Tip of the Week: Spine Twisting Pose

 Photo Cred: Bikram Yoga Halifax

Benefits : 

• This is the only posture that twists the spine from top to bottom, which increases circulation to all the spinal nerves, veins, and tissues, and improves the elasticity of the spine.
• Spine Twisting relieves lower back pain and helps prevent slipped discs, rheumatism of the spine, kyphosis, scoliosis, cervical spondylosis and arthritis.
  
• It calms the nervous system.

To Begin: In a seated position, place the side of the right knee on the floor and bring your right heel to touch the outside of your left hip.  Now lift the leg in the air, bringing it over the bent right leg, and place your left foot just to the outside of the right knee.  This leg is bent at the knee, sole of the foot flat on the floor.  Touch the outside corner of the right knee with your left heel. Bring your right arm up and over to the left, then bring it down on the outside of your left knee, with the elbow pressing back against it.  Take hold of the right knee with your right hand, grasping the kneecap firmly. Now put your left arm behind your back,  palm facing out, and reach all the way around your body until you can touch or grasp the right thigh.  In this way, we begin the twist.
Turn your head to the left and rotate your face, shoulders and torso to the left, twisting as much as possible.  It is important to try to keep both buttocks and the right knee on the floor, and maintain a straight spine.  Here, fully emptying the lungs in normal breathing facilitates the twist.  As you exhale, try to twist around a little farther.  Hold the posture for 20 seconds.

Tips:

• Make sure you are not sitting on your heel.  Open up your leg enough to allow your hips to sit level on the mat.

• When you bring your arm over and across, make sure the hand, knee and the heel are all touching at the same spot.

• Point the toes of the leg bent on the floor, heel touching the outside of the hip.

• Before you turn, lift your upper body toward the ceiling, and try to lift the abdomen up and out of the pelvis, so you can twist more of the torso, including the abdomen when you turn.

• Think: inhale – stretch up, exhale – twist deeper.

Tip of the Week: Yoga Helps Defeat Anxiety

Being right in the middle of the holiday season when stress and anxiety can be on the high side, we felt the following article from yogiapproved.com would be helpful in reminding us why yoga is so important for defeating anxiety. 

Anxiety has taken many peaceful mornings from me. It has taken afternoons, nights and entire days too.

With it comes shaky and sweaty hands, racing thoughts, shallow breathing, and a sense of helplessness. Most of my life I thought that there was no alternative. I spent years trying to find a way to manage my anxiety. I found things that helped a little, but nothing truly took me to a new way of being until I found yoga. It wasn’t immediate. I didn’t walk onto the mat and change forever. But through yoga and my dedication to it, my life is no longer ruled by anxiety.
So, what exactly is it about yoga that helps anxiety?

1. Pranayama (Breathing):

The simple act of mindful breathing can help reduce anxiety. When you focus on the breath, your mind has a chance to rest and let go of negative thoughts. Yogic breath is also good for the body. Deep breathing increases oxygen levels in the blood supply, which helps remove toxins from the body. It also increases lung capacity and helps improve digestion.
 

2. Asanas (Yoga Poses) and Their Rewarding Challenge:

The practice of asanas (poses) is good for both mind and body. Physically, asanas help release the tension that anxiety creates, allowing the body to feel recharged and healthier. When the body feels better, so does the mind. The challenges you face on the mat reduce anxiety by taking your mind off your worries and fears.
Asanas also teach the student to be patient and let go of things. Just like finding (and re-finding) your balance and mastering a pose, acceptance takes time and patience. Perfection is not only unnecessary, but usually unrealistic. Each time I lose my balance and fall out of a pose I am forced to face my imperfection and accept it. At first, I got frustrated when I fell out of a pose.

With time, I have learned to laugh, smile, and try again.

3. Meditation:

Meditation is challenging, yes, but not impossible. The ability to clear one’s mind of all thoughts is a skill that takes time. It is a path, not a goal. Meditation starts by simply taking the time to focus on your breath. Meditation gives your mind a chance to slow down and teaches your body to relax.  In addition, with a regular meditation practice, you will begin to notice patterns in your thinking. The things that trigger anxiety, panic, and fear will become apparent to you. Once this happens, you can learn to change the patterns by recognizing your triggers.

