When you notice that you lack energy and have trouble continuing with your tasks, it’s time for a restorative break. These exercises that harmonize body and breathing will help you overcome the slump.
1. CLAP YOUR HANDS TO RELAX
Any sound can modify the mood, but the most important is the one that is made with the body itself.
Clapping around the body mobilizes the energy of the organism, transforms it and allows to recover the lost mood. With the applause, the tissues vibrate and mental stimuli are activated.
To do this you must follow the following indications:
Stand or sit.
Upward path. He begins to clap from the pelvis, making with his hands and arms a circle that goes up the left side of the body until he reaches the head. On this tour he applauds seven times.
Downward travel. Continue clapping as many times descending the right side of the body to the pelvis.
Do it three times each way and then observe what happened.
2. OPEN YOUR BREATH AND FREE YOURSELF
Listen to your breath and feel where on the trunk it expands as you breathe in.
Place your right hand on that point and take five breaths. Feel how the air moves your hand up and down.
Put your left hand where you have not felt the expansion of the trunk and observe for five breaths if there is really expansion or not.
Imagine that the air you breathe in goes to the palms of your hands from your lungs and that from the palms of your hands you breathe it out through your lungs through your nose.
At the end, leave your hands at the sides of your body, listen carefully to the breath for 10 breaths and observe how it has changed.
3. PALMEA TO CLEAR YOURSELF
Put your palms facing each other and rub them together in circles.
With your wrists relaxed, pat vigorously with your fingertips the lung area, under the armpits and the upper back, as far as you go.
Rub your neck with your palms, from the top of your chest to the nape of your neck and under your jaw.
With your fingertips on your head, pat very lightly from the forehead to the nape of your neck
Stroke the face 3 times with the palms to the tips of the ears. Increase the pressure.
Dry wash with your palms from the forehead to the nape of your neck and from the neck forward with your arms relaxed.
Listen to your body three breaths.
4. SQUEEZE AND RELEASE YOUR FEET
Standing or sitting, with your legs bent, press lightly with your left toes against the floor and release.
Repeat five times and observe the differences with the other foot.
Press with the instep and release, with the heel and release. Listen and compare your feet.
Raise your leg 1 cm and then let it fall to lead.
Repeat the exercise with the other foot.
5. RAISE YOUR SHOULDER BLADES AND RELAX
When you raise the shoulder blades, the breath opens and you relax the neck.
Standing, drop your head forward, continue to drop your torso with arms and hands, your lower back and your entire trunk.
With the trunk forward, make a circle with the shoulder blades directing the shoulders towards the ears, the ceiling and backwards towards the buttocks.
Hold this position for five seconds and then drop shoulders, shoulder blades and arms.
Rest two breaths and repeat three times.
When finished, pick up the trunk upwards as if you were pulled from behind to the ground. Finally, place your head on the trunk and feel how the space in the chest area and your mood has changed.
6. VIBRATE YOUR SPINE
With your feet apart, center your weight between your legs.
Bring the weight to your toes, return to the center of the foot and repeat slightly separating the heels from the ground.
When breathing, stand on tiptoe, place your palms parallel to the floor, and stretch your shoulders and hands toward the floor, as if pressing down.
Hold your breath and count to four.
Release the strength of the arms and vibrate a little from the heel, go up and down slightly without touching the ground and bring the vibration to the whole body. When you reach the ground continue to vibrate your knees so that they transmit the vibration to the hip, trunk, head and arms.
Rest, listen for five breaths and repeat three times.
WATCH YOURSELF AND BREATHE
When the day goes wrong, it’s time to change your attitude. First of all, the first step is to recognize when and where our mood changed, to realize what may have affected us and to what extent.
Then we will have to make him want to get out of there. Two resources that we all have are breathing and the organization of the body with respect to the earth.
Trust the breath. Observe it without manipulating it and you will see how it improves.
Feel the weight of the body. Notice how it is distributed and makes a minimal pendulum movement from side to side or back and forth to notice the parts of the body that from the supports are projected towards the sky.
You will feel that you gain space and improve your mood. The day will change for the better!
Anthroposophy took up the word eurythmy and with it created a technique that transcends the performing arts and can be useful as therapy and in schools.
Mysterious, fascinating or beautiful are just some of the qualifiers that arise when contemplating a representation of eurythmy. The dancers wear tunics and handkerchiefs, move almost always facing the public, erect, with elegant bearing and often with their arms raised.
The uninitiated spectator may believe that he is facing some kind of contemporary choreography, but in reality, it is a discipline with a century of history, its own rules and an often therapeutic approach, since it is often used as a complementary treatment in chronic diseases.
ANTHROPOSOPHY AND HARMONIOUS MOVEMENT
Eurythmy, which can be translated as “harmonious movement” or “correct”, was born in 1912 as a result of the inspiration of the philosopher and visionary Rudolf Steiner, also promoter of Waldorf education, biodynamic agriculture, anthroposophical medicine and anthroposophy or “spiritual science”, which bases all these proposals.
Marije Grommers has been practicing it for 25 years and for fifteen years she has applied it therapeutically, currently at the AB Clínica in Barcelona. “I especially like to work with the healing possibilities of eurythmy – which for me is a path of self-knowledge – discovering something new every time, living in the moment and developing creativity,” he says.
Eurythmy restores health through the continuous practice of proper movements. It is defined as a creative and free art that through certain body gestures tries to make visible the formative or archetypal movements that occur in the inner world and that, according to Rudolf Steiner, are also behind speech (prose and poetry) and music. It is therefore not a question of offering above all something beautiful, but of revealing one’s inner experiences according to a very precise language of gestures.
RHYTHM, MUSIC AND WORDS
One difference between eurythmy and other bodily disciplines such as Eastern martial arts is that the center of soul movement is the heart region. The experience of movement is therefore very different from the one that has as its axis that center located about three fingers below the navel (the area called haraen in the Japanese tradition or tan tien in the Chinese).
Letters have great significance in eurythmy. “The formative forces of consonants,” explains Marije, “are equivalent to the formative forces of nature, of the created world. These forces are reflected in the functioning of the organs. As for vowels, they express what is happening inside us.”
Vowels and consonants can be used together or separately to stimulate the organism, promote good psychic and emotional adaptation, and strengthen the “I”.
Music, which can accompany the movements, also produces a specific therapeutic effect.
The therapist can choose gestures and sounds that act both on emotions and on physiological processes (such as circulation or digestion) in order to activate or regulate them.
In addition, walking and moving in certain rhythms can have an overall stimulating or calming effect. The sessions with the therapist are individual, last 30 to 40 minutes and can be done once or several times a week. They always take place indoors, even if the photos in this article were taken outdoors. A typical treatment can last two months and includes daily home performance of the exercises learned.
These exercises can help you practice it at home:
1. EXPANSION
In the “gesture of the letter a” the arms open in a movement of expansion towards the world, with joy, admiration or contemplation, receiving something new. Trace it from top to bottom, while the legs remain in position of A, is indicated, for example, in the case of allergies (together with a sequence of sounds).
2. VERTICALITY
In the “letter e gesture” the arms touch, forming a cross. With it the person affirms, feels himself and protects himself, creating a limit. Focusing on the “gesture of E” also builds and strengthens verticality. The gesture stimulates the vital forces in the body. A variant of the “E-gesture” is the “E-dexterity”, in which the “E-gesture” with the arms is accompanied by an “E-gesture” (crossing) with the legs.
3. AFFIRMATION
The “gesture of i” expresses the human being as an individual in balance between the forces of light and darkness (between heaven and earth, inside and outside). Forming the “I gesture” he moves from the center outwards, feeling his arms stretched. The two arms form a line, which expresses an affirmation of self.
4. INNER CIRCLE
In the “o gesture”, the arms form a circle, that is, an interior space. The gesture has the round quality, which it envelops with sympathy, without losing itself. An indication of the gesture is the strengthening of the diaphragm. To do this, the “o gesture” is formed and you walk in a circle.
5. BETWEEN OUTSIDE AND INSIDE
In the “g-gesture”, the arms move from the center outwards, creating an interior space for new possibilities. It implies liberation. It confirms inwardly and at the same time creates a limit.
6. LIFE IS RENEWED
The “gesture of l” expresses the movement of life in continuous renewal. The hands and arms move upwards, opening freely like a flower to the world. Then they are released downwards, to rise again from the depths.
The gesture signifies life unfolding freely in a continuous movement. In therapeutic application it is a harmonious movement, a balance between inside and outside, between the forces of gravity and those of lightness. The l sound is related to the water element, so the gesture can stimulate the liquid nature of the human being.
A GROWTH METHOD FOR ANYONE
To play music it is necessary that the instrument is well tuned. Similarly, the body, mind and soul must be in harmony and not suffer limitations to develop eurythmic body movement.
But if the person is not well, eurythmy also becomes a therapy. It can be, in fact, a method of growth for anyone who walks in search of balance and further development of their possibilities. Eurythmy expresses with gestures the movements of the inner world, of the soul and of the spirit.
Steiner wrote that “in curative eurythmy is reflected inwardly what in artistic eurythmy is enthusiastically experienced outwardly.”
WHO PRACTICES IT
Therapeutic eurythmy is practiced by people who have received rigorous training of 6 years (4 artistic and 2 therapeutic) and are able to decide which movements can help a person regain physical, emotional and spiritual balance.
Eurythmy is recommended for diseases with a long development, such as asthma and respiratory diseases, hypertension and other cardiovascular disorders, stress and tiredness, hormonal problems, sleep, nervous and psychiatricdisorders.
Other indications that have been shown to benefit from eurythmy sessions are child development problems or learning difficulties.
With these chinkung exercises, based on attention to essential aspects of our being, you will be able to reconnect and synchronize with nature.
Chikung, the body technique based on traditional Chinese medicine, which cultivates energy, allows us to tune our interior with the exterior and helps us gain energy instead of losing it. A calm energy that synchronizes us with nature.
To do this, we must train attention, because it allows the neurons that govern bodily and mental functions to feel supported and function better to adapt to the environment. We will apply attention to three interrelated parts of our being: the breath, the most vital element; the parts of the body that touch the ground, and the visualization of what in chikung is known as the six directions of heaven.
START BY OBSERVING THE BREATH
To tune in to the outside we will start practicing with the breath at any time of the day, for ten minutes or, if you cannot, for at least one breath.
It’s about accepting the breath – every breath – as it is. From one inspiration to the next, without manipulating it, observing it. We will see that there are longer and shorter breaths, faster and slower, deeper and shallower.
THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LAND
It is difficult to understand and experience gravity, because gravity does not change and the brain only understands what changes.
To experience it, we will start by lying on the floor on our backs, paying attention to the surfaces of the body that touch the ground. In this way we recognize what is there at this moment and give the brain the key to the change that occurs throughout the exercise.
THE SIX DIRECTIONS OF HEAVEN
It is about visualizing or imagining how gravity projects us towards the sky and towards the ground, forward and backward, to the right and left.
We will start standing, feeling the center of our body at the hip and the parts of the body linked to the earth: hips, legs and feet, and its prolongation: the ground we step on and the earth.
Then, the parts of the body linked to the sky: trunk and arms, spine, head, ceiling of the room and, finally, the sky. We compare them, observing which of the two directions we visualize better. We continue with the visualization of the anterior and posterior part of the body, and the right and left side.
Directing attention in these six directions broadens them and prepares us to welcome and exchange what comes to the thought or the senses from a greater and more generous dimension. And remember, you can perform this exercise anytime, anywhere.
HOW TO PREPARE A SESSION
Stop what you are doing and collect things so you do not have anything pending.
Look for a place in the house that is ventilated and has natural light, if possible.
Stand up and listen to your breathing.
Give yourself a gentle massage by making circles on the skin all over your body.
It starts with the feet until it reaches the head on the inside of the body. And from head to toe through the back.
Listen to the breath, its rhythm, and feel how it changes.
When performing the exercises, the movement is tuned to the harmonic and natural breathing that we have. This sets the pace of the exercise.
CHIKUNG EXERCISES TO CONNECT WITH YOUR ENERGY SOURCES
AWAKENING OF INNER ENERGY
Rub your palms together in circles until warm.
Spread your hands apart a little and feel their warmth. Separate them a little more, until they are as if they formed a ball of energy in the space created between them.
The palm of the right hand will be up and the one of the left hands will be down, holding the ball. We caress the ball until we put the palm of the left hand up looking at the palm of the right hand, down.
Then place the palm of your right hand on your chest and the palm of your left on your abdomen.
Feel the heat and how the breath moves your hands, for ten breaths.
Exchange hands and listen during
10 more breaths.
OPENING OUR BREATH
Standing, with your legs apart as if you were riding a horse (rider’s position) and your arms at your sides, listen to the part of the body that expands when you breathe in.
From there, put your arms crossed with the palms of your hands towards the earth. Then bring your thumbs up and back making a spiral with your arms to the shoulder blades. The head and chest open to the sky, the abdomen contracts slightly in the direction of the back, and the back is aligned with the thighs to the knees.
Breathe in and out in this position 5 times. In the sixth exhalation it returns to the center and again gently leaves the arms at the sides.
Repeat the exercise three times and listen to the effect on your breathing.
SPIRAL TO NOT FALTER
Standing, in the position of the rider, opening his arms in a cross with the palms of his hands down.
Pass the weight to the left foot while making a spiral with the trunk, left arm and right arm. To do this, bring your left thumb and arm up and out (the left shoulder blade will go down), and the arm and thumb of your right hand down and back. You will draw a spiral with each arm. Follow with the trunk the spiral of the left arm, following with the gaze the left hand.
Breathe three times. Go back to the center and make exactly the same movement to the right.
GAIN POISE AND EMPATHY
Standing, with legs slightly bent, arms relaxed at the sides of the body and palms facing thighs.
Collect the air with the palms of your hands putting them towards the center and upwards. When you reach chest height, rotate the palms of your hands bringing your thumbs up, in, down and again out, making a spiral in the arms.
Then stretch your arms and body upwards, while standing on tiptoe and looking up at the sky. Then go down the sides.
Put your feet back on the floor and squat down, until you reach your legs with your arms. The head looks inward.
Repeat the exercise
GATHER ENERGY AND SERENITY
Place the centers of the palms of the hands one on top of the other and both on the center of gravity of the body: 4 transverse fingers below the navel.
Feel the heat that is produced. Listen to the breath without trying to manipulate it.
When exhaling try to visualize a ball of light inside the center of gravity, a light that expands occupying the space left by the air that leaves.
When inspiring, visualize how the air enters and the light diminishes without disappearing, to expand again when exhaling.
Visualize this sequence for ten breaths. You can repeat it by adding a slight shift of weight towards the heels when breathing in and towards the pad and toes when exhaling.
If you want to start doing Pilates at home, I recommend you start with simple exercises like those of this Pilates routine. You will quickly gain strength, balance and agility.
It is practiced by athletes, dancers, actors and thousands and thousands of people to whom the changes they have experienced in their body and in their mood has hooked them.
A body work done with awareness that improves your concentration and helps you reduce stress; a physical workout that tones all your muscles evenly, that refines you and helps you feel fit; a method that perfectly complements any sports practice, that avoids the mistakes of other gymnastic disciplines and helps you prevent injuries: all that is Pilates … and much more.
Would you like to try? I have prepared a Pilates routine with simple exercises to do at home, a series of basic exercises that work strength, coordination and balance.
PILATES ROUTINE AT HOME
To practice these exercises, you only need a mat and a little while a day. While doing them you should always keep in mind these three points:
Control when performing movements is essential. Stay focused during exercises.
The movement always starts in the center of the body, that is, in the abdominal area. Contract it to perform the movement with control.
During the exercises you should practice diaphragmatic breathing and coordinate it with the movement. This breathing will allow you to keep your abdomen contracted while filling your lungs.
At the end of this routine, sit on your heels, in a prayer position, to relax your lower back and reap the benefits.
THE BRIDGE (I): STRENGTHENS THE BACK AND BUTTOCKS
To start with this Pilates routine, I propose The Bridge Pose, a simple Pilates exercise that relaxes the spine and strengthens the muscles of the back of the body, especially the buttocks.
Lie on your back with your arms stretched out at your sides and palms down. Bend your knees.
Elevate the pelvis vertebra by vertebra until it is in the position of the bridge, with the support on the scapulae (1a).
Raise one leg towards the ceiling, your foot pointed, as in the photo below.
THE BRIDGE (II): STRENGTHENS THE BACK AND BUTTOCKS
Once you are in this position, continue with the exercise to complete The Bridge:
Flex the foot of the elevated leg and lower it until it is parallel to the ground.
Gently bring the same leg back, returning to the pointed foot.
If it’s hard for you, put your hands under your hip. The heels should be close to the buttocks and the legs are the width of the hips apart.
ROLL LIKE A BALL: IMPROVE YOUR BODY ALIGNMENT
Rolling like a ball is an exercise that can cost at first, because it forces you to keep your abs active. But once it is mastered it is a very tasty exercise that massages the entire back. It also increases blood circulation and improves whole-body alignment and balance.
Sit with your feet in the air and your knees slightly apart and hold on to your ankles.
Bring your gaze to the navel throughout the exercise, as if you wanted to make a ball with your body.
Let the body roll back and return by contracting the navel to return.
Try not to create tension in the neck. To do this, avoid rolling too far back.
ROCKER WITH OPEN LEGS: GAIN STRENGTH AND BALANCE
The Open Leg Rocker is a posture of control and balance that makes the posterior muscles more flexible.
Sit down and raise your legs forming a “V”. Keep your legs shoulder-width apart and, if you can, point your feet.
Hold on to your ankles. If you don’t arrive, by the calves.
It deepens the lumbar flexion and also curves the upper part creating a C to roll backwards without reaching the head.
Roll forward to return to the initial V position stabilizing shoulder blades and lengthening your upper back again.
If you can’t do it with your legs straight, you can flex them throughout the movement or during balance.
ROLL BACKWARDS: ACTIVATES THE ENTIRE BELLY
Rolling Back promotes spinal mobility while massaging and stretching the entire back and back of the legs. It also activates the deep abdominal musculature.
Lie on your back with your legs joined and extended, abductor muscles contracted, and arms outstretched against the floor. The palms look down.
Raise your legs straight up, while inhaling, little by little, and without interrupting the movement bring them above the head back. If you can, do it until you touch the ground on the other side; if not, as far as you go. If you need it, help your hands by supporting them in the lower back.
It is essential to connect with your center, as always in Pilates. The key is that the strength comes from the abdominal muscles. Push yourself from your center to perform the movement.
Avoid feeling tension in the neck and maintain space between the shoulders and ears.
SWIMMING: TONES AND LENGTHENS YOUR SPINE
With Swimming (Swimming) and the next posture that you will find below (The Arch) you strengthen all the anterior muscles of the body, strengthen and lengthen the spine and work on coordination. Perform one after the other.
Lie on your stomach, with your pelvis and spine in a neutral position, your arms in front and your legs hips width apart.
Raise one arm and the opposite leg, well extended and with the feet pointed (5a).
Go alternating arm and leg, with the abdomen contracted and stuck to the ground, as if swimming.
THE ARCH: STRENGTHENS THE ANTERIOR MUSCULATURE
Do the Swan dive after the previous exercise:
Rest your hands under your shoulders and spread your legs a little further apart.
Extend your arms and, pulling up and inside the abs (as if you were climbing the zipper of an imaginary corset), lift the chest from the mat so that your body is supported only by the pelvis.
Let go of your hands, breathe in and swing forward to your sternum, with arms in front, palms facing and legs straight.
With the same impulse, connecting with the center and contracting the buttocks, swing in the opposite direction while raising the chest and bringing your arms back.
Remember to sit on your heels, in a prayer position, to relax your lower back when you finish this Pilates routine.
Learning from what happens to us and moving forward requires openness. With yoga you open your body to open your mind.
A stable state, however desirable, is not a fixed thing. It could be said that it is simply a facet of the process in which one constantly loses and recovers the central axis.
This is a more realistic look at stability and therefore more achievable and enjoyable. If you want stability, you must be willing to lose it for a moment.
Anything can take us out of our “stability”: a thought that does not serve our vital purpose, an alien look, something that we consider to harm us, relapse into a bad habit … They are situations that are part of life experience and teach us how the mind works.
If we accept that the mind has its cycles, phases and biorhythms like any other bodily organ, we will enjoy its waves and see the stability behind its constant currents: that awakened gaze that observes everything.
ASANA TO OPEN YOUR BODY AND MIND
Experience is not enough to learn, but it is the openness that one has to experience that allows one to absorb and act according to the lessons that life offers. Being open to what happens in life allows you to remain humble and recognize that each person and each event is a mystery whose causes and origins are partly unknown.
This openness to life is pure health, since the mind that thinks it “knows” is usually a closed mind that does not apply other ways of seeing things or behaving. A closed mind entails suffering, because one of the greatest pleasures of life is evolution, growth. In Chinese medicine it is said that every stagnation produces pain.
Movement in learning involves changes in views (and behaviors) that revitalize the mind. Mental health, in part, depends on our willingness to learn and grow, to be able to apologize, forgive and understand that, although there are lessons that mark, each person and situation is different and offers new opportunities.
From a solid base you can open your chest well, expand your breathing and experience new sensations.
Trust your strength
With your right foot firmly anchored to the ground, rest your left instep on a stable seat.
Notice the strength of your legs and how they hold you. Trust them and your balance.
Open
Inhale and lengthen your spine until your heart looks up at the sky.
Turn your shoulders back and bring your palms together in Kespana mudra (bringing your index fingers together and crossing the rest of your fingers).
Breathe and observe
Breathe deeply into the area of your body where you notice the stretch the most.
Also notice the mental effect that bodily openness and deep breathing have on you.
Undo the asana and repeat it by supporting the right instep.
CONNECT WITH YOUR STRENGTH WITH THE POSTURE OF THE GODDESS
Strength is often associated with the power to endure some seemingly unbearable condition. In reality, when such inevitable events occur throughout life, the innate force arises and emerges.
Now, strength, endurance, freshness and drive – those desired mental qualities – increase with conscious training. The ability to keep the mind at peace when it is hurting takes practice.
Start by noticing the countless ways life sustains you: gravity, your feet, legs, spine, food, farmers, your intestines, oxygen, trees, the sun’s rays.
Our life is the product of an entire existence, which dances and self-balances despite constant movements and turbulence. By recognizing that the whole existence sustains life, you will appreciate that force is not an individual matter, but a quality of nature.
Life continues to grow and flourish, despite the difficulties. Life is unstoppable precisely because of its strength and flexibility, because of its ability to adapt to any circumstance, making the best of it.
Utkata konasana with the mudra of the heart and courage
In this variant of the goddess posture, we lay hands on Abhaya Hridaya Mudra. This mudra symbolizes the courage of the heart and helps you connect with your own strength.
How to get into the pose
Spread your feet apart until your knees fall on your heels. Exhale and bend your knees 90 degrees. Tuck your abs inward, with your spine upright.
The position of the hands
Cross the right wrist over the left in front of the sternum, bringing the backs together with the palm’s outwards. Start by placing your index fingers: the right index finger wraps around the left.
Next, join your right middle finger with your left. With the little fingers follow the scheme of the index fingers: the right little finger surrounds the left.
Finally, bring your ring finger and thumb closer together to make a seal.
Breathe and feel
Bring the mudra to the root of your heart, so that the hands rest on the base of the sternum. Breathe consciously feeling the strength of the posture.
ASANA TO REGAIN EMOTIONAL STABILITY
A stable state, however desirable, is not a fixed thing. It could be said that it is simply a facet of the process in which one constantly loses and recovers the central axis. This is a more realistic look at stability and therefore more achievable and enjoyable. If you want stability, you must be willing to lose it for a moment.
Anything can take us out of our “stability”: a thought that does not serve our vital purpose, an alien look, something that we consider to harm us, relapse into a bad habit … They are situations that are part of life experience and teach us how the mind works.
If we accept that the mind has its cycles, phases and biorhythms like any other bodily organ, we will enjoy its waves and see the stability behind its constant currents: that awakened gaze that observes everything.
Variant of Utthita Trikonasana
Lucid observation allows us to see what is inherent in the body-mind whole. If instead of identifying ourselves with thoughts we identify with the consciousness that observes them, we will gain freedom and a placid stability.
In this alternative to the classic triangle yoga pose you work on stability while connecting with the life that moves within you.
Create the foundation on which you stand
Separate your legs about a meter, to the point where you feel stable. Explore the limits and make sure you are stretching the inside and back of your legs well.
Rotate and enlarge the stretch
Turn your right foot outwards and, bending at the hip, lean with your spine well elongated. You should notice how even greater stretching occurs in the legs.
Place your arms while you feel and watch
The posture of the arms marks the variant. Bring your left arm behind to hold your right and rest your right hand, sideways, on your heart. Notice how your heart beats while keeping your body stable in this position.
ASANA TO OPEN THE HEART
Do you feel like you’re doing things you wouldn’t do if you didn’t receive love or appreciation in return? Do you dress, talk, eat, walk in a certain way, or say that you agree with something that you are not fully agreed with because you believe that you will be more accepted or loved?
Do you lie to yourself or others about your tastes, preferences, or feelings? In what aspect of your life do you think that if you told the truth, you would no longer be loved or accepted in the same way?
These are important questions. When answered attentively, they help the heart feel confident and express itself freely.
If you feel that you cannot show your truth to yourself or others, it is advisable to find out the effect this belief has on your behavior, your psycho-emotional state and even you’re breathing. By questioning these beliefs, we can free the mind from fixed ideas that separate us from both ourselves and others.
Knowing what the personal truth is – and living it – requires an open mind that accepts the different truths and tastes of each one, including oneself. An open mind leads to an open heart.
In this dynamic asana you open the heart and help to release it without disconnecting from what is happening inside you.
Backward twisting
Inhale, turn your spine backwards, and extend an arm to the same side that your spine turns. Place the other hand over your heart.
Stay in this pose for a couple of breaths noticing their heartbeat.
Switching sides
Exhale and return to the center with both hands to your heart. Inhale and twist to the other side.
Turn with your breath
After taking at least two breaths on each side, alternate each breath with each movement.
You can also add a little smile for the simple fact that you are in touch with your own heart and its continuous movement.
THE YOGA POSE OF THE KING OF BIRDS
This yoga pose can be chosen between seeing it as a set of joint push-ups and a balance game or as the representation or a kinesthetic symbol of the power that Garuda embodies.
Garuda, as told in the mythical story of the Ramayana, is the king of eagles and serves the god Vishnu as a mount when he helps humanity to free itself from demons. It symbolizes strength, power, determination, service and perfect alignment with the essential in oneself, with our deepest seed or the divine, in order to save our humanity.
The Vision of the Eagle
By performing this posture, you can feel and relive the power, determination and concentration that its execution requires, focusing on seeking balance and harmony not only to improve your own well-being but also to put it at the service of other living beings.
Not only is the strength and focus of attention worked, but the heart is opened to the world.
Position yourself with determination
Shift your weight onto your right foot.
Exhale
Exhale and curl your left leg over your right, flexing your hips slightly to find a stable point. If you find it difficult to keep your balance, you can lean against the wall.
Inspires
Breathe in and cross your left arm over your right, curling your elbows and hands as in the photo. If it costs you, you can take a handkerchief in your hands.
