As we enter into the chilly days of October, the only thing that could yuck on our cozy yums are the colds and flus that begin to circulate more widely. One of the ways to stave off sickness is to make sure our body systems are in good working order, especially our lymphatic system, responsible for detoxification and immune function. A beautiful pose to aid this is our Pose of the Month- Garudasana, Eagle Pose.
When we practice Eagle Pose, we engage in a deep compression of the body tissues, particularly in the arms and legs. As we exit the pose the released compression creates a flushing effect, stimulating lymphatic flow.
To Get Into Eagle:
1. Start in Chair Pose
2. Shift the weight to one foot
3. Wrap the floating leg over the grounded leg, choosing to take a kickstand, single wrap (foot floating), or double wrap (foot locked around the standing calf)
4. Take a look at which knee is on top, if it’s Right, then Right arm wraps Under left, if it’s Left knee on top, Left arm wraps under right
5. Bring the back of the forearms to touch, and the palms as close to touching as they can (if this isn’t available cross arms in front of the chest, hands hugging opposite shoulder blades)
6. From here choose to stay or nest (rounding the spine like you are wrapping yourself around a beach ball
7. In either of these positions, go deeper in your squat and compress all the joints, ankles, knees, hips, armpits, elbows, and wrists. Bonus points if you bring chin to chest for a Jalandhara Bandha or Chin Lock.
8. Slowly unravel and come to standing, follow up with a standing backbend to allow the magical flushing it’s full potential
Quite a bit to it, right? Feel free to ask a PLAY instructor to guide you through the pose.
Happy October!
Your PLAY Coven of Witches and Warlocks
