Tag Archives: mindfulness

5 Yoga Poses for People Who Sit A Lot

If you feel like sitting in front of a computer from 9 to 5 is slowly killing you, you’re not too far off. Sitting too much is seriously bad for your health. “[But] yoga can help declutter your mind and allow you to refocus on your priorities. It combats poor posture, muscle soreness, and lower back pain by releasing endorphins into your body’s system,” says Sophie George, the founder of Firefly Yoga. Ready to take a stand? Here are five yoga poses (with modifications) that will undo the damage of your desk job.

 

Standing Forward Bend with Shoulder Opener (Uttanasana)

uttanasana beyond words

Bust workplace anxiety, depression, and insomnia with a standing forward bend. Start in Mountain Pose. Clasp your hands behind your back. Then take a deep breath to open your chest. Exhale and fold forward, letting your head fall toward the ground while shifting your weight to the fronts of your feet. Hold for one minute.

Modifications: Stiff? Use a resistance band to clasp your hands behind your back and bend your elbows.

 

Camel Pose (Ustrasana)

ustrasana beyond words

Relieve neck and back pain by bending into Camel Pose. Begin by kneeling with your knees hip-distance apart. Then rotate your thighs slightly inward, and push your shins and the tops of your feet into the floor. Rest your hands on the back of your pelvis with the bases of your palms on the tops of your buttocks and your fingers pointing down. Stretch your tailbone toward the floor and widen the back of your pelvis. Lean back. Tuck your chin slightly toward your chest and press your palms into your heels. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds.

Modifications: If you’re not flexible, keep your thumbs on your sacrum and pull your lower belly up and in to work your inner thighs and pelvic floor. Prevent lower back pain.  When you bring your fingertips to your heels, curl your toes.

 

Gate Pose (Parighasana)

parighasana beyond words

If you need a little breathing room at the office, you can open up your ribcage and your lungs—relieving asthma, allergies, and colds—with Gate Pose. Kneel on the floor with your hips and buttocks lifted up off your legs.  Then slide your right leg straight out to the side with your foot flat on the floor and your toes facing the side wall. Inhale your left arm, palm upward, toward the ceiling while keeping your right hand resting palm down on your right thigh, shin, or ankle. Then exhale your left arm to the right, dropping it over your ear. Slide your right palm down toward your toes. Keep your chin off of your chest, looking straight ahead.  Hold for up to one minute. Repeat on the other side.

Modifications: Place a folded blanket under your bent knee.

 

Extended Puppy Pose (Uttana Shishosana)

uttana shishosana beyond words

Extended Puppy Pose works the kinks out of your spine and shoulders. Start in Table Top Position. Then slowly walk your hands forward a few inches, lowering your chest down toward the ground.  Gently drop your forehead to the floor. Draw your shoulder blades onto your back and stretch your hips toward the ceiling. Then press into the palms of your hands and lift your elbows and forearms away from the ground. Breathe into your back, feeling your spine lengthen in both directions. Hold for up to a minute.

Modifications: Use a rolled-up blanket or bolster between your thighs and calves.  If you have back spasms, place a yoga block—or large book—between your feet and another between your inner thighs.

 

Reverse Warrior (Viparita Virabhadrasana)

reverse warrior yoga poses

Reverse Warrior clears your mind and skyrockets your confidence, focus, and willpower. Start in Mountain Pose. Then spread your feet 3.5 to 4 feet apart, turning your right foot 90 degrees while pivoting your left foot slightly inwards. Raise your arms out to the side to shoulder height. Exhale and bend your front knee, aligning it directly over the ankle of your front foot. Then flip your right palm over to face the ceiling, and raise your right arm up overhead and begin to reach up and back. Place your left hand, palm down, gently on the outside of your left leg. Keep your hips and shoulders square so that you can achieve a side bend. Tilt your head slightly and bring your gaze to your right hand’s fingertips. Hold for 30 to 45 seconds.

Modifications: If you have tight hips, shorten your stance and straighten your front leg. No upper-body strength?  Place your hands on your hips and work on lifting your chest and lengthening your spine.

Easy Ways to Integrate Mindfulness Into Your Life

Mindfulness is top of mind for everyone from CEOs to app developers these days and with good reason. We live in a world that constantly demands our attention, making the pursuit of balance among work, life, and love all the more challenging. Developing a practice of mindfulness can be an effective way of bringing more focus and peace to day-to-day life.

