Five minute yoga break featuring the Sun Salutation

Welcome to this week's Five Minute Yoga break! If you live (well, I'd usually say in the Northeast but this week it's pretty much anywhere in the east!), you've probably been doing some shoveling. Or stressing about the weather and your loved ones getting to where they need to be. Time to get some relief from it all with the half sun salute!

Here's a visual to help you:

half sun salute

You'll start in Tadasana or Mountain pose.

On an inhale reach your arms to the sky, exhale to fold into a forward fold. (Keep your knees a bit soft (aka bent) here, especially for the first few rounds to give your back body time to open up.) On your inhale, lift the spine half way and lengthen through the crown taking your hands to your shins or thighs for support and on your exhale fold back to the earth. Inhale here and press your feet down firmly, as you exhale start rolling the spine up to the sky. Let your natural next inhale allow your spine to lengthen as you reach and then exhale and bring your hands back to the heart.

Want to go deeper? After a few rounds of the sequence above you could throw in a lunge:

lunge

Put this in after that second forward fold (the first frame of the second line in the image above) like this:

Forward fold. Inhale step back into your lunge. Exhale stay there. Inhale to prepare and then exhale to step that foot back to forward fold. Continue as above until you find yourself back in Tadasana. Then repeat taking the other leg back next time around.

You could also hold that lunge for a few breaths if it feels good just to be there.

Want to throw in something else? How about a twist? Or stepping back into a Downward Facing Dog after the lunge? Or dropping the back knee and taking the arms up to the sky from the lunge?

The possibilities are endless!

So set your timer and go see where this takes you! And DON'T FORGET to give yourself a little Shavasana at the end!

Let us know how it went in the comments. :-)

Five minute yoga break

Here's your five minute yoga break for this week! Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Lift your hips and put them down onto a couple of yoga blocks, some books or maybe a big pillow. Let your arms rest along side your body with the palms facing up. With each exhalation, let your whole body sink deeper into the support of your props and the floor.

When your timer goes off, lift your hips off your props, move them to the side and slowly roll your spine down drawing your knees together to touch and walking your feet wide so your low legs make an inverted V shape for a few breaths. Hug your knees to your chest and circle them in both directions a few times. Roll to your right side and press up to seated.

Notice how you feel.

February Special!! Private Yoga Sessions

February Special!!Take $10 off any Private Yoga Session with Jessica

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You enjoy your group class and find it rewarding, but have you ever wondered what it would be like to be able to work one on one with your yoga teacher? Have you ever wondered if you were really "getting" a pose? Or have you ever wondered if there were things you could do on your own that would help you *specifically* in the ways you most need?

That's where Private Yoga Sessions can help!

Jessica offers Private Yoga Sessions on an individually scheduled basis either in your home or at the studio. In these sessions you will have the complete focus of your teacher to help you address challenges such as:

• Trying Yoga for the very first time when a group class seems far too intimidating
• Recovery from injury or surgery
• General health and wellness issues such as anxiety, insomnia, depression, stress management and dietary concerns
• Ongoing health issues such as emphysema and chronic pain
• Physical issues created by your daily work such as back pain and poor posture
• Getting started with a home practice
• Refining your current practice to find greater awareness and understanding your own unique strengths and weakness
• Time to ask the questions that you just can't ask in a group class setting

We're also starting something new at the studio!

IN-CLASS PRIVATE SESSIONS

Jessica will silently assist and adjust you throughout your class, giving you the benefit of greater body awareness through constant attention during an actual practice. These assists may help refine alignment, bring you into a pose in a deeper or more meaningful way and/or give you an entirely different experience and understanding of your practice.

One on one Private Session - $50/hour  JUST $40 THIS MONTH

In-class Private Session - $30/class PLUS your regular class fee  JUST $20 THIS MONTH Sundays only 1-2:15pm ONLY THREE SPACES AVAILABLE SO SIGN UP SOON!

***BONUS!! SIGN UP FOR ANY PRIVATE SESSION IN FEBRUARY & BE ENTERED TO WIN A FREE IN-CLASS PRIVATE SESSION IN MARCH!!***Visit our Private Sessions Page to learn more about private sessions and schedule one now!

Five Minute Yoga Break

Here's today's 5 minute yoga break! Had a rough day at the office or spent a lot of time at the computer? Can't really get away from your desk right now? Or maybe you're on yet another conference call?

Give this a try! Slide your chair back until your forehead can rest on your desk or top of your folded arms. It's kind of like child's pose in your chair. Set your timer and breathe into your low back and kidney area. You might feel a nice stretch in your upper body and a softening of the shoulder blades on to the back while you're here too.

Slowly come up when you're finished or your timer goes off.

