For this one, find a doorway to stand in front of.

If there isn’t a good doorway around, you can use a friends arms.

Improve Your Posture with Yoga – part 6

You should feel a good stretch across the upper chest and the arms.
Once you have learned all 6 poses you will find you can complete the practice of this sequence in 15 – 20 minutes. I hope you will discover how wonderful it feels to stand tall. Blessings, Lillah

Here is how to use the wall to your advantage with this standing forward bend over the leg. This is a challenging pose lengthening both your hamstring muscles and your outer arm and chest. Relieve your back pain in minutes.

So slide your yoga mat up to the wall and give it a try.

Good Posture with Yoga Exercise – Part 5

Experiment with your distance from the wall. Just remember, feet are legs length apart and your spine needs to form a straight line from your fingertips to your tail. Let me know how it goes!

Good posture can be elusive for many Americans as so many of our daily activities have us bending forward or “stooping over” in some fashion.

Slide your yoga mat up against the wall. This pose is a variation of warrior 1 or Virabhadrasana 1. We will use this pose to completely open the front thigh and chest in order to extend the spine and bring relief to the neck and shoulders. Use this pose as a stand alone when you have been at your desk for more than 2 hours and un-crimp your spine!

Much interest was generated in the Sunday Sacroiliac, SI joint, workshop. Roger did an excellent job teaching us the SI joint anatomy with the help of his bones . . . and how to progress experientially through a sequence of adaptive yoga moves that have the potential to reset our SI joints to their natural pain free position. A question arose from one of the students wondering if long standing “misalignment” of the SI joints would lead to joint dis-figuration with the concern of having to live with that particular pain thru time.  Roger held to the perspective that creating proper alignment was the best choice and accessible with the appropriate time and effort.

In my personal journey, SI joint “dysfunction” has been part of my life for over 30 years. Sometimes the pattern is not noticeable, sometimes very painful for weeks on end, and most notably my dysfunction creates a scoliosis pattern with knee and shoulder strain on the opposite side. What I can confidently report is that coming to understand and apply the right yoga moves has given me a fairly high degree of functioning even though my SI joints are out of alignment at least 50% of the time.

It turns out I am not alone in this.  Approximately 1/3 of the population exhibits a short leg/ long leg profile.  Although SI joint displacement is not likely to be the cause of all those short legs, it is a notable one.

Over my 30 years of teaching, I have found SI joint dysfunction to be “recurring” especially in women. Whether this is due to the shape of our pelvis, the tendency toward long loose ligaments, or some other stress pattern- including an unbalanced or improper yoga practice, women seem more susceptible to hyper-mobility along with SI joint dysfunction.  Therefore although there is a joy in flexibility, there needs to be a balance of tone, flexibility and stability if we are to be “pain free”.

Being located deep inside on the front side of the sacrum, the SI joints are somewhat perplexing and mysterious. Is the right side misaligned or the left or both? Are the muscles or ligaments to tight or to loose? Is one side twisted forward and down, or up and back?  Whatever position or for whatever reason your SI joints are “out of place”, the manifestation will be seen in the muscular imbalance between your two legs and hips. So by beginning to observe the muscles that are chronically short or long (tight/stiff vs. loose/weak), we can apply our discriminating intelligence and work toward creating balance with our yoga practice.

Over the years I have come to understand and balance/ maintain good SI joint functioning by addressing the asymmetry of my body much like a person with scoliosis. IE; my right leg and left leg are just different and each side calls for its own focus and its own poses or patterns of execution.

My general advice is to examine the current balance in your own body identifying your longer muscles and your shorter ones. Watching to not overstretch your already long muscles by holding those poses for shorter time and by learning to activate/tone those muscles while in the poses.

There are two keys to my success of remaining “pain free”:

One is to use the Basic Hip Series to help you identify the balance of flexibility in the hip joints by extending in all the anatomical movements of that joint. Those 6 poses are Supta Padangusthasana 1-2-3 – leg up, out, and over for flextion, abduction and adduction, Traction twist for internal rotation, “the number 4 stretch” (on your back, ankle on opposite knee, knees toward chest) for external rotation, Lunges or ardha supta virasana for extension.

* Please note that in Supta Padangusthasana 3 with the leg over, place your foot on the floor or a block and stack your hips one on top of the other so as to not stress an already loose or mis-aligned SI joint.

