Blog

By Stef Markidis

You’ve found a space between the fridge and dining table to unfurl your mat, you’ve rolled up an old beach towel as your makeshift yoga bolster – you’re ready to go! 

But how to stay aligned without your yoga teacher in your home with you to assist?

Follow this checklist – from head to toe – to develop your own body awareness. You can do it while standing in mountain pose, and check in with each part of your body throughout your practice.

Head and neck 

Relax your face. Unclench your jaw. Tuck your chin slightly to allow your neck to lengthen. 

Yogi tip: Think of your neck as an extension of your spine.

Check your neck in: Baby cobra pose. Keep your neck elongated so your gaze is slightly forward of your mat.

Shoulders 

Relax your shoulders, drawing them down away from your ears. Open your chest to ensure you’re not hunched forward. Imagine the tops of your shoulders in line with your ears. 

Yogi tip: Practice visualisation. Imagine your shoulder blades sliding down your spine. 

Check your shoulders in: Upward facing dog. Keep that space between your shoulders and ears. 

Core

Remember your teacher’s words: ‘core switched on!’. A stablised core helps with overall alignment. 

Yogi tip: Avoid ‘flaring’ your rib cage – draw in your lower ribs. 

Check your core in: every pose. 

Arms and hands

Whether bearing weight or creating a line of extension, don’t forget your arms and hands. 

Yogi tip: practice stacking your joints to avoid injury. 

Remember your arms in: Cat/cow pose. Shoulders, elbows and wrists are stacked in a line. 

Hips

Standing in mountain pose, tuck your tailbone slightly, but be careful not to round your lower back. 

Yogi tip: ‘Pelvis’ means ‘basin’ in Latin – keep a slight pelvic tilt to avoid spillage!

Check your hips in: Chair pose. Tuck, tuck, tuck your tail. 

Feet 

Distribute weight evenly between your feet. Allow your weight to bear downward, while actively pushing your feet into the mat.  

Yogi tip: it’s common to overestimate your ‘hip distance’ stance.

Check your feet in: Extended side angle pose. Your back heel is grounded and a line of energy extends along your side body into your raised fingertips. 

Every time you self-correct your alignment, take a mental picture of how it feels in your body. You’re developing proprioception, an awareness of your body in space that is sometimes known as a ‘sixth sense’!

With practice, your alignment will become muscle memory and you’ll be able to – quite literally – do it with your eyes closed! 

By Tamblyn Lord

Remember as a kid attempting handstands or cartwheels in the playground … for fun?

We held no fear, just enjoyment and excitement at the thrill of perhaps balancing for a moment with our feet above our head. Of course, we fell often but we somehow managed to find a way to land safely.

How is it that as adults we have lost that excitement and have become fearful of balancing on our hands? We hold ourselves back thinking the pain of doing it wrong will affect our physical health, and our ego will take a beating. We think our an inability to balance is a reflection of our lack of certainty or a steady character. 

What if we were more aware in our approach to balancing on our hands? What if we enjoyed the challenge of a mindful preparation and the shift of perspective that potentially ‘flying’ on our hands can bring? What if we focused on our breath as well? Why look for the result when the practice can be enough in itself? 

With a steady approach to arm and hand balances, our perceived fears can be shed and our brighter potential may be realised. We can feel more energised, more focused and perhaps even find more of a sense of ‘joie de vivre’. Arm balances can be inspiring, invigorating and insightful – whatever level of ability we may have at the time.

If we’re both mindful and willing to play…

Sometimes when we’re at the beach nowadays, we may venture back to exploring what it is to balance on our hands again. We might cartwheel and try handstands, with the promise of the soft sand to catch us.

In our yoga practice, if we strengthen our upper body and improve our balance on our hands, our confidence can soar. Our fear diminishes and our focus sharpens, as we connect to the powerful life-force within us. As we learn to breathe while holding this space, there is a shift in our conscious awareness. We don’t focus on being able to ‘fly’ anymore, but rather, we enjoy the opportunity to explore the moment. There’s a letting go of who we think we may be and a hearty embrace of who we simply are. Just like when we were kids, having fun cartwheeling and doing handstands in the playground and feeling like we almost flew for a brief moment: a milli-second of lightness and free abandon.

Almost… 

Almost can mean so much more.

Feeling inspired?

Join Tamblyn for Fly Without Fear, a 4-week arm balance series starting May 8. More info and bookings here.

By Stefanie Markidis

With lockdown upon us, daily life has changed dramatically and many of our regular comforts – a hug from a friend, an aimless stroll through the city, sitting in your favourite café with a mug of steaming goodness – are unavailable to us. 

The regular routines of our lives are gone (for now), and this can be overwhelming. This is why it’s important to establish a ‘new normal’, a fresh routine for this strange period. 

Routine is a proven way of maintaining good mental health. Of course, a daily yoga practice is key. But here are some other ways to develop a new normal in the time of lockdown:

Establishing structure

Setting up a structure for your day can make large expanses of time more manageable, and psychologically prepare you for a good night’s sleep.

• Make a list of tasks you’d like to complete during the day. 
• Set up an enjoyable morning routine (meditation, stretching, coffee).
• Venture outside for some fresh air at least once every day, if this is possible for you. Otherwise, open a window and breathe deeply. 
• Establish a soothing sleep routine (devices off, listen to some calming music or play this guided yoga nidra meditation with Yoga Spot Fairfield teacher, Laura).

Develop self-care habits

Set up some small moments of self-care within your daily routine, so they are already in place to support you when you need. 

• Journaling. Write your thoughts in free-flow or a diary entry. 
• Humming and ‘om’-ing. This stimulates the vagus nerve, reduces stress and helps your sinuses. 
• Consistent meal times. Bring on the snacks – but try to keep defined meal times, too. 
• Move your body. Yoga Spot Fairfield has you covered with our new online timetable and livestream classes.

Connect to your community

Physical distance doesn’t have to mean social isolation – but remember to take time for yourself. 

• Make time to call others. 
• Schedule some daily ‘me time’, whether you’re living alone or in a busy household. Think of it as your precious few moments on the office toilet… at home. 
• Have an offline moment every day. This means no news!
• Delineate your ‘home life’ from ‘work life’ if possible (see this cute video of a father facing the realities of that challenge).  

Manage your expectations

Rules are for breaking, so remember to give yourself a break when you need it. Remain flexible and know that some days will be more routine-driven than others. That’s okay.  

Be kind to yourself. Yes, Shakespeare (probably) wrote King Lear while quarantined during the plague, but if your daily lockdown achievement is rolling out your mat and lying in savasana, that’s just as impressive.