Body Whispers: Listening to the Body shows us why Less is really More

Using the Wisdom of the Body.

Moving within our Optimal Range of Movement (OROM) can help us get past feeling “stuck” and reduce pain

My students know that I am a research junkie. I see life as a journey and I am always looking at new ideas, the latest yoga research, information on how the brain works; anything that seems relevant to how we think, our health and what makes us tick.

Every week brings new discoveries of some exciting new development. What I really LOVE is that these modern “scientific” discoveries are always a reflection of what the ancient yogis and munis have seen in deep meditation thousands of years ago, and handed down in many ancient texts such as the Upanidshads or the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.  

Well, this term I found a great online yoga functional anatomy course which has redefined the way I am teaching yoga. (www.functionalsynergy.com) Students are loving exploring these concepts for themselves and the results have been truly amazing.  Everyone is noticing the difference.

Optimal Range of Movement (OROM) 

All this is possible because the latest developments in 3D imaging capture the body in movement and show how the myofascia holds the body and muscles together and impacts on healthy – and “unhealthy” movement patterns. Even with basic actions like standing and sitting we are often not moving within our optimal range of movement (OROM) and this has negative consequences on the rest of the body.

There are two parts to this. The first is that we often have ongoing niggly pains or even worse, chronic pain. The second is that we are often unwittingly placing layers of compensatory muscle actions on top of one another.

Small “cultural” compensations, like standing and walking with toes turned out, can also make a BIG difference. Movement in this non-functional way impacts on the function of the hip socket, which over time causes larger issues like hip problems, and results in hip instability which can then move down to the knees or up into the shoulders.  Lack of balanced muscle activity in the shoulder girdle can cause a number of problems affecting wrists, neck and head. 

Old injuries and scar tissue can also be part of the problem. When pain redirects our muscle activity, we naturally use compensatory muscles to perform everyday activities. Over time this can become the default pattern and almost inevitably this affects the pelvis and hips. The pelvis is both our anchor and our pivot point and if our hips lack mobility or stability, we will compensate somewhere else, whether in the back, sacro iliac joints, knees, feet, shoulder girdle or neck. 

The site of the pain is often not the cause of the pain. Eg: carpal tunnel in the wrist is likely to be the result of imbalance in the function of shoulder muscles. Unhappy shoulder muscles move pain down the arm – and of course this shoulder imbalance also relates to what is going on in the hips. 

And hip problems are related to the way we stand on our feet – who would have thought that standing with our feet parallel could make such a difference? We are, after all “A System” as we say in yoga. Everything affects everything else!

Hip and pelvis stability is our core strength – yet a lot of us don’t actually have it – including yoga teachers, as I discovered from the online comments as we progressed through the course. We all come to yoga believing that the goal is to “stretch” but in reality, as Susi Hately at Functional Synergy notes: “ A stretch is merely a sensation, it is not a sign that you are doing the pose correctly.” 

How does this relate to reducing pain?

 “No pain, no gain” we hear, but this is not necessarily helpful or true. Understanding and utilising healthy OROM can help us to lessen existing niggly pain or even become pain free. 

LESS IS MORE - try it and see: 

 The principle of using OROM is that less is more. It seems counter intuitive but we have all tried it and it works. Often we unthinkingly use our arms to leverage ourselves into a position, whether it is trikonasana (triangle pose) or reaching up to a tall shelf. 

When we use force, we create resistance and tension in the body. This is simple physics. Newton’s law of motion states that: “every force (action) is accompanied by an equal force (reaction) of equal magnitude in the opposing direction.” 

In yoga, without realising it, we often “push’ into a posture to get into the right look; the way the pose is “supposed” to look. We feel fine. We can do the pose. But in reality there is something missing. There may be strength and balance in this method of attaining a pose but it is not “asana” unless there is ease, softness and stillness in the pose, and this produces quite a different feeling altogether.

Retraining the Mind and the Muscles

In yoga, when we do asana more slowly, there is time to increase our awareness of what is actually happening, which muscles are moving and if there is pure movement or a sensation of strain or even a niggle of pain as we move in or out of the pose. When we perform these poses more quickly, we lose this awareness and it is easy to overlook inappropriate muscle gripping or stacking in order to get into the pose. One of the more common issues for students is tension in the lumbar spine when doing backbends like the cobra. Yet this is easily remedied once the principles of OROM are fully understood.

Many people have aches and pains, and this includes yoga teachers who have been practicing yoga for years. By tweaking knees to get into the lotus pose when the muscles are not ready to do this, we can do permanent damage. Yet much of this could have been avoided, and can still be eliminated by coming back to simple movements, with awareness and working from there.

