Posture of the week

There are many thoughts processing in our head every second and every minute of the day. We are constantly standing on our feet. Have you ever thought of the benefits of doing inversion or headstand in your yoga class? One major benefit is to improve pituitary gland function, which is close to the sixth or seventh Chakra depending on your master and the school. This is the chakra of pure consciousness (Ajna Chakra).

Pituitary via Wikipedia

Yoga is full of different posture, and it also a journey to complete all the posture. One must take baby step in order to enjoy the subtle benefit. Even Laughing and falling off from a posture sometimes is very humbling, you have to look within. One pose can offer many variations, starting from crow posture to something as simple as standing on your head. How cool is that? Don't forget to breathe and have fun with doing this posture.



I welcome you this week to take simple steps to trust yourself to get into Tripod Headstand (Sanskrit Name: Salamba Sirshasana ) using the wall for support and hold this posture for a while.



Margaret practicing crow pose into Tripod Headstand.

Crow Posture

Tripod Headstand

Margret

Margret

Come to rest in child pose for a moment.

Video coming soon!

First Chakra

Ganesha is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu religion. His images are found all over India and Nepal. Ganesha is known by many other attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. As I walking into a health food for lunch in a small of town of Harford close to Utica, New York.

I saw a beautiful lady walking into the same store. I recognized the image right away; I asked her about her tattoo was Ganesha, we exchanged a brief conversation. She happens to be a yoga teacher. She understands the meaning of Ganesha. I was so thrilled to run into her, more especially reminding me of Ganesha and the story from my teacher, Shanthi 

From my studies and being trained in India with my Kundalini background, Ganesha resides in the first Chakra called Muladhara (mūlādhāra). Mula means "original, main"; adhara means "base, foundation". The mantra for the first charka is LAM. There are several asanas that helps to open the first chakra. The posture I have chosen is Bridge, in Sanskirt (Setu Bandhasana). It strengthens the abdomen and thighs while you practice the posture.

Beth
When the first chakra is imbalance, it means our foundation is not balance Obesity is one of the many symptoms. I can write a whole book with the imbalances of first chakra. Through the first chakra, we work to understand and heal our bodies. The challenge to us is to accept, feel, validate, and love yourself.

Eating is a first chakra activity. Joy, happiness, love, compassion, content are the emotions of first chakra. When we eat, we are nourished and our physical body is supported. Eating grounds us. Proteins are first chakra food.

A balance first chakra opens us to our power and stability and allows us to grow. We are grounded. First Chakra brings us rest, solidity and stillness.


How to get in Bridge posture:

1. Lay on your back with your arms at your sides, your palms facing downward. Bend your knees bring the soles of your feet close to your buttocks.

2. Press down on the soles of your feet. (Think of the root foundation of the body). You have a lot of strength there. Squeeze your buttocks and press your pubic bone upward, allow the pressing to lift your hips upward towards the heaven.

3. Integrate your three part yoga breath to the first chakra by channeling to the corresponding position in the body.

4. During all the lifting and lowering, you are contracting and squeezing the buttocks until it is resting on the floor.

5. Rise up into the full posture several times and stay up. Continue to squeeze the buttocks, chest expanded (opening the heart chakra) and find breathe is steady.

6. Bring your arms under and interlace your hands behind you to find openness in the shoulder.

7. When you are ready to release from the posture, release your hands and allow your vertebrae to roll down with control.



Benefits of this posture

• Stretches the chest, neck, and spine

• Calms the brain and helps alleviate stress and mild depression

• Stimulates abdominal organs, lungs, and thyroid

• Rejuvenates tired legs

• Improves digestion

• Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause

• Relieves menstrual discomfort when done supported

• Reduces anxiety, fatigue, backache, headache, and insomnia

• Therapeutic for asthma, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and sinusitis



Advanced Student

• Insert block in between the tight so that the knees are far away from each other.

• Release the block and go into another posture Wheel Posture

The interpretation of Ganesha symbolism:

Ganesha

http://tips4bsense.blogspot.com/2010/03/108-names-of-lord-ganesha-with-meanings.html

The image on Melanie's back is stunning. She said it was painful, but I am sure it was well worth. It cost approximately 300 in US dollars.

