Cold Cold Cold... Hot Yoga

Winter is here… Which involved huge risk to catch a cold or even a flu.

Here are some postures which will help to improve your immunity.

1. Downward Facing Dog (Sanskrit Adho Mukha Svanasana)

While you are doing you usual Downward Facing Dog take a block under your forehead, which will help you to relax the pressure in your head which is usual during the cold.

2. Child Pose (Sanskrit Balasana)

If your forehead is not comfortably reaching the mat place a bolster or blanket  under it and relax. This posture will help to release your nose and deepen your breathe.

3. Full Forward Bend (Sanskrit Uttanasana)

Stand in Mountain Pose and on your exhale dive down to your full forward bend, take a block under your head and relax.

This posture has the same advantage as Down Dog during the cold, helps to relax blood pressure and clean your breath.

4. Bound Angle Pose (Sanskrit Supta Baddha Konasana)

Very important to practice this pose in laying down position. This posture perfect to relax nervous system and lymphatic system and keep concentration on your wellness and health.

Tip from me: during risky period of season eat half of pomegranate everyday.

P.S. Merry Christmas everyone, be healthy=)

How are you doing that?

Cow Face Pose (sanskrit Gomukhasana) 

There are only 15 postures in first variant of Hatha Yoga Pradipika and Gomekhasana is one of them. Although there is nothing to say about arms position, but in the present yoga practice we know what is our goal to reach here. One of my students asked me how are you doing that?

This posture could be very challenging for beginners,  follow the instructions and you will see a result..

Position

Start in Dandasana, sit on your sitting bones and extend your legs. Bend your knees and place your feet on the mat, slide left foot under the right knee to the outer side of hip, slowly cross the other leg over the left, placing the right knee on the top of the left and put your right foot to the outside of left hip.

Stretch your left arm up to the ceiling bend your elbow and place the palm approximately between shoulder blades, keep your elbow up but try to release your neck by returning your shoulder to shoulder socket. Extend your right arm to the right side parallel to the floor on the shoulder level rotate your arm to point your thumb to the floor and with one move slide this arm back to meet left hand. Try to create a safe lock between your fingers.

Be aware of additional backbend in lower back, keep your sitting bones on the mat and try to keep natural curve in lower back without any compression.

Props

If you have some problems with placing your legs to Gomukhasana position take a block and sit on it, with it your pelvis will be a little bit higher and it will help you to build correct posture.

If you can’t connect your fingers on your back take a strap and use it between your palms.

If you feel a lot of pressure for feet in this pose use a blanket under them.

Benefits

Excellent stretch for triceps and whole group of back muscles

Stretch for thighs and feet

Opening the chest

Concentration

Contraindications

Knees injury

Ankle injury

Shoulder injury

Neck injury

Plus size Yoga

There is a huge market about weight loss in our world. We can see skinny models in all the magazines and low fat yogurts in our supermarkets. But what is really healthy and what is not?

It could be difficult for people with extra weight to come to a yoga class to begin with. But yoga class is your safe place where you can find balance with your Personal I. Of course as for every beginner in yoga you will need some support with using props in your practice. Here are some excellent photos which will show you that you're free to begin with and where yoga can bring you to.

1. Wide Legged Standing Forward Bend (sanskrit Prasarita Padottanasana)

This posture could be an excellent start of your practice.

Position

Stand in the middle of your mat and step your feet as wide as you can. Keep your feet parallel to the sides of your mat. Engage your quadriceps and lift your kneecaps up. If you feel that you can go forward move your upper body parallel to the floor and keep your arms on your hips.

Controindications

Lower back issues (don't do extreme forward bend)

Benefits

Activates hips joints

Weight loss

Avoids depression

Helps with headache

2. 90 degrees angle

Position

Lay down on your mat and lift you legs up to 90 degrees, it's okay if it is hard for beginning, you are free to use yoga belt to support your feet or keep your legs on lower level.

There is no contraindications for this posture, but be aware of feeling what your body is ready for. If this posture is difficult for you, try to make it near the wall and place your legs on it.

Benefits

Excellent stretch of hamstrings

Very good for abdominal area

Helps to avoid depression and stress

Here are some more photos of yoga, which are very inspiring for me and I believe you will find them inspiring for yourself.

Did you order the Dog?

Downward Facing Dog (sanskrit Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Well-known posture for everybody, who was at yoga class at least once. I call this one The Mother of all poses. No matter which yoga style you’re practicing, you will do this posture at least once during your practice. So, here we go…

Position

Sit on your heels and extend your arms forward in your Child Pose.

