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 December!

Hello Reader,

However you celebrate moving into winter, passing through the darkest night, and coming through to the new year, I hope you balance your social calendar and personal reflection time.

Stay tuned for my philosophy course in the new year; in the meantime, my public classes continue through December as usual. I'm sending you warmth – of heart, hearth, and home – through the end of 2023.

Anatomy Spotlight: The Cervical Curve

When we think of the neck in yoga, we need to keep in mind that it is a subsection of the spine – although it has unique movements available, it is still part of a greater whole. These first seven bones, or cervical vertebrae, are designed to be quite mobile in moving the head backwards (extension), rotating, and bending in the side plane. They are also designed to have a lordotic curve, i.e. to bow slightly towards the throat.

Thanks to computers, phones, and general life habits of living forward and down, many of us have the habit of thrusting our head forward – what I like to call turkey neck. Over time, this can straighten and damage the natural cervical curve. Supporting our spinal curves is essential to proper functioning of the spine – which affects our ability to move in space, and the efficiency of our entire nervous system. (It’s a BIG DEAL, YO!)

To help support your cervical curve, take time daily to look up. Learn to move the neck starting from the base, and check in frequently when on your phone or computer – can you pull throat back for some anti-turkey neck action?

Pose Breakdown: Cobra Neck Support

One of the most common errors I see happen in Cobra occurs at the neck. We have the habit of moving through the world eyes first; which means, when setting up this backbend, we tend to lead the neck with the eyes, or move from top down. Unfortunately, this divorces the cervical region from the rest of the spine, leading to inefficient use of musculature, strain on the throat and ligaments, and a jamming up of the energetic flow that’s available.

Rather than lifting the eyes to the proper height, we need to move from C7 (the vertebra that transitions from ribcage to neck). Set up your Cobra by pulling shoulders back and heart forward, with gaze down to start. Draw the throat back first, letting the ears become buoyant, and elongate towards the skull – that way, the neck will integrate with the rest of the spinal backbend. You’ll notice more freedom in the vocal cords and shoulders, as well as a greater range of motion under better control.

Philosophy: Kleshas - Abhniveśa

In The Yoga Sutras, five kleshas are noted as causes of suffering – misperceptions that plague us. Abhinivesa is the fifth and final klesha, and is most often translated as “fear of death” or “clinging to life.”

Recently, I read an interpretation of this sutra that stuck with me - the idea of clinging to a wrong way of thinking, partly from habit, and partly from fear of the implications. If, during our studies of Yoga, we break down all that we know to be true, is that not a type of death? A loss of our known way of seeing things, of being in the world? This habitual way of being may have been painful, but it was familiar and felt safe.

Whether it’s fear of a metaphorical death, or fear of literal death, the Sutras still classify this as a viewpoint rooted in ignorance. By increasing our understanding of philosophy, by learning to remember and reunite with our true Selves, we will eventually embrace the loss of the little life - or at least face it with acceptance and equanimity.

*My toddler and I were sick at the same time after Thanksgiving...writing was not a priority!

Thanks for joining me!

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