While our poses may look a little different from an anatomical model [thank goodness, right?], that doesn’t mean they’re not aligned. The first time I saw a picture of myself in Side Angle Pose, I was shocked. As in, completely.

All this time I’d thought I was aligned, but when I looked at the photo, I thought my knee looked locked and that my hip was completely misaligned.

So I came into the pose again, building it up bit by bit in front of a mirror to confirm. And that’s when it hit me: what I’d seen as misalignment was actually just the shape of my body. Because I was used to seeing straight lines and angles in yoga books, I hadn’t realised how different it looked on my body. What a revelation.

I encourage you to approach alignment from the inside out—feeling the alignment in your body while also doing your best to set yourself up safely.

Feet

If your feet have a tendency to roll in or out [as many of ours do for a variety of reasons—genetics, injury, etc.], you have an extra special job to do: press them down firmly. Pretty much all the time. Grounding your feet can keep you stable in your poses and can also help you build strength in your feet and ankles to keep you safe, both on and off the mat.

If your feet have a tendency to roll in or out, press them down firmly. Pretty much all the time

If you have any type of foot pain [plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, swelling, etc.], consider taking a shorter stance in standing poses. Sometimes the feet can really be grippy in standing poses because they’re trying to do all the work of keeping your body upright. So whether you’re feeling discomfort in the feet for one of the reasons above or another reason, experiment with a shorter stance. You might also alternate between front- and side-facing poses to give the feet some variety in the work they have to do.

Knees

If I had to name the number one complaint I hear from my students, it’s knees. So let’s break it down [not literally—ouch!]. Pain in the knees usually shows up in two forms: crunching/pain when moving and discomfort when kneeling.

Crunching/pain when moving

When moving into standing poses where the knee is bent [such as Warrior 1, Warrior 2 or Side Angle], go slowly. There is no blue ribbon for rocketing your knee straight down to 90 degrees [although there may be a wrist bracelet if you go too far and end up at the doc’s office]. Instead, move slowly into the pose on your own breath.

For example: “Inhale, bend your knee. Exhale, straighten your leg.” Do this a few times and use it as a guide for where is a good place for your knee to be. That way when you’re ready to hold it, you’ll know where to go.

Pain when “standing” on knees

If you have pain in kneeling poses, you have a few options:

1. Don’t do them. Seriously; there are plenty of other good choices, so why risk something as valuable as your knee?
2. Do the pose in a different way.
3. If you’re pretty much okay on your knees but just don’t like the feeling of your knee digging into the hard ground [and who does, really?], try placing a blanket under your knee and see if that helps. If not, go for option 1 or 2 above.

Legs

We’re often taught to practise Standing Mountain, or Tadasana, with feet together or, at the most, hip distance apart. However, because of our flesh [especially around the thighs], this position [especially feet together] can be uncomfortable at best and unsafe at worst. For example, in my body, if I stand with my feet together, my knees buckle out.

Throwing my body out of alignment to conform to a narrow [literally] idea of a pose is not yoga! If the same is true for you, scrap it! Step your feet a comfortable distance apart and then build your alignment from there. You’re still safe doing it this way—and, in fact, if this is what is best for your body, you’re actually safer.

Shoulders

Many curvy folks have gotten the message—both implicitly and explicitly—that we should take up less space in the world. That our body is not okay and we should change it. Besides the obvious emotional toll this kind of message can take, it can also have an effect on our body. On a subconscious level, we may close down our heart and try to hide a bit from the world. When that happens, it can cause our chest to collapse and shoulders to round in a bit as we try to take up less space, and even an imperceptible amount of this can make a big difference in how you feel in a pose [and in your life].

So lift your sternum and broaden across your collarbones. You have arrived! And you’re gonna take up however much space you dang well please.

