Yoga Journal does it again! Their LiveMag section now makes the April-May 2012 issue of Yoga Journal available as a digital, TREE-FREE issue!

I’ve long been wishing that all issues of Yoga Journal go digital. Being in Asia makes it expensive to have these issues shipped to me versus getting it in digital format.

In the past, I’d buy back issues from book retailers here in Manila but after a while, the magazines add to my growing stack of books gathering dust in corners. I also don’t always chance on all the issues so there would be missing months. And it also uses up more trees.

With so much focus on climate change, it is clear that trees are becoming a central force in many green issues. The more things we can do digitally can also spare the trees.

Admittedly, I still love reading books in print form and it’s taking a while for me to revert to e-books. But I know that slowly, I’d have to in order to spare the cutting down of trees for paper.

I’m hoping that Yoga Journal’s LiveMag whets your appetite for more yoga info in digital form. Isn’t it actually better to see a moving video of how to get into a pose rather than read paragraphs and paragraphs giving the same instructions?

Read this Yoga Journal issue on your computer or handheld device by clicking HERE.

Kudos, Yoga Journal, for making this environment-friendly move. Those of us who are far from mainland USA appreciate this convenient and Earth-friendly move.

This is a question that I have been asked more than once. This one is difficult to give a categorical YES to because every pregnancy is different and each woman’s body reacts differently under the same situation. However, I would say that IN GENERAL, yoga during pregnancy is safe and prepares you better for childbirth.

Here’s what I’ve read on yoga sites about pregnancy yoga.

Benefits of yoga during pregnancy

• It teaches you to breathe and relax, which will come in handy when physical demands are placed on the body during childbirth
• It calms mind and body, bringing physical and emotional stress relief
• It allows you to stay focused, concentrate and keep healthy during the pregnancy
• The gentle yoga poses keep the body active and supple — great advantages for childbirth
• Some women have experienced easier labor and delivery. This may be because the yoga poses relieve tension around the cervix

This is important to emphasize — a yoga instructor needs to be CERTIFIED SPECIFICALLY to teach prenatal yoga. Someone certified to teach general yoga cannot teach prenatal yoga without undergoing a different kind of training/certification. Unfortunately, such teachers are quite a rarity to date in the Philippines. I have only heard of less than a handful and I sure want to meet them so I can write about them.

Just recently, I got to meet and attend the class of Patricia Olabre, a visiting Filipina who’s based in London. It was Patricia who reminded me that she had left a comment on my blog in the past (guess what, I could not remember!). Well, I did peek later into my comments and saw that we had indeed corresponded as early as 2007 via my blog not just once but several times! So it was really such a delight to finally come face to face with someone who had not only corresponded with me but was also a specialized yoga teacher in prenatal yoga.

I screencapped this from Patricia’s blog, Samyama Yoga, so you can see that she is very qualified for this type of yoga class.

Urban Ashram was the host studio for Patricia’s prenatal yoga class. There were several pregnant women ranging from 7 weeks to 32 weeks into the pregnancy. I would like to thank these ladies, first for being expectant Moms (and being brave because childbirth is one of the most difficult events for a woman) and second, for allowing me to take photos of them in this class.

Props

Props in a prenatal class are VERY IMPORTANT. Patricia used bolsters, blocks and straps all throughout class, constantly reminding the women to support themselves, sit on bolsters, use the blocks and straps as often as they needed to.

Asanas

The sequence of poses (asanas) that Patricia’s class followed went like this:

1. Pranayama (breathing) while seated, followed by some arm exercises

Patricia shows how to sit on a bolster

Seated with arms up

Arms are then brought to the sides

Modified seated eagle pose

2. Seated poses

Bend only as far as your belly allows. This should be done without putting pressure on the baby.

To reduce swelling, rotate feet while continuing to inhale/exhale

3. Wrist rotations

Rotating wrists relieves swelling and improves circulation

4. Side bends with one bent leg

Patricia emphasizes that a side bend should be done gently & without pressure on baby

Preparation for a side bend

Side bend is done gently and without pressure on baby. This is repeated on other side.

