Muscle memory, in a nutshell, is the idea that your body learns through repeating movements, or, in the case of yoga, postures. It also explains why those who were childhood gymnasts have a leg up on the rest of us in poses like handstand.
Anusara yoga founder John Friend has announced plans to open The Center for Anusara Yoga in Encinitas, California in the fall of 2011. As noted in this promotional video (which features some fun animation), Encinitas has been the springboard for yoga's North American dissemination in the past, as it is the home of Parmahansa Yogananda's Self Realization Fellowship and was the site of Ashtanga guru Pattabhi Jois's first trip to the United States in 1975. The Center for Anusara Yoga will offer workshops, trainings, and retreats, as well as act as the headquarters for Anusara's online yoga school. Look for Anusara's market share to grow accordingly!
When my teacher asked if there were any requests in class last week, I found myself calling out "tittibhasana!" This pose has been on my mind lately. It makes me feel powerful and energized, it makes me laugh when I fall out on my butt, it amazes me when I manage an Ashtanga-style exit through crow and back to chaturanga. What more can you ask for from a yoga pose?
Ever realize that you were guilty of your own pet peeve? Much to my horror, I recently had to face the fact that I picked up a bad habit: anticipating. The Anticipator is always two beats ahead of the teacher's instructions in a led class. I've always liked the surrender of control that comes with led vinyasa. Holding each pose until the instructor lets you out and not knowing what comes next in the sequence allow me to be more in the present moment. Anticipating takes that away, so I'm going to stop doing it before I annoy myself any more.
Though I've been busy checking out yoga menswear lately, I didn't want to ignore the girls so I also updated my women's yoga pants offerings. In particular, I'm loving these Alignment Knickers from Hyde. I've also created this handy reference page for both men's and women's yoga pants. Bookmark it to save yourself a lot of trouble next time you need to update your yoga wardrobe.
Here's what I've learned about locust pose: before you even try to come up, take a second to think about anchoring your pelvis to the floor. I always heard teachers say this and I had no idea what they were talking about, but I kept hearing it and one day it started to make sense. This ever-evolving sense of how to adjust our bodies in small ways is one of my favorite things about yoga.
Sometime in yoga's recent history, a gender shift occurred. Yoga, which has been traditionally practiced exclusively by men, began to be dominated by women. Today, an average yoga class will have more female than male students. In the United States, your yoga teacher is also more likely to be female, although there are a great number of prominent male teachers, including the founders of some of yoga's most popular contemporary styles. A lot of men worry that yoga is not appropriate for them because they are not naturally flexible. But flexibility is not a prerequisite for yoga. The fact is, men have a lot to gain from yoga and are welcomed as students in almost every situation. If you are a man who has been waiting to try yoga, here is the information you need to make that leap: Yoga for Men.
If you are involved in the yoga community on Twitter (follow me!) or Facebook (yes, I'm on that too), chances are you have heard a little back and forth about Yoga Journal's current Talent Competition, in which readers are invited to vote for a future Yoga Journal model from over 2500 aspirants who have submitted their pictures and particulars. On one side of the debate are the folks who don't like seeing the word "yoga" in the same sentence as "talent" and "competition." Those on the other side say, someone is going to be in Yoga Journal, why not me? (Of course, there are a number of different nuances to the debate.) Whichever side you fall on, the photos make fascinating viewing. As I paged through (yes, I looked at all the thumbnails), I was particularly struck by the random juxtapositions of candidates, most of whom look fully qualified to model poses in Yoga Journal. How could you choose between so many earnest people, each putting on their best pose in their best outfit? Isn't this destined to become a popularity contest, in which those who somehow marshall the most friends into action will win? Though there are a lot of beautiful, impressive poses on display, I found myself most drawn to those whose practices span decades instead of years. Natural beauty and flexibility are what we most often see in a yoga model. What about an acknowledgment of a lifelong commitment to this practice? In any case, we the people only have until April 15 to cast our votes and the final decision will be made by Yoga Journal's editorial team.
I think that I shall never see a pose as lovely as tree! (With apologies to poet Joyce Kilmer for mangling his poem and changing the context completely.) Nonetheless, I do like tree pose. It's one of those that you struggle with at first and then slowly gain control. But what I really like is that sometimes even the most advanced yogis can be blown out of tree by a tiny puff of undetectable wind, hopefully with a smile and a shake of the head in disbelief. Way to keep things unpredictable, tree.
Have you ever seen the acronym RYT or E-RYT behind a yoga teacher's name and wondered what those letters are all about? Well, RYT stands for Registered Yoga Teacher, and the entity that does the registering is the Yoga Alliance. Find out more about the registry by reading up on the Yoga Alliance.