Living Yoga

A few weeks ago I blogged about my banana lower back, which is also called having an overly lordotic spine, and how it makes inversions difficult for me. Since that was brought to my attention I’ve been working on it but also noticed that it creeps up in other postures; warrior poses, lunges, even just standing up. This is a common problem and somehow, doing core strengthening only seems to me to be one half of the solution. So in addition to strengthening the core, I recommend focusing on lengthening the lower back.

The great thing about lengthening the lower back is that it can be done during yoga, running, walking, or sitting at a desk. Focusing on the length brings the tailbone downward and the navel back in towards the spine. I’m already sitting up a little taller just doing this simple action as I type. My chest/heart also broadened and my shoulders dropped. My abdominals are engaged and there is less tension in my lower back.

If you tend to have a banana/overly lordotic back, when you exercise try bringing your awareness to creating more space and length in your lower back. This awareness combined with a balanced fitness program including overall stretching will help you decrease back tension and increase overall body strength.

Lately I’ve been meditating daily (actually got the idea for this blog while meditating, go figure) and I started thinking about various hand mudras.  A mudra, simply put, is a hand position.  They are sometimes used in yoga poses (like tree pose) but are more often used in meditation.   I thought there were only about two or three mudras.  Health & Yoga.com lists nine, and they all have different benefits depending on which fingers are joined.

Here are the three I plan to try right away:

Gyan Mudra – Believed to be uplifting and help with mental clarity.

Prana Mudra – Thought to bring energy into the body and help the eyes (I’m hoping this helps with my poor eyesight.)

Prithvi Mudra – According to Health & Yoga, “Makes body sturdy. One experiences happiness.”  What else can a girl ask for?

I will try using some of these mudras during meditation and who knows, maybe I will begin to see some of these effects.  For more mudras and their benefits, visit http://www.healthandyoga.com/HTML/meditation/mudras.html

Recently I had the experience of really getting pissed off during a yoga class that I was taking.  Not because of anything that happened but because we were working on hip openers and my hips have been really tight lately.  I was the one that requested hip openers and it turned out that working on them really, really pissed me off.  I almost left the class but decided to stick it out to see what good would come out of it.  I’m glad I did because I had some of my most solid handstand and forearm stand practice, balancing in them longer than I ever had before.  The determination and strength that made stretching uncomfortable for me that day was an asset for inversions.  I also nailed an arm balance I hadn’t done before.  And thought of three blog ideas for this week.  And when it was time to let go of the practice in Savasana at the end, I felt very relaxed and warm.

If your practice is bringing up difficult feelings, I encourage you to go with the flow and stay until the end.  Notice what is strong about your practice in that moment and forget about what isn’t working.  In the end, you’ll find that a practice that pushes your buttons makes you stronger physically and emotionally.

Have a beautiful weekend.

Thank you nirvanaisnow.com for the photo.

Whether you’re a beginner or advanced yogi, you can stretch out and fly with this video featuring Pose Dedicated to the Sage 2.

If you’re taking yoga classes and have yet to buy your own mat, then you now have a great holiday gift idea for yourself. Think about how many people use the community mats provided at yoga studios and gyms, how many people drip their sweat on them, sneeze and cough on them, and then roll them up to put them back in storage. Now go wash your hands and face thoroughly and take some Vitamin C. I’ll wait.

Back? Okay, it’s time to look for some hot and sturdy yoga mats. Yoga.com has a great selection and some really cool looking styles (yes, that matters to me). If you’re unsure how dedicated you’ll be to a yoga practice in 2009 and saving money is a priority for you, Matsmatsmats.com has some basic mats at very affordable prices.

If you like having the prettiest mat in the room (yes, that matters to me sometimes) then Gaiam.com might be right for you with their beautifully designed mats.

From Gaiam.com

Buy a mat as a gift for yourself to symbolize your commitment to your healthy body, mind and spirit. If that doesn’t convince you then reread the first paragraph.

Happy shopping!

A Chaturanga looks cool and hot.  It’s what made yoga into power yoga.  It builds strength in the shoulders, biceps, triceps and forearms.  Not to mention it builds core strength.  However, if you’re doing them incorrectly it can do more damage than good.

