Abhyasa Ashram - Joints and Glands Exercises

Joints and Glands Exercises

The practices outlined here were presented to us by Swami Rama as a traditional way to prepare for meditation. They emphasize simple movements, which facilitate the functioning of the glandular systems and flexibility in the connective tissues, which are the tendons, ligaments, and fascia. Tendons and ligaments are strong bands of fibrous connective tissue that connect muscle to bone and are capable of withstanding tension when muscles contract. Fascia is connective tissue that surrounds muscles, blood vessels, and nerves, binding those structures together somewhat like plastic wrap can be used to hold sandwiches or other foods together. The fascia has several layers: superficial fascia, deep fascia, and subserous (or visceral) fascia. The connective tissues extend from the head to the tip of the toes without interruption. These connective tissues are particularly concentrated in the area of the joints. Exercises emphasizing flexibility in the connective tissue are far more helpful for helping the body sit in meditation than are more vigorous exercises that may emphasize strength or mass in the skeletal muscles. The glands of the lymphatic system are found throughout the body and are an important part of cleansing the body to facilitate immune system functioning. The oval shaped lymph nodes are packed with white blood cells called lymphocytes and macrophages, which serve a major role in fighting off disease. Movements that facilitate cleansing and overall health of the glands are quite beneficial to sitting in meditation. To practice even a brief series of joints and glands exercises can be an excellent preparation for meditation that is easy to notice for yourself just by running your own experiments. For a more thorough practice, repeat each of the exercises three times, although once is okay too. Be aware of your breath and follow the natural exhalation and inhalation with each of the movements. These exercises can be used with great benefit by almost anybody, regardless of his or her level of physical fitness. Experiment with these in a way that is gentle and loving toward yourself. As you learn and practice these joints and glands exercises you will naturally adjust the sequence in small ways that match your comfort level, and will blend in your own choice of other stretches and yogasanas.

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Abhyasa Ashram - Joints and Glands Exercises

FACE!
Forehead and Sinus Massage! Scalp and Forehead! Half Face Squint! Full Face Squint! Eyes ! Mouth! Lion! Face Massage!

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3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4

NECK!
Forward and Backward Bend! Chin Over Shoulder! Ear to Shoulder! Turtle! Neck Rolls !

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4 4 4 5 5

SHOULDERS!
Lifts ! Rotations ! Rotation with Hands to Shoulder! Horizontal Arm Swing! Shoulders and Arms ! Shoulder Wings !

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5 5 5 6 6 6

ARMS, HANDS AND WRISTS!

Up/Down! Sides ! Rotations !

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6 6 7

ABDOMEN and TORSO !

Overhead Stretch! Sideways Stretch! Side Bends ! Torso Twists ! Taking In and Out of Stomach! Abdominal Lift (Uddiyana Bandha) !

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7 7 7 7 8 8

TORSO and LEGS !

Standing Forward Bend! Twisting Bend!

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8 8

LEGS and FEET!

Leg Kick! Knee Swirl! Dancing Knees ! Knee Bends! Ankle Squat! Ankle and Feet! Toe Balance!
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Abhyasa Ashram - Joints and Glands Exercises

FACE
Forehead and Sinus Massage Sit comfortably with head, neck, and trunk aligned. Make a loose fist and press your thumbs against the forehead. Massage the forehead with a circular motion. Follow the bones above the eyes and continue across the temples. Then rub with the thumbs below the eyes along the sides of the nose. Finally, open the hands and use the undersides of the thumbs to gently rub along the upper rims of the eye sockets, outward towards the temples. Then massage with the index fingers along the lower rims of the eye sockets. All of these movements begin at the center of the face and move outward, as if pushing all tension out and away. Scalp and Forehead Keeping the eyes focused straight ahead, raise the eyebrows and tighten both the forehead and the scalp. You may also feel a slight motion in the ears as you do this. Do this smoothly, without and quick jerks, tightening as high as you are comfortably able. In one smooth movement release the tension from the scalp, forehead, and eyebrows. Repeat this a few times. Half Face Squint Placing the palm of your right hand over the right side of your face and your right eye, slowly squint the entire left side of your face, leaving the right side completely relaxed. Repeat this with your left palm over the left side of your face, squinting the right side. After becoming comfortable with the exercise, do the exercise without placing the palms of your hands on the face. Full Face Squint Similar to the half face squint, but here you squint all of the muscles of the face in one smooth movement, as if all of the facial muscles are pulling towards the center, towards your nose. Then release and repeat again. Eyes With head remaining straight and stationary, and the eyes looking forward, turn your eyes to the left as far as is comfortable. Hold for a moment and then return to the center. Then repeat to the right side, still leaving the head straight and stationary. Again starting from the straight and stationary position of the head, look up, back to center, then down, and back to the center. Now look to the upper-left corner, back to center, to lower-right, and back to center, pausing for a moment as before. Then look to upper-right, back to center, to lower-left, and back to center. Finally, look downwards and then begin a circular motion clockwise, all the way around, and then reverse, making a circular motion in the counter-clockwise direction.

