Om Sweet Om Yoga

Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana/ Standing half lotus (bound) forward bend

Gail — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:09:06 +0000

Begin this pose in standing in tadasana. Transfer weight to left side, find your dristi, connect to your bandhas, lift your right leg and bend at the knee and open the hip to the right. Place your right foot in the crease of your right leg and thigh. (IF this bothers your knee bring your foot over your thigh by the knee or come into tree pose). For more advanced students you may bind the right hand around your back and hold onto your right big tow in yogic toe-lock. If the bind is not to be leave the arm at your side. You may begin to fold forward bringing the unbound hand or both hands to the floor or a block for balance. You may also bring you hands to a wall folding at your waist body parallel to the floor arms straight, if folding to the floor feels precarious. Breath five or so long and deep breaths and then come back up to stand. Release your right foot to the floor and repeat on the other side.

Physical benefits: This is a balancing posture that is also a hip opener and in it’s advanced form a shoulder opener. It stretches the groin muscles in the bent leg and the hamstrings in the standing leg. It also builds strength in the core and the standing leg.

Spiritual benefits: Ardha Badha Padmottanasana is a balancing pose and as such helps to ground you and build focus (dharana). By challenging the mind/body to become still as the body bends and twists we learn to readily locate the inner focus.

Phyllis Sickerman

Gail — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:13:52 +0000

Phyllis Sickerman teaches visually impaired and blind high school students in NYC. She just turned sixty and has been practicing yoga at Om Sweet Om since the first week we opened our doors 5 ½ years ago.

She initially got into yoga in the 70’s but then for no reason stopped. About ten years ago she really started to miss it. She felt that she was losing “the power of being” she was not feeling “present in the moment” and knew it was time to begin again. She found a gentle class locally that suited her for a while, but in time she felt she wanted more. Then one day Phyllis happened upon an ad in a local paper for Om Sweet Om Yoga. That’s when it all began.

She walked in and loved it from the start. Although she found her Thursday afternoon class with Lisa very challenging, she also felt empowered and inspired. In the beginning she felt the classes to be very long and wondered if she could make it through. But after about a year of practice she was surprised when class was over! She had built so much strength and endurance. In fact, as of last summer Phyllis has come to enjoy Ashtanga yoga.

Yoga has become a guiding force in Phyllis’ life. She feels the grace in every part of her life.

In her own teaching this year the theme for her students comes from the yoga sutras, 100% effort (abhyasa) doing your best and being satisfied with that (vairagya). Her students really like it.

Emotionally Phyllis finds herself far more grounded. She related this scenario: Two years ago she had both parents in separate hospitals in Florida. Her mother in rehab after hip surgery and her father with brain cancer. Phyllis says her yoga practice kept her sane. Her time on her mat offered her validation, comfort and renewed faith that things would again be okay. Her yoga also gave her the opportunity to release the pain of situation and let the tears flow. It was a beautiful gift.

Another gift Phyllis found from practicing at Om Sweet Om Yoga is the gift of community. She has made many friends at the studio and looks forward to seeing them in class. She loves it here and feels very honored and grateful to call this her yoga home. Phyllis plans to do the teacher training at Om Sweet Om Yoga after she retires in a year. She hopes to bring yoga to the senior and special needs community.

Forearm stand/Pincha Mayurasana

Gail — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:30:31 +0000

Situate your mat short side at the wall. Come onto hands and knees facing the wall. Place forearms on the mat (fingers about a foot away from the wall) with elbows in line with the shoulders and hands in line with the elbows. Draw your shoulder blades together, keep your gaze between your hands. Lift your knees off the ground and wall your feet in toward your face keeping your spine long until you feel resistance or you are in a short down dog with your forearms on the ground. You may stop here in the prep version or continue on to balance on the forearms. Kick the feet up, one at a time, and then bring them together. You may use the wall for balance. Keep awareness in the hands, even the finger tips, and side body to find your balance.

Physical Benefits:
This posture strengthens shoulder structure. It also works the core as the abdominal and spinal muscles are engaged to remain upright and not fall back or forward respectively. The legs are also involved in that the muscled are firmed to keep the legs lengthened and together. Forearm stand is often called the mother of all inversions; because when you can achieve this inverted posture with confidence you will have insight into all others.

Spirtual Benefits:
This is a very beautiful and inspiring posture. It means “feather of the peacock”, and like the peacock feather when in this pose one feels light and beautiful. It also is a very focused posture.

