I’ve heard so many horror stories about yoga teachers and personal trainers (or not) taking their students or clients to unsafe territories in their bodies.

Working out isn’t supposed to make you want to throw up, and yoga isn’t supposed to hurt. Practicing it is supposed to make you feel better, but doing it wrong is just dangerous.

After being a personal trainer at Equinox in Santa Monica and working as a yoga teacher at several studios including a gym, I’ve seen it all. Students wobble into class injured, saying they can hardly walk due to an injury from their last class. I’ve had students not come to my class for months because of an injury they received after going to another yoga class that took them far beyond their capabilities. Obviously, this is all subjective and students/clients should monitor their own bodies. But seriously, some teachers are out of control. I’ve heard about a certain incredibly famous power yoga teacher actually popping a students rib out of place from pressing too hard on his back. Some teachers assist and have no proper training in how to do so. Not cool.

Weekend Warriors

Often times people get hurt because they assume that yoga is simple and that anybody can pretzel himself or herself on demand. Edward Toriello, an orthopedic surgeon and spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons says, most of the injuries he sees are sustained by “weekend warrior” baby boomers who being yoga or work outs without realizing that their bodies are no longer what they used to be.”They think yoga is an easy way to start exercises, so they go to class once a week, not stretched out at all and they get hurt.”

Same goes for cardio and especially for weight lifting. I had many clients who insisted on benching more weight “because it’s what they did in college” but what they don’t realize, is that they aren’t that person anymore. That’s when they get injured and then have to lay off exercise for weeks to properly heal.  Functional strength training is much more effective for optimal results.

Legit?

Part of the problem is that increasingly, the people teaching yoga don’t know enough about it. Yoga was traditionally taught one-on-one, over many years. Today’s instructors can take a yoga teacher training course in just one weekend. Luckily, to be in the Yoga Alliance (formed in 1999) has set a minimum of 200 hours for instructors to be certified. Unfortunately, only 16,168 of the over 70,000 yoga teachers are actually in the Yoga Alliance. This is a very pertinent issue, especially when it comes to injury.

Wherever you chose to practice or work out, studio, gym or with a personal trainer at the beach, just make sure you listen to your own body and take care of yourself. If you don’t, nobody else can be expected to. Warm up before activity/exercise, then stretch when muscles are warm, and stretch for a longer amount of time after activities. For Weekend Warriors, if you can’t get to the gym other than weekends, be sure to stretch during the week for 10-15 minutes… it will make a world of difference! And If something hurts... stop doing it!

Regular yoga practice is associated with mindful eating, and people who eat mindfully are less likely to be obese, according to a recent study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

First of all, what is “mindful eating”?

The Center For Mindful Eating says that mindful eating has several components, including:

*learning to make choices in beginning or ending a meal based on awareness of hunger and satiety cues;

*learning to identify personal triggers for mindless eating, such as emotions, social pressures, or certain foods;

*valuing quality over quantity of what you’re eating;

*appreciating the sensual, as well as the nourishing, capacity of food;

*feeling deep gratitude that may come from appreciating and experiencing food

The study, which was a follow-up on an earlier study that revealed middle-age gained less weight when practicing yoga over a 10-year period than those who did not, confirms that the increased awareness that yoga practitioners often experience may play a bigger role in weight management than the yoga asanas themselves.

“The researchers found that people who ate mindfully – those were aware of why they ate and stopped eating when full – weighed less than those who ate mindlessly, who ate when not hungry or in response to anxiety or depression,” states a press release from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center released August 3. “The researchers also found a strong association between yoga practice and mindful eating but found no association between other types of physical activity, such as walking or running, and mindful eating.” Click here to read the whole report.

Yoga helps people be more aware of their actions, which helps them better gauge how much food they need and control weight. That sounds about right to me. Anyone else?

Reporting in from Maya Tulum, Mexico

As Baron Baptiste, the great yoga teacher and guide would say, life is about two things: expanding and contracting. We are either opening up, or closing down. We are becoming larger, growing, evolving, transforming. Or, we are becoming smaller, hiding, lessening ourselves.

The key to living your life in a truthful, open, expansive way is to live authentically.
What do I mean when I say authentic? In existential terms, authenticity is relating to an emotionally significant, purposive, and responsible mode of human living. But how does one live an authentic life? This quote always seems to do the trick for me:

“Be as you are, not as you should be.”

