Yoga for Digestion

Now that the holidays are over and we have indulged (and overindulged) you might be feeling a wee bit bloated. Not to fear, there’s always time to make healthier choices especially when you’re not being tempted by Christmas cookies, and nog, and Chinese food, and champagne, and we go on.

Here are some ways that Yoga can help aid with digestion and feeling more comfortable in your body post-holiday season.

General yoga info: Yoga reduces stress, a trigger for digestive issues. Yoga encourages relaxation, which aids in good digestion. Plus, pranayama (yogic breathing) and meditation work in tandem to relieve anxiety and improve all of the body’s functions. Plus, yoga postures actually stimulate the muscles and organs that help with digestion and elimination. They actually help massage your stomach and intestines, and bring increased blood flow to the entire digestive system. This helps reduce inflammation and bloating, and allows everything to work as intended.

Additionally, a healthy yoga lifestyle encourages good hydration and nutrition, diet and restful sleep, all of which contribute to happy bodies and tummies.

Now, let’s talk about some specific positions that can really help those dealing with those post-holiday digestive woes:

It doesn’t get more Yoga 101 than Downward Facing Dog. With hands and knees on the floor, push your hips upward until your body resembles an inverted V shape. Lifting your hips and stretching your arms elongates the torso and spine, helping your digestive organs especially if you hold the position for a couple minutes.

Knees-to-Chest pose will have you flat on your back and as you bring your knees to your chest, wrap your arms around your legs just below the knees. Rock gently from side to side, and yes – this position is excellent if you need to pass gas to relieve discomfort!

Child’s Pose is similar to the reverse of Knees-to-Chest and is often part of a flow practice that includes Downward Dog and table top pose. From hands and knees on floor, lower yourself while shifting your butt back toward your heels. Your big toes will be touching, and as you keep lowering yourself, your forehead will come to your mat and the body will flatten down. This lets your spine lengthen and reduces pressure from hips and other areas we overuse with sitting and standing. Breathe deeply, and feel your stomach relax as your body sinks into the floor.

Cat-Cow is an extension of table top, where you move your spine up and down with hands and knees on the floor. Cat pose rounds your back towards the sky, strengthening your spine, and Cow pose tilts your hips up and lowers your belly while lifting your head. This back and forth movement is ideal for that internal massage that your intestines need to relax and release.

Embrace the New Year and a new season of taking care of yourself through yoga and great nutrition!

Doubling Down in ‘24

Every New Year is an opportunity to assess the coming year. Most blogs this season focus on what to release, making way for new growth by releasing what no longer serves us. But what about your successes from this past year? We think it’s just as important to expand upon the richness you received or created, as it is to make way for new opportunities.

What were your greatest achievements of 2023? Did you keep a faithful yoga schedule, improve your diet and water intake, become more social, maintain a tidy home and office? What did you do spectacularly well in 2023, and what do you want even more of?

Yes, it’s okay to also identify what didn’t work from the past twelve months and when possible, let them go. You certainly will open new doors and generate flow into your life. But we also encourage you to choose at least one thing that you did this past year that you want to double down on.

Was it time with friends, family, neighbors, colleagues? Was it turning off your devices and checking into the great outdoors? Did you make improvements in an area of your life? Did you reach new professional milestones? Did you finally tackle those home repairs? Did you plant a garden, volunteer your time, keep a journal, pay your bills on time? Did you finally take that vacation you’ve been planning for a decade? Well, we think you should take another! Or take the same vacation but stay twice as long!

Start by looking back at last New Years. Did you set a goal for the coming year, and achieve it? Maybe your goal was to read at least two dozen new books throughout the year. In 2024, you might set a new goal to read 48 new books. If your goal was to get at least seven hours of sleep each night, maybe for 2024 your new goal is to get 8 hours of sleep, but also more time at rest during each night so that you feel rejuvenated when you wake.

And if your goal was to make it to at least one class a week at Sol Yoga, could you double down and join us on your mat twice weekly in ’24?

Whatever you did especially well in the last year, how could you do even better? Let’s Double Down together and make ourselves proud. Let’s really challenge ourselves to be doubly our best in one area of life. We already know we can accomplish it!

Hot Yoga and Depression

Want another reason to enjoy hot yoga this winter, beyond just warming the body while it’s cold outside?

Seasonal Affective Disorder, known as SAD, affects millions of Americans each winter. Lack of critical Vitamin D from the sun during the cold season of the year, combined with stress and anxiety around holidays (and not-so-festive-feeling expectations), combine together to bring moods down for many people. Others are affected by mild or more severe depression regardless of season.

A new clinical trial funded by the National Institutes for Health have shown great promise that Hot Yoga might be part of an effective treatment plan for patients dealing with depression. And that’s great news for anyone who wants solutions without (or in addition to) medication and talk therapy.

A term called ‘whole body hyperthermia’ plays a role in this critical new trial. This is where the body is heated (normally under medical supervision) for the purpose of warming parts of the body and adjusting hormone levels. In recent years, whole body hyperthermia has been used to treat certain cancers. Now researchers are wondering whether it can be used to treat the whole person, and in particular, their sense of well-being.

