Daily Yoga Tip

Obama or Clinton, Who Has the Better Warrior Posture?

2008-02-24T11:02:00.012-06:00

"It's ... an invitation for him to step into the ring. If he takes a defensive position, if she strikes at him and if he strikes back, ... she has an advantage there, because she is better positioned to be in that warrior pose. That's something that he's not always comfortable with."

There you have it. Hers is the better warrior pose. He, well, he's not so comfortable in that posture.

Those are the words of Michelle Norris, a host on the NPR news program All Things Considered. She made those remarks this morning on the NBC show Meet the Press.

The "he" to whom she refers is Sen. Barack Obama. "She" is Sen. Hillary Clinton. Both are seeking the nomination of the Democrat party to be President of the United States.

Norris, Tim Russert, Chuck Todd, and the other commentators on the show were talking about the recent Clinton charge against Obama that he is a plagiarist, that he steals the most effective lines he uses on the campaign trail.

Russert, the host of Meet the Press, showed a variety of video clips and quotes that proved that seemingly all who run for high office borrow heavily from the phrases and patterns of speech of others who have run before them. Even Hillary borrows from Bill Clinton's old stump speeches.

So why is the Clinton camp pointing the finger at Obama when both use others' words? Norris and Todd say it's because she was trying to draw him out.

It's a taunt. She's goading him into a fight, a war, that she thinks she can win.

Norris went on to say that as long as he acts authentically, in fidelity with his true nature, Sen. Obama seems to attract more support for his candidacy. By attacking his ego and portraying him as a cheater, others hope to draw him into playing an adopted role and then defeat him at the game of putting on the best persona. "To thine own self be true," comes to mind.

There's another layer of irony here, too. It's the job for which they're running. President of the United States of America. Commander in Chief.

A major role of the President is that of top military commander. The President is the supreme warrior, and commander of warriors, in the United States.

It might seem that picking a fight proves your credentials, your readiness to lead in battle. Conversely, backing down from a fight might indicate that you're not ready to "assume the position" of top military leader.

Obama addressed that in a recent debate. He said that in opposing the war in Iraq he "showed the judgment of a commander in chief."

Could it be that the greatest military leader is the one who is most reluctant to engage in violent war-making? Maybe his warrior position is better after all.

Non-harming (ahimsa) is an imperative in Patanjali's classical system of yoga (Raja Yoga). I live in a world so permeated with violence, I honestly have difficulty imagining total compliance with Patanjali's code. And defending oneself or others from violent attacks adds to the complications. But I can at least envision ahimsa and apply it when I practice yoga poses.

This Daily Yoga Tip is not an endorsement of any candidate. Nor am I rooting for a favorite. I don't know who among those left in the race for President is best suited for the job. Maybe it's neither of these two.

But if you're going to practice a warrior pose, or any pose, you can apply some of the guidance that can be seen in these comments:

1) Don't be tempted to do your yoga practice in a way that's harmful. It's usually your ego that taunts you. Do no harm.

2) Let your practice help you remember your true nature. The more you practice, the more likely you are to achieve the state of yoga, a state in which you can see and abide in who you really are.

One writer says it like this:

Once the obstacles and false identities have been temporarily set aside, the true Self, which has been there all along, naturally comes shining through. The rest of the time, we are so entangled with our false identities that we literally do not see that this misidentification has happened.

Stick to your guns. And look for the fruit of your practice, the realization of the true you.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was sukha. Sukha means easy as in sukhasana, the easy pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is ustra. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s., Our Sanskrit Experience workshop in St. Charles, Missouri is coming up soon. If you'd like to join us for this 4-hour fun-filled experience of the Sanskrit names of yoga poses, sign up here. Every participant receives a 120-page course guide. We'll be at Jane's House of Wellbeing on Saturday March 15th at noon. Tuition is $65.

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Full Moon Obscured

2008-02-20T19:24:00.013-06:00

When I teach the Experience Sanskrit workshop, I usually tell people they'll know they're starting to catch on to the meaning of the Sanskrit word roots when someone in the room cracks a Sanskrit joke and everyone laughs.

Someone usually gets this rolling by blurting out a funny new name for a pose that everybody knows.

I like to use what I call opposing pairs as one mnemonic tool to help me strongly associate a Sanskrit word with its meaning.

For example, I know there's a pose called downward facing dog pose, adho mukha svanasana. If someone thought to name this pose downward facing dog pose, then surely there must be an upward facing dog pose, right? Of course. It's urdhva mukha svanasana.

Just knowing these two opposites exist, I can scratch my head a little bit and apply the half of the equation I know and often figure out the other pose name or part of the pose name that I don't know...yet.

There's arha navasana, a half boat pose. So surely there must be a full boat pose. Of course, there is. It's paripurna navasana.

But this scheme isn't perfect. It starts to break down. If there's an adho mukha vrksasana, downward facing tree pose (most of us call this a handstand or full arm balance), there must also be an urdhva mukha vrksasana, upward facing tree pose. I'm sorry to report that there is no upward facing tree pose, there's only tree pose, vrksasana.

Similarly, if there's a half moon pose, ardha chandrasana, there must be a paripurna chandrasana, too!

This is the point at which someone says, "Wait! There is a full moon!" Then we watch as our yogi stands up, faces away from the group and then bends over in uttanasana, giving everyone the full moon.

I've done a lot of deep probing research for this message today. I've found that, according to Wikipedia, mooning is:

the act of displaying one's bare buttocks by removing clothing, e.g. by lowering the back side of one's trousers and underpants, usually bending over.... Mooning is used in some cultures to express protest, scorn, disrespect or provocation but can simply be done for shock value or fun.

I mean no scorn or disrespect by my Tip today. But I do intend it for shock value and fun, because shock and fun make things memorable. Hopefully, after reading this, you'll never forget the Sanskrit word for moon again. It's chandra.

Since mooning is done with a bare bottom, I will not post a picture with the Daily Yoga Tip of the "full moon pose," paripurna chandrasana. But I will provide a photo a some full moon poses, the full effects of which are thankfully obscured by clothing.

It's very cold here in Missouri as I write this message tonight. But that hasn't kept me from running out on my back porch every 10 minutes for the last hour to view the beautiful and rare eclipse of the full moon. It's fabulous. We won't see another one until 2010.

If you haven't figured it out by now, that's the inspiration for today's Daily Yoga Tip.

I'll sum it all up for you: let the beauty and awe of the natural world inspire your yoga practice; and enjoy it--have fun!

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was parsva. Parsva means flank or side as in parsvottanasana, the intense stretch to the side pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is sukha. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s., If today's Daily Yoga Tip is too weird for you, it might be because the full moon has strange effects on people, myself included. (One of my favorite movies, which I watch over and over again, is Moonstruck.) For a more serious Daily Yoga Tip on moons and moon poses, read One Small Step on TV, One Giant Leap in My Cubicle, a message I wrote in July, 2005.

p.p.p.p.s., Did you notice in that picture above that those three yoginis were making use of one of the most widely known and popular yoga aids of modern times? Twister. What a game! I haven't seen one of those game mats in years. Which, I might add, is like most yoga "aids." You buy it. You use it for while. And then you lose it in the bottom of your closet for a decade or two.

p.p.p.p.p.s., Our Sanskrit Experience workshop in St. Charles, MO is filling up. If you'd like to be with us, and we hope you will, for this 4-hour jam-packed experience of the Sanskrit names of yoga poses, sign up right away here. Tuition is $65. Every participant receives a 120-page course guide. We'll be at Jane's House of Wellbeing on Saturday March 15th at noon. See you there.

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

An Ounce of Practice

2008-02-16T15:54:00.006-06:00

Today my Daily Yoga Tip is short and sweet.

In fact, it's not even my Yoga Tip.

It's attributed to Sri Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh in the Himalayas. In the opening pages of his pamphlet Sadhana Tattwa he wrote:

An ounce of practice is worth tons of theory.

I don't want to add much more to what he said. I hope you pick up this underlying theme in nearly every message I write.

Reading another person's words about the practice of yoga can communicate much. Understanding those words can motivate you and even alter your perspective. But reading about yoga and understanding some concepts related to yoga are not anything like doing yoga.

Try it.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was hala. Hala means plow as in halasana, the plow pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is parsva. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s., Congratulations to Nancy Tuccillo (Georgia), Maxine Mirowitz (Missouri), Heather Klaus (Germany), and Mary Ellen Troy (Michigan) for quickly and correctly translating utthita ashwa sanchalanasana. Each will receive a copy of Yoga for Teens Card Deck by Mary Kaye Chryssicas. Utthita means extended. Ashwa means horse. Sanchalana has many meanings. Generally, you can take sanchalana to mean movement, stepping or cycling. Asana means pose or seat. The literal English translation is extended horse movement pose. Some people call it the extended equestrian pose.

p.p.p.p.s., By they way, if you enjoy snooping around on the search engines, you might like to try to get to the bottom of this. I found that the "ounce of practice is worth tons of theory" quote has been attributed to others besides Swami Sivananda. Some attribute it to E.F. Schumacher, an economist who wrote Small is Beautiful, which I am now tempted to read. The same phrase is also attributed to Paramahansa Hariharananda. It's even been attributed to John Dewey (Democracy and Education, 1916), Gandhi, and Friedrich Engels, who co-authored The Communist Manifesto. Let me know if you get this sorted out.

p.p.p.p.p.s., I've included a picture of a rishi here so you can see what his hair looks like. Rishi means sage. Kesh means hair.

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Push Me Pull You Shoulders

2008-02-15T12:40:00.016-06:00

This is probably way too much information than you really need to get by in life. But I have this odd recollection from my childhood of watching an episode of the Beverly Hillbillies in which a wealthy cigar-chomping oilman from Texas pulls up in front of Mr. Drysdale's bank in a Cadillac convertible sporting a longhorn steer hood ornament.

I don't know why such nonsense persists in my memory decades later, but it does. Maybe it was Jethro's excited response to seeing such a big-spirited display of ostentatiousness.

I also don't know why this happens, but when I see most people do the pose chaturanga dandasana I think of steer horns, especially the set of longhorns I remember from that TV show.

Chaturanga dandasana is a challenging pose. Especially when folks are tired, they let their shoulders sag toward the ground so that their upper arms are no longer parallel to the floor.

The look of the elbows high in the air and the roundness of the upper back conjures up the image in my mind of those long forward-curving steer horns.

As funny as this may seem, I'm mentioning it to you today because it's dangerous. It's harmful. You can do some debilitating damage to your rotator cuffs if you persist in taking the easy way out by hanging in this sagging shoulder shape.

Some people would question whether you should do the pose at all if it's so risky. Not me. Do the pose. It's worth it. But do it in a way that keeps the shoulder girdle injury free and open to the flow of life-giving healing energy, prana.

The folks at DK Children were kind enough to send along a copy of their Yoga for Teens Card Deck for me to review. One of the first things I noticed about this nicely prepared aid for young yogis is that the the model demonstrating chaturanga dandasana displayed nice arm and shoulder alignment. No steer horns.

Wouldn't it be a shame to take a group of young yogis (or any yogis for that matter) and show them how to do the pose in a way that hurts?

Bravo to the author, Mary Kaye Chryssicas!

How can you keep your rotator cuffs out of the sick ward while still doing this pose? You've got to distinguish movement from action and then implement the action that does the job.

For chaturanga, the movement is lowering yourself down from the push-up position into that four-legged staff position in which you appear to be hovering a few inches from the floor.

The injury-avoiding action is challenging because it takes your upper arm bones in the opposite direction of the movement. Your body is lowering toward the floor, but at the same time your upper arm bones are drawn toward the ceiling by muscular action.

[That's why I named this Daily Yoga Tip 'Push Me Pull You Shoulders'. Your torso is heading in one direction, while the heads of your upper arm bones are drawn in the other.]

I wrote a Daily Yoga Tip about this upper arm action back in 2005. It's called Relief From Rotator Cuff Pain. You can read it here. I recommend it if your shoulders hurt or if you steerhorn your shoulders in chaturanga dandasana.

I also recommend that you get the hang of this action while practicing wall push-ups (with the upper arms back and a noticeable trough between your shoulder blades), before you bear all of your body weight in chaturanga dandasana.

You'll be well on your way. And you'll look like the model in the card deck. Her upper arms are parallel to the floor and there's a hollow cleft between her shoulder blades.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was sirsa. Sirsa means head as in sirsasana, the head pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is hala. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s., Visit www.experienceyoga.org to lean more about the Experience Sanskrit workshop in Saint Charles, Missouri. We'll be Robin Buck's guests at Jane's House of Wellbeing, Saturday, March 15 at 12:00 noon. Register here.

p.p.p.p.s., I didn't know I'd still be receiving your translations of utthita ashwa sanchalanasana, but I am. So I am going to wait one more day to announce the lucky winners.

p.p.p.p.p.s., Some of you may not know that it is no longer correct to refer to Jethro and Elly May as Hillbillies. I live in Missouri. I should know, right? I am informed that the proper term is 'Ozark Americans.'

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

The Discipline of Love

2008-02-14T21:10:00.008-06:00

Today is Valentine's Day. It's the day you offer special heartfelt expressions of love to your beloved, or your wanna-be beloved.

I heard the former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser say on the radio today that Valentine's Day is the poet's holiday. "It's not tied up with anything but expressions of sentiment," he said. "Nice," I say.

The icon of Valentine's Day is Cupid, the god of romantic love and beauty in Roman mythology. I don't even have to describe him to you. You know how he's portrayed.

But did you know the description of Cupid is nearly the same as that of the Hindu deity Kama, or more precisely, Kamadeva?

Kama is the Hindu god of love and desire.

Remember the story I passed along a few days ago about Shiva and his ashes?

Kama played a key role in that story that I haven't told you yet.

When Shiva's consort Sati died by suicide, she went in to a deep meditation. By the power of her practice she was brought back to life in the form of Parvati. In that form she sought to win again the affection of Shiva.

But Shiva was in deep meditation and took no notice of Parvati whatsoever.

Kama came to the rescue and shot Shiva with a flower tipped arrow, launched from his bow made of sugar cane.

The story goes that Shiva, annoyed by Kama's arrow, opened his third eye and destroyed Kama with a single fiery glance.

This is a powerful reminder that desire, the cause of much suffering, can be burned up through yogic practices.

Some versions of the story say that those ashes that cover Shiva's body are the ashes of desire that remained after Kama was consumed by fire.

There's more to this story. Suffice it to say, a little desire is needed to motivate some good things in life. Infertility is not good. So Kama was eventually brought back. But I'll save that story for another day.

In my studies, I've read a lot of sutras. Sutras are threads. They are collections of brief aphorisms strung together so they can be memorized and retained.

I've read the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali. I've read the Shiva Sutra. I've read a few more sutras, too.

But until today, I had never read the Kama Sutra. Despite its seeming popularity, I just never got around to it.

I didn't finish it today. And I doubt I'll go back and study it. But I learned this from my brief review of the Kama Sutra today: Mallanaga Vatsyayana, the author of the Kama Sutra, wasn't fooling around when it comes to making love. He and the sources he relied on took it on as a serious discipline, one that is worthy of analysis, exploration, practice and devotion.

Loving, it is clear in his writing, is a matter of mastery. It's an endeavor deserving of meticulous attention to detail and dedicated action.

Wouldn't we all be better off if we took something that really mattered and seriously devoted ourselves to daily discipline and fervent action, carried out for a long time? We would.

I know just the discipline. I suggest yoga. If not that, love expressed through self-less service.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was sarvanga. Sarvanga means all of the limbs or the whole body as in parsvaikapada sarvangasana, the one leg to the side whole body pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is sirsa. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s., Don't miss the next Experience Sanskrit workshop, the fun and unforgettable way to learn and remember the Sanskrit names of the yoga poses you already practice. Sallie Keeney and I are offering this workshop in Saint Charles, Missouri at Jane's House of Wellbeing, Saturday, March 15 at 12:00 noon. Visit www.experienceyoga.org to lean more. Register here.

p.p.p.p.s., Thank you to all of you who sent in your translations of utthita ashwa sanchalanasana. I received some great submissions. I'll announce the winners tomorrow, each of whom will receive from DK Children, a copy of the Yoga for Teens Card Deck. You inspire me.

p.p.p.p.p.s., It would be an absolute shame to refer to Ted Kooser's Valentine poems without giving you one to read. So here goes:

The Celery Heart
CELERY HEARTS: 98 CENTS

—Placard at Hinky Dinky

Surely it misses those long fly balls of light
its leaves once leapt to catch, or longs to run
its roots out into the salty darkness.

What once looked like a Roman fountain
is now a ruin of fallen columns
bedded on ice. Its only consolations are,

at regular intervals, the hiss of mist,
and at times the warm and reassuring squeeze
of passing hand. But better this, by far,

than to be the sullen heart of artichoke,
stripped of its knives and heavy armor
and mummified for eons in a jar of brine.

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Craning Your Neck in Monkey Pose

2008-02-13T17:11:00.009-06:00

I've had sun salutes (surya namaskar) on my mind, ever since a local group of yogis got together a couple weeks ago to do 108 of them for a fund raiser.

So when I read this today, I immediately thought of banarasana, the monkey pose, known to some as a high lunge:

"The more extension there is in the thoracic spine, the less there will have to be in the cervical and lumbar spine."

That's a quote from Leslie Kaminoff's recent book Yoga Anatomy (2007, Human Kinetics). He wasn't even talking about the monkey pose, the lunge that's in the middle of every sun salute (at least the version I practice).

But his remark made me think of what I often see when I look out across a room full of lungers. I see quite rounded backs with heads hanging down. This curved shape in the upper spine is called kyphosis.

Since there are some serious structural deformities that are also called kyphosis, it's not uncommon to refer to this more temporary exaggeration of the thoracic curve as 'postural kyphosis.'

You don't have to be a whiz-bang physiologist to know that if you maintain this position very long its hard to breathe, and you compress your thoracic and abdominal organs. You'd be better off with a long, neutral spine.

Kaminoff calls this "axial extension." I like that term.

When I see this, I ask my students to come up on the finger tips and stretch the heart away from the navel.

But here's what happens a lot. The skin and clothing on the front of the torso are caught. They're trapped in contact with the front thigh. So it's not uncommon to see very little axial extension. What commonly happens is the head gets lifted up and now I see my students craning their necks.

They look just like those bicyclists who's backs are very rounded to reduce wind drag, but can only see where they're going if they lift their heads and jut their throats forward, like a crane.

A few days ago I wrote about low back troubles. I mentioned that the lumbar spine and the cervical spine (the low back and the neck) don't have much support around them, so they tend to bend too much in back-bending poses.

That's what's happening here.

Since there's very little extension in the thoracic spine, the cervical spine, the neck, must bend to an extreme.

The neck is craned and pained. Ouch.

So here's my tip of the day. Take Mr. Kaminoff's advice. Don't damage your neck in every lunge of every sun salute. Extend the thoracic spine.

The more you stretch your breastbone away from your belly button, the less your neck has to take a beating by either drooping down, or craning.

Align your neck so that it's an extension of the rest of your spine. It's most easily done by freeing up the skin on the torso and side chest so you can lengthen through the upper back. Then you can see what's out ahead of you without "crunching" your neck.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was pada. Pada means foot or leg as in utthita hasta padangusthasana, the extend-a-hand-and-and-grab-the-big-toe-on-the-end-of-the-leg pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is sarvanga. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s., We'll be bringing the next Experience Sanskrit workshop to Saint Charles, Missouri in just one month. Join us at Jane's House of Wellbeing, Saturday, March 15 at 12:00 noon. Register here. Visit www.experienceyoga.org to lean more about the Experience Sanskrit workshop. It's the fun and unforgettable way to learn the Sanskrit names of yoga poses.

p.p.p.p.s., While I was searching around on the web for a picture of a lunge, I found a name for the high lunge pose that I had never seen before. Here goes: utthita ashwa sanchalanasana. DK Children, the publisher of the Yoga for Teens Card Deck, has sent me several copies of this great home study aid to review. I'll give away the card decks I have to the first among you who email me with a literal English translation of the Sanskrit name of the pose.

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Bhasma to Bhasma

2008-02-06T07:34:00.000-06:00

Look around today and you might see some of your friends going about their daily routine with a smudge of ashes (bhasma) on their foreheads.

For the Christian Church, today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Lent is a period of self-imposed austerity, during which people give up good things they enjoy. They abstain, in order to prepare themselves spiritually for Easter and for the rest of the year.

During the liturgy when the priest applies the ashes, he says, "Remember man that you are dust and to dust you shall return."

Dust and ashes applied to the body have always represented death and rebirth, transformation. As much as we struggle to protect life and avoid death, it is still good, regardless of your religious persuasion, to regularly consider death.

It will happen. It is not to be avoided. And disciplining ourselves to face our ultimate fate sets things in perspective and can give us courage.

We don't see much ascetic practice like this in American culture. So today might be a good day to take note of this behavior, even if you're not an observer of Lent.

Shiva, the originator of hatha yoga, is almost always depicted with his body covered in ashes. He is known as the god of destruction and transformation, the head of the Hindu trimurti, or trinity.

He sets the standard for out of the ordinary behavior. He lives in the woods and doesn't wear clothes. His hair is matted and tangled and piled on top of his head. But most of all, he is known for living outside the ordinary religious behaviors and mores of his time. He wasn't much for fitting in with the great Brahmin rituals, feasts and observances.

And that's what caused one of the troubles for which he is well known.

His father in law, Daksha, was a Brahmin priest. And since Shiva was such a non-conformist, he didn't invite his daughter and her husband to the great sacrifice.

She was humiliated. Unconsoled, she threw herself into the sacrificial fire and died.

Shiva in the form of Nataraj, the Lord of the Dance, came to the sacrifice and danced the tandava, the dance of destruction.

It was horrible. It was terrible. But it produced change. (In the end there was a reconciliation between the orderly, ritual-dominated religious form and asceticism.)

Shiva is the great liberator who breaks down everything, thus releasing energy for new growth. At times we need to be broken down, or upset ourselves on purpose, deny our egos the pleasures they crave, to release energy for growth.

In India, there are still holy men and women who imitate Shiva, even his most shocking characteristics. They are known as Sadhus. Dolf Harsuiker says this about these holy people:

In their pursuit of the 'inner light', the liberation from all earthly bonds, the 'knowledge' of the Absolute, they have chosen the way of asceticism and yoga. This implies a systematic 'reprogramming' of the body and mind by various methods, such as celibacy, renunciation, religious discipline, meditation and austerities. The general term with which these methods are designated is sadhana, literally 'the means of achieving a particular goal', from which the word Sadhu is derived.

I like what he says. You can literally reprogram your body and mind with practices you do and the intentions that motivate them.

Today when you see someone with ashes on his forehead. Take a moment to consider death and the possibility of great transformation.

Even if someone's looking, stand there, like that odd-ball Shiva, and pick one foot up off the floor. Grab your ankle behind you with one hand and raise the other arm. There you are in the simplest form of the pose natarajasana, the pose dedicated to the Lord of the Dance, the destroyer, Shiva, the emblem of transformation.

May yoga bring you the transformation you desire.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was setu. Setu means bridge as in setu bhanda sarvangasana, the bridge pose. Setu bhanda sarvangasana literally means to construct a bridge with your whole body pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is pada. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s., The Experience Sanskrit workshop is a very fun, lively and exciting way to learn and remember the Sanskrit names of the yoga poses you do every day. We're offering it next in Saint Charles, Missouri at Jane's House of Wellbeing. Register here. Visit www.experienceyoga.org to learn more. Even if you cannot participate, will you please tell your friends about this great opportunity?

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Low Back Troubles

2008-02-04T14:39:00.000-06:00

If you Google the phrase "yoga injury" like I just did, you'll find the search engine comes up with over 500,000 hits in less than a second.

This seems to me to be a media trend these days: write as much as you can about how you can get hurt doing yoga. I believe there's a solution to this. But I'll get to that later in this Daily Yoga Tip.

I want to zero in on a very particular type of pain--low back pain. If you ignore this pain, it can lead to injury.

A room full of us got together on Saturday morning to do 108 sun salutations as a fund-raiser for the Show Me Yoga Education Foundation. Afterwards, one student asked my why his low back hurt.

The simple answer is back bending.

Somewhere right in the middle of every surya namaskar is a back bend. Depending on your practice preference, you might be doing upward facing dog pose, cobra pose, or a variation I call baby cobra (or sometimes no-arms cobra).

Our spines are pretty amazing. They come built with four normal, natural curves that you can see when you look at someone from the side.

Every other curve goes in the opposite direction. I'm told this makes the spine more springy and therefore able to handle great forces.

The curve in your torso (thoracic curve) is concave on the front. Likewise, the curve at the tail end of your spine (sacral curve) is concave on the front. Your neck curve (cervical curve) and low back curve (lumbar curve) are both concave on the back.

Most important to this discussion is the amount of bony structure around each segment of the spine. The thoracic spine is surrounded by the rib cage. The sacral spine is completely surrounded by the bones of the pelvis.

But your neck, the cervical spine, well its surrounded by nothing. And the lumbar spine is surrounded only by soft tissue and organs--no bony structures.

So when you bend backwards, these two parts of the spine typically end up with a greater curve than the thoracic and sacral segments of the spine.

Without a little conscious attention and effort on your part, back bends will make the vertebrae, particularly the back part of the vertebrae, in these two parts of the spine compress together. And that hurts.