There are no “shoulds” in life.  There is no universal right or wrong for how you should be, except to do your very best in every possible situation. You don’t need to be a certain color or flavor or change a single thing, unless you want to. Unless it’s a part of your own growth and expansion. Authenticity is genuine. It doesn’t require force, and in fact, if you attempt to force it, you will fail. Forcing anything just makes it more difficult on you and anyone or anything else involved. Try to drop your expectations of others and eventually you will drop your expectations of yourself: with the “shoulds” right along with it.

Another really wonderful part about being authentic in your life is that you give others permission to be their most true self as well. You open the door to expansion in the most powerful way. So not only are you improving your own well-being and truth, you allow others to do the same.

Don’t expect this to happen over night, because it probably won’t. Begin taking steps towards this way of living. Be patient and compassionate with yourself, this is a lifelong process that will actually get easier with time. Take off your mask, letting it reveal the true you. I find being in nature and/or on the yoga mat is a great way to start this process.

Try and drop your judgments of others, again, to attempt to drop the judgments of yourself. Open your heart to accepting that: You are perfect exactly as you are.

The best way to burn calories and morph your body is to move quickly and with intention. I like to combine powerful yoga poses with strength moves for my personal training clients.

Here’s an example of a routine- you can do these exercises at home or at the gym, combining yoga and strength, with or without added weight!

*this is a great strength and toning work out… If you haven’t gotten cardio yet, I would suggest this as a starting point before a jog or right after wards to cool down.

1. Push Ups with Core Work: Stand with your feet together, arms at your sides. Bend over (it’s okay for knees to be slightly bent) and place your hands or fingertips on the floor in front of you. Walk your hands forward into plank position and do 3-5 push ups. Crawl your hands back to your feet, using your core every inch of the way. That’s one rep. Continue moving until you’ve done 6 to 8 reps.

2. Walking Lunges: find a long hallway or big room. begin doing walking lunges lengthwise across the floor. Go slowly at first, paying careful attention to your front leg. Make sure it is around 90 degrees, with your knee over your ankle. then again, slowly, step the back leg up to meet the front. If you have weights you can do a bicep curl while lunging and step up with your arms by your sides. Continue for 50 on each side, back and forth across the floor until your legs are burning. (*you may not feel this burn today but you certainly will tomorrow!!)

3. Downward Facing Dog: Come into a plank pose (upward push up position). push your butt up in the air until you form downward dog position. Arms are long, strong and straight. Hands are parallel in front of you, arms shoulder with apart. Focus on the L shape of your thumb and pointer finger, pressing into the floor. Now bring your attention to your legs and feet. Try and ground your feet, focusing on all 4 corners of each foot. Try and get your heels as close to the floor as possible. (this is a great stretch for your back and legs. hold this for 1-2 minutes)

4. Mountain Climbers: From downward dog, get into plank position with your hands directly below your shoulders and your feet together. Bend your left knee and draw it toward your nose. Extend back to plank. Repeat with your right leg. That’s one rep. Do 20 to 30, moving quickly. *Be sure to keep your back flat and tuck the belly!

Drop down, flat on your belly and rest your head to one side for 30 seconds. then switch to the other cheek for another 30 seconds, taking deep and long breaths in and out.

5. Airplane: From the laying down position, put your arms out to the sides as if you are an airplane or making a T with your body. take a deep inhale through the nose, and lift everything up-your arms, legs, feet, chest and head. Hold for 10 seconds, then come down and rest for 10 seconds, closing your eyes.

6. Swimming: Stay on your belly, this time kicking your legs behind you vigorously and move your arms in front of you, moving them up and down, opposite leg to opposite arm. Do this for 30 seconds-1 minute.

7. Child’s Pose. Stretch the lower back by resting in child’s pose. 

Kneel on the floor. Touch your big toes together and sit on your heels, then separate your knees about as wide as your hips.

Exhale and lay your torso down between your thighs. Broaden your lower back across the bottom of your pelvis and narrow your hip points toward the navel, so that they nestle down onto the inner thighs. Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of the pelvis while you lift the base of your skull away from the back of your neck.

Lay your hands on the floor alongside your torso, palms up, to release the fronts of your shoulders toward the floor. Feel how the weight of the front shoulders pulls the shoulder blades wide across your back.

*If you have the time, do the entire routine one more time!! You’ll find each exercise is easier since you’ve already been there before and your muscles are prepared for the positions.

