This is short one is for all you peeps who want it quick and fast. It's also the first of my "Red Pill, Blue Pill" videos where I take a pose, in this case the standing splits, and we do it the easy, automatic-pilot way - the blue pill - and do it with thoughtfulness and more consciousness - the red pill.

Maybe you imitate or think it's cool the way you see people in class or social media sort of just pop into a pose, the blue pill kind of way. If you're naturally flexible or in a habit with your yoga practice, yes, you can fling yourself into a pose, and yes visually it can be cool. Or we can go into poses with more feeling and less "visual" pressure. We can do yoga poses more consciously, building up a picture of an asana in our minds, adjusting the body, and using our concentration to develop a position in a more conscious, thoughtful and expressive way. Yes, it's more challenging. The red pill option always is.

I'm rating this suitable for all. If you're a true-blue beginner and are having a hard time balancing, then grab a chair or table and use that to help ground you and your energy. If you're advanced and can do this in your sleep, try straightening the leg while your torso is as upright as possible. Any time you catch yourself, rounding or bending over, pull yourself upright through the solar plexus or belly.

Peace, love and rock'n'roll,
Stephanie x

Whoa, Nelly! Hold onto to your chair, it's going to be a bumpy ride We're no sooner out of the gate to 2020 and you might be facing challenges that throw you from your routines and habits, and ways of looking at the world.

We might be confronting, too, some very hard truths that we can't escape from, distract ourselves from, or gloss over anymore. This can be the most courageous thing we can do: Confront truths that are painful. As Michael Jackson sang, it's about looking at the man (or woman) in the mirror.

But grab a chair, table or stable edge of any kind while you do. This simple action can help with fitness whether you are emotionally fragile, or physically not-feeling-your-best. Life is not linear. Circumstances and events can throw us even if we've been healthy most of our lives, and sometimes we have to start at the beginning. Please seek a medical doctor's advice if your have medical or health concerns.

This is our second chair yoga video, and tenth overall, a mini-milestone for us here at Move Within Yoga. Thank you Megan Dodson at megandproductions.com for filming and post-production. Thank you to a few of my former students out there who are joining me virtually now.

All of my videos are free but if you'd like to make a donation, please go to paypal at https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=E9ETK8N2JLHKU&source=url

Peace, Love and Rock n' Roll,
Stephanie

It's a new day in a new year in a new decade, and look around and what's changed? Probably nothing!

Yet no decade or year or even day ever truly repeats. The sun may rise and fall, the four walls may stay the same, but beneath the skin, on the inside, we are changing in so many ways. We can consciously bring about the change, or the universe can sometimes force us - kicking and screaming - into letting go of what doesn't serve anybody anymore.

Level of difficulty is a medium for this sequence. Yoga mudra at the start of the video is the repeating forward fold, from a kneeling position. It's suitable for all levels, but place a cushion or bolster on the mat if your forehead can't reach the floor. Later, we close on fish pose. It can get intense, so never feel like you have to hold a pose long (never ever). These poses aid in letting go.

Coming soon in 2020: "Back to Yoga" foundation sequences as well as more Chair Yoga.

Peace, Love & Rock-n-Roll,
Stephanie
*Please seek a doctor for medical advise or consultation before starting any exercise program.*'