Why work so hard in yoga? Thai Yoga Massage and your yoga practice...

Ok.  I have a confession... I'm always looking for the easy way out in my practice.  That's not to say I don't see the benefit of working hard and the safety that can come from muscular engagement in alot of poses but really is life all about hard work?

One of the things I see in my students all the time (and, of course, feel in my own body) is this need to work hard.  As if it doesn't count unless we are giving 163%.  But yoga is also about finding ease.  Patanjali talks about a steady, stable comfortable posture in the Yoga Sutras.  He also talks about using pain for purification but why do we seem to go out of our way for the pain but not the comfort?
This is why I look for the easy way out.  The easy way requires some level of comfort and some level of, dare I say... slack.  When we push ourselves, we often get in our own way.  We are so muscularly engaged that we limit our range of motion so much more than necessary.  Often we don't even know what our full range of motion is.  Often we physically cannot get there without engaging so much.

Enter Thai Yoga Massage.  Try letting a friend take you into cobra pose.  Don't help, let them do it.  The video below will talk you through it.  Note that if you have any spine issues, you should only have this done by a professional.



Now, did you notice anything about your range of motion?  I'm betting you just did the most super-humungous cobra of your life!  With no effort!

On to the next step... do cobra pose on your own but remember the sensation of your partner helping you and try to recreate some of that - the imagination is a powerful tool.

Great job! Notice the difference?  Less engagement, more movement.  Maybe even less "pain is purification" and more "steady, stable, comfortable"?  Keep practicing, it gets even better ;-)

This is one of the ways that receiving (and giving) Thai Yoga Massage can really impact your yoga practice.  Find a Thai therapist, take a workshop (I'll be giving one in San Diego this Saturday!), try it out... let me know what you discover!

The secret to getting things done... on your yoga mat and in life

I've always been a dreamer but, until recently, not so great with being a doer.  And sticking with something...  hmmmm... yeah, not so much.  Let me put it this way: I'm that person that always has to leave that last dish unwashed.
  

Last year, we did a huge renovation on our house. Talk about a learning experience!  One of the best things I got from that experience (other than a beautiful new house) was learning how to really get things done.

Most of you probably already know this, but it was a revelation to me... the secret to getting things done is just to do it; and keep doing it.  Now, I understood this on my yoga mat but somehow never made that small leap to understanding that I could bring it to the rest of my life. If you want a daily practice, you get on your mat no matter what.  If you want to learn a pose, you just keep doing it at varying levels of depth and success until you find the form. If you want to experience the benefits and mysteries of a pose, you hold it... longer than you think you can. The house renovation was just like that. With each room I understood the process better and I definitely held that pose longer than I thought I could. And I gained in soooo many ways.

So getting things done? How do I do it now? I still dream and there is alot of serendipity that comes as a result. I think that's important. But I also make my outcome goal important, learn all I can, focus my life around it, keep doing it longer than I think I can even when I shake, and you know? Shit gets done! More than ever before!

Then I take a vacation :)  Savasana is, after all, the most important pose in any complete practice session.

So, the latest thing I am getting done?  Well, I have multiple projects of course, but the main focus at this moment is learning to use wordpress and migrating this blog on over there.  I will be holding this pose, sticking with it and getting. it. done.

*Breathe, relax into it, you are capable of more than you think.*

The most relaxing yoga breath ever...

6:9:3 - There is a whole science behind using ratios in pranayama practice... different ratios of inhale, exhale and pause can produce dramatically different effects.  If you are interested in diving into it, I suggest finding resources from TKV Desikachar, AJ Mohan and Gary Kraftsow - they all speak to this in their books.  

I learned this particular ratio years back from Gary Kraftsow and I turn to it whenever I am in need of some serious relaxation... You can use your favorite pranayam or just breath as you institute the breathing ratios.  

(My pranayam preference for this ratio is to do a 3 part inhale from the bottom up and 3 part exhale from the top down in a variation of the Dirgha Breath that I learned at Kripalu.  This most closely matches my natural breath patterns (making it more naturally relaxing) but the awareness helps ensure I build my lung capacity and control.  I have also used this ratio to great result with Anulom/Vilom) 

In a comfortable position:

INHALE 6
EXHALE  6 
REPEAT 6x

INHALE 6
EXHALE 9
REPEAT 6x

INHALE 6
EXHALE 9
PAUSE 3
REPEAT 6

After your last pause, release the count as you continue to breath.
After the next exhale, release the conscious pause.
After the next exhale, release all conscious control of your breath and just be.

It is the systematic, progressive slowing of the breath that helps to slow the mind and bring the nervous system into parasympathetic mode (rest and digest more :-), thus creating the most relaxing breath ever.  *Note: It may not be wise to operate large machinery after this practice!

A compelling reason to do more yoga...

I spent last week at a Yin Yoga Teacher Training with Bernie Clark.  It was a pleasant surprise that we covered a huge range of yoga topics, much more than I expected and with alot more depth than I expected.  One highlight was this great video Bernie shared on the topic of "fuzz", the small adhesions that develop in our tissues when we are inactive.  You will understand why it was a highlight when you watch it. I just dare you to keep a straight face :-)  Fun as it is, it really illustrated why it is so important to move your body, especially through awareness-based practices like yoga.  I hope you enjoy it and I hope it inspires you as it has inspired me!