Yoga Poetry Radio

Welcome to yoga poetry radio. I am your host Tina Laurel Lee and this podcast is a companion to my newsletter on loss and liberation called Songs of Forgiveness. I post my letters with the phases of the moon and I invite you to subscribe and travel time along with me. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.tinalaurellee.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.tinalaurellee.com/subscribe

Use your mind's eye, or other sensory cues, to fly where you want to go in this 10 minute meditation. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.tinalaurellee.com/subscribe

Put your earbuds in and take a walk. A pleasure walk. A self-compassion walk. We do this walk today, not just for ourselves but for all people. No need to get ready, this is a short, go as you are walk. Ideally go outside, but if the conditions are unsuitable for that, by all means, stay inside and walk in circles. This podcast is a companion to my newsletter on loss and liberation called Songs of Forgiveness. I invite you to click through to the show notes and check out my writing. I post my letters with the phases of the moon and I invite you to subscribe and travel time along with me. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.tinalaurellee.com/subscribe

**Update 10/27/23: Yoga's breath of joy practice has three inhales and then the long slow exhale and somehow I forgot that when recording this episode. But no worries, it still works! And I will redo this someday. In the meantime, wake-up and feel the joy of regular breathing.**Welcome to yoga poetry radio. I am your host Tina Laurel Lee and this podcast is a companion to my newsletter on loss and liberation called Songs of Forgiveness. I post my letters with the phases of the moon and I invite you to subscribe and travel time along with me. This episode's breath practice is inspired by a study that took place during the pandemic and was published earlier this year. In the study the participants were instructed to use different daily practices for only 5 minutes a day. The study results found “cyclic sighing” led to the most improvements in mood. If you want to read more, find the full report in Cell Reports Medicine and linked here. “Cyclic sighs” are very similar to an ancient yoga breathing and movement practice called Breath of Joy, which includes an accompanying body movement, while cyclic sighing encompasses breathing alone. Do it first thing everyday and find yourself to be happier, to have a reduction in anxiety levels and have slowed your resting heart rate. “Cyclic hyperventilation” which has been found to reduce inflammation and we've practiced in a previous episode and I have discussed here.The study that inspired this practice: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00474-8?_returnURL=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2666379122004748%3Fshowall%3Dtrue This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.tinalaurellee.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.tinalaurellee.com/subscribe

Welcome to Yoga Poetry Radio. Today's episode is a singing practice, perfect for developing a strong diaphragm and learning how to breathe well and toning chest and throat and core. Sing along. Find the words at the show notes where the episode lives at Substack.Links for Further Study: Brahmavihara Chant: Find the words located on page 30 of Common Ground's Chant Book. “Suffusion with the Divine Abiding”Link: https://commongroundmeditation.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/CommonGroundMeditationCenterChants0707081.pdf This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Yoga Poetry Radio. Today's episode is yoga movement meditation for coming home, followed by some writing prompts. It's the new moon today and a true completion of any lunation. Today, October 25th, at 5 am, we complete the container of the last lunation and begin one anew. We will do this with a simple 10 breath practice. So put on something comfortable, put in your earbuds, get out your writing from lunation and some blank pages to write on, grab your pen.If you find this practice useful and know someone else who may benefit, please share. Like and subscribe so the algorithm will help others find it. Follow the show notes back to Songs of Forgiveness, my newsletter, and check out my writing.This will be sent out as a link via my regular Songs of Forgiveness newsletter as most podcast episodes of Yoga Poetry Radio are. Please subscribe to get moon reminders right in your inbox with each post and stay connected to the moon's constant rotation. If you are already subscribed, you have my gratitude. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Yoga Poetry Radio. Today is the third in a series of four movement and writing prompt meditations that follow along with this Lunation. The movement practice is a grounding side-body hip practice that will culminate with seated meditation and writing prompts. So put on something comfortable, put in your earbuds, and get out your writing from last week plus blank pages, and your pen.My next and final podcast in this series will be posted as this one has, just before the next primary phase and will get sent out as a link via my regular Songs of Forgiveness newsletter. Please subscribe to get those posts right in your inbox. If you are already subscribed, you have my gratitude. As these special episodes for the lunation are posted, the previous one goes behind the paywall. If you get behind in listening, never worry, a monthly subscription will get you what you need, a whole month for just $8. Sign up and follow along for the next lunation or any lunation of your choosing for that matter. Next phase, 3rd Quarter Moon, will be on October 17. Please contact me with any questions you may have. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

