You Asked...Here Are Answers!

Fun with anatomy! Just a little yogic Q & A for you, based on recent conversations:
Q: Can I practice yoga with a cold, the flu, bronchitis, etc...?
A: It depends. While exercise helps your immune system, each one of these conditions often has respiratory distress. From what my teachers taught me and from research, consider the following:
*If you're in the beginning of any of these illnesses, take 2-3 days off from mat yoga and let your body devote energy to healing. Chair yoga practice should be fine as long as you're not contagious (cold/flu), as your classmates probably wouldn't appreciate it. The steady breathing and gentle movement relaxes strained muscles and improves lung function, especially if you're suffering from bronchitis.

*If the cold is shifting from head to throat/chest, the general consensus is that it's okay to return to mat yoga, with an awareness of energy level. Don't stifle coughing during practice: let the "goo" come out and carry the virus out with it! Flu recovery varies, but most people find light exercise helps ease muscle ache, such as yoga, swimming, and walking. And with bronchitis, gentle yoga will be fine, as long as you flow with your particular energy. You may want to end practice a little sooner and spend 5-10 minutes in Final Relaxation.

Also keep in mind that during your illness, practice deep breathing and find moments to sit quietly (when you're not napping!) for 5-10 minutes to prompt your parasympathetic nervous system to calm down. Review last month's newsletter for handy breathing techniques.

Q: Why are my shoulders sometimes sore after yoga?
A: Strengthening the muscles around the shoulders and in the arms happens over time.
*In mat yoga, if you're in a class with a lot of Planks, Downward Dogs, and Full Side Planks (instead of the forearm variation) but your overall musculature isn't ready to have a powerful sequence like that, you're going to feel it the next day. On one hand, you'll be fine in a day or two. On the other hand, repeated yoga sequencing like that may strengthen some people, but aggravate others. Also, if you only practice yoga once a week, you're constantly going back to the proverbial drawing board with this. Find time to work in another session where you only do a handful of shoulder-active poses, if any; or work on strength training outside of yoga.

*In chair yoga, people often feel fatigue in the shoulder muscles if they've been "worked" in rotation or lengthening that's not part of their everyday routine. Again, consistency in practice provides gradual progress. Also consider pacing movements during class--not quite as wide, or long, or vigorous--until conditions improve.

Q: I still have trouble knowing when to inhale and exhale in poses. How do I remember?
A: This is a super easy answer! Remember:
*Inhales are for opening and lengthening.
*Exhales are for deepening, such as in a fold or a twist.

Now, as with most things in yoga, there are varying schools of thought on what poses require which. I kind of go with this: the diaphragm is a curved muscle, like a dome. (It's actually an organ, but we'll talk about that another time.) Attached to your lower ribs, it separates your lungs from your digestive system.

*When you inhale, it contracts and moves into the lungs and expands the rib cage.
*When you exhale, it relaxes, returning the ribs to proper positioning.

So it makes sense when you open up in postures such as Triangle, Shoulder Roll I, Side Plank, and so on, you inhale to move into position of the pose, as your rib cage expands--then exhale as you settle into it. And when you fold or twist, such as Forward Fold, Supine Twist, or Seated Revolved Twist, you exhale as you set up, as the relaxed diaphragm helps the turning motion and releases breath--then inhale once in the pose is established.

Again, there are varying schools of thought on this (inhaling on a forward step-through like Lunge or exhaling on a step back, for example) but for the most part, the above works well for most practices.

How can your yoga practice improve your life? This month, give yourself space to explore and find out. Thank you for sharing your practice with all of us!