yoga breathing | St. Louis Corporate Yoga

Breathing With Awareness

There are many special breathing exercises we share with our corporate yoga students during on-site classes. There is really an appropriate breathing style for nearly all ailment of body and soul.

A healing journey teaches that yoga is life and all life is interconnected. When we practice stretching, we access and expand 72,000 energy openings called Nadis. Watching our breath, we step to the edge, and ignite our spirit!

Yoga is not about having the most flexible or strongest body. Real yoga is developing the ability to maintain an equanimous mind no matter what is happening. When we push ourselves to the edge, breathe and remain gentle and calm, we begin to rewire our mind. The parasympathetic calms, soothes and repairs our system. As well, we also experience all of the following benefits as well.

Breathing with Awareness

■lowers high blood pressure
■slow digestion
■increase blood flow to the skin and surface of the body
■provides constant stimulation
■slows down an irregular heartbeat
■helps the mind rewire and change a fear of constant threat to
■work with the root causes of disease in the body

Watching our breath or meditation, helps us shift from the unconscious to the conscious. This “witness of breath” helps raise the parasympathetic nervous system where we may quiet and raise the balance energy of our nervous system.

As soon as we feel sensation, the Buddha taught, we have been conditioned to compete, react and judge, thereby limiting our true experience. We will show you how the issues of your life are trapped inside the tissues of your body.

Tension in the body is just trapped energy. Yoga does not seek to manipulate the mind. Rather, we work with opening up the web of life found in your body. And when you learn to move your bodies in a sacred way we wake up the life force and feel good. With constant practice and application of the tools we share with you, you will learn how to transform the reactive places in your mind/body experience, expand on new possibilities, find greater levels of inner peace and have fun.

When you live from your truth, from your joy, and from feeling good every day, you become abundant. Practicing like this on a regular basis will bring about greater transformation, magic and rapture! Yoga develops longer response time, and increase our ability to make better choices. This results in activating parts of your limbic system, and brain to make better choices based on motivational living. The more we practice this kind of yoga, the more we expand our circles to inspire and motivate others by our own example.

Our yoga classes are all level style and a great fit for both brand new beginners to yoga as well as those who are more advanced. Our corporate yoga clients report a much greater overall level of joy, life satisfaction, vitality, and improved energy.

We would love to schedule a complimentary phone consultation at your earliest convenience – just call us at 314-630-1677. Namaste!

Energy Dynamics In The Workplace

From the moment we are born, gravity is working to compress, compact and tighten our cells and tissues. Overwhelming sensations can get trapped in the body, emitting a vibrational pull that will attract more of the same experience until we learn. If we don’t understand that this is just energy dynamics at work, it is easy to feel overwhelmed.

Yoga postures encourage us to stay with the sensations of discomfort. In a consumerist culture, we are lulled into thinking that distractions and quick fixes are the best solution. After some time, distraction and excessive consuming not only did work but also possibly heighten the challenges. Rather than taking more responsibility for our job, we are fired, we get seriously sick or a relationship breaks up.

When we breathe deeply, we understand that we are in relationship to everything else. Yoga practice helps us stay grounded and become more present. The understanding of how or when energy dynamics start and stop present themselves in the form of bodily sensations. Do you feel supported, grounded or nervous and anxious? When you feel animated, you are strong. When you are scattered, you lose momentum.

It is those moments that we have an opportunity to step back, not react and like the witness or scientist, stay calm. The more awake, the more aware, the more we can practice, engage soul and develop clarity.

Years ago, I used to be very uptight around budgeting. Finances, was just something I was never good with, after all look at how little my parents showed me, I told myself. My tipping point came when my daughter was about 3 ½ and I remember just never wanting her to see her mother worry about money or security like that again. I began taking action steps and reading all about finances. It took me several years, and it was a very slow, gradual steady amount.

When we feel empowered to take care of our self, to take greater self-responsibility, we will not be afraid of our shadow. We can then become more responsible for the management of our own energy, zoom out and not take our fears so personally or literally, we begin to really grow up.

Every time you make a stand for yourself, you will strengthen your vessel and you will allow an external or internal set of dynamics to control, manipulate or dictate your fears. Exceptional people will feel challenges and disappointments as a blessing which then inspires others to become victorious.

