Goals Archives - Surrey Yoga Therapy

June 3, 2019June 3, 2019 by Vicky Arundel

A Yoga Sequence to Improve Balance + 3 Essential Tips!

One of the most frequent requests in both my private yoga teaching and public classes is a yoga sequence to help improve balance. I often say to my students that working on balance requires a healthy dose of patience and a good sense of humour. Balance can be a notoriously tricky thing to pin down – some days we can feel very steady, other days like we’ve just stepped off a boat! That said, there are definitely proactive measures we can take to improve our balance. Below are just three of my favourite tips, followed by a short standing sequence designed to get you feeling centered and steady.

3 Tips for Better Balance

Relax

One of the best pieces of advice I was given about balance was ‘to be more like the bamboo’. The bamboo plant represents the perfect blend of strong and supple – it’s branches are firm and hard, with strong roots and yet it flows and bends easily with the wind, never fighting against it. We can keep this image in mind when balancing, trying to find that perfect combination of stability and fluidity, allowing for the inevitable micro-movements and readjustments that the body makes in order to find center. Many of us instinctively tense up when we try to balance – we become rigid, our joints lose their supple elasticity and we might find ourselves holding our breath. Paradoxically it is this tension and rigidity that often throws us off kilter. So next time the teacher cues tree pose in class, be more like the bamboo, allow yourself to flow with the movements a little bend don’t break.

Keep your eyes steady!

Our bodies (and minds) tend to move wherever our eyes go. The yogis understood the distracting power of sight and created the concept of dristi, a Sanskrit word that describes keeping the eyes steady and focused on a single point. I often encourage my students to find something at eye level, or if preferred, a few meters out in front that they can gaze at (in a relaxed way, no hard staring!) whilst balancing.

Work on your feet

As described in earlier posts, our feet have the potential for an enormous amount of pliability and movement, and they are key to our sense of foundation, connection with the ground and therefore our balance. However our footwear, predictable terrain (think tarmac, carpets, flat surfaces) and general lack of movement have created rigid, tense feet that lack shock absorption and the ability to really ‘feel’ the floor. We need to improve the mobility, strength and flexibility of the feet to ensure proper articulation of the joints, to maintain arch support and to ensure better balance. For ideas on how to work the feet check out this earlier yoga sequence – many of the exercises will be helpful for improving balance.

THE YOGA SEQUENCE

Please note for a printable version of the sequence please click on this link.

BALL ROLLING FOR THE FEET:

Focus: To release tight connective tissue on the sole of the foot, improving tissue glide and gently re-mobilise the joints of the feet.

Place a firm ball under the sole of your foot. Put pressure through the foot as you roll the ball around the whole surface area of the sole of the foot. Roll front to back, side-to-side, explore circles. If you find a particularly tender spot, pause, apply gentle pressure and take a few deep breath before rolling to another spot. Continue for about 1 minute on each foot and then repeat on the second side.

HIP ABDUCTION/ADDUCTION:

Focus: Strengthen the muscles of the outer hip and thigh which help to stabilise the hips and knees in standing postures.

Stand on a yoga block with one foot and hover the other foot off the ground until both hips are level. Gently engage the lower abdominals towards the spine and create a sense of length through the tailbone.Visualise extending up through the crown of the head.

Without moving the spine or rest of the body, inhale and as you exhale lift your right leg out to the side, as high as it will go without leaning to the sides, lifting the hip or turning the foot out. Inhale to bring the legs back together. You should feel a sense of muscular engagement on the outer hip and thigh. Repeat this action 10 times on each leg.

HIP FLEXION/ EXTENSION:

Focus: Strengthen the muscles on the front and back of the hip and thighs.

Start as per the previous pose. Stand on a yoga block with one foot and hover the other foot off the ground until both hips are level. Gently engage the lower abdominals towards the spine and create a sense of length through the tailbone. Visualise extending up through the crown of the head.

Now again, without moving the rest of the body bring the right leg forwards as high as it will go and then extend the leg back behind you as far as it will go (note: it won’t be very high). Keep the knees straight throughout. Be mindful not to lean forwards or backwards in your spine as you move the leg. Repeat this action 10 times on each leg.

