Cheryl Thomas, RYT
www.cherylthomas.com yoga@cherylthomas.com 415-308-3377 |
In preparing for Triangle pose, what is the proper width instruction for the feet?
1. 4-4 ½ feet apart.
2. Feet under the hands.
3. Length of one leg
4. 3-feet apart
I've heard all of these instructions in yoga classes. What in the hell is 4 feet? Maybe it's just me, but I couldn't mark out 4 feet on the floor if you offered me a free Lululemon "top". And, what's the length of my leg? Unless I'm looking in a mirror, I have no idea when my feet are under your hands. So, what's a student to do?
Add to this the radical difference between bodies. Three feet are going to be too narrow for someone 6 feet tall and 4 1/2 feet way too wide for a shortie. Look around at the torso length of some people as compared to their legs, We are all different and could really use our own individual instruction. Or, here's a radical thought: What about if you gave yourself your own instruction and took a stance that felt beneficial to your body while still maintaining the structure of the pose?
I'm not just picking on Triangle pose and I'm not suggesting that proper instruction and good alignment is not important, because it is. Injuries over time can happen when students put themselves into shapes without being mindful of how the bones are stacking and what muscles are being asked to work. Add to that injuries, age and physical conditions, mindful alignment can be crucial.
We live in a society that is "end result" and "looking good" oriented and we are bringing that attitude into the yoga room and it is being perpetuated by some teachers and covers of magazines. The result is too much striving to get it "right". Are we too much in our heads and not in our bodies when are processing how to ground into the back baby toe, squeeze the right kidney, externally rotate the left shoulder and extend the neck all while while keeping a soft palate, relaxed jaw, and pleasant attitude?
One of my favorite teachers, Geoffrey Roniger, wrote elegantly about his opinion on alignment for a New Orleans magazine. He points out that students feel that in order to get a pose "right" every body part has to be in a perfect shape. He goes on to say:
"It is incredibly important to highlight the fact that we don't care one bit about people 'getting it right' or 'looking right' on the outside. What alignment truly means is that the various body parts are communicating in a harmonious way. Alignment is harmony. And that is an internal condition, not a fixed aesthetic position. When alignment happens, it is unmistakable because the practitioner feels light and the mind becomes spontaneously quiet."
Here's an experiment. Try to do your practice without verbal input. This will probably be at home alone, as yoga teachers (including me!) love to hear themselves talk. And, more importantly, try to stay out of your head, use your breath to initiate movement and take a shape. Hold it. Continue to breath. When you feel ready, spontaneously move to the next pose. What was that like?
**This article was recycled from same time last year. I particularly like it.
Want to read some of my previous articles? You can do it here. Enjoy.
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Why should you care that the SF Iyengar Yoga Institute is moving? 1) Great new location, brand new teaching schedule; 2) Intro specials like $50 for 5 classes; 3) Ceremonies--Closing (24 hr yoga) and Opening (speakers, performance + dinner). All the info is right here.
Start 'em young. Devi Yoga Center has Kids' Yoga.
Pregnant? or know someone who is pregnant? Jeanie Bean is starting a new yoga series for expecting mothers. Have a pregnancy with more ease, and knowledge about your growing bodies!
ginnyrobinson@yahoo.comginnyrobinson@yahoo.com
Want to be in the movies? Ginny Tominia is holding a free Intro to Yoga class for Beginners and she's filming the class. No, not for Hollywood, but as an assessment for her training. It's on Saturday March 22 from 2-3:15pm. at Westside Yoga Studio. Sign up there or contact Ginny at ginnyrobinson@yahoo.com. Only 6 slots available.
Kusuma Rose is offering a workshop on the traditional Indian views on the intricate relationships of the Divine feminine and masculine and how it related to men's and women's roles in relationship. Topics include spiritual practices, sexuality, marriage, divorce, menstruation, beauty and much more. When: Saturday April 5th, 1-4:30pm. Click on flyer  or www.kusumacreates.com. Click on flyer to launch.
The Yoga Loft in SF, where many of us found some of the Bay Area's best teachers is closing after a fire in December.
Yoga in Napa & Beyond? Meg Smith puts out an awesome newsletter as a service to her local yogis, listing studios, instructors and times. Wow, thanks Meg! You can see the pdf here.
Speaking of Ms. Rom, she and the lovely Denise Hammond are leading an Intimate Women's Retreat at Tomales Bay, 5/2-4. Only 6 spots available so get in while you can.
Lola is back! March 29 from 12-4 Ann Austin hosts designer clothes line, Lola Clothing. It's a scene. I go not only for the artful clothes, but also the awesome sangria. Qs and address, contact Ann.
