Whether you are feeling the crunch of deadlines or #allthethings of life are mounting, we all feel stressed. In fact, I am just coming out of a season where my stress was at its highest. Yes, my friend, I am walking this stress journey right here with you!

Looking out my office window, the sight is less than motivating. The sky is overcast and it is a bit cool. For me this is more of a recipe for a good nap rather than knocking it out of the park in my business. To be honest, I’m writing this blog for you as much as I am writing it for myself.

So what do we do when we are stuck?

Did you know that we store up stress and emotions in our hips?It’s true! You may be saying, “oh well that’s some people but I tend to feel stress in my back”. It may surprise you, but we are both right!

Getting a little sentimental here on ya… This pose takes me back to when I first started yoga. I originally started practicing yoga because I had killer back spasms and major lower back pain. I had heard yoga was good for back pain but I had no idea how good it was or how much healing I could receive from my practice. That’s why I am so excited to share this pose with you.

Chest openers specifically target those muscles that are limiting your ability to take a deep breath. While there are lots of chest opening poses you can do, Warrior 2 is my favorite since it is what I call a “multi targeting pose” which means that it works and targets lots of yummy areas all at once, thereby, providing LOADS of benefits!

Side body muscles. Ah the muscles that enable us to do so much that we rarely even think about… at least until we start feeling tension in them.

I am crazy passionate about showing people how yoga can be accessible for anyone and I want you to know that I will have your back through this series. Each week I will give a breakdown of how to do the pose, describe how to use props that you have in your own home to support you in the pose, and modifications to the pose so that you can come into the pose without injury.

We live in a culture where being productive is praised. Whether that means getting more done in less time or doing more in the time you are allotted.

I’m going to say something that goes against that cultural thinking: Not every moment needs to be maximized.

I love my kids. I love my work. But when the two collide, it often looks rather messy. Can I get an Amen? Yesterday I was filming a short practice to load on my YouTube channel. My husband was watching the kids and I was all set to knock it out. The practice is going perfectly until the final resting pose.

Let’s get real here, stress sucks.

There I said it.

Last week and into this past weekend. Stress hit me hard.

I felt the pressure of impending deadlines, potty training my two year old, sleepless nights with my 5 month old, and a death of someone in my family that was near and to me.

Ok yes, I am playing a bit off of the movie title, but if you have meditated for any length of time I’m sure you could have said “Yes! This title fits my practice today!”

It would be nice to think that every time you sit down to meditate that the world would pause and allow you that time of beautiful stillness. However that doesn’t always happen, I know because that was how my practice went this morning!

Being mindful is choosing how you are going to react in the situation. Taking the drama out of the situation and simply allowing it. What could seem like a huge problem, could turn into something you are actually very thankful for.