Yoga for Stress

Yay! So I have had a bunch of these written down and now I am finally going around doing my guides and flows. I arranged it so it would somehow flow, it’s not perfect.

Also, yes, we all know yoga is pretty darn not stressful but these are some great poses to do when your stressed out and just need to find your breath and wind down.

Downward Dog - Ground your hands into the floor and engage your inner feet. Imagine a string at your tailbone, pulling it up and back. Take a few breaths here. Feel free to pedal your feet out and feel the stretch in your calves. This pose helps calm your brain.

Cobra - Spread your hands onto your mat close to your shoulders. Push up and elbows in. Press the top of your feet and your pelvic bone into the floor. Squeeze your shoulder blades together.

Child’s Pose - There are a few variations. I like to touch my big toes together, with knees open and stretch arms out. You can also keep your knees together and lay onto your thighs. Find what feels yummy to you.

Cat/Cow - Make sure your shoulders are directly above your wrists and your knees are right below your hips. Inhale on cow, lift your tailbone and your chest toward the ceiling. Exhale on cat, round your spine, head looking down. Do a few cycles of this. Do them slow and take deep breaths.

Sitting Forward Bend - Sit on the floor, if it is uncomfortable, sit on a pillow, lifting your tailbone up about an inch. Stretch forward, head down. Do not force this stretch. Reach to a comfortable place.

Plow - Roll onto your back, slowly bringing your legs up and over your head, with your toes touching the ground. Soften your throat. Stretch your arms onto the floor.

Happy Baby - Lie on your back, bend your knees to your belly. Reach to grab your toes. I like to wrap my arms around my legs and hold onto my feet. If it is difficult to reach your toes, grab a strap or a belt around your feet to help you reach. Rock side to side, close your eyes, breathe.

Reclining Bound Angle Pose - Bring the soles of your feet together, forming a diamond with your legs. Lay down carefully, arms out. Close your eyes and breathe. If it is uncomfortable, find a yummy position. Move your feet away from you until you are comfy.

I hope this helps you destress! They are very simple poses. You can easily do these when you wake up or if you need to wind down and want to sleep.  You can do a few cycles of this. I like to take each pose with three deep breaths before moving on. If you find a pose particularly yummy, feel free to hang out there! (:

I’m gonna do something different here. Everyone in runners club that has been running since January to now or has ever ran but stopped and then came back.

Thank you.

Thank you for motivating me with your runs either be with running streaks, coming back from an injury, starting to, or if you’ve ever done a 1 mile or 13000 miles… I know that’s an insane number but I’ve seen crazy numbers on nike plus.

Thank you because I didn’t join the club until late in February when @ladyandthetrack was hyping it up and I joined because it had something to do with what I loved to do and it was running. I skipped a few days or maybe a month but I still looked it up. And during those times I looked it up I liked some of your runs, got to talk to some of you, and from where I’m at I was cheering you on. I know a few of you had like a 5 months running streak going or maybe even more but I kept reblogging you and hashtagged keep the streak alive.

You have all motivated me and I thank you all for doing so.

The number above was today. It’s not my worst and it’s definitely not my best. It’s just a number today. My best is yet to come and I will share it with all of you just the same way I shared my prior one which was 8 something miles.

Keep up the great work everyone, keep running, keep pulling a massive running streak, keep going, or if you’re tired and exhausted or even hurt… feel better first because I been there. I been hurt and I know people that been hurt and we’ve all shared stories about how we hurt ourselves and how we got better and back to running. So keep pushing. Keep running. Keep being you.

You all deserve an awesome mention. So whoever is on this tag for November, this is your sds. Stop, drop, and selfie.

We have one more month until this horrible year ends and I know I’m going to do the same thing Barry Allen does.

Pre gym selfies ~