Accessible Movement for Every Body

1. Movement 2. Stillness 3. Nourishment 4. Connection

Yoga emphasizes three types of movement:   

Joint freeing: gently move each joint in the body through its range of motion.  Done standing, seated or laying down. Flexing and pointing the foot, doing circles with the ankles or wrists, opening and closing the hands, rolling the shoulders, smiling.

Yoga poses, or asana: you are moving gently into and out of a shape three or more times then holding it for a stretch.  Moving before you ask your body to hold a shape is based in neuroscience. I like to say it is a way of preparing your brain to collaborate. Gentle movement says to your brain 'I am going to ask you to work with me here to stretch deeply into this shape shortly!'. And it works! You can find a deeper or more satisfying stretch if you make this important mind body connection first.

Breathing: Yoga also works with the movement of the breath. Connecting with the breath makes yoga different from other exercises. Notice how your ribs open and expand up when you take in a deep breath. Maybe the shoulders move up  a bit.  And perhaps it all softens and releases on the exhale.  In yoga we work with that subtle movement inside our bodies.

Yoga can help increase our ability for stillness. Not an easy task when we first start out. As you stick with a practice stillness starts to feel more natural.

Stillness helps nurture the mind body connection like movement does. In a stretch we may stay for 3-5 breaths, observing our breath, or noticing the very subtle sensations we are experiencing in our body.  Stillness is also cultivated in yogic deep relaxation and it may even help off the mat when we find ourselves in crazy traffic or a long grocery check-out line!

Yoga nourishes on several levels. 

For general wellness we put healthy things into our body and we need rest and we need to sleep!  In learning to love the bodies we are in we also nourish opportunities to learn about ourselves. 

You may know about the yogic diet, but did you know that yogic deep relaxation has been shown to be the equivalent of a few hours of sleep! And a regular night time routine starting half an hour before sleep can signal to your body and mind it is getting close to bedtime.

Yoga done outdoors or with natural light streaming into the room also can tap into that great nourishing effect. 

Connection is key in yoga.

We work on our own mind-body connection in movement and stillness practices and we often do yoga classes in groups.  When we find a group of kindred spirits, this lends us the opportunity to connect with the instructor and also with new and other people that we may not regularly interact with.

The world that cares about us is actually a lot larger than we think it is.  Sometimes we just have to reach out and give somebody the gift of our full attention.   We all have value to bring to the world.  Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General of the United States