TGIF, and welcome to this week's Friday round up.
In this week follow up: where your rib cage lives and why this is important - both on the mat (especially in back bends), and in daily life (hint: for happier low back and shoulders!) I have also attached
simple instructions for Cobra prep pose - these will make more sense to students in Gentle Beginner and Yin classes, as well as info for the Hip Flexor stretch - it is somewhat similar to a Cobra prep, but a bit more mobile.
Before we delve into all that good stuff I want to remind you that you have just another week of priority winter session registrations.
Here is what happened this week: on Wednesday morning I opened public registrations for
BALL + YIN workshop; it was sold out by 2 pm that same afternoon, and by the evening we had half a dozen people on the waiting list.
I really want to make sure that all of the currently registered folk have their fave class reserved!
Please make sure that you take advantage of your priority registrations ( and a discount coupon) by November 6.I will be opening registrations for all wait listed folks on November 7, and to public on
November 9.
Registration links are attached below for your convenience; use coupon code WINTERSAVE10 before November 6th to get your discounted registration.
Front body opening - where do you kink your
spine?
Last week we started exploring the front of the body - or, more precisely, learning how we can release and elongate the front of the body so that the back and the front of the body balance each other. Remember the sail from last week follow up?
In class we explored different variations of opening the front of the body, and some students came back this week complaining that whatever we
did on the mat bothered their backs.
Of course there is no right posture for everyone.
However a few students with similar complaints means a trend, and something that we need to check in for everyone's safety. Hence this rib cage conversation.
Try this postural exploration ( we've done this in some
classes):
Stand in your regular posture. I hope your toes are pointing at least somewhat forward:)
Become aware of your pelvis.
Imagine your pelvis as a funnel - the upper rim of your pelvis is quite
a bit wider than the bottom.
Now become aware of your bottom rib cage - can you feel the full circumference of your bottom ribs?
Picture picture your rib cage as a flash light shining down toward the funnel of your pelvis:
~ is it shining directly down through the whole funnel?
~ more forward?
~ more backward?
~ more to one side?
In a neutral alignment the rib cage sits directly atop of the upper part of pelvic
funnel - so the imaginary light shines directly downward.
The most common postural compensation is to carry the rib cage forward of the pelvis, which can cause dysfunction / pain in the hip and shoulder girdle, and changes in breathing, digestion and elimination.
Movement explorations:
Now that you are aware of your alignment when standing still, let's check your movement patterns:
1. Are you able to separate your arm / shoulder movement from the rib cage / back?
This exploration will let you know whether
or not you are driving your arms from your back (more on that in class:)
Lie down on your back with your knees bent; have your arms rest beside your body, palms down.
Note the position of your pelvis and rib cage in relationship to the mat. Are your back bottom ribs on the mat? Off the mat?
Now slowly lift your right arm up and slowly begin to take it overhead; pay attention to what happens as you continue to move your arm further - do your bottom
ribs lift off the mat right at the start or at some point throughout the movement?
2. Are you able to separate your leg movement from the pelvis and rib cage?
This exploration will let you know whether or not you are driving your legs from your hips and back (more on that in class as well)
Lie on your belly; position your head in the way that feels comfortable.
Feel the front of your pelvis on the mat; note the position of
your rib cage as well.
Now bend your right knee - keep your torso quiet though - can you do that? No rocking in the hips or dipping in the front ribs.
If you are able to bend the knee while keeping the upper body quiet, the next challenge is to lift the entire leg while still keeping the whole trunk quiet. Is that possible for you?
Why so
much tedious exploration?
Simple.
You cannot move efficiently through your hip and shoulder girdle, unless you are able to use the big muscles of your hips and shoulders ( gluts, hams,
quads, biceps, triceps) to drive your movement.
And if you stand with your bottom ribs jutting forward, you will, in all likelihood take this pattern to your back bend, and overuse and kink your mid to low back to get into the back bend.
I haven't even touched on the multitude of postural compensations that arise from incorrect rib cage alignment. I think I will bring my friend the skeleton to classes next week so we can streamline this
conversation.
So how do we get out of this alignment predicament?
There are definitely ways - and we
will look at them on the mat throughout the next week or so.
However, in order to improve our first step is always the same - we have to become aware of the current situation. So the challenge for the next week (if you are willing to accept it!) is to sense the position of your rib cage, and how that position changes whenever you use your arms or legs.
WINTER YOGA REGISTRATIONS: