Just a little nugget from The Secret Power of Yoga by Nischala Joy Devi to take with you into your weekend.
Sutra II.14 says:
“Karma bears fruits according to the type and quality of the seed planted, and the care given to its growth.”
This weekend, no matter what your plans, give each moment quality and care & may each seed you plant bear beautiful fruit. Namaste.
A variation of a supine spinal twist that still feels great after Halloween.
At one of the gyms I teach at I have to walk past all the cardio machines to get to the group fitness studio and I cringe every time someone is pushing themselves on a treadmill, elliptical or stair climber with horrible posture. Shoulder’s slumped forward, head hanging down, scrunched forward on a treadmill so the elbows can rest on the front! Noooo! Okay…being a yoga instructor I’m a bit anal about this but over time bad posture during exercise can put more stress on the body, and we want our exercise to alleviate stress.
The biggest concern for me is not how it looks, but that the body isn’t open for the organs to function fully. The heart and lungs should be able to do what they need to do at all times, but especially during exercise. In addition, bad posture during cardio exercise that involves the same movement over and over again can compound into knee, hip & back injuries.
Key good posture points to watch out for while exercising:
- Spine is long, no slouching or leaning forward.
- Shoulders are relaxed.
- Feet are parallel with toes pointing forward.
- Chest (heart & lungs) is open.
- Face is relaxed.
These tips will make your workouts more comfortable, strong and healthy for a long time. Enjoy!
As mentioned in the blog on boosting brain power yesterday, meditation is one important factor in keeping our minds healthy by relieving stress. Although it was something I had to force myself to do in the beginning, meditation has become a part of my health & fitness routine and I usually sit comfortably with my eyes closed from 15 to 30 minutes daily. I’ve meditated every day in the last year and a half (some days as little as 5 minutes) and the effect on my well-being has been tremendous. It’s hard to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced for themselves and I’m not sure I understand it fully myself, but I credit daily meditation to making me more confident, creative, loving, beautiful, outgoing, friendly, humorous, daring, positive, and generally happy.
A few weeks ago I took a seminar on acting success that included listening to meditation CD’s that used binaural beat technology thought to induce relaxation and a meditative state. A fellow attendee later sent out a link to a site that has a FREE binaural beat generator either for download or to use right on your computer with headphones. Score! Free is good and I began using it everyday. I find that I sit longer in my meditation than without the binaural beats, but very often I’m on the verge of sleep nodding in my chair. It is very relaxing and not to be listened to while driving or operating equipment.
No matter what technique, CD or visualization you use to meditate, I believe that if you’re consistent in practicing you’ll begin to feel the positive results in your life. And if you don’t think you’re doing it correctly, hang in there. According to the book Yoga As Medicine, studies have shown that people still get benefits from a meditation practice even if they feel they’re doing it incorrectly.
After all, meditation is really nothing to stress about. ☺
For more information on binaural beats and the FREE download, visit:
My mother was just telling me the other day she can’t believe she’s beginning to forget things so easily, and that her best friend…what’s her name…is having the same experiences. And it isn’t just my mother’s generation, no matter how old we are, our brains need to be exercised along with the rest of our body to stay sharp.
According to this article from Yahoo entitled, “12 Simple Ways to Supercharge Your Brain,” yoga (mentioned twice) and meditation are a few ways to keep the mind healthy by alleviating stress. Other exercise, having fun, a healthy diet and mental, creative challenges like blogging (woohoo!) are also important in keeping the brain brawny.
Check out the article for details and more tips on boosting your brain power.
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/12-simple-ways-to-supercharge-your-brain-293892/
Last week I was teaching a class at an office in Manhattan to a group of about twenty women ranging in their early 20’s to late 40’s when I realized exactly why I love teaching the Crow Pose more than anything else. Because how you get into your Crow is how you get into your life. Okay, I’ll explain.
Crow Pose is an arm balance that looks crazy harder than it actually is…
Thank you, yogadownload.com for the awesome crow photo.
Very often I can get people into this pose in their first yoga class, others are still trying to come into after months of classes. It’s not a matter of arm strength, it’s a bit about hip flexibility (getting your knees onto the backs of the arms), and most definitely it’s a pose about taking the chance to go forward, possibly falling flat on your face, to find balance.
Back to the class at the office last week…when I showed them the Crow there were a lot of oooh’s and ahhh’s and doubtful faces. I demonstrated the step-by-step set up and every one of them was in the perfect position to balance in the pose, and every one of them held back and didn’t go forward that extra inch to stay balanced. They doubted, were tentative and didn’t get into it. I heard the excuses, “My arms aren’t strong enough,” “I weigh too much.” All nonsense. The lady who said she weighed too much was about my size!
When practicing the Crow, just notice how you feel and your reasons for why you think you aren’t able to do it. Is this your attitude in other areas of your life? Are you afraid of taking risks to shine? My advice for your first Crow, put a pillow or blanket out in front of you and GO FOR IT. If you fall on your face into the pillow, so what?
Below is my original video on the Crow Pose.
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Blip.tv video.Okay, this is a tough exercise for me but sometimes it’s great to go just a little bit out of the comfort zone. Build your core and balance strength with this exercise.
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Blip.tv video.Picture this: you’re sleeping soundly in your warm bed on a chilly night, maybe even dreaming of something pleasant and all of a sudden in the dream you feel the need to go to the bathroom. In the dream you rush to find a bathroom and for some reason your legs can’t move fast enough to get to one, you gotta go now! You wake up and realize you really have to go, the clock says 3:39 as usual. You do your business and snuggle back into bed. And nothing. Where did the sleep go? It’s gone and you’re wide awake and the alarm goes off in two hours.
This frustrating situation happens to me all the time and I’ve learned to deal with it by using it as time to meditate. Here’s an exercise you can do:
- Stay lying down in bed in a comfortable position and listen to your breath.
- Begin counting in your head slowly from 100 back down to 1. If your mind wanders and you forget the number, go back to 100 and start over again.
Chances are you’ll be asleep before you get to 1 and the act of counting the numbers brings you into the present moment keeping your mind from obsessing.
Sweet dreams.
When I decided to become vegan I decided that I must be able to indulge in sweets or it just wouldn’t last and many yogi’s and yogini’s are vegan as well. So I did some research (meaning Google) and found us some healthy and vegan Halloween candy. Yes!
In New York City it isn’t hard to find a dark chocolate bar but can I get healthy Halloween candy in bite sizes that I can feel good about giving to innocent children (don’t even think about egging my house) at the door?
Yes, thanks to Natural Candy Store.com that has candies in vegan, kosher, organic, gluten-free, and allergen-free varieties. Woohoo!
Also, did you know that the Original Peanut Chews is a vegan candy? And they’re available in miniatures, too!
This Friday, if you’re a vegan and giving out candy or just sneaking some from the candy bowl you don’t have to feel guilty about the ingredients inside. Happy Halloween!
After you’ve been practicing yoga for a while, random thoughts may flicker into your mind about taking a teacher training to become an instructor. Oh, but then the doubting part of your mind starts to argue and reason with you about why you shouldn’t do it.
“You can’t even do a headstand.”
“You won’t make as much money teaching as you do now.”
“You don’t even know enough about yoga to tell other people what to do in a class.”
All of these thoughts have popped into my mind (and most other teachers I know) at some point. The only requirement that you should seriously take into consider to become a yoga instructor (or most things in life) is to be sure that you LOVE it. You love practicing it so much that you love talking about it and want to share it with others. In a teacher training program you learn how to talk someone into a headstand, you have the option of teaching part time for your enjoyment and not the income, and you’ll never know enough about yoga and the best way to learn more is by teaching it.
Check out the Yoga Alliance website for accredited schools in your area and you may want to consider getting a Yoga Passbook if you’re in a large city and want to sample many studio classes before deciding on the program perfect for you.
If becoming an instructor is a thought that’s presented itself in your mind, then go with it and just do it! You can thank me later by giving me a class when you’re teaching. ☺