<![CDATA[Holistic Yoga Journey - Blog]]>Thu, 03 Oct 2024 11:30:08 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Techniques for Neck, Back, TMJ]]>Thu, 18 May 2017 01:52:57 GMThttp://holisticyogajourney.com/blog/techniques-for-neck-back-tmjI have a group of students that I promised to do a blog for. I told them that I was very busy and it might take me a couple of days to get it up...that was 8 days ago. My sincere apologies to them. Also, it was pointed out that my last blog did not have enough information listed after each technique. I will do my best to rectify that oversight. We had an interesting set of requests in that class. So, without further ado, here are the techniques we used to balance neck and back pain as well as temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ).

1) Savasana - foundation for all yoga postures; classical pose; total relaxation.

2) Golden light relaxation technique - a visualization used to mentally scan the body; can be used daily on and off the mat to detect and release tension.

3) Neck Massage - one way to release tension in the neck which may lead to tension in the jaw is to gently massage with the index finger and thumb up and down either side of the neck. If soreness or tenderness is found @ any point the tension can be released by holding pressure in the area for a slow count of 30 before continuing the massage. The pressure should be steady and gentle.

4) TMJ Pressure Point Release - TMJ occurs due to problems with the jaw and the muscles in your face that control it. The main components are the joint capsule, articular disc, mandibular condyles, articular surface of the temporal bone, temporomandibular ligament, stylomandibular ligament, sphenomandibular ligament, and lateral pterygoid muscle. But, for laypersons  (even I have trouble pronouncing 4 of those), the important thing to remember is where the pressure points are located and not to apply too much pressure...just enough to cause the muscles to relax. A great way to release tension in the jaw is to massage inside the lower part of the jaw, again using the thumb and index finger. This technique is the same as with the neck massage. Next, gently apply pressure to the area @ the back of the jaw, just behind the last molars (see photo below - TMJ1). Use the index fingers or thumbs, relax the jaw and GENTLY press in, back and up. Hold for a slow count of 30. The same action can be repeated on the inside of the mouth (see photo below - TMJ2). This technique is especially helpful if practiced while laying in bed a.m. and p.m.

5) Neck Rolls - (illustrated below) The neck rolls are a four-stage technique: forward, left side, back, right side. Repeat this rotation 3 to 7 times in one direction. Then reverse direction and perform an equal number of rotatons. Rotating the neck releases tension in the neck and shoulders, producing a relaxation and positive stimulation of the nerves in the upper cervical area. The nerves become toned and the muscles become stronger and more elastic.

6) Hummingbird - sadly, I could not find a photo of this technique. Perhaps one day I will make all of my own drawings. It is an easy technique to remember, but alignment is key before beginning the movement. In either a standing, sitting or kneeling position with head held up and spine straight, raise both arms shoulder level and straight out to the sides (like the wings on an air plane). Palms facing down, begin to rotate the arms in small circles forward. Perform this action quickly like the wings of a humming bird. 3 reps of 20 circles, then stop. Turn the palms up, arms still @ shoulder level (make certain that your back is still straight and that you are not slumping the shoulders forward). Now "fly backwards" by making small circles in the opposite direction, same number of reps. Turn palms down and slowly lower arms back down. This is an amazing technique for releasing tension in the shoulders and upper back! Over time it strengthens these areas as well.

7) Cat/Cow - this is truly one of the most universally beneficial postures in yoga. It makes the spine extremely flexible, firms the stomach muscles and releases tension in the neck. Cat/Cow strengthens the thoracic cavity. And, importantly for most Americans, it removes strain from the shoulders. This posture should be done mindfully and slowly for the best results. Having covered Cat/Cow before in this blog, I'll provide a link to three of the best videos I have found to demonstrate this technique: Cat/Cow.

8) Child's pose - there are three variations of this technique. I have included photos of two variations, below: Child's Pose 1 and Fallen Leaves. This technique, feels relaxing, however it also actively affects the organs and glands of the body. In addition, it relieves lower back pain and massages the diaphragm and chest. This is a wonderful resting pose after doing any kind of back work.

