5 Ways to Release + Reset

Do you ever just want to pack up and run from all of your problems? We know that running away won’t solve anything. But, I have to admit, there are times when I’d like to get away and start over with a clean slate.

Most of us can’t just pack up and go on an extended vacation whenever we need a break. For me, a complete yoga practice is the next best thing.

There are few things that top that post-Savasna feeling.

I chase that feeling—the yoga high. And it’s my goal to help my students achieve it with every class I teach.

There’s no magic formula for getting there, but for me it takes a little challenging movement followed by enough time and space to let the tensions melt.

That’s when I’m most receptive to the inspiration and beauty in the world. Because it’s one thing to understand something with your brain, and it’s a completely different thing to EXPERIENCE it in your body, in your soul.

After a particularly great asana session, I realize that my happiness is really up to me. I can practically feel the ideas flood into my brain. My heart is grateful and present. I know that as long as I keep showing up with consistency and lots of heart… I can do anything.

So, today, I want to share with you a few things that help me reach that inspired yoga high.

And I want to let you know that I’m leading a workshop with my friend Peggy Wu (@mindful_sequences) that will check all of the boxes in a luxurious 2-hour asana and reflection practice. Sign up here.

Move! 

Movement is probably the most important part of the equation for me. Sun salutations, sweaty vinyasas, and an arm balance or two usually help me to create enough tension in my body to help me achieve the ultimate melt. Without this piece, I can go into a restful position, but my mind doesn’t settle. The magic is in the movement.

Down Dog with a Block or Bolster

Part inversion, part forward bend Down Dog with the head resting on a block or bolster is soothing to the nervous system, stretches the spine, and helps release tension in the neck. I usually shake my head out in the pose a few times before I rest my head.

Child’s Pose

Because sometimes you just need to collapse on the floor in a puddle. 

Legs-Up-The-Wall Pose or Savasana

No yoga asana practice is complete without a few minutes in a restorative pose for a bit of quiet time. Sometimes I like Legs-Up-the-Wall, others I stick with the tried-and-true Savasana. Having the space to absorb the practice and be present with the energy created through movement is what makes yoga so much more powerful than other types of movement. I’d never skip it.

Reflection

My best ideas come to me on my yoga mat or in the shower. Why? Because I’m 

present, relaxed, and without the added stressors of my daily life in the picture, my higher self emerges. (My higher self is a genius, I tell you.) In both scenarios, if I don’t write down my insights right away, I forget them the second I go back to the grind. So, I try to take a few minutes to reflect, meditate, and journal.

Now, it’s your turn! 

Ready to release and reset?

Click over here now and sign up for my virtual workshop with my amazing life coach/yoga teacher friend Peggy Wu.

This powerful, retreat-like experience will be on September 25 and you can join us from anywhere in the world. I’d love to reset with you.