Tag Archives: rest

Tiny Tips Tuesday: Cool It Down This Summer with a Mini Restorative Yoga Retreat

Posted on by
Reply

Dear Friend,

I wanted to personally invite you to my restorative yoga mini retreat workshop Saturday, July 26th. The class is limited to 18 students and we’re offering a pretty sweet deal if you register before the workshop.

If you already know you want to come, please click here to register. You will need to click the Workshops tab once you are on our online scheduling system. 

Below you’ll find all the details, but if you still have questions, please be sure to hit reply on this message and I’ll do my best to find an answer.

Hope you are well.

With much love,
Tami

If you wish you could hear from me every week with tips and tricks to help make life healthier, happier and a bit more sane, sign up for my weekly Teacher Goes Back to School newsletter HERE.

If you know anyone who you think would benefit from or like this post please be sure to forward it on to them.

cool it down details

Cool It Down – Summer Restorative Mini Retreat Workshop with Tami Hackbarth at It’s All Yoga

 When: 2:30-5pm Saturday, July 26th, 2014

Where: It’s All Yoga 2405 21st Street, Sacramento, CA 95818

Investment: $50 before the workshop $65 day of the workshop

Register now: This mini retreat workshop is limited to just 18 participants.

Beat the Sacramento heat this July with a cooling and rejuvenating restorative yoga retreat. Let’s cool it down and relax into a mini retreat right here in Midtown.

We’ll spend the afternoon in a cooling oasis of restorative yoga poses using blocks, blankets, bolsters, straps, sandbags, eye pillows, the wall and and sometimes even a chair to hold the body in deeply relaxing poses to relieve tension and stress while inducing your body’s natural relaxation response.

With the help of essential oils and chilled river rocks we’ll soothe the internal summer fire naturally bringing the body back into balance. In addition to this cooling and balancing restorative yoga practice, you’ll also enjoy some cooling and balancing treats to eat and drink.

This is a work shop of deep self-care, nurturing, healing, cooling and balancing. It promises to be a super relaxing afternoon.

A quick note about restorative yoga. It works well when you feel fatigued or stressed out, frazzled or after having a life change or hectic summer season. While the restorative poses look as though you are aren’t doing anything except laying on the floor, this is far from the truth; resting in a restorative pose deeply relaxes the body and allows the mind to settle in a state of calm and stillness.

The restorative style of yoga is appropriate for anyone, at any age, ability or experience level.  Previous yoga experience is not required.  We will provide the props.  If you want to bring your mat or any personal yoga props that you may prefer to use, please do. Dress comfortably in comfortable stretchy clothes.

 

Tips and Tricks for Celebrating National Relaxation Day

Posted on by
1

relaxation day

Seriously, National Relaxation Day is a REAL THING. Even Forbes is advocating we participate in it.

National Relaxation Day started in Britain as Slacker Day and the US has adopted it and of course renamed it. Who cares! Let’s get to the good parts.

Did you know I have a Yoga Manifesto? I do. In three parts no less. I’m a dork like that. Here’s Part One: Rest.

Interested in a 15 minute mini vacation?

8 Tips for Bringing More Relaxation Into Your Life

What about a reset button for life? Or at least a way to get through it without more coffee or candy?

Curious about the health benefits of resting yoga?

Want to read about rest? Try Sabbath.

Restorative yoga helped heal her body image.

At home mini yoga retreat.

Schedule yourself a break.

10 self-care ideas which take 10 minutes or less.

Easy, breezy yoga sequence you can do at home.

Another easy, breezy yoga sequence you can do at home.

A poem!

+++++

If you enjoyed this post, get email updates (it’s FREE).

Naps Are For Smarties

Posted on by
4

rest

You must sleep sometime between lunch and dinner, and no halfway measure. Take off your clothes and get into bed. That’s what I always do. Don’t think you will be doing less work, because you sleep during the day. That’s a foolish notion held by people who have no imagination. You will be able to accomplish more. You get two days in one – well, at least one and a half, I’m sure. When the war started, I had to sleep during the day because that was the only way I could cope with my responsibilities. — Winston Churchill

(Or you could always come take a restorative yoga class with me at It’s All Yoga and receive all the benefits of a nap – and more! – without actually falling asleep).

