Five Points Yoga

Barrett's Blog

Archive for September, 2010

Getting the Big Project Done!

Posted September 28th, 2010 | 3 Comments » | Bookmark and Share


‘Finding time to practice is part of the practice.” – unknown source from Twitter!

Paradoxically, it’s often when we’re so busy we feel we can’t squeeze another thing in, that we need yoga the most.  I’m in that space now in my life where some big projects are steaming ahead, and I *need* to be on the mat to help me get through it all in a healthy way.    Two weeks ago, I really needed yoga, but my mat remained rolled up tight.  It was a hard week and I’ll just say it:  I was miserable.  Last week was really busy too, but I prioritized yoga practice and you know what?   I could tell!  Everything flowed a bit more smoothly.

It’s hard to take care of yourself when you most need it, so here’s some ideas for getting a little yoga into your day and week.

a)     Set a timer and do 10 minutes on your mat!  Everyone has 10 minutes at some point in the next 24 hours! This is a great segue between parts of a big project.   It’s great to do when you first get up in the morning, or when you’re just getting home in the evening.   Put a favorite song on – commit to just being present during that song.  You don’t even need to move much.    Consider taking the Yoga Odyssey in January for more encouragement on doing a home practice!

b)      Look at your calendar and schedule a yoga class before your next 10 days get away from you.   Have your partner or close friend/family member help you stick to it.  For your sake and theirs you need yoga!

c) The library and Netflix have a great assortment of yoga videos that give you some direction.  When I get a Netflix workout video I try to return it within a week – that means I have to schedule exercising to the video in that amount of time!!

d) If you’re working on a big project over the course of several months (I’m designing a teacher training for example), reward yourself when you reach milestones in the project.   Book a massage, a weekend getaway, a hike in a beautiful and quiet place, a soak in the tub – positive energy rewards that keep you healthy!

Big projects are daunting when you’re at the beginning, but yoga helps us remember all we really need to worry about now is taking the next step forward.   If we keep doing that, we will eventually get there!!    If you get on your mat regularly, each little step will be easier, and you’ll hit your stride in no time and make a lot of progress!

Enjoy the journey,

Barrett

Posted under Health and Wellness, Yoga

Guest Post – Yoga and Rock Climbing

Posted September 23rd, 2010 | 2 Comments » | Bookmark and Share

Friend and sister yogini Diana wrote this last month, but I thought it was great and worth reposting.   It’s all about the present moment 🙂

diana rock climbing

“Yell ‘FALLING,’ then push away from the wall, keep your feet flat against the rock, and trust your belay,” hollered Jason, our really cute shaggy headed rock climbing instructor (http://www.rockspotclimbing.com) on Sunday in my first climbing lesson.  It’s scary to trust that I could really freefall without fear because someone held me secure in their hands.  It worked, though – and the second time we ‘tested’ my belay, I was to fall without announcing it.  Because I knew that my belay was solid AND backed up by Jason, there was no fear and I just flew off the wall.

After the lesson, the climbing really began.  Rocks with the deepest indentations for my fingers were like an answered prayer as my grip weakened during the climb.  “Once you’ve climbed for a bit, rock climbing will begin to feel like climbing a ladder – boring,” admonished Jason.  “Instead of hand over hand, begin to map out the journey, strategize your next move, and get creative on the climb.  It’s all about having fun on the journey.”

Even with these words, I watched others new to this sport scrambling like mice over the rocks, leaving them breathless, forearms burning.  “Think of rock climbing as being like yoga,” Jason advised.

That’s IT!  All his instructions were yoga and real life instructions.

Rock climbing is just like yoga – as mind and body connect to the structure of the colored toe holds, there’s strategy and finesse in just how to step onto them, where to place your hands so your arms are lengthening away from the core, using muscles most effectively by pushing up with your legs with less pulling on your arms.  Just like the careful placement of your hands in down dog that allows a light lengthening from the solidness of your foundation.

Pause, breathe, extend.  Staying present and connected to my breathe, I looked for the next hand hold, then foot placed, exhale and push off.  Steadily, I climbed, and just like in yoga, treated the transitions with the respect of the pose knowing that these in-between-the-breath moments are just as critical to the flow of vinyasa as warrior poses.

