Dropback September 2010

Aaaand here comes the dropback.

Doing the first couple of intermediate poses is helping enormously on the back opening.  I am having trouble understanding why people would ever be stopped until they could dropback... it feels a little like the chicken and the egg to me.


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Back Bend progress, September 2010

I have been trying a tip from the Reluctant Ashtangi (thank you!) , she got it from Mark Darby as she took a few classes with him in Montreal, here is the whole post.  I found it very helpful.  She said that he:  

"asked me to do something very simple in Urdhva Dhanurasana: lift the balls of the feet up while pressing down into the heels. It felt impossible, but when I did it, I felt the legs engage very evenly. So simple!"  

In this video I am trying exactly that at the 41st second.  It is such a great tip!  it works like charm, as soon as I try it the whole back is realigned and the back bend gets more solid, and just as RA says, the legs engage indeed.



Another thing I tried on this very humid Fall day was to bring the feet as close to the hands as possible, (seconds 9 to 13), from the very beginning, and much more than I normally do.  This has become a matter of daily practice now, I noticed that I must get the arch to be smaller, so I walk the hands and grab those heels before pushing up.


I had this amazing realization the other day in practice that when I drop back my feet are way to far from the wall... but that is for another post...  must bring that arch to a smaller area!


Previous videos documenting the adventure of backbending can be found here, enjoy!


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Richard, you trickster!... "The Mirror of Yoga" is slowing me down

I am eternally grateful for this book, and at the same time, if I am honest, also a bit disappointed, but in a good way.  I find that good ol'Richard has tricked me... or not.  In any event, I am grateful he did.  

Here is the thing. I began reading The Mirror of Yoga  and loved it right away, got transported immediately into the present moment, into the smells and the sensations of, hum? oh yes, that thing I call my body, and then I realized, I noticed something, and fast forwarded to the chapter on the Gita, and then the chapter on Tantra, yes, I see, it is almost, word by word, The Yoga Matrix, also very much worth listening to (this one was released as an audio book only).

Thing is, I thought the Mirror of Yoga would have been different work, and it is not, but the title change made me believe so.

One more time I fall into the trap,  I think something is a specific thing and it is not not, how many times has that happened to you?  to me? all the time.  Was this intended as deception? I don't know and I don't care, it is none of my business and I will use this energy to focus on what I am learning. So far I am delighted this work is in print form.

I am only in the first chapter, but this is not a book to rush through, oh no! There is so much material here that my practice has been affected by it already, and it has not even been 48 hours since I started.

"Yoga begins with listening.  When we listen we re giving space to what is".

So right there I find myself slowing down.  For a moment I am able to stop worrying about the things I think I need to do and I am not doing and drop deeply into this time, into what I am hearing right now.

I hear birds outside, how blessed am I?, but wait! that is a thought already, I have stopped listening.  So I go back, what do I hear?

"The purpose of this book...  is to allow all of us to slow down a bit so that we can delve deeply into the subject rather than skidding along on the surface side to side, from one school back to another. We are aiming at the core of the teachings."

And so I find myself relishing the practice anew, being present even in the dreaded Uttita Hasta (left), noticing where it is that I hold something that seems to be behind the breath.  I say behind because breathing is not an issue in this point anymore, I certainly breath now, and count all five, sometimes six, slowly, yet there is something behind the breath that still wants to hold on to something. New notice. Guess I'be been present.

Picture (above) from Arjuna's amazing German website, now available in English ) Utthita Hasta Pagangustasana in all its glory.

"Whatever tradition captures our mind,... we may dig deeply into the nature of the direct experience, that is the starting point. If it allows real work and authentic inquiry within our own unique circumstances it is the tradition to follow enthusiastically."

All bolding in the quotes is mine by the way. This is what I live by, I am so happy to receive indication that I am on the right track.  I feel intimately that it is how we apply all teachings to our own daily life that produce the teachings, the learnings, the results.  It is right here and right now that we are doing yoga, not in some hypothetical moment far away into a projection.

