Beaconsfield Yoga Students Pick Up the Pace!
Under instruction of new Yoga Teacher Margaux Lovett, students at Just Be Yoga and Meditation Studio are practicing Vinyasa Yoga, a dynamic, flowing, movement-based style of yoga.
Teacher, Ms. Lovett said that this dynamic and flowing style of yoga is a “Western take on Indian traditional forms of Ashtanga Vinyasa physical yoga.” She went onto say that “the style is particularly popular with men, as it has a focus on building strength in the body before flexibility.”
“We lead such sedentary lives; we sit at our computers, we sit in the car and we sit for leisure and entertainment. People may be reluctant to join a yoga class where there may be more sitting involved, Vinyasa yoga will get you up and moving!’ said Ms. Lovett.
Just Be Yoga and Meditation is excited to introduce this dynamic practice that offers all of the mind/body benefits of traditional yoga. Studio Principal Lesley Gough said that “yoga has become so mainstream; it is great that there are accessible options for all sorts of people to honour their body, their health and their well-being.”
You can try Vinyasa yoga yourself at the upcoming intensive workshop on 19 February 2012, alternatively, Just Be Yoga runs Vinyasa classes every Wednesday evening. View out Timetable information on the website today for details: www.justbeyoga.com.au/timetables
Poses to ‘Just Be..’
Salamba Sirsasana or Supported Headstand
The supported headstand is known as the ‘King of all Poses!’ This advanced posture is very therapeutic—it can calm the brain, ease stress and mild depression. However, it’s hard for many beginners to get into this inversion safely, much less hold them it the three minutes it takes to get the full benefit.
So what do you do if you are still developing the necessary strength and flexibility to practice them safely? A good understanding of correct alignment in these postures will help you practice them with integrity and without injury, BUT it’s important that you work with an experienced teacher the first time before you try it yourself.
Step by Step
1. Use a folded blanket or sticky mat to pad your head and forearms. Kneel on the floor. Lace your fingers together and set the forearms on the floor, elbows at shoulder width. Roll the upper arms slightly outward, but press the inner wrists firmly into the floor. Set the crown of your head on the floor. If you are just beginning to practice this pose, press the bases of your palms together and snuggle the back of your head against the clasped hands. More experienced students can open their hands and place the back of the head into the open palms.
2. Inhale and lift your knees off the floor. Carefully walk your feet closer to your elbows, heels elevated. Actively lift through the top thighs, forming an inverted “V.” Firm the shoulder blades against your back and lift them toward the tailbone so the front torso stays as long as possible. This should help prevent the weight of the shoulders collapsing onto your neck and head.
3. Exhale and lift your feet away from the floor. Take both feet up at the same time, even if it means bending your knees and hopping lightly off the floor. As the legs (or thighs, if your knees are bent) rise to perpendicular to the floor, firm the tailbone against the back of the pelvis. Turn the upper thighs in slightly, and actively press the heels toward the ceiling (straightening the knees if you bent them to come up). The center of the arches should align over the center of the pelvis, which in turn should align over the crown of the head.
4. Firm the outer arms inward, and soften the fingers. Continue to press the shoulder blades against the back, widen them, and draw them toward the tailbone. Keep the weight evenly balanced on the two forearms. It’s also essential that your tailbone continues to lift upward toward the heels. Once the backs of the legs are fully lengthened through the heels, maintain that length and press up through the balls of the big toes so the inner legs are slightly longer than the outer.
5. As a beginning practitioner stay for 10 seconds. Gradually add 5 to 10 seconds onto your stay every day or so until you can comfortably hold the pose for 3 minutes. Then continue for 3 minutes each day for a week or two, until you feel relatively comfortable in the pose. Again gradually add 5 to 10 seconds onto your stay every day or so until you can comfortably hold the pose for 5 minutes. Come down with an exhalation, without losing the lift of the shoulder blades, with both feet touching the floor at the same time.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to the Just Be community! We look forward to welcoming you back to the studio for Term 1 from Monday 23 January! Register early as some classes are nearly full.
If you can’t wait that long – join our holiday program and start the new year right!
Register online for both the holiday and term classes: http://www.justbeyoga.com.au/registration.php
Register Now for Holiday Yoga Classes!
As a result of demand from students, we are pleased to offer you a reduced class holiday program. The holiday timetable will commence from Monday 16 January 2012.
Get the details and register online www.justbeyoga.com.au/timetable.htm
We hope to see you there!
