“Eka pada Koundin-What?”

Eka Pada Koundinyasana.  It’s one of those poses that you see on the cover of yoga journal, performed by someone smiling peacefully (and seemingly in no state of stress or panic) that makes you go, “Huh?  Riiiiiiiiiight.”  As my boyfriend said with alarm upon seeing this picture to the left, “Jesus!  That is not good!”  (Photo courtesy of Yoga Journal.)  But despite it’s daunting appearance, there are accessible roads into this seemingly impossible position.

Eka Pada Koundinyasana #1 (there are two versions of this pose) is not only an arm balance, it’s also a deep twist.  To warm up the body effectively, we must first imprint our body (especially our upper body) with the alignment necessary to support the pose.

Common misalignments

In a word: hunching.  Coming into this arm balance from a deep twist, we tend to slouch our shoulders forward and collapse in our chests.  In fact, we tend to do this even in more accessible twists.  For example, bring to mind parivrtta parvakonasana (revolved side angle).  (See right, thanks again, yoga journal!)  Usually in order to get our arm to the outside of our leg, we make a big ‘ol C curve in the spine – anything to get that (in this case, left) elbow over there.  Our head and pelvis are no longer lined up, and we shorten the upper side of our torso.  This causes the left shoulder to droop forward, which means that we can’t get that left shoulder blade down and INTO our back to facilitate the twist. We get stuck.

To protect the shoulder joints and create maximum length in the body, we instead need set up for this pose by maintaining even alignment in both sides of the spine.  As we lengthen the spine, the keep the shoulder blades ON the back, so that they act like little shovels  and lift our thoracic spine up and INTO our body.  We maintain a virtual backbend in our upper back.  Our chests lift and our collarbones stay wide.

Then we need to keep this openness through the upper body AS we move into a twist and balance on our hands.  No biggie, right?

Component parts

Upper back/Thoracic: As discussed, this is essential for the pose and for the happiness of the shoulder joint.

Shoulderblade Position: On your back. This goes with upper back.  Upper arms gather in.

Core: Yep, you gotta find a some core stability here  – even while you keep the chest open.  That means we need to engage the deep core muscles like the transverse abdominis rather than the rectus abdominis (those six-pack, or “crunching” muscles).

Legs: Work those legs.  If you want to get airborne, stretch through the legs and feet with great enthusiasm.

And actually, that’s kind of it.  No hamstrings, no great flexibility needed here. Just a brave, open heart and some core engagement.

Sequencing:

This week, I’m sequencing this pose with an intent to work on maintaining the lift and openness of the spine during the twist.

To get everyone imprinted with the right body in the action, I start everyone at the wall with a block.  Standing in tadasana a little aways from the wall, place the block on your shoulderblades so that the block is giving encouragement for the thoracic to draw in and up.  You may have to play with your distance. You want to be far enough away that you don’t have to lean forward, but close enough in that you are upright and getting the feeling of the block lifting your spine up and in.

Then do the same thing, this time with the block in the middle of your buttocks (so the tailbone is lengthening down to your heels).  Imagine the block moving up and into your chest.

Tadasana into Urdhva Hastasana with a block between your hands.  Imagine the other two blocks now: one into your upper back, the other pressing your tailbone down to the floor.  Straighten your arms, stretch your legs, and reach, baby, reach!

Then, use the recall of the two block positions all through class to encourage chest open, long lower back.  Here are some highlighted poses I’ll hit:

Dandasana (seated on block – length and evenness of spine)

Maricyasana III, both sides.  No bind – remember, we want to avoid the rounding of the spine and sliding off of the shoulder blades.  Focus on keeping skull atop pelvis, even length through both sides of waist, and lift in the thoracic.

Sun salutations – again, weaving the focus of the upper back lift throughout.

Low lunge (back knee up)

Low lunge with twist)

Trikonasana (triangle) to focus on even length of both sides of waist

Twisting chair (no C-curve)

Parivrtta Parsvakonsasna – less is more.  Have them keep length in both sides of waist rather than end gaining and getting elbow across at all costs.

Getting into it:

To actually get into the pose, I like YJ’s description below, with a couple of modification possiblities.

