Blog Posts

Cobra Pose/Bhujangasana

6/23/2023

Bhujangasana, or Cobra Pose, is a beginning backbend in yoga that helps to strengthen the back of the body and prepare it for deeper backbends. When we raise up into this posture, we emulate the posture of a cobra with its hood raised.

Sanskrit:
Bhujangasana (boo-jahn-GAH-sah-nuh)
Bhujanga = a snake or serpent, or bhuj = to bend or move in curves; asana = pose

Benefits/Purpose:
Cobra pose strengthens the back of the body, especially the shoulders, arms, and back. It stretches the chest and abdomen. Like most backbends, it’s a great antidote to the effects of modern life—reversing the effects of being hunched over the computer/ cell phone or slouched on the couch.

How to Practice:

Lie on your belly with your legs extended back, hip width apart. Bring chin or forehead onto the floor to elongate neck. Slide your hands under your shoulders, and draw your elbows back and in toward your ribs.
Press the front of the pelvis into the floor and elongate through your toes and the crown of your head. Stretch your tailbone toward your heels to lengthen the lower back. Without pressing into your hands, lift your upper torso off the mat.
Press upward through the crown with the neck as an extension of the spine. Roll your shoulders back and down. Continue to press elbows toward your torso. Without pressing into your hands, arch your spine as much as it’s comfortable.
Press the pelvic triangle into the floor. Press the palms gently into the ground to lift the torso higher with no compression in the low back. Draw your elbows back and press your sternum forward.
Elongate the neck and reach the crown forward and up.
To release, extend your torso forward and down onto the floor. Relax your shoulders and back.

Variations:

Lift and lower with your breath, avoiding the hold.
Sphinx Pose. (See photo below.) Sphinx is a variation of Cobra that uses the support of the elbows and lower placement of the body to isolate the elongation and stretch in the upper chest and spine. Forearms on the ground with palms down and elbows under shoulders. Drishti straight ahead.
Bring big toes to touch.
Place a blanket under the pelvis.
Place a block between the thighs.

Precautions:
Check with your health care provider before beginning any physical practice. If you have high blood pressure, or back, neck or abdominal pain, try Sphinx Pose first. If you have weak back muscles, move in and out of the posture with breath, and lift with the back rather than the arms to strengthen. Avoid this pose after the first trimester of pregnancy.

As always, if a posture causes pain, come out of it immediately. Ask a qualified yoga teacher for assistance.

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Weeds, Goddess Kali, and Memorial Day

5/29/2023

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I always spend the bulk of Memorial Day weekend gardening. The danger of a frost is finally past, the weather is usually decent, and, well, it’s just my tradition. As I was weeding the zen garden behind the studio this afternoon, I pulled a lot of a very invasive weed. It's new to the garden this year, and it had taken over every possible surface it could. I put on my garden gloves, and I was ready to go into battle. I don’t know what it is, but every time I grabbed at the base of the stem and yanked out the roots, the top of the weed fired what felt like a thousand little missiles at me. I had sunglasses on, but I believe that safety goggles would have been a better choice. I assume these missiles were countless little seeds and that they will create even more of these aggressive weeds throughout the summer and perhaps in next year’s garden.

I felt a bit like the goddess Kali, who is, coincidentally, our focus in this week’s ongoing classes. Get comfortable, yogis. It’s story time.

Like many great stories, the story of Kali begins with a fight between the gods and the demons. The demons were trying to take over control of the earth. In this battle, the demons were led by Raktabija, a demon with a special ability. Raktabija had been granted a boon, a special power, as a reward for practicing austerities. Every time a drop of his blood spilled, a thousand more demons arose.

The gods were losing ground in the battle, so they called on their goddess counterparts for help. Durga came forward. She went into battle on her tiger with all of the weapons of the gods at her disposal. She slayed all the demon soldiers until Raktabija was the only one left. As she attacked him, thousands of demons arose from his blood, full armies of demons advanced on the goddess, and they shouted, laughed, and taunted her. She became so angry that when she scowled, Kali, “the terrible one” emerged.

