Philippians 4:8

YOGA CHALLENGE FOR HEALTHY THOUGHTS AND HAPPY HIPS

Posted on by pennyjoliver

Science has established that negative thinking produces more negative thinking. Sadly, it soon bleeds into what we do, how we live, and who we are. Stress, even imagined stress, triggers the release of the hormone cortisol, which can damage our brains and weaken our cardiovascular/immune systems over time. What can we do to help ourselves? Make yoga a part of our daily life. Yoga reduces anxiety by calming the sympathetic nervous system. People who practice yoga on a regular basis have more brain cells in the part of their brain that regulates stress. Elongating your exhalations sparks your parasympathetic nervous system, which will slow down your heart rate. Meditation helps with letting negative thoughts go.

We can also focus on the Heavenly prescription of what to think about to stay healthy. Perhaps God knew the cares and worries of this world would pull us down and eventually suck the life out of us. That is why He tells us to think upon Heavenly things:

What ever things are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise, think on these things.

Phillippians 4:8

We also hold a lot of stress in our hips. We tighten and clench our hips subconsciously. As we get into a daily yoga practice, we start to feel that release. Many yoga classes include hip opening poses for this precise reason. That is why I have created an entire yoga class dedicated to the most effective hip openers out there. Breathing deeply and elongating your exhales will enhance every exercise below. Focusing on Heavenly thoughts while you move through these poses will enhance not just your yoga practice, but everything about yourself and they way you live in this world.

Do the entire challenge below with your right leg forward. Then do the entire challenge with your left leg forward. Put on some uplifting music and get into the stress free zone!

Always keep calm and yoga on!

1.) Eagle Warrior

  • Step forward with your right foot, bending your knee.
  • Be careful to keep both your heels on a straight line.
  • Be careful not to let your knee pass beyond your foot.
  • Be careful to keep both hips forward.
  • Try to pull up out of your waist area.
  • Slide your left arm under your right elbow. Stay here in this position.
  • If you can, twirl your left arm around your right arm. Clasp your hands if you can.
  • Tilt your head back; lead the tilt by lifting your chest.
  • Breathe deeply, holding here for 5-10 deep breaths.
  • Step in your back leg for better balance if you find the position too challenging.

2.) Low Lunge

  • You may lower your back knee to the mat or keep it straight.
  • Lower a hand to each side of your forward leg.
  • Breathe deeply for 5-10 counts.

3.) Wrap and Burn

  • From Low Lunge with your knee up or with back knee on your mat, simply slide your right arm under your leg and on top of your forward foot.
  • Place your left hand also on top of your foot. Clasp both hands together if you can.
  • Hold here for 5-10 deep breaths.
  • You may bend your back left knee at any time if this position becomes too challenging.

4.) Lizard Pose

  • Slowly lower to your elbows from Wrap and Burn position.
  • Your elbows should be directly below your shoulders.
  • Your foot should be directly below your knee.
  • Place your back knee on the mat if you find it too challenging.
  • Widen the distance between your legs for a deeper stretch.
  • Release and try sliding your forward leg over to the edge of your mat for a more challenging stretch.
  • Hold the position that fits you and breathe deeply for 5-10 counts.

5.) Pigeon Pose

  • Keep both hips forward.
  • Bend your forward leg across your mat as best you can.
  • Keep your back leg straight with your knee on your mat. Place your hands on your mat for support.
  • Stretch your head back by gently lifting your chest.
  • Breathe deeply for 5-10 deep breaths.
  • To increase the challenge, stretch your torso over your forward leg by leading with your chin. Walk your hands forward. Still keep both your hips facing forward.
  • Gently lower your head. Breathe deeply for 5-10 counts.

6.) Pigeon Pose Hamstring Stretch

  • In the same Pigeon Pose, grasp your back foot with both hands.
  • Keep both your hips forward.
  • Keep your forward leg extended across your mat.
  • Lift your chest arch and your head back.
  • Breathe deeply for 5-10 deep breaths.

7.) Half Split/Low Lunge

  • Release both arms from Pigeon Pose.
  • Extend your forward leg and lean over it.
  • Breathe deeply for 3 deep breaths.
  • Gently move forward into Low Lunge by bending your forward foot.
  • You may keep your hands on each side of your forward foot, or place them on your thigh or hips.
  • Breathe deeply for 5-10 deep breaths.
  • If you wish to stretch deeper, clasp your hands behind your back and lift them.
  • Sink deeper into the stretch and breathe deeply for 5-10 counts.
  • Continue the back and forth stretch from Half Split to Low Lunge for a total of 5 times.
  • Inhale in Half Split, Exhale into Low Lunge.

8.) Full Split

  • Place your hands on each side of your foot for support.
  • Slowly extend your forward leg.
  • Be careful to keep both hips forward facing.
  • Stretch into a Full Split.
  • It takes a lot of time to do this; be patient, practice a few times a week, and you will see yourself going deeper into Full Split over time!

