Petra Yoga

Today was the first day of the training and we learnt about the connective tissue in the body, fascia, which enwraps all the interior structures such as bones, muscles and organs. This tissue forms membranes, which are interconnected via a great network and provide a connection between all the parts of the body. In other words, an injury in the feet may directly affect your neck. Therefore, we must address the body as a whole to deal with a particular problem. A healthy fascia should be highly adaptable and constantly in the state of flux as it alternatively stiffens and hinders the connection and communication through the body. Tias calls fascia ‘The internet of the body’ because it ‘comprises a web that connects various parts of the body’.

In the second part of the day, our focus was on feet and how we can improve the asana practice by working with more focus on the feet. In standing postures, feet are the foundation; therefore, the most important part of the pose. If the feet are not working properly in a standing posture, that misalignment will propagate thorough the knees, hips and beyond.

With the arrival of warm weather our bodies perspire more than in winter.  For many people the idea of sweaty armpits is very unappealing.  The quick solution to that issue is a trip to the chemist and purchase of an anti-perspirant deodorant.  Well, before you do that, please consider this:

Sweating is one of the ways of detoxification.  By sweating we get rid of many toxins which would otherwise stay trapped in the body.  If you apply an anti-perspirant deodorant, you stop the sweat from exiting the body from the underarms where a lot of lymph nodes are situated.  Also, all the anti-perspirant deodorants contain aluminium which has been linked to the diseases such as breast cancer and Alzheimer disease.

So, please throw away all the anti-perspirant deodorants and all the ones containing aluminium and replace them preferably with crystal deodorants which will not prevent you from sweating but will prevent you from smelling.

Can you spot the difference in these two photos:

In the top picture, the student is rolling the shoulders downwards, thus creating a big strain on the muscles of the rotator cuff.  By doing the pose in such a way over a period of time, one puts these muscles at risk of a permanent injury.

The bottom picture shows a corrected press-up where the shoulder does not go below the elbow in respect to the floor, which is a correct and much safer way of doing this pose.

Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga is a style of yoga with a precisely defined sequence of postures.  Not only the postures have a certain order in which they are practiced but each posture also has its own way of going into and coming out of it.  That routine is called a vinyasa of that particular posture.  One can think of it as a ‘choreography’ where the breath is the music to which we do the pose.  It is very useful for a practitioner to learn the proper vinyasa of each posture and when practising to silently keep count of the vinyasas along with the appropriate inhale or exhale and drishti (visual focus).  The best way to start learning the count is by trying to count sun salutations A & B and then to learn for subsequent postures as you practice.

The main benefit for counting while practising is that it helps keeping the mind focused on the practice instead of drifting away with the thoughts.

An excellent book with the proper vinyasa count for the primary and second series is Asthanga Yoga by Lino Miele

So, next time when you are on the mat, remember: “One, inhale, look at the thumbs; two, exhale, look at the nose; three, inhale, look at the third eye,…”

The Spring newsletter is finally here. Enjoy!

Supported shoulderstand is an excellent alternative to the traditional posture for people with stiff shoulders and/or bad necks. The contraindications are the same as for the regular shoulderstand (i.e. high blood pressure, period, glaucoma)

All the props needed can be bought from yogamatters.com .

On the last day of the training the topics were:  exagerated spinal curves, kyphosis and lordosis,  chronic lower back pain, asana series for diabetes, sacro-illiac joint stabilisation and vertigo.

The reasons why we want to minimize kyphosis (exagerated curve of the thoracic spine, ‘hunchback’) are not mainly esthetic but because it restricts the breathing, making it shallow.  Aadil showed us a few exercises which, if done regularly, will reduce the curvature.  They are shown in the photos below:

For lordosis (exagerated curve of the lumbar spine, ’swayback’), Aadil gave a very simple, yet effective exercises; pull the pit of the abdomen upwards and towards the spine while:
1. seated either in sukhasana (simple cross-legged), virasana (hero pose), or any preferred position;
2. in marjarasana (cat pose);
3. lying down with knees bent and feet on the floor.

For chronic back pain (where there is no acute problem such as prolapsed discs, inflammation, etc.), a few exercises were given.

Firstly, Aadil focused on the release of one of the hip-flexor muscles, psoas, which in most people, is very tight.

He also taught us one assisted twist which was originally taught by Mr. Iyengar.  It is an amazing release for the lower back.

The diabetes series consisted of many twists with the aim to reach all the facets of liver, spleen, pancreas and gall bladder.  The full series is very tough, including poses such as mandalasana (headstand position with the feet on the ground, walking around) and parsva sarvangasana (sideways shoulderstand).  Since many people cannot do such advanced postures, there is a very effective modification for parsva sarvanagasana (see photo below).

