"'Vagusstoff' [the substance released from your vagus nerve] (acetylcholine) is like a tranquilizer that you can self-administer simply by taking a few deep breaths with long exhales. Consciously tapping into the power of your vagus nerve can create a state of inner-calm while taming your inflammation reflex."

Simply put, taking some slow inhales and even slower exhales will at the very least calm you down, and at best, help reduce the body's biological markers for inflammation response. Which means, less pain, less stress, less illness.

"Healthy vagal tone is indicated by a slight increase of heart rate when you inhale, and a decrease of heart rate when you exhale. Deep diaphragmatic breathing—with a long, slow exhale—is key to stimulating the vagus nerve and slowing heart rate and blood pressure, especially in times of performance anxiety."

Breathing with focused aware (mindful) inhales and consciously slowed exhales will help realign your mind body connection, bringing you into the "yogic" place. By paying attention to the breath, you are giving your body, via vagus nerve stimulation AND being present, the opportunity to calm. With calm comes relaxation, with relaxation comes restoration.

"Recently, an international team of researchers from Amsterdam and the United States conducted a clinical trial which demonstrates that stimulating the vagus nerve with a small implanted device significantly reduced inflammation and improved outcomes for patients with rheumatoid arthritis by inhibiting cytokine production."

You read that right. Increasing vagal tone was found to create improved QOL for patients with an autoimmune condition. Cytokenes are the nasty particles that start the inflammatory response. Vagus nerve stimulation reduced the level of these chemicals in the body.

But I don't do the article justice by cutting and pasting. I know how great deep rhythmic pranayama (breathing exercises) feel. But to read that there is scientific proof to WHY the body feels better after a breathwork session, well that satisfies both sides of my brain, and my entire being as well. Thanks for reading, and much healing to all.

Read the complete article here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201607/vagus-nerve-stimulation-dramatically-reduces-inflammation

UPDATE: another article this time from neuroscience news (thank you Amy Wheeler for the references) says

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered for the first time that the rhythm of breathing creates electrical activity in the human brain that enhances emotional judgments and memory recall.

Read that whole article here: http://neurosciencenews.com/memory-fear-breathing-5699/ Learn more »

I am not someone that likes to be in photos. Not unlike many, I am hyper-critical of the way I come across in two-dimensions, and find it hard to look with loving eyes at my self in a static form. It's when I'm moving, interacting and breathing that I feel beautiful.

But sometimes, someone is able to capture the spirit of what you feel, when you aren't worried about what you look like. When you don't worry about smiling or "smizing" or how your teeth look or whether or nor you are sucking in your belly, or how your deodorant wore off a hour before. When you are just having fun being silly, among friends, a little self conscious but encouraged to be playful.

HP Hart (Good Eye Designs), a friend who has children that attend the same school as my son, is the resident photographer at the school, and captures amazing things with her lens. She is rarely without her camera, and she has an intuition about people and their expressions that goes beyond the image...far beyond.

I chose NOT to pose for her, and she caught me a little off guard just goofing around with a scarf. The yoga here is in the joy I felt allowing her to snap a few pics while I played, while I breathed, while I was FREE. Enjoy.

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Challenge question - how many of you go to a studio to practice yoga? Go ahead, raise your hand, no one is looking. But how many of you swing your body into Ashtavakrasana, or Balasana, or Tadasana (eight-bent limbed balance pose, child's pose, standing mountain) and just zone out, thinking about your job, or your grocery list, or your toenail polish, or the leaky faucet you have to fix? How many (of US) get grumpy when you have a substitute teacher? How many (of US) get upset when we fall out of tree pose, or our hamstring is too tight to allow a deep down-dog?

First and foremost I want to say one thing: swinging you body into a pose, zoning out, worrying about life, getting grumpy or frustrated - THERE is NOTHING inherently wrong with experiencing those things. That's life!

But I have to tell you something - if you experience those things but never move beyond them, never "forgive" or PAUSE or zone back in... then yeah, you're still doing ASANA but the actual YOGA... that's getting left out. If we never improve the practice beyond just moving the body, we are missing the bigger picture - the conscious activity of joining together the breath, the mind AND the body to create this cooperative experience people for 6000 years have called YOGA.

