by YD on January 26, 2012
in News
Those California hippies have done it again! Oh, we kid the westie yogsters (with blatant envy). Have you ever broken out your yoga stretch in the airport or pulled a header waiting at your gate? (when you’re not tossing them back at the bar, that is.) If you’re flying in or out of San Francisco any time soon you won’t have to withstand the ugly carpet or funny looks from bystanders. Nope, not anymore, because the folks at SFO have created a special Yoga Room just for you!
The first of its kind, the Yoga Room at Terminal 2 is open for business, or non-business if you will, starting Thursday, keeping the same hours as the security checkpoint – 4:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.
“The room gives modern travelers a space that fosters and supports quiet and reflection. Those aren’t emotions that people typically encounter at the airport,” said Melissa Mizell, design director for Gensler, the Terminal 2 architecture firm that also created the yoga room, in a statement.
Located just past the security checkpoint in the recently renovated Terminal 2, the new yoga room is bathed in calming blue light, with a floating wall said to symbolize a buoyant spirit and enlightened mind. Lights in the room are low and warm — to counteract the bright concourse — and loaner mats are supplied.
Bonus: If you’re not interested in getting sweaty with strangers, you can simply go sit and meditate with them at the Berman reflection room — “a center for quiet reflection and meditation.”
Wait, what was that? Sorry, we were busy looking up flights to San Fran so we could go check it out for ourselves. We’ve heard how great the SF yoga scene is but with a Yoga Room, Peet’s Coffee and Tea and duty free goods that sounds like a perfect little west coast weekend retreat! Now if only Jetblue would incorporate inflight asana and chai breaks. JFK, your move.
[MSNBC; FlySFO]
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Earlier…
January 2012 is Yoga Freedom Month. Did you know?
The yoga community has come together in unity in the past to support varying causes from cancer cures to rebuilding Haiti. Yoga Freedom Project, a campaign started by Off the Mat NYC leader Heather Snyder and The Somaly Mam Foundation is on a mission to unite the yoga community to help put an end to sex trafficking.
Read on to learn more from Heather about the cause and what we as a community can do about the issue of sex trafficking. In NYC? Come out for the big event on the 31st! We’ll see you there.
What is Yoga Freedom and how did it come about?
Heather: Yoga Freedom started out as just a small idea back in the Spring of 2011 and has turned into a much larger movement, fully embraced by the global yoga community. For me, it traces back to when I read Somaly Mam‘s book 3 years ago. After reading the words of this courageous, inspiring woman and hearing what she went through and the work she is doing to rescue and empower trafficking victims, I knew I had to get involved. At the time, I would search the Somaly Mam website looking for opportunities to help and I even applied for an internship there. I just wanted to do something but I didn’t know what. Then last year SMF created Project Futures, a volunteer platform for people to get more involved in supporting Somaly Mam’s work.
How did Yoga and Off the Mat get involved?
I went to a first Project Futures meeting last Spring and after hearing about all the ways to get involved, they mentioned that they wanted to somehow engage the yoga community in a campaign. I got chills at this statement as I knew that was something I could do. As the regional leader for NYC Off the Mat Into the World, I am amongst an amazing group of yogis dedicated to service. I knew I had found my way in to help. That was how Yoga Freedom Project started, as a collaboration between Off the Mat NYC and The Somaly Mam Foundation.
Who is Somaly Mam and what type of work is being done with the Somaly Mam Foundation (SMF)?
[click to continue…]
"...it's not magic. It's neurobiology."
Stressed in yoga class? You’re doing it right. Sort of. This article from Alex Korb, Ph.D. at Psychology Today stresses the importance of finding the calm in stressful situations, like twisted triangle and dealing with squares. (see what we did there?)
From what we know about stress it does have its benefits, like when we need that extra boost of adrenaline to power through paperwork (taxes, anyone? oy) or to run from danger. But what we don’t need is that physiological stress response occurring during our normal daily lives. Luckily yoga practice helps us learn how to switch that off, to switch on the relaxation response and to remain calm and focused even when we’re faced with MTA delays and no more almond milk at your favorite cafe. (is that organic?)
This is a great read and an inadvertently legit response to the whole NYT ‘Yoga Wrecking Your Body’ clusterfluffle, taking a look at the brain-body benefits of a yoga practice. Here’s a bit where Korbmeister talks about the nervous system and yoga:
Interestingly, despite all the types of stressful situations a person can be in (standing on your head, running away from a lion, finishing those TPS reports by 5 o’clock) the nervous system has just one stress response. The specific thoughts you have may differ, but the brain regions involved, and the physiological response will be the same. The physiological stress response means an increase in heart rate, breathing rate, muscle tension and elevation of cortisol and other stress hormones.
