When I first stepped onto a yoga mat fifteen year ago, I was looking for a new form of exercise. I had no idea how dramatically this practice would impact my life. In this season of mothering young children, I am so grateful for my yoga practice, and I love sharing it with other parents.

Earlier this week, I released a new episode of The Intentional Chatter Podcast where I talk with one of the nation’s foremost yoga instructors, Judith Hanson Lasater, about the intersections of yoga and parenting. You can listen to it here or on iTunes.

Today, I’m kicking off a mini-blog tour to help more parents enjoy the benefits of this practice. I’ll share poses for both our physical and mental health, and ideas for teaching yoga to our children. I’m so grateful to my friends Shannon, Charise and Christine for hosting this tour. Read the posts here:

1. Mama on the Mat: For Alignment’s Sake at GrowingSlower

2. Mama on the Mat: For Peace of Mind at I Thought I Knew Mama

3. Mama on the Mat: For Healthy Kids at African Babies Don’t Cry

Join me at their places, won’t you?

Filed under: Yoga

I regularly tell parents about the benefits of yoga. But, I also know it’s hard to find the time to practice! For this episode, I’m chatting with one of the nation’s foremost yoga instructors, Judith Hanson Lasater. We talk about the ways our yoga practice has informed our parenting, how yoga is like brushing your teeth and what we think the most important yoga pose is.

As a “Mama on the Mat,” I’m so grateful for Judith’s insight and wisdom. Without further ado, please enjoy Episode Two of the Intentional Chatter Podcast.

Have a Listen:

On iTunes: Click here to listen to this episode on iTunes!

Right here: Click here to listen to this episode now!

Or download it here: Right click and save to download this episode!

Show Notes:

You can connect with Judith Hanson Lasater on her website, Facebook or twitter. Her books are amazing, and if you have the chance to attend one of her workshops – do it! You will be blessed.

Here are links to the resources we chatted about:

- Hole in the Wall Ted Talk

- Summerhill: A Radical Approach to Child Rearing

- The Happiness Hypothesis 

If you enjoyed listening, would you consider sharing this with your friends via the Facebook and twitter links below? I would also greatly appreciate your review on iTunes. 

I would love to hear your input! Share your thoughts on Parenting and Yoga in the comments below or send me a tweet using the hashtag #IntentionalChatter.

Filed under: Intentional Chatter, Yoga

This morning, we are continuing a series here on the blog and over at Stay-at-Home Yoga, my virtual yoga studio, designed to help anyone who spends a significant amount of time working, playing, eating, driving or relaxing in a seated position (aka, almost everyone). You can read previous posts in the series here, here and here.

You’re sitting right now, aren’t you? It’s okay, don’t get up yet. Let’s take a quick inventory of what is happening with your upper body, head and neck. The tops of the shoulders are probably lifted toward your earlobes. Maybe the scapula (shoulder blades) are pulled up and away from each other. Your chest muscles are probably contracted. And, your head is probably hanging forward. No wonder we have so much neck and shoulder tension!

When we spend a significant portion of our day in this position, the muscles of the chest become contracted and the muscles around the shoulder blades grow weak and unable to maintain healthy shoulder alignment. We are also likely to carry the head forward of neutral, a misalignment that places an incredible strain on the discs of the cervical spine, and can also lead to chronic headaches and muscular tension.

So, we need to focus on opening the muscles at the front of the chest, strengthening the muscles around the shoulder and bringing the head into a healthy neutral position.

On the yoga mat, Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (bridge pose) is one of my favorite chest openers. (The restorative version is also wonderful!) But, you try this chest opener without even rolling out your mat.

Bhujangasana (cobra pose) is my favorite upper back and shoulder strengthener. You can also do this simple strengthener anywhere.

To get your head in the posture game, stand with your back to a wall. Bring your heels, hips and shoulders to the wall. Keeping the base of the chin parallel to the floor, draw the head back to the wall. Take a few breaths here. As you step away from the wall, try to maintain this head and neck alignment.

Don’t forget, a full yoga class and two yoga break videos designed specifically to help open the chest, strengthen the shoulders and restore healthy head and neck alignment are now open in the Yoga for Desk Jockeys series over at Stay-at-Home Yoga!

Filed under: Yoga

Spinal curves that is. But, before I get to that, I’ve received some great questions from my virtual yoga students, and I thought everyone might like to hear my answers. So, I’m going to briefly interrupt our regularly scheduled programing (don’t worry, the spine and posture discussion is below), to step back for a moment.

When I review the research about the dangers of excessive sitting, there is a rather alarming piece of information that comes up. Regular exercise (5 or more hours a week) is not enough to mitigate the health risks of excessive sitting. Why?