Low back pain and neck pain are two big complaints I hear from students doing back bends.

What is there to be done about my student's low back pain?

1) Progress steadily. Don't start with 108 back bends. Make progress over time by starting with and practicing less challenging back bends. After you've accomplished some degree of body control in the tips I'm about to give you, move forward and practice those same actions in more difficult poses.

2) It's counterintuitive, but you need to get better at tucking your tail bone under when you do back bends. (You don't need to pinch your buttocks together to do it.) This tucking action will create space between the lumbar vertebrae and pain will disappear. You'll also avoid injuries like the ones I referred to at the beginning of this Daily Yoga Tip.

3) Develop stronger abdominal muscles and better abdominal control. One way to do this is to practice back bending poses, tuck your tailbone, and progress steadily from easier to more difficult poses. (I'll write a later Daily Yoga Tip about other things you can do to strengthen the abs.)

Bending backward is such a gift. It can be your pathway to a young and healthy spine. Some people say: "You're only as young as your spine is flexible." With these actions, you can develop better back bending ability and avoid pain in the low back.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was surya. Surya means sun as in surya namaskar, the sun salutation.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is setu. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s., Please join us for the next Experience Sanskrit workshop in Saint Charles, Missouri. Thanks to our hosts at Jane's House of Wellbeing, we'll be offering the Experience Sanskrit workshop again on Saturday, March 15 at 12:00 noon. Register here. Visit www.experienceyoga.org to lean more about the Experience Sanskrit workshop, the fun and unforgettable way to learn the Sanskrit names of yoga poses.

p.p.p.p.s., How can you avoid injuries in yoga? I mentioned above that I think there's a way. First find a teacher who will work with you interactively and teach you progressively over time. And then practice with dedication, without interruption, for a long time.

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Active Inactivity

2008-02-03T14:56:00.000-06:00

Today is Superbowl Sunday. And Tuesday is Super Tuesday. The big winners in these contests are no doubt going to make an even bigger splash in the media and in our awareness than the communication tidal waves that are already crashing in on us.

My splash won't be nearly as big. But I declare that today is a glorious day to start the Daily Yoga Tip again. (Thank you to you super students who have given me much encouragement throughout the past year, during which I was not writing.)

I'll use the National Football League as my inspiration today. There must be some symmetry in that since the last Daily Yoga Tip I wrote was about football, too.

This morning I saw an NFL-sponsored public service announcement for www.SmallStep.com. It was an ad featuring football stars encouraging young people to be physically active.

The opening line in the ad shows a referee throwing a penalty flag and announcing the infraction:

Personal foul! Inactive activities on a glorious day!

This oxymoron got my attention. I tend to react, indeed over-react, to this sort of illogical talk in advertising and common speech.

After I settled down, it occurred to me that it's simply a word problem that got me excited. It's not a real problem. I was able to see that we really do participate in many enriching and edifying endeavors ("activities") that aren't physically active at all. So it just sounds silly.

The joke is on me, really. I'm a yoga teacher. Yet I often miss the obvious point that the very meaning of the word yoga is "to integrate opposites." Yoga by its very name celebrates, affirms and even calls us to embrace irony and internal inconsistency.

A great example of this is savasana, the corpse pose. It's the final pose in nearly every yoga practice session. My most valued experiences in the pose are the refreshing feeling of deep physical relaxation, coupled with the satisfying gift of pure stillness.

When I first started practicing yoga, I would lie down for savasana and my sense of physical release was so deep I would drift off to sleep. You might call this inactive inactivity. While it was restful and refreshing, it also made me dull.

As I became more practiced, the irony emerged more clearly. Stillness made me more sensitive and more aware. While lying in corpse pose I was alert and actively perceiving the physical world (sensations, sounds, smells) as well as insights, memories, ideas and images. I was definitely not asleep.

To an observer, I looked just like the posture's name. I appeared to be dead. But the corpse pose had become active inactivity for me. I was still. But there was a lot going on. And the result was not dullness, but calming and enlivening.

Words and ideas are powerful things. But they sometimes get in the way. We really can experience the true reality of what sounds like incongruity. Here's to you and your experience of super savasana.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was pincha. Pincha means tail feathers as in pincha mayurasana, the tail feathers of a peacock pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is surya. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s., There are only a few weeks left to enroll in our next Experience Sanskrit workshop in Saint Charles, Missouri. Sallie and I will be at Jane's House of Wellbeing on Saturday, March 15 at 12:00 noon. Register here today. We'd love to meet you there.

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Welcome to Yoga

2006-10-08T15:56:00.000-05:00

I sat in the sauna earlier today and read a several week-old copy of Sports Illustrated. Most of the stories were about the opening of the NFL season. The lead article was called Welcome to the NFL.

The writer described the nearly universal experience of the rookie who is knocked over, and nearly knocked out, by a bigger, more experienced veteran. The elder, grinning, knowing the impact of what just happened, says to the new guy, "Welcome to the NFL."

It's an unwritten initiation rite that's probably been around since leather helmets, or no helmets at all.

I've never played in the NFL, but in the summer 1979 I finished high school in my home town in Nebraska and weeks later began a new life in Colorado as an Air Force Academy Cadet and an Air Force Falcon, an offensive guard on a Division One football team.

On probably my third day of team practice I took a forearm under the chin from a upper classman. He was also a guard, but bigger, stronger, and more experienced.

My feet left the ground. I landed on my back. The sky above was beautiful, as it was at least at some time nearly every afternoon at that altitude.

He didn't need to say it. I said it silently to myself, "Welcome to Division One football." It hurt.

The sports writer suggested that it was something unique to football. No one, after all, says welcome to tennis or welcome to track and field. I suppose he was suggesting that no other sport offers such a defining moment when you realize things ain't what they used to be.

I disagree.

I say "Welcome to Yoga" all the time. (I know. It's not a sport. But I still disagree with him.)

Usually when I teach a room full of mostly new-comers I can look out and see the tiredness and stress in their bodies. They're nervous, too, about the new experience.

I often welcome them to yoga with a pretty simple recipe you can try today:

1) I create a welcoming, attractive, and safe environment.
2) I ask them to lie down and close their eyes.
3) I talk to them with a steady pace and quiet pauses.
4) I invite them to pay attention to and relax parts of their bodies.
5) I help them pay attention to their bodies and the movement of their breaths.
6) Then I guide them through a simple stretch during which they make their bodies just a bit longer.

After that, they sit up. And they look different. They are different. I say, "Welcome to yoga."

This only takes about 5 or 6 minutes. But in that short time people can experience the effects of a practice that involves moving the body and paying attention.

It's like pushing the re-set button on life.

I ask them if they feel better. I ask them because I want them to notice.

It really doesn't take much time or skill or secret knowledge to experience a shift. Sometimes that can be as surprising as a forearm to the chin.

Some people like it and come back regularly for years. Others like it but don't make it back. Others don't see that they've made a shift and really don't know why they'd give it a go again. So I usually don't see them again.

If you're reading this, you're probably already interested in yoga. You've already tried it.

But check in right now, in this moment. How do you feel?

If you'd like to feel better try my recipe above. You can do it. Welcome to yoga, again.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was chatura. Chatura means four, as in chaturanga dandasana, the the four-limbed stick pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is pincha. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s., I promised you last time I'd tell you the other yoga practice my physical therapist gave me. Here it is: he asked me to lift my knee caps up. He calls these "quad sets."

I'm sure I was asked to lift my knee caps in my very first yoga class. My yoga teacher wanted to me lift my knee caps to stabalize my knees in tadasana, mountain pose.

Brian, however asked me to lift my knee caps, repeatedly, because this pumping action reduces the swelling in my (post-surgical) knee. It clears out inflammation.

p.p.p.p.s., The Foundations of Teaching Yoga workshop on last month in Fulton, MO was a great success. What a wonderful group of yogis we spent the day with! Sallie and I thorougly enjoyed the day. And I know our teacher trainees did, too. Thanks to Sandy and the students at Natural Focus Yoga. I can't wait to conduct this workshop again.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Trust Your Knee to Tree

2006-09-22T08:36:00.000-05:00

Physical therapy for my post-surgical knee began Saturday.

I received some wise words and instruction, for which I am grateful, from my PT guy, Brian.

Some of what he gave me is yoga. Here goes. This is what he said:

1) Let it heal. It's good that it's moving. But don't over-do it.

The doctors had their surgical tools moving around in there. So now it's got to heal.

He pointed to the three scabs on my knee skin and said, "Hey, see those? They haven't healed on the outside. You can be sure you're not done healing on the inside."

2) One of our big goals is to get the inflammation and swelling out of the knee joint. As long as it's there, tissue is irritated.

(I'll tell you in my next Daily Yoga Tip the "yoga" he wants me to practice to get this swelling gone. Yes, I mean in addition to the usual MICE - movement, ice, elevation, and compression.)

3) I was so proud of the fact that I could really bend my knee.

Brian burst my bubble, telling me the next big thing is not how well I can bend it, but whether I can straighten it--really straighten it.

He surprised me by demonstrating to me that I could not straighten my right leg as well as my left. That pesky culprit inflammation is the cause. See item 2 above.

4) Strengthen your leg muscles later. Big quads are beautiful, but for now, focus on propriorecptive exercises. "These will train your brain to trust your leg again," he said.

So what's involved in "proprioreceptive exercise" you ask?

Tree poses. That's right. Vrksasana.

He had me lift one foot off the ground and balance with my arms out to the sides for 15 seconds, once on each foot.

Then, instead of practicing with my arms out, he had me cross my arms in front of my chest and touch the opposite shoulder with my fingers. I held these for 15 more seconds, on each side.

Finally, the big kahuna. I did vrksasana, both sides, 15 seconds, with my eyes closed.

My foot wobbled and I could hear all sorts of popping and clicking. Apparently my brain hasn't been trusting my leg for quite a while.

I've known for a long time that tree pose is good for balance and strengthening legs. I've known it's good for avoiding twisted ankles.

But I've never really understood that I was training my brain to trust my leg.

This is a problem I'd like to solve for other poses, too.

For instance, I can teach a whole lot of people to be in the other tree pose, adho mukha vrksasana (downward facing tree pose), hand-stand.

But I'm much less successful at teaching people to kick up into hand-stand unassisted.

I've believed for a long time it's because their brains don't trust their arms.

I'd like to figure that one out. I'm wondering what we can practice so that the brain knows the rest of the body is ready to toss the legs up over the hands. Until I do...

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was janu. Janu means knee, as in parivrtta janusirsana, the revolved knee head pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is chatura. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s., I wrote about MICE in my Daily Yoga Tip on November 9, 2005. It's called "RICE or MICE" You can read it here.

p.p.p.p.s., We're getting ready to announce some fun free give-aways for everyone who has signed up for the Daily Yoga Tip by email. Sign up today, so you'll be the first to hear about the fabulous prize that'll we'll mail out to free, if you ask for it. And, as always, please let your friends know about my Daily Yoga Tip. They'll want our special gift, too. Thank you.

p.p.p.p.p.s., In the spirit of journalistic integrity, that picture above of the knees is not me. But my legs looked just like that a few days after my surgery.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Evert to Avert Knee Pain

2006-09-20T08:17:00.000-05:00

A few days ago I took my first yoga class since arthroscopic surgery on my right knee (10 days prior).

I'm feeling really good.

But I noticed that my knee was tender and a bit unstable in poses in which I was down on the floor with my knee bent and thigh externally rotated.

Specifically, I very carefully did agni stambhasana (fire log pose), eka pada raja kapotasana variation (one-leg lord of the pigeon pose), janu sirsasana (knee head pose), and simple cross-legged sitting, like sukhasana (easy pose).

In each of these poses I tended to point my toe and invert the ankle so that the sole of my foot faced up.

If you look at the pictures that are linked to each of the Sanskrit pose names above, you'll see that in all but one the yogi has his or her toe pointed and the sole of the foot facing up, just like me.

What does it mean to invert the ankle? Many call this "sickling." It's when you 'turn' the foot so the outside of your ankle bulges out. When you do it, the foot is shaped like a sickle.

Even we who know zilch about old agricultural techniques know what a sickle looks like. It was the symbol of the former USSR. I saw it all the time when I was a kid.

When your feet are sickled, the peroneus longus muscle that runs down the outside of the lower leg, is lax. Wake up the peroneus and you add stability and integrity to the knee. And for me, knee pain disappeared.

You wake up the peroneus by flexing the ankle (or more technically correct, dorsiflexing) and everting the heel.

When you evert, the outside of the ankle no longer bulges out. It draws in. The area under the outside ankle bone is hollowed. And running down the outside edge of your lower leg you'll see what I call a "racing stripe". It's a long trough that indicates the peroneus muscle is active.

Look at the first picture in this Daily Yoga Tip. You'll see the woman doing agni stambhasana has her feet flexed and both heels everted.

By creating this action, she protects her knees. You can do it, too.

Evert. It does your knees good. (Hint: Look back at your ankles in downward facing dog pose. Are the sickled? Or everted?)

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was pada. Pada means foot or leg, as in eka pada rajakapotasana, the one-leg lord of the pigeons pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is janu. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s., I wrote about some other things you can do to help nix knee pain in my Daily Yoga Tip on May 31, 2005. It's called "More Knee Pain?" You can read it here.

p.p.p.p.s., Join us for the "Foundations of Teaching Yoga" workshop this Saturday in Fulton, MO. If you have a desire to teach yoga and you currently study and practice yoga, you're invited to participate in this 6-hour workshop. It's by donation only.

You must register in advance by calling Sandy Conner Otto at Natural Focus Yoga Studio. She is our host for the day.

Email me, or call, if you have questions at info@experienceyoga.org.

And, we'll be coming back the next day, Sunday afternoon, for a 3-hour session of meditation and yoga philosophy. It begins at 1:00 pm. Again, this workshop is by donation only. Please call Sandy for more information and to register.

p.p.p.p.p.s., When I wrote the "Sing Your Yoga" Daily Yoga Tip a few days ago, I didn't expect to hear so many responses from you, my wonderful readers. Thank you.

I mentioned in that Daily Yoga Tip that you can sometimes get extra focus by saying what you want to do as you do it.

I especially loved a message I got from Beth in Northern Virginia. She said, "I also wanted to mention the power of silent practice. Sometimes I get distracted in yoga class by all of the instructions. I want to know the intructions but at the same time, a silent class, in which you are practicing together with other people yet everyone is left to connect to his or her own center without having to come outside to attend to words, can deepen your experience temendously and heighten your inner awareness nad your connection between mind and body."

I couldn't agree more.

Yoga literally means to integrate opposites. So maybe it's not so odd to one day advise you to talk while doing yoga, and the next day suggest you remain silent.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Sing Your Yoga

2006-09-17T15:32:00.000-05:00

After an enjoyable summer off, I was back in the choir loft singing at church this morning.

(If you've never developed a pranayama practice, join the choir. Many of the same benefits of pranayama are found in singing.)

Unlike a few of my early experiences in the church choir, I find now that because of the extra focus I bring to bear (to follow the choir director, tune up my pitch, keep rhythm), I participate more fully in the liturgy and I get more out of it. My experience of our parish gathering is richer. And it has more lasting impact.

I've found the same general rule applies to teaching yoga, when compared to simply practicing yoga.

In order for me to teach yoga, I've really got to focus. I concentrate.

I've found that much of the time that added level of focus allows me to do some things that I'm usually not able to do when I'm just practicing yoga.

I'll grant it to you that teaching yoga, at least the way I do it, is a highly verbal activity. Doing yoga, on the other hand, is not.

Yet, while teaching, my focus is often so distilled, I can simply say a phrase like, "relax your jaw" and my jaw goes slack right then and there.

Could listening be the key? Paying attention?

When I teach yoga, I'm not only saying what I'd like my students to do, but I'm listening to what I'm saying. (If you've never taught yoga before you may be unfamiliar with how important this is.) Likewise, when I'm singing at church, I'm listening to what I'm singing.

It's self-awareness.

Want to add a new dimension of focus to your yoga practice? Try saying out loud what you need to say in order to get yourself to do the thing you want to do.

Don't just think the thoughts. Say the words and listen. You'll be surprised at how difficult it is to say what you want. But when you master the concentraion required to say only what is needed, you'll see that it pays off in your practice.

Once you've taught yourself some yoga, experiment with teaching others. Share your yoga experience. Don't keep it to yourself. Sing it out. It's rewarding to give to others what you have received.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was nidra. Nidra means sleep, as in yoganidrasana, the sleep of the yoga pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is pada. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s., I wrote about some of the effects of singing in Daily Yoga Tip from June, 2005. It's called "'Old Friend' Became Deep Throat for More Energy Than Ever." You can read it here.

p.p.p.p.s., Sallie Keeney and I sat down yesterday for a very inspiring session of preparation for the "Foundations of Teaching Yoga" workshop were doing this Saturday in Fulton, MO. If you have a desire to teach yoga and you currently study and practice yoga, you're invited to participate in this 6-hour workshop.

This workshop starts at 9 am and finishes at 4 pm. We'll take a 1-hour break for lunch.

Here's the cool part: it's by donation only. You pay what you want. Or you pay nothing at all. You won't want to miss it.

At this workshop we won't be teaching yoga poses, we'll be teaching about teaching. So come prepared to teach.

You must register in advance by calling Sandy Conner Otto at Natural Focus Yoga Studio, in Fulton, MO. She is our host for the day.

Please bring an audio recorder/play-back device (e.g., cassette recorder, digital recorder, dictaphone, etc.) if you have one, and your three favorite yoga pose books. If you like notes, bring a pen and a notebook. We won't be giving any cue sheets or handout materials.

See you there. Email me, or call, if you have questions at info@experienceyoga.org.

And, we'll be coming back the next day, Sunday afternoon, for a 3-hour session of meditation and yoga philosophy. Again, this workshop is by donation only. Please call Sandy for more information and to register.

p.p.p.p.p.s., Yesterday morning I took my first yoga class since my knee surgery 10 days ago. It felt great to be back studying yoga again. After yoga, I went to my first physical therapy session. My physical therapist was very happy, as I have been, with the progress I've made.

I asked you all for your prayers. It seems obvious to me now that you did. Thank you. I am grateful beyond words.

I want to write tomorrow about the knee pain I felt in yoga class, and just what I did about it. Later on this week, I'll be writing about what I learned from my physical therapist about how to clear swelling and inflammation out of my joint. Stay tuned.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Yoga Amateur

2006-09-10T18:14:00.000-05:00

It's no surprise to you. If you've been taking my Daily Yoga Tip for any time at all, you know I'm a "word nerd." I know at least one of you has called me by that term of endearment.

So you'll not be surprised that I've always liked a book I read a long time ago called Amo, Amas, Amat. It's a book of Latin phraseology, amusing and provacative.

The title conjugates the verb to love. "I love, you love, he/she/it loves," the book cover announces. (We all love Latin! Or, the little voice way back there seems to whisper, we should love it.)

I recalled this a fews days ago while listening to an inteview with Karen Armstrong, a beautiful woman and scholar who refers to herself as an "amateur theologian."

She made use of the term amateur in a way that occurs for me like an attempt to rehabilitate it from the perjorative by pointing me to its etymological origins. Hidden in the word amateur, previously unseen by me, lurks the Latin word amat.

An amateur is not some bush league hopeful who didn't quite make it into the realm of real professionals. Rather, an amateur is someone who truly loves what he or she does, regardless of rank or revenues.

I love yoga.

But only when I do it.

In this regard, I am a happy amateur.

Won't you join me?

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was go. Go means cow, as in gomukhasana, the cow-face pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is nidra. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s., For those of you who might be interested in a blast from the past I wrote about sequencing back in April, 2005. The Daily Yoga Tip is called "Sequence and Intention." You can read it here.

In that Daily Yoga Tip I refer to a web site that tracks the 86,800 most frequently used words int he English language. What's fun is that the web page displays all of the words graphically. And you can search for words, too.

Just for your information, today "love" is ranked 384. It is surrounded by "economic" and "means." "Yoga" is ranked 18,879, exactly where it was back in 2005. Hmmmm.

p.p.p.p.s., Our Experience Paradise yoga vacation in Yelapa, Mexico is coming up in February, 2007. Watch for more details in future Daily Yoga Tips.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Van Gogh Do It

2006-09-09T11:35:00.000-05:00

Here's a quicky. I couldn't resist this.

Someone sent me an email today with this quote in it, attributed to Vincent Van Gogh:

If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.

How's that for a kick in the seat of the pants?

So many times it's an idea, a thought, just that and nothing more, that gets in the way of what you want to do. Even if what you want to do is something as simple as having fun.

Do the thing. The thing that's in front of you to do.

Do the splits.
Write your novel.
Forgive.
Propose.
Start over.

You know what it is.

Don't let the voices that say

I'm not strong enough.
My butt's too big.
That hurts.
It won't work.
________________. (Insert your thought here.)

stop you.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was kona. Kona means angle, as in utthita trikonasana, the extended three-angle pose. Triangle pose is the answer the question I posed yesterday. I think triangle pose is one of the roughest on the knees because lots of people hyper-extend their knees in the pose (ouch!) and they do this pose all the time.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is go. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s., I wrote about stopping back in August, 2005. The Daily Yoga Tip is called "Stop Stopping." You can read it here.

p.p.p.p.s., Our Experience Paradise yoga vacation in Yelapa, Mexico is coming up in February, 2007. Watch for more details in future Daily Yoga Tips.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

More On Knees, Please

2006-09-08T19:45:00.000-05:00

Here's part of an email I got a few days ago from a Daily Yoga Tip reader in Maryland:

ps. Blessings for you speedy recovery for your surgery.
pps. With your experience. what poses do you think are most harmful to knees?

You've gotta love someone who gets right to the heart of it, don't you?

Without question, lotus pose, padmasana, is the pose most harmful to the knees, if you attempt to practice it regularly.

Lotus pose, and those that are similar to it, require open hips, specifically that the femurs rotate externally (laterally) in the hip sockets.

Because they practice it all the time, ballerinas are really good and lateral rotation of the femurs.

The thighs are hard to grab when you attempt to manually turn the thigh bones in the lotus pose.

So, by hook or by crook we grab the feet and lower legs and we wrestle with them until we pull ourselves mercilessly into the pose.

Then, we attempt to look cool and calm as we sit and pretend to meditate. Ouch.

This is not the recipe for samadhi. It's a recipe for overstretched lateral collateral ligaments and the surgery that follows.

Roger Cole wrote an article published in Yoga Journal that I can't recommend enough. You can find it here. But you may have to register with the Yoga Journal site to view it. Be sure you click on the graphics to see the large and up-close view of a strained lateral collateral ligament and the crushed medial mesicus that goes with it.

Here's a big BUT: I see bunches of students every week who never try padmasana. They don't even think about it. So...they can't hurt their knees with a pose they don't do.

There is a pose they do all they time that could cause a different sort of damage.

I'll write about it next time.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was ananda. Ananda means bliss. I think some of the anesthesia medicine I was given during my surgery Wednesday really plugged into my bliss receptors! I haven't been in such a good mood in a long time!

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is kona. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s., I wrote about knees and poses that are related to padmasana back in June, 2005. The Daily Yoga Tip is called "Wild Fire, Burning Desire." You can read it here.

p.p.p.p.s., Our Experience Paradise yoga vacation in Yelapa, Mexico is coming up in February, 2007. Watch for more details in future Daily Yoga Tips.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Crocodiles, Sea Monsters, Dolphins & Locusts

2006-09-07T21:10:00.000-05:00

If you've practiced locust pose, salabhasana, you know that as a part of a well-rounded yoga routine, this asana can really help folks with some types of low back pain.

The vertebrae in the low back, the lumbar region, are ideally aligned so that the curve is concave. If your hamstrings are snug, or if you do a lot of sitting, the top of your pelvis may regularly tip backwards. If you do this chronically, your low back starts to lose its natural indented curve.

Some folks end up with a flat lumbar spine or even one that bulges out. For many, this can be painful.

Locust pose can strengthen the low back and re-establish the natural, healthy curve.

To do locust pose, you lie on your tummy and stretch your arms backwards along side your torso. Then lift your legs up off the floor, and your torso too. Keep the spine long and the tailbone tucked.

If you're new to back strengtheners like this, I don't recommend you begin with locust pose. Practice "baby" cobra poses and sphinx for a while, first.

Then, once you're comfortable with locust pose, you can progress on to a more challenging version of salabhasana called, makarasana. Makarasana looks just like locust pose except for the fact that the hands are clasped behind the head and the elbows are opened out to the sides.

My last two Daily Yoga Tips have been about crocodiles, a theme prompted by Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter.

Makarasana, like yesterday's pose, nakrasana, is also translated by many as "crocodile pose."

Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar calls makarasana the crocodile pose in his book Light on Yoga.

But many contend that this is a mistake, they believe, caused by the similarity of the two Sanskrit words.

Some say that makarasana is more properly translated as "sea monster," "sea serpent," or "dolphin." Here's a picture of the legendary sea serpent carved in a sandstone roof beam.

I'm no expert, so I can't solve this dilemma. But I can bring it to your attention so that you can use this controversy to make it more memorable.

Whether you remember the difference between makarasana and nakrasana won't change the fact that if you do makarasana your back will get stronger.

