Body Awareness: Helpful Hint for a Yoga Beginner

Have you gone to a yoga class or two at your local gym, or tried a free online class, or a yoga video at home but still didn't get it? Don't worry! You have already done the hard part by mustering the courage to try.
As much as your mind may say "I need to look like the instructor in this pose," it is not always true. Each one of our bones are shaped differently thanks to genetics and diet. Muscles just like our bones are the same, one side may be larger or smaller then the other due to diet, exercise, injury or repetative motion (such as a baseball pitcher with an overworked right arm). If you don't already know what are the areas in which you hold pain or tension in your body? These generally will be the areas that are overworked and need to be addressed to further your yoga practice. Do you sit in an office all day hunched over a computer? Chances are your downward facing dog pose will be challenging, yet it will also help bring release to that tension.
Write a mental list of these areas and check how they feel when you take your next yoga class. Also, when you see the super flexible instructor or yogi neighbor attempting Mermaid pose don't give into the feeling of competition, remember your body is structured differently. Listen to what it says!

Take some time to try an at home practice to test your body awareness. Doing a slow, breath filled practice at home will allow your body to relax in a comfortable setting without the pressure of following a class pace. Take a few sun salutations to get started http://www.yogasite.com/sunsalute.htm) and then move into Warrior I or Warrior II. (You may choose other poses that are challenging to your practice, if you don't remember which ones or would like to see other variations check out: http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/finder/browse_categories). With your new body awareness in mind, try to relax. Don't force your body into a position it is not ready for. Listen when your muscles feel they are being stretched beyond a comfortable position, stop and come out of or lessen the pose. Breathe here and allow those tense muscles to renew its oxygen supply. Then go back into the pose slowly. Taking these steps will help you dig deeper into the tough poses.

When you have completed your home class take time to see what feels different in your body before rushing to your next project. Ask yourself what feels different and what did you learn? Slowly answer these questions and rest in your rejuvanated body. The best part of yoga is the mental and physical clarity after finishing your practice! Relish in it!

Transitions

Now that my yoga course is completed, I will be heading to Cambodia. Prior to my time on Koh Pha Ngan, I visited Cambodia to interview for an internship with Chab Dai, an anti-trafficking organization based in Phnom Penh. The interview in January went splendidly and over the past few months we have been working out the details of my involvment. As it stands now, I will be working with the communications team, helping to streamline the materials they publish and editing stories written by nationals. It is exciting to finally have the chance to work with such a well respected anti-trafficking organization.

During my time in Cambodia, I will also be networking with other organizations to offer yoga therapy for victims of trafficking and for caregivers. Why does it help victims? Yoga has been used in many cases to help victims of trauma regain self-confidence and physical strength. Yoga can also help victims to regain their voice by allowing past trauma to move through them, rather then continuing to hold it in bodily form. So, why help caregivers? Caring for others requires a great deal of time and attention, most people who do this give selflessly and can easily burn out. Yoga is a means of softening and listening to your body, allowing the caregivers a safe space where they too can work through physical and emotional stress.

I have to say a big thank you to all of the yogis from my Virajati teacher training course that donated their yoga mats and blocks to get this project underway. You all are yoga superstars in my book!

Officially a Yogi

After two months of hard work, I am officially a Alliance Certified yoga instructor. These three hundred hours of training have filled my brain with proper allignment cues, meditation practices, massage and muscle manipulation techniques. Planning classes seems to flow naturally from within; as I've learned to focus on building the weaknesses and expanding the strengths of the class participants. So if you want to see how yoga can expand your mind, ease bodily pain, and rejuvenate your energy take some time to practice with me!

Practicum: Last Test

Just as in college, each yoga student had to prepare a final class. Each lesson was dissected by our three head teachers to ensure we had learned proper alignment, safe lesson structuring (ensuring the body is properly warmed so no injuries occur during difficult poses), and were confident in our hands on adjustments (when you manually help someone dig deeper into a posture). Needless to say this scrutiny was intimidating.

