Remember to Breathe - Off the mat

Remember to breathe. 
Breathing is the most important thing that we do.
Our own breath is the most present thing we have.
We take it with us everywhere.
The way we breathe effects how we feel.

When all around is falling apart remember to breathe. 
It should be our go to place when life feels overwhelming.




Breathing Techniques 
We don't need to learn any fancy techniques. 
There are just a couple of things we need to remember:
1. Breath through the nose. 
2. Aim for the exhale to be slightly longer than the inhale.

Breathing through the nose helps us to be connected to the parasympathetic nervous system - this is the part of the nervous system responsible for rest and recovery, it aids the digestive system to work more efficiently too. 

Longer exhale this just encourages the breathing rate to slow down and steady - this simple act itself helps to make you calmer and improves concentration.  

Time with your breath 
How long you spend with the breath is your choice. 
10 breaths can be a great starting point stay with the breath for longer if you have time. 
Sitting or laying is fine which ever feels best for you and also suits where you are. 

If you can open a window and breath in the fresh air. 

If you are in a social situation or just feel overwhelmed in company even with your family during this lock down situation. Just go the bathroom (people tend to not follow you in there!) and take 10/20 breaths it can make a massive difference.  

If you are struggling to sleep, try the breath count technique (this is as complicated as my offerings here will be). Count the breaths in rounds of 4,  make the count at the end of the exhalation, when you get to the 4th breath, next breath return to 1 and keep repeating. if you loose count return to 1, if you over-count when you notice return to 1, if you become distracted when you notice just return to the breath and return to 1.

May the breath connect us. 💫

Sarsha 💖

Grounded by your FEET. - Body

Our feet. 
Our connection to the earth.
Our grounding.
Our support.
Our source of moving about in this life.



The feet and ankles contain:
26 bones
33 joints
Over 100 muscles, ligaments and tendons.

Most peoples feet spend a lot time encased in shoes. Most shoes are not foot shaped and our feet pay the price by being squeezed into an unnatural shape while in the shoes. This can lead to aches and pains in the feet. 

Our feet are amazing yet we often lock them up in shoes that limit their capacity to move and give us feedback. 

Shoes often restrict the movement of the 26 bones, 33 joints and over 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. The joints in our feet can become tight and stiff when trapped in shoes. Our feet are designed to move, flex and be supple. Along with that restriction is also sensory deprivation.  Our feet are our connection to the ground, if we can't feel the ground beneath us, we can't connect to our feet. Feeling what is beneath us through our feet connects us to our feet. If we can't connect to our feet this can have a huge impact on how we move in general and how we balance. 

How often do you walk barefoot? 

Do you ever walk barefoot outside? - in the garden for instance. Walking on grass and earth has a very grounding and calming effect on us.  

Textures a sensory workout for your feet.

Go barefoot give your feet a chance to talk to you. 

Barefoot allows our feet to spread and to move more efficiently.  This can relieve a multitude of daily aches and pains from the feet. And remember we have reflexology points in the feet so walking barefoot can have a positive effect on the systems of the whole body too.

Barefoot not only gives out feet chance to move freely but if we incorporate moving over different textures this helps us connect to the sensations through our feet - it can help to wake up the feet and it can maintain that awake-ness. Understanding our feet can help with moving better and feeling better. 

The feet are a small part of the whole, Sometimes it's the smallest changes can make the biggest difference. Sometimes simply taking your shoes off and having a walk barefoot can be a small step to bigger things. 

Have you tried barefoot shoes? 

I found that the more often I go barefoot, the more I feel the restriction of certain shoes. My feet now ask for feet shaped shoes (Barefoot shoes). There are some great barefoot shoes out there just google barefoot shoes. But nothing out weighs natural "actual" barefoot - when and where safely possible. 

I particularly like the feel of sand on my feet.

Give your feet some love. 

Give yourself a foot rub. Get some massage oil or even some hand, foot or body lotion and just rub all over feet including your toes, spread the toes rub the top and bottom of your feet, pay attention to any achy bits. Maybe even give your feet a soak in warm water first. 

LOVE YOUR FEET 👣


Sarsha 💖

  

Why Movement matters.

Movement is life.

Life is movement.

We move we live.  

How we move can affect our whole being! 

Movement does not have to be complicated. 

Move and explore as many ways to move your body as possible. 

Move in ways that you don't normally move. 

The more ways we move the body the more vitality we bring to our whole being. 

Move with intention and awareness - this is what a movement practice at YMS is all about. 

With movement - it is a use it or lose it situation, that doesn't mean that you can't regain mobility because you can, but it is much easier to maintain it than regain it. 

Timetabled classes at YMS are planned to help you move better and feel better. 

To help you maintain/regain ease and freedom of movement as you age. 

Yoga at YMS is about sustainable movement, mindful stillness and self care. 

Think of it as body and mind maintance. 

Sarsha ✨