The Elusive Ocean-Sounding Breath

January 31, 2017 by mint-sk

Ujjayi pranayama, the “victorious breath,” is an essential component of vinyasa yoga. You may know it by its distinctive ocean-like sound. Here are some tips on how to achieve the ujjayi breath:

First, to get a sense of the constriction that must occur in the back of your throat to achieve the ocean-sounded breath, hold your hand up in front of your mouth and blow on your palm as if you’re trying to fog a mirror. Now try this concept, but with the mouth closed.
The ujjayi breath uses the nostrils only; the mouth is not opened during ujjayi pranayama.
The constriction that creates the ocean sound should be in place during the in-breath, and the out-breath.
The flow of your breath should be even; the length of your inhale should, ideally, match your exhale.
On your inhale, think of filling your lungs from the bottom to the top, and then emptying them fully on the exhale.
Don’t strain! A loud-sounding breath is not necessarily a more successful ujjayi breath. There should still be ease behind your breathing. Particularly labored breathing is counter-productive.

Breathing in this way facilitates expansion of energy and deeper meditation. It also helps activate the diaphragm, which is crucial for deep-breathing. You can learn more about ujjayi pranayama and other yogic breathing strategies in Refining the Breath, Pranayama: The Art of the Awakened Breath, by Doug Keller (2009).

Reading about yoga is a great way to learn more about the practice, but taking a class is a great way to explore the practice “in-action” under the tutelage of a trained yoga instructor; check out MINT’s yoga offerings, here.

Ashley Binetti received her 200-hour vinyasa yoga teacher training at Saraswatis’s Yoga Joint in Norwalk, CT in 2011. Her favorite pose is Triangle. When she’s not doing yoga, Ashley works as a nonprofit attorney. She is also a MINT Ambassador.

Yoga for Depression and Anxiety

January 27, 2017 by mint-sk

Winter time—its with cold temperatures, short days, and holiday expectations—can stir up latent feelings of anxiety and depression. In general, yoga is a great practice to turn to when you want to regulate or work on your mood. As yogi and author of Yoga for Depression Amy Weintraub notes, “It’s impossible to be obsessing about your problems when you are paying attention to the details of your alignment.” I highly recommend Weintraub’s book for anyone interested in the topic of using yoga to alleviate depression or anxiety.

Here’s the Cliff Notes—different poses have different effects on the mind and parasympathetic nervous system. Some are better for combating anxiety, some depression, and some are beneficial for both. For example, while yoga teachers will often recommend seated forward folds to help ground their anxious students, but they would not suggest this pose for someone suffering from severe depression. “If you’re already feeling empty and lethargic, sitting with the head down so still and quite can make you feel worse,” states senior Iyengar Teacher Patricia Walden.

For depression, backbends, mountain pose (tadasana) and inversions are great options. Going upside-down with inversions (like headstand and handstand) helps shift perspective. Standing tall and strong in mountain pose forces one to exude confidence and purpose (tadasana).

For anxiety, a child’s pose (balasana) is a crowd favorite among yogis. If you suffer from anxiety or insomnia, a few minutes of deep, calming breaths in child’s pose really helps support the parasympathetic nervous system and relax your body and mind.

For students who suffer from depression combined with anxiety, Weintraub suggests a hard, energetic workout to get the heart beating and burn off lingering anxiety, with a long, grounding cool-down.

You can read more about different yoga techniques for dealings with anxiety and depression in Amy Weintraub’s book, Yoga For Depression: A Compassionate Guide to Relieve Suffering Through Yoga (New York: 2004). For inspiration, I would also suggest checking out Rachel Brathen’s Yoga Girl (New York: 2014), and Ana T. Forrest’s Fierce Medicine: Breakthrough Practices to Heal the Body and Ignite the Spirit (New York: 2011).

Yoga Alignment Workshop Series: Corpse Pose/Final Resting Pose, Shavasana

January 25, 2017 by mint-sk

Disclaimers: Consult a doctor before beginning an exercise regime. Never force a pose. Stop if you feel pain or intense discomfort. Yoga is meant to be yummy.

I love vinyasa yoga and I am obsessed with good alignment. This obsession doesn’t stem from a need for perfection, which would be very “un-yoga-like” of me, but from a passion for protecting the body from injury. Most bodies can safely practice yoga on a daily basis, but maintaining sound alignment is essential to your physical wellbeing. In this series, I will break down some common poses—explaining how to stay safe and fully enjoy each posture. Finally, remember to BREATHE consistently while practicing yoga to receive the full benefits of the practice … otherwise, you’re just stretching in Sanskrit. Today’s pose is

*Corpse Pose/Final Resting Pose, or Shavasana*

This pose is a class favorite. Especially after a long, good yoga workout.

Start by lying on your back.

Palms face up, shoulder blades draw together and away from the ears.

Feet are mat-distance apart and splay out to the sides.

Gently close the eyes.

Release any unnecessary tension in your neck and face.

Practicing yoga on your own can be a ton of fun, but taking a class is a great way to explore new poses under the tutelage of a trained yoga instructor; check out MINT’s yoga offerings, here.

Yoga Alignment Workshop Series: Reclined Bound Angle Pose, Suptabaddhakonasana

January 18, 2017 by mint-sk

Disclaimers: Consult a doctor before beginning an exercise regime. Never force a pose. Stop if you feel pain or intense discomfort. Yoga is meant to be yummy.

Reclined Bound Angle Pose, or Suptabaddhakonasana

This is one of my favorite hip-openers. I usually will either start a yoga session in this pose for centering, or end in this pose—right before shavasana.

Start by lying on your back.

Palms face up, shoulder blades draw together and away from the ears.

Feet come together and knees butterfly open.

Gently close the eyes.

Release any unnecessary tension in your neck and face.

Practicing yoga on your own can be a ton of fun, but taking a class is a great way to explore new poses under the tutelage of a trained yoga instructor; check out MINT’s yoga offerings, here.

Yoga Alignment Workshop Series: Head-to-Knee Forward Bend, Janusirsasana

January 11, 2017 by mint-sk

Disclaimers: Consult a doctor before beginning an exercise regime. Never force a pose. Stop if you feel pain or intense discomfort. Yoga is meant to be yummy.

Head-to-Knee Forward Bend, Janusirsasana

Begin by sitting with both legs stretched out in front of you on your mat.

Bend the right leg, bringing the right foot in towards the groin.

Sit firmly in your seat, ensuring contact between your sits bones and the mat. It might help you use your hands to lift the buttocks.

Engage uddiyanabandha, bringing the belly button in and up towards the spine. This will help you fold more deeply. This is not an instruction to hold the breath. Continue to breathe fully.

Fold over the extended leg.

Hands can rest on the thigh or shin, or grip the feet. For a deeper stretch, you can hold a block behind your feet or use a strap.

Release any unnecessary tension in your neck and face.

After you are done, try the pose on the other side to even out the body.

Practicing yoga on your own can be a ton of fun, but taking a class is a great way to explore new poses under the tutelage of a trained yoga instructor; check out MINT’s yoga offerings, here.

More Than a Physical Practice

January 4, 2017 by mint-sk

Yoga is so much more than an awesome physical practice—it’s also a philosophy. Sometimes, yoga teachers will take the time in the beginning of class during intention-setting, or towards the end of class, to discuss a yogic principle. The basis of many of these principles is Patanjali’s Eight-Limbed Path, described in his Yoga Sutras. Pantanjali was basically the father of modern yoga. He’s kind of a big deal in the yoga world. His wisdom, from over 1700 years ago, is still very relevant in today’s world.

The first two limbs of Patanjali’s Eight-Limbed Path are the yamas (restraints) and the niyamas (inward observances). Here, we are going to look at a couple of the yamas.

There are five yamas: ahimsa (nonharming); satya (truthfulness); asteya (nonstealing); brachmacharya (chastity); and aparigraha (non-attachment/greedlessness). My favorites to teach are ahimsa and aparigraha.

Ahimsa means “nonharming.” This not only applies to others—like restraining from physically striking another person, or verbally abusing someone—it also applies to how we treat ourselves. How often do we let a self-defeating thought enter our mind, or ruin our day? That’s not practicing ahimsa. Pursuing ahimsa also means treating yourself with loving-kindness, and taking the steps needed to practice self-care. This also applies to how you approach fitness in general. For example, practicing ahimsa means easing up on the elliptical when your knee feels wonky, or opting for a night off when you accidentally pull something in your shoulder and need time to recover. Ahimsa tells us to listen to our bodies and treat them well.

Aparigraha is another favorite of mine—partially because it is fun to say (“ah-par-ee-gra-ha”), and also because of the story my yoga teacher uses to teach this principle in class. The story was about a monkey and a jar filled with peanuts. The jar’s opening was such that the monkey could slip his hand inside, but once he made a fist to pick up the peanuts he could not remove his hand from the jar. In essence, he was stuck. Trapped. Hunters had set out the jar to capture the monkey. While the monkey had time to escape when he saw the hunters coming for him, he just couldn’t bring himself to let go of the peanuts and free himself. Aparigraha teaches us to not be that monkey. Don’t hold on to things that no longer serve you—things that ultimately trap you. Again, like ahimsa, aparigraha translates to life off the mat too. Aparigraha can also apply to how you approach your fitness regime—are you clinging to an unrealistic body image or weight goal that is ultimately not serving you? The princple of aparigraha tells us to let go of the things and thoughts that trap us so that we can be our best selves.

The yamas, of course, have implications for your yoga practice as well. For example, on the mat, ahimsa means listening to your body and not pushing past your comfort zone to the point of hurting yourself. Aparigraha might mean letting go of a thought that is keeping you from fully releasing into the practice and accessing all of the yummy benefits yoga has to offer.

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