What’s your take on naps? Pro or anti? What are your napping best practices?

Today We Rest

Posted on by
Reply

The Nap Taker

by Shel Silverstein

No – I did not take a nap –
The nap – took – me
off the bed and out the window
far beyond the sea,
to a land where sleepy heads
read only comic books
and lock their naps in iron safes
so that they can’t get took.

And soon as I came to that land,
I also came to grief.
The people pointed at me, shouting,
“Where’s the nap, you thief?”
They took me to the courthouse.
The judge put on his cap.
He said, “My child, you are on trial
for taking someone’s nap.

“Yes, all you selfish children,
you think just of yourselves
and don’t care if the nap you take
belongs to someone else.
It happens that the nap you took
without a thought or care
belongs to Bonnie Bowlingbrook,
who’s sittin’ cryin’ there.

“She hasn’t slept in quite some time –
just see her eyelids flap.
She’s tired drowsy – cranky too,
’cause guess who took her nap?”
The jury cried, “You’re guilty, yes,
you’re guilty as can be.
But just return the nap you took
And we might set you free.”

“I did not take that nap,” I cried,
“I give my solemn vow,
and if I took it by mistake
I do not have it now.”
“Oh fiddle-fudge,” cried out the judge,
your record looks quite sour.
Last night I see you stole a kiss,
Last week you took a shower,

“You beat your eggs, you’ve whipped your cream,
at work you punched the clock,
You’ve even killed an hour or two,
we’ve heard you darn your socks.
We know you shot a basketball,
you’ve stolen second base,
and we can see you’re guilty
from the sleep that’s on your face.

“Go lie down on your blanket now
and cry your guilty tears.
I sentence you to one long nap
for ninety million years.
And when the other children see
this nap that never ends,
no child will ever dare to take
somebody’s nap again.”

+++++

Today we rest. I’ll be at It’s All Yoga, but feel free to join me in spirit while you are at home.

Also, if you’d like to come try a class during November, send me a message or leave me a comment and I’ll get you a card.

+++++

How are you resting today?

In Case You Missed It Edition, Volume 21

Posted on by
2

{via}

Each week I’ll give you links to posts that made me laugh, cry, think or at least raise an eyebrow. Please click the links and check out the posts. You may find something that rocks your world too.

Leave me some feedback in the form of comments below on what you liked, what you hated and what you’d like to see more of. I’m here to help you find the best of what is online.

++++++

My Best Of…

8 Ways to Feel Happier During An Unhappy Time – is Gretchen Rubin some sort of psychic? After the week I’ve had, I do believe it’s true.

If you haven’t yet read The Happiness Project, please stop what you are doing and go get yourself a copy. I’m reading it a second time because it is full of super valuable reminders about how to take care of your own happiness.  It just came out in paperback this week. I bought a copy for a friend and I’m getting one for my birthday. Book club, anyone?

Do you treat yourself as well as you treat your friends and family? New research shows that self-compassion can lead to a healthier, happier you.

Have you met Sally at Already Pretty?  Her tagline: Helping You Recognize Your Own Beauty, One Post At A Time. Brilliant! Plus there is a new scarf tying tutorial – the pretzel.

Do you live in the Sacramento region? Are you needing a little quiet time for yourself and aren’t sure when, where and how to take it?

Well, I’ve got the answer!

First Sundays (that’s today, friends) I am teaching a fully restorative yoga class at It’s All Yoga. It’s called Sunday Snooze: 90 minutes of laying on the floor with blankets, bolsters, and blocks. It’s like a slumber party where I host and you actually get to rest. No undergarments in the freezer or awkward games of Truth or Dare. Just rest.

No experience or special clothes or even flexibility necessary. The ability to get down on the floor and up again is super helpful, however I’ll help if you need it.

If you’d like more information – check out my yoga classes page – or send me a message at TGBTSblog at gmail (dot) com.

Last little bit on rest… Do you know I have a Rest Manifesto? I don’t fool around when it comes to down time.

