Rox Does Yoga

Yoga, Wellness, and Life

Yoga in the News: Anti-gravity yoga? September 5, 2011

Filed under: yoga — R. H. Ward @ 5:14 pm
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A friend sent me the link to this: Anti-gravity yoga class. The pictures are pretty amazing, but I can’t imagine I would do anything but fall the hell out if I tried that stuff. At the bottom of the photo blog there’s a link for more information; that link doesn’t work, but here’s the correct one. I love how the “suggested clothing” listed includes “shirts with sleeves that cover under arms”, but half the people in the photo on that page are wearing tank tops or halters. Maybe those people have greased themselves so the hammocks won’t catch on their skin?

Don’t get me wrong, props can be incredibly useful for yoga practice, especially for people with a limited range of motion, people recovering from injuries, and people with disabilities. Props can make yoga accessible for such people and help them to become fitter, stronger, and more flexible. At my yoga center, however, we’re taught that all you need for yoga are your own bare feet and a mat (and you can make do without the mat). Props can be wonderfully helpful, but the goal of using props should be to get to the point where you don’t need the prop anymore. A trend can be fun and exciting, but we shouldn’t lose sight of what yoga is all about: making the body healthy and calming the mind. I think if I were hanging upside down from an orange hammock I would have some difficulty calming my mind. (I could be wrong. I would totally love to find out!)

Anti-gravity yoga class at Om Factory in New York

(Image from http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/yoga, Shannon Stapleton / Reuters)

 

Yoga in the News: It’s good for fibromyalgia and orthopedic problems! August 11, 2011

Filed under: yoga,yoga lifestyle — R. H. Ward @ 1:49 pm
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Here’s some good news: Yoga Beneficial for Fibromyalgia. Women with fibromyalgia have lower-than-average cortisol levels, which contribute to pain, fatigue and stress sensitivity, but after doing hatha yoga twice a week for eight weeks, the women participating in the study had higher levels of cortisol. They reported that they suffered less from pain and other symptoms after practicing yoga, and further, they experienced psychological benefits: feeling stronger, more accepting, and less overwhelmed by their condition.

And more good news: Yoga Therapy May Help Prevent and Treat Orthopedic Problems. From the article, “Dr. Fishman, a lifelong devotee of yoga who studied it for three years in India before going to medical school, uses various yoga positions to help prevent, treat, and he says, halt and often reverse conditions like shoulder injuries, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and scoliosis.” The article goes on to describe how a modified yoga headstand can be used to treat painful rotator cuff injuries without expensive surgery or lengthy physical therapy and without recurrence of pain. Dr. Fishman also did a study on yoga for bone disease and found that the patients with osteoporosis who practiced yoga daily for two years had increased bone density.

 

So You Want to Try Yoga, Part 1: Know What You’re Looking For July 26, 2011

Filed under: yoga — R. H. Ward @ 1:41 pm
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A few months back, my mom sent me an article clipped from her local newspaper on how to find the right yoga instructor. It’s a subject I don’t even think about anymore for myself, but choosing a yoga class can be really intimidating to a beginner! Here are some tips to help you get started on your yoga journey.

  • Know what you’re looking for.

People keep telling you how awesome yoga is, and you’ve decided to give it a try – great! But what are you hoping to get out of it? When you hear the word “yoga”, what does that call up for you? A hardcore workout, a spiritual practice, or something else? Are you looking to get in better shape, or trying to bring some calm to your busy life? Are you recovering from an injury, or do you have a physical condition that limits your movement? The beauty of yoga is that it can be all of these things, and it can work for any body type, any level of physical ability, but you should take your needs and limitations into account when choosing a yoga class. If you’re already fit and just looking for a workout, you won’t find it in a gentle yoga class, and if you’re out of shape or limited in your movement, a fast-paced class could be too rough. Understanding what you want out of a yoga class before you start looking for classes will help you narrow your search.

Too often, when we’re starting to build a healthy new habit, we find ways to talk ourselves out of it and remain set in our old ways. I once knew a guy who paid for a gym membership for a full year without ever going to the gym – he had every intention of getting back in shape, but he couldn’t commit to the changes in his daily routine (like packing a gym bag, or taking a short lunch and leaving work a little early) that were necessary to make that happen. It is hard to make these sorts of changes! Trying a yoga class is ideally the first step in breaking an old habit and starting a healthy new habit. You don’t want to give yourself any reasons or excuses not to do it! So take a few minutes to decide what you want out of your yoga practice. It can just be something simple, like “getting in shape”, and it can change with time as you learn more about yoga, but having a basic idea of what you’re looking for will help you choose the kind of class you want. If you go to any ol’ yoga class, it might not be what you’re looking for, which will make it easy to say “Oh, I tried it, but yoga’s not for me.” Well, that class might not be for you, but there are many different types of yoga classes! Try to identify what you want up front, and then choose a class that seems appropriate for your needs.

