Soothing Yourself with Supported Forward Bends
by Nina As I discussed yesterday in Anxiety, Yoga, and the Front Body , supported forward bends can be wonderfully quieting and soothing. You can use these poses to calm yourself when you�re feeling anxious or to turn inward when you�ve been over-stimulated. However, you do need to set up for them properly. By that I mean that the poses need to be completely comfortable. If they�re not completely comfortable for you, they�re going to be irritating and maybe even aggravating, which defeats the whole purpose of practicing them. To be comfortable in these poses, you need to: Pick the seated position that is best for your body (crossed legs, straight legs or wide angle legs). Experiment and see which of the three poses described below are most effective for you. Choose the propping (bolster, pillows, stack of blankets or chair) that is truly comfortable for you. Be honest with yourself about the height you need to be comfortable, rather than imitating a photograph. Crossed-Legs Forward Ben...