MY NEW WEBSITE

www.beholdyoga.com

Programming Note

I am currently working on a new website so I may be tardy in updating this blog.  Once everything is done, I should be able to share files with you and have Pixie organized and always accessible.  So until then, if you need anything just send me an e-mail.

Your Body's not on Vacation

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again.  We may have a week off from yoga class, but we're still carrying our bodies around.  Are you still doing something good with it for AT LEAST 1 1/2 hours once a week?  

Take some time to do a little yoga.  Lunge with one foot up on the second stair... lift one foot up on the kitchen counter and stretch forward a little or to the side.  Or place your hands on the same kitchen counter and step back into a lovely downward dog.  Let your chest move towards the floor as you draw your abdomen up.  Press your feet well and try to move your outer upper arms towards the floor.  Relax the backs of your straight legs and lift your toes a little.  Now, don't you feel better.   You don't even need a sticky mat.

If you need some energy, do a little sun salutation.  If you can't remember, search YouTube.  There are lots of videos to jog your memory.

Chillin' Out

This Tuesday is the last class for the session.  As I mentioned, we will be practicing a very relaxing, slow yoga which will prepare us for some breathing exercises and meditation.  Wear floppy clothes and wear comfy socks because they can stay on for the whole class.  If you have your own yoga blanket, bring that, too.  If you usually don't bring an eye pillow or a little towel for your eyes, I encourage you to bring one this week.

For those of you who will miss going to a yoga class every week, please check out the links to the right for local studios.  For those of you who are newer to yoga, I recommend Heaven Meets Earth.  They offer a wide variety of yoga styles and a full schedule.  For you more practiced students, you may like Yoga Tree at the Lake Street Church.  That is where I go once a week and any of you would feel pretty comfortable there. 

As always, I'll look forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday. 

Teaching Spiritual Aspects of Yoga

I am going to share my thoughts about teaching the spiritual aspects of yoga just this once.  Here they are:

Yoga teachers far and wide seem completely comfortable guiding their students towards a more enlightened state of being.  "Awaken your divine self" ...  "raise your consciousness" ...  "connect with the light within you".   Many times I have been in a yoga class as the teacher tosses around a variety of spiritual directions with the same confidence as when she tells me to extend my spine in downward dog.   "Live in your bliss"  ...  "radiate your authentic self". 

Many yoga purists would insist that those spiritual directions are just as critical as the physical directions and a yoga teacher's job is to guide ALL aspects of the student's practice; physical, intellectual and spiritual.  

I don't necessarily disagree in principle, but we face challenges unknown to the yogis of yore.

First, we are living in an extremely diverse community.  The Yoga Sutras teach us to study the religious texts of our own faith.  It's possible that in any given class we are Christians, Muslins, Hindus, Buddhists and Jews practicing yoga together.    I am certainly not well-versed enough in all religions to avoid unintentionally insulting a student and their personal tradition.  

Second, there used to be a one-on-one relationship with teacher/student.  There were no group yoga classes, just teacher/student, often living together for years on end.  Teachers would know their student inside and out and would cultivate an understanding of what their students needed.

Lastly, and more importantly, if I continually give directions that tell you to connect with your higher self, it automatically presumes that you are NOT connected.  And if I continue that instruction, over and over and over and over, you may start to wonder why you AREN'T enlightened (or radiating or connecting or blissful). 

If I were to add spiritual teachings to my classes I would tell you this:

Believe me when I say that you are more in line with divine grace than even you may know.  You are full of grace.  It surrounds, permeates and breathes out from you.  You don't have to perform a specific task, or have a specific thought or come to a specific understanding in order to live in that grace.  It is already yours and you cannot lose it unless you specifically desire a disconnection from it.  You do not have to figure out how to become enlightened.  Just being alive on this earth requires enlightenment as a pre-requisite.  So, here you are, just as you should be.  Just be here on this earth, love each other and allow yourself the comfort of knowing you are never alone.

I do not presume to know your spiritual experiences better than you know them yourself and teaching you something spiritual kind of presumes that I know something you don't.  I don't.  I live here just like you and sometimes I'm content and sometimes I'm fidgety.  But that's the beauty of it.

Tuesday and Wednesday

Tuesday Students

This week we will work on some variations of Sun Salutation.  We'll finish class with legs up the wall or legs over a chair, depending on the size of the class.  Next week is the last class for this session.

Wednesday Students

This is the last class of this session for you.  In keeping with our tradition, this week will be a restorative class.  Wear the floppiest clothes you can find and bring your blankie.  We'll finish with some breathwork (pranayama) and meditiation.  You'll feel really great after class this week.

Make Up Classes

If you are a Tuesday student and need to make up a class, come this Wednesday night.  If you are a Wednesday student and need to make up, you still have an opportunity to come to a Tuesday class this week or next week, 1:00-2:30pm or 7:00-8:30pm.

