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Our physical practice, the asanas, are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to yoga. While these physical poses and shapes make us feel wonderful, get our blood moving, engage our muscles, and often tantalize our brain, they are not the only way yoga can improve your health and expand your world.

The overarching yoga philosophy is called ‘The 8-Limbed Path’. Here are a few ways you can incorporate the 8 limbs in your day-to-day life.

Injury Prevention:

The deep focus you develop on your mat enables you to develop the art of listening to each individual body part one at a time. Yoga teaches you the ability to isolate the senses one at a time to help better understand the limits of your body, thus preventing injuries or illness.

Clean Living:

Cleaning up your personal habits and eating healthy is where yoga begins. Yoga philosophy includes laughter, sleep, prayer, gratitude, and clean thoughts. The broad idea is to practice ‘Saucha’ or clean living. Over time this becomes the core of daily living.

Improve Decision-Making Skills:

Sitting in challenging yoga postures teaches us to accept discomfort and witness the demanding aspects of them without reacting. Take that one step further and try sitting in a comfortable seat where it is much easier to get distracted and want to get up. Focus on one specific thing. Resolve to stay no matter what arises while you try to simply be a witness to what comes to the surface. The more you practice this, the more you can pause to make beneficial, accurate, and thoughtful decisions under pressure.

Develop Meaningful Relationships:

Learning to be silent with yourself and listening to the tiniest physical and emotional sensations as they arise, can teach you to actively listen to others. This will go a long way to build relationships. Being aware of the words and body language around you, will enable you to respond with thought and respect, providing more appreciation to those in your life that are special to you.

Stress Prevention and Management:

Calming your mind and resetting your nervous system can be cultivated with breathing techniques or Pranayama. Take every opportunity during the day to engage the parasympathetic nervous system (which is the opposite of fight or flight) in a way such that it deeply relaxes you.

So, as much as it is highly recommended to get on your mat and practice asana, you might also want to consider taking your practice off the mat to reap even more benefits!

The 8-Limbed path is a direct road towards better living. You may find you already align with many of its values. Just remember, living well is not a check list. These are ideals to be worked on ALL the time. Each limb becomes quite personal to its practitioner. There is no right or wrong way to go about bringing it into your life.

What: Mindfulness is the practice of devoting conscious attention to the present moment in order to acknowledge and accept one’s thoughts and feeling. Meditative drawing is a common way of practicing mindfulness by creating abstract art and images. The interactions between your body and the paper can unlock your creative side to make your mind stronger and more relaxed. All you need is paper and a pen!

Warm-Up/Beginner Exercises:

1. Shapes: Draw Any Shape. Fill the Inside & Space Around with More Shapes and Lines!

2. Lines: Draw any Line (Curved, Arched, Straight, Wavy). Draw the Same Line 10, 20, or even 100 More Times and See What Patterns you can Create!

3. Shading: Draw Any Figure. Fill it with Lines, Dots, or Color it Making Some Areas Light and Other Areas Dark.

Putting it All Together – The Abstract Mandala:

1. Draw a Large Shape. It is Most Common to Use a Circle.

2. Section off the Circle However You Like. Add a Creative Outline.

3. Start Adding Designs Close to the Center. Work your Way Out.

4. Add a Different Design to Each Section. Use Lines, Shapes, Contrast, etc. You can take inspiration from the environment around you. Have Fun!

Other Drawing Techniques:

· Draw Your Breath

· Draw Your Surroundings.

· Think About a Part of Your Body in Need of Healing or Attention. Draw it!

· Zentagles: Draw a Square and Fill the Inside with One Unique Pattern.

· Draw How You are FeelingWhat: Mindfulness is the practice of devoting conscious attention to the present moment in order to acknowledge and accept one’s thoughts and feeling. Meditative drawing is a common way of practicing mindfulness by creating abstract art and images. The interactions between your body and the paper can unlock your creative side to make your mind stronger and more relaxed. All you need is paper and a pen!

Warm-Up/Beginner Exercises:

1. Shapes: Draw Any Shape. Fill the Inside & Space Around with More Shapes and Lines!

2. Lines: Draw any Line (Curved, Arched, Straight, Wavy). Draw the Same Line 10, 20, or even 100 More Times and See What Patterns you can Create!

