I love my students. They are a great source to me; they teach me and they make me laugh. Recently one of my students happen to mention a policy that was told to her – a facility stated she could try the class for 10 minutes without charge, but would have to sign up for the class to stay longer. The comments from those that she was sharing this with was that 10 minutes was not really long enough to get a sense of the class and if they would like it. She said, “I know, if I would have only stayed 10 minutes I would have missed the nap time at the end!” That was the best. She, of course, was kidding . . . sort of. She was talking about Shavasana. A very important part, yet for many, one of the most difficult times in yoga.
She was kidding in the sense that we all know it is not nap time, but not having been familiar with yoga she would have missed seeing that part of the class if she had only been allowed to stay for 10 minutes. Shavasana is a pose of total relaxation. It is where you allow your body to rest and relax from the workout it just participated in. In some classes this is a necessary time for recuperation of the body, but in others it might not be so much about the body. In a Gentle Yoga class it could be more about the mind. In Nia we have BMES – Body, Mind, Emotion, and Spirit. We could say that shavasana is a time for those four things. So after a nice gentle class it could be more a time more for the mind, emotion, and spirit to relax. While the inner dialog should be kept to a minimum while practicing the asanas it is even more important to do so during shavasana. This is the time when the body absorbs all the goodness from the poses it just performed.
I had once thought that you DID shavasana IN the corpse pose, but the name comes from the Sanskrit words Shava meaning “corpse” or dead body and Asana meaning “posture”.*
One of the reasons shavasana is so difficult is because there is not supposed to be any inner dialog going on (as I just mentioned). This is not the time where you begin making your shopping list for your trip to the store after class, or where you decide what you are going to say to your boss/friend/spouse. This is a time of quiet, a time of reflection, a time where you do a “body check”. Check in with each body part or area of your body to see if it needs any attention, see if it needs to be relaxed and focus on allowing it to relax. Sometimes because of this relaxation one might fall asleep. When I first started every time I did shavasana I fell asleep. Now I don’t, I am better at being mindfully relaxed. It is a practice though. This might not be something that comes easy to you, it might be a challenge, but it is something worth practicing.
I’ve heard different ideas on how to hold shavasana in a class. Some say that a guided meditation is the way it should be done. Some say that total silence is the only right way. Some say some music or nature sounds should accompany this pose. In my classes I usually softly lead the participants into a relaxed state. Then I allow them quiet time with this pose — I do have sounds playing during class and I don’t turn that off, but sometimes I turn it down. Then after the time allowed I talk them back to awakening their bodies and moving again.
If this pose and time is not something that you include in your yoga practice, I encourage you to give it a go. Try it. If you fall asleep that is ok. But keep doing it and when you are able to achieve that relaxed state while staying awake you will see how powerful this simple pose is.
Do you practice shavasana? Have you ever fallen asleep during shavasana? How long do you stay in this pose?
Did you sing it? When I began to write this post the first thing I thought of is what I often think of when I sit down to share something on my blog and that is WHICH way do I want to describe it. As I have said numerous times there are different ways to do things and you can check the web, books, magazines, and other places and you will see different instructions. So while I was glancing at the different pictures what popped into my head was “GET DOWN ON IT!” There really is no “it” in this position. That is just what popped into my head, then as I was typing it . . . I was singing. Of course, you were singing too as you read it right? Please stop here and take a few minutes to Get Down On It!
Ok, now that you are back. Let’s talk about the Garland Pose. This is an instinctive position for the human body and one that gets abandoned as we age. As I type, I see myself writing at least three posts about it, not the Garland Pose specifically, but this position. I am starting with the Garland Pose.
The Garland Pose or Malasana is a yoga asana. This pose can easily be described as a low, deep, or full squat. I have posted about squats before, but the squats I was talking about previously were not full squats. I think of those ones more as “weight training” squats. Either doing them with weights or on a BOSU and not going all the way down. The legs are not fully “folded” in that type of squat.
In the Garland Pose the legs are folded to where the back of the calf touches the back of the thigh.
Remember there are different ways to do this, the main goal for ankle and hip flexibility is full foot on the floor, legs folded with knees wide. So these instructions are going to start with feet flat on the floor. Place your feet about shoulder width apart (not wider than). Have your toes pointing just slightly out on the diagonal. Then lower your buttocks down, keeping your knees wide.
