The Beauty Is In The Breath.....

Pranayama. In traditional yoga, the breath is known as prana, or universal life-force energy within all of us. Thus, your pranic body is your vital body, also known as your energy body. Breath is life. Yogis have known the amazing benefits of breathing practices for thousands of years, but scientists in the Western world have only recently established a clear connection between deep, controlled breathing and improved health. And someone recently told me how important it is to get plenty of oxygen to your brain, thus inspiring the topic for this post.
One of the greatest health benefits in our culture is stress reduction. We know that stress is linked to a number of health conditions, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and depression. Just learning how to breath deeply, on and off the mat, can reduce, or even eliminate, many of the symptoms triggered by stress.
Classic yoga breathing techniques, known as Pranayama, are used to control the breath and harness the prana within and surrounding your body in order to create a state of inner peace. And it just so happens that the many health benefits can be a by-product of a regular diaphragmatic breathing practice.
It is common during everyday life to use only the upper third of our lungs. This kind of shallow breathing is generally caused by tension or stress. Because there are more blood vessels in the lower portion of our lungs, we need to use our entire lung capacity to get enough oxygen into our bodies, and to release the toxins that are eliminated as we exhale. The increased oxygen we breathe in gives us more physical energy and improves our concentration and mental clarity, which is one of the first things we lose when we are under stress. Something I have been a target of recently.
So my purpose with this post is to explain some simple breathing techniques that can be used throughout your day to clear your mind and reduce your stress level, while releasing those toxins, leaving you feeling peaceful and calm and better able to handle the weather that you have created in your life.
Traditional yoga breathing practices are done exclusively through the nostrils rather than through your mouth. Breaths taken through your nose warm and filter the air coming into your body. These breaths keep your body warmer while you work out as well, which is necessary for your muscles and connective tissues to stretch safely and effectively. It is also more efficient for your heart and lungs, which is why many professional athletes practice this technique.

Ujjayi Breathing:
Before beginning this technique, take 3 or 4 deep breaths in through you nose and out through your nose. Focus on inhaling all the way down to the bottom third of your lungs, making your inhalation match in length with your exhalation.
Next, to begin Ujjayi breathing, also known as "Darth Vadar" breathing, inhale deeply through your nose and then place your hand in front of your mouth and exhale with your mouth open pretending that your hand is a mirror that you are trying to fog up. Do this for several breaths and focus on the sound and sensation that you feel in your throat. Then finally do this breath with your mouth closed and still produce that whisper sound in your throat as you exhale. If you can hear your breath, you will be able to recognize when it is becoming rapid or shallow, or if it is staying steady and deep. Ujjayi breath also gives you a focal point when your mind begins to wander. Once you have mastered this technique while sitting at rest, try using it when under stress or exertion, such as when driving in LA traffic or jogging.
Three-Part Breathing:
The Three-Part breath is the simplest and most rewarding of all yogic breathing exercises. It is both purifying and energizing, and if done slowly and evenly, can produce a great sense of serenity and balance. As mentioned earlier, we often breathe using only the top portion of our lungs. Breathing in and out at full capacity even just a few times can greatly increase blood oxygen levels and decrease carbon dioxide. Three-Part breaths are great for increasing your awareness of your breathing and help you use the potential depth of your lungs. In Three-Part breath you use your diaphragm to fill your lungs completely from bottom to top. To practice this technique, first focus on expanding your belly, then your ribs, and then your chest, before exhaling completely.
Relaxation Breathing:
Relaxation breath is a slow-paced technique used to induce a state of deep relaxation and centeredness. It helps reverse the physiological symptoms of stress, including lowering the heart rate and decreasing blood pressure. Although it is not as deep as the Three-Part breath, this technique also focuses on matching the length and depth of the inhalation to that of the exhalation. To do this, lie down on your back and relax completely. Place your right hand on your chest and your left hand on the upper part of your abdomen. Breathe so that only your left hand rises during the inhale and falls during the exhale. Your right hand should not move at all. Give an equal amount of time to your inhale as you do to your exhale. Breathing this way should not be a struggle. And you should do only what you are able to do calmly and comfortably.

Whether you choose to use these techniques or not, remember that when it comes to breathing, if you are breathing consciously, you are doing yoga. Nameste.

Dreaming My Dreams.....

Dreams.....in my opinion, that's what life is all about. I was very fortunate to have spent my teenage years with a dreamer who inspired me everyday for 5 years to be a dreamer and be passionate about what interests you. Teaching young children was one of those passions for me and has sustained me for many years. But as I head into the second half of my life I feel my natural teaching shifting in another direction. One that can still include young children, but may also include a whole other audience as well.

