Self-love and growth

Energizing Yoga: Lion’s Breath Technique for Jaw Tension Relief

Lion’s Breath is an energizing yoga breathing practice that may help relieve tension in your jaw and facial muscles.
It’s also known in yoga as Lion’s Pose or Simhasana in Sanskrit.
To do this:
Come into a comfortable seated position. You can sit back on your heels or cross your legs.Press your palms against your knees with your fingers spread wide.Inhale deeply through your nose and open your eyes wide.At the same time, open your mouth wide and stick out your tongue, bringing the tip down toward your chin.Contract the muscles at the front of your throat as you exhale out through your mouth by making a long “haaa” sound.You can turn your gaze to look at the space between your eyebrows or the tip of your nose.Do this breath 2 to 3 times.

Recognizing Your Shadow: Unveiling Your Inner Struggles

“In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit.”
Whether you like it or not, the people in our lives reflect the darker aspects of ourselves back to us, and we project our shadow onto other people by passing judgment and criticism their way.
“The shadow is prone to psychological projection, in which a perceived personal inferiority is recognized as a perceived moral deficiency in someone else.”
Wikipedia
Everything you find annoying in others, that you judge and reject from yourself points to shadow issues.
What people are in your environment? What do you dislike or even hate about them?
But also: What fascinates you about them?
Who are people on social media that you dislike or judge?
Which celebrities or individuals do you admire and hold in high regard? And why?
Also, whenever we unconsciously repeat a behavior it is a clue for a shadow part that has taken control. Can you spot patterns in your life? Any pattern that repeats itself is your shadow calling out at you.
Here are more clues to help you recognize your shadow parts:
Lack of self-confidence and afraid to speak up
Blaming external circumstance
Weak boundaries
Fears around putting yourself and your creative work out into the world (fear of judgement, procrastination, self-sabotage…)
Not doing what you know you want and is good for you
Money and success issues (judging others who make a lot of $$ or are very outwardly successful)
Relationship issues and dramas (anxious or avoidant attachment styles)
Everything that scares you sinks deep into your shadow (sometimes it becomes a big inner monster). Which worries do you find yourself dealing with on a regular basis?
Perhaps you are jealous every time your partner mentions a coworker, even though there is no valid explanation for your feelings.
Maybe you judge a woman’s masculine appearance and don’t like women who wear short hair. This may be a sign that you reject the manly shadow side of yourself.
Maybe you have a friend who is sometimes late and it triggers you out of proportion.
Maybe you keep attracting unavailable partners or partners who cheat on you.
Maybe you feel frustrated in your relationships and you then turn passive-aggressive.
Maybe you feel stuck in areas of your life and no matter what you do, you don’t seem to make any progress.
Hello there shadow… 👋🏼
In essence, wherever you struggle in life a shadow hides.

8 Ways to Regulate Your Nervous System and Reduce Stress

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
It’s normal to occasionally experience tension or anxiety. Everyone experiences it. But high stress can have an impact on your body, particularly your autonomic nervous system, the part of your body responsible for regulating your breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion. You can control your nervous system and take proactive measures to improve your well-being, reduce stress, and lead a more balanced life.
How to regulate your nervous system:
1. Try a physiological sigh or other breathing exercises
A physiological sigh is a natural deep breathing pattern consisting of two quick inhales followed by a longer exhale. It can help calm the sympathetic system and activate the parasympathetic system.
2. Move your body
Exercise can be a great way to relieve stress and regulate the nervous system. Take a walk, practice yoga, or dance around your living room to your favorite song. Physical activity may help release tension and help your body feel more relaxed.
3. Use a weighted blanket
A weighted blanket may activate your parasympathetic nervous system through deep pressure touch. This form of therapy uses touch and feeling sensations as a calming technique. The combination of a weighted blanket and the activation of your parasympathetic nervous system can help to naturally relax your body and calm your mind.
4. Meditate to help calm your mind
Meditation can offer many benefits, including helping to reduce stress and restore the nervous system. Try sitting in a quiet space, closing your eyes, and focusing on your breath or a calming phrase. This may help center your thoughts and calm your mind.
5. Introduce mindfulness into your routine to help reduce stress
Focusing on mindfulness, or being present in the current moment can be therapeutic and help ground you and remind you to exist in the now. Try grounding yourself by feeling the earth beneath your feet, the texture of an object in your hand, or the feeling of wind against your skin.
6. Sing or laugh
Singing and laughing can both stimulate the vagus nerve, the main nerve in your parasympathetic nervous system, which can help you feel relaxed. Singing and laughing also increase your intake of oxygen, which can help with improving energy and mood.
7. Give yourself a massage or a hug
Touch can be a powerful tool for relaxation. Give yourself a healing massage by gently rubbing your temples, neck, arms, or feet, where stress can often be stored. Or try wrapping your arms around yourself for a hug, which can provide comfort and a sense of security.
8. Try tapping
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is an emerging practice that involves gently tapping specific points on your body while focusing on a calming phrase. Some common areas to engage in tapping include the outer palm, center of your forehead, below your nose, and below your lip, just to name a few.