5. Seated forward bend – Legs are opened into a V formation. Patricia cautions that if one experiences pelvic pain, legs should be closer together. Hands are then walked forward gently for a forward bend, then walked back till you are seated upright again. This should be done only as far as one is comfortable.

Forward bend with legs in V formation

6. Kneeling poses – the Cat Pose is very good to keep spine supple and strong but the Cow Pose is not done. I guess that’s because it could strain the baby and stress the spine when you arch your back.

Cat pose, looking down at baby

With an arm balanced while kneeling, other arm is raised in a side stretch

Those with better balance can try this pose. An easier version is just to lift one leg with both hands on mat. Good for scatica.

7. Pelvic exercises – Patricia said pelvic strengthening exercises are important. Those who will give birth the natural way need elastic, supple and strong pelvis in order to push the baby out. Even those who will undergo Caesarean childbirth need a strong pelvis to carry the baby. Below is a video of how to do pelvic circles. She also showed us other exercises to strengthen the front, middle and back areas of the pelvic floor.

8. How to come down to the floor/stand up – The Cat Pose is the transitional pose to standing from the floor or going down to the floor. Here’s Patricia teaching the pregnant mothers how to safely do this.

9. Sounds – One of the last things in the class covered was how to do sounds. This is done instead of screaming out in pain because the baby needs to be welcomed into the world in calm and warmth. So Patricia gave the vowels A-E-I-O-U. Each vowel is said as long as we do the OM (Aaaauuuuuummmmmm). So it sounds like this AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. EEEEEEEEEEEEEE. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.

10. Savasana – There’s a difference between the usual Savasana and those for pregnant mothers. You DON’T lie on your back because the pushing of the baby can make you uncomfortable. Instead, from the 26th week onwards especially, you need to lie on your LEFT SIDE. Why the left and not the right side? Well, there is a major vein on the right side that carries blood so you do not want that to get squished.

When NOT to do prenatal yoga

There are situations when prenatal yoga may not be recommended.

Patricia said that prenatal yoga is normally started on the 2nd trimester. There are just too many body changes in the first trimester and someone not used to it may be at risk. She knows of some practising yoginis though who, because their bodies are used to yoga already, have been able to start prenatal yoga in the first trimester. As a general rule though, I’d say start it after the first 6 weeks!

Also, you may have medical conditions during pregnancy that may not make yoga possible. It may be good to consult your OB-Gyne first before embarking on a class.

*  *  *  *  *

Thank you, Patricia, for a very enlightening class. I hope you get a chance to travel to the Philippines more often to hold such classes. I’m sure many yoginis who get married and eventually get pregnant would want to continue their practice but in a safe environment.

Patricia’s blog is at Samyama Yoga.

Gaiam TV and Food Matters are bringing to health and yoga enthusiasts a FREE worldwide ONLINE premiere called “Hungry for Change”. This will happen between March 21-31, 2012 (remember, this is most likely US time!).

(taken from Gaiam TV's website)

Hungry for Change is a documentary film about creating lasting weight loss, abundant energy and vibrant health. 12 leading experts in nutrition and natural medicine will speak on different topics.

This comes at the right time for a lot of us. Most of us are trying to eat healthy. Maybe some of you are already on the road to more selective food choices or even becoming vegetarian. Whatever the state of your eating, this film will most likely make us take away a lot of information we can use next time we go shopping in the grocery or eat out.

(taken from Gaiam TV's website)

Among the topics the film will cover are:

• How to navigate your supermarket – what to buy and what to avoid
• The real truth behind “DIET”, SUGAR-FREE” AND “FAT-FREE” products
• How to overcome food addictions and cravings
• Why fad diets don’t work
• What food additives to avoid and how to read labels
• What is fat and cellulite and how do we get rid of it for good
• The most effective detox and cleansing strategies
• How to eat for clear eyes, glowing skin and healthy hair

In order to register for a link to this screening, click HERE. From the instructions I read, they will be emailing registrants the link to the film screening.

