Yoga and Finding Expansion

My Yoga Online - The function of our hatha yoga practice is to generate physical expansion and to facilitate circulation of positive energy with the end result being balance. This physical balance is then meant to deliver support for the mind and soul to experience balance and harmony as well. All too often, the Ego sneaks in during our Hatha yoga class and the intention of expansion becomes diluted with goals leading to postures that are driving damage and strain into tissues. By taking time before our practice to center and to experience the sensation of holistic, non-judging expansion, we offer our practice a foundation to grow from.

This centering exercise can be done any time of the day and even beneficial when you need a break from working at a desk/computer:

*Come to comfortable sitting on a cushion or chair. Modify the legs so that your knees and ankles are very free to settle and release. Gently shift through your pelvis and clearly feel the rocking motion on the sitbones. Slowly decrease this motion until you find the center of the sit bones. The pelvis sets the framework for the rest of the spine and posture.

*With your pelvis balanced, notice how the belly and lower back retain equal expansion. The belly is long, but the lower back is not caved in nor belly pushed out. The lower back has length as well, but not generating a forward collapse into the organs. Equal space for balanced flow of energy.

*The natural, healthy curve of the lower (lumbar) spine now can be easily transmitted up into the remaining spinal curves. At this point, many people tend to drive muscular tension into the body to generate a lifting motion. To stay free, imagine your sit bones lightly sinking into the cushion/chart. This light anchoring or rooting allows the body to traction open next. Keeping the front bottom ribs slightly contained, visual 2 points: on the chest and directly behind on the upper back. Feel that these 2 points rise up at the same time without any tension or muscular contraction involved. With each additional lift through gravity, we reciprocate with tissue release and softness. Feel as though the mid section of the body spreads vertically - keep your sit bone anchors intact.

*Now transmit this lightness further up threw the top of the head. Play with the head position. Make subtle shifts back, forward, side to side until you find that the back of your neck is no longer required to hold up the weight of the skull.

*With this tension-free vertical expansion in place, we keep breathing deep into the belly and bottom ribs. We explore how the vertical openness can be expressed in other directions.

*Fully relax the shoulders and arms. Elongate the neck and the upper shoulder muscles. Invite in horizontal expansion - feel that you can open the chest and collar bones while also opening the upper back - lower ribs still contained and lower torso balanced. Your body now opening right and left. Every adjustment feeling minute in motion, but profound in effect.

*The horizontal space can easily be brought into the forehead, especially between the eyebrows. Dissolve the vast number of muscles in the face: in and around the eyes, soften the cheeks and lips, relax the tongue, and become free all through the jaw and into the throat.

With all these expanding adjustments, the nervous system becomes more and more receptive to balance. When you find yourself sitting and collapsing, mind cluttering with negative energy, stop and find your physical space and bring this into the mind. Take the extra few minutes before each Yoga class to center and observe your capacity to expand without effort. Then invite this effortless quality into every pose. We often believe that we have to 'push' the body in order to progress. This Ego driven intention gets us nowhere. Consider running - you can easily see the difference between an experienced, high performance runner who moves with control, fluidity, and expansion versus another that runs with compression, tension and struggle. Who is receiving the benefits more readily?

Observe your yoga practice - from beginning to end - does each pose regardless if it is a forward bend, back arch, side stretch etc, bring the quality of space? Does your posture facilitate wellness beyond the physical? In order to bring forth balance and openness, we need to expand equally in all directions. If only one part of the body expands, another may be closing to compensate. Enjoy feeding reciprocating lines of gentle pulling into the physical tissues and feel the grace of space cascade throughout the rest of the practice and living. Notice how every yoga posture can integrate the qualities of your initial centering.

Breath and Expand

Namaste,
Kreg Weiss