Real Yoga Stories: Yoga and Hiking

The following post is from one of my long-time yoga clients, Joe Potter.  On our summer trip to Estes Park, we had an opportunity to visit with Joe during his preparations for Long’s Peak. Take a look at his story:

I’ve been practicing yoga for about 5 years. I was 60 years old this year and my ambition was to climb Long’s Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. I hiked 83 miles in 10 hikes in the Park over a 3 week span this summer culminating in my successfully reaching the summit of Long’s.

I know my yoga practice helped me in several ways on my most challenging hikes. The terrain on my three hardest hikes, including Long’s, included large boulders. Keeping my balance was a challenge. I’ve noticed that even taking a week or two off from my regular weekly yoga can affect my balance. I know my yoga training helped me to keep my balance better as I climbed over large and sometimes unsteady boulders.

There’s one part of the Long’s hike that is called the “trough.” This section of the hike is a non-technical, but vertical climb of 1000 feet. The flexibility of my body, especially the flexibility of my hamstrings and calves were a great aid to me as I spanned the distance from one foothold and handhold to the next one. I was used to stretching that far with strength in our poses.

And finally I know I benefitted from the habit of centering that is such a key part of the yoga practice. Completing Long’s and the 3 other most difficult prepatory hikes were the hardest things I ever physically accomplished in my life. On each of those hikes, our rest stops were so important. And there were times, my body was just saying, no more. There’s no more fuel in the tank. But then I would center myself. I concentrated on my breathing and the present moment, again a technique practiced throughout every yoga class. I was able to touch a reserve of energy and focus that enabled me to take the next steps necessary. Beyond the physical help yoga gave me, this was the greatest benefit in helping me achieve my goal.

Embracing Change: How Yoga Can Help

Change is inevitable, right?  We’re all moving in one direction or another – there’s really no standing still – even if we’d like to think there is.  In our jobs, in relationships, even in our yoga practice this is true.

I learn a lot from my yoga clients regarding how they view change in class. When I introduce new poses or a new way to come into or out of a pose, there are those who are instantly excited – giddy to try something new.  And, there are those who furrow their brow at me suspiciously that the old, familiar poses or the old transitions were just fine… And of course many of us fall somewhere in between those extremes.

Our reaction to change in yoga class may be just a peak at our reactions to bigger changes: moving to a new city, a new job, a change in family roles due to an ailing parent, or just getting older…we all have different reactions and ways of  “dealing with” change.

Yoga can be helpful in the “dealing with”…maybe to the point where it feels more like we’re embracing the change, feeling it fully…vs. dealing with it. Here are some thoughts:

• Yoga teaches us to be present. Often with change, we’re thinking about the way things used to be and perhaps worrying about the future implications of the change that’s about to happen.  In yoga, our intention is on the right now — what do I feel in this pose, how’s my breath, what’s going on right now…we can take this off the yoga mat by checking in with our reaction to the change…how do I feel about it today? What’s happening today (right now) that I must respond to or address?
• Yoga helps us to be more aware. In beginning to settle around what might be a huge change for my life, I’ve become more aware at how I’m interacting with this potential change.  At first, even the mention of it, caused my breathing to become short and my heart to beat faster.  After a few months of reflection, prayer and thought, it feels better…while I’m still not rejoicing over this change, I’m more at peace with it…We’ve developed a mutual respect for each other – my big change and me — and I’m thankful that through my yoga practice I’m able to recognize the progress of this. Yoga teaches us to be aware of how our body is feeling but also aware of our thoughts…when we can observe our thoughts and really take a good look at them, we are better able recognize the ones that keep repeating bad habits or the ones that don’t do us any good….
• Yoga helps us de-stress. Change is stressful…even good change like new babies, new jobs, new relationships. A regular yoga practice helps to calm the nervous system; it lowers cortisol levels and improves/deepens our breathing.  The physicality of yoga helps us get out of our head (the constant re-thinking or mulling about the change) and present in the body with our breath. Coming back to your yoga mat during a difficult period when you feel that everything is in flux can be comforting, soothing and reassuring…that some things still remain.  That you are still you…one breath at a time.

