Adore Yoga Blog

Crash course in yogic stress management

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 08:27:00 GMT

I’m a yoga teacher, so I know a fair bit about yoga techniques for stress management. I’ve taught stress reduction techniques to executives in large corporations. I’ve helped people with stress related diseases reduce their symptoms. I’ve devised and taught full day workshops devoted to yogic relaxation. So, I was completely astounded when my hair started falling out and my GP suggested it was due to stress. “But I’m a yoga teacher, “ I protested. However, even as I said it, I knew she was right and that somewhere along the line, I’d stopped taking my own advice. Sure, I’ve been practicing yoga several times a week, but have I really been adhering to the key principles of Swadhyaya (self observation) and Ishwarapranidana (surrender)? No.

I’ve had a busy year. Apart from running two yoga studios, parenting a 2yr old and a 5yr old and managing the usual ups and downs of family life, I thought it would be a great idea to move house and start a whole new business, too. I met each new challenge in the same way – battle on. Whether it was a sick child, a partner’s redundancy, tradesmen in the kitchen or a blow out in the budget for my new business, I just soldiered on. I felt that if I dropped one of the many balls I’d been juggling, the whole show would screech to a halt, so I kept going and used my yoga practise as a kind of band-aid.

The thing with band aids is that they’re not a permanent solution so eventually something had to give and in my case, it was my hair. Great handfuls of it. After the reality check from the GP, I realized I had to get serious about reducing my stress levels. I tell my students every day to bring their attention back to the breath, but it seems I’d stopped listening to my own. I created a program of pranayama for myself, 15 minutes morning and evening, plus regular times to check in with my breath during the day. On desk-bound days, I set my computer to alert me once an hour when I’d stop work, close my eyes and listen to my breath.

The difference this made was palpable. I felt better the moment I focused on my breath. Slowly I became aware of the stress ‘flash-points’ in my day and used breath awareness to help me navigate these challenges. I’m doing it now. As soon as I feel my shoulders tense up when I’m typing (or driving), I check in with my breath, relax my jaw and take a few breaths into my belly. It’s not a magic ‘fix’, but it helps me recognize tension when it first creeps up and gives me a tool to prevent it from overwhelming me.

Practising simple breath awareness techniques is an easy way to recognize and reduce tension and an effective step towards a regulating the stress response. Here are two very simple techniques that can be used any time to check in with the breath and start to dissolve stress:

Belly breathing

Lie down on your back and place the palms of your hands on your lower belly. As you inhale, breathe into your palms and feel them rise. When you exhale, just let go of the breath and allow the belly to passively fall back to the starting position. As you continue to breathe into your palms, consciously relax your face, jaw and shoulders. Continue 12-24 breaths.

Breath awareness practise

Now place your hands down by your sides and bring your attention to the tips of the nostrils, where the air passes in and out of the body. As you inhale, become aware of the feeling of the cool air passing over your nostrils as it enters your body. As you exhale, be aware of the warmer, moister air that passes over your nostrils as it leaves your body. Repeat for 12-24 breaths.

With either of these techniques, you may find your mind wanders off. That’s fine, it’s what your brain is programmed to do. The trick is to catch it when it does that and bring it back to observing the breath. These simple techniques only takes a few minutes, but, practised regularly, can make the world of difference. They can, quite literally, help you keep your hair on!

Nashi'n my teeth

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 03:32:00 GMT

I’ve been getting boxes of fresh fruit and veg delivered to the door in an effort to:

Save petrol/carbon on all those trips to the shops
Save time on the above
Eat seasonally (one of the key principles of Ayurveda)
Get out of the rut of buying the same things every week

It’s with great excitement that the children and I open up the fruit and veggie box and explore it’s contents. My 2 year old can identify an amazing number of lettuce varieties as a result of this Wednesday afternoon ritual! It being August, we’re seeing a lot of winter produce in our boxes. We’ve been experimenting with cabbage in asian dishes, finding new ways to curry cauliflower and baking root veggies with a variety of herbs and spices.

