Tag Archives: yoga

Word of the day: dharma

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Word of the day: Dharma

dharma

This quote reflects the meaning of the word dharma in the yoga tradition. In the broadest sense, the word signifies ‘life purpose’.  Many people find, once they start to practice yoga, and experience a quiet mind, they can hear the voice of intuition and inner guidance. This is different from the “I should do” voice, and often, people start to align more with a sense of what I am here to do. Is this you?

“Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it” ~ Buddha. Yogis believe that finding your life purpose, or dharma, can be a vital component of balanced and healthy living. With the sensitivity and self-study that are cultivated, we often find we make more nourishing choices. Self-examination is not just about uncovering negative thought patterns, but also, extends to lifestyle.

Are you living in a way that promotes healthy thinking, eating, behaviour? Do you get enough rest and sleep? Could you organize your life differently, eat more regularly? Do you work too much or not enough? Is your work meaningful or, is there a meaningful aspect of your life that you could devote more energy to? Just questions.

In any event, I am off duty today, Labour Day, and conserving a bit of energy for the busy week ahead.  I have updated my group class schedule and available for private yoga lessons in Hoboken, and Jersey City. Some of the group classes require registration.

breathing for well-being

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breathing for well-being

It’s pretty obvious if you are breathing, you are alive. The breath animates us. most of the time! This means, that our breathing patterns can either be helpful, distraught, or rather therapeutic. For more on that subject, click HERE and you will find a post on breathing for well-being and balance.

Did you know that the breath is the link between the mind and the emotions? Anxiety is an emotional problem that pretty much hits everyone at some point. For some, it can be more intense than others, from ‘simple’ nervousness to panic attacks. Certainly, if you are anxious about real and imminent danger, this is useful, and your breathing is a powerful thermometer for this.

The advice below, “take it day by day and be grateful for every breath” is a great affirmation. However, I think the first stage is knowing who you are as a breather, undoing any unhelpful tendencies and then re-learning healthy techniques. On my Yoga Mind Cd, you will find a track that teaches, guides you into, the natural and essential breath. Once you can do that, then an affirmation is a positive tool to incorporate.

I have given workshops on the breath so if you want to bring one to your studio or have private yoga lessons – contact me 🙂

breathing

modern yoga wisdom

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modern yoga wisdom

modern yoga wisdom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my all-time favourite quote: “You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith, and hope” ~ Thomas Merton.

I think yoga practice helps us organize ourselves and perhaps teaches us about adaptability. One of my teachers once remarked that water is stronger than steel. Our minds usually want to be in charge, especially when we are faced with unknowns. It is easier said than done to embrace these moments with courage, faith and hope. How do we do that?  Sometimes just taking a few moments to relax the wandering mind will calm you down enough to see possibility. Try it by following some of my guided practices. In fact, before you begin, write down one situation where you are stuck – either mentally, physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Then take at least 20 minutes to do a relaxation practice. After you are finished, check in to see whether the situation is as acute or slightly diffused.

yoga and stress management

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yoga and stress management

Right now, how stressed are you on a scale of one to ten ?

yoga and stress management

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you know that :  “Stress is defined as “any stimulus that creates an imbalance in the internal environment.” ~  Tortora and Grabowski, Principles of Anatomy and Physiology

Did you know that there are 3 causes of stress?

-Physical -whether you have undergone a trauma, an injury or from sport-specific or other movement patterns that do not reinforce good posture and alignment.
-Mental/emotional –whether you are unable to relax, sleep, understand yourself, and make nourishing and supportive choices.
-Biochemical/environmental – whether your mood is affected or you are involved in circumstances that unbalance you.

Life is rapid. The modern person is suffering from common things like – overwork/fatigue, fear, hate, hurry and tension. The adrenal glands are adversely affected, causing dis-ease such as arthritis, myositis, psychoses, anxiety, headaches, back pain and cardiovascular and gastro-intestinal malfunctioning.

What to do for stress management?  There are two divisions of our nervous system, the flight or fright, which is triggered by stress and the parasympathetic, which is involved with deep relaxation.  Ease, or Dis-Ease, we are equipped for both!

