10 REASONS WHY YOU NEED ARM BALANCES IN YOUR LIFE

Ready to tap into your inner strength, courage and fearlessness?
Need to break free of things weighing you down?

If you’re lacking motivation lately to get stronger and work on your yoga and calisthenics arm balances then keep reading. It’s never too late to begin because your body will respond well to fitness challenges. You can even build muscle and bone mass in the later decades of life, and I’m no spring chicken myself!

Arm balances can be both intimidating and fun (plus many other things), and many yoga/fitness enthusiasts find it difficult to resist them. I can relate to that! The good news is that these postures come in a wide variety of styles and difficulty levels, so usually most people can find an arm balance that is within their reach. There are so many benefits to giving them a go, it just requires some strength and dedication.

Even though arm balances are hard for most people, there are many benefits if you accept the challenge and really work on them. Through hard work and detailed tips and tricks to work on in your practice you might make these arm balances a little easier.

So if you’re ready to get stronger, here’s 10 reasons why you need arm balances in your life…

1. Sharpen your mental discipline

Invigorate yourself by having a go at new things and put yourself in some interesting positions. While balancing in many shapes and angles it will be virtually impossible to think of anything else. Turn yourself into a human pretzel and see if you’re still distracted! There’s so much diversity in arm balances, you can get creative with many variations and build better self-awareness along the way.

Arm balances will challenge your mind and body to remain balanced. You can achieve this through the alignment of body awareness and focused attention. That’s the most important thing. Keeping your mind on your intention and in the moment gives your mind the clarity it needs, plus you can have a great time doing it!

Some of the most common yoga arm balances like crow, grasshopper, astavakrasana, firefly, and of course dolphin (forearm stand), can take quite a bit of effort to achieve. But there’s so much you can do now to find your way into these poses. There are planks, side planks and all kind of strength drills that you can do to build power in your body and focus your mind, so why wait?

2. Develop your core strength

Strong core muscles make it easier to do many activities. Weak or inflexible core muscles can impair how well your arms and legs function, and that saps power from many of the moves you make in yoga. Think of your core muscles as the sturdy central link in a chain connecting your upper and lower body. No matter where motion starts, it ripples upward and downward to adjoining links of the chain. Properly building up your core cranks up the power you need, like recharging a power station.

A strong core also enhances balance and stability, helping to prevent falls and injuries during any physical activities, particularly transitions between yoga postures. In fact, if you didn’t have a strong core then you wouldn’t have stability in any physical exercise. A strong core will help support your lower back and bring inner strength.

3. Face your fears and insecurities

Arm balances are empowering!

They give you permission to get past doubt and any limited mental belief systems. There are so many times yogis talk themselves out of arm balances because of mental blocks. But once you can figure out where your body is in space and how to balance your weight safely, there is nothing stopping you from achieving your goals. Through your practice and detailed understanding of arm balances you’ll train your mind to look past fear and embrace the evolution of your practice.

4. Keep your bones sturdy

As bipeds, people come to yoga relatively weak in the upper body. This weakness can be due to a lack of regular work with the arms, shoulders, chest, and abdomen. Unfortunately, this weakness usually progresses as the decades go by. Over many years, the lack of hard work that challenges your upper body muscles and bones contributes to a loss of mineralisation in those bones, and osteoporosis, which can be a serious health problem, begins.

The practice of poses that include weight bearing on your arms will build a strong and stable upper body. This will protect any vulnerable shoulder joints and strengthen the muscles and bones to prevent the onset of osteoporosis.

5. Improve your spacial awareness

In order to get into your arm balances you’ll need to understand where your body is in space and activate a variety of muscles to lift off. When we first move into arm balances, especially inverted ones, it’s often difficult to know where we are. We have no idea where the hips are in relation to the shoulders, and get confused about left and right, up and down. Thats understandable.

