Tag Archives: restorative yoga

yoga art of balance

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yoga – art of balance “life is a balance of holding on and letting go”

yoga : art of balance

yoga : art of balance

Even as a physical practice, yoga is an art of balancing the active and the receptive sides, the doing and the being. Some of the quieter poses like forward bends, offer the practitioner the opportunity to calm the nervous system and promote the ‘rest and digest’ mechanisms, and help with fatigue. Within that, forward bends can be active or restorative depending on what your intention is. If you are chasing a stretch, using arms to pull yourself forward, or stretching the wrong place (insertion of the muscle) then your forward bends will not have these qualities. In a restorative forward bend, in order to have these effects on the central nervous system, you will have to use props in such a way as to support safe alignment and comfort in the pose. As well, you would support the head as this will promote relaxation 

BKS Iyengar wrote “Actions mirror a man’s personality better than his words” – this statement is reflected in our physical practice. Movement with intention will differ from movement without it. Sometimes you have to give something up to get something else. Think of balance, and yoga, as an organic art form.

cultivating inner Strength

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inner strength

inner strength

cultivating inner strength through yoga practice; “Make a firm decision: Whatever happens, I will be happy, I will be strong, God is always with me”. Very affirmative. Maybe you can’t digest all of it, but the sentiment behind the words is very inner strength building. Yoga is a multi-dimensional practice aimed at quieting the mind so that we can live a healthy, balanced life, make informed choices, and face our circumstances with flexibility and resilience…..but it is a very conscious process. We have to use discipline in many areas and as much as possible, remind ourselves that when we are challenged, we often have reserves that if we tap into, if we decide to tap into, we can rise to the challenge with softness and strength, stability and ease.

We tend to think of strength as brute force, but I think it is more of an integration (mindbodysoul). I just read an article in Psychology Today in which the author says;  “a strong person has great capability at facing challenges. Being strong means having the resources, the mental skills, and the physical capabilities to confront difficulties of all kinds. When you are strong, you have the ample excess of energy and stamina, so that when facing a challenge that depletes you of energy and inner strength, you still have enough left in you to act”

After reading this, maybe you can come to see that the softer sides of yoga ~ pranayama, relaxation, restoratives, meditation, all help to cultivate inner strength

peaceful quotes for a stressful day

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Reading these peaceful quotes for a stressful day will put you in the mood for my upcoming restorative workshop in Jersey City:

peaceful quotes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“May all beings be peaceful. May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe. May all beings awaken to the light of their true nature. May all beings be free.”

Unless you did not already know, stress can make you sick, or, just plain not in optimum health. Stress creeps in and begins with a physiological response when your nervous system perceives a threat – mental, physical, emotional. This heightened alert triggers the adrenal glands to secrete catecholamine hormones. What this means is that your heart rate, blood pressure, and brain ramp up to prepare for “flight or fight”. Obviously, this is the opposite to the relaxation response, which is pretty much going to shut off, and shut down. Peace? Where did that go? Exactly. This is where restoratives, savasana, pranayama can help. Really. Check out my calendar or book a private ~ cause the “antidote to stress is relaxation” (J. Lasater)

Find Peace This Weekend in Jersey City

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Find Peace This Weekend in Jersey City cause I am teaching an all new restorative yoga class …   peace – do you find it elusive?

Finding Peace In Jersey City

Restorative Yoga Class Jersey City  ~ Restorative Yoga: This is exactly what is being recommended as a Yoga practice to promote recovery. Whether you are an athlete and find it hard to rebalance from high energy workouts, or whether the daily grind leaves you worn out, restorative yoga is fast becoming the new go-to practice.  This is a series not to be missed as it promotes flexibility and the rest and digest mechanisms necessary for optimum health.  Learn strategic prop supported “being” and “still” asanas that deepen your experience of yoga.  Whether you are new to yoga, looking to refine your yoga practice, or balance out an active existence, this series will give you the opportunity as well as provide you with relaxation and breathing techniques to combat the stresses of daily life. The class is a 1 hour 35 minute format, and will also cover pranayama and savasana. Come chill! Here’s the link to the calendar:  https://ranawaxman.com/calendar/

Not convinced? check this out “Their findings showed that the restorative yoga practitioners lost significantly more subcutaneous fat over the initial 6 months of the study period, and kept losing it during a maintenance period with less direct supervision. There was no significant loss of visceral fat in either group.” and the following article which stresses the crucial role of recovery: “Without question, yoga provides excellent opportunities for recovery. But restorative yoga—a specific, passive style of this popular mind-body technique—can be of particular use to fitness professionals with stressed-out, maxed-out clients. Here are practical strategies for introducing restoratives into your client’s everyday routines to promote recovery and relaxation…Restorative yoga combats fatigue, balances tight muscles, reduces overtraining injuries, speeds recovery from illness or injury, and reduces depression and anxiety”

 the dance for peace

 

Nurturing The Spirit With Yoga

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Nurturing The Spirit With Yoga

“It is not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and to make your happiness a priority. It’s necessary.” ~ Mandy Hale

According to the yogic system, it is the fluctuations of the mind that impose themselves on the body  and thus bring about mental and physical imbalance. The remedy if you will, is a focused and dedicated practice of asana and pranayama to calm the agitated mind, or wake up the sleepy mind, and balance out our system, thus preventing disease. While this may mean that restoratives are called for, it may also mean that a stronger practice (like standing poses) is a better recipe.

As always, you need to start where you are. Usually we just do more of the same, whereas your practice should be organic. The balance between the more active and passive postures will vary from person to person, and season to season. Too much of the active practice can still exhaust you, too much passive can lead to lethargy. I usually teach both constituents in my classes but in private yoga lessons,  the practice will specifically address the student. I also have two upcoming workshops which will give you some idea of how restorative practices can be used to enhance calm and support the immune system.

