Going to squeak in under the wire (WoYoPracMo)

I’ve got some exciting yoga news - well, exciting for me - coming up so I’m going to JUST manage to get in under the deadline with a post about Ardha Chandrasana (half moon).

There are a number of ways to come into this position, but I’ll use a supported version. I’m a big fan of any sort of props you can use to help you ‘feel’ or ‘get’ a pose even if you don’t have perfect form. In this case, you need a wall. Mat is optional.

Stand with your right shoulder gently touching the wall. Hips and feet point directly forward, then slide the right hip to the wall and press in deeply. Bring your right ankle and knee in line under the hip joint.

Keeping the hip and right leg still, open the rest of your body toward the room (away from the wall. Maintain a long line in the spine and adjust right foot position to comfort. Lift the left leg away from the floor and press the left heel back into the wall. Shift all weight onto (and directly above) the right hip. Hinge from the hips to lower the chest parallel with the left leg. Press the entire back and left leg into the wall, keeping the chest open to the room. When you find a balanced position, reach the left hand up the wall (palm facing the room). Right fingers may be lowered to touch the floor or a block, as needed.

With the back of the body pressed into the wall, keep the right leg strong (rotate thigh open) and grip into the floor with the toes, mound below the big toe, and pinky side edge of the foot. Point the left hipbone toward the ceiling and press the left leg into the wall. Flex the left foot so that the entire left leg stays active.

Tighten the abdominal muscles to keep the core strong and lift the chest, rather than allowing the chest to collapse toward the right leg. Keep both shoulders pressing into the wall and pull the shoulder blades down the back away from the ears.

Reach out through both sets of fingertips, spreading fingers wide, and squeeze the shoulderblades just *slightly* toward one another, in order to keep the entire chest active.

Try to find a floating balanced position. Take a couple of deep breaths. Come out of the position by reversing how you got in. Switch sides.

Personally, I tend to focus finding my balance on one leg before opening the pose. It’s really important NOT to lock the knee - if you even suspect that you might be, focus on making a microbend in the knee and that will solve the problem. It may fatigue the legs faster in the short term, but it will create better results over the long term.

I’ve heard people describe the full expression of half moon as ‘floaty’ but it never feels like that for me. It feels completely grounded, but airy - strong legs but light chest. Possibly not the best descriptors, but it’s what works for me. YMMV.

WoYoPracMo (Day 2) and Hand Yoga

It was rainy and warm tonight, so I wasn’t sure if there would be a lot of people in class (which sometimes happens when the weather is bad) or no one (which happens more often). It was more of a middle ground, with 4 students - one new, one second-timer, and two returners.

The new student had some yoga experience, which is always interesting because every teacher has a different style and many have different ‘methods.’ For example, many teachers have students “roll up to standing” from a forward fold. I don’t. Ever.

While I’m not a fan of One True Wayism, I am a believer in physics. Rolling up is bad for lower back vertebrae because it places the fulcrum in an unsafe and unsupported location. My opinion, your mileage may vary. I should also mention that my only other hard and fast yoga rule is that the only WRONG way to do yoga is if it hurts. Yoga should not hurt. NOT EVER. If you’re in a class and something hurts, stop what you’re doing (back out of the position) and flag down your teacher for assistance.

Rather than blog a specific asana today, I thought I’d talk about hands.

When students are on their hands and knees, they often complain about wrist pain - some right away, some after an extended time in Table positon, et cetera. It’s completely normal, the same thing happened to me when I began practicing, but there are ways of alleviating this compression.

1. You could buy a wedge. A yoga wedge will provide a bit of lift under the wrist which will help relieve the pressure.

2. You could roll up the edge of your mat a couple of times and place just the base of each palm on the padding.

3. The most effective method (and the one that will ALSO make method 1 and 2 more helpful) is weight distribution throughout the hands and fingers.

You can practice this from a seated or standing position (hands on a table or counter) or on the hands and knees. Bringing the shoulders in line over the wrists will bring more weight into the hands, so you can alter that position in order to avoid putting too much pressure (read: pain) on any one area.

