Some of the traditional Yoga schools in India still recommend principles and practices that would seem quite strange and distasteful to us Westerners. On my first trip to India, I had the opportunity to visit a number of Yoga therapy clinics. My first stumbling block was that Yoga therapy practice was always recommended at sunrise (5:30 A.M.).My next challenge came when I reported a digestive problem. I was instructed to drink ten glasses of salt water, which was followed by numerous regurgitations. As unpleasant as it was, it actually did make me feel better. I was closely supervised by an expert and had plenty of time to rest afterward. However, because this could be quite dangerous, we do not recommend this therapy under any circumstances. I mention it as an illustration of how the principles of Yoga practice vary from culture to culture.
In the West, a Yoga therapy practice has to be compatible with our culture as well as practical, user friendly, and safe. There are several important principles that I feel capture the essentials of an effective Yoga therapy practice for our modern world. They include the following:
Commitment to a daily Yoga therapy program
Combining breath with movement
Emphasizing function over form
Incorporating dynamic and static principles of motion
Focusing on the spine
Slowing down your pace
Avoiding competition
Staying faithful to sequencing
This book is designed to be a do-it-yourself program. However, I want to be right up front about the fact that it takes terrific discipline to practice Yoga faithfully and regularly on your own. Knowing this, you may want to consciously commit yourself to doing some form of practice every day, even if it's only for three minutes.
Choose a comfortable place and time in which you can practice consistently each day. It can be any place that gives you enough space and preferably some peace and quiet. It is okay to practice after a small meal or snack, but you need to wait two to three hours after a heavy meal. Once you have begun your daily practice, be patient and compassionate with yourself. Yoga will get easier each time you do it, and eventually you will build up the momentum for a longer practice. Realize it may take a month or more for your daily Yoga to become a habit. If you persevere even when you'd rather quit, Yoga will help you feel better each day, and pretty soon you will not feel complete without it.
Chapter 4 outlines the reasons and techniques for Yoga breathing. It is essential that Yoga breathing accompany movement at all times. Always move slowly and keep your mind focused on the breath coupled with movement. Coordinating breath and movement supports the union of the body breath, and mind. Focusing on breathing helps you concentrate on what you are doing in that very moment, rather than thinking about your car payment or what you're going to have for dinner.
As a basic rule, inhale when the Yoga posture opens the body, exhale when the position folds the body. For example, if you are executing a standing forward bend (which is like a toe touch), inhale as you lift your arms up, and exhale as you are folding or bending forward and down.
There are four ways that your body moves naturally with the breath: Forward bend (flexion), back bend (extension), side bend (lateral flexion), and twist (rotation).
Exhale as you are going into a forward bend, side bend, or twist. Inhale as you are coming out.
Inhale as you are going into a back bend, and exhale as you are coming out.
If you are in the middle of a breath and movement cycle and you run out of breath before you have completed the movement, pause your movement briefly and then return back to the starting place. For example, if you are raising your arms on an inhalation and run out of breath before they are fully extended, just stop your arms where they are and lower them on the exhalation. Let the length of your breath determine how far you move into the posture. Eventually your breath will deepen, and you will be able to complete the full breath and movement cycle. Sometimes you hold or stay in a posture for several breaths. When you do, it is okay to increase the stretch on each succeeding breath.
Many Yoga books illustrate a standing forward bend with the model's forehead touching her knees, her legs and arms straight, and the palms of her hands on the ground. While the form in this posture looks great, the truth is only about 10 percent of the entire population can achieve it, and it's not necessary for a successful Yoga practice.
Although some practitioners might disagree, there is no perfect Yoga posture; what matters most in Yoga therapy is the function, not the form. You should never try to force yourself into an ideal posture. While maintaining good technique, don't try to push yourself too far. One of the tools you can use to achieve the function of the pose is a concept I call “forgiving limbs.”
For example, if you're trying to do a standing forward bend, your legs and back may be stiff and hamstrings tight. As you move into position and feel a pull in the back of your legs, be forgiving. Bend your knees enough to fit your needs. Softening your legs will bring more freedom to the lower back. Softening your arms will bring more freedom to your upper back, neck, and shoulders. As you become more flexible you can begin to straighten your legs, but do not lock or hyperex-tend any of your limbs. The primary function of the standing forward bend is to stretch your back, with a secondary goal of loosening up your hamstrings. This principle also applies to standing side bends and twists.
You'll be amazed at how your body instinctively knows what to do. Relax, tune in, and follow your inner guide. Note that the models shown have soft limbs.
When we are moving in and out of postures, we are using the dynamic. When we are holding a posture, we are using the static. Yoga practice is most effective if we incorporate both the dynamic and the static into our routines. We do this by slowly moving in and out of most Yoga postures a few times before holding them. There are exceptions: in some postures we use either the dynamic or the static, but not both. Your Yoga routine as a whole will incorporate the two principles.
