Mindful Yoga for Stress - Tip #5

In this series of posts, I explore skills that you can take from a mindful yoga class to use in your daily life to help you respond to stress. 

Harder to do whilst right in the midst of things, but when you get home from a stressful day, notice what it is you do to wind down. Instead of TV, internet, or other stimulating activities, might you be able to make time for yourself to lie down, on the floor, and breathe for ten minutes? How about five?

If you'd like to practice putting these tips into action, come along to my Mindful Yoga Class at Bristol Movement Space, 5.45pm and 7pm on Thursdays.

Restorative Child's Pose

Sunday slow down! Over the next few Sundays I'll be sharing some of my favourite restorative poses, designed to help you slow down, find balance and nourish yourself.

Today's pose is supported child's pose, probably the one I practice most often. As well as being a lovely supported stretch for your lower back and hips, being supported on your front helps you to tap into the parasympathetic nervous system, which governs your relaxation response. I find it incredibly soothing.

To find it, set up some support (could be a yoga bolster, a yoga mat with some folded blankets on top, or a firm sofa cushion). Putting something under the far end will allow you to slide your arms underneath and cuddle the support - extra soothing! Then come into child's pose, making sure that your belly makes contact with the support underneath you. You may need to add extra blankets if there is space between your belly and the support.

Here I'm using some extra weight on the back of my body (you could also use a sofa cushion or the hands of a generous friend). Using a blanket to bind the back cushion a little more firmly (as in the photo below) means you find a sense of firm contact in the front and the back of your body, which gives you clear boundaries to breathe into.

Stay here, breathing deeply into your belly and low back as long as you are comfortable. After a few minutes, turn your head to the other side to keep the stretch through the neck even.

Mindful Yoga for Stress - Tip #4

In this series of posts, I explore skills that you can take from a mindful yoga class to use in your daily life to help you respond to stress.  

Tip #4: : Open your body up

One of the things you might start to notice as you begin to pay attention to how your body and mind interact is the way your body posture changes when you are stressed. For many people, the shoulders lift up, the jaw clenches, and we hunch forward, protecting our bellies. Although there are very good reasons for your body taking these actions in response to short-term stress, if you tend to hold onto these posture long-term it can begin to feed into a stress-cycle that is hard to break.

There is a very real link between our emotions and state of mind, and our posture. We slump and hunch when we’re feeling down, nervous, or tired. Evolutionarily that makes sense; by drawing in on ourselves, we make ourselves less visible and protect our soft, vulnerable front. But if you get into the habit of holding yourself like this all the time (as computers, sofas and stress encourage us to do) your body can feel stuck in these feelings.

So the next time you are feeling really stressed, give yourself a moment to find some space in your body. This is not a case of forcing yourself into “good” posture and rigidly holding yourself there – this is just as stressful for the body as being in a collapsed, protective state. Instead it as a process of gently opening and lengthening to find more space.

In the moment practice: Finding space

- Sitting or standing, bring your attention to whatever is in contact with the ground. Allow your feet or seat to relax and feel the ground underneath you. You are supported.

- Bring one hand to your belly, and one to your heart. Lift the crown of your head and lengthen the back of your neck.

- As you breathe out, let your shoulders relax.
- Find some space between the back teeth.
-  Scan your body and notice where you are holding tension right now, and see what might be able to let go.
- Breathe.

If you'd like to practice putting these tips into action, come along to my Gentle Hatha class at Bristol City Yoga on Tuesdays, 7.45pm - 9pm 

Mindful Yoga for Stress - Tip #3

In this series of posts, I explore skills that you can take from a mindful yoga class to use in your daily life to help you respond to stress.            

           3. Use your body as an anchor

Often when we are stressed, we are so stuck in our thoughts that we lose touch with the body altogether. Coming back to feel the body can bring us right back to what is actually happening, and can be a really helpful tool when you feel stuck in your head. During class we explore lots of different anchors for our attention – the sense of weight, the movement of our breath, sensation in different areas as we move. You will find some sensations more compelling than others, so in daily life, try to come back to the ones that feel most helpful for you.

For some people (especially those who experience panic attacks), your breath might not feel like a safe thing to focus on at certain times. If you are very anxious and your breath is too scary to focus on, can you take your attention elsewhere? Can you feel sensation in the palms of your hands? For some people, the feeling of their feet on the ground can be useful. If standing, you might shift your weight from foot to foot slowly. If sitting or lying, can you do anything to allow your weight to drop more fully into the ground?

Mindful Yoga for Stress - Tip #2

            In this series of posts, I explore skills that you can take from a mindful yoga class to use in your daily life to help you respond to stress.

            2. Befriend your breath

Our breath is an amazing bridge into our nervous system. When you start to pay attention to your breath, you will notice how it changes in response to situations, thoughts, feelings. And just as it changes to reflect the situation your nervous system is in, so you can begin to skillfully use your breath to influence your nervous system. When we are anxious, our breath often shortens, or becomes held. In class, we practice slowly relaxing the breath and lengthening the exhalation. The next time you are feeling stressed, take a moment to notice how you are breathing. Put your hands on your belly and see if you can allow your breath to move under your hands. If it feels possible, begin to invite your outbreath to get a little longer.

At home, you can practice gently lengthening your exhale. Choose ten minutes when you know you can be alone undisturbed. Silence your phone, and sit or lie comfortably. Begin to watch your breath, counting the length of your inhale and your exhale. Once you have found your natural rhythm right now, experiment with adding one count on to your outbreath. Breathe this way for a few rounds of breath and see how it feels. If it feels comfortable, you can add one more count. Again, see how it feels. You can continue like this as long as the breath still feels comfortable. Once you have found a rhythm with a longer exhale than you began, breathe with that rhythm for a few minutes. Then stop counting, allow your breath to return to normal, and check in to see how you feel.

A longer exhale, practiced gently, can be a really helpful tool when you are worried or having trouble getting to sleep.

Mindful Yoga for Stress - Tip #1

In this series of posts, I explore skills that you can take from a mindful yoga class to use in your daily life to help you respond to stress.

In my last post, I wrote about how mindful yoga has helped me with stress and anxiety. In the following posts we’ll look in more detail at some specific tips for dealing with stress in daily life. These are all things that we practice in a mindful yoga class, but I think that they only become really useful when they begin to show up in your life outside class, too. One of my friends and teachers, Aki Omori, says: “We practice being present when things are easy, so that we have more chance of doing it when they are difficult”. In a yoga class we are given conditions that make mindfulness of the body easier. The more we practice, the more we can draw on these skills outside class as well.

1.    Notice body-mind connections

The first skill doesn’t involve any doing at all. It’s just a matter of noticing. In mindfulness practices we cultivate the skill of observation – simply becoming a gentle witness to what is going on. Beginning to notice what’s happening in your body and how this connects to your thoughts is incredibly useful. The next time you find yourself in a stressful situation, give yourself a chance to notice how it affects your body. How is your breath? Your heart rate? Your muscle tension? Pain? See if you can practice witnessing these things without needing them to change right now. Just notice, and see what happens.