You Know You've Been On The Yoga Wagon Too Long, When...

You know you've been on the yoga wagon too long, when you suddenly notice that you've become known as "...oh, that yoga girl?" at work.

You know you've been on the yoga wagon too long, when you suddenly notice that leggings are your good clothes.

You know you've been on the yoga wagon too long, when you suddenly notice that nobody can remember you not in a pony tail.

I spared you the lame one, about the Prius, J

Ok, the original title was...

You Know You've Been On The Wagon Too Long, When San Pellegrino Is Your Favorite Mineral Water

But it wasn't getting too many hits. So had to change it.

Representatives of San Pellegrino company. 

(You yogis may as well leave. This next bit is going to be as boring, as meditation at lunchtime, on a crowded corner)

(Cough. Cough) Representatives of San Pellegrino company. 

Your water is the nectar of the gods.

Only a true devotee, could pen, such truly fantastic slogans, for your company.

Because I love you...

...the slogans are yours, for only USD10,000.00 each.

Please contact me to arrange payment.

Alright, 'cause I love you (but you still owe me the money!)...

...here's how you use it in commercials (USD10,000.00 per commercial of course)...

Fist commercial is a power point deck. You know, educating you.

You see a dude dead drunk. Text "Drunk people."

You see a dude (same dude) in a circle getting counseled. Text "Who recover."

You see a dude with a heap of mineral waters in front of him. Text "Choose San Pellegrino."

You see a dude tasting one of the mineral waters. Text (still) "Choose San Pellegrino."

You see a dude pointing at San Pellegrino.  Text (still) "Choose San Pellegrino."

(There's like a million dollars worth of subliminal messaging, right there in those last three slides.)

Commercial number two, is a follow up commercial.

Dude's at a bar with some work buddies (use guys in suits...cause only dipshits wear suits to bars, when they don't have to). Whatever,

Anyway, the guys are ordering drinks, and the dude makes the no gesture with his hands, then points at San Pellegrino.

This is important. Pay attention: the no and point are in time with the cool music being played (cause you don't hear the dudes talking. It's just gestures and music)). <sigh, try to keep up>

Anyway, we get the same thing, in a number of different bars, with different people (Same dude. Keep up).

Here try this rhyme to remember:

"No, no!
San Pellegrino."

So it's two hand crosses, and a point at San Pellegrino. "No, no! San Pellegrino"

So at the last bar, we get the two no gestures, but he can't make the point gesture, cause there's no San Pellegrino. Anyway, long story short.

You see him ask, in a stunned way, "But, where's the San Pellegrino?"

Bar tender says no.

Fade to black.

Focus white text, "You Know You've Been On The Wagon Too Long, When San Pellegrino Is Your Favorite Drink"

Commercial number 3.

Dude's at the bar with his buddies. They aren't asshole, cause they're not in suits. Anyway.

Dude's drinkin' his San Pellegrino as usual.

Anyway, the dudes buddy points at the San Pellegrino, then does a sweeping point at the other mineral waters.

Important: San Pellegrino, must be the MOST represented mineral water presented - use a fridge with a glass front. 50% San Pellegrino. 50% the rest. Anyway.

Then the dudes buddy shrugs why.

Dude pulls a bitter face (tongue out slightly). Points at the drinks.

Then he nods his head at the San Pellegrino.

Ok, Mr San Pellegrino Company. Here's what your multi-million dollar ad agency didn't tell you...

The easiest way, to get a message across, is making the message, easy to understand.

Don't underestimate the power of easy.

If something is hard, it's powerful right? Think of a bodybuilder's bicep. Flexed. Power.

What's the exact opposite of 'hard'? 'Easy' right?

So, easy has the same magnitude of power as hard. So easy's powerful.

Yep. That is savant genius, at work.

Talk when you've got the money, J

Why Relaxation Is the Hardest Pose In All Of Yoga

You know how your yoga teacher is always banging on about savasana?

And how it's the hardest pose of all. But they never explain why. Here's why...

Advanced asana is about flexibility and strength. It takes both, to hold an advanced pose.

All that flexibility and strength, enables you to position your body, for the maximum openness (a.k.a. advance asana).

Ummm...think about it this way...all stretches have a contraction and an extension. Opposite muscle groups etc.

So all the asanas involve some contraction. Muscles build strength when they contract. Therefore, all asana builds strength.

