Yoga Your Way NY

12/04/2024

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Donald Trump’s reelection as president by the narrowest margin of victory since the 19th century means that nearly all of his criminal cases have either been dismissed or put on hold for now.  And despite what Trump and his supporters claim, his reelection as president must not mean that he g...

11/10/2024

Like many of you, I am horrified by the results of the 2024 election. But I don’t want to discuss my feelings, or muse on why this happened….plenty of people all over the media have done that enough.

At 9AM the day after Election Day, I taught my usual Chair Yoga for Seniors class on Zoom. I generally teach strictly movement with a little focused breathing, avoiding some of the more esoteric yoga practices that I ‘ve learned and practiced myself, since the agency under whose auspices I teach this class presents it as an exercise class. I also thought that this population would not welcome some of these practices, like breathing techniques, imagery, mudra-s, or chanting. But I knew I had to do something different for this class, and probably for many classes going forward.

At the beginning of the class, the attendees all expressed their feelings of outrage, anger, and disappointment, and seemed open to trying some new things. I decided to teach ujjayi breathing, which I had been avoiding for a couple of reasons. First, Viniyoga can be a bit complicated, what with guiding the movement of the breath in and down on inhale, out and up on exhale, coordinating movement with breath, and often moving different body parts in different directions. I thought that adding in ujjayi could make people want to throw up their proverbial hands. Second, older people often have breathing issues so they struggle with breath practices, and lengthening the breath at all can be difficult.

Well, I was wrong! At my next class, a participant told me how wonderful the breathing had been for her. She said it helped make her breath longer, improved her focus, and supported her back and abdomen. Other people chimed in, saying how they felt much more calm.

So, ujjayi to the rescue! This breathing technique involves valving the breath at the glottis. This forces the breath to move more slowly through your body, with some tension at the glottis that creates a rushing sound (often likened to ocean waves, or Darth Vader’s breath). The tension also generates heat, so it’s often called a warming breath. When the breath moves more slowly, it’s easier to slow your movement down to match the breath. When you slow the breath and movement, your body and mind naturally become more calm. This breath also requires some attention, and listening to the sound of the breath actually forces you to pay attention, so it helps to improve your focus and to bring your attention inward, also helping to calm you and decrease feelings of stress.

Here are some tips on how to do the ujjayi breath, Viniyoga style.

Start by sitting, either on the mat or on a chair, with a straight spine – abdomen pulling gently in towards the low back, shoulder blades pulling back and in, chin slightly tucked. Focus on a spot in front of you, or close your eyes. Take a few easy breaths through the nose, inhaling top to bottom, exhaling bottom to top. Try not to force the breath – breathe softly and naturally.

Then on your next exhale, open your mouth with a “hahhhhh” sound, constricting at the back of the throat. Repeat, inhaling through the nose, exhaling through the mouth.

On your next exhale, start with the mouth open, and then, keeping the back of the throat constricted, close your mouth. Do you feel the constriction, and hear the sound of the breath?

Repeat, but this time, keep that constriction going as you inhale and exhale. Now you’re doing ujjayi! I invite you to slowly lengthen your breath and coordinate this breath with your movements in your yoga practice.

08/16/2024

Join me for a 2-hour online workshop on "yoga for your bones" August 26 from 3pm to 5pm ET. Click here for more info:

« All Events Event Series: Yoga for Osteoporosis workshop Yoga for your Bones workshop August 26 @ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm EDT $50 « Sunday chair yoga for seniors Evening mat yoga » As we age, our bones tend to become more porous, less dense, making us more vulnerable to fractures. But there’s yoga f...

07/06/2024

Here in Manhattan, for the past 20+ years, The Times Square Alliance has sponsored yoga in Times Square on the summer solstice. They call it "Mind over Madness" -- the theory is that if one can cultivate calm and serenity, blocking out the incessant racket in Times Square, arguably one of the busiest (not to mention touristy) spots in the city, one can cultivate calm and serenity anywhere. If you haven't been to Times Square lately, you might not know that they've transformed it, somewhat, into a pedestrian mall, and there are interestingly (and often very sc****ly) dressed and/or painted characters hanging around for the delight of gawking tourists. Although I generally avoid Times Square like the plague, I've attended this event for quite a few years - at least 7, maybe more. I just love this idea of searching for, and perhaps even finding, a deep well of stillness within while outside there are the flashing billboards all around, traffic noise, and of course the tourists, watching all these crazy people twisting themselves into yoga poses, or lying flat on their backs, eyes closed, relaxing into savasana (co**se pose) or yoga nidra (nidra means sleep in Sanskrit, though yoga nidra isn't actually sleep - it's a form of guided meditation that attempts to bring the practitioner to a state of deep but conscious relaxation), which might seem even crazier.

