’re doing daily to specifically prevent pain and injury and improve the active longevity of your body? Some people implement daily foam rolling or try to get to the gym 3-5 days per week. These are both good, but they are not very specific to your body’s needs, nor are they implemented by the majority of the population.

What if you had a toolbox that could help to prevent pain and injury, reduce doctor visits, reduce the need for medications that merely masks symptoms while creating other issues, and truly give you the tools that are individualized to your unique body?

Would you use it? But before you could answer that question, you would need to find your ‘why’. For me, I am fortunate enough to have grown up active my entire life. My parents set a great example as they have always loved taking care of their bodies and to this day, can still water ski well into their sixties. So, naturally, a love for movement, tuning into and listening to my body came easy. But, it wasn’t until I went through physical therapy school that I truly began to understand my ‘why’.

During grad school, I met a man named, Steve, who was born with Cerebral Palsy (CP). CP is due to abnormal brain development and affects body movement and muscle coordination. Though sharp as a tack, Steve has lived his whole life in a wheelchair. At 35, he was living alone, finding his own public transportation and completely independent. To paint the picture a little more clearly, Steve also is extremely difficult to understand, as the muscles in his mouth and tongue do not work well. Watching Steve slide down his chair to the floor to put on his shoes and socks looked absolutely painful with his contracted joints and ankles going different directions. The whole task took about 20 minutes to perform. When he got too heavy to pull himself back into his wheelchair, he took up assisted swimming to lose weight. Steve literally uses every ounce of his body to accomplish tasks most of us take for granted. Unfortunately, most people hardly even use their body’s full capability, nor take care of what movement they currently have so it doesn’t go away.

I also got to see gold medalist triathletes with bilateral amputations above the knee, people with Junior Rheumatoid Arthritis and extreme limited range of motion still running and doing yoga, and people with Parkinson’s doing yoga, walking or riding the bike as much as their bodies could. Our bodies are the most amazing machines. They are truly an amazing gift and we have much to be grateful for.

No matter what the limitation, no matter what the set-back, you have the capability to move out of pain, injury and live a longer and healthier life.

I’m grateful for these incredible individuals who have helped shape and inspire my ‘why’.

Our bodies have the ability to adapt. This is the reason most of us stiffen up over time. For example, our bodies adapt to sitting in chairs and cars more and sitting cross-legged on the floor less. A recent study reported that in cultures and religions that kneel to pray often throughout the day actually have reported less cases of osteoarthritis than cultures that don’t. This is not surprising, as our joints need to move through their full range of motion to remain lubricated within the joint and maintain healthy function.

Just as our bodies can adapt into restrictions, they can also adapt out of restrictions. Do not forget, you once were able to eat your toes, as this is a developmental milestone at 5 months old, before crawling or walking. Not that we should be working to try to eat our toes again, but it is crucial to maintain the health of our joints to reduce the chance of injury, pain, and surgery. Strength exercises are great, but just as a baby does not stand or walk before they stick their toes in their mouth, it is important to improve the mobility of the body first.

The only way to improve mobility is to move into it.

Breath, foam rolling and massage are all tools to reduce stress, tap into the parasympathic nervous system (rest and relaxation), and can temporarily begin to relax mobility restrictions. Yet, we must move, and we must move daily to improve current restrictions and prevent future ones. Just like brushing your teeth, you can easily integrate mobility into your life. For example, I have two mobility exercises I can do in bed first thing in the morning, two exercises I do when I’m working at my desk, and two before and after I workout. Without carving out additional time in my day, I just integrated up to 6 mobility exercises into my day that I can begin making a habit.

To teach you how to do the same, I created The Mobility Method. The method will take you through a screening process where you begin to easily assess your own movement and find where your body is most restricted. It is then filled with tools to guide you to the mobility exercises that are needed for your individual body. I created the program as a guide. Every body is different and unique. There is no one-size-fits-all plan for a single diagnosis or injury. Moreover, there is an old saying in my world that goes, “Where you think it is, it ain’t.” This means, the location of pain does not determine the cause of the problem. For example, low back pain can be due to tightness within the hips, upper back or even big toe! The body is truly all connected and it is up to us to move into it to free us of pain and injury.

To help you get started, I have created a video with my 7 favorite mobility exercises that address restrictions from head to toe. To further guide you along, I will be providing my best educational tips and even begin to guide you toward a more efficient breathing pattern. I hope you will dive in with me, explore your body, and give back to it a little more each day!

Watch Jen’s short introduction to her philosophy and connection to mobility 

You may also enjoy reading The Genius of Flexibility by Bill Miles

The post The Mobility Method: Taking a Proactive Stand For Your Body (and Health) appeared first on BEST SELF.

10-Minute Morning Yoga Flow + 10 Essentials for a winning self-care practice

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Making a conscious effort to support and boost your physical and mental health is something that goes hand-in-hand with genuine self-care.

The topic of self-care is an extensive one and involves an ongoing commitment if it is to become (and remain) a beneficial aspect of your life. True self-care involves addressing your physical, emotional and spiritual needs, and this is something that most of us will occasionally need help with.

If you understand the benefits of self-care, but find it difficult to be consistent with your efforts, then the following ten tips are for you!

1. Be Grateful Every Day

It is incredible how helpful expressing gratitude to others can be for your own happiness. You may do this silently to yourself or actually extend this gratitude to those you are grateful to

Keeping a gratitude journal is great for this. Journaling helps to get your thoughts out of your mind and into the world, and puts energy in action. It’s also exciting because you will inevitably be creating a long list of all of the positives in your life, which you can then revisit at any time (especially when you really need it most).

2. Put Yourself First

Supporting your family and friends, emotionally or otherwise, can take many forms. While such gestures and efforts are wonderful, they can become overwhelming if you commit to too much. When this happens it can become all the more difficult to care for yourself. This in turn means you are actually less able to help others adequately. As they say, one can’t pour from an empty pitcher.

When you make the decision to put yourself first, and only take on as much as you can realistically manage, then you will be better able to practice self-care consistently.

3. Nourish Yourself

Allow yourself to eat when you feel hungry instead of sticking to a rigid schedule, and always try to eat the foods that you know are going to nourish you. By this I mean the whole foods that are full of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients — the foods that provide sustainable energy and help to cleanse and protect your body.

Listen to your body and let it tell you what it needs, when it needs it! You will not only benefit physically, but emotionally too. And if your body is craving junk — ask it why. What are you craving on a deeper level that the junk food will never satisfy?

4. Set Your Boundaries

If you don’t understand your own boundaries (within your family, your relationships, the workplace), then it will be impossible and unreasonable to expect anybody else to respect them! This is an essential component of self-care, because it is concerned with knowing and respecting yourself — and ensuring that others do too.

5. Prioritize Your Sleep Cycle

When you aren’t sleeping well, your self-care is often the first thing to be neglected. Prioritizing your sleep cycle entails always putting this aspect of your routine first. This can mean saying no to certain social events if they take place late at night, or being strict with yourself about not watching another episode of that new show that’s got you hooked. Note that alcohol and sugar are notorious for interrupting sleep patterns as well.

Furthermore, having a set time that you go to bed and wake each morning can truly help to get your body into a healthy sleep pattern — that and detaching from electronics an hour before bed. Your body and mind will soon adapt to and appreciate this routine, leading to a more positive and motivated mindset each day.

6. Be Digitally Strict

When you continuously engage with your digital devices, your self-care can suffer.

As a society, we have become increasingly dependent (dare I say addicted) upon our digital devices. And, although this technology has become essential in some respects, it is also quite time consuming and can become an unwanted distraction.

Being mindful of how much of your time and attention you give to your digital devices will directly impact your wellbeing.

7. Schedule Time For Yourself

Having time alone to process your thoughts and focus solely on yourself is critical. This in itself is a bold act of self-care and can help you not only quiet the mind, but additionally hit the reset button on any negativity that you may have recently encountered.

However you spend this time is totally up to you. You could meditate, you could lie down and rest, you could drink a tea, go for a walk — do whatever it is that you feel inclined to do in order to slow things down a bit. The important thing is that you commit to having this time to yourself and that you consciously work to maintain positivity. Listen to what your body and soul are calling for.

8. Keep Moving

Staying still for too long is not only bad for your physical health, but will affect you mentally as well!

Making an effort to move your body regularly throughout the day will actually help to keep your energy levels up and encourage feelings of positivity to thrive. This makes it all the more likely that you will persist with caring for yourself.

This can take the form of regular exercise, such as going to the gym, attending an exercise class, or playing group sports. It can also be as simple as getting up to stretch and walk around at intervals throughout the day.

9. Be Kind

Being kind to yourself and also to those around you is a simple way to keep positivity at the forefront of your mind.

Allow yourself to feel your feelings. Beating yourself up for moments of negativity will only lead to further negative feelings. Like attracts like. Conversely, being kind to oneself and those around you via extending compassion — in turn elevates the energy for all.

