Downward Dog Upward Fog Review

I recently read a delightful novel called Downward Dog Upward Fog, by Meryl Davids Landau. It was such a pleasant and fun read about a young woman who turns to yoga to save her from falling down the spiraling hole of discontent. It was all too easy to identify with the lead character. I think everybody has felt the same way at some point in their life. You seem to have everything going for you, but yet you find yourself unhappy for no good reason. You get easily annoyed by the slightest little things and you just seem to look at everyone and everything with an overly critical eye. Why do we do this? Why can't we just be happy and pleasant more, and unhappy and unpleasant less? Wouldn't the world be a better place? Why does it seem like such an effort for us? It reminds me of a funny t-shirt I saw not too long ago. It said, "Pretending I'm a pleasant person is exhausting." And sometimes it's really true. It seems we have to put on an act and pretend that we like the people around us, or pretend that we are happy when we really aren't. It so sad and it seems like life would be much easier if we just truly were happy.

Well, the lead character in this book turned to yoga to help improve her mood and life. It was so refreshing to read about her initial expereince. You know how it is when you first fall in love with something . . . you feel so excited about it. You look forward to it and appreciate every minute of it. But something happens along the way and you lose your passion for it. Reading the book made me long for that excited feeling just to do a yoga rountine. I tried to think about the last time I truly looked forward to it with that same beginners anticipation. When I was studying for my teaching certificate it felt like a job. Then when I started actually teaching yoga it 'really' started to feel like a job. I lost the spark. I sometimes even lost the desire. Yoga became a physical workout that I felt obligated to do. Lately even my daily meditation has become a chore. How sad. The book made me reflect at what yoga and meditation is supposed to be all about - so much more than the physical act. Shame on me for slipping down that dark hole.

If you find yourself starting to slip, finding herself irritated at people for no good reason, or dreading getting to yoga class maybe it's time for this refreshing read. Grab yourself a copy of the book and remember back to all the reasons why you started to do yoga in the first place. Read it and go back to enjoying the entire experience of it. Take it all in and remember to be thankful for everything you have and do.


Please check out the book on amazon here.

Interview with Jason Brown, Creator of Zenyasa Yoga

Jason Brown has been a student of the contemplative and movement arts for over 30 years, and a student of yoga since 1996. In 2007, he created Zenyasa Yoga as a way to synthesize interests in Zen Buddhism, vinyasa yoga, and exercise science.

Q: Why do yoga teachers need to learn so much anatomy? How does it help their teaching?
A strong understanding of musculo-skeletal anatomy, injury awareness and kinesiology can help yoga teachers in a million different ways. We routinely ask students to take their joints to the edge of their range of motion, and sometimes toward more extreme ranges of motion. Many yoga postures can put tremendous stress on the shoulders, wrists, knees and intervertebral disc joints. So first and foremost, a strong foundation in anatomy can give teachers the knowledge required to help keep their students safe and prevent injury. But also, teachers with a strong understanding of anatomy can also “see” their students more clearly, as if with x-ray eyes, and more quickly identify the causes of misalignment within any given posture -- which muscles might be tight or weak, or just not working, or if there are skeletal issues causing the misalignment. And they can then give more meaningful verbal cues and hands-on assists, as well as potentially recommend specific postures or exercises to the student that could enable them to more effectively evolve in the posture. Understanding anatomy can also help teachers become more skillful and creative in their sequencing, especially when sequencing toward a peak posture. Or work therapeutially with clients who have specific concerns. I could go on and on.

Q: If you could give one piece of advice (about anatomy) to novice yoga teachers, what would it be?
I would tell them not to be intimidated by the study of anatomy. I think a lot of teachers get intimidated by it, perhaps because it seems like such a big subject, or because it seems too left-brained, or because in their own teacher training it came at them so fast that they just got overwhelmed. But they should give it a chance. If they take a course in anatomy that starts with the basics, gives a little bit of information each week, and builds slowly, they'll be fine. Everyone can learn anatomy, and many even come to enjoy learning it. Afterall, when you study anatomy you'll also learn a lot about your own body in the process… it's strengths and limitations, how to progress skillfully in your asana practice, and how to keep yourself healthy and safe.

