Joyce bought the Eggs-travaganza in Tibetan Orange

Every once is a while, someone writes me a review of the Three Minute Egg which is simply too good not to share.  So I hope you’ll pardon the indulgence, but I’m going to post her review of the Eggs here on my blog.  I would encourage any and all of you to send me your thoughts on the Eggs.  You can do so using the contact page.  I’ll post them here or somewhere.  Thank you Joyce!

(Believe it or not, we live in the same town but have never met….)

If you are hesitating, don’t.  I am so glad I bought this product.  I find the Three Minute Egg incredible. (I know–the incredible Egg.)  The challenge is how to write about my experience without sounding so enthusiastic that my comments aren’t believable.  I have lots of props for my home practice, but nothing has expanded my abilities and strength as effectively and quickly as the Egg.  It is perfectly sculpted.  It fits in my hands and nestles around and under my body in completely useful ways.

I see the videos as essential.  Without them I would have missed most of the Egg’s uses.  The first time I did the Alignment video and the Flow Yoga video, my body was actually trembling from the workout when I finished.    When I started out I thought the Eggs made asanas easier.  But actually the Egg helps my body be more comfortable so that I end up working harder and getting more out of my practice.  It has expanded my expectations about what I can do.

Joyce in Asheville

Try this for an added challenge!

When it comes to Advanced Yogis and yoga props, the response is almost inevitably, “Not for me, thanks. I don’t use props.”  Many will say that the more they advance, the less interest they have in yoga props, and the less they feel they need them.  And so I put forth the following question: What does it truly mean in yoga to be advanced?

The practice of asana inspires us to find where we are on any given day.  Making a declarative statement about where we are fails to factor in one of life’s biggest constants — change.  Our bodies change, our abilities change, our energy levels change and our goals change.  In this article, I invite you to think outside whatever box you’ve placed around advancing as a yogi,  particularly when it comes to using props. 

Instead of viewing yoga props as something you move beyond (once they stop helping you to overcome a limitation on your part — perceived or actual), why not think of them as accessories which can help you move beyond the place in which your practice has currently settled?  Something which can augment your practice rather than handicap it?  Adding and extension chord to a vacuum cleaner doesn’t make one an inferior house-keeper, it simply makes those hard-to-reach places that much more accessible!

Ideal for weight-bearing and balancing poses!

In the case of the Three Minute Egg, why not see it as something you add to your practice to give it variety? A tool to make things better, or even a toy to make things more fun?  A way to make old things new again?  The Hard-Boiled Eggs, (made from a slightly denser foam than the original Namast-egg) are an amazing way to add challenge to some of your favorite balancing poses like handstands or astavakrasana (8 angle pose). They are specifically designed for bearing weight without sacrificing their ergonomic shape.

Work the Eggs into more challenging vinyasas.  Things like jumping back and jumping through can be more attainable with the added height, comfort and support of the Three Minute Egg. The height of the Egg adds just the right amount of space to help you lift your legs off the ground.  The roundedness of the Eggs allow them to adjust to your body’s orientation as you make this dramatic transition (as compared with a block, which doesn’t move, forcing your wrists to absorb the impact as you change positions).  The ergonomic size and shape of the Eggs make them easy to hold, and a natural extension of your arm.  Giving your body the opportunity to work its way into the more difficult postures allows you to find the right action while learning complicated movements.

Whatever stage of the yogic journey we are in, try to be conscious of your samskaras (habits and patterns we form in our lives).   These can inhibit us from experiencing where we are right now.   They trigger quick answers based on past experiences and keep us from being truly inquisitive.

I put this question to you and urge you to explore it.  Have you calcified your beliefs that an advanced practice means one without yoga props ?  Or have you cultivated the ultimate flexibility which is the birthright of all great yogis?  Flexibility of the mind.

If you haven’t already done so, get yourself a set of Eggs and start Eggs-perimenting. I’m pretty sure you’re gonna love ‘em!

To Prop or Not to Prop

Are props a helpful supplement to your practice, or do they just get in the way? Here’s how to decide when to use—and not use—these tools.

By Claudia Cummins

The original yogis didn’t practice with foam blocks, D-ring straps, or purple sticky mats. But as yoga evolved, many practitioners discovered that props could help deepen their explorations.

Among modern yogis, attitudes toward props range from the Zen-like minimalism of those who shun all but a sticky mat to the abundance of those who travel with an extra suitcase filled with yoga accessories. Regardless of where you fall in this spectrum, a few guidelines can help you make the most of your props.

Be clear about why you’re using them. Mindlessly using a block to support your hand in a standing pose just because your teacher told you to won’t deepen your practice. Ask yourself what purpose the extra support is serving and let that answer guide the way you use it. Are you using the block to move into a posture you aren’t yet supple enough to manage on your own? If so, consider ways to lessen your reliance on that aid over time.

Be your own teacher. Use your body’s signals to devise new and effective ways of using props to enhance your practice. When you sense a certain part of your body crying out for extra support in a resting pose, for example, wedge a towel or shirt beneath that area and observe what happens. Or if you’re struggling to master a new pose, ask yourself whether any props within arm’s reach might help. You might be surprised by the ingenious solutions you unearth.

Explore new territory. If a rolled-up blanket is supporting your back during a restorative pose, you might like to explore how varying the size and position of it alters your experience. Or if you’re using a strap to help you understand a particular action or direction in a posture you know well, you may choose to repeat that same pose without props from time to time to explore the differences.

Be creative. Yoga basics include mats, blankets, straps, and blocks. But if you consider a prop to be any aid that helps you access a posture more fully, your world will widen considerably. Walls, tables, balls, books, socks, neckties, even the helping hands of a friend can all be used to deepen your exploration.

Practice nonattachment. Ideally, yoga leads us toward greater flexibility and adaptability. So don’t grow so attached to your chest of yoga toys that you can’t practice without them. If you use props regularly, challenge yourself every once in a while to stow them away and practice without any aids at all (that’s right, not even a sticky mat). On the other hand, if you’re a yoga minimalist, incorporate a few props into your practice every now and then just to explore how they might be helpful. You might be surprised by what you learn. Remember, the best yoga prop is always an open mind.

Claudia Cummins teaches yoga in Mansfield, Ohio. At the moment, her favorite pose is Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana (Revolved Head-to-Knee Pose).

The number of people practicing yoga in the US has reached nearly 16 million and is expected to continue to grow steadily.

The latest “Yoga in America” study, just released by Yoga Journal, shows that Americans spend $5.7 billion a year on yoga classes and products, including equipment, clothing, vacations and media (DVDs, videos, books and magazines). This figure represents an increase of 87 percent – almost doubled compared to the previous study in 2004.

Yoga Journal also reported that the 2008 study indicates that 15.8 million people, or 6.9 % of the US population, practice yoga. Of current non-practitioners, nearly 8%, or 18.3 million Americans, say they are very or extremely interested in yoga. And 4.1% of non-practitioners, or about 9.4 million people, say they will definitely try yoga within the next year.

The study also collected data on age, gender and other demographic factors:

• 72.2% are women; 27.8% are men.
• 40.6% are 18 to 34 years old; 41% are 35 to 54; and 18.4% are over 55.
• 28.4% have practiced yoga for one year or less; 21.4% have practiced for one to two
years; 25.6% have practiced two to five years; and 24.6% have practiced more than five
years.
• 71.4% are college educated; 27% have postgraduate degrees.
• 44% of yogis have household incomes of $75,000 or more; 24% have more than
$100,000.

The 2008 study indicated that almost half (49.4%) of current practitioners started practicing yoga to improve their overall health. In the 2003 study, that number was 5.6%. And they are continuing to practice for the same reason. According to the 2008 study, 52% are motivated to practice yoga to improve their overall health. In 2003, that number was 5.2%.

“Yoga is no longer simply a singular pursuit but a lifestyle choice and an established part of our health and cultural landscape,” says Bill Harper, publisher of Yoga Journal. “People come to yoga and stick with it because they want to live healthier lives.”

One significant trend to emerge from the study is the use of yoga as medical therapy. According to the study, 6.1%, or nearly 14 million Americans, say that a doctor or therapist has recommended yoga to them. In addition, nearly half (45%) of all adults agree that yoga would be a beneficial if they were undergoing treatment for a medical condition.

And what about those Baby Boomers?

In just a couple of years, according to recent statistics, the number of Baby Boomer-aged adults participating in yoga classes increased by three million. Attend a yoga class and you’ll find that it’s not exclusively populated by younger women. Older women – and many older men – are also attending yoga classes.

According to the National Institutes of Health, yoga:

• Improves mood and sense of well-being
• Counteracts stress
• Reduces heart rate and blood pressure
• Increases lung capacity
• Improves muscle relaxation and body composition
• Helps with conditions such as anxiety, depression, and insomnia
• Improves overall physical fitness, strength, and flexibility
• Positively affect levels of certain brain or blood chemicals

“Yoga as medicine represents the next great yoga wave,” says Kaitlin Quistgaard, editor in chief of Yoga Journal. “In the next few years, we will be seeing a lot more yoga in health care settings and more yoga recommended by the medical community as new research shows that yoga is a valuable therapeutic tool for many health conditions.

This article is written by a woman doing a 60-day challenge (I am currently 4 days into my own self-imposed and self-regulated 21-day challenge as I endeavor to get in yogic shape for an upcoming Yoga Journal Conference in San Francisco) which means 60 days in a row of Bikram Yoga classes. The author does a great job of bringing you into the world of Bikram. It’s a 2-part article, and when part 2 comes out, i’ll blog about it also. In the meantime, happy reading!

