Author: alteayoga

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The Post: published articles

Dear readers,

Please find here the articles I have published in The Post, a fine, free tabloid found on the lovely Costa Blanca.    The first three articles, published in the summer of 2013, describe in detail some important fundamental poses in the Viniyoga system of hatha yoga.    Here, I have simply copied them inline, without the lovely photos (by my friend Pepe Zaragozí) accompanying the originals.

Apanasana:A powerfully simple pose

Hatha yoga is a very good ally in the struggle against lower back pain (LBP). LBP is one of the main reasons people visit the Doctor’s office. Although in some cases surgery might be the only option, for most people a good program of spinal care and yoga would keep them pain-free and mobile. Stretching, freeing, loosening and unbinding muscles, ligaments and tendons, yoga gently eases aches and pains, realigning our bodies and calming our minds.

Apanasana is a basic yoga pose that is very easy to learn and may help reduce LBP. It is a full spinal and gluteal stretch, a contraction of the abdomen and compression of the abdominal cavity.

Most of us know that weak abdominal muscles and protruding bellies contribute significantly to lower back pain. The internal organs push out the weak abs, rocking the pelvis forward. With the pelvis tipped forward this way, the hip flexors shorten and pull on the lower back, making it curve even more and causing pain.

In the subtle anatomy of yoga, there is a dominant downward running energy and a dominant upward rising energy. Apana is the downward facing energy. It runs from the navel down to the tips of the toes. It governs elimination, reproduction and the rooting, terrestrial facets of life. Apanasana derives its names from the energy apana. It is the posture (asana) that actuates directly on the downward energy current (apana). Combining this gentle movement with the precise breathing technique of lengthening and counting the breath changes the direction of the flow of apana, sending it upwards.

When it flows upwards, apana nourishes our nervous system, giving us vitality, vigour and zest for life.

Observe carefully any limitations you might have including herniated disks or difficulty rising from the floor. If this is the case, you may wish to try practising on your bed. Do not undertake any physical activity without consulting a professional first. But also, don’t worry. This is a very safe pose, reclining, head neutral, feet raised.

Use a yoga mat or folded boiled-wool blanket to cushion your back. Lying face-up on the floor, legs bent, feet flat on the floor, parallel and hip-width apart, heels near the buttocks. Extend the neck and lower the chin to make a double-chin. Keep the neck straight throughout.

Breathe in. Breathing out, lift the feet off the floor, bringing the knees to the chest. Place the palms of the hands on the knees. Breathe in. Breathing out, pull the knees gently in towards the chest. Breathing in, move the knees back and away from the chest. Breathe out and rock the knees back in. Breathe in and rock them away. Repeat. Take note: the movement is small. Don’t straighten the legs on the inhale. The elbows flex and extend, but the knees mostly don’t. Repeat this movement for 6-8 breaths, three times per day and you will almost certainly reduce lower back pain (LBP). Practice 6-8 breaths in apanasana three times per day, for one month. If you wish you keep a diary of your experiment, you may find it informative. I welcome any feedback on your practice. Keep it up!

Dvipada-pitam: The two-legged table.

Strength and alignment is the name of the game to avoid lower back pain (LBP). LBP is all too often cause for a doctor’s visit, but can be managed without drugs or surgery.

Abdominal muscle tone is important to spine health. The rectus abdomus “six pack” at the front contains the internal organs, preventing them from pulling us forward into a permanent sagging arch. The obliques and transverse abdominals complete the famous “core muscles” that stabilize the mid-section of the human body.

Dvipada-pitam, with apanâsana, which we examined last month, represents the culmination of the work of modern yoga master Krishnamacharya. Crucially when practising yoga, we mustn’t lose sight of the objective of yoga: to canalize and control the body’s subtle energy, prana. These two poses help concentrate prana in the body’s core, making it available for higher purposes. Whether one ascribes to this point of view is an entirely personal matter. Yoga grants its benefits to all who practice, regardless of their investment in its philosophical underpinnings.

Variants of dvipada-pitam are found most modern body toning systems, but especially in Pilates. They may use props like balls and rings to increase the intensity of the pose, but the outcome is the same.

