Shavasana Ajustments

Differend ways to prop up shavasana for increased relaxation and comfort for final relaxation.Yoga Props needed: Rectangular Bolster, Eye Pillows/Cover, Blanket, Relaxing music CD or Yoga-Nidra Audio, low lightning.



You can also use a blanket to cover yourself for added comfort and warmth. Once your body stops moving, the heat generated from the yoga class begins to dissipate.  Most people find that a cold body reacts with muscle tension and resistance.


Gently place an eye pillow over the eyes and temples.  The weight of the eye pillow creates a sense of ease and release in your facial muscles.
For an increased sense of grounding, place an eye pillow in the palm of each hand, or on each wrist depending on your comfort.

Place the bolster under your knees to support the lower back.
Before you settle in relaxing posture, lying on your back, lift your pelvis and slide your tailbone away towards your heels to comfortably spread your lower back.


Keep just a light, natural arch to your lower back. Rest your pelvis on the ground. Lengthen your legs, opening legs hip width apart. Let your legs and feet evenly and naturally roll outwards and feel your groin soften.


Lift your arms and shoulders up enough to spread your shoulder blades and back ribs. Ease your shoulders away from your neck.
Roll shoulders back and down, than lightly slide your shoulder blades more under and down your back to enhance the expansion of the chest and anterior shoulders.
Lift and opend your chest to be able to draw more oxygen into your lungs.


Then,roll your upper arms and forearms out to move your palms of hands towards the ceiling and rest your arms beside the torso at about a 45-degree angle. Place your palms up to encourage your chest and shoulders to open. Image your collarbone and chest spreading as your arms settle.
Lengthen the back of your neck by slightly moving your chin towards the chest.Slightly open your mouth and relax your jaw and your tongue down.


Once comfortable, take a slow deep inhale. As you exhale, let your body relax and sink into the floor. Maintain stillness as you relax and quiet the mind. Picture your whole body rejuvenating and resting. Feel your eyes relax into the sockets. Soften the tongue, lips, jaw and forehead. Let the heart, lungs, and other organs relax.
Continue to gaze inwards watching your body and mind rest. Relaxation can last from 5 to 20 minutes.
To exit, inhale bringing your legs into your chest and exhale gradually hugging your knees into your body and rock side to side several times. End rolling to the right pausing to feel your self mentally centered. Push from the right up to sitting. Take a moment to sit tall and feel the calmness Savasana has created.


Article writen by Kreg Weiss, B HKin

Shavanasa

Savasana (Corpse Pose) is the easiest of all Yoga postures to perform physically, yet is sometimes neglected as being the most important asana within the Hatha Yoga practice.

Savasana is a crucial closing of the physical practice where prana, life-energy, has a moment to become grounded, purposeful and collected. As one practices yoga flows, the yoga postures and breathing saturate the energy channels with prana. To exit a yoga practice (especially an extended one) without Savasana, this powerful energy may leave one with sense of disconnection. With this settling of prana in Savasana, an additional practice of internalizing, connecting and meditative observance can be explored.Practise of Yoga-Nidra here is complementing relaxation and isvery beneficial.


The process of conscious relaxation acts as a deep healing for the nervous system, thus can be helpful in reducing stress, tension headaches, and anxiety. Though simple in its application, Savasana can be an uncomfortable Yoga pose to perform for some. The basic position of lying on the back can pose as a challenge and, without being completely comfortable, achieving a state of full relaxation and beneficial healing is diminished.

Tight Hip Flexors and Low Back Tension When you lay flat on the back, the extension of the legs creates a lengthening of the hip flexors (the hip flexors begin at the proximal region of the thigh bone and come across the hip bone to attach at the inner hip crest region and partially at the lower lumbar vertebrae). When the legs lay heavy and the hip flexors are lengthened, a pulling motion is transmitted onto the pelvis and spine. If the hip flexors are tight, a large enough pull can occur on the spine such that the lumbar vertebrae experience a minute, but uncomfortable back-arch effect. This pulling motion on the spine can create an echo of back tension and send negative stimuli into the nervous system.


To reduce the effect of the hip flexors pulling on the lumbar vertebrae and pelvis, simply place a bolster, thick pillows, or a rolled up blanket under the knees. As the legs settle on the support, open the legs wide as well. The opening of the legs and the bend maintained in the knees creates a light outwards rotation of the thighs and reduces the lengthening of the hip flexors. You then basically reduce the distance between the origin and insertion of the hip flexor muscles, thus reducing the muscles' tension acting on the pelvis and spine.


Article writen by Kreg Weiss, B HKin

Yoga-Nidra Yogic Relaxation

Tonights Yoga-Nidra, Guided Yogic Relaxation at Himalaya Cafe audio record.The link is valid only for 3 months.You can download it by pressing 'save as'.
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Benefits of Reiki for Cancer Patients

Reiki is a health treatment that was developed in Japan to manipulate the energy levels in a person’s body. A Reiki therapist will use their hands to transmit energy to the patient’s body. More and more cancer patients are finding relief through Reiki treatments during their fights with cancer.The majority of cancer sufferers will experience extreme pain, nausea and anxiety at some point in their illness. Reiki is particularly effective at treating these symptoms. It is especially effective for those people who are suffering the evils of chemotherapy and radiation treatment for cancer. Those with aggressive forms of cancer, such as non-hodgkin’s lymphoma or pleural mesothelioma, will often have to undergo very extreme forms of conventional therapies.

But now recent studies have proven Reiki to be much more than a relaxing or soothing agent. There have been thousands of testimonials that swear by the healing capabilities of this practice, but now there is scientific proof, for all the “see-to-believers” out there.

A recent study conducted by the National College of Naturopathic Medicine has proven Reiki to be a vital asset in the natural healing process. This study examined the effects Reiki had on white blood cells and the immune system. The study group was again divided into three groups: one who received Reiki, one who just relaxed, and the last where the group neither relaxed nor received Reiki. Blood was taken from the volunteers before a Reiki session, immediately after, and then about four hours after.

Again, Reiki proved to not only make the patient feel less pain or more relaxed, it actually had physiological benefits. The blood samples taken from the group that received an actual Reiki session had an increased amount of white blood cells; thus in-turn would enhance the immune system. The amount of oxygen carried by the red-blood cells also increased compared to before and after blood samples. One lady from the experiment was so impressed by the results that she continued to self-treat with Reiki. She was able to combat the negative results of her iron-deficiency anemia with the use of Reiki.

Many doctors have used this research to promote the use of Reiki during chronic illness treatments and intensive cancer therapies. Some hospitals even offer free in-house Reiki treatments. They agree that the physical, mental, and spiritual improvements produced by Reiki, actually aid cancer treatment. The cleared energy-blockages, allow the body to heal and function in balance.

Article writen by Complementary Therapist Allison Brooks