Bowstring Yoga Breakdown
Roots and Truth
Have you tried a yoga class, or tried bringing a yoga practice into your healing routine?
While the popularity of yoga is growing, especially in urban areas in the U.S., this blog post is specifically about a alternative type of yoga called
The Bowstring Method
Why is Bowstring Different From Traditional Yoga?
The first differential between Yoga, and bowstring yoga is the placement of the tailbone. Instead of the traditional tucked position, bowstring encourages a lift in the tailbone (activating the glutes) and arching or “bowing” the lower back.
The Bowstring title also alludes to the springiness that is available in the poses.
There’s a 60 second explanation linked here:
Traditional yoga encourages long-straight lines, while bowstring creates more curves, and many of the poses are done with bent limbs to encourage activation in the glute area. These movements strengthen the bodily structure and encourage space in the natural airways and spinal columns. These movements allows expansion and more space.
The following is a quote from Michale Chatham on a podcast. She was speaking directly about Bowspring:
“So just because I love giving credit to geniuses and where credit is due, the inventor, creator, Desi Springer, is the one who had this epiphanal…download of the transition from the yoga that she had practiced for many years to this dynamic movement that had a specific algorithm of opening and positioning, bi-directionality, and width before length, all of these things that she talks about in relationship to that. [She]… developed a 10-point algorithm around the movement, so that it could be taught… and I became familiar with the practice when I was still living in Kansas, a patient of mine [introduced me to it.]” 1
My First Year Practicing Bowstring Yoga
I recorded my thoughts and experiences I have had with Bowstring in this YouTube video:
In this video I highlight three themes that I have experienced in my personal practice.
I also have linked how I knew that this was a correct practice in my own personal recovery process. If you haven’t read any of my personal story, I link the turning point of my personal health journey here:
This blog post is a landing page with links if you are interested in using this modality in your own personal healing, this will be a great resource to get you started!
Movement and Healing
Have you been introduced to the discussion around fascia. This youtube video has an explanation about fascia around minute 11:50.
Fascia is is a layer of connective tissue below the skin. It’s tissue that surrounds all of the cells, nerves, joints, tendons, and ligaments in your body. 2‌
The way that each individual’s fascia was informed and formed occurred as each of us grew. Bowstring Yoga encourages slow, gentle movement to reform, instead of conform to how we initially were trained to hold our bodies and move.
Why is this important?
If you aren’t strong enough to handle your daily demands, would you want to do something about that?
A Bowspring practice can help stregthen your base (in the gluteal area) and expand your structure. If you talk to someone who doesn’t feel good, there is always a need to expand in some way, to regain an expanded sense of self. Or expanded lungs to receive more breath (or life). It would be amazing to expand the belly to aid in digestion. Or expand how much we could carry. What if you could expand your work load and expand efficiency?
Are You Ready to Try a Session?
I first tried a few bowstring videos for free off of YouTube. This is an example of a class that I tried for free on YouTube:
Are You Ready For a Full Explanation?
This course offers an explanation of bowstring and the postures held with the practice of bowstring. It also gives you an opportunity to experiment with the practice with your own body.
Growth is not just for the young. Although adults growth and expansion is typically slower, bowstring offers that a similar process for the body and mind. This is a whole body experience as well as expanding the mind and spiritual reach.
A link to this course offered by Amanda Cepeda is here:
The Creators of Bowspring
Introductory videos offered by the creators of Bowspring, Desi Springer and John Friend, linked here:
The Benefits I’ve Received in My First Year
I have been on a spiritual journey for a long time. I entered this spiritual process because of my upbringing which encouraged prayer and contemplation to lead me through my daily decisions and tasks. My health challenges offered me to explore my healing through a spiritual lens.
One way that I define spiritually is a belief there is a connection to everything around us.
This interconnectedness allows for our view to expand, so the limits (that we feel stuck in) are broken.
The more one learns to respect and honor their body, viewing their health with a bigger spiritual lens. You are more than just you. You are connection and love! The amount of love you can feel and give, can expand. Even through the movement of your own body.
To understand this concept, it is best to experiment. I believe with experimentation, views will change, and connectedness with those around us, will increase.
These are the three themes that I have felt resonate in my body and my spiritual life as I have experimented this past year:
- Bowstring offers more space in the body to allow things to flow better. This can impact the mental health, digestive health, and overall health in the body.
- Pointing to others, as a cause of our suffering, keeps us trapped in a cycle that doesn’t allow progress. Shifting out of victimhood allows us to take the reins of our own life, and live the life that would feel more full and free.
- Open airways helps every aspect of health. It aids the body to receive the oxygen that it needs. It helps us sleep better. Changing posture through bowstring can help us loosen jaw tightness and restriction. It can help with symptoms of sleep apnea. Aid if we have a snoring issue.
Definitions From the YouTube Video
Chiropractor Care:
There are a variety of chiropractors to utilize in your healing journey. They focus on alternative routes to health with our medication. If you haven’t resonated with the chiropractor you have tried, keep trying. Each one has unique gifts and their own specialties.
Upper Cervical Spine Chiropractor:
One of the first tell-tell signs that should lead someone seeking care to an Upper Cervical Spine Chiropractor is different feet lengths.
There are many medical conditions treated by upper cervical chiropractic care. The most common are:
- Neck pain
- Back pain
- Headaches and migraines
- Post-concussion syndrome
- Vertigo and Meniere’s disease
- Fibromyalgia and fatigue
- Autoimmune diseaseaa
- Blood pressure
- TMJ disorders
- Sleep disturbances
- Trouble breathing
- Muscle weakness
- Poor posture
- Sciatica 3
Myofacial Therapy
Myofascial release is an alternative therapy for people wanting to relieve tight spots in their body, or “trigger points”. You might want to seek out a myofacial therapist if you have the following symptoms:
- dull, aching muscular pain
- muscular pain that worsens with movement
- presence of painful knots in muscles
- reduced range of mobility in affected areas
- mood or sleep disturbances 4
Resources:
Testimonials on Bowstring: Kori Meloy Instagram
Thank You For Being Here
I’m Cami, the creator of this Website. I always invite you to share your stories with me around your recovery if you have dealt with a chronic health condition!
My email is cami@rootsandtruth.com
The concept of this website is built around story. I believe that we each can do investigative work into our own history to link what is hindering us from a whole-happy-fruitful life.
- From The Village Sessions: children are our mirrors, Oct 18, 2024
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/children-are-our-mirrors/id1768553845?i=1000673560145
This material may be protected by copyright.[↩] - https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-fascia[↩]
- https://www.denveruppercervical.com/upper-cervical-chiropractic[↩]
- https://www.healthline.com/health/chronic-pain/myofascial-release#who-it-helps[↩]
