Rock Pose for Digestion

I love Rock Pose. I feel calm, grounded, a little bit like time stands still when I'm just sitting on my heels. I've just discovered that in this position, coupled with deep, slow breathing where you feel your belly distend on the inhale and press in on the exhale, helps digestion after a meal.

When I first started yoga, sitting in Rock Pose was excruciating on my knees, and I felt like the circulation in my legs just stopped. Others feel the pain on the tops of their feet, or their ankles. Happily, sitting like this for a little while each day will help increase mobility in these areas, as I am proof of now being able to enjoy, even crave, resting like this for long whiles.

You can help get more comfortable by using bolsters:
~ sitting on a blanket folded several times for padding on the floor
~ placing a small cushion or rolled up bath towel under the ankles
~ placing a rolled up hand towel behind the knees

Then, place your hands on your thighs, close your eyes, breathe deeply, and think of nothing other than the air entering your lungs and exiting your nose.

WITH BREATH OF FIRE
Want to strengthen your digestion even more? Try this exercise once in a while, but be sure to do it on an empty stomach, please!

Sit in Rock Pose, getting comfortable enough to endure several minutes. Bring your hands over your head, palms firmly touching, elbows straight. Begin breath of fire, where you concentrate on the exhale (through the nose only) by pushing in your stomach, and inhale briefly (through the nose only) without really making efforts here, just allowing your stomach to relax. Your pace should be quick: two or three breaths per second, pumping your belly quite noticeably. Continue for two to three minutes, then lower your arms and relax. If you like, lie on the floor in Corpse Pose for a minute and completely let go. Done.

How to relax deeply

In meditation during corpse pose today, it occurred to me you might be interested in a few techniques out there for relaxing deeply. This can be done sitting in a chair, cross-legged on the floor, or lying flat on your back. The key is to have the body soft but the spine straight so that you can breathe freely. While in one of these poses, breathe slowly and deeply yet unforced, and remind yourself to:

~ relax your forehead

~ relax your eyeballs

~ relax your teeth

~ relax your jaw

~ relax your tongue

Focusing just on those parts of your head will trigger everything else to relax. I think it's because our eyes and tongue are constantly moving that it feels so calming to set them free!

My first yoga teacher, Kathryn Beet of Yoga Space used to do the trick telling everyone in shivasana (corpse pose) to:

Relax your toes... toes, relax...
Relax your ankles... ankles, relax...
Relax your calves... calves, relax...

...and so on, every so slowly all the way up along the body. Try it next time you find your mind wandering during a reclined meditation. I like to say the first part (relax your toes) on the inhale, and the second part (toes, relax) on the exhale. Give it a try and see how you like it.

Stretch out your heart

I've been reading with great interest recently about the heart chakra, about why it gets closed off from giving and receiving love fearlessly. It resonates greatly with me and I'm thinking it can be related to Vata as well, as the element associated with the heart chakra is air. My next post will be about the heart chakra some more.

Meanwhile, here is a yoga stretch that is wonderful for opening up the heart. It's a gentle seated backbend that anyone can do. If you are hunched over your desk all day, or feeling low-energy, or have sadness in your heart, sit down in a quiet place and counteract all these constricting feelings. Sit with the soles of your feet together, or loosely crossing the ankles, and place your hands on the floor about a foot behind you. Bring your shoulders back, flare your heart up, and breathe deeply. Feel free to sigh audibly with your mouth open.

(from The Girls' Yoga Book by Maple Tree Press)

Yoga stretch for poor posture

This stretch is a combination of the backbend half moon and the forward fold good posture poses. Performing this daily will help correct any slouching or curving of the upper back, and be invigorating as well!

1 Start by standing with your feet hip width apart and perfectly parallel to each other (you may feel slightly pigeon-toed). Grab a towel in your hands with a comfortable distance between them. This is a bit of a dance with your breath, so each movement couples with a deep inhale or exhale.

2 Slowly inhaling, swing your straight arms above your head, keeping the towel taut and your shoulders down.

3 Exhale while you bend back as far as you can, arching your back and lifting your chin. Don't crunch the back of your neck or your lower back, and keep your arms straight.

4 Inhale and come back upright, and bring your hands behind your buttocks, holding on to the towel and keeping your arms straight.

5 Exhale, bend forward, swinging your arms up perpendicular to your back. You can bend your knees slightly here, but keep your arms straight and the towel taut.

Come back to your initial standing position with an inhale. Take a breath and repeat 2 to 4 more times.

Yoga for KAPHAs

Your tendency is to be cool and inert, Kaphas. Yoga poses that best suit you will fire you up and make you move! These also help greatly with congestion, metabolism, and open your throat, chest and lungs.

All postures should be performed vigorously while doing, deep, quiet breathing through the nose.

~ Head Stand
~ Plough
~ Forward Bend
~ Backward Bend
~ Half Wheel
~ Fish
~ Shoulder Stand
~ Boat
~ Camel
~ Bow
~ Breath of Fire (Bhasrika)
~ Lion
~ Head-to-Knee
~ Locust
~ Cobra

Yoga for PITTAs

Pittas are generally over-heated, so yoga postures that cool you down and calm the mind are best for you. Because of your natural athleticism, you can handle the more challenging poses. These poses will also help headache, inflamed bowels, and hypertension.

All postures should be performed while doing deep, quiet breathing.

~ Shoulder Stand
~ Knee-to-Ear
~ Knee-to-Chest
~ Fish
~ Locust
~ Cobra
~ Bow and Half Bow
~ Corpse
~ Hidden Lotus
~ Boat
~ Sheetali

Yoga for VATAs

Postures that are grounding, calming and slightly heating are important for us Vatas to feel more balanced. Here is a guide to Vata-friendly yoga stretches. These poses also help constipation, joint pain, backache and circulation.

All postures should be performed calmly while doing deep, quiet breathing through the nose.

~ Backward Bend
~ Plough
~ Knee-to-Chest
~ Corpse
~ Half Wheel
~ Shoulder Stand
~ Head Stand
~ Lotus
~ Bow
~ Cobra
~ Yoga Mudra

Hip openers

It's winter, and all of our body parts are contracted -- our shoulders, our faces, our feet, and our hips! One of the best kinds of yoga stretches to do in winter is hip opening poses. They go deep into your hips, working the band of nerves that start at your lower back, dive through your hip pocket, and twist into your inner thigh.



DANGEROUS POSTURE
(referring to the formidable-looking pose) Start by kneeling on the floor, sitting on your heels. Take a few nice breaths. Then gently come onto all fours and cross one leg over the other, kind of like crossing your arms but with your legs. Sit back down. You should have your right foot by your left thigh and left foot by your right thigh. Place your hands on your feet and breathe deeply. To deepen the stretch, push your feet out and up on the floor to be level with your knees, then drape your upper body over your legs and relax for several breaths. Repeat with your other leg crossed overtop.

PIGEON POSTURE
Start by kneeling on the floor, sitting on your heels. Let that stretch work into your legs. Then gently come onto all fours and bring one knee between your hands, and stretch your other leg straight out behind you. Sit up straight, don't let your lower back curve in too much. To deepen the stretch, bring your foot up to be level with your knee, forming a "bar" between your hands. Bring your upper body down to the floor and rest your forehead on your hands. Breathe deeply, feeling your tight hips loosen with each breath. Repeat with the other knee forward.