In pretty much every city, there is an area where vintage bikes proliferate. White wall tires, fixed gears and banana seats are commonplace. These bikes are not only functional, they are hip. Sure, vintage bikes—from roadbikes to cruisers—are unique and fun, but when considering adding one to your collection, you might want to consider the pros and cons.
5 Reasons Why You Should Attend a Yoga Festival
This past weekend was Hanuman Festival in beautiful Boulder, CO. Being a local festival, I decided to go. This means three long days of yoga, community, music, sunshine, green juice and of course, Hanuman. The days were long, but they were also exhilarating, transformational and fun.
I’ve never been to a yoga festival or conference before, so this was a brand new experience. Needless to say (since I’m blogging about it), it was a worthwhile experience. To elaborate, here are 5 reasons why yoga teachers and practitioners should consider attending a yoga festival:
1) Exposure to a Variety of Classes With Respected Teachers:
In my normal practice, the teachers and styles of classes are limited. In larger cities, you might have more variety, but here I don’t. The beauty of festivals is the wide variety of classes, styles and teachers. At Hanuman, I practiced Jivamukti and Kundalini, two styles not represented in my community. Granted, it’s all yoga and there are definite similarities between styles, it’s fun to experience some of the variety of yoga asana or poses.
Just like the exposure to class styles, yoga festivals are a great opportunity to practice with a variety of respected teachers. Granted the “yoga celebrity” concept is strange and kind of counter to the essence of yoga, there is no denying that it’s fun to take a class from someone you’ve seen on the cover of Yoga Journal. Some of them really are fantastic and accessible and knowledgeable – with others, that’s debatable, but everyone has different needs and wants out of a teacher, so that’s just my opinion.
2) Like-Minded Community
In my experience, yoga people like to chat with other yoga people. It bonds us. Going to a yoga festival means these people are everywhere. But beyond the physical practice of yoga, there are vendors offering products and services that fit your lifestyle and food that you actually eat. There was no shortage of green juices, gluten free snacks and health-conscious snacks to purchase. Being one who is often quirky, here I wasn’t. Nothing I did was weird and quite the contrary, I seemed like your average person. Granted not everyone is of the same mentality, but compared to any other event, a yoga festival is the place where you can fit in no matter your preferences.
3) Meet New People
Whether you’re in line at the healthy food truck, sitting watching an inspirational talk or setting up for class, people are everywhere. This festival wasn’t huge so it didn’t feel really busy, but there was still plenty of time to chat with others. Sometimes it was commiserating over a challenging pose or talking about your likes and dislikes of the class while walking to the next activity. If you want to stay solitary, you can. But if you’re looking to meet new people in the local yoga community, you have that opportunity.
If the festival or conference is a local event for you, volunteering is a great way to meet fellow teachers and serious practitioners in the community as well as the event organizers.
4) Expand Your Yoga Horizons
With yoga festivals, you choose the classes and activities you attend. For many, this means sticking with the safe route or taking classes and doing things you are familiar with. The beauty of these events is there is a huge opportunity to expand your horizons. Hate flow (that’s me), go to a power flow class. Interested in Hindu deities (again, yes that’s me), go to a talk on the deities and expand your knowledge. The festival can really be what you make it. If you’re there to just practice, you can do that. If you’re there as continuing education, you can take classes that offer new ways to teach poses. If you’re there to transform, you can do classes and activities to facilitate that.
5) Get Your Butt Kicked
While this isn’t usually what I’m looking for, it was a nice part of the festival. Each of the three days had three class sessions at 2 hours each. That’s the possibility of 6 hours of class per day, or 18 hours over three days. I didn’t attend every classes session because I was also volunteering, but I did one class Friday, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. Each morning, I literally rolled out of bed to do it all over again. My body was aching in places I didn’t even know existed. I was definitely mentally challenged in these classes, but I also found a new level of ability, strength and flexibility in my body. It worked hard this weekend, but it felt great on some level too.
Of course, there are downsides to yoga festivals too. The primary one is the external representation of what is called yoga here in the West. It was a lot of spandex, leggings mostly, and appeared to be a bit of a fashion show. It’s hard as a participant to stay internal because these external things, music, noise, colorful pants and people who can do poses better than you are everywhere. It was a definite challenge. The other challenge is in the classes. Sure I learned new things and was challenged, but I would’ve like to see more variety of classes that covered all of yoga, not just the physical asana and who can do handstands.
