Look Ma No Hands

For all levels of yoga students and teachers who wish to take on the challenge of inversions. Whether you love inversions or fear them, this workshop will increase your confidence doing, teaching, and assisting these powerful poses. You will work at your own pace, skill, and comfort level to break inversions down into their basic components and put them back together in ways that help your body make sense of them.

Learn:

• How to strengthen your body and train your muscles to invert with ease.
• How to safely assist others with inversions – even people of very different sizes.
• Tricks for helping people kick up into handstand/forearm balance for the first time.
• Strategies for dealing with fear and anxiety about inversions.
• How to modify inversions for your specific body – and how to teach inversions to mixed level classes.

Held at the Asheville Yoga Center Donation Studio

1. Reverse the aging force of gravity
2. Stimulate circulation & lower blood pressure
3. Lower pressure on your spine to reduce neck and back pain
4. Improve posture
5. Strengthen Core
6. Boot brain power & improve mental awareness
7. Calm the mind & relieve stress
8. Enhance relaxation and promote sounder sleep
9. Improve digestion and elimination
10. Elevate mood and combat depression

If you’re ready to take your inversion practice to the next level, join me on Saturday June 30th for Inversions Demystified at The Asheville Yoga Center. Inversions Demystified is 2.5 hours of focused attention on the skills it takes to improve your inversions. Come as you are, I specialize in helping beginners and those with fear of inverting as well as more advanced practicioners find their next edge in their inversion practice.

I’ve learned to recognize my own shadow by my desire to run away, hide my head, and look at anything else but that. In fact, I feel a resistance to even writing this post. But the problem with running away & pretending it doesn’t exist is that it doesn’t do any good. No matter how much we run, hide, or pretend, our shadow will catch up with us. In fact, it is unlikely to ever go away completely. So like it or not, our shadow side is a constant companion. Sometimes silent & unobtrusive, other times impossible to ignore, our shadow has the most hold over us when we shame ourselves for its existence.

The yogic prescription would be to shower your shadow with the opposite: acceptance. Not acceptance of the dysfunctional behavior that your shadow may ignite, but acceptance of the wounds and flaws that it exposes. Acceptance of our selves as whole, flawed, imperfect beings struggling & triumphing in a complicated world. Acceptance is an aspect of Samtosha. (Samtosha is the second aspect of Niyama which is in turn the second limb of yoga. Find out more about my upcoming series on the first two limbs, yama & niyama). More commonly translated as contentment, Samtosha challenges us to fall in love with the world exactly as it is and ourselves exactly as we already are.

In order to befriend your shadow, you may have to turn the tables and stalk it as a hunter stalks its’ prey. If you decide to hunt your shadow down, chances are you won’t have to look very hard. It’s hiding behind minor annoyances, subtle hurts, and tiny anxieties. The first step is to simply notice these as small ripples from a bigger disturbance. Soon you may be able to pinpoint exactly what larger aspect of your shadow they came from. As you notice the daily effects of your shadow in your life, practice observing them without judgement. Once you are able to do this, add a dose of compassion. Watch yourself and your reactions the way you would a beloved child. Eventually you may even be able to appreciate the rich complexity that your shadow adds to your life. The journey will never be over, but when you stalk your shadow as much as it stalks you, it can almost become a game between friends.

Videos and audio recordings should not take the place of in-person classes, but they can be a great supplement when classes aren’t possible.  This class is best for those who have a solid understanding of yoga poses and alignment and is not meant for beginners.  Please make sure you have the permission of your health care provider before beginning any exercise program.

Yoga for Back & Core Strength – 25 min

or download mp3

This is the first of a series of audio downloads you can use to practice with me on days when you can’t make it to class.  This practice is approximately 20 minutes and you will want to have a blanket and either a yoga strap or some other sturdy long fabric or belt.  I’ve included plenty of clear instructions, but this audio class as well as future classes will be much easier if you attend my classes regularly and are familiar with the way I teach the poses.

Videos and audio recordings should not take the place of in-person classes, but they can be a great supplement when classes aren’t possible.  This practice is not designed to relieve acute back injuries, but rather be a maintenance routine once you are out of pain.  Please make sure you have the permission of your health care provider before beginning any exercise program.

Enjoy!

Yoga for Back Care – 20 minutes

I drove the hour plus to Spartanburg, SC to visit my friend Kristin and her new baby on a sunny Saturday afternoon with my 9 year old daughter. Just one week old, Solomon has it made. Adoring mom, doting dad, and two (much) older siblings very much in love. This baby is not neglected (understatement). When he’s not nursing, he is being cuddled by one of his other family members. Every time I tried to hold him my own daughter begged for a turn. Rarely does his adorable little butt get put down.

