I've Moved!

You can now find information about my classes and
eventually a random blog or two at 

www.stretchwithgretch.com

info@stretchwithgretch.com

Home Practice Sequence - 2

These three sequences are based on week 9 of the Preliminary Course by Geeta Iyengar.
Also see my "Kickstart Your Home Practice" post in October 2011.

Standing Emphasis

Tadasana Urdhva Hastasana Utthita Trikonasana Virabhadrasana II Utthita Parsvakonasana Ardha Chandrasana Urdhva Prasarita Eka Pada Sirsasana Adho Mukha Svanasana Salamba Sarvangasana Eka Pada Sarvangasana Halasana Karnapidasana Paschimottanasana Savasana

Forward Bending Emphasis

Tadasana

Urdhva Hastasana

Uttanasana

Parsvottanasana

Prasarita Padottanasana

Upavista Konasana

Svastikasana

Parvatasana in Svastikasana

Virasana

Gomukhasana – only leg position

Bharadvajasana I

Urdhva Prasarita Eka Pada Sirsasana

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Salamba Sarvangasana

Eka Pada Sarvangasana

Halasana

Karnapidasana

Janu Sirsasana

Paschimottanasana

Savasana Seated Poses and Let's Throw in a Back Bend and an Abdominal Pose! Tadasana Urdhva Hastasana Upavista Konasana Svastikasana Parvatasana in Svastikasana Virasana Gomukhasana – only leg position Bharadvajasana I Urdhva Prasarita Eka Pada Sirsasana Adho Mukha Svanasana Urdhva Mukha Svanasana Salamba Sarvangasana Eka Pada Sarvangasana Halasana Karnapidasana Urdhva Prasarita Padasana Janu Sirsasana Paschimottanasana Savasana

Boost Your Immunity

Thymus gland

• produces T cells
• overtime it shrinks, no longer producing cells but still stimulating the immune system
• stress hormones shrink the thymus gland
• located in chest

Lymph nodes and spleen

• the T cells/lymphocites go to the lymph nodes and trap foreign particles – located in groins and armpits
• spleen removes old red blood cells and acts as filter – located in upper left quadrant of abdomen

Inversions

• increase circulation of the lymphatic system improving the flow of the system

If you get sick

• couch yoga if you are running a fever
• inversions if you are congested

Sequence

Adho Mukha Virasana

• arms extending overhead stimulates the lymph nodes in armpits
• support to extend time in pose

Adho Mukha Svanasana

• head down helps congestion
• support to extend time in pose

Uttanasana

• head down helps congestion

Shoulder and chest sequence

• relieves stress in neck and shoulders
• opens the chest
• stimulates the lymph nodes in the armpits

Uttanasana

Adho Mukha Svanasana

Adho Mukha Virasana

Bhujangasana – Cobra Pose

• chest opener

Setu Bandha Sarvangasana

• chest opener

Paschimottanasana

• supported for extended stay in pose
• stress reducer

Janu Sirsasana

• supported for extended stay in pose
• stress reducer

Upavista Konasana

• stimulates lymph nodes in groin

Baddha Konasana

• stimulates lymph nodes in groin

Supta Baddha Konasana

• stimulates lymph nodes in groin
• reduces stress
• show how to support to extend length in pose

Marichyasana I

• stimulates spleen and lymph nodes

Viparita Karani – Legs up the wall pose

• inversion – improves flow of the immune system

FREE day of yoga

Labor Day is the free day of yoga. Try a new style, new studio, or new teacher. I can't wait to hear about your experiences!  I'll be teaching a beginner class at the BKS Iyengar Studio of Dallas from 9-10AM. Tell your friends!

Find a class at http://www.dfwfreedayofyoga.com/

40 days

Sometimes we all need a kick in the pants. For quite some time, months really, my asana practice has been less than stellar. I went from teaching 4 classes a week to teaching 8 and with three kids on different schedules there just was no time. After hearing a Kundalini Yoga teacher share her story of committing to 1000 days of a particular practice, I realized that was just what I needed - a commitment to myself shared with a few others close to me. According to Kundalini tradition it takes 40 days to change a habit so I decided to start with that (1000 days is almost 2 and 3/4 years!). But what would I commit to?

I'm keeping it simple: 40 days of Sirsasana (headstand), Sarvangasana (shoulder stand), and Setu Bhanda (bridge pose) increasing the time in head stand and shoulder stand by 3 seconds every day. Today was day 23 and I'm up to 7 minutes and 13 seconds- which, by the way, is brutal but 5 minutes sure is easy now!