One thing's for sure, if you practice, you can master both crocodile poses, by any name.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was makara. Makara, as you now know, means crocodile (or sea monster or dolphin), as in makarasana.

p.p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is ananda. I'll tell you what it means next time, when I tell you a little bit more about anandamide.

p.p.p.p.s., My knee felt great all day today, until the local pain med wore off at about 3 pm. Oh well. I'm up and moving around with a cane. And so far the swelling has stayed down.

I received a great request yesterday to write about yoga poses that can be particularly rough on the knees. Stay tuned. It's a great topic. I'll get to it later this week.

p.p.p.p.p.s., Our Experience Paradise yoga vacation in Yelapa, Mexico is coming up in February, 2007. Watch for more details in future Daily Yoga Tips. If you're curious take a look here for just a taste of things to come.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

After While, Crocodile

2006-09-06T19:19:00.000-05:00

Shortly after my wife and I began taking yoga classes (nearly 20 years ago!), we heard about a yoga vacation in North Carolina.

One week of expert yoga instruction, two classes per day, in the Smokey Mountains sounded great to us.

Since we were new to yoga, we really didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, but off we went.

We weren't accustomed to two nearly three-hour long yoga classes per day. So when we finished our second session each day we retreated back to our side of the duplex cabin and we vegged out. Really vegged out.

Napping. Sitting on the porch. Reading. Napping. Did I mention napping?

But each afternoon, right after we settled into La-Z-Boy mode, a ruckus of floor-pounding, shouting and laughter would commence just on the other side of the paper-thin wall that separated us from our neighbors.

On day one, curiosity arose. On day two, we detected a pattern. (Maybe this will happen every day? Are they nuts?) On day three, we caved in to a mix of nosiness and mild irritation and paid a visit to our neighbors, three women from Pittsburgh.

They invited us in to observe that the furniture had been shoved up against one wall and one at a time, while the other two cheered, each would bound across the floor, progressing a few inches at a time, "hopping" from a low push-up position.

Nakrasana, they told us--the crocodile pose.

They were actively involved in some sort of on-going challenge with their yoga teacher back home. So while they were off on vacation they didn't want to lose any of the progress they had made. Even though they were tired too, they bounced across the floor, without fail, every day. It was a spectacle the likes of which I'd never seen before.

I owned a copy of Light on Yoga at the time, but I'd never seen this pose in there. Lo and behold, it is in there. There they were, on page 106, pictures of Mr. Iyengar, airborne, in the dreaded chaturanga dandasana position.

I tried it. It takes some getting used to. But it works. And it makes you strong fast.

What I found out was this: if you're facing a pose that's challenging and you find your self dreading it, work on a slightly more challenging version of the pose. It makes the thing you dread seem easier and less daunting.

Chaturanga dandasana is tough. But if I practice nakrasana, chaturanga dandasana seems like a walk in the park.

Sometimes I dread downward facing dog pose. So I practice one-legged downward facing dog pose. Then the original pose feels like a treat, a resting position!

Speaking of resting position. After I did nakrasana that day, I went back to my side of the cabin for a nap. (Don't skip the relaxation at the end of your yoga practice.)

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was nakra. Nakra means crocodile, as in nakrasana, the crocodile pose.

p.p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is makara. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.p.s., Thank you, all of you who emailed me yesterday about Steve Irwin and yesterday's Daily Yoga Tip. You inspire me.

p.p.p.p.p.s., My knee surgery went well today. So far, I have no pain and I'm moving around cautiously. I trust my legs. But I don't trust the after-effects of general anesthesia. There's something seductive and powerful about narcotics. Maybe tomorrow I'll write about anandamide, a neurochemical that...well check back tomorrow to see what comes out in the wash.

p.p.p.p.p.p.s., If you missed our announcement yesterday about the Foundations of Yoga Teaching workshop coming up Saturday, September 23 in Fulton, Missouri, click here. It's by donation only. You can't beat the price.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Au Revoir, Crocodile Hunter

2006-09-05T11:45:00.000-05:00

Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, is gone.

If you haven't heard by now, the famous Australian, known for his enthusiasm for wild animals and made popular by his Discovery Channel show, met his untimely demise yesterday at the "hands" of...

Wrong! It was not a crocodile. It was a stingray.

Talk about Kundalini rising! He was stung right in the heart.

Crocodiles, and most wild animals of any size and ferocity, are terrifying to us. But this guy faced them all, with humor, dexterity and passion.

I'm thinking of the Bhagavad Gita in which the Pandava prince Arjuna is standing on the battle field filled with doubt. He realizes that the combatants he faces are his friends, close relatives and beloved teachers.

Here's what he says: "As I see my own kinsmen, gathered here, eager to fight, my legs weaken, my mouth dries, my body trembles, my hair stands on end, my skin burns, the bow Gandiva drops from my hand. I am beside myself, my mind reels." (from Stephen Mitchell, The Bhagavad Gita: a New Translation, 1.29-1.30)

Frightening. It sounds like he came face to face with a crocodile. He's facing death.

But Krishna, his charioteer, replies with these most beautiful words:

never have I not existed,
nor you, nor these kings;
and never in the future
shall we cease to exist. (2.12)

Contact with matter make us feel
heat and cold, pleasure and pain.
Arjuna, you must learn to endure
fleeting things--they come and go! (2.13)

When these cannot torment a man,
when suffering and joy are equal
for him and he has courage,
he is fit for immortality. (2.14) (from Barbara Stoler Miller, The Bhagavad-Gita)

Doesn't that sound like the Steve Irwin we saw on TV, stomping around in water and muck undaunted by hot or cold, storms or desert winds, and courageous and joyful while being charged or swiped at by an animal thrice his size?

Like Arjuna the warrior, he did his duty, and we benefitted from it.

Here's a picture of Steve in what looks to me like warrior pose!

If you're thinking of Steve Irwin being "gone," the Gita, the Song of Life says his atman, his Self, will never cease to exist.

That's why I called this Daily Yoga Tip "Au Revoir, Crocodile Hunter." Au revoir means until I see you again.

Yoga helps you see your true Self and that same greatness in others. May we all be as bold and alive as the Crocodile Hunter.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was mukha. Mukha means mouth or face, as in gomukhasana, the cow face pose. Go means cow.

p.p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is nakra. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.p.s., Tomorrow I'll tell you about my very first encounter with crocodile pose. Don't miss it.

p.p.p.p.p.s., On Saturday, September 23, Sallie Keeney and I are teaching a 6-hour workshop called "The Foundations of Teaching Yoga." This workshop starts at 9 am and finishes at 4 pm. We'll take a 1-hour break for lunch.

Here's the cool part: it's by donation only. Pay what you want. Or pay nothing at all. You won't want to miss it.

At this workshop we won't be teaching yoga poses, we'll be teaching about teaching. So come prepared to teach. This workshop is designed for yoga teachers, teacher trainees, or folks who are considering becoming a yoga teacher. If you don't currently do yoga, this workshop is not for you.

You must register in advance by calling at Sandy Conner Otto at Natural Focus Yoga Studio, in Fulton, MO. She is our host for the day.

Please bring an audio recorder/play-back device (e.g., cassette recorder, digital recorder, dictaphone, etc.) if you have one, and your three favorite yoga pose books. If you like notes, bring a pen and a notebook. We won't be giving any cue sheets or handout materials.

See you there. Email me, or call, if you have questions at info@experienceyoga.org.

p.p.p.p.p.p.s., I'm going under the knife tomorrow for minor arthroscopic repair of the meniscus in my right knee. Your prayers and blessings are welcomed and appreciated.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Conscious Eating, Yummy!

2006-07-11T15:24:00.000-05:00

For me, one of the greatest benefits of yoga is increased awareness.

I remember clearly when my first yoga teacher asked me to be aware of the soles of my feet and the bottom tips of my shoulder blades.

I found that if I paid attention and moved a little, I really could be more aware of those seemingly dark and far-away body parts.

But what really surprised me was my lack of awareness of how unaware I was. Or, as some people say it, "I didn't know what I didn't know."

I still practice yoga today. I think 16 years have gone by. And I'm still uncovering new ways in which I am unaware. I just cruise along, not paying attention. All the time.

One of those times is at the dinner table.

I recently read a suggestion for conscious eating in a book called UltraMetabolism, by Mark Hyman.

I've been doing this practice for over a week now. I really like it. I hope you benefit from it. It's called Kathie Smith's 3/3/3 Technique:

1. Enjoy a moment of gratitude before you begin eating.
2. Take three relaxing deep breaths to the count of three in and three out before you begin eating.
3. During the first few minutes (about three minutes) of your meal, rest your hands in your lap at least three times, taking a relaxing breath with each break. (UltraMetabolism, Hyman, p. 235)

That's it!

It's great. It slows down my whole meal. I get the experience of more choices. I can even choose too eat less!

And I enjoy the meal, and meal-time with my family, even more.

Caution: My wife and daughter both laughed at me, out loud, when I told them I was doing this.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was paschima. Paschima means the west side of the body, as in paschimottanasana. The west side of the body refers to the back side. Paschimottanasana means "an intense stretch to the west side of the body pose."

p.p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is mukha. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.p.s., There are only a few weeks left to enroll in our next Experience Sanskrit workshop in Silver Spring, Maryland. Sallie and I will be at Willow Street Yoga on Saturday, August 5 at 1:00 pm. Register here today. We'd love to meet you there.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Time for Wisdom

2006-07-09T16:36:00.000-05:00

I've been a part of a group for a couple of years that I've come to truly enjoy and cherish.

Recently, one among our group bid us goodbye as he moved on to a different place and part of his life. As he left, he made a comment I'm thinking about today.

He said, "Wisdom is knowing what time it is."

For him, it was time to go. Wisely, he knew it.

He made this remark just after he read a quote from the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. Some of you may recognize it. It was around long before Pete Seeger or the Byrds sang it:

There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

What advantage has the worker from his toil?

I have considered the task which God has appointed for men to be busied about.

He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without men's ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done.

I recognized that there is nothing better than to be glad and to do well during life.

As I heard him recite these words, it dawned on me that each of us has been given a life that is large enough and rich enough to incorporate many striking opposites, yet remain one life.

Life seems to be full of contradiction, paradox, and inconsistency.

Right when I'm caught on the horns of a difficult dilemma, I'm sometimes fortunate enough (or wise enough) to see that I still have one integrated life that holds together in a delicate balance of unity.

A wise person sees that a full and complete life is an integration of opposites. The union of opposites is, by the way, the definition of yoga.

Your breath is a good example. A complete breath consists of an inhalation, and it's opposite, an exhalation.

Your heartbeat is comprised of both a contraction and an expansion. It's a union of opposites.

If you review the list that the writer of Ecclesiastes provides above, it's not that difficult to identify the commonly preferred option in each opposing pair.

We like a birth announcement; but we don't like funerals. Laughing is fun; crying, exhausting. Times of peace are comfortable; war is hell.

So, we slavishly pursue what feels good and race to avoid what doesn't.

The old yogis teach that this drive towards the pleasurable and fleeing the painful is the source of all suffering.

Ecclesiastes is attributed to Solomon, wisdom personified. Now is the time, says this very wise man, to do your work, do your duty, and be happy.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., I wrote about integrating opposites in two other Daily Yoga Tips. Read them at these links:
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/10/autumnal-expansion.html
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/05/good-prop-bad-prop.html

p.p.s., The Sanskrit Word of the Day from my previous Daily Yoga Tip was kurma. Kurma means tortoise, as in kurmasana.

p.p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit Word of the Day is paschima. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.p.s., There are only a few weeks left to enroll in our next Experience Sanskrit workshop in Silver Spring, Maryland. Sallie and I will be at Willow Street Yoga on Saturday, August 5 at 1:00 pm. Register here today.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

A Sign of Freedom

2006-07-04T13:58:00.000-05:00

It's the Fourth of July. I'm home with my family enjoying the day.

You all haven't heard from me in quite a while. So much has been happening. I'm hoping to write a Daily Yoga Tip just to let you know what transpired since I wrote last.

But until then, I'm re-publishing something I wrote for Independence Day right after 9/11. I hope you like it.

It's longer than usual. So, hang in there to the end, if you can.

Here goes:

Try this pose with me. Stand comfortably with your feet about hip width apart. Raise your right arm over your head.

Make sure your arm is straight. Let your fingers be bent in a loose, comfortable fist. Point your right thumb up. With your left arm down at your side, put a little crook in the elbow so it is slightly bent. Stand erect and hold your head as if you are gazing far off at the distant horizon.

Do you recognize this pose? I haven’t seen it in any yoga books. If it were there, it might be called eka urdhva hastasana, the one hand up pose.

If this position doesn’t seem familiar to you from your yoga practice, teach it to someone else.

When you see your student do it, you’ll recognize it right away. It’s a pose that’s on the license plate of every car in New York.

Maybe the lyrics to this song will help you see it more clearly:

“In New York Harbor, stands a lady with a torch raised to the sky.

And all who see her know she stands for Liberty for you and me.”

Some of the positions we practice over and over, like viparita karani (see the picture) for example, are technically not asana (poses).
They’re what the old yoga books call mudra.

There are two basic types of mudra: some you do with just your hands, some with your whole body.

You’re probably most familiar with anjali mudra, the hand gesture we practice at the end of every yoga class when we say namaste to one another.

No matter where you are, this gesture of placing the palms together seems to have the same meaning. It’s an offering of reverence and respect.

Like poses, regular practice of these gestures can have profound effects on your body as well as your state of mind.

Many practice mudra as one component of their complete yoga discipline.

The word mudra in Sanskrit means seal. Think of your signature as your seal. It says, “This is who I am.”

Similarly, when a king presses his signet ring into the warm wax, it makes a document official.

Or think of a company logo. When you see that logo it stands for the products and services that you have come to expect. When you practice a mudra (with your hands or your entire body) it’s just like signing your name, it’s done intentionally, with purpose.

The idea behind a mudra is this: what you do with your body has meaning. It says who you are.

This idea is so simple and so prevalent in our day-to-day lives we hardly notice it.

When you say that someone “sat idly by and did nothing” you probably don’t mean that he was literally sitting the whole time. But the meaning of doing nothing is associated with the body position of sitting.

Likewise, when someone “takes a stand” on an issue you don’t mean that the person was physically standing.

Yet, standing has meaning.

Look again at the song lyrics above. They say, “she stands for liberty.” With her body, she represents the freedoms that are so much a part of American life.

When it comes to making a statement maybe there is no difference between asana and mudra.

Maybe every yoga pose is a symbol of who you are.

Every time you quiet your body in corpse pose, aren’t you saying something with your actions?

Every time you balance in tree pose, aren’t you making a statement?

Every time you bow forward in a standing forward bend, aren’t you expressing a value that you hold?

It must be. After all, despite the recent popularity of yoga practice, millions of people don’t practice it. They’re saying something (possibly different) with what they’re doing with their bodies.

“My poses are prayers,” said B.K.S Iyengar. Don’t you agree?

Some say the highest purpose of yoga is to still the chatter of the mind so that you can directly reacquaint yourself with your essence, so that you can hear your own inner voice, re-connect with the true you.

Why have we lost touch with ourselves? Because we are distracted by the things we can perceive with our senses, as if they are all that is. When you achieve the state of yoga, it is said, you can be free from the suffering that is unavoidably linked to a life limited to sense perceptions.

Liberation from the limitations of this life is called moksha in Sanskrit.

So when you join me in the posture I describe at the beginning of this article, let’s call it moksha mudra instead of eka urdhva hastasana. It, like every yoga pose you do, is a symbol of liberation.

More than two hundred years ago a group of men in Philadelphia took a stand for freedom. With their actions, with their words and deeds, they declared their own independence from tyranny and oppression.

It all began with a seal. They signed their John Hancocks on a document that sealed their fates and ours: The Declaration of Independence. They made themselves free by a stroke of the hand, a mere gesture, if you will, that turned the tide of history.

On September 11th we experienced probably the first real threat to that freedom that we’ve seen since Pearl Harbor. I would not have invited those events and the horrible tragedies that ensued. But I’m gratified and deeply moved by the sincere expressions of patriotism that I’ve seen since then.

Americans have been reminded of the value of freedom and the price that has been paid for it. I like it that I see American flags on nearly every car I pass on the road. It’s amazing to me that I can buy an American flag in nearly every gas station or convenience store I enter. It’s no longer corny to be patriotic!

Guess what? Nearly 18 million Americans are now doing yoga. It’s no longer corny to do yoga.

When I first started yoga some were quick to clue me in (and they still do) that sitting on the floor with my legs crossed qualified me as an odd ball.

The current yoga fad will fade soon enough; and so, sadly, will our visible expressions of national pride. While they’re with us, let’s extract from them their true essence, the best of what they have to offer.

Let this Independence Day be a special one. Feel your pride in our Country more strongly than ever. Join me in taking a stand for unity and freedom this summer. Take a stand. Make a gesture that says who you are. YOU ARE FREE!

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word of the day from my last Daily Yoga Tip is bhuja. Bhuja means arm or shoulder, as in eka hasta bhujasana, the one-hand shoulder pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit word of the day is kurma. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s, The meaning of seal when referring to mudra also applies to the flow of energy. Energy fluctuations in and around the body are very great at the "poles" of the body, the head, hands and feet. By forming the hands into various mudras, one shapes the energy flow and redirects it into the body to produce various effects.

p.p.p.p.s., Sallie and I are teaching the Experience Sanskrit workshop at Willow Street Yoga, in Silver Spring, Maryland one month from now, Saturday, August 5, at 1:00 pm. You can register online here. We hope to see you there!

p.p.p.p.p.s., Patriotism doesn't have to blind me to the truth. I love my country. But I know at the same time that not everything about it is admirable.

There's a bumper sticker I see on a van I walk by several times each week. It says, "God Bless All Nations." I really like it.

It challenges the "one slice of a pie" mentality that says we are competing for a limited pool of boons. For me and my family to have an advantage, you must be disadvantaged. Wrong.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Yoga Matrix, Yoga Crucible

2006-05-16T23:52:00.000-05:00

Richard Freeman, a few years back, developed a yoga teaching series I enjoyed called "Yoga Matrix." In those teachings about yoga, he describes the human body as a matrix for transformation, including spiritual transformation.

He explained that the etymological root for matrix is the same as those for matrimony and matriarch. They are all related to the word mater, which means mother.

This name suggests that exploration of the human body is the fertile nurturing environment, the breeding ground, in which tremendous personal growth and change can take place.

In my last Daily Yoga Tip I promised I would write today about "the Mother of all Poses," salamba sarvangasana, shoulder stand.

In a very real sense, shoulder stand has earned this title because it is such a fruitful pose.

Its name gives a hint about why it's called the mother of all poses. Salamba sarvangasana does not translate as "shoulder stand." It literally means "supported whole body pose." The name itself communicates that this pose is so powerful it has beneficial effects on the whole body (not just the shoulders).

Christy Turlington reminds us that salamba sarvangasana is also known as the Mother because "it develops the feminine qualitites of patience and emotional stability." (See her book, Living Yoga.)

But the nuturing cocoon of the womb is not the only image we use for growth and transformation.

The destructive power of fire, agni in Sanskrit, is also used to symbolize powerful change.

Over the years of practicing and teaching yoga my view of salamba sarvangasana has evolved. From the beginning, it occurred for me as a powerful and beneficial pose that I always practiced for its comforting effects right before savasana, the corpse posture.

But now I can see more clearly that this mother of all poses can also be like fire...quite capable of destruction.

The more I teach, the more frequently I meet people for whom the pose is not a comforting, nurturing environment for growth and development. For them, it's a dangerous and debilitating pain in the neck...like fire.

I not referring to yoga dabblers, either. I'm talking about highly trained yogis, whose depth of subtlety and self exploration are rare. These people are neither sloppy, nor fool-hardy. They're careful and methodical.

But try as they might, they can't do shoulder stand without injury.

Just like your mother, salamba sarvangasana can be an amazing vehicle for change. But you can get burned, too.

Don't forget the fifth commandment: honor your father and your mother.

And don't forget the first rule of yoga, ahimsa, non-harming.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word of the day from my last Daily Yoga Tip is mayura. Mayura means peacock, as in pincha mayurasana, the tail feathers of a peacock pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit word of the day is bhuja. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s, My heart goes out today to my friend and yoga teaching colleague Lisa, whose house burned down recently. She and her family are safe.

She welcomed us into her home on more than one occasion. She made us feel like family. She treated us with kindness and care, like the beautiful mother she is.

Now she's looking for the lesson in it all. She told me today she's repeating a mantra that you might find helpful: everything is happening today exactly as it is supposed to happen.

Shanti, shanti, shanti. Peace be with you, Lisa.

p.p.p.p.s., Almost exactly a year ago today I wrote about how many yogis find that salamba sarvangasana helps them lose weight. You can read that Daily Yoga Tip here. I wrote a Daily Yoga Tip about fire, too. Enjoy.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Can't Keep Quiet About Mother

2006-05-15T22:22:00.000-05:00

I got up yesterday morning--it was Mother's Day--and went to Memorial Park. It's a...well, it's a graveyard. And my mom is buried there.

My mom, Raemonda Ruth Perry, died on August 2nd, 2005. So this is the first time I've ever experienced a Mother's Day without her.

I miss her.

My Dad's been out of town, even out of the country, for over a month. So, I've missed him, too. He returned yesterday evening. Maybe there's some symmetry there.

Maybe there's some symmetry in my return, too. I haven't been writing this Daily Yoga Tip for a while. In fact, it occurs to me now that I haven't said anything about yoga here since the day my Dad left.

Honestly, for now, I can't figure it all out. But I think it's about assimilation.

I just checked it out. The Answers.com dictionary says assimilation is "The conversion of nutriments into living tissue; constructive metabolism."

In my case, it might mean that a lot of change has happened in my life and a period of silence was needed to take it all in, let it sink in.

Lest you think I'll never get to yoga, assimilation is one of the most incredible things I see as a yoga teacher and experience as a yoga practitioner. I get to see it over and over again.

It goes like this. Students practice an unfamiliar pose. They "can't do it" to their satisfaction. They fall, or they can't grab the body part their aiming for, or it's so far beyond them that it's a non-starter.

But they keep practicing yoga. They just don't practice that pose. Several weeks go by. Then, they practice the pose again. Now they can "do" it! We're all suprised. And thrilled.

During the between weeks, something happened.

I say their nervous sytems assimilated whatever information was received when they tried the pose the first time.

This is one of the greatest sources of encouragement for me in my day-to-day life. Below my normal everyday awareness, some pretty incredible things are happening. It's not until I act, until I do something, like try the really hard yoga pose again, that I discover something has changed! Transformation occurred.

Last weekend I was at Masterpeace studios in St. Louis with my teaching partner Sallie. We were teaching the Experience Sanskrit workshop. Things happening as they sometimes do, we got into a conversation with students about the difference between pincha mayurasana and mayurasana.

I've been doing pincha mayurasana for over a decade. But I've never done mayurasana, ever. Never. I haven't tried it in at least six months.

But in an attempt to show people what it looked like, I almost did it. I've never been that close before. Something had happened. I was amazed and encouraged.

So when you practice, take the long view. Practice regularly. And practice patiently. And know that beneath the surface of your awareness, some pretty incredible things are happening. Wait a bit. Keep practicing. And you'll see the results.

Dont' just read about it. Get up. Experience it. Experience yoga!

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word of the day from my last Daily Yoga Tip is chatura. Chatura means four, as in chaturanga dandasana, the four-limbed staff pose. It looks and feels like a push-up.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit word of the day is mayura. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s, At dinner Sunday, I asked my mother-in-law, Frances Carter Dugger, if she would tell me something about her mother, Ida Lee Carter. Frances told us that her mother was literally a saint. That she always seemed to do the right thing. And that she inspired Frances to be a better person. Wow! I'm glad I asked. Please ask someone about his or her mother today. I think you'll be inspired, too.

p.p.p.p.s., I want to acknowledge here too that I've known Sallie Keeney as a co-worker, friend, business partner for nearly 8 years. All during that time she has told me probably hundreds of stories about her late mother Sally Diane Minter. I simply want to say thank you. I feel like I know her. And I'm honored to know her. I regret that I did not meet her while she was living.

p.p.p.p.p.s., I just realized now that a year ago on Mother's Day my mom went into the hospital with abdominal pain. You can read the Daily Yoga Tip I wrote that day when none of us knew it was liver cancer. It's here.

p.p.p.p.p.p.s., In honor of mothers everywhere, tomorrow I'm writing about "the Mother of All Asanas."

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Yoga Made it to the Final Four

2006-03-29T16:20:00.000-06:00

March Madness is here. I'm talking NCAA basketball.

I lost interest in televised sports long ago. But the winnowing of the field from the Elite Eight down to the Final Four has offered surprises to which even I can't resist paying attention.

Unless you've been nowhere near a sportscast, you already know that 11th-seeded George Mason University knocked off the top-seeded UConn Huskies--in overtime. They're now in the Final Four, bearing the moniker "Kryptonite Kids," along with three other teams that weren't supposed to make it either.

I heard George Mason's coach, Jim Larranaga, giving a radio interview the morning after the victory. He said something like this:

It's not about who we played. It's not about where we played. It's about how we played. We executed our game plan with effort and intensity. Without effort, you can't achieve anything.

What did Larranga's players have to say in their interviews after they big game? They praised their coach for helping them stay loose and relaxed.

Don't they sound contradictory to you? Effort. Relaxation. They just don't go together. They're opposites.

I guess you could refer to the George Mason basketball team as a living, breathing example of the union of opposites.

Did I just say "union of opposites"? I did indeed. And "union of opposites" is the definition of the word yoga.

Yoga made it to the Final Four. You heard it here first.

When Patanjali wrote about yoga in the YogaSutras he referred to two core principles on which his entire system of yoga rests: abhyasa and vairagya.

Abhyasa is practice. One commentor wrote that, "[a]bhyasa means having an attitude of persistent effort to attain and maintain a state of stable tranquility." (Emphasis added.)

Vairagya, on the other hand, is non-attachment.

Vairagya involves learning to actively and systematically encounter, explore and let go of the many attachments, aversions, fears, and false identities that are clouding the true Self.

They work together. Practice leads you in the right direction, while non-attachment allows you to continue the inner journey without getting sidetracked into the pains and pleasures along the way. (Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati)

Isn't that just what it took to get the Patriots into the Final Four, by their own admission?

Imagine what it must be like to train, practice and execute with such dedication and fervor that you arrive at a previously unimagined level of performance, only to be sidetracked by your thoughts, your sense of not belonging or not deserving, or your fear of disappointment.

Somehow, Larranaga and the Kryptonite Kids managed to avoid that fate by doing both, abhyasa and vairagya. You can, too.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word of the day from my last Daily Yoga Tip was pada. Pada means foot or leg, as in eka pada rajakapotasana, the one-leg lord of the pigeons pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit word of the day is chatura. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s, I didn't know I'd spark so much excitement, interest and commentary with my Daily Yoga Tips about the 5-minute bridge pose and the picture of the neck bridge.

I'll have more to say on those and related topics later this week.

Thank you, all of you, for your sincerity and for writing me with your questions and thoughts.

Copyright 2006.
All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Belts, Blocks & Supination

2006-03-28T21:37:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I wrote about my experience while holding a bridge pose (setu bandha sarvangasana) for 5 minutes.

I commented that when I lift my pelvis away from the ground, I'm extending the hip. The gluteus maximus muscle plays an important role in creating hip extension. That's why it started to burn after several minutes in the pose.

The gluteus maximus also externally rotates the thigh.

So when I really work to lift mypelvis high, or for a long time, the glutes tend to kick in and do their other job. My thighs roll out, knees come apart and more weight shifts to the outside edges of my feet.

That's called supination when the feet are imbalanced so that the arch is high and there's more weight on the outer edges of the feet than the inner.

One of my readers from Maryland, Lynn, wrote me this email yesterday, after she read my Daily Yoga Tip:

Hi Kevin,

Would it make any sense to place a belt around one's legs, below the knees, in order to keep them from separating, while doing setu bandhasana?

Hope you are doing well.

Namaste, Lynn

Here's my reply:

It does make sense, but for a particular purpose and limited time.

I like to use a belt simply to help get a feel for doing the pose without the knees apart and feet supinated. This is such a strong body pattern, I find it useful for students simply to see what it's like to do the pose with thighs parallel and feet balanced. Belting the legs helps provide that experience without too much trouble.

If you use a belt, I recommend that you put it around your thighs, above your knees. I suggest this because you'll notice that when you belt your legs while doing a pose, you tend to push them out against the resistance of the belt. I want the upper thighs to press out, away from the mid-line of my body. This broadens the back of my pelvis and creates room for the tailbone to tuck.

When I belt my shins, I have a tendency to push the shins apart, which I'm already good at, hence, supination.

Ultimately, you benefit most by learning to keep your thighs parallel on your own, without a strap, using skillful action. You want to develop the skill of using the gluteus maximus to extend the hip without using it to rotate the thighs outward.

One way to get a feel for this is to practice coming into and out of bridge pose holding a foam block between your knees or shins. If you drop the block you'll know you've let your knees come apart. That tells you you're using your glutes not just for hip extension, but for external thigh rotation as well.

Thanks, Lynn for this great question.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word of the day from my last Daily Yoga Tip was bandha. Bandha means to bind or tie together, as in setu bandha sarvanasana, the bridge pose. By the way, setu means bridge. Sarvanga means all of the limbs or body parts. So this pose name in Sanskrit literally means to construct or tie together a bridge made with all of the body parts pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit word of the day is pada. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s, We still have openings in the Experience Sanskrit workshop in Downers Grove, IL on Saturday, April 8. If you've been intending to sign up, but haven't done it yet, please do it today. I don't want you to miss the workshop because it fills up to capacity. You can register here.

We're also doing the Experience Neti Flow workshop at Masterpeace Studios in Kirkwood, MO (St. Louis) on May 6 at 3:00 pm. Tuition is $30. You can register here. The Experience Sanskrit workshop is earlier that same day.

p.p.p.p.s., We're planning to announce our Experience Mudra workshop tomorrow. We've got a tentative date in St. Louis for May. Check back tomorrow for details. Reading about the power and effects of hasta mudra is not the same as actually doing the hand gestures and feeling the effects for yourself.

Copyright 2006.
All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Five-Minute Bridge

2006-03-27T21:35:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I read in Yoga Journal that a woman who struggled with anxiety atttacks had a breakthrough while holding a 5-minute bridge pose (setu bandha sarvangasana).

She wrote:

Although I've sought countless therapeutic remedies for my anxiety, the eventual breakthrough I experienced didn't happen on a therapist's couch. It occurred in a single moment in a yoga class, when I managed to get into Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)--and stay in it for a full five minutes. Something happened: my back arched, my chest expanded, I breathed more deeply than I would have throught possible. And my mind cleared. All that constant, overwhelming clatter was just gone, blessedly gone.

I'm pretty sure I've never had an anxiety attack. But curiosity, I have had. Still do.

I wondered what would happen if I held a five-minute bridge pose. Don't you wonder?

I set my timer and up I went.

Frankly, it was uneventful, but revealing.

I've never held a five-minute bridge pose before, but I have done a 3-minute neck bridge.

I observed experiences and tendencies similar to those I've had while neck bridging.

First I noticed a pretty tremendous stretch in my abdominal muscles. The longer I was in the pose, the stronger this stretch felt.

But the biggest thing that came to my awareness was a tendency to shift weight to the outer edges of my feet. That made my knees come apart, so my thighs were no longer parallel.

I just kept re-adjusting, bringing my knees back toward each other.

The longer I stayed in the pose, the more my buttocks muscles got tired, and eventually, sore.

Soon the timer went off and I gladly came out of the pose.

Holding poses for time reveals weaknesses or tendencies that might otherwise go unobserved.

When you raise your hips off the floor in bridge pose, you're extending the hip joint. (Extension is the opposite of flexion.)

When you extend the hip, the thigh moves toward the back body. Conversely, when you flex the hip, the thigh moves in the direction of the front body.

The gluteus maximus muscle is one of the primary muscles responsible for extending the hip. These are the muscles that began to burn as I stayed longer and longer in the pose.

Gluteus maximus is also responsible for externally rotating the thigh. That's why almost everyone starts to turn the leg so that the knee cap points out away from the mid-line of the body when he or she is working hard to extend the hip.

That's why when you raise your hips away from the floor in bridge pose your knees want to come apart. Gluteus maximus extends the hip and rotates the front thigh out so the knees come apart and weight shifts toward the out edges of the feet.

Keep turning your front thighs in toward each other, even in bridge pose. You'll notice it helps keep the back of the pelvis broad, so you can tuck your tailbone and avoid low back pain in this and other back bendings.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word of the day from my last Daily Yoga Tip was uttana. Uttana means an intense stretch, as in uttanasana, the intense stretch pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit word of the day is bandha. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s, Don't miss the Experience Sanskrit workshop coming up in Downers Grove, IL on Saturday, April 8. You can register here.

We're also conducting the Experience Neti Flow workshop at Masterpeace Studios in Kirkwood, MO (St. Louis) on May 6 at 3:00 pm. Tuition is $30. You can register here. The Experience Sanskrit workshop is earlier that same day.

p.p.p.p.s., I wrote a Daily Yoga Tip last year about holding poses for time. It's called Timings for a Change. You can read it here.

Copyright 2006.
All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Too Fast, or Weak?

2006-03-26T15:59:00.000-06:00

Today while practicing sun salutations, surya namaskar, I felt light-headed.

Every time I came up from the standing forward bend to mountain pose with my arms overhead, I felt like I was going to tip over and crash to the ground. (I didn't.)

Do you ever feel dizzy when you come up out of a standing forward bend?

Usually, I think it's because I'm coming up too fast.

So as I continued on with my sun salutations I tried a couple experiments, tips that usually work when the situation isn't so steady.

On my way up one time I really focused on my breath and took a continuous, full and steady inhalation as I gradually came up out of uttanasana. It didn't work. Still fuzzy.

The next time up I focused on muscular energy in the legs. I really hugged the muscles of my legs on to the bones as once again I came up in a slow steady fashion. No luck. I was still rickety.

Guess what I did next?

I stopped doing sun salutations and went over to the wall for a long round of viparita karani.

I put my legs up on the wall and rested for about 15 minutes.

Why? I came to the conclusion that I wasn't coming up out of uttansana too quickly. I decided that I was weak. So I rested.

Sometimes what you need is not a vigorous yoga practice, but one that restores the energy you need to function optimally.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word of the day from my last Daily Yoga Tip was vajra. Vajra means thunderbolt, as in vajrasana, thunderbolt pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit word of the day is uttana. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s, Don't miss the Experience Sanskrit workshop coming up in Downers Grove, IL on Saturday, April 8. You can register here. Don't delay. We've been selling out lately. You won't want to miss it.

p.p.p.p.s., We just added an Experience Sanskrit workshop date in Kirkwood (St. Louis), Missouri on Saturday, May 6 at a beautiful new center, Masterpeace Studios. It's an incredibly beautiful space. And the work they're doing there with children of all ages is amazing.

Check out Meg's web page at http://masterpeacestudios.org/. Masterpeace Studios is a non-profit organization. I hope you'll consider contacting them and making a tax-deductible donation.

You can register for the Experience Sanskrit workshop at Masterpeace Studios here. It begins at 9:00 am and ends at 1:00 pm.

We'll also be conducting the Experience Neti Flow workshop at Masterpeace Studios on May 6 at 3:00 pm. Tuition is $30. You can register here.

p.p.p.p.p.s., Some of you have contacted me with your experessions of concern that I haven't posted a Daily Yoga Tip in two weeks. It's a long time, I know. This an instance in which I've been moving too fast and I've been weak because of it. More tips are on the way.

p.p.p.p.p.p.s., If you've read this far you deserve a real prize. I hope this is worth it: It's March 26, 2006. We are just eight days away from April 3. Why should that matter?

Well...one year ago, on April 3, I posted my very first Daily Yoga Tip. That's right. We're coming up on our 1st Anniversary! Woo hoo!

It's been an amazing year. I've heard from so many of you. I REALLY appreciate your comments, questions, and support.

It's been a blast. I love doing this. I hope you love it, too. Keep me in your prayers as I keep going.

If you'd like to read the very first Daily Yoga Tip I wrote, it's called Get Upside-Down, Give Your Heart a Break, & Boost Immunity Too. Read it here.

Copyright 2006.
All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

My Dad, The Yogi

2006-03-13T06:28:00.000-06:00

My dad and I had a conversation about his blood pressure a couple weeks back. It made me think of this article I wrote about him back in 2002. I hope you enjoy it. Here it is...

Not long ago, after several long car trips, my dad found himself with serious back pain. He’d spent time in bed and missed many days of work before we finally got together to see if what I’d learned from yoga could help him.

I’m happy to say that I could see my dad relax and be more at ease as we worked together. He left that day without the limp he’d been living with for too long.

Unfortunately, the weeks of compensating for one pain had set him up for others that took many more weeks to resolve.

During those weeks we met several times. At one of those visits he told me a story that amazed me, and still does. Many years ago when he’d hurt his back, a co-worker with a long history of back pain taught my dad two things he believed were essential to resolving back pain. My dad has used these two techniques throughout the decades to take care of himself.

The first of these is hanging. He described supporting himself with stiff arms (like a gymnast on parallel bars) in the corner of the kitchen counter. From there he lets his legs dangle free. The weight of his lower body tugs on his spine and relieves the pinching and irritation of his nerves.

My dad’s friend also emphasized how important it is to regularly practice progressive whole-body relaxation. He taught my dad to start at one end of his body and one-at-a-time relax every part of his body.

My dad obviously mastered this skill. He told me that he has used his ability to relax to lower his measured blood pressure on demand. He’s done it at his doctor’s office. And on one occasion he did it to change his rating on a life insurance policy, so he could get a cheaper premium payment!

I immediately thought of the stories I’d heard about when yoga was first introduced in America. Swami Rama came here in 1969 at the invitation of Dr. Elmer Green of the Menninger Foundation in Topeka. There he demonstrated body control that Western science had never documented before. Here’s one description:

“He amazed scientists by his demonstration, under laboratory conditions, of precise conscious control of autonomic physical responses and mental functioning, previously thought to be impossible. Under these scientific conditions, Swami Rama demonstrated his ability to stop his heart from pumping blood for seventeen seconds, to produce a ten-degree difference in temperature between different parts of the palm of his hand, and to voluntarily produce and maintain specific brain wave patterns on demand.”

When my dad told me what he’d done, it hit me like a ton of bricks: just like Swami Rama, my Dad is a yogi!

Hatha yoga is not about learning to perform stunts that astonish your friends. It’s about looking inward and paying attention. Your body then becomes the vehicle for a journey that extends far beyond the performance of sideshow tricks.

So if my dad’s story is not about performing some Houdini-like feat, what is it about? I believe it’s about self-help, to borrow from the sign over the bookstore shelf.

My dad and his friend both sought as much help from others as they could. But at some point they received all they were going to get. As with most chronic issues, the solution was up to them. Each had to resolve his difficulty through a practice or a discipline that he adopted and used over time.

The paradox of ‘doing it yourself’ is that most of us learn what to do to address our concerns from a teacher. My dad learned two simple techniques from a friend that he still uses to address his pain today. His friend was his teacher.

While my dad is lying on the floor in the middle of the night practicing his relaxation, his friend isn’t there with him; neither is his doctor. Dad’s doing it himself. His friend can’t feel his pain. His friend can’t make it go away.

But in an equally real way my Dad is not there alone. The gift his friend gave him by teaching him to care for himself is a lasting gift of great value. When someone has taught you to care for yourself you’re not alone at all.

I’m grateful for the friend who taught my dad to relax. I’m grateful for Swami Rama’s teacher who led him on the yoga path. I’m grateful for all of my teachers, who’ve shared with me what their teachers gave to them.

I’m inviting you today to share some positive experience of yoga with those around you. Even if it’s something small, show them yoga. You never know what lasting effect it may have, maybe even decades into the future.

The old saying goes like this:

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

People are hungry. Feed them.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word of the day from my last Daily Yoga Tip was svana. Svana means dog, as in adho mukha svanasana, downward facing dog pose.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit word of the day is vajra. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s, Don't miss the Experience Sanskrit workshop coming up in Downers Grove, IL on Saturday, April 8. You can register here. Don't delay. The price for the Downers Grove Experience Sanskrit workshop goes up to $75 on March 18.

Our Experience Sanskrit workshop in St. Charles, Missouri (March 18) is sold out. Sorry!

The Experience Sanskrit workshop is the fun and unforgettble way to learn and remember the Sanskrit names of the yoga poses you already do! It's four hours of energetic fun. And you get a 120-page course manual to keep and use when you go back home. Find out more at www.ExperienceYoga.org.

Copyright 2006.
All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Bent Arms, Weak Arms

2006-03-07T17:34:00.000-06:00

I worked with several students this weekend, preparing to do handstands, adho mukha vrksasana (tree pose with the mouth facing down).

To get ready for adho mukha vrksasana, we practiced adho mukha svanasana, dog pose with the mouth facing down.

In both poses, the arms are along side the ears. In this arm position you can't see your arms. Go ahead and try it. Bring your arms up along your ears. Now ask yourself, "are my arms bent or straight?"

Many were surprised when I told them their arms were bent in downward facing dog pose.

If you want to be able to stay in downward-facing dog pose longer and with more ease, make sure your arms are straight. Draw your elbows towards each other and extend the arms long. You can even put a strap around your elbows so they can't bend. (Please get help from an experienced teacher for this.) You'll be amazed at how easy the pose is!

When you take the bends out of your elbows, the bone in the upper arm aligns with the bones in the lower arm. You instantly become structurally stronger. Without getting stronger muscles, you're immediately able to bear more weight for a longer time.

But this seemingly simple instruction is easier said than done.

Many of the same students were surprised when I asked them to take their hands wider apart on the mat, before they came into the pose.

You see, the wrist joint, elbow joint and shoulder joint all work together as one system. When your shoulders are stiff and your hands are too close together, it's almost impossible to straigthen your arms.

When you're elbows are bent, you're weak.

So widen your hand position. Take them apart, so your hands are slightly wider than your shoulders.

Your downward-facing dog pose will get easier, and you might surprise yourself by doing a hand stand that you previously thought you weren't strong enough to do.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word of the day from my last Daily Yoga Tip was garuda. Garuda means eagle, as in garudasana, eagle pose.

There's the picture to the left of students doing garudasana.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit word of the day is svana. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s, Don't miss the Experience Sanskrit workshop coming up in Downers Grove, IL on Saturday, April 8. You can register here.

If you're interested, please don't delay. Our Annapolis workshop sold out. And many who wanted to come were turned away.

Our Experience Sanskrit workshop in St. Charles (March 18) is also sold out. We're telling people who really wanted to come that they can't!

So don't delay. Also, the price for the Downers Grove Experience Sanskrit workshop goes up to $75 on March 18.

The Experience Sanskrit workshop is the fun and unforgettble way to learn and remember the Sanskrit names of the yoga poses you already do! It's four hours of energetic fun. And you get a 120-page course manual to keep and use when you go back home. Find out more at www.ExperienceYoga.org.

Copyright 2006.
All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Travel Neti

2006-03-02T16:00:00.000-06:00

Today, I pack. That's right. I'm gathering the stuff a traveling yoga teacher uses and, hoping I've forgotten nothing, zipping it into my two-wheeled travel bag for tomorrow's trip to Annapolis, Maryland.

Saturday afternoon, Sallie Keeney and I will be teaching the Experience Sanskrit workshop at Golden Heart Yoga Center. It's sold out to capacity. We're expecting a great crowd. It's exciting.

We're thrilled about meeting new students and getting reaquainted with old friends from the mid-Atlantic region.

We're so grateful to Lynn Matthews and Jenny Otto, owners at Golden Heart Yoga, who have prepared the way for us in such an excellent fashion! Wow!

But this time is also a bit frightening. For instance, I might forget to pack the clothes I wear when I teach. That's a bummer.

From time to time, I forget to pack my neti pot. No big deal, you say?

Well, you're right. It's not too big.

But for me, it's about the same as forgetting my tooth brush or shampoo, essentials I need for basic hygeine. I don't want to go out and teach a workshop, or much else for that matter, with dirty hair or teeth that haven't been brushed.

When I'm without my neti pot, I don't feel quite right.

(If you don't know the benefits of the yogic practice of jala neti, you may want to read the Daily Yoga Tips I've offered before here and here.)

If I forget my tooth brush or shampoo, I just pick up replacements at the corner convenience store. But if I forget my neti pot, well, I'm in a jam...

...until a few weeks ago. I was in Texas. I discovered that when I order an Americano at Starbucks it's so hot it comes in two paper cups.

I finished my coffee (Speaking of finishing my coffee...I gave up coffee for Lent. More on that later. Mmmmm...green tea.). I rinsed out the white plastic lid, you know, the one with the little hole through which you sip.

Then I filled the clean paper cup with warm water and a pinch of salt. I put on the clean lid, tilted my head and, voila, travel neti. Neti without a neti pot.

That little hole on the lid works perfectly.

I'd be kidding you if I told you that none of the warm water ran down the side of my cheek. It did. But with a little practice, I had an excellent neti experience and a clean, fresh upper respiratory system.

Now you can too, even if you are your neti pot are miles away from each other.

The really big benefit of making this discovery is this: packing isn't so stressful! If I forget my neti pot, everyone knows there's a Starbucks everywhere!

(A note to beginners: get real good at using a regular neti pot before you try this somewhat silly, but useful, stunt. For Shiva's sake, don't start with a Starbuck's coffee cup!)

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word of the day from my last Daily Yoga Tip was vrischika. Vrischika means scorpion, as in vrischikasana, scorpion pose. Look at my last Daily Yoga Tip for a picture of the pose.

I didn't see a scorpion in Mexico. But my student Mary did! I'll try to get her to send us the picture she took. Until then, you can look at the one I've posted here. Enjoy!

Speaking of packing, I'm glad that when I packed my bags in Mexico one of these critters didn't hop a ride home with me...at least as far as I know. It sure would be a surprise to discover him when I unpack in Annapolis!

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit word of the day is garuda. I'll tell you what it means next time. Here's a clue. Tomorrow I'm flying on US Air from Missouri to Maryland. There's an Indonesian airline named after Garuda.

p.p.p.s, Here's a note I received from Kelli Austin today. Kelli is the Director of Sunshine Yoga at Chiro Studio in Kansas City. She hosted the Experience Sanskrit workshop at Sunshine Yoga a few weeks ago.

We did a little chanting at that workshop and you'll notice she talks about the acoustics in her yoga room. It made for a very energetically vibrant beginning to the workshop. That positive energy continued throughout the day. Here's what she had to say:

Hi Kevin! I want you to know that I continue to get rave reviews about you and Sallie's workshop. In fact, I got a call this morning from a woman who wants to come to Shantala because she said the acoustics at Sunshine Yoga were so amazing. And the first time she visited us was for your workshop. She said that when we chanted together it brought tears to her eyes. So thank you again for everything.

I also want to make sure that you and Sallie remember that Shantala will be at Sunshine Yoga on Friday, March 17th (St. Patrick's Day). We will have early registration at 6:30 pm and will be serving a light, vegan meal. I would love to see both of you again and so would many of your students. For more information about Shantala, see the website at www.sunshineyoga.us.

Have a beautiful, sunshiney day! Kelli Austin

If you don't know about the music and kirtan of Benjy and Heather Wertheimer, this is a great opportunity to find out. You won't be disappointed. And you certainly won't be disappointed by the venue!

Even though we can't be with Kelli and our friends in KC that night, we'll be in St. Louis the following day for our Experience Sanskrit workshop at Jane's House in St. Charles.

We're sticking around afterwards because Benjy and Heather are providing another evening of kirtan in Webster Groves. Please contact JennTara at jenntara@yahoo.com if you'd like to be there, too! We can't wait!

Copyright 2006.
All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

The Teacher Will Come

2006-02-27T15:45:00.000-06:00

It's an old saying, but I'll repeat it here...

"When the student is ready, the teacher will come."

When I wrote you last, I was in Yelapa, Mexico.

It was beautiful. I can't wait to go back.

But now...I'm back on the ground in Missouri. Back in the loving arms of my family. And back to the daily activities that (shall I admit it?) I miss when I'm gone.

I'm fortunate. I am fortunate to have generous readers like you, who keep me informed about your lives and your progress in yoga.

Here's an excerpt from an email I got a day or two ago:

"Hi Kevin, I recently wrote you about doing yoga on my own and needing a roadmap to achieve certain poses, and you recommended I try to find a teacher. Perhaps you sent a vibe through the universe, 'cause lo and behold within a few days of your email back to me, I discovered that there is a yoga class that meets Wednesdays at 1 at the church where I go to do rug hooking every Wednesday from 9 to 1. Was that karma or what?

Nice to hear that you are enjoying Mexico.

Thanks, Peggy"

Wow! Peggy, this is a great email.

You want results? Set an intention. Peggy showed it, right there.

I didn't send a vibe through the universe, she did. When you set an intention, the universe responds. In one way or another, it responds.

This sort of fervent resolve is called sankalpa in Sanskrit.

The student was ready. She said in an email to me what she wanted, and she got the first part very quickly, the teacher. She also told me in an email she wanted to accomplish a very specific pose. I have no doubt now that she will do it.

Set a fervent intention today before your yoga practice. You can do it at the beginning and end of each day, too. Then, like Peggy, look for the results. They'll show up!

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., You can read the Daily Yoga Tip I wrote when I first heard from Peggy here.

p.p.s., The Sanskrit word of the day from my last Daily Yoga Tip was bhujanga. Bhujanga means cobra or serpent, as in bhujangasana, cobra pose. Pythons (remember pie-thon?) are different from cobras. Cobras subdue their prey with venom. Pythons constrict. But both of them must open their jaws wide to swallow whole their meals. That's what I thougt of when I saw someone eating Augustina's lemon pie in Yelapa.

p.p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit word of the day is vrischika. I'll tell you what it means next time. I'll give you a clue. I was born on November 3rd. My teaching partner, Sallie Keeney, was born on November 16. We were both born under the same astrological sign named for the animal for which vrischikasana was named. One of our yoga vacationers in Mexico found one of these critters in her bathroom last week!

p.p.p.s, We'll be in Annapolis, Maryland Friday night. Saturday afternoon, Sallie and I are teaching the Experience Sanskrit workshop at Golden Heart Yoga. We are thrilled to be hosted by Jenny Otto and Lynn Mathews. But it's sold out. There aren't any more open slots. But we are staying an extra day to conduct a 2-hour asana workshop on Sunday. To participate, click over to www.ExperienceYoga.org and register today.

