The Blooming Flower - The hip opening process



 

piriformis stretch (external rotation)

The hip to me is the most fascinating structure in our body often I have visualized it as a flower opening its petals and hence the name of this post!!

 

Being a ball and socket joint it has a lot of mobility second only to the shoulder, but in my opinion along with the groin is the most difficult to release and open.

 

I remember at the time of my teacher training at Sivananda in Trivandrum , I used to be almost in tears in deep seated twists like Ardha matsyendrasan (half spinal twist) or Paschimottanasan (full forward bend ) due to my restricted hip mobility , Being a dancer we constantly worked on opening our hamstrings for kicks ,splits etc. but rarely paid attention to the hips which are responsible for not only strength and stability in the lower back but also flexibility and forward bending back bendings and twisting movements Yes... the single most important function of the hip is to provide balance and stability to our upper body , in other words the hip structure support the spine and the torso. 

 

Tight hips are caused by disuse (lack of use) and misuse that is excessive wear and tear of the muscles around the joint .They can cause havoc and cause stiffness in the lower back, mobility issues with walking and basic movements .We also have a tendency to use one side of the body much more than the other causing further imbalance in the rest of the spine for e.g. not standing straight, sitting more into one hip than the other is a classic example! 

 

In yoga practice externally and internally rotating the hips and staying in stretches for long periods of time anywhere between 2- 5 minutes can definitely help open out the hip joint and the muscles around the joint. 

 

The photograph is a variation of the pidgeon pose / Kapothasan with a twist ! A great one for opening out the piriformis , a pear shaped muscle in the gluteal region .This pose can prepare us for deeper hips stretches like sitting in Padamasan / lotus pose and bend forward . If one is externally rotating the joint its very important to counter that with an internal rotation -asanas like half virasan or full virasan are helpful to bring flexibility in to the joint . These may be difficult at first but to breathe into them and surrender in to them allows on to stay in these deep stretches for a longer duration!! 

 



Virabhadrasan 2

 

Equally very flexible hips can be dangerous too and can cause havoc in the lower back region .Therefore hyper flexible people must work on stability and strengthening of the joint – some appropriate Asanas for strength would be Utkatasan / chair pose and the Warrior poses .



Working on a more mental emotional level - the hips are our seat of emotions and feelings and subconscious desires. .. In the subtle / energy body the sacral region corresponds to the Swadisthan chakra visualized as an orange vortex of energy or crimson lotus flower with 6 petals .Keeping our awareness on the chakra while working in a particular asana can even help rectify sexual, pelvic disorders as the chakra in the physical body corresponds to our reproductive and excretory function.

Therefore often while working on the hips one can experience deep emotional releases and responses on a psycho- emotional level.

Lastly we all have a tendency to avoid working on painful processes in our bodies especially tight hips but all in all our hips assist us to stand , walk , run , dance and balance our emotions and desires on a subtler level .The process of the blooming flower or opening the hips needs perseverance , patience and surrender !! 

 

 

 

The Tipping point - featured in Elle India, May issue 2012

An Epiphany could come in any form and it changes the way you live ...

When I signed up  for a two week intensive  vedic chanting  workshop at Chennai's Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram three and a half years ago , little did I know what I was getting into . Not only did the mantras fill me with positive vibes, but I found a huge difference in my breathing patterns.
After all chanting is an exhalation that requires supreme control over the breath  . Also  there's an immense amount of concentration  to get it right  . The correct pronounciation, which is called varna in sanskri , and the correct  use of tones, or swaras are essential to ensure that the meaning of the mantra doesnt change .
Even if you dont understand Sanskrit , I feel that recognising the different qualities of the mantras is instinctive-  they can be meditative  , energising , heating , cooling or balancing  .

The classical way of learning Vedic chanting  is through the process of adhyayanam , which involves listening to  the teacher and then repeating the mantras , promoting memory and focus  .

For me, the everyday became a sadhana , a discipline that I maintain along with my yoga practice  . Vedic chanting is a dying art and i am commited now to protecting it and spreading the message of the Vedas . So I followed  up the workshop with a two year teacher training course , during which I also did a recording for the opening ceremony of the Common wealth games  held in Delhi in 2010.

I  now continue to  teach and amalgamate the practice  of yoga ,chanting  and body work  in  different parts of India and overseas  .  