This past June 20, I attended as usual. At the end of the practice, the instructor led us in a yoga nidra-ish guided meditation which did bring me to a state of - not exactly profound stillness - but stillness, nonetheless. I've recorded a 15 minute yoga nidra style guided meditation that I'd like to share with you. If you have trouble sleeping, or are troubled by middle-of-the-night waking, perhaps because there are too many thoughts and worries rattling around in your brain, clamoring for attention, you might find this useful. Simply click on the link, settle into your mat (or bed!) or chair, and listen. I'd love to hear from you if you try it - let me know what you think!

02/29/2024

The curve that you see in this x-ray is rather graceful, isn't it? But it's not desirable - it's thoracolumbar scoliosis, with the spine curving to the left. This is an image of my own spine - yes, I have scoliosis, though it's not severe enough to cause a lot of pain or necessitate bracing or surgery. But I do experience intermittent low back and sacrum pain which is likely at least partly caused by this relatively innocuous curve.

What is scoliosis and why is it a problem?

Our spines are supposed to have a double "S" curve forward and back: the sacrum curves back, the lumbar spine (low back) curves forward, the thoracic spine (upper back) curves back, and the cervical spine (neck) curves forward again. These curves allow us humans to stand upright and walk. The spine is not supposed to curve laterally - when that happens, we call it scoliosis. Scoliosis can manifest as a single curve, usually in the lumbar spine, or as a double curve - one in the lumbar spine and an opposite curve in the thoracic spine. These curves are also accompanied by rotation, which causes the ribs, most of which are attached to the thoracic spine, to splay out. The curves affect the muscles that attach to them, creating asymmetries, and asymmetries in the muscles can further affect the curves, in a vicious cycle.

Sometimes people have scoliosis and don't exhibit any symptoms. But as the curves become deeper, they can cause significant back pain. In some cases, the lungs can be compressed, making it more difficult to breathe.

What causes scoliosis?

Scoliosis seems to run in some families, so there might be a hereditary factor. It can also result from birth defects, certain neuromuscular conditions, such as muscular dystrophy or cerebral palsy, or diseases such as polio or spinal tuberculosis. My mother had severe scoliosis, no doubt caused by being placed in an iron lung when she had polio, and double pneumonia, in the nineteen-forties. But these diseases have been mostly eradicated in our society, so it's rare to find people with scoliosis nowadays due to disease.

Most scoliosis is "idiopathic," a fancy word for "we don't know the cause." Many adolescents develop scoliosis when their spines are still growing, and relatively vulnerable.

How is scoliosis treated?

The traditional treatments for scoliosis involve bracing (for curves greater than 25 degrees) or surgery (for curves greater than 45 degrees). Bracing only really works for children and adolescents, whose spines are still growing. It can help mainly to prevent curves from getting worse, although some bracing can actually lessen the curves. The braces, which are full-body, need to be worn for a long time - a year or longer. They can cause muscle soreness, and weakness, since the brace prevents muscles from being used much.

Surgery seems to be quite successful in straightening scoliosis curves, but first, surgery is always risky, and second, the section of spine that is affected will no longer be flexible.

So let's get to the good part: how about yoga?

As a yoga teacher and therapist, I suppose I often exemplify Abraham Maslow's famous quote: “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”
Yoga isn't the answer to everything, but in this case, it really works, and we have the statistics to prove it! Dr. Loren Fishman, a Manhattan physiatrist (and yogi) with whom I work as a yoga therapist, has devised a program of yoga poses for scoliosis. These poses work well for people of all ages. Right now, Dr. Fishman has designed and is implementing an FDA-approved, randomized control study of yoga for lumbar adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, and has already obtained impressive results: an average of 34% improvement over 3 months. He is still actively recruiting study subjects, so if you know of any teenagers between the ages of 12 and 20 who have scoliosis who might be candidates for this study, please contact him (or me). There is no fee for participating in the treatments, and it is a crossover study, meaning that anyone who is a control would also receive the full treatment at the end of the study period (which is 3 months).