Real Yoga Stories: Staying present in difficult moments

My 103 year old grandmother peacefully left us this past week. My family gathered in a small town in Kansas to honor and remember her, sad to see her go but so thankful that she had such a full and long life. As we went through the rituals of a Christian Catholic memorial: visitation, rosary, funeral mass and gravesite prayers, I found myself drawing on my yoga practice…finding my breath – rushed at first, shallow with tears welling up…and then as my attention turned to the pattern of my breath, it slowed, becoming more steady and strong.  It’s not that I didn’t want to cry or feel — but my main intention was that I wanted to be present.  I wanted to savor every moment of this celebration of my grandmother…laughing as we remembered her quotes (“If you don’t have laughter in your life, you might as well be dead”), and reconnecting with family & friends that we see every week and those we see every 10 years or so…

Yoga has helped me take a step back from the normal way I tend to approach or experience things…A funeral seems sad – we should just get through it, right?  Power through? To me, that’s the wrong approach…yoga teaches us to acknowledge what we’re feeling, thinking, experiencing and release it…let it go…  When we do that we notice new things, we find new ah-ha’s that were there all along but we’re too busy powering through…I drove 3 hours to a funeral to say goodbye to a wonderful lady and came back with much more including a truer perspective of myself.

My grandmother was always smiling – sometimes it looked more like a mischievous grin…especially after she claimed victory in her frequent game of pitch.  (She always won card games – even at 100+) Most of all, she fully enjoyed & experienced life – all the moments of life – not just the happy ones…she lived her life as a loving & dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, friend…She loved Jesus and lived her life in a way that reflected that… I can’t think of a better example for me…she was present in her life.

Real Yoga Stories: Yoga in Life’s Moments

Real Yoga Stories is our new series where I have guest bloggers share their stories of how yoga has impacted their life in some way…

The following post was written by one of my YogaXoga clients Alan Daigneault, an executive, a runner, a writer, a yogi and a great friend.  Enjoy!

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When my father passed away recently after a long illness at a very late age (he was 89) I noticed my yoga practice was serving me in this most difficult time.  When I received the call from my brother far away, I knew it was probably to tell me my father had passed away. Before I picked up the phone, I noticed my breath which at first was shallow and tight.  I stopped and took a deep inhale, filling my belly, then up to my ribs and chest, and then exhaled long and slow. I picked up the phone and learned what I had expected. I was calm as I heard my brother’s voice shaking, emotion welling up in me as he shared what no child wants to share, and no child wants to hear: “Dad just passed away.”  I said, “Ok….” and I sighed, then kept silent, leaving that moment completely alone.

In practicing yoga, I have learned how there is no forcing your body, or life. It is wasted energy and usually results in more pain.  Trying too hard can set you back and distract you from the present. Now was the time I needed to accept with grace the end of a parent who meant so much to my life. In a blessed irony, I was calm in a very difficult time, which is one of the characteristics I remember about my Dad when I was growing up. Not that he did not get upset or very angry sometimes; he did.  But on many other occasions I noticed that when a big crisis hit one of his sons, he met the circumstance with a calm and almost quiet voice. At a time earlier in my own adult life, when I was sharing with him some very bad news on goings on in my own family, and sensing how sad and heartbroken I was after having tried so hard and for so long only to fail, he said very little: “Al, you sure gave it your best shot.” It was just the right thing to say in the moment…affirming, compassionate, and loving.

The week I spent with my own family during the memorial services, everything unfolded with a degree of acceptance and peace I was grateful for. Every part of the trip across the country to my hometown and while I was there offered regular opportunities to take notice of the wonderful memories of the years I had with my father. All of this because, in my own life journey, I have been granted an opportunity through yoga to appreciate more deeply, breathe more fully, and feel gratitude even in the hardest times. Still, after I returned from my trip to say “safe journey” to my father, emotions still rise in me that seem impossible to hold. But I let it rise and fall with my breath and feel as fully as possible all that is inside.