In this NIH study, which consisted of women of several ethnicities and ages who were all being treated for depression, a notable percentage (16 of 30) reported a significant reduction in their feelings of depression and sadness by half. Twelve of those 16 in fact saw their scores drop low enough to be considered in remission from depression.

Health experts want to conduct further studies on the role of Hot Yoga in treating depression and other mood disorders, but anyone who has gone into a Hot Yoga class can tell you that it releases endorphins, those feel-good chemicals that your body grooves on. And being in a yoga class brings you into community with others, out of your shell, and in from the cold. Plus, it just physically feels good – you deserve to feel good, if not great!

This winter, join us for your first Hot Yoga class if you are experiencing feelings of sadness, anxiety, or uncertainty. Maybe journal a months’ worth of Hot Yoga just to see if you notice a difference in your mood and outlook.

SŌL Grateful

It goes without saying that Sōl Yoga Collective is grateful to each and every one of you. We are grateful to see you in person or via livestream. We are heartened by your willingness to show up when you can, to be present and adaptive. We are thankful for a true collective of yoga enthusiasts that we surround ourselves with daily. But did you know that gratitude is naturally part of every yoga practice? It’s an essential core value that yoga instructors learns as they begin to teach.

We share the gift of gratitude to everyone who joins us on their mat in yoga class, but that gratitude extends far beyond their mat or our studio.

Webster’s Dictionary defines gratitude as “the state of being grateful; thankfulness.”

We demonstrate gratitude within yoga by welcoming you to class, looking at each student, offering an embodied experience and listening carefully to the room.

Yoga shows us how to be grateful for our gifts, all of our gifts including the ones that only we see within or the ones that challenge us.

Gratitude helps our students stay focused on their mats, and to keep a positive mindset which allows the energy and experience of yoga to expand.

Gratitude also gives us the chance to widen our horizons and shift our perspectives. Just like yoga itself, gratitude tests us physically and emotionally, asking us to go further. Not just to be thankful for the obvious things that we receive in life – work bonuses, dream vacations, academic achievements – but also the things that we didn’t ask for. We don’t ask to be ill or injured. We don’t ask for lack of what we desire. We don’t ask for stress or insomnia, and yet within each of those experiences there is something we can be thankful for. We can be thankful that through our illness or injury we grew in compassion for those who are permanently disabled or sick. We can be thankful that those restless nights allowed us to find solutions, and we can be thankful that we appreciate what we have more because of those times in need. We can be thankful, and we can take action to assist those whose needs are greater or more sustained than ours.

Gratitude, like yoga itself, reduces stress, calms us, and keeps us open to receiving the gifts of life. Gratitude and yoga both help detoxify the mind, strengthen the body, and purify our intentions. Gratitude and yoga both lead to joy, to new friendships, and improved relationships with loved ones.

Gratitude and yoga both strengthen our focus and clarity and are perfect partners in creating a lifelong meditational practice. Sometimes we meditate at the end of yoga, after a long and intensive class. But there’s also nothing wrong with doing yoga at the end of a long and deeply restorative meditation. And we are grateful that life continues to offer choices that we have power over.

Yoga and Your Thyroid

You can’t see it but there’s a butterfly-shaped gland at the front of your throat with a lot of influence over your health! It’s your thyroid, a crucial part of the endocrine system. Your thyroid produces two hormones that impact your metabolism (how you break down what you eat and create energy from it). Breath, Weight, Temperature, Cholesterol levels and Heart rate are all affected by the thyroid and the hormones it produces.

Traditionally, those hormones slow down as we reach middle age – particularly for women. And there are diseases of the thyroid that can have greater impact on our health. It is recommended that you avoid certain foods including heavy starches and over processed foods, because they can trigger inflammation and immune disorders affecting the thyroid.

There are also yoga poses that may encourage a healthy thyroid:

Cat Cow (Chakravakasana) is easily one of the most popular and easiest poses in yoga. You alternate between a rounded spine to an upward curved one, extending the neck and activating the thyroid.

Supported Shoulderstand (Salamba Sarvangasana) begins on your back on the ground. Bend your knees up and bring  your feet as close to your spine as you can. Then lift your hips and legs, extending your legs upward. Bring your bent knees toward your face, lifting your hips further. When you feel ready, lift your feet toward the ceiling, perpendicular to the ground. This rolls each vertebrae and engages the back of the thyroid.

Fish Pose (Matsyasana) has you lying on the floor upon your back. With your feet on the floor, lift your hips slightly and place your hands on your low back. Press your elbows into the floor and while keeping your shoulder blades on your mat, lift your upper torso, incline  your head back and stretch your neck.

Camel Pose (Ustrasana) is a great antidote to slouching, as well as support to your thyroid. Begin on your knees, your feet hip-distance apart. Lift your chest up and arch your back, opening your shoulders. Let your arms fall back and reach for your feet. Press your shoulders together to raise your chest even more while letting your head gently drop back.

And don’t forget about Cobra Pose!

