pose a day...

No matter your work out style or health goals... Yoga is for everyone. Last year I enjoyed a wonderful ritual with a great friend which we called 'pose a day'. Everyday (mas o menos) we would alternate sending each other a pose (along with benefits and visualization). Then we would do this pose as often as possible throughout the day.
As a mama of little kids it can be heard to carve out a large chunk of dedicated time to realign with our body and our breath. Yet it can be the best gift we give to ourselves and out children. This 'pose a day' ritual afforded me the tools and creative inspiration to incorporate moments of pause whenever I could... Sometimes while pushing the girls in the swings, sometimes during story time, sometimes getting the girls to join in, sometimes as I prepares garlic mushrooms and spinach risotto. Once I had a pose in mind, the opportunities seemed to present themselves. Lately I have found that an entire day can pass by without a pause... at a time when a 'silent' (as silent as it gets with three sprites under five) pause is what my spirit needs most.
I would like to try to reignite this tradition by committing myself to sharing a pose a week... for now, it's a start.

Leo in sling... Sometimes I just think about the pose... Imagine, engage... Breathe.
One of my favourite 'ways' of practicing yoga when i try to commit to a 'pose a day/week' is through restorative yoga. This means engaging in one pose for five or ten minutes. When you stay in a pose without exerting muscular effort, the fascia and ligaments, or connective tissues of your body, get a rare chance to stretch.

This week, melt away stress and open your heart with a supported fish pose...
Roll a thin planket and lie on your back, resting your shoulder blades on the blanket. If your head does not comfortably reach the floor, place another blanket or small pillow under your head for additional support. For a more advanced stretch, use a block (or thicker buckwheat pillow) to give you a larger arch in your upper back.
Let your breath rise and fall naturally and stay in this pose for three to five minutes (or as long as you like). Allow gravity to do the work for you and engage with your breath and feel your chest open, creating room for more oxygen to flow into your lungs and opening your heart to the possibilities that are ahead of you.

This pose stretches the shoulders, neck and chest. It improves posture and deepens breathing, countering the common forward hunch (often due to too much time at the computer). It also opens the heart and throat chakra (great for stimulating the lymphatic glands in your neck and boosting your immune system), bolstering courage and encouraging authentic expression.

Be free to be all that you can be.
Namaste.