| JOIN OUR LIST |  | | |  | Dear Yogis and Friends,
I hope this finds you happy, healthy and well.
Aria Writing News:
I have some good news on the writing front. Some of you recall I've mentioned an article on empathy several times, now. Well, it is finally print time. Yup, that's right. Check out Aria's article on Empathy in the upcoming June issue of LA Yoga, available for free at yoga studios and health stores all over Los Angeles.
Yoga with Aria News:
A deep thanks to all of you who have supported me, and my yoga teaching. I'm eight months pregnant, now, and in preparation for the arrival of our baby girl, I am taking the summer off from teaching. I hope to see you all in the fall and hear your summer stories. In the interim, I encourage you all to enjoy deepening your yoga practice, exploring the amazing teachers this beautiful city has to offer.
I will be in touch with any fun and exciting news, and of course, if you ever have any questions or would like a local teacher referral, I am always available at: aria@yogawitharia.com.
And for those of you who are curious about my sprained ankle - it is getting better. I'm off of crutches, but still taking it very easy, not walking on it very much, yet. Thanks for your calls and offers of support.
Blessings,
Aria
| | Savasana: Your Magic Restart Button
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Ever wonder why you leave a class feeling that yoga bliss?
It's because of savasana, or Corpse Pose, the 5 - 10 minute final relaxation at the end of every yoga class. The yogis believe that these final moments of rest in savasana are more beneficial for the body than the physical practice of yoga, or asana. By allowing our bodies to engage in conscious relaxation, we invite our mind to still and provide the energetic space for our body to integrate the changes that we've cultivated during our physical practice.
Modern science agrees with the ancient yogis. Savasana has been found to: reduce high blood pressure, stimulate blood circulation, alleviate fatigue and nervousness, and even help reduce the effects of asthma, constipation, diabetes, indigestion, and insomnia.
My First Few Savasanas
Back in 1998, I was introduced to yoga at Bryan Kest's Power Yoga Studio, in Santa Monica. As a former high school bodybuilder, I was thrilled to have found a work-out that not only challenged me physically and mentally, but left me feeling relaxed and calm, afterwards. By the time class ended, I always welcomed savasana as an excuse to just let go. There were even a few times when I relaxed so deeply that I drifted asleep.
Although sleeping during savasana isn't a bad thing, I later learned that savasana's true purpose is to cultivate a state of conscious relaxation. In order to do so, this requires our mind to be blank, open, and unattached, existing in a state of relaxation. Sometimes, this is remarkably easy to do. But, sometimes, savasana can trigger our inner A-type. I've definitely been in classes when I'll lay in savasana, unable to relax. Either I've been fidgety and tense, or my mind has been strung up on some life issue or problem. At times, there was no clear-cut life issue, just a nagging feeling of, "When is this going to end?" "What am I supposed to do?" The result? Instead of relaxing, I found myself becoming inwardly tense, the exact opposite of what I was supposed to be doing.
If this happens to you, begin by reminding yourself that the only reason you're feeling this way is because you're in a state of re-action. You are reacting to a habit, and habits are hard to break. This habit happens to be all around us. It's a product of the modern age and the American Way of Being: a program of constant productivity. Either we're supposed to be productive, or we're made to feel guilty because we're not as productive as we might be. However, as we all know by now, constant productivity is not possible to sustain without injury.To fool ourselves into thinking we can do so is an addiction, an example of this highly prevalent modern-age disease.
It's only in the last fifty years or so that as a society, we've devalued the importance of relaxation. Instead, we force ourselves onwards at great cost to our endocrine and adrenal systems. We feed ourselves a diet of stimulants and stress, so that we exist in hyper mode all the time. And in the last fifty years, we've seen the immense repercussions of our behavior in the frequency and severity of stress-related illnesses that we suffer from.
Savasana Promotes a Healthy Mind and Inner Balance
One of the surest ways to balance out stress is to learn how to do the exact opposite: relax. Ahh, such a hard thing for us A-types. But, so incredibly important. That's why, for me, I tend to enjoy the stronger, more physically challenging classes. I thrive on challenge. It helps me relax mentally. Some may call this is a weakness of mine, but I look at it as just me being honest with who I am. The important part is not judging how we function best, but working with ourselves and finding a teacher and a practice that encourages us to function at our best. To ignore this is to ignore one of the most crucial aspects of fitness, a fit and healthy mind.
Far too many systems of exercise focus on getting a perfect body without recognizing how much a fit and healthy mind affects our bodies. Professional athletes can be some of the worst promoters of this philosophy. How many times have we heard of renal failure due to steroid use? Or entire teams being demoted due to performance enhancing drug cocktails? Sure, many athletes don't take it to this extreme, but they do push themselves beyond their healthy physical limits. No pain, no gain only results in physical injury, let me tell ya. After injuring my shoulder from going too hard, and eventually having to have a complete ACL replacement in my left knee, I believe I'm qualified to tell the tale.
And yet, the answer is so simple, it's right in front of us. The ultimate mark of health and fitness is a body that can sustain activity well into its old age, not one that fails due to either overuse or the opposite, neglect. But, in order to achieve this, we must be still and listen to our bodies. We must encourage balance, in all things that we do.
Savasana, our Magic Restart:
In many ways, what we do during yoga class is install a new software, a new program of being into our bodies. Ever tried to install new software without shutting down all other applications and restarting afterwards? What happens? Your computer needs to restart in order to understand the software you just installed. Without that restart, the software is not recognized.
Our bodies are very similar to a computer. Of course, they are far more complex of a machine than any computer in existence. But just like a computer, they operate on a consistent program, or template of behavior. And just like a computer, in order to upgrade that program, or template, we need a restart.