MOUNTAIN POSE WITH BLOCK BETWEEN THIGHS:

Target: To strengthen the muscles of the inner thighs, pelvic floor and deep core that help to stabilise the pelvis and lower back.

Stand with your feet about hipwidth apart. Place a yoga block or rolled up firm blanket between your inner thighs. Visualise lengthening up through the crown of the head. If you tend to hyper-extend your knees, try unlocking them slightly and engaging all of the muscles around the knee joint.

Inhale, as you exhale, squeeze the block with your inner thighs and at the same time feel the muscles of your pelvic floor lift up and the muscles of your lower belly hug in towards the spine. Notice the lower back and hips stay neutral throughout – be mindful not to tuck under. Try to hold the contraction for 10 seconds, breathing normally and then release. Repeat 2 more times.

MOUNTAIN POSE WITH HEEL RAISES:

Target: To strengthen and mobilise the feet and the muscles of the front and back of the legs.

Stand in mountain pose, feet a comfortable width apart. Lengthen your tailbone and draw the lower abdominal muscles gently in and up.

Inhale lift the heels off the floor coming onto your tip-toes, reaching the arms overhead. Exhale lower the heels and arms down and then try to lift the toes off the ground, rocking the weight slightly back into the heels. Make sure your spine stays neutral throughout – don’t let your lower back arch when the arms come overhead. Try to lift up and lower down through the center of the foot – avoid letting the ankles sickle in or out. Feel free to rest your hands lightly on a chair or table surface for balance if needed. Repeat this action 10-15 times.

CHAIR POSE ON TIPTOES:

Target: To strengthen and mobilise the feet, ankles, calves, hamstrings, glutes and quadriceps.

Start in mountain pose and on an inhale lift up onto your tiptoes. As you exhale slowly bend your knees and lower your hips down, keeping your heels lifted. Inhale to lift your hips, straighten your legs and lower your heels. Only lower as far as feels right for you – eventually you can make this movement stronger by lowering your hips all the way down towards your heels. You can use a chair to support and stabilise your balance if you like. Repeat this 5 times.

STANDING CROSS CRAWL:

Target: To improve proprioception (an understanding of where your body is in space), co-ordination and balance through fluid movement.

Start in mountain pose. Gently engage the lower abdominal muscles, feel them cinching in around the waist. Lengthen up through the crown of the head. Inhale lift your right leg and your left arm up overhead. Exhale lower down. Then switch sides, lifting the left leg and right arm up. Continue for 30-60 seconds. Move as slowly and as controlled as possible and don’t forget to breathe!

TREE POSE:

Target: To improve balance in a static one-legged position. This pose strengthens and builds endurance and stamina in the muscles and joints of the legs and hips.

Standing tall place your left foot onto the inner ankle, calf or thigh of your right leg. Make sure the foot is placed above or below the knee rather than directly on the side of the knee. Keep the hips and toes of your standing foot pointing forwards, as you widen the right thigh to the right by squeezing the buttock muscles gently. Find one point of focus to gaze at for greater balance and stability. Firm the muscles of your legs and outer hips in, lift tall through the sides of the waist and extend the crown of the head to the sky. Hands can rest on your hips, in prayer at the chest or reach them skywards.

To make this pose more challenging for the muscles of the feet, ankles and hips, you can stand on a soft surface such as a rolled blanket or spongy yoga block. To test your balance and proprioception still further you could explore closing the eyes! Hold for 5 slow, relaxed breaths and then switch sides.

Thanks to Tummee for the images! Please use the following link to access a printable copy: https://www.tummee.com/yoga-sequence/Tz5z5

March 9, 2018March 9, 2018 by Vicky Arundel

A Yoga Perspective on Finding Meaningful Work

This post originally appeared on Relax and Renew Events, a company that I co-founded with business coach Helen Puddefoot, providing coaching and mindfulness events for women in business.