The picture I have included in this post is of a place known as Farmville. And NO it's not the virtual place made so popular by Facebook. But rather a real place where real food is being grown. I include it here because it has become a place very near and dear to my heart for many reasons. One of them being it is where I find myself rolling out my mat and doing Sun Salutations every morning. Being the daughter of an avid gardner, I grew up knowing how hard people work to produce the food we eat everyday. So it's not unusual for me to find solace in my yoga practice in the middle of a vegetable garden. But this particular garden represents more than just good, healthy food. It is also representative of someone who knows how to keep his passion close to his heart. And for that he will always be someone close to my heart. So my message today is this: search in your soul for your dreams, and if need be, dust off the cobwebs and start living them. Life is about dreams. So dream on......

Peace, Love, Joy, Gratitude.....

Each YogaFit training session always ends with a "share circle" on the last day and level 4 was no different. The idea of a "share circle" is for all of the participants to share in one word what this training has given them. Each day we were asked to focus on things, either people or events, in our lives that bring us PEACE, LOVE, JOY, & GRATITUDE and given the events in my life recently this was a very easy task for me. So it seemed only fitting to make these 4 simple words sum up the past 4 days.
Our last day together began with our final masters class led by Brett. And because he is a physical therapist by trade I think he intuitively knew that our bodies needed a break. He led us through a very restorative class that gave us a lot of opportunity to listen to our own bodies and tailor our workout to what it was telling us we needed and at what pace. My body was screaming slow, rhythmic deep stretches laced with lots of deep breathing. He did guide us through a series of shoulder work in preparation for inversions such as headstands and shoulder stands. Something I don't spend enough time doing in my personal practice. His knowledge of the human body and what it is capable of doing was amazing to say the least.
After our lunch break we spent the rest of the afternoon comparing the two majors texts we had been studying for the past 4 days: The Gita and the Yoga Sutras. We did a variety of activities with partners and in small groups where we had to look at a Sutra and then find a parallel Sloka (or verse) in the Gita that went along with it. This was no easy task, given that both of these ancient texts are not the easiest pieces of literature to comprehend. In fact, Brett told us that he has been studying the Gita for 7 years and still doesn't totally get it.
We also spent a little bit of time talking about meditation and how this practice fits in with the Yoga Sutras. One more thing to add to my growing list of things to look into a bit more.
By the end of the day my concentration had completely broken and I started to do what I always do when I get overloaded with information, which is the one thing I tell my students to NOT do: I stopped listening and started talking to the people around me. Fortunately, their brains had reached their saturation point as well and they more than welcomed the chatter. I spent more time than I should have talking to a woman named Tina who gave me lots of valuable information on how to turn my yoga training into a real business. Including how to set up a website and apply for a business license. Am I ready to take that leap? I don't know. But after spending 4 days doing nothing but yoga, I think I am ready to at least try. So some time before 2010 comes to a close look for Om To Home to go to the next level. I'll keep you posted.....

Joy To The World....

Day 3 started off with the " Peace, Love, Joy, Gratitude" dance again led by Beth. I love this dance! I think I'm gonna have to do it with my Kindergartners in the fall. What a great way for them to start their day. Then we danced out of the room and made our way to our level 4 training which started with another one of those insane 3 hour Masters classes. This one focused on hip-openers which happens to be my strength so I didn't struggle too much with the poses. But I do have to say my inner thighs are burning right now as I type this. Each day our trainer has had a theme for their masters class that also carries on throughout the day. Our theme today was JOY. Hence the title of this post. In fact, we ended the masters class dancing around the room to the song Joy To The World. Not the christmas carol version, but rather the cool one by Three Dog Night. I remember that being my favorite song when I was in like the second grade. And as we danced around we had to hug 5 different people before we could leave the room and go to break. We also did our warm up stretches to Bob Marley's "Don't Worry, Be Happy". So you can see it was a very JOYFUL day.
Today was also a day filled with not only lots of music and singing and dancing, but with a lot of chanting as well. Something I have not had a lot of experience with until this weekend. We chanted our mantra for the day which was "Lokah Samastha Sukino Bhavantu" which means: May this world be filled with a sense of well being and happiness, and may my thoughts, words, and actions contribute to that happening. But my favorite chanting activity we did was one called Kirtan. That is where you chant a mantra like singing a song in rounds while playing a variety of musical instruments. My favorite one was one that included a phrase from each of the major religions of the world. As we sang them at the top of our lungs you couldn't help but feel the barriers that separate these organizations dissolve as we were all interconnected in song. It was so cool. And I also got to play an instrument called a Tibetan Singing Bowl that made the most amazing sound just by running a mallet-like tool around the edge of the bowl.
We also practice more Sanskrit words by playing games and doing partner yoga activities. But my favorite Sanskrit activity was when we got to do what our trainer Kristen called YogaFit line-dancing. Of course being one of those people who was borderline obsessed with Country Music line-dancing back in the early 90's I was totally into this. We did a fun version of the Electric Slide that included a yoga pose for 4 beats of the music. Great way to practice the language and the movement at the same time.
We ended the day with another session on the philosophy of yoga that included a very interesting discussion about the word and symbol OM. Here's the deal. It is the sound of the universe, and it represents our oneness with everything in the universe. It carries the 3 energies needed to have a full life. The first energy being that first breath you take when you are born, the third one being the last breath you take when you die, and the second one being all of the breaths that make up your life inbetween. That is why it is the most sacred of all the mantras and so important in the yoga philosophy.
We also learned about the deity known as Ganesha. That is the elephant-headed statue that is so often portrayed in pictures pertaining to yoga. He is usually sitting surrounded by lots of mice and eating dessert. This deity is symbolic of the idea that you can live among the peasants of the world (the mice) and still live a life full of joy (I guess that's what the eating desserts part symbolizes).
As I drove away from the resort this evening I couldn't help but realize how all of the organized religions of the world seemed to all be saying the same thing. And how they all seem to have similar stories and symbols to represent the same concepts. And it just goes to show you that we truly are more alike than we are different.