And so I am taking my time these days, giving listening a chance.  I am paying a little more attention while cleaning the dishes and sweeping the floor and typing a post and reading a book.  I am coming to the yoga mat with new eyes, and it does not feel like this or like that, it kind of becomes, well, just what it is.
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5 Ways Lady Gaga's art is like our yoga practice

Her art / practice makes a statement


Her attending the MTV Video Music Awards in a "meat dress" is a statement.  She reportedly said that it is not "pro" or "against" vegetarians or meat eaters or anything like that, and explained to Ellen Degeneres it was just a symbol of her not being a piece of meat, but she did not say anything in reality, she just wore a meat suit.  This leaves people puzzled, thinking about things, open to reach their own conclusions.

I believe yoga attempts the same thing.  When well understood, it is in the actions that we as yogis (living in this time and this space) take that make a living tradition of what yoga is.  No point in the discussion, it is in the way we live, in the way we comment in other people's blogs, in the way we try to make or break things, in the way we say thank you to the cashier at the supermarket.  OK, perhaps not as big as going to an MTV awards ceremony but as valid, as necessary.


Her art / practice reflects her life

If she has a bad romance, then there is a video for it, if she is too busy, then there is an even better one.  I love watching this video of her, it has so many elements that make me daydream and get inspired.



In yoga asana practice is where I have found the most deep and sometimes troubling things about myself.  Lately for example, when I had an attack of "not wanting to do anything" I realized that it had to do with a five-year-old-me voice that was back then stuck there, and this was manifesting especially in the marichasanas, where I did not want to turn, twist, where I felt like it hurts so much that I did not want to do it anymore.  So I am working on that, on the twist, on investigating what is this within me that wants to scream "no".

I feel Gaga does the same when she creates a video like Paparazzi, these are things that affect her own life, even in a threatening way.  All celebrities have much to fear from the frenzi of the media, as can be seen in the video of Madonna riding the subway a few days ago in NYC.  It is a scary proposition for them.

What a difference a year or two can make

It is really in the last year or two that her practice/art has been rewarding to her financially, at least in an exponential level, as per one source she is reportedly worth 40 million by now.

Daily yoga practice, when well oriented (as in doing the asanas but also paying attention to all eight limbs of yoga), is very rewarding.  Perhaps for some of us yogis money is not the ultimate reward, there are others, but the point I am making is that there is a payoff by investing and persevering on our yoga practice.

If our lives are getting significantly better, in a concrete, tangible way, not just in words, then we are on the right yoga course.  Yoga pays off, its rewards are clearly seen and not just talk, the purification and better concentration and awareness that is gained by passionately dedicating ourselves to a yoga practice is what produces the results in our lives.  It just needs to be experienced.

Vulnerability and Courage
Things are never done.  Never a dull moment in yoga. At this point in time I am taking a new leap in faith while embarking on the intermediate series.  Learning Bhekasana is my new frontier.  I feel completely insecure yet rooted in the courage I have gained from exposing myself to the primary series, specifically asanas like kurmasana, my very own little monster...


The courage that I see in her, crying while overcome with emotion at winning, yet grounded enough to belch out a portion of her new record speaks to me of commitment, of passion, of the exact feelings I have towards my practice. I relate, I admire.

Higher ground, higher good


If you visit her website today, (do not know if this will be the case in the future) the day after she won the MTV VMA,  you will see that the whole page directs people to get involved in the "Don't Ask don't tell" controversy.  This is a subject close to her heart, and she is using her fame to direct attention wisely, where she judges it needed.

I can only aspire to be an instrument of higher good, to be able to provide value at such level.

For now, God bless her, and let's keep practicing.
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Bhekasana, first impresions

Yesterday I started practicing Bekhasana.

At first, as it is always with first time poses, John let me do "my thing", I guess very cleverly in an attempt to see what I bring to it. Not much I'm afraid.

