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yogic breathing exercises

June 20, 2012 in yoga, your body

Extended Exhalation

(Regular breathing – with awareness) Come into a position of sitting where you feel comfortable and grounded into your pelvis…..You may like to sit on a bolster, or up against the wall for support…… Close your eyes, if you like, and watch your breath moving in and out of your body naturally. Take a moment to really watch your breath and feel your body being breathed….. Start to let your body weight drop down into your pelvis and feel your connection to the Earth….continue watching your breathe, and allowing it to flow through you….If your mind begins to wander, that’s completely normal, just when you notice that it is, bring your focus back to your breath without any judgment. ….Allow your shoulders and arms to relax and notice your back and spine supporting you and see about releasing any tension it may be holding. Let’s stay here a few moments and just breathe, relax, feel, watch and allow….our breath to be as it is…..

(Extended Exhalation) Staying relaxed with your breathing, begin to explore what it might be like to extend you exhalation or out breath, every 4th breath……..(this is Esther Myers style). … On your breaths between relax and let them be as natural as possible. As you extend your exhale, you may begin to notice that your belly draws back a little more at the end of the breath…….if you notice that you are in real need of air or almost gasping for air, on the following inhale, see about maybe lessening the duration or dept a wee bit, so it feels a little more natural and smooth…take some time with it, it might be a whole new feeling, so “feel it” and see what works well for you…In time see about finding an inhale breathe, following the extended exhale, that is natural and smooth, …it may possibly be lengthened as well…see what happens. Stay here a bit, with your breathing, and then when you feel ready to come back to natural breathing … and stay with it for a bit letting the breath practice’s effects sink in….See what you feel…….
How do you feel? …and what do you or did you notice? ….
There may be a feeling of overall balance in your body, greater awareness and clarity of thought, revitalized energy, moving fresh oxygen into your muscles, organs and cells, and may even help enhance mood , sleep and memory.

Namaste

Alyssa Huntley
please check out the 11:11 Summer Glow Season Pass for Unlimited outdoor Fitness and Yoga

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yoga pose of the day…bridge pose

May 16, 2012 in yoga, your body


Let’s try bridge pose.

Bridge pose is wonderful for opening up the hip flexor area at the front of our body (where the leg attaches to the torso). We use the psoas (hip flexor) muscles all the time in daily life, and they can tend to hold a lot of tension… try bridge posture, to see about releasing any tension.   See diagram and instructions below for the supported bridge version. Take a few breaths and enjoy!

From lying on your back, bend your knees, and place your feet on the floor about hip distance apart. Take a few deep breaths, and notice what parts of feet make contact with the Earth. Start to really be aware of that connection. Feel your breath in your body, and your breath movement in your abdominal and hip area….See if you can notice a natural rise and fall…. following this movement and natural rhythm, slowly begin to let your low back melt down upon exhalation, slightly tucking the pelvis. As you inhale release the lower back to neutral. See if the movement can follow your breath. Gradually allow this melting down of the back, to become a bit bigger, and into a larger movement of the pelvis, as you ground in your feet. You can then see about rounding through the spine and gently lifting into bridge position, rolling up the spine, and taking your body’s weight into you feet, and upper back and shoulders. Feel your body grounding an dropping as you lift, letting your body weight sink into your feet and upper back, and allowing your spine to lengthen and breath be smooth. Let your neck and head and shoulders be soft, and relaxed. You can stay in the pose for some time feeling your spine release…or see about coming in and out of the pose a few times.

When lowering down from the posture, begin with breath awareness again… and as you exhale, let your upper back begin to sink into the floor, then round further vertebrae by vertebrae – lowering through your mid back and then through the lower back and pelvis, until your body is resting completely on the floor.
Take a few moments and see how it feels to have your body and spine back down on the Earth.

Try the supported bridge pose.

You may also like to try this posture in a supported version. To do supported bridge, have a rolled or folded up blanket or bolster, close by and as you elevate your pelvis coming into bridge, slide the bolster under your pelvis and then bring your hips down to rest on it. Breathe in and out…and maybe stay here a bit, seeing what you notice in your body.
When you feel ready to come out of supported bridge, you can slightly elevate your pelvis again, through grounding in your feet, slide the bolster out and then vertebrae by vertebrae, rolling back down to the ground.

