It was International Mental Health Day on Monday 10th October. I'm sure we all personally know individuals who are currently suffering with their mental health?
There are of course a lot of triggers but work related stress is huge. It is really sad that so many companies still fail to recognise the importance of supporting the welfare of their staff.
I was interested watching Trouble at Topshop (Here's the link if you're interested). https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/proginfo/2022/39/trouble-at-topshop Having worked for Arcadia and in fashion for nearly 15 years it was quite insightful. The fashion industry whilst was great fun it most certainly had its stressors too.
I applaud one of my clients who are a fashion company. They offer a free yoga class for their staff on Monday mornings and have done so for a number of years. This sets everyone up for the week and I really enjoy sharing yoga with them. But this is not just about doing yoga. It's a clear demonstration that they value the health and well being of their staff. And it's even better that senior management attend regularly.
So in our practice, following last weeks look at external rotation at the hip, this week I've spent a bit more time on inward rotation.
Particularly, Triang Mukha Eka Pada Paschimottanasana. In Sanskrit "triang" means three limbs, "mukha" means face, "eka" means one, "pada" means foot, "paschima" means west, "uttana" means tense and "asana" means pose. Therefore it means three body parts and the face involved in a tense one foot back stretch.
There's another really great tutorial from Purple Valley about this pose some of which I've shared in classes and Instagram Tuesday Tip this week. The video is particularly useful if you have issues with knees, as incorrect positioning of the foot can lead to a greater strain on the joint.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BAOWJgBw5w&t=254s
But on turning inward and more importantly, the whole practice of yoga is about turning in. To try and cut out external distractions, stop the whirling of the mind and be present to the now and find inner peace and contentment.
I love the quote from The Bhagavad Gita. 'Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self to the self'.
To me this says. Practice regularly. With discipline. The lessons you learn on the mat help us manage other things better off the mat. It's all a journey isn't it? Finding out what is important and what isn't.
Namaste.
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