October 22, 2024
Breath as a Bridge Between the conscious and the unconscious there is the thin thread of the breath. Upon that thread we can travel with intention to the subtle places that are normally quieter or out of view. When did it get so challenging? I can think of many reasons, but the first is that we have continued as humans to create a situation of “system overload”. We want to know about our world and current events and there is just too much happening all too fast. The spinning, the info, the people, the challenge, it’s all too much. How do we distill down our thoughts and get off the blur of the world’s reactive merry go round? What simple practice can we bring off the mat to create quiet solitude to discern what is most important? Conscious breathing (or a pranayama practice) is a powerful tool. It can be the crowbar to leverage us out of the unconscious choices we might make... The practice of pranayama brings attention to the breath in a way that involves different patterns, intensities and positions of the chest. According to the American Lung Association, we take in about 23,000 breaths per day. Of those, how many do you hear or feel? When we direct our breath in or out; slow or fast; it is a conscious act. When we don’t tend to it or listen, it is an unconscious act. The magic of pranayama is how our mindset and physiology changes when we direct our breath and cultivate a softening or smoothing out of respiration. The mind slows down since there is something else to focus on besides our thoughts (both useful and un-useful). The heart rate slows. It also stimulates the vagus nerve and reduces any prior stress on our nervous system. This is why breathing techniques are so helpful for those who suffer panic attacks. It instantly hits a number of our systems. The diaphragm is the primary muscle for breathing. It is the engine. The accessory muscles surrounding the ribcage and neck region control the power and direction of the breath. When we practice our yoga postures, we look to coordinate the action of our body with the action of the breath. Inhalation is for lengthening upward and outward. Exhalation is for softening or deepening a pose. When we train ourselves to move more in this rhythm then the way we have learned to bring air in and out of our bodies can be smoother, more rhythmic and adapt to what we are doing whether it is running or reading a book. It changes as we need it to. Try this: put one hand on your heart and one on your belly. Close your eyes and notice the movement of your chest. Just observe. No altering the breath pattern. Which is longer? In breath or out breath? Is it the same or does it alter slightly from one to the other? Can you even out the time to breathe in to match the time to breathe out? Do this for 6 breaths then open your eyes and experience immediately what another way of breathing might be like for you. Very centering, right? It can be done almost anywhere (not driving!). The more you practice this the more you might find you are breathing this way without directing. It becomes a more natural pattern, and you shift away from a shorter or more ragged breath pattern. It’s so beneficial. Keep practicing and you will find that your conscious rhythmic breathing will shift from your mat into your day - - without another thought. Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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October 8, 2024 Spooks This time of year is always refreshing. Ghostly decorations are all around the neighborhood. Music and food festivals every weekend. It is such an abundance of entertainment for us here in New York State. I delight in the graceful leaf dance as they fall from above sashaying to the ground. I sense anticipation in children both older and younger. When my son was around 10, he often liked to test his mettle by seeing the scariest film or seasonal horror house he could find. The tenuous adventure of leaning into the frightening, the spooks. As adults, we don’t have to look far for the scary stuff…. especially if we stay informed on current events. How do we lean into this now and not scream? How do we see clearly the cringe-worthy without looking away? My first thought is: "time to practice!". I turn to my mat when my mind is like this - self named “hamster mode”. I can embody the uncomfortable places here, where I easily give more space to look calmly, see things for what they are and not immediately react with a fix-it filter. Yogic-ly Speaking, I would suggest you train yourself to continually include challenging poses in your practice. Do a pose repeatedly that challenges you and see what feelings/thoughts/emotions/judgement appear. Notice the patterns of reactivity. Then dig a little deeper, using your breath to move out of the pose, regroup, then move back into it. Look for space in your area of resistance. If it is clearly attached to a physical sensation, refrain from pushing through a joint, or connective tissue, or shaking limb. (Yes, the boat poses will have you vibrate in the abdomen quickly. This is normal. Anything else requires adjustment.) Come out a bit to reduce the intensity and regroup without flopping out of that pose and giving up. You've got this! Anatomically, the main joints that tend to lock us up these days are the neck and shoulders. Most of this is from postural misalignment. It is from years, possibly decades of positional habits that have gone wrong. Activities and gravity that force our arms and head forward where the spine cannot support the appendage weight, so the muscles will overwork and/or over lengthen in back with a shortening in front. “Oh Joy” we may cry, how do I resolve this? Well, Rome wasn’t built in a day and your positioning wasn’t either. We will investigate this month where we get stuck. Then look at how to integrate new ways of being upright. Even though the shoulder girdle area pains us, a closer look is required. Digging deeper, we must examine how we stack our spine travel downwards to the root of it – the pelvic area. Important is how the legs enter the pelvis and ultimately ground us down into the floor. So really, we need a whole month to explore and reveal what really is our root misalignment. Maybe it will stay purely in the physical, but I guarantee you may feel some self judgement here as well. Courage people, we can re-align our thinking as well as our physical body. Remember to be kind, be patient, be dogged (tapas = determination in practice), and be consistent (abhaysa = consistent practice). Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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September 24, 2024
INTEGRATION
There is book smart and just knowing something.
Jnana means intelligence in Sanskrit. BKS Iyengar wrote in his Tree of Yoga that: “The science of mind is called raja-yoga, the science of intelligence is jnana-yoga, the science of duty is karma-yoga, and the science of will is hatha-yoga”
“Svadhyaya is the study of the self from the skin of the body to the core of the being. This is known as jnana yoga, the yoga of self-discernment.
So, from him, we have a clue how to integrate through these layers of physical, mental and emotional bodies to the soul. Stitch them together to become whole. Integration.
What does integration mean to you? Is it:
- Doing the pose without so much mental noise?
- Feeling the effortless effort all over and not just in one place?
- Less dramatic response to your world?
What can we do to integrate? Svadhyaya is one. Keep stretching, keep feeling, keep breathing.This week I will remind you to do that and more.
I can attribute a continued sense of peace as a direct result from practicing for more than 25 years. As a beginner, I felt a discernible difference in the way I held my body right after a practice. I felt more connected to the ground and to myself. It took a long time before that moved into my day to day life, but it does. It will for you too.
I can remember a time when my son was young, and I was fixing him a hot dog for lunch. Lots of action in the kitchen and an easy time to lose track of things! I was tending to something else when out of the corner of my eye I saw the hot dog begin to roll off the counter. Without thinking – thinking, I reached over and caught it as it rolled off the edge. Wow, that was cool I thought. To me this is one example of many that could be considered integration.
Taking this concept to our yoga practice, recall the initial stages of your practice. (maybe you are still there). A lot of focus was on how to turn your foot in, making sure the kneecaps were lifting, keeping the trunk turned in the correct direction, etc. How much of that has integrated into your being? You just know where to go!
Don’t worry if you cannot think of any occurrence of your own in this moment. Just keep stretching the magnificent machine of the body, not separate from your mind, but integrated as a whole. You will feel it, you will find it deepening as the years continue.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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September 10, 2024
What to put into that backpack when we return to school? What to put into your yoga toolkit as we return from a break? Patience? Humility? A new pose? A new mat?
Sometimes when we step away for a while either because of busyness or vacation we can see what we really benefit from by practicing yoga and what we don’t really need to do. Stripping down to the essence of what serves us. Seeing beneath the layers of paint we applied what we thought we needed.
I have practiced yoga on a regular basis since 1997. Beginner’s Yoga, Pregnant Yoga, Yoga as a new Parent, Teacher Training Yoga, Yoga to Teach, Yoga Therapeutics, Iyengar, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Alignment Yoga, Yoga for the Aging Body and Vacation Yoga. In listing all the above is to emphasize the various needs at different times in my life. Your yoga practice is meant to change with you. It is a living thing.
I would say that getting back to basics is extremely helpful when one is getting confused, bored or having a stinky stale feeling on the mat. I strip down the excess nonsense and reapply a new layer of attention to the poses. Just do the practice and feel it. Don’t think about it. Observe your mind/body/spirit at the start and at the end. Be led and watch your experience like a movie without judgement.
Then do a practice at home – yes, on your own – and see what you remember to refine. Then go to a class again and focus on feet, practice at home and focus on feet. Then go to another class and focus on legs, go home and practice on legs. Do this and make your way up the body to your trunk, arms, hands, head, headspace, and breath. Write notes, what gives you the most connection to your inner self? What lifts your soul? What energizes? What calms?
When I get back from an amazing vacation, I start with how to counter sitting for long periods of time with some sun salutations, hip openers and inversions. To counter eating strange food I then move into some twists, inversions, boat poses and supta virasana. And last but not least, I address jet lag with restorative and pranayama to close the practice. This is me and my practice now.
A few years ago, I might have just done my favorite 4: Head Balance, Arm Balance, Forearm Balance, Shoulder Balance, Plow pose plus Supta Padangustasana and Savasana. Or just all the standing poses. See what I mean? Start with one pose and it will inform you as to what comes next. Listen to your innermost self. Make the path towards it every day the mat unrolls, and with every pose we have the great pleasure to put on.
You - do - know - what - to - do! Especially if you were in the August classes while we simplified sequencing before our summer break.
As the Nike tagline says: “Just do it!”
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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August 13, 2024
Integration
My mother had the most amazing triple decker German Chocolate Cake she would make for every birthday. It was a beautiful thing that she would make from scratch – no mixes – just pure ingredients. What a process, it took hours to melt the baker’s chocolate and make the icing, let the cake cool before icing and the sprinkles of toasted coconut on top. Masterful!
Funny thing is that it always tasted better after it sat for a day.
Yoga can be like that. Exquisite when we enter into the pose and if we have the time to repeat it once, twice or three times that is when a different kind of transformation occurs. Perhaps we can let go of the preconceived image of how it is supposed to feel or look like for us when we stay longer or repeat the same pose with a different focus each time (ie. form, breath, back leg, torso, etc.).
Remember a time when you were new to yoga. It can be hard, yes? The inner critic was louder than the teacher! If you can’t call it up, recall a time when a new pose was challenging and you found your self-talk become critical or you suddenly wanted to rush through. It is so normal!
The gift of yoga is that it can teach us to stay put, to look, to really see. There are so many things that we run from. I have plenty (past hurts, mistakes, mis-steps, forgetting to record a class lol). What can be revealed on the mat are not only the imbalances in our body, but the inherent strength and resilience we all have. We can move through this diversion of the negative mind into a place of letting go – of doing without judgement and be with the moving meditation yoga can provide.
There is a wonderful teacher, Carol Burns, who years ago taught pranayama at Amba Yoga Center. She would often instruct us to “surrender into the pose” or even “die in the pose”. This is a great door to enter into a place of deep integration. The kind of deep Integration that cannot be directed but simply experienced from an unconscious action. And so it goes we chip away bit by bit at our long-held habits.
It will come as it comes. The more we practice, the easier it gets.
I hope that I can guide you through “pose impatience” to reside longer in your uncomfortabiliy to become freer in your body and ultimately your mind, to a peaceful, balanced and accepting place.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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July 30, 2024
Yoga-Time
Yoga can be done in brief snippets with several stretches or postural resets throughout the day. We can let our practice just be our breath. OR when we are fortunate, we can manifest one long practice. What is it for you outside of class?
Yoga practice at home can feel like one of the great “if only”s in our life. "If only I had more time", I would practice every day. "If only I had a quiet space", I would get to that class recording or Light on Yoga sequence more often. Well, this time I encourage you to allow for the possibility that you do have the time. It may not be an hour that you have, or even 45 minutes, but you can feel the difference with just 20-30 minutes a day.
Our last focus was on sequencing basics, but many of you asked about what can I do? The next several weeks are going to be for us to examine our current situation and discover the best way for you to begin a deeper practice outside of class.
The first step is to recognize what poses you always do and what ones you avoid. For example, do you skip standing twists? Or abdominal strengtheners? Or inversions? Next, recognize what you need to do to mix it up not only in the first few poses you do but in the arc of a practice that stimulates the whole body.
We do know that yoga is a tool for great balance both inside and out. So, Your Assignment before your next class is to determine 3 realistic things: what additional days a week you will practice outside of class; how much time you have; and what is your area of concern (ie knees, hips, mindset, etc).
Here I will give you a few starter sequences that you can do, and try out at home.
"Tight Knee" people
1) Bharadjajasana: use a chair and sit with buttock bones in the center and with the back of the chair to your right. Lift on inhalation, twist to R on an exhalation. Repeat other side. Do this 3 times.
2) Chair Pigeon: sit alert on the edge of the chair, cross R heel over left thigh, rotate forward using the direction of the pubic bone down. Find 3 different rotation positions to breathe deeply in and out for 5 breaths. (and it might be just the first position = 15 breaths)
3) High Warrior 1/lunge: have back of chair secure against something solid (wall, couch, furniture) place R arch of foot on edge of chair step L leg back, lift chest on inhalation, shift hips forward towards chair on exhalation until you meet end range of front hip/knee and/or back front hip. Repeat other side. Repeat 2 – 3 times total.
Moderate Flexibility and “looking for more” people
1) Baddha Konasana: soles of feet together. Bring heels towards groins only as far as you can while still on your buttock bones (and not collapsed in the chest). Massage feet, then with hands behind, lift chest and rotate pubic bone forward and down. No movement? Teach the pubic bone to move by taking the back waist forward.
2) Upavista Konasana: from #1 above, lift knees, straighten legs forward into dandasana. Take feet into a wide stance and do the same movement above with the pelvic bowl. If you can come further forward without collapse in the chest, take hands to shins.
3) Parivritta Upavista Konasana: from #2, sit up with shoulders above hips – head over tailbone, turn to your right and then extend out over the R leg. Come back up and repeat to the L side. Repeat #'s1-3 for a total of 3 times.
"Fire Up the Engine" people
1) Childs Pose for 3 breaths then in Table for 3 cat cow movements. Then refine where you feel the most containment in your abdomen in table and extend opposite arm and leg without loosing the containment of the abdomen – no increase of back arch. Switch to other side. Repeat 2-3 times.
2) Downward Dog: after #1, return to childs pose for the refinement of lengthening the trunk/arms section forward and thighs reaching back in equal energies. Then on an inhalation go into Dog – Adho Muka Svanasana. Hold as long as you can. On your second round, go back and forth into plank. On your third round, add either side plank or 1 leg extended up and back.
3) Pigeon: from table or downward dog, bring R foot up to left wrist, R shin parallel with mat, right knee behind R wrist. Slide L leg back on the foot’s ball mound. Get R hip as close to floor without tipping those hips! Stay 3-5 breaths upright, then lie down over front leg for 3-5 breaths, then bend L leg and hold the foot for a deeper quad stretch for 3-5 breaths. Repeat other side.
So, there it is my lovely students! Have fun and see you on the mat for additional fun short practices these next few weeks.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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July 16, 2024
Sequencing
I am encouraged that many of you are starting to practice at home. I get asked: “what poses do I do?”; “I don’t always have a long period of time to practice”; “Is it wrong to do these poses first”?
Great questions! As long as you continue to trust your body wisdom, you can’t go wrong. We have learned a few different ways to go deeper in our practice to hear it speak to us. Remember? First, assume the pose shape, breathe and feel what the pose stretches and then enhance that action. Can you even it out? Legs and Arms? Front and Back? Effort and Ease?
Over time you will understand deep in your being how the sequencing effects the body. How it opens, strengthens, soothes not only our gross mechanics but the more subtle layers beyond bones and muscles. Like the nervous system and then ultimately the mind. Then we are open to the potential joy, wonder and awe of living. I am not saying that the practice of yoga will cure you, but it will change your outlook and feel more freedom of body and mind.
Let’s get into the weeds. All practices have an opening to gently awaken and warm the physical body. You may have read in Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar, that when we practice early in the day, the mind is willing but the body isn’t and when we practice later in the day, the body is willing but the mind is not. If we practice early the opening would have to consider the stiffness of the body. Long holding poses like childs pose, virasana, downward dog, baddha konasana, upavista konasana are all great to work with a deep rhythmic breath. The standing poses are the standard for opening any body and bring space and strength to our physical form. The balancing poses bring focus. Long holds can quiet a busy mind. I was told by my mentor that if there is a great deal of anxiety or anger to release it with standing poses or even a sun salutation. The opening and standing poses will prepare us for any focus poses we choose to do next. Then a finish with inversions and then restorative breathing in Savasana.
Initially you can feel like these sequences are a foreign language. Especially if you open up the back of Light on Yoga. Patterns will emerge, your body will tell you what you need if you listen long enough. Until then there are many resources on my “Links and More” page.
I look forward to deconstructing some sequences with you this week.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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July 2, 2024
The Now
Why look back? Does it keep us from looking ahead? Why look ahead? Does it keep us from falling into an unforeseen crack in the sidewalk?
We might think we can see the future and know what is ahead but it usually is an illusion. In fact, I think we get so caught up in the anticipation of a thing that we aren’t really enjoying what is right in front of us. This habituated behavior is how we can miss out on where we are in a pose, in a class, in life.
Yoga does teach us how to live in the now. We practice, just practice with awareness of this breath now – this sensation in the body now – this is how we can return ourselves to being in this moment, now.
When I used to study on a regular basis at the Iyengar Institute, I would go in very early on the 6:10 am train to Penn. After my 10 block walk south, it would still take me the first 10-15 minutes of class to land. I could feel my eyes vibrating when we started class in Sukasana with eyes closed looking inward to find our breath. At least when I took another class right after, I could start the second class with more presence. Years later, it wasn’t such a fight. I land quicker at any destination these days just from practicing the now. Plus, I enjoy the ride of my life and worry less.
This is a snapshot of my internal experience. I look ahead constantly to prepare for any unexpected event. My ego says I should know the future and plan for it. Anticipation is my achilles heel here. I would spend so much energy planning to make sure I brought all I need, when to be at the train station, anticipating any delays, etc. It Is Exhausting! To recognize one's tendency can be the first step in finding more freedom to live our lives as they are – NOW.
So, this week, let us not anticipate where the pose is going or how it is going to feel. By using our breath, we can just observe without judgement or anticipation.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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June 18, 2024 HA-THA Ha means sun, Tha means moon. The two bring balance. Yin and Yang. Heat and Cool. Up and Down. In breath and Out Breath. Sunrise and Sunset. Dark and Light.
The word “hatha” can be translated two ways: as “willful” or “forceful,” or the yoga of activity, and as “sun” (ha) and “moon” (tha), the yoga of balance. Essentially, Hatha Yoga practices are designed to align and calm your body, mind, and spirit in preparation for meditation. Most forms of yoga in the West can be classified as Hatha Yoga. Hatha simply refers to the practice of physical yoga postures, meaning your Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Iyengar, and Power Yoga classes are all considered Hatha Yoga. Quote from Yoga Journal.com
When we have a vigorous practice, it becomes much easier to let go in savasana. In this time of letting go we might be able to get unstuck from the doubt and/or the fear of what’s next, change our current perceptions to become more willing, courageous, even trusting in our abilities to see clearly. To see what is right in front of us.
The practice of postures is a vehicle to allow our thoughts to jump out of the normal grooves of the past we may have created and allow for a fresh look, albeit briefly, before snapping back into the habit of how we define our world. Allow for the possibility that we have become too attached to our view of what happens in our world. And…that it may not be the same view someone else has of the same situation. This may not be what you are looking to get out of your yoga practice. That is fine. It is a benefit that comes with time. The benefit of becoming un-stuck in one's viewpoint may happen without trying. Maybe you get into a pose you never thought you could. Maybe you are in a pose but it is much harder that you thought. Watch the mind and its reaction - resistance to see things as they really are and not label it a certain way. Yes, I can get very dark when my body cannot meet my expectations of what I think my body can do. I am suprised by my response when my idea is not met by the reality of a pose I used to do easily. Take a breath and let it go.... This is how I transfer my practice into my life like when I really wanted something to happen for an individual and despite all my efforts to influence someone to do the right thing, it just doesn’t come to pass. At a certain point I have to just – let - go.
In the book some of us in class are reading, the story has offered an opening for the mind to see things differently: “And so you see, our inborn tendency to misunderstand the people and things around us escalates to a new level, when something seems either very pleasant or very unpleasant to us. We lose control of ourselves, even if we already have some understanding, and the last thing in the world we can do at that moment of emotion is to recall that it is actually our own minds making us see this thing the way we do.” It follows with the Yoga Sutra II.7, 8: “Assailed by what feels good, we begin to like things. Assailed by what feels bad, we begin to dislike things.” from How Yoga Works by Geshe Michael Roach, p124
So, in the moment, our challenge is to practice and bring less reactive judgement to our thoughts and to Just . Let . Go. Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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June 4, 2024
Bloomin’ Onion
Oh, to peel the layers back of our personal self. It is a difficult task. Americans spend $282 billion dollars a year on talk therapy. $51 billion is spent on self-help products according to the latest reports from CMI.
For your entertainment I have listed Amazon’s top 10 self-help books:
- Unfu*k yourself: Get out of your head and into your life – Gary John Bishop;
- Can’t hurt me: Master your mind and defy the odds – David Goggins;
- Girl, stop apologizing – Rachel Hollis;
- The subtle art of not giving a fu*k: A counterintuitive approach to living a good life – Mark Manson;
- The 7 habits of highly effective people – Stephen R Covey;
- Maybe you should talk to someone – A therapist, HER therapist and our lives revealed – Lori Gottlieb;
- Dare to lead – Brené Brown;
- How to win friends and influence people – Dale Carnegie;
- Unlimited memory: How to use advanced learning strategies to learn faster, remember more and be more productive – Kevin Horsley;
- Atomic habits: An easy and proven way to build good habits and break bad ones – James Clear
The mind is very busy at making a mess of things, isn’t it!?!
Yoga offers its process of peeling back the layers of illusion in the form of practicing asana and pranayama. I have often suggested we look at the sensation of the poses as a first step to increasing our observational skills. This practice of self-study (svadhyaya in Sanskrit) is an important Niyama and is essential to peeling back our own layers of self-illusion.
A quick list of layers to practice for me:
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asana alignment
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asana sensation
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synchronization of the action of the body with the action of the breath in asana
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cultivation of an even breath rhythm in asana, savasana and daily activities
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observation of the breath in savasana
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cultivation of a subtlety of breath and a quieting of the mind in savasana
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listen, listen, listen
Rodney Yee once said in class that he heard the very first of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras 1.1 “atha yoganuasanam” translated as: Now we do Yoga. Now we listen. That impressed me so much that I have it in a prominent place to see often and to be reminded again and again to listen more closely as I practice. Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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May 21, 2024
Self Talk
Sometimes sensation is defined by the mind as pain, pleasure or WTF. The key word in this last sentence is: mind.
Ultimately yoga is to release us from the constant ramblings of our headspace. In the Yoga Sutras the First of four Chapters deals with these fluctuations of consciousness or citti vritti.
If you are reading How Yoga Works, you will find in Chapter 4 of this book that it talks about part of Yoga Sutra I.33: “Learn to keep your feelings in balance whether good or bad”. I know that it can be a human fall back to react to anything we define as BAD. Well maybe it isn’t really a true assessment. When it rains, it might just be weather. Not good, not bad, just rain.
As we have lived in our bodies for however many years, we may feel discomfort and associate a whole array of meanings to these sensations. We add derogatory self-talk to these observations that borders on anger. I have done it many times myself saying: “I should have known I was carrying too much” or “What did I do the other day, how can I prevent inflaming that injury?” or even “What the heck, I did it again. How could I?” Sometimes these non-productive, self-examinations need to be thrown out like sour milk.
Allow for the possibility that we can easily redirect the response into a neutral state. Can it just be: “Oops, I slipped” or “my back was a little weak when I picked up the heavy package” or “right, I need to remember to watch out for that corner of the table”. No need to heighten the drama of every scene.