If you don’t have the time or feel ready to end, take a few minutes on your back to close your eyes and bring your knees into your chest, releasing the tension in your lower back. Slowly release the legs onto the floor, and take a few minutes to just be quiet, letting go, sinking into nothingness. Savasana.

Body and Mind

YOUR BODY SPEAKS YOUR MIND

The connection between mind and body is, without a doubt, the most exciting area of modern research into the causes of illness and disease and the maintenance of good health. It is now a proven fact that when you are depressed, your immune system is too. More and more areas of science and medicine are being forced to give serious consideration to the mind-body relationship and its implication in your overall mental and physical health.

The relationship between mind-body and the interaction between psychology (the mind with all its thoughts and emotions) and the central nervous, immune and endocrine or hormone systems. Studies all over the world seem to bear out what most complementary therapists and holistic practitioners have always maintained-the whole person ins much greater than the sum of all their parts. When looking at creating enduring optimum health, the interconnection of all the mind-body systems holds the vital key to continued wellbeing.

It is a medical fact that stress has a big effect on our general and specific health and on our sense of wellbeing. If the mental and emotional pressures that build up inside cannot be expressed and resolved, they are likely to find a way out through the body, usually through the weakest point-whether its the nerves, the digestive system, the immune system, or our sleeping patterns.

The research and work of Dr. Dean Ornish, founder of the Preventative Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, CA, certainly support these findings. In a study of heart disease, Dr. Ornish proved for the first time that the clogging of the arteries-which can lead to heart attack and stroke-can be reversed without the use of drugs or surgery, and that love was the key factor in this reversal. He concluded that a sad and broken heart was as damaging and dangerous to health as bad dietary habits or lack of exercise.

Dr. Ornish believes that one of the main causes of heart problems is the profound isolation that growing numbers of people are experiencing in modern society. We are not, by nature, solitary creatures. Our roots take us back to extended families, the community, and the “tribe”. However, our lifestyles have changed dramatically in a relatively short span of time, and the end result is increasing numbers of people living alone, or living far away from either their family or a social network that can offer support and comfort when it is needed. A weakened, inadequate immune system is often the result of an inadequate social support system. One indicator of the immune response is the natural killer cell activity, levels of which are more likely to be lower in people who are lonely. As Dr. Ornish says, “Looking out for No.1 isn’t enlightened self-interest. It’s just lonely, and loneliness kills.” Recent research has shown that people who are usually lonely and isolated suffer more poor health and are much more susceptible to all kinds of illness and disease. 

The point is this: there is absolutely a strong link between ones psychological stress and physical problems. Dr. Larry Dossey in Healing Breakthroughs, which states that more heart attacks occur on a Monday than any other day of the week, not only on a Monday, but most often at 9 o’clock in the morning. If we believe that there is no connection between the mind and the body, then what causes so many heart attacks to take place just as the first work of the week is about to begin? “There are certainly physiological reasons why death might be more likely in the morning than in the afternoon, such as higher heart rates or blood pressure. There is, however, no reason why more deaths should take place on a Monday rather than any other day.” 

Every day stress is what affects us most deeply, by slowly taxing our inner reserves. The fight-or-flight response enables us to respond to danger, but it is not just major life threatening situations that stimulate this response. Fearful or anxious thoughts do it too-the car not starting, being late for an appointment, unpaid bills, arguments with loved ones-all these can create a stress response. 

In conclusion: the body has to work harder when we are depressed, anxious or stressed. In order to have a healthy body, we must have a healthy mind. If we take time to focus on ourselves psychologically, emotionally and spiritually, we can directly affect our body in positive, healthy ways.

1. Ornish D, Scherwitz L, Billings J, et al. Intensive lifestyle changes for reversal of coronary heart disease Five-year follow-up of the Lifestyle Heart Trial. Journal of the American Medical Association. 1998; 280: 2001-2007
   
2. Shapiro, Debbie. Your Body Speaks Your Mind, 2006
   
3. Dossey, Larry Dr. Healing Breakthroughs, 1996
   
4. Mind/Body Connection: Granny Was Right After All. Rochester Review 1997, University of Rochester

This weekend I went to a music and yoga festival in Tahoe called Wanderlust. 

One theme kept recurring in my head: Spirituality. 

I use this word a lot: “I’m very spiritual”, “I wish he were more spiritual”, “let’s be one and connect with our spiritual self.”

But, in all actuality, how do I define spirituality? And how do others? The interesting thing about this weekend is that I learned this word means different things to each individual person. In all actuality, although some use the terms religion and spirituality interchangeably, they are very different to me and not synonymous. 

