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Thursday, November 21, 2013
Sunday, November 17, 2013
30 Days of Relaxation Follow Up
I hope you have enjoyed taking a bit of time out for yourself each day.
This challenge has reinvigorated my practice and has given me many great
ideas for future posts. I have a list of about 20 new poses/variations
of poses which I hope to share over the coming months. If you have
enjoyed this challenge please sign up to "follow by email" on my blog's
sidebar. Don't worry, I do not collect your email addresses; Google
facilitates sending these blog posts by email. Just be sure to check
your inbox for an email from "Feedburner" and authorize/confirm your
desire to follow by email.
It's been nice practicing with you!
It's been nice practicing with you!
Saturday, November 16, 2013
30 Days of Relaxation - Day 30
Today is International Restorative Yoga Day (see this website for more info: www.restorativeyogaday.org). I hope you can find a local Restorative Yoga class to attend. If you are in Duluth, MN, please join me at Yoga North this morning, 8:00-9:15 am for Restorative Yoga. If you are doing a home practice, here is a final sequence to enjoy.
For details on how to do this pose click here.
For details on how to do this pose click here.
Legs on a Chair
For details on how to do this pose click here.
Supported Reclining Twist
For details on how to do this pose click here.
Enjoy Supported Child’s Pose
For details on how to do this pose click here.
Supported Savasana + listen to a free relaxation practice from Dr. Baxter Bell (link below).
Click here for 4 free guided relaxation practices.
Enjoy your day and your new habit of relaxation. Nicely done!
Friday, November 15, 2013
30 Days of Relaxation - Day 29
We are coming up on the home stretch of our challenge. I thought I would post a couple of my favorite short home sequences for these last two days.
Also, FYI, tomorrow is International Restorative Yoga Day. I will be teaching Restorative Yoga at Yoga North in Duluth, MN, Saturday morning, 8:00-9:15 am. Please join me for a live class.
For today...
Details on how to do this pose here.
Also, FYI, tomorrow is International Restorative Yoga Day. I will be teaching Restorative Yoga at Yoga North in Duluth, MN, Saturday morning, 8:00-9:15 am. Please join me for a live class.
For today...
Supported Reclining Bound Angle
Details on how to do this pose here.
Supported Child's Pose
Details on how to do this pose here.
Supported Reclining Side-Seated Twist.
 |
| Make sure to take the twist in both directions. |
Details on how to do this pose here.
Feel free to keep on going and take more poses or finish up here.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
30 Days of Relaxation - Day 28
If yesterday's pose did not give you enough sensation, today's pose might be more to your liking. For today, let's try
Wide leg forward fold can be done from a standing position or seated. Generally for my Restorative class we are seated and have multiple props to support this sometimes difficult opening.
Setting up for the pose:
Gather a number of different props: a chair, or a couple of blocks, or a few pillows/bolsters, also, either a blanket for sitting on or else a wedge.
Coming into the pose:
Sit in front of a chair, block, or bolsters with your legs open wide (about 90 degrees). Support your low back by sitting on a wedge or a folded blanket. Toes draw back toward the body and knee caps point toward the ceiling. Reach out through your heels. Hinge forward at the hip crease, walking your hands out and resting your forehead on the block, bolster or chair. If you are using a chair or bolster you can rest your head on your forearms, keeping length in your spine.
While in the pose:
Keep breathing, keep observing the pose in your body, allow the body to open at its own rate. Commit to the stillness but do allow yourself to adjust your props and your body as you settle in.
Coming out of the pose:
To come up, bring the hands to the floor to support the torso, inhale and hinge or roll back up from the hips, protecting the spine. Help your legs back together and move into a shape that is supportive to you: maybe Child's Pose, maybe Legs-on-a-Chair Pose, or maybe something else entirely.
Enjoy!
Supported Wide-Angle Forward Fold
Wide leg forward fold can be done from a standing position or seated. Generally for my Restorative class we are seated and have multiple props to support this sometimes difficult opening.
Setting up for the pose:
Gather a number of different props: a chair, or a couple of blocks, or a few pillows/bolsters, also, either a blanket for sitting on or else a wedge.
 |
| Tight hamstrings? No problem. Just use more props. |
Sit in front of a chair, block, or bolsters with your legs open wide (about 90 degrees). Support your low back by sitting on a wedge or a folded blanket. Toes draw back toward the body and knee caps point toward the ceiling. Reach out through your heels. Hinge forward at the hip crease, walking your hands out and resting your forehead on the block, bolster or chair. If you are using a chair or bolster you can rest your head on your forearms, keeping length in your spine.