For more information, here is an article that Dr. Fishman published in the Swiss journal Muscles, detailing interim study results. And here is a 12.5 minute video of a recent presentation Dr. Fishman gave at Columbia University.

12/26/2023

Dr Loren Fishman is a Manhattan-based physiatrist and yogi who has designed a series of yoga poses that help improve bone density. He has run several clinical trials comparing his yoga method to osteoporosis drugs with impressively positive results. I am trained and certified in his method (and, as a person who has osteoporosis herself, am a dedicated practitioner of the poses!) and recently offered a workshop to to a large and enthusiastic group from Health Advocates for Older People. I would like to offer a similar workshop to you.

There will be two sessions: in the first one, I will be presenting information about osteoporosis and bone density and will then demonstrate the poses. The second one is a practice session in which I will demonstrate the poses again but will then watch you so that I can offer corrections, suggestions, and modifications. The presentation will be recorded, and I will also make available a video of me doing the poses.

The workshop that I taught to Health Advocates members was tailored to older people who often have difficulty getting down onto a mat or doing some of the more intense stretching poses, so I modified the poses, making extensive use of props – wall, chair, and a strap. In this workshop, I will demonstrate the full poses but also offer modifications, including use of props, so that you can practice whichever poses make sense for your body.

I am offering this workshop on Zoom on May 21 at 4PM ET. The follow-up practice session will be held on May 28 at 4PM ET. The cost for both sessions and for the recordings is $50 (see my “shop” page for details on how to pay). If you can’t attend live, you can still access the recordings. Please email me at stephanie@yogayourwayny.com by May 15 if you will be attending.

11/20/2023

Falling Lessons

This past September, I was sitting on a raised platform outside of a restaurant in Les Houches, a small village in the French Alps, having dinner, when, shifting my weight to pick up my bag, which was sitting on the floor to my right, the left back leg of my chair tipped off the platform and threw me onto the street. It happened so fast I didn't have time to try to catch myself, so I landed with full force on my left shoulder, dislocating it. The docs at the local hospital put me back together and I spent the next 3 weeks in a strait-jacket-like contraption that hugged my body and held my arm and shoulder immobile. I've had extensive physical therapy, which is ongoing, though not as often now, and my range of motion is almost back to normal. But my left arm, which is my dominant arm, is still somewhat weak, and I still have pain, especially when I try to sleep and when I do certain movements. As a result, although I've managed to resume my usual teaching schedule, I haven't been able to return fully to my personal yoga routine. And I might need surgery to remove a small bit of bone that tore off the head of the humerus (this is apparently called a Hill-Sachs Deformity - a big name for a small fragment) and which might be the cause of the ongoing pain.

To answer your undoubtedly burning question: I had finished dinner - just hadn't ordered any dessert.

To answer your other undoubtedly burning question: I didn't threaten to sue the restaurant, though many people have expressed great surprise that I didn't do so. In fact, it never occurred to me to do that.

I've been musing on what I've learned from this experience, if anything. Here are some of my thoughts, not necessarily in any order:

1. Know where your body parts are.
And that extends to a piece of furniture you might be sitting or lying on. I think we all tend to run stories in our heads while our bodies are just left to their own devices. There's often a disconnect between what we're thinking and what our bodies are doing. One of the goals of yoga is to restore that connection: in a yoga practice, we try to bring our focus to the sensations in our bodies. And that shouldn't end when the practice ends. It's important to carry that through to our everyday lives.

2. Pay attention.
Well, that's just more of what I said in point one above. It doesn't serve us to move through life in a haze, taking things for granted. I took it for granted that my chair was stable, and that there was plenty of room on the platform between my chair and the street. As an older adult, I'm well aware of the risks of falling. The statistics for falls in the senior population is alarming, But I've blithely assumed none of this applies to me since I'm (knock on wood) in good health and have good strength and flexibility. However, that can change in an instant.