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Mouth Clench the teeth lightly and firmly tighten the lips in a wide open grin. Allow the muscles of the neck to tighten along with the grin, allowing an exaggerated stretch from the shoulders up through the mouth. The mouth should be as wide open as possible, looking somewhat like the letter O. Then relax and repeat as you wish. Lion From a sitting position (such as kneeling if that is comfortable), open the mouth as wide as possible, thrust the tongue out and down, and make a loud exhaling sound (like a lion) from deep in the throat. The whole body should be tensed in doing this, as if the whole body is making one audible expression. Release and sit back in a comfortable position, letting go of all the muscle contractions. Face Massage Use the heel of your hands to massage your entire face, both left and right sides at the same time. Follow the contour of the bones around the forehead, eyes, cheeks, and mouth, smoothening the muscles and the skin. This will reduce any tension left from doing the previous exercises. It will also reduce any wrinkling in the skin if you have a habit of holding tension in your face.

NECK
All of the neck exercises are done with the head, neck, and trunk in alignment. The spine is straight, allowing the natural curves. The shoulders are stationary, with only the neck and the head moving. Forward and Backward Bend Exhale slowly, gently bringing the head forward, tucking the chin in towards the chest. Feel the stretch at the back of the neck. Then, inhale slowly, bringing the head up and back so that the head tilts towards the back, feeling the stretch in the front of the neck. Exhale again slowly, bringing the head to either a vertical position if you are finished with the practice, or fully forward towards the chest if you want to repeat the exercise. Chin Over Shoulder From a position of the head straight, slowly exhale and turn your head as far to the left as you are comfortably able, in such a way that your chin is reasonably in line with your shoulder. The neck turns, but does not bend sideways to the left. Inhale as you turn your head back to the straight forward position. Repeat to the right side. Ear to Shoulder From a position of the head being straight, slowly exhale and lean your head as far to the left as you are comfortably able, in such a way that your left ear is moving downward toward your left shoulder. The neck bends to the left, but does not turn in the way it did in the

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previous exercise. Inhale as you raise your head back to the straight forward position. Repeat to the right side.

Turtle Keeping the shoulders stationary, exhale and thrust your chin and head as far forward as is comfortable, keeping your mouth closed and your teeth together. Pretend that you are a turtle sticking its head out of its shell. Then, while inhaling, draw your chin and head back into a straight position, doing so in such a way that your chin somewhat tucks in towards your throat. Repeat the exercise as you wish. Neck Rolls Lower your chin towards your chest and begin to slowly rotate your head in a wide circle to the left, in a clockwise motion. The motion should be very smooth and very slow. Inhale when lifting the head upwards and exhale when bring it downward from the top of the roll. When the roll is completed, gently reverse the direction and inhale into a counter-clockwise rotation, and then exhaling as you complete the roll. Repeat the cycle or bring your head back to a comfortable forward-facing position.

SHOULDERS
Lifts Stand erect with your arms hanging loosely to your sides. Without moving your head, tighten and lift your left shoulder upward towards your ear, allowing your arm to still hand by your side. All at once, relax and drop your shoulder. Then do the same thing with your right shoulder. Then very slowly raise both shoulders in a similar fashion. Hold the shoulders for a few seconds and then slowly relax them completely. Rotations Stand erect with your arms hanging loosely to your sides. Begin a rotation of your left shoulder by moving it forward and in towards the center of your chest, then moving it upward towards the left ear and back, trying to touch your shoulder blade to the spine, and then back to the starting position. Rotate three times in the same direction using the left shoulder. Then reverse the direction, still rotating the left shoulder. Do the same rotation for the right shoulder, first rotating forward and towards the center of the chest, then moving it upward towards the right ear and back, trying to touch your right shoulder blade to the spine, and back to the starting position. Do this three times and then reverse the direction, still rotating the right shoulder. Rotation with Hands to Shoulder Stand erect with your arms stretched out in front of you at chest height, and with the palms upward. Rotate the shoulders forward and up, while raising your palms high above you, and then bringing your finger tips down onto your shoulders. Your elbows will have gone up and
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then back down to about shoulder height. Reverse the rotation, bring your palms up above you, and allowing the elbows to go up again. Then, stretch the arms out in front of you to the original position. Repeat the whole process again, but this time having the palms down throughout the movement. The repeat again, but with the palms facing one another. Repeat each variation up to three times. Horizontal Arm Swing Stand erect with your arms at your sides. Extend, raise and stretch your arms out to the sides at shoulder level. Exhaling, swing the arms forward crossing the left arm over the right arm. Keeping the arms straight, bring the left arm as far to the right as possible, and the right arm as far to the left as possible. Do this as if the shoulders would meet in the front (though they wont, of course), expanding the should blades apart from one another as far as possible. Inhaling, swing the arms back out to the sides and behind your back, expanding your chest and bringing your shoulder blades together. Repeat several times, alternating left arm over right, and right over left. Shoulders and Arms Stand erect with your arms extended straight out to the sides. Exhaling, swing the arms forward, stretching the shoulders forward and allowing the palms to come together lightly. Inhale, bringing the palms to the chest, with the elbows still at shoulder level out to the sides. Exhale again and straighten the arms out in front of you as before. While inhaling and still keeping the arms straight, swing them out to the sides and back behind you, throwing the shoulders back and fully expanding the chest. Repeat the whole process several times. Shoulder Wings Bend the arms in front of you at the elbow and place the finger tips on the shoulders. Leaving the fingers on the shoulders, stretch the elbows out in front, raise them while inhaling and then rotate them to the sides and back, pulling the shoulder blades together. Then, without stopping, exhale and continue the rotation of the elbows downward and back to the front. Stretch and rotate several times in this direction and then reverse the direction, repeating the same number of times.

