Standing Thigh Stretch

Nikki Juen of All That Matters, demonstrates and explains standing thigh stretch. 

What it is:

This standing thigh stretch is a variation of Tadasana, also known as mountain pose.

What it does:

This standing pose opens the quadricep muscle of the leg and the front of the shoulders while deepening the muscular engagement of the whole body as you balance on one leg. If you can't reach your ankle you can also use a belt or strap. Practice near a wall for even more support.

How to do it:

Stand with feet six-inches apart and press down equally into both feet, take a deep breath and allow the weight of the entire body to be centrally located over the feet. Make both legs strong, until you feel the muscles engage on all sides of the legs, all the way up to the hips. 

Inhale and tone the low belly drawing it in towards the spine. Exhale and allow the shoulder blades to move towards the spine and down the back. Take three grounding breaths here with the hands near the thighs while the jaw and facial muscles remain supple.

With the standing leg strong, bend one knee keeping both thighs parallel. Interlace both hands or belt around the ankle pressing the foot AWAY from the hips as you open the front of your body. Keep the bent knee next to the standing knee and facing the floor.

Breathe deeply for five breaths, lengthening the body away from the ground with each inhale. As you exhale the fifth breath, release the bent knee and switch to the other leg.

Nikki Juen,

nikkijuen.com

Camatkarasana

Nikki Juen of All That Matters demonstrates and explains Camatkarasana.

What it is:

Camatkarasana is a magnificent heart-opening pose that induces a sense of freedom, joy and levity; for this reason, it is also known as Wild Thing.

What it does:

Wild Thing and poses that prepare the body for back-bending are often accompanied by an ecstatic, playful feeling as the heart remembers it’s essential nature. As a hand-balancing pose it builds healthy shoulders and wrists which form the stable base. It also opens the front of the legs, hips and torso and is known to lift fatigue and mild depression.

How to do it:

To begin, sit comfortably and quietly and listen to your breath; remember that you already embody the principals of strength, stability, joy and freedom. Allow the breath to bring to you back to the remembrance of these qualities.

Come onto all fours with the intention of keeping a stable base. Claw the fingers into the floor and with muscle tone extending from fingertips to shoulders, take Adho Mukha Savasana [downward facing dog]. Inhale and lengthen your side-body from shoulder to hip and lift the armpits towards the sky. Exhale and press back through the upper thighs, opening the hamstrings. Take two breaths here connecting to the earth with with each exhale.

From Adho Mukha Savasana, bring your weight into your right hand and the outside of your right foot like Vasisthasana [side plank]. Exhale, press into the floor and buoyantly lift the hips. Inhale, keep hands and feet strong and grounded and bring both shoulder blades onto the back of the heart, creating a stack of support from the floor to left shoulder.

Exhale, bring the left foot back and place toes on the floor keeping the knee bent. Inhale and curl back through the upper back as you keep the right hand strong. With each exhale press down through the feet and hands lifting the hips. Extend your left arm from your heart overhead toward the ground or alternately place the palm over the heart offering each breath to the pulse between stability and freedom; in your full expression of the pose breathe playfully for five to ten rounds.

Exhale and return to downward facing dog and repeat on the other side. 

Nikki Juen, 

nikkijuen.com

Partnered Shoulder Stretch

Nikki Juen of All That Matters demonstrate and explains  partnered shoulder stretch.

What it is:

Partnered shoulder stretch is a counter-weighted yoga pose created between two people that strengthens legs and upper back muscles. 

What it does:

This pose brings each practitioner into relationship with their body, into building trusting with a partner and into finding the center between ballast and balance. As a twisting pose it also restores the health of the spine, cleanses organs and stimulates circulation.

How to do it:

Each partner starts in mountain pose [Tadasana] standing about three feet apart. Offer your right wrist to your partner taking a firm grip clear of any bracelets or watches. Extend your index finger along the inside of your partner's wrist. This is your safety indicator and a light tap from the finger of either partner means that both of you immediately straighten your legs and come to standing. 