6 Benefits of Yoga for Spine Health

“Do not follow the idea of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.”
#1: Yoga Can Help Lengthen Your Spine
Poor posture is far more common than we might think. Many of us spend long hours sitting behind a desk, holding babies, or simply living a sedentary lifestyle.
The constant …
• Slouching
• Arching of the low back
• Locked or bent knees; and
• Forward head tilt
… can compress muscles around your spine, leaving it in unnatural positions. Not only is this uncomfortable, but it can lead to bigger problems.
Yoga is a fun and natural way to help lengthen your spine and can help bring your bones into proper alignment.
#2: Yoga Can Help Decrease Stress Levels
Studies have shown that regularly practicing yoga two to three times per week for three months can reduce stress. How does this work?
The levels of your stress hormones, adrenaline, and cortisol, are reduced through yoga, as well as c-reactive proteins in your blood that contribute to inflammation.
Conversely, yoga increases your “happiness hormones” — serotonin, oxytocin, and dopamine — as well as GABA-neurotransmitters that tell your brain and body to relax.
#3: Yoga Can Help Improve Flexibility
Yoga is a great physical exercise because it promotes strengthening your mind and body to help them move better. Think about it:
With …
• Better joint mobility
• Stronger muscles
• Improved balance; and
• Improved mobility
… the likelihood of your flexibility increasing is higher.
#4: Yoga Can Help Improve Balance
Having good balance is more important than you might think. Not only does having good balance help to maintain the body’s correct position, but it also helps you to:
• Walk without staggering your steps
• Stand up without falling
• Climb stairs without tripping; and
• Bend over without falling
If you’re struggling with any of these issues, practicing yoga to help strengthen your core is a great way to help.
#5: Yoga Can Help People Deal with Pain
When practiced correctly, yoga can help to reduce pain. How?
One Doctor of Philosophy has discovered through research there are simple ways to help people with both chronic and acute pain beyond pharmaceuticals. Instead, with mind-body practices — yoga and meditation — pain perception may be reduced because an increase in gray matter can help your brain regulate its response to pain.
#6: Yoga Can Help Build Lean Muscle
Yoga can sometimes be more difficult than many people tend to think.
Working through …
• Balance
• Mobility
• Core strength; and
• Flexibility
… takes both mental and physical work.
But while your body is working hard through yoga sessions, it’s:
• Building strength
• Toning; and
• Building lean muscle.
#7: Yoga Can Help Improve Joint Support
Yoga can help improve joint support in a few different ways:
1. Yoga helps to improve your range of motion, which is helpful for you to complete simple daily tasks.
2. Weak joints could be due to weakness in the muscles surrounding them, so yoga helps to strengthen muscles that support your joints.
3. When joint cartilage is immobilized, it can become unhealthy and weak. Yoga can help to keep cartilage moving, healthy, and strong.

How to Practice Ragdoll Pose for Low Back Relief

What is Ragdoll Pose?
Ragdoll pose is a variation of uttanasana, or standing forward bend. Here, the yogi clasps opposite elbows, bends the knees and allows the head to hang. The pose releases the low back and revitalizes the mind.
Instructions
Begin standing with the feet hip distance wide.Bend the knees slightly, exhale and bend at the hips.Clasp opposite elbows and allow the head to hang. Shift the bodyweight forward.Hold here or slowly sway side to side.Breathe while holding the pose.Inhale and return to standing.