Book Review: Harvard Medical School Guide to Yoga

Written by Marlynn Wei, MD and James Groves, MD, The Harvard Medical School’s Guide to Yoga pretty much had me at “hello.” To be honest, I get a little excited about anything published by Harvard because, well, it’s Harvard, and I assume it just has to be good. I’m also a bit starry eyed about linking yoga with medical research. So I cracked the book open….

The book can be characterized as a heartfelt east meet west. Both Wei and Groves have a personal connection to the yoga practice and compelling personal stories. Wei found yoga to find relief from her taxing job as a psychiatrist (and she also applies yoga in her work with her patients) and Groves (interestingly!) found yoga in his fifties. The book is a beautiful mix of scientific rigor and practical application with just enough yoga mysticism to feel authentic and sincere.

The book spans a wide range of foundational topics and I think would be a good addition to your library as a reference text. You’ll find:

  • the science of yoga (YAY!)
  • types of yoga
  • history and philosophy
  • subtle body systems
  • injury prevention
  • breathing
  • asana
  • mudras
  • guides for practice
  • yoga for specific health concerns

Throughout the book, the good doctors include references to correlating medical research (when appropriate) that provide research based evidence for the positive benefits of the techniques. Again – YAY! For those of you seeking to understand why yoga works, having access to this supporting research is enlightening and gratifying. If I’m going to be very, very picky, I will add that it’s good to be skeptical of blanket statements that are only supported by one or two studies. (One research study does not a fact make, no matter how good it sounds.)  I would also add that I would have loved for more specific physiological benefits to be included for individual asana.

Overall, if you are nerdy yogi, this book is an excellent read and resource. I personally love to have a “why” for the “what” when I’m teaching, and having a little science at your fingertips is useful when you’re luring more practical-minded students into the practice. Wei and Groves bridge the gap between western medicine and eastern practice with sincerity, clarity, and grace.

 

Check out book on Amazon.Com.

Check out book on Amazon.Ca.

Best yoga pants

Alright alright, I know that everyone out there has an article about the best yoga pants. So I’m going to weigh in and also provide a couple of links to some reviews that are out there.

First of all, let me say that I am not a fashion horse. I have been known to practice yoga in jeans and my sweaties and don’t really care what I’m wearing as long as I can move and don’t chafe. That said, not all products are created equal. And when I teach, it’s helpful to look like I didn’t just roll out of bed.

Lululemon is top dog for a very good reason. Great fabrics, good fit, nice detailing, and the clothes endure (in my experience). And I’m the jerk that puts them all in the dryer, too. I know that Lulu gear can get expensive, but I think it’s worth the price tag. Lulu also does pockets really well, which is not to be underestimated. Since I occasionally jog and work out in my yoga pants (in those activities, I am a bit more fussy about fit and fabrics), I really appreciate Lulu’s passion for being user-friendly and functional.

While Lulu is excellent standard wear, they don’t do crazy fun designs. For simple beauty, my favorite pants are made by the folks at Dharma Bums. Their designs are stunning and unique. Despite my personal lack of fashion sense, I get compliments on these pants every time I wear them because they’re so darn cute. But more importantly, Dharma Bums fit really well and the fabric is excellent. It’s soft, light, and durable. Great for practicing yoga and works just fine for a light sweat.

Get a discount! 20% off Dharma Bums. Use the promo code: RACHEL20 at checkout!

So: my two product go to’s? Lululemon and Dharma Bums. Both great for different reasons.

Here’s some more reviews of yoga pants.

Also, a quick caveat. Although I don’t wear shoes when I’m doing yoga, some people actually really like to have something on their feet when they practice, either because their feet get super sweaty or because they’re practicing sans mat. If you’re looking to investigate what you should put on your feet when you practice, check out more on this from the folks at Nicer Shoes. They did a little recon for you!

Yoga tourism and teacher trainings in Bali

The Yoga Barn has a wall that displays posters of its workshops. The teachers are predominantly white.

Travelling to Bali brought up mixed feelings. Happy to be there, certainly, but also confounded by the rampant yoga tourism. Who can blame the people here for giving us what we want? Whether it’s cheap massages (which don’t seem be frequented by the Balinese), asana classes (taught by non-locals) or raw, organic food (the Balinese tend to eat fried rice), I felt like I was sloshing down a tourist water slide. And I also felt like I was in danger of missing the point of travelling to Indonesia.

I didn’t take any yoga classes in Ubud, because I didn’t feel like paying thirteen bucks to go to Geoff’s class in Bali when I can get great yoga at home. I wanted to experience Balinese culture, not western culture set in an Indonesian setting. Maybe everyone else got the memo, but asana is not a Balinese tradition. The Balinese are Hindu, yes, but their daily life revolves around bhakti (devotional) yoga and temple ceremonies. My guide Wayan explained to me that people in Bali seek balance and clarity. Through ceremonies and offerings, they create balance, love, and community. However, there has been a huge uptick in last ten years (especially since Eat, Pray, Love) of yoga-seeking visitors. Bali offers an insane number of yoga retreats and is a hot destination for yoga teacher trainings. I suppose the only reason this bugs me is because Bali has become known as a destination for yoga asana. Which is not Balinese.

Here’s my point. If you’re going to Bali to do yoga or do your teacher training, then know that you are going to a beautiful location to participate in something that is, well, taught by foreigners. It’s like doing your TT in Costa Rica: great setting, great experience, but not indigenous to the local culture. I’m not casting stones: for the first week that I was in Bali, I participated in a yoga retreat where I went to classes taught by a nice gal who had done her teacher training with someone from Colorado. It wasn’t great yoga, but yes, it was a nice vacation.

My advice: if you’re going to make the trek all the way to Bali, don’t settle for just the yoga. Seek out the culture that lies beneath the asana and massage. Go to the temples. Talk to your Balinese drivers. See Balinese dance. Eat Nasi Goreng.

