yogalila

Yoga of Integration is Legal: Short (and I mean short) Practices for Your Day

from Bonnie

Even a brief practice of yoga everyday is better than no practice at all. Very gradually, the body (and the mind, we hope) will begin to strengthen and open. But, possessing intellectual knowledge and proof of the benefits of behavior change doesn’t always change behavior; example: smoking cigarettes. No matter how many times our teachers, or our inner teachers, advise us to step onto the mat on a regular basis, somehow we find ourselves missing, skipping, procrastinating or imagining our practice.

Certainly, plenty of wonderful books, articles, audio, and video resources are available to provide guidance should you happen to be at a loss as to how to focus your micro-practice. For example, one of my brilliant teachers, Jill Miller, has developed a plethora of 5 or 10 minute QuickFix videos . Jill's practices will help you focus very specifically and efficiently on body areas such as neck, shoulders and back.  The Yoga Journal website contains pose and sequence guidance as well.

Naturally, the omnipresent advice to remember to breathe is not to be underestimated.

A group of us Yogalilans began discussing resourceful ways that we integrate yoga into our busy days. I put together a slideshow (starring Yogalians and families) for employees in the workplace, hoping to inspire them to start their asana practices in bits and pieces. As you will see, these super-efficient moves can be practiced quite creatively-mostly without a sticky mat. Check out this A Yoga Day slide show to see how yoga of integration can work for you.

August blog focus: fear and yoga

My first teacher used to quote her guru as saying “there are only two true emotions, love and fear”.  I am still not quite sure if I believe fear is truly the antithesis of love, but I would agree that if the true self is revealed by love, then fear is the obstacle that obscures our authenticity.  Yoga is the practice of authenticity in action: if so, then how can our practice change our relationship to the things that we fear? If that which we fear is inescapable and inevitable, then can our practice at least alter our perception of it, and thus lessen its hold over us?

The things we fear are varied: we fear the perceived betrayal of the body through growing old, through falling, through infirmity and disease. We fear the loss of control and security, as children grow up and parents age, and our careers or relationship take unexpected turns. We fear everything from global pandemics to ghoulies, ghosties, and long-legged beasties – truly, both individually and in the collective unconscious, our fears are too numerous to name.

What, then, can yoga do for us?  Perhaps we find a way through breath, in difficult situations; or in challenging poses, courage that we then take into the outer world. Perhaps we can find joy in movement, and capability we did not know existed within ourselves, giving us new confidence to confront our fears.

We might also think about the fact that while yoga may help us confront fear, it can also raise fears of its own. Many first time students in savasana cannot close their eyes or uncross their arms, in the suddenly undefended position of the pose. I have listened to a fellow student at a yoga nidra workshop talk of the void encountered in the depth of meditation and relaxation, and the fear at its edge. And inversions in particular are famous (or infamous) for creating both fear and courage.

Share with us your thoughts on fear and yoga, and read along as fellow yogalilans contribute their posts.

Science and Shoulderstand

Most of us who have practiced yoga for any length of time have eventually encountered a statement from a teacher, magazine article, book or website telling us that shoulderstand has a beneficial effect on our system through its action on the thyroid gland. Although this statement seems to be most prevalent among Iyengar-style influenced teachers, it is not exclusive to this style. Similar statements have been made by Sivananda style teachers, and I clearly remember hearing it from my Kripalu teacher nearly 13 years ago. I was then, as now, curious about the validity of that statement. Though I don’t feel I need to understand the scientific basis behind every benefit offered by yoga, the specificity of the association of the pose shoulderstand and thyroid function struck me as worth thinking about. Shoulderstand, “the queen of asanas” is given prominence by Iyengar teachers and practitioners as a pose of particular benefit to women, especially in alleviating discomfort and ailments associated with hormonal changes during maturation and menopause. Clearly, information gained from decades of experience has provided B.K.S. Iyengar and his daughter Geeta abundant anecdotal evidence that shoulderstand has numerous benefits, as described in Yoga, the Path for Holistic Health, and Yoga, a Gem for Women. Iyengar’s students continue to recommend of this pose as therapeutic for women as can be seen, for instance, in Patricia Walden and Linda Sparrowe’s The Women’s Book of Health and Wellness.  Popular literature describing health benefits of yoga is abundant, as even a relatively casual collector of yoga books will know.

