by Jennifer French

These definitions lead us to the heart of what going on retreat is fundamentally about: taking the time to pause and go inward to get in touch with our deeper selves, needs, desires, and goals. It is a time to readjust our perspective on life.

Climbing upward out of the twists and turns of the dense forest path into the crisp, blue mountain air, it allows us to rediscover clarity and a bit of peace. We then can bring back a fresh perspective into our daily lives, allowing us to again meet our more immediate challenges with grace and equanimity.

As we may imagine, the longer the retreat, the more intense the experience tends to be. Longer retreats are often designed with plenty of unscheduled leisure time throughout the day, so we may stroll and nap as we please. Others can be intensives that might have full day schedules, carefully constructed for participants to get the very most out of this precious, self-care time.

Just as there are many styles of retreats, there are also many ways of approaching a retreat. We can travel faraway, or we may choose a shorter more convenient experience close to home. There are lots of opportunities to pack up our bags, get on a plane, and travel miles and miles away, creating that much-needed clear boundary of space around us that is so often hard to find when at home. This is what comes to mind for most—an exotic spa in a tropical locale. In an ideal world, we would be able to jet off several times a year to foreign lands to refresh and replenish. Does this mean that we must travel long distances to have an effective or transformative retreat?

Closer to home, we could attempt to simply turn off the phone and the television, let our friends and family know that we won’t be available for the next few days, and create the space right where we are. But all too often this can be a disappointing challenge as we are so easily drawn back into the world around us and the things that need to be done… the floor that needs to be cleaned, the emails that need to be answered, the dinner that needs to be made, and on and on it goes…

The long-weekend or day retreat is a fantastic way to keep both the fun and the adventure and, at the same time, greatly benefit from the structure and guidance of a formal retreat leader. Through her knowledge and experience, the retreat leader helps to create a truly healthy and revitalizing opportunity. These long-weekends or single day retreats often offer participants a kind of reset, a pause that we can more easily sneak into our life to help keep us centered and balanced. These shorter retreats tend to be a bit more focused, with practices and activities to help direct the experience and enhance the intention of going inward. Sometimes these practices are self-practices which may include periods of individual silence for reading, writing, and contemplation. Other times there may be group practices such as yoga classes or meditations. These more accessible weekend or day-long experiences combine the best of the faraway with the best of the closer to home: the critical separation of personal space with ease, affordability, and the focused guidance of a retreat leader.

In the end, the why, where, and how long of going on retreat can only be answered by you and your individual needs. Whatever your reason for wanting to retreat, for wanting to pause and connect inward, it is your reason. The new and unexpected challenges, the disorientations, the loss of one’s sense of self, and the general fatigue of routines and obligations often push us toward the great need to get away from it all. Yet once we realize the power of retreating, we can then use this profound tool as a form of preventative self-care, allowing us to find the ability to meet all that life brings us with a rejuvenating sense of peace, clarity, and equanimity.

Stay in the Know…

The Yoga Sanctuary regularly offers retreats of all lengths from the simple (and local) day retreat to week-long adventures afar. Be sure to stay connected! Follow our Facebook Page or sign up to be the first to learn about our next retreat! 

Proper breathing is what makes yoga, well, yoga. Paying attention to our breath is what transforms mere exercises into a dynamic practice that helps us to understand our true nature. Our breath is the gauge that we use to know if we’ve gone to far and the anchor that keeps us present in the moment. But before going too deep, let’s take a look at what it takes to breathe well during yoga practice.

It will be helpful to get acquainted with the diaphragm—the large muscle that separates the abdominal cavity from the chest cavity. It essentially bisects the torso into two parts. This muscle is fairly mobile. It has the potential to be drawn down low into the abdomen upon inhalation and pulled up into the chest cavity upon exhalation. That is, if it is called upon to do so. Unfortunately, most of us do not utilize the diaphragm to breathe, and so we lose the ability to really fill our lungs with air.

The three-part breath is the best way to experience breathing with the diaphragm. Begin seated (or reclined on your back) with your hands on your belly.

