One of the best things you can do for your mind and body each morning is stretch. During sleep, the body spends hours rejuvenating at a cellular level and by morning lengthening the muscles and filling the lungs with fresh, clean air will do wonders for setting up your day. Here are three yoga poses that will support your organs, open the hips, loosen the neck, release tension from the shoulders, and align all seven chakras (energy centers). Start with taking five slow, deep belly breaths and work your way up ten or more. Click here to learn the Ujaii breathing technique and apply it to the following poses.
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Topics:
yoga,
Mind-body,
exercise,
Yoga poses
Today we are sharing a breathing technique taught in our Yoga Teacher Training programs! It is commonly used during yoga practice and meditation. It can also be a great way to start your day, recharge midday, and unwind at the end of the day.
It is the Ujjayi Breath or Victorious Breath. Ujjayi (pronounced oo-jai) breath creates a sound that helps synchronize the movements with the breath during a yoga practice. In the Yoga Sutra, Patanjali suggests that the breath should be both long and smooth.
Begin by sitting tall and comfortably and you can close the eyes for more focus. Start to take deep breaths, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Then, start to exhale like you are trying to fog up a mirror. Continue breathing like this. Notice the contraction you are creating in the back of your throat. Half way through your next exhale, begin to close your mouth while still exhaling like you are trying to fog up a mirror.
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Topics:
yoga,
breathe,
Yoga Teacher Training,
Yogic Breathing,
Ujjayi Breath,
Breathing Techniques,
Patanjali,
Yoga Sutras,
Breathwork,
Pranayama,
YTT
The first word of the ancient Yoga Sutras is atha, which means NOW. In Sanskrit, atha is pronounced ah-tah. In the yogic tradition, atha consists of two of the sacred sounds of ‘a’ and ‘tha’, which are thought to be vibrational keys that unlock our chakras -- the spinning wheels of energetic consciousness we all have within us. When we say, or mindfully chant, atha the sacred language is said to unlock the portals of Truth (our 6th chakra) and our Divine connection (the 7th Crown chakra).
Not only does atha means NOW, it indicates a conscious decision to start something that will be practiced with a deep commitment, over a sustained period of time. Often when translating the word atha it is explained as a term indicating an auspicious, or significantly special, beginning.
Atha could easily be compared to the decision one might make to do something as committedly as deciding to stop drinking alcohol. It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes practice and a daily commitment. The well-known phrase ‘One day at a time’ exemplifies Yoga Sutra 1.1.
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Topics:
yoga,
Atha,
National Yoga Awareness Month,
Yoga Sutras,
Serious Sutra Seekers,
chakra
A Story from our Great Graduate Deborah South-McEvoy
Deborah South-McEvoy happily admits that something bigger than herself brought her to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). She had heard of the school and was intrigued by it, and she even said that she fought the urgings to enroll. After three years of thinking about it, she finally enrolled in the Yoga Teacher Training 200-hour program along with Yoga Nidra and Yoga Gong.
Yoga was not new to Deborah. She had been taking yoga classes off and on for the six years prior to starting her teaching training. During those six years, this Leo-Lioness started to yearn for more knowledge. “I was on fire with passion and know I needed to pass the information on to others through teaching.”
Since completing her training, Deborah has gone on to create Dare to Soar Yoga, LLC . She is passionate about bringing affordable yoga to the people of Casa Grande, as well as building a yoga community in the town she has resided since 1980. She now teaches beginner and intermediate yoga classes at Central Arizona College. She also facilitates a chair yoga class and a yoga nidra and gong class at the local Cancer Support Center in Casa Grande, AZ. It is the lack of yoga studios in Casa Grande that fueled her passion to go into business for herself. She rented a space at first and is now thrilled to be offering yoga at these two facilities. She still rents a space when she has opportunities to work with private clients. Her services include Beginner, Advanced, and Chair Yoga along with Gong Meditation and Yoga Nidra. Her teaching has a strong emphasis in alignment; breathing and meditation; and also integrating the physical, mental, energetic, and spiritual teachings of the tradition. Deborah believes that yoga enhances the balance between body, mind, and spirit, bringing health to the body and soul through movement, meditation, and the use of breath work as a way of relaxation and gazing inward.
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Topics:
hatha gong,
Gong,
yoga,
hatha,
Meditation,
Yoga Teacher Training,
yoga nidra,
Gong Meditation,
Yoga for Cancer,
Chair Yoga
The monthly event, Gifts and Graces, is initially what brought Tara Walker-Munroe to Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA). That evening led her to enroll in the 800-hour Yoga Teacher Training program at Spirit of Yoga (SOY), SWIHA’s extended yoga school and studio. Now that she has graduated, Tara reflected that the first 200 hours of her Yoga Teacher Training were actually her favorite part of the entire program.
“There is such a sense of community that is built. So much love and compassion shared all while learning how to help others find themselves, find stillness, and cultivate peace. It's a beautiful experience. Even if someone is not interested in teaching, the 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training program is great for self discovery, self growth, self knowledge.”
During her yoga training, Tara found that her favorite teachers were Laura McKinzie, Duane Armitage, Aradhana Kaur, and India Bee. She shared that they all taught with compassion and grace. During her training, she learned the tools needed to succeed and were instilled with the confidence needed to face self-doubt. “I also have to say my fellow classmates inspired me. When you embark on such a journey, the opportunity for learning is all around you.” Tara wanted to add that she also loved her Polarity teachers- Gilad, Tracy, and Dina. In all honesty, she knows there are people she is leaving out so she shared that it's safe to say that she loved all her teachers at SWIHA/SOY.
