Tag: natural remedy for depression

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Restorative Yoga Rocked My World

yoga therapy is about finding balance including adequate therapeutic rest

Please note:  if you have no stress, this article will not be of interest.

But if you live in modern society, your system experiences stress just due to the level of stimulation (noise, visual messaging, abundance of choice, etc.).  Imagine life 100, or 1000, years ago.  It gets dark in early evening.  It’s perhaps cold outside.  Maybe you huddle by the fire or work by candlelight for a bit, but then you cocoon for long stretches.  There’s no television, cell phone or central heat.  You can go days or even weeks seeing just the same few faces.  You have very little concept of what life is like on the other side of the world so you don’t worry about the wars or starvation there.  Your nervous system today is wired for that level of stimulation.  It’s very new in human development that we have access to 24 hour news, shopping, visiting, gambling, etc.  We no longer have a long, open spaces in our lifestyle to nap, dream, work at quiet, repetitive tasks and generally be bored to tears.

Even if you have a perfect marriage, no money concerns, a benevolent boss and consistent access to the best parking spots, your system is chronically and cumulatively deprived of restoration time.  What we commonly believe to be symptoms of aging are actually the result of this deficit. 

Most of us wouldn’t sign up to go back in time.  There are ways, however, to adjust to the rest needs of your system without such drastic steps.  One way is Restorative Yoga.

You might consider yoga stretching or exercise, which it can be.  Restorative Yoga is a different approach that also improves performance, concentration and alleviates pain….  without stretching or straining. 

That’s why Restorative Yoga rocked my world. 

Restorative Yoga means taking time to arrange your body over pillows, blankets, chairs, etc. in such ways that all curves are supported gently.  Properly propped, you feel no actual “stretch” sensation.  The position should be neutral and as comfortable as possible. 

Restorative Yoga helps us discover where we are holding tension.
The actual effort involved in restorative yoga is the willingness to look at how and where we are holding tension, and to relax our body on the ground, allowing the breath to come in more, so the tension that we find can be softened or less gripping. 

Restorative Yoga creates the conditions for the relaxation response to kick in. 
The grounding; complete, full breathing; and quietness of Restorative Yoga help us elicit the relaxation response, a neurological response that tells us we are safe, pulls us out of “flight or fight” mode and initiates the body’s self-healing process. 

Restorative Yoga helps us face what we are avoiding about ourselves.
Our habit of running around, conquering our to-do lists, and fueling ourselves with coffee and ambition can often be a way we avoid deep discomforts and unwelcome feelings in the body and mind. Restorative yoga asks us to stop engaging in all the doing and face what we really need to look at about ourselves. To learn about, befriend, and care for the whole of ourselves in a way we are not used to. This is an essential step for health and healing, for true renewal. 

Previously, I only took Restorative Yoga seriously when I was injured or had already put in a good workout.  Now it’s become the first priority in my self care protocol. 

Try Legs up the Chair pose after work. Try the position pictured above when you’re fighting off a cold. In our “Learn to Rest” section of the resources page, there are many different options.

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Breathe into a More Joyous Life!

“Our breath is constantly rising and falling, ebbing and flowing, entering and leaving our bodies.  Full body breathing is an extraordinary symphony of both powerful and subtle movements that massage our internal organs, oscillate our joints and alternately tone and release all the muscles in the body.  It is a full participation with life.”    Donna Farhi, “The Breathing Book”  (Holt Publishing, 1996)

                On your last visit to the doctor, he/she may have asked you to take a deep breath.  Here’s what I commonly see in my yoga therapy practice when I observe someone instructed to deep breathe. 

They inhale.  Their nostrils pinch a bit and it makes quite a sound on the intake of breath.  Their arms and shoulders hug into the body.  The shoulders and collar bones lift up.  Neck muscles tighten.  And often their bellies pull in.  Try a deep breath in this manner.  Does it feel liberating or joyous to you?  It feels like a lot of work to me.

                Our breathing automatically adjusts to whatever external circumstances require.  It’s brilliant really.  Because we spend more and more time in sedentary activities, during which our brains are concentrating on reading or talking but not movement, our breath just goes into a shallow holding pattern that just keeps the basics going.  No point in investing a lot of energy in breathing deeply when the muscles are relatively stagnant.  Every once in a while, however, the tissues of the body send out an SOS.  FEED US!  And you are prompted to sigh or inhale as described above.

                Breath is literally your life.  As oxygen is brought into the lungs and permeates through the alveoli to the blood stream, hemoglobin molecules shuttle the oxygen to all the cells of the body.  During shallow breathing, not a lot of volume of oxygen is being delivered.  This translates to sluggishness, mental fog and increased stiffness.

                One of the more efficient ways your body can breathe is shown in this illustration.  As the lungs fill with air, the diaphragm descends down toward the abdomen to make more room for that balloon like action.  As you exhale, the lungs deflate and pull all the other bits back into place.

                Maybe you notice that this natural breathing pattern involves letting your belly muscles relax on inhale.  That can be a barrier for many of us who try to look skinny (by sucking in our gut) or think that tight “abs” will keep our backs happier.  Breathing is a whole body experience.  Relaxed breathing means that muscles need to relax as well as contract.  That is a definition of strong muscles – ones that can lengthen and shorten as needed.

Program for Restoring Your Life by Breathing Better

  1. Constructive rest:  (this could be done in bed if getting to the floor is difficult)

Take 2 – 20 minutes here. Use a pillow if necessary and blanket to keep warm. Observe your natural breathing. Where do you feel movement?  No movement?  A lot of movement?  Do you hold your breath?  Is your breath ragged or irregular?  Are there pauses?  Where and how long?  There is no right way to breathe right now.  You are just familiarizing yourself with what you are experiencing today.

2. Cat/Cow Stretch:  Inhale, sit up erect, lifting the chest toward the ceiling.  Exhale, hug the belly muscles in and let the back body stretch.  Repeat 5 – 10 slow breaths, breathing in and out through the nose.

3. Side Stretch   

Lean to one side on exhales.  Lift back upright on inhales.  If your arm gets tired up in the air, tuck it behind your back.  Repeat 5 times to each side.

4. Seated twist    

Inhale, sit up tall, facing forward.  Exhale gently twist to one side.  Repeat 5 times to each side.

5. Down dog with Chair   

Keep knees a little bent, or a lot bent.  Lift buttocks up and backward to length the entire spine.  Take 3 – 5 long, patient breaths.

6. Relaxing Chest Stretch   

This could be done in bed if getting to the floor is too difficult.  Place a rolled blanket along the length of the spine. Buttocks is on the ground. An additional pillow can support the head if needed.  Knees are dropped out to the sides and supported by more blankets or pillows so hips are comfortable.  There should be a pleasant stretch along the inner thighs but no pain in joints.  Let arms drape out to sides, palms up.  More blankets could support the arms if this stretch is too much for tight shoulder or chest muscles.  Rest here up to 15 minutes.

Making these movements part of your daily routine will bring more life to your life!