The Benefits of Palming

In the winter months, we tend to spend more time indoors and doing things on screens, especially in lockdown. Whilst it’s amazing that we have the technology to communicate with our friends and family and be able to work online, it can be straining for the eyes and mind.

According to the Concise Human Body Book, eyesight provides the brain with more information than all other senses combined – more than half of the input in the conscious mind is estimated to enter through the eyes. With so much information coming in, it can do wonders to take a break and give them well-deserved rest.

Palming is sometimes taught in yoga classes to refresh and relax the eyes and mind. It can also help to release facial muscles and naturally reduce frown lines.

In the Bates Method, palming is used to restore natural vision through relaxation. Nathan Oxenfeld, a Bates Method and Yoga Teacher said,

‘Palming is the most important and beneficial form of relaxation in the Bates Method. The warmth of your hands relaxes the six muscles around each eye and attracts more energy and blood flow.  The darkness relaxes the ciliary muscles, retina and optic nerves.’

Nathan recommends doing palming from 3 to 10 times a day for 30 seconds to over 30 minutes. Give it a go and see how your eyes and mind feels after palming!

How to do Palming

Wash your hands before the practice

Short Practice

Rub your hands together to create some heat. Cover your eyes gently with the palm of your hands. You can either keep your eyes opened or closed. Let your eyes naturally move, as they want to. Breathe in and out slowly and mindfully. After couple of minutes, slide your hands off. Repeat again couple of times if you have the time.

Longer Practice

Choose to lie down or sit up. Make sure that you’re comfortable by using cushion or pillow to support the arms and blankets to make sure you’re warm.

During a longer session of palming, you can listen to your favourite music, radio or podcasts. You can also try visualising pleasant happy memory, using all of your senses. For example, sunny day out on the beach.  You can recall the sounds of the waves, smell of the sea, feel of the water on your skin and the taste of ice cream.

When you’re ready to come out of palming, slowly take the hands away and open your eyes slowly to adjust them to lights. Try blinking your eyes softly few times.

You can use eye pillow or masks instead of your palms but it can be very therapeutic to use your own warm hands. 

It’s best to gradually lengthen the time of palming so that your arms and hands do not over tire.

Differential Relaxation Technique

Differential Relaxation Technique

Differential relaxation exercise is thought to be one of the easiest and most effective ways to learn how to reduce tension. It’s commonly used as a stress management tool and for improving overall physical performance.

We tend to tense and over work many muscles that could be in a state of relaxation. In this technique, you’ll learn how to relax the muscles that you’re not using and only use the muscles that you essentially need. For example, if you’re typing, you need to move your hands and arms but you can relax the shoulders, neck and facial muscles. This will help you to feel less tired and more energetic throughout the day and help you avoid building unwanted tension. This concept can be applied to many activities including walking and running.

This principle can also be used in your yoga practice. In any posture, some parts of the body and certain muscles are actively involved in achieving and maintaining the posture, while others are involved to a lesser extent or completely relaxed. For example the tree pose; your legs, hips and trunk of the body need to be engaged but you can relax other parts of your body such as shoulders, neck and facial muscles. This relaxation technique will assist you to become more conscious of your body and improve your practice. Try using this method next time your on you’re yoga mat. 

It’s thought that elite athletes can achieve a state of differential relaxation more easily than other people. The method avoids creating unwanted tension, which can interfere with the performance of skilled movements. 

Try and incorporate this technique in your everyday activities and learn to keep your body relaxed. Remember to:  

•     Use only parts of the body that you need

•       Relax the parts of the body that are not being used

Exercise

1. Lie in Savasana (full relaxation pose). Try tensing one part of the body and being aware of all the other parts of the body being relaxed.

2. Sit up and feel the whole body. Be aware of parts of the body that are working to keep you upright. Try and relax parts of the body that are not being used.

3. Now try standing up and doing the same

4. You can also try walking around and see if you can keep yourself as relaxed as possible

Awareness is the greatest agent for change - Eckhart Tolle

Therapeutic Yoga

“The success of Yoga does not lie in the ability to perform postures but in how it positively changes the way we live our life and our relationships.” - TKV Desikachar

We have just started a new therapeutic yoga class at Bristol Yoga Centre. Therapeutic yoga is a slower pace class, which focuses on mindful movement, breath awareness and relaxation practices. Space is given to explore postures and to encourage a deeper awareness of body and breath - which has many benefits for physical and psychological health and wellbeing.

One regular student commented, ‘Since I started yoga classes, I have gained more mobility, can deal with my painful joints better and am sleeping better at night’.

Therapeutic yoga class is great for beginners as well as those returning to yoga after a break. It’s also beneficial for people with injuries and those wishing to improve energy levels and combat insomnia. Regular practice can help to reduce pain, lessen worry and manage stress levels.