Q: Based on your experience, what's the most vulnerable part of the body, during a yoga practice?
It’s super hard to pin this down to just one area, because it depends in large part on the person and what kind of practice they’re doing. The top contenders would be the wrists, shoulders, knees, lumbar spine and cervical spine. For vinyasa practitioners, the injuries that I see the most involve the wrists and shoulders.

Q: How many injuries do you think could be prevented with proper anatomy training?
I think that a lot of injuries can be prevented with mindfulness and proper anatomy training. However, it’s always possible that a student could work too aggressively within a posture, despite your advice not to. Or work unskillfully in a posture, despite your anatomically precise alignment instructions. And there is always the risk that someone could fall out of a headstand, or slip on a sweaty yoga mat. But an education in anatomy and injury prevention can go a long way toward reducing the liklihood of injury.

Q: Where can students and teachers find good anatomy training if they don't live in NYC?
Well, firstly I want to say that you don’t have to live in NYC to take the ASFYT course that I offer. The first two parts of the course can be completed via homestudy, and then if you’re able to you could fly to NYC to attend Part III during the one-week intensive that happens in June. Or if you can’t come for part III, you could just do Part I & II. I’ve had students from Sweden, Mexico, Parrot Cay, and all around the country complete the first two parts of the course, and many have come for Part III. You can learn more about the homestudy course on the website, as well as read testimonials from previous homestudy students.

Another alternative would be to see if there are other yoga or Pilates studios offering an anatomy training nearby. You could also check out your local community college, or do what I did and enroll in a massage school (which usually has a pretty strong anatomy component). There are also some great anatomy articles on Yoga Journal. My favorites are by Roger Cole, Judith Lasiter and Julie Gudemestad.

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For more infö please visit: http://www.zenyasastudio.com/Anatomy_Studies/Introduction.html

September 2011 Desktop Calendar

In an effort to spread a little wisdom from Sadhguru, my favorite mystic, here's an inspirational calendar. If you would like to make this graphic your computer desktop just click on the image above to bring up a bigger graphic in a new window. Once the bigger graphic appears, just right-click on it and "save as desktop."

Yoga Journal Magazine Subscription Deal

How would you like a one year subscription to Yoga Journal Magazine for just $4.39? What a bargain for this great magazine! This deal is valid for brand new subscriptions, as well as renewals. All you need to do is click on the link below to be taken to the place where you can purchase the subscription. But here's the catch . . . this deal is only valid today, August 31st. Don't miss it. Just click on the link below.

Click here for the Yoga Journal Magazine Deal of the Day

Nobody's Perfect

But give it all you got . . .

Upcoming Inner Engineering Events

"With proper practice of yoga, you are creating the right kind of chemistry where you are naturally peaceful, naturally joyous, naturally loving." ~Sadhguru

If you don't know what Inner Engineering is all about, I strongly encourage you to click through for more information.

August 2011 Desktop Calendar

Thanks to YogaBliss photo for this wonderful picture. If you would like to make this beautiful graphic calendar your computer desktop just click on the image above to bring up a bigger graphic in a new window. Once the bigger graphic appears, just right-click on it and "save as desktop."

Second Annual Yoga Challenge

This summer, Citizen Effect is launching its 2nd Annual Yoga Challenge and uniting the DC yoga community to benefit Becky’s Fund, a Washington, DC-based non-profit that focuses on domestic and dating violence education and awareness.

From yoga newbies to experienced yogis, everyone is encouraged to do #Yoga4Good. Participants will receive discounts from local yoga studios while joining together to raise $20,000 for Becky’s Fund. Those interested in doing #Yoga4Good can go to www.citizeneffect.org/yogachallenge to sign up. The official Challenge and studio benefits will start on August 1st and last through the end of the month, with top fundraisers receiving prizes at the end of the challenge. There will also be four (4) Yoga in the Park events, starting July 20th and occurring every other Wednesday through August.

Currently underway is Citizen Effect’s “Show Us Your #Yoga4Good Pose” photo contest on Facebook. To participate, yoga lovers can take a picture of themselves doing a yoga pose while displaying the Yoga Challenge hashtag, #Yoga4Good, then post it to Citizen Effect’s “Show Us Your #Yoga4Good Pose” Facebook page. The person with the most “likes” on their photo will receive a 3-month supply of Vita Coco Coconut Water.