I find this interesting: “Lymph glands are scattered throughout the body, including between muscle fibres. The muscle is literally helping to pump the gland to effectuate lymphatic flow.  Hence, inactive muscles impact on the lymphatic function” ~ Pete Egoscue

Always add relaxation. It is the integrating factor.

Nurturing The Spirit With Yoga

Nurturing The Spirit With Yoga

simple restorative yoga postures

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simple restorative yoga postures

viparita karani

viparita karani is one of the more simple restorative yoga postures:

Some of the benefits of this restorative posture include:

  1. regulation of blood flow,
  2. alleviation of menstrual cramps,
  3. relieves swollen ankles
  4. relieves varicose veins
  5. helps the reproductive organs in both males and females (increase of circulation in pelvic floor)
  6. improves digestion
  7. relieves tired legs and feet
  8. stretches the back of the neck, the front torso, and the back legs
  9. relieves problems in the eyes and ears
  10. relieves mild backache
  11. provides migraine and headache relief
  12. helps keep you young and vital
  13. calms anxiety
  14. relieves symptoms of mild depression and insomnia

In a past post, I included a short video using the 3 Minute eggs, as I had them with me when I was traveling and I always include restorative yoga postures in my yoga life. This is a really go-to one cause it can be spruced up or simplified… Depending on who you are in your body structure, and what you have as props, there are many ways to set up for this. In looking at the above list, the thing is, if you are menstruating, better not use a bolster, just lay flat, if you have serious restrictions in your hamstrings, be cautious. Be your own GPS. This is a really great pose if you have only 10 minutes. To make it really restful, cover your eyes.

restorative yoga poses

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Restorative yoga poses: I chose this photo because in the Yapana® method, which is the style of yoga I teach, we call restorative yoga poses, the “being” poses.

Restorative yoga poses, “being” poses are asanas where the body and mind are supported, there is no struggle to hold or resist against gravity. This quiets the breath and thus supports a yoga mind and a feeling of rest and digest along with relaxation and recovery. The stretching is more passive than in the dynamic poses, and we use strategic prop placement so that the posture is brought to you and therefore has more of a therapeutic component. As I have written before, it isn’t just laying on a bolster, even though we do use them. There is an alignment involved, and actually, the better the body is supported, the more extraordinary the experience of peace will be. This is crucial. You don’t want to be constantly fidgeting because you are not comfortable, you are looking to just feel peaceful in all the categories of yoga poses.

Restorative yoga poses can be backbends, forward bends, twists, inversions and a few others that hopefully, by now you are curious enough to contact me for more information.

Restorative yoga poses

Prenatal Yoga as Therapy

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Prenatal Yoga in private class format is tailored to your needs, as they change and evolve through your pregnancy.  There is a great read over on Yoga International about modifying a practice for prenatal students and some of the tips are pretty spot on if you teach a group class and a pregnant woman is among the participants. I have usually, in my career, taught prenatal yoga one on one and each of these lovely students has had different requirements.

In all the years I am teaching, I agree with the author that no 2 pregnant women are alike. Sometimes an active practice is helpful, but when fatigue sets in, a restorative yoga practice can feel refreshing. As I have mentioned before, restorative yoga is not merely stretching out over a bolster. Skills can be taught and employed. Today I taught someone who was complaining about not being able to breathe well. The baby’s weight pulls the rib cage inward, so you have to really focus – especially when you are off the yoga mat – to stretch the top chest upwards toward the jaw line, without jutting the jaw forward.

prenatal yoga supta baddha konasana

The pose above/below is a really great rest and digest – Supta Baddha Konasana (reclined bound angle). The 3 minute Eggs were great to fill all the spaces, and hold the hands (really softens the shoulders) this mom was breathing way easier after class and during the week that passed, had translated the new awareness to better all-day posture. Private yoga classes rock! 

supta baddha konasana

Why Using a Wall is a Useful Yoga Prop

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Yoga Props To Increase The Benefits

Why Using a Wall is a  Useful Yoga Prop

As a yoga therapist, I  have never seen anyone not benefit from the use of a strategically placed yoga prop. Apart from a sticky and reliable yoga mat, the wall itself is a fantastic yoga prop and one of your best teachers for a few reasons:

-it does not lie; when you press into it you feel direct postural feedback of where you are in time and space

-it helps you maintain balance which can deliver you into more self-confidence, and strength

-it helps you maintain alignment and so conserve energy and keeps you safer (because there are healthy ways to stretch and ways that create injury)

-you can stack things against it like yoga blocks, bolsters, yoga chair

-it reminds us to ground, lengthen, align the spine and helps deepen awareness

Sounds pretty great right? right now, while I get to know the ropes here in Jersey City,  I am available for private yoga classes

The belief that using props is cheating or makes things ‘easy’ is ridiculous. Believe me.

Try this variation of a lunge: Come into downward facing dog with your heels up the baseboard of the wall. Step your right foot forward between your hands (you can use blocks). Keep pressing the back heel into the wall, draw your top thighs into the body so your hips are steady, as you lengthen through the spine. 60-90 seconds each side, steady breathing steady alignment

Join me for restorative yoga whether in private or in Jersey City to explore some calming options

wall as yoga prop

wall as yoga prop

 

Restorative Yoga Therapy Adds Balance To Your Practice

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Restorative Yoga Therapy Adds Balance To Your Practice !! I wrote this latest blogpost for the LOLE LOVE BLOG after teaching a Restorative Yoga Therapy Workshop ~ as it happens, I also teach the longer, Teacher Training module for the Leeann Care Yoga School, called : Being: Restorative Yoga Therapy. Check out my teaching schedule for links to the upcoming trainings or contact me to organize something in your yoga studio. It’s all about balance

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