Category: Girl Scouts

Hello and welcome, Girl Scouts, to “BE KIND. BE MINDFUL. BE OK.” This yoga resource is made especially with you in mind!

Today we are going to focus on relieving neck & shoulder stress.

In daily life right now, many of us are looking at screen more. We are staying indoors. We are feeling stress, anxiety and uncertainty. We are navigating a “new normal” with uncertainty of how long it will last. All of these things cause stress in our body and our nervous system.

What is the result of holding all this stress in our body? For many of us, it’s tension and pain in our neck, shoulders, and upper back. Let’s address that!

Today’s recorded video is one of my favorite stretches to help relieve tension in the neck and shoulders. Give it a try and see what you think!

Want a few more ideas?

Here’s one additional pose that helps invite balance, release, and comfort. This a great pose to do if you’ve been sitting for a while or you’ve noticed that your shoulders have been hunched forward. It helps invite length along your back, neck, and legs.

Legs Up the Wall

1. Begin lying down on your back, lying horizontal against a wall.

2. Inhale, bring your leg closest to the wall up the wall.

3. Exhale, use your arms to help turn your body to bring both legs up the wall.

4. Inhale, straighten your legs and flex your toes towards your shins.

5. Exhale, extend your arms to a “T” alongside your body.

6. Breathe.

7. When you are ready to come out of the pose, bend your knees and turn to one side.

Let us know what you think!

How’d today’s poses go for you? Do you have a theme you’d like to request? You can always send an email to girlscouts@gokonjo.com (this email comes to me, Miss Melissa, and Hannah from Girl Scouts Lakes and Pines). 

Take good care of yourselves, Girl Scouts. I’ll talk to you next week!

– Miss Melissa

Hello and welcome, Girl Scouts, to “BE KIND. BE MINDFUL. BE OK.” This yoga resource is made especially with you in mind!

I had a request for yoga to help with sleep, so here it is! Just find a space where you can comfortably move around, and perhaps grab a pillow or two if you want to try a supported resting pose at the end of class. The class will take about 20 minutes…enjoy!

GREAT! How was that for you? Did you notice your mind, heart, or body relaxing? Was there any poses that stood out to you that you might try before bed sometime?

I hope you are sleeping soundly and peacefully. I’d like to encourage you in the days ahead to give yourself a little extra grace and love.

Do you have a theme you’d like to request? You can always send an email to girlscouts@gokonjo.com (this email comes to me, Miss Melissa, and Hannah from Girl Scouts Lakes and Pines). 

Take good care of yourselves, Girl Scouts. I’ll talk to you next week!

– Miss Melissa

Hello and welcome to “BE KIND. BE MINDFUL. BE OK.” This yoga resource is made especially for Girl Scouts.

If you missed last week’s post about using our breath as a resource to calm our bodies, you can read it here.

This week, I’ve put together a yoga class for you to do from the comfort of your own home. You don’t need any special equipment or clothes. Just find a space where you can comfortably move around. The theme for the class is noticing our own emotions and the sensations in our own bodies. The class is 20 minutes long. I’ll begin by talking a little bit about the theme and then lead us through some yoga movement. I encourage you to stick it out for the entire class and see how it goes!

Let’s dive right in…

Great! How was that? Did you notice a change in your emotions and sensations as class went along? Did any self-observation surprise you?

Emotions arise from situations and how we interrupt those experiences. See throughout your next week what emotions arise for you, and what sensations you notice in your own body. See if maybe you can simply observe, notice, and then let go of any unwanted emotion.

Let me know how it goes! You can always send an email to girlscouts@gokonjo.com (this email comes to me, Miss Melissa, and Hannah from Girl Scouts Lakes and Pines). Let us know how this program is working for you! If you have questions or suggestions, we’d always love to hear them!

Take good care of yourselves, Girl Scouts. I’ll talk to you next week!

– Miss Melissa

Welcome, Girl Scouts, to this first week of “BE KIND. BE MINDFUL. BE OK.” This program is made especially with you in mind.

Today, we’re going to talk about using our own breath to invite healing into our own body, mind, and spirit. Have you ever been agitated, nervous, or maybe, to put it plainly, “freaking out!?!” In that moment, has anyone ever said, “why don’t you just take a big breath”? Or maybe, “take a breath and chill”? And my favorite (sarcasm font noted here!), “just breathe!”

Although those suggestions, questions, etc. can be agitating and may not seem helpful, they actually are based in some pretty cool science. Here’s a video from my living room to yours, that first explains this program a little bit. Then, we get into the science and talk about what happens in our bodies when we are stressed and when we are calm.

Now, I’m not a scientist myself. I am not a doctor. Any mistakes I made in the scientific explanation are my own and not a fault of my teachers! I took detailed notes and looked back at the manual to try to do the topic justice. There’s LOTS more we could talk about with what was included in the video above.

Yet, let’s just focus on breath as a resource.

It helps calm our nervous systems. It helps slow down our heart rate. It invites healing into our lives – literally throughout our bodies, but also throughout our minds and our emotions.

This week, I encourage you to notice your breath. See if you can access it and have it serve as an anchor back to you. Please note, not everyone feels connected to their breath. There are many other resources at our finger tips, and if this doesn’t resonate with you, don’t panic. Sometimes it takes practice. And sometimes, it takes finding another resource that works better for you.

With that, here’s two breathing techniques you can try!

How did they work out for you? I’d love to hear! Please feel free to send me any questions, feedback, or requests to girlscouts@gokonjo.com. I promise to reach each and every one. Anything you send will be shared with my Girl Scouts Lakes and Pines partner, Hannah, so we can better serve you.

Have a wonderful week, dear ones.

with gratitude,

miss melissa