Yogis Don't Do Yoga Anymore

A studio I attend, has taken all the 'strong' flow classes, off the timetable, and replaced them with 'normal' yoga.

I know the owner, and asked why. "People don't come", she said.

"What about the people who come for a while? What do they do to progress?", I asked.

The owner just shrugged.

Another studio I attend, has introduced a heap of Yin classes. You know, restorative yoga, rebadged and trendy'd up. Apparently, those classes are ok.

Sometimes I use the stretch area, at a mind body studio. This is next to the weight area. Funny thing.

I haven't seen one 'buff' person using the weights.

We live in a weird world folks. Up is down and right is left.

Yogis are attending yoga classes, but want less yoga.

Gyms are full of out of shape people.

Please don't let the malaise (weakness) affecting mankind, affect you.

Make an effort. Light a fire under your own bum. Move. Sweat.

Do something. Anything that isn't normal. Normal is SO boring and mediocre.

Fight like hell not to be normal. Play hard.

You have one life. Do something with it. Anything.

Don't just be one of the herd.

CU in strong flow, J.

Why Thin Chicks Do Yoga

Here are 3 reasons why thin chicks do yoga...

1. Attraction

Yoga's non-competitive. It's calming. 

These attributes will attract a certain type of person. 

In the west, it's the young, upwardly mobile female.

This woman is employed or married with kids. She looks after herself and is prepared to work to stay in shape.

2. The Practice

Yoga builds focus. It also builds discipline.

So if you're doing a lot of yoga. Building focus and discipline.

You're gonna want to start to get into the binds and the balances. Thing is.

Bulk gets in the way. So, with your focus and discipline, you are gonna move the bulk. To get into the poses more.

Your focus and discipline is what's moving the weight. Practice is just icing.

Here's another way of looking at it...

Body builders, train and eat for mass.

Runner are thin. Mass ain't helpin' them.

Gymnasts are compact and muscular.

Yogis, we'll we're eatin' healthy. But not for mass.

And the natural state of lengthening and strengthening - especially isometric holds like in yoga (where the muscle contracts, but doesn't change length) - is stringy hard muscle. Coiled muscles.

4. Yoga Throughout Your Life

There's a yoga lifecycle. It occurs over your entire life. And it goes like this...

You start yoga.

   You get into yoga.

      You go hard.

         This is where you get injured and learn a lot about yourself.

            You get calm.

                You start to move more to the spiritual part of the practice.

                    You've done all the fancy, schmancy moves. They no longer appeal.

                         Now it's a basic practice (note: basic doesn't necessarily mean beginner).

That middle bit, where you're going hard. Your body will prolly change. You'll get a yoga body.

Not bulky. Possibly rail thin.

You'd really have to be eating rubbish, to maintain bulk during that phase. But then, you'd be also progressing spiritually, so you wouldn't be eatin' a diet of big macs.

Is everyone the same. Nope.

But a lot are.

That's why all the chicks at yoga are thin.

CU in class, J.

How To Become An Advanced Yogi, In One Easy Lesson

Here's the lesson...

Go to insta, pintrest or tumblr and search on advanced asana.

You'll get a heap of hits.

Start scrolling through, and look at the yogis who are not quite there yet.

So, they've come up under the 'advanced' search, but they aren't quite nailing it.

What criteria are you using to see if a yogi is nailing it or not?

You're prolly looking for

1. Bad form in an advanced asana,
2. Advanced poses, that aren't fully formed, or
3. Advanced poses, that require assistance (blocks, straps, wheels, etc).

It's number 3 that's most interesting, because if you are using 3 then you'll be nailing 1 and 2 also.

It doesn't work the other way around though. 3 will always aid 1 and 2.

1 and 2 don't usually exist with 3.

So, therefore, ergo and hence...

...in order to practice advanced asna much faster. Use props.

Here endeth the lesson :-) J

Bad Yoga Back

We gotta run through what to do, when you've got a back injury, that prevents you from back bending.

Funnily enough, that's all the stuff, that you're guru yoga teacher, is telling you to do now.