Yoga, real yoga as I'm learning it, takes patience and a jarring loose of the notion that you, and your body, and your mind will automatically know what to do, inherently succeed (if you are used to be very athletic) or dismally fail (if you are not). Real yoga, takes training, and practice, and patience, and awareness of when you ARE in a yogic place, and when you have strayed.

We (teachers) often say "come back to the breath." But what do we mean, exactly? For myself, I need to be reminded that I want to be in a place during my practice (and in life in general) where I am AWARE of my breathing and that I can control it. If I'm flowing through a sun salute and I'm panting like a down-dog on a hot summer day and falling over, you can be sure that not only am I not in control of what is happening I'm pretty unaware of it as well, and quite possibly focused on simply surviving much less "doing yoga!"

So how do we turn that moment back into yogic one? Well, how I do it may differ from what works for you, and for my son, and for my companions. But for me, just the act of realizing I'm way OUT of the moment is enough. It's a start anyway.

That my new friends, is what defines MY yogic moment. The act, the forgiveness, the awareness. The body. The mind. The breath. Not just one, but all three. The sanskrit "holy trinity" the above, the below, and what connects them.

Asana is great - a good sweat, or a good restorative posture will do a body good. And course asana is a big part (like, a third, or one of 8 limbs depending on how you slice up your Hatha pie) of YOGA in and of itself. But asana independent of awareness (aka sans mindfulness), well, that's just exercise. NOT THAT THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT. But if you want more, you'll need to practice. It can help to practice with teachers that also admit to being human, that understand the struggle, and offer you the space to find your path and hone your awareness.

So work on abandoning relegating this "thing" we call yoga to the category of just exercise. You may be surprised to find out it really is much much more. Learn more »

Last weekend I was the keynote entertainment at the birthday party of a young lady who was turning six. She and six of her friends were treated, on a VERY warm Sunday afternoon to two hours of yoga and yoga -oriented crafts that I'll detail here.

NOTE: Feel free to use my ideas...or of course, bring B'yomYoga to YOUR next kids event (or adults for that matter). Crafts can be creating custom-scented lotions like below, felt lotuses (one i can't wait to try), pipe-cleaner creations, yog-art (foam door hangers, picture frames, visors etc.), or we can even come up with something even more unique. Pricing varies according to the craft but in general a party of 10 kids for 2 hours would run about $200 (I bring the mats and all yoga tools including craft items).

Advanced prep for lotion craft

Purchased the lotion tubes with caps and apothecary bottles with dropper lids from a company in LA for a decent price well in advance).

Bought large bottles of unscented, non-animal tested lotion (this time it was St. Ives brand) and filled each of the lotion bottles about 2/3 full (while using the spillage to REALLY moisturize my arms and legs LOL).

Selected 15 different essential oils, perfumes, oil blends, etc. from my personal stock. Using perfume base  I bought from Body Time in Berkeley http://www.bodytime.com/ (though I think witch hazel might suffice) I filled the apothecary bottles most of the way full, then added two to three droppers full of any one of the oils/perfumes to provide a good dilute product. It was infinitely easier to add this to the oils rather than allow young ones to try to shake out droplets or accidently overpour a strong essential oil.

Day of event

With mats, stuffed animal eye pillows, Hoberman Sphere, kids playlist on my ipod and craft gear in tow, I headed off to the party site.

The hostess mom cleared a living room space for us and had a table set up and ready to go when I arrived.

I started by handing out the lotion bottles and a bag of foam letter stickers and asking each girl to find her initial then place them somewhere on the bottle (but not on the cap) so we could easily identify them later on.

I then passed around a handful of the dropper bottles and we talked about what each smelled like, what colors did they make us think of, what did they remind us of, etc.  To keep things simple I chose just a few I thought would be appealing to six-year olds, and also  passed around a small cup of coffee beans to cleanse their nasal palates in between scents. Some of their cute comments:

• Sweet Orange: "fruity" "sweet"
• Eucalyptus: "minty" "strong" "trees"
• Holiday (a blend from ?): "cookies" "spicy" "perfume"
• Dewberry (a scent from The Body Shop): "fruity", "a really really nice perfume on someone"
• Amber: (an oil blend I've had for years that I picked up at Whole Foods): everyone agreed this was "green and soapy clean" smelling

With a former party of 10 year olds I allowed them to carefully drop in their own scents, cautioning that more than 2 droppers were made the scent TOO strong. With 4-6 year olds, this task was best left to defter hands so I asked them one by one to hand me their bottles and let me know what scent or scents they liked. Most chose the Sweet Orange, some mixed that with the Amber, and on really wanted the Holiday. They were all so excited I couldn't help but smile as they kept opening and closing their bottle caps sniffing eagerly.