If it is not just a matter of “lowering your buttocks down” as in, this is not easy for you there are things to do to allow you to practice getting into that position. One way is to fold over, bending at the hips, and place your hands on the ground then lower your tush down. If that is not a comfortable option you can put your hands on the seat of a chair and lower your butt until it is comfortable. With each try, go lower. Eventually you will be using elbows on the chair. With this method you have to be cautious with the chair. If you are using it to hold your weight you have to make certain it will not move or tip over on you. So use a secure chair.
If not the fold over or chair technique, you can use a strap or something secured around a door knob. Hold onto that as you learn to lower yourself down. There are many precautions to take when using a door knob so make sure you think about all of them (strap not slipping off, door knob not popping off, door secure – not opening, no one walking in the door you are using — and more, so please be careful if using this technique). With a secure strap you can work your way down slowly or in increments.
Once down, center your torso in between your knees and thighs. Your knees are wide. Place your elbows at your knees hands in Añjali Mudra or prayer position. Embrace the beauty of posture that is yoga and lengthen your spine. Lift the crown of your head up, reach the neck longer, lower the shoulders as they pull back, lift the ribs off of the hips, all the while your tail reaching for the earth. Stay as long as you are comfortable.
Another modification to practice is to put a folded towel or blanket under your heels until you are able to put your heels down. One of the reasons this position gets abandoned as we get older is our calf muscles get shortened and/or tight. In some people high heels are the cause of that.
This pose is beautiful for some many reasons. To name a few; it helps with balance, it opens the hips, it improves flexibility in the ankles, it can transport you back to when you were a child and did not hesitant to squat to see what was on the ground!
When you are done push up to standing. If that is not an option, I recommend getting up any way that is comfortable for you. Eventually with practice you will get stronger and find many ways to rise. Also with practice you might find yourself using the squat to pick things up instead of just bending over. Remember it is a practice so you don’t have to save all the moves for the mat, incorporate them into your day.
So did you sing? When practicing this pose how far can you get down? Are you utilizing either the chair or the door knob technique?
As I was saying in my recent post, Bend Like The Snake, Upward Facing Dog or Up Dog and Cobra are sometimes called the same thing or thought of as interchangeable. But they are not the same pose. Cobra usually does not have the straightened arms, but it can and that might be the source of confusion. They are similar, but not the same thing. To me, Cobra is more of an “energy from the back” type of pose, where Upward Facing Dog is more of an “energy from the arms”.
For Up Dog, you lie on your stomach. Your legs are stretched out behind you. The tops of your feet are on the earth. Place your hands, palms on the earth, at your arm pits – your starting position will probably adjust as you become more flexible and can straighten your arms. You want to start with your hands in a position on the floor so that when you push up and straighten your arms your hands end up directly under your shoulders. When you are ready you push up with your arms. Your legs remain together. As you straighten your arms you continue to keep your shoulders down, the blades back. The neck is lengthening. Keep the space open between your shoulders and your ears. No scrunching or hunching. When you arrive at a place that is comfortable your body hangs. Even if your arms are not all the way straightened the body hangs. If you are able to straighten your arms your gaze brings your chin parallel to the ground. If you arms are not all the way straight your gaze could be at the ground. This is a pose that is best worked into. Start with back bends that are not as large . . . like the Sphinx.
The “hang” of Up Dog is what really makes the poses different for me. The Upward Dog IS a backbend, but the energy is coming from the arms. Whereas in the Cobra the MAIN energy is located in the back. The arms are still working, but it is the back where the main energy resides. The Up Dog is a nice hang.
One thing that really helped me with discovering the difference is this video by Yoga Garden. I really love how this video explains the difference between Cobra and Upward Facing Dog. Yet, as I have said, many times, about all things, you might find conflicting information. You have to find what works for you. The thing I think that is most important to remember about Yoga and its poses is the benefit you and your body receive from it. While it is GREAT to know the names and to be able to move into that position, sometimes it all might not match up perfectly. But the strength and flexibility you gain is what will be the most important.
So does all of this information help you identify the differences between the Cobra yoga pose and the Upward Facing Dog pose?