This will be my first time to view a screening on Gaiam TV so I really do not know what to expect. But since it’s already March 21 where we are, I thought some of you may want to try and register to view this because its health implications make this something we should probably watch.a

UPDATE: The email says this free screening is for Gaiam Yoga Studio subscribers so you may need to subscribe to their newsletter before registering.

Gaiam TV also has a Facebook page. Follow them there for updates on videos and other events they host.

Then yoga IS for you!

Yoga precisely works on those “frozen” muscles of yours which, for years and years have been positioned only in certain ways. Too much sitting. Too long hunched over an office desk. Too sedentary.

Many inflexible friends I know who have tried yoga and did it regularly noticed that poses they once could not do or had a hard time doing got easier and do-able over time. This is because muscles are once again slowly stretched and regain some elasticity lost due to a sedentary lifestyle. I’m a witness to that. At my first yoga class, I could barely touch the floor with the tips of my fingers. Happily, it’s now flat palms on the floor. And all because of yoga.

So maybe you’re now now willing to try yoga to bring flexibility back into your muscles. But are you still too intimidated to dive into one of those yoga classes being offered? Here’s something right up your alley.

Urban Ashram offers what they call their FNR class (FNR stands for Flexibility Not Required). Anyone can join this class. It’s for those with zero yoga experience, people who’ve done other kinds of sports but want to iron out the kinks in their tight muscles, and just about anyone who wants to do a very, very basic class.

Since I get all kinds of queries from people with zero to little experience doing yoga, I decided to check out an FNR class firsthand!

Martin Philippe Ngo was our FNR yoga teacher the night I attended FNR. He’s a full-fledged doctor, by the way, so his Anatomy knowledge comes in handy.

Prior to starting with the asanas, we spent some time on breathing. As most yogis and yoginis know, knowing how to breathe properly is the foundation of a good yoga practice. All throughout a yoga class, expect your teacher to keep reminding you to breathe deeply and slowly.

Let me tell you first what was not in that FNR class. There were no balancing poses, no backbends, and no inversions. But there were warrior poses, sun salutations, triangle poses, forward bends, cow/cat poses, simple twists, and core strengthening poses like the Bridge.

In an FNR class, you have blocks and straps to help you go deeper into poses. I found this helpful as I am still nursing a tight right hamstring. In some poses where one side was more difficult than the other, blocks allowed me to modify and ease the pressure off having to bend all the way to the floor.

Adjustments are crucial in beginner classes and Martin made sure he corrected our alignments as needed. For would-be beginners, welcome these adjustments in your alignment. Take note of just how far back, forward, in or out your teacher moves your hands and feet. In time, you will actually “feel” when you are not exactly aligned and you will re-align yourself by habit.

Was it easy?

Let me just say that while this is a very basic beginner’s class, expect to end up sweating. That’s the beauty of a class like this. It is not too hard such that you want to give up but it’s not too easy either as you get challenged every time.

Don’t let the thought of “flexibility as a requirement for yoga” stop you from trying because that is JUST A MYTH! There is no better time to get the flexibility of your youth back than today. Start with an FNR class. From there, the road to other types of yoga classes will open up. Enjoy the journey!

Urban Ashram is considered the largest yoga studio if we’re talking of floor area (over 200 sqm of studio space). It is located on the 3rd floor of a new warehouse. I went up 3 flights of wide, metal stairs and was greeted at the top by an unusually wide door. Yeah, very welcoming!

Let’s go on a mini tour of the place…

The Rooms

Reception area with overhead lighting by Kenneth Cobonpue

A small boutique offers yoga clothes, towels, water bottles, bolsters, mats and other organic products for sale

This room has dividers so it can transform into 3 separate yoga studios that can hold a large number of students

The 4th studio

The yoga studios feature high ceilings to allow natural air to circulate freely. Ceiling fans improve circulation on really warm days. The windows are also constructed in such a way that just enough light comes in so as not to cause discomfort among the students. The floors are made of engineered wood with insulation underneath. I found that interesting because unlike solid floors, this provides some amount of cushion for those power jumps. Urban Ashram is also currently planning to add insulation on the windows facing the street in order to muffle the street sounds of cars and motorcycles for a better yoga experience.

