Hold onto your seats. Because this memoir by Anne Clendening, Bent: How Yoga Saved My Ass, is a “Pow Pow Pow Pow Experience.” It will grab you, spin you, and pull you up and down until it lands you into your center of gravity.

Anne Clendening is a yoga teacher and creative nonfiction writer living in LA. I first met her years ago when she subbed some of my yoga classes and I found her to be captivating, fragile, and enthusiastically raw. These qualities also describe her writing style.

Anne Clendening Discusses Fear in Bent

In one of the many juicy and insightful quotes from Bent, Anne says, “Fear is a bastard. Fear is an attention whore. I want to ask fear if it has mommy issues because that is the only reason I am thinking why it needs attention so bad. I want fear to get Parkinson’s, then maybe fear will know how it feels to be on the run from something it doesn’t understand.”

In Bent, Anne takes us on a journey of her experience growing up in Los Angeles, her struggles with alcohol, becoming a yogi, and her diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease. Her written interpretation of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is interwoven in her story. These sections were powerful in their originality, while staying truthful to the Sutras themselves. I have read the Sutras many times throughout my life, and Anne definitely brought a rich freshness to this ancient text.

I feel that yoga is almost a second character in the book. Anne describes her relationship with yoga from her first introduction to the practice to how it is saving her life now. Anyone suffering from emotional or physical challenges will be inspired. Reading this book will definitely transform you and that is a “Girl Scout Promise.”

As I write this, I’m on the second read of Bent. I am totally convinced that if Anne were older, Jim Morrison would have written the song “LA Woman” just for her.

Dale Nieli

Dale Nieli MSW, C-IAYT, CHT has a powerful gift for helping people discover sources of pain and stress, whether the source is physical, emotional, or spiritual. She is a compassionate transformational guide for people when they are in crisis points in their lives. Dale is skilled at facilitation with people at all stages of recovery, from those who are beginning their own path to those deepening their long-term sobriety. Her work allows people to release patterns of long-held tension that become lodged in the body, holding them back and often leading to symptoms such as fatigue, sleeplessness, and anxiety. Dale helps people remove these barriers to health in order to experience increased energy, enjoy sound sleep, and to feel peaceful, more at ease, and even full of joy.

In her work one-on-one and in groups, Dale uses her intuitive skills to help people integrate body, mind, and spirit in order to actualize their full potential. Some of the interconnected techniques she uses include the therapeutic application of yoga, trauma release work, somatic experiencing, vagus nerve regulation, psychoneuroenergetics, sound healing, user-friendly mindfulness meditation, aromatherapy, hypnotherapy and affirmations, pressure points and hands-on healing, breath training, therapeutic movement, energy work, intuitive healing, and mind-body fitness.

The post Bent: How Yoga Saved My Ass by Anne Clendening appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Yogi Cameron’s new book The Yogi Code is an inspirational guidepost for beginners as well as experienced practitioners.

Cameron has condensed many of the ancient sacred teachings into a practical daily guide that is relevant for our modern and often urban lives. He identifies a sequential practice into seven universal laws of infinite success. These are: Routine (The Key to Healthy Habits), Practice (The Key to Your Foundation), Self-Study (The Key to Who You Are), Intention (The Key to Manifest), Purpose (The Key to Your Life’s Density), Service (The Key to Empowerment), Love (The Key to Everyone’s Heart). At the end of each of the chapters exploring these concepts, Cameron offers a summary of key points as well as Daily Life Practices. He provides a systematic approach to implementing these principles through a 21-day Yogi Code Kick-Start.

Yogi Cameron was once an internationally-traveled supermodel; in this book, he shares a number of stories that helped him transform to the person he is today. His writing style is so personal and accessible that I felt as though I was traveling on a sidecar during his journey. For example, the visceral way he describes moments such as his first meeting with Nelson Mandela are gifts to the reader.

The book is imbued with heart, soul, and genuine love for the empowering potential of this practice. It will sit on my nightstand for years to come and serve as a reference point for staying on track with my own practice.

