2. I focus, breathe and slow down.
3. I cultivate the energy in my body and radiate outward.
4. Yoga unites the mind, body and soul into one experience. Then I direct it towards one goal.
5. I am deeply peaceful, blissful and at ease moving through this temporary world.
Before I go further into the breakdown of a practice let’s talk about poses. This week I would like to share with you basic standing positions and their benefits.
All standing poses help bring balance back into the body.
Tadasana- Standing mountain pose
This pose is basically standing savasana (you know the final laying down position everyone covets) focusing on the subtle alignment in this pose helps correct posture over time.
Ukatasana -Chair Pose
This pose is a lot harder than it looks. I often tell students to pretend they are sitting on the edge of a chair but still remind them to reach up to the sky like they’re trying to hold on to the sun. It is excellent for strengthening the back arms and legs. It also helps protect the lower back if you inhale the navel towards the back of the spine (not shown in this diagram.)
Uttanasana
This is a standing forward fold. It is perfectly ok to have your knees slightly bent in the back. This helps lengthen and stretch tight hamstrings as well as reverse blood flow towards the head.
Ardha Uttanasana
It is the same position as Uttanasana except on the inhale we place our hands on the shins, open the chest as if we are offering our heart to the earth, simultaneously lengthening through the crown of the head creates more space in the spine. As we exhale and lower into Uttanasana we can then surrender more deeply into the pose.
If you begin with these poses, you will have achieved 1/2 of Surya Namaskara. The sun salutations.
I’ve been really excited to write this particular article featuring David Lynch. His classes are popular because his method works. He immediately takes one into the present moment. Few people possess such divine humility. Although he has ethereal abilities it’s his moments of reality and referencing pop culture that adds a perfect comedic release during the apex of the practice. He has an exceptional play list and command of the room. As well as angelic presence. He is a very special kind of teacher. A spirit guide.
I was so happy when he responded to my weekly column with not only enthusiasm but a books worth of guidance. So much so I had to I’ve decided to break his answers in to parts. (I know readers are short on time). He is such a vast source of knowledge and depth it is incredible. All of these teachers are and it has been so humbling having them open up and respond to the weekly question:
What is your advice for beginning Yogis?
Listening to your “self” may be the hardest and the scariest thing we ever do. Our whole lives we are taught to listen to others and conform to their idea of what we are and should be. You’ve had moments when the “self” spoke up, but if you weren’t ready to listen you pushed it away.
This voice tells you how you look every day. How to dress. What to worry about, it compares you constantly to anything and everything “better than you” this voice keeps you paralyzed by fear, doubt and drama. This voice is so busy occupying your mind, that your wisest part of your being your higher concsciouncess is often never heard.
Do you want to go through your whole life bombarded by your ego voice, or silence it and let the real you shine through? The one that knows you are unlimitedly blessed and talented and can help you focus on the gifts which contributes to you achieving your dreams. The direct line to your higher power and being. Your guide inside. Listen to that voice.
“But I’ve never heard it.”
That’s because you never mastered quieting down your ego. We live in an egoitiscitcal society. Look at social media, everything is an “enhanced, perfected and un true” super state of reality we want the world to believe we exist in. These images can can crush our inner true voice. The part of our being that rings out with hope and purpose. We need to hear that part of ourselves in this noisy outside and inner world.
Since we were little we were conditioned by our parents, siblings, peers and teachers at school, programs, expectations, commercials, television all telling us how we should think, feel, look, act and “be.”
Silence. Is. Golden.
Have you ever stilled your thoughts so deeply you heard true silence of the mind? I have. I was floating under water with sunlight pouring all around me, surrounded by leaves that fell from a tree. Time did not exist. I was never the same after that deep meditation. To experience true silence from the inside was such a mind altering experience.
Go to yoga and connect to your breath, calm your mind, quiet the frantic voice of the ego and listen to your “self.” That is the most powerful essence of your being. The world is excited to meet the true you! Let the light shine from behind your eyes, glowing with inner wisdom and confidence, beauty and strength. Namaste.
A reader who is new to yoga reached out to me and was very interested in how to begin practicing. I understand it is not necessarily an easy thing to dive into since it is still pretty foreign to us. However! This is what I really pride myself on, helping new people navigate and get the results they are looking for as soon as possible. This way they have not only a good practice but a profound one as well. Please note yoga is not a one time thing that fixes everything. It is a life long philosophy and discipline.
