Posts from the ‘Yoga’ Category
I have a confession: I’m obsessed with your body. And mine.
Why?
Well, that’s easy. WE ARE SO FASCINATING!
Although in recent months I have taken this interest to new heights, it all started about five years ago. I had moved to New York City and my body seemed to be falling apart. Every day I pounded the pavement in cute shoes, commuting to work, walking to meetings, dancing the night away. Relatively quickly a pain developed in my feet, and in a few short months that nagging pain became excruciating, shooting up my leg and affecting my body in all sorts of ways. My hips hurt, my back complained daily. Was I really feeling the signs of aging at 23? Impossible. One night, while standing at a Jamie Cullum concert in my new cheetah-print Steve Madden flats, I looked down and saw the sides of both feet were flaming red. It was time to see a doctor.
I ended up finding Dr. Ethan Ciment – aka the best podiatrist ever - who became a wonderful friend over the years. He explained my problem: collapsable arches (flat feet) which was causing my bones to splay each step I took. While that in itself is not inherently bad, the shoes I wore crowded my feet so badly that bunions had formed and were super inflamed. (Note: Bunions are caused by an extra-angular position of the bones in your toe joints…they are NOT a crazy skin growth like some people think.) It was time to say goodbye to the unsupportive-yet-adorable shoes I owned and get orthotics. And honestly, I was willing to do anything. I love fashion, but not at the expense of my comfort.
Armed with new shoes and knowledge, the pain quickly subsided and I could enjoy moving around again. A few months down the line I had surgery on my right foot to correct the bunions and went through physical therapy to regain proper use of my foot. I was so interested in how something as seemingly-unimportant as shoes could cause so much damage to the entire body, and how these things could be corrected. Thus, the obsession began.
Workin' the surgery boot
Over the years, I endured different pains in my knee, hip, ankle…always on the right side. I don’t need a degree to know how these things are related. Each time, the weeks in physical therapy helped me to understand the root of the problem and how to alleviate the pain. Without fail, every injury stemmed from tight muscles (often caused by a repetitive movement I’d been doing).
So why do our muscles get tight? And how can we fix them? This is what I paid the professionals to tell me.
As I got deeper into my yoga practice, things started shifting. My teacher had a strong Iyengar background and would talk about moving the body in ways I’d never thought of before. It clicked immediately. Armed with this new knowledge, I trained for a triathlon and not only avoided injury, but came out much more flexible than before. During my 200-hour yoga training, the anatomy portion just wasn’t long enough. I found myself craving more, asking question after question, connecting the dots. The fact that we are so unique in our composition and yet, everything works the same is so friggin’ cool.
Hands on learning: Playing with "fascia"
The more you know about your own body, the better you can use it. Especially when it comes to a yoga asana practice, where we move our bodies into all sorts of different positions. We’ve all been struggling in a pose and look around the room at that one person who seems effortless in her actions. The initial thought is often “She’s so good, she’s so flexible” and while this may seem to be the case, she also is probably anatomically built to go deep in certain positions. Because let’s face it: certain bone structures will naturally give a “head start” in a yoga practice. However, there is SO MUCH we can do to help open things up and keep our bodies limber. And I know this firsthand, because I am not one of those anatomically gifted people.
Earlier today, I watched this video about fascia and stretching. WARNING: There are images of a real human cadaver, so if that sort of thing makes you cringe, don’t press play.
Funny thing is, this sort of thing used to gross me out, too. Now, I just want more, more more.
I’ve been practicing Thai Yoga Massage for the past 5 months or so, and while the training I received in Thailand was wonderful, I found myself craving a much more in-depth discussion of anatomy. We are handling human bodies, after all. So this January I am starting a 6-month integrative massage program which will thoroughly cover anatomy and therapeutic massage techniques using both Western and Eastern methodologies.