Today is the second in a series of four movement and writing prompt meditations that follow along with this Lunation. The movement practice is a flowing balance practice that will culminate with seated meditation and writing prompts. So put on something comfortable, put in your earbuds, and get out your writing from last week plus blank pages, and your pen.This is a meditation at the first quarter moon, a point in time where the light reflected appears as a half sphere in the night sky. Timewise, we are halfway between the new moon and the full moon. My next two podcasts will be posted as this one has, just before the primary phase of the full moon, and then I will send it out as a link via my regular Songs of Forgiveness newsletter. Please subscribe to get those posts right in your inbox. If you are already subscribed, you have my gratitude. As these special episodes for the lunation are posted, the previous one goes behind the paywall. If you get behind in listening, not to worry, a monthly subscription of just $8 can get you the whole month of them. That is quite a deal. Sign up and follow along for the next lunation or any lunation of your choosing for that matter. Find the dates of the upcoming primary phases back at the show notes.October 9 - Full MoonOctober 17 - 3rd Quarter Moon This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Yoga Poetry Radio. Today is the first in a series of four movement and writing prompt meditations that follow along with this Lunation. The movement practice is gentle, will be a short standing practice that will culminate with a seated meditation with writing prompts. So put on something comfortable, put in your earbuds, and get out your notebook and pen. This is a meditation for the new moon, which is a point in time that serves both as the ending for the last lunation and the beginning for the next. It is the darkest time of the night sky because the moon is between us and the sun and its light is reflecting away from us. My next four podcasts will be posted with a slightly different schedule than usual. I will post before the next primary moon phase and then send them out as links via my regular Songs of Forgiveness newsletter. Please subscribe to get those posts right in your inbox if you are not already. If you are subscribed you have my gratitude. As these special episodes for the lunation are posted, the previous one goes behind the paywall. If you get behind in listening, not to worry, a monthly subscription of just $8 can get you the whole month of them. That is quite a deal. Sign up and follow along for the next lunation or any future lunation of your choosing. Find the dates of the upcoming primary phases at the bottom of the show note.Please contact me with any questions you may have.September 25 - New MoonOctober 2 - 1st Quarter MoonOctober 9 - Full MoonOctober 17 - 3rd Quarter Moon This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Yoga Poetry Radio. On today's occasion of the solar equinox I will share a slow and careful sun salute along with the Shambhala Concept of Great Eastern Sun vision. Today's equinox is the day when the sun crosses the Earth's equator, the duration of the daytime is equal to the duration of nighttime and we begin our journey towards winter as the sun shifts away from my northern lands and closer to the Southern ones. The following practice is a mindful mat practice with the intention to bring in wakefulness and energy. Wear comfortable clothes and plan to both stand and get down to the floor.My next four podcasts will be posted with a slightly different schedule than usual. I will send them out as links via my regular Songs of Forgiveness newsletter that posts with the phases of the moon. Please subscribe to get those posts right in your inbox if you are not already. If you are subscribed you have my gratitude. Thank you for listening and thank you for your practice. As each new episode for this lunation is sent out, the last one will go behind the paywall. If you get behind in listening, not to worry, a monthly subscription of just $8 can get you the whole month of them. That is quite a deal. You can sign up and follow along for the next lunation or any lunation of your choosing. I will leave the dates of the upcoming primary phases at the bottom of the show notes and link the new episode when they are out. I invite you to contact me with any questions you may have.September 25 - New MoonOctober 2 - 1st Quarter MoonOctober 9 - Full MoonOctober 17 - 3rd Quarter Moon This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

