Bloggers Blog about iblog4

Just a few days after iblog4, the blogosphere is a-buzzing with post after post from people who were there. I went on Google and blogs in search of people who posted.
WHY???
Well, I want to make a list of blogs down here and continue touching base with bloggers (way, way ahead of iblog5!, hehehe).
To the iblog [...] yoga therapy; Self Improvement;

My temporal processes hurt.

Or, did. On Sunday, I felt something I have felt before, and I didn't like it one bit. The first time I felt it, it was a sign of Chicken Pox, which can reappear years later as Shingles. The second time I felt it, there was suspicion of Lyme Disease, although I have since been told that Lyme Disease first expresses itself as a hot, painful joint. On Sunday, when went to take my hair down from a pony tail, my hand grazed the crest of the bone behind my left ear, and OUCH. It hurt to the touch. I checked the other side: same thing. Relieved that it wasn't one-sided (symmetry is always a useful ruler-outer of the more vile, evil illnesses that I won't go into at this juncture), I still wondered: was I about to come down with Shingles? Or was this a nasty case of Lyme Disease that the Doxycycline I took two weeks ago didn't cure? Or was it...nothing?

Well, it couldn't be "nothing". Having been schooled in the Two-Week Rule by my Radiation Oncologist six summers ago, I decided to wait and see if it resolved on its own within two weeks.

It didn't last two days. My resolve, that is.

Yesterday, after I came home from practice, I felt grumpy and exhausted. I wrote about mood swinging yesterday. The Good Doc warned me against blaming Second Series for everything. But I chose to blame Second Series anyway. At the same time, the tender temporal processes were gnawing at my fears. It didn't occur to me that perhaps I might have a low grade virus going on. Whereas I should have made the connection between feeling like crap and having tenderness where there are clusters of lymph nodes, and come up with "low grade virus", I decided ignored my malaise, blaming it on Second Series, and assumed that the tenderness behind my ears was either Shingles or Lyme Disease. Or cancer.

After chatting with a doctor friend of mine, who reassured me, but (responsibly) only enough so that I could calmly call my internist, I made an appointment to see Dr. A in Scarsdale. Nice guy, Dr. A., but getting to the village of Scarsdale is a royal pain. Worse than getting to the city for practice because there is no pleasurable payoff at the end. At the end of the journey, it's just about putting on a gown, getting blood sucked out, enduring poking and prodding, and willing my blood pressure to stay its normal low despite that I am freaking out.

Woke up this morning and couldn't even fathom practicing. I assumed I was just sore and achey.

Why do I never realize that soreness and acheyness at that level is NOT a normal byproduct of practicing yoga?

Anyway, sometime before my appointment with Dr. A, I realized that the inflammation behind my ears was all but gone. I still didn't feel good enough to practice. But I realized that I had been sick, not just tired, and that I had "swollen glands", not a serious illness.

Puh puh puh, Kinehura and all that.

Later on, I even did Five and Five and Bhada Padmasana.

Tomorrow is another day...

YC yoga; Yoga Poses; Health and Wellness;

iblog4 (old friends, new friends)

For the second time in a row, I was able to attend a blogger summit. Called iblog4 (its their 4th year), the summit (held at UP’s Malcolm Hall auditorium) brought together bloggers from everywhere and from all walks of life. It was a full day covering a wide spectrum of topics. Last year, I attended alone, [...] yoga therapy; Self Improvement;

Some backbending to heal the soul

Before walking in the hands (also, on self-timer)











After walking in the hands (and with the help of an 11 year old photog).


















Dropback getting better. Standing up, not so strong today. Not feeling particularly strong today.

YC yoga; Yoga Poses; Health and Wellness;

sick

My tummy was bothering me this morning, and I debated not going in. Part of me is so glad that I did. Part of me is so very sorry. It was a rough, rough practice for many reasons, and I did not get past Bhekasana. I am wondering if I should be practicing past Laghu Vajrasana anyway.

Suddenly, I find myself at a crossroads in my practice. Which way to go. Backwards may be the right choice for now. I cannot believe I am saying this.

