upset stomach and yoga

This past weekend my former house-mate returned  from cold northern climes. With her came her cutest little daughter and husband. Unfortunately, an uninvited guest in the form of a stomach bug took up residence in her belly. She spent much of that first night throwing up and then finally retching when the dial pointed to empty.

This caused much consternation but a quick visit to the local chemist the following morning and she was a happy, burbling mass of joy. Alas, what was in her is now in me, Puleng and my friends husband. Like participants in one of the more annoying reality shows we have succumbed, to various degrees, to the debilitating effects of this bug.

For me, it translates to a slight bloating of the stomach, a mild fever and a feeling of lethargy. So in turning to my yoga medicine chest, I quickly found these simple but effective asanas.

In my drained state, it is clear that supports will be required. During times of weakness, the energy that remains in the body is better used to tackle whatever is causing you the dis-ease. Using chairs, blocks or foams is excellent in providing you the benefits of the pose without the physical effort.

I love the imagery of the body as river. In this river areas that have a sluggish or non-existent flow become a source of pollution. Likewise when you feel bloated like I do, by brining an opening to that area, the freedom encourages the release of those pent-up demons and a flow of positive energy to the affected part of the body. In this way the body begins to correct itself.

Lastly, that feeling of distress that accompanies sickness is countered by calming asanas. This can be emotionally calming, or mentally calming. The two are interlinked. In fact all these considerations I have discussed show very clearly how yoga works on multi-dimensional levels when addressing issues. The physical, emotional, mental, and of course, the spiritual.

So, let’s get to this shall we. This very simple sequence is as always not to be taken for a cure. It is specifically for targeting my current loosely defined ailment.

Supported Supta baddakonasana- direct movement of buttock flesh with belt towards, heels, support thighs if groins get sore (5-10 minutes).

Supported Setubanda Sarvangasana- tie centre thighs/shins, support abdomen and legs (5-10 minutes).

Supported Salamba Sarvangasana- chest open, great immune booster (5-10 minutes).

Vippharita Karani- cover or close eyes, abodomen supported (5-10 minutes).

Savasana- if back thighs stiff, have legs slightly apart (5-10 minutes).

Thanks to Bill Grainger at Yoga Font for the images.

yoga for fatigue

I really love my yoga. The Iyengar kind.

Today I had to take my class and I was feeling really tired and listless from staring at work schedules too long. I was stressing a bit because I decided to teach a backbend class and you need to be fired up to fire up.

Backbends are really great for opening the chest out and invigorating a dull body. That’s why when I’m singing my favourite morning song (see my first post) the first thing I do is stick out my chest, take a deep breath of fresh morning air, throw my head back and… you know the rest. Anyway I digress. In this winter climate, it’s too easy to walk around with your shoulders hunched over in the beginnings of the foetal position,  feeling generally fluish and lethargic. When people come to class I feel it’s my duty to help them to find their internal sunshine. Sometimes of course they are already sickly – then a teacher must always respect their present state and work with them to overcome it. Prevention of sickness is the ideal.

I started off slowly and got so engrossed in the class that I came out feeling sprightly and all opened out. It’s true that is partly from demonstrating the poses but considering I was giving out, one would assume that I would be even more exhausted than when I started. Just goes to show that even teaching an invigorating class can bring back the fire to your day.

The programme is part of today’s post. Feel free to use it if you are an experienced teacher or student. Otherwise, please consult your senior teacher and ask them to help guide you through the program. It is designed for beginner students and a cold climate. Feel free to adapt it to your level and climatic conditions.

Thanks to Bill Grainger @http://www.yogafont.co.uk/ for the wonderful font that so helps to visualise a class for me and of course to all my teachers and my guru BKS Iyengar.