From: @nytimesbusiness
Sent: Nov 28, 2011 12:20a
Combines Ayn Rand and Yoga http://t.co/h0BasQdR
sent via The New York Times
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Type A personalities and uh, yoga
Uh, Namaste? Not pleased with association of yoga & elitism. So many conflicts here. In many ways $LULU is a strange company. But dammit if they don't make the best anti-muffin waistband leggings.
The wheels start to fall off
I've been studying intensively for a professional exam for the past six weeks, and due to schedule demands I have scrapped my yoga schedule completely. Boy is that a mistake.
The first thing to go was serenity. Studying yoga 2-4 times a week does not make me entirely serene by a long shot. But it does make coworkers less annoying. It makes me see the potential in humanity instead of its blinding flaws. It makes the news in the paper seem less bad, and it changes my focus to understand people with more compassion.
That last one is important for living in New York.
The second thing to go was untroubled sleep. Yoga focuses on rhythms of life, waking, working, ending. Every practice has a cycle of generating heat, cooling, restoring, and resting. Without these ebs and flows, my own cycles are engineered by chaos. Caffeine, work, and all-nighters that go on til I drop are the driving forces. And the quality of my study time has decreased. My mind wanders, I am bored, I find myself drifting from the schedule and missing benchmarks.
#3 surprised me. Just 1.5 months after discontinuing my yoga schedule, my body feels terrible. I have aches and pains in my back. I can feel tightness resulting from lazy posture. Both of my wrists are stiff and one of them has developed a cyst near the joint. Suddenly I'm having symptoms of carpal tunnel and tennis elbow with no increase in handwriting or computer use. Frankly I feel like I've aged 10 years.
The worst part is that I have not accomplished the goal that I wanted to with this temporary regimen change: I am more tired, more moody, and feel more restricted by my physical body then ever before.
I now realize the importance of finding your own rhythm and sticking to it. I used to think that practicing 4 times a week, while working full time and studying was out of the question. I am now definitely considering committing to that schedule permanently.
The exam is December 3rd...I think I will sign up for a class that afternoon.
The first thing to go was serenity. Studying yoga 2-4 times a week does not make me entirely serene by a long shot. But it does make coworkers less annoying. It makes me see the potential in humanity instead of its blinding flaws. It makes the news in the paper seem less bad, and it changes my focus to understand people with more compassion.
That last one is important for living in New York.
The second thing to go was untroubled sleep. Yoga focuses on rhythms of life, waking, working, ending. Every practice has a cycle of generating heat, cooling, restoring, and resting. Without these ebs and flows, my own cycles are engineered by chaos. Caffeine, work, and all-nighters that go on til I drop are the driving forces. And the quality of my study time has decreased. My mind wanders, I am bored, I find myself drifting from the schedule and missing benchmarks.
#3 surprised me. Just 1.5 months after discontinuing my yoga schedule, my body feels terrible. I have aches and pains in my back. I can feel tightness resulting from lazy posture. Both of my wrists are stiff and one of them has developed a cyst near the joint. Suddenly I'm having symptoms of carpal tunnel and tennis elbow with no increase in handwriting or computer use. Frankly I feel like I've aged 10 years.
The worst part is that I have not accomplished the goal that I wanted to with this temporary regimen change: I am more tired, more moody, and feel more restricted by my physical body then ever before.
I now realize the importance of finding your own rhythm and sticking to it. I used to think that practicing 4 times a week, while working full time and studying was out of the question. I am now definitely considering committing to that schedule permanently.
The exam is December 3rd...I think I will sign up for a class that afternoon.
Monday, October 31, 2011
God is the sweat running down your back
There's a PJ Harvey lyric that goes something like this: "God is the sweat running down his back." Tonight, in hot power vinyasa class, I finally got that notion. Overall, I was super focused today, despite not getting a lot of sleep and indulging in a little Halloween candy instead of lunch. The instructor paced everything just right. I felt focused and strong.
Doing a crescent lunge with mini backbend, something in me connected to a larger energy. I felt the element of worship stronger than I ever have in yoga class before. Worship of... the universal, the grand design, whatever you want to call it. Looking up past my fingertips, I felt sweat run down my back (and off the end of my nose, and down my arms, and down my chest, etc) and for one divine moment, it all connected: feet to earth, muscle to bone, arms to sky, heart to stars.
