Yoga over 40

**

My cousin Teri came to visit us this summer and I got her turned on to my site.  Teri is a very bright, happy, and caring person.  Since she’s part of the family we were able to connect easily and open up to each other.  I shared my personal story with her (Click on this Book tab if you want to read about it) and she was instantly interested in doing more yoga.  Here’s her personal testimony on how yoga has changed her, in just a few short months.  She’s pictured on the right.



“At the turn of 2010, I have felt a need to change my lifestyle but wasn’t sure if I was ready or actually willing to make a commitment. Plus, I had already adapted to what my daily routine was for many many years. Eating, drinking, working, driving the kids all over the place, watching TV.  Slowly but steady the weight on my body was wreaking havoc on me, physically and mentally.  I had gained weight without noticing what was happening to me.  I decided to join Weight Watchers. I figured, well that’s easy enough. I can eat and still shed the pounds.  Several months and only 5 pounds less, I knew that was a waste of time and money. My girlfriend LaDonna, coerced me into joining a fitness club with her. This was the third fitness club that I had joined. The trainer there offered $10.00 a session with the benefits of the club. I was then convinced maybe this will do the trick. I continued to gain weight. After several sessions I had felt that my body had been hit by a truck for days after training.I knew I was in for trouble. I became frustrated, angry and embarrassed that I had let myself get this stage. Mind you in my 20′s I would run 3 miles a day. Go figure. I tried to consciously dig deep in my mind and soul what had happened to me. Still training I was destined to persevere. My trainer Ned, continued to push me hard never letting me give up. One day, he mentioned Yoga and told me to seriously consider looking into it. I didn’t and thought he was full of malarkey and disastrously preposterous.

My life shifted in August of 2010. My trip to California with my daughters changed everything. I had the greatest opportunity to reconnect with my cousin Marne Semick Strickland. It was meant to be.  She openly discussed how she got involved in Yoga and the positive impact it made on her life. Returning to Michigan, I him-med and hogged over the idea but still not sure of the commitment. Then about 2-1/2 weeks ago, there she was on face book,freeyogamoves.com. I linked  to her site. Read her complete blog, played the videos, changed into my shorts and began following her techniques. Every morning since then I have made Yoga my routine. My mental abilities are stronger and I’m able to focus and stay on task. Physically, I’m not frustrated when I’m working out. Instead of saying, “I can’t do this”. I say,” I can do this”. Last night I began adding Yoga after my Zumba class. I have witnessed first hand the beginning stages the mental and physical clarity that has developed within myself. My creativity has developed to a higher level, and I have been able to concentrate and stay focused on my beloved hobby of scrapbooking and mixed media art. I have a new found energy that I am convinced can only be achieved by practicing Yoga and staying fit. At 48, I feel renewed, re-energized and am a committed Yoga student. I encourage everyone to tune into Marne’s blog on a daily basis to experience how she can help you reach your full potential physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Anyone who practices can obtain success in yoga but not one who is lazy.  Constant practice alone is the secret of success. (Hatha Yoga Pradipika)”

For more information on Teri, check out her blog at http://designforty-8.blogspot.com/, where she connects with fellow Scrapbookers.

Please comment and share.

Namaste,

Marne

Shiva Rea – fellow teacher

Tonight I took Shiva Rea’s class in Venice.  What an incredible person she is.  She’s full of light and laughter; constantly weaving humor into her teachings.  Tonight we did a “Mandala”  practice which in Hindu means “circle”.  Instead of practicing toward the front of the room during the entire practice, we would use the right leg in warrior one (going through a sequence on that side) and then turn to the other side of the room and do other leg and sequence from there.  We circled our way to the front and back of the room in our Vinyasa flow a couple of times.

Tonight’s practice was pretty lunar; which just means more on the mellow side.  We opened up our heart chakras and then worked our way up the chakra system.

I can highly recommend Shiva as a teacher.  I’ve taken a few of her teacher trainings and have taken her class in Venice for many years.  You can buy some of her products on my review page by going here.

Please comment and share.

Namaste,

Marne

Hip opening yoga poses

For those of you who have tight hips, here’s a great 11 minute sequence that if done every day will make a huge difference in the mobility of your hips.  I am a runner so I tend to get locked up on my right side.  I use these poses on a regular basis for relief.  Try them out and let me know if they help you as well.

