Yoga at Home for Absolute Beginners!

Self-taught Yogi: Five Things About Me You Didn't Know

Here I am in my basement recreation room where I practice yoga daily

 

I have stated many times in this blog (launched in January 2008) that I am a self-taught yogi who has been doing yoga since age 15 - for over 4 decades.

However, the following are five things you probably did not know about the writer behind the scenes here (although I try to be as up front, personal, and transparent as I can be):

*  I was born in Philadelphia, PA but lived in Mexico City until age 4 after which I lived a year or so in Oklahoma City and survived a violent lightening storm by jumping in a stranger's car in a parking lot (in the days before people locked their car doors...) with my mother and brother.

*  I spent my junior year of high school in Rennes, France where I lived with a French family and took three classes in French, kept up my regular high school English and math,, and traveled throughout the country on long weekends and vacation breaks.  I was allowed to get P.E. credit that year by doing my home yoga practice.

*  I dropped out of modern dance class my freshman year of college because the instructor acted as if I had never exercised in my life - in other words, she considered me to a total klutz!  Ironically, I love to dance (free style) - especially to rock, disco, Latin music, and anything with a fast beat.

*  I am blessed with  two children, Francesca (24) and Andres (16)

*  I studied classical guitar for 10 years from age 8 to 18 and I adore guitar music of all kinds - especially the flamenco jazz guitar music of Jesse Cook.

What is the point of sharing the above bits of trivia about my life?  Well, did you notice that I have not revealed any information a formal yoga background?  Why?  Because I have none to reveal!

It is true - I have taken only a handful of yoga classes and I have never been ceritifed to teach yoga or taken any formal yoga instruction of any kind!

YET -despite being born a consummate klutz, I have been able to practice a gentle, easier form of yoga for over 40 years and enjoy flexiblity, energy, and serenity (most of the time...).  Yoga has become an intrinsic part of my lifestyle.

Also, I wanted to share the above trivia with you to underscore that I am just a real, regular person who proves you don't have to do pretzel poses to benefit from yoga.  I am no Rodney Yee or Tara Stiles (that's for sure!) or Patricia Walden - arguably well-known yoga instructors.  I am not a yoga instructor at all.

My purpose is to inspire YOU to enjoy the same benefits of yoga that I have had over the years and decades. 

Yours for doing gentle yoga as a real, regular person.

 

Laura, the Beginner's Yoga at Home Coach

  ^TM

Also see:  http://www.DoYogaAtHomeNow.com

 

Yoga at Home: Bend back into Shape with a Gentle Backward Bend

This gentle, beneficial backward bend is doable for klutzes like me!

Back pain and back problems plague many people.  The "oh my aching back" refrain is repeated far too often.  For that reason, I have decided to re-present a gentle yoga backward bend that I practice daily and really enjoy.

As Dr. Timothy McCall says in his comprehensive book Yoga as Medicine, "Nearly everyone experiences low back pain at one time or another.  Current estimates rate back problems as the second most common reason for visiting MDs, the top reason for visiting a chiropractor, and the leading cause of disability of people under forty-five."

Although surgery may be needed for severe back problems, I appreciate that Dr. McCall warns, "you do not want to rush into surgery, when other, safer, less invasive methods are available-methods that are in the long run more effective and less likely to cause problems."

Yoga is one of these less invasive methods. Dr. McCall says "yoga links back pain to posture, muscle tightness, and muscle weakness, as well as to a lack of body awareness-all issues that yoga is very effective in addressing."  

If you have a back issue and are considering yoga for the first time, you may be intimidated by the pretzel-like backbends you often see in the media.  And while advanced backbands (which I cannot do) offer many benefits and may visually astound you, I must impress upon you that they are not necessary. Gentle backbands like the one shown above offer relief and are easier to learn and practice often. If you have had a back problem for more than a few days or weeks, then I agree with Dr. McCall: consult an experienced yoga trainer or bodyworker who knows anatomy and the skeletal system well.

