Hi crew, I have posted a new mini yoga class that is focused on releasing through the chest and hips. The poses help to release through the upper body if you are busy at the gym, carrying babies, laptops, toddlers or perhaps shopping bags. So, the class will help for mobility and offer a release to tight muscles. Additionally, the poses help to ease depression and anxiety.
I am going to break down the class and highlight the connection and intention behind each part of the flow.
This particular flow helps to bring movement into the body, open up the heart and release the hips. We start with grounding to bring awareness into the breath and body. Grounding, meditation and breathing exercises at the start of practice helps to bring awareness onto the mat. This is an opportunity to cultivate awareness and presence.
Why do these poses help with depression? The heart openers (eagle arms, cow facing arms) physically release through the shoulders and rib cage. When people are sad, they will instinctively slouch. Watch how kids move when they are sad – their back is often slouched and this is a way to protect the heart. The heart openers draw the spine back and release the space around the heart which can physically counter slouching and sad feelings that can sometimes come with feeling down.
Warrior 2 poses, skandasana (side lunge), malasana (squat) all contribute to releasing the hips. We store emotions through the hips. Each pose in yoga has a physical aspect and there is an emotional quality/experience that is different for each person. So when you get into a pose, you may look the same as the person next to you physically, yet your experience may be vastly different. Have a read through Ekhart Yoga’s article which explores hips and emotions further. During my experience of depression and anxiety, I found it difficult to express how I felt. Yet, my body remembered. So, moving and breathing through yoga poses helped me to release what I was storing at a physical and cellular level. That is why I have incorporated hip releasing poses into the yoga class.
Lastly savasana or corpse pose is about stillness to allow your body and breath and mind to return to a neutral state. Please ensure you take a long savasana – at least 5 minutes. The savasana in my video is very short, however you can pause me when you watch and stay in savasana for 5 minutes to find homeostasis or balance.
Hope this all makes sense! Message me if not and have a go at the yoga class.
Roxy xx