Vinyasa/Half Vinyasa

Gail — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:42:05 +0000

Chances are you have heard your instructor in class say something to the effect of “now move through vinyasa or half vinyasa”. And perhaps perplexed you looked around the room and followed along keeping up and figuring it out along the way. Well vinyasa is a term that, like many Sanskrit terms , that has multiple meanings. In this particular case it actually has two. The first; refers to the connection of breath and movement, and the second; a flow of 4 postures that form a transition or bridge from one asana to another. The half vinyasa usually begins in 1) downward facing dog/adho mukkha svanasana. A basic yet forever challenging and elusive posture. Like an inverted V. Hands are shoulders distance apart on the mat and feet are hips distance apart. Arms are straight, back is long and straight at a diagonal to the ceiling. Tailbones curves upward while the sitting bones spread wide. Legs are ultimately straight with the heels pulling toward the floor. If hamstrings are tight knees are best to remain bent and the heels are off the ground.
From downward dog, 2)inhale into high push-up or high plank position. Palms on the floor, arms straight. Toes curl into the mat and the body is suspended above the ground fully engaged . If this is too strenuous knees may come to the floor keeping the body at a diagonal from knees through the crown of the head.
3)Exhale lower to chaturanga/low push-up or knees, chin and chest to the floor. 4) Inhale into low cobra, cobra or upward facing dog. Exhaling back to downward facing dog.

Putting this all together it goes like this:

Vinyasa/half vinyasa is composed of;

Downward facing dog
Inhale into plank
Exhale lower to chaturanga/knees,chin, chest to floor
Inhale low cobra, cobra or upward facing dog
Exhale downward facing dog

Physical Benefits:
Vinyasa links breath and movement as in so doing connects body and mind creating focus and calm. It is also a wonderful way to warm the body, preparing it to move into deeper postures. The half vinyasa in particular (moving through those 4 postures) brings benefit to the entire body as it stretches and strengthens the spine, torso, arms and legs in many ways.

Sprirtual Benefits:
As stated above vinyasa aids in creating focus and calm in the mind. But beyond this, vinyasa which itself is a linking or transitioning flow of postures, with practice helps one to move with grace through transitions if life.

Jeremy Thies

Gail — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:22:31 +0000

Hello, my name is Jeremy Thies. At the early age of 23 years, I feel already as if I have undergone major changes in my life. The person that I was only 18 months ago is merely an apparition and god willing, the person that I am developing into each day is here to stay. The fragility of my soul is like playing a game of “Jenga” and I have to be careful when dismantling not to pull too far from the bottom or center of the structure or I can lose my balance and fall to pieces. Each day I have to abide by a set of rules or else I can slip back into the deceitful, manipulative, fearful, ugly person that I was for so many years. Mind, body and spirit form a tripod of benevolence in my soul when all three are in balance and it is imperative that I find ways to massage them equally.

In October, I began practicing yoga when my buddy Milton suggested to me that it would be helpful for me to keep my sanity and would also be mildly enjoyable at the same time. What an understatement that turned out to be! My first class was a Saturday morning open session with Gail; I could not have picked a better person to introduce me to yoga. As is typical when a beginner walks into Om Sweet Om, Gail did not recognize me and asked me what my name was. I told her it was Jeremy. She then proceeded to welcome me to the group and made me feel very comfortable knowing that in practicing yoga, it is essential to listen to my body and go at my own pace. Now of course I didn’t do that; when I saw someone doing a headstand to my right, I thought “I can do that, no problem”, and my arrogance led me to do a bit of a tumble. That first class I must have sweat more than my most strenuous day of football practice, despite wearing only a t-shirt and shorts and no pads. I thought to myself, is this really yoga? I had no conception of what I was getting myself into. I honestly believed that I would be in a room with only women bending over and touching my toes and doing jumping jacks and such!

What I did not realize at the time was that through my practice, I could develop a deep connection with my soul and find that balance that I was looking for. Each class begins and ends with a moment of silence for recognition of taking the time for our practice, at which point I like to connect with my higher power. At the start of the class, I invite him into the room and ask for guidance and at the end of the class I thank him. Yoga is incredibly spiritual for me. At this point in my story, it is imperative that I explain that I struggle with addictions. I am a recovering drug addict, alcoholic and gambler and practically anything I can become addicted to. Since last January, I had been searching for some way to control my addictions so that I could only do them sparingly. Well after relapsing in March and August, I came to my knees and was ready to admit that I was completely powerless over my addictions and that my life had become unmanageable. I was ready to do or try anything to change myself completely and to get my soul back.

When I was brought to yoga, I was struggling to find a spiritual component in my life. I had accepted that there was a higher power in the world, which was very new and weird for me, but a needed to find a way to give my spirituality legs. I am a stubborn person and I need something to be tangible. Well, I must say that after my first day of yoga, I really felt the presence of a higher power in that room. I worked up a great sweat and banished many toxins from my body. I felt as one with a group of complete strangers as we all went through a series of motions that brought us comfort and ease in our minds. At the end of the class, I did not feel much of the tension that was pestering my mind and body when I woke up that morning. I had had a spiritual awakening. I understood that instead of lying in bed on a Saturday morning feeling sorry for myself, I could completely change the way I feel, both mentally and physically by practicing yoga.
What had once been a very scared little boy is now day by day becoming someone that I feel proud of when I look at him in the mirror. I’m not trying to say that practicing yoga is a miracle and makes frogs fly from the sky. I wish it did because I think frogs are pretty sweet, especially flying frogs. All I know is that for me, yoga has really helped me to balance my life and to create peace in my soul. I feel off when I go a few days without making it to a yoga class. For me, there is just something special in the rooms and it takes more than one person to create it, so despite my best efforts to recreate the feeling I get after a yoga class by myself, it is just not the same.

