✨✨Careful how you backbend in your transitions✨✨
I get sick of my own voice when teaching sometimes! BUT… we have to lead our students very carefully. The transitional backbends during vinyasa are done so quickly that every week I witness eager yoga students whizzing through it all! This is where I have to often stop the flow and begin my role as a yoga teacher. It’s not easy in a busy class setting, but very necessary if we want to look after our backs and shoulders. ❤️A dear friend who happens to come to my yoga voiced her upset with her lack of extension in her Cobra pose. We chatted about how all of our lovely vertebra are uniquely shaped, and that how some of them don’t particularly enjoy going into flexion where they meet their neighbours in compression. This is where we really need to check if we’re practicing Ahimsa in our asana practice (non violence) The ego can be very demanding!
We can’t force these things, but as yoga teachers we must teach individually. Each spine is different. A subtle backbend is more than enough to counterpose our day and open our heart a little. Do we really want to tap the back of our heads onto our heals as we drop back?! It doesn’t get us to enlightenment any quicker does it? We do, however, need to learn through our regular practice what our spine likes and dislikes. If it’s a case of bone on bone, then one must back off, if it’s a case of tight muscles, tendons and ligaments, then yes over time one can gradually encourage further space and flexibility. If in doubt, less is more and if in doubt ALWAYS ask your teacher for advice 🙂 #backbends #heartopeners #yoga #mindfulness #love #nonviolence #ahimsa #asana #practice #yogaeverydamnday