Three Birds Yoga and Reiki

In my experience, muscle tension is different from muscle tightness. . Tightness is when you use a muscle in some way and it doesn’t return to its resting lengt...h, say from exercising or gardening or moving heavy furniture. Tension usually contains a psychological or emotional component. . Tension is the Stress Response finding a home in our body. We feel threatened, so we harden. We all harden ourselves, every single day. We may not know it as it’s happening, but we will undoubtedly experience its effects. . Muscle tightness responds to stretching; muscle tension responds to feeling safe. Meeting tension requires compassionate awareness, patience, and kindness. . I am happy to share a short guided practice to soften tension in my blog this week as well as more tips and insight to finding and releasing tension. Follow Link for practices and full blog https://www.jillianpransky.com//the-sweet-release-meeting- #Yogaworks #Tension #DeepListening #RelaxationResponse #RestorativeYoga #Yoga #LARLAR #relaxmore Thank you Sharlota von Kay for photo. <3

Yoga for Low Back Health: A Simple Pose to Lengthen the Psoas and Quads Take a sneak peek at Restoring Your Fluid Spine: Yoga for Back Care & Healthy Aging wit...h Lillah Schwartz! http://bit.ly/Restore-Your-Fluid-Spine The psoas muscle is one of the largest muscles in the body, and it is tied in to our well-being in numerous ways. Tension in the psoas muscle can greatly affect the balance of the pelvis and low back, which in turn may be linked to back pain. In this video excerpt from her online course, yoga therapist Lillah Schwartz shares her unique approach to lengthening the psoas and quads with a simple variation of Warrior I pose. This variation of Warrior I brings greater extension to the spine and helps to create greater length through the psoas and the quad of the rear leg. Lillah guides you through the actions of the arms, legs, and shoulder blades to get full extension of the spine in this pose. Interested in seeing more clips from the course? Learn more and take a sneak peek at Restoring Your Fluid Spine: Yoga for Back Care & Healthy Aging with Lillah Schwartz here: http://bit.ly/Restore-Your-Fluid-Spine

Take a sneak peek at Restoring Your Fluid Spine: Yoga for Back Care & Healthy Aging with Yoga With Lillah's Lillah Schwartz http://bit.ly/Restore-Your-Fluid-Spi...ne The psoas muscle is one of the largest muscles in the body, and it is tied in to our well-being in numerous ways. Tension in the psoas muscle can greatly affect the balance of the pelvis and low back, and in some cases, a tight psoas may also be linked to excessive stress or trauma. In this video excerpt from her online course, yoga therapist Lillah Schwartz shares her unique approach to gentle psoas release using a simple variation of Half Butterfly pose. Learn how to soften the psoas and release the lower back. By pressing into the lower fibers of the psoas, these pose variations can help unwind a rigid psoas muscle, freeing up the space in the hip, lower back, and mid back. Interested in seeing more clips from the course? Learn more and take a sneak peek at Restoring Your Fluid Spine: Yoga for Back Care & Healthy Aging with Lillah Schwartz here: http://bit.ly/Restore-Your-Fluid-Spine

Facia..... The only tissue that modifies its consistency when under stress (it’s your body’s shape-shifter, of sorts), fascia is a part of the body that inspires equal parts confusion and optimism in research circles......

Here’s an active variation of pigeon pose that I find to be quite excellent in many ways! I was prompted to feature this pose today by my friend @taraanncarroll...yoga, who threw out a challenge for people to show her their active pigeon. Isn’t that a great request to make? . Before I talk more about why I love this active pigeon pose, I’d just like to emphasize (not for the first time heh heh) that there is nothing wrong with good old *passive pigeon pose*! . I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but passive pigeon pose is fearmongered about quite a bit in the yoga world these days. Many teachers have dropped the pose from their teaching altogether because it’s claimed to be so dang bad for us. . (I was one of those teachers too, which is how I know! But I’ve since reflected and moved on from that stance because I realize it’s not really supported by what we know about the body, connective tissues, and injury mechanisms. Know what I mean?) . So even though passive pigeon is a fine pose to practice and yes, I’m a fan of it, I am *also* a big fan of taking this same shape and developing strength, control, and muscular work within it. . I often teach an active pigeon where we’re on the floor, but today I thought I’d show a chair-based version because this option is great as well. . This is a good way to build some anterior hip strength in the back leg and some posterior hip strength in the front leg. The pulses that I do here make it more dynamic and help us build strength through a bit more of a range. . If you decide to explore this active variation of pigeon at all, let me know how it goes! . . . . . #pigeonpose #hipopener #glutes #yogastrong See more

