Are you nervous? Ashtanga yoga cleanses the nervous system

Bow to who you are becoming... (Balasana, image © Yoga Robin®)Are you nervous? Many people do yoga to increase strength and flexibility, to lower stress and to gain mental and spiritual clarity. Those are great reasons. After a yoga practice, no matter which style (e.g., Ashtanga, Iyengar, etc.) you'll undoubtedly be left with an overall feeling of peacefulness that tops the way you felt before you moved your body.

uplift mood, lower stress

Physical exercise in general helps to uplift the mood and lower stress levels; in particular, it diminishes Cortisol, the stress hormone. Ashtanga yoga has an added benefit: nervous system cleansing.

This is especially true in the Ashtanga Intermediate Series, Nadi Shodhana (2nd series), and that is its main purpose. This goes back over 5,000 years. When practiced regularly (5-6 days per week), the "cleansing" of the nervous system can be felt in various ways and many are *not* enjoyable.

nervous system cleanse kicks your ass

It wasn't until after practicing Mysore-style Ashtanga six mornings per week (specifically, half of the Primary Series, full intermediate, and beginning of advance A—takes 2-2 1/2 hours) for approximately nine months that I was able to discuss the nervous system cleanse in a positive light. That is putting it lightly.

It can feel like overall fatigue. All. Day. Long. It can feel like anxiety, over-sensitivity to lights and sounds, depression, obsession, needs to be in solitude, drinking more wine, yet a pervading fearlessness that overrides it all... It can feel overly emotional. It can take over your life and force you to make some big lifestyle changes, like adding an afternoon nap, going to sleep earlier, eating more protein, taking more epsom baths, wondering what is wrong with your life, questioning love, feeling safest while hanging out with your cats, etc. But why do it if it causes so much upheaval to the system?

because it works

Because it works... I like to see the nervous system cleansing as I would any other type of cleanse where you're taking away habits that may be contributing to harm in your body. Whether this be detoxing from sugar, caffeine, or all food in general to clear out the intestines, a cleanse does not necessarily feel good while you're in the process of it. The idea is to rid your body of toxins; on their way out, you feel them full force as they rise to the surface, so to speak.

This is all a great way for me to understand the nervous system cleanses. I was feeling toxins in my nervous system and I was boldly letting them play themselves out, knowing that if they didn't, they would continue to control me from underneath it all. In this case, they were involuntary processes driving me, also affecting me physiologically, and were of a higher intelligence in the mind-body.

It all makes sense. The nervous system directs complex processes (seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling, responding). It regulates the internal environment and links to external environment. It directs the organs in the body so that they don’t act independently of each other; without a nervous system, there’d be chaos inside.

wants to feel that again

When the autonomic nervous system's sympathetic is out of balance, and escalated (fight-or-flight), your body reacts as if it needs to protect itself... your heart beats faster, your body temperature increases, you feel anxious, you feel like a victim, you are triggered by even small incidences (as your nervous system remembers and wants to feel *that* again).

I describe this as an electric feeling that will *not* go away no matter what I do to try to soothe it. It was probably even accompanied by a scared look on my face—or in my aura—that even animals would stay away from me.

Calming this side down illuminates the parasympathetic, bringing calm to your body, heart and soul. Here you can breathe calmly again and the electrical impulses are replaced with a softly-flowing river of prana, bathing you with each breath. Your muscles relax, your mind stops overthinking, you actually are relaxed.

I believe that the nervous system is smarter than the mind. Yet, its direct connection to the mind dissolves the protective boundary as it's easily triggered, vulnerable to the mind's overthinking and worry. A main purpose of yoga in general is complete cessation of the mind, as the thinking mind is what creates suffering.

i've been rewired

I'm different now. Subtleties such as no longer becoming easily startled by spontaneous sounds make me smile when I notice this new involuntary response of calm. The biggest change is an overall lack of emotional triggers that have historically affected me deeply, physically but also unconsciously; those natural responses—harmful ones—have dissolved. That's my reason in a nutshell for waking up each morning at 5:00 a.m. to return again to my mat.

Now I'm able to go to the next level, which used to be more of an act of will power or something that only worked for other people. The best way to feel your spirit and know—without a doubt—your next move in life is to first get STILL. This means, calming the nervous system first so that you can see the magic. Ashtanga Yoga works for me and essential oils are a big help too (next topic :)

Namaste.