Then there’s the nashi pears. Having grown up in the UK in the 70’s & 80’s, I’m none too familiar with this fruit. And the kids don’t think much of it. I tried offering them raw slices, but they just pulled faces. Then I sandwiched pieces of cheese in between the slices, but no luck. After 3 weeks of this, I found I had 4 nashi pears sitting in the crisper with no prospect of getting eaten. So, I set out to find a recipe that would transform them into the delicacy I’m sure they are. This is what I found – it’s warm, tasty and ever so slightly naughty (cream AND gorgonzola….!) But it’s a big hit in our house, so dig out some nashi pears and give it a go.

Gnocchi with Nashi and Walnuts

Ingredients

40 gnocchi pieces, boiled and drained (I use frozen gnocchi from Harris Farm!)

2 tsp olive oil

2 Nashi, sliced

100g walnuts
250g Brie or Gorgonzola cheese, sliced into 2cm pieces

2 tbsp cream

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and fry Nashi and walnuts until golden. Add gnocchi and gently fry until browned. Add in cheese and cream, allow to warm through, then serve immediately. Garnish with fresh parsley or thyme.

Serves 4

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ayurvedic Pampering for Winter

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 07:06:00 GMT

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According to Yoga’s sister science, Ayurveda (“Science of Life” in Sanskrit), everybody and everything is composed of three basic types of energy, or doshas – Vata, Pitta and Kapha. It is the interplay of these three energies that creates your personal constitution and determines your patterns of health and wellbeing. Once you have diagnosed your personal constitution (which is best done by a qualified Ayurvedic Practitioner), you can optimise your health by following a lifestyle that aims to balance that dosha to prevent illness and improve your overall wellbeing.

Winter is Vata time and, whatever your personal constitution, it's wise to follow a Vata pacifying lifestyle during the colder months. Ayurveda tells us that Vata dosha is made up of the elements of Air and Ether and so many of us, especially Vata types, suffer from ‘wind’ or dryness related conditions, ranging from dry skin and hair through to arthritis (‘wind’ in the joints in Eastern medicine). Vata energy governs elimination in the body and when the dosha becomes unbalanced we can experience digestive disorders, constipation and flatulence. Lung diseases such as emphysema and pneumonia and nerve disorders, including tics and twitches are also associated with an imbalance of Vata dosha.

Lifestyle tips to keep Vata dosha balanced
Vata is disturbed by too much movement, stimulation or noise, so make sure you have some quiet time every day to sit down and gather your thoughts without external intrusions. Drugs and stimulants are especially disturbing to Vata so avoid caffeine and tobacco. Sugar, frozen, cold or raw foods should be consumed in moderation or not at all. Salad may be a healthy food, but Vata people digest gently cooked food more easily – try lightly steamed veg instead. Think about traditional eating patterns - we usually associate stews, soups, casseroles and baked foods with winter. It's no coincidence that these are exactly the types of food that balance Vata dosha! Eat plenty of healthy oils – think cold-pressed olive oil, avocados and oily fish. Finally, a Vata balancing yoga routine will help combat the symptoms of imbalanced Vat and leave you feeling much more grounded.

Vata Balancing Yoga Routine

1. Balasana (child pose)
Kneel on the floor and bring your forehead down to touch the mat. Bring your arms down by your sides. Rest here for 8 breaths.

2. Pascimottanasana (modified seated forward bend)
Sit on a folded blanket with your legs out in front of you. Bend the knees slightly and place a rolled blanket underneath them. Inhale to raise your arms over head. Exhale to fold forwards from the hips and bring the arms down to touch your shins, ankles or toes. Hold the pose for 8 breaths.

3. Jathara Parivartanasana variation (supine twist)
Lie on your back with your arms out at shoulder height. Bend your right knee into your chest. Exhale and twist over onto your left hip, bringing the right knee across towards the floor. Turn your head to look along your right arm. Hold the pose for 8 breaths then inhale to roll back to centre. Repeat on the other side.

4. Apanasana
Lie on your back and bend both knees up, bringing your feet off the floor. Place your hands on your kneecaps. Inhale and straighten your arms. Exhale and draw your knees in to your chest (abdominal muscles doing the work, hands just resting on the knees). Inhale, straighten your arms again, drawing your knees away from your body. Exhale to draw them back in. Repeat 4 times.

