Videos

Learn to Be Bodiful

Here are some videos to help you start and stay on the bodiful path.

Part I: Notice Yourself

Creating peace can only start by paying attention to oneself.

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Notice Yourself: Mini-Body Scan

Introducing myself and how I use yoga to help people reduce or eliminate pain.

Notice Yourself: Cats' Whiskers

For 30 years I used my hands to alleviate pain in others. Here I show you how to use your own hands to feel how you move and eventually get yourself out of pain.

Notice Yourself: What the Heck is Yoga Therapy, Anyway?

A little more about how I got here.

Notice Yourself: 3D Breathing

How we breathe affects everything.

Notice Yourself: 3D Hiking

I took my own advice on a hike, and it worked!

Notice Yourself: Build Your Own Body Bubble

Tawnia Converse, this one’s for you.

Part II: Move Your Bones

Seeing what the bones are doing in relationship to other bones is a very nice way to help the brain help the body to feel.

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Move Your Bones: MET for SI Pain

I demo the move myself then with Billy Bones.

Move Your Bones: Figure 4 on the Floor

Billy Bones demos Figure 4 on the Floor.

Move Your Bones: Figure 4 at the Wall

Billy Bones demos Figure 4 at the wall. Not quite a blooper but close!

Move Your Bones: One-Legged Butterfly

Billy Bones demos one-legged butterfly.

Move Your Bones: Shoulder Blade Protraction and Retraction

Billy Bones demos protraction and retraction of the shoulder blade.

Move Your Bones: Billy Bones Tree Pose

Billy Bones demos how to grow a straight trunk for your tree pose. We break it down together.

Move Your Bones: Small Enough for Love

Watch me break down a Tree Pose into components as you listen to a lovely passage from the novel Galatea 2.2 by Richard Powers.

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Massage Your Muscles: Bedtime Foot Rub #1

In all the years I’ve worked as a massage therapist, it wasn’t until I was learning about ayurveda in yoga therapy school that I heard about the benefits of a bedtime foot rub. Although I only rarely have trouble sleeping, I seem to be waking up feeling a little more rested and restored the days after I remember to do the bedtime foot rub.
Try this at bedtime to see if it helps your sleep. Practice every night for a couple weeks and track if you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, or sleep more restfully during the experiment. Also notice if your feet feel any better!

Massage Your Muscles: Bedtime Foot Rub #2

Here's a version of the bedtime foot massage for folks who struggle to bend the knee deeply enough to be able to grab the foot.

Massage Your Muscles: Quick Hand Massage

I’ve really no qualms about working on myself, wherever. I will sit in the back of an event where I can squeeze and rub my hands and arms, even my knees and legs, so I don't have to worry about distracting others, but really, anywhere I'm waiting or sitting for more than a few minutes, I'm probably working on my muscles because I'm actually pretty impatient by nature, so waiting can make me tense. Next time you're standing in line somewhere, instead of scrolling, try this little hand massage while you look around. Or see if it revives you in a boring meeting or class. Also nice to do at bedtime or wake time.

Massage Your Muscles: Shoulders, Neck, Head, Face

Agreed, it’s not so easy to work on your own neck and shoulders. There are a few tools on the market—hooks, rollers, balls—that work pretty well, but it’s not so easy to get comfortable but effective pressure—there’s not much nuance. So, you might be better off going lighter with your own hand more often. Following up with work on your face and head enhances the effect. Give it a go. Treat yourself often to this short massage routine to relieve neck and shoulder pain and tension, headache, and eye strain, even cognitive, emotional, or social overload.

Massage Your Muscles: Relax Your Back

This doesn't look much like massage, but the pressure of the towel against your back is a form of static massage. Just try it. Test it regularly for a couple weeks and see if your back feels better.

Massage Your Muscles: Fully Clothed Full-ish Body Massage

You don't have to make an appointment to feel better now. Melt away the stress of the day with this quick, all-over massage that'll relieve tension and get your blood flowing.

If you have a little more time before bed, you could add this little routine to your foot rub. Or in the morning to get the blood flowing. Or on the trail or at your desk. Anywhere, anytime, mostly.

Part III: Massage your Muscles

It’s great to get a massage from someone else, whether that’s professional or from friends or family, but massaging yourself on a regular basis goes a long way to reduce tension and pain. Bonus: The information your brain gets from your hands fills in gaps that it doesn’t get from inside you.