Yoga is a journey to go past the commercials, past our rational mind and listen from inside.

Rather than look outside for power, we want to teach ourselves how to breathe correctly, and reconnect to our life source. As we realign to spirit, we will be challenged and purified at the deepest level. The still and small place inside will gather courage and compassion, resolve the traumas in the tissues and know that wherever we are, it is with the highest peace.

We truly hope you have enjoyed reading this article on practicing energy dynamics. To pick up a yoga class in your workplace, give us a call at 314-630-1677.

Got Breath?

This blogpost offers an introduction to deep belly breathing at the office! For over ten years, St. Louis Corporate Yoga has offered more than 2,500 yoga classes to the corporate clientele in St. Louis, Missouri. Learn here in this wonderful blogpost why deep yoga breathing works and how easy it is to implement a daily deep breathing yoga practice.

Deep yoga breathing unlocks the diaphragm muscle, associated with courage. When we breathe correctly, we ignite the parasympathetic nervous system and calm the anxious mind. Breathing deeply massages all the internal organs, reconnects us to our lightness, strength and inner peace. When our mind is calm, the body is at peace. Widespread scientific evidence tells us that deep relaxation and breathing lowers blood pressure and causes a decrease in the bodies cortisol or stress hormone levels.

Breathing correctly reignites our natural presence and desire to be open, curious and explorative both in our thinking and discussion with others. Deep breathing ignites our courage, up levels of positive thinking, and increases feelings of trust, connection, motivation and appreciation. Breathing soothes the nervous system, helps us to remain grounded and seek out solution based practices. Shifting our focus onto the breath, wherever we go, we can find the natural ability to awaken and realize our natural state is joy!

Wayne Dyer once said, change the way you see something and what you will see changes. Friendly people live in a friendly world, hostile people live in a hostile world, same world.

Here is a beautiful yoga breathing exercise written by one of our favorite yoga teachers, Nicole Thompson, who currently teaches corporate onsite yoga for St. Louis Corporate Yoga.

Breathing Practice

“Lie flat on your back and close your eyes. Breathe naturally. In through the nose, and out through the nose.

Begin to deepen your breath. Inhale, 1,2,3,4. Exhale, 1,2,3,4. Feel the breath fill your lungs. Exhale slowly, completely. Inhale. Feel the space it creates between the ribs. Exhale slowly. Breathe into your side ribs. Notice how the chest expands, creating space from your collar bones down to your abdomen.

With each inhalation, scan your body. Notice any tightness or tenseness and breathe here and as you exhale, release the tension. With each breath in, locate some area where you’re gripping or holding tension, even just a little bit, and with each exhale, release that part of the body. You can start to cultivate Ujayii breath and ride the breath in and out of the body. We do this by slightly constricting the passageway in the back of the throat to create an audible hissing sound on the inhale and exhale. It can help throughout our practice to return to this breath when our mind begins to wander or we find ourselves struggling in a pose.

Place your hands on your belly and breathe into your belly. Let the inhale pour into the belly and fill the lungs. Exhale completely, getting rid of all of the old air to make space for fresh air. Feel your belly rise and fall slowly with each breath. The breath is a wave. Follow that wave in and out of the body slowly, consciously. Listen to the sound of the waves.”

If you are interested in reaping the tremendous benefits of onsite corporate yoga and joining the ranks of our many different corporate yoga clients, why not set up a personal consultation phone call to see how onsite yoga classes can bring positive change at your company. Just give us a call at 314-630-1677! Namaste.

Fall Asleep Without The Struggle

There is nothing that influences your day more deeply than your sleep quality. How many times do you just drag through the day having no energy or inspiration after a bad night’s sleep? This happens all too often. Of course you can actively support yourself to get a better quality sleep. It all begins with falling asleep without the struggle.

Here a few true and tested tips for easily falling asleep

Turn off your buzzing mind. Do you have a problem falling asleep as your mind cannot stop thinking about the million things you supposed to be doing the next day? Worried about forgetting the most important tasks? Get out a piece of paper and make a to-do list! Then make a priority list. Separate the most important and the most urgent things to get done tomorrow. Make a plan to get those urgent and/or important things first thing in the morning.

