Yoga Is For Everybody? Not Quite...

This 2-minute quiz shows you if yoga is for you. Or what you should do instead.

A Daily Workout Routine for Your Post-Breakup Blues

Lifestyle | Love

We’ve all been there. Down and blue, overthinking and replaying scenes in our heads. What happened, and how did I get here? The fresh loneliness and feeling of loss after a breakup can be depressing and heavy. Luckily, yoga can rescue you and guide you through this difficult time.

We’ll focus on a routine that brings you closer to your most valuable and treasured relationship–the one with yourself. This three-part daily routine starts by releasing tension and emotions through longer-held restorative yoga poses (the healing process).

The second step involves burning through old habits and old energy with higher-intensity yoga poses (the forgive and move on process).

Lastly, meditation brings the routine full circle by renewing your spirit and encouraging self-growth (the reawakening process). After all, with all endings come amazing new beginnings.

Daily Routine to Transform from Blue to New You

1. Restorative Yin Yoga: Renew Emotional Well-being

Practice the poses below for 4–6 minutes each to deeply release physical, mental, and emotional tension. Through these grounded poses, you’ll establish new roots and let go of the old.

Bound Angle Pose

Ease into your routine with Bound Angle; hang heavy over the legs to allow for freedom, expression, and release. Breathe into this foundational pose, knowing that from your roots you will grow and rise again, stronger from your experiences.

Extended Puppy Pose

A heart opening pose, Extended Puppy will stretch the chest, back, and shoulders. Allow the heart to melt towards the ground and remember to soften, not letting your heart harden from pain.

Pigeon Pose

Use the hip-opening Pigeon Pose to release pent-up emotions and come to terms with your feelings. Don’t suppress; instead allow yourself to experience your emotions in the pose.

Child’s Pose

Use Child’s Pose to passively stretch, relax the mind, and de-stress as you come back to a pure and childlike state.

2. Powerful Vinyasa Yoga: Sweat It Out

A challenging vinyasa flow during challenging times can be the perfect way to get your mind elsewhere by linking breath with movement and burning off excess energy. Try flowing through these poses sequentially to feel stronger and braver (intersperse with Sun Salutations for added challenge).

Three-Legged Downward Dog Pose

Allowing you to flip your perspective and see things in a new light, Three-Legged Dog will strengthen and stretch the entire body. You may just find yourself in another angle.

Humble Warrior

Strong like a warrior and humbled by your experiences, remember that you’ve learned something and have grown stronger and more resilient from it.

Warrior III Pose

Warrior III tests physical balance, reminding you to find renewed balance and equanimity even in rocky situations.

Revolved Chair Pose

A detoxifying pose, think of Revolved Chair as twisting out the old you to make room for a new version.

3. Meditation: Find Yourself

The end of the routine involves finding a clearer and deeper connection to yourself. Try a guided self-love or mindfulness meditation practice. By sitting quietly, consciously breathing, and becoming more aware, you can let go and find a place of peacefulness–a place where happiness consists in being alone and being comfortable with yourself. You are enough!

Tips: Throughout this routine and metamorphosis, remember to notice, acknowledge, and accept how you feel. The good, the bad, the in-between. Don’t get wrapped up in the feeling, but do observe, express, and be easy on yourself!

Finally, practice detaching. Detachment, often called non-attachment (vairagya) is actually part of yoga. But be mindful that detachment in yoga isn’t about indifference. In this context, it’s about understanding and remembering that nothing is permanent.

When we’re aware that endings are inevitable, it’s easier to handle and practice letting go of our attachments. Vairagya protects the self from the self and teaches us to live in a state of contentment with ourselves. Through this advanced form of yoga practice, we can connect to a clearer sense of self. Happy healing and practicing!

Image Credit: Samrat Pasham

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