Travel & holidays

SUMMER CHALLENGES
Summertime brings with it longer days, plenty of fresh air and a general mood of happiness. It can also bring up some challenges staying with your yoga practice – whether it’s finding time to get to a studio classes, or for your home practice. Remember little and often is better than none at all. Even if it’s just 5 mins of your favourite Sun Salutation first thing in the morning, to wake up your circulation, metabolism, and build focus for the day. Summertime might just be the right time to try out establishing your home practice and bringing a travel mat with you on holidays.

TRAVEL FRAZZLES
Travel can be hard on the system, and takes a bit of time to find your feet when you get to your destination. Your yoga practice helps you to rebalance your system and counteract the post travel frazzle. The sequence above can help to do just that. With some gentle backbends, twists and hip openers, the sequence has a bit of everything, and can also be used as your holiday practice while you're away from home.

You might find travel impacts you in different ways. Below is a list of some of the travel related benefits of yoga, and some of the asana that you might like to spend a bit more time on in the sequence.

• Stiff back from sitting or carrying luggage – Cat/Cow to lengthen the spine; twists to wring it out; prone (face down) backbends to strengthen and realign the spine
• Tight shoulders from sitting or carrying luggage – standing asana with arms raised to get the blood flowing; Gomukhasana/Cow Face arms to stretch the fronts of the shoulders; Garudasana/Eagle arms to stretch the backs of the shoulders
• Tight hips from sitting – back leg in lunges, Virabhadrasana II/Warrior II and Trikonasana/Triangle to stretch out the hips flexors; prone (face down) backbends to lengthen the whole front body; Eka Pada Rajakapotasana/Pigeon to stretch the outer hips; Vrksasana/Tree and Malasana/Squat to stretch the inner groin
• Light headed or disconnected from your grounding – Vrksasana/Tree and Garudasana/Eagle to find your foundation and your centre of gravity; Malasana/Squat to bring you back down to earth
• Tired and need energy - Vrksasana/Tree, Garudasana/Eagle, backbends and inversions (remember downward dog is an inversion too)
• Tired and need sleep - forward bends, seated asana, shoulder stand and legs up the wall

You might also find your gut goes on holidays too, and decides to slow down or stop altogether! I’m a very routined person, which works for the rest of the year, but when I’m away from home different foods and a warmer climate impact on my gut, and leave me feeling out of sorts and dehydrated. Plenty of water, a gentle twisting practice, and some pranayama if it’s part of your practice, will help you acclimatise to a new holiday routine, keep things moving, or get things moving again if you find travel has already slowed things down.

• Sluggish gut – twists (particularly closed twists where your abdominal is compressed eg high lunge twist, right leg forward and prayer arms to your right knee); backbends (particularly prone backbends where the full weight of the body is pressed on your digestive system); Malasana/Squat to let gravity do its work; gently lowering your legs behind you in shoulder stand, forward bends and Ananda Balasana/Happy Baby to compress and stimulate the digestive system.

Print out the above sequence and bring it with you on holidays, paying particular attention to any areas you feel will benefit you. Run through it from start to finish, or explore some of the grouped asana after a few rounds of Sun Salutations.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

Manipura chakra - solar plexus

SOLAR PLEXUS
You often hear of the solar plexus in relation to the Chakra System, but what is the solar plexus and where exactly is it located? After completing a five day awe inspiring June Immersion in The Yoga Room, the question raised it’s head again for me. So as part as my personal practice, on the last day of the immersion, I decided to make it my business to find out all about this enigmatic solar plexus, and how it relates to the chakra system.

The solar plexus is a complex network of radiating nerves found just below the rib cage, behind the stomach. It is also the home of the 3rd chakra of the Chakra System. The Chakra System comprises of seven energy centre, which run from the base of the spine (1st chakra) to the tip of the crown (7th chakra).

THE CHAKRAS
The 3rd chakra is the centre of your identity, drive, will power, self esteem, sense of purpose in the world and your get up and go! In an anatomical sense, it governs the well being of your digestive system, metabolism and energy production through the pancreas; and your fight or flight response through the adrenal gland. You might notice a tight feeling in this area, just below your rib cage, when you encounter a stressful situation.

