How does your body feel right now? Notice if you feel light and pain free, calm. Maybe you aren’t completely pain free? A little stiff in the neck or shoulders, or lower back? If you’re holding any tension in your body, there are countless practices that you can do on your own, right now, that will take no time at all to increase your physical well being and decrease discomfort.
This one is super simple. It takes only minutes and can drastically increase the flexibility and fluidity of movement after only one session. Yet, doing this everyday is where you’ll experience the best results.
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It’s almost been an entire decade since my first yoga teacher training. That’s a long time in my book! Of course, I don’t practice everything I learning during that training daily. Yet, there are quite a few things that I keep in my morning routine from my one month yoga immersion, years and years ago.
In most of the body’s joints, there is fluid substance similar to the consistency of egg whites. Production of this synovial fluid is automatic and the intention of this practice is not to produce more-it’s more geared toward prevention. You could put it in the category of eating your veggies everyday for vitamins, in terms of physical practices. This fluid serves a very important purpose. It aids in maintaining the health of the cartilage by bringing oxygen and nutrients in and lubricating the joints.
When you do this practice, you’ll start at the bottom (the feet) and work your way up. This gentle circling or rolling motion, 3-5 times in each direction, is done with a deep, slow rhythmic breath. It’s best to do this right away in the morning, because when we sleep, we aren’t in motion. Think of a piece of chewed gum after it’s been discarded. It becomes dense and stiff. When it was in use, it was constant motion, being flexed, stretched and kneaded. This is basically what we want to do with the body. No need to start chewing your arm, just watch this video and follow along. This 5 minute morning practice for increasing flexibility & fluidity should do the trick.
“Dasha Chalana” is the sanskrit name, meaning the ten churnings. This is something I do every single morning when I wake up. The “churnings” refer to churning or rolling the joints to increase or maintain softness and mobility of the joints. I have woke up in the morning feeling stiff and tight and after these movements, my body feels more fluid and flexible. These rotations get the synovial fluid moving in the joints. Remember, this fluid is a viscous, egg white-like substance that provides lubrication. How do you fix squeaky door hinges? The hinges need lubrication! Our joints are the same. Fortunately, we don’t need to buy anything from home depot to do this. Just wake up in the morning, and get moving.
[Tweet “This is the beauty of the human body. We have just about everything we need inside, we just need to flip the switch to on!”]
This video is a quick demo of how to get the synovial fluid moving in the joints, and it’s not going to look exactly the same when you move your body. When you roll, and move and flow, your body is going to move differently than mine. That being said, make these movements your own by going at your own pace, and taking more time if something feels good, and adjusting if it doesn’t!
Give this practice a few days and notice if you’re feeling more freedom and ease in your body. Be sure to subscribe to The Pure Way and follow me if you’re ready to feel even better and live a life that honors the sacred temple, that is your one and only body.