We'll be at Yoga Among Friends in Downers Grove, IL starting at 1 pm on Saturday April 8, 2006. Register at www.ExperienceYoga.org. See you there!

Copyright 2006.
All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

A Small World & Mechanics Too

2006-02-24T14:57:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was (I am sad to report) NOT on the beach in Mexico, but very sneakily checking my email in the office at the Hotel Lagunita in Yelapa. Out at the desk I heard a nice lady come up to Senor Clemente and ask about "the yoga group."

You never know what people have on their minds...

So I called out and invited her to come back and talk to me.

It was Karen, a student of mine from years ago when I taught yoga full time in Northern Virginia.

She was on a flight a few days earlier and sat next to someone who was coming to Yelapa for our Experience Paradise yoga retreat. When Karen asked who was teaching the week-long yoga retreat, she was surprised to learn that it was me, someone she knew! So she dropped by to see me a few days later with a friend.

What an unusual connection to make in a completely different part of the world.

I want to let you in a just a brief part of our conversation. Karen said to me, "because of you, I can step forward from downward dog pose into lunge."

If you practice sun salutations, you know this is a pretty common move, but it can be very challenging for beginning students.

She told me she was about to give up on it when I said to her, "It's not about strength. It's more about the mechanics."

She kept that in mind as she practiced, and soon she realized she was strong enough to do it. She simply needed the time to develop the skill to bring the leg forward.

Had she convinced herself she was too weak, she probably wouldn't have tried it again.

I know I've written about this before, very recently, in fact. But you can't beat a real live example. It illustrates the point better than anything else.

So I'm reminding you today, strength matters. And you'll get stronger as you practice yoga. But it's not the only thing. You are probably strong enough today to do many poses you think are beyond you.

What's missing is the skill, the training of your nervous system to do an effective action, that you've simply never done before.

That's why a yoga teacher is so important. Books can show you alignment. And books can inspire. But books, tapes, and podcasts can't give you feedback and teach you subtle action that give you access to many of the poses from which you will benefit.

Stick with your practice. And get guidance and feedback from an experienced teacher. Skillful action will come.

You can read my recent Daily Yoga Tip called "Not Strong Enough" at
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2006/02/not-strong-enough.html.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word of the day from my last Daily Yoga Tip was chandra. Chandra means moon, as in ardha chandrasana, half moon pose. Lucas our host here at Hotel Lagunita in Yelapa told me earlier this week that this February has been an unusual one here. He says it's been hotter, and early in the morning when the sun comes up, you can still see the full big moon in the sky. I hope you'll plan now to join us next year for our adventure in Yelapa. Please email me today at info@experienceyoga.org if you'd like me to send you information when we get our dates set for 2007.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit word of the day is bhujanga. I'll tell you what it means next time. I'll give you a clue. I thought about this word today as a looked across the table to see one member of our yoga group open her mouth wide to take a big bite of the world-famous lemon merangue pie made by Augustina, the Yelapa pie lady. I said, "look at her, she can drop her jaw like a python to get that food in!" Get it? Pie-thon!

p.p.p.s, When we get back to the U.S. we'll be flying off to Annapolis, Maryland for the Experience Sanskrit workshop at Golden Heart Yoga on Saturday March 4th. The bad news is...it's sold out. There aren't any more open slots. The good news is...we're staying an extra day to conduct a 2-hour asana workshop on Sunday. Join us. To participate, click over to ExperienceYoga.org and register today. (If you want to get on the wait list for a place in the Experience Sanskrit workshop, call Golden Heart Yoga. Lynn and Jenny will be glad to add you to the list, just in case someone can't make it at the last minute.)

Come be with us on April 8 in Downers Grove, IL. We'll be at Yoga Among Friends starting at 1 pm. Register at ExperienceYoga.org. See you there!

Copyright 2006.
All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

The Healing Power of Kindness

2006-02-21T13:58:00.000-06:00

Greetings again from Yelapa, Mexico.

This afternoon I had a massage. How wonderful. It felt good.

Sore spots are not sore any longer. I am relaxed. I feel energized and rejuvenated.

But what I am struck by the most is the absolute gentle kindness expressed to me in the touch of the therapist, Claudia.

More than anything else this is what caused the most dramatic shift in the way I feel and experience my whole life here today.

Yoga does so many things for us. It stretches the muscles. It tugs at the connective tissue. It stimulates the intenal organs. It wrings "tired," congested blood out of stiff stagnant places in the body, and welcomes in new healing circulation. It opens the body to new patterns of breath. It stimulates the nerves and refreshes the skin.

Yoga postures can also unblock stuck energy in the body.

But it's not the only thing that does this.

The experience of lovingkindness lifts the spirit and opens us up to the beauty of our lives.

Today before you start your yoga practice, take a moment to recall the memory of someone who selflessly gave to you a gift, a simple act of kindness, that you did nothing to deserve. Consider the beauty and generosity of this selfless act.

Then pay attention to the openings that happen in your body and your experience of the world around you, before you start your asana or pranayama.

This takes your practice beyond physical exercise...and physical benefits. And it can bring you back to the mat on days when you really don't feel like another downward facing dog pose.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word of the day from my last Daily Yoga Tip was surya. Surya means sun, as in surya namaskar, sun salutation. There are many sun worshipers here. But few of them have joined us for our daily rounds of surya namaskar. I hope you'll plan now to join us next year for our adventure in Yelapa.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit word of the day is chandra. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s, When we get back to the U.S. we'll be flying off to Annapolis, Maryland for the Experience Sanskrit workshop at Golden Heart Yoga on Saturday March 4th. The bad news is...it's sold out. There aren't any more open slots. The good news is...we're staying an extra day to conduct a 2-hour asana workshop on Sunday. Join us. To participate, click over to ExperienceYoga.org and register today. (If you want to get on the wait list for a place in the Experience Sanskrit workshop, call Golden Heart Yoga. Lynn and Jenny will be glad to add you to the list, just in case someone can't make it at the last minute.)

Come be with us on April 8 in Downers Grove, IL. We'll be at Yoga Among Friends starting at 1 pm. Register at ExperienceYoga.org. See you there!

p.p.p.p.s., I want to say a special word of thanks today to Judith Roth, a fellow Anusara yogi here in Yelapa. (See http://www.palapainyelapa.com/pages/judith.html.) Talk about kindness! Judith invited our whole group to visit her yoga center last night as she taught a beautiful yoga class for the children of Yelapa. Then she hosted a lovely dinner of barbecued fish, prepared by her neighbors, her adopted family, using a secret family recipe. It was fantastic. I am moved once again by Judith's kindness and generosity to us.

Copyright 2006.
All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Wave and Pause

2006-02-19T11:52:00.000-06:00

I'm writing today from Yelapa, Jalisco, Mexico.

Sallie and I are here with a beautiful group of yogis, from all over...Alaska, New York, Missouri, and Oregon.

We're having a wonderful time.

We just arrived yesterday, after a day of travel that began for me at 3 am. It was an incredibly frigid 7 degree temperature we stood in as we waited for the shuttle bus to pick us up from long-term parking.

Believe me, the tranformation in one day is incredible.

A few hours later we were in Mexico, where everything, including the weather is different.

I'm brought to a complete standstill as I just stand here gazing out at the ocean. Incredible. It's captivating. It stops me dead in my tracks and interrupts me from the busy-ness of my daily life.

Even when I'm not looking at the ocean I can hear it everywhere I go, here.

The waves come in and out. After the sound of one wave, there's a pause. Then, there's the sound of the next.

I was listening to this as I sat this morning in our 7:00 am meditation class. I was a bit surprised to notice that automatically my breath started to sync up with the pattern of the sounds of the waves.

The more I relaxed, the more my breath just naturally paused at the end of each inhale and exhale.

That's my tip for today, from sunny Yelapa. Sit down and pay attention to your breath today. As you let go of tension and busy-ness, notice that at the end of each inhale and exhale, there's a natural inclination toward a beautiful, relaxing pause.

Let it happen.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word of the day from my last Daily Yoga Tip was vrksa. Vrksa means tree, as in palm trees. There are plenty here. My apologies to all you botanists who may know better if they in fact are not palm trees.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit word of the day is surya. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s, When we get back to the U.S. We'll be turning around and heading right out to Annapolis, Maryland for the Experience Sanskrit workshop on March 4th. There are only one or two places left open for this workshop. So if you want to participate, click over to ExperienceYoga.org and register today.

The Experience Sanskrit workshop on March 18 in St. Charles, MO is sold out! No more registrations will be accepted, but you can come and be with us on April 8 in Downers Grove, IL. We'll be at Yoga Among Friends starting at 1 pm. Register at ExperienceYoga.org. By the way, this is a date change! April 8 is the accurate date (not April 1). See you there!

Copyright 2006.
All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Not Strong Enough?

2006-02-03T19:11:00.000-06:00

I received several emails this week from students we met for the first time Sunday at the yoga workshop we taught at Surya Center for Yoga in Coppell, TX.

Many were excited because at the workshop they were able to do a full arm balance (adho mukha vrksasana) or drop back from mountain pose (tadasana) to upward bow (urdhva dhanurasana) for the first time.

I remember clearly the first time I did these poses. I was thrilled. I'm not surprised that they were ecstatic, too.

Most commented they didn't think they were strong enough to do these poses.

So what changed for these students during the 2 hours we were together?

I guarantee you none of them got stronger during our workshop! So what happened?

We worked on three things. The three A's of Anusara yoga. Attitude. Alignment. Action.

We talked about being open to the possibility of real change, that what was once thought not possible, now is. That's attitude.

We explored how lining up the major segments of the body properly makes you more stable and structurally stronger. That's alignment.

We worked on skillful actions, actions that integrate the limbs into the torso and pelvis. And actions that unlock stuck spots and make new alignments possible. That's action.

So, without getting "stronger," what was once impossible, was now possible.

If you hear yourself saying "I'm not strong enough to do that pose," I hope you'll reconsider. You might be wrong. You might be plenty strong.

You may simply have not yet aquired the skills and insights you need to accomplish a particular pose.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word of the day from my last Daily Yoga Tip was danu. Dhanu means bow, as in bow and arrow. Have some fun today and look up akarna dhanurasana. It's a great pose with the word "bow" in the middle.

p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit word of the day is vrksa. I'll tell you what it means next time.

p.p.p.s, Sallie and I are honored to be in Downingtown, Pennsylvatia tonight with Michele Paiva, the owner of Twisted Guru yoga and pilates studio. Tomorrow we'll be teaching the Experience Sanskrit workshop. Thanks, Michele! We're looking forward to seeing some students of mine from "way back when" and meeting many of you Daily Yoga Tip readers for the first time!

Copyright 2006.
All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

A Road Map to Urdhva Dhanurasana

2006-01-31T14:20:00.000-06:00

Here's an excerpt from a great email I just received from a new Daily Yoga Tip reader, Peggy:

Other than all the good goals like better, healthier living etc. my "intention" is to someday achieve a totally unassisted backbend from a standing position -- something I have never been able to do. It's interesting that none of the videos nor the books I have give a "roadmap" such as first work on opening the shoulders, develop stronger abdominal muscles, do this, do that, and then try a backbend. Will I one day just be able to do a backbend?

Wow. Great question, Peggy.

Peggy brings to light a wonderful mystery. If I practice yoga, will I one day "just be able to" ______________? You fill in the blank.

You might want to bend over and touch your toes. Or, you might want to ride in the car pain-free. You might desire to balance on your head or sit in lotus position for meditation. You might want to look or feel younger.

The truth is, if you practice yoga, you might "just be able to" achieve your desire.

But, you might not.

What Peggy has done, however, is wise. She's started by declaring an intention. She wants to stand in mountain pose, tadasana, and drop over backwards into upward facing bow pose, urdhva dhanurasana.

And more, once she declared her intention, she started looking for a way to get from where she is to where she wants to be. She calls it a road map.

I call it a teaching progression.

When I train teachers, we spend a lot of time working on how to take people just as they are, build progessively over time by giving them experiences, and get them to where they want to be (or even to a place they don't know they want to be...yet).

Sequencing experiences, stringing together a series of small, intentional accomplishments that add up to an enormous breakthrough in performance, is an art. It's a skill that is honed by good teachers.

Want to accomplish something great? Declare an intention and find a guide. Find a great teacher who can give you a sequence to follow, a roadmap.

Peggy's right. A book can't do it. A DVD can't do it. They're not interactive enough. But a teacher can.

If you don't have a teacher, start looking today. Hopefully you'll pick one who teaches progressively, with intention and sequence.

If no teachers are available to you, don't stop practicing! But keep looking for your teacher. He or she is easiest to find when you've declared your intention to find a teacher.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., We're leaving early Friday morning, flying to Philadelphia. The Experience Sanskrit workshop is on the road again this Saturday morning (February 4th) at 9:00 am at the Twisted Guru in Downingtown, PA. It's a fun, four-hour workshop that makes learning and remembering the Sanskrit yoga pose names unforgettable. Register here. You get a 100+ page manual to use and keep.

After the Experience Paradise yoga vacation in Yelapa, Mexico we'll be on the road again doing the Experience Sanskrit workshop in Annapolis, Maryland on March 4th. On Sunday March 5th, we're staying over an extra day at the Golden Heart yoga studio in Annapolis for an Anusara-inspired asana workshop. Don't miss these great opportunities to deepen your practice of yoga. Register here.

p.p.s., Yelapa is calling you. Experience Paradise in sunny Yelapa Mexico. If you've enjoyed these Daily Yoga Tips, you'll really enjoy the live yoga training you'll receive from me and Sallie Keeney when we return to Yelapa February 18-25. Register here. Space is still available.

p.p.p.s., Imagine that! Several days ago I announced the Sanskrit word of the day is angustha, my favorite Sanskrit word. But I didn't tell you what it means, even though I promised I would.

And none of you wrote to rant about it!?! How kind of you. Angustha means 'big toe.' Padangusthasana has the word root angustha in it.

That's a pic of Rusty Wells doing padangusthasana. He's grabbing his big toes on the ends of his pada. (Pada means foot or leg.)

p.p.p.p.s., Today's Sanskrit word of the day is dhanu. It's a word root found in the name of the yoga pose that Daily Yoga Tip reader, Peggy, wants to do. I'll tell you next time what it means.

Copyright 2006.
All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

After the Airline

2006-01-29T08:37:00.000-06:00

I'm writing you from Lisa Marshall's house in Coppell, TX. Yesterday we were in Fort Worth and had the opportunity to meet a great group of yogis who joined us for the afternoon for another exciting edition of the Experience Sanskrit workshop!

Later this morning, Lisa and her partner Shannon Buffington are hosting Sallie and me as we teach an Anusara-inspired asana workshop at Surya Center for Yoga here in Coppell.

Lisa and Shannon have been wonderful hosts! We are thrilled to be here.

Last night Shannon picked us up in Fort Worth and taxied us to Lisa's house. We sat down for a great evening meal and then headed for the bathroom on the main level of Lisa's place, where...

We conducted a mini-Neti pot laboratory. We worked with Lisa and Shannon to smooth out some of the bumps they were running into as they have launched their regular practice of using the neti pot.

In the process of working with Lisa and Shannon, I used the neti pot several times. Guess what? IT FELT GREAT. I hadn't had the opportunity since touching down in Texas to do the nasal rinse yet. This was the first, and it was fantastic.

Did you know that when you travel on a jet airplane, once you get up to altitude the pressurized cabin offers you only one option for the air you breathe? That option is recirculated air. Yummy. Not.

When you fly, don't foget to drink lots of fresh water. And when you hit the ground, rinse out your sinuses using the ancient yogic practice of jala neti.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., We can't wait to meet you at the Experience Sanskrit workshop this coming Saturday at the Twisted Guru in Downingtown, PA. It's a fun, four-hour workshop that makes learning and remembering the Sanskrit yoga pose names unforgettable. Register here.

If you live in the Chicago area, we just set a date in Downers Grove. We'll be there at Yoga Among Friends on April 1st. More details will be available later this week.

p.p.s., Yelapa is calling you. Experience Paradise in sunny Yelapa Mexico. If you've enjoyed these Daily Yoga Tips, you'll really enjoy the live yoga training you'll receive from me and Sallie Keeney when we return to Yelapa February 18-25. Register here. Spaces is still available.
Please forward this message to your friends who enjoy yoga.

Copyright 2006.
All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

More Plutonian Exploration

2006-01-22T18:09:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I said the mission to send an exploratory space craft to Pluto was like yoga. When you begin the journey, you don't really know what you'll find. But you'll benefit most if, like the New Horizons scientists, you set an intention.

The Pluto exploration also gives us other clues about yoga.

But first, a little background. Pluto was named after the Roman god of the same name. In Roman mythology Pluto is the god of the dead and the ruler of the underworld.

The planet was named when a little English girl told her grandfather that the planet was so cold and so distant that it should be named after the Roman god of the underworld.

When you think of the cold and distant, when you think of the dead and the underworld, what happens?

Most of us experience some sort of aversion. That which is pleasureable, we pursue. What is unpleasant, painful, or inconvenient, we block off or push away.

When I first began practicing yoga, my teacher encouraged me to be systematic about exploring and getting to know my feet and the back side of my body. They are less readily accessible than the hands and front body. So they are often ignored or unexplored.

Lie down on your back and focus your awareness on your feet. If you lie still, I think you might become aware of just how far your feet are from your conscious grasp, and how unfamiliar they seem.

Similarly, the back side of your body, something you never see, can be a strange and unfamiliar territory.

But to do yoga poses safely, you need to use the back body. For example, you can't do backbends without engaging the shoulder blades and tucking the tailbone. Both of these require awareness of and the ability to control the back body.

[Here's an interesting idea to ponder: I once read about an outdoor survival school at which each student is taught how to use a small hand mirror and an unusual set of postures to perform a daily routine for examining every square inch of his or her body, including the back of the body. Why? They're looking for ticks. If you miss one, a tick bite could be life threatening when you're in remote locations, far from advanced medical care.]

If you're new to yoga, exploring "the dark side" will be new, too--and sometimes frustrating. In fact, you might even dislike it. That's another aversion.

Patanjali talks about aversion in the YogaSutras.

Aversion is one of the kleshas, one of the obstacles standing in the way of attaining the state of Yoga. Attachment is also an obstacle. The others are ignorance, egoism, and the desire to cling to life. (See YogaSutras II.3-8)

If you follow the yoga path suggested by Patanjali, you start to resolve these strong pulls toward what you like and repulsions against what you don't. Your reactions to pleasure and pain, are chitta vritti (fluctuations of the mind). They lead to suffering.

Stop and think about how many times in your life you've been driven compulsively by a fear, something you thought unthinkable. Patanjali says we can master these reactions with practice.

So as you move along your yoga journey, intend to explore fully the dark side, the Plutonian underworld, that which is unpleasant. These might be the things you're ashamed of, your inadequacies, your fears, your disappointments.

This is rich territory for discovery, just like sending a probe to Pluto, but well worth doing.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., We can't wait to meet you at the Experience Sanskrit workshop this Saturday at Soul Fitness Yoga in Ft. Worth, Texas. It's a fun, four-hour workshop that makes learning and remembering the Sanskrit yoga pose names unforgettable. Register here.

Our upcoming workshops are Downgintown, PA on February 4th and Annapolis, MD on March 4th.

If you live in the Chicago area, we just set a date in Downers Grove. We'll announce it later this week.

p.p.s., Yelapa is calling you. Experience Paradise in sunny Yelapa Mexico. If you've enjoyed these Daily Yoga Tips, you'll really enjoy the live yoga training you'll receive from me and Sallie Keeney when we return to Yelapa February 18-25. Register here. Space is still available.

p.p.p.s., When you come to the Experience Sanskrit workshop, you'll learn that my favorite Sanskrit word root is angustha, as in supta padangusthasana and other poses you do all the time. I'll tell you tomorrow what it means.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Exploring Deep Space

2006-01-21T13:06:00.000-06:00

I'm fascinated by all the talk this week about Thursday's rocket launch of the New Horizons spacecraft. It's the fastest ever built. But it won't arrive at its destination, the planet Pluto, until 9 1/2 years go by. A 3 billion-mile journey takes time.

When it gets there, the spacecraft, loaded with 7 instruments, will photograph the surface of Pluto and its moon, Charon.

It's powered by a nuclear reaction of some sort. Well, not just any nuclear reaction. The electricity on board New Horizons is generated by the natural decay of plutonium, of all things.

Consider this. The scientists directing the exploration don't know what they'll find when the space ship arrives and sends back its valuable information.

But they know where they intend to go.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't have any plans for what my life will be like in 9 1/2 years. In 2015 my daughter will turn 21. I suppose her college days might be over then. I'll be 55.

Frankly, I'm not ready right now for either of those numbers to roll up on the odometer of life. I've got some work to do.

Of course, I think this whole thing is a lot like yoga.

You can blast off today. I hope you will. It will be an auspicious start. You can begin practicing yoga today.

The blessings of a regular yoga practice are many. [I taught an Experience Neti Flow workshop today at which a woman who had diminished hearing in one ear was able to hear clearly when she left! Wow! Can you imagine how thrilled she was?]

The journey of yoga, much like the journey to Pluto, is one of exploration. You don't know what you'll discover along the way.

The ancients promised if you practice, you could attain the state of yoga. In that state, you can directly experience your true nature.

This journey may take a long time. But for some, it is short.

Patanjali declares that "the goal is near for those who are supremely vigorous and intense in practice."

The word saccidananda comes to mind. Although the exact details of what you'll discover on your yoga path aren't known, the sages found, and remind us, that our true nature is saccidananda. It's a word comprised of three roots: sat, chitta, and ananda.

These three words sum up who you really are, the you you should expect to find as you go about your yoga way.

Sat means being. It means you exist. You are. Profound, eh?

Chitta means mind. It means you are conscious. You are aware.

Ananda means bliss. It means you are joyful. You were designed for happiness.

I invite you to begin your yoga practice today. But like the scientists who set out to explore Pluto, I recommend you begin with an intention.

You may intend to have thinner thighs. You may intend to improve your posture. You may intend to quit smoking. You may intend to eliminate low back pain. You may intend to slow down. You may even intend to directly experience your true nature.

But please set an intention. Every time you practice, set an intention. It will give your efforts meaning and motivation. When you can't remember why you're bending forward or twisting into a pose, focus on your intention!

That rocket never would have lifted off Thursday had a lot of people not intended for it to reach Pluto.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., If that report about the woman who's hearing improved got your attention and you'd like to read more about the yogic art of jala neti, click here to read one of my earlier Daily Yoga Tips.

p.p.s., Have you seen our new women's pink cap sleeve t-shirt that says "chitta happens" on it? It's got Patanjali's second sutra in English and Devangari script in the design, "yoga is the stilling of the movement of the mind." You can see it and order yours here.

p.p.p.s., Here's what Jennifer B. said about the Experience Sanskrit workshop last Saturday in Kansas City, "I just wanted to tell you and Sallie how much I truly enjoyed the Sanskrit class! I had so much fun, and the chanting was such a soul lifting experience.

My only suggestion for the class would be if you could somehow do a two part series, there is just so much to learn - I feel like I'm ready for more!"

Every time we conclude an Experience Sanskrit workshop students ask for more! It's a fun and unforgettable way to master the Sanskrit names of the yoga poses you practice every day.

Our next Experience Sanskrit workshop is coming up next Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas. You can find out about it and other workshop dates at www.ExperienceYoga.org. Register here.

We'll bring Experience Sanskrit to Downingtown, PA on February 4. Register here.

p.p.p.p.s., Would you like to bring the Experience Sanskrit workshop to your yoga studio? Send me an email and we'll start working on a date. It's easy. Send it to info@experienceyoga.org.

p.p.p.p.p.s., Speaking of exploration. We still have room in our Experience Paradise yoga vacation to Yelapa, Mexico. Talk about ananda! Daily Yoga Tip readers from all over the U.S. will be with us this year. We have friends coming from Alaska, Oregon, Missouri, New York and Texas to spend the week with us (Feb. 18-25) doing yoga, exploring the beauty of Yelapa, and exploring the saccidananda. Don't miss out. Register today. Find out more at http://www.experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Too Much Neti? How Do You Know?

2006-01-16T04:47:00.000-06:00

I've written several Daily Yoga Tips about jala neti, the yogic practice of nasal irrigation.

Today, I answer a question from a regular Daily Yoga Tip reader who says,

Kevin: Thank you for the Neti pot tip. I have tried it and had good results. Question: Can a person overdo it? For instance, morning & night. Also, does a person's sinuses show a continuous improvement after, say, a week or two?
Thanks, Jerry C

This is a great question, Jerry.

Frankly, I once believed that you could not overdo it. But I've changed my thinking on that.

I changed my thinking because of experience.

First of all, I think it is safe to assume that if you are breathing and you don't live in a bubble, you are regularly exposed to pollutants, irritants, pollens, particulate matter, dust, bacteria, viruses, smoke, and a host of other things. You get the idea.

So, if you are regularly rinsing this stuff out of your sinuses, you'll be healthier and happier. And not just in your head and throat. All over.

Think of the energy your immune system conserves by not being forced to deal with all of these onslaughts. That same energy can be used to deliver optimum health elsewhere in your beautiful and marvelous body.

To answer Jerry's second question, I've found that you'll experience continous improvement in your sinuses for several weeks, depending on what condition you are in when you start.

If everything is functioning well when you start, you'll notice some improvement and then you'll stay ahead of trouble.