I was talking to a friend after Nia class recently and I don’t even know how we got to this but she said the main difference between Up Dog and Cobra was the feet. I just looked at her a smiled. Since I didn’t reply she went on to explain how the feet are this way in that pose and that way in this pose and still I just smiled. If you research any pose in a book, on the internet, in a class, with a teacher, with another yogi you are probably going to get a different answer on how to do it. I am finding that just like with so many things you are going to find a lot of different – and often conflicting information. I am thinking that as yoga has become more “main stream” and available to more people it has morphed — a lot. So while I was not familiar with the feet being different in Up Dog and Corbra I didn’t want to tell her that what she was saying was incorrect because she could have learned it differently or be doing a different version or modification than what I do or what I am familiar with. As we talked she concluded for herself that she thinks she was thinking the feet positions were different because of the pose before or the one after. So she could just be thinking of her feet in terms of another pose. Seems as if the Upward Facing Dog or Up Dog and the Cobra are sometimes called the same thing or thought of as interchangeable. I view them and I do them as two different poses. This post is focusing on Cobra.
With both poses you start on your belly. With Up Dog your hands are below your body, in line with your shoulders. With Corbra, when your body is extended, your hands are forward of your body.
Cobra / Bhujangasana, you lie on your stomach. Your legs are stretched out behind you. The tops of your feet are on the earth. Place your palms on the earth a bit forward of your shoulders. The starting position of the hands are the staying position. The hands do not move. So they start a little forward of the shoulders. When you are ready you push gently down with your pelvis and pushup with your arms. Think of a cobra. Think of how they raise themselves off of the ground, they don’t have any arms. So let the power come from your back. Your arms are holding and supporting.
As with so many poses continue to keep your shoulders down, the blades back. The neck is lengthening. Keep the space open between your shoulders and your ears. No scrunching or hunching. The arms do not necessarily straighten in Cobra. They are not bent and with elbows resting on the ground as with Sphinx, but they are bent. For a bigger stretch in the back you can straighten your arms, but since the power and energy are coming primarily from the back, straight arms are not necessary.
Your legs remain together. With firm thighs and glutes. Toes are pointed away from you.
Hold this pose until your body says stop and repeat. Remember to breathe, allow your breath to flow easily. This pose strengthens the back and arms. It opens the front of the body. It is a great stress reliever.
This pose is similar to Updog, but it is different. It is primarily the placement of the arms and where the energy comes from. Corbra has arms forward and power comes from the back.
As with all workouts, it is important to warm up before beginning. In a Nia class our warm up is one or two songs. When I was young and was first learning to exercise the way to warm up was to perform a series of static stretches. Science has proved that static stretching can actually increase relaxation and in a sense put your muscles to sleep. Research has now shown that the best type of warm up is to actually prepare your body for the activity it is about to do. So moving in a slower and more gentle way that you will be moving in the activity you are preparing for is a great way to actually warm up the muscles. Walking and/or a slow jog is always a great way to warm up the entire body — depending upon the planned workout. For a yoga practice a warmup could include moving the muscles that you will be using as you do the sequence of poses in your practice for the day. It is important to warm up the muscles before you put them into a full on stretch or expect them to hold you in a pose. A warmed muscle moves more easily and can stretch better than a “cold” muscle. In the beginning of our classes we often do an Upward Salute. I think it is a great way to start the warming up process.
The Upward Salute is sometimes called Extended Mountain Pose / Mountain Pose with Upward Stretch / Mountain Pose with Arms Overhead. The basis of the pose is the Mountain Pose. To do this pose first position your body in the mountain pose.
Summary of Mountain Pose: Toes touch and feet are parallel sense a stable base. Distribute the weight over the entire foot – both feet. Your legs are active and rooting you to the earth. The abdominals are engaged. The crown of your head is reaching up creating a long spine. Your muscles are active. Once you are comfortable in the Mountain Pose (for more details about the pose click here) turn your palms out and raise your arms up in a sweeping motion. Allow your arms to reach over the top of your head. Your palms come together. You gently look up.
If it is not comfortable to look up then keep your gaze forward. If it is not comfortable for you to bring your palms together then keep them apart, but facing each other. No matter if you are looking up or your palms are touching your shoulders are down. There is space between your shoulders and your ears. You have the idea of your shoulder blades sliding down into your back pockets. Allow the energy to flow down your arms, through your shoulders, through your back and your spine. Let it travel through your legs. Enjoy this nice stretch. Let it warm your entire body.
Staying here in this pose is a great warm up. If you would like more of a stretch and warm up for the back allow yourself to bend backwards. With this pose as a warm up the backbend is not deep. Your shoulders remain back and down even though you move your head tilts back while your gaze is up. Remain in this pose for a few breaths. Then move into Mountain and repeat several times.
