Letter of 4/6/2020 Yoga News with special emphasis on Breathing

4/6/20

Hello yoga friends!I hope this note finds you all healthy and well.  If feeling stir crazy is the worst that happens to us, that will be a good thing. I miss you all a lot and especially miss teaching. I have been staying pretty busy with our new pup Phoebe. She is keeping the whole family, especially Goldie, on our toes.

My garden this year seems even more beautiful than usual. I think we are lucky that the weather has been so perfect.  I know when I have bad or unfortunate things happen to me or the ones I love, I tend to make a thankful list.  It may help you at times like this to be thankful for all of the things you have. For me it is always a combination of really practical things like I am thankful for a nice computer so I can stay in touch with the world and also the less practical things like I am thankful I have a family I like to be with. Take a moment to make your own list.  

I have tried to compile a few useful links here. I am personally getting tons of things in my inbox that I feel like I need to read.  I don’t want to clutter your inbox, but I do want to provide some things that might help. So use what you can. And try to do some yoga you will feel better.

I have heard from a lot of you, but not everybody. If you have not checked in with me…send me an email with a quick Hi. I just want to know that you are out there!


This is from my friend Dinneen Viggiano who lives in NY City. She teaches Yoga Tune-Up (She taught the last two trainings I did at Kripalu). She also does a ton of work with clients with back issues. Check out her web page for other great articles.

https://retrainbackpain.com/articles/belly-compression-with-longer-exhales

This is Eric Franklin’s link with a great video about breathing. His teachings use a lot of visualization.  I took a workshop with him many, many years ago.

https://franklinmethod.com/flexibleandfree/?inf_contact_key=810d4279fd4c4a204387bd72311f94064dfbc39d7283b2cb89d5189540b69330

And this last one is from a video I recently posted on Facebook from a doctor and head of nursing at Queens Hospital.

*Respiratory and positioning tips for those infected*
This information is vital for anyone managing the virus at home.
1. Do 2 cycles
a). Do this 5x: Deep Breath In, hold, exhale
b). on 6th Deep Breath In, exhale as a strong cough (cover mouth)
2. Second Cycle:
a). Do this 5x: Deep Breath In, hold, exhale
b). on 6th Deep Breath In, exhale as a strong cough (cover mouth)
3. Then:
Lie on your abdomen with a pillow under your chest and breathe deeply for several minutes.  You can see this video on my FB page.

And this last one was shared with me by my friend and student Polly Watson, MD.Rein in Anxiety:Aureen Wagner Ph.D. is an expert in anxiety and OCD. She generously shared a one-page resource guide to managing anxiety around Corona Virus. Faced with this pandemic it’s easy to feel like we have no control. Dr. Wagner gives us many tools to gain back control of our emotions.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1621/4007/files/Coping_with_COVID-19_The_Anxiety_Wellness_Center.pdf?v=1584885863

And if you have read this far…you are rewarded with a picture of Phoebe and Goldie.