By: Virginia Iversen, M.Ed
Although the holiday
season is in full swing, you may not be feeling the joy of the Christmas spirit
to its fullest extent if you are contending with negative emotions, such as
fear, grief or sorrow. The holidays can be quite challenging for many people,
especially if they have lost somebody they love during this time of year. Many
people also become quite stressed by the financial strain of the holiday season. However, many of the joyous feelings that the holidays evoke can be
kindled from within your own heart. Nurturing the uplifting feelings of
joy, peace and love is truly the essence of the Christmas spirit.
When you feel joyous,
peaceful and full, it is much easier to be generous and loving with the people
in your life. However, it can be difficult to feel these feelings if you
are struggling with negative emotional states, such as fear, despair or loss.
If this is the case for you, by practicing Yoga regularly you will be able to
more easily shift out of these negative emotional states. As Yogis and Yoginis,
by engaging in a balanced and comprehensive practice of Yoga postures,
pranayama exercises, chanting, and meditation, you will be able to truly
nourish the light within your own being.
Back bending Yoga asanas
are some of the best postures for releasing constriction throughout the front
of the body, including the heart chakra area, throat, upper shoulders, and
quadriceps. These are areas that often become constricted when we are experiencing
loss, grief and sadness. According to the Bible, the opposite of joy is
fear. When we feel empty and sad, we often feel that things will never
get better. This sense of fear prevents us from experiencing the divinity
within our own hearts. In order to feel the fullness of your own being and
offset this pervasive sense of fear, practicing back bending Yoga postures will
help to facilitate the release of negative emotions that may be preventing you
from experiencing the full joy of the Christmas spirit.
* Bow pose or Dhanurasana
Bow Pose is one of the
most profoundly effective back bending Yoga postures for releasing tension and
stress throughout the front of the torso. It is particularly effective for
opening up the entire heart chakra area, throat and upper shoulders.
Additionally, practicing Bow Pose will release tension and muscular contraction
throughout the quadriceps, which will free up the flow of your life force
energy throughout your entire body. Bow Pose is usually practiced towards the
latter portion of a Yoga class, after the body is fully warmed up with a series
of Sun Salutations, standing Yoga poses and balancing postures.
When your body is fully
warmed up and you're ready to practice Dhanurasna, lie down on your Yoga mat
and rest for a moment by turning your head and laying your right cheek on your
mat. Take a moment to ground and feel the earth beneath you. With your next
inhale, bend your legs and grasp your ankles with your hands. Place the palms
of your hands on the inside of your ankles. If your torso and quadriceps are
very tight today, it may be enough for you to just apply gentle pressure
against your hands with your ankles, without actually raising your legs off the
floor. If you would like to enter more deeply into Bow Pose, with an inhale
expand your upper body by applying more pressure against your hands with your
ankles, as you lift your heart off the Yoga mat.
You will feel a pronounced
elongation throughout your heart area, throat, shoulders, and quadriceps. With
each inhale; expand your body a little more fully. With each exhale, release
the posture slightly, so that you can expand more fully with your inhale. Hold
Bow Pose for three to five complete breaths, and then release the posture and
rest with your left cheek on the Yoga mat. Repeat Bow Pose two more times, and
then move slowly back into Extended Child's Pose, in order to release any
tension that may have accumulated in the lower back. Practicing this Yoga
posture will generate a feeling of ebullient fullness, which will help you to
truly embody the joy of the Christmas spirit.
