Click here to view the embedded video.

Hanuman, is a legendary character from yoga mythology. He has three poses, or asanas, attributed to him: hanumanasana (splits pose), anjaneyasana (lunge pose), and virasana (hero pose). This video illustrates the mythology behind all three and introduces a sequence that incorporates these three hanuman poses.

The story of Hanuman comes from the Ramayana, an epic poem and tale. In this tale, Ram and Hanuman are best friends. Hanuman was a demigod sent to live in the forest with a band of monkeys. When he was young, his name was Anjaneya, named after his mother. That is why we call this kneeling lunge pose Anjaneyasana. This pose named for the baby Hanuman is all about finding an even stretch. Virasana is another name for Hanuman. Ram’s girlfriend, Sita, was stolen by an evil demon so he sent Hanuman to save her. He prayed for the faith to do a seemingly impossible task. He prayed to be filled with confidence and love. The last Hanuman pose is (you guessed it!) Hanumanasana. This video shows how to get into this challenging splits pose through multiple variations and sequences. In this challenging pose, it is super helpful to remember that Hanuman is the embodiment of friendship and happiness – not suffering!

What do these poses have in common? They are all hip openers and involve the stretching of the psoas, the muscle that is most involved in moving through fear. And moving through fear is exactly what this monkey demigod does and what we can do through practicing these asanas. As we start to open these muscles, we begin to relieve our fear and our stress. When we do that, we can do anything.

Click here to learn more about the Kaivalya Yoga Method

People enter yoga through many doors; asana, pranayama, meditation, weight-loss, stress management. The list goes on. It doesn’t really matter which door you walk through or where the path leads, but hopefully, it continues to inspire and transform the yoga that lives inside you — “your” yoga. Your yoga is the one that meets you where you are at any given time. Its wisdom supports you while you play the edges, comforts you when you need soothing, and focuses you when clarity is called for. Your practice isn’t something you achieve, it is something you draw from deep within. It lives inside you.

Recently, I had the privilege of working with a yoga teacher from Chicago. “Bun” has an intelligent yoga practice. He knows his strengths and weaknesses especially since he works with a Femoroacetabular Impingement of his right hip. He has to be careful of internal rotation as it aggressively forces the boney spur on the head of his femur against the cartilage (labrum), wearing it thin. The tissue around the hip itself is moderately weak, and the left hip is considerably tighter due to the extra load it carries.

I prescribed a series of yoga poses to focus on strengthening the tissue around the hip and to create space around the joint. With injuries and physical conditions it’s important to find the right balance of strength, stability, mobility and release. Could Bun simply practice a vinyasa class that would increase his strength and flexibility? Absolutely. Given the understanding he has of his body, he knows what he can do and what to avoid; however, it’s not the the kind of physical practice that directly corrects the imbalance nor brings penetrable consciousness for a lasting change.  The yogi’s way is to tap into the yoga that lives inside. Here’s just a small peak into the yoga that lives inside Bun as of right now. I’ve shown three strength/stability poses and one for mobility/release. Thank you, Bun, for allowing me to share your story.

Single Bent Leg Press at Wall (Strength/Stability)

Stand near a wall and bend one leg at a 90 degree angle. Press the entire outer leg into the wall. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat opposite side. Practice a second set with weakest side closest to the wall.

Utkatasnaa (“Chair” or “Fierce” Pose) with belt (Strength/Stability)

Place a yoga belt around the top thighs and abduct (pull apart) them, trying to break the belt. If the work puts pressure on the knees, place the short edges of a yoga block between the inner ankles for more of a hip distance stance. Hold 30 seconds x 3 sets.

Follow with a “Half Dog” or Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend Pose) at the wall to release.

Supta Padanghustasana with wall, belts and sandbag (Mobility/Release)

Place one belt around one foot and mid-back, with the leg at a 90 degree angle.

Place a second belt round the opposite foot and the upper thigh of the leg stretched upward. Roll the inner thigh of the stretched out leg toward the floor. Roll the top outer thigh of the leg stretched upward. To give your student a wonderful adjustment to encourage release and space around the joint, standing near your student, straddle your feet around the leg stretched out. Work your outer ankle inside the belt of the leg stretched upward, using the belt and the position of your body to help make space around the tissue and hip line.

Want to learn more about finding your yoga and helping your students find theirs? Join Leeann Carey Yoga in a Yaapana Yoga teacher training to learn more about the power and application of yoga therapy.

Love,

Leeann

Click here to view the embedded video.

Come learn all about this and so much more in our Anatomy: Form & Function and Stretch One-on-One weekend intensives offered in Torrance, CA, Henderson, NV, and Chicago, IL in the next 30 days.

Love,

leeann

There are so many different approaches to Chaturanga Dandasana and my December post about it being a ‘shoulder shredder’ stirred up some healthy debate and questions from the Yoga community.  Due to the overwhelming requests for additional information, this post is a follow up to last month’s blog.  I headed into the Yoga studio, camera in hand, to capture examples of winging and protraction in Chaturanga Dandasana.  After twenty minutes of long holds, with shaky arms and an increasingly sweaty Zobha top, the results are in.

Let’s start with your primary request:  What does winging look like?  In this first photo, you can see (particularly on the left side) the tips of the shoulder blades lifting off of the rib cage, casting shadow, as I dump into my front deltoilds (shoulders) and pecs (chest) to fight gravity.  You’ll also notice the blades are squeezed together (rhomboid contraction) so much that there is back-cleavage happening and the muscles are all bunched up around my non-existent neck.  Can you see how my shoulders have elevated up toward my ears to help take some of the weight?  Rhomboids and trapezius are running amuck. Classic compensation.