Hello and welcome to Yoga Poetry Radio. In today's episode we will explore down dog. This is a floor practice. But as an exploration, you make this your own. Let my voice be a guide, and your body be your teacher. If down dog has not been your friend in the past, do this class near a wall, a chair, or any raised surface as a prop beneath your hands for the variation that lets you observe your body with interested curiosity. Some of my favorite places to do down dog are on a grassy hillside, or the rocky shoreline of Lake Superior, where the sloping surface can be used to take pressure off wrists, shoulders and hamstrings. It is important you do you here, so pop in some earbuds and make this dog your own.Start by brining yourself to a comfortable seat. Close your eyes and turn your gaze inward. Welcome whatever you find. Bring your attention to your ground, where your body makes contact with the surface beneath you. Make note of how sturdy that support is. Lets take a breath together. Exhale all the air from your lungs. Inhale through your nose. Open mouth exhale. Seal your lips and let your breath fall into its natural rhythm. Stay connected with your breath. Pause here while you breathe and imagine yourself in this quintessential yoga posture. The inverted V. Hands planted, hips lifted, heels reaching down. Down dog is a posture in yoga that requires a lot of length along the back side of the body and strong core in order to hold your weight evenly and not dump it all in the hands or the feet. Do an imaginary body scan. From palms spread wide, up your wrists and forearms, because it is an inversion, elbows straight but not locked, shoulders relaxed away from ears, head and neck in line with the whole of your spine. This is one long line. Then sharp flexion at hips, both tailbone and pubic bone reaching back, bent knees, heels reaching towards the floor. Over time and with experience this posture is a resting posture. I know, right. It is a transition between poses, a return to baseline. To get there requires trust in the incremental change of returning to the limits of your range of motion again and again, and finding joy in the process.On your next inhale bring awareness to your seat even as you draw both arms overhead and hold. Continue to breathe. Let your arms originate at the center of your body, lifting from your solar plexus, find lightness and space around your heart. Roll your wrists and wiggle your fingers. Inhale and on your exhale lower your arms down. Inhale just right arm high and lengthen your side body. Exhale lower. Inhale left arm high. Exhale lower. Continue back and forth connecting breath to movement and expanding your chest and ribcage with each breath. The repetition to warms up shoulders and lungs, observe with this toggling back and forth to see how you are made. Find gratitude for your shoulders in whatever state they are in. Whatever range of motion they have. In May of 2021 I had a shoulder injury that took over a year to fully heal and to this day I still experience signs of it. It took me away from yoga for many months. My return taught me how to observe my limits and trust in the change. Our connective tissue is responsive to forming new shapes, but we have to approach that change with an interested curiosity and compassion which will allow us to let go of tension and our natural barriers to expand. Let go of the movement and bring your arms to your side. Roll onto your back and lift legs straight up so that the soles of your feet face the ceiling. This is flexion at your hips and brings length into the backside of your body. Stretch your arms out long above your head and you are essentially in downward dog's L shape. Point and flex your toes here. Roll your ankles one direction and then another. Return to pointing and flexing. Make fists with your hands. Feel your energy extend to your farthest extremities. Draw right knee in. Left leg lengthens out long. Give yourself a little massage on your left hip crease. Switch and draw left knee in. Give yourself a massage on the right hip crease. Toggle legs back and forth, drawing one knee and then the next. Belly button to your spine to keep your lower back flush with the mat and floor. Bring both knees in, rock a little bit to get a lovely lower back massage. Bring your knees to the right for a spinal twist. Use your muscles here and honor your barriers. We are just warming up here and just coaxing a juicy limberness into our tissues with our care and kind attention. Draw your knees up and over and let them fall to the left. Use your muscles on this side and let the length come naturally. Make sure you are still breathing. Bring knees back to center and find your way to seated, and then to table top. Firm your foundation. Spreading the fingers wide. Shoulders over wrists and hips over knees. On your next inhale, find your way to cow dropping your chest and belly towards the floor. Gaze up, tailbone up. On your exhale, cat pose. Tummy into spine, tailbone down, head down. Continue on your own breath for two rounds. The next time you get to cow, slowly and carefully turn your toes under and press into your feet to lift your tail to down dog. Take your time. Keep a deep bend in your knees. Experiment with going slow. Hands and feet generally stay where they are. Or maybe not, pedal them out, open the soles of your feet. Keep your heels high and move to explore your limits. Let go of your opinions of down dog and allow the wordlessness of experience take over. What barriers are you noticing at your armpits, shoulders, hamstrings? Be gentle with them. This is where a chair is your friend. Or the couch or a wall. Can you use a prop to stay at your edge with more enjoyment. You know what you need, give it to yourself.Experiment with bringing weight forward and then back, then distribute your weight evenly. Can this feel boyant, the lift coming from hips and core rather than your arms and legs? On your next inhale come forward to high plank. Take your time and lower your own way to belly on the mat. Find cobra pose. Keeping hands where they are and lifting head and shoulders. Pubic bone down and tops of feet down. Draw your Brest bone forward, small tuck of your chin so that your head is in line with your spine. Bring nose back down and lengthen through your legs. First right and then left. Inhale to cobra and exhale to lower. Continue on your own breath twice more. Full inhale, full exhale. back to all fours. Bring your seat back to your heels for Childs pose, keep arms out long or rest your forehead on stacked fists. Breathe into your back body for a moment and let your head be heavy. When you're ready rise back to table top, toes turn under, return to down dog.Can you enjoy this entry to Down Dog? Once you arrive, keep moving. Keep bend and straighten knees. Wag your tail. Pedal out the feet, massaging through the soles of your feet as you do the walking motion, back and forth. Let shoulders and head sink down. How does this feel on hands and wrists? Would you benefit from bringing your weight more towards your heels? The goal isn't to get your heels down to the mat, the goal is to keep your spine straight and long. You can sink your weight back into your heels without sinking them all the way to the floor. Down dog is a weight bearing exercise and really strengthens arms and wrists. Balance the weight front and back and explore the difference. Use your fingers and thumb and don't let all the weight fall into the heel of your hand. With time and returning, connective tissues will lengthen, muscles strengthen, and you find rest in this posture. I know from experience and you will too, after returning again and again, with interested curiosity and the eyes of an objective observer.Bring your torso forward to high plank. Lower yourself to the mat. Lift to a final cobra Pubic bone grounded, breast bone forward, spine in one long line through the crown of your head. Breathe. Find your way to table top. Sink hips back for one more Childs pose. Breath into your back body and ground yourself here. Floor solid beneath you. Inquire here: How do you feel now at the end of practice? Thank yourself for the time you just took attending to your body. Expanding your limits. Think forward to the time you can come back and do this for yourself again. Rise to find a comfortable seat. We will close with the sound of OM. Listen along or join me. Bring your hands together at your heart. May all the benefits we just created be vibrationally sent out with this sound and shared with all other beings, known or unknown, nearby or far away.If you chant along with me, or even if you don't, feel the way the sound begins in your chest and moves up your throat across the back of your scull to forehead, and ends in your nose. The breath following will be for a silent om. Exhale. Inhale through the nose. Om.Thank you for listening. If you find this practice useful and know someone else who may benefit, please share. Like and subscribe to help others can find it. Follow the show notes back to Songs of Forgiveness, my newsletter, to check out what else I share. At the home page to this episode there are resources for further study, if you want to take your exploration deeper.Resources for Further Study:Yoga Journal: https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/downward-facing-dog/Eckart Yoga is a good channel. Here is their breakdown of down dog: https://www.ekhartyoga.com/resources/yoga-poses/downward-facing-dog-poseI am a big fan of Yoga with Adriene. This is an early video of hers. She has been doing yoga videos for years and you can search and find yoga for anything you are interested in. Her take on Dawn Dog is very compelling so if you are interested to discover more. Watch this. Linked in her blog post was this article about Down Dog Posture and its relationship to acupuncture: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/acupuncture-points_b_1531601. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Yoga Poetry Radio. Today's episode is a breathing practice for better sleep. Nadi Shodhana is a common yoga breath that is intended to balance and cleanse. It calms with the slight breath hold after the inhale. The simple process gives you a concrete activity to focus on and let your mind rest. This easy breath is typically done a seated posture with a mudra, or energy seal of the right hand, to guide the nostril switching. But if it serves your rest, try this breath without the mudra, just lying down and following your awareness between nostrils as you draw the breath in one nostril and out the other. Lying down, with visualization and awareness is an effective way to practice this breath for calming the mind and the onset of sleep. Try it in different locales and locations in order to support your needs. This breath with beneficially impact sleep no matter what time of day you practice it.You may want tissues nearby.Lets begin