Pranayama Deep Breathing

Pranayama warms your body up from the inside to prepare you for the heat and the next 90 minutes.  This was a very difficult pose for me when I first started - 6 counts to inhale and 6 to exhale can feel nearly impossible when you first start.  All I can say here is try.  If you can only inhale 4 counts that's OK.  You will get stronger, your lungs will expand.  Just try.

Now, the "snoring sensation" that the instructors tell us to do is difficult.  For 6 months I was simply inhaling loudly through my nose.  Then I took a private lesson with Ida and in 10 minutes it made so much sense.  Essentially you are drawing the air in through the back of your throat instead of just through your nose.  If you have trouble with this, I encourage you to ask your instructors.  Ask a few different ones until you get it.

What I find just as important in Pranayama as the breathing is the foundation of your body.  You are standing in Mountain pose (Tadasana) before you begin the breath.  I find it very useful to plant my feet firmly side by side on the floor and distribute my weight evenly through the inside and outside of my heels and the balls of the big toe side of the foot as well as the little toe side.  Otherwise known as the four corners of the feet.  Contract your thighs, pull your knee caps up and make your legs strong.  Your legs and your feet are there to support you through the entire 90 minutes, so find them, engage them, become aware of them before you begin your practice.  Flex your glutes and push your hips just a little forward so you don't have a pronounced curve in your lower spine.  Extend your spine up - from you cocyx to the top of your head.  Lift up.  Stand proud.  Start strong.

When I clasp my hands and interlock my fingers, I like to interlock them with my dominant hand on top first and then during second set, I switch my grip.  I have switched my grip so often that I no longer know which is my dominant side.

Remember to suck that belly in!  This will increase your lung capacity.  And keep your eyes open the entire time or you will get dizzy.  Check in with your foundation every so often.  I like to do this because sometimes my feet start to drift apart or my thighs release.  Keep that strength in the lower half of your body - it will help you during the rest of your practice.

It took Mr. Iyengar 20 years before he could master the art of Pranayama ⁽¹⁾, so don't get discouraged.  Look at him now.







[1] http://www.iyengar-yoga.com/articles/yogatradition/trad4.html

Old Friends Warm My Heart

Today, I drove 45 minutes north of Victoria today to meet my oldest friend for lunch.  I have known this amazing woman since she was 3 and I was 4 and through, first, our mother's efforts and then those of our own have managed to keep this friendship burning strong over 26 years.

My earliest memories are of L and her sister, C.  We were very strong believers of faeries when we were little girls.  We used to lay out food for them and build swimming pools.  We would believe, and perhaps it was true, that the faeries would drink our water and eat our food.  L and I were obsessed with Barbie.  We had so many Barbies and could create stories for hours and hours on end, then one of us would get annoyed with the other and we'd storm off to our own homes, 3 doors down.  There was no doubt a few hours later we'd be back for more. 

When L was 5 her family left Victoria for Cumberland, a small town 5 hours north of Victoria.  We continued to see each other every summer.  I would go and stay with her family for a couple of weeks and then she would come down and stay with me.  We would spend hours on beaches collecting shells and stones and then hours by the little creek on her farm with her dad's hammers trying to smash open big rocks searching for quartz - we never did find any.

We grew and changed in completely different directions - one was the rebel, the other the dancer and athlete.  Whether it was our bond from childhood or whether it was just meant to be - we stayed close.  As we got older we stopped seeing each other every summer but we wrote letters and emailed.  Sometimes we went for months and months without any form of contact but the moment we saw each other again, it was like not a day has passed.

Today, we sat in the restaurant gabbing for 45 minutes before we could even think of ordering.  I can't think of anyone who knows so many different facets of myself - who has seen me grow and change and morph into the woman I am today.  She has been there for me through thick and thin - even though some years we lived on different continents.

Today, I am incredibly grateful to have this amazing lady in life.

Oh, 6 am, How I Have Missed You

Because I am currently living a life of leisure, I rise late and have been attending the 9 am yoga classes.  They are great - I don't have to set my alarm, I don't leave the house in the dark and I have more than enough time to drink my sole.  But there is something magical about a 6 am class.

