Forward Bend Pose – Paschimottanasana
In the Forward Bend Pose, the body is folded in half, like a book, giving a wonderful stretch to the entire back of the body from the head to the toes. It is simple posture to practice, yet is powerful. It looks easier than it is, to be done correctly, and offers an opportunity to reconnect deeply within.


In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika it says “This is the most excellent of asanas makes the breath flow through the Sushumna, rouses the gastric fire, makes the loins lean and removes all diseases”

Wow makes you want to perform it right?


Benefits of Forward Bend Pose include:

• Powerfully massages the abdominal organs
• Stimulates and massages digestive system
• Relieves constipation
• Reduces obesity
• Mobilises the joints and increases elasticity of the spine
• Strengthens and stretches the hamstring muscles
• Enhances concentration
• Invigorates the mind and nervous system

How to do Forward bend Pose


1.Sit in a seated position with the legs together and straight in front of you and the back nice and tall. Now take your hands to your buttocks and remove the flesh from your buttocks so that the sitting bones are open and on the floor. This tilts your pelvis and sitting bones forward slightly so that you pelvis and lower back are in correct alignment. Then draw in your core (your abdomen) so that you are sitting tall from the waist, open the chest, the heart area lifted, and the shoulders roll them back and downwards towards your tailbone, then elongate your neck. If you wish to sit on a Yoga block or folded blanket, this helps to tilt your pelvis slightly to help with the extension of the upper body.

2.From this position inhale raising your arms above your head, keeping the spine lengthened and the heart lifted and as you exhale gently fold the body forward, staying long through the spine with the abdomen draw in, extending the arms along the legs. As soon as you feel the stretch in the hamstrings lower the arms, either to the toes if you can reach or to the shins or knees. In the beginning your hands may be by your thighs, this is fine, work with the posture and keep the back straight, rather than round your shoulders.

3.Keep the chest open rather than round the upper back. On your next inhalation look forward, lift the heart centre and exhale move the floating ribs away from the hips and towards the knees. This movement lengthens the abdomen and lumbar spine rather than rounds the shoulders, which you try to keep relaxed.

4.If your chest is not close to your thighs, even if you are sitting upright, this is absolutely fine, work with the breath to keep the heart lifted, the head in line with the spine and the shoulders away from the ears. As you practice more and more you will be able to go deeper into the stretch.

5.With each inhalation, lift and lengthen the front of the body just slightly; with each exhalation release a little more fully into the forward bend. In this way the your body lengthens with the breath. If your hands touch your feet, hold the tops of the feet and flex the feet, or hold your fingers around the big toe, or have the hands on the sides of the feet, but do pull your feet outward, keep the feet pointing upward in a flexed position. If you want to go further keep the hands on the feet and bend your elbows and exhale further into the pose.

6.When you reach your maximum extension in the pose, rest there breathing deeply for as long as you continue to enjoy the posture, keeping the legs in contact with the floor.

7.To release, inhale stretch forwards and upwards raising the arms and chest and lower the arms by the hips on an exhalation.


Forward Bend Pose allows you to let go, surrender and observe the mind and breath. The breath will take you further, if you find this posture difficult, release it slightly so you are not forcing the pose and listen to the resistance from within. the objective is to relax and let go so you can go further and you will, have patience.

Om Shanti
Michelle
http://www.yogarelax.co.uk

The Essence of a Creative Life from the Heart...

I wanted to share with you this profound piece, that is inspirational, motivating and touches my heart in a different way each time I read it. I have had this guidance for over 9 years and came across it today again and wanted to share how I feel about my life right now, today... I love My Life - Life is beautiful, Life is transformational, Life when in rhythm with the Universe is mystically sweet, a priceless jewel to be treasured and shared...

I sincerely hope you enjoy this extract from SGI's President Daisaku Ikeda Speech 1974 and that is resonates with your heart..

"The times when I feel most deeply that I have done something creative are the times when I have thrown myself whole heartedly into a task and fought it through unstintingly to its conclusion. At such times. I feel that I have won out in the struggle to enlarge myself.

It is a matter of sweat and tears. The creative life, in short, is achieved by a constant effort to improve one's thoughts and actions, or perhaps we could say it is the dynamism involved in this effort.

You will pass through storms and heavy rains, and at times you may suffer defeat. The essence of the creative life, however, is not to give up in the face of defeat, but to follow the rainbow that exists within your heart. Indulgence and indolence are not creative. Complaints and evasions are cowardly, and they corrupt life's natural tendency towards creation. The person who gives up the fight for creativeness is headed ultimately for the hell that destroys all life. You must not for one instant give up your effort to build yourselves new lives. Creativeness means to push open the heavy, groaning doorway to life. This is not an easy struggle. Indeed, it may be the most difficult task in the world. For opening the door to your own life is in the end more difficult than opening the door to the mysteries of the universe. But to do so is to vindicate your existence. At the same time it makes life worth living for you. I say to you that there is no one lonelier or more unhappy that a person who does not know the pure joy of creating a life for himself. To be human is not merely to stand erect and manifest intelligence or knowledge. To be human in the full sense of the word is to lead a creative life. The fight to create a new life is a truly wonderful thing. In it you find a wisdom that causes your intelligence to shine, the light of intuition that leads to an understanding of the universe, a strong will and determination that challenge all attacking evils, the compassion that enables to take upon yourself the sorrows of others, the sense of fusion with that energy of compassion that gushes forth from the cosmic source of life and creates an ecstatic rhythm in the lives of all men. As you challenge evil and polish that jewel which is life you will learn to walk that supreme pathway of true humanity. Of this I am confident, and I am confident too that he who leads a creative life from the present into the future will stand in the vanguard of history. I myself think of this flowering of the creative life as a human revolution. This human revolution is your mission now as it will be throughout your lives."

written by Daisaku Ikeda

Anjali Mudra - Prayer Seal

This is also known as Atmanjali Mudra and this hand gesture is often seen in India when people greet, thank or express respect to each other. It is also used in prayer.

Anjali Mudra is used in Yoga classes too. Its significance is broad; it is used to remind you to come back to your centre, that your practice is a form of prayer, it is an offering to your true Self. Anjali Mudra helps to direct the energy upward, calming the mind.

This Mudra helps you to come from a calm, clear perspective and ground yourself. The gentle pressing together of the two palms, activates and harmonizes coordination of the right and left hemispheres of the brain.

When you join your hands together like this, you are making a physical gesture of union and gratitude. Yoga means union coming from “yuk” to yoke or bind, so this gesture is on another level, the union of your individual self and the universe and how the both are interconnected.

When you press the thumbs to your breastbone, your heart Chakra, Anahata Chakra, you are also reminding yourself to nurture the qualities of the heart during your Yoga practice. The hands being placed at the heart is the Self being felt in the Anahata Chakra. Often at the end of the class Anjali Mudra is used, bringing the prayer seal to your eyebrow centre, Anja Chakra, as you bow your head and say Namaste.

So when you hold Anjali Mudra, infuse it with the intention of union; then observe if you notice a change, however subtle, in your mind, body and heart...

Make subtle changes within…

Allow the Hands to express and release the energy!

Mudra comes from the Sanskrit word meaning “seal”, for example to seal in energy or to focus energy. Mudras are symbolic hand gestures that mystically change the prana (energy) in your body. There are also eye positions, postures and breathing techniques that are called Mudras, however I am sharing hand gestures with you. There are lots of different Mudras, each representing different qualities, like courage, knowledge, enlightenment, wisdom.

Mudras are used in Hinduism as well as Indian dance, where dancers extensively use hand gestures. In Buddhism, the Buddha used Mudras too, which you can see from statues, pictures and Sutras.

In Hatha Yoga they are used in breath work (pranayama), meditation and in Yoga Postures too. When used in Yoga practice they add focus and increase the prana and assist you to channel this energy and help to calm and focus the mind too.

The Hands express…
The hands express our thoughts and feelings. When you communicate with someone, the hands move, appearing to further communicate what you are speaking. The hands also reflect your state of mind even when one isn't speaking. For example, when you are nervous the fingers often fidget or when you are upset you might clench the hands or if you become angry a fist might form.

The opposite of these negative emotions are feelings of warmth and respect. For
Example, when you meet someone you greet them with a handshake. When pray the hands come into prayer position palms together; this is Anjali Mudra; the Prayer Seal, hands placed together at the heart level. In meditation, if you saw the Buddha or a deity with their hands clenched, it wouldn’t instil calmness, peace or tranquillity would it?