A few days a week I'm getting up early and getting my commitment done while the rest of the house is still sleeping. Other days, I get it in before and/or after a class I'm teaching or just before lunch or dinner. Some days I look forward to it. Other days, I dread the dickens out of it. But as I sit here enjoying the effects of a headstand and shoulder stand that are 69 seconds longer than when I started and knowing I can drop over in to Setu Bhanda without breaking anything, I realize the beauty of a daily practice. Mine is not long. On good days I add in a few other poses but even if I just do these three I feel better for it. I intend to complete the 40 day commitment and will continue to focus on a small handful of poses in stretches of 21 days or so at a time. I'm not picking easy poses. I'm choosing poses that I either don't like or can't do well; no longer running from what scares me. Assessment is around the corner (October 5) so bring on Virabhadrasana III!

And not to worry, I will never commit to blogging every day for 40 days...

New Years in November

Why wait until January 1st to make a New Years resolution? Now is the time to start or get back to your yoga practice. This time between Thanksgiving and New Years Day can be stressful with end of year work deadlines, shopping, and holiday visitors. The shorter days can make us feel lazy, tired, and even a little (or a lot) depressed. The physical practice of yoga and the mental practice of meditation can help alleviate all of these symptoms. You also won't be home alone eating holiday treats and leftovers gaining those unwanted pounds that will require a New Years resolution of some sort. Get yourself back on the mat now and cruise blissfully into the New Year. Bring a friend and share the gift of yoga!

Kick Start Your Home Practice

"I don't have time to practice yoga at home."
"I don't know what to practice at home."
"I don't know how to practice at home."
Yada, yada, yada. Excuses, excuses. We all have them. Even me.

You "practice" yoga every time you stand up straight, roll your shoulders back and down, or become aware of your breath. Don't beat yourself up if you don't actually strike a pose during the day. When you can, build in 30-60 minutes of practice in to your day. When you can't, work the practice in throughout the day.

The following is a basic sequence that can be practiced from start to finish in 30-60 minutes or broken up into small sequences practiced throughout the day.

First thing in the morning while you are still in your jammies:
Adho Mukha Virasana - downward facing hero's pose
Adho Mukha Svanasana - downward facing dog pose
Uttanasana - intense stretch or standing forward bend pose
Hold these poses from 1-3 minutes each

If you can, follow this practice with some standing poses. If you workout, run, or walk, or just plain have a busy morning every morning do these poses after:
Utthita Trikonasana - Utthita Parsvakonasana - Virabhadrasana II
Extended triangle - extended side angle - warrior II
or
Parsvottanasana - Prasarita Padottanasana
Intense side stretch - wide legged forward bend
or
Virabhadrasana I - Utkatasana
Warrior I - Fierce pose

Work up to holding each pose 30-60 seconds (Utkatasana repeat 3-4 times).
As you learn more sequences in class you will learn poses that are often taught together.


At work, every couple of hours, do some shoulder work:
Urdhva Hastasana - get your arms straight up over your head
Urdhva Baddhanguliyasana - upward bound hands pose (both sides)
Urdhva Namaskarasana - upward prayer pose
Gomukhasana (arms only) - cow face pose
Paschima Baddhanguliyasana - backward bound hands pose
Paschima Namaskarasana - backward prayer pose
Invite your co-workers to join you.

As soon as you get home or to the gym and it's time to cook dinner, workout, or herd children get in some easy backbends for a quick pick me up:
Chatushpadasana - four footed pose
Setubandha Sarvangasana - bridge pose supported

Just before you slip in to bed, practice your shoulder balance, corpse pose, and some pranayama:
Salamba Sarvangasana I - supported shoulder balance I
Savasana - corpse pose
Ujjayi II - normal inhale - long, slow exhale
The last two can even be practiced in your nice comfy bed.

References:
Your teachers
Light on Yoga by B.K.S. Iyengar
Gem for Women by Geeta S. Iyengar
Preliminary Course by Geeta S. Iyengar
www.yogajournal.com - not specific to the practice of Iyengar yoga but a good resource for quick pictures of poses and has a "build your own sequence" tool

Kids Yoga - more details

Thanks to numerous inquiries, nudges, and support from many of you
moms, I am in the process of developing a kids' yoga curriculum. The
first opportunity for the little yogis to Stretch with Gretch is going
to be a combined yoga and art camp at Oil and Cotton:

Ages 6-10
June 27-30
9:00 - 11:00 AM
$120
For more info and to register go to:
http://shop.oilandcotton.com/product/yoga-art-4-day-summer-camp-for-ages-6-10

I have plans in place to start a couple of after school classes in the
fall focusing on elementary age children. If there is enough interest
in the teenage and/or preschool ages, I'll consider expanding. Just
let me know.