FINDING BALANCE
When it is blocked and jammed with too much energy you move towards obsessive behaviour, over controlling, over reacting and often find yourself stressed. On the other end of the spectrum, if it is blocked and lacking in energy you will notice a lack of self esteem, the feeling of powerlessness, excessive self judgement, and find it hard to connect with your sense of purpose in life. When the 3rd chakra is in balance you will be proactive, organised and have a clear vision of your unique contribution. It governs your ability to move forward in life and make informed decisions.

EXPLORING MANIPURA IN YOUR PRACTICE
Through core awareness, twist, and gentle backbends in our yoga practice we can build heat and generate energy in this area – stimulating the organs, glands and nerve endings, and balancing the energy of the 3rd chakra.

Try the above sequence, paying particular attention to this solar plexus region. Start your practice lying on your back and placing your hands between your lower ribs and your naval. Breath into this area and feel the rise and fall of the breath in the belly. Start to tip your pelvis forward and back with your breath. Notice how the space between the pointy hip bones and the bottom rib stretches as the pelvis tilts forward (anterior tilt), and contracts as the pelvis tilts back (posterior tilt). Check in with your solar plexus region throughout your practice and feel into the heat and energy move through the area.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

Utkatasana - chair

EXPLORING UTKATASANA IN YOUR PRACTICE
Utkatasana is one of those ‘more than meets the eye’ asana. It is a full body pose – strengthening the lower spine, legs, shoulders, hips, glutes and core – and teaching the principles of sthira & sukha, effort & ease, in your practice. As a standing asana, it is energising and stimulates all the organs of the abdomen – particularly the digestive system, which in turn boosts the immune system. As you bend you knees, and dip your pelvis down towards your heels, try to maintain the natural lumbar curve of the lower back. Lightly drawing your navel in towards your spine will protect your lower back from over arching, while it supports the weight of the upper body as it tilts forward from the hip joints.

ALIGNMENT CUES
Try the above sequence which breaks Utkatasana into three stages. It is not an asana that is easy to hold for many breaths, take a restorative forward fold in between each step, as you explore your alignment. The first two stages of the steps use a brick to support the upper body, while you settle the pelvis into position.

The following are some alignment cues to help you find a Utkatasana with effort & ease. Print them out, along with the sequence, and play around with what makes sense to you:

• Ground down through your heel, top of the thighbones press down towards your heels
• Inner thighs lifted, as you hug your outer hips to the midline, press into your big toe mound to keep your knees tracking over your ankles
• Draw your navel in towards your spine and feel into the strength of your lower back
• Lengthen up through your side body and reach from your tailbone to the tip of your crown
• Broaden through the collarbones, feel into your shoulder blades spin out and hug against your back ribs, soften any tension from your shoulders

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

Waves of movement

GOOD BREATH
The breath is the where the magic is found in yoga. It deeply affects our physical and mental state. Conscious breathing triggers the parasympathetic nervous system through the cerebral cortex (rest & restore), increases lung capacity, builds circulation, aids digestion, release emotional and physical tension, and increase overall well-being. When we link the breath with the movement in our practice it slows the breath down – bringing more oxygen to our whole system and establishes a deep and constant breath.

COME BACK TO THE BREATH
Bringing our attention consciously to the breath in our practice is a challenge that continues as long as the practice itself. To the onlooker, a yogi flowing through their sequence may seem very relaxed and calm, but there is much unfolding on the mat. The complexity of alignment in each asana, the controlled and safe transitions, maintaining a meditative state of mind, and most importantly, remembering to breath! It’s no surprise that you might find yourself holding your breath while you are concentration on your flow, or during a challenging asana. Simply remembering to come back to the breath during your practice, and checking in with how you are breathing, will help to build your concentration, and face those challenging asana.

THE WAVE OF THE BREATH
The breath moves through us like a wave. On an inhale the belly and ribs expand as the diaphragm contracts down, and on an exhale the belly and ribs contract as the diaphragm expands up.

