Healing Through Yoga: Shoulder Alignment
Are you hunched forward working at the computer? After leaving the computer, are your shoulders stiff & heavy?
Believe it or not, the first step to shoulder comfort & alignment is the breath!
Take a big inhale from your belly through your nose. Bring your breath underneath your ribs to the top of your sternum as your arm bones move back. Feel the shoulder blades together & flat on your back. Exhale in the back of your heart while you keep your arm bones gently back. Visualize the expanse of your back body!
Clasp your hands behind your back while sitting or standing for more shoulder flexibility. This will strengthen the shoulder extensors & stretch the flexors, to improve posture & joint stability. If you cannot reach behind you to interlace your fingers, then use a belt.
Now try it! Inhale & open your heart bringing your arm bones back. Your collarbones are flat as you rotate your upper arms outward & pull your arms back against the resistance of your hand clasp or the belt. Keep your elbows slightly bent. Your shoulder blades move back, together and down. Lift your belly & move your waistline back so your ribs do not stick out and BREATHE!
You can do this wonderful posture anytime—-Anytime you take a Breath!
Healing Through Yoga—RELIEVING Neck Pain
“Oh my aching neck” is a lament that I hear too often from a first-time student. Usually I see 2 recognizable neck misalignments: the head is pulled back & the neck is too straight or the head is thrust forward, the chin is stiff & the back of the neck is improperly curved & compressed.
Many times neck pain is directly related to shoulder posture which I wrote about last week. Here’s a quick review to proper alignment. Take a big inhale from your belly through your nose. Bring your breath underneath your ribs to the top of your sternum as your arm bones move back. Feel the shoulder blades together & flat on your back. Exhale in the back of your heart while you keep your arm bones gently back. Visualize the expanse of your back body!
Preparation for Bridge pose relieves most neck pain as it broadens the back body & extends the spine. Lie on your back & gently press the occipital bone on the back of your skull into the floor. This action opens the throat bringing the hyoid bone back & aligns the top of your brain to your pelvic floor or sitting bones. Bend your knees, feet parallel with the 4 corners on the floor. Please maintain a curve in your lumbar spine. Now bring your arm bones back so the shoulder blades are flat. Bend your elbows with palms up so your arms are in a cactus pose. Relax & Breathe. Let your exhalation massage the neck pain until it releases. It will!
Healing through Yoga—Feet for Balance!
Many teachers say that your feet are a ‘map’ for how your pelvis, hips, & lower back are feeling.
When you stand or walk, do you feel stable & without pain?
Do you lose your balance when you do not concentrate?
Can you do a simple balance on one foot?
With your feet inner hip length apart, align your baby & fourth toes to your outer hip bones. The third toes correspond to your femurs, the second toes to your inner thigh and the big toes to your inner pubis.
The femurs (the longest, largest, & strongest single bone in your body) & shinbones should be vertical and in line with each other so the knees are not bent or hyper extended.
Tree pose demonstrates the importance of your feet for balance. Using a wall or railing for support, bring your feet parallel, inner hip length apart. Standing on the 4 corners of your right foot (big toe mound, inner heel, little toe mound & outer heel), raise your left leg & place it on the fat side of your calf, hugging into your core for stability. Inhale & lift your heart as you bring your arm bones back, shoulder blades flat on your back. Make sure the top of your brain is in line with your sitting bones. Exhale & SMILE! Now do the other side.
One of my students said he practices tree pose at the sink or waiting in the grocery line. He even does it outside using his favorite tree for balance! Now you try it!
HEALING YOGA if you want to LOSE WEIGHT
Why does the media always portray thin people? Are you overweight or ‘big-boned’? Do you feel insecure & embarrassed exercising in front of others?
You do not have to be a size 8 to practice yoga, feel good, energized & more balanced & flexible in daily living!
When your body is aligned properly, traditional postures can be adjusted with props such as chairs, blocks, belts & blankets so you are comfortable, smiling, with no pressure on your joints & bones, stronger with less fatigue.
Correct breathing, stretching, & visualization does not have to be strenuous in order to increase the metabolic rate so your body burns more calories, your stress is reduced & healthy nutrition is maintained.