Feel The Strength of The Mountain and The Heat of The Desert

Day 2 started with a warm up class with Beth Shaw, founder of YogaFit. I've been looking forward to this conference for many reasons. One of them being to finally take a class from Beth. She started her business in the mid 90's peddling it out of the trunk of her car, and is now the head of the largest yoga training method in the world. Pretty amazing. She was a marketing major in college and it shows. Class with her this morning was beyond inspirational. She oozes peace, love, and joy from her very being. She just got back from India and shared with us some fun techniques. My favorite one being her flying bird flow that ended with you giving yourself a hug.
After an hour with Beth it was time to begin the second day of level 4. We started off with another Masters class that lasted for 3 hours. Yes I did say THREE HOURS! This was probably the most challenging yoga I have ever done, yet it somehow was the most enjoyable as well. Our trainer, Brett, has an amazing style with just the right balance of intensity and relaxation that makes a really great yoga instructor. He had us doing such complicated acrobatic combinations as Down Dog to Wheel and a walking Scorpion down the wall. Intense, I'm telling you. If I get a chance to practice these insane postures I might even be brave enough to post pictures by the end of the weekend.
After lunch we spent most of the afternoon talking about the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras. Neither of which I have even begun to wrap my mind around so I won't even try to explain them yet. But I will say this, I think the Gita is becoming one of my favorite pieces of literature. The interpretation we were required to read for this training included several stories about the many lessons to be taken from the Gita. Our homework assignment last night was to read 3 of these stories and then discuss them in small groups today. I know, it sounds kind of boring. But get this, after we discussed them we got to act out one of our favorite stories. So of course my group decided to act out the one called "The drunken Boatmen." The moral of the story is that you can practice something all you want, but until you practice detachment you will never get anywhere. And I got to play the wiseguy bathing in the River Ganges who points this out to the intoxicated boatmen. This was definitely the highlight of a very long and tiring day. As far as the Yoga Sutras go, I will need to spend A LOT more time reading and re-reading it to be able to explain it to anyone. But this much I know so far: Sutra 1 shows us that yoga is about being present, and Sutra 2 shows us that yoga is about clearing the mind. Both are really important things that we all need to bring into our daily lives.

Seeking Your Own Truth....