My most recent injury is three weeks old. As I mentioned, I tend to have an injury on the right side of my body about once per year. This time, it traveled up to the right side of my back. After a month of intense yoga practice – including many new postures and practices – I woke up with a strong pain in my lower back. Uh oh, I thought. Back pain is not good. Especially a few days before I embark on two weeks of intense yoga trainings at Kripalu. In my second week there, during the most painful muscle spasm I’d ever experienced in my life, I discovered a form of therapy called Positional Release to help release the exaggerated contractions of my quads and psoas muscles, which were causing an unnatural anterior tilt in my pelvis thus leading to the painful back spasms. The theory, based on strain-counterstrain techniques, took everything I knew about stretching and turned it upside down. And the coolest thing is that is WORKED.
Like anything else, I took this as a lesson to get to know my body better and practice some patience. And as a teacher, it is a huge blessing to experience common injuries to better relate to and help students with their own issues.
I’m not going to say that one method is better than the other. There are so many techniques out there to help us find the cause of physical ailments and heal them. But what I will say is this: Don’t just accept what you are told. To truly help heal your body – and others – you must understand the root cause yourself. To do this, no matter how little or much you know about anatomy, ask questions. Lots of them. Ask to see pictures, skeletons, whatever it takes.
Above all, as the saying goes: You are your best teacher. Learn to listen to your own body and movement. Understanding your own body and movement tendencies will not only help you heal injuries, but it will help you move and live to your greatest physical potential. We truly are fascinating beings; treat yourself as such!
Something happened today in yoga class. Both this morning and afternoon class, something powerful started brewing. It came into the eyes around the room, almost like a wave coming up and settling slowly across the room. It happened a few times and each time I saw it, I felt a sense of overwhelming peace. Like epitomizing the reason for teaching in the first place.
Today was about balance. After a long holiday weekend, many of us can say our sense of balance was tested in more ways than one. And not to blame fireworks, fishing, eating and whatever else you indulge in on the 4th of July. Our balance is tested everyday. Relationships, work life, diet, activity, you name it. We are constantly striving to figure out what mix works best for us. At least we should be.
Living a life in balance takes practice. I sure as hell work on it on a daily basis. In asana, everything takes practice. As Sri K. Pattabhi Jois said, Practice, practice, practice, practice.
Today we explored how the keys to achieving balancing poses in asana directly relates to living our lives.
Pop quiz: Can you do this?
My answer for every one of them? YES
As we made our way into more difficult arm balances, I decided to share one of my favorite quotes:
“Simply put, the reason there are things you want in life that have not yet appeared, is because you’re just not used to thinking of yourself with them.” -The Universe aka Mike Dooley
A teacher once told us if we can hold ourselves in chaturanga dandasana, we could do this pose (version of parsva bakasana). That changed everything.
So I shared with the room. Suddenly, people perked up and started giving it a shot. As I watched them – fully in their moment, their determination, concentration and breath all working together – I felt my heart melting just a little bit with every try. This was yoga.
In yoga, we are not working on the poses. We are working on ourselves.
So what are the tools for balancing in asana?
- Foundation: Everything starts with a strong foundation. Feel your body firmly rooted to the earth and pressing down to rise up.
- Breath: Breathing evenly and controlled. Not getting flustered, upset or crossing past your edge – these are things that cause us to hold the breath or breathe erratically. Relaxing completely, feeling at ease and joyful in your actions.
- Core: Strength comes from the inside out. Feeling strong and steady in your core allows you to move purposefully and with integrity.
- Focus: Gazing at an unwavering dristi point in front of you, softening your stare to an intent yet relaxed state. Letting whatever else is happening around you fade into the background.
- Attitude: Ah, it always comes back to the mind. In asana, when you fall, just laugh, get up and try it again. This is what makes you stronger.
Such is life. Such is life.
My friend Cole told me that every year she has a theme, or a word to live by. I loved this immediately. What was my theme for 2011, I thought. As quickly as I asked, the answer came: Cheers to following your heart.
I told myself that when I left for this trip, I wanted to stay in one place for an extended period of time, rather than running around from town to town. Check.
I told myself that I wanted to get to know the people, the ins and outs of the place. Check, check.
I told myself I wanted to learn something every place I went, and also teach yoga wherever I went. Well, two weeks into it I’m teaching 5 days per week. So check, check, check. Talk about the power of manifestation!
