Finding calm - mind and body

Daily Recalibration for mind and body with semi supine - the daily antidote to modern life

I’d like to share this very simple dailypractice that I use everyday - semi supine. Supine means lying on your back and semi means ½ so it’s lying on your back with your knees up. The thoughts you have whilst you’re lying down, directly talk to your muscles (they do all day, everyday) and encourage the body to release tension.

The practice of semi supine calms the whole nervous system releasing excess muscles tension we’re not even aware we have. Doing this helps all the systems of the body to work optimally, breathing more fully and easily being a key one. Without knowing it we hold muscles tense in our torso which can adversely affect our breathing.

The benefits of Semi supine:

• allows the head neck and back to completely rest giving an opportunity for muscles to release.

• acts as an instant destress

• it’s a great way to re energise quickly

• over time it will help developed self-awareness of unhelpful muscle tension and help to rebalance muscle tone through the body.

Lying in semi supine every day for 10 to 20 mins is a great tool to assess your progress; it’s a daily learning process designed to build awareness of your unhelpful physical habits.

What to do:

Please email me to request a 15 min audio guide to semi supine. kathyponter@gmail.com.

On a comfortable carpeted floor or on a thick yoga mat, lie with a book under your head with the knees bent, feet flat on the floor, hip or shoulder width apart and hands on your ribs. If your head feels like it’s tipping back keep adding height to books supporting your head until it doesn’t. If the small of your back is arched away from the floor try resting your feet/lower legs up on a chair.

With your eyes open, think through the following directions:

• allow the neck to be free – our neck muscles are often tight and can sometimes pull our head back and down which results in the foreword head problem and can cause the whole body to be out of alignment as it tries to compensate.

• so that the head can go forward and away – opposite from being pulled back and down as in the startle pattern further releasing the neck muscles.

• so that the back can lengthen – the opposite of compression of the spine that can be the result of having tense muscles through the torso.

• and the back can widen – to prevent holding across the chest or shoulders around the ribs and across the hip joints.

• knees go up, away from the hips and each other – think of the knees going away from the hips and slightly away from each other like rays of sunshine. This thought prevents us ‘holding’ our knees together allowing muscular release in the hips.

The directions are gentle thoughts to instigate release of held muscle tensions. Like anything, the more you do it the better you get!

Please email me to request a 15 min audio guide to semi supine. kathyponter@gmail.com.

The first 5 mins of the audio guide are general mindful awareness and relaxation, the last 10 mins are based on the Alexander Technique.

I’d love to hear how you get on with semi supine and any benefits you notice or questions you may have.