Please comment and share.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pfYPdBjugp4

 

Namaste,

Marne

 

Yoga and Surfing

Some of you may know by now that I once had a Boot Camp called Yoga Surf Camp; where we’d teach yoga and surfing to beginners.   I still have an interest in surfing but don’t teach the combination at the moment.

Check out this girl’s video on yoga and surfing IN the water.  I like her spirit; although I wouldn’t recommend yoga on a surfboard 2 miles out for non-crazy people, check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x_VvWjHPYiU

Crazy or Cool?  Please comment and share.

Namaste,

Marne

Flying Yogis

Do you think I can get Chad to fly me like Superman?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9Zd9tAyQcoc

Please comment and share.

Marne

True Blood star Ryan Kwanten does Yoga

If you’ve seen the recent Men’s Health cover, you know who I’m talking about.  Ryan Kwanten is the sexy star of True Blood…take a look at his yoga body in this wet tee-shirt!  (Don’t worry honey, he’s no match for you.)

In this article he talks about drinking, working out, and yoga.  I like what he has to say about not worrying about what everyone else is thinking.  Read the article by going here:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2010/10/ryan-kwanten-likes-yoga-drinking-and-competing-in-triathlons/1

Please comment and share.

Namaste,

Marne

How to Perform Child’s Pose in Yoga

Yoga can help reduce stress and strengthen the body. The “Child’s Pose” is a relaxing pose that offers time away from visual distractions. You can use it to settle down or balance after performing a strenuous exercise or in the middle of yoga class whenever you need a break.  Child’s pose is recommended at any time, even for advanced practitioners.  I love this pose, and use it often to settle my mind and come back into my body.

Difficulty: Easy

There are two versions of Child’s Pose that I’d like to teach you.

Version 1 Instructions

Easier version & recommended for pregnant women.

1. Kneel on the floor, and place your hands shoulder-width apart and your knees hip-width apart.

2. Put the top of your feet flat on the floor, and point your toes to the wall behind you.

3. Lean back so that you are sitting on your heels.

4. Stretch your arms forward as far as they can go without rising off your heels.

5. Put your head down, and rest your forehead on the floor.

6. Stretch your arms and fingers out in front of you, while relaxing your head and neck and keeping your back straight.

Version 2 Instructions.

Slightly more advanced, not recommended for people with knee issues.

1. Kneel on the floor with your knees together, and place your hands and shoulder-width apart.

2. Put the top of your feet flat on the floor, and point your toes back to the wall behind you.

3. Lean back so that you are sitting on your heels.

4. Stretch your arms forward as far as they can go without rising off your heels.

5. Put your head down, and rest your forehead on the floor.

6. Bring your arms back along the side of your body – with palms facing up, while relaxing your head and neck and keeping your back straight.

Please check out our Poses Page for a picture of this posture and others like it.

Please comment and share!

How to Deal with Energy Vampires on Halloween

**

With Halloween coming up; you might need to consider doing an exorcism.  An exorcism of sorts; that is…Have you ever been around someone, who after spending any amount of time with them, you feel completely exhausted?  This is a real phenomenon, and you are being possessed by their negative or devilish energy.  I call them energy Vampires.  The first line of defense against these people is to avoid them as much as possible.  If you must be in their presence, like for example on Halloween at a party; I’m going to show you how to protect yourself from them sucking the life blood (in terms of energy) out you of.

Here’s the scenario – you have the perfect Halloween costume.    You are feeling great, and headed to a party where you hope there will be lots of other singles and people to talk to.  You’re engaging in conversation with someone…

Step One: Remain aware of your energy when you’re speaking to someone.  If you feel energized by someone and are enjoying them; great stick with that person.  If you are feeling tired and are losing energy when you’re speaking to someone: RED ALERT!  This person could be an energy Vampire.

Step Two: After you’ve identified this person as an energy Vampire; remove yourself immediately from them!  Excuse yourself and say you have to go to the bathroom.

Ok, leaving is not possible because you’re talking to the bosses wife and you need to let her finish the story to save your job.  Your stuck, go to Step Three.

Step Three:  Remain calm.  Start your Ujjay breath.  If you don’t know what Ujjay is, then readthis post.

Step Four:  As your nodding your head and saying “uh-ha” feel your hands and your feet.  I mean as your standing there, feel the presence of your hands and your feet, you don’t have to literally reach out and start touching your hands and your feet.

