Cat/Cow–A Blueprint for Stability

Counteraction is the key to stabilizing our joints.

The movements of the shoulder blade play an integral role in the stability of your core, but many of us have very stuck shoulder blades. Cat/Cow is a great way to mobilize AND strengthen this system to become a better foundation for all of the poses which bare weight in your hands. Read on for the breakdown, so you can build up your Cat/Cow. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: anatomy, arm balances, asana, back pain, backbends, continuing education, injury prevention, shoulder pain, yoga

First, do no harm.

Ahimsa.

The very first tenet of the path of Raja Yoga. The first Yama. Do No Harm. Treat all life with respect, kindness, non-violence.

Mightily espoused by yogis world-wide, and most commonly quoted as the fundamental reason yogis “should” be vegetarian, it is one of the more clearly stated ethical boundaries adopted by those on the eight-fold path of Yoga. Clear in it’s message of kindness, and yet one I see thrown to the way-side in so many classes in which I participate.

Violence. A word that is endemic in this modern world: wars, gangs, crime, abuse, neglect, and every -ism you can name. Sometimes it makes headlines that make us cringe, or headlines that make us think. Many times violence is obvious, overt, in-your-face. These forms are easy to denounce, to rail against, to decry. Our practice on and off the mat is often used to counter the social atrocities that surround us: fund raisers, festivals, concerts, seva. Service. We offer our bodies and our hearts and our voices and our dollars at the alter of doing good for others.

And yet as we step on the mat each day, so many of us step right into the arms of Violence against ourselves. We come to the mat for solace, for effort, to burn off our stressors and dive deep within. However, this act can become unkind when pursued from a place tainted by competitive ego. We can move too fast, we can push too hard. We can refuse to listen to our inner voice when it whispers to us and only hear it when in screams at us from a truly deep injury.

Our asana practice is a tool to bring us into deeper alignment with our true Nature. If we approach it with a blind eye and deaf ear, we are no longer in a practice. Our asana can work against us if we don’t have a basic understanding of the Nature of our body, for our body is what we bring to the mat first. We cannot focus only on our muscle and bone, but neither can we discount it.

Unknowingly inflicting violence upon my Low Back.

My own practice is deeply rooted in this physical exploration and though I have studied anatomy and physiology for going on two decades, I am still surprised and amazed by observations being made across the physical industries. This article by Michael Boyle MA, ATC,  “Is Rotation Training Hurting Your Performance”, references just such observations with respect to twists in the low back. I found it eye-opening and gut-clenching all at once. Drawing from the research of Shirley Sarhman and her book, Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes, it describes the importance of rotating our spine at the Thoracic level (mid-upper back) instead of our Lumbar levels.

This article was a wake-up call to me that even as closely as I observe and converse with the inner workings of my body, that I was ignoring some very basic functional anatomy and inflicting violence upon it with many of the movements in my practice. I have since made adjustments and found that my lingering back pains have disappeared.

This article also made me begin looking deeper at my spine in practice from top to bottom and along the way I have made some rather startling personal discoveries. As I teach these new alignments to my students, they are discovering their own new levels of freedom and strength. I will be offering intensives on this work in the months to come, so STAY TUNED.

Not only do we need to pay attention each time we step on the mat, but we must remain aware that new information is available for us to feed our knowledge base and grow in the intelligence of our asana. It’s not always about going farther or holding longer. Making those distinctions is part of our practice of Ahimsa. Be kind to your body.

Tags: ahimsa, alignment, anatomy, asana, ashtanga yoga, eight-limbs, knowledge, philosophy, precision, spine, stabilization, study, teaching, yama

The Words We Use

As yoga teachers, we feel responsible for so much: safety, ego, emotional health, students getting what they think they need, getting students in the door…and that’s just IN the studio. My own personal view: Start Small and Keep It Simple.

A colleague of mine recently emailed regarding a message I offered in one of my last trainings: Stop teaching rhetorically and think critically about what you are offering your students. I am posting her inquiry here and my response; I invite your take on this and an open discussion. Just remember to be nice

Richelle,

I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said about the “rhetoric” that plagues yoga instruction…

I’m really challenging myself and my colleagues to more clearly define what we are doing and why—and for our cues to reflect that.

Specifically, I’m struggling with the cue “open.” I say it so much but I want to get away from that—I want to be able to explain what I mean by “open” to a beginning student.

So I wonder how you would define this idea of “opening” an area of the body, or a tight, specific muscle.

Does that make sense? Please let me know what you think when you have a chance.

Thank you!

Erin

Hi Erin,

I am thrilled to hear you talk about this. The words we use are important, and clearly communicating our intention is a big part of being a successful teacher. You are correct, a word like “open” can be ambiguous at best. I prefer to describe the particulars of the tissue, structure or joint I am referring to…because your description of “opening” may be vastly different for each area.

My own style of teaching has evolved to limit descriptors as much as possible so I can communicate more information in less time. Ex: “right hand reaches to windows” instead of reach your right hand to the window wall”. At first, it may sound robotic, but over time, your voice, your cadence, your tone all bring meaning to these details without using extra words. You can be more direct when describing simple or basic movements. That way, when you begin to describe something more specific, the hip joint for example, the mere fact that you use more detail, or full sentences, draws attention to it’s importance.

I might describe the joint itself:

“there is a fibrous ligament that spirals around the head and neck of the femur bone, holding it into it’s socket. When we sit all day, the fibers of this ligament can get stuck together like velcro, and proper movement here can help pull those fibers apart and soften the tissue. We want to unwind the stickiness that extends through the connective tissue of the muscle and joint for more freedom. If we rush into a deep stretch or bully our way through these sticky spots, our tissue will fight us and even bite back…slow, movement, blood flow…that will serve us.”