Kali was a fierce goddess, wearing only a tiger skin over her bony body, and she was armed with the sword of vengeance, a noose, and skull-topped staff. She had wild black hair, and she was filled with a raw and wild energy. As she turned her furious gaze to the demons, some died instantly. She shrieked, and more fell. She started shoveling others into her mouth and eating them. Just like Durga, she defeated all of the demons until only the demon-general remained. Depending on the version of the story, she bites him or stabs him in the side, then before his blood can spill to the ground she lifts him into the air and pours his blood into her mouth. Because she drinks his blood, no new demons are created, and the demon-general dies. When Kali throws his corpse to the ground, she is drunk from his blood and from battle, and she begins to dance and shriek, pounding all of the demon corpses into the ground. She is so out of control that the gods ask her husband, Shiva, to intervene. She is deaf to his pleas, and he throws himself under her feet. When she realizes she is dancing on her own husband, she comes out of her frenzy, and the world is restored to order.

On Memorial Day, we honor and mourn our own warriors, the American soldiers who sacrificed their lives for our country. Enjoy your day, but be sure to pause for a moment to remember these soldiers. The National Moment of Remembrance is officially at 3 p.m., but it's never the wrong moment to honor these heroes.

If you need me, I'll be in the garden, channeling my inner Kali as I battle what I have dubbed my Raktabija weeds.

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Goddess Pose/Deviasana

5/22/2023

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In Goddess Pose, we tap into the divine feminine, embodying both softness and strength. Use this asana to feel grounded, strong, empowered, and entitled to take up a lot of space.

Sanskrit:
Deviasana (DEV-ee-AH-sah-nah)
devi = goddess; asana = pose

AKA: Utkata Konasana (Fierce Angle), Horse or Equestrian Stance, Temple Pose

Benefits:

Strengthens the legs and back.
Stretches the chest, hips, and back.
Grounding.
Improves circulation to the digestive and reproductive systems.
Cultivates a balance of surrender and strength.

How to Practice:

Face the long edge of your mat with your feet wider than hip width, 2-3 feet apart. Rotate toes out wider than heels, at about a 45-degree angle. Press all four corners of the feet into the ground, relaxing the toes.
Place your hands on your waist. Press up through the crown, and tilt the back of the pelvis down to engage your abdominals and lengthen your low back.
Bend your knees over your ankles, feeling your tailbone descend. Maintain length in low back.
Lift your arms out to the side to shoulder height with the palms facing forward. With the upper arms parallel to the ground, bend your elbows to a 90-degree angle, fingers pointing up toward the sky. Relax shoulders, and spread fingers wide.
Draw the chin slightly back and in, lengthening your cervical spine and aligning your head over your torso.
To release, straighten the legs and arms, rotate feet to parallel, then walk the feet in and relax arms by your sides.

Variations:

Place hands on thighs for support.
Hold the position with back to the wall for stability and proper alignment.
Add arm movements - move shoulders, alternating into external and internal rotation.
Lift heels.
Palms facing in toward center or connected overhead.

Precautions:
Check with your healthcare provider before beginning any physical practice. If you have inguinal hernia or knee, hip or low back issues, practice at the wall and/or keep your hands on your waist, thighs, or in anjali mudra (prayer position) at the chest throughout the posture. As always, if a posture causes pain, come out of it immediately. Ask a qualified yoga teacher for assistance.

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Tree Pose/Vrksasana

4/24/2023

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Vrksasana, or Tree Pose, is one of the most popular and well known yoga postures. It is primarily a balance pose. Like a tree, we must root down through the standing leg as we grow tall. Any time you are balancing on one foot, it is important to keep the standing leg strong with the thigh muscle engaged and to find a “drishti” or non-moving focal point. Both will help stabilize the pose.