Maybe you haven’t thought of the significance of Mudras before…so here I’ll explain a little for you to learn more about for your practice of Yoga or meditation.

Actions speak louder than words
During Yoga the power of these Mudras go far beyond just adding focus. It is easier to look at Buddha or Hindu deities and see them possessing wisdom, enlightenment or courage, than it is to look at yourself and see those same qualities. Mudras help you to choose to feel, see and express these same qualities. This is what Buddha taught and wanted you to understand; that you do possess the same qualities as him.

Just like the breath is the bridge between the body and mind, Mudras are the bridge between your inner and outer world, they help to develop the energy within so you use it. Actions speak louder than words; Mudras are a physical action of a prayer form within.

Yoga Pose of the Month - Downward Facing Dog, Adho Mukha Svanasana

So welcome back to my Yoga pose of the month! This one is a special one I feel as it's one of the best know postures in Yoga, yet not necessarily taught so much. However, if you look at my last blog all about alignment, when you really use the alignment in this posture the strength and stabilty and energy increases in your body...

So here it is...

Downward facing Dog - Adho Mukha Svanasana
Have you seen a dog stretch? This pose resembles a dog stretching its front legs, which refreshes and enlivines the dog so Yes, that is the same for us, it rejuvenates! The posture also resembles an inverted V - can you see that in the photo? Downward Facing Dog has many functions in yoga - transitional pose, resting pose, strengthening pose and an inversion pose.

Benefits of Downward Facing Dog - Adho Mukha Svanasana:

• Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression
• Energises the body
• Stretches the shoulders, arms, wrists, hamstrings, calves and spine
• Elongates the whole shoulder area
• Strengthens the arms and legs
• Improves digestion
• Relieves headaches, back pain, insomnia and fatigue
• Improves concentration and focus

How to Practice Downward Facing Dog

1. Come onto the floor on your knees with your body lying over your thighs (childs pose). Extend your arms forward about shoulder distance apart. Spread your palms, and engage every single finger and your palms into the mat - your hands are pointing forward and help balance you.
2. Inhale as you come up onto knees and turn your toes under and exhale as you lift your knees away from the floor and your hips towards the sky. At first keep the knees slightly bent and the feet about hips distance apart and the heels lifted away from the floor. The palms of the hands are balancing you as you push the shoulders away from the wrists, move your chest towards your thighs and externally rotate the shoulders so that the shoulders are away from the ears and the upper back becomes flat as the shoulder blades widen and draw them toward the tailbone. Then draw your core, by bringing the belly button in towards the spine so that the lower back doesn’t arch. Keep the head between the upper arms; don't let it hang, maybe do a "yes" and a "no" to check its relaxed. Now pushing your sitting bones high to the sky lengthen your spine, from your neck to your tailbone. Remember to breathe as you make these adjustments.
3. Once you have reached your maximum extension of the upper body and spine, then focus on your legs, especially the backs of the legs, exhale and start to straighten your knees, but be sure not to lock them, gently push your legs back and stretch your heels onto or down towards the floor (it doesn't matter if the heels don't touch the floor, it all depends on you individual make-up and some people the heels just don't and won't ever touch - that's fine. it depends on how much the connective tissue around the ankles releases). Activate the legs, you will feel the stretch in the backs of the legs and try to activate the fronts of the thighs too.
   Remember to keep the arms strong, active and the shoulders away from the ears and the head and neck relaxed as you gaze at your feet and stay in the posture for 5-15 breathes or longer if you wish.
4. Release on an inhalation and bend the knees bringing them to the floor and the chest to the thighs and bend the arms at the elbows to release into extended arm childs pose and relax.
5. Once you have mastered this posture, you might like to try a variation in this posture by taking one leg high to the sky. To do this; from Downward Facing Dog bring both feet together, ground one foot firmly to the ground and then slowly start to lift the other leg upwards to the sky, keeping both legs active and your arms and upper body also active, this means keep using the breath to keep the standing leg strong, use the front thigh muscles and engage the foot to the ground and the shoulders are strong and supportive and open across the back, continue to breathe deeply. The aim is to have a straight through the whole body from the hands along the body up to the raised foot. then change legs.
   
