Comments on: How Much is too Much?

By: new braunfels texas

new braunfels texas — Wed, 08 May 2013 08:48:06 +0000

First off I would like to say fantastic blog!
I had a quick question in which I’d like to ask if you don’t mind.
I was interested to know how you center yourself and clear your head prior to writing.
I have had a tough time clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts
out. I do take pleasure in writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually wasted simply
just trying to figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or hints?
Kudos!

By: Alkaline Water

Alkaline Water — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 06:24:49 +0000

Alkaline water provides an antioxidant and electron rich medium for consumption, and the acidic water provides oxidizing water that works like an antibacterial and cleanser for external use.

By: dhrubajit debbarma

dhrubajit debbarma — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:30:26 +0000

sis shivani, is there any school running by you. i watch ur program daily in astha chanmel. if there is any school i wil send my son in your school. pranam my sis.

By: benitobananas

benitobananas — Sun, 30 May 2010 16:20:11 +0000

Hi there,
I’m an advanced Sivananda Yoga teacher with 10 years experience teaching, and over 15 years practice experience. I’m also a healer.
Before I studied Sivananda style, I practiced Iyengar, and various others.
I have hardly ever injured myself, and I have NEVER had a student get an injury in my class – but don’t think I don’t push people! I teach a very dynamic class, and encourage people to really push themselves. I totally agree with some of what you say about having to push yourself in yoga, and not clinging to the comfort zone. It’s true that yoga teaches us, as you say, to not be attached. But you know what one of our biggest attachments is in Western culture:
DOING.
Yoga is all about:
BEING.
If you injure yourself, there is a reason – injury is your way of teaching yourself something. Always listen to the injury, (ok, it’s ambiguous, so i’ll explain…)
Listen to your body, or your injury, means to FEEL deeper into the pain, the discomfort, and find what is beneath it. To BE with the feeling in the body, and understand what it’s telling you. Our body is really how we connect with the outside world – our consciousness expressing itself – so if you get an injury, THERE’S A DEEPER REASON.
I know that most injuries in yoga are caused by a very Western obsession with the body – yoga is much more about the mind. When you practice asanas without the balance, there will always be injury.
Good luck, and if you would like to read more about my approach to yoga, life, and healing, please feel free to check out my new blog:
http://benralston.blogspot.com/
With love,
Ben

By: Rachel Wainwright, Exhale Yoga Pilates Dance Studio

Rachel Wainwright, Exhale Yoga Pilates Dance Studio — Fri, 28 May 2010 03:54:25 +0000

I love reading your blog. Thank you!

By: Kathy

Kathy — Tue, 25 May 2010 11:49:57 +0000

Yoga is all about clam and comfort. Asanas should always be practiced keeping your comfort in mind and then gradually build up. If at first go you try to achieve the perfect pose, you are bound to get injuries. It is always advisable to practice yoga under the guidance of a good teacher.

By: Ridzwan

Ridzwan — Fri, 14 May 2010 08:10:22 +0000

I will agree that this is a very interesting article that goes beyond Yoga and brings to surface the question of one’s ego. Seriously if you think about it, Yoga or at least in the traditional sense propagated that the correct practice of Yoga should result in no injuries or pains. In my opinion, when you are truly connected with the body, you will feel accomplished without having to push yourself to hard. Each session of Yoga leaves me feeling totally great, without me placing to much emphasis on the outcome I was expecting

By: Svasti

Svasti — Sun, 02 May 2010 00:12:38 +0000

I practice mostly Hatha and Shadow Yoga, and in my ten years of practice, I’ve never injured myself from my yoga practice. Now, to suggest that if I’m not injuring myself, I’m not trying hard enough, would be untrue.

But there’s working your practice, and then there’s being competitive with yourself and possibly even others (if you’re in a class).

Some of the most intense yoga I’ve done is with the Shadow practice. It’s incredibly challenging and detail oriented, and yet the way the teachers instruct the class, and the number of questions they encourage means that it’s very safe for the body.

I guess the question I’d ask here is, what are you practicing for? What’s the goal, if any? In my own experience, I’m not trying to achieve the most perfected form of every asana possible. Instead, I’m interested in paying attention to the openings in my body, heart and mind.

By: Carl

Carl — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 22:18:17 +0000

Look, I love Ashtanga as much as anybody (ok, maybe not the hardcore, Primary-Series-every-day-except-for-moon-days devotees), but I’d have to say that it’s a physically demanding, aggressive style that leads to, well, lots of injuries. In the last six months, I’ve taken workshops from 3 out of the four “grand old men” of US Ashtanga (David Williams, Doug Swenson, and Tim Miller) and all of them said the same thing (not in the same words, but the meaning was identical): the practice takes it’s toll on you; modify when you feel pain, don’t injure yourself, some poses aren’t for people with aging bodies…well, you get the idea. On the other hand, Iyengar and its offshoot, Anusara, emphasize alignment over “flow.” (Yes, I know Anusara means “in the flow”: I’ve just never gotten any flow from an Anusara class). The method seems to have a relatively pain-free way of getting into the poses, and for me, that’s a big plus. I’m eclectic enough to be able to derive some benefit from a different style, so I guess what I’m saying here is that considering these differing methods of yoga is really a great idea.

By: Practical Yoga

Practical Yoga — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:32:51 +0000

Very valid post. Finally someone know what they are talking about 15:32