If you're not doing well when you start, you'll gradually feel the health of your upper respiratory system improve over the weeks, until it begins to function optimally...

or, until you are exposed to something that your sinuses don't handle well. You might have a minor setback. But regular jala neti will give your system the help it needs and you'll be back to optimal functioning.

In addition to washing out the offending substance, when you neti you also wash out the mucus that accumulates in your sinuses in an effort to deal with the pollutants you breathe in. Sometimes that mucus is the stuff that obstructs breathing and leads to a host of other difficulties.

Mucus produced by your body is a natural, healthy thing. It helps trap the gunk in your head. Then the cilia, tiny hairs in there, move the mucus and the trapped sludge toward an opening (throat or nose) and you expel it with a sneeze, a cough, or by blowing your nose.

If you neti too much, you can wash away the precious mucus that protects you. Then you'll be even more susceptible to infection.

So how much is too much? I don't know. But you do.

Generally I suggest daily nasal irrigation, because doing it daily makes it a habit. It becomes part of your routine, like brushing your teeth or taking a shower.

I've noticed that when I skip the neti pot routine, my nose and sinuses start to not do so well...but I'm not aware that they're getting worse UNTIL I'M MISERABLE. I'm better off if I do it every day and stay ahead of trouble.

Sallie Keeney and I taught the Experience Sanskrit workshop yesterday in Kansas City. It was fabulous! Thank you to Kelli Austin of Sunshine Yoga for being our host! And thank you yogis of KCMO. We've never heard chanting like that before!

We opened the workshop by chanting the invocation used by Anusara yogis. It begins "Om Namah Shivayah Gurave."

One translation for this opening line is:

I bow to the goodness within myself, known as Lord Shiva, who is the true teacher.

Here's the deal. You already know how often you should use the neti pot. The truth and beauty of it are already within you. You simply can't hear the voice of your teacher until you practice.

Practice using your neti pot every day for several months. You'll start to know when you feel just right.

You'll start to know when haven't done it enough. You can't wait to run to the sink and feel purifying flow and the subsequent energy release.

You'll start to know when you've overdone it, too.

This is what the practice of yoga is all about.

Patanajali's second YogaSutra says, yogas chitta vrtti nirodhah, "yoga is stilling the movement of the mind."

Christopher Isherwood offers this translation:

2. Yoga is the control of the thought-waves in the mind.
3. Then man abides in his real nature.
4. At other times, when he is not in the state of yoga, man remains identified with the thought-waves in the mind.

When you practice, you reach the state of yoga. In the state of yoga, you see your true nature. You see directly who you really are. You hear the voice of your true teacher, you! At other times, you're distracted by sense perceptions and mental reactions.

Practice. You'll know just when you've hit the sweet spot.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., If you'd like to read more about the yogic art of jala neti, click here to read one of my earlier Daily Yoga Tips on the topic.

p.p.s., We've made available a really cool women's pink cap sleeve t-shirt that says "chitta happens" on it. The graphic design is really great. And it's also got the second sutra in English and Devangari script in the design. You can see it and order yours here.

p.p.p.s., Here's what Julie Tenenbaum said about the Experience Sanskrit workshop yesterday in Kansas City, "Wow. Again. Your workshop was as good as you said it would be. Informative, fun, interesting, engaging. And you may quote me on that."

Jackie A. said, "I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and meeting you both. I've been a subscriber to Kevin's Daily Yoga Tip for just a few months and always enjoy the sense of humor that comes through his postings. It was great to be able to experience that sense of humor in person. It sure made a rather "dry" subject a LOT more fun!"

Our next Experience Sanskrit workshop is coming up in just two weeks in Fort Worth, Texas. You can find out about it and other workshop dates at www.ExperienceYoga.org. Register here.

p.p.p.p.s., Would you like to bring the Experience Sanskrit workshop to your yoga studio? Send me an email. It's easy. Send it to info@experienceyoga.org.

p.p.p.p.p.s., Sallie and I are conducting the Experience Neti Flow workshop this coming Saturday at Show Me Yoga Center in Jefferson City, MO. Read the details here. Register here.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Top Ten Tips of 2005

2006-01-01T13:35:00.000-06:00

If you have some time off from work today and tomorrow, you might enjoy looking back at the Top Ten Tips of 2005.

Of all the tips I've written, these are the ones that get the most attention from you, my readers.

Enjoy!

1. Toes Up Against Your Arch Enemy read it here

2. Plantar Fasciitis, Make the Pain Go Away read it here

3. Yoga Toes read it here

4. Get on Track to Eliminate Knee Pain read it here

5. Kyphosis and Bending Backwards read it here

6. Experience Neti Flow read it here

7. Finger Position Eliminates Wrist Pain read it here

8. Foot Pain, Sprained Ankles, & One-Legged Balancing read it here

9. Jala Neti Keeps You Clean and Ready to Go read it here

10. Put a Little Bounce in Your Wellness Routine read it here

Check back tomorrow and I'll tell you which ones are my favorites for the year.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Yesterday when I wrote my yogic movie review, I forgot to mention that on the way out of the theater I saw a poster for the new Curious George movie that will be coming out in February. The headline on the poster says "Show Me the Monkey!"

I honestly don't know the first thing about Curious George.

But I do know there's one yoga pose dedicated to a famous monkey, and it's NOT Curious George. It's Hanuman. Hanuman is known for his incredible powers and feats of strength, as well as his unmatched devotion to his master, Rama.

Every time we conduct the Experience Sanskrit workshop we tell the story of Hanuman and his amazing leaps across the straits to save is master's beloved. When you look at the pose we commonly call the splits, you can see how this pose is reminiscent of Hanuman's incredible leaps.

Read more about Hanuman here in my Daily Yoga Tip called Honoring the Warrior.

Better still, register for an Experience Sanskrit workshop coming your way soon. We'll SHOW YOU THE MONKEY. Believe it or not, nearly everyone in the room does the splits, hanumanasana, at the Experience Sanskrit workshop. It's true! See workshop details at http://experienceyoga.org/workshops.asp.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

A Subtle Adjustment

2006-01-01T10:00:00.000-06:00

Did you know that your New Year's Eve celebration last night was a little longer than usual?

That's right. The official clock keepers, whoever they are, added one second, a leap second, to the end of 2005. The last minute of the year was actually 61 seconds long.

This subtle adjustment is necessary because as the earth gets older it doesn't spin around as fast as it once did.

There's a lot of wisdom there that you can apply to your life.

While I sit here at my computer writing this, there's not much I can guarantee. But I can guarantee that, like the earth, you're getting older, too.

So do what the time geeks do:
1) Monitor the situation, be conscious. It's one of the greatest benefits of a true yoga practice, you become more aware. Pay attention and you'll see how your body is changing, and maybe slowing down, as you get older.
2) Do no harm. Ahimsa. It's the great yama. It's the great vow. Adjust your practice. Slow down, if necessary, so that you don't harm yourself.
3) Don't stop. Notice that the time geeks didn't "stop time" or even try to stop it. Don't stop your practice either, just because the old lumbar ain't what it used to be.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Our pink Women's CHITTA HAPPENS cap sleeve T's are selling already. Up until now you've only been able to get one of these shirts at the Experience Sanskrit workshop.

But you can get one now. They're $18 plus S&H. ORDER HERE.

This 100% cotton garment is made by American Apparel. It's imprinted with Patanjali's second sutra in both Devangari script and English: yogas chitta vrtti nirodhah.

The translation is there, too. Yoga is stilling the movement of the mind.

Here's a close-up of the graphic design. Click on the image for a larger view.

See more pictures here. Click here for a size chart.

p.p.s., Have a great day and a fabulous 2006.

Copyright 2006. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

A Yogic Movie Review

2005-12-31T14:40:00.000-06:00

In my last Daily Yoga Tip I promised you a "Yogic Movie Review."

Get ready. Here it comes.

Earlier this week I saw Kevin Costner and Jennifer Anniston in their new movie, Rumor Has It.

If you're looking for a straight movie review, I like Mark Ruffalo as an actor and Shirley MacLaine is very funny. That's all I have to say about that.

Yoga themes showed up several times in this movie.

First, when Jennifer Anniston's character, Sarah Huttinger, woke up from an alcohol-induced blackout at Beau Burrough's (played by Costner) oceanside estate, she found him out on the patio overlooking the surf in sirsasana, head stand. He said, "five minutes with your feet over your head, followed by a three mile run and a swim in the ocean, is the best remedy for a hangover. It beats coffee and aspirin." Jennifer went for the coffee and aspirin.

Are inverted poses a hangover cure? I don't know. I've never done any of the things Beau recommends, with a hangover. So you'll get no Daily Yoga Tip from me on that one...other than do what's necessary to avoid a hangover in the first place. Take it easy with the adult beverages.

Next, Sarah and Beau spotted a party-goer whose strapless dress was a bit tight around the top. The dress made two rolls of fat on the woman's back bunch up to form a vertical crease along her spine. Sarah pointed this out to Beau and called her "the woman with the back cleavage."

This got my attention right away, because I often refer in yoga class to a hollow trough between the shoulder blades as a "shoulder blade cleavage." It's a desireable thing. You can make one for yourself by simply drawing your upper arm bones toward your back body.

My "shoulder blade cleavage" is a bit different from her "back cleavage." I don't have any fashion recommendations for an evening gown that makes your back skin wrinkle up in funny rolls. But I do recommend proper arm action for good posture and optimal alignment of the shoulder girdle.

I wrote about this a while back in an Daily Yoga Tip called "Relief for the Rotator Cuff." You can read it here.

Lastly, Sarah's newlywed sister has an anxiety attack on the airplane while on her way to her honeymoon vacation. She told Sarah she was 35,000 feet in the air on her way to Belize when she stopped breathing. Hmmmmm. Not good.

They had to land the plane and give her sedatives.

So here's a good tip you can take from Rumor Has It: breathe.

The benefits of conscious breathing and a regular pranayama practice are many. You might even want to make the study of pranayama one of your New Year's Resolutions.

It doesn't have to be rocket science either. Five minutes each day of ujjayi breath will amaze you.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., I've never been to Belize. But I have been to Yelapa. It blew me away. The beauty and simplicity of this place, and the hospitality of the people are amazing. I knew before I left that I would return. And there's really nothing like spending a week Mexico with 20 yogis who intend to have fun. Will you join us in February?

Sallie and I are taking a group back to Hotel LaGunita February 18-25. We still have space available. Find details at http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp.

p.p.s., While I was looking around for a picture of sirsasana, I found this fabulous photo of BKS Iyengar in niralamba sirsasana. Enjoy!

Niralamba means "without support." You can see in the piture that his arms aren't supporting him at all like they would in salambha sirsasana. Salambha means "with support."

These are the kind of connections we make at the Experience Sanskrit workshop.

Our next workshop is just 14 days away, January 14th in Kansas City. Register here.

Tuition is only $50 for this fun four-hour workshop that makes the Sanskrit names of yoga poses unforgettable. You get a 100-page course guide to use and take home with you when you participate in the Experience Sanskrit workshop.

We're flying out to Ft. Worth, TX to do the Experience Sanskrit workshop on January 28. Don't wait. Register now. Procrastinator rates will soon go into effect. That means the price goes up!

p.p.p.s., We still have the fun Experience Sanskrit yoga pose name refrigerator magnets. So if you've got some spending money left over from the Holidays, go to our store and pick one up for $5. You can use it in conjunction with our on-line virtual refrigerator magnet, that shows you how to arrange the word roots into yoga pose names. Shipping is $2 for any order of 10 or fewer magnets. It's free for orders of 11 or more. Order here.

p.p.p.p.s., Be sure to check my Daily Yoga Tip tomorrow. It's a New Year and we'll be offering our CHITTA HAPPENS shirt, starting tomorrow, for the first time to the general public. Up until now you've only been able to get one of these shirts at the Experience Sanskrit workshop.

The garment is made by American Apparel. It's imprinted with Patanjali's second sutra in both Devangari script and English: yogas chitta vrtti nirodhah.

I'll put it an order button up on our online store sometime tonight after midnight.

p.p.p.p.p.s., Happy New Year!

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
905 Eastland Plaza Suite B, #106
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

Aparigraha, A True Story

2005-12-29T18:50:00.000-06:00

I love Christmas. There's so much excitement, wonder and anticipation, mostly when you're around young children. It's infectious.

But then there's the ugly side. People driven by greed and status do some pretty horrible things this time of year when it comes to spending money, going into debt, and aquiring material goods at any cost.

That's why I so enjoyed a story I read today about a San Jose, CA woman, Thea Sawyer.

She bought candy at a See's store at the mall. Later, she opened her bag and discovered that the woman who helped her at the store counter accidentally dropped the ring off her finger into the shopping bag! The ring was valued at nearly $3,000.

Wanda Estrada was thrilled to get her ring back. It had been given to her by her late sister.

The people at Helzberg Diamonds were thrilled, too. They were so impressed by Ms. Sawyer's honesty and integrity, they presented her with a diamond ring worth $2,500!

What did Thea do? She said she enjoyed being rich for a day, but she intended to auction the ring off on eBay to raise money for charity!

Here's what Ms. Sawyer told reporters:

"I believe that you don't take more than your share and this is more than my share.''

Amazing. Did I mention Thea Sawyer is yoga teacher?

Not only does she walk the walk, but she talks the talk. When asked, she can say why she does what she does.

What she's talking about is a quality that Patanjali says we should cultivate. It's one of the five yamas. It's called aparigraha, and it means avoiding the accumlation of material objects out of covetousness and greed.

This story is so appropriate for this Experience Yoga Daily Yoga Tip because it shows so clearly, in a way you can experience, the happiness and joy produced when she practiced yoga. She practiced aparigraha. She refused to chase after and struggle to hold on to more than she needed. It's beautiful.

If you'd like to read her story it's here.
There's a fun video clip here.

I hope you've had an abundant 2005. May your 2006 be filled with joy and contentment.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Check back here tomorrow. I'm writing a "yogic movie review" of a show I saw last night. I think you'll like it.

p.p.s., I got an iPod Nano for Christmas from my mother- and father-in-law. Woo hoo! I love it. Thanks!

p.p.p.s., We still have space available in our Experience Paradise yoga vacation to Yelapa. It's incredibly beautiful and affordable. You'll never be the same. Find out more at
http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp.

p.p.p.p.s., We still have the fun Experience Sanskrit yoga pose name refrigerator magnets. So if you've got some spending money left over from the Holidays, go to our store and pick one up for $5. You can use it in conjunction with our on-line virtual refrigerator magnet, that shows you how to arrange the word roots into yoga pose names. Shipping is $2 for any order of 10 or fewer magnets. It's free for orders of 11 or more. Order here.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Christmas Greeting

2005-12-24T11:39:00.000-06:00

Merry Chirstmas everyone!

I hope each of you has a wonderful Holiday!

Thank you for sticking with me this year. I have so enjoyed your comments, questions and concern during the past months.

Shanti. Shanti. Shanti.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Many of you have not met me. That's me up there in the Santa suit in a rather informal version of upavistha konasana, the seated angle pose. Upavistha is translated "seated" and kona is angle. My friend Lauren says she remembers that kona means "angle" by thinking of the word "corner," which sounds like kona.

That's called association...when you associate something you want to remember with something you alredy know. That's what we do at the Experience Sanskrit workshop. The really strong associations are based on vivid experiences you have. We'll create lots of unforgettable experiences when we get together next for the Experience Sanskrit workshop in Kansas City.

It's coming up SOON, January 14, 2006, at Sunshine Yoga at Chiro Center, in Kansas City, MO. Enroll today here.
Don't wait. Tuition goes up to $65 on January 7.

The Experience Sanskrit workshop comes to Fort Worth on January 28th, Downingtown, PA on February 4th, Annapolis, MD on March 4th, and St. Charles, MO on March 18th. Find out more about these workshops at www.ExperienceYoga.org.

p.p.s., Click here if you want to see a bigger version of the my greeting card above.

p.p.p.s., Shanti is peace. May you sleep in heavenly peace.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Light Arms, Like a Snow Man

2005-12-18T19:27:00.000-06:00

Once again there was snow on the ground when I got up today. It was just dust. Not enough to make a difference. And certainly not enough to make a snowman.

But I did see a snowman on the TV today. He was constructed in the classic form, small snowball stacked on medium ball on top of big snowball. He had coal for eyes and sticks, horizontal, sprouting out from each side.

It made me think of my yoga students in warrior 2 pose (virabhadrasana 2). Even though the snowman can stand steady out in the cold with his arms stretched out endlessly, most people can't keep their arms out very long.

Even while you sit at your computer, try this. Stretch your arms out to the sides so they're horizontal. Now wait. See how much time goes by before you want to take them down. Not long, eh?

I use a simple secret to make my arms feel light. I'll teach it to you.

With your arms outstretched, tuck your shoulder blade tips. That's it. You move your shoulder blades as if you were going to tuck them into your back pants pockets.

Your upper chest (on the front side of your body) naturally lifts a bit when you do this. The arms get lighter.

Using this action, you'll be able to hold your arms out steady and straight, just like a fine snowman.

By the way, this action of the shoulder blades tucking down while the upper chest lifts (and the skin on the tops of the shoulders flows backwards, too) is one of the "loops" that have been made popular by Anusara yoga. This action is the shoulder loop.

John Friend describes the shoulder loop like this in his YJ article called Go with the Flow: Alignment in Anusara:

SHOULDER LOOP One of the seven energy loops within the body. This loop originates in the upper palate and flows backward to the base of the skull and down the back of the body to the bottom of the shoulder blades. When you engage Shoulder Loop, the head moves back slightly and the shoulder blades move down the back. At the bottom of the shoulder blades, the loop begins arcing forward and upward as it draws the bottom tips of the shoulder blades in and upward, toward the heart. The loop continues forward and up to the palate again as it lifts the chest and opens the throat.

You can find this quote at
http://yogajournal.com/practice/1330_2.cfm.

Did you catch that? The precise action of the shoulder blades not only supports the arms, but it supports and lifts the heart, too. Here's wishing you a healthy, supported and open heart during the Christmas holiday and throughout the year to come.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., I spent last evening in our town's brand new performing arts center. I watched a fantastic performance of the ballet The Nutcracker. My daughter was an angel and a baker. I really enjoyed it. I wrote a Daily Yoga Tip back on the Fourth of July about shoulders and ballet. You can read it here.

p.p.s., Virabhadrasana is one of three poses dedicated to Virabhadra. The mighty warrior Virabhadra sprung up from the ground when Siva, in his anger, through a clump of his matted hair on the ground. Why was he angry? You'll have to find out at the Experience Sanskrit workshop coming up SOON January 14, 2006 at Sunshine Yoga at Chiro Center, in Kansas City, MO. Enroll today here.
Don't wait. Tuition goes up to $65 on January 7.

The Experience Sanskrit workshop comes to Fort Worth on January 28th, Downingtown, PA on February 4th, Annapolis, MD on March 4th, and St. Charles, MO on March 18th. Find out more about these workshops at www.ExperienceYoga.org.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Adjust Your Mirrors, and Your Spine

2005-12-12T20:45:00.000-06:00

I came out of yoga class tonight, sat in my pickup truck and looked at my rear-view mirror.

Guess what I saw? I sure didn't see the road or any cars behind me. I saw only the inside of the bed of my truck!

I got up a 5 o'clock this morning and drove to St. Louis. I worked from my company's St. Louis office for most of the day and then drove back in time to teach two classes tonight. That's more than 5 hours on the road.

You probably know that driving is stressful. I've been told that driving while talking on the cell phone is even more stressful. Well, I'd been doing both.

My response to the stressors of the day was a slow and powerful, insidious grip. Grip compresses. Literally. My spine literally compressed. I got shorter.

How do I know? After I got stretched out from yoga, I had to adjust my rear view mirror so I could see over the tailgate of my truck. I was taller!

So practice yoga regularly to reverse or minimize the effects of stress on your body, even the ones of which you're not aware.

What a surprise! I didn't even know I had shortened my spine...and probably my lifespan.

If you're planning a long car trip over the Holidays, be sure to also plan regular breaks to get out and stretch. Once you arrive at your destination, do yoga. I recommend some inversions so you'll feel refreshed, too (assuming you already practice inversions).

Oh, and watch for signs of stress. The Holidays can really get to you.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., I know people who get busy during the Holidays and quit coming to yoga classes. They quit practicing, too. I also know people who believe they wouldn't survive the Holidays without extra yoga classes and extra home practice. Don't give up on yoga, just when you need it most.

p.p.s., Lying down for 20 minutes in the afternoon also makes you taller! The intervetebral discs get a chance to rest and restore when you recline.

If you're afraid that a 20 minute nap will leave you groggy and sluggish for the rest of the day, don't nap. How about 20 minutes of savasana, the corpse pose! You'll be calm, alert, and as productive as you want to be for the remains of the day.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Imagine

2005-12-11T00:39:00.000-06:00

This past Wednesday, I went to bed in a hotel room in Springfield, Missouri.

When I got up the next day, snow had fallen!

It's funny how in an instant you can be carried back in time to your childhood. When I was a kid the first snow of the year was exciting. It meant we might get to stay home from school. And playing in the snow was a blast.

Looking out from my hotel room at the white blanket covering the city got me excited once again...even though I knew I wouldn't be playing that day.

Later I went to church. It was a Holy Day. At the end of the mass, the priest acknowled two members of the parish, both of them adult men. He called them by name and announced that today was the first time they had ever seen snow!

Imagine that!

The whole crowd burst into applause. We were all, young and old, excited for them.

No one asked if they'd shoveled, or got stuck, or if they were too cold. Nobody asked about the pains of dealing with snow. But they both smiled wide and admitted, when asked, that they had played in the snow.

I stood there for awhile and tried to imagine the extraordinary series of events that must have taken place for these two men to start their lives in some place far away with different names, a different language, different climate, and a completely different lifestyle, yet end up here in the middle of the United States as adults, only to lie down on their backs on a cold December morning to make snow angels!

It boggled my mind. But it also gave me hope. The odds that they could have made such a transition must surely have been slim. But they did it.

Before you get down on your mat today to practice, I'd like you to imagine. Open your heart and your thoughts to the possibility of an extraordinary series of events. Add a little excitement, too. The kind of excitement you feel on the first snow day of the year--looking forward to fun.

I'm not sure why you do yoga. But sometimes I can go a long time without getting from yoga what I want. So it's easy to get callous and disinterested.

I can get down on my mat and have a very "adult" view of it. Like looking out the window at snow and thinking my car might not start, or traffic will be a hassle, or I might be late for work, or I just won't warm up today, or yuk, I've got to shovel.

It works better when I get down on my mat and think that today I might have a blast. I might have a great breakthrough. I might end up so far away from where I started that I can't begin to imagine it. But I'm open to it. I'm open to the flow of Grace in my life and on my mat.

Enjoy.

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

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

p.s., Many of you know that Thursday was the 25th anniversary of the death of John Lennon. In his memory, I leave you with a lyric I really like:

Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world.
You may say Im a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.

p.s.s., Imagine it's President's Day 2006. You've just finished a two-hour morning yoga class. You feel great. You step out of the thatch-roof yoga room, slip on your sandals and walk across the beach to the palapa for a breakfast of freshly squeezed orange juice, home-made yogurt and granola, fresh pineapple and mangos that have never been on a shelf in a grocery store or shipping container. You're beginning another fabulous day in Yelapa, Mexico, enjoying new friends, and drinking in the surf with your eyes.

I'll be there on President's Day. And the whole week, too. You can come with us. I guarantee there will be no snow in Yelapa that week.

Don't miss our unbelievably beautiful Experience Paradise yoga vacation in Yelapa, Mexico, Feb 18-25, 2006. You'll never forget this fabulous vacation and yoga experience. Find out more at http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

More On Jala Neti

2005-12-09T17:06:00.000-06:00

The comments keep coming in about the yogic practice of using the neti pot to rinse your sinuses.

Thank you to all of you who have emailed me with your comments, experiences, and testimonials.

My friend Diana reminded me of two important benefits of jala neti. She said she and her husband never get sinus headaches anymore, now that they neti regularly. And if you (or the person you sleep near) uses a neti pot before bed, snoring is reduced or eliminated.

How about that for a great tip?

I told you all recently that I never use tap water in my neti pot because the chlorine is a major irritant. A reader named Don wrote that he zaps his tap water in the microwave oven. That drives off the chlorine. When it cools down to body temperature, he's ready to go.

When I travel and don't have filtered water, I use the in-room coffee maker in the hotel the same way. I heat up tap water (no filter, no coffee grounds) in the coffee maker. Then there's no chorine irritation at all.

Beth, an Integrative Nurse Practitioner, wrote me to say that she recommends jala neti to her patients. She said it really helps. She asked me to pass on to you a recommendation to thoroughly rinse out your neti pot when you're done. You don't want to recontaminate your sinuses with the stuff you washed out the previous go-around. Great advice.

