Yoga: Relaxation

As a working mother your time is precious. Chair yoga is an excellent way for busy mums and women working from home to fit a simple yoga lesson into your hectic schedule.

In this article I want to share with you eight easy chair yoga stretches you can do at home or at work whenever you feel tired, frazzled and need a quick energy boost of to get through your day.

Yoga

What Is Chair Yoga?

Yoga For Busy Women - Eight Easy Chair Yoga Poses For Relaxation And A Quick Energy Boost

Simply put, Chair Yoga is taking the mindfulness of traditional yoga (asanas, breathing exercises, meditation and relaxation) and instead of standing or using a yoga mat, you practice seated on a chair. This makes Chair Yoga the ideal way to add yoga into your schedule, especially when time is short and you do not have the time to fit in a full yoga class.

Side note: As with all forms of exercise, consult your doctor if you have any medical conditions or suffer from back pain before you practice this sequence. Remember to be gentle with your body, show respect and be patient as you breathe through the routine.

3 Benefits Of Chair Yoga

You can practice yoga seated at your work station, so you don't have to worry about finding child care/leaving work, changing your clothes and rushing to a class.
The stretches will help to release tension in your neck and shoulders and ease everyday aches and pains.
The routine quickly refreshes your spirit and helps you stay calm and focused, especially when working to a tight timeline.

Anytime you feel your energy slipping, and you struggle to concentrate and focus on what you are supposed to be doing, rather than waste more time and energy, take a five minute break and practice this simple Chair Yoga sequence. You will feel energised, refreshed, refocused and more able to resume work..

Eight Easy Chair Yoga Exercises For Relaxation And Quick Energy Boost

First of all, sit comfortably on your chair. Lengthen your spine, lift your head so your chin is parallel to the ground and your neck in a straight line with your head. Lower your shoulders, relax you jaw. Take a slow steady breath in through your nose and slowly breathe out. Repeat 3-5 times. Next stretch and wriggle your toes and place your feet firmly back on the floor.
Palms In Front Of Chest

Staying in the above sitting position, breathe in and slowly bring your palms together at your chest. Close your eyes. Inhale deeply for a count of three and, slowly exhale, for a count of three. Repeat 3-5 times

3. Straight Arms Above Head

Keep palms touching; slowly stretch your arms up in the air above your head. Keep shoulders lowered and relax jaw. Keep your head cantered and look straight ahead with a soft gaze. Take 3-5 rounds of deep breaths as you lengthen the sides of your body.

4. Stretch Arms To The Right/Left

Next, interlock your fingers; release your index fingers so they are pointing upwards. Keep your bottom rooted to the chair, stretch your body to the right, and keep your chin parallel to the ground. Try and keep your shoulders and hips in a straight line. Take 3 more deep breaths then return body to centre. If your arms feel tired, return your hands to your lap and allow your breath to settle. Slowly repeat stretch, this time stretching over to the left. Take 3-5 slow steady breaths and return to centre.

5. Seated Cobra

Place your hands on your thighs. Check to make sure your feet are still flat on the ground and facing forward. Breathe in and as you breathe out, gently lift your chest, lower your head back and arch backwards. Keep shoulders lowered and allow your jaw to relax. Breathe in and slowly breathe out. Repeat 3-5 times. Slowly return body to centre.

6. Rotate Wrists

Rest palms on thighs, raise arms up to shoulder level. Make a fist with your hands and rotate your wrist, 5-7 times in each direction. Then release your fist and gently shake your hands for 30 seconds. Rest palms on your lap.

7. Seated Spinal Twist

Reposition your body so your feet are firmly resting on the floor, lengthen your spine and relax your jaw. Cross your left leg over your right leg. Place your right hand on your crossed knee. Keeping your back straight, slowly turn your body to the left as you look over your left shoulder; keep your back nice and straight as you take 3-5 rounds of deep breaths. Slowly come back to the centre. Uncross your legs. Check your feet and body is correctly aligned then, cross your right leg over your left leg, place your left hand on your crossed knee and slowly turn your body to look over your right shoulder. Again, keep the spine lifted as you look over your right shoulder. Take 3-5 deep breaths and return to the centre.

8. Focus on Your Breath

Resting your hands on your lap, with the palms facing upwards, straighten your back, close your eyes and spend the last few moments of your Rest-Break your breath and the senses and sensations flowing through your body.

When you are ready, slowly open your eyes, smile and give yourself a hug.

Yeah. High Five. Well Done! You can now return to your work, refocused, calm and energised.

