Start by Lying Down

"I'm grateful I've found a way to help survivors. While the tsunami has affected us in varying degrees, yoga offers us all release and renewal."

Those are the words of Kirsten Moe-Kindermann as she recounts in Yoga Journal (July/August 2005) how she was able to offer help in fhe form of yoga to the grieving mother of a friend. The mother was despondent over the loss of her husband to the Asian Tsunami.

At first she was only able to do corpse pose, savasana. Soon she was joining in with other asanas. Eventually she was able to care for her famly again.


savasana, corpse pose


This story portrays one of the great characteristics of yoga: you can begin where you are.

Regardless of your present condition, you can do something. Start with what you have. Don't put it off, waiting for a better moment or more ideal circumstances.

It's been six months since the Tsunami first wreaked its destruction and devastation. News coverage around this anniversary is increasing. I encourage you to read this month's issue of Yoga Journal, p. 102-103, for this and other stories about how yoga has been a vehicle to provide relief for Tsunami vicitims.

We are especially grateful for the mention we received for our www.WearOrange.org wristband project.. Already more I DO YOGA wristband orders are coming in. And that means more contributions are going to the American Red Cross for Tsunami aid.

I hope you'll click on www.WearOrange.org today to help continue the good work we've already done on behalf of yogis everywhere. We've raised over $6,300!

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
http://www.experienceyoga.org/

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Maintenance vs. Expansion

No one is heralded for maintenance.

The newspaper is quick to write up a story about when the local factory is going expand its production lines and add jobs. But they never let you know when they close down the line for routine maintenance.

Every parent I know sends out a birth announcement when a new baby arrives. But notices of daily maintenance chores like "we fed our kids today" just don't get sent.

Every high school kid brags when he gets new wheels on his car. But he never mentions oil changes.

Maintenance is boring. Expansion is...well, it's "sexy." It sells. Oh--by the way--expansion is what we want.

I never hear someone say "I can't wait to get up tomorrow morning to brush my teeth." But when those people on Extreme Makeover get a full set of porcelain veneers slapped on by Dr. Dorfman, the rejoicing seems like it will never end. Woo hoo!

When we're caught up in the thrill of expansion, we forget that expansion is not possible without maintenance. Big, inspiring moves are just not possible without first establishing a launching pad.

I am unashamedly Christian. Today is the day that the Church consciously remembers and celebrates Saints Peter and Paul. Maybe they do it to emphasize a similar contrast.

Paul was the travelling preacher. He went out on the road to spread the news of the early Church. But Peter was "the Rock," the foundation, the stable ground on which the new Church relied for steadiness and consistency. Check out the Bible. Paul gets way more ink than Peter.

I rest my case. We are human. We are drawn to the big moves. They attract our attention. But big, free expansive movements don't come without first establishing and maintaining a stable foundation.

Want more ease in your yoga poses? Look lower. Find the parts of your body that are closest the ground and establish them firmly. Freedom is a fruit of stability.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., "Give me a lever long enough and I will move the world." That's the wisdom of Archimedes. Right? Wrong!
Archimedes really said, "Give me a place to stand and a lever long enough and I will move the world." He too knew a firm foundation was needed to accomplish the largest tasks.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

The Playful Search for Beauty

I don't know much about ceramics, but I saw a captivating interview on TV this weekend with 98 year-old designer Eva Zeisel, a pioneer in industiral design. Her pottery is widely recognized in the U.S. because of its simple, striking elegance and the popularity of her work.

Two things struck me.

The first was her unique design process. She begins each piece by forming its shape in the air with her hands. At 98, she moves her hands with a fluidity and sensitivity the likes of which I've lost years ago. I have difficulty using my stubby fingers to button my shirts.

Just watching her move her hands through space was beautiful.

The second was a candid moment when the interviewer said that each of Zeisel's pieces felt "comfortable" in her hands. To this comment, Zeisel replied that she creates "no hostile pieces."



I immediately flashed to Patanjali who, in one of his rare comments about yoga postures, said:

"Sthira sukham asanam" or "The postures...should embody steadiness and ease," 2.46

So many times I've followed Nike's advice when it comes to yoga: Just do it. In those moments, if my poses were sculpture, they wouldn't pass the Zeisel test. They were hostile.

As you approach your practice today, take a page from Zeisel's book. She called her approach to design "the playful search for beauty."

Try to make your poses playful and beautiful, today and every day. The harshness melts away into the steadiness and ease that Patanjali calls us to.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

When Things Fall Apart

A few years back, Pema Chodron wrote a book I've never read called When Things Fall Apart. For some reason I find that to be a compelling book title. It's stuck in my head all these years even though I don't know the first thing about what's between the covers!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1570623449/experienceyog-20/103-4680048-4115023?creative=327641&camp=14573&link_code=as1

Maybe it's compelling because I know what it feels like when things start to fall apart. Who doesn't?

My mom's been real sick lately. Today she went back into the hospital. At times it's confusing. Often it's exhausting. Frustration is running high. And the stakes are high, too. Family and friends are frazzled.

