Living the Wisdom of Yoga in Modern Times

Happy Memorial Day: How To Find Freedom in Your Yoga Poses

Merriam Webster Dictionary Definition on Freedom: The absence of constraint in action;being released from something onerous;ease;boldness of conception or execution;unrestricted

To have freedom in your yoga practice means that you feel unconstrained,at ease & unrestricted. This allows you to be your boldest, brightest and best self on the mat and in the world. Below are tips on how to do this.

Learn Proper Alignment Then Play With Its Boundaries- When the body is in good alignment, it is safe for you to express your poses fully. When the bones are stacked & you are using the leverage and support of firmly engaged muscles, poses become available to you with very little effort.  The basics of alignment apply to all poses. When you know them, you can look at a pose in any book, magazine or yoga class and be able to figure out how to execute it. This gives you more options on the mat.

Muscle Engagement-Not engaging the muscles is like trying to make a wet noodle stand up. When there is no support in the poses your body looses its ability be stable. Without stability, many poses are not accessible and injuries frequently occur.

Practice 4-6 Days per week-"Doing something 3 days a week = maintenance, 5-6 days a week = transformation." Antonella. Think of your muscles like your favorite pair of jeans. The more you wear (use)them the softer & more pliable they get.  When you throw them in the washing machine, they tighten up and you have to start the process all over again.  The washing machine is equivalent to inconsistent and infrequent practice. The muscles tighten back up. When the muscles are tight, your movements are constricted which takes away from your freedom

Be in Good Health

• Eat healthy
• Stay Hydrated
• Keep Stress Low

When the body feels good & is in good health, it works more efficiently and you have more energy for your practice.

Body Weight-the lighter the body, the easier it is on your joints & the easier it is to get in an out of your yoga poses.  When the body is at a good weight, binds, floating, jump throughs, jump backs, and arm balances become more accessible. I have seen students practices transform by losing as little as 5 pounds. They can immediately do the deep binds in Ashtanga, their chest comes closer to their thighs in forward folds & their sun salutes have more of a floating quality. They have the freedom to move.

Deep Breathing-Your breath supports your practice and the poses in many ways

• Increased Stamina-many studies done on this
• Calm Mind-you don't battle your thoughts so you can be free to.....
• Focus- on your practice
• Supports movement in and out of poses-Many arm balances, floats, forward folds and twists are made accessible through proper breathing. Inhalation and exhalation have energetic and physical effects on the body. For example, if you exhale before forward folding, your belly pulls up and in created an inch or so or more space for you fold. 

Bandhas-engaging the muscles below the bellow button through the pelvic floor creates stability & strength in poses allowing you to move freely.

Consistency in Style-You don't necessarily have to practice only one style, but try not to chose too many and to consistently practice the styles you choose several times a week. Even though Ballet and Hip Hop are both styles of dance and there are transferable skills in both, they are so drastically different that in order to master them you have to practice each one with devotion. The same goes with many yoga styles.  For instance,  Power Yoga, &  Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga both use  similar poses, however they are drastically different in execution and many poses that are in one are not covered in the other. They are different enough that in order to feel freedom in both methods, they both would have to be practiced consistently. It is the only way for the body and mind to get used to the practice so that soreness and difficulty go away.

Consistency in Poses-I have students ask me how to do complex poses all the time and I always ask them, "how often do you practice them?" One of the negatives of Vinyasa's every changing sequences is that there is no consistency in poses. A teacher may work on handstand today and may not include it in the class for another 3 months which makes it incredibly hard to perfect it and find freedom in it. If there is a pose that you really wish to master and feel open in, I recommend practicing it every time you get on your mat. Many teachers are okay with you adding it somewhere in their sequence or you can stay after class and practice it. You can also adopt a home practice which insures that you work on everything you want.

 

Video of the Day: Here is a pose you would want to feel free in!

 

Its Not The Yoga Pose That Is The Problem, Its You

This is a response to, When Stretching Is Not the Answer which is an article by Yoga Journal. The article is about handling yoga injuries. I saw some flaws in it. I address them below.

 

Please stop blaming your injuries on yoga poses. It is you doing yoga poses wrong or doing poses that you have no business doing that is the problem.  The statement is not, "Chatarunga hurt my shoulder" or "I hurt myself doing Lotus, Power Yoga, Ashtanga etc".  The statement is, "I was doing chatarunga wrong, so I hurt myself". "My body was not open enough for Lotus, so I hurt myself". Lets stop demonizing yoga poses and styles.

Yoga is Therapy. There are absolutely injuries that call for abstinence from practice to heal properly.  However, that is not the case for everything. Doctors often assign physical therapy for their patients. Yoga is a form of physical therapy. Talk to your yoga teacher about what is going on. No, we are not doctors and you take the advice at your own risk(I have to legally say this. However, Doctors know alot about diagnosis, symptom management and surgery but little about true healing. Just my opinion).

