TMI for my yoga students?
I’d had an appointment with my pelvic physio just before my Tuesday night yoga class so my bladder was top of mind. Instead of beginning the class with a few deep breaths (I’d get to that soon enough), I offered perhaps too much information to my students. I explained that I usually went to the loo before a class, but I was trying to retrain my bladder so I had decided to not go before this class. But if I suddenly left the room, they’d know I needed to go. There were a few laughs. I didn’t mind, I kind of played it for laughs.
But here’s the thing, bladder issues for women aren’t really a laughing matter. In fact, up to 1 in 2 women will have incontinence issues in their lifetime. And because it’s a little bit embarrassing, a lot of women don’t seek treatment. There are lots of things that can be done for incontinence, including retraining the bladder and the surrounding muscles.
Interestingly, retraining the bladder is also about retraining the brain and noticing how our body is feeling. A lot of us have learned to stop listening to our bodies because we are too busy to go to the loo, or because we are trying to ignore hunger pains because we are on a diet, or because we’ve experienced physical trauma we’d like to forget.
Yoga is such a lovely way to bring gentle awareness back to the body which can help to support you if you’d like to start to heal something like incontinence.
I am obviously not a bladder expert by any stretch of the imagination. I’m just a woman who is receiving treatment. If you are looking for some support, and live in Albany, I highly recommend my pelvic physio, Katie Stan-Bishop. You can find out more about her here.
Yoga Pose of the Week
This is Legs up the Ramp. Legs up the Wall is a very popular pose for reducing stress and helping reset the nervous system. But if you live in a little house like me, or you find it hard to get your legs up the wall, this can be very soothing too. Lie in this pose for 5 - 10 minutes. Thanks to Kat Spargo for showing it to me!
Yoga Philosophy of the Week
More and more I can see that the benefits of yoga go way beyond the physical practice. I believe I have become, happier, kinder and more content by learning and practicing the tenants of yoga philosophy. If you’d like to learn more about how to practice yoga off the mat, I encourage you to download my free e-book about the 8 limbs of yoga.
Mindful Moment of the Week
It’s hard not to notice the change in season in this past week. It’s dark when I wake up. It’s cold by 5pm. I was lucky enough to attend one of Kat Spargo’s rest immersions this past weekend and she reminded me this season is all about letting go like the trees lose their leaves. It helps to make us ready for what’s coming next.
