Yoga in the Wild

This weekend my boyfriend and I retreated to Spruce Knob Lake in West Virginia for three nights of camping. We went off the grid—no computers, no smart phones, no electricity. 

This was our little piece of land in the woods:

We jogged around the lake, sat by the campfire, and went on two six-mile hikes. The first was pretty mellow and led us to this natural spring—amazing how water appears out of the side of a mountain!

I used to go caterpillar hunting with my dad when I was a kid. We would create a habitat in a jar (with holes in the lid for air of course) and watch our new friends for a few days before letting them go back into the wild to become butterflies. 

This little guy appeared on my boot after taking it off to soak my feet in the creek:

  

This is a yoga blog, so naturally I have to mention that I practiced yoga throughout our trip. I did a morning seated asana and meditation session in our tent and then did a few standing poses along our hike. It felt so good after a couple of nights sleeping on the ground and 8+ miles on my legs.  

This field was a couple of miles in on day two and provided the perfect setting for dancer pose.

Beyond my physical practice, my boyfriend and I were united with the rhythm of nature—we found ourselves waking with the light, hanging out with the bugs (there were tons!), and we even got caught in a thunderstorm during our second hike. We were in the middle of a giant field when it started to downpour. We decided to embrace being drenched and played in the giant water drops pouring down from the vast sky. It was pretty amazing. And we needed showers at that point in the trip anyway. 

As I sit here and type there is a thunderstorm booming outside. I find myself appreciating that I have shelter to keep me dry and that, after my weekend in the woods, I am more in tune with the reality of nature and all its prowess.  

This bumper sticker pretty much sums up my feelings about the weekend:

Yoga on the Mall 2012

Hundreds of yogis gathered under the expansive blue sky this weekend for Yoga on the Mall 2012.

My childhood friend, who is also a yoga teacher, was in town visiting from NYC and so we picked up Capitol Bikeshare bikes, gathered our girlfriends, and headed down to the mall. We found a patch of grass near the back of the group, slathered on sunscreen, and laid out our mats for a 90 minute practice with the Washington Monument as the backdrop.


My friends and I do Yoga on the Mall 2012

David Newman, who I put on my class playlists regularly, provided devotional music while four local yoga teachers led us through asana, pranayama, and meditation practice. As I reached for the sky, lifting my gaze, the blue sky was so expansive and I felt the energy of all my fellow yogis as we saluted the sun together.

The practice of yoga is infiltrating the culture of Washington where long hours and stressful jobs are the norm. It is easy sometimes to forget what an expansive and important yoga community we have here in the DC-area. We go to classes at our chosen studio and rarely have the opportunity to come together as a cohesive community and show DC what we are all about.



My friends and I do partner yoga on the mall



Practicing by the hundreds (around 700!) on the mall, where tourists from all over the world stopped to watch, created an amazing shared energy and experience. We also had a lot of fun. A fellow yoga teacher overheard a woman in down-dog say, "I never thought I would see the Washington Monument through my legs!"  This public practice hopefully also sparked curiosity about yoga or reaffirmed the power of the practice to a passerby who is already a budding yogi.



Yogis salute the sun at Yoga on the Mall 2012

I’ve been a part of the DC yoga community since I moved here almost four years ago. I’ve witnessed the growth in the community as studios pop-up on every corner. Washington, DC was even named one Yoga Journal’s picks in 2011 for “10 Fantastically Yoga-Friendly Towns.” My weekly beginner’s class is always full with new Washingtonians looking for a more healthful and balanced life. As this shift occurs, I am hopeful that the world is becoming a more peaceful and balanced place.

Rest During Yoga Class

Now that you have picked out a yoga mat and you know what to wear to yoga class, the next question that usually bubbles up is: "What should I do if I need a rest during class?"

Many people who are new to yoga are nervous that they will get tired or overheat during yoga class and not be able to take a break. People come to yoga at all levels of physical fitness and with many different physical conditions, every body is going to react in its own way to a physical practice. I know I have days when my body needs to rest and restore but I push myself to take a yoga class only to find that halfway through, I just need a break.

Child's post photo via blog.cactusteastudio.com.

Listen to the body, rather than the ego:
One of my favorite yoga teachers told me that he once challenged himself to go to a yoga class and rest in child's pose throughout the entire class. He knew his ego would tell him that people were judging him and that he was weak. He also knew that he could quiet the chatter of the ego and tune in to what his body was telling him to do—rest.


Pick a position to rest in:
Tune inward and pay attention to the cues your body is sending you. Sometimes you can breath through a pose. Sometimes your body is telling you it needs a rest.

If you need a break at any point during class find one of the following poses:

• Balasana (child's pose): start on hands and knees, spread your knees wide, bring your big toes to touch behind you, sink your hips back toward your heels, bring your forehead to the mat, and allow your arms to remain outstretched in front of you or draw them back alongside the body. It is easy to get into this pose from downward facing dog also.

Balasana photo via iStockPhoto.

• Sukhasana (easy pose): find a comfortable seated cross-legged position and relax the shoulders.

Sukhasana photo via myyogaonline.com.

• Savasana (corpse pose): lay on your back, arms alongside the body, legs straight out on the mat. Allow the body to be completely supported by the floor. 

