When insomnia strikes, some poses to try, so you can sleep like a baby (or at least a little kid):

A good night's sleep is priceless, just ask all the pharmaceutical companies making millions on their over-the-counter and prescription sleep aids. If you are having trouble settling in for a restful evening's sleep, or if you awaken in the wee hours with a mind that continues to race, here are some strategies that can help you relax a bit. You might just fall back to sleep for a few more hours; at the very least, you can calm your mind and stop fretting about being awake. All these poses can be done while you are still in bed, so you don't disturb your partner or wake up the rest of the house. There's nothing difficult or esoteric about these three poses, in fact they have been in your anatomical repertoire since you were tiny. Let's try returning to those basics, when you didn't have so much stress, or worries, and you slept like . . . a baby.

This is the simplest of poses, one that I use when I teach kids' yoga; it's called the "Rubber Ducky." For yoga purists, the Sanskrit name of this pose is Dirga Pranayama, or three-part breath. Lie comfortably on your back, as if you were in Savasana, or final relaxation pose. Imagine that you have a small little rubber duck resting on your bellybutton. With your mouth closed, inhale deeply so that your belly (and the duck) rises. Hold the full breath for a few seconds. Then with your mouth still closed, exhale deeply, causing your belly to sink (and that duck) to float down. For little yogis and yoginis, I help them visualize their ducks floating up and down on gentle waves. Sometimes, if there are more children that rubber duckies, we do this pranayama using each others' bellies. If this breathing exercise can get a room of active four-year-olds sleeping, it just might work for you as well.

The second strategy is to lie in reclining bound angle pose, or Supta Baddha Konasana. Lie on your back, bringing the soles of your feet close together and letting your knees flop to each side of your body. Support your head, neck, and/or thighs on pillows if needed. Now, you might not be as flexible in the hips as this little tyke, but you can still get real relaxation in this pose.

Press your outer thighs away from the sides of your torso. Then slide your hands along your outer thighs from the hips toward the knees and widen your outer knees away from your hips. Then slide your hands up along your inner thighs, from the knees to your groins. Lay your arms on the floor, angled at or about 45 degrees from your sides, your palms facing up. Don't force your inner thighs or push your knees toward the mattress; just imagine that your knees are floating up toward the ceiling. Stay in this pose as long as you are comfortable. To come out of the pose, use your hands to press your thighs together, then roll onto one side.

The final recommended pose is one that you already know well: Savasana, or corpse pose. Once you get settled, carefully scan every muscle in your body and consciously relax. Focus on your breathing. If thoughts intrude, don't let them derail you in your pursuit of relaxation. Acknowledge that your mind is active, refocus, and begin again. Some of us--who are visually inclined--find it helpful to visualize a favorite place; others replay a soothing melody within our heads. Experiment with what works well for you; I've often thought of recipes that I enjoy cooking, or repeated poems that I memorized years ago (I knew all that Shakespeare would come in handy someday!). As active as your mind is when you can't turn if off and sleep--pleasant memories will calm your nervous system so that you can return to a restful state.

Cultivate the habit of using one or more of these strategies when sleep eludes you. With practice, you will get to sleep faster and return to sleep without as much frustration. The ability to claim restful sleep is invaluable--at home, on an airplane, in a waiting room. Use yoga as one of your many tools to make your life calmer, simpler, and peaceful.
Sweet dreams!

Namaste,
Nancy

Finding Equipoise

When we practice together, we devote almost a quarter of our time working on "balancing" poses (that's not the fancy, Sanskrit term, but you get the idea). The poses aren't easy; neither are they mastered quickly. It takes time, patience, humility, and--above all--an ability to concentrate our focus. Some days, we balance well. Others, we wobble, tip, and even fall out of the poses. And that's okay. Why would we spend so much time working on asanas that aren't completely attainable? What are the benefits of working so hard just to teeter over or grab for the security of a wall?

The first part of the answer is that balance poses work the entire body, especially the core or "powerhouse" muscles of the abs, gluts, chest, and back. Standing balance poses such as Utkatasana (awkward pose or chair) give us an opportunity to strengthen the quads and our shoulders as well as our core. Yet another standing balance pose, Attanasana or forward fold, lengthens the hamstrings and allows the lower back to relax. One-legged balance poses--Garudasana or eagle, Vrksasana or tree, Natarajasana or king dancer, Virabhadrsasana III or warrior III, Ardha Chandrasana or half-moon--require that one leg takes on the majority of our body weight. Arm balance poses such as Bakasana or crow, develops arm strength and our ability to move our center of gravity forward without toppling over. As we do these poses, we all discover that we have irregularities and asymmetry. One side of our body may be more dominant or developed. Alternating the poses from side to side helps us correct that imbalance. As we work on balance poses, we become more symmetrical, flexible, and, well, balanced.

And part of the reason why we do balance poses is to explore the experience of learning something new. As children, every one of us spent many, many hours working on our balance as we progressed from holding our heads up, sitting up, standing without help, and finally walking. The process took most of us the better part of the first year of our lives, and we developed those skills with an almost single-minded dedication. (Ask anyone about a baby's determination to walk.) Despite all the wobbling, tipping, falling, bumping, and false starts, we kept at our goals. If we fell, we got up, again and again. Never once did any of us say, "That's too hard for me. I quit." Every one of us mastered the skills and we all manage to walk into the Group X room for yoga. Call on your earliest past when you do balance poses: you'll get there. You went from a complete lack of coordination to walking within less than two years, when you weren't even old enough to speak in full sentences. You've done the difficult once; with the same amount of patience and a resilient attitude, you will do it again. There's no failure.

And finally, take a look at this familiar illustration from Ted Giesel's (Dr. Seuss) book, The Cat in the Hat. This is a character who really knows how to balance. If you are familiar with the story, I don't have to tell you that the zany cat managed to stay calm within a roiling sea of chaos and confusion. And when the tale ends, all is calm and peaceful. That's the intangible benefit of practicing balance poses. Our abilities to focus, to center our thoughts, to calm our breathing, and to be philosophical about the wobbles--that's why we practice those crazy poses. They help us stay a little more grounded and even a bit more secure within ourselves.

Namaste,
Nancy

The perfect fusion of holiday goodies and inspiration

The ingredients for the final batch of holiday cookies are still on the kitchen counter. Humm, the elves must be busy elsewhere. I'm realizing that if the goodies are to be baked, I must take a bit more initiative and actually measure, mix, stir, roll out, bake, and finally (gasp!) frost them. Weighing the time and calories involved--the cookies just might not get done. My husband, who usually begs for treats this time of year, has discovered that he must get serious about reforming his dietary habits. And as for myself, I don't really like cookies, but if there's a plateful around, I find the little morsels tough to resist. Letting a holiday tradition lapse is tough, perhaps because there is so much emphasis on recalling past holidays and wanting to keep a sense of continuity. Nevertheless, it's a good thing to phase out a tradition or custom that serves no one any good, even if my "inner Martha Stewart" gets twitchy.

    But next year will be different! I'm going to invest in these fabulous asana cookie cutters (due out to retail customers sometime in the spring) and strive for some lovely 100% gluten-free, almost vegan (except for the meringue powder in the royal icing) gingerbread yogis. Check them out! If need be, I'll order these cookies online and reverse engineer the cutters so that I can make my own. I love the playfulness and joy of this concept, so perfect for this time of year.

    Enjoy the best of the season. Keep centered. Live in the moment. And, most importantly, remember to breathe.
Namaste,
Nancy

Yoga and self-acceptance

One of my step-daughters turned 40 last week (yes, that DOES date me a bit). Her favorite present was the only piece of jewelry she's ever had from Tiffany's: a beautiful sliver snowflake necklace. It is lovely. When we all admired it, she said, "It's perfect for me. It's silver; it's pretty, and, it's . . . flakey." She laughed a bit in a self-deprecating way, but it hurt a bit to learn that, after 40 years of living, she didn't give herself enough credit to see the positive side of her personality. Okay, yes, she's a bit scatter-brained. But who isn't with two small children, a part-time job, three dogs, helping at two schools, and maintaining a solid marriage, a household, and many, many friendships?

What she interprets as "flakiness," I choose to see as a willingness to roll with the punches of life, to be spontaneous, to be open to change, and to live with a sense of excitement. She is among the more adaptable people in my life. There isn't much that can rattle her ability to make the best of an ever-changing schedule.

What qualities about yourself do you view as negatives? Be gentle with yourself. The discipline of yoga encourages us all to accept ourselves as we are, in this moment, at this place in time. Accept your limitations, forgive your failings, and breathe into your next asana, however you can. That's advice that we can use in our practice, and in our daily lives. As we practice together, we do more than poses, we learn the essential and intricate connections between our minds, our bodies, and our emotional well-being. And we come to accept that who and where we are is perfectly good. Release from judgement and self-criticism are great benefits of our practice.

After class today, someone shared that she hadn't been in class since late last spring as she was recovering from a back injury (and then a re-injury). She was glad to be back, and felt secure enough to know when to back out of a pose and sink into child's pose. She's got an essential part of yoga mastered--knowing herself and accepting that her limitations--today--are perfectly fine. And we're so glad that she came. Her presence was a great part of our learning today.