Yesterday was Sunday. I was sitting with my mom. I said to my dad, "what time does church start?" At first he said he wasn't going. Then he stopped himself and said he would get ready and go. Off he went.

My dad's been going to church with dedication and regularity for as long as I've been alive, and long before that. His church community, his daily practices, his studies, his quiet times and selfless charitable service have all been a part of the discipline that has sustained him throughout every phase of his life.

And once again, the going's gotten tough. But now he's torn between two very strong values: his strong loving commitment to his wife and his strong loving committment to the practices that have enriched and strengthened him.

At times, it appears as though he can't keep both commitments.

I see this in yoga, too. When the going gets tough, some students quit yoga.

Holiday stress? No time for yoga.
Complicated summer vacation schedule? I'll get back to yoga later.
Nagging injury? Better pass on yoga for awhile.
Big project at work? I'll start back at yoga when the project's done.

My dad's wise enough to know that when the going gets tough, you don't abandon the very thing that has nourished you all along.

Some of my yoga students know it, too. When the going gets tough, they do more yoga.

It sounds as trite as a t-shirt slogan. But it's no less true. If yoga's been very good to you, don't ditch it when you need it most. Do more yoga to get more of the benefits you need when circumstances are challenging.

Years ago, I had a student who was scheduled for a hysterectomy. But I didn't know it until I started seeing her in yoga class every day. Some days, I saw her twice. I finally asked her, "What's going on? You're here all the time these days." She told me she took two weeks off from work to get ready for surgery. During those two weeks she was doing as much yoga as she possibly could.

Here's the shocker. Three days after her surgery she was back in a gentle yoga class. And she was feeling great.

When her life presented a major challenge, she was able to set other things aside and focus on the practices that would lift her spirits, charge her body with vital energy, and boost her immune system. She did what she could to purify her body and refresh her outlook.

You can, too.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., In my last Daily Yoga Tip message I said I would write about how to distinguish between good pain and bad pain. Sorry, it didn't go out today. Soon. Very soon.

p.p.s. I also told you I'd soon break the news about an exciting new project. Our Experience Sanskrit workshop pariticpants in St. Louis Saturday loved it when they got their hands on it. You will too. Here's a clue from my message today: "It sounds as trite as a t-shirt slogan. But it's no less true." Keep looking here for information. More will be revealed.

p.p.p.s., I've changed my teaching schedule at Show Me Yoga Center. It's effective when we return from the July 4th holiday break. The new schedule will let me spend more time with my mom. You can find out more at http://www.showmeyoga.com/Announcements.asp.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Experience Sanskrit & Staying Supple

Wow. I haven't put out a yoga tip in four days!

I've been staying real close to my mom for the past few days. She's pretty sick again.

And I've been preparing for today's Experience Sanskrit workshop in St. Louis. We are excited about the fantastic and fun day that is in store!

We just received shipment yesterday of a great new item that we're going to release today at the Experience Sanskrit workshop. You won't want to miss it. So be sure to check your Daily Yoga Tip closely over the next several days for the announcement.

I've also been working on a great Daily Yoga Tip about how to tell the difference between "good pain" and "bad pain" when you do yoga. I think you'll like it. I'll get it out tonight when I get back from St. Louis.

That Daily Yoga Tip message includes a book recommendation for one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read about my body. It's called Staying Supple: The Bountiful Pleasures of Stretching.

Click here if you're interested in more information about that book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1891369032/experienceyog-20/103-7153788-7334234?creative=327641&camp=14573&link_code=as1

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Thanks to Christine Yonker at St. Louis YogaSource for hosting us today in St. Louis. We've received so many calls and emails from folks in Missouri and Illinois who can't come to the workshop today. But they do want to bring the Experience Sanskrit workshop to their favorite yoga center. If you'd like us to deliver this fun and unforgettable program for remembering the Sanskrit names of yoga poses to your yoga community, email me today at info@experienceyoga.org.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Look At Your Cat, Then Try A Tortoise

Saturday was a sad day at our house. Rorey the ocicat succumed to a very strange cancer in his jaw. The visit to the vet was a real relief, but upsetting, too. Goodbye, Rorey.


Rorey, like most cats, knew how to relax.

Rorey was bred to look like an ocelot. He was a very cool looking cat.

I'll always remember Rorey as the cat my wife and daughter got while I was away from home. We were living in Virginia in 1998. I had come out to Missouri to live in my brother's guest room for six weeks and look for a job. While I was gone, our family expanded from 3 people and 1 dog, to 3 people, 1 dog and Rorey.

He's gone now. My second dog, Rommel, (we expanded some more) knows Rorey's gone and keeps looking for him to come home.


Rorey, the ocicat, in better days

Cats know how to stretch. Their most famous stretch is that back-rounding action you see at Halloween when the silhouette of the black cat is on decorations everywhere.


the cat's back

I am certain I did a cat pose, bidalasana, in my very first yoga class. It felt great then. It feels great today.

