Living a happier life through the practice of Yoga

Element: Earth in Fire or Air in Fire

Resilience is the ability to stay calm during crisis and to be capable of acting competently and well-considered instead of emotionally driven. In terms of the elements that means that one is able to stay connected to the earth even if one´s thrown into fire by life or to develop a sense of ease and joy – air – in these intense periods of time. The good news is: We can learn resilience! This is due to the amazing capability of our brain to change, which in neurosciences is called “neuroplasticity”. That means that almost like a muscle, we can train certain patterns in our brain we want to grow bigger, while not training those patterns which don´t serve us, e.g. being reactive or stressed out by challenges.
So if we want to live a more happy and fulfilled life and to stay connected to a sense of deep joy even facing challenges, we need to train – metaphorically speaking – the “happiness muscle” in our brain. The more often we intentionally decide to be happy by focusing on the positive experiences right now, the more often our brain will let us experience happiness! 
This is where the yoga practice comes in: Try to concentrate in every asana on what feels great right now and develop a feeling of happiness about it. 
That will set you on the path towards becoming a more resilient person, meaning with practice, your brain will naturally choose this option of happiness, even in situations facing challenges. 

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Are You Doing This in Your Backbends? With Pam Godbois

Are You Doing This in Your Backbends? With Pam Godbois

Gluteus Maximus In the practice of yoga, I often hear well meaning teachers use the cue “relax the butt” positions that require hip extension, like backbends.  While I get the intention is to decrease the risk of lumbar spine compression in back bends, my question is,...

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