Movement cleanses us of toxins, as if “airing” the body from the inside, giving it a second wind. Four exercises to help your body change the rhythm of life from winter to spring.
Wake up, come to life, gain momentum – that’s what our body wants after winter. We spend the cold season in an energy-saving mode, determined by nature itself. “In winter, metabolic processes in all cells of our body slow down,” says physiotherapy doctor Irina Moiseeva. – This is reflected in our well-being, and in appearance. To activate the metabolism, to stimulate the circulation of blood and lymph, we need movement.” It will help the body get rid of decay products, deliver oxygen to tissues and organs, and stimulate the production of new cells.
Long sedentary work, intense emotions, stress – and now it seems that our body is as if divided in two: on top – a monolith of frozen muscles of the neck, shoulders and back, and below – legs that have lost their tone and jelly instead of the press. Oriental medicine offers its own way to solve the problem: by moving again to “collect” your body together and thereby help it restore its energy balance. “In general, nature took care of us, so our body can regulate its energy,” says Sergey Bolshakov, an instructor at the AnXingDao tai chi and qigong school. “But in this he is hindered by the numerous overloads of our today’s life, as well as often by our inability to distribute efforts and relax after loads.” The off-season is the best time to move on to a new, more harmonious lifestyle. Movement, breathing exercises, massages – all this will help us get the effect of detoxification at the level of cells, tissues, organs … as well as our feelings and thoughts.
stretch
This is a very useful move. Muscles in a safe but effective mode receive blood flow, and with it – oxygen and essential trace elements. At the same time, the blood and lymph remove waste substances from them. Stretching exercises work on the principle of squeezing clothes: only instead of water, toxins are removed from our tissues.
MOVEMENT, BREATHING EXERCISES, MASSAGES WILL HELP TO CLEAR AND RENEW OUR BODY… AS WELL AS FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS.
An exercise: “Get the moon out of the sea” (qigong)
Imagine that you are standing on the beach at night, the moon is reflected in the water. Place your hands on your lower abdomen. As you inhale, gently stretch your body up and slightly back, while raising your hands forward in front of you, and look up to the sky. When your arms rise to chest level, relax your shoulders, turn your hands and begin to exhale, spreading your arms wide to the sides. Do not straighten them to the end and do not strain your back muscles. Gently continue by tilting your torso forward and completing the circle movement of your arms as if you were trying to scoop a moon reflection out of the water. Then, as you inhale, bend your knees and straighten your lower back to gently return to the starting position, keeping your arms slightly rounded. Smoothly transition to the repetition and “get the moon out of the sea” two more times.
How is the recovery going?
The rising phase of this exercise stimulates the yin energy, symbolized in Chinese tradition by the rising moon. The calming power of the sea is added to it, and together they “wash” the entire front side of the body, which is “managed” by yin. In the second part of the exercise, descending yang energy begins to actively circulate, removing tension and stagnation of yang energy in the back and buttocks.
To learn more: Shi Xingying “Precious Pearls of Chinese Qigong”. Phoenix, 2006.
warm up
During exercises that require effort from us, the body warms up, begins to sweat, and together with sweat, toxins are washed out through the pores and salt is removed, which is often the culprit of edema. The warming movement accelerates metabolic processes and cell renewal throughout the body.
An exercise: Double LegStretch, or “Simultaneous Straightening of the Legs” (Pilates)
Lie on your back. Slightly raise your head and shoulders so that the emphasis of the upper body falls on the shoulder blades. Press your chin to your chest, pull your knees up to your stomach and grab your bent legs with your hands. While inhaling, smoothly, without jerking, straighten your arms and legs, simultaneously lifting them up (from the side, the whole body seems to form the letter U); the feet are joined together, as are the hands. At the top, hold your breath for 2-3 seconds. As you exhale, spread your arms to the sides and grab your legs again, bending them at the knees and returning to the starting position. Repeat the exercise 5-10 times – or until tired.
How is the recovery going?
This dynamic exercise promotes sweating. In addition, it makes the muscles of the abdomen, buttocks and lower back work and acts as a kind of massage of the internal organs. Finally, it speeds up blood circulation and tissue oxygenation.
Learn more: Ilze Liepa Dance and Pilates Studio London Body School, t. (495) 630 1040.
