Jumpstart your health TODAY

If you’re yearning to cultivate greater experience of life, there’s no better time to start than right now.  Below are my TOP three simple practices that will transform your self-care + jumpstart your yogic lifestyle and Ayurveda journey. These three simple practices will set you up for a lifetime of radiant health.

1. Perfect your oral hygiene.

Don’t just brush & floss, optimize your oral health by swishing with coconut oil (READ my article on oil pulling) and scraping your tongue (READ my article on tongue scraping).

2. Take Triphala every day.

I’m not one to recommend supplements, as you probably figured by now, but this is how strong I feel about it.  Detoxify and rejuvenate your body by taking Triphala when you wake up or just before bed.  Get it from a good source.  

3. Give yourself a massage.

Oil up before you shower and use your own hands to massage yourself. Sure, you can also do this without the oil or use any method such a foam roller or ballwork  (READ my article on Self-Myofacial Release).  

That’s it.  You’re ready, GO!  Don’t hesitate to ask me any questions.  

The Deal with Low Back and Sciatica

If you suffer from back pain, you know how debilitating and frustrating it can be.  Lower back pain is the biggest cause of disability worldwide and one of the most common reasons that employees miss work. Experts estimate that 80% of us will suffer from back pain at one point or another. WOW.

Lower back pain can result, as you would imagine, from injuries from accidents, but it can result from simple movements like bending over to pick something up or twisting too abruptly.  Other common triggers of back pain are obesity, stress, arthritis and bad posture, of course.  Situational circumstances like stress, prolonged sitting, wearing high heels or not sleeping on your bed can cause or aggravate back pain.  It’s complicated because the back is complicated.  This structure is made up of fascia, ligaments, muscles, bones, emotions and energy.

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AND then comes in “Sciatica”.  The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve that runs from the low back, passes the butt and goes down the back of the legs.  It branches into the thighs, calves, feet and even the toes.  Sciatica pain is caused when the nerve is injured, aggravated, squished or stuck by either scar tissue or congested fascia.  These congested tissue and/or injuries are the result of poor posture, mis-alignment of the pelvis, stress, trauma or fear.  Sciatica pain can also be the result of degenerative disc disease, vertebra slips/herniated, or narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back (stenosis).

How to tell the difference from just back pain and sciatica pain?  The sciatica pain usually starts in the low back and continues along the path of the long nerve, so it extends through the buttocks, possibly thighs, low leg and even foot (one or two legs).  It’s sharp, electric or numbing pain.  It often feels better when walking and worsens when standing or sitting. 

If you’re suffering intense lower back pain or sciatica, the best place to start is go to the doctor.  As I said, it’s complicated and you may need help figuring out what is the root cause.  Understanding how the problem was caused in the first place can help you with treatment options.  The options for treatment range from physical therapy, massage, Pilates, yoga, acupuncture, structural integration, medication or surgery, in extreme situations.   I’ve tried them all but surgery, and they all help depending on the root cause.

The best thing you can do to prevent back pain is to look after your back.In case you missed it, HERE are my 5 Easeful Ways to Prevent Back Pain.Prevention will be your biggest asset in avoiding back problems altogether.I’m very committed to instructing bringing prevention and management techniques to the low back in my Roll+Restore workshops.

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Breathing Better : roll and restore is back and we're aiming for deeper breathing

JANUARY 19TH, 2019 - 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM

ABHAYA YOGA - GOWANUS, BROOKLYN

Roll + Restore : breathing  focus (abdomen + ribs)

Do you feel restriction in your breathing? Do you want to feel connected to your center but there is some tightness in your chest muscles or back?  Releasing tension in your abdomen and ribs area can increase your sense of groundness and release emotional holdings.

Looking, feeling, and being your better self, requires far more than just working out and eating well.  Without embodied self-awareness, you’ll not only never enjoy the physical results you want, but you’ll also never experience the inner space that leads to peace and joy.  Roll+Restore combines my sixteen-plus years of practice in wellness, yoga and engineering to access this embodied self-awareness.  The workshop takes the best aspects of Biomechanical Alignment Principles, Therapeutic Yoga, Bodymind Ballwork© and Metaphysics to experience a unique and holistic approach to understanding your body.  Students who’ve attended this workshop leave feel empowered to access deep understanding of their physical, mental and emotional state. They leave feeling “taller,” “brighter,” “relaxed” and “younger” (yep, these are their words).

In this special Breathing edition of Roll+Restore you will learn techniques that involve therapeutic yoga postures and laying/moving on rubber balls to self-massage tight fascia around your upper back, abdomen, iliopsoas and ribs. You can incorporate these techniques in your fitness routine to open your spine and your breathing.  You will feel physically, emotionally and mentally better.

$35

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*contraindications: this techniques aren’t recommended if you are pregnant, had a recent abdominal surgery, serious intestinal or pulmonary issues.  Please ask if you aren’t sure.

