Bon Voyage

Jennifer Weiss, Limber Llama Yoga, demonstrates Locust Pose, a great chest opener after a day of travel.

Bon Voyage

Yoga-to-Go

June kicks off the summer travel season for most including me.  I start planning for any vacation with a to-do list.  What needs to go, what needs to be washed, what errands still need to be run.  I thrive on these lists and all the pre-planning.  Though, once we step out the door, I have to let go of control.

Airline postponements, road construction and weather delays are all out of our control.  But they have such an effect on our emotional state.  Sitting on the tarmac for more than 30 minutes gets anyone’s blood pumping.  Oh, and what if you are traveling with little ones?  They are less patient than adults.  Here are a few tips to help you survive this travel season.

Travel Tips

1. Stay hydrated.  Dehydration causes all sorts of misery like headaches, crankiness, constipation and anxiety.  Carry a reusable water bottle.  If traveling by air, leave out the water, but pack lemon slices in the bottle.  Once you’re past security, add water and enjoy.
2. Eat well.  You are at the mercy of flight schedules and traffic delays.  Don’t allow yourself to get hungry.  Pack foods that are easy to store like nuts, granola, apples, oranges and bananas.  When you are able to eat, choose foods that agree with you.  (i.e. If Mexican dishes give you heartburn, expect heartburn plus more indigestion while traveling.)
3. Bring entertainment.  Normally, I’d suggest meditating during delays, but it’s not always possible or easy.  Pack a book or magazine (or download to your device) to challenge and distract your mind during those tough times.
4. Pack a scarf, wrap, jacket or sweater.  Temperature can also affect our mood.  It’s best to dress in layers so you can control how cool or warm you need to be.
5. Silence is golden.  Turning off our senses helps calm the mind.  Pack ear plugs, close your eyes and breathe.
6. Above all, patience is important.  Life it too short to sweat the small stuff.  So you missed your flight.  There will be another.  Cultivate the love and patience you practice on the mat, and demonstrate it now.

Yoga-to-Go

Certain yoga poses can alleviate body aches, mental frustration and indigestion.  You can print or view my Destination Yoga sequence or try some of the below poses.  And if you don’t have room for a yoga mat, purchase a pair of Yoga Paws and use a towel at the hotel

1. Downward Facing Dog:  This pose opens up the entire backside of your body releasing tension from the travel.
2. Low Lunge:  Sitting wreaks havoc on our hips.  And tight hips equal a tight and sore back.
3.  Child’s Pose: Feel grounded with your forehead touching the earth.  This pose also alleviates digestion issues by opening up the lower back.
4. Happy Baby:  Allow your worries to sink into the ground with this pose.  Release low back pain and open the hips while improving digestion.
5. Locust Pose:  Rounded shoulders and a weak low back are the effects of sitting too much.  Practice locust to open the chest and shoulders while strengthening the back.  

     Happy Travels!

Ditch Your Chair

Ditch Your Chair

We sit while we drive to work.  We sit at our desks.  We sit during three boring meetings.  We sit at our desk or in our car to eat lunch.  We come home and guess what?  We sit some more.

We spent a lot of time sitting, and all of this sitting is taking a toll on our health.  Sitting, while it is relaxing, shortens the hip flexors (those muscles that run along the front of your legs and attach to the spine).  Tight hip flexors inhibit the torso from lifting up and causing us to overarch the lower back.  The result: weak, tight hips and back muscles that cause pain, discomfort, poor posture and other illnesses in the body.

Being in pain adds not only stress to our jobs, but also costs us more moolah.  Back pain costs Americans around $15 billion per year in medical care and disability payments.  Recent studies show that 75% of healthcare spending is for preventable illnesses (keyword PREVENTABLE).  Alarmingly, medical reimbursements for low-back pain in the U.S. alone, is $34 billion annually! (BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, June 2012)

Taking the first step to reclaim your health is hard.  You have to want to do it for you.  It can’t be forced or it will never become part of your daily life.  So, are you with me?  Are you ready to change? 

We begin with getting out of your chair during the day.  Park at the back of the parking lot, ride a bike to work (not the Harley kind) or climb the stairs to a different bathroom.  Walk outside during lunch or when you get home in the evening.  Your new keyword is MOVE.  Do whatever you can to move throughout the day even if that means dancing in your cube.

In addition, yoga can help undo what corporate America has done to our bodies.  Simple stretches like lunges and twists can bring relief to back sufferers.  In fact, just 15 minutes of mindful breathing and stretching has been proven to dramatically reduce both respiratory rate and blood pressure - two more contributors to chronic health. (BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, June 2012)

Here are a few resources I’ve collected to help start you on your new journey.  Download and print any of Limber Llama’s flowing yoga sequences including the “Ditch Your Chair” sequence to keep at your desk.  View videos and read tips from Yoga Journal’s “Office Yoga” workshop or iTunes app Office Yoga.  Awaken body awareness with Yoga International’s article on finding your psoas (a key muscle in opening the hip flexors.)