An Afternoon of Restorative Yoga, Quiet Meditation, And Football Food.

I haven't been to a led yoga class in... a long time. I think the last class I went to was back about the time the kids went back to school in August/ September. Too long.

I'm definitely a vinyasa girl. I like to flow from one pose to another, not staying in any one pose too long. Slower classes don't feel like a work out to me. Yes, I'm aware that yoga is so much more than a "work out". But I'm a bit type A so while I'm finding some inner peace I need to be burning some calories too.

This week I got an email from a local studio offering a 2 1/2 hour restorative & yoga nidra workshop. Two and a half hours of holding supported poses, a very very slow practice and long meditation. I'll be bored out of my mind. And staying in supported restorative poses gives me way too much time to think. Which leads to confronting issues I have so far successfully avoided dealing with.

No, restorative yoga and long meditation is not what I need right now. There is too much in my life causing me stress and pain. I need to move and sweat and push it away. This restorative class has potential to be emotional and I'm sooooo tired of being emotional.

But I didn't delete the email. When Kid 2 invited friends over to watch football Sunday afternoon I figured it was my perfect excuse not to go to yoga. Why spend 2 1/2 hours on my yoga mat when I could be home eating junk food with my teenager and his friends?

Still I didn't delete the email. And Saturday night at 11:50pm I finally logged on and registered for the workshop.

I walked into the yoga studio and thought 'I'm home'. As I got situated on my mat I knew this was going to be exactly what I was afraid of. Exactly what I expected. Exactly what I needed.

With the help of bolsters and blankets my body sank into the poses and relaxed. As my body opened up my mind started chattering. Every issue, every worry came rushing at me at once. What do I do about work? Where will I find a job that pays me what I need yet lets me still be a mom? Is it time to move on? To try something new? How do I let go of the old? How do I walk away from what I've loved?

This is too much. I can't process it all and I don't know what to do about any of it.

But I fought the urge to get up and leave and instead rearranged myself into the next long held restorative pose.

Eventually my body released and I began to feel lighter. I was able to follow the instructors cues and tune in to my breath. The more I breathed the more clear the chatter in my head became. And eventually, it too, slowed down.

I think I might have dozed off  a little during the yoga nidra portion. I don't remember all of it. I know I became aware again when I heard the phrase 'I am always safe in the center of my being'.  How true that is. When I feel scared and unsure, I can feel safe again by getting low, getting quiet and tuning inward.

I left the studio emotionally drained yet lighter. And more calm than I have felt in a long time.

And I got home in time to eat too much junk food and watch football with friends and family.

Tonight, as I was browsing through Facebook, I saw this notification:

Today, Jennifer, we believe God wants you to know that ...

if you relax, it comes.

Don't seek, don't search, don't ask, don't knock, don't demand - relax. If you relax, it is there. If you relax, God shows you the way.

How appropriate for my day. Instead of muscling my way through a yoga practice and trying to sweat out the voices in my head, I got quiet. I got still. And my path became a bit more clear.

Yoga for Headaches - Head Wraps & Restorative Poses

If you are one of the 70% of women who suffer with migraines, you know that the more than $4 billion the National Headache Foundation estimates is spent on over-the-counter pain relievers don't work for long term relief.

My own personal experience with migraines, and now the migraines suffered by my nine-year-old daughter, have proven to me that self awareness of what triggers my migraines is a crucial step to controlling these debilitating episodes.

As more and more people are turning to alternative therapies such as yoga for headache relief, scientists are finding proof that yoga does indeed decrease both headaches sufferers frequency and intensity.

Yoga can help relieve and prevent both headaches and migraines by:

• Decreasing stress
• Releasing muscular tension which improves blood flow
• Improving skeletal structural alignment
• Practicing asana and pranyama (poses and breath work) balance the endocrine and nervous systems
• Practicing inversions regulates the blood flow in and around your head, preventing constriction and dilation of the blood vessels)

In The Woman's Book of  Yoga & Health, author Linda Sparrowe says that restorative yoga poses are an essential part of a yoga practice not only to relieve headaches, but also to prevent headaches. Restorative yoga poses offer the body a state of complete rest to restore balance, release tension in the shoulders and to ease estrogen and serotonin levels which regulates the size of blood vessels. 

Head wrap for headache relief

When in the throes of a migraine, the only thing I've found that truly helps is a head wrap. Any large Ace bandage will work for a wrap.

Begin at the back of the head, and wrap clockwise at the forehead. Be sure to wrap loosely yet with compression. Tuck the loose ends in to secure it (don't use pins) and pull down one layer gently over the eyes.

After wrapping my daughter's head, I'll prop her legs under a bolster and dim the lights in the room.

Some people find that either warm compresses or even an ice pack on the forehead is also helpful. I've found relief by placing the top half of a sandbag on the top of my forehead, allowing the rest to drape down over the back of my head. 

For the more common, yet still painful, tension headaches, try supported restorative poses.

• Janu Sirsasana ( head to knee pose) - with legs in traditional janu sirsasan, place your arms and head on a chair with a bolster for extra support
• Ardha Halasana (half plough pose) - with blankets for support under the shoulders, come into plough pose with the legs resting on a chair
• Viparita Karani (Legs up the wall pose) - lay with a bolster supporting under your lower back and ribs with legs up the wall. Your shoulders and head are on the floor. A second bolster can be placed on the floor touching the crown of your head. Place a sandbag half on the second bolster and half on your forehead to apply steady pressure