In its simplest terms, being mindful means maintaining an open awareness of what’s happening right now, paying attention to the present moment, and not thinking about the future or past. Mindfulness can help bring out a sense of self that exists beyond our thoughts and daily habits, creating a wellspring of joy and energy we can tap into when we need it.

The beauty of beginning a practice of mindfulness is you don’t need any equipment, special training, or money to do it. You have all the tools you need right now.

Here are a few simple exercises to begin exploring mindfulness today.

 

Questions to Ask Yourself

Our minds function best when focusing on one thing at one time. This can be hard in a state of constant partial focus, but learning to focus our attention can create drastic shifts in how we experience life. Multitasking stops being a juggling act and becomes a series of moments that we nimbly move in and out of as we shift our focus. Becoming more aware of awareness and where we place our focus is the first step. You can start right now by asking yourself three simple questions throughout your day:

Where is my focus now?

What is the quality of my focus?

Where do I need to focus?

 

Photo by: Flickr/HckySo Under License CC BY-NC 2.0

 

Breath-Focused Meditation

A simple breath-focused meditation is a great place to start exploring mindfulness. Breath is a vital part of life, something that is with us every moment of every day. By learning to meditate, we can quiet the mind and explore the parts of our self that exist beyond words, thoughts, and emotions.

Find a comfortable position. You could try lying down, sitting in a chair, or propped against a wall — whatever is most comfortable for you. Start with one minute, making a deal with yourself that no matter what happens, you will be still for your set amount of time.

Allow your eyes to close and focus your attention on your breath. If you don’t feel comfortable closing your eyes yet, keep them open with a soft focus. Notice your breath as it moves in and out of you. What is the shape of your breath, the texture, and quality? Your mind will inevitably wander away. It’s ok. Gently refocus your attention on your breath. Feel the air move in and out of your nostrils.

mindfulness meditate

 

Body Scan

Our bodies allow us to experience and interpret reality. They’re not just vehicles for transporting our brains. In fact, much of our brain is in our body and by exploring the issues in our tissues, we can get a new perspective on our mind. Doing a body scan is a simple way of reconnecting the body with the mind.

Find a comfortable position lying on the ground or in a chair. Allow your eyes to close and focus your attention on your breath. Feel your belly rise and fall and turn your attention inwards.

With each breath, allow yourself to become a little more quiet and curious about the state of your internal landscape. Start to focus your attention on one part of your body at a time. Allow your breath and focus to be like a flashlight that illuminates parts of your body as you hold and shift focus. Start with your feet and then move your focus from shins to knees to thighs to hips to stomach, then ribs to arms to face and beyond.

Spend at least one full breath cycle in each area before you move on. Maintaining focus is one of the most challenging parts of this exercise. Don’t underestimate how challenging this is. Be gentle and stay at it. Bit by bit, your ability to focus will grow.

 

Get Out and Play!

There’s a very serious reason to get out there and play till you drop: play is both a psychological and physiological precursor to social and emotional maturity in adults. When you’re at the gym, bring a smile to your workout and take it a little less seriously. Go for a walk, a hike, dance, take a new class, do some jumping jacks, skip, or play on the jungle gym.

Continue to find new ways to move your body, laugh and explore with a childlike curiosity. Most importantly, get off the couch and move your body out in the world.

mindfulness play

5 Stimulating Blogs for the Thoughtful Traveler

As travel guru Rick Steves says, good travel is thoughtful travel.

Today the world is wide open, and nowadays you can afford to see it on nearly any budget, which means more travelers than ever before are publishing posts and pics from every end of the planet. Google your next potential travel destination and see: countless travel blogs across the web are putting out posts on the best hotels and restaurants, inspiring you over Instagram with super-saturated beachside sunsets, and helping you figure out how to get from A to B. But out there floating among the sea of destination guides and trip reviews, a handful of particularly thoughtful travel blogs stand out for combining gripping storytelling, evocative photography, and a dose of critical reflection to consistently put out thoughtful posts contemplating the world and our place in it.

Thoughtful travel is exploring with an engaged mind, asking why and how, and connecting the dots between here and there, between now and then, or between Us and Them. It’s how you upgrade a vacant-minded vacation to a thought experiment and an exercise in global citizenship. Here are five of the best blogs out there doing just that, and how they’re inspiring readers to be more thoughtful travelers.

