Hip flexors

I have been on the receiving end, recently, of an email chain about moving from Downward Facing Dog into a low lunge. Specifically, how hard it is for a good number of folks to get their foot to their hands in one fluid step. There was talk of dropping onto the knees first to step the foot forward, grabbing the foot with one hand and using arm strength, and first extending the leg to the sky to get some momentum going. There seemed to be a generally agreement that the number one reason it is so difficult to get the foot in between the hands is weakness in the hip flexors (specifically in the iliopsoas).

Every part of the "modern" Western lifestyle seems to weaken this muscle group. Instead of walking to the store, we have to drive there. Instead of working on our feet, we sit. So many things send messages to our body that the iliopsoas has no evolutionary reason to extend and lengthen, and so it shortens. Pretty quickly, too. Even after only two weeks of lots of bus rides in the name of travel, lunges make me see stars (No, I didn't practice any hatha yoga. Zip).

Lots of my students use the "pick up your foot and move it" method in my classes. Of course, the more they practice, that can change. Here, I'm soliciting ways to help strengthen the hip flexors and iliopsoas. Postures, positions, warm-ups (known in Kripalu as pratapana). I'll bring it to the good people of Cornell University, and together we shall move seamlessly into lunge.

While I wait patiently for any hints, tips, suggestions, here's a sequence that uses some of the strenghteners I could dream up.

1. Begin with 15-20 minutes of warm up
2. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog)
3. Take legs into a wide legged Downward Dog
4. Shift weight forward into plank
5. Wide legged side plank
6. Wide legged plank
7. Wide legged side plank on other side
8. Push back to Downward Dog
9. Lift right leg 
10. Bring right leg into chest at top of push-up ("jack knife")
11. Exhale 3-legged Downward Dog
12. Moved between steps 10-11 for 6 cycles of breath
13. Hold jack-knife for one breath
14. Low lunge
15. High lunge
16. Straighten and bend front leg (hands either in air or on either side of front foot). Repeat 6x
17. Vinyasa
18. Jump through to seated
19. Urdhva Navasana (Upward Facing Boat Boat). Hold for 5 cycles of breath.
20. Jump or step back to Downward Dog
21. Repeat steps 2-20 on other side
22. Cool down, or continue practice

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Long time, no see

This blogging vacation marks the longest in my Joy tenure. And, just like the pure happiness I felt upon arriving back home and unlocking the doors to my apartment, it's nice to be back home in bloglandia. It's nice to sit here and pretend no one is watching, but being pleasantly surprised when they are. 

In my absence, Chris and I traveled to Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala. We missed a few snow storms and caught one on our way back in. The brief respite made me glad for the snow again, although not for driving/biking in it. I know it's not the case for everyone, but put me in the boat of: "the best part of vacation is coming back home. "

While away, I caught up on my New Yorker magazines, and read an article about the Dalai Lama. Here's something I didn't know, and would definitely have lost a bet on: the DL is a carnivore! As described in the article, the DL eats meat for health reasons. When he tried to be a vegetarian, he suffered. As we all know, the DL and suffering... well, they are even more contradictory than the DL and meat. Also, when he was a young DL, he used to get nervous before long events he was required at because he was worried he would have to use the bathroom. Hey! That's just like me on long Guatemalan bus rides!

A message I know, but forget like it's my job, it's to put no one on a pedestal. Even the DL. So it's nice to come along articles like this every once and awhile which remind me that even the DL gets scared that he's going to pee his pants. And about the meat... I'm a veggie and going to stay one. The message for me there is to stay clear of definitive and dogma. Your path will change even while you think you're walking on it. Our bodies are between 50-60% water (according to Wikipedia) and I ought to start acting more like it. Accept the constant shifts and movements, fluid like the water that we are, and (as all good yogis know) go with the flow. 

Thanks, DL. 

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Guest Post: Yoga for Pregnancy

Awhile back, Robin Merrill graced our pages with a poem, Hymn to Full. She´s back again today with a post on Yoga for Pregnancy. Robin is currently blogging at uBaby.com,  a new site that is trying to build a community for pregnant women and new moms, especially those who blog (her description). Without further ado, some sweet baby-talk. 

Yoga during Pregnancy

I had dabbled in yoga before I ever got pregnant, and though I enjoyed it, I didn’t really create space in my life for it.

Then, when I got pregnant, my body craved yoga. I would get restless and just feel like I needed the warrior pose, or I would die! In my experiences, yoga and pregnancy just seemed to go together, you know, like honey and asparagus – what, that didn’t happen to you during pregnancy?

In fact, the popular “Lamaze breathing” is based on yoga. Rumor has it that the good Dr. Lamaze learned this famous laboring strategy from his wife!

Maybe this spiritual and physical fit between yoga and pregnancy explains why prenatal yoga classes have become so fashionable. Nowadays, when I ask one of my pregnant girlfriends to hang out, she nearly always says, “Can’t, I’ve got yoga class.” (Occasionally, she says, “Can’t, I have to go to bed now.”)

In today’s culture, it can be difficult to have a healthy and happy pregnancy. Many women are not active enough when they first get pregnant, and pregnancy adds just enough exhaustion to their lives to prevent them from adding more physical activity. Yoga can help correct this deficit, because it helps with relaxation and inner peace. Yoga also helps us learn how to, and remember to breathe, something that is not always easy when a woman is trying to balance two or more jobs with a baby balanced on her bladder.

