Lying down and starting to let go.
Our only objective is to find out what our body is like doing,
To become more and more aware,
To use imagination where awareness hasn't quite developed.
Facing the pull of gravity and its connection with the breath.
Bringing the spine to life.
Awakening the core while relaxing the outer body.
Undoing the grip of dominant muscles to invite other muscles to come into play,
Giving better articulation at the joints and deeper,
More subtle control.
It's about finding a wholeness of movement involving the body as an intelligent and harmonious whole.
None of these words by Sophie Hoare have real meaning for us until they are felt even just for a fleeting moment.
Then we are given a sense of freedom which takes us out of ourselves,
Which is natural,
Profoundly relaxing and therapeutic.
So lying on your back with knees up and feet resting on the ground.
This is the constructive rest position.
Become more and more conscious of your points of contact with the ground.
Start to let go.
Let go of those big surface muscles that we use most of the time.
We have about 700 muscles altogether and generally only use about 70.
If we can learn to release these,
We develop a network of core muscles which give us resilience.
Let go too of thoughts and feelings.
Draw attention to your breathing,
Not to change it,
But to notice how fast or slow it is,
How deep or shallow it is.
Notice the arches of your feet,
One to the big toe,
One to the little toe,
And one across the base of the toes.
Please give us a foundation when we're walking and standing.
Become aware of or imagine your spine.
Imagine it lengthening.
Imagine it losing the curves in the neck and the lumbar area.
If your hands are by your sides,
Palms up,
Notice your shoulder blades flat on the ground.
Become aware of or imagine the space between them and also space across the front of your body,
Maybe imagining it across your collarbones.
Feel that there is more and more contact with the ground as you lie there and let go.
Your spine is lengthening.
It's losing its curves,
Including the reflection in the neck vertebrae,
Not by pressing down,
Not by doing anything,
But by undoing everything.
Now draw attention to your hands.
Let them feel light.
Let your arms feel empty.
Let your hands gently rise from the ground towards the ceiling,
Taking with them the wrists,
The elbows,
And leaving the shoulders behind.
The body likes small circular movements,
Not big jerky ones.
All the big muscles that usually try to stop the shoulder dislocating are released down.
It's as if the bones are moving through a sleeve of muscle.
The more vertical they get,
The more aligned the bones are,
And the less work the big surface muscles have to do.
You feel you're not holding them up,
They are just there,
Natural,
As if the hands have been flung off the surface of the earth as it spins in space,
And the only thing anchoring them back is their weight acting through the shoulders to the center of the earth.
You feel an ease and alignment that is the ideal in every yoga position.
You feel you could stay there for a long time,
But you know there's no point once you stop feeling muscles release.
So now bring your attention to your right foot.
Let it feel light.
Let the right leg feel empty.
Allow the right knee to travel back towards your head so that your back is protected.
Then let the foot rise towards the ceiling,
Taking with it the ankle and the knee,
But leaving the hips behind.
Once again,
Use small circular movements the body likes.
Feel that the hamstrings can release,
Allowing the knee to straighten more and more.
The big muscles around the hip which strive to stop it dislocating can be released,
Bringing more space into the hip joint.
Feel the fluidity there,
Just like in the shoulders.
You can imagine that the leg can eventually feel as easy as the arm.
The more vertical it gets,
The more aligned the bones are,
The less work the muscles have to do,
The less they try to hold and tense and shake.
But if these things happen,
Once you realize there's no more release possible,
There's no point in trying to hold the position any longer.
In all yoga poses,
It's often better to come out of the pose at this point and maybe go back into it.
So often,
Less is more.
Bring the right leg down with the knee up and foot on the ground.
Consider how different it feels from the left.
Then,
Allow the left foot to become light,
The left leg empty.
The left knee travels back towards the head,
And the foot floats towards the ceiling.
Allow the leg to become straighter as you release muscles behind the knee and around the hips.
Once again,
The bones are moving through a sleeve of muscle.
This time,
With the left foot still in the air,
Allow the right knee to come back and the right foot to go up as well.
Notice how your back accommodates itself to having two feet in the air.
For many people,
It's easier than one.
And then place one big toe on top of the other,
And allow this point of contact to give you a purchase point to release.
Release the muscles of one leg down and encourage the other one up.
Then change over.
Any point of contact,
Whether with yourself,
The ground,
The wall,
Or another person,
Gives you a place from which you can release muscles.
When there is no more release to be had,
Give all four limbs a shake,
And gently bring them all down to the ground.
And consider how you feel.
