5 ways to find ease in your yoga practice
One of my current goals or intentions in yoga is to put in less effort and find more ease in every pose. One of the mistakes a novice user makes is to put so much effort into each pose, your whole body tenses up. This is the opposite of what yoga tries to achieve.
Don’t get me wrong, eventually, you will want to go deeper into each pose. But tensing your body, flexing every muscle is not the way. Your body needs to be relaxed as you enter the pose. Some muscles will, of course, work. But not every muscle, and not for every pose. It was hard for me to understand this distinction and it’s only recently that I’ve started to try to find the ease in the pose.
Without further ado:
1. Don’t forget to breathe. Breathing should be slow and measured. If you are panting, or find yourself holding your breath, then you are putting too much effort into your poses. Relax. Go into Child’s Pose for 5 to 10 breaths.
2. Focus your attention on measured even breathing. Focus on your nostrils and feel the breath enter as you inhale and leave as you exhale. Focus only on your breath as you enter and leave every pose. Commit to reset your breath with every exhale. Put effort into effortlessness by breathing slowly and in rhythm with your body.
3. Relax your body. Only certain muscles should work for any one pose. For example: For Warrior 2, the upper back muscles, next to your shoulder blades should be the ones working. Your arms, elbows and hands should be relaxed and easy.
4. Go into Child’s Pose. Child’s Pose is a very restful pose. Even if you are not tense or breathing heavily, take time every so often, once every 20 to 30 minutes, to take a timeout and go into Child’s Pose for 10 to 15 breaths. To do Childs’ Pose: sit on your heels, big toes touching, knees wide apart and bend forward so your forehead is on your mat and arms out in front palm down.
5. Do a Lion’s Breath. It’s nice to simply exhale every once in a while. This can be done in any pose but not while flowing into or out of pose. To do a Lion’s breath: Inhale deeply, then exhale through your mouth roaring like a lion. Try to completely empty your lungs as you roar. Resume your easy, measured breathing and continue onto the next pose.
The worst thing I did wrong was to forget to breathe ( I did and still do a lot of things wrong, but I’m learning). Focus on your breathing and try to keep it measured and even. I have just recently started to be successfull at this in my practice and the difference in my yoga experience is unbelievably better.
Namaste.
