A monthly newsletter that explores all things Yoga – from adjusting your asana to discussing philosophy – and how to make all of it your own.
Happy New Year! Happy January!
Hello Reader,
Way back when I was planning my maternity leave, I expected to have things figured out enough to start teaching again in January. Surely, 6 months was enough time to adjust, right?
Wrong. I have nothing figured out. Maybe even less than before. 😵💫
While that lets every day become an adventure, it's also frustrating. I love being a full time mom, and I love teaching. Not finding a balance between the two is a bummer at best, and maddening at worst.
I remind myself that seasons come and seasons go. We may have turned a calendar page, but my life's Mom Chapter is still going strong.
I'll get back on the mat in due time – and you will be among the first to know. Until then, thanks for letting me land in your inbox. I hope you figure out and fly off to your next adventure soon. 💙
Anatomy Spotlight: Shoulderblades
When kids pretend to fly, they flap their arms like wings and zoom about. But if you speak with massage therapists, they think of your ‘wings’ as being the shoulderblades, and often refer to ‘freeing’ them, since many of us don’t move them regularly. These triangular bones are a fascinating study in ideal mobility, and allow us to reach and climb (big evolutionary advantages). They are fastened to our body mostly via muscular attachments – the boney joint that holds our entire arm on is actually the collarbone.
As a result, shoulders can move in 360º space! Try it – shrug up towards the ears, drop down towards the tail. Slide them wide around your ribs, and squeeze them back towards your spine. Then try the tricky moves: press bent elbows back to feel shoulderblades tilt forward on your ribcage, letting the lowest point of the triangle jut back; then swing elbows to shoulder height and feel that bottom tip hug into ribs. Finally, reach arms out and up, feeling the bones rotate behind you…and try to recreate those six movements (shrug, drop, wide, squeezed, tilted forward, tilted back) with arms in the air.
Pose Breakdown: Sphinx
It can be tempting to dismiss certain poses as “throwaway” shapes – how beneficial can they all be, really? 🙃 When considering Sphinx pose, there’s a surprising amount of nuance available where the ribcage and shoulderblades interact. (Plus, how often do you lie belly down in life? Tummy time is a requirement for babies, why not you? But I digress.)
Positioning the shoulderblades in Sphinx asks for a balance in multiple planes of space. You root down through the elbows a moderate amount, so you’re neither sagging by your ears nor ramming pelvis into the earth. Shoulderblades hug in towards the spine, but not so much that the forearms slide outward. And then – trickiest of all – drag elbows back (minutely) to use the bottom tip of the shoulderblades to leverage the mid ribcage forward in a backbend…without allowing the low ribcage to jut out.
Not so simple after all, is it? Now try adding a smile and looking royal 🙂
Don't forget Philosophy!
Cultivate Peace of Mind with Just 5 Minutes a Day
Though monthly themes are not currently happening, you can still explore philosophy with me in your inbox.
In this all-new, all-free, 2-week series, I invite you to start defining your personal values so that your life is driven by choice instead of circumstance. We expose ourselves (🫣 figuratively!) to different concepts and viewpoints, which you can contrast against your own – turning over new stones, if you will.
It's a must subscribe if you:
- Want to bring yogic awareness into daily life
- Like challenging your automatic perspective(s)
- Are actively seeking more peace of mind
Just click below to add your email address. It's a daily quick read which offers thought-provoking content, and ranges from Shakespeare to Buddha to Death Cab for Cutie. (What could they have in common? How do they cultivate mindfulness?!)
Thanks for joining me!