MOAR’s Daily Dozen: DAY 5 – Low Lunge with a Twist

Step-by-Step:

1. Come into downward facing dog.

2. Come into a low lunge, bring your right foot forward just inside your right hand. Knee stacked over ankle. Keep a microbend in the left leg to protect the knee but firm up your quads and hammies, pressing strongly back through the heel.

3. Keep your hands or fingertips to the mat and lift the torso off the thighs, creating a long, flat back. If you are rounding through the spine, bring a block under each hand.

4. Plant the left hand as you lift your right up to the sky, twisting to the right. Gaze up at your right hand.

5. Take 10 deep breaths, lengthening out the crown of the head on the inhale and twisting deeper on the exhale

6. Slowly unwind, coming back to center, right had to mat. Press the floor away, coming back into down dog.

7. Repeat steps 2-6 on the other side.

8. Come back to downward facing dog and pedal your feet from side to side.

This contralateral twist is so good for your middle back digestive. It will also help eliminate rigidity in the upper back, chest and shoulders–aka more ROM (range of motion)!

How it will heal you:

Hip Pain – The best way to prevent and treat hip pain is to increase your ROM (range of motion) in all directions. If you play a sport like soccer, which involves a lot of explosive movement and running, you are particularly susceptible to hip pain. As you work into this hip-helping posture, chances are high that you’ll notice that one hip will be tighter than the other. To bring balance to the body, be sure to hold postures for 10 extra deep breaths on the side that’s talking to you. Use your breath to calm your nervous system and let the body open.

Knee Injuries – We all know someone that has torn their meniscus, had a knee replacement, or had some sort of debilitating knee injury. Our knees take a serious beating from all of the physical stuff we do day in and day out—not to mention the high heels some of us ladies rock to look lovely but brutalize our bodies from the tippy toes on up. The best way to prevent pain and avoid trouble is to keep the hips, IT band and hamstrings strong and flexible. Hips, IT band and hamstring mobility keeps the work in your bigger muscle groups (hamstrings and quadriceps) rather than the body’s default of looking to the place of least resistance–which is almost always the knee joint–for speed, power and agility. If you give the body freedom to move using your large muscle groups and stabilizers it will learn not to rely upon vulnerable and complex joints.

Shoulder Pain – Football, lacrosse, and baseball players know shoulder pain. As a yogi, I can also vouch for the frequency of shoulder injuries in yoga–a misaligned jump-back to chaturunga is one of the fastest ways to wreck your rotator cuffs. Shoulders, like hips, are a ball-in-socket joint and thus are designed to have a broad ROM (range of motion). Athletes and office bees alike experience a lot of shoulder pain because not enough attention gets paid to maintaining the flexibility of this critical joint. Increase the openness of your wrists, chest and upper back to prevent and treat discomfort. Additionally, focusing on contralateral movement (i.e. twists) will help to eliminate rigidity from the upper body.

Wrist Problems – Football, lacrosse, baseball, tennis and basketball players are incredibly susceptible to wrist injuries. Amongst others, yogis should be added to that list–just ask two of my fellow yoga teachers who went through training with me and are still modifying their Down Dog months later. In order to avoid wrist issues, it’s critical that you build strong forearms, biceps, triceps, shoulders and upper back. Like all other joints, it’s also important to maintain ROM (range of motion) and flexibility in the joint itself as well as the elbows and shoulders so that the body can maintain proper form and alignment when generating power and movement from the upper body and arms.

Foot and Ankle Issues – I can’t tell you have many times I wrenched my ankle playing soccer and field hockey as a kid, or more recently while hiking and running. Ankle sprains, Achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis are three very common foot and ankle injuries. These injuries are no fun because let’s face it, when our foundation is out of whack everything else is thrown off and dysfunctional. The answer to avoiding these frustrating beasts of burden is to strengthen the ankle, increase the flexibility of the ankle and toes and work on your balance. Not only does this require concerted effort to increase the openness in these areas but it also means more core work. Core is your key to stability, meaning you’ll be less likely to get thrown off balance and tweak something if your abdominal and back muscles are strong.