I am so grateful for the practice of yoga and all of the amazing people who work at Om Sweet Om. I am thankful for my higher power who helps me to get to my mat a few times a week, which in turn has helped me stay sober for 311 days now. One of the instructors Kika, who is such an incredible person, once read a quote to her class. It read simply “nothing changes when nothing changes.” As I think about this, and I see that I am still in bed at 11:24 A.M., I think it’s about time to get up and move a muscle.

With Love,

Jeremy Thies

Crescent Lunge/Eka Pada Rajakapotasana II

Gail — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 03:17:25 +0000

This pose is best entered toward the second half of practice when the body is warm and ready to go deeper. Begin by coming into a lunge one foot forward. Drop the back knee to the floor and let the top of the foot rest on the floor. Lift the torso so that the body is perpendicular to the floor. See that the front foot is just under the knee or a little bit in front of the knee. Lengthen the tailbone down, lift the sternum, (hands can be on the front knee or the arms can be lifted straight up). Allow the groin to melt toward the floor as the hips shift forward. Keep lifting the chest. Stay here and breath into the backbend and hip opener.
If you would like more sensation, bend the back foot toward the butt and hold it with the same hand, the other hand can be on a block by your side or lift toward the sky.
If you would like to go further you may take the back foot into the crook of your elbow, like a screaming pigeon, and the other hand may rest on the block or come up to the knee or lift toward the sky.
If you would like more sensation you may then take the hands and arms into the raja variation, holding the foot in one hand lifting the elbow high and either reaching the opposite arm up or even bringing it back to hold the foot as well.

Physical Benefits:
This is a great posture to open the groin. It both strengthens and stretches the quads and opens the psoas (the major hip flexor). It is a heart opener, or backbend as well and as such there is an expansion of the front body and an extension of the spine. This is also a balance pose.

Spiritual Benefits:
This pose gives one a sense freedom on the one hand as it lifts the upper body and dristi opening the heart and raising the view corridor on the one hand, and on the other hand offers a rooted and grounding experience as you are close to the earth, and focusing hard to maintain balance.

Handstand/Adho Mukha Vrksasana (downward facing tree)

Gail — Sun, 24 May 2009 13:31:14 +0000

Prep: Begin by sitting on mat with you back up against the wall and legs outstretched. Place the hand where you feet were and bring your legs back to the wall into a short down dog. Walk the feet up the wall until legs are hip height. Straighten legs so that they become parallel to the floor while the torso is perpendicular to the floor. Arms are straight and shoulders distance apart, palms flat on the floor, gaze between the hands. Stay here with the breath for 5-15 counts. You may lift one leg up toward the ceiling at a time if you like.

Handstand at the wall: Face the wall on hands and knees. Place the palms on the floor shoulders distance apart. Keep arms straight gaze between the hands. Lift the knees up off of the ground into a short downward facing dog. Lift one leg up (the whipping leg) and bend the opposite knee. Simultaneously lift the whipping leg up and press off of the bent leg bringing the legs up and against the wall. (You may also try to kick both legs up the wall at the same time) Stay here for 5, 10, 15 breaths. Of course you can play with bringing one leg and maybe both away from the wall to balance free for a couple of seconds or more. Eventually you may achieve this as a freestanding pose.

Physical Benefits: This pose works the muscles of the legs, torso and arms simultaneously. It is a very rigorous pose that builds strength and endurance.

Spiritual benefits: As is the case with all inversions, handstand is empowering and challenging, as well as liberating as it creates new perspective by literally turning the world upside down. Handstand also helps one to move passed fear of the unknown as you ground the hands into the ground and send the feet to the sky.

Janet Lavin

Gail — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:20:14 +0000

Janet came to Om Sweet Om in June of 2007. She had read the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert for her book club and knew that she had to give yoga a try. She had always been curious about it, tried it over the years but it never stuck. She could never get past the idea that she wasn’t good at it. So when Janet decided to try again, she showed up at Om Sweet Om and did the new student special. She came every day. She soon began to realize that no one was looking at her, and it didn’t matter how she looked or how well she did it, but how she felt when she did it. Over the last few years Janet had several injuries (not from yoga), a separated shoulder and a broken foot, she couldn’t do much, but when she could, she got back on her yoga mat. She took more gentle classes and meditation. Janet has always had trouble turning off the mind chatter, until now. The meditation helped with her yoga practice. She now feels they are intertwined, and she feels more in control of her body.