My yoga practice, with still so much to learn in the years to come, teaches me daily the gift of taking small steps, meeting resistance with gentleness, saying little and instead  focusing the heart and mind on what is right here in front of me and doing what I can…as best I can.  That is what the poses are all about, and that is all there is in most any situation life throws at us.  Whenever I work on the yoga mat, I reconnect with this basic principle and it regenerates my awareness right into the activities of each day. At work, at play, in relationships, and when walking or running on the trails near where I live, breathing into the present moment and trying to keep my heart open allows peace to settle in where frustration and pain want to take hold.

Yoga has not made life easier or prevented hardships. Life, of course, continues to offer difficulties as it will always do.  But with the emotional grounding and physical health yoga has given me thus far, I feel only hope and thankfulness for being able to appreciate all that is good, even amidst great challenges.  I know I am not there yet…and never will be “there.”  And that is one of the great lessons yoga teaches.  While there may be a start to one’s yoga practice, there is no end to the learning and growth that can be achieved over time.  To this I recommit myself each and every time I find myself on the yoga mat, and every other moment I choose to notice what life is offering me now, during each and every breath.

Real Yoga Stories: Yoga & Running

Real Yoga Stories is our new series where I have guest bloggers share their stories of how yoga has impacted their life in some way…

The following post was written by Pat Perry, running, wellness and now yoga enthusiast.  See more from Pat at his blog: www.energycreatesenergy.blogspot.com

Yoga and Running

You might say I’m a trail running evangelist.  I have helped dozens train and finish a full trail marathon.  I have helped a few finish 50-milers.  Two are really close to attempting the 100 mile distance!  I’m also a wellness and nutrition evangelist but that’s another story.  When I am recruiting new trail runners, I often hear “I can’t run because I have bad knees”.    It is almost always untrue.  Many have decent knees but bad stride and bad shoes.  Pavement and sidewalks certainly don’t help the situation.

Stride, shoes and sidewalks aside, I firmly believe running can cause knee pain that can be avoided via yoga.  In simple terms, running tends to overdevelop some of the big muscles. These big muscles overpower the less developed, smaller, muscles in a classic tug-of-war battle held at the knee joint.  This is especially true for people previously inactive or people who do too much too fast.  When this tug-of-war takes place, the alignment in the knee is altered.  This is ok if it is done slowly.  If not, it can cause inflammation.  More running, more big tight muscles, more inflammation.  Vicious cycle.  So it’s not the knee, the knee just gets caught in the middle and feels the pain.

The stretching we do in Yoga helps these big muscles.  The body is like a sling.  Pull in one place and you feel it in another.  Running can take it out of balance.  Yoga brings it back.  The hamstrings, hips, calves, the I.T. band are all stretched, loosened and elongated so to loosen their hold on the poor knee.  I believe Heidi Valenzuela (& YogaXoga) just may have helped add twenty plus years to my running career.

If you’d like to share your real yoga story, email me at info@yogaxoga.com.

Real Yoga Stories: Claude and Chair Yoga

This weekend, I had the opportunity to introduce 80-something Claude to the benefits of yoga. Claude had a stroke awhile back that affected his entire right side. While he had regained his ability to walk and function, he still had limited functionality in his right hand and arm and was managing to work around his right arm.
We did most of Claude’s yoga class seated on the edge of a straight back chair. By the end of class, Claude was marveling about feeling “tingles” in his right forearm and hand and being able to move his fingers and hand much more than before. Here are some of the stretches I put together for Claude’s daily routine. These would also be good for anyone with arthritis in their hands and wrists, or for someone not wanting to get down on the floor for yoga — but looking for some movement and stretching while seated.  These stretches take just about 20 minutes to do, and can be repeated throughout the day.

Mountain Pose – start seating tall at the edge of a chair.  Close your eyes and begin to breathe slowly, in and out through the nose, with lips sealed.  Draw your shoulders down from your ears and back.  Practice breathing from your belly — where your chest stays still and the breath moves from your belly.  Continue for 4-6 breaths.

Arm Lifts - Inhale and lift your arms overhead, exhale and release back to your side.  Continue to move with your breath.  Practice your lifts with your arms out to your sides, and then in front of you.  Try 8-10 lifts each way.  Rest and breathe.

