At the end of every yoga practice I lead, I encourage participants to settle into Corpse Pose and relax their bodies into the floor with deep breaths. Almost every class, I have a few people who are squirming, uncomfortably, obviously fighting muscles that are tightening up and spasming due to use in new and exciting ways. I wish I could help them understand the ability the body has to willfully relax muscles, but it takes years to reach the point of realizing you have this ability and having control over utilizing the skill.
I refer to it, simply, as the ability to relax. When you have a lower back muscle that suddenly seizes when you try to settle into the floor, you can mentally “will” that muscle to unwind and not spasm, but this takes practice, learning to be comfortable with your breath, and the complete belief that your breath holds the power to relax those muscles. If you don’t believe, it doesn’t work.
So the next time you’re in yoga practice, and you feel your lower back start to tighten up, remember that you actually have the power to keep that muscle from spasming, and you can keep that pain from taking a grip. Just focus all your mental energy on that muscle, in relaxing what feels tight, and deepen your breathing, using the exhalation to allow those muscles to just…relax. The first time you do it, you’ll be so energized by the ability, and it will change your yoga practice and allow you to progress to a new level of relaxing into poses and deepening your flexibility.
