When I first received my cancer diagnosis, before I knew anything about anything, all my body wanted to do on my mat was fold forward. I threw all my habitual sequencing out the window and let intuition guide me. Eyes closed, the movements came from deep within without conscious thought or direction. All rules were broken. All movement was good.

I have been reflecting on this: that overwhelming pull to fold forward, to round the spine, to pull tightly into oneself, possibly as a chance to reconnect within, to turn off the noise of the external world, if only momentarily. During times of fear, the unknown, stress, and grief, there must be a biological need to create shapes that physically retreat oneself into oneself.

Recently, in a standing forward fold, I felt a response so palpable in my body that I could envision tension rippling off my skin and dripping into the abyss. An involuntary sigh escaped my mouth, and I realized there was a lot here in this shape; we must do this more!

As far as I understand it (and I would like to learn more), the parasympathetic nervous system is a complex system that rules over the relaxation and healing response of the body and helps us to regulate. When we forward bend, it could be imagined that the smooth rounding of the neck and lower back gives space to and stimulates the nerves of this system to produce a relaxation response as we go inward. Perhaps this gives us a sense of safety as we close off the vulnerable, sensitive, front-facing body, creating a sense of protection.

Not all forward folds are equal for every practitioner and every experience. Think of how you might feel in a child's pose vs. a seated forward fold or wide-leg standing forward fold vs a wide-leg seated forward fold. For some of us, some forward folds might even instil a sense of panic and restriction, the opposite of what we intend. If this is you, never suffer. Use blankets and props to support yourself, try backing off out of the posture, or start with postures like reclined hand-to-big-toe pose with a strap, legs up the wall, or supine figure four (these are both more accessible forward folds just flipped on their backs).

Hoping to explore forward folding with you soon to see what we can uncover.

With love,
Sara