Latest / The MODERN YIN Podcast / Why Yin Yoga Is IN After 40

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Why Yin Yoga Is IN After 40 · The MODERN YIN Podcast

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  Hey, hey, Yinning at Life Gang. It's Kimberly Roberts, your host
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  here, and I'm so excited to deliver little bits of insight
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  on living your best, most extraordinary life with, of
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  course, yin yoga, traditional Chinese medicine, reflexology
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  and even mindset acts. So thank you so much for
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  pressing play on today's episode.
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  Let's do this. Oh, hey, hey there, Yinning at
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  life gang. Or maybe today, you know what?
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  It's just you and me sitting down.
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  We're going to have a cup of tea or your favorite matcha latte or
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  cappuccino, and we're going to have a little heart to heart.
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  OK, There's something that I want to talk about.
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  And if you've been in my world recently, you know, I am all
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  about a vibe of really embodying living your best life after the
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  age of 40 and way beyond that. So this is what I want to talk
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  about today. It's this whole idea of what our
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  bodies and minds really need after 40 because let's be
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  honest, things feel different, right?
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  Like, I know it does for me. And it's kind of like one day
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  you wake up and you realize, you know what?
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  You're not bouncing and springing out of bed the way you
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  used to, right? Like, you got to stretch a
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  little bit. There's some stiffness in your
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  hips, you know, Like, you can feel the shoulders kind of
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  creaky, reeky. And, you know, you stay up late
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  and it takes two days to recover.
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  You know that and sleep, sometimes it's like your body
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  forgot how to sleep. Like you wake up and you're like
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  what? I'm like, I didn't even get like
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  3 hours of sleep last night. I was staring at my ceiling.
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  And you know, you start to put these little pieces together and
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  you start to wonder like what the heck's going on here?
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  But here's the thing, nothing's wrong per SE.
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  OK, I want to start by that. I'm not saying that there aren't
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  things that maybe need to be addressed, but I want you to
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  know that when you hit your 40s, you're entering into a new
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  season of life and hopefully a wiser 1 and a softer 1.
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  And I will tell you that in this season of over 40s, it's about,
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  I don't know about for you, but for me, it's about craving calm.
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  It's about craving stillness. It's about create craving
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  flexibility in my mind as well as my body.
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  It's also about craving connection.
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  Like that's why I'm here on this podcast riffing.
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  This is also why I have a new blog on my website,
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  soulfulyin.com. It's because I'm craving more
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  connection and community. And I'm also really craving
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  helping people live their best life after 40.
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  And I'll tell you that that's why I believe, like I truly
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  believe with every single fiber in my being, that yin yoga is
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  the most important practice for people over 40.
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  I'm not saying there are other things that are important, but
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  let me just talk about why yin yoga is so important, OK?
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  After 41st of all, we are living in a world that's go, go, go and
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  more go, right? Even when we think we're
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  resting, like, you know, we're numbing and scrolling through
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  Instagram and Facebook or we're binging on Netflix, we're still
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  kind of thinking, we're still kind of planning.
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  And you know what? Our nervous system is constantly
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  switched on and that's not a good thing.
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  Like it means we're in a constant sympathetic flight or
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  fright state. And you know what it's important
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  to be in that state at sometimes, right?
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  Like if you're standing there and there's a bear in front of
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  you, you have got to know how to turn on that sympathetic nervous
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  system state because otherwise you're going to end up being
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  filet mignon, right? Like you know how you know have
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  to know how to respond. But there's also a really
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  crucial part of time in our life where we need to be in that
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  parasympathetic state. Rest and digest, rest and
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  repair, chill the F out, right? And when you hit 40, with
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  hormones starting to shift, responsibilities piling up,
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  maybe you got teenagers at home or even still younger children
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  because we are seeing people starting families later in life
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  now. Or maybe we've got aging parents
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  that we're caring for. Maybe we've got both.
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  So we're kind of that sandwich generation.
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  And our body starts to whisper, hey, please, can we like slow
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  down here? Like, please, just can we just
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  slow down? This is what your body is
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  saying, right? Yin yoga is that slow down.
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  It's literally like hitting the pause button on the world.