For a full description of this sutra, you can go here: https://www.theyogasanctuary.biz/inside-the-yoga-sutras-the-keys-to-peace-1-33/
Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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May 7, 2024 Roots and Bulbs I just dug up my crocus and tulip bulbs because the rabbits and landscapers were eating up the leaves. While looking at each root and adjacent bulb, I saw a similarity in our bodies regarding our roots: a ganglia like system of 33 joints, 26 bones and more than 100 muscles, ligaments and tendons in the surrounding area of one single foot. They tie in to the shins and move up to our bulb-like knee. Maybe you cannot see this rather odd comparison. Having worked with many students with specific areas of their feet injured, I find it wonderous that we don’t injure them more. In general, the human body is so resilient and yet so fragile. (or so fragile and yet so resilient). Over the last several weeks we have been moving our legs and pelvis in a slightly different fashion to strengthen and access more of the use of our legs. We have perhaps discovered the nature of our toes not being quite pliable enough. Or some other foot sensation. According to podiatrists, the most common complaints with our feet are regarding bunions, fallen arches, plantar fasciitis, heel pain, achilles tendonitis . Having pointed this out, do no dismay, there are a few simple things we can do to reorganize our feet using blocks and tennis balls. Mainly creating movement in this area will be your first task. Use any tool you have to stimulate this area. Walk in the grass, on the dirt, gravel even. Then we take a look at where the asymmetries are in your feet and up the chain of the legs. The next time you go to the beach, walk barefoot on the sand and remember to look at the footprints you make. Observe closely to discover any surprise foot loading information. This will be helpful as we take a look at how to balance out differentials of length, strength, size and alignment. I invite you to look at the diagram attached and start to familiarize yourself with the area of the foot, ankle and shin. Notice how many muscles are coming up the leg. The potential for asymmetry is endless – and we have 2 feet that just won’t present the same…… These next few weeks we will be focused on discovering what simple things you can do on your own to make your walk lighter and freer and a chance at less irritation in your feet (and knees). Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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April 23, 2024
Pelvic Tilt
How does one relate to the pelvis? Hopefully without pain to guide you. However, many in our western culture are sitting too much or moving heavy objects around without the proper alignment (visualize extreme weight lifting or drop backs in yoga)
In the circles of yoga differing views are discussed regarding how one should move with and position the pelvis for an anatomically correct curve of the lumbar and create optimal support in the hips. Too often we ask our bodies to move or sit throughout the day without attending to alignment. I hope that I can give you a few clues to alter your position ever so slightly to have greater freedom, ease and strength in your lower back and into your legs.
Basic Moves
Sitting: sit on the edge of your chair and notice the natural shift in the pelvis forward so the weight is in your sitting bones and not with your tailbone tucked under. You might even feel less effort here since the spine is stacked as it is designed to. (concave in the lumbar, convex in the thoracic, concave in the cervical). Keep the shoulders in line with the hip joint.
Forward Bends: let the pelvis turn and the spine follow. Not shoulders or chin first! We often hold our feet and drag ourselves too far over the legs in a pose thereby creating compression on the front body. This occurs when we don’t stop once the pelvis stops rotating from tight hamstrings or hip flexors.
Standing: we tend to push our hips too far forward and this pushes the thigh bone forward in the hip socket. In addition, we cannot ground in the front heel. This results in jamming the front hips, tucking the tailbone and having no muscular action in the legs. Also, the stability of the trunk is compromised. So, take the thighs back, ground in the heel appropriately so that you feel the thighs engage and a natural curve should occur in the lumbar which allows for optimum support; when the side ribs are lifting of course!
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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April 9, 2024
Rise Up Literally - from the ground up! As we begin to feel the earth really move into spring, why not be like the daffodils and lengthen ourselves up from the roots. Our feet are the foundation to plant into the ground, and yet does this planting respond with an upward expression? Is it in a supportive way? We want to take this awakening energy up the chain of our legs to support our spine. Maybe it does, most likely the years of standing – walking – sitting inattentive to our alignment has created asymmetrical ways of bringing support upward. Take your shoes off right now (including socks). Look at your toes, your arches, your ankles, your heels. March in place with your chest square with a wall or table. Then stop and look at your feet. If one foot always lands in front of the other, you might have an unconscious spin in your body. You might sit the same way. Numerous things could result: pain in the lower back, favoring one sitting bone more than the other creating shortening on one side of the body, etc. March again, then stop. Take a forward bend (without moving your feet) to see if your ankles are bowing out, kneecaps are evenly facing forward, or is one leg turning outward? If they are spinning counter to one another, then knee torsion can occur. Easy transfer of weight as we walk? Not likely here... Take a look at the bottom of your shoes. Are the soles worn on the little toe side or the big toes side? Inner heel or outer heel? These are all good bits of information to collect to create a subtle course correction for yourself as we work with our feet ankles and knees this week. (go here if you want to look at cool anatomy of the body in movement: https://www.instagram.com/anatomystandard/) Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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March 26, 2024 Guiding Principles The Yamas and Niyamas are the first and second limbs and the philosophical guardrails of a yogic lifestyle. The Yamas: Ahimsa / non-violence; Satya /truthfulness; Asteya / freedom from insatiable greed; Bramacharya / control of sensual pleasure; Aparigraha /non- attachment The Niymas: Saucha / cleanliness; Santosa / contentment; Tapas / determined effort; svadhyaya / self-study; IsvaraPranidana /self-surrender. These definitions can be a bit esoteric and hard to relate to in the practice of poses but perhaps these examples can help. How do you set up your props before you begin your practice? Is there a sense of order or neatness to them? If yes, this is Saucha. And if you answered honestly, this is Satya. Are you open to this honesty? Willing to see that the practice will carry you where you need to be? This is Isvara Pranidana. Continually we want to observe our postures to learn about ourselves. This is Svadyaya. Are we content to be in the pose with the ability in the moment? This is Santosa. Are we putting effort into our practice? A certain amount of dedication? This is Tapas. Are we going deeper into the pose with our ego, at the expense of our physical health? This is both Aparigraha and Himsa. (A in front means “non”) Maybe you don’t go far enough into the pose to experience a stretch on both sides of the trunk in say Triangle pose. This is stealing from one side to give to the other - Steya. If we are successful and observe these ideas as we engage asana, then we are in effect practicing Bramacharia. Let’s look for these hidden moments in our practice over the next few weeks and see what ah-ha jewels of awareness we find. Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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February 27, 2024 Steady The 5th and 6th limbs of yoga have a nice way of supporting one another. Pratyahara and Dharana. They are defined in Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar. Pratyahara: Withdrawal and Emancipation of the mind.
Dharana: Concentration or Complete attention. Distracted by the bombardment of news, emails and family members? It seems as if the 24-hour news cycle has entered every aspect of our lives. (“Breaking News” “New and Improved”) And yet….. We do not have to go off the grid or shut ourselves off from all sounds in a padded room! We can use our yoga practice to cultivate our minds to stay focused. There are poses that physiologically slow down and soothe the nervous system as well as close off the senses. Sanmukhi Mudra is one. Sometimes I use it to reset at the start of a practice (or for a pause during the day at my computer). Reframing what I listen for or to can reduce the fraying of our nerves. Think about how we have been observing sensations in our poses lately. The ones that are not as easy to find as the in your face - screaming stretch. We don’t have to make every noisy thing so important. We have a choice. We can go deeper for subtlety and make that our lives’ soundtrack. Another way is to just practice familiar poses. Here we use our energy to listen inward, rather than outward. I am not saying to shut it all out, but to give it less importance. Reframe one's viewpoint. The discovery can be amazing! Perhaps, like magic, our concentration becomes steady. We are not as distracted or waiver - - even when there is a lot going on. What ever we practice on our mats does have a way of infiltrating our lives. The more we practice on a consistent basis the more we can discover! You may have already experienced this in small ways. Now, I encourage you to think bigger! Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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February 13, 2024
Dive Deeper
Think of the color of water and how it changes as we go deeper. The hue intensifies. We find more awe and inspiration. Imagine the possibilities of seeing below the surface.
Much of our lives are lived on the surface. For many, it is the only way to get all the tasks done that we ask of ourselves - - as a human being (human doing) in the 21st century. Uhh..unless we live off the grid? Impractical.
Perhaps yoga can give us a hand here. If we can learn to go deeper in our practice, might that quality pervade our day-to-day approach to our lives?
Going deeper into a pose does NOT mean pushing yourself further, but being smart about directing your attention. I can suggest 3 different ways to do this:
1) Marinate in the pose(s).
2) Repeat the pose (s).
3) Stop and listen to what isn’t the obvious.
Pause for a moment as you read this and ask yourself what this means instinctively rather than in reading my definition. Have agency in your own practice, your own life.
The 8 limbs of yoga were laid out as a template to release ourselves from repeating the same actions that cause suffering (or “dukkha” in Buddhist terms). Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi are the 8 limbs of Yoga. Mirrored in the Buddhist tradition there is the 8-fold path to liberation. So, the methodology continues in yoga.
We need to hone our ability to observe and implement these 8 limbs for where we are in this moment, this month, this year. It isn’t a linear practice, it is more circular in how they are met. We naturally touch upon each several times to study and then absorb the guiding principles deeper into our practice.
Have your rough definitions of the 3 above? Mine are simple: if it is a pose that I can stay in for a long period of time, I stay. I stay even if my mind tells me: “it’s time to go – now!”. I listen to my breath, I feel my sensations, I feel my feelings. Not the obvious or easy ones to find, lean in to the hidden treasures deep, deep within. If it is a pose that I cannot stay in very long, I repeat it 2, or 3 times. Maybe more! Do what isn’t easy on those days that you can. Meet the challenge and you will be amazed.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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January 30, 2024
Stages of…
Hmm, what am I thinking? This word can be applied to many things! While listening to a yoga philosophy talk earlier today, it had me wondering about where I was in the scheme of the 4 stages of life (as established in Yogic texts). The stages are labeled as: Brahmacharya (student), Gṛhastha (householder), Vanaprastha (forest walker/forest dweller), and Sannyasa (renunciate). I am not the child or adolescent “student” living at home with my parents anymore. I already established myself as a “householder”, creating a home and family of my own with a wonderful co-parent / husband and an amazing son. I have not walked away from my home or teaching/mentoring yet so “renunciate” I am not. Currently, as a seeker of knowledge, I do leave my role of householder to dive deep into a peaceful contemplation alone or among wiser souls than I. Upon return, I take up the activities of homelife. This would make me a forest walker! I like the sound of this. I find an immediate peaceful presence washing over me while in any wooded environment. As Dr. Brooks continued to elaborate on these stages, he began to point out that once we leave home to start our own lives and then family, we take the student with us. We have that nature within us still of student, yet we continue into another phase. We are in an ideal world not defined by the label of any one stage. Labeling leaves us stuck in our heads. We don’t merge into our next experience organically, but separate from that part of life experience we had. Perhaps instead we can add to our everchanging organic nature of being in mind, body and spirit. We can remain the student, the householder, the seeker and all that entails. We are all that which came before! It makes for a good, savory soup. We carry on into our next observation, direction, inspiration without abandoning all that has transpired previous times, it gives us freedom. We are not dragging the labeling of past experience along to weigh heavy on our shoulders. So, resist the ego’s need to label what you do and have done as right or wrong. Be present and keep light in your movement onward into the next moment. So, how can we learn to remove the ego’s label (or judgment) of past experiences as “not good” and accept all of who we are as a rich tapestry of experience? We can explore in a less emotionally charged vehicle, one with a more neutral ego space: our yoga practice. In moving through our yoga, we notice the stages of a pose or a sequence. It builds. It overlays. We pass through the initial steps to form a rough outline of the pose (student), then refine it with time (householder), and in time we go deeper into the layers of mind body and breath (forest walker). We do not need to label it as anything, simply feel, observe and let the feeling pass. When ready, we simply let go of all the observations that came before and learn to reside in a timeless place within the juiciness of an integrated pose (renunciate).
Let’s develop this quality over the next few weeks together. Peace and Namaste, Lesa
“Who are we, who is each one of us, if not a combination of experiences, information, books we have read, things imagined? Each life is an encyclopedia, a library, an inventory of objects, a series of styles, and everything can be constantly shuffled and reordered in every way conceivable.”
Italo Calvino from “Six Memos for the next Millennium”
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January 16, 2024
Got Your Back! It is good to have a community to support our efforts. Especially if one has a very small family. In the area that I live in, I am constantly amazed at the extended family people have here. Me, I am a gypsy and have a very small family. Most of us rely on this support system to keep us upright when we need a little propping up. In our yoga practice, the shoulder blades and the dorsal spine area make up what I would call the support system of our poses. These areas literally have our back! Let’s take a look at the structure first and then the potential of movement when we overlay the activating muscles. We have three areas of the spine: cervical, thoracic and lumbar. In yoga, I often refer to the dorsal spine as the vertebrae that reside between the shoulder blades. T2 - T5. By definition it is the upper thoracic. In close proximity are our shoulder blades which glide around on the back body depending on mostly our arm movements although not exclusively from that action. The main muscles that I want to bring your attention to are the rhomboids, infraspinatus and the teres minor. These all present towards the back and are easily accessible by touch through the skin. The supraspinatus and subscapularis are located on the side of the shoulder blade that faces into the body and are more difficult to access by touch from the skin. Dig further here: The Rhomboids - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_RvgWQj_DQ
The Rotator Cuff Muscles - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaIt79pPfgE&t=394s When we are doing our bridge pose or shoulder balance these muscles stabilize the grounding action of the pose. The infraspinatus and teres minor that originate on the back of the shoulder blade and have excellent leverage to outwardly rotate the shoulder. The rhomboids pull the inner edge and bottom tip of the shoulder blade towards the spine and assist in holding them against the rib cage. To get a better feel for this action, stand in a mild utkatasana/chair pose with your back against the wall, feet 12” away and legs slightly bent. Turn your palms towards the center of the room and keep your back pelvis, back ribs, and head resting on the wall. Now as you reach out through the fingers and thumb, press what you can of the outer tip of the shoulder blades, triceps and thumb side of the hand into the wall. Once you get more familiar with this sensation and support, you will always have your back in all poses. Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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January 2, 2024 The Bardo….. The in-between. Now we may have just experienced one in the week we have just had from Christmas Eve Eve through New Years Day. Or from 2023 into 2024. Or earlier today while waiting for the traffic signal to turn green. Sometimes in a larger sense, we might think of it as limbo. It is referred to, in the Tibetan Book of the Dead, as a space between leaving one’s physical body and transitioning from one life on earth into another. One could also say from one life into another consciousness, reincarnation or heaven (depending on your beliefs). I don’t know if any of you remember the 1973 TV movie “Steambath”? It’s a comedy written by Bruce Jay Freedman where a variety of people wake up in a steam bath and the “janitor/god” attempts to help them pass through. A frustratingly funny bardo for the skeptic! As a teen it really made an impression on me. That this crazy collection of characters arrives in a place where they don’t know how they got there makes a great set up for poking fun at our stubborn hubris. Most all of them couldn't see what was happening for what it was and only wanted to go someplace else (go back or forward) fast!
I learned from a Pema Chodron course in 2022, about the freedom of looking at my little transitions as bardo. Reframing them as a state of being that has its own purpose or benefit. Sometimes it can be a vacation, sometimes it can be very uncomfortable. The pause may be excruciatingly long where one’s citta vritti (fluctuation of consciousness) can get carried away with itself. Or perhaps it is so short you don’t notice it. Either way, it can be made friends with once we are more aware of it as a passage. I have transitioned in my yoga practice and subsequently my meditation practice to see that the bardo is fertile ground. It can be a place to harvest the things I have avoided when I am busy doing (or ignoring). Great insight is to be found here. A word to the wise: I wouldn’t start looking for the tough emotions or re-live painful events, but do look for the little transitions. We can start this practice on our mats and pause in between the poses. Just stop and feel. Notice if you are busy wanting to go back to the last pose or ready to rush into the next one. I leave you with this today: perhaps the in-between can be as rich of an experience as the one that has just passed or the next one to come…. Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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December 19, 2023 12 Days of Yoga Just for fun and in the spirit of the classic “12 Days of Christmas” song, let us play the “12 Days of Poses”! Not that I would suggest doing these poses in order, but let’s take a look at how we can unlock some daunting poses: Day 1: A Partridge in a Pear Tree – Vrksasana/Tree Pose (tree is in the name) Day 2: Two Turtle Doves – Ardha Chandrasana/Half Moon (two limbs on the floor for balance) Day 3: Three French Hens – Utthita Trikonasana/Triangle (three sides) These first three have a common thread of the hip and balance. The hip is complex and difficult to keep open on all sides – front, back, outer. Use these three seated poses to assist in greater mobility: Baddha Konasana, Gomukhasana and Log Legs. Do these poses with an upright and forward extension. It combats the closure that occurs from sitting most of the day. (as I write this, I am standing btw). Add a bit of standing on one leg and the next time Days 1-3 show up in your practice, you will be better prepared. Day 4: Four Calling Birds – Dog into Plank into Chataranga Dandasana/Four Limbed Stick This sequence of poses has all four limbs grounding into the earth (or our mats). The action of each is equal ideally but often difficult to achieve. If we use the lift of the thighs and reach through the heel as the ball mounds of our feet ground while securing the arms with an outward rotation (triceps towards the midline) with the navel lifting, we have a more even distribution of effort. Day 5: Five Golden Rings – Virasana/Hero's Pose (five toes on each foot grounding support the opening of the knees) Day 6: Six Geese a-Laying – Kapotasana/Pigeon Pose (also a rude awakening of sensation as opposed to honking if you get too close) Day 7: Seven Swans a-Swimming – Salabasana/Locust Pose (modified vairation can feel like swimming on the floor) These three days go deeper into the workings of the front hip and add the lumbar and front thigh opening action. Extension of the trunk away from the limbs are key to keeping the sacrum moving away from the lower lumbar spine. It is where we are the supplest and most vulnerable to pinching nerves and/or creating mis-alignments. Learning to ease into tightness with one’s exhalation and lifting the chest with one’s inhalation, we can create room to bring the lower belly towards the spine and buttock flesh towards the top back thigh (posterior tilt of the pelvis). This facilitates the lengthening we require to go deeper. Day 8: Eight Maids a-Milking – Twists (are-a- wringing) A simple cross-legged twist is a great place to start. Keep your head over the tailbone and watch that the weight in the sitting bones remain the same. Then try Bharadvajasana 1 and keep the supports beneath your base high enough that you can have as close to the same weight on your buttock bones. This will prepare you for more difficult standing and seated twists.
Day 9: Nine Ladies Dancing – Natarajasana/Dancers Pose (dancing) Day 10: 10 Lords a-Leaping – Virabhadrasana 3/Warrior 3 (leaping from Warrior 1) Wow – extending the trunk out over the standing leg is a very challenging action to be sure but we have other poses to keep us upright like standing forward bend Uttanasana with one leg extended behind us or standing Pavanamuktasana where we stand with the thigh lifted by hands on the front shin towards the trunk. These two poses can integrate more stability into accessing days 9 and 10! Day 11: 11 Pipers Piping – Bastrika (quick breath like playing a flute) Many types of Pranayama are driven by inhalation. Bastrika and Kalabhatti patterns are driven by the exhalation like playing a wind instrument. For more see page 176 in BKS Iyengar’s Light on Pranayama. To prepare start with other breath practices like simple breath awareness and Ujjayii. This will cultivate a sensitivity and control so that Bastrika is not aggressive against the lungs. Day 12: 12 Drummers Drumming – Any type of Vinyasa (find the beat of Your drum) A vinyasa is defined as linking the poses together with the breath. You can do this simply with a Tadasana – Urdvha Hastasana – Utkatasana – Tadasana circle. Or you could add after Utkatasana, a forward bend Uttanasana into a Downward Facing Dog - Plank circle back to Uttanasana and Utkatasana. It will increase the heat in one’s body, create more breath awareness, strength and suppleness. So, take these tips and if you so choose P-L-A-Y with your Yoga practice this break! Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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December 5, 2023
The Chemistry of Yoga
I often use cooking terms when encouraging people to think outside the box of anatomy. Think of your yoga practice like a marvelous dish to enjoy. We can marinate, percolate and aerate!
Perhaps….. when we marinate in a pose, think of how marinating a good steak softens. How we use certain things to accelerate the process of breaking down the gristle into a form that is more pliable or flexible. This could be used for the body or the mind.
Perhaps…. as we twist or repeat a pose, we are in the process of percolation – putting our bodies into a pose where we cannot go further despite all of our efforts. And in so doing allowing our minds to simplify and release from the repeated dialogue it feeds us. We can simply let go. Repeated actions of poses can also teach our bodies to just know. Know where to position, engage and or release our bodies. We learn to enhance an inherent knowing where to move to find balance without wordy instruction.
Perhaps… as we practice, we can notice and then direct our breath in asana. We can provide more space to fill our lungs when we are less compressed in the trunk. We can spend more time with the practice of the different pranayama breath patterns that strengthen not only the body, but train the mind to quiet.
Marinate, percolate, aerate. This will be a time of reflection and making a good recipe for our lives.
See you on your mats!
Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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November 21, 2023 “Good Company” Thanksgiving is here! It’s my favorite Holiday and a great way to mark the transition into a reflective time of waning warmth and shrinking sunshine. However, I first have to give thanks to all of you. My life is Oh-So-Much-Better by sharing the practice of yoga as a peer, as a guide and as a teacher. You are my good company! Yoga can provide support on many levels: physical, mental and spiritual. You know this. And yet, we need a reminder to do a little yoga - standing or sitting movement with conscious breath. What a difference it makes in how we enjoy every moment. The more we remember and just do, the more space and presence integrates into our life off the mat. It reinforces making time to pause, to feel, to know deeply. When we do, we can be more grateful, we can feel what is inside us and just be. Your Tips for this Week: Physically this holiday, I encourage you to visit these poses pre-meal: Tadasana, Urdvha Hastasana, Uttanansana and Utkatasana frequently in a round robin of flow. These poses don’t need a mat and can be done in the kitchen or on a bathroom break (especially if it’s frenetic with family). Everything is moving and gets a reset. (for your post-meal assist, there is always the digestive motherload of Virasana!) Mentally add the breath: In - Out in Tadasana; In to Urdvha Hastasana; Out to Uttanasana; In to Utkatasana; Out to Tadasana; etc. Rinse and Repeat. Hope this adds to the quality of your Holiday! Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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November 7, 2023
Our Amazing Trunk
I have an amazing “pirate” trunk that I purchased in the early ‘90’s when I was antiquing in Stockbridge, Ma. It used to hold a prominent spot in my living room before I moved to NY. Held a tremendous amount of treasured sketch books, childhood mementos and quilts. On first look, it doesn’t look like it could hold that much. But it did and still does!
Our own trunk has a bounty of treasure too. We have two large vertical supports of this area in the psoas and the quadratus lumborum (QL), plus rotational supports of the Internal and External obliques. You have certainly felt them in your practice even if you haven’t yet identified their usefulness.
The psoas is a postural muscle that inserts into the spine about the same height as the diaphragm. It runs down and through the trunk to insert into the medial femur or thigh bone just below the hip joint. I have talked about this muscle before in reference to restricted breathing or tight hips. It is unique to the body’s structure as it is a muscle crossing from back to front. See the drawing of Warrior 1 and how tightly they run over the front hip.
The QL resides from the rim of one’s top back pelvis and runs vertically to attach to the back bottom floating rib, the 12th rib. Along the way it has attachments to L1 – L4.
The obliques are the girdle of the front abdomen. The internal obliques are the layer below the external obliques. They knit closely to the ribs in the front. The external obliques are located more on our front side bodies. They rotate and stabilize the torso against gravity and keep it from turning towards the floor in our lateral poses. In addition, the obliques support the internal organs (the real treasure of our human trunk). If you look at the drawing of triangle pose you will see them and the QL.
Take a look, if you get a chance, to have an internal picture of what we might be missing in the richness of these structural supports. The next few weeks will give us an opportunity to strengthen, lengthen and feel them.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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October 24, 2023 Big Joint Torsion Shoulder and Hips generally are the two areas of the body that I assist in creating more space and strength for my students. Why? They bear the most torsion in movement. When we go into child’s pose and stretch our arms out, the greatest sensation is in the shoulder, yes? When we take our first triangle pose, a nice loud pop comes as we extend the chest out over the leg, right?
Perhaps in other poses you find great sensation or swing…. If we look at the body as having 3 parts (arms, legs and trunk), the joints of the shoulders and hips are the lynch pin of movement. The longer the limb, the more action or torsion the joint receives. Consider our cousins in the mammalian world – the gibbons. This image begins to hint at the energy, range of motion and strength required to complete the action of moving from limb to limb!
