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Movement, Mindset and Mindfulness

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Want more Christmas cheer? Here are five festive yoga poses to help

21/12/2016

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Well, my last post about looking after your wellbeing in winter was going to be my last one before Christmas. Then after being struck by a flash of seasonal inspiration, I couldn’t help but post a blog with some yoga poses to help Christmas be even more brilliant.
 
Please also note that usual yoga rules apply at Christmas – warm up first, consult a professional if you have any medical issues, don't do a physical yoga practice if you’ve just eaten a load of mince pies (or other food) and it’s not clever to do yoga after drinking sherry and other alcoholic beverages.  

Moments of mindfulness will also help this Christmas. Bring your mind to your body and notice how you are feeling, observe your breath for a few breaths or just bring your attention to whatever is going on in front of you. Practicing mindfulness can help you really be present, which can have more benefits than even the biggest presents.

Here, then, are some suggestions for festive yoga poses:-
Christmas Yoga Pose - Warrior
  1. Warrior
Feeling stressed about getting through the day or you have some challenging visitors coming? Warrior poses can help you feel strong and confident. Taking your feet about a leg-length apart, turn a front foot outwards and your rear foot inwards, bend your front knee so it remains above your ankle and keep your back leg straight. Raise your arms to shoulder height (a straight line from fingertip to fingertip is great) and feel strong and confident like a warrior.  Ready to crack open some chestnuts, stuff the turkey or take out the recycling.
Christmas Yoga - forward bend
2. Forward bend
​Paused from peeling Brussel sprouts for a minute and noticed tension in your upper body? Try a standing forward bend to release tension in your upper back and shoulders. Link your hands together, stretch your arms out in front of you, turn your fingers away, drop your head between your arms if that feels okay for your body and breathe into any tension you can feel. Hold as long as feels good before releasing slowly.
Christmas Yoga - backward bend
2. Backbend
​Spent a load of time replying to Christmas messages on your phone or checking out what presents everyone else has had on Facebook? Try a mini-backbend to re-open up your chest area. Standing with your feet about hip-width apart, link your fingers behind your back, stretch your hands towards the base of your spine and feel your chest opening up. Breathe into your chest area and release when ready. Notice how you feel after this energising pose.
Christmas Yoga - Lairy Lion
3. Lairy Lion
Did Santa forget to buy you a Mr Frosty AGAIN? Lairy Lion can be a great way to release anger. Stand with your feet hip width apart, with your elbows bent, raise your hands to shoulder height, then on an exhale, bend your knees, make your hands into claws, stick your tongue out and and make the noise ‘RAAR’. Maybe one for in the kitchen when no-one is looking, unless you have understanding guests.
Christmas Yoga - legs up the wall
5. Legs up against the wall
Had a long day?  Lying on your back with your legs in the air is a brilliant way to destress. Let your arms fall by your sides, close your eyes, let your body relax and let any tensions melt away.  Come out of this pose very gently, rolling to one side for a few moments and coming to standing very slowly. This pose is a great way to relax.
Thanks to Liz Childerley (The Salemaker) for the photos.

Would love to know what you think - please comment below.  Wishing you health and happiness this Christmas and throughout the New Year.
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Follow Office Om on any of these social media channels for more office yoga, mindfulness and wellbeing in 2017, to help you feel at your best.

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​Feeling stressed this season? Here’s six ways to boost your wellbeing this winter.

20/12/2016

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How is your wellbeing this winter? Whilst some people flourish, many of us find this time of year stressful. It’s colder, darker and often we feel less energetic. Life can get busier with extra family obligations or social commitments. For others, it can be a lonely time of year. Either way, this can be a challenging few weeks. 

​What can help us if we’re feeling stressed? In nature, the winter is about resting. Just look at deciduous trees who lose their leaves in Autumn and rest through the darker months ready to bud again in Spring. The break allows them to protect themselves in winter in preparation to thrive throughout the rest of the year. So what can we do to help us get through this time of year? Here are six ideas to help us rest and revive throughout winter.
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1. Nourish
​When life gets stressful, it is really important we look after ourselves physically. Making sure we eat a healthy diet (in between mince pies) can make sure we are as healthy as possible.  There are lots of different ideas around on what sorts of food are best for us, but lots of people suggest more vitamin C can to help boost our immune systems when we’re stressed and in winter. Some ideas on boosting your vitamin C intake can be found from Claire Stone Nutrition here. What foods would be most nourishing for you in the winter months?

2. Meditate
Winter can be a great time to practice mindfulness meditation. Research has shown that even practicing for ten minutes a day can help us concentrate better, assist our emotional reactions to situations and improve our relationship skills, which can all be helpful at this time of year. Whilst mindfulness can be practiced in many ways, you might like to find a comfy place to sit, wrap a blanket around you and try a guided meditation. Apps such as Headspace, Sit Breathe Think and Calm are one way to try a guided mindfulness meditation. Or you might like to try free audio practices from websites such as www.calm.com or www.franticworld.com. Find a way of spending a few minutes to focus on the 'here and now' and notice how it makes you feel.

