Last week I revisited the cue of tightening your armpits. I explained when you try to pull your armpits down, you’re actually tightening the muscles in your core around your sides and back. Not actually tightening your armpits. You can feel
Why pull the armpits down?
Last week I shared a video from Yoga Synergy that explained all those funny arms movements we do at the beginning of class and how they tension nerves. I’ve included the video again below in case you missed it. So
Stretching or tensioning the nerves
Nerve tensioning is similar to nerve flossing or mobilisation. Nerves don’t really get longer and they are quite vulnerable. We can’t really stretch nerves and intense pulling on the nerves can risk pain and injury. But gentle tension on the nerves and connective tissue that surrounds them can help increase blood flood and movement.
Small changes make a big difference – triangle pose
A couple weeks ago the practice tip focused on using triangle pose to find a stretch in the sides of your upper body. The last step was adjusting your hand on your leg. Have you ever wondered where exactly to
Balance forward and backward bending movement
Balance is a common theme in yoga. Not just balancing on one foot or your hands, but balancing movement and effort. For example, we always do movement on each side of the body. And we also balance one type of
Strengthening the back muscles
These last few weeks, we’ve looked at different stretches for the back to help relieve back pain. It’s also important to focus on strengthening the muscles of the back. A dynamic version of locust pose can help. Dynamic means moving
Simple back stretch with active glutes
So what if you just want to stretch the back? Sphinx pose is often quite effective and simple. However, it’s very important that your buttocks and core muscles are active or you might feel more pain in your back. Lie
Stretching the side of your body – take 2
Yep, I’m still focused on different ways to relieve back pain – who knew there were so many options! Yoga is great for moving your body in ways that you often don’t – particularly twisting and bending sideways – both
Stretching the side of your body – take 1
I’m still on that theme of relieving back pain. There are a lot of reasons people experience back pain and it depends on your unique body. In fact, check out this great article on why every yoga pose if different
Another option to stretch the hips and help the back
Last week’s email featured a yoga pose that often helps with low back pain when the back pain is due to tight muscles in your legs and hips. But that doesn’t work for everyone, since it depends on which muscles are