Each student had an hour to instruct their lesson and could theme it in various ways. Some individuals chose to do a prenatal class, some focused on meditation, and others focused on quick paced hatha or vinyasa yoga. I chose to do a high intensity vinyasa class. Sounds like fun right? Well when I stood up to teach, on a muggy hot Friday afternoon, the last thing it seemed everyone wanted was an energetic class. However, I was feeling confident and stuck to my plan.

After a little game of poparazzi, where you and your yoga buddy pretend to be a celebrities, everyones mood lifted. The theme of my class was lighthearteness and I traced it through the yoga class with upbeat music and tender words. The lesson went like this: Centering (focusing on breath) - Sun Salutations- Core work (crunches)- Vinyasa- Stretching- Shavasana (final resting pose). By the end everyone felt as though they conquered the afternoon. While my instructors gave me a few points of constructive criticism followed with encouraging, I was smiling from ear to ear and celebrating with a mental track of "Celebrate Good Times" for the test was finally over!

Week Three: Alignment

In week three we focused quite a bit on learning the anatomy and alignment of varying yoga postures. Proper alignment is key in making sure students do not hurt themselves in postures. Misalignment can cause strains and sprains.
Three keys to proper form are:
-Grounding of the feet in standing poses
-Engagement of the core (abdominal muscles)
-Rooting of the hands during floor poses
And the most important of all, remembering and reminding students to breath during every pose. This may be a funny thing to remind someone of but often individuals forget to breath during exercise. Here are a few pictures of our class alignment corrections.

Yoga inspiration

How do I get through two, sometimes three asana (posture) classes a day? One name can answer this question: Luca. Aged to perfection at 4 years, this half French half Thai little tyke always brings a smile to my face whenever he darts into the room. His giggle is infectious and we have lots of fun together. His energy is what helps me get through yoga in the hot Thai afternoon.

An Intentional Weekend

Last week finished strong, despite the fact that we all endured two asana (posture) classes a day for five days. (Some are 90 minute classes people!) These classes are already having a profound impact on my posture and gait. Regular exercise, which promotes blood flow, does wonders for the body and as well for the mind. Too often sitting still at a computer can bring back, neck and shoulder pain by tightening the front of the body. Yet when we regularly work on strengthening our back it can lead to a more open chest and ease stress regularly placed on the shoulders and neck. So... go walk, do yoga or get the blood flowing through other exercises.

Over the weekend there were many extra activities that one could choose from; such as a study of organic foods, a children's workshop, or a trip to town. The weekend was a nice change to sleep into 7am, rather then the usual 6am wakeup. Though this is not a habit I regularly keep at home (waking up early), I think it's one I might change. Waking up so early leaves so much time in the day to accomplish things, like an ocean swim, cleaning out the room, doing laundry. Saturday was spent visiting the main town on the island and shopping for fresh fruit and produce. The first time Thailand-visitors also went wild for the tshirts, yoga pants, and other fun island beach wear. After getting my first real latte in a week, we all crammed all 10 of us back into the sung theow (an old Toyota with two bench seats in the bed of the truck) out to Serenity.

Since I have an invested interest in working with women and children in a yoga therapy context, I chose a children's yoga workshop on Sunday afternoon. This workshop was held at an alternate yoga school on the island. So despite the torrential downpour three others and I made our way to Agama Yoga School. Our instructor Ra Dasi allowed us to sit in on an actual child's yoga class. Thoroughly energetic the kids bounced and babbled their way through the poses. They particularly loved the animal-inspired ones like cat/cow. It was a wonderful experience to see just how free she allowed the children to be yet Ra kept a fluid structure about the whole class. The kids were thoroughly engaged in the poses and even lead part of the classes. Truly it was an eye-opening experience of how to lead a kids class. I learned so much and can't wait to lead my own kiddo class.