Find Your Inner Calm

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We asked alumna Debbie Zweep (Bachelor of Administration, 1994), the co-owner of Modo Yoga Thunder Bay, if she had any tips to help people dealing with anxiety or challenging situations.

“The child’s pose and full belly breathing are very soothing,” Debbie says. “If you can just stay with the feeling of the breath, you’ll activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which induces calmness. In fact, any forward fold allows people to breathe into their back, a place where we hold lots of tension.”

 

Full Belly Breathing

  1. Lie down somewhere comfortable, with your legs bent and feet flat on the floor.
  2. Close your eyes and place your hands on your belly.
  3. Inhale through the nose and count to four or five, letting the belly rise into your hands.
  4. Exhale through the nose and mouth and let your belly relax as you count to four or five.
  5. Repeat for several minutes until you feel relaxed.

 

Child’s Pose

  1. On a yoga mat (or similar), kneel with your toes together and your knees spread wide, sink your glutes back to your heels, if they don’t touch, put a pillow or similar between your heels and glutes.
  2. Let your belly rest between your legs, extend your arms in front of you, and rest your head on the mat or a pillow.
  3. Take several deep breaths. Use the full belly breathing above.

You can also check out Modo Yoga Thunder Bay’s free yoga classes on Instagram Live @modoyogatbay  

“Last Sunday night I taught a bedtime yoga routine with about 100 people to help them fall asleep,” Debbie says. All the classes are taped for 24 hours and students can also access free online classes (including mediation, breath work, and yoga) at modoyoga.com, online classes, Promo Code TBAY.