Namaste,

Alyssa Huntley
11:11 Life Styling

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in the yoga studio- briohny smyth

May 2, 2012 in yoga, your body

The Equinox instructor (and internet sensation) narrates her personal body-bending, back-opening flow.

 

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yoga pose of the day…cow’s head pose-arms

April 24, 2012 in yoga, your body


Let’s try cow’s head arms.

(if you have a strap near by, you may want to use it.)

Come into a comfortable sitting position any way you like, feel yourself grounding into the Earth, and take some nice breaths, letting your weight sink down into your pelvis, and letting the spine release.

Holding the strap in your right arm, lengthen your arm up above your head and go for a little stretch, wiggling your fingers long if you like.

Next bend at your right elbow, bringing your fore-arm and hand down behind your shoulder, your elbow will be pointing upward, and the upper arm is close to your head, with your shoulder relaxed. Imagine as if you were going for a little scratch on your back, and see about walking your fingers down a wee bit lower, and then releasing any tension in your arm, and keeping it there, where it lands relaxed. The strap should be dangling down from your right hand behind your body.

For our left arm, begin to do a breast-stroke type swimming motion, taking the arm out from the front of your body (breast bone) and all the way long to the front, side and back, in a gliding sweeping motion… try it a few times, beginning the motion from the very center of your chest. Take the left arm around your body in the same sweeping motion, and then bend at the elbow and take your left hand around your back body, taking hold of the strap and gently walking your fingers up the strap, as you breathe and drop.

Let your arms both relax and allow the weight of them to assist you in the stretch. Be curious about your spine, and see how it’s feeling, could it relax a bit more? … Breathe in and out, and keep your focus on the breath, releasing out of the pose when it feels complete.

Roll out your shoulders and wrists, and move your upper back.

Give it a try on the opposite side. You may wish to do the posture a few times on each side.

Click here to see our other article on Cow’s Head Pose.

Namaste
Alyssa Huntley
www.eleveneleven-coaching.com

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yoga pose of the day…gomukasana

March 28, 2012 in yoga, your body

Cow’s Head

Although it is a seated, deep stretch pose, it is known as being a restorative one.  It also allows you to go inward in order to get a full muscle release.

(Have a strap near by, before beginning.) Click here to see our article on “Cow’s Head-Arms”

From a seated position, with legs outstretched n front of you, breathe in and breathe out, allowing your weight to sink down and your pelvis to drop. Relax, breathe and feel the sensations in your body. Cross your right leg over your left, drawing the foot of your right leg towards the ground beside your left hip. Take a few nice deep breaths and see about releasing the weight in your right leg, and letting it sink down on top of your left leg. Breathe in and ground your pelvis, evenly on the floor. ….. Stay here a few moments, getting a feel for dropping your body weight and releasing the hips…… Breathe and relax…… When you feel ready extend the right leg out to meet the left and give your legs a little shake out. Next try the same stretch with the left leg; bending your left knee, draw the left foot up and over the right leg, bringing the foot beside the right hip on the floor, so the leg looks almost triangular in front of you, with the knee pointing forwards or thereabouts. Breathe in and out,…. and feel the ground beneath your bottom. See how it feels to let your legs release every time you exhale, so that the leg drops, and releases, and drops and releases. Stay here a bit….. and feel the sensations of you body, and your breath. This might be as far as you wish to go today, and if so that’s great! See about trying it again on each side and breathing in and out…explore the pose a little and see what you notice. Llet the arms relax here, so place them where ever they feel supportive and good for you — we’ll add the arm posture in next weeks pose.