ARMS, HANDS AND WRISTS

Up/Down Stretch the arms out in front of you with the palms down and the arms level with the shoulders. Keep the fingers together and straight, and bend at the wrist so that the fingers are pointing upward and you are looking at the back of your hands. Then bend your wrists so that the fingers are pointing straight down. Return your fingers to the center. Sides From the same position with arms stretched out in front, bend the wrists sideways, pointing the fingers to the left. Keep the fingers together and straight, and the palms down. Relax and

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return to the center. Repeat to the right. Then relax and return to the center. Do this several times in each direction. Rotations From the same position with arms stretched out in front, rotate the hands at the wrists, with the left fingers in a clockwise direction, and the right fingers in a counter-clockwise direction. Keep the arms straight without allowing the forearms to move. Reverse and rotate the same number of times in the opposite direction. Then rotate both hands together in a clockwise direction, and then repeat the same number of times with both hands in a counterclockwise direction. Repeat the cycle with your fingers spread apart. Then, repeat the cycle again with your fingers in a claw position.

ABDOMEN and TORSO

Overhead Stretch Stand erect with your feet firmly on the floor. Inhaling, stretch your arms straight above your head. Place your palms together with the fingers pointing up. Without lifting your heels, stretch up towards the ceiling as high as you can, stretching the whole body. Press your palms together and your upper arms against your ears. Feel as though you are lifting the trunk off the pelvis. Exhaling, relax the arms completely and let them drop down to your sides. Sideways Stretch Stand erect with your feet firmly on the floor. Bring your arms up, stretching to the sides and level with the shoulders. Inhaling, stretch your arms out to the sides as far as you can, as if you could touch two walls to your left and right with the tips of your fingers. Feel as though you are stretching the elbows, wrists, and fingers. Exhaling, bring your arms back down to your sides and relax them. Side Bends Stand erect with your feet firmly on the floor. The legs should remain straight and the body should remain in an even plane front and back, as if you are standing with your back against a wall. Inhaling, raise the left arm out to the side with your palm facing down. When your arm reaches shoulder level, rotate the palm upward and continue the upward movement until your arm is extended above your head and your upper arm presses agains your left ear. Exhale, bending at the waist to the right, sliding the right hand down along the right left. Feel the muscle contraction at the right side of the waist and the stretch all along the left side of the torso. Inhale, keeping your left arm next to your head. While exhaling, straighten your body, bringing the right arm back to your side, while also lowering the left arm to your side. Repeat on the opposite. Repeat as you wish. Torso Twists Stand erect with your feet firmly on the floor, about two to three feet apart. Place your hands on your hips. Exhale and lean forward. Staying within your comfortable capacity, begin a