Reiki is great for kids, too! . . #reiki #stressrelief #relaxation #energyhealing

You can’t outrun your heartbreak. Your vibrational energy is better spent facing your sadness, not attempting to escape it. Crises are opportunities to uncover ...your strength, tenacity, and resourcefulness. Don't resist any of it. Allow it to happen. Allow it to unfold. Allow it to play out in your heart, in your experience and in your life. Because resisting it is simply resisting love. There’s no need to search for a purpose beyond yourself, do you agree? See more

Relax Into Your Original Self: A Narrative Therapy Practice. Thomas Moore describes the Original Self so beautifully. Far beneath the many thick layers of ind...octrination about who we are and who we should be lies an original self, a person who came into this world full of possibility and destined for joyful unveiling and manifestation. It is this person we glimpse in another when we fall in love or when we idealize a leader or romanticize an artist. This is the person who comes to life in us briefly as we get married, start a course in school, or try on a new joy - before worry and cynicism have set in. Chronically trying to be someone other than this original self, persuaded that we are not adequate and should fit some norm of health or correctness, we may find a cool distance gradually separating us from that deep and eternal person, that G-d-given personality, and we may forget both who we were and who we might be When that ever-creative soul is allowed to rise up from the deep reservoir of life that is home, we become unpredictable and not easily squeezed into narrow expectations of what a person should be.. (our lives take a shape) that we could never plan or design. Enjoy this excerpt and a short narrative therapy exercise inspired to help you connect to your original self. You can find this exercise on my blog this week. http://bit.ly/2osG8M3

Is it a relaxing reclined spinal twist? Or is it challenging cross-body core work? Well actually, it’s both! Combined into one unique sequence. Who knew we coul...d have this much fun lying in a simple supine position? . Start in a reclined spinal twist with a yoga block underneath your crossed-over knee. Anchor your knee down into the block with your opposite-side arm and try a few dynamic open-arm thoracic rotations. . (Side note: this is one of my favorite ways to target thoracic spine mobilization. Let me know what you think if you try it out! ) . Roll onto your back and shift the block so that it’s now just above your knee. Wedge the block between your knee & your forearm and actively press your leg & arm into the block at the same time. . (This pushing into the block will help create *tension* in our core as we move into the core work we’re about to do ) . Press your low back down into the floor and reach your free arm & leg away from each other. Then bring both back up. . To increase the challenge, curl your head & shoulders up off the floor & continue with your arm/leg reaches. . Do enough repetitions that you start to feel fatigued, and then roll your leg & that block across your body again and find a relaxing static spinal twist. . I hope you enjoy this interesting twist + cross-body core work idea if you give it a try! . . . . . #corework #corestrength #abdominals #yogaprops See more

In yoga and meditation, we so often talk about letting go. Releasing. Creating space. That less is more. And while we often talk about all of this in relation t...o emotions and thoughts and habits, this tangible experience of letting go of needing my stuff was so transformational that it gave me new insight into all the baggage we hold onto. I share my experience with "letting go" in my new blog post. Check it out: http://bit.ly/2nSr0qV

Change and transition are difficult for most of us. Self-initiated or not, change moves us through a transition zone which often creates a sense of groundlessne...ss. It can be unsettling, even scary, to be in this in-between state of letting go of what we've known, to allow for something new to emerge. According to yoga and Ayruveda, our well being is dependent on our ability to change. Our very survival is based on our ability to continually evolve. Head over to my blog this week to learn more about moving more gracefully through transition and change! http://bit.ly/2kHPPo5

This research gives new meaning to the term I could feel in my bones! #traumainformed #fightorflight #osteocalcin

