POW! Pose of the Week

Pose of the Week - This week's pose: Virabhadrasana III - because you knew it was coming! Warrior 3 is the final pose of the Warrior series (thank goodness, because after this, you can only imagine what could be next!). Of course, it improves your balance - how else could you form a Capital letter T with your body? - and improves your posture, but it also strengthens your ankles and shoulders while toning your abdominals. Believe me, you are not going to be able to support this posture without using your abs!

You can find yourself tipping into Warrior 3 from standing (mountain pose), leveling out from Ardha Chandrasana (half-moon pose), or swooping out from Trikonasana (triangle pose). In this way, Warrior 3, though extremely challenging, is versatile! It turns out, that this month's issue of Yoga Journal has an article that discusses the "stories" behind some of our favorite yoga postures. Much like the Greek and Roman legends describe the formation of the Constellations, there are stories and legends to explain the origins of the Sanskrit names for yoga postures. The author of the article didn't go into the legend of the Warrior series, but a simple online search revealed the story behind Virabhadrasana (a powerful hero born from the hair of the god Shiva), and the story almost compels you to follow the asanas in order (Vira. I, Vira. II, and finally Vira. III), so that's how I'll take you there!

Starting from where we were last week, Virabhadrasana II, your front knee is bent, toes pointing straight ahead, looking to the future. Your back leg is straight with the foot at a 45 degree angle, hips are open to the side. Arms stretch forward and back, palms facing down. Sweep your back arm overhead and bring it in line with your forward arm while rotating the hips and back foot forward. Place your weight on your forward foot, and lean into it. Balance on the front leg while you allow the back leg to lift off, coming parallel to the floor. Your torso also will tilt forward in line with the back leg, parallel to the floor. Wrists, shoulders, hips, and ankles should all be level. From the side, you will look like a giant, capital T. Now you're flying!

Allow the balance of this series to help you seek balance and happiness in your life!

DVD review: Yoga for Weight Loss

Yoga for Weight Loss is produced and distributed by Gaiam, that yoga/pilates/fitness emporium, and it is one of the first yoga DVDs I ever purchased. It was my main exposure to yoga for a long time. Since I started taking yoga classes with live teachers at yoga studios and my gym, I don't have much time to practice with DVDs, and found that I prefer a "live" person over a recorded practice, where you can predict exactly what's coming next.

However, I have a friend who has recently expressed an interest in learning more about Yoga, and asked if I wouldn't mind "showing her around" a mat a bit. I happily obliged (I do, afterall, have a deep seated fantasy that I someday will be an awesome yoga teacher who leads packed practices like Diann or Josh), and I recommended that we start with this oldie but goodie.

My thought was that she could practice with the DVD, and I could monitor and make subtle adjustments to her posture. But once the DVD got started, I remembered what I liked about it, and I ended up jumping right in! Of course, not without a few laughs - my friend promptly pointed out that Suzanne Deason (the instructor) strongly resembles Samantha from Sex and the City (she's right! Watch and see!) and then we laughed that the youngest and seemingly fittest of the 3 models demonstrating modifications needed the most modification. I judiciously explained that appearance can be deceiving, and that someone who looks "fit" may not necessarily be as flexible as someone who is a seasoned yogi, but we laughed anyway.

This is a great DVD for home practice beginners. The scenery is breathtaking, Suzanne's voice and instruction are smooth; postures are gentle enough without modification, but if you actually *can* follow Suzanne, you'll certainly get a nice stretch. She's not "show-offy" at all! And believe me, I have a DVD where the instructor flares nostrils and loves to show that she can easily do more than you can and is dumbing-it-down for the DVD (I'm talking about you, Natasha Rizopoulous!). In Yoga for Weight Loss, there are 3 levels of modifications for you to follow; you can choose to watch only the modification level you are following, or you can watch the full practice and see what all 4 women are doing. I love this feature, because you may be able to follow Suzanne for some of the standing poses, but need modification on the floor, in which case you can follow one of the other women.

The DVD also has bonus features, where Suzanne herself models some of the more important modifications on the main postures. There's the standard "disclaimer" about consulting a physician before starting a new pnysical regime, and a bio of Suzanne, but that's not what you bought the DVD for. You bought it to practice yoga at home, and this DVD is a fine starting point. I remember liking it so much (and Suzanne's instruction) that I returned to the website to purchase more of her DVDs (I have at least 2 others with Suzanne as the instructor, and she's leagues better than the other instructors on Gaiam media).