5. Savasana
Lie on your back with your arms by your sides, palms turned up to the ceiling and your eyes closed. It can be helpful to place a folded blanket under your head and a rolled blanket under your knees. Rest here for 3 minutes.

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Oh How I Love Soup!

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:11:00 GMT

I'm often being told "Oh, you're a Pom - you must be used to this weather!" Well, there are a number of reasons why I call Australia home and Summer in Sydney is just one of them. However, when the winter weather closes in, I revert to type and head for the kitchen blender to whip up warming, nourishing soups. From spicy Indian lentil soups through to traditional English pea and ham, we live on soup during the winter months. This is one of my favourites, courtesy of my friend Jane, the queen of hearty soups!

Leek and Potato Soup

2 carrots
2 sticks of celery
2 medium onions
400g leeks
2 cloves of garlic
3 medium potatoes
Olive oil
2litres chicken or veggie stock
Salt and pepper to season

Method
• Slice the garlic, celery, carrots and onions
• Wash and cut the leeks into 1cm slices
• Place a large pan on a high heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• Add all your chopped ingredients and mix together
• Cook for around 10 minutes until the carrots have softened and the onion and leeks are lightly golden
• Dice the potatoes into 1cm cubes
• Add the stock to the vegetables, then add the potatoes
• Stir and bring to the boil
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on
• Season with salt and pepper
• Serve like this or use a liquidizer/hand blender to make it smooth

Bending Over Backwards for Winter

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 02:02:00 GMT

After several days of the recent cold, wet weather, I noticed that I was feeling stiff and sore across my back, shoulders and neck. I was still doing my usual daily yoga practise but somehow it didn’t feel quite so effective. So, I took stock of how I felt, and what was happening outside, and gave my yoga practise a make-over.

During the colder months, we often spend less time outside and, consequently, more time sitting behind the wheel of a car or in front of a screen. Combine that with the natural ‘hunched forward’ posture of someone trying to keep the wind, rain and cold of their face and you’ve got a few tense muscles.

The antidote to all this is back bends. Having assessed my body (and mood – I just wasn’t feeling as light and bright as usual), I embarked on a balanced practise of backbeding, gently opening the front of the body, drawing back my shoulders, elongating my neck and breathing deeply into my chest and rib cage. It worked a treat. After just one 40 minute session I felt more open, blissfully relaxed and the discomfort in my upper back was greatly reduced. After several days of this new back bending routine, I noticed that my mood was brighter, I had more energy and the aching in my neck had completely gone. In a nutshell, back bending feels good! It’s also a heating, stimulating practise so it is ideal for winter mornings, getting you warmed up, energised and switched on for the day ahead.

While students with back pain or injury should take professional advice before starting on a program of back bends, for many yoga practitioners, a simple back bending practise is a safe and effective way kick start your day. Here’s a great 20 minute back bending routine try in the mornings.

Dwi Pada Pitham (Dynamic desk pose)

Lie on your back with your arms by your sides, knees bent and feet flat on the floor hip width apart. As you inhale, press into your feet and slowly roll the hips, lower back, then mid and upper back up off the floor. Simultaneously raise the arms overhead until the backs of the hands touch the floor behind your head.

As you exhale, slowly roll down again, bringing the arms and back down to the floor into your starting position. Repeat 6 times.

Salabhasana (Locust pose)

Lie on your tummy with your arms by your sides and forehead touching the mat. Press our feet and thighs into the floor and reach your fingers down towards your toes. As you inhale, slowly and carefully lift your arms, legs (keeping them straight and lengthening back towards the wall behind you), head and chest. On the exhale, gently lower back down to the starting position. Repeat 4 times.

Chakravakasana (Child pose – cat pose)

Starting on all fours, inhale to tilt the tail up to the ceiling and look up with the head, creating a back bend through the spine. As you exhale, round though the upper back (arching like an angry cat), then sit your buttocks back to your heels and take your forehead to the floor, arms still outstretched in front of you. As you inhale return to the first position on all fours. Repeat 6 times.