When you begin your arm balance journey, it can feel awkward and frustrating because you might be unsure of how to get in and out of them, especially because there are so many creative variations. Let this inspire you to develop a deeper understanding of your muscles and centre of balance. As you begin to weave arm balances into your practice, you’ll feel stronger and more self-aware. As awareness improves you deepen your capacity for balance and grace in any orientation.

6.  Strengthen your whole body

Many yoga and calisthenics arm balances strengthen and tone the entire body and prepare you for a multitude of other poses. When we try to lift our body up, every part of the body is engaged. Arm balances involve not only the arms but also the core, wrists, shoulders and legs. In fact, every part of the body needs to lift itself in order to take your feet off the ground.

By practicing arm balances, you effectively tone up your whole body and counter a more sedentary lifestyle. As you begin to work arm balances into your yoga practice, it’s important to get into the general shape of the pose and wherever you are, find your edge and build stamina by holding your position. There are so many tools and techniques to help you achieve your goals of finding strength and stability on your arms.

 7. Change your perspective

At the very least, an arm balance challenges us to get our faces unusually, and often uncomfortably, close to the ground. Inverted arm balances like headstands and handstands also turn our world upside down. By changing perspective, we can gain greater insights and gain deeper fulfilment. Often seeing something with fresh eyes and shaking up our ‘normal’ daily view has both physical and metaphorical benefits.

Start to notice the moment right before you want to give up on an arm balance. What’s your mind saying? Is it a pattern? As soon as you recognise your internal dialogue or identify your insecurity, turn it into a positive intention and develop a new belief system. If your focus is on something that you perceive to be negative in your life and you come at it from a different angle, then you can feel better about it. What’s more, you might even find that it helps you to perform better as a result. This approach is called reframing and is just one way in which you can derive benefits from gaining new perspectives.

8. Build your resilience

Resilience is the ability to ‘bounce back’ from stressful or challenging experiences. It involves being able to adapt to changes and approach negative sources of stress as constructively as possible. Your ability to cope with tough times or tough postures allows you to apply your inner and outer strength and engage what you know.

Arm balances are built on commitment and determination. Adding challenging arm balances into your practice can teach you a lot about discipline, but too much hardness in our efforts will get in the way. Learn to be strong, but at the same time supple. Find the steadiness and ease. As much as we need strength, most arm balances also require a great deal of flexibility to get into and hold. The trick is to keep returning to the arm-balancing practice without becoming frustrated or tense.

9. Stay calm in the challenge

Practicing arm balances also teaches us to stay calm in the midst of a challenging situation. Studies on the benefits of yoga show that, yes, yoga is relaxing, but the most significant changes that yoga can bring us, on a neurological level, is that we can learn to calm ourselves down and to keep the breath steady. We learn to relax the features of our face, to keep our thoughts kind even when things get rough. This is worth practicing. Living life from a place of calm response rather than frantic reaction. What we learn on the mat, we hopefully take off the mat and share with the world.

10. Learn to practice self-compassion and letting go

If at first you don’t succeed…

When the balance and lift-off hasn’t come, despite all the effort, this is also a beneficial lesson. So what if it hasn’t happened yet? Didn’t you enjoy having a go? It can be very difficult to not get what you want, to not achieve something you’re working so hard at. It’s easy to get down on yourself and start that all-too-familiar negative self-talk.

Are you able to let go of it all and say, so what? Can you keep yourself light of heart and mind and just keep stepping on your mat without worrying about what you will get out of it?

Arm balances are the perfect opportunity to practice persistence. They allow you to actively practice pushing past fear while building self-awareness and strength. Start with introducing one or two to your daily practice and embrace the changes happening within and throughout.

LOOKING TO FINE TUNE YOUR ARM BALANCES OR MAYBE READY FOR SOME INSPIRATION?

sign up for ARI’S ARM BALANCE ACADEMY - ARM BALANCES MADE EASIER - Saturday 15 October | 11am - 1pm here.

