Archive for the ‘Yoga teacher issues’ Category

An Interview with Candace Morano

Yoga has been known to improve flexibility, strengthen muscles, and enhance balance. However, if practiced incorrectly yoga can do more damage to the body than good. Misaligned poses can lead to injuries ranging from aching joints to pulled muscles. “Yoga injuries are often a result of not knowing or realizing your body’s limitations,” says yoga instructor and educational kinesiologist Candace Morano. “This goes for beginners and advanced students, as some beginners underestimate how strenuous yoga can be and some who are more advanced overestimate their strength and flexibility,” says Candace.

Below, Candace highlights the Do’s and Don’ts of the top five yoga techniques commonly misaligned. Images are available upon request to illustrate each pose. Please let me know if you’re interested in learning more or coordinating an upcoming segment.

 #1 Seated Pose with Pranayama:

DON’T: Sit in a slumped position. It decreases the ability to breathe into a straight, long spine. “Not breathing fully into the torso and body can also lead to anxiety and low energy,” says Candace.

 DO: Sit in a comfortable cross legged position on the floor or on a blanket. Loop a yoga belt or one of your own comfortably around your lower ribs. The belt will serve as a boundary for feeling the connection between your diaphragm and breath.

As you begin to breath feel your lower belly expand. Then feel your breath extend higher above the belt, into the mid-chest as you extend your breath further into your top chest. Follow this pattern as you begin to descend downward and start to exhale. Using the belt will help you understand how to breathe into the lower and upper torso and how to preserve the space that is created within, even as you exhale with full attention.

 #2 Standing Forward Bend:

DON’T: Hyper-extend knees.

DO: Slightly bend knees and move your hips directly over ankles. This will encourage top of shin forward and engage your front thighs and avoid hyperextension. “Yoga practice has a building block effect,” says Candace. “Remember to take what you learn in every pose and apply it to the next.”

The Standing Forward Bend is the practice of grounding into the support right under our feet. Standing tall in mountain pose, inhale, lift your arms upward and extend your spine forward towards your toes. Inhale from the heels to the balls of the feet, keeping the toes relaxed, and follow muscular attention upwards. Feel your kneecaps lift towards thighs and thighs engage strongly towards pelvis. This will help to bring the knees into alignment over the ankles. On the exhalation, stay with the essence of strength in front of legs as you practice releasing any tension in the back of the legs, back to the source under your feet; the earth. Practice this cycle of attention and breathe 3 times. Feel the upward magnetism of energy into the pelvic floor as you lift and extend back down through tailbone on the descent towards the earth.

#3 Warrior III Pose:

DON’T: Extend in one direction rather than feeling polar attraction of opposites.

DO: From mountain pose, inhale lifting your left leg off the floor reaching your arms straight out in front of you and as best you can, bringing both hips points level to encourage them to be even and square. As you bring your torso forward, extend through your left leg imagining a see-saw playfully finding balance between the front and back body, using your arms and legs as anchors. Your head and chest stay lifted. Make sure to practice the other side and notice any differences and imbalances on one side versus the other.

#4 Upward Facing Dog:

DON’T: Tense and compress neck and shoulders, hyper extend elbows, or put any strain on the wrists. “Tense shoulders cause problems in the wrists,” says Candace.

DO: Micro bend elbows or as much as needed until you can keep your shoulder blades engaged on back as you lift your chest high. Lie on your belly with your chin or forehead on the floor. Your palms are shoulder distance apart and next to your chest. Breathe into your hands, pressing evenly through the palms as if you were energetically pulling them back to your feet. Grounding hip points, legs and tops of feet down into earth, lift pubis, belly, chest and head toward the sky feeling the length you are creating from your waist to your armpits. Feel a soft bend in elbows as shoulder blades soften onto your back. This muscular action encourages your chest to expand while feeling vulnerability in the heart. Exhale and slowly lower back to the support of the earth allowing any stress, extra effort or tension to release.