I understand that – unless we decided to make our homes in Bali – we’ll probably never get off the tourist train completely. That’s simply the nature of travel. However, wouldn’t it be more interesting to get on a train that has an Indonesian view?

How to Protect Your Yoga Business with Yoga Teacher Insurance

Hey new yogis, many of you have asked me about insurance and why you need it. Check out this guest article from Canopy. They cover some important points and – for my yogis in the States – I wanted to hook you up with this really great rate!

– Rachel 

Have you ever thought of what would happen if one of your students were to sue you? The average legal cost of a liability claim is $35,000 not including damages if you’re found liable. Insurance Canopy can help you find the yoga teacher insurance that is flexible enough to fit within your budget and still provide you with the protection you need.

What Is Yoga Teacher Insurance?

Yoga teacher insurance covers you in case you are sued for bodily injury, property damage, or personal injury.

You need this coverage for a variety of reasons. Let’s say, for example, you are a yoga teacher who routinely makes house visits. General liability coverage would cover damages to a client’s home if your yoga wheel indented their new hardwood floor.

Or, perhaps you are sued by a student because your instruction gave them an injury, such as a torn ligament or hurt back.

Do I Really Need Yoga Teacher Insurance?

Yes. It’s essential to carry yoga teacher insurance for the following important reasons:

  1. It protects your financial assets and can help you with legal expenses if you get sued, medical expenses if you were found liable for a client’s injury, or the cost to replace something if you damaged someone’s property.
  2. People won’t hire you without it. Many gyms and studios require yoga instructors to carry insurance. Some gyms or studios may require you to add them as an additional insured in order to conduct sessions at their gym.
  3. It keeps your career as a yoga teacher going strong, even if you are sued.

What Should I Look For in a Yoga Teacher Insurance Policy?

In addition to comprehensive coverage and low deductibles, you should look for the following features:

No Membership Required

If you have been shopping for yoga insurance, you know that the annual premium for yoga insurance policies can range from $150 to $350. In many cases, to access lower premium for yoga insurance, you must also purchase a membership in an organization or subscribe to a publication.

Insurance Canopy provides yoga insurance for a low annual premium of $129 with no membership required, making our policy one of the most cost-effective out there.

No Hourly Requirements

Whether you teach full time, part time, or as a hobby, our policy is available to you.

Insurance Canopy offers a single-cost policy that covers both part-time and full-time instructors.

Multiple Services Allowed

If you are a yoga instructor who provides multiple types of yoga instruction, you may have noticed that other insurance agencies require you to purchase a separate policy for each type of yoga that you teach.

With Insurance Canopy, you can provide multiple types of yoga instruction that will be covered under one policy.

Buy Online & Download Documents Immediately

Online access is important for yoga teachers on the go. With Insurance Canopy, you can purchase yoga insurance online within minutes, without needing to wait for a quote. You can also download your insurance documents 24/7.In addition, you can add additional insureds and have your proof of insurance within minutes at anytime during your policy period.

Insurance Canopy offers yoga insurance through a no-hassle, online process that is available at your convenience.

Additional Insureds

You may teach yoga at a single studio or travel to different locations. Gyms, studios, or other venues may require you to add them as an additional insured to protect them from your liability. To add a single additional insured to your policy, the cost is only $15.

With Insurance Canopy, you can also purchase unlimited additional insureds for just $30.

Have More Questions?

We hope this helps you understand what Insurance Canopy’s yoga insurance offers and what insurance coverages your yoga teaching practice may need. If you have additional questions, our representatives are available during business hours. Please contact us at 844-520-6993 or by emailing info@insurancecanopy.com.

How to Sequence to Bird of Paradise

Bird of Paradise is a bound standing pose, where you balance on one leg and try to look like a stork. But, you know, an elegant stork. It’s a doozy of a pose, requiring balance, open hamstrings, external rotation, and deep hip flexion. Let’s take a closer look at how you can get your students there.

Component parts – what needs to be warmed up or educated to do the pose

  • hamstring opening – particularly inner leg/ groin
  • flexion and external rotation of the lifted leg
  • internal rotation of the upper arm and openness to the chest
  • balance
  • binding – needs to be intelligently educated for health of shoulder
  • standing up – needs to be intelligently educated so that the work is coming from the legs and you’re not “hauling” the leg up with the upper body

Props you need

  • Strap

For this pose, there are some actions that need to be educated: binding and standing.

How to bind

I often see people binding in such a way that their chest collapses into spinal flexion. Binding at the expense of the chest (or binding and “hanging on for dear life”) is not optimal. Use a strap to lengthen the arms when needed. Everyone has different length arms relative to their torso. A bind that is easy for one person may be challenging for someone else. Honour the integrity of the pose over the aesthetics of “getting it.”

How to stand

Also, in Bird of Paradise, you have to stand up onto one leg. I often see students hauling themselves up by their upper body – in particular, letting the heavy weight of their bound leg rest in the bind of their arms.  Poor rotator cuff and shoulder! The leg is bigger – and heavier – than the arm, so don’t let the shoulder do the work of supporting the bound leg. Instead use the legs to lift the legs. Let the arms be decorative – not hauling machines.

Sequence of yoga poses

  • Wide legged child’s pose (opening groin)
  • Cat/ Cow
  • Sun Salutations – use to thread the remaining poses for flow class. Or simplify for hatha.
  • Side angle pose (parsvakonasana) with back shin down and parallel to back of mat (like a baby side angle) (flexion/ external rotation)
  • Low lunge (anjaneyasana) to half splits (ardha hanumanasana) (opens hamstrings)
  • Warrior two (virabhadrasana two) to side angle (parsvakonasana) (external rotation, flexion)
  • Humble warrior (extension and internal rotation of the arms)
  • Chair (utkatasana) shift weight side to side and balance on one foot (beginning to teach actions needed to stand up)
  • Chair (utkatasana) balance on one leg to step back into high lunge with hands clasped behind (extension and internal rotation of arms)
  • Tree (vrksasana) (balance, external rotation)
  • Lizard (flexion, external rotation)
  • Step forward to standing splits with top hip open (hamstrings, groin, balance) and stand up knee to chest (teach action of standing up)
  • Wide legged forward fold C (prasarita padottanasana c(hamstrings).
  • Add side to side shift (skandasana) for inner thigh stretch
  • Utthita hasta padangustasana b (balance, external rotation). This is bird of paradise without the bind.
  • Side angle pose (parsvakonsana) with teaching bind, use strap (flexion, external rotation, arms to bind, use strap)
  • Peak! Bird of Paradise. Teach how to get up into it first, then play.
  • Cool down should include outer hip stretches (those guys have worked to stabilize you!), perhaps a hamstring stabilizer like bridge.