Uniform, neatly spaced purple yoga mats bearing the Urban Ashram logo are found in every room, ready for the next class. Beside each mat is a pair of blocks and strap. Every weekend, these mats are painstakingly washed down with an organic yoga mat cleaner.

The Facilities

Facilities and amenities are oh so important and I could see that Urban Ashram went to a lot of effort to ensure that their students are comfortable both before and after classes. It’s the little touches that matter and you can see it here. Bath towels, available for a small fee, are washed with biodegradable ingredients by an ecologically-friendly service nearby. Locker rooms (aptly named Yogi and Yogini, for male and female respectively) are tastefully modern, airconditioned and most important, clean!

View of the toilets in the women's locker room

The shower areas in the women's locker room

Closeup of shower area. Free shampoo & conditioner! And check out that modern shower head too!

The soaps in the wash area are all organic and natural. Loved the flower arrangement in the corner.

Recycled paper used as paper towels

Geometrically-designed lockers make great use of space. You get a locker key when you sign up for a class.

Shoe racks line the hallways of the yoga studios

Going Green

Everything about Urban Ashram seeks to be as green as possible. In fact, they are the first yoga studio to be a member of the Green Yoga Association, an international community of yoga studios and teachers committed to earth-friendly and responsible practices. All lighting solutions, appliances, and fixtures are energy- and resource-efficient in order to minimize their impact on the environment. All their cleaning materials, soaps and detergents, as well as shower amenities are earth-friendly, non-toxic and biodegradable.

The Teachers

Maricar told me that their teachers underwent training with Yogaworks through Joan Hyman. That’s a good indication that a yoga studio uses internationally-certified teachers. I will get more details on this down the road as I try to create a listing of yoga instructors and their training background.

Thanks to Urban Ashram for making my first class experience with them an energy-filled one. Specific thanks to Maricar Holopainen, one of Urban Ashram’s directors, and to Martin Ngo, my NFR teacher for that night. Namaste…

This was the life experience of Lucia “Ciay” Misa whose first experience with yoga began at the age of 20. On February 13, 2012, Ciay will launch her book “Yoga in the Wild” — all about the transformative power of yoga in one’s life. Now a successful businesswoman, mother, yogini and free spirit, Ciay puts inside this book stories about her funniest, wildest and most memorable moments with family and friends around the world. In it she also recounts how yoga as talikwas has changed her life.

Back in the 90s, Ciay introduced the concept of soft belly yoga, mostly in workshops done in Mt. Banahaw. I was so ignorant of yoga then. Though based in Boston, Massachusetts most of the year, she comes to the Philippines as a a host artist from January to April of each year at Talikwas, a healing arts center in El Nido, Palawan.

I was invited to an earlier book launch last year with Ciay but I missed that opportunity. I am not missing this one!

All proceeds of the book sales will go to Roots of Health (Ugat ng Kalusugan), a non-profit organization dedicated to improve reproductive health and to eradicate the malnutrition of women and children in the communities of Palawan.

Lucia Misa teaching yoga (taken from http://talikwas.com)

The public is invited to the launch which will be at Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street on Feb. 13, 2012 at 5:00pm. I’ll be there and would love to meet some of you too.

The other night, I was introduced to a whole new way of doing yoga poses – in the air. AntiGravity Yoga, designed by Broadway aerial choreographer and former world-class gymnastics specialist Christopher Harrison, will soon be offered in the Philippines. His company has done 3 Olympic opening numbers, has performed at the inauguration of US Pres. Barack Obama, and worked with Britney Spears, Mariah Carey and other celebrities in creating their gymnastics-dance numbers. Christopher’s visit is timed with training some yoga teachers from I Go Beyond Yoga where AntiGravity Yoga will be offered beginning 2012.

When we entered the room, I saw this silk cloth suspended from the ceiling like a hammock when it’s opened.