If you're new to my Daily Yoga Tip and you don't have any idea what I'm talking about, go back and read my last two Daily Yoga Tips at
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/12/no-tap-water-no-iodized-salt.html and
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/12/jala-neti-keeps-you-clean-and-ready-to.html

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., I promised you a while back that I'd write about the phrase "neti, neti." These words are an attempt to show that any expression or conception of the Divine is inadequate. They can't capture the essence of God. So, no matter what you think of or see or imagine or compare to, God is "not that." "Not that" is the literal English translation of neti. Here's what one author says about neti, neti:

The most outrageous fantasies pale beside Him. In truth I don't know what He is. No one can fathom Him. No words successfully describe Him. Words by their nature limit. He in every aspect is limitless. Yet I feel an urgency to share Him with those open to God, to tell those who have been seeking God, searching for reality, peace, liberation, Truth in its highest form, of his presence in mortal form and of His message of Truth, Simplicity and Love and the constant remembrance of God's name.

p.p.s., I still have refrigerator magnets in stock. I mentioned them in my last DailyYoga Tip. Email me at info@experienceyoga.org with your mailing address and your phone number. I'll call you. We'll get these out to you in time for Christmas gift giving. Also, I've been on the road the last three days, first Springfield, MO then Kansas City. So those of you whom I haven't called yet, don't worry. I'll call you Saturday!

p.p.p.s. Our orange I DO YOGA silicone wristbands make great stocking stuffers for your yoga friends, too. Order them at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/idoyogaband.html

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

No Tap Water, No Iodized Salt

2005-12-07T23:08:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone.

I got a great response from yesterday's Daily Yoga Tip. It was so fantastic to hear from so many of you.

If you haven't read about jala neti, please go back and read yesterday's tip at
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/12/jala-neti-keeps-you-clean-and-ready-to.html.

I thought of two more things after I read all of your emails yesterday:

1) I never use tap water. The chlorine kills me. Either filter your water or let it sit out for several days so the chlorine levels drop.

2) I don't use table salt, either. I use kosher salt from the grocery store. It's not iodized.

Keep rinising out those sinus passages; you'll be glad you did.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Many of you have asked me about the Experience Sanskrit refrigerator magnets you see at www.ExperienceYoga.org. We usually make these magnets available only at the Experience Sanskrit workshop.

I have a couple dozen left. If you'd like to order one to give as a stocking stuffer for the Holidays, email me today. They're selling for just $5.00. And if you buy 11, shipping is free. We'll get them to you in time for Christmas.

When you email me, send your mailing address, name and phone number. I'll call you and get your credit card number, since I haven't even had time to set this item up for sale on our online store.

And remember, you can always go the virtual refrigerator magnet at www.ExperienceYoga.org to see all of the possible combinations you can make for the Sanskrit names of yoga poses.

p.p.s., Don't miss the Experience Sanskrit workshops we have scheduled now for Kansas City, MO; Fort Worth, TX; Downingtown, PA; Annapolis, MD; and St. Charles, MO. We'll be releasing information this week about a new April date for the Experience Sanskrit workshop in Kingston, NJ.

Watch the FREE Daily Yoga Tip for more news about these events. Until then, you can find out more about the Experience Sanskrit workshop, the workshop that makes the Sanskrit names of yoga poses fun and unforgettable, at: http://experienceyoga.org/.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Jala Neti Keeps You Clean and Ready to Go

2005-12-06T08:25:00.000-06:00

I've been using a neti pot for many months now. Every day, or almost every day, I put a pinch of salt in my neti pot, add warm filtered water and then rinse my sinuses out by pouring the warm water into one nostril. With my head tipped to the side, the water washes out my upper respiratory system, drains out through the other nostril, and runs down into the sink. Then I'm ready for the day.

This practice is called jala neti. The results are fantastic.

Now that it's cold here, the heat is on and the air in my house is dry. It irritates my nasal passages. Thankfully, when I use my neti pot, irritants get washed out regularly and my sinuses are properly humidified. It feels great.

A big thing I'm noticing is that daily use of the neti pot keeps my upper respiratory system tuned up and ready to go so it can do its job efficiently and quickly.

Last week I was in Springfield, MO on business. Before I left for home on Friday, I stopped in at an office in which contractors were finishing off some drywall work. After I'd been in the office for about two hours, I started sneezing. I literally could not stop. So I left.

As soon as I got in the car the sneezing stopped and I started to feel better. But the two-and-a-half hour car ride home made it easy for me to see what was happening next. My sinuses started to develop mucus. By the time I got home, well, lets just say I was uncomfortable. I was clogged and gooey and needed relief.

I got out my neti pot and ran some warm water through a couple of times. Out with the bad.

I immediately felt better.

Jala neti is an old yoga practice. If you do it regularly, it keeps the upper respiratory system clean and ready to respond so that you stay healthy.

Think about what happened to me. My nose and sinuses did what they could do to keep the drywall dust out of my lungs. But when they were overwhelmed, the productive sneezes began to kick the dust out. Then throughout the duration of my car ride home, my lungs and sinuses produced mucus that trapped the dust so that the cilia lining my respiratory system could carry it out to my nose. I helped it along with a flush of warm saline water from my neti pot and the whole thing was over.

I recommend it. Daily use of your neti pot will help you avoid trouble during the cold and flu season. And if you have allergies, the nasal wash helps rinse away the allergens and irritants that cause those unbearable allergic reactions.

One really great benefit is you don't have to use drugs. I know a woman who goes into depression when she takes her sinus and allergy drugs. But she does it because, for her, suffering with the other symptoms is worse!

Try it this season, and then continue. It takes some persistence to get accustomed to it. But you'll notice the difference if you do it daily as a part of your routine. Some of you will notice a real sting, especially if your sinuses are dirty. But flushing them out and keeping them flushed out will keep the sting away.

Don't hesistate to contact me with questions you have about this great practice.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Neti is Sanskrit for "not that." I'm not sure how a pot got the name of "not that." But I'll write a little bit tomorrow about why the phrase "neti, neti" is so well known among yogis.

p.p.s., If you're curious, you can read a write-up I did describing our Experience Neti Flow workshop. It's here.

p.p.p.s., We have Experience Sanskrit workshop dates set now for Kansas City, MO; Fort Worth, TX; Downingtown, PA; Annapolis, MD; and St. Charles, MO. We'll be releasing information this week about a new April date for the Experience Sanskrit workshop in Kingston, New Jersey, near Princeton.

Watch the FREE Daily Yoga Tip for more news about these events. Until then, you can find out more about the Experience Sanskrit workshop, the workshop that makes the Sanskrit names of yoga poses fun and unforgettable, at: http://experienceyoga.org/.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.
Kevin Perry
Mo Yoga LLC
1305 Elmerine Ave
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(573) 680-6737

He Believed and His Knee Pain Went Away

2005-11-25T19:41:00.000-06:00

Here's some good news.

Jerry, a student of mine from St. Louis sent me this email today. He said:

THANK YOU for the realignment tip on knees! I have been having a persistent pain on the inside of my right knee for about two weeks. I did the SITA exercise and WALLA! It worked! No more knee pain. Awesome!
Thanks again,
Jerry

Jerry's talking about the technique I mentioned in yesterday's Daily Yoga Tip.

Jerry, it's great to hear from you. I'm glad this worked for you.

I'm passing this message from Jerry on to the rest of you Daily Yoga Tip readers because if you've got knee joint pain I want you to do what Jerry did. He suspended doubt just long enough to find out for himself if the suggested action really works.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The Sanskrit word for "knee" is janu. I know of one pose that has the word root janu in its name. It's called janusirsasana, which is literally translated as "knee head pose." I wrote about janusirsasana back in April. You can read my Daily Yoga Tip about janusirsasana at
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/04/janu-flexion.html.

p.p.s., The Sanskrit word for "pain" (or pressure) is pida. It's used in at least two poses. One is karnapidasana, which means "ear pain pose". The other is bhujapidasana, which means "arm or shoulder pain pose."

If you Google these pose names and take a look at them, it'll help you remember these word roots. It'll help you even more if you do the poses!

p.p.p.s., If janu is "knee" and pida is "pain," you might call any position you're in that makes your knee hurt janupidasana!

Making up imaginary poses based on Sanskrit word roots you know from poses you already do is one of the funnest ways I know of to make the Sanskrit names of yoga poses unforgettable.

I'll teach you many more when you join Sallie and me for the Experience Sanskrit workshop. We'll be in Downingtown, PA on February 4th. You can register now at
http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawodopafe.html.

We're coming to Annapolis, MD on Saturday, March 4th. Register for that workshop at
http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawoanmdma.html.
Come back to Golden Heart Yoga on Sunday March 5th and join us for a two-hour asana workshop.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Thankful for Belief

2005-11-24T13:12:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

This morning I taught a fun yoga class at Show Me Yoga Center for all comers, many of whom I'd never met before. It was great! What a wonderful way to start this day dedicated to gratitude for our many blessings.

After class I overheard one student talking to her friend about knee pain. When I offered to help her, she declined. She said her knee was hurting even before she came to class. "It'll go away," she said.

Honestly, I didn't know what made her knee hurt. But I did know what we'd done in class and what might have aggravated her knee pain.

If you had knee pain, what might cause you to refuse an offer of help that might make the pain go away?

Maybe she was afraid I was going to ask her to do something she didn't want to do. Maybe she thought she was taking up too much of my time and her problem wasn't worth the trouble. Maybe she didn't like me and she wanted to get away from me as fast as she possibly could! I don't know.

Here's what happened next. I backed up, gave her some space and sat down on the ground. I invited her to sit down in front of me. I taught her how to quickly re-set her knee so that the bones in her lower leg line up better with the bone in her upper leg.

You can learn how to do this in a Daily Yoga Tip I wrote back in May at
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/05/get-on-track-to-eliminate-knee-pain.html.

Once she stood up, she was surprised to realize the pain had diminished.

I'm guessing she didn't accept my first offer of help because she didn't believe I could help her.

It's completely justifiable, too. Because Americans are so totally immersed in advertising, it's nearly impossible to not be let down. We've all experienced buyer's remorse. Most of the claims we hear just don't come true. We're skeptical.

So when someone you don't really know offers you help, you're justified in doubting.

Patanjali says that doubt is one of the predictable obstacles that will show up on your yoga journey. He says in Book I of the YogaSutras:

30. The obstacles that distract thought are disease, apathy, doubt,
carelessness, indolence, dissipation, false vision, failure to attain a firm
basis in yoga, and restlessness.

Doubt keeps us from action. Doubt keeps us from trying. Doubt shuts off the possibility of a better future before it even starts.

If you can keep doubt away, you can practice yoga long enough to find out for yourself the many benefits that are available to you...including, at times, relief from knee pain. You won't have to worry about trusting someone who wants to mislead you.

It's Thanksgiving Day. I'm thankful today for my teachers. I'm grateful that they selflessly shared yoga with me. And I'm grateful that I was able to stick around in the yoga rooms long enough to come to BELIEVE for myself. That belief keeps me practicing and sharing yoga with others today.

I'm also thankful to you. Thanks for reading this Daily Yoga Tip. You inspire me.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Pennsylvanians, it's official! We're coming to Twisted Guru Yoga Studio in Downingtown, PA on February 4, 2006 at 9:00 am. Enroll today in the Experience Sanskrit workshop at
http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawodopafe.html. It's only $50. For you procrastinators, the fee goes up to $65 in January.

Experience Sanskrit is a fun, four-hour workshop designed to make the Sanskrit names of yoga poses unforgettable. Learn more at http://experienceyoga.org/ or http://www.twistedguru.com/purchase_online.html.

p.p.s. Why do people get a passport, get on a plane, fly to Mexico, and take a water taxi to Yelapa? They do it because they believe they'll have a fantastic, affordable vacation and incredible yoga experience in a place of unmatched beauty. Join us February 18-25, 2006 on the Experience Paradise yoga vacation. Your room, meals and yoga are $900 per person, double occupancy for the whole week. See http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp for details.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

With Apologies to Harry & Children Everywhere

2005-11-22T21:16:00.000-06:00

Most of you probably heard of "the 12 steps" of Alcoholics Anoymous long before you heard of "the 8 limbs" of Patanjali's YogaSutras. Regardless of which came first for you, both remain powerful systems for spiritual development and transformation.

Instead of talking about yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, or any of the remaining four limbs, today I'll refer briefly to one of the 12 steps. Step number 10 goes something like this...

When we were wrong, we promptly admitted it.

So I'll admit it. I was wrong. Madame Maxime did not require the girls of Beauxbatons Academy to drink only single-malt whiskey!

(For those of you who don't understand this obscure reference, you'll have to go back and read my Daily Yoga Tip from yesterday.)

I was riding home tonight from a grade school basketball game with my Dad, brothers, and nieces, when my nieces Erin and Emily informed me that it was the winged horses that were allowed to drink only single-malt whiskey.

You see, the students of Beauxbatons arrived at Hogwarts in a carriage "the size of a large house" pulled by winged palominos "each the size of an elephant." And they required very careful attention.

"My steeds require...forceful 'andling," said Madame Maxime. "Zey are very strong...." "Will you please inform zis 'Agrid zat ze 'orses drink only single-malt whiskey?"

My apologies go out to Harry Potter fans and anyone else I zinged with my rant about zero tolerance policies.

You might like a different Daily Yoga Tip about Harry Potter a tiny bit better.

You can find it at:
http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/07/magic-of-yoga-are-you-muggle.html

Enjoy it while I eat my humble pie (and think of pumpkin pie)!

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Did I say pie? Pie! That reminds me of the Pie Ladies of Yelapa! I'm not kidding. See what others say at http://p073.ezboard.com/ftodopuertovallartafrm44.showMessage?topicID=69.topic

Pie Lady of Yelapa

Sallie Keeney and I will be hosting a group of yogis at Hotel Lagunita in Yelapa Mexico, February 18-25, 2006. Yoga, vacationing, foreign travel and incredible natural beauty are a combination that are unmatched. Find out more at http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp.

p.p.s., Our list is getting longer. In addition to our Experience Sanskrit workshop in Annapolis, MD (March 4), we're about to announce dates in Downingtown, PA (February 4), Kansas City, MO, and Fort Worth, TX. Keep checking right here for more details. If you want to know more about the Experience Sanskrit workshop, see http://experienceyoga.org/workshops.asp.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Harry's Adventure of Self-Discovery

2005-11-21T13:38:00.000-06:00

Wow. A week just flew by. And I've been thinking of you every day. But I haven't managed to get anything written...until now.

I spent much of Saturday evening in the theater with my wife and daughter. The theater was completely full as hundreds of viewers of all ages sat glued to the screen. Talk about focus and attention! It was amazing.

We were watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It was quite enjoyable.

We like to check in with each other after any movie, play or other performance. Usually we're out in the car in the parking lot when someone blurts out, "What was your favorite part?"

Just so you won't feel left out, I'm going to tell you my favorite parts, in the order that I liked them. (All of you Harry Potter fanatics, please forgive my errors. I know I don't have it exactly right.):

1) The best part of the whole movie for me was the unusual blue hats worn by the girls from Beauxbatons Academy of the Magically Gifted. I have no way to describe them well. But they're blue and they're sort of shaped like a jaunty Hershey's kiss. I think I like them because they're completely unusual. I'm not very fashion focused. So these hats could be worn by everyone everywhere and I wouldn't know. But I liked 'em. (I suppose that says more about me than it does about the movie.)

2) I liked the fact that all the girls from the Beauxbatons only drank single malt Scotch. I think this is the rebel in me. I'm sort of sick of America's current educational fixation on the "zero tolerance policy." I'm proud of J.K. Rowling for spoofing the fact that kids don't need to be spoon fed everything.

3) I really liked it when the Headmistress of the Beauxbatons Academy plucked some sort of creeping critter from Hagrid's beard and without hesitating, like any good grooming primate, she popped it in her mouth and swallowed! Yummy.

By the way, her name is Olympe Maxime and she stood at least two heads taller than the giant Hagrid. Impressive!

4) We're getting closer to yoga now. I haven't forgotten that this is a Daily YOGA Tip.

I liked that Harry Potter prevailed in the Triwizard Tournament by not just looking out for himself.

In the second challenge of the Triwizard Tournament, Harry Potter used his skills not only to rescue his friend Ron from underwater doom, he also saved the little sister of his rival Fleur Delacour.

In the maze, the third challenge of the Tournament, the creeping vines were dragging down Harry's school mate Cedric, just when the winning trophy came into sight. Harry went back and freed his friend from the vines so that they could share the victory by touching the trophy at the same time.

When I saw this I was reminded of a passage from Deepak Chopra's book called The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga. Dr. Chopra indentifies The Law of Dharma (or Purpose in Life) as the last of the seven Laws of yoga. The Law of Dharma, he says, states that every sentient being has a purpose in life.

The Law of Dharma has three major components: 1) Your ultimate purpose is to come to know your higher Self, your True nature, 2) You should acknowledge and express your unique gifts and abilities (like Harry), and 3) You should serve others. Your unique abilities are given to you so that you can help others. He suggests you should always ask, "How can I serve?" and "How can I help?"

Lastly, Chopra provides a definition I really like. He says, "Yoga is action in accordance with dharma. Moving your body with awareness and impeccability is the essence of a life in harmony with the laws of nature."

I'm not a huge Harry fan. But I know enough about the stories to know that Harry's path through the years at Hogwart's Academy is simply one event after another in which Harry can discover and uncover his True Nature.

In your yoga practice today, do as Dr. Chopra suggests, "notice the postures that you enter into easily and use this information to become more intimate with your nature." "Celebrate your natural talents even as you strive to develop other ones in yoga and in your life." ( p. 72)

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

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

p.s., Mermaids play a very important role in the just-released Harry Potter movie. Did you know there's a pose commonly known as "the mermaid pose?"

I know it as Bharadvajasana. Unfortunately, when you translate the Sanskrit word roots that make up the name bharadvajasana it comes out to "the pose dedicated to the great sage Bharadvaja." Mmmmmmm. I don't know about you, but I don't see any mention of the word mermaid in that translation.

Therein lies one of the great problems with learning the Sanskrit names of yoga poses. Often the common name of a yoga pose has nothing at all to do with the Sanskrit name. I have a suggestion for how you can solve that problem. But you have to come to the Experience Sanskrit workshop to find out!

Our next Experience Sanskrit workshop is at Golden Heart Yoga in Annapolis, MD, March 4, 2006. It is filling up fast. Don't be left out. Register today at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawoanmdma.html.

If you don't know about the Experience Sanskrit workshop, it's a fun and unforgettable way to learn and remember the Sanakrit names of yoga poses. Find out more at http://experienceyoga.org/.

p.p.s., You don't have to go to seven years of school at Hogwart's Academy to experience an Adventure of Self-Discovery. But you can come with us, across the border, to the beatiful coastal village of Yelapa for a week of incredible beauty and Anusara-inspired yoga instruction that's just like the gems you get from these Daily Yoga Tips.

Please come with us. You'll be floored by the simplicity and beauty of Yelapa. You'll never forget the friendships you forge with your fellow yogis. The people of Yelapa will find their way into your heart. And a year later, you'll still be integrating the yoga principles and techniques we explore together in the yoga room.

Sallie and I just booked our flights today from St. Louis into Puerto Vallarta. Airline prices dipped just like gas prices! We got a great deal at $545. Join us today, won't you? February 18-25, 2006. Space is limited. Learn more at http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp . Or call me at 573 680-6737.

p.p.p.s., Find out more about Deepak Chopra's book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga at
http://tinyurl.com/79vz4

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. Mo Yoga LLC.

A Hard Landing

2005-11-14T20:51:00.000-06:00

I was bouncing tonight at the beginning of a class I taught.

I was on one of those big Swiss balls, or stability balls.

Surprise! With a loud bang the ball popped. Down I went, landing on my tailbone.

I felt that horrible compression feeling in my low back as my vertebrae jammed together.

But I laid on my back for a while and let it release. I felt fine right away.

Why was I bounching, you ask? Good question.

Read my Daily Yoga Tip from back on April 27 to get the story on why you should be bouncing, too.

You can read it at http://experienceyoga.blogspot.com/2005/04/put-little-bounce-in-your-wellness.html .

By the way, this is a Daily Yoga Tip. And frankly, I don't consider bouncing on a big stability ball to be yoga. So be sure to read all the way down to the "p.s." on that bouncing tip to find out how you can achieve the same benefits by being upside-down in inverted yoga poses.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., We just made an agreement today to come back to Texas to conduct the Experience Sanskrit workshop in Fort Worth on January 28, 2006. Keep reading these Daily Yoga Tips for the details. We should have the location and times out later this week.

And we're going to be in the Philadelphia, PA area on February 4, 2006. Keep checking in with me here at the Daily Yoga Tip and I'll give you all the details.

Until then, I wanted to let you know that the Experience Sanskrit workshop at Golden Heart Yoga in Annapolis, MD, March 4, 2006 is filling up fast. Don't be left out. Register today at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawoanmdma.html .

If you don't know about the Experience Sanskrit workshop, it's a fun and unforgettable way to learn and remember the Sanakrit names of yoga poses. Find out more at http://experienceyoga.org/.

Quick. Do a Google search on hanumansana and astavakrasana. Find picture of these two poses. Many of our participants in the Experience Sanskrit workshop are able to do these poses for the first time at the Experience Sanskrit workshop.

Why should you want to know this? Because I don't just teach people how to remember Sanskrit names of yoga poses. I teach them to do yoga! When we're in Annapolis, we're staying over for an extra day. I'll be teaching a two hour asana workshop on Sunday, March 5. Don't miss it. Register now at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exyoaswoanmd.html.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. Mo Yoga LLC.

Yogic Eating; Half Full or Half Empty?

2005-11-13T13:28:00.000-06:00

Imagine a photograph of you and your family, standing behind a table. In front of you is spread all of the food you collectivley eat in one week.

For at least 30 families, this picture isn't hard to imagine. Husband and wife, author and photographer, Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio traveled the world, 24 countries in all, to document just what families eat.

They compiled their findings along with the family food photos in a book, just released, called Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.

I listened to their interview a few days ago on NPR. You can hear it at
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5005952 .

They talked about vast differences between families of different parts of the world--differences in quantity, packaging, satisfaction, and more. They talked about their favorite meal, actic chard, which I still haven't figured out.

I liked most of all their tale about the eating habits of the people of Okinawa, where they have the highest percentage of centenarians in the world.

Okinawan men live to an average age of 78, women, 86.

Most of the elderly in that country live by the Confucian-inspierd adage "hara hachi bu," which means, "eat until your stomach is 80 percent full."

I've tried this over the last couple of days. It's hard. Not just because I like to eat. But because you REALLY must pay attention. You've got to tune in to even begin to estimate what 80 percent of "full" might be.

All this talk about food got me wondering what the ancient yogis had to say about filling up on food.

In the 5th chapter of the Gheranda Samhita, Gheranda tells Chanda "the skullbearer":

Should the yogi undertake the practice of Yoga without having a measured diet, he will get several diseases and his Yoga will in no way be successful. (16)
A measured diet is said to consist of food that is pure, sweet, rich, leaves half the stomach empty, and is eaten with love for the gods.(21)
One should fill half the stomach with food, a quarter with water, and leave the fourth quarter for the movement of air. (22)

Sounds like good advice to me.

Eat well, and it will sustain your practice.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., I've just done what I try never to do. I told you about something I've never experienced myself. I've never disciplined myself to eat routinely so that my stomach is never more than half full. So I don't know what results it produces. I don't know if it "works."

If you have or gain some experience eating this way, I'd like to hear about it. Please send me an email and tell me about your experience. Thank you. I'm at info@ExperienceYoga.org.

p.p.s., The excerpts above from the Ghearnda Samhita are taken from a translation by James Mallinson that I own and like. You can "Search Inside" it if you log on as an Amazon.com user
here.

p.p.p.s., Speaking of pure food...I can't say enough about how wonderful the food (and staff) are at the Hotel La-Gunita in Yelapa, Mexico. When we were there with our Experience Paradise Yoga Vacation group last January, everyone ranted about the food.

We had only fresh food for one whole week. It was extraordinary.

Every morning the bartender gave us pitchers full of freshly squeezed orange juice. He was standing there under the palapa cutting and squeezing oranges in the dark as we tip-toed across the beach to the yoga room for meditation and pranayama.

When we came out for breakfast we always had homemade yogurt, homemade granola, and freshly sliced mango and pineapple.

That's just breakfast. I haven't even spoken of pie yet.

And I haven't spoken about the yoga, either. You won't ever forget your yoga vacation in Yelapa. Register now at http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Honoring the Warrior

2005-11-11T22:40:00.000-06:00

Happy Veteran’s Day. I hope you've had a wonderful day.

Today, Americans honor those who’ve served in the military and kept our country secure.

Thank you, vets! I am grateful for your tremendous personal sacrifices.

Yoga honors a great hero of war by dedicating a pose to him. That great warrior is the mighty General of the Army of monkeys and bears who served Rama. His name is Hanuman.

Hanumanasana (pronounced hah-new-mahn-AH-sun) is the pose we typically call the splits. This pose, with one leg extended out in front, and the other stretched out behind, recalls the great leaps Hanuman made across the Straits to Ceylon. He was in search of his master’s wife, Sita.

hanumanasana

When he found her in her captor's compound, he lept again across the straits and gathered his army. They tossed rocks in the water and built a causeway across the straits by which they could cross over.

On the other side, they defeated the enemy and reunited Sita with Rama. Jai Hanuman!

But Sita's brother was pierced by an arrow in battle. His death was near. The herbalist could save him only with the juice from a plant found on the top of the Himalayan mountains.

So strong was Hanuman's dedication to Rama, he lept across the straits again. But once atop the mountain, he couldn't identify the medicinal herb. So he scooped the peak off the top of the mountain and lept back. The herbalist found what he needed and Sita's brother was saved.

