Monday, July 29, 2013

Work at Home Mums - Simple Exercises For the Mind and Body - Yoga Breathing

Have you ever given up on an activity like meditation or yoga because you don't have the time? For busy work at home mums, taking an hour to try and do meditation, pilates, yoga, relaxation techniques or mind training is usually a luxury that we just can't afford to do daily. Have you thought of doing some of these mind and body exercises on a daily basis but just for a FEW MINUTES? You'd be surprised at the new spring of energy and mind power that will emerge from just those few minutes of meditation, relaxation, mind coaching or self awareness.

The daily routine of work at home mums is filled with appointments, stress, noise, demands, multi-tasking, physical work, travel and a commitment to others. How often do you actually channel back within yourself, take a pulse on your body and mind, and create new energy which emerges from within? Personally, the only way I used to become aware of my body was when it had been aching, and generating new energy meant drinking more coffee! I have however started using a few methods and have found that not only I am able to exercise some techniques in just a small amount of time} every day, but I feel immediate benefits with reducing stress, increasing my energy levels, helping my mind focus, enlightening my spirit, and improving my mood. That sounds good doesn't it?

I would like to introduce the varied techniques that I utterly recommend for work at home mums. Most importantly, the techniques I will share can be completed in brief sessions. Needless to say, if you actually develop a new passion and have the desire of becoming a master at using them, there's plenty to learn and expand on in every of those. I'll cover the first technique in this article.

A Few Minutes For Your Body and Mind Series: Technique One: Yoga Breathing.

Yoga breathing is best done lying on your back with your hands resting a little apart just underneath your diaphragm, however it can also be done sitting down while keeping your spine straight, legs crossed, shoulders relaxed and the back of your hands resting on your knees.

Step One: Abdominal breathing: Watch your natural breath pay attention to how your abdomen moves in and out along with your breath. Then start to intensify, stretch and extend the movement with every inhalation and exhalation. Fill and empty your abdomen completely with every breath, without straining. For ten breaths, do not breathe into your chest, limit the movement to the abdomen, and then take some seconds rest.

Step 2: Thoracic (chest) breathing: Observe again your normal breath but this time see how your chest moves. Then start to intensify, lengthen and extend the movement. Satiate your lungs completely on inhalation, then exhale and allow your lungs to collapse fully, sinking to the lowest point. For ten breaths, {keep the abdomen still, and move only the chest|breath only into your chest, and keep your abdomen still.

Step Three: Full yogic breathing: Merge abdominal and chest breathing in the one breath as follow: Inhale deeply into the abdomen, and then continue inhaling up and expanding to fill your chest. Hold it for a second or so. Now breathe out first from the top of the chest down, emptying the air out of your chest first, then the abdomen, moving the air down and out until completely empty. Repeat this abdomen-to-chest inhalation and chest-to-abdomen exhalation, sort of a rolling motion, for 20 breaths. I prefer to lay still for a short moment afterwards, just returning to my natural yet deepened breath and enjoying my relaxed mind and body.

I hope you enjoy this straightforward yet renewing breathing technique as much as I do. It is perfect for work at home mums: it needs no equipment and takes only a few minutes! Stay tuned for my forthcoming posts for this series with more short and easy body and mind renewing techniques.








Justine Simard is a mum and business owner. Visit sheerambition.com/workathomemums.html Work At Home Mums to learn about a work from home business opportunity which allows mothers to achieve a greater income, a better lifestyle and more freedom, while also learning about self-growth and personal development.

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