#5 Triangle Pose:

DON’T: Hyper-extend the front knee or lean weight into bottom arm and front leg, shortening bottom side of front waist, allowing torso to lean in towards the center instead of lifting upward and away from the earth.

DO: Stand tall with your feet wide apart. Turn your right toes forward and your left toes 45 degrees towards the front, arms extending in a T position. The instep of your back foot aligns with the heel of your front foot. Inhale, grounding into both feet and exhale tilting your hips towards your back leg and lifting your navel and chest as you extend your spine long and out over your front leg. Inhale, lifting from the earth up through your body. Exhale with your right hand to your right ankle, a yoga block or the floor on the outside of the right foot if you have found flexibility without compromising the extension of both sides of the waist and spine. Inhale into the ball of the right toe mound, as you reach down into the support of the earth to rise up to extend upward to the expansion of the sky.

Practice taking your left arm forward towards the center on the inhale and then exhaling and extending the left arm back to the sky. This will give your body an exploration of its own intelligence via the breath and repetition of movement.

If you would like additional information on Candace, please contact visit www.explorevidyayoga.com

Meet Candace Morano

Candace Morano is a certified yoga teacher & educational kinesiologist based in New York. For the past seven years, she has brought together the teachings of yoga, kinesiology, psychotherapy, and aromatherapy to transform the lives of the adult, children, and disabled clients with whom she works. Combining her degree as a social worker with yoga and educational kinesiologist, Candace began to work privately with children with Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome and Autism. For three years, she taught the yoga program at the Cooke Center for Learning, working with a body of students with a wide range of special needs. Candace also works with adults. She has taught programs to the parents and teachers of the Learning Spring School and the Rebecca School both based in NYC, incorporating yoga, educational kinesiology, and stress reduction techniques. Candace’s practice incorporates the use of medicinal oils for injuries and aromatherapy in the private classes she runs throughout New York City.

By Suza Francina

When I began learning yoga in 1970, I was working as a home health care provider for convalescents and the elderly, something I had done since my teens. I befriended and cared for many of the same people until they died. This gave me the opportunity to observe firsthand the mental and physical changes that often occur in the later years. The contrast between the elderly people I cared for and the seemingly ageless yoga practitioners I met was striking. I realized that yoga’s preventive and rehabilitative gifts and underlying philosophy could help an aging population and bring balance to our culture’s obsession with the superficial trappings of youth.

My years of caring for older people, many of them in wheel chairs, gave me a deeper appreciation of the benefits of yoga and therapeutic exercise. I saw that as with any age group, older people come into a yoga class with various levels of ability and medical histories. Both the frail elderly and late-life yoga students with severe balance problems may initially benefit and gain confidence by practicing modified yoga postures sitting in a chair. However, practicing in this way can be counterproductive to the goal of keeping older students independent and out of a wheelchair. In almost forty years of teaching yoga to older beginners, I’ve learned that most can practice the same vital weight-bearing postures that are taught in my regular classes. Older students with medical problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, arthritis, and other health concerns common in the later years can practice gentle variations of basic poses at a slower pace and with the support of yoga props.

A Peek into My Yoga Over Sixty Class

It’s Monday morning and I’m observing the students in my “Over Fifty” class warming up.

I enjoy watching my long time student, Barbara, age ninety-two, practicing Half Moon Pose with her back against the wall, her bottom hand on the seat of a chair. She recently had a private lesson where we reviewed how to practice Standing Poses with support of a kitchen counter and chair, to help conserve her energy and to allow her to stay in the poses longer. It is empowering for Barbara to practice the same vital weight bearing poses that younger students are practicing in the middle of the room.

The newest person in the class is Bob, a man in his mid sxties with typically tight hamstrings. He is lying down on the floor stretching his legs with a strap around his foot. Bob had a private lesson with me in which he showed me his twenty-minute exercise routine. I explained to him that the exercises he has been doing for the past sixteen years are not removing the stiffness that is settling into his body as he ages. His upper back is rounded from years of desk work and driving, and I place a folded blanket under his head to keep it level while he stretches his legs.

Karen, in her early seventies, has been coming faithfully two or three times a week for ten years. She attends both my classes for older students who need a gentler, slower pace, and my classes for more experienced students of all ages. After warming up with a cycle of Downward and Upward Facing Dog Pose and Handstands at the wall, she relaxes on the backbender, a wooden, whale-shaped piece of furniture. Her fingers easily touch the floor when she stretches her arms overhead. For her the backbender is a nice way to warm up before practicing pushing up from the floor into Upward Facing Bow Pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana), a pose we often practice when she attends the more advanced classes.

Susan, also in her mid sixties, began studying with me about three years ago. She has just started kicking up into Handstands on her own. When she first came to yoga she practiced Dog Pose with her hands on a chair, and she laughed when I told her that Handstands were within her reach. For about a year I stood between Susan and the wall when she kicked up, helping her to build strength and confidence. This morning she places a firm yoga bolster upright against the wall to help support her shoulders. Placing her hands near the edge of the bolster, she stretches briefly in Downward Facing Dog, and then kicks up lightly with the same spunk and grace as my seven-year-old niece.

Vivian, age seventy-five, is sitting on the floor with her legs loosely crossed, gently stretching her hips. She has practiced yoga for many years and has used yoga to cope with various health challenges, including cancer. At this time last year her head was bald from chemotherapy treatments and her practice was focused mainly on Restorative Poses to support her immune system and replenish her energy reserves.

Tom is hanging in the lower wall ropes in Downward Facing Dog pose. He is a runner in his sixties, and says he “hates” yoga but his wife makes him come. He admits, with a sly smile, however, that he loves Hanging Dog Pose.

At the moment, students in my classes for older beginners range in age from forty-five to ninety-three. At my studio I offer a gentle, slower paced class designed specifically for older beginners or those with medical problems and physical limitations that require a less strenuous approach. This class features the same basic poses for beginners that I teach in my regular classes for people of all ages.

A typical class will begin with a simple, safe, centering seated pose such as Bound Angle Pose or sitting with the legs loosely crossed, with the majority of students sitting on a high support of two or three firm folded blankets or a bolster.

Newer students will often sit with their back against a wall (in between wall ropes, if available) to help lengthen their spine and open their posture. Bent knee positions are generally followed by straight leg positions such as sitting with the feet wide apart (Seated Wide Angle Pose) also with most students sitting elevated. This is a very challenging pose for newcomers, especially men, and I am careful to also teach this pose lying down with straps around the feet or with the legs on a wall.

The poses I teach almost every class are Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog Pose) as it builds both strength and flexibility in the upper body, stretches the legs and has many of the benefits of inverted poses. Downward Dog is followed by Upward Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanana). These two poses are often practiced with the hands on a chair seat, yoga blocks, or other support. Then we practice Lying Down Poses such as Supta Padagusthasana (Reclining Big Toe Pose) and all the variations, with bolsters and chairs available when students take their legs out to the side.

Standing Poses are practiced with the support of whatever props are available. Older beginners, especially if they have balance problems, arthritis or osteoporosis, can practice Standing Poses with the whole back of the body near a wall, window sill, counter, a sturdy table or other support, and the bottom hand on a block, chair or other height.

New students also gain confidence practicing with the back foot to the wall, holding onto a wall rope and a chair for extra support. Seated Chair Twists often follow Standing Poses.

The more experienced older students in my general classes practice all the basic inverted poses, including Headstand and Shoulderstand, usually with the help of the wall. I expect my students who start in their fifties and sixties (and in some cases older) to gradually develop the strength to practice Full Arm Balance at the wall. The more beginning classes for older students emphasize safe supported inverted poses such as Supported Legs Up the Wall Pose (Viparita Karani).