Your thyroid is deeply connected to your throat chakra, so it may help imagining a vivid blue butterfly at your throat, helping you to communicate and producing those beautiful hormones you need to keep your metabolism strong.

Yoga for the People. All the People.

If we were challenged to name a single person, group of people or community who would not benefit from yoga, we just couldn’t do it. Seriously! We dare you to test us.

Elderly: of course, people in their golden years should do yoga! It’s not just about greater flexibility and lowered blood pressure – more importantly, it’s about community. Nobody needs their yoga tribe more than those who are older, no longer in the workforce, and missing daily activity.

The Disabled: are you kidding? Let’s DIS the dis and call them abled, because yoga is designed for every body with no exceptions. And it’s not just about gentle or chair yoga, although that’s a great option for those with limited movement. We know people with prosthetics or with degenerative spinal issues who are able to rock Warrior pose. Sometimes they do so with modifications but then again, everyone has a right to find their own way into yoga and comfortably into the poses they choose.

Overweight or underweight: yoga is not limited to aerobic activity so those who need to gain weight can safely find their groove on their mat, and yoga is perfect for those who want to feel fantastic at any size. Forget about those perfectly toned bodies you see in stock images of yogis. We love curves at Sol and support every student’s health choices and goals.

Those working two jobs or more: Ummm… can we say “stress relief?” Nobody needs the meditative benefits and breathwork of yoga more than those who work extra hours by choice or circumstance. Some of those workaholics might not be able to make it to class every week. We don’t judge. We welcome you whenever your beautiful face shows up, and many of our classes are available via livestream. Drop in when you can – but grab 15 minutes solo from the comfort of your home of office if that’s all your schedule permits.

Babies: Babies benefit greatly from yoga (excellent to help those wee ones develop motor skills and also to pass gas!) but even babies not even born yet can enjoy yoga through their mothers. Yoga during pregnancy can calm expectant mamas and even to relax the pelvic floor to make labor and delivery easier. Plus, yoga is shown to help with the postpartum experience. So bring that new baby to your mat – it’s a great bonding experience which both parent and child will enjoy.

Is there someone (or a group of someones) that you are convinced just can’t do yoga? Submit your comments and we will prove you wrong! Yoga is for the people – all the people, no exceptions.

The Benefits of Hot Yoga

Temperatures go down and you start craving extra heat. Maybe you are already a big fan of hot yoga or maybe you’ve just been curious about it. But it’s not just about feeling warm and cozy. There are many benefits to hot yoga.

Here’s the obvious one (and probably the reason why many people are attracted to hot yoga): It burns calories. A high intensity hot yoga class can burn up to 237 calories in just 50 minutes. That’s higher than standard yoga, though not by much.

It promotes heart health and minimizes the risk of diabetes: exercise can help regulate blood sugar levels and a regular hot yoga routine will improve glucose tolerance in older adults with obesity.

Hot Yoga makes you more flexible: heat while stretching warms up your muscles, giving you greater range of motion in your shoulders, low back, and hamstrings.

Hot Yoga is particularly beneficial for middle-aged and menopausal women: hot yoga can help preserve bone density and slows down bone loss.

It helps manage stress and improving depression symptoms: regular yoga releases those feel-good chemicals in the brain that help us manage stress better, while also helping with depressive symptoms including hopelessness.

Hot Yoga does require more than just showing up to class, however. You need to properly hydrate ahead of class and after. (Check out our delicious and mega-hydrating stock of LMNT!) Avoid large meals before class and watch your physical reactions closely. If you feel light-headed, nauseous or weak, take a break.

Hot yoga does run from 60 to 90 minutes, so prepare for sustained heat and exertion for longer periods. The smaller the room and the more students in class mean for amplified heat. Wear clothing that wicks moisture and keep a towel close to wipe off perspiration. And if you have long hair, we suggest tying it back in a bun or ponytail.

Continue to hydrate throughout class, and let your instructor know if you’re a hot yoga newbie. If it feels overwhelming, you are free to stop, rest, cool down and hydrate. We don’t mind if you ease into it. We will help you pace yourself for maximum benefits.

Finding Your Balance

Have you ever experienced a bout of vertigo or chronic dizziness? It’s no laughing matter when your whole being feels off kilter. Vertigo is one of several vestibular disorders along with Meniere’s Disease, Concussion & Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and Vestibular Migraines. For some people with vestibular disorders, yoga itself may be a challenge. If your equilibrium is off kilter, how can you enjoy the benefits of yoga – some of which might actually alleviate some of your symptoms?

The trick is to use props and modifications. Simple modifications with many of your favorite yoga poses will not only reduce the dizziness you might experience, they can also (over a prolonged period of time) help make your disorder more manageable. And we always encourage the use of props for all yogis – come to your mat with a block, a blanket, a strap and a bolster. You never know when you might want to adjust your position with a little help even if you don’t have vertigo.

Anyone with balance, coordination or vestibular issues can benefit from restorative yoga. Restorative is a slower-paced yoga class that allows you to hold positions for longer periods of time. By moving less but deeply breathing, many yoga practitioners find that their brains quiet but their inner focus improves. You can still get the deep muscle stretch benefits, but at a slower pace.

