Sunday Stretch #25

I've already noted that Sunday Stretch (Yin yoga poses) is coming to an end, since there are basically about 25 poses we use.  I did not do a SS in November, so I will do my final one at the end of January., unless I find another pose that might be helpful to us quilters. I do have a good hips one yet to show you. So, I think this month, with all its busy-ness, along with this weekend, heralding the start of a new year, needs another meditation post. Just 10 minutes a day for a little quiet, inner-listening time can really do wonders. I know I need to get back into this regularly; it was very worthwhile, and Miss Bella sure enjoyed the 12 minute app I use on my phone:

She just knows when I do the meditation, and personally I think it adds a little something extra: a warm furry body purring on my crossed legs.

This is the free app I use:

You can personalize it with the style of sounds you'd like to remind you of intervals of time and beginning and end. There are different screenshots too to put you in a reflective mood.

I wish everyone peace in 2018. Peace in your heart, and peace that you spread throughout your life. Here is Kino MacGregor again:

Please come back Monday for a very exciting announcement!

Sunday Stretch #24 Frog

We spend so much time sitting in chairs or on couches here in the West and not sitting on the floor where our hips can rotate healthily in our hip sockets, that our hips lose their range of motion.  Our hip joints are the largest joints in our body, so lots of tightness happens here from this lack of rotation. There are lots of issues buried deep in the tissues of these joints too. Hip and knee replacements in the West are off the charts, especially as compared to those in the East. Living on the floor is a good thing!

Even if you can't quite get to the full pose of Frog, spending some time in Tadpole will most definitely help tightness in your hips. I have the cutest model for this pose for you today!

Benefits of this pose

• lovely pull along the inside lines of the legs, which is where the Liver, Kidney and Spleen meridian lines run (acupressure points for these energy lines)
• works deeply into the groin, and adductors
• there is a slight backbend, so good for the low back, especially after sitting hunched over a sewing machine or cutting fabric for long periods of time
• if your arms are outstretched, this stimulates the upper body meridians: the Lung, Heart, Small and Large Intestine energy lines; also a lovely stretch across the shoulders for same reasons as previous bullet
• aids in digestion
• helps to relieve cramps, both menstrual and digestive

Getting into the pose

It's best to get onto a yoga mat or a quilt, even a couple of quilts, or a folded quilt beneath your knees. This provides padding and helps the knees gently slide apart as gravity works its magic! Brady has a quilt I made for Brianne 11 years ago (before he was born!) doubled up and then his Halloween quilt I made him folded under his knees for extra padding.

Tadpole or Half Frog

Spread your knees apart as wide as they will go with just a slight tugging feeling. Keep your toes together. Stretch your arms out in front of you, draping your chest towards the ground. You can roll another quilt up under your chest if you like to rest on, or, if you have just eaten or want to relieve cramping in the lower abdomen, allow your belly to hang suspended. This is great for aiding digestion but also helps relieve cramping. Stay here for 2-3 minutes. 

If you'd like to go into the full frog, go to this next stage first. Raise your hips so that they are directly over your knees. This increases the backbend in your lower back. See if your knees may like to come further apart.  If you are okay here after several breaths, then proceed to full frog. You can't quite see how Brady is resting his forehead on his right forearm, but you can see his left arm fully extended.

Frog

Turn your feet out, Charlie Chaplin style. Allow the knees to slide apart, letting gravity do the work. Your job is to surrender to that pull, relaxing into this intense tug.  However, as Bernie says, you want to feel sensation. Do not make it sensational! 

If your nose gets squished (ask me how I know this) or it is too intense to rest on your chin, then rest your forehead on a forearm. Just be sure to switch arms part way through. The tug you get along the backs of your arms, into your shoulder blades, and in the lower back to some degree, is quite delicious. And then there's the pull into the groin and hips. Lovely. Stay here for 3 minutes or more, breathing slowly in and out through your nose, keeping relaxing as much as you can to get into the connective tissues.

Now.  How to get out?!

Easy.  Just slide forward onto your tummy.  Extend one leg at a time by tucking your toes under, lifting the kneecap to straighten the leg and pushing into the heel. Do the other leg. Be still and feel.  It can be fairly intense.  You may want to groan as you come out!  But. Notice. Breathe.  Then maybe rock over the pelvis a few times, or bend your legs at the knees and wave the lower limbs back and forth windshield wipers style to release.

Remember you can find tons and tons more information on Frog and all things Yin Yoga at Bernie Clark's website, Yin Yoga.

Sunday Stretch #23 Bananasana

Don't you just love the name of this pose?! I believe the name of it was coined by Bernie Clark. This is a side bend done while you are lying down.  Therefore you remove the balancing part of the pose, and can relax into it to get a deep tissue stretch.

