Yoga at Home for Absolute Beginners!

Simple Savvy Steps to Yoga Success: A Key Advantage of Home Practice

About a year ago I was riding the metro home one afternoon when I overheard a two men engaged in a conversation a few seats away.  The one man was talking about his workout schedule at his gym.  I can't remember what time of day he went to exercise, but it was a time when lots of other people had the same idea!

He complained how some people monopolized some of the equipment preventing others from getting their workout or at least delaying them from doing so.  Granted, he was not talking about a yoga class but he went on for a few minutes bemoaning the fact of what a pain it is to vie for spot on a machine!  As I heard this, I immediately appreciated why I love my home yoga practice (along with my aerobics routine on my mini-trampoline).  I never have to vie for a spot - my home "studio" is open 24/7, although mornings are my preferred time.

Even if you take a yoga class and there are many good ones out there, you may still have to "vie" for a spot close to the instructor so you can easily follow along with him or her.  That means getting there a bit early which may not always be feasible.  Also, if the class if popular, not only may you have to vie for a spot, but your spot/space make likely be only a few inches from someone else's spot.  So, different strokes for different folks, but having a home yoga practice offers that key advantage of not having to vie for a space on the floor or a spot on a piece of equipment!

Laura's thought for the day:"Home is not only where your heart is, but where your 24/7 yoga studio can be as well."

Simple Savvy Steps to Yoga Success: Yoga Can Make You Feel This Good!

What a gorgeous day we have today in the Washington, DC area!  The photo above shows how I feel today and most days. No - that's not me!  Wish it were - but, not quite!  However, what the photo shows - a woman basking in the glory of a beautiful, sunny day out in the woods,  actually expresses the good vibes I actually feel even when the weather is not so gorgeous because of my daily practice of gentle hatha yoga!

No exaggeration!  Just  remember a particular time when you felt serene and also noticed your body, mind, and spirit felt unified and that every single cell, muscle, nerve, and every fiber or your body was just humming with health, vitality, and energy...

If you cannot remember such a time, then just imagine it! Bask in this feeling.  I can almost guarantee that a daily practice of gentle hatha yoga can contribute to your ability to achieving a healthy lifestyle in which you can feel this good if not all, at least most of the time!   Well, excuse me as I go off to touch down on my yoga mat with some gentle hatha yoga poses right now!

Laura's thought for the Day:~"Remember or imagine a time when you felt at your absolute peak.  That's what a daily dose of gentle hatha yoga can help you feel!" 

Simple Savvy Steps to Yoga Success: Thoughts on Yoga Mats - Part 2

 A few days ago, I visited my mother and stayed overnight at her house.  I didn't bring a yoga mat (I own three) because I recalled she had an exercise mat tucked away underneath my childhood bed.  After using that exercise mat which was not designed for yoga but for other types of stetches and perhaps calisthentics, I definitely realized you actually do need a yoga mat for your yoga practice. My mother's mat is made of urethane foam and while it provides cushioning, it doesn't help you avoid slipping and sliding when you do certain poses!

Fortunately, nowadays, outfitting your home studio with the right type of yoga mat is very easy.  The myriad types of yoga mats of all colors and designs and materials that you can choose from is almost dizzying. All you have to do is flip through magazines such as Yoga Journal, search online or get catalogs from companies such as Gaiam or Barefoot Yoga. 

Most yoga mats are rectangular (although you can also find some newer circular yoga mats that are 4 to 8 feet in diameter and designed to allower freer and more fluid range of movements - at least for certain poses) and most range in length from 68 inches to 75 inches.  I am a "shortie" and so the standard 68 inch mat suits me fine, but if you are tall, be sure to buy a long enough mat.  Most yoga mats range in thickness from 1/16 inch to 1/4 inch.  The thicker mats clearly provide more cushioning, but also are heavier and bulkier to roll up.

I bought my first yoga mat about 4 years ago when I took a yoga class at my Federal agency.  The young lady in charge of registering class participants bought a bunch of mats for us at Marshalls.  They only cost about $15.  The problem with inexpensive mats, however, is they are the least environmentally friendly because they are usually made from materials such as PVCs (don't know what that stands for) that initially emit unpleasant, toxic odors at least the first few times you use them.  I actually didn't have this problem with the Marshalls mat but I definitely noticed an unpleasant odor with another mat I bought from a catalog.  The next mat I buy will be made from thermal plastic elastomer which is more environmentally friendly and recyclable or I will buy one made from natural latex or organic natural latex.  Yoga mats can range in price from the $15 inexpensive type to over $100 depending on the material.  I think your standard mat will run you between $30-$60.

You can also buy "mini" yoga mats - that is, grippy yoga "toe sox" to put on your feet and yoga "paws" for your hands that reportedly allow you to practice on any surface.  However, in my view, they don't offer cushioning which is most important to me for those supine poses.  In short, although I did yoga for years without a mat, I have learned that a yoga mat enhances your practice and provides your body with protection.  Invest in one for your home studio.

Laura's corny Wisdom of the Day: ~"Your yoga mat is where it's at!"

Simple Savvy Steps to Yoga Success: Thoughts about Yoga Mats - Part 1

 For years, I practiced yoga without a mat. I usually did my poses on a carpet in the living room or my bedroom and I would spread out a towel for the face down poses such as the child pose you see here.  Like DVDs and videos and podcasts, "yoga" mats were not readily available then.  Other mats yes, but not the kind that abound in yoga marketplace now.  The back cover of my first yoga book, Yoga for Beauty and Health, by Eugene Rawls and Eve Diskin,  shows a yoga class of women doing the cobra.  Most are stretched out on beach towels.  Only a handful are using some rather funky looking mats!

