Karma is the yogic way of explaining the core sociological dichotomy cause and effect.
Everything we do as human beings will come back to us later in life, perhaps in a different form and perhaps when we least expect it, but all our actions plant a small seed that eventually will blossom into something else.
We are all connected to the universal force. If we do good deeds and treat people well, we will have a good life filled with kindness and humanity.
Sthira sukham asanam. The first sutra in the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali. Any pose should be steady and comfortable. This guiding principle should be applied to all poses throughout a class, and as a teacher, I see it as my duty to remind the students to search for this balance, perhaps especially in poses where I see that they are struggling, grinding their teeth, holding their breath, pushing themselves too much. Yoga should never be painful. Yoga is not a competition. The principle of sthira and sukha reminds students to find ease and comfort also in poses that are normally experienced as challenging, such as balances and inversions, or strong, such as chaturanga or vashistasana.
What separates yoga asanas from mere gymnastics, aside from its spiritual heritage and link to the other limbs of yoga, is awareness – awareness of the breath and awareness of the entire body as it moves in and out of each posture. But even though yoga demands awareness, focus and attention throughout a full yoga class, one should still come out of the class feeling restored and relaxed. It is all about pacing oneself, and using one’s energy wisely. To help achieve this, one should apply what B. K. S. Iyengar has called ‘effortless effort’. Even ‘passive activity’ or ‘active passivity’ are terms useful to illustrate the kind of balance the principle of sthira and sukha reminds us should be applied to our entire practice.
Another principle that I often think about in my own practice and refer to in my teaching, which similar to sthira and sukha imply finding the balance between two polarities, is that of action and reaction. For instance, in Tadasana, feet pressing into the ground and crown of head floating up to the sky. The list of other opposites or dichotomies in yoga are endless: sun/moon, masculine/feminine, body/soul, practical/spiritual, group/individual etc. Embracing the fundamental concept of sthira and sukha helps us access and balance all these other opposites.
”In yoga, we put ourselves into intentionally challenging situations, either in the poses or in meditation, and we practice being present in the face of the challenge. Thus, we sharpen the skill we need to show up and be useful in life’s involuntary challenges.”
As a kid’s yoga teacher, I get the chance to explore artistic, creative ways of sharing the practice and its benefits everyday. What’s more, working with the supportive and inspired team at Bent on Learning, NYC’s largest non-profit bringing yoga and meditation to public schools, has helped me develop way to share yoga more creatively.
When sharing yoga with children, inviting creativity through the arts not only makes the postures come alive in more visceral and relatable ways, medical research shows making art, as well as appreciating art, engages kids’ developing brains, firing up regions related to decision making and feeling reward, building self-esteem and independent thinking.
Kids also learn differently. Although there are three major learning styles: kinesthetic, auditory, and visual, there are further subtle ways children engage with the world to derive information and knowledge. The Multiple Intelligences Theory, first proposed by Howard Gardner in 1983 in his book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, outlines eight ways people develop and express their intelligence: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Visual-Spatial, Verbal-Linguistic, Musical, Logical-Mathematical and Naturalist.
The great thing about yoga is that it holistically addresses all of these modes of expression; from partner poses, to chanting and singing, to learning about angles as they relate to the body and our bodies as they relate to the natural world.
Here are eight creative ways that engage the various intelligences to share and explore yoga with kids:
1. Draw Your Pose (interpersonal/visual-spatial) – Make yoga flash cards for use in future activities or use a large roll of paper for a banner of poses. This activity works great in a larger group of children but can also accommodate two kids, or one child and one adult. Have kids partner off and choose who will be the “yogi statue” and who will be the “yogi artist”. Statues pick a pose to hold for the artist to draw. When drawing is complete, switch. Make sure to balance out by taking the pose on the other side if it’s asymmetrical. Extra credit for using different colors for various lines found in the pose (e.g.: blue for vertical lines, red for horizontal lines, green for curves)!
