Finding balance

SEPTEMBER MAYHEM
September back to school has left me feeling frazzled and out of balance. I found the more that was thrown at me, the faster I moved, and the more disconnected I became between my over busy mind and my hasty actions. To the point that last Wednesday, while speed walking up the  avenue, frantically retracing my steps to look for a lost glove, I tripped and came inelegantly crashing down on all fours. Which left me with a wrist injury, cuts and bruises on my knees, and an even bigger bruise to my sense of self and ego. I was chronically out of balance! I find injuries a huge challenge. Slowing down does not come naturally to me until I’m forced to. As a yogi, people expect you to be practically horizontal with calm and ease, but I am definitely not that persona! Yoga chips away at my busy mind and helps to remind me that this is not a sustainable way to live. You need to take time to slow the heck down before the path goes from under you and does it for you!

PRESS THE RESTART BUTTON
Since last Wednesday I've been taking time to slow down, even if my mind objects and tells me I'm too busy, I pause to take in the horizon on my morning walk, meditate for just 10 mins a day, and am taking Epsom baths to soak all my injuries away. I've slowly noticed changes are happening. My mind is becoming clearer and calmer, the constant headache I'd gotten used to at the start of September is gone, my wrist and other soft tissue injuries are fading, and my poor knees are looking a bit less like my six year olds proud school yard cuts and bruises.

LIVING YOUR YOGA
I’m also writing a document for my upcoming Yoga for Balance workshop with the amazing Aisling Conn. Aisling has been one of my regular teachers, and good friend, for many years and without fail I leave her classes feeling a conscious and subconscious sense of calm and balance, physically and mentally. She has an incredible knowledge of anatomy and uses this knowledge to access the deeper subtle body, through teaching with an emphasis on correct alignment with effort and ease.

The workshop will combine breathwork, asana and tips to help bring these life skills into your everyday lives. These are tried and tested methods to bring back a sense of calm to your lives. There will be take home workshop pack with material on the techniques we will practice in the workshop and lots more tips for ways to find balance through nutrition, essential oils and natural remedies.

The workshop takes place this October 7th, 2:00-4:30pm, The Yoga Room, Dublin. Book online at The Yoga Room. Suitable for all levels. For those feeling out of balance and for those who are open to learning ways to staying balanced.

We look forward to seeing you there to explore yoga for balance.

Ruth Dealhunty Yogaru

Virabhadrasana II - Warrior II

EXPLORING WARRIOR II IN YOUR PRACTICE
Hip opening classes are one of the most requested and popular class themes. They release tension physically and mentally, and leave you feeling a lovely freedom of movement in the hip joint as you leave your class. When you consider a hip opening class, which asana springs to mind? Most people think of asana that stretch the outer hip muscles, for example Gomukhasana /Cow Face or Eka Pada Rajakapotasana/Pigeon Pose. For me, I feel a deeper hip opening in asana where the leg is rotated outwards, strengthening the outer hip and stretching the inner leg. Warrior II is not traditionally considered a hip opener, but there is a deep opening of the inner groin in the front leg in particular, as the outer glute is working hard to keep the inner knee from collapsing in. Asana with similar leg arrangement such as Parsvakonasana/Side Angle, Trikonasana/Triangle & Ardha Chandrasana will externally rotate the leg, and open the hip, in a similar way.

The hip joint is made up of several families of muscles – the hamstrings, the glutes, the quads, the groin and the hip flexors. Warrior II works all five muscle groups. Below are some alignment cues to try out in the sequence above or in your next class. As you test out some of the tips bring your attention to the muscles you are strengthening and stretching.

ALIGNMENT CUES
The above sequence starts with Supta Padangusthasana/Reclined Hand to Big Toe to warm up and lengthen the hamstrings. After you have pressed the leg up straight, hinge the leg out to the side from the hip joint to start to open up the groin. There is also a half Warrior II kneeling version to help you find the outward rotation of the hip without the full weight of the body.

Print out the below tips, along with the sequence, and take some extra time in your Warrior II:

• With your hips facing the side of the mat your left hip will naturally sits slightly forward of your right hip
• Squeeze your right outer hip muscles and press lightly into you big toe mound to track your knee over your ankle and open the groin out to the side of the mat
• Press into your front heel and pull it back towards you to feel the quads and hamstrings wake up
• As your groin starts to open see can you find more space to drop your hips down, making sure to adjust your front foot to keep the knee tracking
• Draw your navel in towards your spine and lengthen up through the tip of the crown, shoulders directly over pelvis
• With equal weight between front and back foot, press into your back heel to feel the arches of the foot lift

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

The twist effect

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE TWIST?
We have previously explored the cleansing effect of twists and twisting from the midline out. Twists massage the organs of the body – stimulating good digestion, removing toxins through the liver and kidneys, supporting the immune system, and relieving stress and tension. But what do the rotational muscles of the core need to do to facilitate these benefits?