Let Your Frick'n Ego Go and Modify Your Practice.  People really hate to modify their practice. Most would rather stop practicing all together then to not be able to do everything. That is all ego. I know this personally. As a long time practitioner, I struggle with having to pull back sometimes when I have tweaked something. I feel that I have to be an example or that people will think that I don't practice. I feel that others may think that I can't take the heat because I have to stop or that I really cannot do the pose. And you know what, everyone may be thinking these things, but it is not my problem. None of them will pay my medical bills or take care of me if my body breaks down completely. I have a bigger picture that I am working toward and the set back is temporary. I remind myself of that and I keep practicing.

 Video of the Day: More Iyengar(name spelled wrong on video)

 

 

Are You On the Way To Yoga Burnout or Yoga Enlightenment?

The popularity of  Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, Power Yoga, and  Hot Yoga are at an all time high.  These styles use vigorous and powerful  sequences to impart health to the body as well as the mind. They bring peace and well being to practitioners helping them to be a better person and live a more fulfilled life.   Because they provide such a great physical workout, many people approach them like a gym aerobics class and rely on brut strength and will power to move them through the practice resulting in an overly aggressive yoga practice that looses steam really fast and is not sustainable.  Practicing without incorporating the more subtle concepts of yoga such  as breath,non-harming, focus and non attachment, opens the door for stress, injury, ill health and an uneasy mind. Essentially you cultivate all the traits that you were trying to use yoga to cure.

 Look at the list below and see where you fit in. Are you on the road to burn out or enlightenment?

 Gym Mentality                                             Yoga Mentality

Barely Breathe                                                                  Deeply Breathe        

In the mind throughout practice                              Practice takes you out of the mind

Obsessed with attaining poses                                    Enjoys learning new poses

Labels practices "bad" or "good"                               Sees all practices as good

Compares themselves to others                                Focused on themselves

Always seeking more intensity                                   Time & place for everything

Sweat is generated from external heat                   Sweat is generated from internal heat

Snaps into poses                                                              Moves with breath into poses

Only uses mirror for alignment                                 Knows how poses feel in the body

Stares at themselves in mirror                                   Uses Dristhi(gaze points)

Mat has to be in same place or miffed                    Cool with whatever spot they can get        

Does advanced poses to show off                            Poses for their benefits and fun

Judges others practices                                                Non judgemental

Has to be in the studio in crowd                               Has friends but not about popularity

Compares current practice to previous               Practices from the present moment

Pushes through pain                                                     Pays attention to pain  

Breaks are a sign of weakness                                    Breaks when needed

Constantly seeking short cuts                                    Slow and steady wins the race

Worships those with "advanced" practices          Every body's human

Searching for Yoga body  for vanity                       Understands the effect of weight on health

Expects teachers to look a certain way                 Value teacher for what they teach    

Sequencing should be for intensity                         Sequence focused on well being

Leave class feeling broke down                                 Leave class feeling energized

Has a post yoga recovery ritual                                Feel good when you leave

Has to dress a certain way                                          May like clothes but not there to be seen

Hates anything spiritual                                             Open to other aspects of yoga

Depends on their teacher                                           Understand their own body

Can't stand silence                                                        Loves it

Can't be still                                                                     Strives to be still

Wants something for free                                         Understands the value of yoga

Pushes into poses                                                         Breathes into poses

 Only sees yoga as a workout                                   Total Body wellness system

Chooses studios based on popularity                   Chooses based on what they have to offer

Pushes through poses  using muscles                    Moves from the core and breath

 

 Video of the day: Yoga as a spiritual practice

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hot Yoga: How Hot is Too Hot?

I have been practicing yoga for about 10 years now and I notice that what was hot then is not hot now. 85 degrees was hot. Then it moved up to 90. Then to 95 degrees.  Now there are studios that have temperatures between 105-110.  People are getting used to the heat and are requesting even higher temperatures.  So even if the room is heated to 99 degrees,heaters are being brought in to get it even hotter.   How Hot is too Hot?

The two innovators in Hot Yoga are Bikram Chodhury and Baron Baptiste. Both claim that Hot Yoga flushes out toxins and warms up the muscles so that injury is prevented. Bikram rooms are heated to 105 degrees and the poses are fairly simple and repeated twice. In Journey Into Power, written by Baron Baptiste, he recommends that the room be heated to 90 degrees and many of the Baptiste affiliate studios are heated to 95 degrees. Though his sequence is  more complicated then Bikram's, it is still accessible to all levels and allows for more innovation.

