Om Hop Yoga

Yoga Therapy: Going back to the basics to improve the quality of our lives

Ganesh Mohan's Module 3 culminated in applying what we've learned the last 4 days to real-life case studies and developing appropriate programs for each, as well as, a brief overview of heart disease and how yoga can be a tool to help manage it.  

The most powerful piece of knowledge I came away with from this module is that while the practice of yoga may not be able to fix problems, it may help manage them and help us in improving the quality of our lives if we do suffer from certain afflictions....and let's be honest, so many of us do.  

I once took an Iyengar yoga class with Kevin Gardner, who said that for the most part, when we reach 30 years old our bodies slowly begin to break down, so to prevent injuries, pain or other physical ailments and to maintain our physical vigor we need to put in more effort and place more emphasis on alignment and process.  This proved to be very true for me.  This year, for the first time in my life, I developed an injury.  In the process of pushing my body slightly beyond its edge, without proper engagement of certain muscles I should have been paying more attention to, I pulled my hamstring.  I began the healing process a few months ago and it still continuing.  Sitting in a chair most of the day isn't helping, but I do what I can to keep moving and engaging in exercises that help break up the connective tissue and scar tissue, strengthen both hamstrings and bring back proper movement.  In a crazy way I feel blessed to have had this injury happen because I'm learning so much about my body, where my weaknesses are, and what my body needs to be health and prevent injury.  

What does this have to do with breathing?  The process of learning how to tune into our breaths and understanding the dynamics of the breath trains us to tune into other aspects of our physicals selves.  We develop an inner intuition that permeates into our everyday lives and not only helps us catch small issues before they become bigger, but if we don't catch them in time, gives us the tools to manage them properly so as to maintain a certain balance and peace within.  

The beauty of yoga is that it can be applied and practiced at various levels of rigor.  Yoga is breathing, it's meditation, it's the asana practice, it's how we nourish ourselves, it's a lifestyle.  Yoga is also a process and not an end in itself.  So if something does happen that prevents us from diving right into a rigorous asana practice and we need to give our bodies a break, we always have our breath and we can always start there, just as we did when we were first born.  And everything else is just another step in this beautiful process.  

I will leave you with this incredibly precious and completely thought-provoking video: Baby Liv 

(This video presents a snapshot of the practical applications and principles of the Feldenkrais method, developed by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, developed for anyone who wants to reconnect with their natural abilities to move, think, and feel. For more info: www.TheNExt25Years.com)

Yoga Therapy: Touching on the yoga benefits for asthma

The purpose of spending so much time on the breath is that when we become fully aware of the it and the mechnisms behind it, we gain the ability to control it effectively and intelligtently.  And this ability allows us to take better care of our bodies and our health when we're on the mat or doing some form of exercise and when we're simply going about our day.  It helps improve our quality of life.  As we advance through the various stages of yoga from asana practice, to pranayama, to meditation and beyond the more we understand about the breath earlier on, the more effective our yoga practices are.  Ganesh says it takes up to 2 years to develop comfort with the breath and do it effectively during our yoga practice.  I find this fascinating because breathing is such an innate and natural activity and yet, as we go about our lives experiencing different stresses, traumas and diseases, our bodies develop certain tendencies that turn into more serious conditions over the years.  Paying attention to where our blockages and weaknesses are is paramount to preventing or resolving these potential ailments. 

What do we do though, when we get to that point when we have a cardiovascular condition, or a physical injury, or anything that prevents us from living our daily lives pleasantly?  One condition that can cause a lot of daily discomfort is asthma.  Ganesh focused on asthma for several hours yesterday because not only does it affect a person's ability to breathe properly, but it also can be extremely debilitating and difficult on someone if left unmanaged.  

While we addressed asthmatic symptoms, the genetic, environmental, and internal factors taht contribute to asthma, the phases of the condition and diagnoses, I wanted to share  how we can connect breathing exercises and yoga to help manage the condition and improve quality of life even with the condition. 

