Simple sequence for a stiff lower back

I had a question this week from someone that said they often felt stiff and tight in the muscles on either side of their back. I'll preface this with saying: if you have back pain, go see a doctor/ osteopath/ chiropractor etc. But if you just want to move your spine a bit more and stretch out some of the muscles in the back of your torso this is a great little sequence. It may help improve flexibility in the backs of your legs too, which can also be good for back discomfort. Remember: be gentle. Don't force anything! 😎

1. Sit on the floor with your legs out straight in front of you. Take your hand to your lower back: if you can feel your vertebrae sticking out (instead of your lower back having its natural inward curve) sit up on a block/ couple of books/ folded up towel/ something like that. If you still can't sit up straight bend your knees until you can. 

Leave your right leg where it is. Bend your left knee and step your left foot to the outside of your right thigh. Put your left fingertips on the floor behind you. As you inhale push down into your left hand and sit up tall. As you exhale turn towards your top knee and either cradle it with your right arm or put your right elbow on the outside of that knee. For your next five (slow!) breaths: each time you inhale sit taller. Each time you exhale turn a bit more towards your top knee. 

TIP: notice how it's easy to sit tall through the left side of your torso by pushing down into your back hand. See if you can also create the same amount of lift through the other side of your torso. 

2. As you inhale release the twist and face forward again. Bring your left foot back to its own side of your bottom leg. Keep your left knee bent but this time let your knee fall out to the side. If it doesn't reach the ground support it with a pillow or rolled up towel. Turn your chest to face towards your left knee and place the back of your right hand on top of your right leg. Keep facing towards your bent leg and as you inhale sweep your left arm up alongside your ear; as you exhale bend sideways towards your extended leg. Take five slow breaths here. 

TIP: notice how your top shoulder wants to drop forwards so your chest turns down towards the floor. Try to resist the temptation to do that; instead back out of the posture a little and turn your chest more up to the ceiling. Lean your top shoulder a little bit back. You might not be able to reach your top arm so far but the stretch will be more in the side of your body (which is what we're trying to target here!). 

3. As you inhale, lead with your top arm to come all the way back up. Keep your legs where they are but this time turn your chest to face towards your extended (right) leg. Again, remember that slightly bending that leg may help you sit up taller. Place your finger tips either side of that extended leg. As you inhale sit tall; as you exhale turn more towards that leg and fold (= yoga jargon for lean your chest down towards your leg!). Hold for five slow breaths. As you next inhale sit all the way up again, and repeat the whole sequence on the other side. 

As always, let me know if any comments or questions! 🙏🏼♥️

What 'taking yoga off the mat' actually means (to me!)

*This post first appeared on Elephant Journal

Everyone that practices yoga probably has a different idea of what taking their practice off their mat and into the rest of their lives means. So this is simply my personal experience of just one of the ways time spent on my yoga mat has affected the rest of my life (which is why the title ends with (to me!)).

Most of the classes I teach—and probably lots of the classes you attend—start off pretty slowly with some gentle floor-based movements to start opening up the body and to bring people’s attention to both how their body is feeling and to the rhythm of their breathing. The physical movements then gradually build in demand and intensity until they reach a certain most challenging point, before we begin to wind down again toward relaxation at the end of class.

I’ll cue my students to inhale and exhale in time with certain movements, and also to notice what’s happening with their breath at certain points in the class.

I ask my students to establish a steady, calm rhythm of breath at the beginning of class when they are lying still. Then, I’ll begin to challenge them by bringing in some simple movements. And then challenge them to keep the rhythm of their breath with some more demanding movements. And then challenge them further with even more demanding movements.

This, for me, is key to one of the wider benefits of modern asana classes.

Yoga classes are often structured this way for a number of reasons, such as gradually warming up the body so it’s ready for more demanding postures and teaching students what they need to do in more accessible poses before asking them to try harder movements. But in using that structure, I’m also trying to teach them the skill of keeping their breathing calm, steady, and focused in progressively more challenging situations.

If we can keep taking deep calming breaths even when asked to do something unfamiliar, daunting, or stressful on our yoga mats, imagine how that might help us next time we go for a job interview. Or can’t get our baby to stop crying and go to sleep. Or have to make a big presentation at work.

I used this technique when I went for a job interview recently. Admittedly, since I’ve been teaching yoga, interviews are a world away from the ones I used to go to with law firms. But they can be nerve-wracking nonetheless - you’re still going to be asked questions by someone you’d like to impress, and you still want to sound like you know what you’re talking about!

I made sure to get there a little early to have time to run to the bathroom before it started. In doing so, I gave myself a little space to let go of my journey there and take a few slightly deeper breaths. I took a couple of minutes to find a slow, steady rhythm of breathing and made sure I could maintain that before I went back outside.

Once the interview had begun, I consciously went back to that same unhurried breath whenever it wasn’t my turn to speak. Calmer breathing allowed me to stay focused, which helped me think on my feet better and give more concise and informative answers (I got the job!).

Calm, focused breathing in challenging situations. That’s got to be a skill worth taking off your yoga mat, right?

How to build (and sustain!) a home practice

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*An edited version of this post appeared on MindBodyGreen

I’ve recently had a couple of questions from students on how to keep up a regular home yoga or meditation practice. I know a few people every year that set a home practice as their New Year’s resolution (including myself, more than once!) but after a month or two things that resolution has often wavered or been lost completely. I’ve made a few false starts at maintaining a regular home practice over the years. Here are a few things I’ve learnt along the way, and that I pass on to students in my classes.

1. Set TINY goals! 

I've often heard people say 'set yourself realistic goals'. And you think to yourself that 30 minutes yoga practice per day seems realistic. But then one day you get home really late from work and go straight to bed, and then the next day you feel like your resolution has failed. My number one tip with this particular aim is to set yourself TINY goals. I know at first that might not sound particularly inspiring but stick with me...(!). If you have time for a daily 60 or 90 minute yoga practice then great (lucky you!). If you don't, then don't feel like anything less isn't worthwhile. If you'd like to have a regular home practice but work/ kids/ life seems to take up all of your spare time then make this your resolution: 'I will do at least ONE yoga pose each day'. Everyone has time for one yoga pose. It could be as simple as taking a few deep breaths in a standing forward fold. Or maybe if you have space try a child's pose, or a single downward dog. It will take one to two minutes of your time. I'd guess that most people can carve one minute out of their day, even if it's just by spending one minute less scrolling through your Instagram/ Facebook/ Twitter etc feeds (I’m guilty as charged!). 

2. Don’t beat yourself up

You might find that doing one pose - perhaps downward dog - feels so good you can't help but add a couple more on - maybe a lunge on either side. If that gradually builds so you're doing 5 or 10 minutes per day then great. But if on the next day you're in a hurry and it drops down to one pose again then don't beat yourself up. In fact, it’s the tendency of people to feel guilty if they miss a day that makes this ‘setting ridiculously small goals’ tactic work. If you try for an hour per day and miss a day, you might find yourself feeling guilty. Let that sh*t go! It’s defeating your overall objective of making yourself feel better. 

3. Make your practice fit your circumstances

Fitting your practice in around your life can also be a big help. If you decide you’ll practice first thing in the morning (and you’ve space in your room) then why not keep your mat laid next to your bed, so it’s the first thing your feet touch in the morning? Or, if you prefer evenings, how about a hip opener in front of the TV? Or a down dog while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil? Also know that having a regular time to practice is nice but if it doesn’t work for you then that’s fine too. Maybe try a standing forward fold for one minute in the loos at work..? Obviously being able to practice in a quiet environment is lovely. But for a lot of people it’s a luxury they don’t have access to every day. If the only time you can take a triangle pose is while your children are in front of the TV, then don’t feel like that background noise means your practice doesn’t count. 

Same rules apply to a meditation practice

For me, exactly the same approach can work if you're trying to build a meditation practice. Set a tiny goal: maybe aim for one minute per day. Everyone can spare one minute. Even if it just means that next time you go to the bathroom you stand in there for one minute and concentrate on your breathing. 

If you prefer a seated meditation and have the luxury of space maybe try meditating in the same spot each day, again just starting for one minute. Make sure any props you might want to use are within easy reach of your chosen space and not spread around your home. You might find that if you make yourself sit for one minute per day, that after a while it feels like you may as well stay for five. But, if not, that’s perfectly fine. Don’t beat yourself up! 

You may find a meditation app can help – you can use them as a timer and to keep track of the days you meditate. There are lots out there, so if you don't like the first one you come across it's worth trying another. If the space you meditate in can be noisy lots of apps have sounds on them you can play. I personally find music or chimes distracting but like more neutral background noise like the sound of rainfall (all of which are available on a lot of apps). Make your practice fit your circumstances!