5. Counter-Poses for the Daily Grind! Part 1: Helpful Opposites

Happy Sunday Everyone,

We are coming up on full summertime. Depending on what phase(s) your kid(s) are in, that probably means different kinds of activities and travel opportunities. While some Moms will be chasing toddlers with their hands full of sunscreen, others will be breastfeeding, hopefully with some shade. Others will be crouching down, drawing hopscotch squares on back patios, standing up, and needing a breather before showing their 3 year-old how to jump on one leg.

What all of these mini acts of caretaking have in common is that they’re kind of physically awkward and tiring in a way that betrays our former selves. They also shape our bodies structurally in ways that start to hurt after awhile, if they’re not given alternative postures.

So while I love talking about the philosophical aspects of Yoga, and less known yoga techniques for keeping us connected and in good health, this episode is specifically about our muscles and bones in early motherhood.

+++ 

Welcome to Yoga for Mom-Life. I’m your host, Susana Jones, and I help women raising young children who find it hard to replenish because everyone else’s needs come first. With therapeutic yoga and the wisdom of the ages, I help Moms make good use of limited free-time so they too can live a full, vibrant lives.

+++

So, if you were to pantomime how your body moves in a day, what would it look like? Think about it. At home, in the car, while getting work done, fixing a meal, folding some laundry, lounging after the kid's bedtime, what’s your body doing? From sun-up to sun down, what kinds of positions are you in?

Start noticing these things, because they’re your ticket to feeling good in your body now, and in the future. By understanding how our bodies are arranged most of the time, and incorporating opposite movement patterns into our lives, our musculoskeletal system gets vital resources from our nutrition and water to create a more adaptable, resilient frame, rather than calcifying in one shape, which happens more quickly as we age. 

Every activity we do, from typing on a keyboard to snuggling with our children, to making love, reinforces certain areas of our bodies. It takes a dynamic mix of physical movement to maintain a physical structure that can tolerate dynamic movement. With more sedentary activities in daily life, we risk losing our ability not just to do dance-inspired Vinyasa flow like we once enjoyed, but even the ability to comfortably walk long distances, or to play with our kids without getting winded, or even injured.

So this is the first of a two-part series on Counter-posing the daily grind. Today I’ll take you on a process of identifying a helpful stretch or two that applies directly to the way your body is configured on a regular basis.

Next week, we’ll talk specifically about sitting, since it’s something we do a LOT of in American society. That makes it a great area of life to put in a little effort for big rewards that build up as time goes on, and makes a big difference right away in how you feel.

So here is Part 1:

• Think of one thing you do every single day in this phase of your life. 

Maybe it’s work-related. Maybe it’s due to your child’s age. One thing you do daily. 

• Now imagine what it looks like from the outside. You can even mime it.

For me, it’s reading on my phone, so I'm thinking about what that looks like from head-to-toe. 

Next, think of another thing you do, maybe not every day, but like, every weekday. 

And think about what that looks like. Maybe even act it out like in charades.

For me, it’s getting my little guy in and out of his carseat. 

• Now notice what physical attributes, if any, those two movement patterns have in common. 

For me, with reading articles on my phone, and the car seat buckles, my fingers clutched, hand muscles are working, elbows are bent close to my ribs, and my head and neck are helping me looking forward and down.

What do your repetitive moves have in common?

Next, what’s another pair of things you do on a daily, or frequent basis? 

My other two are food prep, and writing at my computer. 

• What structural features do your other two share in common?

What mine have in common is that in both activities, my gaze is cast downward, and my arms and hands are doing the work close to my body.

• Now, do your two sets of daily or almost-daily movements have things in common? 

Both of my sets of repetitive movemnts include a downward gaze and busy arms and hands. 

How about yours?

• Let’s consider now what an opposite position would look like. We’ll call this a “helpful opposite”

If a joint is flexed, as in bent, the opposite would be extended straight, for instance.

Based on the examples from my life, my “helpful opposite”includes gazing upward, which reverses what my upper back, neck, head, and eyes do so often; extending my arms away from my sides, which opens my chest and lengthens my torso; turning my palms forward, which rotates my shoulders externally, and stretches out my hands and fingers

• What does your “helpful opposite” look like?

You’re doing great, by the way. This is a weird exercise! But you’re here to counter-pose the daily grind on your joints, which also relieves your mind, so keep going :)

• Put yourself into those opposites. If not now, then do it as soon as you can. 

While you do that, I’ll share that when I stretch my arms down by my sides, spread my fingers and palms, push my shoulders down my back, and turn my face towards the sky…

… it takes a little effort at first, and I can tell I really need this stretch. 

Then, I let it go for a few, do it again, and then realize it feels utterly amazing, even while just sitting at my desk. 

And I have a little more energy and enthusiasm for what I’m doing, and I don’t feel quite as old as I did a few minutes ago. 

• Our last step with this, is to conjure from memory a physical activity that incorporates some, or all, of your “helpful opposite.” 

For me, it will be a Sun-Salutation, which features my opposites in mountain pose, upward salute, and upward facing dog. 

I’ll do this after dropping my son off at preschool, before sitting down to write the next episode of this podcast.

And if that doesn’t work out, ‘cause, you know, I might do it when I start feeling lethargic mid-afternoon. Or I might do just part of it while dinner is cooking, ‘cause I need something to counteract the repetitive movements that are starting to shrink me down.

And it’s already making a difference.

My body feels less like something else I need to take care of, and more like an ally supporting me on my daily missions.

The process we just did is similar to how I assess yoga therapy clients for 1:1 Sessions, which I offer remotely at YogaforMomLife.com. I welcome you to book your first session, where you’ll receive a playlist of yoga content chosen just for you and the opposites that seem most helpful, based on what you share with me. Sessions are confidential, and open to all, whether you have experience with yoga or not. 

And while I started this episode saying it wasn’t going to be so philosophical today, we actually invoked one of the Yoga Sutras to apply the wisdom of healing with opposites. We applied this good sense to our anatomical structure and physiology during this very hands-on time in our children’s lives, and our journey as Mothers.

While my example of repetitive movements led me to some helpful yoga poses in the end, that process also inspired a very good stretch right here at my computer desk, which I wouldn’t have done had I not thought about all the micro-movements that my daily life entails.

You can adapt your helpful opposites to work elsewhere for you, too. And you don’t necessarily need to break away from the task at hand to go somewhere different in your physical structure. So this is a very portable, and gently transformational method for keeping your body in good working order now, and in the future.

So if you see me out there, face up with my arms stretched out, like I’m about to be abducted by aliens, don’t honk your horn too loud, ‘cause I really need that lengthening stretch. It makes my life as an Earthling feel better.

To take your helpful opposites to the next level, explore ways to move your body, in different ways, more often. Less is not more in this case. 

Having greater variety in how we move, even when doing the most basic, everyday stuff tells the body what’s important to you, and how it can help you get through long days with greater ease.

+++

For yoga that specifically counteracts the repetitive strain on our joints from taking care of our little ones, join my online studio at YogaforMomLife.com.

Thanks for tuning in, and for sharing this show with the Moms you LOVE. Until next Suzday, it’s Yoga for Mom-Life, and it’s about time.