   Please note do not do this pose if you have carpal tunnel sydrome, late stage of pregnancy. high blood pressure and headaches do with caution.

If you would like to receive informative emails on all aspects of yoga, then please go to http://www.yogarelax.co.uk/ and subscribe to my mailing list and you willreceive lots of information to help you relax, de-stress and get the most out of your life. If you know anyone else who would benefit give them my link http://www.yogarelax.co.uk/.

Hope you enjoy Downward Facing Dog, and from now on really feel and experience this wonderful posture.

Until next time...

Om shanti
Michelle
http://www.yogarelax.co.uk
http://www.michellecross.co.uk

P.S stay present in your practice and bring that to your daily life....

'Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.'
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Some tips for Alignment and Posture in Asanas

Since I am starting to go through various yoga postures (asana), I thought it would be a good idea to give you some tips about alignment, so that you become more aware of your body. Alignment is used to describe the positioning of the body for each posture in yoga. Remember everyone is different so it’s about using these tips for your individual make-up, how you feel in a posture and of course observe your whole posture and piece all the adjustments together to create the asana.

"The posture becomes perfect when the effort of achieving it vanishes" Yogabhashya

Alignment in the various asana has different purposes:
• to ensure that the postures are practiced in a way that maximizes the benefit of the posture including improvements of more flexibility, strength, tone and radiant health, whilst minimizes the risk of injury
• to ensure that the postures are practiced to allow the flow of prana (energy) in the body.
• to help calm the mind, improve focus, concentration, stability and lift the spirit.
• to position the muscles, joints and limbs in a comfortable way

So as I go through these alignment pointers remember to be aware of your own body, shape and how you feel when you are in a posture. The “perfect” pose is the pose that best suits you at the moment you are practicing the pose and what you are experiencing. By aligning yourself and using these adjustments, it may mean that you need to come out of the posture, this is good and better to align the body and free the prana (energy) that to be deeper in a posture with no alignment of the limbs, muscles joints and tendons.

The building blocks;
1.Build the foundation first: If you think of a house the foundations are essential to keep the house erect. So it is essential to pay attention to establishing a confident, stable foundation from which your asana evolves and grows. Whether that is your feet in (standing postures), your sitting bones (in seated postures) or your hands (in arm balances). Once you build your foundation, then you are able to look at the detail of the particular asana.
2.Finding your centre with stability and ease: All yoga postures should be practiced in a way which aims to balance steadiness with ease. Asana means steady pose in Sanskrit and yoga means union, union of body and mind, so the pose should be steady and comfortable so this union occurs. If it is uncomfortable, ease out of the posture a little to see how the body and mind reacts and observe this.
3.Balance your feet: For your standing postures, ground your feet into the floor, lift your toes up and spread all the toes so the weight is evenly distributed between the toes, balls of the feet and the heels. Try to distribute your weight evenly across all three points and (in most standing postures) evenly between both feet.
4.Find your seat: For seated postures, lift the flesh from your buttocks to expose the sitting bones, maybe sit on the edge of a block so that your pelvis tilts slightly forward, bringing the base of the spine on top of the pelvic girdle.
5.Strengthen the arms: For arm balances bring the hands pointing forward, the wrists in line underneath the elbows and shoulders – do you get the idea?

