Light Inside Yoga - Niki Saccareccia

Her back pain was gone after class.

…We never worked on her back. 😅

Anatomy is wild.

The adductors (inner thigh muscles) connect directly into the pelvis, which is fused to your lumbar spine (lower back).

What happens in the inner thigh doesn’t stay there, though.

Adductor and hip mobility work is especially useful for:
- Low back tightness
- Running, hiking, long walks
- Pickleball and dynamic sport
- Deep squat range
…among so much more.

Try these and tell me if you feel more length and space through your lower body.

DM me NECK for a free neck tension reset, too.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

He woke up exhausted, again…convinced he’d slept a couple of hours.

So I asked him to wear a sleep tracker, and it said otherwise: 6 hours, consistently, night after night.

Can you see the gap between what the body is doing and what the mind believes?

Hello, anticipatory anxiety 👋🏻 This isn’t the only way it shows up, but in this case, it was.

Anticipatory anxiety is the nervous system’s attempt to prepare for something it’s learned to fear fin this case, a bad night’s sleep) even though that threat isn’t present anymore.

The problem is, that bracing response actually disrupts the quality of rest. The worry about sleep becomes part of what makes sleep harder, also.

And, it can hijack how we interpret our experience and create exaggerations and intensity where it isn’t warranted.

In yoga therapy, we work with this pattern directly - not just with relaxation techniques, but by addressing the underlying nervous system state driving the anticipation.

We slow the threat response.

We rebuild trust between mind and body.

And we create routines that feel genuinely regulating, not like another thing to fail at.

That’s when his sleep hygiene practices shifted and they started to genuinely soothe him enough to unwind and sleep.

Same habits…Different felt sense!

Because he wasn’t white-knuckling through them anymore like it was a test to either pass or fail.

If you recognize this 👀 the bracing, the dreading, the exhaustion that doesn’t match reality, this is exactly the kind of work we do together in private sessions.

I work with new clients on a rolling basis. No waitlist. Reach out via DM or the link in my bio to connect and book a time to see if we’re a fit.

anticipatoryanxiety

Where I come from, eating is a love language and a hobby and a great bonding experience, so I’m quite familiar with eating wit my eyes and not my stomach 😆Things to keep in mind while you try these:

Slow is fast. Gentle is strong.
Relaxation allows for digestion so take your time and do everything in a gentle, soothing way.

Exhale when there’s pressure on your abdomen, inhale when there isn’t.

Right side first, then left side.
This follows the path of digestion - from ascending colon to descending and towards the “exit” door 💩

When you’re in Belly Breathing mode, don’t “try” to stretch the abdominal wall by pushing yours stomach out or distending your belly.

Happy digesting and message me PREMIUM to trial my membership platform with dozens of programs 😎



Pic from National Cancer Institute

Do you have gym logic in yoga?

The harder you try in yoga, the less you’re actually doing.
Gym logic says more effort = more results. No pain, no gain. Push your limits. Reach failure.

But if you’re showing up on the mat because you’re tired of being tense all the time - bracing and forcing through poses is often the problem, not the solution.

When you grip and push past your edge, your nervous system reads it as threat. It activates.

It tightens.

It works against everything you came for.

Healing, growth and even the strength training you’re hoping to get from yoga asana…only sticks when your nervous system stops bracing.

👉🏼 The signals worth tracking: when does your breath falter?

When do you start bracing? That’s your functional edge.

Gentleness isn’t the easier option.
It’s the advanced one. 😇

Want a practice that actually works with your nervous system?

Message me PREMIUM and I’ll send you a free 5-day trial my membership. You’ll get coaching on HOW to know when to test your limits, once your nervous system can use it to make you stronger, more flexible and more capable.