Doing a crescent lunge with mini backbend, something in me connected to a larger energy. I felt the element of worship stronger than I ever have in yoga class before. Worship of... the universal, the grand design, whatever you want to call it. Looking up past my fingertips, I felt sweat run down my back (and off the end of my nose, and down my arms, and down my chest, etc) and for one divine moment, it all connected: feet to earth, muscle to bone, arms to sky, heart to stars.
Friday, October 14, 2011
On the varieties of hot yoga
I definitely enjoy the fast-paced rhythm of hot power Vinyasa class, and adding weights to give it a sculpting element is also fun. Hot Yin yoga classes, which emphasize stillness and deepening postures, are a nice alternative as well. It's good to have options and change things up a bit in the "torture chamber" aka hot room. However, after Bikram class last night, I was struck by how healthy and whole I felt. I hadn't done the Bikram series in awhile, but it felt like coming home, one pose at a time. The familiarity of the sequence, the quietly intelligent progression of poses and their sum total effect on the body... it was all so clear. I felt tingly, clear-headed, and perfectly aligned post-class. It is the cure for all that ails me... very strong medicine. Thus, Bikram remains the gold standard of my yoga practice.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Tweet from: @646c
From: @646c
Sent: Sep 8, 2011 9:45p
Sent: Sep 8, 2011 9:45p
Dedicating my Sunday, #9/11 practice to those who believe in world peace @yokoono #bicoastalyogabuddies
sent via UberSocial for BlackBerry
Monday, August 8, 2011
Yoga friends
Not sure how it is elsewhere, but in New York, yoga class is a pretty solemn affair. I have been attending the same studio for 2+ years and very few people in the classes speak to each other.
I broke the ice the other night when I started talking to a fellow regular about sports we have played. I had a breakthrough in my forearm stand and figured out that I don't need 3 more feet of arm length...I need to lengthen my middle back instead of collapsing into myself. In my terms this means think of reaching up energetically through my back, instead of "stacking" my way up. I know, I know, IT'S BOTH.
We started having a conversation about mental imagery and understanding where one's weight or focus is in each pose. I told her that I often imagine sitting with my weight in a saddle in warrior/triangle/pyramid. I also imagine my weight as a bird balancing on a perch (my shoulders) in inversions. I was baffled that we were having a 5-minute conversation about this at all.
Interestingly enough, my upper back/"back heart" has been a major issue of space, knotting, and tension lately...it's trying to find its place in my practice. I have gotten this far without engaging it fully, I think an awakening is in order for fall...
I broke the ice the other night when I started talking to a fellow regular about sports we have played. I had a breakthrough in my forearm stand and figured out that I don't need 3 more feet of arm length...I need to lengthen my middle back instead of collapsing into myself. In my terms this means think of reaching up energetically through my back, instead of "stacking" my way up. I know, I know, IT'S BOTH.
We started having a conversation about mental imagery and understanding where one's weight or focus is in each pose. I told her that I often imagine sitting with my weight in a saddle in warrior/triangle/pyramid. I also imagine my weight as a bird balancing on a perch (my shoulders) in inversions. I was baffled that we were having a 5-minute conversation about this at all.
Interestingly enough, my upper back/"back heart" has been a major issue of space, knotting, and tension lately...it's trying to find its place in my practice. I have gotten this far without engaging it fully, I think an awakening is in order for fall...
Thursday, August 4, 2011
"Who wants to do another full set of weighted leg lifts?"
Yoga teachers can be so very cruel. Yesterday afternoon, while I was working hard and sweating on my mat in Yoga Sculpt, our teacher posed the above question to the class. Only one person raised a hand, but we all had to do another full set of weighted leg lifts anyway. Majority rule? Not hardly. Our glutes and spines are better off for it, no doubt, but I'll admit to silently cursing the rogue masochist in the back row who raised her hand and asked for more when the rest of us wanted to teleport far, far away.
Lately, I've observed that most of my friends are doing some form of yoga with regularity... mostly in a heated room. How did this happen? We're in our early 30s and used to meet at shows and throw back drinks like we now congregate in studios and throw down our mats... usually with just as much frequency, enthusiasm, that predictable feeling of vague, unspoken dread. A few of us have stopped drinking entirely, but but most have just scaled back. The drinks happen less and less these days, in inverse proportion to the downward facing dogs, if you will. It's worth mentioning that very few of my friends have kids, so the sudden yoga commonality can't be chalked up simply to Settling Down. I don't really know what's caused it, other than that we have a) the money b) the time and c) the access to yoga studios. I have some ideas about the source of the trend, but I'm not ready to share them.
