Tag Archives: yoga

Yogatherapy for the parasympathetic system

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Yoga for the parasympathetic system : Ah yes, TGIF ! Did you have a week of overthinking things? If so, your parasympathetic nervous system was likely shut down and your sympathetic nervous system was in high gear!. Did you even know that your autonomic nervous system had two branches?

Well, research is now showing the benefits of yogatherapy for stress management and disease prevention. According to a recent article by Dr. Timothy McCall,

“The SNS, in conjunction with such stress hormones as adrenaline and cortisol, initiate a series of changes in the body, including raising blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels. These changes help a person deal with a crisis situation. They mean more energy and more blood and oxygen flowing to the large muscles of the trunk, arms, and legs, allowing the person to run from danger or do battle (the so-called “fight-or-flight” response).

The PNS, in contrast, tends to slow the heart and lower the blood pressure, allowing recovery after a stressful event. Blood flow that was diverted away from the intestines and reproductive organs, whose function isn’t essential in an emergency, returns. In contrast to fight or flight, these more restorative functions can be thought of as “rest and digest.” They are also sometimes dubbed the relaxation response.”

Today’s tip: If you have time to put your legs up the wall or even lay down with the entire back wall of the lower legs on a chair, cover your eyes, and breathe so that you start to extend your exhalations. Or listen to one of my relaxation practices. 15 minutes goes along way to reboot and free up some creative energy for your weekend

parasympathetic

Yoga for movement

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Yoga for movement : This quote is so motivational! “If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward”.

The way yoga fits into this quote for me is that, as a yoga therapist, I meet and teach a bouquet of students, all kinds of bodies, and all kinds of mindsets. I watch transformations and “ah-ha” moments. I believe that the less we chase a yoga pose, the more it evolves for us. I believe in stages and steps and that each place we are at is where we are supposed to be.The skills you learn in yoga practice are huge, and hugely transformational. People tell me they stand up straighter, they drive with more ease, walk with less pain.

Maybe you are one of the people who think you aren’t flexible enough. I hear this excuse a lot. Guess what? Gains can be made in terms of mobility and agility at any height, weight and age. Take the heart of this quote to your consciousness.

The beauty of using yoga as therapy is that there is always a “can” do whether you need to modify, or adapt, and then you can relax where you are. If you are not sure what this means, a private yoga lesson will clarify 🙂

yoga for movement

moon salutations in yoga

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moon salutations in yoga:

You may be familiar with ‘surya namaskar’, sun salutations, a vinyasa which is translated to mean: “bow to the sun.” There is much lifting of the arms and bending forward and stepping, hopping, or jumping back which is heating to the body and thus embodies the more ‘solar’ energy.

Sun salutations are one way to warm up, which is necessary and common sense sequencing. However, there are a gazillion warm ups and you don’t need to over do or just stick to one way. If you are feeling depleted, overstimulated, or overheated, which can happen to anyone – think : stress, emotions, lack of sleep, it is good to know that there are soothing practices in Yoga. Remember that the key word is balance not over-doing.

The whole concept of yogatherapy is to suit the practice to the person. Let’s say you don’t want to do a completely restorative class, you are looking for a slow flow. Here is Chandra Namaskar, or Moon Salutation. As the name suggests, Chandra Namaskar is more quieting sequence that invites you to cultivate the moon’s soothing lunar energy. This doesn’t mean that you are not warming up, rather, you are doing so in a less strenuous way. Think: conserve, it can still be intense, but not draining. Some days, you need a little more R and R. In fact, if you practice at nighttime, this would be a good little flow, adding a restorative child’s pose and savasana. For more info please contact me, I am here in Jersey City and available for private yoga lessons

moon salutations in yoga

Yoga Surrender Quote

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yoga surrender quotes  : 

“yoga is a dance between control and surrender-between pushing and letting go- and when to push and when to let go becomes part of the creative process, part of the open-ended exploration of your being” – Joel Kramer

I think we tend to conceptualize ‘surrender’ with giving up, weighting the meaning with negatives. This quote brings to light that it is actually about balance. If all you do is push the envelope, you will likely experience burnt out. Here is where learning the more restorative and relaxing components of yoga help. on the other hand, if you lack drive, motivation, and strength, you may find more balance through energizing practices.

On one hand, we learn through repetition and practice. However, if we continue to do the same things over and over, we lose the elasticity and adaptability that comes from opening to transformation. I think this goes fro time on the mat as well. The exact same practice every day can be draining, and you may be missing out with being in the present moment with yourself. It really is a dance, and a balancing act to find where you need to persist and where you need to surrender.

yoga surrender quote

Transformation Through Yoga

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Transformation Through Yoga : Here is a lovely quote by BKS Iyengar:  “transformation is sustained change, and it is achieved through practice”.

People show up to practice yoga for many reasons. It is nice to come to your mat with an awareness of who you are, but it is also an on-going journey to discover this, to uncover this.  Often the transformation you seek may be possible, but only if you put aside, or work on, beginning with a neutral position. For example, if you always shift your pelvis anteriorly or conversely, posteriorly, then all your poses will be affected. To achieve some kind of transformation, whether it be to have less restrictions in the lower back, or hamstrings, you have to find a neutral hip position first.

Transformation is a process that gets us out of limited self-concepts, and brings a sense of fresh energy to our lives. I believe, as a yoga therapist, that yoga provides tools for transformation both in terms of the physical (posture,pain) and the mental and emotional components. However, you sometimes have to give something up to gain something new.

