Sara Pam Neufeld

Sara Pam Neufeld Microdose your sanity.

Tips + tutorials to get you moving and breathing in the thick of it all, from a mom, sandwich generation caregiver & yoga teacher of two decades.

05/25/2026

Sit bone walking looks silly but has so many benefits! It’s great for posture as well as low back and pelvic stability and can be done whenever you have a minute to spare. I used to do this up and down the public hallway when I lived in an apartment building.

If you don’t know where your sit bones are, sit on your hands and you’ll find them. 😊

With your hands off the ground, sit with your legs in front of you. Move your sit bones to travel up and down the length of a yoga mat or a hallway. Or, in a smaller space, you can do the variation shown in the video where you bend and straighten your knees.

I’m showing it here up and down a yoga mat, but any floor you don’t mind sitting on will do. The bent-knee variation at the end of the video is especially good if you’re in a small space.

Comment BACK and I’ll send you a link to a free collection of low back exercises. 💕

05/22/2026

We all get tight hip flexors from sitting. We all get stressed. This exercise is great for both those things.

Roll up a blanket or towel, place it across your hip creases and lie down on your belly. If this feels too intense, make the roll smaller. Any position comfortable for your head and arms is fine.

Pigeon toe your feet to the heels splay out. Then as you breathe, notice specifically the rise and fall of your back, the expansion and contraction of your ribcage.

Now stay. Three to five minutes. Here’s what you can expect when you get up:

* Your hip flexors have released.
* Your low back has broadened, with reduced tension.
* Your body’s relaxation response has been triggered, and you feel calmer.

I’d love to hear how this goes for you.

Comment BACK and I’ll send you a link to a free collection of low back exercises. 💕

05/18/2026

Cat/cow is often taught from a tabletop position as a yoga warmup, but did you know you can add the cat/cow spinal wave to lots of other movements to improve the health of your back?

This quick movement break is an inner thigh stretch practiced together with cat/cow. The cat/cow here not only is good for your spine, but it gets you deeper into the hips and gently opens your pelvic floor. You can also sway the hips and add in a side stretch in each direction.

Feel free to put padding like a folded blanket or a pillow under your supporting knee or underneath your hands if you can’t easily reach the floor.

With the outstretched foot, either point your toes toward the sky, foot flexed, or practice (as shown) with a flat foot, whichever feels better to you. Or do a little of each position.

Try 30 seconds to a minute per side (a couple of sets if you feel like it) and return to your day mobilized and refreshed. I love this as a standalone movement break and as a warmup for a more intense yoga practice or workout.

As always, I welcome your questions and feedback.

Comment BACK and I’ll send you a link to a free collection of low back exercises. 💕

05/17/2026

Cat/cow is often taught from a tabletop position as a yoga warmup, but did you know you can add the cat/cow spinal wave to lots of other movements to improve the health of your back?

This quick movement break is an inner thigh stretch practiced together with cat/cow. The cat/cow here not only is good for your spine, but it gets you deeper into the hips and gently opens your pelvic floor. You can also sway the hips and add in a side stretch in each direction.

Feel free to put padding like a folded blanket or a pillow under your supporting knee or underneath your hands if you can’t easily reach the floor.
With the outstretched foot, either point your toes toward the sky, foot flexed, or practice (as shown) with a flat foot, whichever feels better to you. Or do a little of each position.

Try 30 seconds to a minute per side (a couple of sets if you feel like it) and return to your day mobilized and refreshed. I love this as a standalone movement break and as a warmup for a more intense yoga practice or workout.

As always, I welcome your questions and feedback.

Comment BACK and I’ll send you a link to a free collection of low back exercises. 💕

05/16/2026

I’ve been doing this first thing in the morning lately when I often only have about five minutes before the school rush begins. It checks so many boxes at once…

A physiological sigh is two sharp inhales through the nose followed by an audible exhale out the mouth. Studies show anxiety reduction when this is done for five minutes a day. I can feel a calming effect in as little as a minute.

If your knees don’t allow you to squat low like I’m showing here, just go as deep as you’re comfortably able. You can hold onto a doorframe for support and skip the butterfly taps and upper arms pressing into legs.

Comment BACK and I’ll send you a link to a free collection of low back exercises. 💕

05/16/2026

I’ve been doing this first thing in the morning lately when I often only have about five minutes before the school rush begins. It checks so many boxes at once…

A physiological sigh is two sharp inhales through the nose followed by an audible exhale out the mouth. Studies show anxiety reduction when this is done for five minutes a day. I can feel a calming effect in as little as a minute.

If your knees don’t allow you to squat low like I’m showing here, just go as deep as you’re comfortably able. You can hold onto a doorframe for support and skip the butterfly taps and upper arms pressing into legs.

Comment BACK and I’ll send you a link to a free collection of low back exercises. 💕

05/14/2026

Nothing better than a quick exercise to shift your energy in the midst of a stressful day.

Butterfly taps help to activate your body’s parasympathetic nervous system, or relaxation response, through bilateral stimulation. This can temporarily calm anxiety and overwhelm.

I’ve also heard the taps called a “butterfly hug.” Hooking the thumbs is optional. I like to tap around the collarbone area, but I’ve also seen this done by tapping the shoulders, which is more hug-like. Eyes can be open or closed.

Keep the taps gentle, breathe in and out slowly, and continue for a minute or two — as long as you need to feel calmer. Then thank yourself for taking these moments for you.

Follow for more quick exercises to feel better. 💕

05/13/2026

This exercise is especially good for unraveling the hip flexors, which tend to be both tight and weak in many people from prolonged sitting and also tighten with stress. Sometimes lengthening and strengthening the hip flexors can ease low back pain.

If you need to hold onto a wall or railing for balance, start that way, and build toward moments of balance by grounding in the standing foot through the big toe mound, inner heel, little toe mound and outer heel.

Try for 30 seconds to a minute, 1-3 times per side. Don’t forget to breathe!

Comment BACK for a link to a free collection of low back exercises from my Substack The Overwhelmed Yogi. 💕

05/13/2026

This exercise is especially good for unraveling the hip flexors, which tend to be both tight and weak in many people from prolonged sitting and also tighten with stress. Sometimes lengthening and strengthening the hip flexors can ease low back pain.

If you need to hold onto a wall or railing for balance, start that way, and build toward moments of balance by grounding in the standing foot through the big toe mound, inner heel, little toe mound and outer heel.

Try for 30 seconds to a minute, 1-3 times per side. Don’t forget to breathe!

Comment BACK for a link to a free collection of low back exercises from my Substack The Overwhelmed Yogi.

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