Reduce Stress with 1:2 Breath Ratio

When life is stressful, slowing down the breath, especially the exhalation, can help bring renewed calm and a more relaxed state of body and mind.

Here's how ...

Sit on a chair, meditation cushion or yoga bolster, in a posture of comfort and dignity. You can also lie down on your back for this pranayama experience; support your head and neck, and your knees, so that you are resting very comfortably on your mat. 

Take a few moments to settle in and settle down. Take some Wave Breaths: allow your abdomen, ribcage and collarbones to expand as you breathe in ... and let your collarbones, ribcage and abdomen recede as you breathe out. Take several of these Wave Breaths at an easy, leisurely pace that is natural for you.

Now, as you breathe in, notice the length of the inhalation - you might count "beats" in your head: "inhale - two - three." 

As you breathe out, slow down the exhalation up to twice the length of your inhalation - you might count "beats" as follows: "exhale - two - three - four - five - six."

Don't strain, and do not hold the breath; this pranayama is meant to be comfortable and easeful. You should feel comfortable at all times.

Repeat this for several rounds, for 1-2 minutes. Then, return to your natural breath and notice how you feel.

The 1:2 breath ratio is designed to - quite literally - slow us down. It moves us from the sympathetic (stress) nervous system into the parasympathetic (relaxation) nervous system ... and it is very soothing and calming.

Try it, and enjoy!

TIPS FOR TEACHERS: Where Do You Stand?

Do you always teach from the front of the yoga studio, with your students facing you? Of course, that's where you would want to be ... much of the time, unless you're moving around the room to offer gentle assists or whispered words of encouragement or guidance.

But there are some times when you could refine your teaching by positioning yourself at a different spot in the room, with better results.

The Problem: You are teaching a creative sequence that involves moving the class from, say, Warrior I, to Warrior II, to other poses sequenced into the flow. Your students will be facing the front of the room when you first start the sequence (Mountain, Warrior I, Sun Salutation); then they will face the side of the room for Warrior II and perhaps some other fun "open hip" poses (Stargazer, Side Angle, Half Moon) that you've choreographed into the sequence. To do the sequence "on the other side," the class will be transitioning to face the other side of the studio.

And where are you? At the front of the room, where most of your students can't see you for a large portion of the sequence. 

Your beautiful demo isn't going to be effective if no one can see you, or your students have to crane their necks to see what you are doing.

Is there a better way? Yes.

The Solution: When the class is facing the side wall of the studio, GO OVER THERE and demo the poses while facing the class. When the class faces the front of the room, MOVE THERE. And when you lead your class through the sequence on the other side, MOVE AGAIN, this time to the other side of the room, so that it is always easy for your students to find you, and for you to see them. 

There are three rationales for this:

- we want our students to be able to see us, so why not make that easier for them?

- when we stay glued to our mats at the front of the room, our students will turn their heads in order to see us; this has them twisting their necks uncomfortably, or moving in ways that take them out of proper alignment, and might strain necks, shoulders, low backs and knees.

- it is WAY easier to move one person (you, the instructor), rather than an entire class; this is simply more efficient.

  

Try it and let me know how it works for you!

Tools for Teachers: Giving (Even) Better Instructions

TOOLS FOR TEACHERS:

Giving (Even) Better Instructions

You're teaching an awesome class. Textbook perfect. Everything's going well. Until that one moment when you see the entire class turning THIS way, when you really wanted everyone to go THAT way. Argh! 

It's a common problem for yoga teachers, and one that's easy to correct with a little practice and a lot of mindfulness.

The Problem: As we teach, we give multi-layered instructions. Turn to the right. Step the left foot forward. Side-bend right. Inhale. Exhale. Nothing wrong with that. The issue is that our students know us ... sometimes too well. They assume we will always go to the right first, for example. Or they just did a sequence on one side, and they assume they know what's next. But they don't necessarily remember the sequence -- or you've choreographed an element into the sequence before repeating it on "Side B" ... but they don't know that and assume they'll go through the sequence to the other side NOW. 

The students are with you one moment; the next moment, they've gotten a step ahead of you.

What's a yoga teacher to do?

The Solution: We tend to give the breath instruction first, and then we add the movement instruction. E.g., "inhale and elongate; exhale and twist left." Breath first, then movement. This works really well most of the time. Except when it doesn't, and the entire class just went the wrong way.

Know exactly what you would like your students to do. Now, plan the movement that's coming up, and give a more nuanced instruction than the one you usually offer. If you need the class to "twist left" next, give the DIRECTION first, and then very quickly add the breath instruction. E.g., "Inhale and elongate; SIDE BEND LEFT ... exhale." Movement first, then breath. 

In this example, the movement instruction comes a split second before the breath. Students will still do the movement with the correct breath, but now, they will be more certain to move to the side you intended, because you caught the potential for confusion just before they move again. You've caught them in the moment before they move -- and that is when you need to give that more precise, differently-timed instruction.

The best place to practice this technique may be on "Side B" of the sequence you're teaching. 

By adding a heightened degree of mindfulness, and precise movement and breath instructions, your students are likely to follow your lead even better, making for smoother transitions and a more elegant teaching style.

Try it and let me know how it works for you!

 

Of Passover, Easter, and ... Yoga?

On the eve of Good Friday, Easter and Passover, I can't help but stand in awe of the connection between Passover, Easter and yoga.

How's that? Let me explain.

Easter celebrates the miraculous rebirth of Jesus. A dying, and a returning to life everlasting.

Passover celebrates a people's move from bondage to freedom. A dying of the confined and restrained soul, to be reborn as a new nation.

And Yoga? Yoga is the discipline of freedom. Yoga celebrates our diligent practice, and our capacity for attaining "moksha" (spiritual freedom), by giving us a roadmap for going deep within, using Patanjali's Eight Limbed Path as our guide. What dies? Illusion and attachment. What is reborn? Nothing less than the true self.

