Life

With the ever changing seasons in the UK it’s nice to embrace the different times of the year and allow this to become part of our practice. For me personally, restorative yoga has been a necessary part of not only my practice but also my life during the winter months. I have such a passion for it and knew that I wanted to share what I’ve learned from it and my journey with restorative yoga, with others.

My first ever workshop, Winter flow and unwind, took place at Be-yoga Haywards on Saturday 17^th December. I wanted the focus to be on restorative yoga and unwinding during the Winter months to give everyone a well-deserved break from the festive rush, to chill out and just ‘be’ for a couple of hours! Restoring themselves from the inside out so they can feel good for themselves, and then return out to the world to spread their love and festive joy having had a good rest.

I have to admit I was nervous to run my first ever workshop but I couldn’t have enjoyed it more. It was wonderful to see the relaxed faces of everyone as they left! Thank you so SO much to everyone who came.

The workshop began with a pranayama exercises focusing on the breath and calming the mind. I asked everyone to consider what they wanted to get out of the workshop and what gives them joy during the Christmas period. Christmas and this time of year can be very intense for a lot of people and there may be sadness or frustration mixed in with feelings of excitement and celebration. I think it’s important to acknowledge that, let that show, and work through these emotions during our yoga practice. After all, that’s what the mat is there for!

After the initial relaxation, everyone received a drop of lemon or grapefruit essential oil to breathe in the nice scent and feel uplifted ready for a gentle hatha flow sequence. The sequence stayed fairly low to the ground with soft movements and light twists. We completed three sun salutations and then took tree pose before returning down to the earth for restorative sphinx and another long luxurious shivasana.

As we moved into the restorative half of the workshop, eucalyptus essential oil was offered to cleanse the airways and allow for nice deep breathing during the practice. We then journeyed through a sequence of restorative postures aimed at opening the heart to embrace the festive period whilst unwinding the mind, finding long moments of peace and stillness.

To close, everyone took a lovely long shivasana in an inversion, with either their feet, calves or knees propped up on a bolster, before waking up to a Christmas gift at the end of their mat from Conscious Water.

Ahhhhh bliss!

If you missed out this time I hope you can join me for my next seasonal workshop – Spring flow and revive! (Date to be confirmed) Stay tuned to my special events for the workshop date. For now, let’s get back to winter, rest up, stay cosy and relaxxxxxx.

In every yoga flow class, I always incorporate forward folds (uttanasana) and variations of uttanasana. I was recently given some feedback from a client saying that she loved when I explained the benefits of this posture while she was in it so she could focus all of her effort on those benefits and understand what she was doing for her body in that moment of time.

The specific uttanasana variation was padangusthasana or “big toe pose” – (I like to call it “monkey forward fold” as that’s how I remember it!)

To find padangustahsana, you begin with the feet hip distance apart and fold down from your hips. The head hangs heavy between the upper arms and you should keep a bend in the knees to gently soften the hamstrings (just as you would in uttanasana). Take the two peace fingers around the big toe and draw the crown of the head down towards the mat. Draw your torso in closer to the body using the strength of your upper arms. You can do this sitting on a chair if that is better for you.

The benefits include:

• Lowers our blood pressure as our head is lower than our heart
• Calms the brain and helps relieve stress by lowering our cortisol levels (the stress hormone)
• Relieves anxiety and mild depression
• Stimulates the liver and kidneys
• Stretches the hamstrings, calves, thighs and hips
• Improves digestion
• Reduces fatigue
• Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause
• Helps relieve headaches and insomnia by reducing tension in the shoulders, neck and upper back

Another variation is Padahastasana:

From padangusthasana, inhale and look up. Slide your hands under your feet, palms up, toes nuzzle up the palms to the wrists. Exhale bending forward moving your head toward the space between your knees. Very carefully lean your weight forwards towards the balls of your feet and wrists. Imagine you are playing piano with your toes to give the palms a lovely massage.

This pose adds the additional benefit to the wrists, giving them a break and lots of attention ready for weight bearing in our downward facing dogs.

