By Tony Bishop, E-RYT
With more elite athletes, as well as everyday hard-working people, students, business owners, executives, managers, parents with their kids, runners, workout warriors, and countless others adding yoga to their regular routines, we thought it was time to walk briefly through a good example of yoga transitioning which can be helpful in establishing a healthy yoga outlook.
- Starting out
It’s perfect for most people to simply start – simply! Begin with a gentle yoga class, slow-paced restorative or deeply engaging Yin Yoga class to get you going. This applies to almost everyone. Even if you’re an accomplished athlete, the breathing techniques, bandhas training, slow stretching, mental awareness, patience in practice, humility, as well as physical healing makes this a great fit. Start at a great venue for yoga. We’re a tad biased of course, but we have found through practicing yoga for 20 years that Hot Yoga is sublime, suppleness producing, and flat-out awesome in its heavenly heated environment. Just take your time, be gentle, take it slowly – then transition. Give yourself permission to be a beginner. If you’re bored at first, give this approach a little time, some grace, and this could become your go-to practice as you become more skilled. We’re all still learning and progressing, and we all had a first class!
- Move “statically”
What does that mean? Move into a simple Hatha Yoga practice. More than 90% of yoga practiced in the United States and the Western Hemisphere is essentially Hatha Yoga. “Hatha” means “Sun & Moon” and is a beautiful blend of very old Raja and Tantric yoga practices. That makes it mentally engaging while emphasizing asana (poses) at their highest possible perfection. Holding, engaging, breathing, concentrating, balancing, flexing, squeezing, relaxing and letting go are all elements within Hatha Yoga. It’s the perfect balance and can transform your body and your mind equally. The static practice places emphases upon inhaling upon lengthening and exhaling upon engaging the pose and subtly adjusting the posture while holding statically. It’s a process that can continue improving and perfecting through many years of enjoyment. It can significantly tone and build muscle and strength while training your mind for proper meditation and relaxation (there are various depths to explore here, including biblical perspectives of course). This is an amazing transition after coming from the gentle to restorative and stretching regimens.
- Flow through
From Hatha Yoga came the practice of Ashtanga/Vinyasa – moving/transitioning from one pose to another in a sequence, or “Flow.” You may have heard the term “Flow Yoga,” which is being used as trademark names in various ways now. Vinyasa is a popular practice in gyms and gym franchises throughout the country. It is connecting with people who have a limited time to exercise, because it provides some really nice elements of mental concentration along with cardio benefits, calorie expenditure, and muscle engagement. Emphases will vary with the studio or venue in which you participate, but Ashtanga Yoga will add more balance, flexibility challenge, and advancement of postures while maintaining moving with the breath. The Flow is an extension of the inhale/exhale practice in static Hatha Yoga while adding movement, jumping, springing, stepping forward and back, binding, etc. Just remember to establish your proper form, keep your movement slow and careful to start. This is a fun and exciting practice that is great to add to your yoga practice days! Hopefully every day.
- Fusion, Blend, Modern Adaptations
Modern yoga practitioners have become increasingly creative by bringing yoga techniques into the consciousness of a much broader audience of potential yogis in blending martial arts influences, adding apparatus and accessories, resistance items and weights, inventions and tools, and a myriad of influences to augment yoga styles. There are many, many styles of yoga in use today. Just look around and find the one that suits your needs and ultimately your goals. Keep the journey as part of your practice. A thousand miles begins with the single step.
We will see you this week at Hot Yoga Bowling Green! You’ll have to experience this yoga to realize how good it really feels…
And now, here it is! Your May 2018 “Pause for a Pose” – The Split, or Dragon Advancement…
This pose can sound and look intimidating, but it is one that should be entered with open mind and soft movement. Remember to proceed slowly and intentionally. Begin in four points. This is standard “table” pose, or all-fours position with flat back. Inhale while raising your head and fix your gaze outward. Exhale while floating the right knee forward – also sliding the right foot forward slightly past your right hand. Now slide the left foot back behind you until that leg is as flat and straight as possible without pain. Relax. Inhale again, then upon the exhale, glide the right foot out a little further toward the end of your yoga mat. Keep the elbows straight and arms strong to control the depth of your movement toward the mat. This may be as far as you need today. You’re in basic dragon pose (runners’ lunge). Take a couple of slow breaths, and if you can go deeper today, exhale while straightening the right knee further and working the right foot out longer, continuing to use your arms and elbows as safety stops. This pose can continue progressing over time (as you need individually!) until the leg is completely out in front with the leg behind resting softly on your mat. No pain! If you feel extremely uncomfortable, push your arms straight and roll or walk out of the pose. Relax the elbows and lower the torso slowly as you can lie down flatly to your mat. Breathe and rest. Take your time, repeat other side as we keep the body in balance on right and left. Now, enjoy practicing this awesome pose all month. Be safe, and don’t be in a hurry! God bless, and namaste’!
About the Author:
Tony Bishop, E-RYT/RYT/CYT, is director and chief instructor with Hot Yoga Bowling Green, Kentucky. He has practiced yoga for 20 years, is certified and trained in a myriad of health and fitness disciplines including Hatha Yoga, Yoga Personal Training, Yoga Coaching, Yoga Teacher Training, Sil lum Kung Fu, Tai Chi exercise, spinning/indoor cycling, PowerHouse Pilates instruction, core conditioning, self defense programs and boot camp variations. He has more than 5,000 hours of yoga teaching experience, is registered through Yoga Alliance and is an avid researcher and proponent of progressive yoga movement and development of more effective, deeper and meaningful training methodology. Contact: 730 Fairview Avenue, C-2, Bowling Green; phone 270-793-0011; email hotyogabg@yahoo.com; website www.hotyogabg.com.