Try swinging your arm up and down, side to side. What do you feel? Can you imagine the forces going through this area? Next, do this with a shorter range - moving from the elbow joint as origin of movement rather than your hip. The action is much less because it is a shorter distance and less weight being flung. Now try this with a leg (one at a time of course). What do you feel? Now let the knee joint be the origin of swinging. Less torsion, less pull. Of course, if we had a child on our shin or a bucket of water in our hands the torsion would be much greater from the additional weight. One big culprit can be your arms torquing the shoulder as you swing them to rotate your chest in Trikonasana or Parivrtta Trikonasana. (triangle and rotated triangle). Or wrenching a hip from stepping back into a lunge position without extending through the trunk. Same when we pop up into Ardha Chandrasana (half moon). Hip wrenching occurs with our bent legs too when we push on a knee in baddha konasana or force our leg into half lotus. Over the next few weeks, we will be exploring our senses to understand these major connections and how we can open, strengthen and move with greater intelligence through these key areas. Unlock the potential to use our limbs correctly and facilitate a pose rather than flail them when another part of the body should be doing the work! Peace and Namaste, Lesa
(See also my tidbits from Dec 6 and 13 of 2021 as well as June 7 and 14 of 2022. There is more anatomical back up information).
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October 10, 2023
“Hands Down!”
Our hands are in constant motion unless we are sitting on them...
Take a moment to notice the wonder of them. They have the potential for such dexterity and sensitivity. We talk with them, over use them, ignore them and then at times, decorate them. Are they just our hands, all 27 bones in each, separate entities living on the end of our arms? (many of us before yoga think of the head as an orb to hold the conscious brain with the torso as vehicle)
Once we pull back the drapery of the skin, we can see the amazing network of connective tissue, nerves and tendons. We see more clearly how the hands and wrists are connected to the whole arm and beyond into the shoulder and the neck.
One of my mentors revealed in our pranayama training that if the thumb is tense, it will effectively harden the brain and thereby affect the nervous system. Try gripping your steering wheel next time you drive to experience some of this.
Another time, a very adept workshop teacher demonstrated how the arms are a vehicle to access the upper spine and the legs to access the lower spine. Adho Muka Svanasana, better known as downward dog, is a great laboratory to learn how we access the whole spine through the actions of our feet and hands, legs and arms.
If we are new to our practice, the weight is often in the heel of the hand with the palms lifted and either the index finger or thumb mounds are not grounding. Simple physics shows our need for even contact distribute weight properly and access the spine for elongation.
Continued practice of this pose cultivates a balance between effort and ease. We are able to stay longer from learning how to refine the actions in our hands and feet as they meet the mat. Then more difficult poses that ask more of our hands and feet are achieved with confidence, alignment and strength.
Last week it was foot play. Now let’s see what comes from using our hands in an integrated fashion, connecting to the body as a whole.
Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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September 26, 2023
“From the Ground Up”
Our feet and hands can teach us a lot about the rest of us. I had no sense of my feet (or my body) when I began to practice yoga 27 years ago.
Once I started taking classes 1-2 times per week, I did start to practice a little at home. I began to notice my feet and in a good way. I could sense more than just these 2 soles, these surfaces that met the floor. I had found I could be aware of the heel and ball mounds and arches and toes. As my feet became more pliable, I could begin to articulate more evenness on the floor. They were in my consciousness. I continued to practice even more, and learned to listen to the subtle sensations created by movement. In doing so, I became connected to more to my legs and how to move from the ground up!
Once we apply even a little effort to plant our feet down, we begin to feel the bounce, the rebound energy coming up the legs. We access and enhance the strength of our legs. We realign the bones of the legs as they strengthen and stretch with our standing poses!
Where to start? A neutral foot is most important. Discovering our own neutral foot can be a little confusing beyond placing even weight in the heel and big toe mounds. Not all arches are the same. We might pronate or supinate our feet. Pronation of the feet can lead to knock knees. Supination of the foot can lead to outer ankle strain or sprains. Too much weight in the heel can lead to hyper extension of the knee. So, we will look at how the foot is for us by habit and what we can do to find neutral.
I invite you to play, notice and nurture your feet this week - - on and off of your mat!
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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September 12, 2023
Birds Eye View
Getting away always helps me get perspective. A fresh look, a different take. I can admire new things with awe and wonder. In this act of open mind, I can see that I have unconscious patterns (or ruts), as well as inherent skills. This is not easily seen in my day-to-day life where I “cannot see the forest for the trees”. I relish these brief flashes of a “Birds Eye View” to get clear on what to cull from my life’s perceived tasks. Certainly, travel gives us an opportunity to expand our lens.
Upon returning home I reflect. The sights and sounds of a distant land seem normal at the time, but when call up the images of the 10 days away from Long Island and my daily routine, it becomes all the more special and magical.
By the Way: I hope you all had a chance to mix up your routine and attempt a few poses at home!?! Perhaps you had some wonderful surprise discoveries of your own. What did you learn? What was easier than you thought? Where were your challenges? I look forward to hearing about them.
Stepping away from my normal routine gives me a chance to let go of all of my tasks and duties. I feel lighter, my senses are heightened, I have more energy. On this trip I had a few discoveries about my own big picture.
If you are ever near Burlington, VT go visit Shelburne Farms. I just thought it was a place to stroll beautiful farmland, buy cheese made on site and see some animals. I was so wrong! This was a Vanderbilt estate with the grounds designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead who we might know from our own amazing Central Park. I acknowledge that I have skills that allowed me to be a solid architect and a wiz at making all things fit on a plan.... but this man who designed the hills and trails to this massive estate was as artful beyond measure. He orchestrates views in such a way as to lead you through a series of intimate forest growth, rolling hills and expansive pastures to lead you into a grand finale oeuvre. As we walked the grounds, I began to appreciate the complexity of his vision. Each area is linked together with a simple bend of the road or an opening of trees. His designs a way to shift perspective.
A well-planned yoga practice can do the same. We have the opportunity to delight and surprise ourselves with the nuanced adjustment of our whole being in the matter of a few poses. Simply by following one after the next. Before we know it, we have arrived into a state of grace.
At first, as a new student, we follow the map of sequences laid out by teachers before us. Then something happens and the pattern of poses are revealed. What they have to teach us comes into sight. We begin to orchestrate the opening and strengthening of our beings ourselves. What a wonderful benefit of continued practice.
On an encouraging note, I ran across an article in the NY Times about Jack LaLane’s widow Elaine who at 97 does 20 minutes of stretching first thing every day. Her attitude of "Twenty minutes a day gets me on my way" can be applied to yoga as well. Just doing can teach us a lot, especially if we haven't seen the forest yet.
Keep going and you will discover the little nuances of change, sensation and awareness.
Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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August 22, 2023
Move Into the Driver’s Seat
This blanket expression can be used in many places. Have you ever, like myself, driven multiple times to JFK to pick up family and friends who come to NY visiting? I have, but never as the driver of the car. One year, I went to pick up my niece who was flying in from California for a weeklong visit with her stretchy aunt and funny uncle. Low and behold, I had to use GPS because even though the route was very familiar, I had not paid enough attention to the change of highways and exits. A bit embarrassed, I used GPS and now, after moving into the driver’s seat my abilities have been added to.
The same goes for your own yoga practice. We can go to class on a regular basis for years, but until we get on our mats at home our practice can only go so far. I hear from students who have taken the plunge to go into a self-empowering place of directing even the shortest of practices have paid off and they beam at the difference it makes. Not only in their day-to-day movements, but on a level of being more attentive holistically to self, the whole self.
Obstacles to getting there: when, where, how long, what to practice, what if I do it wrong? …
I bet one of these pops up. Don’t’ despair, it isn’t as hard as you might think.
When – anytime you can. Generally, it is best to pick a time, the same time for 1 or 2 additional day(s) in addition to when you go to class. Keep it simple.
Where – anywhere! Once we had an exchange student was living with us for a year in the meditation/yoga/guest room. This left the 32” wide space at the foot of our bed to lay my mat down. It is this very big challenge that lent itself to creating a few of my favorite ways to practice in a contained space. It also works up against a hotel room door and the circulation space into the room. I used that a lot on family vacations!
How Long - A 20 min practice to start will make a big difference. 10 min is not enough, 15 scratching the surface, 20 + and you are on your way to deeper selfhood on many levels.
What – A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G.
Wrong? – Do what you know, and if you follow your breath, you can stop moving when it stops!
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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August 8, 2023
Our “Nature” / The Gunas
What is my true nature? And why am I fighting it? Whenever I struggle interpersonally, I go to my mat. It is my neutral place. A place where I can find effortless effort and observe without judgement what my nature is and how I am resisting it.
In the deeper texts, specifically the yoga sutras and the baghavad gita, we find the Gunas defined as: Tamas (inertia), Rajas (vibrancy) and Sattva (luminosity). We can embody some at the same time or just one. The 3 gunas either create harmony or discord. Too much or too little of the first two keeps us from residing in the third.
We cycle in and out of inertia, vibrancy and balance at any given time depending on how we slept, what we ate, our general health, our natural tendencies. An individual’s nature can be altered with focus, attention, dedication and practice.
Perhaps you quickly anger when someone takes the parking space you were signaling for. This is an example of rajasic nature. Perhaps you shut down in a situation of family conflict. This is an example of tamasic nature. Perhaps you are able to pause and take a breath before a rash action or shutting down. This is an example of sattvic nature.
On a more practical note, I use the extensive system of yoga philosophy and its myriad of categorizations to examine my response to my life. I can more readily recognize when I am stuck and torpid (tamasic), when reluctant to move forward from a confusing situation. Or acknowledge when I am in harmony (sattvic) with my own being and seeing / connecting to the world around me. Generally, I am not concerned with being too fiery (rajasic) as I take all the energetic moments I have with gratitude!
Dukkha is a term found in the Upanishads and Buddhist texts. I mention this as we all have moments of confusion, anger, difficulty and discomfort. Dukkha is suffering in Sanskrit. We all experience it. Life is challenging, yes, however, continued suffering is optional. It is possible to use the tools of awareness to recognize when we are rajasic or tamasic. We can resign ourselves in the “stuck-ness” and hide in of our story or see what is present and be able to move forward into a more harmonic or sattvic place.
So how from our yoga practice can we learn to move forward?
Yoga Sutra 1.12 translates into: “The state of yoga is achieved by simultaneous striving (abhayasa) and letting go (vairaga)”.
This sutra gives us guidance on how to foster a sattvic state. Are you forcing the pose (fiery rajasic energy)? Are you dull in the pose, slow to follow direction (lethargic inertia)? Widen the aperture of our camera by asking these questions to see where to go next and enter a more harmonic experience (sattvic stability) within.
Over the next few weeks take any present moment on your mat (or off) and recognize what is your internal state. Then redirect your actions in mind and or body towards “effortless effort”. This is a simple answer to cultivate your sattvic nature.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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July 25, 2023
Default Mode / Embodiment
Default Mode. When I hear this phrase, I think of resetting my computer when it crashes, or cleaning my old cell phone when it is time to return it. Winding deeper into my memory and senses, it reminds me of when I first saw the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles.
What a marvelous sight for a 7-year-old with imagination. The sticky bubbly pit, the promise of seeing a dinosaur bone pop up from below…. who wouldn’t want to be present to see something that hasn’t touched the surface for thousands of years?!?
We get to do this every day in our practice. In every pose there is the opportunity to fully be in our bodies and listen and feel and observe without judgement or needing to alter the present moment. We watch for the surprise reveal of something new or find something old but seen slightly different this time. It all can be discovered from a place of wonder, like that 7-year-old.
The flipside of this coin, in moving from a place of wonder to hyper-critical observation; there is a sticky pull of the Tar Pits (which were not actually filled with tar but asphalt – illusion alert). Many carnivores were pulled back in to the muck to prey upon the herbivore's situation. It was around 4:1 according to the statistics. So rather that it just being an event for 1, it was an event 5 times larger!
Yogic-ly Speaking, we have habits of movement in our bodies and habits in our thinking that are a reflexive aversion upon encountering the uncomfortable. It is hard not to get pulled back in to our personal tar pit, the Default Mode.
Default Mode as defined by Bo Forbes is when we take a direct experience we have in the body and spin a narrative about it. She illustrates this with a popular parable told by the Buddha about two arrows.
“It goes something like this: The Buddha asked a student, “If you get hit by an arrow, is it painful?” “Yes,” answered the student. “And if you get hit by a second arrow,” the Buddha continued, “is it even more painful?” Again, the answer was yes.”
The first arrow is the event. The second arrow is what we create - associate - pile on to this first arrow. (more on her neurology and body-mind work : https://boforbes.com/about/ )
We have tools to keep us out of the quicksand of default mode, this larger-than-life self-woven drama. In yoga it is in that is through embodiment. To be embodied we are present in our bodies, not in future or past thoughts. This week we will play with taking the sensations of the body and breath combined to learn about staying embodied = in the present. The more we can practice this and be more comfortable with strong stretches, the less aversion we will have, the less story we will weave about our current state of being.
There is great freedom here, I invite you to join me.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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July 11, 2023
Touchstone
What grounds you? What keeps you balanced? Who do you speak to, to return to “self”?
I know we, as humans, would love to say that we can arrive at the place where we can rest - - stay put - - with no more work or effort necessary to correct the disruption. As my 8th grade Science teacher, Mr. Bullock once said: “we can work hard to keep stasis, but ultimately things continue to degrade”.
So, I need to re-frame my perspective, yes?
The deeper I get into my meditation and Zen philosophy studies the more I know the answer of staying grounded is just getting comfortable with the nature of changing systems / situations. This isn’t to say just give up and throw in the towel, it is more of an invitation to consider accepting our true nature, the nature of being a biped and a human with a busy mind. Let’s face it - I will be thrown off balance if I get out there and live my life.
Return to Yoga: the practice of asana (yoga poses) does promote the creation of lasting positive physiological effects on our nervous system, better coordination of our physical movements and creates more supportive breathing patterns. On a deeper level, we might consider this a creation of new neural pathways and make a change to our default patterns.
We can increase our body’s strength and reduce our mind’s erratic movements. Consider it Self-Directed Neuroplasticity!
Self-directed neuroplasticity defined:
Neuroplacticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural pathways throughout life and in response to experiences. While the brain usually does this itself in response to injury or disease, when humans focus their attention enough, they can slowly rewire these pathways themselves. The habit loops are broken by reshaping thinking using mindfulness.
Mindfulness refers to focusing attention in a sustained, deliberate way, of looking at the present from a non-judgmental perspective. The goal of mindfulness is to become aware of thoughts, as simply thoughts. Not all unwelcomed or unhelpful thoughts need to be acted on. Once an individual understands that these thoughts are not beneficial for them, they can start to redirect their actions – or the reactions to the thought. The redirection of thoughts and actions will start to change neural pathways as habits begin to be replaced, and new parts of the brain are used. The brain literally starts to rewire itself with a simple change of mindset. See more at:
To Start: focus on the base or the anchor action of the legs (or anything else that touches the earth) in your practice. This is the foundation we build on with time, practice and awareness just by doing. Next: deepen your awareness with observation (mindfulness). This way we can uncover through familiarity with more subtle sensation, the action of the body that needs strengthening or opening without injury or self - compromise. In addition: explore what the pose is like without quickly rushing into it. (What if we relaxed just enough to let the pose be completely open and at ease?). All of the balance I have found in my self and my poses are grounded by my repeated return to the consistent practice of getting onto the mat (my touchstone), to hone my skill of looking at things here with wonder or curiosity. And ultimately taking that into my day to day way of living/thinking/breathing.
Do ask questions of reflection to find your balance here:
-How do I feel on my right side vs. left?
- Is my breath different?
-Is my thinking less circular?- Can I learn to accept what is found without judgement? (Why wrap a story around it so your mind gets to create a circus that you really don’t need).
- Look for the experience that can’t be named. (Where the seer and the object of observation become one and the mind stills – the ultimate benefit of yoga)
Asking these and other reflective questions can immensely aid in making your internal experience of the practice and your deeper self richer and deeper. Find stability in knowing what your experience is. We want to break out of our rut of habitual movement and thought; of always doing things the same way.
It can be done with a simple and continuous practice over time and…In this we can find the freedom to re-wire ourselves from the inside out.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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June 27, 2023
Shrug-asana
What are you carrying on your shoulders?
Do yourself a favor, list 3 things. How can you make your heaviness lighter? Distribution.
Take the image of Atlas, with the universe resting on your traps, it’s no wonder your neck hurts…..
I use Atlas as an example since it exaggerates things to make it obvious. Having said that, we place on our “shoulders” too much. It’s a long list of what we should do or be as opposed to living with a balance of effort and ease. (caveat: I am not saying that we shouldn’t look to improve, but let’s not take on more than we can or need to)
Kidding aside, the way we live our life can be revealed in how we practice our yoga.
Micro Focus: clenching, pushing or holding will close down a pose – not make it better. Let’s break this down. These 3 actions grip in a single area. Yoga is about integration, using the whole. So, if we are doing an arm balance like plank pose and not using our abdominal region or legs, the shoulders will suffer. If we are doing a forward bend pulling back exclusively with the arms and not the legs, tip of the pelvis or lift of the chest; the neck and lower back will suffer. So rather than the goal, go for the exprience of getting there. Go from a single area of struggle to share the responsibility of action uniformly with ease.
Macro Focus: Rushing into a pose can leave one loosing the foundational actions needed to go deeper. Ego will keep us from backing out of that place where we are in too deep. On the other hand, Timid expressions of the body in poses work against us. If we have the feet not quite wide enough in our standing poses, we don’t have the action required in the legs or anatomical movement to be supported to have anything but a superficial experience.
The micro and macro foci will happen to us. This isn’t bad or wrong as long as we can identify it and then alter the behavior. A skilled teacher can redirect you, but ultimately it is on the practitioner to dive deep into the subtlety of sensation which informs us of how to make our body lighter and stronger all in the same breath.
The beauty of being on our mats frequently is that we can discover more about ourselves in a neutral place. That is the hardest thing to do really, is see into our blind spots.
So, shrug your shoulders! Drop the weight. Perhaps someone else will do the heavy lifting.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
Footnote for overthinkers: Pema Chodrin has great advice when you feel overwhelmed: Drop The Story.
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June 13, 2023
In a Bind?
What kind of a bind? Where did you clutch right now…in your mind, your throat, your gut?
Think of a very powerful river. Water can be such a force - energy. Now think of very tall cavernous etched rock walls. River is to prana as rock walls are to binds.
On a subtle level there are the 3 main bandhas or binds: Mula, Udyana, and Jalandhara. I have addressed these in the recent past. Today, I would like to bring your attention to the less subtle binds in our physical practice: a wrapping of arms, a isometric placement of hand to knee and the use of belts. Marichiyasana 1 and 3 are great examples of bound poses. Part A is the twist away or towards the bent leg. Part B comes as we evolve into a more pliable rotation of the trunk. Here we can begin to explore wrapping our arms around the bent leg to clasp hands. The goal isn’t to touch at all costs, the intention is to use the containment of the arms around the legs to elevate our spine and open any area affected by the movement of the pose.
In asana (or poses in English), containment is necessary. It is the balancing factor against the egoistic over-stretching of body parts. Too much flexibility can cause instability and move the action unfavorably into a joint. Imagine one of those small puppet toys from our youth where you press a disk at the bottom of the toy and all the pieces fall down. Without the tension provided by the strings and the disk, the toy does not stand up. Having said that, we are not toys, but we do “toy” around with our body parts endlessly in yoga. We are our own best laboratory for mapping out what resides below the surface of the body's largest organ - the skin.
I encourage you to find patience and cultivate curiosity within each practice. In youth we are quick and impulsive. Is it really so important to reach the end pose so quickly? Or to touch the floor today? Or get contorted just to wrap our arms around the torso today? The body is resilient – true – but what do we miss when we rush? We miss the opportunity to understand how much more we can receive from the practice, and our life too, if we move a bit more attentively/mindfully to the balance between opening and containment. Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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May 30, 2023
Body Memory
On this Memorial Day we remember the brave soldiers who have fought for our freedom. I thank them all - past, present and future - for their courage during battle and patience while waiting for deployment. I cannot imagine what that experience would be like.
I do know that there is something that stays within the body from having a repeated experience, especially in a life and death situation.
What about those of us that don’t go into the military service? We have battles in our life. How do we let go of trauma in the body? Breath, asana, concentration and meditation. These 4 limbs of yoga are great tools to re-write your history and find the strength and courage to forge a new path when life seems overwhelming.
Recently I spoke to a high school girlfriend and was struck by all the road blocks she has had in her life. Huge setbacks to access college, slow to start career, family illness and her own health. The cumulative assault that occurs daily. I admire her as she continues to dig deep and find ways to cut new paths so life doesn’t get her down.
I feel tremendous gratitude for my life, how it has gone in the direction of teaching yoga, my uniquely small family, my wealth of friends. What kept me going when I hit major roadblocks, before yoga, when I dealt with the death of my 58-year-old mother in my 27th year, or moving 4 times in my life before 12 years of age, not to mention general setbacks that life threw my way? I patched up okay, but it wasn’t until the deep work the 4 limbs listed above did on my psyche that I began to thrive. Yoga has kept my gait longer and my heart lighter.
In these past 22 years, I have worked with so many people from all walks of life and have been able to give them some seeds to make space to let go and heal from their roadblocks to find joy and a spring in their step again.
One person in the public arena that I get great inspiration to pick myself up from a fall is Pema Chodron. In a college commencement speech, she said once “Fail, Fail again, Fail Better”. Read more here: https://tricycle.org/article/pema-chodron-fail/
Our yoga practice can teach us a lot. It can create a groove to return to each time we need to pick ourselves up from distress. Those pathways of peace, strength and knowing don’t disappear quickly. We train the mind in yoga practice to get out of our way and be still, and in doing so we will be able to listen to the body and its inherent wisdom. We can let go of what we are holding onto in our cells – that past psychic baggage of samskara and be lighter and freer over time. I encourage you to use the repetitive nature of the poses to let us explore the sensations of the body and the breath to transport us to a place beyond words.
Peace and Namaste, Lesa NOTE: In order to work deeper into the topic of the Yoga Tidbit with you I will be reducing the frequency of my writing to twice a month.
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May 23, 2023 Ida and Pingala Last week I mentioned briefly the Ida and Pingala Nadis. They start from the left and right nostrils, respectively, and move down towards the base of the spine. The Ida and Pingala intersect each other in a continual figure 8 like dance coming in and out each of the 5 lower chakras. The Susumna Channel is the result of a balance between Ida and Pingala nadis. It is considered the most gracious energy channel in the body. Pranayama is the practice of yoking breath with different breathing techniques. Prana is also translated as energy in addition to wind. So when we practice pranayama we are tapping into the mind and nervous system from a conscious and unconscious method. One we direct, the other is a result of factors out of our control with the exception of the breath. Ida is associated with the left nostril, the left side of the susumna nadi, feminine energy and the moon. It is a cooling practice to take in air from the left side, pause and then exhale out through the right nostril. This is Chandra Bhedana Pranayama. Pingala is associated with the right nostril, the right side of the susumna nadi, masculine energy and the sun. It is a warming practice to take in air through the right nostril, pause then exhale out through the left nostril. This is Surya Bhedana Pranayama. Both increase digestive power, invigorates nerves, cleans the sinuses and is also good for those of us who have low blood pressure. Nadi Sodhana Pranayama, more commonly known as alternate nostril breathing, can balance the two energies. Sounds simple, but can take years to master. In BKS Iyengar’s Light on Pranayama there are steps to take to make sure you are learning the nuances of sensation past the basics. One of the delightful images he speaks of is the technique of the finger placement on the nose is like the fingering of wind instruments. (from p158) “….one conquers his senses by playing on his nostrils, delicately fingering them to manipulate breath patterns as if playing the flute.” Pranayama is a subtle practice. Start slowly and with a trained teacher. Peace and Namaste, Lesa
“You will find in time clarity in the brain and stability in the mind.” bks Iyengar, light on pranayama
NOTE TO CURRENT STUDENTS: In order to work deeper into the topic of the Yoga Tidbit with you I will be reducing the frequency of my writing to twice a month starting in June.