Now, you're thinkin' that that sounds right. Right? 

My teacher runs a safe class. Whoa!

Who said anything, about being super conchy, during normal class.

We just said, that your guru teacher, is teaching class, like everyone's got a bad back. Can that be right?

Tucking your tail. Not flaring your ribs. Guys. This is when the magic happens.

If it hurts in your back, where the magic happens. Don't do it. Otherwise.

Do it, J.

P.S. You didn't think I'd leave you hangin', without tellin' what to do, when you do actually have a sore back...

For lower back pain

Back bend on a foam roller, that is under the bottom of your shoulder blades. Tuck your tail.  I know!

For upper back pain

Contain your ribs. I know! 

Don't wanna move

Last bit. A lot of people are all "I don't wanna move anything. I've got a sore back." This is crap.

Unless your backs caused you to go to the doc. You will benefit from twists and side stretches that don't inflame your injury.

Yoga Mojo

My flat mate said I'd lost my mojo. True story.

I've been overdoing it with backbends and ended up with an injury. Hey.

There's a scoliosis in there somewhere.

Gotta learn to ride that thin line.

I had to learn not to practice. Sounds weird.

Believe me, it's tough not practicing.

What I ended up doing, is a modified practice, without backbends.

The interesting thing, is that this caused me to start practicing, just for the hell of it.

No destination. Weird.

Mojo and smile was back in no time.

Mental note: You gotta include some playtime in between the serious yoga stuff.

Smiles, J.

Yoga Helps With Other Sports More Than They Help With Yoga

This post topic is easy pickings. Low hanging fruit.

In cycling, you use your legs and your stomach. That's it. It's all pushing and crunching. There's nothing else.

In soccer, you're fit. Thin. Fit. Loose. Where's the strength? Exactly!

What else have we got?

Weight training...too easy...all bulk...Those muscle are getting in the way. So you aren't as loose as you could be.

So, in general, sports focus on one thing. There aren't many that cover it all.

In yoga, we're strong and flexible everywhere.  Back. Front. Side. Right side up. Up side down.

We move with agility. We are loose. We are graceful.

It's this balance in yoga that makes yoga helpful with other sports.

A longer stroke. Stronger supporting muscles.

The focussed nature of sports, means that they only benefit yoga, in one way or in one plane of motion (legs and abs with cycling).

CU in class, J.

Yoga Vs Sports

The great thing about yoga, is that you can't really lose at it. I mean.

C'mon, are you sad that you left the matt looser than when you started? Nope. Never.

So, with yoga, you always win.

Not so with other sports.

In other sports, people are always measuring ...how fast ...how much.

With yoga, you can just do it for the hell of it. Play some music. Move. Breathe.

Peace, J.

Can You Overtrain At Yoga?

Can you overtrain at yoga?

Does the pope shit in a forest?

Of course you can! In fact.

Yoga is so addictive, that you prolly will overtrain at some point. But.

Let's get this post the right way around...First up.

What the hell IS overtraining?

Well, every time you do yoga, or anything that is strenuous, your body needs time to recover.

If the body isn't allowed adequate time to fully recover, between sessions of strenuous activity, performance suffers.

The more you don't allow your body to recover, the more your performance suffers.

In addition to a loss in performance, you'll experience a greater susceptibility to infection (coughs and colds).

It'll probably mess with your metabolism and / or sleep. Anyway.

So you're probably thinking that overtraining shouldn't occur in yoga. And that a good yogi or teacher would never over train. ...errrrr, you'd be wrong.

Overtraining isn't you going hell for leather. Damn the torpedoes. Full steam ahead.

It can happen just from practicing. In fact yogis are more prone to overtraining, as we're encouraged to practice daily.

Now, you may not actually know that you've overtrained. You'll just think you're a bit run down. True.

So, you'll rest up a bit more. And Bob's your uncle. Before you know it, you're back on your game.

The thing to recognize, are the symptoms, and the level of exertion, that's required before overtraining occurs.

If you never get to the point of over training then, no problemo. Let this knowledge rest in your brain until the time you do overtrain. Then.