+++++

That is the In Case You Missed It Edition for this week, folks.

Remember to click the links and leave some comments. This is a conversation, you know.

In Case You Missed Edition Archives -click it to see them all.


In Case You Missed It Edition, Volume 16

Posted on by
Reply

{via}

Each week I’ll give you links to posts that made me laugh, cry, think or at least raise an eyebrow. Please click the links and check out the posts. You may find something that rocks your world too.

Leave me some feedback in the form of comments below on what you liked, what you hated and what you’d like to see more of. I’m here to help you find the best of what is online.

++++++

My Best Of…

Teaching Simplicity got it right with Nurturing the Nurturer – teachers take note. Take the time to take care of yourself. Of course, we need to take care of ourselves when we’re sick but wouldn’t it be nice to nurture and nourish ourselves so we don’t get sick?

Another reason to get more zzzzzzzs…. to look prettier! It’s scientific.

Having a hard time thinking of things to add to a gratitude list? This blogger writes a thank you note a day and some of what she is thankful for is not the usual. Love, love, love it.

Are you a sunflower too? I find I perk up like a blossom with the lengthening days. Here’s a sunlight calendar to help keep track of your daylight minutes.

In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honore {one of my favorite reads of the last few years} – he talks about it here. Slow down and stay awhile…

+++++

Cleanse update:  a cold takes away a lot of desire to cook nourishing food. I really wanted someone to cook for me.

So I ate out.

Twice.

I didn’t follow all the rules, however I didn’t give in to all my comfort food throw backs either. I wanted a cheeseburger (I know, huh?). Instead I had a burger sans cheese. I ate some of the bread and threw the rest away.

The next day I went to a pot luck and skipped the dessert and soda table – my usual favorites.

The bowl of M&M’s sitting right in front of me didn’t go untouched, however after I realized I was eating sweets (the cold medicine made me really, r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w), I hid them behind the centerpiece on the table and promptly forgot about them.

Baby steps.

Things I have noticed: comfort food isn’t just about the food when I am sick, it’s also about someone else cooking. Processed foods are convenient, but don’t taste nearly as good as not processed foods. My cold isn’t nearly as devastating as ones I’ve suffered from in recent years. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

+++++

That is the In Case You Missed It Edition for this week, folks.

Remember to click the links and leave some comments. This is a conversation, you know.

In Case You Missed Edition Archives -click it to see them all.

Downtime Is Not Optional

Posted on by
5

The way I felt at the end of last weekend’s endless fun-fest prompted me to add another entry to my Book of Me: Downtime is Not Optional.

 downtime

Don’t get me wrong, I love having fun as much as the next person.

As it turns out, I need some unscheduled hangout-and-do-nothing-time in order to recharge my batteries. I need some built-in recovery time or my body rebels and makes me sick. And you all know how I feel about that.

 

Many folks are rolling their eyes right now, thinking well I’m just too busy, I’ve got commitments and/or kids and I just can’t afford any down time.

 

My monsters say those things too.

Here are some more gems from the monster gallery:

  1. Really? 7-9 hours of sleep isn’t enough?
  2. You mean you need to do that EVERY night in order to feel truly rested?
  3. These days, who is really rested?
  4. Can’t you sleep when you’re dead?
  5. Gawd, you really are lazy.
  6. Other people don’t need to rest this much.
  7. Other people get up on Monday morning and never stop running – even on the weekend.
  8. They run their kids all over town and clean house and go to endless sporting events and birthday parties and the never even complain about it.
  9. Other people have kids and commitments and jobs and…. and they are fine. Damnit.
  10.  How are you going to survive when your kid arrives?
  11. I’ve heard kids rob you of all your sleep and you are a constant sleep-deprived zombie.

 Do you see how much my Monsters care about me?

The good news is that my Book of Me, isn’t a book for my monsters.

Or of you.

Just some reminders about what works for ME.

To quote Havi – That’s why it’s the Book of You and not the Book of Humanity In General That Is Also Known As The Book of All Things For All People At All Time.
So in order to honor my research and study of me, I am scheduling a much-needed day of quiet for tomorrow.

 

PAJAMA DAY to the rescue!