Children reap the same benefits from yoga as adults. Maybe even more
so given the hectic world they are growing up in compared to our 60s,
70s, and 80s. Here is a brief article describing some of the benefits.
http://www.pbs.org/parents/inclusivecommunities/yoga2.htm
You are welcome to contact me directly if you have more specific questions.

Kids yoga

When I started my yoga journey (I know, cliche to say journey, but truly it has been) I knew I would some day work with children. At last the day has come. I'm a grab bag of emotions: excited, nervous, eager, terrified. You name it, I'm feeling it.

So when can the kiddos Stretch with Gretch?

June 16 (tentative) at KPUMC Vacation Bible School

June 27 - 30 at Oil and Cotton - Yoga and Art camp with Kayli House-Cusick

I'm not just a yoga teacher...

I am also a yoga student.

I put off taking my first class. My excuses: my family couldn't possibly live without me for 1 hour and 15 minutes on a Sunday morning and my back hurt too much. Hello! Isn't yoga all about making the body feel better? The truth be told, I was afraid. Afraid it would hurt. Afraid I wouldn't be able to do it. Afraid my classmates, or worse, the teacher would laugh at me. Afraid I would pass gas and embarrass myself. Then, I found out I was pregnant. Then, I found out I wasn't pregnant. I was on an emotional roller coaster. So, I set aside my fears and went to my first class. I'll share all of those details another time but to make a long story short, I found just what my body and mind needed. The pregnancy ended up being ectopic and I had emergency surgery just 2 days after my first class. Again, I was on that roller coaster this time with exercise restriction. It took me another month or so but I went back to that class. Four and half years later, my patient teacher is now my mentor and a very dear friend. She has taught me that I can do anything I put my mind to -- with the right props of course.

So to my current students, thank you for facing any fears you might have had and coming to class anyway. To my friends and acquaintances that always say they are coming but never do, what is stopping you? And to the casual reader that never intends to spend a single second on the mat, please find another activity that you can love. One that will treat you well, nourishing your body, mind, and spirit. Run, walk, bike, swim, lift weights, learn karate, the possibilities are endless.

Namaste!

Headache Sequence

From Light On Yoga by BKS Iyengar:

Salamba Sirsasana I - supported head balance - 10 minutes
Salamba Sarvangasana I - supported shoulder balance - 10 minutes
Halasana - Plow Pose - 5 minutes
Paschimottanasana - Seated Forward Bend - 5 minutes
Uttanasana - Standing Forward Bend - 3 minutes
Nadi Sodhana Pranayama (we did not practice this) - for 10 to 15 minutes
Savasana - Corpse Pose - 10 minutes

Wrap head and use support for head where necessary.

9 more reasons to do yoga

Here is a list of potential tension headache triggers:

1. Stress
2. Depression or anxiety
3. Lack of sleep or changes in sleep routine
4. Poor posture
5. Working in awkward positions or holding one position for a long time
6. Lack of physical activity
7. Occasionally, hormonal changes related to menstruation, pregnancy, menopause or hormone use
8. Medications used for other conditions, such as depression or high blood pressure
9. Overuse of headache medication
10. Skipping meals

Source: Mayo Clinic

Yoga may alleviate triggers 1-9. Sorry, you alone are responsible for number 10, but a regular practice could cause you to crave healthier food.

Come join me on the mat and let's stop those headaches before they start.

Namaste!

Fifth and Sixth Limbs of Yoga

Pratyahara, the fifth limb of yoga, is withdrawal and emancipation of the mind from the domination of the senses and sensual objects

My teacher describes pratyahara like this: Imagine you are reading and the phone rings. Practicing pratyahara you would acknowledge that the phone is ringing but you would not be distracted by it.


The sixth limb of yoga is Dharana meaning concentration or complete attention

Now that we are free from external distractions (pratyahara) we learn to concentrate on a single object, idea, or sound.

The Fourth Limb of Yoga

Pranayama is the fourth limb of yoga.  Prana is vital energy.  Ayama is expansion or extension.  Pranayama then is the expansion of the vital energy or life force through restraint of the breath.  It is to yoga what the heart is to the human body.  It is the bridge between the physical  and the spiritual selves.