From your hands and knees, you tuck your tail bone, drop your head, and round your back, lifting your spine and lungs upward. That's the 'cat tilt' portion of the movement.

Then you alternate by tipping your sitbones up. Your low back is drawn in, concave. Your head is lifted. That's the 'dog tilt' portion.

Switching smoothly from one to the other is wonderful.

Erich Schiffmann (Yoga, The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness) says,

"Cat pose teaches you to initiate movement from your center and to coordinate your movements and breath. These are two of the most important themes in asana practice." (p. 89)

I agree. It's no wonder my first teacher, Betsey Downing, started me there.

I like bidalasana for another reason. When you tuck your tailbone and round your back you can see the shape of the curve in the spine.

Ok, I admit it. You can't see it...because your head is down. But when I look at you, I can see it.

Almost everyone's got a digital camera now. Ask your friend to take a picture of you while you're trying to imitate the shape of a cat.

You'll probably notice that the curve of your spine is not even. It's not perfectly rounded. In fact, you'll probably notice that your upper back bends forward quite well and your low back, well, it looks sort of flat--not round at all.

Dr. Robert Fulford wrote this great little book called Dr. Fulford's Touch of Life. This book is short and simple and full of immediately applicable wisdom. I've read it and recommended it many times.



Dr. Fulford was an osteopathic physician, an inventor, a compassionate healer, and a man who practiced what he preached. In his book, he said, in addition to meditating for hours each day, he would sit in a chair thighs parallel to floor, shins perpendicular to the floor. With his torso and arms between his legs he would grab his feet with his hands and let his spine stretch down fully. He held this position for 5 minutes each day, breathing slowly.

I don't do this every day. So sometimes when my low back is stiff, it takes me 7 or 8 minutes for the muscles to release. Then I can distribute the curve of my spine evenly throughout, just like Rorey and other cats.

I think this pose is reminiscent of kurmasana, tortoise pose. Kurmasana, unlike upavistha konasana is a bent-leg pose. The hamstrings don't keep you from bending forward. So you can get a great release of the muscles in the low back.


The legs are bent in kurmasana.


Legs are straight in upavistha konasana.


I suggest you start practicing kurmasana not with your arms under your knees, but with the ends of two rolled blankets under each knee.


starting out in kurmasana, tortoise pose

By practicing this tortoise pose, you can have the ability to round your low back like a cat when you need to in daily life and in some fun and functional yoga poses.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., It's my anniversary today. I've been married thirteen years. Happy Anniversary, Jennifer. I love you.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Don't Know Much About

It was 10 years ago.

I had read about it. I'd thought about it. I'd imagined it. I'd even planned for it. I knew people--close friends and family--who'd done it.

I had all the gear, the guides, and the equipment. I'd gone to classes.

But I was not prepared. Nothing could have prepared me.

When my daughter Richelle was born, the intensity of my love for her, the blinding drive to protect her, and the suddenness of their onset startled me.


Richelle, five years ago. She's not an infant anymore.

In that moment I knew, too, how much my parents loved me, and how enormous their sacrifices were for me.

Knowing. It's two different meanings are easily confused. This knowing was born from experience. In that one moment, I was a father. Before, I was not.

This knowing had nothing do to with reading about what others had done. This was not academic. No book-learning, here.

The examples that distiguish the two types of knowing are many; and they are trite. You've heard them before:

Reading the sheet music is nothing like hearing the symphony.

Studying the recipe card doesn't come close to eating the chocolate chip cookie.

The map is not the territory.

Sitting on the edge of the bed talking about sex doesn't even begin to...

...well, you know what I mean.

The experience of being a father has changed me much more than reading about it, or talking to people who've done it.

The Old Testament scriptures say, "Children too are a gift from the LORD...a reward." (Psalms 127:3) On bad days I seriously wonder about that.

But I've never once doubted that being a father, like no other force in my life, has pulled me (almost violently) out of the vortex of selfishness.

Yoga has changed me like that, too.

Before yoga, I had studied human anatomy, physiology, pathology, histology and a bunch of other "-ologies."

But none of them was anything like the richness and depth of experience that I met head-on on my yoga mat. My beliefs about what was possible with my body, and beyond, were altered because of my yoga experiences.

Yoga keeps me fresh. It keeps me green. Yoga keeps me from stalling out. It keeps me from getting too comfortable with a pet explanation. Yoga keeps me flexible. Yoga helps me stay awake for more of the moments of my life.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., I would have never been born nor survived to find yoga without my Dad. I would have never been receptive to the Spirit of the Divine had my Dad not taught me and guided me along the way. Happy Father's Day, Dad. I love you.

p.p.s., I don't want to discredit "learning about" something, rather than experiencing it directly. My Dad must have said to me in my youth, "you don't have to drink poison to know it's bad for you." A little information can help you avoid a whole lot of trouble. My advice to you: read some Daily Yoga Tips, then go DO YOGA.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

For Horsemen

It's pretty unusual when people at my house are up and moving around energetically at 6:00 am. But that's what happened this past week.

