To spend your life upside down

Close your eyes and imagine that you're looking on this world upside down.

The sky is under your feet, the Earth is a base for your head/hand... Sounds amazing and it is amazing.

How about to start doing that inversion every day in every possible place?

Shoulder stand (sanskrit Salamba Sarvangasana)

First inversion, which you can try in your yoga class. 

It looks like an easy one, but in fact this one is not that simple.

Position

Lay down on your mat, prepare your shoulders and open your chest. Bring knees to the chest and slowly start rolling your feet backward.

Place your palms on your back as close to your lower floating ribs as possible as you can, keep your elbows in one line with your shoulders. 

Slowly start to lift your body up until you'll feel that you're standing exactly on your shoulders (NOT shoulder disks) and than final step straighten your legs up to the sky, lift kneecups and find yourself standing in a Mother of all asanas - Salamba Sarvangasana. Stay there for 3-5 minutes or until you will feel discomfort. Slowly give yourself a way back and rest for a few breaths.

Inversions are the only type of postures where your teacher has no right to tell you to stand until he/she will tell you to get out of it, cause you have to feel it by your heart and, actually by your head and blood pressure. 

Props

Use a stripe to keep your elbows in line

Take a couple of blankets under your shoulders to line up your neck and protect it

Use a wall to keep your balance (place your toes on it)

Benefits

Stimulates your spine to stay strong and confident

Stimulates lymphatic system

Stimulates digestion

Calms mind

Stretches neck and shoulders

Reduce insomnia

Contraindications

Menstruation 

Pregnancy (if never practiced before)

Headache

High blood pressure

Neck injury

Shoulder injury

Building our triceps

Hold and breath.. Inhale-Exhale one, Inhale-Exhale two, Inhale-Exhale three... hold and breath

Amazing word in every yoga class - Chaturanga. Word full of power and awareness, strong and beautiful.

Four-Limbed Staff Pose (sanskrit Chaturanga Dandasana)

Key pose for everyday practice in any kind of hatha yoga class.
An exceptional key to reach a plenty of postures, which used to be someday-to-do-pose - handstands, forearmstands, arm balances... and many many other interesting and beautiful things to do.

Even when you're just able to hold this bastard for a 15 seconds - such a challenge...

How to build the correct posture? That's a good one. In my personal practice and teaching practice the first step is just be able to hold it for 10 seconds. And only after you can start to build the correct line in it.

Position
Start in the Plank pose. Your palms are under your shoulders, keep you back strong and confident. Tag you tailbone toward your heels.  Press your thighs up, knee-cups are lifted.
On your exhalation start to lower your torso until your elbows will be under 90 degrees angle, keep your body parallel to the floor. Don't let your ass to go up and stress lower-back.
Forehead is parallel to the floor. Hold it for 10-30 seconds and rise up to Upward facing Dog (or fall as one line down to the floor and complete the sequince with baby-cobra pose).

Props
What can help you on the first baby-steps.
Take a strap, place it a little bit upper that your elbows and start to bend your elbows backwards  until your chest will be placed on the strap (you're holding the strap and strap is holding you - perfect match for a perfect balance).

Also you can left your knees on the floor (girls push-up position).
Or you even can use a block near your clavicles as a holder.

Benefits
Workout for abdominal area
Triceps workout
Upper body tone and muscle strenght

Contraindications
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Pregnancy
Careful with a period

Open you heart for a new day

Summer days are perfect addition for some great heart openers.
My choice for now and ever - Upward Facing Dog.
Strong and intelligent posture, in my experience - everybody likes it.

But still, there are some underwater stones while building.

Upward Facing Dog (sanskrit Urdva Mukha Svanasana)

Position
Lay down on your mat, keep your big toes together. Keep your palms aligned with your chest. Lift your chest slightly off the mat, 90 degrees in your elbows (Baby cobra position).
Push through your palms and tops of your feet, lift whole body off the floor.
Only palms and top of the feet are on the floor. Move shoulders back and down, move tailbone down.
Try to avoid lower back compression. Engage your abdominal area.
Strong legs, keep knee cups lifted.
Open your chest by engaging upper part of your back.
Move your chin and your gaze slightly up.