If you think of every yoga class as a software upgrade, then it's easy to understand how every savasana is incredibly important for that software to take hold. During savasana, all of the physical, mental and emotional effort that we've exerted during a yoga class sinks in on a deep cellular level, allowing us to think, act, and differently than we did before we walked into that yoga room.
Moreover, savasana is great training ground for a future meditation practice. Please understand that I'm not claiming that savasana or meditation is crucial to you living a healthy, happy life. However, I will guarantee that it can help.
So next time you enter savasana, if you find your mind going ba-zonkers, just remind yourself that this is incredibly important time for you. In fact, all you A-types out there, you now have an assignment during savasana: relax completely.
If your busy-mind surfaces with reasons why you shouldn't relax, just turn down the dial on that busy-mind to zero, and turn up the dial to your relaxed-mind to eleven.
Trust me, you can come back to all your problems and life issues in 5 - 10 minutes. That is, if you still want to.
| | Savasana Exercise |  In lieu of a breath exercise,...
let's explore a savasana exercise. It may be helpful for you to read this out loud, first, or record it, so that you can truly let go and enjoy the experience.
Lay down on your back. Begin with squeezing your knees into your chest and bringing your body into a tight ball. Take a deep inhale, and then on an exhale, let everything go. Let your arms fall out to your sides and allow your legs to open naturally, so that your toes point outwards just a little. Close your eyes completely. If you feel awkward at all, roll from right to left a few times and balance your hips and back out.
Beginning with your toes, now - relax them completely. Let any kind of stress or tension fade away.
Allow your awareness to shift to your feet and ankles; Relax them completely. Let any kind of tightness disappear.
Now for your calves. Relax any tension in your calf muscles. Imagine any tightness melting away.
Allow your knees -- your kneecaps, as well as all the ligaments and tendons in the backs of your knees - to completely relax.
Moving up your thighs. Allow all four muscles of the quadriceps, the large muscle that runs up the front of your thigh - to completely melt. Allow the inner and outer thighs to completely let go. And the hamstrings - the backs of the thighs - imagine that they just melt into the floor. Feel how relaxed and long your muscles feel in your legs.
Allow your gluts, your bum, to completely relax. As the gluts relax, allow the low back, the pelvis, and the sacrum to just melt into the floor. Know that you are completely supported. There's no reason to hold onto anything, here, anymore.
Allow your bellow to soften. Let your breath become very soft, very still.
Allow your ribcage to relax. And your chest -- allow it to feel open and relaxed.
Visualize your shoulder blades - where they begin, at the upper spine, all the way up to the tips of the shoulder blades. Allow them to soften completely, so that they support your heart. And then, let them melt into the mat.
Allow the muscles in the shoulders to grow heavy, and relaxed, and the bones in your shoulders to soften and melt.
Imagine that the muscles in your upper arms just let go. It's as if they melt over the arm bones.
Allow your elbows to soften. They hold no tension.
Allow your forearms to soften. And your hands, your wrists, even your fingertips uncurl. Everything softens, melts, and lets go.
Allow your neck to relax and lengthen.
Let your jaw open slightly, so there's no tension in the TM joint.
Allow the skin over the nose to relax and soften. Allow the eyelids to soften. And imagine that the eyeballs grow so heavy, it's as if they sink towards the back of your skull.
Finally, allow the skin on the back of your skull to soften and melt into the mat or the floor.
Lie in complete relaxation for as long as you wish. You can also complement savasana with a few minutes of meditation, afterwards.
| Cool Happenings Around Town
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Memorial Day Weekend is ripe with possibilities...
If the rain lets up, go out and enjoy a swim at one of the many public pools all over the city. I just recently discovered the Santa Monica College Pool, which is one of the cleanest and least chlorinated pools in the city. They're open this Memorial Day, too! Lap swimming for you, or fun splash time for the whole family. For more info, call (310) 458-8700.
Lightening In A Bottle.
For those of you who need to shake it to a groove, the biggest event this weekend is an outdoor camping, art, and music festival in Santa Barbara. Gates open Thursday at 4pm. Event goes through Monday, May 26th. Tickets vary. Day passes are $70/day. Camping on site recommended.
The WET party. Saturday, May 24th, 1pm - 10pm, at the Custom Hotel, in Los Angeles. If you're craving a DJ party, this is guaranteed to be one of the hottest events this weekend. An after party follows for those who just can't stop dancing. Presale tickets $30. Click here to purchase.
Want to dance, but looking for something a little less par-tay and a little more chill, something to even bring the kids to? How about Funky In the Middle's Custom Sundaze Memorial Day Party, at the Custom Hotel. 8639 Lincoln Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90045. Monday, May 26th. 1pm - 9pm. Kids are welcome from 1pm - 7pm. Event is FREE with RSVP:
Enjoy browsing local art? One of my favorite galleries is a tiny place called LAB 101. These folks put up some of the most creative art pieces around. Browsing is always free. Gallery open Wednesday through Friday, 12pm - 6pm. Saturdays, 2pm - 6pm. 8539 Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232. You can also view available artwork, prints, home decor, books, and other fine sundries here.
For photography enthusiasts, check out LACMA's current show with Phillip-Lorca diCorcia. His photographs feature an unusually lit single person in private spaces or public settings. LACMA is currently hosting works from the artist's series, including: Lucky 13, Hustlers, Streetwork and Heads. May 23 - Sept. 14. Ahmanson Building.
| | | Thanks for supporting Yoga with Aria! Blessings, Aria Mayland | | |
