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Hang Zen Yogi’s Founder & CEO, Kathryn McCann, was interviewed recently on BisTalk radio!!! Tune in to learn more about her journey and how HZY was formed 🙏 @bistalkradio

Greeting yogi's! Here are a few detoxifying postures to try after the Labor day weekend. It's always nice to splurge over the Holiday weekend with yummy foods and alcohol consumption, but it's equally important to cleanse the body afterwards. When you feel tired and weighed down by social activity, a lack of exercise, and abnormal food choices, give your body and mind a reboot with a few of these detoxifying postures!
A detox doesn’t always mean a rigorous diet, juice fast, or intense exercise regimen. You can detox through yoga too, with a practice that’ll leave you feeling cleaner on the inside and more energetic on the outside.

1. Revolving Chair Pose

Bring your feet either hip-width apart or together. Bend your knees as if you are sitting on a chair. Make sure to keep your knees and hips squared. Bring your hands together at the heart center and bring one elbow to the opposite knee, pressing your palms firmly together. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and open your chest wide.
Detox benefits: In addition to improving the health of the spine and vertebrae, this asana stimulates the liver, spleen, and digestive system, while toning the abdominals and improving the elimination process.

2. Eagle Pose
Return to the chair pose. Draw your left foot upwards, crossing at the thighs. Wrap the left foot around your right leg as you rest the back of your left thigh on the right thigh. Cross your arms at the elbows, left over right. Join the palms of your hands together keeping the fingers pointed upwards.

Detox benefits: In addition to stretching the ankles and calves, this asana stretches the thighs, hips, shoulders, and upper back. By firmly pressing the thighs together, deeper circulation is supported in the legs, which helps flush out the blood and lymph system.

3. Shoulder Stand

Start by lying on the floor. Draw your legs upwards as you pike your hips away from the floor. Bring your hands to either side of your lower back to help support the body and slowly lift the legs straight into the air. Lift the kneecaps and draw the belly toward the spine. Gaze towards your toes and avoid moving your head.

Have you gotten upside down today yogi's?!?! Let's invert!

Purposely turning ourselves upside down is contrary to our human physical nature, but the benefits are incredible. Similar to how yoga encourages us to move away from unconscious habitual patterns, the invitation to invert is another way to step outside of our comfort zones. An inversion is defined by any posture where the head is below the heart. The most commonly known are headstand, handstand, forearm stand, etc. There are gentler inversions that are a lot more accessible for all students such as down dog, standing forward fold, or even legs up the wall! (an all time favorite of mine and pictured here with friends)

Like anything else, you always have the option of whether you want to invert or not. Some of the reasons a practitioner might choose not to invert would be if they have certain medical conditions such as high blood pressure, a heart condition, neck injuries, recent stroke, detached retina, glaucoma, epilepsy, and pregnancy. Ladies, there's also a debate on whether or not to invert during menstruation, so always use your own discretion. In yoga, we are always taught to honor our bodies and how we feel on the mat in that particular moment.

How's your hamstring health?!?! As a yoga instructor I often here, "Yoga isn't for me. I can't even touch my toes". This couldn't be further from the truth, because yoga is a practice of achieving balance.

Flexible and strong hamstrings are essential to a healthy and happy yoga practice. Here are some helpful hints in order to lengthen and strengthen those muscles without too much force or over stretching. Optimal hamstring health lies in listening to your own unique body. If your hamstrings don't have a lot of motion then gaining a little flexibility can protect your knees, hips, and legs. If your hamstrings are hyper flexible than controlling your range of motion in a safe way will prevent muscle tears or other injuries. The following poses are for both hyper mobile and restricted hamstrings.

1. Reclining Hand to Foot Pose:

Let gravity do its work here! There should be zero strain in this pose, particularly if you have a strap as a prop. Laying on your back, place a strap around the arch of your right foot. Extend your arms out fully holding the strap. Have your left toes flexed towards the ceiling and maintain a neutral spine. The position of the pelvis should be neutral as well. Guiding your right toes towards the wall behind you, stop at any degree that suits your body. Breathe deeply and switch sides accordingly.