Keep your balance
Observe a spot on the ground in a fixed and gentle way. Breathe naturally and fluidly between 10 and 30 times.
Repeat the posture by switching sides.
Important
It is preferable not to practice Garudasana if you have any knee problems.
WARRIOR WITH LOTUS, THE ASANA TO GAIN FREEDOM
Growing up is inevitable. We all do it: we learn from our actions; we revalue our decisions and we draw conclusions. But growing personally has an added ingredient, and that is the intention, the desire to free oneself from a mind conditioned by the past, habits and mental noise. It requires an open, light and flexible mind to assess each moment and its options.
To grow is to develop a mind that does not eagerly pursue pleasure or run away from pain, and instead is present and serene in the face of what happens. One trains oneself by accommodating oneself to pain without rejecting, denying or opposing it; welcoming every expression of reality, however unwanted.
Living in the present is basic for personal growth, because the present is precisely where we live. If one is not fully aware and attentive to the present, how will one be able to grow?
Sometimes it can hurt, as children hurt when their teeth grow, but maturity is an enriching process. In it lies true freedom.
Warrior with lotus, asana to calm the mind
The objective of this asana is to generate an energy at the base of the body, in the legs, to feel how we can sustain ourselves in any situation of life, while watching the lotus grow between our hands.
Enter the posture
Standing, bring your right leg back, well extended, while bending your left leg.
Feel the earth
Pay attention to the soles of your feet, support them well on the ground and be grateful for the soil that supports you.
With your legs firm, grow your spine backwards.
Grow the flower
Raise your arms to the sky by putting your thumbs and pinkes together, and reveal your other fingers to the sun to create the lotus flower with your hands.
Make the flower grow while keeping the roots firmly in the ground: that’s how it grows.
By practicing tai chi, you relate to the Universe in a more conscious and full way. You get more physical well-being and greater calm. That’s why some very simple tai chi exercises are ideal to practice at home and combat stress.
There are days when we feel uneasy. Any news upsets us, we react stressed to the children and at work we do not perform what we should. We do not know what to do, we feel sad, with a lot of emotions, about to capsize, and the body warns us feeling uncomfortable. It is a good time to apply the fundamental principles of tai chi, which will help us ward off stress.
It is a general remedy, because the practice of tai chi allows you to integrate all parts of your being. This is the objective of a technique that was born in China and that gives us back the lost serenity to live fully. It belongs to the meditative arts and proposes different sequences of movements that keep you on the border that separates tension and relaxation.
Three essential characteristics of tai chi are that body and mind are conceived as a unit, that the movements are circular and spiral, and that they are executed slowly. Thanks to these qualities, the regular and periodic practice of tai chi generates all its benefits.
A PATH TO HEALING
The unity of body and mind reduces stress, awakens attention without stress and increases defenses.
Circular and spiral movements follow the structures of bones and muscles, which are toned, invigorated and consolidated. Placing the coccyx in a natural way allows the lumbar vertebrae to open and protects the spine. This avoids the back pain so common and improves the position and alignment of the body.
Slow gestures allow you to follow the internal processes of the body, such as the moistening of the eye or skin, the movements of the digestive system, kidneys, lymphatic system … By tuning the exterior with the interior, we develop and facilitate its operation. And we enter emotionally in another more leisurely, calm and human rhythm. For all these reasons, it is ideal for before or after any continuous physical effort.
We propose 5 very simple exercises that you can practice at home to combat stress.
1. BALANCE INSIDE AND OUT
This posture is also known as Jin Ji Du Li.
Standing, with his gaze fixed on a point far from eye level, he feels the contact of the soles of his feet with the ground. Lift your right foot and place it as in the photo.
Feel your left foot firmly rooted in the ground, activate the abdominal muscles by bringing it slightly inward towards the spine and, from the rooting, notice how you project towards the sky.
Extend your arms to balance. At first, you can place a finger touching a wall for stability. Start by holding the position for five seconds.
When you feel comfortable, try the exercise with your eyes closed.
2. CONNECT EARTH AND SKY
We are made of the same material as stars and planets. If we follow our movement with thought we can connect with them.
Feel your feet on the ground and gently raise your arms to the right side. Draw a circle with them in front of the body, which from the right side goes above the head, to the left and finally below. Try to relax the joints of the arms.
Make five circles in this direction, at two breaths per circle, and repeat to the other side.
Draw another circle now also moving the head and torso in the direction of the hands.
3. OPEN AND CLOSE THE DOOR
Just as night flows into day through the light of dawn, we also flow through life.
Place your body weight on your left foot and extend your leg and right foot as if to take a step forward. Keep your arms at your sides with your palms facing the floor.
As you gradually pass the weight to the right foot, go up your arms and hands drawing an arc in front of the body until you reach the position of the photo. Do it with full breathing.
Transfer the weight to your left leg while returning your arms to the starting position with another full breath.
Do it five times in this position and another five times with your legs changed.
4. EMBRACE THE HORIZON WITH YOUR ARMS
If when you open your arms, you feel how they extend to the horizon, with your feet and legs rooted and the column projected towards the sky, you integrate the sky, the earth and the horizon into your being.
Bend your knees a little to root yourself, take a step to the left with your left foot and move your pelvis until you center your weight.
Raise your arms to your sides as you feel the shoulder blades descend and open until you have your arms crossed. All this during one breath.
Lower your arms by bending your elbows and wrists slightly towards your body with another full breath.
Repeat five times and listen to how the energy circulates through your being.
5. BREATHE FULLY
This exercise opens the lung meridian.
When inspiring, raise your arms and hands with your palms towards the ground in front of your body.
It begins to exhale when it reaches shoulder height and opens its arms in a cross.
Rotate your palms as you breathe in. Direct your arms towards the sky while bringing your torso and head, in an arc, to also look towards the sky. When exhaling it returns to the initial position.
Repeat these last two movements five times.
CALM ENERGY AGAINST STRESS
Chi is the energy that circulates through our body and the Universe. When it does so freely within us, body, mind and spirit are balanced, and they enter a peaceful state but full of energy. Chi is activated through imagination. When we imagine that it circulates, it does.
Our attention moves the chi through the energy channels or main meridians and through the five points that unite us to the environment.
The main meridians through which it travels are two: one goes in front of the body, from the tip of the tongue to the perineum, and another goes up from the perineum through the spine through the fontanelle until it reaches the soft palate, where with the tongue we can join the two channels. By imagining a flow of light circulating through them we create energy, clarity and tranquility.
The five main points by which chi communicates with the Universe are in the soles of the feet, in the arch that forms the pad, called yonquan, “effervescent spring”, which communicates us with the earth; in the center of the palms of the hands, which communicate us with the environment; and in the highest part of the head, in the fontanelle, which is open when we are born and closes in a spiral, which communicates us with the sky.
Imagine a sphere of light in each of these places and you will begin an energetic exchange with the world that will give you quiet energy and the dimension of who you are: a being that relates not only to others, but to the earth and sky.
