relax your shoulders

A yoga teacher's cue to set the shoulder blades down and on the back is as much about alignment safety and correctness as it is about creating a habit to 'relax' the shoulders. Throughout our day, we all have the tendency to tense the shoulders and the neck. This creates stiffness and tightness that takes time to undo and can set you up for injury ~ especially when you suddenly want to move your body, arms, head, neck, back in a yoga practice. So the shoulder cue might seem constant, but most of us need the reminder again and again. Our effort to remember will allow this 'relaxation' to become second nature, with the hope that even at our computer, or driving, or in a tough situation, we can keep tension at bay. These little nuisance knots can nag at you more than you think, more than physically. So heed the teacher's advice as more than alignment revision, but on a nervous system release. Relax your shoulders.

a new view

As much as we love the physical asanas and how they alone can offer so much in the way of transformation, each time we set foot on our mat we can't help but to begin to look deeper. Each practice there's a chance to discover or rediscover ~ an invitation to a better day or week or moment or life. A well-known kundalini yogi just said, "You practice, then you look through your 'old lens' at your life, your beliefs, your studies".