My Fit Yogi

Happy Pride!
Haven’t posted in a while, but hope to be back to it soon!
Celebrate you today! - Robert
🌈

It seems appropriate to see a boat (pose) by the water! This is such a great pose to practice neutral alignment and to strengthen the core. Gravity wants to pull the spine into flexion, so try to resist, and keep the chest and low back lifted. This is also great at working the legs (hip flexors and quads in general). Try straightening the legs for a further challenge or touch the feet down to ease off on the intensity/load. As always, if you catch yourself holding your breath, you’re going to far/hard. Breathing should be controlled and even! Enjoy your practice today!

Exalted (or reverse) Warrior. Root through the feet and connect with earth. Glance up towards the palm and breathe. Always breathe!

Being a tree, amongst the trees! Trying not to fall out of the pose, in the Fall 🍁😉🙏

It’s interesting how different a seated forward fold can feel when you change it to a reclined or supine (on your back) version since you now have to resist gravity and contract different muscles to get there (abdominals, hip flexors). Try a regular seated forward fold, pause, then try this version, pause and go back back to the seated version. Notice how different it now feels back in seated…and often it’s a deeper expression of the pose. Hold each variation for roughly five deep, slow breaths…and see what happens.

Balance poses, like tree pose here, help to not only improve your ability to balance, but also heighten your awareness of your feet. We often don’t think much about what we do to our feet when we wear shoes, or even socks. One of the reasons we do yoga barefoot is to tune into the sensations of the feet, since they are the foundation of any standing pose. When we stand in balance on one foot, it should feel not much different from standing on both feet, like we do in mountain pose. In other words, the weight should be even from of the of the foot to the back and also right to left (or inside of the foot to outside). The toes are relaxed and spread out on the ground. A calm, slow breath and a non-wavering gaze with the eyes helps in assisting with balances. If you wobble, that’s okay, and normal, but also try an easier (lower centre of gravity) variation, such as lowering the arms, or in this case, your raised foot placement. Try a balance pose with each practice, as the benefits extend to other poses, more than simply balancing!

Every new day is another opportunity to connect through yoga! Take that opportunity to learn more about yourself. Just breathe, and pay attention. Yoga is for Every Body!

Let’s get mobile. Often people think that yoga is just about stretching (flexibility), especially passively. The reality is, it’s about moving into and out of positions (pain free of course!). Healthy hips, knees and ankles require movement. Yoga allows you to get into positions that you might not typically be getting into in your day to day activities. Squatting deeply is natural, but without regular practice, we can lose that range, so gradually work on going deeper over time. Also, try to exit a pose with as much control as you got into it…because that’s how you can develop some of the best strength and neural adaptations! Bottom line, no pun intended, pay attention to your (slow controlled) breathing, and the sensations in your feet, and eventually your body will reward you with greater mobility!

I love moving the spine! In all directions! Working your core isn’t complete without twisting, extension (back bends), and lateral flexion (side bending), and of course the most used, spinal flexion! It’s not about specific muscles necessarily, but instead movements. A well rounded yoga practice will include all of these movements. Give your spine some love ❤️, and bend and reach and stretch in all directions!

A gentle back bend. It may look like I pushed myself up, or I’m pressing into my hands, but I’m not. I contracted my back muscles to lift me into this position. It’s more of a pull (and no push). Every inhale may take you deeper into a back bend.

Through yoga you can push your boundaries of movement, by challenging yourself to go possibly further or deeper than you have before. You should never force yourself though, but instead pay attention to the signals and sensations your body gives you. You have the rest of your life to practice yoga…there is no rush! Breathe and be!

There are many versions of twists that can occur from different body positions, such as standing, seated, or lying down (sometimes referred to a reclined). This variation doesn’t require balance, and can be a bit more relaxed (less muscle work) since the body is supported by the ground. If a full twist with legs stacked and shoulders down isn’t available yet, use props as needed. Blocks could be placed under the bottom knee, between the knees, or a blanket or towel can be placed under the shoulder or even the neck. I often do this variation towards the end of practice as a way of prepping for a final resting pose. Breathing should be slow and even, and as always, through the nose only, if possible.