Introduction to Part 3 --
The Natural Progression of Recovery Yoga:

As a result of pain, lethargy, medication, and other factors, it's common for generalized people to gain weight. Their physicians, along with prescribing various medications, will often recommend exercise. Unfortunately, most exercise programs including yoga, can leave generalized people feeling the same as or worse than before; especially when they are intent on trying so hard to get well.

Once generalized people make the decision to begin yoga, they are understandingly impatient in wanting to start a program in hoping that it might bring them relief; and accordingly the last thing they want from their first class is to hear a lot of talking. That’s completely understandable, but prior to introducing their first exercise, I cannot over state the importance of explaining the logic of the system.

When generalized people come into my studio, the first thing I talk about is what it means to be generalized. Once they understand what that means, and once they identify with the Pain-Threshold Model along with the other concepts from the previous section, it's not unusual for new students to weep … they weep because it is the first time they feel truly understood; and it’s a feeling they haven't had from their doctors and often, not even from their own family.


Yoga for generalized students must start with relaxation:

The harder generalized people try to do any kind of stretching or strengthening, be it yoga or any other exercise program, the more likely they will exacerbate their discomfort and pain. They must first reduce their "over-stimulation" and/or elevate their "Pain Threshold Level."

In order to reduce stimulation and to elevate their "Pain Threshold Level" (as represented by the dotted line in the graphic on the previous page), students must first learn how to relax and de-stress their nervous system. Click here to review the Pain Threshold graphic; then select the "back" button at the top of that page to return.

Said another way: It doesn't matter how long it takes to create profound relaxation. In order for yoga to be successful, generalized people must first learn how to profoundly relax their body.

I’ve had some generalized students relax so quickly that they were ready to begin exercising shortly after “assuming the supported position.” (I will both show and describe the "supported position" below). Typically, however, most people need to stay in "the position" for ten minutes to an hour before they feel relaxed enough to appropriately begin exercising.

I’ve had many students tell me that when “assuming the supported position,” they haven’t felt this relaxed in recent memory; and many ask to stay it in for the remainder of their class. While in "the position," I've seen many generalized students fall into a deep sleep, also something many tell me afterwards that they haven't experienced in recent memory.

Teaching relaxation to generalized students is both an art and a science and is much easier said than done, as you shall see below.

All students shown in the following photos were generalized, and had previously “tried” to do yoga or other exercise programs elsewhere. They always ended up with the same result; within a few hours after class, they experienced increased pain that persisted for days afterward.


The importance of breath management:

I've talked about the importance of controlled yoga breathing in The 7 Principles of a Highly Effective Yoga Practice as well as in many of my yoga essays. In both of my previously published books, Recovery Yoga and ExTension. I’ve written extensively about the necessity and benefits of incorporating breath management at all levels of yoga exercise, from the most basic to the most advanced, and for all levels of ability, from world-class athletes to quadriplegics ... and for every one in between.

In the following sequences, I'll describe the process of teaching generalized people how to do yoga: Not by "trying" to do yoga exercises, but by first supporting the body and teaching how to profoundly relax. I'll then introduce the logic and process of gentle breath management.

And finally as a precursor to actual exercising, I show how to coordinate breathing with basic easy-to-do movements of the body. Firstly, let's take a look at The Art and Science of Relaxation.


The Art and Science of Relaxation:
Introducing "The Supported Position"

When a person is generalized and when soft tissue is under continual assault, it's nearly impossible to effectively stretch or strengthen the body. Unless a generalized person is first able to create and experience compete relaxation, yoga or any other form of exercise will only stimulate an already over-stimulated body, causing an increase in soft-tissue contraction and an exacerbation of their overall discomfort and pain.

Make no mistake about it: Effectively slowing and controlling breathing is at the very core of this program. Yet when people are generalized, it is nearly impossible for them to relax.

It is therefore, not enough to ask generalized students to lay down on the floor and expect them to relax ... because they can't. When the entire body's fascia has contracted, the back of the neck tightens and causes the chin to move upward. This further exacerbates neck and shoulder tightness, and as the shoulders rotate inward, the secondary tissues of respiration such as the pectoralis minor and intercostals shorten and eventually will interfere with the ability to breathe easily and deeply.

A generalized person's overall body tightness along with its compromised breathing can be circumvented by placing the person in the "supported position," which is similar to what astronauts use (Photo 1).

By bending the person's torso at the waist, and supporting the head, torso, shoulders, arms and hands as well as the knees and feet, the body becomes unaffected by both gravity and fascia's contraction. When supported appropriately, the person can finally and profoundly relax.