Sanskrit:
Vrksasana (vrik-SHAH-sah-nah)
Vrksa = the trunk of a tree; asana = pose

Benefits:
Tree pose strengthens, stretches and stabilizes the body from the feet up through the shoulders. It helps develop and improve concentration, balance, and posture.

How to Practice:

Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose) with your feet parallel and hip-width apart. Place your hands on your waist.
Shift your weight onto your left foot. Lengthen your left leg. Focus your gaze at a spot on the floor in front of you or on the wall across the room.
Bring your right foot to the inside of your lower left leg, below the knee, or use your hands to bring it up to the inside of your left thigh, above the knee. Press your right knee back toward the wall behind you and down. Press your right foot into the left leg. Avoid placing the foot on the knee joint.
Level your hips. Tilt your pelvis to neutral, engaging your abdominals and lengthening your low back.
If you are feeling stable, reach out through your fingertips as you raise your arms into a V position overhead, like a tree's branches reaching up toward the sun. Keep your arms extended just outside the ears. Lengthen through the waist, and keep drawing your shoulders back and down.
Press down through the supporting leg, and reach up through the crown of the head to lengthen the spine.
Draw your bent knee back and down. Square your hips to the front and adjust them so they are the same height.
Inhale a little taller, and then to release, reach out through your fingertips, and exhale as you lower your arms to your sides. Guide your lifted leg to the ground and balance on both feet. Rest, and repeat on the other side.

Variations:

Keep the hands on the waist.
Place your heel on the inner leg with toes on the ground “like a kickstand.”
Place your foot on a block.
Practice with your hands on a chair back or near a wall to steady yourself.

Precautions:
Check with your healthcare provider before beginning any physical practice. If you have heart disease or high blood pressure or if you are struggling to balance, keep your hands on your waist or in anjali mudra (prayer position) at the chest throughout the posture. As always, if a posture causes pain, come out of it immediately. Ask a qualified yoga teacher for assistance.

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Muladhara - The First Chakra

4/10/2023

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We live in a culture where we pay more attention to our gross anatomy (those parts visible to the naked eye) than we do to our subtle body. In this context, I am speaking of the physical parts of us—muscle and bone, organs, blood, skin, etc. If you’ve been a student of yoga for a minute, though, you know that yoga is concerned with more than just the physical body.

In yogic philosophy, we are composed of three bodies; the physical, the subtle, and the causal. The subtle body, also known as the astral body, includes energy, mind, and intellect.

Nadis are channels for energy in the subtle body, much like veins and arteries are channels for blood to move through the physical body. Chakras are “wheels” of energy created where the energy channels intersect. We have seven major chakras (pronounced with the “ch” sound, not the “sh” sound) in our subtle body. Each chakra is associated with a different element, sense, sound, color, gland, and part of the body as well as having a core psychological focus.

This post is an introduction to muladhara, the first chakra. Muladhara means root support. It is located at the base of the spine, and includes the legs, feet, and eliminatory system. The element associated with muladhara is earth, and it is associated with a sense of being grounded or rooted and feeling secure and stable. When our life seems out of control and our basic needs are threatened, we will be out of balance in this energy center. For instance, if we have financial difficulties, are going through career or relationship instability, or lose our connection to our close friends or family. To help balance muladhara, spend time outdoors, literally on the earth, walking, hiking, or gardening. Consider a grounding massage, drumming, or resting under a weighted blanket.

In our yoga practice, we can focus on strong standing postures, such as tadasana (mountain) and utkatasana (chair pose).

When you experience physical issues in the feet, legs, or with digestion, consider that it may be more than just your physical body. It could be your energy body sending you a message that you need to stand up for yourself and find more stability and security in your life.

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Half Moon Pose/Ardha Chandrasana

3/27/2023

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Ardha Chandrasana, or Half Moon Pose, is a lateral bend. In some styles of yoga, such as Iyengar Yoga, Half Moon Pose is a balancing pose. See that one pictured to the left. (We usually call that version "Balancing Half Moon" to help differentiate between the two.) We practice both, but this post is all about the side bend, where the body is curved like a crescent moon, as pictured in the group shot above.