The main issue with asthma is exhalation and not so much inhalation.  People with asthma have a difficulty breathing out - especially when they're asked to breathe out a lot of breath very quickly.  To tackle this issue with exhalation and allow someone with asthma more comfort with her breath, Ganesh offered a few exercises: 

1. Inversions - any yoga pose where the torso is either upside down such as headstand, handstand, and shoulderstand or upside down on a slant such as downward facing dog, gravity helps pull the diaphragm up, which allows for a more complete exhalation.  This is true for anyone, whether or not they have asthma.  Try a downward facing dog and notice how much easier your exhale and inhale. 
2. Sound - sound allows you to exhale the breath completely.  Notice if you take a deep breath and simply exhale through the mouth, the exhale is much shorter and feels less complete than if you inhale and make the om sound on the exhale until you release all the air from your lungs.  This way you're also engaging your abdominal muscles a bit more.  

Forward bending, twists and pranayama can also assist in the exhale depending on how fit the person is.  All of these exercises help someone with asthma gain a little more control of their breath and regain a psychological comfort with their breathing and their body.   Please do note though that since the ujjayi breath can feel a bit constricting, it is not an ideal exercise for anyone who has trouble with breathing.  Instead, they should do exercises that help them get more comfortable with the breath, making it feel more smooth and less strenuous, and then work toward toward engaging the ujjayi breath, but only if it's comfortable and supportive during the asana practice.  

While I've never had asthma, it's so reassuring to me that yoga can play a part in improving the quality of life of someone who does.  

One more day!!  

 

Yoga Therapy: Connecting to our ujjayi breath

On day 3 we explored the ujjayi breath.  For those of you who are fairly new to yoga and have not yet been taught proper ujjayi breathing, the ujjayi breath is used during yoga practice to focus the mind and flow more smoothly through the asanas.  You engage the ujjayi breath by constricting your vocal cords. This renders an ocean sound in the back of your throat and adds a wonderful element to your flow.  In this entry I will just touch on the basic aspects of the ujjayi breath that we learned from Ganesh. 

PURPOSE & BENEFITS

The ujjayi breath helps us control our breathing during yoga practice.  The slight constriction of the vocal cords as we breathe out (and in if you like to use the ujjayi breath on the inhale) helps us keep the rate and flow of the breath at the pace that we want.  (Remember in general we breath in as we come up in various asanas, and we breath down as we come our torsos come down or forward). The ujjayi breath is not forceful.  You're simply controlling the passage of air through the vocal cords and nostrils and in turn bringing more awareness to the way the abdomen and diaphragm are working in various asanas. 

If done properly some of the benefits of the ujjayi breath are as follows:

1.  The ujjayi helps support and stabilize the spine as you flow through your asanas.  This is because you're engaging your chest and abdominal muscles as you breathe more fully. This is important because of how sensitive our nervous system is and everything feeds back to the spine.

2.  It helps focus the mind, and in the long-run as you continue through the practice it brings relaxation to the body.

3.  It is useful as a source of feedback. Because it helps focus the mind you become more attuned to how your body responds to the more controlled breathing.  How your body responds can vary throughout the practice as you go through a sequence of asanas - some more challenging and others softer. 

4. It prepares us for pranayama practice. 

What's important to note that hadn't been brought to my attention before, is that the strength of the ujjayi breath does not need to be consistent throughout the practice and in fact it is better if it's not.  It is useful to make the breath strong during the more challenging asanas, and softer during the lighter asanas.  

While the ujjayi breath is an important tool and enhances our yoga practice for the above reasons, it is equally important to inquire into the state of our physical body as we breathe.   Some questions we can be mindful of are: Do I have good mobility in my rib cage and thoracic spine?  Am I able to fill my belly with breath and maintain belly breathing even subconsciously or do I hold the belly most of the day or most of the practice?  Do I have shortness of breath?  Am I able to hold my breath for at least 10-15 seconds?  The answers to these questions will help you better understand the state of your physical body and lead you to bring awareness to the areas that need more attention.  Further paying attention to various parts of the body such as the diaphragm, the abdomen, the rib cage, and you lower, mid, and upper back when breathing or engaging the ujjayi breath can be extremely restorative to our overall longterm health.  

So remember to engage the ujjayi breath and become more connected to the feedback your bodies gives you as you breathe more fully and with a little more control. 

