KonaYoga.com

Breathe Deep and Do Not Gather Gloom

Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.-Thich Nhat Hanh

As I mentioned on Friday, slow, deep exhalations have been the focus during all of my classes this week. The instructions were quite simple but not everyone found them easy to do. When I said, "Take a deep breath", some people inspired deep and filled their lungs to capacity within two or three seconds. Others took a deep, short inhaling breath followed by a forceful, quick exhaling breath.

In an effort to illustrate what I consider to be a deep breath, I put my hands together (left hand-palm down, right hand-palm up) and held them out in front of me with my elbows out to the side. When I inhaled, I let my hands separate in sync with my breath and brought them together as I exhaled, slowly. My breaths were not as long as those demonstrated by B.K.S. Iyengar (You Tube, 02:41), not even close, yet many felt them to be much longer than their full breaths.

During the course of a restorative class, folks were able to experience deep breathing with their chests expanded, as well as while bending forward with their foreheads resting on a solid surface. Postures were modified for each of my classes. In Tuesday's Mother Sequence class, we practically doubled the length of the sequence by paying such close attention to lengthening our breaths. In all other classes, I asked them to hold the restorative poses for 24 breaths. As the not-so-innocent-bystander, the results to me were well, breath-taking!

I am blessed with the most receptive, trusting and honest group of yoga students. Each person was responsible for the length of time they spent in each pose and they of course knew, that the winner was not the first one to finish. Also, the last one up was often the one who fell asleep!

What we did receive was greater insight into our abilities to focus, breathe deep and relax. We could all use more practice. The "three soft oms" at the end of class were definitely much longer and we spent 90 minutes doing something positive about our air quality. No one ranted about the vog, they were just focused on 24 slow breaths with exhalations that reminded them....to relax.

Photo:zoethustra

The Greatest Act of Optimism.

Teaching is the greatest act of optimism. - Colleen Wilcox

This, is Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, demonstrated by Jehangir Palkhivala as it graces the brochures for his up-coming April 25-27 workshop at Kona Yoga.

The folks in today's Gentle/Stretch class got a quick-peek-preview of this photo when they held this pose after Bhujangasana. They could truly appreciate the strength that's required in their wrists, arms and legs, as well as the need to cultivate a flexible spine, after seeing this.

I was moved to spend some time on the two poses after reading a New York Times article about the simple push-up being a measure of fitness. A Dr. Miller is quoted as saying, “What so many people really need to do is develop enough strength so they can break a fall safely without hitting their head on the ground. If you can’t do a single push-up, it’s going to be difficult to resist that kind of loading on your wrists in a fall.”

I'll leave the boot camp "drop and give me 30" orders to someone else though. Wrist issues aside, I'm confident that most of these Gentle Stretchers are strong enough to break their falls. We'll keep working on the whole body so we'll have enough balance and not fall to the ground in the first place! :)

If you'd like to print out your own copy of the workshop brochure, download it here.

What the Teacher is...

What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches.  ~Karl Menninger
 

I'm putting the final touches on the flyers for Jehangir Palkhivala's workshop next month. Through the courtesy of his brother Aadil, I have two beautiful photos to incorporate. I cropped a square section to preview only Jehangir's hands on the front cover of the brochure. When you open the tri-fold paper, he is shown in Urdhva Mukha Svanasana.

In hopes of offering a bit of insight into Jehangir's teaching style, I came across an article and have decided to use excerpts for the brochure:

A traditional bonesetter named Madhivala had predicted to Jehangir Palkhivala’s mother, when she was carrying him, that her child would grow up to be a doctor. His words were prophetic. Though Jehangir never studied medicine, today he heals not just physical ailments, but effects transformations through yoga. He calls it “lifestyle modification without much effort”.

“Right from a young age I had a feeling that I’d like to help people. Even today I can’t resist that urge,” says Jehangir who learnt yoga from B.K.S. Iyengar since the age of seven.

“My teaching became such that I started relating it to practical life. At class we would address specific problems, anger, for instance, with the idea of practising on it at home. Thus when you leave class, it is not the end but the beginning of yoga.” (1)

This is the schedule that our workshop will follow:

• Friday, April 25: A Talk from 6-8pm
• Saturday, April 26: 10am - 4pm
• Sunday, April 27: 9am - 1pm

The cost of the full workshop is $225 if you register by April 5. Thereafter the cost will be $250.00.

Tomorrow: Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, the full pose.

(1) Read the article in its entirety. Spiritual Lifestyles: Jehangir and Rashmi Palkhivala. LifePositive.com

Savasana, Voted Most Favorite Yoga Pose

By the end of today's Gentle/Stretch class, every available prop had been taken down from the rack. Bolsters, blankets, blocks and straps are what's needed in a restorative yoga  class.

Those who have discovered ways to quiet their bodies and minds, find restoratives very peaceful and enjoyable. Every once in a while, I throw in a pose that is a bit of a challenge with the intent of increasing the benefits to these gentle practitioners.

The one pose that they have nearly mastered is Savasana,the Corpse Pose pictured above. No matter how full the class might be, everyone finds their own piece of heaven just inches away from another.

When I scan the room and observe the stillness, with no one fidgeting or glaring open-eyed at the ceiling, I feel that I have done my job. I give thanks to all of my teachers, thanks to Savasana as "proof of the pudding", and thanks to all who offer their trust and faith in me by attending class. Namaste.

Our few minutes of fame...

This is a quick scan of the article that appeared in today's issue of West Hawaii Today (WHT). Reporter Jen Reeder, contacted me as I was leaving for West Virginia last month to attend memorial services for Armand Singer, for an interview.

We finally connected when I got back to Kona and a few weeks ago, WHT photographer Mike Darden, captured the essence of a  restorative yoga class.

The folks in our Gentle Stretch Class are diligent practitioners and it's difficult to distract them, especially during a restorative class.   Thanks to Jen Reeder, Mike Darden and West Hawaii Today for spreading the word about the benefits and joy of yoga!

Note: that's my dad, Fred Uechi, with his hands in namaste. He's usually the only male in the class.

What is a teacher?

Early yesterday morning, as I started in on this paragraph that began,  "What is a teacher?..." my awakening brain thought I was reading  something from Yoga Journal's My Yoga Mentor. It said, "A good Teacher directs the student’s eyes to the simple parts first, and slowly, bit by bit, gently guides the seeking hands along a proven path."

Only when I read the word violin, did a realize that this was an article from Senia, waiting for me as an e-mail message. Whether you're teaching yoga, the violin, or life skills: teach the simple parts first, offer bits of knowledge (repeatedly) until it becomes a system and the top of the mountain simply appears one day (aha!).

The greatest asset of being a teacher is that in the process of preparing for a class (or even leading a class with no idea of where it will lead), you often find yourself on the top of the mountain and joyfully wave your arms and jump up and down to encourage those in your class to come and join you. It's here! Come see!

Photo: Jerrie Stafford, Kailua-Kona.