2. Musical Mats (musical/bodily-kinesthetic) – This game works best in larger groups of younger children. In a circle, lay out one less mat than there are kids. Place asana index cards at the top of every mat. Press play on a fun, upbeat song and let kids dance (while singing along, perhaps) around the mats in a circle. When the music stops, kids take the pose of whatever mat they land on. Whoever doesn’t get a mat is out and can control the music for the next round, switching for each round. For older kids, and if they’re familiar with poses, after a few rounds, ask them to think about how a counter pose would feel and do that pose instead.
3. I AM (intrapersonal) – Bent On Learning teacher Jocelyn O’Shea practices this mantra meditation with 10th graders at a Brooklyn high school at the end of her yoga classes. It can also be used for younger children (and adults!), encouraging self-reflection, imagination and self-creation. Have kids lie down and take a few deep breaths while finding stillness in their bodies. Prompt them to think about a quality they admire, suggesting a few possible ones, like kind, smart, funny, caring, happy, peaceful, beautiful etc. to put them on the right track. Then ask them to repeat the mantra I am ____, inserting the quality they admire. Encourage kids to start and end their day with this mantra, choosing the quality on which they’d like to focus for that day.
4. Rain Game (naturalist/musical) – This game engages the senses to contrast with complete stillness when you’re done. It works more powerfully in a group but is also appropriate for a duo. Together, you’ll create sounds of a rainstorm. Begin with whooshing sounds, like the wind carrying in rain clouds. Then, thunder slowly rolls in as you begin to pound your feet, thunder stops and rain slowly comes in, snap your fingers. Then part of the group simulates lightening: clap your hands. The rain gets heavier, slap your thighs. Layer sounds for a veritable nature symphony using your hands, voices and imagination. Explore other sound-filled environments from the jungle to the city, the ranch and farm. Sit in stillness when done and explore the sound of silence.
5. Pose Detective (logical-mathematical) – Another game from BOL teacher Jocelyn O’Shea: Once kids are aware of some of the basic poses, call out different body parts that should be touching the mat and have them negotiate their body into a yoga pose that satisfies the request. With Pose Detective kids start listening to their bodies and moving into whatever pose they want or need to practice. I.e. “show me a pose with 2 feet and 2 hands on the mat only”. This could result in: downward dog, plank, table pose, upward plank, upward bow, standing forward fold, or a new pose that they invent. It’s quite popular with all ages of elementary school K-8. It gives students a chance to make their own choices and promotes creativity within the traditional asanas.
6. Scene of the Pose (verbal-linguistic) – In a larger group, have one child pick a pose for the group to take. The child to his or her right then begins to tell a story, describing the scene around the pose, passing on the scene when they’re done by locking eyes with the next scene-setter. Add points to the game by awarding one point per detail they use to describe the scene. Encourage them to use imagery related to poses and each time a pose-specific animal, plant or thing is mentioned, the group takes that pose.
7. Yoga Pictionary (interpersonal/visual-spatial) – Play this with teams of two or more members. The first team up chooses one member to be the ‘drawer’. Set a timer to 30 seconds. Start the timer when the drawer picks a card (use your asana cards or write the names of poses on pieces of paper). Draw clues without drawing the exact pose. 4 points for guessing before time runs out with an extra point if they guess within 20 seconds, 2 extra points if they guess within 10 seconds. 1 point goes to each of the other teams if they don’t guess before time runs out.
8. Yoga Song, Rap or Rhyme (musical, interpersonal) – Last year, while I was beginning to learn guitar thanks through a partnership with Guitars in the Classroom (side note: AWESOME charity), my class and I came up with a yoga song which we performed for the school at the annual potluck presentation. It went something like this: Yoga, it’s a life-long practice / and yoga – it’s not just poses, it’s loving, caring, showing and growing / smiling, learning, loving and knowing / that you and I are brothers / yea you and I are sisters / yea you and I are one – and the same. We’re all familiar with the power of music to not only bring everyone together with a shared melody, but to also help assimilate ideas seamlessly and enjoyably. Using a familiar melody kids already recognize (or make one up!) write a song, rap or rhyme together about sun salutations, a yogic theme (giving, forgiving, breathing, compassion) or even to breakdown a pose. Repetition of lyrics is especially helpful with younger children. As a bonus, when times get a little tough off the mat, bust out your tune to playfully remind kids about the good stuff.
Children and young adults hardly ever operate in isolation (no one does, really). Through their developmental phases, like seedlings needing external energy sources to emerge, they’re constantly picking up cues from their environment on how to think, speak, act and feel. WE are their environment. As a global family plugged into one another more and more each day, isn’t it is every single person’s responsibility to care for what goes out from us and into the environment as thought, word, action and feeling? And it starts with presence, actually being there and embodied in your own self in an intentional and interested way, as interesting role models. Because, whether or not we realize it or even have children in our lives on a day-to-day basis, we’re all modeling the world they’re stepping into.
Taking the time to form and encourage habits that nurture children’s independent curiosity is crucial. This independent curiosity, naturally plentiful in growing children, is daily eroded by social rules, standardized testing, a want and need to fit in, and control mechanisms used to keep order in schools and at home. Spending time with children to help them develop tools with which to explore and engage beyond what they’re told to do and into what empowers self-directed growth is as essential as ever today. With yoga as the platform, and creativity as the intention, learning can take place along every step of a child’s development, giving them the keys to a self-fulfilled life outside of the text box and into themselves.
By Alexandra Moga on www.mindbodygreen.com
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of the Universe. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There is nothin enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of the Divine that is within us. It’s not just in some of us: it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. Marianne Williamson
Yoga is a series of movements, relaxation techniques and breath awareness that increase physical and mental strength, flexibility and balance.
The practice of yoga increases mindfulness, peacefulness and an appreciation for life.
The spiritual aspect of yoga will reveal itself to an open-minded student bit by bit, and its possibilities for self-healing and growth are endless.
But even if nothing else, yoga teaches you to breathe properly, move properly and relax properly.
I practice yoga to stay healthy, grounded and open-minded, and to be able to meet other people and the challenges of modern life from a more peaceful and less judgmental place.
I feel lucky to have the gift of yoga in my life, and I want to share that with other people.
Teaching yoga is about gently guiding people back to themselves.
Even small amounts of yoga can have immediate and generous effects of on all people, regardless of body type, physical condition, belief system or life style.
A good yoga teacher is one who is both inspired and inspiring; firm and loving; confident and empathetic.
A good teacher balances well the dynamics of a group and the needs of the individual; movement and meditation; practicality and spirituality.
In my classes I would like to create a non-competitive, safe and friendly environment where physical challenges and total relaxation create an overall sense of wellbeing, personal achievement and peace of mind.
I would like to give my students a nurturing break from hectic everyday lives, and a spiritual balance in a material world.
From MindBodyGreen.com
30-year-old actress, Michelle Williams, tells Marie Claire magazine that meditation helped her cope with the death of her former partner, Heath Ledger, and says yoga made her a better person — one of the reasons why she wants to make yoga available for other single moms.
Michelle tells Marie Claire:
Yoga gave me relief like nothing else; it made me a better person and a better mother. I could come back to my daughter anew. And then I started to think about how expensive it is to get a babysitter to take a yoga class, which makes it out of reach for so many women… The idea behind the program is that if you can clear the time, we do the rest. It provides childcare while the mum is in the yoga class, and it’s all free.
Williams recently co-founded the Yoga for Single Moms Project with two friends in Boston, with the goal to create “A visionary project to support the sometimes challenging path of single motherhood by providing a yoga sanctuary for your health and well-being. And a fun place for your young ones to explore, create, play and be kids through yoga!”
Namaste to that!
When I started writing this blog, a bit over a year ago, one of the first posts I blogged was about summer salads. Well, nature has expertly guided us through a year, through seasons, through to, almost, winter - a cold and dark time of the year when nothing will taste better than a steaming hot, rich and nutritious bowl of soup. Food for the soul.
With soup, it doesn’t matter how many people you initially cook for and exact measurements of anything. It can be left on the stove for days to provide multiple meals, and anything mixed in a casserole will count as soup. I’m sure you know that you regulate the thickness of the soup by the amount of liquid (usually bouillon or stock) you put in. By the way. I mostly use chicken stock, in cubes. I should probably cook proper stock, by boiling bones of anything, depending of what kind of stock you want: poultry, meat or fish, with, usually, a bouquet de garni: fresh herbs such as parsley, thyme, bay leaves and sage, and carrots, for, like, ever. But if you want to eat good, homemade food, you have to give yourself the opportunity to be able to do so, and not aim for perfection every time. Chicken stock cubes really work well too. I use around 1-2 liters of stock, depending on number of hungry mouths around the table, and that goes for all the recipes below, unless otherwise advised. I serve most of the soups with homemade croutons: diced left-over bread fried in generous amounts of olive oil, adding salt, pepper, garlic and flat parsley towards the end. Leave to soak out excess oil on paper before transferring to a bowl to serve.
Everyday tomato soup. I grew up with this soup, and I believe it was the first soup I learnt how to make. The really great thing about this recipe is that it is not so much a recipe as a way of inspiring you to make a similar kind of soup. Chop some vegetables, I usually use some kind of onion (white, red, shallot, spring), garlic and carrot, and occasionally, leek, red pepper, chili, celery or anything else I happen to have in the fridge. Simmer in olive oil in a double-based pot on low heat. If I have fresh herbs I will chop some stalks and chuck those in too at this point. Empty two cans of tomatoes and one tube of tomato puree into the pot, and season with salt, pepper, sugar (to balance the acid in the tomatoes) and maybe some herbs de Provence. Add the chicken stock to what now resembles a tomato porridge, and leave to cook for at least half an hour to bring out the best of all the flavours. Take off the heat, add a generous slump of double cream, and puree with a hand mixer. Season again if necessary. Would be a crime to serve without blueberry pancakes to follow.
Lentil soup with a twist. Chop an onion and a couple of cloves of garlic and start simmering in olive oil on low heat. Peel and finely chop a small chunk of ginger and throw in, ditto a bit of lemon zest and a couple of flat parsley stalks, chopped. Add the Puy lentils, around a cup per person, and chicken stock, and let it cook under lid for half an hour. Half around 20 cherry tomatoes and put in. Sprinkle with the flat parsley leaves and a twist of lemon and a very good, very easy everyday soup is ready to go.
Chicken (leftover) soup. I discovered this soup when using all the left-overs from a big chicken dinner the next day. To make from scratch you put a whole chicken in a casserole, with some flat parsley and a couple of bay leaves, cover with water and bring to boil. Go do something else for about an hour. Then, in another heavy-based casserole, fry chopped onion, carrots, celery and garlic on gentle heat. Remove the chicken from its water, and leave to cool for as long as necessary (until you can tear the meat of the bones with your fingers without burning yourself). Pour the chicken stock through a sieve and into the casserole with the vegs. Bring to boil. Add some rice, about half a cup per person and boil until the rice is cooked. In the meantime, add the shredded chicken, chopped flat parsley, pepper, salt if needed (but if you think it needs a lot of salt you might be better off adding a chicken stock cube) and - crucially - a generous splash of double cream. Serve with rustic bread for a full meal. To make this soup it is actually easier having a delicious chicken meal the day before - but this way works too.
