Tips for improving arm balances

Confession: I have an aversion to arm balances. Aversion (dvesha), according to the sutras, is just another flavor of attachment and one of the ways we create suffering in our lives. While I don’t think it’s necessary to practice Headstand or Handstand to be a “real” yogi, I do believe that real yoga means practicing equanimity. Confronting our aversions may reveal lessons about acquiring balance in our lives—but we have to start by greeting the challenge.

To approach arm balances, the first thing I needed to change, obviously, was my attitude. I tried a number of classic alignment tips (hand placement, position of pelvis; strengthen the arms, wrists and core, etc.) without achieving liftoff, so I began to ponder some new angles:

Building up.

Strength is in the mind as well as the body, and thinking of my arms and wrists as puny kept me earthbound. But go to the gym? Nah. Like old-school bodyweight exercises, yoga asanas include a number of strengthening moves that also help train the mind for more challenging asanas. Until you have the strength and control to practice Chaturanga safely, begin with Plank Pose and its variations, working your way up to Side Plank (Vasisthasana). Improve your shoulder mechanics in Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana) and Dolphin Pose (Ardha Pincha Mayurasana). Be patient and diligent, as the rewards are cumulative and confidence-building.

Break the pose down.

Demystify a challenging pose by looking at its major components for clues on how to prepare or modify. Take, for example, my least favorite arm balance: Bakasana (Crane Pose). It’s a balancing pose, but also an inversion and forward bend. Bakasana uses the arms as fulcrum for the body’s weight, which requires lightness, steadiness and stability. So rather than pouring my weight forward onto my arms, I started to lift my hips and buttocks while engaging my core—similar to what one might do in Uttanasana or Prasarita Padottanasana. Starting from a squat with a rolled mat underneath my heels also made it easier to find my fulcrum point and create a sensation of lift.

Inwardly sensing. 

That magical moment when an asana “clicks” depends on proprioception (sensing where the body is in space) and interoception (recognizing the body’s internal signals). Preparatory poses help build sensing memory, but another way to get from A to B is to practice the pose with the help of props or a teacher or partner. I’ve used folded blankets to make falling less scary, experimented with furniture and walls for support, and enlisted others for spotting and feedback. After lots of trial and error, Crane Pose finally clicked for me with a simple shoulder adjustment.

Embodying the details. 

It’s good to get out of your head, but not if it means losing track of the little things like—oh yeah!—breathing. Focus the gaze (drishti). Scan your body head to toe for pockets of forgetfulness (like lazy hands and feet) or tension, the result of over-compensating for fear or imbalance. Over time, detail awareness becomes a natural and organic part of practice rather than a conscious review.

Practicing with dedication.

 Design a home practice with the above elements in mind, and commit to it. Be sure to sequence arm balances after warming up the wrists and shoulders, but before performing too many strength-building poses, which can tire the arm muscles. If turning upside-down is too much at this stage, no problem. The richness of an asana practice isn’t in nailing a pose; it’s in the small steps it took to get there and the mental training it takes to stay there when the pose starts to get uncomfortable again.

The deeper benefits? Learning how to approach a dreaded pose with equanimity can help us do the same with the challenging people and events in our lives.

How to master the autumn to winter transition

Autumn is the time to gather inward, to nurture and support your body and slow down in readiness for the stillness of winter. Allow time for inner reflection to develop awareness, so you understand what is no longer serving you. See what you need to let go off, and strip back as winter arrives, so you are ready for the rebirth in springtime.

Nature’s powerful cycles can destabilize us, especially the cold and potent force of gusty winds. This can have an emotional effect also and we may feel depressed, nervous or experience self-doubt.

Implement these dependable tips now:

Clear your surrounding

Keep the air clean in your home in autumn, so you are ready to close doors and windows in the cooler months to come. Open the windows when you can, to catch the last bits of fresh air, before it’s too cold. Create a clean space to spend winter in, and add colour to uplift and brighten your surroundings.

Have live plants in your home, as they maintain good oxygen levels and negative ions in the air: many plants, such as cactus also help to offset the effects of EMF’s (electromagnetic fields). These plants are particularly good to place in areas of high EMF’s, such as beside the computer or near the television.