Get off the worry train. Do you constantly worry about the many things that can go wrong? Puts those worries on paper – this will help you put them into perspective. You might even find solutions as a result of seeing your worries on paper. If it is outside of your control, saying a prayer might help.

Get an old fashioned alarm clock. You don’t need all those digital gadgets in your bedroom. Ban the TV and all mobile devices if possible. No, you will not miss out on anything, I promise.

Yoga breathing to the rescue. Take a few deep yoga breaths. You don’t even have to get out of bed. Breathe in slowly to the count of 4, then exhale slowly to the same count. Did you know that exhaling really slow helps you relax even more? Try to exhale to the count of 8… don’t rush those numbers! You might need some practice to exhale twice as long as you inhale.

A warm bubble bath might be what you need to help with relaxation. Take a soothing bubble bath or add a few drops of essential oils to your bath water. (Don’t put the essential oils on your skin and don’t overdose them as they can lead to allergic reaction.) Enjoy up to 15-20 minutes of your bath. Add soothing music, a few candles for perfect relaxation.

Prepare for the morning rush the night before. “What to wear to the meeting tomorrow? How about breakfast? What about the weather? Will there be a traffic jam on the way to the office?” – you might be asking a thousand questions silently as you try to fall asleep. Take 10-15 minutes every evening to prepare for the next morning. Check the weather forecast to help you what to wear and plan for traffic jams. Put out the clothes and shoes you want to wear to avoid any surprise early tomorrow. Prep your breakfast if possible. You can gather all ingredients for a healthy smoothie or prepare a sandwich the night before.

Give in. If you still find impossible to fall asleep, instead of getting angry as you waste precious time, just give in to being awake a bit longer. Listen to some relaxing music you like or read a good book. Poems, quotes or inspirational stories are great choices. Reading thrillers or mystery novels might not be a good choice obviously. Let yourself being taken to sleep on the wings of quality entertainment.

Which of these tips will you try tonight?

5 Minute Breathing at the Office

There are many benefits associated with taking five minutes at the office place to breathe deeply. Let’s explore the topic of breathing a bit further in the office environment. When we take our breath for granted, most of us as adults tend to breath shallow.

There are many negative side effects to short, shallow upper chest breathing. Our body interprets this kind of breathing for one foot on the gas and one foot on the brakes. When we do not breathe correctly, we tend to have more dominant, intrusive, fearful thoughts. Simply put, we think too much and become anxious, irritable or depressed. No wonder modern life is still trying to catch up with nature. Computers and globalization still leave us all feeling as if we are wanting something more…

Did you know? We are breathed correctly as babies!

The importance of utilizing proper breathing not only provides us with oxygen, one of our primary nutrients for all metabolic function. It also allows us to activate the cleansing process in the alveolar sacs which exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide. Each day alone, we get 22,000 breaths and if we placed all the alveolar sacs together: they would take up the size of over half a tennis court. Just by comparison, our skin or largest sensory organ is only 3 square feet by 3 square feet. What a difference!

We had this perfect yogic breath when we were babies! Our whole body expanded as we breathed on an inhale and softened as we exhaled. According to yoga, we are not quite sure why we began breathing incorrectly. Maybe it is our tendency to look outside too much. We do know that we during the course of reaching adulthood, most of us lost have lost the art of deep breathing.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Using our primary muscles of breathing, we inhale, expanding the abdomen, allowing the diaphragm to release, the lung tissue to expand and the deep, rich oxygenated breaths to flow. The diaphragm muscle has been associated with courage. In yoga, we understand that as a living healthy organism, we must undergo change in order to remain healthy. When we stay connected to our breath, we let life unfold without attaching to results. We circulate the body with life force energy and wire our brain to stay calm, confident and centered right in the center of change.

From the first breath, we feel lighter, more at ease, more connected to our natural vitality and joy. As we exhale, we allow the belly to soften; the diaphragm will lift up back under the heart and push air out of the lungs. Placing our focus on the breath, we practice meditation, we let things fall apart and we stay centered.