LOOK FOR THE STRENGTH IN YOUR TWISTS
Twists stretch and strengthen the full circumference of the core and the spinal muscles. When we are twisting, we naturally notice the stretch effect in the side body, on the opposite side we are twisting to. In a twist, to every stretch effect there is a strengthen effect. The muscles on the side we are twisting to contract to facilitate this stretch. The next time you take a twist in your practice, try consciously contracting these muscles, and notice how they help you to twist a little further, and find a little more stretch, on the opposing side.

STANDING TWISTS
Aided twists, which use the help of an elbow pressing against a knee or a hand pressing into the ground, help to get a deeper stretching twist, but don’t work quite as much into the strengthening element of the twist. Unaided twists, which are twists that work without an anchor to facilitate your twist, may not feel as satisfyingly deep a twist, but are working the stretching and strengthening muscles equally. When you come to practice Parivrtta Utkatasana and Parivrtta Ashta Chandrasana in the above sequence, try hovering your elbow above the knee to activate these deep twisting muscles.

SEATED TWISTS
In your seated twists explore both sit bones grounded and then allowing the opposing sit bone to lift slightly, and notice how it affects your twist. When twisting to the right, and the sit bones are grounded, you will feel a stretch coming from the base of the spine and a strong stretch in the outer left hip. When you allow the left sit bone to lift slightly, and the hips to follow the twist, it gives you a false sense of a deeper twist, but it helps you to take the spinal twist more comfortably if you have tight hips or any sacroiliac issues.

Print out the above sequence, and explore the strengthening sensations in the side you are twisting to. Click this link to get a full list of twists.

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

Upper back strength

WHAT MAKES GOOD POSTURE
I’ve become very aware recently of my posture. As a yoga teacher, and practitioner, I judge myself when I catch my shoulders hunching, or my lower spine rounding in a seated position. It led me to investigate which asana help to build, and maintain, good posture in the practice of yoga.

OUR EVERYDAY POSTURE
The average person, sitting for hours at their computers, are rarely in a beautifully upright position – with the pelvis perfectly perpendicular to the seat, and their shoulders stacked over their hips. Even as we move through our day, our shoulders are often leading the way, with our upper back curved forward, in a hurry to get to our next appointment. Backbends stretch the front body, open the shoulders, stimulate the nervous system and lift your spirits. All backbends stretch the front body, but backbends that use the weight of the body against gravity, to strengthen the upper back, help to maintain this chest opening beyond your time on the mat.

STRONG BACK – HEALTHY BACK
Salabhasana/Locust is not an asana you’ll see much on Instagram, and some yogis find the breath quite challenging when the diaphragm is being pressed, but there is lots happening in this unassuming asana. The whole back body is strongly working to lift the weight of the body against gravity; the weight of the body is pressing and massaging the organs of the abdomen – aiding digestion and detoxification, boosting the immune system, easing constipation, and easing mental fatigue.

Ardha Uttanasana/Half Forward Bend also uses the upper back against gravity when done with awareness. Place the palms of your hands on your upper shins, use your arms to help reach your sternum forward and up, and feel the upper back working. If you have tight hamstrings this will be a great way to warm them up before any deeper Forward Bends. Like with Salabhasana/Locust, I have found huge benefits from spending more time in these two asana in my daily practice recently.

ALIGNMENT CUES
In your next practice try coming all the way down to the ground and taking Salabhasana/Locust instead of Bhujangasana/Cobra or Urdha Mukha Svanasana/Upward Facing Dog. Print out the above sequence to get a sense for what upper back strengthening feels like in your spine.

The following are some alignment cues for Salabhasana/Locust. Print them out to help you find your strong back:

• From lying face down, arms reaching either side of the body, palms facing down
• Inhale, lift your head, upper body, arms and legs
• Press into the pubic bone to lift up
• Reach your fingertips towards your feet, palms facing towards your body
• Press through the balls of your feet
• Inner thighs roll up to keep the feet from splaying out
• Broaden through the collarbone
• Reach your sternum forward and up
• Shoulder blades press against your back
• Back of the neck long and gaze slightly forward

Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

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