Check out my sequence below.  While I’m not teaching this exact sequence, it shows how I teach you to come up into the pose safely (at about 44 minutes) and will give a similar sequence for you to practice and explore.

Happy sequencing!

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

How to sequence safely to Natarajasana – Dancer’s Pose

Natarajasana – Dancer’s Pose – is a beautifully challenging yoga pose. It’s a complex pose with a lot of benefits:

  • Opens the chest and front line of the body
  • Works your balance (ankle and hip stability)
  • Increases focus

The component parts (parts of the body that need to be warmed up or educated in order to do the pose) are as follows:

  • Hip flexor opening: the front of the hip needs to be stretched and opened.
  • Backbend: the backbend should initiate from the upper back (thoracic) and the lower back should be stabilized by the core, which leads us to ….
  • Core stability: engaging the abdominals intelligently prevents over-compression in the lower back
  • Hamstring opening: to hinge forward from the hip, the backs of the legs need to be open.
  • Arm in extension: the arm that is holding your foot is moving backwards in space. This helps with chest opening.
  • Balance: training the outer hips and ankles to support us in space.

Here’s a flow sequence that helps you warm up your body to make the most of the pose! Props you may want:

  • Strap

Opening

  • Virasana – Hero’s Pose
  • Cat Cow with leg and arm extended (Dancing Cat)

Warm Up

  • Surya Namaskar A with low lunges
  • Triangle trikonasana
  • Twisted chair parivrttta utkatasana
  • Eagle garudasana
  • High lunge with arms clasped behind
  • Wide legged forward fold prasarita padottansana  c
  • Sphinx and Locust salabhasana
  • High lunge into twisted lunge parivrtta parsvakonasana
  • Thigh stretch (add a quad stretch in low lunge, or do a pose like saddle)
  • Locust and Bow dhanurasana
  • Warrior 3 virabhadrasana

Peak

  • Dancers holding foot with simple standing quad stretch natarajasana
  • Dancers holding foot with arm in extension (behind), adding hinged forward backbend
  • Dancers holding foot with both arms above head and elbows bent – use strap to hook foot

Counter

  • Forward fold janu sirsasana or paschimottanasana
  • Seated twist ardha matsyendrasana
  • Thread the needle or seated outer hip stretch agnistambhasana

Happy sequencing!

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

Icon for infographic from:

A good, portable yoga strap: Zen Yoga Strap

The good folks at Zen Yoga Strap sent me a strap to try out.  At first I was dubious (“It’s just another kind of strap,” I thought. “Why not just buckle up a strap to whatever length you want? Why do you need this thing that looks like three loops sewn together?”)

Well, I’ll tell you why: Zen Strap is awesome.

The wide handles are much easier on my hands than the thinner straps that we usually get at studios. And because the handles for Zen Strap are sewn into a loop, you don’t have to hold the strap tightly to prevent it from slipping. You hold onto the loop, which is much easier because it doesn’t really as much on grip strength. Also, the fabric of the strap is thicker and more sturdy than most in-studio brands. With Zen Strap, it’s easy (well, easier) to hold my leg up in the in Utthita Hasta Padangustasana (Standing Hand to Big Toe) or Natarajasana (Dancer).

You can also use Zen strap around your wrists or your arms to help with shoulder opening and stability. For example, you put a hand in each loop and take your arms above your head, or you put an arm in each loop and do a handstand). Looking at the photos on the website, I was dubious when I saw the yogis using it for handstand, but then I tried it and thought, “Well, that’s pretty darn nice, actually.”

The limitation? Well, you have three loops to choose from in the Zen Strap and it’s not adjustable. So if the length doesn’t work for you, then you could be out of luck. For example, if you have very broad shoulders (or big biceps), then maybe sticking your arms into the loops will be too snug. I’m pretty flexible, so I can get Zen Strap around my feet in Paschimottanasana (seated forward fold), but if you’ve got tight hamstrings, you may need a traditional longer strap to get the support you need and keep your spine long.

The verdict:

I was surprised by how much I liked Zen Strap. If you’re looking for an easy strap-like accessory and want a tidy friend, Zen Strap could be it. It will never replace full length studio straps because it doesn’t have quite the same versatility, but it gets a lot done.  (And bonus, you don’t have to fuss with looping the strap into buckles correctly like you do with traditional straps – YAY!)

And, a promo code for you if you want to try it out. (No kickback for me, fyi.).  Promo code for 15% off: rscott317

What is the best yoga mat?

With so many yoga mats out there, it’s hard to know which one to buy! Here is my personal take on mats, and a link to a more thorough article by the folks at Runner Click and Reviews.Com.

My personal faves

I use the Manduka PRO Yoga. I’ve had it for about a decade and it is indestructible.  However, the Black Mat is huge and heavy. It lives at the studio where I practice and does not leave. In the backseat of my car is “The Mat” from Lululemon, which I carry around for those last minute yoga classes. However, it’s pretty heavy too, and I wouldn’t necessary want to lug it to every studio if I didn’t have a car. When I travel, I use my super light Manduka eKO SuperLite, that folds up into my suitcase.

Runner Click

Runner Click did a review of their take on the best yoga mats. You can read more here. 