Poses to Just Be…
- Savasana or Corpse Pose
It is said that Savasana is the most difficult pose to master. It does not require the development of physical strength or a certain level of flexibility but rather the development of the mind. In Savasana, the body completely relaxes while the mind remains conscious and alert. Often we experience either one of two states – a dull mind (whereby we can very easily fall asleep) or an overactive mind (whereby we are caught up in our thoughts). In Savasana, we practice ‘getting out’ of the fluctuations of the thinking mind, sitting in the clear space behind our thoughts. In this space we can access peace and awareness.
Donna Farhi describes corpse pose as “a kind of conscious dying…..a letting go of the things that make us feel armoured and separated and, thus that cause us to suffer and accumulate tension….as we relinquish the attachments we have to our image, our responsibilities, our problems, our opinions etc……….we go through a process very similar to the one that we all face when we die.” (Farhi 2000, p. 235)
Laying in Savasana
Lay down as straight and as even as you can. Release the shoulders down away from the ears and draw the shoulder blades onto the back ribs. Allow the arms to rest slightly away from the torso with the palms facing up. Bend the knees slightly and lift the hips lengthening the tail bone towards the heels. You can use your hands to push the buttocks flesh towards the heels to create more space through the lower back. Straighten the legs. Feet can be at hip distance. Allow the feet and legs to flop out to the sides.
Close the eyes and count the exhalation in rounds of 7. You can also focus on systematically relaxing each part of the body.
This pose should ideally be practised before sleep; before, during and after asana practice, particularly if the practice is strenuous and dynamic and if you are feeling physically or mentally fatigued.
Contraindications
If you have back problems and it is uncomfortable to straighten the legs place a bolster or rolled blanket under your knees.
Place a low, flat blanket under the head to lengthening through the neck. This is particularly useful if the head tilts back and the chin points ups – creating arch through the neck. It is important to lengthen out through the crown of the head, drawing the chin slightly to the chest.
Farhi,D. (2000), Yoga, Mind, Body and Spirit, Holt Paperbacks, New York
Satyananda Saraswati, S. (1969) Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha, Yoga Publications Trust, India
Congratulations Leeanne!
Leeanne with her teacher and mentor - Andrew Mournehis
Congratulations to Leeanne, who attends our Thursday evening intermediate class, for completing her studies and graduating as a yoga teacher on Friday 9 December 2011.
Leeanne undertook a two-year, Advanced Diploma of yoga teaching through the Centre for Adult Education (CAE). She is another one of us who ‘caught the yoga bug’ and is now ready to share her passion with others!
There are three other Just Be students who will begin teacher training studies in 2012, I wish them all the best.
Poses to ‘Just Be’
Utthita Trikonasana or Triangle Pose
The Triangle Pose
Why not give this pose a go at home? It is great to stretch and open muscles all over the body from the thighs to the hips and shoulders. It stimulates the abdominal organs and can aid digestion and is wonderful to relieve backache, especially through second trimester of pregnancy.
How to achieve the triangle pose at home:
- Have the arms at shoulder level with the palms facing down. Draw the shoulder blades down the back.
- Turn the right foot out. Spinning on the ball of the left foot turn the heel out 90 degrees.
- Bend the right knee slightly and roll the thigh muscle out. Ensure that your knee and thigh are parallel to the mat.
- Exhale. Move the torso across and down over the right leg. Place the right hand on the shine or ankle.
- Opening through the chest, reach the left hand up with the palm facing forward.
- If it feels comfortable you can turn your neck and look toward the ceiling. If not, continue to look forward or down.
- Pressing down through the outer edge of your back foot.
- Tightening the tummy muscles.
- Inhale, coming up.
Please note the following important health warnings:
- If you suffer from a heart condition, practice this pose against a wall. Keep the top arm on the hip.
- If you suffer from high blood pressure, turn the head to gaze downward in the final pose.
- If you have neck problems, refrain from turning your head to look upward; continue looking straight ahead and keep both sides of the neck evenly long.
Reference: Yoga Journal
Early Bird Registration Prize – Register Today to WIN!
Register and pay for your Term 1, 2012 class before Monday 10 December 2011 for your chance to win a gift voucher from Kellie-Anne Remedial Therapies!
The $70 voucher can be redeemed for your choice of therapies including Therapeutic Massage, Reiki or Ear Candling/Massage!
The perfect Christmas gift for that special someone or perhaps a well-earned treat for yourself!
