Taking yoga easy
The word of the week in my yoga practice is ease. Last week my muscles felt the effects of my efforts on the elliptical (in a good way). My goal this week is to let them adjust to the exercise. I’m not slacking off, but I’m not increasing my exercise either. Just taking it easy. I’m doing a consistent 12-15 minutes of warm up on the elliptical, followed by half an hour of gentle yoga. The Kripalu Gentle Yoga DVD seems to be just the thing right now to work out the muscle soreness. I'll probably also stretch my legs and hips with Rodney Yee in the AM Yoga for Beginners workout. I'm sticking with the easy and familiar this week - no pushing.
This is the yin of yoga. Making space, not pushing. Allowing the muscles to relax and deepen into familiar poses. Pulling back from the edge. Allowing room to breathe, allowing space to find stillness between the poses. It is difficult, possibly even more difficult than striving for strength and endurance, or trying challenging new poses. Yoga is my passion, and I want to progress in my practice. But part of the challenge of yoga is that progress is not just forward--not just yang--but easing back, receptive--yin--as well. I actually have a DVD called "Yin Yoga" on my Netflix queue that I'm excited about. But it will have to wait a week or two if I'm going to stay with the familiar for a while.
I have made a small adjustment to the down dog pose in the past few days that seems to be working well for my shoulders. I place my hands ever so slightly wider than than the recommended shoulder width. As I come into the pose, rather than simply stretching my arms forward, I focus getting width between my shoulders and opening the armpit to the side. I have heard that instruction before, but it’s not a common one and I rarely remember it. This simple intention to move laterally as well as extend forward seems to be making a big difference. Everything is feeling better "placed" and less stressed. Here again, I'm making space. Not striving in the pose quite so much. Making room in my chest, literally, for breath.
This is the yin of yoga. Making space, not pushing. Allowing the muscles to relax and deepen into familiar poses. Pulling back from the edge. Allowing room to breathe, allowing space to find stillness between the poses. It is difficult, possibly even more difficult than striving for strength and endurance, or trying challenging new poses. Yoga is my passion, and I want to progress in my practice. But part of the challenge of yoga is that progress is not just forward--not just yang--but easing back, receptive--yin--as well. I actually have a DVD called "Yin Yoga" on my Netflix queue that I'm excited about. But it will have to wait a week or two if I'm going to stay with the familiar for a while.
I have made a small adjustment to the down dog pose in the past few days that seems to be working well for my shoulders. I place my hands ever so slightly wider than than the recommended shoulder width. As I come into the pose, rather than simply stretching my arms forward, I focus getting width between my shoulders and opening the armpit to the side. I have heard that instruction before, but it’s not a common one and I rarely remember it. This simple intention to move laterally as well as extend forward seems to be making a big difference. Everything is feeling better "placed" and less stressed. Here again, I'm making space. Not striving in the pose quite so much. Making room in my chest, literally, for breath.