Seated spinal twist – good for the kidneys & digestive system
For my final blog of the year, I thought I would leave you with my festive season survival kit – yoga focussed on keeping you healthy this Christmas.
If you’ve been at classes the last couple of weeks you will be familiar with the practises, so I hope this will just remind you of some practical yoga you can do over the winter break and if you don’t come to one of our classes I hope it will give you some inspiration. And if you really want to treat yourself, why not do your practice by candle light, it really is magical.
So, here are some of the things you might need to survive over the next couple of weeks! :
Indigestion and acid reflux
Try to do a simple twisting pose or the knee press about 20 minutes before you eat.
Eat fruit about hour before any other food and certainly not after a big meal. Fruit digests so quickly that if you’ve eaten something heavier before it, it just sits in your tummy, fermenting whilst the other food digests, so can cause indigestion.
Use the Sitting Side Stretch or Beam to stimulate the gallbladder and liver.
Sitting Forward Bend is beneficial for the liver, gallbladder and the pancreas.
Try drinking peppermint, camomile or ginger teas to soothe the digestive tract.
Tummy upsets
Lay in Crocodile to ease a giping tummy. Focus on breathing into the abdomen to help the intestines relax.
Hangovers (not that I’m suggesting any of you will over-indulge, but you might have a friend who does!)
Use any twist to get assist the kidneys, Seated Spinal Twist is especially effective.
Drink plenty of water to rehydrate.
Move! To help you flush the toxins out of your body. Try a couple of rounds of sun sequence (slowly!).
Do some relaxation, your body needs rest to recover.
Sitting Forward Bend followed by Cobra will help the kidneys, liver and pancreas.
Colds
Use sun sequence to boost the immune system.
Plenty of rest and relaxation to give your body chance to heal.
Lion helps to keep colds, sore throats, ear infections etc. at bay, whilst Fig Tree helps to clear the sinus passages.
Try the age old practice of salt water nasal washing (jala neti) to clear out the sinus’ and flush out germs. They even recommend this now at the chemist!
Stress
Find some time to relax and / or do some abdominal breathing or the anahata breath, just 5 minutes is all you need.
Be active to help you release stress hormones – go for a walk, dance, or do some brisk rounds of sun sequence (anything that increases your heart rate a bit).
Lay flat on your back, on the floor, to switch on your body’s natural relaxation response (the parasympathetic nervous system).
Practice the Earth Sequence – even better if you can do some rounds outside.
Stiff back, aching joints
Practise Cat or Bridge to get your back moving.
Do some of our activation moves and stretches to get your body moving. Try shaking out, some dynamic twists, hip circles, shoulder scoops or the beautiful figure of 8 flowing movement.
Use our unique Dru Yoga Energy Block Release sequences to release tension and stiffness from the back and joints.
Hope this gives you some ideas for how you can practically use Dru yoga to keep you healthy and I hope you manage to find some time to practice your yoga as a prevention rather than a cure!
Wishing you all a jolly Christmas and a peaceful New Year and see you in 2014! Ix