But if you know these challenges going in, it’s easier to put that aside and appreciate the event and the opportunity to learn, grow and transform. That’s what it’s all about after all.
Have you been to a yoga festival? If so, what was your experience? Share your thoughts in the comments (whether you agree with me or not!).Yoga Pose: How to Do Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana)
Triangle pose is a pretty common pose, seen in a variety of class styles, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. It’s one of those poses that doesn’t seem to complex, but once you start working with the actions, you can see it’s true depth. The problem is this type of detail isn’t often workshopped in classes, but simply glanced over. Take 10 minutes, practice the actions and begin to find new clarity and understanding in your triangle pose.
How to Do Triangle Pose
- Start standing at the top of your mat.
- Step your right foot back decently far (we’ll start with the left forward like in the picture).
- Keep your left foot pointing toward the front of your mat. Turn your right foot about 45 degrees.
- Check your stance. Does it feel too wide or too short? Adjust it.
- Engage both legs, hugging the muscles toward the bones and keeping both legs straight (no bent knees and no hyperextended knees).
- Keep the legs engaged and raise your arms up to shoulder height, palms facing down.
- Make sure your chest and frontal hip bones are facing straight (not over your front foot but toward the long edge of the mat).
- Now, don’t rush and let’s start to move.
- Shift your hips back as far as you can. Think about bringing your right hip toward our right lower ribs. You may feel a stretch in your inner left thigh.
- Now, start to reach your left hand over your foot – as far as you can go. The goal here is to lengthen both sides of your torso evenly.
- Stay where you are and let your left hand float down to your skin, the floor or to a block set up inside your left foot. Think about using your core rather than putting all the weight into your hand.
- Bring your right hand to your hip (just to get that arm out of the way while you finish the legs).
- Think about drawing your outer left hip toward the back of your mat (it might be a very slight movement). This will intensify the stretch in your left hamstrings (backs of the upper legs).
- Allow your right frontal hip bone to roll just slightly toward the floor.
- Now make sure you’re not arching your back and think about growing longer through both sides.
- Finally, raise your right hand straight up from the shoulder joint (not wrenching on the arm).
- Attempt to open your chest completely rather than collapsing (it is a twist), stacking one shoulder over the other.
- Your gaze can either be straight out, down toward the floor or up toward your top hand.
- Now hold all these actions, but find a way to relax just slightly and feel the stability of the pose.
Now, I realize there are a lot of steps here. The first couple times might be challenging, but after a bit of practice, this will come easily and you’ll just remember all this. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the actions of this pose or how it makes you feel. Leave anything in the comments and I’ll get right back to you!
Benefits of Triangle Pose
Now that you’ve done the pose, you might notice where you feel a stretch or muscles working.
Stretches: hamstrings, glutes, calves, abdominal (especially the sides of the body – the obliques), arms, neck and back
Strengthens: feet, ankles, calves, knees, hips, back, arms, shoulders, neck, side body (obliques, intercostals), abdomen, thighs, buttocks, psoas
Other benefits: tones the kidneys, may relieve menstrual cramps, may help treat or prevent scoliosis and side flexing like this helps with spinal issues
Do You Know What’s In Your Cosmetics?
Do you ever think about the products you put on your body every single day? Most people don’t. I almost typed “women” instead of “people” but this is one big misconception. We think of cosmetics are meaning make-up and specific to women, but they are much more than that. Every single product you use on any part of your body for beautification or cleanliness is a cosmetic. From toothpaste to hair gel to foot scrub, they all count. Most people use 10 or more cosmetics every day, although I’m willing to bet its many more for a lot of people. Look in your medicine cabinet, in your bathroom drawers and cabinets. That’s a lot of product, right?!
Secret Ingredients
Now did you know that the ingredients that go into these products that sit on your hair or skin or eyelashes aren’t really regulated? It’s true, many products include endocrine disrupters, known cancer-causing agents and products commonly causing rash or other symptoms. No one really oversees this and ingredients don’t have to be considered safe before they can go in something. What makes it more scary is that even if you think you’re buying natural products from trustworthy companies, it’s hard to really know what’s in your products. It’s a scary business and you could be slowly poisoning yourself or putting cancer-causers on your skin (which then absorbs into your bloodstream) on a regular or daily basis. Think lead, formaldehyde, parabens, BPA and arsenic.