Being the switched on yogi you are. You'll say to yourself, "I remember reading once, about this thing..."

CU over training, J.

When Your Yoga Teacher Tells You To Get Your Yoga Elsewhere

No, you haven't been a bad yogi.

In western yoga, you have class yoga, workshop yoga, or one-on-one yoga.

With your one-on-one yoga you need to make sure you're working on the right things. And there will be right things.

The right teacher will know this about you.

They will have you working specifics.

They'll tell you to go to class for the other stuff.

If you're one-on-one instructor doesn't have you working specifics. And they aren't telling you to go to class for the other stuff.

You have the wrong teacher.

CU in class (working the other stuff), J.

How To See The Yoga Trees In The Yoga Forest (Part 1)

There's a political term, called industry capture. (yes, this is still a yoga blog).

It's when lobbyists capture the political process for their industry.

Industries, in turn can capture things. Like football leagues.

We like to think it's just a game, with winners and losers. But really it's an industry, with profits and losses.

Western yoga's totally been captured by industry. Don't believe me?

When was the last time you went to a free yoga class?

How many guru's do you know, who aren't paid (directly or indirectly), by their disciples?

More soon, J.

Yogis Smile

Just the fact that you practice yoga is reason to smile.

Not to mention...

You're crazy strong.

Can defy gravity.

Can make yourself super compact and small.

Can make yourself super elongated and tall.

You're loose.

You move like you're 18 (even when you're not (even (close)))

You meet, neat, other yogis.

You live more in the moment in one day, than some people live their whole lives.

You savor moments.

Yoga makes life worth livin'.

:-) J.

Yogis Don't Smile

You want a neutral face when practicing.

Not happy. No grimace either.

You don't want to register any emotions on your face. Totally neutral.

This is because any emotion on the face is just that, an emotion.

An emotion is the result of conscious thought. Therefore.

You need to be thinking, to be feeling an emotion.

You don't want to be thinking when practicing. You want to breathe and focus. That's it.

No thinking. No emotion. No facial expression.

CU in class, J.

P.S. The time to actually control your facial expressions is when you fall out of a pose.

Don't laugh.

Don't cry.

Fall.

No emotion.

Get back in.

The great thing about not registering an emotion when you fall out of a pose, is that you don't lose your yogic calm.

This means you don't have to both regain the pose and the composure.

Just one thing to work on. Efficient :-)

...the perfect yoga ending

Here's the perfect ending to a class.

Backbend the shit out of yourself. Go nuts. Bend that bad boy. Ok. Now...

Do a happy baby. Put your sacrum on the matt. Now, try to pull your knees to the ground. Pretty standard stuff so far. Here we go...



Put the soles of both feet together. Take hold of the blades of the feet and pull them towards your forehead.

Here's the best bit.

Try to place the blades of the feet into one of your elbow creases. It's a perfect fit.

Next, try to hook the other arm over, so that the blades of the feet rest in both elbow creases.

Now push out through the feet.

Happy times, J.

Three Leg Dog Isn't Really

You know three leg dog? When the teacher gets you to lift a leg in down dog?

It's a pretty useless pose.

I mean, c'mon, floating that foot  behind you in down dog, does nothing for your body.

Try pushing forward through that standing leg. Now, you got it.

Not three leg dog anymore, is it?

Totally different pose.

Now you're opening all through the front of the body and the lifted leg hip flexors.

This is a full backbend. Say what?

Just give it a go, J

Sneaky Yoga Tips & Tricks: How To Move A Backbend Further Up Your Back

A lot of yogis will dump into their lower back in a back bend.

You really want to move more of the bend up, into your upper back (thoracic) and your shoulders.

This can be hard to do if your lower back is used to doing all the bending. Try this.

You'll need a yoga strap (or a belt), which goes around your arms above your elbows.

This keeps your elbows from flaring, and forces your shoulders to open more in backbends.

Ok, here's the kicker. To prevent your lower back from bending, hence forcing the bend further up your back, use a weight belt.

A weight belt is normally used by body builders to help support their lower back, when lifting heavy loads.
 

