The Magic of Movement

One of the key hallmarks of Viniyoga is its unique combination of movement, flow and stay.  Some yoga lineages, such as Iyengar and Yin, focus primarily on staying in poses.  Others, such as Ashtanga and Vinyasa, primarily flow from pose to pose.  Viniyoga, on the other hand, uses stays in poses and flows between them. And we do something even more powerful: we move in and out of most poses before staying in them.

Each of the three—movement, stay, and flow—has a unique cost/benefit tradeoff:

Repetition:

• Re-patterns dysfunctional movement patterns
• Warms the entire body (especially when large muscle groups are contracted)
• Warms and brings circulation to the specific muscle groups being contracted
• Builds energy  (especially faster movement)
• Prepares the body to stay in a posture
• Compensates for and erases residual stress

Stay:

• Provides deeper internal organ work
• Calms energy (especially in forward bends and twists)
• Stretches  muscles (Exercise physiology fact: a stretch needs to be held a minimum of twenty seconds to be effective.)
• Strengthens muscles
• Focuses attention internally
• Allows for deepening micro-movements with the breath

Flow:

• Significantly builds energy
• Builds heat
• Does not compensate for residual stresses as well as repetition
• Compromises form, which generally becomes sloppier

What does all of this mean for your yoga practice?

Understand the tool you’re using and why you’re using it. If your goal is to prepare your mind for meditation, a strong flow class won’t work as well as a class that includes the interior focusing of stays. If you’re a beginner, start by learning appropriate form in individual postures before trying to link multiple postures together in flows. If you’re working to re-pattern negative movement patterns, use repetition in and out of a pose more than stay.

And remember: Each tool has its unique purpose and gifts. Over time try to explore all of them. One of the many beauties of the Viniyoga approach is that it skillfully combines all three.

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  A KILLER RETREAT and MURDER STRIKES A POSE are available at book sellers everywhere! 

Fitness, Yoga Style

Students often ask me if yoga is sufficient to develop overall fitness. Put more directly, if I practice yoga, can I cancel my gym membership?  I always cringe a little before answering. As a yoga studio owner, the answer that would benefit me most is an enthusiastic, unqualified yes.

Unfortunately, the true answer is probably not. Yoga is a valuable tool. It builds muscular strength, flexibility, and emotional wellness. It also develops an important component of fitness often overlooked in the West: respiratory fitness.

That seems like a lot, and it is. All of the above are necessary. But they are not the complete fitness picture. Western forms of exercise provide an important and missing piece: cardiovascular--also known as aerobic--fitness, which is an essential component of heart health.

Cardiovascular Fitness versus Respiratory Fitness

The cardiovascular and respiratory systems are separate yet closely related.

Respiratory Fitness (Pranayama, Asana, Respiratory Therapy)

• Increases the respiratory system’s ability to oxygenate cells
• Improves respiration rate, profusion rate and oxygen utilization at a cellular level

Asana and pranayama are excellent tools for impacting this--much better than Western aerobic exercises.

Cardiovascular Fitness (Jogging, Cycling, Zumba)

• Raises the pulse rate
• Strengthens the heart muscle and increases circulation

Yoga tools, including asana and pranayama, are not as well suited for this type of fitness as Western aerobic exercises.

Students often seem disappointed to learn this.  After all, the ancient yogis used yoga (almost exclusively) to develop health and mental wellbeing.  But those yogis lived in a different time, with completely different lifestyles. They lived very physical lives, practiced yoga, pranayama, and chant daily, and ate whole foods that were much less likely to cause heart disease than the overly-processed foods we consume now.

The typical American yogi, on the other hand is likely to work eight or more hours at her desk job, park as close as possible to yoga class, then go home to binge on potato chips while watching someone else chant on American Idol.  Heart disease is epidemic in our culture. Frankly, we’d be delusional to compare our lifestyles to those of yogis thousands of years ago.

All that said, yoga is an important part of mental and physical wellness.  I’d be the last one to minimize its benefits.  Just ask my grandmother who died of emphysema, my friends with asthma, or my clients with anxiety and depression.  Breathing is as important as life itself. In fact, breath is the essence of life.

