Hold that pose! Try not to shortchange your practice. Stay for Savasana.

It's 11:29 and the yoga class needs to be over. There are places to go, things to do, and chores on "to-do" lists. It's tempting to bolt out the door as a class settles in for Savasana. I would argue (gently, I hope) that the need to get up and out of the Group X room is the very reason to stay for Savasana. Those last moments of deep relaxation are one of the greatest benefits of your practice--those few moments of stillness will pay off throughout your day. 

Savasana, or Corpse Pose, is the name used to describe the asana that is generally performed at the end of any yoga practice. The purpose of this pose is to provide relaxation after a vigorous session and to allow the heart and lungs to recover. Perhaps more importantly, for the mental aspect of yoga practice, Savasana relieves stress, pressure, and anxiety. Savasana calms the mind. The origin of the name of this pose, "Corpse" or "Dead Body," is that the body has an opportunity to regenerate energy and arise from the asana with renewed energy, balance, and poise. 

Savasana is silence. The body doesn't make a sound; it is completely motionless. Savasana is an experience of stillness in the entire body. For this reason, one of the principles of yoga etiquette is that Savasana is a time of quiet: no cell phones, no rustling, no doors slamming shut. There isn't a Group X instructor who would enter the room during Savasana--this time is of utmost importance.

Though it appears that the class is "resting," Savasana is not intended to be a chance for a mini-nap. If someone drifts off to sleep during Savasana, it's a sure sign of sleep deprivation. The mental and physical state of Savasana is to achieve a balanced state between activity and inactivity, between outer directed focus on the larger world and unconsciousness. Ideally, during Savasana, the mind is at rest and consciously focused on the self.

All that being true, getting into a good place while in Savasana can be difficult. Sometimes restlessness distracts the mind and body. Once in Savasana, accept restlessness and "fidgets" as part of the process. Observe without judgment. Focus on your breathing to deepen interior awareness.

Deceptively simple, there are a few technique to help achieve Savasana with minimal frustration:

Practice Savasana in a room with minimal lighting. Bright, glaring light is counterproductive for this asana. This is the one time when all the lights are extinguished during our practice. 

Sit down on the floor or mat with your legs outstretched in front of you and your back straight. Use your elbows to lower your body to the floor.  Lie full length on your back on the floor, with the feet a little bit apart and the arms comfortably extended alongside the body. Rotate your shoulders up, back, and then down so that the palms of your hands are facing upwards. Relax your entire body, beginning with the feet, and working up to your head. Move your head around to ground the weight of your head toward the back of the skull. Close your eyes and take several normal breaths. Be aware of your body, the whole body, and stay with this experience. Once you are comfortable, avoid fidgeting, scratching, wiggling.

Relax the hinge of your jaw. Keep your mouth close, but let your jaw relax and let your tongue fall into the soft part of your mouth's palate. Relax all the muscles of the face. Let your eyes fall deep into their sockets. Focus your eyes down toward your heart. Breathe gently, letting your stomach rise and fall with each respiration.

When your concentration slips and distractions enter your mind (as they will inevitably), let go and refocus your attention. Return to the experience of stillness. This cycle may occur several times within a few minutes. Gently and patiently, bring your focus back to your self. If you begin to drift off to sleep, change the rate and depth of your breathing; this will help you overcome drowsiness.

When Savasana is finished, slowly move your body into outer awareness. Wiggle fingers and toes. Bend one or both knees, taking the soles of the foot (or feet) to the floor. Then, with eyes still closed, roll onto your right side. When you are ready, with your elbows and hands, bring your body off the floor. Try to preserve Savasana's inner stillness as long as possible--that inner stillness will carry you through the day with harmony, balance and poise.

Until next week, namaste,

Nancy

What's with all the Sanskrit names in yoga class?

In a word, tradition!  In a phrase, reverence and respect. In a sentence: Maintaining the basic integrity of yoga's history and keeping consistent with all the generations of practitioners who ground us in our practice.

One of the world's most ancient languages (predating even classical Greek and Latin), Sanskrit has been around since, well, forever. Vedic Sanskrit emerged about 1,500 B.C.E. in India. Sanskrit is a "root" language and is found in many words that we use in Indo-European languages such as English or Spanish.  It is still used today for sacred and ritual purposes, as it is the language of Hindu sacred texts and hundreds of fascinating stories. For many, the very sound of Sanskrit syllables resonate with the larger universe.