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  You're not rushing, you're not striving, you're not trying to
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  perfect a pose. You're just being.
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  And in that being, in that surrendering, your nervous
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  system goes, thank you, thank you, thank you so much.
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  What happens when your nervous system starts to be in that
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  state more often? You start sleeping better, your
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  body starts feeling more at ease, your mind gets quieter,
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  less scattered, which God knows we need way more of.
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  So let's talk another reason why it is so important to do yen
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  yoga after 40. And that's mobility and
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  flexibility, people. Let's face it.
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  After 40, your joints, fascia, connective tissues need more
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  love than ever. As we get older, fascia and
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  connective tissue starts to stiffen.
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  It starts to shrink. It doesn't lengthen.
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  Your joints start producing less synovial fluid.
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  They creak more. And the beauty about yin yoga is
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  that it goes straight to those deeper layers, right?
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  The ones that hold the tension, the ones that stiffen with time,
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  the ones that silently affect how you move and feel your
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  joints, fascia and connective tissue.
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  And when you're holding a yin pose gently, when you're
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  propping yourself up, and I am such a massive proponent of
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  propping, it's not cheating if you're using props.
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  Because sometimes people will ask me that, oh, I have to use
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  this block to support me. I'm cheating, right?
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  No, you're not. You're honoring your body.
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  And I'll tell you that the more that you prop, the more your
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  body will open up gently, passively, patiently, and you're
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  nourishing your body from the inside out.
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  You're not pushing, you're not forcing.
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  You actually get more by propping up.
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  And you're being given your body a space to soften, to release,
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  and to heal. Like we all need that.
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  Even if you're not in your 40s, trust me, you need that anyway.
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  And let me talk about one other thing, and this is honestly my
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  favorite. My favorite part about yin is
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  that it teaches you how to listen to yourself, to listen to
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  your body, to listen to your thoughts, to listen to your
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  feelings, to be in tune with your emotions and maybe what
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  needs to shift. And if you want to know more
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  about how yin helps you with your emotions and ultimately
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  your organ health, you can check out.
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  I have a plethora of episodes on the podcast that talk about yin
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  yoga, your emotions, your organs, the Meridian system,
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  like it's all there, OK? Yin yoga is not about how far
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  you can go, it's about how deeply can you feel.
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  You get to learn how to meet yourself exactly as you are and
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  exactly where you are. And you know what I don't know
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  about you, but after 40 I am like so done.
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  And I mean I am so done with the push harder do more mentality.
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  I talked about this in my episode about how we're still in
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  that hustle culture, right? Of push more, do more people
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  expect more mentality, right? And I'm done with that.
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  I did it in the corporate world. I even did it running this
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  business. But I want peace.
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  I want presence now. I want to feel good in my body,
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  not just look strong, but I want to feel supported on all levels.
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  Physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually,
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  energetically. I want to feel it all.
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  And yin gives you all of that. It gives you mental support, It
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  gives you emotional support, physical sport support,
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  energetic support. It gives you all of that.
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  It's a practice that says, you know what, you don't have to do
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  more. You just have to be here.
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  You just got to be willing to listen.
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  And I'll tell you when you're in a yen pose and you're holding it
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  for 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and you're properly
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  supported here. This is a big key, All right?
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  You're properly supported. So yeah, you're feeling the
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  stretch, right? Because you want to feel that.
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  But it's not so intense that you're like, Oh my God, like,
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  are we done yet? Can I get out of this pose?
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  Like, I can't handle it. I'm squirming, I'm moving, I'm
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  fidgeting. I'm now talking in my mind like
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  that's not what we're looking for here.
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  When you're properly supported using the props, and I mean when
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  I talk about props, you can literally get away with, like I
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  always say, you absolutely need 2 yoga blocks.
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  Well, you know what? You can get them at Walmart,
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  like 10 bucks, two blocks. You need some kind of yoga
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  strap. You can use a belt, a scarf, a
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  tie, just something that's pretty sturdy.
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  And then you've got other things that are literally hanging
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  around your house like blankets, pillows, cushions.
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  They can all, even books, they can all be used as props.