9.) Seated Forward Bend

  • Sit with both legs stretched forward.
  • Inhale deeply, lifting up and out of your waist area as best as you can.
  • Stretch up with your arms and clasp your fingers together, inhaling deeply.
  • Exhale deeply, extending up and over your legs.
  • Repeat 10 times with deep breaths.

10.) Wide Legged Angle 

  • Extend both legs out to your sides.
  • Keep your sitting bones on your mat.
  • Stretch up and over your left leg.
  • Breathe deeply for 10 counts and then stretch over your right leg for 10 deep breaths.
  • Stretch forward and breathe deeply for 10 counts.
  • Lean on your elbows or lower your head to the mat for a deeper stretch.
  • Where ever you find yourself is the perfect place to begin this exercise. In time you will be able to stretch farther!

 

yoga on!

HOW YOGA AFFECTS YOUR BRAIN

Posted on by pennyjoliver

The threat of Alzheimer’s Disease sometimes creeps around in my head. More and more people are being diagnosed with it and we hear more about it with each passing day. Multiply all that with the fact that my Dad and his two sisters suffered with the disease for many years, and one can’t help but shiver. That’s probably the reason why the brain is so fascinating to me. Though as small as a grapefruit, it stores all the information of what makes You, You! That’s why we gotta keep our brains in tip top shape. Eating, moving, thinking, and exercising all have a part in promoting a healthy brain. However, Scientists are discovering that yoga can help too.

It turns out that the happiness we feel after yoga class isn’t just in our head. Using brain scans, scientists can now prove that yoga actually changes our brain chemistry. Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, Ph.D., an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, has spent more than a decade gathering research on yoga and its scientific effects on the mind. In his book, Your Brain on Yoga, he outlines what really happens in that head of yours after an hour of a Vinyasa flow.

1.) Your brain gets flooded with feel-good chemicals.

During yoga, your levels of gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) spike up significantly. After three studies, they found the chemical GABA rose in the yogis by 27%. This chemical is associated with decreasing anxiety and improving moods.You also get dopamine and serotonin, chemicals that help you feel more relaxed and ready to handle stressful situations.

2.) Your cortisol levels drop.

Cortisol is the VIP  hormone that helps your body respond to stress. When you are stressed, it activates the brain amygdala, also known as the fear center, and shrinks the pre-frontal cortex, which manages self control and discipline. After a comprehensive test in Germany, scientists discovered that even the subject’s saliva contained less cortisol after just one yoga class. The hormone cortisol is also responsible for regulating a wide range of processes through your body, so it is imperative that it stays in check.

3.) Your brain even grows in size.

It’s safe to say that your brain has alot to gain from bending and stretching. Using MRI scans and control groups found that with yoga practiced during the week, certain areas of the brain were enlarged. The mental map of your body, the somatosensory cotex (stress) and the hippocampus (the anxiety and stress reliever) were both larger in the heads of yogis compared to those that did not hit the mat. Other areas, which help you concentrate and enhance a greater self image, grew in size as well.

4.) The gray matter density in your brain changes.

The gray matter in your brain is part of your nervous system. It’s main duties are taking care of muscle control and sensory perception like hearing, seeing, and remembering. After a 2 month long test, using a combination of yoga and meditation at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard researchers determined that the part of your brain that lowers stress had a much denser gray matter. These changes in gray matter they stated, encouraged people to relax more and be able to enjoy life in general.

5.) Improves your neural processing or sharpens your memory.

Cortical folding, known in the medical community as gyrification, occurs in the cerebral cortex when you meditate and do yoga on a regular basis. The more folds you have, the better your neural processing is. Researchers found that gyrification might even offset age-related cortical thinning. That means you could keep a youthful brain much longer. Sharper and a more youthful brain by just doing yoga? I’m in!

6.) Your parasympathetic nervous system is activated. This chills, calms and relaxes you!

The parasympathetic nervous system is the “rest and digest” part of your body. Activated, it relaxes your brain and sends you into a “chill out” mode. Blood is directed toward endocrine glands, digestive organs, and lymphatic circulation, while your heart rate and blood pressure are lowered. It is the opposite of the flight or fight (sympathetic) nervous system response.

Even more fascinating than our brains on yoga is the one who actually created our brains. Though doctors and scientists have been studying the brain for a long time, much of the brain still remains incomprehensible. However, our Heavenly Father knows everything about us because He created us. He didn’t just leave us to figure out how to maintain the best possible lifestyle either. He gave us verses of Scripture in maintaining our health from the inside out, with all of His Power and strength from Heaven above.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

Psalm 139:13

What ever is true, what ever is noble, what ever is honest, what ever is just, what ever is pure, what ever is lovely, what ever is commendable, what ever is excellent…if  anything is worthy of praise, think on these things.

Philippians 4:8

Haven’t you known?

Haven’t you heard.

The everlasting God, The Lord, The Creator of the ends of the world, doesn’t faint.

He isn’t weary.

His understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the weak.

He increases the strength of him or her who has no might!

Isaiah 40:28-29

“Halleluyah!”