Here were his questions:
How often do I do it?
Often people say once a week, but if you want results it has to be twice a week.
My advice for beginners is take a private lesson. That way they have one on one time with a teacher who can fully explain to them and guide them through an individual practice. If you are serious and want life lasting results, one lesson is a great foundation! It beats years of going to class clueless (like I did!) Many teachers will come to your house- or call a local studio and ask if anyone gives private lessons there. I also recommend Hatha Yoga (which is a wide variety of poses and breathing techniques and a grounded practice that can take you into the higher realms of consciousness) it also really strengthens the mind body and will. It is what I teach and having tried other methods I still recommend this to beginners. So make sure when calling a local studio, that they offer Hatha Yoga. Here is what look for in a teacher:
A 500 hour Teacher Training Certification* This would be a great teacher to hire for a lesson because they have had extensive training
A 200 hour Teacher Training Certification is next best and probably offers a lower rate.
If there aren’t any local teachers to hire, begin to take once a week a public beginner yoga class, quickly bump it up to two as soon as possible to double the speed of your understanding/results. Remember yoga is not about the poses. It’s about finding who you truly are beyond who you think you are.
How long should the session be?
Private and public are usually an hour, I say start there. Don’t overwhelm yourself with longer practices. *I also wouldn’t recommend hot yoga to start. The heat can be distracting.
Some of my clients truly prefer a 45 minute session and I don’t push it. The philosophy of yoga is “meet yourself where you are.” Meaning accept that you may not be able to focus for a long period of time.
Can I do it in my house or do I have to go somewhere?
Private lessons in the house are nice because it is an environment you are comfortable in, public classes may seem a little distracting but that is because you are not use to shutting off your senses and really focusing inside yourself. That comes pretty quickly when you train yourself to “observe your thoughts” suddenly no one in the room exists. The sooner you get to group classes the less distracted you’ll become. They usually offer yoga in a park as well.
As far as doing it from the house check out the answer to the question below.
Are there DVDs I can buy and watch to follow along?
Here I will defer to the schooling that gave me my highest 500 hour teacher training certification: https://www.myyogaworks.com
They have online videos and tutorials and I have had many trainings with many of the teachers and they are very credible as well as incredible people. This also gives you a nice break down of yoga and in a private setting.
Even if you want to do online yoga, I still highly recommend a private lesson first (if available).
Are there books to read?
Almost endless. But to get you started here are a few I suggest:
The Little Book of Yoga– It’s practically pocket sized and the most SIMPLE break down of where yoga comes from, as well as breathing techniques and a majority of popular poses. I LOVE IT! I bring it with me to class and use it for a reference afterwards when I take notes.
Light on Yoga- I think nearly a million copies of this book have been sold. It is a much more in depth version of the book listed above. Written by B.K.S. Iyengar, for whom hundred of Iyengar insitutes all over the world are named. If this is too much too soon, then stick with the first book.
Autobiography of a Yogi– This is the story about a guy from India who came to the U.S. about 100 years ago. He is an integral part of the spiritual revolution in the West.
My advice: Create a little bookshelf/shrine of these books and perhaps place a candle or a buddha it is important to have a meditation station in your house. An area designated to your spiritual growth is a helpful reminder to do it daily.
Should I be making a yoga journal?
YES. I believe passionately in having a yoga journal. Although it may seem like a nuisance or additional work, the progress directly relates to the progress your making towards your inner self. It is really great to have a journal. This is serious work and watching your journey and the depth of the practice unfold over time is a beautiful thing to witness.
I use The Yoga journal.
The Yoga Journal is a dynamic 3-in-1 tool for yoga lovers of all skill levels and style preferences. Part tracker, part journal, and part reference guide, it offers everything today’s yogi needs to bring the benefits of yoga off the mat and into their daily lives.
I hope this outlines a successful strategy to beginning your yoga journey and puts everything within reach. Even if you choose to do just one of the things (take a lesson, read a book, watch online or go to class) you are doing yoga!
May this journey help you soar ever higher.