 

Green Global Travel

Running a travel blog with a purpose is striking a delicate balance between raising awareness and maintaining reader interest. Green Global Travel strikes that balance expertly with its practical and informative blog that aims to “spread the sustainable philosophies of ecotourism and conservation” through sustainable travel.

Dow Edwards of the Mohawk Hunters tribe, participating in a 'Spy Boy Standoff' on Super Sunday in New Orleans. Photo by Bret Love and Mary Gabbett, courtesy of Green Global Travel[http://greenglobaltravel.com/2015/12/06/treme-new-orleans-birthplace-of-american-culture/].
Dow Edwards of the Mohawk Hunters tribe, participating in a ‘Spy Boy Standoff’ on Super Sunday in New Orleans. Photo by Bret Love and Mary Gabbett, courtesy of Green Global Travel.
The entire blog is full of informative articles for travelers interested in minimizing their ecological footprints, with posts on simple ways to save water or the ethical issues with taking animal selfies[]. But it’s the deeper cultural investigations that stand out, like blog creator Bret’s investigation of the influence of New Orleans’ Tremé neighborhood on mainstream American culture.

 

Heart My Backpack

Silvia is an American-Norwegian backpacker bouncing around familiar locales like Norway and Japan, as well as places many of us still know little about, like Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Kosovo. No matter where she finds herself on or far off the backpacker trail, Silvia always opens her mind up to her readers on Heart My Backpack, sharing her thoughts on travel, local culture, life, or other speculations fueled and inspired by her current surroundings.

Silvia hanging out with her Iranian Couchsurfing host in Tehran during her solo backpacking trip across the country. Photo courtesy of Heart My Backpack[http://www.heartmybackpack.com/heart/backpacking-solo-through-iran/].
Silvia hanging out with her Iranian Couchsurfing host in Tehran during her solo backpacking trip across the country. Photo courtesy of Heart My Backpack.
Unmoved by the negative media images of this country or that one, Silvia treks off solo backpacking through countries like Iran, where the common wisdom tells us it’s too dangerous for such a thing. These glimpses into and curious engagements with the realities of places like Afghanistan, Burma, Kyrgyzstan, or her home base Norway help to correct our often flawed images of parts of the world that seem far away or distant.

Uncornered Market

Audrey and Dan at Uncornered Market are the writers behind one of the most thought-provoking travel blogs on the web, with the self-described goal of creating “a movement of respectful travelers who live at the intersection of adventure, deep travel experiences and caring for our planet and its people.”

Audrey with a local Turkmen woman in 'dangerous' Turkmenistan. Photo courtesy of Uncornered Market[http://uncorneredmarket.com/danger-map-world-fear-awareness/].
Audrey with a local Turkmen woman in ‘dangerous’ Turkmenistan. Photo courtesy of Uncornered Market.
Uncornered Market approaches traditional travel topics by asking us to think about them in a new way. The popular post “The Danger Map of the World: Fear vs. Awareness” is typical of the blog in its rehashing of the idea of “safety” on the road. In exchange for the continuous critical thought and contemplation asked of the reader, the post employs continuously engaging writing and super readable design to guide us through big ideas and concrete actionable tips alike.
Refine your thinking about everything from ethical spending to keeping the peace while traveling with your partner at Uncornered Market.

 

Inside the Travel Lab

Inside the Travel Lab overtly dedicates itself to more thoughtful travel in its challenge to readers to “think and dream as we travel the world”. While first and foremost envisioned as a blog about thoughtful and responsible luxury travel, writer Abi’s posts often delve deeper into the historical contexts and real-world concerns contextualizing her travels.

The blog’s landing page is handily organized into categories like “Make Me Think” and “Inspire Me“, through which you can discover contemplative stories like “The Quest for the Blue Footed Booby” that balance an alluring glimpse of the Galapagos with considerations of the islands’ place in the world’s heritage. Crafting alluring narratives that pull us into the author’s thoughts and reflections, Inside the Travel Lab is a refreshing look at the thoughts and dreams that thoughtful travel can inspire in all of us.

 

Not a Ballerina: The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

It says it on Amanda Kendle’s About page as well as her site header: “I’m not a ballerina. I’m a traveller and a thinker.”

