Improving Body Awareness and Control

This book originally started of as a guide to improving hamstring flexibility. But part of improving hamstring flexibility involves knowing when the hamstrings are active and when they are relaxed and changing the foundation of a pose so that the hamstrings could be induced to activate or relax.

The book eventually turned into a book about learning body awareness with some tips and exercises for improving hamstring flexibility along the way. And so it’s actually a book for beginners.

It actually builds on some of the subject matter introduced in balance basics, which is also a book for beginners. You could think of this book as applying some of the the same principles and techniques learned in balance basics to basic “non-balancing” yoga poses.

One of the most important things that a beginner can focus on is creating stability, a strong foundation. Whether working on strength, flexibility or just staying upright, a stable foundation gives your muscles a fixed reference point making it easier to control your body.

And so to that end this book focuses a lot not just on feeling and controlling parts of your body but particularly on creating stable foundations and recognizing when a part of your body that is touching the floor is supporting some or all of the weight of your body and when it is not.

Learning Your Body

Generally when I teach my classes I’ll use the same routine a number of times but with slight differences in instruction.

Depending on the ability of the students in the class (and some days I get complete beginners) I have to simplify the exercises a lot. On other days, having had some experience with the same routine, the same poses can be done with a different, and perhaps deeper, focus.

The idea of repeating the same routine, but with different instructions, is to help my students get a better feel for the poses and their body. And to that end this book includes three workouts. Each workout uses more or less the same sequence of poses, but the instructions are slightly different so that you can get a better experience of your body.

In all cases, rather than just doing the exercises, focus on feeling your body as you do the exercises. Notice the sensations and changes in sensation generated by the muscles doing the work. And notice the way that parts of your body press into the floor, (or only lightly touch the floor.)

Modifications have been included but if there are exercises that you can’t do for whatever reason, then leave them out, particularly if they cause joint pain. If you can modify the exercise so that it doesn’t cause joint pain that’s fine, but if not leave the exercise out.