Virabhadrasana 1 (Warrior Pose 1)

Stand on your mat with your feet together (Tadasana). Step your right leg back about 1.2m (around the length of one of your legs). Press the back heel into the mat firmly and do not lift it during the pose. As you inhale, bend your left knee, coming into a gentle lunge. At the same time raise your arms up overhead, reaching your fingers up towards the ceiling. As you exhale, straighten the front knee and bring your arms back down by your sides, returning to your starting position. Repeat 6 times on each side.

Repeat pose #3, Chakravakasana

Supported Supta Baddha Konasana (supported reclining cobblers pose)

Place a large bolster behind you and snuggle your lower back into it. Bring the soles of your feet together and let your knees drop out to the sides. Gently lower yourself back until your back is lying along the length of the bolster. Place a blanket under your head if this feels more comfortable. If this position bothers your lower back, simply raise the ‘head’ end of the bolster by placing blankets or cushions underneath it until the angel of the bolster feels comfortable on your back. Rest here for 3-5 minutes, breathing into your chest, belly and rib cage.

Gently sit up, draw your knees in and round your back as your take your forehead down towards your knees. Take a breath here, and then sit upright.

Close your eyes and take a moment to observe your breath, your body and your overall sense of wellbeing. Thank yourself for doing your yoga practise and enjoy your day!

Sweet Dreams - 3 ways to get a good night's sleep with yoga

Tue, 11 May 2010 06:03:00 GMT

I'm writing this straight after putting my small children to bed and it's no exaggeration to say that they're fast asleep as soon as their heads touch the pillow. What's their secret?!

One of the most common symptoms that students present with at my Yoga Therapy practice is insomnia. Often, yoga is the last resort after days, weeks and even years of interrupted sleep which leaves people feeling exhausted, grouchy and exasperated. So, can yoga help? The answer is an emphatic YES.

Firstly, I recommend the usual lifestyle changes - exercise for 30 minutes every day, no caffeine (not even in the morning), no TV, computers or other electronic media after 7pm, a light meal before 7.30pm and lights out by 10pm. But most people have heard all this before and they still can't seem to fall, or stay, asleep.

A simple 15 minute yoga routine before bed can and does make a huge difference to the quality of your sleep. It's important to practice consistently, doing the routine every night for at least 2 weeks. However, once you're into the rhythm of the practice, it becomes second nature and you'll start to notice real changes.

1. Viparita Karani (Legs up the wall pose)

Sit sideways on the floor against a wall, right hip touching the wall. Slowly swing the legs up against the wall, bringing your head and shoulders gently down on to the floor. The torso is perpendicular to the wall with the sitting bones close to the wall. Extend the legs straight up the wall and gently press the lower back into the floor. Bring the arms by the sides, palms facing towards the ceiling. You can also do this pose with a bolster under your hips (see illustration). Close your eyes and rest here for 5 minutes. To come out of the pose, bend your knees into your chest and roll over onto your right side.

2. Abdominal Breathing

Lie on your back (on the floor, not the bed) with a carefully folded blanket under your head and a bolster under your knees. Place your palms on your lower abdomen. As you inhale, breath into your palms and feel your hands rise as the belly rises with the incoming breath. On the exhale, simply relax and allow the hands to gently fall as the belly drops with the exhale. Repeat 12 times.

3. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

If you feel uncomfortable chanting (or might disturb someone close by!) you can always chant mentally. Chanting is a particularly soothing practise and can be very helpful in managing sleeping problems. The word 'Shanti' means Peace and is a lovely, calming and relaxing (as well as very simple) chant that you can use as part of your bedtime routine. Sit comfortably on the floor or in a chair and repeat "Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti". Do this 12 times. Listen here.

After practising these three simple techniques, quietly get ready for bed and turn the light out straight away without reading or doing any last-minute chores. There are a number of yoga techniques that can help you get a good night's sleep, so please let us know if you'd like some further tips or if you would like a practise tailor made for your requirements. Meanwhile, sweet dreams!

Nikola Ellis

What's Yoga got to do with Climate Change?

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:53:00 GMT

One of the key concepts of yoga is “Ahimsa”, or ‘do no harm’. Before so much as unrolling a yoga mat, every yogi is asked to contemplate how this concept translates into everyday life.