After sitting sewing for long periods of time, when you stand up and take a few hobbling steps (lol) do your hips 'talk' to you? This pose works deeply into the sides of those hips. Specifically, it works the IT (ilialtibial band). It also gives a lovely stretch into the armpit area and even the back of the upper arm.

Lie down and cradle your head with your hands as if you were lying in a hammock. If keeping your head in your hands like this starts to cause tingling in your arms or shoulders, then move your arms apart with the elbows bent, as in goal post position. Slide your cradled head along the floor, to the right, imagining your elbow will touch the outside of your right ankle.  Then slide your legs along the floor, keeping your hips level. In other words, keep your butt cheeks in contact with your mat or the floor. Stop when you feel a nice tugging along the left side of your body.

See? No need for yoga clothes for this one! (thanks to Dayna for being coerced into taking this shot ha)

Relax your shoulders.  Breathe slowly and steadily to the count of 3 or 4. After 30 seconds or so, try crossing your ankles. It doesn't matter which ankle on top.  Take a few breaths there, noticing how that changed the tugging tension.  Then cross your ankles the other way, and notice the sensations while you take a few breaths.  Finally choose the leg position that gives you the best pull, ankles crossed, or maybe not crossed at all if that feels best. Maybe bend a little more to the side if you want to increase the tugging and then relax into it, breathing steadily and evenly. After 3 minutes, ideally, inhale back to centre and exhale. Bring your knees to your chest and give yourself a hug, maybe rock over your back, massaging it.

Then do the other side.

Take the time to take care of your hips; are you remembering to sit cross-legged, being sure to alternate which leg is in front, or on top if you are doing half-lotus, when you're watching TV in the evenings? You can sit cross-legged on your couch, doesn't have to be on the floor....your hips will thank you and you will hopefully avoid a hip replacement.

Might want to not avoid some of the sales at two places where I am affiliate... Craftsy is having every single class on sale for less than $20US, and Connecting Threads has several ongoing sales, the most recent one on kits and samplers, up to 50% off. Where can you get a lap quilt kit for under $27?

Batting, thread and books are all still on sale too!

Remember if you've had one of those chasing squirrels moments this past month, you can link a post about it or a photo from Instagram or Flickr to the DrEAMi! linkup in this post.

Sunday Stretch for Sewists #21 - Melting Heart

This pose is known in Sanskrit by Anahatasana.  Say it slowly, emphasis on ahh (what you feel after doing it😉: Ana--hah--tah--son--ahh....  Asana, the last part of most yoga pose names, simply means pose.  This is also known as puppy pose; see Yoga Journal.

Bernie Clark states in his book, p. 246 "The Indian yogis noticed a correlation between our bodies and our heart. Don't be surprised if, during a deep yoga practice, emotions start to surface."  I often say in my classes that we have issues in our tissues; therefore, applying tension to deeper areas of our bodies such as within our hip joints, or in this pose, within our chest, spine, shoulders, arms, can stir up emotions, past memories, and thoughts. I love what Sarah Powers says, and I'm paraphrasing her, that the beauty of Yin is that we can allow these emotions to surface, we can experience them fully, without feeling the need to act out because of them.  And then.... (my own words), the magic happens: this deep-seated emotional baggage can leave the body, over time, probably not in one 3-5 minute hold however(!) and, you are then lighter, happier, more at peace.

Lake Erie, from my new vantage point, a few days ago

This pose inverts and 'melts' your heart, which, in the Daoist beliefs, is considered the supreme manager, overseeing all the workings of the body-mind. Sarah Powers writes, "Its radiance spreads out to every cell and expresses itself in our creativity, interactions and capacity for communication." Here's to a healthy heart and healthy heart chi (energy).

After hours of sewing, you may feel tight in the shoulders, along the arms, perhaps a stiffness in the wrists and definitely in the hips and knees, usually a tightness or stiffness across the pecs and collarbones... Sound familiar? Anahatasana can help with all of this.  Yup.  So get out of your chair, fold a quilt for under your knees and come down onto all fours. If you have trouble getting back up, do this by your sewing chair so you can use it to lean on to help you get back up.

Stage 1 Once you are on all fours, walk your hands forward, keeping them shoulder-width apart if possible, coming to rest on your forearms at first, keeping your bum high in the air and over your knees. Think of a right angle formed at the back of your knees by the backs of your thighs and your calves.  Maybe this is where you stay, letting your belly relax and hang, feeling an arch in your lower back. Toes can be tucked under or you can rest on the tops of your feet. Head can be in line with your spine, or perhaps you can rest it on one forearm. Breathe slowly, counting to 3 or 4 on the inhale and the same slow steady count on the exhale. Always come out of this pose on an inhale.