The way you know your yoga is progressing is your ability to take on more stress with less effort. True mastery is really living your everyday life sweetly.

For more information on how to train your employees on how to breathe or to bring corporate onsite yoga to your workplace, please contact, Michelle, at 314-630-1677. Let us help you design a special program for your organization’s unique needs today.

Stress – It Never Stops

Do you feel that your life is filled to the brim with stress on most days?

It usually begins with hearing the sound of your alarm: time to get up! Have you ever woke up scared and not knowing where you are at hearing that alarm clock? Wanting to hit the snooze button… if only you could find the clock or your phone or whatever you use to signal the end of sleep.

You are on high alert even before getting out of bed. And it is not betting better, either. Your family members are intruding in your space (aka use the bathroom so you have to wait, eating up your breakfast instead of making theirs, and sharing with you the newest to-do list of the day and…and…and…).

By the time you hit the road to enjoy your daily commute, you are stressed deeply. The rest of the day has plenty of situations where your stress response gets tested. And it never stops, does it?

Stress becomes a constant in your life not an exception. “Good stress” that is helping you stay alive in the face of danger is an acute state. What you experience most of the time is the killer non-stop stress.

How can you get a breather during intense periods of stress?

First you need to become aware of the situation you are in. Become aware of the need to step back for a few seconds and realize what is happening. What is causing the stress response? What symptoms you experience in the moment of stress?

The second step is to make a conscious decision to step out of stress’ way. This might mean actually separating yourself from the place of stress. During an argument, you might decide to go to another room or office to remove yourself momentarily from this situation you are in. While driving you could take a short break. I know you might be stressed because you are late already but driving yourself crazy will not get you to your meeting any seconds earlier.

Take a deep breath! I know you hear this advice all the time. But have you tried it? Taking a few deep breaths concentrating on how the air is moving in and out of your lungs is guaranteed to help you to calm down.

Depending on your stress level, you might need to take a few more deep breaths. Do you feel you are wasting your time? No, you don’t. You are helping your body to get back to its normal state. Your thinking becomes clearer as a result and you are able to look for solutions to the issues that caused you the stress to begin with.

If you are able to take a few more minutes away from the stress source, even better.

The reason corporate yoga classes work so wonderfully to cut back on bad stress is that you are “allowed to walk away” for 50-60 minutes. Just imagine having an hour to actively relax your body, brain and nervous system!

Our corporate students return back to their desks rejuvenated and ready to look for solutions through cooperating with their co-workers. This is one benefit that all companies love!

Would your company be interested to create a calm, results-oriented and cooperation-based culture? We would love to help! The solution might be just a phone-call away. Call us at 314-630-1677 to discuss how we can support your organization!

Corporate Yoga Benefits – A Testimonial

Ed Enslin, a devoted corporate yoga student with Clayton Yoga finds his weekly yoga classes incredibly beneficial.

Having been always very athletic, Ed finds however, in his maturing years, the impact life can have on our bodies: “When I took my first yoga class, I was very stiff. And I had several previous injuries that had not gone away.” Over 13 years ago, maybe longer, Ed suffered a right broken heel, and after surgery, and many more months of painful recovery, still found it difficult to put his shoe back on. Even completing simple daily activities like mowing the lawn, left his foot feeling swollen for days. Also walking up and down the stairs, he had to go one step a time time leading with the left foot only.

At this point, Ed knew he needed to do something and to make healthy lifestyles changes or things were going to get a lot worse. Ed decided to sign up for his first corporate yoga session with Clayton Yoga. What initially interested him the most was the low cost and outstanding value. Because health insurance companies subsidize these corporate yoga onsite classes by more than 70%, individual students no longer have to carry such financial burden. Ed Enslin, also enjoys the added convenience of onsite yoga classes. Rain or shine, it is super easy to get to class!

The benefits he has found through attending classes are incredible. While he admits that very often before coming to class, he feels very sore and definitely is not pain free, soon enough, after a few yoga stretches, the soreness goes away. Also, he is much more interested in keeping an eye out for high potassium levels in the body.

