Slim Calm Sexy Yoga: 210 Proven Yoga Moves for Mind/Body Bliss

enough to hold it. Work on the preparation that will get you there. If you jump ahead, you will probably fall, get frustrated, and not build the base you need to be confident. Practicing yoga is about staying where you are right now. When you apply focus, effort, and patience, you will get where you want to go.
    the
ROUTINE
Try to hold each step in the sequence for 5 deep inhales and exhales.
    Working toward Headstand
Headstand is often referred to to as the king of yoga poses, Practicing headstand benefits the endocrine, circulatory, lymphatic, nervous, respiratory, digestive, and muscuio-skeletal systems. It also calms the brain and leaves you feeling revitalized and clear-headed.

      Headstand Sock Slide

    Slide your feet back out to the extended position. Repeat this 20 times.

      Headstand Prep, Feet Walked In
      Headstand Prep, One Heel to Hip

    Try one leg, then the other.
      Headstand Prep, Both Heel to Hips
      Headstand Prep Leg Lift, Square Hips
      Headstand

      Memory Meditation
    After a vigorous practice, it’s good to sit quietly for a few minutes and focus on your breath. Try this breath-focused meditation geared toward enhancing your memory:
    Sit cross-legged with your hips up on a block and your knees resting out to the sides. Place your palms down on your thighs. Close your eyes and focus on your breath. If you have a thought, try to notice it without getting wrapped up in it. Send the thought on its way and return to your breath. Inhale through your nose for 4 counts. Hold the breath in for 4 counts. Exhale through your nose for 4 counts and hold the breath out for 4 counts. Repeat this breathing pattern for 2 minutes or 10 rounds, and then return to normal breathing. Continue to rest your attention on your breath for another 2 minutes, and then slowly open your eyes.

YOGA INTERVENTION

Namrata Tripathi
THE ISSUE: STRESS MANAGEMENT AND SLEEP PROBLEMS
    “
I love the squat hang pose because it melts away tension. And I love warrior 2 because it helps me reenergize.”
    With a heavy workload as an executive editor at a major publishing house in New York City and a busy life outside the office, 30-year-old Namrata (Nami, for short) often forgets to slow down and take time for herself.
    Even sleep gets short shrift. “I’ll get 7 hours, but only on a rare good night. It’s usually a lot less than that. And I’ve never found anything that has helped,” she says.
    In the past, Nami considered trying yoga but “found it challenging to find the right class, teacher, and studio that made me feel at home,” she says. Then, in early 2009, a friend dragged her to Strala, and she never looked back.
    “All of a sudden I could sleep,” Nami says, describing the night of her first yoga class. “I went home and zonked out for 11 hours straight! I actually started worrying that yoga was going to put me into a sleep coma. My schedule won’t allow for that.”
    When you practice yoga, your body begins to learn what it needs. In Nami’s case, it was instant and dramatic. She needed sleep. Fair warning: The needs of your body are sometimes different from the wants of your mind. Yoga practice fuses the two, calming the mind and channeling behavior along the right path for optimal health.
    “After I started practicing yoga more regularly, my sleep schedule started to level off at an acceptable 7 to 8 hours,” Nami says. “I feel more rested and refreshed in the morning now than before I started doing yoga.”
    Nami also discovered a key to heading off work stress: scheduling a class immediately after work to create a boundary between her job and the rest of her life. “It resets my mind,” she says. “I feel calmer when I get home. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to settle down, and my mind would be racing.”
    YOGA TIME = YOU TIME
    Often we create our own stress. We pack our schedules so full that we don’t even have room to breathe. When you practice yoga, not only does it give you that hour on the mat to feel calm and refreshed, it also gives you insight into and perspective on how you’re living your life.

YOGA INTERVENTION

Namrata Tripathi
THE ISSUE: STRESS MANAGEMENT AND SLEEP PROBLEMS
    “
I love the squat hang pose because it melts away tension. And I love warrior 2 because it helps me reenergize.”
    With a heavy workload as an executive editor at a major publishing house in New York City and a busy life outside the office, 30-year-old Namrata (Nami, for short) often forgets to slow