Filling the Space...

Last Saturday, in my Yoga Foundations class, we paid tribute to yogacharya BKS Iyengar, who passed away on August 20th. Iyengar was a leader in the world of yoga, mainly responsible for bringing yoga "to the west".  He credited the practice with helping him to overcome Malaria, Tuberculosis, and Typhoid fever as a child.  Since he lived to the age of 95, I'd say he was on to something!

We followed the beginner's sequence outlined in Iyengar's book, "Light on Yoga":  Tadasana, Vrksasana, Trikonasana, Parsvakonasana, Virahabdrasana I, Virahabdrasana II, Parsvottanasana, Sarvangasana, and Halasana.  Iyengar suggests holding each pose for 3 to 5 minutes.  My class is only a 60 minute class, so we held the poses for 3 to 5 BREATHS.

 Breathing is important.  With each of these postures, we create SPACE throughout our practice.  You stretch, and open up something, be it your side body (in bends), your back body (in forward folds), or your front body (in back bends).  Perhaps you are opening up your hips or shoulders, creating space in your joints, allowing the synovial fluid to bathe and lubricate your articulating cartilage.  No matter WHERE you create the space, it is important to FILL the space.

I reminded my students to fill the space with their BREATH.  If you don't fill the space, nature abhors a vacuum, and something will rush in.  Doubt (Can my body do what I am asking it to do?).  Fear (I might fall over if I try this pose!).  Resentment (Why on Earth does my teacher think I am this flexible?).  Insecurity (Am I getting to old to be doing this?).  These feelings can ruin your yoga practice.  They will block your progress in your practice, so it's best to not let them even enter in.  Don't give them the opportunity.  This is why the breath is so important.  Fill that space with your breath, and there won't be room for anything else, and you can just BE.

What will you fill your space with?

Triathlon Tuneup Schedule

Do you Run?  Maybe you fancy cycling.  Swimming more your thing?  I have a lot of friends (and even more acquaintances) who feel that yoga is "not for them"; they are more interested in replicating the adrenaline rush of a road race on their slim-line bikes, or they enjoy the possibility of besting their personal time in a mile, or they just love the steady cadence of a freestyle stroke.  I understand perfectly well the demands on time and schedules, and if you have just ONE hour to get some physical activity, yoga is probably not at the top of your list.  That understanding aside, what I propose is that it might not be such a bad thing to carve out some extra time now and then to add yoga to "the rotation".  Either way, countless studies have shown how yoga helps with just about any sport. The combination of improving breath work, building strength, and increasing flexibility can only serve to enhance an athlete's performance, no matter what the sport!

I have designed, with inspiration from an article by yoga teacher Sage Rountree, a 4-week series to help support your athletic training, no matter if you do any one, two, or even ALL THREE of the sports involved in a Triathlon.  I have called this series "The Triathlon TuneUp", but the program is not just limited to triathletes!  Here is the schedule of events, in case you'd like to join me for the entire program, or just one session that is tailored to your specific interest:

Week 1 (Sept. 9th):  Creating an open body for efficient breathing
Week 2 (Sept. 16th):  Building core strength along the back body and supporting shoulders SWIM
Week 3 (Sept. 23rd): Building strength in hips and thighs CYCLE
Week 4 (Sept 30th):  Strength and flexibility in the legs RUN

So you're not doing a race.  You're not training for a triathlon.  WHY should you participate in this special Yoga series?  I have three answers for you: 1 - You'll gain better posture.  Reduce injuries from repetitive movements in sports through the better posture you gain in yoga exercises.  2 - You'll create a more efficient form.  The increased flexibility you'll get from a yoga practice will get better results from your workout.  Finally, 3 - You'll build upper body strength (sleeveless tops never looked so good!).  Power in your workout is a function of speed and strength.  If you want to get faster, you need to get stronger.

The Triathlon Tune-up is a 4-week series, one hour per week.  $75 for the whole series, or $22 ala carte.  You can sign up HERE.  Space is limited.

Being Fat.

The September 2014 cover of Health Magazine

Does that cover say what I think it says?  You can BURN FAT doing YOGA?  God, I hope so.

On the East Coast, it's been an amazing summer, weather-wise.  Not too many days that required Air Conditioning; we've had very restful nights sleeping with the windows open - in August!  When it rains, it seemed to only do so for half a day, and it was usually the half of the day when I needed to be indoors, anyway.  For the end of August, our lawn is remarkably green (mostly crabgrass, but green, nonetheless!).

Socially, it has also been an incredible summer.  Several friends celebrated mile-stone birthdays, and we celebrated right along with them...food, desserts, fabulous drinks - hey, it's summertime!  But with every upside, there must also be a downside.  To every yin, a yang.  With all that celebrating comes the dreaded bulge, which is harder and harder to get rid of the farther and farther over that hill I get.

