New Life Yoga Blog

How to return to CALM during stress.

12/20/2021

Practice Mindfulness:

Mindfulness is paying attention, on purpose, to what you are experiencing in the present moment, not judging yourself, instead offering kindness and curiosity to whatever you notice. A simple way to practice mindfulness or start paying attention to the present moment is through the five senses; sounds, sights, smells, tastes and felt sensations. Begin to notice your five senses in a mindful moment...
Give a mindful moment a try:

Stop what you are doing, close your eyes, listen to what you hear. Pause. Open your eyes, look at what you see. Pause.
Take a few deep breaths, notice what you smell. Pause.
Swallow and notice the tastes and textures in your mouth. Pause.
Touch a texture and notice how it feels on your finger tips. Pause.
Let everything melt away and bring complete focus to what you hear, see, smell, taste and feel in the present moment. Pause.

Focused Breathing:

Bringing awareness and intentionality to your breathing will help you feel calm, focused and able to be more present.
Try this simple breathing exercise:

Set a timer for 2 - 5 min.
Begin by just noticing how your breath sounds, how your body moves as you inhale and exhale, and notice the temperature of the air coming in your nose and out.
Then gently begin to slow your breath down and draw it deeper towards your belly button with a slow exhale.
Next begin to inhale to the count of five and exhale to the count of seven.
After that, when you are ready, drop counting and just continue breathing with a longer exhale until your timer goes off.
Lastly, notice how you feel.

Be KIND to yourself:

Take time everyday to intentionally be kind to yourself. Let kindness overflow from within…..let kindness start with you. Make a list of simple and doable ways you can be kind to yourself…….could be through simple self-care things you do and/or could be graciously shifting the thoughts you think about yourself.
Give this self compassion exercise a try:

Start by putting your hand over your heart.
Notice how your hand feels on your chest - weight, pressure and temperature.
Begin to notice how you feel. Give yourself permission to feel and be exactly where you are at this moment.
Then begin to offer kindness and compassion to yourself as you inhale.
Maybe you notice there is a part of you that needs grace, forgiveness, truth or positivity…..hold space for those parts and offer yourself what you need as you inhale and exhale.
Take as long as you want.

Aromatherapy

There are many aroma smells that can bring balance to the nervous system and help your body and emotions feel calm. Also pairing it with the breath exercise can be very calming.

A few suggested smells that are calming:

Lavender
Chamomile
Frankincense
Stress Away

**Please be aware some essential oil brands have additives (beyond a simple carrier oil) and are not 100% oil….we highly recommend only using 100 percent pure essential oils (with or without a carrier oil) when doing aroma therapy (it will say on the bottle if it is 100 percent pure).

Check out New Life Yoga Facebook page for FREE mindfulness & breathing practices that will help lead you to feeling grounded & calm! https://www.facebook.com/NewLife.YogaIL

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DIY Aromatherapy No Sew Eye Pillows

11/14/2020

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What are Eye Pillows and why are they important?
An eye pillow is a small pillow usually filled with, rice or seeds that you place over your eyes. The aromatherapy and light pressure of the eye pillow, when placed on the eyes, stimulates the nervous system to improve mood and lower heart rate. Specifically, the vagus nerve which regulates heart rate, digestion and is responsible for regulating mood. Because of the placement of the eye pillow, these nerves are massaged and therefore it can relieve stress and helps one feel at rest and calm.

What you'll need:

1 - 2 cups of uncooked Jasmine or long grain white rice
4 - 6 drops of your favorite calming essential oils
1 crew sock.

"New-Sew" DIY Eye Pillow Ingredients:

Uncooked Jasmine or long grain white rice.
Calming essential oils (these are some of my favorite to calm anxiety)
- Frankinsense
- Ylang-ylang
- Cedarwood
- Stress Away
- Lavender
Crew sock

Tools:

Large Mixing bowl
Mixing spoon
Tall drinking glass or funnel
Measuring cup

Instructions:

Begin by pouring 2 cups of uncooked rice into a large mixing bowl.

