Still room in Holiday Yoga classes

 Image of Yoga Holiday Card from YogaDudes Shop

There's still room in the rest of the Holiday Yoga classes at Harmony Yoga.  The Thursday 5:30 -- 6:45pm class is especially small.  If you'd like a smaller class, this will be a nice one for you!

Go to Holiday Yoga Classes (skip past the free yoga class for new people section) and check the schedule and fees for the final Holiday classes.

Pre-registering / pre-paying still applies for the discounted price. 

If you want to pre-pay but can't easily drop off your payment at the studio by the day before the class, you can pay through PayPal.  If you don't have a PayPal account, you can pay with credit card or debit card as a PayPal Guest.

Go to the Harmony Yoga Pay With PayPal page.
Click on the bottom button that says, "Buy Now".   It will take you to a page where you can add the price for the class.   (There are no special PayPal buttons for the individual Holiday Classes).   On the confirmation page there's a space to write a note to tell me which class you're paying for.   If you miss that, just email me and tell me.

Yoga Practice Tips for the Holidays, Part 4 - Refer to good yoga books

Happy New Year 2013!

Was one of your New Year resolutions to practice yoga poses more often between classes?   It's an excellent resolution to make at any time of the year!   If you practice at home in between classes and during times when classes aren't in session, you'll notice a big difference in the ease in doing poses during class and during your own practice.   Difficult poses will become more of a delight to work on!  Your muscles won't be as sore after regular classes if you also practice at home.  You'll become stronger and more flexible and less prone to exercise-related injuries.   You'll become more mentally centered.  All of you who've been taking yoga for some time know all of this!  

The Tips for Practicing during the holidays that I've been presenting recently are good tips to follow any time of the year, whether or not your regular classes are in session.

Tip # 4 for practicing yoga during the holidays, or at any time of the year, is to practice from instructions and sequences in good yoga books.    These books also present the philosophy of yoga, for those of you who are ready to learn more about the full scope of this ancient art and science.

As an Iyengar Yoga practitioner, I highly recommend the following books.  They all include detailed instructions and photos of many poses.   The first two books include sequences for practicing as well (although Light on Yoga sequences are more difficult).

 If you are a serious Iyengar yoga student, you probably already have some of these books.   If you don't, get them, especially Light on Yoga, which is considered to be the "Bible of Modern Yoga".   

Also refer to The 10 Best Iyengar Yoga Books for summaries of these books and other more specialized yoga books.

Yoga Practice Tips for the Holidays, Part 3: YouTube Videos

Another idea for practicing yoga during the holidays or at any time is to follow along with these Iyengar Yoga YouTube videos.

There aren't many YouTube videos of Iyengar Yoga sequences that I'd recommend for practicing to, but there are a few that I think are good.

This first video is a simple 30 minute sequence taught by Iyengar Yoga teacher, David McLaughlan. While I don't recommend this for those of you in my Gentle Yoga classes, it will be a nice, basic sequence for the rest of you.

Some of the instructions will be very familiar to those of you who come to my classes, although some are a little different. It's good to see / hear how other people teach (I stand behind my instructions, though!)

Work to your own ability and use props to maintain good alignment in your postures.

Those of you who don't practice Iyengar Yoga -- no, this is not a sequence for getting a good "work out".  These poses are done in a deliberate manner, working toward optimal alignment. 



There are also a number of videos of Senior Iyengar Yoga teacher, John Schumacher, teaching one pose per video. On YouTube, search:
 John Schumacher teaches yoga
(or click on the link) for the selection of videos.

The poses included many of the standing poses you're familiar with (those of you who practice Iyengar Yoga), and also Adho mukha svanasana (Downward Facing Dog Pose), and the inversions Sarvangasana and Sirsasana (shoulderstand, head stand). His instructions are excellent and his poses are superb!

I highly encourage you all to view these videos!

 I've also pulled together 7 of these videos on the page Seven Basic Standing Yoga Poses.

For those of you who are more adventurous,  I just discovered a few short videos by a student of Iyengar Yoga teacher, Carrie Owerko.  This student shows a recap of class sequences.  I'm intrigued by these!   Many of these sequences I've never seen before.   If you practice any of them, let me know how it goes!

Iyengar Class Sequence 9/20/12 - Interesting use of the wall for Ardha chandrasana, Virabhadrasana I, and more.
Chair Salabhasana  -- Hands on chair for Salabhasana (I have practiced this, but haven't taught it recently).
Iyengar Yoga Class Sequence 11/24/12 Part 1 -- Adho mukha svanasana, eka pada adho mukha svanasana, and a very unusual variation that I've never tried.
Iyengar Yoga Class Sequence 11/24/12 Part 2 -- Supta padangustasana with some unusual variations (moving into Anantasana, and a prone Padangustasana)
Restorative Class Recap, 11/29/12 -- 13 minutes

Yoga Practice Tips for the Holidays, Part 2: DVDs

 In Yoga Practice Tips for the Holidays, Part 1, I gave you a link for viewing and downloading a series of Iyengar Yoga practice sequences.   These sequences may be all you need for your own home practice. 