Positive ions can contribute to many health issues, such as allergies, anxiety, emotional upsets, fatigue, depression, headaches, irritability, and immune dysfunction. Salt or selenite lamps, are an easy way to neutralize the positive ions in the air in your home.

Essential Oils

In autumn, an increase in illness can occur, due to not slowing down and not getting enough rest and good nutrition. If you are experiencing fatigue, sinus problems, or feeling generally run-down, using essential oils can help. Try these applications:

Steam bath – fill the bath, add 5 – 20 drops of essential oil with a tablespoon of any vegetable carrier oil.

Steam inhalation – add boiling water to ceramic or stainless steel bowl, add 2 – 4 drops of essential oil, cover your head with a towel, lean over the bowl and breathe in the steam to help thin any mucous and drain it. You can do this 3 – 4 times daily.

Diffuser – add 3 – 5 drops of essential oil to 100ml diffuser for a small sized room and refresh every few hours as needed.

Some essential oils to boost immunity include orange, cypress pine, lemon, lime, eucalyptus, peppermint, niaouli, cypress blue, rosalina, kunzea or fragonia essential oils.

Transitional foods

Introduce modest amounts of pungent foods, which help clear out the mucous in your lungs and intestines. Add garlic, ginger, and coriander, mustard, onions, broccoli, radish, daikon, and seaweeds. 

The soundest way to create a shopping list for the autumn-winter transition, is to cross reference the autumn and winter seasonal produce. Choose foods from both seasons and eat more of these foods.

Stop eating foods that can increase phlegm, such as dairy foods (milk, cheese, cream).

Be Active, but keep it gentle

Boost your immunity and increase the oxygen levels in your blood with exercise. This helps you feel more positive, energetic and alert, but make sure you don’t go beyond a comfortable limit, or you will deplete your vitality.

Yoga, tai chi, qi gong, a brisk walk, hike or bike will increase lung health and help you feel grounded and balanced in autumn. Breath and stretch often. Avoid heavy aerobic activity, especially outdoors.

Stay rooted in your purpose

As the temperature drops and the plants lose foliage, their energy returns deep into the roots. We, like plants, can thrive during the autumn months if we focus on our purpose.

Step back, and think about what truly brings value to your life. Consider setting some intentions, for what you need. Move deeply into these in winter, dig deep. That way, once spring comes along, you will be ready to blossom.

Natural sleep cycles

As the days shorten and plants shed their leaves, it’s clear that nature is signaling us to nourish ourselves, slow down, and get extra quality sleep. Take care of your sleep hygeine, to improve the quality of your sleep, and also your waking hours.

Going to bed at the same time each night, helps your body prepare for bedtime. Diffusing calming essential oils, like chamomile, lavender, or geranium to prepare your body for deep rest. Aromatherapy can be a powerful tool to support personal healing. Use beneficial bedtime bath salts, or an aromatherapy cream rubbed on your feet before bed.

Enjoy the full beauty of autumn – let go, inspire and feel free –

The magic of mantras

Have you ever chanted during a yoga or meditation class, or randomly on your own, and experienced a profound sense of calm? Here’s why it works and why you might want to try it…

Your Brain on Mantra

For thousand of years, yogis have known mantra (or japa), whether chanted, whispered, or silently recited, to be a powerful tool for meditation and therapy. Western science is catching up.

Neuroscientists, equipped with advanced brain-imaging tools, are confirming some of the health benefits of this ancient practice, such as its ability to help clear your mind and calm your nervous system. In a recent study, researchers measured activity in the default mode network region of the brain — the area that’s active during self-reflection and when the mind is wandering — to determine how practicing mantra meditation affects the brain. From a mental health perspective, an overactive default mode network can mean that the brain is distracted.

Researchers behind this study asked a group of subjects to recite Sat Nam (roughly translated as “true identity”) while their hands are placed over their hearts. The subjects’ default mode networks were suppressed during the mantra meditation — and suppression grew as mantra training increased.

Research suggests that it doesn’t matter whether you recite an ancient Sanskrit mantra such as Sat Nam, the Lord’s Prayer, or any sound, word, or phrase. As long as you repeat something with focused attention, you’ll get results.

