Hangover Yoga

Can alcohol and Yoga mix? Absolutely. Just not at the same time. Can Yoga cure your Hangover? Yes it can!

In general, I advise students not to eat for at least an hour before his or her Yoga practise. An empty stomach allows you to pay attention to the positions and breathing techniques without being distracted by digesting something you ate. Many of the postures involve twisting, laying on the stomach, and constricting the abdominals -  so being on an empty stomach makes for better comfort in general.

Last week one of my students asked me if he can be a Yogi and drink alcohol. Apparently some schools of Yoga do not advocate drinking alcohol at all. If this is your decision, awesome. But, I do not advocate purism in any form. So, to answer this question, I repeat something one of my Yoga teachers once said: Yoga may interfere with drinking. But the two are not mutually exclusive.

As we often find ourselves in circumstances that involve an alcoholic beverage or three, be it a dinner party, a vacation, or relaxing at home. Do not panic. Just because you have had a glass or two of something, does not mean you can not practise Yoga.

While I do not advise bringing a beer into the Yoga studio. It is perfectly acceptable to have said beer, wait an hour, then practise.

A Yoga class after a glass of wine = Advanced Yoga (insert laughter here).

As an extension to this line of thinking. Here we present Hangover Yoga. Relevant this weekend  after dinner at Alan Wong's in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Sake was really good.

My first advice to cure a hangover is simple:  drink 2 litres of water and consume some protein (in this case macadamia nuts). If you have a cold ocean or shower nearby, get wet.

Afterwards, even though your body does not want to work out. Do it.

I have a Chiropractor friend in Calgary, Canada who swears by sprinting off his hangovers. You may not achieve record time, but you will rebound to normalcy.

Sprinting is really hard on your body. Therefor, I recommend trying a little Yoga practise that emphasises standing postures. Standing postures require balance. Your balance, after a cocktail or an evening with a bottle of Sake, is off. Finding balance when you feel off is an amazing challenge. The act of trying =  succeeding.

Wobble fearlessly my friends!

For your amusement here is my "Hangover Yoga."

Whether or not you were getting into the Sake, whenever your life seems to lack in stability -  create balance through a standing Yoga practise.

xoxo
Laaila
The Yoga Bunny

Beachside Yoga & Walking in Thailand

Pranayama (breathing techniques) at the Spa

Practising Pranayama at the Scandinavian Spa.....

If you’ve never been to a Scandinavian-style outdoor spa experience, stop reading this and go.

At first the idea to submerge in hot water than cold water seems odd or even intense. It’s actually invigorating.

The other day I was preparing for a hot yoga class. This yoga class was going to help me refocus after receiving an upsetting email.  Maybe it’s time to start email-free Sunday, or have my policy: that if the content of your email is extremely personal, than an in-person conversation needs to be had - imbedded in my signature.

 “Grab your bathing suit because we’re not going to Hot Yoga. We’re doing something better.”

What can be better than Hot Yoga? A Scandinavian Spa. That’s what.

About an hour out of Montreal, northward, in a township called Rawdon. I arrive at the home of La Source BainsNordique. It is breathtaking.

The receptionist hands me my towel and locker key.  Moments later, in my suit, I am ready. First up the 35 deg hottub. As the soft sound of the water cleanses my stress away, muscles relaxed, I can actually see intricate detail in the snow-blanketed gardens. With clear eyes, I am present for the first time today.

Skipping up the hillside wearing a huge smile, my towel casually draped over my shoulder, I didn’t even notice it was 2 degrees out. I enter the dry sauna.

On the cherry wooden bench in a seated cross-legged yoga position (Sukasana), I softly gaze out the window at the white blanket of snow and bits of vegetation.

Pranayama is the breathing part of yoga. In a yoga class the most typical pranayama is called Ujjayi. This is breathing through the nose while restricting your glottis (throat). It lengthens the inhale and lengthens the exhale. Your breath, becomes the ocean, sounding like the ebb and flow of waves breaking on a shore.

The main reason a yogis breathes through the nose is because it calms the nervous system. Also nose-breathing creates backpressure, so the lungs can better absorb oxygen. Breathing brings lifeforce (Prana) into the body.

But I’m not in a yoga class, I’m at the spa. Chillin in the sauna. In this type of scenario it is best to not practise any sort of special breathing exercise. This is because the point of meditation is effortlessness. Special breathing takes effort. So here I breathe slow and heavy. Into the belly on an inhale, my tummy rises, and then falls inwards as I exhale completely.

I am in total peace.

Up next the super fun part. A dip and wade through the ice bath. Wow. My skin feels subtle and taught. My heart is alive. But not racing. Icy cool water and crisp fresh air, bites me. If meditation in the sauna is flying then the cold, wet aftermath is standing on earth. And what a beautiful earth it is.