It was horse camp week.

My daughter had saved her money for nearly a year to go to horse camp this summer. It was cancelled. Then we found another riding program. And it all came to fruition this week.

By 6:30 am Monday we were on the road. We arrived at Wild Horse Creek Ranch west of town right at 7:00 am. We were the first ones there.

I didn't stay. Richelle did. And from my perspective (Richelle's too) it was a GREAT week.

Wednesday evening Richelle came home with a sore back.

If she was going to be allowed to trot her horse Peter, she had to ride him twice around the outdoor arena in "two-point" position. "Two-point" didn't come as easy as everything else had.

I'm not an equestrian. So after she showed me what "two-point" is, I could see right away why it didn't come easy.

The two-point position is essentially the position a rider takes for jumping. It's only the rider's legs that support her. In other words her seat isn't seated in the saddle, it's hovering above.


two-point position

Leg strength is required. My daughter's a dancer. She dances for hours each week. Her legs are not weak.

What might not be so obvious is that abdominal strength is required.

If you can't stabilize your core, your back and legs fatigue quickly. Then you get sore.

I wrote a bit about the transverse abdominus muscles, which play a key role in this stabilizing function, in April. (You can read that message at http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/04/sallie-says-suck-it-in-at-yoga-sculpt.html.)

Richelle went to bed early that night after a hot shower, a warm meal, and ibuprofen.

Stabilizing your core gives you power.

Speaking of power, the two-point position reminds me of utkatasana, the powerful pose.


utkatasana, the powerful pose

It's often called the "air chair" pose. Please try it. It's great for shoulder stiffness and for strengthing ankles. And it opens the chest.

Stand up. Stretch your arms over your head, arms parallel.
As you exhale, bend your knees as if you were sitting in a chair.
Keep your heels on the floor.
Avoid leaning your torso forward.
Hold this position for several breaths. Then inhale and come up out of the pose.

Powerful, eh? The pose is also known as the fierce or uneven pose. Fitting.

Now try it again. Only this time, before your lower down into the air chair position, draw the circumference of your navel back toward your spine.

Adding this stability, rather than pushing your abdomen out under strain, keeps the back from collapsing and makes it easier to lengthen the spine and lift the torso up out of the pelvis.

It helps in other poses, and other activities, too--like lifting heavy boxes.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., I haven't told my daughter this yet, but utkatasana is recommended by the great yogacharya BKS Iyengar...for horsemen. (Light on Yoga, p. 89)

p.p.s., I am a yoga teacher, not a riding instructor. So I kept my advice to myself. Ann and her daughter at Wild Horse Creek Ranch were fabulous teachers this week. Richelle "got" her two-point position and was very happy to trot her horse before week's end.

p.p.p.s., Want to know more about how yoga can help your horsemanship? Click here:


Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Affairs of the Heart

I saw former President Bill Clinton on the T.V. last night with David Letterman. He was promoting the unique paperback version of his autobiography My Life. He's written so much it takes two volumes for him to say it all in softcover. He's long-winded, like me, I guess.



It was fascinating to listen in as these two men, both of whose lives were saved by heart bypass surgery, conversed about health, lifestyle choices, and affairs of the heart.

Bill Clinton mentioned that for many people it is possible to reverse heart disease through diet and exercise. His coronary artery blockages, however, were too advanced. They had to be addressed by surgery.

More than ten years ago, Dr. Dean Ornish published a book called Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease: The Only System Scientifically Proven to Reverse Heart Disease Without Drugs or Surgery.



I read that book when it came out and for the nearly four years that followed I was a vegetarian. I eat meat now, but that's a story for another message.

Ornish's book was the product of years of scientific research. It showed for the first time that arterial blockages in the heart could be cleaned out if people were diligent about doing a few simple things, including: 1) eating a vegetarian diet, 2) improving communication with those around them, and 3) addressing stress through practicing yoga.

Yes! Yoga.

Subsequent research, in which the components of the program were studied individually, showed that yoga was a key element in reversing heart disease. When those affected by heart disease didn't handle their stress with yoga, they didn't achieve the same results.

Yoga is good for your heart.

BKS Iyengar describes how yoga can rest the heart in his discussion of paschimottanasana in Light on Yoga.

"The spines of animals are horizontal and their hearts are below the spine. This keeps them healthy and gives them great power of endurance. In humans the spine is vertical and the heart is not lower than the spine, so that they soon feel the effects of exertion and are also more susceptible to heart diseases. In Paschimottanasana the spine is kept straight and horizontal and the heart is at a lower level than the spine. A good stay in this pose massages the heart, the spinal column and the abdominal organs which feel refreshed and the mind is rested." (p. 170)

paschimottanasana, intense stretch to the west side pose

I discovered this same phenomenon when I was an avid bicyclist years ago. I was riding my trainer in my garage one day. My back was killing me so I sat up. When I came up out the crouch I was in I noticed that the pulse reading on my heart rate monitor shot way up.

When I crouched in the racing position (spine horizontal), my heart rate immediately dropped.