9) Golden light premeditation technique - creates inner focus and feeling of safety.

10) Hong Sau Kriya - technique for turning inward and quieting the mind; basic or primary Kriya meditation technique; an aid for letting go of negative thoughts, emotions. In Sanskrit, the word Hamsa (hong-sau) means wild gander and has great symbolic significance. No matter how far the gander flies, at some point it remembers, and migrates back to it's home. I could write an entire entry on just this one technique, but for our purposes here, I will keep it simple. While in a meditative pose with the spine straight, let the breath flow in and out through the nose naturally. Focus your entire attention on the breath without controlling it. On the inhalation think "hong" and on the exhalation "sau". Hong-sau, hong-sau. In and out. In and out. Practice this meditation daily.

11) Om Shanti mantra - tranquility and peace mantra; may be chanted silently or aloud; usually chanted @ the end of yoga class; used in many ways; may be chanted silently if you are beginning to become upset; if you are already upset, chanting this mantra aloud will help produce a feeling of calmness.
]]><![CDATA[Techniques for Flexibility, Back and Neck]]>Wed, 26 Apr 2017 03:37:06 GMThttp://holisticyogajourney.com/blog/techniques-for-flexibility-back-and-neckGood Evening Kriya Yogis,

In today's group class, as with all our classes, I asked the question, "What do we need today?" The response from the majority was "to be more flexible," "back" and "neck." Many people that sit @ a desk all day may find that they are unconsciously contorting in a very non-ergonomic chair while focusing all of their attention on the screen in front of them and away from the growing dis-ease in their physical bodies. Often in these cases the back and neck are affected. So, below are a list of the kriyas (actions) we took to alleviate some of those challenges and balance the mind/body complex. After each technique, a few of the benefits are listed. Your formal practice should be done @ the same time and place everyday, utilizing those techniques that offer the most benefit to your individual constitution. Try some of these. Some photos are posted below the descriptions (click to enlarge).

1) Savasana - foundation for all yoga postures; classical pose; total relaxation.

2) Golden light relaxation technique - a visualization used to mentally scan the body; can be used daily on and off the mat to detect and release tension.

3) Alternate limb stretches - preliminary warm-up technique; connects breath to movement; teaches that the breath assists w/ moving into and out of postures.

4) Right/left spine massage - great way to release tension in back muscles.

5) Rocking chair (beginner version) - stretch and align spinal column; give elasticity to the spine; all the muscles and nerves running lateral to the spine are massaged; stimulates sympathetic nervous system.

6) Happy baby pose - another spine massage w/ the benefit of a deep groin, glute and quad stretch; brings a feeling of contentment.

7) Spinal twist - assists lumbar and pelvic areas; relaxes the neck; massages the internal organs.

8) Scissors (beginner version) - Strengthens abs and protects lower back.

9) Standing crane (half version) - neck release; indicated for removing contractures of the hips and knees; blood flow to the brain helps increase memory; helps reduce obesity; aids digestion; helps with osteoporosis and osteoarthritis in the vertebrae; increases ability to stand on feet for long periods.

10) Golden light premeditation technique - creates inner focus and feeling of safety.

11) Meditation on the breath - technique for turning inward and quieting the mind; basic or foundation technique; an aid for letting go of negative thoughts, emotions.

12) Om Shanti mantra - tranquility and peace mantra; may be chanted silently or aloud; usually chanted @ the end of yoga class; used in many ways; may be chanted silently if you are beginning to become upset; if you are already upset, chanting this mantra aloud will help produce a feeling of calmness.
Feel free to call, text or e-mail if you have any questions about today's lesson and techniques. Have a beautiful evening!