Let’s now works upward through the body;
6.Toes: In general, when standing and sitting with one or more legs extended out, ensure that your feet are parallel to each other. For many there is a tendency to turn our toes out when standing (– this main mean your hips are out of alignment and you need to see a chiropractor), this in practice means focusing on turning the toes inwards slightly. Aligning the feet in this way ensures that your knees are in the same alignment as your feet and the legs are active and this protects our lower back. The latter is particularly important when bending forwards or backwards.
7.Knees: The knee joint has limited rotational movement and especially when standing or lunging, so it is important that the knee points in the same direction as the foot of the same leg and does not twist inwards or outwards. It is also important in standing postures like the Warrior postures, to ensure that the knee does not move forward of the line of the heel and to actively keep the knee in line with the foot, so actively using the thighs and keeping the outside of the knee in line with the little toe. The exception to this is lunging with the back knee on the floor for Crescent Moon pose, Anjanasana, where the knee can come over the line of the heel if it is comfortable. In postures such as Standing Forward Bend, Uttanasana and Downward Facing Dog, Adho Mukha Svanasana, the alignment is achieved by keeping your feet about as wide apart as your hips. Finally, the knee should not lock, or hyper-extend, consciously maintain a softness, rather than simply pulling the kneecap back. This can be achieved by engaging the thigh muscles and will avoid straining the hamstrings. Using the fronts of the thighs muscles help support he knee and the hamstring as these two muscles work in synergy.
8.Your spine: The spine has three natural curves – the lower back (lumbar spine) and neck area (cervical spine) curve into the body; the middle back (thoracic spine) curves outwards. Since everyone is individual these curvatures can be different or more emphasized, so you need to be conscious of your spine. Observe when move where your shoulders are; are the hunched up toward the ears, if so lower them, are you letting your neck go or do you lengthen through the neck, is the chest open and the shoulder back, is your abdomen engaged activating your core and when you bend forward are you hinging forward to protect the lower/lumbar back and using all of the other observation mentioned before; shoulders, core, chest. All of these help support the spine which is essential in alignment for yoga.
9.Twist: The upper spine has more rotational movement due to the structure of the vertebrae, discs and joints of the spine, so for twisting posture you should focus the rotation on the middle and upper back, not the mower back. This is done by starting the twist from the core of the body. Try to turn from the navel first, then the chest, then the chest, then the shoulders, and finally the head and neck. Be aware not to lead with your head in an effort to appear deeper in the posture; allow the twist to evolve naturally with the breath. Use each inhalation to lengthen your spine upwards and tailbone downwards, creating more space between your vertebrae, and each exhalation to deepen the rotation.
10.Backbends: Your spine is designed to bend both forwards and backwards. While the lumbar spine has the least ability to rotate, it is often the easiest part of the spine to bend. In backbends, try to create space between the vertebrae as the spine lengthens. As you go into a backbend, consciously bend as evenly as possible through the whole spine, rather than just the lumbar spine. This means lengthening your upper back and your neck as you stretch your head back. Finally with backbends try not to clench your buttocks, they should be lightly engaged, but not clenched as this too will inhibit the spine’s ability to move.
11.Upside down: In inverted postures such as Shoulderstand and Headstand your stability in the posture is improved by engaging your abdominal and leg muscles. Keeping an upward movement of the leg muscles and pushing through the balls of the feet and the heels and activating your core all help with your inversion postures and balance in them.

These are all tips for alignment in your yoga practice, however you can use a lot of these tips in your everyday life to help stand tall, creating great posture and allow the energy to flow freely through the whole body. You can adjust your posture when at work, standing for a bus or train...Observe and be aware is the key.

Namaste, Michelle

Yoga Pose of the Month - Tree Posture; Vrksasana

I thought I'd introduce The Pose of the Month... Over the next coming months I will introduce a new posture to you to help enhance and deepen your Yoga practice. I'll tell you about the posture, the benefits and then how to practice the posture.

So let's begin, since we are coming into Spring I've been doing some gardening and planting seeds etc when I thought I would start off with the Tree posture - Vrksasana, since the trees will soon start to blossom and bloom...

Tree Pose - Vrksasana
The Tree Pose is a standing balancing pose. If you think about a tree, its roots provide the foundation and stability for the trunk or its body and branches, so your feet and legs are your roots and provide the support for your upper body to stand tall with strength and poise. Your feet are your foundation, so with all standing postures you need to make sure your foundation is strong, so with Tree you are standing on one leg, so it is your one-foot that you ground and build upon. Aim to achieve a grounded and firmness of a tree. Just as a tree uses it roots for stability; you ground the energy down through the foot like a tree. The challenge for some may be maintaining balance on one leg - this however improves with practice. Poor balance is often the result of a restless mind or distracted attention. The balancing postures reveal your state of mind; some days your balance is good and others it is poor, this depends on what you are going through in your life. If you are distracted and one thought is jumping to the next, the balance will be harder. Some days you are stressed and your mind is overactive and this will reflect in your yoga practice and maybe need more support, like a wall to achieve the posture like the Tree. This is ok, try not to judge yourself, but think I am a growing tree that needs a stick as a support for strength and metaphorically your stick is a wall that you can use to help your balance into the posture. As you use the wall for support this also build confidence so that you start to not hold the wall and stand tall and balanced alone in the Tree posture. Regular practice of this posture will help focus the mind, it builds calmness and stillness as you hold the posture and lengthens and strengthens the body. Regular practice of the Tree, Vrksasana improves concentration, balance and coordination. Because the weight of the entire body is balanced on one foot, the muscles of that leg are strengthened and toned as well.
As you advance in this posture and are able to remain standing for more than a few moments, try closing the eyes and maintaining your balance.

