Do you suffer from back to work from vacation stress?
Saying goodbye to the sun, sea and freedom often feels like the end of the world. There is nothing like a dose of the post-holiday blues to make you wish you’d chucked it all in and opened a yoga school on a Greek island.
Well why not bring the yoga to your workplace?
When you find yourself back at work- catching up, trailing through hundreds of emails, chasing more deadlines, rushing from meeting to meeting, working late, dealing with difficult people … then you know that the list can be endless at times. Is it any wonder that you get stressed and depressed?
First I have some quick practical tips for you:
- Ease back into work and routine with full awareness, don’t jump into the cold water. So be present and concentrate on work, resist the urge to day dream about your holiday
- Take the power, you decide what you do next and what the priorities are – and your well being is always priority
- Focus on one task at a time, don’t get distracted and make a plan
- Say no with gusto
- Get motivated. And connect to co-workers, do not withdraw and ask for help if needed.
- And finally start new positive habits, such as doing biz-y yoga at the office and at home!
Welcome to my first Biz-y yoga post and video, this is my first video so please be kind, I am a bit nervous about doing video, but I am aiming to challenge and improve myself every day. I was a bit distracted by the video which kept freezing. I may need to look into another recording device as this is not working smoothly. So apologies for that. Also I do know the difference between right and left, but the video is mirroring this… so you know ;-). Also need to try some editing programs soon. But first one thing at a time, first just open and raw, non edited, one shoot videos, nice and honest, the way I like it 😉
Breathing exercises
Proper, deep breathing is key for well being. Life begins and ends with breath. The rhythm and depth of your breath influence your health, your consciousness and your emotions. I would like to give you a simple breathing exercise which will will give you more room for air and relaxation in your life. Breath will calm and center you.
When you feel overwhelmed and being pulled in every direction, you will often start to breathe irregularly and from the chest, a shallow breathe, but a good nourishing breath fills your entire body, through the nose, fills the chest into the stomach and back up and out. It feeds the whole body. In future videos I will show you how to breathe deeply and there will be a lot more different breathing exercises.
Today I have two easy but super effective breathing exercises for you:
Balance with Alternate Nostril Breathe
This breath will help you balance and it can relief stress. It is an alternate nostril breath. This breathing exercise activates both sides of the brain which will give you a great sense of peace and calm.
Sit in a comfortable position with a straight back
Left hand in gyan mudra (press your first or index finger against the thumb and keeping other three fingers straight) on your left leg – I will explain about these hand positions, these mudras more in the future.
Now to start take a few deep breaths, fill the the stomach with air and exhale all the stale air out. Breathe through the nose..
- Holding your right hand in front of your face, begin by using your thumb to close off your right nostril.
- Inhale slowly and deeply (but gently) through your left nostril.
- Now close off the left nostril with your ring finger while removing your thumb from your right nostril.
- Exhale slowly through your right nostril.
- Inhale slowly through your right nostril.
- Now close off the right nostril with your thumb again while removing your ring finger from your left nostril.
- Exhale slowly and gently through your left nostril.
- This completes one round of breathing (pranayama). Now begin at step 1 again by inhaling through your left nostril, and on you go.
When you first start using this breathing technique, begin with just one or two rounds and gradually build up to around ten rounds. Always sit quietly for a few moments when you have finished.
If you have blocked nostrils for any reason, do not force yourself to do this type of breathing exercise. If you have high blood pressure do not hold your breath. If you have any medical condition consult your medical professional before you begin.
Well, it’s as easy as that! This is a terrific little technique that almost anybody can use. Try it today and begin to see the benefits!
Cool it with a rolled tongue
And one more before I go
Rolled Tongue Breathing (Shitali Pranayama)
It has been surprisingly warm for September here in The Netherlands so I have a cooling breathe for you. Also this technique cools your nerves and emotions. So when things are heating up at work and you need to cool down. This is your go to solution
- Place your hand in gyan mudra on the knees.
- Curl your tongue and stick it out (Some people can’t do this, so don’t worry if you can’t it is perfectly normal). If you can though, please inhale deeply and softly through your mouth with a rolled tongue. Let your breath flow softly over your tongue and make a hissing sound “SSSSS”.
- Close mouth and exhale through your nose
Continue until you feel you have cooled down and are relaxed.
That’s it for today, I wish you happy and fruitful working days and that you feel GOOD.
Sat nam and be well,
Charissa