Even when appropriately supported, there are some people who come into class that are so over stimulated, it is almost impossible for them to relax. In these cases, I further modify the relaxation pose by placing light sandbags on their wrists, ankles, and sometimes over their belly, eyes and forehead (Photos 2 and 3).*

One of the many factors that makes teaching this approach to yoga both an art and a science, is sensing if sandbags should be applied; and if so, how many and where. Another example might be noticing things like the hands in Photo 1 being slightly lower than the shoulders; of recognizing it as a potential liability and then knowing what to do about it.

In this example, because the person in Photo 1 is generalized and because her overall fascia is already tight and contracted, the seemingly insignificant lowering of the arms and stretching of the fascia at her shoulders and chest, has generated increased tension of an already over-stimulated nervous system ... and was enough to further increase her overall discomfort. It even compromised her ability to sustain a deeper breathing pattern.

If this person were not generalized, the support in Photo 1 would have felt fantastic. As it turned out, after I elevated her arms up to the level of her shoulders, she sighed audibly in relief, and soon fell asleep. Later on, she was able to appropriately slow her breathing and begin her actual yoga exercises.

If generalized students “try” to do even the most basic yoga exercise (or any other kind of exercise) before completely and totally relaxing, the body rebels against the added stimulation; and the harder they try, the more uncomfortable they become. On the other hand, once generalized students are able to completely relax their body, they can begin the slow process of restoring functional flexibility.

Restoring functional flexibility always must come first. In order to achieve optimal success using yoga as a therapeutic intervention, the person must first be able to relax fascia's tightness before working on strength and endurance.

This touches on an important concept that I will discuss later: Any attempt at building strength or endurance prior to first establishing functional flexibility only increases the risk of causing additional stress and tension, along with the increased risk of exacerbating old injuries or promoting new ones.

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Managed Breathing is the Most Important Component of Yoga:

After students have settled into "the supported position," I wait until they have completely relaxed before introducing the most important component of yoga: Managed (controled) breathing.

How long I will wait is a function of their physical presentation; of how relaxed they appear to be. When generalized people have been in a chronic state of pain and exhaustion for a long time, the skin around their mouth and eyes appears drawn and tight. The skin around the forehead and between the eyebrows is furrowed and their eyes appear slightly red to extremely bloodshot.

In most cases, it usually doesn't take long for the person's face to relax and for the eyes to begin clearing; and for their breathing to become more rhythmic. If they haven't fallen asleep, I'll then introduce the first in a series of gentle, easy-to-do exercises that are designed to coordinate their breathing along with the movement of their body.

Although aspects of breath management are taught in virtually all yoga programs, breath management is absolutely essential when learning Recovery Yoga. Because generalized students are already over-stimulated, it is extremely imperative that they not try to deep breathe, but to simply and gently slow down their breathing. A few of the key-phrases I use when introducing the concept of breath management are:

• Allow the breath to be silent or invisible at the nose

• Never force or try to deepen the breath ... just allow it to become deeper

• Relax the tounge, the lips, and the throat

• Allow your open or closed eyes to "look" downward toward the chest as you invite the breath in and out

• And finally, invite the exhalation to be slightly longer or slightly deeper than the inhalation. For example: Inhale for the count of two, and exhale for the count of three.

For "homework," I encourage all new students to practice their breathing skills at home, after they retire to bed. I also recommend they use a number of pillows to support their body similar to what we do in class. Later on, almost every new student tells me that their sleeping has improved and that they are waking up in the morning feeling much more refreshed.

The first yoga exercises --
Coordinating breathing with moving the body:

The first objective after learning how to create relaxation, is to learn how to gently slow down and deepen their breathing.

Because students are instructed to move their body only in coordination with either a slow and gentle inhalation or exhalation, they learn to slow down of all their yoga exercises, thus allowing the opportunity to actually pay attention to what feels comfortable and what does not. At this point, I actually begin slowing the tempo of my verbal instructions, thus supporting the concept that there are no time limits; and accordingly, students tend to slow down even more.


The essence of "yoga" --
Integrating body-mind-and breath:

If we are working on the basic premise that "yoga" means, "the movement toward balance and union," then we want to be doing our yoga in one of two ways: Either we want to be completely and totally relaxed (as with the supported position), -or- we want to be completely and totally physically involved within any given yoga exercise. That being said, "to be completely and totally physically involved" does not mean to be aggressive or forceful. By being completely and physically involved and integrated, students can promote restoration of a broken-down body as well as athletically enhance flexibility, strength, and endurance; both can be done without "trying hard," but instead by practicing appropriately.