If you would like to take this pose a step further, we can see what it might be like to bend at both knees and bring the legs to each side of the hip. ….Take both legs out front and lengthen them, give them a little shake out if it feels good. Bend softly at both knees and place your feet on the floor, see about sliding your right leg under your left and bending at the knee, moving your right foot towards the side of your left pelvis, keeping your sit bones in contact with the ground, as much as possible, see about bending your left knee, and letting it lay over top of the right leg, and then bringing your left foot beside your right hip on the ground. If this feels like too much at any time return to one straight leg, and one bent…and return to breath awareness and dropping…. remember it’s about your experience in the pose, your dropping, releasing and feeling, not about how it looks, so let any attachment to that go. If this pose feels okay, see about breathing in it and dropping the legs a little more with each exhale. You may notice the knees can align with each other and overlap, so they make a triangular shape in front of you. They may not, and that’s perfectly normal, take the feet and the legs to a position where they feel a stretch and are still able to drop and release. Breathe deeply, and let your body weight drop and sink into the pose. If you are feeling quite uncomfortable or strain in the joints, see how it might be to comer back to lengthening one leg out. Close your eyes a moment if you wish and be curious about how it feels…. can you drop more, where may you be holding tension?… can it let go?… Breathe …..When you feel ready slowly release the top leg (left) from the posture, and bring the foot back onto the floor, keeping the knee softly bent, then release the right leg and bring that foot back to the floor, keeping the knee bent as well. Extend both legs and give them a little shake.

Remember with challenging poses, it not about how the end pose looks, it’s about how mindful you are in the process — focus on breathing and releasing tension, no matter how the posture looks.

Namaste,

Alyssa Huntley
11:11 Life Styling

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yoga pose of the day…upavista konasana

March 13, 2012 in workouts, yoga, your body

Wide angle forward bend.

Sitting comfortably, possibly with a blanket under your bottom for a little extra height, outstretch your legs so they are long in front of you. Ur legs apart as far as they feel comfortable. Release and drop your weight into the ground…..If your hips feel strained, you can use your hands on the floor behind you, to help support your body. See about how it feels to breathe in and breathe out in this position….and consider exhaling and releasing your body down forward, exhale by exhale…..lowering and dropping calmly and smoothly. Your hands may like to come to the ground in front of your torso here, and add some support and guidance. Remain here, and feel your body’s sensations and your breath….If your knees feel uncomfortable you may like to roll a blanket up and place it under them, allowing them to bend slightly. Remain in the pose seeing how it feels to drop, and ground. When you feel ready, and in your own time, take a nice deep breath in, and on your exhale, slowly begin to roll your spine back up.

This posture is wonderful for calming the mind, stimulating the internal organs of the abdominal area and giving length to the back side of the body, back of legs and inner thigh.

Namaste,

Alyssa Huntley
11:11 Life Styling

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yoga pose of the day…triangle pose

February 10, 2012 in workouts, yoga, your body

 

 

(You may like to have a block in place, a step ahead of you.)

 
Coming out of mountain pose, take a small step forward with the right leg. Breathe out, relax and then become aware of the connection of your feet to the ground. Soften the front knee, and turn the knee outward slightly toward the baby toe side of the foot, keeping weight still in the toe ball joint, then gently release the leg back to a more straightened , but not locked position.

Slowly begin to bend forward from the hip, allowing for your spine to curve naturally, and for both arms to come down and forward. Breathe in and breathe out, and let your body feel heavy. (Triangle forward bend).

As you exhale begin twisting through your core towards the left side of the room. The right arm may remain low, and see about how it feels to draw upward with the left arm. Soften the head, neck and throat, and use a block if available and accommodating. Notice how your body feels and if your breathing changes. The left arm may also rest on your back. Feel free to try both and explore what feels best for you in this moment.

Breathe in and out with awareness and drop and relax more into the ground. Remain in the posture until it feels complete, then gently draw the arm back down and rotate the body back to forward triangle bend.

From forward triangle bend, ground the feet, and softly roll your spine up tall and released. Take a step back so feet are parallel and take a few nice deep breaths noticing the sensations in your body. (Back into mountain pose).

Repeat on the other side.

Namaste

~Alyssa Huntley
www.eleveneleven-coaching.com

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11:11 Yoga block complete… red cedar 3″ x 5″ x 8″ finished with extra virgin olive oil or get one with a custom logo! To order one today email eleven_eleven@sympatico.ca.