Two is to create stability and tone in the pelvic floor, the core abdominals, the hamstrings, gluteal and lateral muscles. Choose;  abdominal poses that tone each side of the psoas muscle individually; salabhasana legs only hands under the front hip, and lift the weaker leg only several times before lifting both, this will tone both the hamstrings and gluteal muscles; belt the calf muscles with your feet hip width or slightly wider and repeat salabhasana pressing out on the belt to tone the lateral muscles and piriformis on the weaker side (depending on the degree of weakness you might choose to lift only the weak leg when using the belt).

Good luck. Watch for my upcoming blog postings that will guide you through a simple SI joint stabilization series on video.

Thank you for reading.  Namaste, Lillah

How did I end up with this pain? Will it ever go away?  What can I do to enhance the healing process?  These are questions more than 50% of visitors to doctors ask when suffering from back pain. As a hard working, busy, active person you may have already asked those questions, because you have experienced back pain.  One solution to help enhance relief from back pain is…Therapeutic Yoga.

When it comes to long term relief a 1987 survey, conducted by Klein & Sobel* and published in Medical Self Care Magazine, yoga ranked at number one.  The survey, of 492 chronic back pain sufferers used several modalities based on long term prolonged relief, short term relief, and no relief.  The top four modalities offering long term relief were as follows: yoga instruction 96%; psychiatrists 86%; physical therapists 65%; acupuncturist 36%. How does that help you?  Let’s explore back pain; its causes, and how Therapeutic Yoga can enhance a long- term solution to its relief.

The causes of Back Pain fall into four general categories: (1) Accidents or injuries, including repetitive motion injuries; (2) Poor posture and body mechanics, including prolonged sitting and other working conditions; (3) Stress, whether real or imagined, resulting in both specific and general muscular tension with varying intensity; (4) Disease processes, including physiological responses from asthma, high blood pressure, and nerve or joint pain from conditions such as M.S. or Fibro-myalgia.

Yoga is both a science and an art. Although yoga is not a panacea, it does offer relief, self-empowerment, and even healing for those individuals who are fortunate enough to find a good yoga teacher. One of yoga’s greatest gifts is the way the practice slows us down and helps us to be in touch with what’s going on inside. Through the practice of yoga we develop a fundamental attitude for healing, that of Ahimsa, non-violence or kindness.

When we extend our limbs in a pose we meet the resistance of our stiff muscles. In the beginning we judge all pain as negative, fearing we may re-injure ourselves. However, all sensations of discomfort are not negative. Meeting the resistance within us, physically and mentally is the doorway to releasing our healing potential.

The formula for releasing pain and resistance with kindness is a simple one. When you come up against your resistance in a pose;

(1) Stop. Don’t resist or push through. (2) Suspend judgment. (3) Breath. (4) Wait, and observe what changes. In this way the healing potential within you is released to flow more freely, and you have an opportunity to exercise discernment in what to stretch and how much, rather than react.

Body mechanics and proper alignment also play an important role in healing back pain. Regardless of how our back pain arises, there will be muscles that are short, tight, or even in spasm, and muscles that are long, weak or overworked. As we correct these imbalances with an appropriate yoga sequence, we are correcting and re-aligning our posture. This is done by aligning one joint with another to create stability along with greater range of motion. As students learn and maintain proper alignment, joint stresses are released and body mechanics become more efficient. The risk of re-injury is reduced as we create a balance of strength and flexibility, making alignment an essential part of the healing process.

The art of yoga also guides us to focus on the breath, and to build the bridge between body, mind, and soul. When we look within and breathe deeply in a pose, regardless of the source of our stress, we begin to reverse the stress cycle. Our body gets the message that it is “safe” to relax. The muscle fibers release, blood vessels dilate, endorphins release, and stress hormones lessen. In this way even the simplest of poses can have a profound effect on relieving the aches and pains associated with stress.

In relation to back pain from a disease process, yoga offers sublime and unexpected relief. One of the cornerstones of Iyengar Yoga, the style in which I am trained and certified, is the adaptability of poses through the use of props to maximize their therapeutic benefit. The therapeutic aim in this instance is measured not in a structural way, but rather in relation to the organic body and its function. The poses are done in such a manner as to open and stimulate the core of the body improving circulation, elimination and function of the glands and organs. The reversal of a disease process may or may not occur, however, a well-guided yoga practice will support a higher level of physiological function and the resulting sense of well-being.

According to Mr. Iyengar’s method, the practice of yoga is an integrative art, often moving students toward longer lasting pain relief, renewed self confidence, and a sense of wholeness.

The following three stretches are a simple way to gain quick relief from low back pain: (line drawings to be posted ASAP)

(a) Dog Pose Prep – position: bend forward at your hip joint, extend your arms placing your hands on a wall, desk or chair. Choose an appropriate height so you align the wrist, shoulders and hips. Step your feet hips width apart and toe in slightly.    Action: turn the upper arms out so the shoulder blades move away from the spine. As you exhale, move your pubis and top thighs back and lift your sits bones. Extend your spine completely, pressing your palms into the wall. Feel the stretch of the legs and ribs.

