Living Yoga

Last Sunday I taught a yoga class at 5:30 in the morning at the NYU Relay for Life fundraising all nighter.  That’s pretty early in the morning but at least I got to sleep the night before unlike the young folks that were taking the yoga class.  They were up all night with their teams walking around a track to raise money to find a cure for cancer, and by the time I arrived they were longing for some yoga.

This is the second year I taught at this event and the positive energy coming from these passionate NYU students was even more motivating than last year.  I don’t know if it was the cause, their young age, or the atmosphere, but they all looked so happy just to be there.  There were smiles all around as they did Sun Salutations in their jeans and sneakers while yawning.  They were truly doing Karma Yoga (see Monday’s post), not having expectations but enjoying the fun experience and getting more in return.

As I was leaving the MC was announcing over the PA that by that hour they had raised $17,000 for the American Cancer Society.  Congratulations to all the NYUer’s that participated in Relay for Life and thank you for helping me remember why I love my job.

Ah, breathing.  We do it all the time, we should be experts at it by now.  My clients and gym members are probably so sick of hearing me say, “Breathe!” a zillion times during classes and I always tell them that breathing is not an option.  If we aren’t breathing properly, it’s impossible to enjoy exercise let alone reap any health benefits from it.

The incredible book “Body, Mind and Sport” by John Douillard changed the way I breathe in all fitness, not just yoga.  I now use yoga breathing when I teach spin, run, walk and do any other cardio exercise.  The result is that I’m able to keep my energy up without burning out.

All yoga breathing (with exception of a few specific breath exercises) is done through the nose only.  This may take some getting used to during cardio exercise and it may be helpful to slow down until your body adjusts.  You should be able to slightly feel the breath at the back of your throat.  John Douillard describes the breath as Darth Vader breathing (but not in a I’m-gonna-take-over-the-galaxy way).

It’s also important to let your lower abdominal muscles relax on the inhalation to allow for the deepest breath possible (singers know this well), instead of breathing shallow breaths into the chest as is most common.  Try it now.  Close your eyes and place your hand on your belly.  Focus on letting your belly relax and you’ll notice that the breath begins to slow down and you’re breathing deeply.

It takes practice to incorporate the nostril and lower belly breathing into your daily life and other fitness routines, but once it becomes a habit I believe you’ll find that you can accomplish so much more with half the effort.

But not in a mean, Darth Vader way.

Karma has many explanations from varying traditions and conjures up certain images in my mind.  Hindu gods, people doing charity work and Boy George dancing in the video for “Karma Chameleon,” which of course then makes think of chameleons.  My definition of Karma is simply what goes around comes around.

Karma Yoga is the action of doing an activity without expecting anything in return.   Whether it’s washing the dishes or volunteering at a soup kitchen, that’s very hard to do.  At least for me.  I mean, I get something out of everything I do, right?

One of my clients asked me why Karma Yoga is part of the requirements to complete a yoga teacher training program at some studios.  Probably the most accurate answer is that yoga schools need free labor and their students are around and really want that certification.  When I did my Karma Yoga it wasn’t actually that Karmic because I was doing it for my certification requirements.  Hmmmm.  So I guess I never really achieved Karma Yoga then?  My client then told me that him and his family performed Karma Yoga when they went to Israel to volunteer at hospitals in January.  They went without expecting anything but simply to give their time and energy to good causes.  The joy they got out of it was far greater than any other vacation they had.  So in the end, they got back what they gave even though they didn’t expect it.

After that conversation with my client I thought about all the activities I do like teaching group fitness classes, auditioning, socializing and the expectations I have from each.  As I do each I’m learning to let go of some expectations and just give instead.  It’s difficult but life is so much more enjoyable that way.

What expectations can you let go of?

Flexibility isn’t something that’s natural for me. You may watch my podcast and think, “Yeah, right!” but seriously, any flexibility that I have came from my continuous yoga practice. As matter of fact, during some postures I want to scream in pain.

Interestingly enough I’ve noticed in my own practice, and in teaching others, that physical flexibility is very connected to mental flexibility. We hold all of our emotions in our bodies and where a person is inflexible may be a key to what that person holds on to emotionally. For example, someone who is hunched over with the shoulders rounded forward may be too much in their head and closing off their heart. It is also said that we hold anger in our hips. Ouch. Try a pigeon pose to let go of that anger.

In time, as my body became more flexible, so did my mind. The same thing goes with body/mind strength but I’ll save that for another post.