Naturally, avoiding stress completely is an unrealistic solution for the 21st century. However, neutralizing the effects of stress, minimizing stress through empowering changes, channeling stress into creative endeavor, alleviating it and/or reinterpreting the impact of a stressor – namely, different kinds of coping behaviors – are better approaches to dealing with or handling stress.

stress managementAfter going through a fight or flight reaction, the body wants to return to homeostasis by relaxing and returning to normal activity levels. This relaxation response slows the heart rate, lowers blood pressure and stress hormone levels, and reduces oxygen consumption.

It is possible to manage one’s stress and consciously set the relaxation response in motion so the body can begin to use its internal intelligence to mobilize and heal itself.

Just ask yourself what feels better, being in a bad mood or being in a naturally good mood, where you feel you can cope with this rapid pace, neutralize the effects of a challenging situation and enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep?

Health is wealth. The simple truth is that without any healing, we do not stand a chance against the treadmill of life. However, learning how to breathe so that you can consciously diffuse a potential stressor, learning how to mobilize your body so that it can let go of the potential pain in the neck, learning how to quiet the mind so that your split second decision-making skills are clearer, these are all tools we can learn to use, so that our lives are balanced with LETTING GO, not out of hand GO GO GO.

Have you ever been in a healing presence, had a soft and focused moment, experienced a yoga flow, or simply sat sitting in a park, feeling the soft breeze and listening to the grass and the music of a waterfall? If so, I am sure at some level you thought, hmmm, I would like to bottle this for personal consumption! This is the idea. You can learn and yes, it may take some practice, but the results are infinite. Contact me for personalized options

 

Yoga and Union

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Yoga and Union

My teacher always said there is fear/panic/anxiety on one side and trust/calm/spirit on the other. If you practice and keep building up the surrender/relax side you feel more of a symbiosis with your life, more connected to what is happening. It is an easier way than fighting it, for sure.

In the Bhagavad Gita, the great yogi warrior and Godhead of the Indian bhakti movement, Krishna emphasizes that yoga is union, love, the source of all things:

He who is rooted in oneness
realizes that I am
in every being, wherever
he goes, he remains in me.

When he sees all beings as equal
in suffering or in joy
because they are like himself,
that man has grown perfect in yoga. (BG 6.29-32)

In the yoga sutras, Yoga is set out as :

Yogah Citta Vritti Nirodahah— which is translated as follows by Georg Feuerstein:  Yoga is the restrictions of the fluctuation of consciousness.

The term yoga is derived from the literal meaning of “yoking together” (horses) but came to be applied to the “yoking” of mind and body. Certainly, when your mind is focused, and you go beyond the distractions and drama in life, you feel more connected to everything, more plugged in. This is a nice way to affirm that concept: “The way to become one with the universe is to trust it”

Yoga and Union

Yoga In the Subway

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Yoga in the subway: I was just sent a link to this article, with lots of pretty cool photos of people in yoga poses in the subway. I think it is very creative, though the subways are pretty dirty and I would not want to put my mat down let alone my hands for a handstand. When I take the subway, I usually just focus on being mindful of my surroundings and my breathing and that is sufficient for me.

The byline for the article is : Are Yoga Enthusiasts The New Acrobats (you can read it by clicking HERE). As with any topic, there are many perspectives, and, I sometimes am inspired to move into a pose outdoors so I am in no place to judge. In the article, they say,  “on one level, it’s pretty impressive (and perhaps even inspiring) to see all these flexible people strutting their stuff on subway cars.”  On the other hand, it does border on “attention-seeking”.

yoga is apractice

I suggest we come back to the origins and spirit of Yoga for a moment, and just reflect that “Yoga is a Practice Not a Performance” so maybe “yoga in the subway” is like performance art…Weigh in.

