Building Heat

Just in case I hadn't whined enough about the weather here - I wanted to take this opportunity to complain that on Saturday May 28th we are apparently going to have a high of 39 degrees with rain/snow. Blech. I hate winter weather... especially when it's practically summer! It's getting sooo old.

I guess I'll be hiding in my house with hot tea for a little while longer. I'll be meditating and trying to do a little restorative yoga over the weekend. Adam is on a baking kick, so there will also be plenty of pie to keep us warm.

Yoga Tip: Long holds of headstands build heat. By long holds I mean around 5 minutes or more. Depending on your level of practice. You can save time by doing a long headstand instead of 6 sun salutations near the beginning of a practice.

Other benefits of Salamba Sirsasana (Supported Headstand) via Yoga Journal:

Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression

Stimulates the pituitary and pineal glands

Strengthens the arms, legs, and spine 

Strengthens the lungs

Tones the abdominal organs

Improves digestion

Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause

Therapeutic for asthma, infertility, insomnia, and sinusitis

Practicing Awareness

Of all the times I've been injured or had to jump-start a neglected practice - this one has to be the most intelligent so far. I think so anyway. I mentioned Monday that I had a weird back thing going on that was bad enough for me to rest 100% for 2 days. This means I really did nothing. I spent most of those days lying in bed. I didn't even do laundry which is bugging me because I always do laundry on Mondays. I watched a lot of TV on the laptop and read magazines. I even spent some time just lying there staring at the ceiling and "feeling" what was going on in my body. I've been really good about paying attention to my body this week. I'm proud of myself.

I went on a walk yesterday figuring that wasn't too strenuous and I meditated when I got home. It's been a very educational little break. By this morning (Wednesday*) I was feeling less like my shoulder/back was trying to stab itself off of me. I only felt a little stiff and slightly sore, but a little hesitant to practice. I've mentioned before that my morning practice consists of a couple sun salutations, headstands, handstands, and forearm stands. I first had to talk myself into sun salutations. Slow quiet sun salutations. Every breath, every tiny movement and placement of bones, every pull or push - I listened.

Softening into my practice isn't my forte' but I made it through the whole thing without pain. That's all I did and I'm determined to take it slow. For all I know, this injury could have come about from a series of bad habits and careless moments. I'm practicing awareness and creating a safer practice.

I know of lots of yogis that have made a comeback from far more serious injuries than me... I just have to be patient and kind to myself.

* - these posts are almost always written at least a day early.
Also - There would be pics but my internet is acting stupid, so that didn't work out.

Dreamers and Doers

"The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do."

 - Sarah Ban Breathnach

His Chin is floating, not resting. It's just hard to tell here.

Reading from the Inside Out

I'm on Day 2 of full and total rest. Luckily I have some reading to catch up on. I have my new Yoga Journal, and I always have Light on Yoga sitting on the table being disappointed in me. Maybe I'll get around to starting that book for like the 5th time if I run out of mags and movies.

Recently I finished a great book. I actually started it in January, so it's funny that I just finished it. It's only 138 pages long. I swear I'm literate. The book in question? Christina Sell's "Yoga from the Inside Out: Making Peace with Your Body Through Yoga". 

I'll be honest. At first when I got this book (Christmas) I flipped through it and went - oh this book is for people with problems... That's not me. Eventually though, I got off my high horse and read the damn book. You don't have to actively be "at war with the body" to get a lot of amazingly beautiful insight from this book. It's entirely possible that reading this book contributed to me resting my body right now instead of pushing through the pain (because yes I'm kind of a fitness junkie that pushes too much).

As I read it, I marked pages with notes to talk about it here. Eventually it just became a farce and I had to admit that it was the whole book. If you've ever had a problem with your body, or struggled to treat it well, or want to better understand how yoga can change your life, or want to hear how the back body represents the Universal, or wonder what it really means to have a healthy body image... READ THIS BOOK. That is all.

I'm not being paid and no one asked me to review this book. I just bought it, read it, and recommended it.

Resting 100 Percent

I woke up yesterday morning with an evil back pain of doom. What's up with that? I don't really know. I didn't even do anything on Saturday, so I've been kinda confused about it. I don't appear to have actively hurt myself, but the pain is definitely there for some reason. I spent most of Sunday just kinda feeling crappy, but otherwise going about my business. I did my morning weekend practice which is just a few sun salutations and meditation. Nothing strenuous. Then later I did some plyometrics (because I do that on weekends) with a 1 mile warm up walk and a 1 mile cool down walk. At that point I actually felt great. All the jumping and pushups and whatnot made me feel amazing. My back didn't even hurt! I can't imagine how plyos could've possibly made my back feel better, so I'm gonna call it a fluke. So I continued going about my day. Went to the park, watched squirrels, cuddled the dog. You know, the usual.