Reviews.Com

Reviews.Com did a bunch of yoga mat test drives and compiled the data to help you find the mat that is right for you. I took a look and I think they have some good intel. There were a few surprises in there! If you’re looking to buy a yoga mat anytime soon, here’s a good place to start.

“As an instructor and student who rolls out the mat quite regularly, I know what features I prefer to support my practice. However, considering the many styles of yoga and workout routines that involve mats, I wanted to see what other yoga professionals thought, including those that have been at it practically since the time mats debuted (despite the practice of yoga dating back over 5,000 years, the yoga mat hasn’t been around all that long).

In the end, my top choices were pretty easy to grip. There is no perfect yoga mat, and no single mat fits everyone. If you’re looking for the best yoga mat that will support your asanas and be your new place to call OM for a lifetime, the Manduka PROLite is the way to go. It gets my top pick because its durability and versatility are unmatched. However, if you’re always taking hot yoga classes and you want to stick to your mat with no towel needed, Lululemon The Mat is likely your best option.

With over 50 hours of research on dozens of yoga mats, I focused on the properties and composition of the mat and how this applies to the various styles of yoga. I surveyed the masses, consulted with over 10 yoga professionals with years of experience on mats, and personally put many mats through hours of testing.

The process was sweaty, and reconfirmed that choosing a yoga mat is akin to choosing your wine — some get better with age, and it all comes down to personal taste. To help find the best yoga mat for you, I’ve also recommended top picks for specific formats, some of which include my top choices and others which do not.

The 9 Overall Best Yoga Mats….”

Read More.

The seduction of certainty: what Trump has to do with yoga

“Don’t turn your feet out.”

“Never drink water during practice.”

“Flex your foot to protect your knee.”

“Don’t invert when you’re menstruating.”

I love it when a teacher tells me what to do.  When a teachers sounds confident (or even better – arrogant!), some deep doggy pack instinct in me goes, “Follow this alpha. They will keep you safe! They know the way! Arf, arf!” Their certainty is a lamp in the dark, leading me down the right path.

We like teachers who seem to have found “the way.” We like following someone who seems “right.” We like being certain. Witness Donald Trump’s rise to success; part of his popularity is his stalwart conviction in his own good opinion.

Now, before we start a debate about the merits of Trump (I’ll leave that to other websites), I would like to point out that this addiction to certainty is not only political. I see it in yoga class all the time. Many teachers ride to popularity on the coattails of certainty. Whether or not they are accurate seems besides the point; the strength of their message is in their conviction. Teachers who take a more complex view of yoga alignment, sequencing, or philosophy seem to lack chutzpah. We confuse their nuance for uncertainty.

Does that mean we should toss out yoga rules and have a free for all? No, learning the rules is a great thing. There is a power to following the strictures of a tradition, and we discover our own discipline when we hold ourselves to a standard. Imagine if you will that the yoga tradition is a strange new continent, completely unexplored. When we are travelling into a new land, we need some landmarks to orient ourselves. These are the rules. For example, the YYoga teacher training that I’ve written is filled with rules; these initial markers provide an essential starting place for an exploration of practice. (“Place your feet heel to arch in Warrior II,” for example.) However, these landmarks don’t define the territory; they just give us our bearings. If we become too attached to our landmarks, we will never explore the rest of the country. And then we may start getting all judgy and dismissing anything that alls outside our rules as “wrong.”

Your teachers may not tell you, but the yoga practice is filled with ambiguity. How the feet are placed in Warrior I (ripe for discussion), how to effectively engage the core (another topic of hot debate), best sequencing practices (different in every class), or the correct way to really do a backbend (heaven forfend, the controversy!). Fellow yogis – the truth of the matter is that all of these questions have more than one answer. Each tradition has its own map of the territory, and each map may be a little different. No map can capture everything that is there. The answer to the question, “Is this right?” is almost always, “It depends.”

So, my fellow yogis, now is a good to in the world for us to beware of our dogmatism. Beware of the desire for absolutist certainty. Beware of getting it “right.” Route out your cherished absolutisms and subject them to loving scrutiny.

Visit the landmarks, get to know them, and recognize that the map is not the territory. It’s just there to get us started. Then go exploring.

 

 

YogiSocks: Want socks for your yoga practice?

Vadim and David got in touch with me because they’d created a product that they thought may help foot-shy yogis out: YogiSocks.

Now, socks for yoga are not a new idea.  ToeSox are the rather fancy original that go for $16-$18 a pair. For the same price, Vadim and David will send you six pairs in a box. In a nutshell, these are cotton socks with little rub pads on them that prevent slippage.

I had some friends try them out, and one size really does seem to fit all. We cavorted on carpet and on hardwood and found the socks to be comfortable and to hold their grip surprisingly well. The little stickies are in the right place and the socks fit all our different foot sizes easily. The gals also liked the fun colors.

Pro’s:
  • If you have foot fungi (sorry folks, awful truth here) or are shy about showing your feet, then these are an inexpensive alternative to sliding around in your regular cotton socks on potentially slippy yoga floors.
  • Inexpensive.
  • Fun colors.
  • Breathable cotton.
  • Useful if you want the option to practice mat-free.
  • Potentially good for sweaty feet.
  • I could see using these for Pilates or martial arts classes, or for just walking around on your slippy floors at home. Frankly, I could see using these in teacher training, when students are prone to leap up and do poses on hardwood floors and potentially slip. Freaks me out!
Con’s:
  • Fun colors (not everyone likes pink).
  • Most yogis don’t use socks because we like to be barefoot.
  • The stick factor is redundant on most yoga mats, because they are already sticky.
  • Not sure about longevity, especially if you use them because you sweat.

Alignment of values here is uncertain:

  • health-promoting: Yes, if you have foot fungi, these could be a great little helper!
  • celebrates authenticity: If you consider that choosing to wear socks is an assertion of personality.
  • emotionally elevating: Depends how much you love your socks.
  • educational: Nil.
  • high-quality: Unsure.
  • eco-friendly/ globally mindful: Unsure.
  • celebrates community: Unsure.

