“Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.” ~Doug Larson
The pic above, in my opinion, is a beautiful representation of how blissful the Spring season can be, if you just open your eyes to all the beauty around you at this time of year. Flowers and trees are blooming, grass is green again, and fresh fruits and vegetables are more abundantly available to us.
Though this beauty is awesome to behold, many of us become afflicted with a bad case of allergies at this time of year, and that can sometimes make enjoying all this beauty a tad difficult. This Spring, in particular, seems to be worse than in years past, at least in my part of the country. An extremely mild winter and lots of rain has raised our pollen levels higher than they typically should be at this time of year, and everywhere I go lately, people seem to be sneezing and sniffly and puffy.
One thing we can do in our yoga practice to help rid the body of these environmental toxins is to incorporate poses that stimulate and cleanse the liver and gallbladder, which are crucial organs in filtering toxins that enter our bodies from the environment and from the foods we eat.
The liver and gallbladder meridians run along the inner and outer legs, so incorporating poses that stimulate these areas of the legs is beneficial in kicking these organs into high gear. This week, we’ll work on incorporating a variety of these types of poses into our practice, such as:
- Pigeon Pose
- Cow Face Pose
- Seated Straddle Splits
- Butterfly Pose
- Child’s Pose
Though our main focus will be poses that stimulate the inner and outer legs, twists are also great poses for the liver and gallbladder. We will include a few of these in our practice this week as well, as they are also wonderful at helping clear toxins from our bodies.
I hope to see you in class this week. If not, have a wonderful week, and try to incorporate some of these kinds of poses into your routine. Even just a few minutes with these poses can do wonders for your body and for your mind. Let’s get rid of all the “junk” we’re carrying, and see if it doesn’t manifest itself into a multitude of areas in your life.
Namaste,
Melanie
SC Yoga Girl 