Yoga Cures: Simple Routines to Conquer Over 50 Common Ailments and Live Pain-Free (13 page)

This routine is designed to relax and focus the mind through a bit of physical effort. Most of us have

experienced a super hard and long day, the kind where, at its end, all you want to do is go home, lie down on
the couch, and veg out for the night. As adults we find ourselves polarized between effort and relaxation.

Either we are working really hard and simultaneously building stress and tension in our bodies and minds, or
relaxing like pros. If we can learn to find the ease in our effort, we can actually be relaxing all of the time.

When we find this ease in our lives, our minds can drop all the excess activity that isn’t useful and just clogs
up our brains and bodies like a backed-up drain. Think of this routine as Drano for a restless mind. Try it
every day and set up a great new habit.

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Chair

Stand up tall with your feet parallel to each other, under your hipbones. Shoulders should be in a line with your hips.

Stand with your eyes closed for three long, deep breaths. On your next inhale, bend your knees and sink your hips down like you are sitting in a chair. Reach your arms up toward your ears, keeping your shoulders blades down your back. Relax your face. Allow your muscles to work for you without getting involved. If thoughts begin to enter your mind, observe them and then gently send them on their way. Stay here for five long, deep breaths. If your body starts to feel like it’s working to stay in this position, that’s a good thing, it just means you are alive and have a functioning body. Breathe fuller and deeper to give your body what it needs here.

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Standing Forward Bend Shoulder Opener

Stand comfortably with your feet a few inches apart. Inhale deeply. As you exhale, gently fold your torso forward over your legs. Interlace your hands behind you and let your arms fall over your back. If your hamstrings feel tense, bend your knees slightly and rest your belly on your thighs. Relax more deeply into the pose with each exhale. Begin to lengthen your exhales a bit more than your inhales; this will encourage the body to open and the mind to settle.

Stay here for five long, deep breaths.

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Standing

From the shoulder opener pose, release your clasped hands and rest your fingertips on the floor. Bend your knees slightly, relax your head and neck, and slowly roll up to a standing position, one vertebra at a time. Your shoulders should be aligned above your hips and the top of your head should feel almost like it’s floating up. Take a long deep inhale through your nose and exhale out through your mouth. Close your eyes and bring your attention to your

breath. Lengthen and deepen your inhales and exhales and continue breathing at this nice slow pace for five full breaths. Gently open your eyes.

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Corpse

Lie down on your back. Open your legs hip width apart, or a bit wider, depending on what’s most comfortable for you. Relax your arms a bit out to your sides, palms facing up. Take a big inhale through your nose, exhale all the air out through your mouth. Repeat the same breathing pattern twice more. Now let your breathing be natural and

simply relax for three to five minutes.

When you are ready to come out of the pose, slowly start to deepen your breath. Roll your wrists and ankles.

Gently hug your knees into your chest and rock up to sitting.

INHALE/HOLD, EXHALE/HOLD

Giving your mind a specific task to do is often a very effective way to calm and focus a restless mind. We’re going to practice a simple breathing pattern, creating a meditation aimed at calming and focusing your mind.

Inhale slowly through your nose as you count to four, one being the beginning of your inhale and four being at the very top. At the top hold all the air in for another count to four, and then release the air slowly for another slow count of four. Hold without breathing for another slow count of four. Begin the cycle again with your next inhale and repeat this breathing pattern ten times.

If you’d like to continue on with this meditation for a while longer after you have completed your breathing

pattern, return to natural, easy inhales and exhales. If your mind begins to wander, gently guide it back to the breath.

If you feel restless always feel free to adjust your seated position. Continue meditating for as long as you’d like. Try to keep this up every day for a week as a first goal. From there, hopefully, you’ll be hooked on the great benefits and you’ll continue doing it permanently. Enjoy!

Allergies

Whether they are seasonal or affect you year-round, if you suffer from allergies, it’s no fun. Runny

nose, sneezing, stuffy head, loss of sleep, and fuzzy concentration are symptoms that can be reduced

and often done away with entirely by a regular yoga practice and some specific breathing techniques.

Allergies are worsened by stress, which causes physiological responses that include the release of stress

hormones and histamine, and triggers inflammation. “Relaxation diminishes the fight-or-flight response

and thereby reduces allergic symptoms,” says Jeff Migdow, MD, director of Prana yoga teacher training

at the Open Center in New York as well as a holistic physician at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and

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Health in Lenox, Massachusetts.

THE ALLERGY YOGA CURE

In curing allergies with yoga, we need to calm the nervous system so the body can begin to work properly

again. We can use our yoga practice as a tool to see if we push and force our breath and bodies and cause