In my opinion, a yoga mat serves three key purposes:  1) to avoid slipping as you stretch; 2) to cushion your body parts (especially neck, back, knees, ankles, and wrists) as you hold certain poses; and 3) to provide a clean barrier between your face and the rest of your body when you are holding a pose face down.  Outfitting your home yoga studio or spot with a yoga mat can definitely enhance your practice.  The next posting will provide some pointers on what to consider when you invest in a yoga mat.

Wisdom of the Day:  The yoga mat is a good place to turn when talk therapy and antidepressants aren't enough.  ~Amy Weintraub

Simple Savvy Steps to Yoga Success: It feels so good to stretch...!

 This variation of the "Tree" pose is challenging for the beginner because of the considerable focus and balance required to do it successfully without wobbling from side to side or completing losing your balance.  I do this asana periodically and I took a mini-break today during my lunch and sneaked in a few moment of this pose in the ladies' room when no one was looking!

Yoga definitely teaches the art of stretching and when you finally do at least an acceptable form of yoga stretches such as the above tree, your body feels s-o- o- o- o  good!  Whenever I do any yoga stretches and really synchronize my breath and my attention to the pose, I definitely can feel the wonderful release of pent-up energy.  Sitting for hours in front of a computer or being involved in any other sedentary activity takes a toll on our bodies causing us to feel tired and tight.  Although any type of stretching will benefit you, what I like about hatha yoga is that the stretches are based on an ancient science that is 4,000 to 5,000 years old.

When I really move into a stretch and visualize extending myself to the max - for example in the above tree pose I imagine that I am stretching my arms upward gently and energetically to touch the sky.  I feel my muscles gaining flexibility which is so important to moving easily about in the flow of life.  Sounds too "airy fairy."  Just try it.  I dare you to stretch and feel so - - - o good.

Wisdom:  A daily regime of yoga stretches makes you feel s-o-o-o  good and enhances your ability to enjoy the flow of life." ~Laura Venecia Rodriguez

Simple Savvy Steps to Yoga Success: More on Music & Yoga

 

The above is a photo of a yoga class.  Looks like dancing to me!  Supposedly it's yoga dancing!  I love to dance to fast music.  Can I dance?  Ah - not any formal type of dancing like ballroom, salsa, or tango. No, I just like to dance freestyle because again, I am a bit of a klutz. 

About two years ago, I took a drop-in hip hop class. I loved the energy of the class and the twenty-something instructor really had her steps down.  She appeared so natural!  But, as for me, I continued to feel that sense of awkwardness I have typically experienced in taking any type of class. I am slow at following on and feel really self-conscious when I get out of sync with the rest of the class.  So, you probably would not find me in the above yoga dance class.

The point of the above photo is that yoga practitioners' use of music with their yoga practice has changed significantly.  Whereas 20 or 30 years ago, many people practice in silence or maybe with just the quiet, synthesizer sounds of new agey type composers like Steve Halpern, nowadays you will find many more yoga classes and practitioners blending poses with musical selections that run the gamut from rap to loud rock to you name it.

In your home studio you can follow the recent lead of yoga classes and have a wide variety of musical selections on hand to fit your mood or need of the day.  Some people may still find music of any kind distracting.  Some days I crave absolute silence when I have had too many issues on my mind.  Other days, I want the extra energy boost that music gives my practice.  Play it by ear!

Wisdom of the Day: .."In terms of opening into a heart space, yoga and music complement each other beautifully."~Yoga instructor Nicki Doane

Simple Savvy Steps to Yoga Success: Passive vs. Active Stretches

One of the principal benefits of Hatha Yoga is that it's such a comprehensive system!  You can practice just a few poses daily and get a full body workout.

Hatha yoga includes both passive and active stretching.  In passive stretching, you place the body in a posture and relax completely.  Gravity does the work on the body in a passive stretch.  In contrast, active stretching, such as the pose above, involves active using the muscles of the upper legs and arms as they push down on the lower arms and legs to create the stretch.  Stretching helps your body remain at ease which is vital for fitness and well-being.

Wisdom of the Day:  "Stretching is an interior process, not about reaching goals and pushing limits, but abut finding space and letting go of tension."~ Tara Fraser,  The Easy Yoga Work Book.

Simple Savvy Steps to Yoga Success: Can Yoga Sculpt Your Muscles?

About three years ago I resumed the daily yoga practice I had started as a teen.  This time, however, I decided to practice with greater focus and intensity than I had previously committed to.  I bought a whole bunch of new yoga books including, Yoga Fights Flab by buff yoga instructor, Glenda Twining.  Her book offers a 30-day program to eliminate flab and create a toned, trim body.

Everyone has their own "trouble" spots and mine had been my upper arms.  Even in my early 20s, I felt that although they were not  flabby per se at that age, they definitely lacked definition.  Now this may just seem like a point of vanity, but the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism as Twining points out in her book.  She also asserts that you can boost your metabolic rate at any age by increasing your muscle mass and yoga is one highly effective way to do it!

Many yoga poses are akin to weight lifting because you lift the weight of your own body and the result is strengthening, toning, and sculpting muscles in many areas of your body including your upper body, abs, lower body, and back.  Have I experienced this myself?  I most certainly have!

The photo above shows "rite 4" of the five Tibetan rites, faster moving yoga poses repeated 21 times in a specific sequence.  Within a few months of doing the five Tibetan rites and specifically the pose above, my upper arms became much more toned than they ever were in my 20s.  So can yoga sculpt your muscles- definitely if you practice regularly!  Hatha yoga combined with an aerobics regime and healthy eating have enabled me to keep my metabolism just as high if not higher than it was as a college and graduate school student.

Wisdom of the Day:  ~"What people fail to realize is that yoga does include weight lifting, only we are not lifting free weights but our own body mass." Glenda Twining in Yoga Fights Flab.