Lesa Kingsbury / Amba Yoga

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

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:

https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/yoga-by-benefit/digestion/yoga-poses-for-bloating/

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

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

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

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.

1. Sitting upright or lying down, place your hands on your belly.

2. Slowly breathe in, expanding your belly, to the count of five.

3. Pause.

4. Slowly breathe out to the count of six.

Have fun with this. 

Peace and Namaste,

Lesa

Abby the Wonderdog

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

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

Go here to explore more: https://www.byronyoga.com/exploring-yoga-sutras-of-patanjali-2-3/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 

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

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 14^th street to 86^th 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.

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

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

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.

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? 

Two fun short videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5KByD7Ri_0 and  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEspfaxei34

Peace and Namaste, 

Lesa

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

For more on how fascia as a dynamic organ of communication go here: https://yogainternational.com/article/view/yoga-anatomy-what-every-teacher-and-practitioner-should-know-about-fascia

Reference (1)   https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/muscle-pain-it-may-actually-be-your-fascia

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

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

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