Part IV: Mind Your Thoughts

My favorite way to mind my thoughts is with the practice of Yoga Nidra.

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Mind Your Thoughts: Rest and Relaxation Sleep Meditation/Yoga Nidra

Yoga Nidra. Sleep Meditation. Awake Asleep. Lucid Sleep. All these are names for the practice of deliberate, deep relaxation. In Rest and Relaxation Sleep Meditation (a method I'm certified in), we follow eight paths to get there. This is a longer practice, about 40 minutes, so you'll want to do it when you have that much time and when you're in a place where you feel safe and comfortable.

Part V: Catch Your Breath

Feel how your breath moves you with these practices.

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Catch Your Breath: Every Body Breathes

Most of the posts in this part are audios, so I thought a short video intro was warranted. Breathing is fundamental to being bodiful, and being bodiful is essential for catching your breath.

Catch Your Breath: 2-Part Breathing

Feel how your body responds to this breath practice as you explore belly and ribcage breathing.

Catch Your Breath: 3-Part Breathing

Add an element to your exploration of how you feel when you breathe.

Catch Your Breath: Simple Breath Awareness

This is a short version of the breath practice I guide a couple times a week in my free meditation membership (https://learn.bebodiful.studio/product/9358). It's a simple way to become more sensitive to your breath and all it has to tell you about your state.

Catch Your Breath: Body Scan and Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing)

Nadi Shodhana is breathing through one nostril at a time in an alternating fashion. It is, among other things, an exercise in concentration. It can be layered over other breath practices to amplify the effects.

Super important: In the video, I start counting down from 27. You don't have to get all the way to 0 on your first attempt. Or even your fifth. Or ever. Pause, rest, or stop if it's hard work to do the breathing exercise itself or to concentrate on the counting or alternating.

I don't recommend using this video over and over and over. Once you get the hang of the rhythm, it's better to build your own practice rather than just following along with the counting and alternating.

Part VI: Moving Right Along

Here’s where I’ll add or revisit movements and concepts.

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Tree Pose Revisited

I was watching an early video with a demo of Tree Pose and noticed my pelvis was following my leg. Here's a new exploration of this fundamental pose.

5-Minute Cyclic Sighing to Reduce Anxiety and Improve Mood

You can feel more tranquil and content practicing cyclic sighing for just five minutes a day. Will you give yourself five minutes?

Part VII: Short & Sweet Suite

Enjoy these short practices when you are short on time but long on stress.

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Sidelying RePose

Come back to yourself here and now with this simple resting pose.

5-Minute Morning Nidra Meditation

This practice is designed for the morning, but you could use it any time you need a refreshing break.

4-Minute Middle of the Night Sleep Meditation

This is specifically for falling back to sleep. With regular practice, you'll eventually be able to recall this meditation when you need it most.

3-Minute Bone Tired Meditation

Sometimes we just have to overwork. It could be because of an emergency or a project where others are counting on your delivery, so you have to keep pushing to get the work done. Next time you're in such a situation and think you need an extra coffee, try this brisk body scan meditation instead. It's invigorating and relaxing at the same time!

10-Minute Breath and Body Scan

Still in the middle of that long project but have a few minutes to come back to yourself? Here's a breath and body scan to make the most of that time.

20-Minute Sleep Meditation:Yoga Nidra

Some days, 20 minutes to yourself feels like a luxury, doesn't it? It's not--it's essential to your wellbeing...and everyone around you. Think of them if you feel like you can't do it for yourself! Follow along with this condensed version of sleep meditation/yoga nidra.

Shortest Body Scan Ever

Some days are nutty, pulling you to and fro from one task to another to another. Here's a way to catch your breath in between.

Shortest Meditation Ever

For those days you get so busy you could forget yourself, use this short meditation to remember.

Second Shortest Body Scan Ever

For when you have a little longer to come back to yourself. Or perhaps for when you need a little longer and think you don't have it. My 96 yo mom has been using this lately to help unwind from aging related anxiety and agitation. Thanks, Gina Nikolic, for inspiring this one.

Single Breath Meditation

Yep--some days are this busy. This practice can slow them down a little.

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