Relaxed Intensity

In our yoga practice, we are constantly striving to deepen poses and to enhance flexbility, and the secret key to accomplishing this does not come easily. In fact, even after I tell you the key, you will have to figure it out on your own. The key is relaxed intensity.

Yoga teachers often remind students not to push to the point of pain and that although a little discomfort can be a good thing, pain is not. This is one of the ways we minimize injuries, but many students feel as though they have to push harder to reach a higher level of achievement.

Yoga Sutras once said, “Asana (phyical yoga practice) is to be seated in a position which is firm but relaxed.”  There must be a balance between working your muscles and not nearing the point of muscles tearing. This balance comes with experience and generally takes a while to reach.

If you are a beginner, concentrate on deepening a stretch to the point at which you feel some tightening but not pain. Perhaps you can mentally think of relaxing the muscles that feel the most tight. That might gain you another inch or two in flexibility, but don’t get so excited at the progress that you push too far.

In yoga, baby steps are the key…baby steps in relaxed intensity.

Preconceived Motions

If you’ve been practicing yoga for a while, you understand that yogis tend to get into patterns. For instance, perhaps your first instructor always did Warrier I with her hands together overhead, so regardless of how your current teacher does it, you still do it the “old” way–partially in honor of your first instructor and partly because it’s comfortable. You’re used to it. I just feels right.

It’s time to challenge yourself. Take your body out of its comfort zone, and try something new. Your muscles need to work in different directions once in a while, and frankly, so does your brain.  Although we all have poses that just feel great to us, yoga shouldn’t be too cozy. Unless you’re specifically doing a meditation session and working to get your body in an extremely relaxed state, push yourself to do something different. Even something as simple as turning the palms upward instead of downward during Warrier II can work the muscles in a fresh way and make you feel as though you’ve accomplished something.

Bone Density and Yoga

Recently, I was asked to do a seminar on bone density and its connection to yoga. We had a wonderful group of ladies at the Bangor Y’s Isaac Farrah Mansion in Bangor, Maine, and they had great questions. Here is some of the material I included in the seminar:  

 

 

What the Research Shows

Researchers say just 12 sessions of yoga can significantly improve rheumatoid arthritis (RA) disease activity.  In fact, a study through the Dubai Bone and Joint Center in the United Arab Emirates showed that study subjects who participated in bi-weekly yoga practices showed drastically more progress than those who did not use yoga as part of their overall treatment. Study leader Humeira Badsha was noted as saying that most patients with arthritis do not exercise regularly, but those who DO exercise report less pain and have better mobility. After the completion of the yoga study, there were significant improvements in patients who did yoga on a regular basis. (Findings from the Journal Rheumatology International)

Why Exercise Matters

 To maintain or increase bone mass, most doctors recommend exercising consistently—30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Kendra Zuckerman, M.D., director of the osteoporosis program at Allegheny University Hospitals in Philadelphia, also says weight bearing exercises such as walking, running, and aerobics are what stimulate the bones to retain calcium and produce more bone mass. By contrast, swimming does little to increase bone density, although it can help with joint pain and mobility.

But here’s the problem.  If a woman has already started to lose bone mass, then running, or similar pounding exercises can put too much stress on the knees, ankles, and lumbar spine. Also, these activities only benefit the lower limbs and do nothing to strengthen the wrists, shoulders, upper back, or elbows.  The National Osteoporosis Foundation actually warns that too much aerobic exercise can increase your chances of osteoporosis and other conditions.

 Yoga helps in many ways. Some physicians recommend it to fight stress. It’s actually not the stress that directly causes health problems. When fear and anxiety strike, blood pours into the areas that feel the stress. The body diverts its energy from the immune, digestive, and other important systems, putting those functions at risk. Yoga helps people manage stress, thus lowering the chances of stress-related illnesses.

  So Why Does It Work? 

There are many aspects of yoga, including breathing exercises, meditation, relaxation, and “asanas” or physical postures. These physical movements allow the bones to be renewed and repaired more gradually and naturally.

Many types of western exercise are “contractive”. The movements are designed to tighten, shorten, and harden the body. Eventually, those activities lead to short, drier, hardened muscles. This then contributes to bone loss and a lack of bone health. Yoga is different. It expands the muscles, lengthening the areas with each practice. Even though yoga can lead to weight loss and burn calories, it actually expands the muscles in your body, drawing more fluid to them and leading to increased mobility. 