The photo above is the result that is all too familiar:  The instability can cause a chain reaction, including letting go of the lower abdominals (transverse abdominis), which makes my body feel even heavier. As I struggle to lower with control, I descend my face toward the floor giving me the illusion of lowering my body. Now I must resist the weight of my lowered head and hips with essentially with my upper back (rhomboids), pecs (chest) and shoulder (deltoid) muscles with no help from the shoulder primary stabilizer, the serratus anterior, to help control the descent.  Notice that my shoulder blade has peeled off my back so much, it has lifted the strap of my top up too.

As I begin to lower into Chaturanga with my serratus anterior on, notice how far apart the blades are and how smooth the skin is.  No shadows from winging blades. Even the straps from my top are further apart. The slope of my upper neck and back (trapezius) has returned here as my shoulder blades are also depressed down and away from my ears, all as a result from an active serratus anterior.  I am pushing into the floor as hard as I can (as if to do Cat pose) as I bend my elbows to lower down.

This is the result. First, check out the straps to my top. They lie flat on shoulder blades that are glued to my rib cage.  Because I’m pushing up against gravity as I lower, my entire abdominal core is active.  I’m just shy of a 90 degree bend because I don’t feel the need to hit that angle in my practice.  I still get plenty of work and I’m confident my shoulders are safe.  My arm bones are kissing my ribs and elbows are pointing behind me as a result of maintaining the contraction of my external rotators (infraspinatus and teres minor) during the descent. (hint:  Begin in Plank with your external rotators on, the ‘eye’ of the elbow forward, then simply bend your elbows maintaining the rotation)

It’s true, being a good instructor requires x-ray vision so we can see healthy alignment. Luckily, we have skin, joint angles, boney landmarks and handy Yoga top straps among other visual aids to guide us.These are the kind of tools you get from an integrated, embodied anatomy training.  It’s a must-have for the safety of your own practice and your students. There are many Yoga Tune Up® Trainings scheduled in 2012 (including a YTU Level 1 Training I’ll be leading in Irvine, CA Jan 27^th – Feb. 4^th). Check out one near you!

Click here to learn more about my upcoming YTU Level 1 Training in Irvine!

Click here to see upcoming TYU tranings

Click here to read the original Chaturanga article that started it all!

Giving up on going back to sleep, I made my way downstairs, careful not to wake our new puppy and my fiancé. I got myself a glass of water, feeling parched from the night’s rest. I took a drink and then I took a deep breath.

I made my way to the living room and sat down in front our large picture window. It was still dark outside, but the light was starting to peek through the trees. I sat for a moment and stared out of the window and then I began to move and stretch. I started with a nice long Balasana (Child’s Pose), found my way into some yummy cat-cow stretches and then worked my neck and shoulders. Next, I moved into gentle twists, forward folds and stretches for my back. Finally, I found myself in my seat, or Sukhasana. Sitting upright, spine lengthened, crown of the head lifting towards the sky, palms resting easy on my thighs, I watched the breath go in and out through my nose and consciously worked to quiet the mind. After a while, I broke my meditation and came on to my back, gazing out of the window again. I studied the way the trees looked against the morning sky and took note as the wind blew through their branches. I considered what I needed to do for the day, but more than that, I considered not doing anything for a little while longer. Finally, when I felt it was time, I got up and started my day.

I wish I could say that every morning starts off as relaxing as this one did, but that’s not realistic. More often than not, I’m waking up just in time to get started on my to-do list for the day. Juggling my new workload has been a challenge and I’ve found I need more time to prepare each day. I’m grateful for whatever bit of Universal energy urged me out of bed this morning. It’s so much easier to lie in bed and try to force myself to go back to sleep, but getting up and finding those few moments of respite before the day begins is not only calming, but grounding as well.

An at home practice should be whatever you need at that very moment. Some days it’s Sun Salutations, standing poses and inversions. Other days it’s light stretching, breathing and meditating. This is the practice of presence and awareness. Your personal practice, or Sadhana, changes each day just as you change each day. The first step is showing up and experiencing where you are in order to create more mindfulness and awareness for your body, mind and spirit.

Whether you have a personal practice, or are resolving to start one in the New Year, start where you are each and every day and you will no doubt find exactly what you need.

How does your personal practice change each day? Do you make time to practice even when you feel you’re too busy? How has your idea of a personal practice changed the more that you practice?

I personally know several practitioners who have undergone surgery to repair their tendons from too many Chaturangas done improperly. Often, it can be attributed to a lack of activation from a particular shoulder stabilizer.

In the photo above, you can clearly see the head of her humerus (top of the shoulder) pointing down.  This is the classic mis-alignment that can lead to injury.  First, she needs to keep her shoulder at elbow level and not go below as pictured.  If she were to integrate a little bit of Cat pose here, pushing into the ground as she lowered, it would help pull her shoulder blades apart in PROTRACTION allowing the arm bone to maintain a more neutral and healthy position.

The Serratus:  The MVP of shoulder stability is a gorgeous, multi-fingered muscle called the Serratus Anterior that starts at the inside edge of your shoulder blade, wraps its long fibers around your torso and grips your upper eight or nine ribs. In addition to keeping that inside edge of your blade firmly down on your back, it pulls the blades apart (protraction) and down (depression).

If it’s not working, your shoulder blades can start to peel off your back (winging) and the head of your arm bone careens forward in the socket, leaving little space for the tendons of your rotator cuff muscles. This can create a shearing force on those tendons and their bursa.

How do you know if it’s turned on? The shoulder blades are moving away from each other as they do in Cat pose for example. If the shoulder blades are moving together, Serratus Anterior is turned off and shoulder tendons are vulnerable during load bearing postures, like Chaturanga.

Usually, it’s a classic series of unhealthy movements: As people begin Chaturanga by bending their arms, their elbows start to drift away from the ribs, shoulder blades move toward each other and they crane their necks down, moving their heads lower than their torsos.  Repeat 20-30 times per class, 3 classes per week. This is a hot mess.