Side Stretches – Lift your R arm overhead (inhaling) and lower down (exhaling), repeat on the L side….continue to move with your breath – 6 stretches on each side…

Cat and Cow – Inhale and gently lift your chest and sternum, exhale to round the back and draw your chin toward your chest. Continue 4-6 times each way.

Open and Close Fists – Make fists with your hands and release stretching your fingers open wide. Continue for 8-10 breaths.

Wrist Circles -Gently rotate your wrists in one direction for 4-6 breaths and reverse.

Forearm Massages – With your right hand, massage your left forearm from the elbow to the wrist. Continue for 4-6 breaths and switch sides.

Seated Twist – Sitting tall, cross your right hand over to the outside of your left thigh. Place your left hand slightly behind you on the chair.  Inhale and gently twist toward the left side. Hold for 4-6 breaths, and switch sides.

Forward Fold – Gently fold your upper body to rest over your legs. Allow your head, neck and arms to dangle toward the floor. Breathe slowly and steadily. When you’re ready, slowly ease back to a seated position.

Slowing Down Your Practice

It’s that time of year – traffic picks up, the to-do list grows exponentially and our stress meter skyrockets.  For those of you that do still make time for yourself and make it to yoga class, it can feel like one more thing scratched off the list. Great, I did my yoga – now on to the rest of the crazyness.

This week, I began changing some classes up a bit.  I’m not quite 100% from my bout with the crud (so this was partly selfish), but mostly I just thought we should try to slow down.  So, in class, we did each movement, each flow at half of our normal pace.

For Full Flows:

We stepped back into a low lunge and held the pose, feeling the stretch in the hip flexors before moving to Downward Dog.  From Downward we shifted over to Plank and held for a couple of breaths, lifting in between the shoulder blades and engaging our core and legs.  For our push-up, we shifted forward and lowered down slowly, pausing before pressing through to Upward Dog (you can do the on-your-knees version too).  We stayed lifted out of the low back, shoulders down in Up Dog before pressing back to Down Dog.  Finally, we swung our leg through to our low lunge, back to our Forward Fold and Mountain Pose (pausing and holding each pose).  We did 4 Full Flows in the time it normally takes us to do 8.

With my more gentle yoga classes, we did the same thing with poses like Cat & Cow, Spinal Balance, Sunflowers — it doesn’t have to be a flow of poses — it’s really more about slowing down the movement — whatever it is.

By slowing down, it allows us to focus more inwardly on what we’re feeling, how the body moves through each distinct movement. When we take momentum out of it and the familiar pace of how we always practice, we’re building more strength in the body and maintaining a level of awareness that is very beneficial for our well-being, not to mention keeping us safe by being mindful in our practice.

Especially this time of year — we should look for some activity — a yoga class, a good book, a leisurely walk — that can be slow, unhurried, unfrazzled…and just enjoyed for what it is… a break from the hustle of the holidays…

Christian Yoga – An Introduction

I teach two types of yoga – Demystified Yoga(TM) and Christian Yoga. When I first began teaching yoga and wanting to offer these two complementary, yet different classes, I worried that this would be confusing to my clients and potential clients.   Will they think I’m duplicitous in my teaching?  A very wise friend offered me this piece of advice: If you genuinely present who you are, then the right people will come to you (or something like that – it sounded more Yoda-like than what I’m recalling here.)

There is actually a growing movement of other folks like me who are Christians and also greatly appreciate the many benefits yoga offers.  To learn more, check out www.christianspracticingyoga.com or google “Christian Yoga” to see other offerings.  Some think these two things – Christianity and Yoga –  cannot co-exist, but I’m hoping to share some thoughts that might offer an alternative view.

First, I can only speak to my own philosophies and beliefs, and comment on the Christian Yoga classes I teach and have taken. There are many out there – and I’m sure the variety of class format, doctrine and teachers are as different as the many traditional yoga styles offered today.

I retain the aspects of Yoga that are so beneficial to our health and well-being: the physical poses/exercises and the breathing & concentration exercises and I leave out everything else “Yoga”.  The mystical images, mythological gods and goddesses, sanskrit pose names, chanting in Sanskrit – all gone.  And instead our focus is on Christ.  Rather than looking inward to find a power or enlightenment within ourselves, we look inward to be still, and know that He is God (Ps. 46:10).  We don’t clear our mind to empty – but we attempt to let go of worries, preoccupations, negative, destructive thoughts that block our connection, our intimacy with God.