Herbert Benson, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, is particularly interested in what brings on a meditative state, which he calls “the relaxation response.” He’s experimented with subjects repeating Sanskrit mantras as well as nonreligious words, such as “one.” He’s found that regardless of what the practitioner repeats, the word or phrase has nearly the same effects: relaxation and the ability to better cope with life’s unexpected stressors.

The Roots of Mantra

The word mantra is derived from two Sanskrit words — manas (mind) and tra (tool). Mantra literally means “a tool for the mind,” and was designed to help practitioners access their true natures and a higher power. There’s so much more on the magic of vibration and resonance in Sanskrit.

Eventually that vibration sinks deeper and deeper into your consciousness, helping you to feel its presence as shakti — a powerful, subtle force inside each of us that carries us into deeper states of awareness.

One of the most universally recited mantras is the sacred Hindu syllable Om or Aum — considered to be the sound of the creation of the universe. Aum is believed to contain every vibration that has ever existed, and ever will exist.

It is the energetic root of other, longer mantras, including Om namah shivaya (“I bow to Shiva” — Shiva being the inner Self, or true reality), and Om mani padme hum (which means “jewel of the lotus,” and is interpreted as, “By practicing a path that unites method and wisdom, you can transform into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha”).

These popular Hindu mantras are in Sanskrit, but mantra has deep roots in every major spiritual tradition and can be found in many languages, including Hindi, Hebrew, Latin, and English. A common mantra for Christians is simply the name Jesus, while Catholics commonly repeat the Hail Mary prayer or Ave Maria. Many Jews recite Barukh atah Adonai (“Blessed art thou, oh Lord”), and Muslims repeat the name Allah like a mantra.

How to Get Down with Mantra

In some practices, such as Transcendental Meditation, students hire a trained meditation leader to learn and receive mantras. But there are plenty of ways to practice mantra independently and free of charge.

Consistency is key, regardless of the mantra you choose.

“You enliven a mantra through regular practice over a period of time — months or even years” says Sally Kempton, meditation teacher and author. “It’s a bit like rubbing a flint against a stone to strike fire. The friction of the syllables inside your consciousness, the focus of bringing yourself back to the mantra again and again, and especially the attention you give to the felt sense of the mantra’s resonance inside your awareness will eventually open the energy in the mantra, and it will stop being just words and become a living energy that you’ll feel shifting your inner state.”

Most teachers recommend to begin sitting or lying down in a comfortable position and silently repeating the mantra, on the inhalation and the exhalation. When thoughts or feelings enter your mind, notice them, and then return to silently reciting the mantra. Advanced practitioners allegedly have their mantra on repeat, in their mind, at all times no matter what they’re doing.

Set aside a few minutes a day to practice — potentially building up to 20 minutes or even more. Several traditions suggest sticking with one mantra for at least a few months before switching to another, in order to deepen your practice and cultivate a sense of ease, presence, and peace.

Choose Your Mantra

Check out a guided mantra meditation for So Ham and Sat Nam. Or experiment with your own choices and creations!

Your mantra can be ancient, tried-and-true, Sanskrit or otherwise… Or it can be any word or phrase, in any language, which you find comforting, inspiring or grounding. An old friend found the word “cornfield” especially calming, and would repeat it during times of anxiety!

Here are a couple of examples I personally use:

1. Perfect peace and poise are mine today as I concentrate all of my power and ability upon expressing the divine will

This is my daily mantra. For many years, I have been reciting this mantra from Yogananda’s Scientific Healing Affirmations.

2. I’m right here

This mantra is channeled to my heart. A long time ago, whilst in a precarious mountain biking situation, the words, “I’m right here,” popped into my mind and comforted my heart. To this day, I use it when in need of grounding and stability.

3. Om

Inspiration from the ancient yogis…The Divine Energy
Often chanted three times, Om, or Aum, symbolically embodies the divine energy, or Shakti, and its three main characteristics: creation, preservation, and liberation. The mantra, or vibration, derives from Hinduism and is considered to have high spiritual and creative power.

4. Lokah Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu

A Chant for Wholeness. I end each practice and teaching with this beautiful mantra which means: May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life in some way contribute to that happiness and freedom for all.