Do you see our new granite countertops?! ADORE!! Toe-kick under the cabinets still needs to be installed (and ordered from IKEA) as do the side panels to finish off the ends of the cabinets. Oh, and the backsplash tile too...  Oh, and install the dishwasher now... Just a few 😉 more items for MacGyver!

Variation: You may like to rest your upper body on another rolled up quilt or two, and this modification may allow you to extend your arms. You may either rest on your forehead (Take your glasses off! Ask me how I know...) or on your chin, but that is fairly hard on the neck.

Send your butt backwards; here mine could go back a little more.

This pose works into the upper back, the shoulder blades and across the front of the chest. So, see if you can stretch both of your arms right out, palms flat, fingers spread for good energy flow. However, as I mentioned, you may find you need to rest your forehead on one forearm, leaving the other outstretched; just remember to switch arms at the halfway point. Relax your spine, your belly, and you will feel how this starts to tug on the tissues across the front of the chest, along the upper arms, mainly in the triceps, (back of the upper arms), the shoulder heads, and between the shoulder blades.

Hold for 2-5 minutes. Careful. Maybe at first just 1 minute per outstretched arm is enough. This pose could put strain on your neck, so be mindful; any pain or too intense sensations, back off, or try resting your forehead on a block, cushion, or an extra rolled up quilt. Same with tingling in the fingers or hands: this could indicate a nerve being compressed, so lower the arms to the goalpost position, or perhaps skip this and try Fish pose, which is similar for opening the chest. Any pinching in the back of the shoulders, adjust your arm position as noted.

If getting down onto and back up off of the floor is an issue for you, don't give up!  Don't give up on keeping trying to get down and back up, because it is so good for your body, and don't give up on doing a variation of this pose. Try this in a doorway:

I learned this from a massage therapist. Here, you put your arms on either side of the door, goalpost position, and slowly lean forward into the doorway without moving your arms. You won't quite get the backbend you get by doing Anahatasana, but you certainly do get a lovely pull across the front of your chest and a bit of a bend in the upper spine as your shoulder blades come towards each other. It doesn't look like I'm leaning much, and it certainly didn't feel like it, but holy Hannah, it sure felt strong in the arms and shoulders! Watch the head position; I am, ahem, leaning a little too much with my head here! It's not about your head going forward! Sorry about that, but there, you see I'm in need of tweaking all the time too.

Remember that Yin yoga works with the meridians, the energy highways in the body, those same meridians and trigger points used in acupuncture and acupressure. Therefore, a little pressure into your pointers will hit a trigger point on the Large Intestine meridian, into the thumbs, the Lung meridian, the pinkies, the Heart and Small Intestine meridians.
After you've held the pose for 2 to 3 minutes (work up to 5 over time), then either rest back in child's pose or lie down on your belly. If you've done it standing, maybe sit down and be still for a minute or so, noting sensations, breathing.

Ahh! That's better!  Have a good drink of water, and you're good to go for some more sewing!

Sunday Stretch for Sewists #20 Square

Sunday Stretch on a Monday again, oops... We square our quilt blocks as we go, section by section.  Then we square our quilt tops, and after quilting, square the quilt sandwich.  Lots of squaring goes on in quilting; here's a pose called Square in Yin that is one of the best poses for us Westerners.

I did these photos again using my timer on my phone. I am not in yoga clothes because I wanted to show you that you don't have to be in order to do these poses.  Just hop out of your sewing chair, and take a few minutes to tug on your hip sockets, and they will thank you, as will your back if you lean or round forward.

Square

Sit on a quilt to elevate your hips. This pose can aggravate sciatica but elevating the hips will help avoid that, as well as take a bit of pressure off the knees.

Bend in your left leg, bringing your shin parallel to your torso, and sending your knee to the left of your left hip joint, flexing your foot to protect that knee.  Ensure that your left foot is away from your right hip; we aren't keeping it close to the groin as we would for sitting cross-legged.  However. If you are feeling plenty of sensation in your hip sockets simply by sitting on the floor in cross-legged, then for now until your hips loosen up, that is your version of square!

Now bring in your right leg to match the left, squaring this shin to line up parallel to the left and to your torso, sending the right knee to the outside of the right hip. Flex the right foot.

See how my feet are by my knees, not by my hips?

Look down.  You should see a triangle shape formed, the point being your groin and the base being the calf of the left leg.  Both lower limbs are 'squared' to your torso, as in parallel to it, and both feet are several inches, depending on your knee health, away from your hips.

If this doesn't pull much in the hips, then try the full expression of the pose.  Bring your right leg on top of your left, aligning the right knee over the left ankle, and the right ankle resting on the side of the left knee.  If there is a lot of space between the right knee and left ankle, use a block between to rest your knee.

