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Blessings in the Form of a Broken Back, part 3 | The Healing Power of Stillness |
Everything Else Can Wait – Journal Entry
Yoga Is A Language: Building Internal Literacy in the Original Hot Bikram Yoga Practice
How Bikram Yoga Brought Me Inner Freedom
Bikram Yoga, Our Educational Upbringing, and Inner Success

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Mid-Michigan's only Original Hot Yoga Association Member Studio & Bikram/Ghosh Lineage school. Powerfully transformative. In-person & online daily.

How fast should I be moving while practicing The O

How fast should I be moving while practicing The Original Hot Bikram Yoga?

But wait, Isn’t a yoga class supposed to based on stillness?

Yes, thank goodness. All asana are held in stillness, and the majority of ANY yoga class should be held in the best stillness you can muster. (This is one of the things that makes it accessible and effective during phases of injury or other physical challenges!)

However, we do have to move to get into a posture, and we have to move to get out of a posture.

So, here’s a quick tip for remembering how fast or slow to move while transitioning into and out of each asana:

“Move as SLOWLY as you need to, but as QUICKLY as you can.”

Be careful of sloppy fast movements, and watch out for unnecessarily slow movement.

Your movement control will improve dramatically, during yoga class, but also especially in all of your daily life moments!

Finally, on your slowest days, you can still be quick with your mind and instantaneous with your concentration. When you follow the words and attend to the body parts that you are hearing about, you will get benefit even if you aren’t moving those body parts very much.

I love to hear the stories of how you have handled this in your practice. Feel free to comment here so we all can learn from you!

#bikramyoga #originalhotyoga #traditional #yoga #ghoshlineage #ohya #originalhotyogaassociation #eastlansingmi #pureyoga #hathayoga #attitude #slowyoga #stillness #movement #movementpractice #presentmoment #concentration #musclecontrol #nervoussystem #therapeuticyoga #posturesholdingstillness #yogapractice #yogateaching

Feeling restricted and struggling to breathe in Ra

Feeling restricted and struggling to breathe in Rabbit Pose? You're not alone; it's a common challenge, especially when you're new to the practice!

Most practitioners and teachers of The Original Hot Bikram Yoga know the directive phrase “Postures Holding Stillness, Breathing Always Normal.” But we forget - or never grasped - the final four words of this directive:

Which are:

“According to the Posture.”

Yes, there is a specific breathing technique that coordinates with each of the 26 postures!

As you learn how to apply these techniques, you will be able to:

— feel stronger in each posture

— create more relaxation in each

— enable more comprehensive stillness

— hold stillness for more time

— GAIN energy in the class rather than deplete it

— dramatically improve the sustainability of your practice

One example is Rabbit Pose.

Rabbit Pose (*Sasangasana)* is a head-to-knee pose where the spine and torso are flexed forward. Anytime we do this, the body is restricted from taking a complete, muscular inhale. So if we try to take a “deep breath”, we will likely feel stuck or that we “can’t breathe in Rabbit Pose.”

The key is actually to NOT take a deep breath once you’ve started rounding the spine.

The key is to EXHALE slowly and completely

Over all, we learn to understand the specific breathing techniques in each posture. When you get the technique right, you'll find ease and relaxation even while you're challenged!

Watch to learn the secret to breathing well. And let me know your experiences and questions!

#bikramyoga #originalhotyoga #traditional #yoga #ghoshlineage #ohya #rabbitpose #sasangasana #forwardbending #forwardbend #headtoknee #breathing #technique #posturesholdingstillness #breathingalwaysnormal #accordingtotheposture #originalhotyogaassociation #eastlansingmi #pureyoga #hathayoga #presentmoment #concentration #positive #negative #selftalk #language #narrative #yogapractice #yogateaching

Struggling with Locust Pose (also called *Salabhas

Struggling with Locust Pose (also called *Salabhasana*)? I mean, who doesn’t? That’s the one where your body is squishing your arms to the floor, and the palms are on the ground.

(note: it is so great for helping to reverse carpal tunnel, and for helping to heal so many other arm and neck issues!)

Regardless of how high you can get your legs, breathing can be challenging at first.

After all, the position of your arms - and the contraction of your back muscles - somewhat restricts the movement of your rib cage. So, if you are trying to take deep breaths in the posture, you are likely going to feel stuck, or extra challenged.

Here's a tip to reduce your struggle: Instead of trying to take a full, completely expanding inhale as you lift your legs, try to find a middle range for your breath.

