What to do when you've no time to practise

A new term of Yoga starts up next Monday 19th April. In the meantime, here are a few ideas to help you practise, especially when there seems to be no time for it.

1. Legs up the wall.
You can physically create a signal to the rest of your family that you are having some 'down time' and not to interrupt, if you lie on the floor with your legs up the wall. Your older children might join you! Baby can lie next to you or on your tummy. Stretch your arms overhead and let your diaphragm and lungs expand. Breathing in, let your belly fill with air, and breathing out, draw the belly towards the floor (towards the spine). Just breathing mindfully like this can do wonders for your state of mind and your level of relaxation. It's also great for toning your pelvic floor and deep abdominals.

2.Heavenly Stretch.
Take twenty seconds upon rising and any other time during the day, to stretch heaven-wards. Interlacing the fingers, place your hands on your head, palms to the sky. Breathing in, stretch them upwards as far as you can, straightening the elbows. Raise the shoulders then breathing out, try to bring them down again, creating space between the shoulders and the ears. Breathe in and stretch up again, coming up onto tippy-toes. Breathe out and relax, letting the arms float down.

3. Shoulder Rolls.
So simple, and everyone is aware of how to do them. If you're like me, many days can pass before you get time to do your own lengthy practice. So I make a rule to do moves such as shoulder rolls while I'm sitting on the toilet. Hey, you have to make time when you can! Also, you can set up a pattern so that each time you go to the toilet you are reminded to roll your shoulders up and back. Breathe in as you roll forwards and up, then breathe out as you roll them back down. Try and trace imaginary circles, as large as possible, with your shoulders.

See you next Monday!
Oms,
Debbie