I decided to go this morning, I set my alarm extra early so I would have time to drink my Crystal Salts (more on these to come).  It felt a little eerie leaving my house in the dark, not a sound - the birds hadn't even started chirping - started up my car and got to the studio by 5:45am.  L was teaching this morning and she only ever teaches 6am classes so it was an added bonus. 

Class was wonderful.  It was calm and collected.  I moved through the poses with purpose and paid close attention to my alignment.  I am becoming much stronger in Standing Bow.  My kick is strong and I feel steady in the pose.  My right hip flexor is a little tight so I dedicate my first set to trying to stretch it out.  I love Triangle pose.  I never ever thought I would say that but in the past 4 months or so I have been able to sit right down so that my thigh is parallel to the floor and I get an amazing opening through my hip.  I am really starting to feel the stretch through my shoulders and have started to explore the twist in the torso more deeply.  Camel has been so difficult for me lately.  I get nauseous and dizzy and rarely do two sets.  This morning I was able to do both and while I was bending backward, I had an amazing flashback of a dream I had last night - I dreamed that I went right back into Full Camel.  I remember seeing my toes and putting my hands on feet and then my forehead on my feet.  It was incredible!

I left class feeling revitalized and refreshed.  The air is crisp this morning - Autumn is around the corner.  I picked up an americano on my way home and made myself a butternut squash pancake for breakfast. 

Happy long weekend!

P.S.  The best part of practicing at 6am right now is that I get to come home and write a blog post, instead of rushing off to work.  I am trying to enjoy this while I can.

Nada

Today I got nothing. 

Nada (Spanish).  Niks (Dutch).  Rien (French).  Nichts (German).  Faic (Gaelic).  Moshe (Arabic).  Nulla (Italian).  Nihil (Latin).  Ingenting (Swedish).  Kaimu (Japanese).  ничто (Russian).

I did a lot of talking today about sewing and yoga.  I cuddled two adorable chihuahuas that this lovely lady has the pleasure of caring for.  I rode my bike under a gray chili sky.  I had to wear a hoodie.  I did the P90X Back and Biceps workout (I'm on week 7!).  And I wandered the Asian grocery store.

So maybe I got something.

"You is Kind. You is Smart. You is Important."

I saw the movie the Help last week.  I haven't read the book yet, sometimes I enjoy seeing the movie before I read the novel, that way I am rarely dissapointed.  I think the books are always better than the films that they are turned into.  Anyways, one of the main characters in the story is Abeleen Clark, a maid and nanny who feels it is her duty to tell the children she cares for, "You is kind.  You is smart.  You is important."  She grasps them tightly in her arms, looks them in the eyes and has them recite those magical words with her.

How often do we tell ourselves this?  How often do we give ourselves credit for what we are?  I personally find it easier to tell myself I haven't done something right than to acknowledge that I've done a good job.

Go on, right now, grab a pen and a piece of paper and I dare you to write down 10 things that you like about yourself.

10 things I like about me!

1.  My blonde hair.
2.  My dedication to those that I care for.
3.  My strong work ethic.
4.  My ability to empathize with people.
5.  My ability to adapt to many different situations.
6.  My legs.
7.  My strength.
8.  My Standing Bow.
9.  My ability to crochet an afghan.
10.My passion for all things that interest me.

I Am Still Alive

I've been away.  I've been hiding.  I've been avoiding this space that I use as an outlet.  Why?  I don't really know.  I'm unemployed and my days consist of yoga, working out, cycling and getting dinner ready for LW when he comes home from work.  Doesn't sound awful, does it?  No definitely not, and I can't say that I hate it.  But I most certainly feel like I am hanging in limbo, that where I am as I near closer and closer to my 30th birthday is kind of - pathetic.  Now, yes, I know this is so not true.  That I have done a lot of things in my 20s.  Traveled and lived in Europe; went to college and studied forestry; studied and graduated with a diploma in GIS by correspondence while working a full time job; lived in the Rocky Mountains; lived in the Okanagan; worked an amazing summer in Nova Scotia; picked grapes in France; lived in Edinburgh; and met amazing friends that are too far away for my liking. 

