What's "Neutral Pelvis"?

When I was in school, (for Exercise Physiology) each movement began “from neutral pelvis”, but no one ever explained how to find neutral pelvis.  How far do you stick your backside out?  How much do you tuck your pelvis?  This has always concerned me.  And no wonder!  I recently looked up the psoas in one of my old Anatomy books, and it barely had a paragraph about it.  I can’t believe that.  It’s such an important muscle in the health of your back, and it just had a paragraph!  Of course I had a hard time finding neutral pelvis, not to mention what a hard time I had teaching my personal training clients about neutral pelvis. 

But then, I went to yoga teacher training.  I studied under Stephanie Keach, at Asheville Yoga Center (awesome yoga teacher training program, if you get a chance to go!).  Stephanie teaches a technique she calls “Pez”, like the candy.  I’ll show you what she’s talking about in the workshop.  Suddenly, I understood!  Yay for yoga.

But over the years, with so much teaching, I started to have trouble with my left hip and sacro-illiac joint.  What was going on?  I was practicing Pez!

Last fall, I went to the workshop at AYC with John Friend.  John looked at me, and immediately knew I had been tucking my pelvis under too much.  All these years of teaching yoga had strengthened my abs to the point that they overwhelmed my back muscles.

So, I’ve modified Stephanie’s Pez just a little bit, added a bit of John Friend’s advice,  as well as my own experiences, and have come up with a workshop I call “Neutral Pelvis”.  If you have back pain, or know someone who does, try this workshop!

Hope to see you there!

Can Yoga Help...?

As a yoga teacher, I tend to think yoga can help everything.  But here's a list of some of the health conditions shown by scientific studies to benefit from the practice of yoga.  From Yoga As Medicine:  The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing by Timothy McCall, MD
Alcoholism & other drug abuse
Anxiety
Asthma
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Cancer
Carpal Tunnel Syndrom
COPD (Emphysema)
Congestive Heart Failure
Depression
Diabetes
Drug Withdrawal
Eating Disorders
Epilepsy
Fibromyalgia
Heart Disease
High Blood Pressure
HIV/Aids
Infertility
Insomnia
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Monopausal and Perimenopausal Symptoms
Migraine and Tension Headaches
Multiple Sclerosis
Neuroses (e.g. Phobias)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Osteoarthritis
Osteoporosis
Pain (chronic)
Pancreatitis (chronic)
Pleural Effusion (fluid collection in the lining of the lung)
Post-Heart Attack Rehabilitation
Postoperative Recovery
Post-Polio Syndrome
Pregnancy (both normal and complicated)
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rhinitis (Inflammation of the Nose)
Schizophrenia
Scoliosis (curvature of the spine)
Sinusitis
Tuberculosis
Urinary Stress Incontinence

Why I do yoga: part 2

In this series, I’m exploring all the reasons I choose to do yoga and own a studio.  What I’m discovering is that it could be a long series.  There’s so much I love about practicing yoga!

But today, I want to talk about one of the physical reasons I practice yoga:  my back.

If I could show you my x-rays, you would see a weird bone formation at L-4/L-5.  Those are two of the lower vertebrae, just above the pelvis.  When I was 18, I was having a lot of back pain, and I went to a Chiropractor.  He found that I have a natural fusion of the two vertebrae, and that they form a strange shape, and are connected on the left side of my spine.  This was affecting me in several ways.  First, the spot of fusion was hurting a lot.  It seemed that the fused bones were rubbing on the upper part of my pelvis, and since there was no natural cartilage there, it was pretty painful.  Also, I got “referred pain”, which means that I had muscular pain on the right side of my mid-back, in my left shoulder, and in the right side of my neck & jaw.  And I was just 18, and very fit.

My parents took me to an Orthopedist, who said he could do nothing for me.  He also said that I wouldn’t be able to walk by the time I was 30, and then they would do surgery.  (BTW, I’m about to turn 36 and I walk pain-free!)

Dejected, I began studying how to strengthen my back.  I found that the stronger my back, the less pain I experienced.  I was a personal trainer, and everything I had been taught had to do with the superficiality of the body-the muscles you can see.  I began training the deep muscles of the back.

But then came yoga.  At first, I was so frustrated when I struggled with some of the poses.  I was so strong and healthy, right?  But I learned that my core strength, while better than before, was sadly lacking.  Yoga works better than any other exercises to target, strengthen, and stretch the deep muscles of the back, to support the spine.

Today, I have been practicing yoga regularly for almost 10 years.  I have no back pain.  On a rare occasion, I will “over-do” and hurt.  But now, I know how to fix it.  Yoga has been the ultimate solution to my back pain problem.