Source: http://ari.yoga/2021/08/24/10-reasons-why/

Breathwork for Beginners

You take about 23,000 breaths every day. How many of them do you consciously think about?

Take a moment right now to notice your breath.

Is it deep or shallow? Are you breathing into your chest, belly or back? Did you instinctively breathe deeper the moment you brought your attention to it?

That is a clear example of the power of breathwork. As we move through the routine of daily life, most of us breathe into the chest with short, shallow breaths. What we don’t realize is that breathing from our chest signals to our body that we’re stressed. By spending time focusing on deep, long, full breaths, we can activate our parasympathetic nervous system and oxygenate the body, contributing to a more relaxed, peaceful way of moving through the world. 

What is pranayama?

In Sanskrit, pranayama is made up of “prana,” meaning life force, and “ayama,” meaning lengthen. Therefore, pranayama is not the practice of breath control, but the practice of controlling your prana, or life force, through the power of breath. 

It is said that the most important part of your physical yoga practice is not the poses, but the breath. The way you breathe in yoga matters. Since your inhales and exhales happen naturally, you probably don’t spend much time thinking about your breath. But bringing attention to the way you breathe in yoga and in your life is one of the best things you can do for your mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing.

In yoga, breathwork - the practice of bringing attention to your breath - offers a chance to clear the mind, purify the body, and balance the flow of energy within. And the best part is: anyone can do it. All you need is time, intention, and guidance to feel the effects of this powerful practice on your life.

The Benefits of Yoga Breath Exercises 

In yoga, it is thought that the mind, body, and breath are connected. Think about what happens to your body when you’re stressed or anxious: your heart beats faster, your blood pressure rises, and you’ll start to take fast, short breaths. Just as your state of mind can influence your breath, your breath can influence your state of mind. Taking time to focus on your breath can calm your nervous system, improve your digestion, and aleve suffering in a variety of ways. 

Practicing breathwork has been scientifically proven to have an effect on the heart, brain, immune system, and digestive system.

Studies have shown that practicing yoga breath can:

• Effectively treat depression, stress, anxiety, and PTSD

• Improves mental focus and reduces brain fog

• Help with emotional regulation

• Lower cortisol levels in your body (your body’s main stress hormone)

• Lower and stabilize blood pressure

• Boost the immune system

• Help you get a good night’s sleep

• Increase oxygen levels in the body

• Improve core strength

• Manage poor digestion and improve symptoms of IBS

Does when I inhale and exhale really matter?

In short, yes. 

Breathing changes the shape of your body. When you inhale, your diaphragm and pelvic floor descends to make space for the expansion of your lungs. At the same time, your ribs and sternum lift up and out to allow the belly to expand. When you exhale, your diaphragm and pelvic floor ascend to expel air while your chest and ribs move inward.

Your yoga instructors tell you when to inhale and exhale based on what best facilitates different types of poses in your body. Experienced yoga teachers will intelligently sequence yoga breath with movement so that you inhale during poses that open the frontline of the body, and exhale during poses that compress the frontline of the body. 

Why do yoga instructors always remind the class to breathe?

While it can sound like a broken record, a yoga instructor who consistently brings attention to your breath understands the connection between asana (poses) and prana (breath). 

We all have a tendency to hold our breath in difficult moments. During a challenging yoga practice, you may naturally hold your breath, which will make it difficult to hold poses. Deep, intentional yoga breathing has a calming effect on the body. Focusing on the quality of your breath while you practice will also improve your focus, mental clarity, and mind-body connection.

When to breathe in yoga:

As a student of yoga, it can be difficult to know when you should inhale and when you should exhale. If you find that you’re constantly on a different breathing rhythm than your instructor’s cues, it may help to understand what poses correlate with breathing in and out. 