 

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Virasana ~ Hero’s Pose

January 25, 2012 in yoga, your body

Begin by sitting in a comfortable position and slowly see about coming into kneeling, you may like to have a bolster and some rolled up blankets near by for support.
The blanket can be rolled up and placed under your knees to support your knees, or under your ankles, to support your ankles. Breathe in and breathe out and relax, centering your body and grounding……Keeping your knees together, slide a large bolster or a few folded blankets under your bottom, and see what it might be like to take your feet apart, to the outer part of each hip. Your body may begin to lower down between them onto the bolster. See how this feels, if you think you might like to go down a bit lower with your bottom, you can unfold the blanket a little more or slide it out, paying close attention to how your knees, hips and ankles feel as you make the changes. Breathe in and out, and see about dropping into your pelvis and grounding. As you breathe here, you may like to try turning your heels out slightly, and seeing what it’s like to have the top part of your feet, connecting to the floor. Breathe and drop and notice if your spine can release and lengthen naturally. Stay a moment and breathe….. know that at any time you can come out of the posture if you wish. To go a little deeper into the pose, you can try leaning forward a little and using your hands to gently pull your calf muscles to the outside of the leg, and then lowering your body into any space that has helped to create. Rest your hands softly on your lap, and breath in ….and breathe out….softening your body and releasing tension. Stay here as long as you like, and then when you feel ready to come out of the posture, press your hand into the floor, and lift your bottom up higher than your heels, and return to a comfortable sitting pose. You may like to give them a little shake out.

Caution: if you have any ankle or knee troubles.

~ Alyssa Huntley
11:11 Life Styling
www.eleveneleven-coaching.com

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rest deeply + release

December 21, 2011 in yoga, your body

Savasana (deep relaxation) is a pose that I use at the beginning and end of my yoga practice, and classes. It’s a simple pose that allows the body to deeply rest, and release.

In this pose we focus on feeling the body’s connection to the ground and the support the Earth gives us. We are free to release our weight (physically and mentally) and let go of needing to do anything. As you rest, begin to focus your mind on your breath passively, noticing what it’s doing, where you feel it, and watching it as it is. Your mind may wander from time to time and that’s very normal, when you notice that it is, bring it back to your breath, without judgement.

This pose, as simple as it appears, can often be quite challenging. It can be an interesting task to quiet the mind and slow it’s chatter, and doing nothing can also be a challenge, when we are so used to moving about and being in a constant state of “doing”. It is also common that as you quiet, emotions may come to surface, and be ready to be released. The more you do this posture, the more you will find yourself being able to release tension, fears and resistance in your mind and body. It is a very powerful and transformative process.  Give it a try, holding the pose for as long as you like (try 5 -15 minutes)

Options for comfort:
* Place a folded blanket or pillow under your head.
* Bend your knees, and place your feet on the floor.
* Lie on the floor, with your lower legs (calves and feet) resting on the seat of a chair. (good for circulation and varicose veins)

Enjoy
Alyssa Huntley
www.eleveneleven-coaching.com

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yoga pose of the day…warrior 2

December 7, 2011 in workouts, yoga, your body

This pose is a wonderful strengthener for the legs & ankles, and for stretching the groin, legs, ankles, chest and shoulders. Warrior 2 (short stance)

Begin in mountain pose – breath deeply and relax, letting go of any tension you may feel in your body. Take a small step forward with your left leg, keeping both feet facing forward. Notice your foot’s contact with the ground as you set it down, gently bend through the front knee and take the knee softly to the pinky toe side, keeping weight still in the big toe. Exhale and elevate the arm up to shoulder height or slightly lower, and release the tension from them. See about softly gazing over the left arm, or keeping the head neutral. Breathe with awareness, and notice how you feel in the posture, and where your breath moves in your body. Remain in the posture, until you feel complete, and then anchoring your weight into the back foot (right), step back as you exhale, into mountain pose.

Repeat on the other side.

* caution to any neck injuries, keep head and neck in line with the spine, and breathe into movements slowly and respectfully in your body.

