Five years ago, the very idea of touching my toes seemed far away and impossible. Always looming
over my head was the perception that my lack of flexibility would impede my ability to twist into funky
shapes, or express myself in a heart-opening backbend. Something as basic as touching my toes was
almost laughable. I remember the ‘sit and reach’ as my weakest component during the annual
physical fitness tests in school, which would often be the reason I’d miss out on the coveted ‘Gold
Award’ by just mere centimetres.
But like many things in life, even folding into a simple Uttanasana (standing forward bend) requires
practice and dedication. What I hadn’t realised was that despite the basic action of bending over to
touch my toes, I was not consciously engaging the right muscles to bring me into a deeper stretch.
During the YTT, I developed awareness to hinge from the hips and engage my core to bring my
stomach closer to my thighs. It is by lengthening the spine that I can extend further forward towards
the ground and have my fingers not just graze the mat, but have my palms flat. Even bringing the
crown of my head towards the ground and ensuring my shoulders are away from ears, allowed me to
experience this stretch more deeply.
Similar to uttanasana, I applied this awareness with Paschimottanasana (seated forward fold). That it
wasn’t just stretching to touch my toes, but to also move with the breath. I am conscious of inhaling,
keeping my front torso long and leaning forward from the hips. As I reach for my big toes, my core is
engaged to pull myself forward as I keep my chest open and retract my shoulder blades.
The benefits of both poses include to calm the brain to relieve stress and mild depression, reduce
fatigue and anxiety, soothe headaches, improve digestion, and stretch the spine, shoulders and
hamstrings – a truly effective asana for the stressful day-to-day living.
Kim
200HR YTT Jul’21 Weekend