3. Shading: Draw Any Figure. Fill it with Lines, Dots, or Color it Making Some Areas Light and Other Areas Dark.

Putting it All Together – The Abstract Mandala:

1. Draw a Large Shape. It is Most Common to Use a Circle.

2. Section off the Circle However You Like. Add a Creative Outline.

3. Start Adding Designs Close to the Center. Work your Way Out.

4. Add a Different Design to Each Section. Use Lines, Shapes, Contrast, etc. You can take inspiration from the environment around you. Have Fun!

Other Drawing Techniques:

· Draw Your Breath

· Draw Your Surroundings.

· Think About a Part of Your Body in Need of Healing or Attention. Draw it!

· Zentagles: Draw a Square and Fill the Inside with One Unique Pattern.

· Draw How You are Feeling

Yes, that’s right - let them Fail.

Remember when your child was crawling and started to take their first steps? How many steps did they take before they fell down? Did you try to make them stop so they don’t get hurt or did you run to capture that proud moment on your phone? How many falls was it before they could walk steadily?

Fast forward to today. We are directly or indirectly telling our kids that failing is bad. They need to be perfect. They need to get it right. Why?

Perfect is the enemy of growth.

Perfect means you do what you’re comfortable doing.

Perfect means you stop taking risks.

Perfect means you don’t try something new.

Let’s say we ask an artist to paint something and give them two conditions. One, it has to be perfect and two, they don’t get another chance. What do you think will happen? That artist will most likely paint something that they have done before and not try something new and creative. How about if we ask the same artist to paint something and the conditions are that they get 100 attempts. Think about all the creative ideas that will flow! Each of those 100 paintings will be an experiment to try something new and will all those attempts, ideas and practice something amazing will be created.

Try - struggle - fail - repeat!

Just like we baby proofed the environment so the child learning to walk didn’t hurt themselves in the same way, we need to provide our older kids an environment to fail. Allow them to try new things. Allow them to make age appropriate mistakes. This will teach them and help with grow. Let them learn that they will not always win but there will always be more chances. Isn’t that life anyway?

Six months ago, all in-person yoga, wellness and meditation classes came to a staggering halt. Six months ago, the close community we had built was forced to stay apart. Six months ago, was the start of our test for resilience, optimism and self-belief. Six months ago, we decided to pivot….

Virtual yoga!

Blissful Yoga & Wellness realized that yoga and meditation were the main mechanisms for coping with anxiety and the general state of the world for many of our practitioners. We started to offer classes via Zoom. We went 100% virtual.

Our online classes turned out to be surprisingly effective for our dear community. Enthusiasm rose, comradery strengthened and faces light up with smiles as our practitioners were able to meet and connect with each other again.

The vibe of a virtual yoga class was quite different from a regular one. People weren’t necessarily wearing cute workout outfits — instead, I spotted a lot of sweatshirts and even pajama pants. Dogs, children and stuffed toys popped into view. Every little pixel on screen was a glimpse into people’s private lives. It felt very intimate.

Sharing a video of oneself was optional but for those who did, there was no judgement of a messy room or messy hair. Your own room became your sacred space. Someplace you could feel cozy and comfortable. Someplace you could continue to find deep rest, meditate and continue to be in Shavasana even after the end of class.

With virtual yoga we’ve crossed physical barriers, time zones and age limits. Our community continues to grow!

Meditation is a process to try and still the mind and the means by which we can look within.

Some of the benefits of Meditation are:

1. It helps in enhancing focus

2. It may increase the feeling of self-awareness

3. It creates a sense of calm and peace during the day

4. It may help in reducing anxiety

5. It helps in cleansing the mind

There are various kinds of meditation like breathing meditation, mindfulness, vipassana or silent meditation, mantra meditation etc.

Mantra meditation is where one concentrates on a chosen word, for example Om (which is the Universal sound) or any word like peace, joy etc.

The process of doing meditation:

Sit in a comfortable position, keep your back straight and legs crossed. Bring your hands to your lap, palms facing upwards. Close your eyes and bring your focus on the middle of your forehead. Relax your body and slowly repeat your chosen mantra silently in your mind.

Thoughts will come and the mind will wander, look at the thoughts as an observer and let them pass by, just like images of clouds passing by.

Bring your attention back to the mantra.

When starting the practice of meditation start with 10 to 15 minutes a day or 10 minutes twice a day (morning and evening) and then slowly increase to 30 minutes or longer.

The mind revels in routine, so try to meditate at the same time every day and eventually you will start looking forward to that time.

