Strong bones for space to move

Bone. Use them. Or lose them.

Bodies are not machines. While we refer to levers, frictions and forces, the body is different. Your body grows stronger as you use it, putting forces through your bones makes them stronger, not weaker. Every day that you stay still, your range of movement deteriorates, your lung capacity falls, your muscles weaken.

Use it. Or lose it.

Now, think of the past 24 hours. How have you moved your body? Did you walk further than from the car to the front door? Did you stretch more than your early morning yawn? Have your hips stayed flexed all day – sitting on a chair, a car seat or bending forwards? Day to day 21^st century life demands so little of our bodies and our bodies are the weaker because of it.

Yoga once a week is useful, but it’s not enough. Going to the gym twice a week helps, but it’s the habits your follow every day that make the difference. It’s about balance, stressing your bones and your joints is not about punishment. A brisk walk for 30 minutes every day will help to keep your bones strong. Remember though that you need to strengthen arms too. When I started teaching I used to note how carrying your shopping home is stimulating your arm bones to renew. Student now rarely carry their shopping more than 5 metres, making ‘arm yoga’ even more important. Cat, on all fours, or balancing cat – one arm and one leg, even better (so long as you don’t have eye problems) down dog, or forearm dog every day. Consider arm balances like forearm balance or even handstand supported against the wall – useful even if you have neck problems as you keep your spine in neutral and do not add weight to the delicate cervical vertebrae of the neck.

Joints are where bones are held together with ligaments and tendons, like elastic bands keeping the bones in place. Without them, the skeleton would just be a heap of bones.  Joints are surrounded by fluid to oil them, keeping them flowing freely, so you can move fluidly. Drink lots of water and eat good oils like flaxseed or oily fish to keep them ‘well oiled’. Joints need space to function well and they don’t need too much compression. This is why I suggest you ‘grow’ tall before you move into a posture to make space in the spine. It’s also important not to stretch limbs out of their natural joint – we tend to overreach with hands (as active, forward focussed westerners) and drag the upper arm bone out of the shoulder joint. It works more comfortably and wears less when the bone nestles inside the shoulder joint. Notice when you draw your knees into the chest on your back, careful not to squeeze on the knee itself. It’s a less stable joint, like your shoulder – not held so tightly by the elastic bands around it. For the same reason, be careful not to rest or ‘hang’ your heel off your knee joint in tree posture, as it will push the joint out of shape.

More than any set of anatomical do’s or don’ts, two things are important. One. Be mindful of how you move and the sensations movements cause aiming for a sense of ease, fluidity and space. Two. Move all your joints regularly, everyday without exception – twist, forward bend, back bend, side bend, upside down (like down dog).

Move every day. Today. Now.

Next time: Circulation – rhythm is life, and life is rhythm

Breathe easy – yoga and your breath

When the winds of change blow, some people build walls, and others build windmills
Chinese Proverb

Pranayama - liberate your breathing

The breath is a bridge, a practical link between mind and body. Most of the time your breathing is unconscious, reacting and adapting to the world around you, to your body and to your emotions seamlessly, and without effort.  When you’re stressed, exercising, in pain, happy or anxious, your breathing will change automatically to fit the situation. If you’re permanently stressed and anxious, your breathing will stay high and shallow, using only a small portion of your lungs.

 Often when enthusiastic students come to class for the first time, they make lots of effort with their breathing. How very western – to get better at something we try even harder! Sometimes they feel dizzy or even a bit sick with the sudden rush of oxygen pushed into their system.

 In yoga, breathing practices are called ‘pranayama’. There’s a bit of debate here, but the view I follow is that this is a synthesis of prana – the energy of life, like ‘chi’ in traditional Chinese medicine and ayama – which means liberation. Liberating the breath is to set it free, to open the gates and allow it to move unhindered. You don’t need to force it, the breath will open and fill new space in its own time. Your breathing habits weren’t formed in an hour and half, so accept that this may not change in a single yoga class, it is a longer journey, like a flower coming into blossom. Your breath is intertwined with prana – your energy and therefore with your health in mind and body too. It’s under both conscious and unconscious control, so can be used to affect the automatic and unconscious functions of your body – like your blood pressure, heart rate and your subconscious mind.

 Classical or traditional pranayama are very powerful and best practiced with a teacher – like ujaii (victorious) breathing, nadi shodhana (cleaning the energy pathways or alternate nostril breathing) or kapalbhati (shining skull). There are some simple practices though that you can experience right now.

