Monthly Archives: March 2010

Find that back, muscles that you forget you have. Mon

Wanda was a little under the weather today so I was honored to teach the class tonight. Wanda told me that she wanted to bring in more strength work for the upper body and back for preparation of hand balances.

Standing pranayama: Dirgha (complete breath) adding Ujjayi (victory) breath.  Bringing energy into the body with breath; Breath of Joy. This is a great breath anytime that energy is needed without being too stimulating especially for an evening class.

Opening the shoulders with stretches using just the body and then with a strap. Shoulder roll, swinging the arms forward and back and then in circles. Strap work; side to side, overhead pull downs. Hands clasped behind back  (Yoga Mudra) at the hip and then directly behind opening the chest.   Gomakasana arms (Cow face), Garudasana (Eagle) arms, and trap squeeze.

Doug Keller’s shoulder strengtheners at the wall.  There was a handout for these if you didn’t get one Continue reading Find that back, muscles that you forget you have. Mon

Legs & Hips Warm, Fluid & OpenTues

Pranayama  Dirgha & Nadi Shodhana.

Spinal Rolls, Sun Salutations to warm up the body. Standing strength is mixed into the Salutations tonight to add a flowing movement to the postures. No long holds tonight in standing postures.

The longer holds are in the hip openers.  Swan with Swan bows to stretch the outer leg. Runner & extended leg stretch using blocks really opens the hip flexor as well as the hamstrings.

Applying aromatherapy early tonight before heading to the floor for supine leg stretches with a strap. My hope is the aromatherapy will allow the inward focus to come more easily so the stretches can be deep and mindful.

Hip Side Stretch, a nice twist before Happy Baby and Cradle (4 square stretch). Supine wide leg stretch for the inner thighs then releasing to Reclined Cobbler.

Savasana     The hips & hamstrings should be warm and open now allow the heart and mind to do the same.

Aromatherapy tonight is Yoga Nidra by Yoga Flow Oils ~~ Thanks Susan

Tomorrow your journey through the world should be fluid with the opening of the hips and legs. This is my wish for all of you.   Namaste  ~~~~

Getting ready for Kaliji Mon

Wow Kaliji the founder of Tri Yoga is coming to Yoga 4 All in Seminole Fl April 9-11, 2010.  Check website www.Yoga4All.com or www.TriYoga.com to register. To get our flows ready for this workshop the next few weeks will be devoted to refining the movements of the standard flows that are done in most classes.

Tonight’s focus is Natural Seat to Cat, Cat to Extended Child and back to Cat, Cat Rolls, Mountain Heel press,  Cat ~ Mountain~ Cat,  Natural Seat to Runner with blocks,  Mountain to Runner with blocks, Mountain ~ Runner~ Earthtouch. If there is time Mountain ~ Swan ~ Swan Bows ~ Swan ~ Mountain.

Ending with Leg Stretch, Spider, Reclined Butterfly, Reclined Twist to Tranquility

Aromatherapy tonight is Open Heart by Yoga Flow Oils~~ thanks Susan

Yoga Injuries being responsible

http://health.msn.com/fitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100254784

Here is an article that illistrates how yoga can get a bad name for “causing” injuries.  When reading over this article I couldn’t help but notice everything that was said between the lines.

In the first illustration of injury the writer admits that entering an open class rather than a beginner would have made her feel like she had been demoted. After all she had done years of yoga before…. but not for “quite awhile”. This is a very real illustration of the ego stepping in and pushing the body from feeling to forcing. The body will remember the previous years of yoga only if you offer the yoga with ahimsa (none harming) will the body open and flower with this offering.  Alas she did not offer yoga to the body in this manner. She pushed herself into an intermediate pose ,Plow, she also admits that her yoga practice had been in the past an addiction to the stretching feeling of the muscles releasing.   Not only did she join in a practice that was not a beginners she pushed into a posture that she was not ready for.  Did she use props such as blankets to insure the safe curve of the cervical spine? I think not since she developed a bulging disc in her neck. Thank goodness the Dr she went to said her disc could have been bulging before and that she had premature osteoarthritis (which she didn’t know she had). The more telling lines were ““But hyperextending your neck while putting weight on it most likely made it bulge even more, which pinched your nerve.” Plow and shouderstand are just that bearing weight on the shoulders  not the neck!!  Many people don’t want to use props because they feel it makes their practice beginner when it really is the advanced yogi that loves their bodies enough to create a stable, safe base to start their postures from.  Mr B.K.S. Iyengar uses blankets for his shoulderstand/ plow practice even after 70 years or more of practice.

The truth is also in the article which I attach here:    Overall, yoga has far more potential to heal than to hurt: Studies suggest it can help relieve chronic lower-back pain, depression and anxiety. And students tend to think of yoga as gentle and healing, even when done rigorously. But the fact is Continue reading Yoga Injuries being responsible

Spinal flows, dancing with Shiva, hip openers Thurs

Subbing for Erin tonight.   It is a wild a rainy evening ahead,  thank you all for coming out this evening.

Starting with breath work and moving into Sun Salutations to warm up the body adding a few Kapotasana’s in there to open the hips.  Then to open those feet toe stretch with balance, I just love this new move and hope you all do too.

Gentle wave spinal work to allow the spinal discs to open and get juicy.

Supine hip openers.  Cat-Cat flow for our dental floss for the spine then back to standing.

Dancing Shiva Balance, remembering to breathe deep no holding.

Standing strength to ground us in this Vata wild weather.  Wide leg forward fold be mindful of too much stretch to the attachment of the hamstring to the pelvis.  Don’t “sit back” into the stretch. Placement of the hips in the same plane as the ankles insures that the whole hamstring gets the stretch. To the floor for twists and forward folds.

Yummy part now is the Aromatherapy tonights blend will be Relaxation Blend from Yoga Flow Oils  Thanks Susan.

Balance, toes, fluid spine and strength Thur

Subbing Teresa’s yoga class tonight.  It looks like it is going to be a rainy one, thanks all that were there.

Opening the feet with toe stretch and adding on a balance to this is always a fun way to wake up the body from the ground up.

Sun Salutations with added strength builders either cat bow push-ups or full slant push-up for the upper body.  Down to the floor to open up the spine  Cobra’s, Cobra1/Boat.   Downward dog with 3 leg dog to wild thing added in for fun.

Standing strength, balance tree with a twist.  Natural seat rolls to smooth out the work with the spine.

In the standing strength portion we went over the importance of hip/ankle alignment in Wide Leg Forward fold-Prasarita Padottanasana. As stretching junkies that yogi’s can be we have a tendency to “sit back”  into this stretch (allowing the buttocks to come behind the line of the ankles). In doing this the hamstring is “stretched” too much at its attachment point at the pelvis. If this repedative motion is done often  enough or with too much vigor it can cause tearing at the attachment point.  I moved a few folks hips more in line with the plane of the ankle and it changed the stretch from the attachment area to the length of the hamstring, which is what we want.  Use the mirrors in class to help you find this placement for yourself and then integrate it into your body. This way you will know by how it “feels” so you will be in a safe alignment for the attachments.

Forward folds  and a pelvis leveler.

Aromatherapy is Shanti blend tonight by Yoga Flow Oils  thank you Susan

Spreading the love, toe stretch, joint juice, standing tall. Wed

Tonight we will be starting with some pranayama.

Dental floss for the spine with Cat-Cat. Toe stretch allowing the feet to open to carry us with ease down this path of yoga & life journey.  Joint Juice will be the 10 churnings.  There is a blog post with just these in it so that it can be printed out or just reviewed without hunting for it in a regular class blog.

Opening the hips through Sun Salutations,  Tree balance then on to the standing strength to check on form.

A  few twists and forward folds then on to the bliss of aromatherapy & savasana.

Aromatherapy tonight will be Vata Blend from Yoga Flow oils.

Body Flow Tech Tues

Tonight we will be going over a warm up stretch called the 10 churnings.  These warm-ups can be used before class if you get there early or they can be used as a base for a home practice.  We all have to start somewhere.

The moves can be done gentle enough for everyone and they can be done with more vigor if you want to add more challenge to the practice.

If you have limited time for yourself at home, but maybe you can’t come to class whip these out and give a give of joint fluid movement to yourself and do the 10 churnings.

The full explanation of each movement is in a seperate blog that can be printed out.  Check out the previous blog listing to find it.

Namaste

Dental Floss for the Spine Tues

Tonight opening up the spine as well as the shoulders.

The always present toe stretch with the balance from last week as well as an added move to find some more balance using the core.  From toe stretch balance bring the knees together and move into a squat 1 ~ basic hand balance using 2 blocks. Back to squat 1, roll up into a forward fold, upward salute to standing.

Adding another strength move this evening.  From Down Dog  jumping forward (landing lightly) with  feet landing to the outside of our hands then jumping (landing lightly with knees bent) back to Down Dog.

Before the spinal work tonight opening up the chest, armpit area with forearm down dog position.  An added leg lift will call in the balance of the hips and shoulders while lifting and holding the leg up and level.

Backbends (heart openers) tonight will be prone boat, bow, raised cobra, bridge with leg lifts.

Welcome to all the new faces, please come back and transform your life through yoga.

Ending with twists and aromatherapy during savasana.

Aromatherapy tonight will be Ananda blend from Yoga Flow Oils

Mon Assisting Wanda

Starting with centering using the breath to bring everyone into their own body.  Opening and working the shoulders and arms to bring awareness to the shoulder girdle and avoid hiking of the shoulders.

Worked on Triangle and Revolved Triangle, Half Moon either on the wall or free in the middle of the room. Then everyone when to the wall to work on the more advance position of half moon which is where when facing the wall bending the lifted leg and holding onto the foot allowing the back to arch and the quad to open. Keeping the hips facing the wall is always the challenge with this position however, the wall is a great teacher.

Inversion this evening was prep work for those that do not do the forearm balance. Getting the feeling of the forearm work and the feeling of lifting the leg.  Yogi’s and Yogini’s that have a forearm balance in their practice did the full posture and worked on refining the pose.

A few twists and forward folds closed out the practice and a good one it was.  Well done everyone.