Savasana photo via athleta.net.

Once you get into one of these positions, close your eyes and take some deep breaths. If you are feeling overheated then breath in and out through the mouth which will act as a natural air conditioner.

Find your edge

Photo via yachinyou.com

Part of the practice of yoga is learning how to find your edge which is that place where you are gently pushing yourself, you are feeling the stretch or strength of the pose, and breathing through it rather than muscling through, overdoing it, and causing pain.

Whenever a student listens to their body and takes a resting pose while I instruct the rest of the class to move into an active pose, I am proud that they are doing what their body is asking for.  The practice of yoga is about finding union between your mind, body, and spirit; not about proving yourself to other yogis or your teacher. Next time you need a rest, take it!

Next up: What is up with all those props? Stay tuned...

Deciding What to Wear to Yoga Class

After choosing a mat, the next question that I get over and over at my beginner's class is "what should I wear to practice yoga?"

The most important thing to keep in mind when choosing clothes to practice in is comfort. You want to feel comfortable to move with ease. You want clothes that will allow you to bend, twist, fold forward, lunge, invert, and sweat.

Do wear:

My (female) typical yoga clothes.

• Stretchy materials that provide extra give so that you can bend, move, and twist with ease.  
• Breathable fabrics that will wick away your sweat and keep you (relatively) cool and dry.
• A sleeveless or short sleeve shirt because you will probably get pretty warm during class and you want flexibility for your arms and shoulders to move freely.

Don't wear:

• Stiff clothes (e.g., jeans) which will confine your movement.
• Bulky clothes (e.g., thick sweat pants) which will bunch up and get in the way. 
• Loose clothes which may leave you exposed. A good way to test this one is to try going into a forward fold or downward facing dog and seeing if your shirt lifts or your pants slide down, revealing more than you may want to. If you like wearing a loose shirt, you can always tuck it in.

An example of men's yoga clothes.

For men: 
A lot of guys I talk to don't want to wear the spandex that many women choose to wear to yoga class. Based on conversations with my boyfriend and other men who take my classes, a fitted t-shirt and basketball/running shorts are usually the man's garments of choice.

Yoga is NOT a fashion show.
In my opinion, the best yoga apparel provides breathability, stretch, comfort, and coverage. Remember, yoga class is NOT a fashion show. Focus on being comfortable.

Next up: What should I do if I need a rest during class?

How to Choose Your First Yoga Mat

As a teacher of a weekly beginner's yoga class at Buddha B Yoga, there are certain questions that pop up week after week. Most of them are practical questions related to the physical practice of yoga rather than philosophical, which is natural for someone taking one of their first yoga classes. In this series I will answer the most common questions I receive from beginner yogis. The number one question I receive is: Which yoga mat should I buy?

 

Invest or buy cheap

Essentially, a yoga mat provides a non-slip and clean surface for you to practice on. The bottom line is that a towel or your camping sleeping pad won't provide a safe place for you to do yoga because you will be slip sliding all over the place. 

There are really two general approaches to buying your first yoga mat. Either go cheap or invest. 

Cheap
For $20 (or less) you can buy a sticky yoga mat (they sell them at Target, sporting good stores, etc.). A cheap mat will do the trick in terms of providing a safe, relatively non-slip surface for you to practice yoga on.

The benefit is that they are inexpensive. So, if you are new to yoga and not sure if you will become a committed yogi, then this may be the best vehicle for your test drive.

The down-side is that cheap mats are, well, cheap. They won't last you very long. More importantly, when you sweat, and you will, your hands will slide forward in down dog. And finally, they are usually PVC-laden and not eco-friendly. Don't get me wrong, when I started yoga I bought the cheapest mat I could find and practiced on it for over two years with confidence. They are just not ideal for a regular yogi and when I started practicing more regularly, I upgraded and will never go back. 

 

Invest

My trusty Jade mat.

If you are willing to spend more (around $70) you will get a better quality, eco-friendly mat that will last longer and provide a non-slip surface. I use a Jade mat. It has a good grip, so even when you sweat you don't slide. It is also made sustainably in the United States and contains no PVC or synthetic rubber. It is more of an investment but I think it is worth it if you are able to spend the funds. Another popular brand in this category is a Manduka mat.

Thickness
Mats also vary in thickness. The thicker the mat, the harder it is going to be to balance on. Some people like thicker mats because they provide padding for their knees and other body parts. I recommend using a yoga blanket (typically provided by the yoga studio) to pad those areas as needed and not using a thicker mat. On the flip side, travel mats are usually extra-thin and shorter and I don't recommend one unless you plan to frequently take it on the road with you.

Mat towels

Also for sale are mat towels that are cut to the size of an average yoga mat and have sticky dots on one side that will grip to your mat so the towel doesn't slide around. Some yogis who sweat a lot like to use these towels because they provide an extra layer of resistance and soak up perspiration. I have never used one. In the heat of the summer I use an extra thin hand towel at the top of my mat to wipe off sweat from my face, etc. as needed. But some yogis swear by mat towels and won't practice without one.

Next in the series: Deciding what to wear to yoga class.

Do you have a beginner's question? Feel free to leave it as a comment below and I will be happy to answer.