99% Practice....

On Sunday,  I did a bonehead move and left my mat in the studio.  I was not sure if I left it in the parking lot so I drove back and, sure enough,  there it was in the closed studio by the sign-in desk.   It was soon relegated to the corner of shame with the other items left behind by fellow Yogis.

I practiced for  two nights with my original cheap mat that I paid probably $15 dollars for (I spent  about $90 for my Manduka mat) before I could get it back.    During those two two sessions.  I really did not see any real difference in my practice with the exception of the fact the mat moved a bit more than my newer one  (which weights 7 pound vs. the 1 or 2 pound the old mat weighs) and balancing was harder due to my carpet and the lightness of the old mat.  Both practices were fine and enjoyable.

What this tells me is that it is not the equipment but rather the Practice that is important.  As  Sri K. Pattabhi Jois says  "99 percent practice 1 percent theory".  

Namaste and a Happy turkey free Thanksgiving..

Sun Salutation B (Surya Namaskara)

During the beginning of many flow classes and as part of the "warm up" of an Ashtanga practice, two types of  Asana  sequences called Sun Salutation A and Sun Salutation B (Surya Namaskara A & B) are practiced after initial stretching.

Sun Salutation A is a series of nine movements that  I generally practice slowly and deliberately in order to further stretch out my muscles and to prepare my body for the practice that is going to follow.    It is standard to do five sequences and I really like the gentleness and quietness of this flow as I  feel my body beginning to warm up.   As in all flow practices,  it is very important to breath properly and each movement (with the exception of Down Dog which gets five breaths) is done with a single designated inhale or exhale.

Sun Salutation B extends the flow of the first series and incorporates 17 separate movements.    Like Sun Salutation A,  one generally does five sequences.     With Sun Salutation B,   the pace moves more quickly and it takes concentration to acclimate the breath to the movements.   Two single breath (one on each side ) Warrior One poses are done and, additionally, the series also includes three Chaturanga and three Upward Dog Asanas.   The movement  from Down Dog to Warrior One to Chaturanga then Upward dog and then back to Downward Dog are all done with one breath per pose and this is where the beauty of the Sun Salutation B lies.

The core of Surya Namaskara B requires three Chaturanga Asanas (Astau) and two Warrior One  (Ekdasa) Asanas

With the concentration on  the flow (and there are no breaks between each sequence) and the breath,  once can feel like you are floating from pose to pose.   It is a great way to warm up and the sequence develops strength, endurance and flexibility.   The five breaths taken during Downward Dog after both Warrior One poses are really needed to get ready for the next sequence..

When I first started practicing and followed a class where the B series was done in a quick deliberate pace,  I really struggled.   I knew when I did the full five series I was getting a physical workout from the flow and a mental workout by having to concentrate on my breathing.     As I have progressed in my practice,  the challenge to the B series makes it my favorite "Asana"  even though it is 17 separate ones.  I will never be perfect,  I struggle to move in and out of Warrior One with the breath and have a hard time smoothly moving to the pose on my right side with regularity.  I try, and that is what is important.

Five Sun Salutation A and B poses really get the body moving.   If you do Chaturanga properly,  the combined series gives you 20 slow pushups.     When I am done with both series,  I know I am warm and ready for the challenges of the core of my practice. 

Namaste.  

Flexibility Improvements with regular Yoga practice.

Flexibility does not come easy,  but with hard work and persistence, Yoga can slowly but steadily build up the flexibility needed as one ages.    No one is "not flexible enough"  to practice Yoga  (something that  has been said to me more than once)  but rather we need the practice to get the flexibility.   It is a proverbial conundrum.   If think you are not flexible enough to practice Yoga, then you will never increase your flexibility because you do not practice. 

When I first started practicing my flexibility was pretty dismal.    Touching my ankles was a stretch  (no pun intended) but, even more so, my lower back, shoulders, hips etc.  were very tight.  This made me a prime candidate for muscle strains in my upper and lower back especially.      As I advanced in age,  I was even more of a candidate for injury.  The fact that I started practicing Yoga has no doubt made me much more flexible but it took  a lot of hours on the mat to get to the point where I can feel flexibility in my daily life.   It took at least six months of almost daily practice just to get to the point where I could touch my toes  when I was warmed up.    It was not easy and it took dedication.   It was not a once a week going to the Yoga studio practice. 

Over time, I could see improvement in areas where I had issues.  My shoulders are much more flexible  (not something I ever thought about before starting to practice) and I  am more upright and flexible on my upper and lower back.  (touching your toes is pretty much all in your hamstrings) .  I still have a ways to go in every area but I look back even six months ago and see the improvement.

One of my goals in Yoga was to flatten my hands on the floor during a forward fold.   It took over three years of hundreds of hours on the mat and thousands of Sun Salutations, Intense Stretches to the West etc. to get there but if I am warm enough and after a deep practice session,   that goal has been achieved.

Namaste...

Inactivity and Processed Foods.

I recently read a book called " The Story of the Human Body: Evolution Health and Disease" by Daniel E. Lieberman.   There were some very interesting thoughts from the author about how we, as humans, have  evolved to be active, long distance walking hunter/gatherers who have high levels of exercise and whom eat a variety of foods that are low in sweetness.  He theorized  how, because of the nature of our existence,  (where the next meal was coming from was uncertain),  we have evolved to have a higher fat content in our bodies as a way of storing up energy for times when they are needed.  He also said that we are evolutionarily inclined to crave sweet food for the energy content that they contain.  He pointed out that as hunter gatherers,  the primary source of any sugar would come from honey, which is not easily found and difficult and potentially dangerous to gather.  As a result, we  have not evolved to be the consumers of sugars that we are today.  