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May 16, 2023 The Nadis 72,000 of them. A Nadi is a tubular channel in the body through which energy flows. Chakras are wheels or circular energy centers in the body that act as fly-wheels in the distribution of energy to the body machinery. Bandhas are used to prevent the dissipation of energy and distribute it to areas where it can be used. Or so the yogis suppose…. These energy channels run everywhere throughout the body. Some say they are housed within the fascia of the body, others will say they also reside in the nerves and muscles too. Google it and you will find so much about them. (If you own a copy of Light on Yoga go to page 436). The Jalandhara Bandha is when we take the sternum to the chin and chin to sternum. This bandha regulates the flow of blood and prana to the heart, head and neck glands and the brain. The Uddyana Bandha is when we draw the navel towards the spine and then up. It is said when done correctly “the great bird of prana is forced to fly up through the Susumna Nadi” (which is the main channel for the flow of energy located in the spinal column). This bandha is said to be the mother of bandhas. The Mula Bandha is the contraction of the pelvic floor (the region from anus to base of scrotum or opening of vagina). This practice contains the flow of prana so that it is not dispersed, but used to revitalize the practitioner. The Ida and Pingala Nadis start from the right and left nostrils and move down towards the base of the spine. The Ida and Pingala intersect each other in a continual figure 8 like dance coming in and out at the chakra. The Susumna Nadi climbs from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Sometimes these 7 chakras are associated with the glands or organs in the region. Do we know for sure that these exist in a way described before modern science could map internal nerve pathways? I don’t but Chinese medicine and Ayruveda have been successful in using this application of nadis to heal people for hundreds of years. I invite you to simply feel (or imagine) where your spine is from the inside out and to feel the difference when it is positioned correctly vs. not correctly as you practice. Like any instruction I give to my students. It needs to be tried on and tested by the individual. Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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May 9, 2023
Let the Air In Let the fresh air in! Ah Ha, we have nice weather. Take a deep breath in.....
In our yoga practice we can let the air in all the time, but how is our breathing ~ really? If we bring our awareness to what is silent, it can be a clue to open the underutilized. I am referring to the ribcage, the torso lift and connecting to our legs. Beginner students are focused on staying upright and becoming familiar with what poses can feel like. Then, once oriented to the basic form, they are free to play with the balance of postural effort and ease. Too much effort shuts us down, not enough effort will leave us unstable. As the practitioner begins to feel one’s health, balance and strength of the body/mind connection, the focus moves finally to those areas that don’t bark or howl at us. The quiet hidden areas that are closed off from sensation and movement. The hips and the ribcage get the brunt of this. Surprisingly, the psoas comes to mind. (as opposed to side stretching and hip openers) This postural muscle is tied to the diaphragm and the front hip. Back to front, it starts at the 12th thoracic vertebrae, then travels through the pelvis to the femur. If it is too tight, the pelvis tips forward and compresses the back bottom ribs down. It keeps our rib cage moving in a way that doesn’t allow space for a deep breath. Most of the day, we don’t notice this if we have never had back pain. If it is too loose the front hips are closed off because of habitual movement tipping or pushing the pelvis forward. Perhaps to the point of grinding our thigh bone into this muscle and other hip flexors (from back body to front body). This is one reason why extension in the back leg gets shut down. This week as we practice, look for those areas that are sleeping, dead or otherwise unnoticed. Maybe that is your key to feeling freer in the lift of the chest or taking a full breath. Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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May 2, 2023
Support From Behind Hamstrings, oh those pesky hamstrings! How often have you wished them to be longer? Are they your nemesis? Have you ever pulled one? If not, they take months to heal because, not only is their purpose to be supple, but they are valuable support muscles. We use them constantly. The primary function of the hamstrings is to bend the knee joint and extend the hip joint, rotate the hip joint as well as enabling some essential lower limb activities like walking, running, squatting and climbing stairs. “The hamstrings are muscles which extend the hip and flex the knee. The hamstrings play an important part in the complex gait cycle during walking, which includes absorption of kinetic energy and protection of the knee and hip joints. During the swing phase of walking, the hamstrings decelerate the forward motion of the tibia. There is a complex interplay between hamstrings contraction and quadriceps contraction, which is an antagonist muscle of hamstrings.” From physiopedia here: https://www.physio-pedia.com/Hamstrings There are many ways to strengthen this part of the back thigh. It starts with greater awareness within the poses we practice. We often feel right away when the poses stretch them, but do we realize it when they strengthen?
Triangle and Extended Chest pose (Utthita Trikonasana and Utthita Parsvottanasana) will stretch them. Virabhadrasana 1, 2 and Parsvakonasana will strengthen them in the bent leg. There are lots of poses that play in the same way. See you in class with your hamstrings ready for a new sensation! Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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April 25, 2023
Pieces and Integration As we dive deeper into our Yoga practice, we often look for ways in which the individual body parts function to create more subtle awareness in that region. It can, over time, add a new experience of the whole self.
Fun fact: Yoga comes from the root word Yog which means Union.
To study the bones, muscles and actions of each - at that specific area of the body - is essential to mastering not only more control of our movements there, but it will add depth to the experience of each pose with integration into the whole. And as we add it back in to the and to have a fresh lens on our world. For example: You might hear the instruction "lift your arch" or "ground your heels". It is important to do so to support your body, but how much subtlety do you have in the action of reaching through one’s heel? Are you directing the inner heel or the outer? The front or the back? Perhaps you just know it as a round staples “easy” button, bulbus and nothing more…..
So, we take the time to notice how the action of the leg changes as we articulate the different areas of the heel. Carry your observation up from the legs to notice how this action of the foot affects the pelvis, the ribcage, the breath. Yes, the action of the heel, coming from this one small piece, is integrated into the expression of the whole body. So Welcome! Welcome to this great awakening. You can use a shoulder or a hip or hand, etc. I just used the heel of the foot to illuminate how the “tip of the iceberg” appears to discover nuances of physicality and possibly cultivating deeper sensory perception throughout the entire body. Pieces of Poses are also helpful when you have an injury and need to rest and heal. How you might ask? Well, Chairs are especially helpful in foot/leg injuries. We can break each pose down with the trunk from sitting bones to the crown of the head as Tadasana (part 1). The legs can then assume the extension and isolate the injured area (part 2)!
It seems that April has us with two students with broken bones in their feet and two recovering from surgery – so the above is a nod to the those dedicated souls who are continuing to practice. In this way of pieces, the injured practitioner can continue to work on the places of strength, trusting that integration is not far off. For the un- injured - this can be a way of moving deeper and integration is as close as the breath. It is easier and easier to naturally look for this as we peel off the layers of dullness and dive deeper through a repeated practice of yoga within the lens of "the pieces & integration". Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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April 18, 2023
Rhythm – what is your symphony? Movement, notes, emotion, chapter, verse, Story, training the body, expressing the body! Patterns in everything, everywhere all at once. Mathematics, geometry, music, dance, design, Bach! When it comes to the old board game LIFE, we have so many roles to choose from. Sometimes I chose teacher, other times the attorney, then the singer or dancer. As young people, we find trying on different roles aid to finding our true nature. What are our talents? ( that which we are good at – really and not just what we think we are good at). Last week I was listening to a 3-part workshop on the Bhagavad Gita and in a discussion period the question of what is an Individual’s Dharma was asked? I loved his simple reply: “Dharma is the crossroads of what you are truly good at and what you are drawn to do”. Another great quote i found is from chopra.com article here: https://chopra.com/articles/purushartha-the-4-aims-of-human-life “The Bhagavad Gita says, “Better your own Dharma though imperfect than the Dharma of another done perfectly.” This means that you need to find your own truth and even though you may make mistakes along the way, this is still preferable to trying to copy others”. Dharma is a term used in a number of different places. I am referring to the dharma of the individual not the cultural context of righteousness.
In that sense, it's easy to mix in doing the right thing by others into the context of one's true calling. Dharma as righteousness is more of a macro term as one of the 4 Purusharthas. (Artha – economic values, Kama – pleasure, Dharma – righteousness, and Moksha – liberation. Do you know what your Dharma is? Perhaps it changes from decade to decade. Student, Parent, Teacher, Mentor are a few. This is what we may define ourselves as, since it is a role we play. I think we need to dig deeper to discover our talents and interest. How do we do this? Well, it isn’t from getting into an unnatural pose in your yoga practice like full lotus pose for many. That is just silly and dangerous and willful. Fortunately, I think everyone who comes to my classes find their own pose. The key is finding ones own pose that has a balance of soft and firm with space to breathe. Space to observe and listen. Use your Yoga Practice as a lens into your deeper yearnings, allow for the possibility that the moving meditation that you experience on your mat can bring one closer to the soul. That with a quiet mind there is space to reflect and hear the quiet inspiration we all have. This week while we practice, I invite you to: -Be aware when you lose the balance between effort and ease. -Be aware when you are willful or just give up. -Breathe deeper or engage the pose more if your mind is running outside of the present moment -Listen to the subtle voices once the mind quiets, if only for a brief moment.
Create your own music, Dance to the beat of your own drum!
Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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April 11, 2023
The Pranayama Bridge
Last week I spoke about how the layers of yoga might appear in your practice. Let’s go a little deeper into how the rhythmic control of our breath can connect us to a deeper place. Pranayama is sometimes linked to Asana, sometimes to Pratyahara (withdrawal and emancipation of the mind from the domination of the senses and exterior objects) and Dharana (concentration). BKS Iyengar has a clear and concise description of the “Stages of Yoga” in his introduction to Light on Yoga. He links Yama and Niyama together as a vehicle to control our passions and emotions guiding us to be in harmony with ourselves and others. And describes the use of Asana to keep the body healthy and strong and in harmony with nature. (sometimes nature can be interpreted as the nature of being human on this planet) These three stages he calls the “outward quests” Next comes Pranayama and Pratyahara to teach the student to regulate the breath to control the erratic fluctuations of the mind so we may be free from the “thralldom of the objects of desire”. These he calls the “inner quests” Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi (concentration, meditation, and the state of super-consciousness) are known as the innermost quest, the “quest of the soul”. Now the bridge: observation of the breath, patterns of the breath, direction of the breath. Our breath in and out continues whether we focus on it or not. It is in our consciousness and in our subconscious is it not? When I took my advanced teacher training within the Iyengar system it was grouped with both the external quest as a physical discipline and the inner quest as a mental discipline. I think you can see how the pattern is emerging. In Meditation; “follow the breath” or “return to the breath” are instructions found in classes for good reason. It is a tool for the mind. In Asana, we lift and open the chest on an inhalation and ground or let go on an exhalation. The smooth movement of coordinating the action of our body in tandem with the breath not only cultivates a calm in our minds but soothes and cools the nervous system. Observe your breath and let us explore what we find this week when we are more mindful of the patterns of respiration. Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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April 4, 2023
Types and Styles of Yoga
Karma Yoga (the path of action), Bhakti Yoga (the path of devotion), and Jnana Yoga (the path of knowledge) are the 3 main types of yoga mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita for the liberation of the human spirit. Sometimes a 4th yoga, Raja Yoga (the path of meditation), is added as well. If you are curious, read more about them here: https://yogachicago.com/2014/01/the-four-main-paths-of-yoga/
It can be confusing because we are used to hearing the term Hatha Yoga. Ha-tha translates from Sanskrit into Sun-Moon and is generally associated with the practice of asana (physical postures). The first part of this practice is designed to warming up and heating the body while the second half cools it down.
So, in definition, all physical postures in the practice of yoga is Hatha Yoga.
Hatha yoga dates back thousands of years. Its modern iteration in the west has informed the evolution/adaptation of yoga and has granted practitioners the space to engage in a yogic practice without the religious or spiritual aspect.
The next question might be what is really yoga if there are so many different classes, levels and poses? This is because yoga has evolved to adapt to the culture and need of who is practicing. The origin story of the yoga we practice in the west is very different than what initially in India was called yoga. Yoga in the east was primarily spiritual and in the early days of a physical practice, the poses were meant to ready the body for meditation. Asana literally translates into “seat”. That which we now call Yoga in the west, developed 150 - 200 years ago.
If you look at the image below, from the book The Spirit of Yoga by Kathy Phillips, you can see the different styles and philosophies that evolved. The style I was trained in, Iyengar, didn’t branch off the tree till the mid 1800’s. Named for the man who made his mark on the practice, he focused on alignment and the therapeutic aspects of pose application.
You may have also heard of other styles: Ashtanga, Viniyoga, Kripalu, Sivananda, Kundalini, Bikram, Tantra, Jivamukti, etc. These are all styles that have evolved from this branch or further down the tree.
Quickly defined
Iyengar: alignment and therapeutic yoga
Ashtanga: flow or power yoga
Viniyoga: gentle flow yoga and therapeutic ties to ayurveda
Kripalu: gentle instinctive movements in poses
Take some time to look closely and you might see that some styles revolve more around the philosophical rather than the physical. More of Jnana yoga – the path of knowledge. Others may be purely spiritual: Bhakti yoga – the path of devotion.
I hope this gives you a richer understanding of the framework of what we do on our mat, in our lives and in the world.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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March 28, 2023
Layers & Yoga
Asana and Pranayama. This is where I started my practice. I was stressed out with architectural hours that had me sitting at a computer for 50-60 hours a week. The poses gave me an opportunity to move my body. I still felt that my body was separate from my engine of the brain, the more important part of who I defined myself by. I often felt betrayed by “this body” as I called it. In essence, I thought that I could just will “the body – a thing” to do what I wanted without consequence to my state of “mind”. I was wrong.
In 1990, my very first class forced me to just to feel. I was stiff and couldn’t help noticing the sensations coming from “it”. My body’s signals were speaking. I often found I had to be reminded to breathe.
Soon after that first yoga class, I had my first acupuncture session. The woman, highly regarded by my co-workers, told me a similar thing: “You, my dear, need to get into your body!”
Fast forward 33 years, I can tell you that I had layers to peel off to unify my body, mind and spirit. Yoga was the way to go!
To you, my students, every chance I get, I will give you clues as to how to jump past my hurdles. For instance, when you practice, look beyond the obvious sensation of stretch or effort. What else can you sense?
Balance? Strength? Opening? Does being in a certain pose bring up strong emotions?
The name of the game is peeling off the layers of what ever keeps us from truly waking up to the beauty of integration and living our life fully.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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March 21, 2023
Squeeze & Soak
The aim of the asana practice is to create a healthy and strong body that will refrain from distracting us from the ultimate goal of sitting quietly in meditation. Many of the new students I meet first come to yoga for that very reason. Some come because they are curious. Some come because practicing yoga can manage stress. I will address the physiological aspect first. Most of the poses aim to flush the limbs or trunk in some way that increases the opportunity to bring fresh blood into an area. Virasana/hero’s pose, for example, has the legs folded in such a way that we squeeze as much fluid out as possible out. When we unfold the legs – woosh – a new supply rushes in. Inversions assist in reversing the way the heart has to work against gravity providing blood flow back from the lower extremities. The legs empty easier while upside down. When we return upright the opportunity to cleanse the legs has just occurred. Twists stimulate not only the wringing out of our organs housed in the abdominal region like a sponge, but we can also stimulate the hips and shoulders. When it comes to our mindset, how restful would Savasana be if we placed it first in our sequence? Would your thoughts be quiet or busy? I would say mine would be very active. It takes much longer to quiet them down before a practice than after. If we had an especially challenging practice then it is easy to get deep into corpse pose. Here is where we symbolically release the physical body and allow the breath to soften and quiet. So then the mind can follow. One of many great quotes by BKS Iyengar: “When the body is still, the breath is quiet, When the breath is still, the mind is quiet.” Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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February 28, 2023
See Saw of Practice
Let the poses do their work. Just let go. The tug-o-war continues as we practice. The see-saw of too much willfulness and giving up. Our minds are the biggest obstacle in reaping the benefits of a practice. The kind of practice that returns us to how the body was designed to work. In western life, as householders, our focus is to get a job, find a mate, raise a family (if we choose) and to contribute to our community. Our world has sped up exponentially in the last 10 years with the addition of modern tech devices, minders and apps. This new world vies for more attention than a 2.5-year-old tugging on our pants leg. When stress occurs in our lives, there are three areas I find people ask about: Digestion, neck and back. I have found that we tighten up in our area of greatest weakness. On a deeper level, we just moved from the parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system to the sympathetic (fight or flight). Yoga teaches us ways to tune into this shift and return to a healing place through breath. Different breathing patterns soothe the nervous system. Here are a few: The Ujayii breath or ocean breath. Great for anxiety and cools the brain. The Bhramari breath or bumble bee said to brings focus and assist with memory. The Viloma or 3 part breath which may help you breathe deeper. Nadi Sodhana or alternate nostril breathing, said to aid in letting go of habits. Holding on too tight in a pose can be equally destructive as being too loose. Too attentive in one area and not enough in others. The Muscles, the organs, and the breath all need a sense of give and take like the movement of water meeting the shoreline. As we move into the lower half of the torso this week, you may get a strong sense that it’s packed. True, there isn’t as much space as in the thoracic region. These tight knit organs have a big job to do too! As we practice the poses with out over or under working them, we will create more freedom of movement and enjoy the benefits. For instance: If we collapse in our chest not only is the diaphragm restricted, but our digestion is pinched and restricted too. Basic standing poses are big components of aiding digestion by creating alot of space in the chest. Twists and deep breathing assist as well. In addition, these poses will deepen the process: Supta Virasana/reclining hero’s pose Paripoorna Navasana and Ardha Navasana/Half and Full Boat Salabasana and Dhanurasana/Locust and Bow poses If you have a yoga book at home, look them up for the effects! There is a term in Sanskrit, vairagya, which means detachment. (see the Tidbit from 4.4.22) I invite you this week to detach (not disengage) and look more wholistically at how you reside in the posture. It isn’t a race to get somewhere, it’s about the ballet of movement along the road. Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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February 21, 2023
Trunk – Torso – Diaphragm?
The Trunk or Torso is an amazing area to examine. So many places to bring our awareness to here! It where all of our vital organs are housed. The heart, lungs, organs for digestion, organs for reproduction, organs for elimination, these all have their respectful position.
Then there is the building of this amazing fuselage. Starting the structure is a Rib cage and Pelvis, a diaphragm to separate the thorasic area of the lungs and heart from the rest of the organs them. Wrap these precious jewels with many layers of fascia, muscles and tendons...Voila! If we extend the spine to alleviate discomfort in any area (ie: low back, mid back, digestion, shortness of breath), we must consider the important aspect of stretching these layers of sinew as stabilizing elements as well as a powerful elements to create free movement. Last week we brought awareness to stretch the outer body in poses. Now, let us see if we cannot go below the surface layers of the skin on the outer body and create deeper pliability (or play-ability). Then everything inside can work more efficiently and with greater ease!
Today, I want to focus on the area of the rib cage. The diaphragm resides on the bottom of the ribs circumferentially. This elegant muscle contracts downwards to draw air into the lungs and as it releases, air is forced out. This is the basic outline, to learn more, from an expert, read from Julie Gumestad’s Yoga Journal Article: Take a Deep Breath See you on your mat.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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February 14, 2023
A Light Heart
“Keep a Light Heart” is a phrase I heard with great frequency as poses challenging my balance showed up in my first yoga classes (as a waivering newbie to yoga).
How can we continue to be light hearted when we are thrown off balance? Or as we are stuck in a mindset waiting for brighter days ahead.... (for me, I fight winter darkness and the indoors)
To keep a light heart, we can allow for the possibility of delightful surprise arriving in any given day. We can choose to put one foot in front of the other and get outside no matter how cold. AND to get on your mat once a day no matter how long you spend there.
Too many people keep themselves from practicing at home because they need to have it planned out or have a home practice feel the same as with your teacher. Don't cheat yourself from the benefits of a brief practice. If you do down dog and childs pose, just that, notice the difference in your mindset or as I like to say your “heart-mind”. Notice the shift in your body.
In a spirit of brevity and simple instruction, I am going to suggest that this week you do 5 things on 5 different days to get over your emotional/physical hump:
Day 1: Unroll your mat and stand on it. Feel your feet and lift your toes. Find your breath and enjoy it for 5 rounds of in and out concious movement.
Day 2: Unroll your mat and sit in easy cross, then cobblers pose, then wide leg forward bend for 5 breaths each.
Day 3: Unroll your mat and take an easy forward bend. Then bend your knees place your hands on the floor and walk your hands out into down dog. Stay for 5 breaths then walk your feet toward your hands and come up to stand.
Day 4: Unroll your mat and take a wide stance. Do wide leg forward bend and put blocks under your head to ground it so it doesn’t just hang. 5 breaths.
Day 5: Unroll your mat and stand tall. Feel your feet and your breath. Tadasana – Urdvha Hastasana - Utkatasana – Urdvha Hastasana - Tadasana (Mountain/exhale – Upward arms in Mountain/inhale – Chair/exhale – Upward Arms Mountain/inhale – Mountain/exhale). Repeat 5 times.
So, this Valentine's week, keep a light heart whenever/wherever you can and by all means, roll out your mat. This is no guarantee, but I suspect you may want to do more!
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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February 7, 2023
Catch and Release
There is a distinct rhythm to this phrase as it rolls off the tongue. What first comes to your mind with these two words? Playing catch in the backyard perhaps. For me, I think of fishing. I don’t personally fish, but I imagine it this way: your “catch” it is in your possession and then it’s gone - - slipped through your grasp and “released” with or without consent back into the great body of water from which it came.
I have learned, from yoga and meditation, that life and my practice is very much the same. An object of desire comes into my reach in the form of a movement of my body or a challenging pose. And then it is gone - - no longer sustainable. Sounds depressing perhaps. Or not. Consider this: all things are transient and we can only hold on to them but for a brief moment. This is my lesson.
This lesson of Ebb and Flow can be more accurately applied to my practice when I translate this concept into the actions of extension and containment in any posture. When we balance on two feet or one, there is always a transient quality of movement. We are never a frozen statue when balancing. It is about stillness or riding the wave of gravity. I can bring my focused effort to extend on an inhalation and then release or bring ease during an exhalation. Once I considered a pose having an element of containment then there is a boundary to work within. It isn’t me just flailing around in space but passing through it. I have to know the signs of these limits and it is only through experimental play that I thrive in the discovery. Basic standing poses, more simply, teach a level of extension and containment. A belt or a wall can be a tool for this. Pre-pandemic we also had partners to guide us back into the boundary of where our bodies and focus needed to be. The mind needs training in addition to the body. How can we stay focused and out of self judgement? Breathe with movement and feel the sensation of one's body.
So, how do I translate the above, you ask? Let's use two poses as examples: Tree Pose/Vrksasana and Half Moon/Ardha Chandrasana. Slipping feet in Tree Pose? If we focus on planting the inner edge of our foot on the ground more then the thigh of the standing leg will contain itself inwards and the trunk extends upwards. Part 2 of this is descending the bent leg thigh from the inner groin out/down through the inner knee. More action of the raised foot into the thigh of the straight leg will occur and voila - containment into extension!
Falling over in Half Moon? Same action as tree with the leg and foot on the ground as before. Part 2 is a simple action of outward rotation of both legs to contain the pelvis. Then the extension of the trunk is available.
I hope you get a chance to try one or both of these poses this week to explore greater success in a “catch and release”
Be Playful and Light-hearted as always.
Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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January 31, 2023 Transitions Our life is filled with them. Yoga can teach us how to do this with more grace and less grasping. We can think of the poses as individual items or we can relate to them in finding the similarity in action (or shape) from one to the next. This is the general idea when we sequence a practice: to build upon the actions and teachings of the prior pose. We can also look at the space in between. In art you might call it negative space....In architecture we called it a node. We have structure, and space. It all creates dynamic movement. One doesn't occur truly without the other. I love the transitions from one space into another. Arcades, doorways, trellises are all transition spaces. Knees, hips, shoulders are transition spaces too. Celebrating our movement from one place to another is grand in architecture. Why don’t we do this more in our practice? Perhaps it is because we were never invited to look at it this way. Let’s do this now, this week! Pay attention in your next practice as to how you a) move out of a pose and b) the space before entering another pose. Let’s look at the first... Many injuries occur when coming out of a pose. Many of us disengage leaving us unprotected in weaker areas. We cavalierly move out of the shape of triangle, or a warrior. Some might think it isn’t important, but it is.
