How Yoga Woke Me Up
When I started yoga, I saw it as exercise class that was making my core stronger and helping my back pain. After my teacher training I realized that it was helping my back pain because I was stronger and more flexible. BUT I was also mentally stronger and more flexible. AND I had more awareness of when my body was tight because I was having an emotional reaction to whatever situation I was facing. How did this awareness come about?
It is in the space between the poses.
A Transition is defined as “the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.”
In yoga the transitions or space between poses are important because this is where we connect and learn about ourselves. We can make huge gains in our practice when we pay attention as we move from one pose to another. It is during this time that the brain learns how to control the muscles and as such the movement. It learns which muscles to turn on when, in what order and with the right amount of force to keep our bodies safe and injury free. The is one of the many ways we improve our balance for our everyday activities off the mat.
Off the mat in our day to day lives there are both physical and emotional/mental transitions. Yoga is a practice of the intertwining of mind, body and spirit. It allows us to connect with our physical strength and coordination and also increases awareness of our thoughts and emotions. For me, yoga helps me be more aware of when I’m getting “triggered” emotionally.
The Physical Transitions
Examples of physical transitions might be how we move getting out of bed, climbing stairs, lifting groceries or when playing a sport.
When we practice yoga, we may well be inadvertently preparing for more than the above mentioned transitions. Yoga is a practice of intertwining of mind, body and spirit. It allows us to connect with our physical strength and coordination. The way we move our bodies makes a difference in the wear and tear we put on our bodies. If you have osteoporosis, it can be the difference between a compression fracture, a fall or maintaining vitality as we age.
My Ah-Ha Moment
During a yoga class we teach our bodies to move in and out of poses. An ah-ha moment for me came when my teacher, Shanon Paige Kenny, ERY-T 500, was offering a specific cue to rotate in the hip joint from warrior II to lunge. It was to spin my pelvis around the hip joint to move my body from facing the long side of the sticky mat to face the front framing my front foot with either hand. I “found” and learned to engage my deep hip rotators and core to control the spinal and hip movement. As I think back I was learning to keep the hip and spinal joints safe, avoiding the flexion and rotation stress to the spine/vertebra, and as it turns out safer for my bones as well.
As a physical therapist I teach my patients to avoid twisting and bending the spine simultaneously when we lift especially when they have back or disc issues or osteoporosis. This transition in yoga was actually strengthening my hips and pelvis and teaching me the coordination I needed to use better body mechanics in my daily life. I say “win-win!”
The Wobble
Transitioning in and out of balance poses is key. Have you ever noticed your ankle wobbling in tree pose? Or stepped from tree pose back to a high lunge? Or moved from lunge to a forward fold at the top of your mat? These transitions improve strength and coordination in the legs, hips and pelvis. The stronger the muscles that connect the leg to the hip and pelvis along with your core, the more quickly you will react when you slide on loose gravel or misjudge the last step. So embrace the wobble. It is your nervous system learning how to control the movement of your body. And as we know falls are not acceptable especially if we have osteoporosis.
In case you are curious Body in Tune would love to collaborate with you to find your perfect movement practice to address your pain, balance or osteoporosis.
The Mental Transitions
There are also more mental and emotional transitions in life from being pregnant to taking a newborn home, the back to school events, beginning to take on more caregiver roles with aging parents or packing up your belongings and moving across the country. I suggested that yoga is a practice of intertwining of mind, body and spirit. Personally, it helps me to be more aware of when I’m getting “triggered” emotionally.
With that awareness comes a choice of how I want to interact with and react to the world around me. What energy I want to offer out and receive back. If I practice regularly, I am much better at surfing the transitions with fewer ups and downs or frantic moments. My husband has kindly mentioned that I need to keep practicing yoga because it makes me a nicer person. And I will be the first to admit I am much more patient when I have a regular yoga practice.
I first became aware of how yoga might play a part in my life’s transitions during my first yoga teacher training. I knew on some level that yoga “did” something to help me feel more calm, at least for a day or two after my weekly class. But during our training we read the Upanishads and I learned about the levels of consciousness. The 4th level was about being in the present moment. And I mean really being there, moving from one moment to the next without the anxiety of worrying about the future or ruminating on the past.
In the yoga class that I so enjoyed, my teacher offered such a string of cues for movement in and out of each pose, when to breathe in, when to breathe out, that it was all my brain could do to keep up. That meant that for the 60—75 min of class, I let go of all the other “things”: the grocery list, the “I should have saids”, the work stress, the life stresses, etc. As such I was really present and my brain could breathe.
My brain was so grateful! But in reality, this was also programing my brain to look for opportunities to quiet my overactive mind or to at least hang onto the “yoga bliss” for as long as it could.
Good news! Body in Tune would love to collaborate with you to teach and support you with a yoga practice so you can enjoy your life off the mat with confidence.
Vinyasa yoga - vinyasa means “to place in a special way”
When we pay attention everything changes. I invite you to pay attention to the detail of moving in and out of yoga poses, and notice what shifts begin to happen in your life. I invite you to notice how you feel internally and mentally after your next yoga class and see if here is a difference in how you feel and react during the next difficult conversation.
Body in Tune, LLC was born from a belief that quality of life matters; both life and physical balance matters.
Life is always changing. How will you meet your next transition?
We would welcome the opportunity to be part of your support team with regards to your muscles, joints, bones and osteoporosis. The goal is, after all, to help you feel confident in your body so you can play with your grand children, take that long-dreamed of vacation and get outside and enjoy a walk with friends.