Consider Ways to Loosen Up: Yoga, Foot Pickups, and a Taco (#SquareUp Day 10)

Posted on by Prior...

For today’s Square post, we are joining in with Deb’s One Word Sunday, which is role or roll. 

We are going with ideas to help you LOOSEN UP

As fun as this little yoga die is, I am not sure this is the best way to move through yoga poses. The body needs to be respected and some poses flow better together or lead into each other. If someone moves too quickly from a standing pose into a floor pose, it might be clunky and even unsafe. Makes sense, doesn’t it? The thing to think about it is that yoga is stretching for the body – you can practice it in different ways – but my suggestion is to find a few poses that help you loosen up. “You’ll thank me later” (as Monk would say).
Maybe try these poses today to loosen up a bit. 🙂

Now this:

 

Loosen up your brain by picking up things with your foot. Sure, many people do this for healing a foot, but did you know that picking things up with your feet is really good for the brain? It is. Try picking up tissues. Or marbles – as in this video Video here

You could also try a taco – this has been proven in numerous studies to loosen up the mind and provide a feeling  of wellness (Right, Sorryless?) – hahah – jk – but I suggest grass-fed meat and then pack that baby full, eat and enjoy. 

#SQUAREUP #10

#One Word Sunday

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33 thoughts on “Consider Ways to Loosen Up: Yoga, Foot Pickups, and a Taco (#SquareUp Day 10)”

    1. Frank – that is cool that she tried that. One of my fav Sigurd gigs teachers (Challie) seemed to have a special calling on foot health and she used to give us many exercises for the feet and toes – and she talked about waking the feet up and changing their memory from being shut down and squished in shies – and she said – wake them up – move them and stretch them and use them
      And so your wife would maybe get a gold star from challie / ha

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  4. ooh yes so important to loosen up – I have in fact set up all my pilates equipment today just to do that. And you are spot on about toes and feet – have you heard of the MELT method for hands and feet?

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  6. I come across all kinds of bits and bobs on here, Yvette! Reminded me to try palming, but I couldn’t remember- eyes open or shut? 🙂 🙂 Have a good Sunday!

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    1. Hi Jo – I believe palming you can do both – eyes shut and eyes open – some have suggested there is a different impact when you leave the eye open and cover it with the plan to full darkness
      -/
      I do both – open and closed
      But on road trips if I use palming exercises it is with eyes opened / one eye at a time and I can hold it for two minutes – maybe two three times on each side
      So listen to your body as you explore
      —
      I also am also not that familiar with the “art of palming” but some suggest that if you cross your arms and cover both eyes (closed) it restores the meridians ???

      🤲👐👀

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  7. Next step? Picking up marbles with your toes while in a yoga pose and eating a taco. 🙂 I do a yoga routine for bone strength and also stretching for overall fitness. Oddly enough, I just saw a picture of some die like the one you showed but for strength exercises. I prefer, like you, to exercise in some logical order.

    janet

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    1. Hahahaha
      You are so witty – oh this was so good:
      “Picking up marbles with your toes while in a yoga pose and eating a taco”
      —
      And I think the die doesn’t make sense because it can be dangerous to move too fast into some poses and rolling to see might be unsafe
      I also saw a video with Rodney Lee about coming out of spinal twists and how crucial it is so to let the body readjust
      And your routine sounds good – is it a video or something you have made on your own for the routine ?

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  8. You make me laugh, Yvette. I really like the idea of the foot exercise but I would need to find something that the young Schnauzer pup would not think was a toy! Do you have a link to read about it being beneficial for brain health?
    It would be interesting to read that.
    As for Yoga, I quite agree, you have to be a bit careful with the more challenging poses straight up. Begin gently and listen to your body. Work up to the more challenging poses. I have been doing yoga for most of my life, but I notice now that I can strain a muscle if I don’t do some easy poses to limber up first.

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    1. Hi Amanda
      I will see if I can find some resources on brain health
      So many of my favorite yoga teachers used to always drop tips about the brain connections – like Sarah from a Friday class unused to take reminded folks to lift a foot if they were cooking or doing a standing task.
      She mentioned alternating feet and resting the foot on the calf and explained connections
      And Challie, who I regret not taking more of her classes when she was around in 2016/2016, well she often added in edgy things into her class. I see that more in hindsight – how edgy she was – anyhow – she took foot workshops and would then would bring ideas to end her classes with – like self foot massages and ways to stretch the feet and spread the toes and all that.
      And then this Friday night teacher- alec’s wife – also seemed to have this foot knowledge and the way it connected to brain and meridians – and actually thanks to her I know how to wake up my feet and during child’s pose I often do not press the top of my foot down but plant the foot so the toes spread and the arch is open
      Anyhow – getting back to your question – I will see if I can find some empirical support for the points in this post- and I will make a new post –
      I will link you when I get it done
      And wishing you a great day

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      1. I would be untested in reading more info on the brain connections. Toe work could easily be incorporated into yoga poses. Great stuff. How do you wake up your toes?

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    1. Oh I hear ya Robbie – we all have to be more aware of what our body goes through when we are using electronic devices for hours – and so Maybe if we all
      Share tips and keep the convo active we can all share and take tips – another thing that helps me – got this tip a while ago – is to lift the chin – watch the squishing of the neck! Look up and lift that chin – and I do notice a difference

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  11. Yoga has stretched my body and with it, my brain and creativity, over the years. I try to do a few sun salutations every morning as well a a couple of classes a week. What a difference it makes! When I was younger, I delighted in picking up “things” with my toes. I better start doing that again – it IS fun.

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    1. Hi – thanks for the nice comment – and your sun salutations sound like a good habit to be in because they can open the whole body! Ahhhh – good habit indeed –

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    1. Linda –
      You are so correct that patience is key!
      Go slow and listen to our body and back off to heal or at times – push a little but never push if we could damage
      Anyhow – cheers to listening to our bodies and going slow as needed – truly not a race to excel at stretches

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      1. Yes, I just mentioned that to Laurie in a similar post as she also was encouraging me to do yoga and said take it easy. I told her as I am telling you that I went “one step forward, two steps back” as that expression goes. Patience is a virtue!

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