Quick get up & go

SET THE TONE FOR YOUR DAY
Some mornings I have time to do my full routine of meditation, MFR & a good long yoga practice, and other mornings I just need a quick fix to get my day started the right way. Yoga shifts the natural stagnation of a night of sleep and kick starts your circulation, digestion, metabolism. It also stretches and expands the muscles and tissues of the lungs and gives you better conditions to be able to breathe well and use your breath to navigate daily challenges throughout your day. Consciously breathing stimulates a cranial nerve called the vagus nerve, which brings the body into the rest & restore nervous system response, or the parasympathetic nervous system response. This creates optimal conditions for the functionality of the organs of the body – strengthening the immune system, increasing lung capacity, increasing circulation, aiding digestion and increasing overall wellbeing.

THE BENEFITS OF A MORNING ROUTINE
Setting aside time in the morning, and building it into your routine before the day gets started, ensures that you allocate some time for yourself and your wellness. Adding movement into your day at the end of a busy day is a great way to unwind but with the best will in the world the day might run away from you and you skip it or do it very late in the day which can affect your ability to sleep if your activity is too active. Try to follow the rule of active movement in the morning to prepare for the day and gentle movement at night to prepare for sleep. 

EXPLORING QUICK GET UP & GO IN YOUR PRACTICE
This sequence is easy to follow and gives you the opportunity to flow with two pose mini flows to establish the breath, and a longer flow to link a lengthened breath with movement and encourage you to exercise your respiratory system. The more you focus on a steady lengthened breath in this longer flow, using the breath ‘+’ & ‘’-’ cues as a guide, the more energy you will bring into your body for the day ahead. If you are short on time, pick one or two of the seated poses. Don’t be tempted to pop up the minute you are finished and leave without doing a brief Savasana. Even if it is just three deep breaths to help you assimilate and embed the practice into your day it is worth it.

ALIGNMENT CUES
Have a read of the tips below and either print out the sequence or save it onto your device:

• Use the breath guide in the sequence to help you link breath with movement in the flow. Inhale is indicated with a ‘+’, exhale is a ‘-”.

• If there are specific poses that you would like to stay longer in, give yourself three deep breaths in those poses, and pick up the next pose with the allocated inhale or exhale as indicated by the sequence.

• For a longer practice add in a Sun Salutations at the start of each mini flow or repeat each mini flow.

To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.
Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

Summertime flow

SET A SUMMER ROUTINE
Summer is a great time to build a new morning routine. Getting up a little earlier to step on your mat before your day starts is a little easier with the bright mornings. It is recommended that to optimise your productivity and energy levels throughout the day, and even set your circadian rhythm for a good night's sleep, you should get daylight into your eyes within 30 mins of waking up. Preferably the quality of light before 11am, so unfortunately it doesn’t work if your 30 mins after getting up is after midday! The morning sunlight also triggers a release of the happy hormone dopamine, which naturally boosts your mood at the start of your day. This recognition of the power of the morning sunlight is the origins of the Sun Salutation which celebrates the rise of the sun and was traditionally practised in the morning, with the moon salutation practised in the evening. You might even consider bringing your morning practising outdoors. A grassy or sandy surface adds an extra balance challenge and builds strong reactive legs for everyday stability. 

WHAT DO YOU NEED?
What do you need from our practice for the summer months? How can you adjust how you move to stay well and enjoy the summer months? If I were to pick three summer themes that I teach and practise myself they would be: poses to help stay cool on warm humid days, poses to give me lots of energy to enjoy the longer days; and poses to help keep my digestion moving. In the world of yoga, summer is synonymous with backbends. Just like a flower, we roll our shoulders forward to protect ourselves from the cold in winter and we roll them back to absorb the sunshine in Summer. During the summer months our body is naturally warmer and the muscles are warmer, this makes backbends more accessible for most.

The chest, armpits and head are the warmest parts of the body. Backbends and poses with the arms raised allow maximum circulation around these warm areas helping them to cool down. The summer days are longer and we are naturally more active and social. Standing poses are very strengthening for the legs, core, glutes, boost circulation and naturally increase energy levels. We perspire more at summertime and sometimes don't manage to drink enough water to compensate for the increased loss of fluids. Twists gently squeeze the abdominal organs to help stimulate digestion and move waste along to keep you regular. 

EXPLORING SUMMER HOLS FLOW IN YOUR PRACTICE
This sequence is a simple continuous flow with lots of poses you will be very familiar with. It will work for any time of day, particularly as your morning flow on bright summer days. You can also use this sequence as your holiday practice when you are travelling to help you get the most out of your time away. A travel mat is very handy to have, but you can practise just about anywhere without one too.

ALIGNMENT CUES
Have a read of the tips below and either print out the sequence or save it onto your device:

• Use the breath guide in the sequence to help you link breath with movement in the flow. Inhale is indicated with a ‘+’, exhale is a ‘-”.