5. Gayatri mantra

Being Illuminated by Sacred Sound

Om bhur bhuvas svaha
Thath savithur varaynyam
Bhargo dheyvasya dhimahih
Dhyoyonah pratchodhay-yath

Traditionally chanted a capella, this mantra has been set to beautiful music by many kirtan stars, and it means:

We worship the word (shabda) that is present in the earth, the heavens, and that which is beyond. By meditating on this glorious power that gives us life, we ask that our minds and hearts be illuminated.

Deepening your yoga practice

Yoga gently but firmly pushes me out of my self-constructed limitations and beliefs. Although part of me feels like I am a seasoned yogini, another part of me is aware of the wealth of information on the subject. It would take a thousand lifetimes to acquire such vast knowledge.

When you’ve been doing yoga for a while it’s common to get to this point when you feel you want to take your practice further. You sense that you are just scratching the surface of what yoga truly is and are eager to go deeper. Or perhaps you feel like you have hit a plateau and want to make changes.

When I am stuck, complacent and stagnant, yoga helps me notice and acknowledge. It usually starts somewhere in my life: at work, with my partner, or in my hobbies. Soon enough it shows up on my yoga mat. I start to get bored of whatever sadhana (personal daily spiritual practice) I am doing and create excuses to skip or shorten my practice. I develop a sense of I am “not good at it” and tell myself I am not making any progress. I may even feel like giving up.

Gratefully, I journal. In doing so I identify these patterns, recognize them, and take action to halt the downward spiral.

I have developed steps to emerge from this stagnation, rediscover myself, and evolve and deepen my yoga practice.

Below are my suggestions – in no particular order – for developing your practice. Consider that you may find one step serves you, while another does not and that the effects can be cumulative. 

1. Set clear intentions

The most powerful step I can take when I am ready to revamp and rediscover my yoga practice is to know the why. Knowing why-you-do-what-you-do will benefit you on those days when you wonder why the hell you embarked on such a journey in the first place. A reassessment of your intentions helps when you start slacking off, or worse, consider giving up.

So, know why you practice. Do you do it for your physical well-being? Is it about creating balance in your life through asana and meditation? Do you practice to connect to your own spirituality and to the God of your own understanding? Whatever your reasons may be, make them clear; write them down, read them often.

2. Explore different styles of yoga

When it comes to physical yoga (or yoga asana) in the Western World, Hatha yoga is probably the most mainstream of them all. However, Hatha yoga is just one of many styles of yoga asana. I believe it is worth exploring the variety of practices, as each discipline has its own benefits and limitations. You may find that one style fits your lifestyle or worldview, while another may feel completely disconnected. Nevertheless, trying different approaches will give you new perspectives and insights into your practice.

So, take time to explore different yoga styles. There’s Yin Yoga, Ashtanga, Iyengar, Jivamukti, Restorative, Vinyasa, and many more. 

3. Learn about all 8 limbs of yoga

In my first yoga teacher training, it was eye-opening to learn that yoga is not simply about the physical postures. According to Patanjali, yoga Asana is only one of the eight limbs of yoga. The others being:

1. Yamas (external disciplines)

2. Niyamas (internal disciplines)

3. Asana (physical postures)

4. Pranayama (breath control or techniques)

5. Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses)

6. Dharana (focus, concentration)

7. Dhyana (meditation)

8. Samadhi (union, integration, bliss)

Although playing with advanced yoga poses can be fun, studying the limbs helped me realize that practicing asana is simply a gateway to a deeper, more fulfilling practice that encompasses body, mind and soul. 

On the days I may be physically unable to move my body (lack of time, illness, etc.), I can continue to practice and engage in yoga without ever getting in a yoga pose. It doesn’t make you less of a yogi or yogini.

The eight limbs are a profound and enlightening path of growth and I would highly-recommend exploring them.

4. Find teachers that you connect with

Finding teachers that inspire and keep me coming back to the mat makes a huge difference in my practice. Even as a teacher myself, I often pull out my mat and wonder what the heck I should do. Oftentimes I will sit, breathe, listen to my body, and move from a place of exploration and freedom. But I can also get very lazy, do the bare minimum, and call it a day. 

I come to my mat refreshed when I have teachers I enjoy. They encourage growth and exploration that might be inaccessible on my own.

