In the West most people approach fitness from the outside in. However, over time this approach becomes limited. In contrast, the yogic perspective recognizes that your inner landscape is ever changing and never boring.  When you continue to develop yourself from the inside out, you discover yourself to be a far better person than you ever dreamed. You increase your potential and gain more insights into the workings of your own life. You improve your health, become more mentally sharp and enjoy an overall sense of well-being.

Utilize the following simple techniques each day of your life. Use these time-tested tips to attain more internal awareness for what really works and feels best in your life, relationships and work.

Practical Tips for Body, Mind and Spirit

Tip #1: Derive Energy From Healthy Foods. Eat a natural, fresh and nutritious diet. When your food choices are not nutritious, they bankrupt your beauty and health. When you eat foods that are fresh and abundantly rich in nutrients, you satisfy your appetite. You’ll find that you don’t need as much food and your body doesn’t crave as much. Eating well is like a bank account that builds up over time, giving you a higher balance of energy and resources. 

Tip #2: Have a Higher Altitude of Attitude. Practice yoga postures, walk and do some simple, effective breathing techniques to consciously feel a shift in your attitude. Exercise, breathwork and healthy eating are a good influence for your brain chemistry and moods, helping you to cultivate an attitude of joy and gratitude for every moment of life.

Tip #3: Understand That Thinking Changes Your Life. Your thought patterns are your life. Increased awareness and insights of the habitual patterns in your thoughts are one of the most essential teachings of yoga. At first you may find it challenging to examine your repetitive thoughts that tend to hold you back or keep you in a state of worry. In the end, though, these thoughts don’t support a healthy outcome. By taking hold of your thoughts, you take hold of your mind and increase your potential to enjoy your life more fully. It takes time to set new patterns, but you can do it!

Tip #4: Practice Mindful Breath Exercise. Take a few deep cleansing breaths several times a day. Try it right now. While you sit here, breath out through your nose, emptying your lungs. Now inhale, breathing in with the count of four, three, two, one. Now exhale, letting the breath go out for four, three, two, one. Breathe in again for four slow deep counts, and out for four slow deep counts. Do this cycle six times. Notice the difference in how you feel.
 
Tip #5: Help Your Body Feel Its Best. Your body is a moveable feast that is nourished by exercise and movement. Do 20-60 minutes of daily exercise in the gym, attend a yoga class, dance, do mindful walking, or do simple stretching and movement at home.

Tip #6: Walk for Mind and Body. Walking is a great conditioning activity. Use these guidelines to move with ease and lower your risk of injury.

• Keep your chin up and head centered between your shoulders.
• Keep eyes straight ahead.
• Relax in your shoulders, neck and mouth.
• Keep your chest lifted naturally.
• Feel your belly gently drawing in and up to help support the lower back.
• Align your mind with your spine as your weight carries you forward.
• Bend arms gently, not rigidly. Keep them close to your body and let them swing back and forth like pendulums. 
• Feel your arms propelling your body forward.
• Feel your heel land first. Step forward with confidence, landing squarely on an imaginary line directly in front of you.
• Roll through each foot, heel to toe. Push off gently and actively, feeling a vitality and energy with each step.
• Stay present in the process to make walking a “Mindfulness in Action.”

Sherri Baptiste is the author of Yoga with Weights for Dummies (Wiley Publishers) and daughter of the American yoga and physical culture pioneers Walt and Magaña Baptiste. She has been associated with yoga since she took her first baby steps or assumed her first lotus position, whichever came first. She is the founder of Baptiste Power of Yoga, a nationally recognized yoga method. A top expert in the field of health and wellness, she is an inspirational teacher who is at the forefront of yoga training and is nationally recognized in the United States and Canada. Sherri's way of teaching is accessible to everyone, and it offers depth, renewal, results and inspiration. Contact her at www.powerofyoga.com or Sherri@SmartNow.com.