Greetings students and friends of LifeFit!
We are off to a great start this Fall – on a roll now actually with progress in each class- we are becoming stronger in our core and as a result our asana (poses) practice is beginning to reflect that change – more ease in transitions especially in balance work, the chance to try more intricate work and a greater sense of body awareness! Sun Breeze Oil and Toe Socks are in and we have a chance to order more – this time without a minimum requirement so if anyone missed out on the first order, please let me know as soon as possible. As you read the following articles please keep in mind that we do practice with a great Iyengar influence, we are building a more precise knowledge of the Pilates exercises we practice and an occasional private or semiprivate class may get you to a new plateau. Happy reading and see you in class!
Light on Iyengar (This is an abbreviated article from the Yoga Journal)
Named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time last year, B.K.S. Iyengar has had a huge impact on yoga in America. In his new book Light on Life, he reveals how the practice can change your life.
No matter what style of yoga you practice or where, your yoga has been influenced by B.K.S. Iyengar. The huge popularity of yoga in the West can in large part be attributed to Mr. Iyengar, who first introduced his style of yoga to the United States nearly 50 years ago. Many of his innovations are standard features today: He molded the way we think about alignment and developed anatomically precise terms to convey it; pioneered the use of props as learning tools; and taught how to minimize esoteric Hindu trappings without sacrificing the yoga quest for union of body, mind, and soul. One of his most significant contributions, however, has been the use of yoga as a therapeutic tool. His discoveries have provided evidence of yoga's power to deal with a host of maladies, and the results of his work have raised the credibility of yoga in the scientific and medical communities.
Mr. Iyengar's book Light on Yoga, first published in 1966, has become a classic and is considered the ultimate reference manual of asana practice; when teachers refer to the correct way to do a posture, they're usually alluding to the alignment Mr. Iyengar instructs and expertly models in his book. In fact, at Yoga Journal we wouldn't think of doing a photo shoot without a copy of Light on Yoga on the set.
Rather than present the yoga postures as he did in Light on Yoga, Mr. Iyengar reveals in Light on Life the "heart of yoga" that he personally discovered through more than 70 years of disciplined, daily practice. He explores the yogic goal of integrating the different aspects of our existence (physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual), the role that yoga postures and breathing techniques play in our search for wholeness, the external and internal obstacles that keep us from progressing along the path, and the precise ways that yoga can transform our lives and help us live in harmony with the world around us. In the following excerpt from Light on Yoga, Mr. Iyengar explains why asana practice is important on the yogic journey, but is not the end goal.
“The purpose or goal of asana is to align and harmonize the physical body and all the layers, or sheaths, of the subtle emotional, mental, and spiritual body. This is integration. But how does one align these layers and experience integration? How does one find such profound transformation in what from the outside may look simply like stretching or twisting the body into unusual positions? It begins with awareness. We think of intelligence and perception as taking place exclusively in our brains, but yoga teaches us that awareness and intelligence must permeate the body. Each part of the body literally has to be engulfed by the intelligence. We must create a marriage between the awareness of the body and that of the mind. When the two parties do not cooperate, it leads to a sense of fragmentation and “dis-ease.” The world is filled with movement. What the world needs is more conscious movement, more action. Yoga teaches us how to infuse our movement with intelligence, transforming it into action. In fact, action that is introduced in an asana should excite the intelligence. How do we develop this intelligence in the body? How do we learn to turn our movement into action? Asana can begin to teach us. We can adjust and balance the body gently from within. This is different from seeing with our normal two eyes. Instead we are "sensing" the position of our body. The sensitive awareness of the body and the intelligence of the brain and heart should be in harmony. The brain may instruct the body to do a posture, but the heart has to feel it, too. The head is the seat of intelligence; the heart is the seat of emotion. Both have to work in cooperation with the body. It requires an exercise of will, but the brain must be willing to listen to the body and see what is reasonable and prudent within the body's capacity. The intelligence of the body is a fact. It is real. The intelligence of the brain is only imagination. So the imagination has to be made real. The brain may dream of doing a difficult backbend today, but it cannot force the impossible even on to a willing body. We are always trying to progress, but inner cooperation is essential.”
Get More Out of Shoulderstand |
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Salamba Sarvangasana (Supported Shoulderstand) is one of the oldest and most therapeutic of the asanas. According to yoga literature, it can relieve allergies, alleviate asthma, stimulate your thyroid, calm your nervous system, and much more.
