Five Points Yoga

Barrett's Blog

Archive for the ‘Yoga Articles’ Category

How You Walk Affects How you Feel

Posted November 19th, 2008 | 4 Comments » | Bookmark and Share

In high school, I remember seeing myself in a video and saw that I tended to stick my chin way out.   My neck was not aligned with the rest of my spine – I was very cerebral so I interpret my poor alignment to be a symptom that I was always leading with my brain and nothing else.   Also, in middle school, I remember someone pointing out to me that my dad and I walked the same way – with toes pointed way out.   They laughed and said we had a “duck” walk.

Over the years, these two memories stayed with me.   I was in theater in high school, and started practicing yoga quite seriously in college, and both of these disciplines helped me evolve in my posture.  I think I still have “bad” habits, including sticking my chin out and turning my toes out.  But not to the degree that I used to.   Best of all, I think just knowing this about myself has helped me learn a bit more about how to walk and carry myself.

I’ve been reflecting on this since I read this article in the NYTimes last week.   It’s about people curing chronic aches and pains from improper walking.   More and more yoga teachers, bodyworkers, chiropractors, and Alexander technique teachers can help you with this.

Anyone else resonate with this?   Have you learned something about the way you carry yourself from practicing yoga?  Have you changed your gait, or your stance, and found an improvement in the way you feel?  I’m curious!

Posted under Health and Wellness, Yoga Articles

Science of Stretching

Posted November 11th, 2008 | 4 Comments » | Bookmark and Share

 

This recent NYTimes article really has me thinking.   I’ve read lots of debates about stretching – when to do it, how to do it, how much is too much?  Though yoga is not stretching, flexibility is one of the things yoga is known for, and a definite physical benefit. 

 

Also, recently someone asked me to comment on their debate website.  The topic: Is yoga bad for you?  I was kind of shocked that the question was even framed that way, and so I’ve been pondering –  

 

Why is it that yoga works for so many of us, particularly on the physical level? 

 

(I’m also a big proponent of how good and necessary yoga is mentally, but for this post, I’m talking the physical benefits).  

 

The crux of the article discusses the difference between static stretching – reaching to hold your toes, for example, and staying in the stretch, unmoving for a period of time – and dynamic stretching.   Dynamic stretching is when you move and stretch.   Studies have shown that practicing static stretches before exercise or sports weakens the muscles – not a good idea when you want those muscles strong.   Dynamic stretching, on the other hand, seems to warm them up and help them work better for the workout ahead.

 

These dynamic stretches seem to be a lot like the beginning part of a vinyasa yoga class.  I think about the sun salutes – how they’re active and even lift some people’s heart rate even though we’re consciously breathing slowly.   And for those of you in my class, you know that we practice a lot of back and forth warmup movements with our breath at the beginning of the class.  

 

It’s important to note that this article doesn’t say static stretching is bad – rather, it’s good after a workout, for a cool down.   So, it makes sense that we save the longer asana holds for the end of yoga class.  

 

Again, I’m trying to relate what this article imparts about stretching with our yoga class to understand better why people find yoga so useful.   However, I’m also interested because many people ask me how to incorporate yoga into their workouts, and into their life.  And I’m also interested because yoga injuries aren’t uncommon, unfortunately.  And finally, I do live and teach in Boston, a very scientifically-oriented city, and people like to have “proof” that things work.   Including me, I guess.

 

What do you think?   Do you use yoga before or after you go for a run (or other physical exercise)?   Do you think it’s good to combine yoga and other activities, or is it better on its own?  

 

I’ll keep thinking about this as well – off to practice some dynamic stretches!

 

Namaste,

 

Barrett

Posted under Health and Wellness, Yoga, Yoga Articles

Funny List of Yoga Pet Peeves

Posted October 17th, 2008 | 5 Comments » | Bookmark and Share

 

A year ago, I included this funny but true list of yoga class no-nos.  It’s from Natural Health magazine, I believe October 2007.   I thought it was good information, and gives us a little levity for the weekend!  Check out the magazine at:  naturalhealthmag.com

 

TOP 10 TEACHER PET PEEVES — Veteran instructors share some of the yoga class faux pas they could do without.   

 

1. CELL PHONES.    “People come to yoga to get away from their stress,” explains Sandy Blaine, “and it just follows them in the door unless they remember to turn off their phones.”

 

2. THE IN-CLASS CAFFEINE FIX.  “The worst?” says Seane Corn. “When students sip on lattes between poses.”

 

3. ARRIVING LATE.  “People should look in and check to see if it’s okay to enter so that they don’t disrupt the class in progress,”  suggests Baxter Bell.

 

4. CHEWING GUM. “In addition to the obvious safety issue,” explains Blaine, “it interferes with the natural flow and rhythm of the breath in practice.”

 

5. B.O.  “It’s an intimate atmosphere,” says Judith Lasater, “so take a shower before the class if you need to.”

 

6. LEAVING EARLY.  “Teachers are left wondering if you’re leaving because of scheduling – or dissatisfaction with the class,” says Bell.