Yoga For Busy Women - Eight Easy Chair Yoga Poses For Relaxation And A Quick Energy Boost

And now, you can get more tips on how yoga helps you rest, relax and re-energise when you visit my blog and subscribe to my Free YogaInspiresYou enewsletter. When you subscribe you will get your Free copy of "Yoga For Beginners-All The Facts And Advice You Need To Start Your First Yoga Class" eBook. Click here for more info> http://www.yogainspires.co.uk

Thank You

Stay Blessed and Be Well

From: Ntathu Allen, Yoga and Meditation Teacher

Do you need to relax? Most of people are having a busy life and do not have time to relax. In their busy life, people are on the run moment they get up from bed to the time they retire for the day. How can you be relax when whole day is spent in meeting the deadlines, pushing schedules, getting to office, getting back to home and not having enough time for having proper meals? In addition, there can be different types of stress due to financial problems, health problems in family, lack of emotional support or work pressures. End result is we are feeling stressed mentally and physically for most part of the day. You need relaxation urgently if you are becoming easily irritable, feeling loss of energy, not enjoying your work and have a feeling of hopelessness. Even if you are perfectly fine and healthy, proper relaxation can make a wonderful change to your life and reduce your stress levels.

A person who does not do any work need not be necessarily relaxed. Similarly, lying in your bed does not ensure relaxation if your mind is busy elsewhere.

Yoga

Is this Relaxation? Following activities are not true relaxation :

Collapsing into a sofa and watching your favourite channels. Sex, violence and tear jerking emotions can further add to your emotional baggage.
Reading a newspaper or a magazine can make you feel better but it is not true relaxation.
Eating, drinking or partying.
Gossiping or spreading rumours about colleagues.
Use of drugs or any other intoxicant.

Is Relaxation possible? Yes, relaxation is possible for everybody but it requires positive action. You can master the master the art of relaxation with persistent efforts. Relaxation is not a one time affair, you have to practice it regularly. Make relaxation techniques a part of your life. Do a self analysis to identify any major causes of stress that can be resolved easily and try to remove them. For true relaxation, there has to be a paradigm shift in the way you think. You have to let go of things. Do not think that you are doing everything. Remember, you are not indispensable, world does not rest on your shoulders alone. Here are some tips for relaxation.

Yoga for relaxation. Yoga breathing and yoga asanas are real stress busters and improves your feel good factor. It removes negative feelings/ emotions from your mind. Yoga helps in harmonising your mind and body, provides you more energy to carry out your work.

About 15 minutes of yoga practice in the morning can help. Practice shava asana and rhythmic deep breathing initially.
Also, during the day, you can practice rhythmic breathing any time you have minimum three to five minutes of spare time. Concentrate on your breath during the day and become aware of the rhythm of breathing.
In general, consciously try to take deep breaths whenever you have time. After some days your breathing will automatically become deep and you can feel the difference in your spirits and resulting mental peace.
At least once or twice a week practice yoga nidra for complete relaxation.

Relaxation and mind control. Relaxation is an art which starts with a positive state of mind. If you resolve in your mind that you are happy and relaxed, you will feel relaxed. With continuous auto suggestions, mind can be trained over a period of time.

Concentration and meditation Spend some time in solitude in a day, preferably early morning. Choose a room with no light or any sound. Try to concentrate your mind. Observe the thoughts going through your mind as an independent observer. After some days practice,
gradually try to have a control on your thoughts. You should not allow negative thoughts to enter your mind. It is possible but requires practice. Develop an attitude of self confidence.

Actions for Relaxation. Forward your clock by 5 minutes and you can avoid most of the troubles. Be available for all your appointments well in time. For example, before going to office, get ready 5 minutes early, relax and think about days task.

Close your eyes and take 5 to 10 deep breaths, this gives you a momentary break to reorganise your thoughts.
At times, leave our place of work for few minutes and take a walk to coffee machine.
Take to stairs and climb to next floor.
A good night's sleep is essential for better relaxation and helps to avoid effects of sleep deprivation.
Sometimes have a change in your daily routine. For example, sometimes go on a long walk in a nearby park. Spend some time in the lap of nature.
Develop a hobby such as practicing yoga, meditating, cycling, swimming or gardening.

Emotions for Relaxation.

You do not need other people's approval for all your actions, so be relaxed and do not bother what other people say about you.
You can relax while doing your work, provided you like your work and work with full concentration.
Do not worry about past or future, take care of your present.
Spend some time with your family every day. Your family can provide you much needed emotional support.
You can also find pleasant memories within you to help you create relaxation.
Indeed having a happy married life and harmonious environment at home is essential for peace of mind.

Control your breathing and heart rate by using rhythmic breathing so that you stay composed and calm under all circumstances. Relaxation essentially involves identifying and prioritising your most important jobs and utterly disregard unimportant issues. Practicing these relaxation tips/ techniques will enable you to focus on relevant issues, improve your productivity at work and lead a healthy life.

Yoga For Relaxation And Relaxation Techniques For Busy People

Daljit Kaur is a yoga enthusiast, and editor of http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com a portal dedicated to provide valuable information on yoga to beginners. For more information on yoga, visit http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com Subscribe to her e-zine for free at http://www.yoga-for-beginners-a-practical-guide.com/yoga-for-health.html for more information. Copyright: You may freely reprint this article provided the whole text, the author name, all links and this notice remain intact.

Tags : Yoga The stress no more Natural body spa