Burn Outs

The levels of stress running around my house right now are insane. Yoga and meditation are helpful and lovely and I will cling to them until my dying day, but they're not magic. The stressful situations are still there - we can simply handle them a little better because of the whole yoga thing.

Between the unemployment and the emergency room visits and the hospital paperwork I keep messing up and the snow... oh the snow... I'm so sick of the cold. Between all that - yoga is my connection to sanity. It's our little bit of absolute reliability every day. Every morning, without fail, we get up and do sun salutations then some inversions - followed by a long cozy meditation. Then we cuddle - but that's just our weird little sappy married people thing. Our full practice may or may not come later, but that morning practice is always there.

This country is all about pushing people to their limits... pushing them until they burn out and then laughing at them for burning out and pushing them some more. We've been thinking and talking about that a lot. Some people just handle being pushed better than others. Some people are worriers. To those people when you say "stop stressing", they can only ask "HOW?!?". Yoga is one good answer, but many don't see how yoga is supposed to help. They may even stop because they don't see the change right away.

John Friend (founder of Anusara yoga) has often said that the 1 or 2 hours a day of asana practice is literally practice for how you deal with the other 22 - 23 hours a day. Practice isn't like stamping yourself new and improved - it doesn't just happen immediately. Just like practicing anything else - handling things with more equanimity comes in tiny bits. Eventually those bits add up into a fully transformed life, but at first it's a slow build-up.

Other tips for lowering stress:
Eat the healthiest food you can afford (fruits and veggies mostly)
Exercise
Spend time in nature
Specifically, try the beach where the air ionization is perfect for lifting moods.
Spend time with people you love and laugh as much as possible.

Yoga Wrist Care Guide

Yoga practice can be rough on your body, but certain joints especially. Lots of newbie and advanced students complain of wrist pain. Sometimes it's purely from weakness, sometimes it's from injury, and sometimes it's from poor alignment.

I came across this great article via Yoganonymous:

Floating, Flying and Balancing: A Guide To Yoga Wrist Care and Proper Alignment by Angela Kukhahn

Whether you spend all your time in handstands, various arm balances, or the most vigorous thing you do is downward dog - go check out Angela's article for important points on wrist care for yogis.

Is Bikram Yoga a Cult? (Video)

Of course it's not, but I saw this video and found it amusing.  Not for Kids. You've been warned.



Readers via Email - Click here for the video.

All Things Are Connected

"This we know: All things are connected like the blood that unites us. We did not weave the web of life, we are merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves." - Chief Seattle

Easter Cupcakes

Yoga for Heart Health - Emergency Room Edition

As a yoga fanatic, I tend to prescribe yoga for everything. It's just what I do. Turns out, the rest of the world is starting to catch up with me on that one. Especially for heart health.

Late last week Adam started having heart palpitations - a lot. Eventually we ended up in the emergency room and long story short he has a lot of abnormal heart rhythms and we have to wait and see if it continues to worsen or not. Not a whole lot of help, but in our research and in our take home pamphlet we're finding a lot of lifestyle tips. Mostly things like don't smoke, don't drink, don't do drugs, quit caffeine, eat your vegetables, and avoid cough/cold medicine (which apparently can cause heart arrhythmias). We also know that getting more cardio exercise is important, and everywhere we look people suggest yoga and meditation (primarily for stress relief).

Luckily, Adam already does yoga and meditates every morning, but he hasn't been doing it regularly, long enough to have a big impact on his health and stress levels. While doing yoga and meditating has an immediate effect - it takes about 6 weeks to have a greater overall health impact.

So do yoga and meditate every day - not just because I said so, but because it's doctor recommended and good for your heart.