Rather than pushing and forcing, more gentle purposeful movement is used to heal the mind and body. Relaxation is the key to opening and letting go, and it’s one of the most important aspects of yoga practice. When you’re relaxed, you are able to remain calm and focused, and pay greater attention to your alignment and posture. As Josie’s student Roz commented:

‘When I go to a yoga class I don’t just want a work-out, I want to connect my mind and body. After Josie’s classes I can tell that I’ve stretched and toned pretty much every muscle in my body, but at the same time I’m totally relaxed from the inside. I don’t know how she does it but it feels amazing!’

By practicing slowly and mindfully, you will naturally get incredible results and bring progress to your practice. It’s a lovely safe method to release tension and learn how to manage pain in a compassionate way. We believe that everyone will benefit from learning to practice in this way.

Therapeutic Yoga class with Josie is on every Tuesday from 10 – 11am. She is a qualified Yoga Nidra teacher and is currently undertaking a two year course in Yoga Therapy for mental health with the Minded Institute. Please feel free to get in touch with her for more information.

Yoga for Stress

By letting go, it all gets done - Lao Tzu

We often think that we are relaxed when watching TV or cycling. Whilst these can be more relaxing than going to work or driving the kids around, they are still bombarding our senses. Yoga is a great remedy for stress as it teaches you how to relax fully. 

Relax the yoga way

One of the main causes of chronic stress is our inability to release tension and strain once the cause of the stress has passed. We often worry and carry the disturbance with us long after an incident has taken place. This can cause many of us to suffer tension in our head, neck and upper back. We physically carry the weight of the world on our shoulders! In Savasana (full relaxation), we take the weight off and our body can begin to really relax and rejuvenate.

Be with the breath

Bringing our awareness to our breathing enables us to be in the present moment, rather than focusing on the past or future. Breathing properly means that our body is being supplied with the right amount of oxygen, replenishing our brain and other vital organs.

Balance the nervous system

Yoga also helps our nervous system to rebalance after a challenge has passed. In our practice, we often alternate between strenuous poses and gentler postures, conditioning us to move easily between states of challenge and rest. This teaches us to let go and release once the challenges have been met.

Regular Asana practice

Doing regular asanas keeps our body and mind balanced, strong and flexible. It also relieves muscular tension and mobilise our joints.  If you are feeling healthy, it’s much easier to handle stress and worries.  

Learning to accept change

Often, we feel really stressed when going through changes. Just like stress, changes are an inevitable part of living. Therefore, it’s worth learning techniques to help us when these changes become challenging. When we practice mindfully every day, we can become inquisitive about the process of change and every moment becomes fascinating.

I am running a short relaxation and stress relief workshop on 4th June. Come and learn how to relax fully and ward off stress! This will be a lovely Sunday afternoon event supporting Bristol Mind, a mental health charity who do great work in Bristol.  

We have also scheduled a new meditation workshop on stress and life management on Sunday 2nd July by Kay Baxter at the Bristol Yoga Centre studio. 

Finding Balance at a Yoga Retreat

 Nothing can bring you peace but yourself – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Going on a yoga retreat is an excellent way to relax and rejuvenate. It gives you time and space to deepen your practice and reflect on what is important in your life. The daily yoga practice helps to bring a sense of calm and peace. As Judith Hanson Lasater, renowned yoga teacher says ‘Taking time out each day to relax and renew is essential to living well’.

I often hear people coming back from holidays and saying that they need another break straight away! When we go away we tend to sleep late, eat and drink too much and end up running around doing lots of sightseeing. Although this can be fun, we can often come home feeling tired and depleted.

Whenever I’ve been on a yoga retreat, I’ve noticed that my mind becomes clearer and I develop a tremendous sense of wellbeing. I return feeling balanced and full of energy, and ready to take on whatever life brings.

Twice daily yoga means that there are opportunities to delve into different practices such as pranayama, meditation and yoga nidra. These techniques are incredibly restorative and energising, by doing them regularly you’ll be able to feel the benefits they can bring. 

Healthy food at a yoga retreat can also help you revitalise as delicious balanced meals are provided everyday. These offer a great opportunity to get to know each other and make new friends in beautiful and inspiring surroundings.

The yoga retreat should help to encourage and instil your own personal practice once you return home, meaning that the benefits you’ve gained will stay with you.

This year, I am running a luxurious 7 day yoga retreat in Tarifa, in the south of Spain, from Saturday 17th – 24th June 2017.  It’s open to all ages and abilities. There is currently £100 off last minute discount available.

The villa is located in a stunning elevated position in the La Pena area (Natural Park) of Tarifa, nestled between mountain and sea with a panoramic view over miles of sandy beaches.

There are lots of exciting activities that can be organised including:

• Hiking
• Rock climbing
• Water sports
• Mountain biking
• Horse riding
• Whale watching
• Day trips to Morocco
• Roman ruins

Or you can just relax on the beach or at the gorgeous grounds of the villa!

This article was originally featured in British Wheel of Yoga Spectrum magazine Spring 2017.