Yoga also improves strength and flexibility, and as such, will make labor and delivery easier. (Not easy, but easier.) Yoga during pregnancy helps keep a woman’s blood pressure healthy, and helps prevent excess weight gain. It is even believed to help with morning sickness.

If you are new to yoga, or haven’t tried it yet, try to find a class with an experienced instructor who makes you feel comfortable. A prenatal class is best because a prenatal instructor won’t recommend poses for you that are uncomfortable for a pregnant woman. If you can’t find a prenatal class in your area or if you can’t fit those that you do find into your schedule, be sure to tell your instructor that you are pregnant, even if you are only a few months along. If you can’t get to a class, there are several prenatal yoga videos available.

Here are some basic safety tips:

• After the first trimester, limit or avoid doing poses on your back because it might reduce your blood flow to baby.
• Slow and steady! Don’t force anything. Remember that the hormone relaxin is coursing through your body right now, so your body might be more vulnerable to strains and sprains.
• When you get close to the end of your pregnancy, keep a chair or wall nearby for standing poses. This might not apply to everybody, but my center of balance completely disappeared when I was about 8 months along, and I needed a chair to steady myself. (I’ve never been terribly graceful!)
• As when practicing yoga during any phase of life, listen closely to your body, and don’t do anything that doesn’t “feel” right.
• Remember to breathe.
• Always consult with your physician before beginning (or continuing with) any physical regimen.

 

This post was brought to you by uBaby, a new website created to help every new mom enjoy an active and healthy pregnancy. uBaby is a community of mothers and moms-to-be, and bloggers and writers are invited to register on the site and share their own expertise and experiences.

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Yoga like Budget Airlines

Back in the day, I remember when yoga mats were provided to all students and no one charged. Actually, at the first studio I went to (way back in the 90s), I received a tank top with my first class pass purchase. I still have that tank top, but see more and more the pushing of "extras" at yoga studios. Last night, I went to a class with a friend I was visiting outside of Boston. As I paid for the class ($17, ouch), the receptionist asked, "Will you be needing water, towel, or a mat?"It reminded me of McDonald's: "Would you like to Supersize that?"

I don't run a studio. It's not for me. So maybe I don't understand the need to charge for everything. The truth is, though, is that studios never used to charge for what I consider a basic need of yoga classes: mats and, sometimes, towels. To me, it seems like paying for a gym pass and then needing to pay extra for each type of equipment that you use. When did yoga studio owners shift to not providing everything needed to do yoga? And why?

It reminds me of Spirit Airlines, who I will be flying with on Friday (to Mexico for two weeks). Spirit is a super-budget airlines. This means that they charge $3 for beverages on the plane, make you pay for a new ticket if you miss your flight (or are just checking in late), and-- the kicker-- pay for carry on luggage. In fact, carry on luggage is more expensive then checked luggage.

There's a parallel between the airlines the studios. No one is forcing me to go to studios that, as I see it, charge for things that should be included. No one is forcing me to fly with an airline that has been fined mondo bucks by the Better Business Bureau for horrific customer service. But I wanted to go with my friend to her home studio and Spirit had the schedule that worked to go to Mexico. So why couldn't they just charge more, and therefore be more upfront about the costs that you end up paying anyway?

After a semi-whine session, a sequence is most certainly in order:

1. Begin in Balasana (Child's Pose)
2. Roll your body through to Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)
3. Roll back to Child's, arching your back through Cat Pose on the way
4. Flow between to poses, rolling forward and back
5. Table pose
6. Thread the needle, repeat on other side
7. Table
8. Downward Facing Dog Pose
9. Surya Namaskar A (Sun Salutation A), repeat 4x
10. Surya Namaskar B (Sun Salutation B), repeat 4x
11. Vinyasa to Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I)
12. Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II)
13. Utthita Parsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle)
14. Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II)
15. Parivrtta Virabhadrasana (Revolved Warrior Pose)
16. Vinyasa to repeat steps 11-15 on other side
17. Vinyasa to Samasthiti
18. Prasarita Padottanasana I (Standing Forward Fold)
19. Prasarita Padottanasana II
20. Prasarita Padottanasana III Note: See Dharma Mittra link for different between poses
21. Vinyasa to seated
22. Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Fold)
23. Purvottanasana (Reverse Plank Pose)
24. Vinyasa to seated
25. Janu Sirsasana (Head to Knee Pose). Repeat other side
26. Jump back and vinyasa to Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog)
27. Inhale and come forward to Plank Pose
28. Chaturanga Dandasana (Four Limbed Staff)
29. Slowly lower to stomach
30. Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)
31. Slowly raise to Plank
32. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward Facing Dog Pose)
33. Adho Mukha Svanasana
34. Jump through to seated
35. Marichyasana (Marichi's Twist). Repeat other side
36. Repeat steps 26-29
37. Dhanurasana (Bow Pose)
38. Repeat steps 31-34
39. Ardha Virasana (Half Hero Pose). Fold forward over outstretched leg, bent knee out at 90 degree angle. Repeat other side
40. Repeat steps 26-34
41. Ardha Bhekasana (Half Frog Pose). Repeat other side
42. Bhekasana (Frog Pose)
43. Garbasana (Child's Pose)
44. Cat/cow spine in table
45. Thread the needle in table for twist and back stretch. Repeat other side.
46. Utthita Shisonasana (Puppy Pose)
47. Come onto back, rolling along spine
48. Supta Matsyendrasana (Reclined Twist). Repeat other side
49. Savasana

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