Study with Yogi Cameron at The Bodhi Tree for his LA Book Launch Events on May 13 and 14.

On May 13, from 6:30-9pm, join Yogi Cameron, Yogini Jaima, and a number of special guests for a discussion dedicated to the themes in the book including setting and following through on intentions in your own lives.

On May 14, Yogi Cameron and Yogini Jaima will lead a day of practice and exploration of how to apply the Yogi’s Code in your own lives.

Click here for more information. 

Dale Nieli

Dale Nieli MSW, C-IAYT, CHT has a powerful gift for helping people discover sources of pain and stress, whether the source is physical, emotional, or spiritual. She is a compassionate transformational guide for people when they are in crisis points in their lives. Dale is skilled at facilitation with people at all stages of recovery, from those who are beginning their own path to those deepening their long-term sobriety. Her work allows people to release patterns of long-held tension that become lodged in the body, holding them back and often leading to symptoms such as fatigue, sleeplessness, and anxiety. Dale helps people remove these barriers to health in order to experience increased energy, enjoy sound sleep, and to feel peaceful, more at ease, and even full of joy.

In her work one-on-one and in groups, Dale uses her intuitive skills to help people integrate body, mind, and spirit in order to actualize their full potential. Some of the interconnected techniques she uses include the therapeutic application of yoga, trauma release work, somatic experiencing, vagus nerve regulation, psychoneuroenergetics, sound healing, user-friendly mindfulness meditation, aromatherapy, hypnotherapy and affirmations, pressure points and hands-on healing, breath training, therapeutic movement, energy work, intuitive healing, and mind-body fitness.

The post The Yogi Code by Yogi Cameron appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Teaching Yoga One on One DVD with Julie Carmen

Years ago, a friend invited me to take a yoga class with Julie Carmen at Exhale in Venice since we were both yoga teachers and actors as well as mental health professionals. I went in not knowing what to expect, and left feeling both exhilarated and grateful, because I knew Julie is truly a teacher’s teacher.

Julie’s latest DVD, Teaching Yoga One on One, exemplifies this. Her extensive knowledge and experience as a yoga therapist, teacher, and psychotherapist, along with her compassionate being, is inspirational.

Teaching Yoga One on One was shot in real time, giving the viewer the sense of being present in the jungle with the teachings. The DVD was filmed on the Costa Rican Nicoya Peninsula (at the Sanctuary of Two Rivers_, where three families were on retreat with Julie. It rained incessantly throughout the week, leading to everyone staying inside the yoga studio treehouse where spontaneous filming took place. The 108 minutes are divided into 15 chapters of varying lengths with sections including “Teaching Students with Depression”, “Teaching Students with Stress”, and “Teacher Self-Care.” We see how Julie makes assessments, demonstrates modifications, and engages all of the senses. This is a must-see for students in teacher training programs as well as experienced teachers who wish to increase their skills and sensitivity related to teaching students with underlying mental health considerations.

Reviewed by Dale Nieli MFT, RYT, a yoga teacher, personal trainer, and mental health professional.

Dale Nieli

Dale Nieli MSW, C-IAYT, CHT has a powerful gift for helping people discover sources of pain and stress, whether the source is physical, emotional, or spiritual. She is a compassionate transformational guide for people when they are in crisis points in their lives. Dale is skilled at facilitation with people at all stages of recovery, from those who are beginning their own path to those deepening their long-term sobriety. Her work allows people to release patterns of long-held tension that become lodged in the body, holding them back and often leading to symptoms such as fatigue, sleeplessness, and anxiety. Dale helps people remove these barriers to health in order to experience increased energy, enjoy sound sleep, and to feel peaceful, more at ease, and even full of joy.

In her work one-on-one and in groups, Dale uses her intuitive skills to help people integrate body, mind, and spirit in order to actualize their full potential. Some of the interconnected techniques she uses include the therapeutic application of yoga, trauma release work, somatic experiencing, vagus nerve regulation, psychoneuroenergetics, sound healing, user-friendly mindfulness meditation, aromatherapy, hypnotherapy and affirmations, pressure points and hands-on healing, breath training, therapeutic movement, energy work, intuitive healing, and mind-body fitness.

