Instant Flex
Three years ago I was diagnosed with a labrum tear. The labrum is a ring made of fibro-cartilage that permits for the ball to insert into the socket, allowing the hip to perform movement and bear weight. Years of rigorous dance training had caused the wear and tear, and there was no way to reverse the damage from repetitive movement and the passage of time. I was devastated. Felt like I would never be able to leap in the air again. It was quite disruptive to admit that arthroscopic surgery looked like the ultimate cure. It felt counter-intuitive, so I dismissed it, and instead went for holistic treatment, like acupuncture, herbal remedies and energy work. While all of these helped, it was a specific Yogea Instant Flex Routine that slowly alleviated the pain by strengthening and stretching. Wear tear can be triggered in various ways. Poor nutrition, low calcium absorbency and sinking collagen levels are only some of the culprits. While I changed my nutrition to supply the necessary nutrients I also geared my yoga practice to address the tear and wear of the joint by introducing a wide array of stabilizing, strengthening and lubricating isometric postures. The result was a well-rounded routine that focused on building muscle tone, while consciously stretching tendons and ligaments to promote healthy joint function.
That’s when I realized the healing effect of targeted yoga, and the pivotal role that joints play in our life. Our joints get inflamed or injured only to signal a need for changing our routine, for cutting the overload, for releasing toxic residue. In fact, the joints are the natural junctures of the body. They not only allow articulation between the bones, promote movement through different ranges of motion and facilitate weight shift. But they’re also the body’s repository of unresolved emotions, piled stress and excess fear that clogs energy and blocks the body’s natural flow. Similarly, joints are the natural links in a chain of integrated movement towards wholeness. Through movement by contraction of opposing muscles joint function reminds us to consider the principles of organic alignment when addressing physical, mental, social and personal issues.
Based on the effect of oppositional pull – of grounding and uplifting, of yielding and engaging, of supporting and radiating joints help us move the background body into the foreground and come to terms with things that we need to relinquish in our lives. Rusty joints translate into an outdated mindset. Flexible joints open our personal lens allowing perspective and an attitude of allowing and acceptance. They invite the inner witness, the silent observer within who ventures from the physical into the subtle energetic plane to view the self from a bird’s eye. When you disassociate yourself from the pain as pertaining to your physical body you are able to detect the underlying cause for blockage and heal the “vein”, by first addressing the “artery”. I seldom like to practice on the roof decks of buildings all over the world and observe the city’s network. That’s when I spot a marvelous analogy: the arteries of the roads intersect at junctions to promote fluid traffic. These junctions resemble our joints, the buffers that link one body part to the other, those points of intersection that very much like signposts point to the right direction at every stage of our journey.
Come and flex those joints with a targeted Yogea routine shot from an artistic roof deck at the heart of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, the city of wisdom…
Joints Support Yoga Routine – Instant Flex
This basic Yogea sequence cultivates stability and a sense of centeredness and balance. It promotes radiant joint health while offering a diverse palette of balancing, twisting, forward-bending, back-bending sequences, as well as inversions and balancing poses. The easy-to-follow sequence stimulates the endocrine system through glandular secretion and stretches tendons and ligaments while strengthening, and toning muscles. The moderate pace allows the harnessing of vital energy while providing focus and inner peace. It nurtures both the ball and socket and the hinge joints in the body by lubricating them and providing healthy cushioning and mobility. Structured around the energetic principles of alignment: center, support, yield, radiate, breathe and return, the routine honors the universals laws of oppositional pull and teaches proper structural alignment by unleashing energetic flow. The effect is a soothing, centering and harmonizing experience both physically and mentally.
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