3. Breathe
During the 3-ish hours from the time I fell, until the ambulance arrived at the restaurant, then arrived at the hospital, and then I was finally seen by the doctors, I used yoga breathing techniques (called pranayama in Sanskrit). I've always known pranayama is useful for decreasing stress and increasing focus, but was a bit surprised at how well it worked for me in this instance. By lengthening my breath, and keeping the exhale longer than the inhale, I felt my anxiety release. It also served to take the focus off of the pain and the entire distressing situation.

4. Drop your preconceived beliefs
I've always discounted my right arm being able to do anything much except to play a supporting role to my dominant left. But since my right arm has had to take over, and even as my left arm has been able to resume many of its normal tasks, my right arm has gotten quite strong and able (it can grasp my light but very large and unwieldy salad spinner by itself - the left was never able to do that!). This idea could extend to so many other things. What else do I unfairly assume to be insufficient or less than able? What else do I prejudge?

5. Maybe it's time to move to France
Two months after the accident, I received a bill from the hospital in Sallanches for 177 euros (about $183). Can you imagine how much this would've cost here?

01/07/2023

Some thoughts about silence and meditation

Yoga is a multidimensional practice. It's not just postures and movement (asana), and it's not just breathing (pranayama). There is a path to enlightenment described in the Yoga Sutra-s of Patanjali (an ancient source text for yoga) called ashtanga yoga (not to be confused with the style of yoga called ashtanga yoga) of which asana and pranayama are only two of the steps on that path. Ashtanga yoga encompasses eight interrelated categories (the Sanskrit word ashtanga means "eight limbs") that prescribe ways to relate to various aspects of being:
Yama-s: relating to the way we behave in the world around us
Niyama-s: relating to the way we behave towards ourselves
Asana: relating to our physical bodies
Pranayama: relating to our breath
Pratyahara: relating to how we perceive
Dharana, dhyana, samadhi: relating to our field of attention (meditation)

My teacher, Gary Kraftsow, has said that the purpose of asana is to prepare us for pranayama, and the purpose of pranayama is to prepare us for meditation.

Even if becoming "enlightened" is not in your bucket list, meditation has many proven benefits, as I'm sure my colleague Ray Schaub will tell you. Here are just a few benefits (as listed on the Mayo Clinic website):
• Managing stress, anxiety, and depression
• Lowering heart rate and blood pressure
• Improving sleep
• Managing symptoms of many conditions, including cancer, asthma, chronic pain, headaches, and IBS

Ultimately, the goal of yoga is to be completely empty of oneself, resting in a state of relaxed, quiet alertness, with clear, unfluctuating mind - i.e. pure awareness (this is samadhi).

This takes practice! I've achieved that state for a few seconds at a time, only to stymie my effort by thinking - I did it! - which of course destroys it so I'm back to square one.

There are several references in ancient yoga philosophy texts (in the Yoga Sutra-s of Patanjali and also in the Bhagavad Gita) that seem to imply that one can approach this state by observing the transitions in the breath - between inhale and exhale, between exhale and inhale, and on the breath holds between. I've been experimenting a bit with holding the breath after inhale and exhale. There is a natural silence that seems to occur, at least for me, when I hold the breath. My mind doesn't try to break in with its intrusive thoughts as much.

You might like to try this yourself. Sit comfortably, with a relaxed but erect posture. You can sit on the floor cross-legged, if this is comfortable for you, or you can sit in a chair.

Bring your attention to your breath. Breathing through the nose if you can, allow the breath to move slowly downward to the bottom of the rib cage, and then feel the breath moving slowly up and out. Notice the natural, subtle movement of your chest, your abdomen, your pelvis, and your spine as you breathe.

Make the in-breath the same comfortable length as the out-breath - perhaps 3 or 4 seconds each.

Then start to hold the breath slightly at the end of each inhale and at the end of each exhale. Holding after inhale, feel as though you are still inhaling; holding after exhale, feel as though you are still exhaling. Make sure you don't clamp down - keep the holds easy and soft.

If this breath is comfortable for you, you can start to make the inhale and exhale slightly longer - maybe moving to 4, 5, or 6 seconds. Also start to lengthen the holds (but keep them shorter for now). Make sure as you lengthen the breath that your breath doesn't become forced or ragged. If you find that happening, back off on the length.

As you do this practice, observe the sensations in your body, and also observe any thoughts that arise. As thoughts arise (and they will), notice them and then see if you can send them on their way, coming back to the breath each time.

