chapter six
Sunny-Side Up
Don’t you love it when your eyes open and you feel rested and ready for the day? Morning people, this stuff comes naturally for you, but for those of us a little slower to get going, here are a few handy ways to set the day in motion with a sense of positivity and productivity (morning people, you can still benefit, too). One of the most precious times for yogis is when we wake up, which gives us an opportunity to meditate in quiet, set intentions, and create positive thoughts for the day before life’s daily challenges start to test us. So greet the light, and start the day right. Hey, I love a good cup of coffee, but these daily kick-starters are pretty eye-opening, too!
In this chapter:
Shine On
■ energize
■ refresh
■ brighten
It only takes a second to greet the day and lift your spirits right out of the gate (or the blankets, really). You don’t even have to leave the warmth of your bed to feel the sun’s optimistic energy flowing through your body as you begin to move for the first moments of the day.
Happy-Go-Yoga
1. Sit up in bed. (Yes, go ahead and yawn. Your legs will probably feel best if they’re in a cross-legged seat.)
2. As you inhale smoothly and fully, stretch your arms upward, as if you were reaching for an imaginary sky and sun in your bedroom. (If your neck feels okay, lift your gaze and lean your head back.)
3. As you exhale, pull your belly button into yourself and bow over your legs.
4. Inhale and stretch your arms forward as far as you can. Slide them down toward the bottom of the bed. Let your head relax.
5. Exhale, pull your belly button in, and begin the cycle again to sit up and reach upward, and inhale to start step 2 again. (If it helps, you can walk your hands closer toward you to sit up again.)
6. Try three times to begin, working up to eight, or as many as you’d like.
About Shine On
Shine On is born from one of the staples of yoga: Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar: SOOR-ee-uh nuh-muh-SKAR), considered a total body and mind awakener. Traditionally, yogis do 108 Sun Salutations, especially at auspicious times, such as the winter or summer solstices, to honor a sacred number tied to ancient rituals. We use just the arms in the Happy-Go-Yoga version, and do a few simple rounds to get energized for the day.
As you reach up from the heart, you welcome the light of a new day, giving your chest and lungs more space to let oxygen in and fuel your cells. You also stretch your shoulders, which could feel a little cramped from a weird pillow arrangement while you slept. As you fold over the covers and onto the bed, you turn inward toward the heart while activating your core and stretching out your upper back and shoulders. Cycling back to the beginning, you complete one round of saluting the sun and acknowledge the cycle of your beautiful life. If that’s not a great way to start the day, what is?
Wise Dreamer
■ focus
■ inspire
■ refresh
■ relieve
Oh, what was that awesome dream you just had? Sometimes the dream world is so good, you’d like to just stay in it! Or sometimes the dream is a little bit of a nightmare, and you need a moment to let it go. Here’s a way to balance your mental energies, either by letting go or by tapping into the mind’s power to realize your dreams. Do this as you wake up, or at any time throughout your day when your mind needs refreshing.
Happy-Go-Yoga
1. Sit up tall and take a few deep breaths, matching the duration of your inhale to your exhale (in the morning, this usually means paying a little more attention to your inhale).
2. Choose the appropriate thumb for how you’re starting the day: right thumb if you loved the spark of your dreams; left thumb if you need to soothe yourself and let go.
3. Place the thumb in between your eyebrows, but a little higher, on your “third eye.” Keep it there.
4. Place your opposite hand, palm up, on your thigh (same side as that hand), and join your thumb and forefinger at the finger pads.
5. Using the thumb at your brow, rub gently and slowly in a small, circular motion in one direction, keeping the thumb connected to your skin.
6. Continue breathing smoothly and deeply. Try not to count the number of times you make a circle.
7. Repeat step 5, switching the direction of the circle as you massage your third eye. Stay with the same thumb, and keep your thumb on your skin.
About Wise Dreamer
Your third eye is the focal point of Happy-Go-Yoga’s Wise Dreamer. The ancient yogis believed the third eye was the energetic location of dreams, intuition, wisdom, and knowledge. It’s the place where your yoga practice and the transformation that comes with it come together in the system of the chakras (CHUH-kruhz), the subtle energies of the body. By using your left thumb, you’ll channel your more quiet, feminine, and grounded energies. With your right thumb, you fire up the more assertive, masculine energies. With your bottom hand, you’ll make Jnana mudra (GYAHN-uh MOO-druh), a gesture of wisdom and clarity. Stimulating and soothing the energetic space of the third eye can help you release what’s stuck, unleashing potential—the great awakening we all dream about.
Flap and Fly
■ brighten
■ refresh
■ strengthen
It’s one of those mornings. You woke up on the wrong side of the bed and don’t want to get up and face the day. Flip your mood with quick flips of the wrist to shake it off and feel a little more uplifted.
Happy-Go-Yoga
1. Stand with your feet about hip or shoulder width apart.
2. Extend your arms out so that your body makes a T shape. (Try to keep your shoulders from creeping up.)
3. Keeping your shoulders and arms stable and strong, start to think of your wrists and hands feeling loose and flexible.
4. With your fingers loose, begin to flap your hands at the wrists, still keeping your shoulders down and your arms firm from the shoulders to the wrists.
5. Let your fingers and hands go completely to do whatever they’re going to do as they flap.
6. Inhale and exhale deeply at a steady pace for ten breaths to start.
About Flap and Fly
Happy-Go-Yoga’s Flap and Fly gets harder the longer you do it! The longer you hold your shoulders and arms steady, the more you work the shoulder, back, and arm muscles. Flap and Fly is based on a Kundalini yoga kriya (KREE-yuh), a method and practice focused on a specific result or a physical movement to connect with one’s flow of energy. Flap and Fly is a balance of holding steady and strong (arms and shoulders) while letting go of control (wrists, hands, and fingers), which can often relieve us of attachment and suffering. As you flap the hands, the movement from the wrists out is like shaking out the negative feelings that might be bringing you down. Get rid of them to feel light enough to fly. Plus, if you think Flap and Fly is kind of silly, you might be surprised by a spontaneous smile. There. Mood flipped. Proceed with day, please.
V is for Verve
■ relieve
■ refresh
■ calm
■ strengthen
You roll out of bed, and you’re really dragging. You know you’re going to need every bit of energy for the busy day ahead. Try this pose to spark verve, vigor, and vitality! V. exciting!*
(*V. = very)
Happy-Go-Yoga
1. Step your feet about three feet apart, parallel to one another (if you’re a really tall person with long legs, farther apart).
2. Press the outer edges of your feet into the floor. Feel your inner ankles lift up away from the floor, but still keep all ten of your toes pressing down.
3. Inhale, put your hands on your hips, and lift the center of your chest.
4. Exhale, keep your torso long, and lean forward, hinging at the hips.
5. Try to keep your spine as long and straight as possible as you reach for the floor.
6. Press your hands into the floor right under your shoulders.
7. Inhale and lift up, with your back rather flat.
8. Exhale and start to fold deeper at your hips so that the top of your head starts to reach for the floor.
9. Stay here for thirty seconds to one minute if you can.
10. To stand back up, put your hands on your hips, feel your tailbone get heavy toward the floor, and hinge back up to stand.
11. Step or hop your feet back together.
About V is for Verve
V is for Verve (and vigor, and vitality), which is exactly what you need to start a busy day. Happy-Go-Yoga’s version of this pose is a homey take on Wide-Legged Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana: pra-sa-REE-tah puh-doe-tuh-NAHS-uh-nuh), a pose that helps counteract fatigue, foggy-headedness, back stiffness, and mild depression. Physically, it stretches and strengthens your inner and outer legs, lengthens your spine, and stretches your back muscles, which might have that sleepy, cramped feeling. Let’s have less of that and more verve, please!
Brush and Breathe
■ balance
■ focus
■ calm
■ de-stress
You have a lot on your plate today, so you want to start off feeling on top of your game and balanced. Make Brush and Breathe part of your morning routine so that no matter what comes your way, you’ll set the tone of steadiness despite challenge. You can get there in the amount of time it takes to brush your teeth.
Happy-Go-Yoga
1. Load up your toothbrush with toothpaste.
2. Inhale and count to six (or eight), brushing at the same time, though you don’t have to match the brush strokes to the count.
3. Exhale and count to six (or eight), and continue to brush.
4. As you move the brush around your mouth and across your teeth, repeat steps 2 and 3, keeping the count matching—either six or eight.
5. Continue to Brush and Breathe until you’ve finished brushing your teeth.
About Brush and Breathe
Happy-Go-Yoga’s Brush and Breathe is based on a tried-and-true pranayama (PRAH-nuh-YAH-muh), or yoga breathing technique, called Sama Vritti (SAH-muh VREE-tee) that is meant to calm, center, and balance the spirit. Brush and Breathe guides you to combine brushing strokes with a breath count, so you train yourself to make inhale and exhale lengths more equal. You’ll support the nervous system in a way that balances the energy you need to do things with a calm and low-stress feeling. You know the phrase “even-keeled”? Count on Brush and Breathe to help you feel more even-keeled, more often. You’ll probably end up with more evenly cleaned teeth, too.
Rock Your Heart
■ relieve
■ balance
■ brighten
■ love
Your back is kind of creaky, and you’re kind of cranky, from a not-so-good night’s sleep. Try giving your back some extra love by rocking your heart. You’ll get back relief, and who knows, it might make you a little less cranky, too, as you feel the love. You can do this at the breakfast counter, the table, or even just sitting down before you put on your shoes.
Happy-Go-Yoga
1. Find a comfortable seat where you have room to move a little (so don’t be close to a table in front you).
2. Sit upright by feeling your sits bones (the large, bony points of the underside of the pelvis) connect with your chair.
3. Put your hands on your hips to stabilize your pelvis and your seat.
4. Inhale and lift the center of your chest upward, feeling the lift come from the back of your heart, or the middle of your upper back between your shoulder blades.
5. Exhale and pull your belly button into your body, fold over a little bit, and tuck your chin into your chest.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5, as one complete pose, at least five times.
7. Keep going if the groove strikes you to keep rocking your heart.
About Rock Your Heart
Happy-Go-Yoga’s Rock Your Heart is based on one of yoga’s most beautiful heart openers and backbends, called Camel Pose, or Ustrasana (oo-STRAH-suh-nuh), giving it a rockin’ dance movement. It simultaneously makes the spine a little less stiff and stretches the area of the chest. Creating more awareness in your heart space allows you to be more compassionate toward yourself (and everyone you see throughout the day). Rock Your Heart also stretches your abdomen and pelvic region in a balanced way, activating the abdominal muscles and nourishing the inner organs with motion to remain healthy and flexible… so rock it.
Sunshine Coffee
■ empower
■ refresh
■ brighten
You’re still not quite awake, and you’re inclined to guzzle your first, second… and maybe your third cup of coffee to clear your foggy mind. Instead, use the power of your breath to wake you up quickly and get you out of that fog. You’ll push the cloudiness aside and clear the path for the day ahead.
Happy-Go-Yoga
1. Put down the coffee, if just for a moment.
2. Inhale fully and smoothly through the nose and let the breath expand your belly, midsection, and chest.
3. Pause at the top of the breath, and exhale out through your mouth fully, letting everything go.
4. Close your mouth. Now, swiftly inhale through the nose and expand your belly and midsection just like you did in step 2.
5. Keep your mouth closed. Swiftly exhale through the nose and get rid of as much air as you can, by compressing your abdomen into your body as much as possible to push the air out of your system.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5, keeping your inhale and exhale swift and powerful. Speed up inhales and exhales, but don’t lose the fullness of the breath in or out.
About Sunshine Coffee
Happy-Go-Yoga’s Sunshine Coffee is a powerful intake of energy and purge of heaviness in one action, based on Bellows Breath, or Bhastrika Pranayama (BAH-stree-kuh PRAH-nuh-YAH-muh). Just like bellows that fan the fire and gives it more force, Sunshine Coffee helps increase your digestive fire by using your abdominal muscles to pump air in and out. By increasing your digestive power, you burn out what is stagnant and unnecessary. The powerful breath is also like a hearty gust of wind, clearing a cloudy mind and invigorating it. The Chopra Center says the metabolic burst from this breath technique can support weight loss. Some experts claim that about coffee, too, but this is the organic way.
Unbreakable You
■ empower
■ inspire
■ focus
It’s a big day for you, but you’re feeling a little less confident than usual. You know you have the skills, and you’ve prepared for this moment, but you’re having some challenges believing in yourself. Strike the pose of unshakeable confidence and trust… in yourself. No one will suspect; they’ll only feel your confident energy when you enter the room.
