Our Tuesday 6:00p. class is all about stretching exercises. I started this class because I found that some of our beginning yogis were having trouble managing the basic yoga postures and thought that a preliminary class might be helpful. In this session we focus on stretching exercises that are not from the classical period. These exercises are referred to as warming up, limbering up and are useful before beginning more challenging classical postures and also on their own for greater flexibility.

One pose that can be done almost anywhere is the Butterfly Stretch. In addition to helping to loosen the hips before practicing a yoga posture, it is also great before power walking, jogging or running.

Begin by sitting on the floor. Bend the knees, bringing the soles of the feet together. Place the hands of the floor next to the hips to straighten the spine and sit up nice and tall. Next, keeping the spine straight, lean forward slightly and grasp the feet with the hands to keep the soles of the feet together. Draw the heels as close to the body as possible. Bounce the legs toward the floor repeatedly. The movement of the legs will look like the wings of a butterfly. I recommend practicing this for no longer than 60 seconds the first few times to avoid overstretching.

Benefits: The pelvic area is stretched; the joints in the knees and ankles are loosened. The butterfly stimulates vitality and activates the entire body, making it feel more alive, vibrant, and active.
Mystical benefits: Aids in releasing the kriya kundalini energies.

Shanti,
  S.

In yoga, as we've mentioned here before, all postures have multiple benefits. There are no "too easy"' or "unimportant" postures. Some postures that look deceptively simple are in fact some of the most beneficial. Consider the Stretch-Lift, also referred to as the Standing Mountain. Before doing any posture that stretches the spine, you may want to consider doing this pose first.

Begin by standing with your toes spread and you feet a comfortable distance apart. Roll your shoulders down the back, standing straight and tall, reaching toward the ceiling with the top of the head. Inhale and reach your arms toward the ceiling. If you can touch your hands together over the top of your head, then do so. Adjust your spine and lift higher. Exhale, gently bring the arms back to your sides.

Benefits: The Stretch-Lift aligns the spinal column prior to attempting any flexing or stretching. This exercise protects spinal muscles and nerves by adjusting the vertebrae and discs, thus assuring that the muscles and nerves of the spinal area will not be pinched. It is also a great pose to do any time during the day to correct spinal alignment and decrease back pain.

Shanti,
  S.

Traffic. Lots of traffic. Crazy, weaving, dangerous speeding cars and buses and moving vans next to eighteen wheelers zipping down narrow lanes, because the freeway is undergoing construction with new lanes blurring into old lanes and there is no shoulder and about 4 inches on either side of the outside lanes is a concrete barrier with more traffic merging into those lanes from an entrance ramp with no, let me repeat, no acceleration lane whatsoever about 10 minutes before rush hour. It's a complete recipe for disaster. And there you are.

Probably you've been there before. And, probably, you'll be there again. And again and again. What do you do? Well, you could ask yourself why you want to live like this in the first place. I know I have. But since it's unlikely any of us reading this right now are leaving the city anytime soon, you could do a couple of other things in the meantime. One option: Allow yourself to become emotional, because from your point of view everyone else is driving like a bat out of a really bad place (but not you, of course). You could get really worked up and curse your speeding neighbors, effecting you to the point that when you finally (we hope) arrive @ your destination your energy is completely unbalanced and you relive the entire ordeal with the first person you come in contact with.

Here's another option: You remain calm. You concentrate so that you are aware of everything happening around you. You can make good decisions insuring that not only do you arrive @ your destination in a fashion that allows you to be a real blessing to the first person you encounter, but, most importantly, you actually do arrive. Safe, calm, in one physical and emotional piece.

Which do you choose?

For some people, a regular meditation practice is a bother. It's nice to stop in to meditate with a group from time to time and "take a break" before returning to the rat race. However, when the moment arises when being able to quiet the mind is absolutely essential to making a wise decision, they can't do it. Meditation has practical applications. One of those being that it provides the meditator the ability to remain calm under any circumstances. To have laser focus when they need it. But, of course, this takes practice. Daily practice. And patience. Patience with yourself first. Once you are able to become patient and nurturing to yourself by allowing yourself to let go, it becomes easier to be patient with others. And, maybe, we might remember that sometimes we are just another driver on the freeway trying to get home, just like everyone else.

Deepest Shanti,
  S.

Yoga is a system of techniques created to help individuals improve their lives. To reap the full benefits of this spiritual science, it is vital that the yogi understand the proper way to perform a given technique as well as its practical benefits. Without this information the practice of yoga is nothing more than a temporary endorphin release @ best or, if done improperly, an injury. To give an example of how a technique can be utilized for maximum benefit, I've chosen a posture we practiced earlier today along with its modified form.