[The photo is of the murti of Abhayankara Mahaganapati (Ganesh) at the Broome Street Hindu Temple, the studio where Ganesh Mohan is giving his workshop.  For more information please take a look at their website: www.ayny.org)

Yoga Therapy: Taming and regaining control of the breath

I am taking a Yoga Therapy Course this Saturday - Wednesday with Ganesh Mohan, a physician trained in both western medicine and ayurveda.  It is his 3rd yoga therapy module and this time he is primarily focusing on the breath.  Yes, we will be talking about breathing and doing breathing exercises for 5 days!  It has only been one day, but already, I'm at the edge of my yoga mat! 

I will try to share one thing that I learned during the day for each of the next 5 days.  I have been taught from the moment I set foot on my mat, that the breath is an integral part of our physical or hatha yoga practice.  The breath allows us to ease through the challenging poses and we inhale whenever we're moving up and exhale when the flow requires us to move back down toward the mat.  Ganesh wants us to realize that while control of the breath is important, part of that control is the ability to truly let it go and let it flow naturally - deeply and at the right pace for us.  And mastering that release can take a long time, but we can get there by tuning into our breath throughout our day and observing its state at different times, and especially when we're in different life situations - talking to a stranger vs. our boss vs. a dear friend, when exercising, when watching a pleasant movie, when stressed, when happy.  Our the depth, rate, and rhythm of our breath changes throughout the day!  

I find this subject fascinating.  While breathing is such an involuntary action and we go most of our day without noticing our breath because it simply happens, when we break the breath down and inquire into its subtleties, we realize how complex the act of breathing can be and how much mastering our breath can assist us with coping with the stresses of our everyday lives.  Just like the physical practice of yoga, all the asanas that we do, the discipline we develop of the flow through which we lead our body, can permeate into our life and allow us to garner a better sense of well-being and take little steps to make our lifestyles healthier and more fulfilling, the breath allows us to do the same for our bodies.  

I'll leave you here to ponder the breath and will share more tomorrow!   

Moments of Love

I'm taking a "distance learning" Love Course with Harshada Wagner, an amazing meditation teacher and in his last webcast he asked us to notice moments of love as well as create moments of love in our everyday lives.  Love can take myriad shapes.  It can be love toward our partner, motherly or fatherly love, and it can even take the form of a Thank you or a smile between strangers.  Anyone who has lived in NYC for a period of time understands that the city can feel distant, unfriendly, and rigid.  Yet, when we truly look and are proactive about sending love to others, we find it is all around us.  I know that sounds like a line from the move Love Actually, but it's true!  

So I came back from Brazil with a renewed sense of self.  A wider vision.  A fresh perspective. I came back relaxed, though by Friday afternoon I started feeling like the frenetic energy of the city is consuming me again.  And then I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in a while and something shifted.  I saw myself rushing to catch a train to Connecticut for the weekend, my excessively heavy suitcase in hand, my mind on how quickly I want to get to that train, when I paused to take a moment and enjoy our quick yet uplifiting catch-up!  Once we said good-bye, I walked to the subway more mindfully and with a little more grace.  I caught myself and that uncomfortable feeling of rushing and realized how futile it is.  I began to notice the moment and myself more.  I was present.  As a result, more little moments of love ensued and paved my path to the train:  First, a man asked me if I needed help as I struggled to get my suitcase - and myself - through a turnstyle to enter the subway station at Times Square.  Then as I was coming down a ramp approaching an elevator that I wasn't planning on taking, a woman noticed me and asked me with a smile if I want her to hold it.  Then after getting off my subway train, I saw a set of stairs towering in front of me and as I braced to pick up my heavy suitcase, a guy offered to bring it up for me! I breathed a sigh of relief!  I felt light and completely connected.  I wanted to keep smiling and ride this wave.  It was moment after moment of love.

Imagine what life would be like if it was just an endless string of love moments.  I'm going to try to create more of them. Are you in?

 

Enlightening Yoga Articles 1

While the simple practice yoga brings so much wisdom, absorbing a little extra knowledge and familiarity from the written word can enhance our practice and how we relate with it.  It can clarify, illuminate, change our perspective and even intrigue us to pursue a different type of yoga!  I will begin sharing thoughtful pieces on a regular basis, so peruse at your leisure and click on any link that peaks your interest!  

Interview with Eddie Stern, an Ashtanga teacher

This is for anyone who would like to get a glimpse of Ashtanga from the point of view of Eddie Stern who heads the Ashtanga Yoga New York schoo.  Stern studied with Pattabhii Jois, an ashtanga yoga master who was based in Mysore, India and talks about the uniqueness of the practice in that it cultivates a discipline and an independence that other forms of yoga may not.  This is the type of yoga I've dedicated myself to in the past 6 months and my practice has really blossomed.  

The Ultimate Guide to Yoga Lingo

From Yoga styles, to poses, the anatomy, to catchphrases like chakras or namaste, this is an excellent introductory guide to yoga-world terminology!

Defining the Purpose of Hatha Yoga Poses

This is a really insightful and on target explanation of the purpose of hatha yoga (the physical yoga practice).  It is not so much about looking better, gaining flexibility, or acquiring strength and endurance, but rather a way to clear the blockages and tension in our bodies that prevent clarity of mind, spiritual oneness and a connectedness with the inner self.  It explains how we must look beyond the benefits of hatha yoga to the original true purpose of it.  A quick read that can bring perspective to your practice.  

Forget Envy + Remember Who You Are

Here a yoga teacher from Santa Monica, CA shares insights to her own realization that jealousy makes us forget our own gifts and abilities that no one can take away from us.  It's remembering we are unique and have been graced with wonderful qualities.  

Commitment + Perseverance = Progress

I am elated.  It's been almost 7 months since I've begun my Mysore Ashtanga Yoga practice and I've noticed an immense amount of progress.  My hamstrings and calves are more flexible.  My core is stronger.  My arms can carry me through my ten warm-up Surya Namaskaras with ease. And I have an better connection with my body.  All because I've committed to something and am set on perservering through the challenges to reach my goals.  

The formula is so simple, yet there are many reasons we lack the willpower to embrace it.  As I saw most recently in my Ashtanga practice, it’s not until we begin seeing the benefits or having little victories, do we fathom that the combination of commitment and perseverance means reward.  

Mysore Ashtanga differs from other styles of yoga in the sense that 1) the student goes at their own pace with the guidance of a teacher/guru, 2) the student performs the same sequence each time and is advanced by the teacher in accordance with his/ her progress, and 3) there is more accountability since if you keep practicing on a regular basis you see how much you're progressing and it makes you want to keep going and cross the hurdles.  As I’ve stated in previous posts, I practice with Guy Donahaye at the Ashtanga Yoga Shala in East Village.  I chose Mysore Ashtanga for the above distinctions and because I needed more rigor and discipline in my practice, which I wasn’t getting at other studios.  While my attendance was choppy in the first few months, as my body and mind adjusted to the early mornings, and as I conditioned myself to get up early with every blissful practice, I began to go as often as my body allows, which is about 5 days a week at the moment.

With Ashtanga, it is important to drop all expectations and put trust in the teacher.  At first seeing others around me doing more advanced poses and further along in their sequence than I, played with my ego.  I wanted to get to where they were, fast.  However, as soon as I began trusting Guy’s guidance, the ego no longer dominated.  I began to look at my practice as my own and I began to be more compassionate toward my own body.  I wanted to challenge myself, but I didn’t want to push too far.  The process began to be joyful.  I forgot about being given the next pose in the sequence and focused on the ones that I had.  Eventually, a wonderful sense of ease settled in my practice and before I knew it, I had Bhuja Pidasana added to my sequence - a pose, that in my opinion, represents a real breakthrough for me!  The dedication resulted in a sense of accomplishment; and that powerful feeling that I was heading somewhere.  

This is what life is about. With most pursuits we will not see immediate results.  And many times, if those results are immediate, they may not be long-lasting.  Along the way, as we commit to something, we need to change our mindset, be true to the process and drop our expectations.   Only, then can we experience breakthroughs that help lead us toward our goals.  And with those little breakthroughs comes elation and the sense that you’re close to where you ultimately want to be.  This drives us forward.  

As lifestyle plays a powerful part in affecting how my body reacts to my yoga practice and since I'm still exploring my limitations with food - eating more vegetarian vs not - I know that the ease that I've been feeling in the studio can be fleeting in conjunction with my lifestyle choice.  However, there is beauty in the process and I learn from every action I take.