Try Shoulderstand the next time you're feeling restless, agitated, or stuck in a rut. After a few minutes of pressing down through your upper arms and watching your toes ascend toward the sky, your senses will be heightened and you'll naturally tune in to the here and now. You'll emerge feeling more settled and focused. Who knows? After experiencing this new position, you might even find a fresh solution to an old problem.
If you're a beginner, however, try Viparita Karani (Legs-Up-the-Wall Pose) instead. It will give you many of the same benefits of inverting, but won't strain your neck. Learn how to safely get to practicing shoulderstand in a way that is unique to your ability in LifeFit group classes this month. Do not be afraid or apprehensive. There are many preparations for this pose as well as other poses that serve as a stepping stones toward safely and carefully building the body awareness, flexibility and strength toward the practice of a classical shoulderstand. Students active in classes this month will receive specific directions for modifying and practicing Salamba Sarvangasana (supported shoulderstand ) and Vipariti Karani (legs up the wall pose). Practicing shoulderstand (or its preparations) takes faith in oneself and one’s teacher, a great sense of body awareness, a good warmup and a little courage!
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By Nora Isaac
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Yoga Therapy: The Next Wave in Yoga |
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Many people start yoga because of an injury. But the average yoga teacher doesn’t have the time to address individual problems in a packed yoga class.
The therapist will see you now. An emerging field in America, yoga therapy hovers somewhere between a doctor’s visit and a stretching class. Yoga therapists work in small groups or private sessions, addressing specific health problems and adapting poses accordingly. A steady stream of interest has become a flood: According to the trade group International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), membership has more than tripled in the last three years. “Yoga therapy is really just blossoming,” says Larry Payne, Ph.D., a yoga therapist since 1982. “It’s the next great thing in yoga.”
Modern yoga therapy can be traced back to the yoga master T. Krishnamacharya, who produced students that became the West’s most influential teachers of therapeutic yoga, including his son TKV Desikachar and BKS Iyengar.
Many have since used yoga for managing high blood pressure, coping with the effects of cancer treatments, or treating symptoms of HIV, depression or anxiety. But lately it’s become especially popular for musculoskeletal issues like lower and upper back pain, sciatica, and shoulder, neck and hip pain.
Physical therapists use many methods, from targeted stretches to deep tissue massage; exercises with a Theraband, foam noodles, belts, physioballs, bobbleboards, Bosu Balls, or a wall; and heat and/or ice therapy at home. After a physical therapy session, you'll usually leave with a photocopied sheet of exercises.
A yoga therapist works primarily with yoga moves, and clients typically leave with instructions on a custom series of poses that change each week according to the student’s progress.
Yoga therapy advocates believe that since yoga is a holistic discipline — teaching that the mind, body, and spirit are connected — yoga therapy can go beyond the results that are possible with physical therapy.
“Yoga therapy is very much about the whole person,” says Janice Gates, president of the International Association of Yoga Therapists and author of "Yogini." “It is complementary to physical therapy, but we take into account that back pain may be related to an emotional element, or it may be from lifestyle, some pattern that is not serving them, physical movement patterns or other patterns.”
Yoga itself is being embraced as a health and wellness practice in America. While it’s unclear how many wellness centers offer yoga therapy specifically, there is evidence that some yoga poses offer effective treatment for one of the most common complaints that lands patients in physical therapists’ offices: chronic back pain.
In a study reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2005, patients given a sequence of yoga poses by yoga therapist designed by Gary Kraftsow improved more than did patients given a self-care book or sent to exercise class. The National Institute of Health has allocated $1.2 million for a larger follow-up study on yoga therapy’s effectiveness for back pain. For help finding a yoga therapist, visit http://www.iayt.org.
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Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality that guarantees all of the others. – Winston Churchill
Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily tasks, go to sleep in peace. God is awake. – Victor Hugo
This is what I found out about religion: it gives you courage to make a decision in a crisis and the confidence to leave the results to a higher Power. Only by trust in God can a man carrying responsibility find repose. – Dwight Eisenhower
AMEN This little word has entered more languages than any other word in a human speech. How that came to be is a fascinating story. It is said that in Alexandria, Egypt, around 250 B.C.E., King Ptolomy desired a translation of the Hebrew Bible. He set 70 scholars, chosen from the Jewish community, to work on the translation. They reached the word “Amen,” first cousin of emet (truth). “Amen“ meant “So be it” or “May this prayer come true.” There was no single Greek word expressing this thought so they turned it into a Greek work, - “Amen.” When the Bible was translated into Latin, “Amen” became a Latin word. And, so it went.
May work, rest, joy, courage, patience and peace of mind be part of each day for you and may you find your faith to be the foundation,
Mona Flynn
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