With proper alignment, this pose engages the abdominal muscles, the muscles of the dorsal and lumbar spine, the hip flexors, the leg adductors and the feet and ankles. It is a very complete pose. There is compression of the throat and extension of the neck, as well as an inversion, as the heart raises above the brain. Thus, be careful if you suffer from glaucoma or dizziness. Please consult a professional before beginning any exercise program.

Lie on your back, arms at your sides, palms down. Bend the knees and place the feet parallel and hip-width apart on the floor. The heels are near the buttocks, but not touching. Don’t pull the feet nearer – allow your natural knee and hip flexion to determine the foot placement. Stretch the neck directing the chin towards the collarbone. Relax the jaw, placing the tongue on the soft palate. Inhale, lift the buttocks, hips and back up off the floor. Exhale, lower slowly, “one vertebrae at a time”, rocking the pelvis and trying to get whole spine on the floor. Repeat six times. Variants include raising the arms behind the head on the inhale, taking breaths in the static pose, lowering the body whilst leaving the arms behind, moving one arm at a time and varying the separation of the feet. Be very aware of the feet – keep the toes on the floor! Also, if you have a very curved neck, use a prop behind the head.

Twisting and turning – what your car can tell you about your body.

The yoga of daily life is about observing ourselves in our daily actions and deciding if we are fulfilling our true capabilities.

The car, constant in modern life, can tell us many things about our body’s health. We must twist to get into and out of cars. To shoulder-check, we turn the head some 80º. This might be the only time we regularly move our bodies in the “transverse” plane. Our limited daily lives tend to “move” in the forward direction only, progressively limiting our range of motion.

lf you notice that twisting and turning in the car is limited or painful, you will have to make a decision – to live with or without pain. Awareness is the first step – what you choose to do with the information is the interesting part. Do you ignore the pain? Accept it as inevitable? Take a pill? Or, care for your body?

Simple and gentle yoga exercises can help restore range of motion. Note:
Breath and movement are always co-ordinated in hatha yoga. If you have any injuries, consult a professional before attempting new exercises.

Dvipada-pitam means “the two-legged table” in Sanskrit. This pose is prominent in the system of yoga I use, Viniyoga. Lying on the back, with the arms by the sides, palms down, bend the knees and place the feet on the floor , hip-width apart. Breathe in and life the hips and lower back off the floor. Breathe out and slowly lower down, rolling the pelvis. Repeat six times.

Jathara parivritti is the sanskrit name for the lying twist. There are variations in the pose which include changing the position of one or both legs, or using props, or varying the breath. Exhale to lower the legs to the floor and inhale to bring them back to centre. Go down and up, alternating left and right, 6 times on either side , breathing each time you move. In the 6th movement, stay in the pose for 6 breaths, before inhaling to come back to centre.

Apanasana completes the set. Breathing out, lift the feet off the floor, knees to chest. Separate the legs to accommodate the belly. Place palms on the knees. Inhale. Exhaling, pull the knees gently in towards the chest. Inhale, push the knees away from the chest. Exhale, and rock the knees back in. The movement is small. The elbows flex and straighten, but the knees mostly don’t. Don’t straighten the legs on the inhale. Maintain the distance between the knees. Repeat 6 times. Perform this simple sequence twice a day for a week, then take to the open roads, twisting and turning!

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Why heal?

It can seem to be a bit navel-gazing, all this personal healing that we do.  Your journey within is completely unique, mysterious and exciting.  One can easily get distracted by the phenomena and surprises along the way.
We had the opportunity to examine this question in great depth, this past week.  Some 27 students and 7 instructors gathered in Dénia to study the yoga sutras.  I am privileged to be amongst that group.  We turned over and around sutras 3:1-38, delving into the siddhis that appear when one practises samyama upon different points in the body.  This is pretty esoteric stuff, and it is also information that is privy to the study group.  But, it suffices to say that

, with the regular yet detached practice of yoga principles (yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara), one develops the capacity to perform dharana, one-pointed concentration on an object.  Dharana leads to dhyana, and dhyana to samadhi.  The practice of one-pointedness is called samyama.  Our relationship with linear time is altered and we become able to understand the past and the future. (3:1-15)