I am not ashamed nor do I regret any of these things that I've done and accomplished in my life but I am not where society dictates I should be.  And I hate that this is what I am thinking about because ever since I was 14, I rebelled against anything that I should be doing.  No top of the line clothes for me - I dressed in long flowy hippy skirts, made hemp necklaces and went against most everything the majority of the people in my high school did.  Why?  I don't know.  I didn't go to university until I had traveled and explored and got the wanderlust, mostly, out of my system.  I'm so happy I did that.  I don't regret anything I've done but, boy, do I kick myself for some of the mistakes I've made.  They mostly have to do with money and my respect or disrespect for it and how I chose to handle it.

So I'm trying to look at this bout of unemployment as a huge life lesson for me.  One thing about me is, I love to shop.  I love clothes.  I have not bought myself anything that has cost me more than $10 since June 30th.  I pick something up I want and I actually weigh it out, do I need this or do I want this?  My Mum has been trying to teach me that since I was 14 years old - 15 years later I am finally catching on. 

I find it interesting how I discovered amazing self discipline when I went to college for Forestry - I amazed myself and my parents at how good I was at school and studying.  The self discipline then carried through to my health - I lost 50 pounds through devotion to exercise and diet, which has now carried on through my yoga practice and is the way I live my life.  I am just now discovering this discipline when it comes to material items.  Ha!  Come to think of it I didn't become a shopaholic until I lost the weight and clothes actually fit.  Now, there's a double edged sword.

A couple weeks ago, my brother passed on this blogger to me.  James Altucher is an interesting man and I like how he writes.  I don't agree with everything he says but what I get the most from his blog is that you need to take control of your own life.  There's no point just letting it happen - make it happen.  It's not gonna be easy but why not spend your time trying and maybe failing or falling (Standing Bow!) and getting back into it - at least you did the best you could.  Altucher talks about a daily practice that consist of four things; Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual.  The one that is the biggest challenge for me is the mental.  I need to re discover my creativity, to develop new ideas, to come up with something unique. 

So I'm going to start with this space.  This space is going to be an outlet and I am going to write something unique here every day.  It may be about yoga, it may be about food, it may be just a giant purge which I did today.  I am giving myself permission for this blog to no longer be just about yoga but about what ever I feel I need to discuss.  It may not be pretty but this is where my daily practice is going to begin.

Cobra and Breath

I learned how to breathe in Cobra pose, yesterday.

I did my first set of Cobra, as per normal - I love Cobra pose.  And then during Savasana, the teacher started talking about how you need to inhale up into the pose and then you naturally exhale but then on your next inhale, focus on the expansion of the chest, then exhale 20% of your breath and then inhale and expand again.

Well, if I wasn't looking even further back on the ceiling in my second set of Cobra.  I always thought I was breathing in the pose, maybe I was but maybe I wasn't breathing enough.  This morning I tried it again and it felt good - new, different, deeper.

On another note, I tried to do the splits yesterday, which I haven't done since the competition and holy tight hip flexors!  I guessing with all my BodyRocks and weights some parts of me have tightened up again.  I'm also not as far along as I was 2 months ago with King Pigeon pose - a sore shoulder and lack of back bends and practice will do that.  So new goal is to practice King Pigeon and the splits a few times a week.

But I've improved with Crow and Crane pose!  Yesterday I was actually able to balance in both those poses for maybe 2 seconds.  I like to think that I've gained some upper body strength and some confidence!

Strength Fueled By Compassion

There is a teacher at my yoga studio who I admire greatly. She is a tough cookie and makes you work your ass off. She takes the time to get you into the proper set up in every single pose, she'll call you out if you aren't working to your potential. I remember her telling me in my first few months of practice about water and how you really should just sip your water and that, yes, your heart will be pounding fiercely by the time you are finished the first set of Standing Bow. Just breathe and stand still, she says.

She is also so very kind. She will tell the class to smile at themselves in the mirror. She will remind us constantly that we should have compassion for ourselves at the same time as kicking our heel forward in Standing Head to Knee.

I worked very hard in class this morning at the same time as being kind and gentle to my sore shoulder.

It reminded me that I need to stop kicking myself when I'm down. It reminded me to keep my head up. It reminded me that I am surrounded my supportive and caring people everyday - virtually and in person. It reminded me to have faith, have trust in myself and to know sometimes I need to just stand still and breathe.

Doubts

What do you do when you know you want something really bad but you're scared that when you do it your whole life is going to change?

I really want to go to TT. I have a couple things standing in my way. 1) I have half the money - I need the other half. 2) My own self. My doubting self. My scared self.

But I know deep down inside I want it - real bad. Another problem - I am now unemployed - so the idea of me doing this seems further away.

The moment I took an Iyengar yoga class, I knew I wanted to teach yoga. It was like suddenly - oh, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Then, a year later, I took my first Bikram class - with deep hesitation and doubt - I fell in love.

And now I want it so bad, I want to cry. (Don't worry - I cry at the drop of a hat - it's how I deal).

So first step - I need 5 grand. Step two - grab my balls and dive in.

To The Back of the Room

I practiced for the first time in over a week this morning. My mat went down in my old home when I first started practicing - the back right corner of the room, far from people's eyes. It actually felt good to be back there. I felt like I was in my own little world.

My shoulder was sore right from the beginning so I backed off completely. My Half Moon was either a one arm Half Moon or Tadasana (Mountain pose). Half Tortoise was Child's pose, Triangle was one armed, Balancing Stick was done with arms to my side. Not ideal, but I needed to be there. Mentally and emotionally I needed that focus.

It was difficult to shift my focus away from shoulder. Shifting away from the frustration of having a really sore shoulder. So, I focused on my feet. I was conscious of pressing the corners of my feet into the ground, so that even when my weight was back on my heels, my toes were planted on the floor. It helped.

My class was not as vigorous as it normally is. It felt rather therapeutic, calming. I was finding focus and strength in my alignment as opposed to doing the poses.

Oh boy, maybe this is what I'm supposed to be learning right now.

I Need The Room

On my way to work this morning, I suddenly realized that it's been a week since I've practiced my yoga - stupid shoulder is giving me trouble.

No wonder I feel as though the sky is falling on me right now.

My body feels fine - my spine that is. Normally it craves the extension and compression of my yoga if I miss more than 3 days of practice.

I guess I've managed to put some yoga in the bank - as Bikram says - so that I don't NEED my practice every day.

My mind and spirit need it right now. I need that focus. I'm coming to realize it's not the focus of doing one thing for 90 minutes but that for 90 minutes I think of nothing but myself. Me. THE most important person in my world.

I've been stressed this week with the strong possibility of being unemployed at the end of the month. Thinking about all those day to day things I have to do.

I'm going to enter the hot room this weekend. Even if I just sit there for 90 minutes. I need to take my time back.

Changing Needs

I've been very aware lately how our needs and wants change as our moments in time change.

I went to see my chiropractor this morning about my shoulder. I hadn't been to see him for years, the receptionist literally had to go to their storage to dig out my file. My family, Mum, Dad and brothers, have been going to see M since he started his practice 21 years ago. I'm guessing we originally started going because Dad had a bad back. M was a great for me for a while but as I entered my 20s I found his, no nonsense, let's get this done quick, method didn't work for my poor back. I needed massage and gentle hands.

I chose to go back to him today because he has an amazing reputation and works with many athletes and I wanted this done quickly and efficiently. My shoulder feels so much better already. He tested the strength of both my arms and it was very obvious where my weaknesses were on my left arm. He did some active release on my shoulder and adjusted my second rib.

I have decided that I am also taking this week off from yoga. I hurt my shoulder again in yoga on Saturday. I was being very careful with my arms in class and then we got to Half Tortoise pose and I straightened my arms just a little too much. I had to bite my lip in order not to cry out in pain. It hurt so much!

So, for the first time since my Bikram journey began, I have decided that it is in my best interest to not practice yoga for a few days. Normally yoga helps me feel better but it became obvious to me that my yoga practice cannot fix everything. I truly do need a week off. A week where I work out my lower body and core. Squats and lunges here I come!

The Universe really does have a wonderful way of telling you when it's time to rest.

