Deep Squats & Yoga Nidra

Weekly Resource Roundup

The Importance of Doing Deep Squats

A deep squat is going below 90 degrees flexion in the knees. It’s also described as ‘ass to the grass’.  Kids do this all the time when they examine something on the ground, it comes instinctively to them. Our bodies are meant to do deep squats but when we spend so much of our time in chairs, we rarely give our bodies a chance to do deep squats. It used to be taught that squatting below 90 degree bend in the knees was “bad for the knees and put “too much pressure” on the knees. The greatest compressive forces in the knee actually occur at a 90-degree squat position.

Deep squats require range of motion from the knees, ankles, and mobility in the spine in order to get into the proper position. If your body is not used to doing deep squats, you can gradually introduce the range of motion in the legs and spine on the floor, without the load of your body weight. Petra Fisher has an Instagram overview of ways to ease into a deep squat position and does and in-depth review of each of the poses on her blog.

Yoga Nidra to Help Sleep

No sleep Deep Rest (NSDR)-Yoga Nidra for rest and relaxation. Yoga Nidra is a guided meditation taking your awareness to different parts of your body. Ally Boothroyd has a YouTube channel with recordings of all different lengths of Yoga Nidra to try. The 30-Minute Deep Relaxation Yoga Nidra is a favorite.