Pain in the Butt?

Many of my clients often complain of pain about the size of a quarter in one hip or another just below the waist band in the back body.  Frequently, it is the female gender, but men can also find it after sitting for long periods of time on a hard surface or car riding.

Here are some poses that may help in a sequence of warming up the region, active postures for heating up, and then the deep stretch at the end.  Let me know if it helps!

Warm Up

1.      Cat Cow on your back for Bridge Pose

2.      Table Top Cat Cow to warm up the spin adding in one leg extended behind straight “Spinal Balance”

3.      Lateral (Side to Side) Arm Movements from a Seated Posture

4.      Standing Twists “Flossing Out the Spine”

5.      Lunge Pose with Knee on a Blanket as you circle the hip forward, external rotation, back, internal rotation.  Then, reach up as you come forward, and half split as your hands come back down on the block to lengthen the back of the leg.

6.      Pigeon Pose

7.      Stand at the wall with one foot on a chair seat or two blocks stacked as you twist towards the wall with both hands

Active Heated Poses (at least 15 minutes)

1.      Sun Salutation C with Lunge Pose turning on glutes with a back bent knee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgBgo_iXlPc

2.     
Warrior Sequence of Lunge and opening to Warrior I and Warrior II, Triangle, Reverse Warrior...

 Balancing Postures of Warrior III and Half Moon

Deep Stretch (Hold for 1 to 3 minutes)

1.      Lizard Pose with two blocks on the inside of the front foot in a kneeling lunge

2.      Reverse Pigeon or Piriformis Stretch

3.      Supine Cowface Pose with knee over knee as you hold onto your feet

4.      Eagle on the back twist at the wall

5.      Seated Single Shoelace with one knee over the extended leg

6.      Extended Hand to Foot Pose with a Strap

7.     
Seated on a blanket or small bolster twist with one leg bent and crossed over the opposite leg

Rest in Quiet

18 Hopes, Dreams, Aspirations

If you had all that you needed, money was no object, and time was abundant, what would you do in 2018?  There is something about writing it down that creates the window of opportunity.

Here are my Hopes, Dreams, and Aspirations...

1. I would write a book.  I would tell my story and how yoga has made such a tremendous difference in self-acceptance, body image, and movement.
2. I would travel more with my husband.  Owning your own small business is a 24 hour commitment 7 days a week.  In order to be gone for a day, I prepare at least one to two weeks ahead of time, hire subs, prepare the studio, find someone to clean the studio and do the daily bookkeeping, laundry, etc.  Occasionally, having to cancel a class due to a family emergency makes me feel awful, and I always want to be as punctual and prepared for the people I serve.  I love my Tranquility business, but traveling would be a new adventure.
3. I would go back to Kripalu.  It is no secret that I have treasured my yoga training there; and the atmosphere is such a blessing to me for quiet reflection, healthy eating, and learning more about what I love.
4. I would see my grandchildren at least once a month. Even though some of them live far away.  All 8 of them bring me such joy!
5. I would accomplish my dream of becoming a yoga therapist.  Some people imagine that the attainment of this great aspiration would make my life complete, but I will continue to learn, grow, and study.  When you work with helping to heal people's bodies, you can never know enough about it.  I am very appreciative of Everyone Yoga School in Tulsa and the opportunity to learn, grow, and serve.
6. I would laugh more and worry less.  Laughter is very healing, and worry or anxiety is very damaging.  I am at the age and stage of life where more laughter seems like a better way to live, and anxiety has overstayed its welcome.
7. I would read more.  Now, this seems almost impossible seeing that I am already a voracious reader, but reading brings such pleasure.
8. I would walk in nature more often.  There is something so therapeutic about being outside, and I treasure the time I have with the quieting and listening aspect of long walks without an agenda.
9. I would go shopping with my daughter.  She loves to shop, and I do not.  But being with her is such a blessing in my life.  She shops, and I relish the time together.
10. I would go out for coffee with my sons.  Just listen and listen time. Sharing from the heart space.
11. I would learn to quilt.  I used to sew and loved my creativity.  There is something so special about a normal day in which one uses the right side of the brain for making something out of spare parts.  I used to say as a school teacher that when I do not grade papers any more, I would quilt.  It is time.
12. I would find the time to stroll the beach front, the lake front, or the creek.  Water has been such a healing for me since I was a small child.  My parents used to put me in my "Da's" boat to get me to sleep.  The gentle movement of water lulls me into a peaceful state.
13. I would eat better, weigh less, and exercise more.  Because you can never do that too much.  Especially if it is your hobby.
14. I would spend less time on the computer, the television, and the phone.  It robs us of quality time with our loved ones and friends.
15. I would meditate and pray more.  It adds years to your life and breath to your body.
16. I would sleep better.  I would not feel anxious about not sleeping.  I would be able to take a nap or rest for hours.  If you have never struggled with insomnia, it is difficult to understand this issue; if you have, enough said.
17. I would realize that my last 60 years have been a road map of God's grace and mercy; thus, letting go of the shame, blame, and embarrassment of whatever and wherever.  The next 40 years will be so much better if I can only let it go.  Each day it is my goal to embrace the present and release the past.
18. I would love my husband, children, grandchildren, and friends more.  Because you can never love enough.