As always, I look forward to seeing everyone this week.

Just for Fun

ImprovEverywhere is one of my favorite haunts on YouTube.  Here's their latest.

If it won't play for you, go here:  www.improveverywhere.com, and watch the Food Court Musical.  Don't forget your napkins!!!!

The Essence of Things

This session has focused on the shoulder girdle and hamstrings; both strengthening and stretching. I was preparing my last hand-out for this session and wanted to give you an all-purpose overview - a hand-out that would distill the session into one easy page. I came up with a hand-out that offers eight poses.

Now I'm wondering if I could pare down the essence even more. Which singular pose would encapsulate this session? Which pose covers all the bases, leaving no body part unaccounted for... each area attended to equally with balance and understanding. Well, that's a pretty tall order. Only one pose comes close:



I know... some of you feel water-logged with the repetition of downward dog. If you take a look at Pixie in her pose, you will see her chest has to open in order for the arms to lengthen... her hamstrings have to lengthen in order for her heels to reach the floor. She is bearing weight in her arms, which translates into her chest and strengthens the shoulder girdle. Her hamstrings aren't intentionally contracting so the hamstring strength will not be completely satisfied by downward dog. If she raised one leg to the ceiling, however, problem solved.

Inside the pose lies the essence of (almost) 9 weeks of yoga.

Like any good yogi you have to ask yourself, "how can I apply that insight to my regular life?". I talked about, and am practicing for March, non-attachment. What is the one thing which defines your essence? A difficult question, yes. But even more difficult is why do we need so much more than that to be happy?

I'm just askin' the question, people. It's up to you to decide if you feel like answering.

Hi, everyone

Sorry I haven't updated my page since last week's travel debacle. All is well and everyone is where they belong, safe and sound.

For my beginning class this week (and the continuing class last week) we changed our practice a little and shifted our focus from hamstrings and shoulders to places like our torso. As of now, Wednesday afternoon, there are three classes left for everyone in this session. We'll return to hamstrings and shoulders for the next two classes.

Non-attachment is a teaching common to many traditions, including yoga. Practicing non-attachment means that we try not to place great importance on non-permanent things. Most of us have a favorite spot in yoga class that we feel a particular ownership towards. We may identify ourselves with a particular style of clothing or hair color. These things are all impermanent and, if they change, we can become quite upset. One of my strong attachments is to the parking spot in front of my house. I am quite insulted when someone else has parked in my spot because, well, that's my spot. It's irrational and unimportant but certainly results a rather strong reaction in me. I have to make a choice not to be upset.

If we find ourselves attached to more and more things, it becomes much easier to be miserable. If we keep adding to our list of attachments we are essentially making a list of what we need to be happy. As the list increases, the potential for misery increases, too.

Take a day over the next week and practice some non-attachment. Try parking in a new spot at work or claiming a new spot in yoga class. Start to notice what you require before you'll be happy. All those things are attachments. Are they easily lost? Are they often under the control of someone else? Start filling your list with things like peace, joy, time with family, a good hearty laugh. I'm not trying to suggest you sell all your worldly possessions and live in poverty. I am suggesting you re-consider how you define yourself.

Pixie has been busy with her yoga homework and has opened her chest enough to do this awesome backbend:

Legs, Legs and More Legs

We'll work a little more on those pesky hamstrings this week, incorporating one of yoga's most basic (and therefore, difficult) poses, staff pose. It looks like you're just sitting there but, as we all know, things are not what they appear to be in yoga. Here's Pixie doing a respectable staff pose:



Her legs are parallel with her kneecaps and toes pointing straight towards the ceiling. Her sitting bones are well-grounded as she brings the back of her pelvis in towards her bellybutton. All the while, Pixie remembers to extend her spine and keep her shoulders relaxed and down.

Some of you are familiar with my assistant, Lucy. She may make an appearance this week as we explore the more anatomical aspect of the hamstrings.

Some Basics

If you're in one of my Tuesday classes, you'll be missing class this week because of the Primary. While you're in front of the t.v. watching the results, maybe you could fit in a few of these:

Staff Pose: Sit on the floor with your straight legs in front of you. Keep your back pelvis moving into the body and the spine long. Gently press the back thighs into the floor without lifting the heels. Draw the belly into the spine and liiiiiiift through the crown of the head.
Elevated Bridge Pose: From staff pose, bend your knees and with your feet well placed, lift your hips in line with your shoulders. Hold for a breath or five and slowly lower to release.

Shoulder Stretch: Raise your right arm overhead. Bend the elbow and reach your right hand down your back. Keep that elbow in and reaching up. Bring your left arm behind your back and bend that elbow to reach the hand up to the right. If the hands don't meet, use a necktie, sock or small hand towel to hold onto.

These three poses will keep you working on stretching and strengthening both the hamstring muscles (behind the thigh) and the entire shoulder girdle.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!!!

