John’s Yoga

In bed

There are a couple of optional things you can do in bed in the morning before getting up if you feel like it.

• Feet limbering
  Gently point and flex your feet, invert and evert, turn left and right, and make easy circles. Warm but don’t tire your calves with these moves.
• Leg rolls × 3 × 2
  Gently or firmly, left then right, one at a time roll each leg all the way out then all the way in. Focus and move smoothly.
• Reclined tree × 2
  Left then right, then left then right again. Bring your leg bent at the knee up to the side and support with pillows and rest into it and allow your groin to open.

Morning

If something doesn’t feel good or it hurts, don’t do it. Pushing against discomfort will make you tighten up rather than help you loosen.

• Stand
• Stand & anjali mudra
  Try it and see if it helps as a cue. If uncomfortable for any reason, skip it.
• Stand & shift
• Stand & step
  Do this to help ease discomfort not on top of discomfort. If it doesn’t feel good, sit down. Stand a little wide and sway and pull out tight spots. Step the other leg forward away from the leg with discomfort and sway and pull out tight spots.
• Stand & reach up
  Stand well. Swing your left arm back and up over your head and reach up hard with it. Hold the reach then smoothly relax it. Then smoothly swing your arm back and down. Then do your right arm the same way. Then do both again.
• Reach (up downward dog)
  Reach to the back of a chair or to the kitchen counter. Tilt your torso forward from your hip joints. Rest into the position and focus on letting your back relax. Rise slowly and carefully then repeat the reach once more.
  Compare reaching to the back of the chair with standing and reaching up and decide which you prefer doing first.
• Forward fold supported – palms on chair (supported ardha uttanasana)
  Face the seat of the chair. Tilt forward from your hip joints and place your palms on the seat of the chair.
• Standing squares
  Get comfortable in a forward fold with your palms fully on the seat of the chair and your feet wide and stable. Have your arms straight and your legs as straight as you can. Move smoothly and firmly as far as you can. Imagine a big horizontal square around you at the height of your hips. Shift forward and push your head to the far edge of the square in front of you, as far as you can. Then shift and put your left shoulder into the left corner of the square. Then slide your torso along the left edge of the square and get your butt into the back left corner of the square. Slide your butt along the back edge of the square and get it into the right back corner of the square. Slide your torso along the right edge of the square and get your right shoulder into the front right corner of the square. Do one more outline to your left. Then do two to your right. Then stand up carefully.

• Sit
  Sit in the middle of the seat of the chair. Have your feet square on the floor and your shins vertical. Place your knees at a width where you need no effort in your legs. Rock your pelvis front and back a little and find where the curves of your back feel balanced and good. Have your shoulders over your hips and rest your palms on your thighs. Look straight ahead.
• Exhale
  Take two normal breaths, in and out, any way you want. Then on the third breath after you inhale normally, exhale with focus through your nose just a little more than usual feeling your lower ribs contract as you do so. Then again two normal breaths and a focused a little deeper exhale through your nose. Then one more repeat of the sequence.
• Chair squat × 2
  Keep your gaze straight forward. Bring your feet back a bit to centered under your knees. Tilt your torso forward from your hips and smoothly rise up to standing. Hold at the top and firm your butt. Then smoothly lower back to sitting on the chair. Repeat once more.
• Seated forward fold × 2
  Sit well on the chair with your shins vertical. Tilt your torso forward from your hip joints. Rest your forearms near your elbows on your thighs near your knees. Pull your shoulder blades closer to your butt. Be stable and comfortable. Push your arms firmly onto your thighs, transfer weight, then slowly relax the push. Look at a spot on the floor that helps your neck feel straight and comfortable. Sway your shoulders and back and butt and legs and feel and adjust the pose. Relax into the pose and try to help your right lower back let go. Sit up smoothly, pause, then do it all once again.
• Seated warrior 1 right × 2
  Sit sideways across the front of the chair with your left side toward the back of the chair. Have lots of your left thigh on the chair seat. Be stable and comfortable. Left your right leg drop toward the floor, knee bent, foot relaxed behind. Just rest into it for a bit then bring your right leg up and pause and rest for a moment then let it drop again.

After Work

If you come home sore, give a few minutes to yourself to do something about it.

• Sit
  This is your most familiar pose, and you do it well. Use it. Rock your pelvis front and back a little to find the best way for your back. Get your legs at a width that takes no effort and lets your muscles begin to relax. Sit well for most of a minute.
• Forward fold to chair
  Stand and press your palms on the seat of the chair, then slowly relax the press. Focus on being stable and supported. Let yourself relax and rest in this position for most of a minute.

