Hello,
Hello,
Welcome to Glow Yoga and Wellness San Francisco.
My name is Natasha and I am your host.
In today's episode,
I will share with you one of my favorite breathing exercises to increase my energy and focus,
Clear my head so I can get more things done in less time and with less stress.
An energizing breathing exercise that you can do instead of going to a boot camp or drinking coffee.
And let me tell you a little bit about coffee.
Did you know that coffee is actually considered toxin by our own body?
Do you have experience wanting to go to the bathroom right after drinking the coffee?
Yes?
That's the sign.
Well,
The reason behind the coffee is the red ink is because our wickedly smart body recognizes the toxin and stops itself from absorbing it.
It's like it's saying,
Yeah,
You can keep drinking it,
But no more for me of that shit.
Once our body recognizes the coffee,
It sends the hormones to our kidneys to stop absorbing it and sends it straight out to the exit,
Forcing us to go to the bathroom.
Our body is so cool.
It always has our own best interests.
And yes,
You can still enjoy your coffee.
It's delicious,
But you can also use this breathing exercise to truly harness sustainable energy that lasts longer,
Has no side effects.
And you can access right here,
Right now.
I actually have personal health reasons to limit my coffee consumption.
All of my twenties,
I was taking birth control pills because nobody warned me and I have developed a really strong hormonal disbalance.
So much so that I have developed a broom flying skill.
Just kidding.
Which wipes?
So much so that I've developed estrogen dominance,
Which eventually caused me to have a utero surgery.
No fun.
So scary.
Blah,
Blah,
Blah.
Long story short,
Drinking coffee increases my estrogen production,
Which I need to lower.
So I reduce my consumption.
And if you are prone to anxiety and have problems with sleep,
I would invite you to consider limiting your coffee consumption as well.
Which brings me back to this awesome breathing exercise that has no side effects.
And you can save those six dollars you spend on fancy coffee drinks and go get yourself a box of strawberries.
I do a five minute energizing breath work every single morning,
And I never run out of energy throughout a day.
If you need a commitment group to practice those morning exercises,
I actually host live Zoom.
Five minute breath work plus 15 minute workouts,
Total 20 minutes every morning,
730 a.
M.
Pacific time.
Join us in your pajamas.
You will see it on schedule at glowyogasf.
Com.
This breathing exercise is based on Bastrika Pranayama,
Which creates forceful energizing inhale and forceful exhale.
It strengthens cardiovascular system,
Creates energy,
Develops our diaphragm.
It's like a little workout for our body.
It develops cardio endurance,
Making our hearts strong.
So it beats slow,
Steady throughout the day,
Keeping our mind focused and calm.
If you're one of those people who need to do more cardio but doesn't like to run,
This is a great exercise for you.
OK,
Let's try it.
Let's try it.
You can keep sitting down if you already seated,
But I invite you to come up to standing.
It's much more powerful if you stand.
First,
We're going to bring our right hand onto our belly and we'll locate our core,
Our core strength,
Our diaphragm.
With your mouth closed,
Inhale sharply,
Exhale sharply,
Few times.
Sounds like this.
So pauses between the inhale and exhale as important as breath itself.
Breathing through the nose,
Pushing the belly in and out into your hand.
Just to make sure we clear on the inhale,
Belly goes out and on the exhale,
Belly goes in.
Exhale,
Inhale,
Exhale,
Inhale,
Pumping your belly.
Then we'll add some arms work.
I love combining breathing exercises with some parts of our body to intensify it,
To make it much more effective.
Who doesn't want to have stronger shoulders?
Raise your hand,
Not me.
OK,
Bring your hands out wide,
Bend your elbows.
Every time you inhale,
Your arms are as high as your shoulders with elbows bent 90 degrees.
And every time you exhale,
You bring your elbows slightly behind your back,
Towards your low back.
So you're lowering your elbows towards your waist and move them slightly backwards.
Inhale,
Lift your elbows up to the height of your shoulders and bring your arms slightly behind your head so you don't even see your arms.
And as you exhale,
Drop your elbows towards your waist,
Also slightly behind you.
Inhale,
Elbows up to the height of your shoulders.
Exhale,
Elbows down towards your waist behind you.
Elbows up,
Elbows down,
Elbows up,
Elbows down.
Inhale,
Stretch your fingers.
Exhale,
Squeeze your hands into the fist.
Inhale,
Stretch your fingers.
Exhale,
Squeeze your hands into the fist.
Inhale,
Stretch.
Exhale,
Fist.
Inhale,
Exhale.
And just like you're squeezing your hands into the fist,
Imagine you're squeezing your core into the fist.
Tone,
Abs,
Who doesn't want that?
Keep going.
You will be strengthening your shoulders,
Your arms,
Your diaphragm,
Your core,
Your breathing muscles of your nose all around an amazing exercise.
Let's do this for three minutes straight.
Inhale,
Elbows up.
Exhale,
Down.
Inhale,
Exhale.
Through the nose,
Through the nose.
Keep your eyes relaxed.
Move your chin up to the horizon so your head is floating easily over your shoulders.
You have a tall posture.
Open your chest,
Arms behind you,
Pumping the belly in and out.
Keep going.
It might look ridiculous.
Smile.
It's so good for you.
Keep going.
Belly in,
Belly out.
Belly in,
Belly out.
If you're feeling tired,
Even better.
You cannot develop strength if you do not go beyond your comfort zone.
Only beyond your comfort zone.
After you're ready to give up,
Your body starts changing itself.
You start developing those extra muscles,
That extra capacity in your lungs,
That extra focus and concentration in your mind.
Keep going.
Final minute.
Final minute.
You got it.
You got it.
More breath,
More benefits.
Do not give up.
I believe in you.
You can do.
You can do.
Relax your eyes.
Keep smiling.
Keep going.
Well done.
Relax your shoulders.
Close your eyes.
Bring one of your hands on top of your heart.
Feel your heart rate.
And as you hold in your beating heart,
Tell yourself,
I have limitless amount of energy and all the inner resources to face and overcome any challenges life presents me.
And I'm keeping my heart and my mind open to use all of my life experiences to grow and transform.
I can and I will self discipline,
Self motivate and self soothe.
Noticing your heart rate is slowing down.
Peace and calm flowing through your mind and your body.
Think of something that you're grateful for.
Like this incredible human form you're in.
This heart that is always there for you.
Your brilliant brain.
Promise your body to take the best possible care of it.
Consistency showing up for yourself every day will bear the fruit of your unconditional self love and self care.
Good job.
Was not the best cardio workout ever or what?
You ask me?
No burpees for life.
If you'd like to be more consistent with your breathing exercises,
I've created order to print breath work flashcards.
Five minute little practices.
I have around 20.
You can order glowyogosf.
Com forward slash shop.
And thank you so much for doing this with me.
Trying holistic self care that has no side effects.
Remember that consistency is key here.
Grateful for you and so very proud of you taking good care of what you have been given as a gift.
Remember that healing is application of love and care to all the places that hurt.
Sending you love,
Peace and health from one and only San Francisco.
If you enjoyed this episode,
Please take a screenshot,
Post it on your socials,
Add a link to it.
This will help other people find this podcast and hopefully start feeling better.
Until next time.
