chronic pain, connective tissue and touch class at lulu's

today was the final day of the 3 day "spinal tap" workshop that i taught at lulu bandha's...and it was SO MUCH FUN!

we started with legs up the wall, and tuned into our "feeling sides" of our brain and on really getting inside our bodies in a more fine-tuned way, as well as finding a gentle ease with our bodies and tight spots.

we then talked about chronic pain and the connective tissue, followed by an experimental asana class which basically began with a "starting pose" and had them tune into feeling into their tight spots and twisting/moving in ways to greater access those spots. the focus was to encourage them to feel and listen to what their body was wanting, and to soften into the resistance patterns.

we did cat/cow variations 3 dimensionally and then opened it to a self-guided mini-practice, as each person was finding the next "spot" that needed some attention and adjusted their poses appropriately.

feedback revealed that perhaps the word "soften" works better than "relax" when people are in a dynamic hold/stretch, and that demonstrating the technique may be helpful, since the verbal part left some question marks in the practice.

i then demo'd a yin forward bend (i did baddha konasana) and showed how i enter the pose slowly and barrier by barrier, then twist it into whatever my body is guiding me to do next.

they all started with a yin forward bend of their choice and were left to their own feeling wisdom to perform their practice for about 20 minutes and eventually to savasana.

then we took a break and regrouped for the touch portion of the class with partners:

gentle cervical traction

traction with a gentle sternal release

bilateral leg pull

occipital release

we ended the weekend in a circle connecting with each other and sitting in silence.

i am SO GRATEFUL for the amazing group of yogis that joined me this weekend!!!

living fascia!!

check out this short clip from Jean Claude Guimberteau's video "strolling under the skin" where he shows magnified video of fascia in a living person! there are larger clips available too if you can't get enough. the language is very technical, but just sit back and enjoy the visual magic that lives inside of us!

neck and posture class at lulu's

another wonderful day at my favorite studio today! today was a 2-part class: the neck/upper back, and postural deviations and exercises. here's a synopsis--at least as well as i can remember!

we opened with supine baddha konasana with a teaching intention of tuning into our bodies in a deeper way.

the first portion of the lecture started with an anatomical look at the neck and thoracic spine, discussed the influence of the shoulders/scapula and discussed the nature of common injuries in the neck. we then did an asana class geared toward targeting some of the key areas that tend to tighten up with neck problems.

seated baddha konasana with head hang/fwd fold, focus on connective tissue of the spine

seated 1/2 head rolls with prolonged stretches at tight spots

neck sidebend with opposite arm extended, rotate head down to access levator muscle

seated chest fascial opener in center and with head tilt left and right

childs pose--relaxed

childs pose--active arm extension

cat/cow, focus on sternum and upper back

thread the needle twist

relaxed childs

seated shoulder extension stretch

garuda (eagle) arms with forward bend, then with elbow lift

shake out arms

standing pec "clock" stretch at wall

wall dog

shake out arms

**can't remember

seated chakra meditation, discussed chakras IV-VII

discussed postural deviations and did partner analysis of posture

brief discussion of movement analysis

postural exercises:

supine "angels"

supine open into external rotation, elbows at side

supine isometric: tighten abs, ribs down, shoulders back and down, palms press, chin tuck

shimmy

supine overhead reach with block

block mini-dolphin stretch

reclining buddha each side

side plank variation on forearm

sidelying over bolster (restoratve stretch)--> progress to active reach in arm and top leg

knees to chest

occipital release with block

savasana

low back class at lulus

i had such a great evening with the gang at lulu bandha's last night teaching about the low back and pelvis! we did some exploration of the anatomy and injuries of this area and followed with an asana practice intended to encourage people to relate to their bodies in a new way, to utilize the visual anatomy to "see" inside a little more. we began to touch on the fascial system as well, and of course reminded ourselves that no level of anatomical knowledge can make us more wise than the signals and messages of our bodies--to listen to that is to truly touch upon what will help us to heal and keep us safe.

