Featured Pose Simple Chair Twist

by Baxter and Nina

The Simple Chair Twist is one of our five essential office yoga poses. It releases back muscles that are stiff or sore from sitting at a desk or from traveling, or from everyday activities that stress the back, such as gardening and painting, and increases the rotational mobility in your spine. Twisting also helps nourish the spine—movement of the spine helps maintain the health of the discs—and also strengthens the bones themselves as your back muscles pull on the bony insertions of the spine. And it also strengthens the oblique muscles of your core (and we could all use a little of that).

Traditional yoga teachers recommend twists for the health of your internal organs, improving circulation to and function of the abdominal organs, although no studies have been conducted to confirm this. And finally, for many of us, twists can release physical and emotional tension, providing relief from stress.

The Simple Chair Twist has the additional bonus of being accessible to almost everyone in any location, whether office chair, airplane seat, or even a car seat (except, as Baxter noted while sitting in Nina’s backyard, a 50s style butterfly chair).

Baxter prescribes Simple Chair Twist for:

• general back tension
• stiffness
• people with balance issues (or who are unable to stand)
• certain low back conditions
• digestive difficulties (constipation or sluggishness)
• strengthening the oblique muscles
• arthritis of the spine
• people who engage in sports or other activities that involve rotation (all you golfers can restore symmetry to your body by twisting on both sides instead of one)

Instructions: Side sideways on the chair, with your feet resting comfortably on the floor (if your chair has arms or is attached to another chair, see below for an alternative). Your thighs should be parallel to the floor, so if you’re tall you may need to sit on top of something and if you’re short you may need to place something, like a book, under your feet.

Keeping your thighs parallel to each other, lift your spine and turn toward the back of the chair, placing your hands on either side of the chair’s back. Inhale and create an inner lift from your sitting bones through the crown of your head. Then exhale and encourage the twist from your upper belly (above the navel) and chest. Continue lifting on your inhalation and twisting slightly deeper on the exhalation for about 1 minute. Then change sides and twist in the opposite direction. When you’ve finished the pose, pause for a moment to assess how the pose affected your body.

If you can’t sit on the side of your chair, you can sit facing forward as shown below.

As you twist to the right, place your right hand on the chair’s back and your bring your left hand across your right leg. To twist on the other side, simply switch your arm positions.

Cautions: With certain low back conditions (such as severe arthritis, bulging disc, spinal stenosis or sciatica) you should approach twisting cautiously and skip it entirely if it aggravates your symptoms. If you have osteoporosis, twist gently and don’t move through your full range of motion (stay within 50 to 70 percent). If you feel pain, please stop and when you get a chance, as your yoga teacher for help.

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Cultivating Healthy Posture with a Simple Restorative Pose

by Timothy

Poor posture is a common problem that people of any age can have but it is one that tends to worsen over time. Particularly common is the rounding of the upper back into a C-shaped curve, aka Slumpasana. People often hold their heads several inches forward of the body’s plumb line, which can lead to neck and upper back discomfort, among other problems. I’m just back from teaching workshops on therapeutic yoga at Kripalu and the Himalayan Institute and several of the people I worked with—some despite years of yoga practice—still had this postural habit. So I thought today I’d share with you a simple technique that in a number of cases has proved helpful for improving posture.

You might not think poor posture would be a factor is serious health problems, and we certainly weren’t taught much about it in medical school. But if you read medical textbooks and search out relevant studies, you will see that poor posture can contribute such problems as carpal tunnel syndrome, osteoporotic fractures, and even heart disease and depression. From a yogic perspective, this combination of slumping posture and the less-than-ideal breathing that accompanies it is also believed to contribute to anxiety, insomnia, digestive difficulties, etc.

When your back rounds, your lower ribs compress the top of the abdomen so it’s not possible to fully move your diaphragm, the major muscle of breathing, and take a full breath. As a result, people take shallow breaths, primarily bringing air into the upper parts of the lungs. Such a breathing pattern is not as efficient in bringing oxygen into the body, and more importantly for many health concerns, is agitating to the nervous system. I won’t go into the physiology here, but suffice it to say that I have repeatedly seen that improving your posture in a way that allows you to take slower, deeper breaths can lead to an improvement in overall health and well-being.

