The primary goal of Critical Alignment Therapy and Yoga (CAT/Y) is to mobilize the spinal column, restoring crucial mobility and balance. When the spine is mobile, it interacts with gravity, which means that we can release tension even during activity. Tension does not even build up in the arms, shoulders and legs when they are properly connected with the spine.
There are many benefits coming from relaxation. Relaxation gives us access to our primary strength system: the proper alignment of the spinal column. When the spinal vertebrae are in alignment, the deeper muscle layers (postural muscles) are activated. These small muscles connect vertebrae and keep them mobile. They are the strongest muscles in our body and they never get tired. On the contrary, they supply the body with energy.
Without this alignment, we use the superficial muscles (movement muscles),
which are designed for short bursts of activity, to hold our posture.
Unlike postural muscles, movement muscles fatigue, and the constant load causes them to become strained, limiting our freedom of movement.
Critical Alignment Yoga and Therapy was developed by Gert van Leeuwen.
Hola! I am a Critical Alignment Yoga teacher and Therapist.
My passion is to help people to discover their mind-body potential through yoga, and to inspire them to move, to develop, to transform. Cultivating awareness for a healthy posture and mindset.
Critical Alignment Yoga (CAY) unites a workout with meditation. It unites physical strength with emotional strength. It unites detailed physical knowledge with the experience of the whole body. It unites relaxation with willpower.
CAY gives you a new experience of the word ‘yoga’, which means ‘union’. It is a deep and concrete union of the physical, the breath, the emotional and thought, observed by a silent, meditative brain which is ready to accept the ‘new’ in trust, ready to transform.
Nearly all of us experience an injury at some point during our lives. It might be a sudden injury, for example, from an accident or injuries such as the ‘repetitive strain injuries’ (RSI) that are common in workplace environments.
You learn in therapy classes how to apply knowledge from practice into your daily life movements: sit, walk, bend and weight lifting without experiencing discomfort and tension.