Wrists

Wrists are delicate and finicky creatures. And they can cause discomfort in yoga poses—especially poses with an arm balance component like Downward Facing Dog. If your wrists are giving you any trouble in a pose like that, here are a few things to try:

1. Roll up the front edge of your mat and place the roll at the centre/back of your hand. This can take a little pressure off the wrists,
2. Use a yoga wedge to do the same thing,
3. Make fists with your hands and do the pose on your fists [bottom of the hand on the ground, not knuckles],
4. Holding onto 3- or 5-pound dumbbells can create a similar effect to option 3 but may be easier on the hands for some people because the dumbbell is bearing the pressure into the floor,
5. Do another variation of the pose, perhaps with the wall or a chair, that may involve less wrist pressure.

A word on knee and hip replacements

If you have had a knee or hip replacement, you are not alone. My advice is to follow your doctor’s advice on what is best for you. Once you’re operating within those parameters, follow the feel good principle. If it feels good, go for it. If not, find another alternative that does.

Okey doke, now we’re gettin’ to some good stuff! Here are a bunch of suggestions for making your practice curve-specific and comfortable:

Booty

When you have a little more to love in the booty department, it can make it difficult to lie on your back comfortably. It can cause your upper back and neck to get crunched as well as your lower back.

There are several options here:

1. Take your Savasana, or final relaxation pose, in a different position that you find more comfortable,
2. Place a blanket under your head; this is sometimes enough to align the neck and shoulders more comfortably,
3. Put a bolster or rolled-up blanket under your knees to release your lower back,
4. Some combination of 2 and 3 that works for you. Feel free to use these tips in any lying down poses that you’d like.

Belly

I think the belly is the area that makes curvy people most uncomfortable—physically but also emotionally. We’re not usually taught to touch, much less love, our bellies!

I usually recommend two things to give bellies a little more space:

• step your feet wider and
• move the belly skin.

Stepping your feet wider works well in standing poses [such as standing forward bend] and seated poses [such as seated forward bend]. When the feet are too narrow in these positions, the belly can feel stuck, or compressed, by the legs. Stepping the feet wider can reduce or eliminate the issue; feel free to go mat-width or wider—whatever you need to feel good!

Moving the belly skin itself is also a radically awesome option. It’s radical not only because it works so well but because it gets you in touch [literally] with your belly, which is something we can probably all benefit from. I usually offer two options for this: [1] lift the skin up or [2] tuck the skin down. I personally prefer the latter, but I’ve come to find that it’s largely a matter of personal preference. Some people find more help with lifting, others with tucking. I say whatever floats your boat is a-ok!

In a nutshell, though, it’s about as easy as it sounds: take your hands to either side of your belly, closest to your hips. Either move the skin up and out or tuck it down toward your pelvis. Remove your hands and voila! You now have a little more room to move comfortably into your pose.

Excerpted with permission from Permission to Curve by Anna Guest-Jelley

The post Wise words from the woman who pioneered curvy yoga appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

Connected to Source, connected to Self

As a full-time yoga and meditation teacher, practice is essential to my life as I teach directly from my own experiences, on and off the mat. Practice is also essential to me remaining connected to Source, and if I don’t get enough time in my day or week for some asanas, something in me is off and doubts begin to arise.

Asana and meditation are the quickest methods to return me to self awareness, knowledge, fullness and confidence. When I don’t practise regularly, I can lose the thread of connection to Source, leading me to question my thoughts, plans, ideas, dreams and even to spiral deep into the place of doubting my skills as a teacher. Doubt is a tricky beast and robs us almost entirely of the natural confidence that comes from being in touch with Self and how that Self wants expression in the world.

Take time to appreciate yourself

Sometimes this doubt sprouts from getting on the comparison train, fuelled by too much time on social media streams that offer us the tiniest slivers of information into the lives of others. Unplugging for one, two or three days is one way to recognise the strength of your own life, regain footing into your personal mission, and reactivate your ability to stand tall in who you are. Other methods work too: meditation, journaling, returning to an art form like painting, walking in nature, dancing wild and free and a good old fashioned conversation with a trusted friend.

