Stress relief.... who couldn't use a bit more of that? Gosh, only the most serene monks in distant, austere and remarkably remote monasteries so far removed from the hubbub could possibly remain unaffected in the midst of election fussing, pre-holiday madness, as well as the adaptation to daylight savings time that have all clobbered us within a few weeks. (I hereby once again propose my theory that we permanently shift the clock a half hour and leave it alone! An hour makes too dramatic an impact, but a half hour is manageable... and thereby able to be permanent! But that's an issue for another blog post. As often said, the Native man said a white man is the only one who would cut off the bottom of a blanket, sew it to the top and somehow think it longer.)
My goodness me, a hefty dose of stress relief is just what the chiropractor ordered! As I settled to my mat for a slower-paced, more relaxed and meditative practice, I found myself realizing how far my yoga has evolved. Where once the floor seemed so far from my hands, in many poses they reach the floor. There are poses that I had believed entirely out of my reach that over these years of practicing have slowly come to me. And there are poses with which I am still finding my way. Mostly on my backbends and hip openers. Particularly when I run or ride, my hip flexors resist that expansion and open-ness. So poses like Cow Face Pose are a mental battle to sit through the pose, bordering on strained, to allow the discomfort to slide away as my hips relax and open.
And, being somewhat knowledgeable through my years of doing yoga, I often happily discover new yoga poses, as I did tonight in Rabbit Pose, a stretch for the tight upper back and neck. With a neck injury such as mine, I was very careful to listen to the limits of my body to gently open, but not overwhelm or damage my neck in this pose. I was rather startled to discover the sharp pull of the upper back and lower neck here - obviously an area which does not get much mobility or attention. Finally, having worked some of the kinks out of my shoulders, neck, upper and lower back, and through hamstrings and centered with slow deep breathing, the reward of Savasana with a lighter heart and mind, and more relaxed body to carry me to my own peace and serenity.
Sweet dreams!
Want info on Gomukasana or Cow Face Pose?
http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/689
Wondering, like me, just how to do Rabbit Pose correctly?
http://www.ehow.com/how_4516577_do-rabbit-pose-yoga.html
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