Archive for Blog
Ocean Breath-Relaxing The Sympathetic Nervous System
When we breathe in a rhythmic and audible fashion breathing in and out of the nose with the mouth closed, sounding like the waves of the ocean or Darth Vader, we are actually doing more than just breathing, we are stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system. The breath is the steady part that resides within all of us. It is always there and automatically occurs whether we are aware or not.
Whereas most of its actions are involuntary, some, such as breathing, work in tandem with the conscious mind.
When we breathe in a mindful manner, it calms the autonomic nervous system, which consists of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are located in the portion of the brain stem entitled the medulla oblongata.
The sympathetic nervous system is fight or flight. This happens when we get stressed or have to run away from a bear, for example. Our heart rate accelerates, our breath is either rapid or non-existent and we feel tightness in our body. Most of us stay in this state of mind when we get in this state, we need to breathe and that is usually the first thing that. The parasympathetic nervous system is the relaxation response in the body.
Mindful breathing can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and help us come into a relaxed state of mind.
Sarah Herrington Interview, Author of OM Schooled, on Mind-Body-Green
Sarah Herrington teaches Kids Yoga
At Addriya, we are please to bring your attention to a great interview on Mind-Body-Green of Sarah Herrington, author of OM Schooled.
Addriya will be publishing OM Schooled very soon.
The interview by Lindsey Toledo highlights the journey taken by Sarah in becoming a full-time yoga city in a New York City public school. She spent 3 years as a full time yoga instructor, right along with math and science. She has a wealth of experience in implementing a kids yoga program and all the challenges faced with bring yoga into schools. T
As Sarah says in the interview:
“OMSchooled is a book for yoga teachers, classroom educators and anyone interested in sharing yoga with youth and promoting it in our school systems. It is a teacher’s guide but also filled with personal stories. OMSchooled grew out of years of teaching kids’ yoga as a full time, on staff yoga teacher in a NYC public school, as well as teaching in studios and privates. When I began, teaching 5-7 classes a day 5 days a week, I read every book and watched every DVD I could. While these materials helped me, I still found I needed guidance in making yoga lesson plans, combining yoga with classroom management, elevating the educational standards of yoga programs, and tips for bringing yoga philosophy to 5-year-olds. As I continued to learn through teaching I began writing OMSchooled to hopefully help others interested in this work, and to share more yoga with more youth!”
To read the entire interview, click here.
What is your Yoga?
What is your Yoga?
What about bridge pose? To bridge the gap between yourself and your breath.
I love yoga because it helps me restore a sense of balance and self reflection. When I wake up in the morning or after a long day, I need a way to reconnect. I do this through mindfully moving my body. This could be through a series of asanas (poses linked with breath), a long walk with my kids, alone, or just simply quiet time; doing nothing, being nothing, and not being responsible for anything even if just for a few moments. Taking this time, helps me recharge and self nurture, so that I can be of service to others.
Many other people, especially children, have their own yoga. Surfing, shooting baskets, playing with legos, climbing a tree, bird watching, to name a few. These could also be considered forms of yoga. When I instruct children, I encourage them to find an activity that they enjoy which links them to the present moment and where they come out of the activity better than when they came in.
That in my opinion is yoga.
Inhale/Exhale Pose-Yogic tool box series
Tools to deal with default behavior!
Last week we talked about default behavior. What do you do when life and events get a little heated. There are specific tools which yoga brings to the table to handle these default behaviors. When I feel myself getting stressed, or having a tight feeling in my belly which I have come to recognize as fear, I mindfully begin to breathe.
I learned from one of my yoga instructors, her method of staying calm and centered is to say to yourself as you are breathing, I am breathing in, I am breathing out as you inhale and exhale out of your nose. This self-talk brings mindfulness to the breath, which in turn calms the mind and the nervous system. I teach this to my own kids and when I teach yoga to children.
Having this simple, yet powerful tool, can turn a potentially crazy situation into a calm one by the use of the breath.