I'll admit, I'm relatively new to Pranayama.  For the last 4 years, I've only practiced it with my teacher's guidance.  Now that I've committed (at least to myself) to take my first assessment next fall, I'll be diving deeper in to this detailed practice and will share more as I learn it.

The Third Limb of Yoga

The third limb of yoga is asana.

Asana simply means posture. It is the physical yoga that most people think of when they think of yoga.

Patanjali wrote in the Yoga Sutras:
"Asana is perfect firmness of body, steadiness of intelligence, and benevolence of spirit. Perfection in an asana is achieved when the effort to perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being within is reached. From then on, the sadhaka (practioner) is undisturbed by dualities between the body and mind, mind and soul."

Wow! All that from a pose that ties you up like a pretzel.

Home Practice Sequence

Here is a good basic sequence to practice at home on a daily basis.  You can find pictures and descriptions of the poses on YogaJournal.com

Tadasana
Utthita Trikonasana
Virabhadrasana II
Utthita Parsvakonasana
Parsvottanasana
Prasarita Padottanasana
Adho Mukha Svanasana
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
Bharadvajasana I
Paschimottanasana
Savasana

Namaste,
-gretchen

The Niyamas

The second limb of yoga is Niyama or individual disciplines.

The first discipline is Saucha or cleanliness of body, mind, and speech.  To achieve purity we should practice good hygiene, eat healthy, keep our thoughts fresh and pure, and keep our words clear and truthful.  This also applies to our home, office, and practice area.  It is hard to clear your mind when surrounded by clutter.

Santosa or contentment is the second Niyama.  We must be content with what we have now and know that through honest, hard work we can achieve more in time.

Austerity or strictness is Tapas, the third discipline.  Tapas teaches us to be self disciplined in our religious study, yoga practice, and every day life.  It is our burning desire to cleanse our bodies and senses and achieve our goals in life.

The fourth Niyama is Svadhyaya or self study.  Again, Svadhyaya applies to all aspects of our lives:  our religion, work, yoga practice, and general well being.  We should pay attention, do our homework, read, and be happy to learn and educate ourselves.

And finally, Isvara pranidhana is the dedication of one's will and one's actions to God.  We should dedicate ourselves to helping others in need.  "A friend in need is a friend in deed."

T-shirts are here!

Stretch with Gretch has been immortalized on T-shirts!  I have several different colors in men's and women's styles.  Each shirt is $12 or get one free when you purchase your first class series or private session.

The Rest of the Yamas

In class we've completed our discussion of the first limb of yoga - Yama or ethical disciplines.  Now it's time to catch the blog up.

Reviewing the first two:

Ahimsa is non-violence in body, speech, and mind.  Being kind to others as well as ourselves.

Satya is truthfulness in word, thought, and deed.  Being truthful with others as well as ourselves.

And finally,

Asteya is non-stealing.  Like Ahimsa and Satya, Asteya isn't as simple as just "don't take others things".  It means not taking an item without asking, not keeping that item longer than the loaner allows (think library books), and not using the item for something it wasn't intended.

Brahmacharya literally translates to a life of celibacy, religious study, and self restraint.  This does not mean you cannot marry and have children, but rather "partners in marriage should be loyal to each other fulfilling mutual obligations in moderation."*  Religious study could be studying the texts of whatever religion you practice and/or deepening your understanding of yoga whether you practice all 8 limbs or not.  And self restraint is just that -- "to have control over our desires and to build up good character.  We must keep our promises.  If we should not do something then we must have self control not to do it.  We must be able to do what we say."**

Aparigraha is freedom from hoarding and collecting or the absence of greed.  We should not be amassing great wealth out of personal greed.  When we do find ourselves with excess, we should find ways to use it for the betterment of others.

Namaste,

gretch

* Yoga A Gem for Women by Geeta Iyengar

** Yogashastra Tome-1 by Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, Pune.  YOG, Mumbai

Yama - Satya

The second Yama is Satya or truthfulness.  We should speak the truth, think truthfully, and live honestly.  As with Ahimsa, non-violence, we should practice Satya toward others and ourselves.

In your practice, be truthful about your abilities.  If you cannot touch your toes with the proper posture then use a strap or place your hands on your feet or shins.  It is only through truthful practice that you improve your balance, flexibility, stamina, and strength.

This week be truthful in your thought, word, and deed.

I look forward to seeing you on the mat soon!

Namaste,
Gretch