To safe guard your shoulders and your practice, hug your elbows into your rib cage and push away from the floor as much as you can as your lower

Properly executed Chaturanga can give you deliciously strong, healthy and shapely shoulders. Save the shredding for bodybuilders and snowboarders.

Yoga related injuries are preventable. All it takes is a little bit of anatomical education and self-awareness. Please JOIN ME IN LOS ANGELES in JANUARY for the YOGA TUNE UP® LEVEL 1 TEACHER TRAINING in Irvine.  Sun, surf and Sandskrit!  See you there.

And before you bend over backwards for family this holiday, check out the Yoga Tune Up® website for a class, workshop or training near you.

Upcoming YTU Trainings

Yoga Tune Up® Level 1 Training | Friday, January 27, 2012 – Saturday, February 04, 2012 | Irvine, CA, Equinox Fitness

Yoga Tune Up® Level 1 Teacher Training | Friday, February 24, 2012 – Friday, March 02, 2012 | Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Kripalu

Yoga Tune Up® Core Integration Immersion | Thursday, February 02, 2012 – Sunday, February 05, 2012 | New York, New York, YogaWorks Soho

Yoga Tune Up® Core Integration Immersion | Thursday, February 16, 2012 – Sunday, February 19, 2012 | El Segundo, California, YogaWorks

YTU Classes in New York City

Yoga Tune Up® w/T’ai Jamar Hanna, Wed. 4 – 5:15 & Thurs. 1 – 2pm, Studio Anya

Yoga Tune Up® Restore w/Matt Giordano, Thurs. 2-3:15pm PURE West

Yoga Tune Up® Flow w/Kyoko Jasper, Wed. 6-7:30pm , Reflections Yoga

Yoga Tune Up® w/Kyoko Jasper, Sat. 10-11:30pm, OM Factory

To find other YTU Class throughout the country, go here

To learn more about me, visit my YOGANONYMOUS profile page

For more info on Yoga Tune Up® visit www.yogatuneup.com

I need more than ten fingers to count the number of yoga training programs I’ve attended. Still and yet, all the information in the training manuals only partially prepared me for meeting students where they are. Working primarily with two kinds of yoga groups; students rehabilitating from injuries and those studying to be yoga instructors or already instructing, have both challenged and sharpened my teaching.

Here’s what I know for sure. When it’s time to dismantle a pose that someone is struggling with, consider looking at them with an eye of curiosity. Relying solely on the information in your training manuals is only partly helpful. Understanding the gift of teaching and your connection to it is about observing, listening, reflecting and responding.

Following your curiosity opens a door to knowing something you didn’t know before. It welcomes your intuition to move from the background to the foreground. And it will cultivate in you, a deeper level of listening to what’s happening now.

Teachers have to be willing to take learning risks while they’re teaching. Most often teachers don’t because not knowing the answer in the moment can be intimidating. However, this kind of skill-building can only come through exploration and a willingness to settle into a solution no matter how long it might take. Teachers who exercise their intuition can offer so much more than the contents of a training manual. One supports the other. It’s authentic and courageous. It’s the yogi’s way.

To illustrate this, two of my kids have agreed to help me out. I’m using the same yoga asana, Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend) to address their individual needs, ultimately meeting them where they are. After all, “mumsie” knows best!

Robyn – Obvious challenges: S-curve scoliosis (right thoracic convex), tight hamstrings:

When Robyn practices this pose she reports that all the stretch is in her hamstrings. Not a big deal, but with spinal curvature, it would be smart to modify the stretch in a way that could also effectively stretch her back.

I took a fairly close-up photo so you can see the discrepancy of her spine. Her right thoracic is convex and rotates her to the left, while her lumbar rotates to the right, therefore, creating an S-curvature in her spinal column. Your curiosity might immediately go to the right thorax since it looks larger than the left; however, it’s already getting plenty of stretch. Although both sides of the spine need to be addressed, it’s the left thoracic (concave side) that always lacks stretch due to the pressure put on this segment of the spine.

Sometimes our curiosity immediately goes to what is most obvious, but a more intuitive look will include a pointer to the light’s shadow.

In the second photo Robyn rests a 10 lb. sandbag into the crease of her left elbow, which pulls the left thoracic into a deeper stretch which ordinarily she can’t get without additional support.

Recommendation: Standing Forward Bend with support as shown in the 2nd photo is a wonderful way to equally stretch her spine, but not supportive enough for her to stay in more than 5 breaths. In order to work up to staying in the pose for 1 – 2 minutes, I recommend practicing all variations of Child’s Pose (center and sides), with 2 sets of the arms to the right in order to sufficiently stretch the left thoracic, Downward Facing Dog Pose (on rope wall if available) with right hand turned out to flatten right thoracic and left arm straight to maximum stretch to lengthen left thoracic, and Supported Extended Big Toe Pose with the left arm stretching up a wall to lengthen left thoracic (concave side) and the right hand at the hip to encourage right thoracic (convex side) to flatten.

Alex – Obvious challenges: Anterior tilted pelvis, tight hamstrings:

The first photo shows the difficulty Alex has bringing his hips over his ankles. When asked to do this he complained of feeling as though he would fall over. Students that experience this have two things happening: ultra tight hamstrings coupled with an anterior tilted pelvis. Here’s what happens. The hamstrings have to stretch out in order to help pull the pelvis forward in any forward bend. Structurally, Alex already has a forward tilted pelvis, but his hamstring muscles are considerably tight so it prevents his lower back from lengthening in a standing forward bend. Instead, it’s forced to flex because there isn’t enough support from the hamstrings. The second photo shows an option that meets him where he is without putting strain on the lower back while maintaining the integrity of safe alignment.

But the real root of the problem is not the hamstrings. It’s the hip flexors. Here’s how I figured it out.

