Live and learn

After doing mat work, take a moment to lie on your right side before pushing up into a seated/standing position.

I’m happy to say that I’ve been doing multiple workouts each week since the new year. I didn’t make it to three last week as my 30/20/10 class was cancelled, but hey, two is till better than none!

My workouts will have to hold off until the weekend as I am currently recovering from some teeth extractions and I was told to sit on the couch and relax for the next 2-3 days–oral surgeon’s orders. Apparently if I get my heart rate up that can do something to my blood, possibly dislodging the blood clots that are oh-so-important to the healing process. So that means I have spare time to blog.

In my last few practices (and I will blog about those later–both some good and bad), I learned two new things about yoga (You really do keep learning no matter how long you have been practicing!)

1) After a savasana session, we are always told to roll on our right side. Why? I assumed it was because most people are right handed so it was easier to push up from that side of the body (silly me!) A teacher at yoga public recently solved the mystery. Our heart is on the left side of our body, so when we lie on our right, that allows the blood to flow freely down into the body from the heart.

2) Why do we lie on our side (with our right arm under head supporting it) before getting up? Again, a different instructor at Yoga Public explained that when we lie on our back during savasana or during mat work, the blood can pool up and around our heads. If we get up too quickly without letting the blood circulate, this can result in a light-headed, dizzy feeling. Lying on our side, again, helps circulate the blood evenly away from the head.

I will keep these tidbits in mind during my future workouts. I hope you were able to learn something new too! If not, thanks for reading and feel free to share any of your favourite workout tidbits.