Curious as to the scientific basis for the connection between shoulderstand and thyroid function, I started searching the literature for peer reviewed, scientific studies that might provide experimental evidence for this claim, using the standard search engines and databases available to the university I attend. It didn’t take long to realize that scientific studies on the physiology of shoulderstand’s effects on the thyroid gland, were extremely scant. Apart from a small handful of studies published in the mid-70’s in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, experimental evidence for shoulderstand’s effect on thyroid function is notably lacking. No studies were located that seem to have built on those early findings.

Does any of this matter? For the average practitioner who enjoys including shoulderstand in their regular practice and enjoys the physical, mental and emotional benefits from the pose, there is certainly no reason to worry about the science behind it. However, as yoga students begin to perceive yoga as a form of therapy or complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and health care providers and HMOs respond to the public’s drive to include CAM as part of their coverage, the questions arise: can yoga be prescribed as a health care practice, akin to physiotherapy? And if so, can the student/client/patient ask that it be included as part of their coverage? Objective evidence of the efficacy of yoga would certainly assist that process – if that process is what we really want as students, clients or patients. Experimental evidence has been steadily accumulating for benefits on musculoskeletal disorders and factors in cardiovascular disease risk, among others, but remains scarce for yoga and endocrine function. There have, however, been pilot studies demonstrating that restorative practice (including shoulderstand) has alleviated hot flashes in menopausal women. These provide encouragement for further studies on a larger scale using appropriate randomization and control groups.

Part of me is hesitant at the thought of offering yoga up to the altar of the controlled double blind, but in a practical sense, perhaps allowing yoga to be integrated into the health care system as a complementary therapy could still be consistent with one of yoga’s main purposes – to alleviate suffering. The removal of sources of discomfort, disease, and physical ailment remains consistent with Patanjali’s aphorism 1.30: “The inner obstacles that disperse the mind are sickness, mental inertia, doubt, haste, apathy, intemperance, errors in judgement of oneself, lack of perseverance, and the inability to stay at a level once reached.” Many of us who practice yoga have already experienced a taste of relief from these obstacles. Will validating yoga through science contribute to helping others get a taste of that relief? Of would the process of scrutinizing yoga through western scientific methods take something away from a holistic practice meant to address all aspects of human nature?

It's not how creative you are, it's how you are creative...

...to paraphrase Howard Gardner. What does creativity have to do with Yoga? Even more than I thought, although my intuition told me creativity and yoga are intimate, symbiotic friends. On a recent sabbatical, I explored creativity and creative thinking. I saw that yoga can contribute to the emergence of creativity from a seed or even dormant, stultified state to an open creative consciousness about everything we do. Creative thinking is really about looking at life from a new, accepting, non-judgemental place. Ok, I know it's more than that (yes I was good, I did my full blown lit search and bibliography).

When we're relaxed, open, mindful, our best creative thinking can occur. This happens in the shower...driving...first thing in the morning. But if we're blocked and stressed, then yoga can also help bring us back to that more open creative consciousness-which is our birthright. So what do you think? Has Yoga enhanced your creative thinking? Has your creativity fed your yoga practice?

thought for food

“If we allow ourselves to touch our bread deeply, we become reborn, because our bread is life itself. Eating it deeply, we touch the sun, the clouds, the earth, and everything in the cosmos. We touch life and we touch the Kingdom of God.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

I wanted part of my sadhana practice to be working on mindful eating, but the 40 days are almost up and I haven't even begun this. I still plan on doing this - maybe during the Lenten season. In the meantime, here are a few resources I've collected on the topic:

A description of mindful eating by Thich Nhat Hanh and his longer reflection on consumption: Diet for a Mindful Society.  Very thought-provoking.

