Detoxifying Bedtime Yoga Flow

Well, I promised long ago to post my favorite bedtime detoxing yoga flow, and here it is! The yoga flow takes  about 15-20 minutes to complete and will leave you feeling fresh, loosened, and ready to get some serious zzz's.

What I love most about this flow is the detoxifying effects. During the night our bodies have a rejuvenation process that happens all the way from our vital organs to our skin. This is one of the key reasons sleep is so important for a healthy body, happy mind, and great looking skin! When we detoxify our bodies before starting the rejuvenation process, we are keeping everything in better working order. This flow will help work out some of those kinks we can get in our digestion along with doing some good for our spine, blood flow, and the oxygen absorption within the body.

If you are really wanting to make this workout stick, I would recommend drinking a cup or two of water both before and after the yoga flow. Be sure not to skimp on the Shivasana either! It may seem odd to rest before you rest, but a good Shivasana before bed can help take away all the day's stress and give you a better night's sleep.

Thank you Casper Mattresses for teaming up with me to make a super simple and highly effective yoga flow for better sleep and a better body :)

Enjoy!

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Yoga Inversions for Beginners + a Yogi Tip

Ok, I was going to share this with you Sunday as part of the workout sum-up, but it is just too handy and fun to wait! This yoga flow is great for those who are new to inversions but love yoga. You will be sweating by the end of this and the core work in here is fantastic! So fantastic, in fact, you just might see some of it in a workout pretty soon! 

If you reeaaaaalllly want to kick the core work up a bit, I recommend pausing the video at the end of the floor section and doing it all over again. This will add about 10-minutes to the yoga flow and be a complete core strengthener workout. 

One things that Lesley Fightmaster does not say about handstands is arm placement. My absolute favorite yoga instructor back home has a great tip for keeping arms strong and sturdy (especially for those of us with super loose rotator cuffs). When in down dog or any inversion, keep arms activated with elbows slightly bent and towards the wall behind you. Having your arms rotated inward like this will give that much more support to your entire body and keep things tightened up. 

What are some of your favorite (and most effective) yoga tips? 

Yoga for Feeling Better

Something sure is going around, isn't it... I feel like every time we go to Disney with our nieces, the hubs and I both come back sick. Good thing for him that he has a Hulk strong immune system; too bad for me, I do not. Whatever we got, his stayed a cold and mine moved into a full blown respiratory infection.  Thanks respiratory infection, you had such perfect timing! 

To say the least, workouts this week were mainly core related and included lots of coughing. Funny, but I actually woke up one morning with sore abs... Not that I was trying to get a good core workout, but if something good comes of this cold, I will be happy with it being some better abs! 

Yesterday was my favorite yoga class of the week, but things were just not going well enough to make that a possibility. So, instead, I did some yoga out on the back porch and used it as a time to twist, flow, detox, and get back on that land-of-the-living horse. The entire workout consisted of these two Tara Stiles yoga flows and in this order. It really ended up being a great 15-minute flow that helped clear up some of my congestion but was not too much for this antibiotic ridden body to handle. 

If you have found yourself a bit under the weather, try these two yoga flows! THey helped me a lot and were fun at the same time. Also, feel better soon! 

5 Tips for Getting Into Side Crow Pose

Thanks to my wonderful yoga instructor, I was able to get into a full side crow pose on my first (well, almost) try. It was incredible; something I have pinned the junk out of and wished to learn was actually attainable. Hand stands are still a hot mess that need mass amounts of work, but crow and peacock, I have locked down. 

The main reason I was able to do it, and do it well, was because of some fantastic tips Angela gave me. Let's face it, sometimes pictures and YouTube videos do not cut it. Sometimes, we need real tips from, gasp, real people who have done it before. Here are five great tips for how to get yourself into a successful side crow pose. 

Read along, look at some pictures, and you will be doing a pin-worthy pose in no time! 

1. Start from Mountain

Do a few vinyasas before getting down and dirty with your side crow. After 3-4, you should be warmed up and ready. Start in mountain, then forward fold so your hands are touching the ground. If your hands do not touch naturally, that is ok, just bend your knees till they do. 

Next, crouch down so your knees are bent and your hands are flat on the floor. 

2. Hand Positioning

Hand positioning for side crow is different than crow pose. For the left side, move your hands to the left so your left hand is next to your hip and your right hand is in front of your left knee. Again, you want to be in crouching position with palm flat on the floor and fingers spread. Every finger should have weight and be helping support that body.

3. Elbow to Hip

This is key. This is the difference between success and not-success. Position your left elbow so it is in the groove of your left hip joint. Having you elbow to hip connection right will help keep your balance when those feet come off the floor. Be sure that the right elbow is also lined up with the outside of the left knee. Both should line up so your knee and hip rest just above the elbow joint. 

4. Shoulders and Fingers

It is all in the details. Be sure that shoulders are back and arms are rotated outward. This will give you optimal strength and balance. Again, fingers should be grounded; if it helps, bend fingers so the tips are pushing into the ground. 

5. Lift Off

You are ready. Slowly shift your weight forward while keeping the right leg stacked on top of the left. Feet should be flexed and you should have some serious yoga toes going on. It may take a few tries, but slowly start to find you happy spot of balancing on your arms. Once you have lift off, hips should be stacked and knees and feet should be like glue together. If wrists hurt, come back down and continue doing wrists strengthener exercises before attempting again. 

Feet and knees should be together and tucked into the midline. The back should be straight with those shoulders staying down. If your head elevation comes down slightly, that is ok, just be sure your face does not touch the ground. 

Be sure to look 2-3 feet ahead of your on the floor. It is always better to look ahead than where you are. I think there may even be a life lesson in that somewhere ;)

Full Side Crow Pose

Once you have your balance, get ready to go into a full side crow! This may take a few tries before your are ready, but when your balance is good, give it a go!

Slowly extend the left leg out straight so that it is parallel to the floor. Be sure that your head stays even distance from the ground. Flex your foot and straighten that leg. When your balance is good here, you can begin to extend the right leg out straight behind you. In full side crow, your lower leg is the only connection to your supporting arms. Keep those arms rotated outward and your fingers grounded. And, of course, keep those hips stacked! 

For best results only try once to twice a week. We want those wrists to stay healthy!