Posts Tagged ‘Asana’

slow lane

kim on 1:48 pm March 10th, 2010 / 1 Comment »

In a previous post I suggested a couple of after-swim poses, which I did again yesterday, and which felt great again.

Yesterday, after an all-night bender with the daughter, I was exhausted and honestly interested in splashing around in the pool instead of trying to keep up in the Medium Lane. (That organization, by the way, seems to keep people sane in an East Coast Pool. Otherwise, Grandpa with the snorkel isn’t in the way of Type-A-even-in-water-Guy lapping everybody in .5 seconds).

So it was Grandpa and me. He, with the snorkel and flippers, and me, with the bags under my eyes and a kickboard. This Pitta woman has a hard time slowing it down, and later, in yoga class as my teacher instructed this pose and this pose and this pose, I was, again, in the slow lane.

I am slowing down, of course, because I just had baby, and the first of the problems in a postpartum body is a weak core. Add bouncing baby 10+ hours a day, and you’ve got a tight neck and shoulders, and often, low back pain.

These physical issues, though, sound like a lot of America. So it occurred to me yesterday, as I observed the others — from pool to yoga classroom — speeding past me and creating shapes beyond me, that there are advantages to slowing down and looking around.

Slowing down gives you the opportunity to create a reality with (probably, but not always) more intention, and in the asana (pose) context, it gives you the chance to observe more deeply what what’s really happening in your body. To be sure, John Schumacher was instructing poses deliberately and slowly, and most of the class had few problems manifesting his information. But what worked for me in class, especially, was watching the others make these shapes based on his instructions, and to imagine that information ultimately making its way into my body.

I will find these shapes soon by taking it slowly. You will, too.

why to stay on the ground during your period

kim on 1:59 pm March 5th, 2010 / 2 Comments »

Often, female students ask why they shouldn’t invert during their period, i.e., why they can’t do headstand, handstand and shoulderstand.

The flow leaving the body during this time of the month is in part expelled by the body, in part pulled by gravity. To turn that process upside down is to interfere with nature.

The subtler reason not to turn upside down is that menstruation is a time to turn inside. Ever since I read this book, I’ve believed that women best serve their bodies by slowing down during the first few days of their period, and by staying internally focused during the week of expulsion. This means: sleeping more, drinking caffeine and alcohol less or not at all; drinking more water; sitting home on the couch instead of going out (dancing, for example); eating comfort foods; etc. We benefit by listening to the inner body, which is hard at work getting rid of toxins and experiencing loss–a typically welcome loss, to be sure.

I should have known I was not suited for Wall Street when I started advocating then to my friends about taking a rest during this time. They thought I was crazy. My suggestion was–and still is– that women all be given one day off a month, to work from home, call in sick, cancel travel and meetings, and generally truncate anything that would involve external focus and effort. I believe sincerely that women would have fewer PMS symptoms, have easier menstrual flow, conceive babies more easily, and eventually understand their bodies so well that menopause would not be the “terror” that it is believed by many to be.

So. We can start in yoga class by being honest about our cycle, observe the temptation to do what “everyone” else is doing (remembering, of course, that all asanas, especially and including all the inversions, were designed by and for men), alert the teacher to the fact of our menstruation, and rest in one of these three poses. There are loads of others, but these in particular enhance flow, settle the mind, and allow us to examine more deeply the all powerful abdominal breath.

If you have questions, ask them here or come to my classes and ask.

poses after swimming!

kim on 11:39 pm March 2nd, 2010 / 2 Comments »

So today instead of doing yoga I went swimming at one of Washington, DC’s lovely indoor swimming pools. Like all parents, I try to make the best of the limited time I have for myself. After finishing, I did these poses to balance the shape I created for my body in mainly freestyle. I felt great, and more long and lithe than I normally do after swimming.

If you swim regularly, try these for a couple of minutes afterward and see if it makes a difference. Notice that the shapes are very basic equal-and-opposite stretches after creating the shape of freestyle in the pool.

The first pose is a forward fold with hands on the starting block, because why not.

It’s about more than the toothbrush

kim on 1:31 pm March 1st, 2010 / Be the first to comment! »

Asana means pose or posture — another translation is “steady seat.” We mess around in class with these shapes mainly because we want to stay healthy and fit, and elastic and strong, for as long as possible.

The point of asana is not to perfect the poses — that’s impossible anyway, because all bodies are situated just a little differently and will not look the same on “completion” of the shape.

The point is to move more energy through the body, more precisely and with longer-lasting effects. So you can do asana anywhere, really, when you are typing, walking or getting up in the morning. Any movement evolves into asana when you become aware of the movement, when you are so deeply engrossed that you can watch your body both relax and form into the movement (reaching for the toothbrush) instead of thinking of something else (I’m hungry) as it happens.

To be sure, yoga class is a good way to start. As teachers, our job is to guide you into heightened awareness of yourself, and the body you have that takes up space. From there, you can become as aware as you want, anywhere, in such a way that you start to release patterns of tension (e.g., thinking, “Omg, I have a lot to do today” as you scrub you body with soap in the shower) and open to a new state of relaxed alertness. It’s pretty sweet when you “arrive” at that place.

practice is the goal

kim on 3:24 pm January 1st, 2010 / Be the first to comment! »

Last week I was working with a new client. She’s 52, and she’s been practicing yoga for a long time. It shows in her attention to the detail of the poses, and, as important, in her ability to find meditation and stillness in her daily life.

As we discussed what it takes to revive a stalled yoga practice, she said, you know, I need this work with you to get restarted for 2010, but I’m so grateful that I actually do know how to quiet my mind. She went on to say:

I wasn’t sure I ever believed that you could just turn your mind off, but then, after practicing for these years, I’ve figured out that, yes, you can. It just takes practice.

She stated this fact so simply, without any drama, discomfort or complaint. She said it better than any teacher I’ve ever had, in fact: You can still your mind without any real issue — you just have to keep at it. It isn’t a drive-through experience, and it cannot happen while you are moving, unless you have figured out how to meditate while you are actually still, sitting, for a little while. Then you can be anywhere — walking, in conversation or relationship with someone, in a fast-paced vinyasa class — and you can observe whatever is happening at that moment and be still in your heart with it.

Yoga teaches that the heart is the true mind. I believe that my client was talking about being at peace when she talked about “turning off” her mind. This was a powerful teaching for me, and I am grateful to share it here.

I wish you a still and peaceful 2010, filled with practice and gratitude.

why-i-can’t-asana

kim on 3:44 pm December 28th, 2009 / 1 Comment »

I hear students in class often talk about how they “can’t do” an asana. It just occurred to me that if the student has a goal for improving her practice through doing more complicated poses, the question is not “why can’t I do that?” It’s rather “where can’t I do that?”

Your whole reality will change if you start looking at your body as an instrument that you play in class, versus a thing that holds you tethered to the physical, mental, and emotional patterns you know. This small step — of detaching just enough from the body to see its behavior more objectively — represents a quantum leap in healing the body, mind, and spirit through yoga.

One-Pose-at-a-Time Continues

Emily on 4:48 pm December 14th, 2009 / Be the first to comment! »

Join us for the second session of the One-Pose-at-a-Time, now through February 14. Whether you’re seeking refinement of a difficult posture, or simply looking to get a new perspective on a familiar asana, this series can help you deepen your practice. It’s also a chance to take a class with some of boundless’ newest teachers

This Week’s Pose: Prasarita Padottanasana

Emily on 3:36 am November 18th, 2009 / 1 Comment »

As a new yogi, Prasarita Padottanasana, didn’t seem like much of a pose to me. It felt more like a gym class stretch, or a preparation for other asanas. Perhaps this was because the shape is reminiscent of calisthenics. Padottanasana reveals its secrets slowly, in finding the difference between bending forward and bending down, in learning to ground the feet in the outer and inner edges, and in bending from the hips rather than from the waist.

This Week’s Pose: Virabhadrasana II

Emily on 10:23 pm November 11th, 2009 / 1 Comment »

Linked by it’s name to Virabhadrasana I, Warrior two is a similarly fierce pose. I often think of this pose as a fencer’s lunge. In Virabhadrasana II, the practitioner extends his or her reach as far forward as possible, while keeping the back foot strongly grounded. If this pose indeed has roots in martial arts you could see why– the pose allows for a quick jab of the extended arm, and the possibility of retreat or further advancement. Come join boundless this Sunday for an exploration of Virabadrasana II.

Virabhadrasana II by Emily Sloat Shaw

This Week’s Pose: Virabhadrasana I

Emily on 3:29 am November 4th, 2009 / Be the first to comment! »

Virabhdrasana I is no half-hearted posture. It is like a warrior stilled mid-stride. It is captured movement. The front leg lunges forward while the back leg reaches back and grounds the pose. Likewise, the hips both contain the movement of the thighs, and connect the solid legs to an expansive chest and arms.

Virabhadrasana I by Emily Sloat Shaw