| Blog Entry - Wednesday, August 24th, 2005 | Add / Read (0) |
I wrote a yoga practice for a friend of mine, with the goals of stress relief, relaxation and tension release, and supporting the digestive organs. I've done it a couple of times myself and like it, so I thought I'd share it. It feels like an evening practice to me, but there's nothing that says it can't be done at any time of day.
Full disclosure and caveat: I practice yoga and read about it; I am not a trained yoga teacher. This is not a treatment plan or recommendation or anything like that -- it's something that I'm doing with a friend and sharing for your reading interest. That's all. Don't sue me or yell at me or aything, and don't do yoga practice or any exercise without appropriate training, etc. Whew. That said...
- Start standing, in tadasana (mountain pose) - feet together from big toes to heels, toes spread, firm thighs to lift kneecaps, weight balanced, tuck the tailbone, lift the ribs, keep the chin slightly down to give the neck full stretch, shoulders back. Goal is to be in full alignment with a slight stretch up - like there's a string from the crown of your head through your backbone through your feet, pulling everything up. Breathe normally. Stay here for 20-30 seconds.
- Bring your hands to anjali mudra and begin conscious yogic breathing - in through the nose, inflating the abdomen first, then feeling the breath expand throughout the diagphram and up into the chest and throat. Inhale for a count of 8 (that's the goal; start at 4 count if needed). Hold for 8 (or 4). Then exhale for 8 (or 4), reversing the oxygen flow from throat to chest to abdomen. Do 4 cycles of breath while standing in tadasana.
- Sweep the arms up on an inhale, bringing the hands together and looking slightly up, gently. When your hands are overhead, look up, stretch so that your arms cover your ears, but make sure your shoulders don't come up around your ears. Lift your whole body up to the ceiling while remaining strongly balanced and grounded through both feet.
- As you exhale, bend into uttanasana (standing forward bend). Bend from the hips, not the waist - you're stretching down toward the floor, trying to put your chest flat against your thighs, nose to knees or shins. Start gently, placing the tips of your fingers beside your feet and trying to eventually place your arms on the backs of your calves. Let your head and neck hang down, stretching the crown of your head toward the floor.
- Stay in uttanasana and breathe for 2-3 breath cycles. On each inhale, slightly lessen the stretch; on the exhale, deepen the stretch.
- On an inhale, roll up (walk your hands up the front of your body) slowly, bringing your hands overhead into a stretch. When your hands are overhead, look up, stretch so that your arms cover your ears, but make sure your shoulders don't come up around your ears. Lift your whole body up to the ceiling while remaining strongly balanced and grounded through both feet.
- Repeat 4-5-6 fully two times. On the third repetition, place your hands flat on the floor next to your feet and step your feet back one at a time into Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward-facing dog). Press the heels toward the floor, lift the tailbone to get a good hamstring stretch, roll the shoulders down away from the ears and back, toward each other, drop the head but don't let it hang, firm the outer arms. If needed, lift the heels one at a time a few times (walking your dog) to help get your heels down. As with uttanasana (and all poses), on the inhale, relax your stretch a bit; on the exhale, deepen it. Hold for 2-4 breath cycles.
- On an exhale, put your knees down and peel down (knees, hips, ribs, chest, and chin) until you are flat. Place your hands in push-up position and on an inhale, straighten your arms, arching your back into bhujangasana (cobra pose). Firm but don't harden the buttocks, open the chest, don't arch too much - just go to a comfortable height. Hold for 2-3 breaths.
- On an exhale, lift up into adho mukha svanasana (down-dog). Hold for 2-3 breaths. On an exhale, peel down, and then push up into cobra. Hold for 2-3 breaths.
- On an exhale, push back into balasana (child's pose). Hold child's pose for 3-4 breaths.
- Turn over and lay flat on your mat. Stretch your arms up above your head and your feet down - give yourself a full body stretch out. Bring your arms back to your sides.
- Bend your knees and bring your feet as close as possible to your buttocks. On an exhale, press your feet and arms into the mat and lift your hips up into setu bandha sarvangasana (bridge pose). Make sure to keep your neck neutral - don't turn your head, although you can tuck your chin down a bit as you pull your hips up into the stretch. Knees should be over your heels, thighs should be parallel. If possible, clasp your hands under your hips to bring your shoulder blades in toward each other. Hold for at least 4 breaths and release down to flat on an exhale.
- Bring both knees in toward your chest and clasp them. Let yourself roll slightly left and right. Bring your nose up to your knees while you rock, curving your back outward.
- Place the left leg flat on the floor, foot flexed, and bring the right leg straight up in the air. Use a strap or clasp your hands around your flexed right foot. You are in supta padangusthasana (reclining big toe pose). Extend the leg up, stretching it, while maintaining the left hip squared on the floor and the left leg in contact with the floor. Both feet are flexed. Deepen the stretch (bringing your leg toward your face) with each exhale. After 2-3 breath cycles, drop the right leg to your left side and place your right arm out to the right - you're creating a twist in your back. As you breathe, try to imagine the oxygen you're taking in going to that space in your back where the twist is. Keep your right shoulder blade on the floor, as flat as possible and look toward the right hand.
- Bring the leg back to center and release it. Repeat on the left leg, with the right leg on the floor.
- Bring both knees in toward your chest and clasp them. Let yourself roll slightly left and right. Bring your nose up to your knees while you rock, curving your back outward.
- Let yourself come to savasana (corpse pose). Let your feet fall apart, pull your shoulders together a bit, but not too tightly, let your arms fall out to your sides. Close your eyes and relax your face, your jaw. Release your hips to let your thighs fall outward. Lay here and breathe for 3-5 minutes, breathing gently.
- Try to let your mind empty. When it tries to focus on something, don't worry about it, just acknowledge the thought and let your mind come back to your breathing, your releasing of tension. If you can't think of nothing, visualize each part of your body, starting with your toes and moving upward and imagine the tension flowing out of that part of the body, down into the ground. As the 5 minutes comes to an end, begin to deepen your breathing and start moving your fingers and toes gently. On an exhale, roll to your right side and gently push yourself up to sitting. Sit in cross-legged or lotus pose, with lifted torso and think about one thing you want to dedicate the yoga practice to – what you want to take out of it. Maybe you want to take a calm mind into going to sleep. Maybe you want to take good energy into your day or to a particular meeting or clinic. Something that you want to take from the practice and hold onto.
~Namaste~
Author: Libby Ingrassia
Posted at: 06:30:00 AM
