Strengthen your Core!

Last week I posted an article about our "inner core" and how to keep that light shining...this week I'm passing along a few exercises to help you strengthen your core!

• Marjaryasana (Cat Pose )

This pose provides a gentle massage to the spine and belly organs.

• Dolphin Plank Pose

A modification of Plank Pose, Dolphin Plank Pose strengthens and tones the core, thighs, and arms.





                     • Paripurna Navasana (Full Boat Pose)

Abdominal and deep hip flexor strengthener, requires you to balance on the tripod of your sitting bones and tailbone.

• Plank Pose

Plank Pose is a good precursor to more challenging arm balances.

• Anantasana (Side-Reclining Leg Lift)

This side-reclining pose stretches the backs of the legs, the sides of the torso, and tones the belly.

• Dolphin Pose

A nice shoulder-opening. Also strengthens the core, arms, and legs.

• Ananda Balasana (Happy Baby Pose)

This pose gently brings a greater awareness to the hip joints.


To find out how to safely get into these poses...go to www.yogajournal.com and search under poses...or come to class!

Clinging to the Core

When it feels as if your world is falling apart, know at your core that you are a strong being of light.

There are times when our whole world seems to be falling apart around us, and we are not sure what to hold onto anymore. Sometimes our relationships crumble and sometimes it’s our physical environment. At other times, we can’t put our finger on it, but we feel as if all the walls have fallen down around us and we are standing with nothing to lean on, exposed and vulnerable. These are the times in our lives when we are given an opportunity to see where we have established our sense of identity, safety, and well-being. And while it is perfectly natural and part of our process to locate our sense of self in externals, any time those external factors shift, we have an opportunity to rediscover and move closer to our core, which is the only truly safe place to call home.

The core of our being is not affected by the shifting winds of circumstance or subject to the cycles of change that govern physical reality. It is as steady and consistent as the sun, which is why the great mystics and mystical poets often reference the sun in their odes to the self. Like the sun, there are times when our core seems to be inaccessible to us, but this is just a misperception.

We know that when the sun goes behind a cloud or sets for the night, it has not disappeared but is simply temporarily out of sight. In the same way, we can trust that our inner core is always shining brightly, even when we cannot quite see it.

We can cling to this core when things around us are falling apart, knowing that an inexhaustible light shines from within ourselves. Times of external darkness can be a great gift in that they provide an opportunity to remember this inner light that shines regardless of the circumstances of our lives. When our external lives begin to come back together, we are able to lean a bit more lightly on the structures we used to call home, knowing more clearly than ever that our true home is that bright sun shining in our core.



This article is printed from DailyOM

Stressed Out??

Relax in "Child's Pose"



When you don't have time to relax, a rejuvenating Balasana (Child's Pose) may be just what you need. Practicing this pose for just a few minutes will leave you feeling rested and ready to tackle the rest of the day.

Kneel on the floor. Touch your big toes together and sit on your heels, then separate your knees about as wide as your hips.


Exhale and lay your torso down between your thighs. Lay your hands on the floor alongside your torso, palms up, and release the fronts of your shoulders toward the floor. Remain in this pose anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes.