Pose of the month

Pose of the Month

By April Evans

Forearm Plank

During the chilly month of February, especially the one we have been having here in NYC, keeping warm is a major priority.  Forearm plank is a great pose to warm up the entire body by strengthening the core while opening the heart. 

 

Benefits:

-Strengthens the abdominals

-Strengthens the legs

-Strengthens the back

-Strengthens the arms

-Opens the shoulders

-Opens the chest

-Opens the backs of the legs and arches

How to:

It is imperative that you respect the boundaries of your body in this pose.  If you are building strength, then apply the modifications listed below.  Be patient now and build strength honestly.  If you don’t, you will have to be patient later while you are healing after hurting yourself.

-Come to Plank Pose, the top of a push-up

-Lower the forearms down to the ground, stacking the shoulders directly over the elbows.  Fan the fingers wide, making two parallel lines with your forearms

-If you have trouble keeping the elbows from winging out to the sides, it can be helpful to wrap a strap tightly around the upper arms and place a block in between the hands as pictured below

-Press strongly through the heels to feel the legs engage. (For some bonus engagement squeeze a block between the thighs or press the heels into a wall.)

-The hips want to be in line with the shoulders.  It can be helpful to practice beside a mirror to see if the hips are sagging down towards Sphinx pose or hiking up more toward Dolphin pose.  If the hips cannot stay in line with the shoulders, lower the knees down to the ground.  Maintaining the integrity of a long spine is essential in accessing the strength of the abdominals for support in the pose.

-Broaden the collar bones forward and let the back of the neck remain long

-Stay and hold for 5-10 breaths.  Smiling helps.

-Counter with a child's pose.

Teacher of the Month - February

Teacher of the Month

Peyton Biederman

By April Evans

Peyton's warm and friendly demeanor is sure to make anybody instantly comfortable walking into her class.  She enjoys exercising both body and mind, holding a MFA in Dance Choreography and Performance and a BA in Philosophy, French Literature, and Dance.  For her, yoga allows her to unite the body and mind in a very real way.  She is 500 hour certified, with additional certifications in Prenatal and Restorative Yoga.  It should be noted that as we interviewed she cooked dinner while playing with her cat, and before responding to any of the questions I asked, she giggled before speaking.  If you need a little sunshine, Peyton is sure to help brighten you up.

When did you first discover yoga?

It's a tricky question.  I was a dancer for a very long time and in my modern dance classes we did yoga poses, but it was more just for warming up before the dance combination.  So I was aware that I was doing yoga, but we weren't doing breath awareness or philosophy.  So that's been going on for many many years.  But strictly yoga, it's been about 7 years. 

How long have you been teaching?

It's kind of the same thing.  I taught dance before I taught yoga.  I've been a teacher for 10 years plus, I was teaching dance classes and company classes.  I got my master's in choreography and performance, then I started teaching yoga right after I got certified in 2010.  It was a linear transition from teaching dance to teaching yoga.

What makes your class unique?

Probably what makes everyone's class unique: it's just sort of being yourself.  It's hard to avoid being yourself.  I feel like we all follow certain templates, namaskars, and such.  I teach what I know, but then it's always so different because then it's fused through me.  Even if we were teaching the same exact thing it would be fused through your personality.  I really enjoy giving hands on adjustments.  It's fulfilling to know that I'm giving something back to the student very intimately. 

What is your favorite pose to teach?

I was thinking about this.  You know, actually I like teaching the very beginning if class when you first take your seat.  That centering at the beginning, that settling in.  Sometimes it’s the hardest to turn in and focus on your breath.  It's so difficult but so important and it all comes back throughout class. I often teach alignment cues and breath cues, you touch on the basic fundamentals you're going to come back to over and over again.  I like teaching virasana or supported fish, just getting people to recognize the simple basics like what's in contact with the floor.

What is your favorite pose to practice?

The poses that come easier for me that require flexibility like urdvha danurasana and hanumanasana, but because they come easily I practice the strengthening things like headstand or handstand or inversions.  It's nice to do what comes easily, but when you achieve something that was difficult you feel proud of yourself for pushing yourself.  My favorite thing changes every day: when is it not different?

What advice would you give to beginners?

Just come to class.  We were all beginners at one point and you have to start somewhere.

Advice for advanced yogis?

Take a beginners class.  Coming to class is the bottom line for everyone, but I think it's valuable to take a basic level class.  It can even be more challenging.  You might hold poses for longer,  and if you're coming into it already familiar,  you have the chance to use your perspective to go deeper that way.  I took a basics class today and I was like woo-hoo, I need to do this all the time.

What is your yoga pet peeve?

I try not to have them.  Ideally I want everyone to be on time and stay throughout class, but that's just not realistic.  I try to be open and understanding because we all have stuff going on.

How do you incorporate yoga into your daily life?

I try to use the path of least resistance.  My instinct is to be stressed, you know, riding the subway or something.  Yoga helps me pause before I react, I'm more patient when I'm practicing yoga.  My yoga practice helps me through my commute and I do a daily practice of pranayama for calming and the other many benefits.

What are your passions besides yoga?

Dance and choreography.  I was a dancer since I was 3, and although I don't perform or take class anymore, I still go see performances.  Linked to that, another side note would be music.  I have a lot of friends who are musicians and I like seeing live music.  I like hanging out with my friends, I like going to the beach and going swimming, dancing on the beach. Reading.  I was a writer for a long time because one of my majors was philosophy, one was French literature.  I've loved writing ever since I was a little girl.

Happy valentine's day! Thankful for all my teachers I'm grateful for being part of NYY.  Gotten to be close to some students, it’s a great place.

Yogitales - Kaili Vernoff

Yogitales are your stories. At New York Yoga, we are continually inspired by what we hear from our students, about how yoga has had a transformative effect on their bodies and spirits. We wanted to share those stories with our community of yogis, and Yogitales was born.

 Kaili Vernoff

I started a regular practice more than five years ago. I had dipped my toe in the yoga waters a few times- and always connected with the practice- but it wasn't until I read “Eat, Pray, Love” that I jumped all the way in. The author talked about bringing her yoga mat to Italy, and she said, "I already had a regular practice..." and all I could think was how much I wanted to be able to say that about myself and have it be true.

My life and body have changed incredibly since beginning a steady practice. I have lost twenty-five pounds, and while that is wonderful, to me it is not even the greatest benefit of my practice. One of my motivations for coming to the mat was a terrible tightness in my hips. I was only in my thirties, and couldn't even touch my toes without enormous effort and pain. I had a very young child and wanted to be able to physically participate in her life more. In five years I have not only relieved my pain, but my teachers now call me "gumby hips". I have found greater flexibility than when I was a child. Last year I went for a regular check up and my doctor told me that he believes I have added twenty years to my life expectancy, and said I now have the resting heart rate of a "serious athlete". I was grinning from ear to ear! In addition to these physical gifts, I am more patient, tolerant, kind, and gentle both with myself and others. I have learned through persistent practice that hard work does yield. As one of my teachers always says, "gradually but inevitably" we grow towards the yogi/mother/friend/person we aspire to be.

I learn new things about myself every time I enter the studio. There is always something new to learn, to reach for, and because class is always different, there is no possibility for complacency. I take that lesson into the rest of my day. I have also made wonderful friends at the studio.  It is an incredibly supportive community, and I would miss my yoga family terribly if I ever stopped coming!

New York Yoga has the best teachers in the world. Their entire roster of teachers keep me motivated and focused, but when it comes to broadening and deepening my practice, I've been especially inspired by Lisa and Lulu. These amazing women have been at the studio as long as I have, and have guided me, literally one breath at a time, to a new way of living.  It is clear they are students as well as teachers, and I benefit from their insights and progress as they continue to grow in their own practices.

I can never thank them, and New York Yoga, enough.

Keep Yoga in your Heart

Like you needed another reason to devote yourself to a strong yoga practice, but A small study published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that yoga may benefit people who have atrial fibrillation.


Read more about it at Forbes.

And then get back to class. Keep yoga in your heart, in more ways than one!

Pose of the Month

Pose of the Month:

Rockstar/Camatkarasana

By April Evans

 Rockstar is one of those amazing poses that blend strength with flexibility in a gorgeous and graceful way.  As we enter the New Year, many of us are making resolutions.  But if we think about it, most of these resolutions boil down to being stronger or being more open.  Rockstar is a beautiful physical manifestation of the idea that the willingness to be open requires an immensely strong foundation, and a strong foundation is made better by what it grows.

Benefits:

Opens the chest and shoulders

Opens the hip flexors and fronts of the thighs

Strengthens the arms, shoulders, upper back

Is energizing and combats depression

How to:

Ensure that the shoulders, hips, and core are sufficiently warm before performing this pose.  It’s a good idea to skip this pose of you have low back, shoulder, or wrist issues.

1. Come to Downward Facing Dog.

2. Reach the right leg up for Down Dog Split.  Spread the fingers and make the weight even between the hands.  Feel that the crown of the head to the right heel makes one long line.  Continue to press the chest back toward the thighs, maintaining a firm low belly by hugging the front bottom ribs closer to one another.

3.  Bend the right knee and open up the right hip.  Continue to square the shoulders to the floor as the hips continue to open.  Squeeze the right heel toward your bottom.  If you are very flexible in your hips, pull your left hip back in space and feel the left side body lengthen a bit and the low back broaden.  If you are building strength in the shoulders, back, and abdomen, this is the place to stay. 

4. Now let the chest open up under the right arm.  Begin to roll to the outer edge of the left foot.  Let the ball of the right foot land behind you and reach the right arm overhead. Reach the tail bone toward the left heel.

5.  Make sure the left leg stays straight (it’s basically in side plank), and press into the ball of the right foot to help lift the hips and chest higher.

6. Return to Down Dog Split, then Down Dog

7. Take a brief Child’s Pose, then repeat on the left side.

Teacher of the Month - Rachel Page

Teacher of the Month Questionnaire

Rachel Page

By April Evans

Join Rachel at the Hot Studio

Mondays 5:15-6:30pm All Levels

In addition to being one of New York Yoga's stellar class instructors, Rachel is also a member of the Teacher Training staff, responsible for giving the portion on Yogic Philosophy, Ancient Texts, and the Subtle Body.  Her passion for these elements of Yoga is evident in her teaching style, as well as in her gorgeous tattoos.  She has travelled the world and done multiple teacher trainings, making her point of view very inclusive. Rachel is confident in speaking her own voice, but she does so while creating the space for her students to discover and inhabit their own. 

When did you first discover yoga?

I first discovered yoga in 2000 while I was working out at the Y.  I happened to take a class - I had heard of it but never tried it and I thought "I might as well do it."  After the first time I thought "This is something somewhat athletic that I can actually do!"  I tried everything when I was younger; softball, basketball, and was never really good at them.  Yoga was something I could actually do.

How long have you been teaching? 

For about 10 years, a little over 10 years.  I've done several trainings, but my main training has been through Integral Yoga.  I studied at the ashram Yogaville in Virginia.

What makes your class unique?

I don’t find them particularly unique; they're just a blend of everything I’ve learned, everything that’s been passed down from my teachers.  I feel like everything’s already been done in yoga class. What I’m doing is just putting my spin on what my teachers have taught me. I do a blend of all my teachings, based in Integral Yoga and Jivamukti Yoga namely.

What is your favorite pose to teach?

I’d have to say just sitting in sukhasana for meditation.  I feel like that’s the reason we practice yoga: to find a place where we can be comfortable in the body so that we can sit for longer periods of time. Hopefully eventually we can reach the state of yoga, the state of enlightenment.

What is you favorite pose to practice?

I love savasana, because it’s so challenging. It's harder than the inversions or arm balances, it's when you truly get to test how yogic you really are and if your yoga practice is working in the way it’s supposed to work.  I think it’s easy to stand on one leg for a minute or stand upside down for a couple minutes.  I think being able to be still is really challenging.  It’s the most important asana out there in my opinion.

Best advice for beginners?

Just don’t give up, stick with it.  Don’t get frustrated and don’t compare yourself to anyone. Just be open to whatever comes up emotionally, spiritually, physically.  Stay open.

Best advice for more advanced yogis?

Stop considering yourself an advanced yogi.  If you are really truly an advanced yogi you are an enlightened being.  I don’t think too many of us that come to our mat, even on a daily basis have come to that point yet.  There's a Buddhist quote I really like that I'll paraphrase: “A spoon full of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable, but a spoon full of a salt in a lake makes little difference.”  The point is, just keep an open mind.

What is your biggest yoga pet peeve?

I would say leaving in the middle of savasana, but my biggest one has to do with teachers.  That's yoga teachers who don’t practice ahimsa and who eat meat.  I’m sure a lot of people aren’t going to like that answer, but I have to be honest. 

.

How do you incorporate yoga into your daily life?

Yoga is my daily life.  I live in an ashram and I’ve lived here for over 4 years. So I am on the mat practicing everyday and meditating everyday.  I’m living in a spiritual community so I really can’t separate yoga from my daily life.  It’s part of it.

Passions besides yoga?

Animal rights, riding my bike, spending my time with my friends, and vegan cooking and eating.  I’m really passionate about just working on myself, improving myself everyday and just trying to be a better person, and then accepting if I’m not a good person one day.  Because I'm a work in progress.  I’m not perfect.

Pose of the Month - Malasana

Pose of the Month

Malasana – Garland Pose

By April Evans

The holiday season is filled with excitement of many varieties.  We all feel the buzz in the air brought on by the twinkly lights, bustling streets, and busy stores.  We anticipate parties and presents, food and friends, travel and transition.  These feelings are exciting at first, but can soon turn to anxiety as our to-do lists grow and our time to complete them shrinks.  In the hustle and bustle inherent in this season, Malasana, or Garland Pose, takes one of our favorite seasonal decorations and turns it into a wonderful tool for grounding.  This pose is considered by many to be one of the most beneficial poses in the entire asana practice.  It is a perfect pose to open the hips and lower back after you’ve been sitting in a car or on a plane.  It is equally useful a shape for simply feeling the feet root down after you’ve been running all over trying to get your shopping done.  This season give yourself the gift of a few breaths a day in Malasana.

Benefits:

Opens the hips, groins, low back, and ankles

Strengthens the thighs and the abdomen

How to:

If possible, practice this pose with a mirror to your right or left.  This will enable you to check the alignment of the spine.

1. Stand on the mat and separate the feet about mat’s distance apart.  Turn the toes out slightly.

2. Bring the palms to press together at the center of the chest in Anjali Mudra.

3. Anchor the tailbone down and feel the abdomen pull in.  Notice the long line from the tailbone to the crown of the head.

4.  Keep this line intact and hinge the hips back into a low squat, the elbows coming to the insides of the knees. 

5.  Press the elbows into the knees and feel the chest brighten forward and shoulder blades draw together, making the upper spine as straight as possible.

6.  This is where the mirror comes in handy.  If you are very flexible in your hips and legs, it is likely that the low back is rounding.  Lift the hips up a couple inches and tip the chest slightly forward to bring work back into the legs.  If you are tighter in your legs, it is possible that your heels have popped off the floor.  You can place a blanket underneath them or separate the feet a little more and lift the hips a little higher.  If you have any issues with your knees, do not lower all the way down into the low squat.  Instead, take the feet very wide and stay in a high-squat.

7. Ease the back of the neck and the face, take 10 deep, full breaths as the spine lengthens, the legs and feet ground, and the hips open up.

Happy Holidays!