As a modification of the pose, Ardha Mastyendrasa with the bottom leg extended.  Work on keeping the lift and openness in spine – all the same actions we’ve been doing all class.

As a variation, put the sitbone of the crossed over leg on top of a block (not everyone can sit on their heels).  Work the twist from there, but don’t bring your hands to the floor.  Instead stay upright.  Explore the constraint of the legs as you lift, open, and twist.

Here’s the YJ exerpt with my notes in blue:

Step by Step

Come into it from a standing position. First bend your knees as if to squat, then take your left knee to the floor. Turn your left foot so it points to the right and sit on the heel. Cross your right foot over your left thigh and place it, sole down, beside your left knee. Your right knee should point toward the ceiling.  (Okay, here’s where I say, place a block underneath your right butt if you can’t sit back on your left heel.  Work the lift and twist from there and be happy.)

To twist, bring your left waist, side ribs, and shoulder around to the right. Place your left upper arm across your right thigh and slide your left outer armpit down the outside of the thigh. Use movements similar to those you used in Parsva Bakasana to maximize your twist and make good contact between your left upper arm and right outer thigh.  (Okay, you may need to do a little rounding here, but as soon as you find the connect, work the same actions you have been.  Get your shoulderblades back on your back, lengthen your chest forward.) Maintaining this contact high on the arm and far to the outside of the thigh is the secret to the pose.

To place your hands on the floor, first straighten your left elbow and put your left palm down (you may need to lean to the right to bring your hand all the way down). To place your right hand, carefully lift both hips without losing the left-arm-to-right-thigh placement, lean even more to the right, and put your right hand on the floor. Your hands should be shoulder width apart, with your middle fingers parallel to each other. Most of your weight will still be on your knees and feet.

Without losing contact between your left arm and your right outer thigh, lift your hips so you can flip your left foot and stand on the ball of the foot, heel up. Next, lift your left knee off the floor so most of your weight is on your feet. Lift your hips a little higher and start shifting your weight to bring your whole torso above and between your hands with its midline parallel to your middle fingers. Leaning your weight slightly forward, bend your left elbow a little, then tilt your head and shoulders a bit toward the floor. This should leverage your right foot up in the air. When your right foot is up, lean your weight farther forward until your left foot becomes light, then lifts up with an exhale. (Keep your shoulderblades ON your back, reach your sternum forward.  No droopy shoulders!)

To finish the pose, straighten both knees simultaneously with an inhale. Lift the left leg until it’s parallel to the floor. Bending your left elbow more, lift your right foot higher, and reach out through the balls of both feet. Adjust the height of your right shoulder so it’s the same as the left. Lift your chest to bring your torso parallel to the floor. Breathing smoothly, hold the pose for 20 seconds or longer (Um, whatever?  Be happy with whatever you do, even if you just get an inkling of taking the weight off your feet), then release both feet to the floor with an exhale. Repeat on the other side for the same length of time.

Have fun, see you in class!

Remembering How to See

Last Thursday evening, I attended a talk by Reginald Ray, founder of Dharma Ocean and tantric buddhist practitioner.
He spoke about the intimacy and the power (and terror) of really Seeing another person.

What is Seeing?  It’s when we strip away the filters through which we most often see the world and take the time and space to witness what is actually before us.  Usually we half-ass our seeing.  I look at my partner, but what I’m really seeing is what I expect to.  I impose upon him everything that I think a partner is, or should be, or what my own expectations are.  I will frequently assume that I understand a situation or person without actually taking the time to see and hear them.  How many times have I been caught up short in an argument, saying, “I didn’t know you felt/thought that way!”

Seeing – and then allowing ourselves to be seen – is actually terrifying.  As an acting instructor, one of my favorite exercises is to have people simply enter the room and stand in front of the group.  And wait.  And stand.  And wait.  And do nothing.  Because – as an audience – we are actually Seeing them, they are feeling the intensity of being Seen. And because they’ve been asked to simply be there and do nothing, there is no distraction available but to simply endure it.  It’s a terrifying and liberating experience.  Terrifying because we feel vulnerable, but also liberating because we can realize in that moment how powerful Seeing actually is.

