zen girl in maui
Natasha teaches Hatha Yoga in Edmonton, Canada, and runs Yoga & Spa Retreats in Maui, Hawaii.
mauispirityogaretreats.com
Ask me any yoga related questions by clicking "ask me anything" on the bar at the bottom of your browser. I try to answer everyone's questions in as much detail as possible.
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36 posts tagged fitness
Hi there! I really want to get into yoga. But I'm sort of confused about where I should begin, and how I should progress. I run...with running, you just run a bit farther or faster and increase stamina. But how do you go about improving in yoga, and where should I start? I eventually want to do a scorpion pose, that's my goal. Thanks!
Anonymous
Hi Anonymous,
This is a very common question, and a good one.
Here are some tips in a previous post about how to get into yoga.
As for your confusion about how to “progress” in yoga.
Yoga isn’t so much about progress as it is about practice. You practice yoga and meditation often? This is good. You become more flexible and strong as a result? This is good, but not that special.
One should never get too excited about desired physical outcomes when we practice yoga. These ideas about fitness, strength, stamina, etc. are usually based on egoic ideals - and when we practice yoga, we tend to work away from our egos :-)
If you set a goal based on the ego you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Either you won’t achieve what you set out to do, or you will never be satisfied with your achievements.
For example. You achieve scorpion pose. Excellent! You feel great. And then you see the student next to you balancing on one finger. Oh, cool! They must be good. Must learn! So you practice, achieve, get bored, and off you go onto the next BIGGER challenge … it’s like running a yoga marathon!
This attitude is more like running, not yoga.
Yoga is finding bliss in each moment. It is finding your most comfortable edge in each pose. It is breathing to create spaciousness, inside the body and mind. It is developing bodily and spiritual awareness. It is stillness. It is being in the now. It is being. It is bliss.
So my dear. The first step would be to realize you don’t need to prove anything when you practice yoga. Finally - one place in this world where we can let our true selves be without pressure to perform. This is the sacred part of yoga that is becoming more and more lost these days.
Find it ;-)
Namaste,
zengirl
A Great Way to Wreck Your Knees in Yoga Class …
Over-extending your knee in yoga class can lead to serious knee injuries.
When bending the knees, always make sure your knee is directly above your ankle, and not over your toes.
I see over extension most commonly in Warrior 1 & 2, high and low lunge, and spinal lift.
Here are some examples of what NOT to do with your knees:
These photos give me chills. I can hear the physio’s cash register going “cha ching”!
Yikes …
Now for photos of PROPER KNEE PLACEMENT:
Beautiful right angle! Knee is above the ankle.
Jazz hands for nice knees!
Lovely spinal lift, happy knees!
Remember, be mindful - practice yoga safely!
Namaste,
Natasha Sklar
Owner/ Instructor of Maui Spirit Yoga Retreats Natasha Sklar in Paia, Maui.
Join her this August for a Blissful Week of Yoga & Spa. Click here for more info.
Yoga & Scoliosis - Does it help?
- “The body with scoliosis has developed a highly sophisticated compensating ‘act’ and it can also learn a more refined symmetrical ‘act’ with proper instruction.
- This is accomplished by stretching muscles that have tightened and strengthening muscles that have become weak from this asymmetrical imbalance.
- Thereby the body will create a more effortless posture using the bone structure, rather than over working the muscles to hold itself up.
- Through yoga, one can find that balance point that allows the scoliosis curve to coexist with gravity and activates the body’s natural plumb line. The result for most people with scoliosis is better posture and less pain.”
The 4 points above were written by Elise Miller, a specialist in Yoga for Scoliosis. I highly recommend checking out her website for more information.
Namaste,
Natasha
Reblog if you’re going to yoga class today.
7 Ways Slow Yoga Promotes Healthy Weight Management
Students frequently ask if and how slow, meditative Hatha yoga helps manage weight.
The short answer is YES, and here’s how:
1. Extended holding of specific yoga poses that gently massage the internal organs promotes improved metabolism, such as ‘spinal lift’.
2. Through relaxation and stress management, it prevents emotional overeating.
3. Learning how to be ‘present’ will show itself in the way you eat - you will chew more slowly, digest your food more easily, and you will be less likely to binge eat if you are fully aware of the way you are eating.
4. It is a longterm approach to weight loss, a way of finding balance and acceptance in your body through mastering the mind and breath.
5. It is a gentle and less dramatic way to lose weight. The effects will take longer to set in, but your ability to maintain your new healthy weight will be stable because of deeply transformed habits and ways of thinking about your body.
6. Constant, slow, deep breathing makes you less hungry. Try an experiment: Next time you have an unhealthy craving, try taking 3 deep, full belly breaths and see if you still desire it.
7. Increasing awareness of our bodies as a result of holding poses longer will encourage you to take better care of it. You truly have to take a look within before you will learn to not take your body for granted.
Slow yoga is an amazing addition to any healthy weight loss program. Consider adding a class to your routine today!