When lowering into a proper Chaturanga the arms should be close to a ninety-degree angle with the elbows next to the rib cage.

From yogajournal.com

Sometimes after doing vinyasa flow after vinyasa flow and the arms become tired, it’s common to let the shoulders sink lower than the elbows putting more stress on the shoulders and rotator cuffs possibly leading to injuries.  If the arms become too fatigued to continue keeping proper alignment, then it’s very important to go back to lowering the knees, chest and chin to the floor during the vinyasa flow.

Thank you, yoga.about.com

It’s also fine to rest in downward dog or child’s pose in a class.  The class environment can sometimes breed a competitive air and the feeling that if you don’t do everything everybody else does then you aren’t really doing it.  Nothing can be further from the truth.  Just being there is the practice of yoga and not every Chaturanga is necessary.

Listen to your body, respect it and stay healthy.

Last Saturday morning during a yoga class I was taking the instructor, upon noticing all of our intense faces, said to us, “Smile, it’s just yoga!”  It was a nice reminder being on the mat for a change instead of leading the class because when I teach I see all the really serious, brooding faces.  I’m also way too serious when I’m in a class practicing.

I don’t know whether it’s my determination to get the practice “right” or that I’m concentrating so hard my face tenses up, but it’s a fact that it takes fewer muscles to smile.  It feels better.  It lightens the mood.  It’s contagious.  I promise to practice it, too.  I promise to remind you in my classes.

Even if it feels silly, smile.

After you’ve fully digested your Thanksgiving dinner, firm your booty and stretch out with this Extended Side Angle pose.

It’s that time of year to focus on giving thanks because we get a day off of work, see our loved (or not so loved) ones, and fill our bellies with a huge meal on a holiday entitled Thanks - Giving.  How can we not think about giving thanks?  It is even said to have a positive effect on our health.

I started giving thanks about a year and a half ago in my journal.  I end each journal entry with a list called “Good Things” and write down the first things that pop into my head that I’m grateful for.  Having a wonderful & supportive family, I live in the greatest city in the world, I have a beautiful and healthy body, I love teaching yoga, there is an increasing audience for Get Exercised, I have the freedom to pursue my dreams, the people I associate with are positive and healthy…once I get started this can go on and on.  Now you know my journal secret.  Sigh.

But somehow it works.  Since I began doing the “Good Things” list my life became fuller.  People began smiling, chatting with me, complimenting me.  I noticed how much I love my job and feel fortunate to make a living doing it.  Family and friends call unexpectedly, or I take note when they do.  Pick one thing each day to be thankful for. Like a bag of chips, bet you can’t pick just one.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you The Alieness Gisela Giardino for the photo.

Last week I had a private yoga lesson with an instructor far more experienced than I, so when she asked me if there was anything I wanted to work on specifically I didn’t hesitate to request help with inversions.

Inversions are any upside down pose: headstand, handstand, forearm stand, or any variation thereof.  They have always been my weakness as a practitioner and as an instructor mainly because of my own fear of turning my world upside down.  If you’re not used to doing them, it’s scary, and I find that my personal fears suddenly become overwhelming when I’m upside down.  But last week I had the instructor and room all to myself and we discovered something that was presenting a real challenge for me in inversions aside from my mind, the shape of my spine.

I’ve always had an exaggerated curve in the lower part of my spine above my rear, this is called having a Lordotic spine.

Thanks www.physioworld.co.uk/Help&Advice.htm for the photo.

If you have an overly Lordotic curve in the spine you have to consciously keep your abdominals engaged to draw the naval in and find the length in the lower back.  Easy!  Until I go upside down in an inversion and gravity is pulling me down the other way.  Suddenly it’s not so easy and that curve in the spine goes back to it’s “banana back” routine.

My instructor said it’s okay though.  That is where most people begin with their inversion practice especially when we’re kicking up to a wall to practice handstand or forearm stand.  She instructed me to keep practicing inversions and tucking my seat in to find the length in my lower back while I’m upside down.  It will become more natural in time.

It was a relief to know that it wasn’t only my fear that made inversions challenging and that there is something tangible for me to work on in practice.  I know that discovering what I can do to increase my strength in baby steps will take me far in my yoga and life practice.  Upside down or not.