Nonetheless, I still ride an exercise bike three times a week, and I wouldn't consider giving it up, in spite of my yoga practice.  I’ve never claimed that yoga is a panacea able to cure all ills—but it can do a lot.  Not just for the body, but also for the mind. I hope you’ll make it part of your wellness routine.


Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about her  yoga and dog-related mystery series, the Downward Dog Mysteries.

Yoga for Back Pain

Articles touting the benefits of Viniyoga seem to be popping up everywhere (and that’s a good thing!). One example is an article called “Watch Your Back” in Yoga Journal. This article talks about Viniyoga’s proven benefits in reducing back pain. Specifically, it discusses the Group Health study on Viniyoga for low back pain and shares the personal case study of a woman who healed her back using Viniyoga.

The student, Terri Stoeker, has a back pain story much like my own.  Like Terri, my back injury cane “out of the blue,” though it had likely been building for quite some time.  Unlike Terri, I suffered for years--seven to be exact.  During that time, I tried a number of methods for healing: physical therapy, acupuncture, muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatory medication, osteopathic manipulation, counseling on pain management, ice, rest, and massage therapy. At one point, I even said that I’d dance naked around a witch doctor’s fire if that would help.  The one remedy that healed me, after seven years of failed experiments, was Viniyoga.

Terri’s relief came quickly.  Mine took a bit longer. But after seven years of pain, a few months to get relief seemed like nothing.  In fact, since my doctors and I had already given up hope, the fact that I healed at all is nothing short of a miracle.

I'd like to share two of my favorite quotes from the article with you.

The first is from the student, Terri Stoeker:

"You can let your back control you and change your life into something sedentary and painful, or you can find something that can keep you healthy and get you back to 95 percent normal. I was told I would never run or garden again. Now I can do those things. I have to be careful, I have to take care of myself, but I live my life. Yoga has done that for me."

The second is from my teacher, Gary Kraftsow.

"We're not talking about fancy yoga or power yoga  here. You don't need an hour-long class or a special outfit or a fancy mat to do this. This practice is available to everybody. You can learn it easily and use it to feel better and really begin to manage your condition."

The article comes complete with a yoga practice that may help decrease back pain.  But be forewarned, the photos are misleading.  In fact, they only show part of each position.  The movement between positions is vitally important in Viniyoga.  So I highly recommend using the text to guide your practice, rather than the photos.  Better yet, sign up for my Yoga for Healthy Backs class!  In the mean time, read the article, and tell me what you think!

Go Viniyoga!

Namaste

Tracy Weber

          

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  A KILLER RETREAT is available for preorder now from Whole Life Yoga. MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble,  and book sellers everywhere! 

Cakravakasana, the Un-Cat Pose

Cakravakasana (also called “Cat”) is often confused with a yoga pose called Cat-Cow.  Although the two poses look similar, they have completely different effects and intentions.   For most students, Viniyoga's Cat is much more beneficial than Cat-Cow.  So much so, that my teacher calls it the “un” Cat-Cow.

According to Gary, approximately 75% of Americans have increased thoracic kyphosis.  Put in English, we have upper backs that are already too rounded.  This happens primarily because of the activities we do in daily life.  We sit in chairs, type at computers, drive cars,  and do other activities that leave us in a hunched forward position.  To balance that, our yoga practice should strengthen and flatten our upper backs as well as stretch the fronts of our shoulders.

On the other hand, most of us have tight and weak lower backs, with increased lumbar lordosis. Meaning our lower backs are weak, tight and overly arched.  To balance this, our yoga practice should both strengthen and stretch our lower backs as well as strengthen our abdominal muscles.
Below is a photo of a student doing the pose most people call Cat-Cow.  In the position on the left, she arches her low back in the “Cow" position.  In the position on the right, she rounds her upper back in the “Cat" position.  This increases the curvature of both her upper back and lower back—exactly the opposite of what most students need.













In the two photos below, the same student performs Cakravakasana.  In the position on the left, she uses her abdominal muscles to support her low back while drawing her shoulder blades together to flatten her upper back.  In the position on the right, she gently pulls in her belly while folding her hips toward her heels, gently stretching her low back.



