Transitioning Seasons with Yoga

     

     As we feel the season shifting into the colder, calmer weather we can sense a shift in ourselves. It can be one of homeliness as a shield against dropping temperatures or it can inspire us to be outside in the changing weather itself. We can feel the need to set up our defenses as we did surviving amongst the trees, foraging and hunting what is left once the cold became apparent. And we can also find the weather brings a sense of clarity and calm if we choose to embrace the chill in the air. Both of these natural inclinations may be correct, or maybe a mixture of the two, but our yoga practice can help us acclimate to the familiar shift.

     Fall can inspire cravings for rooted foods such as yams and ginger or deep spices such as cinnamon. This is

a physical example of the cravings of our energetic existence. To be rooted. To be grounded. To be plugged into the earth, if not to avoid the gusts of winter winds to come but to prepare for the next big shift that happens with the marking of another calendar year gone. Fall can be about listening to these cravings, whether from the couch with a blanket and a book, from the kitchen while cooking for family or playing football in the yard where no one ever seems to get tired.

     Yoga can help to root ourselves where we are and who we are. Tadasana, or Mountain pose can be a quick way to ground our energy. If you’re not sure what I am talking about then I invite you to try it.

Mountain Pose

     Stand anywhere you’d like. Anywhere you can devote a moment of quiet to yourself. Imagine you are

pressing your feet into whatever you are standing on. It can be the floor of the office elevator or on the grass in your favorite park. Take a slight bend in the knees. This helps to release tension in the joints and forces the muscles of the legs to slightly engage. Now bring the navel in towards the spine. This takes any tension out of the lower back, a part of the body that takes a beating from daily stress and poor posture. Bring your shoulders up towards the ears then slide the shoulder blades down and over the muscles of the back. Bring the chin in towards the neck to elongate the top of the spine. Imagine that you are connected to the ceiling above you by the crown of your head.

Now here is the hard part.

     Stay here. Stay quiet. Stay focused on your breath. Notice the way it moves in the body. Feel warmth radiating from your navel point. You are aware of the changes around you, even the subtle ones. And you are aware of the stillness within your body, growing and comforting vastness that never accelerates, never doubts and never diminishes despite its presence sometimes hidden. There we are rooted.

     In my Yoga for Beginners class on Saturdays from 11-Noon, we will be exploring more on transitioning with fall. We will be working on gentle twists as a way to release our experience of summer, grounding as to not be swayed from who we are as things change and open palmed mudras to stir new experiences in us as life shifts around us. 

By Pam Armendariz

Practicing Stillness

                              

                               If you walked into a restorative yoga class, you may be confused about what exactly you are seeing. Yogis lying on their mats, set up with props, eyes closed with peaceful looks seem way too easy for you. You wanted to feel the burn and check off some muscle points for the week but this class looks like they’re asleep. Active rest is where we allow ourselves to be so comfortable in a physical position that we can explore the uncomfortable process of roping in our mental attention. Often we move from one physical activity to another, the same action over and over like driving or watching TV that we don’t explore anything inside of our emotional and mental states. Restorative yoga gives us that time to think about that thing you’ve been meaning to deal with, to setting into an intention- developing patience, easing angry habits, letting go over embarrassing situations you love to hate to relive. It can be the bridge between moving from our daily automatic states to a place where we become more thoughtful creatures. It is where we learn to practice stillness.

                  When beginning a restorative practice is crucial to use the props around you. Initial set up is important to allow yourself to be focused once you’re comfortable. But if you don’t readjust when discomfort occurs, even if the practice has already started then mental attention is harder to develop. You’ll be thinking about that hip raised slightly higher than the other, that knee that feels stiff and stressed or the ponytail you should’ve removed. Your mind may float away from your intentions or it may float to the person adjusting on the mat in front of you but bringing yourself back to your breath can ease any guilt or anger about the distraction.

·       Adjust yourself before the practice the best you can then readjust yourself once your there if need be.

·       Make eye contact with the teacher and allow them to help.

·       Be patient with yourself and others.

·       Remember:  It’s called practice for a reason.