Well, what if there was an opposite, negative energy, that balanced all that strength?

And, what if there was just one pose that you could do. That could counter all the positive energy poses in a whole class?

Well, - and you know where this is going - there is!

'Cause there's only one pose where every muscle is relaxed, and none of them are working.

Yep, Savasna.

Now, there's two ways to think of savasna:

One: You store more energy in your body, as class progresses. In savasana, the energy dissipates to earth.

Two: You deplete more energy in your body, as class progresses. In savasana, the you are recharged from the earth.

Half empty, or half full? J

Vinyasa Isn't The Answer ...Sorry, What Was The Question?

If you just do pure vinyasa, you'll never truly get great at yoga.

I'm talking about actual flow time. Not the time you've stopped flowing. When you are say going from one backbend to another. That's just hatha time, in your viny class.

Hatha time is great time. You can really concentrate on your body.

You can spend more time on the bits that aren't moving real well. And throttle it back on areas were you are insanely good.

There's other yoga time, that could help your yoga, as well as vinyasa flow time, and hatha time.

But, you'll have to give up some of your other yoga to fit it in. Thing is?

If all your yoga time is full of vinyasa time and hatha time.  And that's all your yoga time.

Then how will you use, know yoga time, to know what other yoga's gonna be good for you?

Know yoga (Keep reading me, we'll time getting there together.), J

The Argument For Alcohol In Yoga

See the guy in the picture.

Now, I'm guessin' he's not a yogi.

So, how's he bending so far?

He's drunk and the muscles in his body have gone slack. Says you.

Allowing his skeletal joints to open all the way up, in that position. You continue.

Hmm...says I. If he's not a yogi. And his joint is bent like that.

And the only thing, that's changed,

is that all his muscles are relaxed 

...from alcohol.

That means that the only thing that will get us deeper into a pose is relaxation.

I wonder if he can backbend more, when he's sober the next day? Says I.

The Internet's Changed All Of Us

The Internet's changed everyone.

It's like everyone's inner voyeur has been set free.

We look at everyone. Everyone looks at us.

We put on a good show.

So the internet has changed everyone.

But now we're all the same.

Not All Poses Are Created Equal

When you're old, you can still straighten your arms. Your legs. Your hips. Neck. Wrists.

Wanna know what you can't straighten, when you are older? Your thoracic (upper back).

Don't believe me? <sigh, foolish one>

Think of two ideal old people. One's straight and tall, and is full of life. The other, is <insert body part and direction>, and not much fun.

Exactly!

Now you know why backbends are the most important asana family.

They are the only ones, that stop the one body part, that can't be straightened - in most oldies - from getting bent over. Ergo.

Backbends rock. And you should be busting them out more than any other family of asana.

Workin' on that kickass press lift from uttanasana?

Or, that chin to shin in pacimo?

Pfffft...Wastin' your time.

Those body parts aren't in danger of not straightening. Now, your thoracic.

If you don't give that 666 badboy some attention, you'll regret it later.

Well, don't sit around reading blogs. Get backbendin', J.

You Know The Moment You Know You're Weird

You know the moment you know you're weird.

You know?

When you're standing there.

And you get a view of your life from the outside.

It's kinda magical.

You know that it's happening, and you know it's magical.

But you also remember, saying to yourself.

In your magical happening, outside your body, looking back at yourself.

Remember that you're weird.

Bring Yoga Back

Follow up post to "How Yoga Lost Its Way"

In that post we argued that money is now in charge of yoga. And because of this, yoga now bends to the mass of consumers, rather than the masses bending to yoga (pun intended).

In other posts, we questioned where all the back bends went, and tied that into this bowing to the masses. Give 'em what they want. They don't want backbends.

In this post, we give a passing mention to how hard we see yoga teachers trying to teach funky flows. New moves. Fresh outta <insert hip, happenin' yoga location>.

You see guys, these teachers and studios, that omit asana families (like backbends), or that feel they have to funk up their flows, in order to be successful, are robbing you.

Not of money. Of yoga.

It's only after years and years of practice, that you'll start to see that, what you needed all along, was a solid basic practice.

One that builds on itself, and fully equips you with all the tools you need to climb Mount Yoga.

The way yoga's being taught now, you guys are gonna hit high altitude, and figure out some important bit of equipment is missing. That you need to get to the top.