wherever you are by grounding. Notice where your body makes contact with the surface beneath you. Make note of how solid and supportive that surface is right now. Explore that pressure between you and the surface with your awareness. Let your body be heavy. Relax and spread out as you breathe into that contact. Start deepening your awareness of the breath. Stay with the movement, expansion and lift on the inhale, sink on the exhale. Let's take one breath together, exhale all the air from your lungs, inhale through your nose, open mouth exhale. Seal your lips and let your breath be natural.If your nose is plugged, or you find this difficult in anyway, use your awareness to explore each nostril. Remember how you are relating to the experience is important, so if you are experiencing any difficulty, back away from the specifics and take a global view of the breathing and the amazing organ of your nose. Your nose is made up of erectile tissue that engorges and shrinks in biological rhythm. One nostril swells and limits the air coming in, to let the other be dominant. With special attention on your nose, can you tell which nostril is dominant right now? The right nostril is connected to the sympathetic nervous system, thinking intellect, reason, heat and is considered to be the sun nostril. And the left is associated with para-sympathetic nervous system, or rest and digest part of your nervous system, also coolness, intuition, feeling, and the moon. Our nostrils naturally switch dominance frequently during the day depending depending on time of day, state of mind, activity level, and temperature.If you are seated and want to continue with the mudra, let your left hand rest comfortably in your lap. With your right hand open fold your pointer finger and second finger down towards your palm. This leaves your thumb, ring finger, and pinky finger raised. To begin, exhale fully. Bring your thumb to press your right nostril closed. Inhale through your left nostril. Hold on the inhale and switch to ring finger closing left nostril. Gently press the air all the way out. Inhale same side, when you get to the top, hold and carefully switch nostrils, thumb closing right. Gently and slowly exhale. Inhale and when you get to the top, hold and switch nostrils. We will continue this way for 3 minutes. Exhale, inhale, switch. Exhale, inhale, switch.Do this awhile.When we a minute left. Continue on your own. If this feels natural and comfortable to you, explore matching the length of your inhale to your exhale and the slight breath retention at the hold. If this has felt awkward or uncomfortable, be gentle with it. Your experience will change with repeated practice. The tissue of your nose is worthy of your care. It produces nasal nitrous oxide that is essential for your heart. The cilia in your nose warms and humidifies the air that comes into your body. The tissues at your nose and throat are the same as your genitals, to me that means they should not be taken for granted. Take out your neti pot, fill it with a saline tears-like solution, it will clear out allergens and viruses and bacteria, bring in moisture and help you during this change in season.Finsh the breath with the exhale on the right nostril. If you are in seated posture with the mudra, let your hand come down to rest in your lap.We will close with the sound of OM. Listen along or join me. As Shakespeare is want to say, And palm to palm is holy palmer's kiss, bring your hands together at your heart. May all the benefits we just created in this practice be vibrationally sent out with this sound and shared with all other beings, known or unknown, nearby or far away.Exhale. Inhale through the nose. Om.The practice is always followed with time for your silent om. Can you feel the way the sound begins in your chest and moves up your throat across the back of your scull to forehead, and ends in your nose. It's its own kind of cleansing vibration.Thank you for listening and if you find this information and practice helpful please share it with anyone else you think may benefit. Like and subscribe so others can find it. Follow the show notes back to my newsletter to see what else I share. At the page there are resources for further study where I link to other writings and videos that have more information.Resources for further study:Breath by James Nestor. This book was my first in depth encounter to the importance of the nose. This read is highly recommended if you have any interest.This article is about how Hillary Clinton used Nadi Shodhana or Alternate Nostril Breathing to recover after the loss of the 2016 election. It was fun to find this and sharing it here because mom would have truly loved it: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2017/09/15/hillary-clinton-used-alternate-nostril-breathing-after-her-election-loss-heres-why-you-really-should-too/Follow the link to where Hillary Clinton shows Anderson Cooper how to do Alternate Nostril Breathing: https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2017/09/14/clinton-alternate-nostril-breathing-sot-ac-intv.cnnThis article from Kripalu has some great Ayurvedic tips for dealing with insomnia, including the recommendation of Nadi Shodhana. https://kripalu.org/resources/yoga-and-ayurveda-insomniaThis article discusses in further detail right and left nostril dominance https://yogainternational.com/article/view/self-study-nostril-dominance This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