If you’re looking for a great workout, try vinyasa or ashtanga style yoga: these styles keep you moving! Or try Bikram yoga, or any yoga class that says it’s taught in a hot room. A yoga class at a gym will often be heavier on the fitness component, too. If you have an injury or a movement-limiting problem, try looking for a class labeled yin, gentle, or restorative yoga – these classes will move slowly and often use props to make sure you’re fully supported. When in doubt, look for a beginners or basics class, as this should be appropriate for anyone, no matter how nervous or out of shape.

And then (and I shouldn’t even have to say this), go to the type of class you’ve identified as being what you want. It’s really easy to say, “Oh, the beginners class is at 6:00, but a 7:00 class fits my schedule better, so I’ll just try advanced acro-dance yoga instead.” Don’t set yourself up like that. Sure, you might discover a surprising love for acro-dance yoga, but more likely you’ll be in over your head and unhappy. Know what you want, and then go do what you want to do.

Now that you have an idea of what you want to get out of yoga, next time I’ll talk about  ways to find some yoga classes in your area to try!

 

Yoga in the News: Good Posture July 19, 2011

Filed under: Miscellaneous,yoga — R. H. Ward @ 2:34 pm
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Here’s an interesting article from Boston.com about good posture. According to the article, people who sit slumped over a laptop all day, or who simply sit all day, are at risk for developing curved spines and other problems. However, there’s hope: as we all know here, yoga is excellent for improving posture. The article cites a study where elderly people with curved spines either attended a one-hour yoga class once a week or didn’t. The group who went to yoga had much improved posture at the end of the study. The article also recommends tai chi, which involves slow, deliberate movements, and pilates, which works the abdomen and core muscles, to improve posture.

 

Yoga Mob in Times Square June 22, 2011

Filed under: Miscellaneous,yoga — R. H. Ward @ 1:17 pm
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I’m postponing my previously scheduled pranayama post to bring you this: Yoga Mob Celebrates Summer Solstice in Times Square. What an amazing crowd! Here’s another longer story about the event.

Yoga Mob in Times Square

(Photo by sjunat55, courtesy of CNN iReport.)

 

Hangover Sequence May 27, 2011

Filed under: yoga,yoga lifestyle — R. H. Ward @ 2:30 pm
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In honor of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, I present you with a sequence of yoga poses designed to help with hangovers! (Or, if you prefer, to help with headache pain and remove toxins from the body.)

  • begin in child’s pose (briefly! and don’t just stay there!)
  • rabbit pose to start the warm-up
  • come up to all fours for some cat/dog tilt (also called cat/cow)
  • thread-the-needle side stretches
  • step forward and up to standing (yes, really, it will do you good)
  • 2 rounds of half sun salutes
  • 2 classic sun salutations (nice and slow now!)
  • standing sequence: warrior 1, warrior 2, radiant warrior, triangle pose, revolved triangle
  • standing sequence, other side
  • tree pose for balance
  • come to the floor for cobbler pose and paschimottanasana
  • marichyasana and janu sirsasana with a twist (these seated twists will wring the toxins out of your internal organs)
  • if time allows, take another seated twist (for example, adding a twist to a simple cross-legged pose)
  • inversion: legs-up-the-wall (no need to get complicated here, your head’s throbbing enough already)
  • sivasana (and maybe a nap)

I hope this sequence helps you have a terrific weekend! I’ll be trying it out on at least a few friends, so I’ll let you know how it goes!

If you’d like to read more about how yoga can help a hangover and learn why I chose these particular poses for this sequence, check out this article in the New York Times and this post at Elysium Yoga.

 

Yoga News: Yoga Teacher Agents, Yoga Fights Heart Disease April 7, 2011

Filed under: yoga — R. H. Ward @ 8:02 pm
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Here’s an interesting yoga-related article from the NYT: An Agent Pursues a Cut of the Yoga Boom

I know the NYT has been problematic for some people lately, so here’s a brief summary: This woman started a business as an agent for yoga teachers, the same way that movie stars, athletes, and rock stars have agents. Last year her agency arranged more than 100 gigs (for example, speaking engagements, modeling shoots, or workshops), and it already has that many on the books for the first quarter of this year, so it looks like the business is taking off. She currently handles bookings and “strategy” (not sure what that means) for 45 high-profile yoga teachers, including Leslie Kaminoff, whose yoga anatomy book I’ll be reading later this year.

On one hand, I could see this being a useful service, freeing up valuable time for the big name yoga teachers to just go teach yoga and not worry about the administrative stuff of handling the events (and, as Kaminoff pointed out in the article, not knowing how much to charge). On the other hand, do we really want yoga to be a “rock star” type profession? Do we want to feed into that culture? Do we even want “big name” yoga teachers? (I personally have never met or studied with any of the “big names”, although after a year of reading Yoga Journal magazine religiously I can now at least recognize most of the names.) I always wonder how much value these people can really deliver at the workshops and events they do.

In other news, yoga is good for your heart! I actually found this article through my job. A new study has shown that when patients suffering from atrial fibrillation (a chronic heart condition) participated in a supervised yoga program,  their arrhythmia improved and they also experienced fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression. Yoga made them both healthier and happier! Obviously *we* all know the health benefits that come with yoga, but it’s nice to see that serious medical studies are being done to prove it statistically!