Yoga at Home for Absolute Beginners!

Yoga at Home: 2-Minute Yoga Solution Book - Great Tips!

The around-the-clock eye movements that I demonstrate in the above photo are easy to slip into a 2-minute break at your desk if you have a sedentary job like me.  Doing them will help relieve eye strain from staring at a computer for hours on end.  The book I discuss below offers numerous 2-minute yoga practices.

This afternoon I discovered an interesting, brief yoga book trailer that led me to a yoga book, The 2-Minute Yoga Solution by yoga instructor, Nicole DeAvila that was new to me.  Although I have read only excerpts from the book that appear on Amazon.com, I find Ms. DeAvila's philosophy and approach are useful for the yoga beginner.

In particular, I appreciate her clear, concise, and practical approach to a safe yoga practice.  She says, "your comfort and enjoyment should be at the forefront of your 2-minute yoga practice."  Exactly!  And, especially important, she provides details on how to avoid injuring yourself.  She says,

"You should avoid these sensations:  sharpness, tingling, numbness, burning, radiating pain, and feeling the 'stretch/strength' in your joints instead of your muscles."  Indeed!

Finally, her guidelines resonate with the ones I often share. She advises against being over zealous and  recommends being disciplined to "focus on your body, breath and mind, enjoyably and safely."

Watch her 2-minute yoga trailer below for more inspiration and a reminder of the myriad benefits a yoga practice offers you.  She is my kind of instructor and I applaud her work.  Especially since she shows you how to fit yoga into your day so you can eliminate the "I don't have enough time to practice" excuse.  Great advice for the yogi who practices at home and in the office.

 

Yours for enjoying a safe, comfortable yoga practice,

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the Beginner's Yoga at Home Coach

  ^TM

Also see:  http://www.DoYogaAtHomeNow.com

 

 

 

 

 

Yoga for Beginners: Energize Your Practice with the Music of Mehdi!

My latest discovery, the ethereal and energizing music of composer and instrumentalist Mehdi creates a blissful ambiance for my mind, body, and spirit as I practice yoga!

Although I have shared the following statement by yoga practitioner and singer Colette Aubrey a few years ago in a previous post, it is worth repeating:

"Some yoga teachers will say that in a  yoga practice, there should not be any music.  I think it really enhances the entire experience.  If you've taken a yoga class and been able to stay in a beautiful state of mind, music really enhances that.  They call it a yoga high.  You feel better than any drug or orgasm you could possibly have.  It can enhance practice, but it's really a personal preference."  

And, in a recent interview presented in the Yoga Journal (August 2014), celebrity yoga instructor and model Tara Stiles shares that music is central to her yoga studios' philosophy and that all classes are taught to music with a playlight of the month on Spotify.

I agree that music can be a vital to your yoga practice as I have so often stated.  My tastes in music and the pieces I choose for my yoga practice are eclectic.  You may not like what I enjoy.  However, from time to time, I share music selections and artists that enhance my practice just in case they might enhance yours.  

It is worth a try.  Play the above youtube video.  And also check out his piece, "Stargazer" which you can also find on youtube.com. And, please share with me and my readers your favorite music for your home yoga practice...!

Yours for moving and stretching to the music,

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the Beginner's Yoga at Home Coach

  ^TM

Also see:  http://www.DoYogaAtHomeNow.com

 

Yoga for Beginners: Yoga Humor - Keep it Light!

The Lion pose makes us look so silly that it's easier to keep a light-hearted approach toward our yoga practice!

Some people take their yoga practice WAY too seriously. I recommend you take a light-hearted approach to your practice because when you do so, you enjoy it a LOT more! If you become too serious and concerned with how you are progressing or how you compare with others, your yoga practice can become a chore rather than a source of increased energy, flexibility, and serenity.

To that effect, I decided to share a few silly (i.e, "corny" - and I am dating myself with that term!) yoga jokes I found on the internet that remind us to just keep things light!  Enjoy your week and remember these yoga jokes to keep a smile on your face as you practice...! 

"A young woman who was worried about her habit of biting her fingernails down to the quick was advised by a friend to take up yoga. She did, and soon her fingernails were growing normally. Her friend asked her if yoga had totally cured her nervousness. "No," she replied, "but now I can reach my toe-nails so I bite them instead." --author unknown."

Yoga police: "You have the right to remain silent!" 

"Don't just do something -- Sit there!" 

"Time is the best teacher, although it kills the students." 

Yours for adding the light touch to your yoga practice at home,

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the Beginners' At Home Yoga Coach

 

  ^TM

Also see:  http://www.DoYogaAtHomeNow.com

 

Yoga for Beginner: Practice Tip from Eckhart Tolle

When I visited this beach in St. Thomas a few years ago, I basked in its beauty the moment I arrived. And I especially enjoyed swimming and sunbathing for the following several hours.  When you practice yoga, you gain the most benefit when you focus on your inner body and as author Eckhart Tolle teaches, when you practice the power of now.

Recently, based on the advice of a spiritual coach, I began reading Practicing the Power of Now, one of famed author Eckhart Tolle's books published in the late 1990s.  Its wisdom and the practices Tolle recommends are timeless and offer excellent guidelines that can help the yoga beginner to gain even more  joy and depth from their practice.

I believe that Tolle's choice of words and emphasis on living in the present moment no matter what, can enable the yoga beginner to gain the most from his or her practice - i.e., increased energy, awareness, attunement, flexibility, and serenity with much less trial and error. 

Tolle's recommended practices are simple and yet powerful. One of the exercises that Tolle suggests for heightened awareness, i.e., "connecting with the inner body," is especially useful for the yoga practitioner.   Tolle advises you to close your eyes, direct your attention into the body, and then "feel the subtle energy field that pervades the entire body and gives vibrant life to every organ and every cell."  He emphasizes focusing on "feeling the inner body."

In a previous post ("Quick Tip- Practice With Your Eyes Wide Shut," -September 5, 2011), I shared the value of practicing yoga poses with eyes shut as I learned from yogi Eric Schiffman in his book, Moving into Stillness.  When you combine Tolle's focus on feeling the subtle energy of the inner body while keeping your eyes shut during selected yoga poses (I must keep my eyes open for certain poses or I lose my balance!), your practice deepens and your energy soars even more. Practicing yoga in this way can enhances your experience.  Try it!  I guarantee you will delight in the benefits...

Yours for practicing the power of now and focusing on your inner body as you do yoga,

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the Beginner's Yoga at Home Coach

  ^TM

Also see:  http://www.DoYogaAtHomeNow.com