When I discussed this subject recently with some of my students, they came up with the most wonderful suggestions for incorporating this philosophy into their daily lives. One said that she practised Ahimsa when she carefully trapped a house spider and set it free in the garden (instead of squishing it!) Another said that she tried not to say anything hurtful or condescending to her children. A third believed that by not eating meat she was avoiding doing harm to animals.

My students came up with lots of creative suggestions for incorporating Ahimsa into their daily lives. But we often overlook one of the most important ways in which we can avoid doing harm to other people. Our lifestyle choices.

It’s not always comfortable to think about it, but every decision we make has a consequence. Whatever your opinion on the climate change debate, the truth is that the lifestyle habits of developed countries have a dramatic impact on the poorest people in the world.

Yoga is the process of cultivating mindfulness, of being aware of our every action, thought and behaviour. This starts on the sticky mat with attention to alignment, breath and mind-chatter. But what we do on the mat is simply a way of practising these vital life skills so that we can take them with us when we get off the mat and go into the world. Is it really practising yoga to agonize over our alignment in Trikonasana, then fail to apply the same degree of attention to our consumer choices?

If we do not cultivate mindfulness in all areas of our lives, we are not incorporating the teachings of yoga into our daily lives and our practise on the mat loses it’s meaning. The concept of Ahimsa is important in helping us observe our behaviours and develop a keener understanding of what ‘mindfulness’ really means. How mindful are we of how we impact other people and the environment through our lifestyle choices? Here are a few areas in which we can practise cultivating mindfulness in practical and useful ways.

Food choices: On average, Australians waste 136kg of food per person per year. When we chuck food scraps or ‘out of date’ items in the bin, it’s goes into landfill and gives off methane, which is 25 times more potent a greenhouse gas than what comes out of your car exhaust. But it’s not just the food you see in the bin that is wasted. It’s also the massive amount of resources that went into producing, storing, processing and transporting it. Aside from the environmental implications, it’s also sobering to discover that over 2 million Australians a year rely on food relief.

Assessing whether we really need all the food we buy is a good starting point when tackling this subject. Then exploring ways to recycle any food waste that we do inadvertently create. My daughter’s school has a thriving veggie garden and all our household scraps make their way into the class compost bin where the worms (aided by the children!) turn leftover banana skins, apple cores and the green bits of the carrots into food for the strawberries, root vegetables and herbs that grow in the school grounds. There are lots of affordable, compact and easy to use back yard (and balcony) composting systems available these days.

Clothes: There are some well known clothing brands that actively discourage trade unionism in developing countries to avoid paying award wages to their workers. If we’re practising Ahimsa, we might want to consider the provenance of our clothing next time we grab a fashion bargain. It just doesn’t seem right to do yoga in a pair of pants that were manufactured at the expense of a struggling family in neighbouring Indonesia.

Water: Practising Ahimsa can help us be mindful of how our water use impacts future generations of Australians. It’s not just a question of using the economy setting on the dishwasher or watering the garden after 4pm. Did you know it takes 50, 000 litres of water to produce 1kg of beef (to put this into perspective, it takes just 500 litres to grow 1kg of potatoes)? Now, I’m not a vegetarian, but that figure made me question how much meat we really need. It isn’t immediately obvious, but it dawned on me that cutting down on meat consumption could be seen as practising Ahimsa on lots of levels – environmental, humanitarian and personal health.

Stuff: There’s a lot of ‘stuff’ that we neither want nor need, yet a lot of resources go into making it. I became keenly aware of this at Christmas as I considered gifts for my family. Whether it was the gift itself, the packaging, wrapping or the resources that went into all three, I realised that my gift buying decisions had a tangible impact on the environment. Using recycled wrapping, making our own cards from recycled resources and buying gifts that everyone really wanted were some of the ways we tackled this issue. I’m sure you can think of plenty more.

There are many, many ways in which practising yoga can have a direct and positive effect on the world we live in. Cultivating mindfulness and practising Ahimsa when we make consumer decisions are important steps in learning to live sustainably.

Sources and Resources

http://foodwise.com.au/

http://www.oxfam.org.au/

http://www.wasteonline.org.uk/index.aspx

Water Good, Plastic Bottles YUK!

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 01:28:00 GMT

From Term 2, we are encouraging students not to bring plastic water bottles to class. Why?

• Over 400,000 barrels of oil is used per year in Australia to manufacture the plastic to make the bottles

• Out of all plastic bottles only about 30% are recycled

• Tap water costs 1 cent per litre compared to bottled water which costs $2.53 per litre

• It takes seven litres of water to make a one litre water bottle

• There are 200 billion litres of bottled water consumed worldwide

Source http://australianmuseum.net.au/blogpost/Say-no-to-plastic-water-bottles/

http://www.bottledwateralliance.com/

Check out this video for the full story!

Try one of the funky stainless steel bottles instead, or grab a drink from our studio tap using the cups provided. It’s the little things that count – thank you!

Nik and the Team at Adore

Meditation? I’d love to, but I don’t have the time….

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:44:00 GMT

Yeah, that was me. For years, I talked about doing meditation. I read books and articles about it, told others how good it was and even bought a meditation cushion. But I never got around to actually meditating. I tried to concentrate on those breathing exercises at the end of my yoga classes, but my mind kept wandering off to domestic tasks, jobs left undone, shopping lists to write etc. etc. etc.

Then I trained to be a yoga teacher and there was no hiding place – I simply had to sit down and do it! I tried various styles of meditation: walking, seated, concentrating on the breath or an object, mantra repetition – the lot. After several months of yoga teacher training, I still couldn’t keep my mind still for more than a few minutes. It was frustrating and embarrassing – how could I ever be a yoga teacher if I couldn’t even meditate? Then my teacher told me something that changed my experience of meditation forever.

She said that the objective of meditation was not to make the mind go blank. When we meditate, we are not trying to have ‘no thoughts’. Hallelujah! “Think of the mind as a naught puppy”, she said one day. “It has no discipline and it’s your job to teach it how to come to heel.” Yes, my mind was just like one of those young dogs you see in the park, pulling it’s owner over as it bounds off in every direction, chasing after endless distractions. “The trick is”, she continued, “to catch your mind when it wanders off, just like you would catch that naughty puppy. Then, gently, bring it back to concentrating on the meditation. And you keep on doing that until your mind learns a little discipline, just like the puppy.”

All of a sudden, the focus of my meditation practise changed. Instead of trying to keep my mind a ‘blank’ and beating myself up whenever I had a thought, I realised that the point of the practise was to ‘catch’ the mind when it wandered off. Of course thoughts are going to crop up. That’s what the mind does – it thinks! To try to stop it thinking is a recipe for frustration and failure.

So, next time you try to meditate, lighten up. It’s ok to have thoughts. The trick is to notice when you have them, then gently bring your mind back to concentrating on the meditation. Here’s an easy meditation practice to get you going:

1. Sit comfortably, using a chair or leaning on a wall if that helps you to sit in comfort with a tall spine.

2. Close your eyes and focus on your breath. Watch the movement of breath in and out of the body for a few minutes.

3. Now bring your attention to the sensation of the breath passing over the tips of the nostrils. As the breath enters the body, it feels cool against the tips of the nostrils. When you exhale, the breath feels warm and moist as it passes over the tips of the nostrils.

4. Keep your attention focused on the passage of the breath over the tips of the nostrils. Eventually you’ll notice that your attention has wandered. Acknowledged that your attention has wavered (even allow yourself a little smile!), then gently bring your mind back to focusing on the breath.

5. Keep going for about 5 minutes. Try this practise every day and gradually build up till you can sit for 30mins at a time.

If you'd like to try a yoga class with a meditation component, I'd recommend the following Adore classes, which are taking bookings now:

Tues 9.15am Avenue Rd
Thurs 9.15am Military Rd
Sat 4pm Avenue Rd
Sunday 8am Military Rd

Posted by Nikola Ellis

Injuries & Ego

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:20:00 GMT

Ego,Yoga and to be a little more specific Asana's worst nightmare!!

