Forward bends…

• Stretch our entire back body
• Lengthen and open the back body
• Increase space and circulation between the vertebrae
• Turn our focus inward
• Compress our internal organs – giving them a good squeeze/massage – detox
  • Stimulate or massaging them – great for digestion, elimination and reproduction
• Cooling, calming, quietening
• Awaken and balance the lower chakra’s

 

Move Awareness Inward – Donna Farhi

“As we bend forward or twist our bodies, we curve our awareness back towards ourselves, looking inward to find the stillness of our centre. As we learn to surrender and release into that return, we can recuperate from the outward actions of our busy everyday lives, taking solace in self-reflection. This movement inward is like the coiling action of the spring, and is the necessary precursor to our uncoiling into our next project, activity, or growth spurt.”

Folding inward…

In any position where we bring our front body to connect to our front of legs, we are folding inward.

• Seated
• Standing
• Inverted

Some poses are more active than others – ie; Standing versus seated and how we activate and move and hold into them can vary, i.e.: our hamstring length, posture – ie: kyphosis and lordosis of spinal curves.
Therefore, in any of these movements it is always necessary to protect parts of the body that may be at risk/vulnerable to over-stretching and injury.

• Lower back
  • Legs bend
  • Pelvis tilts anterior
  • Not over-stretching the lower back
• Neck
  • Hold head in alignment so you’re not hanging off one part of the cervical spine
  • Dropping our head will not get us closer into the forward bend
• Legs
  • Bend if necessary
  • Muscles engaged
  • No hyper-extending of the back of knees
• Upper Body
  • Keep your upper body lifted and in alignment
  • Pending the pose – some upper back and middle back areas are rounded – child pose, knee to nose
• Arms/Shoulders
  • Shoulders: Keep them sealed back onto the body
  • Arms: not overusing them to pull/push ourselves into poses
• Overall
  • Feel from where you are moving…
  • Feel where you are moving into…
  • Feel and notice what is active/relaxed in the pose…
  • Why are you doing that pose?
  • What are you trying to achieve in the posture?
  • Surrender or stiff?