ten-minute-relaxer-yoga-for-instant.sanity

    As l lie on my back beside a mountain of paper and unopened mail on my office floor,eyes closed,legs poised against the wall,Rodney Yee-a yoga master and the man responsible for Marla Maples Trump perfectly aligned spine-is encouraging me to expel my inner tension.I am to focus on seeing each breath as it enters and escapes my body.Amid the din of ringing telephones ,Yee,also stretched out on the floor,counsel me:"Feel the silence,the ease, the emptiness."Sore muscles,approaching deadlines,the burden of unanswered E-mail-even the soft whirring of my computer monitor-float out of my consciousness,as tension slips into my stomach and out of my body.
     "Some yogis believe you can get a full eight hours of sleep in twenty minutes if you learn to let go of the mind and body to the fulled degree,"says Yee.Restorative poses-relaxation techniques that coordinate breath and posture,leaving the practitioner refreshed and reinvigorated-are yoga speak for a nights sleep.Said to reduce stress and fatigue,release muscular tension,improve sleep,lower blood pressure enhance immune response,and manage chronic pain,restorative yoga leads the body to a state in which the nervous system and mind naturally relax.
     Yee recipe for quick,simple body and mind restoration:Lie flat on your back,leaning fully extended legs and backs of  heels against wall.For tight hamstrings,move farther  from wall,so back of pelvis rests on the ground.Arms by sides,roll shoulders under so shoulders blades lie flat;place elbow besides body.Push elbows and head flat back;feel chest lift slightly,and draw shoulder blades down to ward waist.Extend back for neck.Drop belly and relax,"opening" the heart and lungs.Place heels of hand over eyes,fingers extended over forehead.Observe your breath:As you come to the bottom of each exhalation,feel the body relax.Stomach releases into cavity of pelvis,eyes drop back in sockets.Continue for five or ten minutes.(source: ELLE MAGAZINE)