12 Ways to Live a Healthier Life

Living a healthy life is very simple, inexpensive, and accessible. While you may have heard all 12 of these ways before, you may or may not be actually practicing them. Allow this list to serve as a call to action to carve time out of your day or week for your own health and wellness.

1. Breathe deep.  Try it right now.  Just inhale completely until you are full of breath. Pause. Now exhale all the way until you are empty of breath. Do that two more times. It is really simple, but challenging nonetheless, as our thoughts often interrupt the process of conscious breathing. Deep breathing calms your nervous system, reduces stress, and catapults you into a state of relaxation. Take at least three deep conscious breaths every day, and experience a sense of calm.

2. Be conscious of what you eat and drink, and why you are choosing it.   A little awareness goes a long way. Just be aware of what you put in your body every time you consume something and ask yourself, "Is this going to feed my body with nutrients?"  If your answer is "no," and you eat it anyway, then ask yourself why you choose to feed your body with anything less than the best.

3. Drink Water.  I promise you that you will feel better on the days that you drink water (at least 8 glasses) than on the days that you don't.  You will be more awake, more aware, less hungry, and more energized when you are hydrated. Try it!

4. Move Your Body. Whether it is walking, going to the gym, or practicing yoga, make time to move your body in a conscious way at least three times per week. Move your body with the intention of health instead of vanity. 

5. Meditate. Take at least five minutes per day to STOP what you are doing, and sit down on a chair, against a wall, or on a cushion to clear your mind. You do not need to be by the ocean or somewhere pretty to find calm. You can meditate anywhere. Set a timer if you need and just allow your mind be clear. Five minutes is hardly any time at all, and we have all wasted more time doing something less meaningful. Meditation will clear your mind, help you put things in perspective, decrease perceived stress, and improve focus.

6. Go outside. Take time to get to nature at least once per week whether it is in your backyard, at a park, or in the mountains. Look around you at the trees, rocks, plants, and grass, and stars, and take nature in.  Nature can invigorate your spirits and remind you of the beauty in the world.

7. Practice yoga and stretch. As we age we lose elasticity in our muscles. One of the best things we can do for our physical body is stretch.  At least once per week practice yoga or stretch at a local studio or gym, or download online yoga classes at yogadownload.com (20 minute classes are free).

8. Read. Stimulate your mind as much as you can by taking time away from television or work to read a book. Reading can help you escape from your regular thought patterns and inspire you. Challenge yourself to read a book or magazine at least 2 times per week.

9. Pray. Connect with something bigger than yourself each day with gratitude, service and intention. This can take under a minute, or more if you feel devoted.

10. Give and receive touch.  Whether it is a hug, a massage, or a pat on the back, allow yourself to give and receive touch every day.  If your budget allows, schedule a massage every 1-3 months.

11. Think happy thoughts.  You might not fly from thinking happy thoughts, but you will eliminate the stress that negativity can cause. You do not have to be unrealistic in your thinking, but become aware of negative thoughts and words you might be accustomed to.  This can help you change your perspective, reduce stress, and connect to the joy in your own life.

12. Actually practice everything on this list. While you may have read or seen all the above ways to be healthy before, and even know them to be true, are you actually practicing them? Knowing and doing are two different things. Let go of any excuses or limiting beliefs around health like lack of time or money. I invite you to put forth the effort that it takes to add all of the above components to your day or week to create health and vitality in your life.

Feel free to add to this list or share your experience and challenges in the comments box below.

- By Jackie Casal Mahrou

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What Are You Really Committed To?

Recently I attended a commitment seminar (Landmark Forum), and we were asked to make a list of what we are committed to in our lives. "Easy enough," I thought, so I wrote down things like, health, yoga, teaching, being a good wife, love, contentment, learning, saving money, and a few others.  

Next, we were asked to reflect upon our moment-to-moment and day-to-day actions to see how they corresponded with our declared commitments. Then came the wakeup call.  My day-to-day actions revealed that I was instead committed and addicted to being busy, working, watching reruns on tv, sipping on Starbucks and wine, spending money,  and lots of other things that did not exactly line up with my desires.

