Respiration, (second to excretion), is one of the primary methods by which we eliminate waste and toxins.  Constrained breath limits our capacity to cleanse ourselves, and also limits the amount of energy in the body.  In the long term, impaired or incorrect breathing can lead to disease in other organs and systems, especially in the circulatory system and the digestive system.

Humans average about 15 breaths per minute, or approximately 21,600 breaths per day, the vast majority of which typically go unnoticed, unacknowledged, and uncontrolled.

Because it is always with us — either as an unconscious yet constant activity, or one that we control — the breath is said to lie at the crossroads of consciousness. Accordingly, by consciously manipulating our breath and slowing it down, we can also control and slow down our mental processes.  This is an endeavor vital to many mind-body practices such as the tai chi, meditation and yoga.  In fact, there is a branch or “limb” of yoga dedicated controlling the vital energy of the body (prana) which, just as in other traditions, is for all (human) intents and purposes synonymous with the breath.

Some traditions believe that a person takes a fixed number of breaths in their life; operating from this mindset, slowing down your breath could mean that you are quite literally lengthening your lifespan!

Truth be told that we spend the majority of our workdays and weeks (and sadly, sometimes even our weekends) managing our time, projects and in-boxes.

You may have read our post a while back about how Star Wars fans have a great reference for how to breathe. In this post, we thought we’d revisit the breath and outline  four easy steps that you can take to manage your breath and, by extension, your stress level:

1. Notice – Without doing anything at all, observe the current state of your breath.  Are your workmates giving you surreptitious, dirty looks because you’re consistently letting out heavy sighs? Are you taking more or less than the average of 15 breaths per minute?
2. Acknowledge – Regardless of whether or not your breath is out of control at the moment, take a moment to really understand and grasp your current state. If your breathing is slow, deep, and uninterrupted, congratulate yourself and award yourself some wellness points!  By the same token, no one’s mindfulness practice ever benefitted from self-berating, so if your breathing is shallow and erratic, tell yourself that it’s okay, you’re certainly not in the minority, and, most importantly – that it’s well within your control. Which, incidentally is the next step…
3. Breathe – Begin controlling your breath by slowing it down.  If you narrow your throat opening to make a whispering sound, this will automatically slow down your breathing pattern, especially on your exhales.  The inhales will naturally and eventually follow suit.  If you find that your mind is so overactive that you can’t even complete ONE smooth breath cycle (1 breath cycle = 1 inhale + 1 exhale), try “tricking” your mind by giving it something to focus on, or, in yoga parlance, a mantra.  This can be something as simple as counting your breaths, or repeating “inhale, inhale, inhale” on your breath in and “exhale, exhale, exhale” on the way out.

2009

• 17 Things you Should Stop Doing : Productivity501 Guilty as charged: #1 (no direct deposit for the self-employed, dude, sorry); #4; #5. But other than that, we’re not doing so bad after all.

• Solitude. This is a view from a recent hike I took up Mount Pilchuck, a peak near Granite Falls, WA. There is a fire lookout at the top of the 3-mile hike (half of which was still covered in snow) that affords this fantastic, unobstructed, 360-degree vista…

• Fireworks. Have been having issues with wordpress uploading images lately. With apologies for tardiness, here’s my favorite shot of the fireworks display at Gasworks Park this past 4th of July via my hyperlocal neighborhood blog, www.capitolhillseattle.com. What a beautiful moment in time.

• Shots from my bike route to teach One of my longest running classes has been to the lovely folks at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, a.k.a. “The Hutch”. I’ve been biking (or walking) to most my classes for a while now…

• Good Morning, YO! Wow. I was delighted by the turnout this morning at local organic supplement and superfoods bar Healeo for the first Morning YO! Hump Day Stretch and Smoothie sesh!

Did you know that other than awesome in-office group instruction, Phyzz offers private yoga instruction? We do! We do!

For first-time yogis, or those who have been wanting to try yoga for a long time but don’t want to jump into a public class at a studio, a private class is a simple way to ease into the practice in a more personal setting.

For others, private instruction can be a great way to focus on an element of yoga practice that they want to improve.

All equipment provided. Pricing is as follows:

Individual: $75 per session
1-5 students: $100
6 and above: $120

Looking for office yoga pricing? See our office yoga Pricing Schedule,

One of the great benefits of bringing yoga to an office instead of having students come to a studio is that students who may not have begun practicing yoga otherwise are able to give it a try with a few less risks. Doing yoga at work ensures clients feel safe (they’re already familiar with the setting, and they know who they’re doing yoga with) and can participate without having to make the additional effort of finding their own studio.

Sue (center in the photo at left), one of the fantastic employees at Talyst, had never done yoga before Phyzz came to their Bellevue offices. There were a couple of reasons she’d hesitated trying yoga in the past, even though she was interested: self-prescribed “stage fright” regarding practicing in a room full of strangers and a challenging back injury that she wasn’t sure would respond well to yoga practice. “Phyzz was the perfect way to introduce yoga to beginners,“ Sue told us. “I now feel more comfortable doing yoga outside of work.”

The yogis at Talyst enjoy a variety of different classes with Phyzz, including 45-minute outdoor (neat!) stretch sessions as well as chair yoga. Having variety keeps the classes fresh for clients, as well as enables some employees to participate who may not be able to complete a 45-minute mat session. The variety really seems to work for the employees at Talyst.  Sue tells us “I have had so many complements on how the classes are making a difference not just to their day but physically in the office.“

Talyst took the plunge and fully sponsors yoga sessions at their Bellevue offices.  Why?  Sue says simply that employees “should not have to pay to make their workday better.  That is Talyst’s responsibility.” Talk about a company that really puts it’s employees health and wellness at the forefront!  And the response from employees is great.  Sue sent along several e-mails she has recieved from her coworkers about their sessions with Phyzz: “Inspires me to do more yoga on my own.  Didn’t realize how tight I was until I started loosening up!”

