The Flavor of Yoga

Since the beginning of the New Year, there has been an influx of new students showing up to the mat.  Yea!  One of two things may be driving this:  My nagging is finally paying off...people are hauling their friends and neighbors to class to shut me the hell up OR a lot of people penciled in "try yoga" on their list of New Year's resolutions.  Either way, I'm a happy girl.  

More and more people are discovering the myriad of health benefits that having a regular yoga practice provides.  From managing stress and anxiety, to improving strength and flexibility to helping prevent cancer, the research and findings are vast, and as such the popularity of yoga is on the rise.

Are you one of those people that resolved to try yoga this year, but due to the multitude of choices, aren't sure where to go or what class to try?

Yoga is readily available at a many venues.  The first and most obvious being a studio.  Yoga studios usually offer the largest selection of classes on a daily basis, which makes it easier to find a class that works with our over-scheduled lives.  But having the convenience of schedule does not always come cheap.  The drop-in rate for a single class can easily be fifteen dollars or more depending on the size of the city in which you live. However, studios usually offer class packages or monthly memberships making the cost of yoga more affordable on a per class basis.

Many gyms and fitness centers offer yoga, in addition to several other group fitness classes as a benefit of membership.  This is a great way to sample yoga without making a large financial commitment to a studio.

Great yoga teachers can also be found teaching in church basements, community centers, in neighborhood clubhouses, and even at Lake Norman Taekwondo on Monday's at 10:15. (hint, hint!)  

If group fitness is not an option for you, many teachers offer private instruction or small group instruction.  The going rate is $50/hour and up, with an average of about $65/hour.  Again the price depends on the city in which you live and the experience of the teacher.

A good resource for finding classes near you is:  www.yogafinder.com.

Okay.  That handles the where, but what about the what?

If they can do it, you can do it!

Even if you have never tried yoga, even if you cannot bend and touch your toes, even if you are well into your retirement years, THERE IS A YOGA CLASS FOR YOU.  Look for a class titled:  Beginning yoga, Gentle yoga, Restorative yoga, Chair yoga or look for the words, "good for all levels" in the description.

On the flip side, even if you are a hard core athlete, even if you run marathons or do cross-fit, THERE IS A CLASS FOR YOU.  Look for a class titled:  Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Hot, or Power yoga if you want to lose five pounds in sweat every time you practice.  Or, look for a class titled:  Yin yoga if you want to go past the muscle, deep into the fascia as a complement to heavy weight training.

Last summer I sat amongst a group of women and listened as they chatted about their protein shakes and wheat germ diets.  The conversation quickly turned from diet to exercise as each proclaimed, "Yoga is soooo boring."  WHAT!?  Obviously they haven't been to the right class...for them, for their lifestyle, for their personality type.

Like Baskin Robbins with 31 Flavors, yoga types and styles are many.  If you try one flavor of yoga and it's not to your taste, don't spit it out and walk away.  Sample another flavor.  Because like ice cream, yoga is delicious once your discover the flavor you like best!

AN OVERVIEW OF POPULAR YOGA STYLES:

