Yoga is a great way to get a “time out” of the crazy busy and loud lives many of us lead. It teaches us to take a “time in”, to reconnect to the present moment. To remember and connect to a deep sense of stillness. Today however, yoga is not always portrayed as this. Before suggesting some postures, I would like to say a little about what yoga is and what it is not. This is important to note otherwise yoga can become another thing we have to do, to achieve a certain aesthetic. It can become part of the crazy, busy, loud system in which we live, full of expectation and judgment.
I am a yoga teacher and what I see, is that yoga is often portrayed as exercise, as a way to attain the “body beautiful”. This not only diminishes what yoga is but also puts a lot of people off. We see images of mostly thin white women and muscular white men wearing the fancy gear, in beautiful locations or urban landscapes doing impossible balances, or getting their legs behind their head. We can be led to believe that this is what you need to look like to do yoga. One of the most common things I hear as a yoga teacher is, “I’m not bendy, I can’t do yoga, yoga is not for me”
If your body is able to do all those postures, and you love wearing the gear and that is what is important to you then go ahead, if it works for you then great. What I want to emphasize is that this is not what yoga IS.
Yoga is not about being bendy, or physically strong or being able to do a handstand.
What is yoga?
Yoga has been around for thousands of years and has changed and developed over time and between different traditions, but from my understanding and practice, at its essence it is about freedom.
The word Yoga means to yoke – to unify or join. Yoga is about connection; it is the union of mind and body and spirit (for want of another word). It is a state where the mind and emotions are still and we can rest in a place of peace, contentment, of deep knowing and interconnection.
Yoga is also how we attain this state. Meditation, breathing techniques and postures are the main practices. Today most yoga that is taught is postural yoga, but Asana, or postural yoga is very recent in its history. It is not important how you look, the shape or size of your body or how flexible it is, anyone can practice yoga. Yoga is also about how you practice rather than just what you practice, for many it becomes a way of life.
How to practice yoga
Whatever form yoga takes, we always practice with kindness and compassion to ourselves. We never push the body beyond where it is ready to go, it is about listening and responding, being present. By this I mean, we practice with where the body is at that moment, not where you want it to be, think it should be or where it used to be. Remember, yoga is not about improving your physical body. It may be a nice side effect, after a while you may feel different in the body, it may feel more spacious, but improving the body is not the goal of yoga. Postural yoga is a meditation, a means to achieve a state of being, it is not an exercise routine. We don’t just put ourselves into a shape, we feel our way into a posture, it is a very different thing. Remember we all have very different bodies so we will not all look the same in a posture. Don’t just look at a posture on the internet and think you have to look the same, you probably won’t. It is about a feeling of absorption and space, a sense of calm and steadiness in the breath and body. Listen to your breath, it is your guide, if you start to pant or hold your breath you have come too far too fast, ease off. Find the place where your breath is steady. We should always practice with a sense of ease. That does not mean postures cannot be challenging but we always approach them softly with gentle intention, with compassion, a sense of fun and fascination, with loving attention.
A few yoga postures to practice for a time out/in
You can do these postures on their own, or in sequence, if you only have time for one, I suggest Savasana. If done in sequence always finish with Savasana, it should never be skipped, in my opinion it is the most important posture. I have added some suggestions for injuries but obviously cannot put them all in. If you have any injuries or conditions you should speak to a yoga teacher to get adaptations if needed.
- Savasana (shavasana)/corpse pose – laying down on your back, with your legs no wider than hip width, arms out to the side, away from the body, palms facing up to the ceiling, or hands resting on the belly. If your chin lifts up to the ceiling place something underneath your head. If you’re cold, put a blanket over you. If you have any lower back issues then keep your knees bent and soles of the feet on the floor, or if possible, raise the legs onto a chair seat, so that the calves and feet are resting on the chair seat and there is roughly a 90-degree angle at the knee. Take a few gentle deep conscious breaths, perhaps sighing the exhalation. Know that you are completely held and supported by the floor, there is nothing you have to “do,” rest with the breath, just feeling the body breathing in and out. Let the thoughts come and go.
