WARM UP IN YOGA (Sookhma Vyayama)

Warming up is an important aspect of any physical activity like sports or games; Hatha yoga is no exception. This is because in Hathayoga tradition the asanas or dynamic postures are given prime importance. 

 

This is especially important if we do Asanas in the morning. During night's sleep the toxins /metabolites produced by the body might have percolated to joins of the body instead of kidneys, rectum, skin or lungs to get eliminated. This is due to lack of proper ventilation or improper sleeping postures, or poor blood supply to joints.

Age is also a factor as many people experience stiff joints in the morning, beginning from middle ages (40+). Sometimes the cause can be some other factor like autoimmune responses, typically seen in Rheumatoid arthritis.

Warm up exercises prevent any untoward incidents like tendon sprain, muscle catching or even subluxation in some cases.

It also helps to remove the build-up of toxins in the joints which in severe cases may lead to crippling.

Method of Doing

·       Start from neck

·       Shoulder Joints

·       Elbows

·       Wrist

·       Fingers

·       Hips

·       Knees

·       Ankles

·       Foot with toes

We can include breathing pattern where warm-up movement effects lungs.

If we are doing Ashans in the early evening, few rounds of ‘Sun Salutation’ (Soorya-Namaskar) will suffice instead of doing warm-up exercise, plus few later bends and twists.