In yoga classes, a pose's traditional Sanskrit title ensures that the asana isn't confused with another. Generally, the name of the asana is descriptive (as in Supta Baddha Konasana or reclining bound angle pose) or is dedicated to an important figure (as in Garudasana, named after Garuda, the powerful bird who carried Vishnu). Using the Sanskrit terms is a way to honor and maintain the "roots" of our yogic practice. Additionally, a Trikonasana (triangle) is always the same pose, no matter whether we practice in Mumbai in the 3rd Century B.C.E. or in Glendora in the 21st Century C.E. The timelessness of yoga is, for many, part of its appeal.

For accessibility, we use both Sanskrit and descriptive names for the asanas that we practice. For the purists, the Sanskrit names keep the tradition. For those who are less interested in the spiritual and holistic experience, Sanskrit means very little. And that's okay as well. For English speakers, Down Dog is a much easier phrase to say and to understand than Adho Mukha Svanasana, a Sanskrit phrase that means downward facing dog pose. Knowing the proper Sanskrit name of every pose would be nice, but it would also be cumbersome for some of us, and for first-time practitioners, foreign terms would make the experience more than challenging. So, we compromise a bit--often using both names, sometimes interchanging, sometimes alternating. As always, the point is to focus on the pose and the integrity of the pose that works best for each of us.

Should you want to expand your knowledge, there are many excellent websites that translate traditional Sanskrit asanas into English. I recommend the following link from Bryan Kest's site: http://www.poweryoga.com/aboutyoga/article.php?artid=6. And if you are still intrigued, you might explore some of the beautiful Hindu and Buddhist myths that are often the source of many asanas' names. For example, the monkey god, Hanuman, who was able to make enormous leaps across wide spans, gives his name to the pose that is a full split, Hanumanasana.

Until next week,

yet another Sanskrit word,

Namaste,

Nancy

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Colds, Allergies, and Yoga Practice

Generally, I try to avoid injecting "myself" into my blog, but I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one in town who is experiencing allergy/cold symptoms. Whatever the season, upper respiratory discomfort is a nuisance at best, and the more extreme the discomfort the more the misery. What is to be done when you are feeling less-than-optimal from cold and allergy symptoms. Here's some advice from Dr. Timothy McCall's article in Yoga Journal:

Check in with your body before you attempt your regular yoga practice. If you feel drained or "wiped out," pushing through the usual heat-producing sun salutations might send you back to bed. Try a gentle or restorative practice (legs up the wall, for example). Avoid vigorous breathing techniques. And it stands to reason that if your nose is congested, alternate nostril breathing is out of the question. Once your energy improves, you can gradually return to a more active and vigorous practice, even if you still have a cough or your nose is a bit stuffy.

Antibiotics won't do a thing for viral infections nor will they help allergies. (During summer, determining if you have caught an upper-respiratory viral infection or if your allergies are kicking up becomes rather problematic. A virus lasts ten days to two weeks; an allergic reaction may persist longer.) There are over-the-counter (OTC) remedies that might alleviate your symptoms and make you more comfortable, but keep in mind that many OTC medications have lots of compounds to treat multiple symptoms and you might not need all that much. Pamper yourself with slippery elm lozenges for a sore throat, or acetaminophen for achiness.

Feeling stuffed up? Adding a few drops of eucalyptus oil to boiling water and breathing in the vapors can help nasal congestion. The brave souls who have mastered the use of a neti pot swear by this technique for clearing out sinus congestion. Another less tricky technique for loosening phlegm is the pranayama practice of Bhramar ( or Bumblebee breathing)i: press your lips together and make the sound of a buzzing bee. The humming vibrations open the sinuses and help drainage. To manage sinus pressure and headaches, don't practice any asanas that involve inverting your head.

Support yourself. Even restful poses such as Savasana (Final Relaxation) aren't easy when you are congested. Instead of lying flat on your back, support your back along the length of your spine with a large cushion (get one from the couch). Put another cushion or folded blanket under your head and neck. Then you can breath easier and get the most from the asana. Supta Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose) is also restful with back support and helps ease digestion. 

Dr. Timothy McCall is considered an authority on how yoga can be integrated into keeping yourself healthy and balanced. Check out his book Yoga as Medicine for poses and recommendation that might be helpful to your specific concerns.