I can not over emphasize the importance of understanding the following concept: Students must be totally relaxed and be able to control their breathing before doing any "physical integrating exercises." The process of physical integration is accomplished by fully activating the body along with controlled breathing. Fully activating the body is accomplished, in part, by gently extending through both arms and hands, and both legs and feet; as is taught in ExTension Yoga.

The following photos present a series of "exercises" that creates what I call, "the body-mind-breath" connection, and begins the process of learning how to be "completely and totally integrated" within each and every yoga exercise that is practiced.


Reminder: You may click on any photo on this page for a larger view.

Although the logic and reasoning behind the concepts I teach all new students are described in depth elsewhere in this website, I will briefly review them here:

I instruct students that the best way to initiate mind-body-breath integration is by "activating" both hands and feet (Photos 4 and 5) along with slow controlled breathing. In fact, creating such a physical integration actually has a profound effect upon the brain's ability to relax and slow down (See Meditation and Yoga).

I then ask students to experience the phenomena of "extension releases tension," by doing some of the modified exercises from the ExTension Yoga program.

By simply and gently extending through both arms & hands and legs & feet, even when the body is fully supported as shown, both the feeling of "extension" or lengthening along with the release of tension ("ExTension") can be felt. This is when I ask students to begin the process of coordinating the movement of their body with their breathing.

By encouraging students to avoid even the slightest amount of strain or pain, I ask them to practice the following techniques that establishes and builds their fundamental foundations:

1) Begin by asking to "activate" (extend) both arms & hands, and both legs & feet (Photo 6). Then ask for very gentle slower and deeper breathing; with exhalations just a little bit deeper than inhalations. When ready, start the exercise by taking a slow, gentle inhalation while at the very same time, beginning to slowly bend the right arm at the elbow. The object is to coordinate the movement of your arm up to 90 degrees with the inhalation. When the arm achieves 90 degrees, your inhalation should be complete (Photo 7). You can now choose to hold the arm upward and continue breathing or you can complete the exercise. When you are ready to complete the exercise, begin to lower your arm in coordination with your slower and longer exhalation. The object is to conclude your exhalation at the very moment your hand returns to the support (Photo 8). Repeat three times. Upon conclusion of the exercise, release the extension of the hands & arms, feet & legs totally, and completely relax your entire body. Although you are totally relaxing, you should continue to control your breathing, by making it somewhat slow and deep, but without any hint of strain or discomfort.

Repeat a total of three times using only the right arm; and then three times using only the left arm. One coordinated inhalation brings the hand up by bending at the elbow; and one coordinated exhalation brings the hand back down to its support.

Let's now talk about reality. You are being asked to fully coordinate the bending of your arm at the elbow with a specific breath; and to exactly finish that movement at the very moment you conclude your breath. It probably won't happen and I don't want you to be concerned about it. No one can coordinate their breathing exactly with the movement of their body. The object therefore, is two-fold: 1: To simply slow your breathing and coordinate it with the movement of your body, and 2: To simply pay attention to what's happening. For example, an experienced yoga practitioner doing this very same exercise might be asking himself:

• Was the movement of my arm smooth or jerky?

• Was my breathing smooth or jerky?

• How close did I actually come to completing the arm movement and the breath together?

• Did my arm bend to 90 degrees, or was it more or less?

• How active was I able to keep the other parts of my body while I was concentrating on this particular movement? Was I able to keep both of my feet active? What about my other hand and arm?

• Did I remember to totally relax after the exercise and keep my breathing smooth and gently deeper?

The object of these exercises are not to try to create exact coordination of body and breath, but instead to learn how to pay attention to the reality of what is happening and that over time, through attention and repetition, the body will begin to move toward balance and union.

There really is no right or wrong way to do yoga; other than to reinforce that if yoga is done in a way that increases your exposure to injury, or if it exacerbates pain and discomfort, you might want to question its efficacy. That being said, it seems to me that yoga is all about learning how to "maximize potential and minimize liability." By learning how to do yoga without forcing or trying; generalized students can move a long way toward reducing their discomfort and begin moving "toward balance and union," with everyone else increasing flexibility, strength, and endurance along with reduced risk of injury.

When ready, the next progressive sequence is to "breathe" your arms, one at a time, up and down without bending at the elbow. (Photos 9, 10 & 11). Begin by activating both arms & hands, and both legs & feet. Start by "inhaling up" your right arm, fully extended and feeling your elbow and full arm "extending" , toward the ceiling; and then to "exhale" it down back to its support. While the arm is moving, be certain to keep it "extending" until it reaches its support.