Poor posture, a sedentary life and stress punish our back and limit our mobility. You can prevent it with these exercises that will also help you relax.
Gone is going to perform a physiotherapy session, lying on the stretcher and receiving a treatment in a completely passive way, where the idea is to enter with pain and leave without it. The reality is that the most effective treatment is one that involves the patient.
You are the core of the problem and you will benefit from doing what the therapist prescribes once the session is over. Becoming aware and participating in the treatment facilitates the incorporation of better habits and prevents relapses. These tips from Xavier Julia Eggert will help you.
By Xavier Julia Eggert
There are a variety of exercises for low back pain available to anyone, since you only need a mat to perform them. The five that we propose give comfort to your lumbar spine and, in addition, rely on breathing to produce an analgesic and relaxing effect.
Pilates also helps you strengthen the abdominal and lumbar area, thus protecting the spine. If you want to learn to practice it but you think it is difficult and you do not know very well where to start, with the online course Pilates at home you will learn how to do it, at home, at any age.
1. STRETCH YOUR BACK WELL
Lie down and bend your legs, resting the soles of your feet on the ground.
Bring your hips back. To do this, imagine that you have a cushion in the lumbar area and you want to press it against the floor.
Take air through your nose, hold it for a moment and while you release it slowly through your mouth, bring one knee towards your chest. Notice how the entire back of your back stretches. It will be easier to bring your knees to your chest if you help yourself with your arms.
Do the exercise by alternating your legs several times.
2. STRETCH YOUR BACK WITH BOTH KNEES
Lie down. Keep your back flattened without losing contact of your lower back with the mat.
Bring both knees toward your chest. It’s a more intense exercise. If you have discomfort when performing it or you find the position uncomfortable, stay in the position described in the previous exercise.
Do the exercise by alternating your legs several times.
Keep your cervical spine relaxed. If your neck has a tendency to arch you can place a small cushion so that the cervicals are not in tension.
It is important to perform the exercise by releasing the air. Performing it in apnea or catching air increases abdominal pressure and favors pelvic floor dysfunctions. It can help you relax to close your eyes.
3. STRETCH YOUR BUTTOCKS AND THIGHS
Sit with your knees straight.
Bend your right knee and hip and pass your leg over the other, which will stay straight.
Place your arm straight behind your hips. Keep your elbow straight.
Bring your knee to your chest and put your left arm around it. This will increase tension in the buttocks and in the back of the thigh.
Rotate the trunk. The head faces the arm that maintains the support of the body.
Expire as you bring your knee closer to your chest.
After a few breaths, change legs.
4. STRETCH FROM SHOULDER TO HIP
Lie down with your arms horizontally to your body, resting the back of your arm, forearm and hand on the floor. You can bend your elbows when stretching if you feel more comfortable.
Bend your knees by resting your feet on the floor, as in the previous exercises.
Flex your hips 90º and drop your legs to the right side. Turn your head in the opposite direction.
It is not essential that the legs contact the ground. It should be a comfortable position in which you notice the stretch diagonally, from the left shoulder to the right hip.
If discomfort appears in the spine, it regulates the degree of flexion of the hip. The greater the flexion, the more tension.
When finished, repeat the stretch to the left side.
5. RELAXED BACK AND BREATHING
Sit cross-legged as in the picture.
Keep your back upright.
Close your eyes and become aware of the posture.
Lengthen the back so that the chin moves away from the chest, but with the nape of the neck stretched.
It takes air through the nose. Pause for 2-3 seconds and release it through your mouth slowly.
Notice how the end of the spine supports you.
Stay like this for a couple of minutes.
HOW TO IMPROVE BACK PAIN
There is a bad habit of going to the health professional once back pain has established itself in our lives and we cannot develop daily activities normally. So, we look for an urgent solution…
In those cases, we usually ask the doctor for the possible physical cause of the pain we suffer. But what if after the examination and diagnostic tests there is no significant cause to attribute the pain? So, what can you do to alleviate it?
It may be shocking that there is not always a direct correlation between pain and pathology. Well, there can be pain without having an injury. If this is the case, we should ask ourselves if we are listening to our body and if we know how our day to day is causing the pain.
BEWARE OF STRESS AND BAD HABITS
Stressed people tend to shrug their shoulders, bow their heads, overuse their neck muscles, and adopt rapid, shallow breathing. A cocktail that harms the entire musculoskeletal system.
In addition, there are other factors that predispose to the appearance of low back pain. Among them are sedentary life, bad postures, bipedal position and stress maintained over time, one of the biggest enemies of our health and back in particular.
AVOID SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE
The evolution of the human being has caused our spine to be forced to carry the weight that ancestrally distributed the arms and legs when moving on the four extremities.
Therefore, we suffer with static postures and we must avoid it by taking multiple breaks in order to prevent mental and physical fatigue.
PRACTICE PREVENTIVE EXERCISES
We need tools that allow us to manage worries, routine and work stress. The best option is physical exercise. Dedicating a minimum of 45 minutes to our body well-being is highly recommended.
At our disposal we have multiple exercises that give movement to our spine and prevent lumbar problems, and if we already have discomfort, they will reduce them. Performing therapeutic exercise can also become a tool to manage stress and disconnect.
You can land in the here and now at any time and in different postures, so that meditation is comfortable and effective for you.
1. WALKING
As you walk, you can meditate. In doing so, he kisses the earth. Or as the Vietnamese-born Zen master Thich Nat Hanh says, “Walk as if you were kissing the Earth with your feet.”
To meditate walking, the back must remain upright, but at the same time distended and with loose shoulders.
The head is directed towards the sky, while we notice at all times the weight of the feet and their contact with the earth or the ground, fully and firmly at every step.
Whenever possible, it is best to do it barefoot. We move forward free, solid, unhurried and above all, present in the here and now.
Meditating by walking helps correct poor postures, such as knees back and shoulders drooping.
2. IN A CHAIR
Meditate on a chair resting the spine. Sit on your ischia (the bones of your pelvis) on the edge of a chair or with your back on the backrest, depending on your ability to keep your spine upright. Rest your hands on your thighs and relax your shoulders.
Focus on the breath at the tip of the nose, noting its temperature and texture. Relax the body when exhaling. You can also observe thoughts as waves rising and falling, calmly, in the ocean of consciousness.
This posture is recommended for people with bone and joint problems or with lack of flexibility.
3. IN THE LOTUS POSTURE, WITH SUPPORTS
Place a firm, folded blanket on a yoga block (cork or foam) and rest your ischia on the front of the blanket. It is important that the thighs are not resting on the blanket and that the knees are directed towards the floor.
If your knees do not touch the ground, it is important to rest them on another blanket or another block so as not to generate a pinching of the internal meniscus.
This is one of the most comfortable postures on the ground, as it allows an intermediate height.
4. IN VIRASANA, SITTING ON A VERTICAL ZAFÚ
Place a zafu, “standing”, vertically; in this way, you get more height and you can sit in the Virkasana position more comfortably.
Avoid this poseif you have any injury or discomfort in your knees.