This surprised me so much I repeated it over and over just to be sure it wasn't a fluke. No fluke. It's true.

And it's just as true that you can rest your heart with yoga.

What might you be doing to improve your heart health? Follow Iyengar's advice.

About uttanasana he says, "The heart beats are slowed down and the spinal nerves rejuvenated." (p. 93)

About adho mukha svanasana he says, "As the diaphragm is lifted to the chest cavity the rate of the heart beat is slowed down." (p. 111)

He even recommends karnapidasana. (p. 221)

Probably the best advice he gives is to practice savasana (corpse pose) twice a day for 15 minutes. (p. 494)

A caution: if you have heart disease you shouldn't do any of these poses without first consulting with an experienced teacher.

But for the rest of you, do some yoga. You might avoid the fate of Bill Clinton and David Letterman.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., None of what you read here is medical advice. Please get your medical advice and diagnoses from a licensed medical professional.

p.p.s., Bill Clinton also talked about the Asian Tsunami last night. He said: 300,000 people died or remain missing. More than 1 million are still homeless. Half of these are in Indonesia alone. 500 million people lost their livelihoods. In Sri Lanka alone, over 100,000 houses need to be built. Approximately $1.4 billion have been donated for Tsunami relief by Americans; $600M by Britains. Through the coordinating efforts of the UN over 1 million people in Tsunami-affected areas have been immunized. The Indonesian government recently signed a contract that will provide $700 million for building homes, clinics and schools. Of that $700 million, $500 million came directly from individual donors in the U.S. The biggest issue at hand is finding ways to restore or replace the work people did.

Although all of the emergency relief work is done, long-term reconstruction has not yet begun.

If you'd like to be a part of the yoga community response to the Tsunami disaster, go to www.WearOrange.org to get your orange I DO YOGA wristband.

Also, please read my message "Yoga Community Bands Together for Tsunami Relief."

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Desecration, Veneration & Intention

Intention really matters.

Yesterday was Flag Day. It's the day Americans pay special honor to the Flag of the United States of America.


U.S. Flag

Our local Amercan Legion, as a community service, conducted solemn ceremonies yesterday at which old, worn flags were destroyed with due respect and decorum. These flags were retired according to U.S. Flag Code, which states:

"The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning." (Title 4 Chapter 1 Section 8(k))

Our local American Legion burned flags.

If you surf on over to your Google search engine and type "flag burning" into the image search, what you'll see is dozens of pictures of protestors defiling the flag by setting it on fire.




The same fire that venerates the flag also desecrates it. The difference is intention.

I'll say it again. Intention really matters.

Before you practice yoga today, set an intention. Declare what it is that you want to achieve or produce. Say what it is to which you are committed. And keep your intention in mind as you practice.

The whole world shifts when you declare an intention.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Please send me an email today if you'd like to know what sankalpa is. I'm at info@experienceyoga.org.


Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Precious Cargo Atop Her Head

Woe is me!

How on earth could I have written an entire message about balancing weight on the top of your head without mentioning the Pie Ladies of Yelapa?

This is an egregious error...

about to be corrected.

In January Sallie Keeney, JennTara Ward, and I led a group of yogis from the U.S. to beautiful, sunny Yelapa, Jalisco, Mexico.

The weather was gorgeous. The water and beaches, unbelievable. The people, including our yoga group, were warm and friendly. It was a memorable week. I began to plan my return trip to Yelapa immediately.


Sallie Keeney bridging on the beach in Yelapa.

One of the high points of my visit to Yelapa was the afternoon visit from my favorite Pie Lady, Augustina. Words cannot describe the joy she brings. And get this...she brings it perched atop her head. Pie. Incredibly good pie.


Augustina, my favorite Yelapa Pie Lady, balancing precious cargo on her head: PIE!

I'll admit, I tried every flavor. And I'm still debating which is best. Possibly pecan.

I ate pie everyday in Yelapa and gained no weight! That's magical.


Augustina, the Pie Lady of Yelapa, featuring...the pie.

Will you please consider, right now, coming to Yelapa with Sallie and me this coming January? You will NOT be disappointed.

Lucas and the staff at Hotel Lagunita are amazing.

You can make your reservations now at http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp. Meals, lodging and yoga are included at $900 per person for double occupancy and $1150 per person, single occupancy. Air fare to Puerto Villarta is not included.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga! And PIE, too!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., You just cannot imagine how beautiful and secluded Yelapa is. Email me if you have questions (info@experienceyoga.org) or call at 573 680-6737.



Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Head Balance Preparation

I remember when I was a kid seeing a picture in a National Geographic magazine of a woman walking up the side of a steep mountain with perfectly vertical posture. On top of her head was a ring. Balancing on top of the ring was the engine block for a huge deisel generator that she was carrying back to her remote village.

It was clear from the photo that she was conversing with others on a narrow path and moving with ease. No struggle.


Not exactly a deisel engine, but more than a few cases of Coke.

I told my students in class yesterday about this as we prepared for sirsasana, headstand.