Our mind is not used to silence and stillness so will try to resist meditation,

but with practice when the thoughts slowly start to slow down, our mind will start thriving in this experience of peace and bliss.

I will conclude with a couple of shlokas from the Bhagvad Gita.

Gita chapter 6 verse 11 and 12

शुचौ देशे प्रतिष्ठाप्य स्थिरमासनमात्मन: |

नात्युच्छ्रितं नातिनीचं चैलाजिनकुशोत्तरम् || 11||

Shree Krishna in this verse conveys that to start meditation sit on a clean area not too high or not too low and on a smooth surface.

तत्रैकाग्रं मन: कृत्वा यतचित्तेन्द्रियक्रिय: |

उपविश्यासने युञ्ज्याद्योगमात्मविशुद्धये || 12||

Being seated firmly with one pointed focus the yogi should try to control the mind and thoughts to eventually attain purification of mind and intellect.

This is a repost. I do not know who the original author is but I found this article many moons ago. I have been inspired by this writing and often go back and reread it. My understanding of the Gita and life in general gets deeper each time!

Gita: Eighteen chapters of your life:

Q: Thousands of years ago (at the time of the Mahabharata), people had the same problems as what we have today. There is not much difference.

So, in ones life, you may experience the 18 chapters of the Bhagavad Gita

•The first chapter is where you regret and say, "I am powerless, and I give up"

•The second chapter in your life is when someone wakes you up and says, "Hey come on! There’s nothing to regret in life. There is something in you that doesn’t change, and you have the power to sail over all this". Then you wake up and you feet good

•The third chapter tells you to act. Don’t sit and worry, ‘What about me? What about me? 'Go and act, this is Karma Yoga

•The fourth chapter tells you, now that you are acting you must also listen to knowledge. Don’t become like a machine and only act, listen to knowledge as well. There is something beyond all this

•The fifth chapter tells you about material and spiritual knowledge. You cannot say, "Everything is being done and there is nothing for me to do", or you cannot think, "I am doing everything. I did this and I did that". This is not going to work for you. Wake up and see, are things happening or are you really doing it?

•Then the sixth chapter is when you learn to meditate

•The seventh chapter tells you, now that you’re meditating, you should know the author of meditation - the one who is meditating in you. 'Who am I? What is time?' Knowing all about science

•Like that it goes on! When you meditate miracles happen in your life. Wake up and see the miracles! Many don’t observe miracles, nor believe in it. If you recognize it and believe in it then it happens even more! Give a chance for miracles to happen, don’t be so steeped in the material cause and effect - 'I did this so this will happen', or 'I did that and only that will happen', no! You did it but something else can also happen out of the blue! Recognizing that ‘something different’ is Vibhuti. Vibhuti means giving a chance for miracles in your life, exploring it

•Then after that is knowing the universal self and knowing that everything is in me and I am in everything

•Then comes love and devotion. You know and understand all this, but then what? It is not enough. You should be in deep love! When you know that the divine loves you, you cannot but fall in love with the divine! That’s the 12th chapter

•Then you understand what the divine qualities are and what are the demonic qualities and you realize that you have all the divine qualities in you

•Then there are the three qualities or Gunas (Sattvic, Rajasic and Tamasic) to everything: mind, ego and food. Sattvic ego is, "I am everything and everybody". The Tamasic ego is knowing that you are only this body, and the Rajasic ego is having a limited mindset and falling into craving and aversion

•The final chapter is knowing that you cannot wash your own sins. Drop them and understand what is being said, "I am here to take care of your sins. Feel that you are mine, be connected to me and I will take care of everything. Just relax!’ This is sanyaasa or liberation

These are the 18 chapters and these chapters are all a part of everybody’s life. Sometimes we don’t reach up to the 18th chapter. It takes many lifetimes to reach there!

Step 1: Namaskar asana

1. Stand at the end of your mat, keep your feet together and distribute your weight on both feet equally

2. Open your chest and just relax your shoulders

3. Breathe in and lift both your arms up from the sides

4. Exhale and bring your palms together in a prayer position in front of your chest

DEEPENING TIP:

• Activate your feet and stand as if they are tripods

• Activate your legs and keep your spine erect

Step 2: Raised Arms Pose – Hasta Uttanasana

1. Breathe in and bring your arms in front then lift your arms up and back

2. Make sure that your biceps are close to your ears

3. Make effort to stretch your whole body starting from the heels up to the fingertips

4. Keep knees firm and bend only upper body

5. Beginners and people with back, neck issues, BP, migraine, keep your neck straight and look in front. Arch back only with your hands

6. Keep arms open to expand the chest

DEEPENING TIP:

• Push the pelvis forward just a little bit

• Instead of bending backwards, reach up with fingers

Step 3: Hand to foot pose – Padahastasana

1. Breathing out and bend forward from your hip joint while keeping your spine straight

2. Exhale and completely bring your palms down to the floor in line with your feet. If needed, cup your fingers

DEEPENING TIP:

• Bend your knees to bring your palms down to the floor.

