De-stress with Deep Breaths Workshop
- how we breathe
- how it effects your nervous system
- breathing techniques that you can do anytime, anywhere to lower your stress levels
- how to use the breath to quiet and focus your mind
Try this easy move you can do at your desk to ease neck and shoulder pain
Do you upper back or neck pain when working at your desk? So many of us do!
Part of the reason for this is because when we are working on the computer we tend to slouch: letting our shoulders and head roll forward. This takes us out of the natural S curve of the spine into a rounded C curve. When this happens our muscles have to work harder to hold us upright and our head gets heavier and heavier.
In fact, for every inch your head moves forward of your shoulders it’s weight increases by approximately 10 pounds!
This extra weight means the upper back and neck muscles have to work extra hard leading to extra tension and discomfort. This extra work can drain our energy and zap our productivity. This makes it extra important to take Yoga Breaks throughout our day to reset our posture and ease the impact of sitting. Click here to learn more about the effects of sitting on our bodies, minds and spirit.
Click here to watch a short video to learn a move that you can do anytime anywhere to help you strengthen your posture, sit taller, feel more energized.
This effective move will simultaneously stretch your chest and shoulder muscles while activating your upper back and arm muscles. This is key for helping you hold stronger posture for less pain instantly and long term.
Another amazing thing about this move is that it will instantly help you feel more alert and present. When we shrink into the rounded, computer posture we are closing in ourselves which immediately impacts our mood and emotional state.
Thankfully we have moves like this one to help us lift our hearts and feel bright and awake. Posture has a direct impact on our mood and vice versa, so taking posture breaks like this one are a great way to help ourselves stay in a happy place emotionally.
Want to learn other ways to turn your workstation into a wellness station? Check out the Yoga at My Desk Course here and learn how to move, stretch and breathe your way to more vitality at work.
Celebrate Posture Month with 50% off the ABC’s of Strong Posture Workshop
Sit up straight, stand up tall….you’ve probably heard this advice SO many times right? And for good reason! Posture is so important, so important that it now has its own month, May! May is Postural Awareness Month, so I’ll be sharing lots of tips and tricks to help you strengthen your posture.
Want to learn more about posture and why its so important? Check out this short Facebook Live I did on the topic!
Happy posture month🚶🏽♂️🚶🏼♀️Strengthen your posture at work by taking little Yoga Breaks!👩🏽💻👨🏾💻Got friends who work on a computer a lot? Thanks for sharing this video with them!
Posted by Vitality Wellness Maui on Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Slouchy sitting and bad tech habits are a common cause of back and neck pain, as well as headaches, and are a major drain on your energy. So what can we do about it? Learn the ABC’s of Strong Posture in my fun and interactive workshop!
From May 1-30th I am offering 50% off this fun and interactive workshop that will teach your team:
- the key elements of posture so they can sit taller with less pain and tension
- how to use their breath to lower stress and boost energy
- tools and tips to integrate into their workday immediately
Book your 30 minute workshop for only $75 plus tax by emailing me!
Why should you do stretching exercises at your desk? To prevent sitting disease!
Did you know that the average American spends about 55% of their waking hours every day sitting???
This adds up to almost 8 hours everyday sitting, and this finding is on the low end, with other studies that many people are sedentary (ie: not moving) for 12 or more hours everyday. WOWZERS!!
So what does this all this sitting mean for your health?
Remember how we talked about how Sitting is the New Smoking ie: how all that time parked in a chair is not only wreaking havoc on your derriere, but also your health? Well unfortunately, it’s true and it even has its own name: SITTING DISEASE! “The growing body of research on sitting disease has found a strong correlation between long periods of sitting and elevated risk of illness or injury.” YIKES!!!…..like what you might be asking yourself????
It turns out that sitting for so long everyday puts someone at a higher risk for:
- weight gain (especially around the midsection where it poses a higher health risk)
- high blood sugar
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol (LDL)
- low levels of the good cholesterol (HDL)
All of these symptoms combine to make up what is called Metabolic Syndrome and put someone at a higher risk for Type 2 Diabetes, Heart Disease, Stroke and other health issues.
I know these facts are scary, but thankfully there is good news!! This same research is showing us that by taking regular movement breaks, to stand up more and sit less we can shift the odds in our favor and reduce the effects of chronic sitting. WHEW!
So what can we do? Stand up more often and do some stretching exercises!