Here are some good yoga positions to help those dealing with vertigo or other vestibular disorders:

Kneeling Quad/Hip Flexor Stretch

With blocks on either side of you for support, kneel on the ground and then extend one leg in front at a 90-degree angle. Tuck your hips beneath you for a gentle stretch, then reach your hands out in opposite directions. Or place your hands on the blocks if that’s the best stretch you can maintain or simply to find your balance.

Surfing Warrior

Many with balance problems have trouble getting into the standing versions of Warrior Pose, but this modification makes the benefits of Warrior less tenuous. Extend your left leg to the side, with your back leg moving slightly behind you at an angle. Then lean into your left leg and extend your arms out. Be sure to keep your knees behind your toes.

Even Savasana can be a challenge for those with vertigo or balance issues. We suggest Supported Savasana instead, using a bolster to lift your upper back, neck and head, and wrapping a blanket around your legs. Think of it as adult nap time, and the soothing benefit you need after any yoga session.

Yoga and Chill

As autumn season hits, and temperatures outside begin to dip, your inclination may be to turn up the heat. To increase the temperature inside your home and in your showers.

Warm rooms and warm water certainly feel soothing, especially in cold weather. But there are many benefits to cold water in colder seasons, a trend known as cold plunging.

On Thursdays at 5:30pm at Sol Yoga Collective, Jacob leads a Hot Yoga class. This class is designed to enhance vitality on every level, incorporating an invigorating hatha-based vinyasa flow in a hot environment. You will develop core strength, upper body strength, flexibility in the shoulders, legs and spine plus improved concentration.

After that Thursday hot class, many students join Jacob for a walk to Rapid Creek where they enjoy a cold plunge in the nearby chill waters.

Cold plunging, while trending, is not a new therapy. It’s been used around the world for centuries for a host of health benefits.

Cold plunging and winter swimming significantly decreases tension and fatigue, while boosting both mood and memory. It’s a great benefit for seniors, as cold plunging also has been shown to decrease the pain of rheumatism and to reduce inflammation.

And the benefits extend to swimmers of all ages. Cold plunging improves symptoms of fibromyalgia and asthma, and actually boosts your immune system by increasing white blood count and pumping more fluids throughout your lymphatic system, which triggers those white blood cells to attack anything harmful to the body.

But cold plunging also can provide relief to those battling depression. During the SAD (seasonal affective disorder) seasons in the late autumn and winter, sunlight deprivation has a profound effect upon our mood. Coupled with the changes in our lives in recent years, more Americans are being treated for depression and mood disorders.

Just jumping into those chilly waters instantly releases endorphins, and hormones like norepinephrine and epinephrine. Those feel-good hormones lift your spirits while also reducing inflammation and alleviating joint and muscle pain in the body.

So after your next hour of hot yoga here at Sol on Thursday evenings, we welcome you to walk a little further to Rapid Creek. Jacob will be there to guide you through your first cold plunge. And if you have already taken the plunge with us, be sure to tag us in your photos at Instagram.

Let’s Yoga and Chill this fall!

Fall Into Possibility

Every year, we have four opportunities to not only experience the seasons but to embrace them. To embody those seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter and the energies they represent.

Winter is a dormant season, one in which we are asked to be still, to listen, to learn, to reflect and to turn inward. Spring brings new life, new chapters, new opportunities and the chance to grow. Summer is about enjoying all that life has to offer, having fun and living in our fullness.

Autumn is a slowing of the seasons, the chance to plant seeds for spring and to harvest what we have built throughout the year. A time to release what is finished. What does fall mean to you?

Does fall mean bringing in the fruits and vegetables of your garden and storing them for winter? Does it mean relishing the shortening days and catching up on sleep? Or does it mean falling into the reality of your own life?

We think of the word “fall” as a negative – to fall back, to fall down, to fall out of favor. But to fall into yourself and your life is a great and positive thing. It’s an acceptance but it’s still a potential leap of faith. Can you really let go and let be?

Yoga, breath-work, meditation – these are all ways that you can fall into your physical, spiritual and emotional self. If you are on your mat and you hear the words “let go” – what does that mean to you?

Releasing what you’ve been working for in favor of what you already have - is that a way to fall into yourself? What can you let go of right now so that you are free to embrace and enjoy what you have?

Every season brings with it some effort – tilling the ground in spring, running and playing in the sun in summer, kindling the hearth in winter – but fall gives us ample opportunity to let go. To release and relieve and reflect.

In your yoga practice and in your life – where do you need more reflection? What do you need to harvest from your current efforts? What do you need to release so that you are prepared to settle into the stillness of winter? Each cycle, each season feeds and supports the next. We are grateful to have you in the practice room as we explore these seasons together.

Explore the Big Questions

Does it seem like lately everyone is a bit… thirsty? Like, craving something to satisfy some inner desire? Are you searching for something that will fulfill you that you haven’t found before?

