Photo by Wendy Stein @wendywhowends
As I write this, it is almost 2 years from the day that sticks in my mind: Friday 3/13/20, when I was notified that every class I taught was being put on hold due to COVID-19. I thought it was going to be a short-term thing, but you know the rest of the story.
I want to honor all that we've been through, and are still experiencing, while acknowledging that we are still here, living our lives the best we can.
This week's topic: Cactus Pose. Isn't this picture stunning? I received permission to share it from Wendy Stein @wendyshowends, who took this outside of Todo Santos, Baja. It makes me smile just looking at it, because it’s funny and majestic at the same time.
Using Cactus arms, whether or seated or standing, reminds us to use good posture by drawing the shoulders slightly back while the spine is upright and the core engaged. It broadens the muscles across the chest and fronts of shoulders, and strengthens the back muscles. In my classes we practice this quite often, with lots of variations, such as in Goddess pose.
Bonus: try it while reclined, and you'll get a sense of how much flexibility and range of motion you have (or not) in your shoulders.
If you want to practice yoga to help you feel better in mind and body, I provide many yoga options, includinggroup classes or 1-on-1 sessions via Zoom or in-person, and video recordings.