Tagged hope

Teaching the Core to Move Your Body

I challenge you to complete your whole yoga practice by moving your body with your core. Consciously let your core move you into the next pose. The minute you feel your other body parts tense up, stop. Take a break, perhaps childs pose, and pinpoint your core again.

I really really want to be able to do a handstand using my core instead of kicking my legs up. The problem for me is teaching my injured neck to NOT activate and tense up when my core engages. I practiced Half Sun Salutations extremely slowly letting my core direct my movements, then played with planks and ended up here :) goodnight !! #yogini #yogateacher #plank #corepower #neckinjury #mindovermatter #himom #backbend #fitgirls

I chose to practice yoga tonight with this mindset because I am retraining my body to activate individually, so that eventually, my neck won’t feel the need to tense up to compensate for lack of strength. Also because my goal is to be able to do a handstand with the grace and ease of one of favorite yoga instructors – Mackenzie Miller.

Mackenzie Miller is one of the many yoga instructors that inspires me today. Her whole body is extremely strong and flexible, allowing her to do beautiful handstand variations and back bends with ease and grace. Her instagram videos (@mackenzieyoga), have inspired me to set my newest goal, and to find a new way to meet it.

Goal: To do a handstand by using my CORE instead of KICKING UP.

Obstacles: Avoiding muscle spasms and tension in the neck….

  1. when my core activates
  2. in weight bearing poses in general
  3. and when I am upside down.

Tonight I focused on avoiding muscle spams/tension in my neck when my core activates with Half Sun Salutations, standing oblique stretches, and playing with variations of plank.

I literally went through each motion in Half Sun Salutation at snail speed…my core was burning, and my neck was learning to stay calm. I also did a few side stretches holding the wrists, focusing on letting my core move my body into the pose – into the side stretch. 

I ended up playing with plank, forearm plank, and side plank with my knees on and off the ground to begin working through my second obstacle. Also went from plank to down dog. My neck DID tense up a few times, and I took child’s pose manyyy times, but baby steps!! I know I will get there, and this is huge progress for me :)

 

 

 

TEACHING FOCUS: Letting Go and Finding Peace

I was actually inspired by YogaMagazine’s quote to teach the concept of letting go and finding peace.

“Learning to let go should be learned before learning to get. Life should be touched, not strangled. You’ve got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it.” Ray Bradbury.

Yoga teaches our body to be flexible and strong.

It teaches our mind to be flexible and strong.

It teaches us to connect our body and mind with our breath in order to find this place of calm within the Self.

To be at peace.

But we can always find this place of peace even off the mat. Whether we’re on an airplane and there’s a family with ten kids who are driving you crazy, or at work during rush hour, all we have to do is control our breath.

Yoga teaches us that breath control is the key to managing stress and stressful situations. The breath calms the nerves and allows the mind to be open to change, while staying grounded in our morals.

We work through the tightness and knots of the physical body on our mat so the shoulders can lower, the jaw can relax, and the digestive system can continue to function when stress arrives.

Let go of your stress, and find peace within the Self.

 

We focused on this in my LA Fit Chatsworth class on Thursday night. xo.