And this starts from the feet up. If you stand and walk with feet straight and parallel, then the femur moves with pure movement in the hip socket and increases pelvis stability.

By doing these actions with Pure Movement, and retraining the muscles, strength and flexibility can quickly be regained and more complex asana built on top of a stable base. In a few short weeks we are all noticing the difference and an improvement in everyday function.

 Subtle changes make an enormous difference. And this translates into everyday life.

The men in my classes are all commenting how they notice improvements in hip function, having changed their walking pattern. Men habitually walk with toes at 10 and 2 o’clock but this is a cultural phenomenon, not biological and I am truly amazed at how quickly they have managed to change this pattern.

Lower back pain or a pinch in the lumbar spine is very common especially when doing backbends like cobra. Learning to use appropriate muscles has enabled students to overcome this discomfort both on the mat and in everyday activities.

Applying synergistic movement to everyday function is important. A student reports that applying this understanding to her horse riding, has transformed her dressage and hunting. 

Others who have been troubled with hip pain, have noted that all of this has gone and they can sleep at night without pain in the hips causing endless tossing and turning.

An older student said she had woken up so sore from gardening that she nearly didn’t come to yoga class, but had decided to come, knowing it would help. At the end of the class she announced that all the aches and pains were all gone and she felt really good.

Is it my Mind (Ego) or my Body doing this asana?

When you next do a yoga pose, ask yourself: “Is it my mind (ego) doing this posture or my body? If you find there is “propping” of muscles to get you into the posture, or your jaw feels tight and breathing stops, then it is the mind and your ego setting the goal and the wrong muscles are turning on to support a weakness.

On the other hand if you are happy to only go as far as your OROM, you will feel the mind at peace, the body gently flowing and elongating in a totally organic way, bringing a sense of peace and stillness, and  then you know it is the body doing what it does best. 

The irony is, that often when you do the latter and go with the flow, the body often elongates further, because it is relaxed and not having to “prop” to keep the body secure. The first is “exercise” and the latter is “yoga”. Remember yoga means “union” at all levels.

Water is fluid, soft, and yielding.

But water will wear away rock,

which is rigid and cannot yield.

As a rule, whatever is fluid,

soft and yielding will overcome

whatever is rigid and hard.

This is another paradox:

What is soft is strong.

--- Lao-tse

To find out more, come and explore the concepts of Body Wisdom and functional synergy at the BODY WISDOM WORKSHOP on 24 August. (see: www.yogaforlife What’s Happening)

Namaste

Dharmavati

The Lure of Tamas Guna

Finally, I am on my first blog. It has taken two years since I blithely put the intention in my Business Plan. Why is it so hard to start something new, especially when it is OUT THERE, for all to see one’s pitiful first steps? Some of the reasons, all to do with ego, are that I don’t know exactly how to do it, I am wondering if it will look silly and will it reflect what I really want to say? Will it even be read? At least it will encourage me to clarify my thoughts… mmm, even this is hard! As Oscar Wilde so famously put it: “How do I know what I think until I see what I write? " 

I love my yoga and I love sharing it with others. In this way we all grow, so what is this procrastination about? I love the idea of writing. Why is it so hard to write about something I am passionate about? Another part of the problem is that ideas “escape” and go off in endless streams and riverlets. Yoga concepts are all intertwined, all  part of an intricate system; complex yet simple.

So here I am, feeling “stuck” in tamas, the guna of procrastination, indolence and sloth; putting the writing of blogs in the “too hard” basket, while knowing that the longer I procrastinate, the more I regret it. I really do want to do this and I will have to take that first step, eventually.

Procrastination, not wanting to do the hard stuff, is another word for avoidance; the art of being “busy” doing something else, so we don’t have to think about accomplishing some task we know we “should” be doing. But we’re so busy, we just can’t fit it in. 

SHOULD is a red flag word. Should represents conflict between an intention and a lack of action. Every time we use “should” we introduce an undertone of guilt into the mind, creating a ripple of tension in the body. A stressful tension, that is a waste of our precious energy.  Being too busy is rajas, the guna of energy, creativity, dynamism and action. But it is also the guna of restless, ceaseless energy that is fuelled by fear, anger and doubt. Many of us are perpetually “too busy”-  to eat well, to exercise, to take care of our bodies, let alone find nourishment for the mind. We drive our bodies until they drop of exhaustion – seek pills and potions or some other medical intervention – to keep the wheels in motion. What are we avoiding? The fear of being lonely, not needed, old age, death … but this is another subject.

