Yoga for Postural Imbalances

Ballet dancers have it. So do serious practitioners of pilates, tai chi, and yoga. Those who sit parked in front of computer screens all day? Not so much.

The “it’’ is good posture, and many of us aren’t practicing it these days; posture-related muscle aches and injuries — serious enough to cause missed days of work — occur in more than 600,000 Americans a year, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. And anyone who spends more than 95 percent of their workday sitting is at risk.

Sure, the days of balancing books on our head went by the wayside along with finishing schools and castor oil, and parents now focus more on their children’s grades and after-school activities than their carriage. But some experts yearn for a return to those previous times.

The rest of the story:
http://articles.boston.com/2011-05-23/lifestyle/29574829_1_tai-chi-posture-notebook-computers

Living Your Yoga… Focus on Courage

In this life with all its trials and challenges the ability to show up often requires us to draw upon this much needed resource in order to function at all. I have found in my yoga practice being present, opening the heart, and showing up day after day to experience whatever happens on the mat takes a great deal of courage. Once the “newness” of yoga wears off, the things we see or immediately experience begin to become a part of our everyday experience, many people stop showing up. When a practice becomes ordinary, when life events become challenging, the body becomes tired, experiences an illness or injury to show up becomes less and less important. How then does one continue? What distinguishes the committed from those that allow other things to replace their practice? I believe digging into one’s faith and then putting that into action takes courage.

Let’s face it, sometimes we are just scared, a fear lies deep in the recesses of the heart, one we are afraid to uncover. A dedicated, committed yoga practice begins to uncover some of these fears and often the practitioner gives up, afraid to discover whatever lies hidden. Those that persevere despite any underlying fear demonstrate the true meaning of courage. They continue to show up, allow physical discomfort to flow through, and tears to fall. They stay connected to their practice, and their yoga community. They depend on their interdependence with people and things.

I had the opportunity to witness this recently in a teacher training on adaptive yoga with Mind Body Solutions. People that faced extreme physical challenges through disability continued to show up to their practice. Whether the person was born with the disability or it was a result of an illness or accident, the collective energy these courageous individuals demonstrated was a power strongly felt in my own heart. I witnessed the healing energy of a dedicated yoga practice. Many of these individuals had lost much of their physical sensations, yet the undeniable benefits of yoga were still experienced and kept them coming back. I believe these individuals experienced levels of awareness and presence many physically fit individuals ignore or take for granted. It was evident that fear either was being experienced in the present practice or had been experience in the past. In spite of any fear, courage moved each person to continue to commit, and to show up. Judith Lasater says, “the most important thing to know about courage is that it cradles your action even though you are afraid.” Thankfully yoga is immersed in action. Each pose, each breath, each subtle movement moves you. Sometimes the movement is closer to the fear so the student can develop the awareness necessary for healing. But yoga will always move you through and out of the fear if you continue to demonstrate the courage to show up.
• For more information on adaptive yoga and Mind Body Solutions visit: www.mindbodysolutions.org also check out Waking by Matthew Sanford – a beautiful memoir demonstrating the healing power of yoga