Moonfasting

Give it a try, what have you got to lose when you have everything to gain?  

Sources:  

• Google Books
• India Divine
• Moon Diet

• Calms the brain
• Helps relieve stress and mild depression
• Relaxes the body
• Reduces headache, fatigue, and insomnia
• Helps to lower blood pressure

• Lay on the floor with the body in neutral position. (if back is uncomfortable see Variations below)
• Wiggle the chin down to the chest allowing the neck muscles to open & release as you relax.
• Turn the inner elbows & palms up to the sky, allowing the chest & shoulders to

• Back injury – keep knees bent.
• Pregnancy – lay on side in Fetal Pose

Getting Grounded

• Sitting on the ground
• Gardening
• Walking barefoot
• Swimming
• Yoga
• Meditation

This is just a small example of ways to bring that sense of grounding into your life, but it is really up to you to find what works for you! During our lives we have different points of experience in our life story, therefore what works now may not necessarily work later.  The point is to keep trying, always evolving and always learning about yourself.

I will conclude this article with one of my favorite grounding meditations.

• Begin by sitting in a quiet place that allows your back to be straight & both your feet on the ground.  Back of the hands resting on your thighs (which helps one to be open) .
• Eyes are closed, separate the teeth to relax the jaw & rest tongue to the roof of the mouth.
• Take 3 slow deep breaths letting the body know that you are going into meditation.
• Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.  Open yourself to receive Mother
  Earth’s energy. Feel this energy surround you like loving arms, sending you nurturing and unconditional love and acceptance.
• Feel an imaginary cord opening up underneath your body and visualize it rolling out to the core centre of the earth.
• A red colored grounding energy enters your body through this cord to the base of your spine.  Let it flow into your pelvis and the lower parts of your body.
• Direct it up the back of your spine and let it
  shine through the top of your head.
• Now feel the grounding energy go down the front of your spine and then into the lower body.
• Continue to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth as you feel it creating an energetic loop throughout your entire body grounding you to Mother Earth’s energy.

Have a wonderful August.

Peace & Love,

Robin

• engages every part of the body
• strengthens core, lower back & legs
• opens the hips and shoulders
• stretches the legs, ankles & calves
• tones spinal nerves
• concentration & balance

• Start from a standing star pose.
• Turn one foot to the front and other slightly inwards. Inhale and lean the back hip out as you reach over the front leg as far as you can.
• Bring front hand to the thigh as you bring the other arm straight up overhead.
• Ensure that the shoulders are stacked.
• Slowly slide the front hand down the leg keeping the shoulders stacked at all times.
• Avoid putting any pressure on the knee joint.
• If you choose to look up tuck your chin into the shoulder.

• Heart Condition: Practice against a wall. Keep the top arm on the hip.
• Neck: Don’t turn your head to look upward; continue looking straight ahead and keep both sides of the neck evenly long.
• High blood pressure: Turn the head to gaze downward in the final pose.
• Low blood pressure
• Diarrhea
• Headache

• Opens the hips, groins, back & torso
• Stretches the ankles & calves

• Squat with your feet wide, heels in toes out if possible. *Keep your heels on the floor if you can; otherwise, support them on a folded mat. This is better than trying to balance on the balls of your feet!
• Press your elbows against your inner knees, bringing your palms to together in Namaste.
• Roll the shoulders back to maintain a straight spine
• To increase the stretch Press the elbows more into the knees.
• Hold for at least 1 minute, to come out slowly stand up.

Hiking: an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking have been confirmed in various studies.  From Wikipedia

• Strengthens thighs, calves, ankles, and spine
• Stretches the groins, inner thighs, chest & shoulders
• Improves sense of balance
• Relieves sciatica and reduces flat feet

• Mountain (Tadasana)
• Shift the weight onto on foot and bring the opposite foot into the inner thigh.
• Steady your gaze and connect with your breathe
• Brings palms to Namaste and press them together as you press the foot into the thigh.
• Option: Brings hands up center line & overhead.

• Do pose against the wall if you are `tippy` 
• Keep hands separated, palms facing each other 
• Look up to increase balance intensity 
• Close your eyes! 

Write the question down and before nodding off try a simple prayer, meditation, or make a request of the part of you that is connected to a higher source: ask that whatever is revealed to you (a) be for your highest good and the highest good of all concerned, (b) that it is revealed in ways that you can understand and (c) that you are granted the wit to perceive and the strength and courage to act on what information you are given.  <<read more>>

More Sleepy Stuff:

• Sleep Challenge 2010: Women, It’s Time to Sleep Our Way to the Top. Literally!
• Beauty Sleep: Look Younger, Lose Weight, and Feel Great Through Better Sleep
• 7 Surprising Facts About Sleep
• Sleep Challenge: Launch It with Your Team at Work, Including Your Boss

Source: The Huffington Post

Uttanasana

Benefits: Soothes the mind and relieves stress. May help alleviate mild depression. Stretches the hamstrings, calves, and hips. Strengthens the thighs & knees when lifting the quadriceps. For some headaches can relieved and a good pose to do to reduce fatigue. May also help digestion & menstrual pains. And opens space in the spine. Asthma, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and sinusitis may be alsp assisted by this posture.

How to: From Mountain Pose (Tadasana) inhale and as you exhale  lengthen the front of your body as you fold over the legs. The goal is to work towards placing your fingers and then your palms on the floor and eventually to placing the hands next to the feet and finally behind the heels. Avoid bending knees.  A basic forward bend actually occurs in the muscles of the legs rather than in the spine.  Through lengthening of the muscles in the back of the legs one eventually can bend at the waist and fold the upper body flat against the legs. When you have gone as deeply as you initially can stay there a few breaths while stretching the legs on the inhale and gradually easing a bit deeper into the pose with the exhale. The chin is moving towards the shin rather then the head to the knees.
 
To come out, lift out of the pose on an inhalation.  Raise your head and lift your hands overhead and return to Tadasana.  

Cautions:  Careful to not overstretch the hamstrings & the knees are straight but avoid locking them. Avoid if low back or neck injury.

Variations:  Padangusthasana (Big Toe Pose) After bending forward, grab the big toes. Inhale & straighten arms while lifting the torso away from the thighs, concaving your back. Hold a few breaths, exhale and lengthen down and forward, bending your elbows out to the sides.