As soon as I reached something that resembled (but was not precisely) Bhekasana, I had this image of being the pilot of a 747,the imagery went that far and I heard words in my had like: stabilizing, leveling, balancing, floating, ouch, yes that too.

As suggested after my thing was shown, I started working one side at the time. I cannot even verbalized what I feel, it all seems so out of sorts, makes me want to remember what it must have felt like the first time I did kurmasana, can't remember now, but it must have been this confusing.

It seems like the psoas are getting a workout, a lengthening of sorts, and the lower back a stretch. It feels good, just strange. I am so grateful for the Ashtanga system, never a dull moment!

This is helping enormously with my confidence, mind you, out of all things. So when I get to the wall and start dropping back I feel more open, more daring even.
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Flippy. Thoughts on non-violence

It was at a Richard Freeman lecture  that I once started playing with the concept of how far would ahimsha (non harming) go, if say,  instead of having a lady bug at the end of your mat, you had a roach.

Of course that actually did happen. Not to me, but to a fellow yogi while at Yoga Sutra in NYC, a few years ago.  I heard (and do not know if this is true cause I was not present at the time) that Christopher (Hildebrant) who was the main teacher at the time trapped it with a glass and placed it outside, for it to continue on with his or her New York life right where it belonged, on 42nd street.  That is non-harming in action.

A few days ago an insect appeared in the bedroom.  I noticed him at night, and then again in the morning. It is not moving much, I suspect he is sick.  While I was practicing it occurred to me that maybe he was hungry, so I gave him water and lettuce, and eat he did!.  Matter of fact, three days later, right now, he is having dinner of Brussels sprouts and more water.

I have began to look at him directly (you can also in the video below).  It is interesting to notice his legs, his movements, his daily routine of dragging himself about one inch closer to this or that part of the window, how he moves his antenna as I approach and talk to him.  He also has a yoga practice, as he is very fond of hanging upside down.  Flippy, I notice, is a lovely living being, fully present, always looking and paying attention.

I have no idea what the faith of Flippy will be.  When he is stronger maybe we will put him in the backyard.  Maybe he is stronger already, maybe he will never be stronger.

What do you think I should do with Fillpy?

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My 6 top yoga applications for the I-Pad

Here are my six top picks, four of them for beginners and the last two for more seasoned practitioners:

FOR BEGINNERS:

Priced at only 4.95, Yoga HD is the best one for the money. It has a pretty big selection of asanas described individually in their Sanskrit name, with a quick description a picture and a video.  They are labeled under the "Basics" "Intermediate" "Advanced" and "Guru" levels. 

It also has routines that are pre-made which you can listen to with or without music.  You can create your own sequences too.   Also you can download all the contents by pressing the "Options" choice and therefore eliminate the need to be online in order to follow the routines.   

One little thing that I see could potentially get on my nerves is that the voice-over is done by what seems to be a computer reading rather than a human directing another human into yoga poses.  But it is just a small detail.

Pocket Yoga is a simple application whose main screen opens to two choices, either Poses or Practice.  The "poses" screen leads to drawings of 36 asanas with their descriptions and benefits (in writing), which is interesting as a reference.  The "Practice" screen lets you choose between an "Ocean"  (high intensity), "Dessert" (to unwind) and "Mountain" (for concentration).  You then choose the length of the class (30/45 or 60 minutes) and desired level (Beginner, Intermediate, Expert).

The drawings are beautiful, and the female voice is strong and sweet although I must say that the prolongation in the words "exhaaaale" and "inhaaaaale" could potentially become a distraction.  The animations for asana transition give the right impression of what has to happen and the spoken directions are clear enough so a beginner would not have to look at the screen so much.

One bone I would have to pick with it is that I do not seem to be able to forward into a later section of the sequence and as far as I can see they all start with the same pose (child pose).  Also, you are not able to create your own sequences. 

