Working your asana-off? Yoga helps!
This has to be one of the most creative and well-executed window displays from lululemon. The message is simple and the medium so meta. And it’s versatile too: doubling as an ad for 3M. Well done, lululemon Georgetown!
Posted by: Kelly (photo credit: lululemon Georgetown)
Pictured Above: Beth Onuoha in Relaxed Warrior Pose, and Jamie Boese in Dancer Pose, at The Studio DC.
“Stay calm and bakasana on,” read California yogini and writer Kathryn Budig‘s Twitter handle yesterday. Of course, I had to ponder this, and then immediately retweet it. After a hectic weekend of work, celebrations, and hours and hours of I-95 traffic, this was the perfect reminder to detach myself from the craziness of life, and just return to a yogic mindset.
There is also some badass-ness in her quote. Notice, for example, Budig does not write, “Keep calm and savasana on.” Instead, she chooses an arm balance pose… a pose of strength and concentration. Perhaps because sometimes we must draw from our source of power to overcome the challenges and obstacles that prevent us from pursuing our life’s dreams.
It’s Never to Late to Bakasana…
It’s never too late to bakasana your way to empowerment. Some of the world’s most reknown yogis began practicing later in life. For example, it was not until her thirties when Lauren Peterson learned a handstand. Now in her fifties, Lauren’s handstands and arm balances have made her world famous.
The first step to learning bakasana, or any arm balance, is removing all sources of self-doubt from your mind. If you can visualize yourself doing bakasana, you can learn to do it with enough practice. For step-by-step instructions on how to engage yourself in bakasana, view this post from the Yoga Journal website.
Pictured: Peg Mulqueen of Down Dog Yoga, Instructing 1,700 yogis.
Get Your Bakasana on in the District…
The next step to learning bakasana is finding a good workshop or class. By luck, this Saturday, May 8th, Peg Mulqueen will be leading an arm balance workshop at Down Dog Yoga. The workshop will focus on bakasana, among other poses. For details and to register, click here, or visit Down Dog Yoga’s website.
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So when life gets crazy, remember Kathryn Budig’s words, and recall that yoga is the perfect cure for stress. Just breathe, return to the mat (literally of figuratively), and yoga on…
Posted by: Kelly
It’s here! We promised a video of the six poses of the week that we have blogged about thus far. The colorful, animated photos we used were actually screen shots from this one-minute yoga video. So please sit back, relax, and enjoy this short video produced by local filmmaker Brandon Bloch in collaboration with Kiril Tchangov, and featuring the lovely Kristen Neishi.
Strength Comes from Within from WelcomeOmDC on Vimeo.
Share your comments! Which of the featured yoga poses is your favorite? Most challenging? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
Ahhhh! It’s Friday. Time to end the work week and relish in all of our accomplishments. And as we wind down this pose of the week series, it seems appropriate to punctuate with a pose that often seals a practice: lotus. (Hint: These photos are still shots from a sweet yoga video, which will be featuring on our site next week!).
Lotus, or padmasana, is one of my favorite poses because it allows me to time to meditate and connect with my body. Lotus is the ultimate hip opener, and it may take several attempts over the course of a long period of time to achieve the full expression of this pose.
Triangle pose or utthita trikonasana (extended three-angle pose) in sanskrit, is a pose that many students, beginner to advanced, can try with modifications and enjoy the opportunity to create length in the body on all sides. Triangle pose is a lovely standing pose to take after a few warming surya namaskars (sun salutations) to open the heart, lengthen both sides of the torso, and play with the energy and weight distribution between the arms and legs.
Yogini: Kristen Neishi. Photography & graphics: Brandon Bloch and Kiri Tchangov.
Oh, how I wish I loved Goddess Pose! Then I would have all these nice, insightful things to say for this post. But the truth is Goddess Pose, or supta baddha kanasana, is an intense hip opener for me. And as a long-time runner, hip openers leave my inner thighs and ego feeling bruised.
Why I love it anyway: Nonetheless, I always attempt Goddess because despite the physical intensity of the pose, it makes me feel emotionally powerful and strong. Like Warrior Pose, Goddess helps me to connect to my inner strength, and draw my energy out unto the world. After, I feel like I can overcome any obstacle or stumbling block in my path.
So, I sweat and shake my way through Goddess because feeling powerful is worth it. (And it doesn’t hurt that my thighs and glutes get toned in the process!).
Getting into it:
1. Taking a wide stance, bend your elbows at shoulder height and face your palms toward each other. Turn your feet outward at a 45 degree angle. Exhaling, bend your knees and squat. Your knees should be directly over your toes.
2. Press your hips forward and your knees back, so that they are in energetic opposition. Draw your shoulders down and back, and puff your chest towards the front of the room. Arms should remain active, as if you are lifting the world up with your strength. Your chin is parallel to the floor and gaze is straight ahead, focused and undeterred.
3. Breathe! Hold the pose for three to six breaths.
4. To release, inhale and press into the feet, reaching your fingers out to the sides of the room. Turn your toes back to the center.
Modifications: If you find the pose as difficult as I sometimes do, you can rest your hands on your thighs for added support. You can also attempt a modification of this pose by lying on your back. The pose is not suggested for yogis with chronic or recent leg, hip, back, or shoulder injuries.
Benefits: Goddess pose opens the hips, groin, and chest. It strengthens and tones the thighs and glutes.
Did you find this post useful? What yoga pose or exercise makes you feel powerful? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Graphics and photography: Brandon Bloch and Kiril Tchangov.
