yoga4healthyliving

Yoga Tree Pose

Walking in my local woods, near Leighton Buzzard, at 7am this morning I was yet again struck by the beauty of the trees.  Whatever shape and size they are they all have this sense of stability of being anchored deeply into the earth.  No wonder some people like to hug a tree to help them feel 'grounded' and calm.

There are a variety of ways of performing the Tree pose, depending on how balanced you are feeling and the strength of your core muscle group.  Here is a lovely basic pose:

http://www.yogamagazine.co.uk/view_pose.php?id=7

Side Leg Lift

Keeping the legs flexible, particularly the hamstrings can keep the lower back free.  There are many easy ways to keep your legs supple.  Walking is one of the best as it brings along with it fresh air.  For your yoga practise consider the Side Leg Lift http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/2500.  This will help free up your hamstrings and keep your hipjoints moving too. 

Yoga for opening your mind

Where do I start?  It is sometimes said in yoga that a flexible spine leads to a flexible mind.  I am a firm believer in this.   I have been teaching yoga for over 7 years and practising it for a fair bit longer!  As a consequence my spine has certainly become flexible (and strong) and my mind has become flexible too.  By that I mean, I have become more open minded, less judgemental, more accepting of other peoples ideas and ways of being and doing.  My NLP training helped hugely in this.  But what I have even looked for the NLP course if I hadn't started to become open minded? 

So which asanas did I practise to become so flexible?  The answer is probably just what I felt like practising.  Going with my intuition.  Starting from some basic warming movement such as cat and then moving into bridge.  For a long time I didn't believe that I could do a full bridge, supported only by my hands and feet.  Then I let go of that limiting belief and wow, I could do a fabulous full bridge and even hold it too!  Not that you or I need to do a full bridge to achieve a flexible back - I truly believe that you only have to do 80% of a posture to achieve the full benefits.  However to me it is very exciting to look at what you can achieve when you let go of limiting beliefs.

Legs up the Wall pose

Legs up the Wall pose is a great inversion posture that is safe for most yoga students.  One of the main benefits is that it enhances the return of the venous blood into the body, thereby reducing the risk of developing varicose veins.  In my class I can show you how to take this pose into a shoulder stand supported by the wall which will create further health benefits, such as stimulating the thymus gland, balancing the thyroid, flushing the brain with fresh blood and many more.

Here's a great link to Legs up the Wall pose http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/690

Dunstable yoga class

'If you don't use it you lose it' is one of my favourite sayings in my Dunstable yoga class. Last week I had to eat my words.

The class begun with some standing Qi Gong warm ups to create heat and energy in the system.  Then a little floor work to explore various spinal twists and forward folds.  It was then time for some back bending.  Bridge is a great pose as there are many variants to it and the benefits include increasing flexibility in the spine, stimulating the thyroid and thymus along with increasing emotional balance by opening the solar plexus.

On this occasion one of my newer students quite surprised me!  This lady has been practicing yoga for many years and performs her sun salutations daily.  Still, I was quite surprised when she took her body into a full bridge.  And, she did it with such ease!  I remarked that I didn't know she could do it and she said neither did she!  As a child she had found it easy and thought she would have a go...and with what success!

This confirms to me a couple of things.  A)  Humans enjoy and need challenges.  B) The nervous system holds memory and can access even childhood memories.  Granted this lady had kept her body flexible with years of yoga, but still, it is pretty amazing that this Grandmother could achieve such a strong pose again after decades!

Sciatica and yoga

Sciatica can be helped by yoga.  Spinal twists are particularly helpful as they work with the piriformis muscle that sits across the buttock.  In many people the sciatic nerve runs through this muscle so if it is a muscle under tension the sciatic nerve will be squeezed and pain can often be felt from the lower back to the heel.  Regular practice either in class or at home can help open up spaces between your vertebrae so that there is less likelihood of nerve entrapment.  Come along to my classes in Great Brickhill near Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes or Dunstable to try out a selection of spinal twists.  You can call me on 07817959161 to find out more.

Yoga thoughts - Creating Awareness

Sometimes I wonder what is the essence of my yoga teaching.  I know that students come to my class looking for different outcomes and that is absolutely fine. 

It seems that over the seven years that I have been teaching I have come to understand that 'awareness' is the key.  Not only in yoga, but in all things.  Awareness of how we sit, what we say, how we breathe, what and how we eat, what we choose to watch on TV, who we spend time with etc.  This could also be described as 'mindful'. 

In our yoga practise, we can use the breath to keep awareness in the body, that may be by using the ujayi breath, or as I call it misting the mirror breath, or by sensing the space between the shoulders or between the vertebrae or length in the spine.  Whatever keeps the mind occupied in the body.

