Yoga for Inner Health
  • Sarah
  • Yoga For Sleep
    • Yoga For Insomnia
  • Gentle Yoga Videos
  • Blog
  • Contact

The 6 ESSENTIAL Apps for Great Sleep

4/16/2015

2 Comments

 
Picture
Your sleep tracker App: “MySleepBot” www.mysleepbot.com (Free)

Smart alarm meets sleep tracker.
This app is great as it tells it as it is:

a) Lets you know both the real amount of sleep, and the quality of your sleep by tracking your movement at night. 

b) Lets you wake up in your body’s natural waking cycle. Based upon your movement the app wakes you up intelligently, when your body’s most ready for the day (within a 30min window you’ve determined).

c) Tracks your sleep debt (the amount of sleep you’re behind on) so you can improve your consistency of sleep, and catch up on sleep without feeling guilty about it.


Your drive home safe App: “StayAwakePro” www.georgeapps.com ($0.99) 

Keep yourself awake and responding with this “drive home safe” app featuring your new chatty friend, “Victoria”. “Victoria” talks with you asking for your response, and sounds an alarm if you fail to respond. Unlike other “drive home safe” apps it requires no car mount or calibration.

BONUS Alternative App: If you would prefer a silent (yet safe!) drive home, and have a car mount, try this micro sleep detector that works by detecting dangerous “microsleep” eye-lid closure: “WakeMeUp”- powerapp.ch/product/wake-eye-lid-detector-microsleep-warning/ ($0.99)



3. Your White noise App: “SleepPillow” 
www.clearskyapps.com/portfolio/sleep (Free)


The solution for sleep when ambient noise may interrupt your snoozing (family, traffic, TV, dogs lawnmowers).  Soothing “white noise” will cause your hearing to not be disturbed by outside noises. Use on its own or in addition to quality earplugs.

9 different white noise soundtracks (including a river, birds, whales, a storm, a crackling fire, and my person favourite: soothing spa music)

Create mixes of the different tracks (add birds to the river) at different volumes.

c)  Set a timer so the white noise stops up to 2 hours after 
     you’ve drifted off.

d)  Want more sounds & up to a 12 hr timer? There’s a PRO 
     version you can upgrade to for $1.99.

4. Your Meditation timer App: “Meditation Timer” www.maxwellapps.com/apps_7_meditation_timer_pro. (Free)


This is the app I use every day. It is so simple, but has all the varying features you need to make consistent relaxation throughout the day so easy to remember.

Set your preparation time.

Set your relaxation/ meditation time.

Set interval times (ex: 3x 1min) to help keep you focused.

Set “rest” times to create repeating reminders to relax throughout the day (ex: every 3 hours). 

Choose from 4 different soothing tones to chime when it’s time to start/ stop/ rest. 

Set daily reminders to engage in relaxation (& a personalized message for why ;))

Change the background to a photo that’s meaningful to you, to help you remember why you’re using this time to relax (ex: deep sleep to be present with your loved ones)


5. Your Guided Relaxation App: “SimplyBeing” www.meditationoasis.com  ($1.99)

This app is fantastic and has been widely reviewed as effective for new and existing meditators alike.

a) Only have 5minutes? Choose from 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, & 30min options.

b) Listen with or without music.

c) Only want music? Listen with or without voice.

d) Want a break at work? Download their free option “TakeABreak!” for 7 or 13min meditations designed to help you relax at work. 




6. Your Sleep-Supporting Exercise, Weight, & Nutrition App: “MyFitnessPal” www.myfitnesspal.com (Free)

This app is amazing. While losing sleep won’t cause us to gain weight, it can make it more likely that we’ll mindlessly reach for sweets, carbs, & calorie-laden caffeine to for a “quick-fix” of energy (that unfortunately burns and then leaves you feeling more tired…) Studies have shown that as people gain excess weight their sleep quality tends to get worse (likely due to flattened temperature rhythms). However, regardless of weight, as someone chooses to exercise their sleep quality improves. As food quality increases, sleep quality tends to increase too. Makes sense to pay attention to your food and exercise, eh? 