When the muscles warm and lengthen either through hot yoga practice or just through the body heating up from exercise, Thixotropy occurs. This is when a solid is turned to a liquid by the mechanical action surrounding it. Thixotropy is often seen in earthquakes, where sandy soil will seem to almost liquefy, and homes will be swallowed up. Many doctors believe the same thing happens to the muscle tissue when practicing yoga. This helps keep the tissue loose and flexible.

Yoga actually increases bone density. In a controlled study, Professor Steven Hawkins from the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education at California State University, Los Angeles found that women who did certain yoga postures in class twice a week and practiced on their own three times a week showed notable increases in the bone density of their spine.

Yoga helps with weight loss, as well,  not only because of the calories that are burned. Yoga incorporates breathing exercises, and this increases lung capacity and helps the metabolism to function at a higher level. The postures bring increased body awareness and an inner quiet that allow a greater exploration of the emotional issues buried by overeating. Yoga also increases the energy level and improves circulation.

Yoga can help your sleep patterns, too. Deep breathing through yoga practice has been found to increase melatonin levels, aiding in better sleep. At all ages and under many different health conditions, yoga helps to quiet the mind, focus attention, and relax the body.

Feel the Flow

When we practice yoga on a regular basis, it’s easy to get caught in the trap of concentrating too much on how perfect we can make our poses. Precision is certainly important in our routines. This helps us avoid injury and get the most physical benefit, but focusing too much on perfection can rob you of the meditative and relaxing properties that yoga offers.

If you find the classes you attend constantly utilize new poses and keep you extremely mentally challenged, you may want to consider some “mindless” practice at home. Decide on about 5 poses that you are very comfortable doing, and just do those few positions in a row–without a lot of thought. Repeat the process several times, and just enjoy the flow from one pose to another. Don’t worry about perfection. Just focus on your breath and opening your mind and body to the physical practice. You may find you have a new appreciation for how great yoga can make you feel.

Don’t Neglect the Breath

In yoga practice, the breath is the one, most important factor in your practice, and yet it’s probably the most neglected and ignored aspect of beginners’ practice sessions. It took me about a year of yoga practice to really feel how much difference the breath made in deepening the poses and gaining more flexbility.

I believe in a teaching style in which I do not get in students’ faces and belittle them or single them out if they’re doing things improperly. I remember what it was like to be a 300 pound woman participating in an exercise group for the first time in years and feeling as if every eye was on me, because I did not know what I was doing. So I try to give students a little space, especially when they’re first starting. The only downfall to this is that no matter how many times I, in generalities, remind the class to properly breath, I always have a few newbies who ignore the advice. Soon I see red faces, hear sudden intakes and outpouring of breath, and bellies not moving at all.

In yoga, it is the exhalation that allows us to relax the muscles we need to untwist in order to gain more flexibility and deepen the stretches. It is the inhalation that gives out muscles the oxygen and power to push to the next level and have the energy to keep trying. Without the proper breathing, poses will seen harder, practice will seem longer, and there will be no sense of a deep connection to your own body.

When you finally feel that amazing difference that breath can make, you relish in it. You can’t wait to do it again. It’s its own form of meditation as you feel that exhalation loosen the muscles and feel your body break through previous boundaries. It’s through this breathing that I was first able to experience my first “yoga high” as they call it, and I always worry about participants who ignore the breath. I know that in the end, their experiences will not be as positive as they could be, and I want, so badly, for everyone to have that same wonderful sense of accomplishment when you will your body into new positions thanks to the power of breathing correctly.

So the next time your yoga teacher passively reminds the class about breathing techniques, take the time to check yourself. Are you really breathing as she or he is suggesting? Don’t discount it before you’ve truly given it a chance. After a couple of weeks of practicing with proper breathing, you may find you have a completely different appreciation for your yoga practice and what it can do for your body and your peace of mind.

Relieving Headaches With Yoga

Specific yoga postures can help relieve a wide variety of ailments. I do not profess to have any medical knowledge, however, my personal yoga practice and time as an instructor has shown me that certain poses release tension through the neck and back, and this can aid in conquering a headache.

Start with the Easy Pose with legs crossed in a relaxed fashion. Keep your back straight, your shoulders and neck relaxed, and your head straight forward. Concentrate on lowering the shoulders, relaxing the muscles in the face and neck, and breathe deeply, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Maintain this posture for 1-3 minutes.

