🌲⛰️Mountain Yoga: Healing In Nature Series🗻

 

🌲🌱🍄Healing in Nature Yoga Series!! Last week we began in the Forest!! One of my very favorite sanctuaries lies when I step foot into the forest. Quite literally, as John Muir said, "Into the forest I go, to lose my mind, and find my soul." The forest is full of healing benefits for us! The forest is one large ecosystem, and just as surrounding trees send healing energy and nutrients out to a tree that is suffering or is ill, we offer the same in our studio, sending healing nutrients out to our neighbors, through our roots and branches, lifting up one another! Trees emit molecules into the air to cleanse and purify it, removing toxins from the air we breathe. A walk through the forest grounds the soul, calms the heart rate & blood pressure, resyncing the mind + body to the earth, reminding us that we are in fact part of this beautiful ecosystem. Animal lovers always love spotting furry & feathered friends, from caterpillars & butterflies, to chipmunks & squirrels, and deer & bald eagles, smiles and laughter filling the forest! Trees have the power to increase our immunity, proving faster recovery periods from illnesses, and have proven to decrease depression & anxiety, improving our mental wellbeing. The forest can help us reignite our creativity, and can improve our cognition. The forest is a complete sensory experience! From the beautiful sight of animals and calming green hues, to sounds of birds songs, squirrel chirps, even trickling streams or a rushing waterfall. We smell pine and faint florals, even tasting them, and we feel the warmth or cool breezes of the wind, earth and sticks beneath our feet, branches against our skin, a walk in the forest is a full body + mind + soul nourishing afternoon!

 

 

⛰️🌲This week we traveled to the mountains!! So much peace lies in the mountains, in the crisp, clean air moving though our lungs to oxygenate the blood cells, improving respiration and circulation, and overall cardiovascular health! Our stress decreases, our physical activity increases, immunity and sleep improve. With less pollution and buildings, we breathe a sigh of relief, we connect to nature once again, reminded that we are actually part of this huge ecosystem! We are closer to the skies, the sun, moon, and stars, to the heavens, our spiritual growth may be felt more here in the mountains, as we are closer to divinity! It's no surprise that healers, shamans, and monks live in the highest mountains! We feel more grounded, more stable, centered, strong, focused, clear. We are unwavering, unmoved in the midst of a chaotic world around us! And, we take this incredible energy with us off our mat into our daily lives!

 

 

☀️🗻We began in our Tadasana, Mountain pose! Of course! We created our Breath of Joy, deep inhale through the nose, as we lift the hands forward from the chest, another sip of air as the arms float out to a T, another sip of air as the hands reach to the sky, exhale we melt into a forward fold, 3 more times Breath of Joy, bringing in that cool, crisp, mountain air! On the final fold, we melt to our backs for a reprieve! We ground the body to the earth, allowing the head and shoulders to become heavy, each vertebrae of the spine melting to the soil beneath us, the hips ground, and the arms and legs begin to soften. We inhale through the nose, from the toes up into the abdomen, taking up space, with an extra sip of air at the top of that breath, and slowly exhaled through the mouth. Each time, increasing the length of the inhale up into the chest, expanding through the ribs, and lungs, up to the crown of the head, each exhale become longer and slower from the crown to the toes, fully melting into the soil beneath us. We became present in the body and the space we're in, and allowed all of our past events to melt back to the earth, transformed into something new, something for our greater good. We sent our fears and worries and stressors out into the breeze, to be carried further and further away from us, no longer needed to carry, as we become cleansed, healing in action. We anchored to the peace found in this stillness. Our Ujayi breath followed, even lengths of inhale and exhale through the nose, grounding, stabilizing breath, with a gentle constriction at the back of the throat creating an ocean wave sound.