Wha??? 24 hours of yoga? Yep. Celebrate the closing (and relocation of the SF Iyengar Institute on 3/15-16. Here's
the info.
My weekly schedule is below (scroll down or click here!). Or, you can always go to my website and click on the always up-to-date calendar to find where I might be.
Get boatloads of yoga information and lots of free downloads from YogaU Online. Really, tons. It's a great resource for teachers and students.
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Husband's Health and Attitude Help Long Term Marriages
I was just chatting with friends about the difficulties of relationships of older couples when one of their health, especially the husband's, becomes compromised. And, whaddaya know. ScienceDaily reported on a similar study.
The summary is:
"A husband's agreeable personality and good health appear crucial to preventing conflict among older couples who have been together a long time, according to a study. The report found that such characteristics in wives play less of a role in limiting marital conflict, perhaps because of different expectations among women and men in durable relationships."
Read more here.
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 Yoga and Technology Meet
Raising the collective consciousness is what Gopi Kallayil, chief evangelist of brand marketing at Google, says the internet is enabling by allowing the principles of yoga and principles of the dharma to be shared.
This talk, albeit long, is worthwhile. It was given at the Wanderlust California Speakeasy at Wanderlust California 2012. In this lecture, titled "The Yoga Dharma of Technology," he shares what it is to work for yoga, beyond the mat.
I had the opportunity to hear Mr. Kallayil speak at the First Thursday's presentation Yoga: The California Connection at the Asian Art Museum's exhibit on Yoga.
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The Drooping Rear
"Flattened behinds were the equivalent of teeth in the glass by the side of the bed, an age-related indignity that now, thanks to modern technology, we need suffer no more. I am speaking here, of course, of one of the great inventions of the last century, the elliptical trainer, which has firmed me up so spectacularly in the past that once, soaping my behind in the shower, it was so rock hard I couldn't believe it was mine and wondered for a moment if somebody had slipped in there with me."
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Daily Dharma - Tricycle Magazine
March 11, 2014
Intimate Joy
When we are willing to be intimate with what actually is here now, to look directly at all of our experience, we might recognize that this is our life, however different from our thoughts and ideas about it.
-- -Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara, "Simple Joy"
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Be Happy on Fridays!
Instead of shots of tequila and fried artichoke hearts, spend your Friday happy hour moving and grooving at an
most-levels vinyasa flow class.
On Friday's from 4:30 - 6:00, we'll end each week with an energetic vinyasa flow class. Through building heat from the inside, we'll strip out the stress hormones from the day. A long rest at the end of class will reset our nervous system and prepare us for our weekend.
You'll be done at 6:00!! That'll leave plenty of time for dinner with friends, a movie or a relaxing evening with your pooch. Or, maybe a Chia filled Kombucha or that 100% agave margarita!
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Schedule of Upcoming Classes
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Week of March 16, 2014
Monday
8:30 - 9:30
Sebastopol
Private
Tuesday
4 - 5:00 p.m.
Healdsburg
Private
Thursday
8:45 - 9:45
Graton Community Club, Graton Gentle Flow - All Levels 4-5:00 p.m. Healdsburg Private Friday
4:30 - 6:00 Westside Yoga Studio Happy Hour Vinyasa
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Week of March 23, 2014
Monday
8:30 - 9:30 Sebastopol Private
Tuesday
4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Healdsburg
Private
Thursday
8:45 - 9:45 a.m.
Graton Community Club,
Gentle Flow - All Levels
4:00 - 5:00 p.m. HealdsburgPrivate
Friday
4:30 - 6:00
Westside Yoga Studio
Happy Hour Vinyasa
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Graton Yogis Info:
New Class: Ashae starts a gentle yoga class on Thursday at 5:30 at the Stone Creek Zen Center.
Did you know your class pass (get these from your instructor) are accepted by all yoga teachers at Yoga in Graton?
We Gratonite Yogis have a place to call our own. It's www.
yogaingraton.com. There is information about current and new yoga classes offered in Graton.
Don't live in Graton? No problem. We want you to come anyway.
You cannot be lost if you don't care where you are.
Judith Lasater
When people ask me what equipment I use, I tell them my eyes.
Ansel Adams
"Not to have what we want is stressful; to have what we do not want is stressful." Buddha
Dalai Lama: "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
"Everything will be alright in the end. And if it is not alright, it's not yet the end!" The Magnolia Hotel movie
If your Food can go bad, it's good for you. If it can't go bad, it's bad for you. Originally pinned by Michael Leaming, Ed.D. onto Fitness, Nutrition & Wellness
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