 Let the out breath grow and lengthen naturally – like a sigh, go limp, let go, pause, empty, then breathe in again. This will work any time you’re feeling stressed. Some students find it easier to do with soft lips, gently blowing away the breath out. You get a better idea by blowing bubbles. You can’t puff too hard, the bubbles will pop rather than float out. It’s a great practice for stressed mums, amusing little ones at the same time. A longer breath out than breath in is your body’s natural cue to relax.

 Also become mindful. Notice if your breathing stops when you concentrate– are you holding the breath in, or holding the breath out? As soon as you notice, you can let the breath flow. What situations trigger this? Is it family? Work? Feeling out of control? Or something else? You’ll know to notice again when the situation appears.

 It’s also useful to open up the body for your breath to deepen, to undo the places you block and hold – some emotional, so physical habits. Twists stretch the muscles between your ribs, opening up the breath in the centre, chest openers like gomukhasana also release tight shoulders, opening the lungs. Be aware of relaxing the tummy – tension here can restrict the diaphragm and cut off your breathing short. This can be emotional tension.

 Take one minute now, breathing, noticing with awareness. Just one minute. Treat yourself!

 Next strong bones and spacious joints for room to move.

Back to basics: Yoga for a healthy back

Spine - strong & flexible

Your spine is the great negotiator. It compensates for the way your hold your head, your hips, your knees and feet. When students arrive in class I can often see habits lodged in their body – chins jutting out, knock knees, collapsed foot arches, uneven hips, depressed chest or tummy spilling forwards. Over time these postures and attitudes become unconscious which makes them more challenging to change. It’s important to become aware, to become mindful, to undo and unwind in order to free up the spine. Also consider if these need to change if you’re experiencing back pain.

This post is about keeping your back healthy. Consider trying yoga practice in the Scaravelli tradition where the spine is soft and flexible, and the legs and arms provide strength and support. Look up a specialist teacher to experience it for yourself. It appears to be a quiet, soft practice but I can vouch that in its quiet way it is a kind of yoga that demands deep strength. While I can suggest some postures to experiment with and help you learn about your own spine, this isn’t a yoga therapy prescription. Backs are complicated structures and need personal attention. Get to know how your spine moves and where it’s stuck, what eases it and what causes discomfort. And when you need to consult a specialist like an osteopath or chiropractor.

Spines need to be balanced between flexibility – a fluid, wide but comfortable range of movement, and strength – power to support your body (and in yoga, your mind ‘get some backbone!’). Every balanced yoga class incorporates all the major movements of the spine and I suggest you aim to make these every day of your life: forward bend, backward bend, side bend, twisting, inverting.

Forward bending is the most common every day movement. If you find forward bending difficult, it’s important to understand which part of the mechanics are a problem. Often students blame tight hamstrings, but if you bend your knees and still feel uncomfortable, it’s more likely to be your back that’s tight. The most gentle way to release is from lying on your back, knees bent, bringing knee into the chest and gradually straighten the leg more each time you practice. A little and often. You didn’t become tight in 15 minutes and it will take a while to unwind too. Another issue can be the psoas muscle connecting lower back to thigh which is very emotional (babies use it in their startle response). I need another blog entry to deal with that! Prolapsed (‘slipped’) discs are aggravated by forward bending, take extreme care. In yoga forward bends are humbling and cooling, about bowing to your higher self – show yourself compassion and respect when you practice. Slow, controlled, without bouncing. Also keep your chin in. Leading with the chin according to yoga shows pride, on a more practical note it arches the back and can cause strain. Progressive lifting out of forward bends helps to strengthen supporting muscles along with variations on sits ups and navasana (boat).

Back bends are generally therapeutic and apart from a morning stretch, not often part of everyday movements. Some students find them scary – both fear of the unknown, a sense of ‘falling’ backwards and also they open the heart, releasing stuck emotions – often fear, grief and anger. Students have told me about crying at home after deep backbends. Bridge is the perfect introduction to back bending as it is well supported. Warrior I is helpful too, by giving you feelings of strength as well opening the front of the body. Notice when you backbend how the lower back wants to do all the bending and how the upper back get left out. Consider how to make a graceful arch through the whole of the back from crown to tailbone. Chest openers like gomukhasana and yoga mudra can help free the upper back. Cobra without arms helps to strengthen muscles that support the spine from the back.