Until next week, namaste,
Nancy

Good Intentions--Beginning your practice with Sankalpa

Creating a sankalpa (or positive intention) at the outset of your practice brings deeper focus and power, especially if you can keep your intention active throughout the session. Effective intentions are short, affirming, and precise statements (or even a single word) of what you hope to receive from your practice time. Your intention can be self-directed (acceptance, patience, or humility, as three examples) or for the benefit of others (non-violence, gratitude, or awareness, as examples).


Of course, you can practice yoga without setting an intention; sankalpa is not necessary for moving into any of the poses. Nevertheless, as you begin to explore the mind/body connections that are part of yoga's power, setting an intention can benefit your practice in several ways.

First of all, setting an intention helps to focus your mind. You give yourself a goal (even if for only a minute or two) that isn't necessarily directed toward doing, but toward "being" (as in being accepting of self [acceptance], of being patient with yourself [patience], or recognizing that you aren't the most important being in the universe [humility]). 


Your intention, or purpose, can set the tone of your entire practice. An empowering intention can make the difference between moving through class with calm and confidence or struggling through in the hope that the class will soon be over.


Setting an intention is something that we do frequently, it's not a high-powered transcendental principle. But that doesn't mean that positive intentions are not without power. We've all heard about the "power of positive thinking;" it's hardly a new concept. We set intentions every day, whether we are aware of them or not. If you left your home today, you had an intention. When you put the keys into your car's ignition, you had an intention and/or a destination. If you boiled water in the kettle, you had an intention. Interpersonal relationships are empowered and improved by affirming what is best in the other. Making an intention to "see the good" in others can transform a negative, or even toxic, interaction into a pleasant one.

Life being as it is, there are occasions when intentions and outcomes don't follow. We cannot control life's circumstances. In regard to an intention to drive to a destination, a flat tire can hinder our intended trip. The intent of putting a teakettle on the stove--a lovely cup of tea--might have turned into a cup of cold, bitter tea when an urgent phone call took precedence and attention. Presenting what is best of yourself and discovering what is best in others isn't always a guarantee of harmony. But that doesn't mean that the original intention wasn't valuable.


When we unroll our mats and settle into our practice, our private and personal intentions may or may not happen. Notwithstanding the outcome, our intentions give us opportunities to create something positive from the time we spend during our practice. Pushing through a physical challenge is a bit easy if we can focus on a motivating and inspiring reason. While we cannot control outcomes, we can control our way of being and how we react to outcomes.


The beauty and power of mind/body classes such as yoga is that we slowly work on our alignment. We align our bodies by the asanas, or poses. We balance our nervous system through pranayam, or breathing. And we can also recenter our emotional selves by sankalpa, or setting positive intentions. We don't have to perform the breathing exercises perfectly to benefit; our alignment doesn't have to be perfect when we do asanas to begin to feel our bodies get stronger and more flexible; so, to, we don't have to become perfectly serene beings to feel the positive effects of setting an intention for our practice.

Here are some intentions that I set for you when we practice together. That you 
          Stay present in the moment,
          Practice without competition or self-criticism, 
          Relax and have fun,
          Find a measure of sanctuary during practice, and
          Do what works best for your practice.
At the end of our session, I revisit those intentions, often with gratitude, for our time together. Yoga is a powerful discipline for transforming our bodies and our selves.


Until next week, namaste
Nancy
          

Alternate Nostril Breathing--Clearing the Channels

After class yesterday, a fellow yogini shared the improvements that she has experienced in her breathing since practicing this effective and essential pranayama, or breathing exercise. While there is no cure for a chronic ailment such as asthma, alternate nostril breathing can improve lung function by regulating respiration with deep, measured breaths. The holistic aspect of this pranayama not only aids breathing, but calms and centers the nervous system. We often begin our practice together with this technique, for breath control, for balance, but to help us all "reset" our mental state to gain the most from our practice. Read more about alternate nostril breathing, nadi sodhana:

The name alternate nostril breathing is due to the fact that we alternate between the two nostrils when we do the breathing. Yogis believe that this exercise will clean and rejuvenate your vital channels of energy, thus the name nadi sodhana (purification of nadis or channels).

With this exercise, we breathe through only one nostril at a time. The logic behind this exercise is that normal breathing does alternate from one nostril to the other at various times during the day. In a healthy person the breath will alternate between nostrils about every two hours, as our brain's hemispheres alternate in dominance; every two hours or so, the right will dominate, then the left will take the shift. Because most of us are not in optimum health, this time period varies considerably between people and further reduces our vitality. According to the yogis, when the breath continues to flow in one nostril for more than two hours, as it does with most of us, it will have an adverse effect on our health. If the right nostril is involved, the result is mental and nervous disturbance. If the left nostril is involved, the result is chronic fatigue and reduced brain function. The longer the flow of breath in one nostril, the more serious the illness will be.