Begin with Warrior 1 pose. Using the wall for support, square the hips & bring one leg in front of the other in a lunge position. Bend the front knee making sure that the knee is over the ankle. Use your inner thighs to stabilize & strengthen your knees. Extend the back ankle without collapsing the back thigh. Hands against the wall for support as you soften the upper back, heart forward & Breathe! Now, place the other leg in front & repeat.
Consistent practice of this courageous pose heightens your postural alignment, flexibility and strength.
I will give you more poses to practice in the weeks to come!
HEALING YOGA for YOUR LOWER BACK
After vacuuming or mowing, does your lower back ache? Do you feel pain in your lumbar after driving or sitting for awhile? If you answered “yes”, here are some helpful suggestions to heal your lower back.
Look into the mirror & check the curvature of your lumbar spine. Is it too concave at the back of your waist or too flat?
Mountain pose will help you find your optimal curve and it is a primary alignment pose for the lumbar and the integration of the entire body structure. You know that it is your correct alignment because it feels so good!
First: Align your body with your feet parallel, weight on the 4 corners-big toe mound, inner heel, little toe mound & outer heel.
Second: Move your thighs back to broaden the pelvic floor. You will feel your lower back arch.
Now: Root your tailbone as your lift your belly. When the belly lifts and your waist moves back toward your spine, you are automatically strengthening the abdominal muscles! Your spine lengthens as the pelvis is stabilized over your legs.
When your thighs are back—I cannot emphasize this enough—& your pelvis is stabilized, you will feel grounded and balanced—- physically, emotionally, & mentally. Do this pose standing in the grocery line or waiting at the movies—ANYTIME!!!
HEAL YOUR KNEES (posted July 14)
Did you know that the knees are the largest joints in the body & sometimes the most vulnerable to injury? Many people bow the lower legs outward so the knees & thighs angle inward which eventually causes pain in the knees & hips. Collapsed arches in the feet & the toes pointed outward are also injurious, as well as ‘slumping’—putting more weight on one side of the body. How can you resist the discomfort & pain due to these imbalances, exaggerated stress, and ‘wearing down’ of these precious joints?
Here is how: Stabilize & align the knees so they are safe in all kinds of movements & positions!
Try this posture. Stand with your feet parallel (middle of the ankle to the 2nd toe mound), balance the weight on the 4 corners of the feet (mound of the big toe, inner heel, mound of the little toe & outer heel), raise & spread your toes. In order to stabilize & firm your lower legs toward the midline of your body: Bend your knees, placing your hands on the large side of the calves. Isometrically, press the side of your calves without moving the feet or knees. You will feel the thighs widen. Now, you are in alignment, because you can trace a plumb line from your ankle to the hip joint. These stabilizing actions release energy you can feel & accelerate your circulation through the joints! These actions also help to realign the hips & sacroiliac joint.
Now, check to see that you are not hyper-extending your knees. Take a breath & soften! These poses can be done standing & seated. Be precise & take your time & Breathe!
YOUR FABULOUS FEET!!!
Do your feet feel tired after shopping? Have you sprained your ankle on a hike? Do you or a family member have plantar fasciitis? Do you want a pedicure so someone can massage your feet? Are you wearing socks to hide bunions? Do you feel off balance sometimes? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, read on! YOU can support the healing of your feet, feel great and be more energetic too!
Try this exercise: While standing, walk in place for a minute and then stop—-Look at your feet! Are they parallel & are you stable on the 4 corners of your feet? Press on the big toe mound, inner heel, little toe mound & outer heel. Be precise. Now lift & spread your toes. Look— you have an arch & are stimulating the blood flow & circulation to your foundation! Practice walking with your feet parallel—all the time! Might feel weird but it works!!!
Sounds too simple, you think. One of my students just sprained her ankle. After performing these exercises, her sprain was healed immediately!
Another student had plantar faciitis for 10 months. A combination of foot massage, ice, letting her feet breathe & the actions described brought almost total relief after less than 2 weeks!
After my 82 year old student focused on the 4 corners of his feet, keeping them parallel while walking, he forgot his cane—-for good!