Details:

  • Amazon link to check them out.
  • Your 15% off promo code: XMXA8Z27

How to Sequence to Wheel Pose

This class yoga pose is complex! Requiring deep opening through the hips and shoulders, wheel uses the strength of the arms and legs to leverage the practitioner into the pose. Make sure to use stages for the peak, starting with bridge pose. 

Here’s a look at how I may sequence this pose for a flow style class. 

 

Component Parts (Parts of the body that have to be warmed up or educated to do the peak pose effectively and safely):

  • backbending (thoracic)
  • upper arms in flexion/ external rotation
  • hip flexors open
  • core engaged (lightly)
  • neutral hips

Sequence:

Opening

  • sit in virasana on blocks (meditation/ teacher talking, breathing etc) – find midline (squeeze block lightly)
  • interlace hands – take arms above head. reverse hand grip, repeat
  • cat/ cow (focus on movement of thoracic spine
  • dancing cat – core integration even when arm in flexion (don’t pop ribs)

Warm Up

  • 3 sun salutation A’s
  • intermediate/ advanced – add 2 B’s

Targeted Warm Up

  • Thread A (open hips) – right leg (these poses are linked)
    • Vinyasa to Dog
    • Right leg to 3-legged Dog
    • Step through to Warrior II
    • Parsvakonasana (arm over ear)
    • Warrior II
    • Three-legged dog then step right foot through to…
  • Thread B (closed hips):
    • High lunge
    • Open Twist
    • Lizard
    • Vinyasa to Dog
  • Repeat Thread A and Thread B on the left side
  • Intermezzo: Cobra, Sphinx
    • Finish vinyasa to front of mat
  • Thread C (closed hips):
    • Chair with block between hands – hover step back to …
    • High lunge – add backbend
    • Closed twist (parivrtta parsvakonasana)
    • Standing split (option stand up to chair)
    • Tadasana
    • Repeat left side
  • Intermezzo – Salabhasana, Sphinx with thigh stretch, Dhanurasana
  • Thread D (closed hips):
    • Chair with backbend
    • Vira III
    • High lunch with backbend
    • Low lunge with quad stretch
    • Plank – Dolphin (shoulder opener)
  • Peak
    • Bridge
    • Stages of Wheel
  • Cooldown
    • Janu Sirsasana
    • Ardha Matsyendrasana
    • Paschimottanansana
    • Meditation
    • Savasana

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

How To Sequence to Dragonfly Pose

I taught this delightful little power sequence in YYoga’s 3-Day Principles of YYoga Teacher Training as a demonstration of sensibly sequencing to peak poses. Keep in mind that access to Dragonfly is limited by the joint of the hip – not just the muscles. For more info on skeletal variation, check out Paul Grilley’s outstanding resources. Suffice it to say, the shape of the hip joint itself limits and controls how we move.  The deep external rotation and flexion that Dragonfly calls for means that it is simply not a universal pose.

But that’s no problem! It’s great fun and delicious to work towards it. And side crow and eka pada koundinyasana are awesome stages for getting there. Check it out.

 

Dragonfly Component Parts

What needs to be warmed up or educated for the peak

  • Core & Butt staying high
  • Hugging legs to midline/ neutral hips
  • External rotation and deep flexion at the hip
  • Lateral spinal flexion and rotation
  • Bright and engaged scapula – lots of serratus anterior
  • Hand engagement (hasta bandha)
Sequence
Opening
  • Start on back – transition to yoga practice, breathing, etc.
  • Figure 4 stretch both sides
  • Core integration (pelvic floor, slow crunches, slow obliques)
  • Move to child’s pose and walk hands to right (lateral stretch, yum) then left
  • Downward Dog – Uttansana – Tadasana (roll up, yummy, take time)
General Warm Up
  • Surya A with some extra plank core and scapular push ups – 4 x
  • Vinyasa to Downward Dog…
  • Three-legged dog right leg, three slow core crunches (knee to nose). Take one across body to opposite elbows. Cue hip height (get bum up!) and pressing through hands
Targeted Warm Up
  • First series:
    • Vira II – link to Parsvakonasana (can have elbow to knee, elbow in front of knee, or hover core)
    • Hand to floor, turn back heel up, then core sequence: place hands on block. Train hips to stay lifted as you hover front foot. Press into hands. Float foot back to 3-legged plank. Then draw knee in and hover foot again. Slowly two more times. Then step back to 3-legged dog (can keep hands on block if want).
    • Open hip. Keeping hips back and up into down dog, take knee out to side like doggy at fire hydrant. Extend legs – outer hip engagement, YA!
    • Step slowly through foot between hands
    • Vira II to humble warrior
    • Hands to floor, turn back heel up, back knee down – Lizard (bum up again!)
    • Repeat all second side, then vinyasa
  • Second series:
    • From front of mat.
    • Revolved chair – step slowly back into Revolved Side Angle. Raise up to Crescent. Lift front heel up and hold three breaths. Put it back town. Hands slowly to floor.
    • Awkward pigeon (external rotation front leg, bum up and back!)
    • Step front foot halfway down mat, root down through the left hand, turn onto outside of back foot, lift hips high, supported Side plank.
    • Repeat all second side, then vinyasa
  • Third series:
    • From front of mat.
    • Eka pada galavasana prep (ie: standing figure four) – slow transition to Warrior 3
    • Step to crescent and transition to Revolved Side Angle pose
    • Hands to mat. Step front foot halfway down mat, root down through the left hand, turn onto outside of back foot, lift hips high, supported Side plank.
    • Staying lifted through shoulder, lower hips. Pull left heel to bum. Ardha Matsyendrasana. Transition to Agnistambasana (stacked shin) or seated figure 4.
    • Transition out the way you came in to supported Side Plank.
    • Draw right knee into chest, shoot right foot under left arm to left side of mat, turn onto outside of back foot, Side Plank Variation.
    • Staying lifted in shoulder, set hips down (legs look an “L”). Straight legs, twist to front of mat, deep belly twist and IT band stretch (this looks like a prone revolved triangle). Five deep breaths.
    • Come back out the way you came in, slowly. Down dog.
    • Repeat all on left side.
  • Core:
    • Navasana with twist from side to side.
    • Tolasana
    • Repeat
    • Seated Dragonfly
      • Version 1: Twisted navasana
      • Version 2: Seated figure four with twist towards foot
      • Version 3: Seated figure four with twist towards foot, bottom foot lifted off floor (like navasana)
Peak
  • Version 1: Side crow
  • Version 2: Eka Pada Koundinyasana A
  • Version 3: Dragonfly – from eka pada galavasana prep
Cool down and Savasana
  • Anjaneyasana optional thigh stretch
  • Upavista Konasana
  • Happy Baby
  • Savasana
Tips
  • Bum up! It’s not the body part, but the action that is so key
  • A theme about accepting our unique, magnificent bodies is a beautiful way to invite play, exploration and fun to this sweaty, yummy, twisty practice 🙂

