Paul Busch Yoga-MiniMaha Yoga (Small Steps to Great Freedom)

04/15/2024

https://conta.cc/3xzpA8t

Rising to New Possibilities     Vote, special event, class changes, farewell to Margie. A little something about yoga postures (asanas) In the yoga text The Yoga Sutras, the yoga sage Patanjali wrote

09/01/2022

The St. Paul Yoga Center is sending out its first newsletter in well over a year!

07/13/2020

So much has happened since my last post here in February. A lot of old patterns have been disturbed, giving us the opportunity to create new, more sustainable and compassionate ways of being in the world. We have a chance to see ourselves more clearly and to realize our true interconnected nature more fully. We're being asked (as I believe we always are) to act from our best tendencies (love-based) and not our worst (fear-based). This is yoga! Realizing and experiencing the interconnectedness of all things and all beings. On a more mundane note, my latest post on the Yoga Teachers page was on the topic of what the shoulder blades and upper arm bones are "supposed" to do in downward facing dog pose. Do we elevate the shoulder blades or depress them? Do we internally rotate the upper arm bone in the shoulder socket or externally rotate it? As is generally the case for me when given a choice of A or B, I choose C--all of the above. Here's my response: " I would say that what needs to happen (and when) depends on two things: (1) where a student is "coming from" (e.g., is there excessive internal rotation of the head of the humerus, which would need external rotation to balance it) and (2) where they are trying to go (esp. mobilizing vs. stabilizing). If there is impingement in the shoulder, elevation of the shoulder blades in DD can create space and relieve that. I generally follow that by depressing the shoulder blades to "seat" the humerus in the shoulder socket, which stabilizes the joint and uses resistance to engage the supporting structures of the shoulder girdle evenly. This creates balance and efficiency in the shoulders and the shoulder girdle, but sacrifices some mobility. One result of this dynamic resistance is that the head of the humerus has the actions of both internal and external rotation simultaneously. There is certainly more happening, but I believe that this post is primarily examining scapular elevation/depression and humeral rotation."

02/25/2020

Working hard is easy. That is to say, it may be a more comfortable way to challenge yourself than more subtle types of challenge. Working hard may be a way to get started, but eventually (and as soon as we can) we need to work smarter and not just try to keep working harder. We tend to reward hard work because we think it's virtuous. But working harder than we need to is wasteful, and it creates unhelpful stress. Over-working in yoga contradicts some of our goals in yoga. If how we practice creates excess stress, then some of the benefits we hope to get are being undercut. Try asking yourself how you are more comfortable being challenged in your practice and how you are less comfortable being challenged. Ultimately, attachment to outcomes or benefits of our practice leads to suffering. Letting go of the view of yoga practice as something just for ourselves may seem counter-intuitive. Practicing for personal benefit disconnects us, just as over-working does. Metta, or loving kindness practice, can help us re-connect to our deeper selves and to others.

02/04/2019

In exploring mulabandha, I have found greater subtlety with the practice. One aspect of that involves the balance of work and surrender. Specifically, it seems important to surrender before (as well as during and after) taking action. Without surrendering first, I don't believe that mulabandha will tend to arise (spontaneously or otherwise). Getting to the point where one can begin with surrender may take some time, but that is essential in order to go deeper.

Work is grosser than surrender, so it is more accessible. If we work on as gross a level as we need to and as subtle a level as we're able to, then surrender will tend to become more and more accessible. I think it's easy to keep working on a grosser level, even when we become capable of greater subtlety. So I have found my exploration of mulabandha to be a great teacher in understanding the relationship between work and surrender

01/15/2019

Goldilocks and the Three Bears is clearly a yoga fairy tale (which prompts me to call it Goldilocks and the Three Yoginis). It describes a middle path, which applies perfectly to yoga. The story advises us to move toward balance. The "just right" that it invokes, as I see it, is not some idealized perfect place, but an expression in which you are moving toward, rather than away from, better balance.

07/24/2018

Just saw this from a Lululemon (the poster child for commercial crap disguised as yoga) ad: Mula Bandhawear thongs. They also have Mula Bandhawear Bikinis. Let's hope that more people actually learn to practice Mula Bandha (one of the most widely misunderstood practices in yoga, IMO) than wear mula bandha underwear. Ah, capitalism at its finest!

06/22/2018

Yoga is certainly not exempt from the world of exaggerated claims (i.e., snake oil). The article below says this about Sun Salutations: "Does it have any base in science?
Yes, it does. In fact, it is essential to understand the science behind this ancient technique. This will help you approach this powerful yoga practice with the right outlook. Ancient Indian sages have said different energies govern different parts of the body. For instance, the solar plexus that is located behind the navel is connected to the Sun. Regular practice of Surya Namaskar enhances the size of the solar plexus. This, in turn, increases your creativity, intuitive abilities, decision-making, confidence and leadership skills. This is why the practice of Surya Namaskar is highly recommended."

Ok, leaving aside the statement about what enlarging your solar plexus will do (which itself is pretty bizarre), just the statement that sun salutations will increase the size of the solar plexus is ludicrous. (Does this pose make my solar plexus look large?)

Sun Salutation or Surya Namaskar - Learn more about the health benefits of Surya namaskar, the Science behind Surya Namaskar, Why Start the Day With Surya Namaskar?, Why Should Children Do Surya Namaskar?, Why Should Women Do Surya Namaskar?, Develop Your Sixth Sense with Sun Salutations.

04/28/2018

Now we go from bandhas to beer. In response to a post by a teacher of a video of a beer yoga class in which students were drinking beer during the class, I posted this comment:

"Judgment aside, the effectiveness of something can ideally be measured by the results created (though measuring results fully may be impossible). Does alcohol help people learn how to listen? For some people, it is their only tool for relaxation. One could argue that alcohol can be medicinal. Alcohol would then be a clear example of how the same thing that is a medicine can be a poison. I've heard it said that people who use meditation to get "high" or as a palliative (like my friend who says that he meditates for two hours a day just to stay sane) are abusing the tool. I've offered meditation as a tool for someone with seriously messed up brain chemistry, and they couldn't even use it as a palliative. It is my understanding that Ta***ic practice in India traditionally included drinking alcohol, eating meat and having forbidden s*x. That was breaking taboos. In the US, where consumerism is the primary religion now, most of us just see ourselves as consumers. We try to "consume" as much s*x, meat (average 200 pounds per year per person) and alcohol as we can. It seems clear that our Ta**ra doesn't benefit from including those things. So does encouraging drinking, in a society where drinking is encouraged everywhere, move us toward or away from balance?"