In some cases, it might be even more important because we don’t have gravity working in our favor! (or in Head Balance/Arm Balance too much gravity). Either way, be conscious going in or out of your pose! If you have taken vinyasa style yoga before, you know that movement is a strong component of the practice. There is very little time taken to observe the individual pose. Constantly transitioning with little instruction. We can look at the skills involved next week.
In the style I teach, rooted in the Iyengar method, we have the opportunity to unpack a pose from start to finish and the space in between. Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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January 24, 2023
Cultivating Intelligence
Often, I heard as a beginning practitioner: “The Intelligence of the Pose is in the feet”.
Let’s take a look at this and see how we can bring this concept into our bodies rather than it lie as a mysterious concept. You have had a few weeks to practice with attention drawn to your feet. Do you sense them more? Do you understand how having the weight distributed into the 4 points of the feet can aid in the ease and strength of your poses? Have you identified an area that needs more encouragement (to open or strengthen or let go)?
This is an obvious physical cultivation of the foot. Now on a more subtle level let us talk about the idea of Intelligence.
Intelligence in your practice of asana is not being book smart, but more of having a quality of just “knowing”. This knowing has no words. It is closer to an automatic integration of a typically conscious movement into a natural movement. It isn’t directed by the mind. Repeating poses can create a groove to making a learned instruction more integrated. Ultimately though I believe when we observe the action occurring – that it is just there – without “thinking”, we have experienced this intelligence of the body. Another way of creating intelligence in the body is by bringing awareness to places that are asleep or unattended to. This is why practicing a pose with constant reminders of inquiry assists us to keep looking or wondering about all the places of the body and mind that are dull. This is where reflection is so critical. I am taking the example of returning to the feet this month. You could take any other body part or viewpoint to cast an exploration with. I look forward to “waking up” on the mat with you soon.
Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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January 16, 2023
Footing
The foot has 26 bones, the hand has 27. This is good news since we love the dexterity of the hands. Have you explored the dexterity of the foot? Usually in the winter we just stuff them into the warmest things around and wait till spring! Last week we began to get into the edges of the feet. When we balance on one leg, the foot takes the brunt of weight and sometimes even grips to mat to stay upright. Imagine doing this with your hand….you would need back up to help transferring weight into the rest of the body right? So I offer this to you: that we need to enroll the legs, trunk and arms to balance on one foot (or two for that matter). This week we can engage the thighs and lift upwards or outwards. It gets more complicated if the bones of the leg are out of line. Or if we have a structural displacement in the bones of the foot. It will take time to orient yourself to where the action in the legs need to awaken, but this week I hope class gives you a good start.
Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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January 10, 2023
Dusting Off
Dusting off one’s mat isn’t so hard. Dusting off ourselves is another thing. Like every pose, if we start with our feet, amazing things will result. The 4 points of the feet are key. Then add movement and breath – then the mind begins to awaken. A cold rinse after a hot shower first thing in the morning will help too! Our feet are generally the start, even when sitting. The position of the shins, thighs and especially the knees are set by what we do with our feet. Big toe mound, inner heel and outer heel. These three points generally direct the energy and I consider the little toe mound as the cherry on the sundae. It needs to feel the floor too. This "big sister" of the group is to tune you in to avoid too much weight on the outer edge of the foot. Lift your toes right now as you sit, do keep the ball mounds down and find these points more clearly. Notice if the leg moves. If so, how does it move? Bring curiosity and lightness into this. Add a Hmm? Always a good recipe for stable action in the legs. You can do this standing as well. Practitioners with many years of “dusting off” may find a lull in enthusiasm in rolling out the mat. How can we keep it interesting year after year? I find my yoga students always bring me back. And the comradery of those that I take class with will get me to roll out that mat. Once I feel that first sensation of childs pose or downward dog, then I reclaim the joy of movement for the now – right now and that carries me forward into the unknown, the unexperienced. It certainly allows for the possibility that I can create again - starting with the joy of feeling. Now this can apply to anything…walking for example. Having an active canine daughter, I often get that look at 3pm – “come on, it’s time for my walk”. Okay, I say, bundle up and we’ll just do a short one, cuz it’s cold (or I’m tired, or x). Then once one-foot plants in front of the other, I am willing to go a bit further. So now, when I harrumph at a walk or a practice, I dust myself off, think less and do more! Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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December 20, 2022
Holiday Vacation?
Is the Holiday really a Vacation? Let’s pack it all in before the New Year….
I feel that way. This year more than ever. It is an opportune time of “good busy” filled with celebration of friends, family and doing for others to show affection and appreciation. Yet why do I feel the need to squeeze it all in?
We have had the opportunity this year to learn to pace ourselves in our lives from how we practice asana and our breath. This knowledge makes it possible to be more open to spacing out these desired events. More possible to be present in this moment and not be planning for the next gathering. Sacred gathered Space gives us the rich opportunity to be aware.
If we are in the future moment already how can we enjoy this moment right in front of us?
Will we, on Jan 1st, feel wrung out - wondering what the heck just happened? Or will we drink it all in moment by moment?
If we pause with a bit of nurturing the self and answer may appear!
Self-nurture comes in many forms. Yogic-ly speaking, I would say that svadyaya, aparigraha and santosa are great principles to learn. Svadyaya is self-study. Aparigraha, from the Yamas, is non grasping. Santosa, from the Nyamas, is contentment. How do we come to a place where all of these qualities are more present in our lives? The first two can create the latter. Or can we go straight to contentment? Abe Lincoln is often quoted: “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be”.
I think Svadyaya is first because if we are not aware of the act that drains us, then no change within ourselves is possible. So, in the practice of yoga, we use asana and pranayama to become more aware of the physical sensations both supportive and not. Then going in deeper, we can in turn watch the mind for the subtlety of what we feel and think in different situations.
For example: the identification of how we grasp for the deeper pose when we are not ready for it or rush into a pose without care can prevent injury. This is a good thing and yes, there is a lot of ego to let go of. But why not enjoy where you are at now? What prevents you from being content? Perhaps just human nature for one. Being part of the group may be another. You name your reason. There are hundreds. The hard part is letting go. I find it easier to let go on the mat than in my day-to-day life.
Forced letting go vs Choosing to let go:
Injury has had me let go of some poses I was especially proud of being able to do. Aging (or overused) body parts have made let go of those poses that used to be so easy while now my strength in certain areas just isn’t there today (as much as I don’t want to acknowledge it). Maybe, humility could help us all out here. Aparigraha is a tough one, absolutely.
Side bar: I sometimes step out of yoga to find a way to let go of my un-comfortability in life to bring it back to my mat. I have a deep aversion to being cold. My son does not. Ever hear of Wim Hof? Look him up if you are curious. Well, there are breathing techniques and cold therapy that is used by him to combat depression and ill health. Me, I just use it to test my level of tolerance to cold showers. I haven’t graduated to the cold baths that are now very popular with young 20 somethings in NYC. So, inspired by my son, I end my showers with lukewarm water for at least 30 sec. I’m not even on first base getting to cold water yet!
I invite you to see if by self-study and letting go in your yoga practice can support you in finding yourself more content in your life. This is my Holiday wish for you all.
I will be taking a two week break so until January enjoy each and every moment of your extraordinary life!
Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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December 13, 2022
Holiday Haste
Haste Makes Waste as the saying goes. Having parents from the Midwest, it leaves me with many phrases that defy a native New Yorker's tolerance! In Yoga I think that we often find that the case. In haste I will rush into a pose thinking that I know where my body is going and yet - Ouch! I wasn't present. I was thinking about all the things I needed to watch in my students while teaching a class. My mind of course said: "that never hurt before, so why now!?!". This is true, it never hurt before, but all things change. The practice of yoga after 26+ years has given me many insights about my physicality and how I approach my life. Haste makes waste of my neck, shoulder and back (and a peaceful mindset). Learning about this on my mat helps me stay healthier in my headspace. I can see it easier here. After countless mistakes, I don't push things as I used to and I do take more time to reflect. The reflection makes me wiser. Now, I move through life with less pain in my heart and body! Things still hit me, but I am less likely to hold on to my frustration and just move forward. So when a physical red flag appears in out practice, what can we do? Explore, tinker and read up on anatomy and physiology - if you have an interest. I think most of the time as students, we wait for instructions - which is important - but once in the pose, do take ownership. Do back out of the pose if it turns to an overworked, congested or mushy expression. Instructions are often repeated so re-engage/re-enter on the next cycle of breath. Hips and shoulders are generally at risk of hasty movement. Often it is because we are not fully rotated in the joint area. Sometimes for the flexible or seasoned practitioner it is the opposite! So, know your own body and use it as the best laboratory around to learn about yourself. If you aren't sure, ask your instructor! Let's take the thigh bone insertion into the hip socket. As a beginner, it is common to have the foot and knee in the correct position (foot parallel to the edge of your mat and knee centered over the foot) yet we cannot quite feel a natural release in the hip going into Triangle/Trikonasana. It is here, at the top of the thigh that doesn’t move. It has had so many years prior to now without being asked to rotate this way. “On the other side of the coin” The flexible practitioner may find that they have turned the head of the thigh bone so much into outward rotation that the knee is lined up with the little toe! (and the hip or back is pinched). This may not give any feedback to the practitioner until this repeated positioning eventually gives pain. This is the lesson: Be present, dig deeper into the knowledge available online about anatomy and Ask -Your - Teacher to check. This way the body doesn't lay waste to the body in haste.
Take the time to reflect in your practice and you might find you take more time in your day to day.
And, may you rise above any Holiday Haste!
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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December 6, 2022
Hunker Down
I'm not quite sure if I am fully adjusted to the time change yet. I am hunkering down into warmer socks, hot beverages and holiday planning. Having grown up in California in my formative years (12- 29), the holiday season was not so much about weather as about family, plans and shopping. Now that I have everything I need and as an adult experiencing the weight of too much stuff, I find gratitude is more of where my mind is at. I appreciate all the adventures (and periods of boredom) my rich life has offered and the wisdom that comes with that. Let's return to the "Hunkering Down". Some call it nesting, hibernating, waiting for spring. Our bodies need more warmth to move fluidly, right? One more cup of tea or coffee isn't going to cut it after December's events. So, what can we do in Yoga to keep us fluid and feeling expansive? Rinse and repeat! Move with respect and low expectations. We generally want to practice in this way however I notice in myself and others that high bar of always getting stronger and having NO MORE INJURY behind us.... I have to then remind myself what the amazing comedienne Gilda Radner stated often on SNL as Rosanne Roseannadanna: "...it just goes to show you, it's always something — if it ain't one thing, it's another."
You would think I'd remember this, but I don't. Joke's on me! Just recently I had my great awakening that turning upside down is not only creating headaches, but will promote blood vessel bursts. Finally after 2 months it left and a shoulder / rib / collarbone ache has taken its place. The one conclusion I have clearly is it's always something! Getting back to yoga - we learn body awareness and how to take care of us here. Perhaps you have started a home practice which allows you to soothe, release and strengthen the areas that yell at you the loudest. Or you are consistent in coming to class that you have a chance to repeat movements that keep you limber. This week I wanted to, again, give you an opportunity to repeat the poses so you could truly integrate and perhaps know that the body does open up. To know that every day we wake up and cannot predict what will greet us. (even after sitting at our desk we don't know what will greet us!) Be open minded, no predictions or expectations with our body or mindset. Let's find a practice with more awareness less judgement. Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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November 29, 2022
Lineage
Where does Yoga come from?
Many books have been written about this. My understanding is that it was an oral tradition handed down from teacher to student. Usually, it was a one-on-one apprenticeship. Then with the advent of exercise to strengthen the Indian Military, a combination of gymnastics from the British and Yoga were melded together by Krishnamacharya to create a form of yoga that has evolved by individual and geographic influences.
This photo below illustrates the whole tree of yoga (comes from The Spirit of Yoga by Kathy Phillips) See our lineage on the left top quad from #10 out.
I was trained in the Iyengar Method. BKS Iyengar, 1918 – 2014, was a student of Krishnamacharya, 1888 – 1989. Other notable students who went on to form Ashtanga: Pattabhi Jois, 1915 – 2009; Viniyoga: TKV Krishnamacharya , 1938 – 2016; and a variation of Hatha Yoga: Indra Devi, 1899 – 2002, who brought yoga as a form of exercise to Hollywood in 1948.
Look them up on Google for a better idea of how they took yoga on to another incarnation from what the Sage Krishnamacharya started.
I was trained by Jeff Logan primarily. Some of you know him well. He was trained by Mary Dunn who was trained by BKS Iyengar personally. His generosity of spirit and enthusiasm for yoga was to my benefit and hopefully yours if you study with me. I also had three very special mentors: Carol Burns, Brooke Myers and Priscilla Gilmore. All of them had a chance to study with BKS directly at one time or another. Some went on to study with Ramanand Patel. I wouldn’t be the teacher I am without the 3 of them and Jeff.
Another strong influence of my teaching has been Rodney Yee. He is based in Sag Harbor now. The Pandemic made it easier for me to study with him on a more regular basis by zoom. I enjoy his teaching as he blends philosophy, asana and humor of the spirit together into a rich dance of yoga. He also was initially Iyengar trained after being a ballet dancer. It’s no surprise that many of the Iyengar teachers started off in dance which is also rigorous.
So that is where you come from in yoga. It is good to know where you have come from to look ahead and see where you are going.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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from The Spirit of Yoga by Kathy Phillips |
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November 22, 2022
Making Space
Holidays are a time for reflection in our household. We make time to find those family members or friends that need a place to hang their hat for a while and stop the momentum of unconscious living. Ideally we use it as an opportunity to really see each other despite the labels of pecking order, politics or past experiences.
Yoga, this amazing practice that I am forever grateful to have found, taught me to be with what is right in front of me. I also began to choose being with the kind of people who would hold me accountable for living in the present.
I was always in a hurry in my 20’s. I was constantly planning the next thing, dreaming of when this success or event would happen. Or, I was resolving what just happened that I didn’t like. Rarely was I really in the present to enjoy what I did have then like youth, energy, opportunity, both parents and a brother still alive. I had to live life for a while and experience the ups and downs before I could even begin to sit in the present and relish what I had both small and large.
So you might ask, where, when and how do we carve out time and space to reflect and be in the here and now?
One answer is just living life. Nothing to do extra – just be. This process teaches us how to cherish the time we have. Through the experience of gain and loss and love, I am less likely now, way beyond my 20’s to see how I was dragged forward grasping for my epic experiences or people no longer in my life. It was a hard lesson then: that all things pass. Just like our breath.
Another answer would be to just pick a time each day to reflect – similar to brushing our teeth before bed. Start with just 5 minutes to sit in a quiet corner of your house (and yes, sometimes that is a bathroom break) Close your eyes and listen – feel your breath. Slow it down and start to notice any sensations or sounds. Outside noise will eventually go silent, if the mind let’s go of the hook of any reaction this sound has. Let’s say - a loud relative that just can’t stop making small talk, or a baby crying that isn’t yours, or the refrigerator squealing and blame it for the reason you can’t quite hear your own breath. All of this energy going towards wishing it to stop or thinking of sways to make it stop. Sound a wee bit familiar?
Personally, when I ignore this essential nurturing, of being still, it is a bad habit. Just like snacking when I have busy mind. I give in to rolling the same thought around over and over and over. I could stop and do this simple thing above. Sometimes I do. Other times I don’t. Why????
It it is easy to say I will stop this, akin to any other negative habit. Declare I have the will power, but the real success is when we find the benefit ratio changing in the favor of new and more nurturing ones. And practice. New pathways discovered in the stillness.
May this Holiday season give you pause, in a good way, to appreciate and taste all the flavors of your life.
Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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November 15, 2022
Where’s your Head?
Are we conscious or unconscious? Is our head in the “future” (too far forward)? Is our head in the “past” (too far back)? Or are we “present”? I love the inventiveness of pharmaceutical commercials. Last night I saw this new shot of all these people doing daily tasks with their eyes closed. There was a warning that “it” could wake up at any time! And then you see someone’s eyes PoP open….(btw “it” will be revealed at the end of this writing) We can awaken at any time. We don’t have to wait until we have practiced 6 months or 6 years until we awaken to the senses of the body or more balance in our physical or mental state. That is the beauty of yoga. That is the beauty of every day when we do wake up and open our eyes – literally. Having said that, like yoga, staying awake takes practice. We can fall asleep again for the simplest of reasons. This is why the repetition of moving the body with the breath is so important. If we coordinate planting our feet as we breathe out, and lift, expand and lengthen as we breathe in, then when we breathe involuntarily the rhythm of breath can direct our bodies movements with grace. So, we can be unconsciously conscious! In addition, as we get more accustomed to noticing the layers of our physical sensations and mental movements while on our yoga mat, we do become more aware of the subtleties of our experiences in life off the mat! Perhaps in this way we keep our “eyes open and on the ball” or perhaps we are moving into practicing Pratyahara. It is literally defined as withdrawal of the senses. Unlike a turtle pulling it’s head into it’s shell and shutting out the world, it’s more about being aware without having to react to whatever pulls at us. As Pema Chodron says: “Don’t Bite the Hook”! In our practice this week, we will look at how we position our head in sideways poses and have reminders to coordinate actions of our breath and body. Peace and Namaste, Lesa (“it” is the shingles virus)
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November 8, 2022
Whiplash
What I think of first is how I didn't see it coming and second of how much I hold tension or stress is in my neck. Yoga can teach us two things: awareness of how we hold ourselves and how to correct to be in the best position possible for our bodies to create freedom. Follow these 3 actions to find yourself freer! 1) Begin your practice seated and bring the heels of your hands to the top of the thighs with your fingers towards your knees. Reach the inner elbows back without squishing your shoulder blades together. 2) Add a lift of your side body as you inhale. Lift the pits of the arms. Drape your arms down from that lift like a rich tapestry that has some weight to it. 3) Keep the lift of your sternum and drop your chin to your chest. Then take - ever so slightly your chin towards the opening of your ear. Then return the chin to parallel to the floor. Are you more at ease? Are you lighter in the neck? Twists in addition to the standing poses done correctly and on a regular can be the difference between waking up with a stiff neck and waking up feeling younger than your years. This week I will open class with more of the simple ways we can keep ourself free and easy and not have the world on our shoulders! Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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November 1, 2022
Seeing w/o Looking
As we deepen our senses through our practice, I like to cultivate the term “seeing without looking”. What do I mean by that? We don’t have to literally see with our eyes to visualize what is happening. We don’t have to glare at out kneecaps to lift them more, we can feel it.
The textural information from touch (and sound) is rich. Why don’t rely on it more?
Our vision is a dominant driver. In being sight focused (pun intended), we can miss layers of constructive information about where we are in space. How our feet are placed on the floor, the sound of our breath can all work as a symphony to make our movements easier and fuller.
This is one of the reasons we do not practice in front of a mirror. It is a whole other experience to learn our poses from the outer body to the inner. It is distracting and disorienting. Try a few poses in front of a full mirror next time you are at the gym.
We want to cultivate from the inner body outwards. This is a unique orientation to develop this whole-body practice. If we can soften our gaze while on our mats, the opportunity to bring online other sensory systems becomes easier.
Alignment yoga does have a set of rules for the shape of the pose. It can be easy to get into the trap of wanting to do the same pose as someone else. We each are built differently, have varying skills and anatomy. It is ultimately more important to look for the sensation of the pose to bring us even-ness, and open-ness not one of forcing or compressing.
Look to open your other eyes this week. Soften to eyeball to see more fully!
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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October 25, 2022
Bend the Knee
These lovely items don’t seem to be the best designed part on our body. Often, they creak crack and down right make us make noise!
So, this week we will take a look at them. Simple anatomy has the femur/thigh bone from above, the tibia and fibula/ shin bones from below and a cap / patella to cover the area from harm. Ligaments, tendons and muscles traverse this area in all sorts of ways that boggle the mind to comprehend a way to heal this complex area.
If we step back from the literal and look at the outward appearance of our legs, we can use yoga to slowly make our way back into alignment, to reorganize how we load weight from our feet to our hips.
Hyperextension, bow legs, knock knees, and knees that cannot fully extend are all imbalances that will put too much strain on the knee and ultimately cause pain and degeneration.
I personally have used yoga to reorganize from a very hypermobile knees and slight knock knees. I have worked with bow legs and those recovering from knee surgery. Yoga isn’t surgery, but keep in mind that the weight of the body, habit and time can do a lot to alter how we hold ourselves.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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October 17, 2022
Free the Feet!
Summertime has me barefoot much of the day (or at least exposed). Fall insists on me covering them with shoes and occasionally light socks. Frequent articles discuss the pros and cons of shoes, especially running shoes with all that support and cushion. The dialogue is if the feet are so well designed, why do we need so much cushion and reinforcement? Look at your feet, feel them, wiggle the toes! They are such an amazing invention, right? But how much of the time are they touching what we are on? As we deepen our awareness to the sensitivity of our body, let’s start with our feet. Release them and explore different textures. Naked feet can give us better balance and feedback. I guarantee you won’t accidentally step heavily on any family members human or otherwise if you feel for what you walk on. I was recounting today with my husband how long it took to heal my achilles tendon (18 months). I remember how I had to wear shoes inside the house. Countless times I mis-stepped! Puppy paws, or slippery steps, I couldn’t get my bearings or balance with all of that rubber between the soles of my feet and the floor. Keep in mind that studies show the feet become less responsive if they are constantly in shoes. Have you ever worked in steel toe shoes? It is an extreme example of course, but I loved introducing a retired telephone pole worker to yoga – barefoot! It was a pleasant shock to his system to articulate his feet. On the other side of the spectrum, we can watch our close cousins in the chimp family, their feet are almost as articulated as our hands. Now I am not mandating that we need the same sensitivity or articulation to appreciate our feet more, but I am saying that we can move and mobilize better with our feet out of restraints! Free Them! You have taken the first step with your yoga practice. Yet before it gets too cold, walk barefoot more often. This week we are going to work with awareness of our calf muscles to create more mobility in the feet. We will explore poses to free our heels and release the ankles. Observe the drawing for more specifics and see you on your mat! Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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October 11, 2022
An “E n V”
Ekagrata & Viksepa You though I meant electric vehicles, right? LOL (kidding aside I think they are a good thing). I want to bring your awareness to state of mind, Your state of mind. In Sanskrit, Viksepa sounds just like it is; a scattered state. Ekagrata means single focused or concentrated citta (consciousness). There are actually 5 states of mind as described by many yoga texts, but I want to concentrate on these two. On any given day we can be thrown off balance. It can occur while doing a challenging yoga pose, or if we squeeze too much into our day’s schedule. Viksepa! Return to the breath to recapture a more balanced state of mind. Ekagrata! Having said that there is a bit more than just finding your breath, it is looking deeper into practice. Let’s start with the obvious – not falling over and hitting the ground or your mat. We are generally not accustomed to taking our time. We are constantly rushed or compressed. Our 24 hour news cycle, work schedule, family schedule can promote the feelings like there is no time to reflect or pause for anything. Or that life is speeding up exponentially and there is no way to stop it, and yet there is. It's Practice. Consistent Practice - Abhyasa. Start by coming to your mat on a regular basis. Even 15 minutes can make a difference in your mindset. Sometimes it’s a great retreat or a welcome time for reflection. But sometimes it can be boring, dull, and uninspired. (especially if you are at home). Videos may help quiet the scattered state of mind, but the energy of a live class always helps me keep on point, corrals my focus into the present moment. I feel like I am a part of something bigger, connected. I find too that following a rotating lesson plan works too. I don’t feel like quite the loose molecule. The postures and the breath combine to calm the mind and soothe the nervous system without willing it so. It is helpful to look at the big picture too: Asana and Pranayama are the 3rd and 4th limbs. Concentration / Dharana and Absorption / Dhayana are the 6th and 7th limbs. What can we focus on? How can we move out of Viksepa, our scattered state? We can notice the sensations of the body, or watch the process/instructions of getting into and out of a pose, or what the mind produces in terms of the thoughts that “IT” creates. Remember – we are not our thoughts. Can we come to the “ah ha” moment that they are just a passing thing? Can we identify these as just thoughts and not hold onto them then the next moment comes and goes with peace and calm and Ekagrata. Let’s play with this as we practice this week. Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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October 4, 2022
Two “A’s”
Ahimsa and Aparigraha
Non-Harm and Non-Grasping in Sanskrit
I chose these two disciplines from the Yama’s to bring into my personal practice this week. I think of aparigraha as non-clinging in addition to non-grasping. Some of the poses that I have loved so very much over the last 20+ years, I have had to let go of. Head Balance is the main one.
