Dear friends, starting from today, we will offer yoga classes. Everyone is welcome to join us for yoga practice via live stream at 6 am and 7 pm every day!
Recently, a young man who bears a striking resemblance to Kris Wu gained rapid internet fame after being guided by an online “expert”. Prompted by fans during a live broadcast, he treaded on a sewing machine while singing “Big Bowl Thick Noodle”, even featuring characters dressed up as “guards”. The live broadcast attracted tens of thousands of viewers within just 5 minutes, who eagerly sent gifts and commented that even if Kris Wu himself did this, he would be just as cool.
The young man’s live stream drew numerous netizens, maintaining their high enthusiasm. Unfortunately, his channel was soon permanently suspended. However, this reflects the public’s attention to the Kris Wu incident, with many internet users sparing no effort to inquire about his condition in prison. Regardless of the veracity of this information, it ultimately doesn’t carry much significance, as Kris Wu has become a criminal due to violating the law, no longer the popular star he once was.
In the face of the law, some fans still refuse to accept reality and persist in their support, even going so far as to form so-called rescue groups, which is undoubtedly a disregard for the law. Star-chasing should be rational and clear-headed, as the goal is to become a better person, not more blind and irrational.
When discussing a healthy and positive lifestyle, yoga is a practice we highly endorse. Yoga not only improves mood but also enriches personal pursuits. Those who practice yoga long-term will realize that after a few years, many of their ideas and pursuits in life will change and elevate. Actress Zhang Jun Ning represents those who continuously practice yoga and meditation, and she believes that it keeps her energized every day, enhancing her physical and mental state. Yoga helps us relieve stress, easing the accumulated pressure over time, and reduces the six major emotional troubles: desire, pride, obsession, anger, hatred, and greed, which are common negative emotions.
Among the many yoga poses, the headstand is known as the king of yoga. The practice of the headstand is crucial and should be practiced regularly once mastered. Many people fear practicing the headstand because they fear injury, but the correct pose is key. Each time you practice, you should adjust your alignment based on your bodily sensations. If you can find the right alignment in the Mountain Pose through the feeling in your body, then you can also adjust in the headstand through bodily sensations to achieve the correct posture for a new experience.
In the Mountain Pose of yoga practice, there are three key body alignment points to master:
- Maintain a natural curve between the pelvis and lumbar spine.
- Keep the position of the pelvis neutral, not shifting forward or backward, i.e., do not move your hips forward or back.
- The body as a whole needs to be aligned.
Next, we will discuss in detail how to achieve these three alignment points.
01 Lumbar Curve Alignment
The Mountain Pose is the cornerstone of yoga practice through which we learn to correctly align our bodies. Begin by standing with heels slightly apart and toes together. Ensure the weight of your body is evenly distributed across your feet, including all corners of the soles. Keep your knees straight, aligned with your second and third toes.
Place your hands on both sides of the pelvis, directly below your waist. Move your fingers towards the navel to feel the anterior superior iliac spines (ASIS) on both front sides of the pelvis, while focusing on the pubic symphysis. Next, perform a few dynamic anterior pelvic tilts by moving the ASIS forward and the pubic bone backward, paying attention to the dynamic changes of the tailbone. Experience how the lumbar curve changes and what compression and stretching feel like.
Next, slightly contract the gluteal muscles, moving the anterior superior iliac spines backward; and the pubic bone forward. Through this slight adjustment, find the position that places both the pelvis and lumbar spine in their natural curves. With repeated training of pelvic movement, let the body get used to this neutral state, thus maintaining the natural curvature of the lumbar spine even in inverted poses.
02 Pelvic Position Alignment
Secondly, adjust the pelvic position to ensure the correct curvature of the lumbar spine. Viewed from the side, the pelvis, ears, knees, and ankles should be in a straight line. By bending one knee and lifting the foot, you can feel the contraction of the muscles around the hip joint. Keep your fingers on this position, return the foot to the ground, and repeat the same action on the other side. Through such practices, we can find the neutral pelvic position that keeps the hip flexor muscles elastic.
03 Whole Body Alignment
Even if the body’s side lines have aligned by the second step, it doesn’t mean the body is perpendicular to the ground. It might still be tilted. If the body leans forward, the front of the feet will bear more weight; if the body leans backward, the heels take on more. The correct practice is to adjust the body to be consistent and effortlessly perpendicular to the ground.
Advanced techniques for exploring whether the body is in a neutral position involve the subtle changes in muscle states. When our body leans forward, the muscles of the lower back tighten to resist the forward tilt. Conversely, when the body leans back, the abdominal muscles engage to prevent us from falling backward. Therefore, to determine if the body is truly in a neutral position, we need to feel whether the muscles in the abdomen and back are both in a relaxed state.
Once we master the techniques of adjusting the body, we can easily determine and adjust the body’s neutral position in the Headstand practice. To ensure safety, beginners can choose to practice the Headstand in a corner of the wall to prevent accidental falls during the adjustment process. With deeper practice, we can gradually become less dependent on the wall.
The steps for practicing a headstand are as follows:
1. Interlace your fingers, press your palms onto the floor, kneel down with both knees, and ensure the top middle part of your head is on the mat.
2. Lift your knees, touch the ground with only your toes, gradually walk your feet closer to your palms until your upper body can be vertical to the ground.
3. Engage your forearms to lift one leg followed by the other, until both legs can leave the mat, then gradually straighten and stretch your legs upwards.
4. Use the methods learned previously to adjust your body to an upright position.
Although the headstand position might seem daunting at first, by trying slowly and gradually mastering it, we will find that headstand is indeed a very valuable exercise. It has an extremely beneficial effect on our bodies, so go ahead and try bravely. You’ll discover that the benefits it brings are tremendous. Keep it up, you can do it!