10. Journal The Journey

The more we practice, the better the practice. Journaling can help you recognize good health habits. And don’t forget to document the wins! Write down how you felt after a great self-care victory — whether you tried something new or protected your boundaries. In the moments that you feel as though you don’t have the energy or the enthusiasm to take care of yourself, look back and recall how you felt when you did do so. Tap into that good stuff! With a journal it will be simple to revisit the amazing moments and keep yourself motivated. They don’t call it a process for nothing!

Remember the journey — celebrate the good, remind yourself of the bad and how far you’ve traveled, how strong and resilient you are when you dedicate to one thing — self-care.

Start somewhere, anywhere amongst this list. Watch new patterns and practices emerge. Witness joy and watch it trickle into the rest of your life — all the while, the things that no longer serve you fade away. You’ve got this!

You may also enjoy Taking Charge: The Key To Our Aliveness by Anodea Judith

The post Self Care Reboot: Morning Yoga + 10 Essential Self Care Practices appeared first on BEST SELF.

This flow starts by building body heat, then moves quickly through positions, eventually softening into a state of conscious relaxation, and closing with a meditation. Video by Grant Henry.

Wherever our life path has lead us, however noisy the outer world may seem, the practice of yoga can heal us by quieting the mind and connecting our inner and outer selves

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I grew up a tree climber, barefoot in my backyard with wild hair, trying not to dirty the frocks in which my mother would dress me. I am not a sit still kind of person; I love to move and I love yoga. But yoga is more than a form of movement.

In India, there is a television personality named Baba Ramdev who hosts an hour of free yoga programming every morning. People write in to him and tell him their ailments: poor vision, insomnia, weight management. Baba Ramdev then provides solutions and cures from a yogic perspective, “Try this pranayama (breathing exercise) or this kriya (cleansing technique) and these asanas (postures).”

Yoga was presented in this way to me as I grew up — a methodology, not a fitness regime.

My parents are of Indian origin, and we treated this healing art as something of interest, but not a practice. They were busy with work and life (and children), so once in a blue moon we would treat ourselves and have yoga teachers come to our home and teach us.

These sessions were underwhelming for a 10-year-old me, full of long held postures, breath work, and sitting still. In these classes, as none of our family members were in need of specific healing, there was a greater focus on meditation. This was tough. I longed to run barefoot in the backyard, bike around the neighborhood, or get lost in a book — anything but sit quietly or try to count my breaths. Nonetheless a seed was planted: Yoga is a methodology for healing, and that these practices have properties beyond the postures, beyond the physical.

My childhood and adolescence flew past me, as many of ours probably did. My parents spent a lot of time embedding us in Indian culture and philosophy, taking us to weekend courses to learn Eastern worldviews and religion (Jainism) and planning trips to India at least once a year. I spent a lot of time trying to be a better soccer player, keep up with my classes, and fit in with my friends at school.

It wasn’t until college that yoga reappeared into my life in a significant way. I majored in mathematics, and although I thoroughly enjoyed the way that math stretches your brain, I struggled knowing that I didn’t want to pursue the career trajectory before me. Simultaneously I didn’t have the time to continue to play soccer, and my injuries were making even running inaccessible to me. My parents had retired and moved to India, so I couldn’t often go home to reassess. I felt stuck, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

This is when the yoga seed that was planted in my childhood started to sprout.

I suddenly began to wonder if these ancient healing techniques might be able to help me through my anxiety. So like every other 18-year-old at the time, I sought help from Google. I pulled up some Rodney Yee videos and perused Light on Yoga in search of the right combination of postures to help. I went down the Internet rabbit hole and for some reason became obsessed with David Swenson’s ashtanga primary series video and what he was saying about breathing and practice. So began the foundation of my vinyasa practice.

If nothing else, yoga helped me create a deeper connection to myself. It kept me from tying my identity to the things that I did. It allowed me to recognize that I didn’t want to work in the finance industry after college, so I let myself stray from the life path I had set out for myself, and with nowhere else to turn to, went to my parents’ home in India.

As it turns out, abandoning your life goals and moving to a different country can create a whole new world of anxiety. As I pondered the purpose of my life in Bangalore, I found the time to practice yoga 2-3 times a day. I would practice Mysore with a teacher and explore more on my own at home. As much as I enjoyed this time of self-reflection and growth, being unemployed wasn’t my end goal. So when new opportunities fell into my lap, I moved to Mumbai and began a 5-year career in fashion.

Like a stable partner, yoga never left me — it was the one piece of my life that stayed constant from place to place, from job to job.

While I was in India, I remember laughing when my mother told me to consider opening a studio and teaching. But as fashion wore away at me, I began to lean more on the practice, and study it more seriously. I noticed that yoga helped me to connect more deeply to a sense of self that wasn’t defined by my job or location or family. I was happier when I practiced, and the effects were so noticeable that if I were moody, my brothers would ask me if I had skipped yoga for the day.

Fast forward to 4 years ago when I followed my heart and moved to New York City.

Living in NYC without an income is incredibly motivating. I was laser focused on getting to know the yoga community and getting hired as a teacher. For the first time, I practiced with music. I learned how to assist others. I found teachers to learn from (thank you Nikki Costello, Robert Lindsey, and Lindsay Hilscher). I read everything I could get my hands on, I practiced religiously, and I studied history, philosophy, anatomy, and everything in between — and here I am today, a yoga teacher in NYC.

Any practice, or art form can change your life. If you woke up at 5am and boxed for 2 hours every morning, surely that dedication would pay in scores mentally and emotionally. The effects of discipline and the self-reflection that comes from a sustained commitment is not to be overlooked.

Yoga is an energetic practice, an experience that threads together the inner and outer selves.

 If you prescribe to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the goals of yoga and the path to yoga are meditation. There are many approaches to the practice, but at the finish line is a steadiness of mind. There are other ways to use the tools of yoga as well. Restorative yoga, pranayama, pre- and postnatal and yin yoga are valid forms of yoga with countless health and wellness benefits.

My personal practice is somewhat traditional, but it’s certainly not the only way. How can it be, when the world of yoga is evolving around us every day? Whatever worldview we as yogis prescribe to, I strongly feel that it is our responsibility to learn the history and philosophy behind the practice. Iyengar encouraged creativity, and brilliant new practitioners should and will continue to innovate the practice of yoga. I, for one, am excited to see how yoga takes on an even bigger presence in the world over the course of my lifetime.

When I started practicing yoga seriously in India, I wrote the following in my journal:

What yoga has taught me:

• Nothing is impossible, just difficult.
• Nothing challenging comes easily or overnight.Daily perseverance is the key.
• There will always be somebody better, stronger, faster, more flexible than you, maybe even without putting in as much effort. Instead of being jealous/angry/bitter, the best thing to do is to respect their abilities/talent, and work harder on your own.
• Consistency is key.
• Appreciate all the things your body can do.
• Yoga makes you challenge yourself every day.

I still feel all of these things, and more.

I haven’t reached enlightenment, but I’ve certainly experienced some major positive changes beyond the obvious physical benefits. Yoga has allowed me to relate to myself and the world around me with more space. By observing without judgement, I can notice my emotions without being my emotions, and then see others in the same way. The space allows me to choose how to act (out of love) instead of react to the world.

My mission as a teacher is to show others that a yoga practice is more than making space in your body; it is making space in your mind. One of the things that gives me great joy is cultivating a community around this sort of mindfulness.

You can catch me and my good friend Sasha Nelson curating Mindful Morning events around the city, in which we meditate, discuss, and share nourishing food with like-minded individuals. Otherwise, follow my adventures on Instagram. I’m always interested in your thoughts, so please feel free to reach out!

You may also enjoy Sleep Better… A Few Stretches for Bedtime by Carter Miles

The post Yoga: Beyond Movement appeared first on BEST SELF.

Chris Forte’s 7 Spiritual Fitness Steps

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What do you lean on when you-know-what hits the life fan?

Chris Forte, spiritual teacher, dad, yogi and author of The Humble Warrior, had to lean hard on his spiritual practice when his life started coming apart at the seams a few years ago with the end of his 17 year marriage and losing his 3^rd business in 8 years. Not new to adversity or the messiness of this human experience — he has in fact shared some of that journey previously in Best Self Magazine. But lucky are we that he has stayed the course through it all — because like a phoenix rising from the ashes, along with it has come purpose, perspective, passion and a deep desire to serve others.

We decided to do something a little different in this issue. Instead of a workout video focusing solely on the physical self, Chris has created a video to describe the foundation of his transformation: 7 Spiritual Fitness Steps. Spiritual fitness permeates all aspects of your being and connects all dots — the ultimate workout body, mind and soul.

~ Kristen Noel

Your life is a journey. Your pain and suffering are not a random coincidence; they will lead you to your higher purpose. Listen to your heart, because the resources for you to fulfill your purpose are inside of you. Yes, your treasure lies within you…and God is always with you.

Chris Forte

You may also enjoy Yoga: Beyond Movement by Aditi Shah

The post 7 Steps of Spiritual Fitness appeared first on BEST SELF.

Carlos Leon leads a high-energy functional training class you can do anywhere, with no weights required, combining strength training, cardiovascular conditioning and flexibility. This video combines two 10-minute segments, but you can do as few or as many as you like.

