Greetings Yogis and Yogginis!
I am checking in to encourage you all to stay consistently active as you enjoy your summer - I hope you get to enjoy being outside more and...consider taking your yoga mat outside to practice! Remember, all you need is the space on your mat. Also, if you have not done so lately, now is a good time to wash yoga mats and blankets.
Notes to share:
1. By the end of July, I would like to know from students in the Tues/Thurs 9:45 class, the Tues 12:15 Beginners
Class, the Sunday 5:15 classes at Christ Church, who is planning to return, so I can act on letting folks "in"
from the waiting list. Classes will begin again the week of Labor Day. The Thursday Chair Yoga class
fluctuates but always has room.
2. Circuit classes are going well - please look to the website to decide if you want to join a group forming on
any certain day/time and consider getting the ball rolling by initiating a group. Usually someone starts
by asking for an available time and saying wether they want it to be a private class or wether they want to
open up the time they have chosen for someone else to join them (to defray the cost). On the website,
the Circuit class page has an icon at the bottom of the page; click on it and a chart appears to show
where there is availablity. In the future the plan is to have a more formal circuit class arrangement.
A time will be chosen, up to 5 people can sign up. The class will run for 6 weeks and a specific circuit
will be chosen by me for each time (determined by who signs up - I know my students and I really try
to plan for what I know they need) - by the end of six weeks everyone will have had a great variety of things
to practice, using fancy equipment at that! Keep it in mind and if you have a few friends who you want to
do this with, we can find a time that appeals to all in the group. The rotations in the circuit will include the
Yoga Wall stations, the Pilates Arcs and Reformer and the Migun bed!
3. Cancelled Workshops so far have been:
a. Hip Openers - not enough regristered so I had to cancel. The time spent would have given us the chance
to talk about strength/flexibility of feet and legs, as they are our foundation, with great exercises to
strengthen feet and ankles. Some suggestions for feet are included further in this newsletter. Great new
ideas using blocks for bringing awareness to the balance of strength between each side of the back and
hips, and of course, a great practice to work all aspects of muscles that bind the hips and lend better
alignment to the spine. The workshop will be set again in the Fall.
b. Kids Yoga June 28 We were going to cover the basics and talk about how to use some of the basic
poses for certain sports, have a great art project and as usual with this theme,...a healthy snack :)
Not enough were registered here.
c. Chair Yoga June 28 The church needed all spaces/rooms for the preparation of the awesome
Vacation Bible School that CUMC is known for, and although we could have used another room, it
was not big enough. I must say that the Chair Yoga Workshop is probably the most valuable of all
the workshops I plan. "Backing off to do more" is a cue that I have been using in group classes as
of late and,...here is a place where we get to do even more. Using the chair for improvised poses to
either make poses within the means of anyone who is compromised and/or using the chair to change
the angles of what we typically practice has great value and requires much deeper study.
Beginning to understand the theraputic applications of yoga poses and especially preparations for poses
gains any student the understanding of how to practice if they need to attend to any physical issues.
This is a more in depth experience than the chair yoga class that meets on Thursdays Sept - May.
The handouts and explanations are valuable and I liken this experience to understanding how yoga
can be used like physical therapy. This is the dynamic way yoga is growing in the west....we have
finally caught on :) When this comes around again, consider it!
4. Workshops coming up in July (please register by one week before each workshop):
a. July 12, 1:00 - 3:00 Yoga for Back Care: the most widely requested information on yoga...and why...
because of the nature of the work and I quote from my teacher and her teacher, BKS Iyengar
"The fruit of the labor is .... the extension of the spine." 80% of Americans will experience a back injury
at one point in their lives is what we learned in grad school 20 years ago and the statistics have not
changed. We rush our lives and our bodies and at the end of these hurried days we are tired, especially
our back, so we rely on sinking into the surface behind us, a cushy couch, a reclining chair,...and when
we look to attend to the pain inour back we want immediate relief and an instant fix. Sometimes that
is necessary but, the greatest advantage of a yoga practice physically is here... teaching the many
muscles of our spine to be strong when they are long, affording us space for freedom of nerves
to run out to do their jobs without impingement, freedom of pain free movement, greater range of
movement and better posture too. Consistency really counts here! This workshop is something I offer
every summer, with a different sequence to build on years past and great explanation of anatomy and
alignment. We will cover al variety of things, including tweaking preparations to provide traction and
recovery.
b. July 12 3:30 - 5:30 Shoulder Openers : Stress, both physical and mental, backache, poor sleeping patterns,
neck and shoulder injuries, all lend themselves to the "slouching shoulder" syndrome that compounds the
issues for this most complicated joint of the body, the shoulder. To attend this workshop means we will
address stretching and strengthening the muscles that travel through the bone structure to create the
mobility of the shoulder. We will cover the classical exercises of western physical therapy used for treating
rotator injuries and find their compliment in yoga. We will cover safety in weight bearing poses/inversions
as the shoulders and arms then provide the foundational strength. We will cover theraputic use of specific
preparations that will help shoulder to fingertip joints and we will have great restorative poses appropriate
to the theme.
c. July 19 1:00 - 3:00 Pilates Mat : The common thread in all the work here is....core strengthening!