It takes a moment of authenticity and awareness to admit that we might be devoting our time and energy into actions that may not be in alignment with our intentions, and therefore chasing our own tails. Simply pausing to examine our day-to-day actions will reveal to us what we are really dedicated to in our lives, and allow us the awareness we need to redirect our life should we find any misalignments.  

I invite you to take a moment and reflect on your own life.  You can journal or meditate on the following questions:

1.  What are your desires, commitments, and intentions for yourself and your life?  

2.  What do you spend your time doing each day?  What are you devoting your energy to?

3.  Are your daily actions in service of your desires, commitments, and dreams, or are there areas of misalignment?

If your actions are in alignment with your commitments then celebrate.  If you find areas where you are misaligned then you can now begin the process of redirecting your life.  Having awareness of what you desire, and what you are directing your energy towards will catapult you into a space of growth and possibility.

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Start Yoga Young - How Kids Can Benefit from Yoga

  

We were all born with flexibility. It is life experience and stress that tightens up our bodies, rounds our shoulders, and gives us neck and back pain. Imagine if you would have learned yoga postures and deep breathing techniques when you were a kid. How might your body and mind be different today?  While we cannot go back in time to change our own lives, we can offer the opportunity of learning yoga to our children. These days children live a fast paced life of school, homework, sports, music lessons, and other activities that combined together can cause stress.  Kids yoga can provide an opportunity for children to slow down, stretch, and connect to their inner joy so that they can learn to cope with stress, and stay flexible. Here are more ways that children can benefit from yoga:

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        - Increased strength, coordination and flexibility:  Children learn many different yoga postures that increase strength, balance, and flexibility. Yoga postures strengthen the muscles along the front and back of the spine, allowing children to have better posture. Balancing postures increase core strength, allowing children to be less likely to injure themselves.

·          - Enhanced concentration and focus:  It takes a child’s full attention to learn a yoga posture.  Each posture involves balancing, breathing, and coordination. During balancing postures children focus their eyes on a certain object to help them stay balanced on one foot. This teaches them how to maintain focus and awareness.

·          - A sense of peace and calm:  Even the most hyper children have an inner calm. Yoga teaches kids how to access this inner calm at any given moment. Through breathing techniques children learn how to calm themselves down, self-soothe, and cope. Deep breathing naturally brings children into their parasympathetic nervous system, quiets their mind, and helps them get centered. When children learn to slow down and breathe deeply, they can become more relaxed in challenging situations.

·          - Increased self-confidence: Children are encouraged to stay focused on their own bodies and breathing, instead of comparing themselves with others. As they continuously practice yoga they begin to see positive changes in their strength, balance, and flexibility. They become stronger in both body and mind.  

Yoga is for all ages, but the earlier we begin practicing the earlier we can begin to absorb the many benefits.  The goal of kids yoga is to preserve both the flexibility and the joyful heart we were all born with. Children can carry the mind and body lessons of yoga with them into adulthood, so that they can lead more peaceful and centered lives.  

By - Jackie Casal Mahrou

Download a yoga class just for kids here!

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Learn to Love Hanumanasana

If there is one yoga posture that tests our patience, flexibility, and dedication, it is Hanumanasana, or the forward splits. Unless you are a dancer or gymnast, it can seem ridiculous to even attempt such a huge stretch that can take years to achieve, but therein lies the magic of the pose.  While I doubt Hanumanasana is anyone’s favorite pose, we cannot ignore the physical, mental, and spiritual power that this posture can evoke. 

The story behind the posture

No matter what our spiritual beliefs are, the stories derived from ancient Indian texts can inspire us as we journey through each posture. The posture, Hanumanasana, was named after Hanuman, a devotee of Rama, the king of India in the ancient Sanskrit text, the Ramayana. According to the story, a demon king abducted King Rama’s wife, Sita, and a huge battle began. During this battle, Hanuman was asked to help find Sita, and to find an herb that was needed to save King Rama’s brother who was wounded in battle.  Hanuman was asked to do the impossible, and he questioned whether he could accomplish this task.  The moment before his journey he remembered his own power and devotion, and was then able to take a gigantic leap across the Indian Ocean to rescue Sita.  When he learned of Rama’s brother being wounded, he took another giant leap from India to the Himalayas, and picked up an entire mountain that the sacred herb was growing on, and carried it over his head as he leaped back to India to save Rama’s brother. 