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  So when you are using your props and you're supporting your body,
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  you will be more adapt to listening to what it's saying to
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  you. And I'll tell you, I know that
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  if you're listening to this episode, I know you're craving
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  better sleep. I sure as heck know you're
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  craving less tension, more ease in your hips and your back and
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  your shoulders and in your neck. God forbid I think all the
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  people that I that I have that what I call have tech neck,
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  right? Like rounding their shoulders,
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  hunching forward. Their necks are rounding like
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  they've got such stiffness in their neck that they literally
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  cannot even turn their head a little bit.
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  I'm telling you that's not good. And your mind, it's literally
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  screaming at you, please, more peace, more peace.
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  I need more peace, right? Well, friend in yoga is calling
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  your name seriously. And the best part, and I'm going
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  to tell you this is a myth. A lot of people still say, oh,
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  well, you need an hour before you get any benefit.
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  You need all the fancy gear. No, you don't.
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  You just need a few props that you have.
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  Like I said earlier, you don't even need a yoga mat.
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  You could use blankets, you know, and you can start with 5
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  minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes. I will tell you there's a sweet
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  spot in a 15 minute practice and I'll tell you, for me, this was
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  a major shift in my life because I came from a personal practice
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  where I needed two hours in order to feel at peace, calm.
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  But I was also in a highly, highly, highly stressed state at
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  the time. But I was able over time to wean
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  myself down to an hour, to 45 minutes, to 30 minutes, to even
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  now 15 minutes. Because the magic here isn't in
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  the time, it's in the intention. So if I know, like, you know
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  what, I got 15 minutes today. That's all I got.
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  My intention in those 15 minutes is to find calm, to release some
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  tension and to feel at ease in my mind, my body, and in my
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  life. And in 15 minutes, I can do
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  that. I will tell you, I invite you
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  before you go to bed tonight, I want you to slip into what I
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  call reclined butterfly pose. This is a really simple pose.
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  You're going to lay on your back.
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  You're going to bring the soles of your feet together, and
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  you're going to open your knees wide.
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  You could even do this in bed if you wanted to.
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  I'm going to prop underneath your knees.
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  So grab some blankets, roll them up.
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  Towels work too. If you have your blocks, grab
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  your blocks and close your eyes, draw your shoulder blades apart
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  and start to take a few really deep breaths and just allow
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  yourself to be no agenda. Your mind will start to wander
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  because that's what it does. I want you to just keep coming
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  back to the sound of your breath.
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  Maybe even count your breath out in your mind.
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  I will tell you that your body will thank you for this big
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  time, your mind even more so. Your mind is going to be going
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  Hallelujah. Thank you so much for these few
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  minutes of peace of release and an ease.
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  And I promise you, if you start a regular practice, even 15
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  minutes a day, your sleep is going to thank you.
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  Because you know what? The more calm you are and the
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  more your nervous system it is in this more beautiful
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  parasympathetic rest and repair state, you will sleep better.
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  So this is my little riff for today Wasn't very long.
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  It's all about how to inspire you to soften, to slow down, and
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  to explore in in this new season of life.
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  And let's face it, when you head into your 40s and above, you
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  deserve to have ease. You deserve calm.
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  You deserve to feel good in your body and at every age.
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  Not just when you're 40. But how about when you're 50?
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  How about when you're 60? How about when you're 80?
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  You deserve to live an extraordinary life.
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  There is something that is so incredible that's happening in
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  the Soulful Yin world right now. The Soulful Yin Yoga App, an app
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  that is designed to serve people over 40 who are craving calm,
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  who are craving better sleep, who are craving ease in their
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  body, in their minds and in their lives.
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  Who want deep flexibility and mobility in their body.
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  Who want to feel good in their body.
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  Who want to live a life that is beyond extraordinary at the age
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  of 40 and way beyond into that 50s, sixties, even the 80's.
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  The Soulful Yin App I invite you to come in, join the membership
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  and start to explore and discover how Yin yoga along with
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  reflexology, acupressure, breath work, meditation, and even very
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  exclusive Yin yoga series that are all designed for people over
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  40 who are craving that simple, peaceful life.
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  Thanks so much again for pressing play on today's
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  episode. I look forward to seeing you in
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  the next one.