While in the pose:Keep breathing, keep observing the pose in your body, allow the body to open at its own rate. Commit to the stillness but do allow yourself to adjust your props and your body as you settle in.
Coming out of the pose:
To come up, bring the hands to the floor to support the torso, inhale and hinge or roll back up from the hips, protecting the spine. Help your legs back together and move into a shape that is supportive to you: maybe Child's Pose, maybe Legs-on-a-Chair Pose, or maybe something else entirely.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
30 Days of Relaxation - day 27
Alright, we've made through our back bending series. Now I have a few
more forward folds before we have our final practice on Saturday.
Saturday, by the way, is International Restorative Yoga Day so I hope
you can find a live class to attend. If not, I'll set us up in a nice
series so don't worry. For today, enjoy
1/2 Wide-Angle Pose looks very similar in set up to Head-to-Knee pose (Janu Sirsasana) as shown in the Yoga Journal image on the right, but instead of turning the torso to fold out over the leg, the body folds directly forward, hinging from the hips, as seen below. 1/2 Wide-Angle is easier on the inner thighs than the full version and can be used as a pose in its own right or as a warm up for Wide-Angle Pose (which we will practice tomorrow).
Setting up for the pose:
Gather a number of different props: a chair, or a couple of blocks, or a few pillows/bolster, also, either a blanket or a wedge for sitting on.
Coming into the pose:
Sit in front of your chair, block or bolster with your legs open wide (about 90 degrees). Support your low back by sitting on a wedge or a folded blanket. Fold one leg in to the body so the soul rests on the inner thigh of the other leg and heel is drawing towards the perineum. Toes of the straight leg draw back toward the body and knee cap points toward the ceiling. Reach out through your heel. Hinge forward at the hip crease, walking your hands out and resting your forehead on the block, bolster or chair. If you are using a chair or bolster pile you can place your arms on the chair’s seat, hinge forward at the hip crease and rest your head on your forearms, keeping length in your spine.
While in the pose:
Keep breathing, keep observing the pose in your body, and allow the body to open at its own rate. Commit to the stillness but do allow yourself to adjust your props and your body as you settle deeper in. Watch the sit bones. They will want to creep up and often your body tries to tip more towards the folded leg. Don't let these two things happen.
Coming out of the pose:
To come up, support the torso with the hands on the floor, inhale and hinge or roll back up from the hips, protecting the spine. Take the 2nd side. After the second side you can be done or you could try a nice follow-up pose such as Supported Reclining Twist.
Enjoy!
Supported 1/2 Wide-Angle Forward Fold
1/2 Wide-Angle Pose looks very similar in set up to Head-to-Knee pose (Janu Sirsasana) as shown in the Yoga Journal image on the right, but instead of turning the torso to fold out over the leg, the body folds directly forward, hinging from the hips, as seen below. 1/2 Wide-Angle is easier on the inner thighs than the full version and can be used as a pose in its own right or as a warm up for Wide-Angle Pose (which we will practice tomorrow).
Setting up for the pose:
Gather a number of different props: a chair, or a couple of blocks, or a few pillows/bolster, also, either a blanket or a wedge for sitting on.
 |
| Instead of a block, you could use a chair so your fold is not too deep. |
Sit in front of your chair, block or bolster with your legs open wide (about 90 degrees). Support your low back by sitting on a wedge or a folded blanket. Fold one leg in to the body so the soul rests on the inner thigh of the other leg and heel is drawing towards the perineum. Toes of the straight leg draw back toward the body and knee cap points toward the ceiling. Reach out through your heel. Hinge forward at the hip crease, walking your hands out and resting your forehead on the block, bolster or chair. If you are using a chair or bolster pile you can place your arms on the chair’s seat, hinge forward at the hip crease and rest your head on your forearms, keeping length in your spine.
Keep breathing, keep observing the pose in your body, and allow the body to open at its own rate. Commit to the stillness but do allow yourself to adjust your props and your body as you settle deeper in. Watch the sit bones. They will want to creep up and often your body tries to tip more towards the folded leg. Don't let these two things happen.
Coming out of the pose:
To come up, support the torso with the hands on the floor, inhale and hinge or roll back up from the hips, protecting the spine. Take the 2nd side. After the second side you can be done or you could try a nice follow-up pose such as Supported Reclining Twist.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
30 Days of Relaxation - Day 26
Here's our final backbend. This one is a little bigger and includes a quad stretch. Today we will practice Supported Reclining Hero's Pose. If you feel like this is too much for you, then take Supported Reclining Bound Angle instead. The set up is the same.