Yep, I am feeling rather goofy doing these selfies....😝

Now lean forward, rounding if it's okay for your back, or, if it's not, keeping the tummy pulled in and leaning from the hips.   You might find as you hold and breathe and relax, that after a couple of minutes you can pull out the block, and the knee will come close to or rest on that left foot.

Hold for 3 -5 minutes.  Eventually you may end up with your head on the floor and both arms in front of you on the floor.  However, that is not the goal.  If you're feeling it, you're doing it.  This works deeply into your hip sockets, so it is intense.  Remember that you are holding for 3 minutes, so studies have shown gentler sensations held for longer give greater improvement: in healing, in mobility.

To come out, slowly rise up on an inhale, exhaling when you are all the way up, ensuring your head comes last if it was dangling forward.  Undo your legs slowly, setting the foot soles down and lean back on your hands, enjoying the 'ahhh' feeling as you come out and the blood rushes into the compressed areas.  You might like to do windshield wiper motions back and forth with your bent legs to rotate the hips in their sockets.  Then do the other side.

My first Yin teacher, Gillian, for whom I made the heart quilt, (she's still recovering, fighting hard after 2 years now from being diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer) anyhow, she always said that Square and Shoelace, which we did last month, are the two best poses for us Westerners because of our tight hips.  Why do we have such tight hips as compared to Easterners?  Because we don't live on the floor; we sit in chairs, on toilets, on couches.

Homework for the month:  watch 5-6 minutes of one of your TV shows each day sitting cross-legged.  It doesn't have to be Square, but it could.  Or Shoelace. Or just sitting cross-legged.  Do 2.5-3 minutes  each side, which means alternating the leg in front or on top.  Your hips will thank you, and hopefully you will avoid a hip replacement, the numbers of which are astronomical as compared to those in the Eastern world.

It's done!  I will post about this finish next! Had to seize a moment between showers and thunderstorms and put it on Instagram, so here it is for my readers.

Sunday Stretch for Sewists #19 - Shoelace

"Two of the best poses for us in the West are Shoelace and Swan." My first Yin teacher, Gillian, who spoke in a soft South African accent, always used to tell us this.  At first I did not like either of them.  My body did not like either of them.  Now?  They are still intense, but oh boy, do I love how they massage deep into my hip sockets.

Quilty things first, though: look what shoe rack hack (see what I did there?!) I did the other day that is pretty sweet!

Note the 'in colour order' from top to bottom 😉

I had gone on a bit of a hunt for some solids to use in a second Hands2Help quilt... No luck yet, because the loft is more chaos of a different kind than ever as MacGyver started to get the longarm set back up.  My cutting table kind of collapsed (not as well-made as IKEA) when he went to shuffle it aside, and well, I won't type the string of fancy words and phrases that flowed out of his mouth...  Enter cutting/pressing table design number 2, thought up by me!  I have lived with it and worked with it all week, and I'm liking it, but for the very difficult access to the loft storage under the roof and behind it.  Still, MacGyver has a plan to fix that issue.  Now that I know this works fine, he will finish setting up the longarm and I can get some quilts quilted!

Shoelace

This will make you sit on the floor, which is always a good thing, trust me.  Have a chair handy to help you get down and back up again if need be.  Shoelace is going to give you a great outer rotation in the hip joints, adduction in the inner thighs as you stack your knees atop one another, as well as give you a good tug on the outside of your hip joints.

Note that if there is any kind of knee pain, do Eye of the Needle instead.

To come into Shoelace, sit your sit bones on the edge of a folded up quilt. If you suffer from sciatica, elevating the hips so the knees are below the hips will help avoid aggravating the condition.  Elevating your hips also helps give your pelvis a forward tilt; we tend to have backward tilting pelvis in the West since we do not live on the floor, but sit in chairs.

Sit with your legs in front of you, and take your right foot and knee into your hands, maybe rocking the leg back and forth a little just to feel the movement inside your hip joint.   Then bring the right knee over the left, just like you were sitting in a chair crossing your knees, but your lower limb is going to rest on its side, foot also on its side.

IF this puts too much strain on your left (straight) back of the knee, slide your hands palms down, beneath it to  lift it a bit, which will take the pressure off it.  You could even slide another quilt under it if you like.  If it's okay for your back, lean forward, rounding, or not; a flat back is fine and will protect your low back if you should not be rounding forward.  If you do round, you will feel a nice decompression in the low back.  Leaning forward adds compression to your hip joints, which are already nice and juicy with the outer rotation and adduction happening!

If there is a large gap between your knees, use a block there on which to rest your right knee.

You don't have to lean forward much in the beginning.

If your knees are healthy, and your hips a bit more flexible, you might like to match the bottom leg to the top one.  Lean back and see if you can fold in the bottom leg in, still keeping the knees on top of one another.