Fitness and Spirituality With Carlos Leon

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Carlos Leon, the founder of the ‘Belleon Method’ and a new facility Belleon Gym NYC, is the real deal — walking the walk and talking the talk. His philosophy isn’t about trends, celebrity, flash or the workout du jour. It is about lifestyle. Since 16 years old, when he first witnessed family members dying off from things like diabetes and heart disease — he was determined to reroute that train and take a different path. One glance at his body and you will concur that he has succeeded in doing just that. And you will want what he’s having!

As a young man on a quest to figure this all out, at a time when there were only 2 vegetarian restaurants to choose from — he began connecting his own dots: body, mind and spirit.

A vegetarian for 25 years, he has dedicated his life to clean living. Now, at 50 years old, and the father to a 21-year old and a 2-year old, he sees no doctors, takes no medications, works out every day and knows that food is medicine. He has made the conscious choice to live vibrantly. And though he had to figure this all out on his own as a young man he now forges this path for his children.

Laughing, he tells us how his kids know that there is no junk at Daddy’s house: no sugar, no Doritos in sight — no fake food.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about him is his groundedness and generosity of spirit. After only spending a few minutes in his presence, it was clear that 1.) The guy knows his stuff and 2.) He’s tremendously passionate about what he preaches (and teaches) — and is excited to share the love. He knows that his body is his temple, that connecting to our bodies is the most sacred act of self-love.

His new space exudes community, connection and access to his lifetime fitness wisdom. There are no airs, pretention or fashion requirements. The only requirement he has: Your willingness to show up for yourself. He is not a believer in there being only ‘one way’, but rather a more integrated approach, one of functional fitness. His ½ hour high intensity routines (which you can sample here) are about tapping into mobility, agility, conditioning, strength training, fat burning, coordination and muscle building. Hello? Who couldn’t use a healthy dose of that?

From now on, I’m just going to refer to Carlos as the ‘Body Whisperer’.

If you don’t take care of this vessel — where are you going to live?

Carlos Leon

Enjoy this conversation about fitness and spirituality with Carlos Leon and Kristen Noel:

To learn more about the Belleon Method or to work with Carlos, click on over to Belleon.

You may also enjoy Morning Yoga & Meditation for Energy, Awareness and Intention with Carter Miles

The post Functional Fitness Training With Carlos Leon | Belleon Gym NYC appeared first on BEST SELF.

Meet the Bendable Body Team and discover True Flexibility Training in the video above. Scroll down to see a video created for you to self-stretch at home or anywhere.

How bendable is your body? True Flexibility Training magically restores the mind, body and soul

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The first time Sita Hagenburg heard about flexibility training was in a seminar at a yoga center in Santa Barbara, Ca. At the time, she was a monastic at the Vedanta Temple and one of the other nuns was suffering debilitating physical problems due to multiple sclerosis.

“Everything that was said about the body, how it worked, and how it could be corrected resonated with me and I knew we could be much more proactive about her treatment,” she recalls at the Bendable Body studio in New York City. After just a few sessions in this revolutionary field and witnessing some major results, Hagenburg left Santa Barbara to pursue flexibility training – founding Bendable Body with her two partners John Kelly and Chris Renfrow.

“True Flexibility Training is unequivocally transformational,” she says. “I see it everyday. After our Flexibility Experts have finished stretching a leg or an arm on a brand new client, they are usually shocked. But the shock quickly dissipates to an unexpected joy at how good their body feels. We hear things like, ‘my shoulders are so relaxed’… ‘I feel like I am floating’… ‘The pain is gone’… “I could go for a run right now”… and for all of the yogis out there, ‘I can get deeper into my pose.’”

She goes on to explain why the body can transform.

True Flexibility Training redefines flexibility because it focuses on the fascia rather than just on the muscles and joints.

The stretch happens during a movement, rather than in a static pose. It doesn’t feel like any other form of stretching or exercise — it’s a unique experience that targets fascia – a tissue very few people know about or focus on.

“The first time I learned about fascia, I was not only intrigued, but the concept just made sense. Once you get what it is you can see how it is impacting our health on many levels,” recalls Hagenburg. “It was one of those moments where I felt like a missing puzzle piece was filled in.”

Fascia is the web-like tissue that connects all other tissue in the body — the bones, the ligaments, organs, tendons, skin, fat — everything. In its healthiest form we move freely and without pain and sickness. Over time, everyone’s fascia becomes matted and stiff. This often happens as a result of injuries, trauma, or simply because of our modern lifestyle.

We sit too long, we don’t use our body’s full range of motion, we make too many repetitive movements, etc. Our fascia responds to this by becoming stiff and unbendable.

Since fascia connects all other parts of the body and surrounds the muscles, when it becomes stiff, your muscles become weak and inflexible. It’s like you are wearing a fascia straight jacket!

Christiane Northrup, author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom, Goddesses Never Age, and Making Life Easy is a devout client with Bendable Body and sees a remarkable change in her own body.

“As a result of removing the dense fascia from my body, my sleep has vastly improved as well as my digestion and general overall comfort with moving my body. In fact, right hip limitation and pain that I’ve had for 30 years is now a thing of the past. I am amazed at how effective and fast this work truly is,” remarks Northrup.

Hagenburg also loves the fact that True Flexibility Training is a total body-mind-energy healing system — something she studied for 14 years as a monastic in Santa Barbara. “In the same way that acupuncture stimulates the flow of Qi through the body and increases your physiological health, so does stretching the fascia along those meridian lines,” she explains. “For example, when you stretch the anterior lateral thigh, generally referred to as the lateral quadriceps (which the stomach meridian traverses), it can improve the health of your stomach functions and also associated ailments like allergies.”

“The change that has happened in my body that I have wanted for so long, has encouraged the concept within me that there is change available in all areas of my life,” says Mary Regency Boies

To learn more about Bendable Body Private Sessions, Workshops, and Classes visit bendablebody.com. Subscribe to their email list and get “Your Weekly Bend” delivered to your inbox every week. These short and simple stretch videos are a free and easy way for you to start experiencing True Flexibility training right now.

Redefining Flexibility

True Flexibility Training focuses on the limiting factor — the fascia. We start with a muscle in its shortest position, contract it (or resist) to engage the surrounding fascia, and then lengthen it to get a deep stretch. We also make the opposite movement to immediately access and build new strength in the muscle. As you improve the flexibility of your fascia, you free muscles that were perpetually bound. Your body releases tension and relaxes, you develop new levels of strength, your alignment improves, you move easier, your energy levels soar and your yoga gets better.

Tom Myers, the leading world authority on fascia and author of Anatomy Trains has done the Bendable Body session with a Flexibility Expert and says, “the actively loaded eccentric resistance moves that constitute the majority of their work coordinate nerve, muscle and fascia in a very satisfying way.”

Learn the basic principles of True Flexibility Training and a short stretch routine to increase your metabolism and burn calories while you shred fascia:

[Editor’s note: The Bendable Body team trained under Bob Cooley, who is often credited for bringing forth the resistance flexibility training movement.]

You may also enjoy reading The Genius of Flexibility: Bob Cooley by Bill Miles

The post Bendable Body | True Flexibility Training For the Mind, Body and Soul appeared first on BEST SELF.

2-Minute exercises that will uplift your spirits and your body, and you can them anywhere (seriously, anywhere!)

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Do you have roadblocks that can get in your way of exercising your body? After the birth of my second child I was diagnosed with post-natal depression. I lost what felt like my sanity and my ability to cope. I had suicidal thoughts, my self-esteem was at it’s lowest, I hated myself and I loathed my body. I had stopped making my physical body a priority and as a result my mind and soul were in a terrible way.

When I finally got the courage to go to my doctor it was her words that woke me up to the fact that I had to take action.

“You know how when you get on the plane and they tell you to put on your oxygen mask first before assisting others? That’s what you have to do.”

After that visit I came home and, knowing I only had a few minutes until my children returned, sat on the edge of my bed to think. It hit me that I had to start doing something that would move me in the direction towards being my best self. There was too much at stake not to. But what was my ‘oxygen mask’? Then, like letters being written up in the sky, through my tears I saw what I needed to do.

MOVE! I had to insert exercise back in to my life.

Straight away my head was bombarded with excuses:

I’m too overwhelmed

I’m too tired

I don’t know how to start

I won’t be able to stick to it

I’m ashamed of my body

I don’t have time

I’ve got too much to do

MOVE, I told myself again.

So the next morning after I made myself the promise to move for two minutes, I put a television show on for my kids, went and stood at my kitchen bench and, despite being the last thing I felt like doing, I began doing some of the moves I used to do on my ballet barre; raising my leg up behind me along with bending and straightening my knee like a ‘plie’. I felt this tiny bubbling of an emotion that I hadn’t felt for what seemed like so long that it took me a while to recognise what it was. It was Hope. I did 10 push-ups at the bench and the feeling of strength through my body very faintly sparked an inner strength that I thought was lost. It was only two minutes until my daughters called out that they needed something but that was all I needed.

There was born my ‘2-Minute Moves’; my do-able small step that my excuses couldn’t get in the way of.