Hours later I sat down and had this outrageous pain start shooting through my back/shoulder. It comes and goes, but mostly it's there... and it sucks. Some research suggests that depending on what the hell is wrong I should either rest completely for up to 3 days, or I should go on as usual. I usually go by the rule that if it hurts when you're not doing anything - you should rest it completely for a while. Since this pain is definitely there all the time I've decided to give it total complete rest for 2 days and then pick back up with my yoga.

In the meantime, I'm realizing that I'm somewhere between dedicated and addicted to my yoga. I want to do yoga All The Time. Discomfort? Do yoga! Tired? Do yoga! Feel stiff? Do yoga! Now that I'm not allowing myself to do yoga - it's like I'm going stir crazy. I find myself plotting and trying to figure out ways I can sneak in some yoga anyway. I'm not giving in. I promise. I'm going to rest...but this is really hard.

John Friend says to give 100% all the time. When you're working - give 100% and when you're resting - rest 100%, so that's what I'm doing. I am committed to doing what's right for my body - even if the right thing is Nothing.

Doggy Photo Source: Apparently everywhere. That dog gets around.

Granola and Sunshine

I found this recipe for Homemade Granola over at I'm Organic - whose fabulous wonderful infinitely useful tote bags I own. They aren't paying me to say that, I just thought I'd throw that in there... because it's true. And I'm all about spreading the truth.

Anyway... I haven't actually tried this recipe yet. It looks really good though and I've wanted to make my own granola for a while. It's especially helpful for having a lot of wiggle room in the recipe. When you're allergic to nuts (like me) you have a much harder time finding recipes and pre-made items that you can eat.

If you try the recipe - let me know how it goes. I'm off to frolic in the sun while it's out. That's right. I said frolic.

Within the Heart

"The little space within the heart is as great as the vast universe. The heavens and the earth are there, and the sun and the moon and the stars. Fire and lightning and winds are there, and all that now is and all that is not." - The Upanishads

Don't know who this is or where it came from. I just know it's Bad Ass.

A Single Step Today is One Less Step Tomorrow

Sometimes we have pain. Maybe it comes and goes... maybe it's constant. Perhaps it becomes chronic. Maybe it's only been there for 1 day, but it's pretty serious. You start to imagine the pain will NEVER relent. Maybe you feel like it's been this way forever. It's so bad you can't remember what it was like not to be in pain. This makes it difficult to let go of the notion of being in pain.

This has some serious effects, long and short term on your health & well being. You start to hold your breath, tense up, and hold fear tightly in your chest... and in your muscles. Fight or flight takes over and your hips and psoas become hard. You fear moving, relaxing, being touched. This interferes with your daily functioning.

Sometimes simply relaxing will actually make it a bit better... but when you're in so much pain - How can you relax? Sometimes you may fear being present in your own body. It becomes as if you're being held hostage by your own body - or by your fear of the pain.  This builds further muscle damage, emotional pain and anxiety. For many it goes so far as narcotic pain killer abuse which can be fatal.

If any of this describes you - or has before - you probably recognize it. Studies are finding that meditation is a natural pain killer. A physical yoga practice can provide relief from fibromyalgia, arthritis, anxiety, etc. You have to push through some degree of discomfort for therapeutic yoga to work... physical and mental. But what's waiting on the other side - Freedom from fear of pain - is bliss.

If you give yoga a try - you can start to replace that fear with love. It may start with a single glimpse of peace while sitting. You can replace that tightness with a free open space. At first it may be very small... at first it may be measured in moments. You can stop holding your breath - and start to feel your lungs expand freely with life. It may start with a tiny spark in your ribs. It may start small, but you have to start somewhere to make a journey of a thousand miles.

Strong is the New Skinny

5 Habits of Healthy Successful People

Sorry about the days and days of no posts. Every time I tried to blog - Blogger was down so eventually I was like "Meh. Long Weekend!".

Some people just glow with health and inspire you to work harder at becoming your highest self. They weren't just born that way though. Most people have to work hard at becoming and maintaining that ideal. It takes commitment... but you can totally learn that commitment by replicating some of their good habits.  Here's a look at 5 habits of Healthy Successful People - or people that are successful at being or becoming their healthiest shiniest self.

1. Planning Ahead
     If you're going to be a success at anything - you have to plan for it. If you want to be able to call yourself a yogi - you have to make the time to do it. You can't just go about your day and assume or hope that it'll all fall together in a way that works for you. Not planning a time to do yoga is a fast way to end up saying "Dammit, it's 9pm and I never did yoga! Where did my day go??" I know this because it's something I've done a lot of. The same goes for running, weight training, eating healthy meals, and even showering if you're really busy. This also means setting goals (short and long term goals).