With your own feet about six-inches apart, make your legs strong on a deep inhale. As you exhale, connect your gaze with your parter and come into your understanding of partnership and trust. Maintaining eye-contact, exhale and sit back as if in a chair until you each discover balance. Keeping the legs strong, bring the torso vertical [standing and adjusting the feet if necessary]. This pose will be most effective if you sit back and trust the connection with your partner. Take two deep breaths here acclimating to the amount of effort and surrender you encounter necessary to maintain the pose. 

[This pose can be done even if both partners are not of equal height or weight because it relies on leg strength for support. Alternately, it can be done sitting in chairs for a prop-supported twist.]

Inhale deeply lengthening the torso from the hips up to the shoulders, raising the left arms to parallel with the floor and filling the body with breath. As you begin to exhale, twist away from the bound arms opening the front of the chest with each breath. On an exhale, draw both shoulder blades towards your spine and down towards the waist engaging the muscles of the back. You may bring your gaze over your left shoulder; keeping the low belly toned and take five to eight breaths here. 

With a light tap of your index finger to signal to your partner that you are ready to stand, press into the floor, coming to a standing position. Before you switch sides, pause and close the eyes for a few breaths noticing the difference[s] in your internal awareness and sensations in your body, silently thanking your partner and muscles for all the support you experienced. When you're ready, take the other side.

Nikki Juen, nikkijuen.com

Plank Yoga Pose

Nikki Juen of All That Matters demonstrates and explains plank yoga pose.

What it is:

Dolphin plank is a strength-building pose that prepares shoulder blades for all weight-bearing postures. It creates a synergy of strength throughout the body, finger tips to toes, as the body hovers over the ground.

What it does:

This dynamic forearm pose builds strength in the core of the body and the muscles of the shoulders, upper back and sides of the rib cage. Repeated strengthening of the shoulder girdle relieves neck pain and aids in healthier respiration.

How to do it:

Begin in a table top pose with hands directly under the shoulders and knees under hips. Take a few long deep breaths in table top and focus on opening the soles of the feet with toes tucked under. Allow each breath to bring your awareness deeper into your body; feel how the breath fills the body and expands against the forces of gravity. 

Exhale, bow forward onto your forearms and place the elbows no wider than the outside of your shoulders. Returning to the breath, concentrate on creating length in the sides of your torso from the armpits up to the hips. Starting at the fingertips, strongly press the entire length of the forearms into the ground; walk the feet back until the legs are straight. As you exhale, make the legs strong and scoop the tailbone towards the heels while toning the muscles of the low belly, keeping the lumbar spine safe and supported. 

Lengthen the entire body as you inhale, press forearms and toes into the floor as you exhale. With the big muscles on the front of the thighs strong allow hips to feel buoyant; maintaining the pose for as long as you feel muscular support and evenness of breath. If you experience neck strain, place your forehead on a block until the neck strengthens. Exhale, release the knees to the floor and sit back on your heels. You may choose to repeat this practice a few times noticing the potential for ease each time you repeat it.

If this pose is new to you, you may feel blades ‘wing-away’ from the ribcage. [A friend may point this out to you from above or you may look in a mirror.] Practice this pose on your knees until the muscles around the shoulder blades are strong enough to remain engaged on the back. In this modification you will reap the same benefits while building strength in optimal alignment.

Nikki Juen, nikkijuen.com

Eka Pada Bhekasana

Nikki Juen of All That Matters demonstrates and explains Eka Pada Bhekasana.

What it is:

Eka Pada Bhekasana [or Ardha Bhekasana] is also known as one-legged frog pose.

What it does:

As a backbend this pose strengthens the muscles of the back while opening the entire front of the body including ankles, thighs and groin, abdomen, chest and throat. This pose improves posture and stimulates the organs of the abdomen.

How to do it:

As you create more complex poses like this one, keep an awareness on building in smaller increments while maintaining the overall form. Yoga is a practice and as such each small attentive movement deepens potential for connection to the self and encourages deeper opening in the body.

Lie on your belly with your forehead on the floor, legs parallel and arms by your sides, palms facing up. Take a few deep breaths here allowing the body and mind to soften to the many benefits this pose offers. 

Maintaining even deep breaths keep an expansive quality in your chest as you slide both forearms and palms forward on the ground until your elbows are directly below your shoulders. On an inhale, make both legs strong and work towards bringing all ten toenails to the ground, feeling an expansion across your low back and buttocks. Tone the low belly towards the spine supporting the joints of the low-back. On an exhale, broaden the front of the chest and ease the shoulder blades down the upper-back towards your waistline. 