Then we gathered into a circle in the living room, held our bottles tight, and SHOOK THEM UP ALL OVER THE PLACE - over our heads, between our knees, to the left, to the right, in circles... ...this was our yoga warm up to get the wiggles out after they sat for 20 minutes discussing perfumes!

After this we put the lotions aside, and brought out the mats. I arranged the multiple colors of mats in a star patter, the inner edges of the mat overlapping due to space constraints and told the girls to choose a spot but not to worry about where they were because we were going to move around. A few protests about colors and neighbors but eventually we settled in, and took seat.

Hoberman Sphere Breathing Exercises

I started with the pranayama exercises, showing them how to do the in-thru-your-nose-out-thru-your-nose yogic breath, and then used the "breathing ball" aka Hoberman Sphere to demonstrate how the lungs inflate then deflate. They were completely absorbed in the lesson, and with quiet attentiveness they even took my suggestions to try to move the body very little, just the lungs, cultivating awareness of our breath while limited physical movement. Each girl then had a chance to lead the class in a few rounds of breathing, opening and closing the ball all on her own, while singing (if she so chose) the breathing chant. Most took me up on the offer, some just wanted to use the ball, and other politely passed altogether.

After our nice warm up we moved on to making "yoga birthday cake," an activity with spine exercises that engages the kids creativity as they come up with ingredients to mix into the "bowl" (legs in wide baddhakonasana). The best part is asking them to balance on their seats while holding their feat and moving them in circles like they are blending with a mixer, and of course showing them how to "lick the spatula" by bringing their foot close to their heads!

After we put the cake in the "oven" (we get back to the metaphor later) I introduced them to the FIVE WARRIOR PRINCESSES. Working slowly and showing them the basic body positioning I walked them through:

• Virabhadrasana 1: Princess #1 who faces forward ready to meet challenges strongly
• Virabhadrasana 2: Princess #2 who faces sideways like a surfer, guiding the others and ready to share love
• Virabhadrasana 3: Princess #3 who can fly above all looking for those that need peace
• Reverse Warrior: Princess #4 who raises her front arm as if holding a glorious trophy, proud of her accomplishments:
• Humble Warrior: Princess #5 who knows to acknowledge the gifts of others, is proud of her self but not boastful, and thanks others for their help.

We reviewed each on on the left and right sides of our bodies, and even tried some modifications like trying it on our knees or even on our bellies (for a fun version of V3). Then each girl got to pick her favorite and describe how it made her feel, then we'd all do that pose with her. The choices were varied, with two really liking the humble version because it gave them "a really good stretch" in the arms, and some liked V2 because we would do surfer arms and lean into the circle, then out of the circle like riding waves.

All throughout, whenever they complained of being too hot I would whip out my handy eucalyptus scented water in a spray bottle and mist it over the willing yoginis (taking special note to ask them to close their eyes so it wouldn't sting). This has been a FAVORITE part of all my kids yoga classes this summer. I just filled a 12 oz. bottle with filtered water, put in 10 drops of eucalyptus oil (and a few of orange too I think), shook and give them a gentle spritz! We also took plenty of water breaks.

One girl, younger than the rest, asked if it was okay if she sat out (I believe she was overwhelmed with the activity) and though she didn't physically participate, she sad quietly and watched the entire class (and even enjoyed the misting spray!).

Once the princesses (imaginary and literal) were exercised, we sat back down and "DING" the "cake" was done. A few quick abdominal exercises to pretend to pull the racks out of the oven with our feet, and then we shared the cake on our own belly picnic tables (Reverse table tap). I worked up a sweat crab-walking around the room sharing my cake with the group!



Savahhhhhhsana!