(b) Kneeling groin stretch – position: Knees as wide as they go with big toes touching, hips even with your knees, the lower back is slightly concave, belly soft.   Action: Breathe deeply, let go of tension in your neck and spine, movethe hips slightly forward and back.

(c) Traction Twist – position: Lying on your back, feet close to your buttocks–yet wider than your hips, arms out to the side.     Action: Drop both knees to the right, tuck your tailbone as you draw your hip and waist back toward the floor. Feel the stretch through the front of your thigh and hip. Change sides.

For back pain relief a good yoga teacher would be someone who has training in alignment and body mechanics, can adapt poses for persons with limited range of motion, and understands the function of pain and mental attitude in the practice of yoga.

Yoga is a wonderful practice for back pain sufferers allowing us to tune in and release pain in a positive way; teaching us proper alignment to relieve strain and re-balance our posture; helping us to use our breath to release stress, build self-confidence, and improving our overall health and well-being.

When I evaluate students in my classes and private sessions, I help them identify their muscular imbalances and recommend the right yoga moves to help create balance, pain relief and freedom of movement. For students seeking pain relief who can not attend an appropriate class, I recommend my two DVD’s; Yoga: Freedom from Back Pain, and Yoga: Relief from Neck and Shoulder Pain. Each DVD offers 12 simple yoga moves that are practical and accessible to most students, new and more experienced.

You may view clips from the DVD’s at http://www.lightenupyoga.com/DVDs/yoga_videos.htm The DVD’s have been recommended by Yoga Journal, Prevention Magazine, and Dr Andrew Weil, author of “Creating Optimal Health” and “Self-Healing” newsletter, and have been distributed Nationally in the U.S. and Canada.

Lillah Schwartz is a certified Iyengar Instructor with over 28 yrs experience. She is the founding director of Lighten Up Yoga and Teacher Training School in Asheville, NC.  For more information on Lillah her classes, personal training or teacher trainings please visit  http://www.lightenupyoga.com/DVDs/thera_yoga_lillah.htm or call 828-258-9401.

Pelvic Lift or Setu Bhanda Sarvangasana is an excellent single pose for those of us who spend time sitting…

This pose will help increase the length of your psoas muscle and releive back pain.

When performing this pose …

raise your hips only as far as you can without loosing the tuck of your tail and action of the buttock. Then your lower back will release.

Part 4 of the yoga Posture series will post next week.

Check out the other videos in this series, enter your email at the top of this site.

Please give us your feedback in the comment box below.

Belly Turning Pose

Use Belly Turning pose to help relieve tension in your kidneys and spinal muscles.
This will help you release stiffness and gain flexibility in your chest and shoulders. A wonderful warm up for the other poses in this series…

Check out the other videos in this series, enter your email at the top of this site.

Please give us your feedback in the comment box below.

Improve Posture

Part 1 of Six Simple Poses to Improve Posture.

Siting long hours in chairs, driving in cars, stress and tension are some of the reasons there is so much poor posture today.

Lillah gives us 6 poses to stretch, strengthen and tone the muscles involved in proper posture.

The promise of the machine age was freedom. Freedom from a stresses of farming and milking, freedom from the bondage of cleaning and washing, freedom from walking and bicycling. The assurance of more time.

The promise of the computer age was even more free time. Computers will do everything, we were told. They will take care of all the details, so that we can have more time for ourselves, more time with family, more time to explore, more time to meditate.

Yet where has all of this free time gone? Do you have any? Our lives are more and more busy, more and more full, more and more tense. Alas, the promise has been, at least so far, a charade, a chimera, a sham. There will always be things to do which no machine or computer can, so only those of us who take the time to care for ourselves, will feel taken care of. The truth is that machines can not nurture us, only we can nurture ourselves.

The promises made to us where untrue and remain unfulfilled. We have neither more time nor more freedom. The lesson is that true promises cannot be made nor fulfilled by society, but others, by institutions, by governments. Rather, the true promise that leads to fulfillment can only come from us to ourselves.

Yoga has a time-tested methodology for fulfilling these promises to ourselves. The asanas fine-tune, restore and revitalized the body — the physical promise fulfilled. The pranayamas (breath work) refine, strengthen and calm the mind — the mental promise fulfilled. The meditations unveil and resolve the inner hidden feelings — the emotional promise fulfilled.

