5-Minute Mindfulness (11 page)

• Twists are cleansing.

• Supine poses are restful.

• Prone poses are energizing.

• Inverted postures increase mental strength.

• Balancing poses create lightness and build focus.

• Backbends are exhilarating.

• Jumping develops agility.

Let’s take a closer look at these beneficial effects and the 5-minute strategies we can use to enjoy them.

ENERGIZE YOURSELF

Yoga postures move the spine in these different ways:

• Forward

• Backward

• Side to side

• Twisting from one side to the other

Moving the spine in this way keeps the spine supple and healthy and nourishes the entire nervous system. The asanas release tension and blocked energy; lengthen and strengthen muscles; and tone, stimulate, and massage the internal organs. As a result, the muscles and organs are bathed in blood, nutrients, and
prana
(life force). Every cell is rejuvenated and cleansed. Respiration, cardiac function, circulation, nervous system function, elimination, and mental clarity improve. Fatigue and stress are reduced.

YOUR SPINE CHECKLIST

Yoga helps counteract the detrimental effects on the spine that result from the way we often sit, stand, and even sleep. During the course of most days, do you:

• Sit at a desk?

• Use a computer?

• Stand on your feet?

• Drive a vehicle?

• Lay on the couch?

• Sleep on a soft mattress?

• Carry a backpack or big purse?

• Wear high heels?

Doing any of these for a length of time can compromise the health of your back. Yoga can help you keep your spine supple and healthy.

TADASANA

Tadasana, the mountain pose, is the basic standing pose. Like a mountain, you want a broad, stable base from which to extend to the sky. Tadasana teaches you how to stand properly. You learn how to balance, center, ground, and extend.

Start by placing your feet together, joining the big toes and inner ankles if possible. Otherwise, stand so the ankles, knees, and hips are lined up, one over the other. When viewed from the side, the ear, shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle should form a straight, vertical line, with your arms by your sides (see
Figure 6-1
).

Figure 6-1: Tadasana

Create your yoga feet by spreading the toes, pressing into the big and little toe mounds and the center of the heel. Bring the weight a little more into the heels. Lift your arches as you ground the feet. Enhance this action by lengthening your leg muscles all the way up to your hips. Lift the top of the kneecaps by contracting the quadriceps muscle. Firm the muscles of the thigh to the bone.

Now you have created a strong and stable base from which the torso will be able to extend. This is like creating the mantle for the mountain to rise out of. Place your hands on your hips, and extend the sides of the body from your hips to your armpits. This action creates length and space in the spine.

Bring your arms back to your sides without losing the lift of the spine, and lengthen up through the crown of your head. Try to balance your head over the pelvis. Make sure the shoulders are relaxed and not riding up to the ears. Press your shoulder blades into your back. Lift the top of the chest and broaden the collarbones. Breathe fully, balancing ease with effort. Open the body to receive the breath, remaining aware of how it feels to be in alignment. Be the observer and the observed, the seer and the seen.

Tadasana can be done with the back to the wall for alignment. The tactile feedback from the back on the wall will aid in the sense of lengthening the torso. Tadasana can also be performed lying down, with the feet flush against the wall. This is an excellent way to feel the two-way action of the feet pressing, spreading, and lengthening in one direction, while the legs grow long in the opposite direction. The muscle action of the legs hugging the bone is also more pronounced when lying down because the floor provides feedback and there is no need to balance on the feet, as when standing. Tadasana is especially good for you because it:

• Teaches you how to stand correctly with proper alignment

• Develops agility

• Corrects minor misalignments of legs

• Strengthens ankles

• Relieves backache and neck strain

• Opens the chest

AGE YOURSELF GRACEFULLY

Several yoga postures are antiaging and antigravity—they reduce the sagging of organs and muscles due to aging and gravity’s constant pull. The saying “You’re as young as your spine” is absolutely true. Regular practice of yoga postures maintains the suppleness and youth of the spine. The postures also develop coordination and balance—essential for preventing falls. They improve posture and increase knowledge of body mechanics. Yoga also improves your circulation and can help deal with arthritis.

Play for Fitness Mindful Moment

Think back to your childhood—how flexible, playful, and in tune with your body you were. Remember that feeling—and notice when you feel it again, now.

As people grow older, as life slows down a bit, and as their responsibilities change, the desire to go inward and contemplate life grows. The system of yoga provides a wonderful framework for that inward search and growth. Conscious relaxation and meditation are time-tested tools for contemplation and inner wisdom.

