Heart openers for February

Camel pose.

Your experiences get stored in your body–mental, emotional, and physical. And the body takes the lead. Through practicing yoga, I’ve found I can offer wellness to my body that results in better emotional and mental health. Who knew? But it’s always been true–the body takes the lead.

Besides the fact that this month contains Valentine’s Day, that Hallmark holiday to which we’ve become so attuned it’s easy to lose perspective, I just parted ways with my agent. This is a huge momentum shift. Rather than shut down in a vain attempt to protect myself, I want to stay open and receptive to the next thing that’s coming as a result. The best prescription to face these storms?

HEART OPENERS!

If you close your heart down to anything in the universe… you are then at the mercy of suffering. To have finally deal with suffering, you have to consume it into yourself. Which means you have to live with eyes open be able to keep your heart open in hell .

Ram Dass

PREP WORK:

Whether you’re doing killer arm workouts or on a computer, your shoulders are likely to be tight, so begin gently.

Next up, twisting. Twists are important because to open the heart you’re going to have to do some forgiving. Twists help make that happen.

 

 

 

 

Hugging yourself in this way allows you to begin the process, and it’s a good alternative to “garudasana arms” (elbows stacked, forearms pressed together, the inside of palms facing each other in prayer).
Stack the elbows and hold opposite shoulders. Inhale, and to a slow count of five draw the belly in and gently lift the elbows. At the top, draw the shoulder blades together, lift the chin to look where the wall and ceiling meet.
On the exhale, draw the belly in, draw the elbows toward the ribs and let the head float down.
Place the opposite elbow on top.
Repeat five times.

 

Inhale, lift the chin and chest, draw the belly toward the spine.
Open across the chest by peeling the shoulder back. Move the chin in the same direction as the shoulder. On the open side, press the hand into the floor (if it doesn’t reach the floor use a block so you can get this additional pressure). Take the opposite hand to the knee.
Work with the breath, not the muscles.
Hold for five deep breath, repeat three times.









Roll the shoulder blades together and peel the shoulders back.
Bend at the elbows to gently interlace the fingers and and draw t he knuckles toward the floor.
You do not have to reach the floor, but if you do, press into it and lift the chest.












1. CAMEL POSE (Advanced version pictured above.)

Stand up on your shins, toes tucked
Press your hips forward, look to where the ceiling and wall meet

If you want to take Camel further:

Start against a wall
Keep your hips pressed into the wall while reaching for your heels (you’re ready for this when you can do it without flailing; you should be able to simply reach the heels)
Once you have the heels, lift the chest toward the ceiling
Only drop the head if you have no neck injuries, otherwise, the tilted chin works as well
Eventually, you’ll untuck the toes
Then crawl your hands toward your knees

2. RESTORATIVE BUTTERFLY

Place a bolster, or slim pillow, or folded blanket under your back at the base of your shoulder blades (the bra line)
Place blocks beside your thighs
Draw the soles of your feet together and toward your pubis, rest on the blocks.
If you cactus your arms you’ll get a deeper opening as your shoulder blades roll toward the floor. I like to do rolling belly breaths and place one hand on my belly and the other on my heart.
Rest for anywhere from one to ten minutes.


3. GENTLE BACK BENDING

*You can see the tightness in my shoulders in this pic, the crooked left arm, even after all that opening.

I love back bending with an exercise ball.
If you don’t have an exercise ball, you can drape yourself over your bed.
If you are open enough, interlace your hands. Hold for ten breaths. Release.
Roll up. Roll back down. Interlace your hands the “weird” way. Hold for ten breaths again. Release before you roll back up.
If this is too aggressive, just relax with your arms outstretched behind you.

 

Enjoy the energy boost!

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