2. Half Splits:

From downward facing dog, step your right foot forward between your hands. Lower down onto your left knee and release the top of the left foot on the ground. Flex your right foot, and begin to straighten your right leg as much as you comfortably can. Keep your hips squared and stacked over your left knee. Inhale to lengthen your spine, and as you maintain the extension of the spine, use the exhale to fold over your right leg. Find the action of energetically drawing your right heel back while reaching your chest forward, and drawing your shoulder blades down your back body. Repeat on the other side. As necessary, feel free to use blocks underneath both hands to bring the earth closer to you!

3. Seated forward fold:

Sit on your yoga mat with your legs extended in front of you. Reach actively through your heels. Beginners shou

Let's talk core strength!!!!! Just about all yoga postures, from standing postures to twists to inversions to balancing poses, require and build abdominal strength and stability. Yoga conditions the abdominal region for movement and stability as well as balance and strength. Because your abdominal muscles support the proper curves of the spine, a strong core can both improve posture and reduce back pain. Who doesn't love that?! 1. Table Top with arm/leg extension:

Balancing table top pose is a beginning yoga exercise that pairs movement with stretching, to help warm and strengthen the body. When practicing this, you gently flow between poses that help to balance each side of the body. It builds abdominal and lower back strength. It warms the body and brings flexibility to the spine, shoulders, and hips, while gently stretching the torso. Because of the balancing challenge, this pose also helps to improve focus, coordination, and overall physical equilibrium. Remember to keep the hips and shoulders squared toward the mat as you extend opposite arm and leg!

2. Plank Pose/variations:

Plank is a truly foundational pose. It teaches you to hold yourself together, like a sturdy wooden plank, giving you the power you need for complex poses and the grace to glide with ease through transitions between poses. Plank will build your abdominal strength; you might even find yourself shaking as you practice it! It can strengthen your arms and keep your wrists supple and healthy. If you practice this pose, over time your upper back and neck posture will improve, and you'll create support for your lower back as you learn to engage your abdominals. You can always modify plank pose by softening down to the knees for better support. You can increase the intensity of plank pose, by tapping the knee to the elbow or guiding the knee to the nose creating a rounded spine, as shown in the picture.

Are you looking for a way to stretch your hips and shoulders simultaneously?! Don't worry, I've got you covered 😉

Cow Face Pose is a seated yoga posture that deeply stretches the hips, shoulders, ankles, thighs, triceps, and chest. It calms the mind and brings balance to the whole body. Due to a lifetime of incorrect postural habits, many people are imbalanced between the left and right sides of the body. By simultaneously stretching the top and bottom of both sides of the body, you can more easily discover your own imbalances and work to regain equilibrium in mind, body, and spirit.
This pose also increases blood supply to the legs and arms, making it a useful pose to counteract long periods of sitting. Always work within your own range of limits and abilities. This pose works best with a strap or towel between the hands!

Instructions:

From a seated position, bend your knees stacking the right knee on top of the left, with the heels framing both hips. Flex the feet and sit evenly on the sitting bones with an extended spine.

Lengthening your left arm high to the sky, bend at the left elbow and place the palm to the back. Ideally, the palm rests between the two shoulder blades. Bend your right elbow and sweep the arm behind your torso and tuck the forearm in the hollow of your lower back, parallel to your waist, with the right elbow against the right side of your torso. Roll the shoulder back and down, then work the forearm up your back until it is parallel to your spine. Ideally, the fingertips of both hands meet and interlace. Here's where that strap or towel comes in handy! Be mindful that the back isn't arched, by drawing the front ribs together and guiding the stomach muscles towards the spine.

