Yoga Pose Of The Week: Adho Mukha Svanasana

Basic Instruction:
From kneeling on all fours with the knees and palms on the ground, tuck the feet and lift the hips towards the sky.

Tips:
- Pull in the navel towards the spine to help support the lower back.
- Keep the palms shoulder width apart.
- Keep the feet hip distance apart.
- Slide the shoulder blades down the back and away from the ears.
- If maintaining the posture is too strenuous, place a block underneath the forehead to rest.

Questions To Notice In This Pose:
- Is my face and neck straining to keep my upper body off the ground? Can I relax the muscles in my face and neck?
- Is my belly loose causing my lower back to be pinched? Can I support my lower back?
- Is there pressure more on one hand than the other? Can I practice balancing my weight between my hands?
- Is there more pressure in my feet than in my hands? Can I practice balancing my weight between my hands and feet?
- Are my shoulders creeping up towards my ears? Can I pull them back down?

This Pose In My Practice:
I remember a yoga teacher telling me once that I would use this pose one day as a resting pose. As a beginner yoga student, I was too distracted by the discomfort in my shoulders and wrists to pay much attention to her words.

At that point in my life, I was looking for something. Something that would somehow make my life better and complete. What I didn't realize at the time was that change is ironically constant. Once I found whatever it was that made me complete, I would inevitably become incomplete and continue looking. But that's ok.

If anything, yoga has taught me that it is alright that things change.

But back to the pose....
What I understood as discomfort in my shoulders and chest was really my body learning to open my heart. The pose was meant to allow me to find more space in my heart and more breath in my lungs.

As time passed, and I practiced more, the pose became more comfortable. I wouldn't say easy because depending on the day I can feel like I'm starting all over again. Some days the pose is relaxing and I can rest. Some days the pose conjures a lot of the thoughts I had when I first started.

But this is the practice, and things change day-by-day. So I keep coming back to my mat to see what unfolds.

Loving Thoughts. Loving Words. Loving Heart.

Yoga Pose Of The Week: Namaskarasana

Basic Instruction:
From standing with feet hip distance apart with toes pointing slightly outwards, begin to lower seat such that the seat is barely hovering over the ground. Place palms together in front of heart, and use elbows to help push knees apart.

Tips:
- The knees are to be in line with the second toe.
- If squatting so low is too uncomfortable, place a block (or several) underneath the seat to assist in the posture.
- Forearms form a parallel line to the floor.
- Chest is lifted so that the heart is reaching towards the clasped palms.
- Shoulders are pulled away and down from the ears.

Questions To Notice In This Pose:
- If my eyes are open, am I finding myself distracted by what I see around me? Is it possible to try to close my eyes and try to listen to myself?
- If my eyes are closed, am I finding myself being distracted by holding onto my thoughts? Is it possible to try to notice my thoughts and let them pass by?
- Is my jaw tight? Or my eyebrows furrowed? Is it possible to relax them?
- Are my ankles straining or my hips straining to maintain the posture? Can I find a way to release some of the strain with the assistance of blocks?
- Am I feeling strain as my hips open? Or am I feeling sensation as my hips open?
- Are my shoulders slumping forward? Is it possible to release them and allow my chest and heart to be broad?

This Pose In My Practice:
I love this pose. Squatting has never been a problem for me (knock on wood), so I don’t mind having my knees bend that deep.

What I enjoy most about the pose is the openness I feel in my hips as my elbows push my thighs apart. I also enjoy the feeling of my spine lengthening when I focus on lifting my chest in the pose.

Even though most of time the pose is relatively easy for me, there are times when the pose can also be difficult. I find that when I sit for long periods of time my inner thighs tighten and I feel resistance to the pose. It is in those moments I am reminded that humility is important. What I perceive as easy one day can easily be not so easy the next.

But this is the practice, and things change day-by-day. So I keep coming back to my mat to see what unfolds.

Loving Thoughts. Loving Words. Loving Heart.

Yoga Pose Of The Week: Sukhasana

Basic Instruction:
Take a comfortable cross-legged seat either on the floor or on a cushion. The hands are placed on the knees palms up. The spine lengthens up away from the base of the seat.

Tips:
- The knees are to be in line or below the front hip bones. If not, placing a cushion under the seat can elevate the hips into proper alignment.
- The knees and hips are even so that the weight of the body is centered over the seat.

Questions To Notice In This Pose:
- If my eyes are open, am I finding myself distracted by what I see around me? Is it possible to try to close my eyes and try to listen to myself?
- If my eyes are closed, am I finding myself being distracted by holding onto my thoughts? Is it possible to try to notice my thoughts and let them pass by?
- Is my jaw tight? Or my eyebrows furrowed? Is it possible to relax them?
- Are my shoulders slumping forward? Is it possible to release them and allow my chest and heart to be broad?
- Am I comfortable with listening to my thoughts? Am I comfortable with the silence?

This Pose In My Practice:
For me, this pose is easy to get into, but hard to maintain.

Some days, I am comfortable with my own thoughts and finding a comfortable seat isn’t so difficult. Some days, (and honestly most days lately), I find that my thoughts are filled with worries about things I can and cannot control. By holding onto these thoughts, I find myself resistant to change, and ultimately uncomfortable with myself.

But this is the practice, and things change day-by-day. So I keep coming back to my mat to see what unfolds.

Loving Thoughts. Loving Words. Loving Heart.