Urdhva Dhanurasana - Upward Bow/Wheel Pose 

Backbends, our Focus of the Month at Flow, are literally heart-opening.  Anatomically speaking, they extend and open the chest muscles, and increase circulation to the heart and lungs. The thyroid, nervous, digestive and lymphatic systems all get a boost, as do the kidneys and adrenal glands.   Psychologically speaking, backbends require us to let down our guard and expose our hearts.  While some yogis eagerly practice backbends, others find they trigger fear or feelings of inadequacy.  Perhaps more than any other pose, they bring us face to face with the limitations of our strength, flexibility and patience.  But if compassion is borne from loving ourselves, we must learn to practice in harmony with our boundaries instead of struggling against them.  Backbends offer us an opportunity to accept the truth in our muscles, hearts, energy and, ultimately, our selves.  Backbends can help us open areas where we traditionally tend to “hold” much of our energy, such as the chest, and the pelvic region.  This month at Flow, through intelligently sequenced asanas we will learn various alignment techniques that gently allow us to explore these heart opening poses and their benefits.

Step by Step from Yoga Journal

Lie supine on the floor. Bend your knees and set your feet on the floor, heels as close to the sitting bones as possible. Bend your elbows and spread your palms on the floor beside your head, forearms relatively perpendicular to the floor, fingers pointing toward your shoulders.

Pressing your inner feet actively into the floor, exhale and push your tailbone up toward the pubis, firming (but not hardening) the buttocks, and lift the buttocks off the floor. Keep your thighs and inner feet parallel. Take 2 or 3 breaths. Then firmly press the inner hands into the floor and your shoulder blades against the back and lift up onto the crown of your head. Keep your arms parallel. Take 2 or 3 breaths.

Press your feet and hands into the floor, tailbone and shoulder blades against your back, and with an exhalation, lift your head off the floor and straighten your arms. Turn the upper thighs slightly inward and firm the outer thighs. Narrow the hip points and lengthen the tailbone toward the backs of the knees, lifting the pubis toward the navel.

Turn the upper arms outward but keep the weight on the bases of the index fingers. Spread the shoulder blades across the back and let the head hang, or lift it slightly to look down at the floor.

Stay in the pose anywhere from 5 to 10 seconds or more, breathing easily. Repeat anywhere from 3 to 10 times.

Heart Opening Inquiries - Heart-Living

Put your hand on your heart.  What do you notice?  (Stop reading and try this for 20 seconds.) Did you automatically take a deep breath, slow down, change your posture, feel more love or compassion?   What shifted for you?  Our heart center is a powerful place to live from.  It is a place of love, truth, wisdom, passion, compassion and aliveness.  Paying attention to it for just 20 seconds, here and there, can make huge shifts in our bodies and lives.

Unfortunately, the way most of us live our lives, from our posture to our busy lifestyles does little to support heart-living.  Most of us have to consciously cultivate heart-living for ourselves.  Some find that yoga, meditation, being with a pet or letting love for a partner or good friend flow can help us to tap into the powerful energy of our hearts.

This month, the Flow theme is compassion and backbends (heart-openers).  I invite you to explore your compassionate and vibrant heart.  Let the all of feelings, sensations and living flow!

Here are some tips that can help you consciously connect into your heart this month and beyond.

1. Put up at least 10 sticky notes with a big heart on them.  Put them in obvious and  not-so-obvious places to remind you to tap into your rich heart energy.

2. Take some time every day to put your hand on your heart, close your eyes and breathe.  Commit to this activity for a mere 1-2 minutes a day and see what you notice.  Schedule a date with your heart in your date book or set a watch to go off every hour as a reminder.
 
3. Do yoga.  Play with your backbends and heart openers, compassionately.  Choose a gentle heart opener to do each day to stir up your vibrant heart energy.

4. Meditate.  Focus on the sensations in your heart.

5. Smile 5 times a day from your heart.

6. Speak 5 times a day from your heart.

7. Ask yourself:

 What is it to live from your heart?
 What is possible for you when you live from your heart?
 What do you give the world when you live from your heart?