Standing up and taking short breaks to move, stretch and breathe is an excellent way to:
- tone and strengthen your muscles, which boost your metabolism so you burn more calories
- keep your bones, joints and organs healthy
- deliver more oxygen and nutrients to your brain so you feel more energized and alert
- improve your circulation and improve your heart health and cholesterol levels
- boost awareness for greater concentration and productivity
- improves your posture so you have less tension and pain
- gives you a natural energy boost!
So set yourself a timer for 30 minutes and when it goes off STAND UP AND MOVE! If you have the set up to work standing you can do the next thirty minutes of work upright!
Want to learn how to do stretching exercises right at your desk with no extra equipment in a short amount of time? Join the FREE 5 Day DESK YOGA challenge starting Monday April 22nd!
Make sure that you Sign up by HERE:👇🏽
FREE 5 day “Desk Yoga” Challenge starts April 22nd!
- ease the chronic tension in your neck and shoulders
- strengthen your core muscles for better posture
- balance the effects of chronic sitting
- lowering your stress levels
- keeping your brain alert and sharp
- boosting your creativity and focus
Remember how much fun recess was as a kid? It turns out adults need them too!
Do you remember how much joy you felt when you heard the recess bell sound? Hooray, time to go outside to play!
And within an instant everyone would grab their snacks and head outside to skip, play ball, talk, whatever. Wasn’t it fun?
Spoiler alert:
It turns out that recess really wasn’t all fun and games, it actually serves a purpose!
According to research from Georgia State University, the brain can only focus for 45-50 minutes at a time. In order for it to regain focus, it needs novelty and downtime to process information at high speeds again.
Interesting right?
While you thought you were just out there having fun you were actually:
- increasing oxygen and blood flow to your brain
- improving your balance and motor function
- building healthy muscles and joints
- lowering stress levels
- enhancing your hormonal balance and overall well-being
When you returned back to class after this “brain break” (aka: recess ;)) research shows us that you were likely more alert, productive and present.
So where am I going with this?
While a few decades may have passed, the fundamental structure of your brain and chemistry remains consistent. In order for you to perform on your highest level you need to be taking “brain breaks”.
And what is great way to take a break that oxygenates your whole system, strengthens your muscles, challenges your mind and energizes your spirit?
YOGA!!
Taking regular Yoga Breaks throughout the day is a great way to integrate brain breaks into your day so that you are alert and productive. Even just a few minutes of movement, stretching and conscious breathing are extremely powerful for helping you to ease the chronic tension that accumulates when working on a computer, activate and strengthen core muscles to improve your posture, lower stress levels and feel more alert and productive.
I am excited to announce that I will be running a FREE 5 Day “Desk Yoga” Challenge starting April 22nd in my Yoga at My Desk Tribe. You can sign up for the challenge HERE .
Each day will focus on a different area of the body commonly effected by computer work and teach you a stretch to ease tension, a move to increase stability in the area and a breathing exercise to ground you.
I would love for you to join us, its going to be fun and supportive! I will be going live everyday at 7am HST to walk you through the moves for the day. Plus there will be bonus material and prizes! Sign up for the challenge HERE .
A powerful question to ask yourself anytime, anywhere
Want a simple yet extremely powerful way to ground yourself and return your focus to the present moment?
Ask yourself this question:
And then pay attention:
Where do you feel your breath? What is the quality of it?
Often when we are feeling stressed out or paying attention to things around us our breath is short and shallow and mostly in the chest and shoulder area.
Not only does this increase tension in this area because these muscles are not meant to be our main breathing muscles, it also triggers more stress in our bodies because it is the fight or flight breathing pattern.
As soon as you shift your focus to your breath and begin to pay attention to it you will notice a shift within yourself. As you tune into the flow of your breath, the feeling of it and the quality of it you will feel yourself becoming more relaxed, grounded, and present.
Tuning into the subtle rhythm of the breath is the easiest way we have to bring our attention into our body and into the now.
Try this periodically throughout your day to take a moment to center yourself. Not only will it help you bring your stress levels down, but it will help you concentrate and focus.
Take it to the next level by taking a short breathing break.
- Sit tall, rolling your shoulders back and down to lift your chest.
- Relax your neck, shoulders and jaw as you close your eyes.
- Rest your hands on your legs.
- Begin to take slow deep breaths, filling your belly as you inhale
- As you exhale feel yourself sitting taller.