2. Doing it Anyway
     Some days you're looking at your mat (or running shoes, or the kitchen) and thinking "I'd rather eat my own hair than do that today". However, if you want to meet those goals you set you're gonna have to suck it up and make it happen. It helps to tell everyone you're going to do it - then you're held accountable (unless you're prone to telling lies, but that's another post). My personal rules: unless I'm menstruating, have an injury, or am really sick- I'm doing it. I might not go balls to the wall intense, but I'm going to do something. Often times once you show up and do a little bit of work you're glad you did.

3. Pushing Yourself
     You're never going to make any progress if you underperform every time. I'm a big fan of finding your edge and living there. I breathe into my edge when I'm doing a forward bend or pushing my scorpion pose a tiny bit deeper... or running a little faster... running longer... lifting a little more weight. All that work you do makes you capable of doing more - but you have to maintain awareness of how much more you can or can't do. Find the line between working too hard and working too little. It's the Goldilocks dilemma of health and fitness.

4. Writing it Down
     You are probably not an anal retentive organization freak. I am sometimes. Mostly about lists. I write To Do Lists...and grocery lists... and packing lists...and I write lists of what I did today. Whenever I do yoga I write down what I worked on and how long I did it. When I lift weights - same thing. When I run or hike - I write that down too. That way I can see if I'm starting to lose momentum or if I'm actually overdoing it. I can see if it's been a full week since I did anything. I can see how long I've had an injury (because I write that down too) and what I was doing when I got it. If you know where you are - you can plan how to best move forward. And sometimes it feels good just to see what you've accomplished.

5. Feeding Your Body Appropriately
     Being an athlete, or just being active in general requires more food. If you're trying to lose weight this may seem counterintuitive, but you need to eat more if you work hard. Ideally, this means 5-7 small meals a day. All of them should include a good amount of protein, plenty of veggies, and some healthy fat. Active people need more of these healthy calories so the body can heal and build muscle from all that work. Lean muscle burns fat even at rest, so the more lean muscle the better. If you don't feed your muscles enough calories of the healthy food I mentioned (or to look at it another way: if you train too hard for how much you eat) - then your body will actually burn muscle instead of fat. Not helpful. This happens because muscle is a more efficient energy form than fat. The body has to break fat down to use it, but muscle is just there ready to use. So feed your muscles so they'll burn fat - not the other way around.

Other notes on eating: eating junk isn't serving your highest self, feeding your body enough supports the immune system, a strong healthy body is better than a frail weak body, eat enough - but not too much, drink plenty of water.

Vitamin D for Athletes

Vitamin D - commonly known as the sunshine vitamin, is full of benefits.  It prevents cancer, helps fight infection, reduces falls in the elderly, reduces stress fractures, helps heal wounds, and even improves mood (especially for those suffering from S.A.D.).

Vitamin D generally comes from exposure to the sun if you have ample access to that. Depending on who you talk to, you may hear that it can be absorbed through sunscreen or not. I don't claim to be a vitamin D expert, so I'm just going to say I don't know. I don't wear sunscreen personally, but that's a very personal choice based on a variety of things. Anyway, vitamin D is also something that many people are deficient in - often without knowing it. The federal government changes their opinion on how much is the appropriate amount to have in your blood stream, but that number has been going up. That number is also very different if you ask doctors or nutritionists.

This is especially true for athletes. Some people don't consider yogis to be athletes - and while not all yoga is the same - a good chunk of asana based systems are quite athletic in practice. I consider myself an athlete and I try to treat myself as such nutritionally. I've heard often that anywhere from 2000 IU - 5000 IU per day is a good amount of vitamin D for athletes to consume. I take a supplement of 2000 IU Vitamin D3 each morning and it seems to be helpful. I mostly take it because I live up north where we don't see the sun all that often, but there are studies and claims of all sorts of vitamin D benefits for athletes that are worth considering.

"The right amount of vitamin D will make you faster, stronger, improve your balance and timing, etc."
Source: Vitamin D Council

Symptoms and Risks of Vitamin D Deficiency:
"Symptoms of bone pain and muscle weakness can mean you have a vitamin D deficiency. However, for many people, the symptoms are subtle. Yet even without symptoms, too little vitamin D can pose health risks. Low blood levels of the vitamin have been associated with the following:

• Increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease
• Cognitive impairment in older adults
• Severe asthma in children
• Cancer

Research suggests that vitamin D could play a role in the prevention and treatment of a number of different conditions, including type1 and type 2 diabetes, hypertension, glucose intolerance, and multiple sclerosis."
Source: Web MD

Now that the sun is starting to party with us, here in the states, full time - go get some Vitamin D the natural way. Do some yoga outside, meditate outside, take your dog or bunny on a long walk in the sun, wash your car, do some gardening - just get out there.

One Percent

The Urge to Express

I read a lot of blogs on various topics. I especially try to read as much about Anusara Yoga and what's going on with the kula as much as possible. Just yesterday I read this great post by Anusara teacher Christina Sell talking about "the urge to express".