Try also…
Steam room, sauna or oriental hammam – once a week. Which bath to choose, decide for yourself, based on what you tolerate better – dry heat or wet. Rinse with a warm or cold shower, running it from the bottom up, from the legs to the neck (in that direction), before entering the steam room and after it. Spend no more than 10 minutes in the steam room and end the session with 20 minutes of rest. Ideal for improving blood circulation and skin cleansing. Yoga Bikram (Note: not recommended for beginners; consult your doctor first). These classes are carried out in a special room at a temperature of 40 ˚С: within an hour and a half, 26 postures and two more breathing exercises are performed one after the other. Effect – toxins are removed from the body with sweat, muscles become plastic (which makes the body more flexible and improves stretching).
To learn more: studio “Bikram Yoga Moscow”, www.bikramyoga.ru
Massage
Massage can be done not only manually, but also with the help of special exercises that include the abdominal muscles in active work (including deep ones – those that are usually not easy to use). This kind of massage activates the circulation of energy and facilitates digestion.
An exercise: screw pose (yoga)
Sit on the floor with a straight back, straighten your knees. On a deep breath, bend your left leg, place it on the outside of your right knee so that the foot is firmly pressed to the floor (see photo on p. 194). Try to pull the foot of the right leg towards you. Rotate your torso to the left, making sure your back stays straight and your buttocks stay in contact with the floor. At the same time, grab your left foot (or ankle) from the inside with your right hand. The left hand behind the palm rests on the floor. The shoulders are lowered, the back is straightened, the gaze is turned back. Exhale slowly and inhale as you return to the starting position. Repeat the exercise with the other leg.
How is the recovery going?
“Twisting” of the body produces a kind of massage of the internal organs, improves their blood supply, stimulates the functioning of the kidneys, gallbladder and intestines. “Massages” it and the muscles of the press. In addition, this posture relieves the stiffness of the spine and facilitates the circulation of energy.
To learn more: Ashtanga Yoga Center, tel. (916) 801 0108, www.yoga108.com
To get off to a good start
Dose your efforts: in order to prevent overexpenditure of energy and loss of strength, measure physical activity with the capabilities of your body, do not test your body for strength. No matter how determined we are, as we age, our reserves become smaller, and this should not be forgotten. If you didn’t exercise at all this winter, or rarely thought about it, limit yourself to half an hour of active activities (such as swimming, running) twice a week. As an option: 15 minutes of moderate exercise daily. Move meaningfully: try to mentally imagine the hidden processes that occur in the body during exercise – “see” how with each breath it receives an influx of oxygen, and with each exhalation it gets rid of processed substances.
Breathe
In ordinary life, we use only a small part of our respiratory capacity, we do not use the entire volume of the lungs. Meanwhile, deep breathing helps the body to get rid of toxins. Such breathing has the effect of massaging the internal organs and improves blood circulation.
An exercise: afghan walking
This type of breathing is good to practice while walking at your usual pace. Inhale on the first three steps, hold the breath on the fourth, then exhale on the next three steps. On the fourth, pause before resuming the “three-step” inhale (common rhythm “3-1-3-1”). Repeat this series ten times, then change to the 4-4-2 rhythm: inhale for four steps, exhale for four steps, then hold the breath fully out for the last two steps. Climbing uphill, do only inhalations and exhalations, without holding your breath: in the rhythm of “3-3” or “2-2”, depending on the steepness of the slope.
How is the recovery going?
Synchronization of breathing with the rhythm of walking “gathers” and fills the body with energy as a whole. When holding the breath with the lungs filled with air, the circulation time of blood in the body increases and oxygen saturation of the tissues improves. And holding the breath after exhaling calms the heart. In addition, walking improves venous outflow and speeds up metabolism.
To learn more: Leonard Orr, Conscious Breathing. Sofia, 2005.
Try also…
Breathing yoga: lie on your back, put your hands on your stomach. Observe the fluctuations of the abdomen during the first three inhalations and exhalations, after which slowly take a deep breath in the abdomen and exhale through the nose. Repeat 10 times and end with a series of three normal breaths. Move your hands to your chest and then to your collarbones to do 10 reps in each position, watching your chest rise and fall. Finish the exercise with a deep breath, tracking how the air first fills the lower lobe of the lungs, then the middle, and finally the upper, and finally hold your breath for two seconds. Repeat four times. This technique allows you to use up to 90% of your breathing capacity.
Breathing in the rhythm of the heart: in a sitting position (back straight, legs firmly pressed to the floor), inhale for 5 seconds, and then exhale for the same 5 seconds. Breathe at this pace for 3-5 minutes. It is good to repeat this exercise three times a day. This technique helps to take control of breathing, to feel the connection between the work of the heart and the brain, and also to get rid of negative thoughts that weigh down our mind in the same way that toxins burden the body.