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Topics:
hatha gong,
Polarity,
Gong,
Great Graduate,
cranial unwinding,
yoga,
200 Hour Yoga Training,
self discovery,
Yoga for Recovery,
Yoga Teacher Training,
Gong Meditation,
Depression,
Gong Healing
Becci Rusinko was searching for a flexible Yoga Teacher Training program that she could do in the evenings and found the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts’ (SWIHA) YTT program.
She initially graduated in April of 2011 with her 200 hour YTT certificate. Then she came back in October of 2011 and completed her 800 hour yoga therapist program, which included holistic nutrition certificate.
Throughout the program at SWIHA, Becci felt that almost every class was her favorite and filled with so much valuable information. “I learned so much that I use daily in all of my classes.”
She felt that she had such fantastic teachers that taught her so much. “My most memorable teachers would be Dr. Henele and Dr. Mahdi and Chef Rachel from the nutrition program and Mary Bruce from the yoga program.”
The knowledge that Becci felt to be the most valuable was to be authentic to her true self and not to try and be someone who she isn't. Becci said, “I hold that so close to my heart every day.”
There was a part of Becci’s life when she was in search of the right thing and she re-found yoga. “Not only did yoga help cure my physically, it also improved my mentality and made me a different/better person.” After a few years of practice, she looked back at her old self and saw how incredibly different she was. “I decided I needed to share with others what had changed me into such an amazingly different person.” Her passion for sharing yoga comes from having total faith and love for the whole practice. She loves knowing how yoga can help anyone who is open to allow it to transform their life.
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Topics:
yoga therapy,
Holistic Nutrition,
yoga,
Certified Yoga Teacher,
yoga therapist,
Yoga Teacher Training,
Yoga for Runners,
Yoga 200 Hour Training
Orlando Green was employed as a Student Advisor at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) when he completed his Yoga Teacher Training (200-hour level) and Life Coaching Program. He considers himself a continuing student having also completed the Hatha Gong program with Duane Armitage. His move to Puerto Rico has put his work towards becoming a Yoga Therapist on hold. However, his life has not been on hold, for even a minute, since arriving on the tropic paradise!
When asked about his favorite class while studying at SWIHA, Orlando shared that his favorite class was not actually in his Yoga Teacher Training program, rather in SWIHA’s Spirit of Yoga (SOY) studio: “My first step into SOY was on a Saturday Intro to Yoga class taught by Aradhana Armitage. I had been very reluctant to do yoga due to my back injury – yet after some urging from several colleagues at SWIHA that included a ‘double dare ya’ – I attended Aradhana’s class. She was very aware of my limitations and made me feel welcome in spite of what I perceived as limitations. After the first four weeks of yoga, I returned for an additional four weeks—and then I was hooked. I began my Yoga Teacher Training shortly thereafter.”
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Topics:
yoga coaching,
yoga therapy,
hatha gong,
Life Coaching,
Gong,
yoga,
yoga therapist,
hatha,
Yoga Teacher Training,
life coach training,
Natural Healing,
Holistic health
Self-care is a modern concept that has permeated our culture and intrigued people in many different fields.
What does self-care really mean? According to this article from the University of Kentucky, it includes a regulatory process by which we approach the normal daily functions of our lives. These functions include, but are not limited to, eating, sleeping, exercise, medical care, relaxation or meditation, and journaling. People that are known to exude excellent forms of self-care seem to all have one main thing in common: They do normal things in extraordinary ways. For example, a form of self-care for someone who wants to exercise and move their body may be to hire a coach and train for a marathon. It might also look like combining creative activities into a fitness regimen, such as doing yoga or aerial arts. Another way in which people can practice self-care is by making a certain length of sleep a non-negotiable priority. For the average American, sleep can be a hard thing to come by. According to this article from Entrepreneur.com the most successful entrepreneurs start their days early and have developed a sleep routine that is natural, and consistent. Self-care permeates through every action that we take during our waking and sleeping hours.
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Topics:
ethics,
sleep,
holistic practitioner,
life purpose,
yoga,
journaling,
Self-care,
entrepreneur,
exercise
Aricha Pluid became aware of Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) when she was still living in Oregon, her home state, while searching for advanced training opportunities online. “I moved to Arizona with my husband in search of a new and different experience, but nearly half of my decision to sell just about everything and move to the desert was fueled by the promise of SWIHA, an oasis.“
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Topics:
Southwest Institute of Healing Arts,
yoga meditation,
Blog,
SWIHA,
yoga,
self discovery,
Yoga Teacher Training,
yoga nidra
Prior to SWIHA, Jessica Wilton worked a full-time job in the environmental planning and permitting industry. She was a consultant and frequently worked outside of business hours to meet deadlines and provide the necessary support to obtain federal, state, and local permits for energy generation and transmission projects. She met a lot of great people and was pleased to have helped obtain these permits for a variety of solar and wind generation projects. However, she felt like something was missing. She was good at her job, yet wasn't passionate about it and felt like she should be doing something different. She also wanted to spend more time with her family and raising her two children. About three years ago, her husband took a job that required him to be gone for more than half of each month. A year later, she was overwhelmed with two young children, a traveling husband, and a demanding full-time job. “I came to the realization that it was time for me to make a change. Both my husband and I wanted one of us to be more present in our kids’ daily lives, and it was my turn.”
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Topics:
Children's Yoga,
yoga,
200 Hour Yoga Training,
Yoga Teacher Training,
Yoga Teacher Certification,
Famliy Yoga,
Kids Yoga