Evening

• Kneel (vajrasana)
  Get down on the rug gently and kneel. Have your toes close but not touching and your heels pressing beside your sit bones. Have your calves directly under your thighs and put your knees a comfortable width apart. Have your torso tall with your shoulders above your hips. Let your elbows hang straight down and rest your palms on your thighs. Tilt your pelvis front and back a little, feel your pelvis move against your heels and find the position most comfortable for the curves of your back. Look straight ahead in a way that helps you feel your neck straight.
• Rise (toward camel pose, ustrasana) × 2
  Keep your gaze straight ahead. From kneeling, focus and preload your muscles, then rise up on your knees smoothly. Keep your torso upright and engage your butt at the top of the rise. Then sit back down slowly. Work at being smooth: you are training how you use your muscles. Repeat once more.
• Recline supported × 2
  From kneeling lean back and rest your hands on a support behind you. Keep your back straight, not arched, and focus on the pull along your thighs. Be gentle and rest into it rather than pull hard.
• Kneeling lunge × 2 × 2
  Start from kneeling. Put your palms on the rug outside your knees and have your arms straight and stable. Put your left leg back and sit back toward your right heel. Go slow and hold gentle. Then come back up and put your right leg back and sit back toward your left heel and hold gently. Repeat each leg once more then kneel for a bit to relax.
• Puppy or half dog (uttana shishosana)
  Get on all fours, hands and knees, and spread your knees. Slide your arms away from your knees and allow your elbows to sink to the rug and your back to relax and arch down.

• Crossover
  Lay back on the rug. Put the strap around your left thigh just above your knee. Have your right leg straight. Bring your left knee up with your foot on the rug. Slowly and carefully put your left foot toward the rug on the right side of your right knee. Pull very gently on the strap and relax into the pull in your butt. Then do your right leg, then do both again.
• Reclined supported right sartorius extend
  Lay back on the rug with your left side close to but not touching the couch. Bring your knees up and together with your feet a bit wider flat on the rug into the pyramid rest pose. Let your left knee fall open to the left, a bit left of vertical, and rest it on the couch feeling very stable. Let your right knee fall to the left and rest on your left leg. Move your right foot to the right or left to adjust how much you extend your right sartorius muscle. Be gentle. Extend and hold the gentle pull for 12 to 20 seconds. Then bring your right foot left a bit and your right knee up a bit to ease the pull and rest for 10 seconds. Then try extending it again gently for 12 to 20 seconds. That is all. Doing more risks irritating rather than helping.
• Leg rolls × 3 × 2
  Lay back on the rug. Roll your left leg all the way out, then all the way in, roll it firmly as far as you can at the full extent of each roll. Repeat smoothly 3 times. Then do your right leg, then do both again.
• Corpse pose (shavasana)
  Put a pillow under your knees and put your legs straight down along the rug. Start with your legs, have your knees soft and let your legs roll open and relax. Then let your shoulders drop onto the rug. Focus on relaxing your muscles: recall, visualize, and feel my hands helping your muscles release.

Food

If you are not getting these minerals from dark leafy greens, some supplements may help reduce cramps.

Check what you are already taking before buying more.

Calcium works with and needs other minerals to work, and vitamin D-3.

	RDA
Calcium	1,2000 mg
Magnesium	400 mg
Zinc	11 mg
Vitamin D-3	800 IU (20 mcg)

Some nutrients, like the B vitamins, we absorb less well as we age, and if directed to supplement, doctors often suggest more than the recommended daily allowance to compensate for poor absorption. I do not know if for the same reason you may need more of these minerals. For now take close to the RDA and see if they help reduce your cramps. And then ask your doctor when you next see them.

Before bed

Before you go to bed do a little to work out some of your tightness and discomfort.

• Step
  Undo some of the sitting and gently open the front of your hips. Alternate and do each side 2 or 3 times.
• Forward fold supported – hands on seat of chair (supported ardha uttanasana)
  Relax into it, allow some of the tension to leave your back and legs.

Back ache

When your back hurts do some to reduce it tightening up more.

• Forward fold supported – hands on seat of chair (supported ardha uttanasana)
• Reach (up downward dog)
• Pyramid rest

Breathe

Pranayama is a branch of yoga that works on breathing. There are many techniques you can read about but please don’t experiment as some could harm you.

Start by sitting well on a firm chair like one of your dining chairs. Rest your palms on your thighs, knuckles behind your knees. Rock your pelvis a few times and feel yourself move from your root up and loosen your back.

• Closed nostril (nadi shodhana)
  Hold your right palm in front of your mouth and let your elbow relax down. Close your right nostril with your thumb and take 10 to 15 normal breaths. Take a few breaths through both nostrils. Close your left nostril with your index finger and repeat the same number of breaths. Do this when you want, once most days.
• Six breaths
  Lift and expand your chest as much as you can while exhaling. Hold your chest as big as you can (relax your arms) and take 3 normal breaths. Relax slowly and take 3 normal breaths. Repeat. Avoid doing this within a couple of hours before or after eating.
• Arms 6 ways with 2 breaths
• Reclined breathing with arm movement

Sex

It is all of you. Helping your breathing and your big muscles around your pelvis improves your power and pleasure. We can also get at specific muscles with yoga.

• Bulbospongiosus
  This is your root, the root of your cock. It supports your cock up and pumps as you cum. You enjoy this muscle. We can get at it easily. You will learn to feel it.
• Ischiocavernosus
  These muscles are part of your built-in cockring. They come from your sit bones and have an extension that wraps up around above your cock at your pubic bone and holds you hard. They are hard to reach.

Next time

• Stand

• Sit

• Mat