Do not try to completely inhale, nor to completely exhale. You’ll create more stability if you take shallower breaths.

Just make sure that “shallow” does NOT mean fast, nor panicky.

Using a middle range of the breathing range of motion should ideally be directed towards being smooth, well-controlled, and ultimately slow.

I’d LOVE to hear how this goes for you! Try it out for a few classes and leave a comment below.

#bikramyoga #originalhotyoga #traditional #yoga #ghoshlineage #ohya #locustpose #salabhasana #originalhotyogaassociation #eastlansingmi #pureyoga #hathayoga #breathingtechnique #breathing #breath #technique #skill #ribcage #backwardbending #spinestrengthening #yogapractice #yogateaching

Struggling with Camel Pose? You're not alone! Wh

Struggling with Camel Pose? You're not alone!

While it is true that we need to push the hips forward, and we need to learn to breathe well while backward bending the spine, there is something MISSING in most teaching of this posture.

What else do you need to do with the lower body?

There is an opposite force that is needed to stabilize the posture.

And that is a deliberate downward pressure… or pushing down of the feet into the floor… or leaning into the tops of the feet-ankles!

The “hips forward” needs to always be done IN COMBINATION with this more subtle - yet necessary - effort of feet-ankles being grounded.

Because camel posture needs a firm stability. This - and all other postures - is NOT about how far you can go or how bendy you are.

The magic that happens here is both instantaneous AND long-term.

Your abdominal wall will learn to relax. Your breathing will be able to shift into relaxation. Your nervous system will respond accordingly. It is so amazing.

I’d love to hear how this goes for you!

Leave me a comment here.

#bikramyoga #originalhotyoga #traditional #yoga #ghoshlineage #ohya #originalhotyogaassociation #eastlansingmi #pureyoga #hathayoga #stability #ease #intensity #groundedness #combination #yogaposture #technique #allbackwardbendinghealsthespine #backwardbending #camelpose #ustrasana #yogapractice #yogateaching

What if I told you that “Whether you think you can

What if I told you that “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, YOU’RE WRONG.”?

Let’s explore.

What does it really mean to say “I can!” or “I can’t!” to yourself, during your yoga practice?

What does it mean to say “I can’t.” when it comes to trying yoga in the first place?

Or to say to me after class, “I can’t do that one,” referring to a specific posture.

Or to say about your favorite posture: “Oh yeah, I can do that one!”

The fact is that all of the above statements take us out of the present moment.

That century-old Henry Ford quote (”Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”) is only useful in the context of noticing positive and negative self-talk.

But it distracts and diverts us from paying attention to the present moment.

It CATEGORIZES the posture, and seals the posture into a STORY. Neither of which have to do with the attending to the subtlety of what is happening in your breathing and your body.

Also, consider this: is there really one single moment, over the course of your years of practice, when “can’t” turns into “can”?

I hope not. We are learning every moment that we practice. We are attempting the postures always. Are there “ah-ha” moments, when you experience a breakthrough of understanding, muscle control, relaxation, or other technique? Sure! But those will be happening for as long as you practice. There is INFINITE learning in every asana.

I beg of you to NOT put postures into the “I can’t” box. And to set aside the tendency to say “I can” only when a posture is going according to expectation.

Watch your language! ;) It DOES matter.

#bikramyoga #originalhotyoga #traditional #yoga #ghoshlineage #ohya #originalhotyogaassociation #eastlansingmi #pureyoga #hathayoga #attitude #mindset #positiveattitude #whetheryouthinkyoucanorthinkyoucant #presentmoment #concentration #positive #negative #selftalk #language #narrative #yogapractice #yogateaching

What is a mind-body connection, really? And what

What is a mind-body connection, really?

And what does it have to do with the constant, simple instruction in an Original Hot Bikram Yoga class?

Well, the “dialogue” as we call it, is the key to some of the most powerful mental benefits.

It is the exact method that we use to create and sustain a constant connection between the thinking mind and the physical body, in the present moment.

By putting your concentration on the teacher's exact words—like "arms”, “left”, “right”, “stomach in”, etc. you establish immediate links between the mind and the body.

And as you train your discipline to sustain this concentration, breath by breath, minute by minute, you get to experience a meditative state.

Where no new stress is created, and the stresses of yesterday start to dissolve.

It is a miracle!

#dialogue #bikramyoga #theoriginalhotyoga #hotyoga #eastlansingmi #eastlansing #yogateaching #yogapractice #mindbody #mindbodyconnection

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