This app lets you:

a) track what you’re eating (even the brand. It’s super easy.)

b) track your water intake

c) track your exercise

d) track your sleep

e) set weight goals & stay on track with corresponding daily calorie goals

f) understand your nutritional breakdown (basic, but useful)

g) share your progress with friends to support each other
Right now, go visit the app store. Download the ONE app that you know will add the MOST VALUE to your life right away. Create a routine with it starting TODAY. Set an alarm (right now) to remind you to use it.



Warmly,

Picture
2 Comments

A great EZine article on the BioMat!

2/2/2013

2 Comments

 
If you've ever heard of the BioMat, you're probably wondering if it really works. The answer to this question actually lies in your own experiences. Have you ever been sitting at your computer, feeling sluggish, tired, and depressed? Have you found that a simple walk in the sun helps your mood immensely? Even a quick hop in the shower can be relaxing and uplifting. These are the sorts of things that the BioMat emulates. It uses infrared radiation, negative ions, and amethysts all in conjunction in order to bring the revitalizing science of nature into your home. But how exactly does it do that? And how do you know that it really works?


First, the BioMat uses infrared heat. This is the same heat that comes from the sun or from other living creatures. In fact, far infrared radiation (FIR) is the specific heat that warms us the most. Unlike near infrared radiation, which only heats our skin, FIR waves penetrate deep into our bodies to heat our cells and blood vessels, helping blood to flow and carry oxygen more efficiently. This has the same effect as natural sunlight, which mostly emits visible light and infrared radiation. So, the BioMat is similar to a heating pad, only with more effective heating waves.

A FIR heating pad would be an effective tool on its own, but BioMat doesn't stop there. It also creates negative ions, which naturally occur by the ocean, under waterfalls-even in your own shower. The movement of wind and water are two natural ways in which negative ions are produced. These negative ions can have two different effects on us. First, they are naturally attracted to positively charged molecules. This causes them to attach to dust and other pollutants in the air, which then fall to the ground or cling to the walls. This provides cleaner air, allowing for easier breathing. Many tests have also been conducted concerning negative ions and depression. They've shown that negative ions typically lift spirits, while an absence of them does just the opposite. Just think about that sluggish feeling you get when you've been shut up in your house all day. Homes and office buildings typically have incredibly low negative ion counts, while mountains and oceans have the highest.

Finally, the Biomat uses amethysts to amplify the effects of FIR and negative ions. Amethysts have been proven to serve as a conductor for infrared light and ion producers. Like a magnifying glass, the amethyst layer on top of the BioMat increases all of its benefits, creating an atmosphere of energy and healing that mimics that of nature.

Ultimately, the BioMat does what the sun and the earth do: it creates heat and energy, directs it into your body via a natural superconductor, and allows your body to work at its fullest potential, moving oxygen and other nutrients through your blood to the places that need it the most. So, if you've ever felt refreshed by a summers day walk or a cool, refreshing waterfall, then BioMat will work for you!


The 
BioMat is a holistic tool for curing pain, relieving stress, and reducing anxiety, all by encouraging your body to do what it already does best. Learn more about RichWay International's BioMat here.


Article Source: 
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kari_Roland



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5260317





Click here to order a Biomat from Sarah.
2 Comments

Free-write and Feel yourself Feel more Fully!

3/11/2012

3 Comments

 
Recently, sitting on a beautiful sunny day outside a cafe I watched a child play with a dog many times her size: I HAD to write about it and capture that moment of my life. I sat there, put pen to paper and just allowed the words to flow. Nothing grand, just a description of the moment as it came to me. As a result, I felt so connected to myself and to the world, something we can all use a bit more of. 

Free writing allows you to tap into the part of you that's totally JUDGEMENT FREE and FREE YOURSELF to EXPERIENCE YOU!!

So here's my suggestion: SIT, NOTICE, FEEL, WRITE, EXPERIENCE. It'll open you up to notice the joy that already lies within you in every moment: happiness, sadness, wonder, love and just being.


...


"The bulldog, too big for the tiny child’s shoulders. Her giggling, wiggling wonder of life too perfect to pass by unnoticed. They squirm one another into experience, unable to contain the joy and yet can barely handle the sensation of life in this moment. Electric experience, needing to move; joy uninhibited by anything but the size of life. We cannot contain the charge, but it finds us, moves us, powers itself, and we are the fortunate porous receptacles that for a brief moment contain the world in wonder. 

