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There's no part that yoga can't reach, say James Giuseppe and Bella Galt
Regular practice means a serene mind and a strong, healthy body. Our flexible friends Bella Galt and James Giuseppi choose three sets of postures to make your departures and arrivals more comfortable and relaxed.
Today, many of us have the capability to travel over huge distances and reach just about every corner of the planet. The effects of such journeys can take their toll on every level of our being – the physical body, our mental state and our emotions. Below are a few tips on some hatha yoga asanas (postures) and pranayama (breathing exercises) that can balance body, mind and spirit.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Breathing is fundamental to living. It is also the key to yoga – the union of the mind with the body. During all the postures, breathe in and out of the nostrils, keeping lips gently closed, expanding abdomen, ribcage and chest on the inhalation, relaxing them on the exhalation. Make inhalation and exhalation of equal length, long, deep and controlled.
With each breath, observe the moment at the end of the exhalation, just before you draw in the next breath, and simply experience the stillness of body and mind. Mindful breathing in itself can vastly improve health and wellbeing, bringing one in control of one’s prana (vital energy). This alone can help combat the energy loss and sleep deprivation associated with travelling. Deep, conscious breathing during yoga practice will help you to be comfortable and steady in each pose. Avoid straining or over-stretching.
The only piece of equipment required is a yoga mat. Lightweight, environmentally friendly mats are available from Agoy (www.agoy.com).
PRE-DEPARTURE
Reclining abdominal stretch (supta udarakarshanasana)
Where At home, just before you leave for the airport. Or, if you don’t mind the odd looks you’ll get, in the departure lounge.
Why This gives a gentle twist to the spine, tones abdominal organs and muscles, and promotes good circulation prior to hours in a cramped environment.
How Lie on your back. Bend knees, and place soles of feet flat on the ground, directly in front of buttocks. Keep knees and feet together throughout. Interlock fingers behind head, elbows out to the sides. Exhaling, gently lower knees to the right. Keep sides of feet in contact with each other. Turn head in the opposite direction to knees. Take five to ten full breaths. Repeat on the other side.
Triangle pose (trikonasana)
Where Wherever you can stand with legs apart and arms outstretched.
How Stand with feet leg-distance apart. Inhale and raise arms to shoulder height. Turn right foot out 90 degrees and left foot slightly inwards, looking right. Keep hips and shoulders flat and aligned. Exhale and stretch out your right fingertips to the right as far as you can go, and then bring the hand down to shin or foot, without tipping forwards. Reach up with left hand and turn your face to the sky. Take five to ten full breaths. Rise back up on an inhalation, rotate feet to the centre, exhale, stretch out to the left and repeat pose on the other side.
Why This posture is an excellent side stretch, lengthening the muscles along the spinal column, waist, ribcage and legs. Deep breathing gently massages the internal organs, assisting digestion and alleviating constipation.
Sitting forward bend (paschimotanasana)
Where On the floor, with room to extend the legs.
How Sit with legs outstretched, feet together and hands on knees. Inhale and lift the arms up to the sky, then exhale, lengthening forwards out of lower back and hips, reaching arms straight out over legs, and keeping the chest lifted as long as possible. Take hold of the shins or sides of the feet. Relax shoulders and arms, but try not to let the head drop, as this will round the spine. Breathe deeply, releasing tension with each exhalation. Stay in the posture for as long as you like. If you have lower back problems, keep knees slightly bent.
Why This is a great energising posture, lengthening muscles along the back of the spine and elongating the hamstrings. The action of the breath also gently massages the internal organs and helps to promote a healthy libido.
Inclined plane pose (purvattanasana)
Where In the same place you just did your sitting forward bend.
How Sitting with legs stretched out again, place hands flat behind hips, fingertips facing forwards. Pointing toes and stretching them towards the floor, inhale as you elevate hips and chest, pushing up with the arms. Exhale and take the head back, holding it in a line with the spine. Look at the nose tip. Keep elbows soft and lift hips and chest as high as possible. Take five or more breaths.
Why This is an excellent counterpose to paschimotanasana, lengthening muscles to the front of the spine and in the legs.
DURING YOUR JOURNEY
Most airlines now provide a guide to inflight exercises. Make the most of this, and do at least a few of them, since they will help to avoid some of the problems associated with long-distance travel.
Standing forward bend (uttanasana)
Where Find a space somewhere on the plane where you can touch your toes, maybe at a bulkhead or by an exit door.
How From standing, bend knees slightly, and fold forwards from the waist, allowing the spine to gently lengthen, with the weight of the head hanging down to the ground. Eyes closed, so you don’t see the funny looks you’re getting from the other passengers and crew…
Why After any period of time sitting in one place, it is a good idea to lengthen the muscles along the spine and in the legs, and get some extra blood flowing into the head. Just the action of standing up and walking around helps circulation and reduces risk of DVT (deep vein thrombosis).
Rotations – ankles, wrists, neck (with care) and shoulders.
Where Sitting right where you are in your seat.
How Coordinate your breathing with the movement, ie: inhale as you start the rotation, exhale as you complete the rotation. It is also helpful to close your eyes and visualise the joints as you move them, focusing on relaxing them as much as possible.
Why Rotations keep the muscles supple and loosen joints, which can tend to accumulate fluid through inactivity. They also help avoid DVT.
Seated twists
Where In the comfort of your very own airline armchair.
How Sit upright and keep your chin parallel to your seat back. Place left hand on the right side of the right knee and use the pressure against the knee to twist to the right as far as you can, looking over your right shoulder. Take five to ten deep breaths in the posture and gently release. Repeat on the opposite side.
Why Twists are just great: they assist the efficient flow of energy along the central energy channel of the body, and therefore through the whole body.
