Welcome to your pain care yoga lesson 3.
This month we will be focusing on our breath:
~ we will talk {mostly off the mat} about why healthy breathing sits at the very center of pain management
~ we will use {mostly on the mat} a variety of breathing practices to calm the mind - and to sometimes energize the body
~ and I'll do my best to control my information-sharing urges to make sure that what I write and say is mostly practical, helpful and applicable to
your everyday life.
In the spirit of being practical, helpful and applicable I want to share with you answer to the question that was asked in one of this week's Core Restore classes. It is a slight deviation from our breath topic, but, hopefully, a useful one.
The question:
" When I am short on time,
what kind of movements can I do to help me be better?"
The truth: I totally get where that question comes from - decision fatigue is
real, and most of us by the end of the day don't have neither the energy nor time to engage in a full blown yoga sequence and / or sift through what we need to practice.
The problem is that every body is different, and every day is different - so the suggestion that I make to you today will not necessarily be relevant to your tomorrow's version of yourself, or to another person.
However,
here are 3 practices that can make a significant difference for anyone - anytime and anywhere. These are my go-to things, my first and foremost recovery tools for any type of body-mind emergency, be it driving for 12 hours or a full-on mental breakdown. These tools are super simple, but that doesn't mean they are easy {not eating sugar, for example, is also simple... but is it easy?}
1.
Walking.
I can write an ode to walking but I won't.
Walking is an essential human motion and our bodies - INCLUDING YOUR BODY - are literally built for it. It needs the movement of walking to keep the joints lubed up and happy, the muscles awake and functional, and digestion / elimination easy going. Yes, pun intended!
Our mental wellness also heavily relies on walking in natural environments
- maybe it reminds our brains of how they came to be what they are right now...
{Research suggest that most of us need AT LEAST 5K of daily walking on an uneven surface. I recommend starting with what you are capable fitting in - time wise and body wise, and growing from there}
2. Diaphragmatic breathing.
Again. Can write a full novel + a book of
poetry about the breath (hmmm, that sounds like a good idea!), but won't, at least right now - watch for it next week though!
Our breath patterns in "real life" reflect the hurried + stressed + often anxious state of our minds.
Lie on your back. Put you hands on your belly. Breathe into your hands.
Anywhere between 1 minute and an hour. An excellent tonic for
insomnia!
3. Ball rolling.
This is a self-care tool extraordinaire (I know you already know this, but still)!
It relieves pain and tension, calms the nervous system, puts us in touch with the body (Oh, I didn't know I hurt IN THERE!), and empowers us to know that we have the tools+knowledge to help ourselves. That is
POWERFUL STUFF!
Here are again the guidelines for ball rolling (I've included the advanced BALL201 instructions). If you don't yet have a set of yoga therapy balls, I highly recommend getting them - I still have a few sets left.