Step Five: Inhale bright white energy (using your Ujjay breath).  You can do this silently so the other person is not aware of your doing this.

Step Six: Exhale the negative black energy through your feet.  Imagine the negative energy dissipating through you into the earth and into the soil.  It will be cleansed and recycled by mother earth.

Step Seven: Repeat Steps Four – Six.

You can try this in every day life…I think you will find you can keep your energy and protect yourself from energy Vampires.  I also like to imagine and bright light surrounding me when I’m in the presence of a negative person or Energy Vampire.  This shield will protect you from absorbing their dark or negative energy.  Try it  out and let me know if it works for you.

Please comment and share.

Love,

Marne

What is Ujjayi Breath?

**

Ujjay breath is the cleansing breath  that heats and body and brightens the aura of a person almost immediately.   It can stimulate the para-sympathetic nervous system which will quite the mind and bring on a relaxation response.  Ujjay is meant to be done throughout the entire yoga class, but can be done at any time.

One of the reasons I like Vinyasa flow classes so much is that you incorporate the Ujjay breath with each moment, so it’s a moving meditation.  For example, you inhale as you reach your arms up in Mountain pose, and then exhale as you fold.  I often wonder how many people really understand what Ujjay breathing is or if they are merely inhaling and exhaling through their nose…which is a great start, but it isn’t the full monty.

Ujjay is a conscious practice and enables you to take a deeper, more full breath.  There are varying opinions on how loud Ujjay breath should be, but I feel you should be able to hear yourself and the person next to you in a class.  That’s how strong it should be.  It should never be forced, but it should be deep and full.

If you’re not familiar with exactly how you can get your Ujjay going, let me help you get started.  Ujjay is using the same muscles as a whisper.  Do it with me now; say “whisper whisper whisper” in a whisper.  Now try it again and extend the length of the “whispeeeeeeeer” with your mouth open.  Third time, do it again, except this time close your mouth at the end of the whisper and let the breathe stream out of your nose.  Do you feel the difference?  Ujjay can be felt all the way back inside your nose almost under the middle of your brain.

Now exhale regularly, out the nostrils.  The difference here is that a regular breath can be felt on the tips of the nostrils, Ujjay is much deeper in the nasal cavity.

Try it out and tell me if you feel a difference.  Ujjay breath done in a stressful situation will most certainly calm you down.

Please comment and share.

Love,

Marne

Filming my advanced class

Here’s a teaser clip from my Advanced Class which has not been released yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8uKbxbzXA3c

We had such a good time filming this on the beach in Southern California.  The weather was perfect and I was feeling great.  What’s more interesting is that I had an even better time producing the video.    Have a look and let me know your thoughts.  I would love to know what kinds of classes you’d be interested in taking on this site?   Do you have any special injuries, problems, areas that you like to work on?  I’m open to comments and since I’m devoted to bringing you the best products, please let me know what you’re looking for.

I’m doing all of this for YOU anyway!  Please comment and share.

Love all ways,

Marne

Neck Pain?

 Author: Marne

Are you currently experiencing neck pain?  The first objective for you is to make sure you’re relaxing your neck in all your yoga poses.    Dropping the head to either side or rolling the chin down to the shoulder are the two main positions are the most relaxed.    If you can learn how to breathe through the neck and into the brain it will teach you how to relax your skull bones.  Focus through the top of your skull taking your breath past the “catch” in your neck.

If your injury is disc related, relaxing your neck to either side can cause compression.  You may need to wear a neck brace at first.  As an alternative, face the floor, rolling the chin to shoulder in side bends and standing poses.

Some poses that may feel good for the neck are shoulder shrugs.  If you sit next to a corner of a wall, pressing back your spine, and using the corner to squeeze your shoulders against.  Also, you can use a rolled up mat, sitting with your back against a flat wall.  Use your shoulders to squeeze the mat by aligning it with the skull and the spine.

Bridge is also a nice stretch for the neck and is an easy pose.  Jaw exercises, like figure 8′s with the jaw are good, or lion’s breath (where you stick out your tongue all the way and roar like an lion).   Please stay away from shoulder stand and definitely headstand.  That will create too much pressure in your neck.  I also love laying on a Swiss ball and doing a mild back bend over the top of it.  It’s a nice and supported stretch.

Please comment and share!

