Flexibility Gains through "Gravity Yoga" - Part 3

I just want to add (on this series of posts on "flexibility gains" - although this post has nothing to do with discussing flexibility gains) that a part of the reason that pursuing yoga is so fun is that I get a lot of positive energy from the people involved. I met some great people in the world of dance, but the fierce competition made for a lot of behind people's back gossiping, bullying, and cutting others down that was not at all constructive. I don't see these elements in the world of yoga as much (as far as I've seen the world of yoga!). Perhaps this is also part and parcel of my more advanced-in-years take on things. But, by and large people are going to yoga classes for themselves. If you can get past who has their leg higher and get over competing with yourself (I'm guilty a little of the later - but I'm working on getting over this!), yoga classes are an ideally supportive environment where teachers are really there for you and classmates are very respectful of one another.

With this frame of thought, I wanted to perhaps comment a little more on some of the negative comments I made about Lucas Rockwood and his stretch products. Yes, he has many products to sell and he is aggressive about selling them. But, I don't work with him in person. To me he is a teacher on a DVD, and his ideas on the DVD have been helpful to me. I also have found working with Rodney Yee DVDs very helpful, but know as a fact he teaches at incredibly expensive yoga retreats and sells expensive products there. Teachers have to make a living, and I guess that is how you have to do it. What gets to me is when you are continually bombarded with the sales pitch. Back in New York, I was bombarded with a sales pitch from a dance teacher I did work with to buy (sign up for a monthly order for) health products right at his dance classes. How quickly he cooled off to me when I said "no" after ordering from him only once! He was a teacher that for a time I regarded as a personal friend. Some where along the line when the selling becomes too pushy, the feeling of competition (not yours - the teachers) messes up the trust you have with the teacher. Without the trust, you question that you are being respected as a student and that your best interests are truly being met. This is after - in one way or another - you have paid for the teacher to look after your best health interests in dance or yoga.

But to say "no" to a Lucas Rockwood or Rodney Yee product via email is simply a quick click on the delete key. None of my teachers "hooked" me into racking out cash, and I have found what I gained from them far more valuable than what I have lost (monetarily or emotionally - fending off sales pitches!) Take the best from your teachers and ignore the bad elements with a simple delete key. If you experience a teacher in person that is selling products, it is probably time to change classes or even yoga studios. I dropped my former dance teacher, and I felt much better for doing so even though I learned a lot studying with him.

The reality today is that yoga teachers probably have to work a day job too. I know my teacher in Japan does. This does not make it easy to calling yoga teaching your profession. So, naturally many yoga teachers are drawn to ways to make money. They may produce DVDs, teach at yoga retreats, teach at universities or studios, and even sell products. In the most extreme cases, some teachers can look extremely greedy and self-serving. But, in my experience, a nicely put together class DVD is a nicely put together class DVD. If the DVD is nice, it is all you need to take from that teacher. The rest you can ignore if you want...

Where am I going now ...? - Part 2

Okay. I think I got a little more response on my last post than I expected. Blogs are meant to entertain the reader and to some extent sensationalize the events of the writer's life - in this case my own regarding my journey through movement and yoga - and all that that entails. There are no lies in my blog, but the last one I guess was more of a vent than I realized. I really haven't expected much readership at all, so I was a little surprised (even though I in part instigated it by posting a link to the new article on Facebook) when I had my 3rd comment ever on this blog since starting it a few months back, and 2 comments on Facebook sounding quite concerned. My doctor told me shingles was from stress and this was echoed by posters on Facebook (a family member and a friend) wondering if I was ok and what's wrong. The truth be told - and here I am really taking aside from the theme of this blog - is that I have a little more stress than usual because I am an expat living in a new country that has new customs, food, and language. In Japan, I experience these things (both wonderful and challenging) on a daily basis, and there is no time out from it really other than at my home with my wife or by talking with my American colleagues. When  you don't have a good grasp of the local language, it is kind of like feeling like a kid again who can't tie their own shoelaces on their own. I need my wife to go with me to the doctors or the dentists, and while I can basically make myself understood at stores and such it takes much more effort. So, there are times I get a little frustrated and more short-tempered than I would in New York where I last lived, but these are also the growing pains of settling into a new country. I have been through a huge number of changes this year, but have experienced things that I think are overall positive. Over time, stress usually gets less as you adjust to a culture. Yoga certainly has been helping me tremendously, and will have a great role in helping me have a happier and healthier year in 2012. To round out the New Year, I will be visiting family and friends in New York City at the end of December and through New Years and have a chance to sample some yoga classes in Westchester and in New York City. I will even visit my old Astoria, NYC haunt, Agora Yoga - with their great atmosphere and kind teachers...

Where are I going now...?

This year in spite of getting healthy and doing yoga, it has been a deplorable one in other ways. Before I started yoga at the beginning of my Japan life in March 2011, I had a manditory medical check by nurses and doctors who check all the students and all the staff. They set up at various nursing stations taking blood samples, urine samples, blood pressure, and checking how "fat" you were among other things. The results came back that my heart was "bad" (an irregular heart beat - but I already knew that), and that I was too "fat." Now I've been a guy who has been called skinny all my life, and so this was pretty funny for me. They also told me that I was eating too much sugar. I knew that too. I couldn't stop eating delicious Japanese chocolate when I first came here. Everywhere this delicious boxed chocolate is abundantly available at 24-hour convenience stores located every couple of blocks in Japan. I would go so far to say that Japan stole the convenience store model from the US and shaped it into an abominably perfect masterpiece of shopping utopia for all tastes - in my case - catering to my insatiable craving for chocolate. So, with a bit of struggling at first I knew I had to shape up, and do something to kick or at least control my chocolate habit. One box of chocolate covered almonds a day was intolerable! I was riding my bike a little, but I needed something regular that would take care of my very immobile sitting at a desk reality at my work.