Now, I am aware that many people have back issues either with their actually back bone, or their spinal cord, or the nerves, so these poses are to be done with the utmost caution. Keep in mind your OWN back situation and do only what is good for your own body. It could be that your body gets the stretch it needs by just standing in Mountain Pose with your arms raised and your gaze looking slightly up . . . that is fine. If that is a stretch for your back, then stay there and enjoy it. Yoga is not about competing. It is about doing what your body can do. Then as you do what your body can do there is a possibility that it will be able to do more. But there is no rush. Yoga is a practice. Enjoy the journey. This is a wonderful pose to stretch and warm up the body. And, of course it can also be done at the end of the session in the cool down when getting ready for Savasana.
In addition to teaching Nia classes for the city of San Jose, I was asked to teach a Gentle Yoga Class. I have taught three sessions and we have one more before the year is over. This last session before the holiday break is a short one, it is only four weeks. In the classes there is a large variety of fitness levels. Regardless of one’s level of fitness I believe it is very important for the emphasis to be on balance and flexibility. They also like to practice inner reflection which I believe enables a connection to the body. The connection is to allow for great stability and ease of movement. In order to meet the varieties of levels we do a cross between flowing through poses and holding them. I might have also mentioned before that we include getting up and down as part of our practice. With this next session we are going to do a progression of backbend poses. I have not yet decided on the progression of balance poses but I have the backbends progression planned. Since we only have four classes and there are five backbends I would like to progress through we will be doing two in the first class. As with my Nia classes, my yoga students are continually encouraged to do things in their own bodies way. Since yoga is a practice they can work into the poses. For the series of backbends they will be encouraged to stay at the level that is acceptable for their own body.
The first backbend we will do will be the standing backbend. Then, in the same class, we will progress to the Locust. The Locust has many modifications some of which can be done with just legs lift or the head and shoulders lifted.
Then in our next class we will move onto the Sphinx. I’ll probably include the Locust in the routine before moving on to the Sphinx, but the Sphinx will be the next in the progression. Then the next meeting we will move onto the Cobra. Excellent for strength, stability, and flexibility. The last class before the long holiday break will be the Upward Dog. Even though the idea will be for the students to progress through the backbends the modifications will be presented so each individual can progress only if they are ready.
Some students participate in yoga more than once a week so they are more likely to be able to participate in the progress whereas others will do so to a lesser extent – and modifications meet that need. This is a great way to work on flexibility. Everybody is moving in their own natural time through their yoga practice so I am excited to present this progression of backbends. I will include other flexibility poses and balances poses as in all the classes. I have been putting the emphasis on one or the other during a class which can still tie into the backbend progressions.
Of course, this is my plan prior to meeting with the class. It could be that after our first meeting I have to adjust my plan and that will be fine. I do like to see where the class is at and go from there, but it seems like our group has been pretty consistent. But I can easily adjust my plan for any new body.
I am very grateful and inspired by the students that come to class every week. It is very exciting to me to see their progress. Stay tuned for more on the poses that I have yet to post about.
Do you participate in a yoga class? How is it structured? Is it an on-going class or is it a series of classes?
Sometimes in Nia we do yoga poses, I have yet to do the sphinx in a Nia class, but I do include it in the Gentle Yoga class I am teaching. I think of it as a nice gently backbend. I think of it as a regal pose. I think of it as a spine lengthener and a back strengthener. I like the Sphinx Pose.
Although, according to Wiki, the Sphinx is not nice:
“A sphinx is a mythical creature with, as a minimum, the body of a lion and a human head. In Greek tradition, it has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless. Those who cannot answer her riddle suffer a fate typical in such mythological stories . . . ”
Ha, I think I will stick with the idea of regal.
The Sphinx Pose is another prone pose, where you are lying on your belly. Your legs are together, touching, and straight out behind your body. Start face down, with your arms stretched out on the ground above you, as if you are reaching above your head. Before bending back, gently press your pelvis towards the earth, lengthening your tailbone towards your feet. As you lift your head and chest up off the ground, bring your arms back. Stop when your elbows are directly underneath your shoulders. Or you can bring your hands up by your ears and gently push up into the backbend. Adjusting your hands so that your elbows are directly under your shoulders. You are resting on your elbows and forearms, palms down, fingers together.