Feeling refreshed go back to your day.

How did this work for you? Post a comment and let me know!

Namasté!

Essential Oils Workshop next week!

More and more I find that when I have a headache, stomach ache, burn, etc. etc. instead of reaching for chemical or engineered remedies from the medicine cabinet I reach for my essential oils! Those that have already taken this workshop are experiencing some dramatic changes in their health and wellness. I hope you'll join us and find out for  yourself just how powerful these oils can be! ~ Jessica

Natural Remedies and Green Living with Young Living Essential Oils

Tuesday February 4th, 6:30-8:30pm

Just $10!

Come learn to live more chemical-free and create a healthy, portable and cross-functional first aid kit using nature’s first medicine – essential oils. You will learn how you can support your health and that of those you love. We will discuss using essential oils for:

•Air purification and neutralizing odors •First aid (burns, sore throat, cuts, muscle ache, headaches and more) •Sleep problems and relaxation •Cold and flu prevention and treatment •Digestive problems •Pest control •Cleaning and aromatherapy •Anxiety and mood problems •Pet care •Cooking and more….

Workshop includes a brief description of the history of essential oils, their medicinal and therapeutic properties, and hands-on experience with 9 essentials oils. You’ll also receive a handout of ways to use these 9 oils each day in your home and for your health.

Pre-registration is required.

 CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE EVENT PAGE AND REGISTER!

3 best of

Five Minute Yoga Break

Take a five-minute yoga break! Come into downward facing dog. Breathe deep into your belly and out from your belly. Hold the pose for as long as you can without over straining. When your finished, bring your knees down and press back to child’s pose. Breathe here until you can come back into downward facing dog. Repeat this process until your timer goes off.

Notice how you feel.

Happy Friday!

Five Minute Yoga Break

Can’t make it to the studio today?! Take a five-minute yoga break! Set your timer for 5 minutes and lie down on your back in Shavasana. Breathe here. When the timer goes off, draw your knees into your chest, roll to your right side and come up to seated. Notice how you feel. Yes you just did a yoga practice! Isn’t that great?!

Remember there are no yoga police!

Our next event! Reiki and Restorative Yoga!

An evening of Reiki and Restorative Yogawith Gina House & Jessica M. Lang Wright

Tuesday January 21st, 7-9pm, Cost: $30 Advanced Registration Required! Space is limited!

Join us for a luscious evening that will relax and restore you! Jessica will guide you into Restorative yoga postures that will gently open your body, using of a variety of props to support you, allowing tension and stress to drain and release from your body. As you hold these fully supported delicious postures, Gina will administer the loving healing energy of Reiki to individuals as well as the group, further enhancing the relaxation and deep healing of the practice. You will leave this evening feeling incredibly relaxed, deeply healed and ready for a peaceful night of sleep!

READ MORE HERE!

Celebrate what you *can* do!

I’ve been sharing this quote I found on a friend’s Facebook page with my students this week:

Not everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. -Albert Einstein

Now if there’s a guy that knows about geniuses, Einstein is probably it! I was really struck by this quote because how many times in our daily lives do we compare ourselves to someone or something else and put ourselves down because we don’t measure up? How many times have you looked outside and passed judgement on yourself because you thought, in comparison to Person X you …

aren’t as good a Mother? aren’t as good a Father? aren’t as good a Husband? aren’t as good a Wife? aren’t as good a Parent? aren’t as good a Cook? aren’t thin enough? aren’t tall enough? aren’t creative enough? or even…

aren’t as good a Yogi (cause obviously I’m not as good a yogi as Person X because they can stand on their head for hours without even trying and I can’t!)?

But the real question is,

Why?

Why pass these judgements on ourselves? How does that serve us? Certainly we want to find ourselves challenged in this life. We don’t grow or move forward without challenge. But why is it necessary to judge? Why can we find the celebration in what is for ourselves? Why not honor our own unique path and find celebration in our own journey?

Yoga teaches us that we are all born from perfection. We simply strive to be even more perfect in this life. What better opportunity to celebrate our perfection than on the mat/chair?! We can use our practice to turn compassion towards ourselves and celebrate the things we *can* do while knowing that maybe that headstand will be easier tomorrow if we continue to practice. We can find an opportunity to celebrate what is, rather than lament what might be. And if we practice it on the mat/chair, we’ll be more able to find that compassion for ourselves the next time we’re out in the world and find ourselves in a situation that challenges our self image.

You have been given the great gift of a body to serve you as you move through this life. Yes, it may challenge you now and then, but where would you be without it?? If you can breathe, you’re already ahead of the game.  Honor and celebrate what you are, because not everyone can climb a tree, but some of us can swim like a fish!