It’s not very often that pictures are published of stiff yoga teachers- we just don’t look as photogenic as the really bendy ones!  But that doesn’t mean we aren’t achieving as much personally.

Some contortionists are born with conditions that give them extra supple ligaments.    Some gymnasts train to stretch theirs to extremes.   Neither would be considered a spiritual practise- they confine themselves to the physical.

In Yoga we understand the body is our vessel: we have to therefore assist its health.

But we try to balance the body -not push it to extremes that could ultimately cause harm.  So when I identify a weakness in a student I try to determine if it is a result of stiffness in the body or over-flexibility.  I teach a lot of very bendy people in pain as a result of over working certain muscles in the body.

So trying to strengthen an area could actually mean learning to gradually reduce over-flexibility!

It’s a great pose for waking up the body- this especially happens around the pelvis.

We are trying to get the pelvis into an upright position- stopping it from dropping forwards.

If the pelvis becomes diagonal then our lower back starts to over-arch which can cause pain.  Instead this pose can help us strengthen our lower back and challenge us to control our posture.

So this week I’ll teach you how to do that, and more, in this pose- I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Let’s take a simple example like lying down in Savasana (corpse pose) at the end of a class.  In one class I’ve been told I ‘must’ have a folded blanket under my head.  In another I’ve been told I don’t need one.  I can see why this could be seen as confusing for students.  In my case, I think it depended on the asanas I had just done.  When my chest was more open my head didn’t tilt back so much so less was needed under my head.  But I didn’t think that one teacher was ‘right’ and the other one was ‘wrong’.  Sometimes the teacher wants us to feel a different effect, but may not spell it out.   As a teacher I may learn something that has a huge impact on my own progress, and be eager to pass that information on.   I will therefore emphasise a way of doing something differently from someone who has not felt that effect.  We need to use our intelligence as students to try both approaches – to feel the interesting differences.  I could compare it to learning a musical instrument- two teachers may teach you to play the same piece of music but with different techniques.  The end result is a subtle difference but as we become more proficient we make it our own.  So our minds and our bodies interpret the different instructions we are given in our own ways.

For many of us we start like this woman in red- feet wide, legs stretching up and hands on a bit of height to make it easier for us.  It’s a great way to stay in the pose – maybe for two or three minutes- the key is to feel the feet spreading and the energy in your legs is being drawn up into your hips.  You can even do this with your arms stretching forwards to a chair.
The second stage is trying to extend the trunk in two directions like this woman in purple- she has two helpers- but you get the idea!

If you practice this every day you will soon be able to take the hands to the floor and extend like this.  In my opinion it is a much more useful asana than ‘downward dog’ (Adho Mukha Svanasana) for waking up the entire body.

I have given out homework sheets to many of my students with many poses on to try over the holidays…but I am a realist…so if you only have time to do one pose over the break then this is the pose to do!

The end result we are aiming for is like this woman in green- head down and hands back.

Notice that her legs are upright- not leaning forwards or backwards- and her back is slightly rounded.  There is weight in her head, hands and feet.  We can put blocks under the crown of our head if we can’t quite reach.  This pose has the widest leg position of any Yoga  standing pose- but that does not mean that you should take your feet too wide!  You must feel that you are fully in control of your legs at all times- if you go too wide the feet can feel like they might slip away.  A great way to practice this pose is to find a hallway the right width so you can have the outer edge of both feet supported before you go forwards- if your hallway is too wide you can shorten it using Yoga blocks up against the walls.

Let me know how you get on!

We’ve all heard people talk about how Yoga has changed their lives- but they find it hard to explain exactly how, so I thought, at risk of sounding silly, I would try:

So here’s a list of the changes I noticed in myself- some may sound a bit strange at first- and, of course, they could be very different for you:

1. When I started practising once a week I noticed my various aches and pains went away.

2. When I started practising twice a week I noticed my sleep improved.

3. When I started practising three times a week I no longer felt the need to smoke.

4. When I started practising four times a week I felt calmer and less stressed.

5. When I started practising five times a week I could concentrate more on everyday tasks.

6. When I started practising six times a week I started to think that maybe I wasn’t an atheist after all.

7. When I started practising seven times a week I felt I had a connection from within myself to the entire universe.

The more I practice the more I realise how important it is that I try and keep my chest as open as possible.  Does that sound obvious?  An open chest allows us to breathe fully, which brings many health benefits.  It can really help our energy levels and boost our immune system (see my previous blog on the thymus gland).  Deep breathing stimulates the Parasympathetic nervous system and this causes the body to relax.  When the body is relaxed it lets go of muscle tension.  Then we can work more deeply both in the asanas and in pranayama.

So why have I not always been opening my chest as fully as I am able?  Well, for example,  in some twists my emphasis may have been to try and catch my hands behind my back, even though I could feel it was collapsing one side of my chest.   Of course there are a few poses like Malasana (the garland) where the chest will not be fully expanded.  But now I feel it is my priority to be able to breathe properly – and that means having an open chest.  Our lungs can lose their elasticity if we do not exercise them fully.  This brings about fatigue and other health problems.

I have felt over the decades of Yoga my chest opening more and more and I have been taught ways to encourage this.  Now I teach this to my students I can see the benefits in their practice and day to day life too.

wondering how to get better at yoga?

When I listen to music it most definitely has the opposite effect.  If I try to practice Asana (Yoga poses) or Pranayama (Yoga breathing) when music is playing then my mind is not focussed on my body or my breath, but on the music. One of the most common practices to help achieve the withdrawal of the senses is Pranayama.   We withdraw from the external and bring our focus inwards towards our breath, as connection with the external senses and stimuli are  supposed to be  gradually severed.  But doesn’t music count as a sensory pleasure? And Yoga is meant to wean us from the sensory pleasures.

You might not know it, but in many North American Yoga studios it has become the norm for students to practice to a special ‘yoga playlist’.  And this is gradually being picked up on in Europe as it is often very popular with students.  We all love music, don’t we?  And it can really help create an ‘atmosphere’ in a room.  But our Yoga practice is not like a party.  So, I hope that explains why I prefer to keep my music separate from my Yoga practice.

Nowadays only fully certified Iyengar Yoga teachers are allowed to apply to go to the RMIYI in Pune, India. There is a waiting list of around two years, and teachers attend for a whole month. I went there myself in June 2010. Even then, not all teachers are allowed to watch the medical or therapy classes for students with serious health problems. Even fewer are allowed to assist. This clip gives a little taster of what it’s like there- a rare chance to glimpse behind the scenes. It shows Geeta Iyengar (Mr Iyengar’s daughter, who is about 70 years old) teaching. Geeta may seem to be almost shouting at a teacher at one point, but don’t worry, we understand it’s really just the Iyengar family’s efficient way of getting their teachings across!