Our neck is our connection between our heart and our head. Often they get tight and tense from sitting, stress, overuse, poor breathing habits, holding the world up on our shoulders, spending too much time living up in our heads and not in our hearts etc… There are many very simple stretching exercises that can be done to alleviate the discomfort of tense, tight muscles. Just taking a five minute break during the day can do a lot to release that stress and make you feel more relaxed and centered ready to face the next thing. Here is my favorite neck stretching routine.
Yoga postures are ancient and are designed to open the body and alleviate discomfort in the body so that you can sit comfortably for long periods of time in meditation. Different postures have different effects on the body, mind and spirit. It is helpful to have a basic idea of what each grouping of postures can do for you. Ideally you want a well rounded practice with all of the elements and each group practiced whether that is practicing each group in each session or one or two groups a session and balancing out the groups throughout the week.
Standing Postures help to build strength and endurance through out the whole body particularly in the legs. They help to increase the flexibility of the entire body again with an emphasis on the legs. They are a very good preparation for all the other postures. They can also help with balance and a feeling of being stable and grounded.
Balance Postures quite obviously help one gain balance, grace and poise while at the same time increasing strength and flexibility of the entire body. They are also a great aid in gaining focus. For in practicing them you have to be alert and present otherwise you will fall out. It can be instant feedback to what is happening in the mind.
There are so many ways that we undermine ourselves: seeking approval from others, judging ourselves, wanting someone else to have the answers and just tell us what we should do in a difficult situation thus giving our power away. This is all about putting others above ourselves and belittling our own uniqueness of expression, genius and wisdom. I have done this so much throughout my life and I am now in a process of learning how to trust myself: giving more credence to the inner world, the wisdom that comes from within, and less to the outer world, this takes great courage and yet it is highly rewarding. Self love is not something that most of us are taught how to do growing up. It is an art and a way of being that can be cultivated and lived. It is the greatest expression of honoring God. According to yoga God is all of life. God lives within all things: the birds, the trees, every rock, even the table and the rug have consciousness. Therefore God lives in each and every one of us as us. So to honor ourselves is also an honoring of the Divine within; for the body is the temple which houses the soul and the spirit. We must give time, attention and respectful care to every aspect of ourselves. Even little things such as some of these listed here can have a big cumulative effect in the way you feel about yourself at the end of the day. Here are a few ways self love can be expressed in your daily life.
Beginning a daily home yoga practice and sticking to it can be a challenging undertaking for many people (it has been for me). They don’t call this ancient art a discipline for nothing. Some people start out at home and then end up in a class later; others go to classes for years while never picking up their mat at home. The most benefit you will receive from a hatha yoga practice is to do a little bit everyday. Even just 20 minutes a day is better than an hour and a half once a week. The most important thing is to make it a daily habit that you don’t want to live without.
I struggled with this for years and now that I have a daily practice I see why all the teachers stressed how essential this really is. You can see improvements in your clarity, peace of mind, flexibility, strength and balance with an irregular practice, yet at some point you hit a plateau, at which point you must take it to a higher level to move forward. I recommend just getting the habit of a daily practice in your bones from the beginning. Here are some tips to help you get started.