Yes, I FAR prefer a live practice in a studio or at the gym, and while this DVD is more for beginners, it's still a great practice to revisit when I'm feeling low on energy and want an gentler practice or just would like to brush up on my basics. Thumbs up!

Letting go doesn't mean "losing your grip"...it means relaxing enough to make some space.

POW! - Pose of the Week

This week's pose: Virahabdrasana (II) - because we can benefit from a little wisdom, courage, and unwavering focus. Just look at this posture! This is a woman who is "ready". She has courage, and she's looking intently towards her future. Her back foot, however, is grounded in the past, so she's gained insight, wisdom, if you will, so she's looking to the future with clear focus.

Warrior II is another of those poses that you can approach from endless angles. You can approach from standing or you can approach from the floor, but I'm going to get you there from Warrior I, because that's where I directed you last week. Building on that pose, Warrior II will strengthen your legs, stretch your groins, chest, and shoulders, and can help increase stamina. It's another of those muscle-building poses that helps with osteoporosis and can relieve backaches and sciatica. Let's get started!

Beginning in Warrior I, your front foot is directing your energy forward and your back foot is angled slightly (45 degrees) outward. Your hips are facing forward with your shoulders stacked above, and your arms are raising with purpose to the sky. Your ears are between your biceps. Keeping your gaze forward, you are going to open up to the side, and shifting your hips ever-so-slightly to face outward. If your left foot is forward (as in the picture above), you accomplish this by swinging your right arm backward in an arc, holding it at shoulder level. Your left arm will come down, level with your left shoulder. Shoulders swivel and open out to remain steady over your hips. Your gaze remains intent over your left arm and forward left foot. Arrival. (don't forget to hit it on the other side!)

Let go...

POW! (Pose of the Week)

This week's Pose: Virahabdrasana (I) - because I've had you sitting on your arses for too many weeks now.

I think your hips are sufficiently opened by now...you've been in easy pose, half-lotus, full-lotus. Let's get up off the floor and try some standing poses. Besides, Virahabdrasana (I) is also known as Warrior 1, and we must always be ready for battle (especially when facing 8th graders at 8:00 each morning!)

Vira (I) physically strengthens the legs, opens the chest and shoulders, and now that you've excelled at opening your hips, helps with stability and balance. Mentally, you'll build focus, and readiness, raising your arms with intention. The sheer confidence radiating from this posture is quite a powerful image, and you can see why it has the nickname of Warrior 1.

After practicing all summer, I've found that there are sooooo many different ways to arrive in Warrior 1. Half of the fun of practice is to find how you'll get there. What new and inventive ways will the instructor help you arrive?

Once you have arrived, you'll find your arms raised high up with intention, elbows in line with your ears. Your shoulders will be relaxed down your back, and centered over your hips. You should not be leaning forward or back. Your front leg will be bent 90 degrees, knee stacking over ankle, and your toes will be pointing forward. Your back leg will be extended long behind you, straight, with nothing more than a microbend in your knee (ie, don't lock the joint straight!). I have seen Warrior 1 with the back heel raised. In this instance, your toes will point forward, and you'll be balancing on the ball of the back foot. I've also seen Warrior 1 with the back foot flat on the ground. In this instance, the heel will be angled back at a 45 degree, with the outside edge of the foot especially flat to the ground.

Once you've arrived, you'll be ready for anything!

Be the change you wish to see in the world. ~M.Ghandi

Surf Yoga Soul - DVD review

♥ Well, dear readers, my shipment of yoga DVDs came this afternoon, and without delay, I ripped right into them and hopped on the mat for a test drive. This DVD, Surf Yoga Soul is subtitled "the ultimate flow yoga practice", and it's lead by Shiva Rea, yogini extraordinaire. {It seems to be produced for (or even by) Acacia, unlike all of my other yoga DVDs, which are from Gaiam.}

I purchased this DVD to support my hubby's dream of me doing yoga on his SUP. After trying this practice, I can say with all honesty that I am not hopping on that Paddleboard any time soon. My first impression is that this DVD is awesome, and it is definitely NOT for beginners. My previous experience with Shiva Rea's offerings on DVD was her Pregnancy Yoga DVD by Gaiam. That practice wasn't the best, but the offerings for Pregnancy Yoga are slim pickings, so I found myself practicing with Shiva a few times a month throughout each of my pregnancies. Surf Yoga Soul, on the other hand, has gorgeous scenery, a hip soundtrack, and a very cool "matrix" format, which means I can customize my workout! It has 7 different segments of varying length, and the viewer is able to pick and choose the segments, organizing them however suits, and voila! the practice is set.

To start, I chose a 17 minute segment that worked the arms/shoulders, an 11 minute segment to stretch, and finished with a 2 minutes Savasana. The first segment was so challenging, the second segment stretched it out, and the third segment finished beautifully. I was so pleased with the flow I put together for myself, that I went back and tried the 20 minute "balancing" segment. I can tell I am going to get a lot out of experimenting with the different segments in different orders, which is so motivating!

Bottom line: This DVD is going to be a staple in my rotation! Highly recommended for people with a firm knowledge of and experience in advanced level poses (crow, Warrior 3, Pigeon, and King Dancer, to name a few).

More to come... ♥

Namaste.

POW! (pose of the week)

This week's pose: Sukhasana - "Sit easy Pose" - because we're starting over ;)

Sit easy Pose helps to focus awareness on breathing. It's great for starting a practice as it gently opens your hips and strengthens your lower back. Yoga Journal admonishes that if you're used to sitting in chairs all day (hello, Desk Jobbers!) even this simple pose can feel uncomfortable at first and take some getting used to.

So, why are we starting over? Summer is ending (for us teachers, it's our first day back from the summer break, so Summer is already over. September 21st is just a formality on the calendar...) The change of seasons always present us with a new beginning, a chance to set up a new routine, and with this, it's always good to revisit the "classics" in your yoga practice, just to make sure you're keeping up with good form.

Sukasana is one of the most commonly used yoga poses, and many instructors begin their practices in this pose. It's "easy" - you sit on the floor, buttocks grounded with your sitz bones aiming downward. You cross your legs and keep your spine lifting upward to the crown of your head. The chin is kept level. My older son says this is the "criss-cross apple sauce" way of sitting, but Sukasana lends a little more dignity to the start of your practice. Sit as long as you wish, but if you visit this pose often, be sure to alternate the way you fold your legs, just for balance.

Namaste

My summer practice comes to an end...

*sigh*
Labor Day must be a teacher's least favorite day of the year. Summer is ending, the anticipated return to work, the chance to "start anew" with a new group of students - as you can imagine, there is a wild mix of emotions. This year is no exeption for me. After several days of prepping my classroom , I'll admit that I AM ready to return to work, and I'm truly looking forward to the chance to work with a new crop of kids, to see if we can work as hard as last year and achieve the same successes, and perhaps some new ones!

What's new for me this year is that I'm lamenting the end of summer for a completely different reason. Frankly, I'm ready for autumn because I'm thoroughly done with the crazy heat we've had this year. What I'm most despondant about is the fact that I KNOW I am not going to be able to practice yoga nearly as often as I've been able to this summer - and I'm unsure what the repercussions are going to be!

I've practiced more regularly than I've ever practiced before - ie, I've not missed more than 2 days in a row since July. For this reason, I've been able to notice unprecidented growth in my practice. I feel centered and calm (and it has more to do with yoga than it has to do with having the summer "off"). I've realized benefits that I truly don't want to see diminish - I'm kinda liking the way my deltoids look: thank you plank, chaturanga, and up-dog! I don't want this hard work to turn right back to flab. Plus, despite this hard work, I still haven't been able to say adios to my 5 pounds from Mexico. Will those 5 pounds turn into 10 now that I'm not doing yoga as often? Talk about a nightmare!!!

In preparation, I did order a few new DVDs to help tide me over and at least encourage me to get on my mat(I promise to give reviews once they come in and I give them a go). I am going to keep an open mind about practicing this way, but realistically, I know the challenges I am up against: kids and their jungle gym climbs on my posture, finding time, having committment to do it after a long day at work, the usual obstacles working folks have. I AM hopeful that my blog will keep me focused and motivated to continue with a home practice, and I know I am at least committed to keeping the gym's yoga schedule memorized so I can get to class whenever possible.

This should be an interesting few months. I encourage you to check back and read about my progress (and DVD reviews), but more importantly, I encourage you to drop in and SHARE your experiences. How do you deal with your workout obstacles (whether your workout is Yoga or something else)? What tricks and tips do you have to offer for staying committed to the mat? What DVDs are really working for you? How is your home practice coming along? Share away, dear readers!

Namaste.