It’s part of the human experience: the search for meaning and for magic. We want to know that we are more than just a cog in the wheel of the human race, that we matter as individuals. We want to feel enlightened in this life, not just hope for it in some dim vision of an afterlife. We want to transcend our earthly experience and find – dare we hope – bliss.

In fact, many people turn to yoga to answer the questions within themselves, to find solace and clarity and calm. For some yoga practitioners, transforming the physical body is all they desire. But for some, yoga is a long journey in which they go deeper and deeper each passing season, reaching never-before-experienced levels of euphoria. These folks are lucky to have found something that takes them out of their everyday experience without endangering their health.

Too many people in our world reach for substances outside of themselves to feel different, better, more alive. We know people with addictions and many of us have lost loved ones to those addictions. While some people are genetically prone to addictive behaviors, at the same time it seems like those of us who do not struggle with alcohol or substance abuse still crave the same things that those who are addicted do. We want to feel alive, to be empowered, to find meaning.

Many of us also have friends or family who struggle with emotional and mental health issues including PTSD, bipolar disorder, dementia. Some of those people would be at higher levels of risk for addiction. How can we, instead, offer something that gives solace and satisfaction?

Yoga, prayer and meditation, music, mindfulness, and community are what we each can offer to others in struggle. It’s what we can offer to our Selves. We may not be therapists or doctors, we might not know how to overcome addiction, but we can be there in support for our neighbors and simply by living in truth – a truth based on a healthy mindset – light a path forward.

We all know what it feels like to deeply desire something. Many of us have learned to find it within, using tools like yoga to find our way. What can you offer in peace to those in need? What can you offer to yourself? Come to your mat with curiosity and trust that the answers you seek await you there.

From the Outside In, Part 3

You knew this topic was coming! We’ve been blogging the past couple months about the use of natural products as complement to your yoga lifestyle. We discussed swapping out nontoxic cleaning products for your home, and smart topical products for sun protection, skin care and beauty. Now let’s dish about what you put INTO your yoga—fantastic body!

But look – we aren’t going to harp on a perfect macrobiotic vegan clean diet. The truth is, food is simply fuel and even less than perfect food can still fuel your body, a little bit. Our argument about food is to simply strive for balance. Put way more good stuff in than bad and you’re going to feel better. And frankly - you’re going to look better, too.

What’s the good stuff? Organic vegetables, whole grains, free range meats, poultry, eggs and whenever possible, local food. Shop your farmers markets, natural food stores and nearby producers and you’re going to find a wide range of clean meats and fish, nutrient-rich vegetables and fruit, and even delicious snacks.

You already know what the bad stuff is: processed foods, fried foods, salty or too sweet foods. Ingredients you don’t recognize or can’t pronounce. Your body is your temple and wants the good stuff. Give it!

So there are some easy tips on how to fuel your body. And what about hydration? What is the best hydration? Simply put, it’s the stuff that most of our planet is made of: water. It also happens to be what you are mostly made of! Drink as much water as you should. Have some fun with your water. Put a few slices of fruit in if you want flavor or brew a delicious herbal tea. And remember to begin every day with at least 8oz of warm, salty water! A pinch of pink Himalayan sea salt in freshly warmed water (not warm from the tap, use a kettle). Drink it before you have your coffee and give back to your body some of the moisture it lost through the night running all of its cleaning and maintenance routines. If you haven’t tried LMNT yet, we highly recommend it! We carry it in studio and love it. We’re hearing incredible feedback from our students who have implemented this into their hydration tool-kit.

What don’t you want to drink? You won’t like it but studies now show that there is zero amount of alcohol that is really acceptable to the body. You might argue that you go dry in January, or you only have two drinks on social occasions, or you just really like that beer / cider / seltzer / wine / cocktail. But the minute you give up alcohol, you start reaping some serious benefits.

Like, lowering blood pressure and minimizing your risk of diabetes. Like, sleeping better and focusing more. Like, losing weight, stressing less, making your prescription medications and supplements way more effective, and – here’s a big one – dropping your chance of cancer.

We think those are all awesome reasons to skip those drinks altogether. But again, what we are advocating for is balance. Balance on your yoga mat, in your diet, and in your life. Yoga is never about perfection. Just moving and breathing and living in the space you desire to be.

From the Outside In, Part 2

Yoga is part of a holistic practice of treating the self (physically, emotionally and spiritually) in a respectful, nourishing and natural way. It would be counterproductive to have a regular yoga practice while using toxic materials in your home, on your skin and in your body.

The skin is the largest organ in our body. It needs to be clean but if you walk down the aisles of any drugstore you’d believe you need to scrub your skin, toes, face within an inch of your life to be healthy. Far from it. The less you do the better your skin will be. Let’s talk about natural skin care!

Sunlight and UV protection:

It’s important to protect your skin from damaging rays of the sun. That includes cloudy weather and winter. Depending on how fair you are, you want a sunscreen with a 35 SPF (sun protection factor) UVA and UVB. A lot of sunblocks are chock full of chemicals. Some of those chemicals might be particularly uncool for our kids. Did you know you can mix shea butter with zinc oxide for sun protection? Of course, if you or your little ones are in the water, you still have to reapply! If mixing your own sunscreen doesn’t excite you, check out the clean and safe options available with dōTERRA.

