By Ellen Gibson
Continue reading 10 Ways to Reduce Pain and INJURIES When Gardening“Some say that a garden just grows from seeds, but we think it grows from trying and failing and trying again. A garden is hard work, but so is most of the good, important stuff in life.” – Joanna Gaines, We Are the Gardeners
By Ellen S. Gibson
I have come to the borders of sleep,
–Edward Thomas (1878-1918) from his poem, “Lights Out”
The unfathomable deep
Forest where all must lose
Their way, however straight,
Or winding, soon or late;
They cannot choose.
My mother died at the end of December. It was not completely unexpected. She was 93 years of age. She lived a long life, a good life, but had been in declining health for some time.
Continue reading Yoga and GriefBy Ellen S. Gibson
Hope is a thing with feathers
-Emily Dickinson
That perches in the soul,
And sings the song without the words
And never stops at all.
Each day I come to the mat, there is the expectation that I will feel better for having practiced yoga. It could be ten uninterrupted minutes or a 45-minute class via Zoom. The amount of time matters less than showing up. Physically, my back may be stiff from too much shoveling. Emotionally, I may be feeling overwhelmed, tense, or anxious. No matter the starting point, when I leave the mat, I am stronger, calmer, and more balanced.
Continue reading Yoga and HopeTry breathing like this: exhale … exhale … exhale … exhale again.
How did that go? I’m guessing that you were wondering what happened to the inhale? It is a simple fact that you cannot keep breathing out without breathing in and live to tell about it! Likewise, you cannot live well without balancing the care that you commit to others with the care that you give yourself. Yoga at its core is a self-care practice. As we experience greater balance, harmony, and joy in ourselves through these practices, we are better able to care for the world around us. A win-win for all. (Click here to learn more about yoga self-care practices.)
Continue reading Inhale exhale, In and Out, Give and TakeAs we transition from summer to fall, we prepare ourselves for winter. The energy of the plant world is going into the roots. Foliage is drying and turning beautiful colors. Squirrels are busy stealing seeds from the bird feeders and hoarding food to their “storage units.” My goats are fluffing up with their new cashmere undercoat, and the chickens and ducks are molting. Bears are fattening up for hibernation.
During the coldest months of the year, it can be tempting to cozy up next to the fire and not venture out again until the weather warms. For many of us, our internal flame of motivation can begin to burn a bit low this a time of year. However, since hibernation is not a natural state for humans it is important that we feed our fire, so that come spring we don’t regret those hours of chillin’ the winter away. The yogic principle of Tapas supports us in cultivating the inner flame that motivates us.
Continue reading Don’t Hibernate, Invigorate!
With so many things happening around the world including natural disasters, global warming, terrorism, racism, and sexism, etc. it is only natural to wonder what you can do to help others who may be in a less fortunate situation than you or to help the earth itself. It can also be natural to doubt your ability, as one person, to make a difference. These questions and doubts are perfectly valid, and the reality is that there are a lot of different things that you can do and that each one of them will probably have little direct impact on these huge issues. However, mindful action – Karma Yoga – moves us toward right action – Dharma – and when we practice our Karma Yoga and follow our Dharma, then each small act begins to contribute to the universal good.
Continue reading Action, Mindful Action, Right ActionA frequent question from new Yoga students and experienced ones is, “How often should I practice Yoga?” A great question and an interesting one.
Continue reading How often should I practice, It depends
As we welcome the season of spring, many of us celebrate the awakening of the earth from the long restful sleep of winter. When we practice Yoga we invite an awakening in ourselves – perhaps many of us begin yoga with the intention of a clearer recognition or realization of the potential in our physical bodies, or perhaps our thoughts and emotions, but the yogic texts tell us that through Yoga we awaken to our true nature.
Yoga Sutras 1.2 – 1.3: “Yogas Chitta Vrtti Nirodah. Tada drastuhu svarupe avastanam. Translation – Complete mastery over the modifications of the mind is called yoga. Then the seer becomes established in its true nature.” (Translation of Yoga Sutras of Patanjali from Yoga International.)
The practice of Yoga allows us to see the world as it is by training our bodies and minds to stay in the present moment – the only moment where the world exists. The past and future can only be perceived in our imagination. As we practice being in the present moment, we begin to fine-tune our perception of the present moment.
The term Chitta means the mind stuff – the conscious and subconscious – including memories, experiences, conditioned thoughts, habits, instincts, concentration, and inquiry. Essentially the lens through which we perceive ourselves and the world around us.
Vritti literally means whirlpool, and in yogic terms refers to the fluctuations of the mind or the thought waves.