I didn’t need to leave the house, be away from my kids or have any equipment. I didn’t need to talk myself in to doing something that seemed too big and too hard. I only needed the space of a yoga mat and best of all, I could fit it into my day.

From the small steps I was taking, I was getting physically stronger in my body, making me feel stronger in life. I felt like I had the strength to cope with things so much better. I was standing up straighter, which made me feel more confident. To be able to see muscles appearing on my body was the sign to me that I was taking care of myself and so my feeling of self-worth was coming back. I was more fit so I had more energy to go after what I wanted to happen in my life. Each time I moved my body I felt the fog clearing in my brain. I was able to gain perspective and work through my thoughts.

As a self-described ‘all or nothing’ person, it was a challenge at first to embrace this idea that something was better than nothing.

But doing nothing had led me to a rock bottom place I didn’t want to visit again, so I began living the philosophy of letting go of my exercise ‘rules’ and grabbing moments to get moving in my kitchen, around my house and while out-and-about. This change of mindset saw a return of my sanity, confidence and vitality — and exercise became a non-negotiable part of my life. Now whether things are going great or the shit has hit the fan, I know a small step that will help me live my life the way I want to.

Like others, I battle with excuses every day. I still sometimes feel guilty taking time out for me, think I can’t possibly fit it in, get down on my body image and feel like I just can’t be bothered. But when I know the ripple effect of exercise for me means I want to dance around the living room with my kids, do handstands on the beach, prepare nourishing meals for myself, be intimate with my partner, say no when something doesn’t feel right and talk to myself in a way I would talk to my best friend — then I do whatever I can to make it part of my life. Even for just 2 minutes.

You may also enjoy The Power of Movement, and the 5 Minute Workout Erin Stutland

The post MOVE! 2-Minute Exercises You Can Do Anywhere appeared first on BEST SELF.

An intermediate yoga for focus and flow, helping you move into a good life

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Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about focus. More specifically what we focus on and how that focus affects us on a daily basis. The truth is I’m a positive person, but I haven’t always practiced living a positive life. I’ve created abusive habits like comparing myself to others, or focusing on what’s going wrong instead of right, or looking for ways why it won’t work instead of why it will.

But recently I’ve decided that if I want to have a good life, I need to put certain daily practices together that keep me on the right path.

This yoga flow is just that. It’s a daily shedding process, to let go of what’s not serving you and let in everything that is. It’s a flow I created to ignite positivity, freedom and expansiveness inside of you. It’s a flow I made to remind you everyday that you have infinite value and all you have to do is choose to tap into it.

It’s not the easiest flow, but it’s also not the hardest one, and there’s a reason for that. I wanted to create something that challenges you to trust your power but also trains you to listen to your inner guide. Sometimes you’ll want to move slower, sometimes faster, listen and respond to what you need. Find yourself in this flow and connect with the life you want as you’re living it.

Enjoy your good life.

You may also enjoy Morning Yoga & Meditation for Energy, Awareness and Intention with Carter Miles

The post Focus Flow Yoga appeared first on BEST SELF.

A conversation, stretching and 5 must-do exercises

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We all know that exercise is good for us, but too often we make excuses for not partaking. It may be lack of time, lack of perceived skill, or something deeper — lack of self-worth. Pilates instructor Renata Halaska, who has been teaching Pilates for years in New York’s Hudson Valley, shares a conversation with Kristen Noel, Best Self Magazine’s Editor-In-Chief. They peel back the layers of excuses and address objections, and reveal why self-care is really about showing up for yourself.

Renata shares in the videos below, a simple-but-transformative stretching routine that anyone can do anywhere, and especially after a workout.  She also shares her 5 Must-Do exercises that she performs at home or on the road without fail — and so can you.

Time to hit the floor — no more excuses!

A Conversation With Kristen Noel

Essential Stretching

5 Must-Do Exercises

You may also enjoy Minding Your Core | Pilates with Renata Halaska

The post No-Excuse Pilates | 5 Must-Do Exercises And Stretches appeared first on BEST SELF.

A regular yin yoga practice stimulates the flow of energy throughout your body, enhancing each organ’s function

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When frustration exists, it is difficult to think or plan, much less feel inspired to make healthy choices for your body and mind. You might even notice that your digestion does not want to cooperate during these times. There may be excessive gas, bloating or irregular bowel movements. These are common symptoms of an unhappy liver and gallbladder, and poor digestion and elimination of toxins and food.

A regular yin yoga practice stimulates the flow of energy throughout your body enhancing each organ’s function, the digestive organs included. Yin yoga relieves stress and helps you become more present, less reactive and less attached to the stories/drama that concern you.

Yin is a much slower practice. Poses are typically held anywhere from three to ten minutes, sometimes even longer.

Yin yoga works on and nourishes the deeper, more hidden tissues such as ligaments, fascia, joints and bones.

In Yin we go only to the point where the most resistance is felt. We don’t rush into the deepest position straight away. We find our ‘first’ edge, then wait for our body to open up further and invite us in deeper. It is common to move into greater depth after thirty seconds to a minute, however sometimes this physical range is not available.

Again we pause and wait for another invitation. If an opening becomes available, we drop deeper with a soft, flowing breath. We ‘play’ our edges.

The essence of yin is one of yielding, surrendering and acceptance.

With every edge, we go inside and pay attention to how it feels. If we feel a significant sensation, we know the pose is working. There is no need to use force to go deeper into the pose. In fact the art of stillness in this discomfort is embracing yin. Once we have found our final edge, we commit to being still in mind, body and breath. By stillness in breath I mean having a soft, unlabored and calm breath.

Bare in mind that we have emotional edges too. Sometimes your resistance will be emotional. You may be unconsciously holding back and not ready to venture into painful memories, feelings or thoughts. Yin honors what is offered and accepts where you are at in that present moment.

I encourage you to gift yourself five to ten minutes to drop into this simple yin yoga flow that specifically nourishes the gallbladder and liver, and allow that frustration to simply melt away.

You may also enjoy Morning Yoga & Meditation for Energy, Awareness and Intention with Carter Miles

The post Yin Yoga | Stimulating Energy Flow To Enhance Organ Function appeared first on BEST SELF.

A gentle yoga to enhance physical and emotional flow

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In celebration of the changing seasons, I offer you this slow, gentle yoga practice to twist, bend and stretch your body. When we slow things down and move in a more calm, controlled manner, that’s where the magic happens…

With any change, whether be the weather or in your life, it’s important to take time to slow down and observe thoughts, feelings, actions and reactions. This yoga flow is designed to help you do just that. Often, when you’re working hard to make a living and be there for the ones you love, you accidently close yourself off to your own positive expansion. It’s easy to get caught up in a project or the latest mini-drama going on around us, which is why it’s so important we come back to yoga to create more space for new thoughts and positivity to flow through.

In a physical sense, yoga is also great for stretching out tightness in our bodies that are often stored negative experiences and emotions that can show up as pain or tenderness. Use this practice to support those areas of your body and your mind. Flow with care and be gentle with your body. Don’t forget to breathe, and don’t rush to get up from the ‘savasana’ rest at the end – this is perhaps the most important yoga pose of them all.

Namaste

You may also enjoy Morning Yoga & Meditation for Energy, Awareness and Intention with Carter Miles

The post Open Heart Flow Yoga appeared first on BEST SELF.

Erin Stutland’s spiritual journey lead her to discover the profound power of movement, and she’s built a career around helping others discover the same

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Ever since I was a little girl, I couldn’t sit still. I was that kid who had to make an agreement with my second-grade teacher that would allow me to stand next to my desk. I felt more focused and relaxed when given the opportunity to move or fidget a bit. Likely someone with undiagnosed ADHD, as I got older, I had accompanying symptoms such as anxiety, which often leads to depression. In my case, both were prevalent. Movement, dance specifically, became a form of meditation for me. It was there that I felt my mind to be most quiet. It was the only place I felt free from both the specter of anxiety and depression.

As I deepened my interest in spirituality as a form of self-healing, I found there was a way to marry the movement that I loved with the concepts of acceptance, confidence, and intention – concepts that are often only taught intellectually.

As I developed my program, I understood the power of getting these concepts into my muscles, bones, and cells. Movement combined with spiritual thought has a longer lasting impact than just reading about them in a book.

The best thing is that none of this has to be hard. In fact, it’s easy, and when we apply the concepts, movement actually becomes an absolute joy. We can gain a deep sense of self-awareness and increased self-esteem when we approach it properly, which has an impact on every part of our lives. After all, movement in your body creates movement in your life.

Try Erin’s fabulous 5 minute workout

Learn more at erinstutland.com

Erin’s Shrink Sessions:

A Shrink Session is sweat therapy that will tone your body and expand your mind. Combining cardio-dance, yoga, meditation, and mantras, this heart-pumping workout invites you to explore new territories where what you never believed was possible becomes so. New ideas are birthed, new trails are blazed, and you release years of self-doubt and criticism, all in a single workout. Imagine a dance party/rock concert for your life and YOU are the star!

Shrink Session Digital: Join us for online workouts, coaching, and meditations.

Shrink Session Live: Join us for classes in NYC.