I pounded the pavement sand for hours today, and now it’s 8 hours before my first advertised class in India. I have a friend Mithun, who runs the guest house I’ve been staying in and has been such a good friend to have around. Anything I need we’ll hop on the motorbike and run to a store that does/has what I need. He took me to a copy shop and helped me print out my flyers, get them laminated and cut professionally. Always willing to help, asking nothing in return, and we have some really funny conversations.
Yesterday I was drinking a juice from Happy Banana (which is my favorite place EVER – my #1 order is avocado/papaya/banana/dates) and had the plastic cup in my hand, ready to throw away as we drove down the road towards the bus station. I said Mithun, what am I supposed to do? I never see garbage bins anywhere, am I just supposed to throw it on the ground? He was like, well yes, everyone else does so you really don’t have many other options. It all goes to the same place anyways…burned in a pile somewhere. (Don’t get me started on the stench of burning garbage in the hot sun.) Anyways, I reluctantly litter as we drive past the school and he goes Amy! What’d you do that for? Now we have to go back and pick it up…I was like Mithun, you told me to do it! I feel terrible now. He goes, Amy, you are destroying our beautiful India. Then he paused….and started cracking up. I quickly joined. Like I said, funny conversations.
So as I was saying, today I pounded the sand for 4 hours. I walked into each restaurant and introduced myself, walked up to each wall, each internet shop owner. And just taped and tacked those bad boys up. It’s exciting and beautiful, I feel as if I had a soft launch last week and tomorrow the real show begins. I could get very used to teaching full-time, very quickly. I think I already am.
Now that I’m in India exploring so many different forms of movement, I find myself thinking about what it’d be like to incorporate certain things into class. For example, today at Tai Chi I was just dying to try this one move in the morning at Blue Pyramid facing the sea. So we’ll probably start the day with that tomorrow. The yoga class officially starts at 8:30am, at least that’s when we start asana (poses). But from 8-8:30am will be open meditation and pranayama. Teaching full-time here is just fascinating me, I cannot wait to explore more. And the view from the mat ain’t too shabby either.
I’ll close with my theme for the sure-to-be-amazing year of 2011:
Cheers to following your heart,
Amy Carole
It’s 11pm on a Friday night, my first day off since this yoga teacher training (“YTT”) began. The yoga shala and most of my fellow trainees’ huts are dark, as we are all quite worn down from a demanding, intense week. Temperature is about 80 degrees and humid. Mosquitoes are in full swing around the naked hanging light bulbs at the entrance to the lake, but by some luck they seem to ignore me completely. Sitting beside the lake under a clear sky, I can hear a hippie cover band playing at an expat beach joint called Surf Club. My YTT is being held at a retreat space called Whispering Lakes, tucked between two towns in North Goa, about a 20 minute walk from either Arambol or Mandrem and directly behind the Arabian Sea.
Goa is a small southwestern state with a large Christian population due to the Portuguese rule over the past few centuries. It is now easily the most liberal state in this amazing country. Because of the heavy Western influence – furthered by tourists on holiday or just traveling through, as well as the countless expats that live here – you can walk around the streets in relatively normal clothing and not get stared at and harassed by the locals. This also means it’s quite easy to find Western accommodations that have things that we take for granted like showers, heated water, toilet paper…or even “Western” toilets at all! Suffice to say, it’s a great transitional place to start this journey.
Things have been pretty much non-stop since I arrived in India 11 days ago. My quick trip in Bombay (Mumbai) was fantastic. Meeting three of my favorite girls halfway across the world was such a treat. We saw the Taj Mahal hotel, the Gates of India, walked around famed Colaba, and haggled with the best of them on Linking Road.
A friend hooked me up with the best local to know in all of Bombay, and he took us around for a relaxing night on the town, stopping at various chaat vendors for some straight-up Indian street food, then off to a high-roller night at the roofdeck lounge of the Four Seasons. Right next door to the hotel were homes made of scrap metal.
