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This is a deep restorative, donation-based, all levels class. Lots of breathwork and supported postures, with time for short meditation at the end. This is a reflective, slow-moving, low-impact practice perfect for closing a busy, hectic, high energy week. You will leave feeling relaxed, but energized and opened up! I am teaching an All Levels Yoga class on Wednesdays from 5:30-6:45pm. The cost it $10 to drop in. CHI Studio is located near Fair Park in Dallas, off Parry Ave. between Haskell Ave. & Peak St. 807 Fletcher St. www.chidallas.com
Doctors who treat Fibromyalgia and who want to offer their patients something other than pharmaceuticals often agree that Yoga, specifically the kindler, gentler approach of Restorative Yoga, offers several benefits: *Restores healthy blood circulation *Builds healthy muscle tissue *Reduces stress & anxiety A Yoga practice that combines bodywork (asana or postures), breathwork and meditation, along with healthy changes to diet and perhaps other forms of bodywork such as chiropractic and/or rolfing, can produce much sought-after relief from symptoms and can in many cases replace traditional pharmaceutical remedies (which often mask the root causes of muscle dysfunction and can lead to unhealthy addiction). Always check with your doctor or other health care provider before beginning a Yoga practice. Special precautions should be taken if you are pregnant or have specific blood-related disorders. Some poses are contra-indicated for conditions such as high blood pressure and glaucoma. Always maintain a slow, even breath cycle throughout your posture work. If the breath becomes labored or short, stop and rest or modify your posture to a level that lets you correct your breath. Restorative Yoga is meant to help quiet the mind while also gently opening space in the body. Feel free to stay in these poses for as long as you feel comfortable and can focus the mind inwardly. Here are some Restorative or gentle Yoga postures recommended to treat the symptoms of Fibromyalgia: Balasana or Child’s Pose – From a seated position on the knees, take your knees wide and bring your toes together behind you. Fold your torso to the floor, letting your arms fold back over your thighs. This pose stretches the back and hips, and releases tension in the neck and shoulders. Viparita Karani or Legs Up The Wall Pose – A supported “inversion”, where the heart is below the head. Sit close to a wall on a couple of narrowly folded yoga blankets or thick towels. Turn your torso first to face the wall, then leaning over and back towards the floor, bring the base of your pelvis to the wall, and take your legs up to rest against the wall. The entire back of your torso, arms and head then rests on the floor. This pose reverses blood flow, improving circulation, and gently stretches the backs of the legs. Halasana or Plow Pose – Lying on your back, kick your legs up and over your head, bringing your toes to or toward the floor behind you. Bring your hands up to support your back, letting weight fall firmly into your elbows, upper arms and shoulders. This is a good stretch for the back and neck. Savasana or Corpse Pose – Lie in a full resting pose on your back. Use blankets or towels to support your head and knees (which releases the hips and lower back). Close your eyes, relax your entire body from your feet to your head, then let your mind focus gently on the cycle of your breath. Standing poses simultaneously strengthen the legs, back and shoulders while also opening space in the hips and joints of the legs. Hold each pose for 8-10 breaths each. Specific strength building Yoga postures that are recommended include but are not limited to: Adho Mukha Svanasana or Downward Facing Dog Pose – Come to your hands and knees, aligning your wrists under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Spread your fingers wide and fully press your palms into the floor. Turn your toes under and gently lift your knees up, pressing into your palms to lengthen your arms as you brings your heels toward the floor and your legs to straight. Keep a micro bend in your knees to allow your hips to lift and spread. Feel your back stretch as you reach your tailbone to the sky. This pose stretches and strengthens the entire body. Trikonasana or Triangle Pose – Step your feet wide and turn your right toes forward and your left toes in to about 45 degrees. Keep both legs straight as you engage the leg muscles. Take a strong breath in as you lengthen your torso and extend your arms out in both directions. On your exhalation, reach the right arm forward, angling your torso in the same direction. Once you feel a strong (not painful) stretch in your right inner thigh, bring your right hand down to rest on your shin or an upturned block. Your left arm extends skyward, and your gaze turns to your left fingers. Hold for several breaths then repeat after switching your legs. Parsvakonasana or Extended Side Angle Pose - Step your feet wide and turn your right toes forward and your left toes in to about 45 degrees. Bend your front knee, keeping it aligned over your heel and bring your right elbow to rest on the top of your right thigh. Press strongly into your left foot, lengthening and firming the entire leg. Lift your left arm first to the sky, then to an angle over your left ear. The right hand can also be lowered onto the floor or to a block. Hold for several breaths then repeat after switching your legs. These two poses in particular strengthen not only the legs, but the muscles of the back. Try to keep the chest stretching open in these poses by pulling the shoulder blades together towards the spine. This action also reduces strain in the shoulders by consciously lowering or “de-hunching” them away from the ears. For more poses and pose sequences that are helpful in treating Fibromyalgia or other specific ailments, please feel free to email me.
The class format is All-Levels with some flow, but is not a super intense power class. I think you can do it! I’m saving a good ten to fifteen minutes at the beginning and end of every class for longer meditation and breathwork periods. So, it’s a good balance of asana, pranayama and pratyahara.