Learn more at shrinksessionworkout.com

You may also enjoy Best Self Yoga Flow for Flexibility and Relaxation with Carter Miles

The post The Power of Movement, and the 5 Minute Workout appeared first on BEST SELF.

Bob Cooley, creator of the 16 Geniuses and founder of The Genius Of Flexibility, is revolutionizing optimal physiology with resistance flexibility training.

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It’s all about the fascia!

Fascia [fash-ee-uh]: a band or sheet of connective tissue fibers, primarily collagen, that forms beneath the skin to attach, stabilize, enclose, and connect muscles, ligaments and other internal organs.

I’ll be the first to admit that 6 months ago, I had never even heard the word before. That was until our ageless goddess, Dr. Christiane Northrup, ran upstairs to her bedroom to change into workout clothes following our Best Self Magazine cover shoot. You see, Dr. Northrup was literally giddy with excitement to share the work of Bob Cooley, and before I knew it she had me down on the floor stretching and contorting my limbs.

So — what does fascia have to do with it all anyway? If you have a pet, you’ll quickly realize they are already totally hip to the jive. Have you witnessed how your cat or dog will take pause and indulge in a downward dog-style stretch before doing anything else? Take note.

This is the world according to Bob Cooley, founder of Genius Flexibility, with locations in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Boston, and soon, NYC.

The fascia is the connective tissue which sheathes your muscles and organs, an otherwise unremarkable (and often overlooked) element of our anatomy. But during a session with Bob Cooley, I learned that the fascia holds far more value, and we are only at the beginning stages of unlocking its enormous potential to utterly transform our lives. Fascia may be a physical component of our being, but it is also deeply connected to all aspects of our lives — our mind, our emotions and our soul.

In general, we accept this notion that scar tissue develops as a result of some type of physical trauma; however, have you ever considered that we additionally build up emotional, psychological, and even spiritual trauma? These traumas can create scar tissue in the fascia, which accrues throughout our lives.

This scarring impairs the functioning of our internal immune and endocrine systems, which can lead to pain, incomplete healing, and even constrained thought patterns. The good news? It’s possible to breakdown and even eliminate fascial scar tissue, thus facilitating incredible, and permanent, gains in pain relief, injury recovery, athletic performance, and physiological and mental functioning — even improving upon pre-trauma levels.

I’ve experienced it firsthand. And so have the kings, princes, CEO’s, celebrities, Olympic athletes and other folk who have walked through Cooley’s doors, seeking a different solution to their physical limitations, addictions, viral afflictions, artistic blocks and more. Recently, even Oprah joined his legion of devout followers (you can read more in the January 2016 issue of Oprah Magazine and Oprah.com).

What makes Cooley an expert? Years of on-the-job training, being his own guinea pig.

When faced with the limitations of traditional therapies following a brutal accident as a young man, he was forced to find his own solutions to repairing his shattered body. He astonishingly survived after being struck on foot by a car traveling 70 mph, but was left with a decades-long quest to restore his physical, psychological and spiritual health. And while he eventually achieved a high level of fitness, his body was not fully functioning until he stumbled upon the concept of Resistance Flexibility (RF).

While I won’t pretend to properly convey the nuances of RF, the essence is this: When a muscle is being stretched under resistance, the muscle reflexively contracts and the fascia resists, re-orients itself, and scar tissue breaks down, to be later eliminated by the body’s lymphatic and vascular systems. The result is a deep, therapeutic stretching of the muscles and connected tissues, with improved flow of energy along the body’s meridians, increased flexibility, elimination of pain, and higher functioning of the brain — yes, it not only changes how you feel, but can shift how you think.

Bob will release Cooley’s Resistance Flexibility 1.0 on January 15th, 2016, wherein he explores his theories and techniques in detail. Further, he has studied the genetic origins of his findings, and has created an archetypal map of human biology, which he explains in a forthcoming book entitled The 16 Geniuses – Sixteen Personality Types 1.0 to be released March 30th, 2016.

As I enter the Boston Center, I am greeted by Cooley and a team of enthusiastic, youthful trainers. The vibe is more communal than I had envisioned — not only do the trainers methodically circulate among clients, the clients are occasionally called upon to help stretch one another. Organic, healthful foods emerge from the kitchen, Bob is wearing organic cotton, and the center itself has been eco-renovated. His building in Santa Barbara is the greenest in the city. These are the values he brings to his practice — mindfulness, self-respect, and environmental consciousness, clearly weaving them throughout the very tenets of his business.

I am treated to a few stretching sessions — by one, two, or at times three trainers at once.

When I finally stand, my body experiences a profound shift, after even a short session.

I stand taller, feel lighter — almost gravity-defying, and pesky pains that I have become so accustomed to on a daily basis, simply dissolve away. My mind feels open and alert. I see before me new possibilities on myriad levels.

Beside me lays one of Cooley’s regular clients, a world-renowned geneticist, who was thrown from an ATV and suffered a near-fatal fall down 15 feet of boulders. Three months later, completely defying the predictions of her medical community, she is slowly walking again — she attributes her recovery to the 4 years of prior RF work, which kept her body in optimal health, and the focused protocol the team has been administering since her accident.

There are no shortages of similar stories — and Cooley’s ambitions are nothing, if not audacious: He aims to create a sort of utopia where people can immerse in pure foods, unblocked thinking, and physical wholeness — and create lasting, healing impact for themselves and the world at large.

Though I have only experienced the tip of the iceberg, I can see what all the fuss is about. There is no wonder Dr. Northrup (and Oprah) are so excited about the transformative nature of this work. Bob Cooley is a man on a mission, and the vision of The Genius of Flexibility is spreading like wildfire — primarily because it works, while awakening a profoundly empowering concept: We can heal ourselves — often in spite of ourselves, and with a little help from others.

To learn more about Bob Cooley and Genius Flexibility, visit thegeniusofflexibility.com and also thebodyismedicine.com.

Watch the video below to learn more about Bob Cooley’s philosophy; at about 5 minutes, two elite trainers demonstrate some exercises you can do yourself:

You may also enjoy reading Bendable Body | True Flexibility Training for the Mind, Body and Soul, by Mara Peters

The post The Genius of Flexibility appeared first on BEST SELF.

I take great joy in bikes — always have. I recently sold both my high-end road bike and mountain bike to try a new breed — Kona’s Rove — a go-anywhere crossover that can handle potholed-city streets, dirt roads and touring with ease. Pairing an old-school steel frame with new-school geometry and components, Kona has crafted a comfortable, stable, and responsive ride, all in one rugged package. My Rove makes me happy – ‘nuff said.

konaworld.com

The post Kona Bicycles | Rove appeared first on BEST SELF.

Core Pilates NYC

My journey with Pilates began in 1991 when I was injured as a dancer and encouraged to try Pilates to help rehabilitate me through my injury and it worked! As I continued taking Pilates classes, I realized that even though I had been dancing and working out for years, Pilates was the only form of body conditioning that made me feel grounded, stable, and strong.

Cut to 2002 when I opened my Pilates studio Core Pilates NYC® and started on a mission to share the benefits I experienced through Pilates and to help people feel just as good as I did, or better.

Some say Pilates is a fad or a trend, but in reality it is a proven method of exercise that is truly the foundation for everyday living.

I’m preaching to the choir for those of you who have done Pilates and are hooked. But for those of you who have not experienced the method, know that it will change your body and move your spine in a way that stabilizes you for all of those things that you love to do.

So let’s look at Pilates from this perspective; I always love a good analogy. If you think about Pilates as the cement in the foundation of your house — the walls and roof that keep you safe and your home held together — then the paint, furniture, and curtains would be like your daily activities: spin class, walking your dog, standing as you cook, sitting at your desk, or playing with your kids. Without the structure, the other things would not have a stable place to exist. Without the stability, breakdown begins to occur. Pilates is a process — and as they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s the real deal and if you haven’t tried it yet, give it a go — your body will thank you!

Now, almost 15 years later, I continue to be a passionate Pilates fan and stand by the method for all it has to offer. Pilates is a focused, mindful form of exercise that requires you to be present in your body in order to notice and to focus on how you are moving, while practicing each exercise with intention. One of my dear clients, celebrity chef and author of newly released “The Chef Next Door”, Amanda Freitag has said, “As a professional chef who endures long hours and aches and pains, Kim and her Pilates instruction got me back on my feet and stronger than ever.”

My studio, which started out with 450-square-foot space in a chiropractor’s office, has grown to a 4,500-square-foot loft space in a historical landmark building in the Flatiron district of New York City.

As my business continues to evolve with new, fun classes and rock-star teachers, I see my clients change their bodies, eliminate chronic pain, and live happier lives. My personal growth, and the growth of my business, is proof to me that Pilates is here to stay.

So now I invite you to experience some Pilates with me in this 10-minute video. We will practice the half roll down to gain stability in your abdominals and back while using your arms to challenge your core. If you choose, you can add 1 or 2 lb. weights to this exercise to add a little extra to the workout. It’s a nice, quick way to start your day, so let’s do it!