Alternate nostril breathing (anuloma viloma)
Where Sit in any comfortable position. Your neighbours may be a little intrigued by this breathing exercise, so just close your eyes.
How Curl index and middle finger of the right hand into the palm, and extend thumb and ring finger. Close right nostril with thumb and inhale through left nostril. Now also close left nostril with ring finger and retain the breath, keeping spine upright and shoulders relaxed. Keeping left nostril closed with ring finger, gently exhale through right nostril. Inhale through right nostril. Close both nostrils and hold the breath. Exhale through left nostril, keeping right nostril closed with thumb. This is one round. Do five to ten rounds. For each stage – inhalation, exhalation and retention – count to four. Do not retain the breath if you are pregnant.
Why Not only does this ensure you are breathing clearly through both nostrils, but the action of alternate-nostril breathing also feeds oxygen (prana) into each hemisphere of the brain and helps balance the energy of the body. With practice, this exercise can calm and focus the mind. It is also an excellent preparation for meditation.
UPON ARRIVAL
Abdominal cleansing breath (kapalabhati)
Where In a seated position in a secluded spot (definitely not in the smoking section of the arrivals lounge).
How Ensure you have not eaten for at least a couple of hours before carrying out this breathing exercise. Sit in any comfortable cross-legged or kneeling pose. Place the back of the hands on the knees, joining the first finger and thumb together. With a short, sharp contraction of the lower abdominal muscles in towards the spine, force the exhalation out of the nostrils. Then totally relax the abdomen, allowing inhalation to occur with no effort. Repeat in rapid succession, between ten and 30 times. Keep the muscles of the face relaxed.
Why This exercise flushes out toxins among the stale air that accumulates deep in the recesses of the lungs.
Cat stretch pose (marjariasana)
Where Out of sight of others…
How Kneel on all fours with knees under hips, hands under shoulders, fingers facing forwards. Inhale, raising the head, pushing the backside upwards, gently depressing the spine so that the back becomes concave. Expand the abdomen fully and completely fill the lungs. Hold pose for around three seconds. Exhale, lowering head, drawing the belly inwards and arching the spine upwards towards ceiling. Draw the hips forwards and the forehead towards the hips. Maintain the stretch for three seconds, accentuating the arch of the spine. This is one round. Practice five to ten rounds. Try to perform this posture breathing as slowly as possible.
Why This combination of spinal stretches helps to release any blockages of energy and points of tension between vertebrae, and is particularly good at alleviating backache caused by sitting for long periods of time.
Bridge pose (sethu bandasana)
Where On a yoga mat, preferably, so your feet don’t slip.
How Lie on your back with your knees bent and arms at your sides. Peel the spine, vertebra by vertebra, off the floor, starting with the coccyx, elevating the hips. Press down firmly with your feet and draw the buttocks up and under toward the backs of the knees. Keep the thighs parallel. Interlace the fingers and press arms gently down on the floor to help lift the chest. Observe the chest coming closer to the chin. Take five to ten full breaths, then slowly roll down through the back to the floor.
Why This asana helps to draw energy to the base of the spine and exercise the internal organs, stimulating blood-flow into the heart and head.
Universal spinal twist (shava udarakarshanasana)
Where On the floor, with lots of room to stretch out without banging into any furniture.
How Lie flat on your back with legs and feet together. Bend the right knee and place right foot on top of left knee. Bring left hand over to hold right knee. Reach right arm above the head and stretch out left leg, extending right fingertips and left heel away from each other. Inhale and guide right knee down to floor with left hand, rolling onto your left-hand side and pinning the knee to the floor. With palm open to the sky sweep the right arm out at full extension to about level with the right shoulder. Then close the eyes. With each breath, relax the right hip, creating space between hip and shoulder, encouraging right shoulder towards the floor. Take five to ten breaths. Roll back to centre and rest, with minimum adjustments, for a few long breaths. Re-align the body and repeat on the opposite side.
Why This stretch opens up the body, giving an excellent twist along the whole of the spine. Deep breathing massages the internal organs and gets positive energy (prana) into every cell of the body.
The Great Rejuvenator (viparita karani)
Where Anywhere you can lie on your back with your legs up a wall.
How Bring the buttocks about a metre from the wall, lying on your back. Extend the legs upwards and rest the feet on the wall, forming a 45-degree angle with the legs. Close your eyes and let the wall and floor completely support you. Rest and simply observe your breath.
Why It helps lengthen and re-align the spine, gently extending those poor hamstrings shortened by your travels, and helps drain off the toxins that tend to accumulate in the lower regions of the body. This is an excellent posture, even if you have no time for any other yoga practice.
Finish your practice with about ten minutes in:
Corpse pose (savasana)
Where A quiet, warm, distraction-free zone where you can lie down.
How Lie on your back, feet mat-width apart, toes hanging out to the sides, arms 45 degrees away from the body, palms facing upwards. Close your eyes. Take a deep inhalation and, as you exhale, completely let go of tension in the body. Tune into your breathing, letting it become softer and softer.
Why Savasana has a more powerful effect of relaxing the body and mind than sleep itself. In case you suffer from jetlag (which these postures should help you avoid), just lying in bed in savasana can help to re-adjust your body clock and, before you know it, you’ll soon drift off to sleep.
The final tip is one to help to re-balance the energy of the planet. In order to offset the carbon emissions created by your flight, why not contact the Carbon Neutral Company (www.carbonneutral.com), who will plant a tree or two on your behalf.
Bella Galt is a London-based yoga teacher and Thai yoga massage therapist. She is hosting yoga and wellness retreats throughout 2006 at Losari, Central Java, Indonesia. See www.losaricoffeeplantation.com, or email annabelle@lo saricoffeeplantation.com.
James Giuseppi teaches yoga in London, but also likes to roam whenever the opportunity arises. See www.stretchom.com.
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