Benefits of Nadi Sodhana

• Relaxation and stress relief.
• Helps to balance and harness our energy.
• Improves brain function: increases oxygen to both hemispheres of the brain, thus clarifying our thought processes. Enhances focus and improves concentration.
• Balances: Restores equilibrium between the two nadis (energy channels), ida and pingala.
• Unblocks the flow of prana and purifies subtle energy channels.
• Boosts immunity.
• Prepares body and mind for meditation.
• Good for allergies as it helps to clean and clear out the sinuses.

The Scientific Confirmation of Alternate Nostril Breathing

Medical science has recently discovered the nasal cycle, something that was known by the yogis thousands of years ago. Scientists have recently found that we don't breathe equally with both nostrils, that one nostril is much easier to breathe through than the other at any particular time and that this alternates about every two to three hours. The yogis claim that the natural period is every two hours, but we must remember these studies were done on people who do not have an optimum health level.

Scientists also discovered that the nasal cycle corresponds with brain function. The electrical activity of the brain was found to be greater on the side opposite the less congested nostril. The right side of the brain controls creative activity, while the left side controls logical verbal activity. The research showed that when the left nostril was less obstructed, the right side of the brain was predominant. Test subjects were indeed found to do better on creative tests. Similarly when the right nostril was less obstructed the left side of the brain was predominant. Test subjects did better on verbal skills. No wonder we don't perform well when we have a upper respiratory ailment such as the flu or a cold!

Medical science has not quite caught up with the ancient yogis yet. For the purposes of this blog post, I am including this paragraph purely for your information--I make ABSOLUTELY no claims for the medical, moral, spiritual, physical, emotional, or ethical truth of the assertions. The yogis went one step further (and here is where I, personally, make no medical claims). They observed that a lot of disease was due to the nasal cycle being disturbed; that is, if a person breathed for too long through one nostril. To prevent and correct this condition, they developed the alternate nostril breathing technique. This clears any blockage to air flow in the nostrils and reestablishes the natural nasal cycle. For example, the yogis have known for a long time that prolonged breathing through the left nostril only (over a period of years) will produce asthma. They also know that this so-called incurable disease can be easily eliminated by teaching the patient to breathe through the right nostril until the asthma is cured, and then to prevent it recurring by doing the alternate nostril breathing technique. The yogis also believe that diabetes is caused to a large extent by breathing mainly through the right nostril. 

Technique

1. Close the right nostril with your right thumb and inhale through the left nostril. Do this to the count of four seconds.
2. Immediately close the left nostril with your right ring finger and little finger, and at the same time remove your thumb from the right nostril, and exhale through this nostril. Do this to the count of eight seconds. This completes a half round.
3. Inhale through the right nostril to the count of four seconds. Close the right nostril with your right thumb and exhale through the left nostril to the count of eight seconds. This completes one full round.

Start by doing three rounds, adding one per week until you are doing seven rounds.

Alternate nostril breathing should not be practiced if you have a cold or if your nasal passages are blocked in any way. Forced breathing through the nose may lead to complications. In pranayama it is important to follow this rule: under no circumstances should anything be forced. If you use the nostrils for breath control they must be unobstructed. If they are not, you must practice throat breathing.

When we practice the pranayama of alternate nostril breathing, we do a number of cycles with the use of our hand. Then, we do a few cycles "hands free" to concentrate on how the technique might be used during our daily lives outside the practice room. I can tell you that nadi sodhana has served me well during many stressful situations be they medical procedures or emotional crises. It's great knowing that a fellow practitioner has found the technique helpful as well. That's what makes our time together beneficial--we gain emotional as well as physical balance.

Until next week, namaste

Nancy

Your lumbar curve: keeping it healthy.

I once attended a day's seminar taught by Paul and Suzee Grilley. The day's topic: spinal alignment. Yup, we just couldn't spend too much time on the spine. If you've ever suffered from back pain, you'll certainly understand why. Because there were so many questions regarding spinal alignment today, I'd like to take some time out to share some of Paul and Suzee's teachings about how your spine works (and doesn't work) while practicing yoga.

