A Mindful Practice Gillian Bell – Asha Yoga Many students flock to yoga asana (the physical practice) after incurring a sportsrelated injury. This injury may temporarily or permanently remove them from their current, go-to physical activities. Yoga is an attractive alternative as it is a low impact, low cardio form of staying active. We also choose yoga asana as it is a form of active recovery and a great way to help lengthen the muscles. If muscle cells are shortened they will not perform at their maximum efficiency (achieved when a muscle is stretched to 20% of its resting length). The benefits of stretching seem to level off after holding a stretch longer than 5 minutes. It is beneficial, as most things are, to find a balance, a level of homeostasis in the body, particularly in the muscles. That being said, many injuries are incurred through yoga asana. Improper alignment and over-stretching are too often a result of a mindless practice. It can be hard to set boundaries for the body, as yoga is meant to be a spiritual practice, and some choose to lose themselves amidst the flow. We need to develop a strong body awareness and mindfully listen to the needs of the body.
Alignment & Posture “Our physiology is more efficient and performs more effectively when the body’s main systems are aligned and integrated as a whole.” The Nervous System can be directly impacted by poor posture, and nerves can become agitated or compressed, thus impinging on the transmission of information from the Central Nervous System. If we aren’t mindful of alignment and posture, we can trigger a response in the body known as the General Adaptation Syndrome. This is when stress hormones flood the body, thus increasing demand on the vascular and hormonal systems. This can lead to adrenal exhaustion, a weakened immune system and potentially allowing the development of disease. “The stress response caused by chronic poor alignment is comparable to that of being in a prolonged state of falling backwards out of a chair.” To me that sounds exhausting and quite painful.
When healing the body’s tissue repair, proper alignment can lessen scar tissue formation, reduce inflammation and prevent degenerative changes in the body.
Aging Muscles As we age it is important to give our muscles more time to recover between activity and exertion. Our muscles also re-fire more slowly, known as contraction fatigue. So please remember to be kind to your body as we stay active in our later years. Muscle mass will decrease with age, mainly our fast-twitching fibers. Yoga can improve the muscles pliability and strength. If you build a large mass of muscle early in life, you can preserve your fast-twitch fibers and stimulate the muscle’s ability to self-repair.
Source: The Injury-Free Yoga Practice, Steven Weiss