Legs up the Wall ~ Option 3

Enjoy a Dynamic Legs up the Wall Pose

If you would like to add a little more movement to Legs up the Wall pose you can practice the #4 Hip Stretch.

Coming into the pose:
We start off the same as Legs up the Wall. Sit down on the floor with one hip pressed right up against the wall. As you start to lay back, you must also swing your body around so your bottom is towards the wall. When you are turned tail to the wall, start to extend your legs up the wall.

Settling into the pose:
Once you are in Legs up the Wall pose you can add a dynamic stretch by crossing one ankle over the other knee and then drawing the legs down the wall towards the body.

Step by step it looks like this:
Keeping the pelvis steady (no rocking or shifting), cross the right ankle over the the left knee. Keep the right toes flexed (drawing back towards the R knee) to protect the right knee. If your tail is curling up or you can't cross your R ankle over your L knee without shifting or rocking, you are too close to the wall. Uncross your legs and push yourself back from the wall a little. Cross your ankle again and check your alignment. If you are already getting a hip stretch in the right hip stay here and breathe. If you would like to deepen the pose start to draw the left leg down the wall (keeping the R toes flexed). This will bring both legs closer to the torso and increase the hip stretch on the R side.

Let yourself soften here. Watch your breath. Let the belly rise and fall naturally with the breath. Try to maintain a neutral spine. I like to think about sending the tailbone towards the wall and the crown of the head away from the wall. If your low back is pressing firmly against the floor you may need to back off the the wall a little bit more or use a small bolster to keep the natural curve of the spine. Let the arms rest out to the sides, palms up. Stay here for as long as you are comfortable.

Switching sides:
Let the left leg slide back up the wall, uncross the right ankle (no rocking in the pelvis), extend both legs up the wall, then repeat on the 2nd side.

Getting out of the pose:
Take both legs back to Legs up the Wall pose. When you are ready to come out, bend your knees, roll to one side, take a few breaths, then gently push yourself back up to a seated position.

Legs up the Wall ~ Option 2

Enjoy Legs up the Wall with a small supported back bend / lumbar spine opener.

Legs up the wall pose with a bolster under the low back is a great pose to do if you want to stretch your hamstrings and get a supported back bend. You still don't need much in the way of props. All you need is a wall and a towel, blanket, or a rolled up mat to put under you (prepare your bolster before you lay down).

Getting into the pose:
We start off the same as Legs up the Wall. Sit down on the floor with one hip pressed right up against the wall. As you start to lay back, you must also swing your body around so your bottom is towards the wall. When you are turned tail to the wall, start to extend your legs up the wall.

Adding the back bend / lumbar support:
Bend your knees and put the soles of your feet on the wall. Push into the wall to lift your hips up off the floor. Slide your bolster (towel, mat, blanket, whatever) underneath you, placing it just above the sacrum. Let your weight settle back down so your low back is resting on the bolster and your hips and tailbone are settling into the space between the bolster and the wall.

Settling into the pose:
If you cannot straighten your legs or if your tail is still curling up, you are either too close to the wall or your bolster is too close to the wall. Try adjusting your bolster by bringing it closer to your bottom ribs. Re-settle your hips and see if you can straighten your legs.

If you still can't straighten your legs it's time to push yourself back from the wall a little. Bend your knees and put the soles of your feet on the wall. Push your body away from the wall. Lift your hips and re-adjust your bolster so your lumbar spine can settle around it. Now your legs won't be straight up, they will be at an angle to the wall, but that's ok. Let yourself soften here. Watch your breath. Let the belly rise and fall naturally with the breath. Try to let your leg bones settle down into the hip sockets. Allow an opening in the lumbar spine.

If you have any discomfort in the low back, hips, or pelvis you may need to use a smaller bolster, adjust your distance to the wall, or come off the bolster entirely. Listen to your body and experiement. When you are comfortable, let the arms rest out to the sides, palms up and stay here for as long as you are enjoying the pose.

Getting out of the pose:
Bend your knees, press your soles into the wall to lift your hips up, slide the bolster out from under you, then settle yourself back down to the floor. When you are ready, brings the knees towards the body, roll to one side, take a few breaths, then gently push yourself back up to a seated position.

Legs up the Wall Pose ~ Viparita Karani

Enjoy Legs up the Wall Pose

Legs up the wall pose is a great pose to do if you don't have any props. All you need is a wall. It can be a little tricky to come in to but once you get the hang of it you'll be hanging around upside down all the time.

Getting into the pose:
Here's the easy part - Sit down on the floor with one hip pressed right up against the wall.
Here's the tricky part - As you start to lay back, you must also swing your body around so your bottom is towards the wall. When you are turned tail to the wall, start to extend your legs up the wall.

Settling into the pose:
If you cannot straighten your legs or if your tail is curling up, you are too close to the wall. Push yourself back a little. Now your legs won't be straight up, they will be more at a slant, but that's ok. Let yourself soften here. Watch your breath. Let the belly rise and fall naturally with the breath. Try to maintain a neutral spine. If you notice your low back pressing firmly against the floor you may need to back off the the wall a little bit more or use a small bolster to keep the natural curve of the spine. Let the arms rest out to the sides, palms up. Stay here for as long as you are comfortable.

Getting out of the pose:
Bend your knees, roll to one side, take a few breaths, then gently push yourself back up to a seated position.

Restorative Yoga Breathing

2 to 1 Breath

There is a type of breathing I especially like for Restorative class. It is called 2 to 1 Breathing. This means that you will extend your exhale to take twice as long as your inhale takes.

To start out, close your eyes and settle into your body. Bring your attention to your breath. Notice the belly bellowing out on the inhale and drawing back into the body on the exhale. You are not making this happen, it is happening naturally. Sit here for about 5-10 breaths, settling in to the body and quieting the mind.

Now start to notice how many counts it takes you to inhale and how many counts it takes you to exhale. In normal breathing the counts should be about equal. For me it is about 2-3 counts for both inhale and exhale. Notice this breathing pattern for about 5-10 breaths.

Next, start to nudge your exhale to take longer than your inhale. You are now controlling your exhale, drawing it out, extending it to 2 times the length of your inhale. So, if your inhale takes 2 counts, your exhale should now be 4 counts, or if your inhale was 3 counts, your exhale should be 6 counts. Practice this 2 to 1 Breath for 5-10 counts. If you start to feel panicky let go of the 2 to 1 Breathing and go back to regular, even breathing. If you like this breath continue for the full 5-10 rounds.

When you have competed 5-10 rounds of 2 to 1 Breathing let go of the control of the exhale and return to even, steady breathing, equal counts on the inhale and the exhale. Let your attention come back to the body and then back to the outside world. Continue on with your day.

2 to 1 Breathing is calming, helps relieve stress and soothes the body. Use this breath anytime before or after practice, at work, at home, or any time you are feeling stressed out and just need a quick "breather."

Namaste.

Pain, Fear, or Fear of Pain?

More Teacher Training Ah-ha's

I have noticed a tendency both in myself and in some students to hold back in a posture because of a previous bad experience, a chronic pain issue, or because of a perception that something bad will happen.

I try to do a couple of 40-day practices throughout the year. In one of my 40 day practices last year I laid on the foam strip every day (in addition to other postures). It felt so good that I would stay for quite some time. I don't keep a clock in the room where I do yoga so I can't say for sure how long it actually was.

After a couple of weeks I started to have extreme discomfort in my mid-back. I had a hard time taking a full breath and I felt like I needed to crack my back all the time. The only time I didn't hurt was when I was laying on the strip.

Finally the pain got to be too much and I made an appointment with my chiropractor. Turns out my back was all out of whack - especially around T7 and T8 - the exact region where the end of the foam strip would rest. My chiropractor was able to get me adjusted but I became misaligned again within a few days and had to go back.

After that experience I became fearful of the foam strip. I didn't want to lay on it at all but we were using it a lot in the classes I was attending so I often had to lay on it. So I modified the pose and used the strip in 1 layer instead of 2, placed a blanket under my bum and only stayed for a couple of minutes.

Then I had a training with Susi Hately Aldous and she wanted us to use the foam strip doubled up. I was so scared of creating pain again in my body that I started to cry. Susi talked me through it, saying to breathe to the area and ask myself if I was actually having pain or if I was having fear. An interesting question. Something we could all ask ourselves about many things. In this case it turns out I was having fear of pain, not pain itself.

In the book, The Yamas and Niyamas Deborah Adele talks about Svadhyaya (Self-Study). This idea of breathing into an area of the body and asking it what is going on in there (self-study) has been helpful to me in figuring out old hurts and habits and in working out new patterns and postures.

Now I can lay on the foam strip (doubled) without pain but still with a little fear - I like to call it caution. I stay only as long as I feel comfortable. I keep my awareness in my spine and as soon as I start to have discomfort I remove the foam strip. With this new awareness I am able to reap the benefits of the opening that comes from using the foam strip in the doubled up position without crossing the edge into pain.

Happy exploring.

Therapeutic Teacher Training Ah-ha's

Are you Married to Your Breath?

This is a good one. Watch yourself move, watch yourself breathe, watch yourself breathe and move. Can you move counter to what you have trained yourself? Can you exhale when you open your chest and inhale on contraction? Sounds backwards I know. And it feels backwards too but the point is....Are you married to your breath and/or your movement patterns?

A couple of examples...

1. We were practicing Marching Abs (bent knee leg lifts) with an engaged core. I noticed that I could not lift a leg until I had taken a deep inhale and a full exhale (to relax? to prepare? for what purpose?). Only then could I engage my core with purpose and lift a leg. I was stuck in a breath and movement pattern. I had practiced this pattern so many times that it almost became a superstition: inhale-exhale-relax-engage core-lift leg. I couldn't lift my leg without the first 4 steps happening in exactly that way. Now, after practicing this I am starting to be able to engage my core and lift my leg without the first 3 steps. But I still want to revert to my pattern. Curious.

2. Another woman was not stuck so much in a breath pattern as a movement pattern but the example is still relevant. We were practicing finding a twist solely from our torsos by moving from the spine first. We were laying on one side with bent knees, top arm raises to point at the sky and then you try to twist open, bringing the heart center towards the sky without leading with the arm and without letting the top knee slide off the bottom knee. Her issue was that she couldn't lift her arm to the sky without twisting at the same time. Normally she can move her arm, but in this particular exercise she became so stuck that she couldn't lift her arm at all without her habitual movement pattern. Someone helped her lift her arm skyward a few times, she developed a new pattern and was able to move her arm without twisting. Interesting.

I invite you to watch yourselves. Watch your breath, watch your movement, watch your breath and your movement together. Notice your habits, experiment, play, and have fun with this.

Namaste.

Therapeutic Teacher Training

Today I am starting a 5 day Therapeutic Teacher training with Susi Hately Aldous. See the Therapeutic Yoga for the Shoulders and Upper Back blogs for more information about some of the teachings I have already taken from her. I'm looking forward to the training, to learning more about how to relieve pain in the body, and to sharing this new knowledge with my students.

Namaste.