Day 337 Intention ~ Root Down

Day 337 Intention ~ Root Down

Holiday season is upon us. Many of us not only feel rushed in shopping, travel plans, work parties, friends parties, making cookies, decorating and overall holiday plans, but can also feel money stress, emotional distress and as if you could slide out from under your feet at any moment. 

What happened to all is calm, all is bright???

It happens to most of us...me too. 

So, this week for my yoga classes and my own practice, I am focusing on the root chakra, the muladhara chakra, and the sacral, svadhisthana, chakra,  in an effort to stay grounded and emotionally stable this holiday season. 

The root chakra is at the base of the spine and covers our basic survival needs. Makes sense that it is called the root chakra, since when it is open and balanced, it protects us from feeling flighty and insecure. It's color is red, so wearing that color or focusing on that color is one simple way to start calming the uneasiness. Another way is to chant it's bija (seed) mantra, LAM. Exercises that can help are poses that root you down to the Earth. Really focusing on the feet and on your steady base. Mountain pose, tree pose, warrior poses with nice strong legs and bridge pose, where you not only root through the feet, but also in the shoulders, the backs of the arms and really feel the strength of the legs work in this pose. 

The sacral chakra is located from the lower abs to the navel and is not only related to sexual behavior, but also emotional connections, the ability to "let go" and how to keep balance in our relationships, emotions and life. You've probably heard a yoga teacher say that the emotions are stored in the hips. Well, at the end of the year, it's natural to start reassessing one's life and the year that has just passed. It can make us sentimental. It can make us long for past years or for something we don't quite have yet. Either way, hip opening poses are great for finding balance in the sacral chakra. Cow face pose, standing warriors, lunges, fire log pose, happy baby, bound angle...there are a lot. You may feel an emotional release if you are new to these poses that is unexpected. I have seen and have myself cried in classes focusing on hip openers. It's really quite amazing. If doing poses isn't your thing, focus on the color orange or chant the mantra VAM and see if that makes you feel balanced. 

The reality is, we function best when all of our chakras are clear, so doing poses and practices that help keep all of the energy channels flowing is the best idea. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti,

Marcia 

Day 234 Intention ~ Tune Into The Class

Day 234 Intention ~ Tune Into The Class

When I first started teaching yoga, I would have everything written down for each class and try to teach that to the note. 

If it wasn't exactly right, I would have a minor panic session (in my mind of course) and get a little bit flustered (for the class to see). It's part of being a new teacher and it's okay. But at the time, I hated taking requests or if people had certain injuries or aches and pains, I hoped they would keep them to themselves in case I blanked out on what to do to help them out. 

Then there was the period where I didn't plan anything besides some sun salutations. I would fly by the seat of my pants. Sometimes it worked, but when it didn't work, it was horrible. 

So, nowadays, I always have some sort of idea of what I want to work on, but I am open for suggestions or changes. Part of that is just having more experience and confidence. Today, I had a bunch of back bends and arm balances I wanted to work on in a pretty fast paced powerful mode, but had a woman with a back injury come in, and then a newer student that has difficulty even getting into downward facing dog at this point and the vibe in the room was just more mellow. 

So, I still got in a couple of the moves I wanted to teach, but then did more therapeutic back postures and movements to help out the student with the sore back and some gentle hamstring and hip openers for my newer student. It worked out just as it needed to for today. 

As a teacher, tuning into the class is very important. Sure, it's good to get people to work on poses they don't necessarily like doing in hopes that they will learn to love it (okay, like it), but sometimes their mode is exactly the right one for that day. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Let's talk hips...

We've all either been or seen that student in yoga class that has tears flowing down her (or his, but I've definitely seen it more from the ladies) face, just to overhear this student say to their friend after class, "Those hip openers really got to me today."

Yup, the hips, the keeper of our emotions.

The hips are part of the pelvic girdle: the ilium (back part of the hip bone), the ischium (uppermost & largest part of the pelvis), the iliac crest, the pubis and the hip joint. Not counting the numerous ligaments, membranes, and cartilage that also comprise the pelvic girdle.

The hip joint is a synovial joint between the acetabulum of the hip bone and the head of the femur. This joint is what allows the movement of the hips in yoga asana. You can find flexion (decreasing the area between the bones of a limb at a joint), extension (increasing the area between the bones of a limb at a joint), adduction (bringing in closer to the midline of the body), abduction (bringing away from the midline of the body) and rotation through this joint.

It's no wonder emotions & stress can find a place to hide in this area of the body! Ever notice how tight people's (or your) hips get?

Here are a few poses to help you loosen and open those pesky hips...tears are optional!

Be sure to warm up with several rounds of sun salutations and standing postures like Warrior 1 & 2, triangle pose and extended side angle (all of which are standing hip openers).

Anjaneyasana or low lunge: step your left foot back, extending the leg long, with the knee to the floor, top of the foot comes to the floor. The right leg is bent, foot pointing forward. Walk your hands up the right knee, inhale and lift the chest, find some length in your spine. Hook your thumbs in front of you and inhale your arms up, lifting the chest and exhale, lunge into the right leg. Take 5 breaths here. Exhale your hands down and switch sides.

Baddha Konasana or cobbler's pose: Sitting on the floor, draw your knees in towards you with your feet on the floor. Open your knees wide and bring the soles of the feet together. Grabbing onto the big toes, open your feet so that the soles of the feet are directed up towards the sky (if available to you). Draw the heels in as close to the pelvis as possible. Inhale, lift your chest and look up. Draw the naval towards the spine and exhale, lead with the chest and chin (helping to maintain a straight spine), draw your heart center towards your toes. If your elbows are resting on the insides of your thighs, you can gently press down and back. If your hips are tight (your knees may be lifted pretty far off the ground), you can put blankets or blocks under your knees to relieve some of the pressure from your hips. Take 5-8 breaths in this position and come up and on inhale. Repeat, but for the second pose, round the spine, drawing the 3rd eye or forehead towards your toes. Take 5-8 breaths here and then come up on an inhale.

Agni Stambasana or fire log pose: You may also have heard this pose called double pigeon.

From baddha konasana, stack the right shin on top of the left. Ideally, the heel of the right foot will be just past the left knee. Both feet are flexed. If the hips are tighter and you have quite a bit of space between the knees and the hips, you may put a blanket or block in that space until your hips become more flexible. If this is enough for you, place your hands on the floor directly behind you and breathe. Or, I like to press my thumbs into my hip creases here, give it a shot, it may feel good to you, it may not. If you would like to go farther, inhale, lift your chest, draw the naval in and exhale, walk your hands in front of your legs, folding forward. Try to draw your chest past your legs. Take several breaths in this position and then inhale, slowly come up. Switch sides.

These are just a few, for some more poses that help out your hips, check out this page at Yoga Journal:

http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/finder/anatomical_focus/hips

As a reminder, everybody's body is different. For some, their hips are already pretty open and these poses seem easy. For others, it can take a long time to get the hips open. Just be patient with yourself and keep trying, they will eventually become more flexible. Listen to your body and don't force anything.

Happy practice!

Shanti~Marcia