Yoga for Oft-Overlooked Body Parts

When practicing yoga for physical exercise, many practitioners concentrate mainly on the larger muscle groups of the body. The muscles of the legs, arms, back, and abdominals are lengthened and strengthened in any good yoga workout. Of course, exercising these body parts is important. However, even experienced yoga practitioners and teachers sometimes overlook body parts like the hands, feet, and neck in their exercises. This is unfortunate as the neck is an area of the body where many people tend to have a lot of tension. And we use our hands and feet so hard every day - they deserve a little relaxation too! In fact, many reflexologists believe that the hands and feet contain pressure points that affect energy flow to the rest of the body (but that is another topic entirely!). Needless to say, paying attention to these oft-neglected body parts can greatly enhance the yoga experience. The following is a description of some brief exercises for the neck, hands, and feet.

The Neck

Begin sitting in the half-lotus or tailor pose, whichever you find most comfortable. Slowly drop your head down to your chest. Let your head fall forward until you feel the stretch on the back of the neck. Hold this for some time until you feel the neck muscles loosen up. Then slowly, keeping your face down, turn your head slightly so that you feel the stretch move from the back to the side of your neck. Hold this position for several seconds, and then repeat on the other side. Slowly move your head back and forth in a half circle. Return your head to the center position and slowly lift up to a normal face-front position. At this point, turn your head slowly to the left and then to the right, as if you were shaking your head "no" (in extremely slow motion!). One caveat: Although I have seen some teachers have their students tilt their head back when doing the head circles, I do not recommend this as it puts unnecessary pressure on the vertebrae. For safety's sake, I advise keeping the head falling forward and completing only a half circle instead of a full rotation.

The Hands

Begin, again, sitting in tailor or half-lotus fashion. Extend your right hand directly in front of you, palm facing forward, as if you were telling someone to "stop." With your left hand, gently pull your fingers back, stretching the palm and the wrist. Hold, and then repeat with the opposite hand. Then extend both hands out to your sides and splay your fingers open as far as possible. Hold the stretch for some time. Then clench your fingers into a fist, and release. Repeat this motion several times. Finally, with arms still outstretched, rotate your wrists in a circular motion, first one way, then the other. End by shaking out your hands as if you were shaking water from them. These stretches are particularly helpful if you work at a computer for long hours at a time, and some believe that practicing these exercises can help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome.

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