"Look at the plants and trees; their foliage flourishes, then drops in late autumn, returning to the roots, as a natural pattern. Returning to the root, it does not die but regenerates come springtime. From this principle we can see that endless regeneration is the Way of nature, while returning to their roots is the inherent pattern of beings. Those who know the inherent pattern and do not violate the Way are real people. That is why "real people breathe from their heels" - the heels are like the root. During the 3 months of winter, which is the season to return to the root, you should quietly nurture this."
My personal practice has fallen by the wayside of late. But this morning, instead of saying "screw it" to doing something good for myself because I have places to be and things to do, I said "screw it" to those places and things & took a few moments for myself. I mean, shoot! I am worth a few moments of my day. Aren't you?
And I fit a very nice simple practice into about 10-15 minutes w/the help of the online timer. It chimes a start, midway and ending tone. The midway chime is very helpful because I tend to lose track of time and either end up lopsided or running very very late into my day.
And man, did that short sequence of stretches feel gOOOOD.
So, I will share that sequence with you.
Mountain
Bring hands to low back, interlace fingers, stretch arms down the spine.
Release the hands bring arms overhead.
Fold forward.
Jacknife 3x
Step back into low lunge.
Exhale into arda hanumanasana
Inhale - low crescent lunge
repeat 3 x
High lunge
forward fold
Mountain
Repeat on other side
Raise arms overhead interlace fingers, palms turn up & pinkies turn away. Stretch up from soles of feet to palms of hands. Keeping shoulders away from the ears. 3 - 5 breaths standing crescent moon to one side.
Switch the hands so the opposite index finger is in front.
Repeat.
Tree - 3 - 5 breaths on both sides
Qi gong twist - dragon slithers up the column ( I practice this a bit differently than described here. But the link provides sufficient instruction)
4 x - holding on the last for 3 - 5 breaths.
I found this article on Huffington Post. I think it's worth a gander. In my opinion, it's another reminder of why a regular yoga practice is so important. If yoga is really not your thing, try Qi gong, tai chi, tensegrity, walking mindfully, laughter or whatever will bring your body & mind together in a compassionate mindful way. No time for movement? Then simply try sitting and breathing for 5 minutes.
If we don't learn how to manage our stress, our stress will manage us. Stress has been linked to a horde of conditions including Alzheimer's. This is what the aforementioned articles says about the hippocampus and its function: "This is a crucial area of the brain that helps with memory -- it doesn't actually store all the memories, but decides where you will store what. "It's the director of the orchestra," Sood says. But when excessive cortisol (a stress hormone) is in your system, it can kill the hippocampus nerve cells, causing memory problems (that's why you can never find your keys when you're perpetually frazzled). The good news is that you can get those nerve cells back. What works? Meditation, relaxation, a generally healthy lifestyle and cultivation of compassion, gratitude, forgiveness and acceptance." "The good news is that your can get those nerve cells back." The good news is that we don't have to be victims of our hectic lifestyles.
