We need to develop a relationship with gravity in such a way that we feel stable and comfortable. We spend so much time in our heads connected to our tech devices and then feel surprised when our body aches when we finally stand up. Taking a few quiet moments to connect to your body in relationship to gravity can refresh the body and clear the mind.

Try this experiment: Come to standing (or if sitting, place feet on the floor). Even better, go outside in your bare feet. Bring your awareness to all the places where you’re feet are connecting to the floor or the Earth. … All ten toes, the balls of your feet, the heels, the spaces not touching…. notice if your knees are locked. or if your shoulders are lifted trying to hold you up. Let them soften; no need to resist gravity here.. Bring you hips, shoulders and ears in alignment with your ankles. Feel how gravity is gently drawing you towards the center of the earth as the crown of your head lengthens towards the sky. We root downwards to rise up. Now, bring your awareness to your skin, what sensations do you notice? The texture of your clothing, maybe a breeze or warmth, coolness on your face? What sounds do you notice? Any scents or tastes filling your senses? Be with whatever sensations are present for a few minutes.

Where is your mind now? When we’re grounded, we return to the present moment. This is embodied awareness where we have access to a wealth of inner resources to support our daily life on and off the mat. We can take a few minutes to ground throughout our day; there’s so much benefit in this!

Admittedly, this is one of the most unusal things in Alignment Yoga, but it makes so much sense once you learn about this fundamental. We’re talking about relaxing the roof of your mouth where four bony plates come together like a tennis court and form the base of your skull. We hold a lot of tension there.

Try this experiment: Let your lower jaw unhinge. Now, imagine your upper back molars broadening out to the horizon, and with each exhale, they spread further out like water. Perhaps you can sense the air moving down the back of your throat. Notice your shoulders; perhaps there’s a little more ease and space there, or in your neck, upper back.

Explore this one step further….

As you trace your inhale downward, follow it all the way down the spine to your tailbone. Imagine your tailbone uncurling, fully relaxing. You might imagine a long tail like a fox tail rolling out long.

What makes this a beneficial habit?
By both relaxing the roof of your mouth and letting the tailbone untuck and be relaxed, the whole spine relaxes; tension in the neck, upper and lower back can be released. AHHHhhh…
Win-Win!

More often than we may realize, we tend to hold our breath as if waiting for the other shoe to drop; our exhales can be fairly shallow. This may be due to chronic stress, trauma, maybe we’re excited or anxious about a future event. Even if we’re excited about something wonderful happening, it can be stressful. This might show up as difficulty getting to sleep, poor digestion, joint inflammation, neck and shoulder tension, headaches…We need to restore our exhale and let it roll out to it’s naturally long length.

Try this experiment: Observe your breathing or the movement of your ribs. Is your inhale shorter, longer or the same as your exhale? If it’s shorter or the same, explore relaxing 2% more as you exhale. Let the inhale arise naturally. You might even notice a pause at the end of your exhale before the inhale arises. What’s it like to allow yourself to let the exhale go to it’s natural conclusion? If this is difficult or you’d like to take a relaxing break in a crazy day, you can effortlessly deepen your exhale by lying down on the floor or your bed and put your legs up over the couch or up the wall. Maybe even elevate your hips with a pillow or blanket. Try this for a few minutes and notice any changes in your experience.

Just to note, that the body in it’s infinite wisdom knows how to breathe. There are perfectly good reasons and situations when the inhale will be longer. For normal circumstances when you’re just chilling, there’s generally a default towards a relaxed exhale.