Mudras - Gestures

Do you ever wonder why you are asked to hold your hands or fingers in a certain way during yoga postures or in meditation?  The reason is you are performing a mudra.  The translation of the Sanskrit word mudra is ‘gesture’.  Mudras are a combination of subtle physical movements which can alter your mood, attitude and perception and can lead to a deepened awareness and heightened concentration.  A mudra can involve the whole body in a combination of posture, pranayama (breathing), bandha (locking actions), and visualization, or it can be a simple hand position as shown to the left in baivara mudra.  The reason why mudras are effective is they manipulate prana (energy) in the body. Our body is made up of energy, and performing a mudra helps to redirect the energy within rather than have it leak out of the body.

A brain research paper published in the National Academy of Sciences in November 2009, demonstrated that hand gestures stimulate the same regions of the brain as language.

Matyasana – Fish Pose

The fish pose is wonderful asana that affects our health positively in so many ways. This pose stretches the intestines and helps with all abdominal ailments. It is a wonderful posture for your lungs. It helps to improve asthma, and relieve chest ailments such as bronchitis. It regulates the function of the thyroid gland and stimulates the thymus boosting the immune response.

Who’s Practicing Yoga?

                                              

•           Now in her fifties, Madonna is one of the fittest celebrity females out there. Aside from her physically demanding shows, she practices yoga daily.  "I've been practicing yoga for a while now, and it's an incredibly powerful and positive force in my life,"

•           The LA Lakers- This high flying basketball club practices yoga as a team a few times a week, claiming that the practice has helped to increase balance and coordination and helps them to prevent injuries during games. 

•           Other sports teams that are using yoga to train include The Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and Chicago Cubs

•           Sex in the City stars, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kristin Davis do yoga

•           Oprah is such an ardent believer that she has her staff doing yoga once a week! She's devoted an entire segment on her show to yoga with celebrity teacher Rodney Yee and has the benefits of yoga listed on her website, along with testimonials from stars and ordinary people.

•           It’s reverses the age process- Sting

•           Yoga really purifies your organs and your blood. The real lesson yoga brings you is learning to be present- Christy Turlington

•           Angelina Jolie buffed up for Tomb Raider with yoga!

Bow Pose

Bow Pose – Dhanurasana

The Bow pose is a very important pose in Hatha Yoga.  The entire alimentary canal (pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine) is reconditioned by this posture.  This asana aids in digestion, fights constipation, and removes gastrointestinal disorders.  The flexion of the spine revitalizes all the spinal nerves by increasing circulation, and strengthens and realigns the spine. Bow pose is also beneficial for diabetes, incontinence, and menstrual disorders, while improving the functioning of the liver, kidneys and spleen. 

Halasana – Plough Pose

Halasana – Plough Pose

We know yoga is great for flexibility and building and toning muscles, but most don’t realize the amazing benefits of yoga for the rest of the body.

The plough pose is a perfect example of a posture that not only improves the flexibility of the spine, and strengthens the abdominal muscles but also affects most of the internal systems of the body. It is a wonderful pose to massage all the internal organs, activating digestion, relieving constipation, indigestion or heart burn, revitalizing the spleen and the adrenal glands, promoting the production of insulin, and improving liver and kidney function.  The plough pose also tones the spinal nerves which improve our nervous system function calming our bodies and minds. It stimulates the thymus gland which boosts immune function. It also regulates the Thyroid balancing the body’s metabolic rate.  Think about that next time you have your legs over your head wondering what you are doing. Now you know!

Why it makes sense to do HOT YOGA in the Summer

Summer seems like it is finally here and you are probably asking yourself why would you do a hot class if it’s already hot outside?  Well the reasons really haven’t changed from the winter but we will remind you of some of the great benefits of a hot class ESPECIALLY for the summer.