Stay in the Easy Pose as you gently roll your neck to the right, forward, to the left, and back. If moving your neck toward the back causes discomfort, stick with the front and the two sides. Do this stretch slowly, and just use the natural weight of your head as pressure. Do not push the stretch and cause discomfort. Stretch your arms over your head; claspe the hands together overhead, and pull your elbows in until they are almost touching your ears. Elongate your torso from your hips upward. Continue your deep breathing in this position for 1 minute.  Then, keeping the fingers laced, stretch the arms forward, in front of the chest, bringing the elbows as close together as possible while rotating the palms of the hands outward and forward, thus stretching the fingers as well.

Come onto your hands and knees for Cat Stretch. Inhale as you bring the center of the back toward the floor and lift the head and tailbone, and exhale as you curve the center of the back upward and drop and relax the head and neck. Continue with this motion, inhaling and exhaling slowly, for 1-3 minutes.

 

Reclined Knee Down Twist is one of my favorite poses. If you spend a lot of time at a desk or doing repetitive motions, this pose can relieve a lot of stress. Lie on your back. Lift your right knee; grab the knee with your left hand, and pull it across your body toward the floor on the opposite side. Each time you exhale, try to deepen the stretch, bringing the knee closer to the floor. Keep the other leg relaxed and straight on the floor, and make sure you keep your shoulders in contact with the floor, ensuring that the twist and stretch is through the lower back. Stay in this pose for 1-3 minutes, and then do the other side.

Finally, settle into Corpse Pose, feeling your entire body sink into the floor. Let your feet and legs fall to the side. Don’t try to hold your abs in place–relax your entire body. If you still feel tension in your neck and shoulders gently roll them side to side. Sometimes it helps to tighten the muscles and then relax them. Breathe deeply, in through the nose and out through the mouth, feeling heavier against the floor with each exhalation. (If this pose bothers your back, bend your knees and plant your feet.)  Stay in this pose for at least 3 minutes and longer if your body feels like you need it.

I often tell my practitioners to focus on something during Corpse Pose, such as a favorite food, place, or person. Concentrate on everything that makes that special to you–the smells, the sounds, the feelings, etc. Although these poses may not conquer a headache completely on their own, they may relax the muscles enough to relieve some the pain and may even help in tension headache prevention.

Warmer Means Deeper, right?

Experts often disagree about whether a practice room should be warmer or cooler during yoga practice. Some say the extremely warm rooms (90 degrees plus, such as in Bikram Yoga) breed bacteria, while others say practitioners need a warm room to deepen the stretches and prevent injury. My personal choice is to have a room that is on the warmer side but not hot.

The center at which I teach recently decided to place our class in an upstairs space which is seldom used during the day. The heat is turned on shortly before my practioners arrive, and the first part of the class is often a little cooler than we would all like.  As we all engage in our stretches and poses, the rooms heats up–thanks to body heat and the actual heating system finally doing its job.

When the room is too cool, I find I cannot deepen the stretches to my liking. I also worry about my practioners hurting themselves. It’s especially important, when it’s cooler, to do an extended warm-up section giving the muscles a chance to  warm up despite the real temperature of the classroom.

Keep this in mind when you’re practicing at home, as well. If the room is cool, make sure you do a solid warmup to prevent injury. In the end, yoga is a very personal experience. Listen to your own body, and if it feels as though your body performs at its best in a warmer room, invest in a space heater. Just warming up a room by a few degrees could make a difference.

Back in Business

After nearly four months out of action due to a broken foot, I’m happy to say that I’m back to teaching two classes a week at the Bangor Y in Bangor, Maine. My regular teaching slot of 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays was graciously filled for weeks and weeks by my fellow Y instructors. Thank you so much for your patience and for putting in the extra time on my behalf and the needs of the participants. It was a great weight off my mind that the classes would continue without my presence.

Now, I’m in that gray phase of recovery during which I really need to be careful not to do too much, but it feels so wonderful to be able to do anything at all. So far, I’ve been able to do about 80% of the poses with very little difficulty. Only the ones that put a lot of pressure on the outside or ball of my foot are an issues, such as down dog, up dog, plank, side plank, and the warrier series. I can still do the warrier poses as long as I keep my stance narrow to lower the pressure on the foot.

My participants have been amazing! Everyone seemed very happy to see me, and I’ve even had a couple contact me to verify that I’m returning. It’s wonderful to have that kind of loyalty and support when things are not going as planned.