When we really take the time to See and Be Seen, it is amazing to notice how quickly our defenses can rise.  Even with our closest friends and partners, how much do we hide?  How much do we resist intimacy?

After Reggie’s talk, I had tea with my friend Vicki in the library’s atrium.  As we chatted, a homeless man came up and started to talk to us.  His name was Norman.  And as he spoke to us, I tried to SEE him.  Rather than scuttle away or assume that he wanted something from me, I just took some time to see him for who he was and what he was doing.  I found out that Norman wasn’t scary, although he was pretty pretty drunk.  This previously invisible man became visible.

This week, I’ve been practicing Seeing People.  Seeing my waitresses, the woman behind the counter at the visa office, the grocery attendant.  My friends, my lover.  People BLOSSOM with being Seen.  They light up like plants in sunlight.  Creating the space to see another person  reveals our underlying human connection.  Time slows down.  We relax.  Common ground rather than difference is discovered.

When we practice yoga, or when we meditate, we can practice Seeing ourselves.  Can you give ourselves the space to be – without judgment, just with presence and compassion?

The problems with resolutions

So it’s New Years. So you made a resolution. What is it this year?

I’ll share my typical checklist:

-lose five pounds

-go to yoga EVERY DAY

-finish writing book

-resolve all unresolved psychological issues

-do something really important that will make everyone love me

Hmmmmm. Lofty, anyone?

Resolutions are excellent.  They invite us to visualize, set intentions, make goals.    Like many of us, I love the idea of a clean slate.  From this brilliantly cleared slate, my life is an open book with nowhere to move but forward into greater and loftier etheric realms of evolution.  Like wiping away the niggling and painful habits of the past in one fell midnight-bedazzled swoop so that I emerge phoenix-like into the new year, ready and prepared to seize the day and realize my dreams.

So then what happens when mid-February rolls around and I have not gone to yoga for a week and have gained two pounds and my book is a mass of unrecognizable scribbles on a post-it note?  My ego happily chimes in: you are not good/dedicated/hard-working/talented/insert adjective here enough to get things done. You might as well give up now and eat another cookie.

Surely this is not the way.

The yo-yo of self-esteem that depends on goals being met or lost creates a win-lose situation.  Well guess what?  Eventually, we all lose.  While goals are great for getting us motivated and giving us vision, what do we do when the thing we wind up with doens’t match what we thought we wanted in the first place?  For example, maybe the book didn’t get written.  But instead I went to India, studied yoga for two months straight, and had an adventure?  Keeping resolutions might keep me so busy lamenting over what I didn’t accomplish that I forgeto to actually feel good about what DID happen!

Here’s an exercise.

Based on what you were able to do last year, write out (in retrospect) your resolutions for 2009.  Take stock of all that you DID accomplish.  The strange, unexpected twists and opportunities that life dumped in your lap.

Now, how does that feel?

Going Vegan, Ep. 9: Farting

Alan had taken to telling our friends a story about how I have farted myself awake.

Deeeelightful.

Yes, the flatulence had continued.  Robust and tangy, my flatulence knew no end.  I suppose since he had to cope with the Dutch oven after effects of my vegan diet, he was entitled to reap some momentary joy in the re-telling.

“It’s like when Brian farts himself awake in Family Guy,” Alan can barely speak through his laughter.  “He just startles himself, then looks around!”  Alan wipes his eyes and sighs, “I love it when he actually acts like a dog.”

I gritted my teeth and smiled.  Hilarious.

But he had a point.  My belly felt so bloated that I could pooch it out and look five months pregnant.  Doing this in front of Alan was enough to enact my revenge.   However, I was getting tired. When I slept, I slept hard.  I’m not sure if this was because of the diet or because I’d also started to take a pass on full-caf coffee.

Which reminds me: Success Story!

I had a decaf soy latte and it was delicious.  It really was better than the dairy version, and I do not write that lightly.  I was stunned by the deliciousness.  And Agro café also had the decency to offer a vegan banana bread!  I was, as they say, in non-hog heaven.

My restaurant challenges continued.  But I think that if your standards aren’t too high, you can really make do everywhere.  Tonight I had a baked potato with olive oil and Dijon and a side of grilled asparagus.  And a very large white wine.  I came home to some sesame crackers and hummus and called it a night.

