The Dhama Yoga Wheel

  So I had seen The Dharma Yoga Wheel all over social media. 

   Of course like everyone else, I have goals for my practice - one of them being that I would love to open up my thoracic spine, deepen my back-bends, and I would love to improve my inversions (like handstands, head stand, scorpions etc). From what I saw on social media this prop could help me do all of those things!

  I got one and have been using it for a few weeks, I want to tell you a little about to give you an idea whether this prop would be beneficial for your practice.

 
Getting the wheel:
  My wheel arrived pretty quickly, well packaged, the only thing that I found was it didn't come with any instructions on its use. You can download some short instructions (see the picture to the left) but they are not detailed - in fact I turned to social media and my imagination to figure out how to use it.
  Practicing with the wheel:
  I love practicing with the wheel, it has helped me increase my back-bends, if you are interested in improving your back-bends then lying over the wheel (with your thoracic spine on the wheel) for 5 minutes a day can really open the spine.
  I found that I can use it deepen my forward folds, and other poses. As you can see in the top picture I often prop myself up somehow to increase the stretch.
  This prop can definitely be a support for inversions - of course it does not take away from the fact that you need strength in the arms and core, and flexibility in the shoulders
  On top of all of that its a really fun prop to improve balances. I often challenge myself by balancing on the prop (this is not easy) it has improved my grounded balances too.

 Should you get it?

  Yes! If you want to deepen your practice, although I must warn you that it takes practice - it can be a slow process so don't be hard on yourself. Try practice a little every day and before you know it you'll be up in scorpion.
  Stay turned to see poses you can do with the wheel, I will be uploaded more pics over the coming weeks. If you have any questions comment below!
 Happy practicing Yogis and Yoginis

Namaste  

Yoga in the park

  I spent such a beautiful afternoon, with wonderful people, practicing yoga in the park. Definitely going to do it again!! 
I hope you had a beautiful Saturday! 

Namaste 

Breath Awareness Meditation

  Meditation starts today, and I am so excited to be guiding students through a meditation practice and hopefully helping people develop a daily meditation habit. To check out a few of the benefits of meditation check out my 'The Joys of Meditation' post.

  In today's class we are starting with a simple breath awareness meditation - This is a really great meditation for those of you new to meditation. It basically requires you to hold the awareness on the breath - just observing the breath. In this meditation I have uploaded you will observe all the different movements of the breath (the nostrils, chest and navel) and finally observe the whole breath. 

  One of the things I love about breath awareness is the calming effect it has on the mind and body (I often incorporate a small portion of this meditation into my yoga classes). 

  Don't be discouraged if you notice thoughts coming and going, a big misconception about meditation is that the mind needs to become completely quiet, this is not possible. In meditation you will learn to focus your awareness, thoughts may come and go, but we don't get carried away with them, we hold our awareness on the activity!


  In the audio I have uploaded there is no music, there is no particular reason for this other than the fact that some people prefer no music, this is totally up to you - Here is one of the playlists I love to listen to when meditating. You can find it on Spotify, or on iTunes

(https://itunes.apple.com/au/playlist/meditation-1/idpl.83fbdc348d61468db91040572d418e5b)

  Take 10 minutes out of your day to spend some time meditating - I promise you will not regret it

Namaste 

Ashtanga - The Primary Series

  I am so excited about today, it is the first day that I am teaching Ashtanga Yoga at the UNSW YMCA! Ashtanga has so many healing aspects for mind, body and soul. For me Ashtanga is like a moving meditation, and I hope to inspire you into developing a regular Ashtanga Practice, lets break down the practice of Ashtanga into a short and sweet summary:

  The physical practice of Ahstanga: 

  Ashtanga has a number of 'series' (I will go into the other series at a later stage) a good place to begin is the Primary Series. Each time you practice, you will practice the same series of movements. 

  The practice begins with Surya Namaskar A and B (1 and 2), if you're practicing at home practice 5 rounds of each. When practicing Surya Namaskar flow with the breath - each breath moving the body from one movement to the next. Following 5 Surya Namaskar As, complete 5 Surya Namaskar Bs. 