After a quick stint in Bombay we flew to Goa and spent three days touring around the area. Anyone who comes here has got to visit the spice plantations in Ponda, where you tour an active plantation, learn about the different spices (did you know that bay leaves and cinnamon bark comes from the same tree?) and eat an amazing meal on a banana leaf.
We visited a World Heritage site with stunning old temples and churches, spent an afternoon of pampering at an Ayurvedic Health Centre, and had a curious visit to the opening ceremony for the temple of a “destiny reader”. This man told my friend Dina that she was to drop her last name and go only by “Dina”, even on her passport. He told me I was a soldier and had stomach problems. And Nicole is apparently destined to be famous, but not in her home country. Curious indeed. We also had a ridiculous experience renting scooters and driving to the “beach” in Calangute, only to find it filled with garbage and oogling locals everywhere we turned.
This was not the relaxing Goa we’d expected, so we booked it and headed up to Vagator Beach instead. Much more our speed, we spent an entire morning and afternoon on the beach with the Russians and cows. On little Vagator Beach, I got a pair of “Ray Bans” for $3.00, petted a cow, and saw the most beautiful sand I’ve even seen in my life. The water is so clear here and the land so rich with minerals that the sand sparkles like diamonds in the water.
It’s funny how even at an expensive hotel here, the power still goes out regularly, the water mysteriously turns off, and the internet works about 25% of the time. But hey, we’re in India…so as the locals say, “no problem”!
Months ago, I saw a speaker stand up on stage and say something that always stuck with me:
“Dare to live your dream life”
….so I did.
And now, it can’t get any more official than this.
I’ve broken my lease, quit my job, bought my plane ticket and paid in full. There is definitely no turning back now. Drum roll please….I’m going to India! Ok, more specifically I’m going to India, SE Asia and beyond. Let’s start with the tangible.
November 14th, 2010 is going down in my little personal history as the first day of the rest of my life. On that day I will leave the US on a one-way ticket to India with no return date in sight. Call it Eat, Pray, Love, call it a pilgrimage, call it an extended spiritual trip. I prefer something simple: my journey.
I’ve been talking about taking a trip around the world for over a year now. I had many friends that had taken advantage of the popular “round-the-world ticket” and it intrigued me to no end. But how would I get the money? What would I do about my job? How would I get around? Where would I go? How long? And the biggest concern yet…what happens at the end of the trip? You know, it’s funny just writing those questions down now, as if they were such “valid” seeming concerns in the past. I’ve since learned to let go and enjoy the moment, trusting that the Universe will guide me in the right direction. You know what? That is immeasurably helpful. Because now after shifting my perspective, I can say with total conviction “I don’t know what is going to happen and that’s just fine.”
I recently got a charm that says Journey: Life is a journey not a destination. That about sums it up! So let’s explore the journey I have loosely planned.
I will arrive in Mumbai (Bombay) on Nov 16th and meet up with two dear friends of mine who happen to be traveling at the same time. For five days we will explore the hustle-bustle of Mumbai before I head down to Goa, India to complete a 1-month Yoga Teacher Training program. This is something I have wanted to do for over a year now, and what better place to do so that the motherland of yoga. I could have choosen programs in other more “sacred” cities like Mysore, Pune, Rishikesh, etc. but in the beginning of Winter it turns out Goa is the place to be, so I figured why not. From what I understand, Goa is a much more Westernized city and can be a major party town, what I have likened as “the Ibiza of India”. I’m expecting massive festivals over the holidays and dance parties galore on the beaches filled with other like-minded travelers and expats. Works for me! I have a feeling the YTT will be nothing short of amazing, and as an added bonus I will be living in a hut on the shore of “Whispering Lake”, waking up each morning to a foggy, crisp lake. That alone fulfills one lifetime dream.
Thanksgiving, my 28th birthday, Christmas and New Years will be spent in Goa. The YTT ends right before Christmas, and I expect to stay there with my new friends to experience Goa in all its holiday glory, which I hear should be in abundance.
