Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Add more Yawns to your workout!

upward energyThe Art of Yawning
Here's a tip that everyone can benefit from, no matter what. Take a moment here , and invite a yawn into your body. Feel for the deepening of the inhale, the crescendo of the energy of the yawn, and then the softening and release. Ahhhhhhh...Now didn't that feel good?
There are lots of benefits of yawning, including cooling of the brain, a meditative pause from "doing " all the time, connection to your more animal/natural self that is less self conscious and more present in the physical body. Other benefits, yawns can actually adjust the bones of the skull! Yawns create a release of energy that opens the body up for more space to live in. Yawns can be fun, playful, and are nurturing. Yawns naturally connect us to The Body's Way of breathing more deeply. You must be relaxed to yawn, relaxation brings all kinds of good hormones into the body and lessens the stress hormone of cortisol. Having more oxygen in the body is healthful in all ways.
Some tips to put more Yawning in your day:
1. Life trains the body to be very inhibited, use yawning as a practice to release this. Like peeling away the skin of an onion, practice yawning. Each yawn is different, let go of a yawn having to be "the best one" , and allow your body to reveal to you the yawn that is there.
2. Practice opening the mouth wider, feel the sensation of the yawn in all phases. Make sounds as you build more ability to be real....What a gift to do more for the body that is healthful and less worried about appearances!
3. Can you taste a yawn? How about yawn into a specific body part?
4. Wake up in the morning and instead of jumping out of bed, wake up the way an animal does. Stretch from head to toe, yawn big, and enjoy the moment a bit...
5. Practice giving yawns, and catching yawns for fun.
6. Hug yourself , instead of waiting for someone else , enjoy a self hug.....practice doing 2nd best and make more time to be.
with love, Kelly