CorePilatesNYC

You may also enjoy Minding Your Core | Pilates with Renata Halaska

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As an Urban Zen Integrative Therapist, I am often asked to produce an “Urban Zen experience” in a corporate setting

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I remember the first time I stepped into this environment at an ad agency. It surprised me to see how people reacted to having mindfulness programs incorporated into their workspace. I never thought I’d see the day when large corporations would put programs to support employees’ wellbeing into place. I have to admit, I hadn’t worked in the this environment since 1997, but I’ve still observed the negative effects on the bodies and minds of these employees that comes from sitting for long periods of time.

Recently I worked as part of a team piloting a UZIT (Urban Zen Integrative Therapy) program that required me to do exactly that – sit and work on a computer for 6 to 8 hours a day. I was so focused on the task at hand that I forgot to follow my own teaching, to open and expand my body. Suddenly, I began to notice that my left shoulder was tense, my hip flexors were tightening up, and my neck was not very supportive of the weight of my head. I actually began to feel the physical breakdown of my body. My morning routine shifted from a calm, meditative energy to a rushed frenzy. I commuted, which was something I haven’t done in years and which added yet another different level of stress to my day. I experienced a coworker getting angry with me and as a result, I became reactive. The only time I found peace was when I got to either practice my yoga and Urban Zen Therapy, or when I was teaching, which I continued to do five nights a week throughout the project.

In the old paradigm of thinking there was no melding of our personal and professional lives.

Professionals worked long, hard hours, and often self-medicated with smoking and/or drinking to calm the body. But in this new way of approaching life, people are discovering healthy habits to create more balance. This then trickles down into their home life, which then allows them to enjoy life in each environment.

Take a practice like transcendental meditation. David Lynch is a genius at integrating this practice into businesses, schools and other public forums – or witness Arianna Huffington’s change of heart as it pertains to burnout on the job and how to implement self-care. One of my teachers, Kari Harendorf, says “the body needs to run just as efficiently as your home or car.”

The key to an efficient body is letting your adrenal glands take a break and open up the “rest and digest” channel of the body, or what is called the parasympathetic nervous system. Christiane Northrup, M.D., says, “Norepinephrine (adrenalin) makes your heart pound, your blood rush to your heart and large muscle groups, your pupils widen, your brain sharpen, and your tolerance for pain increase — basically, it prepares you for battle. Modern-day battles are most likely things like pushing your body to keep going when it’s fatigued, dealing with a stressful job. Think of these adrenaline surges as withdrawals from a bank, to help you get through life’s rough spots. If you have gotten into the habit of withdrawing adrenaline from your account too often, you’ll eventually be overdrawn and your adrenal glands will be overwhelmed. Then, you’ll have too little of it when you really need it.”

My husband Yanni and I co-own a media production company. People often ask us, “How do you work together?” The truth is, we like each other and it ignites happiness for us to be creative together. We recently rebranded One Route (our company) to reflect what inspires us. For me it’s a dream come true, because it integrates my two worlds of media and wellness, but is not limited to either. We made a conscious choice to work on projects that move the human spirit forward. In media producing, there are times that a project may require us to work 24 hours and by the end our energy is low. We started to utilize some of my practices from yoga and Urban Zen as a way to enforce a self-care practice. It’s our responsibility to care for ourselves, especially as business owners. The people who choose to work with us need to feel that we are present so that we are able to produce their story in an authentic way.

I study yoga as well as Urban Zen under Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman Yee, and they’ve taught me how important it is to show up and be clear about the choices you make.

This is something that can be applied to every aspect of life, including my producing. It’s so apparent how important it is to have awareness, mindfulness, and a level of consciousness on set during filming or in the editing suite.

Developing a self-care program may seem easy, but in actuality, it’s a challenge that will quickly it will be left behind when life gets busy: the kids need you, mail is piling up, project deadlines are approaching. Self-care is usually the first thing to go by the wayside. So we’ve made it part of our work schedule, plugging reminders into our calendar to alert us or blocking out mandatory reenergizing sessions, so we can take what I call a “menna-pause” moment. We laugh at the “menna-pause” also — it’s okay to laugh at me!

It is my hope that you will enjoy the short video of (something — yoga?) that you can do at your desk when you need to take a moment to calm your mind, catch your breath, and ground your feet. Namaste!

Learn more at https://about.me/phenomenna

You may also enjoy Morning Yoga & Meditation for Energy, Awareness and Intention with Carter Miles

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The restorative power of yoga inversions

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The Buddha said, “I am not enlightened, I am merely awake.” What does it mean to be awake? Most of us spend our lives in relative states of “un-consciousness.” Sometimes we undergo a big, dramatic, once-in-a-lifetime awakening — such as a near-death experience — or we can occasionally experience subtler awakenings, such as hearing a story that resonates deep in our beings and creates a shift in consciousness.

But why leave “awakening” to some external act or story?

For me, yoga is a daily practice that gives us the tools to wake up, and in waking up, to overcome the obstacles that exist between ourselves and freedom, joy, and gratitude.

The pillars of yoga

Three of yoga’s pillars are asana (postures), pranayama (breath work), and meditation. These practices create clarity, in our bodies and our minds. When you practice asana — or postures — you observe your physical habits: the way you stand in Mountain Pose, the tuck of your pelvis, the collapse of your chest, the position of your head. When you learn to align yourself, you begin to notice how your habits can take you out of balance, and you begin to move towards physical symmetry. For instance, if you’ve sat at a computer for your whole career, your shoulders are rolled forward and your neck juts out. If you’ve carried babies on one hip, chances are that your pelvis is out of line.

The practice of yoga trains the brain to “wake up,” to be in the present moment.

It teaches you to observe what is happening right now, both physically and mentally. The practice of yoga demands that we stop and become aware of our mental and physical habits.

As you observe your physical habits, you’ll begin to notice your mental habits as well — the perpetual dialogue that is defining who you think you are, and keeping you on the hamster’s wheel, going round and round. All that chatter obstructs the true you. By spending time with our physical and mental patterns, we become conscious and mindful; gradually we may become able to smile, to let go, to change. Our bodies are intelligent — more a source of direct truth than our minds — but we rarely listen to the wisdom that’s buried in them.

When I discovered yoga in my late twenties, it was a revelation, a true “awakening.” I was a fashion model then; physically, I looked beautiful, but inside, I was a dilapidated house where no music was playing. I was insecure and desperately trying to be the woman I thought my then-husband would love. Thinking other people are better than you — whether it’s because you’re convinced they are smarter or prettier or more successful — is a habit, a form of self-hatred. It’s also a waste of energy. I cringe when I think about how jealousy brought forth my ugliness. I wasn’t practicing yoga’s first ethical rule of ahimsa, or “non-harming.” I was harming myself.

Ironically, I did experience a literal “bolt” of awakening. Miserable with my life, I went on a canoe trip with my five brothers in Algonquin National Park in Canada. During the trip, a huge storm arose; all of us were struck by lightening. When I was in the arc of the electric current, I remember thinking, “I am in nature, I am with my family and I have known love — it’s O.K. for me to die.” That was a life-altering change in perspective. As terrifying and painful as it was, the experience has brought me to a new level of calm (except during storms). To have experienced what I thought was an imminent death, was an awakening.

There were two messages the strike taught me: this precious moment is all we have, and we shouldn’t take life so seriously.

Smaller, everyday and possibly equally as profound experiences of awakening to new perspective can come from a passing word, a book, a song, a class, or a poem. The experience of failure, betrayal and disease can be powerful and painful teachings that could lead to an awakening. As Rumi says in his poem The Guest House: “The dark thought, the shame, the malice. Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in. Be grateful for whatever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.”

Yoga Inversions

Yoga tells us that that when our worlds get turned upside down, we may as well turn ourselves upside down. Poses called “inversions” allow you to see life from a different perspective. Inversions such as Handstand, Headstand, Forearm Stand, Shoulderstand, and even Downward-Facing Dog, sharpen and focus the mind. You can’t be obsessing about your insecurities, or worrying about your To-Do list when you’re in Handstand. You can’t be tending to emails or Instagramming while practicing Headstand.

Inversions are just the thing when your mind is spinning in an obsessive pattern and won’t give you any peace. They’re wonderful postures to do when you’re feeling mentally or physically stuck. I spent much of the last 16 months writing my new book, Yoga for Life: A Journey to Inner Peace and Freedom, and I can tell you that “stuck” now has a whole new meaning for me. Writing the book was “going upside down” for me. (I practiced a lot of inversions during that time!)

If I miss a flight and am ready to explode, I’ve been known to go into a bathroom in the airport and kick up into Handstand. Or if I am bored at a dinner party, I’ll find a way to excuse myself and sneak in an inversion in the next room. I use them when I need an attitude adjustment, that’s my secret.

The following sequence will give you a taste of inversions. Even if you can’t balance on your hands or arms, there are many inversion poses that place your head below your heart and create similar benefits. They increase presence of mind and help to optimize the pineal, pituitary, and thyroid glands to create balance. Headstand and Shoulderstand can also relieve constipation (which can be a physical manifestation of being “stuck”).

Relax and awaken to what is unfolding in the present moment.

Noticing when you are not present is the first step towards unveiling the beauty that is waiting beneath the chatter.