~ Robin Ellen Lucas, MA

What is your intention? Open yourself up to find your gems held inside

Image © Yoga Robin® (Markatasana, Twisted Monkey pose)"Too often our outer posture is not representing our inner posture, our external behavior isn't matching what we're thinking or feeling, and that conflict drains us. Explore bringing consistency to both your inward stance and your outer posture." ~Elena Brower

What is your intention? You start your class or day with an interesting idea that moves you, or a more serious intent to change a behavior, and then what? Do you tuck it away in your heart? Yoga twists and heart-opening backbends unleash what's within you, allowing the Prana to circulate as you move your body. Before the words even articulate themselves, you know what they are. Often times it's in the silence.

Namaste.

~ Robin Ellen Lucas, MA

Shoulder opening and alignment is key in balancing postures

Image © Yoga Robin® (Scorpion)Using my new favorite yoga toy, the "Infinity strap" to keep my shoulders from flailing out too much (a little stretchy).

Arms should be parallel to each other. My shoulder rotation makes this a tough one. Also, in order to get my feet to my head, my cervical spine and lumbar spine both need to bend more. Balancing is easier on this pose with the head and feet offering the balancing weights.

Pincha Mayurasana is more challenging for me.

For both poses, shoulder alignment is important but for Pincha Mayurasana it's the foundation to also aligning the hips over the shoulders, tucking the rib cage in (not sticking out), which in turn elongates the legs upward. Then balancing is simple and comfortable (no nerve pinching in shoulders).

Of course, shoulder muscles are activated as these are strength poses, but if the bones are not aligned correctly, the right muscles are not able to fire, giving room for other muscles to overcompensate. This causes injury (especially with repetition), in particular to the rotator cuff—subscapularis, supraspinatus.

Namaste.

~ Robin Ellen Lucas, MA

Image © Yoga Robin® (Pincha Mayurasana)

Let yoga give to you: Remove your veil

Image © Yoga Robin® (Vrksasana, Tree Pose)

Grow like a tree even if your leaves fall off as the seasons change, and flower buds wait for their time to bloom. Be like nature ebbing and flowing.

Yoga sutra 1.22 says that as much as you give to your yoga practice, it will give back to you by removing the veil. Remove your veil. Grow.

Namaste.

~ Robin Ellen Lucas, MA

Sometimes the wall offers added security while learning

Image © Yoga Robin®

Sometimes the wall helps. My favorite prop.

When you want to get deeper and don't have a teacher to help you, or you are seeking some security, the wall can be a solace.

However, if you use it as a crutch (for too long), it will hold you back from experiencing your true potential. I like the wall in this half handstand pose for shoulder strengthening, and energy in legs pressed against the weight of the wall.

Namaste.

~ Robin Ellen Lucas, MA

Find your strength by uncovering fear

Galavasana (Image © Yoga Robin®)When you're trying to find the strength, sometimes it can be found in what would seem to be indirect places.

Expressing emotions unlocks secrets. Voices speak from within the subtle body. What you hear might not be easy to deal with, but move your body around anyway and hear it. Unclog your heart.

Don't build a shell around you or act out from that hidden source covered with fear. Embrace uncertainty.

Namaste.

~ Robin Ellen Lucas, MA

Deep relaxation in Savasana

Savasana (Image © Yoga Robin®)Savasana is one of my favorite poses. Why? Not because it's a simple relaxation...

It depicts the end of a vibrant and soulful yoga practice preceding it. It's the most spiritual aspect of my yoga practice sometimes, as I assimilate the meditative state I uncovered preceding it with breathing, movement, Samskaras burning and spiritual insight. 

Namaste.

~ Robin Ellen Lucas, MA

Deep twists wring out toxins

Dragonfly (Image © Yoga Robin®)This deep twist helps to wring out toxins. It also helps to give myself a beneficial self-chiropractic adjustment to my entire back, shoulders, hips, and more.

I often thank my Ashtanga yoga practice for the gifts it's given me. This yoga pose isn't quite part of my Ashtanga practice (and probably never will be as the full pose is in the 4th series, which I don't believe is in my grasp.) In the full pose, the bent leg is behind the head rather than balancing on the back of the tricep on the arm.

Thank you. I love doing this pose whenever I can, outside of my Ashtanga yoga practice. (Dragonfly, Parsva Bhuja Dandasana—a variation).

Namaste.