So, then you have to go all the way back down. Pick up the equipment, and start climbing again.

The good news, is that there's probably a few yoga teachers around that understand this. You need to find them.

They're the ones with the boring classes that include all the basics and where you're probably gonna (shock, horror) sweat during class. Yep, yoga's a workout.

So, try different studios. Find the ones that stick to the basics. Find ones that actually include backbends or that have backbend props lying around.

Find classes the make you sweat.

Here's yoga:

Repetition of the same boring old poses, until you get them. Then repetition of new poses, that soon get boring, until you get them.

Rinse, dry repeat, J

Natarajasana - The Sooner You Push Up ^ With That Back Leg The Better

Let's work on a bit of visual imagery with natarajasana.

This pose doesn't actually start, until your back thigh, is up past parallel to the floor.

So, the guy in the above pic, has his lifted leg just under parallel to the floor. If he lifts his back knee another 12 inches, it'll be past parallel.

This is an important milestone (when the back knee is higher than the hips). Here's why.

With the knee higher than the hips,  you get access to pushing upwards linearly.

The importance of this change in action can't be understated.

That right angle in the guys pose (between the lifted leg and the standing leg), saps huge amounts of energy from the pose.

Past parallel he'll be pushing down through the standing leg, and straight up, through the lifted leg.

Ummm...try this...put your hands on a wall and push away.

Now stand in a doorway. Reach up and push up against the top of the door jamb. Put some effort into it.

You'll notice that you can exert heaps more outward power, when pushing linearly under the door jamb.

In the two examples, the right angle nataraj is like pushing against the wall. That right angle kills the pose. It's hard to transfer energy through a bend.

When your leg is past parallel, you have unlimited ability to push upwards. All that leg strength acting in a linear motion. Powerful.

Ok. So here's the main take away...

...you gotta hit nataraj hard, until the leg is past parallel.

The gains literally pour on, when you can access the power of linear motion. Especially when using the body's most powerful muscles (legs, glutes).

In a future post, I'll show you a method of supercharging your nataraj practice. Easy, but powerful.

Be royal, J

P.S. Here's a pic of someone with their leg past para. She's pushin' up through that lifted leg. The power you can use in a straight line is awesome. Especially, when the legs are involved.

Evolution Of A Yogi

When you first start out, you gravitate to what comes naturally. Maybe arm balances for men. Hip and hammies for women.

After a bit (a 'bit' in yoga is years and years), you've got your go-to thing coming along nicely.

Then you notice that you're weak in something. It's your nemesis yoga body part or family of asana. Say backbends.

Well, you're pretty good at your go-to body part, so you devote some lovin' to your nemesis yoga.

Pretty soon ('soon' in yoga is years and years), your nemesis yoga is looking pretty decent.

Encouraged by your success, with your nemesis yoga, you move onto the next thing that you are most weak at.

In the meantime you are keeping up your practice with your go-to and nemesis yoga.

You keep working through things, until everything is the same.

et voila! Balance. The circle is complete. You are complete.

Now, you can start the real practice, J

Yoga's Unique Perspective

Photography is all about perspective. I like to think successful photography is about being unique.

Unique person, unique thing, unique event or unique perspective (or combinations of them).

Everything you perceive is because of a function of your body in some way.

You feel the wind on your face, running the fastest you've ever run before.

You look out from higher than you've ever been before.

What if one of the functions improved. You could see further, jump higher, run faster or smell more?

It would be unique feeling the wind on your face, running the fastest you've ever run before. Or, how the trees go by so much faster.

Or, you how everything you've ever smelt before is now up for grabs, if you could smell more.

Deeper asana provides a unique perspective.

Every time you bend further than you've ever been before, you are getting a unique perspective. A place you've never felt open in such a way before.

..the first time you see your feet from behind in a backbend.

Back to photography; next time you see a photo you really like, ask yourself: Unique person, unique thing, unique event or unique perspective?

I just made all that up...It's Friday night. I need to get out more. You know. Be unique, J

Read All About It: Yogi Eats Hot Dog

Ok so, you know how hot dogs are full of shit that's bad for you? Well, apparently it's true...

iWitness Testimony

"How like, this one time, 

Rhonda's sister Sherry's boyfriend 

said that the sausages in the hot dogs

 are made from all the dead cats and dogs 

that they kill at the pound."

