Camel Pose

 

The month of May will be dedicated to Camel Pose.

Stand up on your knees, 15 cm distance inside the legs and the feet. Put your hands on your hips, thumbs outside, fingers facing down. Inhale, push hips forward, drop your head back, go back half way and stop in the middle. You need to bend your spine. In the beginning you can stay there and work on bending backwards. Once you are more comfortable and can see the floor behind you, try to grab the right heel with your right hand, left heel with your left hand, thumbs outside, fingers inside. Not just the fingertip but a full grip with your palms. Inhale and push your stomach, legs, hips, everything forward towards the mirror. Lift your chest up towards the ceiling. Relax the forehead, breathe. Imagine one day you will touch the mirror with your hips. This is the biggest backward bending in the entire series, bending with the gravity.

The benefits are immense: great pose to improve the digestion. Against constipation. You are stretching the inner organs: digestive system,  reproductive organs, liver, spleen, pancrease, diaphragm, thyroid and thymus glands, everything is being stretched and after releasing the posture, fresh, oxygenated, nutrient rich blood flushes back, flushes the organs, eliminating toxins and bringing all the good stuff into the deep cell tissue. Together with rabbit and spine twist, this is the anti-aging posture. The spine is completely compressed, the chest being stretched, bronchies, connective tissue, opening up on a cellular level.

Compressing the spine improves communication between the nerves and respective organs. Blood circulation is being improved.

Fear, stress and emotions are being released. This deep backward bend might be overwhelming in the beginning, because you are opening up your chest. This is your heart chacra, where the emotions are stored. Stress hormones are being reduced, hormones balanced.

The weird feeling will vanish eventually. This is a natural intoxication posture. You feel kind of “high” afterwards. This is because during the backward bend the para-kidneys are being compressed. This is where the adrenalin is being produced. Releasing the posture, adrenalin rushes through your body and you might feel butterflies in your stomach, your heart is pounding and you see stars or fireworks. Enjoy the ride!

The importance of…

…moving TOGETHER.

N-Sync. One or the other might remember one of those many boy bands back in the 90ies, I believe. Not to bring up far fetched memories, but the name was program: they sang TOGETHER.

In class, nothing should bother me. I should concentrate on myself, focus on my practice and not be disturbed by anything else. It´s all in your head, right? Well, today I was reminded again, that every day is different. Today it bothered me. I know I am a teacher but I am also  human. So I had to quote my favorite villain of all times, Jafar, from the animated motion picture “Alladdin” several times: “Patience, Iago, Patience!” Funny enough, it´s not just ONE little thing that this poor person in front of me did. It was a constant combination of things. Coming in late, all right, it happens. Taking a place in the front row, maybe not so great when coming in late. Rearranging the costume, hair, fidgeting, not standing still. But worst of all was the fact, that there was a delay of several seconds before that person went into the posture – as if waiting for an extra invitation. Or going in too quickly. One way or the other, it was just disturbing. Funny that it is like a domino effect: one person starts and subcounsciously the others follow, even though the teacher didn´t say anything about that movement yet. But then again, body language is stronger than spoken words.

So, just like an orchestra that needs to play together, otherwise you hear the violine, or flute or whatever instrument that doesn´t keep the pace, we need to move together in class. It is one united choreography. Program yourself, you are going to move in the same exact moment the teacher tells you to. Don´t delay. You miss the best part. It creates a so much better and stronger energy when you move together, supporting each other, helping each other through class. Train yourself to be in that one moment, not the future, not the past, be present. It will train you to be much more present in the “outside world” as well. No autopilot.

But then again, if it bothers me, that is my lesson for that day – not to be mean or angry at that person, but to get myself into a state of mind where it doesn´t bother me any more. I might have to work a little harder not to be distracted, but it is my choice to react or to let it go. So, Patience, Iago! Thank you for showing me and making me work on it!

Namasté

Life is too short…

Dialogue – why does the teacher talk so much?

So, you might be asking yourself, why on earth does this person on the podium talk non stop?

The room is full of people, sweating, working hard, thinking, why am I here? I must be crazy. This is one reason the teacher does what he does: talk. To guide you through the postures, telling you every little detail, what is important about this posture so you get the most benefit out of it. This is especially important for beginners, since they don´t know what to do and it is impossible to correct everyone in the room at the same time. That´s why the dialogue is the tool to correct oneself in the mirror. So remember how your first class was and that you were basically trying to survive, nevermind the orders someone was giving you about moving and twisting your body in – at first – awkward ways. Training your patience – with the teacher, the other students and yourself.

It is creating self awareness of your body. To be aware of where the different body parts are and how to make them work in a synchronized way, exactly when you want them to move at that particular time. Body and mind connection.

This is another aspect: I know that you know, after coming to class for a while, how this particular posture is set up. But it is also a challenge for your mind not to go on autopilot and advance into the posture when YOU think it is time to go into it. It makes you LISTEN to me. We do not listen anymore these days. It is all about anticipating, assuming, judging, thinking we know how this and that works. To listen to the teacher and to RESPOND – not to react- that is the challenge. To be here, in this room, in this moment, doing exactly what I am telling you to do that opens your heart and mind to listen to people when you are back “in the outside world” in every day life. Real communication might be happening again.

Furthermore, if you are having a bad day and everything is too much, emotionally, physically, you cannot concentrate etc., my voice is there to guide you and help you through. You are fighting with yourself in your head, struggling whether to do or not to do this posture. If you switch off your mind and surrender to the teacher´s voice, you might find that it becomes much easier to follow the instructions.

You might not agree with everything I say in class. You don´t have to. But listen anyway, be present and move together.

Yoga thoughts

Posture of the month / April: Standing bow pulling pose

What better way to start the “Posture of the month” than with a lovely Easter Rabbitt! This little guy is kicking some b..t and he´s still smiling!

So, what is important in order to do Standing bow pulling pose?

As usual, the set up. Grab the ankle with all 5 fingers, arm up, chin close to the shoulder, knees together to start, lock the standing knee.

Inhale breathing, stretch up again, charge your body forward, go touch the mirror with the fingertips. Continuously kick your leg back and up so the right foot is coming up over your head in the front mirror. Slowly bring your body down from the lower spine. Not too fast, lead with your chest. Keep your hip down, knee invisible behind your body. Touch your shoulder to your chin (not the other way around!). Kick back more, so the right shoulder is behind your left shoulder invisible in the front mirror, in one line.  Keep your arm up, aim in between your eyebrows with your fingertips. Lock the standing knee. Always look forward, if you look down, you will fall down. Touch the mirror and kick back more. Kicking and stretching is equal and simultaneous: 50/50. Kick up more until both feet are in one line from the side.  Eventually, you will be standing in a standing split.

Always exit the posture the same way you went into it. Don´t be afraid to lose the balance. If you kick hard enough, you will not lose the balance, even if you bring your body down.

The benefits:

The blood is being shifted from one side of your body to the other. When you release the posture, the blood rushes back and takes away all the toxins, brings nutrients and oxygen to the deep cell tissue.  This is a natural irrigation of the circulatory system with the help of the respiratory system.

The hip joints benefit. The cervical spine as well, building the muscles to hold it. Balance, strength and flexibility are being trained. Also your will power and determination, your concentration.

If you fall out, you did well. It means you go as deep into the posture as you can! But: get right back into it! It is the longest posture. Use it to flush the organs and glands and to strengthen your deep muscles.