Literally takes 2 minutes!
Movement #1: Take your 2 pointer (index) fingers and place the tips halfway up your outer nostrils, feel for the short little bones, place your fingertips on the tips of those bones and point fingers up toward your eyes. GENTLY twirl your fingers in circles 10 times, then reverse direction for 10 more rotations. Pause for 30 seconds.
Movement #2: place tips of your pointer fingers just at the outside of the widest part of your nostrils, where the nostril skin meets the face skin. Again gently circle fingertips 10 times in one direction and pause for 60 seconds, then twirl them in the other direction 10 times.
Voila! I'll bet your sinuses feel expanded and clear, and that the runnies have stopped! Repeat every 20-60 minutes if needed. Feel better, my friend!
"Barbara is the most wonderful yoga teacher ever--she will support and guide you, affirm and smile you. Every time I do yoga and even when I am just walking around, I hear her in my head and I am grateful.
As we (all of us) get older, this is the most valuable thing we can do to enhance our quality of life and health. She's the person who can take us there, with wisdom and joy and reality." -CC
"What a healing journey began for me when I joined your class, Barbara. I just wanted to thank you once again. It has changed my life. Honestly. ¡¡¡Muchas gracias!!!" –GS
Barbara is a gifted yoga teacher. Her calm, supportive, skillful and encouraging style of teaching sets her apart from others. Each class is unique and carefully planned with a balance of poses, breathing, mediation and humor. Once you try one of her classes you'll realize just what a treasure her teaching is and what a gift it is to be one of her students. —JH
The yoga sessions are always inspiring and relaxing. Every week for the past several years your yoga class is what has helped me get through some very tough personal times; job loss, the closing of my business, departures and deaths. You were always that inspiration that made me feel I could handle anything. I feel so lucky to know you. —SH
I've been taking Barbara's class for 7 years or so, and it's not an exaggeration to say that it changed my life. She's such a patient, careful teacher: my body makes sense to me now in a way that it didn't before. If you want a small, gentle yoga class with a lot of personal attention, I can't recommend this class highly enough! —SM
Class today was great! I am amazed at how you continue to come up with these wonderful classes week after week. Thank you, Barbara. —Kathy
Barbara Lyon is a born teacher. She has that rare ability to create a learning environment that is totally stress free and student friendly! Although her classes include poses that challenge students, each student is encouraged to advance at the pace he or she needs and is comfortable with. One is never made to feel you must push yourself to a point beyond what is best for you. Classes include folks from different age groups and different yoga experience. Barbara makes sure the classes "fit" all! Even on a day I'm feeling tired, I love going to class! —CL
I love Barbara and her classes! She's taught my shoulders where they belong and I come away from her classes feeling strengthened and as if my body's been realigned. I tell friends that it's like getting a massage, but with deeper and longer lasting results. This is a great class if you want to know how to do the different poses correctly, in a way that is good for your body. It'll change the way you do yoga elsewhere, especially if you've been taking classes at a gym or where there is little personal interaction. —Christina
I started taking Barbara's classes 6 years ago when I first moved to Cambridge. I started out in her beginner class as I had some health problems and was new to yoga. At the beginning of class she asks how each person is doing and then offers alternate poses throughout the class to accommodate injuries. The classes are different each week and I love how she pulls in knowledge from other modalities like tai chi and reflexology. There's always something new to learn. She is a great teacher; extremely encouraging, knowledgeable, and caring. —Eileen
I really enjoy your teaching and your style. When I tell people about your class I boast that I can even take my glasses off and still follow you (I'm blind as a bat). I especially like the twists and stretches. The other thing I really appreciate is that you get us working hard but you ease us into it in such a way that isn't stressful, and you always build in time to catch our breath after the challenging poses. It's such a nice addition to my life - it's grounding – and I miss it when I miss class. Just thought it's about time I told you! —LH
I’ve been thinking about why anyone should go to a yoga studio if they already have a health club membership that includes yoga. I belong to a gym and often take a pick-up yoga class on the weekend. I find myself feeling sorry for the students. The classes are repetitive with no build, and usually offer no adjustments. I look around at people doing Downward-Facing Dog with rounded spines and domed knuckles and Warrior II with heads thrust forward and front knee dropping inward, uncorrected. How will they ever learn the right form? And how much damage will they do to their bodies in the meantime?
They never get to experience the release and joy of a well-crafted shoulder stand or some of the more esoteric poses and they certainly get no experimental or partner poses at all.
In my classes I walk around and make adjustments so that everyone learns the proper shape of each pose. I offer simpler alternative poses for students who need them, or encourage them to stop and take a rest when that's appropriate, and more advanced versions for the students who are ready for them. Every week the theme or focus changes so that each body part gets special attention across the months. And the variety is endless!
If you haven't been to a yoga studio in awhile, I hope you'll try mine. It's quite a different and possibly more rewarding experience than the same old same old at the gym. Treat yourself! Experience the relief - and exhilaration - of proper alignment, and learn something new every week.
I prefer to machine wash my mats, but only in a front loading machine (the top-loaders have an agitator that can chew up your mat over time). Add only 1/4 of the usual dose of gentle, non-scented laundry detergent, set it on the gentle cycle with an extra rinse, and regular or gentle spin cycle. You might need to rinse and spin again. Your mat is like a sponge - if you over-soap, it takes a long time to rinse out!
To wash your mat in a tub use 1/4 of the usual measure of gentle soap. Dawn dish detergent is great - it removes oil from yoga mats (and waterfowl :) - but only use a few drops. Too many suds will mean many rinsings (and lots of muscle to wring it out over and over). You can let it soak or not, your choice.
DO NOT USE DAWN IN YOUR WASHING MACHINE.
Drying your mat: you can hand-squeeze it out, but a more effective method is to lay a large towel (or towels) on top of the wet mat, roll up from one end to the other and walk on it to take out excess water. Then air dry it outside hanging over a railing or lawn chair, lay it right on the lawn, or inside on a towel rack over the bathtub, or hang on a skirt/slacks hanger over the tub. It could take up to a couple days to dry, depending on the thickness and material. Or put it in the dryer on low for 15 minutes to extract much of the water (but watch that it does not get too hot!), then hang dry.
Drying your mat in a dryer: Follow the instructions that came with the mat! Be watchful! Most of my mats can go in a dryer set on low with no problem - they take 30-45 minutes. But check frequently that the mat is not getting too hot, in which case it could melt onto your dryer wall. Also, I have some pure rubber mats that cannot go in the dryer at all.
• A neat mat trick: how to keep your mat more germ-free
Use a laundry marker and put a small "U" on one side (for "UP") and a "D" on the other (for "DOWN"). When using it, always make sure to keep the U side face up and the D side face down. That way, whatever nasties are on the floor (especially at a gym or health club) stay on the down side, and never come in contact with your skin (or nostrils!), ever. When you're done, make sure before you roll it up, that you fold it in half so the "U" only touches the "U" side and never comes in contact with the "D" side, then roll it or 4-fold it. (If you roll it up the regular way, from one end to the other, "U" will definitely come in contact with the germs on the "D" side.) Bonus: you don't have to wash it so frequently.
Email us.
Text: 617 959-2562
See weekly class agenda on Facebook (and like us!)
.
Copyright © 2024 Come to Yoga with Barbara Lyon - All Rights Reserved.