Energy bursts

OPENINGS
Spring is the season of anticipation, with glimmers of the life and activity vibrating all around us. We have become so evolved that we sometimes forget that we’re part of nature – and like all nature we too are affected by the change in season. You might find at this time of year your energy levels go from extremes with the changing weather. We turn in on ourselves in the winter times and the body naturally looks for forward bends, hip openers and warming twists in our practice. When the days start to get brighter, backbends and heart opening asana reawaken the energy levels and boost the circulation.

BACKBENDS
Backbends energise and open the body up after the winter months of curling in to protect ourselves from the cold. They also stimulate the digestive system; stretch and expand the lungs and help relieve chronic pain. The depth of our breath can be challenged over the winter months, with head colds and chest infections, and needs to be consciously stretched and opened again to get the health benefits of good breath. This is a great time to incorporate Pranayama breath work at the start or the end of your practice. Or if Pranayama isn’t part of your practice, pay particular attention to your breath as you work through this backbending sequence. Click this link to get a full list of backbends.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

Trikonasana - triangle

YOU ARE PERFECT AS YOUR ARE
Sometimes we need to reminded ourselves that the ‘perfect pose’ is exactly where we are today with our bodies, not in the images posted up on yogi social media threads! Each day the body is different, and each hour within each day is different too. Your body will be open to different energies at different times of the day. You might find you need to be more patient with your body in a morning practice, as the muscles gradually shake off the night sleep; if you have a desk job your back, shoulders and neck might feel tight, and a lunchtime practice will help you refocus for the rest of your day; in the evening your energies might be low after a busy day, and a slow meditative practice to calm the nervous system down and be the best thing to bring on a good night sleep! The ‘perfect pose’ for you is unique to your anatomical and muscular structure. Some asana might always be beyond our skeletal range of motion, and some asanas you will always find a challenge, depending on your day to day activity off the mat. Our bodies are incredibly complicated, when we listen to them they will tell us exactly what ways they do and don’t want to move. It’s also important to remember that you still get all the lovely benefits of your practice when you go to your edge, without judgement, with the right balance of effort and ease.

With all this in mind, I’ve been exploring one of the first asana that we learn, Trikonasana. We sometimes become so familiar with the basic poses we forget to pause and scan the body from the ground up to notice what sensations we’re feeling. Where do you feel strengthened and where do you feel lengthened?

EXPLORING TRIKONASANA IN YOUR PRACTICE
Trikonasana teaches foundation, stability, balance and expansion. It brings blood flow to all the organs of the trunk of the body, aids good digestion and relieves stress anxiety and tension. It strengthens the thighs, knees, ankles and glutes; and stretches the hips, groins, hamstrings, calves, shoulders, chest and spine. Different yoga traditions suggest different distances between your front and back foot. When your feet are closer together it can be more challenging to get the side tilt of the pelvis, when the feet are further apart the pelvis has more room to tilt, but it give a stronger stretch to the inner groins. Play around with your feet distance and see what suits you best.

ALIGNMENT CUES
Try the above sequence paying particular attention on your hip placement in Trikonasana. You will often hear in class the imagery sandwiching your body between two panes of glass. This instruction can sometimes make students unnaturally force the back hip back in line with the front hip. Anatomically it is better for the pelvis to allow the back hip to be slightly forward of the front hip as it tilts up and towards the front of the mat.

The following are some alignment cues that might help you to reinvigorate your Trikonasana. Print them out, along with the sequence, and play around with what makes sense to you:

• From Adho Mukha Svanasana/Downward Dog, ground your left foot at a 45 degree angle. Inhale, step your right foot between your hands, check for front heel to back heel or arch alignment, exhale here
• Inhale, press into your feet to come up, reach your arms out to shoulder height, straighten your front leg
• Exhale, reach forward with your right arm and hinge to your right from the hip joint, right hip moves back, left hip tilts up towards the front of the mat
• Rest your hand on your shin, to a brick, or the ground inside/outside of your right foot
• Feel for the contraction in your right glute and press into your big toe to slightly engage the inner groin to balance the inside and outside knee joint
• Bottom waist rolls forward, top waist rolls back, reach your left arm up high, palm facing left, gaze to your left or to your left fingertips

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

Twist cleanse

SPRING CLEAN
As we move from darkness to small glimmers of brighter days, the body naturally looks to shake off its winter layers and open up to new beginnings. Twists spring clean the system, create natural heat and energy, and relieve tension, stress and anxiety. They also help maintain a healthy spine by keeping the connective tissue strong, supple and lubricated.

This is also my go to sequence I use when traveling. My gut, like many others, doesn’t travel well! Airports, air conditioning, dehydration and a change in routine slow my system down to a halt – leaving me feeling uncomfortable, sluggish and tired. I try to start each day, when I’m away from home, with a gentle practice that includes lots of twists. Even if I only manage ten minutes, I find it wake the digestive system up and helps to keep everything moving.

Keep an eye out on my Nourish blog for an article on gut health when traveling in the coming months.

TWISTS
Twists massage all the organs of the central body – aiding maximum nutrition absorption in the digestive system and toxin elimination through the bowel, liver and kidneys. When we twists we constrict the blood flow, and in releasing the twist a surge of blood rushes back – bringing with it a fresh supply of oxygen and flushes out the system.