No matter what you age, sport, condition, core strengthening is a must. What are core muscles exactly:
all muscles of the back, the abdominal wall, the pelvic floor and even the inner/outer thigh....pretty extensive,
right?! Here lies one of the goal of the coming year for all my group classes, in all we practice in class,
we will learn to incorporate learning to lift from the pelvic floor. You all will be surprised at the value and
the results. Here is how you will get a great explanation and a head start. For newcomers to Pilates,
the exercises seem so simple and look so easy. Experience leads to learning to build awareness
and to realizing the refined work of all the classic mat exercises. If nothing else, come for a great
workout/handouts so you can incorporate some of these exercises on your own!
d. July 19 3:30 - 5:30 Restorative Poses: Every year I have to push this idea but as we come to grips
with the many results of the downturn of the economy, more people are seeking this kind of practice to
quiet the mind. In the Iyengar yoga practice, restorative poses are a must in each practice - to include
one or two allows not just relaxing the muscles you just put to work, but time for reflection,
pranayama/breathwork practice, meditation, and traction/release of muscles. Sometimes it is
good/necessary to just have a restorative practice, after long travel, period of trauma, both physical
and emotional, to counter a stressful job, to ready the body for great work (marathons to mission trips),
...Any of you who have experienced restorative poses realize that they need to be tweaked for each person
to accomodate for tight muscles, body length, props available,...To serve the purpose, a restorative
pose must be comfortable! For all other workshops everyone needs to come with a yoga mat and a blanket.
This one requires three! Bring what you have available.
5. Great use for yoga toe socks....the Wii game - so many of my students have said they practice yoga with the
game on the wii. The big complaint however is how refined that game is with regard to balance. Here is a great
way not to slip! Last year I started wearing toe socks (originally made for Pilates, specifically for use with the
reformer). I try to be very careful as I travel between classes/buildings, not to take germs from one class to
another (thus I wash my hands before I leave each building) and not to take germs home. So I added using
these toe socks as they have grip pads on the bottom. They are becoming popular across the country and
many companies are imitating the original "toe sox." I am sticking with this company, they are the best and
they have come up with new designs....called half toe socks....the toe tips are cut off - for those of you who
think your feet might get too hot or who want to show fancy pedicures :) In Sept we will order again to
include all who missed out.
Toe Tips...from the Toesox newsletter
Eat the Towel: Place a small towel on the floor. Sitting in a chair, with your heel  on the floor, use your toes to bunch up the towel under your arch. You can increase the resistance by putting a weight on the end of the towel. Relax and repeat this exercise five times.
- Foot Fitness for Life, The American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society
Spreading of the Toes
"... spreading of the toes which stretches the muscles and achilles tendon and stimulates the nerves and connective tissues. Properly aligned toes and stronger, more flexible feet are better able to form a strong arch and support weight with less pain and risk of injury."www.healiohealth.com
Grounded in Gratitude |
|
On the surface, gratitude appears to arise from a sense that you're indebted to another person for taking care of you in some way. But looking deeper, you'll see that the feeling is actually a heightened awareness of your connection to everything else. Gratitude flows when you break out of the small, self-centered point of view and appreciate that through the labors and intentions and even the simple existence of an inconceivably large number of people, weather patterns, chemical reactions, and the like, you have been given the miracle of your life, with all the goodness in it.
The truth is, you are supported in countless ways through each moment of your life. You awaken on schedule when your alarm clock beeps—thanks to the engineers, designers, assembly workers, salespeople, and others who brought you the clock. Your morning yoga practice is the gift of generations of yogis who observed the truth and shared what they knew; of your body (for which you could thank your parents, the food that helps you maintain your good health, doctors, healers, and the "you" who cares for that body every day)—the list goes on.
- Yoga Journal June 2009
|
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. - Hebrews 13:16
Namaste,
Mona Flynn, MS, RYT
Life Fit Yoga, Inc.
5806 Wildrose Drive
Greensboro, NC 27410
336-580-5833
|