For this episode of yoga poetry radio I want to talk about trusting in the incremental change that happens with yoga. I understand faith as incremental change that builds the confidence that your actions will have positive outcomes. It took me a good long while to have a felt-sense of this definition. This podcast is the story of that change.Begin in a seated posture that is comfortable for you. Ground yourself by bringing your attention to your contact with your seat, whatever and wherever that is. Be it seated on a chair, or on the floor with a cushion, or a folded blanket to lift your hips. Whatever you choose do it consciously with the utmost care and concern for this amazing vessel that is your flesh and bones. Draw your awareness into your spine and stack each vertebra, one on top of the other. Feel the muscles of your spine gather in and the space that is created along its whole snaky length. Practice this awareness of your backbone in order to build strength and integrity.Have you heard the Anne Lamott quote that goes “the opposite of faith is not doubt but certainty”? It is with that idea I begin. The full quote from the book called Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith which I pulled from Goodreads is this: “The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns. Faith also means reaching deeply within, for the sense one was born with, the sense, for example, to go for a walk.” My growing up experience with faith was an exercise in trying to feel certain. That is what I understood the pastor to be telling me as I sat in the pew, or the Sunday school teacher from my school desk and as a child of the ‘70s who moved between communities and loved them all, I was certain that certainty got you nowhere. Certainty would have been and exercise in hatred, anger and discontent. I saw that my future relied on my ability to shapeshift, reload, and engender whatever form served whatever location I was in.It wasn't until I came to MBSR (that is mindfulness based stress reduction practice) at common ground meditation center in 2016 and learned to see how I was relating to practice, that I began to discover how supportive this embodied understanding of faith was. Sitting on the mat and bringing your attention back to the present moment again and again by finding some anchor or another to return to, like your breath. So let's engage it here. Exhale all the air from your lungs. Inhale through your nose. Open mouth exhale. One more time. In through the nose and out through the mouth. Seal your lips and let your breathing be natural. Awareness to your tummy. Relax your stomach out on the inhale and draw it in on the exhale. Match the length of your inhales to the length of your exhales and stay with your breath. How are you relating to this practice right now? Is it interesting or boring? Is it painful or pleasant? Do you crave moments like this or are you here about of duty?Can you see how the object of meditation moves from your ground to your spine, to your breath, and, with the questions, there is the move to the observer self. How are you relating to the moment right now? Faith is a relationship to the moment that needs time to build, the coming back again and again, to your heart-space and feeding it by opening it and letting gratitude for everything that got you to this exact moment in time come in, or opening it and letting exactly what is going on now be known. Adjust your shoulder blades to open your heart space right now. Lift shoulders to your ears, gently contract, and then lower them back down. Find gratitude for the slide of tissues and the release of tension as you do it again. Can you feel your breath right there at your heart space? Drawing the breath in through your heart and let the exhale spreading out along the back side of your body, easing anyplace that is holding tension. Faith allows all the unknown workings of the world to come together. It works on being inclusive so that you can respond to the forces that be. It builds on the understanding of where it is you want to go, how it is you are responding to the things that get in the way of that, and allows you, through trial and error, to see how each little tweak effects your larger trajectory. You can easily recognize this process from things you already know, things you do each day. Parenting. Coaching. Playing an instrument. In yoga the instrument is your body and the cord you may want to learn is moving from down dog to step up as in a sun salutation. If you haven't been doing yoga recently, the distance between where you are at and where you want to be may seem impossible, but faith allows for incremental change, by opening to whatever is there in that moment and committing to returning again and again. That was how it was for me after a recent shoulder injury. I returned to yoga after letting it go months to allow my shoulder to heal and I was dismayed to discover all of the range of motion I had lost.Inhale and lift your right arm to the sky. Do this if you have a working right shoulder and then lower your arm on the exhale. Inhale and lift your left arm, likewise if your shoulder is in working order. Trust your body to tell you what it needs. It is your minds duty to listen, give it space, truly experience whatever is coming up and respond accordingly. After all, I am only your guide, your body is your teacher.Find gratitude for all your shoulder does for you. Move back and forth, letting your arm feel balloon-like on the lift, finding length and space in your side body, and lower on the exhale. Back and forth arch your spine one direction and then the other. Moving from your heart and solar plexus. Find learning and change in the repetition. How are you relating to this movement? If you find that you are relating with anything other than curiosity and interest, ask yourself, “Hmmm?” I encourage you to say it out loud, if you are in a place where that feels comfortable and see if that gets you to curiosity. Open your eyes wide, tilt your head to the side, and repeat, “Hmm?” Relax your arms down and bring your hands to your knees whether seated in a chair or on the floor. Exhale and find Seated Cat by drawing your tummy in arching your spine. Rock the other direction into Seated Cow by bringing your chest forward and drawing your shoulder blades towards one another. Back to Cat. Tailbone tucks under and pelvic bowl spills back. And then Cow again, tailbone back and pelvic bowl rocking forward. Continue on your own, toggling back and forth with our natural breath. Exhale cat. Inhale cow.Understanding faith was a process of returning. It needed to be built with my committed and sustained action. And started with that disappointment I felt in my first class back. I had to stay with is even though I hated how it felt. Relate to those very feelings with acceptance. Trust that being there with them was enough to change everything. And having the strength to return the next day, even if I didn't want to. Pause and tune in. How do you feel now? On your next inhale lift both arms, exhale draw right arm back and left arm forward. Look to your right if that feels right on your neck. Inhale back to center and exhale to the left, agin looking back if it works with your neck. Continue breathing and moving into and out of the twist. Take your time and let your chest be lifted and light as breath leads the movement. Learning something new really requires taking the time to develop your skills. This can't be dogmatic. It's not, “it's true because I tell you so.” It begins with an opening to how it feels in your body, that becomes a convention of understanding that is reinforced at each return with a jolt of recognition and eventually there's a structure that is just natural forward motion.Come to stillness and let your attention come back to your ground.Practice and all is coming.That yoga phrase is poetry. Is it the English language in the mouth of a non native speaker? I have heard it attributed to Patthabi Jois. I always thought it was a translation of the yoga sutra, but now I don't know. In any case, it has the effect of movement, of the traction of the horizon coming closer of its own accord. All you have to do is