Yoga, Your Companion Through the Day

by Ram

Upward Bound Hands

One of the main tenets of yoga philosophy is “Yogas chitta vritii nirodhah,”which means achieving a union of the body, mind and spirit when all mental fluctuations/turbulences cease. Now, imagine waiting at the airport for nearly two hours to board an international flight. Or, you get held up in a traffic accident and the traffic has come to a standstill. Or, while negotiating over the phone with a credit card company, the customer service representative keeps you on hold. These are all situations where your emotions can flare up and yet, going by the above doctrine, you need to maintain your composure. So these situations call for supplementary yoga as a means to lighten up the situations and bring more cheer. It’s like giving a new life to the dull and routine tasks of everyday life.

Supplementary yoga can be done at the spur of the moment. It does not require a mat or other props, it does not require you to be in proper yoga attire and it does not call for a full-fledged asana sequence. In addition, if you have practiced yoga for at least six months and know the basics, supplementary yoga can really come in handy. With supplementary yoga, you have taken the power in your own hands to rein in your emotions and keep physically fit. Here are some situations based on my experience where supplementary yoga can turn life situations more interesting. You may modify the sequence or bring in your own set of poses.

Waiting in the Queue

Whether you’re at the cinema hall, airport or coffee bar, waiting in a long queue can be awful. Instead of venting it out, how about performing some standing balancing poses, forward bends or hip stretches, or a combination of all three? Yes, you may attract some curious onlookers but, hey, it’s your body and mind. So ignore the stares and move into the pose. In such situations I like to do Tree pose (Vksasana) as it is a great balancing pose and calms the mind as well. You do not need to do the full pose, just place the sole of your foot against your inner thigh (or calf) and rest your hands on your waist. Make sure your pelvis is in a neutral position and lengthen your tailbone toward the floor. Draw your gaze to the front and send a positive message for the line to move. Stay for 15 seconds, return to the standing position (Tadasana) and repeat on the opposite side for the same length of time.

If the queue is still moving slowly, you can resort to a standing forward bend position. I normally do Hand to Big Toe pose (Padangusthasana) in such situations. Just make sure that as you gently lower into the forward bend, you are not hitting the individual ahead of you. My suggestion to avoid any mishap is to allow the individual ahead of you to move, maintain the gap and finish your pose. Hold this position for 10-15 seconds. Send a positive note for the line to move, inhale, lift your torso and head back to upright position. Notice that you are now first in the line. I did this recently at the DMV office while standing in a long queue for renewing my license and it was fun!

Stuck in Slow Traffic

How many of us deal with slow traffic or stuck-in-traffic situations on a regular basis? Can we seek solace and a calm mind amidst this chaos? I like to do shoulder stretches and neck stretches (my hands are still on the wheel and feet are in their respective position on gas & brakes), and then follow it up with few rounds of Ujjayi pranayama or Victory Breath. Notice that as you direct the exhalation slowly across the back of your throat with a drawn-out “HA” sound, the vehicles in front of you have started moving faster! Repeat several times and not only will you witness prompt soothing effect in your mind, but the traffic would also have cleared. If Olympians have introduced Ujjayi into their routines, you can also do it and reach your destination safe and sound.

Cranking on the Keyboard

Whatever our occupation is, notice how our work has led us to be in front of the computer and to click away on the keyboard with constant use of the mouse. These repetitive movements of joints, fingers and wrist can lead to numerous musculoskeletal problems. Research studies show that one in eight professionals suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) due to these repetitive movements and, among the fingers, the right thumb was revealed to be more susceptible to CTS. In the laboratory, despite bring a bench researcher, my work requires me to do a lot of computing work. So, for every 60 minutes of computing work, I do 5-10 minutes of supplemental yoga. In addition to several stretches, I love doing Upward Bound Hands (Urdhva Baddha Hastasana) as it reestablishes the full range of motion on my collar blades and shoulder blades. Check out Baxter and Nina's post Upward Bound Hands for more on this asana. The other poses I bring in are Eagle pose (Garudasana), Thumb-Big Toe pose (Padangushtasana) and Hand-to-Feet pose (Padahastasana). All these simple but powerful poses deepen the stretch and strengthen the shoulders, arms, hands and wrists, providing the perfect antidote to repetitive actions of the joints, fingers and wrist.

Sitting for Too Long

Our bodies were not designed to be immobile—look back to our hunter-gatherer ancestors and you will understand the need to be more active. (For more I this, check my sequel to follow soon.) Sitting for long hours at work, at a desk, in the car, on the bus or in front of the TV not only adversely affects the neck, shoulders, back, hamstrings but in the process we are also inviting health risks to our lifestyle, including heart attacks, joint problems, spinal issues and cancers. Furthermore, sitting for long periods reduces longevity and increases the risk of an early death. (For more on the risks associated with sitting for long periods, check my article The Dangers of Being Sedentary.)

These days my work requires for me to sit at the office desk for several hours so I bring in my supplemental yoga at work, too. Half Dog Pose at the Wall is an excellent pose that only requires a wall. It provides a good forward bend of the pelvis over the thighbones without curving the lower back. I even do the pose with the hands resting on a desktop or on the seat of my office chair. I also do some standing leg stretches that Baxter and Nina explained in the post Standing Leg Stretches, which provide the same hip opening and leg stretching benefits that one receives from many of the standing poses. I end up doing some shoulder stretches as well, which you can find described in the post Standing Shoulder Stretches.

All the above mentioned poses are good antidotes for hip and leg tightness and for tightness in the lower back. The poses provide an allover stretch, opening your shoulders and stretching your arms, back, hips and legs. Notice how supplemental yoga poses take up less space and you can do them in any location, anywhere there is a wall, chair, desk, ledge or window sill? People around may give you the stare but we yogis don't care, correct?

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