In order to practice Half-Locust (Ardha-salabhasan), you begin lying on your stomach, chin to the floor, make fists with both hands and place them on either side of the pubic region. Spread the legs into a V-position and slowly raise the left leg as high as is comfortable without bending the knee. Hold for a slow count to 10. Lower the leg. Repeat on the right side.

Some of the benefits of this posture include: Tones the stomach and back muscles. Strengthens the thigh muscles. Tones the sympathetic nervous system.

When we practice Full-Locust (Salabhasan) we begin the same way, but instead of lifting one leg @ a time, we lift them both and hold for a count of 10, breathing naturally. If you feel strained, do not hold the posture. Yoga is not a competition. It is to be practiced with full attention without tension otherwise, there is no benefit. When this posture is practiced properly, the benefits are the same as the modification.

Each yogic posture also affects a correlating chakra. Locust and half-locust affect the Jupiter (sacral) chakra. (See illustration by clicking this link.) Often, to further enhance the positive affect on a particular chakra, the yogi might mentally repeat an affirmation that also correlates to the same chakra. For instance, while holding the locust position, you might try mentally repeating an affirmation like, "I can afford to wait if I am ahead of my time." or "The secret to success is not asking for more, but using what I already have." thus balancing the Jupiter chakra and setting the intent firmly in the subconscious mind.

Every posture is not for everyone. In the practice of yoga, everyone practices the yama and niyamas, but not everyone practices all the postures. Know your body and know the postures. Seek out a knowledgeable instructor and map out a personal program that meets your individual requirements. Always inform your instructor if you are having difficulty with a posture. Nothing is gained by injuring yourself. You are not a failure if you do not master a particular posture. If the posture does not serve you, find another technique that does.

Yoga is more than just exercise. It affects your entire being on many levels. Self-improvement begins by doing the best you can. Start from whatever point you are @, and be mindful to keep a positive attitude.

Shanti,
  S.

In yoga certain postures introduced after the classical period are referred to as stretching exercises, warm-ups or limbering up exercises. They are extremely important as they warm the body making it more flexible and therefore avoiding accidents. The stretching exercises, also, prepare the body for deeper benefits from the asans themselves.

One of the exercises we do in our 6:00p. Tuesday class is called the lion (Simha Mudra). It is also referred to as the kali mudra. It is performed by sitting on the heels w/ knees together, hands resting on the knees, palms downward. Take a deep breath, stretch the fingers and feel energy pouring from your fingers to the earth. At the same time, the tongue is extended as far out and downward as possible while the eyes and mouth are open widely.  Hold for a few minutes and release.

Below I've posted a video of some adorable children demonstrating the lion.

This pose is easy to learn and has many benefits. A tremendous amount of blood is rushed to the face and neck, thereby strengthening the organs of the head. It strengthens the neck and tongue muscles, tones and relaxes the facial muscles. It brings blood to the fingers, allowing better circulation. It improves the digestive process. It also causes deeper normalization of the breathing mechanism. When the lion is practiced with other yoga techniques, it helps produce clarity of thinking and serenity of mind. In addition to the practical physical benefits of this pose, it is said that it brings greater dream perception.

The lion is one of the safest and most fun postures in yoga. Give it a try and feel the benefits for yourself. Roaring is optional. ;-)

The key to having a beneficial yoga practice is simple: take small steps and be consistent in your practice. By small steps I mean not to try to do a 45 - 60 minute asana practice every single day when you are just beginning and expect to stick to it. Start with something simple that you find you receive some benefit from. Now practice it @ the same time in the same place everyday. Once you find that you are diligent in your new practice, you can add to it. For example, you might start with the first limb of yoga which is yama (abstentions).

The very first yama is ahimsa (non-violence). Yama is practiced 3 ways: thought, words and actions. So, maybe for the first week you could notice when you had a violent thought and gently let it go, replacing it with a loving or kind thought. Here are some examples of violent thoughts:
"I am so fat."
"Why don't people like me?"
"I'll never get a better job."

Ah, so now we see that violence can be viewed as mentally beating ourselves up. This is not as obvious to most of us as thinking about harming another person, but I hope we can see how this kind of thinking is just as damaging.

Some loving or kind thoughts might be:
"I am the master of this mind/body complex."
"Every day in every way I am becoming more joy filled."
"I will find meaningful work or meaning in my work."

So, after a week of practicing ahimsa in our thought processes, we might try moving to verbal non-violence which means not saying angry or hurtful things about ourselves and/or others. Then, in the 3rd week physical ahimsa which might include removing animal products from our diets (just a suggestion). If adding to our practice once a week is too much, we could try adding to it once a month. You have the idea.

Sticking with our yoga practice and benefiting from it is more important than how many postures we can do or how we look after doing them. It's about getting to know our true selves past the noise of the outer mind and into the calm, clear waters of our inner being.

Namaste,

  S.