Try it and comment!

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

Enjoy! 🙂

 

Yoga confessions

I fall over in handstand.

I try, I miss, I get afraid, I fall. I am not one of those effortless inversion mamas, deftly floating from pose to pose. I admire those practitioners, marvel at their grace. I’ve been afraid of handstand since I fell out of it over four years ago.

I have other sins.

I am not consistent in my practice. I do not arrive every day on my mat at 6 AM. I arrive late, get flustered, leave early to get to meeting. My mornings are derailed by the previous evening’s glass of wine, a netflix binge, or the simple deep heart angst of an existential day. I get consumed in work, become anxious, forget to meditate, and catch myself texting when I should be listening.

I beat myself up, wonder what the point is, then am suddenly struck by the beauty of the autumn leaves. And I am reminded for a moment – a glimpse that is breathtakingly beautiful – that I am alive.

I breathe, remember myself, and return to practice.

And fall over in handstand.

But today in practice, I realized that the point isn’t actually to do handstand.

The point is simply to try. To show up.

Regardless of the wine, the netflix binge, the boyfriend fight, or the existential crisis. Show up anyway. Or in fact, because of the wine, the netflix binge, the boyfriend fight….to return. To come back. To breathe. To feel. To try to do handstand, again. To fall. To try. And to return the next day.

The point of our yoga isn’t achievement, but our there-ness. Our showing-up-ness. To remember, just for a moment, that we have a space inside us that is beyond distraction. Beyond success or failure.

A space of goodness that simply is.

And we are enough.

Photo credit.

The invitation

One of the most powerful gifts that yoga provides to us is a safe space to feel richly and authentically.

How many of us get caught in days of politeness, with work or with friends, “Why yes, Amanda, while I agree your projections are viable, I respectfully disagree and hope that we can find a mutually beneficial solution.” We wear masks in order to seem civilized, squelch emotions so we don’t appear irrational, and protect others from our fears, anxieties, or reactions. “No, Brad, that’s fine, I’ll just wait until tomorrow to finish the report.”

All this is part of civilization. Until we’re all able to find joy and happiness in every moment, we generally have a cultural agreement to smooth the roughness or at least not scream in public. Observe a playground full of toddlers: witness the true internal human landscape. Many of us have become so good at hiding our feelings that we can no longer feel them completely – even when we’re alone.

Yoga is a place that can inspire peace, quiet and calm, certainly. But let us make these the results of the practice, rather than a pre-requisite for membership. Too often I feel as if we are shushed the moment we enter the space, strapping on a feigned bodhisattva placidity in order to participate in the group experience.

Lest the door has not been fully opened until now, allow me to usher you into this sanctuary and greet you: your whole self is welcome here. Your tears, your frustrations, your anxiety, your shadow, your pain.  Your joy, your irrationality, your deep feeling, your sensuality, and your vibrant, shimmering soul. Your startling stained glass majesty as well as the burnt edges of your hidden shame.

Your whole self is welcome here.  On your mat. To breathe, to feel, and to be.

To be human.

Bittersweet human. The beauty of our no-win situation.

Two armies are poised for battle. Our hero falls to his knees at the impossibility of the choice: should he uphold his righteous claim to the throne and slay his enemy – who also happen to be his kin? Or shall he be killed and forsake his duty? Frozen by terrible consequences on all sides, he collapses and begs for guidance.

Arjuna’s battle in the Bhagavad Gita is a metaphor for the choices we face everyday. If we choose one path, we lose something. If we choose the other path, we also lose. There is no way to win.

As we get older, the simplicity of our childhood choices falters as we start to realize the world’s true complexity. There is no right way. There is no answer. Whichever way we choose, something gets taken away. Good mother, good career? Adventure, or stability? In each moment, we necessarily must cut ourselves off from a thousand other possibilities. Small choices in the past nudged us in one direction, and ten years later we find that small choice has thrown us onto another continent, another world, another life.

What if I’d bought that apartment? Stayed with that guy? Left that guy? Said fuck it that one time? What if I’d been more responsible and played it safer? What if?

Every path is bittersweet. I feel this truth so strongly right now because my fertile years will soon be exiting stage left. For the first time, time is imposing the brakes of real life consequences. The cumulation of choice is inescapable.

But here’s the thing.

This isn’t a problem.

No, my friends. As much as I may want to rail against and mourn the many paths I have not travelled, this bittersweet ache I feel is part of the tender beauty of being human. In each moment, we stand in the middle of our own compass, choosing our direction. And we do it again in the next moment, and the next. We have no right choice, we only have the artistry of this choice. And the next. A kaleidoscope of decisions that creates the tapestry of our lives. Fucked up, colourful, confused, full of inconsistency.

Making great art is rarely tidy or clean.

Our practice: Love this choice. Love this tapestry. With all your heart. With abandon and courage. Love your one, precious, and most remarkable life.

“I’ll never know, and neither will you, of the life you don’t choose. We’ll only know that whatever that sister life was, it was important and beautiful and not ours. It was the ghost ship that didn’t carry us. There’s nothing to do but salute it from the shore.”

― Cheryl Strayed, Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar

 

Ah, thank you Nico Luce, for reminding me today of the story of the Bhagavad Gita. 

 

How to cue Ardha Chandrasana

“Stack your hips.”

Oh, friends, how many times have I heard this oh-so-convenient (and oh-so-terrible) cue?

The problem with cuing stack your hips in Ardha Chandrasana is that most students can’t actually do it. It’s like asking students to “square the hips” in Virabhadrasana II. You simply can’t square the hips (or stack the hips) in most human bodies unless you torque the standing knee.

Here’s another contender:

“Step into ardha chandrasana.”

Bam. Just step into it. Just like that, people. Imagine Arnold Schwarzenegger, “Just Do It. Noooooowwww!”  No other instruction. It’s too tricky to cue through students through the transition, so we just tell them to step into it.

Another one:

“Engage your legs.”

Yes, good idea, but the real question is how?

Now, don’t despair if you’ve been using these cues. Transitions are challenging to cue, which is why they are so often glossed over. And Ardha Chandrasana is one of the most challenging poses of all! But let’s break it down, and you can give your students some great supporting cues to help them through this trickster of a pose.

What’s supporting me?

Question number 1: what is supporting us in Ardha Chandrasana?

To answer this, first ask: what is at risk during the transition?

In AC, the prime culprit for misalignment is the standing leg knee, right? It drops in both during the transition and during the pose. The culprit? Not enough external rotation at the standing leg hip! Here’s the skinny:

  • the standing leg is externally rotating
  • external rotation keeps the knee tracking over the ankle
  • weak external rotation will cause the knee to drop inwards
  • therefore, strong external rotation will help the knee to track and stabilize the pose!

When we’re teaching AC, it behooves us to set up our students for success by teaching external rotation of the front leg in poses such as Warrior II, Triangle, and Side Angle. Pre-teaching this action will give them the body imprint to carry this stability forward into a more challenging transition like Ardha Chandrasana. And getting these external rotators firing up is so good for our bodies!

Stacking the hips, help!

What makes AC different than Warrior III? Well, once the front hip has it’s stability, then the pelvis opens towards the side of the mat. This action is different than squaring the hips. “Towards” implies “as much as your body allows. Since everyone’s range of motion is different, I like to say something like this,

“Keeping your front knee tracking over your ankle, now open your hips towards the side of your mat as much as you can.”

Putting the stabilizing cue first (“keeping your knee tracking”) means that they are thinking about alignment, and then the sneaky little word “towards” gives them permission to only go as far as their own personal range of motion.

Engage your legs

Good idea! But soooo vague! Can we be more specific?

Do you mean,

  • “pull your outer standing leg hip towards the back of your mat to engage your outer hip”

  • “lift your quads to straighten your legs”

  • “lift your hamstrings and quads evenly to hug the femur to the pelvis…”

When we find ourselves using a blanket cue such as “engage your legs” (or engage your core), it’s a good idea to reflect if we can be more specific. There’s certainly a time and place for general whole body cues, but let’s make sure that’s what we want.

Try it out, let me know how it goes!

How To Sequence to Eka Pada Galavasana (Standing Pigeon Pose)

To do this pose well, you need open outer hips, coupled with hip buoyancy (from the core and back leg activation) coupled wtih a willingness to reach the chest forward to counterbalance the lifting of the back leg.  Component Parts:

  • Core (spinal flexion) – strengthening
  • Scapular stability – strengthening
  • Hands/ wrist (education)
  • External rotation of thigh – opening
  • Reaching of the chest forward (education)
  • Buoyancy through back hip/ thigh (education)
  • Toe education and awakeness

 

Sequence:

Props needed: Strap, two blocks, chip foam block

  • Sukhasana with forward fold (stretches outer hips)
  • Cat/cow – focus on spinal flexion
  • Surya A – break down and include section on effective chaturangas.  Chest remains wide, shoulders stabilized, and chest reaching far forward
  • Vinayasa to downward dog and…
    • Virabhadrasana II with humble warrior and strap.  Place feet heel to heel for more room.
    • Parsvakonasana with hand into inner leg, upper arm moving towards bind
    • Vasisthasana with top leg in external rotation and foot placed halfway down the mat (this is often used to modify, here is it to stretch the outer hips as well as educate hands and shoulder stability)
  • Vinyasas to front of mat.
    • Garudasana into…Vira 3 (focus on midline, extension of back leg as reach chest forward).  Step into..
    • Crescent and then lower to
    • Lizard – focus on lift of back hip as you reach chest forward
    • Return to top of mat, second side.
  • Vinyasa to front of mat.
    • External hip stretch (standing ankle to knee pose to open outer hip. Chest forward, hips back).  Vira III into…
    • Crescent….lower to…
    • Awkward pigeon – focus on moving from the thigh to externally rotate the leg – not the foot.  Again, back leg buoyant as chest reaches forward. Play with balance by taking your hands off the flow if you wish.
  • Navasana – Tolasana x3 – focus on core, shoulder stability, midline
  • Seated ankle to knee pose (flexibility through outer hip, lift of chest)
  • Seated toe stretch
  • Eka pada galavasana ** peak
    • Put it all together.
  • Cooldown
    • Anjaneyasana with thigh stretch
    • Upavista konasana
    • Baddha konasana
    • Savasana

Want more? Check out my continuing education courses in Yoga Sequencing and Teaching here.

Why the world needs big box yoga

Big Box Yoga.

Mainstream yoga.

Franchise yoga.

 

“It’s so…corporate,” the yogi whispers. “Sure, I occasionally go there, but the real yoga is happening at (insert name of small, financially unstable, ma and pop studio name here).”