Namaste,
Nancy

Knowing yourself

At the risk of sounding like the literature teacher that I once was, the subject of this week's blog is the famous advice given my the oracle at Delphi, "Know thyself." Whether you are named Oedipus and lived back in antiquity, or are a resident of Southern California in the 21st century--knowing yourself remains essential.

We all bring unique and individual experiences into the Group X room. Some of us have been practicing yoga for years, even decades. Some of us have never attempted a single pose when we try yoga for the first time as a Group X offering. Chances are, we've been doing asanas for years, without even knowing that those position were yoga poses; many poses come to us naturally. Check out this little yogi doing his version of seated, cross-legged pose, Sukhasana.

And then, let's be realistic. There are some "givens" about each of our bodies that we have can't control. Some of us have body types that are limber and stretch easily. Some of us have tightly bunched muscles that resist being stretched. And then, there is the basic skeletal structure that might restrict us in some of our movements. For example, if the head of your femur (the part that attaches into your hip socket) is knobby, short of shaving those knobs away or dislocating your hips, you will never get your legs into a complete "split" with your perineum on the floor in an advanced pose such as Hanumanasana.

Unless you are contemplating a complete replacement of all your joints, ligaments, and muscle groups--the body that you live in is the body that you've got for your entire life. Honor that body; it's with you for your life's journey, every single minute. If your muscles are limber and lithe (and you know who you are), celebrate your body's ability to stretch and move into the fullest expression of a pose. But don't feel too smug--you have a bit of an unearned advantage. If your body resists when you are practicing, respect that "pull" on your muscles and back off a bit. Don't get impatient with yourself or compare your pose to others. Your muscles need more time to relax, to get warm, to release--and that's a good thing. Listen to what you know you are capable of doing. Know yourself.

There is an ongoing discussion within the yoga community whether or not some glossy publications should have covers of models doing poses that are advanced or next-to-impossible for most practitioners. Gymnasts, professional dancers, and contortionists doing yoga poses can make our discipline seem difficult and only for the most flexible of us. Some of the poses are downright silly. That's hardly a true picture of what yoga is about. Yoga is not the pose; yoga is not a picture. Never confuse the outward look of an asana or pose with "doing yoga." Yoga is self-awareness and centeredness; yoga is about knowing yourself and what your body needs. Bring self-assurance with you to your next class--you are the best judge of what your body can do and what it needs. Now, you're practicing yoga!

Namaste,
Nancy

The Perfect Holiday Gift -- a centered and refocused self!

Heading to class yesterday morning, I listened to Nigella Lawson on the radio (She's one fabulous and creative cook--that woman knows how to love her food!) as she discussed preparing holiday meals. Imagine my relief when she said that she opts for the simpler meals, in order to enjoy her friends and family. She asked this rather sensible question, "Why cook the roast duck with cherry brandy sauce if it means that you'll need to spend an hour or more weeping from the strain of making it all come out perfect?" Yes, why indeed. We hardly expect perfection from ourselves and others during any other time of year--not not back off our expectations for the holidays as well?

As I write this blog, I must tell you that there were HUNDREDS of hits when I search for the word string: "perfect holiday gift." That's a whole lot of expectations goin' on. We need lots of self-control and self-checking this time of year to not let marketing messages and consumerist frenzy take over our lives (and our bank accounts).

Take some cues from your yoga practice. What we do in class can help manage some of the stress that creeps into an admittedly frantic time of year.

First of all, remember to breathe. Pace yourself as you move through the day. Focus on one activity at a time and enjoy being "in the moment." Even if it's just washing dishes, direct your attention to the soap suds,  the sound of the water, the sheen of clean and sparkling glassware, the sparkle of silverware. Treasure the little moments.

Secondly, take time to nurture yourself. Schedule some "me time" whether it's time working out (those endorphins released will boost your mood) or enjoying a warm cup of herbal tea. You're worth it.

Finally, consider that a relaxed and well-centered you might be the best gift you can give to others. After all the wrapping paper is folded and the decorations are stowed for another year, what will you and those you love remember about this year's holidays? A "perfect" present given with tension in the air, or a relaxed and peaceful holiday season? It's next-to-impossible to create a holiday that is "camera ready" for a glossy magazine cover, but you have the power to make less-than-perfect moments memorable with your good humor, resilience, and positive attitude.

I recall one holiday when an enormous 15-foot tree fell over--ornaments, lights, and tinsel--as a particularly emphatic punctuation mark to our celebration dinner. We still laugh about the mess to this day--and tease each other about the rather ugly "guy wires" that we've used ever since.

The adage that we "practice" yoga and accept our limitations with good grace has almost universal significance, especially this time of year. Bring your practice out into the larger world this holiday season. Be good to yourself. Give the perfect holiday gift this year: a presence that is relaxed and appreciative of all that is good this season.

Namaste,

Nancy