Continue to keep your legs together, while your toes are reaching toward the opposite wall/direction. Your back is active, while your arms are supportive. Reach with your chest somewhat upward and open. Your shoulders are back and your shoulder blades are pressing gently toward the earth.
Your gaze is forward and your posture is regal. You are strong and confident. Breathe into the pose. Hands, arms, neck, back, and legs are all active yet not tightly clenched.
Stay for a few breaths or as long as your practice dictates. Release and lower to the floor, allowing your head to turn to the side. Rest your head on your hands and repeat as desired.
This is a nice gently backbend that can be the next backbend after learning the locust pose, if your practice is one in which you are progressing from a small backbend to a “bigger” backbend. These (the Locust Post and the Sphinx Pose) can be preludes to the Cobra and the Upward Facing Dog. Of course, this is a great pose to practice even if you are already doing the other backbends.
This pose is great to help strengthen the muscles in the back.
If necessary a rolled towel can be placed under your pubic bone in the shape of a U to provide cushion. The U would be “hugging the belly”.
Do you have backbends in your practice? Is sphinx one that you do? What backbends do you practice?
I really like the locust pose itself, I don’t care for the name. I think this pose is really nice because it is so easily modified so it fits well into the Gentle Yoga class I am teaching. Everyone can do it because there are so many versions of it. Since every body is so different and in different states of health and flexibility most yoga poses can be modified to accommodate. Some poses require props; straps, bolsters, blocks, etc. This one is really nice because of its simplicity. It is a prone posture, where you lie on your stomach, and it is considered a back bend. Locust pose or Salabhasana is the pose in which you lift your legs and chest up off the ground.
To do the Locust pose you lie on your stomach. Your arms are at your side, hands near your hips with the palms facing the ceiling. Forehead is on the floor allowing the back of your neck to lengthen. Your legs are hip joint width apart. Reach with your toes toward the opposite wall. Firm your thighs. Exhale as you lift your thighs off of the ground using your hamstrings and glutes. Your legs remain straight. There is no bend at the knees. Your pelvis and lower ribs are pressing into the earth.
At the same time you lift your legs you lift your head and chest off of the ground. Either looking down or up, with your chin parallel to the ground. Wherever it is comfortable for your gaze to rest be sure to keep the neck lengthened so as not to crush the back of the neck. Lift your arms off of the ground, keeping your palms toward the ceiling. Throughout the lift of your upper body and while you are lifted, you are keeping your shoulders back with your shoulder blades down – toward your hips. There is space between your shoulders and your ears.
While up in this back bend you can turn your big toes toward each other, this will rotate the front of your thighs inward. The back of your legs are firm, muscles squeezing but not clenched, so that the back of the body is active but not cramping.
Breathing into the active muscles will help keep them active yet relaxed. As you breathe imagine the oxygen traveling to the tense areas.
This pose is meant to be held. So hold the pose for as long as is comfortable. Then repeat as your routine allows.
There are many ways to modify this. You could just lift one leg at a time, keeping your forehead and arms on the ground. Or you could lift both of your legs, with your arms and forehead down. Or you could lift your chest, and let your arms and legs stay on the ground. Or you could lift just your arms. Or you could lift one arm and one leg, or you could, lift your legs and your chest and keep your arms on the ground. You probably see all the different ways it can be modified. The key is to find the area of your body that is the most difficult to lift and focus on learning to lift that area. Then once you master the difficult area you will be able to add it to the easiest one and progress from there into the back bend.
Another way to modify this which can be in addition to the aforementioned modifications is to place a folded towel or blanket under your pelvis and/or ribs.
Remember whether you do the full pose (as described here) or any modification of it, your spine is lengthening and you are keeping your shoulders back and down towards your hips throughout the entire pose. To help with keeping your shoulders back and down, imagine opening your chest as you lift it off of the earth.
This pose helps strengthen the muscles along the backside of the body including the triceps, lats, glutes, and hamstrings.
Do you like this pose? Do you include this pose in your practice?
In Nia we have the five sensations that we dance and move with. I always feel that one of them is a personal favorite of one of the co-founders of The Nia Technique. I think that Debbie Rosas really loves stability. I imagine she loves them all because she does a superb job of ensuring they are all included in a each Nia Routine, but sometimes I just get this feeling that practicing balance is her favorite. It could be because sometimes stability, being balanced, requires flexibility and/or agility and/or mobility and/or strength. So you can practice and play with all of the five sensations when practicing balance. In yoga there is at least three of the five sensations we experience in Nia. In yoga there is flexibility and/or strength and/or stability/balance. In the Gentle Yoga class I am teaching I really like to put a huge emphasis on balance. I think balance is very important and yoga is a great way to practice it. There are many poses in yoga that are balance poses. Not all of them are standing poses.
