Day Four
INTRODUCTION
Hello! We've had three weeks together now, and I feel like we've done some good work towards the practice of keeping our bodies and minds focused on exercises that can help prevent a fall, as well as help us recover from one. In general, being mindful of where we are at each day, how we are feeling and how we move through the day can be helpful as well. Being in tune with our bodies and our environment, and acting with intention can be just as important.
So as you experience your daily activities, try to add some of the things we do here everywhere else. Take a moment after a busy time of day to slow down and engage in some focused breathing. Take advantage those moments where you can to add some balancing exercises each day. Plan to spend a few minutes daily for stretching and strengthening – it doesn't take much! But it's very important.
Being still, sitting or reclining for long periods of time is rough on the body. I have seen this myself at the hospital – someone spends a few days in bed and they find themselves much weaker than the illness alone can account for. There are countless articles outlining the health risks that come from sitting too much. Yale Medicine describes vascular problems, lower back pain and spine issues, heart disease, weight gain, obesity and even cancer. (6) Fortunately, there are a wide variety of things we can to to help mitigate these risks and many of them are what we've been doing here together! I hope you continue to enjoy some of these exercises on your own and with Liz during her yoga classes as well.
EXERCISES DAY FOUR
BREATHE -
Let's sit tall in our chairs, checking in with our alignment. Is the spine long and straight? Is your chin level to the ground? Roll your shoulders up and back, taking a deep breath in. Make sure your shoulders are square over your hips and that your weight is pressing evenly down from both hips onto the chair. See that your legs extend straight out and your feet are firmly grounded under your knees. Close your eyes, check in with your breath. How are you feeling today? How is your breathing? Relaxed? Tight? Forced? Remember, we're observing only, not judging.
Let's work on deepening the breath, increasing the depth of our inhalation, and letting the exhalations extend on their own. Begin to count each breath in, and count each breath out. Inhale – 2,3,4. Exhale – 2,3,4. Take a few more even, deep breaths like this – and then see if you can extend the count of the exhale to 5 or 6. Sometimes I find it easier to do this if I take a stronger feeling inhalation to extend and slow the exhalation. Keep working on this until you are able to make the exhale twice as long as the inhale. If at any time you are feeling short of breath or light-headed, return to your normal breathing. Barring that, let's breathe together for a few counts.
STRETCHING and
STRENGTHENING and
BALANCING, oh my!
➺ Head and neck
➺ Isometrics - Out and up, then add a twist
➺ Isometrics – Anjali mudra, elbows in, arms up (round) then out to cactus (arch), out to a T then up, palms touch
➺ Isometrics - cradle elbows, side stretch
➺ Internal Isometrics - hands to hips, twist, center for Kegel's "contract and release", twist again
➺ Flow - High lunge, twist open
➺ Standing clock – 12 (pyramid), 3 (triangle), 6 (high lunge), 9 (crescent cross balance)
➺ Figure 4 balance, add chair pose
➺ Tip toes, ankle rolls (bent knee, foot behind)
COOL DOWN -
➺ Wide legged forward fold
➺ Whatever feels good that the body is calling for -- tune in!
➺ Sit upright for deep, even breaths, closing your eyes for a moment as we end class
CLOSING -
First, thank you. I really appreciate that you joined me for this workshop. I hope that you enjoyed it and found some benefit from it, and can continue to use some of the things we worked on together in the future. I think that breathing exercises and balancing practice can come in handy when you least expect it, and I know that stretching and strengthening are helpful in so many ways. It would be great if you never needed these skills for managing a fall! If you have any comments or feedback, I would be happy to hear them. I really enjoyed these classes with you and would be happy to make any improvements that would help!
Now open your eyes, take your arms out and up, let's share an awakening breath. Let your palms touch and come down through center towards the heart. And we're done! Thank you.
NAMASTE!
tHANK YOU!!