Not a Ballerina is a travel blog that strives to provide fun and meaningful content for travelers in the hopes that they’ll learn more from their travel experiences. Author Amanda writes thoughtfully about topics like reverse culture shock and keeping an interest log, but one of the best resources the blog has to offer engaged travelers is its Thoughtful Travel Podcast, in which she and other travelers and thinkers discuss topics like breaking through stereotypes and navigating your fears on the road.

 

A weekend in a luxury hotel or a meditation retreat is a tempting way to relax and recharge the batteries, but as these bloggers often point out, luxury and relaxation aren’t incompatible with mindfulness and reflection. When you’re busy planning your next trip, take some tips from these bloggers on how to engage with the destinations you visit and learn more about the people with whom you share the world while you explore all it has to offer.

6 Habits of Successful Women

Successful women know creating positive habits leads to happier and healthier lives. Whether it’s finding a hobby or sticking to an exercise routine, it’s important to invest in yourself and make time for what you love. While it’s tempting to spend hours upon hours consuming social media or binging on Netflix every day after work, it’s important to practice habits that support overall good health and mental wellness. If you’re looking to improve your well-being, consider incorporating one of these habits of successful women.

1. Practice Mindfulness

Life moves fast and in many cases, women are juggling multiple tasks at once. Whether it’s keeping track of deadlines at work or remembering to go grocery shopping or planning your best friend’s surprise 30th birthday party, our minds are often going a million miles per minute.

Slow down by incorporating more mindfulness into your daily routine. Make mindfulness a habit by becoming more aware of your actions, emotions, and environment. Start by finding a comfortable seat and sitting in stillness for 10 minutes each morning. Find your breath; and whenever you notice your mind beginning to wander, bring your focus back to your breath.

habits of successful women

Researchers have also found that performing chores like washing dishes has been linked to improved well-being. In fact, a study of 51 college students found when they were washing dishes while practicing mindfulness, their nervousness decreased by 27%. The next time you wash dishes, fully immerse yourself into the activity. Feel the soap on your hands and the warm water, and be mindful of what you’re doing.

2. Read More Books

In a world where many of us are glued to our screens because of work and pleasure, it’s easy to forget to pick up a good book. But if you’re looking for stress relief, diving into a self-help book or fun novel can help you relax. In fact, a study by the University of Sussex found reading for just six minutes can reduce stress by 68%.

Make reading a habit by turning it into a bedtime ritual. Every night before you go to sleep, allow yourself 15 to 20 minutes to read, or make a goal of reading five pages before bed. Opening up a book before you head to bed will help you relax and signal your body it’s time to go to sleep.

3. Head to the Garden

Spending time in nature and getting dirty in your garden can do a lot of good for your body and mind. Not only are you protecting and nurturing the environment by planting flowers, fruits, and vegetables, but you are giving yourself time to focus on a creative activity.

habits of successful women

There are many health benefits to gardening. It can sharpen your mind, reduce stress and anxiety, and boost happiness. Since gardening is a physical activity, it also can tire you out, meaning you’ll be able to fall asleep faster in the evening when it is time for bed.

4. Express Gratitude

Recognizing everything you have to be grateful for in life has many positive benefits. Research shows expressing gratitude can reduce stress and even depression. When we think about what we appreciate most, it can trigger the part of our nervous system that calms us and help decrease cortisol levels.

Find a journal and dedicate it as your gratitude journal. Every morning when you wake up or every night when you go to bed, write the top five things you are grateful for that day. Even if it’s as simple as being thankful for your strong cup of coffee in the morning and listening to the birds chirping, these are little reminders that life is good.

5. Don’t Compare Yourself to Others

Wherever you are at in your journey, never compare yourself to other people. Comparing yourself can evoke feelings of sadness or jealousy, which take away from your happiness and personal joy.

The next time you notice yourself wishing you had someone else’s qualities, step back and reflect on who you are inside and out. Think about the qualities that make people love and care about you. This will prevent you from focusing on what others are doing and direct your attention back to yourself.

6. Practice Self-Care

Developing a self-care ritual is a habit every woman should follow. When life gets busy, it’s easy to overlook our personal needs and making time for ourselves.

habits of successful women

Every week, schedule an evening or a few hours during the weekend that you fully dedicate to self-care. This can be something as simple as reading your favorite book, taking a bubble bath, getting a massage, or enjoying a manicure. By taking care of yourself, you’re renewing your energy so you can show up and be the best version of yourself in your relationships, at work, and in life.