arrive at your seat, tune into your body and do all the breathing and gentle movement you want to do. We will close with the sound of OM. Listen along or join me. As Shakespeare is want to say, And palm to palm is holy palmer's kiss, hands together at your heart. May all the merit we just created in this practice be vibrationally sent out with the sound and shared with all other beings, known or unknown, nearby or far away.Thank you for listening and if you find this information and practice helpful please feel free to share it. Like and subscribe so others can find it. Follow the show notes back to my newsletter to see what else I share. Back there there are also resources for further study where I link to other writings of mine that are like this one, including the official website for MBSR (mindfulness based stress reduction) which is an evidence based program that has been proven to alleviate many health conditions.Resources for Further Study:Here is my post where I write about pausing in your daily tasks to give yourself feedback. It is a description of what task oriented practice is like in real time: Here is a post where I write about patience and incremental change and staying with the hard things. I link to a great interview of RuPaul on 10% Happier. In anywise, this podcast and that post are connected by this quote of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” This is what I'm talking about: “Practice and All is Coming.” This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Yoga Poetry Radio. Today we are going to practice a breath that is called “cyclic hyperventilation” by the scientists and academics. It incorporates some elements of yoga's Agni Sara and also a Tibetan style breath called Tummo popularized by Wim Hof. Expect this breath to feel awkward at first but it requires no special equipment. We will begin by taking comfortable seat. Let your spine be upright. Turn your attention inward and engage the observer self. Welcome, without judgement, whatever you find. Be curious. (Pause) Let's take a breath together. Exhale all the breath from your lungs. Inhale through your nose. Open mouth exhale. One more time, in through the nose, open moth exhale. Seal your lips and begin to breathe on your own. We will begin with the practice of Diaphragmatic Breathing. Draw your attention to your diaphragm, the jellyfish-like muscle that is nestled at the base of your ribcage. Parallel to that is your pelvic floor, a hammock of muscles at the base of your spine. These two muscle frameworks create the bottom and top of the canister of your torso. They move in tandem to each other when you breathe. The diaphragm on the inhale and in turn compresses and flattens the pelvic floor to create the vacuum in your chest that draws the breath in. When you press the air out both structures move upwards respectively. Practice being aware of this right now. Allow your belly to relax and expand outwards on your inhale. Pull everything, belly and pelvic floor, inward and upward as you exhale. Be conscious of this movement during the next few minutes while I explain Cyclic Hyperventilation. This consciousness of breathing with awareness of the pelvic floor is is a therapy in and of itself. Be aware of this all day long, through all activities, and it will have the biggest change of anything on your life. Cyclic Hyperventilation has been studied extensively in recent years in thanks to the amazing cold-temperature feats of Wim Hof. He has used breathing to withstand hypothermia and frostbite and even E.coli in one particular study. We will breathe all the way in through the nose. This gives you the benefits of nasal nitric oxide production, which is necessary to your heart. And all the way out through the mouth to really exhale all the carbon dioxide from your lungs. This breath will allow you to hold the out breath for longer and through the process release of hormones and cytokines which help regulate your immune system and reduce inflammation. Read more about this in the resources linked below in the show notes. In addition, during the hold, we can explore the practice of Agni Sara here, which is a semi-involuntary muscular pandiculation. The tummy, when the breath empties out and the diaphragm pulls up under the ribs, naturally pulls back into the spine in an abdominal contraction. This has been used as postpartum therapy in the National Healthcare programs of France and Spain and will strengthen and rehabilitate core and pelvic floor health after birth and realign displaced organs after pregnancy. To set up the conditions for Agni Sara, you tuck your chin while holding on the out breath. Lengthen your spine and pull your diaphragm up under your ribs. Here your stomach may hollow out and you can connect to that feeling of the drawing upwards of your pelvic floor. If this does not happen for you in this first practice, not to worry, with continued practice and proper awareness, it will. I look forward to creating a future episode on pelvic floor awareness.Find the book Breath, linked below. In the chapter entitled “Hold It” Nestor makes the case that Carbon Dioxide Therapies had long been studied and proclaimed to be helpful, but somehow that knowledge was lost in the 1950s as the hopes of new pill-form promises took its place. That is all to say that the breathing practice I share today has been proven by many peer-reviewed studies and you should figure out how to make this a part of your regular practice. Haha.As Andrew Huberman, YouTube phenom and professor at Stanford, podcast linked below, says the protocol for this practice is about 30 breaths, for about 3 cycles. This does not need to be an exact practice. Begin this as an exploration, doing the best you can, noticing your incremental change in comfort level as you practice it regularly. Expect this to feel awkward at first and with time get more comfortable. It certainly has for me.First just listen as I describe the process, then I will direct you to stand and practice with me. It begins with hands on thighs to allow your tummy to hang relaxed. Then I will count, while you follow along, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through the mouth. Do the best you can and don't worry too much about doing it right. If you feel light headed, sit down. Do not practice this when driving a car, or near water, or at the edge of a cliff, because you may get light headed. When I get to the last one, you will know it, because my exhale will be louder and longer. At that point you will, press the air all the way out, then hold on the out breath for as long as is comfortable. As soon as you feel the urge to breathe, do so. Pause and stand to feel your whole body. This is a refreshing and enlivening practice. Let's begin. Take the posture, stand feet a little wider than hip-distance apart, knees bent and seat back in chair posture with hands resting on your thighs. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Let's go.(practice)When you are ready come back to seated. We will close with the sound of OM. Listen along or join me. Bring your hands together at your heart. As Shakespeare says, And palm to palm is holy palmers kiss. All the merit we just created in this practice will vibrationally be sent out with the sound of om and shared with all other beings, known or unknown, nearby or far away.Thank you for listening and if you find this information and practice helpful please feel free to share it. Like and subscribe so others can find it. Follow the show notes back to my newsletter to see what else I share. Resources for further study:Article with practices of Agni Sara on Yoga International https://yogainternational.com/article/view/guide-to-agni-saraBreath by James Nestor. This book discusses in detail the role Carbon Dioxide takes in our processes. Much of the research and discoveries this book shares is mind boggling. I relied particularly on the “Hold It” chapter.An episode on the Huberman Podcast on “Using Your Nervous System to Enhance Your Immune System” Timestamped with this link: 01:12:36 Tool 7: Activating Your Immune System w/Cyclic-Hyperventilation, Alkalinity This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