Again, use a block between them in the beginning if they are fairly far apart; we want our quads soft and squishy and relaxed so the tugging feeling and tension is all in the hips.  Note where my feet are, forwards, not tucked in close to my hips.  In the beginning they may want to be closer to your hips, but as you practise this pose, and it doesn't feel as intense (and this may take months or years), then start to move your feet away from your hips.

You can fold forward as much as you like over the 3-5 minutes you hold this, breathing slowly and steadily maybe to a count of 4 or 5, letting gravity do the work.

A tip from both Sarah Powers and Bernie Clark is to gently push into your hands even as you fold forward, so the weight stays off your knees and back in your hips.  Your work is to relax and breathe and allow the tug/tension to go deep into your connective tissues.

To come up, inhale and straighten slowly back up, head last if it was dangling.  Undo your leg or legs, set the foot soles down, lean back on your hands and take a couple more breaths enjoying the 'spearmint' feeling as the blood rushes into the compressed areas, both nourishing the tissues, and removing toxins.  You might like to do a few windshield wiper movements, side to side to put some motion into the hip joints.  Remember to do the other leg!  Man I love the iPhone's timer feature so I can take these pics even when MacGyver is MacGyvering away inside! 😊

Also remember to take advantage of Craftsy's weekend classes special (affiliate links here) where all classes are under $20US aka $26.87CA.  I've taken advantage of these deals more than once!  You can check out my reviews of two of Angela Walters' classes here (I may own every single one), her Feathers one and Machine Quilting: Small Changes Big Variety, and I highly recommend her Dot to Dot one,  and Christina Cameli's Wild Quilting.  I still haven't found the time to finish Natalia Bonner's class Free-Motion Motifs for Classic Blocks, and review it in its own dedicated post, but so far it's just terrific and I highly recommend it.

Okay, now to write up a quick post for OMG for May, and set up the link up party for showing off all 20 of your Freefall blocks!  That party will open Monday, May 8 and run all week.

Linking up
Confessions of a Fabric Addict for

because I am happy that I made myself write up this post, even though it is a week late!  I feel so strongly about taking care of our bodies, specifically our hips and spines as we spend so much time hunched over our machines, cutting mats and pressing tables.  H2H linkup is today--sadly I have no more progress than a bit more work on the scrappy blocks I showed on Instagram earlier this week:

Although I didn't find my solids, I did find this lovely rich red that has languished for years, and it makes me happy thinking it will go to a Syrian refugee family in this bright and happy quilt!

Sunday Stretch for Sewists #17 - Dragonfly Variations

First please accept my apologies if I don't respond in a timely manner to your comments on my last post...eeep! where I was published in Modern by the Yard.  We are on the road for a few days here, heading back home so I have limited access to wifi.

Last month we did Dragonfly. At the end of the post I said I'd give some variations on it for this month, variations that feel SO GOOD after hours in a car, ha, or at your machine.

Dragonfly Variations

Sit as we did before, resting your sit bones on a quilt to elevate your hips and help tilt your pelvis forward.  Check this post for more detail.  Rmember you do not have to have your legs straight; you can bend your knees as much as you need to.

Variation #1 Upright twist

A twist is one of the best favours you can do for your spine.  Twists release tension.  Orient your body over your right leg, inhaling as you twist.  Place one hand on either side of your thigh, and turn your head, looking over your right shoulder. You can make this an eye exercise by looking as far as you can out of the corner of your eye.  Then let your eyes fall softly shut and relax into the twist; don't pull; find the 'yin-side' (get it?!) of the twist.

Remember we are concentrating on working our connective tissues, not the muscles, so feel and enjoy that tug.  Where is it? How does it differ along the length of your spine?  the sides of your waist? your hips?  Breathe in.  Breathe out.  Hold here for 1.5 - 2 minutes.

Inhale as you unwind coming back to centre.  Exhale.  Inhale as you twist now to the left.

You can keep your hands on either side of your thigh or you might like to wrap your right arm behind your waist as you twist to the right, placing your left hand on the outer edge of your thigh.  This is taking the twist a bit deeper; as long as you aren't using muscles to pull or push yourself further into a twist, then you might like this.

Variation #2 Side bend

Once again inhale, first of all lengthening along both sides of your spine.  Then start to bend to the right, feeling how the connective tissues are getting a lovely stretch all along your left side.  Think of bringing your ear to your shoulder, and notice how this brings a great stretch along the side of your neck.  You can wrap your left arm behind your waist.  Your right arm rests just inside your right leg, either on the floor or on a block.

Alternatively, you may like to rest your left arm on the side of your head, as shown below.  This gets nicely into the triceps and underarm, and is very good for the lymph nodes.

Remember your breath, counting to 3 or 4, even inhales and exhales.  Relax as you exhale, not forcing your arms lower, just letting gravity have you.