I marveled at the softness of his skin and the floppy mobility of his little body. I smelled his head, brushed my lips over his cheek, and stroked his neck. What an incredible adaptation for such a tiny vulnerable being to become so adorable that every human in sight wants to not only protect, but practically worship him.

A friend of mine once told me that we love babies and animals because they are such generous receivers. We usually think of generosity in terms of giving. But what if receiving is as much of a gift as giving is?

Many of us have an unhealthy relationship with receiving; we think of it as being greedy or weak. When we see in those terms, we set up a power differential between giver and receiver. This causes us to either avoid receiving at all costs or accept the generosity of others at the cost of our own self worth. Giving in this context can also become distorted becoming about power rather than generosity.

Giving makes us feel worthy, capable, and selfless, feeds our self-esteem and connects us to our purpose. So if giving benefits the giver as much or possibly every more as it benefits the receiver, then the receiver is giving just as much as the giver. The two roles begin to blur into a symbiotic dance where we practice the best sides of our selves.

Practice:
This week, look for small opportunities to give: a compliment, a pretty leaf or stone, a smile, a helping hand. Also notice when it is your turn to receive. What is your emotional reaction? Do you dismiss the compliment or breathe it in?

My first introduction to push ups (yes, basically these two poses together become a glorified push up) was when I started doing martial arts in college.  I couldn’t do a single one.  Not even on my knees.  Yet we did them every day in karate class, so I had to cheat by not going all the way down to the ground.  But with all that practice, I got stronger and stronger to the point that I can now do about 20 all the way down to the ground.   Over the course of the last decade and then some, I have learned to love push ups or at least their effects on my arms and my core.

These poses are strong medicine – respect them and they will make you strong.  Do them half-heartedly and you can cause permanent damage.  In some yoga classes you will do many many many planks and chaturangas, which can be great for your upper body strength.  Or murder on your shoulders and low back if you get sloppy with your form.

The most common misalignment is a sagging back due to low core strength and/or awareness. A plank is supposed to be one strong line from your head to your toes.  To begin building strength, start on your forearms instead of your hands.  Lift your hips in the air until your butt is higher than your shoulders, then tilt your pelvis like you are trying to round your low back towards the ceiling until your hips are once again about the same height as your shoulders.  It will feel like you are trying to push your sitting bones towards your knees and will force you to engage your core.  When you feel strong holding a plank on your forearms, then work from your hands with your wrists under your shoulders.

In many yoga classes, we use plank as a transition pose to get to the ground by lowering to chaturanga, and then to the belly.  Even some people who are solid in plank start to do the “wet noodle” as they lower to chaturanga.  To remedy this, do the push ups from your knees instead of your toes.  You will get more benefit out of a solid knee push up than a noodley standard push up.

Another common misalignment during the plank-chaturanga transition is shoulders dipping forward as you lower.  This is hard on a  set of four muscles designed mostly to rotate your arm in and out – the rotator cuffs.  To protect your rotator cuffs, keep your elbows in towards your ribs (rather than out in line with your shoulders like a military push up) and keep your shoulders lifting towards the ceiling as you lower to the ground.

Once you can do a strong and well aligned push-up from your knees, start lowering from your toes and keep your knees down for the way back up.  The final step is to stay on your toes for the entire movement, but there is no rush to get there because you will get more benefits from steady work at a level where your body is capable of holding good alignment than pushing yourself to get to a particular form.

Here’s a little video tutorial on plank and chaturanga.

Hope that was helpful. If so, please let me know in the comments below. If you have any questions, please leave those in the comments as well.

I’ve heard that it’s best to practice yoga in the morning, is this true?  My mornings are so rushed I can’t imagine adding anything else to them, but I want to make sure that I’m getting the most from the time I do spend on my mat.

A:

One traditional way to practice yoga is during the Amrit Vela or time of ambrosia, just before dawn.  It is thought to be a powerful time for spiritual practice.  And there is something special about waking up early to do your rituals, whether you consider them to be spiritual practice or self-care.  In addition, when you practice yoga in the morning, then it is done and over with for the day, and you are less likely to get distracted or tired and skip yoga altogether.

Doing your yoga practice at the same time every day is a great way to notice subtle differences day to day.  For most people, this also speaks in support of an early morning yoga practice.  Our morning rituals and habits tend to be more regular than any other time of day.  Plus practicing yoga in the morning allows you to start your day on the right foot and reap the benefits all day long.