When To Back Off

We hear it in yoga class often - your back is going to hurt like hell, don't be scared. I have heard many yoga instructors explain this more clearly, in that we need to know the difference between a pain that is uncomfortable and that we can breathe normally through and a pain that is excruciating and affects our breathing pattern. If your legs hurt in Awkward pose because they are shaking and sore and they have never held up your body weight before, well, suck it up Princess. Breathe through it, hold the asana as long as you can and challenge your body and your mind by pushing past your comfort zone. If you try to sit between your feet in Fixed Firm pose and your knees, ankles or hips start screaming at you, your breathing becomes laboured and you're seeing stars - back off! Put your hands beside your hips and slowly lower your bum down until you feel a little pain and hold yourself there. Day by day and week by week you will improve and notice a difference.

I am struggling with backing off today. Somehow, on Monday evening, I injured my deltoid in my left arm. I lifted weights when I got home from work and did a BodyRock. I was a little more tired than usual while doing my shoulder presses and bench presses but I didn't think much of it. I woke up Monday to a very uncomfortable pain my shoulder. I popped a couple Advil to get back to sleep. Tuesday morning, I worked out with my sore shoulder and just ignored it. Yesterday evening my shoulder was feeling OK so I decided that I could go to a boot camp workout today after work. But as soon as I started my yoga class this morning, my shoulder hurt - quite a bit actually.

I've heard many teachers explain that yoga can be used as a diagnostic tool. That through yoga you can learn from your body what is strong, injured, sore or weak. This morning my shoulder yelled at me, very loudly, to back off a little bit. I realized through my practice this morning that if I couldn't pull on my heels in Hands to Feet pose that my shoulder probably needed a break.

It's hard to allow yourself those breaks - to not push through the pain - to give yourself permission to have a slow week. I have spent the morning thinking about my shoulder, tossing all my different options around in my head, discussing it with Kristy, thinking about it again, talking about it again. And have FINALLY come to the conclusion that I should not work out tonight. That I probably should only practice yoga for the rest of the week and allow my body to heal itself.

It's so hard. I don't want to do it! But I've seen many people close to me re injure themselves again and again because they push too hard and don't listen to their body. Tonight I will listen very carefully to my body, respect it and give it what it needs.

The Story of Yoga

Check out this video about how yoga came to grow and expand across the world.



Thanks to Hearts Expanding for sharing this.

A Thought On Fixed Firm and a Little Ramble Thrown In for Good Measure

They say Fixed Firm improves the mobility in the knees and the ankles. They say Fixed Firm pose saved Bikram from having to have his leg amputated after a bad weight lifting accident. They say to take Fixed Firm slowly and to breathe into it. They say, "You can mess with the Gods but not with the knees."

When I first started my practice, my legs would tingle like crazy after the compression. Lying in Savasana I could feel the blood rushing - zoom - into all my cells and ligaments in my knees and ankles. It would feel amazing. About 6 months into my practice this feeling went away. I enjoyed Fixed Firm but wouldn't get that blood rushing feeling. On the plus side I had noticed a HUGE improvement in my knees and ankles. Especially in my right ankle that used to roll constantly - it became much stronger and more stable.

Today, I found a new love for Fixed Firm. My ankles and knees seemed to collectively sigh when I went into the pose. I didn't get the tingles and pins and needles sensation when I stretched back out again but they felt renewed and refreshed after the impact that they take on my workout days. I said to my instructor, as I was leaving, that I firmly believe that the yoga improves my ability to work out as hard as I have been.

I believe that the combination of the HIIT and BodyRock with Bikram yoga is absolutely perfect for me. The impact that I put on my body during my workouts is then balanced out perfectly when I walk into the hot room and stretch and compress and twist and sweat every muscle that I worked out hard the day before. And my Bikram yoga has benefited a lot from the strength that I've gained from my workouts. I feel as though my back bends are stronger - I have more control going into and coming out of the poses. And my legs are much tougher! I can withstand the second part of Awkward with only a slight inner groan and I feel as though my Triangle pose has improved greatly. I don't have to focus as much on keeping my legs strong - they just are - I can focus more on the lifting of my chest and creating a triangle gap as well as sitting my hips down lower.

Yoga does a body good!