|
|
A great article on caring for your shoulders in yoga class, from Yoga Journal.
Shoulder injuries are common among yogis, but they don’t have to be. Here’s how to care for your shoulders, not tear them down.
Trish Jones knew trouble was brewing when her right shoulder began to throb during her favorite yoga class. The 29-year-old was no stranger to such pain. She had suffered from unstable shoulder joints for years. Her doctors call it “multidirectional instability,” but Jones refers to it as “having loose nuts and bolts.” So loose that in 1995 she had [read more...]
A great article from the New York Times Magazine about the possible benefits that we actually derive from having the blues. Depression may not feel good, but maybe there’s a glimmer of a lining.
The Victorians had many names for depression, and Charles Darwin used them all. There were his “fits” brought on by “excitements,” “flurries” leading to an “uncomfortable palpitation of the heart” and “air fatigues” that triggered his “head symptoms.” In one particularly pitiful letter, written to a specialist in “psychological medicine,” he confessed to “extreme spasmodic daily and nightly flatulence” and “hysterical crying” whenever Emma, his devoted wife, [read more...]
Many yoga students are quite surprised to learn that joints can become too flexible. But in many joints, ligaments and tendons play a major role in preventing excessive motion; if those tissues become too loose, the joint can move in ways that cause damage or set the stage for injury. A joint with such laxity is said to be hypermobile, and the knee is particularly vulnerable to this problem. In fact, this joint is more or less just one long bone (the femur, or thighbone) stacked on top of another long bone (the tibia, or shinbone). Ligaments and tendons are all [read more...]
Introduction
There are staggeringly vast numbers of people in this country suffering from breathing related disorders; particularly when factoring in related maladies such as hypertension, back pain and depression. Not surprisingly, similarly large numbers of people are seeking out alternative approaches to healing. A 2002 CDC study1 on Complementary and Alternative therapies found that the most popular method of natural healing (other than prayer and nutritional supplements) is deep breathing exercises, with 12 percent of the population practicing. Another 8 percent of Americans say they practice meditation and 5 percent practice yoga for natural healing. We can only expect that these numbers [read more...]
November 18th, 2009
by Gretchen Reynolds, New York Times
Researchers at Princeton University recently made a remarkable discovery about the brains of rats that exercise. Some of their neurons respond differently to stress than the neurons of slothful rats. Scientists have known for some time that exercise stimulates the creation of new brain cells (neurons) but not how, precisely, these neurons might be functionally different from other brain cells.
Phys Ed
In the experiment, preliminary results of which were presented last month at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Chicago, scientists allowed one group of rats to run. Another set of rodents [read more...]
Is stress wearing you down? Even “yoga people” can feel frazzled at the end of the day! Whether you’re worrying about looming deadlines, job insecurity, traffic jams, or a troubled relationship, stress takes it toll on your body, breath, and mind. From a scientific perspective, stress can trigger anything from allergies and asthma to headaches and indigestion. Over time, it can contribute to high cholesterol, ulcers, diabetes, obesity, and heart problems. From an ayurvedic point of view, stress also disrupts the inner harmony of your doshas—the three forces that govern your health on a subtle level. An experienced ayurvedic practitioner can [read more...]
The internal awareness that develops through yoga is the most important tool for learning to release the psoas. And releasing the psoas will bring new freedom, ease, and structural integrity to your yoga practice.
It can be difficult at first to access the subtle sensations of the psoas. Buried in the body, engaged in habitual patterns of holding (especially when you’re sitting or standing), and deeply linked to your emotions, the psoas is best approached with quiet attention, patience, and perseverance. Awareness is the first key. Like a flashlight that illuminates the contents of a dark closet, you can use your attention [read more...]
(A) A remote tribe in Papua, New Guinea. (B) A revolutionary computer operating system. (C) The muscle that is the key to your structural stability.
If you guessed C, you’re correct. Buried deep within the core of your body, the psoas (pronounced “so-az”) affects every facet of your life, from your physical well-being to who you feel yourself to be and how you relate to the world. A bridge linking the trunk to the legs, the psoas is critical for balanced alignment, proper joint rotation, and full muscular range of motion. In yoga, the psoas plays an important role in every asana. [read more...]
I have high blood pressure that is controlled by medication. Is it safe to practice inversions, particularly Shoulderstand and Headstand? —Diane Kane, Kirkland, Washington
Roger Cole’s reply:
You should check with your doctor about your individual case, but standard medical advice for people whose blood pressure is controlled on medication is to engage in exercise and other healthy activities that a person with normal blood pressure would do. Therefore, it seems reasonable that you can safely introduce inversions if you do so gradually. In fact, inversions trigger several reflexes that temporarily reduce blood pressure, so theoretically, regular practice may enhance treatment of [read more...]
Avoid injuries on the mat with this practical guide to caring for your knees, hamstrings, and sacrum. This excerpt from Yoga Journal.
By Roger Cole
If you practice yoga, no doubt you’re aware of its health benefits. But like any physical activity, it’s not completely risk free. If you’ve been practicing for long, you or someone you know has probably pulled a hamstring, tweaked a sacrum, or experienced some injury while on the mat. Close to 9,000 Americans received medical treatment for yoga-related injuries in 2004 and 2005, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Still, there are only two yoga injuries [read more...]
|
