Chair Yoga with Sherry Zak Morris Active FINGERS KNUCKLE KNOT This sequence was an eye opener for me, as it really pointed out how tight my hands and wrists really are. I know it is because of all the desk work I do, holding my hand stationery for very long periods of time, which creates tension and tightness in my wrists. I recruited Justine to do the sequence just to confirm that it is doable. This is a great stretch for anyone who works on the computer, or uses their fingers for micro movements for extended periods of time. Bring your arms in front of you, parallel to each other. Cross the right arm over the left. Interlace your palms together, keeping the palms tightly connected. Like your are threading a needle, bend your elbows and draw your hands under and then in toward your chest. Bring the hands up towards your face, and bring your elbows together. Finally, extend your arms lengthwise in front of you. Make sure you keep your palms touching. Notice if you can extend your arms straight like Justine, or if you are bound up in your wrists or forearms. Copyright 2013, YogaJP.com and YogaVistaAcademy.com 11
Active Chair Yoga with Sherry Zak Morris Here I am doing the same Knuckle Knot, trying my best to keep my palms together as I thread the hands down and under. And them bringing my hands up and through the loop in my arms with my elbows touching. You can see that I cannot extend my arms straight, as my range of motion in my wrist stops me. What I noticed was when my dominant arm (right) is on the top, my range of motion was greater in the right wrist which enabled me to rotate further in the movement. Now, why do I like this particular movement pattern? Because it first shows me that I am asymmetrical in my range of motion in each arm. This helps me be aware that my body mechanics and repetitive movements have most likely created that asymmetry. Secondly, because of my somatic awareness, I found the area that I am bound up in. It is the lateral movement of the wrist (think of a windshield wiper) and thus I know to make sure to include this range of movement into my yoga practice and ergonomic stretches. And lastly, it gives me another fun sequence to share with my students to help them tune into their bodies. And guess what, they take them home and share it with their family members! 12 Copyright 2013, YogaJP.com and YogaVistaAcademy.com
SPINE Gentle Yoga Therapy with Justine Shelton K KYPHOSISS Kyphosis is a primary curve in the spine, when in utero the entire spine is kyphotic due to the way we are carried in the womb. When a baby is born the lordotic curve of the cervical spine (neck) is introduced when the baby navigates the birth canal. This curve continues to develop as the baby starts holding the weight of the head. What we will be looking at here is when the thoracic spine is overly kyphotic and how we use yoga to lessen the curve for the health of the spine and organs. T ADASANAA MOUNTAIN POSE Primary intention of this pose is axial extension, that is creating as much length from the tail bone through the crown of the head as possible. Notice Gloria in this picture, standing relaxed and allowing her upper back to round neck juts forward, pelvis tilts backward and hips push forward. Here Gloria is engaging axial extension, lengthening through the crown of the head, neck elongated, pelvis in neutral. Sometimes kyphosis gives the illusion of a lordotic curve in the lumbar, and sometimess there is a more lordotic curve as compensation, notice the indent in Gloria's lower back. Norma is another example of thoracic kyphosis. You can seee the hint of it in this picture, however please notice how she corrects it with axial extension, limiting the rounding and standing tall! Here is Norma from the front. Due to her posture you can hardly tell she has kyphosis as her shoulders are drawn back and down, correcting the forward rotation (protraction) of the shoulder blades. My guess is Norma has opened her pectoral muscles through her yoga practice allowing her to stand this way with ease. Copyright 2012, Justine Shelton and YogaVistaAcademy.com 4