Due to how I am structured in my neck, I had to give up completely for the first 6 months of this year, but now occasionally do this posture when I feel great (but regret the resulting migraine after).
How do I continue to do what I love when it doesn’t love me anymore? (sidebar – my childhood girlfriend chortled when I said standing on my head is my happy place).
The truth (satya – another yama) is that I am fighting to keep it in my practice. However, in order to practice ahimsa for myself, I may need to let go of it. I know I am living in the denial stage of it – trying to negotiate and control the effects by doing it less, lol.
Now isn’t the idea of yoga to use the poses as a vehicle to samadhi? And that practicing yoga isn’t about the poses, but the learning? In this case yes because I have had to take a hard look at how a body changes as the years roll on. I am not sure just yet what I will discover about myself in this process. I do know that it is deep work – lifelong work. Yoga is like that.
We haven’t discussed the Yamas and Niyamas too deeply in a while. For easy reference, here they are:
Yamas: the societal disciplines Niyamas: the individual disciplines
Ahimsa – non harm Saucha – cleanliness, purity
Satya – truthfulness Santosa – contentment
Asteya – non stealing or coveting Tapas – disciplined work
Brahmacharya – discipline of Svadyaya – self study
speech, body and mind
Aparigraha – non coveting Isvara Pranidhana – dedication to God or grasping something larger than the self
I invite you to take one (or two) and see how they show up in your practice or your day to day.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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September 27, 2022
Prakrti and Purusa
These are two Sanskrit terms that appear as we dive deeper into the philosophy of yoga. Prakrti is defined as nature; Purusa is defined as clear awareness or seeing.
We find many dualities in life: good/bad; left/right; up/down; breathing in/breathing out. Many of us live in the gray area of the in between and could be judged as “I’m not quite sure where I fit”.
Perhaps that is the nature of being human. There are 3 gunas to describe our nature: rajasic – having a fiery or active nature; tamasic – having a slow or plodding nature; and sattvic – having a clear or balanced nature.
An aside: The first time I heard these terms, I was in an advanced workshop and I mis-heard prakrti for property. So, I was thinking of “things” like a house or car – you know, property! Little did I know, I was pretty close, but not quite.
If we fast forward from the gunas, prakrti and purusa, an Asana practice can give us glimpses into our true nature and offer us a way to balance things out to where we do see more clearly. Ultimately this is what Samadhi, the eighth limb of yoga is…. seeing things as they are, living more often in a place where one has clarity or awareness = purusa.
Purusa is also defined sometimes as “seer”. In this respect, somehow, we could potentially just witness our lives and what life brings us. A quality of experiences without judgement, categorization, aversion or fear.
We can begin to move toward this freedom by cultivating our practice to observe without judgement. Your tight hip or shoulder might just be that: a tight area. Not bad or good, it just is.
This week let’s start to cultivate this way of “seeing” as a tool to become freer. to be with things as they really are.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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September 20, 2022
Asana Integration
Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi Attention, Absorption, Integration
Mondays offer me time to dig deeper into my yoga studies. Yesterday, while reading a more recent translation of the Yoga Sutras, I began to wonder: How does asana cultivate the 3 limbs of yoga above?
My current asana practice begins with the focus on the sensations of the body (dharana) then cultivate a balance between effort and ease in my body and my breath. Once I arrive at this place stillness occurs and time seems to stop. My thoughts are quiet and I surrender into the posture. (absorption). The active practice becomes a dance of attention and absorption. At the end of the practice in savasana, I am able to fully let go and the physical integration has time to occur. I am in a state that is different than while doing poses. It is a place of no words or things or thoughts. There is a simple clarity to all things. (samadhi)
With a consistent asana practice day after day, week after week, I become more aware of the sensations of my body and my breath. I am more grounded. My ability to focus on the task at hand is easier. The opportunity to redirect the mind is clearer and easier. I don’t always have to be a slave to my mind racing with what just happened and what is ahead.
This is how yoga over the last 26+ years has given me great freedom with more opportunity to enjoying my life. May you find it as well. Little by little; pose by pose.
Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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September 13, 2022
Building Foundation
Getting to the root of a practice is not so daunting.
Asana (the Pose) is a touchstone that I always begin with. We so often live in our heads so the sensations of the body are a marvelous tool to release us from the trappings of the mind. (and living from the neck up) As we know from experience, they also release us from subtle or not so subtle imbalances. That’s the hook that keeps us wanting to dig deeper.
There are layers and layers of yoga to discover.
One source to start with is Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Defined in this text are the 8 limbs of yoga. They are listed below. I have 6 of them listed in pairs. This is because in the learning of each they balance and inform the other. Those listed in a single state are facilitators or results of the prior.
Yamas – outward restraints & Niyama – inward restraints, Asana - pose & Pranayama – breath Pratyahara – self study Dhyana – concentration & Dharana – meditation Samadhi – enlightenment
You may be confused at the moment at what all these Sanskrit names mean and how they apply to our day to day lives. Start with familiarizing yourself with their definitions here: https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/philosophy/8-limbs-of-yoga/eight-limbs-of-yoga/
Then see how they show up in your life. See what they teach you. I can say for myself, that the best piece of advice I received, is to use them in a spiral rather than linear fashion. It is possible to see the layers of your existence through these 8 rich lenses to gain a perspective that can be expansive and freeing.
Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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August 23, 2022
Great Poses begin at your Feet
For the legs the feet are the start. 4 points. Plant evenly. Lift the arches.
Easy enough in Tadasana yet we find more challenges as we go lower to the earth in our standing poses and sit without the floor to push into.
The position of the feet is first. If they are too flexed or too pointed in a seated pose, we don’t activate the thighs in a way that will fully release the hamstrings.
In a standing pose, keeping an even balance of weight between the inner and outer edges plus keeping a lift of the arch is a big give and take. Some of this is being aware of what we can lift in the leg in addition to support the arch lifting, some of it is strengthening or awakening the arch.
This week we will have the focus on these lovely vehicles that often get ignored and abused in shoes. (Until the pedicure!) Let’s play with our toes, roll on a tennis ball, or strengthen the arch with a towel.
Pada means leg or foot in Sanskrit. So have fun this week playing with the padas!
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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At Rest |
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Lift Toes to Enliven Arch |
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Moving Towel beneath foot action for Arch |
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August 16, 2022
Ever feel stuck in your practice? Perspective needed, thank you!
I hit a brick wall this week. Physically it was my back. Mentally it was too many thoughts.
So, It turns out that my whole spine and pelvis was out of whack due to a combination of things. I couldn’t free up despite the assistance of yoga. I needed my go-to person – Dr. Keri!
Her expertise and skills are in an area I could never do for myself. I try to adjust self with poses, with chairs, with belts. Didn't work. Sometimes we just need help. Sometimes we just need to stay still and breathe.
Stillness gives us enough space to listen and feel. Still enough to observe how heavy I am on my leg bones. How jammed up I had gotten. Posture isn’t only about how we hold our shoulders but as Dr. Keri says, it’s hard to tell if the top (of the spine) is just that or if the adjustment needs to comes from the base….
In my case, the puzzle of my pain was about an imbalance in the base. If one's chest isn’t lifted or the legs aren’t enrolled to support the lumbar, compression can occur in the hip socket and radiate into the pelvic region. Some of us are too stiff so the pelvic bowl isn’t landing on a seated surface properly. Some of us are the opposite and in being too flexible, this region isn't stable enough leaving our our pelvic bowl compressed, or rotated forward on one side.
Approach your poses this way – If you are stiff, use the breath and move slowly back and forth to loosen up the area of the hips. If you are too easy into a deep pose and feel no stretch or challenge, look to create strength in that area asking yourself “how can I contain or strengthen the action here?”
Our exploration this week may give you an opportunity to see where your blind spot is and to be still there…. without angst or judgement.
Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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August 8, 2022
Crackling Joints
I have been asked so many times if cracking joints while practicing yoga is a good thing or a bad thing….
Generally, when we practice yoga, we are stretching the muscles there by creating more space in the body for more movement in the joints.
So, “when you crack your neck or any joint in your body, the capsules around your joint are stretched. These capsules contain fluid, and stretching them allows the fluid to put less pressure on the joint. When you crack your neck, the facet joints stretch, which lets fluid spread out in the joint capsule. Once the fluid becomes gas, your neck joints pop. It usually isn’t harmful”
As noisy and as shocking as a crackle seems we will come to be more comfortable with it as we increase the skills of pose alignment and sensory awareness in the subtleties of our body.
I could give you even more details on the medical process of releasing gas, but why? I think the best way to practice yoga is to be informed to a certain degree anatomically, then use that to inform your senses.
I have a family member who is too smart for their own good and researches everything (and I mean EVERY thing) as if to be a specialist in the area of discourse. All of this information can squeeze the joy out of having a conversation or more importantly in exploring the moving body.
This is why I like to teach (and practice) where I start off reading up on a new pose or part of the anatomy and then tinker with it - imagine.
FYI: Leave overthinking behind when you come to your mat, and discover the wonder.
Imagine what it feels like to do your practice with ease. What would that look like? Feel like? I then explore where the current experience of my restricted anatomy and let go into the imagination – or the Awe of feeling.
I know – you are probably saying well, sometimes it doesn’t feel so great. If that is the case you are pushing it and need to back out of that action (better known as the ego of the pose). Instead, move into sensation and watch that your mind doesn’t label it as bad or good quite so fast.
Like a loud crack as “bad noise”!
In fact, that crack could wake you up to the present moment.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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August 2, 2022
Permission to Play
Most people gravitate towards what comes easy to them. I know that I do. I can be lazy, or turn a blind eye to some sequences that include postures that challenge my shoulders/neck too much. (leading to a string of headaches). So how can I get a full physical asana practice in if I am reluctant to plank, push up pose, and other arm balances or suffer from too long of a head balance? A full, well-rounded practice must include all the poses on a regular basis, right? Foundational poses are essential to unlocking the more extreme poses but they can be equally difficult in that their repetition can lead to boredom. In teaching others, I am forever vigilant to keep it fresh so my students are challenged and successful in each and every practice. Thank you for that! It is in my tinkering that I have learned how to get creative within the pose and within the sequencing. I love this aspect – getting under the “floor boards”. New to the experience of yoga – just feel the effects of the pose and follow the sequencing as set out by your teacher or tradition. Cultivate a sensitivity to what occurs with a slight variation of movement within each pose, each sequence. As you advance in skill, rather than turn off the senses as you “think you know where it’s going”, dig deeper. What else can you feel, sense, visualize occurring within your physical body? Look to understand what slight adjustment will open or strengthen the pose....reflect and correct. And do, do respect the end of practice rather than zoning out. Use savasana as a time to let go and integrate your experience on whatever level (outer body, inner body, mindset, breath) Rinse and repeat. Wait till you get curious (not just bored) and then….. Then, begin to play. At home practice the pose several times, in several different ways. Or, do your practice with one focus. This could be with the play of different positions of the feet, or arms or timing or breath. Looking to get the effects or build strength without injury? Do the pose in a way that adds less stress to your body (or mind). You are the artist now, get creative! This week we will cover some of the basic sequences . Once these make sense, you may find play comes naturally - born perhaps out of boredom = creative mind/creative adaptation of poses. If you want to dive deeper, there is a course I developed for some dedicated students with those 8 sequences here. Sequencing boils down to this: - Opening – focus and centering. - Stability and Strength – standing poses. - Inversions – reversing the effects of gravity - Focus of the Practice – seated, rotated, backbends, forward bends, core, arm balances, restorative, breath or just being present. - Closing – cool down and integration with savasana. Wherever you are at, look below your floor boards this week and beyond. See you on your mat! Lesa
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July 26, 2022
Unpacking a Pose
Have you ever gone into a pose only to come out of it (or fall out of it) and ask yourself: “what was that?”?
I have countless times. It seems that I like to go unconscious just at the wrong time. Perhaps it was a thought about what needed to be done later, or a thought I knew where I was going (right? – lol).
We do create a groove of “body wisdom” which is to say the benefit of repeated and continuous practice of asana can create a deep knowing or integration as BKS Iyengar says in his chapter “The Depth of Asana” in The Tree of Yoga.
As a beginner we will scratch the surface of a pose, learning where the parts go, then we can operate on a deeper level of integration with the addition of more subtle senses, then we return to a place of repose where there is no forced action just balance and stability.
There are 2 poses this week you may come across in your practice that needs more attention given to the sitting bones. It is very easy to jut the buttock bone of the lead leg of the pose backward. If we contain it then the thigh is in a place where the hip is open and the spine is long and the legs get the appropriate action. If our hand is too low, we will force or jamb the hip and the spine leaving the leg in an awkward action.
Ardha Chandrasana, Parighasana, Trikonasana, Parsvakonasana, and Virabhadrasana 2 all need your attention.
Let’s see if we can let go of the ego of having our hand lower to expand the greater benefit of the overall pose!
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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July 19, 2022
Create a Pause
Why do we feel so great after yoga? Is it the physical or the mental release?
The mainstay of my practice for many years has been the Inversions (sirsasana - head balance, salamba sarvangasana - shoulder balance, adho muka vrksasana - arm balance and pincha mayurasana - forearm balance).
It goes like this: I roll out my mat and into childs pose I go. Breathe – in – out. The great ahhh sounds off silently in my mind. Then a downward dog. I can feel the lengthening of the back of my legs, a strength of my arms. Evenness, equanimity, whole body sensation.
As I slow down into myself with another childs pose, I feel more length to my back body, depth of hips and folding. The door begins to open into the quiet pause of my busy day. Next is head balance which brings great focus, stimulating the control center of our physical presence, waking me up to be present and light. I feel the frustration of “what’s next” melt away leaving only the present moment.
Then depending on the day, I will move into arm balance or forearm balance to release my neck. Arm Balance is a challenge of body and mind. As I rush to balance, I realize – again - my impatient nature of mind. I needed the wall a little longer to be more in tune with the pinpoint balance required of this pose. Some days are easier than others, but always exhilarating and it affirms the strength that 20 plus years of practice has given me. Very grateful.
And the queen of inversions – Shoulder Balance comes next. Taking the time to set up props and my position on them creates that pause that mimics respect for the long-standing method of alignment and detail in this practice. I don’t rush, I take my time. Plow pose first – the extension of my legs getting longer and longer. Feels like there is more space to exist, more time for me to be, no more rushing. Up into the full pose – a rush of good endorphins? Perhaps. Truly refreshing to be upside down, as all of my organs get to play with gravity differently. Light of heart I become. Light of body and my mind is quiet. There is only inhalation – exhalation and the pause in between.
May your day offer ways to create that pause where there is more room to just “be”.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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July 12, 2022
Cultivating Equanimity for Freedom
Yoga can certainly provide greater range of motion but it can be complicated if one has a long-standing habit or injury.
There are several principles to work with to find the right key to the puzzle of your body.
RELEASE
If we are able to release holding or gripping, certainly the area will be more open. Extension from that tight area will take less effort. What do we do about it if there is no release? Think about a cork not coming out of a very fine bottle of wine.
You don’t want to yank on it, it will break apart. You don’t want to be to passive, nothing will happen. If we gently, but firmly, move it back and forth while lifting…voila! The genie in the bottle is released.
CONTAIN
In areas that we are stretching, say a hamstring, try contracting in the area of the stretch rather than looking to engage the agonist muscle group more.
Normally, in the case of a hamstring, we contract the quadricep muscle (the agonist) to release of the back of the leg.
GROUND
We can also ground the back of the leg into the floor to bring greater containment of the hamstring muscle group and engage the quadricep muscle group more. Then freedom occurs and a forward bend deepens without the collapse of the chest.
CENTER
Equanimity in the sides of the body or the pose is another object of study. Use the senses of sight and touch to move from one side to another, move in and out of a pose until you feel the body equally engaging and releasing.
Childs Pose is an easy place to play. Think of a big ole’ grandfather clock and how it’s pendulum swings: right-left-right-left and so on. We can reach the right then left then right then left as we equally ground the legs back and buttock bones down. Add the breath and see what release/freedom you can find in this way.
So, let’s play and explore and be a free bird on our mats!
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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July 5, 2022
The Key to Balance
I hear about balance often. Generally, in terms of losing it.
According to the NIH, we begin to lose these stability skills in the range of 40-50 years old. One in 3 people will experience a fall each year after the age of 65!
This could be due to vision, vertigo or new medications. Those things we have not too much control over. The other reason – when the body loses strength and coordination due to inactivity or aging - we do have some say in.
What is the key? In Yoga I say: “find your edge and practice there”.
I heard a story from some of my teachers about BKS Iyengar. The tale involves learning how to do head balance in the center of the room. He said something to the equivalent of “practice as if you were on the edge of the Grand Canyon”.
I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, but it does illustrate how we put a bit more focus into something if the consequences are greater.
We want to stay grounded, so be in your feet. We want to extend, so follow the breath. Inhalation: we take upward movements. Exhalation: we move downwards or ground.
In balancing poses we want as much extension as possible to feel as if we had “sky hooks”. This involves cultivating strength and or containment.
Remember your last tree pose. If your foot slipped down the opposing leg, you don’t have enough containment. Fall over? Focus on extension of the limbs and possibly open the groins, quads, or the knees more.
I find the sweet spot for most people is when the individual practices at a level above normal (where my mind keeps running its endless commentary). Where the stretch of the body and the sensation of breath can keep me in the moment. In doing so we have the potential to operate at a place that allows us to be challenged, but still maintain a sense of mastery.
How often do we push ourselves too far too fast? It’s where we get injured.
How often do we think too much while practicing? It’s how we fall over in head balance.
The key? Find that place – the edge - where we can balance between effort and ease; up and down; unstable and stable. Let’s explore the postures with that focus this week.
I look forward to seeing you on your mat!
Peace and Namaste, Lesa
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June 28, 2022
Making the Unconscious Conscious
Habits of how we hold ourselves and the hidden jewels of discovery can be revealed through a consistent practice.
Isn’t that what we strive for? To let go of the things we do that don’t serve us and reveal the best of ourselves?
It can be a very slow boat or downright discouraging how deeply ingrained habits won’t go unless we are in a lot of pain.
I am dealing with a lot of hand pain right now and have had to switch up how I use the computer, open jars, even put on clothing!
It makes me conscious of how much I was overusing my thumb and index finger!
How can yoga help reveal these habits? For me, it is studying with a teacher who brings my awareness to areas I don’t normally think about or feel.
Questions to ask when you practice:
Where in your body do you not feel awakened?
What do you overuse?
What pains you?
Where can you let go more, where can you activate more?
Let this week be an opportunity to notice the subtleties not what jumps out.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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June 21, 2022
A Deep Breath
What does that mean exactly?
A pause, refreshment, renewal. An opportunity to be more aware and awake. Isn’t that what practicing yoga is all about? To wake up to the joys of this embodied life?
Physiologically speaking we could say that breathing oxygenates the blood and is essential to life.
The yoga tradition has a deeper meaning. Prana means life force, that energy that makes us alive. If we are just breathing for the oxygen but not the essence of this wonderous life, what then? We are existing.
Years ago, I had the unique opportunity to work with the bariatric unit at Avalon Gardens Rehabilitation center. Many were at least 300 pounds overweight. Yes, morbidly obese. Quite a few had themselves attached to large oxygen machines. They needed help simply to breathe to stay alive.
And what happens when the tank becomes empty? And the facility is understaffed and a change of tank is delayed? I had been teaching them the ujjayi breath as if it were push-ups for the lungs.
When I came in one week, one of my students, beaming, said: “I used that breathing technique you taught us! It really works!!!” Apparently, she ran out of oxygen in her tank and it took about an hour to get it replaced. She was so thrilled that she was able to keep her sense of calm and by breathing in a slow even pattern, she could take a breath and not panic.
That is really why I teach – to give each and everyone of us an opportunity to enjoy the freedom that yoga provides – the littlest things can be great.
We take the postures to open the trunk area so we can be prepared to take a deeper breath, so as you move into your poses this week, see what you can capture in the ribcage so that taking a deeper breath in is not such a “stretch”.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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June 14, 2022
Shoulders and Neck
Shrug your shoulders. Were you holding too tight in the traps? We often don’t realize the position we’re in until discomfort appears. So being more wholistically aware of the entire shoulder girdle and when to stop doing the poses with your head is important both physically and metaphorically.
When I was growing up, I lived near Richardson Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska. Since it was still in a time where we were unsure of what Russia was going to do, air raid drills “duck and cover” style was the norm. Alarm, march single file to the white painted concrete block halls to squat pasasana style - heads tucked inwards and our arms covering our heads. How small could we make ourselves in that moment. It seems like simpler times then, when we could clearly identify what our threats were. The lift of my shoulder blades toward my ears stayed with me as a protective response – even back then.
So in our “fight or flight” response, contracting inward is ingrained. It stays with us.
How do we release these areas of holding from unconsciously tightening with each day of more in the news cycle, family discord or rising prices? (I can’t blame it on holding the kitchen phone in the crook of my ear anymore!)
We release it with awareness, repeated movements in our practice to create a new groove and really let go in that area of un-comfortability. Then we can create and strengthen new ways of holding ourselves. Don’t be too discouraged if this is your area that just won’t let go. We all have one and it is going to be tough here since the area is a meeting point of nerves, motion of our arms and head.
So, let's look at some basic structure. This is where I always start.
Shoulder Blades, Collar Bones, Cervical Spine and Skull.
In the shoulder blade region, we have 4 rotator cuff muscles that can easily get impinged under the hook on the top of the shoulder blade. If we slump at the screen, our head and arms are thrusted forward and lock up the free movement of all listed above.
Take a look at the photos below for more insight.
See you on the mat!
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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June 7, 2022
Hips and Legs
How the thigh bone rests in the hip socket seems to be of great confusion or trouble to a big swath of people over 35.
This week we will take a look at how we can create more space in this area. Ideally this will let you stand a bit better, feel more supported with less pain and use your body more efficiently. (less muscular action)
The seated poses need to have the weight in the sit bones (see attached)
When we are standing we need to use the intelligence of the neutral pelvis found in a proper seated position to be maintained - for the most part.
First we observe. As such simple awareness brings great clarity. Then we can explore new ways of positioning the thigh bone into the hip socket that is not so different from what you are used to. And then voila! You have potential to use your legs with greater access to the strength that is already there and build upon it.
For example, in Trikonasana- some of us need to rotate the thigh more - some of us less.
So it does take some time to know when the foot is planted correctly (that's from last week), how the ankle is positioned (also last week), then the knee and on up. Most of us don't need to work so hard, others need to simply be aware, others need to wake up areas that never "arose" to the occasion.
See you on your mat!
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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May 31, 2022
Feet and Legs – Foundation and Exploration
I was listening to a podcast about the feet today by Leslie Kaminoff on Yoga Anatomy. https://www.yogaanatomy.net/barefoot/
Years ago, I read the book entitled Born to Run about the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico who run up to 100 miles a day with nothing more but tire treads on their feet for shoes. https://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307279189
So, the question becomes: What is good for our feet?
Yoga poses can bring the feet back into a more balanced position and strengthen them. If the feet are not loading properly then it can affect how your ankles, knees on up the leg works and feels. Practicing yoga also offers the opportunity to re-sensitize our soles to the original design/purpose of our feet to sense what is beneath us and to respond with grace.
What you may know about me is that I have a phrase I use to return to myself in any conflict. I generally say to myself “find my feet and feel my breath”. These words have come into play many times over the years. Yet it is more than just feeling grounded.