You might have noticed that both of these forward fold variations begin with “pada” – here’s another nugget of knowledge for you: “Pada” = “foot” in Sanskrit 😉

Finally, these restorative variations with a chair or leaning against the wall will all provide the same benefits and calming effect for the body…

Thanks for reading!

I’ve just come back from a weekend away in Somerset staying with my incredible 87-year-old Granny, Jophine. Although bright as a button and completely independently capable Jophine is currently suffering with on and off plantar fasciitus. I hadn’t heard of this ailment before but apparently it’s a common malady amongst seniors, although it can affect younger people for a variety of reasons. At my Monday morning U3A (University of the Third Age) class for the over 60’s in Haywards Heath town hall, I shared my Granny’s ailment with them only to hear that two within the class also suffered with this and it caused them great pain. I was glad to share the exercises I learned from my Granny, with my U3A class… and now with you!

What is plantar fasciatus?

If like me you hadn’t heard of plantar fasciitus until now then have no fear! Simply put, the fascia is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches, stabilises, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs. The plantar fascia is the flat band of tissue (ligament) that connects your heel bone to your toes and supports the arch of your foot.

What causes it?

Plantar fasciitis is caused by straining the ligament that supports your arch. Repeated strain can cause tiny tears in the ligament. These can lead to pain and swelling. This is more likely to happen if:

• Your feet roll inward too much when you walk (excessive pronation)
• You have high arches or flat feet
• You walk, stand, or run for long periods of time, especially on hard surfaces
• You wear shoes that don’t fit well or are worn out
• You have tight Achilles tendons or calf muscles

Most people with plantar fasciitis have pain when they take their first steps after they get out of bed or sit for a long time. You may have less stiffness and pain after you take a few steps or your foot may hurt more as the day goes on. It may hurt the most when you climb stairs or after you stand for a long time.

How can yoga help?

The fascia and ligaments are denser, less hydrated and have less circulation so they need longer, more sustained stretches allow change to take place.

As well as targeting the bottoms of the feet, any asanas that work the calf muscles are extremely important too. The tendons of the deep muscles of the calf wrap around and under the foot so extra tension or overuse of those muscles can put extra stress on the bottom of the foot and assist with treating plantar fasciitus. The calves also act as mini pumps up to the heart so anything that gets them working will aid circulation, warm up the body and get the heart rate up.

Here are four simple exercises to try:

• Write the alphabet with your feet
o Whether sitting or lying with one foot pressed down to the ground, lift the other leg and write the alphabet with the foot really waking up the ankle and warming the foot. Begin with capital letters, repeat the calpital alphabet on the other foot, then swap to lower case letters. Make sure to do both sides and don’t rush the exercise. Imagine there is ink on your toes and you can write these letters in the most beautiful script writing you can! Keeping the ankles supple will help with mobility in the feet and work the fascia around the whole foot.

• Broken toe pose
o Doesn’t sound so comfortable and actually, it’s not if held for too long!
o Sit back on the heels with the toes tucked under. Rest the hands on the thighs and as time pases let more and more weight settle into the heels. It may be difficult at first but use the breath and work your way up to holding for 2.5 – 3 minutes.
o If this is too much another option is to stretch the toes one by one:

• Standing bends

• Come to standing with your arms in front pressed against the wall. Bring the feet behind you with one foot a foot apart from the other. The leg furthest away stays straight with the heel pressing down to the floor. Bend down into the front knee keeping the back leg straight and heel pressed down. Bend until you feel a stretch in the back leg. Repeat for 10 nice and slowly with the pace of the breath.
• Next, bring the back foot big toe to touch the heel of the front foot. Bend both knees pressing the heels into the floor. Repeat for 10.
• Repeat both exercises on the other side and try to repeat the whole exercise 3-4 times a day, 5 days a week.

• Lift and lower
  • Stand behind the back of a chair. Inhale lift the heels; exhale lower the heels. Lengthen the breath and time your movements with the breath. Repeat for 10. If you are happy with your balance, try this without the chair and get a little core workout in there too! Then swap to lifting and lowering one foot at a time – this will also work the calf muscles getting your blood pumping up to your heart.