The root to most injuries related to the practice of Asana as we are forever trying to better ourselves without regards to patience and what we are really capable of doing!!
The best way to stop Ego from guiding our practice is to realize that Asana is not about being flexible but is to be able to guide our practice with the element of the breath so the breath helps us find our boundaries and our limits and once we have found them to learn to respect them.
Flexibility doesn't come overnight and is such a secondary benefit to the practice of Asana as what we are really trying to do is to bring our mind into stillness whilist binding the mind and the physical self by using the element of the breath.
Drishty and the bhandas also helps us integrate the inner physical self!
So next time you practice remember these basic concepts and hopefully injuries will be a part of the past

Namaste
Maurice Eberlein

Temper, temper!

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 05:29:00 GMT

I get cranky when it’s too hot. It starts off with tiredness and generally feeling like everything’s too hard. Then something flips my switch and I’m off. Raging. Normal pre-schooler behaviour suddenly becomes an unbearable provocation and I find myself giving my 5 year old a roasting for the terrible crime of drawing on her little brothers hand with texta. So what happens to me when the temperature rises? And is there anything I can do to keep calm? The answers can be found in Ayurveda, yoga’s sister science (Ayurveda = ‘Science of Life”). Ayurveda tells us about the three doshas or 'constitutions' - Pitta, Vata and Kapha.

Pitta dosha is made up of fire and earth elements. It is this fire element that can get out of control during the summer and bring out the firey behaviour that my poor children have been witnessing! My constitution is mainly Pitta, but we all have a bit of Pitta in our make-up and these hot summer days can aggravate any of us if we find our Pitta dosha getting out of balance. Here’s a run-down of Pitta characteristics and some tips for keeping that fire in check during the hot weather!

Characteristics of Pitta

Pitta-dominant people are often of average or athletic physical build and have fine hair (often blonde or red) that tends to early grey. They have a strong, robust appetite and metabolism. A balanced Pitta is blessed with a sharp intelligence and an amazing ability to organise people and events. The Pitta dosha is made up of the elements of Fire and Earth and the fire side of Pitta can quickly get out of control if the dosha gets out of balance through poor diet or lifestyle choices. Flashes of anger and jealousy may flare up if Pitta dosha isn’t kept cool and balanced. You may not be Pitta-dominant, but in the hot weather, or if you live a lifestyle that aggravates Pitta, you can still experience the same symptoms.

Disease Patterns of Pitta
Pitta-dominant people are more likely to suffer from ‘heat’ related conditions – inflammatory diseases, fevers, rashes, burning sensations, ulceration, sore throat, and irritations such as conjunctivitis.

Lifestyle tips to keep Pitta dosha balanced
Things to avoid: Too much heat aggravates Pitta dosha, so avoid saunas and steam rooms and take special care during the summer months to stay cool. Make sure you exercise during the coolest part of the day (no jogging at lunchtime!) Strong, spicy, stimulating foods are not recommended (ie. Chillies, garlic, raw onion, coffee, salt) and oily food or acidic foods such as tomatoes and citrus fruit should be avoided. Pittas function best on a predominantly vegetarian diet, so keep consumption of red meat, chicken and eggs to a minimum.

Things that balance Pitta dosha: Try eating ‘cooling’ foods. This doesn’t mean ice-cream! In Ayurveda, cooling foods and spices include fresh vegetables and fruit, cinnamon, coriander, fennel and cardamom and coconut milk. Cooling yoga practices when you get overheated are extremely helpful - there are lots of poses and breathing techniques specifically designed to balance Pitta dosha. Try some seated forward bends and start to focus on gently lengthening your exhalation (always check with a qualified teacher before practising at home).

Pitta dosha health check:

Avoid excessive heat
Exercise during the cooler part of the day
Eat cooling foods and avoid spicy foods
Try some gentle, cooling yoga poses such as seated forward bends

By Nikola Ellis

How Yoga Can Make You Happy

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:28:00 GMT

Yoga provides us with a complete framework in which to achieve happiness. After all, the ultimate aim of yoga is samadi – or salvation – endless bliss.

It is more than asana practice. It is more than meditation – those these are a great start! The great sage Patanji – often credited as being the ‘Grandfather of Yoga’ set down this framework within ‘8 limbs’.

Patanjali’s first limb of yoga: the yamas are wonderful guidelines for us all to live the best life possible. They are not a moral judgement, but a way for us to stop searching what we are always looking for: personal fulfilment, with the second advantage that followed correctly, they also benefit society. The result of not following these teachings is simply that we will continue to suffer. So, simple steps that if not followed will result in suffering? It should be a straightforward choice, but is very difficult to stay on the path.

The first yama is ahimsa, non-violence, or the absence of cruelty or harm. This refers not just to physical violence, but also to the violence of words or thoughts –either towards yourself or to others.

Really ahimsa seems to affect every practice of yoga, for example, practicing asana without paying due attention to ahimsa can vastly reduce the benefits the poses can bring. On your yoga mat, your drive for external achievement can show through in your asana practice. The other students cannot see your bandhas, or your breath, or your mental focus, but can see the length of your spine in downward dog, or how close your heels go to the floor. Although another student may be impressed at the end of the practice, it is you who lose out through the chance to gain the true benefits of an inwardly focused practice. Similarly, over forcing your body into a position that you are not ready for today can lead to injury. There is much benefit from easing off 10-15% from your asana practice, so that you stop externalising and start bringing your focus to another level.

There are four other yamas, which are: satya (truthfulness), asteya (non stealing), brahmacharya (moderation in all things, abstinence) and aparigraha (non covetousness). These other yamas all integrate closely with each other, but most of all with ahimsa, as neglecting to follow them results in your own suffering, which is surely violence to yourself.

For example, asteya and aparigaha are closely connected for if you didn’t covet something that you don’t have and don’t have the resources to procure, then you wouldn’t need to steal. Speaking on a purely physical sense, our culture values physical assets very highly, and therefore we set ourselves goals on attaining houses, cars and other material possessions. Even when we have enough, we work towards more, and we are so frightened to lose what we have accumulated that this causes suffering to both ourselves and others. We don’t want to give away more because we want it for ourselves. This causes suffering when this wealth accumulation is threatened, like with a huge drop in the stock market. All that we have worked so hard for seems to have disappeared, and this attachment can cause worry and discontent. This fear and worry can come through at work or at home through a snappiness and blame-game – ahimsa.

The second limb of yoga: niyama, has to do with self-discipline and spiritual observances. While the yamas outline actions and attitudes we should avoid, the niyamas describe actions and attitudes that we should cultivate to find our balance and wholeness and to alleviate the suffering the yamas cause. The five niyamas are: saucha (purity), santosa (contentment), tapas (austerity), svadhyaya (self-study) and isvara pranidhana (devotion to the Lord).

I have found great assistance in my seeking of happiness through swadhyaya: reading many yogic texts and practicing many different types of yoga: meditation, asanas, bhakti, karma yoga etc. It has helped me to turn my outward focus on external achievement to look inward, face myself and evaluate my true Self.

The times in my life when I am most closely linked with my true Self is the when I have dedicated myself to studying and practicing yoga. Keeping the mind and body pure (saucha) through eating well, but not much, abstinence from alcohol and a daily yoga practice. I feel the fog lift. I work hard, and with devotion and have progressed well in my mediation practices, glimpsing moments of overwhelming peace and a connection with the whole universe.

My own pursuit of happiness seems inextricably linked with my commitment to my yoga practice. If I get lazy, or change my routine through travel or other obligations then my yoga practice falters and my attention to myself departs. So, I know, if I don’t practice saucha and drink one or two glasses more than I should of alcohol, I will feel ill the next day, and is difficult to do my yoga practice. I am therefore more distant from my true Self, and I feel disconnected and let small things become big obstacles and ruin my day. No yoga practice makes it easy to avoid the hard self-examination necessary to follow the niyamas, and makes it easy to fall back into the yamas.

Self-study has led me to knowing both myself and what the cause of my angst and frustrations are. It is slowly helping me create space for my happiness. I know that if I keep myself healthy, sleep and eat well, attempt to connect myself to a higher energy and devote myself to my yoga practice, I start to accept where I am as the right place to be and just enjoy.

By Rachel Walker