hostmelissa
09-28-2008, 12:28 PM
http://www.melissawest.com/images/Backbend.jpg
Backbends are exhilarating, invigorating and are known to raise your spirits.:D If you think about backbends from the perspective of the chakras, they open the heart center creating joy. Anatomically, the chest is opened drawing more oxygen into the lungs, promoting better breathing. Backbends encourage inhalation which is associated with an attitude of embracing life.
Backbends are extroverted as they turn the body out to face the world. They stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and prepare you for activity. Back to the perspective of the chakras, the third chakra is also opened, preparing you for action. Opening the body at the level of the 3rd chakra, opens our will to action. The third chakra has to do with heat and fire and as such they are warming and energizing.
Functionally, backbends are crucial for anybody living in our culture. Backbends counter balance the ongoing hunched over posture from sitting at a desk and lifts your posture back to neutral. Everyday life involves a lot of forward bending and action at the front of the body - putting on your pants, sitting at a computer, driving, eating, opening doors, house work. All these day to day activities lengthen back muscles. Backbends strengthen the back and counter-balance our day to day activity.
While a lot of yoga poses are not recommended for people with slipped discs, backbends can be very therapeutic for slipped discs, encouraging them to come back into neutral alignment.
As the days grow shorter and darker, explore an afternoon of invigorating, uplifting, and balancing backbends, join us on Sunday October 19th from 1-3 p.m for Big Beautiful Backbends (http://www.melissawest.com/index-13.html).
Backbends are exhilarating, invigorating and are known to raise your spirits.:D If you think about backbends from the perspective of the chakras, they open the heart center creating joy. Anatomically, the chest is opened drawing more oxygen into the lungs, promoting better breathing. Backbends encourage inhalation which is associated with an attitude of embracing life.
Backbends are extroverted as they turn the body out to face the world. They stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and prepare you for activity. Back to the perspective of the chakras, the third chakra is also opened, preparing you for action. Opening the body at the level of the 3rd chakra, opens our will to action. The third chakra has to do with heat and fire and as such they are warming and energizing.
Functionally, backbends are crucial for anybody living in our culture. Backbends counter balance the ongoing hunched over posture from sitting at a desk and lifts your posture back to neutral. Everyday life involves a lot of forward bending and action at the front of the body - putting on your pants, sitting at a computer, driving, eating, opening doors, house work. All these day to day activities lengthen back muscles. Backbends strengthen the back and counter-balance our day to day activity.
While a lot of yoga poses are not recommended for people with slipped discs, backbends can be very therapeutic for slipped discs, encouraging them to come back into neutral alignment.
As the days grow shorter and darker, explore an afternoon of invigorating, uplifting, and balancing backbends, join us on Sunday October 19th from 1-3 p.m for Big Beautiful Backbends (http://www.melissawest.com/index-13.html).