It is not my health, so no need for anyone to worry about me. Ijust have reservations about whether I should be practicing Kapo and beyond. For now. Or for however long I feel this way. This is one reason I am thankful I went into the city to practice today.The other reason is because I needed to be there to understand. Had I not been there, I never would have been able to accept.

For all other reasons, I am grieving.

YC yoga; Yoga Poses; Health and Wellness;

Stay tuned...

The scoop on last night's Danny Paradise workshop at Om factory NYC! yoga therapy; Self Improvement;

Love/Hate

• My thoracic spine hurts, or perhaps more accurately, all of the muscles supporting it. Ouch. And my floating ribs. And my obliques. Ouch. At least it's not my lower back. But, mother-f-ing ouch.
• Sometimes, for no apparent reason at all, as in, not during practice, but at odd times like when bending over to put on shoes, the skin on my abdomen feels like it's being ripped apart. It's that burning sensation that you feel in your perineum during an unmedicated childbirth when you're pushing out the baby. It's the sensation of skin being stretched to its max.
  
• I can't fall sleep (on the other hand, I am happy to report that I can't lie in bed in the morning either...must pop out of bed, yay!).
• I am ravenously hungry. Okay, maybe not ravenously, but hungrier than I have been since I was running 50 miles a week. I realize that I am using way more energy now that I have added all of the poses up to Supta Vajrasana, plus unassisted and assisted dropbacks, but it is still disconcerting to suddenly have a big appetite.
  
• I am terrified of getting assisted in Kapotasana, and yet I wait around to get assisted because I really, really want to get assisted. Hate it, love it, love it hate it. Confusion ensues.
  
• I feel elated after practice, despite being demoralized by Pasasana (now that I am trying to do it without any lift under my heels, which is impossible for me without assistance) and Kapotasana (now that I am terrified of being assisted and fight it ever step of the way and forget to breathe, or can't breathe, and grunt like I'm in childbirth, despite being reminded in a constant refrain, "breathe, breathe, listen to your breath, no voice, just breath").
• Did I mention I am completely demoralized, even borderline humiliated, by Kapotasana?
• Did I mention that I am on a total yoga high for hours after practice, despite the demoralization and humiliation that is my Second Series practice?

All I wanted was to learn the cool poses that are Primary Series. That was enough. Until it wasn't. When Val offered to teach me Second, I jumped at the chance. Now, I want to master it, to feel good in it, like I do in Primary. I remember how horrible I felt every day when I couldn't do Supta Kurmasana, no matter what Sir did to get me into it. And now those days are like memories that happened to someone else. Except that they are happening to me again, only this time, my spine is curving in the total opposite direction.

I hate not being good at something. But I love a challenge. This is very confusing for me.

YC yoga; Yoga Poses; Health and Wellness;

How Yoga can work for Weight Loss

A large percentage of Americans seek to lose weight every year. The methods for weight loss are numerous - from fad diets to the exercise program of the moment. Many of these extreme methods go as quickly as their presence is made known, but there are some tried and true programs that can bring you the results that you desire in healthy living and weight loss. Yoga is not only an exercise program, but an all-encompassing lifestyle that will lead to better physical health, improved mental well-being, and (yes, indeed) an optimum weight.

When it comes to weight loss, yoga may not be the first program you think of since the sequence of stretches in a routine are not vigorous and do not appear to burn many calories. However, the twisting involved in yoga promotes weight loss by stimulating the metabolism. Your metabolism is the process by which food is transformed into energy. When your metabolism works more efficiently, calories are burned more effectively. The end result is weight loss from a yoga program and following a proper diet.

Other Benefits of Yoga in Weight Loss

Since yoga is a discipline that combines the physical, mental and spiritual, regular yoga leads to a better sense of well-being and good health. When you feel good about yourself, you are better able to control the impulses involved with diet. How many times have you been guilty of eating for stress? It happens to everyone, since food has become a source of comfort instead of sustenance.

The regular practice of yoga helps you to manage stress so that you are not reduced to coping mechanisms that involve unhealthy lifestyle choices. Yoga can also encourage weight loss as it promotes good eating habits. A diet rich in fiber, vegetables and whole grains, and limited in fat and processed food is the recommended diet for yoga students.

If you have decided to include yoga in your weight loss program, understand that it may be difficult at first to perform some of the stretches and poses. Begin slowly, and gradually work up by challenging your body a little bit at a time. A half hour every other day can eventually become a daily ritual. Believe it or not, it will even become a ritual that you look forward to when you discover how much better you feel by pursuing weight loss with a daily dose of yoga.
Eating healthy and exercising is what we have been hearing from our doctor, family and friends; it is true as long as you are consistent of both practices. There are exercises targeted to work out every part of your body and to be effective, they should be tailored to every person's age and physical condition.

Yoga Is an Exercise for All Age Groups

Yoga is an ancient practice, which originates in mystical India where holy men introduced it to control their mind and body while meditating for long periods of time. There are many types of yoga and it can be modified in order to suit almost anyone with little or even no immobility. Light yoga exercises of meditation do not require movement at all but it does require concentration power, which can be obtained through practice. Yoga is a practice that should only be learned with qualified instructors and/or guidance from DVDs and books.

Other light yoga exercises can be performed with your instructor to fit your age, weight and present medical condition whatever it is. Light yoga exercises are recommended from older folks and pregnant women as well because thus they will keep muscles active and metabolism working properly. As for pregnant women, they will experience an easier birth if they exercise regularly when pregnant. Yoga works with the mind first and that does not require any physical force but great concentration power, which will help you achieve stress relief and sometimes pain relief as well.

Light Yoga Exercises for the Physically Challenged

Light yoga exercises are recommended for those who are physically challenged to improve their chances of recovery and/or to keep their muscles active. There is no age limit when you can start practicing yoga or when to stop however, it is recommended to practice at least at first with an instructor so you don't perform the exercises wrong and thus, damage muscles and ligaments in the process.

Light yoga will keep you fit for life and will only require about 30 minutes of your daily time at least three times a week. Any exercise will show results only if you practice it regularly and as per directions provided by your yoga instructor or DVD. Start with light yoga exercises and work your way from there to other levels and types of yoga as you go along or stay with what you find comfortable and see the results.

yoga therapy; Self Improvement;

What's Bugs Got to Do With It? (Gotta do with it...)

As far as I know the only connection between Easter and Passover is the fact that it is the belief held by Christians that Jesus was betrayed at a Passover Seder, i.e., the Last Supper, and that he was crucified shortly thereafter, only to arise and ascend on the day that is now celebrated as Easter.

It goes without saying that the Jewish religion existed long before the year that is widely held to be that of Christ's birth, since Christ was born a Jew, so the story goes.

Passover is the holiday during which the story of the emancipation of the Jews from slavery in Egypt is told and retold, year after year so as to never forget that the Jews were once enslaved and managed to escape and receive the 10 Commandments from God. Within the story is a theme of renewal and rebirth, of death and of starting over Thus, eggs are featured on the dinner table at the Seder. Easter eggs are something else entirely, and I can't claim to know why eggs and bunnies are part of the Easter celebration.

I just wanted to clarify this.

I also want to clarify that Jews were not always slaves in Egypt. They were once prosperous and highly regarded members of Egyptian society. Their fortunes turned at some point later due to the hatred of one particular Pharaoh. I think this part of the story is very very important because it is repeated throughout history in different contexts, e.g., Spain, Eastern Europe in the Hitler years. Nothing is certain, one cannot be complacent about hate. My grandfather left medical school in Germany when things started to go downhill for the Jews there. He never became a doctor, but he also managed to avoid the terrible fate of so many Jews in Germany during that time period.

We were once free, but then we were slaves.

We were once slaves, but then we were free.

And so on? Let's hope not.

YC yoga; Yoga Poses; Health and Wellness;

Yoga Business Ethics: Private Lessons

Here’s a very common scenario: A yoga teacher teaches at a studio, makes connections with many students, some of these students want private lessons and hire the teacher, independently from the yoga studio, to give them private lessons at home. I’ve seen this happen with individual students, and even with an entire group of students. Basically, [...] yoga therapy; Self Improvement;

Satya: Speaking and Thinking in the Spirit of Welfare

By Dada Vedaprajinananda
A lot of people think that yoga is just a system of stretching exercises. However, yoga is in fact an all-out system of improving the human condition, turning an ordinary human being into an extraordinary human being. The foundation of yoga is good conduct. That is, we should live our life in way [...] yoga therapy; Self Improvement;

Practice, practice, practice

In the wake of yesterday's interview with Guy (for the May issue of Living Mysore Magazine, I am grasping for some firm ground. The conclusion?

No too tight, not too loose.

Obsess and don't obsess. Find the middle ground.

What keeps speaking to me is this question, "why are we doing this yoga?" The answer keeps coming as "to transform".

Example. My body is physically changing. It is adapting to the new challenges of my practice, it is getting stronger, lighter, and the shape is slowly shifting.

Example. My mind is changing. Thinking of the physical aspects of practice, there is no one day that I am performing. I am not practicing and practicing these postures so that one day I can show them off. I can't just fast so that the next day I "feel light" and then can do a certain posture. The choices I make for what I put into my body are long-term habit changes. Every day is the performance, everyday is the practice. Everything has to change.

Example. But why does it have to change? Am I obsessing over asana? Kind of, but not really. I am obsessing over cultivating mindfulness in my thoughts and actions. It is watching myself as I move through the world the entire 22 hours until the next asana session. The whole day is "doing yoga".

On this entire physical/mental shift fostered by the asana practice, it is interesting how one would think that "oh everything is perfect and now I will just work on this one thing", when actually this one thing effects everything else. I remember when I did this workshop with this Ayurvedic teacher that was all about Mind Body Centering and she was talking about how when you get an organ removed, that sickness and pain that was there is still there because the issue was never solved. How could it still linger even when the physical organ was gone? It is simple. Everything in the body is connected to everything else. When an organ is removed, the body doesn't think, "okay, the right kidney is gone, oh well." In this same way, getting a new posture changes your entire practice and then changes your entire life. Everything is different, everything is connected.

Excited about this Danny Paradise workshop coming up at Om Factory next week. It is always interesting to hear different points of view. Also hyped about Mysore, so I dug up this info to inspire!

Ashtanga Yoga in Mysore, India
General Mysore Info:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At_JswBti28
http://www.livingmysore.com/


Ajay



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWuquyM5VXg
http://www.sthalam8.com/index.php?sub_page=ajay

Sheshadari



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=574KxzmIH3E
http://mandala.ashtanga.org/index.php/sheshadri

BNS Iyengar



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClWOwVHvLQU
http://ashtanga.org/lineage/bns_iyengar.shtml

Sharath/Guruji/Saraswati



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3-8Te30H6k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKQw0-IlJiY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3mzQ83Gk8A
http://www.ayri.org/

Another keyword search: which leg first in krounchasana?

That one is easy! Jump through from downdog with the right leg bent and left leg up like in triangmukha eka pada paschimottanasana. Then do a vinyasa and jump through with the left leg bent and right leg up. Pretty much its always right leg first. There are a few exceptions though. For instance, you twist to the left side first in pasasana. Why does it say to twist to the right first in David Swenson's book? *Shrug*

yoga therapy; Self Improvement;

I have a practice twin

Not being exactly a *joiner*, I never thought I would be saying that I now have a practice twin. We are to arrive at the same time and practice near each other and stay on track together, and when we get to Bhekasana and Supta Vajrasan, we are to assist each other, and after Supta Vajrasana, the next time we practice together as twins, we shall get more asana...I am guessing up to and/or including Eka Pada Sirsasana.

This will likely not be until a week from Monday to come. Until then, it's Kap-o-Mania.

Oh, here's the thang. If I told you to imagine my practice twin, would you think of a petite ashtangini with a propensity toward foward bends? Well, you would be right about the propensity toward forward bends.

Not so much the petite ashtangini.

My practice twin is a tall strapping man, about six feet and change, about 200 pounds of pure muscle, with a lovely stand-up from Urdhva Dhanurasana and a slightly better Kapotasana than mine.

I find this ironic.

YC

yoga; Yoga Poses; Health and Wellness;

How a Non Slip Yoga Mat Can Help You

Stress is our number one enemy today with the unending worries about the finances, marital problems, and family and health issues. Letting stress accumulate can only end up in more problems and thus, it is important to take all the necessary steps in order to avoid and combat it when possible.

Exercise for a Healthier Happier Life

Raja yoga is an exercise, which mostly teaches you to control your mind, emotions and thus relieves it from pain and stress. Raja yoga is practiced through intense meditations, which may take several hours at times. The first question that comes to mind is how you can possibly concentrate on meditation if you have worries on your mind. Well, Raja yoga teaches you how to gradually approach deep meditation as it is not something that you will be able to obtain in one session or overnight.

Raja yoga has several levels where you work with controlling your breath, position, senses and consciousness in order to be able to meditate deep enough to let go of stress and achieve complete relaxation.

Join a Class near You or Online

The best way to learn a difficult yet very benefic meditation through Raja yoga is to join a yoga center where you will be provided with a certified yoga instructor who can walk you through the basics and help with the techniques every session.

It is also very beneficial to practice Raja yoga in a group as the atmosphere plays a big role in achieving your end goal. If however you decide to start learning Raja yoga at home it is important you follow the directions of the book or DVD precisely in order to obtain desired results as soon as possible.

Equipment for Raja Yoga

It is important that you have the right gear and atmosphere to practice Raja yoga and obtain desired results. Here are a few suggestions: comfortable clothes, no shoes or if you must just a pair of socks, specific yoga music and at least a half hour in a place where you will not be disturbed by noise or other people.

You will observe that the atmosphere it essential in order to concentrate and practice Raja yoga so, you may want to schedule it for either early morning or late night when usually everyone is asleep. Yoga will help you reduce stress levels as well as improve your over all health and spirit.
Yoga is an exercise regime which is meant to stimulate a certain area or areas in the body to produce chemicals to fight diseases that are latent. Yoga originally was invented by a sage from ancient India, however some say that yoga originates from other ancient civilizations. It is true that yoga is old, but the worldwide opinion of its source many not be under consensus.

Personal Space

Yoga was originally done on plain soil; however, today, people are not very comfortable to sit in dirt and sand. Rather, they choose mats so they do not have to sit on the floor directly. It has the obvious advantage of keeping clothes and parts of the body clean. However, another advantage of yoga mats is that it allows a person to carve his or her personal space; his boundary which he would not like anyone to enter. Such a concept is more prevalent in the West and it would be nearly impossible to make such a definition of personal space on bare ground.

Slipping vs. Non Slip Yoga Mat

There is a great variety of yoga mats; you will find rubber mats, cotton mats, imported mats, cheap imitation mats and the non slip yoga mat. The non slip yoga mat is a great way to do yoga (more so for the novice) because it does not move on the floor every time someone practices a position or asana on it. The fact that it is a non slip yoga mat helps when the yoga position is complicated.

Apart from this factor, all mats are the same; there is nothing more or less important. The only advantage of the non slip yoga mat is that it does not shift at all when performing difficult yoga asanas which is a great help for the student and the teacher who gets less distracted with trainees slipping around the studio floor!

The non slip yoga mat is washable at home and totally maintenance free. As such it is a very good investment to make. Exerts rate it better than rubber or cotton yoga mats, because even though the latter airy and easily washable, they can be extremely slippery at times.

The yoga mat is one of the most important pre-requisite for beginning a yoga regimen, hence you should be very careful in what you chose; this will influence your exercising capacity, understanding, and affinity towards yoga. If you look at it from this angle, the non slip yoga mat is a great buy!

yoga therapy; Self Improvement;

Just Thinking Out Loud…

Last night, hubby dropped a bombshell on me. Or at least, it seemed like it.
He gave me a computation for additional taxes I needed to pay by April 15.
The amount wasn’t peanuts. At least not for someone like me who has not had a paycheck for over a decade and just recently went back to [...] yoga therapy; Self Improvement;

Nothing new to report. It's Tuesday after all.

After any length of time practicing Ashtanga, you learn eventually that new poses are not given out on Tuesdays (exceptions notwithstanding). Something about it being Hanuman's day, not an auspicious day for whatever whatever. Actually, I really don't know, nor am I particularly interested to know.

What interests me is that it is not just the Ashtangis of the world who consider Tuesday an inauspicious day for new things. According to the canon writ in this French New Wave film I just watched -
Cleo at 5 to 7, the French have a superstition that new things must not be bought on Tuesdays - not even TOUCHED.

I just found that kind of thrilling to put that together.

OK, off to my job as a chauffeur of four foot tall people.

YC

p.s. oh wait - I forgot. There was some progress in Kapotasana. Touched both feet at almost the same time - which is progress for me. It's only been, what, three days? So, let's not expect too much here. But it was cool to feel some real articulation around my floating ribs. Never felt that before. Love that "OH MY GOD" feeling. It can never be reproduced (it's about the newness). And such a thrill. yoga; Yoga Poses; Health and Wellness;

Like a nat-u-ral womaaaan...

Today was gorgeously sunny, so it seemed like a good day to check in on last year's compost bin. I started it last summer - around mid July, so for those would-recyclers of nature's gifts, it is never too late to start, and there's no time like now. Basically, you're just taking your cast off veggies, fruits, newspapers, cardboard and dead plants and letting them rot into a dark, rich, nearly black soil, with no foul odor and so so much potential for use as top soil, or as "compost tea", which you "brew" by mixing compost with water and tapping the runoff, which you then use as fertilizer when you're watering your plants.

I realize this sounds gross. And my latest project might sound even more gross: vermicompost, which means composting with...WORMS.

Worms may look kind of useless, what with no appendages and all, and given their liliputian size. But from what I hear, the little guys get the job done, and fast.

Anyway, vermicomposting is really not gross at all though. All winter long, I've been putting my fruit and veggie peelings, rinds and discards into a garbage pail in the woods near my driveway. It's not compost, strictly speaking, because it is all "green matter", and for a good compost, you need "brown matter" too - newpapers, wood chips, dirt, dead leaves. In fact, you need a lot more brown than green. So, my fruit and veggie bin was merely a prelude to my spring composting project. The bin doesn't smell bad at all. It just smells....well....green. It smells green.


Today, I took a short squat container - about the size of a large convection oven -

- and I filled it about a third with set shredded newpapers. I've also been saving newspapers for this purpose. Then I took a drive over to the local "sporting goods" shop in Katonah. I say "sporting goods" with my fingers in little quote signs because this shop aint no Sports Authority. It ought to be called Northern Westchester Guns and Ammo. I felt nervous when I put my hand on that doorknob. It was like stepping out of my Acura MDX and into the Wild West. There were rifles of all sizes and makes leaning against a wall. Fishing rods and hooks and funnyky non-live bait hung from peg boards. There were packs of firewood specifically labelled "for camping". I asked the owner if he had live bait. Earthworms, specifically. He took me to the refrigerator in the back.



And so it went. I went home with half a pound of fresh live earthworms. Red Earthworms, specifically.

When I got home, I released the little guys into the bed of newspaper and then gave them their first feeding. I dug out about a pound of my rotted fruit and veggies and plunked it down. Then I threw in some fresh strawberries and some lillies of the valley that I had grown from bare roots but that had already seen better days.

Then I took my trusty power drill and drilled air holes along the top third of the vermicompost bin, put the cover on, and set it down inside my garage until it gets consistently warmer than 50 degrees. Earthworms no likey cold nights. Who can blame them.

After my adventures in worm food, I planted the hydrangea that my neighbor brought over for me today as a thank-you gift for babysitting her FOUR CHILDREN yesterday while she made a trip to the hospital with a raisin stuck in her throat. Everyone's fine. She survived. The children survived - even the 15-month old who had never even seen me before. And I survived and made it out in time to put on my Herve Leger bandage dress for the Big Benefit for our school system. It was the suburban version of bringing home the bacon and frying it up in the pan.

Then I put up deer fencing around my little vegetable patch along the side of my house. I've decided to grow my own lettuce, basil and tomatoes this year because I find that I waste so much of all of those when I buy them from the store. This way, I can use what I need and turn the rest into gifts and....compost.

I frickin LOVE this country life. I can pretend I'm a farm girl, but then I can be in the city within an hour. I can walk around in my Sloggers (awesome, awesome gardening clogs), grab a coffee and a cookie at the Village Patisserie, buy my Advil at the local Rexall, but then put on a pair of Clergerie wedges and drive over the the CVS in White Plains or the Target in Mt. Kisco if I want the comforts of Big Box store.

Or maybe the backbends of Second Series are just making me into a manic lunatic.

Whatever it is, it will change anyway. Try to define yourself, and you're practically guaranteed to be wrong a minute, an hour, a day or a week later.

YC yoga; Yoga Poses; Health and Wellness;

Good Advice from the Sages

We all begin our lives with a lot of hope for the future. In this game of life some people reach their goals and end up satisfied that they have made the best use of their existence on earth, and others die in frustration. The difference between success and failure is often in having [...] yoga therapy; Self Improvement;

I’m a Sucker for Underdogs!

Yes, I am a sucker for underdogs. It’s just me.
Of course, the underdog has to be one of decent stock and integrity. Someone credible. Someone vulnerable. Someone unable to fight on his/her own. And recently, another such person has caught everyone in the throes of controversy that has gotten incredible media mileage.
Brian Gorrell has captured [...] yoga therapy; Self Improvement;

It who must not be named

has an achey shoulder too.

Strange.

The Good Doctor prescribed "Stop doing that weird twisty thing with your arms."

But how?

"Can you point out to me when you see me doing something strange?" asks the Blogger Who Must Not Be Named.

"Starting with when you first walk in the room?"

Bah dum bum.

I am loving my practice, even if I winced through ever jump through today. The shoulder pain is deep within my right shoulder, and it is only apparent in a limited range of motion. As I start to move the arm, the hurting isn't there until I reach a certain critical point, then the hurting starts and then I can move the arm past the critical point, and the hurting ends. Thus, I was still able to bind in all the Primary Series Poses, although not without a wince each time I got to that critical pain point, and Pasasana, although the second side was uncomfortable throughout the entire range of motion and to my chagrin, I am really needing assistance now on that side.

Since the shoulder doesn't hurt at all in backbends, I was able to do everything I normally do, plus Kapotasana, which Doc got me into, sort of, kind of....as I gasped for air.

First the right hand on the foot. Then the left. All the while, "BREATHE!! BREATHE!!!" When I finally decided to obey, I took I giant gasp with my mouth. Bad lady. I admitted that I was terrifed of the whole thing. It was suggested that I practice at the wall to lose the terror.

By the time I got to dropbacks, I was depleted. My standups were really not very good compared with yesterday. I kept wanting to repeat my best-executed standup, where my head actually came up last, and my body didn't look like Zed. But it was not to be. My shoulder, while not hurting, left my arm weaker and sort of lame. Like, literally lame. Not lame as in "that was so lame", although it was kind of lame.

Alas. It can't always be a big, giant, yoga high. Some days, you just have to be thankful that you have the time and the energy and the health and the body parts to practice for two hours.

I don't think I worked this hard athletically since...ever. When I was training for the three marathons I ran, my weekly mileage ranged from 40 to 50 miles per week over a three year period. That's like a bit more than 8 hours per week. Now, with six-day practice weeks (five and a half, really, because of moon days), it's more like 11.5 hours per week. I have been hungrier lately, but not sure what to add to my eating to reflect the additional work I am doing, having gone from stopping at Supta Kurmasana to doing all of Primary to doing all of Primary plus anywhere from 11 to 15 poses of Second, depending on how you count Salabasana's two asana states and Kapotasana's three. My practice has gone from 60 minutes to 75 minutes to 120 minutes.

Girl Scout cookies taste good but are clearly not the food of choice. Must buy more cococnuts. Must make the Thai Tofu recipe that I saw in Cooking Light. Must buy molasses for the Molasses-glazed Halibut recipe I saw in yesterday's Dining In Section of the NY Times.

Shoulder, please feel better soon. Please? Me no likey feeling lame.

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Thick Yoga Mats - Are They Useful?

Stress is one of the main causes for a number of disorders that we are faced with everyday such as insomnia, irritability, sadness, depression and the incapability to perform your daily chores as usual. Exercise is often a recommended way to release stress but yoga therapy is recommended for the overall well being of your body and mind alike.

How Can Yoga Therapy Help?

Yoga is an ancient practice that originates from India; yoga is an exercise of the body and mind through which equilibrium is achieved. Centuries ago, holy men introduced this exercise in order to keep the mind and body active through intense meditation sessions.

Yoga therapy is widely practiced today around the globe as many have discovered its healing powers. Anyone can practice yoga therapy in order to relieve stress and/or induce well being for the body and mind. Even though yoga therapy is not hard to practice, you will need an initial introduction and training to it. Therefore, it is recommended that you enroll in a yoga class where a qualified instructor will assist you to obtain results faster and better.

Where and How You Can Practice Yoga Therapy

The best approach to yoga therapy is to join a yoga class especially if you are new to the practice because here you will have the chance to learn the skills from a qualified instructor as well as observe others practice as well. However, if you don't have the time and/or for any other reasons cannot attend a yoga class, you also have the possibility to learn yoga from DVDs and books. DVDs are better than books because you can actually see the instruction provided and you can also pause and rewind to see the way they achieve the yoga positions.

Yoga is easy to practice when you know the moves as well as when and how to stretch right. However, if you don't, there is a very good possibility that you may strain your muscles in the process and result in more damage done than benefit. Therefore, it is important you invest in a yoga instruction class before you can opt for yoga therapy, which will bring you stress relief and the well being of your body and mind.

Helpful Tip

Yoga is an exercise and therapy that you can easily practice in the comfort of your home once you know how so you don't injure yourself in the process. Every other day if you dedicate no more than 30 minutes to yoga, you will soon notice significant results both in your thinking and behavior.
The yoga mat is usually necessary for sitting on when practicing yoga exercises. People buy all types of yoga mats and the shops are nowadays capitalizing on the popularity of yoga and Pilates - and market some very fancy items, such as thick yoga mats.

What Are Thick Yoga Mats?

The thick yoga mats are actually ordinary mats reinforced with some other material to make it thicker. When this is done, the thick yoga mats are actually extremely useful because they become more comfortable and do not leave any scope to get hurt. This is indeed ironic because the yoga classes are actually safe and comfortable in themselves; yet people still enjoy the extra cushioning.

There are a lot of types of yoga mats, each responding to the needs of clients. There is a yoga sticky pad which will help when the exercises are more or less for warming up, requiring the mat to stay put. While sticky yoga mat is required in the beginning of the yoga, the thick yoga mats would be required as the exercises gathers momentum and the yogis are required to sit on the floor which could be uneven and/or cold.

A thick yoga mat would be great for starting yoga exercise at home. You get your mat, open it up, and then carry out the warming up positions. Put in your favorite yoga class on your DVD players and you are on your way.

What If Thick Yoga Mats Were Never Introduced?

Life would go on, because even though the cushioning that these mats are giving while sitting on the floor is simply great, it is not that yoga is incomplete or difficult without them. The padding is why people prefer them to the ordinary mats though yoga actually may be practiced comfortably outdoors and on plain yoga mats too. The thick yoga mats are actually an embellishment or an added frill which is not mandatory, but really nice to have.

Some other highly favorite types of yoga mats are travel yoga mats which can be rolled up into a small pack and carried along with you wherever you go. Also available are waterproof yoga mats which can be used if it begins to drizzle and you have an outdoor class. The type of yoga mat you choose will depend on how frequently you plan on using it. If you are a beginner, it would be advisable to go for a mat in the middle price range as you are not sure if and for how long you plan to continue yoga.

On the other hand, if you are a die-hard yogi, then splurge on a fancy mat and enjoy what yoga has to offer to the fullest.

yoga therapy; Self Improvement;

Ask Our Yoga Teachers - Wrist Support in Yoga

Q: I have extremely delicate wrists which I have broken several times in the past. Osteoporosis also runs in my family. I love practicing yoga but during and after the practice it really hurts my wrists. I have heard about wrist guards or wrist supports that you can wear during yoga and I was wondering [...] yoga; Yoga Poses; Health and Wellness;