Alphabetical benefits of yoga.

A is for ANXIETY

14/04/2019

I could talk about so many thing's from arthritis to asthma but I'm going to talk about something that I'm sure we've all experienced in one of it's various degrees... ANXIETY! From a niggling worry to a full blown panic attack, all scales of anxiety will wake up the fight or flight response, which can result in an accelerated heart beat, a funny tummy, shortness of breath and sometimes insomnia. Occasionally we need this response system to kick in but it's probably best to keep it for when necessary such as a big deadline or being chased by a tiger. So how can yoga help? One great way is to immerse in a vigorous strong practice. Anxiety is a rajastic energy (fiery!) We need fire in our lives but probably not a wildfire. Sometimes we can match fire with fire! Recognising how we feel then matching the rajestic energy inside with a poweful practice ROAR! Not running away from how we feel, flowing with it and instead of being stuck in a mental narration of "I'm anxious" as you move, stretch and flex you may notice constructive thoughts arising or you may go into a totaly different mental space to land back in a clearer place after. No matter how fiery our practice is we practice with our breath but we can also come to our breath alone. (Prehaps more useful in the boardroom) Have you ever noticed how when you're feeling anxious/ flustered or angry your breath changes? Imagine for a moment that you can harness your breath, slow it down and give yourself a moment of clarity. Bernie Clark says 'If our mind is agitated our breath is short and choppy. If the breath is short and choppy the mind becomes agitated. However, if we slow the breath down and breathe more deeply, the mind also slows down." We cannot force our belly to stop flipping or our palms to dry up, we can't make ourselves sleep either but we can regulate our breathing and this will send signals to the rest of our body to relax, there's no tiger coming today. So here we are, two different way's yoga can help. Your beautiful breath wherever you are or a powerful practice whenever you're close to your mat 😊 #andbeyoga #breathe #energy#clearmind #breathiskey #flow#anxiety

B is for BREATH

21/04/2019

I've given myself a challenge; every week I write about a benefit of yoga, either about a posture or yoga in general by going through the alphabet 😃 B is for BREATH Last week I talked about anxiety, the breath came into the equation 😉 Yoga teaches us to listen to our breath and to appreciate just how much it does for us. Take your eyes of your screen for a moment and listen to your breath. Is it long and even or is it short. Where do you feel your breath? Is it deep in your belly or high up in the chest? What does your breath have to tell you? In a stressful situation your breath will start speeding up telling your body that you're stressed and this becomes a crazy circle! You however have the power to slow.the.breath.down. See if you can inhale for 5 seconds then exhale for 6 seconds. Notice your belly expanding with each inhale and your body releasing with each exhale. Notice the cool breath through your nostrils on the inhale and the warmth of your breath as you exhale. Notice if you pause between your inhale and exhale. Keep your attention with your breath for a little longer. Now how do you feel? I've chosen this picture Maryachasana D because without connecting to my breath I'd never get into this Asana. It slows me down and guides me around problems on my mat just as it does in life. Listen to your breath, after all it keeps you alive 😉 #yoga #breath #bindingwithbreath#yogainthepyrenees #MaryachasanaD#yogainnature

C is for core! I'm not talking about the six pack here. I'm going a little deeper 😉 In yoga we talk a lot about bandhas. The translation being locks. The idea is that the locks keep enegy that has been lifted from escaping down and away from us. When we really feel these locks we can use them to be stable and strong in balances, jumps, arm balances and wobbly life moments. We have six bandhas all are important but Mulha bandha (engagment of perineum) and Uddiyana bandha (engagement of abdominal muscles) really helped me become reacquainted with my core as did... abdominal BREATHING. When I watch Eira move she moves from her core, to get up, she uses her core, to reach to get something, she uses her core. She even cries and laughs with her whole core! At somepoint our core gets forgotten, limbs are used for reaching and moving and the core seems to be just there in between. If we consciously move from our core we can save our other joints such as the shoulders from extra work. We can also start to increase our core muscle just from every now and again checking in with our centres! Having stronger core muscles can help with lower back pain. Imagine the muscles like a wide belt protecting and supporting the spine. This support is all around the spine not just the front, this support can also help our posture. As we learn to value our core I believe we also feel a lot more centred in life with where we are, what we want and how we feel. By honouring and trusting core feelings we arrive on our path 😊 When I first started doing yoga I would remember my bandhas at the strangest of times! I would engage mulha bandha and draw my belly in whilst walking to the office or doodling on Illustrator. So a small challenge for you... see if you can mindfully move from your core for 15 minutes today and notice how you feel. If you're not familiar with the word Bandhas that's no problem you can still move from your centre. You can do this when reaching for a cup, walking someplace or even putting your socks on! 😊

D is for Downdog!!