Along the way, as the nervous system becomes purified and the sensibility heightened, whilst preserving detachment from the information sent to the brain by the sense organs, hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling and seeing, we become more sensitive to other information being subtly transmitted by the person or thing in front of us.  This subtle information is unspoken, but it manifests in thought, action, deed and reaction.  We find ourselves with the ability to see things that are hidden, or in the past or future.  We find our intuition honed and receptive.  We may perceive luminosity, sweet tastes and fragrances, murmurs of sound reverberate and are heard.  These delights are real and reproducible – as is everything that Patanjali has thus far described.  Practice makes perfect balance and union.
But! Beware.  Do not identify with these powers.  If the ego grabs hold of them, it only becomes stronger.  Even the most purified mind, if there are still vrittis of rajas in there, is prone to fall into the trap of identification, exultation and emptiness.  If you feel these powers manifesting in you, by all means use them.  but use them for the good of man and womankind.
Which brings me to the topic of my post.  Why heal? What is the point of all this consciousness-raising? What changes if we are healthier, suppler and more emotionally and mentally balanced?  Well, everything.
There is only one way that humankind is going to get itself out of this eco-econo-fear-based decadence and back onto the path of the soul:  join together, working for peace and understanding and harmony and an end to war, forever. How do we do this?  By understanding, accepting and healing ourselves, we create space in our energetic field for the joys and sorrows of the other.  By loving our neighbour as ourselves, by shining our divine light out and letting it meld with the divine light of the other, humankind unites in fraternity and sorority.  We heal so that we can love.  We love so that we can grow and throw off our shackles.  We grow because there is no other way.  If you don’t grow, you shrivel.
Heal yourself, heal the world.
The guru is in you.
cabeza morada

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RR Protocol #3: Loving your legs

My grandmother was blessed with many fine qualities, but her legs could not conceivably be included amongst them.  By the time I knew her, trunk-like and swollen are the only words one could charitably use to describe them.  Perhaps my interest in MLD took hold then?

As the years creep on, I find my legs needing more and more care.  I will admit it: for years I hated my thighs.  Yep, just like every other woman (mostly).  I did sport (weightlifting, cycling, walking, yoga).  I ate well.  And yet, the lumpiness that set in at menarche persisted.  I dreaded those beach photos that…well, you know the ones.  And, honestly, my legs aren’t that bad.  But my circulation isn’t great.

So, scratching my head, I set out to concoct a cocktail of herbs to helps my legs.  Here, dear readers, I share with you

RR Protocol Number Three:  Loving Your Legs.

1.  If you notice that your digestion and  your liver are sluggish, set out to find out why.  In some cases, a colonic may be in order.  In other cases, an anti-candida diet.  In other cases, less wine might help.  A great ally in the drainage of the liver is Weleda’s Birch Extract.

2.  Practice yoga, or Stretch Therapy, or Pilates.  But do it so that you really and truly and actually stretch the hamstrings and hips.  The lymphatic drainage of the legs is via the inguinal lymph nodes, located in the crease of the hip, just lateral from the genital area.  Lymph vessels are tiny and all too easily collapsed, so pressure here knocks on in the legs.  Tight hamstrings may contribute to the fibrous adhesions that are characteristic of cellulite.  Stretch, stretch and stretch some more.

3.  Breathe deeply.  The lymphatic system is not equipped with a pump such as the heart in the circulatory system.  Instead, it relies upon small pulsations of the smooth muscle of the lymph vessels, the contraction of muscles and the breath for optimal circulation.  Deep abdominal breathing acts as a kind of vacuum for lymph drainage, especially in the lower body, but really everywhere.  Pressure changes in the thorax create a pressure differential in the inguinal area, helping draw lymph up from the legs.

4.  Lie with your feet up against the wall.  This is evident, really.  Combat gravity, lift your legs!  Also great for relaxing the hips and lower back, as the head of the femur slots into the joint, freeing up the piriformis and ilio-psoas muscles.  Try to do this daily, for at least 10 minutes.  You can prop your lower back with cushions or a folded towel, or just lie on your bed.  Breathe deeply while letting the legs relax fully.  When you finish, resist the urge to jump up.  Give yourself time to re-adjust to reality.

