Sometimes the days get away from us and our energy levels fluctuate to the point where, what we had planned the night before may not always be obtainable the next day and that is perfectly okay. Here are five postures that I try to incorporate in my day regardless of who, what, when, where and why is keeping me from time on my mat; in addition to their health benefits.
"Remember, it doesn't matter how deep into a posture you go - what matters is who you are when you get there." - Max Storm
Like I said, it may not always be possible to find time on your mat and incorporate that long flow that you desire. And, sometimes even that 45-minute class at the studio is not even possible, so give yourself a break and take those little moments throughout the day to give back to yourself.
Regardless of the list of to-dos that you may have piling up, the most beautiful thing about yoga is the fact that it is already within you - both on and off your mat. You can find the release in your day just by simply following your breath and if possible, adding a posture or two.
For example, are you in the car or sitting at your desk about to head to a meeting in three minutes? Great. Take the time to reconnect with your breath. Slow down. And just like a yoga instructor would do while you are in class, guide yourself to take a full deep breath.
Breathe with intention. Inhale filling up your belly and lungs with life giving oxygen, pause at the top and then fully exhale, double empty at the bottom. When you take this full inhale and full exhale, focus on bringing in positive light and energy into each and every cell in your body and releasing what does not serve you. Let it go. And, really, truly, let it go. Try this for a minute or at least three full breaths and notice the change in your day. If nothing else, remember this: Stop. Focus and Breathe. Even if you are not in a location or in clothing that allows you to do yoga postures, your breath is one of the eight limbs of yoga and the most powerful tool that allows you to calm, reenergize, focus and reconnect with your body and mind.
So, even if you are not able to practice any of these postures below; you already have the most beautiful piece of yoga, your breath. Pranayama.
With breath as a tool, here are some of the postures I try to incorporate every day:
Urdhva Hastasana or Raised Hands Pose is a standing posture with raised hands over head. This posture is often performed during Surya Namaskara or Sun Salutations to honor the energy of the sun; which just like the sun, is very energizing, and also, improves posture, expands the lungs and releases anxiety in the body. You can also perform this posture seated, if you are unable to get up from your desk during the day. When you are seated, raising your hands above your head lengthens your torso and opens the hips and if you open your arms into a wide "v", you open and calm the mind as well, which is a great escape from your busy day and helps to alleviate tension headaches.
While practicing Urdhva Hastasana, it is important to focus on your alignment and make it as intentional and purposeful as the strength used in Chaturanga Dandasana (Staff Pose) or the balance needed in Natarajasana (Dancer). Start with you toes, find a natural stance and gently lift the arches and then, begin to slowly move up the body - make sure the shin bones stack directly over your ankles; the knee caps lift slightly as the quads engage; the belly tucks up and in; the shoulders move away from the ears and down the back; the chin sits over the pelvis and the arms actively reach to the sky. Find the balance and the harmony in the body as you become in tune with the opposing lines of energy working in this pose: the arms reaching straight and strong towards the sky as the shoulders pull down the back.
This pose is a favorite of mine because sometimes the easiest of postures can be the most challenging. There is a lot at play here and there are always new findings in this pose day-to-day as my shoulders may be more tired and tight than usual or my energy is lower and thus, my focus is challenged. I often close my eyes and observe how my balance and inner calmness alters; it is a reminder to move deeper inward while still maintaining harmony.
Adho Mukha Savasana or Downward-Facing Dog is a full body strength and stretch posture from your hands down to your toes and one pose that is widely recognized in yoga. If you have a family pet, I am sure that you witness them perform this posture multiple times a day to lengthen their spine and release tension. This staple posture helps calm the mind, releases stress, relieves headaches, insomnia and back aches and improves digestion, high blood pressure, flat feet and sciatica. Don't be fooled by its use as a resting posture between vinyasa practice, though; it can be a deep arm balance and partial inversion to challenge you, especially if holding for several minutes at a time.
The variation of Downward-Facing Dog pictured, improves flexibility in the hamstrings, range of motion of the hips and, like Adho Mukha Savasana, releases tension in the head and neck, improves blood flow in the body and relaxes the mind.