The month of January is open to travel around India. Originally I wanted to find an ashram to sit and do yoga, meditate, study Buddhism, etc. Basically selfishly relishing in my own spirituality. But then Amma appeared. Ok, not literally, but I came to learn that Amma – known worldwide as the “Hugging Saint” – holds her South India tour for three weeks each January. Volunteers can sign on to help with the tour, traveling around South India by bus and sitting on stage with Amma as she gives darshan (the hugging ceremony). As volunteers, you are expected to help in whatever way is needed (seva) and to participate in the daily schedule of prayer, meditation, chanting, etc. It will be mentally taxing in so many ways: everything will be crowded, food and water will be rationed, sleeping quarters might be on a floor, etc. But in exchange, you are a part of something nothing short of magical, helping some of the poorest people in the world meet and be blessed by Amma as she holds darshan. To be able to contribute something so special and meaningful to literally thousands of people’s lives — that alone will be worth the journey.
I will tie up my time in India the first week of February and head down to Bangkok to meet my awesome parents and embark on a 3-week tour of Southeast Asia. This “Indochina adventure” is an organized trip through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. It has been a long time since I’ve traveled with my parents and I am beyond excited. Plus, this gives me a great opportunity to explore four countries relatively quickly and decide if I want to spend more time in any of them later on. The trip ends in Hanoi, Vietnam and at this point I can do WHATEVER I WANT. From there on out, I am going to go wherever the Universe takes me.
Some things on my list (subject to change at any point in time for any reason whatsoever):
- Silent meditation retreat in Thailand
- Take ballet in Bangkok
- Juice fast on a remote island in Thailand
- WWOOF (working on an organic farm for free room & board): possibly in Japan, Australia, New Zealand
- Learn to surf in Bali
- Learn a language
- Visit seaweed farm in Indonesia
At this point, I don’t know how long I’ll be gone or where I will end up. All I know is I’ve saved a lot of money and airline miles and am embarking on the journey of a lifetime. Along the way I hope to save money by bartering yoga, reiki, pilates, even nutrition services. And WWOOFing is a fabulous way to stretch the budget yet still travel around with people and explore. If anyone has tips on bartering services for lodging, food, etc, let me know! Same goes for any travel tips or exciting things to add to my list. I’m pretty much open to ANYTHING.
I cannot wait to see who comes into my life over this time, the things I will learn, the sights I will see. As for the future, who knows? The future is now, it’s 5 minutes from now, and two days from then. I’ll figure it out as I go along and see where the Universe leads me.
Cheers to living your dream life,
Amy Carole
I have an amazing yoga teacher. Over the past 8 months, Marco Rojas has taken me through a life-changing journey full of ups, downs and everything in between. In the eight years I have dabbled in yoga, I have never felt a particular connection to any teacher. Never felt that inspiration, that draw, that reverence, that thirst for knowledge. This all changed when I joined Pure Yoga in December 2009.
Trained under Chuck Miller and Maty Ezraty (creators of YogaWorks) Marco teaches an Iyengar-focused vinyasa flow that forces you to pay attention to alignment in ways you never imagined. Asanas aside, Marco is incredibly special not just for the challenge he puts your body through, but the challenges he gives your mind as well. I have yet to see another teacher come close to pushing the mind quite like this. Every class is different, each with a new focus and intention. But there is a vein that runs through every class with certain messages. Messages meant to inspire and push us to our limits. Messages meant to take us away from the ordinary and beyond to something authentic and very raw. Messages meant to show us the very essence of our beings.
For months I have wanted to shared this experience with others. Now and then I do bring guests, each walking away with the same high and some variation of “wow” at the end of every class. Recently, though, I have felt compelled to share these teachings with more people. Although I know this could never come close to experiencing the real thing, I want to take a moment to appreciate Marco and his messages on how to take your yoga practice beyond the mat and into your daily life:
Stay in the Now. Feel the Now. Feel how it feels to be in the Now.
Not often enough are we reminded of the importance of the Now. Sure, we may throw around phrases like Carpe Diem or Live In The Moment. But do we really think about what these sayings actually mean? Yoga teaches the mind to be in the now so we can experience truth and live life to the fullest. After all, the Now is where all the action is!