Sanskrit:
Ardha Chandrasana (ARE-dah-chan-DRAHS-ana)
Ardha = Half
Chandra = Moon
Asana = Pose

You may also hear this pose referred to as simply a standing side bend or possibly as Indudalasana (in-DU-dah-LAH-sah-nah). That is admittedly kind of fun to say.
Indu = another name for Moon
Dala = Portion

Benefits of Ardha Chandrasana:
We don't tend to stretch the muscles in the side of our body in our daily lives, so it's a great opportunity to lengthen, strengthen, and stretch those sides. This pose provides stretching and strengthening of the entire length of the body, especially the intercostal muscles between the ribs. It will increase spinal flexibility and alignment as well as stimulate digestion, expand breath capacity, and develop focus and concentration.

How to practice:

Stand in Tadasana, with your feet parallel and hip-width apart.
Inhale as you raise your arms overhead, and interlace your fingers into Steeple Mudra (fingers interlaced, index fingers pointing up).
Exhale, rolling your shoulders back and down. Press down through the soles of your feet. Inhale as you lengthen up out of your waist and reach up through the crown of your head.
Exhale, pressing hips to the left, keeping shoulders and hips squared to the front.
Inhale, Lift your rib cage, continuing to lengthen the torso. Keep hips and shoulders squared to the front, and with an exhale, extend through your fingertips and bend your upper body to the right.
With each inhale, lengthen upward, and with each exhale, arch slightly deeper to the right. Continue lengthening and arching until you come to your edge.
Maintain equal weight on both feet.
To release, press down through your feet, shift your hips back to center, and lift your shoulders over your hips.
Relax your arms down by your sides, and take a moment to notice sensations in the body.
Repeat on the other side.

Possible Modifications or Variations:

Keep both hands on your waist.
Quarter Moon: Place right hand on your waist and raise left arm up and over as you bend to the right. (Reverse, of course, for other side.)
Hold a yoga strap (or your bathrobe belt) taut between your hands overhead; keep arms wide apart as you side bend.
Use the wall for support with your back against the wall.

Precautions:

With heart conditions or weak back or shoulder muscles, avoid long holdings and keep arms below the head, using the first modification above.
With uncontrolled high blood pressure, skip this pose.

As always, if a posture causes pain, come out of it immediately. Ask a qualified (certified and registered) yoga teacher for assistance.

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Ayurvedic Tips for Spring

3/20/2023

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Happy Spring! Spring is not my favorite season, but I still can’t help but get excited about an end to the long CNY winter. I know Mother Nature is likely to send us a few more reminders of her power, and I know that I can’t pack away the boots or down coat for another couple of months, but there’s a sense of transition in the air nonetheless. The season of renewal is upon us.

Yoga’s sister science, Ayurveda (literally, “the science of life”), is all about living in harmony with nature. So when the seasons shift, there are some shifts we can make, too, to help us adjust. There are only three seasons in Ayurveda, and they coordinate with the three doshas: Vata (made up of air and ether), Pitta (made up of fire and water), and Kapha (made up of earth and water). In the Northern Hemisphere, the cold, wet late winter and spring are considered Kapha season. As the snow melts into the earth, we have lots of water and earth; in other words, mud. It’s a heavy, cold, muddy season.

A basic Ayurvedic principle is that like increases like, and opposites balance. We are always seeking a balanced state of health without an excess of any of the qualities known as gunas.

How we approach balance varies from person to person, because we each have different levels of the three doshas, but this post is to offer some basic Ayurvedic advice that will apply to most people during Kapha season (late winter and spring).

Eat more food that is light, dry, and warm to balance the heavy, wet, cold season. Consider things like steamed vegetables and light soups.
Eat less heavy and cold foods such as fried foods, dairy, and sweets.
In general, favor foods that are pungent and spicy, bitter, and astringent as well as light, dry and warm, and avoid or reduce foods that are sweet, sour, salty, heavy, cold, and oily.
Consider adding more play and activity into your lifestyle. The introspective hibernating of winter is ending, and it’s time to become more active. Try a new exercise class or get outside for some walks, bike riding, or hikes.
Your yoga can change, too. You may find that your yoga teacher is slowly adding more flow and picking up the pace in your yoga class. If you usually practice yin or restorative, consider a multi-level or flow class.
Cooler spring days are ideal for relaxing in the sauna to sweat out any excess moisture and release toxins.

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Tips for New Students

3/13/2023

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Don’t eat just before class. You’ll be uncomfortable with all the twisting and bending! If you absolutely must eat within 2 hours of yoga (I see you hypoglycemic folks), try something light, like fruit or yogurt.
Practice regularly, and track your progress. Focus on the positive changes. For example, maybe you start child’s pose with two fists under your head. A month later, your hands are flat and still supporting your head. Later still, Your arms are extended out in front of you. All progress is progress. Pay attention, and celebrate those baby steps.
Set an intention to stay awake during relaxation. Intentions can be powerful. You are planting little seeds in your mind. If, at the beginning of relaxation, you say to yourself, “I am awake and alert,” it may be enough to prevent an accidental nap.
Don’t cheap out on your yoga mat. Some mats are slippery and too stretchy, and they won’t serve you. Watch out for Pilates mats, too. The thicker cushioning seems like a good idea at first, but when you need to balance, you may be regretting that choice.
Use the props! There is absolutely no shame in modifying postures or using props to support your body. That’s what they are there for! Experiment and play with all the available props over time. Look for future posts with prop ideas and inspiration!

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Mountain Pose/Tadasana

2/19/2023

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Tadasana, or Mountain Pose, is the foundational standing pose, and the principles of alignment you learn through its practice apply to many of the other standing postures. At a quick glance, you might think that someone in this posture is “just standing there,” but there’s more going on than meets the eye. In the properly aligned and executed posture, many muscles are activated, and the practitioner is balancing the engaged muscles with areas of ease.

Sanskrit:
Tadasana (tah-DAHS-ah-na)
Tada = mountain
Asana = commonly translated as pose; but more literally means seat (as in “take the seat/energy of a mountain”)

You may also hear this pose referred to as Samastithi (suh-muh-sthi-ti)

Sama = Equal, same
Stithi = Standing

Benefits of Tadasana:
This pose improves posture and muscle tone by bringing the body into correct alignment. It helps you develop concentration, coordination, stability, strength, poise, and balance. When you are standing in Tadasana, you are taking on the energy of a mountain—majestic, tall, and stable.

How to practice:

Stand with your feet parallel and hip-width apart.
Press down through the soles of your feet, at the “four corners.” Distribute your weight evenly side to side, between the inner and outer edges, and between the ball and heel of each foot.
Lightly engage your quadriceps. Press the top of the thigh back to reduce hyperextension at the knee.
Extend your tailbone down to elongate your lumbar spine and lengthen your waist. You’ll feel your belly firm as you do this.
Roll your shoulders up, back, and down. Reach down through your fingertips, and press up through the crown, lengthening the neck.
Reach out through your fingertips as you raise your arms into a V position overhead. Keep your arms extended just outside the ears.
Lengthen the body from hip to armpit, pulling up out of the waist.
To release, reach out through your fingertips, and lower your arms to your sides. Relax your torso and legs.

Possible Modifications or Variations:

Keep your arms down or hands in prayer position (anjali mudra) at heart center.
Hands on the waist, pulling your elbows back to open the chest.
Bring big toes together, with a slight space between the heels.

Precautions
With heart conditions or high blood pressure, keep arms below the head, using one of the modifications above.

As always, if a posture causes pain, come out of it immediately. Ask a qualified yoga teacher for assistance.