There’s nothing fancy or especially strong to see here heh heh - this is just a simple mellow warm-up flow that I like to move through & teach sometimes! . I li...ke it because it touches on multiple areas: the hips, the spine, and the shoulders (a bit). . All of these areas are mobilized and prepared for some stronger, more loaded movements to come later (or not, if you’re planning on making these mobilization-type of movements the bulk of your yoga practice today! ) . Plus linking the poses together in a flow type manner like this helps me create a sense of meditative connection to my body & its movements - and especially how it’s feeling in this particular moment on this particular day. . The blocks are of course optional here, but I’m definitely a fan of the space they give me for my lower body to move in those dynamics lunges. . I wouldn’t classify my use of the blocks in this sequence as evil today , but I will definitely be using them for evil purposes soon, so just keep your eyes peeled! . And of course, once I circle back to my original hands-and-knees position here, it’s time to start with cat/cow again and then move through the rest of this flow on the second side. . Consider repeating this sequence a few times through too instead of just once on each side. You might be surprised by what you discover with the element of repetition! . Enjoy this warm-up flow if you play with it at all in your practice or teaching! . . . . . #warmup #yogaflow #yogapractice #lunge See more

This thoracic extension work would make a great prep for any of our backbends in yoga - and it’s also just a potent t-spine mobility move that can be done for i...ts own sake anytime . I like the rolled-up blanket idea that I show here because a yoga blanket is more dense than something like a yoga bolster, and this can help us direct our backbend into a more specific area of our spine. . You could use a blanket on its own, or prop it up a little higher on some yoga blocks like I’ve done here. This just gives us a bit more range to work through as we arc back over our props. . To feel more work through your core, you can try reaching your arms overhead as you move into your backbend. Holding a block and pressing your hands into it here is also great! . And of course there’s always the option to work with thoracic extension passively. That’s why I threw in the last variation here. Simply lying back over the blanket and paying attention to your spine and your breath can be a wonderful approach as well! . In case you haven’t noticed :), I’ve been on a bit of a thoracic extension kick lately, with that t-spine extension move where we hold the block behind our head & upper back (I showed it both prone & in malasana in some recent posts!) . I think a great combo would be to do this supine t-spine work in this video to first open up some range, and then to do that extra active (& challenging!) block move afterward. . Let me know what you think if you try working with any of these ideas - I hope you enjoy! . . . . . #backbend #heartopener #yogablock #restorativeyoga See more

Unfortunately I lost my voice and will be unable to teach. Look forward to seeing everyone soon.

This lunge to malasana (squat) sequence brings some great upper body mobility work into our classic squat, which is an addition that I love! . About 10 days ago..., I posted a prone (lying face down) thoracic extension move in which I held a block that was touching the back of my head & my upper back. I didn’t think it would receive much attention because it was a pretty small movement that wasn’t very eye-catching, but you awesome yoga geeks pleasantly surprised me by thinking it was just as cool as I did! Thank you! . Welllll I decided to bring that same t-spine block idea into malasana in this video (it’s the 3rd malasana variation I do here fyi). Did you notice, and did you make the connection at all? . (Just as a review, the reason I like using a block in this way is that sometimes when we want to work on thoracic (upper & mid-back) extension, we unknowingly extend our neck as well (by lifting our chin). But this block placement helps us keep our neck in neutral so we can just move from our t-spine, which is what we want! ) . I thought I’d bring this block move into malasana here because a squat position tends to naturally lock our lumbar spine (low back) in place due to the amount of hip flexion involved, and the lumbar spine is one of the *other* places that likes to unknowingly move when we’re trying to target our t-spine. . So this is kind of a double whammy that might really light up our connection to our upper & mid-back area (i.e. the back of our heart). It definitely felt productive in my spine - I hope it does for you too if you try it! . . . . . #malasana #squat #thoracic #yogablock See more