Take some time and journal your 18 aspirations.  Self-reflection is a powerful tool for awareness and appreciation.

Mercy Comes from Mindfulness

God uses mercy, humility, and kindness to teach us to live from our hearts instead of just our ego-centric thoughts.  Whatever you are currently going through, this opportunity is for growth.  Change the way you look at "failure," and you will change the way you see your life.  You live in a body, earth suit, you have a fluctuating soul, mind, emotions, and you will always be a spirit.
Relationship issues involve two parts.  Your part and someone else's part.  You can only "grow" in mercy, humility, and kindness on your end.  The other person must also grow for healing to take place.
Let go of the past, the mistakes, the drama, the sadness, and embrace the people that you are traveling with...sometimes someone steps off the train of life unexpectedly, and you do not have the opportunity to make things right between you.
Peace is the most important thing, not who was right and who was wrong.

Survey Says...

Each year, Brian and I send out a survey to ask you how we are doing, what we could add, and interesting ideas of improvement.

Here is what we discovered:

• Later afternoon class at 5:00 pm instead of 4:30 pm
• You liked our specials
• Spin class on Tuesday mornings at 8:00 am 
• You liked our classes
• The Hot Yoga on Friday nights was a hit!
• You enjoyed Jeanne's teaching
• The Early Morning Sun Rise Yoga was inspirational at 6:00 am
• You wanted more yoga for beginner or gentle and moderate level practices
• The low cost kept many of you coming
• You thought our Spin classes in the morning should only be 30 minutes with 30 minutes of yoga following
• The welcome at the door, help with parking in the evening, and cleanliness of the studio were wonderful
• You liked the difficulty of the power classes
• The scholarships for students who could not afford to pay was a blessing
• You wanted more Yoga Therapy classes like the 9:30 am class on T/TH
• Tracy is a terrific Spin Instructor
• You appreciated the quality of our Restorative classes with Christine, Beth Ann, Beverly, and Debbie
• The timing was just right on the length of the class
• You enjoyed the practices and loved yoga variety.

Unfortunately, some of you did not receive the survey.  It had three questions...

1. What are your favorite classes and why?
2. What are your favorite times and why?
3. How can we serve you better?

It is not too late to respond to the survey answers.  Jessica Freeman won the drawing for essential oils and a diffuser necklace.

Thanks again for your answers!

Eat Right - at the Best Time, in the Best Atmosphere, to Create the Best Digestion

When we are stressed, we eat too fast.
When we are lonely, we eat too much.
When we are busy, we eat standing up.
When we are driving, we should never eat.
When we are arguing, we need to put down our fork.
When do we?  Overeating can be an issue for all of us during the holidays.
Here is a great article with Ayurvedic Principles for eating from Ayusante.com

25 Ayurvedic Principles for Eating Right

Now that we clearly understand some eating mistakes that we could be committing as well as Ayurveda's recommendations for eating right, let's have a look at the Ayurvedic principles for eating right:

• Eat only when you're hungry.
• Avoid eating before Sunrise or after Sunset.
• Consume your heaviest meal when the Sun is at its peak - lunch.
• Never eat while you're facing South. East should be preferred.
• Wash your face, hands and legs before a meal. Make sure the utensils are also clean.
• If you eat after Sunset, avoid sour foods.
• Meditate briefly before you eat the food to raise the energy.
• Eat and drink only while you're sitting.
• Eat only when the right nostril is free and open, drink only when the left nostril is functioning without blockage.
• Prefer freshly cooked food to one that is processed.
• Don't eat anything that you don't like. Your mind and body will not be happy or satiated.
• Don't eat anything that is too hot or too cold. Everything should be of moderate temperature.
• Never mix temperatures of food. Don't have something hot and cold at the same time.
• Don't talk or laugh while eating. Focus on eating more than anything else.
• Don't drink water after finishing a meal. Preferably, have water about half-an-hour before a meal. You are allowed to sip water while having your meal to aid digestion.
• Don't eat too fast or too slow.
• Don't snack between meals. You should drink lukewarm water when you have a craving.
• Over-greasy food is not good, neither is food that's too dry.
• Wash your face, hands and legs after the meal as well.
• Don't sleep or lie down within two hours of having a meal. It's bad for digestion.
• Don't do anything that requires a lot of physical or mental effort right after a meal.
• You can urinate right after eating, but try not to defecate for a few hours after a meal.
• Don't take tea half-an-hour before or after a meal.
• Make sure the meal during or after Sunset is not very heavy.
• Try to laugh after a meal - it promotes digestion.