Stay in this pose about 1 minute. Release the arms, uncross the legs, and repeat with the arms and legs reversed for the same length of time. Remember that whichever leg is on top, the same-side arm is lower.

Feel free to ask any questions in the comment box below and I'd be happy to assist you. Happy stretching 🙏

Happy Monday Yogi's!!!! Let's take a journey towards greater flexibility and spaciousness with this seated side body stretch. (this can be done standing as well). The nature of yoga is to shine the light of awareness into the mind, body, and soul. The sides of the body are in need of such awakening, but everyday actions rarely call for the spine to bend sideways. Even in yoga class, forward bends, backbends, and twists frequently outnumber sidebends.
These poses stretch the latissimus dorsi (broad back muscles), the obliques (muscles that connect the outer ribs to the outer hips), and the quadratus lumborum (deep muscles that originate on the back of the hip bones and insert on the bottom ribs). Increasing your range of motion in the side body will help create more mobility in your spine and shoulders, leading to a feeling of greater ease and contentment in your body. You're welcome!!!!!! Instructions:
From a seated position, press the feet firmly into the floor and reach the arms overhead while relaxing the shoulders down and back.

Interlace the left fingertips around the right wrist and flip the right palm upwards. With an inhalation find length throughout the spine and crown of the head. With the exhalation, arch the upper body over to the left. Hold here for the desired amount of breaths. Repeat on the opposite side.

Happy Independence Day yogi's!!!! Here is one of my favorite ways to stretch the front of the hip. Let me know what you think!

Seated Crescent Lunge Pose:

In a seated position, turn sideways on the chair. Keep the sternum lifted and the shoulders relaxed, so the spine is long. Be careful not to overarch the lower back by knitting the front ribs towards each other and guiding your tailbone toward the floor. Reach back through your right heel to extend the leg, keeping the heel in alignment with the ball pad of your foot. Internally rotate through your right hip, so the right kneecap is facing towards the ground. Hold here for 5-6 breaths and repeat on the other side.

Benefits:
Strengthens the quadriceps and gluteus muscles.
Stretches the psoas and hips.
Relieves sciatica pain.
Expands the chest, lungs, and shoulders.

Hello Beautiful Yogi’s! Welcome to Mindful Monday's! This week, you'll learn a hip-opener you can practice on-the-go. Let’s be honest, there are days when it's difficult to get away from work to exercise or practice yoga. Fear not! The beauty of yoga is that it really can be practiced anywhere and everywhere. Sitting at your desk for hours on end, or even being on your feet for extended periods of time, creates tension and tightness throughout the neck, shoulders, back, and hips. On-the-go yoga is an easy and efficient way to stretch and strengthen, at your own convenience. Here is a wonderful hip-opener that you can practice to relieve tension and re-energize your mind, body, and spirit.

Seated Figure Four:

To prepare, sit on the front edge of a chair with your knees hip-width distance apart and your feet stacked directly under your knees. Place your right ankle on top of your left knee and flex your foot to maintain the alignment of your ankle to the knee. Root down through your sitting bones, lengthen your spine, and tilt your pelvis forward. While hinging at the hips, extend your heart space beyond your front shin. Take 5-6 breaths here before switching legs and repeating on the other side.
Benefits:

Increases flexibility in your hip area.
Relieves compression in the spine by lengthening and stretching the hip flexors.
Relieves anxiety, tension, and stress.
In yoga, hip openers often coincide with emotional release as well.

Photography: @re.media

We had such a successful class today at Aya Healthcare!!! The goal of our class was to practice with one another, focusing on community, partnership, unity, and togetherness. Real men support and uplift one another!!!! Literally!! 😂😂What an amazing experience for our Soul Tribe.

👆👆👆 #sandiego #sandiegowellness #sandiegocorporateyoga #hangzenyogis #yoga #yogacommunity #yogaintheoffice #corporateyoga #corporatewellness #officeyoga

Today's noon class at Aya Healthcare was HYPE!!!! @ayahealthcare

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