Definition – Dharma

Dharma is a Hindu, Buddhist and yogic concept which refers to the idea of a law or principle governing the universe.The implication of dharma is that there is a right way for each person to carry out their life. If an individual is following their dharma, they are pursuing their truest calling, serving all other beings in the universe by playing their true role. ~ Yogapedia

As a yoga teacher I have witnessed some fascinating transformations of students who started yoga and fell in love with the practice. I wrote a blog piece some time ago about how a consistent yoga practice can have a far-reaching impact on seemingly unrelated areas of your life.

I have watched as students became absorbed in their yoga practice, and at the same time, started to question and change other areas of their lives. Some started by changing their diets or integrating other health habits, such as getting more sleep, into their daily habits and routines.

All too often though, I saw changes that had seemingly no connection. Students on my teacher trainings would realise they no longer had anything in common with their partners or friendship groups, and would start the painful process of letting go of old relationships that no longer served them. Others would talk of their frustration, boredom or lack of connection with their work and fantasise about other career options that would be more in line with their values. I have seen this too many times to think it just a coincidence.

Why does this happen?

There’s something about this practice of yoga that invites us to question and reflect deeply. I often joke to my students, that there’s nowhere to hide on a yoga mat. It’s just you, your body, your breath, your mind and the clear empty space of your yoga mat. The yoga practice will reflect back to you everything you bring to it. If you step onto the mat with anger or frustration – that is what will bubble back up to the surface. Not that there is anything wrong with this. The yoga practice is neutral and just honestly reflects back to us wherever we are at in the moment.

What this means is that if you are unhappy about an area of your life, such as your work-life or career, this is what will start to come up for you on your yoga mat to the point that the initial whisperings of discontent may become too loud for you to ignore.

Change may be on its way.

In yoga we have appropriated the concept of Dharma from the Hindu and Buddhist traditions – the idea that to live a good life means to live in a way that taps into and expresses our fullest potential. We may have several dharmas to carry out in one lifetime, for example, to be a mother, a writer, an investment banker or a carer for an ailing parent.

The essential idea is that life flows best, and we are at our happiest, when we recognise and connect to the specific roles that we have been invited on this earth to carry out.

This does not mean to say that our dharma is all plain-sailing and joyful. Any career path, no matter how well aligned to our values will have good days and also its challenges and uphill struggles. I absolutely love my work as a yoga therapist but I still moan about doing certain tasks – accounts, emails, maintaining my social media presence to name a few! However, generally speaking, we know we are in accordance with our dharma when we cannot think of anything else we would rather be doing with our life.

So how does one find their dharma? This soul-searching is part of the rich journey of life. Some may find it easier or earlier than others, but it really helps when we carve out enough quiet time in the busyness of our day-to-day schedules to tune in and really listen to the callings of our hearts.

Yoga and meditation practices are perfect for this deep inner work because they give us the time and space to sit with ourselves and to allow insight, self-revelations and mini-epiphanies to rise to the surface.

With this in mind I have recorded a brief 10-minute meditation designed to help you explore this idea of dharma and its personal relevance to you. This meditation aims to help develop greater personal insight into your current relationship to your work and to develop clarity around your future career dreams and aspirations.

I recommend doing this meditation on a regular basis as our dharmic roles will change and evolve with time – what may be right for us now, may and probably will change a few years down the line. The questions in this meditation are also perfect for a journaling practice. Click on the Soundcloud link below to access the meditation:

https://soundcloud.com/user-806499331/dharma-meditation

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July 4, 2017October 31, 2017 by Vicky Arundel

Yoga – The Ultimate Keystone Habit

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit” ~ Aristotle

There has been a surge in recent years exploring the science and psychology behind habits – how we build new habits and how we extinguish unhealthy ones. One of the most interesting books to come out of the research is Charles Duhigg’s book ‘The Power of Habit’, in which he introduces the fascinating concept of ‘Keystone Habits’.

