As I've been saying all week, last week's new moon solar eclipse was the biggest astrological event of the year. It left us empaths and introverts feeling a lot of feels. Our emotions have been all over the place, and we are also dealing with the emotions of all the people in our world. Now that we are coming out of it (Monday and Tuesday were Empath Hangover days), we need ways to get rid of all the crap we were holding during the stress of the eclipse. I've found myself really enjoying this little mini-series of poses to help me release and let-go. Not just of emotions, but also of the physical CRAP. If you're dealing with constipation, stuck energy, needing to let go, this is the series for you. It's easy enough for even the raw yoga beginner.
Beware, this series may cause you to need the bathroom more than normal. Don't worry, this is a good thing. It's what you want. The pressure of your leg pushing into your abdomen will kickstart your colon to push the stuck gunk through and down for elimination. All of these poses implement this kind of pressure, getting your body to release and let go. You'll be surprised all the things in your life you'll find easier to let go after you do this sequence for 3-5 days in a row.
Check out yesterday's post: Body Wisdom: Diarrhea Detox to get a better understanding of how and why your body holds gunk in your digestive system when you are dealing with emotional stress.
As with all the Yoga Wonderland poses, I recommend a minimum of 5-breaths per pose. This whole sequence, done at just 5 breaths each, would only take about 3-5 minutes. However, it often feels so good that I find myself taking 10 minutes or more (before nature calls me to the bathroom).
Pose #1 - Child's Pose
I start every single practice with this pose, and sometimes, it is the only pose I do. I let the floor completely support me as the pressure of my legs against the sides of my abdomen helps get the gunk moving through my intestines. It also reminds me that letting go is a passive exercise, not an active one.
Pose #2 - Squatting Frog
Once I'm ready to emerge out of child's pose, I come up to this gentle squat. It's not quite standing and not quite sitting either. In many indigenous cultures, this is the classic "poop stance" as they poop over holes in the ground. There is even a modern-day bathroom device The Squatty Potty designed to help you poop. This position is ideal for helping with elimination of all kinds of things, physical and emotional.
Pose #3 - Dead Bug (Happy Baby)
After squat, it's easy to just roll onto my back into Happy Baby. Sometimes I'm too tight to grab my feet, so I just hold my ankles. It isn't about my hands to feet anyway. I like lengthening my back on the floor and pulling my thighs into my side belly. This is great to release the extra low-back stress from holding too much as well.
Pose #4 - Wind Removing Pose (Legs to Chest)
This pose is true to its name. It removes not just wind (farts) but all kinds of other gunk. From happy baby, it's easy to just hug my knees into my chest and keep my back long and supported by the floor. Doing one leg at a time helps too.
Pose #5 - Savasana
Quite often, this standard end-of-practice pose gets cut short after this series because nature is calling me to the toilet. That's good news. That means it worked. Don't worry though, if you don't need to poop just yet, your body might just need a little more time to process the gunk through...or maybe you don't have as much gunk!
About the Yoga Wonderland Series
Occasionally, once or twice a month, I will post a mini-sequence designed to address a very specific issue. These sequences are always designed from the raw beginner and meant to work as a simple series of 3-5 stretches that you can do in just 5-10 minutes.
Yoga Wonderland is an ever growing vast library of home yoga practices resources. Inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland this program is meant to inspire you to try doing yoga by yourself, at home, without a teacher, podcast, or video. This way you can explore the wonders of your body on your own timing, and discover the vast wonderland of wisdom and insight inside yourself.
If you would like to start your own Yoga Wonderland Adventure, there are three ways to begin: