It's taken a while to get here. To a place where I feel comfortable sharing my love of yoga with the world. I'll never forget the first class I taught about five years ago to my fellow yoga teacher trainees. I was so nervous I thought I might be sick, but once I started teaching most of those fears went away.

I am not a typical yoga teacher- I'm not a super bendy person naturally. I've always been physically active, but not particularly flexible. I did know that yoga made me feel good and I enjoyed it and felt pulled to teach it. My first yoga teacher training was great an I learned and grew so much, but I was made quite aware of my tightness and was sometimes used as an example to the other teacher trainees. I was also one of the older students- already in my 40's with mostly 20 somethings. I somehow knew I had something valuable to share, though and pursued my dream of teaching.

Flash forward five years later, I've found my home at A Gentle Way Yoga! Here I have found a special way of teaching that encourages students to tune into their own experience of their body and their breath. I seem to have fallen into a style, taken from Lanita Varshell's signature MIMSY (Meditation in Movement Style Yoga) that resonates with my students and keeps them coming back week after week. It is the most gentle style of yoga I have every experienced and done very slowly to allow a deep connection with body and breath. By slowing down, you have the chance to tap into the parasympathetic nervous system, which is where to body can begin the healing process. Healing can mean many different things- it's not just physical healing, it's also emotional and spiritual healing. We all carry some kind of trauma whether it be from carrying around stress, dealing with disappointment, dragging around negative beliefs about ourselves, financial problems, relationship and family problems, etc. My students have found the way that I teach them allows them to let go and release so they can move forward with a happier mindset.

I have become more and more comfortable with teaching and letting my intuition guide me. My students tell me I have a gift that needs to be shared with a broader audience which led me to create on-line videos.

The Importance of Pranayama

Just Breathe!

We breathe all the time without even realizing it. It's an involuntary function of our body that is essential for survival. Our diaphragms contact and expand to push air in and out of our lungs thousands of times each day. When we learn to voluntarily breathe, or in other words control the depth and rhythm of our breath, profound changes happen in our mind and body.

So what does Pranayama mean? The word prana means life force and ayama means to extend. By controlling our breath, we therefore move prana/life force throughout our body. I have used various pranayama techniques to deal with anxiety and stress and it has helped me immensely. I view the breath as a powerful tool we have with us all the time that be accessed to bring us into the present moment and allow us to live a happier, fuller life.

There are many, many different Pranayama techniques. One of my very favorites if called Nadi Shodhana, or Alternate Nostril Breathing. I teach this often in my classes and use it regularly. Just like the pictures above illustrate, the ring finger and thumb close one nostril as you inhale through the other one nostril and exhaling through the other one.

Here are instructions for Alternate Nostril Breathing: Use the thumb of the right hand to close the right nostril, and inhale through the left nostril. Use the ring finger of the right hand to close the left nostril and exhale through the right nostril. Inhale through the right nostril, close the right nostril and exhale through the left nostril and keep going. Breathe slowly and fully. Try it for three minutes, then take a few deep breaths through your nose to notice the effects.

Three reasons why everyone should practice it:
1) It taps into a relaxation response in our nervous system
2) It balances the right and left hemispheres of our brain and improves attention
3) It improves respiratory function.

Happy Breathing!

For more information about Pranayama for Beginners, visit the link below:

https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/pranayama