I still marvel at it as I think about it. It convinces me that the human spine is an incredibly dynamic and stable structure, capable of much more than we give it credit for under ordinary life circumstances.

Before we practiced headstand yesterday, I asked each of my students to coil up one of the yoga straps we had in the room and rest it on his or her head. They looked pretty funny, actually, like people pill-box hats on.

It doesn't need to be a heavy engine block. When you begin to feel even a slight amount of weight on the top of your head, your spine starts to line itself up under the weight. The neck muscles release and one feels space between the vertebrae begin to grow. Most impoartantly, I feel a "gap" between my very top neck vetebra and the bottom surface of my skull.


Here's an x-ray showing how the skull rests on the top vertebra of the neck, the atlas.

That gap is important.

I've heard this maxim about sirsasana:

"When I am in headstand, I bear 100% of my weight on my head, and 0% of my weight in my neck."

Read that again to be sure you've got it.

It's only possible if there is space between the skull and neck vertebrae.

Most people I meet carry their heads out in front of their bodies. Their necks are rarely vertical when viewed from the side. The neck muscles are required to do tremendous amounts of work to keep the head up in this position.


The image on the left shows how some people carry their heads out in front of their torsos,

It's surprising to most folks to learn how much gripping and holding on they do with their neck muscles. Nearly all of my students can very quickly feel muscles release and neck lengthen simply by placing a light object on the top of the head and slightly pushing up into that weight.


The thing you balance on your head does not have to be heavy at all.

I recommend that you not practice headstand until you can feel this feeling. When you can feel the neck line up and the gap between the top vertebra (atlas) and skull grow, then you'll be able to feel it when neck is compressing, too.

When you first learn headstand you've got to really press your forearms into the floor. When you push with your forearms, your arms and shoulders can bear more weight. That gives you the time you'll need to master bearing weight on your head without compressing the neck vertebrae.

So when you do feel that compressed feeling in the neck, you have two choices: 1) press harder with your forearms so your neck can lengthen again, or 2) come out of the pose and try again tomorrow.

If you don't practice headstand, find an experienced teacher and learn from her or him. Don't try to get it from this Daily Yoga Tip message.

But whether you practice headstand or not, you can benefit today, right now, from expriencing a little bit of weight on the top of your head. A bag of dry beans from your kitchen cabinet will do nicely.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., This message is not medical advice. Please seek medical advice and diagnosis from a licensed health care professional.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Yoga on Your Minds

I don't know much about web pages, but I'm starting to figure out a few things.

"Tracking" is one of them.

That simply means if you know what you're doing, you can pay attention to who does what when they visit your web site.

Other than the main page of this blog, here are the messages, in order of popularity, that Experience Yoga blog fans read last week:

1. Tulips & Ideokinesis
2. Left or Right? Default to Sight
3. Clean Mouth, Pure Heart
4. More Knee Pain?
5. Kyphosis and Bending Backwards
6. Plantar Fasciitis, Make the Pain Go Away
7. Balance Now

Enjoy!

You can always comment here on this blog, or by sending me an email at info@experienceyoga.org if you'd like me to address topics or questions you're intested in.

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

S-I, Bye-Bye

A couple nights ago, I was lying in bed, flat on my back getting ready to go to sleep. But my back was killing me.

I should be more specific. It wasn't low back pain. It was sacro-iliac (S-I) pain. I know. I've had it before.

Here's what I did. I took a belt and cinched it around the middle of my thighs, halfway between my knees and hips. Right before I finished tightening the belt, I turned each of my thighs inward, so the flesh on the fronts of my thighs moved toward the mid-line of my body.

My thigh bones were literally rotating in my hip sockets. With my thighs rolled in, I comfortably buckled the belt and then with my hands slid my buttocks flesh in the direction of my feet.

Then I lay there and waited as my body settled down and the pain went away. Sweet relief.

After a short time, I took the belt off and went to sleep feeling good.

Next time you're lying down for that glorious final relaxation pose (savasana) and your low back isn't feeling glorious, you can try this. Hint: don't tighten the belt too much or you'll be miserable.

Why does it work?

When I roll the fronts of my thighs toward each other, the the flesh on the backs of my thighs moves apart. And I can feel the back of my pelvis broaden.

When the back of my pelvis broadens, I create space in the joint between the sacrum and the two ilium bones in my pelvis. The articulations between the sacrum and the ilia are the sacro-iliac joints. Sometimes they get misaligned and don't move freely.

When I roll my thighs in, I feel more space in the S-I, AND I have more room for tucking my tailbone.


In this front view of the pelvis you can see where the sacrum and the ilium join.

Just in case it's not obvious, when I roll my front thighs out, I narrow the back of my pelvis, I feel less space in my S-I joint, and it's harder to tuck my tailbone. In fact it feels like my tailbone is riding up my back. I feel compression in the vertebrae of my low back.

I didn't make up this great combination of thighs rolling in followed by tail-bone tucking. They are simplified examples of two of Anusara Yoga's Five Universal Principles of Alignment.