I believe it is an issue of alignment. When we spend much of our day seated, we develop poor physical alignment. There is an undisputed link between poor alignment and common diseases such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, pelvic floor disorders and more. But, many of us often experience another symptom of bad alignment – joint and muscle pain.

For desk jockeys, this often takes the form of neck, shoulder and back pain. So, you may be wondering, why not focus this series, designed to help restore healthy alignment for people who spend a lot of time sitting, on those parts of the body? Why start with the feet and legs?

The answer is that the feet and legs are the foundation of our house of alignment. Imagine a giant crack appears in a bedroom wall at your house. You could certainly spackle and paint, but if a foundation problem is the cause of that crack, it will soon reappear. You need to repair the foundation first.

Starting with the feet and legs, and working our way up the body, will ensure our work is impactful. The good news: I bet you will feel an improvement in your neck and shoulder pain after working on your legs. Try it and tell me how it goes!

Spine & Posture

So, we’ve covered the lower limbs and the midsection, let’s talk about our spine and posture today. A healthy spine has a soft “S” shape. The lumbar (low back) and cervical (neck) curves are anterior, meaning they curve in toward the front body. The thoracic (mid-back) curve is posterior, it curves out, away from the front body.

When we spend a significant portion of our day seated, the healthy “S” shape gives way to more of a “C” shape. The consequences of this round-shouldered, slouched posture resonate throughout our body. It literally makes us a smaller vessel for the breath, so we are forced into a rapid, shallow breathing pattern. When the natural curves of the spine are not maintained, the spinal cord and nervous system are compromised. Poor posture can result in everything from chronic headaches to leg pain. I would even argue that it can increase stress, anxiety and depression.

While the bones (vertebrae) form the shape of the spine, muscles have the job of maintaining these curves by holding the bones in place. The best way to strengthen the muscles of posture is to hold good posture.

Practice Tadasana several times a day. Be extremely mindful of your alignment.

When you have to sit, be aware of your posture. Your feet should be flat on the floor, hip distance apart and facing forward. Your heels should sit directly under your knees. The knees and hips should be at right angles. Sit tall, near the edge of your chair. Lift your ribcage and roll your shoulders back. The base of the chin should be level, not lifted or lowered.

The wonderful Katy Bowman, of the Aligned and Well, made this video to illustrate how to get off your sacrum. Watch and do.

Don’t forget, a full yoga class and two yoga break videos designed specifically to help strengthen the muscles of posture are now open in the Yoga for Desk Jockeys series over at Stay-at-Home Yoga!

Filed under: Yoga

Last week, I kicked off a new series here on the blog and over at Stay-at-Home Yoga, my virtual yoga studio, designed to help anyone who spends a significant amount of time working, playing, eating, driving or relaxing in a seated position (aka, almost everyone).

Today we’re moving up in the body to the hips, glutes and core. Let’s talk for a minute about what happens to our midsection while we log quality time with our chair, couch, driver’s seat, etc. The hip flexors, who have the important job of pulling the knee upward, are contracted. And, the more we sit, the tighter the hip flexors become, making back pain inevitable.

It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that sitting on your butt all day does not leave you with a toned behind. But, did you know that weak glutes are a huge culprit of low back pain. Healthy glutes help stabilize the tailbone and support the low back muscles. Weak glutes…not so much.

To understand what happens to our core while we are sitting, we have to first understand the job function of the core muscles. The core muscles should be able to stabilize the spine, ribs and pelvis when we are moving our arms and legs. It is this stabilizing power that improves our balance, coordination and posture. When we are seated, our core muscles don’t get much practice doing their job, and they begin to forget how to act as stabilizers. Use it or lose it, plain and simple.

So, in addition to minimizing your sitting time, you really should roll out your yoga mat a few times this week and work with these three poses:

1. 1. Open your tight hip flexors with some lunges. This post has a few of my favorite lunge variations.
2. 2. For you weak core, hang out in plank pose for up to two minutes. You’ll feel that the next day!
3. 3. For your weak glutes, bridge pose is one of my favorites. Pull the feet toward your head (instead of pushing them away) to ensure you are using the right muscles (your buns and hamstrings!) to lift the pelvis up.

Of course, I have to mention that a full yoga class and two yoga break videos designed specifically to lengthen your hip flexors and strengthen your glutes and core opened in the Yoga for Desk Jockeys series over at Stay-at-Home Yoga today. Lots of love for your midsection this week.

Filed under: Yoga

Well folks, the word is out. I hope you are standing up for this news. Sitting is the new smoking. All this time we spend on our derriere is killing us!

The peer-reviewed research is undisputable. Sitting has been implicated as a risk factor for cancer and cardiovascular disease. One study found that there was a higher risk of death, from all causes, associated with excessive sitting. Researches went so far as to say, “In addition to the promotion of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and a healthy weight, physicians should discourage sitting for extended periods.”