I can only speak for myself, and what yoga does for me, quite frankly, is reinforce my sanity. In a wildly spinning world, my mat is the still point, something I can always be certain of, somewhere I am safe. Practicing yoga helps me be the best version of myself. I am kinder, calmer, and more resilient as a result of my time on the mat. It's easy to not go to class for a few days, then get caught up in a longer cycle of not making enough time for myself. The moment I walk into that heated room and roll out my mat, however, I remember my love for yoga, and no matter how hard class may be, or how many sets of weighted leg lifts are involved, I leave class wishing I didn't have to, and wanting to come back soon.
Lately, I've observed that most of my friends are doing some form of yoga with regularity... mostly in a heated room. How did this happen? We're in our early 30s and used to meet at shows and throw back drinks like we now congregate in studios and throw down our mats... usually with just as much frequency, enthusiasm, that predictable feeling of vague, unspoken dread. A few of us have stopped drinking entirely, but but most have just scaled back. The drinks happen less and less these days, in inverse proportion to the downward facing dogs, if you will. It's worth mentioning that very few of my friends have kids, so the sudden yoga commonality can't be chalked up simply to Settling Down. I don't really know what's caused it, other than that we have a) the money b) the time and c) the access to yoga studios. I have some ideas about the source of the trend, but I'm not ready to share them.
I can only speak for myself, and what yoga does for me, quite frankly, is reinforce my sanity. In a wildly spinning world, my mat is the still point, something I can always be certain of, somewhere I am safe. Practicing yoga helps me be the best version of myself. I am kinder, calmer, and more resilient as a result of my time on the mat. It's easy to not go to class for a few days, then get caught up in a longer cycle of not making enough time for myself. The moment I walk into that heated room and roll out my mat, however, I remember my love for yoga, and no matter how hard class may be, or how many sets of weighted leg lifts are involved, I leave class wishing I didn't have to, and wanting to come back soon.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
EVEN BETTER quote of the day:
"6. Don't forget, you're gonna have to walk home all sweaty and homeless-looking after, so bring some flip flops or something."
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Help for those with rogue hips
Anne's tweets about seeing rock gods Chris Cornell and Josh Homme work out their hips on stage this weekend got me googling about a persistent problem that I have in yoga: keeping my hips square.
Tightness in the lower back, lazy abs, overdeveloped quads (mine from years of speed skating) and all kinds of physical habits can make this difficult.
I have also been told that we "hold our past" in our hips. Could be.
This fairly detailed description from Yoga Journal gives some detailed instructions on stretching and some exercises that you can do before or after class...or, for me, in my office.
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/866
Tightness in the lower back, lazy abs, overdeveloped quads (mine from years of speed skating) and all kinds of physical habits can make this difficult.
I have also been told that we "hold our past" in our hips. Could be.
This fairly detailed description from Yoga Journal gives some detailed instructions on stretching and some exercises that you can do before or after class...or, for me, in my office.
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/866
Monday, July 25, 2011
Square off those hips
I have so much trouble finding the right alignment for my hips. There's a tightness that is always there. I'm going to be doing some research this summer but I have a feeling that this is more than just a physical issue...
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
#bicoastalyogabuddies $LULU splits BUT not pants RT @247WallSt: More Stock Splits (LULU, OKS, TGI, SNHY, CLH, OKE) http://bit.ly/nGS17w
sent via UberSocial for BlackBerry
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Bruising and yoga
Muscle rub at the end of my traditional Indian yoga class is leaving me sore and bruised. My doctor recommended more Vitamin C. Never made that connection before!
Also good for bruising: spray tanning...Happy 4th of July!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Hamstring Horrors
Yoga in the torture chamber (aka hot room) has taught me all kinds of cool things about my body... chief among them: what it sounds like when you injure your hamstring. And what sound is that, you ask? A very crunchy pop!