Some people try to use Ashtanga as  a model for hot yoga. They say that Mysore India is hot so this justifies that yoga should be done in warmer temperatures. The reality is that in Mysore, practicing in the hottest parts of the day are avoided.  Sessions are conducted  early in the morning and late in the afternoon when the sun is at its coolest.  To the Ashtanga research institute, there is definitely an understanding of when hot is to hot. 

Is their a point where it has gone beyond therapeutic and into extremism? Is this based on the individual? How Hot is Too Hot? I would love to hear from you!

 

 

Video of the Day:  Self & Mind 

 

 

World Water Day + CSN Gift Certificate Winner

Today is World Water Day! Water is something we take for granted in America because we have a continuous stream of it coming out of our faucets. I recently watched an eye opening documentary, Blue Gold, that made me think differently about my relationship with water.  Could something that seems so infinite actually be a finite resource?

Blue Gold Website:

In every corner of the globe, we are polluting, diverting, pumping, and wasting our limited supply of fresh water at an expediential level as population and technology grows. The rampant overdevelopment of agriculture, housing and industry increase the demands for fresh water well beyond the finite supply, resulting in the desertification of the earth.

 
Corporate giants force developing countries to privatize their water supply for profit. Wall Street investors target desalination and mass bulk water export schemes. Corrupt governments use water for economic and political gain. Military control of water emerges and a new geo-political map and power structure forms, setting the stage for world water wars.

 
We follow numerous worldwide examples of people fighting for their basic right to water, from court cases to violent revolutions to U.N. conventions to revised constitutions to local protests at grade schools. As Maude Barlow proclaims, “This is our revolution, this is our war”. A line is crossed as water becomes a commodity. Will we survive?

You can watch this eye opening documentary on Netflix, You Tube or below.

Winner of $35 Gift Certificate to CSN stores is NYRA 17. Please Check your E-mail.

Videos of the Day: World Water Wars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is There a Specific Diet For Yogis?

Everywhere you look, there are articles on how to loose weight fast and buzz on the internet about celebrities like Lady GaGa and Madonna who stay fit through yoga. Celebrity yoga articles usually focus on the toning, strengthening and waist whittling effects of doing yoga poses but what about diet?Is their some great yoga treatise that specifically states what a yogi should be eating?

 The three major text  on yoga are The Bhgavad Gita, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Hatha Yoga Pradapika. Just like the Bible, these books have been translated by many different people who all have many different opinions.  Neither the Hatha Yoga Pradapika or the Gita have much to say that applies. If you think differently, please leave a comment.  The Yoga Sutras on the other hand is full of text that gives yogi's guidance for life. The Yamas and the Niyamas of the Yoga Sutras directly relate to universal morals  and personal observances that can be applied to diet and they will be discussed below. After looking at these philosophies, it will be up to you to decide what they mean to you.

 Ahimsa/Non Harming

Ahimsa would suggest that the foods that you ingest should cause no harm to you are anyone else. Questions that surface when contemplating Ahimsa and diet:

• Is the food I am eating causing damage to my body?
• Was anyone or anything harmed unnecessarily in the creation or processing of this food?

Aparigraha/Non Hoarding

Aparigraha deals with taking only what is necessary and letting go of attachments. Questions that surface when contemplating Aparigraha and diet:

• Is there more food on my plate that what my body needs to be healthy?
• Am I wasteful with food?
• Are my eating habits taking food away from others?
• Am I attached to certain foods in a way that is harmful to me, the environment or to others?

Sauca/Purity

Sauca deals with purity and cleanliness.  Questions that surface when contemplating Sauca and diet:

• Is my food clean and free of all impurities?
• Does this food contain toxins?
• Is this food toxic to me, other living beings or the environment?
• Does this food disrupt the purity of my mind and emotions?(Maybe think about alcohol,sugar, caffeine and its effects on mood and behavior) 

 Santosha/Contentment

Santosha deals with being satisfied and content.  Questions to contemplate:

• Do I feel satiated when I am done eating or am I too full or underfed? 
• Does this food turn off my hunger signals or make me crave more? (sugar, high fructose corn syrup)
• Are my cravings disruptive to my feeling of satisfaction?
• Am I making a decision to be  happy about the food that I have to eat?

Tapas/Disciplined Use of Energy

Tapas deals with the heated energy it takes to stay disciplined. Questions for diet and Tapas:

• Am I eating more calories then I can burn off?
• Am I disciplined about my food intake?
• Am I disciplined about my yoga practices and exercise that helps my body stay balanced?
• Are my thoughts on food steady and balanced?

Svadhyaya/Self Study

Svadhyaya deals with self inquiry and studying things that will promote self improvement. Questions for diet and Svadhyaya:

• How do I feel when I eat this food?
• How do I feel when I eat at this time?
• Have I done research on the proper diet for my body?
• Do I understand the long term effects of this diet?

