Hi friends! If you didn't catch my last post, I am creating a new tag #anwen-meditates to post my own health videos and tutorials. I am creating a Steemit health channel - all of my videos and tutorials are for the wonderful users of Steemit! I am planning on sharing many tutorials, including yoga, guided meditations, breathing exercises, and more. I am also uploading the videos to YouTube in the hope of attracting more users to Steemit.
I have been practicing yoga and meditation for 8 years now, and these practices have been critical in shaping who I am today. My constant practices have brought me inner peace and stability during crazy times, have healed physical and emotional injuries, and have taught me how to be PRESENT!
I am really excited to be able to share these practices with you all. I am first going to share tutorials and videos that you can do right now, wherever you are. These can be used as breaks from the information overload of Steemit / life in general, when you wake up, before you go to bed, or really any time at all :-)
This particular video is called "Yoga For Sciatica and Lower Back Pain", and is designed for those of you who may have a tight lower back or sciatica that is causing you pain. It focuses on opening up your lower back, and works to create space around your sciatic nerve in order to relieve pressure. I've personally had sciatica for about 4 years now, and do these practices every day in order to prevent further pinching on my sciatic nerve. These stretches are also really helpful if you are sitting most of the day, as sitting compresses our lumbar spine. I have included the script that I used to narrate my video. It is an original script and original practice, and I have drawn from my multiple years and many experiences with yoga for healing.
We are going to start in corpse pose, allowing our body to fall into the earth. Lets draw our right knee up and squeeze it into our body. Breath in deeply, remember that the basis of yoga is in your breath.
Switching legs, draw your left knee up and squeeze it into your body. Breath here, breathing in love, breathing out joy. Release.
Bring both knees in and wrap your arms around, clasping hands at your elbows. Squeeze in here for Pavanamuktasana, Wind-Removing Pose. Besides stretching out your lower back, this pose also compresses and massages the ascending colon and descending colon.
Release and windshield whip your knees to the right and left, giving your lower back a little a message, finding your own rhythm for today.
Lets place our left foot on our right knee and pull our right knee up, placing your hands behind your hamstring or on your shin. Relax here, breathing into that left hip flexer all the way up to your lower back. Release. Switch sides, placing your right foot on your left knee, pulling your left knee up, and placing your hands wherever they can reach on your left leg. Breath in and out, sinking deeper and deeper into this stretch. Release.
Flowing into suptapadangusthasana, or reclining big toe pose. Bring your right leg up to the sky, stretching straight up, and grab wherever your hands reach. You can also use a strap here if that helps. Inhale, Exhale.
Release, switching sides, bringing your left leg up to the sky and grabbing onto your leg with both hands. Find your edge, but do not push yourself to pain. We want to be kind to our bodies, finding compassion in our breaths.
Release, lets rock and roll up and down, really messaging our whole spin here. and on your third rock, come all the way through the table top position.
From table top, extend your right leg out, and swing it through to pigeon pose, or Kapotasana.
Sink into that right hip flexer, feeling the stretch all the way into your lower back. If this is too hard, you can put a blanket or pillow underneath your right thigh to provide support. Fold it over, exhaling all stress and tension of your day out of your body.
Release, coming up, draw your left leg underneath your body, coming to a sitting position where your knees are stacked on top of each other. In Gomukhasana, or cow pose, bend it over. This is one of my favorite poses for sciatica.
Release, coming back to table top position. Extend your left leg up to the sky, and swing it through to pigeon on the other side. Inhale, breathing in life energy, exhale, releasing any doubts or fears you may be carrying today. Release forward, bowing to yourself, to your practice. Come up, drawing your right leg underneath your body for cow pose on the other side. If any part of your body is hurting, be gentle to yourself, and send that part of your body some extra love right now. We don’t want to ignore our pain, but rather embrace it, nurture that part of ourselves that is hurting. Release.
Extend your legs infront of you, inhaling your arms up to the sky, and exhaling down to your legs. Grab your feet, ankles, or shins, and bend forward. You do not want to completely release down here, but rather have an active stretch, being mindful of your spine, and using this forward fold to create space between your vertebrae.
Release, transitioning to one of the most healing, nurturing poses in yoga, Bālāsana or child’s pose. I created space between my two knees and kept my two big toes touching here, allowing my stomach to sink down, and my lower back to release behind. Press into your palms, sending energy from your hands, through your arms, down your spine and through your lower back.
Transitioning, roll up, vertebrae by vertebrae, your head being the last thing to come in line with your spine. From here we are going to bring our feet about a foot or two apart, big toes pointing out, and slowing sink down. We come into a deep squat here, coming to our root chakra, feeling our energy rush down the crown of your head, through your spine, through your pelvic floor, and connecting to the earth. You can reach your arms forward here, reaching towards the right, then towards the left. Release, falling back into a seated position.
With your right leg infront, reach up with your arms on an inhale, and on an exhale bend forward. Come back to your breath, feeling the air flow in, feeling the air flow out.
Come up, switching legs, and on an inhale reach your arms up, and on an exhale bend forward.
This will be our last forward fold of the day, so enjoy it, release into it.
When you are done, roll up, and we will close today’s practice with 6 deep breathes, hands resting on your knees, eyes closed or softly looking at a point on the floor ahead of you. Breath here, softly, conscious of your body, conscious of your thoughts. When thoughts arise, acknowledge them and let them go. Let it all go, breathing in and out. Let it all go.
Drawing your palms to your forehead, bow forward, thanking yourself for showing up today. Namaste.