The first time I heard the telltale pop was a year ago, in one of my first Yin classes. I was doing Winged Dragon pose with my left leg forward and tilted out, forearms on the ground, probably pushing myself too far, when I heard a springlike "boing!" from underneath my left leg, high up near my glutes. It was accompanied by a sizzling sensation. The injury wasn't debilitating, but that hamstring was sore for the better part of six months. I kept going to class regularly and stretching it out and eventually it healed into a nice, big, shapely, body-builder-esque hamstring. It is much better looking than my tiny right hamstring. Like I said, yoga makes you notice all kinds of cool things about your body.
Yesterday morning in Bikram, I heard the pop again, this time in one of my favorite poses: Standing Separate Leg Stretching. I leaned forward onto my toes, relaxed my pelvic floor, tightened up my quads (ostensibly to help release my hamstrings), and pulled my forehead toward the mat with my biceps.
Pop! From the underside of my right leg, way up under my glutes, in the middle of a very quiet class... there was that same spring-like "boing!" noise and some sizzling pain. Probably pushing myself too far, too fast again. This injury is not debilitating either, but it is tender even while sitting at my desk. Fingers crossed, I hope it heals into the same kind of freak monster muscle as its left side twin!
The first time I heard the telltale pop was a year ago, in one of my first Yin classes. I was doing Winged Dragon pose with my left leg forward and tilted out, forearms on the ground, probably pushing myself too far, when I heard a springlike "boing!" from underneath my left leg, high up near my glutes. It was accompanied by a sizzling sensation. The injury wasn't debilitating, but that hamstring was sore for the better part of six months. I kept going to class regularly and stretching it out and eventually it healed into a nice, big, shapely, body-builder-esque hamstring. It is much better looking than my tiny right hamstring. Like I said, yoga makes you notice all kinds of cool things about your body.
Yesterday morning in Bikram, I heard the pop again, this time in one of my favorite poses: Standing Separate Leg Stretching. I leaned forward onto my toes, relaxed my pelvic floor, tightened up my quads (ostensibly to help release my hamstrings), and pulled my forehead toward the mat with my biceps.
Pop! From the underside of my right leg, way up under my glutes, in the middle of a very quiet class... there was that same spring-like "boing!" noise and some sizzling pain. Probably pushing myself too far, too fast again. This injury is not debilitating either, but it is tender even while sitting at my desk. Fingers crossed, I hope it heals into the same kind of freak monster muscle as its left side twin!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Things That Make Hot Yoga Easier
1. Hydration. Not just the day of class, but as a constant in life. The more water, the better. Drink up.
2. Getting a lot of sleep. I found this out kind of by accident. During the week I average 7 hours of sleep per night, and 9 on weekends. I'd long suspected the correlation between getting plenty of rest and doing better in yoga class, based on the general theory that maintaining a healthy lifestyle will benefit most strenuous physical activities. But one weekend earlier this year, I crashed and slept for 12 hours on accident, then woke up and went to a Bikram class. It felt like the room was a miraculous 75 degrees F instead of 105! So easy, I just sailed through. Lesson learned.
3. Proper attire. I like Lululemon, because their stuff is durable and comfy, and they have an outlet about an hour from my house where everything is 25-40% off. It's still quite an investment, but a good one.
4. An absorbent mat towel. Regular bath towels will not prevent you from sliding. I have a Kulae yoga towel for Bikram, and a Yogitoes towel for hot power Vinyasa, plus a few off-brand ones that I keep on hand for Yin.
5. Nutrition. I learned this the hard way. I began practicing hot yoga eight months after my father died, and right after I had transitioned from a very stressful position with long hours to a much more reasonable one. At the time, I was completely drained and depleted on a lot of levels. I hadn't been making good food choices, I'd been drinking a lot of beer and wine, and my heart was broken. Yoga helped me rebuild my mental and physical health, but first I fell apart. I caught all manner of colds, and had my lymph nodes swell up mysteriously, off and on, for months. Once I resumed my longstanding habit of proper food intake plus supplements (pushed aside for lack of time while my father was ailing and I was working that insane job) and scaled back my beverages slightly, hot yoga got a lot easier. When I started replenishing my electrolytes, it got easier still. And so on and so forth.
2. Getting a lot of sleep. I found this out kind of by accident. During the week I average 7 hours of sleep per night, and 9 on weekends. I'd long suspected the correlation between getting plenty of rest and doing better in yoga class, based on the general theory that maintaining a healthy lifestyle will benefit most strenuous physical activities. But one weekend earlier this year, I crashed and slept for 12 hours on accident, then woke up and went to a Bikram class. It felt like the room was a miraculous 75 degrees F instead of 105! So easy, I just sailed through. Lesson learned.