5.  Drink draining herbs.  Disclaimer:  I am not a herbalist, and I don’t know you.  Use this recipe cognizant of your responsibility to your own health.  I use a base of yerba mate, then add stevia leaf, nettle, horsetail, birch leaf and some herbs I bought in Wayanad, Kerala, India.  Everything bar the last ingredient should be found relatively easily.  Just mix it in a re-sealable tin, then get hold of a maté gourd, a bombilla straw and away you go!  Maté is naturally bitter, and is commonly drunk in Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina.  To prepare:  add herbs to the maté gourd, shake a little until the thicker bits rise to the top and the dust settles.  Put the bombilla in at an angle, burrowing it into the herbs.  Pour a little cool water right alongside the bombilla, to moisten the herbs. Once moistened, pour in some hot but not boiling water from a thermos, leaving the top leaves mostly dry.  Drink.  Ahhh.  This concoction will take you sailing through the day and help those lovely legs of your look their best (even if you, like me, are standing for 8-12 hours per day!)

Here are my herbs.  Sorry the photo is a bit rubbish:

mate and herbs

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La gran rueda sigue girando

Esta noche, mis pensamientos están con mis compañeras de Anémona.  Hoy falleció una de ellas  tras una larga lucha contra el cáncer.  Tenía 42 años y llevaba unos 10 viviendo la precariedad que es la remisión. Solo quiero decir que añado mis lágrimas con las vuestras, hermanas.  El hecho que el sufrimiento se acabó (por fin) no quita la tristeza del capítulo final.  Por allí vamos todos, pero, espero, hoy no.

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Article in the Independent – The Busy Man's Guide to Broga

In the ever evolving world of occidental yoga, “broga” is making a thrust for the hairier sex with a longing to loosen up.  Yes, those guys who call each other “bro“, probably knocking fists as they do so, are starting to understand why one can’t transition from a youth filled with high-intensity competitive sports like football (both varieties), rugby, hockey etc to a sedentary job behind the screen or the wheel and not find ones legs calling out for respite.  Good, I am glad that they are on the lookout.  Here is the Independent’s tale of Broga in the UK:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/the-busy-mans-guide-to-broga-8709917.html

Now, before I look at the article, I will address the name. Broga.  BRO-ga.  brOOOO-gah.  Hmmm.  The Urban Dictionary link above definitely casts this term as pejorative.  It sounds like a So-cal version of redneck.  So, I ask myself, who would have coined the term Broga and then had the balls to actually go out and market it?  Apparently, Broga LLC, that’s who.  They are Robert Sidoti and Adam O’Neill.  In an interview with the Boston Globe, Sidoti says:

People see the name ‘Broga’ and they think it’s just a bunch of idiots. But there’s integrity.’

Later, in what might be seen as a slight contradiction to the term “integrity”, we learn:

“What we want to do is start training more guys, basically cloning Rob and having instructors in other cities who can teach it,’’ O’Neill says…He bristles at the term franchise, but that’s essentially the idea they’re exploring. That way a Broga class in Dallas will be the same as a Broga class in Los Angeles.

Um, yeah.  But, anyway, that’s the marketing. I am not going to jump to conclusions, but I don’t know if that many men self-identify as bros, if they’re not.  Ya get my drift?  And cloning your business partner.  Umm, that’s kind of far-fetched, isn’t it? Perhaps the humour doesn’t come across in print.
OK, so back to the article in the Indy.
Let’s start with the instructor.  He isn’t a clone of Rob.  Maybe their technology has yet to catch up.  Instead, he is a fitness guy who “fell into” the “sport” of yoga way back in 2011, after being named a Lululemon ambassador.  Yep.  Go back and read it again.  A more glowing recommendation for a yoga teacher I cannot imagine.
So, you turn up at buff guy’s class and he yanks you into the bridge pose, (“We attempt the assisted wheel…with sweaty-ankle man supporting my shoulders as I rise, and Miller pulling up my hips, I make it.”) which leaves you hurting for two days afterwards (“Two days later, when it aches to type these words”).  Sthira-sukha anyone?  In YS II-46, Patanjali says:

