Yoga accessories are a must for good yoga form, comfort, and help with balance for your Vata, Kapha, and Pitta. So is a recipe for hot water pastry and adding your balancing good foods below.
Using yoga accessories or props on a lazy day can really help boost your mood.
That can be how you feel about some adventures and projects you’d rather stay away from even if they started out okay. You can avoid some, but others require you and your endurance, like certain work tasks and travel stress.
Those growing tired moods can sink in and take a while to lift, especially if they’re our regular routines in life.
…like sweeping kitchen crumbs for the 10th time or chores you hate doing. And if we ignore them and feel lazier than usual, that can turn into a Kapha imbalance.
Or if we feel irritated and uninspired…. then not making a change can lead to burnout. It doesn’t usually happen overnight but it can happen one day if you reach your snapping point. That’s more of a Pitta imbalance.
With both types of imbalances, lazy yoga poses can help you get your active balance and peaceful mood back.
(Corpse pose is a great one to relax your body and calm your mind.)
I know when I find time to just be still, sitting in silence, that’s when I feel the most peace. Maybe that’s how you feel?
The reason is centering allows you to focus on the calmness of this moment and the body can stop working so hard.
And by focusing on the silent moments, and not focusing on the busy activities like shopping or even watching Netflix (that can be good when you need a ‘lil downtime break), the quietness helps your mind to relax and to feel good again.
And in the silence, if you find your mind is racing, that’s a sign of an anxious Vata mind.
Sometimes we feel that way and to feel balanced, in my life journey, I found that getting a peaceful mind is easier when you tune into the right source for at least 8 waking hours a day and make it your habit in life.
Our lives are constructed in 24 hours of which 8 is good for sleeping, 8 for working, and 8 for doing everything else.
So during that everything-else time slot, that’s when it’s good to build in time to recharge, working on passions, and focusing mostly on less external influences (and maybe disconnecting from the world for minutes at a time).
And it’s good to find time to take breaks during work and about a weekend day’s worth off to rest. Not everyone can take all of Sunday off.
And I find staying in that rhythm is how you can stay balanced, happy, and in a peaceful mood year-round so you can show up in life as your best.
That type of lifestyle years ago would have been laughed at or not taken seriously by my business and corporate worker companions. But now they are reconsidering too as wellness is part of the discussions.
Our world is changing for better health and wellness, thank goodness!
Because having consistency and wellness routines in your lifestyle and mind helps prevent life burnout or waking up one day unhappy or depressed.
Feeling those ways can take more time to backtrack and restore, and they usually have an aftermath of sorts. It’s better all around to take time out daily to restore and prevent.
And if you like the idea of preventatively restoring daily, then one small way is with lazy yoga moves. That’s what I call it anyway. Those are perfect on the days when it’s hard to move quickly, you had a rough night before, or it’s dreary weather outside.
On those days, you know intense exercise is out of the question. But you can use that more tiring day for your lazy exercise day that still helps to invigorate your body and restore your mind.
We know that exercise is good for cognitive and physical fitness. So to stay in the game (of active life even when you’re not feeling it), you can use yoga props to help you engage and maybe even get off the couch if that’s what you find yourself doing and want to change that (…and your heavy Kapha mind may want to resist).
And those days would be a good time to do core work. When you have yoga accessories, doing ab work is not as challenging once you get moving… and maybe along with the right entertainment in the background.
So, here are a few yoga accessories and ideas that you can try and maybe build into a new habit:
Yoga Accessories:
A yoga block (or two), or a Yoga Wheel
Blocks are great especially in Bridge pose where you can turn the block vertically so that the longest side helps raise your back up to build a bridge higher than you can go without a block. This can really help you feel better instantly.
The evovled yoga wheel yoga accessories work in similar ways in a Bridge pose. I’m a bit old school as I prefer the block that raises up a new building structure without moving on you… and maybe a bit burned out from 90s fitness and turn-of-the-century gadgets and props that never got used more than a few times. 😉
Straps
Straps are great for keeping you focused on the guiding strap lines and that support your legs to various angles in the air when you’re laying flat back. These are great for helping you with flexibility that becomes more important as you grow wiser (and older too).
Bolster Yoga Pillow
Bolsters are pretty practical pillows to have around. And if you don’t have one, sometimes you can get creative and find lumbar pillows that some couches come with. And you can use other pillows and cushioned furniture pieces to be very effective.
I actually use an IKEA cushioned cube that I can rest my calves on when I’m laying back on my mat, and then do easy-ab roll-up work. And still, get all the benefits.
And then I can turn around and use the cube as a table or an ottoman. Now that’s usefulness! (No more ab roller devices and machines that take up additional space!)
Breathe device apps
I like the Apple Watch where you can feel the inhale and exhale vibrations of the Breathe app. It’s great for getting centered and intentional on your breath.
Another great prop (that you can add to your yoga accessories):
Wall
Legs Up the Wall pose is a great resting pose. You scoot and seat yourself as close to a wall as possible, and then lay back. Your legs are straight up against the wall. That should feel really good as you release tension from your legs.
You can rest your arms straight out and turn your head from side to side and be intentional to see different perspectives.
This can feel really good on lazy yoga days. The point is to never give up on yourself in any season of life!
Be the tortoise in Aesop’s fable. 🐢
You can be just one good move or pose away from getting you back into a good swing and crossing the finish line.
And people are back in yoga classes. …maybe that’s you or just what you need to keep your calm through the holiday and into the new year. Btw, are you counting down the days?
In addition to building a better Bridge yoga pose, I have my baking calendar on my mind. I’m coming up with building a better Yule log swiss roll this year from peppermint inspiration. 🍥
For savory hot water pastry, you can be inspired by this recipe.
Easy Hot Water Pastry
Ingredients
- flour of choice (whole wheat and plain flour work well)
- hot-warm water, room temperature
- 1 tbsp of butter (for larger batches and healthy, use a little more butter about a pat of butter per serving)
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Mix flour, water, and salt. Add pat of butter to melt. Work into a dough.
- Shape into a shell or desired shape.
- Bake until golden brown color.
- Add cooked toppings desired (e.g. cheese, cooked veggies), and pop back into the oven for a few minutes.