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Therapeutic Tip of the Month: January

Find out the restorative benefits of cow-face pose.
Picture of Joanne Varni

Joanne Varni

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Gomukhasana Cowface Pose

At first glance, this posture doesn’t look like it’s doing much, but there’s a lot more happening than simply opening the hips. Gomukhasana, or cow-face pose, benefits digestion, and when you add the forward fold, it can release the upper back, lengthening and offering release to the lumbar spine. We typically feel the sensation in the hips, so if we’re not careful, we can put stress on the back that we don’t necessarily feel. If one finds themselves rounding in the back, then simply allow the back to rest in a rounding position and place some support (such as a blanket) under the hips. If the back and hips are more open, and one can hinge at the hips, the forward fold becomes more active and leading with the heart may be appropriate. If uncertain, be gentle with yourself!

Picture of Joanne Varni

Joanne Varni

Joanne's philosophy as a yoga teacher is to help people who seek personal empowerment feel connected to their bodies, quiet their mind, stimulate a healthy nervous system, and release tension in the body caused by stress, anxiety, or trauma. Her teaching technique uses a combination of breath work, meditation, gentle asanas, somatic yoga, and neurogenic tremoring. Additionally, Joanne specializes in helping those with trauma (including PTSD) and has attended and completed her Level II certification in TRE (Trauma/tension release exercises) with Dr. David Bercelli. She is also certified as TSY teacher (Trauma Sensitive Yoga) under the renowned guidance of trauma researcher and pioneer Dr. Bessel van der Kolk (The Trauma Center at JRI). Joanne teaches classes, workshops, teacher trainings, as well as running retreats locally and internationally. She also teaches Yoga for Trauma Recovery at the VA Hospital in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and San Jose, California and has voluntarily taught yoga to women incarcerated at the Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas and the Center for Survivors of Torture in San Jose. Joanne is an ERYT500 and earned her 200 hour and 500 hour YA certification through Jennifer Prugh’s YA certified “JOY of Yoga” teacher training. She completed her Therapeutic Yoga teacher training with Cheri Clampett and Arturo Peal and her Yin Yoga Teacher training under Paul and Suzy Grilley. A twenty-year resident of Los Gatos, she enjoys spending time with her husband John, and children, Anthony, Steven, and Nicole.

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