Holding, circuit stops, but moving into energy, the experience flows... flows... flows until it is our circuitry that wears out, worn out from joy. Is that what we’re so afraid of? One last pass; a few pats as both know the experience will soon be past; a tone of sadness and longing. Even before logic is fully formed we resist the loss, and in so doing miss out on precious moments of experience. The early patterns aimed to protect. Why die before the energy expires? Move into loss and a new circuit is born.
" 
3 Comments

1 minute to a joyful day!

10/9/2011

2 Comments

 
Ever wake up feeling cra(pp)y and suffer-y? Yeah, you know the days! 

What if in 1 minute you could set up your WHOLE DAY to rock!? 

I used to wake up tired and crabby, and continue that way until at least 11- that's a lot of life spent groggy! The second you start using this tool, that'll change FOREVER! 

GUARANTEED to bring a smile to your face and joy to your day! 

  
The best part!? The more you use it, the better the effects- you can even do it in your head!

It takes LESS THAN 1MINUTE to change your day!!


Check it out... You'll LOVE IT!


Sending sooooo much of my love to you!

 (yeah, you feel it!)

 

xo-Sarah

 

2 Comments

OH MY GOSH I LOVE THE WORLD! (and how you can too EVERY DAY!)

9/20/2011

3 Comments

 
DON'T MISS OUT! 
HOW 5vMINUTES CAN TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE...

In my NY Amazement I have one FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH and one ROCKIN TREAT to share that when you understand will ROCK YOUR WORLD, DEEPEN YOUR SLEEP, AND UP YOUR JOY! 

The truth: Every SINGLE choice we make reinforces a habit or belief. If we walk around scared, we reinforce that the world is a scary place. If we walk around seeing all of the challenges we're successfully overcoming, we see ourselves as strong and capable. If we choose joy and love- we feel joyful and loving every day! 

Ok, so here's the question...
Do YOU ever wake up in the morning saying, “Today I think I’m going to sabotage my happiness”? Probably not... and yet we do, through all the little choices... 

By choosing to eat the pizza to cover up the feeling that something’s not right, by getting angry at traffic, carrying stress all the way home, by obligating yourself vs loving yourself. We all know what’s ‘best’ for us- so why don’t we do it?

Want the solution? The first part is really REALLY simple, and even more FUN! :

Get a DAILY JOY INFUSION! (no, a prescription is not required) 

Joy infusion= 

Every time you belly laugh

Every time you act like a kid

Every time you really feel passionate

Every time you consider the options and choose the one you WANT

Every time you choose YOU over the IMAGE OF YOU

Every time you stop to feel love

Every time you stop to consider your blessings and truly CELEBRATE

Every time the goofy bliss of being alive strikes you and you have to dance... 

You’ve just experienced a JOY INFUSION


It’s the idea of ‘what fires together wires together’ as seen in such wicked classics as “What the Bleep Do We Know!?” and “Molecules of Emotion”... By adding the emotion of joy into everyday things you’ll start to experience joy in those things more and more!

So, here’s my challenge to you:
  1. Identify one area of your life that’s just not sparkling yet...
  2. Take 5-minutes EVERY day and create a JOY INFUSION

It doesn't matter what it is: TAKE 5 MINUTES TODAY AND PURPOSEFULLY CREATE JOY IN YOUR LIFE!

"As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other peoplepermission to do the same" -Marianne Williamson  (Via my dear friend, the up and coming super star and rockin' humanitarian Aliyah O'Brien) 
Want ideas?


Dance up the steps on your way to work

Put on a favorite song on the drive home
Puddle jump and embrace the rain 
Bake vegan chocolate-chip cookies
Snuggle up with someone you really really love
Paint your toenails lime-green while listening to 80s music (head-band optional but encouraged)! 
It doesn’t matter what it is... 


ROCK IT!!!



If you want to make your 5-minutes a little more indulgent, totally take the time to schedule a restorative class FOR YOU! I'll be back for Oct 1st so GO FOR IT! 

Pre-register your Joy Infusion on the biomat with massage and deep deep relaxation.  
(Click Here to Reserve Your Space!)



I'll be back on Oct 1st and can't wait to share what I've been up to!

xoxoxoxoxo from NYC

-Sarah 
3 Comments

The beauty of experience

8/5/2011

1 Comment

 
Hello wonderfuls! 