Our modern society, however,  has imposed challenges on our bodies due to modern food and conveniences that go against the nature of  our human evolution and as a result are causing  unnecessary health issues.   We can live a life with little exercise and can have as much sweet foods as possible (and crave those sweets).   It does not bode well for our health,  and as a result,  we are succumbing to diseases caused both by inactivity and the increased consumption of sugars  such as Diabetes 2.

Basically,  we live in a society where we wake up tired on a warm bed,  take a shower,  eat processed foods for breakfast, go into the garage,  use the automatic garage door opener, drive to work, eat processed foods for lunch,  take the elevator to our desk and sit down for eight or nine hours, have a big lunch in between,  drive home,  automatically open our garage door, eat processed foods and factory processed meats for dinner, then sit in our easy chair to watch TV (and maybe have an ice cream while doing so) and finally retire to our nice warm beds for six or seven hours of not enough sleep to start the process all over again.   If this sounds familiar it once was for me too.    My only exercise was mowing the lawn, shoveling the snow and shopping.

It is relatively easy to start adding some walks,  taking the stairs and other activities that will put some exercise into one's life.  For myself,  the struggle is to look at all the processed foods that I eat such as pasta, bread and cereals and to decide if the consumption of these is detrimental to my long term health.    The biggest thing that I have done  (and can easily be done by anyone) is to reduce the number of foods that we eat that contains sweeteners.  (I think elimination is quite extreme) The number of foods on our shelves that contain sugars in various forms are staggering.   Many of the "healthy" cereals and breads we eat  contain either high fructose corn syrup,  cane sugar,  brown rice sugar, maltose, molasses, honey, agave syrup and maple syrup among others.    I have always been an ingredient reader,  mostly looking at fat and sodium content but I now mostly put down the package if it contains some form of sweetener and I now put down a good amount of packages.

Take a look at what is in your pantry.   Pull 10 items randomly and check the ingredients.     You may  be surprised to find sugars in each of the following.

Vinegar Based Salad Dressings
Bread  (especially Whole Wheat breads)
Soy and Almond Milks
Jarred Spaghetti Sauce
Ketchup
Dried Fruits
Cereals  - Even ones touted as healthy
Many Peanut Butters like Jiff.  Choosy mothers should not choose it..


Taking the time to reduce the unnecessary sugar in your life means a better you.   It also means less guilt for that dark chocolate bar..




Namaste. 

Today will be the best you will feel for the rest of your lie.

Just say you decide not to watch what you eat and do not consider adding a small amount of planned  focused exercise ,  then today will be the best you will feel for the rest of your life.  

That shortness of breath you feel walking up a couple of flights of stairs, it will only get worse.   That pain you get in your lower back when you sneeze or turn the wrong way,  it will happen quicker the next time.  Those toes you can't see past your stomach,  they will be a few inches further away in a couple of years.    That tomorrow you have been always saying you will start working out and watching what you eat is here today,  and the choice to take control of you health is only in one person's hands.

It is not too hard to start reading labels,  cutting back on fats and sugars , walking for a half an hour 3 or four times a week,  eating more fresh and less packaged foods.  Your body will appreciate it and so will your health. 


Namaste... 

The Long Journey to a Healthy Life Style.

Many days if the weather is good and it is not too dark,  my dog an I do a few laps around a part of the park that lies adjacent to where  I live.    Many people walk the loop and dog and I have a lot of dog friends we say hello to. Over the last month so,  I have noticed an overweight 20 something year old woman walking every day no matter how hot it is.   I hope for her sake that she keeps this up,  and that she is also making the changes in her diet that need to be accompanied by an exercise program.  

I saw an ad on TV yesterday for a product called Lorcaserin,  which, based upon what I read,  stimulates satiety (absence of hunger) in your brain.  This product is FDA approved for its intention and I think it is a good thing for people who suffer from obesity related diseases like diabetes.   I, however, cannot believe that a person will be able to use this for the rest of their lives and I wonder  what the long term effects of using this product for years will be.   This is where I go back to my first paragraph, in which a person is "getting off the couch" and doing something for themselves.   With help from a nutritionist, and maybe an exercise coach and lots of support from friends and family,  she can turn back the clock and not be in the position to need products like Lorcaserin.   It is not an easy path to choose as the easiest thing to do in this country is to get fat.

Taking control of your diet and exercise life should be quite easy but for some reason it is not.   Things like family and work take priority but also,  procrastination and the ease of sitting on the couch comes into play.    It is much easier to pop in a microwave meal than it is to cook or even make a salad.    Much of the food that is available pre-made in our stores are filled with sugar of one form or another.     Reading ingredients is always a good idea.    It is a long road,  and watching what you eat and getting adequate exercise is something that needs to be done in the long haul.       The current exercise guidelines from the federal government, based on  recent scientific evidence,  recommend that healthy adults engage in 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking or cycling.   Yoga would fit into this as well as long as it is a flow type.  That is probably 3 Yoga sessions or five 30 minute walks.    It is not too much time.    This exercise, however, must be combined with a scrutiny of the food that we put in our bodies.

Namaste. 

Southwest Quinoa Bean Recipe

Chock full of protein,  vitamin C, fiber and flavor.  Very easy to make. Great summer salad.  You can almost live on this.

Ingredients

1 Cup uncooked quinoa
8 oz black beans
1 cup fresh raw corn
2 tsp cumin seeds or 1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 lime
1/2 tsp crushed coriander seeds
1 bell pepper chopped


Cook the quinoa  as per the package (usually 2 cups water to 1 cup of quinoa)
Let cool
Toast the cumin seeds in a un-greased pan until they pop
Add beans, corn, seeds, cilantro, lime juice, coriander seeds and pepper
Salt to taste.
Add a cut up jalapeno for added kick.
Give it 1 hour to settle the flavors. 

Server cold or room temperature.