I've been giving some thought to a comment made a couple of weeks ago regarding how one makes yoga a part of one's life when one has a physical condition that doesn't seem to be fit for it.
I have been in Turkey teaching on a retreat for people with ME and the answer came to me as I guided people who are seriously ill through their yoga sequence. Yoga is about being not doing. It isn't about what we do, it isn't about how amazing each posture looks on the mat, it isn't about how deeply we move in that posture or comparing ourselves with what is happening on our neighbour's mat. It is about making each movement, however small, with complete mindfulness. Thinking about each movement, synchronising it with the breath, thinking no further ahead than the next breath. How does the breath feel? How do I feel? Stop chasing that elusive "perfect" posture and enjoy where you are right now.
The more we become obsessed with doing the further we alienate ourselves from being - and in being lies our true happiness. Liberation is not about getting one's leg behind one's head. Liberation is being fully aware of each day and alive to each dawn.
This is the body I have been born with. I celebrate that every day both on and off my yoga mat.
Friday 31 October 2008
Thursday 9 October 2008
Asana of the Week - Uttanasana
Forward bends, both seated and standing, can be problematic when you have back conditions, especially scoliosis. Rather than bringing length into the back they can cause compression on the side to which the scoliosis curves and tight hamstrings can just exacerbate the problem. It is usually recommended that standing forward bends be done against the wall for most people with scoliosis, but there is a way of getting a great lower back stretch from a standing forward bend without having to go to the wall.
Stand with the big toe joints together (or a fist width apart if that feels unbalanced) and feel the weight evenly through the soles of both feet.
Inhale, lifting the arms forward and up alongside the ears, lifting the waist out of the hips and the neck out of the shoulders - feel the length is even in both sides of the body/ribcage.
As you exhale, bend the knees a lot (we're concentrating on backs here, not hamstrings - we'll talk about them next week!), stretching forward with the arms, keeping the length in the body as you release abdomen on to the thighs then release the head and neck. Feel the stretch in the lower back. You may feel that the two sides of the back are uneven so stay in position for a breath or too to even out the length.
To come up, inhale and stretch the arms forward again to maintain the length in the sides of the body. Only start to straighten the knees half way through the inhale -- stretching the fingertips up to the ceiling again.
Exhale the arms down by the sides concentrating on maintaining that length.
Repeat 3-5 times to get a really good stretch in the lower back.
And enjoy each breath.
Namaste
Stand with the big toe joints together (or a fist width apart if that feels unbalanced) and feel the weight evenly through the soles of both feet.
Inhale, lifting the arms forward and up alongside the ears, lifting the waist out of the hips and the neck out of the shoulders - feel the length is even in both sides of the body/ribcage.
As you exhale, bend the knees a lot (we're concentrating on backs here, not hamstrings - we'll talk about them next week!), stretching forward with the arms, keeping the length in the body as you release abdomen on to the thighs then release the head and neck. Feel the stretch in the lower back. You may feel that the two sides of the back are uneven so stay in position for a breath or too to even out the length.
To come up, inhale and stretch the arms forward again to maintain the length in the sides of the body. Only start to straighten the knees half way through the inhale -- stretching the fingertips up to the ceiling again.
Exhale the arms down by the sides concentrating on maintaining that length.
Repeat 3-5 times to get a really good stretch in the lower back.
And enjoy each breath.
Namaste
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