Asana and meditation are the quickest methods to return me to self awareness, knowledge, fullness and confidence

In the yoga, health and wellness circles, we’re all told to “love yourself first”, but if finding the self love is challenging, embrace this vulnerable moment and ask a friend, colleague, or student to remind you what is excellent about you and the way you walk through the world uniquely as an expression of beauty and grace. Then, write down what they say in your journal to re-read, or create art out of the words for your altar. We are mirror reflections of each other, so being in good company can be the best medicine to dissolve the temporary veil on your heart.

Yoga to improve self-confidence

Yoga asana, meditation and surrounding myself with amazing people always bring me back to feeling grounded in who I am and what I am doing, where self doubt cannot sprout further fear. Here is a trusted sequence to regain presence in your Self and feel confident being there.

What you’ll need: yoga mat, two blocks, two blankets.

1. Tadasana

Tadasana is a pose of honesty, vulnerability, and strength as you stand firm, with eyes open to see and be seen, fully.

• Stand with your feet parallel and hip-width apart. Allow your arms to rest by your sides.
• Firm your legs without tension, and begin to breathe ujjayi breath. Allow each inhale to lift and expand the ribcage, and fill fully with the remembrance of your unique gifts and talents.
• Let each exhale be a full acceptance of yourself, softening your body.
• Remain for 5 – 8 breaths.

2. Urdhva Hastasana to Crescents

• Keep your legs strong and, on an inhale, stretch your arms up.
• Root from your pelvis through your legs to the floor and commit to staying strong in yourself, for yourself.
• With the right hand, hold the left wrist and take a side bend to the right, making a crescent shape.
• Keep the pelvis over the heels and root stronger from the pelvis through the legs to the floor, allowing a greater expansion of the left side body.
• Do the same on the other side.
• Repeat 2 – 3 times.

3. Prasarita Padotanasana

• Bring your hands to your hips and take a wide stance, feet about one leg-length apart.
• Turn the feet parallel and firm your legs without tension.
• Ground from the pelvis to the legs as you inhale to fill again with the remembrance of your highest Self. Here, take 2 – 3 breaths.
• Keep the legs firm and on an exhale, extend your spine long and bow forward, touching the floor or blocks.
• Align the pelvis over the heels, and spread your toes to activate the muscles in your legs drawing up, activating a feeling of strength.
• On an inhale, sweep your sitting bones back to extend your legs straighter, and on an exhale, press strong through your legs, extend the spine, and bow the heart forward with a focus on keeping the head in line with your arms.
• Hold for 3 – 5 breaths. Bring the hands to hips and, on an inhale, come up to stand.

4. Malasana

• Prepare a blanket roll for under your heels.
• Keep your feet about mat-width apart, turn them out slightly, and place the blanket roll under your heels.
• Spread the toes so the legs are strong and bend the knees coming to a squat shaped position.
• Lengthen from your lumbar spine up to lift the chest, folding the palms in front of the heart.
• Continue to let the pelvis move down to the floor as you inhale deeply to lift the chest.
• Remain for 2 – 3 breaths.

5. Marjarasana

• Come down to table top position, where the hands are lined up outer-shoulder distance apart and the creases of the wrist are straight across.
• Walk the knees back just past the line of your hips and tuck your toes under.
• Remain steady with your breath, and begin to move naturally at first, allowing hips to sway in circles, or moving into child’s pose. Return to a steady table top position.
• With your inhales, fill fully through the torso lifting the heart forward and up, allowing the lower back to arch and the spine to soften toward the floor [the “cow” position].
• Exhale and draw the spine to the sky, lengthening the tailbone down, and rounding the back [the “cat” position]. Let each inhale fill with remembrance, and let each exhale turn in with affirmation.
• Repeat for 5 – 8 breaths.