Resource: Cyndi Lee from Yoga International: https://yogainternational.com/article/view/satya-vrksasana-learn-the-truth-about-your-tree-pose This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

This practice leads you through the 6 directions of the spine and two balancing postures. Use a wall if you wish. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

Let go of the confusion that is inevitable when obsessive squirrel gathers too much. Gather your energy and store some for later. Honor a pause so that your untroubled mind can be a safe place to keep your gatherings.Resources: https://medicinecards.comSongs of Forgiveness is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

Thanks to Renae for bringing this practice to me and letting me study it with her. Hope this Monday finds you well and taking good care of your body. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

This sun salute is in honor of the lengthening days as we head into spring here where I write in North America. The sun salute was created in the early 20th century as much of postural yoga was as it expanded to the west, so it is relatively new in the history of yoga. Before that yoga was a sitting and breathing practice, a system for calming and understanding the mind and movement, a system designed to bring us to wholeness. As Patañjali said, “Practice and all is coming.” To me, it makes sense that yoga would find its way to the west through the body practice, as we have been all mind divided from our bodies for so very long. Nature exists in the body. This gentle variation is meant to open the pathways in the body so you can stay connected to your best intentions all day long. Put care for the body on a solar schedule. Let me know what you discover. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

In honor of the upcoming full moon (Friday 3/18/22), this week's practice is an easy Moon Salute. It is a standing only practice that you can do anywhere. Put in your earbuds and greet the moon.Resources: https://kripalu.org/resources/chandra-namaskar-honoring-moon-salute This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Monday! I have created two versions of this care for your feet yoga class. The one I am sending here takes place on the floor with a yoga mat and includes down dog and warrior two, the other is a chair yoga version for those who do not want to get down on the floor. Find the chair version here.I have watched both my grandma and my mom fall prey to bunions as they become more fearful on their feet the last couple years. Bunions are caused by hereditary factors, but can also be exacerbated by neglect and poor shoes and the gripping through the feet that comes from fear of falling. Yoga can help you stay connected to the earth and aware of the muscles that need to relax and the ones that need to be activated. Resources: Article by Doug Keller published on Yoga International.These two feet classes are not as short as I intended them to be. I will get better at timing with some practice! Please reach out if you have questions or concerns. Thanks for listening. More soon.Much Love, Tina This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

I have watched both my grandma and my mom fall prey to bunions as they have aged and become more fearful on their feet the last couple years. Bunions are caused by hereditary factors, but can also be exacerbated by neglect and poor shoes. Yoga can help you stay connected to the earth and aware of the muscles that need to relax and the ones that need to be activated. Resources: Article by Doug Keller published on Yoga International. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe

In this first podcast I share my intention and format. Beginnings and endings will remain the same. Thank you for listening to the Yoga Poetry Podcast. Share it with friends who may enjoy. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tinalaurellee.substack.com/subscribe