because i didn't blog immediately afterwards, i am going to remember as closely as i can:

supine knees to chest

pelvic tilts with breath, focus on sacrum, find neutral pelvis

active rolling bridge with breath, focus on articulation of spine, option of engaging mulabandha

single knee to chest, engage straight leg to open psoas

knee across body, stretch outer hip

knee toward armpit, stretch short adductors

*pause in corpse to observe

other side

knees to chest, roll to sit--pause with abdominal engagement

squat, tailbone release

uttanasana--roll to stand

tadasana--specific postural awareness (slight mulabandha and ab engagement)

warrior 1 with pelvic neutral/leg focus

warrior 2 with pelvic neutral/leg focus

hip hinge for 1/2 sun sals, moving with pelvic neutral

lunge left

sit back to touch on hams stretch/round spine

cat/cow pelvic focus

other side lunge/hams

cat/cow sacral chakra focus, then manipura focus

extended childs, focus on lats and paraspinals

childs with lateral rotation/reach each side, connect to fascial system and QL as well as lats

childs arms at side, focus on sacral chakra, back body

seated hams stretch with strap, neutral spine

roll forward to hams stretch

roll to back knees to chest

supine twist

windshield wipers

supported savasana, begin with chakra 1-3 awareness, progress to relaxation

**a couple of other things i wanted to touch on, but didn't get a chance to:

prone poses (sphinx, single leg locust to both leg locust to engage the back muscles and glutes/hamstrings)

quadriped alternate arm and leg with focus on engaging abs/strong center

hi ho, hi ho...it's off to teach i go!

each time i get ready to teach a big workshop, i feel a little anxious/nervous energy creep up! instead of relaxing and meditating (which i know would bring a semblance of peace) i kind of flit around, bug my husband, go from the family room to the bedroom and back, do a few yoga poses and check my computer...and finally blog on it!

i love teaching, find great peace and joy in it, and feel honored to share information with people! once i get there, that is. the lead-up is always filled with some trepidation...what if i forget to share some things, what if i stumble over my words, what if they don't like me?

and this time is even tougher, because i just returned from this amazing, transformative class on myofascial release and it's caused me to question everything i have learned and the anatomically based class i am about to teach. how can i present this information in a true and honest way when i am not even sure that these things i "know" are right?

so i remind myself that the anatomy is SO important--not because it is the be-all, end-all of who we are as human beings...but it gives us a glimpse into our inside physical workings. it teaches the nuts and bolt mechanics of this amazing creature that we are. i need to remember that just because i am feeling a pull beyond (WAY beyond) these nuts and bolts, that i know them well. and most people who are interested in this class WANT this knowledge.

a deep breath. and here i go!

freedom through flailing

tomorrow we meet for our final day of myofascial unwinding. if you have never experienced the sensation of unwinding, you are missing out! essentially, you go into your open awareness/dream-like state and your body starts to spontaneously move into positions of past traumas, pausing at specific places to allow your subconscious mind to process the parts of trauma that were too painful to face at the time.

watching the process is quite unsettling at first. it breaks all of society's rules. when unwinding, you shake, scream, cry, flail, roll, twist and assume positions that you did not think possible! but then again, when you are thrown from a moving car, or fighting for your life or falling down the stairs, your body does some crazy things. and most often, we don't ever scream or cry.

oh, and all those emotional traumas get to come up and express themselves too.

i'm half way through my training here, and i have realized that i am just hitting the tip of the iceberg. i am training myself slowly to be in a feeling consciousness more often...to pay attention and energize those unpleasant feelings in my gut, or my hip or my neck without having any sort of language interfere...simply feeling as deeply and fully as i can.

if you know me, you probably don't need me to tell you that it doesn't come naturally. it's a practice. and it's shifting the focus of my work into deeper and more meaningful places.

if you want more information on myofascial release, click here

sticky stuff

well, i'm back in sedona soaking up more connective tissue information. by "soaking up connective tissue information", i really mean, "OH MY GOSH...THAT is in there???"

i come to these classes to learn and to help make me a better therapist and a better teacher. and that goal invariably gets met...how can it not be met when you are learning things that are true? but what ends up surprising me every single time i take another class is that i have to LOOK INSIDE. i have to FEEL.

ew.

the magic of working with the fascial system is that when your body starts to quiet down and relax, it begins to forge its own path toward healing. the techniques are "listening" techniques instead of "push on through and fix" techniques. and really, who likes to get pushed around? it's totally contrary to our nature--when presented with a "bully" we have the choice to either push back or break under the pressure.

this idea of being met where we are, and "tapped on the shoulder" just enough to elicit a response seems the better choice.

and the proof is in the pudding...during myofascial or craniosacral work, you see the result--the body self-corrects. the emotions and physical and energetic intensities arise. the breathing changes (today i was in an exhale kumbhaka for a really long time during one of the releases!)

bringing yourself to a place of consciousness during bodywork and allowing the body to "speak" is how we get to release old patterns, old energies, old trauma. and because the connective tissue takes a long time to release the collagen fibers, you also have a therapist LISTENING to you and following your lead for a LONG time! how often does that happen? (believe me, i'm a therapist, so i know that, sadly, it doesn't happen very often)

so why the "ew"? well, because the only way that things REALLY move out of your system and body is by FEELING them. so if you were kicked in the spine or if your mother abandoned you or you disclocated your shoulder and had any level of dissociation during those events, the body needs to connect to them and feel them if they stand a chance of leaving. energy requires awareness if it is going to move.

unfortunately, i cannot take credit. these principles have been floating around all over the place, most notably by john barnes, who i am studying with for the next 10 days! (woo hoo!) but i tend to not write about things or "own" them in any way until i get it--until i feel it. so i'm excited and happy to report that this stuff really works!

but don't believe me...feel it for yourself. i urge you to try feeling the sticky stuff and see if it starts to move. and notice how quickly your brain kicks in to think of something else...anything else besides the feeling. bring that intention to your next yoga class, perhaps--at least for 1 pose. or treat yourself to a session of craniosacral or myofascial release and "play" with feeling. it hurts while you are in it, but the time you are there is so short, relatively speaking. and the FREEDOM afterwards....ahhhh.....nothing like it!

compassion

i know...it's a word that gets thrown around all the time in yoga and any new-age communities. i actually can't believe i titled an entry that way, but i had a dream the other night that has had me really exploring the usefulness of that very thing. without getting into the details of the dream, the main message that i was given is that COMPASSION HEALS. wow. i'm a genius, right?

but it's true. it's obvious and easy to see the working of a compassionate heart in the wake of things like the earthquake in haiti...people who are on the receiving end of something catastrophic or painful really have a way of opening our hearts, allowing us to feel just a LITTLE BIT of the pain and difficulty that they are enduring.

connecting to a person or a group of people in a way that gives us an actual visceral understanding of their tragedy is what i define as empathy or compassion. we begin to see that the pain they are experiencing is on some level the same pain we hold inside of ourselves; it's the pain of every human being at some time or another, the pain of the planet.

that type of compassion is difficult because it makes us feel the wounds of our hearts, it makes us "bleed" a little bit.

but that is only the beginning.

the next layer of compassion that i have been led to lately is compassion for the perpetrator of violence, for the perceived "evil-doers" of the world. yes...even for dick cheney. this level of compassion is SO NECESSARY for bringing a higher level of consciousness and peace to the world. it's the type of compassion that stops the cycle of violence. it forces us to let go of judgements and labels, of mean-spirited thoughts and words about another person--even if they seem to deserve it!

so the challenge becomes this: try looking deeply into the eyes and soul of someone that you find yourself wanting to shame, to label or to judge.--someone kind of "icky". look at what has caused them to become what or how they have become. see the pain. see the struggle and the violence and the deep deep sadness.

can you feel that? yep...we have that too.

we understand it. we have compassion.

now look at the world. it's just a little bit better because of what you have done.

oh, and sorry, dick. that wasn't very compassionate of me!

private mini-session for pain

this is a little mini-yoga routine that i have been using and adapting for relatively healthy folks who have back and/or neck pain. this particular session was with a woman who gets major migraines/neck pain and also has low back pain. (30 minute routine)

cat/cow-6 rounds

side cat/cow-3 rounds

"funky cat" freestyle for 2 minutes

childs--arms extended

childs-reach arms left and right 6 breaths each

lunge stretch left

lunge stretch right

**she was able to do low lunge, but often people with tight hips do better in high lunge)

pigeon left drop to forearms, transition to extended left leg/heel cord stretch from all 4s

pigeon right (same)

seated head to knee left

mini-twist to left

open knee--revolved head to knee left

REPEAT SEQUENCE TO RIGHT

abdominal engagement to roll to back to supine

knees to chest, rock

left knee to chest, right leg extended

left knee toward right shoulder

right knee to chest, left leg extended

right knee to left shoulder

knees to chest, rock

easy supine twist each way

supine baddha konasana with bolster and blankets-- 3 minutes

primary cues were for relaxing neck and shoulders, breathing, increasing ease and gentleness with the postures.