You can buy them from any sports store. Make sure you can do it up real tight.

All you do, is put on the belt and then do your normal back bend routine.

The belt stops your lower back from bending, forcing your upper back and shoulders to bend more.

After a while, using the belt, you'll start to get control of your stomach during backbends. Weird, I know. But it works.

Bend it like Beckham, J.

Why Yoga Will NEVER Lose The Hippie Association

So, I had reason to take some asprin lately.

Soon after, I was doing some yoga. But I was getting into the poses a little more than normal.

Hmmm...thinks me...must have been the asprin.

Curiosity piqued...I remember thinkin' back to high school, and an unfortunate event, involving some pot, a foot and a spear fishin' gun...and how the pain wasn't all that bad.

So a quick check of the internet, returns the standard killjoy response from yoga teachers. Condemning the use of drugs and yoga.

Interestingly, there seems to be quite a few practitioners who favor it. So.

Let's see. On one hand, we have public personas condemning pain killers in yoga (as you would expect)...on the other hand we have practitioners in favor of it.

Wonder who's tellin' the truth?

Peace out, J.

Oh...come to think of it, I do remember seeing a picture of yoga being done at a night club once. Thinkin', what the hell are those people doing yoga in a night club for?

Ah...penny drops.

The real reason why yoga will never lose the hippie association is more to do with the whole, do yoga and save the world. Funnily enough...

...there's a school of thought, that says that if everybody pursues their own self interest, the world WILL be a better place. Weird when worlds collide.

Crow: What You Need To Know

There's only one plane of motion in crow. It's up and down.

The arms push down into the floor, the stomach sucks up through the spine, up to the sky.

There's no back to front motion. 'Cause it's a balance. This means.

That if you have a straight line going up from say, the back of the wrist, you need to get half your body weight forward of this line.

Some people are just sticking their heads forward of their wrists, thinking that this is enough weight to balance the rest of their body. Dudes.

...even Einstein's brain wasn't that big. You gotta move more weight forward. Here's a trick.

Look forward. This makes your head come forward more. It's called leverage.

Remember, how there's only one plane of motion? But you're wobbling from side to side! That's because the eyes of your elbows aren't facing forward.

Turn those biceps forward, so that the only way the elbows can bend is front to back. That's how you remove any sideways motion.

It's also what you need to build strength if you are going to start transitioning into and out of crow.

CU in class, J.

Why You Wanna Get Injured Doin' Yoga

I got a ton of stuff too small for a regular post. I know...

• I'll bullet point them!
• In between back bends, do knees knocking together. At the end of back bends, do supta baddha konasana. 
• Frick, now my bullets are all messed up! I wanna do an e.g. but blogger keeps bulletting. Forget bullets. Bullets are crap.

e.g. You do a round of urdhva danurasana. It's not your last urdhva. So you do knees together in between urdhvas.

If that's your last urdhva, it's supta. Then next back bend pose. Got it?

Supta releases your lower back, more than knees together. Save supta, until after the last round.

Agenda item number 2.

The next time you're standing on the escalator. Look around you.

Look at the other bodies standing on the escalator. Lettin' the escalator do all the heavy lifting.

Are those bodies, being carried up (or down), are they fit or fat?

Keep standing on that escalator and you're lookin' at your future.

Agenda item number 3.

If a yoga teacher in class is all safety conscious, that's good.

If a yoga teacher in class says that you should always practice safely, and that you should never get an injury doing yoga. Run for the hills. That teach' has no clue.

Look, the stuff we do. It's intense. To say you'll never get an injury stinks of mediocrity.

Either that or a bullet proof body. But most likely, a lack of motivation, effort, and practice.

Know this: If you're practicing to get into advanced asanas, there's a high chance you're gonna experience an injury. Fact is.

If you don't get an injury, it's gonna be a miracle (and I'd be sus' as to how hard you are actually practicing).

How you recover. And how smart you are about not letting it happen again. Well.

That separates the advanced yogis, from the advanced wannabes.

Umm....I think that's it.

Get injured, J.