Alyssa Huntley
www.eleveneleven-coaching.com

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yoga pose of the day…warrior 1

November 29, 2011 in workouts, yoga, your body

For a boost of confidence, and to feel inner strength try Warrior 1 pose (short stance):

Beginning in mountain pose; Take a small step forward like you are going for a walk, with the right leg. Begin to bend slightly through the front leg at the knee joint, and slightly roll out the knee to the pinky toes side, keeping the big toe grounded. Breathe in and breathe out and notice how you feel in the posture. Arms can slowly raise up, and are good anywhere that feels good for you. They could be up, out to the sides and relaxed…if up creates tension, then allow them to come down and feel free to change it. Relax your shoulders, and drop your weight into the ground, and as you drop, see about letting the weight down into your legs, and feeling the spine release and lengthen. When you feel like the stretch is complete, enjoy and nice breath and exhale as you step back with the front leg and release the arms back down to mountain pose. Feel the sensations in your body and draw awareness to grounding.

Repeat on the other side

Namaste
Alyssa Huntley
www.eleveneleven-coaching.com

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yoga monkey* pose of the day

November 25, 2011 in yoga, your body

Yoga can help with concentration and improve mental alertness:

The same way your body can get tired and overworked, your mind can get tired and over worked as well.

Try TREE POSE, to improve your concentration, grounding and balancing both hemispheres of the brain.
To begin, stand relaxed, with both feet hip distance apart, and breathe deeply. See how it feels to shift your weight all onto one foot, and imagine growing roots down from that foot into the ground. Next, you can try slowly taking the other foot off the floor, and placing the sole of your foot on the calf of your straight leg. As you move your foot in place, rotate the leg outward, so the knee is out to one side. Take a few nice deep breaths and see about dropping any tension or tightness in your body. On your next exhale, you can raise your arm softly up overhead, and relax them there, imagining like they are branches of a tree.

Remain in the pose as long as it feels comfortable and when you are ready return to a natural standing position, and try the pose on the other side.

Author: Alyssa  “Yoga Monkey”  705-340-5530

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set an intention…wear a mala

October 30, 2011 in feature, just now, yoga, your style

Mala beads are used for the counting of mantras, chants, or prayers.  The mantra can be repeated multiple times in a meditation.  Mala’s allow us to focus on the meditating, and the meaning of the mantra.  There is no need to track the repetitions of the mantra, the beads do that for you.  We love the high quality of these mala’s by Tiny Devotions and how they glide softly through your fingers.  Now all you need to do is find which mala works best for you.

 

Some of our fav mala’s, by Tiny Devotions…

Amethyst Om Mala

Amethyst is known as a very powerful stone to wear as jewelry. It vibrates a beautiful spiritual energy and    can help you further cultivate tranquillity, peace and calmness. $108 CAD

Click here for more info.

 

 

 

 

 

Marathon Mala

This smoky quartz mala is an energizer of endurance and positivity.

It is a strong healer – but a slow healer – which is better for some people who have a hard time adapting to change. $108 CAD

Click here for more info.

 

 

 

Prosperity Mala

This peach aventurine mala’s intention is to reinforce leadership qualities and positively attract prosperity. It promotes a feeling of well-being and calms anger and irration.

Aventurine stabilize’s state of mind, stimulates perception and enhances creativity.  $108 CAD

Click here for more info.

 

 

 

 

 —> Click here to see malas for men…

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the gesture namaste.

October 15, 2011 in yoga, your body, your mind

Namaste represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra.

The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another. “Nama” means bow, “as” means I, and “te” means you. Therefore, Namaste literally means “bow me you” or “I bow to you.”

 

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salutation nation 2011…be there!

August 23, 2011 in yoga, your body

On Saturday, September 10, 2011, at 9 am your local time, roll out your mat and do yoga. Join your community to move, breathe, connect and get your downdog on!

salutation nation is:

  • An annual, international day of yoga
  • Led by local yoga ambassadors
  • Complimentary
  • Open to all levels

Wondering which location to go to? Click here.

We will be at: Coronation Park, 1426 Lakeshore Road West  Oakville,ON

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hot yoga at moksha

July 13, 2011 in yoga

Moksha hot yoga is a series of postures practiced in a heated room. The series works to stretch, strengthen and tone the muscles while detoxifying the body and calming the mind.

Check out Moksha Yoga…you will love it! We do.

Click here for more information…

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