Anyone who has had nerve damage in their feet knows that if you are not able to feel your feet, your balance is compromised. Anyone who has sprained an ankle, toe or tendon in the foot, knows the offset of actions to avoid reinjury can lead to other imbalances or injury on up the chain of the leg. So do not ignore them or take those lovely feet for granted!
This week I hope to expose you to how you stand on your feet, in a good way, that allows you to feel more connected to the earth and stronger in your stance.
It is the little things that I find so important in my life, not the big bang I was looking for in my youth.
Before I leave you a few questions...
Can you feel your toes individually?
Did you know that we have 3 arches in the feet? Lateral, medial and transverse? Pop quiz – which one do we normally think of when we say arch of the foot? (laidem – spelt backwards).
Walk in the sand, the grass, on pebbles and notice the sensations and how smart they actually can be!
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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Tuesday May 23, 2022
Good Morning – Time for Tuesday’s Tidbit…
Inversions – change your perspective – literally
I do love them! They are the bones of my practice even before the standing poses. The dramatic reset of my outlook is palpable.
I have used them for others, in a milder form, to calm the mind in the midst of panic attacks. So we can experience dramatic shifts with these poses.
The breath is also a powerful tool. Some of you may have experienced this last week with the use of a ratio of longer times for your exhalation vs inhalation in savasana.
Let us take a look at the similarities:
While upside down, and in the more challenging head, arm or forearm balance we need more focus, thereby the mind has to drop the misc chatter.
In addition, when the head is grounded in any pose, it is supported and the seeming pulse of fluids into the head lessens. We don't necessarily need to close our eyes – save that for savasana. For those of us new to inversions (or “topsy turvy” poses as BKS Iyengar names them in Light on Yoga), the rush of blood to the head can be disconcerting or just downright uncomfortable. So having your head grounded in standing forward bend/Uttanasana or wide leg forward bend/ Prasarita Padottanasana we can start to regulate the baroreceptors that are a neurological response to this sensation and slows the process down so it isn’t such a literal head rush!
As the NIH defines it, the
“Baroreceptors are a type of mechanoreceptors allowing for relaying information derived from blood pressure within the autonomic nervous system. Information is then passed in rapid sequence to alter the total peripheral resistance and cardiac output, maintaining blood pressure within a preset, normalized range.”
As I said to my son recently, don’t focus so much on the medical definition but trust that the body will regulate itself and enjoy the ride!
So I could tell you all about how head balance/Sirsasana stimulates the pituitary, or that shoulder balance/Salamba Sarvangasana bathes the lymph nodes in the neck area with fresh blood. This is all very interesting, yes? Again, just enjoy the ride.
Feeding my mind and relying too much on my intelligence or book smart is what I depended on and fed at the expense of my health prior to yoga and some of the magic and awe of pure experience was lost then.
I choose to now become an acute witness to my human experience and be open to the awe and wonder of finding more subtle ways of being...and to just enjoy the ride!
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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May 16, 2022
Happy Monday!
Next week the Tidbit is moving to Tuesday!
Our Seat – Asana
Most of the time we think of asana as posture, but it really means seat in Sanskrit. Looking at the root of Yoga the thrust of the practice was to prepare the body for meditation. To sit.
The sitting bones are at the root of our seated poses. So let us look at the musculature surrounding our sitting bones on the base of the pelvis. When we sit on the floor, we want to be right on top of them. There are many layers underneath us. We just call them our “glutes”. But there is more to the eye and include:
The gluteus maximus, the biggest muscle and it attaches to the side of the sacrum and femur. It is for extending and externally rotating the hip joint. It moves you forward as you walk and run.
The gluteus medius, which sits part way under the gluteus maximus and connects the hip bone to the side of the upper femur. It helps you externally rotate your leg when it’s behind you and internally rotate your hip when your leg is in front of you.
The gluteus minimus, a smaller muscle under the gluteus medius. The minimus helps you abduct, flex and internally rotate the hip.
Then there are the “deep six” or “lateral rotator group”. One of those is the piriformis. This is a tiny little muscle that can have a big effect on how easily it is to sit.
So, in this day and age we sit way too much and these glutes get weak. In our practice of poses we can strengthen them in Virabhadrasana 3/Warrior 3; Setu Bandha/Low Bridge; Salabhasana/Locust and Utkatasana/Chair pose.
We can play with these easy to include poses this week.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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May 9, 2022
Happy Monday!
I was reading an article in the Atlantic magazine last night. The author wanted to change her personality. (I laughed!)
How often as young people, have we wanted to re-make ourselves? Even now, wanting to change an old habit or way of thinking can make us feel like a human rubberband. Our basic nature is strong and the old ways can hang on….
Yet, I present to you today, if we are consistent and look for the subtle change or shift, rather than the big bang, our efforts will triumph.
The one thing I had to learn is that it takes a daily choice to do anything worthwhile. Rinse and repeat. Continuous re-commitment. This can be applied to relationships and our yoga practice.
There is a term in our quality of yoga practice that we can apply this week. Abayasa. It means consistent practice in Sanskrit.
This week we will be working with twists as a way to gracefully move into backbends and chest opening poses. Rather than thinking of all the poses I need to get “loose” enough to reach a foot or the ground!
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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LOOKING AHEAD -
Now is the time – Spring – Renewal.
I encourage you to pick a time and place to do your yoga at least once a week. (don’t worry about length of time – start small – be successful)
Have a yoga buddy to show up and say hi to on zoom or in person. Recommit to your classes or home practice.
Stick to a routine and you will be amazed how much easier it will be to come to class despite the good weather that is coming our way. You will be freed from a heaviness of step, and heart and be surprised at how many benefits there are.
Easier step, deeper breath, stronger legs, less ache, clearer head, and more.
Foundation of foot and leg action is developed in the standing poses.
It is easy to go too narrow in our stance and/or rush too far into the pose that we lose space in our hips or overwork our legs or back. Unbalanced actions occur too easily if we rush in or over think it.
Simply speaking: “Less is More”. At least that is what Mies Van der Rohe used to say about architectural design. Not only did he design the Seagram building in midtown Manhattan, but one of my favorite Bauhaus residences, The Farnsworth house seen here.
Do take a look at its simple elegance as we simplify and find the elegance of our poses this week.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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April 25, 2022
Happy Monday!
This morning I opened my daily email from Tricycle magazine. It is a quote that reminds me to pause and look below the surface of the words as they are strung together. It was very poignant for me this week.
“We are able to see the unknown only when we go beyond time. That is why the poetry that comes from this unknown territory cannot but - be wild, fresh, and alive, like a leaping carp”
by Ok-koo Kang Grosjean, “Like a Leaping Carp”
You could apply this to so many different things. Personally, many of you know that times at Amba are changing. If you don’t know, the Amba building is closing next week and the last class at Amba East is Saturday. I am taking just my classes to a new location – Amba West. I’m still on Jericho but instead of Terry Rd, I will be at Old Willets Path. Just a few minutes different time wise…..
Yet, after 21 years of teaching in one location, I have to imagine the possibility of being able to take my energy from running a studio into being a sole proprietor again. With this new space (larger) and covid waning (please), I can see the fruits of my experience going more into just teaching. My ideal is to continue to reach more people both new and well practiced in yoga. So time and space feel very fluid for me now…..
Let’s take this back to our mats…. Can you remember your first yoga class? Could you imagine that you would be able to move your body in such a way? That your mindset could be different? Perhaps this calmer, steadier, more balanced mindset is a byproduct of your yoga?
My favorite is when someone can do a pose they never imagined, but with a few simple steps they are in the posture they couldn’t see themselves ever, in this life, reside in with ease!
Could you imagine being so aware of how you sit or breathe? Or how your body is constructed from the layer of the skin down to the bone?
All is possible through returning to your mat day in and day out.
After a time, you can see the unknown.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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April 18, 2022
Happy Monday!
(Post Holiday weekend)
Egg Hunts can be searching for treasure, especially if you are 7 years old.
We look for the gold, the jewels, the treasure.
This past Holiday weekend had a powerful line up. First Passover, symbolizing the release from slavery. Then Easter, symbolizing rebirth. I think there are similar treasures to be found in a consistent practice of yoga.
Learning about the inner workings of our bodies through yoga can bring on greater health. A by product of this physical healing includes an ease of mind.
The sequence of poses are designed to bring our bodies back into balance. We become less distracted by our physical complaints. Standing poses are for strength and stability of the legs. The seated poses are for grounding. The forward bends for calming. The backbends are to reverse our collapse in the chest that strains our lungs and organs (the hidden jewels).
These organs: Heart, Lungs, Stomach, Liver, Spleen, Gallbladder, Pancreas, and then small intestine, large intestine can go largely unnoticed until we experience pain. Why wait until then? Human nature. Turning that on it's head, we can use it as an opportunity to empower and educate. Here is a practice that specifically addresses some abdominal imbalance:
Keep in mind that the practice sequences I teach rotate for a reason. In this Constant repetition of the same poses would become dull and boring. So in this method we have just the right amount of familiar poses to root us and enough to keep us alert.
Happy Treasure Hunting!
Peace & Namaste,
Lesa
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April 11, 2022
Happy Monday!
Pranic breathing practices focus a great deal on the timing and quality of the inhalation and exhalation. How often have you observed the “pause”?
Early in my practice I thought that I was controlling my exhalation in a simple breath. As defined by one of my go-to yoga anatomy books, it’s a relationship of two cavities. The Thoracic and the Abdominal. The abdominal cavity does not change its volume (unless you drank a gallon of water, had a large meal, etc), but the thoracic does. The diaphragm separates the two. They both change shape. The abdominal cavity changes shape as we breathe (think balloon). The thoracic cavity can expand both in shape and volume (think accordion).
So, when we breath in, it isn’t that we are pulling air in, but we increase the space of the chest cavity and the air pressure decreases. Air flows to the lower air pressure, ergo, inhalation. Crazy right? Basic science!
Then as the diaphragm relaxes, it springs back to the smaller shape and air flows out. It’s one reason why we recommend not compressing the abdomen during the exaltation process in pranayama. It goes against the movement of that amazing membrane between the two cavities – our diaphragm.
Anatomically, there is some information for you to digest. In addition, I think the more important opportunity here is in the observation of the subtleties of this action including the pause between the inhalation and the exhalation. Let it be soft and you will find a greater depth of breath. Even find more space in your mind!
Another two thoughts I will leave you with to explore further that continue to release us from working against our natural rhythms:
- Observe the way you feel in between differnt postures. Do you pause and reflect?
- Pause during your day outside your yoga practice.
This way we can be more present with our day, our companions, our world. Let’s learn from yoga how to see the beauty around us
And in turn give you more peace.
Namaste,
Lesa
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April 4, 2022
Happy Monday!
Late night musings on Yoga!
Upon returning to New York:
It is disorienting to return home after a month away. I am a bit off balance to find items I haven't seen since February. Thankfully Spring is on the way and getting on my mat to practice grounds me.
For me, Spring is a time of shedding the weight of clothing or heaviness of spirit. We can look for a lighter load and as the crocuses pop their heads up from the ground in my back yard and we can look for a renewal of all that grows in the increasing sunlight - even us!
How can yoga help us? In so many ways you answer….
I am thinking specifically of grounding, returning to the source of my practice with over 20 years of continuous practice (Abhyasa in Sanskrit), and a renewal of energy.
Abhyasa : effort, willpower, practice. Vairagya : letting go, acceptance, detachment. This contradictory theme of effort and letting go is a thread that is woven through the entire Yoga Philosophy. And it's in the continual dance between effort and letting go that the secret of Yoga is experienced.
I found this online and thought it poignant. If we hold on to something too tightly, we cannot let go. We loose our balance. If we get too attached to having 2 feet on the ground, balancing on one foot can be a frightful if not leaden process. Dancing between the two can free us up physically and mentally.
This week we will explore some of the poses that challenge and ultimately free us from being too set in our ways by taking flight onto one leg. Just like Florida Flamingos!
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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Happy Monday!
Breathing……
Different kinds of practice can give us the opportunity to examine our breath. Saturday, we had a typical restorative practice where we included poses that allow us to rest quietly for a time - supported by props in order to create the space in the body and mind. Use this space to notice and explore the patterns of our breath as it naturally appears unconsciously and then direct it consciously.
We can make any class a bit more restorative by the effort we put into the poses or the props we add to create more ease and availability to that particular pose. Over lay the breath and you have another layer of transformation.
Our breath patterns deeply effect the nervous system. Slowing down the rate of inhalation/exhalation can move us from a stress inducing place to a more healing one.
When you take slow, steady breaths, your brain gets the message that all is well and activates the parasympathetic response, says Dr. Richard Brown, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and co-author of “The Healing Power of the Breath.”
When you take shallow rapid breaths or hold your breath, the sympathetic response is activated. “If you breathe correctly, your mind will calm down,” said Dr. Patricia Gerbarg, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at New York Medical College and Dr. Brown’s co-author.
So the scientific can support the experiential!
The standing poses we do promote the opening of our chest cavity and thereby gives us a better environment to release and expand our breath. There are traditional pranayama (breath patterns) that I have taught in the past: Ujjayii, Viloma and Nadi Sodhana. You can find many other simple and effective styles online recommended by others in the medical community for better health and wellbeing.
Here is one to try outside of your yoga practice suggested by Dr. Brown:
Coherent Breathing
If you have the time to learn only one technique, this is the one to try. In coherent breathing, the goal is to breathe at a rate of five breaths per minute, which generally translates into inhaling and exhaling to the count of six. If you have never practiced breathing exercises before, you may have to work up to this practice slowly, starting with inhaling and exhaling to the count of three and working your way up to six.
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Sitting upright or lying down, place your hands on your belly.
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Slowly breathe in, expanding your belly, to the count of five.
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Pause.
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Slowly breathe out to the count of six.
Have fun with this.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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March 21, 2022
Happy Monday!
Effortless Effort
I know that Monday’s aren’t everyone’s favorite day of the week, but then it’s all about how we look at things, yes?
The reality is our lives are continuous. But the mind labels Monday – at least for most of us – as the start of a burdensome thing…
Perhaps it is looked upon as the start of an unknown work week, argh - school, again, to the diet – or just getting refocused…..
Could we look at Monday as just another opportunity to open our eyes, breathe, move and take in the world around us to see it for what it really is and not place a dramatic label on it?
What are your labels or assumptions in Yoga? Too hard or too easy, not enough or too much? What if we just felt our breath and stayed in the moment? Took each opportunity to be present and come alive fully? This is a challenge for a life time, yes?
YES I say! I am still catching myself with labels – you are not alone!
Return to your yoga practice for clarity: if we go to our mat and in our pose listen to the body (and especially the breath) we will know how to find that place where we are enjoying the work and the ease. To a greater extent we repeat certain poses often to experience the progress and the intimacy of nuanced movement. Then we have new poses to take us outside our comfort zone. It is there that the opportunity for growth and strength can occur. I am referring to both the body and the mind.
In any situation, our evaluation of the moment may categorize reality as “hard” or not. However, if we dig a little deeper, it may not just be that. There is choice and room to breathe in every situation. There can be ease in the work whatever that is. The lesson here is to pace ourselves. The simplest yoga practice can be an opportunity to learn just that.
Then these lessons can be applied daily to simple challenges or more difficult ones. For example, today we went to an amazing new place in Bradenton, FL - the Robinson Preserve. Warm for us, but hot for our almost 11-year-old pup Abby. I could have trucked on faster and longer, but we had to listen to her breath to know at what point she was moving out of ease – enjoying the effort - and into a place of working too hard in the heat. Returning to us, as individuals we have more tools. We have both sensations of muscle and breath in our postures to tell us when to continue or pause for a less effort filled movement.
Two questions we can ask ourselves this week as we practice:
- Where is the action of strength in this pose?
- Where is the action of opening?
In this way we can find equanimity or effortless effort.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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March 14, 2022
Happy Monday!
(Pi day for you math wizzes)
I wanted to introduce to you the concept of the Kleshas. These are 5 afflictions that keep us in a place of suffering. Think of them as a veil that cloud our vision from what is really in front of us.
Yoga is a vehicle to train the mind. Just like with meditation, we bring ourselves back to the present moment with the sensation of the poses and the movement of the breath.
We can simply enjoy the benefits of the practice or dive deeper in to understand more about the alchemy of yoga.
Ergo, looking at some of these philosophical, yet actually practical, identifications of when we trap ourselves in circular thinking can release us in the future.
In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra
2.3 Avidya asmita raga dvesha abhinivesha pancha klesha
There are five obstacles (on the path to Samadhi): ignorance, ego, desire, aversion, and fear of death.
The kleshas are defined as:
Avidya = ignorance
Asmita = “I”-ness; ego
Raga = desire or attachment to pleasure
Dvesha = avoidance, aversion
Abhinivesha = attachment and fear
So, on a simplistic level you could think of them as states of mind like anxiety fear, anger, jealousy, desire, depression, etc. These trappings of the mind obscure us from our true nature and ultimately living our lives to the fullest.
This may sound very heavy as a concept. Consider this: if you follow the whipping up of one of these emotions, say anger, it is easy to be attached to the strong emotion of holding a grudge or righteous indignation. What purpose does that really serve? I am not saying to ignore the emotion, just not allow it to take you on Mr. Toad’s wild ride.
Since our reality it is always a manifestation of our mind, we can drop the drama and just feel the feeling. It generally passes very quickly.
So in your practice this week, notice what feeling from the body (or the mind) and watch if you run off with it or if you can observe it for what it is.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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March 7, 2022
Happy Monday!
I hope to hear that some of you are practicing on your own while we made our way to a new southerly location for March….Long drive, glad we stopped to stretch!
Have you ever wondered about the effects of the poses? Why we have some poses every practice and some appear grouped together but occasionally? Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar has a section in the back for general sequencing and remedial poses. If we practice enough the patterns come through and make more sense.
Standing poses are generally first to create stability. They strengthen the legs and open the body with great extension. Then come what I call the focus poses. Depending on them we do our inversions before or after.
Forward bends are excellent for calming the mind (especially if one’s head is grounded), lowering the blood pressure and aiding in digestion. Janu Sirsasana, Parivritta Janu Sirsasana are especially helpful for my low back as they offer an opportunity to both twist and extend the spine!
Opening and strengthening the shoulders is a nice balance and we can do that with Gomukasana releases and returns the arm bones into a better position to then support our weight as we lift up into Lolasana.
Some of the abdominal poses not only strengthen our core to protect the spine, but they also fire up our organs related to digestion.
This week we will go through these basic practices that I started out with at home and continue to teach as a spring board to more advanced poses. There will be an opportunity to see where you hit your “wall”.
Challenge is good now and again, especially in this time of change where we are surprised by how easy or difficult something simple might be.
Generally, in Yoga, I find it’s a little bit of both.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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February 21, 2022
Happy Monday!
Svadhyaya is defined as action of looking inward or self-study.
Abhyasa is defined as a consistent or continuous practice.
These are two Sanskrit terms that guide us in Yoga. How do we use this concept of self-inquiry in our yoga practice?
The possibilities are endless. At first, we may not know what questions to ask. This is where a skilled teacher can be helpful. Listen to their cues.
Different questions can direct our attention. Easy to spot topics are:
Where do you feel your breath? Is it even? Is it smooth? What are the movements of the body that happen naturally on an in-breath, on an out-breath?
Where is the full action of limb? Is there an even balance of direction of L/R, in-out, front/back?
Take a specific area of the body and watch it’s action in each pose to open or strengthen. For instance, is the knee firm and not locked? Is the thigh lifted or, arm rotated? What direction does my pelvis need to be here? Tilting forward, back or remaining in neutral?
On our own, as we become more familiar with the poses and sequences, we can begin to find our own questions that lead us with curiosity inward and outward.
I have found it to be a wonderful adventure if you take a sensation from a pose and see where it takes your mind body experience.
If we practice consistently, it is so much easier to find more groves on the record of our practice becoming familiar and we go onto the next track, song or number. Our concentration deepens and we become steady in body, mind and perhaps even character.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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February 14, 2022
Happy Valentines Day
Is it a Heart Happy Week? Salmon, Chocolate and Red Wine….
Or perhaps some expansive rib cages? Let’s dive a little deeper.
Thematically we can look at poses for the heart, but really practicing yoga on a regular basis is the best thing.
The next best thing could be inversions of some sort as it reverses the flow of blood to the limbs and flushes out our organs different than twists.
Consider this: your toes are the farthest away from your heart. To pump blood all the way from your toes back up to your heart takes the most energy…however if we do legs at the wall or any other inversion that has our legs above our heart this process is performed mostly with gravity. Easy on the heart muscle! Upon finishing the pose, and standing up again, our legs are fully flushed out!
Another consideration: anytime your head is below your heart, you get a similar renewal. Poses like Adho Muka Svanasana/downward dog, Uttanasana/standing forward bend, Chatush Padasana/low bridge, Prasarita Padottanasana/wide leg forward bend are generally available to all yoga practitioners. The head is filled with a fresh supply of blood and flushes out our important glands of the thyroid, parathyroid, pituitary, hypothalmus, etc. Again, once we resume an upright position, these parts of the body effected by the renewed wash of fluid will feel refreshed, including your mindset!
Final consideration: crashing into our front chest can compress all the organs in our rib cage – the heart and lungs especially. If we maintain a well rounded practice of opening and strengthening the front shoulder region while enrolling the postural muscles on the back body we can be balanced in our upright posture creating more space for the normal function of heart, lungs and digestion.
This week we will explore many of these poses. And if you pick a few simple ones to do regularly, then we may be unencumbered by our winter jackets and ready to lighten our load both physically and mentally.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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February 7, 2022
Happy Monday!
An Approach to Practice: It is generally sought out to bring balance into our lives.
Over the last 20+ years I have had many students come to a yoga class with specific stories about why there are coming to Yoga. The details are varied but the reasons as are the same: to find balance in the experience of themselves.
A seeking out for solutions. This can be compared to the idea of evolution – an outward movement.
As a person new to yoga, we are very attentive to finding the quick fix to stress, pain, tightness, etc.
Most of you that I see on a weekly basis have been practicing for some time now. That which you learned as a new student certainly has integrated into your movements by now and that which you struggled with before coming to yoga has evolved, yes?
In reflecting on my own experience with yoga, I can see that making peace with my physical body brought me freedom. I wanted to be stronger and leaner. I wanted to trust my instincts rather than rely on outside opinions. Become more independent that I was already. Yoga actually gave me something different, more applicable to daily life, a deeper trust that the change can occur without so much pushing and that it was easier when joined by other like minded companions.
I am sure my early teachers could see the urgency and eagerness I brought to my poses. I didn’t want to sit still. I wanted to catch up quick. I wanted to move and push. Solve the problem.
Throwing everything at it doesn’t allow room for graceful transition. Practicing Yoga was a way to stop and reframe my world. I didn’t know it at the time but the poses were working out the kinks of all that and I didn’t even need to focus on how I was going to change things. Observing and breathing. It makes the process seem magical but it’s not really. Yes, it is spoken of as a science, a method. If you are curious, go anywhere to read more about the 8 limbs of yoga: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi.
Some of these limbs focus us inwards, some outwards. Together they chip away at the dullness of the body and the mind.
This all sounds very vague and lofty right? Especially if you have never studied the 8 limbs. How do I proceed?
Try for now my suggested steps below during your next individual class - at home or with a teacher. See if it brings greater clarity if only of a certain pose….
Arrival: Observe at the outset what is showing up first on the mat. Is your practice a habit or a mindless routine? Are you just concious of nagging pain? If you can, bring exploration without judgement to your answers.
Focus: What is the sequence to be? If you are in a class the teacher should provide this. Where does your extra care need to go to? (meaning: what adjustment to your body or mindset needs extra reminding).
Reflection: Are you giving yourself enough time to just be in the pose with a sense of listening quietly, observing? Are you breathing? Or are you rushing through each pose looking for what’s next? Right foot turns out, left foot in…are they all in your awareness or is only the last body movement conscious….aim to unify the whole body with an even breath pattern.
Acknowledge: The things that you are doing and those that you are not. Be clear that you are making choices here to move deeper (or at all). Aim to refine, observe and enhance your actions rather than ignore them.
