What's the scariest yoga pose for you? For some people, it's a physically challenging, perspective altering posture like handstand or full wheel. For others, it's a pose like lotus, because it's the pose we come to sit in for meditation (do note that there are many other options for meditation postures if lotus doesn't work for you.) If meditation frightens you, start small. Try sitting for just five minutes after yoga or in the morning. This may be the only time of day where you just sit and do or think of nothing else. If you are interested in meditation, don't be scared to try it. Make it a manageable practice that works for you.
I've been noticing a trend in the yoga classes I take recently: core work. Seems like just about every class includes a series of abdominal exercises that leaves a burning in my midsection. A lot of these exercises are coming to us courtesy of our friends in Pilates. Thanks, Pilates, for the fun times!
...The New York Times reported this week on a new study showing both yoga and deep stretching help people with back pain. I've seen some reaction to this news that goes something like, "see, yoga is no better than stretching! We knew it all along." To my mind, this is quite beside the point. This study, the largest of its kind to date, compared subjects who did yoga or intense stretching classes with those who did no classes and found that the control group continued to suffer more pain. It's nice to get clinical confirmation of what we already know anecdotally about yoga's benefits. And if people would rather do deep stretching than yoga, that's all to the good. Though these days, I think yoga is probably the more available option; I haven't seen many deep stretching studios in my neighborhood recently. I do think its important to point out that all yoga isn't good for every type of back pain. For the best, and safest, results, get a diagnosis on the cause of your pain and work with an experienced yoga therapist.
...My feeling is that most beginners' yoga classes include their own warm up. The teacher will lead a sequence of gentle stretches intended to get you ready for the more strenuous poses to come. However, some teachers or styles (Ashtanga, for instance) launch right into a flow of poses, in which case it's not a bad idea to do a little warm-up sequence on your own. You can also do these poses before your home practice or if you get to class early. Of course, if you'd rather sit for a few minutes in meditation, that is also time well spent. Do whatever makes the most sense for your practice, your teacher, and your comfort level with the poses. Read more...
I'm a big fan of eye of the needle pose as a gentle warm-up stretch for the hips. You can customize it however you like, leaving the bottom leg on the floor if it's a tight hips day or drawing that leg close your your chest if you feel particularly open. If you do this pose at the beginning of a yoga session, try doing it again at the end to see how different things feel.
Gaiam, the yoga lifestyle/equipment/video megalith has a new venture worth mentioning: Gaiam TV. This online subscription service makes all of Gaiam's many videos available online for $9.95 a month. Whether this represents a good value for you is going to depend on your need for a large library of Rodney Yee (close to 100 titles!), Seane Corn (7 titles), and Kathryn Budig (4 titles) videos at your fingertips, vs. how many of these videos you already own. Luckily, you can browse through all their selections, which go way, way beyond yoga, and even get a 10-day trial membership for free to see how you like it.
If you have trouble balancing in a traditional yoga headstand, you may want to give tripod headstand a try. Some people, myself included, find that the tripod arm set-up makes for a more stable base and equal distribution of the body's weight, resulting in less strain on your neck.
I went to a class at a new studio today and I was reminded how much I dislike yoga classrooms with mirrored walls. While I like to check out individual poses in a mirror occasionally to see if I'm doing something I am unaware of, for the most part I prefer not to be distracted by my mirror image staring me in the face during class. How about you?
...When getting dressed for hot yoga, it may seem like you should put on a bikini, grab a towel and you'd be all set. Well, that outfit would be great if you were going to lie on the beach in 100 degree weather, but you actually need to be prepared to run through a vigorous yoga workout in 100 degree weather. So what to wear? Hot yoga teacher and studio owner Darla Magee offers up her favorite hot yoga wear. Read more...
Most of us are lucky enough to have two arms, two legs, a more or less symmetrical configuration of the external body. But in yoga, asymmetry reveals itself all the time. One hamstring or one shoulder turns out to be way more open than the other. A standing, balancing, binding pose like bird of paradise, offers plenty of opportunities to notice how different the two sides of the body can feel. There is a tendency to brand the more flexible side the "good" side and the other side the "bad" side, but try to resist labeling them thus. Noticing a difference without judgement is a nice reminder to apply this attitude to other areas of our lives.