The wellness model has helped Ed Enslin realize what terrible shape he used to be in and how is able to change all of that. The flexibility and learning that is taking place in my life now is incredible. The practice of breathing prepares Ed for other office tasks too. As he gets older, he finds that yoga also helps him to stay physically balanced as well.

He has even found in the past 4-6 months that attending two corporate onsite classes per week is not enough support. He supplements more yoga with 1-2 additional yoga classes each week at Clayton Yoga studio. Ed enjoys keeping his injuries at bay and his new found ability to take part in more and more of life’s activities. Now, he says he can walk up and down the stairs with two feet!

Ed Enslin finds the Clayton Yoga studio teachers to all be very intelligent, dynamic, active and people that he would want to be friends with. Also, he looks forward to the yoga classes because students are cheerful and bright.

In working with is colleagues, he notices many positive changes there too. People tend to become more social interactive. They really look forward to class. And quite frankly, it makes their day go by faster and folks are more productive. Because of all these benefits, more and more students are also attending. The benefits of yoga are there for everyone, but Ed advises that students do need to give themselves more than just 12 weeks to see all their dreams come true too!

Are you interested in being your healthiest and having your own best lifestyle? If you are interested in more information about starting an onsite yoga class with Clayton Yoga, please contact Michelle at 314-630-1677 or info@claytonyoga.com.

What exactly is Meditation and Can I Begin Practicing in the Office, too?

This blogpost is a description into the everyday magic and natural easefulness ongoing meditation can bring to the workplace. With so many people feeling overwhelmed with their workload today, meditation is a great practice and only requires five minutes when you know what to do.

When you train your mind to stay focused on the breath, you begin to feel at one again with the present. It is this place, that you are likely to feel more calm, empowered and able to make clear choices. Ghandi once said “you must be the change you would like to see”.

It is not about the mistakes or being perfect or pleasing others.

Meditation frees up energy so that we can clearly remove those criticisms and reflect on all the good. And with ‘loving metta’ or awareness, we begin to touch this wisdom that interconnects us all.

Breathing with conscious awareness brings the mind into greater balance, ease, vitality and awareness. We learn through the practice of “meditation yoga” directly that we are always connected. We use this inner faith and apply transformation into any area of our life by seeing the ‘vritti’ or chatter of our mind and not getting caught. The metaphor as being a fish, seeing the hook, but not taking the bite.

So, we come back to our breathing, that indivisible wellspring of goodness and bring it into our everyday life to discover that the power, and faith has always been within. Letting go of our need to know why things happen or unfold as they do and practicing this prayer of surrender reconnects us to our ‘inner mystic’.

With more continuous practice sessions of 5 minute witnessing our breathing throughout the day, we become more confident that a healthy attitude is the way to accessing true potential, wisdom and health.

Meditation reduces stress, anxiety and depression. Other benefits include increased energy, more confidence in reaching goals, greater clarity, improvement in our decision making and better sleep patterns. It is from this harmony that is there all the while, we just need to be still, that we attract the right people, the right circumstance and all abundance. Rumi has said once that all we need to do to tap into this infinite strength is “to sell our cleverness and purchase bewilderment”.

According to spirit, the source of all problems begins when we believe we are separate from spirit. It is when we believe that we are somehow separate that we create problems. The heart of any compassionate practice is to shift your focal point away from these worrisome and distracting thoughts back onto the present moment.

When we place our awareness in the breath, we train the mind to remain neutral. The truth is always that in order to make a difference in the world, we must first make the change from within.

Start a corporate wellness program in the workplace today. Please get in contact so we can help you find the best solution for your company’s needs! Call 314-630-1677.

Yoga Research Findings Enhance On-site Corporate Wellness Classes

Dr. Benson at the Harvard Medical School found that a certain amount of stress is good. A little stress is a good thing. Whether you are doing a job, playing a game, raising a child. Some stress motivates us to adapt to more difficult situations. A little stress can be fun, motivating and even interesting.

But too much stress is a bad thing. Dr Benson uses a graph to show how increasing stress raises your performance and efficiency until you reach a certain point – after that point, more stress causes your performance to decline and efficacy to reduce. Also too much stress can cause a person’s locus of control to be placed outside of one’s own experience.