Tree Pose Variations

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Tree Pose Variations:

This is one of several poses I really like. I think the standing poses where each leg is doing something different are really informative, especially in terms of the adductors and abductors and in my experience, can have therapeutic applications for the hip

In sanskrit, the pose is Vrksasa  (vrik-SHAHS-anna)

Here is how to move into it

Tadasana is your first pose. Keep the left leg firm without locking the knee and bend your right knee. Reach down with your right hand and clasp your right ankle or just let the foot go where it can. You then draw your right foot up and place the sole against the inner left thigh; if possible, press the right heel into the inner left groin, toes pointing toward the floor. The center of your pelvis should be directly over the left foot, although it is easy to sway this should not be the place you hang out in.  Make sure the pelvis is in a neutral position, with the top rim parallel to the floor, and adjust so that your side waist lengthen equally. Lengthen your tailbone toward the floor. Firmly press the right foot sole against the inner thigh and resist with the outer left leg. The gaze is soft and at a fixed point in front of you on the floor about 4 or 5 feet away. There are many different ways to prop this pose depending on who you are. Contact me if you would like private yoga lesson to make it accessible to you

 

tree pose variations

tree pose variations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are three common ways to use the arms:

-hands in prayer pose at heart level

-hands in prayer pose above the head

-arms open and reaching up

 

acceptance quotes

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Acceptance quotes:

Acceptance quotes can be used in your quiet sitting time when your mind is freer of the habitual thoughts that bind itWherever freedom comes embrace it… This one is lovely; “When I accept myself, I am freed from the burden of needing you to accept me.” Sounds like the path to integrity if you ask me!

In yoga, the word jivanmukti means “spiritual release or salvation achieved while still alive”. We best experience this freedom when we are still, quiet, relaxed, and in a state of flow. This being said, if you cultivate this state of mind, it is easier to then foster a sense of self acceptance.


acceptance quotes

restorative yoga pose of the day

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Restorative yoga pose of the day: Today we included in our restorative segment a posture that is called Viparita Karani or legs up the wall. There are many variations of the pose, I did teach the simplest variation today; the bolsters are very round and large, making it almost impossible for some of the smaller framed students to approach. Also, this may have been the first time for some of the students, so I kept it simple, although we did add some variations while we were in it. You can actually see how unique each person is by how bent or straight their legs, and how much space from the wall they needed.

Definition: “The name comes from the Sanskrit words viparita meaning “inverted” or “reversed”, and karani meaning “doing” or “making” and asana (आसन; āsana) meaning “posture” or “seat” “

restorative yoga poseOur restorative yoga pose of the day was a passive, supported variation of the Shoulderstand that is said to have the following benefits:

  • Anxiety
  • Arthritis
  • Digestive problems
  • Headache
  • High and low blood pressure
  • Insomnia
  • Migraine
  • Mild depression
  • Respiratory ailments
  • Urinary disorders
  • Varicose veins
  • Menstrual cramps
  • Premenstrual syndrome
  • Menopause

Restorative yoga poses in the Yapana® system are called “being” poses. They are held with the support of strategically place yoga props. Instead of chasing a pose, you can allow your body to receive the stretch, as well as the calming effects on the mind. This particular class, as I am subbing for a vinyasa teacher, I do an active component first, but by the end of class fit in restoratives and savasana so it is a fully balanced class

funny acupuncture cartoons

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Funny acupuncture cartoons: I love the comics! This one is so cute. When I studied Acupressure and Chinese Medicine we learned about moxa.  I never worked with moxibustion but I hear it has a strong smell, so this is kind of hilarious

If you don’t know what acupressure is, it refers to any technique using finger pressure on “acupoints” to reduce stress and balance the body’s energy, called: qi (“chi”) or prana. Acupuncture works with needles. I never worked with moxibustion but I hear it has a strong smell, so this is kind of hilarious

The body’s energy, circulates through the body via pathways called meridians. These pathways connect your vital organs and are linked with the mind and emotions. When these meridians are clear and functioning properly the body is able to maintain a balanced energy and function. Think rest and digest. However, the stress of daily life can cause strain on the body – physically, mentally, and emotionally which blocks meridians and prana flow. Sometimes, these blockages can lead to sickness and pain in the corresponding areas, along with emotional and mental imbalances. So what to do? Balance, laugh, breathe, relax, get a treatment, book a private yoga lesson…all good

acupuncture funny