The main benefit of practicing it is that it allows the pelvis to tilt forward and, therefore, keep the spine upright, while the insteps are flexible.
In the event that your insteps hurt, you can place a rolled blanket under your feet.
5. LYING ON THE FLOOR
Meditating lying down requires a higher degree of attention and concentration to focus awareness on the breath. The body-mind set usually associates lying down with sleeping, and when lying down it is easy for the mind to disconnect from the practice of focus and join in a deep sleep.
But remember that meditating is the opposite of sleep, it is an awakened state of full awareness and concentration. So, stay relaxed, but not asleep.
You can rest your neck and knees on a blanket or use nothing.
YOUR BEST POSTURE FOR MEDITATION
Meditating does not need great requirements. You just need to look for a quiet place and time, without outside distractions. And live the present, the here and now.
Practicing meditation regularly reduces fatigue and stress, and provides a great sense of well-being.
You can meditate walking, sitting, lying, using different supports such as a blanket, a block or a zafu … There are many ways to do this and none is necessarily better than another. We encourage you to experiment with several postures and choose the one in which you feel best.
Take a break in nature or in a green space whenever you can and enjoy these exercises: your back will gain flexibility, you will calm your mind and you will feel much better.
When we contemplate a natural landscape, before us opens a mystical perception of the immensity that makes us feel in connection with what surrounds us. In those moments of contemplative placidity, beta brain waves give way to alpha-type waves, typical of states of relaxation.
Nature promotes mindfulness in the present, pacifies our thoughts, puts our mind in order and favors the development of a better self-awareness.
To enhance this experience, I propose some stretches in front of the sea that are a fantastic way to perform a meditation in motion and create the perfect moment to let yourself be carried away by your breath and your sensations.
With this simple sequence of exercises, you can stretch your back from awareness and softness, you will release tensions and you will recharge yourself with energy and vitality.
1. RENEWED ENERGY AND VITALITY
This stretching comes from yoga. It is like a repairing balm for ailments in the lumbar vertebrae and in the lower back area.
Lie on your stomach, keep your forehead on the floor, with your legs straight, and place your open hands under your shoulders.
Inhale deeply and, using the strength of your arms, elevate your chest, shoulders and head as much as is comfortable.
Slightly flex your elbows and breathe from the center of your expanded chest, taking advantage of this posture to fill you with renewed energy and vitality.
Observe the sensation in your lower back and, depending on how you feel it, soften or intensify the stretch in the next three or four breaths.
Undo on an exhale.
Make a pillow with your hands and rest your head on them for a couple of breaths before sitting up.
2. GIVE SPACE TO YOUR LOWER BACK
Start standing, spine erect, arms relaxed at the sides and chin slightly raised.
Close your eyes and take three conscious breaths feeling your surroundings.
Inhale and raise your arms above your head, activate your legs and lengthen your back.
As you exhale, slowly lower your arms to the floor by flexing from your hips. Loosen your knees a little if you can’t keep them straight.
Let your head hang with your neck relaxed and observe the pleasant sensation in the lower part of your back.
To get out, unroll your back, little by little, vertebra by vertebra, until you reach the starting position again.
3. LET THE TIREDNESS OUT OF YOUR INTERIOR
Perform this simple stretch with emphasis on exhaling all tension and fatigue through your mouth. You will notice its powerful restorative effect immediately.
Spread your feet apart at a comfortable distance, relax your arms at the sides of the trunk and connect with your soft, calm breathing for a few seconds.
Inhale and raise your arms to the sides of your body until you bring them above your head.
Keep your arms straight with your palms facing each other and bring your attention to your feet, trying to root your heels on the ground to feel strong and stable in the stretch.
Perform five full breaths in this way: when inhaling lengthens the spine and activates the legs and, when exhaling, you release all the air through the mouth letting go of stress, worries and fatigue.
Exit the stretch on an exhale and relax your arms at the sides of your body again.
4. GAIN LATERAL MOBILITY
We almost never stretch laterally, which is why this exercise is so pleasant and comforting.
Spread your legs apart at a wide distance, relax your shoulders and leave your arms relaxed on the sides of the trunk.
Activate your leg muscles and feel the pressure of the soles of your feet against the surface you’re stepping on.
Inhale deeply by bringing the air center of your chest and stretch your spine.
As you exhale, lean sideways to the left and raise your right arm above your head.
Take three full, deep breaths, trying to lengthen your right side a little longer with each inhalation. In turn, slide your left hand a little lower on each exhalation.
Then repeat to the other side.
5. YOU’VE ARRIVED: MEDITATE AND ENJOY
You have released tensions, stretched your back and connected with your conscious and deep breathing. This brief sequence of stretches has prepared your body for the most enriching of poses: meditation.
Dedicate the last minutes of this oceanfront health ritual to keeping quiet, calming your mind and restoring your inner balance.
Sit cross-legged, your spine upright, and your arms relaxed with your hands on your thighs.
Close your eyes, tilt your head slightly and relax your shoulders away from your ears.
While inhaling, lengthen the spine and then, when exhaling, completely empty your lungs of air.
Hold this position as long as you want. Remain still and enjoy the pleasant feeling of silence and well-being that expands inside you.
CONNECT WITH THE NATURE AROUND YOU
In the city we are exposed to an excess of stimuli that take us away from ourselves and the present moment. Nothing better in these cases than to take refuge in places where calm prevails so that our body rests and renews itself as much as it needs.
In any season of the year, we benefit from exercising outdoors – during holidays, weekend getaways or a midday picnic – because it is a source of physical, mental and emotional balance.
Stretching in front of the sea, as we propose in this article, or taking a walk in a park, are ways to reduce stress and improve mood.
Exposing ourselves to sunlight provides us with vitamin D, essential to assimilate calcium in the bones, and puts us in a good mood. And it is that the contact of the sun on the skin causes us to produce endorphins that make us feel good and even increase sexual desire.
CALM AND REDUCE YOUR STRESS
Spending time in nature, therefore, calms us down and reduces the stress we live with, which has a very positive effect on our immune system.
A study conducted in Japan showed that people who walked in nature had a lower level of cortisol, the stress hormone, a normalized pulse and lower blood pressure than those who walked in the city.
In other words, nature baths, by strengthening our defenses, can well prevent certain common diseases, such as, for example, the common cold.
LEARN TO BREATHE CONSCIOUSLY
Breathing is our first source of energy and how easy it is to connect with the breath in nature!
Silence and mental calm direct our attention inward and, as if by magic, the breath becomes conscious and omnipresent. In addition, in natural environments the air quality is much better than in the city, which increases our physical vitality and helps us restore emotional balance.
FOCUS ON SEEKING MINDFULNESS IN THE PRESENT
When we contemplate a natural landscape, before us opens a mystical perception of the immensity that makes us feel in connection with what surrounds us. In those moments of contemplative placidity, beta brain waves give way to alpha-type waves, typical of states of relaxation.
Nature promotes mindfulness in the present, pacifies our thoughts, puts our mind in order and favors the development of a better self-awareness.
