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Yoga

Week 2 Day 2 – Extend the Sides

February 11, 2015

Most gym rats will tell you that you should work on sides and abs on alternate days. What makes yoga a great workout is that most yoga classes have varied routines and you will end up engaging different body parts even if you attend the same class 5 times a week. Some days it may be abs intensive, on other days, perhaps, arms. But, for the most part, you will use your body as a whole instead of just working out isolated body parts. So while you’ll work on sides pretty much in all your yoga classes, there are a few moves that you can do with a bit more awareness next time so that you can get the most out of them.

The Side Plank or the Vashishtasana

Most people tend to put most of their body weight on their arm and wrist when they do the side plank. Are you one of those? If your wrists hurt when you do this move, then the answer is yes. The key to improving your form and increasing the amount of time you can hold this move is in how you engage your arms. Tightening the muscles of your arms helps in taking the pressure off of your wrists. To do this you can try and spread your fingers out wide on the floor. And the push your shoulders away from your ears. So on hand reaches all the way up to the sky and you stretch your shoulder blades as well. The other hand pushes into the floor, so you try and dig your fingers into the floor also. The neck should be relaxed. Sometimes you may not realize that your neck is strained. A good way to ensure that your neck is easy is to smile and allow your face to relax. This relaxes the neck as well.

Once your arms take on the proper form, you can start to work on your sides. Keep your stomach tight at all times and then gently push your hips up towards the sky. This gives you a little elevation and also ensures that you keep your awareness on your core. That little lift makes a huge difference, else you may tend to sag down closer to the floor, which will put more strain on the shoulders. Finally, keep your knees locked. This will ensure that you are engaging your legs in maintaining the balance as well.

The Trikonasana or the Triangle Pose

Despite years of practice, I feel that it is only now that I’ve really started appreciating this pose. All yoga poses give you a sense of release and relaxation post the practice. If you don’t feel it now, with consistent practice, you eventually will. The key to the Trikonasana is doing it step-by-step. Many students go into the pose with the end picture in mind. Yes, many experienced students as well. But that just leads to a compromise with the geometry of pose. Do it stepwise and when you finally bend down make sure you bend from the waist. Your torso should be parallel to an imaginary wall. Try and get both shoulders in one line and reach up to the sky and down to the floor almost drawing your shoulder blades apart. Make the pose active right through your fingertips. Focus on your feet as well. The inner edge of the front foot will go into the floor and the outer edge of the back foot will be pushed into the floor and this will give you stability in this pose.

Note on this pose. Iyengar said in an interview that even after countless years of practice, writing books and articles, conducting workshops all over the world etc, he is still working on getting his awareness to his smallest toe in the Trikonasana.

The Parsvakonasana or the Side Angle Pose

The base work in this pose is similar to the Trikonasana. What you need to take care of most in this pose is that the knee is right above the ankle. The inner edge of the foot should be strong on the floor. Keep the thigh parallel to the floor. Extend your arm out and keep it close to your ear. Keep your gaze on your fingers but relax the neck. Feel the extension on the side of the body, from your foot all the way to the finger tips.

Questions? Queries? Let me know!

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Yoga

Week 1 Day 2 – Some Arm Work

February 3, 2015

Holding the Chaturanga for 2 minutes is an awesome way to test your core and arm strength. If you want to make it a bit more challenging do the Chaturanga pushups. Basically you lower yourself towards the ground until your arms are parallel to your body and then push up into the regular plank.

Besides this you can do the little move demonstrated in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWb3tAgFlfE

The Adhomukha Svanasana is an awesome way to stretch the entire body. The picture below is not a great one of the pose since I’m wearing socks (extremely cold in Delhi) and my sister doesn’t have a yoga mat (still recovering from shock). However, remember that this asana is also about core strength. You want to use your core strength to elongate your spine. Push your index finger and thumb into the floor to lift and lengthen your body. The stretch on both sides of the body should be equal, so if you feel you are engaging your right hand more (as most right handed people tend to do), then actively start to push your left into the floor. Your heels DO NOT need to touch the floor. However, you need to ensure that the back of your legs are also stretched. The heels should not lean in towards each other, they should be pushed slightly away from each other. The challenge in the Adhomukha Svanasana is to elevate the tailbone as much as you can, without compromising the length of the spine.