The Yin of Yoga

On a recent study trip of mine to Thailand, I had the privilege of taking a yin yoga workshop with Victor Chang at one of Bangkok’s premier yoga studios Yoga Elements. It was like entering into a different realm of yoga asana practice.....
In our daily typical city life existence we are constantly in 'yang ' mode or the more aggressive, dynamic masculine action and goal - oriented mode of existence, which if one thinks about is so much our own general yoga practice - with the teacher 'directing' you to 'perform' asanas... The  yin mode is feminine, passive, hidden,  slow- moving, very  much translating  into the yoga practice as well, where the teacher allows, rather than directs  the practitioner's body  to fold, hold and open into poses for  almost five minutes-and in a more advanced practice- even 10- 20 minutes!  Slowly sinking into the poses allowing the practice to happen to you rather than you making them happen. Yin  works according to Chinese medicine on 12 major energy lines in the body which correspond to the major organs in our body including the heart, lungs, gallbladder, liver, spleen -  very much like the 'nadis' in our Indian yogic physiology.
Yes  I have to admit  some of the poses were excruciatingly painful, especially  the hip openers -as one holds the posture it allows the fascia to slowly open creating more space in the sacroiliac region - where the pelvis connects with the lower back .
 One breathes a sigh of relief, almost smiling as one unfurls from the posture but leaving one’s body transformed with a certain openness and free flow in the blocked and tight areas. The class finishes generally with a meditation to feel the 'chi’, 'prana' or life-force that one has created in the hour and a half. 
 The aftermath of the practice is a feeling of peace, calm and more importantly – a feeling of being better equipped to deal with life outside your yoga class!

 

 

STATIC VERSUS DYNAMIC

This is the age old debate between the 'yogi classicists ' staunch followers of Hatha yoga and  new age hybridised , ever - evolving  power , vinyasa flow yogis .
Firstly what  precedes what  is a common question...  the classical practice  or flow - this question is as paradoxical  as  answering  which  came first the chicken or the egg !
 Through experience one  needs to have a strong classical  base which focuses on alignment, the basic stacking  of joints one on top of each other so that one actually  does a dynamic breath linked pose to pose practice like a vinyasa flow one automatically through  muscle memory align themselves even though  moving through a faster  pace .
Although  the neophyte might be more attracted to a faster more interesting sequencing of the vinyasa  or power practice  - as a classical practice  definately requires  more  concentration and a strong will to hold postures !This some times works better for the beginnner or the very stiff practitioner for eg  in  a paschimottanasan/ seated forward bend reaching dynamically bending  down  and up several times with the breath  could  warm up the lower back muscles and hamstrings also keeping the mental faculties engaged and occupied through the dynamicity to then eventually hold the pose -  can make it a less ardous  and more achievable for the practitioner !
This brings  us back to the aim of all yoga practice " sukham sthiram asanam" which literally means  comfortable steady position .  To experience a posture in its complete steadiness and comfort  is a huge challenge and sometimes a  process  in even  simple poses like shavaasan / corpse pose - where ones body can achieve stillness but the mind is constantly in motion .
There fore  preparation   for the body by doing asanas or  surya namaskars/sunsalutations are a good method  to create  heat and generate prana/ energy in your body  to remove  blocks of tension  in the energy  body , and to make the  joints  muscle  flexible and strong  to hold poses .
Eventually  practicing according to ones age  , conditioning (mental and physical ), ones will and ability is the key to choosing ones methodology of practice - as they  say  the paths are many the goal is one !

 

Enjoy your body , its the only instrument you will ever own - Baz luhrmann

The body is  a vehicle which  needs to be kept healthy to be enjoyed - as Baz Luhrmann the famous movie maker (moulin rouge) proclaims !  The primary way to do that is to bring the body in to total balance - balancing out the yin yang  or the masculine/ feminine energies within oneself .Hatha yoga is the  one of the oldest simplest and  most gross way to do that  - where one sees  and senses  the changes almost immediately by  just purely  working on the right and left  sides of the body  - eventually leading to intense purification  . - through  yoga asan and pranayam. When  I look  back at my  physical  yoga practice  this has been  the constant and  ongoing struggle .
One is constantly reminded  in ones self practice - about the imbalances in ones own physical body -  for examply if the right hamstring is tighter    the left hip is more open  or if the  right shoulder  is more open  than the left  then  the left shoulder might be the stronger one  -  this the beauty and challenge of  a  regular yoga practice which  constantly brings one back to the mat again and again   for that quest for  balance . within oneself  . Where by ofcourse this leads one to subtler journeys  to further balance out the emotional and mental  imbalances  and conditoning .