Just what I needed

After last week's class, a few people sent me messages saying, "That class is just what I needed" "It's like you read my mind - like you knew exactly what my body wanted!"

I'm delighted to hear such feedback - learning that you feel great after class is always fabulous. But before I get too chuffed about myself and take the credit for being a mind-reader, I must acknowledge that it has little to do with me. Shhh - as if you didn't know already - it's the YOGA :)

Here are a few reasons why this is a familiar feeling that might arise after we attend a class.

Collective needs

Last week, we used Parsvottanasana (Pyramid Pose) amongst other poses to challenge our hamstrings. Those much-maligned hamstrings require a bit of work for most of us chronic sitters.

Unfortunately, tightness appears to be universal. When we practice yoga, we find common things are common - all of us groan at how tight we are, not just in hamstrings but in the thighs, hips, shoulders and necks. We all feel challenged when using our abdominal muscles, back, and buttocks. And many of us feel areas of automatic gripping that sometimes need a nudge to soften - the jaw, the breath?

Isn't it interesting how unique we are but also how many challenges we share in common?

Ripple effect

So the hamstring had its particular day last week. Well, why does stretching the back of the leg do so much for us? In my mind, it's because of the effect the legs and pelvis have on the spine. Opening the leg does something miraculous to the lower spine, giving it the space and length it craves. And, what then does space in the spine deliver in turn? It supports the chest and diaphragm to move freely, broadening efficiently in all its glory atop the abdomen. And what does breathing better accomplish? Amongst many benefits, the breath is a direct hack to the state of mind.

Whether we open the soles of the feet or sides of the neck, a change in one body part never works in isolation - it's part of the big 'Republic of the body' (BKS Iyengar). So the leg may affect the back, the jaw may affect the abdomen, and the forehead may affect the forearm. And so on and so on.

In a truly yogic sense, every move you make, every breath you take - is part of the collective and has a ripple effect on the whole. So, whatever starts that ripple - a focus on the hamstring or any other aspect of the body - after practice, perhaps your breath is freer, your face softer, your step lighter, your mind gentler.

Body or Mind?

The body holds tension; the body 'holds the score'. All bodies crave opening and ease, space and freedom. Without nurturing these components in the body, the mind has its work cut out to find the same qualities. When the body is restricted and in discomfort, the mind is also pained. When the mind is stressed, the body most certainly speaks.

Physical yoga can help to melt tensions held consciously or unconsciously in our bodies. Perhaps this is why stress management is cited as one of the main reasons people practise - for the impact on the mind over and above that on the body (not that you can or should separate them).

No wonder your Bodymind says "ahhhhh!" after practice, thinks "I'll have more of this, thank you" and "it's just what I needed". It's what makes us come back for more.