When I looked at Alex in the first photo, my curiosity led me to his lower and mid back, specifically where the junction of the lower back and mid back meet. When he stands upright it is easy to identify the anterior tilted pelvis. Basically, he stands with his butt sticking out! He is an Ultimate Frisbee player which requires a tremendous amount of running and jumping. He stretches, but probably not enough given his activity level. The forward tilted pelvis keeps his hip flexors in a short locked position, meaning that they are contracting more often than lengthening.

So although it is useful to stretch out the hamstrings, it is just as important to stretch the hip flexors to help bring the pelvis more into a neutral position and take some of the load of off the tight hamstrings that when tight, make the lower back flex in forward bends.

Recommendation: Supported back bends and lunges that target the hip flexors, such as  Bridge Pose, Supported Low Crescent Pose with a variation of one arm supported on rope wall in order to deepen the hip flexor stretch, and Supported One Legged Supine Hero Pose.

To learn more about how to teach yoga students, not just lead poses, go to leeanncareyyoga.com to learn more about our Yoga Alliance approved 300-hour Yoga Therapy Teacher training program with ACE CEC’s.

The Autonomic Nervous System is our bodies’ way of dealing with change and challenge. Whether we are rushing to catch a flight or taking a nap, it is the responsibility of the autonomic system to either amp up our heart rate or down-regulate our nervous system. Located in the hypothalamus of the brain, it impacts our drives (sex, hunger, thirst), delivers feedback for the control of our emotions (fear, anger, pleasure), and regulates our water, salt and hormonal levels, as well as our heart rate. Amazingly, all of this responsibility is housed in something the size of a pea!

Sympathetic vs. Parasympathetic

Two branches make up the autonomic system, sympathetic and parasympathetic. (There is also the enteric system which controls the gastrointestinal system, often considered a 3rd branch, and sometimes considered its own independent system entirely.) The sympathetic nervous system is what conditions our body to flee from danger to maintain survival. When confronted with threat, the body must act quickly by increasing the heart and respiration rates to flush the muscles with blood (in order to run quickly), boost mental alertness, as well as dilate the pupils.  During the times of hunting & gathering, this system was imperative to run from the tiger to save our life. However, if the threat is that of emotional stress, the sympathetic system reacts the same. It cannot distinguish between a hungry tiger and a traffic jam.

The role of the parasympathetic system is to regulate the excitation of the sympathetic. In essence, its function is to restore a sense of calm. Through stimulation of the hypothalamus, the parasympathetic response helps to lower blood pressure and slow the heart rate. By stimulating one relaxation response, the entire sympathetic system will respond and lead you to becoming stress-free.

Chest Breathing and Belly Breathing

If you primarily breathe in the upper portion of your lungs, known as clavicular breathing, chances are you are primarily living in your sympathetic nervous system. Clavicular breathing occurs by lifting the shoulders and collarbones and contracting the abdominal muscles in order to quickly bring in air. While this is good in emergency situations, in the long run, it exhausts the body and can lead to anxiety, stress, sleep disorders, hyperventilation, asthma, and panic attacks. Shallow breath not only can be a result of stress, it can be the cause!

Belly breathing is the most sedative breath. Also known as the diaphragmatic breath, it entails the expansion of the abdomen rather than the chest. The diaphragm is a dome shaped muscle housed near the bottom of the ribcage separating the heart, lungs, and ribs from the abdominal cavity. It is the primary breathing muscle and when we are relaxed, the diaphragm contracts, enlarging the thoracic cavity and creating suction to pull more air into the lungs.

Try the breathing exercise in the video below featuring Jill Miller, Creator of Yoga Tune Up®: Belly Breathing Technique: Yoga Tune Up® Stress Relief Exercise

Click here to view the embedded video.

How to Create Relaxation

One of the primary benefits of yoga is to down-regulate the nervous system and induce a state of calm. We have all experienced a savasana that left us blissful and smiling all the way home. You may have thought it was simply because of the physical challenge of the asanas, but what truly made the difference was your quality of breath!

Here are some tips for inducing relaxation:

1. Yoga Tune Up® Balls

These miracle workers in the shape of a rubber ball can melt away your shoulder and upper back tension and leave you feeling refreshed. Plus, you can carry them with you everywhere!!

2. Pranayama

This is the science of breath control. There are many ways to play with both the intake and output of breath, One of the quickest ways to down-regulate the nervous system is by elongating your exhale. Try inhaling for a count of 4, and exhaling for a count of 6. Over time elongating your exhale count to 8 or even 10. After a few cycles of this breath-work, lie on the floor in savasana and witness your own complete relaxation.

3. Meditation

Meditation can be simple! Do not be intimidated by the pictures of yogis sitting in full lotus position, or by the ashrams bellowing chants. Simply find a comfortable place to sit, preferably with your spine elongated. If you have tight hips, prop yourself up onto a pillow or block, or even lean yourself up against a wall! Then attempt to empty your mind of thoughts, and focus on your breath, Follow the streamline of inhales to their exhales. Meditation does not need to look a certain way, it is merely the act of stillness, and witnessing your mind.

4. Awareness

The next time you are confronted with a challenging situation, whether it is a difficult conversation, a yoga practice, or a work deadline, pay attention to how you are breathing. Attempt to induce belly breathing and maintain it while navigating your way through.

For more information on how Yoga Tune Up® can help you manage stress and Live Better In Your Body check out our latest blog on how to Combine Breath and Movement for a Quiet Mind

Here are some practical tips on how to connect to the ever so challenging lower abdominal muscles. We will refer to them as your TA …or more specifically, your transverse abdominals!

What is the Transverse Abdominal?

The Transverse abdominals are our deepest abdominal muscles and act as a corset stabilizing our spine and making our lower belly narrow and flat. Yay!