1) Burning calories and toning. –   It is safe to say that yoga or pilates performed in a hot room will burn more calories than yoga or pilates in a normal temperature room. The reason is that there are all sorts of processes going on in our bodies to cool us down when it is hot and our muscles are also producing extra heat. You will read all sorts of contradictory information on how much if any calories extra you will burn in a hot class. Some proponents of hot yoga estimate that you can burn upwards to 1500 calories per hour.  This is way too high. We feel pretty comfortable saying that depending on your height, weight, heat tolerance, age, gender, conditioning and type of class you could be burning anywhere between 400 and 800 calories in a hot yoga or hot pilates class.  But either way, if you are working as hard as you would in a non hot room, you are burning more calories.  Also, you are building lean muscle at the same time you are burning more calories, and this will help you to look more toned for that summer beach body we all want.

2) Detoxification – O.K. the patio’s are open, it’s barbeque season, and you are probably going to take some vacation time. This usually means eating more and drinking more. Detoxification from sweating and the deeper detoxification we get from Infrared heat will help flush out those summer toxins. Your skin is one of the best waste disposal systems in your body. The kidneys and liver always get the credit but your skin is an equally effective organ for removing waste, especially toxic wastes. It does this through sweat. Sweating is a great way for the body to release toxins through the pores of the skin. The skin converts toxins from fats into water soluble compounds that are excreted through your sweat.

We have even heard from a few of our students (who will remain nameless) that a hot class actually really helped them with their hangovers.

3)  Warm muscles = happy muscles – When your muscles are warm right from the start of your class you will feel less sore and you will be less likely to injure yourself. The heat also allows for better movement among ligaments, joints, muscles and the body's supporting structures.

Stress and Yoga part 2

I am constantly amazed at Yoga's ability to relieve stress. Being an owner of a Yoga and Pilates studio seems like a stress free job.  But you still have all the distractions of any other small business - H.S.T. , Pay roll, marketing, admin, etc, etc. But one Yoga class and all is well again. You reset your stress levels back to zero. Deepak Chopra writes about the mind being non local.  Meaning our thoughts and memories are not stored just in our brains, they are stored throughout our bodies. Think about working all day, and you start feeling pain and stress in your neck and shoulders. This is stored thoughts and memories.  Come out to a yoga class and you will release the muscles and energy blockages in your neck and shoulders. As you release the muscles so will you release the stress. The stress releases out of the muscles and releases out of the mind.

Why practicing Hatha Yoga is a great stress reliever.

Chronic headaches, Stiff neck and shoulders, stomach problems, high blood pressure, irritability?  All consequences of STRESS! 
The term Hatha has been translated as Ha = sun and tha = moon,  meaning the balancing of opposites, or as it relates to us - balancing of body, mind, and spirit.
Hatha Yoga consists of stretching and twisting the body in combination with deep synchronized breathing to help the body loosen up tight strained muscles, stretch the spinal column and relieving stress on the discs and joints. The muscles are stretched out releasing the toxins in the body.
On a physical level, yoga will increase strength, flexibility, improve posture, and enhance circulation. But it will also reduce stress levels by the process of healing and cleansing the mind along with healing the body. Yoga views the body as having a physical and also an energetic layer, and the various postures and breathing exercises were designed to open up the energy flow throughout the mind and body by opening of blockages and bringing the body back to its natural state.
In our busy lives, we are all subject to a lot of physical and mental stress. Yoga can reduce stress and tension through asanas (postures), Pranayama (breathing exercises) and through meditation.  Yoga will help bring your body and mind back to ease.

Detoxification Through Hot Yoga

Why is everyone doing hot yoga these days?  Well, hot yoga has lots of benefits.  One of the main ones is detoxification. Your skin is one of the best waste disposal systems in your body. The kidneys and liver always get the credit but your skin is an equally effective organ for removing waste, especially toxic wastes. It does this through sweat. Doing Yoga in a hot room promotes sweating. The internal heat generated by doing yoga combined with a heat of between 41 and 43 degrees C. will bring on a lots of sweating.  Sweating is a great way for the body to release toxins through the pores of the skin. The skin converts toxins from fats into water soluble compounds, that are excreted through your sweat.
While all forms of exercise help the body to eliminate toxins, yoga is perfectly suited to this process. Yoga postures all focus on stretching and compressing the body, encouraging the flow and good function of the waste removal departments in the body. The fact that the body is being pushed, pulled, and turned in every which way aids the body in the removal of harmful toxins found deep in the body’s tissues, that other forms of exercise simply do not penetrate.