Come up on an inhale.  Exhale.  Take another inhale and exhale in the centre if you need to, noting the sensations.  Then repeat on the left side.

Variation #3 Chest Expander
A final incredible stretch for the shoulders and arms, and probably a favourite of mine, is chest expander.  You can do it standing upright, lifting your arms away from your spine, but I like to add the forward bend with my legs apart.

I had a coach during these photos!

Clasp your fingers behind your sacrum (low back) and lift your arms up and away from your spine.  If you are doing it as I am here, then gravity does pull in a most delicious way on your arms.  As Kino MacGregor says, "Don't fight with your body."  I like to say let gravity do the work.  You just need to breathe.  This one isn't a Yin pose but it sure is a good 'un!  Hold here for 5-10 breaths, and come up slowly on an inhale.  I love this stretch; I have been known to do this upon getting out of a vehicle after a several-hour stint of travelling, much to the embarrassment of my family...😂

Travelling...here's a shot I put on Instagram.  You know I have a thing, a profound thing, for trees, and I love quilts in trees.  Well, as MacGyver said, "We drove an extra 80 miles for a freaking tree..." with a wink at me, and yep we did.  Not just any tree.  This tree.

This is the Angel Oak Tree on Johns Island just outside of Charleston, South Carolina.  It is truly wonderful, awesome, breath-taking.  The things this tree has witnessed, sheltered, housed, the air it has cleaned over the centuries, give pause for reflection.  That it has withstood 400-500 years of weather, humans, pests, human pests, ha, war...it boggles the mind.  It was quite the zen moment to be able to see it and take in some of its majesty, wisdom and just 'being'.

A note about the DrEAMi! linky: it is the last Saturday of the month, which was yesterday, but since A) I am travelling and B) there are another 6 days left in the month, I will have the linky next Saturday, April 1.  If you are new here and wondering what the heck is a DrEAMi! then click here.

Sunday Stretch For Sewists #16 - Caterpillar

Here we are at the end of January, and everyone seems to be saying, "Wow, how did that happen?" Well, it did and it's time for a Sunday stretch and this one is a good 'un. 

This is a teaser for another post, but the geese here, which are called Migrating Geese, flow, much like a caterpillar, across a quilt, don't they?!

Caterpillar is a bit deeper of a forward bend than Butterfly which we did last month.  It's basically the Dangling Pose done sitting down; in fact, if you suffer from high blood pressure, then you want to avoid Dangling Pose and do Caterpillar instead.

Remember these poses are given to you here as Yin poses, not as Yang poses which are active, use-your-muscles poses.  So enter slowly, listening to your breath, which is supposed to be slow, calm and steady, matching your inhales to exhales, and relaxing as much as you can.  I also refer to The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga by Bernie Clark as well as to his website, yinyoga.com and also to Insight Yoga by Sarah Powers.

Caterpillar

This will tug nicely along the ligaments of your spine, while compressing the stomach organs, which helps with digestion. Because of the stretch along your back, you are stimulating your kidneys.  Leaning forward also massages your heart.

Begin by sitting on a cushion or a folded up quilt as I am, on the floor, legs straight in front of you.

Lean forward, letting your back round, if it's okay for your back.  If not, then don't; simply lean from the hips, as I am here, keeping your tummy pulled in to protect your low back.  You can keep your head in line with your spine if you have neck issues.  We elevate the hips because we want the hips to rotate forward.  Because we rarely live on the floor in the West, our hips tend to tilt backward, creating tight hamstrings, and making it very difficult to do forward bends.  This pose can also aggravate sciatica, so that is a second reason to elevate your hips.  Notice I am sitting on the edge of the quilt.  If you feel your sit bones right on the edge, almost as if you are going to slip off, this is perfect for helping to forward tilt that pelvis.

Breathe in and out slowly  through your nose, maybe to a count of 3 or 4.

If you keep relaxing, you may find you start to go further forward...

...letting your head go too, if it's okay for your neck.  This does give a lovely tug on the vertebrae in your neck!  Don't pull; let gravity take you forward.  You may wonder why we round in Yin; many yoga classes insist on doing forward bends with a flat back.  Not so here, and the benefit is that you will get a better, longer stretch along the back of your vertebrae. Think of the shortest distance between to points: a straight line, right?  So curving that line is longer, which translates to more tug along the back of your vertebrae.  Also allowing the rounding allows your muscles to relax which is what we want in Yin.

If it's too intense on the backs of your knees, try rolling up the quilt and placing it behind your knees, or getting a second one and rolling it up so you can still elevate the hips.

This takes the pressure off the backs of the knees, so you can continue to relax and not be thinking, 'Ow! Ow!'  Remember we want to feel tugging, but not so intense that we cannot get our mind off it, and never pain.

Hold for 3 -5 minutes or more if you like.  Close your eyes. You may be surprised at how far you get as you feel your body letting go with the breath.

See how relaxed my arms and feet are though, no effort; surrender.  Yes! I had to keep my hoodie on today as it's not warm out, and overcast.  A good day to stay inside and sew right?  Which I have been doing, which is why this post is out much later than it could be. 😉

This pose pulls along the entire back body, right from your heels, along your hamstrings, and along both sides of your spine to the base of your skull.  It is the line of the Urinary Bladder Meridian, the longest meridian in the body with 67 acupressure points.  Bernie Clark says this helps strengthen the organs of digestion through compression of the stomach organs, and Paul Grilley says this pose is excellent for balancing Chi (energy) flow and as a preparation for meditation.

To come out, slowly sit back up again, and remain in the L-shape, breathing slowly while you are aware of, and enjoy, the rush of the blood and chi within the blood as it flows back into those compressed areas.  This both removes toxins from and nourishes these areas.  If you feel this isn't enough of a release, maybe lie down on your stomach for a few breaths.  Slowly get back up and go back to your machine!
Ahhh!

If you'd like another ahhh! Check this out:

Yep, this is Suburbia, a purchase I made at Craftsy this weekend, and at $42.90US or $56.91CA for 6 yards of fabric, it was a screaming good deal IMHO.  There is yardage ($5.50US/$7.30CA) to be had too, just sayin'...There are LOTS more good deals to be had and hundreds of classes under $20 too remember.  Once I try out their new Boundless Botanicals fabric, I will let you know what I think.  In the photos it looks divine. (Note that the links in this paragraph are affiliate links.)

One last reminder, if you are one of those bit-by-a-squirrel, diverted-by-a-shiny-bauble quilters who found yourself diverted this past month by an attractive quilt project, I have the linky party for you!  Check out my previous post here.  Warning: visiting the other links in that post may lead to more DrEAMi! moments...

Sunday Stretch for Sewists #13 Eye of the Needle

This is the September stretch, a couple days into October.  :-)   This is the second day of Navratri, a festival brought to my attention by my dear friend Preeti of Sew Preeti Quilts.  One of my favourite Krishna Das songs is Ma Durga, and the festival celebrates this Hindu deity, the Divine Mother of the Universe.  Although you may not follow the Hindu religion, please always remember respect, and tolerance for those who do.  I am always fascinated by how many similarities there are between the many religions.... and hey, anything that encourages love, purity and acknowledges female power has gotta be good right?!

I love that the name of this month's pose is a sewing phrase!  This is a great alternative to poses like last month's, Swan, where you might experience too much knee pressure or knee pain.  It is a great hip opener, gently but firmly stressing the ligaments in the hip socket.  Because of not living on the floor, but sitting in chairs, we lose the natural rotation capability of our hips, and the ligaments shorten and tighten, creating the "tight hips" of the West.  Remember! Get down on the floor and watch 5 minutes of TV every single day sitting cross-legged, (or heck sit on your couch in cross-legged), remembering to alternate order of legs.  I am serious.  Your hips will thank you.

Eye of the Needle Pose

Lie down and place your right ankle just above your left knee, letting the ankle joint extend just past the knee.  Flex the right foot to help keep everything in line and to protect your knee.  Think about sending the right knee away from your torso.

If you'd like a little more sensation, then start to lift (go slowly) the left leg off the floor.  The tendency here is to let the right knee collapse towards the chest; try to keep it away.  Ensure your shoulders, neck and jaw are relaxed. We don't want to increase stress there!

Still keeping your shoulders, neck and jaw relaxed, see if you can reach through the triangle between your legs with your right hand and clasp hands just below the left knee.  It's okay to round the low back.  Gently and slowly, so you ease into the sensation and fully appreciate and notice it, draw your knee towards your chest.  Keep the left knee heading toward the left shoulder, and keep sending the right knee away from you.

For those that can do this and don't experience a lot of sensation, you may try this:  I like to use my right elbow to put a bit more pressure against the right knee.

Hard to tell, but my right elbow is pushing gently against the side of my right knee, creating a bit more resistance and sensation in the right hip joint.

This works into the outer hips, the low back, opens up the pelvic area and can help to work and loosen the hamstrings (I feel a good tug deep in the butt cheek).  Hold here for 2 - 5 full minutes, breathing slowly and deeply through your nose.  Then do the other side.  :-)  Rest between sides and at the end with both legs bent, foot soles on the floor so you enjoy the 'ahh!' feeling as the blood rushes and then flows through those compressed areas.