This asana is to be practiced on arms day because it’s through arm work that you’ll be able to lengthen and straighten the spine. Work on opening up the shoulders and pushing the shoulder blades closer to each other. Bring awareness even to the armpits and see if you’re able to feel a stretch in the armpits as well.

Finally practice the Gomukhasana to get an intense stretch on the arms, shoulders, chest and shoulder blades. A lot of people tend to bend the elbow which is up (in the picture below the right elbow) forward. Actively push both elbows back. Elevate the spine. Push both feet into the floor for a greater lift. Hold it for 2 minutes on each side and you’ll start to feel your body opening up.

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Yoga

It’s Never Too Cold to Workout

January 14, 2015

This morning I woke up and instinctively curled into a tight ball under my blanket. It was so so cold. I checked the temperature and sure enough it was 15 deg with dense fog in Bangalore today. I lingered under the covers for a while and finally had to get up for class. And there was bleak attendance for today’s 8-9 am session. The fact is, even though you may be 100% committed to your fitness goals, getting up in the AM and throwing the covers back to get up is not child’s play. But small changes can lead to big results. So here are a three things you can do to make it a bit easier to get out of bed in this chill.

1. Plan what you’re going to wear the night before and have it out ready. The path from your bed to your workout clothes must not have the obstacles of decisions and doors. Preferably keep your clothes ready in the room where you change in.

2. Make yourself a cup of really really strong coffee or tea. I prefer tea and these days I add loads and loads of ginger, black pepper, cardamom…and pretty much any other heating spice to it. This not only warms you up from the inside but also wakes you up. Remember, go easy on the sugar. Also, you want to have enough so that you wake up, but not so much that you’re unable to move in yoga class!

3. Being self-motivated is great. But it’s easier to workout regularly in a group class. So, join a group class, make friends with the others and motivate each other to brave the winters!

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Yoga

How to: Keep Your Fitness Resolution

January 12, 2015

It’s the start of Week 2 of 2015. Most people’s New Year’s resolutions comprise majorly of fitness resolutions. People who bought state of the art running equipment last year want to run their first marathon this year. Some others want to come down 10 dress sizes. Lots of people hope that the new year will magically infuse them with the willpower to achieve their goals. They hope that new year resolutions are somehow different.

And most people who had fitness on their resolutions list may not even have started working on their goals. Because most people who state ‘I will lose 10kgs in 2015’ spend more time visualizing clothes they want to wear and dreaming about the shrieks of admiration/jealousy emanating from their friends. So lost are they in this visualization and dreaming activity, that they completely forget to plan how they are going to accomplish these feats.

And because there hasn’t been any proper plan in place the first week of the year may have been a repetition of the first week of the last year for many people. Dealing with the early morning getting ready for office frenzy. Sleeping late after finally switching the TV off. Coffee-fuelled days and restless nights.

The thing is, waking up early and going for a refreshing walk, having a wholesome breakfast, reading something interesting before falling into a blissful sleep isn’t really difficult. Nor is it difficult to workout EVERY SINGLE DAY. The difference between frazzled and flow-like-the-river days is just planning. Yes. So those who dream of losing 10 kgs can do so if they plan how they will go about doing it. Is it really feasible for them to get up at the crack of dawn every day for an hour long intense workout? Or would it be more practical to workout for three weekdays and then both days of the weekend. Can you really follow through on your goals like no sugar, rice, coffee, chocolate etc, or would it be easier to cut out one thing first and then move on to more. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and a healthier, fitter, happier you will also need consistent effort over several weeks.