Cleansing:

Your skin is a delicate microbiome that needs little to be clean. Water. A bit of soap if you tend to break out. Cleansing oils if you have dry skin. We don’t recommend using scrubs more than twice weekly. And stay clear of soaps and detergents that include phthalates which are added to plastics to make them more pliable. That includes all those microbeads in cleansers and scrubs. Want a great natural exfoliant? Coconut oil and finely milled sea salt will clear those rough patches and allow for a deeper clean.

Treating:

The buzzword “anti-aging” promotes a youthful look through skincare products. Youth is a glorious thing, but age and wisdom have their glory too! Stay young by staying fit, open-minded and open-hearted and skip the intrusive (and expensive) cosmetic procedures. They don’t make you look younger and will actually damage your natural elasticity. Some people drink collagen water which is great, but if you want a beautiful serum, dilute frankincense essential oil in jojoba oil and apply with a roller bottle to targeted areas of the face, neck and decolletage. And drink plenty of water! (p.s. Our friends at The Nook offer the most exquisite and delicious organic facials you can imagine! I make this part of my self care routine and it’s worth every penny.)

Lastly, the best thing you can do for your skin is – believe it or not - yoga! If you want healthy radiant skin from head to toe, yoga is perfect for making you glow. Uttanasana (Standing Forward Fold) is a great position to bring circulation to the face which warms the skin and helps detox from free radical damage.

Next month, we’ll cover the use of natural products in our diet!

Feel Good Feet

When is the last time you gave your feet and toes some love? All day long you stand on them, stuff them into strappy sandals and sweaty athletic shoes, and put all your weight and mass upon them. We think you should give extra care and attention to your feet every day, but if you’ve been neglecting your foot health, here’s what you can do:

Extra Love: Give those feet the love they deserve. Soak them in warm water with essential oils once or twice a week, pat them dry, give them a massage (including those ten little piggies) and then apply a luxuriating oil or lotion. For all you barefoot gypsies, you probably have calluses from going around sans shoes so treat yourself to an exfoliating treatment.

Yoga: You bet there are yoga positions beneficial to your feet. Here are three…

Warrior Two – this increases the flexibility and agility of your ankles plus builds strength into the arches of your feet. Overall, you also gain stability and balance which again, rests largely upon your feet and foundation.

Toe-Stretching Forward Fold – Stiff shoe-wearers will especially appreciate this position and its benefits. Wiggle those toes. Massage your ankles. Flex your feet. Point your arches forward. This position can actually relieve pain in the feet, so if you work in food service or other careers requiring long hours on your feet, you’ll love this.

Upward Facing Dog – Now it’s time to give the top of your feet the attention they deserve. This position eases pressure on your arches, massages the tops of your feet and toes, and increases your mobility and flexibility. A huge relief!!

There are also excellent yoga mats that are especially helpful for your podiatric care. Just ask us the next time you are in studio.

Lastly, you can also give some love to your feet by wearing supportive shoes, taking breaks when you can, and keeping them sweat-free. Oh, and we also suggest you dance often. You want to treat your feet well, not inactive!

Sleep Hygiene with Sōl

What’s one of the biggest challenges felt by everyone on the planet? Poor sleep habits. Sleep is an integral part of the life we live and many of our yoga students mention to us the need to use their yoga experiences to feel calmer, to feel empowered, and to experience greater rest.

Sleep Hygiene simply means good sleep habits. In the US in particular, more Americans are turning to sleep aids to help them rest. But in recent studies, scientists find that melatonin gummies (the most common form of sleep aid currently in use) are not regulated as supplements and therefore, unreliable in achieving true rest.

Prescription medications are even more potentially harmful, leading often to dependence and actually causing more sleep problems. So, what can you do to ensure that you’re going to get the sleep you need? Here is what we suggest:

• Nighttime yoga / meditation and a regular sleep schedule. The body is a cyclical machine, drawn to rituals and routines. When you prepare yourself for sleep at the same time each night, the body begins to reward that routine and to prepare for it. Supplement your bedtime ritual with 15 minutes of yoga and 5 minutes of meditation, and you’ve just paved the way for a deep and restful night. pro tip - If you are a Recurring Donor, scroll back on our on demand schedule and find a “Yoga Nidra” to facilitate a wonderfully deep rest.

• Waking up during the night? Don’t fight it. If you’re not sleepy, trying to sleep for hours (tossing and turning, no less) only prolongs the return to dreams. Instead, get up and do something with minimal activity. Sit on the couch, or your back deck, or your yoga mat. Just let the body find it’s rhythm of rest again, and you’ll start yawning in no time.

• Fuel your Sleep. Put into the body what it needs to find its natural rest cycles. No caffeine after mid-day, steer clear of alcohol and high sugar content, and don’t eat too close to bedtime. All of these are stimulants that create false energy in the body unfavorable to sleep. Water and herbal teas are best particularly if falling to sleep is a challenge.