When you’ve had a long-term habit of slouching, however, it may not just be as simple as remembering to sit up straight or to pull you shoulders back when standing. Long-term slouching leads to shortening of muscles in the front of the upper body, as well as of the fascia, the connective tissue that surrounds and interpenetrates the muscles, and which can limit movement. It’s said that longer holds of poses are necessary to help lengthen the fascia, and while people differ on what the ideal holding time is, I believe staying in a pose for a few minutes may be ideal. That’s hard to do in most regular asana, particularly the backbends, which open up the back. The pose described below is a supported backbend, which like a regular backbend helps correct the postural problem, but because it’s restorative, it’s easy to stay long enough to have the desired effect on the fascia.

To do the pose, you’ll need one blanket and something to place under your head. Take a standard folded yoga blanket and unfold it once, so that you’ve got a long rectangle. Roll the blanket from the longer edge into a thin cylinder. Place the cylinder sideways on your mat a couple of feet from the head of the mat, sit in front of the blanket, and lie back so that rounded edge comes to your mid-thoracic spine.

Thoracic Spine, the portion of your spine to which your ribs attach—
between your cervical spine (neck) and lumbar spine

You can play with the placement, maybe a little higher or lower to get the region of your upper back that seems the most stubborn. Most people, particularly those who tend to slouch, need a pillow or folded blanket under the back of their heads, so that the chin can be more or less at the level of the forehead or slightly lower.

Once you’ve got your props in place, come to a supine Mountain pose with your back on the blanket roll, your head on the head support, and the tops of your shoulders on floor between the head support and the blanket roll. Now, take your arms out to your sides in a T-position, externally rotating your upper arms so your palms face the ceiling, which will help counteract the tendency of most slouchers to internally rotate them. Engage your leg muscles and lightly flex your feet. After  you’ve established your alignment, let go of all effort and lie back into this restorative backbend and let the blanket do all the work. Your only job is to remain mindful, trying to breathe slowly and deeply for the next several minutes. Titrate the time you stay to your comfort levels and schedule. For most people, I’d recommend starting with a minute or so then working up to 5-15 minutes a day. The longer you hold it (as long as you remain comfortable), and the more regularly you do it, the better the results!

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Simple Guidelines On Finding A Reliable Milford Dentist

By Grace Daniels

Maintaining good dental health is recommended as one part of general bodily health. A large number of people are experiencing dental problems either due to poor oral hygiene or other problems. It is important to regularly visit your dentist to evaluate your oral health and identify possible dental problems. When looking for the right Milford dentist, consider these few tips.

The dental industry is highly specialized with many dental professionals available. They offer professional services for different dental needs such as dental implants, teeth whitening, dental surgical procedures among others. It is crucial to determine your dental needs before looking for a good dentist. This guides you when searching for the right dental expert for your needs.

Research extensively for dentists offering reliable and quality services in your area. You can start off by checking local yellow pages or publications for listings of dental services in your area. Another reliable option is asking for referrals from people who have previously consulted dentists and received satisfactory services. This can be from family members, friends or workmates.

The internet provides you the easiest option when looking for suitable services. There is numerous information available online. Visit websites owned by dental experts to understand more about the services they offer. There are websites that also list dental services in various areas. Browse through these sites and check service and quality ratings before making a choice.

Ensure that the dentists you consult have high qualifications, the right certifications and professionals credentials. Check whether their certifications are from recognized dental training institutions. They should have extensive skills and knowledge in offering quality dental services. Make sure that they are also members of state or national dental associations of dentists.

Experience is one of the most important factors to consider before choosing a dental professional. If considering to have dental implants, ensure that the dentist you hire has many years of experience performing such procedures. Experienced professionals assure you of the best services for your dental needs. Choose a dentist who has an impressive reputation among other experts and a large number of satisfied patients.

The dentists you consult should show their license documents and number. This is a crucial to remember considering that there are dental professionals offering unauthorized services. Insurance coverage for dental procedures performed is also crucial so as to provide coverage for injuries that could happen during or after performing procedures. Go through their dental records of procedures they have done, patients they have successfully offered satisfactory services and other details like feedback.

Cost is also an important factor to consider. Surgical procedures, implants and other procedures may be expensive but provide a lasting solution to your problems. Talk to different dental professionals and get price quotes for the procedure you want. Make comparisons and choose the most affordable based on your budget. Get exact details regarding the costs involved such as medical fees if any to avoid hidden costs.

When looking for a good Milford dentist, consider reading the many online reviews, comments and testimonials from different patients. This is a good way to determine the best dental professionals for your needs. Understanding these simple guidelines makes it much easier to get the services you want.

About the Author:

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