However, I do come across many people who have a balanced approach. There’s a girl whose been coming to class for a couple of months now. When I asked her about her new year’s resolutions she said just fitness, which is just an extension of the way she’s currently living. She eats well and tries to work out frequently. She tries not to overdo things. So the other day when she messaged me to tell me she won’t be able to make it to class I told her to relax. However, she came to class and said she would try to follow along to the best of her ability. She had pulled a muscle and wasn’t too sure about practicing that day. But I saw her energy levels consistently increase during the session and there was peace and smiles during the savasana. Later on she messaged me to thank me for the session because post yoga she felt energized and the muscle she felt she had pulled felt more relaxed.

That’s when I realized why this woman was achieving the fitness goals she had set for herself. She was achieving them because she was working on them a day at a time. A yoga session at a time. A meal at a time. And consistently making the choices that would contribute to achieving the larger picture she has in mind. That’s the key to success for fitness resolutions. Keep the larger picture handy, but focus on the small steps. This way you won’t be overwhelmed by the 10kg goal.

So when it comes to keeping fitness resolutions, sweating the small stuff yields the results you want.

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Yoga

What About When It Rains?

November 13, 2014

A lot of people interested in my Yoga in the Park classes as me this.

This morning I woke up and thought I’d start the day with a walk. I got ready and stepped out and realized it was raining. I was disappointed but it was too early for my mind to get irritated/angry etc. As if on cue, I got a Good Morning message that gave me insight into how to handle this situation.

My morning ladies were also optimistic and upbeat. And the beauty of practicing yoga in a group is that unconsciously you start to bond with the group. My morning ladies are used to practicing amidst the trees (and under the flag!)…

But today one of them offered us the use of her beautiful home for our practice.

It was a great way to start a cold, wet, grey morning and I feel so lucky to know these ladies. They are smart, open, friendly and encouraging. They have beautiful homes, great families and successful careers. And most of all, they help each other and me stay inspired. It’s still grey and cold outside, but my day is filled with warmth.

Post yoga we chatted meditation, vipassana, friends, lives etc over steaming cups of green tea. Learning from water, to adjust ourselves.

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Yoga

Your Approach to Things

August 20, 2014

What is your approach to life? Do you look at the ‘big’ goals and think of the long climb uphill which will definitely get you huffing and puffing…and well, you know that you may just quit halfway up..and so lets just put it off for a while. Do you look at the final asana and
1. Get discouraged because you “just know” you’re not flexible enough.
2. Hurt yourself by propelling yourself into the asana.
3. Get yourself into the asana in improper form.

Your approach to the final asana mirrors your approach to life. If your attitude towards your yoga practice is any one of the three, you need to shift your perception. Here’s what I suggest:
1. A goal, much like an asana, takes time. It requires careful study and dilligent practice. If your goal is a promotion, you need to look at your work right now and think about how you can add value. If your goal is to run a marathon, then you need to draw up a running plan and start on it today. If your goal is a particular asana you need to not only ask your teacher for some extra help, but also read up on it on your own, and practice it on your own. Yes, you need to put in more work than the next guy. Because you want more than the next guy. Therefore, be prepared to work longer and harder than the next guy.

2. Preparation is key. An inversion is as much about abdominal and arm strength as it is about balance. If your arms and abs aren’t ready for it you will topple. A manager (in those long ago days when I used to don the smart formals and stride resolutely into the office, laptop in hand) once told me that a promotion is not only about whether you have the ‘know-how’ to work at the next level. It’s also about whether you are emotionally mature to take on what comes with the next role. You may have washboard abs, but if your arms (or your mind for that matter) are not strong enough to take on an advance pose, then you’ll have physical trauma as well as emotional trauma (“She does it so easily, why can’t I? This must mean I’m not fit enough and therefore I suck.”) to contend with. Take it slow. Put in your work. The asana will come on its own. So will the promotion. The 21K…even the trek to the Himalayan summit!

