Yoga Tips, Home practice and stuff you never wanted to look at but maybe you should have...
As staying home has become the new Mantra around the world, a lot of us are now getting “used” to the new routine. Some of us struggle with not being able to DO what we are accustomed to, others feel a relief having more time, less commute and a slower pace. Never mind which group you fall into, you can easily fluctuate between two. But learning how to practice Yoga on your own is now paying massive dividends. Not only can you still get the great benefits of the Yoga Practice as per always, but you are now not tossing between trying the on-the-screen version or contorting yourself without understanding the “sequencing”, the variations or the instructions.
Most importantly, what part of the Yoga tradition is now more relevant to you? Which techniques of building focus are not so necessary now? For example, Pranayama is a key factor in developing stonger respiratory muscles, control over the lungs, energising but also stimulating your nervous system, keeping your immune system ready and more. But which technique to choose and for how long and what about all the disclaimers about things going very wrong if you do something incorrectly, like too forcefully, for example.
Or what about cleansing, Neti or Vyutkram, to keep your sinuses and upper breathing channels open and efficient? Is googling a Yoga practice the right thing to do to learn this? Didn't I read somewhere: “to learn this from an experienced teacher”?
So yes, we may have left a few Yoga tricks in the drawer of “never felt the real need to explore”, for whatever reason, including that they may have sounded too strange, confronting or gross. Maybe we just wanted a good stretch and that was why we did Yoga. However now that we may be unable to see a health specialist or we feel the urgency to have a more robust health, we may want to consider those practices.
So in the next few days, I will write a few tips for your home practice, something you may want to read over a few times before trying. Or something you may want to discuss with me over the phone to see if you have got it right or if it is better to skip.
Kapalabhati (skull shining);
Jala neti (water cleanse of the sinuses);
Uddyana Bandha (up flying lock, abdomen massage/stimulation)
Trataka (eyes and mind cleanse, concentration/relaxation practice)
Nadi Shodhana (cleanse of the Pranic channels, balancing of the energetic polarities)
We will see what these bring up for you and just maybe they will open up a few new doors or just a drawer…