Because of Janet’s dedication to her practice she feels stronger and more appreciative of her body. She loves the spiritual connection that she has found through her practice as well. She loves that every class is different and that depending on the teacher she can choose what she wants to do each time she comes.

Janet feels that yoga helped her to get to a place in her life where she is ready to let more in. It helped her flush out old assumptions about her self and to work on herself. Yoga has helped Janet become more responsive and less reactive. Now Janet wants to take what she has learned off her mat, and make a difference in the world, she wants to give of herself, and now she can!

One of Janet’s daughters is taking yoga at Om Sweet Om and she feels it has done so much for her too. She hopes her other daughter will follow soon too, as she wants them to see how much it can help you in life. How it can change your perspective on life.

Janet loves the community aspect of Om Sweet Om. She feels that you are accepted for who you are. When she was hurt the teachers helped her to adapt her poses, which she feels helped her to heal quicker, it was physical therapy for her. It is so powerful, and she feels so lucky to have this. When we had the Yoga Challenge in March Janet loved showing up for the stickers! She felt they were a great reinforcement to get her to show up. She is now showing up for herself, not just the reward. Another side effect of yoga is that at Janet’s last visit to the doctor, she grew ½ inch! She was thrilled to see that while many people are starting to shrink, she is getting taller!

To finish up, this is a quote from a letter that Janet sent into the Oprah Winfrey show, which sums up her feelings about Om Sweet Om…
“I see now that even the imperfect me is better off when I make a daily visit to my home away from home, my local yoga studio, aptly named “Om Sweet Om”. I am so grateful that I live in a town with such a place.”

Upavishta konasana/wide angle pose

Gail — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:45:43 +0000

Upavishta konasana/wide angle pose into a Balanced Upavista Konasana/- Sit with legs spread wide apart. Keep back (especially low back) long and straight. Feel sits bones root down into the floor. Keep feet (first and second toe) pointing to the ceiling, and the backs of the legs pressing into the floor. Take hold of the feet (big toes in yogic toe lock or hold onto the outer edges or hold ankles or shins) lift torso arching the back slightly and fold forward over the legs keeping a flat back until your forehead or chin rest on the floor (this may not happen if you have tightness in the hamstrings and low back). If you have tightness in the backs of the legs or low back you may feel more comfortable placing your hands on the floor and lowering with the support of your hands and elbows. To find more length extend on the inhales and surrender on the exhales Keep shoulders broad and away from your ears. Take five long deep breaths.

Then sit up tall and you may let go of your feet and lift legs straight up and the grab the big toes or outer edges of the feet, for a little less challenge you may keep hold of your feet and bend you knees and lift the legs from there. You balance here on your sits bones arching your back and lifting you gaze to the sky. Your may keep a bend in the knees if necessary but keep the legs straight and wide if you can. Breathe into the balance for five breaths.

Physical Benefits: Upavishta Konasana opens the groins and is an intense hamstring and calf stretch. It also stretches the muscles of the low back while building strength in the core of the body. When you take this into the balance you engage the core more while continuing to stretch.

Spiritual Benefits: There is a peaceful surrender and release in this pose as the one is grounded and supported by the earth. When lifted into the balance a sense of joyful exertion and focus is experienced.

Virasana/Hero Pose

Gail — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:38:22 +0000

Sit up on your shins, knees together feet a little more than hips distance apart, tops of your feet in contact with your mat. All ten toenails touching the floor. Draw your calves toward your ankles with your hands and sit your seat between your feet. (If you have tight feet and this position is uncomfortable for them roll up a blanket the long way and place both feet on the blanket then sit back in between your feet. If your knees bother you here and the blanket does not relieve them sit on a block in between you legs.) Keep your spine long, lift your sternum and relax your shoulders back and down away from your ears. Place the back o f one hand into the palm of the other on your lap. Sit with a relaxed face and soft gaze. To move into the full expression of the pose take your hands to the floor at your side lift your seat tuck your tailbone slightly and come down onto your elbows. Breathe. From there, if you still need more bring the crown of your head to the floor as in fish pose. Breathe. Finally let the back of your head and your shoulders come to the floor, your arms can come over your head holding onto to opposite elbows. Breathe here allowing the belly to pool.

Physical Benefits-Virasana/ Hero pose stretches the tops of the feet and ankles and the quadriceps. It is a gentle back bend that opens the front of the body and works the calves.

Spiritual benefits-Virasana/Hero pose is a posture of equanimity. The hero sits composed, unfazed, equanimous to the processional of life. It is a posture of deep balance and inner peace. Allow a slight smile to gently curl your lips up and feel this spread all over your face and throughout your body. Be at peace with what is.