These are great to do right before bedtime or if you have trouble falling back to sleep:
Seated bound angle - Sit on floor and bring your soles of the feet to touch, your knees out to the sides, so you form a diamond shape with your legs. You can place pillows under your knees if you need a little more support. If your legs and hips are tight, move your feet away from your torso so you create more of a square shape with your legs. Sit up nice and tall and breathe into any sensations you are feeling. If you would like a little more stretch, you can place your hands behind you and lean back, or you can come down onto your elbows or even your back onto a pillow. Stay for 5 breaths.
Child pose - Kneel on floor and bring your big toes to touch and your knees out wide at about a 60 degree angle. Lean your hips back towards your heels and rest your forehead on a pillow or the ground. The arms can be extended out in front of you or behind you along the sides with the palms facing up. Breathe into the back part of your chest and kidneys. On the inhale, allow the breath to push the entire backside of your body up towards the ceiling as the ribcage and lungs push out to the sides. On the exhale, allow everything to fall back towards your center and midline. Try being here for 10 breaths, breathing into any sensations that arise and that you feel the most.
Knees to chest - Lying on your back, bring both knees into your chest placing one palm on front bottom of either knee. Start to make circles with the knees in one direction so you are massaging your low back and hips on the floor beneath you at the same time. Do 5 circles and then repeat in the other direction. Make sure to inhale when you bring the knees in towards you, and exhale when the knees come away from you.
Recline Twist - Still lying on your back, bring bent legs to a ninety degree angle so that your knees are over your hips and your feet are in front of your knees. Bring the arms out to your sides as if they were wings. Now bring your bent knees over to one side on either the floor or some kind of propped support like a pillow or rolled up towel. If you would like and added twist, look in the opposite direction of your knees. Breathe for 5 breaths here. Keeping the arms out like wings as they are, return knees to center, ninety degrees and then bring them over to the opposite way to stretch your other side.
Legs up the wall - Take yourself to a wall space and lay down on one side of your body with the knees pulled into your chest as in a fetal position. Bring your butt to the wall and start to climb the legs up the wall behind you. Follow the legs so that your entire back side now comes onto the floor above the wall. Stretch the legs up into extension and allow the wall to fully support your entire legs and hips. You can keep the legs together or you can bring them out to a ‘V’ or a wide ‘V’. Rest your hands on your belly so you can feel the rise and fall of each breath. Count 10 breaths again as your belly pushes your hands away on the inhale and the belly and hands fall back down towards your midline on each exhale. Breathe into any sensations you feel here. Simply come out of the position in reverse to the way you came into it. Rest in the fetal position for a few breaths.
Now you will be ready for beddy by!
Here are some helpful tips for a successful night of sleep:
No electronics 1 hour before bed, and even better, out of the bedroom.
No eating 3 hours before bedtime
Wear an eye mask to block out any light to help you sleep better.
Mary is getting married on Oct. 17th. Please send her all the magical, loving thoughts you can muster for her on this special day. She will be honeymooning right after in Bali, Indonesia until mid November. Stay tuned for upcoming issues where we will post lots of pictures of the wedding and travel for you to enjoy!
The full moon circles will be put on hold until the beginning of the year in honor of the holiday season that both moons fall on. We will keep you posted on when the next one will be.
Mary’s Therapies will continue taking on clients as the lovely Buffy will be taking over to help you in any way she can -- answering the phone, emails and texts as well as providing her wonderful healing touch in treatment sessions. You can still reach us by phone, text and email as well as scheduling online for your next appointment. Don’t be shy, come say Hi!
Mark your calendars: Buffy will be offering a 3 part series class called Cultivating the Quiet and Compassionate Observer. In these 90 minute classes you will:
-Learn about how to hold space for cultivating a healing environment
-Learn how to be aware of your own energy
-Be shown skills to create a deeper sense of peace and strength
-Learn tools to be more open but not vulnerable so as not to be so affected by another’s’ experience that it changes and shifts your own perspective.
This class is especially useful for body workers, energy workers, empaths and sensitive people.
Stay tuned for a flier in our next newsletter that will provide exact date, time and cost.
Mary will be teaming up with fellow and local small business owner Mary Tolena of RythymLift to collaborate a wonderful community healing event here in Ocean Beach. Guiding you on a transformational journey of healing, sound, rhythm, meditations and visualizations to help bring out the inner you and bring together other like-minded souls! Stay tuned for more info and a flier come next month.