                  Restorative Yoga has been known to unlock creative blocks, emotional patterns and hidden traumatic experiences. You connect to the inner self that lives within your automatic actions. You learn to explore what motivates and inspires you. It can solve insomnia by putting you in control of your restful states, allowing you to calm your nervous system. It helps resolve or prevent burnout from stress or over exercise. It is a great beginning place for anyone who wants to start a regular meditation practice. Moving physical positions every five minutes can support restlessness without encouraging more of it. It allows you to change position and readjust any physical discomforts and begin sinking your consciousness further into a restful, peaceful state making you more likely to begin and stick with a meditation practice that works for you.

By Pam Armendariz

Yoga and the Brain: A Physiological Look at a Regular Yoga Routine

                                 

For many of us, modern life pulls us back and forth between appointments, creating a sense of uselessness in the manner in which we live and spend our time. When we block ourselves into chunks of the day, we start to feel like pieces of paper scattered about. No union. No yoke. Yoga’s primary function is to yoke life together, “yoke” being the translated root word of the Sanskrit word yoga. we want to know: does it really work? Studies have shown that a regular yoga practice can promote the growth of neurons, the switching between nervous systems and switching on of higher thinking. With philosophy from the East and the technology available in the West, we can conclude results of what the people of India, the birthplace of yogic thought, have known for years. A life unyoked may not open us up to our full potential.

Neuroplasticity and Neurotransmitter Function

            When you think of flexibility and yoga, what do you see? Nets of neurons entangled, stretching out to one another like a mid morning plant reaching towards the sun? Probably not but without you realizing it, your brain extends and changes based on reports from your thalamus, the part of your brain that sends information to other areas of your brain based on sensory input. Years ago it was believed that your intelligence was set. It was thought that your experience grows but your knowledge container has a cap. Research now suggests yoga can promote that growth that we didn’t think was possible. A study done at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine saw an increase in gray matter brain cells, cells that contribute to the processing part of brain activity (versus the white matter contributing to the transmitting of information) in people who have established a regular yoga routine compared to control subjects. Yoga also changes our mood and when there is an increase in sunny moods there is a decrease in cortisol, the chemical released in times of stress. Cortisol contributes to high blood  pressure, low immune function, and memory impairment.

Nervous System

            The autonomic nervous system which regulates heartbeat and respiration consists of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. Sympathetic nervous system controls the fight or flight modes of human responses. It increases heart rate and blood sugar levels in times when we are making decisions when our lives are at stake. So what are we doing to this area of our nervous system when we run late out of the house every day, rushing to school or to work? We are tricking it into thinking that we are in more serious danger, like fighting off an animal attack. It tells our bodies that we need air racing through our lungs and a jolt of blood sugar and to survive the everyday tasks that we have set up for ourselves. In yoga, we activate the other autonomic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system. It is the nervous system that “results in a sense of calm, emotional balance, tranquility, and increased concentration”. It is still a system of automatic responses but less threatening ones such as food consumption, sleep and sexual arousal.

The Cerebral Cortex

            This is the area of the brain that is contributed to higher levels of mental processing such as personality development, emotional responsiveness, memory, and thinking. A regular yoga routine consisting of yoga, breathing, internal cleansing practices, meditation, devotional songs, and relaxation can stimulate the prefrontal cortex with the absence of extreme cortisol levels. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain in charge of decision making and reasoning. The temporal lobes are activated in yoga due to an increased blood flow. Frontal lobes are responsible for motor control, speech production, and higher functions, such as thinking, personality, emotion and memory. All are smaller parts of the cerebral cortex. Who would we be without these processes to build our experiences from? A collection of automatic functions, although in itself pretty amazing, but unable to put information together to see the art in front of us.

Conclusion

Attending a yoga class can be a daunting experience. Lots of thoughts could race through your head as you unroll the mat you paid way too much for because you trusted someone else’s experience. That demands me to ask, when are you going to trust your own experience? Now can be the time when you slow yourself down enough to feel what you are feeling, think what you are thinking and know you have an entire network helping you along.

 written by Pam Armendariz, RYT 200

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Sutherland, S. (2014) Yoga Brain. Scientific America, 25(2), 16-16.

White, L. (2009) Yoga for Children. Continuing Nursing Education Series, 35(5), 277-295.