July 5, 2013

MOAR’s Daily Dozen: DAY 4 – Wide-Legged Forward Bend

Step-by-Step:

1. Come to standing, facing the long edge of your mat.

2. Separate the feet at least 3 ½ to 4 feet apart, feet parallel or slightly pigeon toed. Ground firmly into the outside edges of your feet and engage the quads.

3. Bring hands to waist, inhale deeply and puff up your chest. Exhale as you fold forward, hinging from the hips.

4. Keeping a flat back bring your hands to the mat (or a block), fingertips in line with toes. Make sure your weight is centered in the middle or your foot.

5. Hold for 10 deeps breaths (count to 4 on the inhale and 4 on the exhale), letting the hamstrings slowly release.

6. Bring your hands back to your waist and rise up, keeping a flat back. Return to standing.

Note: you can also do this posture with a shoulder rinse by interlacing the hands behind your back and bringing them up and overhead as you fold forward.

How it will heal you:

Hamstring Pulls – The vast majority of the time, hamstring pulls are a direct result of inflexible hamstrings. This big muscle group requires patience and daily attention to open up and can be really frustrating in their resistance to change. You are not going to go from barely touching your toes to Jordan Wieber overnight. Commit to working on this posture every day and slowly but surely you’ll get the results you want and your body needs.

Lower Back Pain – How many of you have experienced lower back pain? I’d venture to say that anyone who sits in a chair all day has suffered through their fair share. This is also a big one for athletes. Why is that? Most often, lower back pain in athletes stems from tight hamstrings. For my fellow anatomy nerds out there, the hamstrings originate on the sitz bone–aka those little nobs deep in the flesh of your booty that us yogis balance on when doing boat core work (my favorite!). , If your hamstrings are tight they will pull down on the pelvis from the insertion point (the sitz bone) tilting it out of proper alignment and forcing your body to compensate using your lower back to remain upright. Another common reason for low back pain is underdeveloped abdominal muscles. I’m not talking just the six-pack abs (rectus abdominis) but also the deeper corset abs (transverse abdominis) that are critical for balance and stability. The simply solution to preventing and treating lower back pain is to stretch out your hammies and workout your core every day.

July 4, 2013

MOAR’s Daily Dozen: DAY 3 – Dolphin Pose

Step-by-Step:

1. Come to tabletop position, shoulders stacked over wrists, hips over knees.

2. Leave your knees where they are but come down onto your forearms, elbows directly under shoulders.

3. Spread the fingers wide and press hands and forearms firmly into the mat. Curl your toes under and press into the balls of your feet as you straighten your legs out, hips reaching high to the sky.

4. Keep a nice long spine and walk your feet closer to your elbows by a couple of inches.

5. Keep your gaze between your hands and let the chest melt back towards your thighs as your shoulders soften and hamstrings slowly open with breath.

6. Take 10 deeps breaths (count to 4 on the inhale and 4 on the exhale) then slowly release, coming back to tabletop.

How it will heal you:

Hamstring Pulls – The vast majority of the time, hamstring pulls are a direct result of inflexible hamstrings. This big muscle group requires patience and daily attention to open up and can be really frustrating in their resistance to change. You are not going to go from barely touching your toes to Jordyn Wieber overnight. Commit to working on this posture every day and slowly but surely you’ll get the results you want and your body needs.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

July 3, 2013

MOAR’s Daily Dozen: DAY 2 – High Plank w/ Flipped Hands

Step-by-Step:

1. Come to tabletop position, shoulders stacked over wrists, hips over knees.

2. Flip your hands (palms down) so that your fingers are pointing toward your knees.

3. Press into plank, maintaining flipped hands.

4. Pull belly button to spine to engage the core. Keep legs strong, lifting on the kneecaps to engage the quads and pressing strongly back through the heel. Make sure your booty isn’t popping up in the air or sagging toward the ground.

5. Listen to your body. If this stretch is too intense on the wrists come back to tabletop and sit back until your wrists start talking to you.