The post Teaching Yoga One on One DVD appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

By Dale Nieli

During the first workshop I ever took with Richard Miller, I entered a state of consciousness that I had never before experienced. Having known Richard both personally and professionally throughout the years, I can tell you that his personal life and what he teaches are the same; he is one of the most trusted and respected yoga teachers in the world today. Richard is known for being the co-founder of the renowned non-profit International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) as well as the developer of iRest, a modern-day application of the deep yogic meditation practice of Yoga Nidra.

Can you explain iRest?

Richard Miller:  iRest is a modern-day adaptation of the very ancient meditation practice of Yoga Nidra that dates back thousands of years. I’ve traced it back as early as 4500 BC in its rudimentary form. The practice focuses on helping a person gather their attention, develop their concentration, proactively learn how to meet, greet, and welcome all of their body sensations, emotions, and thoughts, and be in relationship with themselves as a human being. It also supports them to experience their interconnectedness, not just with themselves, but with the entire universe. iRest is essentially a practice that awakens the qualities of love, kindness, caring, and compassion at all levels of our humanity.

How is iRest different from Yoga Nidra?

Richard Miller: iRest, as a modern adaptation, differs from classical Yoga Nidra in several ways. When I learned Yoga Nidra, I was teaching primarily to people who were showing up for my yoga classes and who wanted to learn meditation. Over the years I became interested in reaching a wider, more secular population. I began to adapt the classical form of yoga nidra by dropping the archetypal imagery of India. Instead of imposing images, colors, or forms on people, I began to ask my students what they were experiencing when they brought their attention to various parts of their body, or their emotions, or their thoughts. I began to teach yoga nidra as a deep form of self-inquiry to help people deeply contact themselves. As I started working with populations that included active duty and veterans with PTSD, as well as folks in homeless shelters, and addiction and recovery centers, I began adding various components to the classical practice. For instance, the classical yoga nidra begins with an intention, called a Sankalpa. I split this single intention into three aspects:

1. Our intention(s) for a particular practice of yoga nidra.
2. Our intention(s) for our life.
3. An Inner Resource, our intention or felt-sense of well-being and safety within.

This third aspect, the Inner Resource, I found to be particularly helpful with individuals who’ve experienced some sort of trauma. For as we progress deeper into the practice, we are able to relate to disturbing thoughts or emotions from an inner sanctuary of safety, security and ease of being.

What was happening in your life when you first encountered the practice of yoga nidra?

Richard Miller: It was when I first moved to San Francisco from the East Coast in 1970. As a way of meeting people I took a yoga class. At the end of the first class the teacher taught a rudimentary form of Yoga Nidra, during which I experienced a deep connection with myself and the feeling of being at one with the entire universe. This experience had a deep, profound impact where I felt like I came home to myself. In my teenage years, I’d experienced a lot of depression and separation, and this moment in yoga nidra brought me home myself, which in turn set me on this path of deeply inquiring into this practice of Yoga Nidra.

How would you describe this state of consciousness that iRest facilitates?

Richard Miller: When we look at the research we’ve been doing with iRest, as well as research on meditation in general, when we do Yoga Nidra, a number of things are happening: Your natural opiates such as serotonin and oxytocin are being stimulated in your brain and throughout your body, which produces a natural high and feeling of joy and well-being. We see places in your brain, which create your sense of self, self-narrative and self-criticism, that a friend of mine, Gary Weber, calls “The blah blah blah network” and others refer to as the “default network,”, go off-line. These parts of the brain calm down and self-referential thinking stops. At the same time, other parts of your brain which form the “present centered network” come online. These areas are involved with creative thinking and insight. So with yoga nidra your self-narrative slows down and creativity and insight come alive. We also see your brain turn on reparative and restorative processes throughout your body that help boost your immune system, increase your overall sense of well-being and joy, reduce stress-related symptoms of PTSD, and support you to have restful sleep at night.

DN: In your work with veterans how does iRest affect trauma or PTSD?

