Last 2 poses

The last two poses in this series are Paschimottanasana (seated forward bend) and Savansana (corpse pose). Start in Dandasana by sitting with the legs outstretched straight in front. Engage the thigh muscles and flex the feet. The heels may come up off the floor. Make your spine long. Stack the shoulders directly on top of the hips. (Beginners can put padding under your sit bones). Inhale and draw the spine up long. As you exhale, begin to come forward, hinging at the hips. On each inhale, extend the spine, and on each exhale, come a bit farther into the forward bend. Keep the neck at the natural extension of the spine. Do not round the back. Take hold of the ankles or shins, whichever you can reach. Imagine the belly coming to rest on your thighs, rather than the nose coming to the knees — this will help you keep the spine long instead of curving over. The last pose is Savasana. This give you a chance to focus on quiet and rest your mind. Lie on your back with your feet falling out to the side. Bring the arms alongside the body, but slightly separated from the body, and turn the palms to face upwards. Relax the whole body, including the face. Let the body feel heavy. Let the breath occur naturally. To come out, first begin to the deepen the breath. Then move the fingers and toes, awakening the body. Bring the knees into the chest and roll over to one side, keep the eyes closed.
Hope this series helps!

Next two relaxing Poses

Two more poses to add to the previous sequences are the Bridge pose and the Head to knee pose. To start the bridge pose lie on your back with your feet close to your sitting bones, hip-distance apart. Lengthen the base of the spine and on an exhalation, slowly lift the pelvis from the floor. On an inhalation, gently life your chest and rotate your shoulders and upper arms from the center of your heart. After releasing, take a few minutes in Savasana. For the Head to knee forward bend sit on a blanket with your legs out straight in front of you. Inhale, bend your right knee, and draw the heel back toward your perineum. Rest your right foot sole lightly against your inner left thigh, and lay the outer right leg on the floor, with the shin at a right angle to the left leg (if your right knee doesn’t rest comfortably on the floor, support it with a folded blanket). Press your right hand against the inner right groin, where the thigh joins the pelvis, and your left hand on the floor beside the hip. Exhale and turn the torso slightly to the left, lifting the torso as you push down on and ground the inner right thigh. Line up your navel with the middle of the left thigh. You can just stay here, using a strap to help you lengthen the spine evenly, grounding through the sitting bones. Or,  you can drop the strap and reach out with your right hand to take the inner left foot, thumb on the sole. Inhale and lift the front torso, pressing the top of the left thigh into the floor and extending actively through the left heel. Use the pressure of the left hand on the floor to increase the twist to the left. Then reach your left hand to the outside of the foot. With the arms fully extended, lengthen the front torso from the pubis to the top of the sternum. Exhale and extend forward from the groins, not the hips. Be sure not to pull yourself forcefully into the forward bend, hunching the back and shortening the front torso. As you descend, bend your elbows out to the sides and lift them away from the floor. Lengthen forward into a comfortable stretch. The lower belly should touch the thighs first, the head last. Stay in the pose for a minute (up to 3 if comfortable). On an inhalation, come up and repeat with the legs reversed for the same length of time.

Third and Fourth poses to relax

The next two poses are the Locust pose (Salabhasana) and the Half moon pose (Ardha Chandrasana). To do the locust pose lie on your belly with your legs hip-distance apart and your arms along your torso palms facing up. Rest your forehead on the floor. Reach from your belly through your legs and feet behind you, spread your toes and widen and lengthen the soles of your feet. Open the base of your spine by tucking your pelvis and moving the skin of your lower belly up toward your navel. At the same time, lenghten the torso forward through the crown of your head. On every exhalation, reestablish the openness in the base of the spine. On every inhalation, reach the legs back and the torso forward. As you build heat in your body let you jaw unclench and soften the skin of your forehead. For Half Moon start in extended Triangle pose on the right side with a block to the outside of your right foot. Rest your right hand on the block. On an exyalation, bend your right knee deeply and shift your weight onto your right leg as you move the block forward 6-12 inches. Using an inhalation, lift your back leg and open into Half Moon Pose. Move back into Triangle, then Down dog and finally back to Child’s Pose. When you are ready do the other side. Relax.

Relax for the Holidays

As we begin the Holiday season we will review 8 poses which calm. Today we will focus on the first 2 which are: Balasana or Child’s pose and Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward facing dog). Hold each pose for 7-10 seconds and alternate between these 2 poses. This movement has a settling affect. For Child’s pose you sit on your shins with your knees slightly wider than your torso and your big toes touching. Bring your belly to rest between your thighs on the floor. Either stretch the arms in front of you with the palms toward the floor or bring the arms back alongside the thighs with the palms facing upwards. Do whichever feels more comfortable to you. You can rest your forehead on a blanket, block or the floor. From child’s pose stretch your arms in front of you and set your hands a little wider than shoulder-distance apart. Come to your hands and knees with the wrists underneath the shoulders and the knees underneath the hips. Lengthen your side body and arms and roll your toes under and lift into Down Dog by extending your sitting bones up toward the ceiling as your heels reach toward the floor. Spread the fingers and ground down from the forearms into the fingertips. Let the head hang, move the shoulder blades away from the ears towards the hips. Roll your shoulders away from your ears and keep the back of your neck long and relaxed! Focus on your poses and try not to get distracted. Good luck.

Change of Seasons

As the seasons change rediscover the benefits of practicing
yoga.
“Genuine beginnings begin within us, even when they are
brought to our attention by external opportunities. “
William Bridges

YOGA WARRIOR TEE SHIRTS

just sent 75 beautiful Yoga Warrior tee shirts to Iraq!  Thank you for helping contribute to this cause!

YOGIC BREATHING

The information and findings on PTSD and Yogic breathing are not surprising to me. Yoga is an ancient science that has been studied for thousands of years. The Yogi’s knew what they were doing. This is nothing new.. SO, what has taken us so long? 

Lucy

Our troops

Gaylord KM. (2006). The psychosocial effects of combat: the frequently unseen injury. Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America, 18(3), 349-357. Based on these and other findings, researchers emphasize the importance of recognizing the mental health needs of troops and initiating services during their combat deployments (Gaylord, 2006; Hoge et al; Riddle et al, 2008). Gaylord et al (2006) state that, for optimal functioning of both the individual military member and the unit as a whole, mental health issues must be addressed both before and during deployment. They further claim that early identification and treatment of mental health issues can positively impact psychosocial functioning and prevent progression of symptoms to depression or PTSD. Yet as mentioned in the Introduction, the stigma of receiving mental health services is a significant deterrent to military personnel in obtaining needed health care (Gaylord et al, 2006; Hoge et al, 2004). Of military members deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan, less than half who meet the criteria for mental disorders express interest in receiving help, and around a third of those people seek professional help (Hoge et al, 2004).

Namaste

Namaste. Derived from the Sanskrit language, the literal definition of the word Namaste means “The divine in me honors the divine in you.” Namaste is usually said at the end of a yoga class because your mind is less active and the energy in the room is more peaceful. The teacher usually says it out of gratitude toward the students. This acknowledges the truth that we are all one when we live from a place in the heart. To perform Namaste, we place the hands together in front of the third eye, bowing the head, and then bringing the hands down to the heart.

New At Central Mass Yoga!

Starting July 1^st (summer session) we will be breaking the year into 4 class sessions (as specified on the schedule page of our website) and at the same time all classes will continue to be available on a drop in basis.   : )

Any class, any day , any time!

Please note:   New students enrolling in a session should try to attend the first class, as teachers will explaining course objectives and studio procedures as well as be making introductions.