Spread the fingers wide so that there is (roughly) equal distance between each finger and the first finger and thumb. You can also cup the fingers slightly in order to help balance the weight. Press down with the fingertips and then lower each knuckle to the floor. Your lowest knuckle is actually in the top of the palm of your hand, so press down through each of those knuckles as well as the full length of each thumb.

Your hand is going to get tired. But if you press the weight out through the length of the fingers, you should feel as though you can ALMOST lift the base of the palm away from the floor - don’t lift it, but but pressing the weight out through each finger will take the pressure off of the wrist. It helps to strengthen the hands, the forearms, and the muscles which support the wrist joint.

If you don’t practice like this regularly, the muscles are going to fatigue pretty quickly. That’s okay, just use method one or two to help support you while you build the strength necessary. There’s a similar method for the feet which helps to strengthen the toes, ankles and calves.

One of the weight lifters asked me for handstand tips tonight, which was kind of fun. Even though weight training and yoga have similar results, there are fundamentally different approaches that change how you think about how you’re getting to where you’re going. Makes for good conversation.

WoYoPracMo, Day 1

I like the idea of WoYoPracMo (World Yoga Practice Month) but I already do yoga almost every day. I love the idea of encouraging people to ramp up their practice, be it frequency or intensity, and especially to engage people who are maybe a little intimidated by yoga.

My WoYoPracMo plan? I’m going to use July as another type of motivation - one, to lengthen my practice and two, to blog a yoga asana every day. As with any explanation of asana, Your Mileage May Vary. Keep what you like, discard what you don’t.

Since it’s day one, I’m going to start with an exercise that I frequently use in classes to illustrate that you have control of your practice.

I tell each and every class that you can make each asana, in each class, as easy or as difficult as you want. It’s all about muscles. Engaging more muscle makes the asana more active, more work. Engaging less muscle makes the asana more passive, more relaxing. Active and passive are not judgment terms, simply a reflection of the amount of work your body does.

Our studio typically starts classes with legs up the wall (Viparita Karani).** By its definition, it is a very relaxed and relaxing posture. But it doesn’t have to be. Here’s how:

Begin with legs, arms, abdominal muscles relaxed. Flex feet. Point your toes and then flex the foot as though you’d stand on it. Press out through the heels, try to draw the toes back toward the body. Keep the feet flexed and active, try to keep the heels pressing into the wall. Notice that it makes your calves work. Imagine you’re going to lift your legs away from the wall, flexing the quadriceps (front of thighs) as though to make that motion, and keep the thighs active. You can do the kneecap test to see if it’s working.***

Engage the abdominal muscles. Adjust your pelvic position- tilt the pelvis backward, trying to draw the tops of the hipbones toward the bottom of the ribcage. This lets your lower back press more firmly into the floor. You can also reverse this- tilt the pelvis forward. This recreates a natural arch in the lower back and changes how the stretch in the back of the legs feels. Keep the feet, legs, and abs active.

Extend the arms out into a T position, palms facing up. Keep the shoulderblades flat on the floor. You can engage the shoulders by trying to draw the shoulderblades toward one another- not a squeeze, just making them active. Reach out through the fingertips, stretching and widening the gaps between the fingers. If you want to make it more work, lift the backs of the hands slightly away from the floor. Keep the feet, legs, abs, arms, and hands active for a couple of breaths.

Then, with an exhale, relax all those muscles.

That is the difference. That’s how you control your practice. That’s how you decide to work. From the bottom up, every single time. I run through this exercise in each class because it doesn’t seem to occur to a lot of folks. When a student tells me that they don’t get anything out of a class, it tells me a lot about the student. If something isn’t working for you, speak up- that’s what we’re here for. If something is painful, DON’T DO IT. Ask us for other options. We’ve got them. We practice ourselves *and* we got training, for that express reason.

One of the things I love about yoga is that it is a constant learning process. Every single day I learn something new about my body and how it works, or how I can make it work. I love that it is process oriented rather than goal oriented because I like the nuts and bolts of things. I also like that it helps you change how you think about things (see above asana) because that means you’re not just learning but you’re also learning about yourself and how you have limited your paradigms. That kind of learning makes us better people.

It’s almost July - where has the summer gone?