We’ll start with your Down Dog arms.  Spread your fingers widely and firmly press them and every inch of your palms to the floor, keep lines of your wrists parallel to the front side of your mat.  Rotate your forearms inside and your upper arms outside, eyes of your elbows should look up to the ceiling. Push your shoulders to the shoulder socket to keep your neck relaxed. Come to your all four position, keep your legs on hip distance, tag your toes and push your hips up and backward. From the side this posture looks like triangle.

Lift your kneecaps with quadriceps , try to lift your sitting bones up to the ceiling, keep your heels up and then slowly forward them down to the floor.  Your heels should touch the floor after some time of practice, but it is not necessary. Main point here is keeping your neck relax and learn how to spread your weights between hands and heels.

Props

 If you feel that it doesn’t work in the middle of the room, go to the wall and try to use it as an additional holder. First time try a holder for your heels, place your heels on the wall and balls under your toes on the mat (exactly balls under toes, not toes) and feel what changes.

Second option is a holder for your hands. Place your hands right next to the wall and firmly press index and big fingers to the wall and spread others as much as you can go ahead with your Downward Facing Dog and observe all the changes.

If you feel discomfort with your hamstrings, try to bend your knees.

You can always use a strap right below your elbows which will help you to rotate your arms.

Take a block and squeeze it between your thighs, it will help you to rotate your thighs and to lift your kneecaps.

You can also use a block under your forehead here, very helpful with relaxation, headache, low/high blood pressure.

Benefits

Increase the movement capacity of shoulder joints

Extend the spine

Extend back side of your legs

Good influence for nervous system

Contraindications

Hamstrings issue

Wrists issue

Intervertebral disks issue

How cute is this little girl?

Little girl is sitting in Easy Pose (sanskrit Sukhasana).

Position

Sit down on your mat and move flash out of the sitting bones. Cross your legs in the middle of culves, extend your spine and roll your shoulders back and down. Keep your chin parallel to the floor.
Place your palms on your thighs and close your eyes. Keep your thighs relaxed but your back should be full of energy and power.
Although this called an Easy Pose, this one is not easy - it takes time while you will be able to spend sometime in it and will find your own way to realize it fully.
Good practice is to change the cross of your legs time to time.

Posture is perfect for beginning of your practice, for breath practice and meditation.

However a lot of people have tight hip joints and will need some additional props for this pose.

Props

If your knees are higher than your hips you should sit on a bolster or a block, which will help to keep this posture correct.
Also you can sit near the wall to be sure that your back is in a correct position.

Benefits

keeping your spine and back muscles strong
concentration
extremely healthful for nervous system

Contraindications

Knees injury

Yoga Practice during the period

Women should correct their yoga practice during the period. This is something what you always hear in your yoga class. The reasons are pretty obvious.

During their period women loose a lot of iron and energy even if we don’t have any symptoms as PMS, stress and pain.

Ladies, let’s take care about our bodies, here you can find some must-have postures during this time in our lives.

Corp Pose (Sanskrit Savasana)

Everybody knows this posture very well. Guidance through this posture will follow up a bit later. Usually this one is final posture for your yoga practice, but during your period I would recommend to start with Corp Pose and breathe in your body, feel it before you will start active practice.

Child pose (Sanskrit Balasana)

Sit on your heels, spread your knees a little bit. Slowly move down to the mat until your forehead will reach the floor. Position for your arms could be different, you can extend them forward and use you Downward Facing Dog arms or you can move them backward and just relax. The main point here is to relax your pelvis on heels and relax abdominal area, which should be in connection with inner thighs. In case if your buttocks are not on the heels, take a blanket between.

Bound Angle Pose (Sanskrit Baddha Konasana)

Sit on your sitting bones and extend your legs, bend your knees and bring your heels closer to your pelvis, then drop your knees out to the sides and press the soles of feet together. Try to move your feet as close to pelvis as it is comfortable for your body. In case if your knees are not on the mat yet, take two blankets, roll them and use under your knees, bolsters will be very useful here.

As a variation to reach more relaxation in this posture, try the variation called Supta Baddha Konasana.

Prepare two bolsters and when you’re already sitting in Bound Angle Pose place first bolster approximately under your floating ribs and use second bolster for your head, lay down and relax.

Bridge Pose (Sanskrit Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) only with props

Prepare your base. Place first bolster under your spine, and place second bolster under your feet. Lay down on first bolster, move backward until your shoulders will meet the floor, as in Shoulder stand, and extend your legs to meet second bolster. Relax and breathe.

Hero Pose (Sanskrit Virasana) only with props

Prepare your props. Place one bolster on your mat and place one or two blankets on the top. Sit on the floor close to bolster and lay down forward. Relax your abdominal and your pelvis.

To avoid:

-       Any inversions and “legs up” postures

-       Deep close twists

-       Postures, which compress abdominals (as Boat pose)

-       Extreme backbends (especially if these postures are not your favorites)

Keep your practice patient and calm, listen to your body and enjoy.