Are your monsters responding to my Pajama Day idea? Are they yelling about how lazy that makes me? Want to join me? All you need to do is STOP for one day and stay in. I’d love some company. I’ll be hanging out on Twitter and Facebook and hulu and Netflix.

What are some things I would find in your book of YOU? What kind of self-care do you do to stay sane?

Image source.In the park on hot day–“played … by The Library of Congress on Flickr

BTSA – Yoga Sequence #2

Posted on by
Reply

Welcome New Teachers and anyone else looking for a relaxing easy-to-do-at-work yoga sequence!

Inspired by: Office Yoga: Simple Stretches for Busy People 

Constructive rest – laying on your back, feet hip width, knees bent, feet flat on the floor, knees leaning toward each other.

Breathe.

{From now on, know that I’m only reminding you to EXHALE. That’s the part we all seem to have trouble with!}

Knees to chest.

Roll to one side, use your arm as a pillow and pause before you use the strength of your arms to come to a seat.

Breathe.

Foot massage!

Leg massage!

Supta P (Supta Padangusthasana) with strap – both legs.

Come to stand in Mountain. Close your eyes and breathe.

Downward dog with hands on the desk.

Come back to stand in Mountain pose. Close your eyes and breathe.

Come down to the floor by the wall for Legs Up the Wall Pose.

Stay put for a few breath cycles.

Release  by bending the knees, rolling to one side and pausing on your side using your arm as a pillow.

Pause.

Breathe.

Come to lie flat on your back, soles of feet together – Reclining Bound Angle Pose tucking rolled towels under the knees for support.

Breathe.

Bring the hands to the outside of the legs and help them together. Pausing for a moment with your feet on the floor.

Final relaxation!

Corpse/Savasana

Yoga+Music365 (day36) – The Stand Ins by Okkervil River – Massage Edition!

Posted on by
4

Every Friday I take the day off from blogging.

But what about the yoga and the music? Not to worry friends, it’s still happening, I’m just not writing about it today.

++++++

Let’s be honest, the real self-care comes from knowing your limits, boundaries and taking the time you need to renew.

What will I be doing instead of yoga, music and writing about yoga and music?

In honor of listening to my need for self-care, I’m having my twice monthly massage today.  Yep, I get a 90 minute massage every other Friday from Tess Bradley at the Body Mind Center in Midtown Sacramento.

Make an appointment with her – she’s AMAZING! Tell her you read about her here!

Twice a month massage?!?!?

It must be nice. I’ve been hearing for years about this practice.

Why yes, it is.

I look at massage as a financial commitment to my health and well-being. Massage, like yoga, helps me be a nicer person. It feels good and it helps keep me healthy. It also helps me be a better teacher, wife and friend. I started having massage regularly so I could deal with the grief of my stepdad dying and felt all the benefits of regular body work.

++++++

This is what I said the last time I told you about taking time off on Fridays. Not much has changed… I’m having a massage, wishing I could also go to the 4:30 class at It’s All Yoga to support my classmates and to luxuriate in their sweetness.

During my brief recess today I think I’ll concentrate on planning my next class and spending some quality time with the J-man and going bed early so I can be ready for my seven (7!!!!) mile training walk tomorrow morning.

What practices do you regularly do to take care of yourself? Please leave a comment and if your self-care thing interests me, maybe I’ll start doing your thing too.

PS- Think of Fridays as blog-reading catch-up day. If you’ve been a little behind on all the good stuff, here’s my gift to you.

PPS- Sunday is Music Round Up!

 Don’t forget FREE Fridays at 4:30 with the new It’s All Yoga teachers (21st and X in Sacramento) – you’ve got to sign up online www.itsallyoga.com. 

I’m teaching 3/5/10 – so mark your calendar.

For the month of February, I’m teaching a Level 1/2 on Mondays at 5:45. Come join me.

Yoga+Music365 (day18) – Volume One by She & Him

Posted on by
4

My left shoulder is hurting again.

And by again, I mean still.

I initially injured my shoulder falling on it on pavement back in 2000.

Falling?

Yep.

In the dark.

In front of a busy hotel.

