Yoga Snacks: Snack on movement all day long
Transcript
Welcome back to The Work IN everyone! Lately I’ve been exploring the idea of letting go of old things to make room for new. It comes from the yama of Aparigraha or abundance. When you lean into an abundance mindset, that there's always going to be enough, that you’re always going to be enough for whatever you want to have happen, when you learn to trust that, then you can let go of old stuff, old ideas, old beliefs and can set yourself free.
One of those beliefs that I see crop up time and time again in myself and my clients is this myth that in order to get the health benefits of exercise or yoga it takes a lot of time.
One of the most common excuses people have for why they don’t exercise regularly is because they don’t have time. And beneath that is the belief that taking 2 hours out of your day isn’t with it. You’re not worth it. And as wonderful as a yoga practice is, there’s a common misconception that in order to “do” real yoga it has to be in a zen like studio for 90 minute classes, every day, in cute yoga clothes. Oh and you have to be stick thin and Cirque du Soliel flexible. God if any of those things were actually true I wouldn’t practice yoga either.
I have a tendency to be an all or nothing kind of person when it comes to exercise. I used to work absolutely crazy hours in corporate fitness, leading up to 24 class hours a week between several different accounts. So I got plenty of activity. Too much activity. I was pretty burnt out physically and mentally. For all you young instructors out there I do not recommend that. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. If you’re teaching so much that you aren’t capable of doing your own thing then you may want to explore ways to find some balance. All I really wanted to be able to do is simply shower once a day, like normal people and get dressed in something other than yoga pants
Anyway, when I stepped away from all that to focus on yoga and trauma release I realized that running an online business means you spend a lot of time at a desk. A lot. And at first the rest did me good but then I started collecting some aches and pains that I didn’t really like and I knew were related to my new sedentary life and things I like to do started getting harder, like hiking and cycling. So I thought I better start working out again. For myself.
I didn’t expect it to be so challenging, it’s not like I didn’t have the time. When you make your own schedule there’s no real excuse, right? But I felt like if I didn’t get up in the morning and exercise first thing it just wasn’t going to happen.
The best time of day to exercise is when you’ll actually do it. The best type of exercise is the type that you’ll do. I have always had more energy and will power in the morning so this isn’t surprising.
But I also like my morning coffee ritual and that sometimes conflicts with my best intentions to work out. I know shocking, right, the yoga teacher and health coach that prefers to curl up on the couch with 3 cups of coffee and her kindle instead of burning through sun salutations and morning meditation. But listen, for the past 20 years I never really had to work out for myself, I was always teaching so I was working out with you, doing workouts that were for you. So it’s like starting from scratch..
Out of this struggle I realized that a lot of folks are probably like this. Crunched for time, not morning people, don’t have long enough lunch breaks, family obligations in the evening or simply too tired for a full blown workout by the time the work day is done.
One of the biggest myths about exercise is that you have to do it all at once in order for it to be beneficial. That means that 3 10 minute snacks of movement are just as good as 30 minutes straight.
In fact there are studies that show that small fidgety movements (studying fidgeters) throughout the day can burn 800-2400 extra calories from fat.
If that’s true, that means that even when you can’t get to the gym for that HIIT class or your favorite 90 minute vinyasa, you can still snack on movement throughout your day every day.
Snack time! Who doesn’t love it? I have to say I’m a snacker. I pretty much only eat one real meal a day, the rest of the time I like small bite sized little morsels throughout my day. So when I heard about this yoga snack concept I was really excited!
So when I opened my online studio I wanted to offer snack size options for both functional movement and yoga and give people a way to increase their activity every day that didn’t have to take them out of their day.
Now there are several ways that you can do this. It’s not really rocket science. But I’ve created something to help you get started you can sign up and receive a free PDF of that includes the Movement snacks we’re going to talk about here and then if you’d like you can head over to my Youtube channel Kinetic Grace Resilience and follow along with a couple of yoga snacks that I have posted there.