They lie underneath our obliques and connect to our pubic bone by ligaments. This makes training them crucial to pelvic floor engagement and mula bhanda.

They also connect to our diaphragm aiding our lungs and making our breath more powerful.

Training your Transverse Abdominals is tricky. When they are weak, the feeling of engaging them is sometimes so subtle it gets overlooked. Don’t give up though, it is well worth the effort!

A “Real Life” Example Of What Your Transverse Abdominals Feel Like.

Imagine you have a pair of drawstring pants you are tying on. Your two frontal hip bones should feel as if they are drawing toward one another and your waist should feel as if it is narrowing.

Next, imagine you are trying to zip the fly on some really tight skinny jeans and you have to “suck it all in” so to speak. (Not that you’ve ever had to do that of course….) You should feel that everything from your pubic bone to your navel is sucking in and up.

So What’s The Big Deal?

It is difficult to train the TA alone as it  often gets “bullied” by the other more easily accessed abdominal muscles.

This result is overtraining the other abdominal muscles and a bulky lower belly pooch instead of the sleek lower abs we actually want. Very frustrating indeed!

If you’ve ever seen a bodybuilder with overdeveloped abs that stick out, you know what I’m talking about. A lower belly pooch is often the result of an overtrained rectus abdominal (the most superficial abdominal muscle) and an under-trained transverse abdominal.

A Reminder – Why Is The TA So Vital For Women In Particular?

The TA is particularly important  to cultivate for women who have had children. The Transverse Abdominal muscles are directly connected to the pelvic floor muscles.

Strengthening them not only gives you back your pre-baby body but prevents embarrassing accidents as well. If you have ever laughed so hard a little pee came out you know exactly what I am talking about.

A Simple Excercise to Find and Engage the Transverse Abdominals

Place your hands on your hips and gently press your fingers into your abdominals and give a polite “ahem” cough like you are trying to get someones attention. You should feel a deep smooth muscle engage underneath your fingertips. That my friend is your Transverse Abdominals!

Engage Your TA All Day Every Day for Strong Adominals!

So now that you know how to engage your TA, use your “ahem” cough to engage your transverse abdominals whenever and wherever you like. Over time you will be able to engage without the help of your cough. In fact you don’t even need to make a sound as you “cough” it’s more about just bringing your awareness to that area of your body. Over time it will just become automatic.

Every once in a while double-check with your fingers to make sure that you are engaging correctly. You will know you aren’t doing it right if you feel your lower abs bulge out.

I think if the “Most Interesting Man In The World” (The Dos Equis Beer Commercial Guy) were to explain all of this he would say “I don’t always cough, but when I do I make sure to engage my transverse abdominals. Stay strong my friends!”

I couldn’t believe I could get that choked up during a pose (especially since I’m notorious for rolling my eyes during sappy movie scenes). My teacher/mentor’s voice sounded distant, but I continued to let her words drift in as she encouraged us to stay with it, walk into the tension and let it dissolve. I stuck it out and she was right.

Knowing about the emotional release during hip opening poses is nothing new to me. I’ve heard it countless times as a practitioner and I’ve talked about it in my own classes yet was totally taken aback when it actually happened to me.

My right hip is usually the nice one… but not on that day. Two days prior, my husband and I had a run-in with a very irrational male parent. A situation that I allowed to ruin a huge portion of my weekend. In yoga, male energy is referred to as Shiva and is the domain of the right side of the body. Female energy, Shakti, is the domain of the left side of the body. So, it’s no surprise that this unnecessary conflict involving a hot-headed  man and one directed at the little man in my life, my son, would wind up causing emotional tension that would manifest in my tissues (specifically my right hip).

Funny how in our culture we’re always trying to achieve the mind/body connection when it’s so obvious to those who regularly practice ancient disciplines such as Yoga that there is no separation between the two. I often hear teachers talking about energy when teaching hip releases and I can totally relate to that and believe energy to be very real (and there‘s some science to back it up as well). However, for our  prove-it-or-I-can’t-believe-it kind of society, science — specifically anatomy in this case, can explain emotional release in the hips just as well.

The norm for daily American life typically involves hours-upon-hours of sitting followed by moving  in straight lines for the remainder of the day. The full range of motion of the hips is rarely utilized. In addition to that, we are wired for survival mode. The fight-or-flight response helps us humans protect our internal organs from damage in extreme situations. It is a survival response that we really cannot control and it’s not conscious, but rather instinctive. When this stress response is invoked, it begins with a strong contraction in all of the flexors of the body, including the psoas one of the major muscles that runs through the hip area and abdomen and also works to lift and lower the leg. This contraction draws the ribs closed around the visceral organs on all sides so that we stand a chance of living through, or surviving falling, being dropped when we‘re infants or even being attacked. So, the psoas responds when you feel afraid! The hip flexors draw the knees in and close the hips at the low back and upper legs as part of this protection. The psoas is one of the major hip flexors and this muscle sits close to the diaphragm (which helps us draw our ribs in during breathing). The diaphragm and psoas are also attached at the same lumbar vertebra. So think about how you breathe rapidly, clench your jaw, bunch up your shoulders and maybe even ball up your fist when you are angry. Those types of contractions, that response to stress, repeated over-and-over can cause a build up of tension in the muscles thus leading to pain and tightness a lot of which rests in the hips.

So we develop these negative physical habits and they become so familiar to us that we become desensitized to the harm we may be causing our bodies. Practicing yoga (asana, pranayama, meditation and more) releases stuck energy from our bodies thus the wonderful feeling we have after we’ve finished a class.

It is possible that after an intensive hip opening class you may feel down or even irritable. Don’t shy away from practicing more. On the contrary, this is a sign that your are releasing harmful emotions thus freeing yourself a bit  from the bondage of daily living in our society. This release can often feel scary, but if you stick with it… if you stay in the pose… if you deal with those tough emotions, you’ll ultimately feel better and even empowered. Remember, nobody can take care of you better than YOU, but the hardest part is walking into that discomfort so you can let is go.