For most students, the two positions of Cakravakasana effectively work together to restore balance to the spine and release back tension. Cat-Cow, on the other hand, may contribute to spinal imbalance and even increase back pain--even if it feels good while you're doing it.

Cakravakasana Instructions:

1. Come to hands and knees, placing your hips directly above your knees and your hands slightly in front of your shoulders.  Your knees should be at least four inches apart, and your hands should be slightly wider than your shoulders.
2. On inhale, draw your shoulder blades together and lengthen your spine, keeping your belly lightly pulled in and your chin tucked slightly down.  Do not allow your lower back to arch or your hips to move beyond your knees.
3. On exhale, contract your abdomen while moving your hips toward your heels and your forehead and elbows toward the floor. Notice the gentle stretch in your lower back.
4. On the following inhale, return to the hands and knees position in step 1.
5. Repeat 6 – 8 times.

Cakravakasana is a gentle pose you can use to release tension and stretch your back any time of the day.  I hope you enjoy it!

Namaste

Tracy  Weber


          

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  A KILLER RETREAT is available for preorder now from Whole Life Yoga. MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble,  and book sellers everywhere! 

Research Proves it! Yoga Provides Benefits Greater than Western Exercise

Let me start this blog article with a disclaimer.  I love yoga, but I’m equally fond of other forms of exercise.  I regularly ride an exercise bike, and my puppy-girl walks me about 20 miles every week.  My yoga practice has always been more about by calming my brain than firming my bottom, so to speak. It would never even occur to me to choose between the two.  But for those of you who think I’m crazy or whose schedules force you to choose, recent research shows that yoga may have increased benefits when compared to more Western forms of exercise.

Brittanie DeChino, an instructor at The George Washington University’s School of Public Health, recently presented her research at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine and 2nd World Congress on Exercise is Medicine®. Her research is noteworthy because of its focus. Although many studies have examined the short-term physical and psychological benefits of yoga, hers is one of the first to examine how long-term yoga practitioners compare to long-term exercisers.

Brittanie and her team surveyed 163 participants from yoga and fitness centers across the Washington, D.C. area.  Participates ranged in age from 18 to 65, and were approximately 80% female. According to Ms. DeChino, her team found the following:

"We surveyed the participants on psychological well-being, as measured by anxiety, depression, coping, mindfulness, perceived stress and general health symptoms. Interestingly, the two groups - yoga practitioners and habitual exercisers - were similar with regard to self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depression.

However, the yoga practitioners reported lower prevalence of joint pain and headaches than those who engaged in cardiovascular exercise and weight training. They also had higher scores for mindfulness and coping skills, and lower scores for perceived stress, compared with the exercise group."

The joint pain reductions are intriguing. Many people practice yoga specifically because yoga is a low impact exercise, which means that people with pre-existing joint pain are likely to be over-represented in the yoga group. In spite of that, yoga practitioners reported less pain than participants in other forms of exercise. 

I’m also not surprised by the comparative levels of anxiety and depression.  Yoga can help significantly with these two conditions, but the most effective yoga practices for anxiety and depression incorporate pranayama (breath work) and meditation, combined with physical postures.  Typical American yoga classes focus almost exclusively on the poses. 

I’d love to continue highlighting yoga research in this blog.  If you hear about other yoga studies, let me know!

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber's author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and wherever books are sold.

Why I Love Viniyoga

I admit it. I’m a Viniyoga snob. I won’t practice any other style of yoga, and I certainly won’t teach any other style. But I didn’t start out that way. Like most people, when I took my first yoga class I didn’t even know different types of yoga existed. I thought all yoga was the same, and honestly, I thought all yoga was a little weird.

My first yoga class changed all that, even though it wasn’t Viniyoga; it was Iyengar-influenced Hatha yoga. If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry. Neither do most of the people down-dogging next to you. Suffice it to say that Hatha is an umbrella term for the physical practice of yoga, and Iyengar is a specific style, focused on holding poses with exact alignment.

I liked my first yoga class. A lot. In fact, I liked it so much that I was afraid if my yoga teacher knew how much it was hurting me, she might not let me attend anymore. She knew of my injuries, but even though she was a well known and very experienced yoga teacher (she even co-authored a yoga book!) she didn’t know how to adapt yoga for my body. But that didn’t matter to me. All that mattered was the incredible peace of mind I received from practicing.

Then that teacher went on a month’s vacation.

Determined to keep up my practice, I went to a number of studios in the Seattle area and tried a variety of styles. Luckily for me, one of those styles was Viniyoga. I didn’t know why at the time, but for the first time, I left a yoga class feeling not only mentally, but also physically, better. Over time, I continued to experiment, but I kept coming back to Viniyoga. And then one day I knew: I was destined to teach this wonderful lineage.

Flash-forward 13 years, and I can now explain what makes this style so unique. My teacher calls it The Four Key Differentiators of Viniyoga:

• Linkage of Breath and Movement: Viniyoga links movement with the breath, which makes each movement more powerful, mindful, and structurally integrated than non-breath-centered movement.
• Use of Movement and Stay: Viniyoga students move in and out of poses before staying in them. Movement systematically prepares the body to hold a pose by warming the muscle groups that will be taxed in that pose. Movement also helps reprogram habitual movement patterns, so students move more functionally, even in non-yoga activities.
• Adaptation: Viniyoga adapts poses to the practitioner, rather than assuming there is one “right” way to do a pose. The goal is to achieve the function of a pose, instead of its form.
• Sequencing: Viniyoga teachers carefully design classes so that each pose prepares for or erases strain from the poses before and after it.

But I’ve found something even more powerful in Viniyoga—community. Viniyoga emphasizes the teacher-student relationship. With no “one size fits all” approach, a Viniyoga teacher must be present with her students, get to know her students, even care about her students to be effective. I came to love practicing Viniyoga for what it did for my mind and my body. I came to love teaching Viniyoga because it made me a more observant, caring part of my larger community.

More than anything else, that’s why I love Viniyoga.

Namaste

TracyWeber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber's author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and wherever books are sold.

Savasana (Corpse Pose): A Time to Rest or a Time to Become Fully Awake?

I can almost hear the collective sigh of relief when I tell my students it’s time to transition to the period of rest at the end of each yoga class called Savasana, literally translated as “Corpse Pose.”
As each student settles in, I offer softened lights, peaceful music—even neck pillows and bolsters to put under their knees.  Experienced students often cover their bodies with blankets and their eyes with eye pillows.  I tiptoe around the room and verbally guide each student into a quiet place where they can hopefully find, even if for just a moment, a place of internal peace.  I’m rewarded for doing so.  As my students relax, I feel the energy of their tranquility. I sometimes even hear a soft snore or two as they melt away into oblivion.

I don’t think we can underestimate the power of that quiet time.  In our busy world, we rarely take the time to relax and let our minds just be free.  Practiced this way, Savasana provides a time of inner peace. A moment of relief from the information overload of our always-busy lives.

But I sometimes wonder if we’ve missed the point.  According to the teachings, Savasana isn’t really about relaxation.  In fact, I’ve heard Savasana described as the most difficult of all yoga postures.  A posture in which, bodies completely still, we are challenged to keep our minds focused.  The pose is named “Corpse Pose” for a reason. We are to act as if our bodies had dissolved away—as if were already dead, so to speak.

When practiced this way, Savasana is a powerful tool.  It can help us momentarily become less identified with our bodies and less attached to the trappings of our lives. In those last minutes of class, we can reconnect to the pure, perfect essence that already exists within each of us.

I’d like to offer you a challenge. The next time you rest in that final yoga pose, try not to simply melt into rest and oblivion.  Don’t fall asleep, either literally or figuratively.  Instead, stay truly awake, in a sort of resting meditation.  Lie still, in complete silence, present with the sensations of your body and completely aware of the random thoughts of your mind.  Use that time to connect with the beauty and perfection that is already within you.

It won’t be easy.  It might not even be as pleasant as that ten-minute nap you were anticipating.  But finding that quiet place within yourself will be well worth the effort.

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber's author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and wherever books are sold.