YOU‘RE AS YOUNG AS YOURS PINE MINDFUL MOMENT

For the next twenty-four hours, observe how you carry yourself throughout the day—in the car, at your desk, when you walk down the street, etc. When do you slump? When do you stand up straight? When you notice the slouching, can you mindfully change your position?

KEEP YOURSELF FIT

Yoga is a wonderful way to get into shape. The postures tone organs and develop long, lean muscles. The practice of forward bends, backbends, lateral poses, twists, and inversions balances and works every muscle, bone, joint, and organ in the body. Weight-bearing yoga poses, crucial for healthy bones, provide one of the best exercise systems known to humankind. Muscle flexibility and strength and joint range of motion greatly increase. Stamina and endurance also improve.

CIRCULATE YOURSELF

Yoga postures promote better blood and lymph circulation throughout the body. Let’s take a look at the various kinds of postures and how each kind can improve circulation.

REVERSE GRAVITY WITH INVERSIONS

Inversions, such as the headstand and shoulderstand, reverse the flow of gravity, improving the blood supply to the lungs and brain and giving the legs and heart a rest. Pressure of the abdominal cavity against the diaphragm exercises the diaphragm and heart muscles. Inversions promote better sleep quality because they relax the sympathetic nervous system, enabling the relaxation response to kick in.

EASY INVERSION

Viparita Karani
is the legs-up-the-wall pose. Place a bolster or one to three horizontally folded blankets against a wall. Lie on your side, with the left hip on the support, buttocks close to the wall, and the knees bent. Roll onto your back, and swing the legs up the wall. Rest the legs on the wall, the lower back and sacrum on the support, and the rest of the torso on the floor (see
Figure 6-2
). Outstretch the arms horizontally, with the palms facing up. The eyes may close and soften. Breathe naturally, and enjoy the relaxation and revitalization of the pose. To come out of the pose, bend the knees, and roll over onto your right side. Using your hands, press yourself up to a seated position.

Figure 6-2: Viparita Karani

You can also practice Viparita Karani with your legs wide apart. Or, you can bend your knees slightly if it is too intense a stretch for the hamstring muscles.

Inversions are not recommended during menstruation.

Note: People with hypertension, glaucoma, and cardiac disorders should practice this posture
only
under the guidance of a qualified yoga professional. It is not advised for people with detached retina and ear problems. Viparita Karani is especially good for you because it:

• Drains fluid from the legs

• Softens the belly and groins

• Reverses the effects of gravity

• Reverses the flow of blood and stimulates the lymphatic system

• Rests the heart and brain

• Relieves tired legs

• Revitalizes and relaxes

WRING IT OUT WITH TWISTS

Twists wring out the body like a wet towel, squeezing, massaging, and stimulating the organs and muscles; bringing in fresh blood and nutrients; and releasing toxins and wastes. They also reduce spinal, hip, and groin problems.

EASY TWIST

Jathara Parivartanasana
is the belly-twisting pose (refer to
Figure 6-3
). Lie down, and bend the knees, with the feet flat on the floor. Inhale, lifting the feet away from the floor and bringing the knees to the chest. Extend the arms horizontally out to the sides on the floor. Stack the knees and ankles, and exhale as you let the knees come down to the right, toward the floor at a right angle. The legs will hover over the floor, with the lower leg holding up the upper leg. Gaze up at the ceiling. Feel the belly and the ribs spiral toward the left. Maintain the length of the spine on inhalation, twist on the exhalation, and roll the left shoulder down toward the floor (without forcing). Stay in the pose for several breaths, deepening the twist. Then inhale, bringing the knees back to center, and exhale as you go to the other side.

If hip mobility is restricted or the lower back is weak, place a folded blanket under the bottom leg for support.

Figure 6-3: Jathara Parivartanasana

Note: Jathara Parivartanasana is not recommended during menstruation, as there is too much activity in the abdominal area. It is also unsuitable for pregnant women. This pose works too strongly on the abdomen, and it is also a flat, horizontal position, which may put too much pressure on major arteries.

Jathara Parivartanasana is especially good for you because it:

• Provides a powerful, stimulating, and wringing action for the waist, abdomen, and lower back

• Strengthens transverse and oblique abdominal muscles

• Strengthens inner and outer thigh muscles

TWISTER MINDFUL MOMENT

The next time you feel overwhelmed by all the burdens of your life, do the belly-twisting pose. With each twist, picture yourself literally wringing out all of the unnecessary tasks and petty demands that weigh you down—and let them go.