In general, you will inhale for:

• Backbends and heart openers

• Poses where you lift, like Mountain Pose and Crescent Lunge 

• Spine lengthening cues

• Transitions where you re-engage, extend, and prepare

In general, you will exhale for:

• Forward folds and surrender poses

• Spinal twists, like Revolved Crescent Lunge

• Side bends

• Transitions where you release, surrender, and softening
  

What is the yoga breath called?

While there are a variety of yoga breath exercises practiced in yoga, the term “yoga breath” usually refers to ujjayi pranayama, also known as the victorious breath or ocean breath. This is the type of breathing you’ve probably encountered in vinyasa classes, where it’s used to bring power and focus into the body.

Ujjayi pranayama is practiced by inhaling and exhaling through your nose while slightly constricting the back of your throat to produce a gentle sound like an ocean wave. When you breathe through your nose, your perceived exertion during exercise is lessened, making your workout feel less difficult. But studies have also shown ujjayi pranayama can increase oxygen consumption in the body by as much as 50%.

Next, we’ll explore Ujjayi pranayama as well as other yoga breath exercises you can do to clear your mind, feel present, and deepen your yoga practice.

Ujjayi Pranayama  - Victorious Breath in yoga

Sometimes called in yoga “ocean breath,” Ujjayi pranayama is a yoga breath exercise practiced throughout asana to bring power and focus into the body. Practice it by inhaling and exhaling through the nose while slightly contracting the back of your throat. The breath should sound like oceanic white noise. 

Yogic Breathwork Contraindications

You should not practice breathwork on your own if you:

• Are pregnant 

• Have a history of aneurysms

• Have uncontrolled hypertension, epilepsy, or seizures

• Have high blood pressure or cardiovascular problems

• Have vision problems or a panic disorder

• Take heavy medication

• Recently underwent surgery 

• Are healing from a recent physical injury

Beginner’s Guide to Kirtan and Mantra

Yoga is a vast subject, and just when you think you know all about it, a whole new yogic practice hoves into view that you know nothing about – step forward, kirtan. So what’s the story of kirtan? Put simply, it is yogic chanting, meditation through song, or communal meditation. It is an ancient practice that is being brought bang up-to-date and steadily rising in popularity here in the UK. So here’s a handy guide to kirtan, from its ancient origins to its modern-day form.

THE HISTORY OF KIRTAN

Kirtan originated in the Hindu religion. In Sanskrit, it literally means narrating, reciting, or describing an idea or story. The tradition of kirtan began many hundreds of years ago in 6th century India.  Back then, in a time before many people could read or write (let alone endlessly communicate through social media) poets wandered the land singing intricate stories from the Vedas and the Upanishads, which are some of the earliest known religious texts in the world.

The only way these religious texts could be passed down was through word of mouth. So, from one generation to the next, for thousands of years, the Vedas were memorised and passed down through the ages.

In the early 16th century, a Hindu saint called Sri (the Indian terminology for a saint) Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, also known as the ‘Father of kirtan’ left India to disseminate the power of kirtan around the world, inspiring many thousands of people during his lifetime, and beginning a movement that continues to this day.

IT IS PART OF YOGA

The yoga that most of us know and practice is only one type of yoga. There are varying opinions on how many branches there are, some say seven, some six and in Light on Yoga, B. K. S. Iyengar says there are four paths. According to him, these are:

• Karma yoga, the path of action, in which a man realises his own divinity through work and duty.

• Jnana yoga, the path of intellect, where realisation comes through knowledge.

• Bhakti yoga, the path of emotion, where realisation comes through devotion and love of a personal God.

• Raja yoga, which is another term for Ashtanga yoga, or the eight-limbed yoga that most of us know as ‘yoga’. This branch is the foundation for the three other branches, preparing the mind for enlightenment, or samadhi, the final goal of yoga.

Other sources cite seven (often overlapping) branches which are: Hatha yoga, Raja yoga, Karma yoga, Tantra yoga, Mantra Yoga, Jnana yoga and Bhakti yoga.