• AcroYoga:  A combination of yoga and acrobatics that utilizes partners to perform various aerial yoga poses. 
• Ashtanga:  A vigorous, athletic flowing style of yoga comprised of six different pre-determined sequences, which students progress through at their own pace.  Considered a pre-cursor to vinyasa and power yoga, it heavily influenced the way we practice yoga today.
• Bikram:  The name Bikram was trademarked by living yoga master Bikram Choudhury.  It is a series of 26 yoga poses completed in a ninety minute period in a room heated to 104 degrees fahrenheit with 40% humidity.  The classes begin and end with a prescribed breathing technique and always follow the same sequence.
• Hatha:  The term "hatha" encompasses all styles/lineages of yoga.  When you practice, Iyengar yoga, you are practicing Hatha yoga.  When you practice, Ashtanga yoga, you are practicing Hatha yoga.  When describing a class,  Hatha typically refers to a style of yoga  practiced where each of the poses are held for several breaths, rather than moving quickly from pose to pose.  For this reason, Hatha yoga is good for beginners.
• Hot:  Any style of yoga performed in a heated space.  Bikram yoga is hot yoga, but hot yoga is not Bikram yoga.
• Iyengar:  The focus of this style of yoga is precise alignment.  Its founder, B.K.S. Iyengar is credited with being the first person to utilize yoga props (straps, blocks, etc.) which are now commonplace in most yoga classes/studios.  Props are used to make yoga postures accessible to all body types and assist the practitioner in finding proper placement of joints and skeleton.
• Jivamukti:  A physically intense practice where each class has a theme that is explored through yoga scripture, chanting, meditation, asana (poses), pranayama (breathwork) and music.
• Kundalini:  Kundalini yoga is rich in tradition and ritual, with its' devotees often dressed in flowing, white (or light colored) apparel with their hair covered in a turbine-like dressing.  Kundalini sequences, called Kriyas, usually consist of rapid, repetitive movements performed in conjunction with a designated breathing method or holding a pose while breathing in a particular way.  It goes beyond the physical performance of poses with its emphasis on breathing, meditation, mudras and chanting. 
• Restorative:  Relieves the effects of stress by alternately stimulating and relaxing the body to move toward balance.  Considered "active relaxation", this form of yoga relies heavily on the use of props, such as:  blankets, blocks, bolsters, and straps to put the practitioner into the pose and leave him/her for several minutes.
•  Thai Yoga Massage:  Often dubbed "lazy man's yoga", TYM involves two people: a "giver" and a "receiver" whereby the "giver" performs yoga on the "receiver".  It is a healing art that utilizes Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine along with yoga and focuses on balancing the physical and energetic bodies of the "receiver" while following his/her breath.  This is a great option for people with very limited mobility including but not limited to practitioners with arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and paralysis just to name a few.
• Vinyasa:  One of the most popular styles of yoga, Vinyasa simply means to flow from one pose into the next.  It is very similar to Ashtanga, but the sequences on not predetermined.  It can be found in varying degrees of difficulty and intensity depending on the teacher and/or studio.  Typically a more intense vinyasa will be labeled "power" yoga.
• Yin: Most of the styles of yoga described above are yang in nature, meaning the practitioner is moving through a series of yoga poses (asana) and typically staying in the pose for 2-30 seconds.  Yin yoga incorporates approximately 25 poses, seated or reclined, and each pose is held for 2-10 minutes.   Yang yoga targets muscles where yin yoga targets fascia.  This is a popular choice with the cross-fit community.  

If you're in the Charlotte Metro area:  Mooresville, Cornelius, Huntersville, Statesville, Concord or Davidson and would like recommendations for a yoga teacher or studio, please feel free to contact me.   Through my yoga teacher training, I have met some of the best in the area and would be happy to make the connection.

The benefits of being a child.

Surrender.

Accept all that is with an open heart.

The more grateful you are,

the more life with bring.

Balasana is another key pose in all yoga practices regardless of the style of yoga being performed.  Balasana also called Child's Pose is one of the most common resting postures.  Anytime during your practice, when you find it necessary to re-connect with your breath, you are invited to take Child's Pose.  Please do not feel it necessary for your teacher to instruct you into the pose. 

BENEFITS OF BALASANA:

• Gently stretches lower back, hips, thighs, knees, and ankles.
• Relaxes spine, shoulders, and neck.
• Calms the mind, reducing tension and stress.
• Alleviates headaches by increasing blood circulation to the head.

GETTING INTO BALASANA:

• From Table position, bring your knees and feet together and then sink your hips to your feet.
• Fold your torso over your thighs and rest your forehead on the floor.
• Rest your arms along your sides.  Palms are face up near your feet.
• Completely relax your head and shoulders.

                  MODIFICATION(s):

• If you feel tight, try separating your knees hip-width apart while big toes continue to touch.  This will give you more space in your chest.
• If your hips don't reach your feet, you can place a rolled-up blanket, mat, or bolster between your heels and your hamstrings.
• If your forehead doesn't reach the mat, place a block to bring the ground closer to you.

Play around with this pose.  Some people prefer to keep their arms extended in front of them, some prefer their hands back by their feet.  Find what's comfortable for you; where you can relax and re-gain control of your breath.


One reason I believe we find Balasana to be such a soothing force of nature is because it is ingrained in our body's muscle memory.  Whether you realize it or not, you've been performing Balasana since before you were born. 