The second principle is "Inner Sprial." Among other things it includes rotating the thighs inward. The third principle is "Outer Sprial." Among other things it includes reaching the tip of the tailbone forward.

The balanced application of these two principles produces harmony.

And it feels good, too.

You can, and should, apply these principles in all poses. And you don't have to wait until your S-I is killing you in savasana. You can practice it today.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Savasana and mrtasana are synonyms. They both mean 'corpse pose.' But savasana is the most widely used name for the pose. When it comes to learning the Sanskrit names of yoga poses you're going to have to sort out some vocabulary words that seem similar. I call them 'problem pairs.' Savasana and svanasana are two that my students confuse all the time. We'll explore these problem pairs and others at the Experience Sanskrit Workshop coming up in just a couple weeks (June 25) at the St. Louis YogaSource. Click www.ExperienceYoga.org to register.

p.p.s., There are other ways to address S-I pain and S-I misalignment this little tip is not the be-all end-all. In fact, none of what I've said here is intended for diagnosis or treatment. You should get those from your licensed medical professional.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

How Do You Spell Yoga? G-R-A-C-E

Did you catch the national Spelling Bee results last week? An eighth-grader from California won it all when he spelled 'appoggiatura' correctly.

An appoggiatura, for those of you who are not musicians, is a grace note. It's a little preface to the main note that embellishes it. It enhances its beauty and function in a musical phrase.

Ever notice that some days your yoga practice is dry and uninspired? Your body doesn't feel right. Or you're tired. Or, frankly, you'd much rather be doing something else.

Maybe it's because you're doing your practice by rote or out of obligation. So many times I've heard a new-comer to yoga class say, "I don't know anything about yoga, but I hear it's supposed to be good for me." Maybe you're getting on the mat today simply because you have a vague feeling that it's supposed to be good for you.

Today you can get the most out of your practice by looking beyond your levators and love handles. Preface your practice, and each pose, with a grace note, an embellishment, that makes everything more beautiful.

It's the first principle of Anusara Yoga: open to Grace.

When you seriously doubt that this pose will get you any closer to your heart's desire than the 50 before it, stop. Soften your heart. Focus on an intention. What do you want from this practice today?

Then open yourself to Divine intervention. The Grace that has sustained you throughout your whole life rushes in, especially when you are open to it, looking for it, and acknowledging it.

Before I finish up today, I just want to say that much of what I write about seems like a trick, something you can do to 'shortcut the system' so you get what you want quicker than those who don't know. It's what a computer whiz might call a hack. You're getting around the system.

Opening to Grace is not a trick. It's a discipline. It's something you can repeat with devotion and focus over and over again. It's like pushing the re-set button. It lets you see the good once again in everything that's around you.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The young man who won the Spelling Bee is Anurag Kashyap. Anurag in Sanskrit means 'a high form of love...like the love of music,' according to Wiktionary. I find that dwelling on thoughts of people who have loved me with the highest sacrificial love, always opens my heart.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

A Child's View

If you've ever worn contact lenses you know that sinking feeling you get when one pops out of your eye and onto the floor. You also know you can't find it standing up. When you're standing, everything beneath you looks like carpet.

So, you carefully get down on your hands and knees, turn your head to the side, and with one ear close to the ground you survey the floor around you. It's amazing how quickly it is revealed to you. It sticks up from the horizon like a big satellite dish.

Perspective. It's all about perspective. Some points of view help, other don't.

Does this sound familiar? "Never criticize another man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins."

St. Matthew recorded these words of Jesus as he prayed,

"O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!" (Matthew 11:25-26)

I suppose I could say a bunch of very profound stuff about this but I simply want to ask you today to change your point of view. When was the last time you got down on the ground?

When you go low, you see things differently. When you go low, like a child, something new will be revealed to you that you cannot see when you are upright.

I suggest supported child's pose, salambha balasana. It's a restorative pose. You set it up, you get into position, and then you wait. Here's how:

1) Get several blankets and spread one out flat to act as a cushion beneath your knees, shins and feet. Fold the others so they're about 10 inches wide and 3 feet long. Stack these folded blankets one on top of the others until the stack is about 12" tall.
2) Kneel on the spread out blanket, then with your feet together, sit on your heels, toes pointed backward.
3) Take your knees apart and bring the blanket stack between your knees.
4) Keeping your hips low, near your heels, bow forward and rest your torso on the blankets.
5) Turn your head to either side and rest quietly.

Stay for 5 minutes or longer. (Come out if you have any pain or numbness.)


salambha balasana, supported child's pose from www.yogajillian.com

Hear's a real treat: rest a weight on your back near the waistband of your pants.

One of the truths I hope is revealed to you when you are in this position is how marvelous and health-giving it can be to rest quietly, deeply, and for a long time.

