Recently I wrote about My Yoga Challenge where I was planning to spend 20 minutes a day practising yoga. Since then I have been practising in my living room (almost every day) and have already seen a difference in my flexibility and ability to stay in certain poses for longer. It is amazing how doing ‘little and often’ can make such a difference. So much so that I started going to a new yoga class last week. I was very excited about it, but was also a bit apprehensive as I am somewhat restricted by what I can do, due to the arthritis in my joints.
Over the last few years, I have mainly practised yoga at home following a DVD, so I was looking forward to learning directly from a teacher. I knew it would be a challenge as there are certain poses I can’t (yet) do, but my teacher showed me several ways to protect my joints, and simplified some poses for me.
Cat Pose
The pose below known as Cat, has always been a firm favourite with me, although I find it hard to press my weight onto my hands (as shown). Instead, I tend to make a fist and lean on my knuckles (which isn’t great for my hands). Last week, my teacher gave me a long tube-shaped cushion to place under my hands – which meant I could then lay my hands quite flat. I was then more able to focus on breathing in and out, and pulling my stomach muscles in to round and flatten my spine. Coordinating the breathing and movement are core principles in yoga, so once my hands were taken care of, I could focus on that.
Yoga Pretzels, Cat pose
Lying Twist
The lying twist may not look difficult, but if you are unpractised in it, it can be a strong pose. I love the feeling in my sides when I do this pose, because I spend a lot of time sitting in a hunched way – this really stretches them out and gives the spine a lovely rotation too. My teacher suggested that rather than just bending both of my knees and then twisting over, that I cross one leg over the other knee, then perform the twist – this lessens the stretch on the joints and ligaments. It still feels like a stretch, but does not over-stretch before you’re ready. She also suggested placing a cushion under my knees.
Yoga Pretzels, lying spinal twist
Child’s Pose
This is a pose which I need a lot more practise at. It is named Rock on this card, but I know it as Child (or Child’s) pose. This is a resting pose, which can be used between poses (or asanas). I find that on some days, I can get my forehead nearer to the floor, and on others, I feel like I am way off the ground. This is usually when my thigh muscles or knees feel tight. I just have a go, come out of it and sometime later I try again. I didn’t really understand what ‘breathing into a pose’ meant for ages – but now, I find that with each out breath, my body releases a tiny bit more tension and each cell becomes a little bit more relaxed. This is when I can perform Child’s pose well – I feel like my back is more flat, my arms are loose, my knees and thighs are comfortable and my forhead rests gently on the ground.
Yoga Pretzels, Child pose
Triangle Pose
In order to be able to get into triangle, you first need to do ‘Down Dog’ (or Downward Facing Dog) which involves placing a lot of weight on your hands. This is a big no-no for me, but with the help of my teacher’s foam blocks, I was able to perform triangle pose. She placed them just under my hands when I was stretching down and it basically gave me a step where I could lean and not hurt myself. I would not have even attempted this at home with my DVD as I would be afraid of injuring myself!
Yoga Pretzels, Down Dog or Downward Facing Dog
Yoga Pretzels, Triangle Pose
Yoga Class Vs Yoga at Home
I really liked the communal aspect to the yoga class. (I have only ever experienced this once when I was on holiday in Turkey – blissful!) Even though the participants are of different ages and levels of training; we could still exercise and relax together. I realised just how much I have already learnt on my own and at the same time how much more there is to learn… I can’t wait for this evening’s class!
All photos are of cards from Yoga Pretzels, by Tara Guber and Leah Kalish, illustrated by Sophie Fatus. You can buy a set of Yoga Pretzel cards from my shop.