Table Twist for a Killer Core

07/20/2012

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  1. Begin in a table top position, wrists under shoulder and knees under hips. 
  2. Place a small ball or a foam block between the knees and engage the thighs.
  3. Spread your fingers wide and align the soft folds of your elbows to face your middle finger on both hands.
  4. Press through the bridge of each knuckle to take some weight off the wrists.
  5. Broaden your back and pay attention not to hunch in the mid-spine.
  6. Inhale and feel the back body inflate, work mindfully not to breathe into the belly, but rather the side and back body, not to break the core contraction.
  7. Exhale, before you move your legs take a moment and feel the pelvic floor pull inward, this includes the anal canal as well as the vaginal passage way for women and the clitoris, for men it's a similar area however they will feel a doming occur when activating the pelvic floor more than women will.
  8.  Engage on the ball continually.
  9. Inhale turn on the toes and swing the legs up to the right, keeping your upper body stable and head in neutral.
  10. Exhale return to a table top hovering the knees one inch off the floor (or rest if needed).
  11. Repeat the opposite side.
  12. Continue to move in this fashion for 5-6 rounds on each side.
  13. If able repeat the weaker side for one more round honoring the 2:1 ratio.
Notes:
We would normally exhale and turn the knees to one side, however I want you to focus on control on the down swing to prepare for the opposite side. By limiting belly breathing the movement could really be done either way. We someone is effectively "co-contracting" the core it will not matter when you inhale and exhale, the core remains strong and intact.


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Do You Want to Thrive or Survive?

07/17/2012

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Do you want to thrive, or survive?  Ask yourself this simple question? Without much thought, the answer is obvious. We all want to live a healthy, happy, vibrant life. We all want to drink every last drop we can from this great life and this amazing Earth energy that we possibly can, and grow from it.

But what I come to find is that most of us are barely getting by, physically, mentally and emotionally. We are barely functioning inside and out and our insides are not happy. Most people are just surviving, and in this economic drought, most will say they have no other option. But let me ask you this, if a building was burning and you were locked inside would you just sit back and say, “well I have no other option other than to die in here”. Or would you say, “I’m not going to die today; the only way I’m going to die is trying to get out of this burning building”. My point is that when we are truly faced with a crisis we can do anything. And each person reading this right now is faced with a crisis; I’m faced with a crisis at this moment as well.
Most of us are:
  • Dehydrated
  • Either over exercise or don’t exercise at all
  • Have a distorted concept of what healthy eating is
  • Have more negative self talk and thoughts than positive ones in any given day
To read more on this article by Hope Zvara visit (click on ->) MindBodyGreen.com


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What are Your Authentic Truths? 

07/12/2012

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Greetings Yogis, July is off to a great start & I look forward to seeing you all on your mats this month! I love coming to the studio and seeing so many people stepping onto their mats offering themselves self care. Offering themselves a few moments of the day to rest and restore. In today's world this idea of rest is what some might say " for when you are dead". But without a few minutes a day that saying might come sooner than you think. I have realized that our minds and the media science that surrounds us daily has drastically impacted our decisions and truths as to what we feel is healthy for our bodies and lives. So for me I am a person that likes to reflect and figure out what are my "authentic" truths. What is vital to me? And what I have found is that many truths I may hold are not authentic to me. Some are concepts I heard somewhere, some are what I felt at one time was right and others are what I have felt others expect of me.

All of this gets me into the present and so I reflect, asking myself not to think about this but rather feel what is truly necessary and important to me. What do I need. And sadly what usually is keeping me from those authentic essentials is habit, laziness, social marketing, and fear. Lately I have been feeling a real need to make a bigger investment in my own personal health and well-being as that is the most important thing. We are all teachers and if we truly want to teach who cares what comes out of a persons mouth its the authentic life and actions they live by that really is the example.

I heard someone say this past week traveling "humility is a huge part of health", and it got me to thinking about doctors, teachers, parents and my own personal life. Widen the scope in which you live. Step out a bit more, with humility riding next to you. Step off the high horse and know that we all can learn from each person that surrounds us each day of the week, each moment of our lives-if we choose. And without humility we then lose out on learning from the most vital person in our lives...ourselves.

So I am writing this month to each of my fellow students what I have been reflecting on myself for the last several months. What are my authentic truths, what is vital to me, what do I need to be the best version of me, and why am I not living this way. Know it's a process but one only you can be in the driver seat for.  It's like your hip hurts to the point that it's limiting you from things you enjoy, altering your attitude and affecting your relationships and outlook on life; yet when you narrow it down to the why: the high sugar intake that is caking your joints and the excessive running for reasons that maybe be excessive and unhealthy are not being acknowledged. (This is just one example).

Know that each one of us doesn't know it all and never will, but each one of us does have something for each of us to expand from if we choose. So let me ask you this, are your blinders on? I often look at life when someone freaks out at me over something silly or feels the need to blame (and I was that person to the fullest) I work to have humility and remind myself that the reaction they are having over something very minor has nothing to do with me, but within their own person and that I to can learn from this situation if I choose.  And that I can act instead of react.

So I want to leave you all with a moment to turn inward and ask yourself "what is vital to me"? "What do I need to thrive?" "Am I not allowing myself to be humble in my interactions with all of creation; if not then why?" Know this is not to get upset, but to feel freedom in the knowing that you can change and that life is a journey and a pretty darn good one.

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