August brings varied responses from parents and children! Children tend to bemoan the end of summer break when it seems it barely began, while parents may have a more bittersweet reaction: it’s wonderful to have the downtime of summer with fewer pressures, perhaps, but it’s also good to get back into a routine and know that your children are focused on something that will serve them (at least at some future point!)

So as we start preparing for school-time, we have a few tips to help make the transition a seamless one. Today, we are focusing on the brain, and some techniques that will help you promote a great night’s sleep and good concentration.

What does freedom mean to you?  In Sanskrit, freedom is “moksha,” and is achieved from overcoming ignorance and desire. Focusing on freedom redirects us to gratitude over the myriad of ways that we in the west live with the luxury of freedoms.  Yoga gives us tools to rediscovering personal freedoms as well. With consistent practice, yoga helps us connect the two and recognize the freedoms of everyday living that we sometimes take for granted. Here are three ways that yoga practice guides us to freedom:

This winter holiday season is a time when schedules tend to kick-up a notch (or ten), we develop a sixth-sense awareness of the needs and feelings of people around us, and we might experience positive or negative feelings as we reflect on our past and current circumstances and how they reflect our personal and family traditions.

No matter what your past traditions have been, and no matter how satisfied or peaceful you feel with your current situation, there is always room to introduce new holiday traditions to infuse your soul with deepened gratitude and peace. Consider choosing one or more selections from our holiday buffet of ‘new traditions’ selections

Did you know that cultivating gratitude is a skill? It’s a mindset, it’s a way of life. It’s also a very worthwhile pursuit because of the incredible benefits of cultivating gratitude – we recommend starting by spending 5 minutes/day in a gratitude journal. Interestingly, we start experiencing MORE of these benefits the longer we consistently keep a gratitude journal.

To reflect on inner strength from a yogic perspective, we want to consider all the ways we yoke our practice, so that we look from the angles of physical strength, emotional stability, and spiritual steadfastness.  We can find that our understanding of Santosa (pronounced Sahn – toe – sha), the Niyama (“rules” for self-observance),   which means contentment, holds the key to offering us another facet for contemplation on strength and grace.

Excess tension is stealing not only our peace, but the quality of our lives. Physically, when the body is under tension, the cardiovascular system is challenged, cholesterol and blood pressure increase, the breath becomes fast and shallow, nutrition is compromised as the body excretes vitamins and minerals rather than absorbing optimally from foods, muscles hold unnecessary tension for prolonged periods, and adequate sleep becomes harder to access.