Barrett - Yoga Happy: Simple Tools and Practices for Everyday Calm & Strength

Here you will learn how to create the perfect yoga routine for your day and what you can expect to find in the rest of this book. I havent put the stages below in any particular order because you will naturally find the schedule that works for you. I love to start and end my day with meditation and my mindful movement usually happens after the kids are in bed. However, I know lots of people like to move first thing so please play around with the order. Youll learn that yoga is all about tuning in and connecting with what is right for you.

The physical practice of yoga is about mindful movement; learning to work with and understand our limits, maintaining moment-to-moment awareness and recognising where we may need to put in a little more effort or find a little more ease. The first chapter offers a collection of sequences to call on depending on your mood.

The breath is our life force and the essence of yoga. How often do you go about your day paying no attention to your breath? In I outline why connecting with the breath is so important and set out a number of different yogic breathing techniques to create calm, boost energy, promote sleep or find whatever it is you need in that moment.

We live in a society of noise and can be constantly on the go, meaning that switching off is extremely difficult. Meditation helps me find calm and has been a saviour in my yoga practice. In I introduce you to mindfulness and meditation and their benefits and share a number of accessible practices you can incorporate into your daily routine.

Alongside meditation this is how I start every single day. It doesnt take up much time and it sets the energy and intention for the rest of my day. I talk about gratitude and finding purpose in . Even if you have never journaled before, I challenge you to start now and see the positive impact it has on your life.

We often hear that you cant pour from an empty cup and I urge you to believe this is true. The chapter talks about the importance of a regular self-care routine and how it will positively impact your relationship with others as well as with yourself.

THE STUDY OF ASANA IS NOT ABOUT

MASTERING POSTURE. ITS ABOUT

USING POSTURE TO UNDERSTAND

AND TRANSFORM YOURSELF.

B.K.S. IYENGAR

One of my darkest periods was during and after the premature birth of my daughter. For the first week of her life we didnt know if she was going to make it. When the doctors in the neonatal intensive care unit did their twice-daily rounds, I was asked to leave her bedside so that they could examine her. As you can imagine, this is not what an anxious, traumatised mum wants to do. So, to save my mind from going to wild places, I would get on my yoga mat my sanctuary, my safe space and for the three weeks she was in the unit, gentle movement was my medicine.

As my daughter grew stronger and came out the other side, movement continued to be my release. I gave myself a set of go-to yoga flows, breathing techniques and meditations to call on, depending on how I felt. My favourite of these was a restorative sequence of poses I would lie in for five or ten minutes each evening to help open my chest, relieve tension and calm my mind. Even just putting my legs up against a wall for a short period of time, focusing on simply breathing in and breathing out, helped so much.

Yoga asana (the physical practice) is something you can truly do anywhere, any time. Five to ten-minute flows are enough to find connection in your mind and body, and ground you in the now. If youve ever tried holding a warrior II pose for a minute or more you will know the connection and resilience you gain; resilience that will stay with you off the mat.

On the following pages, I share tips on starting and maintaining a physical yoga practice and how to overcome some of the common barriers. Ill also give you a whistle-stop tour of the origins of asana and what I believe are some of the invisible tools of yoga (the tools you cant actually see but will help you excel at your practice).

In the next chapter you will find a collection of my favourite short but highly effective flows (yoga sequences) to give you what you need, whether thats a burst of energy, inner strength, restoration, or to relieve some common aches and pains.

Believing you need to twist your body into the shape of a pretzel is one of the many yoga myths that have developed over time. I want to air a few of these myths and the reasons people find not to start practising yoga in the hope that if they are on your mind, you can have some comfort that a) you are not alone and b) they should not hold you back from stepping onto the mat or deepening your practice.

The word yoga means to yoke or bind and is often referred to as union. Yoga is about mindful movement linked to the breath. The physical postures or asanas are designed to purify the body and provide strength, flexibility, mobility and stamina. Its completely okay if you cant touch your toes; youre still performing a forward fold! Flexibility comes over time as a byproduct of yoga, not as a requirement.

Yoga is for everyone, irrespective of age and body shape. I teach an incredible lady who is 75 and can easily float up into a headstand, and I regularly teach corporate classes where we do the whole flow seated on a chair. Anyone can practise; all you need is dedication and the commitment to keep at it.

Its true that if you step into a yoga class you may predominantly be surrounded by women. However, traditionally the opposite was true and in India yoga used to be practised almost exclusively by men. It was only when it arrived in the West that it drew a large following among women. Regardless, yoga is all-inclusive and most definitely not gender specific.

One of the biggest myths is that every yogis practice is the same and every yoga class is the same; however there is a huge diversity of teachers and classes. I love how yoga can be made accessible through the use of props and joyous through the use of language. Yoga is even educational, enabling us to learn about the anatomy of the body or the philosophical side to the practice. Every person will be able to find a practice that speaks to them whether thats yin, power or