Welcome to the category of forward folds! This is one of my favourite categories of yoga poses (I think you’ll find that I say this about all categories!).
Why do I love forward folding so much..?
Because it is calming to the nervous system! Forward folding grounds my energy, calms my mind, allows me to sink deeply into the internal space of my digestive organs, disconnecting me from my mental worries and busyness. Forward folds lengthen, open and stretch the whole back body, from the heels all the way to the crown of the head. Forward folds create space and length in the spine, supporting healthy discs and relieving tension. Time spent with a forward fold practice will support the relaxation of the hamstrings due to the activation of the quad muscles. Using props to support your current experience will grant you access into these parts of the body, and consistent practice will be the gift of change where its required.

Forward folds stimulate the watery aspects of ourselves. They stimulate the kidney and bladder channels through the body, connecting us to a cooler experience or our mind. The ball of the foot and the heel are earthed and earth energy is brought up through this connection to the earth, through the kidney meridians, to bring grounding energy to our flight/flight pathways. These channels are also our fear channels, so we can meet our fears here and through consistent practice, transform these fears to integrated parts of our mind, where the wisdom can be weaved back into daily life. They can cool and calm hot emotions, and activate heat where it’s required, in the digestive organs.
They can also slip into the inversion category, because the head is below the heart. Different to traditional inversions where we flip ourselves upside down, we still have a deep connection with our lower body and the earth. This category of forward folding creates energy and connection to our first three chakras. The personal aspects of ourselves, how we interact with life, how we interact with our needs and our fears and our relationship to ourselves, the earth and each other. Along with calming the mind they can create stability and support us to create structures that serve our needs and our desires in the physical world.
Try this standing forward fold twice a day for 7 days and if it feels good, continue. Journal about how it feels, journal about the progression of you and this shape. Tune into the language of the body, the sensations and watch the very fabric of you open up to something new. Our tissues are weaved according to the food we eat, our thoughts, our emotions and our life experience. Our muscles, tendons and ligaments, our organs, bones and skin, all respond to our mind. The physical practice of yoga is a great way to interrupt these patterns and feel something different and to realise that we can change things, we just need to show up and feel!
If you have high or low blood pressure, glaucoma, osteoporosis or scoliosis, lower back or neck injuries, including disc herniation and degeneration, shoot me a message to discuss ways of practising this shape safely.
Let me know how you go and ENJOY!
In love, for love, as love, Susie