Over a crack in the sidewalk.

Totally completely and utterly jet-lagged as I had just returned from London the night before.

In other words, I had absolutely zero warning that I was about to kill my shoulder.

The day after I fell I went to the doctor and had it x-rayed because I thought I broke my shoulder (ha – It’s only 9 years later that I know there is NO shoulder bone!) and the doctor told me it was just deeply bruised. I needed to rest it and eventually it would be fine.

I did my best to rest it while still taking twice a week yoga classes. Every time we went into Downward Facing Dog I would suffer through the discomfort in my shoulder and wonder why people kept claiming this was a resting pose.  I thought everyone felt the same discomfort and pressure in their shoulder that I did.

I thought that I was just doing the pose wrong. If I only practiced it more, I’d get better and my shoulder would stop hurting.

The only relief I found was coming out of the dreaded dog and putting myself in Child’s Pose with my arms wrapped around my feet.

It wasn’t long and something else caught my attention and I quit yoga.

Eventually my shoulder felt better. Or at least I didn’t notice it.

When I started practicing yoga regularly and the shoulder discomfort came back with a vengeance. Oddly, instead of listening to my inner voice screaming to stop doing what hurts, I just kept doing what the teacher asked.

And that was a lot of dog.

It wasn’t until we started talking about developing a home practice during teacher training that I started to think about what would help me feel better. Not doing every pose the class because someone went through a lot of planning and because I didn’t want anyone to think I couldn’t keep up.

If for nothing else, I’m so glad I decided to do the teacher training because it really deepened my own practice. Not so much the physical practice, but the practice of listening to my body and asking it what it needs to feel best.

So in order to really listen to what my body needs, until further notice – NO MORE DOG.

My fellow YTT, Bob, killed his pigeon and now I’m killing the dog.

If you set your mat up next to mine, please remind me to kill the dog.

Today’s yoga brought to you by Amanda, at It’s All Yoga in Sacramento.

Today’s music is Volume One by She and Him

Don’t forget FREE Fridays at 4:30 with the new It’s All Yoga teachers (21st and X in Sacramento) – you’ve got to sign up online www.itsallyoga.com.  — I’m teaching 3/5/10!

Yoga+Music365 (day15) – Townes by Steve Earle

Posted on by
Reply

Every Friday I am going to take a day off from blogging.

Let’s be honest, the real self-care comes from knowing your limits, boundaries and taking the time you need to renew.

But what about the yoga and the music?

 Today’s yoga brought to you by the new teachers at It’s All Yoga in Sacramento.

Today’s music is Townes by Steve Earle.

What practices do you regularly do to take care of yourself? Please leave a comment and if your self-care thing interests me, maybe I’ll start doing your thing too.

PS- Think of Fridays as blog-reading catch-up day. If you’ve been a little behind on all the good stuff, here’s my gift to you.

 PPS- Don’t forget FREE Fridays at 4:30 with the new It’s All Yoga teachers (21st and X in Sacramento) – you’ve got to sign up online www.itsallyoga.com. 

Yoga+Music365 (day11) – Stay Positive by The Hold Steady

Posted on by
11

Pajama Day!

Recently I took a yoga workshop with Mary Paffard about living with a serene heart. The basic message is that as a culture we’re too ambitious with our time and we need to make conscious choices about slowing down in order to care for ourselves properly.

She advocated staying home and staying in bed all day when you aren’t sick.

I couldn’t agree more.

After my excellent massage, I checked my calendar and saw that every single Saturday for the forseeable future was booked.

Except this one.

It was now or never. I had to take my chance at Pajama Day before all my weekend days got away from me. 

Pajama Day!

Saturday I spent all day in my pajamas. At midday I took a shower and put on clean pajamas.

No, I wasn’t sick. Remember this project is to help me not get sick.

What did I do all day?