Love & Light,
Natasha
100 Benefits of Meditation
Via liliezencoach: Physiological benefits: 35- Cure infertility (the stresses of infertility can interfere with the release of hormones that regulate ovulation). Psychological benefits: 34- Produce lasting beneficial changes in brain electrical activitySpiritual benefits:
1- It lowers oxygen consumption.
2- It decreases respiratory rate.
3- It increases blood flow and slows the heart rate.
4- Increases exercise tolerance.
5- Leads to a deeper level of physical relaxation.
6- Good for people with high blood pressure.
7- Reduces anxiety attacks by lowering the levels of blood lactate.
8- Decreases muscle tension
9- Helps in chronic diseases like allergies, arthritis etc.
10- Reduces Pre-menstrual Syndrome symptoms.
11- Helps in post-operative healing.
12- Enhances the immune system.
13- Reduces activity of viruses and emotional distress
14- Enhances energy, strength and vigor.
15- Helps with weight loss
16- Reduction of free radicals, less tissue damage
17- Higher skin resistance
18- Drop in cholesterol levels, lowers risk of cardiovascular disease.
19- Improved flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing.
20- Decreases the aging process.
21- Higher levels of DHEAS (Dehydroepiandrosterone)
22- Prevented, slowed or controlled pain of chronic diseases
23- Makes you sweat less
24- Cure headaches & migraines
25- Greater Orderliness of Brain Functioning
26- Reduced Need for Medical Care
27- Less energy wasted
28- More inclined to sports, activities
29- Significant relief from asthma
30- Improved performance in athletic events
31- Normalizes to your ideal weight
32- Harmonizes our endocrine system
33- Relaxes our nervous system
36- Builds self-confidence.
37- Increases serotonin level, influences mood and behaviour.
38- Resolve phobias & fears
39- Helps control own thoughts
40- Helps with focus & concentration
41- Increase creativity
42- Increased brain wave coherence.
43- Improved learning ability and memory.
44- Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation.
45- Increased emotional stability.
46- improved relationships
47- Mind ages at slower rate
48- Easier to remove bad habits
49- Develops intuition
50- Increased Productivity
51- Improved relations at home & at work
52- Able to see the larger picture in a given situation
53- Helps ignore petty issues
54- Increased ability to solve complex problems
55- Purifies your character
56- Develop will power
57- Greater communication between the two brain hemispheres
58- React more quickly and more effectively to a stressful event.
59- Increases one’s perceptual ability and motor performance
60- Higher intelligence growth rate
61- Increased job satisfaction
62- Increase in the capacity for intimate contact with loved ones
63- decrease in potential mental illness
64- Better, more sociable behavior
65- Less aggressiveness
66- Helps in quitting smoking, alcohol addiction
67- Reduces need and dependency on drugs, pills & pharmaceuticals
68- Need less sleep to recover from sleep deprivation
69- Require less time to fall asleep, helps cure insomnia
70- Increases sense of responsibility
71- Reduces road rage
72- Decrease in restless thinking
73- Decreased tendency to worry
74- Increases listening skills and empathy
75- Helps make more accurate judgments
76- Greater tolerance
77- Gives composure to act in considered & constructive ways
78- Grows a stable, more balanced personality
79- Develops emotional maturity
80- Helps keep things in perspective
81- Provides peace of mind, happiness
82- Helps you discover your purpose
83- Increased self-actualization.
84- Increased compassion
85- Growing wisdom
86- Deeper understanding of yourself and others
87- Brings body, mind, spirit in harmony
88- Deeper Level of spiritual relaxation
89- Increased acceptance of oneself
90- Helps you learn forgiveness
91- Changes attitude toward life
92- Creates a deeper relationship with God/Goddess/All-That-Is
93- Attain enlightenment
94- Greater inner-directedness
95- Helps living in the present moment
96- Creates a widening, deepening capacity for love
97- Discovery of the power and consciousness beyond the ego
98- Experience an inner sense of “Assurance or Knowingness”
99- Experience a sense of “Oneness”
100- Increases the synchronicity in your life & raises your vibration
Stumbled across a photo of one of my favourite yoga teachers in Vancouver! Nico Luce from YYOGA. Amazing studio, amazing instructor.
(via liliezencoach)
The Four Paths of Yoga
Traditionally in yoga, there are four different pathways. Each one leads to spiritual enlightenment in a unique way.
Gyan (aka Jnana) is the yoga of knowledge. Gyan yogis find enlightenment through an understanding of the relationship between the physical body and the soul. The study of science and quantum physics find their home in this form of yoga.
Bhakti is the yoga of devotion and love. Through giving and receiving love with innocent, pure intention, Bhakti yogis connect themselves to divine light, or God. Many do this through their personal relationships, encounters with strangers, or another personal form of God.
Karma is the yoga of doing without thinking. Karma yogis are not attached to the outcome of an action, and act selflessly. They see all of their actions as acts of God and light, and therefore they have little anxiety because they realize divinity will take care of the results.
Raja is the yoga of awareness. Raja yogis dive inward to connect with their inner being, and integrate their body and soul. This form of yoga is a good foundation and will provide a foundation from which one can practice the other forms with ease. When you feel centred physically and emotionally, it is easier to understand, love, and act from a place of egolessness and stillness.
