how to

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How to Clean your Yoga Mat - Tips and Products!

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How to Clean your Yoga Mat - Tips and Products!

When people arrive at class and start rolling out their Yoga mats, I often hear one of a couple exclamations... "I left my mat in the car - it's frozen!" (It's very cold where I live), or "My mat really needs a wash". If I hear the second statement, it is often followed by the question - "how should I clean this thing?". We have a pretty intimate relationship with those mats of ours. We lay, sit, roll, and sometimes fall asleep on them, however, we clean them a lot less often than we do our homes, floors, or clothing. So, what is the best way to clean your Yoga mat? Here's a few ideas...

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Yoga Pose: Eagle Pose Part Two - Lower Body

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I'm Baaaack!!! I must say that my vacation really worked to relax and re-charge my system! I am very excited to bring the second part of the Eagle Pose tutorial to you today - the lower body. As I shared in Part 1 (check it out here if you haven't already), Eagle pose can be very tricky. Today I'm going to show you how you can work progressively to move into this position, and provide some modifications to help you along the way. Keep reading for tips on moving into this yoga pose and watch the video at the end for some visual cues! 

Pose Difficulty: Beginner - Intermediate

Step One: Warm up your legs with Chair Pose (aka Utkatasana). Chair pose is the first step to moving into the pose so spend some time warming up those Quadriceps with a few repetitions of chair. I like to incorporate it into a flow with some forward bends to equally stretch and strengthen the muscles (see video for a warm up activity). 

Step Two: From your chair pose, keep your Left foot planted, and lift your Right foot off the floor. Keeping your knees bent, cross your Right leg over the Left, like you would if you were sitting in a chair. From here you have a few options:

Option 1: Bring your Right toes to a block (or the floor if the foot reaches) to help keep your balance (best option for Beginners or anyone who struggles with balance)

Option 2: Keep your Right foot in the air and work on your balance here. 

Option 3: Wrap your Right shin, ankle and foot behind the Left shin (see video). 

Step Three: Breathe and feel!

- No matter which above option you chose try and keep the hips level and in one line. 

- Keep bending the standing leg knee and grounding down through the standing leg foot. 

- Keep you gaze soft and steady on the floor in front of your to help with your balance.

- Try to bring your knees and elbow into the mid line of the body.

Try staying here for 5 - 10 deep breaths before untangling your arms and legs - giving everything a good shake out - and then moving to the other side! 

Note: In this pose, you always work with opposite arm and leg positions, so if the RIGHT ARM is UNDER the Left, the RIGHT LEG is OVER the Left.

PS...sorry for the video quality, it's not my best. I wont be using this camera again! 

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Yoga for Kids: Mindfulness Jars

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Yoga for Kids: Mindfulness Jars

Yoga Mindfulness Jars are a fun and pretty way to help teach kids how to handle their emotions. They can help kids calm down and focus when they are struggling, and are great tools to help start the conversation about being mindful or "watching our thoughts". The idea is, the glitter represents our thoughts and feelings. Here's a little script as to how you can explain the mindfulness jar teaching to your kids, and even more importantly, how you can prompt them to use the jar to help them feel calm. 

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Yoga Pose: Plank - Do's & Don'ts

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Yoga Pose: Plank - Do's & Don'ts

Ohhh the Yoga Plank - loved by some and loathed by even more. Plank Pose is a strengthening yoga pose that works the arms, legs, and core muscles. It is often practised as part of your Sun Salutation or Flow, so usually you aren't left working in it for too long, which can mean you aren't always in proper alignment. Today I wanted to break the Yoga Plank down a bit more to show you some "Do's" and "Do Not's" while in the pose, simply because it's a very easy pose to be a bit "sloppy" in. Unfortunately, if you aren't doing Plank correctly, you are missing out on some of it's wonderful strengthening properties, but it will still feel like a very difficult pose (maybe even more difficult than if you are in proper alignment). Keep reading for my list of "Do's" and "Don'ts" for your Yoga Plank. 

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Real Life: I Quit my Job - Tips for You!

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Real Life: I Quit my Job - Tips for You!

If you're unhappy at work, feeling like there has got to be something more, or have been working on a side hustle for the last year or so, you may be at the point where you feel like it's time to move on from your current job. But how do you do it? Whether you are planning on leaving your job to work for yourself, start a business, go back to school, or simply change career fields, you may end up staying right where you are - happy or not - because the task of making the big change seems daunting. There are a lot of unknowns outside your current situation and that makes your current situation feel safe. Safe is nice. Safe can also be a dream killer. So, as a way to help you make your decision - stay or go - today I am giving you tips that I used, or wish I had used, when I was leaving my job.