sthira-sukham-asanam

Which, at the risk of offending any “… physically active man who understands very well the benefits of the downward dog but would sooner cultivate his horribly stiff hamstrings than walk into a room full of girls spouting mystical Sanskrit.”, translates to “asana should possess two qualities:  attention and relaxation.”  Yeah,  that’s dandy Patanjali, but what about the SWEAT???
Did these people miss the point that one moves more deeply into yoga poses, not through muscular force but through muscular relaxation?  I guess if you’ve only been practising for two years, you might not have reached a true understanding of this concept that is oh-so-foreign to western mindset. Yoga is an experiential science – follow the formula, observe the results.  If you are unsure of your results, repeat the experiment until you are convinced.  Proceed.
I really don’t want to trash Broga, or any, er, bro, who decides that yoga might help his hamstrings.  And I really do hope that this first brush with yoga will set him on his path.  And yes, yoga begins its work on the gross, physical plane, then gradually expands into the subtler planes of the breath, mind and purusha.  But, I think that eliminating the philosophical parts of yoga steers us off course.  The codes of behaviour, the deep psychology of yoga, it sets us free.  I believe that the world needs more kind people, not more worked-out people. But, to keep my mind untroubled, I choose to trust that the Universe is unfolding as it should, and that all that we encounter in our path is there to teach us.  I trust that yoga will do its work, yoga entrepreneurs notwithstanding.
levity

Let us yog.  The Guru is in you.

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Love you, boobies

I have been practising Manual Lymphatic Drainage since 2003.  This technique, for those who may not know, is widely applied in breast cancer rehabilitation.  following surgery and radiation, many women develop either/and:  swelling in the affected area (lymphoedema), fibrosis, adhesions and excessive scar tissue formation, muscle atrophy and loss of sensation.  The Complete Decongestion Therapy (MLD/CDT) can help with all these areas.
In the course of my years of practice, I have become somewhat of an expert in breast health.  It helped that I nursed a lovely baby for 21 months.  This gave me a real, deep appreciation of the miracle that a woman’s breasts truly are.
But, sadly, most of the discourse I have about breasts is tinged with sadness. Mutilation, dissection, removal, anger, fear, pleading.  It all comes out on the massage couch.  I am both proud and humbled by my work.
Lately, I have once again been contemplating the issue of going braless.  I like the work of Kara Maria Ananda.  I wish I could be as perky as her when it comes to hanging low.  But, I admit that I find it hard.  Although I know that :

1.  Bras – especially underwire – impair lymph drainage.
2. Bras don’t prevent breast droop (ask your grandma – did she wear one?  And where are hers hangin’)
3.  Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women (1 in 4..1 in 4…)

I somehow still find it challenging to walk down the street with my ladies a-swinging.  But that is NOT because of me.  It is down the those who observe me doing so, and feel free to comment/whistle/whoop upon it.  Yep, I am a slim blonde living in one of the last European bastions of male chauvinism.  I love ya, Spain, but you guys have got to refine how you show your appreciation of the female form.  Yes?
As usual, I find the observation of my own mental patterns to be the most interesting part.  Why have I sexualised my own breasts, for example?  Why do I judge their shape, form and movement in a negative light?  Why do I even dedicate time to this matter?  Evidently, the dominant culture in which I live has magnified the importance of a simple piece of anatomy, scaling it beyond its natural size. (Kind of like a EEE implant, no?)
Still, the physical sensation of going braless is incomparable.  When you remove that tight band from your chest, you literally breathe better.  When you bound down the stairs and feel your breasts moving with you instead of being restrained within a semicircle of aluminium wire and wondrous stretchy fabric, you feel your breasts come alive.  And yes, you posture improves when you go without your over the shoulder boulder holder.  So many positives..but yet the fear remains.  Will I provoke unwanted reactions?  Will I droop more?  Can I really get away with that top?
All I know is that I am in the process of learning  – or unlearning – many things.  And thus, I carry on experimenting and comparing and trying.  For now, I hang free.
OM.  The Guru is in you.
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