Yoga’s focus on healthy, happy living makes it the perfect fundraiser for the Becky’s Fund youth initiatives: “Becoming Your Own Heroine: Lessons in Self-Empowerment and Dating Violence” and the “Young Men’s Mentorship Program,” which educate DC/Metro area youth about dating and domestic violence.

Challenge yourself to do #Yoga4Good today at www.citizeneffect.org/yogachallenge.

Yoga and Meditation - The Perfect Combination

In a recent Huffington Post article, Deepak Chopra writes about the benefits of yoga. According to Chopra, yoga has not only been shown to lower blood pressure and heart rate, reducing the risk of heart disease, but the meditation component of any yoga practice can also help to reduce instances of anxiety and depression.

From the article:
Calming the mind Since yoga involves the mind as well as the body, it’s not surprising that it may help reduce anxiety and depression, especially in people whose anxiety is related to an illness like cancer. More research is needed to learn exactly how yoga affects mood, but a 2007 study may provide a clue: It found that in experienced yoga practitioners, a 60-minute yoga session increased levels of a neurotransmitter called GABA. Low levels of GABA have been linked to depression and anxiety disorders. Another pilot study suggests that yoga may influence depression by increasing the alpha waves in the brain. Alpha waves are associated with relaxation. Yet another possibility is that yoga reduces the amount of cortisol, a hormone that the body releases in response to stress. Some scientists think chronic high levels of cortisol may be tied to depression, as well as impaired immune function.

If the potential health benefits of yoga aren’t enough to make you want to try it, consider this: Yoga can also make you look more toned and fit and help you move with greater ease, especially as you grow older. A 2007 study of the Hatha yoga style showed that it increased muscular strength, flexibility and endurance. It’s no wonder that many athletes use yoga to cross-train.

And if you want to try your hand at a simple meditation that you can do right at home, please follow this link.

Yoga Woman

Never underestimate the power of inner peace! Check out this amazing movie trailer about how yoga is changing the lives of women all over the world.

The Power of Aum

Lately I have really been struggling with my morning meditation. I have a neck injury that has me in such severe pain that I simply can not sit with my hands in my lap. I normally sit for 20 minutes, the first 5 require my right hand near my forehead, with my left hand in my lap. The pain is isolated to the left part of my neck and my left shoulder. Within 2 seconds of my meditation the pain is so bad I simply can not concentrate, I have to move and fidget, and I sometimes end up in tears. But yet I still sit there. Come Hell or high water I will sit for 20 minutes every morning.

It was a couple of days ago that I realized something amazing. After my 5 minutes of torture from having my left arm in my lap, I move my arms slightly so that my palms are up and resting on my knees (as I sit in cross-legged position). Now this position is still terribly uncomfortable for me, but (and here's the interesting part) when I start to chant my Aums I can actually feel the pain reducing. With every single Aum I feel the muscles relaxing, which must relieve some pressure on the nerve causing all the pain. This just proved the power of the Aum. Now the trick to chanting these Aums is actually feeling the vibration. As Sadhguru taught, you must first feel the vibration in your belly. This is when you are making the Aaaaaaa sound (like when the doctor tells you to stick out your tongue). Then as you begin to close your mouth the sound naturally turns from Aaaaaaa to Uuuuuuuuuu and when you do this right you can literally feel the vibration move from your belly to your chest. This is the point of the chant that I can literally feel this vibration in my shoulder. When you finally close your month the sound starts to make the Mmmmmmmmmm sound and now you can feel the vibration right to the tip of your nose.

I chant these Aums for at minimum of 5 minutes and during those 5 minutes I am pain free. It is the most amazing thing. Unfortunately, I don't move a muscle as I transition into the next segment of meditation. My seating position is the exact same, only when the chanting stops the pain returns. I will continue to work on my muscle therapy and treatment to fix my neck and shoulder, but the lesson I learned about the power of Aums will stay with me forever. For more information on learning this powerful meditation, please visit http://www.ishafoundation.org/

Amazing New Yoga Mat

I was recently contacted by Vernice Vita to review a brand new yoga mat. My first thought was, "How much could I say about a yoga mat?" Upon further investigation I discovered two more interesting facts about this new mat: first it is made of memory foam, and second it cost over $100. These two things left me a bit leery. I never really was a big fan of memory foam. I feared that the mat would be too squishy, making it difficult to move my feet positions. My other concern was the price. I wondered who would spend so much on a mat. I was doubtful that I would.

