HOW TO HAVE A HAPPY MORNING
Good morning, everyone! Well there is a definite chill in the air after last night's epic thunderstorm. I hope you were all safe inside and able to enjoy the light show. During my morning walk with Barkley I realized that my lower back was particularly achy... and had been for a couple weeks now. I have been fully able to recommend the benefits of yoga to many patients in the past few weeks but have been neglecting myself. Sitting in an office chair all day creates a few changes in your body that if not counterbalanced will leave you with chronic pain. It creates very tight hip flexors, weak quadriceps, tight hamstrings and calves, and not to mention what it does to your posture! Add in working on a computer or writing and you have tight pectorals and weak upper back muscles, that when compounded over years of this posture causes that lovely hunchback silhouette. Why I love yoga: I freely recommend yoga to most of my patients in an effort to get them *moving* - yoga is fantastic for having poses that adapt to any level of fitness/flexibility. Take is slow if you are feeling burnt out and need to recharge your battery or amp it up and really focus on strengthening your muscles. "YOGA IS FANTASTIC FOR HAVING POSES THAT ADAPT TO ANY LEVEL OF FITNESS/FLEXIBILITY" This morning's yoga video: An obstacle to exercising can be finding the time in your day to go to your nearest gym, which for some people is at least 20 min away. Videos in the home are an excellent strategy around this. I just went on youtube this morning and searched for "yoga", and this great video came up by Yoga With Adrienne. She has tons of videos and they're as long as a regular class would be at the gym - but totally free and in the comfort of your own home. I did this one, and although some of the moves were a little beyond me there are always lower intensity ones mentioned and I was able to start off my Saturday morning with a 40 min stretch & strengthen video, which equals one happy naturopath. I also found a youtube series for a 30 day Yoga Challenge - this is an excellent way to get started into yoga! Free, no commitment, and at 20 minutes per video it's a great way to wade into the pool. I put both videos at the end of this post for you to take a peak at. Happy weekend, everyone!