When I told people what I was doing, I invariably got the same comment, “Better watch your protein!”  Apparently they hadn’t read the same material that I had.  I nobly resisted the urge to say, “Where do you think cows get their protein, huh?”

I remember the warnings from the Vegan book: don’t be a vegan asshole.

But perhaps lightening up on the roughage a bit would be a good idea.

For everyone’s sake.

Yoga For Stiff Old Guys – 20 minutes

Are you a stiff old guy? You know, tight hamstrings, tight lower back? You like lifting weights but now you can’t touch your toes? Never fear, Yoga For Old Stiff Guys can help. All you need is a wall. Great for younger guys on their way to becoming stiff oldies. Take twenty minutes and start to loosen up. With music designed just for you. Yoga for Stiff Guys with music. 

Sankalpa – a New Year’s Meditation

This meditation comes by way of Rachel Zinman, a stunning ISHTA teacher in Australia.
My favorite teacher and Mentor Alan Finger always recommends the Sankalpa Meditation as a great way to start the New Year. He says that a Sankalpa- setting an intention for your self is different to a New Years resolution. A resolution is something we make with our conscious mind where as a Sankalpa is a seed that can’t help but grow in the ground of our unconscious. Just recently Swami Paramahansa Satyananda- one of the great yogis and teachers of our time took Mahasamadhi. His Sankalpa is a touching reminder of how important it is to face everything with an open heart. you can click here to read Satyanandas Sankalpa

Instructions for the Sankalpa meditation:

1. Start with  a few rounds of alternate nostril breaths to withdraw the senses. If you don’t know this technique you can simply close your eyes and observe your breath for a few moments.
2.Visualize writing your intention in your own handwriting on the blue screen of your mind ( let the intention arise with out prejudgement)
3.Chant your intention as a mantra at your third eye,  chant it in the throat, chant it at the heart, the solar plexus, the pubic bone and then root it right down into the pelvic floor.  Imagine your intention has roots and feel them sinking into the earth.
4. next  see your Sankalpa as a plant beginning to grow- you can let go of the word here and sense it more as an energy.
5. feel it as a tender shoot in the area just behind the pubic bone, feel it receiving the warmth of the sun in your solar plexus area and then see it as a beautiful flower blossoming in your heart
And then radiate that beauty up through your throat and into the crown.
6. You can practice this meditation for 40 days. In my own experience its a profound and healing way to start  every year and my intentions always seem to come to fruition!

Going Vegan, Ep. 8: Eating out

If you’re going to eat out vegan, consider Greek.

Everything was bathed in olive oil, fresh foods, roasted potatoes…if you could avoid the feta and the fish, you’d be in a vegan-approved land of culinary delight.  I got the hummus with pita, roasted lemon potatoes without the feta, the gigantes (giant lima beans), the roasted veggies, and the beet salad with walnut (sans – you guessed it – the feta).  Deeeelicious.

I left stuffed to the gills.

I’d been downing my Udo’s oil every day.  It was a little weird to drink oil – kind of like drinking something you weren’t supposed to.  Udo’s has a light, nutty flavor to it, which wasn’t so bad if the texture weren’t so slippery and strange.  I assured myself that I was doing the right thing for my body, and quickly rinsed my mouth out with something else after.

One night, I met my formerly vegan friend Ina at Café Baru, a cubana place serving delicacies like plantainitoes and guacamole.  With a few subtractions (namely, the cheese), we had a vegan-licious time of it.

As a former vegan and stickler for health, Ina was on me in a flash about nutrition.  I told her that I’d been a good girl, taking my supplements and drinking Mr. Udo’s oil.  Ina warned me about oils: “Nobody tells you, but they can go rancid in 5-7 days.  Buy the small bottles, keep them in the fridge, and expose them to air as little as possible.”  She sighed, “You’re inspiring me. I want to be vegan again.  Why’d you do it?”

“An experiment,” I said, “to see how it feels.  So far I’m eating a lot better than I ever have. Lots of fruits, veggies.  I try the weird stuff in the supermarket. You know, those leaves that look like a brontosaurus should be eating them.  That kind of stuff.”

She looks knowing, “How’s your digestive track?  I used to have the most rancid farts. It’s like you become a human compost pile.”