Happy-Go-Yoga
1. Either standing or sitting up, let your shoulders roll back.
2. Lightly place your palms on the solar plexus, right below your chest and right above your belly button.
3. Interlace your fingers and extend your thumbs upward, toward your chest.
4. With your elbows reaching out to the sides of your body, past your ribs, pretend you’re trying to pull your hands apart.
5. Let the interlaced fingers form a lock that doesn’t allow you to pull your hands apart.
6. As you pull, try not to let your shoulders creep toward your ears; instead, slide your shoulder blades down toward your waist and lift higher through the crown of the head.
About Unbreakable You
Unbreakable You is based on Unshakeable Confidence and Trust mudra (Vajrapradama mudra: VAJ-ruh-pruh-DAH-muh MOOD-ruh), an ancient hand gesture. When you try unsuccessfully to pull apart your hands, it’s a symbol that you trust your own will and power, and they can’t be broken. Physically, your shoulders and arms feel the resistance, and you work your shoulder, upper back, upper arm, and chest muscles. Simultaneously, Unbreakable You relieves tension in the shoulders and upper back. Hold the mudra at your solar plexus, and it corresponds to the subtle yogic energy of self-confidence and a healthy, non-arrogant ego. We all have those moments when we should trust ourselves a little more. Happy-Go-Yoga’s Unbreakable You helps remind you that you can go with your gut and trust it to guide you.
Swimmingly
■ brighten
■ love
■ connect
■ relieve
Alone. That’s kind of how you’re feeling today. Rather than hiding from everyone, open up to connect with others and let the day flow. Sometimes it’s just a matter of being open to receive, which can help things go a little more smoothly and swimmingly. You never know what each day can bring!
Happy-Go-Yoga
1. Stand with your back against the wall. Feel your feet firmly planted into the floor, about hip width apart.
2. Let your tailbone feel like it’s reaching for the floor as it gets support from the wall.
3. Feel your shoulder blades rest against the wall and get a sense of lengthening yourself toward the ceiling.
4. With your forearms and palms near your sides, press them into the wall, connecting solidly to the wall from the fingertips and palms of your hands to the elbows.
5. As you press into the wall, lift just your heart up and away from the wall, letting your shoulder blades move slightly closer together. Keep your rear on the wall.
6. Breathe a little deeper, and each time you inhale, feel the heart lifting up a tiny bit more.
About Swimmingly
Happy-Go-Yoga’s Swimmingly is a vertical version of Fish Pose, or Matsyasana (MOTZ-ee-AH-suh-nuh). Think about it—fish are never alone; they’re always with their buddies in a school. Swimmingly helps release neck muscles as you stretch your heart up and out of your shoulder area. It opens up tight chest muscles and works your upper back muscles as well. Like a fish, you’ll keep flowing through the day, surrounded by pals who are doing the same.
Simba
■ relieve
■ empower
■ inspire
■ de-stress
As you go about your day, something is already brewing within and ready to burst out of you. Is it frustration? Excess energy? Personal prowess? Either way, put it out there so you can rule the day. Let ’em hear you roar.
Happy-Go-Yoga
1. Stand or sit upright and proud.
2. Take a deep breath in through your nose, then sigh every bit of air out of your body.
3. Prepare by thinking of what you can release from deep within, at the gut.
4. Inhale through your nose and pause at the top of your breath without tension.
5. Exhale forcefully through your mouth, widening your mouth as much as possible, and stick your tongue out as far as you can. And (this is important), at the same time, let out a roaring sound from deep within.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 at least once, fully (no wimpy roars… there must be sound).
7. As needed, repeat throughout the day or a few more times in a row to feel your own fire get stoked or released.
About Simba
Lions just kind of know they rule. Happy-Go-Yoga’s Simba (aka the Lion King) is based on a powerful pose called Lion Pose or Simhasana (sim-HAH-suh-nuh), combined with a popular and hefty energy release practiced in many classes today. When you’re holding on to something and just need to let go, Simba helps release tension in the chest and gut. At the same time, it can also inspire more personal power in a single roar. FYI, this is supposed to clean your tongue, freshen your breath, and keep the facial skin firm as you get older. Make some noise about that!