 Video of the Day-Ashtanga Yoga Surya Namaskara B

 

Yoga As a Preventative & Cure for Age Related Aches and Pains

Many of the aches and pains we experience as we age are a result of limited use or overuse of muscles during our youth.  Repetitive actions like the way we sit in our favorite chair, how we grip the steering wheel or the way we stand with more weight on our left leg causes tightness that manifests as aches and pains later in life. Limited use from sedentary lifestyles results in weakness in key muscles that support the body. As we move through daily life putting more and more strain on already compromised areas, the body eventually breaks down resulting in pain.

Though we  cannot stop aging, a balanced yoga practice moves the body through a full range of motion lubricating the joints, stretching out tight spaces and strengthening weak areas.  Areas that are overused should be stretched to remove tightness and the muscles around them strengthened to support the overworked areas. Weak areas should be slowly strengthened through weight bearing postures and repetitive motion.

As a preventive, yoga enables you to live a full active life in the twilight years by allowing you to  maintain a good range of motion and  strength thereby staving off many age related muscle pains. As a cure after age related pains have set in, a steady yoga practice will help  to regain lost range of motion and strength which results in less pain, more independence and a better quality of life.

 

Video of the Day:  Real Men Do Yoga

 

Sexy Yoga Inspired Valentine's Day Gift Ideas

 

The gifts below do double duty. They can help your yoga practice and help you and your partner have a wonderful Valentine's day as well.

 1. Seamless Underwear-Yoga pants are super tight and show all your nooks and crannies. For those who don't want to go commando, seamless underwear are a comfortable and cute option and also can be used to kick up the sexy in the bedroom. Victoria's Secret has great options at many different price points.

2. Hot Yoga Shorts-Super cute and flattering.  I always admire those people with the confidence to wear these in class. If you are not one of those, you can wear them in the bedroom. These are from Shakti Activewear

3. Music

Many genres of music can be used in yoga and for cuddles in bed after yoga. Trip Hop, R&B and Jazz usually fit the bill. Try Massive Attack, Melody Gardot and Jill Scott. If your lover doesn't have an MP3 player throw in an I-pod as well.

 

 

 

4. Aromatherapy- Aromatherapy uses essential oils to create health, healing and relaxation.  Oils like Ylang Ylang,  Sandalwood and Patchouli are sensual where as oils like lavender are calming. Frankincense is an essential oil associated with spirituality and centering.  They smell great and can be mixed into massage oils, bath water and diffused into the air for date night and used in cool clothes for your eyes during Svasana or diffused  in the air during practice or meditation.

5. Share a Yoga Package-Yoga increases stamina, focus, strength, flexibility and overall mental well being. All these are helpful in everyday life as well as the bedroom.  

6. Massage- Since they both relax the mind and the muscles, yoga and massage are two therapies that go hand and hand and benefit each other.  For a really intimate experience, you can use music and aromatherapy and give each other massages. Many yoga studios promote couples yoga and massage workshops and packages around Valentine's day that are affordable and fun as well.

Video of the Day: Another sexy yoga song. Set The Fire To the Thrid Bar by Snow

Patrol

 

How Long Should You Hold a Stretch or Yoga Pose To See Results?

In the average yoga class, a stretch is held for 5 breaths but is this enough to see results? When we stretch, our brain relays a message to the central nervous system  to contract the muscles to keep them from being injured.  It takes about a minute for this response to wear off.  Until then, the body prevents you from doing your deepest version of the pose. So is 5 breaths really enough? Yes and No.

I have always heard that 5 breaths equal 30 seconds. To test this, I timed my own breath 3 times and came up with an average of 40 seconds.  I was sitting in a comfortable position so it is safe to say that in a yoga class while performing challenging poses and moving quickly, it would be about 30 seconds. 

So holding one posture for 30 seconds is not enough. How do we overcome this?

Ways To Make Sure You Hold the Stretch Long Enough to Get the Benefit

Repetition- Do the same posture more then once. If you back out a few breaths and go back in, the contraction reflex will stop

Doing the Same Posture But In a Different Way- When you come to the floor in Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series, there are 4 (3 depending on who taught you) different forward folds back to back but with different hand positions. You release that, do a straight leg table top and then proceed to do a boat load of other forward folds that are just slightly different from the ones before. These small changes work the body in a slightly different way while compounding the effects of the hamstring stretch which results in the back of the legs being worked long enough to see benefit.

This principle can be used in any type of yoga practice. Try doing 2-3 different versions of the same pose with a small break in between to get the most benefit. You can also do the same posture but make it more challenging every time by going a little deeper or reaching a little further.

Long Holds-Hold the posture for longer then 1 minute

 

 Video of the Day-How To Recognize the Right Path

 

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