LOOK FOR NATURE IN THE CITY
Now, if you cannot do it in nature, do not worry! seek refuge in a park or open space in your city (or where you are) where there are trees, running water, light and silence.
Take advantage of the natural environment to connect with the earth with bare feet directly on the ground, sand or grass. Savor this wellness ritual from the calm: stay as long as you feel in each pose and flow to the next exercise in an organic and effortless way.
We only remember the pelvic floor when something goes wrong. But if we take care of it will not give us problems. It will also provide us with better posture and body awareness.
What is the pelvic floor? Anatomically it is the group of muscles that line the floor of the pelvis. Defined in a more understandable way, it is about the musculature that we have between the legs.
Just because you miss your pee doesn’t mean your pelvic floor is weak. It means it doesn’t work well. It may be because it is a weakened pelvic floor, but it may also be that your muscles are too tense. A tight muscle doesn’t work. Do not treat yourself, consult professionals.
The physiotherapists specialized in pelvic floor can help you, they know the functioning of this balloon and reeducate the pressure system. They can work as a team with an osteopath.
Raise your posture, bring consciousness to your pelvic floor, do perineal exercises, breathe… Posture and stretching are the keys to pelvic floor health. But you can also help yourself with the exercises we propose.
5 EXERCISES FOR THE PELVIC FLOOR
1. GROW UP LIKE A QUEEN
This exercise is excellent for activating the abdominal girdleand deep pelvic floor.
Rest your back on the wall, including your head and sacrum.
Tie a rubber band above your knees and put a bag of seeds or something that weighs a little on the top of your head.
Bend your knees. The more flexion, the more intense the work. At the same time the knees keep the rubber tense during exercise.
Breathe and, when the air is removed, take the bag to the ceiling. Push the wall with the sacrum and elbows (hands do not detach from the wall). Elongation, that is, growth, is the most important thing. It grows from the ears, not from the chest or nose.
Take 10 breaths.
2. WAKE UP YOUR BUTTOCKS
It strengthens the buttocks and activates the deep pelvic floor and abdominal girdle.
Lie on your back with your knees bent.
Tie your legs, comfortably, without bringing them together completely, with a rubber band or a long handkerchief, above the knees. Separate them and press against the rubber throughout the exercise. That will activate your gluteus medius. Hold on to your heels.
When the air is removed, raise the tailbone (rump) towards the ceiling, as if stretched from there.
Stay up, breathing fluidly, with the idea of trying to move your knees away from your face, growing in opposite directions.
When you go down, take out the air, as if you were hanging from the tailbone. This is the last one to touch the ground.
Repeat 10 times.
3. WARD OFF CONGESTION AND RELAX
This is an excellent posture to decongest the pelvis and relax the diaphragm. It is especially indicated for women who suffer from prolapse (organ descent) or hemorrhoids.
Stretch on your back on a cushion slide.
The whole back has to be comfortably supported. The pelvis is higher than the head. Keep your chin up. Put your hands on your ribs, under and outside your breasts. That’s where the diaphragm lives. Men can do it too. The pelvic floor is not just a women’s thing.
As you breathe in, bring your breath into your hands. Feel how, every time you take in air, your ribs push your hands out (right and left). Do not swell the belly, open the ribs. Keep the focus on your shoulders. They must not go up; they must always be relaxed.
4. PROTECT YOURSELF QUICKLY!
This exercise trains the rapid contraction of the pelvic floor, very necessary to close quickly and protect against a sneeze, a cough …
Distribute the weight evenly between hands, knees and feet. The hands look at each other. Elbows slightly flexed. The shoulders away from the ears. Keep your back straight and your gaze toward the ground.
Elonga, that is, it grows gently from the head, as if pushing, with the chin collected.
Make an explosive contraction, as fast and stronger as you can. The contraction is rapid and brief.
Then relax completely. It is very important to allow the muscles to relax completely before the next contraction. Watch the tension in your jaw.
Repeat 10 times, breathing between each contraction.
5. PRACTICE WITH THE ELEVATOR
This is a Kegel exercise to work the pelvic floor, both superficial and deep.
Sit on a cushion or blanket that makes a little wedge forward, without supporting your back. Make sure your shoulders are relaxed.
Imagine that your vagina is an elevator. It closes the “doors” (superficial musculature) and then goes up 5 floors (deep musculature). You can count them out loud. Draw out the air as the elevator goes up. By inspiring, it relaxes. Take two rest breaths before the next contraction.
Repeat 10 times.
SYMPTOMS THAT THE PELVIC FLOOR IS NOT WELL
Some symptoms reveal that the pelvic floor muscles are not in the best state:
Does your pee slip away?
Do you have to run to the bathroom when you get home?
Does it hurt during sex?
Have you missed an anal or vaginal “air”?
Do you feel like you’re wearing a bad tampon?
Do you have a feeling of weight in your lower belly?
Does it cost or hurt to go belly?
Any of these symptoms or problems that affect the urinary, gynecological, sexual or defecatory world is reason enough to make a consultation about the state of the pelvic floor with a specialized physiotherapist.
WHY DOES THE PELVIC FLOOR GIVE SO MANY PROBLEMS?
When you imagine the pelvic floor, you surely visualize it as a hammock. It is a logical idea, but incomplete. The pelvic floor doesn’t hang down there, isolated. It is part of a larger sphere-shaped ensemble: the abdominopelvic sphere.
Imagine the sphere as a balloon:
The top part is the diaphragm.
The wall is the transverse of the abdomen – the deepest muscle of the abdominals.
The bottom is the pelvic floor.
All three parties work as a team. When you squeeze the balloon from above the other side bulges. The pressure coming from above falls down, on the pelvic floor.
The pelvic floor is not just a women’s thing. Men have it too, only that, due to obvious anatomical differences, we express different problems. Men have the same pressure system as women.
RE-EDUCATE THE SYSTEM
The pelvic floor is not usually the source of problems, but suffers the consequences. The sphere is deprogrammed and the pelvic floor is over-pressured, which often weakens it.
It is necessary to reeducate the system so that the abdominal girdle, the pelvic floor and the diaphragm work as a team again, that is, correctly distributing the pressures. For this reason, too local a focus on the pelvic floor (such as when only Kegel exercises are performed) falls short.
FROM HYPOPRESSIVE EXERCISES TO HYPOPRESSIVE ATTITUDE
It is certainly necessary to work when there are problems, but as much or more interesting is to prevent them. We will achieve this by adopting a hypopressive attitude, that is, learning to live taking into account the pelvic floor, without falling on it, respecting it. The hypopressive attitude is a bodily and vital attitude.
We say that the pelvic floor is “a world of queens”, because posture is the base. It is a deployed, expanded, open posture… And elongation is its key. When stretching (with the chin collected) we activate the abdominal girdle.
A queen posture opens spaces, decreases pressure, activates friendly muscles and optimizes the functioning of the abdominopelvic sphere.
Play at home: put a weight on your head and start walking like a queen!
