If you’ve avoided yoga for fear of passing gas, rest assured, you are not alone. Watch or listen to learn why farting happens during yoga and what to do about it. đ§đ»ââïžđđ» đŠ·
Prefer a visual experience? Watch here!
Or, listen on your favorite podcast listening app or right here!
Consider subscribing to this website (it’s free) and share it with your dental friends. Helping other dentists live better lives is a great way to give back to the dental community!
Last month I posted a video on the Yoga for Dentists YouTube Channel showing how to do Eagle Pose (a shoulder stretch) during the clinical day, even while wearing PPE!
You can watch it here:
This video received a lot of nice feedback in the private Facebook group, so today I wanted to show you a way to stretch your shoulders in the evening.
Avoid these poses if you have a shoulder injury or consult with your physician before attempting these.
Prone Back and Shoulder Stretch with Yoga Block
Place ayoga block in front of you, place both of your upper arms and elbows on the block, with hands in prayer pose.
Sink into your shoulders and see how that feels.
Eagle Pose Variation
To go into a deeper stretch: Place a yoga block in front of you, place one arm on the block with palm facing up, cross your other arm over near the elbow.
Bend both arms at the elbow and see if you can get the palms of your hands to touch each other. It would really be helpful to review the Eagle Pose video posted above to see this in action.
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In this episode, I answer a question I received by DM from a dentist who is new to yoga. There are so many styles of yoga, which type is best for dentists? Watch this to hear my opinion based on over 20 years of experience. đ§đ»ââïžđđ» đŠ·
Prefer a visual experience? Watch here!
Or, listen on your favorite podcast listening app or right here!
Consider subscribing to this website (it’s free) and share it with your dental friends. Helping other dentists live better lives is a great way to give back to the dental community!
This guided meditation encourages you to ponder what makes you come alive. It also includes a quote from Howard Thurman, in recognition of Black History Month.
Listen on your favorite podcast listening app or listen here!
Consider subscribing to this website (it’s free) and share it with your dental friends. Helping other dentists live better lives is a great way to give back to the dental community!
Our hands, we can’t work without them, and yet, we often don’t pay much attention to them until they hurt! It’s important to remember that our hands go through a lot of repetitive motions in dentistry and in yoga.Â
The wrists bear much of our weight in yoga poses like plank or crow pose. If our wrists are weak or tight, any form of weight-bearing exercise or even hand use in lifeâs daily tasks can lead to wrist pain.
Therefore, taking proper care of your wrists to avoid an injury is extra important â not just for your yoga practice, but for all aspects of your life.
So today, I offer this simple wrist, palm and finger stretch that you can do in between patients with or without your PPE (take your gloves off though, duh).
From a standing position, extend your arm straight out in front of you and place the palm of your hand flat on the wall making sure to press your metacarpal pads into the wall.Â
With your free hand, very gently pull your fingers back until you feel a stretch.Â
Breathe into the pose by inhaling and imagining the breath traveling through your nose, down your arm into your wrist, palm and fingers
Hold for 20-30 seconds.Â
Repeat with the other hand.
This may feel more like a finger stretch but remember, your wrist is flexed here which is the counterpose to how your wrists are typically positioned while practicing dentistry. So you end up receiving a nice stretch to the hand.
Let me see your Hand Yoga by tagging me on Instagram @yogafordentist or posting in our private Facebook Group – Yoga for Dentists!
Consider subscribing to this website (it’s free) and share it with your dental friends. Helping other dentists live better lives is a great way to give back to the dental community!
Goddess pose (also known as fiery angle pose) heats the body and increases circulation, while also toning the calves, quadriceps, inner thighs and core, as well as the shoulders, arms and upper back. This pose also stretches the hips, groins and chest after a long day of practicing dentistry. Goddess pose also happens to be a nice pose to do during pregnancy as it can help to prepare the body for childbirth by creating spaciousness in the pelvis.
You can certainly do this while at work (might be tricky if wearing heels or slippery dress shoes) otherwise, it’s a great post work pose!
Steps to Goddess Pose
Facing the long edge of your yoga mat, step your feet approximately 3 feet apart (those with longer legs should take a slightly wider stance). Keep your feet parallel. I usually tell students to extend their arms out to the side and flex the hands so that fingers are pointing down. Then roughly align your ankles with your wrists and see how that stance feels. Adjust your stance as needed after you attempt the pose.