Side bending helps to extend the side of the body. Be careful to start well supported until you build strength. Triangle, with feet facing forward or swaying palm are useful for flexibility. Star balance or ardha chandrasana, half moon, are great to build strength.

Twisting squeezes the discs of the spine, then on release, floods them with fresh fluid to help keep them spongey and flexible. They also deepen breathing by stretching the muscles between the ribs too. Make space before you twist by drawing yourself upwards through the centre, keeping shoulders relaxed. Breathe deeply for the full benefits once you’re in position. Start with something relaxed like jathara paravritti and work up to deeper twists like revolved triangle - paravritti trikonasana or half lord of the fishes pose – ardha matsyendrasana.

Inversions work by taking the weight off the spine and allow it to decompress. Throughout the day you shrink with the impact of gravity, squeezing the discs. Simple as putting your feet on the sofa seat while you lie on the floor, or headstand or shoulderstand for the more ambitious (learn with a yoga teacher for safety first!).

Above all, be mindful how you stand, sit lie and move throughout the day, aiming to become stronger and more fluid.

Next time: Yoga to liberate your breath

Don’t Panic! Yoga for anxiety

Panic is a natural, useful reactions to certain situations. People sometimes talk to me about eliminating these sensations, but panic at the sight of flames is perfectly reasonable – and actually helps you to deal with the problem you’re facing as blood rushes to the where you need it to fight or run. It’s only when the symptoms of panic appear at inappropriate times that suggest it’s time to take action to change things. Anxiety on the other hand, is like a low background hum of stress. You may know why you’re feeling anxious – exams, meeting, impending birth (my mums to be report it often), but sometimes it becomes a default state of being with nothing you can pin down as a cause. Either way, anxiety and stress are bad for you in the long term. They are states to enter, to deal with the cause and then to release to return to your natural, calm, relaxed self.  

Yoga can deal with this from a few different directions. First it’s important to learn to relax absolutely and completely. Many students appear at class with unconscious tension. I can see their shoulders rubbing their ears, but they claim to be relaxed. Be mindful, become aware. Introduce tension, to recognise it – pull shoulders up to the ears, then let it go, to understand the contrast physically and in your mind too. Unconscious patterns of tension are often symptoms of held in emotions that have got stuck in the body. Be aware that letting go can also release the emotion associated with it. Yoga nidra is a great deep relaxation that bypasses your conscious, thinking mind to take you to a calm relaxed space inside. 

Shoulders can carry the burden of emotional tension, in which case consider goumukasana (head of a cow) and garudasana arms (eagle) to loosen them out. Simhasana – lion posture allows you to let go of all the words you haven’t said. ‘Butter buttocks’ and swinging arms are great to shake away places where you’re holding on. Ujjaii breathing is a conscious and gentle way to release and lengthen the breath, encouraging the diaphragm to relax and join in with the breath. Be aware if you tend to hold your tummy in – let it go to liberate the breath.

Another aspect is to  cultivate confidence. When you stand, be aware of how you are. In your mind, imagine standing ‘as if’, as if you were a mountain (tadasana or standing is mountain posture), feel the strength, dignity, power, deep supporting roots to the earth, light, clear, floating at the crown of the head, relax your shoulders down, allow the chest to blossom gently open to deepen the breathing. Stand as if you were your greatest hero, as if you were someone who already has the confidence you need. And slowly, as you pretend, the chemistry of your body changes, hormones are produced and it quietly becomes true from the inside. I believe they say ‘fake it till you make it’ in the US.

For ultimate confidence on the spot, choose warrior postures, especially warrior II. Looking along your outstretched arm, you can sense the calm confidence inside you need to face whatever is in your gaze on the horizon. Focus your eyes softly,with a relaxed gaze. You don’t need to strain and push, just be. Simply be.

That is all you need to find your calm strength in this world…

Next time, yoga for healthy backs.

Yoga for digestion

Good digestion is a like a well stoked fire – hot enough to do the job, but there’s no need to burn the whole house down. There are two main issues with digestion – too hot, where food moves too quickly causing discomfort and cramps; and too cool, feeling sluggish, stuck and bloated. You need completely different yoga solutions for each.