To come out of the practice, shorten each part of the breath, a little at a time, until your breath is back to normal.

What was your experience like? Do you notice a stillness during the breath holds? Do you feel calmer and more relaxed? Try to do this practice for just a few minutes each day, and then perhaps as time goes on, you may find that you can extend another few minutes, and then another.

12/10/2022

Trauma, Epigenetics, and Yoga


I've been learning about how trauma, and specifically PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), can affect DNA, even into future generations. Three and A Half Acres Yoga, through which I have learned about teaching yoga for trauma victims, recently held a session with Dr. Ali Seidenstein, an epigenetics researcher and yoga teacher, on this topic. I'd like to present a nonscientific summary of my understanding of how epigenetics explains how trauma can change the way our bodies function.

Many of us experience some sort of trauma during the course of our lives. This trauma may or may not affect our lives in a big way. PTSD results when we play the recording of the trauma over and over again, implanting new patterns in our brains and in our DNA.

Epigenetics is the study of how certain molecules, methane and others, attach themselves to DNA, altering the way genes are expressed. This can be helpful, or not. Trauma can induce these molecules to change, and not in a positive way, genes that determine how we process glucocorticoids, (these substances are important in controlling inflammation), how cells grow and heal, and how our immune response works. These molecules don't change our DNA but rather the way our DNA works. But interestingly, some of these changes can be passed down through generations. There have been studies, for example, in which mice were trained to be scared of certain music, and the grandchildren of these mice were similarly affected, though their DNA was not changed. There have also been studies of Tutsi women who were pregnant at the time of the Rwandan genocide - similar epigenetic patterns were found in both mothers and resulting offspring. It is possible, then, that trauma can create a pattern of behavior that is passed down.

So what does this have to do with yoga? Dr Seidenstein has suggested that just as re-experiencing trauma creates a negative pattern of behavior, that pattern might also be altered by introducing a pattern of positive behavior. And in yoga philosophy, we speak of samskara-s - patterns of behavior that are ingrained. These can include ways we habitually respond to stressors in our environment, including things like retreating into overeating or alcohol consumption, or perhaps withdrawing into oneself or lashing out with anger when faced with aggressive behavior from a colleague, or even simply tics such as nail-biting or foot-swinging. My teacher, Gary Kraftsow, likes to ask this question: what's stronger, your intention or your habits? If a habit is ingrained, it's very difficult to undo it. But change is possible. One must take small steps, make small changes. And just as repetition created these negative ingrained patterns, if one repeats these small changes over and over, one can create a new, positive pattern, supplanting the old, negative one.

As we come to the beginning of a new year, with all of the usual resolutions that start January 2 and end maybe a week later (or maybe a month, if we're lucky), it might be helpful to consider making small changes that could eventually lead to more substantial ones.

If you'd like to learn more about Dr. Seidenstein and her research, please check her website.

12/01/2022

I will be offering a 2-hour workshop on teaching yoga for seniors January 24, 2023, from 3:30 to 5:30. If you are a member of Yoga Alliance, you can receive 2 CE credits for the workshop. Please check my website for details:

« All Events Workshop: Teaching Gentle/Chair Yoga for Seniors January 24, 2023 @ 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm EST $30 « Evening mat yoga Breath and Movement with Stephanie » This workshop is geared towards yoga teachers who would like to sharpen their skills for teaching Seniors, but anyone who is intereste...

11/21/2021

In this time of stress and turmoil, I often feel like we are heading for the apocalypse, or perhaps the ten plagues are being revisited on us in a new, modern, more insidious form. As we approach Thanksgiving, I’m finding it difficult to find things to be thankful for, but that shouldn’t be so hard. I have my life, my breath, my family – all of which are especially precious amid the threats of the world as we know it imploding from disease, political strife, and environmental catastrophe. When I am seeking inspiration, I often turn to the words of Jalaladdin Rumi, the 13th century Persian Sufi Mystic. Here is what he wrote about gratitude:

“Be grateful for your life, every detail of it, and your face will come to shine like a sun, and everyone who sees it will be made glad and peaceful. Persist in gratitude, and you will slowly become one with the Sun of Love, and Love will shine through you its all-healing joy. The path of gratitude is not for children; it is path of tender heroes, of the heroes of tenderness who, whatever happens, keep burning on the altar of their hearts the flame of adoration.”