34 minute practice: Spinal Flex Warm-Ups + Pranayam Energizer Series

breath and spinal series of exercises that can upgrade your energy for your entire day

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

This week I want to give you a simple breath and spinal series of exercises that can upgrade your energy for your entire day. Your breath and your spine are two parts of you that you can easily take care of to keep your mind and body young and strong. More on the benefits below under Notes.

You might consider doing this for 10 consecutive days and see how it feels. Even better, you might consider doing this for 40 consecutive days…  

This first recording is a super informal video I made for the members of my Sadhana Huddle (those that meditate with me early weekday mornings) so when you hear me say, “I’ll see you at the Sadhana Huddle,” that’s what I’m referring to. This is a quick review of how to do the specific breaths that are in this Energizer Series. The second recording is the practice in its entirety. It lacks tutorial, so you will want to see this first one if you’re not familiar with the Long Deep Breath or Breath of Fire.

Tuning In

I begin the recording by tuning you into your inner guide using a mantra. The mantra is Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo, which I chant 3 times, which you can say along with me. It means to call on the teacher within. It means that I am in the video to hold the space for this practice, say what we’re doing next, provide some tips, and keep the time… and the actual teacher is you, listening to your own cues, learning to be present with yourself, learning where your edge is, and honoring both your strengths and limitations as you do your practice and cultivating both grit and ease along the way. All this in the Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo. Ong is the source of everything. Namo is to call on. Guru: intelligence/ teacher. Dev: transparent, or that which is within and all around you. 

Closing

I close with the mantra Sat Nam, elongating the “a” in Sat to give the frequency of this sound a moment to harmonize our internal chords like the beautiful instrument that we are. Sat means Truth. Nam means Name, or to call on.

Notes for this practice 

The focus for this practice is our Cerebral Spinal Fluid  :)  I’ll talk more about this below.

We will use Spinal Flex Warm Ups as a Moving Meditation, and then move into the Pranayam Energizer Series. 

Spinal Flex Warm Ups

It is essential to keep your spine in good shape. It is said that our youth depends on the health of our spine. Not only will the spinal flex warm ups help you maintain spine flexibility (you don't have to be able to get into a literal back bend; spine flexes and cat cows are sufficient), it will help with the proper secretion of the spinal fluid, bathing your discs in the fluid, facilitating the flow of information and nutrients throughout the body and increasing awareness of the subtleties, essentially allowing you to know what's happening, in your body. 

The Pranayam Energizer Series 

is a breath workout that increases life force. This series of yogic breathing also positively affects the spinal fluid, particularly the circulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and on the health of your central nervous system. CSF acts as a shock absorber, protecting the brain and spinal cord from trauma. It supplies nutrients throughout the nervous system, and removes waste, working closely with your lymphatic, and therefore your immune system. It also regulates mental health! CSF is a clear fluid. Discoloration of it is implicated in certain mental disorders, depending on color. As we age, our spinal fluid secretion decreases, which causes impurities to be left in our system, possibly leading to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. 

So spinal flex warm ups and pranayam may be a good practice to add to your daily hygiene to maintain good mental and physical health. For life. 

Let's do this. Together.
xoxo

Times for the Spinal Series -
Begins at 3:03

• 2 minutes each exercise

• 1 minute each way on the sufi circles and neck rolls

• 1 minute dynamic life nerve stretch, 1 minutes static

Times for the Pranayam Energizer -
approx 12 minutes, begins at 19:25

• 3.5 min Breath of Fire (BOF) + 30 sec pause

• 2.5 min Long Deep Breaths + 15 sec pause

• 1.5 min puckered lips

• 1 min BOF

• 2 min relaxed breath: meditate on flow of breath moving throughout the body

Let me know if you have any questions.

Love, Savitree