One of my all time favorite books, The Little Prince, is just brimming with simple yet profound wisdom about life. Author Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote, the field of consciousness is tiny. It accepts only one problem at a time. So just as your hips might take a while to open, be patient because they likely took a long time to get knotted up with your compounded stress.

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Recently I led a workshop for yoga teachers at a body/mind conference in San Diego, CA. We covered a lot of pose breakdowns, which is always rewarding. Troubleshooting solutions for different body types is a little like being in a lab. You never know how one insight will lead to another so it’s important to be open to the process. The only formula I know for this is meeting the students where they are. The LCY mentors and I practice this acceptance on our mats, too. It’s not always easy, but it is always inspiring.

Throughout my travels this year, I’ve had the privilege of working with yoga instructors from all over North America and Canada. My experience in general, is too many yoga instructors feel badly when they run across a yoga pose they cannot execute well. What’s worse, I’ve perceived an embarrassment, almost shame surrounding this. I hear rumblings and comparisons being made, and some share concerns about not being as mobile as some of their students.  My advice? Welcome acceptance.

I always enjoy talking and listening to yoga teachers about how to meet their students and themselves with loving kindness on the mat.

NEWS FLASH TO ALL YOGA INSTRUCTORS: There may be poses that you will never be able to practice well without additional support or you may come to realize that some poses just aren’t right for your body. No need to feel defeated. Instead, consider it as a giving moment to embrace what is present. Adjust to the utter kindness of letting in support and letting go into what’s happening now. Strategic yoga prop support helps you learn how to safely and efficiently leverage your strengths, accept your weaknesses, and explore them with a soft breath and calm mind. Sweet relief!

For this month’s article, I’ve used real examples from some of the LCY mentors including myself. Each one of us shares our challenge on the mat. My hope is that it invites you to address your own obstacles with loving kindness, and inspires you to inquire about the level of support required for meeting yourself where you are over and over again. It’s an on-going process that changes over time. We just need to be there. That’s the yogi’s way.

Some solutions to addressing difficulties in a pose are often found in other poses that require less. And they will always include a soft breath and calm mind. In essence, a yielding body and mind. Let’s take a look.

Ansley – Current condition: Shoulder surgery recovery, kyphotic thoracic spine

My preference is to put Ansley in a supported back bend to address her thoracic spine, but this modification of Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose) worked out to be an interesting way to stretch her mid back without putting strain on the recovering shoulder.  The adjustment I am giving helps to soften the T-spine tissue. The verbal cue is an invitation to breathe into that area and lift and move the front spine forward. The only goal is to wait for the giving moments and follow them with breath and awareness; to let in and let go.

Chrys – Current condition: Tight hip flexors, anterior pelvic tilt

Chrys says that back bends are not her “go to” poses. Tight hip flexors make back bends tricky because they require the pelvis to be in a posterior not anterior tilt. This modification of Viparita Dandasana (Inverted Staff Pose) is especially helpful. The rolled mat creates a deep bend in the thoracic spine and counters the hyper extension in the lumbar spine caused by the tight flexors. Tight hip flexors tend to throw the pelvis forward (anterior pelvic tilt) and places additional load on the lumbar. As a result, the pelvis may feel light and the lower back heavy. The adjustment I am giving Chrys weights down her thighs, bringing her pelvis into more of a posterior tilt. The tilt, combined with a thoracic back bend, frees up the load in the lumbar and supports the mid back to open. It allows Chrys to breathe and soften in the pose and explore areas that otherwise would not safely be available to her in a back bend.

Kristin – Current condition: Tender hamstring insertion, hyperextended knees, flat thoracic spine

Kristin often shares that her upper traps and neck are tight and her breath feels “caught” in her chest and around her shoulders. During the day she spends a lot of time sitting and bent over, which tightens her hip flexors, hamstrings, mid and upper back, neck and shoulders. This variation of Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog Pose) is perfect for someone with tight upper traps and serratus anterior. Of course, it also stretches the hamstrings and gives wonderful traction to the neck. Kristin is wearing Variation I of the yoga “shoulder jacket”. I’ve made the loop very long so that I can hold onto it and pull back. The pulling draws her upper traps down and away from the ears, taking weight out of the hands and shoulders and distributing more of it into her lower body. Here her neck can lengthen out and relax. Also there is a folded blanket underneath her head so she can rest it there, looking to achieve nothing other than letting go.  This variation allows her to smooth out her inhales and exhales and relax into the equality of the stretch while releasing tension in her upper back, neck and shoulders.

Leeann – Current condition: Tight hamstrings, shoulder injury, tight thoracic

Let’s just say that in general, my body has seen better days! Additional hours sitting at the computer has stiffened me. Wear and tear on my spine seems normal for my age, but I never thought I would meet the day when my spring out of bed would morph into a shuffle and slow drag. OK, I’m exaggerating a bit, but sometimes that’s how it feels. I am in a variation of Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend Pose). Oh, did I mention my calves are tight? That’s why there’s a bolster underneath them, positioned a few inches away from the wall so I can sneak the soles of my feet at the wall and work my shins against the bolster. Having my feet in a dorsi flexion at the wall gives my calves a great stretch. All of the support from the rest of the bolsters help to rest my torso against them and relax into the support. The sand bag on my upper back helps to relax my back. My investigation is about breathing into the resistance I tend to hold there. Being elevated on the chair supports a proper hip hinge required for a safe forward bend. Jules is adjusting me by placing one foot against my sacrum. She gives a gentle push in and up, while pulling back on the belt to discourage collapsing in my lumbar. With each soft inhale I let in more space and with each relaxing exhale I let go of tension.