Below you will find a sampling of yoga positions from Colleen’s new book, hot off the presses – Yoga For Life: A Journey To Inner Peace And Freedom. For more teaching, life musings and inspiration click on over to colleensaidmanyee.com and order yourself a copy!

[Editor’s Note: Many inversions are advanced positions. If you are inexperienced, it is recommended to do these in the company of an instructor. Potential contraindications for inversions include high blood pressure, glaucoma, menstruation, and pregnancy.]

Supported Downward-Facing Dog (adho mukha shvanasana)

Have a block handy. Fold into child’s pose (balasana), and reach your arms actively forward. Keep your hands and feet where they are, tuck your toes under, and lift your knees off the floor, pulling your hips back until your arms straighten. Then place the block on the floor at one of its three heights (low, middle, high), positioned under your forehead. Support the head in such a way that the ears are aligned between the arms. This is an inversion in which all four of your limbs are on the ground, so it doesn’t provoke much fear. But it can still be disorientating because you’re upside down. Stay in the pose for ten breaths. Then walk your feet forward and stand at the front of your mat.

Handstand Preparation (adho mukha vrikshasana variation)

Press your hands against a wall and arrange yourself into a ninety-degree angle — arms and torso parallel to the floor (ears between the arms), legs perpendicular (so the heels are directly below the hips). Look at the floor and stay for five breaths. Remain here or go into…

Handstand at the wall (adho mukha vrikshasana)

Approach this pose from downward-facing dog, with your hands on the floor at shoulder width, about four inches away from the wall. Step your dominant leg forward, knee bent, and then on an exhale, swing the straight leg high into the air while pushing off the bent leg (a). You may not get all the way up, but the attempt will focus your mind. This is the safest of the inversions because there’s no weight on your neck and head. If you make it into handstand (b), stay for five breaths. Then come down with an exhale and sit on your heels.

Learn more at colleensaidmanyee.com

You may also enjoy Best Self Yoga Flow for Flexibility and Relaxation with Carter Miles

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Agility is an essential, and often overlooked, construct of physical, mental, and emotional fitness. This agility training video will help you get on track — and it’s fun!

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My job as a fitness coach entails designing and implementing research-based programs for individuals or populations to improve nutrition, health, and physical fitness. As an educator I also implement curriculums to deliver appropriate knowledge for agencies, professional groups, or students. Therefore, I am committed to this lifelong passion for wellness as a career and a ministry.

My journey as a fitness coach began when a hit-and-run car accident nearly took my life. The vehicular perpetrator said, “I was too afraid to stop,” but that night was only the beginning. It was the beginning of a time when the origins of wellness and the reality of its miracles would be revealed to me. At the same time, my desire to be a fitness coach was catalyzed.

As a fitness coach, I encourage people to follow what their hearts tell them and show them how to read their own physical abilities to determine what they can do.

It’s really about what people desire for themselves. Then a fitness coach can design exercises around those needs. For my clients, agility and core exercises will typically be central to their training regimens.

But for me it started with desire and faith, perhaps the most effective tools in the beginning stages of my rehabilitation. It took months of therapy and waiting before I could participate in agility activities again. I had the obstacles of metal rods and screws in my leg, plus medical reports predicting that I would never play sports again.

I spent months meditating and praying while looking through a huge window of my parents’ country home. I pondered the possibility of healing. Then one day I decided to wheelchair myself into the YMCA. I used the body parts that were working (my upper body) and the rest of my body seemed to follow. I estimate that my recovery rate tripled after beginning weight training, a discovery independent of my education, and training that I implement even to this day. I also read daily devotionals and educational fitness materials between exercise sessions. All together, it turns out that my tragedy was very quickly turning into my triumph.

Now with the desire to get up, nothing could stand in the way. I knew that if I got up that I could also get lots more people up too, especially those whom I love and whom I desire to prosper with. Consequently, I think that agility is not just for us, but also for the people around us, and when we lead by example it actually helps us to reach new heights.

There are six stages that psychologist describe which help individuals better understand my experience. They are called, “The Stages of Behavioral Change.” Specifically, “The Maintenance Stage” involves perseverance through lapses and teaching others to achieve their goals. This behavioral model of change states that people who teach others are more likely to reach “The Adoption Phase,” which is the highest level of change related to the fulfillment of one’s goals. And while most of my clients experience personal success, I want them to experience the reward of “Adoption.” With adoption we must lead by example and become accountable in the public view for desired changes in our lives.

As for me, the hit-and-run car accident became a catalyst for my role in fitness leadership.

Next, it came to pass that my transformation and my healing were complete. One day I was playing basketball – it was nearly the first time I played since the accident. One of my teammates missed a shot and the ball bounced perfectly off the rim. My desire to finish my teammate’s basket surpassed the fact that the ball was five or six inches above the rim. So I jumped, caught the ball, and slam-dunked! Feelings of joy overwhelmed me as I had just dunked in the face of my tragedy. That’s the feeling that agility can provide and that’s what desire can do.

In closing, agility is essential for physical wellness and the optimization of life. As a fitness coach I am committed to teaching others about how agility applies to life, sports performance, or almost any recreational activity. Furthermore, I believe that anyone who includes agility exercise in their pursuit of wellness will experience life-changing results. Good health and wellness to all…

Citations:

King, K., & Klawitter, B. (2007). Nutrition Therapy (3rd ed.) Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Howley, E., & Franks, D. (2007). Fitness Professional’s Handbook (5th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Sizer, F., & Whitney, E. (2014). Nutrition Concepts and Controversies (13th ed.). Wadsworth, CA: Cengage.

Pitching Biomechanics Evaluation. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.asmi.org/bioEval.php?page=bio_eval

>Learn more at  jamalsanderscareer.wordpress.com

You may also enjoy Best Self Yoga Flow for Flexibility and Relaxation by Carter Miles

The post The Agility of Life | Agility Training For Wellness And Life appeared first on BEST SELF.

A restorative 25 minute Pilates routine for your core which you ca do at home

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If you are anything like me, you have at one time or another, falsely believed that it’s not a “real” work out unless you run a few miles and sweat like a pig. I guess you never had back pain or have taken a pilates class either? I’ll admit, I’m the classic reluctant gym-goer, exercise class-taker…until I’m there. I’ve experienced all kinds of back and neck pain in my life and spend the majority of my day sitting at a desk in front of a computer – not exactly a recipe for alignment.

When you are in pain, you are often willing to try anything. I was curious about all of this “core” talk. And I’m happy to say — I am a self-proclaimed convert, as I have made the connections between my core strength and my physical wellbeing, not to mention the added benefit of decompressing my mind with some self-care – “Me” time.

I had the pleasure of convincing my pilates teacher, the beautiful Renata Halaska, founder of Balance Pilates, to create a 30-minute video for our Best Self readers – a little sampling of things you can do at home to stretch, strengthen and decompress your spin. She has kicked my core, but in the process I have been the beneficiary of pain elimination, improved posture and all around muscle tone. Give it a whirl and you will see why she has such a loyal following. Go forth and engage your core!

~Kristen Noel

You may also enjoy Best Self Yoga Flow for Flexibility and Relaxation with Carter Miles

The post Minding Your Core | Pilates with Renata Halaska appeared first on BEST SELF.

Alleviate stress and find inner peace with this 5 minute yoga routine that you can do anywhere

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Taking the leap of faith requires courage, awareness, and belief in ones own journey. To know what it is you’re being asked to perform moves you to a point of change. For example, maybe you need to change jobs, start your own business, loose weight, or change where you live – it could really go on and on because every person’s Leap —s different. Many times I have made a choice, thinking to myself that I am going to take the leap, knowing there is no net to catch me. Sometimes I fell hard, other times gently; all I know is… I made a choice. We all get stuck at some point; when you make a choice to move forward, life offers you more opportunities that are in alignment with your highest purpose. Be in the moment and be open to possibilities.

“Trust that what is in your highest and best interest is being organized for you in a more comprehensive way than your individual mind can comprehend.” ~ Deepak Chopra

Moving to New York from Los Angeles with my dog Maxi in tow was by far one of the greatest leaps I have ever taken. Upon arriving, I soon secured a job at Crunch Fitness and a couch to sleep on. I had no idea that 14 years later I would be married, a mother, co‑own a boutique production company with my husband, and become a yoga teacher. I had no idea the plan that lied ahead of me, because I was still on the search.

The energy of not knowing required me to have faith in myself and in God, because without those two things New York City could have consumed me.

It’s the world my mom often tried to shield me from, but also the world that called to me.

As a yoga student and teacher, I am forever peeling the onion of faith versus fear. In yoga asana (postures), the layers that unveil one’s authentic self will last a lifetime. What I like most about yoga is the offering of a physical practice that demonstrates faith. One begins to overcome fear with every practice, whether it be moving into shirsasna (headstand), Urdhva Dhanurasana, (full backbend), or just showing up to a class. Being there for yourself, to grow in a practice that you are physically active in, creates tangible results and helps to clear the clutter (or vrittis) of the mind, so that one can clearly see the leap of faith they must take.