When practising we twist to the right first, to stimulate the ascending colon, then twist to the left after, to stimulate the descending colon – aiding regular elimination and toxin removal from the body.

Twists also increase the metabolism and boost the immune system. In yoga philosophy texts it’s said that twists ‘destroy disease’ – considering 80% of our immune system is located in the gut, it makes sense that they are a very powerful tool to fight disease. Click this link to get a full list of twists.

The sequence above is an invaluable tool to keep with you when traveling or to help your body adjust to seasonal changes throughout the year. To read more about gut health have a look at The Second Brain sequence, and the Immune System Boost sequence which also incorporates plenty of twists and backbends.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

Slow transitions flow

JOINING THE DOTS
Whether you come to your mat once a week, everyday, or somewhere in between – we all recognise the benefits the practice of yoga brings to our lives. It might be something subtle that is hard to explain or a life changing experience. When we put time aside to practice and invest in our well-being, it’s good to feel that we’re getting the best out of our time on the mat. Yoga is a continuous flow of postures, but often we forget that the transitions from one asana to another are just as important as the asana themselves. By bringing your attention to slow and controlled transitions, we thread the asana together and help cultivate a meditative flow, which helps quieten the mind and move the attention inwards. You often see students create beautiful asana (within the ability of their bodies) but their method of moving to and from the next asana loses all sense of mindfulness and breath awareness. To get the most of your time on your mat, extend through your limbs and move with intention and awareness of where they are going next. Moving in such a way reminds us that yoga is a lifelong journey not a destination with an end point.

Moving slowly, in and out of the asana, is safer, builds body awareness and is more challenging for the muscles than relying purely on momentum to get you from A to B. You might also notice your alignment improves when you consider the journey – reaching to find length in the spine; extending through your fingertips; feeling the rotation in the hip joint. When we rush through our transitions we miss the in between moments and the opportunities to be ‘moved by the breath’.

SLOW FLOW IN YOUR PRACTICE
As the pace of life speeds up around us our minds work overtime to keep up with all the overload of information. Slowing down our practice helps bring the mind to a quieter state and trigger the parasympathetic nervous system (relaxation reflex).

As someone who rushes through life, frequently taking on more tasks than hours in the day, I sometimes find it hard to consciously slow my movements down in my practice. But I’m all too aware that I’m the very type of person that should slow down the pace as much as is comfortable, to counteract my default mode. You might find some resistance in the change of pace, but the benefits both physical and mental are well worth exploring. Moving mindfully, with control, starts to peel away the layers of clutter in the mind, and gradually you start to feel a deep sense of calm and relaxation – releasing tension, stress and anxiety. A consistent practice rewires the brain to be able to access this calmer mind frame when faced with challenging moments.

Try the two sequences above, focusing on your journey in and out of the asana. Experiment with methods of transitioning that suit your strength and ability, remembering to move with the breath rather than a held breath. Be aware of maintaining length in your limbs and minimise ‘popping up’ from asana like downward dog to your standing asana. It can sometimes help to video yourself on your phone to see how you transition. Checking to see do you have any habitual pattern in your transitions that you need to be conscious of or if you are disconnected from your external limbs.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

Navel radiation

CONNECTING TO YOUR NAVEL
Navel radiation is a lovely concept developed by Donna Farhi – which she explains in her book Yoga, Mind, Body & Spirit. She also expanded on the method further in her yoga immersion, Origins of Alignment, which I had the honour of attending in Dublin last June. Sometimes, when we extend through our limbs they become disconnected from our body. Navel radiation explores the idea of movement rippling out from the navel to our six limbs (head, tail, arms and legs) – on an inhale, and contracting back to the navel – on an exhale. She also goes on to explain the optimum quality of the belly. It should be buoyant and elastic, rather than hard and rigid, or loose and slack.

EXPLORING NAVEL RADIATION IN YOUR PRACTICE
When you start to explore navel radiation it can help to visualise the form of a starfish, and soften your movement to reflect the simplicity of their movement.

Start by establishing your breath in the belly. It can help to lie on your back with your knees bent, feet mat distance and knees knocked together. Softly pace your hands on your belly, fingers facing down towards your pelvis. On an inhale, feel the belly expand, your hands gently part, your pelvis tilt up and you lower spine arch slightly. On an exhale, feel your belly contract, your hands join together, your pelvis tilt down and your lower spine flatten slightly.

Once you have made a connection with the breath in your navel area, start into your asana practice with some Sun Salutations – continuing to bring your attention to the relationship between your navel and your six limbs. Observe where your movement initiates from and follow its journey and its parallel link to the breath. When your breath is calm and soft your movement follows this pattern. When your breath is held or racing the movement becomes difficult and disjointed.

Finally Donna Farhi also talks about the quality of movement within the asana. Even if we hold our asana for a few breathes there is natural oscillation of movement through the body initiated from the natural movement of the breath. Stay close to this subtle movement and continue to explore and amend your asana to find the effort and ease.

Try the sequence above, even if you only manage to find the link for one or two asana explore how it changes the quality of your practice and the relationship between breath and movement.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru