The Home Yogi.

www.thehomeyogi.com

“I can get along with everybody. . . until somebody comes home.” — Joyce Meyer

That sums up yoga practice for so many of us, doesn’t it? We come out of class feeling wonderful. In the glow of our practice, nothing can bother us, we’re at one with the world, and we love everyone and everything. Then, at some point, the bubble bursts and the drama starts up again.

We repeat the same cycle each time. Class lifts us up, life knocks us down, class lifts us up, life knocks us down again. Yoga is great for stress relief, but wouldn’t it be better if we didn’t get stressed out in the first place? We cannot sustain the benefits of yoga without consistent practice.

Most of us don’t have the time or money to take a class every day. Even if we did, at the end of every savasana , we still have to get up and go out into the world. That’s why a daily, personal yoga practice is key. Like anything worth doing, it’s also hard.

That’s why At Home Yoga is here. The content you’ll find here includes:

• ways to bring yoga into your everyday life;
• practice sequences;
• resources to support your daily practice;
• words of inspiration;
• ideas to jump-start your practice;
• tips to overcome obstacles to daily practice; and
• answers to questions you submit.

Please visit my new site, At Home Yoga at www.athomeyoga.wordpress.com.

“I can get along with everybody. . . until somebody comes home.” — Joyce Meyer

That sums up yoga practice for so many of us, doesn’t it? We come out of class feeling wonderful. In the glow of our practice, nothing can bother us, we’re at one with the world, and we love everyone and everything. Then, at some point, the bubble bursts and the drama starts up again.

We repeat the same cycle each time. Class lifts us up, life knocks us down, class lifts us up, life knocks us down again. Yoga is great for stress relief, but wouldn’t it be better if we didn’t get stressed out in the first place? We cannot sustain the benefits of yoga without consistent practice.

Most of us don’t have the time or money to take a class every day. Even if we did, at the end of every savasana , we still have to get up and go out into the world. That’s why a daily, personal yoga practice is key. Like anything worth doing, it’s also hard.

** For more on establishing a personal yoga practice, visit www.athomeyoga.wordpress.com**

By Jennifer Clawson, RYT

In a previous post, I wrote about letting your practice evolve by following your body’s wisdom. This approach can bring great freedom. Still, there are times when you may want a more structured practice. This is where the art of sequencing comes into play.

Asana can be divided into the following seven groups: standing, sitting, forward bends, twists, inversions, back bends, and reclining poses.

** note: I am using the categories identified by BKS Iyengar in Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health.

A balanced practice includes asana from each category. For a quick practice, take one asana from each group, stick them together, and you have a sequence. Placing each group in a particular order makes your practice more harmonious. Here are a few general rules to keep in mind.

• Practice standing poses first, since they warm your body, making you less susceptible to injury.
• Practice twists between backbends and forward bends.
• Practice inversions last.

Here’s a sample of a quick practice, following these guidelines:

1. Warrior II
2. Cobbler’s Pose
3. Cobra
4. Reclined twist, lying on your back
5. Standing forward bend
6. Downward-facing dog
7. Savasana

Creating a home yoga practice can be daunting, but practicing at home consistently will bring you great rewards.  When you commit to practicing at home, you begin to really make yoga a part of your lifestyle.  Remember, it’s better to practice five minutes a day, seven days a week than to practice 90-minutes every week or every two weeks.  Consistency is key.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Know what  your intention is for your practice.  Do you need to relax or energize?  Make sure your practice reflects what you need.

• Realize that every practice will not be great.  Sometimes, you’ll feel bored or irritated.  Every yoga practice is not a bliss-out session.  That’s normal.  The work comes from being consistent, even when you don’t feel like your practice is exactly the way you wanted it.

• Expand your definition of practice.  You don’t have to do 108 sun salutations.  You don’t have to move through a particular series.  You don’t even have to do asana at all.  Your practice can be meditating or breathing or spinal warm-ups.  Anything you do with mindfulness and awareness is yoga.

“Remember, yoga practice is not about being perfect: it is about being kind to yourself.”