3. The soft-spoken Indian politician (allegedly Cambridge educated), who sputters through his party’s manifesto in an interview with a Cambridge-educated wolf in a journalist’s clothing. The heir to a business empire who helplessly meditates next to the Ganges as he flounders through one bad decision after another and tries to keep the business afloat. The GRE, CAT, UPSC candidate who wants to devote all her waking hours to Bharta Natyam practice. The runner, weight lifter, CrossFitter, swimmer, tennis player agressively pushing her forehead to her knees because, well she can grab her toes easily and can hold the plank for 5 minutes, so this should be a piece of cake. All these people can do great things, but they aren’t ready for whatever they are doing right now. And it shows in their answers, in their decisions, in their performance and in their injuries. An asana is a highly technical posture which requires a LOT of practice and understanding. Sometimes success is not about building, it’s about deconstructing. What do you need to be good at right now to reach your ultimate goal? Work on that. When you finally ‘get’ the asana, you won’t be setting yourself up for long-term injuries.

This move looks simple. It builds abdominal strength, back strength, strong shoulders and arms. It’s an inversion, so it’s great for your heart, skin, hair etc. Keep your thighs turned in towards each other. Make sure your abs are pulled in. Square your shoulders and push them away from your ears. Push your hands evenly into the floor. Push your heels into the wall. Only if you follow all these rules are you doing this right. You’re building yourself up to handstands and other inversions. If not, then you’re going to start noticing cervical issues, weak elbows, spine compression amongs other things.

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Yoga

Shift Your Perspective

July 17, 2014

Some thoughts for Thoughtful Thursdays: Why is weight so important to people who join fitness classes? After all, in a fitness class (yoga or otherwise) you have lift, balance, move like crazy, push, pull, stand up, squat down…stuff whic…h underweight or overweight people will not be able to do. Underweight and overweight people keep on falling sick, they don’t move well, they frequently have problems concentrating, and their internal systems (digestive, metabolic, respiratory) usually don’t work right. But time and time again women come up to me saying they want to lose weight. After some weeks they say yes they’ve lost inches, but no they WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT. In this quest for their version of the perfect weight they fail to notice that they are breathing better, they are more flexible, they’re happier, they can hold the plank longer and are closer to touching their toes. And what’s more, a lot of these women aren’t even over-weight! I don’t get it. If you were to fall sick tomorrow, you would lose weight without doing anything. But to be able to touch your toes, or do the chakrasana or natrajasana, you’ve put in hard and consistent work. The flexibility and balance didn’t come easy…so then why are we so fixated on a particular weight??? Shift your perspective. Stop thinking about your weight and glorify in all your body can do.

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Yoga

Day 1 – #7daysofniyama challenge.

June 27, 2014

The niyama we’ll focus on today is Saucha – or cleanliness. At the grossest level this is about keeping our living and office spaces clean. At a little more subtle level this is about wearing clean clothes and keeping our bodies internally and externally clean. At a still more deep level this niyama is about living as truthfully and purely as you can. Your behavior, words and actions should reflect the truth and purity you believe in. Is your house really clean and organized? Or are there cupboards you’d be mortified if your guests saw? Do you have beautiful laundry hampers that contain months of of dirty laundry? When you go to your yoga class, do you make it a point not to step on other people’s mats and props? At a deeper level, do you constantly share your feelings of helplessness, anger, hurt, depression etc with others? We all go through a hard time once in a while, but do you constantly crib whenever you find a listener? Analyze why you do that, and then stop doing it. You are disturbing someone else’s peace and creating an imbalance in their energy. Look around you and analyze if you live clean, think clean and eat clean. If you don’t, make the change today.

Saucha can be divided into internal and external saucha. Today we’ve covered how we can implement saucha externally. From tomorrow we’ll look at internal saucha. To maintain internal cleanliness and purity we must get rid of: kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and matsarya. One each day, so tune in every day!