~ Robin Ellen Lucas, MA

Calm the nervous system with this yoga pose

Halasana (Image © Yoga Robin®)

Perfect pose for a rainy day. Calming to the nervous system while stimulating abdominal organs and thyroid. It feels great on spine and back. The spine elongated, ligaments stretch.

I love this pose and could remain here for a long time. (Halasana pose).

I always follow this one by bending my knees around ears for an extended relaxation. (Karna Pidasana pose).

It's a great pose for winding down or for destressing. It happens to be part of the Ashtanga Yoga closing sequence. 

Sitting in a chair all day is bad for you

Ardha Matsyendrasana (Image © Yoga Robin®)

Don't sit at desk all day

It's important to take a break while working at your desk. Sitting in a chair all day is not good for you. Even for a few hours it takes a toll on your cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. It leads to muscle degeneration, organ damage, lymphatic blockage, psoas contraction, circulatory issues in legs, etc. I personally add psychological craziness to the list.

I do quick yoga breaks often in my office, in particular to keep my spine elongated and shoulders open. I practice Ashtanga yoga every morning so it's a matter of reopening what was already open earlier in the day. If I let all of my hard work succumb to the computer, I feel a combination of carpal tunnel syndrome and skeletal misalignment in my upper back.

Getting into alignment in my yoga practice each morning is such a precious thing! Keeping it is my daily at-home or at-office practice.

Namaste.

Backbends are a sure thing for unleashing prana

Natarajasana B (Image © Yoga Robin®)This pose feels so good with the strap. The Ashtanga way is to hold the toes, no strap (and for me, this means that all of my energy goes toward not dropping the foot, or even getting it). My favorite Iyengar teacher instructs this one with a strap.

It is a wonderful shoulder opener (euphoric) and doing it this way I'm feeling the Prana in my shoulders, entire back, up and down legs. I'm even smiling. Using resistance against the strap (foot and shoulders higher up) feels even better. I forget I'm even balancing. My favorite backbend...

Backbends are a sure thing for unleashing all kinds of emotional holding. For me, it's a guarantee and always leaves me happier. Some people experience fear and sadness in backbends (and I'm also one of them) as these feelings hide inside a broken heart or cold heart that doesn't feel much...but can't help but rise to the surface in backbends. Getting the energy to express itself is a wonderful way to release it.

Namaste.

Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (Image © Yoga Robin®)

Cardiovascular System, Blood

Healing the Total Body: Where Western Anatomy Meets Eastern Spiritual Science

Healing Series, part 10

Read on for more details...

Digestive System, nutrition and metabolism

Healing the Total Body: Where Western Anatomy Meets Eastern Spiritual Science

Healing Series, part 9

Read on for more details...

Nervous System, Focus, Acupuncture, and Herbs

Healing the Total Body: Where Western Anatomy Meets Eastern Spiritual Science

Healing Series, part 8

Read on for more details...

Lymphatic System, Immune System and Creativity

Healing the Total Body: Where Western Anatomy Meets Eastern Spiritual Science

Healing Series, part 7

Read on for more details...

Respiratory System, Breathing and Meditation

Healing the Total Body: Where Western Anatomy Meets Eastern Spiritual Science

Healing Series, part 6

Read on for more details...

Endocrine System, Aging and Spine Health

Healing the Total Body: Where Western Anatomy Meets Eastern Spiritual 

Healing Series, part 5 

Read on for more details...

Integumentary System, Energy and Ego

Healing the Total Body: Where Western Anatomy Meets Eastern Spiritual Science

Healing Series, part 4



Stoke internal fire

With the bones aligned, the muscles supporting me, the next area of focus becomes energy I have within me to sustain my yoga practice day after day, followed by a healthy lifestyle throughout the day. In the end, my goal is vitality, not pain and exhaustion.

Pattabhi Jois says that the heat (tapas) will burn out all impurities, burning away Samskaras, patterns of conditioned behavior, spiritually, emotionally and physically.

Breath and bandhas 

Long even breathing is necessary to get the internal fire stoked from lower abdomen, up the Sushumna, to the rib cage. Adding to that is focused attention on the bandhas—the internal locks in the pelvic floor, lower abdomen and throat—which create the firm focus necessary to calm the Nervous System.

This calming is necessary in order to create the intended liveliness of the daily Mysore yoga practice. Mula bandha is an internal muscle engagement around the perineum, uddiyana bandha is at the lower abdomen and jalandhara bandha is at the chin while back of neck is lengthened. Each is intended to seal in subtle energy and tone muscles.