  The practice is followed by the standing series (3), each posture is held for 5 rounds of breath. 

  Next comes the seated, core, back bend and inversion series (4,5 and 6), once again each posture is held for 5 rounds of breath, with the exception of the inversions which can be held for a longer, following each posture in the series is a Vinyasa (see my post on Vinyasa for more info). 

  Always complete the practice with a Savasana - hopefully within the next few week I will be able to upload a guided Savasana. 

Take your practice further:

  The Breath: Ashtanga is not just a physical practice, and by just focusing on the physical aspect of it you lose some of the deeper benefits. Focus on linking your movements on the breath, focus on the breath when holding each posture - Do not allow the mind to wander off. 

  The Gaze: Each posture has a drishti (gazing point) this has the aim to focus the mind. It will take time for you to learn each gazing point, but with practice it will become a habit. 

  Ashtanga is a beautiful practice which with practice can become a moving meditation, traditionally it has been suggested that Ashtanga is practiced 6 times a week, if you decide to do that be prepared to sweat, and be stiff, but that is one of the joys of Ashtanga, it will pass with time. 

  Please remember to honor your body! Do not over do the practice - take rest! 

  Happy Practicing Yogis and Yoginis 

Namaste 

What is Vinyasa?

  I teach a Vinyasa class and I love it! I love designing classes where the poses flow from one posture to the next. Between the different posture series a 'Vinyasa' is completed, throughout my class I will give the instruction "Flow through a Vinyasa or rest in Down dog" and there have been a number of students who become confused about what a 'Vinyasa' is. So I am going to explain in some detail.

  "Vinyasa” originates from the Sanskrit term nyasa, which means “to place,” and the prefix vi, “in a special way”— Linking one Asana to the next. A Vinyasa class is a progressive, unfolding class, where each posture (Asana) is linked to the breath, stitched together with the breath. Ashtanga yoga is by far the most well known, and popular forms of Vinyasa Yoga. Without going into too much more detail I am going to talk about my Vinyasa classes specifically.

  I deign classes which links poses together to build up to a peak pose, in between the specific asana sequences I have stitched together I encourage my students to practice what I call 'a Vinyasa'. In this case I am referring coming forward to a high plank, lowering down through Chatagrunga, lifting up to an upward facing dog, then rolling to a downward facing dog.

  Here are a few importing things I would love to encourage when practicing a Vinyasa:

  Be strong in your plank, make sure the body remains in a straight line, many people make the mistake of lifting the hips up high, or dropping them down low. If you feel that you don't have the strength lower the knees down onto the mat, keeping the torso straight.



  When lowering down in Chaturanga Dandasana keep the body straight, never allow the shoulders to drop below the below the elbows. I see a lot of below drop down, the hips hit the mat followed by the chest, if you feel like you do this I would recommend dropping the knees down until you build the strength.

  Roll up into Upward Facing Dog on an inhalation, if coming to upward facing dog push into the mat allowing only the hands and top of the feet to be in connection with the mat. If this is too uncomfortable in the back, or strenuous in the arms it is perfectly fine to come to a cobra and work up to an upward facing dog from there,
  Roll back to Downward facing dog.
*A little tip, I roll over my toes to increase the flow

  These demonstration pictures are from Sherin Bual!

  Happy Practicing Yogis and Yoginis 

  Namaste 

One of those days

  You know when you have one of those days where you wake up in the morning with a number of goals and task to achieve. That was me this morning, and as the hours of the days have rolled on I have checked off less than I would of hoped. Although time is limited it is so important to make time for one or two sun salutes, a little bit of yoga can make a crazy busy day bearable! 

  Tomorrow is another day... Hopefully I will have enough time to film a little yoga class to upload 

The Down Dog test on a lululemon Mat

  There is nothing more frustrating than being in a class, getting your flow on, and you keep slipping all over that mat in Down Dog. I don't know about you but I get really sweaty hands during a yoga class, when I am investigating a new mat I do the Down dog test!