Well, there's a healthy yogic alternative.

Introducing: The Banana Dog (tm) : )

Yep, the folks down at the yogic think-tank "Brainy People For Yoga", have come up the yoga's hot dog alternative.

No longer will you sit in the stands at your favorite sporting event, jealous of all the guys who get to eat dogs. It's just not right.

Now you can break out your Banana Dog (tm) and chow down with them. Could life get any better?

num, num, num, J

Banana Dog (tm) ingredients:
Lightly (that's lightly, not crispily, <sigh> toasted bread.
Nuttelex (spread over aforementioned light toast)
Honey (spread over Nuttelex)
Banana
Bend toast around banana, voila! Banana Dog (tm) <see, told you not too crispy!>

Yoga Is Selfish

"Yoga is so selfish", said the daughter to her father.

"It's all about your pose, your breath, your focus".

"But I never talk about my yoga with you!", protested her father.

"I can see it when you practice", said his daughter.

This Is Yoga, You Are --> Here

In this post we...

   ...levitate ourselves into the yoga stratosphere

      ...take a gander at the world of yoga below us

         ...pinpoint where exactly we are

Then we suck the whole world of yoga into that pinpoint. Kinda like an imploding black hole. It's gonna be so cool. Let's liftoff.

Four Paths

There's four paths of yoga:

1) Jnana yoga: This is nerd yoga. These yogis study a lot. Knowledge is their drug. They study yogic texts. Kinda like monks in a monastery studying scripture.

2) Karma yoga: This is selfless action yoga. Think Ghandi and Mother Teresa. They are Karma yogis. What goes around, comes around.

3) Bhakti yoga: This is love and devotional yoga. Devotion to God. Think Hare Krishnas.

4) Raja yoga: This is us. Jock yoga.

We'll stick with Raja yoga for this next bit, and we'll use Patanjali's 8 limbs to help pinpoint our location.

CU in the next post, J.

Practice At Your Level During Class

You go to class, and the level of practice is below your level. Do you:

A) Throttle it back, and go with the level of the class, or

B) Practice at your own level regardless of the teacher and class.

Now, I'm not talking about heading off in your own direction during class. What's the point of attending, if you are just gonna do your own thing?

No. I'm talking about practicing at your level within the poses on offer.

Here's some examples:

Teacher has the class come into side plank and lift the top leg up. Do you catch the toes and extend or just lift the leg a bit?

Teacher has the class come into ardha chandrasana. You are used to lifting the bottom hand. Do you do this or leave the lower hand on the floor?

Here's the answer:

Will you be practicing the pose in the full variation in the next couple of days? Now.

If you will be practicing the full variation in the next couple of days, it doesn't matter whether you go full variation or throttled back.

If  you will not be practicing the full variation in the next couple of days, then you had best go full variation.

If you keep throttling back your practice during class, and class is the only yoga you are getting in, then eventually you'll lose the ability to get into the full variation.

That's why it's called PRACTICE!

Now, onto whether you look like a show off or not if you do practice the full version.

Show off to who? Those who don't have the fortitude to achieve? Gimme a break. Same deal. 

If you let people with less ability than you, dictate your capabilities, well, it won't be long till you join them.

CU in class, J.

Where Did All The Backbends Go?

This'll be quick. Strap in. Hang on.

So, if your studio includes back-bends in its classes regularly, then consider yourself fortunate. Cause.

A lot of places are skipping them. And no, Bhujangasna during a flow doesn't count. Look.

You simply can't advance your practice with a gaping hole, where back-bends used to be.

So, if your sole yoga objective is to get to a couple of classes per week. Fine, knock yourself out.

It's so important to have a well rounded practice in order to advance in yoga.

Forward bends, side bends and back bends all work together, to support each other, in advanced asana.

Are back-bends missing because they are too hard to do for the modern office body?

Are yoga studios pandering to the commercial masses?

Probably both. But it doesn't matter. What matters is your practice. Where do you want to go with it?

You've heard this before, but it bears repeating:

To become an advanced practitioner you simply must take responsibility for your own practice.

This means rounding out your practice where class practice falls short.

No need to go find another studio if yours doesn't back-bend.

At some stage all studios fail at something (inversions, balances, back-bends). And then you need to take over, in order to take it to the next level.

Happy practicing, J.