With hands on your hips, turn your toes out and your heels in, so your feet are pointed out at about a 45-degree angle.
On an exhale, bend your knees in the same direction as your toes, and lower your hips down toward the height of your knees. The knees have a tendency to bow inwards as they bend, so ensure that your knees are pointing in the same direction as your toes to help protect your joints. If necessary, adjust the placement of your feet.
Extend your arms out at shoulder height and bend your elbows to 90 degrees with your palms facing away from you. Spread your fingers wide and draw your shoulder blades into your back.Â
Engage your core muscles and draw your tailbone toward the floor. Keep your spine long and your shoulders stacked over your hips.
Press down evenly through the soles of both feet and remain in the pose for up to 5 deep breaths.
To come out of the pose, extend your legs, lower your arms and step your feet together.
If having the arms up is too much today, place your hands together at the heart center to ease up on your shoulders or upper back.
Add a Twist
Place palms on thighs and twist at your waist so you can bring your shoulder forward for a nice torso and shoulder stretch. Donât forget to do the other side.
Let me see your Goddess Pose by tagging me on Instagram @yogafordentist or posting in our private Facebook Group – Yoga for Dentists!
Consider subscribing to this website (it’s free) and share it with your dental friends. Helping other dentists live better lives is a great way to give back to the dental community!
Yep, I had COVID. In this episode, I share my experience, my family’s experience, some thoughts on the vaccine and what really matters most, not just to me, but to you too (based on your responses to my prompt).
Consider subscribing to this website (it’s free) and share it with your dental friends. Helping other dentists live better lives is a great way to give back to the dental community!
Balancing Table Pose pairs movement with stretching to help warm and strengthen the abdomen and lower back while working on your sense of balance. It also brings flexibility to the spine, shoulders, and hips, while gently stretching the torso. The challenge to your balance also helps to improve focus, coordination, and overall physical equilibrium. And coordinating the movements with your breath helps relieve stress, fatigue, and tension.Â
Important Considerations for Balancing Table Pose
Do not practice this pose if you have a recent or chronic injury to the knees, back, arms, wrists, or shoulders. Always work within your own range of limits and abilities. If you have any medical concerns, talk with your doctor before attempting any yoga poses.
Start in Table Top Position
Begin on your hands and knees, with your hands directly under your shoulders and your knees directly under your hips (this is called Table Pose). Un-tuck your toes so the tops of your feet are pressing against the floor. The fold of your wrists should be parallel to the top edge of your mat.
Gaze at a point between both of your palms or just in front of your hands, which ever feels more comfortable on your neck. Do your best to elongate your neck.
Balancing Table Pose
Draw your belly button toward your spine and avoid arching your back. Then, extend your right leg behind you. Tuck your toes and keep them resting on the mat. Press back through the ball of your foot to lengthen your leg. Keep your spine neutral.
With your abdominal muscles engaged, extend your left arm forward to shoulder-height, and reach through your fingertips. At the same time, lift your leg off the floor, a few inches or all the way to hip-level. Do not lift your leg higher than shoulder-level.
Hold and breathe for a count of three.
Exhale and release back to Table Pose, on both hands and knees.
Repeat on the other side, extending your left leg and right arm. Hold for the same amount of time, then release back to Table Pose. This is one round.
Complete 5-10 rounds, then rest in Childâs Pose.
Modifications & Variations
Balancing Table Pose is a great core-strengthening yoga pose. There should be very little discomfort and no pain when practiced. To find a variation of the pose that may better work for you, try one of these modifications or variations:
If your knee caps hurt, fold your mat or place a yoga blanket under your knees.
For a greater balance challenge â reach your extended arm and leg out to the side instead of forward and back.
Tips
Practicing Balancing Table Pose can help to warm your body and prepare it for a deeper yoga practice. Keep the following information in mind when practicing this sequence:
Keep your spine in a neutral position throughout the repetitions: Do not let your belly drop, as this can over-arch your lower back and cause back strain or injury.
Keep your gaze at a spot between your palms: Looking forward can crunch your neck, causing tension, pain, and possible injury.
Your shoulder blades should be broad: Your shoulders should be drawn away from your ears. Keep your collar bones broad, as well. This helps to protect your neck, while also increasing flexibility and strength in your shoulders and chest.