Part 1. Sit up tall and relax the shoulders. Then relax the muscles of the belly. Next begin to inhale with the belly completely relaxed, and try to draw the breath down into the belly. (The breath doesn’t actually go into the belly, but the movement created by the breath does.) If you have trouble achieving this, push the belly out somewhat as you inhale to get the feeling of the movement. As you do this, take a moment to notice that you are able to fill your lower lungs with air. As you exhale, feel the belly sink back in (drawing it in if you need to in order to feel the movement).

Part 2. Next, place your hands on your lower rib cage. As you inhale, feel the belly expand (part 1) followed by the rib cage opening and expanding. As you exhale, feel it sink back in. Follow this movement for a few rounds of breath, noticing how the lungs fill with air from the bottom up.

Part 3. Finally, place your fingertips on your collar bone. Inhale and feel the belly expand (part 1) followed by the ribs (part 2) and finally, feel the chest rise and expand as your finish your inhale. Think about the top portion of the lungs filling with air at the end of the inhale, and think about how the exhalation empties this portion of the lungs first. Follow this movement for a few more rounds of breath.

Next release your hands and sit with this three-part breath for a while, noticing how your body moves in response to the breath without having to actually feel it. This deep awareness of breath linked to movement will help you find more awareness in your yoga practice. Connect to it as often as you can.

To find steadiness and ease in your yoga practice, the best place to begin is with your breath. The breath acts like a gauge of your practice. When the breath is labored —quick and shallow— this is a sign that you are pushing too hard, or not letting go enough, in your postures. When the breath flows long and steady, without interruption, your practice is where it should be. Let your breath guide you in this way.

By bringing your attention to the breath you are able to connect to the true essence of your practice. In fact, yoga practice begins with the breath. Let your breath be the first place you go in any asana. When you begin with the breath, and build from there, your practice will take on a new quality — an all-encompassing completeness that fills your entire practice, just as a full breath fills your entire lungs.

Think about it. Do you ever find yourself holding your breath during a challenging yoga posture? What might happen if instead you breathed through it? By checking in with the breath again and again, you will begin to notice how you use the breath, and you’ll learn how to cultivate the quality of ease as you breathe. In this way, your yoga practice itself will take on a quality of ease, and from there will you build the foundation of steadiness.

In today’s world, we are very much outward-focused. Paying attention to our breath is an afterthought, if it’s even a thought at all. Yet taking a moment to check back in with the present by checking the breath-gauge will not only take your yoga practice to the next level, it can bring a sense of ease in your life off of the mat.

Whether in yoga class or during a busy day off your mat, let your breath be the gauge that helps bring you more ease and steadiness. In your yoga practice, try to begin each posture by checking your breath. Off the mat, write the word “breathe” somewhere noticeable, and each time you look at it stop and take a moment to notice your breath. Then see where this practice takes you.

We once had a guest here at The Yoga Sanctuary named Tea Roman. Tea is a musician and yoga teacher who leads participants through an amazing sound journey that also includes a bit of yoga asana (posture). Just as he was beginning to guide us into some simple posture work, he proclaimed that we were about to learn the hardest pose of them all, one that takes most people nine months or so to learn. We got to our feet and stood tall and erect in the Mountain Pose. This was the pose he was referring to. And he was right! From the day we are born until the day we stand on our own two feet, it takes us roughly nine months to learn…

Let us dive into this “hardest pose of all” poses by starting at the beginning and looking at the name, tadasana…

Rich in symbolism, tadasana comes from the Sanskrit words tada (mountain) and asana (posture, or seat). Mountain Pose is the essence of stability and foundation, and as such, contains the building blocks for every other posture in yoga.

The posture itself “promotes the stillness, strength, relaxed power, and stability we associate with mountains,” says Alanna Kaivalya, author of Myths of the Asanas. She explains the inseparable relationship between mountains and rivers, both represented by the Indian god Himavat, who represents the Himalayas and is also considered the father of Ganga Devi, the goddess of the Ganges, India’s most sacred river.

“When we stand in tadasana, the head, being nearest to heaven, is where we receive the blessings that flow through the rest of our body like a river,” she says. The even stance of Mountain Pose—the lengthened spine and steady base—sets the tone for practice.

In India, there is a mountain called Mount Kailas with two lakes—one shaped like the sun and the other like a crescent moon, which represents hatha (ha = sun, tha = moon) yoga. Mount Kailas is considered the seventh chakra—sahasrara. The two lakes have been likened to the two streams of energy (ida and pingala nadis) that rise up one central channel (sushumna nadi) moving toward the highest level of consciousness. Mount Kailas is considered a sacred mountain.

When we stand in tadasana, we are equally grounded and arising. Our base is firm, yet we reach upward toward the heavens. Our spine is situated as it would be during meditation, ideal for the free flow of prana (life force) throughout the body. Take the time to connect to this energy in tadasana. Doing so can help you to maintain it throughout your practice.

Tips:

Do you feel a little off balance or unstable?

• Widen your stance!

Do you feel like you are holding tension in your shoulders, neck, hands, or jaw?

• Notice how hard you’re trying to work your legs. Sometimes this effort shifts into other parts of the body. Notice… then see if you can relax unnecessary effort. Breath easy and soften.

Is there discomfort in one of your hips, knees, or ankles?

• Try adjusting the alignment of your feet. Sometimes the structure of our bones means that having our feet parallel can affect things all the way up to your hips! Explore your foot placement and see if that changes anything for you.

Some things to work on:

To really create the strength and stability that tadasana teaches us to bring into other postures, you might try using props! Try holding a block between your thighs to engage the power of your legs. Or combine the use a block and a strap by wrapping the strap around your legs while holding the block. We’ll explore both techniques plus some others in our tadasana videos, so keep your eyes open for updates below!

And don’t forget:

Sometimes you’ll hear teachers say to bring your feet together so that they touch or to make your feet parallel. While that might work for some bodies, it doesn’t work for all bodies. So let yourself explore and maybe try different foot placements. But in the end, take the pose in a way that feels best for you and your body.

Videos:

Check back as we add practice videos exploring:

1. How to take tadasana with props
2. A simple practice to develop tadasana
3. Ways to move when in tadasana

Stay in the know with The Yoga Sanctuary by following us on Facebook!

You can connect with Jennifer directly through her Instagram page!

By Jennifer French

Virasana, or the Hero’s Pose, is a commonly used sitting or meditation posture. Those that have difficulty taking a cross-legged position often find the pose to be more accessible and comfortable. Vira, the root word for virasana, translates to hero. You may wonder how a simple and humble kneeling position came to be known as such. It all stems from the story of the humble Hanuman.

In Myths of the Asanas, Alanna Kaivalya and Arjuna van der Kooji explore the stories behind many of our modern yoga posture names. They tell the story of how the half mortal, half divine child, Anjaneya, came to take the form of a monkey and the name Hanuman, who then grew into a strong warrior and great friend of King Ram.

Sent on a dangerous mission to rescue Ram’s captured wife, Sita, Hanuman dropped down to his knees in prayer creating a version of the shape we know today as the Hero’s Pose. Hanuman “knelt down to pray for the grace to do the impossible,” forgetting that “he was already capable of achieving his goal.” The story goes on… and Hanuman does, indeed, save the day along with Sita.

It is this humble and divine hero who forgets his divinity and moves forward with simple faith that we hope to embody when taking the virasana…

Try this:

1. Kneel on the floor with your knees close together and your heels slightly wider than your hips. Reach behind your knees and draw the calf muscles down and away from the back of your knees. See video below for more about this!
2. Lower your seat down between your feet. Let your sit bones meet the floor. See that your toes point directly behind you and your heels point straight up to the ceiling. Let your heels be flush to your hips.
3. Rest your hands on top of your thighs. Inhale and lengthen your spine up. Maintain the length in your spine and as you exhale feel your sit bones ground down into the earth.
4. Keep the natural curves of your spine and relax your shoulders. Stay for as many breaths as you feel comfortable.

Tips:

Is your seat nowhere near touching the ground?