  I am currently using the Lululemon Yoga Mat and I am going to tell you what I think about this mat.
  This mat passed the down dog test with flying colors - there is no slipping and sliding on this mat! The grip is absolutely incredible, the whole time I am using it I feel grounded and steady.

  The mat comes in different thicknesses which is really great for those Yogis and Yoginis who like a little more cushioning. I have had the 5mm and the 3mm mat, and personally I prefer the 3mm mat, it helps me feel more ground and stead throughout my whole practice (and especially during those balancing poses). The 5mm is very heavy - which makes carrying it around pretty tiring, my partner on the other hand prefers the 5mm mat, he feels uncomfortable on the hard ground when he's on his knees or on his back so the thicker mat definitely helps him. I would suggesting going into the store, rolling out a mat and giving it a try yourself.
 
  The problem with these mats is they have a very strong smell when you first get them - for the first few classes every time you get your face close to the mat you will definitely smell it - however this does go away. I hung my mat up in the shower for a few days and it aired the smell away. I was tempted to use some essential oil to help the smell subside a little faster.. DON'T DO THAT haha. The oil is not absorbed into the mat, it just forms a thin layer on the top of the mat, and because of that you lose the grippiness (I am not even sure if that is a word :-P)

  As you can see my mat is in desperate need of a wash. Washing this mat is pretty easy, if you just want to give it a little wash after a sweaty session all you need to do is submerge it in the bath or throw it in the shower and rinse it off. If you want to give it a good clean every once in awhile sprinkle some baking soda on it, pop it in the shower and give it a good wipe down - this will clean it and remove any sweaty smells :)

  In my opinion the Lululemon Mats are the best mats to use, for many different reasons, I know they can be pricey but it is definitely worth the investment, if you take care of them they will last years!

  If you have any questions about any mat, or perhaps you have an amazing mat you would suggest I would love to give it a try, comment below

  I see Lululemon now has a reversable mat... looks like I will be going in there this weekend to give it a try... maybe even walk away with one :-P

Namaste

A Morning Routine

  There is no doubt that the way you start the day can influence the way you feel for the rest of the day. So spend a few moments reflecting on how you start your day.
  I have tried many different morning rituals to try find the one that will fit into my lifestyle and here is what I have found:

  1 - Don't get attached to your routine. Sometimes you may have to change it to accommodate a busy morning. Some mornings you may not have time to do it. Just let that go, accept it and make the most of the time you do have in the morning.

2 - Make time before you start your day to meditate for 5-10 minutes. To understand some of the benefits of meditation read my post 'The Joy of Meditation'. Stay tuned on my blog for different meditation techniques.

3 - Practice some gratitude, write down what you are grateful for.

4 - Drink some warm water, with lemon, ginger and honey
  This has helped me more than you can imagine, The ginger gives my immune system a boost, the lemon has many benefits but what I love most is it wakes up my digestive system. The warm water warms up the whole body, and the honey makes it taste good. To make the drink:
    1 Slice of Lemon.
    Fresh grated ginger (as much ginger as you would like).
      Fresh ginger is definitely a much better option than a jar of grated ginger.
    1 tsp of honey
    Warm water - use warm tap water instead of boiling water
  *Warning - When the lemon is combined with the warm water it can make your teeth sensitive, I would suggest drinking it with a straw to avoid any contact with the teeth.

  5 - Matcha Tea, I follow my lemon drink with some matcha tea. If you have any drink it in the morning, for an boost in energy, and a high dose of anti-oxidants to start the day.

  6 - If you have time practice 5 Surya Namaskars  to warm up the body for the day

  7 - Most important have some breakfast, some oats, toast, muesli, give the body some much needed energy.

The Benefits of Surya Namaskar

I just love this GIF, and it highlights a few  of the benefits of Surya Namaskar! LOVE IT! 

The Meaning of OM / AUM

I have been teaching yoga at a gym for a few years now, and have never know whether chanting would be appropriate, or whether it would scare people away, but I have desperately missed chanting the beautiful mantra "OM/AUM".
  A few weeks ago a student of mine approached me and expressed an interest in chanting at the end of the lesson - a smile came across my face, and my heart was jumping for joy. This began an interesting debate in my mind, 'to OM or not to OM'!!