Continuing the series of Tips from the Top (top tips from instructors) I would like to introduce Chandresh Bhardwaj. He hails all the way from India and has a spiritual center on Long Island and a huge following all over the world. Chandresh is often busy traveling so I was happy and honored we had the chance to catch up. Unlike some of the other yoga teachers I’ve interviewed, his class is a meditation class and bases a lot of his teaching on Tantra. Meaning one can just go and sit or lay down and connect to the divine. He comes from a long lineage of Spiritual teachers and one gets the sense this was quite literally something he was born to do.
I asked him the same question: could you lend me a quote or advice you give to help beginner students understand yoga?
Hi Kyle,
Here’s my advice
“Do not fight your anger, ego, greed, and desires. The more you fight with them, the more they will come after you. These elements are part of you. You cannot experience your higher self if you keep running away from these elements. Once you start to meditate, these emotions channel into higher consciousness. And your real self starts to bloom. Meditate and continue to discover this world with a childlike curiosity!”
– Chandresh Bhardwaj, spiritual advisor and founder of Break the Norms Movement (www.iamChandresh.com)
If you have tried yoga and didn’t like it, you are the norm and that also means you probably ended up quitting. Trust me I feel you. For a good year, possibly two, I hated yoga. I didn’t do it a lot and when I did, so much anger and frustration and lack of understanding came out. But… there was one thing in it I enjoyed, I loved laying down at the end! Not many work outs offer that golden ritual. After I came out of meditation I was noticeably calmer happier and more creative. I took notice of that and wanted to know more about the science of it.
(Also people seemed to like me more after I practiced. That took me by surprise…I guess I am not always a delight!)
Here is why you probably hated it: It brought up everything you’re not good at.
So many of my friends and family do not do yoga. This is why I felt compelled to start my blog- to familiarize them with what it is truly about, in hopes that when and if they try it is not a frustrating experience. I want people to see that yoga is for every body.
With this mission, I decided to ask the top teachers from LA to India to please lend me a quote that I could give me readers, a quote for beginner students to help them find their zen sooner without years of practice. I asked them all the same question:
What is a quote or piece advice to help beginner students understand yoga?
Their responses were incredibly insightful!
Starting with my Tips from the Top series (I will release an article daily or weekly) I would like to introduce to you my mentor Jeanne Heileman. Jeanne is a teacher at Yogaworks and leads workshops all over the world to help students become more knowledge in the practice of yoga. No one I’ve met has demonstrated more mastery over the description of the poses and how to guide you through them.
Hi Kyle,
Oh, this is so great and so vast! To me, the most important thing new students need to realize is that yoga is not about the poses. Most new students are unfamiliar with moving their body in this way, and many don’t know how to be IN their body. The body is a tool to get to their breath. The breath is the tool, which when extended and slowed down, will calm the mind. The calm mind is the key to gaining access to our inner wisdom, beauty and place of pure love. We all have that place, we all have a body, a breath and a mind. So we all can be doing yoga. The selfies don’t mean that someone is doing yoga. Being still and accepting is doing yoga. And, I recommend that each new student practices at least once a week for six months, consistently. No questions about getting it right or is it working. Just show up at least once a week for six months. Then the inner wisdom will start to awaken and can do the rest.
More and more I’ve become so happy. I can’t remember the last time I was so happy. I am my happiest self.
Yoga lead me to my happiness because it showed me how to become more mindful. When I explored my mind so deeply I connected to my true self, I grew more aware of how things made me feel. Being constantly aware of what makes me feel good is what has lead me to divine happiness. ” Does this make me feel happy?” Is a question I ask myself all day long about everything I touch, taste, see, hear and feel.
There were things about my life that shattered my happiness. A messy home was at the core of it (I have a very scattered mind) Had it not been for yoga I would never had enough self awareness to really get to the core of my constant distress. I read a great book called
I decided to implement her strategy straight away. (As well as recruit a super organized buddy for additional guidance)
As soon as my closet was deeply cleaned (6 bags of garbage released) and my floors vacuumed, the rest tidied, such a sense of calm and serenity over took me. The irony of it all is that I hate a messy home yet I am quite unorganized. Now however as soon as things begin to pile up I quickly tidy it. Doing this great big clean out really effected my outside life as well. Inside my life was harmonious and peaceful. Carrying this feeling into my outward life I felt jubilant happy and over joyed with life’s possibilities.
Do yoga! What is the root of your unhappiness? Maybe you are unaware…As soon as you connect to it, you can fix it and true happiness (which is a level above) awaits!
