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| Featured Pose
Half-moon pose with hands-to-feet pose
Ardha Chandrasana with Pada Hastasana |
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This pose is actually two poses in one (as it's done in combination with the next one, Hands-to-Feet). In combination, these poses warm up your spine in every direction.
In Half-Moon pose you stretch one side of your body while contracting and strengthening the other, reaching side-to-side before going into a back bend compression of the spine.
The Hands-to-Feet pose that follows is a forward fold. The idea is to elongate the spine outward through the crown of your head as you fold into the pose.
Benefits:
Works into whole skeletal system as well as the muscular, circulatory, respiratory and nervous systems. Stimulates pituitary gland, colon, pancreas, kidneys and liver. Tones the spinal nerves and abdominal organs, improving the working of the bowels.
Increases flexibility of the spine. Firms and trims waistline, hips, abdomen, buttocks and thighs. Helps with sciatic nerve pain. Opens shoulder joints, relieves pain in the lower back and increases flexibility in the hamstrings. Increases flexibility and strength of rectus abdominus, gluteus maximus, oblique, deltoid and trapezius muscles. |
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SEPTEMBER 2007
Now that the summer is winding down, this is the perfect time to step up your hot yoga practice -- whether you challenge yourself to practice one extra class per week, or make a commitment to be more positive-minded in practicing the postures you find most difficult. See this month's FAQ section below, for more ideas on how to stay motivated in your hot yoga practice. Finding new ways to challenge yourself in class will help keep your practice fresh, evolving, and improving!
Feel free to use the link at the bottom of this email to forward SWEAT to friends or family. They can use the link to the left to join our mailing list, and receive all future editions of the Newsletter.
Namaste,
Jason Wilkerson |
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Labor Day Weekend Schedule |
September 1-3, 2007 Saturday, Sunday and Monday
8am and 10am class only
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Student of the Month |
Our September Student of the Month is Danny Cerda!
- When did you start practicing hot yoga?
Four years ago, just a month after HB Hot Yoga opened, Danny got a phone call from a friend in San Francisco. His friend told him that his teacher, Jason, had just moved south to open HB Hot Yoga, and that Danny had to try it! Lacking in exercise after back surgery in 2001, Danny talked to Jason, tried his first yoga class, and has never looked back. Danny has practiced consistently ever since, and has taken over 600 classes at HB Hot Yoga!!
- How often do you practice?
Danny practices at least 5 times per week. And lately, it's been even more than that; he hasn't missed a day in the last month! He also tries to swim a couple days a week, and is forced to cut back on yoga only a few months out of the year, when he referees for high school and college basketball season.
- Why do you practice? What are the primary benefits you experience?
Discovering hot yoga a few years after back surgery has helped Danny immensely! Practicing hot yoga regularly is the only thing that keeps him from getting stiff, it keeps his back aligned, it minimizes back pain, and he no longer needs chiropractic adjustments. If he ever cuts back on yoga, he immediately notices his body, especially his joints getting achy and stiff.
- How has your hot yoga practice impacted or changed your life?
Without his hot yoga practice, Danny would never be able to referee November through March, because of his back. He finds yoga much easier on his joints than past exercises he's done (like running), and it's mentally rewarding as well -- even helping him handle stressful situations outside of the yoga studio noticeably better. |
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Frequently Asked Questions |
How can I stay motivated in my practice over time?
Some of you have been practicing for many years now, and it is very normal to find yourself getting bored with your asana practice. The body simply is unable to constantly progress all of the time, especially when many of us gauge our yoga success by the progress of our postures! Therefore, we all go through cycles of progression and plateaus in our yoga practice. There are times when you may notice rapid progress by increased flexibility, being able to do a posture you couldn't previously do, or simply making it through an entire class without laying down during a posture! However, there are many other times where you'll come to class for days, weeks or even months on end, and wonder why you're not noticing any major changes in your body, your weight, your postures or perhaps your flexibility. It is during these plateaus that you will be most challenged, and once you make it through, see the most amazing progress!
During these plateaus, it's mentally challenging to stay motivated to work hard at your practice, because you're not seeing the changes you want or notice in others. But as you'll hear many teachers say over and over, do not compare yourself to others. Focus on your own forehead or eyes in the front mirror, without distractions, like you're the only one in the room. Be patient with your body and what it is able to do on a given day. Accept where your body is at, and trust that you are exactly where you are supposed to be! In time, when your body is ready to progress in postures (safely and without injury), it will do so. There is no rush. We have the rest of our lives to practice these postures, and to benefit from them. And there are benefits to all the postures at the beginning, middle and advanced stages of each.
Some of you may also experience times when postures you could once do easily, are suddenly more of a challenge. Also be patient during these plateaus because again, you will emerge from them progressing more than you expected possible. |
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