Hard work. It's not getting any easier.

Mar 5, 2012 | Health, Yoga practices, Yoga teaching  | 0 comments

Sometimes on our communal property we have big jobs to do…like this one today. The excavator dug out a long swale with the turf left thrown up on the side for us to unroll and replace it. Simple but backbreaking work, made for stocky and stalwart labourers, not for sexagenarians whose exercise mainly consists of clicking away at keyboards. We survived. Heather and Rick came to yoga class tonight, not needing standing poses, but rather inversions and restorative poses. Fortunately I have those in my teacher’s tool box and they were utilised. Here’s a lovely savasana script for people who have done the hard yards or even hard work in the yard. (Perhaps you would want to do a voice recording to pamper yourself.)

Let the brain recede from the skull towards the inner ears. Let the body accept the draw of gravity. From the ilia to the groans, let the legs fall away towards the heels. Let the feet hang from the inner ears. Let the ankles hang from the inner ears. Let the breath wash, cleanse the feet and ankles. Let the whole of each leg hang towards the heels. Let the left leg drag gently on the left abdomen and internal organs – stomach and spleen; and the right leg on the right abdomen and internal organs – liver and gall bladder. Let the internal organs offer no resistance. Soften the rib cage, lungs, and heart – above, below, and inside. From the inner shoulder blades, let the fingers hang. From the inner ears, let the shoulder blades hang. Soften the neck and throat and let that softening feeling give release to the back of the neck. Let the chin drop towards the ears. Into the space of inner ears, let the tongue fall. Let the brain fall into the space of the inner ears, and further to the base of the spine. Surrender all thoughts, even the thought of relaxing, so you are Being without becoming. When you are ready to resurface, with the help of the breath become aware of the body. Stretch, then roll to the side before coming up. (after Ramanand Patel c. 1988)

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