As the world becomes more complex it behooves us to take even more time out from the hectic tumult for quiet time, for our practice, for ourselves. The power to be well, the power to enjoy life, the power to be in a constant state of joyous fulfillment dwells within us.

When we have no time for yoga, that’s the time for yoga!

Aadil B. Palkhivala is the director of Yoga Centers in Bellevue, Washington, and provides ongoing training for yoga teachers nationwide at Yoga Centers. He holds a rare Advanced Iyengar Yoga Teachers Certificate, as well as degrees in law, physics, mathematics and clinical hypnotherapy. www.yogacenters.com

As a yoga student, I was first introduced to the Iyengar method in 1977. The intelligence behind the practice gave me support, stability and freedom from nagging back and shoulder pain. BKS Iyengar was a student of Sri Krishnamacharya, the man who revived the teachings of Astanga Yoga in the 21^st century. The Astanga yoga path has at its base the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the guiding principles on the path of yoga, or Union.

Mr. Iyengar shares this lineage with other notable teachers such as Patahbi Jois, T.K. Desikachar and Indra Devi. BKS Iyengar?s outstanding contribution is how he has codified and refined the practice of Asana (poses) and Pranayama (breath control) to reflect in action, the whole of the Yoga Sutras. Mr. Iyengar?s methods have been recognized the world over. In 2004 the Indian government crowned him the Emperor of Yoga, a prestigious education award, and the BBC has hailed him as ?the Michelangelo of yoga?.

At Estes Park in September 2005, 800 of us stood on our mats inside a perfectly designed rectangle to define our personal space. We waited patiently chanting the Yoga Sutras and reviewing our Sanskrit on the overhead projectors. Then like a single organism, we were drawn to the stage anticipating the appearance of BKS Iyengar. The applause began the moment his face appeared and continued seemingly forever until every cell of our bodies were filled with gratitude for this great man and his life?s work. And then class began. Each senior teacher took turns teaching a yoga pose to the crowd and, after giving their best instruction, the master would speak: ?Observe your mind?what is its state? Now (in tadasana), bring the inner skin of the big toe mound down onto the floor. Observe, did your mind become quiet? Peaceful? Yes or no?? Invariably, the answer would be ?yes.? And so it went, pose after pose, pearls of awareness that expanded and tied together our consciousness into a seamless strand of action, peace and poise.

This was not my first experience being a student in his presence. I met Mr. Iyengar in San Francisco in 1984 at the 1^st International Iyengar Yoga Convention, made a trip to India, and attended two other conventions where he taught before seeing him this year in Estes Park. Each time I have been impressed with his forthright honesty and instinctive knowledge and skill. I have watched him time and again adjust people in poses, add a prop, give weight and resistance, or take the resistance away, always with the end result of restoring them to balance and lightness of being, beyond their pain and suffering. Yes, he was always a passionate and demanding teacher, but not in any ordinary way, only 100%. This year I saw a mellow man of 87 years, easy to smile and make a joke. Yet still absolutely clear about what was important, the integration and inner freedom that was possible for every human being through the mindful practice of yoga. He wants us to see what he sees and know the importance of every nuance on the path to freedom. As his students he calls us to study long, observe carefully and learn to be fully human so that we might serve others in the highest sense.

Having myself studied and performed the basic yoga poses thousands of times over the past 25 years, I still scurried between poses to cryptically jot down each renewed or deeper insight, refusing complacency and thirsting for the larger vision of yoga, for the truth of being. I have never been disappointed by Mr. Iyengar, but rather awed by his simple yet profound teachings, his keen observations, and his deep sense of compassion and wisdom. I am still puzzling over his comment that we either breathe and draw oxygen from our brain or breathe and draw oxygen from our lungs.

Mr. Iyengar is no doubt a living master who has reached out and touched so many, often giving them back their lives after illnesses and injury. For those of us who have seen him in action he has awakened in us a deep sense of compassion and a desire to learn. Those yoga students who had the great good fortune to be in Estes Park with Mr. Iyengar have had a glimpse of the light, the wisdom, the truth, and the vast possibilities yoga has to offer.  To quote the master himself, ?The Light of yoga, which once lit will never dim, the better your practice, the brighter the flame.?

After studying and teaching for 25 years and assisting thousands of people in finding pain relief through yoga? I am grateful and humbled as I return again to my mat to investigate the polarity of nature and soul, to study, to learn and to grow.

Lillah Schwartz pioneered the Iyengar method in North Carolina beginning in 1981. She is an Introductory Certified Iyengar Instructor and is celebrating the 26^th anniversary of her studio, Lighten Up Yoga – in downtown Asheville.