Keystone habits are habits with super-power transformative capabilities. They are habits that once integrated into our day tend to have a powerful positive ripple effect into all other, often seemingly unrelated, areas of our lives. One of the examples he gives is the keystone habit of exercise:

“Typically people who exercise, start eating better and becoming more productive at work. They smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and family. They use their credit cards less frequently and say they feel less stressed. Exercise is a keystone habit that triggers widespread change.” ~ Charles Duhigg

This sounds very similar to the kind of positive impact that I have seen a regular yoga practice have on my students’ lives.

I remember one student saying to me after one of their first yoga classes ‘Yoga has reminded me how good it’s possible to feel.’ The more removed and disconnected we get from ourselves and our bodies the more we get used to feeling less than brilliant. It’s almost like we forget what it feels like to be well. However, once we get a sneak peak into what it feels like to be healthy and vital again, we’ll often do anything to retain that feeling, which is why yoga can be such a catalyst for positive change and transformation. Yoga it would seem is most definitely a keystone habit.

I’ve been privileged to witness many of these personal transformations in my students over the years, and below are just some of the many amazing knock-on benefits I’ve seen from practicing yoga.

Adopted a healthier diet

When people start practicing yoga they begin to often unconsciously change their way of eating. For some that may mean cutting down on their alcohol intake, eating less processed foods and takeaways, for others it might be the conscious decision to reduce or cut out the amount of animal products they consume. A regular yoga practice brings you into a more direct understanding of the relationship between what you eat and how you feel. After all it’s much harder to ignore bloating or discomfort when you’re trying to move your way through Sun Salutations. Over time this renewed awareness can lead to a more sensitive and intuitive approach to your unique dietary needs and a more mindful approach to the process of eating generally.

Stopped smoking/excessive alcohol-intake/drugs

Yoga has this uncanny effect of highlighting our less than optimal habits and behaviours. Particularly in the early days, our yoga practice can sometimes be a fairly uncomfortable wake-up call to what happens when we neglect our health. As we breathe, and stretch, and ask our bodies to do things we may not have asked of them in a long time, we begin to see the honest impact of the decisions we make. For many, the realisation of how much the body is suffering is enough to kick-start a resolution to take better care of ourselves.

Left an unhappy or unhealthy relationship

There seems to be a bit of a pattern of relationship break-ups straight after a yoga retreat or teacher training and I don’t think this is just a coincidence. When we dive into a yoga practice we start to see things from a different perspective and we may find ourselves questioning the status quo. The more contemplative aspects of the yoga practice invite us to ask questions of ourselves that we were previously too busy, distracted or fearful to ask. What makes you happy? Where do you see yourself going in life? The answers to these questions may invite us to see that the person we are in a relationship with is no longer part of our journey moving forwards. Our practice and the community that surrounds us can give us the courage and conviction to move on from relationships that no longer serve us, or that hold us back in old patterns of behaviour that we are slowly moving away from.

Improved body image and self-esteem

Yoga can be an incredible tool for helping us to make peace with our bodies and to practice greater compassion and respect for this incredible body we carry around with us all day every day. So many of us struggle with a disordered body image and a yoga practice can give us the tools to practice more gratitude for the body we currently have, whilst also developing a greater sense of confidence as we see our bodies getting healthier and stronger. Learning to arm balance was one of those pivotal moments for me. Having always considered myself a bit of a weakling, to then learn that I could do some pretty extraordinary things whilst balancing on my hands, gave me an enormous sense of strength and empowerment. It was the beginning of a much kinder relationship with my body which has over time developed irrespective of my physical capabilities on the mat.

Change a job or career path to something more meaningful

Yoga’s emphasis on becoming more present and awake has the ability to snap us out of autopilot and to question whether we are really making the most of our lives. I have seen many yoga students eventually leave jobs that sacrificed their physical and mental health, and take a leap of faith into new careers that are more aligned with their core beliefs. Just like the earlier student who remarked that yoga makes us realise how good it’s possible to feel, the shadow side is that we become less tolerant of anything that saps our energy, burns us out, or is no longer in line with our deepest values. For many, this realisation is the beginning of an incredible journey into what makes us feel alive, passionate and engaged.

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