Classes end with deep relaxation in Savasana, the corpse pose. For older practitioners this pose has special meaning, as it is helping them to face death, and teaches the art of letting go.

With Yoga, the Body Remains Open and Flexible

The accepted view of the aging process has been one of stiffening, rigidity and closing down. Without proper exercise, the body contracts and we lose height, strength and flexibility. As a result, our natural free range of motion is restricted so daily activities become difficult and in some cases impossible. Yoga exercises reverse the aging process by moving each joint in the body through its full range of motion–stretching, strengthening and balancing each part. Most popular forms of weight bearing exercise contract muscles and tighten the musculoskeletal system, adding to the stiffness that normally settles into the body with the passage of time. In our youth-oriented culture, obsessed with thinness, we tighten the muscles to make the body look firmer. What is much more important, however, especially as we grow older, is opening and expanding the body so that the aging process is tempered.

Yoga and the Spine

Yoga prevents and can even reverse the most visible and obvious symptom of aging–one which cannot be disguised or transformed cosmetically–the shortening and rounding of the spine. In our culture, where people spend many hours of each day engaged in activities that tend to pull the upper body forward, a rounded back, forward head and collapsed chest are so prevalent that we almost consider it normal. By the time people reach 50, poor posture habits are often deeply ingrained, and the spine has begun to degenerate–resulting in loss of height and back and neck problems.

A rounded back leads to a sunken chest which causes shallow breathing and thus contributes to cardiovascular and other health problems. Yoga counteracts and reverses all of this.

Our posture affects the health and well being of every system of the body–not only the neuromuscular system (joints, ligaments, bones, muscles, and nerves) but also the endocrine, nervous, and respiratory systems. Poor posture and the degeneration of the spinal column are the source of numerous physical problems, contributing to illness and fatigue by restricting our breathing and blood and nerve flow to vital organs and interfering with digestion and elimination. Maintaining the health and integrity of the spine is the central theme of yoga. Yoga develops spinal strength and agility, slowing and even reversing the common degenerative changes often found in people over fifty.

Inverted Poses: The Elixir of Life, the Fountain of Youth

Inverted Poses are the backbone of a yoga practice for people over 50. Upside down poses control the metabolism of the body, regulate blood pressure, glucose levels and chemical balance. They bring emotional balance, mental clarity and refresh the entire body. The feeling of increased energy and revitalization in the body and brain that occurs after practicing inversions cannot be overemphasized as we grow older.

Turning the body halfway upside down by bending forward from a standing position increases the circulation to the upper body, including the brain. The revitalizing and relaxing effect of both standing forward bends and Downward Facing Dog Pose (halfway upside down positions) and inverted positions (completely upside down) is related in part to the change in blood flow in the body. Blood circulates around the neck, chest, and head, helping the lungs, throat, and sinuses to become resistant to infection. The endocrine glands in the throat and head (thyroid and parathyroid glands) also benefit from improved circulation.

It is well known among yoga practitioners that the inverted yoga positions slow down and even reverse the common physical changes that come with the passage of time. The gravitational force of Earth is among the most powerful physical influences on human health, and reversing the gravitational pull is probably among the most effective ways of slowing down and even reversing the aging process.

After the age of fifty it becomes increasingly important to reverse the downward pull of gravity on the body. Due to cardiovascular problems (such as arteriosclerosis hardening of the arteries) the blood flow to the brain gradually reduces as one grows older, and by age sixty-five may be a third of what it was at twenty-five years of age. The ravages of senility are apparent in every nursing home in the country. While Western medicine accepts the fact that this is a degenerative disease associated with inadequate circulation to the brain, they have found few effective ways of preventing or treating it. Yoga teaches that the most effective way of increasing blood to the brain is by allowing gravity to do the work for you. Inverted positions, which bring the brain below the level of the heart, permit circulation to the upper body to increase without putting strain on the heart.

When the body is completely inverted, venous blood flows from the legs and abdomen to the heart without strain. According to yoga experts and doctors studying yoga, regular and long-term practice of forward bends, poses like Downward Facing Dog and inversions can reduce arterial blood pressure by helping to reset the pressure-regulating reflexes. (The Headstand helps to increase venous return to the heart, bring the deoxygenated blood toward the heart and relieving pressure in the passive venous system caused by the pooling of blood in the legs during standing.)

During the course of a typical day most people spend sixteen or more hours with the head (brain) above the heart and the legs and pelvic area below the heart. I always advise students who are not yet ready to practice more difficult upside-down positions to practice Supported Legs Up the Wall Pose for at least ten minutes, every day.

SUZA FRANCINA, the former mayor of Ojai, California, is a writer, animal advocate and Certified Iyengar Yoga Instructor. She has taught yoga since 1972 and is a pioneer in the field of teaching yoga to seniors. Her first book, Yoga for People Over 50, was published in 1977. She is author of The New Yoga for People Over 50 (Health Communications, Inc., 1997); Yoga and the Wisdom of Menopause (HCI, 2003); and The New Yoga for Healthy Aging (HCI 2007). She is currently completing a spiritual memoir, Autobiography of a Yogini. Her writing has appeared in numerous other books, magazines and publications worldwide. Born in Holland in 1949, she emigrated with her family to Ojai, California at the age of seven and has made the Ojai Valley her home ever since. To learn more visit http://www.Suzafrancina.com

By Neena Dayal

Yoga gurus or yoga teachers, as they are frequently called in the Western world are difficult to find. Yoga has great potential for saleability, all over the world. Therefore, many times it is seen that people with just simple knowledge start acting as yoga gurus. Many so-called yoga gurus take undue advantage of keen inclination of the people for learning yoga. They do more harm than good in the process. Hence, it is extremely important to recognize true gurus or yoga teachers and eliminate the false ones.

Some yoga teachers have great credentials and impressive degrees. Even then, learning from them may not be fruitful. Just knowledge of yoga is not sufficient. A person also has to be a good human being. Yoga is most beneficial when it is an exercise in spiritual growth.

Some pointers given below give good foundation to make the right choice.

• True yoga gurus are never boastful. The first and foremost qualification is that they are very humble.

• True ones never have a sense of pride of their knowledge of yoga. In order to become a true guru one must renounce all sense of pride.

• True yoga gurus are never ambitious. They are neither driven by forces of competition, success, and money, nor they are interested in glorifying themselves with false titles.

• True yoga gurus do not need to demonstrate their yogic powers in order to win over disciples. They have already mastered all the beneficial aspects of yoga. So, yoga in all its wonder becomes an integral part of their lives and they may not even have to practice it every day.

• Many times, it is seen that the gurus start considering themselves greater than others who do not know about yoga. They actually go against the most basic teachings by doing so. True ones understand perfectly that they are not superior to others. Instead, they develop a deep need to share their knowledge for the betterment of human beings.

• True yoga gurus attain deep stability of mind. They are never disturbed by anything. This does not mean that they are unaffected by their surroundings or things do not hurt them anymore. It simply means that they understand the ephemeral nature of things and so do not worry too much. They have the knowledge that the nature inclines toward stability and sooner or later things change for the better. This knowledge keeps their temperment unwavering.

A good yoga guru can change the outlook of your life. Hence, it is very important to choose the right teacher if you wish to learn yoga and experience the bliss of a great life force unleashed within and all around you.

Copyright: WordPepTM

Author: Neena Dayal

http://www.wordpep.com/

By Elizabeth Henshall

Lead or Self Taught Yoga Sessions?  That is the Question!

