Five Points Yoga

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Taking Care of Yourself

Posted October 2nd, 2008 | 1 Comment » | Bookmark and Share

As I can feel the fall creeping in, it’s reminding me that I have to start to get conscious of the ways that I need to take care of myself in the next several months.  Winter is not my favorite time, and I get a little moody.  Whatever I can do to stay warm and happy is important!!
Luckily, I just got an email today from Inman Oasis, a local business in Cambridge.   My boyfriend and I started going there in the winter because they have some great hot tubs that you can soak in.  This month they have a special on their Frequent Soaker card, so i’m going to grab one in anticipation of the colder weather.

How about getting a massage now and then?   I’m happy to recommend my massage therapist in Cambridge – just email me!  A professional massage is an amazing experience, but you can also consider doing it yourself.   Use pure organic massage oil for your self-massage (or partner massage).  Just a few minutes can really make a difference!   Take a shower before or after and then take a nap after your massage!

Finally, in this season of colds, break out your neti pot!   Neti has been shown to dramatically help with sinus infections, and with lessening the effects of the common cold.  Whole Foods and natural foods stores usually carry neti pots.  Additionally, gargling with warm salt water can really help keep the bugs at bay.

My final goal each winter is to plan to go away to a warmer place.  I’m taking suggestions as to where we should go this year! 

Thinking about how good I feel after I take care of myself in these ways almost makes me look forward to the wintertime.  Almost 🙂

How are you taking care of yourself?   Let me know what we should add to the list. 

Love and light,

Barrettt

 

Posted under Health and Wellness, Yoga

Why I Love Teaching Prenatal Yoga

Posted October 1st, 2008 | 5 Comments » | Bookmark and Share

 

 

Anytime we come to the mat to practice, we bring all that’s happened to us stored inside someplace.  We bring the difficult parts especially –  the tense conversation with our boss, the silent treatment we got from our partner, the anxiety about our child.  Of course, we also bring the good things – the smile from a stranger on the subway, the achievement of a job well done, etc.   Our practice reflects back to ourselves how we’re feeling, and often helps us know why we’re feeling that, and what to do about it. 

 

That is all magnified in a very intense and focused way when someone is pregnant.   For a very specific period of time, such extraordinary growth is going on, and I don’t mean in just the physical realm!  Mentally and energetically, women are so *ripe* in their yoga experiences, so ready to meet change and become a new person on the other side of it – a parent.   They know they must change, and slowly but surely, through the weeks and months that they come to class, they let go of what used to be, and merge into the ever-evolving present. 

 

Prenatal class is magnifying glass to see a yogi’s accelerated growth.   It happens to anyone who consistently practices, but when you’re pregnant, there’s a bit of a deadline! You can’t put off your practice for a few months if other areas of your life heat up.  You must do it now. Pregnancy seems to help women crystallize what’s really important to them.  

 

It’s not always a pretty or graceful transition!  We have a lot of struggles that we talk about in class, and a lot of tears and laughter and joy.  But it’s so helpful to share with a roomful of women who are in a similar place in life.  I think a lot of students come in feeling alone, but leave yoga class feeling like part of a positive community. 

 

Teaching prenatal yoga has helped me teach in my regular classes.   I feel so much more open to just *being* with someone’s struggles when they share with me.   I think I’m just able to hold the space and not try to fix it like I might have wanted to years ago when I was a new teacher.  Best of all, being with pregnant women has helped me know better how to gently but firmly encourage someone to see it through, and stay on the self-healing path, even when it’s tough.   

 

This is just a beginning of why I love teaching pregnant women.

 

 

Posted under Prenatal Information, Yoga

Know Your Lingo

Posted September 29th, 2008 | 2 Comments » | Bookmark and Share

This was a great article printed in the NYTimes a month ago.  I’ve been meaning to share it in my newsletter, but we will air it here instead 🙂

 

As I teach a lot of classes every week, I sometimes forget that newcomers in class don’t know all of our lingo, from the opening asanas (postures) to the last Namaste (our ending that we say to each other).  Below is a humorous run-down of what you might hear in yoga class.

 

 

See the article on The New York Times here. 

 

 

August 24, 2008   

 

NAMASTE  by Jaimie Epstein

 

‘At the beginning of class, we stood at the front of our mats and let out a long, dirgelike moan,” the first-time yoga student recollected. “Then the teacher yelled, ‘Chili-pepper pasta,’ and everyone hit the floor.” Sanskrit, the language of yoga, is said to unite sound and meaning; that is, saying the word gives the experience of its meaning. But for the novice yogi (the word for male as well as female practitioners), whose ears need to be tuned to a new frequency, that experience can be as elusive as an overnight parking spot in Manhattan. Thus, chaturanga dandasana (four-legged staff pose, which looks like the bottom of a pushup, your body hovering inches above the floor) might become “chili-pepper pasta” if you’ve got dinner reservations at the latest outpost of the latest fusion craze. And the ear-twisters don’t end there. So let’s do some untwisting…

 

To read the rest of the article and learn more about yoga lingo, go here.

Posted under Education, Yoga, Yoga Articles

Yin Yoga

Posted September 26th, 2008 | 2 Comments » | Bookmark and Share

 

I don’t teach Yin Yoga, but I certainly end up practicing in a Yin style quite often. The hallmark of a Yin Yoga practice is that you hold postures longer than you might otherwise, for 3-5 minutes on average. This feels Looooonng if you’re not used to it, but it is a great challenge for us vinyasa yogis who are used to flowing through postures more quickly. I just did a lovely Yin practice today (so nice on a Friday afternoon!), and it’s inspired me to write a bit about it.

 

Here is some more information about why Yin Yoga may be helpful, from the June ’07 issue of Yoga Journal:

 

“On a physical level, Yin enhances the natural range of motion in the joints. By keeping your muscles soft, you release deep layers of connective tissue, creating more ease in any style of yoga and in seated meditation. On an energetic level, Yin enhances the flow of prana (life force) in the tissues around the joints, where energy often stagnates.”

I often start or end my practice with some Yin postures. You can also do a completely Yin practice, with no active flowing postures.

 

My introduction to Yin Yoga came years ago, with Paul Grilley’s book Yin Yoga . You can read an article he wrote about Yin Yoga here.

 

Here’s one of my favorite Yin Yoga postures, one of the few I actually teach. It’s called Saddle Pose and you can see it demonstrated here.

 

I use this frequently if I’ve just taught a sequence of hamstring lengthening postures because Saddle Pose emphasizes lengthening the opposing muscle group, the quadriceps. I also teach this posture in my new mom’s class. It’s very helpful in the postpartum period to help the pelvis realign in general, and the tailbone specifically to move back into place. Moms love this posture.

 

If you try to practice this posture, start by leaning back on the hands. From there, move down to rest on your elbows, and only if that feels good should you try the full posture as pictured. Be mindful of your knees and ankles if you have particular sensitivities in those joints.

 

Lastly, you might consider finding a teacher who knows the principles behind Yin Yoga. For local Boston folks, consider attending Jenn Goodman’s upcoming workshop at my favorite studio, Black Lotus. The workshop is in October (I have a Pranayama workshop in November and an Arm Balances workshop in December as well).

 

You might also check out my friend and former teaching colleague Biff Mithoefer. He has a book, the Yin Yoga Kit, and teaches some occasional workshops.

 

Enjoy your practice!

Barrett

 

Posted under Upcoming Events, Yoga

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