When I first started yoga I couldn't stand this asana. My body would shake and ache and my hands would be sliding all over the place! I would think I was in the right position but would be adjusted into another again and again until one day and I really don't know when, I was left alone, five breaths passed quickly and my hands stayed in place! Fast forward a month or two later this became my go to position when I needed a good stretch and these day's during self practice I like to linger in adho mukha for a lot longer than 5 breaths. I love the contrasting actions. Hands and heels are pushing down and away whilst the muscles are lifting up and hugging in. If you give yourself time in this asana you can feel your breath spiralling up around muscles and bones on the inhale and releasing on the exhale. With long enough breaths you can feel every part of your body collaborating, as your ribcage expands with each inhale creating space for your lungs to breathe deeper filling the whole body from the core to the skin with nourishing and cooling breaths. Feeling the steady ground beneath you as you push your fingers in and being aware of your body within the space you fill gives a feeling of grounding. It's a great position to release tension in the hamstrings and stretch the calf muscles as well as the achilles tendon. It tones the arm muscles and strengthens the shoulder girdle and (with hasta bandha engaged) strengthens the wrists which can stabilise and protect the elbows. It allows us to feel the full length of the spine as we slightly straighten out the spinal curves. As we navigate our own weight we are also strengthening our bones as well as our muscles. Wrists don't feel strong enough or hip flexors feel too tight? Not a problem, we can feel the same benefits by using a wall or a chair (see pic2) This is truly an Asana to love ❤💚💙

E is for #Ekapadarajakapotasana(pigeon pose)

This is a great Asana with loads of adaptations to suit all bodies. It's a hip opener, a psoas stretcher and it can be a shoulder opener. All in all it's a goodie. Pain in lower back due to tight psoas: pigeon it, tight hips: pigeon it, sciatica, pigeon it.... brain going 1000mph, pigeon it. We can start with thread the needle or... dead pigeon. Lie on your back, place your right ankle over your left thigh, keep both feet flexed as you squeeze your left thigh towards you. Make sure your shoulders don't creep up. Breath into the asana and feel your left external hip and right thigh release a little with each exhale. #Babypigeon. Sit up with hands behind you to support you. Place your right ankle over your left thigh. Start moving your left foot towards you until you feel the external left hip working. If you want to feel a little more, walk the hands towards you and raise your chest towards your right shin. Breath into the asana and feel your left external hip and right thigh release a little with each exhale. #Pigeon. Start on all fours, place your right ankle behind your left wrist, your knee behind your right wrist, slowly extend your left leg out behind you. KEEP YOUR RIGHT FOOT FLEXED. If you feel tension in the knee or tight in the hips, move your foot towards your pelvis. If you feel that your leaning towards the right, place a block under your left buttock. Breath into the asana and feel your left external hip and right thigh release a little with each exhale. 😉 Each day our practice is different, pigeon may come easily somedays and may feel impossible the next. This can be the result of many things from wound up emotions, staying stationary the day before and for us ladies it can even be down to the time of the month. My biggest tip for this asana is enjoy the journey. Don't push into it, breath into it. Connect from within and accept where you are. Where you were yesterday will be different to where you are tomorrow so just let yourself be where you're at today. Enjoy it, it's all important and it's all a part of you. Peace out 😉✌🙏 #yoga #pigeonsrock #bynewyoga

F is for feet!

Before I started practicing yoga I never gave my feet a moment's thought, in fact one ballet class, during pointe work I worked my feet so hard that when I took my shoes off I realised that my feet were covered in blood. Rather than treating my feet with the respect and kindness they deserved I rushed around never giving a moment to think that without those two things so far away from my head I wouldn't be able to get to that 'important' meeting or appointment. I trotted on with my life until yoga got serious with me and I got serious with my feet. The feet are our first point of contact to the earth, how we position our feet, how we mindfully choose to move with our feet effects our whole posture and our posture can effect our wellbeing. Our feet are super complex, did you know that we have 26 bones that form 25 joints in our feet and believe it or not there's also room for 20 muscles! Of course they are complex, they keep us up, they take us places, they give us strengh. Rooting down in Pada Bandha, standing with your feet hip width apart pushing your heels down, spread your toes apart and start pushing the root of your big toe and little toe down, feel the arches of your feet lifting. The muscles in your thighs will activate pushing your feet further towards the earth, in turn activating the muscles all the way up the legs to mulha bandha, prehaps your posture changes slightly here as your pelvis alignes with your feet. You may even feel a mental shift of feeling stronger, stable and grounded in the present moment. Other small things you can do to give a bit of TLC to the feet is threading the fingers between the toes and giving them a squeeze, this creates space and flexibility through the toes. Sitting on the toes is also a good way to create space in the arches of the feet, helping us with our balance. Through yoga we become more mindful of how we move, we move from a place of soft compassion and enduring strengh. Even in headstand we use the activation of our feet to help us gain balance and stability! The next time you look at your feet, remember that you literally wouldn't be where you are without them. Love them or dislike them, they are a part of you and deserve your respect and loving kindness as the whole of you does.