Be aware of your breath and its coordination with your movements: Breathe smoothly and evenly throughout the practice.
Let me see your Balancing Table Pose by tagging me on Instagram @yogafordentist or posting in our private Facebook Group – Yoga for Dentists!
Consider subscribing to this website (it’s free) and share it with your dental friends. Helping other dentists live better lives is a great way to give back to the dental community!
Eka Pada Apanasana (one-legged, knee-to-chest pose) and Apanasana (both legs, wind-relieving pose – see the next post in my feed) help relax the lower back. These poses lengthen the erector spinae, gluteus maximus and hamstring muscles. They also relieve stiffness and/or pain due to vertebral compression, misalignment or spasm of the low back.
One-legged, Knee-to-chest Pose
(Eka Pada Apanasana)
Lie on your back with your palms down and legs extended.
On an exhale, bend one of your legs and draw it toward your chest, holding your shin just below your knee. If you have knee problems, hold the back of your thigh instead of shin.
With your other leg extended, flex your ankle so that your toes point up towards the ceiling.
Stay in the posture for six to eight breaths.
Repeat the steps with your other leg.
Go Deeper
If youâd like to explore going deeper, roll your shoulders off the ground so that your head approximates the bent knee.
Stay for a few breaths and then release.
Repeat the steps with your other leg.
Important Considerations for Eka Pada Apanasana
This pose should be done in a relaxed, easy way, as though the movement of your breath is directing the movement of your legs toward and away from you.
Remember, this pose isn’t an arm exercise, so just gently hold your leg and breathe into your lower back, and relax.
If keeping your extended leg flexed is too difficult, bend that leg and keep that foot flat on the floor.
Have patience. Donât force anything. Itâs about the journey not the destination.Â
Wind-relieving Pose
Once you feel some relief in your back from the Eka Pada Apanasana (one-legged pose), explore Apanasana (wind-relieving pose). For those who can comfortably do apanasana, it’s a gentle way to bring movement to the lower back, reducing chronic tension.Â
Draw your knees up towards your chest and clasp your shins with your hands.
If this bothers your knees, place your hands under your thighs and draw your knees towards your chest.
The sacrum should just begin to curl away from the floor toward the end of the exhale.
If the lower back is pulling up away from the floor, you are pulling your legs too far in.
Stay for a few breaths and then release.
Go Deeper
If youâd like to explore going deeper, roll your shoulders off the ground so that your head approximates your knees.
Stay for a few breaths and then release.
Important Considerations for Apanasana
Only bring the knees in as far as comfortable with the sacrum just beginning to curl away from the floor.
There should be no strain in this posture. If this pose is too uncomfortable just bring your legs close enough to put your hands on your knees or stick with the one-legged version of the pose.
During pregnancy, or for students with a larger midsection or who experience discomfort in the inguinal region (the space between the top of the thigh and pelvis), bring the legs wider, keeping knees and feet about the same distance apart.
Let me see your Apanasana by tagging me on Instagram @yogafordentist or posting in our private Facebook Group – Yoga for Dentists!
Consider subscribing to this website (it’s free) and share it with your dental friends. Helping other dentists live better lives is a great way to give back to the dental community!
My experience with COVID-19 has been mild compared to my husbandâs (who has been in the hospital for 7 days already – pray for him).
My experience includes intense fatigue. I can barely manage to walk around my house, let alone do yoga. But I miss how good yoga feels. So Iâm choosing to do what I call âquietâ poses right now. Poses that allow me to blend restorative poses with yin principles – holding a pose longer for a deeper, connective tissue stretch.
Pictured above is one of those âquietâ poses. It offers a nice upper back (trapezius and rhomboids) stretch along with a posterior shoulder stretch.
Simply cross your arms in front of you as you lay prone and support your head with a yoga block. The head support allowed me to stay longer and breathe purposefully into my back – which was helpful for keeping my lungs âexercisedâ during the lung inflammation caused by coronavirus.
If you donât have a yoga block, you can use a firm pillow or amazon box. If youâre like me, you have a ton of those laying around.
Hereâs to me and my husband beating Covid!
Let me see your “Quiet” Pose by tagging me on Instagram @yogafordentist or posting in our private Facebook Group – Yoga for Dentists!
Consider subscribing to this website (it’s free) and share it with your dental friends. Helping other dentists live better lives is a great way to give back to the dental community!
Yoga for Dentists 