Winter Wellness Guest Blog: Five Keys Yoga
As part of Winter Wellness, we’re featuring guest blogs from local health and wellness businesses to help you kick off the new year with intention! Check out this guest blog from Erin Haddock of Five Keys Yoga on how to take just five minutes to practice self-care through yoga. You can find a special offering from Five Keys and other local businesses on our Winter Wellness page at www.lakeviewroscoevillage.org/winterwellness.
5 Ways to Practice Yoga in 5 Minutes or Less
The most frequent obstacle I hear from people trying to add a yoga practice into their lives is that they don’t have enough time. I am a firm believer that you have time for what you prioritize.
Although self-care may seem like a nice-to-have, wellness is actually non-negotiable in my book. Just like flight attendants tell you that in the event of depressurization, put an oxygen mask on yourself before helping others, taking care of yourself must precede taking care of others. We are more effective, calm, and fulfilled if we serve others from a place of wellness.
But self-care need not be a hugely time-consuming task. In fact, in my training as a Yoga Therapist, it’s been emphasized that quality and frequency is much more important than quantity.
There are super simple ways to integrate wellness breaks into your daily routine. So let me share with you five ways to practice yoga in five minutes or less.
Take 5 to Stretch Your Body
Yoga poses are the most well-known aspect of a yoga practice in the western world. Because our mind and body are intimately connected, moving your body in ways that feel good affects your state of mind as well. A yoga pose practice doesn’t have to be complicated. You can move your body in all directions through this simple routine.
2. Take 5 Away from Your Computer
A well-rounded yoga practice actually also encompasses exercises for your eyes. We forget about our eyes but all the work they do for us can cause strain, which may lead to headaches, brain fog, and vision problems.
A good rule of thumb is the rule of 20-20-20. Every 20 minutes, take 20 seconds to look away from your computer screen and 20 feet into the distance (bonus points for gazing at the world outside). So this one takes even less than a minute!
For extra credit, stretch your eyes by looking all the way up to the ceiling as close to you as you can focus on, then all the way down to the floor. Then, look all the way to the right and all the way to the left. Follow that up by rubbing your hands together until they’re warm and then placing your palms over your eyes to relax them completely in the darkness and warmth of your palms.
3. Take 5 to Practice Controlled Breathing
Another essential part of a yoga practice is working on controlling the breath. There are numerous techniques that you might practice, but the simplest is to regulate your breathing by a count.
Start by working on inhaling and exhaling for the same count, so if you inhale for a count of 4, exhale for a count of 4. You may notice there are slight pauses between every exhale-inhale and inhale-exhale.
Then, gradually work to increase the length of your exhalation, perhaps even to twice the length of your inhalation. The exhale stimulates the vagus nerve, which brings us into the relaxation response very quickly. This is a useful technique in stressful times.
4. Take 5 to Relax
We don’t often take time out of our day to relax. Brief moments of relaxation can help downshift our stress response, leading us to better solutions and a less reactive state of mind.
This one is very simple and only requires you to lie down comfortably for a few minutes, as you rest your eyes. One way to really get the most out of this time is to lie with your legs resting up a wall.
Not only does this help improve circulation of blood and lymph in your lower body, but an inverted position like this also triggers our body to shift into the relaxation response.
5. Take 5 to Meditate
Some people think of meditation as rather esoteric, but it actually couldn’t be more simple. It’s definitely challenging but it doesn’t have to be complicated.
Meditation is learning how to concentrate and therefore, has been shown to be associated with greater blood flow to certain areas of the brain and improved attention and executive functioning. What we are learning to do when we meditate is keep our attention focused on one thing.
Some methods of meditation use the breath as a point of focus, others use a mantra, or short uplifting phrase. Still others use the sensations arising in the body as a point of focus.
Luckily, there are now tons of places where you can find guided, five-minute meditations, such as YouTube, Headspace, and Insight Timer. If you have a little more time, I just posted a beginner’s 15 minute guided meditation on our blog last month, which also delves into more of the benefits of a regular meditation practice.
I hope that these five simple tips are inspiring to you and your yoga practice. Whatever way you choose to take care of yourself, know that the time you take for your own wellness is time you are investing in both yourself and the environment around you. May your year ahead be filled with daily moments of self-care.
If you’re interested in more practical tips for integrating yoga and wellness into your routine, check out my blog on our website!
Erin Haddock is a certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT) with the International Association of Yoga Therapists and is registered as E-RYT 500 with Yoga Alliance. She is a certified Stress Management Specialist, and also holds certifications in Adaptive Yoga and Yoga for Teens.