A Better Forward Bend

One of Viniyoga’s key differentiators is our principle of adaptation, or modifying a pose’s form to achieve its function. Because of this principle, we often do poses in a Viniyoga classes significantly differently than in other styles.  This is especially apparent in forward bends. (Actually, lateral bends as well, but that’s a blog topic for another day).

In Viniyoga, we categorize postures based on their primary and secondary intentions.  The primary intention is the “have to have,” if you will, or the most important effect of a posture.  The secondary intentions of a pose are the “nice to haves.”  Those effects that, while useful, can be sacrificed if needed to achieve the primary goal of the pose.

In forward bends, the primary intention is usually stretching the low back.  Secondarily, the pose may also stretch hips, hamstrings and the upper back.  If you feel a forward bend in your hamstrings or upper back but not your low back, then you are likely getting the secondary intention of the pose at the expense of the primary intention.

The photos below are of a student doing a specific forward bend, called Uttanasana. In the photo on the left, she is stretching her hamstrings, but not her low back. The photo on the right shows the same student with improved form.  Note how a slight bend in her knees has changed the pose significantly.



Of course you can’t see your own form when you’re practicing, but you can still tell whether you are doing the pose “right” by how it feels.  If you’re doing Uttanasana correctly, you will feel a stretch in your low back and perhaps a small stretch in the backs of your legs.

Coming out of the forward bend should feel a bit different, and this is where things get tricky.   While it is vitally important to stretch the low back, you should do so while keeping the rest of the spine, particularly the inter-vertebral discs, resilient and safe. Therefore you should not keep a rounded position as you come back up to standing. Doing so puts pressure on the front of the discs, which may lead to disc wear and even disc herniation over time.  Instead, contract the low back muscles and come to a neutral or even slightly arched back at the half-way point.  From there, press through the feet and return to standing. Many teachers call this “lifting through a flat back.”   I often describe this movement as “lifting from your collar bones.”

In the photos below, the student on the left is rounding through her back as she comes to standing.  On the right, she is using correct form. Note the return of the subtle arch of her lumbar curve.

 Again, you’ll know if you’re doing the movement “right” by how it feels. When you come to standing, you should feel your shoulder blades move together, your collar bones lift, and a slight curve return to your lower back.

Still not sure if you’re doing it correctly? Ask your teacher to watch you closely and give individual feedback.  Sometimes a even minute change in form can have a dramatic impact.

Namaste

Tracy

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber's author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and wherever books are sold.

Research Shows It! Viniyoga Can Help Heal Your Back!

I'm happy to share with all of you a positive article about yoga from The Huffington Post.  This article discusses research showing what I’ve known for years:  that yoga, specifically Viniyoga, can help overcome chronic low back pain.

The research described is the most recent in a pair of studies co-sponsored by the National Institute of Health and Group Health Cooperative.  Both studies used Viniyoga—the same style taught at Whole Life Yoga. The yoga protocols were designed by my teacher, Gary Kraftsow.  One goal of the most recent study was to see if earlier benefits of Viniyoga could be replicated with a larger test group.

According to Karen Sherman, one of the study authors, they specifically chose Viniyoga, because “we wanted to pick something to test that was likely to be safe and easy for beginners to practice both in classes and at home.”

The results?  Students who participated in weekly 45 – 50 minute Viniyoga classes, including deep breathing and guided relaxation, experienced clinically significant improvements in low back pain and dysfunction.  And those improvements were still apparent at least 14 weeks after the end of the study. 

Similar benefits were found in students who practiced weekly 52 minute stretching classes with 20 minutes of home stretching on non-class days.  Although the article does not state this, I do believe the yoga students were also given home practices.

Researchers attribute the improvements to the physical benefits of yoga—specifically, stretching and strengthening, versus any mental benefits. So I guess all the stress reduction and emotional balance we yogis experience is just an awesome side benefit!  ;-)  (By the way, a recent study on Viniyoga for stress reduction also showed great results, but that’s a blog article for a different day).

And on a personal note—the Group Health study specifically looked at chronic low back dysfunction that interfered with participant’s day-to-day activities.  But I can tell you from personal experience, yoga also helps with upper back and neck pain, along with a variety of other physical, physiological, and emotional issues.

