Filed under: Yoga Musings
Last night, I did something very stupid. An old window in our attic was stuck — probably from the sudden heat in Portland — and I tried to nudge the edge of the frame open with my knee. I missed my target and before I knew what had happened, there was huge “Pop!” and then blood and glass everywhere. I stood there for a moment, just stunned, and then saw that my knee looked like it had been through a blender. Thankfully, my partner was quicker thinking than I was at that moment. She had me sit down, we wrapped my knee in two towels, and called 911. (more…)
Hello Readers!
My apologies for having disappeared for a while from the blogosphere.
I’ve been living in Portland, OR, since last year. Despite my on-going shoulder injury, I have managed to get a taste of the yoga scene here. I’ve been going primarily to studios in the Southeast region of the city, and was lucky enough to find a place called Sprout about two blocks from my house. Unfortunately, for me and the local community, this great little studio had to shutter its doors for good in February.
One thing I’ve noticed since I returned to yoga is just how much time it takes up. It’s hard to believe that I used to go every single day to a 90-minute class, often fighting my way though thirty minutes of traffic in L.A. just to get to class, and then another thirty minutes to get home! Many adults complain about not having enough time to exercise, and I sometimes wonder about this since you could, say, go for a 3-mile run 5 times a week without putting a dent in your schedule. But yoga is different; it takes up a huge chunk of your day to practice at a yoga studio. How does anyone manage to have a regular practice? (more…)
A long time ago, in my past life as an “advanced” yogi, I wrote a post on this blog about the proper way to do Chaturanga. Yesterday, as part of my slow and on-going recovery, I went to another Anusara class and got a totally different take on Chaturangas/Vinyasas that blew my mind. (more…)
I went to another Anusara-inspired yoga class, my second yoga class in 4 months, and probably just my 15th yoga class in the past year. So far, no pain in my shoulder, so I’m hopeful that this time I can really make a comeback. I’ll be much more cautious this time, and am making sure to go no more than 3 times a week for the first few months. My shoulder still makes some gnarly grinding noises (think pepper grinder with stones in it), so I am not ready to say it’s healed. But I’m cautiously optimistic.
Yesterday, I started my 3-month unlimited pass at Dhyana Yoga in Philadelphia. I took an Anusara-inspired class that was probably in the level 1-2 or level 2 range. Perhaps the strangest thing for me, and the most challenging, was to take a yoga class and not do many of the things that I used to do. Due to my shoulder injury, I modified vinyasas (i.e., knees down + cobra) or cut them out entirely. I even cut out some down-dogs, so as to give my injured shoulder a break.
I recently bought a 3-month unlimited pass to a yoga studio here in Philadelphia. The place is called Dhyana Yoga. They offer mostly vinyasa and anusara, the two kinds of yoga I’m most familiar with and most comfortable with. Why is this news? About a year ago I sustained a bad shoulder injury and had to stop doing yoga pretty much entirely. (This is why the blog has been inactive for so many months). The injury did not improve, and, in fact, got so bad that I was unable to lift my arm to parallel for nearly 6 months. I had an MRI and learned that I had a slight tear in my rotator cuff, along with the more serious problem, chronic shoulder bursitis. After having done yoga every day of my life for years, and having been a yoga teacher for almost three years, it was a real bummer to suddenly be unable to do down-dog or even a basic Sun Salutation A.
I haven’t been posting much at all for several months now, not due to neglect, but due to yet another injury. This time, I re-injured my left shoulder and am having a terrible time recovering. Today I found out the results of an MRI–no tears in my shoulder, but some wear is visible in my rotator cuff. The official diagnosis is shoulder bursitis, which is chronic (and painful!) inflammation of the shoulder bursa, a sack of synovial fluid that is supposed to reduce friction and help joints move smoothly. When the bursa becomes inflamed, though, it actually increases friction and can even cause the surrounding tissue to wear and tear. The swelling also results in a painful locking sensation in the shoulder when you try to lift your arm into certain positions.
Filed under: Yoga Bloomington
Bloomington Power Yoga is now Mukti Yoga. The new website is www.muktiyoga.org.
Classes will still be held in the same space (Blooming Lotus above Roots), and all class packages with Bloomington Power Yoga are valid with Mukti Yoga.
There’ve been a lot of changes at Bloomington Power Yoga over the past year, including the departure of most of the original teachers. Susan, Rusty, and I have all stopped teaching, but Kelly will continue on, and there are now several new and wonderful teachers who have joined the mix. The new name, Mukti Yoga, means “liberation” yoga, and is intended to reflect the various changes at the studio. Please support the new teachers and help the community to thrive and grow!
- Eugene
Filed under: Uncategorized
My partner and I are moving to Philadelphia this summer. We’ll be there for a year. This will actually be my second time living in Philly–I did my undergrad at Penn–but I moved away in 2000 I’m sure a lot of things have changed since then. One thing I hear is that Philly now has a very good yoga scene, something that didn’t exist when I lived there. If anyone knows of good studios or teachers in Philly, I’d be grateful for your recommendations.
At this point, I’m not sure if I’ll try to teach in Philly. There’s a small possibility that I will, but I can’t say for sure yet. At the very least, I’m excited to be practicing yoga again in a big city.
