Your Yoga – Warrior I
As we look to the new year ahead of us, we may feel happy and contented with where we are in our lives or we may feel unsettled and unsteady – not sure how to navigate the challenges in front of us. One of the benefits of yoga is that it helps us stand more firmly on our feet, aligned in our physical body – and this can lead to a mental and emotional steadiness over time which supports us. This is reflected in one of the central niyamas or character-building observances – Ishvar Pravidhana – one translation of which is ‘learning how to line up with nature’s intelligence and grace’.
Your Yoga – Tapas: The heat & spice of your practice
As my children and I begin to bend our minds towards going back to school, we also know that routine and discipline are good for us and help us to be our best serves. Long, hot summer days can lead to less of a routine and daily schedule. ‘Tapas’ – translated as heat or discipline – is one of the yogic niyamas or character building inquiries. But what does it mean in our daily life?
Your Yoga – Sun Salutation
Your Yoga – Principles of Alignment
In yoga, we are working towards alignment of the mind, body and breath to arrive fully in the present moment. But compromised physical alignment, where we force our bodies, can be counter-productive leading to over stretching some areas or reinforcing structural imbalances.
Your Yoga – Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
By practicing Tree Pose (Vrksasana) in yoga, we can explore the sensation of expansion and upward movement and practice putting our trust in the support of the earth.
1. Begin by standing with both feet planted firmly on the ground. Explore the sense of balance by shifting your weight from one leg to the other and then coming back to center, connecting with the central axis of the spine and feeling the support of the ground as it comes up to see the feet. Close your eyes and visualize rooting down into the earth for support, all four corners of each foot pressing down.
2. Shift your weight over to your left foot and root down into this leg, without collapsing out through the hip. Bend the right knee and bring the sole of the right foot to your left shin or inner thigh (avoid the knee to protect the knee joint). As you do this, notice the tendency of the right hip to move out of alignment and see if you can draw the right hip forwards so both hips point straight ahead, as you press the right knee out to the side in line with the hip.
3. Bring your awareness to your standing leg and focus on rooting down through your left foot and left leg. Bring your gaze 45 degrees in front of you on the floor to keep your gaze steady. Slowly start to bring the sense of expansion and growth into the pose as you lengthen through the spine and press out through the crown of the head.
4. When you feel that you are completely supported through the left leg, expand your energy up through the arms and you raise your arms overhead, keeping the shoulders relaxed and the gaze steady on the floor.
5. Whenever you’re ready to come out, slowly release the arms back down, bring your hand to your right knee and draw your knee in front of you as you lower the right foot down to the ground. Shake both arms and legs out to release any tension. Pause and practice this again on the other side, this time shifting your weight over onto your right foot and placing the sole of the left foot onto the right shin or inner thigh.
Namaste,
Temple
Your Yoga – Savasana
As we move into the month of February, we see small signs of spring.
“In every winter’s heart there is a quivering spring, and behind the veil of each night there is a smiling dawn.” – Khalil Gibran