In India, there is a lovely metaphor that is commonly used to illustrate the terms chitta, vritti, and Self: The metaphor is of a lake where the bottom is our true nature or self, the lake is the chitta, and state of the water at the surface is the vrittis. If the top of the lake is covered by ripples or the water is muddy one will not be able to see the bottom of the lake. However, if the water is still and clear, we can easily see the bottom.
So does this mean that we want the lake, or our mind, always to be calm, quiet, and still? No, not necessarily. Noticing and observing the fluctuations can give us valuable insights into ourselves and allow us to shift how we perceive what is. During asana (Yoga posture) and meditation practice, we develop the ability to choose where we place our attention and learn to bring this skill off of the mat and into our lives to find greater ease as we awaken to our own true nature.
“By changing your mind you change everything. If only we could understand this point, we would see that there is nothing wrong outside; it is all in the mind. By correcting our vision we correct things outside. If we can cure our jaundiced eye, nothing will look yellow. But without correcting the jaundice, however much we scrub the outside things, we are not going to make them white or blue or green; they will always be yellow. That’s why yoga is based on self-reformation, self-control, and self-adjustment.”~ Swami Satchidananda
By Katey Hawes, owner and founder of Posabilities, Inc., a physical therapist, registered yoga teacher, and yoga therapist.
You may find her at Facebook.com/posabilities4u, Twitter @Posabilities4u, and Google+.
Yin yoga is sometimes referred to as “the other half of yoga” when considering our practice of yoga postures (also known as asana practice). That being said, the posture practice that many people are most familiar with can be considered yang yoga, which is a more active and heating style of yoga. Yang yoga targets the muscles, building strength, balance, and flexibility, and creating greater energy and vitality to the body, mind, and spirit. Yin yoga, equally important, is a more meditative form of yoga that targets the deeper tissues of the body including the connective tissues, bones, and joints. Connective tissues targeted are ligaments, tendons, fascia, and cartilage. Yin targets the connective tissues of the hips, pelvis and the lower spine. In addition to the physical benefits, Yin yoga provides an increased state of calm and ease for the body, mind, and spirit.
Did you know that roughly 47% of the resistance to flexibility occurs in our connective tissues while about 41% occurs in our muscles? Without getting too technical, our connective tissues work as a network to bind, support, connect, and protect all the other tissues throughout our body. As we age our connective tissues can become overly dense and compacted, trapping toxins within the cells, resulting in decreased flexibility and range of motion. The good news is that yoga, yin yoga, in particular, can help to lengthen, strengthen, rehydrate, and decompress these networks of tissue, creating spaciousness, releasing built up toxins, and bringing greater health and vitality to the connective tissues.
Due to differences in fluid content, connective tissue generally is not as flexible as muscle tissue. To lengthen and strengthen our connective tissues stretches need to be held for a longer period. Because of this Yin yoga poses are held anywhere from one minute on, with an average duration of three to four minutes. In Yin, it is not how deep you go in a pose but how long you hold the pose that creates the benefit. For younger people the practice of Yin Yoga can help maintain their youthful tissues and minimize, or reduce, any damage that has occurred due to injury. For the older person, Yin yoga can reverse and slow down the bodies aging process at a cellar level. But you don’t need to know all this to be convinced of the benefits of Yin, you need only to feel the results of a practice to know something good is going on inside.
In a Yin yoga practice, you slowly relax into the poses, which are usually seated or lying down on your mat, allowing the muscles to be soft as you explore your individual edge, or stopping point. Each person’s stopping point will be different therefore each person’s pose will look different. Similar to the more yang practices we allow the breath to guide us and move the prana (vital energy) around the body. Through focus and attention to our individual edge, we develop a calm state and a sharpening of awareness at all levels of our being. Gradually, over time, as the body rejuvenates, the tissues lengthen and become more spacious and flexibility increases allowing a greater range of motion and ease of movement. I have had students tell me that the day after a yin class they experience, “a greater sense of well-being.”
I have experienced first hand the benefits of a consistent Yin practice and am so excited to share this practice with my students. Remember like all yoga practices if you have any physical limitations you should check with your doctor or you can contact us here at Posabilities. Together with a balanced practice of both yin and yang styles, I feel yoga is the greatest gift we can give ourselves. Yoga nourishes the body, mind, and spirit. I hope to see you all on your mat. Sending Love. Namaste – Niki Venter
About Niki:Niki Venter MSW, RYT-200 has completed a number of advanced yoga training in both Yin Yoga and alignment based yoga and teaches Gentle and Yin Yoga classes at Posabilities. Niki enjoys sharing the practice of Yoga with her students and feels that Yoga prepares you for all of life mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. She is eager to share this with all who attend her classes.
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