To practice Adho Mukha Svanasana, come to Mountain Pose at the front of your Yoga mat. With an inhale, raise your arms overhead. With your next exhale, bring your hands down the front of your body in Prayer Position all the way to your Yoga mat. Place your hands next to your feet and with your next inhale look slightly up, and then with an exhale, jump or walk your feet behind you so that your body creates an inverted V.
When our prana is sluggish from too much muscular tension, stress and toxicity, our creativity is also dulled. Choosing Yoga poses and sequences that increase the circulation of prana will ignite the creative spark within you.
One concern that many people have with Yoga is that certain positions (asanas) could actually be harmful. Depending on the type of body one has, any posture could be beneficial or harmful. This is especially true with headstands. The truth is, you should talk with your doctor about your Yoga practice and this is very important.
Bakasana is another wonderful Yoga pose that promotes a feeling of courage, strength and balance. Start by squatting down on your Yoga mat with your feet 4 to 6 inches apart. If you do not have the flexibility to keep your heels flat on the mat when you squat down, please use a folded blanket to create a firm and comfortable foundation for the pose.
Combining Yoga asanas and mindful walking practices, gives us the time and space to become aware of our internal environment and thought processes. Witnessing the thoughts that stream through our minds, during a challenging Yoga practice or during our daily walk, will allow us to become aware of thoughts that may not be uplifting or helpful to us. This awareness will allow us to choose more positive thoughts.
Two wonderful beginning standing Yoga poses that help to develop skills of present awareness, balance and wholeness are Tadasana or Mountain Pose and Tree Pose. Practicing Mountain Pose in a very aware manner will help a trauma survivor to simply feel more and be more in his or her body.
For some Yogis or Yoginis, the emphasis on finding and keeping an ideal romantic partner can bring up a deep sense of loss for a relationship that seemed so perfect in the beginning, but then became unsustainable as time went on. This deep longing for a perfect romantic partner, who offers us unconditional love and unquenchable support all the time, can propel many of us into less than ideal partnerships. When these partnerships dissolve, our hearts may feel deep grief and loss for months, or even years to come.
Some Yoga certification courses devote a day or two to the the use of stability balls for a prop or for therapeutic use. With that said…
When conducted skillfully and appropriately, a physical adjustment can be a very powerful way to develop a trusting relationship with your student. By providing them with a simple technique, it can open up their eyes to a new limit for their body. While verbal adjustments are more common due to the controversy of physical adjustments, there are no other types of assisting that could lead to a new realization of physical limits.
As the sun travels toward her yearly zenith point, her warmth and energy begin to permeate the earth, coaxing new life to emerge from its winter stasis. With each passing day, we begin to witness the perennial growth of abundant flowers and plants. The sunshine and warm temperatures also bring bears out of hibernation and the bees back to the business of making honey! Traditionally, the Incas worshiped the yellow color of the sun as a symbol of optimism, happiness, pleasure, and wealth.