In class today

Started therapy class just now -- it is soothing and relaxing. For the students usually.  But as far the teacher is concerned, it is always the most demanding of all classes. A high intensive class is good to teach. But only some students zone in -- so always I wonder at those who wish to teach yoga, how they cope with these different demands in a class... Maybe they hold back and so therefore they do not get tired. Maybe, sometime I start teaching that way too:)

Some students moving into 7-minute headstand. Am deliberately not naming them since I am fearful of the evil eye (so S and S, please don't feel bad if I don't mention your names:)

Scorpion is still a struggle for others trying it. Other day Jit, on a walk-in, after the first support, held it on his own. Then of course, Petros has been doing it steadily. In fact, his energy in the evening class is good -- another high-demand timing for an instructor, the evening slot -- since people are coming from a full day of work or some stress and the lift has to come from outside, the teacher... So, yes, which explains why I run so few evening sessions...

Quizztime: Trataka

First querstion? Is trataka a regular yoga practice? If yes, where do you place it?

Second question? Is it heating or cooling to your system?!

Answers my dear, floats in the wind. Or in your practice... Mull this over, you yoga instructors who know all!

Daily Health Gyan

Lord! So many women in my class these days with mild or severe vertigo... Am I going to tell them that the alternative healer Louise Hay says vertigo and dizziness comes from scattered, flightly thinking??!! She adds it also means a refusal to look ... she does not say, at what!
Any case, u get the point -- life is tough. For the vertigo sufferers, and for teachers who try to tell them where they should heal it from -- the inside!! Some days I hate my  `job:) '

What yoga is that we do? Yogic thot for the day

In the classical texts, as by Gorakh, dharana must be for two hours and continuous and without break. Since dharana is one of the ang -- limbs of classical yoga -- you may appreciate why none of us are really close to practising proper yoga. Imagine the ones who cannot focus even in a pose -- what of two hours, and how far away these people from the steadiness of spirit and firmness of mind.
Dharana is equated to a sharp weapon in one's personality in which the person who practices it can sever all bonds. (Def from Ksurikopanishad)

Different pranayama and their `personality'

Free MySpace Animations!

The other day someone left a question in my blog -- after posting it, I realised I could not locate it. So, here is the answer to that query. The person wondered why I had said Bhramari was heating when she thought it was cooling because it calms the mind. Now for the actual facts. Calming does not  mean cooling. It is just calming. We should not confuse words and therefore the effects of the pranayama. Calm is different from cool. When we  use the words in relation to the pranayama, it means the emotional effect is calming and the physical effect is heating (in the good sense of course). If you practice regularly you will understand what I mean: Bhramari cools the mind, but heats the body. If the bhrarmari is long and winding and if you move into its advanced version which also includes breath retention then u can actually  feel the heat. A good bhramari requires focus and effort and these two mental efforts will always whip up a good sweat. Those who do a weak bhramari are just feeling the practice and not fully experiencing it. Which, I am afraid, is where such doubts come from.

So a brief description of some of the classic pranayamas, so you can appreciate that their mental effect is different from their physical ones.

Basic Anulom Viloma -- alternate nostril breathing -- In its minimum ratio or no ratio as some schools (WHY!) prescribe it or if one with one nostril (as the Bihar school advised beginners) it can be cooling.

Physical effect: cooling
Mental effect: Calming, harmonising, creating a sense of balance. Objectivity.

Advanced Anulom viloma (alternate nostril breathing), with a ratio of 1:4:2 for inhalation: retention: exhalation this becomes progressively challenging if either you increase the counts, or the number of rounds. Beginners should first focus on increasing the rounds and then only move to the advanced ratio.

Phyiscal effect: Heating.
Mental effect: Calming. Balancing,  harmonising, creates objectivity and dispassion. Boosts willpower and discipline.  

Kapalabhati:
Is a kriya, cleanser.

Physical effect: Heating.
Mental effect: Heating (Can aggravate anger but can help with anxiety through the hyperventilation). Stimulating.


Bhastrika:
Same as above, can cause exhaustion if hyper anxious or physically weak.

Ujjayi:
Physical effect: Heating.
Mental: Calming . (To be avoided during clinical depression).

Seetali:
Physical effect: Cooling.
Mental effect: Cooling.


Seetkari:
Physical effect: Cooling.
Mental effect: Cooling.

Yogic tip for today

Practising pranayama with breath retention helps in poses like the classic locust, scorpion, standing crescent and peacock where the breath may be required to be held (almost involuntarily) ... In the peacock for instance, BKS suggests you should hold your breath in the final pose!

Daily Health Gyan: stomach swelling

The damned thing, the day after I do some intense `abs' -- all yogic stuff -- I may feel all swollen, instead of shrunk! I wondered at this -- one is that u need protein when you overload and overwork your muscles. And chronic vegetarians , we truly lack this repairing food in our bodies which often sports nutritionists suggest can cause abdominal bloating. Other is that your insides may be just inflamed from the work overload: not all inflammation are flare-ups like acne etc. Some are the less obvious causes -- like puffy eyes, inflammed gut, ulcers which erupt after simmering inside for long...
So, just wondered how after the last intense session I actually finally felt that the `abs' program was beginning to be effective, with my stomach feeling inside and in control ... I realised that it must be something in the food I ate last night. Lots of ginger!!
Ginger is anti-inflammatory and a vata-herb... It cleanses the colon and prevents inflammation there. Maybe, all I need is to sip ginger tea and give up yogic abs:)

Today in class

Today was a soft class in the evening, with old hand Jit doing a walk-in. He has shifted to Vashi (what the media calls the `far-away) suburbs. And tho he claimed he has not been practising, executed the poses as well as he always does, including, of the Jit special (as Bharat calls that pose:) -- the classic locust. And today his scorpion also met the target -- a perfect final position without any support including my presence, as I walked off, leaving him, curving mid-air, in one of the most exciting poses to teach and learn.

Murthy's practice is becoming perfect day by day -- and considering that he comes in after his long hours at work, that is something. His headstand has become more centered. He is holding for four minutes or more. His scorpion attempt is going the right way. From struggling with the basic wheel, he now does the leg-hand lifts perfectly.

Evening class is always difficult to manage -- since the attrition rate is huge (Mumba is an exhausting city and even the ones who desp want to come fall away after commuting and work stress takes its toll:( So, always, for me the evening classes are most intensive in terms of energy demand. But the current set is in a good zone, with newcome Naomi managing the crow in a week, and the headstand in as less:)

Morning classes -- the 7 am classes are running full and I have a waiting list usually for that slot, which makes me think that if the house lease runs out, I might have to look for a place with a larger hall. Just a few more months, for that:)  And any of you, from my current batches reading it, it is going to be in the same area dearies, so don't fret.

Helicopter rotation: headstand variation

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This video was shot just when the knee started healing. That is why there is that hint of nervous movement because I knew if I landed on my foot, the knee would be forever jerked in pain:)

I learnt this version from Tom, our asana teacher from California while doing my basic TTC. Must be surely more than a decade ago. Since he did not find anybody else who could do it from the class he did it himself. I recall, he flipped to one side and we all gasped in horror. Know looking back, I smile because in this variation, falling to either side or even the back or front is inevitable while first trying it. Actually you land on your foot (to the side u are tilting), if you are an advanced practitioner and can control a fall. But then, u could land anywhere -- a beginner has no need for an excuse to fall clumsily:) So, I quite love this pose since it was amongst the most exciting headstand variations I had learnt. However, even today I cannot be entirely casual about it, as I am with other variations, because this one calls for a lot of focus, strength and intense alertness. One slip of the mind, then you just flip in a long pile of muscle and bones. That is why I find such poses very meditative -- because they tone the mind so much. How come these raja yoga types (take our famous local yoga institute for instance) dismiss such things as acrobatics?!!! Because, Watsons, they are lazy and guzzling food uncontrollably, while talking of discipline from a podium.!!!!

What u need for this pose?

• Lot of strength from upper arms, shoulders.
• Awareness should shift from different parts of the body, with ease -- shoulders, mostly elbows, legs and hips.
• Ease in the leg cycling variation of the headstand. If you negotiating that timidly, this pose is not for you.
• Lack of fear over falling.

Happy sadhana!

Daily Health Gyan

Lower back pain -- tho most people normally assume it is the spine in trouble, some other part close to the back may be actually the cause... Some of such causes include

• Kidney trouble (an issue with men who may resort to steriods when pumping iron), and stones
• Women's reproductive issues -- cysts, fibroids, infection - can all cause lower back strain.
• Swelling of arteries in the lower back/abdomen region.
• STRESS !!! The psoas muscles which support the torso contract in tension.

Today's yogic tip

Moving from one pose to another deliberately calls for immense focus and involution of the mind. For instance, you can try this -- from standing forward bend moving into the upright tadasana. Can be challenging because both involve balance, though in the opposite directions. Also blood is moving down and then is forced to move upwards... this can be tricky when you stand up. So every move must be aware and deliberate.

Tweets: Personality and poses

... by the intuitive master on this subject, Dr Frawley, as tweets here

Daily Health Gyan

Picked up opium oil aroma candles, incense, perfume from Auroville in Chennai, while there over the weekend. It has a sharp tangy sub-text -- I like it and find it youthful. I have been lighting the candle at the class and the smell hangs on for long, but not very dominantly. And tho opium sounds like some naughty word u don't want to say in public, the oil itself comes from the seeds, which the web informs me, is not a narcotic (like the flowers). We Indians use it widely as part of our heavy-duty spices ... and this oil is also used in cosmetics etc. Apparently, it is rich in essential fatty oils (which may explain why it forms a rich base), and also boosts circulation. But I  -- I bought it for the heady, high smell:)

Today's yogic tip

In bhramari, feeling the sound at the middle of the throat, under the palate is an ideal way to control it. Most people try it from the back of the throat, which begins rasp or feel raw if you are not used to singing etc.
The sound also loops in control when u try it the way I suggest it...

Tweets, finally

On Dr Frawley's observation on which type of practice reduces which ayurvedic dosha, here

Daily Health Gyan

Shatavari -- apparently the herb translate to mean one  who has 100 husbands (check this site for more on this wonder herb for women).. moisturising, laxative, aphrodisiac, works the uro-genital system resolving most problems (including for men), boosts vitality... reduces inflamamtory conditions.
Contraindications: not for those with heart problems, kidney problems, may gain weight...

Yogic tip for today

Some poses are good for all three ayurvedic types. One such pose is the leg raise, especially the double leg raise.

Yoga herbs

FLEXIBILITY

• Turmeric
• Saffron
• Guggul

STAMINA 

• Ashwagandha
• Shatavari
• Amla
• Licorice

U get them in pill forms marketted by most ayurvedic giants.  I started on Amla as a better substitute for celine (Vitamin C) after the knee injury. Vitamin C is a miracle nutrient that way. I always use it when I have to heal, be it from some infection or while recovering or a sudden injury. And of course, when I am stressed.
The skin also glows from Vitamin C simply because it reduces inflammation inside (this causes a lot of damage) and because it is an antioxidant -- repairing agent.