If you, or someone you know, suffers from chronic low back pain, consider giving Viniyoga a try! If you’re in the Seattle area, please check out Whole Life Yoga’s Yoga for Healthy Backs series.

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber's author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and other retailers!

Sitting Pretty—and Comfortably—in Yoga Class

Whenever I see students struggling to sit comfortably in yoga class, I’m reminded of that old Alanis Morissette song—isn’t it ironic that we come to yoga class to decrease pain, then sit uncomfortably on the floor with our backs screaming in agony.

Sitting is notoriously painful for people with back pain; sitting on the floor, crossed legged, without back support is even worse.  Of course, that’s that most of us tend to do in every yoga class.  There are many better alternatives. A few of my favorites are below.

First, if you do choose to sit crossed legged, look down at your knees.  If your knees are above your hips, then your spine is not in neutral alignment, which will lead to back discomfort.  This problem can easily be fixed by elevating your hips.  Fold a blanket or two and place them under your sitz bones (or ischial tuberosities, for you anatomy geeks.) These are the bony prominences between the tops of your thighs and the bottoms of your hips.  Add blankets until your knees are below your hips, as in the photo below.

For people without knee issues, the sitting posture below is my favorite.  This is how I sit when I teach.  In the first photo, the student is sitting on a block, which elevates her hips to put less pressure on her knees.  In the second, she is sitting on a meditation bench. 

Meditation benches can be a little pricey, but they last forever.  I’ve had the one in the photo for over 11 years.

Finally, you can always lie down.  There’s nothing magic at all about achieving that perfect lotus pose.  In yoga, the goal is to connect the body, breath, and mind. To do that, the spine should be neutral. A neutral spine can be found sitting in a chair, kneeling, lying, or standing for that matter. While it’s true that the breath is subtly blocked in a lying position, for most people the effect is minor. If lying gets you out of pain, I say go for it!

Generally, the most neutral supine position lying with the knees bent, feet on the floor, as in the photo below.

The biggest risk in this position is falling asleep.  So try to keep your mind alert, and if you come to class with a friend, tell them to nudge you if you start snoring!

I look forward to seeing you at the studio soon!

Namaste

Tracy

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber's author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and other retailers!

Viniyoga Videos for Anxiety and Depression

Like many Viniyoga teachers, I’m not a huge fan of yoga videos, as the video format doesn’t allow for the customization and adaptation to the individual that is such a hallmark of this rich lineage.  Still, as much as I’d like everyone to experience yoga first hand at a yoga studio, I know that for many students, videos provide a much more convenient and accessible connection to a consistent yoga practice.  Who knows…maybe someday I’ll even create a video of my own!  ;-)

Until then, two  Viniyoga videos have been created by my teacher, Gary Kraftsow, on topics that are personally important to me:  Yoga for Anxiety and Yoga for Depression. I’ve suffered from both conditions off and on throughout my life, and yoga has been an incredibly powerful tool in helping me manage my symptoms. I may have come to yoga to overcome back pain, but by far the first and most important thing to heal was my heart.

Gary’s videos introduce the Viniyoga therapy approach to anxiety and depression.  They are a bit different than typical videos, in that he provides cognitive learning in addition to yoga practice.  Each video contains approximately an hour of lecture on yoga therapy and its applications for anxiety and depression, along with two practices: one that is thirty minutes long and one that is closer to an hour.  Even more unusual, the practices aren’t just asana, or movement.  They contain multiple facets of the rich and dynamic Viniyoga lineage:  asana (movement), pranayama (breath work), meditation, and chanting.

These videos can  be purchased at amazon.com and via other online sellers. Let me know what you think!

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber's author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and other retailers!

Viniyoga: A Practice for All Stages of Life

I'm always happy to get calls from senior students looking to begin a yoga practice for the first time, as well as from parents looking for yoga classes for their children.  Of course, the sooner you start yoga, the better, but yoga is not simply a practice for the fit and the young.  Viniyoga, in particular, is well suited to serving individuals of all ages, fitness levels, and conditions of illness or health.  Since we offer a methodology, or approach, to yoga versus a given posture form, sequence or temperature range, we can teach a variety of clients from the hospitalized and very ill, to teen-aged gymnasts, to everything in between. Krishnamacharya (the founder of this lineage) practiced yoga his entire life, until he was well over 100 years old.  In short, Viniyoga is a practice that can (and should) serve a person throughout their entire life.  The goals and methods of yoga practice should change to meet the specific needs of each stage of life, however.