Yoga is a deeply soothing and healing practice. Showing up is the hardest part.

Just step onto your mat… the practice will take care of itself. Through the simple steps of conscious breathing, regular asana practice, and meditation, anxiety is a thing that can be controlled, reduced, and ultimately overcome one breath, one pose, one day at a time. Take hold of your practice. Take hold of your life!

Tip of the Week: Lower Ribs on Thighs in Stretching Pose

 

Bikram Yoga SLC instructor Nella Holden

 

The goal in Stretching Pose (Paschimottanasana) is not to bend forward from the spine but to extend forward so that the front and back of your torso lengthen evenly. The folding should occur at the hips, not the spine or waist. You will feel the stretch in the back or west side of the body but the front of the body needs to make space to elongate the spine.

Tips:
*Imagine placing your lower ribs on your thighs. Even if you are nowhere close to being able to actually do this, envisioning doing this in your mind will help to straighten out and elongate your spine.  Bring your back ribs downward away from the ceiling to bring your front ribs closer to your thighs. 

*If you are able to place your lower ribs on your thighs, envision placing your upper ribs on your knees!

*If you feel like your bottom ribs are stuck to your abdomen, you are folding from your waist rather than your hips.  You can lift upward slightly to free your lower abdomen, spread the diaphragm and extend forward towards your chest.

Tip of the Week: The Exit is Part of the Posture

As important as it is to stay focused and concentrate on alignment when setting up and executing a posture, it is equally important to stay mindful of these things when exiting the posture. Your exit should be as graceful and focused and done as slowly and carefully as your entrance. Many times we work so hard on focusing on the posture itself, that when we hear the instructor say "Change!" we think the posture is over and it's time to relax. But care should be taken to reverse out of the posture in exactly the opposite way as we went into it to protect the spine, keep from straining muscles, and to keep the mind focused. Paying attention to how you start, end, and move between postures will also help to conserve your energy as you flow through class.

Tip of the Week: Decompress the Spine in Padahastasana

 

 photo from Bikram Yoga Kauai

 

With a tight grip and a lift of the hips, you can bring length not only to the hamstrings but quite literally pull space between the vertebrae (spinal decompression). The key to staying safe is to keep your chest pressed to thighs to avoid overstretching at the lumbar spine. If your hamstrings are tight and you need to grab the back of your calves instead of your heels, still try to feel the touch of your stomach on your thighs and your chest on your knees, and then keep them there as you try to straighten your legs. 

You also want to draw the belly in to encourage the muscles framing the spine to lengthen and release more readily. Lift hips until you feel a stretch and lift the kneecaps up to engage the quads. 

Please be careful: if your back is sensitive or injured – BEND YOUR KNEES as you lower your hands to the floor from Half-moon. You can even place your hands on your thighs to protect your back better. - See more at: http://theyogaoasis.com/padahastasana-handstofeet-pose#sthash.052MrPzG.dpuf