6. Hold for 30 seconds then slowly release back to tabletop.

How it will heal you:

Lower Back Pain – How many of you have experienced lower back pain? I’d venture to say that anyone who sits in a chair all day has suffered through their fair share. This is also a big one for athletes. Why is that? Most often, lower back pain in athletes stems from tight hamstrings. For my fellow anatomy nerds out there, the hamstrings originate on the sitz bone–aka those little nobs deep in the flesh of your booty that us yogis balance on when doing boat core work (my favorite!). If your hamstrings are tight they will pull down on the pelvis from the insertion point (the sitz bone) tilting it out of proper alignment and forcing your body to compensate using your lower back to remain upright. Another common reason for low back pain is underdeveloped abdominal muscles. I’m not talking just the six-pack abs (rectus abdominis) but also the deeper corset abs (transverse abdominis) that are critical for balance and stability. The simply solution to preventing and treating lower back pain is to stretch out your hammies and workout your core every day.

July 2, 2013

MOAR’s Daily Dozen: DAY 1 – Hero’s Pose

Step-by-Step:

1. Come to a kneeling position. Rock your weight forward, bringing hands to floor and tuck your toes under so that your heels pop up. Sit back onto your heels, hands resting on your lap. (If this is too much on your knees, place a block or pillow underneath your booty.)

2. Keep your knees and thighs zipped together and sit up tall.

3. This is an intense stretch in the toes and arch of the foot but try to stay with it and not to back off. Focus on your breath to help you stay in the posture. If it’s really too much on the underside of the foot, ease up some of the pressure by bringing your hands to the floor or a block in front of you.

4. Take 10 deeps breaths (count to 4 on the inhale and 4 on the exhale) with toes tucked under.

5. Rock your weight forward again and untuck your toes. Let the heels splay open. Sit back in between your feet, heels hugging hips. (Again, if this is too much on the knees, place a block or pillow underneath your booty.)

6. Keep your knees as close together as possible and zip up between the thighs. Make sure you’re keeping a nice long spine, crown of head reaching toward the ceiling.

7. Take 10 deeps breaths (count to 4 on the inhale and 4 on the exhale) then slowly release.

8. Bring your legs out long in front of you in a seated position. Give them a good wiggle and shake to release the knees, ankles and feet.

How it will heal you:

July 1, 2013

MOAR’s Daily Dozen: 12 Yoga Poses for Post-Athletic Recovery to Do Every Day

Over the next 12 days, I am going to walk you through my Daily Dozen Yoga Poses for Post-Athletic Recovery. Work on each pose for a few minutes each day and at the end of the 12 days try stringing them together, holding 10 breaths per side (if applicable). The whole sequence should take you between 20-25 minutes. My suggestion? Do it while watching an episode of Modern Family or Arrested Development and make it a happy ritual rather than a chore.

MOAR’s Daily Dozen:

Hero’s Pose
High Plank w/ Flipped Hands
Dolphin
Wide-Legged Forward Fold
Low Lunge w/ Twist
Half Split
Prone Shoulder Opener
Plow
Half Pigeon
Seated Spinal Twist
Reclining Figure-4
Reclining Shoelace

These postures were specifically selected to help fortify your body against the top ten sports-related injuries, which are in no particular order…

Achilles tendonitis
Plantar fasciitis
Ankle sprains
Wrist problems
Shoulder pain
Hamstring pulls
Hip pain
Knee injuries
Lower back strain
Neck strain

If you lead an active lifestyle, chances are you have dealt with at least half of that list. The best way to prevent these common sports-related injuries is to work on increasing your flexibility and ROM (range of motion) on a daily basis. We are constantly stressing our muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons and most of us barely do two minutes of stretching post-physical activity, let alone a solid 20 minutes.

Check back every day for a new posture how-to and learn about the different injuries it will help you prevent and treat. At the end of the 12 days, I encourage you to come back to this post and try the entire sequence in succession. If you can work these stretches into your routine three to five days a week, you’ll be well on your way to a flexible, strong and injury-free body.

As always, I welcome your feedback and would love to hear what you think!

February 7, 2013

Bored with Supported Shoulderstand? Change It Up with Lotus Legs

Whether you’ve been to one yoga class or 1,000, you’ve likely tried your hand at an inversion. From the most restorative of options like Legs Up the Wall (Viparita Karani) to a full-blown Scorpion (Vrschikasana), there is an inversion suited for everybody. They can be challenging, it’s true, but in the words of Leo Buscaglia:

“The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love. Chained by his certitude, he is a slave; he has forfeited his freedom. Only the person who risks is truly free.”