Recycled Post - Supporting the Source

Happy Earth Day!! Earth day is a great time to start recycling (Reducing, Reusing, Recycling, and Repairing actually) and in support of that grand theme - I'm having a recycled post. Last year I wrote about "Supporting the Source", and it's just as relevant this year, so check it out >>>>> Here. <<<<<

It's the EARTH - kind of

Touch Your Toes - Eventually

As a yoga teacher I've gotten a lot of good juicy body-oriented questions. They come from students, from friends, even from random people that have seen my classes from another room. I figure that means I look like I know what I'm talking about. Yay me.

One question that comes up often, in many variations, is:

"How long will it be until I can touch my toes?"

Let me set some things straight about toe-touching. One guy I spoke to said he thought it was "pathetic" that he couldn't touch his toes. Most people that don't specifically work on it - can't touch their toes. You're not pathetic! Ask all your friends and family if they can stand with straight legs and bend over at the hips and touch their toes - you'll likely find that few can. Especially in our current society where people sit in chairs, sit in cars, sit at desks and generally do everything they can to tighten all the muscles that affect toe-touching.

I've heard a story about a student asking his Guru this popular question.  What did his Guru tell him?
Stack up a bunch of telephone books or bibles or something. Books with VERY thin pages. Stack them to a height you can bend over and reach today. Keep practicing your forward bends every day. Each day tear off the top page of the stack. How many pages away are you? That's how long will it take.

Luckily, I like to remind my students that it will probably not take anywhere near that long. If you're new to yoga and you listen to the tips and you do the work on a regular basis then you will see results. You will see results quickly.

• Tip 1: If you don't want to stack books - you can place a couple blocks down to lift the floor to a more appropriate level.


• Tip 2: Feet together is limiting, so if you're struggling with your forward bends (or even if you're not) then keeping your feet hip distance apart can be mucho mucho helpful.

Now you might ask: If it doesn't actually take that long - then what's with the story?
The point of the story is all about patience. One page a day - that's the kind of patience forward bends require. It's the kind of patience they teach. You may be able to remove a whole book from your stack today, but don't think less of yourself if that one page is all that happens right now. You'll get there in time, and all you can do is breathe and learn to enjoy the practice.

If you're reading this post there's a good chance you want to read these too:
Standing Forward Bends for Unflexible Bodies
Seated Forward Bends for People That Don't Bend That Way
So Your Forward Bends Suck

A Firm Foundation

"A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her."

- David Brinkley

Mantra Mantra Mantra Mantra Mantra

For possibly every single thing we do in yoga a modification is available. Not every method is ideal for every person, so we have these lovely alternate practices available.

Let's talk about using mantras for meditation. Mantras help a lot of people meditate. They can focus the mind, help grow an attention span, and maybe even walk someone right to the doorstep of samadhi. However, mantra isn't for everyone and here is one reason why.

Mantra for an obsessive compulsive individual is just obsession food. For those that obsess - or get something stuck in their head like a little broken record - mantras are just a formal way to obsess. Mantra helps a lot of people focus, but the OCD mind is constantly focusing. Fixated on one little thing to the point that the mind just can't deal with anything else. Therefore, for the OCD set, mantra is more agitating than helpful.  The obsessive compulsive mind could really use a little less focus for a while. Meditation can provide a healing quiet respite for the obsessive mind, but not with mantra.

Mantra Alternatives:  Meditation with a lighter focus like observing the breath or a glowing light in your heart-space are much more kind to the obsessive mind. Maybe even trying to not focus on anything at all, and instead just seeing the light through their eyelids will be a more healing sanctuary. When you notice yourself obsessing over something (in meditation or otherwise) - lengthen your spine, take a deep breath and smile. Simply start over with a clear positive mindspace.

Photo Source: This bird is obsessed with being a bird. Pic and story here at Hyperbole and a Half.

Star Stuff with Calvin and Hobbes

Fun Fact: Despite the fact that we can't travel to the stars, they can reach across the Universe and touch us. A piece of that star's energy travels across the Universe... and when you look up and see the star - by *seeing* it - a bit of that star is literally touching you.

Photo Source: Calvin & Hobbes stuff... and somebody else I think. I can't seem to find anyone that knows where exactly this pic really came from. It may be original art. Or it may not.

How to Be Perfect

Act in accordance with your right path and leave the rest to god.

You cannot control everything; no matter how hard you try. Sometimes your best efforts may fall on deaf ears, closed eyes, and hard hearts. Nonetheless, you must act. Do what your heart knows to be the right thing. Then you know that you have done your part... your duty. It is not your responsibility to ensure that the world is peaceful and fair. It is your duty to make certain that what you put out into the world is the best you know to give. Your best is always perfection.

Yogi's Rejoice!

People generally think of yogis as tea-sipping hippies, and that's a stereotype for a reason. Most yogis love their tea. I know I certainly do. I drink tons of tea... red, green, black, white... if it's tea I'll at least try it. My mom can't grasp why I have so many varieties of tea in my house. When you drink as much tea as we do - you try a lot of stuff. *shrug*

There's this lovely blog I follow called "No More Dirty Looks" - they're all about safe and clean cosmetics and whatnot. If you're not into smothering your body with chemicals - check them out. Last week I was checking into their site as I do every day, and I learned something awesome.

All this time I'd been hearing that for every cup of tea or coffee that you drink - you needed to be drinking a glass of water to make up the difference from the dehydrating effects of tea. Turns out, that's not necessarily true. NMDL reports that researchers have found that caffeinated black tea offers similar hydrating properties to water. So we can just keep on drinking our tea and not worry too much about how it affects our water intake. Yay!

Visit the original post from NMDL - HERE - for their take on it plus a link to the actual study findings in Cambridge Journals.

It's Always Worthwhile to Try - Christina Sell Video

I'm loving this video and what it has to say. It's only a minute long, so I'll leave it at that.

Readers via Email - Click Here for the video

We are Going to Die

"We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here."  - Richard Dawkins

Vote! Vote! Vote! Like a Baby Goat!

This week is the final stretch of the Yoga Journal Reader's Choice Talent Search, so I'd like to finish strong. Post it on facebook, tweet it, send a letter to your best good friend - just remind everyone to vote for me every day this week at the following link:

http://talentsearch.yogajournal.com/view/1891

Simply choose 5 red stars and click "Rate" to submit your vote.

You can vote daily through this Friday ---> April 15th, 2011

As soon as it wakes up this baby goat is going to Vote for Me.

Voting for me doesn't stop you from voting for others, so be generous with your votes.

(Start with me though, in case your voting finger gets tired.)

Photo Source: I snagged this adorable tired goat pic from Guerito's Flickr Stream.

Addicted to Yoga

So yesterday I rambled a bit about dedication and consistency. That was the point anyway, I'm not 100% certain that I actually made it. Anyway, today I wanted to cover the other side of that.

Here's a Dog with a Mohawk.

Being dedicated to your practice every single day is awesome... it will treat you well. You'll make progress, you'll be more mentally sound, and everyone will think you glow all the time with sugary bliss. However, if you constantly eschew recreation, being sociable, and trying new things - in favor of your practice - you may be missing the point. These are signs of addiction and being rigid. I don't know anyone that took up yoga to become more rigid and a party pooper.

and Here's a picture of Me not doing Yoga.

Having a plan is great - but if you can't re-schedule every once in a while for some spontaneity you're going to miss out on living your life. Go celebrate birthdays! Travel the world a little bit! Run outside in the middle of your practice to see that flying pig! Being dedicated to your practice means learning the flexibility to turn your world upside down and still get in a couple headstands before the sun goes down.

That's What It's All About

Sometimes I get a little frustrated (as we all do) when my practice isn't really going anywhere. I'm practicing some of the same old stuff over and over, wearing the same yoga clothes, facing my mat in the same direction, practicing at the same time of day... when's the last time I really did anything new? Sometimes I feel like I need to shake things up, but usually it's just a matter of sticking out the doldrums.

Nothing to see here.

Last week I turned my mat. It usually faces my inspiration board, but I just got kinda sick of it, so I turned it and now I'm looking at a front window. Does this bring new intention to my practice? Not really, but it changes the perspective just a little. Maybe it helps me stay more in tune with my hamstrings instead of the bright colors on the wall. I don't know, I try not to overthink these things. It's entirely possible that none of this matters. What really matters is that I'm still practicing.

Yep, Still Nothing.

At the Noah Maze Workshop last month he said that in "Light on Life", Iyengar says he went through a 10 year period where he had absolutely no discernable progress whatsoever. 10 years! That's a long long time to see no effect at all, but he remained dedicated and he continued to practice every single day... and eventually something shifted. That's what yoga is all about.

My Big Fat Pet Peeve

I have a lot of little things that bother me when people come over to my house. It doesn't happen often, so I get used to things being my way. Usually it's just little things I don't bother bringing up because they're unimportant, but you know what REALLY bugs me - my mega-huge "in my house" pet peeve? People stepping on my yoga mat with their shoes. Let me elaborate...

My mat is kind of a permanent fixture in my living room floor. There are currently two giant mats in the floor with a big gap in between them that leaves a nice walking path through the room. Since it's generally just me, the husband, and the dog - we can leave our mats out and not really care. Everyone knows not to walk on the $100 mats with shoes. Bare feet? Fine. Socked feet? Fine. Shoes? No. Mud? No. Mud and grass and unidentifiable ickem?? NO!!

My mat got walked on yesterday by a visitor who stopped by unexpectedly (otherwise I would've moved the mats). He's been here before; and he knows better. He walked all over it, like it was made exactly for walking muddy shoes on. I actually yelled at him - and called him names. *sigh* Not my finest moment.

I wish I had handled it better, but to be totally honest - I just wish people would keep their shoes off my mat.

Photo Source: The Internet?? dunno. Well - That 70's Show, really.

Walk the Plank: Core Strength without Crunches

One of the first classes I ever subbed for was actually a Pilates class. All the pilates teachers were out getting re-certified for something. I was psyched about subbing, and we just marketed it as a Yoga for Core Strength class. My boss said: Just focus on core work and make it really hard. I did just that and the Pilates girls left happy. They said they had no idea yoga could be so hard, and I had just sold a few of them on trying other yoga classes. Yay!

Recently I was asked to suggest some yoga work that will strengthen your core. Having a strong core can be super helpful in yoga; whether you're going from downdog into a lunge or working on headstands. I don't even believe in doing crunches or sit-ups. They're awful and they can wreck your back. These poses are all accessible to beginners though some may be tougher than others. Add a few into your regular work, or string them all together into one butt-kicking workout. Most of them take more than just muscle. They take focus. Keep your gaze fixed on one general spot and keep your breath slow and deep.

Plank, boat to half boat and back (many times), side plank (vasisthasana) and its variations... crow pose or any arm balance, upward table and upward plank, dancer, chaturanga, warrior 3, camel, dolphin pose...

Variations on plank poses work your entire core and they do it quickly and well (without tightening your psoas and your hip flexors). You can do it with one hand, or one foot, or with one hand & the opposite foot lifted, or on your forearms with weight on your back.

If regular plank is too hard then taking one arm forward and one leg back while on hands and knees can be a great little balance exercise if you focus on lifting in the middle. Once you're used to that, you can add on the snazzy little additions pictured below. I like to hold each piece for around 5 breaths.

In general, this sequence is for anyone, but please don't try this sequence without speaking to your Dr. first if you have any medical/physical problems. Seek Peace At Your Own Risk!

Anything You Lose

"Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel the artistry moving through and be silent. Don't grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form." - Rumi

I ♥ We Love Colors

Show some love to We Love Colors - whose fantastic fuchsia leggings I'm wearing here. They've put up a post on their We Love Colors Friends Blog about my YJ Talent Search submission with a bonus pigeon pose pic outside in the sun!