I blushed, “Still in growing pains, I think.”

She nodded, “Keep an eye on that.  Your body will give you signals if you’re not digesting properly.  And chew your food.  Digestion of carbohydrates is done by your saliva. If you don’t chew your food, it just sits in your tummy.  Your tummy doesn’t have teeth. So chew.”

I nodded slowly.  I’ve always been a stupidly fast eater; this will be a good (and olfactorally pleasing) reason to take more time.

“And sesame seeds.  Eat sesame seeds. Tons of calcium in sesame seeds.  Nutritional yeast has tons of B12.  It also has this great cheesy taste.  Eat, eat!”  She pointed to the plate.  “That yucca stick has your name on it.”

I’d been finding that my vegan diet had been leaving me surprisingly full.  I am stuffed from my meals and haven’t been getting food cravings during the day at all.  I get full on less food.  And in general, my energy has been consistent and good.  Last night I did go to bed an hour earlier than usual, but there’s something …authentic…about my fatigue.  I figured I was detoxing like Stephanie warned and am supposed to sleep it off.

The danger I can see looming is boredom.  Sure, vegans protest about the abundance of food choices, but I’m a far cry from a culinary expert.  Without the cacophony of usual ingredients or foods, I was worried that I would get tired of steaming veggies all the time.   I must learn new recipes.  Like Baru’s fried yucca and tomato salsa.  Freakin’ delicious.

Going Vegan, Ep. 6 :The Airport

Today’s adventure: Finding Vegan food in the Airport.

I trolled one end of Chicago O’Hare’s Terminal B to the other.  If you’ve never been to O’Hare, I have to say that it’s a stellar place for a layover.  Lots of interesting shops and eateries, as well as a Brookstone where you can try out their gadgets.  One bummer is the lack of free Wi-fi.  Free wi-fi would go a long way to warming the cockles of my heart.

I was writing this with my power cord was plugged into the underside of a phone bank.  The airport was packed with travelers and the paltry selection of computer nooks just wasn’t cutting it.  Savvy computer users had already staked out the outlets of choice, but a fellow user let me in on the phone bank secret.

But back to food.  My choices: nuts and fruit mixes, a smoothie from Jamba Juice, a random package of raw vegetables, fruit medleys and whole fruit, beans and vegetable salads from a Mediterranean grill. Not too shabby in a pinch!  I was very tempted by a vegetable wrap at Starbucks until I read the ingredients on the back and discovered that the pesto sauce contained Parmesan.   Corn syrup was in the ingredient list too as a sweeter for the bread, which – although brown – was not in fact whole wheat.  It’s all about the fine print.  I resisted the sandwich and grabbed a nut and fruit mix instead, feeling determinedly wholesome.  Craving something warm, I ordered up a Zen tea and got an apple for the plane.

The Anti-Inflammation book has continued to be a stellar resource.  As I promised Alan, I had been doing my research and had even made an excel spreadsheet of my findings.

Basically, it’s what Stephanie said.  I need to find a good way to get my Omega 3’s that aren’t from fish oil.  Also, I want to do some more investigating of Calcium and Vitamin D.  More research needed to be done.  The next few weeks were going to be about getting familiar with “kale,” “mustard greens,” “turnip greens”  and a variety of food sources that had heretofore been neglected in favor of romaine, iceberg lettuce, and broccoli.

The book also clarified the pitfalls of saturated fats that are rampant in – you guessed in – butter and cheese!  So maybe I don’t have to feel so bad about forsaking Grandma Kay’s potato gratin after all.

Now, it’s important to note that going vegan doesn’t mean eating French baguettes all day (delicious and vegan as they are).  It’s quite possible to be vegan and just eat fries and drink coke.  Since I was going to be getting my protein from plant-based sources, I needed to capitalize on what I was eating.  Whole grains and ancient superfoods such as amaranth and quinoa (grains that are both complete proteins, by the way!) would have to be incorporated.  It was going to be a whole new grocery world out there.

I sent an email to Alan yesterday to tell him that, yes, I’d actually decided to do the vegan thing and to please not greet me at that airport with a steak and cheese dinner planned.  We’ll see how this goes.