Lessons on the Lungs from COVID-19: Benefits of Proning

Prone postures that aim the belly down and open up access to the back body – where the lungs reside -- can be incredibly nourishing, in addition to beneficial for breathing. When working with clients with respiratory issues – whether recovering from COVID-19, those with a history of smoking, or even someone battling a nasty winter cold, here are some postures you can bring them into to recruit the lungs: 

• Child’s pose – This can be done with a blanket between the thighs and the belly to increase the dome-like shape of the back, opening up more space for the lungs to expand.

• Paschimottanasana – Rather than working to lengthen the spine and move the collarbones toward the feet, it's alright to let the spine round in this variation to maximize the posture’s benefits for the lungs.

• Rabbit pose – If it is appropriate for the client to put pressure on the head and neck, lifting the hips away from the heels and rolling to the crown of the head can relieve pressure on the lungs.

• Restorative twist – With the knees bent to one side, create a prone, restorative twist by lying the belly and chest on the mat, then turning the head toward or away from the knees. This is a good way to incorporate twists without compressing the lungs.

• Supta savasana – Taking savasana on the belly is not only a way to release pressure on the lungs in a prone position, but it can be very comforting for clients suffering from anxiety as well.

As the COVID-19 pandemic marches on, it is teaching us complementary practitioners new techniques for working with breath – not just as a pranayama practice to support general healing, but to specifically target respiratory illness and recovery. Learning what we have from the medical field and its emphasis on putting critically ill COVID-19 patients on their bellies, we can prescribe prone asanas to optimize lung function.

Hannah Slocum Darcy is a yoga teacher and a student at Prema Yoga Institute. She specializes in accessibility and adaptive practice for many life stages and scenarios.

Meditating with Mantras and Mudras in Therapeutic Yoga

Some of the most famous images in yoga are of a silver-haired and wrinkled B.K.S. Iyengar in an advanced posture just a few years before his death well into his nineties, or a pink lipstick-wearing Tao Porchon-Lynch displaying increAfter practicing yoga over a long enough period of time, most of us encounter its more nuanced components that don’t necessarily fall into the category of asana or pranayama. These types of practices are especially of interest to yoga therapists, as they tap into the more subtle forms of using yoga for healing.

In meditation, we sometimes make use of mantras and/or mudras. Mantras are words or phrases that can be repeated aloud or to oneself with the rhythm of the breath, and mudras are the use of the hands to focus the brain. While most yoga practitioners have had some exposure to these concepts, as yoga therapists, we can go a step deeper to understand why they are used and how they can support healing.

What makes mantras and mudras of such interest to yoga therapists is how they tap into the parts of the body that can be most effective for promoting healing. The Homunculus Diagram shows the human body in proportion to the amount of nerve endings in each part. For this reason, when offering a yoga chikitsa, yoga therapists pay special attention to the parts of the body with the greatest number of nerve endings because of their efficacy to support healing – the face, lips and mouth (mantras) and the hands and fingers (mudras).

Thus, mantras and mudras help link physical actions to the functioning of the mind. Especially for active students, those who find meditation challenging, or those who are pitta vitiated, Ayurvedically-speaking, mantras and mudras can be a highly effective point through which to access meditation.

Mantras

Mantras have transcended the yoga community and are commonly cited as ways to enhance performance and in self-help circles. We repeat these words or short phrases to manifest an outcome or send out an intention, reminiscent of a prayer.

In yoga, mantras are chanted or repeated silently. When chanted or spoken aloud, we activate the healing capacities of connecting the brain to the mouth, lips and tongue. Even if repeated silently, mantras can help focus the mind during meditation.

Some common mantras include:

• Kirtan kriya – Four syllables, sa ta na ma, meaning birth, life death and rebirth – make up this classic mantra. The Kirtan kriya can be highly effective in focusing the mind during meditation when it is repeated over and over in a melodic way.

• Peace mantras – Om shanti shanti shanti is a common mantra used to call in peace, often heard at the end of a yoga class or to conclude a longer chant. Another mantra for peace can be more personal, such as breathing in “I am at peace,” and repeating it on the exhale. If “at peace” does not resonate with you, you can substitute another state of being to help bring a sense of ease to the mind and body.

• Devotional mantras – Mantras can also be used to chant devotion to a belief system or deity. One of the most common devotional mantras is the Gaytri mantra, which Sri Swami Satchidananda translates as “Let us meditate on Isvara [God] and His Glory who has created the Universe, who is fit to be worshipped, who is the remover of all sins and ignorance. May he enlighten our intellect." 

Mudras

Given the concentration of nerve endings in the hands and fingers, using them in meditation is said to be the most effective body-based yoga style to improve brain function. It also makes mudras one of the most accessible forms of asana, given the undeniably physical aspect of the practice. If you’re working with a client in a hospital setting, or if you’re working to introduce a more physical practice, mudras can be a great way to ease into asana.

Some common mudras

• Anjali mudra -- The most common mudra most of us are familiar with is Anjali mudra, or bringing the hands to a prayer position at the center of the chest. This is a devotional position meant to bring awareness to the heart’s center and can be found within many other asanas.