Nothing ventured, nothing gained–am I right?

By definition as human bipeds we spend most of our day upright, head above our heart. Inversions flip that anatomical predisposition on its head, hands, forearms or shoulders, providing a rare opportunity for increased venous return from the lower body (anything below the heart) and improved lymph drainage. Lymph drainage may help reduce swelling, promote healing, alleviate headaches and decrease the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Whether you drink the inversion health KoolAid or not, done properly they are safe and fun, so why not give them a go?

For athletes, I would definitely suggest Legs Up the Wall for post training and competition recovery. For the rest of us, I’d recommend starting your inversion play with Supported Shoulderstand (Salamba Sarvangasana)–though both are good for everyone, athlete or not. To get into Supported Shoulderstand check out Yoga Journal’s excellent step-by-step. Once you’ve got that down, you may start to feel the desire to move your legs around, spreading them wide or dropping them in opposite directions into an inverted split. As long as you’re still supporting your back with your hands and keeping your neck straight (no peeking at your neighbors!), you’re safe to play around.

My favorite variation is Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand (Urdhva Padmasana). To get into it, you’ll want to start in Plow Pose (Halasana). From there, pretzel your legs, left over right, into Lotus (Padmasana). With your hands on your back, fingertips pointing toward your booty, stretch your pretzeled thighs up towards the ceiling. Hold this for 8-10 breaths then slowly come out the way you went in, using your hands to gently untangle yourself then slowly rolling down your mat, vertebrae by vertebrae.

Setting up, feet hip width apart, before sending legs overhead into Halasana.

Upward Lotus in Shoulderstand, a.k.a. pretzel time

Lotus Legs: check. Now time to work those elbows and shoulders back in

Have fun with this asana but be careful. If you don’t already have full Lotus (Padmasana) in your practice DO NOT attempt this variation–it can be really tough on the knees.

September 9, 2012

Manifesto: Namaste, Muthaf*ckas

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMC1_RH_b3k]

There are those who laugh at this video and those who laugh with it. I’m of the with it variety and aim to make as many people as possible join me in that crowd. I mean, really, want to see where I can put my leg? You want to see where I can put my leg.

In all seriousness though, this video holds one of the keys to getting more people involved in yoga–the ability to laugh at yourself. The thing about yoga is that so many people take it (and themselves in doing it) SO seriously that it isolates a lot of us. That’s a crying shame because I truly believe that yoga can be beneficial for anyone and everyone. You don’t need to go hoarse Om-ing to reap the benefits of yoga. Just last night I had a long conversation about this with mama dukes as I strolled home along U Street from my studio. She wistfully recounted her first experience with yoga some 20 years ago. What she loved about it then and still appreciates about it now is that when you go to a class you’ll see everyone from 25-year-old hard bodies to 75-year-old grandmas. Heck, there’s even a 93 year old yoga teacher out there still doing her thing. Badass!

In carving out my own piece of this industry, I want MoYoga to help people achieve their personal fitness goals, whatever they may be, through mo’ than just yoga, ya dig? For some, yoga is about injury prevention through increased flexibility, muscle strength and improved balance. For others, it is about weight management, mindfulness (a.k.a. focus/concentration) and stress relief. Any combination of outcomes you hope to achieve through yoga is possible with the proper guidance and personal commitment. If you combine your practice with good nutrition, you’ll not only reach your goals but sustain your success. This is why a huge component of my future client work will be nutrition counseling, including weekly meal plans, shopping lists, healthy recipes and education about what fuel your body needs depending on your lifestyle.

Beyond physiology, my ultimate aspiration is to help people feel amazing about themselves by discovering or reclaiming their mojo. Whether you’re a professional athlete looking to optimize your performance or coming back from an injury, or somebody who just wants to be the healthiest, happiest and hottest version of yourself, it’s crucial to cultivate and nurture your self-esteem, self-confidence and, let’s be real, sex-appeal with as much dedication as your fitness and nutrition regimen. True health cannot be achieved through yoga moves alone. It’s all about addressing the entirety of a person’s needs from the inside out. So stay tuned, thanks for reading and get your moves, meals and mojo with me and MoYoga.