Because of needing to take it slow, I’m restricted to using an old-fashion exercise bike for my cardio–taking much of the pressure off the foot, but between that, exercises I can do on the floor, and resistance band work, I’m able to get a full workout in and resume my weight loss progress. I’m happy to say that since I got out of the big cast (boot) two weeks ago, my pants are finally starting to feel loose, and I’m once again making progress. What a relief!! I’ve set an objective for myself of being at my goal size by August of 2009, and that means a big push in the next few months. There is no room for any additional injuries.

Thanks, again, to everyone who was patient as I was recovering and who helped cover my regular yoga classes.

Society’s Disability

Being on crutches for a broken foot has been an enlightening experience and created a fascinating view of society’s ability to deal with people with disabilities. Granted my “disability” is a short-term problem. Unlike my friend Mark who will be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, in 3 months, I’ll be walking with a minimal limp and minor pain. However, this has given me a glimpse of life without standard mobility.

Although some people are more likely to be helpful–opening doors, moving furniture, carring bags, etc.–others seem to have a filter which helps them completely ignore a person in need of assistance. In the last week, I have witnessed doors closed almost right in my face, because people couldn’t be bothered to use 10 seconds to continue holding the door open for me. I’ve gone to stores in which people have avoided my gaze and gone out of their way to take another isle to keep from encountering me.

Today probably gave me the most interesting snapshot. I stopped by a local cellular phone store to get a new holster for my phone. It should have been a 5 minute stop. Of course, nothing is a 5 minute process right now. As I went to enter the building, a man entered right before me, completely ignored me, and let the door shut inches from my face. Once I entered the building, I went directly to the wall holding the cell phone accessories and waited…and waited.

While standing there, leaning on my crutches and clearly displaying my obvious and temporary disability, I watched 3 store employees pass me over to attend to other clients, all of whom had entered after I arrived. Finally, a woman offered me a chair but did not ask me if I needed help. I explained that although I appreciated the offer, what I really needed was a new phone holder. She seemed shocked that no one had volunteered to help me. Then she disappeared for several minutes.

A fourth person entered, wearing a nice suit and tie. He stood just a few feet from me, and almost immediately, a worker came to his aid apologizing for his wait that couldn’t have lasted more than 30 seconds. That was kind of the last straw for me. I rolled my eyes and overtly sighed. The same worker looked over at me, turned away, and started to walk away. I shook my head. Something caused the woman to turn and look at me again as she was disappearing. She caught my eye and cautiously said, “Have YOU been helped?”

“Nope–not yet. Not for about 10 minutes,” I said, trying to temper myself but finding an increasing level of irritation welling inside me. From that point, I was quickly taken through the checkout process, but not once did anyone apologize to me for MY wait.

Now, again, I realize this is just a glimpse, a tiny particle of the difficulties people with real disabilities face every day, but it was literally like I was invisable. I did not matter. I didn’t rank, and I was easiy overlooked. 

Next time you spot a person with a short-term or long-term disability, force yourself to look, to explore whether or not you can be of some help to that person, and then act. Actually take that extra 2 minutes from your day to be helpful, kind, and generous with YOUR abilities to move freely and easily.

Injury Loves Company

Being hurt is never a fun or easy thing. It’s even fewer giggles when it interferes with your practice on a long-term basis. Such is my case right now. Come to find out the spraigned ankle I experienced about 9 months ago was not, in fact, a muscle injury. My foot had been broken, but it was misdiagnosed. Last week, while simply stepping back during a martial arts class, I rebroke the foot to a more severe degree. This same poor foot has experienced a hairline fracture, a broken little toe, and now a more severe break to one of the center bones. The doctor’s recommending at least 6 weeks in a lovely “boot” brace, and I’m on crutches for at least 2 more weeks. What goes through a person’s mind after injuries like this?

How do I keep exercising with a broken foot?

How can I continue my weight loss when I can barely move around?

How long will I be out of commission and unable to teach?

It’s a frustrating time for anyone, but it’s important not to give up and just put a hault to your exercise regime. Just change it. For instance, with my broken foot, I obviously can’t do anything in which I’m standing. So what can I do while sitting or lying down?

1. Many poses in yoga do not require me to stand or to put pressure on the broken foot.

2. Most Pilates movements would allow me to get a great strength training workout.

3. Some weight lifting exerices targeting the upper body could provide more variety. Plus just using the crutches is a workout in itself. I’m burning lots of calories just getting myself around without being able to use one foot.

So don’t let an injury keep you from staying healthy, continuing weight loss, and fine-tuning your body. You may find you need to lower your caloric intake a little to maintain weight loss, if that’s your goal, but that’s okay. Because of your reduced activity, you don’t NEED as many calories to maintain brain function and energy.