September 30, 2009
This month, the Mayo Clinic produced a special report espousing the many benefits of yoga and tai chi. This supplement to the Mayo Clinic Health Letter, dated October 2009 provides a broad overview of the many benefits of the two practices. The report also covers tips for safe yoga, learning the postures, alignment, breathing strategies and ways to meditate.
What I found most confirming in this report is the acknowledgement that yoga is an integrated form of practice that blends breath, aerobic, strength training, core stability, flexibility and balance all into one practice. I believe this is what makes it a safe practice for seniors or anyone trying out yoga for the first time. I highly recommend this report as a broad overview on yoga.
If you don’t currently subscribe to the report, visit the Mayo Clinic website or your public library may subscribe.
September 24, 2009
When you free your foot to move in comfort, your whole body will follow. We know that the foot bone is connected to the ankle bone, connected to the knee bone, hip bone and on and on. By focusing on our feet, and helping to open and align our stance, we can almost guarantee liberation, through the rest of the body.
Below is a practice my senior yoga classes have been using all month to help open and unlock the feet and toes. The practice utilizes a tennis ball followed by a flow sequence. Engage in the practice by releasing only one foot and then return to Tadasana to create sensory awareness before moving on.
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September 13, 2009
In yoga we sometimes encourage clients to connect with their breath through our cueing. “Bring awareness to the breath”, “feel the breath travelling through the body”, “guide your breath to your heart center.” While these may seem easy to understand, truly experiencing the awareness of the breath is much easier when adding a mudra or series of mudras.
A hand mudra is simply a gesture, symbol or seal used to circulate energy, activate an influence in a certain area of the body and help us to connect with our overall physical well-being.
Merudanda Mudra is an excellent mudra series that will enhance the awareness experience as the breath is directed to various parts of the body. As you guide your clients through this mudra sequence, invite them to notice the quality and characteristics of the breath. Encourage them to find the starting point of the breath; that place inside where they feel the breath originate in the body. As you move through the sequence encourage them to continually notice if the breath has arrived in a new place.
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