Some people may cringe when they hear "backbends..." for they can be quite a challenging category of postures, albeit exhilarating, they demand quite the perfect balance of strength and ease, holding on and letting go. Opening the heart and the throat are full of potential in terms of emotional release, a powerful and sometimes intense experience that one must be ready to embrace upon practice. Backward bends promote the peeling away of layers of fear around the heart. The feeling after coming out of a good backbend is often a sense of lightness, of something energetically heavy being lifted, no matter the depth of the actual backbend itself. Those who suffer from back pain may not realize that backbends are exactly what their spine could use! A strengthening of the spinal extensor muscles, a decompression of the spinal vertebrae and a countering of poor postural habits that create the pain in the first place (a product of the society/culture in which we live and spend hours driving, looking at television and computer screens, etc.) are all therapeutic aspects of bending backward. In addition to releasing tension in the shoulders, chest and neck, backbends support the breaking through of insecurity and the cultivation of confidence. Through this beautiful expression of an open heart and a leaning back into the support of something bigger (Universal), freedom from back pain and a calm nervous system are achievable, not to mention a heart full of compassion, and a voice that speaks truth, grounded in LOVE.
Sarah Haughton and I will be guiding a playful and therapeutic workshop TODAY! (Saturday 9/28) at Bindu Yoga Studio from 2-4:30pm. We will explore methods of backward bending safely and effectively in order to attain the above mentioned benefits, using props, the wall and each other to support an intelligent and exploratory experience of this wonderfully liberating category of Asana! Join us and free your heart <3 Cost: $30 ~ register at www.binduyogastudio.com
Sarah Haughton and I will be guiding a playful and therapeutic workshop TODAY! (Saturday 9/28) at Bindu Yoga Studio from 2-4:30pm. We will explore methods of backward bending safely and effectively in order to attain the above mentioned benefits, using props, the wall and each other to support an intelligent and exploratory experience of this wonderfully liberating category of Asana! Join us and free your heart <3 Cost: $30 ~ register at www.binduyogastudio.com