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Why is my waist feeling scrunched? Tight Fascia could be the culprit

“When the body begins to work appropriately, the force of gravity can flow through. Then, spontaneously, the body heals itself.” -  Ida P. Rolf, founder of the Rolfing technique and recognized as the first to understand the role of fascia in human health.

Do you ever feel scrunched and thick around the waistline?  There is more than fat to blame here.  The waistline gets a bad reputation: lower back pain, extra weight, bloating and thickness. Why?  Not an easy answer, like anything worth investigating. There is a plethora of factors that trouble your midsection such as poor diet, stress, hormonal imbalances, emotional eating, lack of adequate rest, and not moving our bodies enough. Additionally, the sides of the body tend to be ignored: we spend a lot of time sitting, slouching, driving, and working on computers (or texting). Essentially, we’re just accumulating tension and stress in that mindsection. 

Furthermore, our relationship with gravity, bad posture, poor weight management and upper body weight-distribution can cause the space between the ribs and the hips (your waistline) to get squished and compressed, which in turn leads to a shortening and thickening of the waist.  When our waistlines shorten, all the muscles, tissues, organs, skin, and fat start to bulge out to the sides making us look and feel thicker than we really are. To make matters worse, experts tells us that  this can also negatively influence digestion, metabolism, circulation, oxygenation, and organ and gland efficiency, leading to bloating, density, and inflammation.

These sounds like a complicated problem, and it is, but there is a magic solution that can shrink your waist and make it healthy: you need to create length and space to your fascia and core. Fascia is critical because it actually helps to create the shape of our bodies. Basically, fascia is like a very thin wet suit just under the skin that wraps around each individual muscle and keeps everything in place (including our organs).

Injuries, stress, bad posture, emotional behavioral patterns, and poor habits can cause fascia to get tight and thick (a.k.a. Trigger Points).  These causes restrict movement, mess with your alignment and trap toxins in the fascia, which leads to thicker tissue accumulation throughout the body—such as those that often form around the waist.

The good news is that fascia is malleable and can be repaired—which is the purpose of Roll+Restore: releasing all those unhealthy toxins from the fascia and helping to reduce thickness/inflammation in the body.  Schedule a private consultation or join my next workshop to experience additional techniques to lengthen and mold that fascia!

No More Turtle Head (or how to decompress your neck and upper back)

Next time at a pack of teenagers on their phones, you’ll notice their necks slumping forward. Ouch. Then go to a mirror and look at your own posture, double OUCH.  Regardless of our age or gender, living in the 21st-century means that we’re asked to multitask: phone calls, emails, meetings, working out, driving, being a partner, being a parent, cooking, meditate, detox, binge watch and many more demands. We’re often leaning our heads forward as we peer at our phone or the computer screens, which can be the cause of muscle strains, tension stiffness, compressed neck, disk herniation, spinal compression or a pinched nerve.  AND aesthetically speaking having one’s neck sticking out like a turtle’s head makes one look and feel slumpy and dumpy.    

Some of our current habits are compressing our upper back and shortening our neck.

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• Sitting for long periods of time: According to a study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, not only has inactivity like sitting at a desk for long periods of the day been linked with diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease, it can also increase the risk of certain cancers. Our human body evolved to move, stretch and breath, not to sit all day long.  Sitting for long periods slows down all our systems and decreases energy.   Not only do we sit at our desk (or at home watching TV) but we are hunched over our viewing devices, which causes the connective tissue to become “glued” into a slumped posture that actually damages and compresses your entire body.   Are constantly achy around your shoulders and neck?  This could very well be the cause.
• Phone usage: The average human head weighs about 10 pounds when held upright, but for every inch that your head is tilted forward, extra weight is added to your neck and spine. So guess what we are doing most of the time while trying to read our phones’ screen; we’re titling our head forward!  Additionally, if you make phone calls (Yes, a few of us still do), holding the phone in the crook of the neck, wedged against the shoulder can cause structural imbalances, tightening your fascia and shortening the neck, which can turn into all kind of  pain.  

As I said, our bodies aren’t designed to stay slumped and suffer the aches and pains of this forward posture, these are simple strategies that can help you battle the turtle-head epidemic:

• If you must sit for long periods of time, first and foremost sit up and avoid slump at all cost! Then every 20 minutes or so (set an alarm) Take deep-breath and roll your shoulders up and down and twist your neck from side. Then every hour (set an alarm) get up and move around. Go outside, and get some fresh air! This will encourage you to realign your body and posture.
• When using your phones and computers, choose the zoomed display on your phone to make the font bigger, try to avoid writing long messages from your phone, or lean back in your chair and hold the phone up to eye level so that you don’t pitch forward.  Avoid holding your phone to make phone calls, instead Try using a headset, speakerphone, or a hands-free set.
• Correct the damage done, a very effective way to do this is to stretch and massage the tight muscles along the back of your neck and well as strengthening the muscles at the front of the neck.  Correcting the turtle head starts with strengthening the core and upper back muscles Yoga and Bodymind Ballwork do wonders here!!!

