Yoga Clinic 1: Hips Don't Lie

Welcome to the first session of Yoga Clinic. I am so excited you are here! A very special THANK YOU for all my new (free and paid) subscribers! You are encouraging me to want to do better and show up no matter how intimidated I may feel in front of my old iPhone, tripod and cheap ring light (that again I forgot to turn on!) But, I love what I do and when I imagine your kind selves behind the screen

Diana Strinati Baur

,

Emily Levin

,

Martha Nichols

,

Thierry Leuzy

and

Christiane Eid

, it suddenly becomes a lot easier to press ‘record.’

This week’s yoga session is inspired by

Thierry Leuzy

and it addresses the hips.

In the early days of my Yoga Teacher’s Training I was taught that the hips are the area where we tend to store our unresolved emotions. To be honest with you, I didn’t believe it. Where was the scientific proof behind this grand claim? It took another ten years for me to open my mind to this hypothesis, when two of my yoga students reported back to me after a hip-opening yoga class about a tsunami of tears that seemed to take over them “out of nowhere.” And then, I was officially humbled when the same tsunami of tears seemed to take over me in the shower, after I had taught a class that focused intensely on the hips. So now I believe in what Shakira sings: hips don’t lie.

The 15 minute practice I have chosen for you today is done mostly standing up, with some squatting and twisting. Besides opening your hips, it will also open your hearts and will help you ground. It is a great practice to do when you are feeling sluggish: first thing in the morning, or anytime during the day when you want to move energy in your body.

In a future Clinic I will be doing a more Yin based, restorative hip openers that are calming, which you can do towards the end of the day.

SOME GUIDANCE FOR SAFE PRACTICE:

1. Follow your breath and pay attention to your body’s cues. If your breath is restricted in any way, you might be pushing it. Yoga can be challenging, which is a good thing, but it should never be painful! If you experience any sharp, burning pain, please back out of the pose with care. Allow your breath to be your guide.

2. Don’t rush to the most advanced version of the pose. Be content with where you are. Yoga is a journey! Sometimes it takes years, even decades, to find your comfortable expression of a challenging pose. I purposely give ‘stages’ of flexibility.

3. And most importantly, be kind to yourself. Always! In some of the comments I read you referring to your bodies as “aging” and “unrecognizable.” While I understand all too well where you are coming from, I want you to have a kind(er) outlook on your bodies that have carried you through so much. If anything, what I hope is that in the next 15 minutes at least you can practice sending as much love as you possibly can to your bodies. (More on this important topic in a future post).

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THESE YOGA CLINICS:

Every Thursday I will post a short yoga asana practice and/or a short breathing exercise and meditation in the hope to help you build a library of simple practices that you can incorporate into your busy day. As I have mentioned in a previous post, I am a big believer in incremental one-degree-turns that don’t overwhelm your mind, but train it gently towards change. You are more likely to stick with the practice this way.

15 minutes of any movement every day is better than aiming for an ambitious one-hour killer session at the gym once a week. I can rarely find an hour for my practice, but I can definitely find 15-30 minutes in the morning, and another 15-30 minutes in the afternoon for a second practice. These shorter sessions act as a great alternative to another cup of coffee when I need a quick ‘pick-me-up’ and add up to about 1-2 hours of movement every day, when combined with my walks. I highly recommend you give this a try if you struggle to find an hour to move, and then feel guilty about it.

And now, as promised, here is your first hip opening practice.

If you are not a paid subscriber yet, you may want take an advantage of my October/November special and get 20% off your yearly subscription.