Being a Yogahairdresser
"I now practice daily being a Yogahairdresser."
Yogahairdresser is a name I chose for myself because I resonate with it. I love yoga and I love hair. I also love teaching. If you have ever been around when I am behind the chair whipping up some hair, it is pretty clear that I am enjoying myself.
I try to find ways to fit yoga, hair and teaching into my day because t makes me very happy. So, the challenge became how to fit yoga in. I practice in my personal time but had the desire to incorporate it into my work day.
I had the ah-ha moment in the beginning of my career while in an Aveda Pureform cutting class. This class was all about body positioning and alignment while performing a haircut. Ah - Ha! The lightbulb went on. I am going to do yoga all day while I am working.
I began building each haircut like I would a yoga pose, from the bottom up. It's all about the foundation. You must have a strong foundation in order to have a sturdy structure.
It's my intention to align my body while in the process of cutting hair. First I reach my feet down into the Earth. Then I begin to adjust my posture by lifting up through my center, while still grounding into the Earth. Next I make sure that my knees and feet are aligned with my hips. To engage my core I reach my tailbone down to the Earth as I lift lightly up through the belly, making sure that I am not tipping forwards or backwards.
Engaging your core is very important as a hairstylist because it helps you to stand up all day. It also helps establish a center line for you to gage your symmetry as you work around a haircut. As core is engaged, it is your connection point to the haircut.
From the core lift, I roll my shoulders up, back and down. This takes the strain off my shoulders and allows them to relax. tI also assists my arms in lengthening out through elbows, wrists and fingers. Now there is space for my neck to be able to lengthen and head to stay lifted. This helps to prevent injuries, headaches and fatigue.
Roll shoulders up, back, down and relax. Breathe. Let it go
With your shoulders back and down, you open up our chest and heart chakra. We often feel a need to protect our delicate heart. I like to imagine a bubble or screen around myself while I work. This allows me to focus on keeping my shoulders back and not feeling the need to collapse in for protection.
Now is the time to really let go and create.
With a continued passion to practice and fine tune the technical aspects of cutting, I have created the foundation to confidently create a structure in the hair shape that will both accentuate and benefit each guests features and personal style. As I add the physical aspects of the body positioning in yoga hair cutting, hair takes on a balance and flow that is pleasing to the eye and grows out well. I see what comes up and let it flow.