What are you hungry for? - excerpts from the book by Lynn Ginsburg and Mary Taylor

Spirituality & Health's Integrative Eating program by Deborah Kesten

Omming on empty - a cautionary article - be careful out there.

loretta's august focus - relax and recharge

Do sweltering August days have you looking for a way to beat the heat? Does thinking about getting ready for back to school (as a teacher or parent or student) make you anxious? Do the fun and sun of family vacations have you worn out? What you need is some restorative yoga to help you cool down, relax and recharge your batteries.

If you ask modern day yogis what restorative yoga is you may get a lot of different answers. Some think of lying around on lounges built from bolsters, blocks, sandbags, and folded blankets. The modern queen of restorative yoga, Judith Lasater, presents this type of restorative yoga in her book Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times. She teaches Relax and Renew workshops teaching people the value of these restful types pf poses. But there are other facets to the gem we call restorative yoga. I think most of you know that I tend to use Light on Yoga as a primary source. But the only restorative pose mentioned in Light on Yoga is the last pose, savasana. But the Iyengar tradition has made a strong contribution to the world of restorative yoga. You can adapt many of the traditional poses to make them more restorative by using props. Other yoga teachers like Paul Grilley and Sarah Powers teach Yin Yoga, which could be considered a form of restorative yoga. So we have lots of possibilities for our practice this month.

You can incorporate restorative poses into your yoga practice a lot of different ways. One option is to choose a few of your favorite restoratives and add them to the end of your regular practice. You could dedicate one day a week to a full restorative practice. You could do a more active practice in the morning and do a restorative practice in the evening before bed. You could even spend a whole week (or month) dedicated to practicing restorative poses. Restorative practices are frequently suggested as alternative practices during the menstrual cycle, but they can be useful throughout the month for recharging. Restorative poses are generally held longer, anywhere from 3 minutes to 30 minutes or longer, to allow time to relax into the pose.

I’ll start with a list of restorative poses from which to build your practice. I’ll mention the major props used, but feel free to use your imagination for prop ideas. The basic props you will probably use include blankets, belts, bolsters (folded blankets can be substituted), blocks and a chair. And don’t forget the wall. Optionally, you can also use sand bags, an eye pillow or an ace bandage wrapped loosely around your head to relax your eyes.

Iyengar style restoratives (many of these are pictured with prop set-ups in Yoga: The Iyengar Way, Cool Yoga Tricks and A Woman’s Book of Yoga and Health):
1)Supported uttanasana (standing forward bend), with buttocks resting on the wall or on a chair.
2)Supported uttanasana with your head resting on the seat of a chair or stacked blocks (or even a block on the seat of a chair if necessary).
3)Adho mukha svanasana (downward facing dog) with your head resting on a block or a bolster or folded blankets. You can also do supported down dog over the back of a chair, padded with a blanket or if you are lucky enough to have a yoga wall, supported with a rope harness at your hips.
4)Virasana (hero’s pose) forward bend over a bolster.
5)Supta Virasana (reclined hero’s pose) on a bolster or blankets.
6)Supta baddha konasana (reclined bound angle) on a bolster with legs belted.
7)Lying on crossed bolsters
8)Seated forward bends like janu sirasana, upavista konasana and pascimottanasana with forehead resting on a chair, a block or a bolster.
9)Salamba sirsasana (supported head stand) at the wall with legs belted.
10)Salamba sarvangasana (supported shoulder stand), on a base of blankets with legs belted.
11)Salamba sarvangasana on a chair
12)Ardha halasana (half plough) on a chair
13)Supported Ustrasana (Camel pose) with a chair and bolster.
14)Dwi pada viparita dandasana (two-legged inverted staff pose) over a chair with head resting on a bolster, legs belted.
15)Savasana