Melanie

Meditation

Unplug from the worldly things: turn off the tv, turn off the radio, tune the body to the mind, stop worry about where to go and what you need and what to do, where you need to go, how to get somewhere. Absolutely stop the thoughts, even thought it is easy said. Observe your breathe, if any thoughts comes during your meditation, acknowledge the thought, still focus on the breathe.

Observe stillness during this period and observe your own breathe.

Reengerize the mind, body and spirit. This is also yoga.

May be chanting Om at end of meditation.

To Master meditation, you have to continue to practice meditation.

Be mindful of your thoughts and words.

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• Doing Nothing: Lissa's Thoughts on Meditation, Martha Beck, Jack Kornfield, and Britney Spears (psychologytoday.com)

Namaste

Favorite Asana

Everyone has their favorite posture. I have numerous favorite asana (posture) depending on the season, and time of day. I tend to incorporate Triangle posture known as (Trikonasana in Sanskrit) every day.
The corresponding chakra is the second chakra which is located close the genital and the reproductive organs.An imbalance in this charka causes several problem in the body such as pre-menstral sydrome, irregular period, testicular, uterine fibroids, pre-menstrual syndrome, irregular periods, ovarian cysts, irritable bowel syndrome, endometriosis, low back pain and prostate disease.

When done properly, the benefits are vast among other asanas. The benefits are as follows:
• Helps to strengthen legs, knees, ankles, joints, hips, groin muscles, hamstrings, calves, shoulders, chest and spine abdominal, oblique, and back.
• Stimulates function of all the abdominal organs.
• Relieves stress, sciatica, backache and neck pain
• Improves digestion and constipations.
• Helps with symptoms of menopause, and
• Therapeutically for anxiety, and infertility

One the same note, sometimes we have an asana (posture) that we struggle with. We have to continue to practice because we practice we perfect the posture to a point we close our eye and hold the posture for a longer time. Is it fear or we forgot to incorporate the breath that we will fall out of the posture? Teachers do fall out of posture. We are human and we are constantly practice as well and uniting our body, mind and spirit.

This inspiring quote by Marianne Williamson is from her book, A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles, Harper Collins, 1992. From Chapter 7, Section 3 (Pg. 190-191).


“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”


I will like you to share your favorite and worst posture and why the asana you choose is your favorite or worst. Make sure you subscribe to the blog.

My Yoga Practice

From East to West, and North to South, I have been pleased to share my yoga practices and have been taught by so many wonderful teachers that continue to encourage me to look with. I draw inspiration from this chakra.

In all these years of practicing, I never thought I could recount my experiences of when I embarked on this journey. I have done yoga in a crowded Airport – Atlanta, California, Detroit, Spain, Dubai and many others before I board my plane to a trip. In respect to the strange look, I felt at ease and peace with myself. I can listen better and more patient with others. I have pulled over on a long trip to meditate in respective of time.

As a yoga practitioner, my goal is to share my practice and bring all my knowledge of yoga to newbie, and all level of yoga practitioners in respective of their goal and also continue to learn from inspiring teachers. When I started yoga 12 years ago, in addition to my regimen; running, biking, hiking, practicing tae kwon do, and soccer. I was not in competition with anyone but with my own self. Being in a competition mindset; I wanted to do each asana very well. I did not understand the prana and chakra. At times, I did not join to chant since I was not aware of the meaning of OM.

I will attempt every asana you can imagine as seen in Ivengar. Sometimes, I failed in my tree just moments as I was holding the tree posture. It is almost like I lost in a running competition with myself. I know there was more to yoga than just holding my headstand for 5 minutes. I began to read vast books and attend seminar dealing with yoga, philosophy and teaching. Unfortunately, most yoga studio in America is vastly focused on the asana; the physical posture. I felt there was more to yoga than the physical aspect. Yoga is well rounded. Yoga comprises of meditation, chanting, kriya, fasting, breathing, prana (energy), food, cleanliness, contentment, compassion, and much more.

A majority of yoga practitioners just like me have come to understand that yoga is a way of life not just a hobby or a cult. Some people come to their first yoga class for various reasons, in competition with one another. I encourage you to hold your postures longer and look within your mind, connecting the body with the mind and spirit with come along with the journey. I welcome to share your experience with me.
I am inspired to post this blog for my friend – Margret Nedelkoff and her devotion to her yoga practice. I wish her the very best in this journey. She has an amazing practice and she will share her yoga experiences.

In Summary, I am sharing these words with you. “Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.” - Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)