Don’t think about the Past, it is gone. Don’t think about the Future, it doesn’t exist.
Reiterating this point, my teacher points out that we as humans spend about 90% of our thoughts in the past or the future. That means only 10% of the time are we actually experiencing truth. Through practices such as yoga, meditation, conscious breathing, etc. we can learn to be in the present moment and not worry about the past or what is going to happen in the future. People all around us literally make themselves sick dwelling on something that happened in the past. Guess what? Every day you are a new person. Every day is a chance to start again and change. Every day you can reshape your future. How cool is that?? So don’t spend energy living in the past. We all make mistakes and dwelling on those past mistakes can often set us up to make the same mistakes yet again. It is a much better practice to recognize the mistake or negative experience, accept it, and move on. After all, until we learn how to go back in time and change the past this is truly our only option.
By that same token, thinking about the future can breed a ton of unwanted anxiety. Not only that, when you spend time thinking about the future – which is really just a made up fabrication of what might happen – you lose that precious time of being in the truth of the present moment. So, if I spend half my day wondering how tonight’s dinner is going to go – boom – I just lost half my day! I don’t know about you, but to me that seems like an awful lot of wasted energy and thought. Because at the end of the day, the hours will quickly pass and I will meet up with my friend and probably have a fantastic time. Moreover, I will have a much better time without any preexisting expectations crowding my brain, all the while having experienced a fulfilling day of wonderment and excitement that comes from living in the now! So do yourself a favor and savor the moment. Forget about the future, because last time I checked time still moves on and on, and the future will come soon enough.
Hope = Fear. Get rid of hope and fear disappears.
Ok, I admit this is a hard one to accept. We all want to be hopeful, right? Well, yes. But if you start to dissect what hope really means you will notice that behind it is a negative component. It’s kind of like this…I can hope I do well in my presentation tomorrow. But in doing so, this means I am acknowledging that it might not go well. I can hope that my blog takes off and I meet my goals this year, but in doing so I just admitted that this might not happen. I have fear that things might not turn out so good. If you get rid of the hope, you get rid of the fear. This does not have to be a dreary outlook on life. On the contrary. It is meant to teach you to have faith, appreciation and find pleasure in what you already have. Next time you find yourself hoping for something, take a moment to just breathe and recognize what it is you are fearing, then let them both go.
Let’s take a moment to focus on the body:
Feel the right side of your body, feel the left side. Feel the front, and feel the back of your body. Now that you know where you are, feel the center of your body.
As Marco likes to say “It’s 10 o’clock. Do you know where your body parts are?” (Yes, yoga can be humorous!) All too often we move through life without thinking about how we stand, how we sit, how we walk. Yoga – especially Iyengar – teaches us to become acutely aware of our body and all of its parts. Once you focus your attention on the periphery – on the outside of the body – and start to feel balance and solidity, you can turn your attention inward and find your Center.
This is such a simple practice that you can take with you anywhere: on the subway platform, waiting in line at a restaurant, in your desk chair. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Then search for balance in the front and back of the body, left and right sides. Notice if you are leaning to one side, or tending to fall too much to the back or front. Once you feel that balance, focus on finding your inner center. Watch as you immediately feel more grounded. As you find that balance and lift from your center, try to activate your sense of verticality drawing strength from your spine and your center. Don’t be surprised if you seem to grow a few inches!
You make it happen. Don’t wait for anyone to do it for you. No one else can do it for you.
This needs little explanation but I will just say one thing. So many people wait until the last minute to do things, important things, meaningful things, especially difficult things. Each moment that passes and we do not take action we lose a little bit of confidence in ourselves. Like the smoker who wants to quit smoking but “the time isn’t right” we make excuses until we finally give up. Guess what? No one else cares. You orchestrate your own life. You are solely responsible. You are an important person in this world so this is a huge responsibility. So please, take care of yourself, cultivate yourself and make it happen!
My deepest gratitude to Marco for his teachings,
Amy Carole
Amy Carole