Silk hammock

Ria and I gave it a try. To be honest, while I used to love swinging on swings before, this one felt more scary. Swings have thick interlocking chains and a wooden or metal seat. Solid! This one? It looked just like a wide piece of silk cloth held up by only 2-4 hooks. Would this hold me if I swung upside down from it? Could it carry someone a lot heavier than me?

Apparently, it can. The cloth we were trying out was rated for 3,400 pounds! Whoa!

Christopher, throughout his talk, kept emphasizing how important safety was in all his performances. The silk cloth is specifically made for his company and no other. He says, if you find other people using what looks like silk hammocks in their shows, those cloth are not certified for the kind of safety and weight that is required by Christopher in his own performances.

When his team of performers would get kinks in their bodies, he would let them hang upside down and the inversions always worked. This discovery has made him realize that there are a lot of benefits to AntiGravity Yoga. Even in the first class, a student can already expect to do at least one inverted pose.

Just imagine, every day, your body is weighed down by gravity. Your whole being is constantly being pulled towards the center of the earth, even when you’re sleeping. That takes a toll on your whole body including your organs. But when you are inverted, suddenly the weight is taken off your organs. The heart is given relief from that constant pulling. So are other organs. Your body pumps fresh blood into the heart and lymphatic systems. It is also great for decompressing your spine. Every day, gravity pushes down on the discs of the spine. The discs are like sponges that dry up over time and shrink us. But when we go upside down, the discs are filled with spinal fluid keeping it spongy for years to come. In fact by decompressing the spine and freeing up the spinal discs, Christopher claims that people have come out of AntiGravity Yoga….TALLER!!!

For me though, it is the thought of being able to “fly” that fascinates me most about AntiGravity Yoga. Being able to invert without having to have fairly strong arms to support you is a liberating idea. It’s like a giant holding you up in the air and suspending you with very little, almost no effort at all. AntiGravity Yoga is able to bring poses to beginners which, if done on the ground, would require more advanced yoga foundation.

Check out some of the poses that Christopher showed us.

The Womb Pose lets you forget the past and just focus on the present moment

For those who find Downward Dog hard on the wrists, hammock support at the hips like this help get into the pose without the wrist stress.

AntiGravity Yoga's version of the Downward Dog

The Swing

The Vampire Pose

Spiderman Pose

AntiGravity Yoga version of the Pigeon Pose

To demonstrate how easy it is to do inversions, Christopher got someone from the audience who was in gym wear, did a short demonstration of the pose, then guided her into doing the pose herself. And this is how the pose turned out.

AntiGravity Yoga will be offered starting 2012 at the I Go Beyond Yoga studio in Quezon City.

I Go Beyond Yoga
3/F Il Terrazzo
Tomas Morato Ave. cor. Sct. Madrinian St.
Quezon City
Tel. (02) 921-6070
Mobile (0917) 5-BEYOND (or 0917-5239663)

Working out in a gym or in a yoga studio, you really don’t know what bacteria lie around. People come and go, step all over the floors, dump their clothes in the lockers and sweat a lot. At my gym, I do see someone going around the machines every now and then with a sprayer to mop down handles and places where the body comes in contact with the machine.

It helps to have an antibacterial spray you can drop into your yoga bag for use anywhere in the gym or yoga studio, including your mat, right before practice. This is a great idea for those days when you have no time to wash your mat or the weather outside is muggy and not conducive to yoga mat cleaning. It’s probably a good idea too to spray the insides of lockers before putting your stuff in.

The label of this one from Island Basics says its ingredients include bioenzymes (looks like these are the ones that eat up the bacteria), tea tree oil (a disinfectant) and peppermint essential oil (for the fragrance). Nothing more. 100% ALL NATURAL!

Sport Spray from Island Basics retails at PhP 160 for a 100ml bottle.

Next time, I will try Messy Bessy‘s version called Sports Spritzer which sells for PhP 130 for a 250ml bottle. They ran out when I was looking for this at EchoStore. Fortunately, MessyBessy people just told me via their Facebook page that they are at Mercato Centrale, Bonifacio Global City every Saturday-Sunday from 7AM-2PM.