My recommendation is to explore the limits of your comfort zone, not to induce pain, but to tap into greater depths of your being. In this way, you open yourself up to increased energy and awareness, as well as the possibility of transformation.
transformation through yoga

Word of the day – Ahimsa

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Word of the day – Ahimsa

Ahimsa is the first of 5 Yamas, or universal practices of Patanjali’s eightfold path of yoga and deals with one’s ethical standards and sense of integrity. Ahimsa focuses in on our behaviour and how we conduct ourselves in life. Much like the expression, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, this yama focuses on our behaviours and how we conduct ourselves off the yoga mat. There is a component that is integrated into practice time as well.

Ahimsa – Compassion for all living things

The word ahimsa translated, literally means not to injure or show cruelty to any creature or any person in any way. It is very common to hear the word, Ahimsa in conjunction with eating meat, however, it is more broad than that. It is also more than a lack of violence towards the self as adapted in yoga. We often, as teachers, try to steer students into navigating postures with ahimsa, following safe alignment and range of motion.

ahimsa

Ahimsa also means kindness, friendliness, and thoughtful, compassionate consideration of other people and things. Giving back the library book on time and in good condition you borrow for example.

The word implies doing our best to extend a friendly spirit. Today I was given a really warm welcome at Base gym NJ and it made me reflect on this. I am subbing at 9:00 am and surely the students were expecting another teacher, but they opened up to the Yapana® style and to me, so – thank you for showing me such kind welcoming!

 

 

Mantra of the Day

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Mantra of the day:

mantra I am

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s begin with a definition of the word ‘mantra‘, a noun originally found in Hinduism and Buddhism. Mantra is generally defined as “a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation, a Vedic hymn, a statement or slogan repeated too frequently.” The root of the word “man” means think.

Yoga practice is an eight limbed system to guide us to a calmer state, one where the thoughts we have don’t run rampant, our decisions get clearer, and we identify less with the active monkey mind, and more with the Universality of peace. To be simple, there are different tools we use, at different times, to calm and heal. Whether you are stressed out, very athletic, very busy, have pain, you as a person repeat certain thoughts which become interwoven in your cells. This poem by Rumi ” I am not this hair, I am not this skin, I am the soul that lives within” reminds me of the SOHUM mantra ~ I Am … We all have personas and identities but beyond that, when we go into a state of deep dreamless sleep we just ARE. No drama there. A mantra takes us “there” while keeping us wakeful and present. This one is very affirmative

Core Strength

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core strengthCore Strength:  this is a fun quiz to see whether you understand the meaning of core strength

What is the core?

a. What you throw away when you’ve eaten the tasty bit

b. More with a ‘C’

c. Only computers have one these days

d. An essential part of our being

e. What the tree huggers are after

If you answered ‘d’ you are on the right track. There is still some misunderstanding of the term ‘core strength’ or core stability. It used to be a term used in conjunction with the abdominal area, and whether you could do 50 crunches at the gym or just hold yourself rigidly through the centre. There is an ingredient of truth in this insofar as if you habitually let your tummy drop forward, therefore straining your lower back, you are not promoting core strength. You do however, want to keep your lower belly toned.

I would go further here and suggest that the term ‘core strength’ in terms of muscle action is composed of different muscles that will stabilize the pelvis, acting on spine and entire trunk of the body. When there is a good balance, you are able to be upright without collapsing your weight into one area. Yoga asana can help you develop these skills. One of these safe alignment skills we practice in yapana® yoga is to keep the lower belly toned all the way up to the top throat, and if you find this skill in your asana, you are on your way to building a pretty good core awareness.

Since I believe in #liveyouryoga, I will also add that you can breathe from your core, and connect through relaxation to you inner core of peace…so keep practicing core strength for different reasons!

 

sunrise yoga

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sunrise yoga : Good morning! You did it! You woke up, got dressed, packed your yoga props and converged at this beautiful site in Jersey City. You were able to honour yourselves, and honour all the noises from the traffic, the random musician next to us and the daily drama of the mind in daily life. You started with a calm breath. You focused on learning the skills to work the knees in standing poses without overloading the joints, you gained stability.  You allowed yourself to notice where you are off balance and that self-reflection is now helping you make nourishing choices off the mat the rest of the day.

By the end of the class, after our warmups and doing poses, you allowed deeper levels of relaxation through our restorative segment. By the time this photo was taken (as I watched the clock on my iphone, having left my watch home) you were in Savasana. Since we had worked the legs, this ledge worked perfectly to rest the entire back leg from knee to ankle. I folded your mats up under your heads to keep the foreheads higher than your chins. Your back softened, you sighed, you forgot where you were enough to connect with your inner core of peace. You did it this morning at sunrise yoga. See you next time 🙂

sunrise yoga

Guru

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Guru – today’s blog will focus on the word, guru. If you do a google search for the word, even Wikipedia will tell you there are multiple uses or connotations. It is really interesting to see before you look up a word, what weight you already give it in your mind.

the guru

Traditionally, the meaning of the word, guru, is “teacher”, or “master. I have chosen this photo today because the imagery is beautiful at reminding us not to ignore our inner teacher, our inner guidance system.  Rolf Sovik says, “The guru is the living light that dispels the darkness of spiritual ignorance. The light is none other than the Self within us”.

Truly powerful words. We live in a very visual and digital age where so often the search for looking ‘right’ even in asana, takes precedence over how we feel in what we are doing. I say give up speed and go with mindful movement. I am a fan of explicit cues as a teacher, but also like to leave students with inquiries so that each student can find their yoga with their own navigation system as much as with good alignment and understanding that it is my job to provide.