BUCKLE UP- Yoga on the GO!

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Do you know what to do when you’re traveling: near or far, in a car, on a train, or on a plane?

Buckle up and do some yoga on the go!

Whether you’re going to your local surf break, on a long adventure, or to a far

away land, you can get there feeling good by doing some fun and easy yoga tech-

niques that will soothe your body, mind, and spirit.

Scan your body and be aware of where you hold tension. Focus on keeping those

areas relaxed. You’ll enjoy your trip so much more when you know what your body needs to feel good and relaxed.

Make sure you have taken care of all your external comforts for your journey, such

as comfy clothes, good music, and healthy treats. Don’t forget to bring the latest is-

sue of WSSM on your voyage. It’s so much easier to focus on going within when

you’re comfy externally.

If you’re driving, you can still do a lot to keep your body and

mind at its best,

just as long as you can keep both hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. For

example, you can tense and relax all your muscles to improve circulation. You can

also breathe deeply to keep your mind calm and body relaxed and at ease.

When among other people, be subtle and mindful of those around you, especially

on an airplane. For example, it feels great to stretch your arms up, but make sure

the movie isn’t running while lifting you’re arms up, as the people behind you might

miss a good scene. Instead, you can reach your arms forward with your fingers inter-laced and the palms out. This is also good

to do when you’re in a car, since there isn’t much room to lift your arms very high.

Zofia Karubin

Zofia Karubin is a Certified Yoga Instructor who resides in Los Angeles, California where she loves

to surf and do yoga on the beach. She has been teaching yoga classes for adults, teens, and children for over a decade. Zofia’s life-long passion for yoga

has been passed down from her mother who is also a yoga teacher. Currently, Zofia is working on a book for surfers “Surfboard Yoga Warm-Up” inspired by

waterman Erik Nordskog. Look for more yoga poses with Zofia in the next issue of WSSM.

BUCKLE Up -LIFESTYLE . . . Yoga Fitness

yoga on the go! Here are a few ways to help you feel energized and relaxed when you reach your destination.

1 Breathe: The breath is so important. We hold our breath when we stress causing more stress due to

a lack of oxygen to our brain. Breathe deeply from the bottom of your abdomen, and expand the rib cage out, then fill the chest area and feel the collar bone lift up as you continue to inhale. Then exhale all the way down from the chest, rib cage, and contract the abdomen muscles to let all breath out. Place one hand on the belly, the other on your rib cage or chest, to feel the breath flowing in and out.

2 Laugh and sigh: One way to improve your breath is to laugh joyfully. You’ll feel the abdomen con-

tract and relax naturally as you laugh and exhale. Then on the inhalation there is no effort because your body will naturally draw in a full breath. That’s why laughter is so healthy, plus your brain will release endorphins which will increase your sense of well being. Another way is to sigh deeply. Again, your body will naturally draw in a breath when you sigh. It’s so refreshing and cleans-ing for your blood, your mind, and your mood, so keep breathing and laugh-ing deeply.

3 Relax the face: We don’t realize how

much tension we hold in our faces. Simply put on a sweet smile and feel the tension melt away from those facial muscles as you continue to breathe deeply, feeling good, looking good, and staying young at heart. The more we smile, the better we feel. This really helps when driving because we’re focusing so much.

4 Relax the jaw: The jaw muscles need stretching too. Drop your lower jaw down, lift the eyebrows up

and bring the jaw forward. Releasing tension in the jaw will relax the nerves in the face and will bring more energy flow to your eyes. This makes driving or reading so much easier when the eyes are relaxed.

5 Stretch the wrists and hands: Clench the fists, then stretch out the palms and fingers while

breathing deeply, and repeat several times. Rotate the hands and stretch the wrists. Massage your wrists, hands, and fingers and see how much better you’ll feel – get in between the bones and massage the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. It’s so good to do this before and after you drive a car or work on the computer to release all the tension.

6 Stretch the ankles and feet: The ankles and feet need a lot of stretching because they do so much

for us. By rotating your ankles and flexing the feet, you are increasing your blood circu-lation and bringing healing energy to your legs and feet. Stretch your toes out and move them around. It’s also good to massage the feet and ankles before bed for a good nights rest after your trip – it’s so relaxing.

7 Relaxing the neck and shoulders: Keep

breathing while rolling the shoulders up and down. Gen-tly stretch your head to the left, roll your head down and then to right and look up. Rotate a few times in both di-rections. This will help relax your neck and shoulders, and it will free the blood flow to your brain.

Next, look left and right slowly, and then subtly move into a gentle spinal twist on the exhalation, lift up and twist-ing back. Spinal twists will relieve so much tension along the spine, which is very beneficial for your entire nervous system, and brings calmness to your mind.

8 Tense and relax all muscles:When you’re sitting there in the car, on the plane, or

the bus for several hours, the best thing to do is to tense and relax the major muscle groups, especially the buttocks. By tensing and relaxing the buttock muscles, you will be improving your circulation and calm all the nerve endings in the tail bone. After a long trip, you’ll be grateful you did when you stand up for the first time after several hours.

It’s always good to do a yoga session before and after your trip. Many professional athletes do yoga to prevent jet lag and stay in shape when they travel. It may not be easy to find time, so just do a few poses that will stretch the entire body and that’ll make a big difference.

Namaste: My inner light bows to your inner light.

Most importantly when traveling, focus on what you love; on your surf stoke... Rather than getting tense and stressed out about traffic or unexpected delays, just switch your mood and perspective--you have a choice. You can waste your energy thinking about what a waste of time it is, or you can use this time as a creative and positive healing opportunity by visualizing yourself succeeding in your goals,

or catching the perfect wave.

NOTE: If you have health concerns, check with your health care provider before doing this or any other exercise program.

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