Back to the Blog!

Hello and welcome back, dear readers!

As you may have noticed, I haven't posted in quite awhile-- but now I've returned! Check back here for regular posts on yoga news, book reviews, and general musings on all things yoga from yours truly.

Now, onto the good stuff:

The weekend before last, I spent two days at Yoga Journal's New York City Conference, held at the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan. Imagine thousands of eager yogis filling up thousands of feet of conference room space, mats flying, sweat mingling, products being sold, and good times being had by all! It was a crazy cacophony of music, teachers' cues and chatter, and I couldn't have had a better time. (Note: I do NOT get paid by YJ to endorse this stuff!)

Over the space of two days, I attended six separate workshops, focusing on everything from meditation to anatomy to Anusara Yoga, learning from yoga teachers like Cyndi Lee, Aadil Palkhivala, Jason Crandell, Desiree Rumbaugh and Roger Cole. Where else can you find all of those teachers in one space, I ask you? Plus, I got to hang out with my fabulous yoga friend, Julie (who teaches at Devotion Yoga in Hoboken. Check her out!)

Overall, I loved the conference, and would heartily recommend that anyone interested in yoga check it out next year (the conference runs from April 12-16 in 2012). There's plenty of free stuff to take advantage of, from the open-to-the-public marketplace to free community classes each day.

Namaste, folks

Emily

Kirtan Corner: Krishna Das

Hi Everyone,

I am a big big fan of kirtan singer Krishna Das. For those of you who've never heard of kirtan, it's a form of call-and-response chanting originating from Indian devotional music. There are many kirtan singers and groups all over the world (and quite a few in the United States, including Jai Uttal, Wah!, and local group Japa Kirtan Band), but Krishna Das' deep rumbling voice is most likely the one you've heard in yoga class. KD performs all over the country, so check him out the next time he's in your town!

Here is a link to one of my personal favorites, "Jaya Siya Ram." Please enjoy:

The Yoga of Massage

Hi all!

I just came back from a splendid weekend in Boston with my husband-- our first baby-free trip! Because the weekend was all about pampering, we treated ourselves to massages, and during mine, I had a revelation: I hold and tense my muscles way too much.

Do you ever feel yourself tensing up during a massage, either hoping that the therapist gets to the right place, or worrying that they'll hurt you?

As soon as I realized it, I made a conscious decision to put myself in the massage therapist's able hands; that I would let her do the work and that my job was just to relax. Let me tell you, it worked wonders! Here are some tips on how to promote conscious relaxation:

• BREATHE: Take full, deep breaths in and out of your nose. Let your belly expand on each inhale, and fall on each exhale. If you feel yourself getting tense, go against the impulse and take a deep breath instead.

• GET GROUNDED: Let yourself be supported by the massage table, paying special attention to the parts of your body that most often hold your tension. For many of us, it's in our shoulders and necks, so let those parts go first. Then, scan the rest of the body.

• BE MINDFUL: As the massage therapist kneads deeply into your muscles and tissue, try to imagine the renewed blood flow through your body. Massage allows fresh blood and lymph to circulate more effectively-- that's the physical warmth you feel.

• LOVE YOURSELF: Oftentimes, we feel guilty about doing anything for ourselves. The very fact that you showed up for a much-needed massage is a great first step in practicing self-love. Instead of feeling guilty or selfish, take this time to enjoy the moment, and know that you're doing something wonderful for yourself.

Yoga, Yoga, Everywhere: Style Guide Part 1

This post was brought to you in part by my dear yoga friends Jessica and Beth, who gave me the idea to write about the myriad yoga styles for your reading pleasure. Below is Part One:

Anusara

Meaning "flowing with grace," Anusara Yoga was founded in 1997 by John Friend. The style is known for its attention to alignment, heart-happy language and what they call a "celebratory vision" (personified by a pose called "The Wild Thing"). Teachers must undergo rigorous certification standards including four years of personal practice, two years of study, 500 hours of training and more. An alternate level of certification called "Anusara Inspired" is only slightly less demanding, calling for 200 hours of training and two years of teaching experience.

Bottom Line: If you want to open your heart and work your bod in a nurturing environment, this may be the style to try. To see what it's all about, view Friend's Anusara Yoga Grand Gathering on DVD, available here.

Ashtanga

Popularized by the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, this form of yoga is favored by students who strive to sweat. Ashtanga incorporates set series of postures linked by breath. There are six series in all (Jois' grandson, Sharath Rangaswamy, is his only student to have mastered the fifth series), each including a challenging mix of forward and backward bends, twists, balancing postures and inversions. Watch the previously mentioned documentary Ashtanga, NY for a sample of the Ashtanga experience.

Bottom line: A very physically and spiritually demanding style. There are many books devoted to the subject, but I recommend David Swenson's Ashtanga Yoga: The Practice Manual, which provides an excellent guide to the primary and intermediate series.

Bikram

I can't speak from personal experience, but lots of people swear by Bikram Choudhury's Yoga College of India. This yoga method-- defined by its set of 26 postures done in a room heated to a minimum of 100 degrees-- was designed to mimic the sultry climate of Bikram's native Calcutta. A highly skilled yogi, Choudhury won the National India Yoga Championship at age 13. If you want to learn more about the controversy surrounding Bikram Yoga over the past few years, you can read about it here.

Bottom line: Sample a class or read Bikram's recently published tome to decide if this is the practice for you.

Iyengar

Living guru B.K.S. Iyengar, still practicing at age 90, began his yoga journey because of chronic health problems. Under the tutelage of yoga master Krishnamacharya (whose students included Pattabhi Jois), Iyengar helped him to reacquaint India with the practice of yoga in the 1930s (see here for a cool newsreel of them demonstrating here). He soon invented his own way of doing things, pioneering the use of props to aid the ill and less flexible in their postures. With thirteen possible levels of teacher training, this program is rigorous: one must have three years of personal practice to join the program, which takes two years to complete. At the higher levels, teachers are required to study directly with Iyengar at home base in Pune, India.

The bottom line: Iyengar Yoga is the gold standard for alignment-based asanas. Iyengar has written many books, the most famous of which is Light on Yoga. His most recent is the highly illustrated Yoga Wisdom & Practice, out this year.

NEXT TIME: ISHTA, Jivamukti, Kripalu, Kundalini and more! If you have any recommendations or styles you'd like to hear more about, let me know!

Health News: Yoga May Help Your Hump!

According to a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, yoga may help decrease the likelihood of developing an excessive kyphotic spinal curve, or "dowager's hump," later in life. Although the term is kind of hilarious, the problem is a serious one: excessive kyphotic curvature of the spine leads to serious neck and back pain.

During the six month study, half of the group of 75 year-olds took yoga classes while the control group members attended lectures. At the end of the study-- voila!-- the yoga group's spinal curvatures had improved. The younger you begin, say the study's authors, the better your chances of keeping a healthy spine all your life.

See, mom? Yoga can make you feel better!

Namaste,

Emily

Confessions of a Yoga Teacher

I found this hilarious video courtesy of Slate.com's fabulous Double X blog. In it, yoga teachers confess to the most human of foibles: what they think of yoga come-on lines, how they feel about getting close to smelly students, even showing up to class under the influence. That last one may be ill-advised, but whatever...

Personal disclosure: It takes a long time for teachers to find their "voice" for instructing others through yoga poses. I've gotten mangled to the point where I confuse left and right, or blanked on the sanskrit name of a pose. It happens, so don't judge your teachers too harshly :)

Share your confessions in our comments section, and enjoy!

Namaste,

Emily

Film-asana: Ashtanga, NY

Hi Yogis and Yoginis,

Now that I'm home taking care of a newborn, I've gotten the chance to catch up on my movie watching during naptime. Last week I saw "Ashtanga, NY," a documentary about a monthlong workshop class given by yoga master Sri K. Pattabhi Jois right before 9/11. As you can see from the trailer below, many NYC yogis attended, including celebs Gwyneth Paltrow and Willem Dafoe. It's to their credit that they totally held their own during the rigorous practice.

At first I was turned off by the film, as it seemed to focus primarily on super-flexy people showing off for other super-flexy people in one hot room. But the students' obvious love and reverence for their "Guruji" shone through, making me wish not only that I spent more time on my own practice, but that I had learned more about Jois before he died this May at age 93. The sequence showing the workshop's prayer session after September 11 really packs an emotional punch. What an experience!

It's available on Netflix's "Watch Instantly" list, so you can see it right on your computer!

I'd love to hear what you guys think of this film. Are you going to go out and join an Ashtanga class right now? Did you ogle Jois' hottie grandson, Sharath, and his perfect poses? Were you also wondering what a room of 200+ yogis smells like after a couple of hours?

Namaste,

Emily