How to have a healthy neck

Saturday was a great morning for many reasons, the main one was that a group of yoga practitioners came together to learn from a knowledgeable, inspiring and friendly yoga teacher: Mark Uridel.
You may not think that the neck area requires much attention unless you feel the heavy weight on your shoulders, tension headaches or just the sensation of having a head that weights like a ton over your shoulders.

Mark gave a round and amazingly clear class in about 2h. We became aware that the reason our neck can feel tight is for basically four reasons:
1) Tension
2) Upper chest breathing
3) Weakness of usually front muscles
4) Bad posture

The solution? Awareness!
Simple isn't it? During the day be aware of how you breath, take some time during the day to breath on your belly, relax, try to stretch the muscles on your neck and release the shoulders from tension with a good gentle yoga practice and to check your posture he recommends to be more aware of it and use a gentle chin tuck to align the cervical area and the shoulders.

Though the neck muscles need to stretch and strength, Mark recommended to be gentle as over-stretching this area can be as detrimental as having lack of strength.

We also moved into a yoga practice using sidhasana, vajrasana, virabhadrasana I, trikonasana, to mention some of the poses but gaining special attention on how we move neck and shoulders.

After a relaxing Savasana, with our minds clear and body happy after the stretches, we enjoyed chanting some mantras and affirmations to heal the area around the mercury chakra or Vishuddha.

After the class, a 67 year old man who had never done yoga, told me how good he felt after the practice and hopefully he will continue to use the practice to heal some of his tightness in the neck area.

We all left with a sense of openness and grateful for having this great teacher in our area.

Mark has a DVD call Yoga for a Healthy Neck with a 20 and 40 minutes practice included. For more information follow the link http://www.healingartsstudios.com/products.html
Mark has 23 years of experience and training in the health care field. He is a Licensed Physical Therapist, Registered Massage Therapist and Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher. He is a professional member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists. Mark integrates modern Medical Research with ancient Yoga Practices to provide a healing and transformational experience.

What is Hatha Yoga?

Question submitted by Luceli L.

Dear Luceli,
As you may know Yoga has been around for probably more than five thousand years.
Yoga means "to yoke, to harness." The term Yoga has been used as a way to awaken spirituality through the control of the mind. Yoga is a system of techniques that allows the practitioner to achieve Samadhi or Enlightenment.

There are many schools or branches of Yoga. One way to achieve that self-control and attainment of Samadhi is via Hatha Yoga which translation means "forceful Yoga" In "The Shamabhala Encyclopedia of Yoga" by Georg Feuerstein, the term hatha yoga is "applied in general to the vast body of doctrines and practices reared toward Self-realization by means of perfecting the body."

Commonly you will hear yoga teachers mention that "Ha" usually refers to the solar energy and "tha" to the lunar energy. Hatha Yoga therefore is the union of those energies to bring Self-Realization.

All the poses that you take in a regular yoga class, have been developed trough time and many have been recorded in ancient texts. All comes down to the understanding of how the body moves in relation to space.

The poses in sanskrit are called asana (seat) and depending on different texts you can find from 16-200 poses that are more useful to human beings.

Hatha Yoga is also one of the limbs of the Eight fold path. In the practice of Hatha Yoga, the teacher instructs the students in the use of Locks (bandhas) and seals (mudras) "all of them designated to control and regulate the flow of life force (prana) in the body" Feurstein Encyclopedia of Yoga.

Next time you come to your mat, take time to breath and center your energies, be present and mindful during all the poses as they have not only an effect on your body but also on your mind.





Reference:
The Shamabhala Encyclopedia of Yoga by Georg Feurstein pp. 34-35, 118-121

It is official: watching TV can kill you!

You can blame the Australians for a change this time. On a recent study by Australian researches who traced more than 8000 people for an average of six years found that "those who said they watched TV for more than four hours a day were 46% more likely to die of any cause and 80% more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than people who reported spending less than two hours a day in front of the tube" as reported on the Wall street Journal last Tuesday.

What is shocking is that these results not only affect people that don't exercise, it affects those who exercise too. How come.? Well, the problem is the inactivity that brings to watch TV for long periods of time.
Think about those long football games that many men watch for more than three hours or the long hours you spend in front of the computer (ouch!) and you can have something else to be worry about.

And those results are only in relation to the TV, what about the amount of violence that you can watch in less than two hours. This information goes directly to your subconscious mind without even notice it. No none really knows the effects but I wonder if all those stimuli have anything to do with our moods and ways that we respond to our environment.

Is there a solution? Yes! do a little bit of exercise if you are in front of the TV for a long period of time, fold clothes, put the elliptical in front of it and actually use it!, move around, take the dishes out of the dishwasher, and stretch every so often.
Not only watching TV can affect you, long commutes, long flights, and any activity that requires you to be seated for hours should be a concern.
Dr. Dunstan, a researcher at Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, in Melbourne mentions that the "research shows the important role of muscle movement in how the body processes blood sugar and blood fats. the absence of movement can slow down or metabolic processes"

Here are simple yoga exercises that can help you move your muscles after a long time in front of the TV or computer. Take breaks every hour or so and stretch!

a) Shoulder rolls. Sit on the edge of your chair. Keep your back straight, breath. On your next inhale start rolling your shoulders towards the back. After 3-5 times, stop check that your back is straight and change the direction of the movement.

b) Twists. Sit again on the edge of your chair, put your left hand on the table in front of your right shoulder, right hand towards the back of the chair or in a place that is comfortable for you. Turn your whole back towards the right, be gentle with your neck. Take 3-4 breaths, release and go to the other side.