Lisa – Current condition: Tight hip flexors, tight upper back, achy lower back

Lisa has to be careful of her lower back. From time to time she picks up her youngest child and carries her on one side of her body, doing no favors to her back and posture. But how can she resist? Of course, she can’t — no mother could;  however, as a result, she has to be extra careful of her back. Besides Viparita Karani (Legs Up The Wall), Balasana (Child’s Pose) is a favorite of Lisa’s. In order for her to relax and let go into it, she needs a level of support that answers the tight hip flexors and stiff lower back. She is in a variation of Balasana that uses two bolsters, the top one angled so it lifts to meet her torso rather than her torso dropping (which, with tight hip flexors makes her hips lift) to meet it. But the special ingredient is a sand bag placed across the upper back, which helps to weight down the shoulders. This added weight gives her nervous system feedback to relax and sends a message to her brain to surrender. Ahhhh. The icing on top of the cake is the adjustment of putting gentle downward pressure on her shoulders, and slightly separating them so they move down and away from the ears. Not too much weight though or it will build tension in the mid and lower back. With each inhale, Lisa invites a soft breath in that encourages length and traction, and with each exhale she lets go into her lower back releasing and relaxing.

Of course, these modifications and adjustments aren’t right for everyone. You have to find the recipe that truly meets you where you are. Being open to the investigation is the first step to accepting what’s happening now. The rest is practicing how to let in and let go through the process as it changes. And it will. This is the yogi’s way.

Shine Your Light!

Here’s the thing. Bridge pose (Setu Bandha) creates a back bend when you lift your hips into extension. The power tools of hip extension are your glutes. The hamstrings help. So how can you reach your maximum hip extension without the oomph of your gluteus maximus?

You can’t. So why must we soften this muscle in the first place? Turns out the glutes do more than just create your backbend. They also grab onto the tendonous portion of our upper thigh at the top of your IT band, and spin your thigh bones (femurs) outward (external rotation). Ever notice how the feet want to turn out in Bridge and Wheel? That’s why. As the mighty glutes contract to lift your hips ever higher, the harder they squeeze, the more your leg bones want to turn.

These two movements are the problem. They tend to cause a traffic jam in the lower lumbar vertebrae and its closest neighbor to the south, the sacrum (lumbar-sacral junction). It gets ugly. Back pain, strained muscles and disk issues if you do it long enough.

The solution? Two things. One: Contract the inner leg line (adductors) to counteract the external rotation. Try putting a block between your upper inner thighs. This eliminates some of the collision between the lumbar spine and sacrum. Two: As you lift, try to actually tuck your tail under (posterior pelvic tilt) moving it in the opposite direction of the back bend arch. This helps move the sacrum downward and away from the lumbar bones, even as you continue to grow the back bend (spine extension).

It’s a classic Yoga maneuver:  Moving in in opposite directions at the same time.  I learned about this and other crucial Yoga anatomy concepts at the Yoga Tune Up® Level 1 Teacher Training, Integrated Anatomy Training and the Hips Immersion.  More anatomy education means more healthy backs!  Practicing Yoga without in-depth embodied anatomy is like letting your cat drive your car. It might go well for a little while…

Before you bend over backwards for family this holiday, check out the Yoga Tune Up® website for a class, workshop or training near you.

YTU Classes in New York City

Yoga Tune Up® w/T’ai Jamar Hanna, Wed. 4 – 5:15 & Thurs. 1 – 2pm, Studio Anya

Yoga Tune Up® Restore w/Matt Giordano, Thurs. 2-3:15pm PURE West

Yoga Tune Up® Flow w/Kyoko Jasper, Wed. 6-7:30pm , Reflections Yoga

Yoga Tune Up® w/Kyoko Jasper, Sat. 10-11:30pm, OM Factory

To find other YTU Class throughout the country, go here

YTU Trainings w/ Jill Miller

Yoga Tune Up® Teacher Training: Level 1

Friday, February 24, 2012 – Friday, March 02, 2012 | Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Yoga Tune Up® Core Integration Immersion

Thursday, February 02, 2012 – Sunday, February 05, 2012 | New York, New York

Yoga Tune Up® Core Integration Immersion

Thursday, February 16, 2012 – Sunday, February 19, 2012 | El Segundo, California

Upcoming YTU Workshops

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida:

Yoga Tune Up® Core Integration Immersion
PreCon Workshop w/ Jill Miller, 11/10, 2011, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

New Haven, Connecticut:

Yoga Tune Up® Bliss Out w/ Lillee Chandra 11/10 and 12/8, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Norwich, Connecticut:

Low Back, Hips & Legs: As is Above, So is Below, w/ Christine Jablonski 11/13, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Los Angeles, CA:

Yoga Tune Up® Bliss Out, (Culver City) 11/20, 2011 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Yoga Tune Up® Bliss Out, (Palos Verdes) 12/03, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Yoga Tune Up® Bliss Out , (Marina del Rey) 12/04, 2011 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

All w/ Trina Altman

St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada:

Tension Tune Down: Self- Massage and Relaxation, 11/18, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Explore Your Core, 12/03, 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Both w/ Amanda Tripp

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada:

Yoga Tune Up® Tune Down Series, w/ Alissa Blais 11/20, 11/27 and 12/4, 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM

County Waterford, Ireland:

Breathe In, Bliss out (Yoga Nidra), 11/19, 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM

Feel the Power of Self Massage, 11/27, 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Yoga Tune Up® back Rescue, 11/27, 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM

All w/ Dagmar Khan

Zagreb, Grad Zagreb, Croatia:

Shoulder Shape Up, w/ Annette Kraemer-Batosic 12/03, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

To learn more about me, visit my YOGANONYMOUS profile page

For more info on Yoga Tune Up® visit www.yogatuneup.com

Last month, we took a look at Warrior I.  This month we’ll take a peek at Warrior II. But first, I’d like to say something about Practice itself.