 

 

🏔️🌱We inhaled lengthening long, hands overhead, toes reaching forward, full body stretch, exhale as we created a Crescent Moon to the right. Even though the eyes are closed, we noticed what we see beyond the lids, finding peace and serenity in this darkness. We traveled to our smell, noticing what we smell around us, notes of neroli, rosemary essential oil mist I sprayed overhead, to help us connect to the senses! We scanned to our hearing, noticing the sound of our breath, the breath of our neighbor, the hum of the furnace, pinpointing an instrument in the music. We inhaled through center, exhale into our Crescent Moon to the left, and scanned to our taste, noticing the last thing we may have eaten, or a sip of cup of tea, coffee,  lingering in the mouth, separating the teeth, the tongue falling from the roof of the mouth. Lastly, we noticed our sense of touch, what we feel against the skin, the warmth of the air against the skin, the softness of our clothes, the stickiness of our mat, supporting us, cradling us, serving as our anchor, as we shed the layers that accumulate on the body and mind from daily life, bringing us back home to ourselves, lighter, more free. We came through center, inhaled into our T-pose, feet to the sky, right foot over the left, squeezing the thighs together, exhale the right leg long out to the right side of our room, cradling with the right hand, as the left hand pulled the left shin toward the left shoulder, opening the hips into this Arrow pose, inhaled back through center right leg over the left, into a Supine Twist to the left, melting into the earth. We came through center, honored the left side!

 

 

⛰️🌲We rock n rolled along the spine, 2-3 times, into a comfortable seat or half lotus pose. We anchored the sit bones, lengthened each vertebrae toward the next in line, crown to the sky. We formed our Garuda Mudra, thumbs meeting , rotating the hands so the right hand is above the left, then crossing the hands to form an Eagle with wings spread out! This mudra is perfect for our Mountain Healing class! This mudra improves circulation, respiration, and is grounding and stabilizing. One wing represents Resiliency, and the other Inner Freedom! The hands lifted overhead, and met in our Anjali mudra, prayer hands. We rubbed them to create some heat, some healing energy, remembering that our hands are tools for healing, and cupped the hands to the eyes, sending healing energy to the soul. Hands floated to the crown, sending healing energy to the mind, calming the chatter. The mind can become stuck in the past, ruminating over things that have been, or travel too far forward into the future with worry, but the body is always present, so here we connect and stay present. One hand floated to the forehead, and the other to the base of the skull, gentle pressure into our vagus nerve, serving as a nervous system reset button, finally bringing the hands to the heart sending gratitude to the heart and lungs, for the work they do every moment of every day, for us.

 

 

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⛰️☀️We reached the hands to the sky and to the right for a twist, peeling the right shoulder back to open the chest 5% more, opening our Anahata chakra, heart chakra, sending compassion, understanding, love out into the world. We arched the right hand to the sky and toward the opposite knee to open the side body, and then brought it to the left knee, crossing the arms, arching the back and dripping the chin. We honored the other side, and then came through center, planted the fingers behind us, opened the chest, arching the spine into a backbend, and melted into a forward fold. We unraveled the legs and melted the hips back into a child’s pose, bending the elbows, prayer hands overhead, thumbs melting to the nape of the neck. With our inhale we pressed into the palms to roll back into our Childs pose. We walked the hands to the right, sinking the hips back and to the left, walked the hands through center, and to the left, hips sinking back and to the right. We created a Childs pose wave, slowly rolled through the spine, arching the back, brushing the fingertips along the mat as we rolled toward our feet, the chin dripping toward the chest, until our glutes met the heels, and then creating a little backbend, hands to the earth, the spine waving long, crown reaching to the sky, the shoulders melting back, the arms extend out and up, palms together, to the heart, and melting forward, walking the fingertips into a forward fold. We repeated this 2 more times, delighting in this spinal awakening of the body, to land in a forward fold.

 

 

⛰️🐅Our cat cow flow followed as we warmed up the spine, adding in organic movement, hips swaying side to side, or rolling forward and back into Childs pose waving back and forward into our table top. We moved to our breath, our own pace, making our cat cow our own. We came into our neutral table top, inhaled as the gaze and right foot floated to the sky, bending at the knee, into our Mountain Lion, exhaled as the right knee curled into the chest, tapping the nose, arching the back, holding here, the left toes tucked, and we lifted the hips to raise the right leg high into our 3-Limb Downward Dog. We exhaled right knee into the chest, two times, and planted the right foot outside of the right hand, into our Dragon, who live in the mountains, melted the left knee to ground, as the hips melted down. We inhaled through the nose, exhaled our Dragon's Breath of Fire out through the mouth as we opened up to the right, coming onto the outer edge of the right foot, right hand resting on the right knee, gaze over the right shoulder. We came through center, right foot back to meet the left, downward dog, pedaling the feet, and melted the knees into our Table Top to honor the left side!

