Breath

While it may seem very straightforward, the question “What is yoga?” is in fact rather complex to answer. Fewer things have more misconceptions than yoga does. 

I am often asked, “What is self-care acupressure?” because I teach workshops about yoga and acupressure. I have found many people have heard of acupressure, but are not sure of the meaning of this healing modality. I am often asked, “Is acupressure and acupuncture the same thing?” The answer is that they are similar modalities. Both acupressure and acupuncture are based on the meridian system of Chinese Medicine.

We don’t pay the tongue much attention. A dominant feature of our mouths, it works thanklessly to help us enunciate our speech and appreciate and consume our food. Many people prefer to ignore this part of the mouth, especially in the morning, when the furry buildup that has accumulated there overnight has us running for the toothbrush.

Powerfully minty-fresh with a cool distinctive fragrance, peppermint oil is quickly becoming one of the most versatile essential oils in the world. The rapidly growing perennial plant native to Europe and Asia supports a wide range of health benefits due to the nutrient-rich compounds present in peppermint leaves.

After going through a few hard months, I've recently been able to really focus on looking within and getting myself back to balance. I of course went for my go-to methods of relaxation and energy healing; meditation and yoga, but I also came across something called somatic therapy, which really piqued my interest.

Bad breath—we’ve all experienced it at some point in time. There are many reasons a person may have halitosis, or bad breath. Things like smoking, certain foods, or missing a brushing can all contribute to it. The primary cause and culprit behind bad breath are bacteria.

“Everything in nature is made up of five basic elements: earth, water, fire, air, and space. Knowledge of the five elements allows the yogi to understand the laws of nature and to use yoga to attain greater health, power, knowledge, wisdom, and happiness. This arises out of deep intuition of how the universe operates.”      
-- Dr. Swami Shankardev Saraswati

Pranayama is an umbrella term for different breathing exercises. Some of these exercises have different goals than others, but the gist is the same: to regulate or control your breath, sink into the experience, and alter your energy through the breath.

Anxiety and stress are commonplace in the world today. More and more people have experienced the debilitating effects of anxiety and face sudden interruptions to their daily lives. 

Several people have turned to medications to cope.

However, anxiety medications don't work equally for everyone and can have intimidating side effects.

It seems that in our society, yawning has become an indicator of “being bored”— or being rude for that matter—when in reality, this is likely far from the truth and is a misunderstanding.

As a retired yoga teacher and massage therapist—and simply a person who has spent countless hours dedicated to learning how to relax and take good care of myself—I feel a particular need and responsibility to write this article as an encouragement to the world at large to yawn as much and as often as possible.