More than being a style of body exercise, yoga is about wisdom and getting to know your body and understanding the wisdom that our body is trying to tell us. Yoga as a complete system takes a lifetime to learn and master. However, there are a few poses that you and every one else can learn and practice every day at home, to gain a better understanding of the wisdom that your body is trying to communicate to you.
Yoga – almost every person in this world has heard about it or seen one or more poses performed by calm and confident yogis on the television screen. The first idea that appears in our mind is that yoga is a style of low-impact body exercise using a high-level breathing technique combined with graceful body movements and poses.
This is not wrong, although it is not entirely correct either. Yoga is not just a style of exercise. Yoga is a universe of wisdom, put together as a system. It teaches you how to listen, understand and trust your body because your body as a whole is a wise being, even wiser than the mind. Listening, understanding and trusting your body will in time give you the ability to trust your instinct because you will know how to interpret the signs it gives you for every situation that you are faced with.
Everybody, yogi or not, should be able to understand and trust his/her body and instinct. People should be able to listen to the wisdom that their bodies are telling them. There are two simple yoga exercises that can be practiced by anyone who would like to communicate with their bodies. These exercises are not hard and they are fun to do, but remember, these simple exercises can give you a starting point in getting to know your body and its wisdom.
Tadasana
Tadasana is also called The Mountain Pose. The essence of this pose is to be right where you are.
To do this pose, you need to be standing up with your legs slightly spread with the same distance as between your two shoulders. Relax your arms and let them hang comfortably.
Once you are comfortable with your standing position, continue with pushing your tailbone down. If you get this movement right, you can feel your pelvis straightened and your spine lifted.
Then, slowly press both shoulder blades downwards at the same time. Do this movement calmly without any straining, until you feel your chest gradually widens.
During the whole time of this exercise, breathe normally and keep being relaxed. Focus yourself in getting aware of your body and your breath, while maintaining the pose for a couple of minutes.
Sukhasana
Sukhasana is also called The Easy Pose. The essence of this pose is to find being just by sitting down.
Easy post is basically just sitting down cross-legged on a cushion.
To start doing this pose, place the cushion on the floor. Sit on the cushion leaving half of it showing behind you. Position yourself the cushion so that your hips are higher than your knees. Straighten your legs and cross them on the floor. The aim is to get your knees in a comfortable position while being close to the floor.
Once you feel comfortable, relax your hands and place them on your knees. Then, follow it by pushing your shoulder blades downwards until you can feel your chest opens.
The more you practice, the wider your hips open in the sitting position, and you will find your practice becoming easier over the time. However, if you are unsuccessful in doing this pose on the floor, you can do it while sitting on a chair and placing both feet comfortably on the floor.
Breathe normally as you are creating an awareness of your body. Scan each part of your body slowly with your mind as you are relaxing the tight areas. After a couple of minutes, you should have a better understanding about your body and its wisdom.
Even though Mountain Pose and Easy Pose are very easy to do, they have the power to help you find an awareness and understanding about your body. Your awareness will always grow, and as it grows, it will give you the chance to slowly learn your body wisdom. This is the true gift of yoga.