Answer To Your Fitness Questions" />Holding A Pose In Yoga
August 23, 2007
When practicing yoga there is quite a trick to finding focus, or the “drishti” in Sanskrit. So for just a moment let’s look at the role of the gaze in your practice. If you are a new student there are tendencies to look while participating either at the teacher, the mirror to check alignment or possibly a little self admiration or self-criticism, the clock, which is a very bad sign, or even your big toenail which can become very interesting when executing or holding a particularly difficult pose.
But really where should we look during our practice?
The “drishti” serves two different purposes: first it focuses the mind and second it expresses action and energy of the pose. The gaze can help the student observe the physical actions of each pose and you can use it to teach mental concentration. It will also assist or challenge balance poses such as Hand to Big Toe or Tree.
One rule of thumb for the gaze point is simply to look the direction the head is going.
By merely understanding the purposes of the “drishti” will enable you to keep the heat up and become more aware of where you are in the pose versus a wandering mind!
Exercise Myths
August 22, 2007
There are many different myths out there to keep us a little confused and guessing about what is the right thing to do with our exercise regime. One of the myths is that the best time to exercise is in the morning to get the best results. (I don’t work out in the morning as much as I do the early evening and my body loves it. So I would be in trouble if that statement were really true.) But the reality and the research shows that those people working out in the morning may feel more energized for the day, but a good workout at any time of the day is just as good for you. That is if you are not overly tired. The important thing is that you are getting your workouts in. So if you like to stay up late, go ahead and get your workouts then, you are still going to burn fat just as effectively as in the morning.