Lokah Samastah Sukino Bhavantu

Lokah - universe or realm
Sama - same
stah - all beings
Sukha - joy, ease, or happiness that leads to freedom; sukhino derived from sukha
Bhav - union with God
antu - may it be so

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu means to me...

May my words, my thoughts, and my actions bring freedom, joy, ease, and happiness to others.  May I help people to have union with God as they know God to be.  May I be generous with my actions and kindness to share with others.  May I know true forgiveness for my mistakes, and may I always be forgiving.  

It is a Sanskrit prayer.  We breathe in to calm, and we breathe out to find peace.

For you see, we all make mistakes.  We all fail.  We all say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, and fail ourselves or others in some way.  We cannot know true forgiveness until we are ready to share peace with others.  Our goal is and must always be to help others find true happiness, freedom, and ease.  That's how love loves.

The last four months have been a true struggle.  Perhaps today was the day we turn it all around.

May it be so...may it be so.

Yoga Philosophy About Stress Reduction

Public School teacher, private school teacher, yoga teacher, personal certified trainer, and spin instructor, I was asked about the benefits of yoga and stress reduction.  Here is my philosophy...

1. As a yoga instructor, how do you believe yoga is beneficial to emotional and mental functioning?
• I believe that yoga is beneficial to emotional health using the breath techniques associated with yoga teaching.  
• In yoga, the breath is primary; and even though, most of us would say we already know how to breathe, we really don't practice healthy diaphragmatic breath each day.  We all tend to hold our inhale when we feel stressed, tense, or in pain.  Yoga teaches us how to engage the Para-sympathetic nervous system through slowing down the breath out.  I often say, "We are born knowing how to inhale, but we must learn how to exhale."
• Calming the emotions is vital to our well-being.  Emotional stress is rampant in our world today, and we often use "numbing behaviors" to relax and let go of the tension.  Yoga gives us tools in our toolbox, so to speak, to incorporate for emotional stability by quieting the mind, choosing the thoughts, noticing the breath patterns that accompany our stress response then changing it.
• Relaxation or Savasana is the last 5-10 minutes of every class that I teach.
• I believe we would be nicer, more cognitive people at home and at work, if we took 3 - 5 minutes each day of getting quiet and breathing.  This benefits our mental functioning by helping us think more clearly, concentrate, and moving out of the brain stem of re-activity into the gray matter of pro-activity.  
• Yoga is for the body, mind, and spirit.  It is not a religion.  Many people struggle with the idea of yoga because it comes from the east and includes spiritual development.  At Tranquility Yoga, we honor people of all faiths.  
2. How do you believe the emotional/mental functioning is tied to the physical components of yoga?
• While some people believe that yoga is just for physical fitness, actually the yoga postures and what we call "Vinyasa Flow - breath with movement" are designed to help us learn to be still and meditate.  We balance, we strengthen, we lengthen; we move at our own ability level, without mirrors in the studio, with awareness to help us relax afterwards.  
• Yoga can be practiced from a chair, on the floor with a mat, or even in your kitchen.  I recommend practicing without shoes, but I have had people with plantar fasciitis (inflammation in the sole of the foot) who need to wear shoes to protect their feet for health reasons.
• As a personal certified trainer, I am very concerned with healthy hearts, healthy bodies that move without pain, healthy outlooks on life with good nutrition, healthy water intake.  However, with our stressful lives, we often choose just the cardio form of workout and neglect the quieting down of yoga flexibility and mobility work.  Thus, we stay in the Sympathetic Nervous System and struggle with sleep deprivation, drug dependency to calm down, over-eating, staying constantly busy/overworking, as well as, alcoholic consumption to relax and release.  
• My father was a pharmacist, and I am not against taking medication.  I enjoy a glass of wine with dinner some evenings.  I have been an emotional eater.  I understand how being busy and overworking makes someone feel more fulfilled. As a society, we have begun to over-use helpful techniques and under-use holistic practices of yoga postures and movement, breathing techniques, seeing the food you ingest as your daily medicine, and learning how to sit still and be quiet (meditation).
• Movement + breath + choosing our thoughts = better emotional/mental functioning.
3. Please provide number of years teaching and your certifications to add to article.

• I have been a private and public school teacher since the early 80's; yoga teacher since 2005/2006.  Education and being a life long learner are very important to me.  I am currently studying to become a 1,000 hour Yoga Therapist and hope to achieve that goal in 2018.  
• 500 ERYT Yoga Alliance (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher); Kripalu Yoga Institute; Certified Personal Trainer/Cooper Institute; Pilates certification; IAYT member; Yoga Warrior certification; Xen Strength certification (Yoga with Weight Lifting), Mad Dogg Spinning Instructor, Radiant Child Yoga certification, Yoga for PTSD and TBI through Yoga Warriors International, Prison/Drug Treatment Yoga, currently a student at Everyone Yoga School in Tulsa, OK
  M.A., B.S.