Detailed
description of beneficial positions, muscular effort and rest
of your shoulders, arms,
hands and head (7)
1 Chapter 1 describes how to align your shoulders, arms, hands and head
with the position of your backbone in the context of all the main concerns of
simple yoga. Chapter 1 is a complete description of the
method of simple yoga. All of the factors that are described here are described
in Chapter 1 enough so that you can place and maintain these factors of your
position after you have read Chapter 1.
The
order that these concerns are described here is the same order that these
concerns are described in Chapter 1. You can combine all of the factors of your
position that are described here easily when you’re actually practicing simple
yoga.
2 You need to place and maintain your legs, hips and primarily the
lower levels of your body in firm and comfortable positions first, before you
concern your attention with the position of the upper levels of your body when
you’re following the method of yoga described in this text.
You need to be seated in the position that’s as near to a completely
developed cross-legged position as you can experience comfortably in your present
physical condition.
When you’re maintaining beneficial positions
of your legs, hips and the lower levels of your body you might experience a beneficial
position of the upper levels of your body spontaneously without needing to
think about the position of the upper levels of your body. If you don't maintain
your legs, hips and backbone in the position that's as near to a completely
developed cross-legged position as you can experience comfortably in your present
physical condition then any part of the position of the
upper levels of your body might not be beneficial.
3 When you’re seated in a beneficial position of the lower levels of
your body and standing your backbone upright and curved or leaned forward
slightly -
Expand your chest (all of your ribs) outward a small distance toward
both sides and lift the front of your chest up a small distance higher and
maintain the expanded and lifted position of your chest.
Don’t lift your chest upward too high because that will cause your
backbone to curve inward excessively.
Allow
your ribs to expand outward and contract inward freely with the rhythm of your
breathing.
4 Lift the outer ends of both of your shoulders up at the same time,
then -
Move the outer ends of both of your shoulders back by rotating the upper
sides of your shoulders back as well as you can, then -
Let
the outer ends of both of your shoulders fall downward as far as they fall
naturally. Let them fall directly downward, not forward. Let them fall
due only to their weight. Don't pull your shoulders down by tightening the
muscles beneath them.
Adjust those positions of your shoulders to be even one with the other
then hold your shoulders still. If one shoulder falls to a lower level than the
other, raise the lower shoulder to be even with the higher shoulder. Hold both
shoulders at the lowest level where you can hold them even one with the other
comfortably. One shoulder should not be situated farther forward or farther
back than the other. The resulting positions of your shoulders will be higher
and farther back and more even one with the other than their usual positions.
Your shoulders should not move with the rhythm of your breathing. Although your ribs
might expand outward and contract inward with the rhythm of your breathing,
your shoulders should not move with the rhythm of your breathing when you’re
remaining seated still to benefit from the position of your body.
Suspend the weight of your shoulders and arms by exerting enough
muscular effort in the muscles of equally the top, back and front of your shoulders.
You need to exert enough muscular effort in the muscles of equally the top, back and front of your
shoulders to suspend the weight of your shoulders and arms comfortably. Distribute the
support of the weight of your shoulders and arms by suspending most of their
weight from above, and supporting a small amount of their weight on your arms
and wrists, with your wrists and hands supported on a small cushion or folded
cloth beneath them, the right hand supported on the left, a short distance
below the level of your navel, or with your wrists and hands supported on your
thighs at your abdomen. Tighten the
muscles of your arms with a small muscular effort or
tension to hold your arms still. Holding the muscles of your arms tightened a
little bit can help to support a small amount of the weight of the outer ends
of your shoulders and arms on your wrists and
hands supported on a small cushion or on your thighs at your abdomen.
Distributing the support of
the weight of your shoulders and arms as described here is easy to perceive and
control and to hold still. This helps to stabilize your shoulders and
arms in beneficial positions and allows the muscles of your shoulders and
neck to rest as much as possible.
5
Extend both of your elbows outward a small distance and hold them
equally distant from the sides of your body to relieve some pressure between
the inner edges of your shoulder blades and backbone. The positions of your arms should
be as similar as possible.
Support your wrists and hands on a small cushion or a low pile of folded
cloth beneath them; the positions of your hands should be similar, the palms of
both hands upward, the right hand supported on the left; the angles that you
bend your wrists should be as gradual as possible.
The
small finger side of both hands should press on your abdomen with very small
pressure a short distance below the level of your navel and the tips of both
thumbs should press together with very small pressure. Supporting your hands at your abdomen two or
three finger widths distance below the level of your navel connects the energy
in your shoulders, arms and hands with the energy in your legs, hips and
backbone and relaxes many tensions.
Align
the fingers of both of your hands as well as you can so that the fingers of
your hand that’s uppermost are located directly above the corresponding fingers
of your other hand beneath it. You can feel the correspondence
of aligning these positions of your hands with fine tuning the alignment of the
positions of your shoulders.
Hold both of your thumbs
in semi-circular positions elevated one or two inches above your fingers and
press the tips of both thumbs together with very small pressure. Align the ends of your thumbs so
that the tips of both thumbs press directly one toward the other, not
pointed upward nor downward. Don't press the nails of your thumbs together nor press the tips of
your thumbs together hard. The tips
of your thumbs fall downward out of contact when you’re remaining seated still
when you begin to fall asleep.
When you maintain these positions of your
shoulders, arms and hands as well as you can you’ll be able to maintain a
beneficial position easily.
6 Stand your neck upright and curved or leaned forward slightly ahead
of the point of balance. This causes the muscles at the back and sides of
all the levels of your neck to exert a small effort to support your neck and head. Continue to stand all the
vertebrae of your neck upright
and curved or leaned forward slightly ahead of the point of balance as well as you can during all of the time that you
remain seated still to benefit from the position of your body.
Lift your head up slightly from resting on your neck then move the base
of your head back slightly then balance the position of your head to be upright
and comfortable. Lifting your head up slightly helps to relieve some pressure from
between your head and neck. This harmonizes the
muscular effort and rest of all the muscles of your neck and head and relieves
headache caused by excessive tensions of some of the muscles of your neck.
Your eyes can be open, looking forward and downward, or closed. Don’t focus your
eyesight on anything that you see in the external environment. You can open
your eyelids a little more than usual to help you to wake up if you feel
sleepy, or you can let your eyelids close a little more than usual to help you
to be calm if you feel agitated.
If you usually wear
eyeglasses you can remove your eyeglasses, or not, when you prepare to remain
seated still to benefit from the position of your body.
If your eyeglasses press on the sides
of your head remove your eyeglasses before you remain seated still to benefit from
the position of your body.
Hold
your upper and lower teeth together gently and hold the tip of your tongue
forward toward your upper teeth if you can do it nearly effortlessly. That
releases any congestion in your sinuses and allows the natural flow of saliva
to flow down your throat without you noticing
it and allows beneficial motion of energy in your neck and head. You might perceive the
locations of sounds more acutely and hear sounds at farther than usual
distances.
Hold your lips closed and breathe through
your nose unless the passage of air is reduced due to congestion or if you need
to breathe through your mouth to be comfortable.
7 Minute beneficial relaxations occur in the positions of your backbone,
shoulders, arms, neck and head while you continue to hold the position of your
body still.