In light of this individuality we would do well to see the practice of yoga as a series of questions rather than answers we’re meant to find. Our practices must address the needs that are distinctly ours. The Three Minute Egg is a yoga prop that helps transform a classic posture into something far more personal.

Our bodies are like history books, documenting (sometimes visually) our life-experiences. This can manifest in the way we carry ourselves, the strength we maintain, and even the injuries we may have sustained. Regardless of what we are bringing with us to the mat today, we can choose to play an active role in determining what the ‘history books’ might reflect about us tomorrow.

Yoga is a practice of healing. We approach our practice with the intent to train our body and mind to become intimately associated with one another so that communication between the two can be precise and audible.

It is not uncommon for people to enter their first class with limited mobility, anatomical deficiencies, and/or acute injuries. Much of this can be contributed to disregarding an inner voice, which is trying to tell us to “pull back,” “stop,” or “do things differently.” One of the most powerful tools we can give our students is the awareness that the inner voice does in fact exist and is there for a reason. From this realization they can safely begin their journey.

So how do we begin to reconnect with our inner voice? The yogic practice of asana is fertile ground for the creation and interpretation of physical sensation. As we move through the practice our body is engaged in a multi-faceted dialogue, physically and mentally. As we awaken our minds to this conversation, we may discover why it is we’ve often decided to silence that voice, either by manipulating our thoughts or by merely ignoring them. So many of the ideas we form about ourselves, and the needs of our body, are solely reactionary. As we explore the feelings and thoughts that come up as we practice mindfully, we might begin to appreciate that ‘inner voice’ and see it as a guide and protector. The mind-body connection may not be obvious at first but in time it will become a vital part of our asana practice. If we honor that ‘voice’ we can begin to trust ourselves again. Reacting to our bodies heed in love and compassion allows us to truly open up to our practice.

When it comes to defining our practice, the lines between beginning, intermediate, and advanced can get rather blurry. There is a limit to what can be gained by labeling our abilities. For the sake of qualifying where our physical practice lands on this continuum, (and to better ascertain our own levels of understanding and awareness) we can set a few markers that can help us gauge our progress.

Begin with the mindset that we need to accept our practice as it is, with the understanding that the asanas present us with the opportunity to be aware of our internal state, as well as our physical disposition. They show us where we are stuck, and offer us opportunities to transcend our challenges. Because we are always changing, we should be ever ready to work within the flow of our practice. But it is necessary to be honest enough with ourselves to acknowledge our limitations, edges and habits. Whether or not you can touch your toes doesn’t move you from one category to another. A more helpful set of criteria would include understanding the actions necessary to take you into a posture, and the ability to make the subtle changes needed to find ease in each pose. Simultaneously, we bring our awareness to where we are now, where we can be, and where it’s too soon to go. It can take far more discipline to exercise restraint than to keep pushing ourselves. Understanding our bodies’ limitations is one of the key elements required to developing the trust necessary to further our practice. As we encounter more demanding asanas, it becomes even more critical to keep the lines of communication open between body and mind. This keeps us safe and inspires the evolution of our practice. This loving, nurturing and compassionate approach to a practice allows us to find the comfort and ease necessary to fully understand the potency of each posture.

Since the asanas were made for us, and not the other way around, it should not be assumed that we can properly enter a posture and stay there comfortably, the first time we try it. Finding and understanding the correct alignment for our body takes mindfulness and time. Our bodies don’t always conform easily to these new experiences, and that’s okay. We have our whole lifetime to practice yoga. We don’t have to get it all right the first time we step onto a mat. The physical practice of yoga is a journey and our bodies are not stagnant. Life affects us both physically and mentally. As we move through this intermediate phase of our yoga, the most helpful thing we can do for ourselves is to respond compassionately to the effect it has on our bodies.

about Lurie:

Lurie started teaching yoga in 2005, less than one year after a total hip replacement. She joined the Evergreen Center for Yoga as a practitioner when it opened in January 2004. She found that hot yoga helped with pain associated with years of teaching aerobics and fitness (high impact activities), and a car accident in 1997. Following her hip surgery, she was able to rehabilitate through yoga and pilates. Lurie is certified in Hatha Yoga, Level I and in Hot Vinyasa Yoga, Level II. She applies Iyengar style principles of alignment to her teaching through the use of blocks and straps.
By attending an annual yoga conference and week-end workshops, Lurie strives to bring fresh ideas and updated knowledge to her classes. She is also a certified meditation instructor since 1975 and has practiced meditation for over 37 years. Lurie has a BA in social services, a MA in human relations, and a PhD in speech communication. She retired from teaching college in 1996 to have time for world travels, to learn about other cultures and take adventurous scuba diving trips. Lurie teaches yoga and pilates part time.