– Judith Hanson Lasater, 30 Essential Yoga Poses

Downward-facing dog’s reputation precedes itself. Even people who don’t practice yoga have heard enough about downward-facing dog to be afraid of it.

When done correctly, downward-facing dog will strengthen your arms and shoulders, and stretch your spine. However, incorrect execution of the pose can hurt your wrists.

If you take just a few precautions, there is no reason to fear “the dog.” Here are a few pointers (no pun intended).

• Spread your fingers W-I-D-E.

• Make sure your hands are straight, not turned in or out. Your middle fingers should point toward the head of your mat.

• Avoid “wimpy hands.”

• Press down firmly, as though you could press the floor away from you.

• Press down with the balls of your hands, not your wrists.

Posted in asana/poses Tagged: down dog, downward dog, downward facing dog, wrist pain, wrists ]]> http://yourbodysyoga.wordpress.com/2009/07/31/are-you-dogged-by-downward-facing-dog/feed/ 0 jennifer IMG 0781 IMG 0783 IMG 0786-1 IMG 0796-1 IMG 0797-1 http://yourbodysyoga.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/yoga-is-not-buddhism/ http://yourbodysyoga.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/yoga-is-not-buddhism/#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2009 04:07:08 +0000 jennifer http://yourbodysyoga.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/yoga-is-not-buddhism/ ]]> By Jennifer Clawson, RYT

In a previous post , I discussed how spiritual images in yoga studios can give the false impression that yoga is a religion. This post addresses images of Buddha, specifically.

Many yoga studios are adorned with statues and pictures of the Buddha (pictured above). So, it’s reasonable for new and prospective students to wonder about the connection between yoga and Buddhism.

Since Buddhism and yoga both originated in India, they naturally share common themes. However, yoga and Buddhism are not one and the same. You do not have to be a Buddhist to practice yoga, and you do not have to practice yoga to be a Buddhist.

The aim of yoga is to achieve enlightenment. You can think of enlightenment as the ultimate state of never-ending peace. While the overwhelming majority of us will never reach enlightenment, the practices of yoga can bring us closer to living a peaceful existence.

Buddhism began with a wandering prince in ancient India. As the story goes, Prince Siddhartha Gautama became disenchanted with his daily, material existence. He wandered the earth, searching for a more meaningful way of life. One day, he sat under a tree, and began to meditate. While in this meditative state, he achieved enlightenment. From that point on, he was known as The Buddha, which means enlightened one.

Because he is the ultimate example of an enlightened being, yogis draw wisdom from the Buddha. There is a difference, however, between reverence and worship. Many of us revere people like Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. because we recognize their great wisdom. But, we do not worship them. In the same way, we can appreciate the Buddha’s wisdom and apply his teachings to our lives without practicing Buddhism.

In a previous post , I discussed how spiritual images in yoga studios give the false impression that yoga is a religion. This post addresses images from Hinduism, specifically.

Shiva is one of the main gods in the Hindu religion. He represents destruction and rebirth. In this statue (pict., right), he takes the form of Nataraja, also called the lord of the dance or Dancing Shiva.

Artistically, the statue represents Shiva’s power as both creator and destroyer. The image of Shiva dancing within the cosmic circle has roots in the Hindu belief in reincarnation — the unending cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

Ganesha (pict., left) provides another popular image in yoga studios. Also known as the elephant god, he is the remover of obstacles.

In my opinion, displaying images like these in a yoga studio is problematic. A Hindu god is not as innocuous as an image of the Buddha. The Buddha was a man who became enlightened, and is revered as such. Shiva and Ganesha, on the other hand, are deities. Their place is among Hindus who worship them.

It’s inappropriate for an American yoga studio to co-opt a religious item as a decorative piece. If it isn’t being used for worship, why is it there? You wouldn’t expect to see a crucifix in a synagogue, and a statue of Shiva would have no place in a church.

People are confused enough regarding yoga and religion. Decorating with Hindu gods further complicates the issue. It’s hard to convince someone that yoga isn’t a religion when you’re doing sun salutations next to Shiva and Ganesha.