If your intestines – lower abdomen – are cramping and digestion is erractic, then relaxation and gentle rhythmic movements will help to calm and regulate the process. Hypnotherapy, guided visualisations and meditation are all excellent methods to help manage issues like IBS. There’s lots of research (yes, even under the NHS) to substantiate the improvements. You don’t need to pay a hypnotherapist (though I’m happy to take you for sessions to help you to learn to manage your IBS), you can use relaxation podcasts or CDs or go to a meditation group. The key is regular practice with a focus on releasing the tummy. Gentle twists – lying down with feet on the floor and allowing the knees to release first to one side then the other help give your body a steady rhythm. Follow your breathing, or simply release into the posture for a few long breaths… breathe and relax.

When your digestion is sluggish, you often find yourself feeling ‘stuck’ in other ways too. Digestion energy in yoga is not just about extracting nourishment from food and releasing what you don’t need, it’s also about processing and releasing situations, events, emotions and people. Pay attention, your body may be suggesting that something needs to move on. The best way to help your stomach, particularly after a big meal is to release the upper chest. Either roll up a blanket or get a foam block and place it under your shoulder blades – bra strap height is ideal (gentlemen, you will have to imagine where that would be!). Allow your shoulders to relax and the block will open your chest in a passive, relaxed, easy way. Exactly what you don’t tend to do after christmas dinner.

The intestines need some more energetic work to get moving. Seated twists are excellent, or even a revolved triangle. Remember to warm up first, starting with smaller twists like jathara paravritti. Also, breathe in and lengthen before you twist. Make space for the spine to corkskrew upwards.

Pay attention too not just to what you eat and when, but also how you eat. Be mindful, savour what you eat. In yoga it’s said that half of the stomach should be food, one quarter water and one quarter air to allow space for digestion. Water is particularly important to the smooth transit of the intestines too. In the western world no wonder tummies are tight. We spend hours holding them in, toning, making them rigid when they are designed to be soft, sensuous, forgiving and emotional. The energy of the abdomen is soft and squishy, make friends with it.

Next time: Releases anxiety and dealing with panic using yoga www.shantispirit.co.uk

Down in the dumps yoga

Why the long face?

Yoga is a great way to pick yourself up when you’re feeling down. Christmas is wispy memory, new year resolutions are either your new day to day life or (more often) half remembered with guilt. The credit card bill nudges into your mind and the days still seem far too short and far too dark.

 

First of all, if the cloud has descended below your shoulders and you feel like you’re choking and can’t seem to shake it away, talk to someone. Now. Depression is a proper illness. You wouldn’t shrug off a broken leg and expect it to get better on its own. Just because this is about your mind doesn’t make it any different. Tell a friend, tell a work colleague, tell someone in your family, or if it’s easier tell a stranger – talk to a doctor, the samaritans, mind charity. You don’t even need to leave the sofa if you can reach the phone from there. No else needs to know, but when you do tell someone you’ll probably be surprised how much they understand. Lots will share their own experiences too. You are never alone, no matter how it feels.

 

These ideas and yoga practices will help raise your energy and lift your spirits. First of all, move. I find when I’m down that the sofa or bed just sucks me back in somehow. I start to compost. The most important principle is to start where you are now. If you’re in bed, move the duvet so you can put your feet flat and your knees up, shift the weight from tailbone to waist – pressing the lower back down, rocking back and forward on the pelvis. Then let your knees drift together down to one side as you breathe out, back to centre as you breathe in, then the other side when you breathe out. Don’t think about being good, or bad, just move. Let the head turn in the opposite direction if that feels good too – move your pillow out first. Stretch your legs in the air, give them a shake. Stretch your hands in the air, give them a shake (no idea what the sanskrit is for dying fly!). Move into bridge posture (mind your neck if your mattress is squishy). Stretch arms overhead then out to the sides to open the chest and deepen your breathing, roll up to sitting for a seated twist. And you’re ready to start some standing postures.

 

On the sofa? Sit up tall, shoulders back and down, make space to breathe, not squashing your lungs. Energise your feet, get your roots lively. Pick up all the toes (feet still on the floor), put down your little toe on its own, lift it up, the same with you big toe, then try both together, but keeping the others in the air. Scrunch the toes together. Stretch the arms overhead, open the chest. Twist gently to each side – you can use the arm of the sofa for a bit of support. Promise yourself that you’ll try five minutes and if you feel like it you can carry on or stop if not. Once you’re moving you’re on a roll.