DELVING DEEPER: 

No matter what modification(s) you choose for your child's pose:  knees together or apart, hands by your feet or extended in front of you, it is important to rest your forehead either on the mat or a block in order to stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system.

The parasympathetic nervous system is part of the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for regulating a variety of body functions:  heart rate, breathing, sweating, and digestion.  It works in conjunction with the sympathetic nervous system.  The sympathetic nervous system provides quick responses to immediate needs and is often referred to as our "fight or flight," response.  On the opposite end of the spectrum lies the parasympathetic nervous system.  The parasympathetic nervous system helps to slow the body's reaction, thus allowing for less urgent processes to occur, often referred to our "rest or digest" response.

A LITTLE ANECDOTE:

It wasn't until I was fully engulfed in yoga teacher training that I even knew a pose called Balasana existed.  Crazy...considering I just told you this is a key pose in all yoga practices, right!?  But it's true. Over the course of several years, at least a hundred classes, and multiple teachers, never once did I hear the right pronunciation of the pose.  I always heard Valasana...with a V!  I finally discovered the correct name for Child's Pose when I was reading a book that kept referencing Balasana.  Imagine my shock, when I googled this pose I'd never heard of and Child's Pose appeared.

But regardless if you call it Balasana or Valasana, be comfortable in Child's Pose and always remember it's your practice, not your neighbor's practice or your instructor's practice.  Yours and yours alone.  Happy resting!

Standing Tall in Mountain Pose

One of my last projects to complete in order to receive my 200 hour yoga teacher training certification is to write a 6 week beginning yoga student series.  Mountain Pose is a foundational yoga pose.  It should be taught (and learned) before any other pose.  It is a pose that is important enough, I felt it warranted a blog post dedicated to only it.

Mountain Pose, known in Sankskrit as Tadasana, is a key pose in all yoga styles.  It is the pose we seek in every other pose.  Proper alignment is crucial and begins at the base of the mountain, where our feet meet the earth.  Choose your base wisely.  Some people prefer their feet together.  Some people prefer their feet apart.  A wider stance will produce a more stable foundation, so if balance is a concern, feet hip distance apart is a good guideline. 

Standing at the top of your mat, lift your toes up and place them all back down one by one so the pads of your toes touch the ground beneath them.  Shift around on your feet until you feel your weight evenly distributed between your big toe mound, your little toe mound, and the heel of your foot.  Once your feet are firmly planted, you can begin to move up the mountain.

• Engage your quadriceps, the muscles at the front of the thigh.  You should feel a slight lift in your knee caps.
• Check that your pelvis is in a neutral position.  If you have a tendency to stick your tailbone out, scoop it slightly being careful not to over-scoop or hypo-extend.
• Engage your core muscles.
• Lengthen up through your spine.
• Relax your shoulders and roll them down your back.
• Chin should be in a neutral position, parallel to the floor.
• Turn your palms to face front.
• Breathe.

Can you see Tadasana in this Downward Dog?

As you continue to practice yoga, you’ll start to realize, Tadasana is in every pose…the neutral pelvis, the engaged core muscles, the straightened spine, reaching out through the crown of your head and out through the heels of your feet—in plank, in downward facing dog, in forward fold.  Build a strong mountain from the beginning and a strong asana practice will follow.

During a Yin Yoga teacher training seminar, Joe Barnett, a senior student of Paul Grilley, stated:  “As we grow older, we are shrinking and drying up.”  In fact, according to the article, Do people shrink as they age? written by University of Arkansas for Medical Services, we can start to lose inches as early as 30 years old.

Don't over-scoop putting your pelvis into posterior tilt.

Well into my “over the hill” years, I’m certain this statement is true for a large majority of the population, but I can attest that I am actually ½” taller than I was before I began practicing yoga.  Not because there’s magic or voodoo in my yoga practice, but because of Tadasana.  I have learned to stand up straight.  I no longer stand with my pelvis anteriorly tilted; I no longer stand with my shoulders slumped forward; and I no longer stand with my gaze toward the floor.  I stand with my spine straight, pelvis in neutral, shoulders back, and head high.  I’ve elongated my spine and created space between my vertebrae.

So while most people my age are being overcome by the gravitational pull of the earth, I’m finding new height!  Just one more positive thing to add to the list of the many ways yoga has improved my overall quality of  life.