Here’s the latest yoga news from the science world: A 20-Minute Bout of Yoga Stimulates Brain Function Immediately After. Researchers found that a single 20-minute session (“bout”? who wrote that headline?!) of hatha yoga improved participants’ speed and accuracy on cognitive function tests – basically, it improved their memory and their ability to stay focused on a task and to take in, retain, and use new information. The subjects who did yoga performed better than subjects who walked or jogged on a treadmill, indicating that the results aren’t just a reflection of burning energy to improve focus, or of exercise being good for the mind: it was the yoga itself that improved mental function. Yoga’s breathing and meditative exercises calm the body, allowing the mind to focus, and apparently this effect applies beyond the mat and into activities after the yoga practice is over. The lead author theorized a few possible explanations for the results, including enhanced self-awareness and reduced anxiety and stress. Conclusion: yoga makes you smarter!
Notes from YogaMomLand June 20, 2013
So I’ve been trying to get up early to squeeze in a short yoga practice first thing in the morning, and it’s been going surprisingly well. One day last week, though, F had to provide assistance to get me out of bed, so he invented the Yoga Gnome, a tiny friend who waits for me on my mat in the morning, brimming with anticipation. Imagine Yoga Gnome’s excitement when he hears my footsteps on the stairs! I kind of love this idea, and at least it got me moving. I’m pretty sure Yoga Gnome could visit your house, too, if you needed him.
This week, it’s been easy to get up on time because YB has been waking up unnaturally early. She’ll wake up hungry and then her cough will keep her up (or she’ll cough herself awake and then realize she’s hungry, I’m not sure which), and then it’s light outside, and since it’s within an hour or so of her usual wake-up time, she’s just up then. On Monday morning I tried to get her back down with no luck, but she was mellow and happy, so I did some sun salutations there in her room so I wouldn’t miss my practice entirely. She watched from her crib and laughed. Then she pooped, which I’m taking as a sign of approval.
I did notice one nice new thing about my yoga practice these days. My hips and calves are still tight, but suddenly I have a lot more arm strength than I used to, and my plank pose and chaturanga are possibly the easiest they’ve ever been. Relatedly, YB’s up to around 23 pounds. Who needs to lift weights when there’s a toddler around?
In other news, today is my and F’s third wedding anniversary. It’s been a busy three years: yoga teacher training, homeownership, parenthood, promotions and new jobs. Through it all, he’s been the best partner I could possibly imagine. Happy anniversary, sweetie.
books: Step-by-Step Yoga for Pregnancy, by Wendy Teasdill June 18, 2013
Step-by-Step Yoga for Pregnancy is an excellent guide to all aspects of prenatal yoga, from physical postures to pranayama and meditation. Teasdill discusses the implications of pregnancy on yoga practice at each step of the way; she makes the poses fresh for those already familiar with yoga, and her warm tone is encouraging for new beginners without being overwhelming. This nicely illustrated book is appropriate for new students as well as experienced practitioners.
In chapter 1, Teasdill begins with an overview of how the body changes during pregnancy and how yoga can facilitate good health; chapter 2 discusses some yoga basics and describes how yoga can be beneficial in everyday life. Chapters 3-5 detail the physical asanas appropriate for each trimester, with drawings and descriptions of how and why to do each posture. Teasdill links the asanas in several sequences to accommodate different times of day or energy levels. As the pregnancy progresses, Teasdill focuses the chapter on a different aspect of yoga practice: pranayama in the first trimester (chapter 3), asanas in the second trimester (chapter 4), and meditation in the third trimester (chapter 5). She finishes the book with chapters 6 and 7, discussing labor and birth and life after the birth, respectively, including yoga postures to help heal the body after childbirth.
Teasdill explains clearly which poses are safe to do at which stage of pregnancy and offers plenty of options for modification or support with props like chairs and bean bags. For the spiritual side of prenatal yoga, Teasdill includes several nice guided meditations to foster relaxation and connection to the growing baby. Yoga teachers will find this book an excellent reference, and expectant mothers will appreciate Teasdill’s expertise, guidance, and sensitivity.
Yoga in the News: Yogi Protesters in Turkey June 13, 2013
My husband F sent me this link: Turkish Protesters Hold Mass Yoga Demo. I’m not really aware of the full extent of what’s going on in Turkey right now, besides just a general sense of “bad shit is happening” (busy full-time job plus busy toddler at home doesn’t exactly foster much knowledge of current events – I knew that a building fell down in Philly only because I was two blocks away from it at the time), but I thought the video was cool. I am glad to see that, in the midst of what’s going on in Turkey, some people are finding a little peace and maybe making some spectators smile.