However, if you don't need a professional yoga consultation or medical advice or you have been given the green light to learn and practice yoga on your own, use the following instructions to learn the gentle backward bend.

Backward Bend 

Body parts targeted: Toes, feet, ankles, arches, knee joints, upper thighs, spinal column

How to do the pose:

1.    Kneel on your mat with your hands on your thighs, palms down, and your knees and feet together. 

2.    Sit so that your buttocks are resting on your heels.

3.    Sit erectly with your entire body weight resting on your heels. (Segment 1)  (This is also known as the Japanese sitting position.)

4.    Now move your hands to your sides so that your fingertips are touching the floor.

5.    Slowly, walk back with your hand, a few inches at a time until your hands are about 1 to 2 feet behind your feet with your palms down, roughly at shoulder width, and your arms should be parallel. Your elbows should be straight (but not rigid) and your fingers should point back n the same direction as your toes. (Segment 2)

6.    Lower your head and neck backward slowly until they are hanging down limp and relaxed.

7.    While keeping your buttocks on your heels, and without removing any of your body weight off your feet, move your abdomen upward and forward, thereby arching your spine backwards.

8    Staying still, hold this position for 5 seconds (Segment 3) (as shown in photo).

9.  Slowly lower your abdomen to its original position.

10.  Raise your head and neck gently.

11.  Walk forward with your hands until you are again seated upright in your original pose.

12.  Move into the child pose and rest there for about 10 seconds.

Practice time:  Start by holding each segment of the pose for 5 seconds maximum and add or 2 seconds per week until you can comfortably hold each segment for 20-30 seconds.

Number of repetitions:  1-2

Key benefits from this pose: 

1.    Enhances flexibility of your toes, ankles, and feet.

2.    Strengthens toes.

3.    Develops rib cage, bust, and chest, and helps to improve your posture.

4.    Releases tension from the upper thighs

5.    Gives the spinal column a mild backward stretch helping to restore its elasticity and making it more limber.

6.    Can increase circulation in the head and face and give you a sense of renewed energy.

Yours for bending back into shape with a gentle backward bend!

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the Beginners" Yoga at Home Coach

  ^TM

Also see:  http://www.DoYogaAtHomeNow.com

 

 

Yoga for Beginners: Make a "Heart-felt" Decision to Practice Yoga Consistently

  Staying motivated to practice yoga daily requires a heart-felt decision! 

Based on what I often hear from people (totally anecdotal and unscientific research!), their key challenge in maintaining a yoga practice at home - or any other type of exercise regime is staying motivating to practice consistently.  I believe this boils down to making a heart-felt decision.

As motivational speaker Tony Robbins once said on a cassette program that I bought WAY back in 1991, the true meaning of the word "decide" means that you cut off any other option.  I agree.  And, I would also add - that your decision to  practice yoga at home consistently must be heart-felt.  Really.

You cannot just decide from your head to practice yoga regularly.  Our heads are subject to too many excuses or "head trash" as author Noah St. John says in his books on how to achieve success.  If you want to reap the myriad benefits that a yoga practice can offer you, make a commitment from your heart!

Your heart is the center of your feelings.  And, as my spiritual coach, Carole Dore says so often, "feelings create! " When you make a decision from your heart, you are less likely to waver.

When I was on the cusp of turning 25 (oh so many years ago!), I realized that if I wanted to maintain my health and physique, I would have to commit to exercising from that time forward, for literally the rest of my life, barring any unexpected misfortunes that would interfere.  I knew in my heart that I "just had to do it" - years before Nike came out with that slogan.  

Granted, being taking by total surprise and dumped by a boyfriend with whom I had been having a lot of fun, may have also motivated my "heart-felt" decision to feel and look my personal best (you know, that "I will show him what he's missed!") by adopting a healthy lifestyle that included daily exercise. Nevertheless, I made a heart-felt  decision to take as much command of my health as I could - and I have kept that commitment during the past 3 decades.