Keep in mind: you may need a day to mindlessly practice, just follow. This is a choice. Or a time to let yourself play around with a different option in your pose. This is another choice. Give 110% or 25% effort. Again – choice. It is all okay if you let it be.
Conclusion: Winding down in the practice/or a pose. Learn when to stop pushing yourself too far. Find what needs to let go. On the other hand, also learn what needs to awaken. This is where balance and ease surprisingly appears.
Savasana: The true time to leg go and breathe. Go inwards without care to the outside. You have nowhere to go and nothing to do - if only for a brief time.
I offer these suggestions for any class you practice in. May they give you more clarity and understanding that yoga can be more than poses.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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Jan 30
Happy Monday – Digging Out or Digging In?
Ever see a blade of grass come out from the smallest crack in the concrete?
How is this possible?
Patience
Opportunity
Or perhaps it is knowing how to see the avenue of expansion; allowing for the possibility to move beyond….
Yoga can teach us these lessons. In our bodies, in our mind, in our spirit.
We use asana to explore our outer bodies, the gross anatomy of limb and trunk. Observing the sensations of the body we can move inward, through the sheaths, towards the innermost aspect of self. This can mean many things. BKS Iyengar discusses these layers at length in Core of the Yoga Sutras, chpt. 14.
Think of 3 layers: the outer, the inner and the innermost. This is the simplest way to explain the terms he uses gross, subtle and causal. Add mindfulness to our experience of asana and listen, watch, and learn about these different aspects.
Take the body for example. This is the annamaya kosa. Skin is the “gross sheath”, muscle the “subtle sheath” and the bones the “causal sheath”. In the pranamaya kosa, our respiration is the gross, the circulatory system the subtle and the nervous system the causal. There are several sheaths that we can associate with the mind, but for this writing I will mention the Intellectual Sheath – vijnanamaya kosa where the internal mind is the gross, intelligence/buddhi (not book smart more of a sense of “knowing”) the subtle and the I-maker the causal.
How do I make sense of this? I just wanted to stretch….
We can focus on these layers or not, since the grass blade of evolution will pierce through our dullness anyway.
First is being exposed to the concept. Then you may find that you are already familiar with a layering of your own body.
Next, we take the time to reside in the poses to discern a hint of the sheaths. Notice how when we move our physical body, temper our patterns of breath and watch the fluctuations of our mind we can experience the shifts as the practice evolves from one pose and then another and another so that by the end you have become different.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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Jan 24
Happy Monday Everyone!
The "In-Between"
You can view the body, our great vehicle of transportation, in 3 parts: Legs, Trunk & Arms. In this fashion we may overlook the fact that as much as we would like them to be and integrated whole, it isn't until we study the "in-between" that we can fully experience them as a whole (I will discuss how to integrate these 3 parts into one body at another time)
The "In-Between" of the knees, elbows and waist have such range of motion and it is easy to be out of place. Knees especially! I have many of you who have specific sensation in this area that you wonder if there is any room for improvement? Yes, there is. This week we will have sequences to examine your own specific joint of the knees and how to strengthen, open, maximize your range of motion that a consistent yoga practice can offer.
Proper leg alignment, strengthening and stretching the quadriceps, and stretching the calves will go along way to greater range of motion (and deeper forward bends!)
First off there is the attachment of the hamstring and calf. Each cross over the back of the knee before insertion and origin. So if we over stretch the muscle you can feel it on the back of the knee.
Second to consider is that if you quadriceps are not lifting in the front of the leg including the patella (knee cap), it will leave the hamstring in a position of always contracting – never releasing which it needs in order to lengthen!
Third, if we are in a bent leg position and the knee is not properly aligned over the heel/middle of the foot, torsion could occur and effect the lateral ligaments/tendons.
Fourth, if we never stretch the quadriceps, the knee will never reclaim full range of motion (barring injury, replacement, reconstruction, arthritis).
Fifth and lastly, if we are hypermobile in the knee joint, the muscles, ligaments and tendons are too loose and can jamb the front knee region. Usually caused by weak quadriceps.
If you would like to read further, I have attached another of Julie Gudmestad’s clear articles on the topic. (Thighs Matter)
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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Jan 17
Happy Monday!
We are continuing our focus this week with some foundational ideas. Last week we found greater strength in utilizing the strength of our hamstrings in a few poses (Purvottanasana, Virabhadrasana 2).
Thinking about foundation, I thought of our skeletal system. Without that, we would be rather liquid! There are two specific bones that provide us an amazing opportunity to load weight on. Typically we may think of our hands, feet and sitting bones. What bones do you think of?
Scratching your head? It's those big bones on our back body, th sacrum and shoulder blades.
First, the sacrum. It is 5 vertebrae of our spine fused together. When we move into supported bridge pose, we place a block under our sacrum. The action of your feet to lift the pose is then shifted into this bone. If we are more in tune with the outer tips of the sacrum, we can stabilize and deepen our twists. (see attached)
Now, the shoulder blade. If we are doing heart blocks, we can place the entire blade on a block (with a higher block for the head). It lifts the chest and other than the weight of the legs into the floor, the greatest sensation is in our blades. In addition, we can direct the turn of our trunk with them in the standard standing poses. With this refinement it allows the shoulders to come into a brilliance of alignment and the whole pose/body comes alive.
Who wouldn't want that? So let us explore these two bones in our practice this week. They are already there to support us, let's use them.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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Jan 10
Happy New Year!
Any Resolutions?
I have no “re-solutions”. I prefer to think of this as a time to not look back but look forward.
Let us lighten our load and renew our commitment to living each day fully without the burden of past doings. Going back to my mat, day in and day out is my practice, my way to keep me looking up – out – and forward. I offer that to you. We can look at this time of a fresh new year for building upon the foundation of what we/you have accomplished already.
Backing up, let’s take a look at these words….
Re-solutions, Re-new, Re- awaken, Re-boot, Re-commit. It almost implied in root word that there were things not quite “completed”, or a goal was “not quite met”. I see how easily my perfectionistic side is fed by these terms. I hope some of you can relate too.
This month we are going to build on our current foundation of basic poses and refine them. Look to make them simpler, easier and more integrated as a whole. We can also look at each practice as complete in itself too.
So look at this simple sequence below and let me know if any of these poses are ones you turn away from (or rush through). I would love to give you insight to create more strength/ease in your poses.
The way to do that is to slow them down to a pace where we can deconstruct them and then find your key that unlocks the body and brings integration.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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Dec 20, 2021
Happy Monday!
Let’s get grounded! Too much is unsettled in the world with the Pandemic offering another variant….
Cancelation – gather or not? – again with the testing - how much food for holiday dinner – happening or not?
Sound familiar? It's a Ping Pong of the mind!
Plans always change. My schedule used to be very set as an architect and a new Mom. Almost like a superstition I would check off my to-dos. If they got done, I felt like I was in control. BUT I didn't know if I would get off in time for my commitments to self. I didn't know when I would have to drop things to pick up a sick child. Sometimes the list was thrown out. Epic fail! I had unrealistic expectation of what was to be.
How much do you cling to your routine to give you a sense of control? Maybe we can learn to let go if we switch around the order of our poses without feeling like you are breaking the rules? Or if we understand most everything is in flux.
Learning from our practice we can stay grounded despite our attachment to things going our way. Do mix things up so you aren’t sleepwalking through your precious practice.
For example, if you stand in Tadasana/Mountain Pose right now and look to be still, do you find movement? It’s hard not to. If we stiffen to eliminate that movement, we become stiff and frozen. This is unstable and unsustainable. We could be easily pushed over and fall straight to the floor.
So what if we look to be steady within the constant shifts instead? If we are buoyant in our joints it allows for fluidity. If we move with our breath we are not brittle. We can find freedom from exploring the give and take of our natural movements.
What immediately comes to mind is when I commuted to work on the NYC subways. I used to see if I could ride all the way home without holding on - at all from 14th street to 86th on the Lexington line. I could never lock my knees there. I had to sus out which way the train was rocking. Up and down or left to right. To be successful I would need “ride” the waves of movement. A fun game and a challenge. Can we bring this fun challenge into our postures?
That’s what we will look at this week to find as an experience in our poses.
My recipe: breath + alignment + gravity surf + play.
So,
IF we are out of alignment in our poses, it will take more muscular work to simply stand.
IF we lock out our joints of the knees or elbows might make sense but it will make us heavy and sunken in the whole body.
IF we move with our breath (another action of give and take – always in flux) add a lot of alignment and a little bit of muscular effort.
That is the recipe for this Holiday Season.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
I will be taking a break from Friday Dec 24 - Jan 7. Look for a Tidbit on Jan 10th, 2022!
Happy Holidays and be Healthy for this New Year.
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Dec 13
Happy Monday!
After a week of exploring our hips, we can now move into our shoulder girdle. This area of the body is cinched together with muscles, ligaments and tendons. It isn’t exactly a “ball and socket” like the hip. The 3 bones we have to cap off our trunk are the collar bones, shoulder blades and the upper arm bone. Now I like to add in the sternum too. It isn’t so much that it is part of the shoulder, but it is greatly affected by the other end of the collar bones.
If we collapse our upper arms forward, the shoulder blades come around to the front body more and the collar bones come closer together and the sternum has only one place to go – down. Down into the abdominal area leaving less space for you to breathe.
Simple positioning plus awareness is a great start to any reorganization. I always like to see what is under the “floor boards”. (see attached photo)
Notice how little space is between the bones and there is a great deal of inner workings that run through that area. See here for more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3GVKjeY1FM
So, looking inside can help us understand and perhaps be a little more patient as we explore the movements in our practice offers. I look forward to opening and releasing this area with you this week.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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Dec 6, 2021
Happy Monday!
Let us branch out – literally – to our limbs this week.
If we are not stable in the extension of the arms or legs, we can find the rotational movement muddied. If the trunk is not buoyant and expanded, we can sink heavily on these wonderful joints of the hips and the shoulders.
This may in turn contort the extension of our spine!
Let’s take a common example…How are you holding yourself right now?
I am assuming that you are seated. Is the tailbone turning under? If so, then you will be in a position to shorten on the front spine and loose space in your front hips. Can you feel this?
It can be very subtle! The first step is to be aware of the unconscious holding of the body. Come to the edge of your chair and find your feet beneath your knees. Now press down into the floor with your feet on an exhalation and experience some clarity! Place your hands on the table (shoulder width) and spread the appendages of your fingers like we do in down dog. Do you feel a reset or a lift in your chest as you take a breath in?
When we take this simplicity into our practice the potential of could give us freedom or we could still find a restriction. Let us look at the femur better known as your thigh bone.
The head of the femur looks like a fist and it fits into the very small area of the hip socket. It is one of the true ball and socket joints in our bodies. We all have a different shape to our femoral head and neck. So that would lend some of us to have a very easy time to those outward hip rotations in full lotus! (see the attached for a visual). This is why it is so important to look for ways to lengthen out of the joint area and then explore how to rotate cleanly and to the right degree. If you are flexible, it is easy to over rotate. If you are stiff, it is easy to get discouraged and feel no progress.
Do not despair but keep to task at hand of listening to body sensations and subtleties in tandem to the movement of the breath.
Simple moves can support the extension of the limbs and the extension of the limbs can support the extension of the chest!
Peace and Namaste
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November 29, 2021
Thanksgiving, giving thanks, Family, abundance.
Friends as Family when Family is gone?
Sangha, Community, hearth, gathering around.
Going within, stopping, pausing, listening.
The Earth Quiets.
Here on the East Coast it is clear this change of seasons. Growing up in California, it was not as apparent. Yoga can be as subtle as the change of seasons in California. Warm, warmer, coolish.
When I lived in San Diego there was a pattern to the weather. We had a foggy overcast when I went to the car to drive to work. Our architectural office was in a fully glazed corner spot of a tower that faced northwest in the small area of downtown that generally had no more than 5 or 6 stories to its buildings. At around 11 o’clock we could always count on the sun coming out so that by lunchtime when we went out to the plazas to eat our lunch it would be warm and sunny. The day would roll on and the earth would heat up. By late afternoon we were baking in our office with shades down. It isn’t till the very end of the day that things would wind down and the cloud cover would roll in from the water cooling us off like a gentle mist from some exotic island.
Sounds just like my practice (well without the exotic island). We often start with poses that will clear the fog from our bodies and bring consciousness from where we think the center of the universe is (brain=ego) into our tissues (thoughts without a thinker). Then after a downward dog or two, I stand. That’s when I know have returned to a more integrated self.
More awake, more alive.
Currently, my practice includes many inversions and they come before the standing poses. Head balance, arm balance, forearm balance and shoulder balance. They all have a purpose in awakening and calling attention to the systems of the body. Those systems centered in the head, neck and throat areas. With the variations, we challenge the limbs to enroll! Then it’s on to the standing poses to strengthen the legs, the trunk and the arms. They are the poses that assist us knowing where we are in space, to release the excess energy stored by our busy or stressful lives and to open the trunk to allow our organs to do what they are meant to do.
Especially to let us breathe more deeply. Yes, just take that breath to pause in the day and remember the balance created in our practice. Then we return to the ground to begin to open deeper in twists or backbends or more contained arm balances to wring the tissues and to further release us from the chitta vritti – that fluctuation of the mind that always offers up something for us to worry or add to the list of have tos.
So, if the practice is rich, we are well enlivened in every cell. We release into Savasana. We observe the subtle discoveries of this day’s practice. And we can let go. Nothing to do but breathe in and breath out. Feeling our own breeze from our own exotic island.
Thank you for being a part of this Sangha, this Yoga Community. My life would be very different and not so rich in texture and wholeness were it not for you all showing up.
Peace, Namaste, and Giving Thanks this Thursday,
Lesa
ps. most of the yoga practiced in the west is a physical practice. It all falls under the broad definition of Hatha Yoga.
"Ha" means sun, "tha" means moon. So our practice is like the cycle of a day. The sun rises, the fog burns off, the sun warms and heats the earth, the sun sets and the earth cools.
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Nov 15, 2021
Happy Monday!
Let our Traditions be Fun and if they are not, make up NEW ONES!
What is fun to you? What brings you Joy? The awe of a burst of color in the sky at sunrise or sunset?
The laugh of a young child when they discover the bounce of a ball for the first time?
The jaunty step of your dog when she is off leash at the beach?
All of these lift my heart. I find that anything like that can be made into a tradition. I drink my coffee after feeding our local birds on the back deck and if the weather allows, I sit and meditate each morning with them. We take our Abby to the beach as often as we can to take her for a long walk off leash. Her ears flap in the breeze as she gallops along.
As I describe these things, I feel lighter, brighter, more open in my heart. Perhaps that can be a guide as we choose new traditions and keep the ones that lift our hearts.
In our practice we can get stuck in thinking that we have to bring the same instructions or exact positions to the poses each and every time. If you feel heavy in your pose or dead in your heart, this is not the way to practice. Look for the lightness of being. Mix it up with a different action or refinement to make your pose a little lighter a more even engagement of the body.
As I heard so many times from my teacher Jeff: “Effortless Effort”
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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November 9, 2021
Happy Monday!
Daylight Savings Time has ended..... Wait, what time is it? Really.... The Change of our clocks is the intersection of mind and body. What is correct? A surreal time of disorientation where we have the opportunity to open ourselves to the awe and wonderment of being a kid again. Rather than the fight, I choose to have fun with it.
Thursday I had the great fortune to take myself to the Metropolitan Museum in NYC to see the Global Surrealism Exhibit. I have always loved Salvador Dali's work, but had not known too much about the origins of the movement or how far it stretched across the globe. The interesting surprise for me was how much of it was about cataloging dreams and looking to access the unconscious mind.
The practice of yoga can lead us to leaving the constructs of our waking mind, the mind that says follow the clock, the rote instruction of what is known and adventure into the unknown to explore other areas of observing, feeling, perceiving our world. We just started to shift our awareness with the concept of fascia last week. The idea that we are not a machine but an organic interconnected everchanging organism that has potential to reorganize our bodies movements for a stronger, more graceful, lighter way of being.
That the simple act of doing our practice can teach us how to become more aware of ourselves and the environment around us. To see the world, our thoughts, differently. Sometimes this process is glacially slow. And sometimes in the great pleasures of just being we don't have to have a goal to practice. WE JUST SHOW UP day after day, week after week to have fun, to practice and play yoga!
This week and next, I would like us to just play with the idea of change coming without us working so very hard and without a goal as we head into the holidays, beginning with a most wonderful holiday, Thanksgiving. One without the pressure of gift giving or getting. It's about gathering with others in community, to share a meal, to share ourselves.
Let our practice prepare us for being aware of the little things, the subtle things that so many people miss as they rush through their day. And let us be grateful.
In conclusion, I must say that I am grateful that this Yoga Tidbit continued. It has me exercising a muscle of sharing deeply about yoga and to show up for all of you!
Besides, what is better than doing yoga with friends? Especially animal friends at home?
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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November 1, 2021
Have you just wanted to Let go? Last week I suggested you not hold on so tight. Did you? Could you? Perhaps not all the way….
Yes, most of us would prefer to take risks with a safety net. Well I have a surprise for you. Have you ever heard of fascia? (Not the board that wraps around the edge of your roof.) Etymologically speaking the latin root means “band, bandage or swathe”. Fascia is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches to, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs. There is your safety net!
We can practice the pose from the aspect of moving limbs in place and constructing the body parts into a proscribed form, but have you ever accidentally found them lining up on their own? That the pose felt like the whole body was participating even though you thought that it was “supposed” to be a pose to stretch the hamstring?
This is a relatively new way to look at practicing yoga for many. Especially if you have been trained to look at Gray’s Anatomy for educating the mind on the pieces of the body. Yes, there is integration of the poses as we finally make our way into the last breath or two as we hold before coming out, or in savasana, but have you ever dedicated your practice to being in a place of integration first and pose second?
I can remember when I was exploring a soft gaze, what that would be like for me and how it would affect my balance if I just didn’t focus so hard with my eyes. (I am nearsighted by the way.) At the time I was so used to contacts that taking them out was very disorienting. So, I took the 1 day I had off each week and practiced without my glasses on. At first, I fell over quite a bit, but it made a big difference in going inwards. I could more easily find the sensations of my breath. The tell-tale signs of when I was about to overstretch an area of my body or force a joint. A lot of juicy information!
I invite you this week to let go of your pre-conceived notions of what a pose is supposed to do for you and just feel. Let the fascia be the sensory organ you listen to. It has so many nerves it can be as sensitive as your skin (1)
It is well equipped to tell you a great deal! Do experience the sensations, beneath the layers – reach all areas of the body by softening your gaze, listening to your breath and letting the body move into the pose from a place of openness and freedom as well as restriction and tightness. Share the wealth I always say.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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October 25, 2021
Happy Late October Monday -
Don't Hold On So Tight! Yes, I feel it too. The chill. The chill in my fingers as I walk our exuberant 10-year-old pup in the afternoons. The chill at night on the sheets as my neck hits the pillow.
I know we focus a great deal on our shoulders and neck because they often bark after too much work at the computer, around the house or in the garden. Did you know how we treat our hands (or ignore them) greatly effects our neck?
This week we will be looking at the subtlety of unconscious holding in the arms and by slow attentive movement perhaps, perhaps release the patterns of our habituated movements. Have you ever attended to or observed the line of your forearm into the back of the hand, or how your finger pads hit the keys? Have you ever caught yourself gripping a utensil when making dinner or using a tool in the garden or house? Have you wondered why your wrists hurt in Downward Dog or after gripping a belt in a pose?
Much of the grip of our hands carries up through the arm and into the neck. Why do we do this? It's not quite so necessary to force our way through our day.
While I was being trained to observe the body for Pranayama (subtle breath practice), one of the key things I remembered to look for was that the thumb was fully relaxed. If this wasn't the case, tension could carry all the way up through the arm into the neck and would tighten the brain. This is counter productive to the process any restorative practice in general, let alone a highly refined practice of various pranayama patterns of breathing.
On Mondays, I do my online study. Today's workshop of the week was about the nature of fascia and how new studies about it’s influence on fluid movement and healing of our bodies. Julie Gudmestad, PT and well-respected Iyengar Yoga Teacher presented. She is a master at many things and I always enjoy her insight.
At one point she discussed how we can unconsciously create patterns of movement around a joint that is restricted. Because of this clever adaptation, the area will never quite heal unless we go slowly back into the area of origin to strengthen &/or open it.
For instance, if a "hip" is the original area of injury, weakness or impingement then the joint above and below will begin to compensate. The muscles movement around the "hip" will then become creative in it’s enrollment of other muscles or body distortions to accomplish what ever task. This results in a knee or SI joint becoming painful over time and the hip never regains its strength or opens as it should.
So, as we run up against the limitations of our joints this week starting in the wrist/hand region, I will introduce to you one of many ways to slow down and open up the fascia, connective tissue and muscles that have not been habituated to move your arms around.
Who knows where this will take us? It might take us into the hips! BUT the principle is the same....one has to slow down first to refine the skills of observation then recreate new pathways of movement and once this is established can begin to move with more grace, speed and instinct.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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October 18, 2021
Happy Monday!
Fall is Here. Transitioning can be more graceful with the Tools of Yoga.
I felt a dramatic change over the last 2 days, in terms of the temperature and my mindset. The pumpkins and fall decorations are out front, my warmer sweaters have been dug up from underneath my shorts for wearing and my slippers are currently on to keep my arches and achilles supple.
If you are feeling a bit spacey or ungrounded today this is perfectly normal from an Ayurvedic perspective. If you have never been exposed to Ayurveda, it is a sister practice to yoga. More Info here: https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/info/ayurvedic-living/learning-ayurveda/intro-to-ayurveda/
Before the colonization of India by the British it was the primary system of medicine. There are 5 elements of ether, air, fire, water and earth. According to this system, everything are made up of these elements. As humans we are one of three Gunas or constitutions. They are Vatta (fire and water), Pita (ether and air) and Kapha (earth and water). So, depending on how balanced we are or what we are made of, we transition from Summer to Fall with ease, a slight hitch, or a big bump.
Don’t be surprised too if your digestion is a little off or if your joints are achy or if you feel a bit dry. This is all part of moving into the early fall season. It makes sense this week to focus on poses to lubricate the joints and stimulate digestion. Forward bends and Twists are universally great for many things but you will see how they can be used specifically for digestion and releasing the joints along the spine and into the neck and shoulder region. (which can bear the brunt of the cooler winds). In addition we will cover some poses that are prone on our abdomen like cobra and locust. Often, they are thought of as backbends but because of the nature of compression on the floor, they can stimulate the digestive tract and strengthen the abdominal wall.
I look forward to showing you how no matter what sequence one picks; you can always direct the focus to your specific area of interest. Or better yet, come with beginner’s mind and just open up to what ever discovery/sensation that comes our way moment by moment, breath by breath.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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October 11, 2021
Happy Monday!
Lift up your arms and stretch! Yes, right now, stretch.
Did you take a deeper breath in? Generally, when our side body stretches and the intercostal muscles have a chance to soften and stay supple with movement, we can breathe better.
Now, take a gentle stretch to the right and then the left. Stay lifted on both sides.
This is just one of many simple movements that we can take throughout the day to support a more open upper chest. A more supple thoracic spine. These simple movements are building blocks to create a better environment to breathe deeper, to allow space for the vital organs to work more efficiently, and for us to enjoy our life more - with less effort.
Do you ever notice how your mood changes as you lift and open your chest? Once the arms draw back in their coordinated movement, with the collar bones and shoulder blades (a bit like the three amigos) the sternum naturally lifts out of your chest cavity. If you do this more, the muscles on the front body won't be so stiff and tight. We won't continue to slump and draw the bottom ribs into our trunk which compresses the breath (your diaphragm resides at the line of your bottom front ribs). We can support our lower back in feeling lighter and lifted. Our neck feels more supported since it is floating more over the tailbone and isn't falling forward.
One of the best poses to start with to open us up and give us better strength and awareness is Bridge Pose. Try it every day this week and see what kind of opening you have by next Monday.
That's my challenge for you.
Peace and Namaste,
Lesa
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