.A yin practice to engage the Root chakra - our practice last week :)

The Root chakra is where the movement of prana through our bodies begins here and along with the second the third chakras it is more physical in nature.  As the foundation of our chakra system, it is associated with basic, fundamental needs: food, rest, sex, safety.

 Our chakra system is clean and healthy when prana can move freely throughout the body, but as life happens our chakras can become blocked. Blockage in the Root muladhara chakra suggests our basic needs are not being met, and personal attention and care toward them must be given. Symptoms of Root chakra malady include anxiety related to disorganization, insecurity, confusion, greed and feeling ungrounded. Oftentimes, this is the result of travel, moving, unfulfillment and (of course) stress.

.To remedy the major muladhara malfunction, we need to step back and reconnect with our physical body – the sensation of physically being – and allow ourselves to tangibly reconnect with the earth. We draw prana from the cycling energy that filters from the heavens through earth itself; being in touch with that energetic source is an easy and effective first step to relieving those symptoms. A healthy Root chakra will permit feelings of nourishment, confidence, trust and connection.

.A yin practice to engage the Root chakra should be focused on generating support and foundation. Holds will target the feet, legs and pelvis. Throughout the practice, envision a warm red light surrounding the chakra center (pelvis) and attempt to draw energy up through the ground while releasing unneeded and unwanted elements back into the earth.

Try these Root Chakra Yin Poses

Lie on your back with your knees bent – absorb energy from the earth to begin the practice.

Mountain pose – establish a solid base, grounding yourself deep through the feet.
Dangling pose – bend at the waist while standing, crossing your arms and allowing the entire upper body to dangle; feel supported by the major muscles of your lower body.
Squat – more dependence on the feet, legs and hips, but the entire body is closer to the earth; picture a red light emanating from the tailbone.
Marauding bear – release the tension of the practice so far, move organically on all fours.
Toe squat – intensity! While sitting on your knees, curl toes under and gently recline back to your tolerance; stretch and extend those tiny toe ligaments.
Shoelace pose – with legs crossed and knees stacked atop one another, fold forward into the earth; draw nourishment once more from the earth.
Dragonfly (straddle) – bend forward to tolerance and repeat, “I am safe and supported. I have everything I need. I trust in life.”
Supported bridge – lie on your back with a bolster under the hips/sacrum; allow the chakra center itself to feel supported.
Reclining twist – feel the complexity and potential of your body by stretching through a twist; you are a physical being!
Savasana

Stretches for Runners

How Tree Pose Can Make You A Better Runner

Running is a one-legged sport. Unless we run or do yoga, we’re not standing on one leg for any length of time as an adult. Which is a shame, because there is no better way to cultivate functional balance skills. Tree pose not only builds balance — it also sharpens our mind and its ability to focus.

 

Tree Pose Basics

As with running technique, stay with form to cultivate a strong tree pose that can withstand the most challenging attacks on the mind 

1. Start in mountain pose, placing your heels under your sitting bones. Keep the outer edges of your feet as parallel as the yellow lines in the middle of a street.

2. Shift your weight to your right foot, then bend the left knee and raise it to the height of your hip. Turn your left knee out to the side while keeping your hip points even with each other. Place the bottom of your left foot either above or below your right knee (not on the inner knee). On your exhale, draw the back of the navel toward the spine and fix your gaze at one point in front of you.

3. Hold for five breaths, then release your left foot to the floor with control and repeat on the other side. 

If you fall out of the pose, get right back into it. Otherwise, you’re sending a message to your brain that it is a-okay to quit when things are hard for you. Those little messages add up over time to create an ethos and a pathos — tree is a great place to challenge that on a daily basis. 

  Important Benefits Of Tree Pose

 

1. Strengthens the muscles of the standing leg’s foot, ankle, and hip.

2. Teaches us to resist gravity by drawing the chest skyward while pushing our standing leg’s foot downward.

3. Builds functional balance skills by challenging our center of balance.

4. Teaches us to stand on one leg with confidence.

5. Builds mental focus when we can’t control a situation. When we practice tree, we have no idea if we’re going to fall or not. It’s like running — we can train and train, but we can’t control the weather on race day. We just have to go with it. 

Try adding tree pose to your cross training 3 times each week for a month and note how your balance (both in your mind and on your feet) shifts from a steady practice of being unsteady. 

Yoga For Runners

The impact of running can take a toll on your knees, hips and lower back, which can result in tightening of your musculature, limited movement and slower running speeds.

Incorporating Power Yoga as part of your training can support your running performance in several ways:

• A Power Yoga class involves at least an hour of stretching. The increase in flexibility you will gain will not only reduce your chances of injury but also increase your overall flexibility which means your running strides become longer and your running style more free and flowing.
  
  
• Practicing Power Yoga not only encourages flexibility but also increases strength throughout your body. With a stronger core - in its widest sense - the muscles that are most active in running are better supported, your entire musculature is better able to cope with the impact of running, and your primary running muscles are able to move more freely - uninhibited by weakness of other muscles.
  
  
• The deep, diaphragmatic breathing technique used in a Power Yoga class helps increase lung capacity and regulate your breathing. As an athletic style of yoga, your heart rate rises whilst you practice so you become trained to breathe more deeply and effectively whilst you’re exercising.
  
  
• Runners also say they experience fewer aches and pains after running and find their focus improves. But, there’s only one way to find out the effects of Power Yoga on your running, and that’s to try it!