Add 4 drops of your favorite essential oil to the rice. Use the spoon to stir the rice until the oil is fully incorporated. This is where caution is best! Lightly sniff the rice and scented oil mixture to judge if the smell is too light or too strong.

A good rule of thumb is if you smell more rice than oil, add 1-2 more drops of oil. While essential oils are great, some can cause irritation on the skin, especially in the delicate eye region. In this case, less can be better. In the case that you add too much oil to the rice, simply take out 1/3 cup of the scented rice and replace it with 1/3 cup of unscented rice to try and diffuse the strength of the oil.

Once you have found the perfect balance of oils and rice for you, stir once more.

Now it’s time to add the rice mixture! Pour rice into the tall drinking cup slip the top of the sock over the cup and pour rice into cup OR Take one sock and insert a funnel into the opening and pour rice into sock.

Stretch the sock to evenly distribute the rice and pull it to better fit across your face. Eye pillows are not supposed to feel heavy on the eyes, but light like a pillow. Feel free to remove rice or add it to get the weight that is perfect for you.

Now take the top of the sock and tie it into a knot.

Finally, test the pillow on your face and eyes. Notice if the scent is too strong or if the pressure of the pillow is too much. To adjust weight or scent strength, see previous steps.

Stretch the sock to redistribute the rice evenly and give It one last test. There you go!

Uses
Eye pillows promote relaxation and calmness. These prove to be very useful in the more meditative and relaxing parts of yoga. For some, the calming scents even help to relieve headaches.

Besides relaxation, the eye pillow has many other uses! For hot days during the summer months, your eye pillow can double as a cold compress and provide an escape from the heat. Place your No Sew Eye Pillow in the refrigerator for an hour or two. Take your chilled pillow and apply it to your neck or anywhere else that needs cooling relief.

In addition, your No-Sew DIY Eye Pillows can be used as a heating pad for sprains or muscle pains. Warm the eye pillow in the microwave for no more than 15 seconds. Be careful not to burn the rice inside, for it will create a very unpleasant smell. Test the warmth on bare skin and apply to the area that is in pain. Just like that, a heating pad to help reduce aches!

Another use is to use the eye pillow as a fidget toy for restless hands.

Care
Keep your eye pillow in a dry and cool place to keep the rice fresh. Because it is a no-sew pillow, you can untie the knot and change the rice and scents to your pleasing. I would recommend changing the rice out at least every three months to keep the rice fresh. If you must wash the sock for any reason, please ensure that all the rice is emptied out of the sock before washing like normal.

The many uses of these No Sew Eye Pillows make this a perfect DIY craft project.. It is quick, easy and fun. Not to mention, a great sensory tool. They benefit your health and encourage relaxation.

Put your new aromatherapy no-sew eye pillow to use in Mindfulness Groups. (click for more details)

Some of the information about no-sew eye pillows came from Mosaic Kids Yoga

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Five tips to relieving stress and enjoying the Holidays

11/22/2019

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1. Keep it simple, more is not always better. Be intentional not indulging.

2. Practice Intentional Breathing. Inhale slowly into your belly 4 seconds. Hold for 2 seconds. Exhale slowly for 5 seconds. Repeat for 2-10 min.

3. Practice Mindfulness by taking mindful moments throughout your day. You can learn how to do a mindful moment at our online studio.

4. Using high quality essential oils that have calming properties.
Lavender, Frankincense or Stress Away are all ones that have calming properties. Inhaling or putting them on every 2-4 hours will bring calm.
If you want more information on essential oils email [email protected]

5. Take time to just BE instead of DO.
Self care is not selfish! Don't "do" self care....take care of yourself by participating in things that allow you to be still, to rest and just breathe.

May you enjoy your Holiday Season and take in the fullness of what it has for you.

Check out our December Mindfulness Groups or online studio (try a classes free).

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