Louise Fisichella...
Louise Fisichella has studied Comparitive Religions,Yoga, nutrition and health for over 30 years
Yoga Made Weezie
Stretching That Makes Sense
Every morning I get up I do ten sets of the “Sun Salutation”. It is an ancient form of Yoga meant to warm up the body in its entirety. It is easy to remember and easy to turn into a good daily habit. (You can make a copy of the attachment and follow along as I give a general explanation of the “Sun Salutation”). This series of postures and stretches, stretch all the major muscle groups, activate your lymph and glandular systems, and “massage” your organs. The postures done in a series of stretching and relaxing your muscles forces blood thru them, and detoxify them.
The Salutation can be done by any one of any age or physical condition. Very young children enjoy doing it with their parents as part of a health routine. Teenage girls enjoy adding a practical stretching routine to their other activities and many use it for cross-training purposes. Any adult can also benefit from the systematic way the series is designed. Older people as well can practice at their own comfort levels and degrees by taking it slowly and deliberately! Yoga can also be practiced at beginner levels while recovering from many different surgeries, as long as you ask your doctor first.
When learning the sequence you can lay your copy on the carpet or mat on the floor. That way you can see the next posture as your working thru them. Between posture (asana) #2 and #3, I add a pause at 90degree angle just to check my posture as I start to get a big stretch out ward and down ward.
Asana’s #2, #7. And #11 is all great for anyone who works on the computer! They counteract the head falling forward while reading and working at the screen. And help with that pain between the shoulder blades as well.
The #4 and #9 help in activating the glands in the pit of your leg and behind the knees, also stretching the leg muscles while working knees. If you have pain in your knees, just take it slow and don’t bounce. In fact, don’t bounce during any of the postures. Always remember the first rule in yoga; a good yogi never hurts themselves.
While going from #6 to #7, I scoop my chin and chest toward the floor while doing what is almost a “push-up”. And I use the same arm muscles in the back and arms that would be worked doing a regular “push-up”, in one smooth move.
It is important when you get to the last set of 3 moves to go slowly. For a while you will be forcing more poisons thru your system in the morning than your body is used to. It might make you dizzy! So, take it easy while doing #10, #11, and #12. After you have been doing these for a while the feeling will subside, until then some people even feel nauseated. Remember if this happens to you that you are forcing poison thru your system to be removed by your blood system and that is a good thing!
The “Sun Salutation” is the easiest, most efficient way to keep your entire body’s stretched and to get warmed up for bike rides, hikes, swims, and just about any sport in which you might want to participate. I also use it to stretch after a long day of stress and tension, to help with overworked muscles, promote over night muscle repair, and just simply relax. Over the years I have use many different forms of stretching, the “Sun Salutation” I have consistently come back to as the basis of my daily routine.