But I had an open mind and I agreed to take a mat on loan. I have to admit I was growing more and more curious to experience what my routine would feel like on this strange new environment. When I unrolled the mat I could see that it was going to take a little while for it to lay flat all by itself. It also had a funny "new" smell so I rolled it out on my porch and let it both settle down and air out. I normally do my yoga routine in a spare bedroom that happens to be carpeted. I wanted to give this new mat a fair shot and figured that I shouldn't lay a memory foam mat on top of carpet and padding, so trying it out on the wood decking of my porch was the perfect plan . . . in so many ways . . .

In one word, the mat was AMAZING. I just couldn't get over the complete transformation in my routine. In the craze of an overly booked and rushed day, I had planned to only "try it out" with a 10 minute routine. 40 minutes later I was still going strong. I found that I lingered in every pose far longer than I normally do. I found the mat so comfortable and I swear it improved my balance. I felt like I was grounded to the mat in ways that I never experienced and everything just felt so right. I felt strong. I felt like my form was better than it ever has been. All of my previous yoga experiences were on my squishy carpeted bedroom floor or at studios on wood floors with very skinny mats. This was just unreal.

My fear of having my feet stuck was unfounded. I moved in and out of the positions no differently than on any other mat. But when it came to one arm side balances that normally hurt my wrists, I was more comfortable. When it came to balance poses I felt like a rock. And when it came to Savasana . . . on my God, I never wanted to get up!

Later in the evening I packaged up some new yoga pants that my husband recently bought me for my birthday in preparation for exchanging them. It was then that I realized those pants cost $95. Then I flipped through a sport magazine where I researched some new running shoes, which, of course, cost over $100. Suddenly it seemed much more justifiable to spend the money on an amazing yoga mat. After all, it is your one tool of the trade that can make or break or practice. Needless to say, the loaner is NOT going back.

And the most interesting part of this experiment (for me) was the fact that I found my absolute favorite new place to practice yoga (in addition to my new favorite mat). Practicing outside in my screened in, always shaded, porch was outstanding. I could feel the breeze and hear the little waterfall that feeds into my gold fish pond. I am now planning to decorate this new-found space with all things yoga!

For more information on the new yoga mat, please visit www.vvitayoga.com. They have an online store where you can buy your own amazing new mat.

Isha Kriya Meditation

Isha Kriya is a modified form of the meditation that I learned through Inner Engineering back in May, and for the first time it's available to everybody online. Here's is what Sadhguru has to say about it:

“For different levels of thought and emotion that you go through, your breath takes on different types of patterns. If you are angry you breathe one way, you are peaceful you breathe another way. You are happy, you breathe in another way. You are sad, you will breathe in a completely different way. Have you noticed this? Based on this conversely is the science of Isha Yoga: there are conscious patterns of breath which can leave you in a constant state of bliss and healthfulness.”
-Sadhguru

To learn more about it, please watch this video.



And if that peaked your interest, please visit this web page which will offer you a chance to try the Isha Kriya on your own.

The Essence of Life . . .

Is being calm to the core.

July Desktop Calendar

Ahhh, finally the sweetness of Summer has arrived. If you would like to make this whimsical graphic calendar your computer desktop just click on the image above to bring up a bigger graphic in a new window. Once the bigger graphic appears, just right-click on it and "save as desktop."

Speak No Evil, Tweet No Evil

I recently read an interesting story about Michael Stusser, who is a humor columnist from Seattle. He makes his living ranting about just about everything. When he realized that his sarcastic columnist personality was creeping into his personal life and turning him ugly he decided to do something about it. At first he simply tried to 'speak no evil.' He attempted to remove all trash talk, mud-slinging, rude riffing, and taunting Tweets from his everyday life for one month. This approach of simply "being more positive" just wasn't going to cut it for him. He was too far gone and needed some professional help. Enter his yoga instructor . . .