Shanti,
  S.
]]><![CDATA[New Year, New Beginnings]]>Sun, 01 Jan 2017 21:06:38 GMThttp://holisticyogajourney.com/blog/new-year-new-beginningsGood Afternoon Fellow Yogis,

Today I am reflecting on new beginnings. Not resolutions as much as opportunities to look @ familiar things afresh and making adjustments if needed. One thing we can all look to is our personal practice. We might ask ourselves, "Are the techniques I am using still serving me?" "Are there aspects of my informal practice that have been neglected?" One area that does not always receive enough attention is our etiquette in a group environment. In much the same way that our home meditation space is sacred to us, so we should also treat our group spaces w/ the same reverence. Here are some areas where we could all use a little improvement in order to insure that our group practice is respectful of others and thereby of greater benefit for us all:

If possible, bathe or shower prior to arriving for group practice.
Please do not wear perfume or any scent. Fragrance can be just as distracting as a cell phone ringing to the person next to you. Our goal is to move inward as we practice, and our olfactory sense is the first of the 5 outward senses to evoke strong emotional response. Also, people with allergies can be very sensitive to fragrance and other chemicals found in many personal care products.

Practice on a an empty stomach.
It is recommended that you do not eat at least 2 hours before and 2 hours after practice. Neither hungry nor full. If a special condition prevents this, eat easily digestible foods, i.e. fruit or yogurt one hour before class. Please refrain from smoking @ least one hour prior to class. Keep others in mind.

Bottled water is the only food or beverage allowed in the practice room.
Bottled water is recommended before, during and after practice. It is important to stay hydrated.

No shoes in the practice room.
In yoga, people put their hands, and sometimes their face on the floor. You are going to take your shoes off anyway, so please remove them at the door.

Abandon the competitive mind-set.
Yoga is absolutely non-competitive. It is not just a "work-out". No doubt that daily practice will make the body stronger, more flexible, and generally healthier. However, the postures are only the third limb of yoga. Our goal is super-conscious perception, sometimes referred to as God consciousness. Our aim is to calm the mind, and accelerate our evolution.

Yoga is not a fashion show.
We practice from the inside out. When you can finish your practice without knowing what the person next to you is wearing or even who else was in the room you’ll know you were truly turned inward. Please, refrain from wearing clothing with advertising or other subliminal messaging (logos) in the shared practise area.

Be kind and loving to yourself by accepting who you are.
Relax in savasana any time you need to. "Do what you can, with what you have, with where you are. " Remember: "Wherever, whenever in our life we begin yoga, is perfect." No experience or flexibly is required. Your practise is about you.

Acquire and use your own mat if @ all possible.
Even when a studio offers mats and props for use, there is no substitute for having your own personal, portable "space." There are psychological, spiritual and hygienic reasons for this. In the same way, please be mindful to stay off someone else's props. Walking or lying on another person's mat or blanket is extremely inappropriate.

Enter the Yoga room in silence.
Please do not enter and start visiting. Go right into meditation or stretching. Your practice starts when you walk in. Visit with one another after exiting the class outside the building. Remember, the studio is our shared sacred space.

Never bring a cellular phone, pager or any electronic device into the practice room.
This does not mean turn off the ringer, because sooner or later you will forget. Leave it in your car. Remember, stress is 100% self-induced.

Arrive on time.
Entering class late is very disruptive and disrespectful to the other students, and also to your nervous system. Consider being prompt as part of your practice.

I look forward to seeing each and every one of you as we move forward in the new year. It is a joy to share the teachings!

With Deepest Respect and Optimism,
  S.


]]><![CDATA[Simple Truth]]>Sun, 27 Nov 2016 17:41:37 GMThttp://holisticyogajourney.com/blog/simple-truthThe following quote is one of the most difficult things to do in practice, but is the foundation of true liberation.

"To maintain pure discipline is to do away with pretense and concealment."
~ Milarepa

Live simply. Live honestly. Care for others, but do not live to please them.

Shanti,
  S.
]]><![CDATA[Letting Go]]>Sun, 07 Aug 2016 20:10:23 GMThttp://holisticyogajourney.com/blog/letting-goThere is an old saying that goes something like: "If you love something set it free. If it returns it was meant to be." It may seem cliche, but it is the absolute truth. But, there may be a problem with this in practice. You see, if you are letting go with the expectation that your loved one (or thing) may come back to you, then you are not truly letting go. And with that expectation comes pain and suffering. Will they come back? So, did you really "set it free" if you have that expectation?