Having a yoga instructor can really help to boost your yoga practice. They will demonstrate the asanas (postures) so you can really see what you need to be doing and they will help you by watching what you do and making small corrections to keep your body aligned and safe. However Yoga is a wonderful tool for stress management that you can learn on your own with the help of a DVD or book. It all depends on you and your learning style. Think first – what way have you learnt best in the past. Do you like to experience something by actually doing it and then you learn it well? Do you like to read something about the topic and that helps you learn best? Do you like to see something being done by someone else and then copying it which is where DVD’s are so helpful?

We each have our own best method of learning and the way you learn Yoga will be no different. Of course it can be nice to combine some of these and, for instance, go to a class and also read up on it. Or go home and do your daily yoga practice with a dvd to guide you. Yoga instructors come in all shapes and sizes and with their own preferred style. Typically yoga instructors are young women and they love what they do so you can expect an enthusiastic, warm and lovely class. Also fairly typical in the yoga instructor field are old women or men who have had some background in dance or sports and who then turn to yoga. These instructors can be very suitable for an older person as they understand a lot about changes in the body and have a wide range of information to supplement their yoga knowledge.

The most important thing about Yoga and finding an instructor or teaching yourself through some other method is that you enjoy what you are doing. If you like being part of a class because it gives you structure and some social contact – like a little oasis of peace that is just for you every week – then that will be the right choice for you. If you like to create a sense of peace and enjoyment through practising quietly at home in your own space at any time you fancy – then that is right for you. If you do it in a way that you don’t enjoy you will not carry on with the practice over a long period of time (which is when you really reap the benefits!)and your body will be stiff with resistance as you do it, which isn’t nice! So think about what works for you – then make that happen. Enjoy!

Restorative Yoga Workshops and more information about how to use this form of self healing can be found on Restorative Yoga and Yin Yoga. The Fifty, Fit and Fabulous programme provides a step by step approach to wellbeing through holistic care and is outlined on these sites.

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Has your Yoga practice ever challenged an established belief? Have you ever had your belief system turned upside down? For children, or young adults, to see a role model fall from grace, is painful; but adults base their beliefs on decades of experience. Let’s look at solutions for keeping our integrity intact.

Recognize the guru from within. If you have been practicing Yoga, on a steady basis, for any length of time, you begin to hear a voice from within. There will always be a point in life, when our guru, swami, or Yoga teacher, is not around for advice.

This is a critical point, when we must seek answers from within. There is nothing wrong with seeking out another Yoga teacher, but we are not as young and impressionable as we once were. When we are younger, we want to fit in, and that puts us at risk of being psychologically manipulated.

This is not meant to make light of youth, but the need to belong, and find meaning in one’s life, can be exploited by a teacher, who does not have your best interests at heart. Therefore, it would be prudent to search for the guru within your own being. Each of us has the ability to achieve self-realization.

There is some room for debate on this point. In some Yoga circles, it is believed that an enlightened guru is the only one who can pass knowledge of the self (Atman Jnana) to his or her followers. If this is the case, each of us must spend our lives searching for an enlightened guru with a pure heart.

Have you ever met a perfect guru, swami, or Yoga teacher? If so, you have managed to meet one of the few enlightened individuals, who are living on this planet, at this particular time. This is truly like finding a “needle in a hay stack.”

There is a simple path for you to take, and it is based upon logical thought. Who would know more about you than anyone else? The answer is: You and God. Atman Jnana literally means: Knowledge of the self or soul.

You can find this knowledge through meditation, self-analysis, prayer, pranayama, studies, and by applying the principles of Yoga toward daily life.

It is true that a person, who is not mentally balanced, will not be able to achieve Atma Jana. For example: If we spend our lives doing harm to others, and other beings, our level of consciousness is “handicapped.”

This is unfortunate because the first Yama (restraint) we learn is “Ahimsa,” which most of us forget quite frequently. If we are to take one constructive step forward, it is to avoid harming others with our words, thoughts, and deeds.

Lastly, when we make a mistake in our actions, or failure to act, we must do our best to make amends, forgive ourselves, learn from our mistakes, and move forward without harming others.

© Copyright 2008 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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