Thoughts on alignment

I have been reading and watching videos lately on the body's biomechanics. If I am remembering correctly, I think that Katy Bowman said something to the effect that "there are no unhealthy movements." (I will have to see if I can find the exact quote.) For me that is a freeing thought.....until I come to my hamstring tear. 

Of course, that tear at the origin of my hamstring took many years to perfect. Only when my Yoga teacher, Judith H. Lasater, pointed it out and taught me how to not hurt myself (while in Prasarita Padottanasana) at workshop in Dallas, did I start to feel pain. When I backed off, used my muscles more instead of hanging on my connective tissues, did the pain and healing begin. Luckily, the workshop was "Moving from the Organs" which taught me how to keep that particular injury safe in forward folds. Not only did I learn that I am hypermobile in my joints but that I need to do the poses 50 % less.

What was really fascinating about discovering an injury I caused and then doing less because of the injury, was that the mind is constantly goading me on. I know I can do more and yet I must back off. I love, love, love the cooling effect of forward folds (I am Pitta/Vata dosha) and I am naturally good at them. Actually, too good. So my Pitta mind gets angry, even if it is just internal dialogue, and I become frustrated. Maybe if I wasn't a teacher, I might have just given up. Or maybe not. What I did do was slow down and back off. I listened to my teacher's advice and then incorporated it into my practice.

I feel like one of the luckier ones. Although I do have injuries due to my hypermobility (and most are not because of Yoga asana), I am healing. I have learned enough to then pass on this knowledge to my students.

So what Katy said may have been correct in a body that isn't hypermobile. I would love to think that all movement is healthy. We all know that we need to move more and sit less. I think the next step within the Yoga asana community at large is to address the idea of asana injuries and being proactive in keeping students and teachers safe in and out of the classroom.

Namaste`

I am back!!!

Well, almost. I do have a lot to write about in the coming months.

I have been doing tons of research as of late. And since I am starting to catch up with the overgrowth of weeds at the farm, I should have more time to write and reflect. August has been unseasonably cool this year. I won't complain since the coolness helps me deal better with perimenopause and my pitta nature.

Just last weekend I attended a fabulous workshop taught by Doug Keller at the Yoga School of Therapeutics. Doug is a wonderful teacher, and will be at that same location next year in April. Learning is an on-going process and I highly recommend this excellent teacher.

Please check back on a regular basis. I will be contributing more in the coming months.

Much love,

Cat

A Living Master Has Been Lost

B.K.S. Iyengar was a living master.

May he rest in peace.

Namaste`

B.K.S. Iyengar asana demonstration link

Words to ponder

Here is a quote from February 2013 "Yoga Journal Magazine."

Patricia Walden is being interviewed with several other senior level Yoga teachers:

"I'm a very conservative teacher of Headstand and Shoulderstand. My students don't begin doing Shoulderstand for probably a year and a half or two years and maybe three for Headstand. One of the reasons that I take so much time before introducing those poses is that I watch my students walk into a class, and I see their posture. If you're not standing correctly, there's no way you're going to be able to do a Headstand that is safe. There are some students who should never do Headstand."

I will have more to say on this topic very soon, maybe even this week. I like what Patricia has to say especially since she is Iyengar trained and certified. Sometimes I feel like those two inversions are taught too early. I taught and practiced both earlier than maybe I should have. When I first taught Yoga I was coached to teach Shoulderstand to beginners toward the end of their first session. Now I know a much safer way to approach shoulderstand and still I won't teach it right away and definitely not to most newer students of Yoga. What is the rush? There are safer postures which give you the same wonderful results. Something to ponder. Who are we serving when we practice Yoga? If the answer is our egos, then we are aren't practicing Yoga at all. 

Be well. Listen to your body. 

~ Namaste` 

   

Musings: Yoga on and off the Mat

One must start a journey by taking that first step.

Life is a journey whether we acknowledge it or not.  Challenges are daily.  How we address these challenges is a true test of our character mentally, physically and spiritually.  Yoga for me has been an unfolding to reveal my "true" nature.  My Yoga practice is and will continue to be more than just the Asana (Yoga postures).

When I teach a class it is always to the student's abilities.  Asana is the focus of the Yoga class but my long term students know that I infuse the philosophy and Ayurvedic medicine whenever and wherever possible.  When you are practicing a Yogic posture the time of day, your mental state of mind, the season, what you ate before class, your age, gender, dosha (body constitution), and more come into play.  It is not just about the Asana (posture) but about you and everything that effects you.  And what is even more fascinating is that by paying acute attention to the asana, you bring the mind, body and soul into harmony and balance.  You are in the present moment.  That is a present or gift you give to yourself! 

Yoga and Ayurveda are sister sciences that really need to be taught together.  

If you are unfamiliar with body types (doshas) within the Ayurvedic science then I  recommend you read my previous post on the doshas that will give you some general info and a test to see which body type you are.

Ayurvedic knowledge is like the key that opens up the door to so many more possibilities.  Once you learn your primary and secondary doshas then you can look up foods that balance your body constitution.  You don't have to remove foods that exacerbate your dosha but just watch, for example, how your body feels when you eat red meat on a hot summer's day and you don't live in air conditioning.  Red meat heats up the body and if you are a Pitta type then that would not only make you very uncomfortable because the body gets very hot  while you are digesting it, you might even become angry due to the excess heat produced.  (Pitta types are supposed to think happy thoughts since we have a tendency to anger quickly.  Good to know!)

I will have to say that knowing doshas helps me deal with people in general.  And it is fun to just know the different doshas and watch people act accordingly.  Fascinating study, really.

Also, I revolve my teaching around the seasons (more cooling type poses in the summer and warming poses in the winter).  But if I have a bunch of Kapha types, I might have a more dynamic class since they need to move and they have a long endurance once they get going.  So once again, I teach to the student needs and abilities while keeping other variables in mind.

So there are many facets or layers available beyond the pursuit of the picture perfect asana.  I hope I have whetted your appetite to the possibilities.  There is a plethora of information available about this subject matter these days, which is great.  Maybe you have already started your investigations.  Here are some of my favorite authors on Ayurvedic medicine:

Dr. David Frawley
Dr. Robert Svoboda
Dr. Vasant Lad

Every once and awhile someone, usually a student of mine, will ask me how often do I practice Yoga.  I usually get a big smile on my face and reply, "All the time.  I am practicing Yoga right now."  Of course, the student is talking about the asana only.  What I am wanting them to understand, and you as well, is that Yoga does not end once you are off the mat and out of the room.  Yoga, the truest teachings, are with you teaching you moment by moment.  Even if the only teachings you take with you off the mat are paying attention to this present moment and using the breath to bring the focus back with every inhalation and exhalation.  If that is all you have learned.....then your teacher did their job.

Namaste`

~Cat

Cool link about the liver below

 

http://health.yahoo.net/human-body-maps/liver#1/2

 

 

Moving from the Organs Basics

Moving from the organs will enable the Yoga practitioner to perform familiar Yoga postures in a new and healthy way.  By stabilizing the bones and muscles in an Asana (Yoga posture) the student then can move the body purposefully to open or close (energetically heating or cooling the body) the upper or lower Kunda (the bowl shaped vessels) where the organs reside.

You may have heard the pelvis being described visually as bowl.  You can use this visualization to help you when you are tipping the pelvis forward for a backbend.  The same can be said for tipping the pelvis backwards when bending forward.  So when you are in an anatomical neutral position, the pelvic bowl rim should be level with the floor.  

More specifics about the pelvis can be stated in class, though I would just recommend that you not stand upright in neutral position with the sacrum perpendicular to the floor.  When you are standing upright with the sacrum basically parallel to the wall in front of you, it is called tucking of the pelvis which is not natural and flattens the lumbar spine which can lead to a multitude of problems up and down the spine if you were to keep that as your neutral position of the spine.  There is nothing wrong with the movements of the spine and body (tucking backwards or spilling forwards) but, as you may know, the more natural the positioning of the body the safer and healthier your body stays.

So while many Yoginis and Yogis are aware of the idea of the pelvic bowl, they might be less aware of the inverted bowl that the ribs create that house the lungs and the heart.  That bowl, let us call it the rib bowl, can be manipulated to backbends and forward bends just by tilting the inverted bowl forwards or backwards.

Of course, there is sidebending as well, but I just want the reader to visualize the pelvic bowl and the rib bowls for now with the backwards and forwards motions.

Got it?  So that's it.  Part of what Yoga is about is just paying attention at this particular moment in time.  All you really have is this present moment.  It is a present.....a gift.  Pay attention to the bowls.  Notice when the rib bowl is sticking too much out in the front (slight backbend) or tipping back too much (forward fold).  When you get out of neutral position or the natural, anatomical position of the body (misalignment) then the muscles have to work harder to compensate.  That is where Yoga helps the most.  Stretching and strengthening are great but it is also just nice to know how to hold the body so that no harm (Ahimsa) is caused. 

And then there is that exciting part where you allow the organs to lead the movement in the pose.  Now that is truly amazing.  Strong bones with supple and strong muscles are great, but if the organs aren't healthy neither is the individual.  By considering and gently manipulating the organs in the Kunda, a student can also have a healthy endocrine system.  Bonus!

Please carry the above information with you throughout your day.  Pay attention to the rib and the pelvic bowls.  Notice how much harder it is to sit when the chest is collapsed and the rib bowl is tipped backwards (folding forward).  When you lift your chest but allow the bowl to be level with the floor you may feel space opening so that the lungs have the ability to fill fully.  What a wonderful feeling!

I hope that helps.  

For my Yoga class listing and prices please check out:  catofoz.blogspot.com

Namaste`

Cat