Will you do a little test for me? Would you be willing to keep track of how much time you spend sitting today? Don’t leave any sitting time out – be sure to include the sitting you do at work, at play (on the computer, watching television), while eating, driving, going to the bathroom – all of it.  If you’re willing, I’d love to hear your findings in the comments below.

So what can we do about it? Today I’m launching a series – here on the blog and over at Stay-at-Home Yoga, my virtual yoga studio – designed to help. Whether you are sitting because you have pain and fatigue when you stand, or because it is necessitated for your work, this series will help you make some changes.

Unfortunately, regular, intense bouts of exercise are not enough to “undo” the damage done by prolonged sitting. So, this series (and the corresponding yoga classes) are designed to inspire you to think and move differently. Each week we will cover a different part of the body. I will give you ideas for “movement breaks” that should be taken, at least hourly, if you must sit for extended periods. I will also address how to retrain your muscles to restore healthy alignment in your body.

We’re starting today with the lower body. Excessive sitting has a dramatic impact on the muscle lengths in the legs. While we’re banging away on the computer, driving to and fro, scarfing down our dinner and watching our favorite TV shows, our calves and hamstrings are becoming so tight they set us up for some real problems like plantar fasciitis and low back pain. Even more frightening, when tight, these large muscles are not able to adequately support the cardiovascular system by holding their share of the blood – which puts a strain on our main arteries and increases our risk for cardiovascular disease. Not good!

At least one of your daily eight to ten movement breaks should be a calf and foot stretch. I love the one modeled by my hubby in this post. You might also keep a tennis or golf ball under your desk and roll your feet around on it as you work.

When you are on your yoga mat, you can lengthen the muscles at the back of your legs with poses like Supta Padangusthasana (Reclining Big Toe Pose), Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog Pose) and Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend).

Of course, I have to mention that a full yoga class and two yoga break videos designed specifically to lengthen the muscles at the back of the legs opened in the Yoga for Desk Jockeys series over at Stay-at-Home Yoga today. Check ‘em out – you’re legs (and back, and heart) will thank you!

Filed under: Yoga

Instead of bemoaning another birthday’s arrival, I’m celebrating the many blessings that fill my life. I am beyond grateful. For Love & Grace. For a husband I’m more in love with today than I was when I married him 11 years ago. For two kids that I just can’t believe I get to be the mama to. For my own mama who is truly one of my best friends. For friends that are really family.

And for you! I so appreciate you meeting me here in this space. I want to give YOU a present for my birthday. How does a discount on the Yoga for Desk Jockeys series sound? For today only, you can save $5 off the regular full series price of $30 when you use the code BDAY5 at checkout. That means you get all 5 full class videos, plus the 10 yoga break videos for only $25! The discount expires at midnight tonight, March 19, 2013, so register here now!

Filed under: Yoga

Fellow bloggers, this one is for you!

I am beyond grateful when I hear that you are recommending my classes to your tribes. I’ve been looking for a way to say thank you for helping me get the word out, so I’m thrilled to be launching the “Stay-at-Home Yoga Affiliate Program!”

Add one of my buttons or links to your blog or website, and I’ll send you 30% of the sales I receive from you. You can learn more about the program, including how to sign-up, by clicking here.

Maybe you’d like to introduce Stay-at-Home Yoga to your audience? My Yoga for Desk Jockeys series is a great place to start. If anyone knows about the aches and pains of working from your seat all day, it’s bloggers and blog readers! If you’d like to review the series on your blog in the month of March, I’d be happy to set you up with free access to the class. Email me at Jennifer@EveryBreathITake.com to talk details or any other ideas you may have!

Filed under: Yoga

 It’s been a busy season behind-the-scenes here in the Hoffman home. We’ve been working hard on the details of my revamped Virtual Yoga Studio, and I hope you’ll agree it’s been worth the wait!

I am pleased to introduce to you Stay-at-Home Yoga, Virtual Yoga Classes from yours truly! With the same easy class format, an exciting new series, and a fresh online home . . . I’m one happy, blogging yogi.

Your suggestions in the comments of this post were incredibly helpful in my re-branding efforts this year. I fed your brilliant ideas through the creativity combine at Abby Leigh Creative, and out popped what I think is the perfect name for my studio. Mike at Artist Dork then went to work breathing visual life into the new name online, and the transformation is now complete. The birdhouse in our new “at home” logo is a refreshing twist on my little bird here on the blog. What do you think of the new brand?

To kick off this fresh start at Stay-at-Home Yoga, I’ve worked up an entirely new series of virtual classes, and if you’re reading this post from your desk chair, it might be just what you need!

Yoga for Desk Jockeys

It seems like every week there is a new health report released on the dangers of too much sitting. Research shows that even the most ergonomically-conscious desk jockey is at increased risk for obesity, metabolic syndrome and even death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. Add the everyday aches and pains associated with excessive sitting into the mix, and we are all in need of some rear-end relief.