The fascinating thing about the mind-body interaction is that it works both ways. For example, if you’re stressed, your muscles will tense (preparing to run away from a lion), and this will lead to more negative thinking. Relaxing those muscles, particularly the facial muscles, will push the brain in the other direction, away from stress, and toward more relaxed thoughts. Similarly, under stress, your breathing rate increases. Slowing down your breathing pushes the brain away from the stress response, and again toward more relaxed thinking.
So how does this all fit together? As I stated before, the stress response in the nervous system is triggered reflexively by discomfort and disorientation. The twisting of your spine, the lactic acid building up in your straining muscles, the uneasy feeling of being upside down, the inability to breathe, are all different forms of discomfort and disorientation, and tend to lead reflexively to anxious thinking and activation of the stress response in the entire nervous system. However, just because this response is automatic, does not mean it is necessary. It is, in fact, just a habit of the brain. One of the main purposes of yoga is to retrain this habit so that your brain stops automatically invoking the stress response.
We love how Dr. Korb points out that yoga need not be done only in a class, and also that just because you’re in class it doesn’t mean you’re doing yoga.
The good news is that you don’t actually have to go to a class to practice yoga. The poses most people associate with yoga are just a particular way of practicing yoga called the asana practice (“asana” translates to “pose”). The asana practice challenges you in a specific way, but life itself offers plenty of challenges on its own. Under any stressful circumstance you can attempt the same calming techniques: breathing deeply and slowly, relaxing your facial muscles, clearing your head of anxious thoughts, focusing on the present. In fact, applying these techniques to real life is what yoga is all about. Yoga is simply the process of paying attention to the present moment and calming the mind. Over time you will start to retrain your automatic stress reaction, and replace it with one more conducive to happiness and overall well-being.
After going back to my Dad’s yoga class a few times, I eventually came to the realization that not only can you practice yoga in real life, but, conversely, you could go to a yoga class and not really be doing yoga. Some of those hot, tan, thin women around him might just be placing their legs behind their heads, and still not be focusing on keeping their breath calm and steady, or their minds clear (Note: I have removed a lame blonde joke). They might be focused on something else entirely. Without the sustained intention of focusing on the present, and calming the mind, going to a yoga class is literally just going through the motions.
Read the whole thing: Yoga: Changing the Brain’s Stressful Habits
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Earlier…
by YD on January 24, 2012
in News
Is this contagious? Amy Ippoliti is the latest teacher to hand in her Anusara sash and branch from the pack, just as, we remind you, grand leader John Friend did with his Iyengar certificate years ago before creating his own empire. Elena Brower made huge news when she gracefully stepped down from her throne as reigning Anusara Empress back in November, along with Christina Sell and Darren Rhodes also sayonara-ing around the same time.
This time, Amy announces her departure via her blog and doesn’t beat around the bush. She has found herself “no longer in alignment with the direction of the organization.” Oh? Though there are no specifics, nor direct address or thank you to Mr. Friend, as there was in Elena’s explanation.
Whatever the reason(s) it’s still an interesting thing how these high-profile teachers (as in festivalness and YJ covers) are deciding to exit Anusara just as it’s about to explode, and have made the choice to go public with the announcement. It may have been Elena’s bold move that helped open the door for others to follow. It may be a side effect of teachers not wishing to be pigeon-holed and melting their hearts under just one umbrella. Or, it could be something else.
Here’s Amy’s complete message posted on her blog:
Dear friends, students, and dear Ones,
I have decided to Leave Anusara yoga.
It’s been a wonderful ride and one that has deeply influenced my life in infinite ways; however, I have found myself no longer in alignment with the direction of the organization.
Some of you will be upset with this decision, others will be elated, but one thing I can assure you is that I am not going anywhere. I am still Amy, and will continue in my mission to expand the horizons of yoga, and to teach from my ongoing practice as creatively as I know how, and in doing so, I will not compromise my personal values or commitment.
My calling is to help yoga teachers and practitioners of all styles.
Over the past several years I have developed professional programs for yoga teachers that are helping to bring more students to the mat. I am proud that these programs have helped equip thousands of our prized yoga teachers around the world with the tools to serve students better.
My move from Anusara Yoga will allow me to best serve students and teachers from all schools, and I am committed to doing so with the integrity they deserve.
I know that the world will be a better place with more yoga practitioners, and my dedication to this goal will always continue.
Thank you so much for being a part of my life and for your presence in yoga.
I can’t wait for what the future will bring, and to practice with you in this New Year!
Be the light,
Amy
The pressing question now may be more about the direction of the organization that’s throwing everyone out of alignment.
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Earlier…
Those California hippies have done it again! Oh, we kid the westie yogsters (with blatant envy). Have you ever broken out your yoga stretch in the airport or pulled a header waiting at your gate? (when you’re not tossing them back at the bar, that is.) If you’re flying in or out of San Francisco any time soon you won’t have to withstand the ugly carpet or funny looks from bystanders. Nope, not anymore, because the folks at SFO have created a special Yoga Room just for you!