Another factor to take into consideration is that you will feel stiffer in the morning than later in the day.  If you are already flexible, than a morning practice will feel richer and more beneficial.  If you are dealing with chronically stiff muscles and joints, than a later day yoga practice will allow more ease and more enjoyment.  This is helpful because the more you enjoy your yoga practice, the more likely you are to practice yoga frequently.  In India, the climate is so hot during the day, that early morning is also a good time to exercise.  This might apply to you if you live in a hot climate or even seasonally when the weather is warmer.  But during the winter, you might want to move your yoga practice to later in the day (and into a warm room!).

In conclusion, the best time to practice is the time that you are most likely to do it!  Yoga practice at any time of day is better than no practice.  So know yourself, your schedule, and your environment and carve out some time for yourself whenever you are able to follow through.

If your morning schedule is tight, try just a few poses in the morning and then a longer practice later in the day.  That way if you don’t get to your second yoga practice, you still did something!  And when we take little baby steps of caring for ourselves, we build our self-worth and discipline.  So by allowing your practice to be smaller, you will be more likely to follow through and plant the seeds for a deeper commitment to your personal growth and discipline.

#3. Attend the wrong class.

“Well, I know it’s a level 3 Hot Vinyasa, but it fits in with my schedule and I can get my cardio out of the way while I’m at it.” As a recent article in the New York Times pointed out, yoga is not without risk. It’s an incredibly worthwhile practice, but it needs to be approached with respect.

Many people take classes based on price, time, and location rather than the level and style of the class. This is understandable since smart people are busy and the names of classes can be confusing and even misleading. However attending the wrong class can sometimes be worse than doing no yoga at all.

If you are out of shape and you start out with a class that leaves you feeling out of your league, you may give up entirely thinking that yoga is not for you and even worse you could injure yourself. However if you are an adrenaline junkie, starting out with a gentle beginner class may actually wind up working against you. If you don’t yet know how to slow down then the pace of the class may leave you bored and unmotivated to come back for more. If you have serious physical impairments, then spending time working with a skilled instructor one-on-one can give you the confidence to be able to modify a public class safely. Yoga can benefit any and every person, but public classes are very specific. A little time spent researching the right class(es) will go a long way towards helping you get the most out of your time and effort.

Don’t jump into advanced classes right away, even if you are physically fit. It is easy to be fooled into thinking that you are ready for a class just because you can keep up. Many yoga related injuries occur over time to very fit people who never had the motivation to develop good habits because yoga seemed to come so easily to them. There are classes and teachers that are more physically intense and also teach the basics of safe alignment. Seek out a “yoga for athletes” class. “Open” or “All Levels” classes can also be physically intense while still teaching the basics of safe alignment – this will depend on the teacher.

Use your smarts to do some research and try lots of different classes to make sure you find the right class for you. Call around to several local studios and describe yourself and your experience level. If you don’t have local studios, attend some classes and ask the teachers and students who look like they know what they are doing.

#2. Turn it into a competition

I’m not one of those teachers who cautions people to keep their eyes on their own mat. There is a lot to learn from looking at other people: both as inspiration and what not to do. But that pesky urge to compare yourself to the person next to you is one of the first and most common ways that your ego will knock on the door during yoga class. Whether your comparison leaves you shining or lacking is a good thing to notice, but dwelling on it will distract you from the real benefit of yoga: getting to know yourself better.

No yoga pose is ever perfect. No two people will do the same pose exactly alike. So let go of trying to do it “right” or “better than” and start seeing what you can learn from the pose, from the teacher, and from the other students. Let swadyaya or “self-study” be your goal. Only when you’ve made some headway with that does it make sense to push yourself physically. In order to play your edge, you first need to know where it is.

#1. Don’t ask questions.

If something hurts or feels wrong, there’s a good chance that your teacher can help you. But it probably won’t happen if you don’t ask about it. Usually when one person has a question, other people have the same one too. But everyone is afraid to interrupt the flow of class to ask it. When you are confused or a pose isn’t working for you it is almost always helpful to others in the class to ask the question. If you are pretty sure that it applies only to you, most teachers are happy to take a few minutes after class to discuss your questions. This also goes for letting a teacher know that you are new to yoga, if you have any injuries or quirks with your body, or are pregnant.

A great way to avoid these mistakes is to attend a beginner series. A series class offers a progressive knowledge base – so you can be sure that you are learning the key safety precautions and essential skills. In a room full of other beginners you will feel more comfortable asking the questions that come up for you and you will be less likely to compare yourself to someone who has been doing yoga for decades.

Have you made any of these mistakes?  What was the result?  Have you made any other mistakes that knowing about could help a newbie out?  Please comment below and share your experience.

Want to get a great start to yoga by taking a beginner series? I will teach you the essential alignment basics you need to keep yourself safe, how to modify poses based on your unique needs, and answer all your burning yoga questions. With a maximum of 14 students to ensure plenty of individual attention, space is limited. Click here to register.