• Dhyana mudra – Place the non-dominant hand in the lap, face-up, with the dominant hand resting face-up on top of it. This is a powerful mantra for promoting healing and balance, by symbolically cradling our yang side and allowing it to rest.

Once you’ve introduced mantas or mudras to a yoga therapy client, the next step is putting them together.

• Mala beads – Chanting or repeating a mantra 108 times as you hold a mala is one of the most classical examples of devotion. Hold the mala in your right hand, draped over your middle finger. Using the thumb, touch one bead, silently or out loud speak your mantra, and slide your thumb to the next bead, being sure to skip over the large guru bead. At PYI, we chant “aham Prema” 108 times to honor the divine love inherent to our lineage.

• The Kirtan kriya – Once you’ve learned sa ta na ma, you can add the hands. On sa, lightly touch the thumb to the index finger, bring the thumb to the top of the middle finger for ta, the fourth finger for na, and the pinky finger for ma. Repeat.

Mantras and mudras are well known in yoga, but it’s their therapeutic effects where they really stand out. Ultimately, mantras and mudras are simple and highly accessible tools to deepen a therapeutic yoga experience.

LINKS:

https://www.intuitiveflow.com/the-magic-of-the-hand-mudras/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwRoHC83wx0&feature=youtu.be

https://www.yogiapproved.com/om/mantras-explained-use/

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Hannah Slocum Darcy is a yoga teacher and a student at Prema Yoga Institute. She specializes in accessibility and adaptive practice for many life stages and scenarios.

Poses, Props and Modifications for a Lifelong Yoga Practice

Some of the most famous images in yoga are of a silver-haired and wrinkled B.K.S. Iyengar in an advanced posture just a few years before his death well into his nineties, or a pink lipstick-wearing Tao Porchon-Lynch displaying incredible feats of flexibility before she passed away earlier this year at 101. While most of us see these images and shake our heads, lamenting our own muscle flexibility lost and aches gained over the past decade, they teach us a great deal about the practice itself.

Yoga, as most of us know, was not intended as purely a physical exercise, but rather a holistic practice comprised of eight limbs, culminating in samadhi. In this way, yoga lends itself to being accessible through the many stages of life and the necessary modifications that result. While many forms of exercise and sports can be so physically demanding that they either frequently lead to injury or are difficult or unsafe to practice as we enter a new life stage such as pregnancy, injury, illness or old age, yoga asana – and especially therapeutic variations – has a response to each of these. 

Here are some common poses, props and modifications to address some of the most common challenges that arise in the course of adulthood and ways to leverage the asana practice as a healing mechanism.

Chair yoga – Whether due to challenges with balance, restricted movement, or for clients just beginning a yoga practice, chair yoga is a starting point. So many common asana poses – twists, Warrior series, triangle, backbends, forward folds and more – can be modified to be done from a chair, whether seated or standing behind it and using it for support. All you need is a firm, steady folding chair. You can start to build strength in the chair and then eventually explore poses without using it.

Walls – As we age, the risk of falls increases. The National Council on Aging reports that one in four Americans over the age of 65 will fall each year, often resulting in the need to be treated in the emergency room. Thus, cultivating balance is critical. For clients who struggle to maintain balance, whether because of vertigo or ageing, the best modification is to find the steadiest prop possible and use that for practice – think the wall or floor. These props do not move no matter what, so should be used in poses that can challenge the balance. Think keeping the big toe on the floor during tree pose, or leaning back into a wall for triangle pose.

Yoga for low back pain – Low back pain is the second leading cause of missed work, second only to the common cold. Nearly all of us have awoken at one point or another with a stiff or sore lower back, not knowing what to do about it. The tricky part about low back pain is that its causes are many, and its treatments are just as diverse. Certain causes, like a ruptured disc, ask us not to forward fold, while others, such as sciatica, call for spinal twists. The key, if you are experiencing low back pain, is to visit a physician who can order tests and examine you to assign a proper diagnosis to your pain, and from there, you can work with a yoga therapist to ease your symptoms. Dr. Loren Fishman is a great resource on yoga for low back pain and has contributed greatly to the field of therapeutic yoga through his work.

Patience – Over time, the connective tissues that hold together our muscles and bone structure can dry up and become brittle. A key practice to maintain flexibility, which helps enable pain-free movement in the body and prevent common injuries, is yin yoga. Yin involves holding stretches for three to five minutes, getting deep into the connective tissue, to keep it healthy and supple. Interestingly enough, yin does not require deep flexibility to begin with, but rather asks us to stretch only to about half of our full capacity and utilize props to keep each pose supported, making it a sustainable practice for varying stages of fitness. That’s why you’ll be encouraged to bend your knees slightly in a yin-style forward fold or to back out of the most intense version of a posture to achieve lasting results over time.

These are just a few of the most common challenges we face as we age, and ways to modify, support, and explore them in the yoga practice. Finding a skilled yoga therapist to work with can help you find more ways to adapt your asana practice to your changing needs as you age.

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Hannah Slocum Darcy is a yoga teacher and a student at Prema Yoga Institute. She specializes in accessibility and adaptive practice for many life stages and scenarios.