Mimi in India, January 2012

There is a balance point of stillness in my asana practice where each posture opens up energy centers and alignment in my body that increases my movement facility in the hoop. The backward bending poses put me in touch with the power to elevate my sky-angle-hooping, and the inverted postures activate my core in different and complementary ways to what I experience in my hoop practice.

I have been a Hatha Yoga (Sivananda) instructor since 1994. With a background in dance, the teaching and correcting of alignment within a class setting is something I consider absolutely essential. I became serious about my hoopdance practice in 2010 and took it to a daily practice in 2011. Returning from my second (month-long) trip to India in 2012, I am even more committed to exploring and teaching the resonance between the stillness of asana and the movement of hoopdance.

I work on proper alignment and breath with each student. Small class size means personal attention geared to each student’s experience level. Maximum number of students is 10.

From 6:15pm to 6:30pm is time to bring up any questions or issues. At 6:30 the class begins with a 5-minute relaxation to clear the mind of daily concerns.

Next we do several rounds of Sun Salutations to warm up and prepare for the practice. Asana means comfortable steady pose – the benefits of a posture come from being able to hold it pose steady with a relaxed mind focused on the breath. To this end it is important to do the variation of an asana that best fits ones physical condition and make adaptations where necessary. We do 12 basic postures (with variations from beginner to advanced) in each class. There are also seasonal additions possible. The series of asanas moves through inverted (upside-down) postures, forward bends, backward bends, spinal twist, balancing postures and side bends. By practice of these postures in coordination with deep yogic breath every system of the body is toned: musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, nervous system, endocrine system and the digestive and eliminative systems.

The class ends with pranayama (breathing exercises) and a 5-minute final relaxation.

We do chant Om together in class, and I chant slokas at the beginning and end of class. Chanting Sanskrit and chanting Om raise the vibration and help us have a more centered practice.

Om + Prem!

Sitting forward bend (Paschimothanasana) is a wonderfully relaxing and contemplative pose once we are able to accept it on its own terms. It is, for many of us who may not be as flexible along the back of our body from ankles to head as we imagine we might be, a challenge. The challenge is of the mind – not of the body, but it is reflected in the way we initially use our body in the pose. An imaginary example of the kind of inner dialogue that might exist in class might be: “Ugh, I hate this pose. I can’t believe I can’t even touch my feet. Wait, if I can just grab the sides of my feet and pull with my arms. There – that looks better, not so embarrassing. Feels horrible – why is the teacher making us hold it so long. Ugh.” Well – a lot going on there, none of it great – but it’s a start. To get the most out of our practice we need to meet ourselves on the mat where we are, not where we might have been yesterday or where we wish we were today or hope to be tomorrow.

If you can wrap the thumb and index fingers in chin mudra around the big toes, chin touching our shins and elbows on the floor with legs straight and together and feet flexed that’s awesome – if you can’t you can still have a very successful practice of this asana. The main thing is to steady the mind within a quiet hold of the posture and focus on the breath and on mantra – while in a sustainable and technically correct version of the posture for one’s current physical state. The mind and the watching and accepting of it without getting wrapped up in its circumnavigations is the point. Lots of good stuff happens with and for the body too, of course: The internal organs are stimulated through a gentle massage by the breath with the abdomen compressed against the thighs, reduction of abdominal fat takes place with steady practice, the back of the body is gently stretched and the nervous system is toned.

For the moderately or less flexible here is the correct approach: lengthen (not round) the spine – which means keeping the neck long and head in line with the spine – not chin towards the chest as that automatically rounds the spine. Hold on where we can reach semi-comfortably (ankles, shins or even thighs), keep the shoulders relaxed and the elbows slightly bent towards the floor. Then it is about watching the mind. It may tell you it doesn’t like this asana. As you develop your practice this is no problem, in fact it is an opportunity to deepen your practice and strengthen your mind – just give that thought to the breath and refocus the mind on breath and mantra.

I rely on my yoga practice as a ‘storm cellar’ for such ego-driven events, but if I forget to run to the storm cellar it cannot do me any good. While I am better at forecasting these internal weather alerts, I recently disregarded the signals and was caught out in a rain of my own devise. Painful. I am still grappling with the inner fallout because as I get better at preventing these things, I become much more sensitive to the ones that occur. Where I used to just ‘shake it off’ mostly by blaming other parties, for many years now I’ve known the focus is on keeping my thoughts and actions as ‘clean’ as possible.

Sometimes I fail. I am human. The positive side of failure is its perfection as an inflection point to rededicate myself to my practice in all and for all its multifaceted power to heal body mind and spirit.

What then? That is the critical question I am asking myself today. If I miss do I let it slide? A couple too many slides and the practice begins to deteriorate. Do I have an internal diatribe against myself: “lazy,” “undisciplined,” “no good?” Wait! How did I get from missing a practice to being no good? That internal diatribe is an old samskara (mental habit) that has no or negative utility.

For myself, after years of practice as I have been fine-tuning my dinacharya over the past year, I have also been developing a practice of self-care and kindness that limns the fine line between ‘slide’ and negative self talk. I am living a life in a body. Therefore I am not perfect. I have an idea what is the best practice for my health and happiness. I strive to manifest that. I sometimes succeed. I sometimes fall short. Then I keep going forward and adhere closer. I can’t change the past, even if it was just a minute ago. My best efforts are always spent to make the present better.