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Sanskrit 101

2/7/2023

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You want more flexibility or some stress relief, so you decide to try yoga. You’re thinking it will be similar to any other fitness class at the gym, perhaps. Then the teacher starts talking about “pranayama” or “tadasana” or “nadis”, and you look around to see if other people are as confused as you.

Sanskrit is the language of yoga and many other philosophies and disciplines, such as Ayurveda and Tantra. Yoga is an ancient practice, and Sanskrit is an ancient language, even older than Latin. The written version of Sanskrit is at least 3,500 years old, and the oral tradition is much older.

When you practice, or “study,” yoga, you will undoubtedly be exposed to at least a few Sanskrit words. The word Yoga itself, is, in fact, Sanskrit. Here’s a beginner’s guide to some of the terms you are most likely to encounter in Yoga class. Once you hear them a few times, they won’t seem so intimidating!

Yoga - from the root “yuj” meaning yoke or connect. Often interpreted as the “union” of mind, body, and spirit.

Asana - most literally translated as “seat.” In ancient times, yoga postures were limited to seated meditation postures. In contemporary use, asana refers to any of the poses or postures. Note that asana is usually a suffix. For instance, tadasana is tada (mountain) plus asana (pose); mountain pose.

Prana - life force energy; the energy that animates our physical bodies.

Om (or AUM) - is a sacred sound often chanted at the beginning and/or end of class. It is said to resonate at the vibration of the universe and represents the sound of creation.

Mantra - a word or phrase recited, usually during meditation, to help focus the mind.

Dharma - refers to one’s path, purpose, or duty in life.

Karma - Karma is more involved than the “what comes around goes around” or “Karma is a b*&^%” meaning we often hear. Karma is more about the energy that corresponds to our actions. It is believed that our actions influence our circumstances in our current lifetime as well as in future lifetimes.

Mudra - literally “seal” or “symbol,” and typically used to refer to hand positions or, less often, full body positions that are used to direct prana or focus one’s attention.

Bandha - literally “lock” or “bond,” refers to internal energetic and muscular locks. There are three main bandhas. Mula bandha is the root lock, created by lifting and contracting the pelvic floor muscles; uddiyana bandha is pulling the abdominal muscles in and up; and jalandhara bandha is the throat lock. Maha bandha (the great lock) is when all three are locked simultaneously.

Namaste - a respectful greeting. “I bow to you.” Usually accompanied by Anjali/Namaste mudra (hands together at the heart in a prayer-like position).

Ashtanga - literally “eight-limbed” and in classical yoga, used in reference to the eight limbs of yoga:

Yama (moral discipline)
Niyama (self-restraint)
Asana (posture)
Pranayama (breath/energy control)
Pratyahara (sense withdrawal)
Dharana (focus/concentration)
Dhyana (flow state/meditation)
Samadhi (pure awareness/bliss)

Note there is also a popular style of yoga, created by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, that adopted the name “Ashtanga.”

Sutra - like “suture,” meaning thread. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a classic yoga text, full of aphorisms or “threads” of information that encompass the foundational philosophy of yoga.

Nadi - energy channel

Shanti - peace

Bhakti - one of the paths to yoga (union); the path of devotion

Japa - to mutter

Mala - garland, usually referring to to a strand of 108 beads strung together to use for mantra meditation

Citta - the mind or consciousness

Vritti - fluctuations

Drishti - focal point

Chakra - wheel of energy

Kirtan - call and response style of chanting or singing as a practice of devotion.

Karuna - compassion

Watch for another Sanskrit post with words to help decipher pose names.

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Forward>>

Cobra Pose/Bhujangasana

Weeds, Goddess Kali, and Memorial Day

Goddess Pose/Deviasana

Tree Pose/Vrksasana

Muladhara - The First Chakra

Half Moon Pose/Ardha Chandrasana

Ayurvedic Tips for Spring

Tips for New Students

Mountain Pose/Tadasana

Sanskrit 101

Dena D. Beratta

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Call us: (315) 673-7535 or text: (315) 440-9125

Email: Dena@MandalaMoonYoga.com