If you’ve got back pain, what are you waiting for?  Try a class!

Negative thoughts: Now What?

Controlling those thoughts!

Monday, we looked at how to recognize automatic negative thoughts when they come to mind.  But now what?
Unfortunately, through depression, I have lots of experience with this!  When I first started becoming aware of my automatic negative thoughts, I was overwhelmed with their constant presence.  But over time, I've been able to quiet my mind, and to recognize "true" thoughts vs those automatic bad ones.
Step 1:  Acknowledge the thought as negative and/or destructive.
Step 2:  Examine the thought:  Is it true, or is that just your monkey mind working overtime?
Step 3:  If it's true, but a negative thought, what can you do right now to change the situation?
             If it's untrue, remind yourself strongly that "THAT'S NOT SO!"  Follow up with encouraging words to yourself!
Step 4:  Take action:  If you thought of a way to change the situation, do that immediately!  If it was untrue, or there's nothing to do about it, this is when the yoga & meditation come in.  Notice your body.  Notice your breath.  Count your breaths, or otherwise shift your focus away from the negative thought.  If it's convenient, practice a yoga pose or two, to get you out of your head and into your body.
This seem simple, but it's a powerful practice to change your thoughts today.
How have you dealt with negative thoughts in the past?
Have you been able to change your life by changing your thoughts?
I'd love to hear your story!

Yoga & Addiction

Addiction is a part of everyone's life, whether we realize it or not.  We sometimes jokingly say "I'm addicted to _____", but in reality, we all know a true addict or two.  Many times, the person is just going through life, trying to hide their ever-growing dependence on whatever it is.  But for some, they've crossed over into recovery, and that's a beautiful thing.  At the studio, we have several recovering addicts that I know of.  Not everyone is comfortable speaking about it, so I'm guessing we have more.  And yoga helps.  The breathing, the being-in-the-moment.  It's all life-changing to an addict.
Recovering addicts inspire me.  They are courageous, dedicated, and wonderful individuals who fight with something greater than themselves.  And I realize that if they can use yoga to recover from an addiction, I can use yoga to recover from selfishness, or greed, or hate, or envy, or any of the other negative things we humans do.
I found this article on Kripalu's blog, and thought I'd share.  In the meantime, if you know an addict, please take the time to listen, to love them, and to help them breathe.

John Friend

Saturday, I had the great pleasure of spending all day studying under a couple of amazing yoga instructors.  One was our very own Joe Taft, who did a workshop with us at Mountain Yoga a couple of weeks ago.  The other was the legendary founder of Anusara Yoga, John Friend.

I loved both sessions, and always learn so much from Joe.  But John introduced a concept or two that might just change my body for good.  For most of my life, I was told that I had excessive lumbar lordosis (too much curve in my low back) and that I needed to strengthen my abs, to ease my back pain.  As John said, “you did a good job!”  He actually encouraged me to bring that curve back. 

For the last couple of years, I’ve had a nagging pain in my left hip.  At times, this has affected my practice, and my teaching.  During John’s class yesterday, he encouraged a strong use of the gluteal muscles, and creating space in the pelvic floor…a concept I knew, but rarely employed, because of my lordosis.  But by sivasana, I knew I had done too much.  Before he rang the bell, I had to bend my knees to take the spasm out of my low back.  After class, I approached him in pain.

John looked at my normal standing posture, and had me shift the tops of my femurs back, essentially sticking my butt out, and sitting down into my legs a little more.  Ahhh….sudden relief…  But is it just temporary?  John says no; that changing my stance back to what my body WANTS to do naturally will heal my hip in short order.

Needless to say, after all these years, I’m a little skeptical. But I’m willing to try.  So, if you see me with my pelvis tucked under, give me a gentle reminder.

One more lesson from John Friend.  He has been practicing and teaching yoga for many, many years.  He developed a world-renowned yogic system, which has helped to heal thousands of bodies and minds.  But in humility, he brought a different concept to us yesterday.  Because he watched and learned from his students, he is able to change and adapt his teaching.  It’s all about learning, growing and healing.  And that may be my biggest take-away from practicing yoga with the famous John Friend.

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble...