On the surface, it looks like I’m using blocks in this video to make this sequence easier. And while this is true in a way, did you know that the blocks are a...ctually making things *harder* for me at the same time here? How could this be? . Wellll, the stepping-forward transition from down dog can be tricky for many people. Many of us lack the core & hip flexor strength to step the foot all the way forward with control and set it lightly down on the floor (and have you ever tried setting the *heel* down before the ball of the foot? Sooo much harder! ) . If we place blocks under our hands in down dog, this gives us more space (or more clearance) to step that foot forward. Which might lead us to conclude that the blocks are making things easier here. . However, for many people, stepping forward from down dog (without blocks) is so challenging that the only way they can do it is by either momentum-ing the foot forward OR by taking a shorter step forward and then scooting the foot forward the rest of the way with their hand. . Both of those strategies are 100% great, but they may not be making much change in our body in terms of *strengthening*. . And so, by placing blocks underneath our hands, we do make more room to step forward, but for many of us, this *also* means that we now have the ability to actually use our core & hip flexors to step the foot forward with control. . Before, we were so cramped between our chest & the floor that we could only rely on momentum or on an external force to scoot the foot forward. But now with the blocks, we can actually tap into and build some real strength. . So I ask you did the blocks make this transition *easier* or did they make it *harder*? (I know it does depend on some other factors too, but just picture someone who couldn’t find much strength at all without blocks - which is many people!) . Ohhhh and also: I really like the low lunge > horse stance transition in this sequence too, but I have no room to talk about it . . . . . #lowlunge #downwarddog #core #hipflexors See more

Here’s a unique sequence that combines both balance work & potential lower body strengthening, and I happen to love it! . Starting in tadasana (mountain pose), ...bring one leg into pigeon chair pose. Do your best to keep your standing leg hip firmed in toward the midline, because it will probably want to do the opposite here (which will just reduce the amount of work being done by that hip - and why would we want to do that? ) . Then try to preserve the externally-rotated position of your pigeon leg as you rise up and *lift that leg up to a hover*. (This helps teach that hip how to control itself in a pigeon-leg position, which is great for yogis!) . Then rotate that hip back to its neutral position, sweep the leg behind you, and attempt to tap that knee somewhere along the back of your standing leg. You could tap as high as the back of your knee (pretty high!), or down lower on the calf, achilles tendon, heel, or floor. . In this video I did one version in which I tapped a yoga block (evil!), and a second in which I tapped the floor (technically more evil, but it’s just hard for me to mention blocks without including the word evil these days... heh heh) . Now rise back up to standing and step your foot out to the side a bit for a standing side bend. Here’s a moment for a little pause and an opportunity to feel a stretch through the lateral line of your body. . Then repeat this whole flow a few more times on the same side - ideally until your standing leg starts to feel fatigued & worked. After that, it’s time to visit this same flow on the other side - and to notice any differences you can feel between your two sides . Let me know how it goes if you explore this balancing/strengthening flow at all! . . . . . #yogastrong #pigeonpose #utkatasana #squat See more

Saturday’s 11:00 to 12:15pm Gentle & Restorative Yoga with a Sweet Savasana

UNCONDITIONAL OPENNESS The peace that we are looking for is not peace that crumbles as soon as there is difficulty or chaos. Whether we’re seeking inner peace o...r global peace or a combination of the two, the way to experience it is to build on the foundation of unconditional openness to all that arises. Peace isn’t an experience free of challenges, free of rough and smooth, it’s an experience that’s expansive enough to include all that arises without feeling threatened. Pema Chodron. See more

Intimacy ... vulnerability ... The exquisite risk. We waste so much energy trying to cover up who we are when beneath every attitude is the want to be love...d, and beneath every anger is a wound to be healed and beneath every sadness is the fear that there will not be enough time. When we hesitate in being direct, we unknowingly slip something on, some added layer of protection that keeps us from feeling the world, and often that thin covering is the beginning of a loneliness which, if not put down, diminishes our chances of joy. It’s like wearing gloves every time we touch something, and then, forgetting we chose to put them on, we complain that nothing feels quite real. Our challenge each day is not to get dressed to face the world but to unglove ourselves so that the doorknob feels cold and the car handle feels wet and the kiss goodbye feels like the lips of another being, soft and unrepeatable. By Mark Nepo Mark Nepo

Saturday at Sol Full Yoga 11:00 am Gentle yoga with restorative poses & sweet savasana. Come to your mat and find your breath.....release, reset, refresh.