Christian Yoga is just one tool to worship and draw near to God – there are many: labyrinth walks, bible studies, corporate worship, prayer time.  Once our body is relaxed from the gentle movement of the poses, we’re able to be still and relaxed – and allow God to work in us – instead of our constant striving, doing, thinking.  Sometimes it’s just a matter of allowing ourselves to get out of the way. Just being in silent stillness and letting go.

In a typical Christian Yoga class, we breathe, move and stretch.  Each week, I read about 6 scripture verses interwoven throughout the class based on a particular theme.  Hope, Waiting on God, Love, Perseverance are examples of themes. At the end of class, during Relaxation Time, I read a longer passage and invite participants to reflect on the verses read and what it means to them that day, that moment.  Or, sometimes I read a brief verse several times and invite the class to meditate on the words, and focus their hearts and minds on God.

If you have questions about Christian Yoga or would like to tell us about a Christian Yoga class you’ve experienced/enjoyed in your area, leave us a line.

Yoga Stories for Kids

I just wrapped up my six week kids yoga session last week, and thought I would share some ideas for all the parents out there needing constructive, active things to do with their kiddos over the holidays.  My class consisted of 3-6 year olds, but these would be good for older kids as well.  [This also assumes that the parent or adult is already familiar with basic yoga poses.]

Poses with sound effects

As you know, many poses in yoga are named after animals or nature. Why not add sound effects to the pose? Moo like a cow, meow like a cat, roar like a lion and don’t forget be quiet as a mouse — these are great fun and keep your kiddo’s attention and focus.

Yoga Story Time

Once you and your child have a general understanding of the poses, you can create storytime. Tell a story using yoga poses throughout the story.  When your child hears the pose name, they come into the pose.  An example beginning might be:

A little boy was walking through the forest and saw a big, tall Tree.  (Tree Pose)

Don’t worry — you don’t need to be a professional storyteller — just have a general idea of the poses you and your child both know, and let your creativity go from there. After a few times, ask your child to help you with the story and eventually switch places and let them tell the story.

Relaxation Time?

The most asked question I get when I mention that I teach kids yoga, is whether they sit still at the end for Relaxation.  And the answer is yes, they do.  The key is to start small and make sure the yoga class has been pretty active prior to relaxing at the end.  Start with just a minute or two — and give your child/children options — lying on their back, or side or sitting tall.  Let them know the boundaries — this is a quiet time, but allow them to find their comfortable position.  Give them options on what to think about — focusing on their breath might be too difficult. But, they could imagine they’re in their favorite room of their house, or on their favorite vacation, etc.

 Yoga has so many benefits for all of us — including kids. It helps their breathing, muscle tone and fitness. It helps their concentration, focus and ability to handle stress.  What a great thing to do together…

Unexpected Lessons from Kids Yoga

Yesterday I started a new yoga session with kids, ages 3-6.  I had been preparing all month – reading books on how to incorporate yoga poses into games, new poses with sound effects and other ways to keep my young clients’ attention.  As I’ve mentioned, I’m the proud mom to a 20 lb. furry girl - no human kids – so this was unknown territory for me.

When our 45 minutes for class arrived, it actually went pretty smoothly…Tree Pose and Happy Baby were big hits.  As we were working on Cradle the Baby, a seated hip opener, and discussing how sometimes babies need to be cradled & soothed if they’re crying, one 3 year old participant remarked that his baby was made of butter. I’m not sure what that means exactly, but the comment brought smiles all around, and extended to my later class when I recounted the story. 

To be a kid – just enjoying the moment. Moving, playing, using your imagination – not at all concerned about what you’re going to make for dinner later, or whether the person on the mat next to you has better form, legs, arms (you fill in the blank).  I look forward to learning lots from my young, but wise clients.

I left the class feeling like I had a good cardio workout (who needs a treadmill with kids yoga?). I spent the rest of the day feeling refreshed, energized and inspired to approach my other classes, as well as my day with a little more wonder, a little more fun.