90 Day Yoga Challenge: Days 15-17

I haven't been feeling well the past few days, so my yoga practice has slowed down. One thing (among many) that my yoga practice has taught me is how to truly listen to my body and not push it or force it to do anything it's not prepared to do.

On Monday I explored the practice of yoga nidra. Yoga nidra is a form of guided meditation that lasts roughly 30-40 minutes. You lie down (I laid down in my bed) and listen to a voice guiding you through a systematic relaxation of the physical body, energetic body, mind, and spirit. I highly recommend it. You can google search "yoga nidra" to find one that works well for you. I'm very particular about the vocal quality of the teacher guiding me, so I have my favorites. I think it's truly a personal decision.

On Tuesday, I jumped out of bed and immediately started my day, without my yoga kriya to start my day and boy, could I feel it. My nervous system was on high alert and I just felt lousy. I spent the afternoon resting and gently moving my body, and although I didn't get myself back to feeling great, I was able to find enough of a balance to sleep.

This morning, I found a yoga for anxiety video on YouTube that was nice, if somewhat overly perky. I found the breathing practice of alternate nostril breathing to be very helpful. I shed a few tears and moved my body with love and care.

There are a few things contributing to my stress right now, but I don't want to get into the story of them. I don't want to identify with the challenges. But I am observing how my body and mind are absorbing those challenges. Yoga is really helping me muster through. Not by force, but by loving observation and contemplative practices.

How is your yoga practice helping you?