A Woman’s Book of Yoga and Health includes this lovely Iyengar style restorative sequence, called the woman’s restorative sequence. This one is not recommended for practice during your menstrual cycle as it includes full inversions.
1)Reclined bound angle)
2)Reclined sukasana (easy crossed legs pose)
3)Reclined hamstring stretch (supta padagusthasana)
4)Down dog
5)Head stand
6)Child’s pose
7)One leg seated forward bend (janu sirasana)
8)Seated forward bend (pascimottanasana)
9)Shoulder stand
10)Half plough on a chair
11)Supported bridge pose on bolsters
12)Legs up the wall (viparita karani)

This is the same book’s Healthy Menstruation Sequence:
1)Reclined bound angle
2)Supported child’s pose on a bolster
3)One leg seated forward bend (janu sirasana)
4)Seated forward bend (pascimottanasana)
5)Wide angle seated forward bend (upavista konasana)
6)Wide angle seated forward bend (upavista konasana) with a twist
7)Inverted staff (viparita dandasana) over a chair with head and feet on bolsters
8)Supported bridge pose on bolsters
9)Savasana

Another one I like from the book is the Sequence for Enhanced Immunity:
1)Reclined bound angle
2)One leg seated forward bend (janu sirasana)
3)Down dog
4)Head stand
5)Shoulder stand
6)Plough
7)Seated twist
8)Leg up the wall (viparita karani)
9)Savasana

For the Judith Lasater style poses, here is a list of 10 poses and suggestions for times in each pose and some different length sequences that use them. All of these are pictured beautifully in the book Relax and Renew, along with detailed instructions for setting up props and folding blankets. I’ve listed the page number in Relax & Renew for each pose:

1)Simple supported back bend (page 33) – 3-5 minutes
2)Supported Bound Angle (page 34) – 10-15 minutes
3)Mountain Rook Pose (page 39) – 5-10 minutes
4)Supported Bridge (page 41) – 10-15 minutes
5)Viparita Karani (page 43) – 10-15 minutes
6)Supported Child’s Pose (page 60) – 3-5 minutes
7)Supported seated angle pose (with chair, page 48) – 3-5 minutes
8)Supported crossed-leg (page 51) – 3-5 minutes
9)Reclined twist with a bolster (page 46) 3-5 minutes
10)Basic relaxation pose (page 53) – 10-15 minutes

Here are some hints for practicing these poses:
1)To facilitate the relaxation, dress warmly or place an extra blanket over yourself.
2)Do your practice in a warm, quiet environment free from draft and noise, in a place where you can hopefully be undisturbed.
3)Restorative poses are opening and releasing exercises, not stretches. Make sure that your body feels very relaxed and supported in each movement.
4)There should be no strain in your back or neck, adjust your props to support you in comfort.
5)Keep your eyes closed. Use an eye pillow or an ace bandage to facilitate the relaxation response. Relax your face, eyes, tongue, throat, shoulder, back and abdomen in each movement.
6)Let go of conscious control of the breath. Just relax and breathe your normal inhalation & exhalation.
7)The times listed are guidelines. If your body tells you to get out sooner, honor that. Be kind to your body, mind and heart.
8)After each back bending pose, rest the back flat on the floor for a few minutes to release the back muscles and the roll to your side and come slowly up to sitting.

Here are some different length sessions:

10-15 minutes, you can add these to the end of your regular practice, or just squeeze it in when you have time.
Sequence 1:
Basic relaxation pose for 10-15 minutes
Sequence 2:
Supported bound angle for 10-15 minutes
Sequence 3:
Mountain brook pose for 5 minutes
Viparita karani for 7 minutes
Supported child’s pose for 3 minutes

20-30 minutes
Sequence 1:
Mountain brook pose for 5-7 minutes
Viparita karani for 5-10 minutes
Basic relaxation pose for 10-15 minutes
Sequence 2:
Supported bound angle for 10 minutes
Viparita Karani for 10 minutes
Basic relaxation pose for 10 minutes