So, whatever your background or belief, celebrate this weekend, when so many energies flow together in such extraordinary synchronicity. Tell the story of the exodus. Share the promise of immortality. And practice yoga, and dance the dance of "moksha."  Freedom.

Happy Holidays to All ! 

Metta, 

Charlotte

 

Meet "The Yoga Agent" - Leslie Kaminoff & Ava Taylor

Good for you, Leslie and Ava! You call it the way you see it, Leslie (and yes, you got bleeped, oh well). And Ava, BLESS YOU for creating the space for us yogis to be more free to do what WE are meant to do, while you manage and network so that we can bring our work to those who need our teachings. Shame on those who deny us yoga pros the right to take ourselves seriously, respect our time and energy, and employ those who can support us in getting out there to do what we do. Love you guys!

Yoga for Osteoporosis - A Brief Intro

Hi there Yogis,


The Yoga Alliance has put out a call for presenters for its upcoming Yoga Alliance Leadership Conference, October 25-28, 2012, in Indian Wells, California. 


And I'm going for it!


As part of the application process for being a session presenter, I had to submit a short video clip giving a sense of what I'll be talking about at the conference. So ... thanks to the wonders of my Mac, YouTube, and some double-sided tape (don't ask), I created a 7 minute intro that I'm excited to share with you.


You can find it on my YouTube channel: CharlotteStoneYoga, where I plan to post more videos in the months to come.


Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC1pk0ULShM&context=C4c5e0b9ADvjVQa1PpcFPHYIOQjELVNA3uQ8LE0uO9KGMvgyyBytw=

You can also find my Journey Through The Koshas there.


Enjoy, and please share your thoughts on the Stone Center for Yoga & Health Facebook page.


Onward & upward!
Charlotte

Yoga Asana Competition: Coming Soon to an Olympics Near You?

Yoga is Olympics-bound. Move over, Savasana experts, and give a round of applause for our competitors from the New York City Yoga Asana Competition of 2012.

Years of training behind them, competitors bow to the judges with Namaste hands and perform their routines: five compulsory poses, and two additional poses of their own choosing, as they compete for the title of champion. Medals are handed out: gold, silver, bronze. Group hugs, tears and congratulations, a group photo for the press. Ah yes, competition is alive and well in the wonderful world of … yoga?

                                                  Kyoko Katsura in Scorpion Pose - Vrschikasana

                                                    (Seth Wenig, AP / February 28, 2012)

New York Welcomes Yoga Asana Championships

www.nytimes.com

The USA Yoga Federation will host the ninth Regional New York and National Yoga Asana Championship at the Hudson Theater in Midtown Manhattan on Friday.

Gymnasts and dancers can do it. Circle de Soleil performers can do it. Youngsters who compete at the Juniors can do it. Adults who train 3-5 hours each day can do it.

If Yoga Asana Competition becomes an Olympic sport, will it - as the U.S. Yoga Federation hopes - inspire people to do yoga?

It seems so unyogic that these yoga athletes are being judged based on straight knees, balance, how perfectly they perform each pose, and on that special quality that catches the judges’ attention. At least they don’t make them smile like gymnasts must at times; a seriousness pervades these performances by skinny women in leotards, and wiry men in shorts, their intercostals rippling and - gulp - impressive.

Rajashree Choudhury, wife of Bikram and winner of many yoga competitions, is the founder of the United States Yoga Federation, which has spearheaded the effort for a yoga Olympics. Choudhury and fans believe that yoga raised to the Olympic level will heighten public awareness of yoga’s benefits for strength, flexibility and discipline, and inspire people to take up yoga.

I don’t believe that will happen. To the serious yoga practitioner, it can be inspiring to see what one might do with rigorous Olympic-style yoga training. But will yogis get injured pursuing that elusive perfect pose?

And what about all the non-yogis watching the yoga Olympics? I believe that the great majority will be more convinced than ever that they can’t do yoga. While yoga “performances” have always been part of the yoga tradition in many Indian yoga schools – a graduation of sorts – the competitive nature of the Olympics runs counter to what yoga is and can be. In yoga, we encourage an atmosphere of non-judgment, non-competitiveness, adaptation, introspection and self-acceptance; this is precisely what makes yoga so empowering, NOT the physical prowess required to hold handstand or Peacock pose.

People watching these competitions won’t know that yoga is a way of life. That it is a roadmap for having a healthy body, but also a non-judgmental mind, a serene Weltanshauung, and a way to find insight or personal transformation. If all they see is the yoga Olympics, viewers won’t know any of this … and I doubt that seeing the physical poses performed so perfectly will help them realize that they should get themselves to a yoga class for their stress, or their aching backs, or their vulnerable hearts and souls. In fact, I think competitive yoga is likely to have the opposite effect, convincing viewers that they can’t – or shouldn’t - do yoga.

Will yoga inspire generations of young yogis? Possibly. But is this the message we want our young yogis to absorb, that they can train, and be judged, and maybe, just maybe, beat out everyone else and win that gold medal? Or that they can train, and be judged, and never be good enough?

Don’t we have enough competitive sports at the Olympics?

Of course competitive sports may inspire people to be more fit, to join a team, to embrace wellness. They can lead to rock star status for the rare super-athlete whose story can inspire … and to plenty of injuries, emotional problems, sacrifice and heartbreak for the many others whose stories we never see.

Or, the ultimate insult to yoga and those hard-training yogis: will people find these routines … um … boring?

Is this what we want them to do to our precious, non-competitive, yoga-meets-you-where-you-are, yoga-for-the-rest-of-us yoga?

I know where I stand on this issue. What about you?