Working with the hands
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Emma Lovell Yoga
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Crawling
(via Jules Mitchell)
Self-reflection
I’ve recently been introduced to the teaching of Diane Bruni by Rachel Johnston (who provides endless movement and teaching inspiration, and reminds me to keep questioning everything!) Diane has these wise words on her website:
‘WHAT ARE WE ACTUALLY TRAINING INTO OUR BODIES?
This is a question I ask every time I practice and teach. If what we’re training into our bodies does not enhance the movements of daily life, why would be practice them? Why not practice the poses and movements that will reinforce the patterns that we were designed to move in. Instead of standing on our heads and risking neck injury, why not learn to walk well? Instead of forward folding with straight legs and putting strain on the lower back why not learn to squat well? The list goes on.’
What I teach is not static or set in stone. I don’t stick to one ‘system’ and I am learning to constantly question and re-question what I am teaching. This means that under the umbrella of yoga, my classes are influenced by anything that has inspired me to move better, and that I want to pass on to others to help them move better and be more aware of their bodies. This can be yoga, or most recently The Feldenkrais Method, Katy Bowman, Gary Ward, and Somatics. This also means a lot of unlearning of things I was previously taught (namely alignment cues, and what I am training into my own body) , things that I had previously never questioned. Rachel Johnston sums this up perfectly (full post here):
‘You as practitioners and we as teachers should never stop questioning and exploring in this kind of work. Half of what we think we know (and teach) is most likely misguided or wrong, and we are never going to find out which half without challenging perceived wisdoms.’
Here’s a more natural way of positioning the hand in Downward dog taken from Diane’s website (you can read Diane’s full ‘hand rant’ here), which challenges the traditional alignment cues given in most yoga classes:
Give it a go and notice if and how it changes the pose for you.
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- alignment biomechanics bodies hands unlearning
An embodied practice
‘A lot of our days are spent with just the hands and the face, and if we are not careful, this behavior becomes ingrained. In other words, we drop out of the felt sense of the rest of the body and become ‘just faces and hands’. This is happening more and more as we become so deeply immersed in a digital world which prioritizes eyes , ears and hands….It’s no wonder the world is becoming more and more heady and less and less body.’ Body Intelligent Meditation Ged Sumner.
Remember this guy?
Homunculus
This week’s class has been about bringing us back into our bodies as a whole, rather than the bits we are aware of most (see image above). I recommend reading Ged Sumner’s Body Intelligent Meditation book for a further understanding on embodiment and coming into the body as a whole, and for numerous meditation exercises on being present in the body.
Here‘s a nice article by Bo Forbes on the importance of embodiment and interoception (a sense of what’s happening inside our body) in yoga:
‘What’s the relevance of interoceptive awareness to our health and well-being? It turns out that many illnesses—anxiety, depression, gut disorders, eating disorders, and more—are diseases of disembodiment. In these illnesses, awareness becomes skewed. In chronic pain syndromes, for example, we tend to predict what we’ll encounter, and to remain there ruminating about it.’ Bo Forbes Interoception: Mindfulness in the Body. The Continuum of Embodiment
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Mudras
‘Mudras are a way to experience yoga in our hands, most often as seals that direct or retain energy in the body. Different mudras cultivate different energies, and for me, they bridge the gap between one’s physical and meditative practices. If you’re more apt to practice stillness, mudras are a great way to add more physicality to your practice. If you’re an asana junkie, they can bring a meditative aspect to your practice. They are absolutely universal and can be practiced almost anywhere! The lotus mudra is particularly lovely.’ Text and image from here
The hands
This week we’re considering the hands and wrists. We’re thinking about keeping our wrists and fingers mobile and healthy through variation in movement, and also how best to use the hands to support us in poses to avoid injury or strain. Here’s a handy guide on where to place the weight in downward dog:
We tend to push a lot with our hands in yoga, supporting weight through our hands in many poses, but never actually ‘pulling’ with our hands. It’s important to keep the joints healthy and not trapped in the same movement patterns by using the hands, wrists, and shoulders in other ways, for example hanging:
Katy Bowman has a great article here on preparing for hanging and swinging, with variety being the key:
‘Vary your hand positions and vary the surfaces you hang from. Vary the bars and sometimes head for the trees. Size and texture are variables. So are scapula and hand positions. The more you mix it up, the more of “you” you invite to the party.’