Next time you take a yoga class notice where you’re inflexible. What emotion do you think it’s connected to? Little by little as you open up those tight spots in your body, you’ll also open up the tight spots in your mind.

You might be thinking, “Meditation is gotta be soooo overrated.” At least that’s what I thought before it became a part of my daily practice. “And isn’t it religious or something?” Maybe. Maybe not. That’s up to the practitioner.

For me, meditation is simply the act of sitting with the eyes closed. Anything that comes out of that is your own personal experience. It has many health benefits, physical and mental. If you’re meditating for the first time, aim for 5 minutes (it hard to time by yourself, but estimate).

- Sit in a comfortable position, either on the floor or in chair, with your hands resting on your thighs. Close your eyes.

- Breathe naturally and focus on the sound your breath makes as you inhale and exhale.

- Your mind will wander, observe the thoughts without judging them and come back to focusing on the sound of your breath.

- Resist the temptation to shuffle, scratch, sigh, or otherwise move. This IS the challenge of a meditation practice.

As you become more comfortable with it, increase the time. Incorporate it into your day, everyday, for at least 5 minutes. Observe the changes in your body and attitude in your daily life.

Honestly, I could go a day without my physical yoga practice (the asanas), but if I miss my meditation time there’s gonna be serious trouble.

My favorite pose in the thousands of yoga poses and all their variations is the supported fish pose. It’s an uplifting and, at the same time, a relaxing backbend that doesn’t require any effort (which are my favorite poses to do).

To come into supported fish:

- Lie down on your back with a pillow, rolled up blanket, yoga block or even a book (the Harry Potter books work very well because they’re about the same size as yoga blocks) under your upper back.

- Let your arms relax by your sides, legs lie flat on the floor and head drop back. If this puts too much strain on your neck place another pillow or padding under your head.

- Just breathe.

If it feels uncomfortable, try moving the block higher or lower to find the sweet spot. This pose should feel awesome! Supported fish opens up the chest muscles and intercostals to support deeper breathing and releases upper back strain that is common for anyone who works at a desk all day.

Be a fish, breathe and enjoy!

So many of my yoga students, unfortunately usually women, have approached me with the need to explain or apologize for the state of their body. “I didn’t used to be so overweight,” “I look like a walking apple,” “I’m so inflexible,” “My arms have, like, no tone whatsoever.”

Enough, I don’t want to hear it anymore!

When was the last time somebody said something unkind about your body? And who was that person? Think about it. Most likely that person was you. Sorry to say but it’s true.

There’s a reason anything to do with the Law of Attraction is so popular right now. It’s because more and more people are becoming aware of the power of our own thoughts. In a nutshell, if you think it you become it.

Try this mental exercise: the next time you are in a yoga class (or doing anything related to fitness) and you start to feel intimated by that twenty three year old doing the perfect splits because she’s been dancing since she was a fetus…focus your mind on something positive about your body. You have plenty of hot parts on your bod (yes, you can be as vulgar as you want to be here as long as it’s positive) and pick one thing to mentally admire about yourself. “Yeah, my splits aren’t that deep yet, but I sure have a nice ass and I don’t even have to work for it.”

Make it a habit, pick a body part of yours to appreciate daily and soon enough you’ll have a hard time narrowing it down to just one. Your inner hotness is now on the outside, too.

This isn’t a blog about breathing and healing and chanting and peace and making yourself into a pretzel ball in a field of daisies. Okay, there may be some of those things from time to time but Living Yoga is about the practice of yoga and how it transforms our bodies and daily lives. The practice of yoga is not just about what you do physically on the mat but what you take off the mat.

Why yoga? Not because it’s the “thing” now and there are, like, a thousand yoga studios in New York City and even dogs are doing it but, hey, it’s my “thing.” Some have football or snowboarding, I have yoga. From the first time I practiced with a VHS tape I knew I would become an instructor. It’s been my passion and my gateway into a life of physical exercise and fitness that I previously believed I was incapable of. Not that I was good at it but somehow it made sense with my body; a little, awkward body that was teased a lot during PE in school because I couldn’t get a volleyball over the net. Whoa, I was actually enjoying exercise now.

Over the years yoga has helped me develop muscle tone, strength, flexibility, beauty and poise externally. The fascinating thing is that I’ve also developed all the same qualities on the inside as well and so have my clients and gym members who continue to practice. I’ve seen many lives transformed through the practice of yoga and it makes me proud to be a part of this growing, positive community.

And hey, check out the yoga studios in your city at a steal. Dog not required.