• Bed Zone. What do you use your bed for? Sleep should be the primary goal, so set yourself up for success by clearing devices from the bedroom. When you walk into your room, your body should immediately feel a sense of peace and relaxation. Move the laptop, bill-paying and streaming to a better location.

And lastly, make sure you get the exercise throughout the day that your body requires. You don’t have to wear yourself out to the point of exhaustion but choose movement and activity during your day. The body needs to turn itself off at a certain point – exertion sets a timer to ensure that happens.

Cleaning From the Outside In, Part 1

What’s the point of making healthy fitness choices if you aren’t using healthy products in your body, on your body and in your home?

Back in the 1950s, most Americans knew nothing about yoga, little about health and their cleaning products were advertised on ‘soap operas.’ These were harsh detergents, with the prevailing idea that if you scrubbed the ever-loving sh*t out of your home, you were a good homemaker.

We now know that many of those cleaning products were decidedly unhealthy for us. Some were actually carcinogenic. Bleaching agents are believed to increase risks for birth defects. The use of disinfectants and antibacterials to keep germs at bay is having the opposite effect: the rise of MERSA and other super resistant bugs.

But humans lived on this planet (and in clean homes) for thousands of years before “Days of Our Lives” told them to buy the newest laundry detergent or floor wax. Do you ever wonder what pioneer folks used to clean their windows or what was used to clean during the Renaissance?

They used natural products. Water. Natural soaps. Essential oils including wood oils for furniture. Vinegar is probably the greatest cleaning product in the world and everybody has a bottle of it in their kitchen cabinet right now.

It’s easy to believe those ‘squeaky clean’ ads – they supported a multi-billion-dollar industry that still thrives today. But more people are opting to clean their homes and workspaces today with natural products. You don’t need to spend a lot of money either. Lemon rinds inside vinegar will leave your windows shining, and hot water can disinfect most common areas.

Fewer ingredients in your cleaning products and fewer bottles and boxes beneath your kitchen sink support your yoga practice as part of a healthy lifestyle. This is part of your yoga - “off the mat”.

Next month, we’ll cover the use of natural products on the body to support your well-being.

What is Your Why?

Have you been thinking about applying for our upcoming 2023 Yoga Teacher Training? If so, what are your reasons? Why a yoga teacher training?

Some of our instructors have shared why they went through teacher training program and what they got from the experience.

Jeff spoke about what he was looking for, and how much more he received: “Deepening my understanding of the true meaning of yoga. How to realize this truth in my own life. I was surprised how deeply I was touched. Postures was a fraction of the experience. I received a much deeper look within myself. It cracked me open. I left with the tools to share this with others.”

Crystal explained her interest and what she gained from yoga teacher training: “I most looked forward to learning detailed break down of postures and anatomy. The biggest benefit of YTT was meeting some great, supportive women.”

Clarissa has seen how yoga teacher training has allowed her to not only grow, but to find deeper connections to others: “I knew early on I wanted to teach and explore the practice of yoga from a space of deep awareness. I took the first teacher training I could find that spoke to me. One of my favorite parts of teaching is connecting with people on a human and vulnerable level where we can all come to a space and change, up level and expand. I believe deeply that taking a yoga teacher training aligned me to the path of my destiny and is an element of my soul's purpose.”

Jacob was simply looking for a new experience and trusted the journey that yoga teacher training could take him on: “I chose to take teacher training not because I wanted to teach, but rather because I didn't know where to go next on my own path. I knew that intuition could lead me, but I also knew that I wasn't in a state to hear my intuition at the time. Yoga teacher training was my attempt to bring enough inner peace and self-knowledge to begin hearing that guidance. There's a lot more for me to figure out, but I now have faith in my ability to find the right path as I progress.”

Karen was a beginner yogi but knew right away that she wanted to learn more and share the possibilities that yoga provides with others. “I was astonished at how quickly I noticed changes in my whole self after I started doing just a few minutes of yoga and meditation everyday. I wanted to learn more and help others realize the same thing. What surprised me most about my own teacher training was the way that it taught me so much about myself and how I relate to others. To me, relationships are everything. My teacher training forced me to examine the relationship I have with myself and gave me the courage to continue looking inward. One of the best investments I’ve ever made in myself.”

You won’t know fully what yoga teacher training with Sol Yoga Collective can do for you, but we bet you already have an idea of what you hope it will be. So the most important why is: why haven’t you applied yet?

The Fountain of Youth

Oh, if only there were a fountain of youth – something magical that would keep us young in body, mind and spirit. People have drunk potent elixirs and traveled to the ends of the earth and even into outer space, seeking that which would roll back the hands of time so that we would feel, look and be young forever.

There is no mystical fountain of youth and frankly, we think that’s a very good thing. Age has its benefits too – wisdom and knowledge and experience. But if you want to stay youngER in body, mind and spirit, there is something you can do: YOGA!!!

Occasional yoga isn’t going to roll back the hands of time yet a consistent yoga practice will help us feel younger and more energized.

Each of us produce a hormone, DHEA, which is known to protect our bodies from cortisol (the stress hormone) which ages the skin, bones and body. With age, DHEA production goes down but with yoga and meditation, production again increases.

