Your problem with Backache and aching legs due to bad posture can be cured. – Part five of six
Your problem with Backache and aching legs due to bad posture can be cured.
Variation of the Bow Posture
In this variation half the body is kept straight and half bends backwards. Lie face downwards, bend the right knee and catch the toes of the foot with your right hand. Slowly pull the foot towards your head bending only the muscles on the right side of the back. The left arm should be held outstretched and the left foot likewise. Seen from the side this posture has all the grace of the lovely BOW and something else all of its own.
And now here is another breathing exercise which will help to counteract bad posture, drooping and round shoulders, and curvature of the spine. It also improves flabby upper arms, and excessive flesh on the shoulders will slowly be squeezed away. It is called the
ARMSWING BREATHING EXERCISE.
1. Sit back on your heels with your spine straight. Lace your fingers together and then turn those palms upwards.
2. Inhale deeply and at the same time bend forward until your chin is touching the floor.
Swing your arms upwards as high as you possibly can trying again and again to swing them just a little higher. Hold this position for as long as you can without exhaling. When the impulse to exhale appears do so as you straighten up again. Relax and repeat from four to six times, after which lie down for a few moments and take a few deep recovery breaths.
If your knees are very stiff or if for some other reason you are unable to sit on your heels you may perform the Arm swing Breathing Exercise standing up in which case you lean forward from your waist as far as you can and bring your arms with the fingers interlaced, as far forward as you can. The movement from the waist will help to remove fatty tissue in this area and help the spine towards a new suppleness.
The warning not to jerk any movements is reiterated here as you should not try to swing your arms over violently as you may well injure a rigid muscle which would discourage you from ever attempting this valuable exercise again.
Nothing is more painful than a muscle spasm. Practise this exercise every day and you will soon notice a marked improvement in your posture and a new feeling of freedom from backache and a new feeling of lightness as your straightening spine allows your lungs to take in more oxygen. All parts of the body are interdependent.
Cure your backache and your chest complaints are eased, your temper improved, and your looks enhanced. Do not under-estimate the gravity of bad posture. It may not be an illness but it has a well-deserved place in this book on Yoga and health because it can, ultimately, undermine the health of the entire organism by restricting breathing, and cause an unhealthy complexion due to too little oxygen reaching the blood cells.
Attack your bad posture and its resulting backache like the enemies they are.
Many people suffer from bad posture and an ungraceful carriage because of weak legs, ankles, or feet. The remainder of this chapter is devoted to the consideration of these particular conditions and I will explain how they can be greatly helped by Yoga’s methods.
It has often been said that a man’s temper is only as good as his feet.
If the feet ache and burn how is it possible to be smiling and at ease?
If your legs hurt or are swollen with varicose veins how easy it is to snap at everyone and feel that the world is a terrible place.
On health I must always be on guard against anything which can disrupt the dawning calmness of the mind which my readers must experience if they have been faithfully putting into practice all I have written about so far.
In practising relaxation you will have discovered a new peace with yourself. In practising the breathing exercises you will feel a new glow of vitality.
And if you have practised the asanas your health will have begun to improve beyond your wildest hopes, and with it you will have discovered a new lease of life within yourself, a zest for living, a new inner power.
So we cannot let tired, swollen and aching feet hold up the new feeling of health and freedom opening out before you. We cannot let them undo all your good work. So start by putting them up higher than your head whenever possible. It isn’t done in the so-called best of circles to put your feet on the mantelpiece.
Never mind about that.
Yoga doesn’t know any class barriers. Go on, put them up, it will do them good. And before going out in the evening nothing could be more restful than lying on the floor in your bedroom and putting your feet up on the bed. Remain like that for a few moments with your eyes closed and you are a new man—or woman.
The change is remarkable. You are refreshed and alive and your legs and feet no longer feel like lead.
Keep coming back here for not just tips on real health issues, but more on the ancient practice of Hatha Yoga, which is now widely accepted in the western world especially in the USA.
Better late than never I say “quote Gaylene Slater”
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