Posted by: Kelly
Photography by Brandon Bloch. Graphics by Brandon Bloch & Kiril Tchangov.
Cobra pose, or bhujangasana, is one of the basic poses in a vinyasa style yoga practice. It is a wonderful upper back opener, and is a relatively easy position to master with practice and time.
Traditional texts claim that Bhujangasana increases body heat, destroys disease, and awakens kundalini.
Getting into it: First, turn over on the stomach and place your hands on the floor beside your pectoral muscles. Next, place your hands, palms down, under the shoulders on the floor. Inhale, and without lifting the navel from the floor, raise the chest and head, arching the back. Stretch as far into the pose as possible, holding the breath. Hold the pose for 15-20 seconds. Exhale while slowly lowering to the floor.
Why we love it: The more you practice cobra pose, the more love you invite into your life… really! Cobra pose creates more space in the heart muscle: space to give and receive love.
The other physical and mental benefits of cobra pose are countless. Cobra strengthens the spine, firms the buttocks, and stimulates abdominal organs. The pose stretches and opens the chest, lungs, shoulders, and abdomen. Cobra is also said to soothe sciatica and asthma.
For beginners: Beginners should be careful not to stretch past their comfort zone; doing so can cause back strain. A good indicator that you are at the correct height is if you can raise your hands off the floor while comfortably holding the arch in your back. If not, then it’s time to lower down a little.
Where to Practice Cobra: On Sunday, March 28th, Boundless Yoga Studio (1522 U Street NW) is offering a Cobra Pose Workshop as part of the studio’s “One-Pose-At-a-Time” series. The workshop is from 2:15-3:45pm, and is only $10. Register in advance online, or arrive early to register in person.
Share Your Comments and Questions: What tips can you share for readers on getting into, and holding, Tree Pose? What poses would you like to see featured here in the future?
Photography & Graphics by Brandon Bloch.
Graphics by Kiril Tchangov.
Yogini: Kristen Neishi.
Posted by: Kelly
In sanskrit, Vrksasana (pronounced: vrik-sha-sa-na) translates to Tree Pose. This basic balancing posture can be accomplished by most students by taking on the pose step-by-step.
Getting Into It: Come to Tadasana, or Mountain Pose, with both feet grounded into the Earth. Bring hands to hips. Shift weight into the right foot, bend left knee, and bring the left foot to the right ankle, upper calf, lower thigh (above the knee) or upper inner right thigh; do not place the foot on the inner knee.
For beginners still playing with their balance, keep your left toes resting on the Earth and simply bring the bottom of the left heel to the inner right ankle.
Find a drishti, or gazing point, on the floor in front of you–something that doesn’t move where you can direct your visual energy and keep yourself grounded. If you have your balance here, ground down through the standing leg and bring the hands to prayer in front of the chest. Maintain a long spine and neck.
Next step: bring the hands above the head in prayer and gaze up at the thumbs, or energetically open the arms in an V shape like Atlas holding the whole world in his hands (now sing to yourself, “I’ve got the whole world in my hands…” and smile). Continue to press the left foot into the right inner thigh and press the right inner thigh back into the left foot. Engage your core and feel the hips broaden here as your legs ground down like the roots of a tree and your torso, heart, and arms energetically reach for the sky.
Remember that trees sway in the wind, and the gentle rocking of your body with your breathe is part of this pose. To take the pose even further, drop the right arm, palm facing up, to the right knee and connect right thumb and pointer finger (gyan mudra) as left arm reaches long overhead and then to the right, lengthening the left side body. Recently I was at a morning class on vacation in South Beach where they called this version of the pose “Hurricane Tree.” I loved it!
Why We Love It: Tree pose is an excellent way to develop and build upon your sense of balance. It can also serve as a nice warm-up to deeper hip opening poses. Tree is an excellent example of opposing forces at work in the body. As the north-half of the body energetically lengthens up, the south-half grounds down. The foot of the bent leg presses in and receives equal and opposing pressure from the standing leg. The hips broaden out as the inner thighs work toward an inner spiral. It is a practice of opposites.
You can practice Tree pose at any time…standing at the elevator in your apartment building, waiting on line for a cupcake at Red Velvet, even while waiting for the bus! I hope to see many yogi trees around town soon.
Share Your Comments and Questions: What tips can you share for readers on getting into, and holding, Tree Pose? What poses would you like to see featured here in the future?
Photography by Brandon Bloch.
Graphic Design by Kiril Tchangov.
Yogini: Kristen Neishi.
Posted by: Jamie
The Sanskrit for pigeon pose is kapotasana, and the pose is as hard to do as it is to say! The pose requires a great deal of hip flexibility and openness, making it one of the more challenging poses in yoga. In the full extension of the pose, the chest if puffed up much like a pigeon. Hence, the name.
Getting into it: Pigeon is most often approached from downward facing dog. The back leg extends behind you into down dog split, then comes forward into a low lunge. The goal is to then place your front foot so that your foot is at as 90-degree angle, and your front shin is perpendicular to your torso. Your hips should be level and even against the ground, and your back leg should be extended straight behind you, flat against the floor.
Why we love pigeon: Pigeon is a fabulous hip opener! It’s a great stretch for your thighs and groins as well. Pigeon also helps to revitalize your internal organs.
For more on pigeon pose, check out this article in Yoga Journal.
Photography by Brandon Bloch.
Graphic Design by Kiril Tchangov.
Yogini: Kristen Neishi.
Posted by: Kelly
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