Take the time to look around for a teacher you love, whether you like to practice in a studio or online. Make a list of your favourite teachers (hopefully in a variety of styles) and commit to periodically taking their classes. When you find someone you truly connect with, your practice will grow, and your chances of sticking with it will improve!

5. Commit to your practice

Be realistic! Sometimes I get overly excited when creating my weekly, monthly, or seasonal timetable. I’ll schedule a routine of daily hour-long morning and evening practices. As phenomenal and beneficial as this could be, it is probably not realistic. An unattainable schedule leads to feelings of failure. I sometimes forget that life happens.

I recommend a sustainable, stress-free commitment to practicing. What length of time can you really commit to regularly? As mentioned before, yoga has cumulative effects. A 20-minute daily session coupled with 5 minutes of meditation before bed is more beneficial than a 90-minute class once a week.  To really commit to your practice, it’s key to intentionally commit to a routine that you’re able to stick to as much as possible.

6. Create a sacred space

It’s important to set up a space that is yours and designated for your yoga practice, whether you live in a tiny house, a flat, or a large home. Again, it is easy to get caught up and think that you’ll redo your office into a yoga room. But try to be practical. If you can renovate, go for it. But remember that you don’t need a big, fancy space. Your yoga space can be in the balcony, right next to your bed, or in the corner of your living room. 

Whatever space you choose, take time to declutter and make it special in your own way. You may want to even create an altar with crystals or flowers. Maybe even put some plants around your mat.

Create a space designated for your practice that you’ll want to show up to. If possible, leave your mat unrolled on the floor. I find that I am more likely to do the yoga if all I must do is step onto my mat.

Remember, the more you show up, the more your practice will evolve. 

7. Develop community

Yoga means to yoke, to come together, with oneself, others, and the Universe. Get involved in your yoga community in a way that supports others and allows others to support you. Find a local studio, a yoga book club, create your own group to practice together at a park, or join an online community like EkhartYoga and follow a program together.

Find and create community in a way that will support your growth and encourage you to continue your yoga practice. There are many possibilities and the search may involve a bit of trial and error until you find the right energy for you. But it’s out there. And if the right energy isn’t, create it! 

8. Give yourself grace

Give yourself grace. I believe that this is the most important tip of all. As you deepen your practice remember that growth isn’t linear. You will find rocks in your path. Sometimes you may not practice, you may get sick and need reinvent how you do yoga. Consider the principle of Vairagya or non-attachment in your practice. Life will happen. You are practicing the true yoga if you remember to breathe, stay present, and remain open to and grateful for life.

You, my friend, have chosen the yogic path. And although finding the path may be difficult, seeking it is certainly worthwhile.

So, keep practicing. Keep growing. Keep living your life with a sense of wonder and gratitude, and the rest will fall into place as it may. 

Yoga for mental health

The ancient science of yoga unites poses with breathing and concentration to build strength, awareness and harmony between mind and body. Yoga provides many obvious physical benefits – flexibility, stamina, circulatory health, to name a few – and now more than ever, we realise its important role in our mental wellness too.

Self-care is a hot topic, thankfully, as with life continuing to pick up speed all around us – we’ve got to slow down and look inward, at our own mental health.

Yoga helps our mental health by:

• Relieving anxiety

• Lowering depression

• Promoting better sleep

• Fighting fatigue

• Decreasing stress

• Improving focus

• Increasing tolerance

Up the ante with the extensive neurological benefits of meditation. Studies show that it increases focus and concentration, and lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Anxiety, stress and depression are often inter-linked. They manifest in many different ways, causing everyones’ experience of mental illness to be unique, sometimes including:

• Physical sickness

• Difficulty breathing

• Emotional outbursts

• Low mood

• Poor sleep

• Physical aches and pains

• Coping strategies such as addictions

Yoga and meditation promote relaxation

Yoga and meditation promote relaxation – the opposite of anxiety, stress and depression. They build our ability to stay centred, which is vital for stress management. By pausing to breathe, meditate or stretch, the mind is directed away from the trigger and a biological reaction of calming begins.

Specific yoga and meditation practices stimulate our vagus nerve which is involved in our parasympathetic nervous system – our rest and digest response.

These simple practices amplify awareness of what’s happening in our body, making it possible to detect changes and early signs of mental health issues. How? One way is by teaching us to be present, rather than worrying about what’s occured in the past or what may happen in the future.