You can fing perfect transition for Upward Dog in Sun Salutation (sanskrit Surya Namaskara).
Plank Pose - Chaturanga Dandasana - Upward Facing Dog - Downward Facing Dog

Props
Use a block between your thighs to keep your legs strong and engaged.
If this posture costs you some pain in your feet, take a blanket under it.
This posture is an advanced back bend, so please be carefull with yourlowerback, if you feel pain stick with baby-cobra position.

Benefits
Strengthens the spine
Chest stretching and opener for heart chakra
Sciatica relieve
Helps to fight with depression
Helps to fight with overweight

Contraindications
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Lower back injury
Pregnancy (Careful during the period)
Strong headache




 

Yoga everywhere... everywhere you look around

Yoga is everywhere, everywhere you look around

Yoga in the airport, yoga in the hotel, yoga on the streets… you can practice yoga everywhere.

During my vacation in Europe I practiced yoga not everyday, but I tried to practice as much as I could.

So, here are some photos from my personal practice.

Hope they will inspire you to practice and practice a lot=)

And some throwback to my first headstand in Spain, year 2010.

Enjoy your practice and share it with everybody around you=)

How about a little challenge?

Extended Side Angle (Sanskrit Utthita Parsvakonasana)

Extended Side Angle is one of my favorite postures in practice. Great heart opener and really strong energy line are provided along with hips and hamstrings workout.

Position

Start in Tadasana (Mountain Pose), take a step back for approximately 1-1,5 meters, bend your front knee for 90 degrees angle, be sure that your heel is right under your knee, ground your back foot and keep it strong. Open your hips as for Warrior  II and slowly start to move your upper body forward and down until your front hand will reach the floor. Place your back hand on the hip and use it as a lever to open and lift your chest. After that extend your back arm up and then move it forward to create one strong energetic line between your back heel and upper hand. Take your shoulders down to release your neck, pay attention on the spine extending. The final step is to turn your head slightly up and look on your triceps.

Props

Try this posture with back foot near the wall, by pushing your foot into the wall it’s easier to keep your back leg extended and strong. If you have a problem with chest opening, take your front hand higher (on a block for example, three levels are available for students). If you have difficulties with your hand on the highest level of block, place your elbow on your front tigh.

Benefits

Strengthen hamstrings and calves

Chest opener

Deep hips opener

Waist workout and weight loss

Coordination of your movement

Helps to fight with arthritis

Helps with period misbalance

Contraindications

Discomfort with internals

Knee injury

Neck injury (don’t turn your head up)

Nature call

Nature has all possible treasures in her chest, which helps us to take care about our skin, hair and our body.

Couple of months ago my friend shared a recipe which I tried and by now I definitely want to share it with you guys.

Face mask for all skin types

 Ingredients:

3 table spoons of oatmeal

1 table spoon of camomile leaves

1 table spoon of mint leaves

2 drops of tea tree oil

How to use

 Mix all the ingredients with warm water, give it a stay for 5 minutes and put on your face, lay down and rest for 15 minutes, than gently remove with warm water.

This mask removes dead cells and reddening, helps to avoid wrinkles appearance and your skin has baby softness for couple of days after this mask. 

Personally I really enjoy that 15 minutes and mix it with some perfect relax music and awareness of myself.

Hope you’ll enjoy it too.

94 years old Legend in Yoga World

There are so many yoga styles in all over the world, how about a little review for some of them which I practice by myself?

I’ll start with first yoga class in my life - Iyengar yoga style - I’m still into it for more than 4 years by now.

So, who is he – Iyengar? Why his method is so popular all over the world?

Sri BKS Iyengar was born in 1918 in India, he was 11^th child  in the family. Iyengar’s childhood is covered with all possible illnesses and diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and etc., what shows us wick health and wick immunity.

At the age of 15, his brother-in-law Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya invited Iyengar to Mysore for health improving through yoga practice. Step by step Iyengar learned asana practice, what took a positive influence for his health stability.

Three years later Iyengar moved to Puna and started his own teaching practice, by mixing different methods he offers to his students a very interesting approach…

“Yoga is for everyone” – you can hear this in every yoga class, but in fact in dynamic classes you rarely will see somebody, who is retired or somebody, who has just recovered from the injury or other health issue. In Iyengar class you will practice yoga next to all possible types of students, because Iyengar method use a lot of props to help students to build a correct posture and you will hear a lot of details about every pose.

Usually Iyengar class starts with Sukhasana posture, where you are organizing yourself for a practice. After that you will be offered to make 10-15 postures (some of them couple of times with different environment) and to finish your class you will take some pranayama in Savasana.

Teacher of Iyengar yoga usually builds their lesson according to the month plan:

First week (1-7 days of every month) – Standing postures

Second week (8-14 days of every month) – Forward bends and twists

Third week (15-21 days of every month) – Surya Namaskara and backbends

Fourth week (22-28 days of every month) – Rehabilitation postures, pranayama

29-31 days of every month – program under teacher’s consideration

How to protect your soul?

Such an interesting question... Kind of more about how to keep it clean and healthy and yes, I'm talking exactly about our mental health without any physical context...
We are representing ourselfs to the Universe as we are thinking about us, other people and everybody and everything in the surrounding. So, here is the question, how can we keep our mind clean and bright if everyday something very unpleasant happens?
The answer is very simple and probably stupid for some of you, just deal with it and let it go.

Couple of days ago I read very interesting story in Yoga Journal Russia and I want to share it with you. Maybe it will help somebody to understand what is really spoiling our lifes.

The story about what happens when you're keeping anger inside?

Once upon a time student came to his teacher with a question "What happens with you when you are mad at somebody?" and the teacher told him to try an experiment, tie a small bag on his belt and every time when student will be mad on somebody he should take a potate inside this bag...
A week later they met and student told his teacher that it's such a stupid idea. This bag, full of potatoes is huge, heavy and these potatoes started to decompose, which brings the proper smell inside.
Teacher told his student that this bag is his soul and these potatoes are his peaces of madness on the surrounding. So what happens with your soul when you're keeping anger on somebody? Your soul is getting spoiled and stinky.

Let's be careful with what we are doing and how we are spending our lifes

Don't worry, be happy and healthy!

Time for nature

Homemade nutritious mask for hair

Composition

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon of castor oil

1 egg yolk

How to use

Mix all the ingredients for about 5-7 minutes than rub the mix into hair roots. 

Use the rest of the mixture on all hair length.

Take a showerhat and use a warm towel on it for 30-40 minutes than gently wash the mix.

Use this mask twice a week and two weeks after your hair will be like best Chinese silk

Mantra Om for every day of your week

A-u-m… a-u-m… a-u-m…

Sure this sound is well-known by almost everybody in this world.

Sacral sound, religious sound, universal sound and whatever you want to see inside.

For me personally this sound helps to organize myself before yoga practice and to keep the presence of your life in yourself.

So, here are some facts about this mantra.

What is a magic of Om?

Mantra Om consist from two letters, but three sounds and basically here they are:

Sound A symbolize the moment of awake in the morning, brings the energy forcing in your physical body.

Sound U symbolize the activity during usual day, which is basically the middle of calendar day, middle of moon circle, which keeps your energy awaken but calm and soft.

Sound M symbolize the moment of diving into deep dream while you’re slipping. Energy flows are soft and almost not noticeable.

Also you can consider the A-U-M as a life circle, beginning of life, middle of it and final chapter…

How to chant?

Take a comfortable sitting position (it could be Easy Pose, Hero Pose, Lotus Pose etc), prepare your body and close your eyes. Hold your posture for three breaths with your eyes closed. Keep your chin parallel to the floor. Inhale, exhale… Inhale and using your exhale start to chant A-U-M, inhale and on your exhale A-U-M and one more time. It could be three times or any number of times, which you can split by 9. Bring your hands to prayer, bring your chin to your chest. Neutralize your head and gently open eyes.

Benefits

Concentration

Increase blood oxidation  

Physical body prepares to understand your mind