  Over two weeks I asked my students about their feedback, and have slowly introduced the chanting of one OM at the end of the lesson (I am hoping to slowly increase this to 3 :) )
Since the introduction of OM into my class I have had many students come to me questioning what it means, how to correctly chant it (some people chant "ooommmmm" some "aaauuuummmm" so I thought I would address these questions here for those of you who are curious.

What does OM / AUM mean? 

  This is a pretty interesting question, with many answers. To keep things simple... Om does not have a meaning, it is not a language, it is a sound, music - it is the music of the universe. As you chant, and the incredible vibrations flow through your body it calms the mind and body, and brings you closer to the whole universe. 

When cats are in pain, or giving birth they purr and the vibration helps calm them, helps alleviate the pain - the vibration of chanting OM can have a similar affect on humans, it is very calming, and healing.

The OM symbol 

  There is a symbol for OM with many meanings, personally I think of the symbol as symbolizing life. The top section symbolizes the beginning of life (A). The bottom (big section) symbolizes the body of life (U). The section going off to the left symbolizes the end of life (M). The top detached section symbolizing the after life (stillness). 

  Because of how I view the meaning of the symbol of OM, I usually chant AUM instead of just OM. 

A - the beginning of life 

U - the middle of life 

M - end of life

  Most of the time it sounds like OM anyway so feel free to chant whichever way best suits you if you ever chant with me. 

If you have any questions comment below :) 

Namaste 

30 Day Gratitude Challenge

Give this super simple challenge a try, every day, for the next 30 days, write down what you are grateful!
To begin with set a time aside each day, set a reminder on your phone (I would recommend first thing in the morning)
Write it down on your phone, on the wall, on scrap pieces of paper - wherever you want! After a few days the practice of gratitude will become a habit - it will increase your health and well-being, it will also encourage your mind to be positive... which is ALWAYS good :-P

Comment below some of the things you are grateful for!! 

Namaste 

The Joys of Meditation

I have always encouraged the practice of meditation, I have experienced the transformational qualities of the practice myself, and on top of that, in my degree of Psychology and Neuroscience, I have learnt about the benefits of meditation, in recent years the discovery of these benefits have led to conventional medicine integrating the practice of Mindfulness and Meditation into treatments for a variety of physical and psychological disorders.

Starting this week, I have the privilege of teaching a meditation class at the YMCA gym (UNSW branch). I cannot express my excitement at this opportunity, my excitement is coupled with slight anxiety.

How can I ensure that the amazing benefits of meditation can be translated to each an every person who steps into the class?

 My anxiety has subsided with the realization that the practice of meditation will work its magic on each person willing to put in the effort. So if you are wondering what meditation can do for you, or you're just looking for reasons to start a daily meditation practice, here are just a few of the incredible benefits: 

Increasing concentration 

One of the things I love about the practice of meditation is that not only does it have incredibly calming effects on the mind and body at the time of the practice, but long after you have completed  the practice you will still reap the benefits. The Journal of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience publish findings that a 10 minute daily meditation practice can increases your ability to concentrate of every day tasks.

Manage anxiety, depression and stress 

Goyal, at John Hopkins, conducted a meta analysis and discovered that meditation can be on par with antidepressants in the treatment of depressive symptoms. A regular practice of meditation improves your ability to regulate your emotions, and therefore has the ability to decrease stress and anxiety (for links to the papers where these finding were published comment below) 

Ease Pain

In 2011 Zeidan and his colleges publish findings that meditation can decrease the perception of pain by approximately 57%. The ability that meditation has to increase cognitive control, and regulate emotions results in the perception of pain as being fleeting.

Increase Grey Matter 

The Journal of Psychiatry Research publish findings in 2011, which demonstrated that an 8 week program of Mindfulness-Based Stress reduction, significantly increased grey brain matter. By increasing grey brain matter we improve learning and increase memory, concentration.

These are just a few of the many benefits of meditation! If you have any questions about meditation, or how it can help you comment below!!

Hopefully I'll see you all in class on Friday :)

Namaste