Even though this blog has discussed my hard work getting a yoga training routine going, I've skipped over my illnesses this year like I was something invincible. Illness unfortunately is an important part of the struggle to keep healthy - my struggle - this year. This year I had a week of influenza just after my medical exam. After starting yoga, I've have 1 ear infection, 2 colds (one included a fever), and most recently my last cold included shingles on my left side. In fact, last week I had to take a week off of yoga. This was frustrating and drove me a little crazy. I was trying not to irritate my shingles which if scratched or rubbed will get worse. This week as I began to get a little better, I got back a little into yoga. But, a new obstacle entered the picture. The weather is getting colder, and most homes in Japan, including my own, have no central heating. I have a heater under a floor table called a kotatsu, but this hardly helps when you want to get up and move about. I've ended up doing far more tai chi than I've wanted to do to get my body warm. Then, I have to wear a lot more clothes and be a lot more careful stretching. I also need to cover myself when I go into savasana. Headstands are also out until my sinuses have recovered. My workouts tend to be shorter, and I have to be patient with the cold.

Where am I going now with my yoga practice? I guess now I am learning the lesson of patience, and a better understanding of my vulnerability. I am trying to do what it takes to be healthy rather than obsessing about my yoga progress. I can worry more about that when I am healthy again, and the weather is better. Perhaps my illnesses this year are a sign that the balance of all things in my life (family, work, free time, and yoga) were out of balance. Rather than doing as much as I can - which I think I have been doing - I should try to do a little less as well as I can. This is I think is a better way for me to do the best that I can do without doing too much...

Flexibility Gains through "Gravity Yoga" - Part 2

Well it's been a good month since I started working with the Lucas Rockwood "Flexibility" DVD. His claim is that with 15 minutes a day (over a period of time he does not state...), he can double your flexbility. As I work with the DVD, I am convinced that the exercises help my yoga practice, but that the gains are much more subtle. For example, I've noticed a little bit more openess in my hips and in doing doing downward dog in my shoulders. I am not certain whether I can atttribute this all to Lucas' magic product, however. His 15 minutes is of course only a small amount of the time that I dedicate to yoga each day, and my gains may also be attributed to consistently practicing yoga and consistently doing a variety of workouts. One thing I will say for the DVD is that it is a great way to warm-up the body for a steady breathing rhythm. The DVD emphasises deep steady breathing through the stretches. I generally go to a more typical type of class DVD after, but find I start this practice with a much greater awareness of breath. I would say then that the DVD is no "magic bullet" as Lucas Rockwood claims, but rather that his DVD is a helpful supplement to a comprehensive yoga workout.

I've noticed in frequent E-mails I get from him (he sends these on mass to anyone who orders from him)with his "stretching secrets" that he is connected to or is a follower of Anthony Robbins. For the uninitiated, Anthony Robbins is an inspiring motivational speaker and author who almost had me convinced about how to chance my life a few years back. What does he convince people to do? He argues from a health perspective for us all to pursue vegetarianism. This is very good, and there is good science to support this. What I am less convinced about is why he tries to convince everyone that they need to drink his green drink. I would be more happily convinced if Anthony Robbins wasn't trying to push his own green drink (for a high price) on his followers. I noticed that Lucas Rockwood does too. Drink Mr. Rockwood's "stretch formula" and you will become more stretchy! Well... er... um.... maybe... But for such a pricey product...? Sounds sketchy to me!

What am I doing it for?

When you do headstands do you use the wall for support or not? I try not to use the wall. Why?! This was a very good question. I understand that you will still make great gains with your alignment, develop your upper body strength, and do good things for your cadiovascular system etc. by using the wall to support your balance. Asking the question "why?" led me to think about how the body can naturally move and how the body can be trained to move. Babies have a tremendous flexibility which we in our lives either try to maintain or gain back through yoga or other exercise practice. Babies do not run around doing headstands (although children do run out and do cartwheels!). While we are capable of training to do this, it is not natural repertory for the body. Then why do it? Why do I still seek the challenge? I guess I amaze myself when I overcome a challenge and learn to do something that is "extraordinary." It keeps me feeling young and gives me the courage to sit at my desk at work another day. But, I should never pursue ways of moving, levels of flexibility, or new positions in yoga with a spirit of competition (or at least not too much!). Yoga is meant to develop our bodies and minds and improve our ability to relax and do things one step at a time. This means letting them happen... rather than making them happen. I think I'll keep trying to do the headstand without the wall to feel like I can "climb Mt. Everest" when I learn to do it consistently, but I need to rethink my journey but "unthinking" in my daily practice and just allow it to happen. I've run into problems of feeling "stressed out" before trying a headstand. I've noticed that the times I just go and do it are the times I am most successful. I make poor progress when I feel any anxiety by trying too much to do it...