6. Wide low lunge with a twist

• From a table top position, step your right foot forward outside the right hand in a low lunge position.
• Let your right foot turn out 10 degrees or so, and allow your knee to align over the middle of the foot.
• Keep the back foot’s toes tucked under and firm your legs by drawing from your feet up into the pelvis.
• Keeping your legs strong, allow the pelvis to release forward and bend the front knee.
• Remain up on fingertips or blocks to allow deep inhales and exhales to lift the heart.
• Keep the legs stable and the right knee aligned, and on an inhale reach your right arm to the sky, opening the right side body in a twist.
• Extend from pelvis to legs and with each inhale, lift the heart higher. With each exhale, create length in the twist. Repeat inhaling to lengthen and exhaling to twist 3 – 5 breaths.
  Inhale to exit the twist, return to table top, and change legs.

7. Ekapada Rajakapotasana or Pigeon Pose [with preparation and quad stretch]

• Begin in table top position and slide your right knee forward and wide, aligned outside your right wrist.
• Allow the right foot and shin to come up away from the pelvis as much as is comfortable, extending your left leg straight back from the pelvis.
• Come down onto forearms, adjust so the pelvis is parallel to the floor and your weight is evenly spread on both legs.
• Tuck the left foot toes under, and begin to strengthen your legs by drawing from your feet through the legs to the pelvis, as if you were keeping your knees together. Stay on forearms with your head aligned.
• With every inhale, lengthen the torso, bringing the heart more forward. With every exhale, release the pelvis and legs down and back.
• For extra support you can place a blanket horizontally under the front of the pelvis so it supports both legs. Remain in this pose for 3 – 5 breaths.

[Quad Stretch]

• Remain steady in the legs, and begin to come up vertical in the spine. Use blocks under each hand to give you more length if needed.
• When upright, bend your left knee and, with the left hand, hold the top of the left foot and draw it in toward the outer edge of your pelvis for a quad stretch. Draw your knees toward midline and toward the pelvis, and lift up while you pull the left foot in.
• Keep the right hand on a block if needed to maintain length of the torso, and presence with deep breath for this intense stretch. Remain in this pose for 2 – 3 breaths. Repeat with left leg forward.

8. Virasana

• Hero’s pose can be supported with one or two blankets folded, placed just under the pelvis.
• Stand on your knees with your thighs parallel to each other, and feet lined up wider than your pelvis. Place the blankets between your heels, not between your knees.
• Spread your toes, activate your legs, and sit down on the blankets. If there is pain or discomfort in the knees, try a higher prop to lift the pelvis and take pressure off the knees.
• Rest your hands on your thighs, close your eyes, and in this meditative position, return your awareness to the remembrance of your unique talents. Allow every inhale for remembrance, and every exhale to
  settle your pelvis down, releasing into this affirmation.
• Remain 5 – 8 breaths in this seated breath meditation. To come out
  of Virasana, come to table top position and stretch the legs back one
  at a time.

9. Ardha matseyandrasana

• Bring the right foot and shin forward as you did for pigeon pose. Take the left foot and place it flat to the floor outside your right thigh.
• Be sure both sides of your pelvis are equally weighted; feel free to use a blanket to create this steady foundation.
• With your fingertips to the floor behind you, engage the legs and root the pelvis down.
• With every inhale, extend long through your spine to lift the chest, and fill with remembrance of your Self.
• Stay tall in the spine, inhale and move your right arm up, and on the exhale, cross your body placing the right elbow to the outside of the left knee. Remain tall in the spine with each inhale, and with each exhale, move the chest into the twist.
• Remain in the pose for 3 – 5 breaths. Inhale to release out of the twist and change legs.

10. Supta baddakonasana

• For the final round, a restorative position that opens the chest yet helps you feel grounded is the best choice.
• Place a blanket roll lengthwise on your mat behind you. Bring your feet together to touch and allow the knees to open to the sides.
• Keeping your pelvis on the mat, lay your torso down on the blanket so it lines up just under your spine.
• Let your arms be free and open to the sides, and be sure your head is supported on the prop. Feel free to add extra support if needed under each knee. The blanket can feel like a wonderful support, as if you are being held up as who you are, heart wide open, presenting yourself once again fully to the world.
• Remain 5 – 10 minutes.

With these yoga poses, you will be able to find a path to your inner self. Staying connected is always the answer to self-doubt.

The post 10 asanas to supercharge your confidence appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.