Beginners
Please be careful: if your back is sensitive or injured – BEND YOUR KNEES as you lower your hands to the floor from Half-moon. You can even place your hands on your thighs to protect your back better.
Take your time in the first set and soften, exhale, and relax. When it’s time to grab your heels, students with limited flexibility: do the best you can in keeping your hands and arms behind by bending your knees more. If you are NOT able to place your hands underneath the feet, grab a hold of your calves, or simply hold onto each elbow behind your knees.
Keep working to straighten the legs an inch at a time, using your arm strength to pull up on your calves, ankles or heels.
Be careful coming out of the pose, ascend the same way you went down, keep your knees bent and place your hands on your thighs, if needed.
Intermediate
Now that you’re getting close to straightening your legs, press your face into your shins, as you lift your hips forward and up toward the ceiling and front of the room. This combined movement will allow you to use your body for leverage in order to better stretch your hamstrings.
An important concept in understanding the dynamics of Hot Yoga is “isolation”: flexibility and strength, relaxation and intensity, softening and hardening. Soften and relax the area you’re trying to stretch. In this pose, it is the hamstrings (back of the legs) and lower back, both connected by the sciatic nerve. Strengthen your arms pulling up on your heels and contract your quadriceps muscles (front of the thigh).
Pull on your heels with your biceps, not the shoulders. The shoulders work BACK towards your hips and AWAY from the ears.
Advanced
If your legs are straight and your upper body is flat against your legs, don’t place your fingers under your heels. Instead, cup your heels from the side so the thumb, forefinger and the webbing between your thumb and forefinger touch the floor. If you place the fingers under the heels, it shortens the hamstrings and inhibits your flexibility. It’s going to feel weird at first, but after a few times you should start experiencing a deeper stretch.
One footnote: your hands will have a tendency to slide up, don’t let it happen, keep your hands down.
We’re not done yet! Halfway into the pose, slowly begin to look down at the top of your feet. Keep your chin on your shins, lift your shoulders up toward the ceiling, and pull your head to your feet. Don’t crunch your neck. Your neck vertebra should line up with your back vertebra. Toward the end of the posture, lift your hips UP toward the ceiling and then SCOOP your tailbone UNDER to stretch the muscles around the sit-bones.
The final position is to touch your head to your feet, knees fully extended, quads contracted.
- See more at: http://theyogaoasis.com/padahastasana-handstofeet-pose#sthash.7etq7wQx.dpuf

Beginners
Please be careful: if your back is sensitive or injured – BEND YOUR KNEES as you lower your hands to the floor from Half-moon. You can even place your hands on your thighs to protect your back better.
Take your time in the first set and soften, exhale, and relax. When it’s time to grab your heels, students with limited flexibility: do the best you can in keeping your hands and arms behind by bending your knees more. If you are NOT able to place your hands underneath the feet, grab a hold of your calves, or simply hold onto each elbow behind your knees.
Keep working to straighten the legs an inch at a time, using your arm strength to pull up on your calves, ankles or heels.
Be careful coming out of the pose, ascend the same way you went down, keep your knees bent and place your hands on your thighs, if needed.
Intermediate
Now that you’re getting close to straightening your legs, press your face into your shins, as you lift your hips forward and up toward the ceiling and front of the room. This combined movement will allow you to use your body for leverage in order to better stretch your hamstrings.
An important concept in understanding the dynamics of Hot Yoga is “isolation”: flexibility and strength, relaxation and intensity, softening and hardening. Soften and relax the area you’re trying to stretch. In this pose, it is the hamstrings (back of the legs) and lower back, both connected by the sciatic nerve. Strengthen your arms pulling up on your heels and contract your quadriceps muscles (front of the thigh).
Pull on your heels with your biceps, not the shoulders. The shoulders work BACK towards your hips and AWAY from the ears.
Advanced
If your legs are straight and your upper body is flat against your legs, don’t place your fingers under your heels. Instead, cup your heels from the side so the thumb, forefinger and the webbing between your thumb and forefinger touch the floor. If you place the fingers under the heels, it shortens the hamstrings and inhibits your flexibility. It’s going to feel weird at first, but after a few times you should start experiencing a deeper stretch.
One footnote: your hands will have a tendency to slide up, don’t let it happen, keep your hands down.
We’re not done yet! Halfway into the pose, slowly begin to look down at the top of your feet. Keep your chin on your shins, lift your shoulders up toward the ceiling, and pull your head to your feet. Don’t crunch your neck. Your neck vertebra should line up with your back vertebra. Toward the end of the posture, lift your hips UP toward the ceiling and then SCOOP your tailbone UNDER to stretch the muscles around the sit-bones.
The final position is to touch your head to your feet, knees fully extended, quads contracted.
- See more at: http://theyogaoasis.com/padahastasana-handstofeet-pose#sthash.7etq7wQx.dpuf