Life Was Meant to Be Lived

Started making those summer plans yet? Life was meant to be lived…

BRIDGE POSE (Half Back Bend) Using A Yoga Strap

Why use it

Backbending can help to release the strain put on our backs and hips from daily activities such as sitting at our desks, computers or in our cars.  Poses, like bridge pose, help us to keep our spine flexible as we open our hips.  This pose can be enjoyed by those new to backbending or can be used as a prep pose for more challenging back bends.  Adding the use of the strap in bridge pose, can help increase the hip flexor stretch for those who are unable to grasp their heels with their hands while simultaneously keeping their shoulders grounded.

Picture Credit: Melissa Brott

How to get into it

Begin lying down with your knees bent about hip-width apart; with feet pointing straight forward.  Place a yoga strap (Don’t have one?  Substitute a scarf, tie, dog leash, etc.) around your ankles, holding the strap with both hands.  Ground in your feet and on your INHALE lift your tail, lower back, and mid-back off the mat; continue to keep your shoulders grounded as you pull on the strap to help lift your chest.  EXHALE.  Attempt to the hold position for 3 to 5 full breaths; staying in the position longer as you build stamina and muscle strength.

Key Tip

Keep your chin tucked to your chest, avoiding turning your head from side to side which can lead to neck strain.

Once completed, remember to counter bridge pose; my preference is to draw my knees into my chest, crossing in my ankles as I take ahold of my toes with my hands.  This helps to broaden out the stretch I feel in my lower back.  As always, please feel free to comment below on any tips, hints, suggestions or questions you may have related to bridge pose.

~The divine in me salutes the divine in you, Namaste~

WHEEL POSE (Full Back Bend)

Picture Credit:
Melissa Brott

Why use it
For those of us who tend to round our shoulders forward (i.e., What is your posture as you read this post? Are you hunching or slightly bending forward?), opportunities to draw our shoulders back while keeping our collarbone open, help to correct this inclination. Backbending can help to release the strain put on our backs from daily activities such as sitting at our desks, computers or in our cars. Poses, like wheel pose, help us to deeply stretch our back muscles as we simultaneously open the front side of our bodies.

How to get into it
Begin lying down with your knees bent about hip-width apart, if not slightly wider than your hips. Place your hands on your mat, at your shoulders with your palms down and fingers pointing towards your heels. Ground in your feet and on your INHALE lift your tail, lower back, and mid-back off the mat; EXHALE. INHALE, ground in your hands, pressing your palms into the mat below you to lift your shoulders away from the mat as well. Attempt to the hold position for 3 to 5 full breaths; staying in the position longer as you build stamina and muscle strength.  Let your breath guide your focus for the pose.

Key Tip
Keep your neck in a relaxed, neutral position, avoiding turning your head from side to side which can lead to neck strain.

Once completed, remember to counter wheel pose; my preference is to take a forward bend.  As always, please feel free to comment below on any tips, hints, suggestions or questions you may have related to wheel pose.

~The divine in me salutes the divine in you, Namaste~

 

Samavritti Pranayama

“Before dealing with the science of Pranayama, it is necessary to understand, what is meant by Prana in yogic science. According to yoga, ‘PRANA’ is a subtle form of energy, that exists for each individual, during his life time. It is neither the inert air that we breathe nor the ATMAN which is the observer of all actions. This PRANA which is separate for each individual, controls the actions of all our faculties, both external and internal, e.g., our power of seeing, hearing, understanding, willing, etc. This PRANA by proper exercise can be strengthened and thus make our senses more acute, give long life, health and strength.

Thank you to Educational Travel Service (www.educationaltravelservice.com), for sharing the above picture. Depicted here a temple in Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

The science of Pranayama deals with the proper methods of exercising the Prana. The exercises consist in lengthening, controlling, etc. of the Prana by regulated breathing. Thus normally, there is regulation during four stages: 1. Inhalation, 2. Retention of air inside, 3. Exhalation, and 4. Retention of air outside. If the durations of these stages are equal, the Pranayama is called SAMAVRITTI…samavritti pranayama leads to general health and well-being.”

~ T. Krishnamacharya, “Yoga Makaranda – Part II” (p. 87)

Prana for Mental and Emotional Strength

(Dedicated to my forever faithful, Mikyung…)

Picture Credit:
Melissa Brott

“PRANA, is something which each individual is born with.  It is capable of being exercised and strengthened just as our limbs, intellect and mind can.  During the exercising of prana external air comes into play, but prana should not be identified or mistaken with the air we breathe.  Prana is attached to the body, and so long as it is thus attached man is alive.  Yoga treatises say that this prana forms a sheath round our body extending for about twelve inches round it.  The more gently we breathe, we conserve it, the more violently we breathe we waste it.”

~ T. Krishnamacharya, “Yoga Makaranda – Part II” (p. 11)

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Prana is our life force; taking the time to notice and focus on prana through specific breathing techniques is the foundation of yoga…or at least the foundation of my yoga…

What is breath? 

For me, BREATH IS EVERYTHING.  Practicing yoga is simply another form of exercise without taking the time to incorporate my breath.  In general, I use my inhale breath to lift or look up and I use my exhale breath to lower.

Why breath?

Learning to use my breath during practice has a calming, rejuvenating and simply cleansing effect on my body.  It renews me when I feel sluggish and gives me endurance I never knew I had.  Then from my practice it carries me off the mat into my everyday life; providing me strength when I need it most.

Where do I begin with breath?

Start with focused concentration on your breath for only a few minutes or maybe a few breaths at a time.  Then slowly build to longer durations as your interest and strength allows.  I like to teach others to begin with viloma breath. (For more information, see my previous article.) In Sanskrit, viloma translates to mean against the natural flow; “vi” suggests contradiction and “loma” means hair. In other words, as we control our breath we move against its natural flow.  I appreciate the mindfulness viloma breath has brought to my practice. More importantly I love the recognition of breath it has brought many of the participants in my classes.

Asanas will help you find your physical strength; when you recognize and develop your breath, you find your mental and emotional strength.

The Secret to Understanding the Essence of the External World

“In our lives, there are five essential necessities, health, life, happiness, intellectual power and strength in the body. If these five aspects are not functioning efficiently, we cannot understand the purpose or essence of the external world…The time has come to look into the good and bad effects of these things and to eventually choose only what is good. This skill is available only with human beings, but not in other living beings. To obtain this skill, we have to possess the above mentioned five aspects. The secret to these five aspects is what we call Yoga.”

~ T. Krishnamacharya, “Yoga Makaranda” (pp. 82-83)

A Year of Strength and Breath

It has been a year.  A long year, a happy year, a sad year, a year worth reflecting on, a year worth living; still, I miss her.  Her smile, how she held my hand when I was near, her voice, they remain in my memories, yet noticeably present.  It has been a year since the passing of my Nana.

I want this to be a story of strength; it may be or it may not.  When you lose someone close to you, there is an apparent void.  One you find a way to fill or gloss over.  Losing my Nana meant I had to open up a little more to those around me and let down my guard with even those who may not know me well.  This has always been a weakness of mine, even amongst friends.  Friends are some of the first you should call on when times are challenging. A fact I grapple with daily.  However, with the passing of my grandmother I found a way to discuss aspects of my feelings with close friends and I even found a way to address it with my classes.  So maybe it is a story of growth and strength for me after all.

I want this to be a story of breath; it may be or it may not.  When she passed I found myself focusing on my breath.  It was my coping mechanism.  I didn’t always have words but I did have my breath.  Concentrating on it helped to calm me and truly centered me.  I had always talked a lot about breath in my classes but a deeper connection was somehow made for me after the passing of my Nana.  I would get lost in my thoughts of her, be brought to tears and when I stepped outside of myself I could hear my breath; its sound and its steadiness.  So maybe it is a story of stillness and breath for me after all.

For all my wants, I have realized despite what this story is for me and what it represents for others, she is here with me.  My Nana is truly woven into my world.  I feel and see her influence in so much of what I do.  So it may have been a year without her physically but I am encouraged by the fact that her ever important presence remains a constant in my world, reminding me to forever find strength in my breath.

~The divine in me salutes the divine in you, Namaste~