I’ve taken a few extra seconds to draw them a mental picture of what their action can accomplish, what they are truly working on. I often refer back to “finding the middle ground”, “explore the edge but don’t push past it…it will move outward on its own”, “balance between length and strength”, “unwind”, “soften”, “melt”; instead of “open”.

I like to teach my students something about the body they’re in. You gotta start small, one little piece at a time. But those little pieces will begin to meet up in their minds to build a bigger view of what they are doing and why. Any time we are offered a meaning for the actions we take, we are more likely to take care in those actions.

I hope that helps! ~R

Tags: alignment, asana, cues, how-to, philosophy, scripting, sequencing, teaching, training, yoga, yoga teachers

Hip Replacement–What we want to avoid.

In my last workshop we looked at the anatomy of the hip and discussed some of the risks involved in over-opening this joint.  It is rare to think of the hips as having hypermobility, but in the case of advanced practitioners who work diligently at excessive extension and extreme external rotation in this joint, laxity is a common result.  

Too much length in the ligaments that hold the joint together, coupled with a lack of direct strengthening of stabilizer muscles may result in degeneration of cartilage tissues and eventually bone.  In the most extreme cases, hip replacement will be necessary.  The video I have inserted below illustrates the procedure in beautiful detail, showing exactly what a patient will experience in the case of an Anterior Hip Replacement.

While this is done in computer illustration, it is still a powerful representation and may be too graphic for some viewers.  I recommend caution in viewing for yourself.  I do believe, however, that a more accurate understanding of the potential consequences of our actions in practice, may guide us toward a slower, more observant practice on our mat.

I would love your feedback on this post, as I plan to use more material of this sort in my quest to open up the world of anatomy and physiology to my community of heartfelt asana practitioners.

~Namaste

Tags: anatomy, asana, graphic, hip replacement, hips, ligaments, moderation, physiology, Practice, surgery, video, yoga

Youth Sports….what does it really lead to?

In reading this article from the New York Times, I found myself making connections to both my practice of healing and my role in the Yoga community.  The article describes the competitive culture of youth sports, and the pressure by adults to perform, underscoring the alarming rate of overuse-injury at very young ages.  As early as 1952, national groups were criticizing the “high-pressure elements” of youth sports programs.  And it has only gotten more pervasive today.

What I noticed was a strong correlation between these examples of competitive youth sports and injury, and the pain patterns I treat today.  I have no statistics, but the more people I treat in my massage therapy practice, the more I hear these words, “I played soccer (or any other sport) when I was young, and my knee (neck, shoulder, elbow, back…) has never been the same.  It’s sore all the time!  I’m not old enough to feel this old.”  It has become apparent to me as well, that the pressure to push hard has continued for most of these student athletes into adulthood.  Sometimes it’s a good thing–work ethic, focus and determination are great take-aways–but many times, these folks water ski, snowboard, run, rock-climb, or do YOGA past the point of health, and push into injury.  They willfully put pain aside to go farther.  And for what??  There is no little plastic trophy or letterman’s badge at the end of this….so why push?

Because we have learned to push. In the world where accomplishment outweighs all, we have left common sense behind.  We constantly leave behind our instincts, that voice in the back of the head that says, “that ‘pop’ wasn’t good…but it doesn’t hurt TOO bad, I can keep going.”  I see this in the yoga culture now too.  With new styles constantly touted as the way to firm abs, thin thighs and weight loss, the desire to compete (even with one’s self) is being exploited by business people.  Yoga students are often encouraged to push far beyond their limits, resulting in injury and pain.  Newbies to yoga in today’s world see airbrushed images of sweat-covered, muscled bodies and say, “I want that”…nevermind that that body likely took years to sculpt, and probably not with yoga alone.  Students constantly ask how long it will take to reach a certain point…when will I be strong enough, stretchy enough, when will my heels touch the ground, when will I be able to do headstand?  If you tell them the truth, that it may take a lifetime, they are not satisfied.  They expect instant gratification, quantifiable outcomes.  But the body usually rejects that.  Push too far, too fast and INJURY WILL OCCUR.  These injuries will only set the body back further, leading to more time to reach those all-important goals.

As yoga teachers, we must recognize these patterns for all they are worth and teach for awareness.  While there is something to be said for using tapas, facing fears and persevering through difficulty, we have to remain self-aware.  Without awareness, we can’t hear the voice of our inner intelligence; we move out of the pain of growth and into the pain of injury.  We cannot take responsibility for the drive to compete within our students, we can teach a class that encourages moderation, internal conversations and assessment.  We can also drive home the fact that there are no magic bullets, there are no quick-fixes…we can teach that a life-long practice will get you exactly where you are meant to go.

As parents and coaches and supporting adults, we need to step back from our own egos to see that the lessons we teach our kids in the beginning of life,  lead to life-long patterns.  To keep our next generations healthy and active, we need to teach them to listen to the inner voices, not the competitive chiding from the sidelines.  Activities like organized sports can be powerful outlets for energy, invaluable learning experiences and social interactions, but WE have to get out of the way!  If the goal is to teach them, then we must craft the lessons deliberately and not allow our own adult ego and competitive desires to outweigh the importance of a healthy mind-body.  We can teach them in youth how to care for themselves and others, to cultivate compassion, and to honor their talents in appropriate measure.

Tags: child-athletes, coaches, ego, expectations, grasping, injury, intelligence, mind-body, pain, parents, performance, pressure, self-awareness, sport-media, teaching, wellness, youth-sports