YogaSpot is offered for free, which is a nice plus. Also the teacher is a real person giving a class.   Thing is, only some of the sequences are offered for free, If you like it, and only then, you can purchase more.   Some of the free sequences are only about 5 minutes, but then a long intermediate class for example is $99 cents, and there is an intermediate one free that lasts for 33 minutes. Not too bad for getting a real teacher.  

The setup is divided into Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced practices.  The intermediate section includes sequences named "Core Strength Flow" (for 99 cents), or "Spine and Shoulders" (33 minutes free).  The Advanced section has "Whole Body Flow" among other 9, and the beginner section has a "Morning Flow" or a free 4:30 minute "Warrior Workout" which is also repeated at the Advanced level.  Hey, it is free after all.

You can forward the sequences in case you feel like matching which is good, but the one thing I have to say is that it kicked me out of the application a couple of times, and it does not give the option to download into the I-pad for non-connectivity practice. Also, there is no sequence creation as they are all pre-made.

Authentic yoga with Deepak Chopra and Tara Stiles is a bargain at $1.99.  The app is very stylish and uncluttered, very bright and inviting. You can create your own sequences, review poses and learn about breathing, body awareness, balance, flexibility and strength.  there are short routines for "Tights and Hamstrings" or "Back Pain" among others and a whole section of short videos featuring Tara or Deepak on Meditation, or the four types of yoga.  

I find the video of The Philosophy of Yoga by Deepak very inspiring.

The sequences could flow with a bit more grace, and the community part could be a bit more than just leaving an email address but this app is off to a good start, one thing I noticed is that they take it seriously and offer updates very often.  One last detail is that I would have preferred to have Tara direct the asanas rather than having Deepak on voice over.

FOR MORE SEASONED PRACTITIONERS:

Ashtanga Yoga with Richard Freeman.

Richard Freeman's app is by all means just the DVD of the primary series (created a long time ago), which I own and love.  As much as I wish he would turn it into an i-pad app and add the intermediate and advanced series (hey I can wish!), this is all we have for now.  Richard is in my opinion the best yoga teacher in America these days, so he gets to come here. 

One of the complaints the application gets is that it is a bit advanced and this is true, Richard does not make exemptions or adjustments on the primary series for beginners (so for example he will show the full marichasanas and kurmasana et all), but his descriptions and thorough and accurate. If you want a DVD that has adjustments for beginners AND teaches the first series you can find that here.

Not a lot of people think of Pranayama (or breathing exercises) as yoga, but pranayama is as much yoga as asana (poses). It is after all the fourth limb of yoga and the portal into higher states of union with the divine energies within.

Health Through Breathing - Pranayama  is basically a counter with ratios for inhalation, retention, exhalation and (only if you are very, VERY advanced) retention after exhalation.  You have a choice to select the music (Ambient, Vedic, or Classic) and the animation (Anatomical or Dial).  You can then set the time and start breathing deeply.

I have used this application for practice and like the anatomical animations.  It is important to note that pranayama has to be learned slowly and preferably from someone who has practiced it before.  Here are five curious things I learned about pranayama and a description of my own practice.

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So there are my fav 6 so far, what have you discovered that you like?

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5 things I learned from Richard Freeman's interview (Guruji's book)

1- Jois the trickster
The famous story in which Richard was "put" into a deep backbend while he felt he was not "warm" enough surfaces again  in the interview; And also the one where he was not given the next pose, even though the new guy on the mat right next to him and who just came to Mysore got them all. 

It is easy to relate in so many ways. 

I have began to wonder wheather we even need a trickster teacher around or if just having a mind of our own is trick enough. For example:  I have felt the injustice of people who learned the primary series after I had been doing it for a while getting into Kapotasana (a deep back bend in the intermediate series), while I watched almost tearfull from afar and still in the first series.  Of course there is no injustice, this is some construction of my mind. 