You can facilitate lifting & spreading your toes by using a pedicure guard or Kleenex in between your toes. It is easy to do at home while reading or watching a movie.
Please remember to practice your breathing. The breath keeps the energy flowing for your Vitality!
Your feet are not only your foundation for maintaining balance, stability, agility & flexibility. They also have a direct correlation with your knees and hips. More discussion about this correlation in the weeks ahead.
The Breath
Do you run out of breath on your way upstairs? Hiking one of your gorgeous trails, are you always stopping to catch your breath? Do you realize that you sometimes hold your breath too long? The Breath can support you while you work, garden, play, etc. Perhaps ‘How to Breathe’ should have been one of your elementary school courses. But, like me, if it was not, begin right now. Enjoy this course—It is for Life!
Sit in a straight back chair with your feet parallel on the floor, butt back & shoulders back, the blades flat on your back. Move your chin back keeping the curve in the back of your neck. Relax your jaw. Feel from the top of your head down to your sitting bones a natural alignment & gently close your eyes.
Inhale & exhale in your own rhythm. Take your attention to the back of your heart, keeping the shoulders back lengthen your spine, stretching upward. Go to the top of your brain, inhale, & exhale down to your feet. Observe the space within you: how the air moves into & around your organs. When you are aligned, your breath will create room for your systems. Perhaps there is a muscle or organ that has been an issue. For example, you have a ‘knot’ in the middle of your back. Exhale, concentrating on that knot until it releases—It Will! You can even open the esophagus with your breath to help heal the digestive system—Try it!
Now, go have Fun! Garden, pick mushrooms, or take a hike…& Remember to breathe!
Yoga for the Athlete
Teaching hatha yoga to the athlete is a special educational process. By definition, an athlete is a skilled & physically powerful individual who uses his muscles and ligaments in order to achieve maximum & victorious success. Using his endurance and vitality, he strives to attain a great performance.
For this athlete to execute stronger & more vigorous results, I use several components of hatha yoga which coincide with the Anusara Universal Principles of Alignment created by John Friend. (www.anusara.com)
1. The Breath
2. Core conditioning with ‘effortless effort’
3. Expansive flexibility
4. Stability combined with Focus & Patience
5. ‘Going for the Gold’
Visualization & Relaxation for balance, as the athlete exerts more concentration & intensity, is also an important facet of this teaching.
The athlete will discover more and more energetic reserves because he learns to utilize his organic body, to rejuvenate & vivify the power of the kidneys, the lungs & the heart, for example.
How are you challenged as a high-performance athlete?
HEALING THROUGH YOGA
WhenI told one of my students that I was writing a ‘yoga tips’ weekly, she suggested a title more in keeping with what you are all seeking & I am teaching—-feeling good, revitalized, with clarity in your daily living.
Knowing how to stand for hours in the kitchen cooking & NOT get a pain in your lower back; sitting in a long movie without leg compression & a pain in your neck; driving and arriving feeling good instead of (b.y.=before yoga) stiff as a board, crooked & hurting!!! Gardening; keeping up with your kids on those hikes, ‘up the stairs’ & out of breath, etc…You get the picture—LIFE can be challenging—off the mat!
Yoga & breathing techniques, visualization, postures assist the body, emotions, & mind in finding it’s natural healthy place: its optimal alignment & energetic reserves. You can incorporate these same principles, attitudes & actions for your own wellness.
Yoga therapeutics may help improve your balance, range of motion and flexibility; strengthen injured muscles, and diminish—even abolish—pain.. Yoga therapy may be integrated with traditional health care such as cardiology, orthopedics, sports medicine, osteopathy, physical therapy, chiropractics, gynecology, oncology or other health and wellness modalities as the patient & physician desire.
Next week’s Tip for Daily Living—How to use your Breath to heal
Amy Kraft is an Anusara-Inspired™ Yoga Teacher , Yoga Alliance® Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT® 200) designated teacher with thirty-five years yoga experience. Helping people through Yoga is her passion! Amy teaches yoga as a therapy in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana.
406-546-6922 or email : amykrft@yahoo.com