Let's begin with the basic of everyone's spine, or "backbones." The many, many bones that comprise the spinal column protect the spinal cord, the central nervous system's most valuable component. The upper portion, around the neck (or cervix) are the cervical vertebrae.  There is a natural curve in this portion of your spine--the neck. Below that are the twelve vertebrae that support your internal organs such as the lungs, heart, liver, spleen, etc. From the time before you were born, this part of your spinal column has been curved (and to a much greater degree!). Below the thoracic vertebrae are the five large and heavy lumbar vertebrae. These vertebrae are large because they carry a greater load transmitted from the top of the head down to the lower spine. Another reason why the lumbar vertebrae are larger is that they must be big and strong to support the muscles and bones during movement. The lumbar area of the spine is the physical center of the body. This forms the hub for basic activities, including balance and locomotion. The demands on the lumbar area are great. Because of the demands, strong abdominal muscles form a tight band around the lumbar curvature, joining with smaller muscles in the lower back. Finally, the spine ends with vertebrae that are fused, or joined together with no mobility, the sacrum and the coccyx (tailbone).

The general rule for twisting the spine (as when you reach into the back seat of your car to grab something), is this: the lower the vertebrae, the less mobility. We can move our necks almost 180 degrees from the extreme left to the extreme right. We can rotate our shoulders a bit less. We can't twist our lumbar region much at all. And the sacrum? Forget it! The sacrum and coccyx are fused, that is to say, a single and inflexible unit. We all, to some degree or another, have natural curves in our spinal column, forming a gentle S-curve. When the spinal curvature becomes too pronounced, in one direction or another, we can feel the strain (and it's not a gentle feeling!). Yoga can be beneficial in strengthening the abdominal and back muscles, to pull the vertebrae gently into alignment and eventually alleviate back strain. 

Which asanas can gently ease back strain and strengthen the muscles around the lumbar region? Child's pose allows the lumbar curve to slowly release. Trikonasana (triangle pose) strengthens the obliques that encircle the lumbar spine. Dadasana (staff pose) with the legs outstretched and the toes pointing toward the sky, gives a natural stretch to the lumbar region. Up Dog or Bhujangasana (cobra) move the lumbar spine in a gentle bend. When you do asanas specific to the lumbar spine, be sure to include asanas in both extension and flexion (in other words, balance the Up Dog with Staff). Or, slowly and mindly, move your lumbar spine through Cat and Cow poses.

Now, to Paul and Suzee Grilley's words of advice regarding lumbar spinal alignment: 

"Yoga Journal Magazine has photos of young women in deep back bends. This is the opposite movement to a tucked pelvis. The poses look beautiful and one can’t help but admire the ease and range of motion of the models. But I doubt if anyone would think it healthy for someone to constantly arch their lower spines this way. If anyone attempted to do so they would degenerate the discs in their back and cause a lot of damage.

"Constantly arching the spine is unhealthy. Constantly tucking the spine is unhealthy. So should we live our lives in a timid neutrality of spine position; neither tucking nor tilting the pelvis? The answer to this is an emphatic “NO!” The neutral spine position is how office workers live their lives and statistics show that 80% of them will suffer serious back problems.

"To have a healthy spine we must systematically move it through its full range of motion. This means sometimes we tuck the pelvis to flatten the spine, sometimes we tilt the pelvis to arch the spine, and sometimes we keep the spine neutral. This is the Taoist view of life, a constant alternation from one opposite to another. The contraction and expansion of the heart are opposites but by alternating they are the Tao of circulation. The expansion and contraction of the lungs are opposites but by alternating they are the Tao of breathing. Tucking and tilting the pelvis have opposite effects on the curve of the spine but by alternating they are the Tao of posture.

Don’t fight against the intended effects of your yoga poses.

"When practicing backbends such as the Cobra or the Camel let the spine arch, don’t try to tuck the pelvis. When practicing forward bends let the spine round, don’t try to tilt the pelvis. These are normal ranges of motion for the lumbar spine and to fight against them is to nullify the effects of the poses. Of course there are instances of injury and overstrain where the spine should be protected. Over stretching an already injured spine could make it worse. But sooner or later the goal of all physical rehabilitation is to regain the natural range of motion. Yoga practice helps us retain our full range of motion so that we can alternate from a straight to an arched spine as needed."

What ever shape your back curves are in--respect them. Strengthen the muscles around your lumbar region with asanas that gently challenge your abdominals and back. Gaining and retaining the full range of appropriate motion throughout the spinal column will keep your back (and you) healthy for many, many years.

Until next week, namaste,

Nancy