 

 

 

🐉⛰️In our downward dog, we created plank waves, floating into our plank, exhaling up into our Downward dog, 3 times, and pranam knees chest chin, into a low cobra, and up into our downward dog. We floated to the top of our mats into a forward fold, hanging heavy, and began to root to rise, we slowly lifted up, one vertebrae at a time, the head the last to come through, into our Tadasana, our mountain pose. We felt the grounding energy from the earth pull at the soles of our feet from the toes to the arches to the heels, like roots of a tree pulling us into he soil, anchoring us. This energy circled around the legs, to the pelvis, the hips, around each vertebrae of the spine to the shoulders as they melt down from the ears. The crown reaching for the heavens, we are stable, rooted, and anchored. We inhaled hands overhead, right hand to the left wrist, bending to the right, through center, side bend to the left. We came through center and to exhaled forward into a swan dive melted into a forward fold. We planted the hands and moved through a vinyasa flow, pranam knees chest chin into a low cobra, or a chaturanga flow to upward dog, or skipped the flow completely, stepping into downward dog. Always your choice!

 

 

⛰️🦅Our Mountain Flow began in Tadasana, and floated into Sidebends to the right and the left, exhaling through a swan dive into a fold, to move through a flow, into downward dog. We rolled forward into our Plank, and into a few mountain climbers, right knee to the right elbow, and back, left knee to the left elbow, and back, we rolled into our Sideplank into the right hand, left hand high, through center to the left, right hand high, through center, inhale right leg lifts, exhale right knee into the chest, hover, and thread it through to the left, Fallen Star, left hand high. Unravel the right leg, through center, right knee into the chest, curl the back, step the right foot forward, rise up, Crescent Warrior, inhale hands to the sky, exhale cactus the arms, left knee taps the earth, 2 more times, and float forward Warrior 3, left leg floats. Left leg softly lands to the back of the mat, Sky Archer, right leg straightens, left hand down, right hand high. We melt to the left heel, Skandasana, right leg extended, left hand plants inside the left knee, right hand high, side bend. We pivot to the back of our mat, frame the left foot, inhale Low Lunge, hands reach high, exhale hips tip back, Quarter Split, melt the heart. Inhale we roll forward, plant the right hand, lift the left knee, Twisted Lunge, left hand to the sky, left hand down, right foot steps in, straighten the legs, use blocks, into our Pyramid, melt the heart. See how we grew taller from the earth like a mountain! All of our pyramids look just like a mountain range in the room! So fun! We inhale floated forward, right toes high, Standing Splits, floated off the hands to rise into our Pilar, right knee floating, the hands raise up to the sky, and land at the heart in our Garuda mudra, eagle wings! The right knee opens out to the right, lands on the left leg into our Tree, or floats behind us, bent knee into our Dancer! The right foot softly lands behind us, top to our mat, as we land into our Goddess pose! A little dance side to side we move, hands to heart center, we inhale float into the right foot, left knee lifted into our Pilar, facing the upper corner of our mat. Hover here, then step the left foot behind us, straighten the right leg, left hand down, right hand high, Sky Archer! We inhale forward  into our right foot, Pilar pose, left knee lifted, and step through center into our Goddess pose, hands to heart center, and float into the left foot, Pilar pose, right knee lifted, step it back, Sky Archer, float forward into the left foot, Pilar, right knee lifted, and through center into our Goddess pose. A little dance side to side. Inhale as we float to the top of our mat, into our right foot, strong and steady, like a mounting, left foot lifted into our Pilar, we inhale hands overhead, and Garuda mudra at heart center, and wrap the left leg around the right, Eagle legs. Inhale we lift the Garuda eagle wings mudra to the sky, exhale we curl in, 2 more times, and extend the left leg behind us, Warrior 3, or bend the knee, Dancer pose! We let this go, ground the palms, Standing Splits, left toes high! We curl the left knee into the chest, and step it back, Twisted Lunge, right hand high! Right hand down, we step into our Plank, move through a flow, to meet in downward dog, float forward into a fold, and rise up! We honor the left side!