Namaste, Marne

Working with a Shoulder Injury

October 10th, 2010 | Author: Marne

The first question I ask people with shoulder pain or injury is how do you sleep?  If you sleep on the side of the injuury, try sleeping on your back instead.  Sleeping on your side curls the shoulder in odd ways.  Sleeping on your stomach is no good either as it twist the neck in a funky way.

It’s also important to not only look at the sports you participate in, but also some simple daily repetitive activities you may be doing to aggravate the injury.  Do you carry a heavy purse or backpack?  Does the injury get aggravated when you put on your seatbelt?  Start becoming aware of the daily things you do that might be bothering the area and simply switch to the other side or adjust.

Begin by strengthening  the surrounding muscles (rhomboid, scapula, trapezes, pectoral, and upper arms).  Posts you can use to strengthen these areas are: Shoulder Shrugs, Downward Dog (making sure you are BENDING your elbows, very important), and Dolphin pose.

If any pose hurts the area, back off and work there.

Poses to avoid: Chaturanga or jumping to and from Downward Dog.

A great strengthening one to do at home is on your couch!  Hanging over the edge of a sofa arm- the wider and rounder the better – lay your upper back over the edge, hips are down resting on the sofa seat.  Arch over and clasp your arms behind your head like in Headstand position.  Using the hands to lengthen at the back of the neck a little bit, extend elbows away from the shoulder joints.  Another variation is to straighten the arms over head as long as the neck is ok with that.

If you have a shoulder injury, please contact me and I’ll try to help you through it.

Please comment and share,

Namaste

Marne

New to yoga?

If you’re new to yoga; it’s ok.  I’m going to help you through it!    It’s time to do your first downward dog or go to your first yoga class.  Listen, there are several things you need to know before you do it and my $1.00 Guide is going to help you leaps and bounds.

Here’s a sample of what’s inside the guide:

• The 3 Best Ways to getting started.


• Insider Strategies for what to expect in a class.


• How to avoid the embarrassing situations in a yoga class.


• Instantly improve your confidence before your first class.


• 2 Ways to overcome procrastination and stick with your yoga practice.

Just click here to order the guide!

Please comment and share.

Namaste,

Marne

7 Easy Steps to Change Your Life with Yoga – My Book

I wrote a book called 7 Easy Steps to Change Your Life with Yoga, and if your reading this…it can help you too.  It’s my personal story of why I was drawn to yoga and how it’s dramatically changed my life for a better.  It’s a simple step by step guide on how feel more happy on a daily basis!  It took me 15 years of yoga practice to boil it down into this 15 page book.

Here’s a sample of what’s inside the eBook:

• Learn what tragedy occurred in my life that led me to start doing Yoga.


• The 3 best ways to decrease stress.


• Insider strategies for becoming a happier person.


• The latest yoga trends that Hollywood stars use to stay calm.


• Instantly improve your Karma.


• 2 ways to overcome self esteem and control issues.


• The giant myth about why we do yoga and why it’s untrue

I think you’ll like it!  Just go here to order it.

Please comment and share your thoughts.

Namaste,

Marne

My Experience with Blue Whales in So. California

Recently some of my family and I took a boat ride from the Redondo Beach area to see the Blue Whales that have been spotted off the coast of Southern California.   Our boat ride went south for about 45 minutes.   What an amazing ride this was…perfect summer day.  It was about 85 degrees outside and the water was very calm.  We departed around 4pm and we were in for a special surprise.  I’ve never seen a whale up close and personal in the wild, so this was a special treat for me.  Listen to the delight of the people as we squealed and yelled with delight every time we spotted a whale.  It may be a once and a lifetime experience for some of us.  How can we ensure that our children will also get to see this wonderful display of nature in the future?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZOYmyQK_G4k

Conversation with a Whale Naturalist

Here’s my conversation with Linda, who is a naturalist that donates her time to the American Cetacean Society - Los Angeles Chapter.  I met her on the boat ride from Redondo to see the Blue Whales that are cruising off the coast of Southern California.  What a great experience this was for me!  We saw a couple of Blue Whales as well as a Fin Whale.  She explains that whacky thing in her hand…yes, it did come from a whale.  The question is;  how did they get it?

If you want to donate your time, study whales, volunteer, or become a naturalist, please visit http://www.acs-la.org or call 310-847-0516.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lVCpA0UvUqI

Please comment and share.