Yoga from the Heart

If there’s one powerful pose for all-over toning it is Plank Pose. A truly foundational pose, plank builds arm and abdominal strength while keeping wrists supple and healthy. If you practice this pose regularly and in a well-aligned way your upper back and neck posture will improve and you’ll create support for your lower back as you learn to engage your abs.

In order to reap the benefits of Plank, follow these instructions.

Set It Up:

• Begin on all fours.
• Align your shoulders directly over your hands and your knees under your hips.

Work in the Pose:

• Press your outer arms inward and firm the bases of your index fingers into the floor.
• Firm your shoulder blades against your back, then spread them away from the spine. Spread your collarbones away from the breastbone.
• Press your front thighs up toward the ceiling, lengthen the tailbone toward the wall behind you.
• Lift the base of the skull away from the back of the neck and look straight down at the floor, keeping the throat and eyes soft.
• Hold for 5 seconds building up to 1 minute.

Namaste,

When you hear the term strength training, you probably think weight training but you can increase muscle tone, definition, and even muscle size with yoga.

How does yoga build strength? Different types of yoga poses build muscle tone in different ways. Holding standing poses strengthen the legs. Inverted poses are effective for building core and upper body strength because they flex groups of smaller muscles — not just the major muscles you work with weights— to support the body’s weight during the pose.

There are several reasons to include yoga in your workouts. Integrating yoga into your weight training regime can break up the monotony so you don’t feel like a slave to weight machines, dumbbells or resistance bands. Additionally, including yoga in your workouts will continue to test and push your body in different ways, and you’ll keep growing as a fitness enthusiast. You can also practice yoga with a partner which can infuse your workouts with fresh energy and fun!

A word of caution: because you are lifting your own body weight in yoga, it may take a lot more skill, time and determination to build muscle than it would with lifting weights. Don’t rush into advanced poses thinking you’re fast-tracking to “cut” arms. If you have questions about the poses below, check with a registered yoga teacher in your area.

Warrior III

Benefits: Strengthens the ankles, legs, shoulders and back; improves balance and posture; tones the abdomen

Instructions:

From a standing position, bend forward and step your right foot back into a lunge, fingertips perched on the floor on both sides of your left foot. With your chest on your left thigh, raise your
arms forward, parallel to the floor and parallel to each other, palms facing each other. Simultaneously, (1) bring the hips and body weight forward onto the left leg, (2) straighten the left leg, (c) step the right leg in and raise it to the level of the right hip. As best as you can, keep the right hip down. Stay in this position for 5-10 seconds. Bend the left knee and release the right leg back to the lunge as you bring your hands to the floor on either side of your left foot. Step your right foot forward. Repeat on the other side.

Handstand Preparation

Benefits: Strengthens the core, shoulders, arms, and wrists; improves balance

Instructions:

Kneel down on the floor on all fours with your back to a wall, facing away from the wall. Crawl backwards toward the wall until your toe tips touch the base board. Flip your toes and press the balls of your feet into the baseboard. If your shoulders are tight, turn your index fingers out slightly. Firm your shoulder blades against your back torso and pull them toward your tailbone. Then rotate your upper arms outward, to keep the shoulder blades broad, and hug your outer arms inward. Finally spread your palms and press the bases of the index fingers firmly against the floor.

On an exhale, lift your knees away from the floor and the sitting bones toward the ceiling. Push your top thighs back and stretch your heels  downward onto the baseboard, straightening your knees. Firm the outer thighs and roll the upper thighs inward slightly.

If this 90 degree angle feels too intense, spend a few weeks practicing it.

Next bend one knee and step first one foot and then the other on the wall so that your legs are parallel to the floor and in line with your buttock bones. Press your heels strongly into the wall. Lift one leg into the air in line with its sitting bone as you continue to press the opposite heel into the wall. Stay for 5 seconds, breathing deeply. Switch sides.

Slowly walk down the wall and rest in Child’s Pose.

Namaste,

We often measure our level of success in yoga by the technical skill and level of difficulty in the poses we practice. In concentrating exclusively on the poses themselves, we often neglect the space between any two given poses, the transition.

The transition between poses may seem irrelevant. The temptation is to hurry through these periods of time. However, transitions are a hidden treasure in your yoga practice. By honoring them and giving them the attention they deserve, you can advance your practice to the next level of awareness and strength.

To mine these gems, resist moving from asana to asana using momentum. Cultivate a graceful slowness of movement when transitioning to and from poses. Consciously moving in and out of poses can help you to maintain focus and avoid injury.

If moving slowly through the yoga asana proves to be difficult, the core needs some attention.  Click here to read more about our February Core Workshop.

Namaste,

Question:

I have a question about Legs-up-the-Wall Pose. I have heard different instructions ranging from “press up through heels” to ”punch up through the balls of feet” to “relax the legs.”  The latest I heard was “engage your legs lightly.” What are we supposed to do with our legs and feet in this pose?

Answer:

Legs-up-the-Wall Pose (Viparita Karani) is a student favorite! Did you know that this pose can actually be done instead of Savasana? It’s called the “inverted lake” for the way the blood pools into the pelvic and abdominal regions . . . but I digress!

In this pose, keep the legs just firm enough to hold them vertically in place. Release the heads of the thigh bones and the weight of the belly deeply into your torso. Soften your eyes and turn them down to look into your heart. As you practice these actions, notice what happens to your feet. . . Mine relax.

You might enjoy experimenting with this modification: Once in the pose, bend your knees and slide your feet down the wall, but keep your ankles flexed, soles parallel to the ceiling. As best you can, lay a sandbag across your soles and then re-straighten the knees, pushing the sandbag toward the ceiling. The weight on the legs helps to ground in the sacrum and release tension in the lower back. Notice how your legs and feet feel with the weight of the sandbag.

Namaste,

Working long hours at a desk can wreak havoc on your posture. When we spend too much time sitting in front of a computer, our heads tend to move forward . . . and stay there. No one knows this better than Internet marketers. Check out my guest post suggestions for preventing neck and pain pain on Search Engine Journal’s website:
Geek Health: Prevent Neck & Back Pain w/These Yoga Moves

Yoga offers a host of benefits no matter what time of the day you practice.

Practicing in the morning invigorates the body and mind for the day ahead and  eliminates the risk of having something get in the way of practicing later on the day. Starting your day with yoga fills you with energy and strength of mind (and body) and allows you to begin your day centered and present. It also gives a jolt to your metabolism. You may find yourself eating better throughout the day. Even on days when calm feels miles away a little yoga in the morning can help improve your outlook.

So, with these benefits, why practice at night?

Body temperature reaches its peak in late afternoon and gradually cools off, reaching a low point a few hours before you wake up. The result? The body tends to be stiff in the mornings. If you practice yoga later in the day when your muscles are already warm, you may see progress and feel be better able to put forth more effort. The studio and streets tend to be less crowded in the evening. Additionally, an evening practice helps you transition from day to night and recuperate from a stress-filled day. It will enable you to revive your energy and bring more vitality back into your body.

No matter what time of day you practice, make yoga a habit and practice often.

Namaste,