Cauliflower soup. This is a kind soup, a soup you would want to hug if it were a person. Just cauliflower, stock and cream would have done the job, but by adding a couple of more ingredients you get a deeper, richer taste and a smoother texture. Chop some leek, an onion, two garlic cloves and a potato or two (more for the texture than for the taste) and simmer in olive oil in a heavy-based casserole on low heat. Wash the cauliflower, one large or two smaller heads, tear or chop into chunks and add to the casserole. Pour in chicken stock and let simmer for around half an hour, or until the cauliflower is tender. Puree with a hand-mixer, adding some cream as you go along. For a fuller meal, serve with some salt meat, either fried pancetta cubes or streaks of Parma ham grilled in the oven. To posh up this soup, perhaps as a starter, serve with a drizzle of truffle oil.
Butternut squash and ginger soup. My current favorite. It is absolutely delicious, smooth, velvety texture and rich, distinct taste. The butternut squash and ginger combination works surprisingly well - it must be one of the culinary world’s best kept secrets. Peel and roughly dice one large or two smaller butternut squash and chop the ginger. Put both in a heavy-based saucepan with a large knob of butter, cover and sweat on a gentle heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the squash is soft. Add a glass of white wine and cook, uncovered, until mostly evaporated (you can drop this if you want, it is not essential to a good result, but it does add some depth to the flavour of the soup). Add the stock, bring to a simmer, add a splash of cream and puree with a hand mixer.
Tom Ka Gai. I love Thai food. Or, food, as they call it in Thailand. This soup is a classic. It has quite a lot of ingredients, but it is not difficult to make, you just add them, one by one, until it tastes unbelievably good. Put 4 tins of coconut milk, roughly 20 slices of galangal or ginger, 4 stalks of lemongrass cut into pieces, 15 lime leaves and 4 small crushed shallots in a pot and cook for five minutes. Add chicken stock (0.5-1 liter) and bring back to boil. Add a couple of sliced chicken breasts, 4 onions (each cut into 6 pieces), 6 spoons of Nam Pla - fish sauce and a spoon of sugar and bring back to boil. Add 4 tomatoes (also cut into 6) and 4-6 chopped spring onions. Remove from the heat. Add the juice from 3 limes and chopped fresh coriander and serve.
Minestrone. I have a feeling there are as many minestrone recipes as there are Italians, or even, people who cook and enjoy Italian food. As long as there are some vegetables definitely garlic, pasta and stock, it counts as a minestrone, non amore mio? Try this one: Fry an onion, a couple of carrots, a couple of leeks, and garlic in oil over a low heat until tender but not colored. Add either a couple of handfuls of chopped tomatoes or a can of (good plum) tomatoes, even a few spoons of puree if you are feeling very tomato-y. Season with salt and pepper, add the stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Add some pasta, around 125 grams - always less than you think, small shapes work best, and cook until the pasta is al dente. Add flat parsley and grated parmesan to serve, and some pancetta if you are serving men.
How can it be that an otherwise healthy woman finds herself overwhelmed by sadness as she leans forwards in Pigeon pose? What is happening when a man begins to sob profusely on his mat every day at 5.30 a.m. for two consecutive years in an Indian ashram? Can we believe the urban myth about a friend of a friend who had an orgasm in headstand? Could the lightness, joy and gratefulness most of us feel after a yoga class be the real reason why yoga is now the most practiced exercise system in the world, and not increased core strength, fabulous abs or the ability to touch ones toes?
At the core of yogic philosophy is the belief that mind, body and soul are one, linked through possibly the breath; the emotions; the nervous system - possibly all three. This inseparability of body and mind, and the intrinsic, complicated and elegant ways in which they affect and influence each other is increasingly acknowledged by Western medical practices such as psychology and neuroscience. I had one of my own strongest experiences of the link between the physical and the emotional when I found out I was pregnant with my second child. I was walking down the street, I remember exactly where I was, by the zebra crossing halfway down Westbourne Grove. All of a sudden I felt overwhelmed by an incredibly strong sense of protective love. It filled my entire body in an instant, I stopped in my steps and my hand shot instinctively to my abdomen. A couple of days later I did a pregnancy test and sure enough, I was carrying a baby. Looking back, I am sure what I felt was my maternal instinct kicking in as the pregnancy established itself in my womb.
Accepting and honoring this holistic approach to being human, I am interested to understand how yoga can affect how we feel. Can we learn anything about our inner landscape through sculpting our physical bodies into ancient acrobatic postures? Can yoga nurture and heal a fractured ego as well as a frozen shoulder? Is the incredible longevity and overwhelming recent popularity of yoga simply due to the fact that it makes people feel good?
The English word emotion is derived from the Latin emovere: the “e” means out and “movere” to move. Traditionally emotions were thought to exist in the mind, along with thoughts and perceptions. However, yogis know that the body experiences emotions too, just as the body has its own wisdom. There are countless medical, sociological, biological and psychological approaches and theories about the seemingly complex issue of emotions, suffice to say for the purpose of this text that regardless of where they are situated or what part of us they ‘belong to’, emotions have the ability to move us as human beings, and are as such vital to our existence. No matter who you are or what kind of live you lead, the only constant is change – daily sunrises and sunsets and the effortless, continuous changing of the seasons are obvious reminders of this.
Generally, we desire and warmly embrace ‘good’ feelings such as love, happiness, contentment, joy, gratification, security and satisfaction. We have more difficulties accepting ‘bad’ feelings such as anger, regret, jealousy, fear, hate, greed, sadness and disappointment as, under normal circumstances, a necessary and real part of life. We keep our feelings hidden, afraid to express them honestly. It is this problem of unhealed feeling, the accumulation of bruised and broken emotions, that most people stagger under without saying a word.
In asana practice we move, stretch and strengthen our muscles, joints, organs and bones. We squeeze, twist, press, hold, let go, balance; we turn ourselves upside down. We breathe consciously and we allow ourselves to relax. This will have a profound effect on all the layers of our body, not just the physical (annamayi kosha), but the energetic (pranamayi kosha) and emotional body (manomayi kosha) too. As body and mind are inseparable, anything we do with our physical body will affect our mind and vice versa. What is happening when we experience tears welling up in Pigeon pose, experience shortness of breath in a Warrior or heaviness of heart during seated forward bend is that the release we are aiming for on a physical level happens on an emotional level too. Through the physical practice of asanas we release blocked or stagnant energy. In this light, asana practice offers a way of experiencing our emotions and understanding ourselves better; it becomes a cleansing process, if we welcome these feelings that arise. Through yogic movement, breath and relaxation, we learn to look at our own emotional terrain, to witness the ebb and flow of our feelings, how they come and go, that they are simply that: temporary, passing sensations, and as such, they do not define who we are.
The light and joyful feeling we have after a yoga class then, is due to more than sweating, stretching computer-tight shoulders or being able to hold a straight plank for ten breaths. The emotional release that follows the physical increases our opportunity as human beings to feel elevated, free and happy.
Our inner lives are so rich, complicated and volatile that we can never predict what precise pose or movement will trigger an emotional response in a student on any given day. However, there seems to be a general consensus in the yoga world that some poses will trigger emotional reactions more than others:
Hip openers. If the body responds to emotion and has its own wisdom, it will also have its own memory. The hips are generally believed to be an area of our body where we store a lot of particularly hurtful memories, perhaps especially from when we were small children and did not have the resources or language to deal with painful experiences. Poses that encourage opening and release in the hips and that may consequently prompt an emotional reaction are: Kapotasana, Pigeon pose; Ananda Balasana, Happy Baby; Trikonasana, Triangle pose; reclining twist and deep lunges.
Chest/heart openers. The chest is the home of the Anahata, the heart chakra, associated with love, compassion and forgiveness. Heartbreak, depression and feelings of loneliness and betrayal could linger in this area of the body. Poses that encourage opening of the chest and exposure of the heart are: Ustrasana, Camel pose; Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, Upward-facing dog and Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, Bridge pose.