3 for 30
First way to snack on movement is to set a timer for every 30 minutes. Every time the alarm chimes, you simply standup for 3 minutes. You can walk around the room, go to the restroom, get a glass of water, Whatever you want but get out of your chair for 3 minutes. So simple - no sweat at all.
Movement Math
Second way is to pick 2-3 simple movements that you can do without changing your clothes. For example, pushups, plank, squats or dips off your chair, lunges. Something a little bigger movement than the first option and something that you can count. Then pick a number and set a goal. I like to start with 100. But you may want to go bigger or smaller. Now all you need to do is break up your movements into sets of 10 or 20 and sprinkle them throughout your day until you hit your number.
For example the last couple weeks I’ve been doing pushups, dips and squat pulses. I try to get 5 sets of 20 or more each day. It works because the sets are small enough that I don’t break a sweat but it keeps my muscles and metabolism on line and I get far more activity than I would if I just sat still for 8 hours straight.
Yoga Snack
The 3rd way is to try a yoga snack. And again, there are many ways to practice yoga off the mat, including guided meditations from an app like insight timer or head space, and simply applying yoga philosophy like the yamas and niyamas in intentional ways. But here I want to give you a little 5 minute yoga snack outline and you can expand it however you want. And remember you can go see some of these over on the youtube channel the link will be in the show notes.
Minute 1: The breath - place your hand on your belly and either your ribcage or your chest and feel how you’re breathing. Notice how long your exhale is then try to slow your inhale a bit to match - let the breath transition flow easily between the inhale and exhale.
Minute 2 : Create your 3 word intention. Think of 3 positive present words that reflect what you want to feel in your body, in your mind, in your spirit. Repeat them to yourself 3 X
Minute 3: Move with the breath. Notice any places in your body where you feel restriction, tension or tightness in the muscles. Let yourself move into those spaces. That might be rolling your neck and shoulders, moving through the spine, side to side, forward and back or twisting, maybe stretching out your jaw. Wherever it is, move slowly and with intention.
Now connect that movement with the breath and expand it a little bit. Inhale as your body and arms expande and exhale as you contract. Let that very slow breath pace the movement knowing you can take an extra breath when and if you need it. The body can move any way that you feel, there’s no right or wrong here, there aren’t even any specific poses. This snack is just about becoming aware of your breath and body.
Minute 4- 5: During these last 2 minutes we want to do a brief body scan. Simply bring your attention to each area of the body, softening as you go, starting at the feet and moving up to knees, hips, belly, back, chest shoulders, arms, hands, neck, jaw, face, crown of the head. You might also choose to contract each body part and then fully relax it. When you’re finished take another full breath and repeat your 3 word intention to yourself.
Yoga snacks can be as involved or as simple as you need them to be in the moment. This is one that lets you remain at your desk if you need to but still taps into the stress relief from the breath and connection to the body. And it can be done seated or standing.
If you have more time and want to expand this simply spend more time in each of the sections.
So again if you’d like a hard copy of our movement snacks head over to the Youtube channel Kinetic Grace Resilience to check out a video demo and you can get a PDF copy of the snacks we talked about here or go to elementalkinetics.com/freeresources and sign up for your copy there.
I think the most important thing we can do for our own mental, physical and emotional wellness is to be open to finding what works for us. There’s a lot of advice out there. But the most powerful tools, the ones that are most effective and give the greatest results, are the ones that let you work with your body and those aren’t going to be the same for everyone. We’re all unique and complex creatures that deserve the chance to explore that individuality. That includes using what you know about your body and yourself to find ease and balance.
Thanks for joining me today everyone I’ll see you next time on the Work IN!
I’m Ericka
I offer online, on demand private sessions, courses & memberships for individuals, small groups and corporate clients looking to build resilience and recover from stress injury.
I teach a powerfully effective modality called trauma release exercise that works through the body without the need to relive the story.
Click below to book a call to discover if trauma release is right for you. (spoiler alert…IT IS!)