Taking Care of Our Stressful Lives: Create Spaciousness in Mind and Body (Gentle sequence incl.)

Space to Be
 

When you gaze in wonder at the stars,
Become enthralled
With the vast spaciousness between them.
Space is an incomprehensible being,
An invisible presence,
Independent, independently wealthy,  Without beginning or end, and giving.

Space bestows an unbounded theater
For suns, planets, constellations
To dance their graceful orbits.

Space offers you an infinite arena
To play, explore, and experience.
Receive this gift of freedom.

The Radiance Sutras #20 by Loren Roche, PhD

I find myself, at times, stressed and wanting to fly away from certain environments and conversations. I can feel my body tense and my heart begins to beat fast, my mind telling me to, “leave….get away from here.” My body has been off of late. I can feel the tiredness in my body.  I wonder if this is tied to how my nervous system is reacting to the interactions I have been having in my life. In order to find a solution I need to locate the culprit(s).

We have often found ourselves quite stressed.

We have often found ourselves quite stressed out. Obligations, social interactions, the food we eat, and the amount of sleep we get/or lack thereof affect how our body and its systems function. If we find ourselves, all to often, in “fight or flight” situations (sympathetic nervous system) our body may fatigue and lose the ability to function at its optimum. When this happens we may wonder what is going on in our body, especially our physical body, that this sense of nervousness and fatigue becomes so prevalent. What in our system drives how we react to stressful situations?

Off to research: what was happening, why I was feeling this way, and how I 

might learn to work with the stress and find ways to minimize it in my life. First, what was physically happening to my body. What system was being affected? Through my research I discovered that the Adrenal Gland, and how it functions, is where I needed to delve deeper.

The medical definition of the Adrenal Gland taken from medicinenet.com: “Adrenal gland: A small gland located on top of the kidney. The adrenal glands produce hormones that help control heart rate, blood pressure, the way the body uses food, the levels of minerals such as sodium and potassium in the blood, and other functions particularly involved in stress reactions.”

Right away  I noticed that all too familiar word, “stress” and knew I was in the right place. When we find ourselves in stressful situations our immediate reaction might be to either defend or to leave. What if, instead, we stayed, stopped just for a moment, took a breath, and then looked at the situation. Was I doing something in my life that was adding to the stress my body was under? As I was researching I found this chart which brings out the factors that add stress to our adrenals. I have to be honest and say I could circle quite a few of them. Take a look and see how many you circle.

I thought about this notion as I flowed through my morning yoga practice looking out over the fields noticing how calm life was around me. My intention (sankalpa) was to look at the obstacle that seems to bring out the “flight” in me and face it, embrace it, and use the movement of my body and my breath to rest and digest what I was feeling and work to accept it, so that I could begin to move on.

Roger Cole, who wrote the article, “Which Poses Treat Adrenal Exhaustion,?” suggests that, “Yoga practice is great for providing recovery and can also help you deal with stressful circumstances without having such a strong negative reaction. But I encourage you to go beyond just postures and consider the “practice” of yoga rather broadly. If any of the life circumstances that are causing you distress are at all under your control, part of your practice is to change them for the better.”

Cole ends his article with suggestions: “To recover from this exhaustion, you need to do things that turn off the adrenal hormones and promote secretion of anabolic hormones, such as growth hormone. Growth hormone is secreted by the pituitary gland almost exclusively during the deepest stages of sleep (slow wave sleep). To promote slow wave sleep, avoid alcohol and caffeine, and take a warm bath before bed. Do not lie awake in bed for more than 15 minutes at a time. If you can’t sleep, get out of bed and do some quiet activity until you feel ready to attempt sleep again. Avoid strenuous yoga postures (especially standing postures and unsupported backbends) at any time of day, because these may stimulate the adrenal glands.”

If we can nourish our adrenals we can regulate our stress response. Our practice might include more restorative asanas to gently soften and lengthen our bodies. Our breath work might involve being present, attentive and calm.  So now, as I plan my sequence for the next week the focus will be on those that calm and restore the body and mind.

If you could have for props: Mat, Blanket, Blocks (or two equal sized books), a Strap of some sort, and a Firm Pillow by your mat before practice, that would be wonderful.

Creating Spaciousness in Mind & Body Practice

For those that do not attend the regular zoom Gentle Yoga class the cost is $10.00. Payments can be made to:

Paypal: paypal.me/DBallMindfulYoga   

Venmo: @DBallwegMindfulYoga

Suggested Asanas 

Balasana: Child’s Pose

Supta Baddha Konasana: Reclined Cobbler

Savasana: Corpse Pose

Sukhasana: Supported Forward Bend

Viparita Karani: Legs up the Wall

Seut Bandha Savangasana: Bridge

Pranayama Breathing

Calm, grounded, connect to the breath, connect to the earth. Use your breath to slow your heart rate, to slow your brain waves, and release the tension in your body. 