That's what became the mantra for Day 1 of my level 4 training at the Mind & Body Conference here in Palm Springs. "Seeking your own truth." Could possibly be the mantra for my life right now I suppose.
But let me start at the beginning, which began at 4 am this morning when my alarm went off signaling me that it was time to head off to my first YogaFit conference. I made the drive in under 2 hours and was blessed to watch the sunrise over the mountains of Southern California. When I arrived in the desert the temperature was already 94 degrees, an indication of what was to come later in the day.
Because this training is at the conference the location is not at a gym or a yoga studio, but rather at a resort in the older part of town. As I walked through the resort I was amused at the stark difference in the decor. The interior appeared to have been decorated by Liberace and looked like what I could only imagine hell would look like if it were an old-fashioned resort. Lots of red and black furnishings straight out of a movie from the 50's. The landscape outside looked more like what heaven would look like in a Hollywood movie, with lots of peaceful gardens to meander through if you like the heat.
Because I was not staying at this resort and because I did not want my laptop nor my perishable produce to be ruined in the heat of my car all day, I schlupted my way through the entire resort with my computer and a small ice chest along with my regular training supplies: yoga mat, bagful of books, pillow, blanket, and anything else I felt I couldn't live without for the next 8 hours. Unfortunately I forgot to grab the new bottle of red wine that I had picked up to enjoy later on that evening. And when I went out to my car at the lunch break I was horrified to find that the heat of the desert had uncorked my wine. Looks like I will need to attend more remedial wine-care classes with a private tutor perhaps.
After checking in and shopping in the boutique we were ushered into a room to meet all of the trainers and hear opening remarks from Beth Shaw herself. After her inspirational words we did the "Peace, Love, Joy, Gratitude" dance and then headed off to begin our 4 day training of level 4.
Our Masters class began with chanting and then warm-up stretches done to a tune called "Do you ever find yourself walking down the street with a big smile on your face?" Again, could possibly be the soundtrack to my life right now. I can tell this training is going to be right up my alley. The warm-up was followed by a series of Sun Salutations done without any verbal cueing which was a nice change of pace from the previous trainings I have been to these past few months.
After getting my butt kicked in this challenging class we settled into some pretty heavy-duty learning.
First we learned about the Sanskrit language, which is the language of yoga. Something cool about it is, it's what is known as a vibrational language. Meaning that the sounds are based on vibrations that are meant to bring out the energy within us in qualities such as being flexible and easy going or very strongly grounded. So that also means that some of the words do not have a direct translation. We practiced the vowel and consonant sounds first and then quickly moved into more complicated words such as: adho and supta, which mean downward and supine. Then we ended this session practicing phrases such as:
Adho Mukha Svanasana which means Downward Facing Dog, one of my favorite poses.
Another cool thing I learned was that about 5000 years ago the Earth made a slight tilt on it's axis that caused the gravitational pull to change. This made the ancient yogis feel the need to add movement into their personal meditation practice to help them become more balanced. So they looked to animals and how they moved to create the poses. And that's why we have poses such as Downward Facing Dog that look just like what a dog does every morning when he wakes up. When we do this we are simply connecting to the energy of the animals. Cool huh?
After lunch we continued with our study of the philosophy of yoga with a very lengthy yet interesting discussion about Koshas which are 5 different layers of your body that include your physical body, your vital energy body, your mental or emotional body, your intellectual/intuitive body, and your bliss body. It was interesting to talk about how our behavior can come from us acting from any one of these bodies. Made me think: what Kosha am I acting from?
We finished the day with an introduction to the Bhagavad Gita that included a homework assignment that is calling my name even as I type this post.
But before I get going on my homework assignment, I just want to finish up with one of the many great quotes I heard today:
Life should not be the pursuit of happiness, but rather the experience of happiness.
I was told that level 4 would be life changing. I think I can feel that already.

Do you feel something pulling or is it just me?

I already know the answer to that question. It is just me. And it's a really strong pull. After playing yoga games all day in Sacramento at the Healthy Habits studio I felt like my entire being was being pulled farther and farther away from the bureaucracy of my public education life. And I know yoga isn't the only thing pulling it.
Since I always talk about where my trainings are held let me talk about Healthy Habits first. It was an old Victorian house that had been converted into one of my many dreams. I say many because I have quite a few. There's the horse ranch complete with the hunky cowboy wearing wranglers and boots, there's the funky little bakery attached to a funky little used bookstore with a sign hanging on the door that says: "gone hiking.....please put your money in the coffee can next to the plate of chocolate chip cookies", and there's the driving around the country side in an RV camping in every state along the way. And then of course there's the yoga studio. This one had it all. Two studios downstairs along with a Zen Den, which I'm guessing was used as a meditation room. The upstairs had at least 4 massage rooms that I think were rented out by the month to local massage therapists. Another profession I thought about pursuing. Out of all of the trainings so far, this location is definitely my personal favorite for many reasons besides just this cute victorian.
Rose, the owner of Healthy Habits, was our trainer for the YogaFit Kids class. She had just the right balance of bubbliness and that calming persona so prevalent with yogis. We pretended to be six-year-olds and played games such as "bowling for butterflies". I was totally in my element and finally had the opportunity to share my own personal experiences with teaching yoga to my own students. By the end of the first day my desire to bring yoga to children and perhaps others was firmly cemented into my soul.
And then came the Anatomy Class. Two very long days of too much sitting and listening and not enough doing. Our trainer's name was Theresa and she really knew her stuff. By lunchtime on the first day my brain was on complete overload and I felt like it was going to implode at any given moment. I found myself playing with my iphone and wishing I could be somewhere else. Fortunately we got to finally move on the second day. We did an hour-long class where all of her verbal cues included words such as lateral flexion and for the first time in two days it started to make sense. Now that that class is behind me I can plow through the 3 manuals and absorb the information at my own pace. Hopefully most of it will sink in before I attend Level 4 on the conference in Palm Springs. But for now I will continue to take it slow and steady and enjoy my glorious summer vacation from public education.