What I take: my mind as the trickster. Hmm, yes it has potential. 
 2- Yoga is the direct experience of your original nature... but often times we don't really understand what those words mean
That is a quote direct from the interviewee's lines. I could not agree more, there are countless definitions or one sentences about what yoga is, but I feel that "getting" it, really understanding the words is a whole other story.  My recent post about the meaning of yoga went over this precise topic.

What I take: I want to experience yoga, beyond definitions, please.

3- Married life is 7th series
Richard says that Guruji told him this, and I believe Patrick is fond of talking about 7th series in his blog, a concept I had not understood completely till recently and I am now reminded by the interview.

Being with another in an intimate relationship is where all the issues that we need to work on show up, so I think Jois is more than accurate in calling it 7th series.  Having to risk showing who we really are to another person is even more scary than dropping back to the floor, although it may not seem so, it really is.  Relationships are the biggest doorway into yoga, like Marianne Williamson says, we enter the kindom of heaven in pairs, there is no place where we will have to keep it more real than in an intimate relationship. 

What I take: thank God I am still in honeymoon! and ... a  refreshed willingness to share.

4- The practice is like a mirror we go to it every morning to tidy ourselves up before going out into the world
Yesterday I wanted to write a post about how the Fall season inspires me to go deeper, but then I stopped and pulled the "baloney" card  on myself, that was not what I was feeling at all, the Fall had nothing to do with it.  As I looked deeper I realized I have been feeling a nagging 5 year old sort of voice inside that is complaining about not wanting to do anything.   Richard's words in the title resonated to me in practice today.  Guess where I found the 5 year old nagging again? at the Marichasanas and in the backbends.  That is where it is reflected in the mirror of practice.  A part of me does not want to twist deeper or drop back, why? cause it hurts and I am scared.  Hmm..


What I take: Perhaps it will never get easier... lets just keep on putting one foot in front of the other and breathing deeply.  Lets allow it to happen.

5- Samadhi is very close, according to my understanding. Practicing yoga, you gradually develop the ability to observe what is happening in the present moment, and when you observe very closely what is actually occurring, then that is samadhi
Sounds simple, does it not?  Why would it have to be so complicated.  Maybe it isn't.  Maybe being fully present is really all that is required. 

One day walking on the street I asked a friendo of mine right out of the blue and for no reason:  What if in the end we will be judged not by what we have accomplished but rather by how present we were to anything that happened to us?  Not sure why I asked that question, I feel more like it was a "download" from universal intelligence, and the question was directed to me.

What I take:  What if in the end we will be judged not by what we have accomplished but rather by how present we were to anything that happened to us? 

you can get the book here


Also, Richard has his own book coming up pretty soon (Septemger 14), and guess what?  It is called:  "The Mirror of Yoga", very appropiate to the post. 
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5 new hot types of yoga - not to be taken seriously, or yes..?.

Watch out for these ideas coming from fertile Saturday imaginations, I can almost picture the books and the retreats happening at Omega/Kripalu/Bali...  as if we need more, here are some ideas for the future of yoga!

Air yoga
It happens as you jump from a plane (with a parachute of course), the instructor leads over some balancing poses that play with the air, you literarily fly in savasana by the end of it but someone wakes you up so you remember to pull the trigger to open the rainbow colored thing.

Underwater yoga
Happens as you dive, you feel the connection with the ocean, poses include water reistance, and gravity enhacing. Lots of standing, lots of deep stretching. You are floating by the end of it.

Cold yoga
Borrowed from my husband's mind, this one is imitating the sages from Tibet that kept their bodies warm while meditating on ice, happens in a cold room so it entices you work harder at breaking a sweat (50 to 55 degrees if you are curious, I just asked the creator).  Also the cold keeps you focused easier.  You may laugh, but I twitted this one and it already has adepts, remember you saw it here first and it is trade marked! or I will juice the yogi out of you!

Wait, I am interviewing the creator here, he says:
If Bikram could create his Bikram yoga, then there is lots of different yogas one can create to a) expose more people to yoga and b) make some money.