In recent survey taken at the Mind Body Institute, Americans identify stress as their number one health concern today. More than 50 % of adults in the U. S report high stress on a daily basis. Untreated, stress can seriously affect performance, health, and well-being. This chronic type of stress the never lets up weakens the immune system, making us vulnerable to disease, and harder to recover from illness.

Dr. Andrew Weil has also found that even in remote parts of Africa, more and more patients are visits doctors for stress related symptoms such as ulcers, headaches and indigestion. More than 60% of all healthcare visits are related to mind-body stress induced conditions.

The key according to Dr. Herbert Benson, is to break the chain of everyday triggers or thoughts that worry us. The Dalai Lama says there are two types of problems, one the kind we can do something about and in that case, it is very important not to worry and in the second type, this problem is something we can do nothing about, and also not to worry! When we take deeper breaths, or go for a walk or bike ride, our heart beats slower and our brain waves slow down.

According to Mehmet Oz, MD, the average person’s breath is between 16 to 20 breaths per minute. Researchers found that 23 women and men who recited Om mane padme hum and the Ave Maria prayer slowed their breathing to a rate of about 6 breaths per minute compared to spontaneous breathing and random talking. What this suggests is that prayer or mantra chanting slows the “internal metronome” lessening the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Chanting or saying prayers increases our concentration and synchronizes cardiovascular rhythms creating a sense of calm and well-being.

Also it has been reported the best physiological benefits include pulse rate decrease, respiratory rate decrease, blood pressure decrease, galvanic skin response increase, alpha wave increase, posture improves, endocrine function normalizes, endurance increase, energy level increases, immunity increases, sleep improves and energy levels increase.

There is without a doubt then, through the scientific research findings here that just with a few minutes of practice, our breathing can break the chain of stress and bring about nourishing, nurturing healing energy to the brain and body. For more information on starting a corporate on-site yoga class at your company, call us at 314-630-1677. Namaste!

One Minute Meditation at Work

“A few times per day, while sitting at my desk, tension begins to creep in and take over. I may be sitting too long and working too hard.” Most people agree that work related stress is the single worst contributor to poor health.

Did you know there is a way to transform our tension without having to get to a yoga class? Research shows that deep breathing is the single best way to counteract anxiety and keep the mind calm, clear and empowered. When we breathe with more awareness, we breathe deeply and nourish our heart, support better digestion and even improve our immune system too!

How about One Minute Meditations? When we breathe deep even for one minute, we find our center, and have greater access to sustained levels of energy throughout the day. Try this, as soon as the moment of tension arises, take a step back, and notice your own unique breath move through the nostrils. Take a few deep and natural breaths in and out. Allow yourself to sit comfortably with your back to the office chair. As you begin to make any adjustments, give yourself permission to sit tall, and relax the shoulders.

Notice any muscles that are still tense, the shoulders, face, arms and see if you can release their tension on the exhale breath. Begin to notice how the breath slows down and lengthens the more you place your focus upon it.

Continue to breathe a few more rounds. Take the breath from the belly first, and also exhale from the belly first. If you like to try a counting breath, think of 4 on the in breath, pause and 8 on the out breath.

Small moments of meditation at key moments when tension is arising can be very useful in finding again greater ease at work. This will flood the body with feel good hormones such as serotonin. We can increase peace of mind and take good health back into our own hands.

Everyone has a unique breath and different lung capacity and tidal volume. Allow your breathing to feel natural and supportive to you. If your mind begins to wander and you have gone away too, simply reassure yourself that every one of us does the same thing too. It is as if we have two brains, one that is intimately connected to our peace and one that is hardwired for distraction and survival.

Staying with the breath reminds us how to access the higher mind and simply experience what is actually happening. For each of us, life is constant change, and there is no amount of controlling it, that will stop this unfolding process. When we stay with our breath, we can witness without attachment, and experience greater space, inner security, pleasure, and joy!

St. Louis Corporate Yoga currently offers 9 weekly yoga onsite wellness classes to various companies throughout St. Louis. If you would like to get a yoga class started, please contact us at 314-630-1677 or info@claytonyoga.com.