There are distinct advantages to the combination dynamic–static approach. First, using movement before holding each posture provides a safety factor by enhancing the circulation (or blood flow) in the area and thus preparing the muscles and joints for the holding phase. Moving in and out of postures before holding them allows for a deeper stretch. This concept is a variation of what is called pro-prioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF). In a nutshell, if you tighten a muscle just before you stretch it, it will stretch farther. (It's like bending your knees before jumping rather than jumping from a standing position.) This is especially true for many of the standing postures in which you are bending forward and stretching the major muscles with gravity, then rising up against gravity and tightening the same muscles.
For many postures, we recommend that before you hold them, you move in and out at least three times, but not more than six. Hold a posture for six to eight breaths, or roughly thirty seconds. Continue your Yoga breathing while holding. Do not hold your breath.
For each Yoga posture suggested in this book, the number of repetitions and/or the holding time are specified. Follow the instructions carefully, noting that a few postures incorporate repetition without holding, and others instruct you to hold but not repeat. After practicing a while, you'll get a feel for it. Your practice may vary, depending on how you are feeling on any given day.
Don't worry if your limbs tremble from time to time while holding a pose. That's a normal reaction in the beginning, until you build strength and become familiar with the routines. If the trembling begins to feel like an earthquake, then ease out of the pose gently.
Though you may be tempted to bounce while holding certain Yoga positions—don't. Bouncing can lead to a distracted focus or even an injury. The danger of bouncing can be compared to hopping on a balance beam as opposed to just walking. The chances of slipping and injuring yourself are much greater.
Some of the postures in this book contain specific instructions for coming out of them, because it is important that you do it a certain way. If the posture does not have these instructions, just move your body gently to the starting position for the next pose.
There is an old saying: You are as old as your spine. Conversely, you are as young as your spine is flexible. I believe this to be true. The next time you're in a large group, observe how some people seem older than their years because they have become so stiff in the spine.
The longer we are on this planet, the more opportunity gravity has to create a negative effect on our bodies, including compressing the spine. Yoga postures offer a method for decompressing the spine, creating a feeling of space between the vertebrae, resulting in enhanced postural alignment. This can reduce stress to the musculoskeletal , digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems. It is why so many of the principles of practice support the concept of focusing on the spine. Function over form, forgiving limbs, and dynamic and static movements are all principles that yield more freedom to the spine. For best results, your Yoga movements should feel fluid, as though your joints are moving through water.
No matter how brief your Yoga routine may be on any given day, Yoga should never be done in a hurry. The whole idea of Yoga is to slow down and quiet the multitudinous distractions of the mind.
In many parts of our lives, we are rewarded by speed of accomplishment. Yoga takes that rule and turns it upside down. The more slowly you go in Yoga, the greater your rewards will be.
Do not rush through postures, and remember that resting poses are as important as active ones. Warming up is as crucial as cooling down, and always remember the tiny pauses between each inhale and exhale.
Your eyes can be open or closed during Yoga practice, but closing the eyes helps some people to slow down. Choose whichever is most comfortable for you each time you practice. Usually, standing or balancing poses require the eyes to be open, while resting and restorative poses can be enjoyed more fully with the eyes shut.
Yoga is not a competition—not even with yourself. Yoga encourages you to move at your own pace and not judge yourself. I've been doing Yoga for more than twenty years, and sometimes I practice like a beginner when I'm recovering from an injury or just plain exhausted.
Your physical condition is affected by so many factors that are constantly in flux: hormones, hydration, mind-set, stress, activity levels, and emotions. Every day your body will feel different, especially if you've been ill or are dealing with a chronic ailment.
It's easy to say and hard to do, but suspend all judgments when it comes to your Yoga performance. It's not about how difficult the posture is or how long you hold it. The beauty of your practice is that you will receive benefits, even if you're doing only conservative postures and holding them for only a short period of time.
Ancient Yoga teachings say that where your mind goes, your circulation goes. Visualize the bodily area you are working on, and if you notice tension or resistance, visualize your breath going to the area to soothe it and smooth it out. This does not mean breathe into the pain. There is no gain from pain in Yoga. Listen to your body. Stay tuned in with a dialogue, not a monologue. Your motto should be: Challenge myself, don't strain myself.
There is logic to the sequence of the postures in each of this book's routines. The art of sequencing involves placing the postures in a specific order to maximize the benefits. A good Yoga therapy program has an intelligent plan that takes into consideration your ultimate goal, the safest and most efficient way to accomplish that goal, your skill level, and the amount of time allotted for practice.
The routines in this book are designed with the assumption that you are new to Yoga and that you are busy and have limited time to devote to it. Each routine has a specific goal, either general conditioning or managing an ailment. Ranging in length from ten to thirty minutes, they are short enough to fit your lifestyle yet long enough to be effective.
The routines are safe, proven, and always start with a transition posture that leads you gently from your hectic day into your routine with Yoga breathing. Next, a warmup prepares the body, followed by the main postures, which are selected to address the goal. Compensation postures bring your body back into neutral. Finally, breathing exercises and relaxation techniques allow you to rest before you move on to your next activity. Because Yoga therapy routines are so carefully designed to be safe and effective, it is important you do the postures in the order recommended.