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Yoga

Yoga Challenge – #7daysofniyama

June 26, 2014

So we’ve looked at what, according to yoga, we can do without in our lives. But what about the rules that yoga tells us to live by? Starting tomorrow, join me for #7daysofniyamas. Niyamas literally translated means rules. I believe that the fundamentals of all cultures, religions and philosophies are basically the same. To be good, to be kind etc. So many of you may already be incorporating the niyamas in your lives. Lets take a look at the niyamas and see how yogic philosophy transcends race, cultures, countries, class, caste, religion etc.

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Travels Yoga

Stretching – Then and Now

January 16, 2014

@Malaka Spice

It’s been close to 10 days here and my routine here is as challenging as ever. I realize that if it’s your first time here, then it does take a while to adjust and adapt. The first time I had a 4 hour practice I was incredulous … and didn’t know how to deal with it. Rather, I didn’t know how to make the most of it. When I practice at home it’s only for an hour and a half, and by the end of it I’m drained out. So the first few days here, I was always exhausted. So much so that I felt I couldn’t give the best in the asanas and always felt sloppy and ungainly throughout the practice. Mondays and Tuesdays specially, since practice on those days is almost 4 hours long, and by the time I’m done with practice its an ordeal just to walk home. My fantasies these days centre around buying an apartment next to the institute so that I can crawl home in no time and surface again only for the next class.

However, now I’ve started to get used to the routine. I’m actually able to make the most of the extended practice sessions. In fact, 2 hours is just about enough time for a satisfying practice…how I’m going to sustain this when I’m back in Bangalore is the stuff other blog posts are made of.

Yesterday I had my class in the evening (where I’m referred to as ‘Bangalore’, and another

Milk tea just this once

girl is called ‘USA’, oh and then there’s ‘Madam China’ in the 6 am session). It was an amazingly intense session. The class was fast paced with a focus on stretching the lower body (Janu Sirsasana, Paschimottansana, Baddhakonasana etc). Finally we did the Upavista Konasana, which is a challenging pose for me. I slowly made my way down and eased my torso onto the floor. I remember the days when I started practicing yoga and this pose was a big challenge. I wouldn’t be able to extend my back and my hip joint was stiff. As the years went by, I was still pretty reluctant to practice this pose because it didn’t come naturally at all and it was frustrating. Even now, sometimes I’m able to execute this pose well, and sometimes I feel like lead.

Yesterday I was able to ease myself down and placed my forehead on the floor. I stayed there kind of happy and satisfied with myself. There’s always an element of pleasant surprise also, because some days your body can extend and some days it just doesn’t. This reverie lasted until I heard, “BANGALORE! You’re sleeping! Extend more! Walk forward with your hands!!! That’s it, that’s good. Trance mein chali gayi thi phir se.”

And I realized that for the most part, this is how I practice. I arrange myself into a pose and then my mind says, “This is it, you’ve done well. You’re done.” And then my pose goes dead, and progress stops. Or, as the teacher said, I fall asleep. So when I was told to extend more, I had to push through the limitations of my mind (kind of still the internal dialogue) and discover if I could, in fact, go further. I realized that I could, and for that little bit of time I experienced new life. And received a bit of enlightenment.

The Halasana is a pose that we do daily in class. We use props to ensure that the spine and neck are straight. The picture is of me doing the Halasana many years ago. When my internal dialogue was loud and overpowering. I’m sure it’s improved over the years. And after this class, I know how to work in this (and in all other asanas).

Halasana (Plough Pose)

How To

Lie down straight on your back making sure your head lies on the floor.
Exhale, bend your legs at the knees and bring your knees close to your chest.
Lift your buttocks off of the floor supporting your back with your hands.
Make sure to plant your elbows firmly on the floor.
Bring your body perpendicular to the floor, until your sternum touches your chin.
Gently extend your legs out behind your head.
Keep your face and neck relaxed.
Practice with your arms stretched out behind and fingers interlocked to relive pain and cramps in fingers, hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders.