Posts Tagged ‘asana practice’
Thursday, February 9th, 2012
World renowned yoga teacher and father of Purna Yoga, Aadil Palkhivala, returns to Ventura Yoga Studio in Ventura, CA, from Friday 2/10 through Sunday 2/12 for a series of Egg-friendly workshops in a weekend intensive.
The weekend kicks off on Friday as Aadil guides students through asana in a preparation for pranayama in Pranayama: Preperation & Practice from 5:30-8:30PM. Students learn the balance of control between pranayama in the mind and nervous system, and asana in keeping the body still.
The five winds of the body that govern movement and progress are the focus of The Five Vayus in Twists and Backbends on Saturday, starting the day off from 11:30-2:30PM. Aadil closes the day with Healing the Pelvis and Sacrum, focusing on the anatomy of the sacroiliac joint that holds the weight of the entire spine and upper body.
Aadil wraps up the weekend on Sunday with Finding our Foundation, focusing on poses that strengthen the feet and knees. From the ground up Aadil moves into Healing the Neck, Shoulders and Upper Back, guiding students through asanas that help to relieve tension that we often hold in these areas. (more…)
Tags: 3ME Dealer, Aadil Palkhivala, Aadil Teal Three Minute Egg, asana practice, Egg-Friendly Studio, ergonomic yoga blocks, hatha yoga, Iyengar yoga, pelvis, Pranayama, Purna yoga, sacroiliac joint, sacrum, The Five Vayus, three minute egg, upper body tension, Ventura Yoga Studio, workshops, yoga blocks, yoga eggs, yoga props
Posted in Workshops | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
I returned from my Ayurvedic weekend with an odd combination of dread and resolve. The threat to move me back to the beginners’ class was looming from Friday’s session, and the beating I took from the teacher at the spa had left its scars. But I was determined to stay in headstand for the full 5 minutes.
The class started at 7:00 am with handstands at the wall. Seriously? Handstands? What happened to a gentle cat/cow or some breathing exercises? We then moved into downward dog and some forward folding for at least a few minutes before the teacher announced it was time for Sirsasana – headstand. Having failed to tuck in my shirt for Handstands and never fully regaining my composure after that, I approached headstand with a combination of caution, care, and resolve to do it right. I would press into my forearms, extend through my heels, separate my hips from my ribcage, and lengthen my shoulders to avoid placing too much pressure on my head – all while maintaining one point of focus and smooth easy breathing. I began feeling fatigued after about 90 seconds into the pose. My neck was starting to hurt and my arms were shaking, but I looked across from me at an upside down man who seemed to float effortlessly on the other side of the room, and I decided that if he could do it, so could I. (more…)
Tags: asana practice, beginner yoga, camel pose, endurance, handstand, Headstand, India, intermediate yoga, Iyengar yoga, Jason Scholder, Patience, Pune, sirsasana, ustransana
Posted in A Yogi Abroad | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
I have now been in India for one week, and today was both the best and worst day I’ve had in terms of yoga. It was the best day because we had yet another amazing teacher and for me it was our first time in the same room. All of the teachers here are excellent, and this woman has certain qualities that make her shine. She is beautiful, confident, her smile is disarming, and she loves to yell and hit. In this last way she is not so unique. If you come to India to do yoga; tuck in your shirt, suck in your stomach and keep your knees and elbows straight. Or, be prepared to suffer the consequences. Today, I suffered quite a bit. (more…)
Tags: asana practice, beginner yoga, Headstand, India, intermediate yoga, Iyengar yoga, Pune, RIMYI, Salamba Sirsasana, travels
Posted in A Yogi Abroad | 1 Comment »
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
Mia Park featured on the cover of the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of YogaChicago
As an avid athelete, dancer, actress, and community organizer, Mia Park has found that “yoga [has] provided both the physical well-being and inner peace that she needed to balance her busy lifestyle,” telling YogaChicago in their Jan/Feb 2012 article that features her as teacher of the month. Her background in martial arts and gymnastics led her to yoga in 2002. She has since taken her yoga practice and made it central to her life. She turned to Moksha Yoga for classes, becoming certified as a ParaYoga® Level 1 teacher (the only one in Chicago) after completing a 200-hour teacher training with Rod Stryker. Beyond just asanas, Mia employs chanting, pranayama (breathing), and kriya (energy techniques) favoring the Tantric principles of ParaYoga® to help quiet the mind.
Mia’s dynamic presence has led her down many different creative paths throughout her life, including her role as a co-host of a public access television cable show, Chic-A-Go-Go, for over 14 years. Jake, a colleague on the show and also Jason Scholder’s cousin, introduced Mia to Jason and the (then) new egg-shaped block. They were quickly acquainted, (more…)
Tags: Aadil Palkhivala, Anusara, asana practice, Ayurveda, brand ambassador, chanting, Chic-A-Go-Go, Chicago, ergonomic yoga blocks, Iyengar yoga, Kriya, MedMob, Mia Park, Midwest Yoga Conference, ParaYoga, Pranayama, Rod Stryker, spirituality, Tantric yoga, three minute egg, yoga eggs, yoga props
Posted in Teachers | No Comments »
Friday, December 9th, 2011
As part of her year-long series, Annie Carpenter continues her column “Basics” in the December 2011 issue of Yoga Journal with Chair Pose (Utkatasana). While simple in appearance, Chair Pose is one that demands more than meets the eye: flexible shoulders, a stable core, and strong legs. We are reminded of the fundamentals of the pose in its root word, utkata, meaning “fierce” or “powerful,” although Annie tells us it is just as much to keep a cool mind. With deep breathing and a release of tension you will find a stronger sense of focus.
Focus is certainly central to the success of Chair Pose, as it requires quite a bit of it. All at once you must lift your chest, engage your core, lengthen your lower back, and keep weight in your heels. Annie gracefully reminds us with her patient perspective, that the point of Chair Pose is “[learning] to handle many actions all at the same time for what feels like way too long.”
With Annie’s helpful advice there are means of preparation before conquering the full pose. Before adding the arms you can first focus on mastering the right angle of your knees, channeling particular concentration toward shifting your weight onto your heels. Standing tall in Mountain Pose (Tadasana), which was the focus of Annie’s first blog of the “Basics” series, will keep your arms extended straight and your back from overarching. When you’re ready, Annie tells us to unite the whole of the pose by bringing awareness to the torso.
“The pose is teaching you,” Annie says, “its most important lesson and key concept in yoga: steady practice over time is better than occasional, intense spurts.” She includes three modifications by using the wall as a prop: powering up your lower body with squats, and aligning your upper body with chest and shoulder openers.
With a dedicated daily regimen, Annie reminds us of the deep satisfaction that results from perseverance and determination in this challenging pose. The Sanskrit word for dedicated practice, abhyasa, reminds us that focusing on the practice itself rather than achieving the goal results in effortlessness. ”Consistency in yoga yields deep, lasting results.”
Tags: Annie Carpenter, asana practice, Basics, chair pose, ergonomic yoga blocks, Mountain Pose, three minute egg, yoga blocks, yoga eggs, yoga journal, yoga props
Posted in Yoga Instruction | No Comments »
Monday, May 30th, 2011
Thank you everyone for ‘Yakking” about us. We won! We have officially joined the ranks of “Most Yakkable!!!”
Below is the list of amazing things people have said about the Eggs. Thanks to everyone who contributed. Happy reading! (and it appears you can keep on yakking about the Eggs if you like, so go for it!)
Tags: "help with back pain" "back pain" "yoga props" "back pain and three minute egg", 3 Minute Egg, advanced yoga and props, asana practice, beginning yoga, blocks, chiropractic, egg blocks, experiences, intermediate yoga, physical therapy, restorative yoga, Thank you, therapeutic yoga, three minute egg, using props in advanced yoga, wrist, yoga and props, yoga blocks, yoga bricks, yoga equipment, yoga for beginners, yoga props, yoga therapy, yoga with wrist pain
Posted in Product Reviews | No Comments »
Monday, March 7th, 2011
Try something challenging with Three Minute Egg®!
