Tagged injury

Yoga on the Floor – Restorative Sequence

My neck has been acting up a lot. I had one of those ridiculous moments where I looked down too abruptly and something pulled in my left shoulder. So now I can’t turn to the left very well, and walking/driving is uncomfortable.

But I’m still continuing to workout my muscles :)

My sequence today was a restorative yoga practice to open up the low back, hips, and relax my muscles through a moving meditation.

1. Started out lying down knees bent hip distance apart. Let them lazily drop to the left, and then the right to relax the low back muscles gently.

Repeat x6

2. Inhale, I extended the legs up feet flexed while lowering the arms almost down to the floor
Exhale,  lowered the feet back to the floor, knees still bent, and placed right palm over the the left hand and allowed the back of my right hand to place pressure on the forehead.

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***I’ve been getting headaches due to spasming in my neck, so pressure on the forehead helps calm and rid of the headaches.

Repeat x6

3. Knees bent, still lying down. Extended the right leg up, pointed the toes, ankle rolls. Repeat other leg. 5 sets.

4. Hugged the knees into my chest for apanasana
Made circles with the knees to the right, then the left
Then, keeping the knees bent, let the thighs spread out the sides, and made circles with the thighs in, and out.

5. Happy baby

6. Yesterday I did stair master, squats with the smyth machine, grand plies with a kettle ball, calve raises, and donkey kicks (none of which bothered my neck!!!), so my hamstrings felt very good, but hips were tight.

Because my hamstrings felt wonderful, I sat in a side “splits,” let my right arm reach toward my left toes, and left arm extend over my ear, left fingertips reaching for right toes. This felt WONDERFUL in my low back. At one point I let the lower arm act as a kickstand to support my neck.

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7. Crossed the legs in a seated position with the ankles flexed and, with a flat back, let both arms extend forward and head gently relax down (the neck muscles are very tight in the back of my neck right now…)

8. Sat in Baddha Konasana (knees bent, backs of feet touching) with my back supported against my couch. Held this pose while I watched Jimmy Fallon with my family (jajajaja) and let my hips restoratively open.

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8. Opened my upper back in a similar fashion as Bridge Pose would, but without the pressure on my shoulders/neck.
Knees bent, snuggled my body down until my shoulders, but not my head/neck, touched the top of the couch. I bent my arms, kind of like in fish pose, and lifted my heart toward the ceiling.

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Ice, heat, peppermint oil.

Goodnight :)

TEACHING FOCUS: Correct Posture Reduces Chronic Pain

–For anyone who has chronic back/neck pain or wants to correct their posture
–And for my Monday night LA Fit students and Tuesday 930AM Fitness Compound students xox

In the image below, the first shows how many of us start in class when I say “start in a seated position on your mats.” The back is rounded and slumped over lazily, and the neck is crunched. This is also how a lot of us sit at our 9 to 5 jobs in the office. Sitting like this can cause back and neck pain, and reduces oxygen to the brain by not allowing the stomach’s full capacity to expand in and out as your breathe.

Steps to sitting up tall in cross-legged seated position! 1. Literally use your hands to move the flesh of your bum out to create more space 2. Root down into your sitbones, let your spine and head rebound up but keep the chin level with the floor!! 3. Engage the core 4. Spread wide across the collarbones 5. Roll the shoulders back and down 6. Lift the sternum up slightly 7. Soften the frontal ribs down #posture #alignment #seatedposition #meditation #form #yoga #yogateacher #iamasticklerforform

I guided my students to gain correct posture so there is space to then open up the shoulders and neck later in class.

Start in a cross-legged seated meditation. Close your eyes, feel your breath, and notice the state of your body today.

1. Literally use your hands to move the flesh of your bum out to create more space

2. Root down into your sitbones, let your spine and head rebound up but keep the chin level with the floor!!

3. Engage the core

4. Spread wide across the collarbones

5. Roll the shoulders back and down

6. Lift the sternum up slightly

7. Soften the frontal ribs down

A friend of mine who was many herniated vertebrae once told me,

“The more you keep your vertebrae aligned throughout the day, the less pain you will have.”

After I received whiplash to my neck, I took his words to heart and really focused on always maintaining correct posture. Stay aware of your posture, it’s something we all have to constantly work on :)