Richard Miller: A lot of people, especially military, have a skeptical view of meditation and yoga nidra. When we present the science behind the practice, it helps them bridge the gap from skepticism to a willingness to experience yoga nidra and experience the first-hand effect of it themselves. One of the best answers I can give to your question comes from a recent experience I had at VA center (Veterans Administration). I was asked to deliver an iRest class to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). These are severely injured and often profoundly depressed veterans who are receiving treatment as inpatients for six to nine months or more. I taught an iRest Yoga Nidra class with a group of them, and at the end, one of the fellows, when I asked for reflections said, “I feel like I just came home.” This is a report I hear a lot as a result of people experiencing iRest. The practice is helping them heal through terrible wounds and memories. We know that one of the effects of PTSD is that leaves people to feel disconnected from themselves and from the world around them. During Yoga Nidra, these folks start to feel reconnected to themselves and the world around them and experience the feeling of finally coming home from the war, to themselves, their families, and daily life.

What suggestions would you have for beginners?

Richard Miller: Starting a practice, like any journey, begins with an intention. Write down your intention for why you want to take up this practice, what you’d like to take away from it, and how you’d like it to impact your daily life. Then take up the initial practices of learning to sense and rotate your attention through your body. As you move into experiencing sensation, your thinking slows down and that alone can have a deeply restorative and relaxing effect. Take up the practice slowly and incrementally. As you enjoy body sensing, learn how to weave in various breathing interventions, and then learn how to work with your emotions and thoughts, and develop a deep sense of joy and well-being. Yoga Nidra begins with that first intention and then, step-by-step, learning to create a daily practice. Begin with a few minutes and build incrementally. It also is important to find a well-trained teacher and to have guided audio to support your practice.

What would you like to see for the future of iRest?

I would love to see every yoga and meditation teacher having learned iRest or other forms of Yoga Nidra, and weaving elements of the practice into their classes. I’d like people who otherwise wouldn’t learn yoga nidra be able to experience it and understand how to weave the practice into their daily lives. I’d also like to see every hospital and VA center offering iRest as a supportive practice so that everyday people could experience the effectiveness of it in their lives for health, healing and well-being.

How have you seen yoga therapy change over the years?

Yoga therapy is becoming more mainstream and people are searching it out as an alternative practice. When I began teaching in 1973, few people really understood yoga. Now, our challenge as teachers and yoga therapists is to showcase the deep efficacy and potency of yoga to the growing audience of people who want to practice, teach, or integrate it into their lives and professional settings. In the beginning there was little research available on asana, pranayama, and yoga nidra. I’ve made it my life’s work to keep adding to the research literature so that folks can see, “Hey, this isn’t,’Trust me,’ rather, yoga is something that deeply impacts people on all levels of the body, mind, and spirit.”

Along with yoga, meditation is becoming a mainstream affair for people. I want yoga teachers to deeply appreciate the tradition of yoga that they’re involved in and to incorporate meditation into every class they teach in one form or another. We have a rich tradition of meditation in the field of yoga. Yoga Nidra is a form of yogic meditation that enables teachers to offer a systematic and easily learned regimen of meditation for their students. iRest in particular, and Yoga Nidra in general, is simple to practice, yet profound and exquisite as a doorway into meditation. I don’t see how people can live without meditation because of the effect that it has on our well-being, joy, love, and interconnectedness with ourselves, in our relationships, and in how we relate to the world around us.

Learn more about Richard Miller, his teacher trainings and retreats at: www.irest.us

Richard is teaching his iRest Level I training at YogaWorks, October 1-5, 2014 and again March 22-26, 2015.

Dale Nieli

Dale Nieli MSW, C-IAYT, CHT has a powerful gift for helping people discover sources of pain and stress, whether the source is physical, emotional, or spiritual. She is a compassionate transformational guide for people when they are in crisis points in their lives. Dale is skilled at facilitation with people at all stages of recovery, from those who are beginning their own path to those deepening their long-term sobriety. Her work allows people to release patterns of long-held tension that become lodged in the body, holding them back and often leading to symptoms such as fatigue, sleeplessness, and anxiety. Dale helps people remove these barriers to health in order to experience increased energy, enjoy sound sleep, and to feel peaceful, more at ease, and even full of joy.

In her work one-on-one and in groups, Dale uses her intuitive skills to help people integrate body, mind, and spirit in order to actualize their full potential. Some of the interconnected techniques she uses include the therapeutic application of yoga, trauma release work, somatic experiencing, vagus nerve regulation, psychoneuroenergetics, sound healing, user-friendly mindfulness meditation, aromatherapy, hypnotherapy and affirmations, pressure points and hands-on healing, breath training, therapeutic movement, energy work, intuitive healing, and mind-body fitness.

The post A Conversation with Richard Miller appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

In fact, I love him so much that I deleted my favorite episodes of Law and Order SVU on my DVR so that I could fill it up with more episodes of A Model Guru, his reality show produced by Veria Living Network. In each episode, he takes on a new client challenged by a health issue; using Ayurveda and yoga, he gets them on the road to recovery.

Some of us may remember Yogi Cameron, aka Cameron Alborzian, from Madonna’s high-production music video for “Express Yourself,” where he appears as a steel worker who, well, expresses himself sensually. He was also featured in one of Guess Jeans’ most memorable print campaigns from 1988-92. In fact, he was one of the first male supermodels, working the runway for such notable designers as Versace, Gaultier, Dior, and YSL. Yogi Cameron is beautiful to the point of distraction—in the physical sense, yes, but what radiates even more comes from within. His stunning good looks are eclipsed by his peaceful energy and brilliant presence.

Yogi Cameron was born in Tehran to an English mother and an Iranian father. The revolution broke out when he was ten years old and his parents quickly sent him to boarding school in England. Having had a close family life, the move was a big change. “It was an impactful moment that showed me that even if you have all the love in the world, something else can come along in life and change your circumstances dramatically. You have to trust something more divine than human beings.”

In 1986, after attending a sports college to study sports medicine, he was approached while walking the streets of London by a scout who asked him if he wanted to model. “I said, “Sure!” It was a time-filler which went on for 12 years,” Cameron explains. His success in modeling led him to a benefit show in South Africa where he met Nelson Mandela. This was another turning point in his life, “I looked around at all these great people in one room and thought, ‘We have come to this moment of transition where Mandela has just been freed from jail after 27 years, and has become the President of South Africa.’ He was a very peaceful man. I had done everything I needed to do in the fashion world. I needed to find my purpose.”

At first, he didn’t know what that purpose was. He worked in a restaurant for a spell, and then became a yoga teacher. Still searching, since he knew of Ayurveda, he found a school in Southern India and was accepted to their program. “I left Western life behind for about seven or eight years. I learned Ayurvedic medicine. I learned the yogic path and was taught by a guru. I decided to come back here five years ago because my guru, Dr. Vasudeva, the guru of Arsa Yoga, sent me,” Yogi Cameron explains, “I didn’t want to leave because my teacher was there. I thought ‘I’m here and I’m happy. And I’m happy with just being happy.’ And my teacher said, ‘That is why you have to go. You were a model not out of choice; you were given that face so that you can influence Westerners in a way that I can’t. You can influence young people, old people; they will relate to you.’”

Despite his reluctance, once in the US, Cameron’s new career path unfolded before him in a way that was in alignment with his yogic path. He currently has a roster of celebrity clients and has made appearances on TV shows including Dr. Oz, the Ellen DeGeneres Show, and The Today Show. He makes over people’s lives with sincerity on A Model Guru.

When I asked him how Hollywood has affected him, he smiled and said, “It’s a great place to do your practice. Spiritual practice isn’t something that requires you go hide. You can live your life. If you are a Himalayan monk, you live a different life, you have different challenges.”

The effect of Yogi Cameron’s spiritual practice is clearly evident, largely is due to discipline. He says, “Discipline is the backbone of progress. Make something important to you, and you will get it done. If you don’t make it important, it won’t be. If somebody’s life is football and it’s important to them, then they didn’t miss the Super Bowl. They were there, and they probably prepared for it. They watched the pre-game, but they missed a whole lot of other things. Make it important and you will get it done.”