Why? The benefits of this, like all postures are endless, but most importantly it teaches us to not do, to surrender, to give to the ground, to trust, to let go of control. There is no ego involved, it is not fancy to look at or impressive, but for some it is the hardest to do, to be still. Don’t skip it, if it’s hard, just lay for a few minutes each time. Also, you will find that some days you can lay for a while and others it is more difficult, this is the beauty of yoga, it is different every time.
- Bitilasana/ Marjaryasana- cat cow- come to hands and knees in tabletop position, hands underneath shoulders and knees underneath hips. Take a moment to feel the ground underneath your hands, to feel the contact between the top of your feet and the floor. As you inhale tip the tailbone up to the ceiling, allow the belly to move towards the floor extend the chest forwards toward the arms and look up to the ceiling. If you cannot look at the ceiling just take the neck as far as it goes, listen to the body don’t push. As you exhale, the tailbone tucks under, the belly moves up toward the front of the spine and the chin moves towards the chest. Put a blanket underneath both knees if you have any knee issues, even if it’s just one knee, make sure the blanket is underneath both. if you cannot kneel you can also do this sitting in a chair with the feet parallel, and hip width apart.
Why? It’s a lovely way to get movement and space through the spine, you will feel that some of your spine will move more easily than others, feel free to stay and breathe into those sticky parts. You can move around little, have a little wiggle if needed. Let the spine release, feel the space through the whole of the torso. Don’t go too fast, you’ll miss it.
3. Adho Mukha Svanasana- Down face dog one of the most popular postures. From Hands and knees: walk your hands forward so that the hands are in front of the shoulders, hands equidistant from the front and side of the mat, fingers gently spread. Turn the toes under and lift the knees, raising the bottom into the air and pushing back through the shoulders, so that you are in an upside-down v shape, not a plank position. The emphasis, like in all yoga postures, is in finding space, you can bend one or both knees, you can move the pelvis gently from side to side to find more space in the lower back. A common misunderstanding in this posture is that you need to get your heels down, you don’t. Maintain space and length in the torso
Why? it gets all the body involved, and its lovely to be inverted, you don’t have to stay very long if you find id uncomfortable to be inverted. This posture can feel strong when you begin, remember to breathe, rest when you need. Enjoy.
4- Tadasana – Mountain pose— Standing up, it sounds simple, something you do all the time, but how often do you pay attention to how you stand? You can stand with feet hip width apart and parallel, or as close together as is comfortable. Pay attention! , feel your feet on the floor, notice where your weight is spread. Notice the legs, the strength and power of the legs that are holding you up. Notice the tilt of the pelvis how can it sit to create space in the lower back? There is a light tone and length in the belly, chest stacked over the belly shoulders soft, head-on top of the spine. Arms down by the side of the body, play with turning the palms from facing into the body to facing forward.
Why? Like all the postures it is meditation, it is great because we can do it anywhere at any time, honestly when you start tuning into how you stand you can get absorbed for hours, it will affect how you walk and how you do some of the most ordinary things in your daily life, like washing up.
5- Vriksasana – Tree pose. Come from Tadasana, paying attention to all the things noted above and then lift one leg externally rotate it so that the sole of the foot of the raised leg rests on the ankle, the inside of the calf or the inside of thigh of the standing leg. You can place the foot wherever it goes on the standing leg but NOT ON THE SIDE OF THE KNEE. keep pelvis facing forward. Hands can come to prayer position at the / heart centre or raise above the head, arms straight, palms facing each other but not touching.
Why? one of the main reasons to do any balance is because they bring you into the room. It is hard to balance when your mind is thinking about something else, and because it’s fun, enjoy the wobble, don’t worry if you have to put your foot down, just take a breath and come back in.
6- Savasana- if you’re doing this in sequence finish with another savasana 😊
Whatever you do in your time out/in, remember that life is a gift, giving yourself time in this system is a gift, bring this sense of gratitude to whatever it is you choose to do and remember to enjoy it. With love, Sarah x