Both tamas and rajas have positive and negative attributes and both sides of the coin are necessary for health and wellbeing. While the positive aspect of tamas is much needed sleep and regeneration, without which we cease to function and eventually die, the negative side can result in lethargy, disease and depression. Tamas is responsible for being stuck in old habits, unable to change unhealthy routines and relationships; unable to move on. 

In the same way, it is necessary to have rajas to bring an idea to fruition but often, once we have accomplished the goal, we are left feeling unsatisfied, cheated of the feeling of elation we expected, continually moving the goalposts further out. We work for years to gain a degree, climb the corporate ladder, buy a house, a car, travel, achieve status, gain four thousand “friends” online, yet none of these things brings more than momentary satisfaction and the sense of peace and fulfilment eludes us. 

The sense of peace and tranquillity, regardless of the situation, is the attribute of the third guna, sattwa, the guna of peace, harmony, radiance, clarity and enlightenment. Very few of us can attain this state on a regular basis. It is largely the realm of the enlightened yogis and sages, but becoming aware of the gunas and our default personality can help us evolve into a more balanced, tranquil and healthy disposition.

All objects in the universe consist of various combinations of the three gunas. Cosmic evolution involves their mutual interaction and transformation. Everything from our thoughts,  emotions, attitudes, actions to the food we eat and the way we act is governed by the gunas. 

Rajasic people are passionate, creative, frenetic, whereas tamasic people are often gloomy, defensive, blinded by greed and self interest. Sattwic souls are calm, wise, compassionate, centred and unselfish.

We can observe the gunas even in the way we breathe. It is no surprise to find that in our restless, egoistic, Western world it is estimated that 80% of us breath incorrectly with all the resultant energy imbalances which lead to disease, anxiety and depression.

At the level of the breath, tamasic people have no conscious awareness of the breath and feel no connection with it. Rajasic breath is shallow and disjointed. There is a tendency to hold the breath when concentrating or overbreathe. When we don’t fully exhale, there is no possibility of a full inhalation, leading to mild toxicity around the lungs, head and brain, and tightness around the eyes, jaw and tongue. As the diaphragm is not being fully utilised, and this is connected to the heart muscle, the heart can feel heavy and tense. 

In a sattwic state the breath feels healing, nourishing, calming. Breaths are even, balanced and uninterrupted and full, allowing the body to move from the sympathetic fight and flight mode into the parasympathetic relaxation mode.

In sympathetic mode the nerve receptors are dulled and the muscles tissue becomes hard and tense, whereas in parasympathetic mode the body relaxes and muscles become more receptive to subtle passive stretches of their own accord.

Noticing how we are responding in our yoga class is a great place to watch the gunas at play. If we are too tired to turn up, can’t be bothered to get out of bed, or feel negative doing a particular asana, this is tamas. On the other hand, if we push and strain to get into the right look and achieve the pose by gritting our teeth, holding our breath and adding layers of tension to the body, we are in the grip of rajas. On days then the practice seems to flow effortlessly, we are experiencing sattwic energy. As we tune in to the body, communication is flowing freely both ways between body, mind and breath and all tension drops away. 

Being busy is rajasic, and hiding the procrastination of tamas in the busyness of rajas is not helpful. Am I fooling myself? Not at all. Do I feel guilty for not getting on with it? Absolutely. 

Putting something off could be deemed “going with the flow” or obeying the Law of Least Effort but unfortunately it is also about resistance and resistance is tension and putting tension into the body, brings an equal resistance back, making the obstacle so much bigger. 

Yet, how often have we have made a commitment to finish a task, and sat down to get on with it. As resistance falls away, focus is honed, energy flows, we find we are actually enjoying ourselves, the layers of resistance give way to energy, creativity and commitment, until we suddenly become aware that hours have passed, and we are actually in a state of contentment. This is sattwa, the third guna; a light and  spacious feeling, the sensation of being in synch with our universe. `This is the state of “being”, rather than pushing towards the goal of attainment. As yoga teaches us, there is never a beginning, a middle and an end. Everything is cyclical and constantly changing. We only have the NOW. 

Postscript: I finally finished this blog, but yoga had one last test. As I went to push print, the words vanished and it all turned to a line of corrupted symbols. I thought of the irony of writing about procrastination and having to start all over again. To my credit I remained very sattwic (for an Aries) and summoned help. Some time later and with advice from a friendly techno whizz, the words have reappeared and you have the final version. 

May your day be sattwic and may you breathe deeply of the beautiful Universe around us

Namaste

Dharmavati