This story of Hanuman is told in the Ramayana, one of the great epic tales of India.

Even though the story recounts Hanuman's incredible powers, he is remembered most for his unmatched devotion to Rama.

Hanuman

In addition to Hanuman's devotion to Rama, I want to focus on one other aspect of military life.

When I enetered the Air Force Academy as a cadet back in 1979, I did what every other American fighting man has done. I trained.

Every soldier begins his or her military life with Basic Training. During this period of intense instruction and practice, nearly everything about your life changes. The way you talk, the way you walk, the way you dress and the way you think are all changed by this carefully orchestrated series of events.

And soldiers continue to train.

When I left the Air Force, I was able to do things I never imagined I could do.

Some of you look at hanumanasana and say "never." "It can't be done."

But hanumanasana is like riding a bike. Or driving a car. Or swimming. If someone who knows how to do it teaches you to do it, and if you practice, you can do it too.

Only your disbelief keeps you from it.

Be like the great Hanuman and all veterans. Learn. Practice, And discipline yourself with great devotion.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., The story of Hanuman is one of the "stories behind the pose" that we encounter at the Experience Sanskrit workshop. When you learn the story, you never forget the pose or its Sanskrit name.

Many of our new friends in Texas were shocked to learn that, with a little instruction, they could do hanumanasana before the left for home from the Experience Sanskrit workshop!

Our next Experience Sanskrit workshop is March 4 at Golden Heart Yoga in Annapolis, Maryland. Register today at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawoanmdma.html .

p.p.s., I'm inspired by the Ramayana. But it's not the only thing that inspires me. The beauty of Yelapa and the generosity of the people there inspire me, too.

I received an email today from my friend Judith in Yelapa, Mexico. She has invited our Experience Paradise Yoga Vacation group to join with her for one of her children's yoga classes in the village. After the class, she wants us to stay for a fabulous meal of fish, cooked by her neighbor using a family recipe. My mouth is watering.

I can't wait to get back to Yelapa. I hope you'll consider coming with us February 18-25, 2006. Space is limited. Airline ticket prices are escalating. Learn more at http://experienceyoga.org/vacations.asp .

p.p.p.s., My favorite copy of the Ramayana is by Ranchor Prime. The illustrations in this book are fabulous. Click here.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

RICE or MICE

2005-11-09T18:07:00.000-06:00

I spent a couple hours last night in the Emergency Room with my daughter.

She twisted her ankle at dance class. It was big and very painful.

All is well. Nothing's broken.

But on the way to the hospital we had quite a discussion about how RICE has been replaced with MICE.

Just in case you didn't know, I thought I'd pass this little nugget of wisdom on to you. Oh, and when you mention this to others, don't be surprised if they tell you I'm wrong.

RICE is an acronym for what you should do after a soft tissue injury. It stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. The R, for Rest, is most often translated as immobilization. That means you should splint or brace your injured body part so it doesn't move.

The remainder of the acronym is pretty self-explanitory. Chilling the sore spot with ice helps reduce swelling and decreases pain.

Wrapping your injury with an elastic bandage also helps you avoid swelling and pooling of body fluids around the injury. This type of compression also snugs the soft tissue up against bone, which aids in healing and pain reduction.

Elevation also helps avoid or eliminate swelling, which is painful and delays healing.

So what's wrong with RICE? Not too much. But MICE works better.

What should you do? MICE a soft tissue injury. Move it. Ice it. Compress it during the breaks between your "keep it moving" sessions, and Elevate it (preferably while stretching and moving the affected body parts).

Now you know the scheme. But first you need to make sure you don't have a catastrophic injury (fractured bone or muscle shred). Then get busy. You'll be back in play sooner that with RICE.

This is also one of those examples of how that which is true on a smaller scale is also true on a larger scale. The general idea is that movement is healing. Your body was meant to move. When you spend long stretches of time sitting at a desk or lying on the couch your health begins to diminish.

So move. And MICE when you need to.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., This is my note of special thanks to Shanon Buffington and Lisa Marshall who took such great care of us this weekend while we were in Dallas. Their hospitality and kindness were amazing and appreciated! Sallie and I had a great time at the Surya Center for Yoga. It was so great to meet so many fabulous Texas yogis. We can't wait to go back. Plans are already in the works.

p.p.s., So many of you sent me warm birthday greetings. Thank you. I enjoyed every one of them. How inspiring!

p.p.p.s., If you'd like to read the amazing story of Tom Nohilly, who used MICE to recover quickly from a severe ankle sprain he got when he hit a barrier in the steeple chase prelims at the 1992 Olympic Trials, see pages xxi and xxii in The Wharton's Stretch Book here.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Thankful for Another Year

2005-11-03T22:02:00.000-06:00

It's my birthday. I've had a great day.

One of the things I've done today is look back and take stock of the year that has passed since my last birthday.

In the past year I:

taught in Mexico for the first time,
bid farewell to my Mom as she made her journey to the next life,
struggled with failing eyesight (I'm 45 years old),
started praying and meditating consistently for the first time in my life,
started teaching yoga at a new yoga center in Columbia,
joined the choir at church,
quit the job I've had for seven years, to start a new one,
started writing a Daily Yoga Tip, and
designed, imported from China, marketed, and sold products in the US and around the world.

I could not have predicted most of these things would happen. Some of them I've had a role in. Others, it seems, "just happened."

I am thankful for my life and the people near me. My family, my students, my firends and colleagues are, for the most part, loving and generous.

They're loyal, too. What I haven't listed above are my many failings, which they have graciously overlooked.

For all of this I am grateful.

Of course, this is a Daily Yoga Tip, so I must say something about yoga.

Practice contentment. Be satisfied. Try. Earnetly make efforts towards your goals, but then be accepting of the results that come your way. This is a profound spiritual practice taught by the sage Patanjali.

"Of the five Niyamas (observances)... the Second is Santosha, contentment. Patanjali urges us to live life from a place of satisfaction and delight with whatever fate may bring, knowing that all is for the highest good. Santosha reminds us to live in gratitude for what we have rather than yearn for something else. Tapas, the third niyama, is austerity and self-discipline. Tapas literally means "heat." With burning desire, we are to do whatever it takes to endure "the heat" as we pursue our goals." (Johanna Mosca, PhD)

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., If you'd like to give me a gift for my birthday, please send me an email today. Let me know if you've benefited from from any of my Daily Yoga Tips you've read. I'd like to hear how you've been helped. Or, send me a question or topic you'd like to hear about. I love to hear from you.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Practice Your Promise

2005-10-31T08:46:00.000-06:00

Listening to the radio this weekend I heard an excerpt from a fascinating project called StoryCorps. Their web page says, "StoryCorps is a national project to instruct and inspire people to record each others' stories in sound."

The story I heard was a conversation between a young woman, Cinema Wood, and her grandmother, Peggy Edwards. Cinema is about to marry and she was asking for advice.

You can hear the story at:
http://storycorps.net/audio/edwards.mp3 .

I liked what Ms. Edwards had to say about her long, strong marriage. She said, "Go slow. It's not a marathon. It's a stroll."

It's a subtle distinction. A marathon implies a race with its inherent urgency to get to the end. While a stroll suggests a comfortable pace at which you can enjoy what you're doing, so much so that you hope it never ends.

What a great way to view marriage. And what a great way to view your yoga practice, too!

Don't get in such a hurry to make progress. Slow down and pay attention along the way so you can enjoy your yoga practice.

The StoryCorps conversation also reminded me of something I wrote about my parents and their marriage back in 2003 when they were celebrating their 50th anniversary.

I'm republishing it here for you today. Enjoy.

"In just a few days my parents will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. It’s a major milestone. So I hope you’ll permit me this personal indulgence: “Congratulations, Mom & Dad!” I’m proud of them. And I’m amazed by what they’ve done together.

"Extraordinary accomplishments in any area of life are inspiring. Lasting accomplishments—deeds that can’t be done in one fell swoop, particularly encourage me.

"When I began studying yoga years ago I had many opportunities to meet extraordinary yogis. Sometimes what I saw bordered on shocking. What I believed was humanly possible shifted when I witnessed what these people could do. A whole new world of fitness, well-being, and skill opened up to me as I saw what they produced through decades of practice.

"I eventually came to expect a pattern that I’ve now seen many times. Almost every one of these notable teachers would get around to saying that what they do can’t be done without practice. “Practice is the best teacher,” they’d say. Then they’d quote the yoga authority Patanjali, who said, “Practice is firmly established when it is done with reverent devotion, uninterrupted, for a long time.” (YogaSutras 1.12)

"I’d leave these encounters inspired. I was re-armed with this handy-dandy easy-to-memorize guide that told me if I did my yoga for a long time, didn’t take any hiatus, and was fervent and focused, I could do what they did.

"My parents have proven to me the truth of Patanjali’s aphorism. Their marriage wouldn’t have produced what it has, without reverent devotion and unwavering persistence.

"Here’s another truth for me (and I’d bet it’s true for Mom, Dad, and those amazing yogis): some days I don’t feel devoted; I feel like taking a day (or a month) off; I can’t muster a molecule of persistence. On some of those days, rather than being inspired by the amazing feats of others, I’m humbled. I’m discouraged. Their greatness makes me feel weak or inadequate. I don’t want to think of the cool stuff they’ve done because it makes me feel like a gnat.

"Fifty years later, I realize now that my parents were no less married on their first day together than they are now. I can look at their decades together and be overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude. Or I can realize that one day, just like any other day, they got out of bed and did ordinary things like brush their teeth, comb their hair, and eat their meals. But in addition to those ordinary things, they got up in front of their families and friends and promised to live together and work together faithfully. They made a commitment to take care of each other even on dark days when the thought of anything longer than a day was unimaginable.

"When I look back over the years, I believe that it was the promise, the commitment, that really counted.

"Maybe you’ll join me today in making a commitment. Make a promise. It might even be a promise to try yoga or practice yoga regularly. Then see what that commitment brings. Maybe decades from now you’ll look back and be shocked and amazed by the fruits of your unwavering persistence and dedication."

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Happy Halloween to all you spooks out there.

p.p.s., Hello to all you new Daily Yoga Tip readers in Maryland. The word about our Experience Sanskrit workshop in Annapolis (March 4, 2006) is getting around. We're looking forward to seeing you in the New Year.

For those of you who can't wait for the New Year, meet us this weekend in Dallas. We're offering the Experience Sanskrit workshop at the Surya Center for Yoga in Coppell Saturday at 1:30 pm. Find out more at http://www.suryacenteryoga.com/upcomingeventsworkshops.htm .

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Autumnal Expansion

2005-10-30T13:04:00.000-06:00

It's so beautiful here today.

The temperature is perfect outside. The sun is shining. The sky is clear. Everywhere I look I see beautifully colored leaves. I smell the smoke of burning fireplaces all throughout our neighborhood. It's gorgeous.

We've started shifting to those warm, thick comfort foods, too. It seems I can't get enough soup, chewy bread, chili, and hot cocoa.

The windows in our bedroom are only slightly cracked. I love the cool fresh air for sleeping. Our beds are piled with thick blankets. I'll admit it, once the sun goes down, I'm ready to cocoon in the thick clothes and comforts of home.

But here's one thing I've noticed. When there's just the slightest breeze outside, my whole body starts to shrink, to compact itself, to grip and brace against the penetrating winds.

I came in from the car a couple nights ago with all of the muscles on the back of my neck gripping tightly. It hurt.

This contracture is a natural, protective reflex. It's a defense mechanism. You were born with it, for your protection.

But like any good thing, too much of a good thing can be BAD.

One of the things I love about Anusara yoga is that it recognizes the universal truth that everthing must be balanced. Each of the actions in the Five Universal Principles of Alignment is balanced by an opposite action.

In particuar, muscular engergy is balanced by organic expansion.

Muscular energy is the beneficial action of toning the muscles and drawing them from both the surface of the body towards the bones and from the distal limbs toward the trunk.

Organic expansion is both the widening and broadening of the trunk, along with the extension of the long bones out away from the center of the body.

If you overdo or underdo either one of these actions, you're imbalanced and you start to deviate from the optimal blueprint for your body. Pain, like that pain in my neck I mentioned earlier, usually gets your attention. And you start looking for a solution.

Might I suggest you start somewhere other than your medicine cabinet?

If you live where it's cold, start watching for the reflexive tightening and shrinking of your body. Then intentionally expand. Broaden your trunk. Lift your head. Straighten your limbs. And lengthen your long bones. Breathe. Take up more space!

But you might want to get warm first. Several rounds of sun salutations (surya namaskar) should do the trick!

Here's to a beautiful and balanced Autumn season for us all!

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., If you read this Daily Yoga Tip with any regularity, you probably recognize that I love playing with words, puns, double entendre, literary devices and homonyms. I think I get it from my Dad and his whole family. Give them a free moment and there's a crossword puzzle or something like it being attacked.

When I read today's Daily Yoga Tip, one word comes to mind: juxtapose.

BKS Iyengar has been attributed with saying, "Every pose should have some repose." It's brilliant. Every asana involves some work, some effort, but also ease, rest. It's almost a restating of Patanjali's "the posture of yoga is steady and easy."

Maybe someone will attribute this saying to me, "To pose is to juxtapose."

Juxtapose means to bring two things into close proximity for comparison, to see more clearly their differences, or perhaps that they are opposite.

To really practice a yoga pose you must integrate opposites into one body, one mind, one person.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Tree Pose Check-up

2005-10-29T09:43:00.000-05:00

It's Saturday. If you're like me, you've already been out to the store for something you need around the house this weekend.

If you're back in a store later today, look carefully at how people stand while they're waiting in line.

A very common posture looks like this:

most of the weight is shifted into one leg,
the leg that is bearing the most weight is hyper-extended at the knee joint,
the pelvis is shifted forward so the standing leg is not plumb, when viewed from the side, and
the pelvis is tipped so it appears that the contents of the abdomen are spilling forward and out.

Understanding these four postural features is helpful in conducting the tree pose (vrksasana) check-up I am recommending today.

Why do people do this when they stand? I believe it's a combination of muscle weakness, the desire for convenient stability, and habit.

Let's start with stability first. If you stand with most of your weight in one leg and you sink your weight so you feel heavy, you'll notice you become more stable. You can stand this way for a long time because you're "hanging" in your joints. The joints lock out and you need little muscular effort to maintain the position.

It's convenient. It's stable. And it's a habit; you're accustomed to it. Bad news: it's also tough on your joints.

This body pattern is also static. It's not dynamic.

The energy of life flows. But hanging in your joint inhibits the flow of prana. Energy gets congested. Muscles weaken. Attentiveness is dulled.

Soon you don't even notice that you're spending much of your life with the front of your pelvis tipped down and your abdomen, lacking tone, protruding. It's the well-known and much despised "abdominal pooch."

Once you adopt this common stance in daily life, it's easy to habitually express it in tree pose...for the same reasons, convenient stability and weakness.

It's ironic then, that you can, and should, increase your stability by lifting up, by lengthening your spine and whole body up. When you do this, you:

create space in the joints (prana flows),
align the skeleton so that you become structurally stronger (hard work with the muscles is not needed),
avoid undue wear and tear on your joints,
don't need to shift large body segments around to counter-balance the "sag" in balancing poses, and most importantly
are supported by gravity when aligned with its flow; you're buoyed up, rather than dragged down.

So don't surrender to gravity and sink into standing poses.

Now stand near a wall and come into tree pose. It's time for your tree pose check-up.

Reach out an touch the wall any time you need it. The adjustments I'm suggesting will probably throw you off balance at first.

First, check to see if your groins are hard. (See my previous Daily Yoga Tip.) It's more likely that your groin on the straight leg side will be hard and protruding. Hang onto the wall, you'll need to do enough of a forward bend (see the hips move back?) to soften the hard groins.

I'll caution you. If you've been "hanging" in tree pose for convenient stability, this forward bend to soften the groins will confuse your balance. So stick with it. Don't bail out early. Softening your hard groins will reveal your "hidden backbend."

Next, put a micro-bend in the knee of the straight leg. You'll notice right away that this requires you to use leg muscles. You proabaly won't like it. It reveals knee hyperextension. Hyperextension is easier, by far.

Lastly, without shifting your pelvis forward again, tuck your tailbone and draw the circumference around the navel back.

Then reach the arms over head and lengthen the side ribs, pulling the torso up out of the pelvis. You should feel light!

If you have difficulty with any of these instructions, that difficulty provides the revealing function of this tree pose check-up. That difficulty shows you where you've been "hanging out," surrendered to the pull of gravity, rather than "growing up" like a majestic tree, supported and buoyed by perfect alignment with the flow of the universe.

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

Kevin Perry
www.ExperienceYoga.org

p.s., Vrksa means "tree" in Sanskrit. Therefore, vrksasana is tree pose. But what's adho mukha vrksasana? It literally means "downward facing tree pose." What's that, you ask? It's handstand or full arm balance.

This points to one of the problems with learning the Sanskrit names of yoga poses: we know poses by their common English names, which often have no correlation to the literal English translations of the Sanskrit word roots. We'll help you sort it all out at the Experience Sanskrit workshop coming up one week from today in Dallas.

You won't want to miss this fun, four-hour workshop at the Surya Center for Yoga. Register today at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawodatxno.html. The price has already gone up to $60. So get in now, before the workshop sells out. You get a 100-page companion course guide to use and take home with you.

Find out more at www.ExperienceYoga.org.

p.p.s., This is a very special greeting to my 10-year old daughter Richelle, who lost a tooth (a molar, in fact) on Thursday. In honor of this auspicious event I will give my Daily Yoga Tip readers a mantra to recite. This is a mantra that invokes and honors Lord Ganesha, the elephant-faced deity, who is always portrayed with one broken tusk. Ganesha is known as the remover of all obstacles.

The mantra goes like this:

Aum ekadantaya namah

Namah mean "I bow to you" or "greetings, salutations." Ekadantaya means "One who has one tusk."

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami says that "Ekadanta refers to one tusk in the elephant face, which means God broke the duality and made you to have a one-pointed mind." He also recommends that you repeat this mantra 108 times, with "sincere devotion," concentrating on the meaning, every day for 48 days. Be sure to do this practice, after you've bathed or washed your limbs, at the same place and time.

Remember, if you don't want to repeat this mantra, you can still remove the obstacles to achieving the state of yoga. Patanjali says "To overcome the obstacles and their accompaniments, the intense application of the will to some one truth (or principle) is required." (YogaSutras I:32) You can focus your meditation on any single truth.

p.p.p.s., We're also conducting the Experience Sanskrit workshop on March 4, 2006 at Golden Heart Yoga in Annapolis, Maryland. Find out more about Golden Heart Yoga at http://www.goldenheartyoga.com/. And we're staying an extra day for an asana workshop on Sunday. Make plans to attend now.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Hard Groins, Locked Pelvis, Hidden Backbend

2005-10-27T17:10:00.000-05:00

The dictionary says that a groin is "a crease or hollow at the junction of the inner part of each thigh with the trunk."

I'm giving you this definition because "groin" is a generic term. It's not specific. Groins can be hard to find. And they're hard to teach about because...well because your groins are close to your private parts. And I can't just walk up to you and point at your groins or touch your groins without the possibility of ruining your yoga experience and my reputation.

Yet the groins hold to the key to a very simple but powerful yoga tip.

If you can figure out where your groins are, you can touch them. And you can be sure when you touch them that if your groins are hard and protruding, your pelvis is less functional than it would be if your groins were soft and hollow.

You can stop reading right there if you want to. It's a great tip in and of itself.

This trouble with hard protuding groins is never more obvious to me than at the start of wide-leg standing poses.

Take triangle pose (utthita trikonasana), for instance. To do triangle pose you first step your feet wide apart, then your turn your feet and legs. Since I usually start on the right side, I turn my left foot inward, then I rotate my right leg and foot outward so that my right knee and foot point to the right.

For most of us, we haven't yet begun the pose, but our fate is already sealed by a locked up pelvis.

You can find this out for yourself if you follow the instuctions I just gave you above. (Don't just read about it. Get up. Do it.) If you've got your feet turned so they point to the right, like I asked you to, you'll probably notice a few common body patterns:

1. Your shoulders, abdomen and pelvis are probably turned slightly (or not so slightly) to the right also. So instead of being squared up with the wall in front of you, you've rotated rightward.
2. Your right hip is lower than your left hip.
3. Your left groin is hard and protruding, while your right groin is soft and hollow.

When one or both groins are hard and protruding, you're not as free to move your pelvis as you would be if they were both soft and hollow. If your left groin were soft and hollow you could more easily shift your pelvis into a deeper triangle pose.

So how do you make your left groin soft and hollow? Bend forward. When you do a forward bend, notice that your torso moves forward and your pelvis moves backward. When your pelvis is back, your groins are soft and hollow and you can move it freely now into the pose.

Maybe the most important thing to notice here is that many of us, whether we're standing around or doing a yoga posture, are doing a "hidden" backbend. We're backbending, but we don't know it. When I look at most untrained yoga students from the side in nearly any standing pose, their legs are not vertical. Rather, their pelvises are positioned forward (over their toes, not their ankles) so their legs appear to be leaning forward. They look that way because they are learning forward.

If you begin your triangle pose with a hidden backbend and a hard groin, it's unlikely you'll get rid of it as you come down into the final position. So check it out. In your triangle pose, are your torso and head thrown back in a back bend? If they are, the opposite hip will be thrust forward and the groin will be hard.

So start checking yourself for hard protruding groins in standing poses. If you've got 'em, chances are good you're backbending and you don't know it. Forward bend enough to make the groins hollow and you're on your way.

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

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

p.s., I was teaching the Experience Sanskrit workshop a couple months ago in St. Louis when one of my students said she remembers that the Sanskrit word kona (as in trikonasana) means "angle" because she associates it with the word "corner." Brilliant. Get it? Kona sorta sound like "corner."

That's what the Experience Sanskrit workshop is all about...association. We give you vivid experiences that you can associate with yoga poses so that the Sanskrit names become unforgettable. Don't miss this great opportunity to join us for this fun, four-hour workshop.

Our next workshop date is in Dallas at the Surya Center for Yoga on November 5. It's coming soon. So register at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawodatxno.html. Do it before Saturday, when the price goes up to $60. You get a 100-page companion course guide to use and take home with you. Register today.

Find out more at http://www.experienceyoga.org/.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.

Forgotten Knee Pain Remebered in its Absence

2005-10-23T13:48:00.000-05:00

A few nights ago I taught a yoga class that was primarily focused on stretching the quadriceps and hip flexors. These are the muscles on the fronts of the legs and pelvis.

We explored postures like thunderbolt pose (vajrasana), hero pose (virasana), reclined hero pose (supta virasana), reclined half hero pose (supta ardha virasana), and various lunges (banarasana).

After class I noticed that I had no pain in my right knee. What a great feeling...the absence of knee pain!

[Note: Here's an important instruction. If you experience knee pain while performing any of the poses listed above, you should stop immediately. Make appropriate adjustments so that you can practice these poses without pain.]

So, there's a great yoga tip. If you've got a sore knee, try a good series of poses that warm up the hips and legs, and stretch the quads and hip flexors. You might find out that, like me, the soreness leaves you.

But here's the puzzle that really made me think as I drove home from class:

Why didn't I notice my knee soreness until it went away?

Stump the teacher. I don't really know why. But I'm guessing two things got in my way: lack of awareness and laziness.

I had coffee Friday morning with my Dad. He was talking about a pain about which he said, "I've been living with it so long, I forgot I had it." That sums it up for me!

We humans have a tremendous capacity to sort through ideas and phenomena and immediately ignore the ones that aren't useful or seem to get in our way.

Patanjali says "the posture of yoga is steady and easy." But sometimes I practice yoga poses with ego gratification in the driver seat. When that happens, I'll do anything to accomplish the pose, even if it hurts. That's not yoga.

That's why regular practice of savasana, the corpse pose, is so important. In the absolute stillness of that pose you become more senstive and aware. And that sensitivity and awareness can be carried over into the more vigorous poses and your life off the mat, too.

When you're sensitive and aware, you're more likely to notice your knee pain AND notice that you've been ignoring it, or blocking it out.

I know many really great techniques and tips that are effective for eliminating knee pain. But I'll be honest with you. Sometimes I'm lazy. I know what to do, but I don't do it.

The awareness I gain from yoga also helps me to slow down and see clearly when I'm being lazy, too.

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

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

p.s., Here's my standard disclaimer. I am not a doctor or other health care provider. This information is not intended to be medical advice or diagnosis. You should seek medical advice and diagnoses from qualified licensed health care providers.

p.p.s., I am qualified to help you learn and remember the Sanskrit names of yoga poses. Look at the yoga poses named above. Vajrasana means thunderbolt pose. It looks and sounds almost like virasana, the hero pose. In both poses, your legs are folded under you. In vajrasana, you sit on your heels. In virasana, your feet are wider apart, so you sit on the ground between your feet.

How do you keep it all straightened out in your mind? Mostly by association. You associate new ideas with ones you already know. We'll do lots of that when we get together for the Experience Sanskrit workshop.

Our next workshop date is in Dallas at the Surya Center for Yoga on November 5. It's coming soon. So register at http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-13837176072520/exsawodatxno.html before the price goes up to $60. The four-hour workshop is fun. And you get a 100-page companion course guide to use and take home with you. Register today.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved, Mo Yoga LLC.