It is bhakti yoga which is the source of the practice of kirtan. The devotional practice of singing, worshipping and chanting to the Hindu deities emphasized the intense longing to know God.

CHANTING IN YOGA

Chanting isn’t just restricted to bhakti yoga though. For example, the traditional way to start an Iyengar yoga class is by chanting the ‘Invocation to Patanjali’. As an Iyengar yoga teacher myself, I begin most of my classes with this chant, using the call and response method. I find that it is a way of punctuating the class, leaving behind any tension or stress that’s accumulated before the class, as well as a way of bringing us all together, teacher and students, in the study and practice of yoga.

THE BENEFITS OF KIRTAN

So what are the benefits of this meditative group singing? As we know (or should do) the seventh limb of yoga is dhyana or meditation. The fact that this comes after the mastery of all of the previous six limbs shows how challenging meditation can be. Kirtan is a way of accessing the mental stillness of meditation without having to sit still for two hours. The practice known as ‘call and response’, when the lead singer, or kirtan walla, will sing the kirtan a phrase at a time and the collected group will repeat the phrase back, is a way of letting go of the mind. This is because it uses the power of mantra (repeated sound) to focus and still the mind, enabling access to that deeper state of stillness within our consciousness. All you need to do is listen and respond.

The power of sound, as stated earlier, also cannot be underestimated. The practice of singing in a group unifies you with those around you, reminding you that you are larger than the individual, and part of a global community.

There is also an element of surrendering to the divine in all of us (ishvara pranidhana), which is the very last of the niyamas.

BUT I CAN’T SING…

This is not an issue! Don’t be daunted if you’re not a professional singer. There’s no judgement if you can’t sing in tune, and you’ll probably be drowned out by all the confident singers anyway. The important thing is to LET GO of your thoughts, and let your sound join the sound around you. The other important thing is to connect to how your emotions link into your voice. When we lock our voices away our inner self goes unheard and unexpressed. By opening up our mouths and letting out what’s inside, we get to unlock our hearts too.

The magic of mantras

Have you ever chanted during a yoga or meditation class, or randomly on your own, and experienced a profound sense of calm? Here’s why it works and why you might want to try it…

Your Brain on Mantra

For thousand of years, yogis have known mantra (or japa), whether chanted, whispered, or silently recited, to be a powerful tool for meditation and therapy. Western science is catching up.

Neuroscientists, equipped with advanced brain-imaging tools, are confirming some of the health benefits of this ancient practice, such as its ability to help clear your mind and calm your nervous system. In a recent study, researchers measured activity in the default mode network region of the brain — the area that’s active during self-reflection and when the mind is wandering — to determine how practicing mantra meditation affects the brain. From a mental health perspective, an overactive default mode network can mean that the brain is distracted.

Researchers behind this study asked a group of subjects to recite Sat Nam (roughly translated as “true identity”) while their hands are placed over their hearts. The subjects’ default mode networks were suppressed during the mantra meditation — and suppression grew as mantra training increased.

Research suggests that it doesn’t matter whether you recite an ancient Sanskrit mantra such as Sat Nam, the Lord’s Prayer, or any sound, word, or phrase. As long as you repeat something with focused attention, you’ll get results.

Herbert Benson, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, is particularly interested in what brings on a meditative state, which he calls “the relaxation response.” He’s experimented with subjects repeating Sanskrit mantras as well as nonreligious words, such as “one.” He’s found that regardless of what the practitioner repeats, the word or phrase has nearly the same effects: relaxation and the ability to better cope with life’s unexpected stressors.

The Roots of Mantra

The word mantra is derived from two Sanskrit words — manas (mind) and tra (tool). Mantra literally means “a tool for the mind,” and was designed to help practitioners access their true natures and a higher power. There’s so much more on the magic of vibration and resonance in Sanskrit.

Eventually that vibration sinks deeper and deeper into your consciousness, helping you to feel its presence as shakti — a powerful, subtle force inside each of us that carries us into deeper states of awareness.

