Katie Hoener is a RYT 500, receiving her 200 and 500 hour trainings. She is also a Licensed Master Social Worker and a partner at Verapose Yoga in Dexter (veraposeyoga.com). Please send your own yoga questions to katie@veraposeyoga.com.
Dear Katie,
I have made movement my intention for 2024, and so far, so good! With adding some new and fun activities to my routine my hips have been feeling it. I have been consistently moving through the Warrior Poses. Is there something reclined that I can add to my days?
Carli, Ann Arbor
Namaste Carli,
What a phenomenal intention for this year! My intention for this year is Restore, which has required a lot of attention, and of course, intention. Both of our intentions can take so many shapes and forms, and it looks like for your question we can combine them! A beautiful restorative posture that helps the hips in so many ways is our Ananda Balasana, or Happy Baby.
To come into Happy Baby, we start on our back. Gently draw the knees in toward the chest. For most of us, a few breaths here allow us to see how the hips and low back are feeling and decide how far we may want to take the posture. From here, we bring the hand to the knees and let the knees drift away from the midline of the body. There are many days when I hang out here, knees toward the outer edges of the body. Wherever we end up, we may want to sway a bit from side to side, or move the legs back and forth, rolling the femurs in the sockets. If it feels good, we can allow the lower legs to push up toward the sky. The hands may find the hamstring side of the leg, perhaps right behind the knees. They may hold onto the calves, the ankles, the feet, and some of us may even want to find the toes.
Wherever we end up, make certain that we are not straining the shoulders or grasping with the hands. Every hold with the body should be supportive rather than straining. As stated above, we may want to rock from side to side in this space, and if we have the lower legs extended here, we may wish to play with extending one leg and then the other. Add as much of your intention of movement as suits the day and feels comforting and supportive to the body. Breathe into the space for ten or so breaths, allowing your body to settle into the pose. When coming out of Ananda Balasana, find your way back into a place with your knees in toward the torso. See if there are noticeable differences in how the body feels. Maybe allow yourself to come into the posture one more time or to wait until tomorrow, whatever feels better!
Namaste Katie,
After a long streak of missing meditation day, I am struggling to sit down and stay quiet. Any tips for getting back into a practice?
Janet, Manchester
Namaste Janet,
Following a lengthy time of steady practice, a lapse like this can feel like a set-back. I encourage you to think about this break as part of the practice. Over the years there have been many questions about how to start, and how to maintain a meditation practice; the answers all come back to the same core idea of “practice.” How do we get into the practice of setting aside the time for ourselves to have, and to dedicate ourselves, to the practice of quieting the mind? Our yoga sutras call this “tapas” which not only translates to a consistency of practice but also to a “burning drive.” It’s the desire to return to the quiet, to ourselves, time and time again.
One way that we can offer ourselves a way to come back to our meditation practice is with something tangible. For some of us, it is a candle to gaze at or maybe a picture of something or someone that we hold in high regard. Other times that tangible thing is ourselves—through the use of a mudra. Dhyana Mudra is the Mudra of meditation and allows us to bring ourselves back to the feeling of connection between the hands and the space between the hands.
To come into Dhyana Mudra, rest your left hand in the lap with the right hand resting on the left hand with the thumbs coming together to lightly touch. Spend a few breaths noticing the contact the hands are making. Does it feel restful? Is there any tension that we can let go of here? What other sensations can we notice? Are the hands cool or warm? Is one a different temperature than the other? How does it feel to rest the hands into the body? What is the pressure between the thumbs like?
If this starts to move you back into a space of stillness, stick with this. You may find that one of the above questions is all you need, and you cycle back to it when the mind wanders. I like to return to the pressure between my thumbs, seeing when it is hard to distinguish between the right and left thumb. If you’ve been there in a meditation, you will understand this; if not, you will get there in some way when the time is right.
Another way to play around with Dhyana Mudra is to move past the physical presentation of the energy lock and breathe into the space between the hands. If this feels too advanced, please go back to the points of focus that feel good to you! If focus on that energetic space that you are holding in this mudra pleases you, guide your awareness and breath to all that you contain. This hollow space represents the idea that the less we try to control the mind the easier of a time it has of finding rest. See if your awareness will find peace in this place.
No matter what focus you find, try holding that for one minute then increasing to two minutes. Build your practice back up in a way that feels empowering rather than feeling like you need to match your previous levels. All practice is beneficial to the mind and beyond!
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