What this ultimately gives us in the ability to be 'in the moment' and that is a place where we can manage life well.  When we are in the past or the future, neither of which we can control, then we can be stressed.  It is impossible to know what the future will bring us.  My understanding of quantum physiscs tells me that I get more of what I focus on.  If I let anxiety take root in my mind, then I am stressing myself and am more likely to bring that negative outcome to me, or if you like, manifest it.

So we need to be careful what we focus on and bring our awareness back to the moment whenever we can.  All it needs is a little practise.

Triangle - Yoga

the Yoga Triangle posture is a really beautiful posture which is said to tone every tendon in the body.  I personally love the feeling of my lower back opening and a dynamic lengthening from the outside of my back foot all the way along the side of my body, energising my hip and shoulder through to a tingly feeling in my finger tips. 

There are a few ways you can establish yourself in Triangle.  One of my favourites is to stand at the front of my mat with feet hip width apart, hands on the chest in prayer, namaste, position.  Then I step back with my right foot, checking that my back foot is tucked round towards me at an angle of about 35 degrees.  Once I am steady, I let my arms float out so that my right arm is over my right leg and left over left.  It's good to check that the shoulders are relaxed here, and the elbows are a little soft.  I decide whether I want my palms to up or down facing.  Then I look towards my left middle finger and imagine that a very kind friend is gently drawing that finger forwards towards the wall so that my upper body moves out horizontally over my left leg.  When I feel that I have moved as far as I comfortably can, I think about my left femur (thigh bone) drawing in towards my hip, this will give me a sense of wanting to tilt down to allow my left hand to rest somewhere on my left shin for support.  At the same time I allow my right arm to be vertical, turning my head towards my right hand if it feels OK. 

So now I am in the asana fully and it feels good.  I can consciously allow my chest to look towards the wall in front of me and feel the expansion of the widest part of my rib cage; I can enjoy the sense of the connective tissue drawing away from the top of the pelvis around my right lower trunk; my back foot is well rooted into the floor and the inside of my front foot feels firm against the mat.  I sense that my right shoulder and right hip are back and open and that my head is over my left leg.

I notice my breathing....unlaboured.  I could do the 'misting the mirror' breath here - imagine that a mirror is about 12 inches in front of your mouth, and as you exhale through your open mouth you think about misting the mirror.  Stay for as long as it feels good.

To release, I turn my head down to look at my left foot, again feel my back heel and front inner foot rooted into the floor and, with ease, push myself back up. 

To continue on the other side, I twist your right foot round to point at the wall on the right and bring my left foot in to about 35 degrees.      

Yoga remedy for sore throats and colds

Having recently had to cancel a class due to sore throat and later the whole cold thing, I thought I would share a great preventative posture - too late for me of course!

Ok, so Lion is a moving posture designed to stimulate the white blood cells in the neck and throat to help gobble up that bacteria.

Sit comfortably.  I prefer to kneel with my legs apart.  Rest your hands on your thighs.  Take a couple of easy, deep breaths.  Inhale deeply, as you exhale, let your body move forwards, open your mouth as wide as you can, push your tongue as far out as you can, and make a sound like a lion.  At the same time, stretch your arms forward, spread your fingers wide as if you were an angry lion.

So, off you go.  Not bad for a first try but make that lion roar!  Usually my class has to perform this three times before I am happy that we have communicated with the lions in the local wild animal parks!

More Yoga Cat Stretch

So the Cat Stretch, how do we do it?  Well, as for many yoga asanas there are variations, but let me give you the basic today.

Begin on all fours, knees under hips, wrists under shoulders - if that is comfortable.  Spread the fingers and have the middle finger pointing forwards.  This opens the energy centres between the fingers.  Begin with your spine in neutral.  As you exhale, allow your head and tailbone to tuck under your torso.  Move gently with awareness of how it feels.  As you inhale, allow head and tailbone to return to neutral.  Exhaling, allow the head and tailbone to lift up towards the sky.  Tip for those with dodgy backs, avoid taking the tailbone too high, keep in more in neutral.  When you meet resistance in the body, that is a message to tell you that you have gone far enough.  Inhaling, come back to neutral.  Continue in this way.  Notice how the spine feels during the movement.  Observe how the abdominal organs get squeezed together and then move away from each again.  This will help to break up tension in that area and also massage the whole abdomen.  Feel the strength in the arms and the shoulders as the head lifts, allow the chest to open a little at this point.  Just keep observing how you feel in mind and body.  But most of all, ENJOY this peaceful easy movement.  When you are ready to rest, move into Pose of the Child, so bottom moves back to rest on heels, forehead to the floor and arms wrap around the body.  Alternatively, if there is a better position for you to relax in, go ahead and indulge. 

Om shanti