When you are in Downward-Facing Dog focus on straight, strong legs, lengthening your tailbone to the sky, externally rotating your shoulders to open up your chest, gazing at your belly button and aligning your spine with your shoulders, arms and wrists. There is a lot to focus on but notice how changing one thing or focusing on one, changes the effectiveness of this posture
I have tightness in my sternum so I love this posture any time of the day. I just need to remind myself to stop and drop into the pose. You can too. If you are cooking, sitting in a cubicle, or on the couch; take a moment to come into this posture and focus on your breath for a few minutes. Tap into your inner strength and lengthen areas that have become bond. Allow yourself to open and release.
Prasarita Padottanasana or Wide-Legged Forward Fold is a fantastic beginning inversion posture to strengthen and stretch the legs and spine symmetrically. One of the things that I love to mention while teaching is really focusing on the fact that whenever your head is below your heart, you are releasing stress and tension. So, as you hold this posture, really tune into the power of your breath and set the intention to release any blockages in the body and allow the oxygenation to flow fully through. Also, begin to tune into the different sides of your body and notice the variation that may exist between strength and flexibility and work to bring those into balance on either side.
When you are practicing this posture, align your fingers with your active toes and try to bring more of your weight forward into your toes. Pull the inner thighs away from each other to widen your pelvis and walk your hands back if you are more flexible, keeping elbows parallel and hands shoulder-width If you are not able to rest the crown of your head on the ground, find a block to support you. You can add a bind to open up and release the shoulders. Add another variation by turning your toes to face one another in your fold to help open your outer shin - the tibialis anterior and peroneus longus muscles.
Supta Matsyendrasana or Reclined (Supine) Twist pose is one that we most commonly practice to end a class; maybe out of habit or the body craving a twist after a practice full of back bends and heart openers, but this posture has really amazing benefits. In addition to wringing out the body and compressing and massaging the internal organs, a reclined twist after a practice can restore the central nervous system back into balance and release tension in the spine.
When practicing this posture, ensure that your shoulders are square and resting evenly on the mat. If one shoulder rises as you cross your leg over, twist back to neutral and place your crossed knee on a block for support or even a blanket under the floating shoulder. To change the areas that this posture affects, you can alter the position of your crossed knee. Most often, we keep a 90 degree bend in the knee but bringing the knee closer towards the chin or further down towards the outstretched ankle will change the areas in the spine that are being impacted, the upper back and sacrum, respectively. Most importantly, relax into the posture and let go of any muscles that are holding onto tension or guarding. Start at the top of the head and work your way down to signal each area in the body to release and sink deeper into the pose.
I once heard that you can maintain full body health and happiness by beginning and ending your day with a spinal twist. I have truly taken this advice to heart and always try to add a twist in my day, twice a day. I enjoy this posture because of the gentle massage it provides but also touches all my areas of tightness - lower back and shoulders.
I end this posture with a reclined butterfly for several breaths before rounding out my spine because I enjoy feeling the space that I just created from holding the twist. Also, based on Yin Yoga, it takes the body about thirty minutes to truly replenish the area of the body that was just opened and it is natural to feel a little weakness and somewhat achiness as a result of the lengthy holds. Imagine a sponge being squeezed and all the dirty water drained from the pores and once you let go of the tension, the sponge slowly puffs back to its natural shape with a bit brighter appearance; that is exactly what is happening in our body. After maintaining a posture for a while, toxins are pulled away and the moment we exit the pose, it takes time for our body to flood back with healthy blood flow, synovial fluid and nutrients just like the sponge and we feel brighter as a result.
Virabhadrasana III or Warrior III pose takes its name after Virabhadra, a fierce warrior and an incarnation of Shiva that is described as having a thousand heads, eyes and feet, wielding a thousand clubs and wearing tiger skin. This is a great pose to strengthen your ankles and toes and focus on your balance and posture. Warrior III also helps lengthen your torso and improves body awareness. I enjoy this pose because I can feel my full posterior chain engage and after each breath, I can feel my ankle and bottom foot becoming more and more stable.
