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Restorative Poses and Inversions

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Restorative Poses and Inversions RESTORATIVE POSES AND INVERSIONS Restorative Long timings Can cause anxiety and physical discomfort. More experience gives understanding of where to draw the line in terms of how much physical discomfort is still OK. Long timings in restorative week gives a sense of well being afterwards and feeling refreshed. In restorative poses it is common to be both quiet and busy, to be in and out of concentration, but allowing thoughts to drift past awareness and not focus on any particular thoughts. Headstand and shoulder stand The modern western person is very busy and prone to stress and nervous disorders, the pace of life impacts on sleep and nervous system. Headstand and shoulder stand are refreshing to the nervous system and have the greatest impact post yoga. Headstand Impact on brain and blood supply, imbalance of physical and mental exhaustion, Refreshing glands in skull, head and face Hormonal systems – especially head stand Sense of balance and blood flow to refresh the brain and head Improved circulation – blood to heart, chest and lungs Doing headstand Protect the neck by lengthening the dorsal spine Block in the back can help initially to help move the dorsal spine, Put the block in the roundest point of the back Alternative feet to wall to teach head stand Progression of teaching headstand – looking at each person assess each individual Soft bodied people can be weaker and more muscular people can be stiff Must use care in assessing capability FEAR needs to be overcome in order to work with inversions Headstand is easier in terms of fear because it is lower to the ground Caution – unlike other poses, don’t go to your max timing in headstand It is the only poses where you do not push your timing Placing your hands The head is inside the cupped hands, elbows apart forearm distance Elbows level with the shoulder? Inner and outer elbows even Wrapping the upper arm around – hard action to isolate but gives space to the back of the neck and collar bone area The bottom side of the hand is extended, both wrist bones are long The crown of the head is on the floor, the pointiest part of the head. When the head is straight the nostrils are level horizontally, the ears are level Helping get good lift in headstand Can use sticks to help lift the shoulders, head can be slightly off the floor if using the sticks A little further from the wall is helpful for people working with necks Sticks provide shoulder life to educate the correct position of the back of shoulders well lifted Chair headstand alternative – good for people working with neck issues Takes neck out and hold by shoulders Try using the small back benders instead of the chairs, head hanging between. Aiming for 7 minutes inversions as a start but ten minutes is better when more experienced Headstand in the ropes Can help get longer timings once used to the feel of the ropes The lumbar spine is straight when the rope is in the correct part of the sacrum Putting the stick across the thighs to keep the legs straight - ? not sure why Do this only once comfortable getting in and out of the ropes Be careful of low blood pressure when coming up Free balance headstand is better for the spine, more even, more concentration is required as well HANDSTAND More integration and a stronger pose. Can get strong from practicing handstand, holding body weight Energises, opens the chest and wakes you up Practice at the beginning of class SHOULDER STAND Headstand and shoulder stand are the king and queen of yoga, but you can practice shoulder stand on its own, but headstand must always be followed by shoulder stand or one of its alternatives Do in the right order, shoulder stand has more calming energy Jalandhara Bandha – chin lock in shoulder stand. More support, more solid, more contact with the floor Getting good lift in shoulder stand Back rib area in, buttocks in, more mobile bodies work harder to stack the spine Use props to get lift in the upper back C7 spine and neck area Keep legs together Stiff shoulders and cant get elbows down – can us sticks for more lift If balancing too close to the head, need to use more props for extra height Halasana – keep light in the toes and high in the hips, buttocks over shoulders, rotate outer arm down and keep C7 part of the spine lifted Alternatives to Shoulder stand Shoulder stand on the chair Setubandha Sarvangasana – try 4 bolsters across and lie on it like a bed or a t-bolster set up More passive alternatives to headstand Cross bolsters Lying over the back bender Viparita dandasana Viparita karani The head hangs Head and neck like setubandha INVERSIONS Reverse the effects of gravity and reverse the flow of blood moving around the organs The Power of Inversions Why does the invocation bring us together as a group? Chanting together means we are breathing together. Yoga is 3-4000 years old and the invocation is an acknowledgement of yoga's history and lineage, connecting us back to Patanjali. Yoga is older than most of the sciences we know, and the invocation connects us to that. Simon: Last night's practice (Geeta's Sequence 10, Chapter V, Basic guidelines for teacher of yoga) gave us plenty of time to transition and to do each pose. It is probably the longest restorative practice you have done. Discussion around how to stay in the long timings (Lisa: hard to manage the mind in the long timings), adjustments we can make to deal with physical discomfort. The simple sequence and stripped down poses get you quickly to the internal. For some people being quiet is difficult. 'I have to fight my personality all the time, leave me alone'. In a led practice you are left alone with yourself, there are fewer instructions to hold onto. Simon: a long savasana allows the mind to have that busy moment and get through the restlessness. How you felt in the poses, how you went during the practice, doesn't mean you don't benefit from the practice. Afterwards you benefit anyway, that night, or the next day. You can come into one of these sessions and use it to check in where you are – rather than get caught in it. eg. If you know you're busy, look at it, not get in it. Being still is getting harder for all of us, our nervous systems are becoming more and more disturbed. (See clip by Stephanie on Facebook post). It is not surprising because how we are living is not how the body was designed and it suffers. Disturbed sleep. The poses we are doing this weekend are refreshing and quieting the nervous system. The two most important poses are head and shoulder stand. Even if you are very busy you should still try to get them in to a practice. You will feel better/different/change and they have the most impact, having a balancing effect on the nervous system. Headstand – works on the head, the brain and the glands in the skull and the throat and brain. When you feel tired, but not physically tired, it has a refreshing effect. Glands control the hormonal system – creates balance. Headstand works on the circulatory system, the organs are revitalised through circulation as there is more blood to the head and the respiratory system. Handstand and elbow balance do connect to prepare for headstand. Prepare for headstand by doing poses which integrate the limbs. For example you can see if someone is ready for headstand from their dog pose. Brick in back preparation The preparatory pose with the head off the ground moves shoulders away from the neck, gives lift and the brick allows you to stay and moves dorsal spine into back. The brick goes into the roundest point of the back and this depends on the person. No lift can be from strength and/or from stiffness. Stages to Headstand 1. brick teaches about dorsal spine, keep people in this pose for 1 month 2. then start raising one leg at a time 3. then brief time with head on the floor, will squash the head so only brief 4. in India teach with head on the floor, legs up the wall, Simon doesn't teach it, western bodies are stiffer 5. Then in position taking one leg up, then the other 6. then people start to encounter fear. 7. Take people up the first time and hold them. Don't like people to stay as long as they can. 10 sec, then 20 sec, then 30 sec – don't stay too long because you'll feel it afterwards. There is no better way to go up in the beginning, one bent leg, one straight leg, two bent legs.... Have a progression for a good quality headstand, work up to 5 minutes and then gradually build it to 7/8. You want to be able to do 7 minutes for the first stage and then build up to 10 minutes including variations. - top wristbone sits on top of bottom wristbone • elbows as wide as the shoulder tips • lower wristbone needs to be able to extend • The advice has changed over the years, but last time Geeta said the head has to go into the hands a little bit, soften the head into the hands. Where do you rest on? Crown of the head. People tend to go to the front or the back of the crown.
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