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.

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 continued my class with my private school teachers over the summer as well, which brought a level of continuity and deepening of their commitment to their practice. We continue on through the new school term with a weekly class that meets in the school’s new dance studio. The school is offering yoga classes for students this year too and the demand is high!

If you’d like more information about forming a group class of your own (either one-off or ongoing) send me an email! I especially love working with new students and those looking to transition from Beginner to Intermediate and Advanced work. A one-off class for a special occasion can be fast-paced or slow and restorative. There are as many options for classes as there are interested students!

Pranam~

Shannon

Mr. Iyengar says you need only a space that is clean, free of clutter and dust. Obviously, you want some kind of barrier between yourself and such distractions as telephones, televisions, pets and other people if at all possible. From there, personal enhancements to your space, such as a small table or shelf for a candle or incense burner, and a place to keep a reference book or two, a journal perhaps are about all you need to support your daily practice.

As an instructor, I wanted this small space in our house to support not only my personal practice but private, individual lessons when the opportunity arose. For now, this space serves as the yoga room, and a spare sleepover space for guests if necessary, with a futon and lots of reading materials.

If you have photos of your personal yoga or meditation space, please share! Here are some photos of the finished room:

But have you thought of starting your yoga practice with a private lesson? A private, first-time consultation with a certified yoga instructor provides several benefits you can take into public classes, or continue in a one-on-one environment.

Medical or physiological issues (including injuries, recent surgeries, back & joint pain) should always be addressed with beginning students, even in public classes. A private session gives you the added bonus of being able to address more personal issues such as body image and weight concerns in a completely non-judgemental, private setting.

A few private yoga lessons can also prepare you for faster-paced all-levels public classes where often there isn’t time to slow the pace of the class for beginning students. I’ve heard countless stories of yoga classes where the beginning student felt he’d been whipped through a flow series with no understanding of what his body was supposed to be doing! Take a few one-on-one sessions with an instructor who will break down every pose and work with you on proper alignment, breathwork and who will help develop your understanding of your own yogic anatomy.

Visit my Private Yoga Lessons page for more information.

This class is my favorite in winter, when we start just as the sun is starting to dip, and end the class almost in darkness.

Private Yoga Classes are an excellent (and fun!) way to begin a yoga practice in a more intimate environment, surrounded by a few like-minded friends, colleagues or family members.

They’re also a smart way to get private yoga lesson attention from your instructor, as a single private lesson fee can be split among 4, 5 or 6 students.

Private classes can be held at the location of your choice, for convenience and comfort.