Quick Tips for Balanced Living
Got 10 minutes to refresh your spirit?
Feeling knocked off-center? Scattered? Rushed? Or lethargic and worn out? Regain your balance.
When your days get hectic or worse, you can create an oasis in your life, a daily spiritual retreat to recharge your batteries and rest your mind. Set aside a little time each day for a few yoga postures and maybe some meditation. Have a mini-vacation every day of the week. For those brief moments, you can relax deeply, get back in touch with yourself, and just be tranquil and content for one long, satisfying moment. The writers from Yoga International magazine suggest quick, practical techniques for making your busy life easier.
We will be adding regularly to this treasure trove of stress-reduction practices, time-tested yoga postures, energy-boosting breathing exercises, and ideas for transforming bad habits into healthy ones. Be sure to join our mailing list to receive notification of new courses.
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Alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhanam pranayama) is one of the most treasured and powerful practices of hatha yoga. It’s easy to learn, safe for all levels of practice, and used therapeutically to balance the nervous system and restore health and harmony in the body. As a spiritual practice, alternate nostril breathing is valued as training and preparation for the more subtle practices of yoga and meditation. The following video instructions, guided practice, and diagram will give you all you need to begin your practice, along with instructions for daily practice. As you master nadi shodhanam, you’ll enjoy an intrinsic sense of inner well-being, and find yourself a bit calmer and energetically balanced throughout the day.The Yoga Mastering the Basics excerpt and Breathe for Balance will give you the philosophical and theoretical background of the practice, several variations of technique, and suggested daily practice routines. The video, The Practice of Nadi Shodhanam demonstrates the easiest technique to begin, and the audio download will guide you through one complete round of practice. Use the diagram as a visual aid for the guided practice, or as a handy reminder of the technique as you practice on your own.
Instructions for alternate nostril breathing, including a mudra, sitting posture, hints for practice, and how to avoid common pitfalls.If you have a problem playing the content, try refreshing the page.
If you have a problem playing the content, try refreshing the page.A guided practice of one round of the simplest pattern of alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhanam). One round is six complete breaths, alternating between the nostrils, and finishing with three relaxed breaths through both nostrils. The practice uses a count of six for each inhale and each exhale. Suitable for daily use.
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Use this diagram to guide your personal practice of nadi shodhanam (alternate nostril breathing). The pattern shown follows the instructions given in Guided Practice of Nadi Shodhanam audio, and in the Practice of Nadi Shodhanam video.
Download the diagram (PDF)
Imagine having a mind that is unwavering in its clarity, one that is ever alert in the moment yet has no trouble recalling the lessons of the past, a mind that goes where you direct it and stays where you put it. This is a well-controlled, calm, and focused mind—it is the same mind that meditates well. Meditation cultivates these qualities—but it also requires them…
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Download an excerpt from the award winning title Yoga: Mastering the Basics by Rolf Sovik, PsyD and Sandra Anderson:
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