Welcome to Day 7.
My hope is that these daily posts are inspiring you to explore moving your body throughout the day, rather than simply saving it for one hour at a class or when you have the time. And learning a little about your body along the way.
If we look to animals we would learn a lot about how to live in our bodies.
The little staffy I had the pleasure of looking after for 3 months never comes off the couch with out stretching first before she does anything else. This is a picture I took from an earlier 5mins for you I ran in November 2013 and you can see how she stretches through the back and then the front.
My hope is that these daily posts are inspiring you to explore moving your body throughout the day, rather than simply saving it for one hour at a class or when you have the time. And learning a little about your body along the way.
If we look to animals we would learn a lot about how to live in our bodies.
The little staffy I had the pleasure of looking after for 3 months never comes off the couch with out stretching first before she does anything else. This is a picture I took from an earlier 5mins for you I ran in November 2013 and you can see how she stretches through the back and then the front.
If you watch a cat when startled from sleep, it doesn't jump up in a panic as we might, it opens an eye or two, arches it's back and then looks around to see what all the noise is about.
With the nervous system housed in the spine, it seems a natural response to do this to calm the nerves before responding to the "emergency", so why don't we do this? ;)
For this reason, many poses are drawn from the study of animals and named after them.
So today we are exploring the last two directions of the spine in the cat pose.
As you move, do so with grace and ease, listening to the cues from the body
and focusing on synchronising the breath with the movement.
Visualise one vertebra at a time moving.
Really tuning into your spine and the muscles and enjoying the exploration of the body.
Imagine as you do the amazing fact that there are 33 vertebrae, (5 fused to form the sacrum, and 3-5 forming the tailbone/coccyx) with some 120 muscles connected to the spine, and around 220 ligaments keeping it stable to protect the nervous system it houses.
This amazingly designed "machinery" is your body.
Nothing is left unthought of.
It has even been said that the movement of the tailbone is integral to the movement of cerebraspinal fluid that flows in and around the nerves within the spine and the brain within the skull.
{interesting thought when you think of a dog wagging its tail?!}
All the more reasons to ensure the continued mobility of the whole of the spine.
Remember to get creative with your practice.
During the day see if you can fit in a moment or two where you move your spine in the 6 different directions.
Notice the difference it makes to your energy and day after you do so.
By the way, did you find an example of where you move your spine sideways?
I still haven't ;)
See you tomorrow,
Tx
With the nervous system housed in the spine, it seems a natural response to do this to calm the nerves before responding to the "emergency", so why don't we do this? ;)
For this reason, many poses are drawn from the study of animals and named after them.
So today we are exploring the last two directions of the spine in the cat pose.
As you move, do so with grace and ease, listening to the cues from the body
and focusing on synchronising the breath with the movement.
Visualise one vertebra at a time moving.
Really tuning into your spine and the muscles and enjoying the exploration of the body.
Imagine as you do the amazing fact that there are 33 vertebrae, (5 fused to form the sacrum, and 3-5 forming the tailbone/coccyx) with some 120 muscles connected to the spine, and around 220 ligaments keeping it stable to protect the nervous system it houses.
This amazingly designed "machinery" is your body.
Nothing is left unthought of.
It has even been said that the movement of the tailbone is integral to the movement of cerebraspinal fluid that flows in and around the nerves within the spine and the brain within the skull.
{interesting thought when you think of a dog wagging its tail?!}
All the more reasons to ensure the continued mobility of the whole of the spine.
Remember to get creative with your practice.
During the day see if you can fit in a moment or two where you move your spine in the 6 different directions.
Notice the difference it makes to your energy and day after you do so.
By the way, did you find an example of where you move your spine sideways?
I still haven't ;)
See you tomorrow,
Tx
