"Though we all have the fear and the seeds of anger within us, we must learn
not to water those seeds and instead nourish our positive qualities -
those of compassion, understanding, and loving kindness."
Thich Nhat Hanh
not to water those seeds and instead nourish our positive qualities -
those of compassion, understanding, and loving kindness."
Thich Nhat Hanh
Staying present with mental, emotional, and physical sensations in the body is an ongoing conversation. Listening, observing, and acknowledging without reacting is a moment to moment practice of mindfulness. These days there is a lot to process externally, the way we live our lives is changing rapidly, and can become overwhelming quickly. Lately, I've been drawn to a quieter practice, one that allows me to mentally focus on sensation and breath while challenging my physical body. The shapes, when held for 1 minute or more, gently release muscles and connective tissues, while softening my overall disposition.
Yin yoga is a slower paced movement practice that incorporates the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, with specific poses that are held for longer periods of time.
There are 3 main principles of yin yoga.
1. Enter the shape to your appropriate depth of sensation.
2. Allow gravity to take you deeper into the stretch.
3. Stay in the pose for 1, 3, 5, or 10 minutes based on your comfort.
Start with shorter time increments and work your way up to longer time holds. Remember, your body sensation changes day to day, and each respective side of the body may have different boundaries.
The qualities of settling and sensing, sinking and staying, provides the basis for a 'needle-less' acupuncture session.
Yin Yoga: Liver/Gallbladder short session
The liver is associated with our ability to change and adapt, to stay flexible with what life brings to our days. The gallbladder relates to our staying the course, to follow our path in life. It also relates to our capacity to regain equilibrium after inevitable disruptions. The combined emotional connections are anger vs compassion. This short session tackles the tension that can build up in hips and hearts. General discomfort in the upper shoulders and back (behind the heart), low back and hips are reflective of heaviness, a weight of discontent. Chronic anger, frustration, explosive impulsivity, defensiveness and resistance build up over time. These emotions must reside somewhere if not let go. Notice if there is a place in your body where you feel tightness regularly, now breathe into those areas with a gentle quality of tenderness. This is the first step in the practice. It is much easier to succumb to unhealthy coping skills by making choices that quickly relieve or numb. Begin with the breath, give yourself time, care, love and compassion without judgment. It is not the quicker fix, but it does chip away at the root of it all. The goal is to keep the energy flowing. The sense door for the liver/gallbladder channel are the eyes. Energy that flows swiftly and freely allows for clarity of vision. Look deeper into what you want, need and feel.
The poses chosen for this short yin session heighten the inner aspect of the legs, knees, hips, pelvis, groin, abdomen, chest, neck and throat. Set a timer and enjoy the yin flow.
Safety: This video focuses on the energy lines of the body related to the liver and gallbladder, it is not a replacement for conventional medical care if needed. Be guided by comfort and breath.
Music credit: Opus 23 by Dustin O'Halloran
Yang Yoga: Body in Balance
Balance in life is everything. We balance work, responsibility, decisions, choices, emotions, and actions. To find that sweet spot of homeostasis we need to breathe and move, elevate our hearts to receive. Strength and grounding requires a firm base for growth to take shape and flourish. Listening and observing what is needed day to day, or moment to moment allows for opportunities to cultivate an attitude of attentiveness, awareness and loving kindness. While yin yoga attends to our inner energy to build a slow and steady softening with static poses, yang yoga is mobile, creating space to warm up the joints, lengthen the extremities, progressing towards potential of adaptability and endurance and strength. Finding an appropriate edge to push ourselves to a point of challenge and effort without injury increases our body's capacity to evolve.
Safety: This is a moderate grounding practice, stay safe and be guided by breath and comfort.
With love and care,
Michelle
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