Incorporating one or a few of these habits into your daily life can reduce stress, boost happiness, and create more peace in your life. Remember that it takes time to develop habits; but once you find one you can follow, the benefits will bring you joy and success.

What are some healthy habits you incorporate into your life on a daily basis? Tell us in the comments section below!

Swap Your Vacation for a Mindful Staycation: Playing Tourist in Your Own City

What draws us to travel is the novelty and stimulation: suddenly we’re awash in a sea of new sights and sounds and smells, waking us up and making us feel alive and alert like we somehow never seem to at home. But the grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side–you’re just paying more attention to it.

Travel is a way of breaking from routine, giving your mind a rest, and engaging the senses with a fresh set of stimuli. A small dose of adventure packs all the regenerative power of an extended meditation session,  and most of us are already overdue.

Even though you could afford to, you don’t need to hop on a plane or a train to escape your stress. Sometimes, all you need is a little dose of mindfulness to transform the same old city block you ignore on your way out of the subway into a restorative staycation. Just turn on your senses, turn off your phone, and take a little walk outside.

Unplug and Tune In

Mindfulness is about engaging actively with the present moment. That means that, before you can get started with your mindful staycation, you’ll need to get rid of all the things you use to distract yourself from the tediousness of everyday life

Take out your headphones: swap your morning commute podcast for soaking up the sounds of the neighborhood, the individual residents’ voices, their old cars puttering down the street or the constant beeping of busy crosswalks.

man walking
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

Rather than staring mindlessly at the sidewalk and contemplating your to-do list, let your eyes dart from sight to sight, building to building, face to face or store to store. Ride the public transit without a destination, alternating between scenery-watching and people-watching.

Don’t read a book or text or tweet.

As you take off on your mindful staycation, please keep all electronic devices (and other distractions) switched off and stowed away at home or under the seat in front of you.

Start with New Surroundings

A change of pace and scenery will help you jump-start the process: head to a different neighborhood with a different vibe than the one where you park your car or the one where you meet your colleagues for drinks every Friday. If you normally drive, take public transit. If you normally bike, walk. Wear comfortable clothes, and if you want, bring a camera.

chinatown usa
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

Head for the cool bohemian zone or the culturally diverse immigrant neighborhood of your city. Pick somewhere that excites the senses: a creative and quirky Airbnb or a boutique hostel with its own personality is the perfect place to wake up your inner explorer and meet people you otherwise wouldn’t, just like on vacation.

Escape Your Bubble: Meet New People, Do New Things 

It’s one of the best parts of a vacation for many. In our typical nine-to-five lives we get stuck in a social bubble made up of all the people we work with, live around, and otherwise have ideas and perspectives in common with. We fall into social bubbles  in which we’re cut off from any ideas that don’t already sound like ours.

On your mindful staycation, rebel against your bubble:  if you live in a trendy young professional neighborhood, spend some time in a more family-oriented area or head over to where the students live. If you’re surrounded by highly-educated knowledge workers, pass a few days in humbler working class surroundings.

hiking through stones
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

You can use social networks like Meetup.com to find events organized by locals in your city, with themes ranging from shared professional skills to the most obscure of hobbies. Go to a meetup and learn a language or pick up running, even if just for one weekend of a different look at your city.

Take a Page Out of the Guidebooks

Travelers all want to do what you’re doing and experience your town ‘like a local’, but when you’re due for a staycation, you can take a page or two out of their book instead.

Check sites like Wikitravel or Lonely Planet to see what’s drawing visitors to your city from afar. Check local events on travel social networks like Couchsurfing, and search for local expat groups on Facebook. These guys are the ones enjoying your city like there’s no tomorrow (because most of them are leaving tomorrow), so let their enthusiasm inspire you and don’t be ashamed to look like a big stupid tourist in the same zip code where you pay rent and punch a time clock.

Man and woman on a road trip and reading a map together while seated inside their car. Happy young couple going on road trip.

Setting out with no more intention than to experience the moment fully doesn’t just allow you to enjoy your urban home in a new way. It leads you to discovering the coolest neighborhoods, trying things you’d never do between 9 on Monday and 5 on Friday, and building mindful new habits that contribute to your overall sense of balance.

And once you learn to appreciate the novel in the everyday, suddenly everywhere you have a hotel reservation or pay an electricity bill will become a travel destination.