I just came back from an amazing yoga experience. It wasn't a kundalini awakening or involving sage brush. In fact, it was one of the less overtly spiritual classes I've taken in a long time, but it was a full and beautiful expression of the teacher in her own, and as a result I found myself going there too. 


There are some mornings that, despite our best intentions, we find ourselves (ahem, I find myself) 'on the wrong side of the bed'. I know what my brain wants, but my emotional state just won't agree. I state change and it goes back. Hurumph. 
However, in today's class with Liv Bevan I found myself moving INTO that crotchetyness- exploring, embracing, without condescension compassionately honoring that truth, and low and behold RELEASE. 

Time and again, this is the truth... 
THE MORE WE RESIST OUR TRUTH (REALITY), THE STRONGER IT PUSHES INTO OUR AWARENESS.  

So often we feel the first signs of weakness, of not knowing what to do next, uncertainty around the future, or a desire in your heart that your brain tells you is crazy so we suppress. We push all that amazing experience of self down, hoping it'll go away because we want it to be different. 

Most of my life I've wanted to present myself as strong and truly put together. Sometimes that's just not the case. Some days I have been scared, my house a mess with a pimple on my chin- if I pretend it's otherwise I create a crack within myself, and my truth, my perfect imperfection will keep yelling at me, louder and louder until I listen. In my experience, this is where anxiety, stress, even depression come from- growing from the unwillingness to ACKNOWLEDGE THE PERFECTION OF YOURSELF, EXACTLY AS YOU ARE.

You may experience sadness, fear, uneasiness, and yet underneath it all is joy. Pure, blissful, unabashed joy. The more you experience yourself from the heart, the clearer your knowledge of self, and the more your plans become guides not rules. RELEASE THE RIDGID PLANNING AND STEP INTO THE REALITY OF LIFE IN THIS MOMENT- IN THAT RELEASE IS JOY.

Thank you Liv for reminding me of this so experientially today. In my crotchety perfection I came to feel the love that lies underneath when we open to our truth.

BY MOVING INTO FEELING WE MOVE THROUGH RESISTANCE... So the next time you're feeling stressed, or for those of you who don't sleep soundly- try moving INTO the feeling. Open up, and notice the RELEASE.  

That release is the key to deep sleep, profound joy, and living a full and meaningful life of love. 

May you feel your life and the love within it!
xo
-Sarah 
1 Comment

What does Heaven look like?

6/25/2011

0 Comments

 
What does Heaven look like?

Passion swirling in the wind. A driving force of beaty knowing nothing but her dreams. An angel finds a master only to see it's in herself. She lies awake knowing nothing more than her truth, all she needs, all she’ll ever know. It is enough.

I find myself in this heaven doubting if it’s true, seeing it as Hell, but knowing in my heart of hearts that there could be no other. It is all as it should be. I lie down and dive into the depths of my H...., no not Hell but a welcome mat to the world beyond the waking, the world within my heart. Too cheesy? Too bland. Take a canape and dive into bliss. It’s here in everything. 

-SEH

0 Comments

Never need coffee at work again! Think it’s impossible? Think again!

6/16/2011

1 Comment

 
What gives you sustainable energy, an uplifted mood, fewer sick days, better lungs for singing (or breathing!), and a calmer more focused and joyful life? Well my friend, let me tell you...


Yoga!



Rather than taking the 2pm energy nose-dive, pulling yourself by the boostraps to refill your coffee to be able to cram out another 3 hours before you can collapse at home, unable to sleep because of your caffeinated roller-coaster you now have the option of taking 30-75min of conscious, purposeful creativity time with yoga. 

Coffee puts your body into fight or flight and literally deprives your brain of oxygen as it triggers cortisol (the stress hormone) to pump through your veins. While stress brings you into sharp “a tiger’s chasing me” focus, it’s not ideal for creativity, health, or happiness.

While the two aren’t set in stone, your right ‘creative’ brain is much more active when your body’s relaxed, allowing you to have more lightning-bolts of brilliance, earning you more of the good stuff! 

A morning, lunchtime, or after-work yoga class allows your brain time to relax, process, create, and create ‘headspace’ so that when you return to your desk you’re in your prime creative state. You’re happy (literally! You’re full of endorphins from yoga). Your boss is happy (who wouldn’t want a joyful, uber-creative employee?!) and you get all the health-benefits for the rest of your life too! 



