Exploring the Wash Rag pose from an Embodied Perspective
A moment to UNWIND
As we come to the end of the year it can be nice to stop and take a breath. However, for many of us, we just get busier 😊
Here is an invitation to untwist and unwind for a few minutes.
Attached is a short video exploring one of the greatest unwind poses we have – Wash Rag.
In just 9 minutes we explore:
· What the Wash Rag Pose is
· Why Wash Rag is so powerful
· How to explore Wash Rag from an embodied perspective
· How it can be used to support body integration, interception and proprioception with our students
· Why traditional instructions can create/propagate disintegration in our students' bodies.
What is Wash Rag?
It is thought of as a simple twist, however, I would argue that it is soooooo much more. It can be thought of as being in a subline position, allowing the head to go one way and the knees to go the other, while also allowing the hands to change direction, so you are always facing your palm facing up. However, this misses the whole magic of the pose.
Why is it so Powerful?
I come to the pose as an embodied teacher, who is looking to integrate the body. From my perspective, the pose is about integrating the whole “Head to Tail to Toe axis” of the body. Just like when you are twisting a wash rag or towel or any piece of material, the twist passes through the whole cloth. There is a choice as to where to begin the movement, but it is not simply a head & knee movement. Language, speed and awareness are all important to ensure the distinction, and so the integration.
The second axis that receives a twist is the “Finger to Shoulder to Spine to Shoulder to Finger axis”. This is a totally different axis and should get its own time to explore, before attempting to integrate the two axes.
It is precisely because these two axes can be explored individually and then potentially integrated that make it so powerful. When explored from an embodied perspective (See below) you have enlivened and integrated the whole body.
Add to that the restorative qualities of “unwinding”, means the parasympathetic nervous system, with all its’ benefits, gets to be activated too.
How to explore Wash Rag from an embodied perspective
The key is to slow it down and feel your way into it. Initially, I would invite students to initiate at their feet or knees and to not go so far. Only move as far as the point before gravity takes over, so they can return to centre effortlessly. At this point, see can you trace the movement through the pelvis and spin? Does it move the head? Explore here to see – how slow can you go? How far can you send the spiral up your body? How easy can you make the movement?
Then you have a choice, to allow the knees to go more, and now you are playing with gravity, and noticing where the effort is required to bring your knees back up, is it your lower back, or somewhere else?
The next enquiry is on the other axes, Finger to Wrist to Arm, to Sholder, to Spine, to Sholder, to arm to wrist to hand to fingers.
How much movement is possible along this axis? Can you allow the head to be integrated, and move freely, initiated by the movement through the arms?
I sometimes imagine the image of bike peddles when feeling into the shoulders in this movement, how when one goes up the other comes down.
The final step is to put them both together. If your students have found the freedom and flow of embodiment, this step may prove difficult. And in fact, I love using it as an awareness exercise, as often students get into their head’ and ‘just do the pose’, losing all their embodiment awareness. Know it can be difficult to integrate the two axes, but when it works it is magical. The body rolls and twists as one integrated mechanism, from the centre out in all directions. It is a thing of beauty to behold.
How it can be used to support body integration, interception and proprioception with our students
If you try the above – you will know from an experiential perspective… no more words are needed.
Why traditional instructions can create/propagate disintegration in our students' bodies.
For over 20 years I attended classes and taught the pose from the perspective of “head one way, knees the other”, and maybe added the arms in, also “rotating the hands”. Launching myself into the movement never gave me the space or skill to develop the awareness. Also, the complexity (moving in 4 different directions at once)and physical difficulty (legs are heavy) meant that I muscled my way into the pose. I always did it, and in fact found it easy, and gentle, but I had no idea the depths of experience that was possible, or what I was missing.
Give it a go and let me know what you think.
Have fun
Laura
Find out more about Teaching Embodied Yoga at one of our 1 Day Immersion or our Teachers Retreat