c) Neck turns. Same position as before, keep your chin level with the floor and slowly turn your head towards the right, then center it and turn towards the left and center again. Alternate the sides. Inhaling turn to the right, exhaling turn to the center and do the same to the other side.

d) Arm stretch. Bring your arms up to the sides of your head, release your shoulders and if you can interlace your fingers and bring palms up to the ceiling. Stretch your arms up and to the sides, breath.

e) Stretch your legs. From siting , bring your hands under your right knee and lift the leg closer to your belly. With the leg on the air, extend the leg completely towards the front level to the floor, keep alternating bending and stretching for 4-5 times and then do the same with your left leg.

f) Bound angle pose. This is a great way to work out and watch TV. Sit on the floor or on top of a blanket, extend your legs forward, bring your right hand towards the back of your right knee and gently bend the knee and bring the sole of your foot towards the side of your left leg. Any part of the side or your tight is fine or close to your pubic bone. Do the same with your left leg and bring the soles of your feet together, keep your back straight and take 5-6 breaths. Relax.

Caution:
As with any workout, please ask your doctor if you have any health concerns before starting any of these exercises.

Artic cold has arrived, good time to have a home yoga practice!

Home yoga practice

In Central Texas we are expecting a cold night, probable in the low 17 F and wind at 15 to 25 mph, brrr!

Of course compare with the folks up north this is not much. If it gets too hard on you, remember that soon we will be in the 100's F.

It is what it is and we should enjoy what comes into our way.

This week has been an interesting one for Yoga in the news. CNN started with the question " Is Yoga a Cult?" after having an interview with a lady suing one of the member of Dahn Yoga for harassment. Yesterday Dr. OZ talked about alternative healing therapies and included Yoga with a more positive outlook than the CNN's piece.

Today Martha Stewart is doing Yoga. The episode was shot this week in front of an audience of 51 yogis, who practiced yoga for the entire hour-long taping. There was a "warrior" workout with Trudie Styler, and an overview of three different styles of yoga: Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Vinyasa.

All that is great as we need to use the energy of the new year to avoid the toll that the winter can take on the body.

We as yoga practitioners/ teachers should be aware of them and encourage our students to start or keep their home practice. For instance, you could think that hip and bone fractures have nothing to do with winter. Well, a 10 year long study in New York City showed that "fractures were highest in winter, specially in the coldest and windiest days." reported USA today last December. Not only the icy conditions can be to blame, it is winter inactivity! said Dr. Zuckerman one of the orthopedic surgeon who helped conduct the study and president of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. "Winter inactivity weakens muscles, making falls more likely, indoors and outdoors. Also, low vitamin D levels, lined with weak muscles and brittle bones, might also play an important role in fractures" Dr. Zuckerman concluded.

As you can imagine, a good home yoga practice (if going out is not an option) can be very beneficial for bones and muscles. You don't need a long hard practice, 20 minutes a day really make a difference in your practice.

A sustained practice will improve your range of motion, flexibility, strength and most importantly it will develop body and mind awareness. This is also an opportunity to take a break and refresh your energies during the day.
You can choose from a variety of poses. Our next blog we will recommend a sequence.
For now flexing of the spine in different directions, opening the hips, arm's strengthening poses, and of course the relaxation pose (savasana) will give you a round sequence.
Find a place at home free from distractions on a wooden or low carpeted floor. Make the room comfortable and play some classical music or Nature's sounds, otherwise silence works just fine.

As for props having a mat, chair maybe blocks and a strap will help you deepen your practice.
Videos are OK as long as they are right for you. I have seen videos labeled as beginners that are not suitable for someone that is starting a yoga practice. Go to your public library and try some of them.
There are also websites and books that are very helpful. To mentioned some visit yoga journal (www.yogajournal.com) Yoga + Joyful Living Magazine (www.himalayaninstitute.org/yogaplus)

As for books it all depends on the style of yoga that you are practicing. Ask your regular teacher about some books that can support your home practice.

A question some students have asked me is "If I do all that, I don't need to go to a studio again!" Going to a class will always be on your benefit as it is hard to see our bodies when we are practicing. A good teacher should help you to go deeper into the poses and understand where the imbalances are in your body. It is always a good idea to have a good guide.

In following blogs we will feature some sequences for you to practice.

Warm yourself up and enjoy!

Photos courtesy of Dick D./ The Martha Stewart Show

Happy 2010, visit our January issue!

We are starting a new year, hurray!

At the same time we are pleased to offer to the Yoga Community our January issue in this starting 2010. We are starting the year with great content and new writers contributing to Yoga Sanga. They are passionate about yoga and the spiritual path and eager to share their views and experiences with our readers.

Some of the articles that you will find are: In the Karma Yoga recognition section we praise Roslyn Earle from Houston for her amazing job in Yoga for peace, you will find information about Eco-friendly mats. Don't miss the fascinating article about Esther Vexler, a 92 year old practitioner and yoga teacher in San Antonio. Already forgetting your new year's resolutions? check Leila's article to understand why do we fail to follow them through. Have you ever been in a Sweat Lodge? learn more about this ancient practice with Whitney Whiteman. To visit us follow www.yogasanga.net

Don't miss our multimedia section with an interview with Dr. Miller on iRest and a great book on the intermediate series of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga by Gregor Maehle. And much more!

Keep sending us your special activities to post them in our calendar. Also review our new prices to make advertising with us more affordable.

May all your dreams and goals come true during this 2010 and years to come,

May your spirit be filled with the light that is in and around you,

May laughter, and the simple things in life lift your spirit,

And, may you find the joy of living even under challenging times.

With deep respect and appreciation,

Rocio Morales