The thing that I am most impressed by, as I sit with Yogi Cameron, is the same thing that makes him so compelling on A Model Guru—his presence. One of the most touching episodes is when he works with a young autistic boy. The compassion he shows, not only to this child, but to his family, is powerful. He articulates, “I didn’t treat him like he has a disease. It is just an energy shift. So I just tuned into his energy rather than have him tune into my energy. I looked to see where he was, jumped in there with that energy, and I interacted with him.” He continues, “As a society, we can be egotistical and will want to stamp our authority on things, forgetting that we are not experts. The Divine is the ultimate expert. It is within each of us; we’ve just got to use it, rather than say no, it has to be done this way. We don’t ultimately know how it should be done, so we just jump in, and we move, and the Divine moves within us.”

Humility, Compassion, Discipline, Humor—Yogi Cameron embodies it all, making him even more beautiful inside than he is on the outside.

Yogi Cameron’s teachings are available in his two books published by Harper Collins. The Guru in You is a primer of basic ayurvedic and yogic principles and a manual for incorporating them into everyday life. His most recent book, The One Plan: A Week-by-Week Guide to Restoring Your Natural Health and Happiness, is a step-by-step plan for embodying and practicing Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras in daily life. You will also find a plethora of information on his website at yogicameron.com.

Daily Practice for 9-to-5ers

The greatest benefit of a career is the ability to incorporate personal routine into a professional routine. The greatest obstacle is that work and the commute take up such a large portion of the day—sometimes as many as ten or eleven hours. The following routine is suggested for those who work in a 9-to-5 job or something similar.

Morning
Wake between 5:00 and 7:00am. Leave enough time in your morning to have hot water, practice cleaning and oiling rituals, and to also practice postures, breathing, and concentration exercises.* This will likely require at least 45 minutes or an hour to practice with proper awareness and conscientiousness. If your morning commute schedule already requires you to get up intensely early and leaves you no time, attempt to at least practice breathing in the car, on the train, or in whatever mode of transportation you use.

Late Morning
If possible, try to wait at least three hours after waking up before eating, even if doing so takes place at work. It is ideal to wait before eating, for digestive strength increases with a bit of activity in the morning.

Afternoon
If you take a lunch break, spend at least five or ten minutes of it sitting in silence. This will help you to process your workload from the morning and center yourself to be fresh for the remainder of your time before going home.

Evening
If you don’t get home until 7:00 or 8:00pm, or even later, work a light meal into your commute so that you don’t have to eat so close to bedtime.

Nighttime
Try to spend at least ten minutes in silence before turning in for the evening, and build your willpower against destructive habits like an intake of alcohol or other stimulants, an excessive amount of time in front of the TV or computer, or even an excessive amount of time talking or reading. Go to bed between 9:30 and 11:00pm.

If you find that you have no time at all in your life, then the way you utilize the time in your life probably needs revising. There should always be time for health and spiritual endeavors.

• Cleaning and oiling rituals, postures, breathing, and concentration exercises, as well as “foundation-building practice,” are all explained in detail at yogicameron.com.

Dale Nieli (MSW, hypnotherapist) is a certified yoga teacher and fitness expert whose decades of study provide continual inspiration in her practice of guiding people in full-body holistic fitness. 

Dale Nieli

Dale Nieli MSW, C-IAYT, CHT has a powerful gift for helping people discover sources of pain and stress, whether the source is physical, emotional, or spiritual. She is a compassionate transformational guide for people when they are in crisis points in their lives. Dale is skilled at facilitation with people at all stages of recovery, from those who are beginning their own path to those deepening their long-term sobriety. Her work allows people to release patterns of long-held tension that become lodged in the body, holding them back and often leading to symptoms such as fatigue, sleeplessness, and anxiety. Dale helps people remove these barriers to health in order to experience increased energy, enjoy sound sleep, and to feel peaceful, more at ease, and even full of joy.

