Desk Yoga Tips

Desk Yoga Tips from Yoga Bridge

Yoga Bridge has been asked to speak at the next Healthy U event, sponsored by the Medical Center at Lewisville on September 11.  Here are some of the poses that we'll be sharing with the crowd.

 

Standing Cat/Cow –   Stand behind chair with feet hip distance apart.  Place hands on back of the chair.  Take a few breaths through the nose, standing tall.  Inhaling, lift the chest.  Exhale, round through the mid and upper back, tuck the chin, tuck the tailbone.  Inhale, lengthen the spine, reach forward through the chest, look forward.  Repeat several times.  Releases tension.

Standing Twist Flow – Feet hip distance , knees softly bent.  Begin slow twisting movement.  Arms flow into the twist, tapping the body as they land.  Can speed up.  Head can follow the movement of the twist. 1-2 min.  Releases stagnation, energizing.

Standing Camel -  Feet hip distance apart.  Reach arms out, shoulder-height, thumbs face down, palms reach behind, press arms back.  Option to place fists at sacrum (low down the back).  Press the hips forward very slightly as you lift your chest open and up.  Reach your elbows back and towards each other.  15-30 seconds.  Can repeat.  Energizing, mood boosting.

Strong Goddess Stance – Step feet apart wider than hips, toes pointing out at angle.  Keeping the spine vertical, knees bent, begin to bend the knees out to the side.  Arms reach out to the sides, shoulder-height.  Bend elbows, hands up.  Hold this stance for several breaths. Release.  Repeat if desired.  Energizing, strengthening.

Standing Forward Fold - Stand behind chair with feet hip distance, hands on the back of the chair.  Walk  feet back and relax head between arms.  Can also do this with elbows on the back of the chair.  Hold for several breaths.  Rise.  Soothing, calming.

~Yoga Bridge™  is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that offers free and low-cost yoga programs to all people affected by cancer.  Students are part of a nurturing community where they find relief from fatigue, muscle weakness, and stress.    
www.yogabridge.org  Lewisville, Flower Mound, Denton

Malas for Charity in September - Where the Money Goes

Buy a Mala, Help a Cause

Every September since 2008, Moondog Treasures has been donating 54% of the sales of all mala bracelets to charity in honor of The Global Mala, a world-wide yoga event that goes on across the world in late September and raises money for charity
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Where the money has gone

2008 Trees for the Future
2009 Yoga-Recess in Schools
2010 Gayla's favorite charity to help kids in Peru
2011 American Brain Tumor Association

The first couple of years, I donated to the charities that www.globalmala.org supported. The next couple of years, it got personal.

In 2010, my dear friend/co-worker/pregnant-at-the-same-time-as-me sister, Gayla, lost her battle with liposarcoma, a very rare form of cancer. She spent her last year volunteering in Peru. My money went there.

Last year my sister's husband was diagnosed with brain cancer. He lost his battle 8 months later. My money went to fund research for brain tumors.

Where the money goes this year

This year is full of hope. 54% of the sales of all mala bracelets from my shop will be donated to an effort that I am personally involved in - Yoga Bridge. Yoga Bridge offers free support for cancer survivors through the practice of yoga, breathwork and meditation. 

 

 

 

A colleague and I co-founded this organization last August and have been working at it ever since. We co-teach a free Breast Cancer Yoga class weekly at a local hospital, thanks to the support of Foundation 56. We also run a program of classes and workshops where part of the money collected goes back into a fund to keep the cancer yoga classes free.

54% of all mala bracelets purchased during the week of September 7-14 this year will help pay for free yoga classes for cancer survivors and buy props that we will use in class.

How did this all begin?

I donate in honor of my friends, and in honor of the Global Mala. My yoga teacher, Shiva Rea, is the original coordinator of this event. I've gone to California many times to study yoga with her, so this event is very close to my heart.

 

Click on the pictures below to see more malas (for women and men) from my store or to purchase a mala bracelet.




Malas for Women

Malas for Men

Thank you

A sincere thank you to all who have purchased malas throughout the years and have helped all of these wonderful causes.

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I'm Susan Reeves, E-RYT 500. I offer yoga classes in Highland Village, Flower Mound, and Lewisville areas. Please click here to sign up for e-mail updates on yoga articles, current classes and workshops.