This story of courage and dedication can inspire us to stay committed as we practice this posture that resembles a giant leap. We might think such an opening is unachievable, but if we pause and connect to the power and devotion we have within ourselves, we can find the courage to try.  After all, the postures that are the most challenging are always the ones that yield the greatest rewards. 

Since Hanumanasana is an asymmetrical posture, it can be a tricky one to warm up to.  It requires not only an opening on the hamstring of your front leg, but also a lengthening on the quadriceps of your back leg.  The posture tests our will and patience, while accessing one of the tightest areas in our bodies, our groin and hips.  The beauty of Hanumanasana as with any pose, is that as we continuously practice, we become more flexible, patient, and devoted people. 

By- Jackie Casal Mahrou

This has also been posted on yogadownload.com's blog.  If you are interested in taking a video or audio version of a  Hanumanasana Yoga Class visit here.

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Why Yoga is Awesome

Yoga will change your body, and it will also change your life. 

This could seem like a bold statement for those who have never experienced yoga beyond the physical element.   So often when I mention that I teach yoga, people respond, "Oh I'm terrible at yoga! I can't touch my toes!" I smile and let them know that yoga is so much more than stretching, but I usually get a confused look in return. I laugh at the thought that I would have based my whole life and career as a yoga teacher around just getting people to touch their toes. Yoga is not that boring. Like many others, I began yoga for physical reasons, but quickly learned that the true practice could transform me from the inside out.  Regardless of what initially brings us to yoga, the reasons that we keep returning to our mats are far more awesome.

Yoga teaches us how to stand.

One of the very first poses you learn in yoga, Tadasana, or mountain pose, literally and symbolically teaches you how to stand on your own two feet. When you take mountain pose, you do more than just stand with your arms stretched above your head.  You embody the magnificence of a mountain.  You feel and become grand, rooted, and strong, with the earth as your foundation. In your physical practice of postures, you learn to stand in an engaged and balanced way. Symbolically, you learn to stand firm in your beliefs, so that you cannot be easily shaken by external forces. This practice of cultivating balance in our physical bodies teaches us how to sustain balance in our daily lives.

Yoga makes us more aware.
Often we see things, but don't notice them. Through the practice of asana (posture), and pranayama (breath control), you begin to notice things about yourself that you might not normally be aware of.  The more you practice yoga the more you know yourself. We not only learn how to place our feet and hands, but we learn how to place our minds and hearts in alignment with our true nature. One of my students recently told me that she was always comparing herself to others in yoga, and on this particular day she realized that she had the same tendency in her everyday life. Once she became aware of her pattern, she was able to start changing it and living more authentically. In a similar way, as we practice postures and deep breathing regularly, we may notice our tendencies to rush, force, judge, or become impatient. Our yoga mats become a place to practice overcoming patterns, relinquishing useless thoughts, and slaying inner dragons. Little by little, we begin to notice more, and so begins the journey of becoming fully conscious.

Yoga helps us spread our light to others.
It is hard to resist the light and wisdom that arises from tuning inward. You come to back to yoga again and again to align with the light within and around you, and to know yourself in a greater way.  As we nurture our relationship with ourselves, we nurture our relationships with others. The more conscious we become, the less we ignore. We stop using the excuse that that's just the way things are, and begin to realize that we hold the power to change more than ourselves. We create a ripple, and then a wave. The more we tune inward, the more we can expand outward and create positive change. We stretch our bodies and become more limber through yoga practice, but more so we stretch our awareness, minds, and hearts.

By Jackie Casal Mahrou

This article has been published in the elephantjournal under the title 
Three Ways Yoga Can Transform You

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