I believe I look at spirituality as a way to tap into my true self. To connect to the internal spirit, and disconnect from material, external world. Spirituality is a very personal and subjective concept. I get very in-tune with my emotions and feelings when I have a spiritual experience. 

I realized after this weekend that everyones experience is unique to them. Yoga is my gateway to spirituality. I’ve been saying for years that “Yoga is my religion, yoga class is my church.” Yoga elicits the breath, which takes me inward. It takes me out of the physical body and into my internal self. Meditation and taking time focus on nothing is powerful. And finally, seeing people in the community is also a huge part. Humanity

Music is a way for many to reach a spiritual place within themselves. After listening to Andrew Bird yesterday at Wanderlust, laying on a grassy hill on the top of an 8,000 high mountain top, the sun shining on my warm skin: i tapped into my spirit. I closed my eyes, and felt the music take me inward. 

Many things took me to this moment. Hiking up the mountain (seeing 2 natural water falls and gathering water from them to drink), attending two yoga classes (one kundalini one flow) and being in nature. Eating food from the land (raw, organic), being with loving souls around me (my best friend from childhood)…etc etc etc. I guess my point is this: spirituality means different things to different people. 

Find your personal way to venture into your own spirituality. Go out in nature on a hike, or out at night during a full moon. Try a new yoga class-Kundalini is incredibly powerful. Listen to live music, preferably someone that has a great, healthy message. Volunteer with those less fortunate than you-homeless, the hungry, the sick. Travel alone, some of my most intense spiritual experiences happen when I’m alone, especially in a new environment. And share your own personal journey’s with spirituality here! 

When we travel, near or far, bus, car, plane or camel, there is no doubt our body is affected. Sitting for long periods of time makes hip flexors tight, you piriformis ache, and your mind foggy.

While sitting in the airport waiting for my friend to pick me up to go to **WANDERLUST!!!!!! I was thinking about what I do when I travel and thought I would share it with you.

We are most certainly spoiled by beautiful hour or 90 minute yoga sessions, but when on the road, you probably don’t have time for this. 

Do what you can! Even ONE downward doggie (adho mukha svanasana) can make such a difference on your legs and body. Being upside down is cleansing, allowing the entire body to benefit from the blood flowing opposite its normal pathway. Stretching the legs and arms will wake up the whole system. Focusing on the breath and going inward, even for a few moments, and calm and energize the body and mind. It’s powerful. One or two poses can make all the difference.

When in an airport, I like to take a few minutes while waiting in between flights by stretching in the gate terminal. Yeah, occasionally people stare, and maybe think I’m a little strange, but the jokes on them because I’m the one that will feel good when landing in my destination instead of tight and tired.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. sit on the carpet, take your shoes off and put your legs straight out in front of you. If you want to bend your knees a little, thats fine, you’re not warm yet. Begin breathing deeply in through the nose, out through the nose. Raise your arms towards the sky, and fold forward into Rag Doll pose, releasing your head towards your knees and letting your whole body go limp. Let gravity do the work here, no tension in the neck. Close your eyes and focus on your breath.

2. Separate the legs and stretch them individually: flexing and pointing the toes and leaning forward into the stretch.

3. lay backwards, putting your jacket or sweatshirt under your head (germy in airports!) and go into a figure four pose on your back. This is a great strech for opening hips and to stretch the piriformis. It will energize through your hips into the spine. cross your right ankle above your left knee  and engage your leg by flexing your right foot. On the exhalation, draw your right knee away from your face as you bring your leg slightly closer to your body. AFter 5 deep breaths, switch legs and repeat on the other side. 

4. Then find a piece of wall you can put your hands against. Facing the wall, you will do half downward facing dog pose or Arda Adho Mukha Svanasana) Legs are hip width apart. Inhale, bringing your palms together at the heart. Exhale, reaching your arms overhead and then extending your arms in front of you to grasp the wall, hands parallel to each other against the wall. (walk your feet back as needed to keep torso parallel to the floor) Press your hips up and back, and firm your shoulder blades down your back as you bring you chest toward your thighs. Look towards your belly button and stay for 10 breaths. 

Remember, even doing 1 of these can really help your body and mind! A little goes a long way. Look for opportunities to practice poses like these throughout your day.

Celebrate the Union of Sita and Ram!

Sita Ramm Sita Ram 

Jay Jay Sita Ram

O sita O Ram! Hail, hail Sita, Ram!