She puts this topic into words much more eloquently than I probably would, so I suggest you read it. When she talks about communicating the intensity of her inner experience - I just nod in understanding. It's a little long if you're not all that into mostly text-based blogging, but I highly recommend it.

Here's a little excerpt from Christina's Post:

"It's kind of like having a pebble in your shoe, I think. The urge to express is a kind of discontent a lot of times, for me. It's certainly not always easy. For me it's more like an irritant, a disturbance of sorts, an inner unsettling that doesn't go away until the words get down on paper, until the speech is made, until the letter gets written, the class is taught, the asana is performed, the meal is made, or the cake is baked. I guess sure, at the non-dual level the expressive aspect is "blissful" (ananda) but for me in the relative domain, in the refracted, more contracted form called me, it's more often a feeling of frustration that exists on a scale of mild to severe."

Photo Source: http://christinasell.blogspot.com/

Celebrate Your Thighs

I've been noticing a couple little imbalances here and there in my hips and thighs so I've been practicing longer slower holds in floor work and trying to do poses I just never do (this week). The thinking here is that maybe I'm doing too much of the same thing and not enough of the other. Yeah. I'll go on and we'll assume that sentence totally makes sense.

In My Backyard

As I sit and drink my tea this morning all I can think is - I want to do some Warrior 2's! If you've ever done yoga then you know that this is not a normal thought. I can only blame my morning detox routine from earlier. I did a lot of seated poses I don't really settle into all that much these days. Long wide legged forward bends, even longer revolved head to knee poses... and some really juicy half lotus work. My inner thighs feel amazing. Weird statement again, but really. They feel awesome. My inner thighs feel like they got the stretch (and a little bit of muscle work) that they've been missing. Settling into Warrior 2 is open and free right now and I just want to celebrate it.

Big Beautiful Hair

I know that as a yogi I'm not supposed to want things... yearn for something... or be kinda envious. I know this. Regardless of this fact - I also know that I have spent the last week wishing I had Seane Corn's Hair. Her hair is awesome. If you've been around the yoga scene very long you've almost certainly heard of Seane Corn. She's a top notch vinyasa yoga teacher, and she's often known as "the one with the hair".

Seane Corn has splendid full-bodied curls. If you do a few internet searches for long curly hair - you'll find her photos everywhere. I've seen her in person, and her hair was just as amazing as it is in pictures. I've been needing a haircut because my hair is mostly one length and curls don't look great like that... not at this length. I've been cutting my own hair since I was 17, but I don't trust myself to add serious layers to my hair - which I know is what I really need to take this limp mess and make it spring back to life.

The whole thing is pretty scary. The last time I actually went to a salon and asked for layers I was in the 9th grade (like 15 years ago) and left with a terror inducing botch job on my head that took AGES to fix. Never again I said. Never again. Now I've grown up and know that I need layers if I'm going to keep growing out my hair - I just don't trust anyone to do it.

I'm not sure if there's a yoga for that.

I Would Rather...

"I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a briliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."  - Jack London

Photo Source: Lia Yaranon's Flickr Stream

A Pose is Worth 10

I'm not really into Power Yoga. I don't generally take the classes and while I sometimes teach them - I'm not sure I'm great at it. In my years of yoga practice I've tried many styles of practice. I think Power Yoga is a great way for fitness junkies to get into yoga. It's also great for the kind of newbies that are concerned yoga will be boring. In Power Yoga, you don't hold poses for a long time - it's constant movement. Sometimes that's great. That's what got me started in yoga and I use that method at least a little bit almost every day.

However, in the last 10 years or so, I've learned that one really long held pose is worth 10 fast ones. It releases energy blocks and stored emotions... gives you a chance to work on your anger, frustration, patience, etc. Long holds make you stronger and more aware. They're still worth just as many sweat points and can still get your heart rate up, kick your butt, and burn calories if that's what you're looking for.

Try introducing long holds into your home practice this week. You don't have to go all out and hold things for 5 minutes just to prove that I'm crazy. If you usually hold your poses for 1 breath, try 5 breaths. If you usually hold your poses for 5 breaths, try 10 - 15. I really like holding my poses for 10 - 20 breaths. It's not boring because I get to revel in the feeling of my muscles, bones, breath, and sweat. It's not boring (and I personally think it's more helpful) because I get to spend those 20 long slow breaths fine tuning my asana and gaining muscle memory of pose "ideals". I also ride my edge which avoids the "I'm too comfortable here to be impressed" boredom.

I don't hold all my poses for a long time. Arm balances are usually a little shorter and I do more repetitions of them. I even do power yoga type sun salutations on the weekends during my morning practice. Just artfully place a few long holds into your practice to introduce yourself to them. Don't go all out and run a marathon the first day. Just try it on for size and see if it fits.