Before you try the sequence above, lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor. Place your hands on you belly and take a few comfortable breaths – following the ebb and flow of the air. When you are going through the asana let your breath initiate each transition. Keep returning to the breath during your practice If you find you are loosing the connection between the breath with the movement, go back to the simple warm up flow sequences and keep your practice simple. As you pause in each asana, use the breath to melt aways any tension you might encounter. For more information on using the breath to pause click on this link.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

The benefits of meditation

DAILY PRACTICE
Establishing a daily meditation practice has been on my ‘to do’ list for quite a while. I have a well established yoga practice for over 15 years, but I struggled to settle long enough for daily meditation. Over the last two years I’ve dabbled with it, and done lots of meditation and mindfulness courses, but as much as I loved it and understood the huge benefits of it, I couldn’t get it to stick. Until last Christmas when my dad, the centre of my universe, became very sick and spent four difficult months in hospital. My yoga practice became my safe haven, where whatever was lurking under my brave exterior could flow, in all its shapes and forms. I practiced with such clarity, and was amazed by how the body knew exactly what it needed to do to support itself. I finally was ready to sit in silence and establish my daily meditation practice!

THE BENEFITS
It’s now three months since I started a consistent daily practice, and as I reflect over what the practice has brought me, I notice they are far greater than the value of the small amount of time required for your daily practice.

Here are some of the benefits I have noticed so far...

• Greater awareness and observation skills
• More self-compassion
• Learning the value of taking time to nourish myself by taking time out
• Less judgemental of myself and others
• Learning to pause before reacting to situation
• Feeling less overwhelmed by busy day
• Learning to declutter my day and let go of unnecessary tasks
• Happier to be me
• Feeling nourishment thrive from every cell
• Appreciation of my health
• Calmer and more attentive to the kids
• Deepening of my yoga practice
• Learning that not everything can be fixed, and sometimes it's not my job to fix it!

And many more benefits I look forward to along my meditation journey...

• Stress management
• Eases anxiety
• Eases tension
• Eases depression
• Improves cognitive function
• Improved attention span
• Builds focus & concentration
• Builds connections with others
• Increases empathy & compassion
• Improves quality of sleep
• Balances nervous system
• Reduces blood pressure
• Slows biological ageing
• Aids pain management
• Increases immune system

GETTING STARTED
All that in just a few minutes a day! If, like me, you find it hard to get your daily practice going, keep chipping away at it - learning, reading, listening to podcasts and playing around with different methods of meditation, until eventually it will stick. Start with just 3 mins a day and build up from there. You don’t have to be meditating for an hour a day to make a difference to you life. Small, regular practices are more beneficial than one 30min practice a week. Remember that the mind will wander, and when it does, gently guide it back to the breath, without judgement. When I feel myself getting involved in internal chatter, I label them ‘stories’ and return to the breath without making a fuss. For people with kids, those 3 mins of meditation are the most important minutes of your day, take it from a mum and her three kids.

TOOLS FOR LIFE
I now look forward to my meditation and to the lovely feeling of clarity I know it will give me for the rest of the day. Meditation is not a miracle fix glue for life – there will still be plenty of life's challenges, but when you do encounter moments of stress, it gives you the ability to pause and observe, before you react. Your mind will thank you for helping it to take a break from the days planning and list making. Ciara Cronin of The Yoga Room runs a continuous Mindfulness & Meditation 4 week course. The studio is a beautiful space and is always warm and welcoming. Ciaras knowledge and guidance of mindfulness meditation help you to cross the bridge safely into the unknown. Before you know it, you’re meditating and you’ve started your new journey!

“Most people are aware that the benefits of mindfulness include relief from stress and anxiety and a calmer state of mind, but it also has a profound restorative effect on all the physical systems of the body; improving our immunity to illness, aiding digestion, balancing metabolism, relaxing the nervous system, and increasing our creativity, empathy and compassion.” Ciara Cronin, The Yoga Room

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru