Getting your mind away from it all via Yoga -

My preferred practice is a continuous Ashtanga flow that gets my heart rate up and really works on all parts of my body.    While I cannot do all of the poses  (I will never get my knees behind my head, ever)  I find that the combination of continual movement and breathing concentration both physically and mentally satisfies me.    Concentrating on the movements, poses and breathing takes me to a place away from my daily cares.    Sometimes in the middle of my practice,  I realize myself that my mind has been totally focused on what I am doing and that my  worries and other thoughts have melted away.    It is during those times that I end the practice with a glow of both physical and emotional levels.   It is a really great feeling.

The breathing is really the key to everything.    For me,  the pose or asana has to be done in conjunction with the "Ujjayi Breath",  which is a deep continuous in and out breathing through your nose that is accompanied by the ocean sound of your breathing.   Each movement has either an inward or outward breath or is held for a certain number of counted breaths  (for me five deep and slow breaths).   Like a surfer who rides the waves of a real ocean, your inner surf carries you from movement to movement. Your breath directs each movement.  Once you get the flow of the breath and the movement together,  it is like magic.

For example,  the Sun Salutation (A)  starts up with a breath,  touches ground with an exhale,  flatten back with a breath,  Chaturanga  with an exhale ,  upward dog with an inhale,  downward dog with an exhale,  hold 5 breaths,  up to flat back with an inhale,  touch ground with an exhale and then up to prayer position with an inhale.    Each pose has its associated breath  and with the Ujjayi breathing (and doing this five times during a normal Ashtanga primary series),  you  get into a combination of breath and movement that is really great.

Sometimes I think to myself that we are happy going  to Yoga class and happy right after it but somewhere in the middle,  we want it to end.    With the flow that I practice at home,  I don't have that feeling very much.  It is probably because the focus on the practice at that time is on me,  with my pace and it is my flowing.  There are no stops for instruction and water breaks.   It is movement and breathing for an hour or so.

 

That post practice exhaustion

Sometimes after an 1.5 hour practice all I want to do is stare into space..   It is a good feeling but you know you are not 25 anymore. 

Cardio and Yoga

I personally prefer very rigorous Yoga practice that includes at least a half hour non-stop flow prior to any holding positions.     This allows my heartbeat to raise to the point where I believe that I am getting the continued aerobic exercise that I need.   It also allows me fully warm up prior to moving to complex binds  (well semi-complex to be honest),  twists,  stretches and strength holds.   Some difficult positions do raise your heart beat  but then you generally stop and move on to another position after letting your body relax.

One of the things I figured out pretty quickly is that many public classes are not very cardio taxing.    The teacher may do a few minutes of sun salutations but if not done in a quick manner and, if not done for a significant period of time,  I walk away from the class feeling less than taxed.    A few of the classes at my studio are a real physical challenge from the aerobic perspective, but a majority of them are not.     Thus this again stresses the need for a home practice as the primary part of your practice and the use of the classes as teaching aids and fill ins  (and the social part of Yoga as well) and thus the secondary part of your practice.

Getting a Yoga Rhythm.

One of the interesting and startling things that I learned about Yoga is the number of poses that are available for your use.      Since I started practicing,  I have probably done at least 100 different poses in either classes or at home using videos and a few books that I have bought.   The sheer number of poses and styles is almost overwhelming.    In addition,  classes are sometimes not what they are called and are really dependent on the teacher.     There can be a vast difference between two teachers for the same class in both the poses and the flow of the class.  


A long time ago, I used to lift weights on a regular basis.   Over time,  I was able to create a schedule where I would do certain muscle groups on certain days and allow my body time to recover from a weight lifting session before I would work on that muscle group again.    This is something that I think should be brought to your Yoga practice.

The public Yoga classes make it difficult to get the same type of rhythm.   This is for two reasons.  The first is that most people probably only go to one or two classes a week and so do not demand a "program" for themselves.   The second reason is that there is such a variety of teachers teaching the classes and therefore there is no logic to the classes.   In the studio I practice in,   there are Yin,  Vinyasa , Forrest and foundation classes.  Only one instructor follows pretty much the same class from week to week. It is up to the student then to work on a program for themselves. This is where the home practice comes in.     It is in your home practice  (unless you go to a Bikram or Ashtanga only studio) where you make that rhythm that will make your overall practice successful.


I generally go to my studio  only two or three nights a week.    On the off days (with the general exception of Friday ),  I  generally practice the Ashtanga Primary Series with a back and core warm up before hand.   What I try to do,is to use the  Primary Series as the core of my Yoga Rhythm.  It is a full body workout (you are really exhausted at the end) and I know what to expect.   I try to mix up some new poses to add more variety but the flow is the core of my practice and it is done in my living room and not in the studio.  

So, a home practice allows me to get to the rhythm that I need.    When you go to public classes,  you sometimes don't know if you are going to get the workout of your life or 60 minutes of chanting..     Building that home practice is what is important. 

Raw Foods

I recently read a book about a raw diet.  The author made case for only eating raw organic produce and to eliminate any processed foods and cooked foods from your diet.  While I think that this is an extreme way to live, and almost impossible for me since I travel much for work, I think that there is some merit for the argument.    Reducing  processed foods  like cakes and cookies and other sweet items from your diet along with salty snacks like potato chips and tortilla chips can eliminate a large source of empty calories and bad fats from your diet.    Giving up pasta and cooked rice and cooked potatoes and other carbohydrate and protein sources would be hard for most people and the authors argument to replace processed wheat with sprouted wheat works only if you really really have time to commit to such a life style and are prepared to have a life of eating salads when ever you eat out.  Overall though,  I think she is in the right vein and I have adopted some of her thinking when it comes to vegetables.

I do feel better now that  I eat many of my vegetables raw instead of cooking them.    A big salad with spinach,  tomatoes, cucumbers,  peppers,  raw broccoli  and raw zucchini as your vegetable serving(s) is really great and you know it is low calorie, low fat and contains Iron, Vitamin C, and in some cases is a good source of protein.    I do cook some  vegetables  (I make a lot of Indian food) but at least once a day there is a large raw salad in my diet.    As long as I do not cover it with high calorie and fat dressings  it is really great for me.   A majority of my salads have vinegar only, though sometimes I do add oil depending on the type of vinegar.    I very rarely use bottled dressings as they are sources of sugar (for the low fat varieties) and bad fats. 

Try to be on a schedule

Practice cannot be 1x a week.    In my opinion, you need to practice at least 5x a week in order to make progress and to gain the physical benefits of a practice.    This means at least one weekend practice and preferably two plus 3x during the week.   I have my regular classes (Monday and Wednesday with an occasional Sunday) and I have to find the time and energy to block out 1 to 1.5 hours a 3 days a week in order to do home practice.    While I love practicing,  my mind has to say get the mat,  get changed,  turn up the heat,  start Pandora and go to the Yoga station.   It takes discipline. 

It's 5PM.  Time to practice...  Except I'm procrastinating with this.. 

Warming Up / Getting to class early.

I like to get to class at least 20 - 25 minutes before it starts.     I do this for two reasons,  the first is that I get "my spot" in the room.    I am a creature of habit so this is good for me.   You notice a lot of people taking the same spot each time so I am not alone with this.   Woe is the new comer who grabs my corner of the room.  :)

The second reason is that I warm up prior to class starting.  Even though the teacher goes through 5 or 10 minutes of warming up before hand and then usually does anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes of Sun Salutations or other flows to start the class,   I have a general sequence of warm ups that I do before hand.   Much of what I do focuses on the Psoas muscle getting warmed up.   I have a set 10 minute series that I do before hand that just focuses on stretching my lower back.  I also do a 10 to 15  minute core workout as well.  This focuses on strengthening my lower back and abdominal muscles.   Both warming (and stretching ) the back and then working on strengthening what with weakness causes back injuries,  I am working on the physical weaknesses that I have.    I do this both at a home practice and in the studio.   As we get older our bodies take longer to stretch and prepare for vigorous exercise.   By coming earlier I know I start the class warmed up already.   Also,  the core workout,while short, is really beneficial. 

There is a great book called  "Back RX"  that I got from the library.     One of my instructors mentioned it to me and the flow that it provides is really great and pretty simple (though some exercises were very tough when I started).


http://www.amazon.com/Back-RX-15-Minute-Day-Pilates-Based/dp/1592400450







 I highly recommend reading the book.   I tend to supplement this with some additional positions  (mainly Navasana or Boat and some additional crunches) as part of my warm up. Navasana is below.  I get no where near this high.  It really taxes your full body and it is very hard to hold for more than 5 long breaths. 

Aging today.

My back is sore this morning.     Probably from my 10.5 hour drive home on Sunday coming back visiting my kids.   I did practice in class on Monday (and felt tight them) and it was not my best class for me.   Sometimes things feel great and sometimes you just go through the motions.   Monday night was just the motions.  

Last night I planned on doing a primary Ashtanga series at home (well the parts that I can do or try to do at least) and felt a slight twinge in my lower back during one pose.  I did the best thing for myself and packed it up for the bnight.  Gonna make sure to stretch it out today.   25 years ago I would have ignored it..  Not anymore.


Tonight is a double class  (Hot Flow and then Yin) and Wednesday's are always my favorites.   2.5 hours of Yoga.. 

Diet and Excercise

I am of the belief that many of the debilitating life threatening illnesses (with the possible exception of some cancers) can be traced to the diet we eat.     Two recent studies  that I have read have shown that diet has a significant impact on your health.   One was about red meat (done by Harvard University)  RED MEAT BAD!  and the second was about the Mediterranean Diet.  MED Diet Good.   When I watch what people eat ,  it amazes me what they can do to themselves without thinking of the impact of their diet on their lives.    I watch as my co-workers eat turkey club sandwiches with tons of mayonnaise  while making fun of my vegetarian  (and fairly low fat) meals that I make for myself.    As hard as I try,  I cannot make them understand the importance of diet in their lives and I watch as they get larger and larger and periodically go on some new fad diet that makes them lose 20 pounds that they will gain back 6 months later just to go on some other fad diet.     What they are missing is the fact that they need to really think about everything they put in their mouths.  This is not just limited to them but it is a product of the horrible food culture that pervades in the US .  We are living on factory killed meats,  processed foods and horrible levels of saturated fats.

Diet should be a noun,  not a verb.   People should not "diet",  they should eat a changed healthy Diet.   We all can't deny ourselves everything, but thinking about what you eat  when you eat it or are about to eat it is a great thing to do.

Eat more greens,   limit packaged foods,   stop eating red meat (stop eating all meat would be better).   Think about everything that goes into your mouth..     Getting older will be much happier without a ton of weight and food related medical problems. 

You need to both mind your Diet as well as exercise.   You are always better doing both. 

Goals

Funny thing about a public Yoga class.   People of all shapes and sizes and abilities get together to practices.   Of course you have your young city classes where everyone has 2% body fat and can touch the ground with their ears but for most of us,  that is not where we will end up. We probably will be in a mixed class in a suburb of some city with a mixture of people and ages.  Each person is really doing what they can do,  but there is  no doubt that we look around us and see how others are doing.  

It is easy to get frustrated when you see the young (and not so young) showing strength and flexibility beyond what you have.   One has to remember that Yoga is within you and that there is no competition.  We need to make sure that we work on what we are good at  (which is easy) but more importantly we need to work on what we are not so good at  (there is no bad in Yoga).  Most importantly,  one needs goals in Yoga.  Not just general goals,  but specific ones as well that show progress.    The also need to be SMART goals without the T.   Specific,  Measurable,  Attainable and Realistic.   The T (time based) should not be used. Who knows when your body will actually let you do so.

When I first started practicing,   I had terrible hamstring and lower back flexibility.   At least one time a year I would pull some muscle (which I know know is the Psoas) in my lower back that would hunch me over and from time to time require bed rest.  Once  I had terrible back spasms which  required medication and I was off from work for a week.   I think that if I bent over,  my fingers (pointing down) barely reached my ankles  (to be honest I cannot remember how far I could reach down).   Obviously a goal for me was just to touch my toes with the tops of my fingers during a forward bend.   Touching my toes meant two things,  my hamstrings and my lower back were both stretching.    By putting this goal in place,  it gave me something to work for that could show real progress.  It was specific,  measurable,  attainable and realistic.     Those 2 or 3 inches in back and hamstring flexibility was a real goal that I knew was a great thing for me.   There were also many different poses that helped both of those parts be flexible.   It made going to class and practicing at home worthwhile.

18 months later,  my new goal (along with a few others) is to lay my hands flat on the floor in a forward bend.   I do not know if I ever will get there but I can feel  the progress.

So set Goals in your practice..   You need to practice for a reason.   It is not easy.

Starting.

Thanks to the miracle of the modern internet  and more importantly YouTube  and the purchase of a $15 Yoga mat at the local Dunhams here in the North Hills of Pittsburgh,  I started my quest to practice Yoga with a search   "Beginning  Yoga" .   On YouTube, there were many hits but a 52 minute video entitled “Basic Yoga Workout for Dummies” stood out.  It was a very simple with a very lovely woman named Sara Ivanhoe.    She patiently showed a number of poses that became the first steps of my Yoga practice.     Somewhere in my files is a power point presentation of every pose I learned from that first video.    Sara introduced the daily dozen and they were so new to me.   A new lexicon and the first steps. 

 Yoga for Dummies

Cat

Mountain

Standing forward bend

Lunge

Tree

Standing Side Stretch

Downward Facing Dog

Cobra

Child’s Pose

Seated Spinal Twist

Seated Forward Bend

Final Relaxation or Shavasna

I think that I practiced these for a few weeks but I also tried a second video by her.
There is a second Yoga for Dummies video that showed the ubiquitous Sun Salute or Sun Salutation.   This is the first real flow that I learned and it is something that I practice almost every day.      It also has the added benefit of Sara again.

 Between these two videos,  plus some research,  I began to get the confidence that I needed to get out of my living room and try to find a class.    I also gained the confidence and habit of practicing at home.    This became a very important part of my practice.   My practice still centers around what I do at home,  and class is supplementary and a good way to learn new poses and to get a heated class.


Here are some links for other starting classes on YouTube.

 1 Hr 12 Minute 20 Pose Beginner Class

 40 Minute Beginner Practice

20 Minute Yoga for Complete Beginners