3. Proper attire. I like Lululemon, because their stuff is durable and comfy, and they have an outlet about an hour from my house where everything is 25-40% off. It's still quite an investment, but a good one.
4. An absorbent mat towel. Regular bath towels will not prevent you from sliding. I have a Kulae yoga towel for Bikram, and a Yogitoes towel for hot power Vinyasa, plus a few off-brand ones that I keep on hand for Yin.
5. Nutrition. I learned this the hard way. I began practicing hot yoga eight months after my father died, and right after I had transitioned from a very stressful position with long hours to a much more reasonable one. At the time, I was completely drained and depleted on a lot of levels. I hadn't been making good food choices, I'd been drinking a lot of beer and wine, and my heart was broken. Yoga helped me rebuild my mental and physical health, but first I fell apart. I caught all manner of colds, and had my lymph nodes swell up mysteriously, off and on, for months. Once I resumed my longstanding habit of proper food intake plus supplements (pushed aside for lack of time while my father was ailing and I was working that insane job) and scaled back my beverages slightly, hot yoga got a lot easier. When I started replenishing my electrolytes, it got easier still. And so on and so forth.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
What Lies Within
"Yoga never demands the sacrifice of our reason. It only bids us: use it a thousand times more. Yoga does not require us to give up our active lives. It says simply: act, but know how to act. Yoga does not by any means wish us to push our understanding aside. It only tells us: discriminate correctly and act fearlessly. Yoga does not expect us to flee from the world and to retire into the Himalayas. It assures us: the refuge you seek you will never find in the outside world. It is within you. Leave the stormy world of the senses behind you, raise your consciousness to the central point of your being and realize that here alone is the force, here alone is the peace and here alone the refuge you are seeking. Yoga teaches us: do not condemn the world. Deify the world by your deeds, purify the world by your utterances and ennoble the world by your presence."
- Selvarajan Yesudian (from Yoga Gems, edited by Georg Feuerstein)
- Selvarajan Yesudian (from Yoga Gems, edited by Georg Feuerstein)
Friday, June 3, 2011
Hot child in the city
Upon my return from Spain, I discovered that my air conditioner is dead and will cost $600 to replace. How long can I go Euro? A little Bikram goes a long way to ease my fussy discomfort in the heat!
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Pet Peeves
Here is a short list of things that I've seen in hot yoga class, and would prefer to never see again.
1. The inflexible body builder (think Rocky Balboa) who spent most of class grunting, sweating, exhaling loudly, and leaning on the front mirror for support... then left a big, streaky, sweaty mess on the mirror at the end of class. And no, he didn't bother to wipe it off with his towel.
2. Ladies who do not wash their eye makeup off before stepping into the torture chamber (i.e. hot yoga studio). By the end of class, they look like extras in a Marilyn Manson video, except healthier.
3. The newbie on the mat next to me who didn't bring a towel and thus spent the entire class sweating, slipping around, and loudly clearing his sinuses into his hand and wiping them... on his shorts.
PS - To the skater dude in my class last night who had epic sideburns and "sinner" tattooed in script sideways up his ribcage... homeboy, you are in the right place!
1. The inflexible body builder (think Rocky Balboa) who spent most of class grunting, sweating, exhaling loudly, and leaning on the front mirror for support... then left a big, streaky, sweaty mess on the mirror at the end of class. And no, he didn't bother to wipe it off with his towel.
2. Ladies who do not wash their eye makeup off before stepping into the torture chamber (i.e. hot yoga studio). By the end of class, they look like extras in a Marilyn Manson video, except healthier.
3. The newbie on the mat next to me who didn't bring a towel and thus spent the entire class sweating, slipping around, and loudly clearing his sinuses into his hand and wiping them... on his shorts.
PS - To the skater dude in my class last night who had epic sideburns and "sinner" tattooed in script sideways up his ribcage... homeboy, you are in the right place!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
DOWNsides to flexibility?
...RIP Diesel FANKER jeans....ripped the crotch out of my pants on my way to work being a little too precocious when hiking my leg up to tie a shoe. Pigeon...I blame you...
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