Have you ever had the experience wherein a person asked for your help and you did the right thing and agreed to help them? Did you decide that they also wanted something else, but you knew better than them what they really needed? This is not helping, this is interfering. And when we interfere in another person's life we miss the opportunity to truly open our heart to them. You see, if you imagine that you know better what they need, internally you are saying, "I am the better judge. They do not know what is best." We are mentally casting that person below us. And from that superior attitude, you will never be able to truly know the heart of the other. This kind of thinking, once again, leads to pain and suffering.

Well then, what is love if we do not do what we feel is "best" for another? What is letting go, if we do not worry whether or not they will return? Here are some ideas you may want to contemplate about letting go of a loved one:

First, we must recognize that loving and possessing are different.
Love lasts forever and is unconditional.
Possessing can not lead to letting go and a state of inner peace.
Controlling another is not an act of love. It is an act of ego.
When we love someone we are happy for them when they are happy, not when they are doing what we imagine they should be doing.
If someone wants to be free and we let them go so that they will have what they most need or want, this is love.
Whether they come back or not is irrelevant.

Deepest Peace,
  S.
]]><![CDATA[Feeling Beauty]]>Thu, 23 Jun 2016 18:36:16 GMThttp://holisticyogajourney.com/blog/beauty8027791Greetings Dear Ones,

It's been a long time since I have written. For those of you that used to regularly enjoy this blog, my apologies. It took time to come to terms with the realization that the writing needs to be done. Not because of or due to my own or anyone else's expectations, but just because. Writing is not the voice of one. It is the Voice of us all and we each contribute some level of understanding to the collective when we reach deep down and say what needs to be said. As part of that collective, and with my deepest heartfelt love, I offer this: You are beautiful. That's not pandering, it is the god's honest truth. You. Are. Beautiful. I have noticed, however, that many of us don't feel beautiful. And why is that?

We live in a time when there is clearly some model of what it means to be a beautiful man or a beautiful woman. And more and more it seems that the model of that beauty is a body and face that can only be attained through artificial means. Long hours moving the body in a way that you might not ordinarily move it. We attempt to attain that look by using products filled with ingredients that "renew" the skin by chemically burning away the surface cells so that new "younger" cells can show through. And we are so very "fortunate" to have skilled surgeons that can charge us a fortune to carve our very physical vehicle into a shape that will, we hope, approximate this vision of what the model of beauty is supposed to be. Is it some accident that the current model of beauty is almost completely unattainable by naturals means? I will leave you to ponder that for a moment or how ever long you wish. In the meantime, I would like to suggest that as a newborn baby you were beautiful. And since that newborn lives on inside each and everyone of us, we must all be as beautiful as the day we were born.

When you wake in the morning do you pause to ask yourself what it is that you are feeling? I invite you to try asking yourself that question before you bolt or stumble out of bed. Once you have an answer, then the next question might be, "What do I need - how does that newborn baby inside me need to be nurtured? Do I need stretching, quietude, nourishment, a walk, something else?" Identify what it is that you need and then give it to yourself before you do another thing. Loving and caring for the inner child can be relearned. Once you/we learn to love and care for the beautiful child within then no one can ever again deceive you/us into believing that any person is obliged to become the artificial model of beauty. This is because you will know and understand where true beauty lives.