In youth (the sunrise stage of life), we focus on increasing strength, stamina, and concentration while promoting balanced development of the body and mind.  This typically means stronger, fitness oriented asana (postures) with a stricter focus on form. Of course, even children often benefit from a more therapeutic type of yoga, and in that case we focus on healing practices while still integrating the play and challenge children love.

From about the mid 20’s to mid 70’s (the mid day stage of life), our goal is to stay healthy, active, and to heal from the injuries and illnesses our bodies have picked up along the way.  We therefore decrease our focus on strong asana and increase our focus on developing the breath.  We also use yoga postures therapeutically to overcome injury and illness, and to promote balance in the musculoskeletal, physiological and emotional systems.   Yoga can still help us gain strength and flexibility, but the goal shifts from stronger asana to more breath-centered, adaptive asana.

In our later years (the sunset stage of life), our goals shift yet again.  From the time we enter our late 70’s until we pass on, our goal is to stay as self sufficient, mobile, and healthy as possible.  We use meditative asana and breath work to maintain physiological health and to keep our bodies functional as we age.  We also incorporate more meditation to help us focus the mind and prepare for our next journey to whatever is beyond this life.

No matter what your current age, you can definitely benefit from yoga. You’re never too young or to old.  Age is no excuse for not starting a yoga practice, or not continuing it.  As you change with time, so will your practice.  And in that transformation, you may well find a depth and beauty you never thought possible.

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out Tracy Weber's author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available for preorder now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and other retailers!

Yoga Poses for Better Posture

I look forward to answering your questions in this blog.  Please feel free to leave a comment or e-mail your questions to tracy@wholelifeyoga.com.

A yoga student asks:  “What are the best yoga poses to counter rounded shoulders and slouching?"

This posture issue is all too common in our world with computers, gardening, driving, knitting, and all of those activities that keep us in a forward folded position.   Every person’s structure is different, so I’d need to see your specific body to answer you most fully, but there are a few guidelines I can give.

Most people in America (about 75% according to my teacher, Gary Kraftsow) have excessive kyphosis (or rounding of the upper back.)   Additionally, most of us spend the majority of our time with our arms in front of us typing, holding babies, cooking, etc.  As a result, many people are tight in the front of the torso and weak and overstretched in the upper back.   

Therefore postures that strengthen the low and upper back muscles  are very important.   Those that stretch the front of the torso, specifically the shoulders, ribs and hips can also be very helpful.  It’s best to do this, at least in the beginning, with focused, targeted poses and movements versus stronger, more complex ones.

Since in Viniyoga there’s no one “right” way to do a posture, giving you the posture name is less helpful than talking about specific variations that address this.  But let me try to do both.  The photos show Whole Life Yoga students doing the poses and variations I’m talking about.

To strengthen the low back try the following:

Cobra:



Specific variations of the above can also nicely strengthen the muscles between the shoulder blades
(the arms are the relevant adaptation in this case, not the legs):

Locust:



Variations in which you lift one leg and arm at a time are nice for bringing balance to an asymmetrical body and posture:



Warrior 1 is another great posture.  It stretches the front of the body while building some strength in the back.

Warrior with “Goal post arms” opens the front of the shoulders and strengthens the muscles between the shoulder blades:


 

Warrior done one arm at a time stretches the front of the ribs as well as a bit of the psoas and quadriceps:



A kneeling variation of warrior targets the psoas and quad in a nice way that counteracts the effects of sitting, but can be hard on the knees:


 

These are the places I would start.  And remember, work with a qualified yoga teacher who can assess your specific body and give you much more targeted advice than this!

Namaste

Tracy Weber 

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out my author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available for preorder now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and other retailers!

Photos and Friendship

I adore my yoga students for so many reasons. They pretend to laugh at my lame jokes, support me during my dog’s many health issues, and encourage me in my other major endeavor, writing yoga and dog-based mysteries!  Recently, several of my students went well beyond the call of duty by posing (pun intended) as yoga supermodels to help promote my first book, MURDER STRIKES A POSE.