Of course, yoga also helps with limberness and flexibility, helping to relieve the body of aches, pains and fatigue. If we just let nature and the aging process take its course, we’d notice a worsening of our spinal health and posture. But yoga not only makes our muscles stronger, protecting them against deterioration and loss of mass, but it also lengthens our spines.

The real culprit of age is stress, not really the wrinkles and changes to the body. Stress is what leads to health problems including those that can shorten our lives. With yoga, we learn to breathe and relax, even during our most challenging times.

But the greatest effect of yoga on us as we age is that time becomes flexible, not just our bodies. We are able to see the past in a different light, and to let go of fears over the future, choosing to live in the moment and doing so in a natural way. Want to really feel young? Stop catastrophizing and rehashing and just be present in your life right now. The fear of aging is really a fear that time is slipping away, racing by. We can choose to slow that clock anytime we wish by stepping onto the mat, breathing deeply, and moving through our practice.

None of us are getting younger, no matter what we want. And many of us know people that never made it as far as we have. Time is a gift that we give ourselves. Time on our mats - moving and breathing - is the perfect way to receive that gift, every day of our lives.

What Is Breathwork (And Why Do I Need It)?

If you are a frequent yoga practitioner, you know that pranayama (breathwork) goes with asanas, the movement of yoga. But even if you aren’t a yogi, you may have heard the term breathwork and wondered exactly what it is. If you haven’t heard of breathwork before, you might be thinking: are you about to talk about the thing I do all day, every day, without thinking – even when I’m sleeping? The answer is yep!

Because breathwork isn’t just the subconscious act of taking in and releasing air. It’s an intentional act that fuels the body, mind and spirit. Breathwork is the conscious act of breathing with awareness and intention, and it is a perfect complement to yoga or meditation in that it helps you build self-awareness and become more focused.

But breathwork can also be a form of therapy, a healing act we do for ourselves. It’s certainly a lot more than just taking in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide.

Breathwork, when done correctly, can be used to benefit us mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.

First, when you breathe, air doesn’t just enter your nose (and or mouth) and then your lungs. It actually enters your bloodstream through your lungs. A full breath cycle engages your entire being – your nose, sinuses, throat, lungs, chest, belly, back and brain. Without having to think about it, a kind of rhythmic dance happens with every breath you inhale and exhale.

When you breathe deeply and consciously however, you activate your parasympathetic nervous system. This slows your heart rate and lowers blood pressure, a very positive physical effect. The alternative? Shallow or uncontrolled breathing is associated with our fight-or-flight instincts during traumatic situations, our blood pressure increases and we may find ourselves feeling hyper and uncontrollable.

Recent studies show that breathwork is being used effectively to help treat anxiety, PTSD and depression. But breathwork can also move us to heightened states of being, our divine selves. In fact, many people who regularly practice breathwork report achieving spiritual awakenings and deep personal insights.

Pranayama, as part of your yoga routine, not only calms and controls the breath (along with the movements) but helps you move past the blocks that actually slow your life force energy.

So, let’s breathe a little deeper and little more intentionally – and see what benefits you discover!

Summer Activities that Pair Perfectly with Yoga

You may have strayed a bit from your yoga practice as summer approaches, with your activity calendar filling with other forms of exercise. After all, the sun is shining and you are ready to get moving, sweating, stretching and sporting. We are here to encourage you to keep yoga (or bring it back!) in your daily life - not in lieu of those activities but as a compliment to them!

Yoga pairs perfectly with other sports, exercises and routines. Let’s talk about those!

First, if you jump into your weekly golf game without a deep and purposeful stretch, you increase the odds of injury. Five to fifteen minutes of yogic breathing and movement is an excellent way to prepare your body and your mind for superior golf action. Stretch those limbs, open your airways, clear your mind with a short yoga session and we bet that you’ll see improvements in your game.

Yoga improves balance, strength, and agility. It also improves your posture and clears away brain fog so that your volleyball/trail running/disc golf game is at 100%.

In fact, any competitive game or sport activity can be enhanced with yoga. As you move your body through its limits (and limiting thoughts), yoga can help you find creative ways to challenge your competitors. And when in deep competition, the breathwork that you learn through yoga will help you focus and strategize.

Yoga is also perfect for those who have already experienced an injury, including pulled muscles and sprains. It is extremely important to stretch ahead of any physical activity if you are injured, so that you improve your flexibility and reduce further risks.

Whether you are into cycling, hiking, climbing, water sports, or any summer fitness activity, yoga is the perfect partner. Not only will your activity improve with yoga prior to the game or activity, but it’s also an exceptional way to recover when you have pushed your body and mind to its brink.

Yin Yoga offers a reset – physically, mentally and spiritually – with intentional movement, calming breathwork and long, slow rests. When you come off the bike or the trail, be sure to refuel your body with water, nutritional food, and a yoga routine designed to recover.

So when planning your summer sports calendar, make sure to pencil in regular yoga. Everything is a lot more fun when yoga supports your movement and activity!