When I was younger, there was a lot of typical “kid’s” stuff I was never able to do. Somersaults. Handstands. Cartwheels. When I saw that today’s video of Yoga Journal’s 21-Day Challenge featured the splits (hanumanasana), my challenge attempt blew a valve, veered off the road and took me for an unpleasant walk down memory lane.
This yoga journal challenge is beginning to feel pretty advanced. In Day 5′s video, Elise Lorimer does show how the blocks can help with the splits, but they still weren’t enough to help me. What yoga blocks did to assist my posture, the Eggs could do times three. I indeed kept one egg in each hand to help keep my balance, as Elise suggests doing with blocks, but there was still no way for me to touch the floor from there. This led me to “The Splits” section of the Three Minute Egg Flow Yoga video, where I learned how to utilize the Eggs in order to achieve this advanced posture. I added a third Egg under my (more…)
Tags: 21-Day Challenge, advanced yoga, advanced yoga and props, asana practice, yoga journal
Posted in Yoga Journal's 21-Day Challenge | No Comments »
Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
Getting started in yoga wasn’t easy for me. My biggest obstacle was simply summoning up the courage to walk through the door. For years I shunned the yoga world in favor of a gym membership, only to traumatize my spine with a slipped disc after overexerting myself on a weight machine. One surgery later I was miraculously able to sit, stand, and walk again without any nerve pain. My medically-restored mobility, however, came at the expense of my flexibility.
My doctor prescribed for me a daily yoga and pilates regimen. While I was curious to try it, my fears descended upon me each time I arrived at the studio. I’d walk into a class and position myself strategically toward the back of the room. My goal was to avoid judgment from those who seemingly conquered any posture with ease, while I struggled simply to touch my toes. My silent need to compete with the advanced yogis who surrounded me blinded me to the (more…)
Tags: asana practice, back pain, beginning yoga, experiences, physical therapy, yoga and back pain, yoga props, yoga therapy
Posted in Back Pain | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
I feel a combination of gratitude and astonishment when people review the Three Minute Egg® and have this many positive things to say. I of course think it’s a great product, but I’m supposed to feel that way. I invented it! When other people take the time to share their thoughts and recommendations, all I can say is, “Thank you.” So today I am saying a belated ‘Thank you’ to Yoga Deals for doing such a nice write-up on my product. If you have anything you’d like to add, please do! And please share this with your yoga community. I really appreciate it!
design within stretch – three minute egg – product review
the three minute egg is the new block on the mat, but what’s with the name? according to the founder and ‘recovering’ furniture maker, jason (aka creative dude with a bad back), the name was hatched (i couldn’t resist) because of the “great benefits [that] can come from a practice where one holds challenging poses for up to 3 minutes & restorative poses for at least 3 or more.” jason also mentioned, that we should be on the lookout for… (more…)
Tags: 3 Minute Egg, asana practice, beginning yoga, blocks, egg blocks, experiences, intermediate yoga, restorative yoga, Thank you, therapeutic yoga, three minute egg, using props in advanced yoga, yoga and props, yoga blocks, yoga blog, yoga bricks, yoga deal, yoga equipment, yoga for beginners, yoga therapy
Posted in Product Reviews | No Comments »
Saturday, October 23rd, 2010
Placing your hands on the forward slope of the Egg protects your wrists
If you suffer from brittle bones, many activities are off-limits. Rock climbing. Sumo wrestling. Tackle football. Even walking can be challenging, what with all those curbs and sidewalk cracks as potentially lethal obstacles. Luckily, there is one activity that can not only strengthen your entire body, but can also protect you from osteoporosis: yoga.
Yoga serves the body in several ways. Yoga can combat stress. A consistent yoga practice gives your body the opportunity to stretch and rest. It can stimulate your bones to retain calcium, assuming you’re getting enough to begin with. (Adequate amounts of calcium—1000 mgs daily, 1500 after menopause—are critical to healthy bones.) Yoga does all this through its weight-bearing poses like arm balances, inversions, and standing poses. Yoga engages your whole skeleton.
The weakest point in the skeleton is, (more…)
Tags: asana practice, beginning yoga, physical therapy, restorative yoga, therapeutic yoga, wrist, yoga and weak wrists, yoga for beginners, yoga with wrist pain
Posted in Yoga Instruction | No Comments »