 

Get outside for a stroll – even if it’s dull, or wet, preferably in daylight, but in the dark is ok if there’s no other option (but stay safe!). Breathe in the air through the nose, blow it softly out through the lips. Get a rhythm in your step. Look ahead. Your energy and intention goes where you focus, and the floor will only bring you down when you feel yuk. Swing your arms. Step, step, step.

 

I can tell as soon as a student walks in if they are feeling down. Shoulders hunch, dropping into the chest, restricting the breathing and making a spiral down of feeling bad. Opening the chest is a great way to start the upward spiral to feeling great. On an in breath sweep the arms slowly overhead and wide with intention and power – from lying, sitting or standing – like you do in salute to the sun, or when you just get of bed. Bridge pose has the same effect, and all backbends when you concentrate on the centre of the chest rather than the tummy (which extends the lower back instead). Twists stretch the muscles between the ribs and deepen the breathing too.

 

Finally standing postures are great for raising energy. Warrior I with arms wide rather than overhead and warrior II are my favourites. The breath of arjuna helps to get blood pumping and mobilises all the joints to prepare as well. Again, notice where you focus. I don’t advocate deep relaxation or meditation when you’re feeling down unless you already have a strong practice or it’s guided by someone else. It’s too easy to spiral downwards inside. Something like humming bee breath is more active and finds space in the mind, similarly if you use a mantra like so hum, your mind has an anchor to keep it floating on the surface.

 

One last word. Smile. Even if you fake it, the endorphines will flow helping you to feel naturally good. Watching something funny is perfect. Keep a store on your skyplus, dvd collection or online. Smile as you practice. Do lion posture – simhasana if that makes you giggle.

 

Happy days! Shanti shanti shanti!

 

Next time. Yoga for your digestive system.

Shankhaprakshalana – hardcore yoga cleansing

Salt water intestinal cleanse

Last week I mentioned some simple postures and breathing practices to get yourself moving to cleanse and release the stagnant and stuck energy or ‘prana’. If you’ve ever leafed through a copy of the Hathayogapradipika (as you do!) – the original textbook of yoga for the body, you may have noticed some more serious cleansing practices to make the body fit for meditation. The intestinal wash Shankhaprakshalana literally washes through the entire digestive system. There is a shorter version laghoo shankhaprakshalana which is a good introduction to the practice for novices.

First of all, these are serious practices not to be taken lightly. If it’s your first time, then find a group to support you, for example at a satyananda centre. The practice is generally done at the turn of the seasons, at the spring and autumn equinox so the body is not too hot or cold. First you make up a big batch of salted water, it needs to be the correct concentration, too weak and it won’t have the right effect, too strong and you’ll be sick. Then you drink a couple of mugs of the salted water and perform a set series of twisting postures, then more salted water, more postures and so on. The postures encourage the flow of salty water through the digestive system, literally squeezing it along. 

In the short cleansing practice you only do this a set number of times. After resting you go to the toilet. If nothing happens, more rest. Then allowing yourself to poo when you’re body is ready… for quite a while. The full practice keeps drinking the water, postures, then toilet till you are poo-ing water that is as clear as the water you’re drinking. In the full practice, you need to observe a special diet to re-line the stomach and build back up the natural flora of the gut. In theory the short practice just needs a bit of space before your next (healthy, light) meal. Either way, don’t book a night on the town, or exercise for the next day.

When I completed the short wash, it seemed that I had cleared absolutely eveything out. By the time I had made the hour trip back home afterwards (with some trepidation and one eye on available services), I had a huge craving for orange juice and melons. Alas, my healthy cravings only lasted about a week.

Why would you put yourself through this? If you have constipation or digestive problems like ibs, it can help energise or relax the system. I did it to relieve eczema – it did better than that, clearing it up completely never to return. Others on the same session found various allergies much improved or completely gone. As a byproduct, it also cured my long time caffeine-habit which was an enormous surprise. I didn’t even miss it. It’s not a miracle cure for everything, but it’s a good way to give your system a break and enable your body to deal with whatever it’s usually to overloaded to cope with. Remember if you have special health concerns, check with your doctor first.

Next time. Yoga for when you’re feeling down in the dumps.

Yoga cleansing – the fires of agni

The Fire of Agni

I love new year. I enjoy the feeling of starting over again, everything fresh and hopeful and new. In yoga and ayurveda agni is the digestive fire. Agni is the ability to process and transform, allowing all possibilities to be open to us. We immediately consider food, particularly after that full, fat, stuck feeling following Christmas. But agni is our ability to process and transform everything: emotions, breath, experience, memories.

