Steady and light in body and mind - that's yoga!

Or you could say strong and comfortable - this is how you should feel doing yoga.  There are different translations of the Sanskrit terms sthira (steady, stable, strong) and sukha (comfortable, light, ease).  Whichever phrase you prefer, the practice of yoga should contain these two principles so that in any movement or pose, you should feel steady - & better to take a gentler/softer version of a pose that feels steady (say, the basic version of Tree, with one heel against the other ankle) than struggle to achieve a more advanced version (say, foot against the groin in Tree), whilst wobbling and straining in a very unsteady fashion and/or holding the wall.  Its much better to perfect the basic version, where you can feel steady & therefore comfortable & then move on from there to the more advanced.  Staying steady and comfortable will help you avoid injuries. 

The lightness and comfort of a pose also comes from practice, as your muscles learn to work together effectively for maximum result with minimum effort.  Compare the first time you tried downward dog, when the (dead!) weight was all falling through your shoulders to now - even just 4 classes later - when you can push the weight backwards towards the hips and enjoy the stretch through your back, feeing steady and comfortable.

These two principles emphasise the uniqueness of yoga as the best holistic practice for body and mind!

Five Ways to De-stress as you go through the day

Here are some simple ways to de-stress and release tension as you go through your day

1.  Breathe in and sigh out - a nice, deep breath
2.  Include your shoulders, so: Breathe in and raise your shoulders; sigh out and let your shoulders drop downwards and relax
3.  Stretch any muscle and hold the stretch for 8-10 seconds
If you hold your left hand (palm towards you) in your right, then gently bend the hand backwards at the wrist, away from you.  This will stretch the muscles of your inner forearm.  Hold the stretch for 8-10 seconds.  You can do a few of these, alternating right and left.
This example was explained to me by Alison Trewhela (of the Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs Institute).  If you are very stressed, your muscles are very tense; your brain responds to this, interpreting danger and is therefore on high alert, sending messages to your messages to be ready for action/tense.  So you have a vicious circle of tension - tense body - tense brain - tense body!  To begin to break this cycle, stretch any muscle for 8-10 seconds a few times.  Then your body/mind can begin to calm down.
4.  Breathe out noisily.  Sighing is good as mentioned above, but any noisy exhaling helps to release tension.  Try humming, for example.  Breathing out noisily means that you breathe out for longer, which in turn, has a soothing effect on your whole system.
5.  When you are ready for sleep or a rest, breathe so that your out-breath is longer than your in-breath.  Counting helps: count to 3 as you breathe in, count to 4 (or longer) as you breathe out.

Try to build these techniques into your day and enjoy the feeling!

Best wishes from Susan

Keep moving, keep warm!

1. Keeping moving, little and often, can help you to keep warm.  You can do these exercises for the feet and toes, either seated or standing on one leg, using a chair if you wish to help balance.

Breathing: before you start moving

Abdominal breath: Breathe IN, count to 3, as abdomen rises; Breathe OUT, count to 4, as abdomen falls away. Do a total of 3 rounds.

Toes/feet: do all exercises x 3; can do up to x 10.

loosen & spread toes widthways
squeeze toes under the foot & then up towards you
point the whole foot away & then bring the whole foot towards you
rotate the ankles to the right 
rotate the ankles to the left
rotate the ankles inwards
rotate the ankles outwards   

Rest – observe all the different sensations

And/or.....

2. Another gentle exercise is to follow the sequence of ten mindful movements from Thich Nhat Hanh

We have used these in class and you can find the whole sequence to follow (about 14mins) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mz-dJFkmrk       Try starting your day this way!

Remember, Take things gently, do not strain.

I hope you enjoy these!
Susan

 

For easier movement and more comfort in your joints - tune into gravity!

We've been trying to picture the pull of gravity below us in a variety of postures in my yoga classes over the last week or two.  Focusing on the gravity pull will make the response of the body to it more intense and this can have the effect of creating space in the joints/articulations, according to John Stirk. osteopath and yoga teacher.  This can help to improve the comfortable range of movement in the body.

"Feeling the pull of gravity" may sound a little mystical, yet....it also has a common-sense appeal.  We know we carry more tension in our bodies than we need, so can we use this approach to relax as we surrender a little to a powerful natural force?  Try lying on your back with your arms perpendicular (pointing straight upwards), resting in your shoulder sockets and relax your wrists.  Once you have found the right position, this is surprisingly effortless - you are resting in gravity. 

Gravity does affect our bodies.  When astronauts spend time weightless, they have problems with their muscles/joints when they return to earth and need expert guidance and exercise to readjust to the pull of gravity.

Tuning into gravity also adds an extra dimension to a grounding meditation, when we try to rest the busy mind by bringing its attention to the sensations in the body resting on the ground.

Why not try picturing the pull of gravity below you?

Please let me know how you find all this by writing to me at sjyogaandphilosophy@gmail.com