A couple of times, I could feel fatigue and trembling thighs, my grip loosening its hold on the rock.  Still, I didn’t worry.  I knew my belay had me and all I had to do is yell, “Take,” and she would slowly lower me to the ground.  Just like in yoga, someone has my back – my belay in rock climbing and my inner teacher in life.  That deep inner knowledge gave me strength to go on.

An aha moment to once again validate the path of yoga is not just on the mat!

Posted under Guest Poster, Yoga

Befriending the Backbend

Posted September 21st, 2010 | 3 Comments » | Bookmark and Share


“When the asana is correct, there is a lightness, a freedom.  Freedom comes when every part of the body is active.  Let us be free in whatever posture we are doing.  Let us be full in whatever we do. “  – BKS Iyengar

I have a love/hate relationship with backbends.   I love them because they are stimulating and energizing – who needs coffee when you’ve got some good backbends under your belt for the day?

But then I hate them because they’re hard – they require awhile to warm up before you can properly do them.  I have to practice at least 30 minutes before I can do more difficult backbends, and then I have to spend at least 15 minutes releasing them so I don’t have an achy back afterwards.   They also need to be repeated in a practice several times in order to really work in them, and after you’re done with the first, you rarely want to move on.   So, it’s a full hour practice for me, much of it pushing myself.

I also hate them because they show me the state of my practice – and when they’re stiff and stuck feeling, I know I haven’t been practicing with enough intensity.   And that’s how they’ve been feeling lately.   So….

It’s time to do a little backbend challenge!   I’m commiting to a month of backbends in October, my birthday month.  It’s a little Iyengar tradition to do dropbacks on your birthday – sometimes practitioners do as many as they are old (for me that would be 33 this year), and sometimes practitioners do 108, the sacred number of yoga.   Mr. Iyengar, now in his 90’s, still evidently does dropbacks!!

Here’s a beautiful video of a dropback. I’ll be using it as my inspiration – yes, I can do dropbacks, but no, I’ve never done any significant number in a row!  I don’t think that will be my goal in October, but who knows?  Stay tuned and check in with me on how my backbends are opening up as I commit to a more regular practice.

Anyone care to join me on my backbend quest?

Love to you all!

Barrett

Posted under Personal Experiences, Yoga

Some Postive Changes in Hospital Births

Posted September 9th, 2010 | 3 Comments » | Bookmark and Share


First and foremost, I’m a yoga teacher.  I teach all adults, and I specialize in prenatal and postnatal yoga.  But in my previous life, I did a lot of activism, in public health and human/civil rights.  My passion for the last decade has been working with moms in the childbearing year, and of course, a huge focus of our work is on laboring and birth.  So, I like to share positive news and trends in the pregnancy/birth world!

One of the reasons I think yoga is so important during pregnancy is that it helps you *trust* how healthy you are.  When you know from deep within that you are healthy and that your baby is healthy, then you can advocate for yourself if needed.   As valuable as hospitals and their well-trained staff are, navigating a hospital birth is often a minefield of interventions and restrictive policies, many of which can be unnecessary.   Two recent articles highlight some positive changes happening, in large part because families are advocating for them!!

First, hospitals are finally starting to lift the ban on drinking and eating in labor!   Can you imagine working hard for 14 hours (average length of labor for first time mom) and not eating or drinking?   That’s crazy!  So for years, informed mamas have snuck in snacks to their labor rooms, because they know they need fuel to make it through labor.   Now, hopefully, families can feel free to openly nourish their laboring women in the hospital.

If you’re pregnant, advocate for yourself ahead of time by letting your care provider know that you reserve the right to eat or drink (if you want) during your time in the hospital.

Second, we have a long road ahead of us, but a recent article in a medical journal is finally recognizing that routine induction of moms in their due time leads to a huge increase in the incidence of Cesarean section.   It’s so important to avoid medical induction if there is not a medical reason, and yet, half the moms in my class struggle to push back against eager doctors (and midwives!) who want to induce.

If you are a mama seeking to avoid CSection, talk to your provider early in your pregnancy about their induction rates.   Ask your provider if they routinely induce, and when.   I recommend if they routinely induce at 41 weeks that you seek another provider, and let the original provider know the reason why!   As a consumer, you have a great deal of power to change the way medical providers practice, especially when the science backs you up.

And of course, through it all, practicing yoga regularly with give you the motivation, determination and COURAGE to grow your baby, birth your baby, and parent your baby the best way you can.

Namaste!!

Barrett

Pregnant Parsva Konasana

Posted under Education, Personal Experiences, Yoga

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