  • wrote my weekly music roundup
  • read my blog comments and responded to my awesome readers
  • listened to music
  • listened to Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me while eating chocolate in bed – 2 Sacramento mentions!
  • watched an episode of GLEE (!)
  • watched Enlighten Up (loved it!)
  • read Havi’s brilliant blog – The Fluent Self
  • Facebooked with some friends about them joining me in Pajama Day
  • practiced yoga in my kitchen
  • read the newspaper
  • read a book
  • ordered books from the library

By bedtime on Saturday I was sleepy enough to go to bed at regular bedtime. I slept like a baby until morning and by Sunday evening I actually felt rested and ready for work.

 I hope to have another Pajama Day soon. I look forward to hearing about yours.

Today’s yoga brought to by Laura (one of my teacher training classmates!) at It’s All Yoga in Sacramento.

Today’s music is Stay Positive by The Hold Steady.

Remember to come back each Tuesday I’ll share an easy, nutritious recipe so you can join me in the home-cooked self-care.

Also don’t forget FREE Fridays at 4:30 with the new It’s All Yoga teachers (21st and X in Sacramento) – you’ve got to sign up online www.itsallyoga.com. 

 

Simple Ways Not to Lose Your Marbles During the Holidays

Posted on by
7

Today I took a workshop with Mary Paffard of Yoga Mendocino. She is the beloved teacher of many of my It’s All Yoga teachers. Mary comes to Sacramento occasionally to do workshops.

Today’s topic: The Serene Heart.

Here’s some of the highlights:

1. We (Westerners, Americans, you, me) need to rest more. (HA! I knew it!)

2. Starting the day with a little yoga or meditation can set the tone for the remainder of your day.

3. If the beginning of the day doesn’t work, try a little yoga or meditation at the end of the day before you go to bed.

4. By a little yoga, I mean a little. One or two restorative poses. That’s it.

Maybe a little Viparita Karani (Legs-up-the-wall) or Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclining Bound Angle Pose). I like to set myself up in both these poses and then cover my eyes with a lavender eye pillow and then cover my body with a blanket.

5. Pause, pause, pause. At the sound of every bell you hear during the day, pause. Close your eyes and take a deep breath.

6. Go into nature and observe. We have a lot to learn from the natural world about how we would be better served by slowing down during the cold dark months.

7. You have to give up some thing, to get some thing else. In other words, I have give up some time in order to gain some peace. Seems like a fair trade.

8.  When all else fails, take to your bed. Take a day off from the outside world and hang out in bed. Don’t wait until you are sick to do this. Schedule a pajama day and enjoy it.

Image Source: We Heart It

My Yoga Manifesto – Part I – REST

Posted on by
16

Manifesto: a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives, or motives, as one issued by a government, sovereign, or organization (or in this case, yoga teacher).

tami2012

I. REST

I believe in resting a lot in yoga class. Sometimes I lay down flat on my back like a pancake, sometimes in constructive rest, and other times I rest with my forehead on the floor in child’s pose. Sometimes I sit on a block and drink water while looking at the shapes other people make with their bodies.  [So beautiful, the human body, all those different shapes and sizes, lines and angles…]

Why do I rest? Partly because I work so hard doing everything else in my life and I’m tired.

I rest partly because I’ve had excellent teachers that remind me to rest when I’m tired or to not push past my edge.  [ BIG THANKS to the teachers at It’s All Yoga in Sacramento for teaching me this lesson!]

I rest partly because it feels good once you get past the weird ego thing of ‘I’m in yoga class and I must do everything better than everyone else.‘ Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about.

At this point, I consider my resting  in yoga class a public service.

I rest so that all those people that might want to rest can look at me and think “Oh thank god, someone else is resting, I can rest too.”

I know this happens because it used to happen to me. A lot. I’d want to come out of a pose, but I didn’t want everyone to know I needed to rest so I just powered through it.

One day something clicked in my head and I decided it was my mission to make people feel ok about resting.  By being the first to rest, I am modeling the behavior I would like to see in others.  Now when I see people listening to their inner voices telling them to rest and they actually do, I feel I’ve done my work here.

We keep joking in my teacher training class that I should open a studio someday that only offers 90 minutes classes of Savasana. I know I’d want to come to the class where rest is not only ok, but encouraged, so maybe other people would too.

If you are one of those people that doesn’t think they need to rest (I know about your kind….) I think you should rest too.

You’ll thank me later.