In her work one-on-one and in groups, Dale uses her intuitive skills to help people integrate body, mind, and spirit in order to actualize their full potential. Some of the interconnected techniques she uses include the therapeutic application of yoga, trauma release work, somatic experiencing, vagus nerve regulation, psychoneuroenergetics, sound healing, user-friendly mindfulness meditation, aromatherapy, hypnotherapy and affirmations, pressure points and hands-on healing, breath training, therapeutic movement, energy work, intuitive healing, and mind-body fitness.

The post Yogi Cameron – A Model Guru appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Triangle Pose

Benefits: Stretches and opens the hips, groin, hamstrings, muscles around the knees, calves, shoulders, chest, and spine.

Stand in mountain pose. Spread your legs about 4 feet apart. Turn right leg out about 90 degrees, and angle your left foot 45 degrees to the right.  Inhale, lift arms out parallel to shoulders, palms down. Exhale, hinge at the hip and place the right hand, on the thigh, shin, or ankle. Lift your left arm towards the sky.  Cast your gaze up or down, making sure to keep your neck comfortable. Hold pose for 30 seconds, slowly come up and switch sides.

Standing hamstring stretch

Benefits: Stretches hamstrings, calves, and ankles.

Place one foot on a rock, chair, table, or fence in front of you with the heel pressing down and the foot straight up. Check that the hips are parallel. Inhale, lift up, and exhale forward as you engage your core. Place hands wherever they fall comfortably. Check that your shoulder blades are down. If you want to increase the stretch in your calves, flex your toes towards your face. Breathe fully, exhale deeply, and hold for 20 seconds. Repeat on other leg.

Pigeon/Squat Variation

(one legged chair variation)

Benefits: Helps release the piriformis and other gluteal muscles. Strengthens ankles.

Standing with both feet parallel, cross one of your ankles above the opposite knee and flex the foot. Bend your standing knee as much as desired to drop into the pose and balance. Use your arm to slowly press the bent leg back for a little extra stretch. Breathe deeply. If you want to go further in the pose, put your weight on the standing leg, as you slowly hinge the chest and torso forward. Put hands in prayer position. Check that your abs are engaged and that your shoulders are relaxed. Hold for 25 seconds, then slowly come up and switch sides.

Dancer’s Pose

Benefits: Full body stretch. Relieves tension in ankle and feet, stretches hip flexors and strengthens knees, ankles, hips and spine. Opens and expands the chest and lungs.

Bend left leg back, hold inside or outside of ankle with your left hand. Inhale, stretch your right hand out in front of you. Exhale. Extend through the left side of your body and bend forward from the hip. Press the left foot into the left hand, while extending the right hand forward. Check that your neck is in a comfortable position. Breathe into the stretch on inhale, and relax on the exhale. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

Dale Nieli (MSW, hypnotherapist) is a certified yoga teacher and fitness expert whose decades of study provide continual inspiration in her practice of guiding people in full-body holistic fitness. dalefit@roadrunner.com. 

Dale Nieli

Dale Nieli MSW, C-IAYT, CHT has a powerful gift for helping people discover sources of pain and stress, whether the source is physical, emotional, or spiritual. She is a compassionate transformational guide for people when they are in crisis points in their lives. Dale is skilled at facilitation with people at all stages of recovery, from those who are beginning their own path to those deepening their long-term sobriety. Her work allows people to release patterns of long-held tension that become lodged in the body, holding them back and often leading to symptoms such as fatigue, sleeplessness, and anxiety. Dale helps people remove these barriers to health in order to experience increased energy, enjoy sound sleep, and to feel peaceful, more at ease, and even full of joy.

In her work one-on-one and in groups, Dale uses her intuitive skills to help people integrate body, mind, and spirit in order to actualize their full potential. Some of the interconnected techniques she uses include the therapeutic application of yoga, trauma release work, somatic experiencing, vagus nerve regulation, psychoneuroenergetics, sound healing, user-friendly mindfulness meditation, aromatherapy, hypnotherapy and affirmations, pressure points and hands-on healing, breath training, therapeutic movement, energy work, intuitive healing, and mind-body fitness.

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