YOGA YOUR BRAIN AND STRESS 21.1.16

Yoga practice.

Science tells us the reason yoga has such beneficial effects is mainly because when we concentrate on a challenging posture the cognitive side of the brain gets busy dealing with the physical details and is thus able to turn off the stress. The more you challenge the cognitive ( Left side of the brain) the more effective it becomes at releasing stress. Similarly the emotional side of the brain ( the right side) releases emotional stress as you breathe through the left nostril if only for a few minutes.
Breathing practice.

1. Left hand on heart and right hand Lower Dantien… breathing in as belly inflates …right up to heart and out as belly deflates. 3x
2. Five gates breath. Breathing in from soles of feet, palms of hands,belly, thoat, skull and out from skull back down to feet.3x
3. Cosmic breath seated. 3x
4. Close right nostril with thumb and breathe only with left nostril for 2 minutes.

2)Warm ups. Pulsing, slow motion, cycling, gyrating and pendulum, V rocks, supine archer, square breath, facial exercises in seated posture( Giraffe,goldfish, puffer fish, lion, chin over shoulder, dropping chin back)

3.Seated.
Coffee grinding.3x each side. shoulder massage with tune up balls, shoulder rotations, rooster spreads his wings for wrists, wrist work in cat,
Arm swings 3x each side. table dancing 3x each side. turtle breathing pose.
Full camel 2x rest in child pose. Wide angle pose. Cat to tiger sequence.
Lunge practice with side twist. Both sides. Down dog with raised leg . bent knee and rotations.

4. Standing.
Standing cat. 4x…. warrior sequence. Both sides. Krishna dance pose and rise and flow
dancer in pairs.
Rainbow qigong dance. Both sides. Moon rise and flow.3x
Moon over water. Both sides.
End practice. Seated Om Mani padme Hum.
Relaxation. Autogenic practice. 10 minutes.

Om Shanti.