Hero's Pose can be a very tricky posture to come into for anyone with knee issues, tight quads or low back/SI joint problems. Luckily, with props, this posture can be made available to most people--comfortably--not just to "get through it."
Setting up for the pose:
Gather a number of different props: a few pillows/bolsters, a few blankets, and a couple of blocks. Test your ability to sit on your shins with your bum on the floor between your feet. If this does not happen for you in an upright, seated position, it is not going to happen in the reclining version either. You need support.
Set up a bolster or a thickly-rolled blanket behind you lengthwise. Place a block, bolster, or additional pillows under the end of the bolster where your head is going to lay to create a ramp set-up. Like so:
Coming into the pose:
Sit in Dandasana (sit on your bum with legs straight) in front of your bolster ramp. Get very close to your props - let your back body touch the bolster. Bend one leg and tuck your foot by your outer hip. Carefully lower your body toward your bolster ramp, coming into Supported Reclining Half Hero's Pose.
If this feels ok and you want to go for full Supported Reclining Hero's Pose, come back to seated and tuck your other foot next to your other hip and repeat the careful laying down process.
If your knees are saying "NO WAY" then you need more propping. Give yourself something to sit on - like a folded blanket or a small bolster and make your bolster ramp higher. With these modifications, most folks should be able to do this pose. But if it isn't working for you, be kind to your body and settle into Reclining Bound Angle instead:
While in the pose:
Keep breathing, keep observing the pose in your body, and allow the body to open at its own rate. Commit to the stillness but do allow yourself to adjust your props and your body as you settle deeper in. Notice if you are gripping the knees, quads, hips or back (or of course the usual places like the jaw, forehead or shoulders). Try to let these parts soften. Stay as long as you are comfortable.
Coming out of the pose:
To come up, support the torso with the hands on the floor, and either push yourself to a seated Hero's Pose or roll to one side slightly and untuck your feet, one at a time. If you were practicing 1/2 Hero's take the 2nd side. After the second side you can be done or you could try the full version of the pose.
This posture is great for creating length in the quads. There may be discomfort in the knees to start but by lengthening the quads this problem can go away - at least for me it did. However, if the knee discomfort is sharp, stabbing or causes you to hold your breath, I would recommend doing this pose only with supervision.
Happy Exploring!
Hero's Pose can be a very tricky posture to come into for anyone with knee issues, tight quads or low back/SI joint problems. Luckily, with props, this posture can be made available to most people--comfortably--not just to "get through it."
Setting up for the pose:
Gather a number of different props: a few pillows/bolsters, a few blankets, and a couple of blocks. Test your ability to sit on your shins with your bum on the floor between your feet. If this does not happen for you in an upright, seated position, it is not going to happen in the reclining version either. You need support.
Set up a bolster or a thickly-rolled blanket behind you lengthwise. Place a block, bolster, or additional pillows under the end of the bolster where your head is going to lay to create a ramp set-up. Like so:
 |
| This bolster set-up is good for Reclining Hero's Pose or for Reclining Bound Angle. |
Coming into the pose:
Sit in Dandasana (sit on your bum with legs straight) in front of your bolster ramp. Get very close to your props - let your back body touch the bolster. Bend one leg and tuck your foot by your outer hip. Carefully lower your body toward your bolster ramp, coming into Supported Reclining Half Hero's Pose.
If this feels ok and you want to go for full Supported Reclining Hero's Pose, come back to seated and tuck your other foot next to your other hip and repeat the careful laying down process.
If your knees are saying "NO WAY" then you need more propping. Give yourself something to sit on - like a folded blanket or a small bolster and make your bolster ramp higher. With these modifications, most folks should be able to do this pose. But if it isn't working for you, be kind to your body and settle into Reclining Bound Angle instead:
While in the pose:
Keep breathing, keep observing the pose in your body, and allow the body to open at its own rate. Commit to the stillness but do allow yourself to adjust your props and your body as you settle deeper in. Notice if you are gripping the knees, quads, hips or back (or of course the usual places like the jaw, forehead or shoulders). Try to let these parts soften. Stay as long as you are comfortable.
Coming out of the pose:
To come up, support the torso with the hands on the floor, and either push yourself to a seated Hero's Pose or roll to one side slightly and untuck your feet, one at a time. If you were practicing 1/2 Hero's take the 2nd side. After the second side you can be done or you could try the full version of the pose.
This posture is great for creating length in the quads. There may be discomfort in the knees to start but by lengthening the quads this problem can go away - at least for me it did. However, if the knee discomfort is sharp, stabbing or causes you to hold your breath, I would recommend doing this pose only with supervision.
Happy Exploring!
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