No matter how many classes you take, how many teachings you receive, how much knowledge you have swallowed, if you do not practice, experiment, and believe in what you are doing, nothing will come to life in your body and mind.
Why breathe properly
The importance of breathwork and the “not too much” concept
Breathwork or Pranayama is part of yoga practice, without the work on the breath, yoga would be just a physical practice
In every yoga therapy protocol, there is breathwork and most of the time it comes at the beginning of the sequence. As a yoga therapist, I personally start my protocol treatment with learning how to breathe properly, it is essential to our body and mind health.
It is important to be conscious of our breath, to understand how we breathe. Some people only use half of their lung capacity because of stress, because they work all day long in front of a computer and end up closing their rib cage without being aware of it.
This does not mean that we have to breathe deeply all the time, hyperventilation is not good either.
We need to be balanced and find the fine line which I call the “not too much” concept.
There are many types of breathing but the most efficient, the one that brings instant relaxation and balance into your body is “equal breathing”,
Usually, it is done on an equal count of 5 on the inhale and a count of 5 on the exhale.
But the way your breath needs to be slow and mindful either way, you need to feel the breath expand throughout your whole body on the inhale and on the exhale.
Again, when learning how to breathe properly you have to do a simple practice, your lungs and your brain will get used to this new pattern that you can practice for 5 to 10 mn, in bed or when you get up in the morning, or at work…etc…
Remember, the Golden Rule is always the same: do not force anything, start simple, be patient, and be conscious of the tiny but efficient changes in your body.
Let me know how you feel and I will be feeding you with more pranayama for stress relief.
Let’s make it simple: it IS accessible to everyone!!
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It is therapeutic and it is part of your mind and body health.
It is the power to stop and look at yourself, to stop and think “what am I doing to myself right now?”, to stop and listen to your breathing and check how you are, instead of listening to this monkey who is in your brain and who is constantly talking to you to bring you down:
“Oh God! You forgot to answer this important e-mail!”
“Oh God! You did not call this client as you said you would do!”
“Wow! How I am going to make this interview!”
Do not go thinking that you need hours and hours of practice!!! You just have to stop for 10mn to 15mn for a start, it can be in the morning before you get out of bed, at the office in front of your computer, while cooking or preparing dinner, at night before you go to bed (although you might fall asleep…), it can also happen when you wake up at night and your monkey mind starts making the list of everything that is wrong in your life!!!
After a month’s practice, you will start changing your thinking patterns, you will feel more in charge of your thoughts, you will notice you are:
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More patient
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More able to look at yourself and stop if you get angry
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More able to go back to sleep when you wake up at night
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More able to regulate your heart beat
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More able to control your thoughts
Once you start educating your brain, your perception of reality will also change, you will be more present for yourself and for others, you will think more positive, you will take more time to absorb life, you will be on the way to transformation.
What should you expect of a yoga class
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Yoga is a "me" zone without the ego...
The moment you step into a yoga room and roll out your mat on the floor, you know that you are stepping into a neutral zone or more precisely a “me” zone where all the postures that you will take if done properly under the supervision and guidance of your yoga instructor will be therapeutic and beneficial for your health.
The space of your mat represents the space that you have made in your schedule to take care of yourself.
The aim is to let yourself indulge in the movement and the breath with no judgement whatsoever about yourself, about the others around you.
All you have to do is listen to the teachers cues, focus on them and focus on your body and breath. And if you close your eyes, even when moving the experience is even stronger.
Going to a yoga class has nothing to do with going to the gym for a workout!
If you practice without ego, with no sense of competition and the idea that it is OK to take a block or two, it is OK to use a strap to help you grab your foot, it is OK to go into child’s pose if you feel exhausted and cannot switch to the next Warrior III, then you will see yourself as an amazing person caring for her body and her mind.
When I did my first teacher training in Montreal, my teacher, Hervé Blondon, always said to us that the most advanced yogis are the ones who do not push themselves and are OK to back up while doing a forward bend for instance because they know they might hurt their lumbar spine otherwise. They are also the ones who use the props and do not take it personally… Well, this is what yoga is about!
The art of yoga consists in knowing when to push yourself and when to accept that you cannot go any further and it is OK!! It is the “not too much” concept again.
So, a yoga class is a place where you will be able to feel and discover your body, your muscles, your tendons, your ligaments.
Also, you will be able to feel your body opening up when relaxing and focusing on certain particular parts of your body.
It is a place where you will discover a lot about yourself, whether you are resilient or not, whether you are ego-driven or not, whether you accept challenge or not and so on…
You will also realize that the body is definitely dependent on the mind, that will lead to the conclusion that you are the conductor of your own life and no one else!
Finally, when you step into a yoga class, know that you are ready to embark on a journey into your body, into your mind, you will spend at least an hour traveling on your mat like good old Aladin on his carpet... For the time of the class, you will forget about your worries and be gone somewhere else.
