Welcome to Sunday Round-up – a weekly class follow up e-mail that breaks down and explores in a more detail some of the concepts / alignment principles that we employ in class and on the mat. Beyond that, it is my hope that Sunday Round-ups will encourage and help you build your own personal home practice – yoga is that much more effective when practiced on a daily
basis.
First week of classes can often feel scrambled and overwhelming, especially if you are just starting with yoga classes. In this follow up you will find the foundational pieces of the practice - how to PACE YOUR YOGA JOURNEY so that you feel safe while continuing to move forward, and also the 10 POINT RELAXATION PRACTICE.
This week (and for the weeks to follow) we start each class with a formal 10 POINT RELAXATION PRACTICE. I have
attached written instructions for you if you wish to practice this on your own.
10 POINT RELAXATION PRACTICE can be quick and simple when you short on time, or detailed and nuanced whenever you have time on hand to work on body awareness. (I seem to often find time for a longer practice right between 2 and 3 am, and it works like magic.)
PACING YOUR YOGA
JOURNEY:
Yesterday's class started in a full PAIN CARE YOGA MODE even though this class was supposed to be a combination of pain care and corrective movement practices. Why did we lean so heavily into the Pain Care?
I rarely show up to a class with an exact plan. Instead I watch and listen to people settling in on their mats;
often I ask about how they feel this week, their energy
levels, their sleep.
This gives me an idea of a starting point for each class - observing the class informs my decisions on what the right practice is for this particular group and on this particular day.
Understanding these basic concepts of pacing is extremely important - they are useful both on and off the mat. Learning how to pace appropriately can help us to choose the right amount of daily activity, treat our bodies with kindness
rather than contempt, and navigate complex terrain of chronic pain toward recovery.
Here are a few PACING IDEAS that will, hopefully, shed light on the situation.
Full disclosure note: I have included here only a very condensed list - I will unpack some of these concepts in a more detail in this week's newsletter. It felt very important to plant this seed now so that you can move forward with
confidence.
1. Find your baseline. A baseline is that amount of activity that you can do and know that the pain won't flare up. A flare up is that increase in pain, often sudden, that leaves you debilitated for hours, feeling really desperate and doing desperate things. For some people flare up happens the next day or even later.
2. Find your progression. Be gentle on yourself and plan to
increase the amount of activity very slightly, but consistently. Plan ahead on how you are going to progress, and stick to the plan - do not be tempted to break the plan and push on. This will lead you right into the boom-bust trap.
3. Don't flare up, but don't freak out if you do! Because the nervous system alarms are so sensitive it is nearly impossible to completely avoid flare ups. If you do flare up - do not give
yourself hard time and stress out. Remember what a flare up is - your nervous system trying to protect you. When you flare up, it can be tempting to give up, forget the plan, forget what you know about pain and seek some radical quick fix treatment. Don't give up - be persistent.
I know this might sound overly simplistic. The truth is, this process is doing some pretty complex things to your brain and nervous system. It has been proven again and
again that if you stick with these simple principles you will gradually be able to overcome the pain. Let's aim there!