45-60 minutes
Supported bound angle for 10-15 minutes
Supported bridge for 10 minutes
Viparita karani for 10 minutes
Reclined twist with a bolster for 3 minutes
Supported seated angle pose for 5 minutes
Basic relaxation pose for 10-15 minutes

The Moon Cycle
Supported bound angle for 10-15 minutes
Supported crossed leg 3-5 minutes
Supported seated angle pose for 3-5 minutes
Supported child’s pose for 3-5 minutes
Basic relaxation pose for 5-20 minutes

Get to Sleep
Supported bound angle for 10 minutes
Mountain brook pose for 5-10 minutes
Viparita karani for 10 minutes
Supported seated angle pose for 5 minutes
Basic relaxation pose for 10-15 minutes

The Full Delicious “Treat”-ment for Deep Relaxation and Healing:
Follow the 10 restorative poses in their prescribed sequence above.

Relax, Restore and Enjoy!

Media Resources:

Gaiam's Yoga for Relaxation and Meditation
Ateeka's Moon Cycle (audio), she also has pictures of the full sequence on her web site
Gaiam's Yoga Conditioning for Women, bonus segment
Paul Grilley's Yin Yoga
David Swenson's Just Relax
Rainbeau's Pure Tranquility
Gaiam's Yoga for Stress Relief
Yoga for Inflexible People
Living with AIDS through Yoga and Meditation with Father Joe Periera (don't let the title put you off - this is an excellent restorative practice for anyone)

Online Resources:

Pictures and explanations of some poses from Relax and Renew (see also the "How to fold a blanket" diagram)
Excerpts from Judith Lasater's Relax and Renew
Yoga Journal article on restorative yoga
Restorative yoga teachers' website (more Relax and Renew excerpts)
Short interview with Judith Lasater on relaxation

Moon practice, for that time of the month

With every turn of the cycle, many yogalilans take the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of a restorative yoga practice. Such a practice is designed to alleviate the discomfort or fatigue that may accompany the onset of the menstrual period. In addition to being deeply soothing and relaxing, there is an introspective quality to the practice that seems to create a feeling of comfort, solitude and sanctuary. Many yogalilans report relief of cramps, backache, and fatigue, as well as simply enjoying the release and sense of self-care in these supported postures. The need to unleash the inner Kali and destroy the world is often similarly eased. Arguably, the main beneficiary of a menstrual restorative practice could be everyone around you.

There are numerous sequences that can be followed, most of which are based on Iyengar style use of props.
We have found the sequences in the following books particularly helpful:

How to Use Yoga  by Mira Mehta
Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health by B.K.S. Iyengar
The Women's Book of Yoga and Health by  Linda Sparrowe and Patricia Walden -or the spin-off publication of this book containing only the menstrual cycle sections: Yoga for a Healthy Menstrual Cycle by Linda Sparrowe and Patrica Walden

There are also some excellent on-line sources for additional information and suggested sequences:

Questions answered by Geeta Iyengar

Yoga Practice and Menstruation

Asanas, the Menses series

A Private Road

Yoga with Ateeka - Moon cycle

laissez les bon temps roulez

Danielle is yogalila's ball guru. Danielle's ball collection includes the red Yamuna ball, yellow Yamuna ball, green Yamuna ball, small gertie balls, Yamuna foot wakers and Yamuna foot savers.  She has written up a great summary of her experience with ball work including all her resource links:

My journey into the world of balls began with a ball therapy workshop given by my yoga teacher. The description of the workshop was "relaxation and body alignment are invited through restful easy movements done on 1 or 2 soft grapefruit-size balls while focusing on full breathing". It was three hours of heaven. The exercises in the workshop were based on methods developed by Elaine Petrone and inspired by the work of Eric Franklin.

Examples of Elaine Petrone’s exercises can be found in the following articles:
Beautify your body
On the ball: A new therapy for tension
No more back pain
5 tension-tamer stretches

Eric Franklin uses small balls for many exercises in his books Conditioning for Dance, Pelvic Power, and Relax Your Neck, Liberate Your Shoulders. His method is based on ideokinesis and draws from Body Mind Centering (Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen), the Zvi Gotheiner method and concepts from Integral Yoga. It uses lots of imagery. One of my favorite ways to use the balls come’s from Eric Franklin’s Conditioning for Dance, you put a ball under your neck, one between your shoulder blades and one under your sacrum sink your body weight into the balls and breathe, it’s wonderfully restorative!

Both Elaine Petrone and Eric Franklin sell balls through their website and Elaine’s balls are available with a small book called The Miracle Ball Method. In the workshop, we used gertie balls.  The gertie balls aren’t as slippery on your skin as Petrone balls and are less expensive. 

Next on my ball journey was Yamuna Body Rolling. I did a 2 hour session with my yoga teacher who was recently certified by Yamuna Zake. This was different from my previous ball experience. It was more like self massage. At times it was quite intense and even slightly uncomfortable, but afterwards I felt amazing!

Yamuna has several different balls. The yellow ball is 10” and the one to start with for those new to body rolling. It’s also the one to use for abdominal rolling. I like the yellow ball for back rolling. The red ball is 8” and harder than the yellow ball. Because the red ball is harder, it lets you sink more deeply into the muscles for more intense work. At this point, I only find the red ball comfortable for leg rolling, your mileage may vary of course. The green ball is 6” and the same hardness as the yellow ball. The green ball is great for chest and shoulder rolling. I also use it for ab rolling as it’s a better fit for me than the yellow ball. If you are under 5 ft tall Yamuna recommends the green ball for general use.   Yamuna does caution to avoid rolling on the tailbone and floating ribs.

There are also calf balls, foot wakers and foot savers. The calf balls are smaller and harder than the green ball. The foot wakers are bigger than the foot savers and have bumps all over them. Yamuna recommends starting with the foot wakers and slowly building up to the foot savers. The foot wakers are especially good for plantar fascitis, the bumps all over them really wake up your feet.

Yamuna has 2 books and several DVDs to practice with. I prefer her Body Rolling: An Experiential Approach to Complete Muscle Release book. It is more technical with a lot of detail about anatomy. Yamuna's newer book Ultimate Body Rolling is more focused on appearance. Ultimate Body Rolling does have great photos and how to’s for the different body rolling routines and would be a great book to start with.

There are some great body rolling articles here:
On a roll
To the bone with Yamuna Body Rolling
Body Rolling introduction
Body Rolling for Runners

Before investing in the Yamuna balls, you can start and experiment with vinyl children's balls. Jen, for example, uses a variety of easily obtained balls. You won't get as deep a muscle release and if you weigh over 180 lbs the balls will bend out of shape and not provide any benefit. The Yamuna balls support up to 350 lbs.

Fitball’s Body Therapy Small Ball Release Program is quite similar to Yamuna Body Rolling. They have a manual, 5”, 6”, and 7” balls, and a total body DVD. Cheryl Soleway instructs the DVD and it is very well done. It is not as thorough as the Yamuna DVDs, but it would be a great way to try body rolling. The fitballs are textured which some people may prefer.

Self massage with tennis balls is another way to play with small balls. Personally, I don’t care for it as much as body rolling and the Petrone and Franklin ball exercises. Shiva Rea’s Drops of Nectar Yoga for Rejuvenation and Relaxation CD has a 15 minute track called The Secret Ball Society: Tension Release with Tennis Ball. Katherine Steadman has a Tennis Ball Therapy video that uses the principles of acupressure and reflexology. Marc Coseo’s book The Acupressure Warmup also uses tennis balls. Some more information on tennis ball massage can be found at  Tennis ball back massage  and Bodywork using balls.

Balls have become part of my everyday life.  They’ve helped me to improve my body awareness, relax, and deepen my yoga practice.