This is the magic of YOG!
BALANCE
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You have probably seen or heard this word a lot!!! What does it mean to you?
Where is your balance, what makes you stand on your two feet? Why is it so important? Not everyone finds their balance the same way, it is all a question of perception, background, and intention
To me, life is about finding balance. It is not black or white but it is black AND white.
AND, before finding your balance you need to find your grounding.
Standing on your 2 feet, on one foot, on both hips…
What makes you feel grounded in your life?
For me, it is health, work, and happiness of my family
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Let’s see where you are at:
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How much do you work?
How much do you love?
How much do you laugh, have fun?
How much do you travel?
How much do you eat?
How much do you exercise?
How much do you sleep?
How much do you watch TV?
How long do you spend on your social media?
How much time do you spend with your family?
How much do you socialize?
How much sugar do you eat?
How much alcohol do you take?
We need our Yin and our Yang, party, and laugh and rest and do nothing
Work, find accomplishment and travel, see the world
Exercise your body and spend time reading or watching TV
Nothing is good or bad as long as it works for you and your balance
I can say that I am able to stand on my feet because of diversity, lack of excess and measure
I eat everything including carbs but not too much, I eat sugar but not too much, I eat meat but not too much.
It is the same with work, travel, social life, sports, yoga…
It is that “not too much” concept that brings balance into my life!
How about you? Where do you find your balance?
Does the “not too much” concept make sense for you?
Kids who do yoga are quieter and less stressed.
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Yoga is about learning how to control and take care of your body and mind and kids at an early age are in the process of learning how to control their body and mind, that is why yoga is a precious tool for a kid in learning.
To teach a kid how to stop for a few minutes, close their eyes and listen is already a big step towards consciousness. If learnt at an early age, they will be able to use the tool throughout their school years, during exams, when they go through difficult times and later on for their first interview.
To teach a kid how to breathe, how to let their anger out, how to manage their hyperactivity will be very useful when dealing with their friends, their teachers, their parents, their brothers and sisters. It has been now proven that kids who do yoga are quieter and less stressed. The yoga postures give them more awareness of their own capacities, of their potential, they see movement and breath as a way to have fun.
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To teach a kid how to use mantras and songs in order to feel more self-confident, to see themselves in a positive way, to even visualize themselves as super heroes or as shining human beings will give them tools to become not only responsible adults who make decisions, but also know why and where they are going.
To teach a kid yoga postures gives them more awareness of their own capacities, of their potential, they see movement and breath as a way to have fun.
Stress management is essential for teenagers.
I have often been asked to help teenagers with yoga most of the time before exams. They need to be able to calm down their anxiety and find focus to be able to perform better.
In many cases what needs to be done is a lot of Pranayama like Ujjayi breathing or even simply ratio breathing with longer exhales than inhales.
Then I guide them to a 5 mn meditation in which they visualize their grounding first, do a body scan and visualize themselves into a positive situation.
Then we go into back bending, because after working at their desk or in front of their Ipads or else they need to open their chest and simply let the air in!
It is simple, it does not take too long and it is very effective.
Obviously, this is just a sample, a lot more can be done also for teenagers suffering from stronger anxiety disorders, depression, behavioral problems.
The purpose is to make them more in control and:
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Better focus
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Have more control over the hormones
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Improve willpower
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Better perform during the exams
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Improve anxiety
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Heal and prevent depression
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Give a better understanding of how they function
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Help in finding their own path
Contact Us
Marie Francoise Mariette
If you wish to bring more balance into your everyday routine, contact me.
I can set up some yoga therapy protocols, yoga postures, breathwork, meditation practices together with Ayurveda tips for a healthier more balanced lifestyle that will change your perspective
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Yoga IS for everyone
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“yoga is about the flexibility of the mind”
How often do we hear: “Oh no! I can’t do yoga, I am not flexible enough” or “Oh no, yoga is not for me, I am not spiritual” or even better: “Oh no, yoga is for girls”
How have we come to those everyday conclusions? What image of yoga are we conveying to our Western World? Why do men feel that they should not do yoga whereas in India it is a majority of men who practice?
We have created the perfect flexible yoga girl.
While some people are born as flexible as a spaghetti like the artist of Cirque du Soleil, others have become stiff over the years, and also some people cannot be flexible because of their body structure (femur, hips, bone structure…)
I teach corporate yoga and in my classes I find all 3 types together in one class and this diversity does not stop them from coming back. They have become accustomed to them being them, in other words to accepting their own beauty in their own uniqueness.
Our flexibility is in our mind, the patterns that we have created represent our perception of what we are. Sometimes, the mind can be twisted and not tell us about what we really are. That is what we teach. How to see yourself positively, how to realize your potential, how to use our imperfections as allies and not as enemies.
PS: when I started doing yoga I was as stiff as a stick, be open, be daring, be confident