The key is to keep the fingers moving away from the elbow (which stretches the hand and the elbow), and to keep the shoulder moving downward toward the support, which also helps to promote "extension" of the elbow and entire arm.

You can begin this sequence by first "inhaling up" your right arm and then "exhaling it down" back to its support. Repeat three times using just the right arm. Then repeat the sequence using just the left arm. As always, rest when necessary and never "try" to complete all sequences in sequence if you are tired or are in pain. Upon conclusion of the exercise, release the extension of the hands and feet totally, and completely relax your entire body; although you should continue to control your slow, deeper breathing.

The next exercise is "breathing" alternate arms; except this time, all movements are only done during the exhalation. Starting with both arms on their support, the right arm "exhales up" to 90 degrees, while the left hand stays on its support. You can stay with one arm up and one arm down for as long as you wish, breathing smoothly and deeply. Then when you are ready, you will "exhale" the right arm down while at the very same time, the left arm is going up, coordinating your exhalation with the "wind-milling" arms. It's important to remember that when an arm is moving, you need to keep the fingers and elbow extending ... because, "extension releases tension." Do three "wind-mills" and complete your sequence by breathing down the left arm. Repeat the sequences as many times as you feel comfortable and then completely and totally "let go" after its conclusion.

Although the object of this exercise seems to be that one arm ends up pointing at the ceiling while at the very same instant, the other arm has reached the support ... but just as before, the true object of the exercise, as with every other exercise in the program, is to slow down your breathing, pay attention to what's happening so that you can avoid pain or strain. And eventually, the progressive nature of the program will begin to challenge your body sufficiently so that appropriate change is created.

Another variation of the above exercise is to "breathe" both arms up and down at the very same time (Photo 12). As always, intend to slow both your breathing and accordingly, the movement of your body.

Whether you are moving only one arm, or both arms together, always remember to move with your breathing, keep your entire body active during the entire sequence, and when you have completed a sequence, totally relax and let go; and continue to control your slow, deeper breathing. As always, simply stop all movements when you tire or when you feel the slightest bit uncomfortable..

Amazingly, such seemingly benign exercises pay enormous dividends in both foundation building and in relaxation, as anyone who practices these sequences correctly will tell you.

Throughout the above sequences, the students learned how to equally "activate" both of their hands and feet, thus creating the feeling of "extension." They then learned how to apply that feeling of "extension" throughout both hands & arms and throughout both feet & legs, even when one arm was bending and lengthening in coordination with the breath.

The feeling of "ExTension" (extending throughout the entire body while simultaneously "giving up" tension) is exquisitely felt as compared to the very same exercises without extension. I'd like you to do the following experiment: Do these same "exercises" again, ensuring that you are doing them with "active" feet (feeling as if the soles of your feet are stretching) and with "active" hands (ensuring your fingers stay together with the thumbs moving away - feeling as if the palms of your hands were stretching), are fingers-hands and elbows.

Then, do the very same exercises again, but this time, without "extending" your hands and feet. It won't take long to feel a precipitous difference between what it feels to be active or not. Once you learn how to be active in your yoga exercises, without creating tension, everything changes.

In both Recovery and ExTension Yoga, it is imperative to know the difference between being "active" and being "passive."

While learning the above exercises, along with their purpose and logic, I remind you of the two most important questions a yoga student should ask: What is Yoga? and "How does it feel?"

Because “yoga,” in this approach to yoga means: “the movement TOWARD balance and union,” I remind you how important it is to “stay active” throughout your entire body during this and all yoga exercises, and in order to "maximize potential and to minimize liability," to continually pay attention to "how it feels".  
   

Reminders:

Each and every exercise in this program is progressive and sequential. I tell students that it is of little importance to "try" to do all the exercises in the program; that the number of exercises they do is far less important than "how" they do "what they can do, not by trying to do what they can't do."

Students are always encouraged to return to a previous exercise if what they are currently doing evokes even the slightest amount of discomfort.

Additional instructions relating to the above exercises can be found in the Recovery Yoga Excerpts section of this website.


End of Part 3

Click here for Part 4
Building Upon Your Essential Foundations

*With profound acknowledgement to BKS Iyengar for introducing the use of props to support the body of chronically ill and injured students. Also thanks to Paul St. John and Judith Walker for teaching the elements of neuromuscular therapy. The combined teachings of both systems have led to the understanding, logic, and techniques that makes Recovery Yoga an effective tool in managing the effects of generalization.

End of Part 3

Click here for Part 4
Building Upon Your Essential Foundations