And… Exercise naturally increases the flow of serotonin, ‘the happy hormone’. So moving and relaxing our body calms the mind, and enhancing our mental health positively affects our physical health.

When the world feels out of balance, unequal or low, yoga can help us maintain our internal equilibrium and elevate our experience of daily life. And it’s available to us anywhere, any time.

Yoga poses for the modern day office worker

Whether you started working from home, started an online business, got your Uber license, had a baby or have been sitting for prolonged periods for any other reason (Netflix, anyone?) – you may have noticed yourself sitting a lot more over the past couple of years! In other words, moving your body less and stressing your mind more.

If your home office (or the equivalent) set-up is less than ideal, you’re probably familiar with stiff shoulders, back discomfort, pinchy hips, overworked eyes, the merging of work and personal life into one neverending sit-a-thon…Many of us are aware of the quote, ‘sitting is the new smoking’ and while we’re not fans of sensationalist headlines, there’s no doubt that sitting for prolonged periods can have a detrimental effect on our health.

So we’ve put together a survival guide for preventing and dealing with working-from-home aches and pains – including yoga poses and exercises to ease tension in your body and mind!

Hip flexors

Sitting for long periods of time is the first suspect when it comes to tight hip flexors. Whether your posture is perfect or you’re slouched over, extended sitting sessions will shorten your hip flexors.

The ‘hip flexors’ include multiple muscles which support the pelvis in balancing over the legs. The main ones are the iliopsoas (the psoas major and the iliacus together), the rectus femoris (one of the quadriceps) and the sartorius.

Simple actions can help improve balance between the legs, pelvis and back, which relieve and release the hip flexors, including:

• Low Lunge

• Bridge

• Happy Baby

Psoas-specific

Sensations of the psoas are subtle. This hip flexor (which most of us had never even heard of until a yoga teacher mentioned it) is buried in the lower lumbar region, extends through the pelvis to the femur and tends to engage in habitual holding patterns – especially when sitting a lot.

The psoas flexes the hip joint and lifts the upper leg towards the body – it’s in action when you’re walking.

Deeply linked to emotions, the psoas responds best to quiet attention, patience, and perseverance. And here are some yoga poses to nurture that:

• Pigeon

• Tree

• Reclined Butterfly

Shoulders

Shoulders have a leading role in almost every yoga pose, and much of life in general. Their mobility and flexibility, or lack thereof, affects us constantly – especially while many of us are relentlessly hunched over phones, computers and steering wheels, which means our shoulders are in protraction for long periods.

Strength is important, but so are flexibility and mobility. These yoga poses will provide a stretch to open the smallest fibres between your joints:

• Cow Face pose

• Melting Heart Pose

• Melting Heart

Back

The spine moves forward and backward (flexion and extension), side to side (lateral flexion), and twists too. Sitting loads, especially if slumping over a computer, encourages flexion but misses out all the other movements.

Adding side bending, back bending and twisting to the natural forward motion of sitting helps improve posture and reduce back pain by bringing strength and flexibility to the muscles that stabilise the spine. These yoga poses do just that:

• Extended Side Angle

• Revolved Head to Knee Pose

• Reclined Twist

Eyes

Are your eyes dry, scratchy, burning or tired? Is your vision blurry? Screen time strains the eyes – whether you’re working from home or binging on Netflix, most of our oculus uterque are suffering. Tired eyes can lead to headaches and difficulty concentration, as well as physical ailments such as tight shoulders and back pain.

We can remedy eye strain with care, rest and yoga. Try these eye strengthening exercises:

• Move. Without moving your head, look up and down, left and right, and diagonally a few times each way.

• Close/Blink. Keep your eyes moist by lowering your lids regularly.

• Warm. Rub your palms together, then place your warm hands gently over closed eyes.

• Stare. Focus your eyes and stare at an object without blinking.

And a few yoga poses to sort out your sore eyes:

• Child’s Pose

• Downward Facing Dog

• Forward Fold

So…

Whether you’ve got a minute or an hour – treat yourself to a break from sitting! Try some of our yoga suggestions, or just stand up, shake it off (literally!) or have a mini dance-off! “You put your whole self in, you take your whole self out, you put your whole self in and you shake it all about…”