When these things are not processed, we hold on and become attached to, our guilt, sadness, food, bitterness or pent up anger and this is toxic to our body and to our mind. It gets stuck, gradually leading to lethargy and deterioration of ourselves over time. Our new year is really little early, the urge to ‘spring clean’ should come with the turn of the seasons, with the first flowers, the lighter weather. However, after the feasting and merriment of Christmas, perhaps now is the right time to begin again, fresh.

I’m a practical yogini, so what to do to get agni moving again? The most effective practices are simple – get outside and get walking in daylight. Move however you enjoy – dance, cycle, run. It doesn’t matter. Nadi Shodhana – also known as alternate nostril breathing will help on the energetic side. Your nadis are the energy pathways through and around the body, and shodhana is ‘to cleanse’. The kriyas will help like jala neti – a saltwater nasal wash (we don’t get to do this one in class though!). Also kappalbhati is actually a cleansing practice not pranayama (breathing practice). Ideally bastrika – bellows breath - is the most cleansing practice, but please don’t try this from a book, you need a teacher – face to face, to keep you safe. Big twists like paravritti trikonasana – revolved triangle (remember to start with something smaller to warm your back up gradually) will help to stimulate the fire and move along blockages. Backbends will open space for your digestion and get energy raising up – choose from something small like a bridge or ambitious like bow. Work your way up slowly.

In class next week we’ll stretch, twist, stimulate and strengthen. Ignite that fire! Shanti!

Yoga it all away…

The beauty is that people often come here for the stretch, and leave with a lot more. 
Liza Ciano, co-owner and co-director of Yoga Vermont

Many of my yoga students come to class for the first time to relieve or solve a problem - most often their trouble is stress or back pain. When something is wrong in mind, or in body, you begin a kind of (not very life affirming) meditation. The symptoms keep you focused in the present moment, bringing you back and back again to the same issue  – spiralling around the same limiting thoughts over and over again, or concentrating on how each movement produces or reduces pain. Yoga practice helps you to take this focus and make it productive and positive. Allowing thoughts to flow in and equally calmly flow away. Yoga postures helps you to oil your joints, and move with your body’s natural instincts to protect and strengthen from the core.  Yoga teaches you to release yourself from attachment to the outcome and go with the flow.

Research in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine shows that women who practice yoga regularly have lower amounts of a compound that causes inflammation in their blood, an inflammation-causing compound that can lead to stress, heart disease, stroke and arthritis. Count how many of those conditions are being experienced by someone in your family right now. The benefits come from just two yoga sessions a week. And at North Carolina University, researchers there have shown that  just 20 minutes a day meditating can increase your pain threshold with a lasting effect. That’s certainly worth mentioning to regular migraine sufferers and very useful for mums-to-be too.

http://www.shantispirit.co.uk
Yoga, meditation and hypnotherapy to free mind, body and spirit

Keep smiling – it makes the world wonder what you’ve been up to!

Smiling is infectious,
You can catch it like the flu.
Someone smiled at me today,
And I started smiling too.

During Buddhist meditations, you’re encouraged to ‘half smile’ on the inside and allow your eyes to have a soft loving gaze, even behind your closed lids. Facial expressions are one link in the chain of communication of feeling that affects not just your mood, but the whole chemical composition of your body. Research shows that the simple act of smiling, and for me this is the really interesting part - even if you’re faking it or just moving the same muscles by holding a pencil between your teeth – produces feel good chemicals in the body like endorphins and serotonin. Endorphins are natural pain killers, they improve your immune response and reduce the negative effects of stress. Smilling is also lowers your blood pressure.

Do you smile because you feel good? Or feel good because you smile?

New research takes this a step further. What happens when you’re unable to express the subtlety of emotion facially – say because you’ve had botox? According to the study by psychology team at University of Wisconsin-Madison botox treatments hinder your understanding of social cues and ability to respond. It seems that lack of facial movements make it more difficult to feel emotion and show empathy.

In yoga, I encourage students to find a smile to support them in more challenging poses like navasana (boat) and virabhadrasana (warrior) and when they do, the whole posture changes – chests blossom open, shoulders sink, feet settle and lightness lifts the spine. Young children laugh 300 times a day, and adults only laugh 15 times a day. Get some practice in )

http://www.latimes.com/news/health/la-he-botox-20100531,0,4090611.story