I had some dental surgery this weekend.  I was suffering for over a week with tooth pain, and several dentist visits with X-rays revealed nothing, so I was referred to an Endodontist, whose X-ray also revealed nothing.  However, she performed "official" tests (testing the temperature sensitivity and pressure sensitivity of my tooth) which revealed that I probably needed a Root Canal.  Oh joy.  Regardless, the pain of the previous week, and subsequent pain-killers have been zapping my energy and affecting the quality of my workouts.  I've been eating like crap, drinking too much, and a sluggish lump of human flesh lately, so it should be NO surprise that I step on the scale revealed my heaviest weight of the summer!  YIKES!

Time to get more disciplined, time to cut out the never-ending party, time to get back on the wagon of healthful, mindful living.  And I'm glad that Yoga is there to help.  The meditative qualities can help keep me focused on my goal of being healthier.  The physical practice can help realign my muscles and prepare them for more strenuous events like the elliptical machine and playing around with my children.  For now, i'm going to read this issue of Health Magazine, find out who Erin Andrews is and how she got that bod, and read about how Yoga is going to help me be the best I can be this summer.  I've got two weeks left!

Unity, Stillness, Infinite possibility

There are 108 beads on a Mala, or set of Mantra counting beads - sort of like a Hindu Rosary.  It is said that if you chant your mantra 108 times, once for each bead, you will imbue the Mala with your mantra, and you can bear it like a talisman.  But what is the significance of 108?

Mathematicians can pontificate on the meaning of this number, and the connections between 108 and various truths and statistics in our universe are interesting, if not startling (108 is a number divisible by the sum of its digits.  1+8=9.  9 times 12 = 108.  There are/were 9 planets in our solar system.  There are 12 months in a year. The angles in a pentagon equal 108 degrees.  The diameter of our sun is 108 times that of the Earth.  The atomic weight of silver/Argentum is 108.  The first manned space mission, by Yuri Gagarin, lasted 108 minutes.).

The connection to yogic spirituality are even more extensive (there are 54 letters in the Sanskrit alphabet, each with a masculine and feminine form.  54 times 2 = 108.  It is said that in calm meditation, a person need only take 108 breaths in a day.  There are 108 Indian goddess names.  Buddhists ring a bell 108 times to ring in the new year.  The River Ganges spans a longitude of 12 degrees and a latitude of 9 degrees.  12 times 9 is 108.  There are 108 texts of the Upanishads.).

But quite simply, 1 = God, a Higher truth, Singular Unity among all.  0 = Emptiness, stillness.  8 = Infinity or Eternity.

I just registered for my very first Triathlon.  Not the traditional sort of triathlon, I'll admit - it's a "Mindfulness Triathlon".  It's a one day festival put on by Wanderlust to invite citizens to explore the concepts of pushing your body, calming your mind, and connecting with others.  They aim to do this by hosting a 5K run/walk, a meditation session, followed by a group yoga practice.  This festival is called Wanderlust 108 and I'm pretty psyched about it!  I'll report back...

In the meantime, I encourage you to look for signs of Unity, Stillness, and Infinite possibility either in your practice or your daily life!

Can Yoga Help with Athletic Training?

In short:  Yes!

Roughly 2 million Americans compete in Triathlons each year.  There are over 700 Marathons scheduled on US soil in 2014, and more than half a million people finish them.  Despite having just 180 riders on average (20 teams of 9 riders), the Tour de France is the worlds largest annual sporting event with over 3.5 BILLION spectators each year. Competing in such events requires cardiovascular strength, fortified bones, and a tremendous amount of willpower to keep pushing yourself forward in training.  Seeing as many of these skills are also emphasized in yogic philosophy, let's just say that a regular Yoga practice can't hurt!

A typical yoga class has a mix of poses and sequences, and together with the breathwork and mind-body connection, you can hone a durable, injury-resistant body that's ready to absorb the demands of heavy-duty sports training.  Adding tailor-made sequences to the type of athletic event you're training for can really enhance your performance and minimize the potential for injury (which can typically set back your training schedule)

Anyone who has experienced the flowing sequence of a Sun Salutation knows first-hand how you can build cardiovascular resilience on the mat.  Balancing poses help bring your focus and attention to the task at hand - important in building endurance and training discipline.  The strength-building standing poses of the Warrior series enable you to hold poses longer with less tension.  You can improve breath flow and efficiency, while other standing poses and certain inversions can tap into smaller, under-utilized muscle groups that will help support your major muscle groups.

It takes perseverance, commitment, and confidence to bring yourself to the mat - just as these qualities are brought to task during any training event: running, cycling, or swimming.  Maybe adding a little yoga to your training plan might not be such a bad idea afterall!