At the end of my book Yoga at Home:  Gain Energy, Flexibility, and Serenity in 20-30 Minutes a Day,  Chapter 15, Your Heartfelt Y.O.G.A. Commitment, gives the yoga beginner an opportunity to sign a heart-felt commitment to their yoga practice.  I adapted the commitment from Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way.  Yes, I believe putting your commitment down in writing and with all of your heart, helps.

Here is the commitment from my book which I would like to share with you.   Use it!

"I, _____________, acknowledge that life is a treasure to be savored every day. I realize that to give and receive the most in life, I must be energetic, balanced, strong, firm, flexible, and serene in mind, body, and spirit.

Consequently, I view yoga practice as a refreshing, soothing, and essential ingredient of my life.

I realize that doing yoga daily helps to release the innate health that is my birthright. With consistent practice, I can look forward to becoming a dynamo of energy and vitality. And, I start feeling and looking my best—slender, supple, and serene for my personal body type and disposition.

I commit to practicing yoga with an attitude of joy, enthusiasm, and LOVE. I POUR my heart into my yoga practice and I reap the following benefits!

Y- “Youthing”— rejuvenation and youthful energy regardless of my “chronological” age

O- “Oneness” and “Openness” of my mind, body, and spirit

G- “Grace” in how I move and hold my body

A- “Awakening,” “Alertness,” and ‘Attunement” in all aspects of my life

_______________________ Signature

_______________________ Date "

 

Yours for making a heartfelt commitment to your yoga practice!

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the Beginners" Yoga at Home Coach

  ^TM

Also see:  http://www.DoYogaAtHomeNow.com

 

 

Second Birthday of Yoga At Home Book - Win Two Free Copies!

            My baby is two years old today!

My first literary baby was "born," i.e. published through Amazon exactly two years ago today - on May 6, 2011!

The product of four years part-time of blood, sweat, and tears (well sort of...) - or more like four years of research, drafting, editing, taking photos, and learning lots of publishing tasks, my yoga book is a labor of focus and love.

My principal purpose in writing this book was to share the facets of gentle hatha yoga that have worked for me over four decades (yes - that is DECADES) of practice as a self-taught yogi who was a consummate klutz - at least in my earlier years.

Yoga has become so trendy and widespread with yoga studios and classes popping up on almost every corner in major metropolitan areas that it can intimidate people who consider themselves non-athletic or inflexible (or both).  These individuals would benefit tremendously if only they knew that they could feel and look their personal best without doing yoga acrobatics - i.e., the pretzel poses that you see splashed in the media almost daily, or at least weekly!  I wanted "real, regular people" to know that yoga is not limited to the elite corps of sports figures, grammy winning singers, and television and movie celebrities!

The practice of yoga was limited to a tiny minority of people in the United States when I first learned of it by finding a copy of Philadelphia Magazine in my mother's living room in 1970 of which the cover story was all about yoga.  Intrigued, because I was getting very little exercise, as a 15-year old non-athlete who did not have the opportunity to compete in high school team sports,I decided to learn more.  Soon after I bought a couple of yoga primers from which I learned the basics of gentle hatha yoga.  Since then I have been practicing yoga 5-6 times a week (usually 6) and I still FEEL 25 even though I am past 35, 45, and 55...And, I have never had a yoga injury.

To honor the second birthday of my book, I offer the readers of this blog an opportunity to win two free, signed copies of the book (which includes a 30-minute free coaching session per book) for the best success story of how their home yoga practice has benefitted their body, mind, and spirit!

Just send  your stories to me at:  laura@athomeyoga.info with "Yoga at Home Success Story" in the subject line between today May 6 and May 16 and I will choose and the winner on Monday, June 1, 2013.

Happy birthday to your home yoga practice whenever it is!

Laura Venecia Rodriguez, the Beginner's Yoga at Home Coach

 

  ^TM

Also see:  http://www.DoYogaAtHomeNow.com