Please explain the use of warm up poses and how to do the pelvic tilt and ‘rock the baby’
It is imperative that you do some warm up exercises and poses before any Yoga session. This is to make you physically ready for the poses that you are going to practice. Besides, warm up exercises and poses help prepare the body for some of the more difficult poses to come. While Yoga practice looks simple, it is, nevertheless, a very powerful activity. So, if you start doing the Yoga poses without adequate warming up, you stand the chance of sustaining certain sprains or twists while attempting some of the advanced poses. In fact, unless your body is warmed up enough, you shouldn’t even try the other poses. You can even get hurt by doing certain poses incorrectly. Warm-Up Poses include Eye exercises, Neck exercises, Shoulder lifts, Shoulder stretches and Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation).
Pelvic Tilts
Standing
- Lean your back against a wall and bend your knees slightly.
- With an exhalation, raise your pelvis up and off the wall. This will cause your lower back to press more against the wall.
- With an inhalation, return to the original position.
- Keep doing this 5 to 10 times.
Supine
- Lie on your back and bend your knees, the soles of your feet planted firmly on the mat. This is the neutral position, where the natural curve of your lumbar spine causes your lower back to elevate slightly off the mat.
- With an exhalation, gently swing your hips up towards your head. Your buttocks should not leave the mat; rather, you should feel your lower back press into the mat. In effect, you will be taking the curve out of your lower back. It you think of your pelvis as a bowl of water, consider water spilling towards your belly.
- With an inhalation, return to the neutral position, after a few seconds.
- Keep doing this 5 to 10 times.
Rock the Baby Yoga Pose
Rock the baby pose is a calming and comforting Yoga pose that is done to open up the region of the hips.
Instructions
- Sit in Sukhasana (Easy Pose) then take hold of your left foot with your right hand and left knee with your left hand.
- Now nestle your left foot on the inside of your left elbow and hold your left wrist with your right hand. Your lower left leg should be parallel to the floor.
- Keep your spine erect and relax your shoulders.
- Keep gazing, placidly, straight ahead at the opposite wall
- Now, gently swing your left leg, from side to side, a few times.
- To exit, release the grip on your left wrist, take away your right hand and, gently, drop your left leg.
- Return to Sukhasana (Easy Pose).
- Repeat the exercise with your right leg.