Messy Bessy’s ingredients are different from Island Basics. Theirs consist of sugarcane alcohol, lactic acid, sodium lactate, herbal waters, deionized water and naturally-derived scent.

Have you tried any of these two sprays? I’d love it if you could drop me a line here if you have.

Rwo Shur stands for the Chinese name of Fr. Josef, a Swiss Catholic priest who discovered the power of healing by pressing, kneading, pinching and working on the soles of the feet which represent different organs, glands and body systems.

All their male licensed therapists carry certificates from the Rwo Shur Center and they were trained in Malaysia.

Foot chart shows the parts of body represented on the foot

Foot chart legend

The therapist who worked on my feet told me that reflexology has a detoxifying effect. Which is why they strongly recommend to their clients to drink a lot of water after the treatment to flush out the toxins that were loosened by the reflexology.

Read more details about The Reflex Zone and my reflexology experience HERE.

Growing up, I always saw that clear dividing line between the Western style of medicine and all others. When you get sick and are brought to a hospital, doctors conduct the kind of medical tests and procedures done in the West like X-rays, blood tests, ultrasound tests, etc. Medicines prescribed to you are also chemical-based Western medicine.

All other other kinds of therapy, including the use of meditation, herbs and esotheric forms of spiritual/physical activity, fell into the realm of Eastern spirituality or alternative/homeopathic medicine.

In recent years, Western medicine-trained doctors are slowly coming to realize that there is a connection among wellness of mind, body and spirit. Years back, I read an article in my subscription copy of Reader’s Digest, written up by a doctor, who observed that prayers and deep spirituality actually helped in the healing of patients. Here is an article I saw online on Reader’s Digest site, The Power of Prayer.

St. Luke’s Medical Center Global City now has a Complementary Medicine Service that offers 3 major services to complement a patient’s Western medical treatment:

1. Massage therapy

2. Yoga therapy

3. Acupuncture

The specialists of these 3 services work closely with a patient’s doctors to map out a complete and holistic treatment.

Massage Therapy

Massage (which includes touching, rubbing, gliding, kneading and various other strokes) has been known to help relax the body, stimulate the nervous system, regulate circulation, relieve pain and promote health. The kind of massage that will be incorporated in a patient’s treatment at St. Luke’s will depend on his condition and objective of the treatment.

The hospital offers two basic levels of massage. The basic level is the wellness massage, usually done simply to make one relaxed and to relieve stress. For those with medical conditions, however, therapeutic massage will be prescribed such as moxibustion (heat therapy) and cupping (Ventosa) which uses glass vacuum cups placed on the skin.

Yoga Therapy

Avril Rodriguez is the yoga specialist at St. Luke’s. There is a beautiful, though small, Yoga Space inside the Complementary Medicine Service area where one-on-one or group yoga sessions can be held. Avril told me that she offers two kinds of yoga classes. The Wellness Yoga Class is for well patients and group sessions are done at the Yoga Space. Patients with medical conditions normally have Private Class with her where she tailors the asanas specifically for the patient.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is the insertion of fine needles in specific points meant to release blocked flow of Qi (energy) and regulate it so that it flows freely throughout the body. As it is with massage therapy, acupuncture therapy may include moxibustion and cupping.

Rates

I glanced at the current rates of these therapy sessions and found them quite reasonable. Just to give you an idea, these are the rates as of August 2011.

Acupuncture Therapy (30-45 minutes per session) – P1,300/session

Cupping Procedure or Ventosa (10-20 minutes per session) – P500/session

Wellness Yoga Class (60 minutes per session) – P500/session, P4,000 for 10 sessions

Private Yoga Class (60 minutes per session) – P1,000/session

Massage Therapy (15-45 minutes per session) – P1,300/session

Wellness Massage (60 minutes per session) – P1,000/session

Spot Massage (15-30 minutes per session) – P300/session

St. Luke’s Complementary Medicine Service
6th Floor, Yoga Space
Telephone: (632) 789-7700 ext. 6051