Last weekend I flew to Vancouver for restorative yoga teacher training, and now, as you are reading this newsletter, I'm traveling again for second installment of the course. My back-and-forthing to Vancouver presented quite a few logistic challenges, thus October e-blast is short and sweet - much more concise than my usual wordy compilations (possibly for the best!).

Restorative yoga is an interesting paradigm - unlike other mind-focused modalities (psychotherapy and meditation, for example), it accesses nervous system, and ultimately, the brain, through the body. Nervous system self-regulation has been on my radar for a while now, probably since I discovered that meditation doesn't quite work for everybody. A number of my students have reported feelings of irritability, unsettledness and anxiety in their meditation. I wanted to find other tools that help settle over-active mind and lessen nervous system activation - to use on their own, particularly for students with chronic pain, as a part of well-rounded yoga practice, and also in preparation for meditation.

I'm hesitant to say more - I'm still learning. It will take some time to process the new information, and then to embody it. For now I'm starting to slowly - pose-by-pose - integrate restorative yoga into the flow of current classes - and that's a bit of a learning curve! Pretty sure we'll need more props - let's start by adding eye bags to savasana. I'm so glad you asked "why?"

WHAT'S WITH THE EYE BAGS?:

I have been using eye bags in my personal practice (I love them!) and with my private clients (they love them!) for quite a while now, but when I brought some to the studio there weren't quite the hit I expected them to be.

Maybe I should explain the reasoning behind my madness (or, rather, mad love for eye bags). Good reasons are a many; here is the main one:

Life has become an increasingly stressful endeavor. Beyond everyday demands of job and family - and they can be overwhelming enough! - many of us spend an ever-growing amount of time interacting with various screens and hi-tech devices - something our Paleolithic nervous system has yet to adapt to.

 End result? Restlessness, inability to focus, erratic breathing patterns, sleep difficulties, digestive troubles, and an odd mix of anxiety-depression that is difficult to diagnose and even more challenging to treat. Busy schedules, rushed lifestyles, and propensity toward multitasking places extraordinary high demand on our nervous systems. You can compare nervous system to car engine: not a single process in the body goes on smoothly when there's a malfunction on such elemental level.

What does any of this have to do with an eye bag? Quite a lot, as it turns out.

Light is a powerful stimulant for all living beings. Simply closing the eyes will encourage your nervous system to move toward relaxation response. Eye bag offers even more help: slight pressure over facial bones helps to decompress vagus nerve. Vagus nerve, one of the cranial nerves, is responsible for regulating breathing, heart rate, and digestion, amongst other things. Within moments of placing the eye bag over the forehead and eyes, nervous system begins the process of self-regulation - breath deepens and slows down, knots of tension start to melt. Leaving eye bag on for 10 - 15 minutes will not only help your body to shift out of fight-flight-freeze state, but also create a much needed refuge from the demands of modern life.

Next time you settle in for savasana, prepare for meditation practice, or, perhaps, simply feel frazzled, remember your eye bag - you'll be glad you did!

Here is how:

Eye bag placement is the most important part of the process - you don't want it too low over your nose. Lie on your back (make sure you are comfortable), and place the bulk of your eye bag (hand towel makes an easily-available substitution) over your forehead. Slide it down, so that only about a quarter of the weight is over your eyes, and your top lids are lightly covered. You shouldn't feel any pressure over the bridge of your nose or your sinuses - placing eye bag too low can, in fact, activate your nervous system. There, you are done.

Enjoy!

Mats... Bolsters... Waivers... Introductions... And just like that, the first couple week of fall classes are already behind us. Now, with your wrists slightly tender from all the Downward Facing Dogs, shoulders objecting the last seated twist you ventured in one too far, and your back trying to decide whether it likes all this yoga action or not, you are probably wondering what the heck does this DECONSTRUCT - ASANA really mean? Is it a silent plot to destroy your muscles? 

Let me explain:

Just yesterday, my son (I shared some of his pearls of wisdom in May's newsletter) called me. There was a slight tension in his voice. Turns out he "did something" to his shoulder in his latest gym session.  Last couple of months he's been on this health trip (like mother, like son), working out 5 to 6 days a week. Badly sprained ankle, heavy duty cold, moving to Edmonton, and beginning of his fully - loaded 4'th year in U of A were no obstacles to his almost - daily gym routine.

I do admire his determination. I really do.

But I also know that there's a better way to get better.

I see this all-too often: gang-ho determination of the first few weeks slowly peters out. Injuries, lack of sleep (those 5 AM gym sessions will do you in), and life emergencies (big, small, and imaginary) eventually lead to good excuses. From there the road to good old unhealthy habits is well plowed and paved. Need I describe this in all the gory details?

These days, having a little more experience, I choose to start any new health-related venture cautiously slow. That's where DECONSTRUCT-ASANA fits in. Simply put, this is fancy word to describe an age -old practice of going back to basics.

At the beginning of each session - this is especially true for the fall with many new students joining classes - we take it real easy. We pick the poses apart to look at nuts and bolts of proper movement; we remind our bodies to connect breath and movement. Slowly, we build strength and stability. This unhurried approach makes yoga practice less intimidating for newbie's and ensures mat safety for experienced folk. It also encourages sustainable motivation - a desire to show up for your practice week after week, month after month, and year after year. I happen to think (opinion alert!) that sustainable motivation is what healthy living is all about.

So....

Remember to breathe,

Check your alignment,

Let go of tension.

.....I will see you on the mat!

As always, with love,

Julia