In fact here are Jesus' words in Matthew right after the quote I gave you above:

Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light. (emphases mine)

It's not a "waste" to rest like this. But you'll only know it if you try it.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The classic book on restorative yoga was written by Judith Lasater years ago. I recommend it. It's called Relax and Renew. Follow her instructions on the set of poses she lays out and you'll be recharged.



p.p.s., Restorative yoga is prop-intensive. BKS Iyengar is the originator of using props to help with asana practice. His book, Yoga: the Path to Wholistic Health is beautiful and unmatched in 360-degree photography and tips for restorative poses.



p.p.p.s. Iyengar, in the above-referenced book calls child's pose adho mukha virasana, not balasana. Hmmmm. I wonder why?

Want insights into why certain poses are named the way they are? If you're like me, I don't just want insights, I want to remember the names. Our Experience Sanskrit workshop consists entirely of providing you with experiences that are designed to make the Sanskrit names of yoga poses unforgettable. We're meeting June 25 at St. Louis YogaSource. Tuition is $50. You can register at www.ExperienceYoga.org.

By the way, adho mukha virasana means 'hero pose with the mouth facing down.'

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Clean Mouth, Pure Heart

I saw a cool ad on the TV today. Of all things, it was for a fancy toothbrush, a Sonicare (TM).

The ad was basically a woman, in front of a beautiful buiding, doing a headstand (sirsasana), facing the camera.


headstand, sirsasana, from www.tomfreund.com/ photos.htm

The camera pans all over her body as she moves from one variation of the pose to another. First her feet go wide apart in the splits. Then she brigns the soles of her feet together, as in bound angle pose (baddha konasana).


another variation on sirsasana from www.joseph-heckler-schule.de


variation on sirsasana from http://www.tripsichore.com/picturegallery.html

Then the camera zooms in tight on her face. While she balances on one elbow, she reaches out with the other hand and grabs her Sonicare(TM) device.

The ad winds up with the voice-over announcing that "The mouth is the gateway to the body."

Like Forrest Gump, "I'm not a smart man." But I think maybe they're trying to tell us that people who are willing to do yoga to take care of their bodies probably should be willing to use Sonicare(TM) to keep their mouths clean, since...the mouth is the gateway to the body.

I found this lovely quote from the Dean of the USC School of Dentistry about the gateway in question. He says, "As the gateway to the body, a constant barrage of invaders - viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi - challenges the mouth." Pleasant.

The ancient yogis valued a pure body and prescribed many cleansing techniques to prepare the body for the proper flow of energy. These cleansing techniques include specific practices for the eyes, ears, nose, throat and beyond. Let's not forget the teeth, and tongue too. They were way ahead of Sonicare(TM).

But some of these practices, like yoga, aren't simply adopted under ordinary life circumstances. They must be taught by an experienced guide and learned by a dedicated student. The Gheranda Samhita says that some of these cleansing techniques "are difficult even for the gods to obtain."



But wait! The mouth is not just a gateway to the body, it's also a gateway from the body. And from the soul, too.

The Christian scriptures say, "...for the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." (Matthew 12:34)

Pretty simple idea. Whatever is inside of you, often comes out of the mouth.

In the world of law, there is a rule of evidence based on what's called an "excited utterance." It basically recognizes that under certain circumstances (like immediately after a car wreck), we don't edit our words. What comes out is the unvarnished truth.

I'll point out three things Patanjali teaches in the YogaSutras that call us to make sure that what comes out of our mouths is pure, too.



Patanjali tells us about the eight-limbed path of yoga (ashtanga), the first two of which are yamas and niyamas. Yamas are restrctions, actions you shouldn't do (II.30). Niyamas are observations, practices you should cultivate (II.32).

The "mother of all yamas" is ahimsa. It means non-harming. (II.35) If your words are harmful, Patanjali says we should pay as much attention to those as our headstands.

The second yama is satya. (II.36) It's not unlike the 9th commandment,"thou shalt not lie." Tell the truth.

The third principle is saucha, purity. (II.40-41) Patanjali asks us to be pure. Pure in thoughts, speech and action.

I think that's easy to say and hard to do. But the other niyamas give us a clue about what we might to be purer in speech.

1) tapas, cultivate fiery discipline, work consitently and with dedication to develop mastery;
2) svadhyaya, self-study, pay attention to yourself, be aware, remember your commitments;
3) isvara pranidanah, dedication to the Lord, dedicate all your practices to the Divine, and then trust; and
4) samtosha, be content; do you work, trust God and be content with the results.

Yoga is a complete lifestyle that works from the inside, not just on the body. But we all know that if you really want to work with your body you must cultivate qualities that can't be measured by your ability to touch your toes.

Think about your New Year's resolution to exercise or lose weight. Following through with that resolution has little to do with your body and much to do with the niyamas.

Don't just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., I want to say a special hello to all of the yogis I met at the Yoga Journal Conference in Wisconsin a few weeks ago, many of whom will be reading my Daily Yoga Tip for the first time today. Thank you for subscribing.

p.p.s., Speaking of excited utterances...I'm excited about the Experience Sanskrit workshop we're doing in St. Louis on June 25th at YogaSource. Sign up today at www.ExperienceYoga.org.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.