Today, I share a 7 of almost 200 final photos with you and say a GREAT BIG HUGE THANK YOU to the models and their photographer.  More photos coming soon on Facebook, Twitter, my two blogs (this one and The Whole Life Yoga blog), and my author mailing list.  Brush up on your yoga, dog, and Seattle trivia and keep your eyes peeled. You might win a free copy of the book or a Downward Dog Mysteries coffee mug!

Katie Burns, Shana Robbins, and Katelyn West. Anyone recognize the prehistoric beast behind them?



The perfect portraits of Rene de los Santos, Larra Dutton, and Katelyn West meditating in Sukhasana.



Sarah Mercier, Shana Robbins, and Jenny Zenner.  Three female warriors reading MURDER STRIKES A POSE.



Who’s that clown hanging out with Shana Robbins and Katie Burns? And why doesn’t Katie open the book so he can read it?



Peace-centered Tadasana with Larra Dutton, Rene de los Santos, and Katelyn West.



Yoga, like the rest of life, is a balancing act. With Kim Tull-Esterbrook, Shana Robbins, Jenny Zenner, and Kiyoumi Weibye.



And finally Shana Robbins, Jenny Zenner and Sarah Mercier—Handstand on the Seattle waterfront.  And the world’s worst picture of me, just to prove I was there.



A huge thank you to my yoga student models:

• Shana Robbins
• Katelynn West
• Katie Burns
• Rene de los Santos
• Larra Dutton
• Jenny Zenner
• Sarah Mercier
• Kim Tull-Esterbrook
• Kiyoumi Weibye

And my husband and photographer extraordinaire, Marc Martin. Couldn’t do it without you, honey.

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out my author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available for preorder now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and other retailers!

Viniyoga Books and Videos for Your Home Yoga Practice

Not every yoga practice has to be at a studio! I firmly believe there’s no substitute for an instructor who can personally give feedback on form, design a sequence for your goals, and teach you the basics of a safe and effective yoga practice. But what’s a yogi to do when she just can’t get herself to the studio?

I often work privately with students to develop a written practice they can do at home that is specifically catered to their needs. But that's a subject for a future blog. ;-)

The next best thing is a well conceived and safe book or video. While there are thousands of yoga books and videos out there, until recently there were no videos I felt comfortable recommending. Viniyoga relies so heavily on adapting to the person before us, that teachers in the lineage have resisted creating videos that, by their very nature, are ”one size fits all."

In the past several years, several Viniyoga teachers have taken the challenge, and I’m happy to say that the resources below are quite good. All are available at Amazon and other  online retailers.  And while you're shopping, you can preorder my first yoga mystery, MURDER STRIKES A POSE!

Yoga for Your Life

 

This book was written by Martin and Margaret Pierce, with whom I studied prenatal yoga. It has always been my “go to” resource for people who want to practice at home, but don’t know which postures to do or the order in which to do them. With gorgeous photos and a series of practices that build over time, you just can’t beat it for finding or re-invigorating a yoga practice. The last half of the book has practices for different activities, including a yummy pajama-clad practice for bedtime. Unfortunately, Yoga for Your Life is out of print, but there are currently copies available at many online booksellers.

The YogaAway Video Series

 

This video series was developed by a friend of mine, Bija Bennet, with input from our teacher, Gary Kraftsow. The videos were originally designed for the Hyatt hotels as in-suite video practices for Hyatt guests. There are currently four videos available, with practices focusing on everything from working out to falling asleep. All four have gotten great reviews from my students.

The Viniyoga Therapy Series

 

These videos were developed by my teacher, Gary Kraftsow. They are a little different than the yoga videos you normally find. Each contains almost three hours of material, including several practices, lectures on back pain, and individual tutorials for specific postures.

Although there’s no substitute for taking a class at a studio, I hope you will use these resources to continue your practice.

Namaste

Tracy Weber

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle, and check out my author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  MURDER STRIKES A POSE is available for preorder now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Whole Life Yoga, and other retailers!