One pose I really like to use for enhancing balance is the Gate pose. This pose is a kneeling pose, somewhat.
In the gentle yoga class we start on our knees. Up off our calves, as in we are not sitting on our legs. Then we lean forward and over to one side, say the left. We lean forward to the left placing both our hands on the ground in front of the left knee. Then we swing our right leg out so it is pointed out to the side. The heel of the right foot is aligned with the left knee or slightly in front. The right foot is flat on the ground and the toes are pointed away from the body. We then lift up so we are kneeling on our left leg with our right leg posed out to the right of our body. Then the left arm comes up reaching straight over the head. Palm towards the right. The right hand is palm up resting on the right thigh. If stability and balance is achieved then those that are comfortable lean over to the right, allowing the right hand to rest lower on the leg, at the shin, not the knee. If comfortable we turn the head to gaze past our left arm. All the while the crown of the head is moving away from our body and the tail is moving in the opposite direction. We are lengthening our spine. The shoulders are being drawn back and down. Even though one arm is up we still keep the space between the ear and the shoulder open and large. The same with the side we are leaning towards.
Whether you are staying up right or leaning over to the side, keep your body from leaning forward. Stay in the pose for a few breaths. After you perform this pose on one side, do the other.
Parighasana, the Gate pose, is a nice way to pursue balance. The foot that is out can be adjusted to a parallel (to the body) position if that allows it to be more comfortable or stable. Or the foot can be lifted leaving just the heel on the ground. The depth of the side bend is always a point that can be adjusted for the individual’s needs at the moment.
I love all the poses in yoga that allow for balance practice. I think this is a great post with which to practice balance.
Are you familiar with the Gate pose? Do you like this pose?
There are a lot of things I like about yoga, one thing that I really like is that many of the asanas or poses are executed with a lengthening of the spine. In many poses the idea is to reach with the top of your head, or the crown of your head, in the opposite direction of your tailbone. Often the cue is to reach with the crown of your head to the sky while reaching with your tailbone into the earth. I feel as if the reaching and stretching in the opposite directions really help the body be taller.
While standing, sitting, bending the motion or action is to reach. Reach in opposite directions. Create space in between each vertebra. While consciously stretching the backbone, you are pulling your shoulders back and down. Create a long neck by reaching. Push the shoulders away from the ears. The ribs lift upwards, and off and away from the hips.
One motion or thought to help straighten and lengthen is to extend your sternum skyward. This somewhat juts the chest out and the shoulder automatically go back and down. With this as an image there might be some adjusting that needs to take place, but it can help move you in the right direction. With the lengthening of the spine comes the separating of the ribs. Allowing space in between each rib can sometimes help increase lung capacity. If your lungs have more room to move in they might expand further. This all lending to bigger, deeper breaths.
In the Gentle Yoga class I am currently teaching I am continually reminding the students to lengthen their spine. I, myself, have a habit of scrunching. I think I have mentioned this before. I both scrunch my shoulders up to my ears and round my back. I liken my posture to that of a spoon. So it is very easy for me to fall into that even while I am leading a class because I begin to shift my concentration. So the reminder is for all of us. A reminder is nice because then you can check to make certain you are doing all the things involved in lengthening the spine. Although sometimes I feel a bit repetitive, I think it is worth it. In addition to myself I usually see at least one participant make an adjustment.
In Nia while we might not always be lengthening and reaching with our spine throughout an entire routine there is often at least a moment. If not in one of the dances itself in the cool down or the floorplay. I often include imaging space in between each vertebra as we sit or bend over in a stretch. The Nia routing might not include yoga poses by the idea of it is included. Part of the yoga inclusion “is the conscious alignment of bones and joints”* While lengthening the spine we are lining up the bones and the joints. Our posture is intact.
I really enjoy the growing taller sensation that yoga can offer through a variety of asanas where we are reaching and lengthening. To me it makes for a taller me.
Do you sense you are taller after doing yoga? Do you sense your spine is more straight after yoga? Do you do a pose that really has you feeling you are taller after?
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