Burn out impurities 

Does this internal burning and holding undoubtedly lead to a more energetic life? Start with heat. Sweat can be one physiological reaction to indicate that the body is heated. Sweat is part of the Integumentary System, composed of the skin, hair, nails and other related glands.

Our skin is our biggest organ and is a self-repairing, protective boundary between the body and the external environment. The epidermis is the thin outer layer. The dermis is the second layer, which contains blood vessels, sensory receptors, fat cells and sweat glands—eccrine and apocrine. Eccrine sweat glands produce watery sweat that is important for maintaining temperature regulation and for excreting small amounts of sodium chloride from the body. Apocrine sweat glands produce the cloudy, white substance in which bacteria grow.

Sweat it out with clarity

In Mysore Ashtanga yoga it’s common respect to shower each morning before practice. This is for spiritual reasons, and is the first niyama of the Ashtanga Eight Limbs of Yoga, Saucha, standing for inner and outer cleanliness. Some yoga lineages force heat in the room and require lots of water drinking beforehand and during to induce sweat during class which clears out toxins through the skin. Mysore Ashtanga yoga is performed in a warmed room, but drinking water beforehand or during is frowned upon.

Your body's natural temperature control

The idea is that your own body heat should be an internal self-gauge of your physical asana and vinyasa intensity. Drinking water is meant for the evening before and following practice, to keep the body flushed, and aids in Saucha.

A healthy Ashtangi will sweat during his/her yoga practice, mainly activating the eccrine sweat glands for temperature control.

Electrolyte balance

There are mornings during practice—since I insist on drinking a small cup of coffee first (a diuretic)—that I am still dehydrated or lacking in electrolytes, which I persevere through because to me coffee is worth t. I get head rushes, a brief fall in blood pressure.

Balance your pH

Electrolytes are part of the body’s balance of fluids and pH; the body is selective with elimination in order to remain in balance but when a depletion occurs, the effects are felt immediately. Coconut water is a natural electrolyte that I consider drinking before class.

There is a spiritual component to the light-headedness though. It makes it easier to see the spirit (my observation), if I pace myself accordingly.

Health benefits of turmeric

Part of my energy-sustaining lifestyle is the consumption of Eastern herbs—turmeric, for one. I only drink one cup of coffee—my only caffeine for the day—in the morning. Ginger gives me an energetic boost later in the day. Turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-depressant and improves brain & heart function; it is even known as a means of cancer prevention as it’s been proven to reduce angiogenesis (growth of new blood vessels in tumors), metastasis (spread of cancer) and contributes to the death of cancer cells. With all of these benefits, I crave it over another cup of coffee; in fact, with my yoga practice, I don’t crave the extra caffeine high at all because I’m already there.

However, on the subject of skin, daily consumption of turmeric did cause itchy skin at first. I wondered if this was the effect of toxins secreting through the skin, as I began to drink more as I practiced daily Mysore. I began to include tea tree oil in my shampoos and soaps to soothe my skin. Since I’m all about getting toxins out, this practice felt beneficial, despite the minor irritation. With my daily epsom salt baths, this is not as much of an issue.

The itchiness went away, however, after a month or so. This is a good indication that the turmeric did a diligent job of ridding my system of a toxin, and some of its process was through the pores in my skin.

Best kept secret: Mysore Ashtanga yoga

I keep coming back to Mysore Ashtanga yoga and can’t imagine not. It’s like a secret people don’t know about because they are scared to try it, or once they do, they quit when it brings up anything strange inside them, often pain of the body or ego.

Ashtanga forces you to face your weakness

I have found that the secret blessings arise after you get over the challenging hump, one which is not easy to get over. I often had fantasies of quitting Ashtanga or my current teacher so that I could take up my practice with a new Mysore teacher (as if that would conceal my weakness).

I read of various stories and reasons why ex-Ashtangis couldn’t handle it (along with harsh remarks); I've heard stories from my own teacher too. From my perception, it would appear that when darkness or psychological patterns and controls arise, it’s human nature to halt the process and to justify why with the utmost of intensity.

Perseverance and consistency tames the ego

I feel very personally powerful that my physical and mental strengths ensue so that I get the unbelievable chance to invite this type of daily practice and energy healing into my life, the key to its depth and benefit being consistency! If I gave up, I'd never have evolved past where I'd been and I'd never be writing this. It's easy to never get to this challenging spot in other yoga classes, especially fast-paced vinyasa, because I stick with what I'm good at, giving my body the chance to keep performing where it's used to being the best.