3. Exercise
In winter, it can be tempting to snuggle into the sofa, watch loads of TV and not leave the house. Whilst this can be lovely at times, making sure we exercise too can be of great benefit. Whether this is going for a wintery walk, doing an exercise video from YouTube or doing some yoga stretches in between Netflix episodes, moving our bodies can help us boost our feel good hormones and keep us in good shape ready for next year.
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4. Be kind
Whatever your views on the politics this year, you might have noticed that some commentators have noticed a decrease in compassion. Conversely, being more compassionate has been linked to better mental wellbeing. Try a random act of kindness over Christmas, for example, donating some toys to a local  hospital, giving coffee to a cold person or looking after a parcel for a neighbour. Notice how this makes you feel.  Likewise, it’s important to be kind to ourselves. Try noticing when you say something unkind to yourself and gently challenge these thoughts. Say something kind to yourself instead and notice what happens to your mood.

5. Rest
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Take a break. Rest. Stop everything for a bit and just rest. Find a way of doing this that feels good to you. Perhaps putting your feet up and having a cup of tea, disconnecting from technology and reading a book or just lying like a starfish on your bed for a few minutes. This may feel strange or it may feel great, but actually stopping everything and pausing for a few moments, minutes or hours can help us revive. Notice how you feel once you start ‘doing’ again.

6. Reflect
Winter can be a good time to reflect on the past year. What are you grateful for? What would you like to be different next year? Take time out to appreciate how far you’ve come and how you would like next year to feel.
 
Taking some time out in winter to recharge, refresh and revive can stand us in good stead for next year. What can you do to help you revitalise yourself this winter? Pause for a moment and plan some ways to boost your own wellbeing in the next few weeks. 

Do you find January difficult or would you like some wellbeing stratgeies to help you boost your wellbeing in 2017? Try Office Om's January Wellbeing Workshop in Cardiff, details here .

Wishing you health and happiness this Christmas.
Seasons Greetings from Office Om
Look out for more ideas to improve your wellbeing in 2017 with Office Om. To find out more, follow Office Om on social media here:
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Why do Downdog? Here are five benefits

9/12/2016

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Have you been seeing loads of photos of people recently looking something like a right angle? Well, that could be the Martha's Dancing Heart Downward Dog challenge (as well as loads of other yogis who just love posting photos of the pose!). How can downdog help you?
Downward dog
Downdog or Downward Dog, or Adho Mukha Svanasana (to give it its Sanskrit name), is the name of an inverted yoga pose. This blog will tell you why you might like to get down with some downdogs too.  Here are five benefits:

  • Self-awareness - like all yoga poses, downdog gives you knowledge about your body. For example, when attempting a yoga pose, you may notice parts of your body feel tight. For downdog, this is typically your hamstrings. You can help tight hamstrings by keeping your knees bent when you first get into the pose, which protects your lower back and allows your spine to lengthen, as well as 'walking' your legs (bending each one in turn) before trying to straighten them. When we understand what's going on in our body, we can do what our body needs it to do to be at its best.
 
  • A different perspective – downdog helps you see the world upside down, which can help you see things differently. Different versions may have different effects.  For example, I often call the downdog that you do at the wall ‘bad-day-asana’ as people can find this version soothing. This pose can help calm busy thoughts when things get hectic.
Downdog at the wall

  • Strength - on a physical level, downdog is a whole body pose which strengthens the arms and legs. In Office Om, I often say that I’m not the sort of yogi that you’ll see doing headstands on the beach, but I’m really excited by how we can incorporate yoga into everyday life. If, however, you do dream of doing inverted poses, down dog is great preparation for handstand and other impressive poses. Either way, feeling physically stronger can help us feel mentally stronger.

  • Changing how you feel - have you noticed how having your body in different positions can help you feel differently? Yoga can often change how you are feeling.  Notice how things feel when you’re in down dog. Downdog is an inversion, and many people find inversions energising. 
 
  • Counterbalancing sitting - downdogs are brilliant after you have done lots of sitting in chairs. People say that 'sitting is the new smoking' and being sedentary can cause various health issues. Moving your body into down dog can help counterpose too much sitting and helps stretch out the hamstrings, which can be tight after lots of time in a chair. You might like to try one after you've been sitting a lot one day and feel the advantages for yourself. 
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Other benefits have been written about, for example, relieving the symptoms of depression, (see here). 
 
Can you join in the challenge too? If so, you just need to post a picture of yourself doing downdog for 30 days and post your pictures online using the hashtag #mdhdownwarddog. To squeeze in some health and safety, really you should only attempt this if you have already got yoga experience. You should also avoid it if you have wrist problems or high blood pressure and a yoga teacher can give you modifications if these are the case. Ideally you’d prepare by warming up your ankles, legs and stretch your shoulders first too.

Thanks to Michelle Graham for nominating me for the pose, it's been a great incentive to post photos every day, and thanks to everyone else who's got involved too, you rock.
​

If you'd like to donate to Martha’s Dancing Heart appeal, please text MDHT99 £1 to 70070 to donate £1 (Or change it to any other amount too).
 
What benefits have you found from practicing downdog? Please post comments below and follow Office Om on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for more Office Om inspiration and offers.
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    Cathy Bailey

    Founder of Office Om, BACP registered counsellor, Yoga Alliance 200hr trained yoga teacher, Mental Health First Aid instructor and promoter of making  daily life just that little bit better.

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