- Take at least 5 deep slow breaths
- Be aware of any mental distractions and stay focused on your breath as much as you can
- Enjoy!
Learn more about how breathing impacts our health and vitality at my upcoming free workshop: Deep Breaths for Less Stress on April 13th @10 am at the HMSA Center in Kahului. Learn more about this free workshop here.
Want to take a longer Yoga Break? Click here to try a 10 Minute session designed to ease your Neck and Shoulder tension that you can do right at your desk!
With the Yoga at My Desk Online Course you will learn how to take Yoga Breaks right at your desk, in work clothes, with no extra equipment. Learn how to release tension, activate and tone, boost energy naturally and lower your stress levels by integrate the powerful tools of Yoga into your workday! Each lesson is only 10 minutes long so you can easily incorporate them into your schedule, whenever it works best for you.
FREE Workshop: Deep Breaths for Less Stress on Saturday April 13th
- how we breathe
- how it effects your nervous system
- several breathing techniques that you can do anytime, anywhere to lower your stress levels
- how to use the breath to quiet and focus your mind
4 Ways that Yoga Helps You Avoid Getting Sick!
At this time of year it seems like everyone around us is sniffling and sneezing right? With colds and flus going around like crazy it is so important that we do everything we can to stay healthy and keep our immune systems strong!
Remember the saying: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”? Well it’s true! The more that we can do on a regular basis to keep our vitality high the better, which means we will get sick less often and recover more quickly when we do.
Since it effects our body on many levels simultaneously, Yoga is an extremely powerful tool for boosting our immunity and keeping us feeling great. The key of course is to practice it on a regular basis to get maximum benefits and keep everything running optimally.
Curious how taking Yoga Breaks can help you avoid the sniffles, aches and fevers of cold and flu season?
Check out 4 ways Yoga helps you helps you avoid getting sick:
- Yoga helps to bring stress levels down to reduce inflammation and reduce stress hormone levels that compromise the immune system. Deep, slow diaphragmatic breathing which is practiced in Yoga is a powerful way to shifting ourselves out of Fight or Flight (ie: the stressed state) by activating the Parasympathetic Nervous System. This lowers the levels of stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline and helps to shift us into a state of healing and recovery.
- The many breathing techniques we use in Yoga helps to keep the respiratory system strong by increasing the elasticity and strength of the lungs, which in turn helps to prevent infection. The same breathing technique mentioned above, as well as the many other forms of pranayama (or breath control practices) used in Yoga have a strengthening effect on the lungs. This in turn helps them expand and relax normally to make sure that they are function their best.
- Practicing the different poses (or asanas) allows the organs and glands to be supplied with fresh blood, gently massaged, relaxed, toned and stimulated, which helps to maintain their function and health. The many shapes of the asanas practiced in Yoga takes the body through a full range of motion and stimulates the multitude of organs and glands throughout the body. This is a potent way to make sure that you inner systems such as your endocrine, digestive and cardiovascular systems are all functioning their best.
- By working your muscles, the asanas also squeeze and stimulate your lymph nodes which flushes out toxins and bacteria to helps keep you healthy. So while the Yoga asanas are also helping you to build strength and deepen your flexibility by activating a variety of muscles, they are simultaneously rinsing out the nearby by lymph nodes. This is key for strong immune function since the lymph fluid collects waste material, and other things (like viruses and bacteria) that are in the body tissues. Maintaining the health and function of the lymph nodes is also essential for a healthy immune system since the lymph carries white blood cells which are key for fighting off infection.
Powerful stuff isn’t it? And that’s not to mention the long list of other benefits that Yoga has such as ease tension, improving range of motion, increasing flexibility, boosting strength, improving sleep quality and lots more! Given how many benefits it has incorporating more Yoga Breaks into your week is an excellent idea for current and long term health!
Want an easy way to reap the benefits of Yoga anytime, anywhere? Check out the Yoga at My Desk Online Course. This course will teach you how to take Yoga Breaks right at your desk, in work clothes, with no extra equipment. Learn how to release tension, activate and tone, boost energy naturally and lower your stress levels by integrate the powerful tools of Yoga into your workday! Each lesson is only 10 minutes long so you can easily incorporate them into your schedule, whenever it works best for you.
Click here to try a 10 Minute session designed to ease your Neck and Shoulder tension that you can do right at your desk!