 Love to hear from you. Thanks: Debra 

BallMindYoga Facebook Page 

Email Address 

Resources

https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/treating-adrenal-exhaustion. Cole, Roger, “Which Poses TreatAdrenal Exhaustion.” August 28, 2007.

http://corporatefunrun.com/are-your-adrenals-in-a-knot/ (photo of Adrenal Glands Factors).

http://www.biologynoteshelp.com/adrenal-tumoradrenal-adenoma/ (photo of location of adrenals)

http://www.jillpaschalyoga.com/blog/category/yoga-for-adrenal-fatigue (photo of asanas)

Chair Yoga for All: Come Find Your Seat (video sequence incl.)

CHAIR YOGA FOR ALL DESCRIPTION & BENEFITS

Meeting yourself where you are. Chair yoga makes yoga accessible to anyone who wants to enjoy the benefits of yoga but may struggle with balance and  mobility or may want a more therapeutic approach. 

Strength: withstand falls, helps with balance, mobility, improve muscle tone, 

Reduce joint strain: takes the strain off of the joints

Portability: one can do chair yoga anywhere

Flexibility: twisting/bending

Proprioception: skill of knowing where your body is in space & coordinating your movements accurately

Reduce Stress: calmer, more relaxed, improved sense of well being

Pain Management: breath work, coping with & managing pain, meditation, better breathing habits

Concentration: cognitive, may help age related declines in brain function

Chair Yoga Practice 

A variety of props can be brought in: small hand weights, bands, straps and blocks.

Before we begin our practice with our chair, though, it is important that your space is safe: 

• The chair needs to be sturdy and able to hold your weight/our body shape. 

• The chair may or may not have arms. 

• A chair made out of wood or metal needs to be to weighted for 300 lbs. 

• The space where you place your chair needs to be on a solid surface. Setting it on a carpet could effect your ability to feel stable; due to the softness of the carpet.

• In addition, when you stand behind your chair and press forward on it, it should not slide. I like to place mine on my yoga mat; or make sure that the legs have rubber bottoms.

• When you sit on the chair there should not be a cushion (unless you need the extra support). We want to feel secure in our movements.  I would like you to feel your bum on the seat. 

• Create a space where you can relax and not be disturbed. 

Lastly, when you sit on the seat of the chair pay close attention to the placement of your feet. You want your  feet to rest on the floor. For some our legs are not long enough, when we sit, to touch the floor. **** If that is the case, place a block under each foot. Your hip joint should be in line with your knee joint. We want to feel grounded. 

Sequence Structure

You can design a sequence where you are on the chair the ENTIRE practice or one in which you move from the chair to in front of or behind the chair.

You can also design a sequence where you might incorporate weights, bands or blocks into your sequence. 

As you go through your practice stay observant of your breath, your balance, and your comfort. If any movement seems to make you feel uncomfortable either physically or mentally then stop and adjust, modify or change the movement or stop all together.

Chair Yoga for All Sequence. 

Props: chair, blocks, light hand weights, strap 

Breathing during practice

Yogis believe that correct breathing brings more oxygen into your blood and helps to control vital energy, which in turn helps calm your mind.

Pursed-lip breathing and diaphragm breathing are two techniques that have roots in yoga. Another useful breathing technique is abdominal breathing. The technique is as follows:

1. Breathe in, letting your stomach expand.

2. As you breathe out, contract your stomach muscles, pressing your stomach inward.

3. Focus on contracting your lower abdomen and ribs as you breathe out. This helps to raise your diaphragm, enabling your lungs to empty all the way and thus improving the depth of your breathing.

Begin & End your practice with your breath. 

As you begin each class Sit with your eyes closed and your hands in your laps. INHALE and EXHALE very naturally. Take your breath into your belly on the INHALE and pull your belly in and relax your chest on the EXHALE letting all of the air out.

As you end each class in a Seated Savasana Sit back in your chair, place your hands in your lap and close your eyes. As in the beginning  INHALE and EXHALE very naturally. Relax your entire body from your feet to the top of your head. Try to clear your mind of distracting thoughts. Keep yourself in the present. 

Please end each practice sitting quiet and reflecting. Then SMILE. 

I would love to hear from you. Please comment so that I can best serve you in your practice

Seated Chair Practice VIDEO PRACTICE

For those that do not attend the studio Chair Yoga class the cost is $10.00. Payments can be made to:

Paypal: paypal.me/DBallMindfulYoga   

Venmo: @DBallwegMindfulYoga

  Love to hear from you. Thanks: Debra 

BallMindYoga Facebook Page 

Email Address