The multi-location heavyweights – be it YYoga, Yoga Works, Core Power, or Bikram Yoga – are often criticized for wolfing down market share from the “authentic” smaller studios that once held dominion over the yoga lineage. And while some yogis embrace the change (oh, to have showers, lockers, clean mats, tea lounges, and infrared saunas!), others snipe at the offering: “Those big box studios. It’s just not real yoga.”

So what is “real” yoga, anyway?

Despite its recent appointment of a “Minister of Yoga”, not even India can really say. Over the last three thousand years, the term “yoga” has described a dizzying range of practices and conflicting philosophies. And despite this recent, cheeky bid for ownership, yoga hasn’t always been high on India’s list of national treasures. Many of its practices (like tantra) were initially reviled by the Indian mainstream.

So where does that leave us on this side of the pond? Are we just paying for a Lululemon clad workout rather than spending the same money at the gym?

Not exactly. Despite yoga’s complicated past, its practices have one common aim: liberation from suffering. And while North American yogis may show up at class to get longer hamstrings, a happier back, or a tighter ass, invariably they keep coming back for something else: “I feel calmer,” “I’m less bitchy,” “I’m just…happier.” Yoga teachers – Ganesh bless them – are still managing to get the essential message across.

The mission of “big box yoga” is to bring yoga – and its message – to as many people as possible. It’s true, we don’t look like an ashram: we eschew incense because some guests are allergic, we are wary of hands on assists and inversions because of lawsuits, we avoid naming our classes in Sanskrit because it’s alienating to newcomers. And we have an elaborate, corporate structure so that we can continue creating shiny, cleanly appointed, box after box in cities across the country. Because we want the non-yogis to walk in our doors and feel like they’re at home. And we want them to come back.

Yes, there are problems with our cultural version of yoga. North American practitioners are predominantly privileged, white, and materialistic. The yoga industry here is a strange, bastard child of our cultural heritage and yoga’s historical offerings. We don’t practice yoga in caves on tiger skins; we wear Lululemon, practice on $125 mats, drink $8 juices after class, and accessorize with malas without realizing that they’re tools for meditation.

And yet….

Big Box yoga is our next best chance for a North American spiritual evolution.

If hitting up a Vinyasa Flow class in Kitsilano helps us to feel a little less road rage and snap less at our kids, that’s good. If we experience less anxiety and depression (yoga has been proven to reduce both), that’s good. If we have more capacity to respond rather than react when conflict arises, that’s good. If we realize that our essential spiritual identity consists of more than thoughts in our head, that’s good. And while yoga may be an elitist practice now, these big boxes pave the way to making it increasingly accessible to less privileged communities.

And what about those smaller, more traditional studios? Will they be wiped out by the evil corporate empire? Not at all. Rest assured: those ma and pop studios aren’t going anywhere. In fact, big box yoga may ultimately inspire a whole new generation of seekers to investigate these more traditional venues. Once our newbies have gotten a taste for the practice, that is.

 

So, bring on Big Box Yoga.

Bring on the North American spiritual revolution.

One well-lit, over-packed, commercialized class a time.

What zombie hands have to do with yoga

I have a bad habit of reading my phone while walking into heavy traffic.

Yesterday, walking to lunch, I had to deliberately return my phone to my bag on three separate occasions after, zombie like, my hand decided to reach in and pull it out.

“No, Rachel, No!” I muttered out loud, as if my hand were a recalcitrant child that could be scolded into behaving, “Jesus.” I nearly walked into a parked Volvo. “Get it together.”

We are growing so connected, so “on” all the time. Information is strapped to our bodies, “Let’s google that,” we say, rather than “I don’t know.” “I’ll text her now,” rather than “I’ll ask her later when I see her.”

When there is that odd moment between the doing – like when walking or waiting in line – I instinctively rush to fill it with this information/ connection glut. It is much more comfortable to reach for my phone than to take a breath. There are so many delightful options at my fingertips that provide an immediate rush of competence and popularity: email, texting, Tinder (ahem), flipping through Facebook…there’s always some hook to catch.

It’s not our fault that we are uptrained to technology. Our culture supports this electric conductivity, encouraging us to be in our virtual minds as much as possible to be popular (you’re not on instagram?), well-informed (you don’t get google scholar alerts? what about the political gabfest podcast?), connected (you’re not on linked in?). Information and connection, at this point, are so prevalent that it is no longer a matter of if we can connect, but how we filter out the noise. For human beings, wired for community, connective technology is sugar for our psyche.

Connecting out is easy, fast, satisfying.
Connecting in is slower, messier, and can be scary.

When the furor dies down and the waters become still, pausing and turning into ourselves can reveal hurts, thoughts, vulnerabilities that are easily  scotched over in the fluster of our lives. At the end of my day at home, I sit and watch my compulsion to do anything (budget, email, eat glutinos, watch House of Cards) rather than breathe into the soft animal of loneliness that sometimes comes to visit. But when I am brave enough to turn in, connect, and invite myself to feel, then through the bittersweet human pangs there arises the deep sense of hereness, of being, of safety in myself.

The space between the doings reveals us again as human beings, breathing in the vast, unfathomable, and heart breaking space of simple aliveness and all our unfinished business. We move (as Jon Kabat Zinn eloquently states) from the digital world to the analog. Time is slower, counted by the footfalls on a forest hike rather than in the impatient milliseconds it takes a page to load. In the being moments, we are perfectly imperfect, practicing just being with ourselves as we are.

Yoga practice offers us a rare and precious space to turn inwards. To feel. To reclaim our deeper, older, and wildish aspects. We connect with that which is beyond words and speaks in the language of sensation. We make space to feel our physical bodies, our animal desires, our emotions, our intuition, our breath.

As we move in, we nourish the deep roots, dig into the dark soil of who we are. This re-integration gives us the solidity and form that we need to be steady amidst the winds. We can remember our purpose, our love, our softness.

Our hand then remembers to leave the phone in the bag. Because the walk is so much sweeter without it.