Yoga Fellowship NI

Yoga For Work

While my job has its stresses I know it’s far from unique and I see many friends and colleagues who are also subjected to difficulties and stress every day. One way to help minimise the damage is to talk to others who are in similar roles and understand how you feel.

However, sometimes when we are at work we have stress from our personal or family life which we maybe don’t feel able to talk about or share freely. Practicing Yoga for us in YFNI is a well cherished gift to help keep calm in our lives - we all know its value at these times.

I have been influenced greatly by YFNI Teacher, Frank Moylan who when asked how often he practices yoga replies; “I try to practice yoga all day every day”. Frank goes on to explain how to try to take time throughout your day to focus on your breath, correct your posture in what he calls ‘little yoga holidays’.

Another important little jewel of advice came to me from YFNI Teacher, Liz Comerton - to keep a lavender hand cream on my desk and take the time to gently massage the cream into my hands with mindfulness: inhaling the relaxing scent and takes my head away from worries.

Yoga at Work

The tips and techniques that I have drawn from Frank, Liz and many other yoga friends in YFNI I am happy to share with my family, friends and colleagues. I am sure you too have many little treasures of help which have stuck and you regularly draw on and give to others. I know that some appreciate this more than others but usually I find that after the initial giggle most people try it and find it helps. It must work for some because I was asked to prepare a short 30 minute session on Yoga at Work.

I shared the following short yoga wonders with the group.

We began with a short three minute meditation to quieten the mind, which by the way, can be done at any time of day.  Sitting at your desk, comfortably supported by your chair with your spine straight, hands relaxed on your lap. Relax your neck, head and shoulders and lower your gaze to your naval. Imagine that you can draw the breath from your nostrils deep into your naval and slowly release from your centre as you exhale. After each exhalation and before breathing in, silently count One- inhale and exhale, count Two- and so on to Five. Beginning back at One and repeating the      sequence three times. If your mind takes you to other thoughts, gently bring it back and begin at one again.

I then taught some neck and shoulder rolls followed with some ‘wind releasing’ clenched fist and finger stretches with a hand massage, which can be done with or without the lavender hand cream. A hand massage can be very effective, especially if you incorporate this technique which is used in acupressure.  Gently massage the web between your fore finger and thumb with the opposite hand, aiming to get as close as possible to the point where the two bones meet. Continue this for a minute or two on each hand.  Because this is quite specific and some level of focus is needed, it makes a hand massage a bit more relaxing than just rubbing the hands together.

I gave a glimpse of some other simple settling exercises among them my own favourite breathing ‘quick fix’. For this you simply bring the tip of your tongue to rest on your bottom lip and then roll your tongue into a tube keeping your lips slightly open. Draw a slow steady breath in, feeling the cooling in the mouth. Close your mouth and slowly exhale through your nostrils. All this is as always better with your eyes closed and I love the instant calm feeling it creates. Overall the group seemed to agree.

We worked also on reviving the eyes using Palming, then a short introduction to Hatha breathing: in for 3 and out for 6 and ended with autogenic relaxation, which they loved. To introduce a bit of fun we tried the tree posture but some of them struggled as they had declined my early invitation to take of their shoes and the high heels were a bother.

The feedback was excellent and some of them asked me to come to their own management team meetings. I doubt the public purse would cover yoga for public servants but I’m sure that if they don’t choose a yoga path for themselves they will retain and use some of our YFNI basics and well used techniques.

Laraine Spakeman

 

Yoga Fellowship NI

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Featured Pose

Marjari-ansa (Cat Pose) 

Benefits:
Improves neck/shoulders and spine flexibility – great if sitting at a desk all day or if you do a lot of driving

Practice:

  1. Kneel on mat; sitting up on calf/ankle area
  2. Put hands as fists and place side-by-side between knees to give hip-width apart distance
  3. Bend down from waist and place elbow at top of knee with forearm on floor – like a rabbit
  4. Note where tip of fingers are and lift hands replacing heel of hand at that point
  5. Raise buttocks so you’re up on your knees – hands in line with knees
  6. Should be in a good firm table like position with knees directly under hips and hands directly under shoulders – very important
  7. This is the starting position which is important to achieve and stabilise the body in
  8. Next step is to raise the head and concave the back by depressing the spine – all this whilst breathing in.  Don’t go too far either way but should feel a good stretch.  Don’t jerk the head right back
  9. Expand lungs/abdomen area fully to breathe into the max and hold for 3 seconds
  10. Lower head towards chest and stretch spine upwards whilst exhaling
  11. Pull belly button in towards spine and have head facing down towards the thighs.  Hold for 3 seconds
  12. This is one round – repeat 5-10 times

Notes:

Perform slowly to get the max out of the stretch
Arms/thighs should remain vertical throughout.
Arms should not bend in this posture

Pregnancy:
Please speak to your teacher before practising.  It is deemed safe up to the 6th month but avoid forceful contractions of abdomen at all times.

Relax the Stress

Pratyahara

This is the turning of the senses inward and the fifth of Patanjali's eight-limbed path of yoga.  It could be an important tool for your stress reduction.  

Perhaps a reason why many people in today's world are 'stressed' is constant visual and auditory stimulation bombarding us - sensory overload. Consciously going inward on a regular basis can be a partial antidote to this regular assault on the senses.  It may help calm the nervous system and make you more resistant to future assaults.

Yoga can help this so if it sounds good to you why not Find a Class near you?