 

7. OGLING.  Corn explains, “I’ve seen students literally twist around mid-pose to check out other classmates.

 

8. TALKING.  “This disregards the rights of every other student to have a quiet practice,” says Bell.

 

9. WITHOLDING INFO.  “I’ve had women come up and tell me at the end of a class full of backbends that they’re pregnant,” Bell says.

 

10. LOOSE SHORTS AND NO UNDERWEAR.   “I can’t tell you how much genitalia I’ve seen in my lifetime,” says Corn.

 

I laughed a lot when I read this – all of these have happened to me – more than once!!  Hopefully, you found it a bit funny too, and perhaps also self-reflective of how we are in class. 

 

 

Posted under Yoga, Yoga Articles

Yoga Stories

Posted October 14th, 2008 | 1 Comment » | Bookmark and Share

 

 

One thing I love to do in class is explain why postures are named the way they are, or what the story behind a posture is.  I’ve been reading other blogs as part of this foray into blogging, and I found a new and interesting yoga story in my reading.

 

Recently, the blog Grounding Through the Sit Bones talked about the 3 Warrior postures (Virabhadrasana).   It was an interesting post because we usually think about the legs in these postures, and she focused on the arm positioning.  She’s also writing very interesting posts on postures in general, which I find interesting as I explore what I want to write here.  Thus far, in this blog and in my online Yoga Odyssey program, I haven’t written a lot about techniques of asana, but it’s really good to see that someone else does!

 

In one of the comments on the Warrior post, someone referenced why the three warrior poses are linked together, and pointed everyone here.   A well-known yoga teacher from NYC, who I’ve studied with, wrote an article about the mythology around Virabhadra, the Warrior for whom the postures are named. Part of the article talks about the arm positioning, which brought it all back to what the yogi at Grounding Thru the Sit Bones was writing about.   It was a fascinating article to me and I practiced the postures yesterday thinking about it. 

 

Maybe you’ll practice Warriors today as well.   I hope so!

 

Namaste,

 

Barrett

Posted under Personal Experiences, Yoga, Yoga Articles, Yoga Philosophy

Yoga Research

Posted October 3rd, 2008 | 1 Comment » | Bookmark and Share

I am a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, and they put out a yearly journal of scholarly research on yoga.  I went to their first ever conference in January 2007 and was blown away by the resources (time and money) being invested into “proving” how yoga works for people.   I was mostly excited by it, but also a little worried that we were narrowing yoga’s efficacy down to what could be “proven” in a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial. 

I found this article in the NYTimes very interesting because it points out some of the other problems with “studying” yoga through scientific research.  Interestingly, Sat Bir Khalsa is interviewed in the article.  I met him at the conference in 2007 and he casually invited me to participate as a teacher in his insomnia study at Harvard Medical School.  I didn’t follow up, mostly because I wanted to focus on other aspects of yoga teaching and studying in my work.   But I think his work is interesting and will probably yield some very positive results for yoga.   I know from many many students how helpful yoga is for their insomnia.

Here’s a fascinating list of 77 health benefits from yoga practice.  This information is based off of many of the small studies that the NYTimes article mentions.  

Anyway, may each of us keep “proving” in our own ways how much yoga works!
Namaste,

Barrett

Posted under Education, Health and Wellness, Yoga, Yoga Articles

Know Your Lingo

Posted September 29th, 2008 | 2 Comments » | Bookmark and Share

This was a great article printed in the NYTimes a month ago.  I’ve been meaning to share it in my newsletter, but we will air it here instead 🙂

 

As I teach a lot of classes every week, I sometimes forget that newcomers in class don’t know all of our lingo, from the opening asanas (postures) to the last Namaste (our ending that we say to each other).  Below is a humorous run-down of what you might hear in yoga class.

 

 

See the article on The New York Times here. 

 

 

August 24, 2008   

 

NAMASTE  by Jaimie Epstein

 

‘At the beginning of class, we stood at the front of our mats and let out a long, dirgelike moan,” the first-time yoga student recollected. “Then the teacher yelled, ‘Chili-pepper pasta,’ and everyone hit the floor.” Sanskrit, the language of yoga, is said to unite sound and meaning; that is, saying the word gives the experience of its meaning. But for the novice yogi (the word for male as well as female practitioners), whose ears need to be tuned to a new frequency, that experience can be as elusive as an overnight parking spot in Manhattan. Thus, chaturanga dandasana (four-legged staff pose, which looks like the bottom of a pushup, your body hovering inches above the floor) might become “chili-pepper pasta” if you’ve got dinner reservations at the latest outpost of the latest fusion craze. And the ear-twisters don’t end there. So let’s do some untwisting…

 

To read the rest of the article and learn more about yoga lingo, go here.

Posted under Education, Yoga, Yoga Articles

| Newer Entries »