Filed under: Yoga News
Thanks to my friend and fellow yogi, Matt C., for pointing me to this article about yoga in public schools.
Filed under: Yoga Stuff
This is just silly, but I thought some readers might get a laugh out of it: www.bushyoga.com
Filed under: Yoga Musings
A Yoga Journal market study reports that something like 4 in 5 people who do yoga in the U.S. are women. This is particularly strange when you consider the fact that, throughout the thousands of years of its history, yoga has been practiced and studied almost exclusively by men. So why don’t more men practice yoga now? There are a couple of interesting historical, sociological, and psychological factors that might explain the present gender disparity here in the U.S. I’d like to discuss some of these factors, and also say a few words to try and convince skeptical (especially male) readers to give yoga a shot. My remarks owe a significant debt to an interesting article “Where Are All The Men?” in the March 2007 issue of Yoga Journal and to the historical introduction to yoga which can be found in a wonderful photography book simply entitled “Yoga”, published by Yoga Journal. (more…)
Filed under: Digital Asana Project
In this video, Dhyana demonstrates for us a very fun and challenging transition. It goes a little something like this. From Down-Dog, Dhyana comes into a Handstand. Then, she winds her legs into Garudasana (Eagle Pose) position. Then, bending at the elbows, she begins to lower her chin to the floor, coming down into a variation of Gandha Bherundasana with the legs still wound in Eagle position.
This is a very, very advanced transition — Jedi yoga, as some of my friends call it. I doubt that many yoga instructors can even pull this one off. The prerequisites, so to speak, for this transition are:
1) The ability to do a freestanding Handstand for an extended period of time.
2) The ability to lower safely and with control from Vrischikasana II (Scorpion) into Gandha Bherundasana.
3) The ability to wind the legs into Eagle Pose without the assistance of the hands.
For most people, the advice “don’t try this at home” applies here. It’s fun to watch these amazing transitions, however, to inspire us and to see what can happen when we combine complex and advanced asanas into a sequence that exhibits such grace, power, focus, and balance all at once.
Disclaimer: I am not a certified yoga instructor, and the ideas and opinions expressed here are not intended to be formal instruction on yoga poses. If you plan to start up a yoga practice, or if you have one and plan to do any of the yoga poses described in this blog, please seek out an experienced, living, breathing yoga teacher to guide you with hands-on instruction.
Filed under: Yoga & Rock Climbing
I went climbing last week for the first time in over a month, and blew out my arms in about an hour. Basically, I did what you’re not supposed to do when you climb, which is to overuse your arms and under-utilize your legs. So, for this posting I’ve decided to suggest an asana sequence for climbers that will both strengthen the legs and improve balance. Non-climbers may also enjoy this sequence! (more…)
A few weeks ago, one of my teachers asked us to “put a micro-bend” in our standing leg while we were in Warrior III. A micro-bend is a slight bend that is just enough to unlock the knee. What happens when you take this micro-bend, I’ve found, is that suddenly you have to engage your muscles in a totally different way. Also, what happens is that you realize the extent to which your locked knee (i.e. bone and cartilage) was bearing the weight of the pose, instead of your muscles. This instruction to take a “micro-bend” was one heck of a wake-up call for me. After having seen several people around me suffer some pretty serious repetitive stress injuries from yoga, I am being particularly cautious these days about maintaining good alignment in my practice. (more…)
Filed under: Yoga Tunes
A friend introduced me to Tristeza a few months ago, but I never really gave them a good listen until this week. Boy was I missing out. (more…)
You will often hear yoga teachers say in class that you should “take care of your body” or “listen to your body.” I think this is more or less pretty good advice. But all too often, I think this advice is taken by students as license to wimp out. Taking care of your body or listening to your body does not mean “come out of the pose the instant you feel any discomfort.” In fact, my own personal philosophy with respect to discomfort and pain in yoga is “push your edge, and then some.” If we don’t push or test our edge in yoga, our practice becomes stagnant, as will our bodies and our minds. This is not yoga, in my book. This is something like guided relaxation, and, unfortunately, this is what is being called yoga in a lot of places today. (more…)
Filed under: Digital Asana Project
This transition is definitely fun, albeit a bit scary the first few times. My back is still not open enough to do the drop-back from Salamba Sirsana (Headstand) into Viparita Dandasana very smoothly, but I hope that this video gives you a general idea of what it’s supposed to look like.
First, I come into traditional Headstand (and almost wipe out). Then, I start to bend my knees and take my feet towards the floor. As I do this, I also lift my head entirely off the floor and start to push my chest towards the opposite wall. This allows me (at least in theory) to take a little more of a back bend and to get my feet even closer to the floor. Basically, I try to continue this movement — head off the floor, chest forward, feet down — until I can’t hold it any more and I fall over to the mat. Dropping back here is of course the scary part; but I try to remind myself that the floor is pretty darn stable, and it isn’t going anywhere. So as long as I don’t do anything crazy like panic and flail about, my feet will hit the floor eventually, and everything will be fine. Once my feet hit the mat, I walk them in a little closer towards my head and take Viparita Dandasana for a breath or two. The head is entirely off the ground here, and the gaze is moving progressively toward the hands while the chest continues to extend in the opposite direction away from my feet. Finally, I plant my hands and come into Urdvha Dhanurasana (aka Full Wheel). I finish off the sequence by coming down to the mat slowly and taking my knees into my chest, releasing the lower back. Whew! Repeat two to three times if so inclined.
Disclaimer: I am not a certified yoga instructor, and the ideas and opinions expressed here are not intended to be formal instruction on yoga poses. If you plan to start up a yoga practice, or if you have one and plan to do any of the yoga poses described in this blog, please seek out an experienced, living, breathing yoga teacher to guide you with hands-on instruction.
When I first started doing yoga in 2002, I practiced typically two or three times a week, for an hour and a half each time. Between driving to and from the studio, showering, etc., this was a considerable level of dedication for me, and I certainly thought of myself at the time as someone who took yoga seriously and who practiced regularly. Now, however, if I practice any less than five times a week, I feel as if I’ve fallen off the wagon and that something has gone badly awry. Certainly, there are advantages to even practicing yoga just once every week or two, but one’s practice — and one’s life, I claim — can change dramatically when yoga becomes a cornerstone of one’s daily routine. (more…)