Can you relate? Can you take a positive, kind and self-caring attitude towards your own strivings?

What do you do when you skip your daily asana practice?
(polls)

The story of how I got rid of knee pain through my yoga asana practice and my hoopdance practice.

Misdiagnosis
Over 10 years ago after complaining of knee pain I was sent for an x-ray and received a diagnosis from my then primary care physician of a mild case of arthritis. This changed my behavior: every time I experienced sensations in my knees I backed off from that activity: I stopped dancing and even reduced my asana practice markedly. However, the pain was still getting worse over the years. Going up stairs was particularly bad. The last couple of years even stepping up onto a curb was very uncomfortable. Even getting up and walking after sitting for a couple of hours was very uncomfortable. Finally in May of 2010 I decided to look into knee replacement and was referred by a friend to a very good surgeon. His office took extensive x-rays and when he called me back into his office he told me I didn’t have arthritis at all! He showed me all my cartilage on the x-ray!

Correct Diagnosis
What I have is called Patellofemoral Syndrome or Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome, probably from some dance injuries I had over the years. The pain comes from the movement of the Patella (kneecap) out of the ‘groove’ of correct position and away from the center line. Additionally, this syndrome also causes very tight hamstrings and some swelling in the posterior of the knees. There is no cure. There is no medication. They say the only amelioration of this syndrome is through strengthening the quadriceps (especially the Vastus Medialis in the inner thigh).

I Reduced My Knee Pain from Patellofemoral Syndrome (PFS) 90+% Through my Asana Practice
The doctor gave me a mimeographed sheet with one knee exercise on it. I did this exercise daily as prescribed and the pain got a little better and the stability of my kneecaps got a little better, but after a month the results leveled off. I became really motivated to increase my health. In September 2010 I went to India on a pilgrimage for about a month. During that time I practiced yoga asanas six days a week, in the morning. My knees were not yet strong but I persevered.

When I got back to New York I continued this morning practice and began to become more aware of what was working for me. I also have another health modality, hoopdance, which I increased to a daily practice too.

At this point I very rarely experience any pain or discomfort, sitting, standing, bicycling, practicing my yoga asanas or hoopdancing. More than 90% of the time there’s no discomfort even climing stairs. Every so often I feel a bit of instability and then I focus on my alignment as I go and everything is good. I feel blessed and grateful that I had the knowledge and insight through my years of teaching and practicing to be able to heal myself, once I had a correct diagnosis.

If you suffer from too-flexible kneecaps, PFS or PFPS and you’re in the NY Metro area, come take my class! I would love to share this knowledge and experience with you.

Runoff from non-organically farmed citrus contributes to mercury in Florida fish

Why even bother? I can only speak for myself and I am definitely not perfect. Practicing ahimsa is a bitch (for me). I’m a fairly acerbic native New Yorker so for me just witnessing and detaching from my tendency to be judgmental is a full-time occupation. The cleaner my diet is though, the better I feel and the quieter my mind.

In the spring/summer/fall it’s easy to be more conscious as I purchase 90%+ of produce from local farmers. After reading this article I am definitely going 100% organic on citrus. Buying into this mess would be voting for it with my dollars (one of our most powerful votes, one we make every day). The saddest part of this is there is not much new here – agribusiness already knows and doesn’t care. We can make our own decisions though and act accordingly.

Summer

This summer, for health and environmental reasons I am not running my air conditioners. I am fortunate to live in an apartment with north/south exposure so I have breezy cross-ventilation, and ceiling fans set to Summer: the blades are tilted to pull the cool air up from the floor rather than pushing the hot air down from the ceiling.

The health benefits I’m deriving from this can be summed up as doing what is seasonally correct to create balance in my life. This includes decisions about eating, sleeping, asana practice and in general how I am approaching life. Ayurveda, the ancient Indian art and science of health, defines the seasons and the human constitutions into three types: Vata (air and ether), Pitta (fire and water) and Kapha (earth and water). Summer is Pitta time so it has the qualities of heat, light, moisture, sharpness and intensity. In these conditions we are naturally attracted to cool to balance ourselves. In food my top picks for my summer diet are cucumbers, sprouts, mangoes, coconut, watermelon, seasonal juicy fruits, seasonal dark leafy greens. How does air conditioning effect these decisions? In hot summer one naturally gravitates towards lighter foods and more hydration. However, if one spends most of one’s time in an artificially cold environment heavier winter foods may be ingested – yet it is still summer and one loses the benefit of being in tune with the actual season/conditions.

My asana practice 12 months a year is based on Swami Vishnudevanandas 12 basic postures for optimum health, with variations, additions and adaptations: I emphasize the forward bends in my summer practice as they all (including Baalasana or Child’s Pose) have a cooling quality, and because muscles are warm it a good season to approach increasing flexibility of all the muscles of the back of the body from the ankles all the way up the legs back and shoulders.

I include Sitkari and Shitali in my pranayama practice when it is over 85 degrees and humid (in New York that’s just about every day from July through August).

In my asanas and in general throughout the summer days, I consciously foster thoughts and ideas of acceptance, non-judgment, relaxation, non-hurry, self-care. As I am fiery in nature (prone to aggravated Pitta) sometimes this is a losing battle, but it is always worth pursuing, never more so than in Summer heat.

Hope this post inspires you to cool your thoughts, relax body and mind, and enjoy your summer.