Yoga Month is fast approaching, so I have to figure out what kind of classes and options would be helpful for both new and returning students (I’m open to suggestions!). I’m very excited that the gym is participating. A lot of people complain about yoga classes in a gym environment, but for all the negatives there are a lot of positives.

The room may not be as quiet as some would like, or as conducive to meditation, but they are very open and flexible with their scheduling and can afford to offer some of the least expensive yoga classes I’ve ever seen (I think right now it’s $5 a class). It makes yoga more accessible to more people and that’s what keeps me coming back there.

Tonight’s class was fun because I got a lot of questions. I love questions in yoga class, which is not true of all teachers. That same adage you used to hear in elementary school - “If you have a question, someone else probably wants to know the answer too” - is completely true. It also lets me draw attention to things that I might not otherwise be talking about, which means the students can broaden their practice or think about asanas differently.

I also had a student ask about Yoga Toes. I’m sure they’re a great invention and make perfect sense for some people. I prefer the free version: sit indian style on the floor (or sit with your legs crossed on a chair/stool) and interlace the fingers of your hand between your toes (left leg, right hand/ right leg, left hand). It looks similar to weaving your fingers together, but with your toes. It can be difficult depending on how much flexibility you have in your toes, but just work the fingers through to whatever point you can. Then alternate wiggling your toes and fingers in order to help stretch your toes. Do that several minutes a night, every night, and you can save yourself about $45.

Strong, flexible toes lead to better balance as we age. If you *don’t* practice stretching your toes they will invariably narrow together, which creates a weaker base. You can also focus on strengthening your feet/toes in practice by gripping the toes into your mat, lifting the instep of the foot away from the floor, and pressing down with the toes, ball of the foot, and heel while emphasizing weight distribution to the outside edge (pinky side) of the foot.

It’s been a while since I updated!

We (I) have taken on a house project - painting almost every room on the first floor. All of my free time is spent painting.

Tonight’s class was fun - it felt like it had great balance. I left the room feeling energized, so I hope everyone else did too.

The asanas:

Warm up: 2 rounds of Sun Salutations (A) with Chair Pose at the end of each

Cat and Cow with the core power option (knees two inches off the floor)

Dolphin for about 4 minutes (2 breaks)

Plank/Down Dog sets

Gate pose on each side

Modified Camel (fists on low back)

Low lunge on each side (hands on blocks, chest lifted, squeeze thighs together)

Low lunge on each side (hands inside front leg - hands/elbows on blocks lowering the abdomen toward floor)

Bakasana (crow pose) with a squat break

Seated spinal twist

Savasana

Gentle spinal twist after Savasana

My goal was to open the chest and hips to prepare for Bakasana and it went precisely as smoothly as I could have hoped. An hour is a short time for a class but I try to intensify my SunSal warmups so we can move on more quickly.

It was a small class with one regular student (very flexible), two beginners, and a practitioner whose experience I’m not completely familiar with. The beginners were quite excited about working up to Bakasana and adjusting to bringing the weight forward, which can often be the second-worst part (actual worst - fear of falling).

One of the best things about this job is getting to see other people get excited about yoga and (hopefully) inspiring them to practice more. Next week - Hip Hop Yoga!

Yoga “stuff”

I happened to catch part of an Oprah’s “Favorite Things” show the other day. It was all stuff for summer and all of it cost more than I (and clearly most of the audience) would spend on any given item. That got me to thinking about yoga stuff because if you pick up any yoga magazine today, it’s chock full of ads for yoga things you “need.”

It’s no secret that I started doing yoga because I’m lazy. I mean, it doesn’t look that hard - right? Well the other not-so-secret is that I’m cheap. I’m all about spending money for quality, but I’m also not about spending money on a lot of things that I don’t actually NEED. And that’s just one of the reasons that yoga is perfect for me.

Yoga really only requires your hands and feet (or close approximations). Things like mats, blocks, and straps can be helpful but aren’t necessary. When I bought my first yoga mat, the average cost was about $10. I think nowadays the average cost is about $20. I don’t think the mats have changed significantly but it’s the price that the market will bear. I used telephone books instead of blocks, and a bathrobe belt instead of a ‘yoga strap.’

The longer I practiced, the more it made sense to invest in the equipment I was using and when I began teaching it was a necessity. I’ve got some links over to the right for products that I use, so I thought I’d explain why.

I practiced for about a year on that $10 mat. It came with a cute bag and I’ve still got it. There is nothing wrong with your average yoga mat (which, incidentally, you will always find less expensive on the internet). I began using the Jade Harmony mat because I did a hot yoga class. In hot yoga, the room is heated to upwards of 85 degrees Fahrenheit. I sweat. I sweat a lot. And when I work out, EVERYTHING sweats. Hands, feet, legs, arms - and sweaty hands and feet make balance tough. Harmony was advertised as a natural rubber which would help absorb the sweat for better grip. That is completely and utterly true.

The mat is a bit heavier than a ‘typical’ yoga mat. Initially, it also has a slight odor (mine went away fairly quickly) but the extra grip in the mat was worth it. It literally grabs at your skin. I’ve never had a problem with slippage in any practice or class, no matter how hard I’m working and sweating. It’s got the added bonus of being better for the environment than a mat with PVC in it and it is a quality product. It’s expensive but, for me, it was one of the best investments I’ve made for my yoga practice. If you practice regularly or (like me) sweat a lot, I highly recommend it.

Because of the sweating, I don’t spend a lot of money on cute matching yoga outfits. That’s not to say I don’t like them or that you shouldn’t wear them, but I’m not wearing my yoga clothes ANYWHERE outside of class. And chances are, thanks to the sweating, I’m going straight home or to the showers. For a very long time I practiced in sweatpants and t-shirts. Probably if I hadn’t started teaching, I still would.

I’m in yoga clothes 6 days a week, which means I need something that will withstand a beating and still look semi-professional. That’s what lead me to Marika. They offer a wide variety of pants (I tend to buy what’s on sale) but the fit well without being too binding. They hold up well to many wash and dry cycles - especially important since all my yoga pants are black. The full length pants aren’t too long - they don’t get trapped under my toes or heels in Down Dog. They have wicking fabrics which dry quickly and are comfortable. Again, if you’re practicing regularly I highly recommend them.

When it comes to other ‘yoga stuff’ I’m less particular. I think that yoga blocks are yoga blocks, as are straps. I prefer larger blocks and straps that have D-rings, but your mileage may vary. And I shopped around until I found the best deal rather than getting wrapped up in a particular vendor or brand. I wear cheap t-shirts to practice in for the same reason.

The bottom line is that the ’stuff’ that goes along with yoga is only there to facilitate your practice. Your practice is what comes first. I’m a fan of anything that helps with practice but, if it’s not helping, don’t worry about spending money on it - especially when you don’t need ’special’ stuff to get the job done.

Hip Hop Yoga Playlist

Link to imeem.com

One of the benefits of working at a gym

I can go in and use the workout room whenever there isn’t a class in session (which is pretty often). A lot of people don’t like practicing in a ‘gym’ setting because there can be a lot of noise and fluorescent lights. Once I start my practice, I don’t even notice those things (though I’m more likely to notice them when teaching).

I also listen to my ipod when I practice, so I’ve got everything from Buckcherry to Bob Marley in my ear. Again, once I start practice, I don’t really hear it. There are a couple of Anusara practice sessions on it so that when I feel like I need a class, I can get one.

I worked through sun salutations, fast and then slow. Cat and cow, cat and cow with the knees off the ground, variations on down dog, crescent lunges. My upper body work was plank - chataranga -plank sets mixed with dolphin - dolphinplank - dolphin sets. Then I moved to pigeon + twists, firelogs and supine twists. All in all about 75 minutes.

By the time I was done I had worked up a good sweat, gotten a great stretch, and felt much much calmer.

From the Positivity Blog

Gandhi’s Top 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World.

Today’s class

We started with slow sun salutations in order to warm everyone up, then a couple of ‘faster’ rounds. Cat and cow, then dolphin variations. Down dog variations and then lunges. High lunge, low lunge, hip-opening lunge on both sides. Warrior II and Triangle, then pigeon. More down dog and then seated spinal twists before savasana. I miss the luxury of 90 minute classes but it was a solid hip opening class and I didn’t skimp on the upper body work.