OK, forget the sages of Tibet then!

24/7 yoga

Also, borrowed from husband's mind. Utilizes every moment of the day and turns it into an asana or meditation.  For example, climbing stairs in the subway? do them as a warrior pose in each step. Bored in a meeting?Secretly do the twisting poses, nobody will notice! Sitting in an airplane on the way to that vacation spot? do it in ut plutih! hee hee.

Picture of ut plutih from the amazing website of Arjuna (if you have not checked it out yet you are in for a treat)

Also, sitting on a long train ride? meditate!, standing waiting on line for the bus, meditate!

Drama yoga
Consist on doing the primary series of Ashtanga yoga while reciting Shakespeare plays in their entirety, it is a practice, it takes long, looooooong to master, which we love, especially if you go into a lengthy one like Hamlet.  You also get all this things to talk about, like "today in the to be or not to be part, my tongue got stuck but the marichasanas had this relieving effect".  By savasana you can relax into something easier of your choice like Ibsen.

What is your idea for a new brand of yoga?
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What is yoga? come again?

 to actually understand this [the definition of yoga] in one’s being is of a wholly 

different order. To understand words and concepts is easy, but to let 

the experience of yoga penetrate deep into one’s heart, to realize 

fully what one is made of, and, finally, to establish the mind in the 

Self—these are very difficult. 

Patthabi Jois

Sometimes I find myself caught in what I think is "yogic" vs what I do not think it is, matter of fact I had written a whole post which I did not publish because I came to the conclusion that perhaps I was trying to make yoga what I wanted it to be, which seems to be a general tendency, at least for me.

So what is yoga anyway?  I have gone to the sources of knowledge and found three definitions, but I am not sure we are quite ready for the first two, here is why

Definition one:  Yoke

This one goes to the term yoga which means "to unite".    So we unite body mind and spirit.  But what does that mean?  Yes I get it intellectually, I can understand, but as I go down the street, as I comment in another blogger's post, how do I use the yoking idea to live a yogic life? So I guess I go back to the quote of Jois at the top of this article, one thing is to understand something rationally, another thing is to get the experience.  I keep looking.

Definition two: Cessation of the fluctuations of the mind

Mr. Patanjali,who wrote the YogaSutras (the bible of yoga) defines it so, and we get it, we stop the mind. No more mind, therefore yoga.  

So when I am angry at things or when I feel like not doing my practice, then I stop my mind.  Is that even possible in our time and age? At the speed we are going can we seriously get an experience of this first time on the mat? maybe, if we are lucky,  I am angling towards considering that there must be an easier one, at least to begin with, at least until I am ready to go to the higher notes of yoga.


Definition three:  A path we follow

I like this one, not only do I get it intellectually, but I have been there before, I know in my bones what it means to step on a path (to find the relationship, to get the job, to go to school, to find the perfect ice-cream).

It is an invitation, it reveals nothing, which means there is more to learn, it leaves me with curiosity and with a choice to investigate further, to measure my actions.  Thby the way is the definition of Pattabhi Jois in "Yoga Mala" (which you can get here).


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Then I wonder about me, when I get honest with myself and forget all the teachers and students that came before me and will come after me, what is yoga for me in this time and age, for a living being, beyond all books and definitions, what is it for me?

Daunting question, it is so many things, mostly I find it is a sounding board against which I measure my every move.  Did I attack someone today? in words?  did I hurt anyone? on what I ate or said or took.

To me it is an invitation to peace in a very practical way, in the way I talk to people, in how I react in how I tolerate what I think is injustice, in how I stand up for what I believe in yet not dismissing anyone else.  It is an invitation to be like a child again, open, new, with a dream of peace for everyone, yet in the body and mind of an adult that can perhaps, if lucky, bring about change in me to begin with.

Seen in this light I feel like an alchemist, transforming my every move into peace.

What is yoga for you?
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