One of the most universally recited mantras is the sacred Hindu syllable Om or Aum — considered to be the sound of the creation of the universe. Aum is believed to contain every vibration that has ever existed, and ever will exist.

It is the energetic root of other, longer mantras, including Om namah shivaya (“I bow to Shiva” — Shiva being the inner Self, or true reality), and Om mani padme hum (which means “jewel of the lotus,” and is interpreted as, “By practicing a path that unites method and wisdom, you can transform into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha”).

These popular Hindu mantras are in Sanskrit, but mantra has deep roots in every major spiritual tradition and can be found in many languages, including Hindi, Hebrew, Latin, and English. A common mantra for Christians is simply the name Jesus, while Catholics commonly repeat the Hail Mary prayer or Ave Maria. Many Jews recite Barukh atah Adonai (“Blessed art thou, oh Lord”), and Muslims repeat the name Allah like a mantra.

How to Get Down with Mantra

In some practices, such as Transcendental Meditation, students hire a trained meditation leader to learn and receive mantras. But there are plenty of ways to practice mantra independently and free of charge.

Consistency is key, regardless of the mantra you choose.

“You enliven a mantra through regular practice over a period of time — months or even years” says Sally Kempton, meditation teacher and author. “It’s a bit like rubbing a flint against a stone to strike fire. The friction of the syllables inside your consciousness, the focus of bringing yourself back to the mantra again and again, and especially the attention you give to the felt sense of the mantra’s resonance inside your awareness will eventually open the energy in the mantra, and it will stop being just words and become a living energy that you’ll feel shifting your inner state.”

Most teachers recommend to begin sitting or lying down in a comfortable position and silently repeating the mantra, on the inhalation and the exhalation. When thoughts or feelings enter your mind, notice them, and then return to silently reciting the mantra. Advanced practitioners allegedly have their mantra on repeat, in their mind, at all times no matter what they’re doing.

Set aside a few minutes a day to practice — potentially building up to 20 minutes or even more. Several traditions suggest sticking with one mantra for at least a few months before switching to another, in order to deepen your practice and cultivate a sense of ease, presence, and peace.

Choose Your Mantra

Check out a guided mantra meditation for So Ham and Sat Nam. Or experiment with your own choices and creations!

Your mantra can be ancient, tried-and-true, Sanskrit or otherwise… Or it can be any word or phrase, in any language, which you find comforting, inspiring or grounding. An old friend found the word “cornfield” especially calming, and would repeat it during times of anxiety!

Here are a couple of examples I personally use:

1. Perfect peace and poise are mine today as I concentrate all of my power and ability upon expressing the divine will

This is my daily mantra. For many years, I have been reciting this mantra from Yogananda’s Scientific Healing Affirmations.

2. I’m right here

This mantra is channeled to my heart. A long time ago, whilst in a precarious mountain biking situation, the words, “I’m right here,” popped into my mind and comforted my heart. To this day, I use it when in need of grounding and stability.

3. Om

Inspiration from the ancient yogis…The Divine Energy
Often chanted three times, Om, or Aum, symbolically embodies the divine energy, or Shakti, and its three main characteristics: creation, preservation, and liberation. The mantra, or vibration, derives from Hinduism and is considered to have high spiritual and creative power.

4. Lokah Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu

A Chant for Wholeness. I end each practice and teaching with this beautiful mantra which means: May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life in some way contribute to that happiness and freedom for all.

5. Gayatri mantra

Being Illuminated by Sacred Sound

Om bhur bhuvas svaha
Thath savithur varaynyam
Bhargo dheyvasya dhimahih
Dhyoyonah pratchodhay-yath

Traditionally chanted a capella, this mantra has been set to beautiful music by many kirtan stars, and it means:

We worship the word (shabda) that is present in the earth, the heavens, and that which is beyond. By meditating on this glorious power that gives us life, we ask that our minds and hearts be illuminated.