Ever thought of bringing Yoga to your office?? Your boss will LOVE you for it! 



Now, while I’m busy educating individuals and offices on caffeine (and why it may not be your best friend) Alli Warnyca of OmWorks (www.omworks.ca) is bringing high-quality yoga to your office! Great rates that are way less than even a single sick day!

Want to replace the “java-jitters” with “yes! to yoga?” Smart move. I thought you would... If you’re in Vancouver Contact Alli directly www.omworks.ca

PS- you may wish to invest in some Crest Whitestrips as you’ll be showing off those pearly-whites way more after yoga! (hehe- you know I’m kidding, your smile is perfect as it is! I just want to see it shine!)

1 Comment

Caffeine Crazy?

6/8/2011

0 Comments

 

Caffeine is EVERYWHERE in our society... a delicious, legalized way of sucking our bones of calcium, our skin of water, our cells of anti-oxidents, and our mind of it's creative juices.

 Oh, wait... maybe that doesn't sound quite so delicious.

If we drink too much it messes with our metabolism as our body tries to slow EVERYTHING down to combat the crazy-rev we've just injected ourselves with.


And yet, Vancouver is coffee-heaven and more and more people spend $7+/day on it's roasty-ness to keep themselves alert and functioning. 
What if it's the coffee that's keeping you from functioning in the first place? 

Do you experience:
Energy swings?
Tiredness during the day?
Mood swings (or depression)?
Headaches?
GI troubles?
Tension in neck, shoulders, jaw, hands, legs, tummy?
PMS or irregular cycles?
Sensitive breasts or lumps?
Insomnia?Jaw clenching/ grinding/ TMJ?
Anxiety?
Irritability/ bursts of anger?
Restless leg syndrome?
Irregular/ Rapid heartbeat?
Light-headedness?
Waking up feeling tired?
Generalized pain?
High Blood Pressure?
Ulcers?
Anemia?
Shortness of Breath?
Difficulty concentrating/ memory loss?
Ear-ringing?
Cold hands/ feet/ fingers?
Shaky hands? 


If you drink more than 1 small cup of caffeine/ day and nodded your head to more than 6 of these... caffeine is unfortunately very likely a PROBLEM for your body, and can lead to major health concerns! 

Since it's viciously addictive and can lead to withdrawal symptoms, never go cold-turkey off of caffeine, but start to decrease the amount gradually substituting decaf or tea. 

 If you want to learn more about how caffeine in any amount impacts sleep, weight, and skin and how to gently get yourself off of the caffeine- coaster send me an email and come to a Tuesday workshop! 

It's about creating VITALITY in your life so you can do all the things that are really important to you. Thanks for letting me help bring more natural joy into life!Warmly (but not scaldingly. Caffeine has burnt your adrenals enough- oooh poor adrenals!)-Sarah
0 Comments

Is the key to a great dating life self- love?

4/28/2011

0 Comments

 
What's the difference between feeling totally comfortable in your own skin, and feeling slightly out of place at a party? My theory: self love! 

Now, in my life I used to feel accomplished when I: 
a)accomplished something 
b)learned something profound or 
c)someone loved me
but tonight at a friend's birthday party I had the amazing experience of being more connected to myself than I have been, perhaps ever before.  This was purely me connected to me; self love, focus, and joy radiating from the inside. 

While I don’t have a long-term study on this,  tonight I ended up with two separate offers for dates and two more great exchanges with guys I adore. Self love = external love? We always talk about having the internal create the external effects is this that equation in action? Does loving yourself make you more attractive, even when you're not trying? Especially when you're not trying? 

While I’m not about to date all four of these lovely people, the recognition that by being myself I become more attractive to the people around me is a profound one- and fun too! By creating self- love we create love all around us- we see it in the trees, the lights, the air. We see it in the world, and perhaps, just perhaps the world will see it in us too. 

My suggestion- be the person you would fall in love with. It seems to be a path worth loving!

0 Comments
<<Previous

    Inner Truth Yoga

    Inner truth yoga is a growing yoga and wellness company that was inspired by the journey into discovering joy within, and bringing it into life, one moment and one decision at a time.
    We're committed to helping individuals relax into their lives and empower joy and health with every breath. We cultivate balanced potential in life using yoga in breath, movement, and relaxing stillness.

    Archives

    April 2015
    February 2013
    March 2012
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.