• Many people, if not most, find that bringing their seat to the ground causes discomfort in the knees and/or thighs. If your feel any discomfort at all, raise your sit bones by bringing a block underneath you. Continue to add height until you find comfort in both the knees and thighs.

Do your knees just not bend that much?

• Place support (a blanket or bolster) behind your knees, between the thighs and the calves.

Feeling a lot of pressure on your shins or the tops of your feet?

• Place a blanket beneath your knees, shins, and feet to provide cushion for your lower legs.

Some things to work on:

If you find that virasana is a real challenge but would like to explore the possibility of it becoming a bit easier, consider adding some other postures into your practice such a Warrior 1 & 2 or Malasana. By slowly working on increasing the range of movement and stabilizing the knees and ankles, you may find that taking virasana begins to change for you. Be sure to keep an eye open as we add a few videos to support you in this exploration!

And don’t forget:

While you might hear some yoga teachers say that virasana is a great pose for your knees and ankles, lots and lots of times, it just isn’t! So be sure to listen to your body and if the posture doesn’t work for you, let it go and sit in a way that feels right for YOUR body. Recognizing what works for you is what makes a strong yoga practice, not the postures that your body can or cannot take.

Videos:

1. How to take virasana with props
2. A simple practice to develop virasana
3. Ways to move when in virsana and variations of reclined (supta) virasana
4. A simple review of how to take virasana: an oldie but goodie with Bonnie!

Stay in the know with The Yoga Sanctuary by following us on Facebook!

You can connect with Jennifer directly through her Instagram page!

By Jennifer French

You might consider sukhasana one of those poses whose name is a misnomer…

While asana is  the second half of the posture’s name and is defined as pose or seat, sukha translates to easy, comfortable, or even sweet. However, it’s the sweetness that’s often missing from the pose for many of us. In fact, dukkha, a word that we can translate as suffering, is oftentimes much closer to our experience of the posture!

Let’s explore this pose in a little more depth.

Try this:

1. Sit up on two folded blankets or a bolster. Bend your knees and cross your legs at your shins. Gently draw your knees slightly closer towards each other as your feet move away from each other. Softly flex your feet and shift them away from the buttocks so that your feet are under your knees.
2. Begin to feel heaviness at the base of your pelvis, in your sit-bones. Root down through your sit bones and feel a sense of connection to the earth beneath you.
3. Bring your hands to the ground or to the blankets beside your hips. As you press your hands down, lift the sides of your waist and your spine upward. Draw your navel softly in and up toward the breastbone. Broaden your chest and feel your shoulder blades glide down your back.
4. Let your hands then come to rest on your knees. Gently close your eyes and begin to focus on the rhythm of your breath. Stay for a bit to simply feel the posture in your body. Notice where it feels a bit challenging, but also notice where it might feel good.

Tips:

Got strain in your hips or knees?

• Try bringing extra lift under you sit-bones or support your knees with blocks or blankets.

Got strain in your back?

• Try using a wall to support your spine!

Some things to work on:

To find ease in a particular yoga posture, it’s a great idea to incorporate other postures into our practice. Doing this can help bring some openness to what might feel a bit tight and strength to what might feel a bit weak. In truth, those things could be one in the same! For instance, your back might feel challenged in sukhasana so we might work on poses that bring both lengthening and strengthening to find more comfort in our simple crossed legged pose. You’ll find a video below that guides you through a simple practice that incorporates postures–other than sukhasana–that may, over time, help taking the cross-legged seat a bit easier.

In the end, sukhasana really is a lovely pose that can offer so much! With countless variations and ways of exploring the pose you can bring movement into all parts of your body. And don’t forget… the best way to learn how to sit more comfortably on the ground is to simply do it more often!

Videos:

1. How to take sukhasana with props
2. A simple practice to help develop ease in sukhasana over time
3. Variations on sukhasana 

Stay in the know with The Yoga Sanctuary by following us on Facebook!

You can connect with Jennifer directly through her Instagram page!

The Bell of Mindfulness

Between stimulus and response there is a space.