To read Michael's fascinating story of self transformation, please click here.

One Minute Meditation

I can't believe it's taken me this long into my life to discover the benefits of meditation. I feel as though I'm on a crusade now to spread the word about the amazing benefits of it. Being a yogi that has tried meditation in the past, I know all the common hurdles that many people face. Sitting in crossed-legged position can be uncomfortable or even painful, finding the time to set aside is always a challenge, and most of all, clearing the mind for more than a nano-second may seem impossible. The best thing I can suggest is to start small. Try sitting on a chair rather than on the floor, with your feet flat on the ground, your spine erect, and your hands placed comfortably on your thighs (either palms up or down). At the very beginning start off with a goal of sitting for just one minute. Maybe this video will help:

Dare To Be Extraordinary

And retreat from reality . . .

Open to Grace

Expand your mind and nourish your soul . . .

Clarity and Energy From Meditation

It has been just about one month since I began my Isha yoga routine every day. This is a 20 minute meditation practice called Shambavi Mahamudra and I learned it at an Inner Engineering retreat in Atlanta in May. My experience at the live event wasn't particularly good. It involved an awful lot of hours of sitting on the floor and, although I was prepared with a meditation cushion, I was still not ready for that many agonizing hours of fidgeting on the floor. My entire body hurt and getting through the meditation practice was nearly impossible for me. Not only was I in all sorts of various pain, but there was so much distraction. Many of the meditation veterans seemed to be having out of body experiences and although that is great for them, it was very hard for the rookies to try to keep their minds focused. It was just a lot to take in and experience in a short amount of time. I have to say, my outlook wasn't all that positive and I might have even felt a little hopeless. I even had fearful thoughts that I simple wouldn't be able to find an extra 20 minutes during the day to devote to this. But I was committed to at least trying.

One of the biggest hurdles to doing this meditation was the fact that it must be done on an empty stomach. For me this was a problem because I am constantly snacking on something. I may not eat large quantities of food, but I do eat often. This meant that my only real time to devote to this meditation practice was first thing in the morning, which also posed a problem because of my early work day schedule. As it is, I could barely drag myself out of the house by 6:30 am. My heart was sinking, but I was committed to at least giving this a try. I had already invested a good chunk of time and money into this Inner Engineering and I just HAD to give it a go.

And so I did. Sadhguru said that the first 30 days would be the hardest and those would take the biggest commitment. I figured all 30 days would be torture, but I was pleasantly surprised. The first week was rough. Getting up at 5:30 was a struggle and my knees and hips were screaming after just 10 of the 20 minutes. But I persisted.

It was some time during my second week that my hips started to loosen up. I found that I could sit for the whole 20 minutes without focusing so much attention on the discomfort. Pretty soon I didn't feel a thing and could sit there effortlessly. The bad part is that once I cleared my mind of the pain, it left room for various other thoughts to pop up. But I didn't give up.

By the third week I noticed longer stretches of a thoughtless mind. Not only that, but I noticed it was getting easier and easier to get out of bed in the morning. I would awake before my alarm consistently and almost anxiously await the time to run into my new 'meditation room.' What started as a chore was quickly turning into something that I looked forward to. I was stunned.

Here I am 4 weeks into my new routine and I am consistently waking up hours before my alarm. I wake up every single morning wide awake and ready to spring out of bed. It seems that my body only requires 5 hours of sleep these days. Prior to starting this meditation I was almost always tired. I blamed it on everything from the lack of sunshine, to allergy problems, to post Lyme disease issues. There was always some reason for me to be exhausted. But today I am full of energy almost always. I can't remember the last time I complained that I was tired. I'm pretty sure I can throw away my alarm clock. And the best and most exciting development is the clearing of my mind. It used to be that I couldn't go 20 seconds without 100 thoughts flooding into my mind. Now I can sit for 20 whole minutes and think about nothing. If I had the chance to place a bet on whether or not I would EVER be able to achieve that through meditation I would have certainly bet against myself. I still can't believe this has happened to me. It's a miracle. I have never felt better! Meditation works. If you are a doubter, you have to do yourself a favor and just give it a try.