Time's up in Tennessee

As our time taking Yoga on the Go comes to a close, we have mixed feelings of nostalgia for our time spent with loved ones and excitement as our return home draws nigh. We've had some great yoga here. We paid a New Year's Day visit to The Glowing Body in Knoxville, TN. What a surprise we had to visit a studio that is set up much like the studio of our dreams! They are equipped with a cafe, reading area, boutique, two yoga rooms, and a massage room. It is almost exactly what we envision for our studio to come! Not only that but we had a fine yoga class there, complete with a divine playing of gongs for savasana. Thank you for the great experience, and please keep up the wonderful work!

We were also fortunate enough to share a bit of yoga with our family:

Photo by www.active.com

~For my mother, who's rehabbing a broken wrist and experiencing some carpal tunnel-like symptoms, we worked with box-on-the-wall in stages, focusing primarily on articulating the hands by spreading through the fingers and pressing through the inner triad of the index finger and thumb knuckles and the pad of the palm under the thumb.

~With my dad and uncle, we worked on some poses for digestion after those big holiday meals. For this, we focused on simhasana and supta virasana. We also worked on back strengtheners like variations of salabhasana, bhujangasana, and quadruped arm and leg raises.

~With my grandmother, we ran through basic sun salutations, and heard about her regular class on chair exercises with friends of hers. Grandma's kicking butt!

Sukhasana, just barely

As we prepare for the journey home, we also reflect on how we've yoga-fied our air travel thus far. Being people of relatively small stature, we have little trouble practicing varying seats in the plane: sukhasana, simhasana, and the gamut of vajrasanas. I am keenly aware, however, that for many people the small seat on an airplane is barely enough room to sit, much less move into asanas. Still, most people are able to at least take ankle circles, get up at regular intervals to walk around the plane a bit, and take stretches through the arms, shoulders, and neck. Moreover, everyone should be able to practice pranayamas and meditation.

Those lovely massage chairs

What we do on either side of the flight itself is of utmost importance, as well. We like to run through a few easy postures at the gate while waiting around for boarding time. We are also very fond of those massage chairs. For just a few dollars, we got a nice 15 minute massage. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it definitely makes a huge difference!

So now we're off, making our way back to the Valley Isle. We're overflowing with gratitude to all our loved ones who made this journey a fantastic one. And, of course, we're humbled by the work that yoga does in our lives in ever-surprising ways. Stay tuned as we wrap up the Yoga on the Go series in the next installment. Until then,

NAMASTE!