Sense Gate 1: Eye Gaze, Habit, and Relaxation
Do you ever wonder why we do some of the things we do in every class? Like chanting “Om” together, focusing on different body parts when we breathe, trying to feel all your skin at once, smiling with the back of our mouths…. Or circling our eyes one direction and then the other?
Yoga With Chronic Pain
"Yoga has been shown to decrease disability among people with pain, but it is not known how... yoga is a promising means to improving resilience and clinical outcomes for people with chronic pain." In Resilient to pain: A model of how yoga may decrease interference among people experiencing chronic pain,” the authors refer to many embodied correlates of stress: the HPAAxis (hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis), stress hormones, etc.
Luckily, we don't need to know how yoga works to start practicing and receiving benefits, even when we have pain. According to the National Institute of Health's information page, "Chronic pain persists. Pain signals keep firing in the nervous system for weeks, months, even years."
What make a Badlands Healing Yoga Practice different?
“Your guide comes with a plan and your guide will alter the plan depending on what you choose to share. Classes are very intentionally small, so we can offer at least one technique - posture, breath, flow, image, meditation - chosen for each person. It may be something the guide had already planned for that they surmise would be just the ticket or they might replace part of their plan to illuminate something helpful for you. Modifications will be offered and alternatives suggested along with the reminder that everything is optional and questions are encouraged. “