Week No. 4

We're not quite halfway through our session and it feels like we've learned a lot already. This week's lesson will mirror last week's in many ways, especially focusing on opening the chest as a means to healthy shoulders. If you are in my Tuesday night class and happen to have your own block(s), please bring them if you can. If not, we'll manage.

Here are a few we'll repeat this week, maybe with a little help from some props:

Fish Pose
Half Dog or Dolphin Pose

We never made it to the lunge last week but we will this week. Let's try it and see how the hamstrings and shoulders are involved:


On a more philosophical level, the Yoga Sutras (the ancient texts of yoga) outline certain behaviors which we should work to restrain and some we should practice without restraint. One of the behaviors we should practice without restraint is contentment. Without getting too in depth, just try taking that behavior into our class this week. "Satisfied with a certain level of achievement". That's a great definition of contentment. The Yoga Sutras state: From an attitude of contentment (santosha), unexcelled happiness, mental comfort, joy, and satisfaction is obtained. Try being content with your level of achievement this week, even if you don't think you're meeting some lofty standard.

Brrrrrr

Baby, it's cooooooold outside! If you're feeling that cold deep in your bones and just can't seem to warm up, a few hearty yoga poses should do the trick. Try a few of these to activate the larger muscle groups in your body and chase the chill away:
Downward Dog

Plank Pose

Upward Dog

Move between the three like a little flow sequence. Just a few should warm you right up. Just a note to beginners: If you are unfamiliar with upward dog, just move between downward dog and plank pose.

Why the Hamstrings???

Many of us define flexibility as the ability to touch our toes. Unfortunately, the strain and pain that may come along with trying that isn't good for us, often because the effort is focused on rounding the back, sticking the chin out and reaching for the toes from the back of the shoulders. Go ahead... sit on the floor with your legs in front and give that a try. Remember dong that in gym class?? We all do.

But, as yoga students, we can be smarter than that and use our understanding of some principles to create a healthier seated forward bend. (As a side note, I believe seated forward bends are very difficult and offer all kinds of opportunity for injury so be careful).

I've posted these before.... let's take another look at Pixie:

Look at poor Pixie trying so hard to touch her toes. Notice the large curve she's creating in her back body while sacrificing an actual hamstring stretch by bending her knees. Her pelvis is tucked under and she creates the illusion of stretch by jutting her chin forward and reaching for the toes from way back near her shoulderblades. Poor Pixie. She might as well be reaching for the phone to make a physical therapy appointment. Let's send her to a yoga class.

Now she's actually getting a stretch in the back of her leg without over-rounding her back. Pixie has learned that she may not feel as if she's achieving what she wants, but she's doing a healthy, honest hamstring stretch.

Let's take a closer, more technical look. The hamstring stretches based upon the pelvis' relationship to the back of the thigh and the straightness (or extension) in the knee. The further away the sitting bones move from the back of a straight knee, the more the hamstring stretches. That is not to say that we aggressively try to pull the sitting bones away from the back of the leg, but more to understand that the pelvis needs to move in relationship to the legs. Often times the pelvis is frozen in a tuck position due to tight hamstrings. In this case, bringing the pelvis even to a 90 degree bend, without slouching, can be difficult, even painful. If you notice, Pixie has just barely begun to move beyond a 90 bend at her hips. Over time her pelvis will rotate more. Then she will begin working on stretching her back and laying her body over her legs. Maybe.

Elevating the hips in a seated forward bend will help begin to gently stretch the hamstrings. Once the pull is felt, Pixie now knows she should stay there and breathe until a feeling of length comes to the muscle. And that may take months of even years to begin to feel.

It takes a lot to be honest about what we're really doing to our bodies and that can be the hardest part of any yoga pose.

You can try a gentle hamstring stretch by sitting at the edge of a chair with one leg straight in front, foot flexed. Now lean forward from the pelvis. You'll feel it. Keep your back long and your head in line with your hips. That would be great homework for this week.

This week in yoga class we'll use some more props to help us feel a gentle hamstring stretch. But you'll have to come to classs... no sneak previews from Pixie!!!

Welcome Back

It was great to see everyone this week.. both new and familiar faces. I sure hope my lofty plans for this session pan out and we all come to a clearer understanding of how to keep our shoulders and legs healthy.

We will be repeating many things again this week in an effort to drive some of this stuff deeper into our memory. Here are some friendly reminders from Pixie:


Gas Relieving Pose (believe me...I've heard it work!!)

Hand to Toe Pose (we used a strap)

Full Locust Pose

Warrior II

All but the last pose specifically target the hamstrings by stretching, stretching and strengthening, in that order. Warrior II, admittedly, works the legs but also, when used correctly, keeps the shoulders healthy as well. Maybe this week we'll take a closer look at that.

I hope everyone felt great after class. I'll see you soon.