Detox Week

 

Toxins can be caused by stress and any activities, thoughts and foods that are non-nourishing.  We ‘detox’ by ridding the body, mind and heart of negativity and toxins.  Twists are excellent for aiding our organs to release toxins.  Inversions support flushing our lymphatic system and sweat releases toxins as well.  Can you guess what we’ll be doing in class this week?  Besides reducing toxins we will look for ways to enhance the positives in our lives.  Nourishing foods, thoughts and activities are on the agenda. 

 

To help you with this last part I’ve put together a list of positives that you can incorporate into your daily life.  It’s simple. Choose two or three things from the list below to do each day.  Continue in this manner for one week – it’ll be March 1 by then and February will have left on a positive note.  You can plan ahead or be spontaneous. You can repeat the same one if you’d like.    Challenge yourself.  Print the list and give it a go.   Share this activity with your non-yogi and yogi friends alike.  Support each other and have fun.

 

 

Food/Drink Nourishment:

 

Drink a glass of room temperature water at every meal and an extra one after any caffeinated or alcoholic beverage you consume today

Eat a dark green vegetable today.

Eat a handful of raw veggies today.

Eat a healthy breakfast.

Savor one ounce of very dark chocolate

Go for a low-sodium day – read all labels and no chips!

Severely limit or eliminate any sugar in your diet today.

Drink a hot cup of tea in silence

Prepare a plate of fresh food with three different colors of veggies.  Admire and eat by candlelight.

Make a soup from scratch.

Bake cookies.  

Do not eat a thing after 8:00pm

Eat only plant based food today.

Eat a piece of fruit with dinner.

Chew each mouthful today 10 times before swallowing.

 

 

Self Care:

Three times today, remember to sit and breathe fully for one minute.

Enjoy an extra yoga class this week.  (I HAD to add this…)

Take a luxurious bath – soak for at least 12 min.

Take 10 minutes to rub your feet with a nice lotion before bedtime.   “This little piggy….”

Chant Om for 3 minutes

Brush your teeth and tongue for at least 3 minutes – floss!

Climb into bed 30 minutes earlier than usual and read something inspirational.

Get up 30 minutes early and meditate.

Do “feet up the wall” pose for 10 minutes.

Look in the mirror and say out loud three times– “You are beautiful today” – (bonus points  use an accent and smile broadly)

Sing happy tunes in the shower.

Buy flowers for yourself.

Take a 15 minute walk outside.

Put on a dance CD and dance to 3 songs.

Listen to a new radio station today for 30 minutes.

Buy a magazine on something you know nothing about – read and enjoy.

Put your pajamas on one hour before bedtime – relax.

 

 

Connect:

Call a friend and talk for 15 minutes about all the great things in your life.

Smile and say hello to 3 people you don’t know today.

Do a “random act of kindness” today – your choice

Do not buy anything today. 

Give away your home baked cookies to friends and neighbors.

Pass along one great read to a friend today.

Place three of your favorite tea bags in a baggie and give to a friend to enjoy.

Write on a small piece of paper:  “Today I choose to speak positively about EVERYTHING. “ Read it often throughout the day as a reminder.

List 30 things both small and large that you are grateful for.

Revisit your intention for the year.  Do one thing today that will aid that intention.

Forgive someone from your past by writing a letter releasing them and then burn or cut into tiny pieces

Send a “thinking of you” card to a friend.

Look in the mirror and say slowly out loud, “I Love You.”  9 times.

 

 

Detox:

Give away or throw away 9 things you find lying around your home.  Repeat 3 times throughout the day.  You can also do this with your work space another day.

Listen to classical music for 30 minutes today.

Take a news fast – no internet, TV, or paper, or radio news

Set a timer for 15 minutes.  Declutter one drawer.  Stop when the buzzer sounds.  

Throw away any foods in your kitchen that contain trans fat. 

Put all of your toxic cleaning supplies in one location.  Decide which three NEVER to buy again. 

Add a plant to your home or office and enjoy the oxygen

Do a mini-declutter of your clothes closet.  Be ruthless for 30 minutes. Stop.  Give away or throw away whatever isn’t ‘you’ anymore. 