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clockwise rotation, first moving to the right side, then to the back. As you rotate through the position to the right side, transition into inhalation, through the position at the back. As the rotation moves through the position to the left, transition into exhalation, coming back to the front. Repeat three times, and then repeat the whole process three times in a counterclockwise direction. Repeat this entire sequence, but with your arms above you and your hands clasped far above your head. Then, once again, repeat the process with your hands on your hips. Then do it again with your hands clasped above your head. Taking In and Out of Stomach Sitting on the floor, on your heels, bend forward with your hands on your knees. With exhalation force the stomach up and in. With inhalation, let it fall passively. Repeat this as many times as is comfortable. Please note that this simple exercise is not the same as agnisara, kapalabhati, or uddiyanabandha. Abdominal Lift (Uddiyana Bandha) Stand with your feet about two feet apart. Keeping your spine straight, bend you knees slightly and lean forward from your waist just enough to place the palms of your hands on your thighs just above your knees. Exhale completely, pushing all of the air out by pressing inward at your upper abdomen. From the inside, pull your navel and upper abdomens inward and up so that it is sucked inward, up towards the inside of the chest cavity. Do the exercise several times within your comfortable capacity. This exercise can be difficult to do initially without personal demonstration. Please note that uddiyana bandha is different than a simple abdominal lift where the abdomen is lifted (as in the first part above), but does not include this last part where the upper abdomen is sucked inward and upward. Women should not do these practices during their menstrual cycle or during pregnancy.

TORSO and LEGS

Standing Forward Bend Stand erect with your feet two to three feet apart. Inhale and raise your arms over your head with your palms facing forward. With an exhalation, begin to bend forward, moving the arms and shoulders in a way that imitates a swimming motion. After exhaling with the forward motion, inhale with the returning motion. As you alternate left and right, allow inhalation and exhalation to naturally flow with the movements. Twisting Bend Stand erect with your feet two to three feet apart. Inhaling, raise your arms straight out to your sides. With an exhalation, bend forward and, twisting the trunk, touch your right hand to your left foot, and turn your head so as to look up at your raised left hand. Inhaling, slowly return partially to standing and repeat to the right, with your left hand touching your right foot, turning you head so as to look up at your raised right hand. Repeat several times within

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your comfortable capacity. Return to standing posture slowly so as to not become lightheaded.

LEGS and FEET

Leg Kick Stand firm and place your hands on your waist. Lift your left foot, bring it forward slightly, balancing on your right foot. With a sharp movement, kick your left leg back so that your left heel touches your left buttocks. Let your leg return to the starting position, leaving the left foot slightly off the floor. The calf, ankle and foot should remain relaxed during the kicking motion. Shift your weight to your left leg and repeat the kick with your right leg and heel. Repeat each several times. Knee Swirl Stand firm and place your hands on your waist. Raise your left thigh to a horizontal position, allowing the left calf, ankle and foot to hang loosely from the knee down. Gently swing the leg in a circular motion from the knee, first clockwise and then counterclockwise. The calf, ankle and foot should remain relaxed during the rotation. Come back to a standing position and repeat with the right leg. Repeat as you wish. Dancing Knees Stand with your feet spread slightly. Tense and lift all the muscles of the thigh and around the left knee cap, raising the knee cap. Relax and let it fall back into place. Do this several times, alternating with your left and right knees. Knee Bends Spread the feet about a foot apart and keeping the feet flat on the floor, exhale as you squat down with the buttocks near the floor. Rest the hands on the floor in front of you. Inhale and raise the hips up, straightening the legs, but let the hands remain on the floor or close to the floor. Then exhale and squat again between the knees. Repeat several times. Ankle Squat Spread the feet about a foot apart and, keeping the feet flat on the floor, squat down with the buttocks near the floor. Become balanced in this position. The arms can rest over the knees or can come forward slightly and rest with the back of the upper arms against the shins. Remain in this position for up to a minute. Ankle and Feet Stand erect with your hands on your waist. Keep the left leg straight and lift it six inches off the floor. Bending at the ankle, lift the foot up, pointing the toes toward the ceiling. Relax the foot. Then point your toes downward as far as possible. Then relax your foot.

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Without turning or twisting the leg, turn the foot and ankle to the left, pointing the toes as far out to the side as possible. Return to the center. Turn the foot inward, pointing your toes towards the right. Bring it back to the center position. Rotate the foot (so that only the ankle and foot move) first to the left, then up, to the right, and down, touching the four points. Rotate three times in each direction, clockwise and counterclockwise. Bring your foot back to the floor. Relax completely in a standing position, and then repeat the same movements with your right foot. Toe Balance Stand straight with your feet together and hands on your hips. Inhale and raise up on your toes. When the inhalation is complete, exhale and lower your heels back onto the floor. Repeat this several times. Raise up onto the toes as above and remain in position for thirty seconds or to your capacity. It helps the balance if the gaze is fixed on an object or point out in front of you. After becoming steady in this position, perform the same movement with your eyes closed. Stand erect with your feet close together. Inhale and simultaneously raise up onto your toes and raise the arms straight out in front of you, level with your shoulder, with your palms turned downward. Keeping your trunk, arms, and head stationary, exhale and turn to the left as far as you can, twisting from the waist and continuing to balance on your toes. Inhale and come back to the center. Then turn to the right in the same manner. After proper balance is achieved, perform the above movements with your eyes closed.

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