If you read my first column, you’ll know a little bit about my relationship with Practice.  From my years of piano practice (and swim team), it was drilled into me that there are certain attributes to a successful practice.  Among them are regularity, and the constant refinement of fundamentals.

I’ve chosen to begin this column addressing the Warriors, because I consider them foundational and fundamental standing poses: figure these out, and you’ll have a solid starting point from which to build other standing poses.  Moreover, fundamentals are always part of regularity, ie, you practice them all the time, even when you get more advanced, and fundamentals begin to seem…well, easy.  That’s a good thing—it’s a sign that your practice is growing, and you are advancing.  Nonetheless, it’s a good idea to continue to examine foundational postures routinely, with regularity, because your relationship to the pose with change and shift as your body does.

These points seem simple, I know.  But, the simplest points are sometimes the easiest to forget.  For instance, about five years ago I was beating myself up over the fact that I still was struggling to balance in headstand without the assistance (security!) of a wall.  As I let go of that punitive attitude, and began to look for ways to change the reality, I realized that I spent about three minutes, once a week, working on the pose.  Now, this is no way to find mastery!  How did I get good at playing the piano?  HOURS of practice, including lots of scales.  There’s no way to get good at ANYTHING doing it three minutes a week.  Silly me.  I knew better than this!

So, if you are challenged by something, look into the way that you are structuring your practice, and find out if the addition of fundamentals and/or more regularity would help you.

Big Hugs,

Erica

Warrior II

I do love Warrior II.  It builds so much heat and power in the thighs!  It seems to puzzle teachers and students less, but still poses a challenge to get the hips really open in this, and find the 90-degree bend in the knee.

In my lineage (Forrest), we do this pose with a completely open hip girdle.  What this means is that the two front hip crests are completely level, in all regards.  This requires a lot of flexibility and strength in the joints.  Here are the basic alignment cues:

~Line up front heel to back arch.  Feet are 4 to 4-1/2 feet apart from one another.

~ Inhaling, lift ribs away from low back, and reach out through arms

~ Exhaling, bend front knee so that it aligns directly over the front ankle.

~Inhaling, lift ribs again, making more space in the low back.

~Exhaling, reach sitzbones and tail bone down to access core strength, and lengthen the spine.  Check that the front knee is still aligned over the ankle.

Some good poses to warm up for Warrior II are Boddhakonasana, and ankle to knee, both which open the hips out, in the same direction that the front leg will go in Warrior II.  Core work is also good, to prep for supporting the ribs away from the low back.  Also, bridge will bend the knees to ninety degrees, and start to warm up the thighs.

Check out this video via Pravassa below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Enjoy!

The Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Pema Chodran, Jon Kabat-Zinn and many other Buddhist and non-Buddhist meditators vibrate with an energy that is quite simply awe-inspiring. And we know from their work in the world, that their creed is meditation and compassion.

While fascination exists for many of us, it does so in tandem with fear and an unwillingness to step into the territory of complete surrender. Even if someone has not had a fully conscious meditational experience, the idea of delving into it evokes latent fears.

Meditation is a form of surrendering to oneself and that means allowing yourself to be vulnerable, which is something most of us are engaged in avoiding. Vulnerability here means looking at yourself clearly for who you really are. And most of us feel we are not prepared to do that.

Our experiences and education teach us to look at ourselves from a certain vantage point. We each have an idea, a thought about who we are. We define ourselves by what we like, dislike, and what our concepts of right and wrong may be. Our personalities are a careful construction of layers informed by our life experiences and our environment, that don’t just keep the world at bay, but keep us on the outside of our own authentic core. A core that is wrapped up in much fear. The idea of shedding fear is therefore enough to inspire fear itself.

Our carefully engineered lives keep our soft inner core farthest from our conscious mind. We like to view ourselves from a place of pre-conceived notions, that way we start believing what we project of ourselves in the outside world, when in reality what we are projecting may just be a defense mechanism that has been cultivated from years of experiences. We continue to make feeble attempts at labeling ourselves and putting our personalities into carefully organized, comprehensible boxes. When in truth, the human being is as dynamic and multi-faceted as the universe it belongs to, and continues to evolve over the course of his/her physical. We are not just the sum of all the good stuff we have experienced in life, we are very much made up of the disappointments, failures, heart-breaks and let-downs that have been part of our growth too. To embrace one and neglect another is to live half the human experience.

Meditation is a visceral experience, it creates the reality of allowing ourselves to peek a little closer at what lies beneath the many layers of our personality. Getting into the practice of meditation is like, allowing oneself to drop into the real, inner core of who we really are. It allows us to reveal our truth to our own selves. It gives us permission to just be.

Dropping into that place that holds no opinions, no voices and no pre-conceived notions is simultaneously fascinating and fearful because it is akin to walking an unknown territory. And we are all programmed to fear the unknown. However, to live a life where our own inner core is an enigma to us is like living an imagined concept, or a half-life. What lies beneath the layers is the richness of your own individual self that always exists in harmony with the vast universe. Why not tap into that real self, embrace who you are, warts and all and move with that giant reservoir of purpose and energy?  Perhaps it is the big-ness of that which drives us to the ends of our smaller, carefully conceived self. But even as we live our constructed lives, a lingering question of who we really are and what we are truly capable of, never quite leaves the realm of mental query

Meditation offers us that window, that breathing space, that ‘permission’ if you will, to be okay with what lies beneath. To be accepting of it and loving of it and in that acceptance, trusting ourselves to drop further into our core. It takes great courage to travel the un-chartered territories of our mind and spirit. But this is also where true intimacy lies. Intimacy with oneself is what gives us the courage and the capacity to be intimate with others in openness and honesty and lead meaningful lives.