Not only has Sue noticed less back pain after her sessions, but now she’s even got a favorite pose – tree pose! Sue says that feeling less back pain isn’t just because of the practice itself.  When talking with us about her experience with Phyzz, Sue had the most to say about the experience with her instructor, Karen! “When we had our first session and met Karen, we all felt very comfortable with her.  It was like we have been working with her for along time…I believe that the instructor plays a big role in making the yoga session enjoyable or not.  Thanks Phyzz Yoga and Karen!”

Thank you, Sue, for your great feedback and wonderful story about what office yoga has been like in your workplace!

Interested in bringing Phyzz to your workplace? Check out our pricing schedule online, drop us an e-mail or give us a call at 206-214-5169. We’d love to bring yoga to your space!

Maybe it was hearing all about our first fabulous trip to La Duna. Maybe it was dreaming of sunny weather while sipping a delicious drink on Cinco de Mayo. Or maybe you’ve been waiting for just the right time to join us on our next Phyzz Retreat. Whatever the reason, you’re in luck…’cause we’re going back !

We knew from the second the plane touched ground at SeaTac in March that we’d head back to Baja soon.

After we had such a fantastic trip to La Duna in March, we hopped right to planning our next trip. How could we resist? Practicing in the sweet salty air, enjoying deliciously prepared food, sleeping under a huge blanket of stars, running off on wild adventures…we could go on and on.

“MANGALAM“ means auspiciousness in Sanskrit.

And with a full moon set in the heartbreakingly beautiful starry skies of a Baja desert, what better way to evoke and invite this quality into your life?

So get your datebooks out! Below are the deets…

DATES: October 18-25, 2010 (RSVP to the Facebook event invitation)

PRICING:

1655 single
1485 shared (double)
1185 tent site (limited availability)

A $300 deposit reserves your space. Full amount due by September 5, 2010. Deposits and balances may be paid via check or credit card via PayPal (please add 5% for Paypal transactions)

REGISTRATION: email retreat@phyzzyoga.com to register and/or RSVP to the Facebook event invitation.

EARLY BIRDS: Take $150 off if paid in full by August 31.

INCLUSIONS

• Airport transfers – We recommend flying into Cabo (SJD) and back through La Paz (LAP), but whatever you end up with is fine
• All meals
• Lodging in rustic and beautiful palapa-topped huts built for two
• Yoga classes twice daily on most days
• Daily morning guided meditation on a gorgeous dune overlooking the Cortez Sea
• 3 local excursions to natural hot springs, an exhilarating island boat ride to a secluded white sand beach, organic botanical garden tour

CANCELLATION POLICY:

A $300 cancellation fee will be assessed in the case of cancellation up to 8 weeks prior to the retreat start date. No refund will be issued/given for cancellation within 8 weeks of retreat start date (unless your space can be filled), or for failure to attend or complete the retreat.

What are you waiting for? It’s not too soon to think about where you’ll be in October. Email retreat@phyzzyoga.com to register or if you have questions, and you can also  RSVP to the Facebook event invitation.

See you soon!

Via our peeps over at one of our favorite blogs, neatorama. Well, here’s a little gem from the animal kingdom that appears to be, what some will call, “immortal”. The article will tell you that this jellyfish appears to be able to continually recycle itself – i.e., revert to its beginning stages to start its life over again.

I’m currently obsessed with the Fleet Foxes’ Black Cab Session of Crayon Angels. You can watch it here, or play the YouTube vid below.*

Fleet Foxes from Black Cab Sessions on Vimeo.

(I tried to embed directly from the BCS website but Vimeo didn’t give me permission)

If you’re not familiar with the Black Cab Sessions, it’s a website on which you see many famous artists (the likes of Calexico, Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls, and Death Cab for Cutie) play a song, in a London cab, in one unedited take.

The result is, invariably, an incredibly poetic delivery of a song set against shimmery backdrop glimpses of the city through cab windows.

My ever-present companion in life has always been music. I will forever be in love with its spontaneity, its ability to stir the spirit regardless of whether you are a listener or a player (as opposed to a ‘playa’), its ability to evoke memories of the past and visions of the future.

The poignancy of the Black Cab Sessions stirs me in a way that is part-and-parcel identical to the joy I feel while performing and singing, and to that which I experience every. single. time. I practice yoga.

One might say both are trains to the astroplane. Or ways to see the ‘god’ to which you relate.

2009

• New client spotlight: Intiman Theater - A little over a month ago, a little email from the Phyzz website came in. I spoke to a kind lady over at Intiman Theater, who wanted to organize a class for herself and her coworkers. We set a time and a date, and we are now 4 sessions or so deep into an ongoing weekly class series!
• Office Nomads Yoga-fies Coworking - Today I had the extreme pleasure of teaching at Office Nomads, a local coworking facility in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
• Dear Russian Spammers - Please stop spamming my website! Thanks.
• Enlighten Up – Movie Trailers – Preview – NYTimes.com - Today I received an invitation to attend a special private screening of a new film called Enlighten Up by Kate Churchill. The film documents Nick Rosen’s journey through a 6-month immersion into yoga, from absolute newbie.