It's pretty common in a Yoga class that at some point, you bring your hand into certain Hand Mudras such as Chin Mudra(thumbs and first fingers joined) or Anjali Mudra (prayer position).  Hand Mudras are used during Asana practice as well in dance, mediation and prayer. They help channel energy, arouse a certain state of mind or create  a certain nuance.But did you know when you are deep in thought or concentrating you may naturally bring your hands into a mudra? Have a look around at your co workers or people on your commute that are deep in thought and notice what they are doing with their hands. 

Hakini Mudra is well known to aid concentration, focus and improve brain power by helping to bring together the right and left sides of the brain. I actually learned about this Hand Mudra before I started practicing Yoga while at Dance college. Our Ballet teacher taught us some 'Brain Gym' to help us focus and improve our technique which is pretty cool. 

Here are some tips on Hakini Mudra...

• Join the tips of your fingers of your right hand to your left hand.
• Keep your palms seperated.
• Do Hakini Mudra anywhere.
• Use it when trying to remember something.
• Use it when you need to focus. 
• Focus on the third eye area (the point between the eyebrows) as you do this Mudra.
• Try placing the thumbs at the third eye area, centre of the chest or lower down, maybe under the table at a meeting! 

Oh our poor feet, squashed up in our shoes all day long. One of the amazing things about foot exercises is you can literally do them under your desk without anyone noticing. Just slip off your shoes and get going.  Check out these simple tips to keep your feet happy! 

Yes people. Its that simple. Stretch out those toes.

• Take your shoes and socks off and stretch them out.
• Try and separate the toes so you can feel space between each toe.
• Give them a wiggle. 
• Lift all the toes off the floor while keeping the balls of the feet on the floor. 
• Feel the arches of the feet lifting. Strangely the arches of your correspond to your pelvic floor. Close your eyes and see if you can feel a very light lift in the lower abdomen.

Get a foot roller.
This little gadget is amazing. Great for massaging out the feet and releasing tension. The results from these foot rollers are amazing. After use you may feel more grounded and balanced resulting in less tension in other parts of the body. You can pop it on the floor under your desk and roll away!
I remember traveling once on Air India and they even had foot rollers built into the foot rests, great! I think this one is from Body Shop but you can pick them up all over the place. 

Stand on the Earth

• Get out the office on your lunch break, find a patch of grass in a nearby park if you can and take your shoes off.
• Give your feet a wiggle around. 
• Feel the earth under your feet.
• Neutralize yourself from all the electrical waves from your computer, phones and whatever else is in your workplace. 

This is one of our faves. Not sure about the exact scientific facts on this but it feels great! Standing on the earth and feeling our feet can take us out of intense brain action into being able to feel our bodies. This helps us get back in tune with ourselves leaving us feeling refreshed and rejuvenated! 

Benefits of Downward Facing Dog

• Relieves stress, depression and calms the brain.
• Energises the body, Mr Iyengar recommends at least 1minute in the pose to bring back lost energy to runner in a race.
• Stretches the body and strengthens the body evenly. So it is great to counter pose (rebalance) the body - after more challenging or one sided poses.
• Improves digestion, relieves headache, insomnia, back ache, fatigue and menstrual discomfort.
• Can help prevent osteoporosis and be therapeutic for high blood pressure, asthma, flat feet and sciatica.

Whats more, it can feel great! To me downward facing dogs are like bananas, you can never have enough, they are satisfying, filling and each one tastes slightly different. If done correctly they are so good for you! Plus there are so many variations and things you can do with it. Banana Split, Banana Fritters, Banana smoothy and more yum yum. So make sure where ever, what ever you are doing, throw in a down dog or two to keep yourself feeling great!