My Deepest Love to You All,
  S.
]]><![CDATA[Schedule, Locations]]>Sat, 11 Jun 2016 21:09:42 GMThttp://holisticyogajourney.com/blog/schedule-locationsDear Yoga Meditators,

Just a reminder about our Yoga Meditation for Beginners classes for the next two weeks:

Sunday the 12th @ noon
The Yoga Studio of The Woodlands
26603 Oak Ridge Drive
The Woodlands, TX 77380

Monday the 13th @ 6:30p.
Galerie Spectra
303 Memorial City Way Unit #822
Memorial City Mall
Houston, TX, 77024

Sunday the 19th @ noon
The Yoga Studio of The Woodlands
26603 Oak Ridge Drive
The Woodlands, TX 77380

Monday the 20th @ 6:30p.
Galerie Spectra
303 Memorial City Way Unit #822
Memorial City Mall
Houston, TX, 77024

Saturday the 25th @ 11:00a.
NW Branch Library
11355 Regency Green Drive
Cypress, TX 77429

Saturday the 25th @ 1:00p.
Inner Bliss Yoga Studio
25420 Kuykendahl Road suite F 600
The Woodlands, TX 77375

Please, visit holisticyogajourney.com to see the updated schedule for June. And, as always, feel free to call or text anytime (up to 15 minutes before class)  if you have questions or need directions: 281-408-9366.


Have a beautiful afternoon. :-)

Shanti,
  S.
]]><![CDATA[More Good News]]>Sat, 28 May 2016 01:57:21 GMThttp://holisticyogajourney.com/blog/more-good-newsDear Yoga Meditators,

Beginning Saturday, June the 11th we will add another Yoga Meditation for Beginners class @ Inner Bliss Yoga Studio in the Woodlands. This class will be meeting every other Saturday @ 1:00p. through September 17th.

Inner Bliss Yoga Studio
25420 Kuykendahl Road suite F 600
The Woodlands, TX 77375

Please, visit our home page to see the updated schedule for June.

Have a beautiful evening. :-)

Shanti,

  Sandy 
  281-408-9366
  holisticyogajourney.com


]]><![CDATA[New Name, Classes and E-mail]]>Mon, 23 May 2016 20:53:28 GMThttp://holisticyogajourney.com/blog/new-name-classes-and-e-mailDear Yoga Meditators,

This week we have 3 Yoga Meditation for Beginners classes for you to choose from. Here are the locations, dates and times:

Galerie Spectra
303 Memorial City Way, Unit #822
Memorial City Mall
Houston, TX, 77024
Monday the 23rd @ 6:30p.

NW Branch Library
11355 Regency Green Drive
Cypress, TX 77429
Saturday the 28th @ 11:00a.

Yoga Studio of the Woodlands
26603 Oak Ridge Drive
Spring, TX 77380
Sunday the 29th @ noon

To view the full schedule through June 2016, please visit our website:

http://houstonyogajourney.com/index.html

Now that I am serving students not only in Houston, but also in Cypress and the Woodlands, I feel that the name Houston Yoga Journey is no longer appropriate. I am taking steps to change the name to Holistic Yoga Journey. You will still be able to view the class schedule @ houstonyogajourney.com, but I will be adding the url holisticyogajourney.com to take you to the same website.

If you would like to continue to be on our e-mail list, please send a reply to holisticyogajourney@gmail.com. I will be discontinuing this the other e-mail address within the next couple of months.

Thank you all so much for allowing me to share the teachings. I look forward to seeing you soon. :-)

--
Shanti,

  Sandy 
  281-408-9366
]]><![CDATA[A Special Event]]>Wed, 16 Dec 2015 03:54:54 GMThttp://holisticyogajourney.com/blog/a-special-eventDear Friends, Neighbors and Fellow Yogis,

I would like to invite you all to a multi-generational event, Awake Now Happening on Thursday, December 17th from 7:00 - 9:00p. @ Unity of Houston – Pyramid / 2929 Unity Drive / Houston, TX 77057. I will be opening the event with 20 minutes of gentle yogic movement, pranayama, affirmation and meditation. This will be a celebration of well-being facilitated by Shirley Knight involving several presenters with music, insights and more.
$10.00 suggested donation @ the door.

I went to their November event and had a wonderful time. There were so many different people sharing their gifts. Unity Houston is a truly warm and welcoming community.

Have a Beautiful Evening.

Shanti,
  S.
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