SPINE Gentle Yoga Therapy with Justine Shelton V VIRABHADRASANA A I WAR RRIOR 1 This is a great pose for working with the curves in the spine. It can be adapted to accommodate the practitioner's spinal curves and work toward the direction of positive change in balancing the spinal curvatures. Coming out of the pose on an exhale, someone with kyphosis would be best served with coming back to a straight spine and axial extension. Cactus arms, while pressing the chest forward, serves to flatten the upper back and strengthen the rhomboids, which tend to be weak and over stretched, contributing to upper back rounding. This modification with both arms raised supports axial extension, lifting the shoulder girdle and reversing the kyphosis. Avoid rounding the upper back. This modification is great for someone with a flattened thoracic curve, but with kyphosis it only encourages a deeply held pattern of upper back rounding. Rather than rounding, come back to a neutral spine, focusing on axial extension. Notice the hip width alignment of the feet. This structural alignment reduces torque in the pelvis, lumbar spine as well as the back knee. When I was taught this style of alignment it was a great relief, as Warrior I always hurt my knees and lower back. Modify using a chair for balance. Notice that Norma does not have a long stance and is only slightly bending into the front knee make sure the student doesn't let the knee move forward of the toes, just above the ankle or slightly forward of the ankle. Copyright 2012, Justine Shelton and YogaVistaAcademy.com 5
Gentle Yoga Therapy with Justine Shelton LUMBAR LUMBAR DISC DAMAGE Unfortunately this is an all too common injury. It is important to know if a disc is bulging, it CAN heal through proper movement to increase circulation and getting the disc to retract. If the disc is herniated, the herniation is permanent however, there is much that can be done to increase space between the vertebral bodies and help to get the person out of pain. SUPTA BADDHA KONASANA RECLINED BOUND ANGLE I will never forget the first time I did this pose! My back was hurting, and I hadn't been able to lie flat on my back without pain in years. After repeating this, SLOWLY, three times I was able to lie on my back for savasana completely pain free. It greatly increases circulation to the low back. I call it a yoga band aid for low back pain. For lumbar disc damage, or low back pain in general, cue to bring the pubic bone toward the belly button to lengthen the lumbar spine and stablize the pelvis. If you would like people to notice the difference between the before and after, have them lie flat on their back first and take a mental snapshot of how their back feels. Afterwards, have them lie flat again and notice the difference. My first time was profound! This pose can be taught several ways. The most important thing is that it is done slowly. Repeat the pose three times. It can be cued to do it three times taking a full minute to come together each time, or you can talk them through it, bringing the knees together first in halves, then thirds, then quarters a breath for each movement. It takes a while, but trust me this pose is worth it! Copyright 2012, Justine Shelton and YogaVistaAcademy.com 5
Gentle and Chair Yoga with Sherry Zak Morris ACTIVE MAT/CHAIR BACK LIGHTHOUSE This is the seated Chair version of one of my favorite Somatic Yoga sequences by James Knight. This can be done sitting on a yoga mat. It releases tension in the back by gently twisting the torso and hips in various directions, symmetrically and asymmetrically. If you are in a chair, start in seated Goddess pose, or a straddled position. This sequence has a BEFORE and AFTER so that you can see the change in the mobility of the spine. Place the left hand on the right shoulder. Turn the body to the right and stop when you have hit the bumper, or your edge. Notice where you stopped by finding a landmark on the wall. This is your BEFORE shot. Start to turn the torso back and forth. Head and body moving in the same direction. Just like a Lighthouse back and forth 3 times. If you want to add more lower body mobility, lift up off the opposite hip and extend the leg on the twisting motion. Next, move the body in one direction and the head and neck in the opposite direction. Continue this movement for 3 cycles. Place the hand vertically under the chin, basically splitting the face into two sections. This will help you keep track of where your eyes will move laterally. When your body and head turn to the right, your eyes move to the left, and visa versa. Repeat 3 times. Copyright 2013, YogaJP.com and YogaVistaAcademy.com
Gentle and Chair Yoga with Sherry Zak Morris ACTIVE MAT/CHAIR Place the hand horizontally under the chin, basically splitting your vision up and down. This will help you keep track of where your eyes will move vertically. Lift your head and shoulders up, while you look down with your eyes. Move your head and shoulders down while you look up with your eyes. Repeat 3 times. Go back to the original Lighthouse movement. Moving the body and the head in the same direction. Repeat 3 times. On the last movement, turn the body to look over the shoulder and find your stopping point or bumper. This is your AFTER shot. This is the BEFORE and AFTER shot of the sequence from a different angle. Notice the significant difference in the range of motion of the torso. Most people improve their range by 30 50%. And that makes them smile! Copyright 2013, YogaJP.com and YogaVistaAcademy.com