Private yoga instruction works very well for men who are coming a little late to the game of taking charge of their physical and mental/emotional well being. As my male clients can often attest, there are very few group yoga classes out there that address the specific needs of men in their age range (45-55). A man in this group makes a concerted effort to find such a class, and nine times out of ten finds himself standing alone in a room of 20 women in their 20’s and 30’s. The instructor’s goals for this group are not going to meet the man on his level; they are not going to address what he needs addressed. They will frustrate, disappoint, intimidate and overwhelm him.* My primary private client is in his mid-forties, and works a 60-70 hour, very high-stress workweek. Like many folks on the less-active side of the fitness scale, he is chronically tight in the shoulders, back, and hips, and in addition suffers from chronic tightness and stiffness in the feet and ankles. He allows time for recreational sport about once a week at the most, and walks the dog, but his job demands a seated, chair at desk posture, watching a computer screen and clicking a mouse for many hours at a time. The pressure this posture puts on the respiratory and skeletal-muscular systems has far-reaching effects on his overall health and happiness. Over the past several months, he has stopped his workday one day a week to practice yoga for 75 minutes. We spend a good portion of our time initially slowing and deepening his breath, often with him lying on his back with support under the spine to open the chest, with long holds in postures that open and stretch the muscles in the back, hips and shoulders. We balance this with poses to strengthen muscles in the upper back and legs that will support increased flexibility as it continues to come. When we first began to work together, he complained of pain in the lower back/tailbone that made it hard to do what he has to do all day: sit. Now he is pain-free. I see an ease and openness in his posture now that tells us his yoga is working for him. There is a genuinely safe, individually appropriate space for men to begin addressing the effects of un-ending stress on their bodies and minds. Private yoga instruction offers a personalized approach, ideally worked into his work schedule in his own home, that helps him begin to take an active role in reversing the habits of health-compromising posture and breathing. * A “Beginner Series” of yoga classes at a reputable yoga studio (rather than a fitness center or gym) is often the next best place for new students of any age, fitness level or body type. The Iyengar studios and classes in my opinion, offer the safest, best-trained instructors for the beginning student.
I’m not sure why that didn’t happen at the five-star hotel, but it did happen in Plano. A bit of a hike, but well worth the trip, Pranaa Ayurveda Spa and Yoga’s roster of services may have you scheduling treatments every three months for years to come just to sample everything they offer. Their head Ayurvedic practitioner, Ritu Bhala, is prepared to deliver Abhyanga, Swedana, Shirodhara and more in a serenely beautiful spa setting. Worth the extra pocket change is the full Ayurvedic lifestyle and nutrition consultation, where you will learn about your specific dosha, or constitution, and steps to take in your diet and Yoga practice to bring your body to its natural state of health and self-healing. For Christmas last year I asked for a gift certificate to Pranaa (thanks awesome step-kids!). I booked an appointment for the Udvartan, an herbal body-scrub massage done with oils, sandalwood and chickpea powder, and dried herbs that stimulate the lymph system to detoxify the body while leaving my skin polished and silky soft. I booked an appointment for three months down the road for the Marma Point Massage, where Ritu, using generous amounts of warmed Sandalwood oil focuses her massage on the energy points in the body, including the scalp, temples, sinuses, stomach feet and limbs. Transcendent. I’m eager to add Shirodhana, the stream of warmed sandalwood oil poured directly across the middle brow, or Swedana, or traditional steam therapy. In addition to the full roster of Ayurvedic treatments, Pranaa also offers a full range of Western facial and massage treatments and packages, as well as a full schedule of Yoga classes and workshops. Pranaa Ayurveda Spa & Yoga 4017 Preston Road, Ste. 352 Plano TX 75093 Phone: 972-608-0402 * Email : info@pranaa.com * www.pranaa.com
I think I finally have a teaching schedule down that really works for me. I hope to see you in a Dallas-area class soon! MONDAYS – CHI Studio, near Fair Park in Dallas, TX 5:15-6:30pm Yoga Tune-Up: A beginner level class that covers that basics. All levels welcome. $10 Drop in. 7:00-8:30pm Vinyasa Flow: A breath-synchronized class that builds heat and challenges you in deeper hip openers, arm balances and inversions. $5 Donation. On Tuesdays I teach a class to my Mother and one of her dearest friends. It’s private. Sorry! On Wednesdays I’m teaching to my favorite teachers and staff at the Winston School in north Dallas. We’ve been practicing together now for almost three years. I am most proud of this group of women and what they’ve accomplished. On Thursdays I’m currently teaching two kids’ yoga classes. Talk about a challenge. I’m also about to start subbing up at the Gold’s Gym in Garland the next several Saturday mornings from 11-12pm, and Thursdays in November from 7:15-8:15pm. I love this class. They are the friendliest bunch of dedicated gym-yogis I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. I like it that my regular classes leave me the flexibility to sub teach a lot when I can. Let me know if you’re interested in starting your own private class! Either at CHI Studio or a location you have available. Finally, here’s an upcoming event you might be interested in: Dirt Cheap Yoga’s Chandra Namaskar: Moon Salutations Maybe I’ll see you there…
I got to take a class led by a childhood friend of mine last Wednesday evening at the Cosmic Cafe here in Dallas. Robin Riddle recently received her yoga teacher certification through the Dallas Yoga Center and teaches this one public class every week. The class and Robin’s teaching style are soothing, quiet and almost meditative. I found myself able to do practically the entire class with my eyes closed. I’ll be back.
The 6-week series will start April 21st, and run for 6 consecutive Wednesday evenings, from 7-8:15pm. Go to my Beginner’s Yoga Series page for more information and to register. |
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I have begun to notice a pattern in the calls and emails I receive about private instruction: men in their 40’s and 50’s contact me far more often for private instruction than do women of any age (insert running gag of your choice here). The real reasons seem fairly obvious. More middle-aged women are already actively engaged in their own health and fitness, and are more likely to have consistent yoga (or other class-based fitness) practice. For quite a lot of less-active men, yoga is something that often comes at the suggestion of a well-meaning spouse or insistence of a healthcare provider.