Another suggestion for practicing that you might enjoy is to follow along with a yoga DVD.   The benefits from a good yoga DVD is that you'll be given instructions for doing the poses, sometimes with suggestions for modifications and the use of props. 

There aren't many Iyengar Yoga DVDs unfortunately, but you might enjoy trying out DVDs that present different styles of yoga.

Check out your local library for yoga DVDs.   My local library, the Ann Arbor District Library has a number of yoga DVDs to choose from.  

Here is a sampling of DVDs to take a look at (the "More info" takes you to each DVD's Amazon page):

Yoga for Beginners with Patricia WaldenMore info

Yoga for Inflexible People (3 DVD set)More info

Power Yoga Collection, Rodney YeeMore info

Yoga for the Rest of Us / Back Care BasicsMore info

The first one, Yoga for Beginners with Patricia Walden is a nice, slow-paced beginning level Iyengar Yoga DVD.  
Yoga for Inflexible People includes poses taught in the Iyengar Yoga style with suggestions for props for modifications for stiff people. It also includes some flow yoga routines.
The Rodney Yee Power Yoga DVD is for those of you who really want a "work-out". Rodney Yee isn't an Iyengar Yoga teacher, although he started as one.
The last DVD, Yoga for the Rest of Us, is one of a series of Gentle Yoga DVD's by Peggy Cappy.

Yoga Practice Tips for the Holidays, Part 1: Practice Sequence Sheets

What do you do when your yoga class isn't taught for a week or two, such as during the holiday season?   Many of my students come back after the holidays (or after vacation or illness) saying how much they missed their yoga classes, and how stiff they are now, and how glad they are that their yoga class is back in session again.

I'm glad that people miss their yoga classes, and are eager to get back again!   But I also hope that people will take some time to practice on their own in between classes, especially if there's a break of a week or more.   Some of you do practice, but I know that many don't.

Over the next few days, I plan to post a few suggestions for practicing on your own during the holiday season, or for any time you can't attend classes for awhile.   I hope that these ideas will spur you on to practicing at home in between your regular classes as well, and not just during holiday breaks.

Those of you who get the Harmony Yoga of Ann Arbor eNewsletter will have already seen this suggestion:

On the IYNAUS (Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States) site, there are links to practice sequences that you can print out or save to your computer:

Sequences for Yoga Practice (These are pdf files.)

There are four Level 1 sequences, and four Level 2 sequences.    Use these as guidelines for your own practice.   You may not do all of the poses on a sequence, and you might not be able to do the poses as shown.   If you've been taking classes from me for awhile, you'll probably remember how to modify these poses so they are appropriate for your own practice.  Use props as necessary, as we do in class.  For the Gentle Yoga group, use walls and chairs for support.   Ask me before or after class if you're not sure how to modify these poses.

On the sequences there are suggested timings for holding the poses.  You might hold for much shorter times, or you might decide to hold for longer if you're working on stamina.  Don't hold so long that you feel strain in the poses.

Day After Thanksgiving Class Nearly Full

Since I can't currently post successfully to Harmony Yoga's Facebook page, I'm hoping a few of you see this here instead:

The Day After Thanksgiving Yoga Class is nearly full, and may not be able to fit in drop-ins.  If you're interested in attending and haven't already registered, please contact me.

 In any case, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Interview / YouTube video of Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher Dean Lerner

This video of an interview with Senior Iyengar Yoga teacher, Dean Lerner, is well worth watching and listening to a number of times.

A few of the comments that Dean makes that especially resonate with me include:

• When Dean first started reading Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar, he said he was like a thirsty man in the desert, and reading Light on Yoga was like drinking water for his soul.
• When Dean Lerner wrote to Guruji (B.K.S. Iyengar) with questions about the poses in Light on Yoga, Dean said he can't do the poses like Guruji does in the book -- that they're uncomfortable.  Iyengar wrote back saying, "I’m not concerned with your comfort but with the precision in which you do the poses."   This made an impression on Dean.  Comfort is not the point in the poses, but how we're moving in the poses, and how our consciousness is moving, so we face the difficulties properly.
• The postures are used to affect the mind.  When we learn to quiet the mind, we're on the road to bliss.  We start to find that unity within ourselves.
• If we're not alert to how we practice, we lean toward practicing what is easy for us, and avoiding that which is difficult.    We need to develop an even state of mind for all poses, easy and difficult.   We need to find where the difficulties lie so we can overcome them.
• Practicing and observing our consciousness leads us inward to the core of our being.
• Long, uninterrupted, and intelligent practice is how we progress in our study of yoga.   At first the practice of yoga is a discipline, but with continued long, uninterrupted, intelligent practice, it becomes a passion.