Monthly Archives: July 2018

Finding Balance: A Movement Practice to Integrate the Right and Left Hemispheres of the Brain

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A Note from Tracy: Research has proven that yoga is an effective tool to help overcome depression, according to this article recently published in Harvard Health Publishing. Effective yoga practices to combat depression are about more than movement, however. Breath and meditation are equally, if not more, important. In this series of articles, I will share six practices (some movement, some breath, and some meditation) from my series Overcoming Depression with Yoga. Enjoy!

If you ever experience mental fog or have difficulty focusing, the 15-minute movement practice below can help. It’s great for preparing the brain to study, teaching your mind to focus, or simply clearing away the doldrums. Enjoy!

Practice in good health! Next week I’ll share a breath practice that further integrates the right and left hemispheres of the brain. If you’re interested in learning more about my private yoga therapy practice and yoga teacher training, visit my website at http://svanayogaseattle.com/

Tracy Weber

My newest Downward Dog Mystery, Pre-Meditated Murder is available now in e-book and paper back copies everywhere! Check this link for some local ideas. http://tracyweberauthor.com/buy_premeditated.html

Light In, Fog Out Meditation

A Note from Tracy: Research has proven that yoga is an effective tool to help overcome depression, according to this article recently published in Harvard Health Publishing. Effective yoga practices to combat depression are about more than movement, however. Breath and meditation are equally, if not more, important. In this series of articles, I will share six practices (some movement, some breath, and some meditation) from my series Overcoming Depression with Yoga. Enjoy!

The meditation below helps you invite in positive energy while releasing all that doesn’t serve you. Enjoy!

Light in, Fog Out Meditation:

Sit comfortably, with your spine erect and the crown of your head floating up to the ceiling.
Allow your eyes to close and notice your breath—without intentionally trying to change it. Bring your attention to the sensation of movement in your belly as you breathe in and out.
After 2 – 3 minutes or whenever you are ready, begin imagining the breath as energy.
Breathe in, and imagine that all of the positive energy of the universe enters your body with the breath. Visualize this energy as a pure, white light that pervades every cell and fiber of your being.
Breathe out, and imagine that all your negative energies—sadness, tiredness, mistakes and misunderstandings—leave your body with the breath. Visualize these negative energies as either a black smoke or a vaporous fog that leaves with your exhale, goes out into space, and completely dissolves and disappears.
When your mind is distracted by other thoughts, simply notice them. Then with your next inhale, breathe in the pure, white, positive energy and begin the meditation again.
Continue this meditation for 10 minutes or longer if you’d like.

Next week I’ll share a movement practice that helps build focus and integrates the right and left hemispheres of the brain. If you’re interested in learning more about my private yoga therapy practice and yoga teacher training, visit my website at http://svanayogaseattle.com/

Thanks!

Tracy Weber

My newest Downward Dog Mystery, Pre-Meditated Murder is available now in e-book and paper back copies everywhere! Check this link for some local ideas. http://tracyweberauthor.com/buy_premeditated.html

Full Torso Breathing to Combat Depression

A Note from Tracy: Research has proven that yoga is an effective tool to help overcome depression, according to this article recently published in Harvard Health Publishing. Effective yoga practices to combat depression are about more than movement, however. Breath and meditation are equally, if not more, important. In this series of articles, I will share six practices (some movement, some breath, and some meditation) from my series Overcoming Depression with Yoga. Enjoy!

The simple breath practice below can be done seated or lying. Doing it seated will provide a subtly more energizing effect. The practice is balanced enough that it can be done any time of day. If you practice it regularly, you will create greater balance in your life. (And who doesn’t want more of that?)

Full Torso Breathing

Come to a comfortable seated or lying position. Place one hand on your belly below your navel and the other on your chest near your collar bones.
Notice the natural pattern of your breath. How long or short is your breath? How full or shallow? How smooth or rough? Notice which hand moves first. The top or the bottom? Do you feel more expansion in the chest or the belly?
Now, modify your natural breath pattern. Imagine that you inhale into your top hand first, then then expand your belly as if you could breathe into your bottom hand. With each exhale, pull in your belly and feel your bottom hand move toward your spine.
Gradually, over several breaths, lengthen both your inhale and exhale. Continue to imagine that you can breathe into your entire torso, including the collar bones, ribs and belly. If your inhale is longer than your exhale, shorten it until both are equal. The inhale should not be longer than the exhale and at no time should you strain your breath.
Once you reach a lengthened breath, breathe at this rate for approximately 5 minutes. With each inhale, imagine that you breathe into the top hand first, then the bottom. With each exhale, pull in your abdominal muscles.
After about 5 minutes, gradually return your breath to a natural rhythm.
Notice the new natural pattern of your breath. What differences do you feel from the beginning of practice? How long or short is your breath now? How full or shallow? How smooth or rough? Do you feel more expansion in the chest or the belly than you did at the beginning of the practice? Relish this new breath rhythm and carry this awareness of breathing to the rest of your day.

I hope you find this practice useful. Next week I’ll share one of my favorite meditations for conquering depression. If you’d like to learn more about private yoga therapy and yoga teacher training, visit my website at http://svanayogaseattle.com/

Tracy Weber

My newest Downward Dog Mystery, Pre-Meditated Murder is available now in e-book and paper back copies everywhere! Check this link for some local ideas. http://tracyweberauthor.com/buy_premeditated.html

Gentle Movement Practice to Overcome the Blues

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A Note from Tracy: Research has proven that yoga is an effective tool to help overcome depression, according to this article recently published in Harvard Health Publishing. Effective yoga practices to combat depression are about more than movement, however. Breath and meditation are equally, if not more, important. In this series of articles, I will share six practices (some movement, some breath, and some meditation) from my series Overcoming Depression with Yoga. Enjoy!

Next week I’ll share a simple Full Torso Breathing practice to help build energy and calm the mind.

Enjoy, and if you’re interested in learning more about my private yoga therapy practice and yoga teacher training, visit my website at http://svanayogaseattle.com/

Tracy Weber

My newest Downward Dog Mystery, Pre-Meditated Murder is available now in e-book and paper back copies everywhere! Check this link for some local ideas. http://tracyweberauthor.com/buy_premeditated.html

Sweet Little Yoga Book

Every now and then, I get asked to review advanced copies of books about yoga. I almost always decline due to time constraints, but how could I refuse a book that takes less than five minutes to read?

This sweet, kid-friendly picture book is decorated with cute illustrations of a happy frog doing all of my favorite yoga poses–and some of my least favorite ones. (But that’s a blog topic for a different day.) I highly recommend it for the little yogis in your life. Yoga Frog is targeted to children ages 4 – 8, but parents will flash a smile or two, and each page describes one or more poses appropriate for the whole family.

As an adult, I’m even more drawn to the cute Yoga Frog “mini kit.” It contains a teeny, tiny book with most of the poses contained in its hardcover sibling and a plastic bendable frog, perfect for desk-top creativity. Mine is currently executing a near-perfect Warrior I on my kitchen counter. My teacher training students will recognize a couple of sequencing errors in both of the books, but honestly, pose-perfect yoga isn’t really the point.

I highly recommend these for the kids (and the kids at heart!) in your lives. They are both available wherever books are sold, but here is the Amazon Link for the book and for the mini kit, for those of you interested.

Thanks for reading, and Namaste!

My newest Downward Dog Mystery, Pre-Meditated Murder is available now in e-book and paper back copies everywhere! Check this link for some local ideas. http://tracyweberauthor.com/buy_premeditated.html