If you spend a significant portion of your day sitting, then Yoga for Desk Jockeys is the lifeline you need. This Virtual Yoga Series from Stay-at-Home Yoga includes five 40-minute classes and 10, two-minute “yoga break” videos.

The first four, 40-minute classes will begin with 20 minutes of asana practice. Yoga poses included will focus on undoing the effects of prolonged sitting. Each class will target a specific area of the body (lower body, core, spine, and upper body). These classes will close with 20 minutes of restorative yoga and Savasana, with guided relaxation focused on stress reduction.

The fifth class will be a full restorative yoga class. Restorative yoga has a profound ability to release deeply held tension. This class is the icing on the cake!

Fit Yoga for Desk Jockeys into your busy schedule:

• - Lower Body (Class One & 2 Yoga Break Videos): Opens March 25
• - Core (Class Two & 2 Yoga Break Videos): Opens April 1
• - Spine (Class Three & 2 Yoga Break Videos): Opens April 8
• - Upper Body (Class Four & 2 Yoga Break Videos): Opens April 15
• - Restorative (Class Five & 2 Yoga Break Videos): Opens April 22

All five classes will be open for unlimited viewing through July 31, 2013.

Simply click here to register for the Yoga for Desk Jockeys series.  Check out our FAQs and these Tips and Guidelines for answers to all your Virtual Yoga questions.

Save $6 off the regular full series price of $30 when you sign up for my free weekly newsletter. A discount code to use during registration will be emailed to you. Current newsletter subscribers pay only $24 for the series!

Let’s do some yoga together! I’ll be in my living room. Meet me in yours!

Filed under: Yoga

I’m happy to kick off a new series today entitled Yoga 411. I will be answering the most  common questions I receive about the practice of yoga. If you have a yoga question you’d like me to answer, comment below or email it to jennifer@everybreathitake.com. 

Countless studies have shown the benefits of a regular yoga practice. Most people report an improvement in their well being after just a few minutes of even very basic yoga poses. But, people often wonder…

How frequently do I need to practice yoga to see benefits?

There are two main components of a healthy yoga practice – asana (or poses) and savasana (or relaxation). While they are commonly practiced together, asana followed by savasana, there is nothing that says you have to practice them at the same time. In fact, I often don’t! Here’s what I do myself and recommend to others.

Asana Practice (The Poses)

Two of the most common reasons we practice asana are to reduce physical pain and to decrease stress. Both of these motivations have to do with “undoing” the damage we do in our everyday routines.

For example, when I sit at the computer for a prolonged period of time, my shoulders start to roll forward, bringing my head and neck along for the ride, and before long I have a tension headache. So, I roll out my mat and practice a few downward facing dog and cobra poses to undo the tension and restore a healthy posture.

While I might feel an immediate improvement in my neck and shoulders, it will likely return quickly when I sit back down at the computer. After all, how can I effectively “undo” hours of bad habits with just a few minutes of good habits?

Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting that you need to spend as much time on the mat as you do at the computer. But, when you spend regular time practicing yoga poses, about 20 minutes, three to five times a week, something amazing happens. You get reacquainted with your body! You notice more. You pay attention more. And, you find ways to enjoy yoga off the mat.

You roll those shoulders back when you sit at your desk. When you’re on the floor playing with your kids, you notice “Wow, my back is rounded.” So, you lengthen your spine and sit in a bound angle pose. Or, you’re sitting in traffic and you notice your heart is racing, so you just pay attention to your breath for a few minutes, gently lengthening your exhale. Maybe you stretch your calves while you brush your teeth.

If you commit to 20 minutes of asana, three to five times a week, you will find the practice leaking into your everyday routines and greatly improving your well being as it does!

Savasana (Relaxation)

This might come as a surprise, but Savasana is the part of the practice that has the most profound ability to impact your life. We all need to practice 20 minutes of relaxation every single day.

Remember, this isn’t relaxing with a book or a movie. This isn’t sleep. Savasana is the formal practice of doing nothing at all. People often tell me they have trouble with relaxation, that it agitates them. The truth is, being in Savasana reveals the agitation that we normally ignore. Savasana doesn’t cause anxiety, it is the salve for it!

I like to practice a restorative yoga pose for five minutes, then 15 – 20 minutes of Savasana. While I relax more easily if I practice Savasana immediately following my asana practice, some days I practice only Savasana, or I practice it at a different time of the day. Do what works for you.

Try it, I know you will be glad you did!

How frequently do you practice yoga? Do you practice asana and savasana together? I’d love to hear in the comments!

P.S. If you are ready to commit to a more regular yoga practice, but you are not able to attend regular yoga classes, check out my virtual classes.

Filed under: Yoga