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Self-Myofascial Release: move better, perform better and have less pain

If you have been to my yoga classes in the last few years you probably have experienced  some self-massaging using rubber balls.  Or perhaps you have seen other self- massage instruments such as foam rollers or massage sticks at your gym, physical therapist’s office or your friend’s apartment. So what is the deal with Self-Massage?

This practice of Self-Massage is also known as Self-Myofascial release.  Myofascia is the connective tissue network that runs through your body.  You can learn more about fascia on my previous post So what is Fascia Anyway? In summary, Myofascia wraps around your internal organs and muscles and holds it all in place. I like the definition “it's the organ of form.”  

When there is trauma or injury to any area of your body or your “form,” it can lead to weakness or adhesions in your myofascia. This may limit your range of motion and can even compress your muscles and nerves, leading to less hydration and blood flow to those areas. This can lead to pain and/or injury and can impact your performance.  To heal and recover from this “form-traumas” you simply roll your bodyweight onto massage balls, foam rollers and other devices available out there. Like any other alternative medicine technique you must use your judgment, learn some basic technique from a trusted source, figure out what works for you, consult your doctor, etc.

Since I started working with  Self-Myofascial release about 10 years ago, I do some form of self-massage every day for 10 to 15 minutes. I roll my muscles pre- and post-workout and often before meditation or bed.  Doing this I’ve experienced relief from my back pain, plantar fasciitis, and my mental and emotional states have received the benefits as well. 

I can't stress enough all the mental and emotional benefits of Self-Myofascial release but here are 5 of the main physical benefits of self-myofascial release as listed in Love Life Surf :

1.      Increases blood flow. Research has shown that self-myofascial release can increase vascular function. By getting rid of knots and tension in the fascia that may be restricting fluid flow in the area, self-myofascial release techniques helps to keep your muscles and connective tissue well hydrated. That means that you’ll recover and heal faster.

2.      Improves muscular range of motion. Studies have also shown that self-myofascial release can increase range of motion without decreasing muscle force or activation. By breaking up the adhesions in the fascia, your muscles and connective tissue can move more freely and you avoid muscle restrictions when you exercise.

3.      Reduce muscle soreness. With better circulation to your muscles and connective tissues, you’ll experience less muscle soreness.

4.      Maintains normal functional muscular length. Self-myofascial release relieves tension in the myofascia network and helps your muscles return to their normal length, improving muscle function.

5.      Encourages movement of your lymph – a major component of your immune system that helps to fight infection in the body. However, the lymph system relies on movement pressure to move the fluid. Self-myofascial release can encourage the flow of lymph back to the heart.

Ultimately, this means that you’ll move better, recover faster, perform better and have less pain so that you can continue to be active and do what you love to do.  I am more than happy to help you develop your own routine, just reach out to me.  

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So What is Fascia Anyway?

Chances are that if you have taken my yoga class or come to my Roll+Restore workshops, you have experience some form of self-massage techniques AND you have also heard me talk about fascia, myofascia or connective tissue.  So what is FASCIA anyway?

Way before I knew it as Fascia, I knew it as ‘energy.’ As soon as I began to teach Yoga, my eyes caught the whimsical forms that human bodies create or form. Individually and/or collectively my eyes were thrilled to find the fluidity and the fixedness of the student’s “space” or “energy.” I had no way of explaining what I was looking at till I learned about Fascia. Fascia in a simplified way  is a thin layer of connective tissue that encases your body under your skin. Your myofascia (muscular tissue) forms a system of continuous, three-dimensional, body-suit-like tension that gives your body its shape or form. This system spreads without interruption through the entire body. It actually wraps itself around every muscle, joint, and organ.

Fascia, as I understand it, is the organ of form. Fascia tissue holds patterns of physical and/or emotional tension that if unchecked, or through accidents, becomes injuries (physical injuries or emotional ones!).   These injuries and/or scared tissue cause the layers of fascia to tighten and stick together creating restriction and muscular pain. So for example when you have a stiff low back, often it isn’t damage to the muscle that is causing the pain, but a hardening or thickening of the fascia around the sacrum/lumbar region.  

Interestingly, in Ayurveda toxins or ama can accumulate through your Fascia and these toxins are the product of lifestyle choices or emotional baggage. 

The good news here in the west is that fascia is being recognized for its importance in maintaining a healthy, fit, toned, calm, and aligned body.   Through myofascial release techniques we can relax muscles and break “injuries" and/or release “toxins.” Releasing the stored tension in the fascia allows for cellular memories to be forgiven, relaxing your mind and allowing the body to enjoy better flexibility in every sense.