Lately, I’ve been reigniting my love for food fermentation.  Several months ago, I managed to kill my kombucha mama.  (If you’ve never tried kombucha, go to Earth Fare or Natural Foods and pick up a bottle.  It might be your new love, too!)  But the wonderful Tammy Ozment shared some of hers.  So, I am waiting, not so patiently, for my first batch of Tammy Kombucha to ferment on my kitchen counter.  Also, I just scheduled with Marc Williams, from botanyeveryday.com, to teach a fermented foods class in March for us.  So the excitement was bubbling…

Then, I discovered that Earth Fare had (has?) the book, Wild Fermentation on sale for only $12.50!  I’ve been wanting that book a long time, so with the ice storm, I read the whole thing in less than a day.  Sandor Katz goes about fermentation in just my style:  few rules, lots of creativity.

Last year, Scott and I made homemade sauerkraut.  It was awesome, and met with rave reviews.  I wanted to start a batch last night, but was not going to brave the icy roads for a couple heads of cabbage!  But I had some turnips.  So, currently, on the kitchen cabinet, sets a quart jar of “sauerruben”, or fermented turnips.  If I get moving later today, I might make the same thing, but with carrots.  I love how Katz encourages you to try stuff.   In a week or so, we’ll find out if we like sauerruben!

For those reading this and worrying about my health, afraid of listeria and other monsters lurking in my crocks, fear not.  I am careful to keep my containers and hands clean, and watch for any signs of yuckiness.  If it smells bad, don’t eat it….or just try a tiny bite….  Also, Katz says that in all his years of home fermentation, he never made anyone sick, or even heard of a case.  In fact, a few years ago, the government did a study and found that most of the cases of milk-borne illnesses came from PASTEURIZED milk products!

I have also made lots of yogurt and plan to make kefir soon.  So, don’t be afraid.  Get the book, take the class, but start fermenting!

Yama: Asteya (non-stealing)

Our next Yama is Asteya, or non-stealing. We discussed in earlier posts Ahimsa & Satya.

I’m pretty sure that most of us don’t rob jewelry stores. (of course, if you do, please seek help!) And most of us wouldn’t even think about shoplifting. But what about other ways of stealing? What about the pens and paper you brought home from the office, even by accident? What about eating that last cookie, when you know your spouse would really enjoy it? What about at a trade show, when you already got whatever swag they’re handing out, but you go right back for more? Are there little ways in which you are truly stealing?

Let’s look a little deeper. Are you stealing from others in any other way? Have you used underhanded ways to get promoted? Do you spend company time to surf the internet, make personal phone calls, or just goof off?

What about stealing from yourself? In your yoga practice, don’t push beyond where you’ve earned. Build a foundation of correct alignment and daily practice before moving deeper in a pose. In your daily life, give yourself a few minutes of meditation, or at least peace & quiet. Don’t rob yourself of the things that are so very important.

In what ways are you stealing? How can you begin to change that this week?
(By the way, the picture above is one I took of the Roan Highlands-not far from Johnson City-it's a great place find a few minutes of peace & stillness)

Forage & Feasting!

As expected, Forage & Feast was awesome!  Seventeen people gathered at Linda Bolt's Hatterdale Farm to hear Marc Williams talk about plants.  We wandered in fields & woods, learning about different types of plants that are safe to eat & use as medicine.  Then, we brought our harvest inside & made it into a delicious meal!  This was my 4th walk in the woods with Marc, and each time, I learn so much.  His knowledge about the plants is amazing.  Learning about edible plants has recently become an "obsession" for me, and these walks just make me want to learn more.

We've had so many positive comments about Forage & Feast.  Most of our group wants to do it again.  Hopefully we can have Marc back soon.

In the meantime, I promised to post the recipes from the feast.

Happy Foraging!

Wild Hummus

3 cans of beans

1/4 c. tahini

1/4 c. lemon juice

dandelion

1 1/2 c. chickweed

1 T cumin

1/3 c. olive oil

salt & garlic to taste

Yogurt Fennel Dressing

1 c. yogurt

1/4 c. fennel

1/4 c. honey

1/2 t salt

Honey Mustard Dressing

1 c. mustard

1/2 c. mustard leaves

1/4 c. honey

1/2 c. oil

Quinoa Tabouleh

1/2 c. oil

1/2 c. lemon juice

1 c. mint

1/4 c. wild carrot

1 tomato

2 t salt

Bliss Bites

1 c. pumpkin seeds

1 c. sunflower seeds

1 c. raisins

1/2 c. honey

1/4 c. tahini

1 T spice bush fruit

roll in coconut or rose petals

Yellow Dock-a great balancer

In just a couple weeks, Brooke Sullivan, from Vital Essence Herbs in Asheville, NC will teach a workshop on finding our balance this winter.  Brooke is a talented herbalist, and writes on her blog about all nature offers.  Here's an excerpt from her latest about Yellow Dock:
Yellow Dock is a strong weed, seen through the seasons in various stages of growth. Right now in winter, the stream of red in the leaf’s center (a brilliant color for nature) calls to the passerby, hinting at the fact that the name ‘weed’ has placed a mask over its powerful virtues.