• Make a moderate effort to straighten your knees if you can.

• Keep your hands motionless in this position.

• Never move them until you compete this third sequence.

Step 4: Equestrian pose – Ashwa Sanchalan asana

1. Breathe in, bend knees slightly and push your right leg as far back as possible

2. Bring your right knee to the floor with toes pointing out and slowly look up. If the stretch is too much, keep your toes tucked in

3. Your left ankle and knee should be in one line forming a right angle

DEEPENING TIP:

• Check if your left foot is exactly in between the palms

• Check that your left knee is not pushing out

Step 5: Stick pose – Dandasana/ Phalak asana/Plank

1. Breath in, raise your right knee off the ground and take your left leg back

2. Bring your whole upper body in a straight line. Look down to keep spine in line

3. Keep core tight and back up

4. Keep your shoulder and wrist in one line

5. Spread your fingers wide

DEEPENING TIP:

• Keep your arms erect to the floor

Step 6: Eight points – Ashtanga Namaskara/Chaturanga Dandasana

1. Gradually bring your knees down to the floor then exhale

2. Slightly take your hips back and slide forward

3. Relax your chest and chin/forehead on the ground

4. Elevate your posterior a little bit

DEEPENING TIP:

• The eight parts of your body including two hands, two feet, two knees, chest and chin should touch the ground

Step 7: Cobra Pose – Bhujangasana

1. Slide forward and raise your chest up into the Cobra pose

2. Keep your elbows bent and fixed in this pose. This makes the heart and lungs strong

3. Do not straighten elbows. This can cause backache

4. Keep your hands flat on the ground with fingers spread

5. Keep your shoulders away from your ears

6. Slowly look up and bend back if you have no issues

DEEPENING TIP:

• Inhale and make a moderate effort to push your chest forward

• Exhale and make a light effort to push your navel down

• Point your toes back

• Make sure that you are stretching just as much as you can and do not go beyond the limits of your body

Step 8: Mountain Pose – Parvatasana

1. Breathe out, tuck your toes in and lift your hips as well as your tail bone up

2. Pull your chest downwards to create an inverted V pose

DEEPENING TIP:

· Keep your heels on the ground as far as possible

· Make a moderate effort to lift your tailbone up

· Gradually go deeper into the stretch

Step 9: Equestrian Pose – Ashwa Sanchalanasana

1. Breathe in and bring your right foot forward in between the two hands. Or, breathe in, bring left knee to the ground and then bring your right foot in between your hands

2. Your palms can be flat on the ground or fingers cupped

3. Bring your left knee down to the ground. Point toes back

4. Press your hips down then look up

DEEPENING TIP:

• Place your right foot exactly between the two hands

• Make sure that your right calf is perpendicular to the ground

· You only need moderate effort in order to push your hips down towards the floor and deepen the yoga stretch

Step 10: Hand to foot Pose – Padahastasana

1. Breathe out, lift your left knee and bring your left foot forward

2. Keep your palms on the ground

3. You can bend your knees, if you feel some discomfort

DEEPENING TIP:

• Gently straighten your knees and if you can, try and touch your nose to the knees

• Keep on breathing

Step 11: Raised Arms Pose - Hasta Uttanasana

1. Breath in and roll your spine up

2. Slide your hands out and up. Bend backwards a little bit

3. Push your hips slightly outward

DEEPENING TIP:

• Make sure that your biceps are beside your ears

• Aim to stretch up more instead of stretching backwards

Step 12: Namaskar asana

1. Exhale and first straighten your body

2. Bring your arms down to Namaskar/ Tadasana

DEEPENING TIP:

• Relax in this yoga pose.

• Observe the sensations that the Sun salutations bring in your body.

For the finishing, lie down and relax your entire body in a Yoga Nidra. Your body needs sufficient time to adjust to the effects of the stretches of your sun salutations. It can bring enough rest for the mind and body.