After a few minutes at outdoor temperature on a chair, I moseyed into an indoor viewing lounge.

I feel somber, relaxed.

Next door is another outdoor hot tub. 40 degrees. I hear light laughter and silence.

Gracefully striding down the hillside,  up next is the steam sauna. Tucked perfectly into a rocky cliff. The eucalyptus steam billows airily. In thick grey steam I feel myself walking on my feet, like the very act of walking, it as an entirely new sensation.

From the bench in the steam sauna. The juxtaposition between hot and cold has awakened my circulation.   Tiny veins and capillaries in my arms and legs are snapping. It’s like they are once of those static balls, that sends a brilliant electrical current from the centre of the globe to your hand or whatever happens to be touching it. This is what I imagine. Lightening shots of blood, shunting to parts of my skin that haven’t been nourished quite like this before.  

Next, another cold pool. Hello world.

In the second viewing lounge. I am staring at a rock cliff. It’s more entertaining and beautiful than anything I have seen before.

Time to do the circuit again.

After round two, I head into the dark room. It’s pitch black, aside from the faint glow of a small embroidered emblem on each  reclining chairs.

In the blackness, something amazing starts happening. I hear vibrations. Maybe there was faint music playing. Crystal bowls. And maybe there wasn’t.

Maybe it was my breathe. The only sound in the world. Ahhhh. Just like music.

Easing Upper Back Tension using simple Yoga Postures & a foam Body Roller

Easing Upper Back Tension using simple Yoga Postures & a foam Body Roller

Whenever I work on the computer, my shoulders tend to raise close to my ears and tension enters the musculature of my upper back. Massages help with this but so can some simple yoga postures. Here are a few you can do pretty much anywhere.

1. Eagle Arms

Right

• raise both arms towards the ceiling
• In a circular motion, tuck the right arm under the left arm at the elbows
• right palm wraps around the left wrist
• left fingers pressed against right palm
• move from your elbows or angle your forarms to deepen or lessen the stretch

Left

• raise both arms towards the ceiling
• In a circular motion, tuck the left arm under the right arm at the elbows
• left palm wraps around the right wrist
• right fingers pressed against left palm
• move from your elbows or angle your forarms to deepen or lessen the stretch

2. Standing Forward Bend in Yoga Mudra

• legs pelvis width apart (knees either slightly bent ot strait)
• hinge from the waist extending upper body forward and down
• tuck chin in slightly
• round your back, head is fully relaxed
• palms together, fingers interlocked behind you
• straiten arms
• stretch arms away from the body, and play with raising and lowering the arms

*you can just do the yoga mudra part without having to bend forward

3. Body Rolling

I'm not even going to walk you through this one. Just go out and buy one. Rolling the body on your thighs improves circulation and reduces cellulite. Rolling on the stomache aids with digestion. And rolling on the back helps decompress the spine. The roller can also be positioned lengthwise and used for ab strengthening exercises.

Spiritual Names : Laaila Indira

On the spiritual journey, students seek and spend time with a teacher (Guru, Master, etc). Sometimes a teacher will impart a new name onto a student. This is what happened to me.

Interestingly, I had been toying with the concept of going by a new name for some time. As a little girl, I liked the name Tiger Lilly. And before yoga, through my other professional careers as well as through the internet, I got to toy further with the concept of going by other atler egos and nicknames.

As the other yogis and myself sat in a circle chanting "Om Mani Padme Hum" which is a powerful theme. It means "you are the jewel in the centre of the lotus."

As this jewel, the time has come to free myself from all the  associations that I knew formerly as Leanne Martin. By shedding these associations I can let go of some things that I was still carrying around with me. Unecessary baggage, if you will. Doing this creates space to keep growing and also helps me be fully present. In the now.

My teacher gave me the name Indira. It means splendor, and beauty. After Skypeing my mother to tell her of the new moniker (she seemed open minded), I then took to Facebook and edited my profile accordingly. I figured these were good ways to play with the idea of changing my name. With no immediate rebuttal, life goes on.

Several hours later, I was with a friend of mine, and remembered to tell him about my  new name. He's a spiritual person and knows me just enough to be honest (but not too much as to over analyse things).

"Indira....Ghandi?!?!" he said. Then we both laughed.

This wouldn't do. After the laugher stopped I told him that I was secretly hoping my teacher would have chosen the name Leila for me. Which is Sanskrit for play. He thought about it for a moment and said, "you need to remix it a little."

"How about Laaila?"

I love it.

So, here I am as Laaila Indira. And I will see how it goes.