As I sit with yellow dock on an unusually warm winter day in my garden in Asheville, NC, I am impressed by its humble beauty and strength. The plant is as common as the need for it, and proves this by growing in lawns, on streetcorners and parks in every neighborhood and in every season. If only people knew about the healing benefits of Yellow Dock! There would be a drastic decline in Tums and laxatives, and even in iron pills!

Yellow Dock, or Rumex crispus, is also known by the name curly dock due to the curling actions of the leaves. These leaves are a cousin of sorrel, and edible as well, with a sour and astringent taste. The root is similar in taste, althought also bitter, and pushes down into the earth as a yellow-shaped man. These particular tastes and the downward moving action signify the effects yellow dock has on moving things down and out of the digestive system. The root as a tincture or tea can help move bile, decongesting the gallbladder and liver. It also detoxifies the blood (especially in combination with burdock root) and stimulates the peristaltic action of the colon (reducing constipation.) Certain sources and my own experience with clients is that the intelligence of the plant creates an amphoteric action for the colon, helping to bring balance no matter what the affliction. So for example, whether one is suffering from an irritable, crampy bowel, or a sluggish, immobile digestive system–yellow dock ameliorates.

In the energetic and spiritual realm, Yellow Dock is known as ‘the Herb of Understanding.’ According to Matthew Wood, one of my mentors and author of “The Book of Herbal Wisdom,” certain Native American tribes used Yellow Dock before a sweat lodge to deepen the wisdom and discernment of the material versus the spiritual realms. In my own experience, it assists in illuminating our higher mind through the avenue of strengthening the solar plexus–the seat of our will, power and assimilation of all life’s experiences. It helps us to flush out old emotionsthat have become stagnant and even materialized in the form of hard matter or congestion in the colon. Its downward flowing action correlates to Yoga and Ayurveda’s concept of Apana Vayu, the energy that governs all forms of elimination such as urination, menstruation, defecation and childbirth. As a tonic in this regards it is used by women for loss of iron and digestive issues during menstruation & childbirth. It makes a wonderful iron syrup tonic with molasses!!

This assistance to the downward flowing motion of energy is probably one of the most important gifts of yellow dock. When it is hard to let go of the past (stories, anger, guilt, pain), old emotions or trauma lingering in the conscious or subconcsious mind, yellow dock is a powerful ally. Physically it ‘cleanses our blood’ but mentally it helps cleanse our mind.

Yellow Dock is a tonic, meaning it is nourishing like food. I suggest whoever is reading this to get to know this plant! Make a tea from the roots (found in the bulk section of most health food stores) or as a tincture, or just sit by it on a sunny day to slow down, rest a bit and take the time to let go of whatever you no longer need. When we allow ourselves the time and space…and support to LET GO, we naturally make room for something else to move into our lives…and with intention, this something can be whatever we need–the perfect medicine to any situation.

To read more from Brooke, check out her blog here.
To attend the workshop, contact Mountain Yoga at 423-262-9551, or online at http://www.mountainyogatn.com/

40 Ways Yoga Heals

Exerpted from Yoga as Medicine:The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing by Timothy McCall, M.D.
1-Increases flexibility
2-Strengthens muscles
3-Improves balance
4-Improves immune function
5-Improves posture
6-Improves lung function
7-Leads to slower and deeper breathing
8-Discourages mouth breathing
9-Increases oxygenation of tissues
10-Improves joint health
11-Nourishes intervertebral disks
12-Improves return of venous blood
13-Increases circulation of lymph
14-Improves function of the feet
15-Improves proprioception
16-Increases control of bodily functions
17-Strengthens bones
18-Conditions the cardiovascular system
19-Promotes weight loss
20-Relaxes the nervous system
21-Improves the function of the nervous system
22-Improves brain function
23-Activates the left prefrontal cortex
24-Changes neurotransmitter levels
25-Lowers levels of the stress hormone, cortisol
26-Lowers blood sugar
27-Lowers blood pressure
28-Improves levels of cholesterol and triglycerides
29-Thins the blood
30-Improves bowel function
31-Releases unconscious muscular gripping
32-Uses imagery to effect change in the body
33-Relieves pain
34-Lowers need for medication
35-Fosters healing relationships
36-Improves psychological health
37-Leads to healthier habits
38-Fosters spiritual growth
39-Elicits the placebo effect
40-Encourages involvement in your own healing