Poses for shoulders, neck and back. When we are not flowing with the experiences of our lives, but pushing away or resisting something, it could manifest as frustration and anger that we can physically feel in our shoulders, neck and along the length of the spine. Repressed anger creates tension in the neck as you force your feelings down your throat instead of saying what you want to say. To release stress, which usually manifests in the shoulders, arm circles will be especially effective when leading with the elbow. Another effective shoulder release, using the full range of motion in the shoulder joints, is to lift arms up over the head and continue down the back, clutching a belt. The simplest of neck movements will release muscles and tension, and often emotions too: ear-to-shoulder; chin-to-chest; neck rolls; look over the shoulder. As for the back, Cat/Cow stretches and releases the full length of the spine, as does various twists, which also relate to untangling the knots of life and managing the twists and turns our lives will inevitably take, such as Marichyasana, Half-seated twist, and again, reclining twist. Forward bends are another way to stretch and release the spine. Deep variations such as Paschimottanasana, Seated forward bend, or Janu Sirsasana, Head-to-knee pose, gives us an opportunity to turn the gaze inwards.
Balances. The first time I heard Christian Pisano, an Iyengar yoga teacher, say that if we would not find balance in yoga, we did not have balance in our lives, I thought he was barking mad. I did not want to believe what he was saying – the reality of it has taken me 15 years to digest. Balancing poses such as Vrksasana, Tree pose, and Ardha Chandrasana, Half Moon pose, create equilibrium in the body and thus emotional harmony. Garudasana, Eagle pose, is another superpose that offers relief to a scattered mind and works to balance the internal and external world.
Inversions. What actually happens when we turn ourselves upside-down? We see the world and ourselves from another angle, and this can provide useful insights. Reversing gravity helps release energy blocks, inflexible thinking, stuck emotions and feelings of heaviness. If we can warm to the idea of things being turned upside-down, we could learn to adapt effortlessly to change without warning. Powerful inversions include Salamba Sarvangasana, Shoulder stand; Sirsasana, Head stand, and Adho Mukha Vrksasana, Hand stand.
Restorative yoga. Restorative yoga allows us to feel for a while how it feels to be human beings – as opposed to human doings. Poses such as Savasana, Corpse pose; Balasana, Child’s pose and Viparita Karani, Legs-up-the-wall, encourage total relaxation of mind and body, and often bring about feelings of acceptance, relief and surrender. On the other hand, the stillness of the body and the silence of the mind might bring up repressed thoughts and emotions that are easily avoided in hectic everyday life. For this reason, restorative poses can be the most difficult to master. But once mastered, they create space for calm and for the emergence of a friendship between the mind and body.
Both as yogis and our own emotional investigators, and as yoga teachers, holding a healthy, holistic space for other people, how should we deal with these emotions? Personally, the most important thing is to allow yourself to experience the feeling fully, otherwise it becomes just another means of oppression. Invite the feelings to come. Secondly, accept that the emotions should be felt, not solved. Experienced, not analyzed. Observed, not judged. Thirdly, stay with the moment, and avoid holding on or pushing away any aspect of the experience, even though it can be confrontational and challenging. Full, steady yogic breath, Ujjayi and prolonged exhalation are breathing techniques that will help you keep calm, avoid panicking and generally ride off the worst storm. Students should be advised similar breathing techniques, to hold the pose if they can (and come out if they can’t) and, knowing they are in a safe, supportive environment, left in peace. We are yoga teachers, not psychiatrists.
Pain comes to guide you. When you have known pain, you will make friends with those who suffer, you will be compassionate.
B.K.S. Iyengar
Here are some poses that may help us in our infertility dilemma.
1. Legs up the wall pose
2. Lotus Pose Meditation
3. Supported Bridge Pose
4. Cobra pose
5. Bound Angle Pose
6. Wide Angle Pose