Clean off one shelf.

Fix one thing that has been bugging you.  If it can’t be done in 30 minutes, or is beyond your skills, schedule more time or find someone to do it for you.

Give away or throw away something of your past that makes you sad, angry, guilty or ashamed

Detox guilt:  Give yourself permission to NEVER finish an unfinished project that you have laying around your life.  Give all parts of it away or discard completely with a satisfied smile. 

Go to your least favorite room of your house.  Change one thing to make it more positive.  Make a list of any other changes that you’d like to do. 

 

 

Amber Huttner, ERYT is a certified Anusara yoga teacher offering her students huge doses of technical expertise and inspiration for better living.  Owner of Good Life Yoga in Deephaven she can be reached at 952 913 6557  or visit:  www.goodlifeyoga.com

 

 

Patience

Nature has her own pace and sometimes it isn’t fast enough for us.  Like, right now, we’d like it be warmer and sunnier outside.  In fact, we should be days away from spring and not weeks.  Yet, how much good does it do to resist the pace of nature?  None.  It depletes our energy and takes away the opportunity to enjoy the unfolding of what simply is.   

 In our asana practice, we would be well advised to accept the pace of nature.    There are times when we would be better off, backing off and being with what is happening on the mat, rather than what we think should be happening.  We don’t get much farther ahead with our ‘should’ attitude except to divert and deplete our energy from enjoying what actually is unfolding.

This week we move toward patience with our ‘shoulds’ and examine the effectiveness of our attitude toward what we ‘want’ in our asana practice, in our life, if you will, and determine if patience is called for.  We will slow down, repeat poses and clearly examine our relationship with ‘patience.’  Look for some inversions and a few restoratives as well.  It’s mid-February – let’s go with the flow.

Adopt the pace of nature:  her secret is patience.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Pranayama:  Expansion of the Vital Life Force

 

Can you use a little life-force expansion in February?  I think so!

 

Yogis have worked with the breath as an extension of their prana for centuries.  The practice of Pranayama is one of the eight limbs of yoga:  Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi.

 

In general, there are many different types of breath exercises.  You will find them in just about every discipline of yoga.  In Anusara yoga, we practice many of them and with reverence.  Pranayama is often referred to as ‘control of the vital life force.’   Our Tantric perspective is that the life force cannot be controlled.  It can only be honored and offered the best quality and quantity of our attention and intention.

 

This week we prepare the body with deep hip openers and shoulder openers to receive the gift of the breath.  We’ll practice Ujjayi, Anuloma and Pratiloma Pranayama.  In our meditation practice we will observe the breath, nurture the breath and marvel at its capacity to move through all parts of ourselves.

 

You can’t have a week on Lila - Divine Play - and not be tempted to make some good old fashioned Play Dough. As I made some this morning; working the food coloring in by kneading it, I realised that this is why some people make bread. It’s fun!

Play Dough:
1 Cup Water
1 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Salt
2 Tablespoons Cream of Tartar
I Tablespoon Oil
Food Coloring

Mix and cook this is over medium low heat until it forms a ball. Roll into a uniform log and cut into thirds. Color with vegetable food coloring the primary colors of red, yellow and blue. Or your choice. Store in ziplocks and in the fridge when not in use. Lasts a very long time. Enjoy!

Lila – Divine Feminine Play

“Lila” is the Sanskrit word for the energy of play. This energy has no other agenda than to delight us. There is no reason why we play other than to experience fun and light heartedness. This week we practice playing on the mat in order to bring this joyful attitude into other aspects of our life.
Think about what constitutes play for you in your life. What do you do with no other thought than to just enjoy the activity? If the element of play is simply its own reward, is it possible to bring that attitude into other activities and experience more fun in your life? Absolutely.

Enjoy your practice this week not for the rewards of releasing tight hamstrings and shoulders, not for the rewards of gaining more strength, capacity and flexibility. Not for the inner peace, nor for the calm. Practice to experience the energy of play.. Play with your breath, with the movement of your body. Play and laugh. Delight in Lila and play for its own sake.