Elasticity and Pranayama

When people think of yoga they think of flexibility. Flexibility is different physically for everyone, but being flexible is mental as well as physical and that's the more important lesson. Flexible in thinking. To be flexible in thinking we need to listen and let go. The more you let go, the more flexible you become and the more flexible you become, the more you let go and it doesn't matter how flexible you are. Who's on first?

Khris brought up the word elasticity today and how when you force your muscles and tendons to do things they aren't ready to do, you are actually making them lose their elasticity--that spring and recovery that makes them flexible and pliable!

Forcing anything makes things break. In Yin Yoga they compare it to taffy. If you try to force it to bend, it snaps. But if you warm it and massage it and go slowly, you can stretch it really well and easily.

Khris talked in his interview about basketball how strength and conditioning play a role in sports. Flexibility plays a role in anything we do physically. We want to have elasticity and flexibility so we don't hurt ourselves. Again, physical flexibility and mental flexibility.

We didn't have much time to talk during training, but as I tend to do, I thought about it a lot. With yoga, we have Americanized so much of it to make it faster because we are impatient and want it to provide cardio and strength benefits at the same time. Also, people tend to be competitive, which is anti-yoga and don't listen to their bodies or the cues and don't use props and force things. It's okay that things have changed. But we have to change, too.

For example, I think people need to be more flexible in the way they view blocks. Blocks are not bad things. Blocks are fantastic.  We should be more flexible in the way we look at props. Props came about to help us with alignment. Straps and blankets are awesome, too.

We talked about pigeon pose and how your hips should be square and you shouldn't necessarily bend forward. I know my yoga teachers have always stressed to stay up on your palms unless you are very flexible and can fold forward and still keep your hips square. They also recommend putting a block under your thigh to support your leg. In yin yoga, they have you on your palms for a long time and then you breathe and maybe move down if you can to sleeping swan and put your forehead on a block.

Square hips are very tricky.  Triangle, Pyramid and Warrior 1 are my most difficult poses because I really try to focus on keeping my hips square. I could bend farther into those poses if I let my hips shift, but I'd rather really keep the integrity of my hips and keep my chest open and focus on my breath.

I've always seen connections between my training and yoga, but I'm seeing them more than ever now. I take my yoga to training and my training to yoga.

Inhale, brace, exhale. That's the KBuddah Pranayama (breath regulation). It works great with back lunges and other training exercises and it works in yoga, too.

That Pranayama creates flexibility and elasticity and stability. Square your hips. Inhale, brace, and exhale!