The month of March is a pivotal one in the year, days getting longer and warmer are signs that spring is among us. With this change, we focus on reminding ourselves of the tools that allow us to be receptive, open, and vulnerable to whatever this change brings.
We open our hearts to the experience and allow ourselves to stay—to catch a glimpse of our vulnerability. This is the space that leads the way to love, grace and healing. Our openness is not separate to our capacity for love, intimacy and creativity.
There is a catch: being one with our vulnerability is not a walk in the park. We get on the mat to reconnect with the discipline and strength it requires. To be able to refine the dance between vulnerability and boundaries.
It is an on-going dialogue between the impulse to soften and open and the impulse to contain and protect.
This month, heart opening sequences will aim at strengthening not just the physical body but also the energy body by concentrating the mind through stillness and opening the heart space. Giving us the tools for the “little deaths” that we encounter in this life.
It is through acceptance, trust, and forgiveness we are able to digest, assimilate and detoxify the difficult emotions we harbour in our hearts.
Benefits of Backbends
Improve Posture
Tight shoulders, crouching forward, and “tech neck” or extending our neck out of line with our spine all lead to poor posture.
Developing strong back muscles with back bends paired with strong shoulder muscles helps to counteract a rounded back or collapsed shoulders.
Increase Energy
Backbends stimulate blood flow throughout the body and energises the nervous system. The combination of both increases physical energy.
Healthy Spine
Expanding the thoracic cavity and the diaphragm, relieves the body from lower back and neck pain in cervical and lumbar regions of the spine. Backbends give the spine the mobility it needs so it does not overcompensate for the lack of movement in the thoracic spine (mid back)
Flexible Rib Cage
Expanding your heart space essentially allows your ribs to stretch. A flexible rib cage results to increased blood flow to the heart and the ability to take deeper breaths.
Experience Better Breathing
Expanding the rib cage and improving lung capacity allows more air with each inhale and exhale. Longer, deeper breaths help in performing the asanas (postures) and also helps with decreased anxiety, improved sleep quality, energy levels, and digestion.
Prana. Life force. The most integral part of your practice.