Time for you to go now and enjoy your happy feet! J

Let me know how you get on.

Now before you click away thinking I’m some mad tree-hugging yogi woman (may also be true!) take a quick look here and read on below if you’re interested…

In 1994, the Japanese scientist and water researcher Dr Masaru Emoto released his groundbreaking work The Hidden Messages in Water, in which he investigated water’s ability to retain information and energy.

Emoto found that no two snowflakes are identical – when he froze water at -25 degrees, unique, stunning and beautifully radiant water crystals formed. However, this was only true of water from natural sources like rivers, lakes and waterfalls. Samples taken from tap water produced no crystals. Emoto believed that the hexagonal form of the water crystals represented the life force of mother nature.

In contrast, the absence of a hexagonal water crystal was a sign that life forces had been tampered with and compromised energetically.

“Water records information, and while circulating throughout the earth distributes information. This water sent from the universe is full of the information of life…”

― Masaru Emoto, Hidden Messages in Water

After exploring different samples of frozen water from various sources, Emoto developed his experiments by exposing water to music. Again, the crystal structure changed – they were more expressive and formed magnificent crystals. When we think about this more deeply, music was developed by humans to bring us joy, happiness, and evoke certain emotions. After World War II, music was positive, upbeat and melodic.

Since our bodies are made up of 90% of water, is it any surprise that when exposed to music our emotions and body react to it and transform? The vibrational power of music helps bring us back to our natural state. In yoga we chant ‘Om’ to feel the vibrational force of this mystical syllable and sacred sound.

Hindus believe the sound ‘Aum/Om’ is the universal name of God and encompasses all of creation and all the universe. Music in itself is a healing art, but could it be that it is healing because of its vibrational force and how it alters the water in our bodies?

“Of course, we all know that water is transparent and has no taste, smell, or color. What’s amazing about water is that it is able to show us myriad “faces” depending upon the condition it is in or the information it is given.”

― Masaru Emoto, Messages from Water and the Universe

Dr Emoto also exposed water to different words. This was done by saying certain words close to the water as well as labelling flasks of water with words.  When exposed to negative words, no crystals formed and the water turned dark and horrible. When exposed to words such as “love”, “happiness” and “peace” in a variety of languages, the water produced beautiful crystals. Emoto argued that water can be our mirror and reflect our thoughts. Water is in our bodies and nurtures all human life – the frozen snowflakes carry the universal message of life, reminding us that mother nature is at the root of everything we do.

If we tune in with nature and expose ourselves to powerful vibrational energy through our words and music, it manifests within us and keeps our bodies clean. After all, dehydration and chronic shortage of water within the body is what causes disease and serious ailments. In the dedication of his book, Emoto wrote:

“My hope in sharing this message from water is to touch your heart so that you experience peace and healing through love and gratitude.”

― Masaru Emoto, Messages from Water and the Universe

During my yoga teacher training course, we looked into Dr Emoto’s work. However, it wasn’t until I began working with Conscious water that I began to think more deeply about Dr Emoto’s theory.

Conscious water has created beautiful sachets of different flavoured water enhancers each with a unique aspiration printed on the sachet including “love”, “happiness”, “clarity”, “rejuvenation”, “sweet dreams” and, my personal favourite, “serenity”. As well as adding a bit of aspiration to your drink of water, could it be that by labelling the sachet with these positive words we could actually be altering the water we drink, for the better?

This post wasn’t written with the aim of convincing you that Dr Emoto’s experiments are solid proof of the healing powers of water.

But perhaps next time you drink some water you might consider its source, the journey it’s taken to reach you, and project some of your own “love and gratitude” onto it. It can’t hurt, can it? So, give it a go.

“To give your positive or negative attention to something is a way of giving energy. The most damaging form of behavior is withholding your attention.”

― Masaru Emoto, The Hidden Messages in Water

For further reading see Messages from Water.