Happy Fall! WonderFALL tips for yoga practice and daily living.
Hello there Yoga Friends! Wow, it has been since the end of August since I have written a blog! Well, now that it is the fall season I'd like to share a few quick tips on how to adjust your yoga practice for the fall in order to prepare the body and immune system for the cooler (if you are in florida like myself) or wayyyyyy colder weather (for all of my northern yogis)!
I will teaching a "master class" at One Yoga and Fitness in Clermont on Friday Nov 2 from 5:30-7 entitled WonderFALL Flow, which will explore the aspects I am about to share with you. If you are in the area, please come and experience this wonderfally flow! All the information is at the bottom of the blog...
~According the Ayurveda, yoga's sister science, the fall season is dominated by the air element. This element cultivates dryness and brittleness in our internal environment (our body) and the external environment. We need to engage in a self care practice, yoga practice, and diet practice that warms and moisturizes the body to combat the dryness and keep ourselves supple and grounded.
During the fall it is recommended to engage in abyanga (self-massage) with warm sesame oil. This promotes joint health, healthy skin, and circulation. For more information about abyanga please visit
One of the main qualities inherent in the air element is movement, which can cause restlessness in the body and mind. With this being said, the fall is a time to slow down and ground, especially in preparation for the hustle and bustle of the approaching holiday season. Here are a few ways to promote grounding...
1) Pranayama (breath-work). A suggested breathing practice is one where you increase the exhalation and shorten the inhalation. For example if you breathe in for a count of 4 then your exhalation should take 8 counts. Using a mantra or affirmation can also be of assistance. For example, you can say, "Breathing in" on the inhale and on the exhale think, "I am grounded and calm." Feel free to use words that are meaningful for you.
2) Eat slowly. When you sit down to eat, do simply that and savor your meal. Avoid eating on the go or eating and watching tv or being on the computer. Smell what you are about to ingest, taste all of the flavors, chew thouroughly, take a moment to digest. This will also help in over-eating/over-indulging.
3) Meditation. If you are in the middle of your day and feeling restless then find few minutes throughout the day to disconnect from technology and socialization, and connect to you. Meditation can be done seated in a chair, on the floor, lying down, or even a walking meditation. A few minutes a day will keep anxiety at bay!
Finally, your asana practice should support the qualities of fall. As the weather gets cooler you want to keep the body warm, but not over-heated. Do a few rounds of sun salutes at a steady pace at the beginning of your practice to stoke your inner fire. Continue to create heat with a bit of core work, followed by standing poses that are grounding and warming such as the warrior poses, side angle, and lunges. Backbends and finding extension of the spine are key in your fall yoga practice, as this not only warms the body, but strengthens the immune system and opens the chest to prevent common illnesses of the winter season. Take several minutes to induldge in forward bends and an extended savasana to top off your "delightFALL" practice.
These are a few tips for you my dear friends! If you have Nov 2 free, please join me at One Yoga and Fitness to experiece a living version of this blog, as well as receiving more information about how to adjust for the fall. Afterwards, we will be having a pot luck of fall flavored snacks and tea. Please bring a snack to contribute to the post practice harvest.
Thanks for reading! Happy fall blessings to you all!
Namaste,
Julie
One Yoga and Fitness Presents:
WonderFALL Flow
Master Class with Julie
Friday
November 2, 5:30-7pm
(Post
practice snacks and tea to follow)
Cost:
$12 and 1 food item donation to Second Harvest Food Bank
Please
join us for this special Saturday morning practice designed to bring balance to
the whole body during the cooler and drier fall weather. During the fall the air and space elements
become out of balance, which causes a scattered mind, dry skin, and
susceptibility to a weakened immune system.
Our yoga practice can serve as an antidote through warming postures,
backbends, and arm balances, and pranayama to create heat in the body. Combine this with intention harvesting and
you will feel simply “wonderfall!”
Warm
tea, cider, and seasonal treats to follow our practice! Please feel free to
bring a snack to share with your fellow yogis!
Autumn is a second spring when every
leaf is a flower. ~Albert Camus~
One Yoga and Fitness
1214 Bowman Street,Clermont, FL
407-900-8039~oneyogafitness.com
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