This week, I was visiting family in Maryland for the holiday. Some of the children insisted we do a family talent show. Sure, why not? I decided to do a yoga demonstration. I did the demonstration as if I were teaching the pose, Sirsasana , head stand. I advised everyone to warmup with five push-ups and to loosen the ankle and wrist joints. Also, I advised that yoga was much more than poses, such as, it has meditation and rules for healthy living. My head stand, a work in progress, was not perfect, meaning the ankles, knees, and legs weren’t exactly in a straight line; however, the audience liked my first ever yoga demo. I went up slowly and came down slowly. My hope was to inspire the people to try Iyengar yoga.
The Yoga Bridge, Week 9, Yoga Demo
29 Dec 2013 Leave a comment
in Uncategorized Tags: head stand, Iyengar Yoga, shirsana
The Yoga Bridge, Week 8, December 20, 2013 Yoga, The Emotional Cleanse
23 Dec 2013 Leave a comment
in YOGA Tags: B.K.S. Iyengar, back bends, corpse pose, The Path To Holistic Health, utthita trikonasana, yogarosa
After a Friday morning yoga class of intense back bends during Savasana, corpse pose, I had a bad child hood memory surface, a memory almost 40 years old. I had thought, at least hoped, to leave it in the past. It was truly overwhelming. I fought back my emotions. When I got alone, in my car, I let it rip. What’s going on? I believe, in theory, that the body just like each cell has stored knowledge. I believe yoga to be emotionally cleansing. During corpse pose, the five minute cool down before the end of a class, I really try to mimic death, no movement except for the breath. Each time, I want my old self to die and try to create a new better me.
At the yoga anniversary party, it was interesting to see people outside of yoga and how they behave. A real yogi lives a yogi life both in the class and outside of it, Yama.
” Okay, everyone, jump or step your legs apart for UTTHITA TRIKONASANA, extended triangle posture.” This is a pose that is done often in class. Sometimes my mind goes blank as to what to do. I am at a point where I am taking time to read to improve this pose. During class, I have stopped asking questions because I view it as more as of an obstruction to the flow of the class; however, I will ask questions in the level one classes but not any of the advance unless I have pain or to avoid an injury. I think its better to observe and imitate.
A great aid for yoga is the book, Yoga: THE PATH TO HOLISTIC HEALTH
. This is where I am getting the information and pictures. I plan to read this section 108 times as in a mantra. I haven’t tried this before so I will let you know how it goes, the mantra method of learning.
The Yoga Bridge, Week 7, December 13, 2013. James Murphy Improves the Yoga of a Local South Florida Community
15 Dec 2013 Leave a comment
in YOGA Tags: Iyengar Yoga, James Murphy, Prasarita Padottanasana, yogarosa
When a yoga instructor gets instruction from a Senior Level Iyengar Teacher, the yoga community usually will benefit.
Here were three tips from James Murphy, Senior Yoga Iyengar Teacher of New York, from a recent seminar at Yogarosa, Hallandale, Florida. Note, I didn’t attend the seminar.
Prasarita Padottanasana. Expanded leg intense stretch. The best tip was doing the head and leg stretch. I had never placed my head to the floor. In fact, his technique has changed my mind-set from dread to enthusiasm for the challenge of that pose. With his modified technique, I was able to reach my head to the floor which I was never able to do it before; however, this pose remains a definite work in progress.
Vira Tadasana, laying down mountain pose. Another tip from James via class instructor, was to relax the hamstrings on the floor. When doing a leg extension, the hip and Tadasana leg didn’t move. The back hamstring remained on the floor.
Analogy of the drain pipe. If the drain pipe wasn’t straight, the water would pool. This drain pipe analogy was playing in my mind when I did Adhomukha Svanasana, aka, down ward dog. When the arms were straight, they didn’t fatigue as easily and more stability. Hand stretched above the head pose was less fatiguing when the arms were straighter, like the drain pipe.
Happy 95th Birthday Guruji!!! December 14, 2013
14 Dec 2013 Leave a comment
in YOGA Tags: B.K.S. Iyengar, birthday, yoga
The Yoga Bridge, Week 6, December 6, 2013 Trapped Emotions?
08 Dec 2013 Leave a comment
in YOGA Tags: anger, Iyengar Yoga, trapped emotions
A few weeks ago, the morning class was focused on the sacrum. The sacrum is a large triangle bone at the base of the lower spine. I had pain in this area for many years. After class, I drove away angry, definitely not the normal state after yoga.
An hour after class, I was still having a hard time controlling my emotions so I thought of a way to distract my mind. Go shopping. I couldn’t remember experiencing anything like this before, so intense. I decided to browse Best Buy for a new Apple I phone which was something I wanted. I was at the Aventura Best Buy for a good hour talking with a representative, a woman that had a tattoo of a black widow spider on her top right hand which just added to the weirdness. My thoughts of angry disappeared. This rush of emotions occurred two times last year but not as intense as a few week ago.