• If there are specific poses that you would like to stay longer in, give yourself three deep breaths in those poses, and pick up the next pose with the allocated inhale or exhale as indicated by the sequence.

• For a longer practice add in a Sun Salutations at the start of each mini flow or repeat each mini flow.

To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.
Ruth Delahunty Yogaru

6 elements of core

WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO YOUR CORE?
The concept of ‘core’ means different things to different people – something to be sucked in on all occasions often at the expense of the breath; something to be sculpted like a washboard; or something that expands beyond our feet during pregnancy! Often it gets disproportionate attention and is the cause of much self judgement. Can you reframe your relationship to your core from how you feel it should look to what its function is in the body? The core is made up of a group of muscles. The main job of a muscle is to initiate movement, give support and protection, generation heat, and help circulation. The function of the core is to maintain posture, support the spine, and move the spine into flexion, extension and lateral flexion. The abdominal region houses a large proportion of our organs, it is the core's job to wrap around and create internal pressure like a balloon to contain these organs against the forces of gravity. They also assist with excretion, coughing and sneezing.

WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF CORE?
The core muscles that get most attention in the fitness world are the rectus abdominis, running down the centre of the abdominals, and the internal and external obliques, running diagonally to the side of the abdominals. But, to perform its jobs the core, in its true form, is not just at the front of the body – it has a back (quadratus lumborum), bottom (pelvic floor) and top (diaphragm). It is a three dimensional ‘core capsule’ shape which sits below the ‘respiratory capsule’. For the core to work functionally, in our practice and in our everyday life, it needs to be both strong and supple. We want the muscles to be able to switch on and off and work with each other as a team rather than a dictatorship with a dominant muscle. For the purpose of this exploration we will concentrate on the six elements of the cylindrical core muscles – the rectus abdominis, external obliques, internal obliques, transverse abdominis, quadratus lumborum and psoas. The pelvic floor and diaphragm are worthy of an article of their own.

WHAT ARE THEIR INDIVIDUAL ROLES?
With all this in mind let's look closer at our six core muscles, their location, and define what their roles are. It's important to note that even though these are separate muscles they often work together as a core unit with overlapping roles. Starting with the most superficial outside layer:

1. Rectus abdominis – run vertically at the front of the core. Origin: pubis. Insertion: bottom of the sternum. Role: flexion of the spine, stabilise the pelvis, pull rib cage down, contain the abdominal organs, shape the front of the body.

2. External obliques – a pair of muscles that run downwards diagonally at the side of the core. Origin: lower eight ribs. Insertion: iliac crest, linea alba. Role: lateral flexion, rotation, side curves of the waistline.

3. Internal obliques – a pair of muscles that run upwards diagonally at the side of the core. Origin: iliac crest, inguinal ligament, thoracic fascia. Insertion: lower four ribs, linea alba. Role: lateral flexion, rotation, side curves of the waistline.

4. Transverse abdominis – a pair of muscles that wrap horizontally around the core. Origin: iliac crest, inguinal ligament, lowest six ribs, thoracic fascia. Insertion: linea alba. Role: containment sheaths, support the organs, assist in posture, cinch the waist in.

5. Quadratus lumborum – a pair of muscles that run up the back of the core. Origin: iliac crest. Insertion: T12, L1-L3 of spine, lowest rib. Role: extend of the spine when working as a pair, assist in lateral flexion when working individually.

6. Psoas – run deep in the centre of the core ‘the core of the core’. Origin: T12-L5 of the spine. Insertion: femur. Role: hip flexion, stabilise the spine.

EXPLORING 6 ELEMENTS OF CORE IN YOUR PRACTICE
This sequence explores the core, its relationship to the spine and its relationship to the abdominal organs. The core is most active on an exhale, so you will enter the core activation poses on an exhale, as indicated by the breath cues on the sequence. The first row is the warm up phase to build awareness of the sensations of the core. For the first two mini flows make sure to plant your pelvis and lower back on the ground and firm in around your 360 core to stabilise the movement. Repeat rows two and three twice, start with the right leg forward for the full row and follow for the left leg forward. This leg will be the active leg for the flow i.e. in row two from high lunge, the right leg will be forward and will then be grounded balancing leg in the following four standing balance poses. 

You can read more about the core in my previous article The core, Your deep core, Strong core & 360 Core.

ALIGNMENT CUES
Have a read of the tips below and either print out the sequence or save it onto your device:

• Use the breath guide in the sequence to help you link breath with movement in the flow. Inhale is indicated with a ‘+’, exhale is a ‘-”.

• If there are specific poses that you would like to stay longer in, give yourself three deep breaths in those poses, and pick up the next pose with the allocated inhale or exhale as indicated by the sequence.

• For a longer practice add in a Sun Salutations at the start of each mini flow or repeat each mini flow.

To save the images for personal use click and hold down the image until the ‘save image’ option appears; on Mac hold down ‘control’ and click the image to get the option box; on PC right click on the image to get the option box. Scroll down in the ‘option box’ and click ‘save image’.
Ruth Delahunty Yogaru