What To Do About It
Now, if this is new info, don’t freak out! You have control over your health and over the products you choose to use. The easiest way to find out the potential harm from your favorite products is the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database. Go there. Now. Search your go-to products and take in the information. Then, you don’t have to change. It’s your choice, but knowledge allows you to make an informed, conscious decision about how you choose to live your life.
If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, the cosmetics industry and how it affects your health, check out this article I wrote for Boulder Magazine.
Finally, I’m interested in your thoughts on this topic. No judgement – just curiosity. Do you use a lot of cosmetics? Does the lack of regulation and potentially harmful ingredients scare you? If you checked out the database, what did you learn? Will you change your products or are you happy with what you use? {Photo Credit: Steve Isaacs}Not Just a Fireball in the Sky: Health Benefits of Sunshine
It’s hard to deny that the sun is pretty powerful. It gives us tons of light, it helps plants grow and without it, we wouldn’t survive.
Yeah, it’s that important. We often talk about the harm the sun can do – like sunburns and skin cancer – but we fail to talk about the good it does for our health. Here are a few of the health benefits of sunshine – the first obviously being vitamin D.
Disclaimer: While your doctor and dermatologist would never suggest going outside without protection, I advocate for 15 minutes of unprotected sunshine per day. The reason for this is because sunscreens, especially the strong ones (full of chemicals by the way), are designed to protect your skin from the sun’s rays. But to get the maximum benefit of the sun, we need at least a little time where we can fully absorb their benefits. Keep it short and if you’re out more than 10-15 minutes, then put on a hat, long-sleeves or chemical-free sunscreens.Health Benefits of Sunshine
1. Vitamin D: This simple little (necessary) vitamin has become common knowledge over the past couple years. Everyone’s talking about it and for good reason. Many of us, especially those living in areas with minimal winter sunshine, are deficient. (A simple blood test at your doctor’s office can determine if you’re deficient). What happens is the body absorbs sunlight and turns it into vitamin D (kind of like plants).
Sunlight has also been found to decrease the risk for certain cancers, delay onset of eye issues like cataracts, lower blood pressure and may reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes. Vitamin D (even in the form of supplements in the winter) may also strengthen the immune system.
Not to mention, vitamin D is necessary for the body to properly absorb calcium. This equates to strength and health of bones and teeth, meaning sunshine can help keep your bones strong and healthy.
2. Mood Enhancement: Anyone with a case of the winter blah’s can see the way sunshine improves mood. It makes us feel happier, more alert and ready to tackle life. Everyone seems more cheerful and full of hope. The first nice days in the spring, everyone wants to get out and bask in the warmth and promise of a sunny day.
3. Sleep: Anyone who has spent a long day outside knows that it can knock you out. Call it sunshine or fresh air or whatever, but sleep comes easily after a day of outdoor work or lounging on the beach. The sun is tied to circadian rhythms (clearly), and these rhythms affect the normal process of night and day, sleep and wake, etc. Getting a bunch of sunshine actually stimulates the production of hormones (like melatonin) that affect your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. So sunlight helps you sleep restfully. That’s a good thing for health in a ton of ways.
4. Exercise: So this isn’t as clear of a connection, but sunshine helps us be more active. Really, who wants to go out in 20 degrees and cloudy? No one. But 60 and sunny and everyone crawls out of their winter holes and embraces the sun. A nice day versus a crappy day can determine whether we get out and do something active, so the sun surely helps us be more active and thus, more healthy.
Although being happier, more active, sleeping better and cutting risk of cancer and stroke is great, this is just scratching the surface. On an evolutionary level, the sun – and the fact that Earth is close enough, but not too close to it – is instrumental. We wouldn’t be here without it, so it makes sense that it has far more power and benefit than we can even understand.
If it’s sunny where you live, get out and enjoy it. Eat your lunch outside, take a short walk, take the dog for a hike, take a family bike-ride, play with your kids at the park, start your garden or just sit on your patio with a glass of wine. Whatever it is, even if you just look up and acknowledge the sun as you’re walking from your car to work, just remember its there. Remember it matters and take a few moments to admire it’s awesomeness. Bonus points for lifting your gaze, closing your eyes and just taking it in. It’s impossible not to smile as you gaze up and feel the warmth.
What do you like to do to get outside in the sunshine? Do you feel its benefits? Share your experiences in the comments. I’d love to hear from you and learn from you.- 1
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