Yogaland Roundup

5 things that are keeping me inspired (and sane) right now

May 12, 2023

First! Our next Yogaland Book Club selection is Yoga for Bendy People by Libby Hinsley. Libby is the guest on the podcast this week, so please take a listen here.

Hello, hello!

I’ve spent the past 10 days or so feeling my whole range of emotions. It has to do with it being Maycember (have you heard of this? It’s a new concept for me but I feel it deeply) and coping with an aging parent and a tweenager and launching two courses for Jason and…well, I’ll save you the sordid details and just say: Life is a lot sometimes, isn’t it?

So, this week’s round-up is simply five things I’ve been leaning into that are keeping me inspired (and sane).

Whatever the Problem, it’s Probably Solved by Walking

I have been walking a lot lately, both for exercise and simply to clear my mind. I never used to let myself do this — just get up and walk around in the middle of the day. I always feared interrupting my workflow. This truly lovely essay in The New York Times will be one that I will return to again and again because it’s such a great reminder of the power of a simple walk.

Hippocrates proclaimed that “walking is man’s best medicine.” The good doctor also knew that walking provided more than mere physical benefits when he suggested: “If you are in a bad mood, go for a walk. If you are still in a bad mood, go for another walk.” He was alluding to what so many who came after would attest, that walking not only nourishes the body but also soothes the mind while it burns off tension and makes our troubles recede into a more manageable perspective.

The Have it All Tour

We went to see Taylor Tomlinson. I admire her so much. She’s open about having bipolar disorder, about her mom dying from cancer when she was a child, about recovering from religious trauma.

She is the definition of Nora Ephron’s adage, “Everything is copy.” She has the ability to take the dark stuff in her own life and share the humor of it. This is a gift. Being transparent about life’s tragedies — we’ve all got ‘em — and seeing the humor in them is, to me, one of the highest forms of spirituality.

I don’t think anybody should feel bad about being diagnosed with a mental illness. Cause it’s just information about you that helps you know how to take better care of yourself.

Bonus: It was a date night! I always make Jason take selfies on date nights! He is used to it by now.

Elissa Epel sharing the upside of stress

Andrew Huberman did a Huberman Lab podcast with Elissa Epel recently on stress, eating, and aging. I have been a big fan of Epel, since she was co-author of The Telomere Effect. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend — I did the audiobook and it was great.

The full title of the episode is Control Stress for Healthy Eating, Metabolism, & Aging, but I mostly just loved hearing Epel talk about the upside of stress e.g., The Challenge Response and the importance of biosocial support. I loved hearing her share how important meditation is to her as a caregiver and how healing journaling can be.

The episode really got going for me after about 30 minutes, so take it with you on your next long walk. (Please note: I have not yet read her latest book, which she promotes on the podcast, The Stress Prescription, so I can’t vouch for that one!)

The Pomodoro Method

Before I started working from home full-time and before Instagram Reels, I never needed any techniques for staying focused on my work. But now, I really really do.

A few years ago, I stumbled on The Pomodoro Method, which is helpful for ADHDers who often have a hard time starting a task. I’ll be honest, when I first learned about it, it felt so…basic. Like — set a timer for 25 minutes and then take a break? And then do it again?

But, guess what? The amount of things vying for our attention on the internet means that this incredibly simple method has been so helpful for me.

Knowing that I have a consistent, fixed amount of time to complete a task before a timer goes off makes me do the task. And if I don’t finish said task within the timer, I’ve gotten over the procrastination hump and am absorbed in the task so that I can take a break and return to it. (Some Pomodoro instructions say it is OK to skip a break if you’re absorbed; others say you must take a break. I’ve done both, depending on the task.)

Is it just me? Have you tried it? I found this video essay to show to my daughter. I also adore How to ADHD with Jessica McCabe and she has a shorter explanation here.

Yoga for Skeptics

I felt so skeptical about the title of this article in The New York Times, but it did its job, because it prompted me to read it. It’s a very simple article that encourages people to try yoga (even if they’re skeptical). But what the article does well is it walks through several important studies that validate the efficacy of yoga. And, for that, it’s worth a bookmark. Here are the links to the cited research:

Research suggests that yoga reduces anxiety, elevates mood and reduces stress, perhaps more than aerobic exercise.
A 2023 clinical trial also found that yoga reduces symptoms of depression and improves sleep.
Some studies suggest that yoga can also reduce the frequency and severity of migraines
It “may offer benefits to cognitive function” among people ages 60 and older.
In a 2020 report, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality analyzed the results of 10 clinical trials, concluding that yoga may ease lower back pain and improve low back function. The American College of Physicians now recommends yoga as a first-line treatment for chronic low back pain.

That’s it for this week! As always, I love hearing what you think!

See you soon XO,

Andrea

Offerings & Events with Andrea & Jason

Our next Yogaland Book Club selection is Yoga for Bendy People by Libby Hinsley. Grab it here.
Mark you calendar for the Q&A session with Libby — it will be June 29th at 9am Pacific.
Jason’s newest intensive course The Essential Guide to Yoga Anatomy is now open for enrollment. If you choose to do the Group Calls, they begin on May 25th, so you’ll want to register before then.
Jason is teaching a Hybrid 300-Hour YTT in London starting this summer. This program is the coolest — you do six days in person, with access to the online content one month before meeting. To register, go to Mission’s web site.
If you’d like a walkthrough of the program, Jason is hosting a webinar on May 18th and you can register for that here.