Keeping this breadth, length and strength in the body, bend your right knee and reach the right hand back for the inner arch of the foot. [Place a belt around the top of the arch if you are unable to reach your foot.] Keep the knees parallel and the left palm energized with fingers wide and grounded. Soften the jaw and lips lengthening the back of the neck.

Encourage the right foot towards the right outer hip as you draw the top of the right thighbone towards the foot creating a energetic connection where the foot and hip move towards one another equally. In your full expression of the pose, take five to ten deep breaths and after your last exhale, slowly release the right leg and repeat on the other side. 

Nikki Juen

nikkijuen.com

Mindful Breathing Technique

Nikki Juen of All That Matters demonstrates and explains mindful breathing technique. 

What it is:

Mindful breathing is a simple method of creating and cultivating an ever-deepening connection to the body and spirit. "Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgementally." Jon Kabat Zinn

What it does:

Mindful breathing is a present pause and a great way to connect to the wisdom within. Breathing tends to be short and shallow during stressful times like the holidays as we rush to meet our many obligations. By bringing attention to your breath, the nervous system is calmed enough to receive the intuitive wholeness that is always present. With regular practice you will find yourself less swayed by external forces.

How to do it:

Take a seated position, this can be on the floor at home, in a chair at work and even in a parked car. In this position, the spine, the shoulders and the head are stacked centrally over the hips. If you are sitting on the floor, raise the hips up onto a bolster or pillow to bring ease into the low-back. 

Rest the left palm gently over the heart and the right palm on the low belly below the navel. Take a few deep exhales settling down into your seat as you lengthen the torso with each inhale. Slide the shoulder blades gently towards the spine and soften the front of the chest. Relax the jaw and allow the tongue to be plump in the mouth.

Bring your awareness into the palms and notice how the breath creates expansion in the ribcage and belly. Slowly lengthen each breath so that you feel your breathing become even and deep. Even if you do not feel your belly moving with your breath, bring curious awareness to the hand on your belly and allow the awareness of your breath to encompass the entire torso. Breathe this way for ten breaths or until you feel calm and satisfied, slowly opening the eyes and releasing the hands. 

The space of the low belly governs our abilities to be in relationship with others. By moving into this part of the body with mindful breathing we become more present and return to the truth of our own heart before we interact with the world.

Nikki Juen, nikkijuen.com

Anjaneyasana

Nikki Juen of All That Matters demonstrates and explains anjaneyasana. 

What it is:

Anjaneyasana is also known as low lunge or crescent lunge. In Hindu mythology, Anjana is the mother of the monkey-faced deity, Hanuman.

What it does:

Anjaneyasana is a stretch for the hip flexors and the quadriceps and is known to release tension in the hips. In this variation the length of the spine is in extension as the pose becomes a supported backbend with the help of the arms.

How to do it:

Start in downward-facing dog pose [adho mukha svanasana]. 

As you exhale step your right foot forward between your wrists and take two deep breaths in high lunge pose. Keeping the right knee directly over the right ankle, exhale and release the left knee to the ground. Pad the knee with a blanket or pillow if necessary. Draw the front foot and the back knee towards each other to create both a strong and supple foundation for this pose.

Inhale and interlace both hands on the front knee. Exhale and draw the low-belly up and in towards the spine, this action helps support a healthy arch in the low-back. Feel the length and extension from the back knee all the way up to the top of the head. Pause here for a few breaths, inviting opening in the front of the hips and low belly. 

While inhaling, allow the sternum to rise up as you slowly take a backbend over the back leg. You may leave your hand on the front knee or exhale and release the hands to block on either side of the back thigh or floor for a deeper backbend. Inhale to buoyantly open the heart and throat. Breathe deeply for three breaths, lengthening the body away from the ground with each inhale. Release by going back to downward-facing dog pose and switch to the other side.

If you are having trouble balancing in anjaneyasana, take the pose to a wall for support. Press the bent front toes and knee into the wall while keeping the rest of the foot on the ground.

Nikki Juen, nikkijuen.com