The benefits of this practice are beyond working hard, resting well and feeling great; it forces me to look at my whole Self, not just physical abilities. The main pressure I experience is that which I put on myself. It’s mainly to tame my ego!

Break down the ego

The psychological Ego needs to perform and be judged. The Mysore practice mirrors back everything that I don’t want to see and am uncomfortable with, so I will indeed feel negativity from onlookers, my teacher or myself when not performing optimally if I’m coming from the psychological ego; and from there, my body will clench up or I’ll get injured while high on performing rather than spirit.

Psychological ego creates injury

With continual practice, this ego melts. For example, when I’m physically challenged—up against a wall (an impasse)—day in and day out, my mind gets frustrated and wants so much to do it right. But at that point, the energy holding the body part needs to relax.

The only way for it to happen is to ignore the ego—for me, that means choosing apathy (surrender). This can sometimes break down decades of holding patterns in the shoulders, hips, spine and sacrum. I’m living proof that it’s possible.

Spiritual ego is reflection

The spiritual Ego (from Advaita Vedanta) carries the misinterpreted reflections of the mind when it is not clear and peaceful. Imagine 3 buckets of water: one muddy, one stirred up, one still and clear. The sun is shining in all 3 buckets equally. Reflection in the first is dim and dull, in the second is agitated, and in the third is peaceful. Sun = Self, water = mind, reflection = ego. My true self is a constant that is independent of how my mind is acting. If I reflect muddy water with my ego, I feel depression; if I reflect agitation, I feel I’m breaking apart; If I reflect stillness, I feel at peaceful oneness with my self.

Three basic parts of the spirituality are the tri-gunas (subtle components): Sattva, Raja and Tama. The answer to feeling the Sattva (purity of the mind) is to calm the Rajas (activity, motion, irritation in mind) and Tamas (inert dullness in the mind).

I have learned to welcome the sound of my breath to do its magic with the ego, especially to find the Sattvic state. In my practice, I am now able to witness the story change from loud to diminished, while dormant energies in my body rise and take its place—some dark, some light. I never know the level I will go to until I’m there. After that I find my spiritual power that hides (sometimes once I return home, sometimes days later). I’m there for a reason though because I know there is a piece inside me that needs to rise to the surface.

Find your truth

As eloquently put in the Bhagavad Gita, yoga

"compares a thought to a seed: [it's] very tiny, but it can grow into a huge, deep-rooted, wide-spreading tree… a seed in a crack in pavement [can grow] into a tree that [tears] up the sidewalk. [It's] difficult to remove such a tree, difficult to undo the effects of a lifetime of negative thinking… but it can be done.”

Undo the effects of negative thinking

My yoga practice has been showing me how, and it’s not because I am focusing on the seed. It happens unconsciously, which is the only way for me—I’ve learned that my own conscious will is too stubborn.

According to Gurdjieff,

"the truth can be approached only if all the parts that make up the human being—the thought, the feeling and the body—are touched with the same force and in the particular way appropriate to each of them. Without an effective understanding of this principle, there will be a mechanical repetition of forms of effort that never go beyond a quite ordinary level.” (Source: The Reality of Being: The Fourth Way of Gurdjieff)

Something to contemplate...

Muscular System and Love

Healing the Total Body: Where Western Anatomy Meets Eastern Spiritual Science

Healing Series, part 3



Listen to your heart

Where am I? I sometimes wonder. My heart is the biggest part of my yoga practice. It’s the biggest part of my life, in fact. My physical anatomical heart is affected too. My heightened emotional state increases my heart rate. My yoga helps me reframe my love for myself and others, reversing bad mental, emotional and spiritual habits.

Voices in the subtle body

By moving the secrets I hide in body parts, voices arise spoken through my subtle body. What I hear is not always easy to deal with. I do yoga anyway because I know it’s my path. Whatever I do to open my heart, allowing my heart’s wisdom to speak, is helpful for me.

When it gets too hard and I close up, what stops me from wanting to connect with my heart? I know that to feel the wounds is to release them. Carl G. Jung describes that the,

“Dark night of the Soul sounds like a threatening and much to be avoided experience. There is no coming to consciousness without pain. People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own soul. One becomes enlightened by making the darkness conscious.”

Creative heart is not a guilty pleasure

Dreams and visualizations come from the open heart space, not a closed place of resistance and internal rebellion. My creative heart is not a guilty pleasure; it is the answer.

The chakra system describes my subtle body: Shoulders are the 4th chakra (Heart Chakra of love), the hips are the 2nd chakra (Sacral Chakra of creativity). My practice is my teacher.

Emotions unlock secrets

Where emotional patterns turn to physical pain and then leave (samskaras burning), I am harnessing this heart pain too—the door to healing. To sit dormant with the anger is only "acting out." Sometimes I keep my composure during my practice and other times I'm emotionally and physically weak.

"Anger is the deepest form of care for another... Stripped of physical imprisonment, anger points toward the purest form of compassion, always illuminates what we belong to, what we wish to protect, and what we are willing to hazard ourselves for." ~David Whyte,

Fearlessly release secrets

This all happens spontaneously because I fearlessly move the body parts that protect my secret, and my breathing circulates it all. Toxins are included with spiritual truths, and they all voice themselves inside me until I break apart. The voice given in this spiritual place I go to is the truth.

When I really feel my emotional heart, my Nervous System relaxes, my subtle body energetically softens and the door to bring love to me opens. Whereas in my “escape”, (fantasy, snide humor, psychological analysis, etc.), I am in denial. Why escape?

Embrace uncertainty

Sometimes paying too much attention to balancing the emotional heart by soothing discomfort should instead be felt as raw emotion for a release. Paying better attention to what the discomfort is saying allows me to learn the important messages about letting go.

Muscle fatigue

With all of this yoga and attention to the emotional heart, next comes muscular pain. It’s an indication of muscle-building, comes up in the form of fatigue, and occurs where we need it most sometimes. I invite the Muscular System into my focus, mainly the voluntary muscles—the ones which contract when stimulated by neurons when I consciously use them to move my leg, arm, etc. and relax by being passive; they are known as the skeletal muscles. I’m also working my involuntary muscles—the ones which work in the walls of the intestines, blood vessels, heart (but I’ll get into this later).

Muscles inflamed with repetition

When I learn a new yoga pose and repeat it daily, this new repetition of certain skeletal muscles are in pain, tightened, and in great need of care. I get monthly deep tissue massages to stabilize the muscle tissue structure—muscle cells separated and wrapped in layers of connective tissue, enclosed in fascia, connected to the bones with tendons.

Muscles contract when I use them, but my feat is to relax them completely after using them so that their contracted state doesn’t build up creating a knot, and touching nerves that trigger unnecessary (and imbalanced) compensations with other muscles. Much of this is reversed and calmed into a stable state after massage.

Fatigued muscles lack oxygen

Why does muscle-building cause fatigue? Healthy muscles (called "red muscles”) have a reserve oxygen supply, permitting them to contract and relax repeatedly while maintaining cellular respiration which resists muscle fatigue. The myosin protein in muscles causes contraction and relaxation acting as enzymes, which break down ATP molecules (adenosine triphosphate). ATP provides energy so we want to keep an ample supply in our muscles. When ATP is used up too quickly without the oxygen to support it, muscles (called "white muscles") become quickly fatigued with the build-up of lactic acid—an indication that muscle cell oxygen has been depleted.

Lactic acid build-up not only causes discomfort but also is delivered to the liver (and too much on this organ causes the Digestive System to overwork). Therefore, I want more red muscles and enough ATP to not only contract muscles but also relax them.

Drinking water flushes lactic acid and toxins

Sometimes I'm told that the TCM pressure points (Traditional Chinese Medicine) on outer top of my feet are sensitive and painful. This points to liver aggravation (eating oily food and extra lactic acid build-up). Drinking a lot of water dilutes this. Drinking water is not good to do before morning Ashtanga yoga, as it makes me spiritually heavier. But drinking water during the day, especially with muscle pain, flushes out the toxins which creates relief; it's become my post-yoga activity.

When I'm most sore, I soak in an Epsom salt bath. Why does this soothe muscle soreness? The magnesium in epsom salts—absorbed through the skin—helps relax skeletal muscles by flushing lactic acid build-up in the muscles. Magnesium is an abundant mineral in our bodies and its role in our overall health is important. It can be found in over 300 different enzymes in our body and is vital for activating muscles and nerves, reating energy in the body and efficiently digesting proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Other ways to replenish magnesium are eating organic foods, lowering sugar intake and lowering stress.