References:
The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga by Bernie Clark
Gaia
Yoga Journal (a note about the name Swan pose: Yin names for the 25 poses used from the many Hatha poses vary slightly, and are mostly from the animal world. In my teacher training, I was taught that Pigeon is where you sit on your foot, but there are pictures and reputable sources that call Full Swan Pigeon.  Either way the intent of doing Full Swan/Pigeon, or Sleeping Swan, or, for that matter, any of the yin poses, in the Yin fashion, is to relax the muscles, so we work into the connective tissues, the ligaments, tendons, joints, the very bones themselves, as Bernie likes to say.

Eeep!  Although I did not win in the ROYGBIV category for the Bloggers' Quilt Festival, I came in 5th out of 24 quilts in that category, so that makes me very happy!  Oh man there were so many gorgeous quilts!!! The one that did win in this category was one I voted for! I'd love to make one...add it to the never-ending always-expanding list of quilts I want to make!

Sunday Stretch for Sewists #12 - Swan

Swan pose works strongly into one hip socket in one way, and fairly strongly into the other but in a different way.  Therefore be sure to do both sides. :-)

To get into the pose in the easiest way, come onto all fours.  Slide your right knee up behind your right wrist.  Start to swivel the right foot up towards the left wrist, still supporting yourself on your hands. See how the knee feels.  If there is pain here, then do not do this pose; stay tuned for September when I show you Eye of the Needle.

If your knee is okay, then start to creep your left leg back, looking back to ensure it is straight behind you, and coming to rest on the top of your foot.  If your bum is not in contact with the mat, sit that butt cheek on a block (or a couple of quilt books!) so that your hips are level.

Place your hands as shown, or rest both in front of your shin.  Try to think about bringing that shin parallel to the top edge of your mat, sending the knee to the side of your hip.  Flex that right foot gently to protect the knee joint.  Don't sit on your foot; that is pigeon pose, which doesn't have the outward rotation we are looking for in the hip joint. It is not necessary to have your shin parallel; especially in the beginning it is more difficult, so work towards that, but never forcing.  Alternatively, if the block is too high, you may use a folded up quilt under your butt cheek:

note the dog foot, Naala, photo-bombing me! Didn't have the heart to crop it out.

If your butt cheek rests comfortably on your mat and your hips are level, then stay there and breathe.

Hold for 1 minute, maybe working up to 2 over time, breathing slowly in and out through your nose.  You can place your hands further back, as you see in the above photo, which will increase the arch in your low back.  This is a bit of a back bend.

Next, on an exhale, slowly come down to Sleeping Swan.  Take your time getting to the floor...

maybe resting at first on your forearms as shown.  Notice the legs haven't moved.

Perhaps eventually resting your forehead on your stacked hands or on your forearms.  Finally maybe extending your arms in front, palms down, forehead on the floor:

or placing the palms together in prayer if you like.

Stay here for a total of 3 minutes (use that timer on your phone!) starting from the time you start to lie down, breathing in and out through your nose maybe to the count of 3 or 4, relaxing everything as your 'marinate' your hips in this pose.

To come out, inhale slowly back up, remove the prop under the butt cheek so you can lean to that side and swing your back leg around to the front. Set both foot soles on the floor and enjoy the 'spearmint' feeling of warm/cool/buzzing/tingling feeling you get when you release out of a long-held pose.  Maybe do some slow windshield wipers movements back and forth with your bent legs.  Then do the other side!

The more we can rotate our hips in their sockets, the better health our hips will have, and the less chance of needing hip replacements down the line.  Hip and knee replacements are off the charts in the West compared to the East, because we do not live on the floor.  As I tell my yoga students from time to time, spend 5 minutes a day watching the news or your favourite show, sitting cross-legged, working up to 2.5 minutes or more per side, alternating one leg in front of the other.  Your hips will thank you!

I did finish two more cow blocks.

They are so cute!  These are more of the RSC 2015, last year's colours.  I have one more to make and then a bull. Finishing this quilt is one of my Q3FAL goals.

Now that several pretty strong thunderstorms have left our area, I can get back to work on this final round of our Mini Round Robin, as well as quilting Dayna's grad quilt.  Here is the Mini Round Robin, Tish's centre:

I will let you know that I have ripped more than I have sewed...my menopausal melon is malfunctioning in the math department...clearly it isn't in the alliteration department!  If you are interested in seeing the other rounds, you can click the links below to see the other 3 ongoing minis that will each be finished...uh...within 3 days! Watch for the next post to see what I did!
Round 1 - my block
Round 2 - my work on Cindy's centre
Round 3 - my work on Julie's centre

Remember to vote in the Pets On Quilts at Lilypad Quilting which closes in a few days!  You can click here to be taken to the voting page, where you leave a comment with the pets' numbers who are your faves.  Bella is tapping my arm to tell you that she is #30, and that our post is here.  You can see all the pets if you click here.  You can even win something if you didn't enter a pet, so hippety-hop on over there!