All posts by SpiceYoga

Study Yoga For Free

From the Sadhaka's Mat, , , , ,

I have to tell you…  I am actually not a teacher; I am a student!
I’d tell you why I prefer to be a student. Student benefits rock, and you should not miss out on them too. Want to improve your yoga practice? I discovered how to learn yoga for free!

Learn yoga for free

The other day, a man came to practice in my class. He had shared about a tight IT band issue. I offered some variations to help him in his practice. I noticed that for some of the asanas, instead of taking up what I had offered, he started to make his own variations, which were innovative and new to me, and he looked completely comfortable while practising them. We had a chat afterwards, and I learned so much about IT bands! He had lived with it for years. He had read a lot of articles, researched strength and stretch exercises, and experimented with them on his body, and knew what worked and what didn’t. He was quite the expert on IT bands. I exchanged notes with him and we both left the conversation with more knowledge about this condition.

At the studios, they call me a yoga teacher, but I am a perpetual student! I learn a lot from my interactions with others daily. I improve my practice and my teaching, and its all grounded on evidence and real people with their unique bodies.

Want to improve your yoga practice and without any course fee? Ready to sign up?

I am going to tell you how to apply this!

….

It goes back to mindfulness.

…      …      …

Listen with curiosity and an open learning mind.

…   …   ….   ….
Try this ‘Be a Student’ challenge this month!

1. Ask someone what they enjoy doing (keep it general or specific – it can be on their yoga practice or health regimen, or anything else!).

2. Listen keenly and let the person do most of the talking. Resist temptation to comment, layer on your interpretation or examples from your own experience.

3. Really, just listen, and let the conversation and your curiosity about the topic lead you into the topic. Ask the “how”, the “why” and all relevant questions to explore the topic as if you’re preparing for an exam! If you have doubts, challenge and query further.

4. After that, immediately make notes about the one main thing that you’ve learnt from that conversation.
Being a “student” simply means bringing consciousness and an inquiring mind into everything that we do. It is about bringing yoga into our workaday lives. In the midst of a challenging project and looming deadline, take a pause, observe yourself, ask yourself what you are learning from the process.

So this month, I challenge you to treat everyone around you as study mates. Be open and present to what you might be learning from your bosses, your staff, your interns, your clients.

It’s exciting! Do tell me what you’ve learned from this month!

I would LOVE to hear all about it and have a conversation with you over your experience! Email me!

@SpiceSadhaka

Sign up here to receive original Mindful Monday letters like this one from me! As a welcome gift, I’d also like to offer you a full length beginners’ guided mindfulness practice audio for free.

 

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A Daily Dose of Backbends

Tutorial, , , , , ,

Here’s an easy-to-follow yoga backbend sequence that will help you build strength in your spinal extensors without crunching your spine!

Do this daily and notice how it can help you to sit and walk taller and with more open shoulders and lungs.

If you found this useful, please share it with someone who needs it!

Sign up here to receive a full length audio guided beginners’ mindfulness practice session, which will be sent to your inbox!

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How to Sit Tall

Tutorial, , , , ,

Don’t compromise your spinal elongation in your yoga asana practice.

Tight hip flexors and weak back muscles can cause us to constantly hunch over while we are practising many yoga seated poses, continuing a vicious cycle of poor posture created from sitting at the desk all day (the more you sit, the tighter your hip flexors, the tighter the hip flexors, the less easy it is to sit upright).

Here’s how to bring awareness to centering the pelvis and strengthening the core (front and back) muscles, in order to find a long spine, working with tight hips (which most of us live with!) Explore props and variations for four yoga asanas. ENJOY!

If you liked this, please share this page with a friend who needs it!

Sign up here to receive a full length audio guided beginners’ mindfulness practice session, which will be sent to your inbox!

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Caturanga with Stable Shoulders

Tutorial, , , , ,

Use 2 yoga blocks – or stacks of books of the same thickness and firmness – to train strength, alignment and stability in the upper body in caturanga.

  1. Train flexing elbows to 90 degrees carrying own upper body weight (place yoga blocks to touch the shoulders at this height)
  2. Bring awareness to what needs to be turned on to maintain stable shoulder girdle (active palms, arms, hugging of shoulder blades towards ribcage).
  3. Work on concentric and eccentric muscle engagement by working in both directions slow – lowering down and pushing up.
  4. Work with knees down first to build upper body strength – chest, upper back, triceps – before layering in lower body work.

The detailed work needs a whole workshop to run through! These are some ideas to stimulate your awareness in your personal practice.

Sign up here to be informed when the next free tutorials are published! As a welcome gift, a full length audio guided practice session will be sent to your inbox.

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Balancing Squat (Hips and Core!)

Tutorial, , , , ,

This is suitable for those of you who already have a comfortable malasana (squat pose) as part  of your physical practice. With a yoga wheel, you can add in stabilization work, firing up the whole core while maintaining hip opening, balanced weight distribution and mental focus.

See video on Spice Yoga’s Youtube Channel

Courtesy: @DharmaYogaWheel

Sign up here to be informed when the next free tutorials are published! As a welcome gift, a full length audio guided practice session will be sent to your inbox.

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Strength and Length in the Hamstrings and Glutes

Tutorial, , , ,

Runners alert! Dynamic working of hip extensors (hamstrings and gluteus maximus) –  strengthen and lengthen with the support of a yoga wheel. Ideal for those who are tight.

Don’t have a yoga wheel? Options:

i. Walk from side to side holding a yoga block in each hand

ii. Hold onto parts of a fence in the park

Courtesy: @DharmaYogaWheel

Sign up here to be informed when the next free tutorials are published! As a welcome gift, a full length audio guided practice session will be sent to your inbox.

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[After signing up, add ask@spiceyoga.com to your email address book to ensure that you receive the gift.]