And finally, as one little girl kept asking (when is the rest time?), we worked our way towards savasana. I handed out my special rice/flax/lavender/chamomile stuffed animals and asked the girls to lay down as quietly as they could, resting their eyes and their legs and their hands. I read a a quick relaxation excerpt from a kids yoga book, and noticing they were fidgety, wrapped up quickly. Back to seated pose we went, then a sweet Namaste and it was back to our craft. The girls were sweet enough to help me roll up the mats (albeit less tidily than I needed to fit it all back into my suitcase but still, the effort was heartfelt and heartily acknowledged)

On the table I had placed two portioned plates of sea creature foam stickers, glitter square stickers, metallic butterfly and ice cream stickers, foam letters, paint pens, glitter glue pens, puffy paints and glitter paint. And some very special crystal stickers in the shape of (of course) princess crowns, hearts, and more.

My only request was that they didn't use more than 2 of the crystal stickers so that there were enough to go around. I also advised them on techniques for holding their bottles to ensure they didn't end up smearing the paint or simply covering their fingers in glitter! Other than that, their job was to just be creative and decorate their bottle in any way they wanted! They all did such a good job, deftly applying the stickers and paints and glues to create personal works of art. They were very excited to have their OWN lotion too!

The yoga entertainment portion of the party complete, the girls settled in to sing Happy Birthday, inhale some homemade chocolate cupcakes courtesy of the hosting mom, and on to the best part (for the guest of honor): OPENING PRESENTS. She did holler a quick "LOVE YOU" over the din of squeals and oohs and ahhs as I walked out the door, and I left with a smile on my face (and sweat on my brow), and love in my heart.

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Why? Now, what is your least favorite yoga class? Why?

I have been told and am slowing learning this: that things which you find most difficult or not desirable might be what you should explore! Trying to embrace this lesson, I brought to my yoga class this morning the ideas of moving slowly, cultivating a place of quiet, of silence...a meditative space...and one infused with non-judgement.

I am not a power vinyasa girl, but i do like to move, to challenge myself, and keep my mind busy. So practicing meditation does not come naturally for me...and therefore all the more reason to 'talk myself through it' as part of an experiment in Community Yoga this morning.

We started with a discussion of OM - what it means, what it is...what you can do with it, and what it can do for you. From there we moved to chanting OM - and new yoga people being shy, of course, i was the sole voice resonating the AUM sound - and I was happy to share my sound with the group and help them experience it.

And then, pranayama - practicing extending breath counts, evening the inhale and exhale, slowing them down consciously, and really really really going within. I found myself incredibly wrapped up in the explanation and the experience, taking my breath to a resonant cadence in an effort to embody and exemplify it for the group. And they returned the favor by emanating a wonderful sense of serenity, of being "in the moment," of trusting the experience! It was wonderful.

We started our asana practice with moving the spine in 6 directions, deep and slow, concentrating on the breath, and the range of motion of our bodies - not trying to force into a picture of a pose, but just going with what our bodies and breath were comfortable.

A little more breath work (breath of fire) while doing a low navasana (boat pose) to build some heat, then up slowly for some standing poses. We did some very slow transitions into balance poses...again, savoring the experience of it by letting the breath guide us - paying attention to which parts of our bodies we automatically allowed to become inactive and encouraging them to join the pose.

Deep Yin-style lunges helped open our hips, and then we worked our hamstrings in intense side-stretch (pyramid or parsvottanasana). From there we alternated chair pose to forward folds.

Back at the ground we sunk deeply into a savasana, communing with nature. The challenge was to be able to allow the thoughts to disperse with all the sensory distractions of being outside. We concluded savasana with a quick reading from the chapter on Pure Potentiality from Chopra's "Seven Spiritual Laws" book, and then returned to lengthening our breath counts to awaken us from our rest. 

I always like to invite comments about the experience of the class - to help me hone my teaching skills but also create and atmosphere of openness, of equality, of discourse... hearing that people were enjoying the process of noticing new things in their bodies, and even finding themselves able to really slow down and ENJOY a slow class made me feel...aglow!

So teaching this class was a particular challenge for me, working on suspending unnecessary humor, being very mindful of each soul in attendance, keeping the rhythm steady, but slow, and concentrating on the moment to moment experience rather than worrying and rushing from vinyasa to vinyasa. i found myself loving this experience more than I ever would have expected, and I gratefully thank those that came to share it with me!

Namaste!

Jackie

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