Benefits of the Tree, Vrksasana include:

· Improves sense of balance and co-ordination

· Tones and strengthens abdominal muscles and your core

· Opens hip area

· Strengthens thighs, calves, ankles, and spine

· Increases and improves concentration

· Improves focus, confidence and stillness



How to do the Tree, Vrksasana:


1. Stand with the feet together and the arms by your sides. Ground your feet into the floor, lift the toes and spread them wide to create your balancing foot of the standing balancing leg. Bend the right leg at the knee, and bring the sole of the right foot to either the calf muscles, the arch of the foot across the inside of the knee or the foot to the inside of the thigh, pushing into the groin area as pictured or to half lotus position as pictured.

2. Find you balance by focusing the eyes and the mind on something that is not moving in front of you, it is easier to start with the foot lower down the leg, if you have good balance then take the foot higher.

3. When you have your balance bring your hands into prayer position in front of your heart and keeping the focal point and balance, you can raise your arms over the head into prayer position. Hold the posture while breathing gently through the nostrils for about 5-10 breaths.

4. Lower the arms and right leg and return to the tadasana the mountain posture or standing position with feet together and arms at the sides. Pause for a few moments and repeat on the opposite leg.

I hope you enjoy practising your Tree Posture and grow and strengthen from your inner being.

Om shanti, Michelle
http://www.yogarelax.co.uk

Which type are you?

Nadis
In everyday life one of the nadis, Ida or pingala is always more dominant. The way to check which nadi is more dominant, i.e. is clearer is to breathe through each individual nostril. So you can either do a few rounds of anuloma viloma or you can close the right nostril with your thumb (Vishnu Mudra) and inhale and exhale out of the left nostril a couple of times, then close the left nostril with your ring finger and inhale and exhale out of the right nostril a couple of times. You will notice which nostril is clearer or less blocked and this is the one that is more dominant at this time. Although they alternate throughout the day, one nadi tends too be more dominant more often and for longer periods of time. This shows in your personality, behaviour and health issues so you are maybe more ida-like or pingala-like. You may like to do a few rounds throughout the day say every 3 hours to see if the nadis have changed.

Which type are you?
Ida-like people have more nurturing qualities, are quiet and introspective, yet may lack the enthusiasm to sustain a strong regular yoga practise. They are full of potential however unless they develop their pingala side they may never manifest this potential.
Pingala-like people are lively, with lots of creativity and abdundant vitality, however they need to develop their ida side to have introspection, stillness and the receptivity to manifest the grace of spiritual awakening with yoga.

Creating the balance
Hatha Yoga creates balance. "Ha" of Hatha means sun which is pingala and "tha" of Hatha means moon which is ida. So balancing the sun and moon or pingala and ida is the aim of Hatha Yoga to awaken the Sushumna. So the most powerful method of balancing these two nadis is Anuloma Viloma as you control the prana through the breath in each nostril as you breathe in anuloma viloma using each nostril, therefore balancing the respective nadi either ida or pingala. This is why we do anuloma viloma to create a balance in the prana within the body.

You may also want to experiment with your own practice to help balance the nadis through the asanas you practice. So at the start of your practice do a few rounds of anuloma viloma to observe which nadi is more clear if ida is dominant you can try invigorating asanas like backbends, standing poses and inversion to engage pingala. If pingala is dominant the calming seated asanas like seated postures or forward bends to engage the calmness of ida nadi. You can observe which asanas activate one nadi or the other. Also if you are doing a yoga practice with a lot of forward bends which takes you inwards, it would be a good idea to do some anuloma viloma afterwards to balance the nadis again so you don’t feel so spaced out.
Also observe your mind – agitated and active is pingala-like or calm and receptive is ida-like. When you start to observe the breath and the nadi the intimate link between the body and mind naturally flows. Through this practice you develop your awareness, deepening your practice as you observe and clearing the way for your spiritual growth.