 

 

🌲🦅Our Somatic practice gives us tools to regulate our nervous system, to stimulate the vagus nerve that begins at the base of the brain and runs throughout the body touching every organ system! We agitated emotions stuck in the body, to help them release, and to serve as a reset button. I usually alternate between these tools each week! We began in our Tadasana, brought the right hand to the left upper side of the chest, and extended the left arm forward, palm facing the sky. With a deep inhale, we kept the hips forward, as the left arm slowly traveled out to the left side, gaze following, to the back, paused at the back with the gaze over our left shoulder, and on the exhale slowly brought the arm back toward the top of our mat. We repeated this two more times, inhaled as the arms reached overhead, palms gathered at the heart. We brought the left arm to the right upper side of the chest, extended the right arm forward, palm facing up, and with the inhale slowly traveled the right arm out to the side as the gaze followed, to the back, and paused opening the chest. With the exhale we brought the right arm slowly back to the top of our mat, and repeated 2 more times!  We rubbed the palms together to create some healing heat, and we brought the fingertips to the crown, massaging the fingertips all over the crown and behind the ears, even the base of the skull. We moved into the temples, massaging circles here, we dripped the fingers to the jaw, the hinge where we open and close the jaw, the perfect release for jaw clenchers like myself, and maybe you too. We pulled down on the ear lobes, pulled the middle of the ears out to the sides, up to the top of the ears pulling toward the sky. With one hand to the base of the skull, pressing into the vagus nerve, the other hand brought the index and middle fingers to the hairline at the forehead and began rolling the fingers down the forehead, between the eyebrows, down the bridge of the nose to the tip, repeating 3 times, and switching out the hands. We brought our fingertips to the base of the skull, pressing into our vagus nerve, and melted the fingertips toward the ears, along the jawline, and down the front of the neck to the collarbone. We repeated this 2 more times, releasing tightness in the throat. We tapped into the collarbone, with slow rythmic taps, all fingers in unison, into one of our acupressure points in the body. We brought this tapping to the sternum, center of the chest. We slowly tapped here, either with the fingertips or Bilateral Butterfly taps using cupped hands over one another on the chest, activating both hemispheres of the brain, continuing as we inhaled, paused to bring the hands to the heart, stacked on top of one another, and as we exhaled we audibly hummed into our bee breath🐝! If you hold tension here in the chest, this is a nice release! Humming is a somatic release, also good for respiratory infection season to break things up in the lungs, and humming has shown to reduce anxiety better than sleep! We crossed the arms at the chest, and squeezed into opposite shoulders, down to the biceps and triceps, and into the forearms. We brought the hands to the shoulders again for a squeeze, and swiped the hands down the arms, chest, abdomen, low back, and legs, making sure anything still tethered to the body is fully released. We released everything from last year, last month, yesterday, that we need to let go of, swipe it away, let yourself be freed of it, so we don't carry this heaviness any longer! Allow it to melt down your back! Let it drift into the snowy breeze, no longer needed in this moment!

 

 

⛰️🌱We came into stillness, then swayed right and left, and found stillness again, noticing the effects: we can feel cool, heat, or tingling sensations, even a spontaneous yawn! All signs of a regulated nervous system. We removed anything stuck, anything harmful & toxic still attached to the body! We stimulated the vagus nerve, the super highway of information from the brain to the body! We sent messages to the brain that the body is not under threat, it does not have to exist in a continuous active state (fight /flight/freeze mode). We helped our body to experience a larger capacity to sit in discomfort, and not immediately reach for unhealthy soothers, or run from it. We welcome space for triggers to be felt and moved through. We have the ability to help our nervous system shift fluidly between states when each are needed, the sympathetic & parasympathetic nervous systems! Both are useful and 100% needed, but we do not want to become stuck in one state for too long. These practices are so useful off the mat as we encounter stress or triggers in our daily lives! We find balance! We find freedom!