This mantra is the Hindi language sung ecstatically all over India by the devotees of God in the form of Lord Rama. Rama and his wife, Sita, embody the aspect of the Divine called dharma, or our capacity for “right action,” which simply means choosing the course that is most uplifting for oneself and others in any given situation. The stories of Rama exemplify dharma for others to follow. On an even deeper level, Ram and Sita are names for two fundamental aspects of the Divine. Signing these names celebrates the beauty and power of God and Goddess expressed through human form.

INTERPRETED BY CHRISTOPHER D. WALLIS, A SANSKRIT SCHOLAR AT UC BERKELEY (yogastana.org)

What is a Mantra?

Mantras are energy based sounds. Just like any word, when you say something it produces an energetic physical vibration. When we repeat these energetic sounds, they create an energetic thought wave. The human consciousness is a collection of separate states of consciousness. These separate states exist throughout the physical and subtle bodies. Each organ has a primitive consciousness of its own.

Mantras start a powerful vibration which corresponds to both a specific spiritual energy frequency and a state of consciousness in seed form. Over time, the mantra process begins to override all of the other smaller vibrations, which eventually become absorbed by the mantra. After a length of time which varies from individual to individual, the great wave of the mantra stills all other vibrations. Ultimately, the mantra produces a state where the organism vibrates at the rate completely in tune with the energy and spiritual state represented by and contained within the mantra.

At this point, a change of state occurs in the organism. The energetic being becomes subtly different. there is a direct relationship between the mantra sound, either vocalized or subvocalized, and the chakras located throughout the body.For more in-depth reading on mantras, check out wikipedia. 

Having a small mantra you repeat to yourself can really help you quiet the mind and give you energy (prana). 

**Share your favorite mantras and mantra stories on here!**

WHY YOGA?

Yoga is very popular in today’s busy lifestyle as it helps make people feel better mentally and also helps maintain shape. The benefits of Yoga are many and there are a number of different advantages that you can gain from yoga.

For one, it is an activity, which works slowly & gradually and the end produces remarkable results. Some immediate results include the restoration of balance, flexibility, health as well as bringing a better sense of self-awareness.

Other more long term benefits of Yoga is that it can be used to stimulate glands, organs, muscles, & nerves, and this is in ways that other forms of exercise cannot. Muscle tightness and strain can be relieved or even ridden of entirely with yoga stretches.  Both circulation and digestion can be improved as well through twisting poses. Even many stress-related symptoms, such as fatigue, poor sleeping habits, muscle spasms, anxiety, and indigestion can be improved. One good hour of yoga and you will feel less anxious and much more relaxed!

This is only the beginning of the types of benefits and advantages that yoga can provide. Some other conditions that may improve with regular yoga practice include: arteriosclerosis, chronic fatigue, varicose veins, certain heart ailments and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

And above all, virtually anyone can practice yoga regardless of their age, health status, or fitness level, and not only that but it can be incredibly enjoyable and fun as well. The best way to determine if this is something you will like is by trying it. There are so many different types of yoga that you will surely be able to find one that suits you. Philosophie yoga hikes are a very unique way to practice while being in nature with pure freedom! Try something new… I look forward to practicing with you!

Why Cleanse?

There are so many reasons to detox or cleanse. Some people believe in completely fasting: eating and drinking nothing for a certain amount of time.

We believe it’s imperative, to aid in the cleansing process, to consume raw foods to receive an ABUNDANCE of nutrients… saturating your body in health instead of depriving it.

Cleansing and fasting regimes are multi-faceted experiences that have been practiced by an innumerable amount of people ranging from Christian saints to Buddha. These cleanses purify the mind, uplift the heart and heal the body.

In our every day life, we experience many different exposures to toxins. From environmental toxins (pollution) to emotional stresses to the food we eat, our bodies experience this stress daily. There are and always have been stressors in life and today there is no doubt an increase in a multitude of new toxins and stressors that have never existed before.

To restore your health and wellbeing, it is essential to detoxify the accumulation of toxins that absolutely affect each and every cell of your body.

We offer a unique experience by using raw, organic food, superfoods, herbs and supplements to provide a personalized program for you. After having an initial consultation we create a customized juice and/or food cleanse ranging from 3 to 30 days, depending on your needs and goals. You can combine any cleanse with our yoga classes or personal one on one training to get the most out of your detox process.

We look forward to sharing this experience with you!