As children, many of us were taught courage in the form of the warrior or the explorer, bravely facing danger. In the Buddhist understanding, however, the great...er courage is not demonstrated by aggression or ambition. The courageous heart is the one that is unafraid to open to the world, to care no matter what. Facing suffering brings us a great task: to stay true to our deepest values and still remain open and vulnerable. Whatever hardens and closes our heart leaves us rigid, frightened, unresponsive. Through our grudges and fears we become increasingly territorial and defensive. How can we keep the heart open without losing our strength and our sense of justice? To do this we must allow the heart to become strong in a new way. We turn toward the suffering of the world willingly, and let it stretch our compassion. In the inevitable pains, conflicts, and betrayals we discover we can embrace the power of love. In the midst of difficulty, we can repeatedly stop and return to our heart’s goodness, reconnect to our strength of compassion and our vulnerability. http://ow.ly/J9a530oWSRf See more

As we've been discussing in our trainings for a long time Mind-body interventions (MBIs) such as meditation and yoga don't simply relax us; they can 'reverse' t...he molecular reactions in our DNA which cause ill-health and depression -- here's some of the research: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releas/2017//170615213301.htm See more

Hudson River Expeditions Peekskill Awesome space! Open weekends until July, then 7 days a week. Maybe yoga with me..here...soon. Let me know if you’re interested in coming out on the water. They have everything. Great vibe! Located at the bottom of the goat trail Perfect spot to sup, kayak canoe, fish, picnic, lay in the grass all day.

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The results of 22 randomized clinical trials has found that yoga practice can improve many aspects of physical and mental health among older adults. As we may expect. . . https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325374.php

Ram Dass.... Nails it every time... He teaches: "The technique of the witness is to merely sit with the fear and be aware of it before it becomes so consuming ...that there’s no space left. The image I usually use is that of a picture frame and a painting of a gray cloud against a blue sky. But the picture frame is a little too small. So you bend the canvas around to frame it. But in doing so you lost all the blue sky. So you end up with just a framed gray cloud. It fills the entire frame. So when you say 'I’m afraid,' or, 'I’m depressed,' if you enlarged the frame so that just a little blue space shows, you would say ‘ah, a cloud.’ That is what the witness is. The witness is that tiny little blue over in the corner that leads you to say, ‘ah, fear" And photos is from Omega Institute gazing towards the Ram Dass Library.... Ram Dass, Love Serve Remember #DeepListening #OmegaInstitute #RamDass

Here's a good overview on a quick way to hack the vagus nerve to Calm Down Quickly. I discuss this extensively in my trainings and workshops... and am always ha...ppy to see the continual New Research Identifying the Multiple Benefits of Mindful Breathing in general and specifically Longer Exhalations ... Mostly in stimulating the vagus nerve. https://www.psychologytoday.com//longer-exhalations-are-ea Psychology Today Christopher Bergland Athletes Way Christopher Bergland #JustBreath #VagusNerve #StressResponse #RelaxationResponse

Join me on Saturday mornings starting June 1st! Breathe Move Connect ~In this Gentle Yoga Class we have the opportunity to reset through pranayama, slow sweet a...sana and nurturing savasana.~ See more

Some fun shots from over the years

All-time Most Popular Article "When you understand that the practice of yoga works to release blockages in the many layers of the body it helps you unders...tand why sometimes we resist strongly resist our practice. Those blockages in our body often hide fears and unexpressed emotions. Sure, yoga will make you feel great, but it will also make you FEEL. Sometimes what we feel during or after yoga isn’t wonderful, and it helps to have a conceptual model to understand why this can be." Kara-Leah http://bit.ly/2P6bdxt

#Trust the process #warm #beginneryoga Monday’s 6:15 pm Sol Full Yoga

Monday’s Sol Full Yoga 6:15 pm Warm Beginner Yoga

Warm Beginner Yoga Monday’s 6:15 pm Sol Full Yoga

Monday 6:15 pm Come out of the snow and join me for a Warm Beginner Flow 80’s style... Sol Full Yoga See more

Embrace your uniqueness Breathe~Explore~Feel ~Connect~Smile Monday’s 6:15 pm Sol Full Yoga... Warm Beginner Yoga (class heated to 95) See more

Monday 6:15 pm Sol Full Yoga Warm Beginner Yoga Breathe Connect... Move Explore Smile See more

Thank you for taking this journey with me! #Repost @jonny_eh with @get_repost Showing some simple variations for yoga. Breaking barriers and changing minds... with @diannebondyyoga #yogaforeveryone #yqg #AdaptiveYoga See more