For the sacro-illiac stabilisation, one of the exercises was designed to reset the SI-joint and to strenghten the muscles around it (see below).

For vertigo, the treatment was for the student to be in viparita karani (mild inversion) and the teacher putting his/her index fingers into the student’s ear canal and massaging in a circular motion.  This was also originally taught by Mr. Iyengar.

In the last two days, we addressed the following problems: sacro-illiac joint, more of the neck degeneration, neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and epilepsy.  Aadil also taught a fantastic asana class for the opening of the spine.

Sacro-illiac joint problems were addressed indirectly through opening of the hamstrings, adductors, abductors, quadriceps and illio-psoas.  Aadil found that if these muscles are not open, the twists do not quite release the SI joint.

Regarding the neck, one of the students on the course was involved in a car accident and had a serious whiplash.  In the photo below one can see where the vertebrae were moved from their position, causing serious headaches.

For the neurological diseases which manifest themselves with tremors (e.g. Parkinsons, epilepsy), Aadil has a series of restorative poses.  According to him, nerves respond to stillness, which is precursor for peace.  We have to work on how to make the body still from the inside.  The way to do that is to make it still from the outside with applied pressure.  Unless there is pressure, the stillness created on the outside will not go into the nerves.  All the poses are done with weight (sandbags, blankets).  The nervous system has to feel safe, and most people’s nervous systems do not feel safe.  The photo below show shavasana (corpse pose) with the applied sandbags.  It should be held from 10-30 minutes.

In the asana class, the sequence was shirshasana (headstand), setu banda sarvangasana (brigde),  supta padangustasana (supine leg raises), matsyangasana (twist).  At the end of the class, in shavasana (corpse pose), Aadil warned us that he will produce a very big sound which should flow through our body and our nervous system without agitating it.  He warned us exactly when the sound will be made, and then he banged the wooden brick on the floor.  There were a few gasps amongst the group of 35 students.  The point of this was to let this sound pass through the body and then to draw an analogy with events/thoughts in life that have a potential to upset us and to learn how to make them pass through us without affecting us for too long.

Today, the focus was on the neck, eyes and strengthening of the hypermobile upper body.

With neck, especially after the whiplash injury, the work is to unwind the spasm and secondly to put the curve back into the neck.  This can be done with the help of the teacher and wall ropes or even on your own without the wall ropes.

Aadil also taught us the abridged version of his Eye Series, which aim is to bring more circulation to the eyes and to improve vision.  It works on the principle of bringing more prana (life force) to the eyes and by strengthening the eye muscles.  It should be done daily and this version takes about 5 minutes to complete.

We also did some work on strenghtening the upper body muscles, which looked quite a bit like a gym workout, and besides the therapeutic aspect for people with hypermobile shoulders, it also builds the upper body strength.

In the last two days we did mainly hip opening series with traction.   Its aim is to create mobility but also the space in the hip joint, so that the nutrients can reach and repair the torn cartilage and replenish the sinovial fluid.  The sequence of 6 exercises is the same as for the standard hip series, but the difference is that all of them are done by the wall where one leg is strapped to the wall which creates the traction. 

With this series, Aadil helped many people who were about to have a hip replacement to avoid the surgery and be pain free in the hips.  However, apart from doing the hip series with traction, one also has to take specific supplements for the nutrition of the hip joint.  Aadil recommends an extensive list of products; if you need more information, please contact us.

There was also a talk on detoxification of the body.  Aadil, as well as being one of the top yoga teachers in the world, is also an expert naturopath who puts a great importance on nutrition as a part of a whole well-being of a person. 

In the body, there are 6 systems which are responsible for detoxification:
1. Bladder & Kidneys – urine
2. Colon -stool
3. Skin – sweat
4. Lungs -breath
5. Lymphatic System
6. Liver & Spleen

In order to help them function better, a good start would be to greatly reduce the consumption of the following:

C.A.T.S. (caffeine, alcohol, tobbaco, refined sugar), wheat, dairy, everything that is non-organic or artificial. (Addil recommends substituting wheat products with spelt).

Also, some of the ways to detoxify the body are:
1. Fasting one day of the week – drinking only water with lemon juice;
2. Cleaning out the colon with colonic irrigation – 4 times a year, during the change of the seasons;
3. Keeping the liver clean by drinking water with lemon juice and in the asana practice doing inversions, twist and backbends.

There are also a lot of products and supplements that were mentioned to help a particular organ to function better. The list is extensive; please contact us if you need any further info.