Friday, October 18, 2013

30 Days of Relaxation - Day 1

Let's start out easy. This is one of my favorite, stand-alone, restorative poses. It can be done every day, any time, whenever you feel like it. For 5 minutes or longer, this pose will refresh you.

Legs on a Chair

OK - Legs on a Chair sounds silly, I know. But it is actually quite delicious and easy to do. Plus you can do it at work, home, or on the road. All you need is yourself, the floor, and a chair, couch, or some other raised surface.


Setting up without additional props:
Sit down in front of a chair or couch with the seat of the chair/couch towards you. Sit with one hip facing your prop. As you start to lay back, you must also swing your legs up and your body around so your bottom is towards the chair. When you are turned tail to the chair, settle your legs onto the chair's seat, making sure they are completely supported from the backs of the knees down to the feet.

It's best if there is no "drag" on your body - i.e. the chair/couch is not taller or shorter than the natural length of your legs from the backs of your knees to the floor (when you are laying on your back). Try a couple different chairs and couches until you find one that is the right height for your body.

Setting up with additional props:
Start the same as above but add a small lumbar support, an eye pillow and sandbag (or big bag of rice) to lay over your stomach and lower ribs.

Settling in:
Lay here as long as you are comfortable. Close your eyes, give your mind the job of watching your breath, and commit to the stillness.

Coming out of the pose:
Bring awareness back to the body, remove the eye pillow, remove the sandbag, draw the legs into the body and roll to one side. Linger on your side for a few breaths then slowly push yourself up to seated.

This is a great thing to do as soon as you come home from work, after a walk, as a short break at the office, in a hotel room if you are travelling, or any other time you want.

Enjoy!