Building confidence and courage in an instant can be overwhelming; attending a yoga class when you have never practiced yoga before can be similarly overwhelming. The thought of showing up while thinking your body has no flexibility can create fear and a lack of confidence. So, how can you begin to practice yoga as a way to build courage?

First you must understand what yoga means: It is the fusing together of the mind, body, and soul. Yoga means “yoke,” the bringing together of.

When you begin to experience even an inkling of mind‑body connection, you will have an “aha” moment.

If I am in a moment of uncertainty and need to find a way to move past it, or just make peace with it, I do what I call a Menna Moment. I can always find a small space to ground my feet, lift my arms and do 3‑5 minutes of simple yoga movements. This changes my perspective on any given situation because I change. I remember when I was a server in NYC — there were nights that I thought I would loose my mind — I knew in my heart I was suppose to be doing something else, but did not have the courage to let go of the job. I needed to make money. I would later establish a new business, One Route Media, with my husband, Yanni, and proceed to become a yoga teacher. At that time, however, as a student of yoga, I would utilize yoga tools to move through these difficult moments.

Below is a brief Menna Moment that I hope you will find helpful.

I created this movement sequence to lift your energy — building a bridge for your leap, and a space for stillness. Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman Yee, who I consider to be my teachers, say “We all have a stillness inside — you have to find it, sit with it, and get intimate with the stillness within; then you may be able to tether it to yourself in the world.”

Menna Moment

5 minute sequence

1. Stand in Tadasana or mountain pose. Equal standing pose, feet are hip-width distance apart. Arms heavy along side your body. Legs are toned as thighs move into the hamstrings; groins are soft. Chest is lifted while shoulder blades are firm into the back, but spread away from the spine. Breath easy.
2. Prayer hands to your heart. Set your intention — this should be an offering that moves you toward your leap of faith.
3. Inhale, lift arms into Urhdva Hastasana, upward hand pose. Let arms be shoulder-width apart. Feel the sides of the waist being long, the tailbone heavy, and legs toned.
4. Exhale, lowering arms down along your sides. Tadasana.
5. Utkatasana — chair pose. Thighs are parallel and drawn toward your hip points with soft groins. Shins move back toward the calf muscles as the weight of the body rests on the heels of the feet. The tailbone moves down as the shoulder blades rest firmly into the upper back. Elbows are straight and arms lift above the head. Inhale and exhale for 3 full breaths.
6. Return to Tadasana — exhale.
7. Vriksasana — Tree pose. Exhale. Standing on the left foot alone, lift and bend the right knee and rotate out toward your right side; place right foot on inner left calf. Lift the torso up and out of the pelvis, as sides of the waist are long, and both hands move into the sky, shoulder blades firm into the upper back. Lift the chest as collarbones spread open. Slowly return to standing position, and repeat on left side.
8. Tadasana — Exhale, Equal standing.
9. Utkatasana — Inhale, lift arms, bend knees and sit into Powerful pose or Chair pose.
10. Tadasana — Exhale
11. Hands to prayer at the chest. Bow your chin to your heart, offer gratitude for the fulfillment of your intention.
12. NAMASTE

If you performed this mini-sequence, I hope you feel good — because you took a leap of faith in my teaching and in your own self‑awareness! This can build momentum for you to continue to hold faith in yourself and to take the leap toward your new journey.

You may also enjoy Best Self Yoga Flow for Flexibility and Relaxation by Carter Miles

The post Stillness In The Leap | 5 Minute Yoga appeared first on BEST SELF.

I certainly remember the days of free play and daily activity. Do you?

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The state of health and fitness in the United States has come to a virtual standstill. Obesity continues to rise, with no sign of slowing down. Organized sports have replaced neighborhoods as the primary structure for after-school activity. The “January Rush,” due to New Year’s Resolutions at gyms and health clubs across America, will only yield a national surge in participation of about 12%, which will quickly dwindle in the months that follow.

I certainly remember the days of free play and daily activity. Do you? I remember not the forced repetition of gym machine reps and health club treadmill wars, but rather, the fun in the activity I was engaged in. Riding bikes with the fellas, climbing the monkey bars, backyard sports extravaganzas and the like — this is where I learned what fitness was all about.

This may sound like a bleak outlook, but on the horizon, a hopeful trend is emerging.

There is resurgence in the fitness industry to provide you, the consumer, with an experience within the experience. Beyond the individual exercises, and education to perform them effectively, your engagement should include relationship-building, task-orientated activities and empowerment. You should walk away with a sense that you are making physical progress and that your experience is keeping you wanting more.

So how do we get this done? I submit that we get back to our fitness roots.

Here are 5 ways you can reclaim your fitness roots.

Although aspects of the following list will seem new to a few readers, if your birth year takes you back far enough to know who Richard Simmons is…we are about to go old school!

1. Play more. Workout less.

The more you can engage in activities that you enjoy, the better. In fact, if you perceive physical activity as play, you will have a more difficult time stopping…than starting! The best way to achieve this is to play games. Yes… play games. When is the last time you played tag? I can guarantee your heart rate will be up, your legs will burn and you will be laughing the entire time. But similar benefits are derived from virtually any physical game — tennis, pickup soccer, ultimate Frisbee, whatever.

Bottom line: You have to stop play. You have to force work.

If fitness in your life can result from joyful activity, rather than a forced process, you will enjoy countless years of better physical, mental and spiritual health.

2. Don’t box yourself in.

Traditional fitness programs have their place. As does just about every form of fitness you can imagine. Sticking to what you love to do is essential; finding it is vital. Getting stuck in the minutia of whatever program is touted as the be-all and end-all exercise regimen leaves people with the same start-up procrastination that plagues most of our country.

If you are not happy with your current level of fitness, or again, if your current exercise plan is not exactly lighting you up inside, then it’s time to make a change. I encourage you to think outside the box and be open to new possibilities. Color outside the lines with your fitness program.

A fantastic benefit of trying new modes of getting in shape is that you will stay engaged longer, and it will be a catalyst for avoiding those nagging injuries due to overuse of muscles and joints.

3. Explore new things.

If you take nothing out of this article but this one point, I will be ecstatic: All exercise works. It all has its place. The most important factor is finding what resonates with you. Fitness training is, and should be, contextual.

What feels good and is fun for me might not be what you like to do…and that is ok. Actually, it is perfect.

The fitness industry’s dirty little secret is that all the infighting about the efficacy of one training style or program over another is pointless. Case in point — the lack of physical fitness in the United States that I reference in the beginning of this article, even after decades and myriad trends in fitness evolution.

If hiking is what you love to do… hike. If Latin dance classes fire you up… dance. If lifting weights is what pulls you out of bed in the morning… let the gun show begin!

You will know which activities resonate with you, because you will become engrossed to the point that the cares of the outside world temporarily disappear. The restrictions of time and space will seem to vanish. You will be in the moment.

4. Use your body (weight).

You were born with the most amazing exercise machine on Planet Earth. It self-regulates, adjusts to changes in speed or resistance, and it will tell you when to stop. It is always available to you, and the more you take care of it, the more efficient it will become. Your body is a miracle-machine.

Body-weight exercises have long been a viable means of increasing strength, joint mobility and muscle flexibility. Physical education was historically rooted in gymnastics, calisthenics, and body-weight strength training. In the spirit of developing a strong, injury-resistant and lean physique, adopting a body-weight strategy is both refreshing and empowering. Which exercise are the best?

Here are my top 10 body-weight strength training exercises, in no particular order of importance:

• Squats
• Lunges
• Push-ups
• Bear Crawls
• Planks
• Jumping Jacks
• Crab walks
• Pull-ups or chin-ups
• Hip Extensions
• Log Rolls

5. Bring friends for the ride.

The social aspect of fitness is critical in light of the smartphone-driven communication style we subscribe to today. Get back to your roots of talking and having fun with friends while exercising. Have you ever noticed that when you exercise with friends, you actually exert more effort than you do with your trainer being in your face, demanding more reps? This is due to transparent and opaque competition.

Transparent competition is when you compete directly against your partner or peers. Tug-o-war is a perfect example. One team competes against the other with one clear winner in the end.

Opaque competition is internal. When you reach a personal record in a time trial, or perform a higher number of quality pushups, the joy you feel is due to the competition within yourself. However, opaque competition can come in several forms, including when a group of people are trying to complete a task in a certain amount of time, as a team.Both forms act as strong motivators.

Beyond the psychological merits of competition, however, working out with friends is simply more fun.

At the end of the day, the goal is to develop a physical culture within yourself. The social aspect of your fitness cannot be overstated — we are social beings. Reach out to your friends today and get active!

Exercise is whatever you define it to be. Your body, and your heart, will guide you to make choices that feel right for you. Whatever fitness activity you choose to engage in, enjoy the journey, because it is in the journey that you will ultimately find the joy.

Watch Dave’s short video with the Top 5 Exercises you can do anywhere:

Learn more at coachdavegleason.com

You may also enjoy Best Self Yoga Flow for Flexibility and Relaxation with Carter Miles

The post Fun & Games: Getting Back to Your Fitness Roots appeared first on BEST SELF.