Starting Over Again, Again June 11, 2013
A few items of interest today:
- At a church picnic this weekend, a friend asked me about my yoga practice, and I had to admit it’s been nonexistent. We didn’t get to continue the conversation because we were both holding squirming babies (one of whom was desperately trying to hug the other, who was kind of uncertain about the whole thing – guess which one was YB? My child is aggressively snuggly!), but it made me think that that’s not what I want to have to say at parties.
- My husband F has made a new resolution to get up early to write first thing in the morning – not just “if YB sleeps well, then I’ll get up early”, but “I’ll always get up early unless YB has a terrible night.” It’s a key distinction for him – the first has him getting up early only when it feels convenient (which is never), while the second has him getting up early by default. This morning YB helped out with the new resolution by needing a bottle at 4:30, so once she went back down F got a lot done.
- Last night after dinner I was waving my arms around to make YB laugh and ended up doing some half sun salutes, which she totally loved. It worked best when, after reaching up, I brought my arms down in front of me instead of out to the side and wiggled my fingers in her face. She also liked the peekaboo aspect of the halfway up between the forward bends.
I’m taking each of these as a sign that it’s time to start rebuilding my yoga practice (yet again!). I can get up early with F in the mornings and show some spousal solidarity, and YB may be at a point where she’s receptive to sharing my practice. It’s past time to make that happen – I’ve always wanted yoga to be a natural part of her life. So today I got 15 minutes of asana practice in before breakfast. I felt great afterwards and was dancing in the kitchen as we got breakfast ready (much to the annoyance of poor F, who’d been up since 4:30), and I’ve been feeling good all day. It’s a start!
Pond House Part 2 June 4, 2013
Last week, F and YB and I traveled to Rhode Island with some friends for the Memorial Day holiday, and stayed at the same house where we all stayed two years ago. The house was just the same, but things have certainly changed for our group of friends: last time, there were seven of us (three couples and a solo friend), and for this trip we had the same core group but also brought along our friend’s new partner, two babies, and one more on the way. It was fun to go back to the place where we had such fun two years ago and see our family of friends growing and changing and welcoming new people to love.
And we had some yoga on this trip too. We didn’t lay our mats out by the pond again, but three of us ladies snuck off to the attic room on a chilly Sunday morning, pushed back the furniture, and had a nice yoga practice while the dads watched the babies. It was great to see my pregnant friend developing such a nice yoga practice – two years ago she had only a little experience with yoga, but nowadays she gets to class twice a week and is feeling great in her second trimester. Our other yoga buddy was the mom of the other baby in the house, and it was nice to see, together, that we haven’t totally lost our yoga practice (or our figures) in our new motherhood. I was so glad to have the opportunity to share this practice, and this vacation, with my friends.
The trip also reminded me again of how lucky I am in my amazing daughter. YB is such a happy kid, always smiling even on rough days. We took the train home on Tuesday, and what should have been a five-hour ride turned into an almost eight-hour ride because of Amtrak delays. YB had a tough time, and so did we, but she was a real trooper and found things to laugh about even in hour 8 of traveling. And when we finally got home, she was so happy just to be there, laughing and clapping and banging on the table. I had to put aside my own tiredness and frustration and just be there with her, in the present moment, glad to be back home.
Yoga: The Art of Transformation May 31, 2013
I’ve been taking a bit of a blog break this week after traveling for the Memorial Day holiday, but I just found out about this and had to share: the Smithsonian will be running a ground-breaking special exhibit called Yoga: The Art of Transformation this fall. I haven’t had time to look at the materials in-depth yet, but the planned exhibit looks amazing. I’m excited because I have a potential business trip to DC on the calendar for this fall and so I might actually be able to view the exhibit in person – but even if I can’t see it myself, they’re planning an in-depth online exhibit as well.
The Smithsonian is hoping to crowdfund most of the costs, so if you’re feeling so inclined, check out their fundraising page!
End of my Prenatal Class May 21, 2013
Last night was the seventh time I taught prenatal yoga at EEY this spring, and it’ll probably be the last time, at least for now. I’ll be traveling for Memorial Day next week, and Sarah will most likely be ready to teach the class again starting in June.