When you are practicing Virabhdrasana III, keep your hips square, internally rotate your inner thigh, engage your belly up and in, gaze just in front of you and bring your biceps to your ears. There should be one long line of energy from your floating foot to your outstretched hands. Focus on the energy flowing through your body, your strength and balance.
*To note: There are many variations and often many interpretations of mythology. This is a story that I have read*
The story of Virabhadra: The story begins with Daksha who was a very devout king that performed the fire ceremonies and who loved and respected the Gods. Because of his caring and devout nature, the Gods rewarded him with a beautiful child, Sati (also known as Shakti). As time passed and they both grew older, Sati was due to be married. Sati was very faithful herself and became fully devoted to Lord Shiva, the king of the yogis. Lord Shiva is depicted as a wild free-spirit who worshiped at graveyards with sages and covered himself in ash, so basically more akin to Jimmi Hendrix.
Once Daksha heard of this, he decided to make a different plan to find a more suitable man to marry his daughter. He threw a party and invited all the nobles but not Lord Shiva. He planned to give Sati a garland of flowers and she was to be blindfolded and throw the garland at the eligible suitors and who ever caught the flowers would marry Sati.
Sati heard of her fathers plans and prayed to Lord Shiva for help. Because Lord Shiva was meditating deeply, he heard her prayers and when it came time for Sati to toss her garland into the crowd of suitors, Lord Shiva appeared and caught her flowers and they married.
Daksha was furious and when it came time for the annual fire ceremony, he did not invite his daughter and her husband, Lord Shiva. Of course Sati was saddened by this so she disguised herself and went to the fire ceremony to confront her father. In rage, she took off her disguise and her father instantly pointed his finger at his daughter for the disgrace she brought to the family for her choice in a husband. As a result, Sati tossed herself into the fire and once she did, Lord Shiva instantly felt his other half leave the world. Infuriated, he created Virabhadra to seek out Daksha and kill him. The three poses, Warrior I, II and III are all movements of the battle between Daksha and Virabhdra.
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana or Pigeon is one of the deep hip openers in yoga which helps release tension in the hips, increases external rotation of the femur, lengthens the torso and calms the mind. This posture also taps into opening our lower two chakras - root (grounding, tribal and sense of belonging) and sacral (emotional body, creativity and sensuality) chakras. This opening can be intense due to tightness in these areas from being seated for long periods as well as blocked relationship and emotional energy.
There are so many variations that you can move into for Pigeon. You can layover your front leg into a "Sleeping Pigeon". You can move into a deep back bend and bend your back leg into "King Pigeon" or you can combine the two postures into "Screaming Pigeon" laying down into sleeping pigeon with a bind. You can also move your torso over your front foot for "Wandering Pigeon" to open up your IT band a bit further.
Most importantly, when practicing this posture, it is important to keep the hips square regardless of how parallel the front shin lies in front of you in order to protect the sacrum and avoid shifting or causing undue stress. Flex your front toes to support your knee and allow the back leg to fully rest on the ground with knee, ankle and tucked toes all contacting your mat.
Unlike many of the postures we move throughout in a practice, this is a posture that you can sink in and truly connect with your breath and hold for a long period of time. In doing so, you can truly begin to calm your scattered monkey mind and, I find, can connect with these words from Patanjali:
"When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds. Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be." ~ Patanjali
We are often in a million places at once in our minds ready for the next to-do, the next plan, snack, call, etc. and not really focused on what we are doing in the moment whether from scattered thoughts or procrastination. Being in this posture for a while, helps you feel more connected with your body and mind and open up spaces that may have been blocked or stagnant while calming others that have been firing for too long. You will feel more alive, relaxed and centered.
I hope that you enjoyed this post and learned more about these six yoga postures and the power of your breath. I hope that you connected more deeply with a posture, your breath or both in hopes that you will be able to connect with either or all throughout your day taking yoga with you both on and off your mat.
All my light and all my love. Namaste.
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