Teaching prenatal this spring has been really great for me. It showed me, first of all, that I can still teach yoga – even after a baby, even when my own practice is suffering or nonexistent – and still deliver a worthwhile experience for my students. I learned more about teaching prenatal to students at different places in their pregnancies. I learned about teaching a yoga class to just one person, too – I had only one student at last week’s class, and a different solo student at this week’s class, and in both cases I think I handled it better than I did the first time it happened. I asked the student what she wanted to work on, and then tailored the class based on her requests and the stage of her pregnancy. Last week we talked about core strength; this week, focusing energy in an active yoga practice to better facilitate relaxation afterwards. I felt much better about both of these classes as a teacher, and I really had fun with it.
Overall, teaching prenatal this spring has reinforced how much I love prenatal yoga and reminded me of how much I love teaching any sort of yoga. What will my next yoga teaching adventure be? Who knows what the future holds!
A Class of One April 16, 2013
Last night I taught prenatal class, and my one student seemed to enjoy the practice, but it got me thinking: sometimes I think it’s easier to teach a class of four or six students than a class of one. For my one student, was able to reuse most of the sequence I designed for last week’s class (since she wasn’t there last week, and I had yet another stomach bug this weekend, which limited my ability to plan), while also tailoring the class to her ability level (at 27 weeks, she was capable of more activity than someone farther along). The downside to a class of one, though, is that it just feels kind of awkward: all my attention focused on one person holding a pose. Yep, she’s still holding it. How does she feel in there? Does she feel like I’m staring at her? To divert myself from thinking too much (and also, I admit, to aid my teaching, since I’m still a little rusty), I practiced along with her, but the questions still remained.
For yoga students in general, I can think of a variety of reasons why it would be unwelcome to be the only student – certainly it would be uncomfortable for a nervous beginner! Plus, there’s just a different mindset to “attending a yoga class” versus “taking a private yoga lesson”. If I’ve left the house thinking I’ll be getting one thing, I kind of have to rework my mental image of the event when I find I’m getting the other, even if a private yoga lesson is technically more valuable.
As a student myself, there are times when I would be happy to be a class of one, and other times when I’d really just like to blend into the back of the room, thanks. I can remember once when F and I drove out to a yoga studio an hour from our house for some tourist yoga, and we and one other guy were the only students. On that day, I was delighted for the extra attention and the chance to really get to know a new teacher style at a new studio. I can also remember occasions where I was running late, not feeling well, or just not feeling like doing yoga, but forced myself out the door anyway. On a day like that, even though I almost always feel better by the end of class, I still wouldn’t want that only-student spotlight on myself.
As a yoga student, how do you feel when you’re the only student in the room? For any yoga teachers, how does it make you feel when you unexpectedly have to tailor your practice to a class of one?
Prenatal class and prenatal yoga sequence #2 April 11, 2013
On Monday night I taught the prenatal yoga class, and I have to say, it felt great. I was a little nervous but slipped right back into my “yoga teacher voice” without a problem. I remembered all the things I wanted to say, and I worked them in naturally – for example, talking about the need for both strength and flexibility in the pelvic floor while we practiced a wall-assisted squat. I was able to work the wall-assisted squat into the sequence in a natural way by moving us over closer to the wall for a balance pose (with only two students, I felt like I had a bit more freedom to work with the space). I’m grateful that Sarah set a precedent for using blankets and blocks in this class, because I think props can be enormously helpful for prenatal yoga (and props aren’t typically used at all at EEY). At the end of class, I tried a new guided meditation, and it flowed nicely. I felt awesome after class, and more importantly, my two students seemed to enjoy the practice. I hadn’t taught yoga in ten months, but it felt like I’d never left.
Here’s the sequence I taught:
- Begin seated, with a centering moment
- neck rolls
- shoulder circles
- arm stretches
- Move to all fours
- cat/cow (actually, cat/neutral, since cow is contraindicated for pregnancy)
- hip circles
- calf stretches
- child’s pose
- downward dog
- Step up to forward fold
- mountain pose
- Warrior sequence
- warrior 1
- warrior 2
- radiant warrior
- triangle pose
- goddess
- wide-legged standing forward fold
- Repeat standing sequence on the other side
- balance pose at the wall: tree pose
- wall-assisted squat
- floor poses
- cobbler pose
- happy baby pose
- pelvic tilts
- inversion: legs up the wall
- savasana with guided meditation
Rox Does Yoga 