Tag: yoga in Berlin

Stress & Yoga: A letter from an English Yoga Teacher in Berlin

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Dear 21st Century,

I have been teaching yoga for several years now, and to be honest, you are not making my job any easier! The stress that you have brought to Western life seems to have so many faces and seems to increase every year. Our progressively individualistic society makes people believe that they must solve all their problems on their own. People’s problems at work are leaking into every other area of their life. Every day I read from the newspapers about more people burning out due to stress at work. The combination of the flashing lights of commercialism and the constant bombardment of other stimuli that comes with living in a city only adds to these stresses. The self-employed don’t have the distinction between home and work, often lacking the discipline to employ that beautiful German word: “Feierabend”. And don’t even get me started on the state of our nutrition or how the radiation from our everyday domestic appliances negatively affects our health!

In all, it seems to me that along with tons of technological advances, your main additions to people’s personal lives have been feelings of loneliness, fear and deep stress. I believe that today, more than ever, we need to take more deliberate time to relax our bodies, emotions and minds (it’s really the only way to keep up with all the stuff you are throwing at us!) Creating a space with minimal stimuli in which a person can take the time to breathe and notice what is happening to his/her body, what feelings emerge, and what state of mind s/he in, is of utter importance. This is where Yoga comes in.

I believe strongly that the practice of Yoga can offer viable solutions for so many of the situations and conditions we experience today. In our yoga classes in Berlin we create that space of quietness and peace. My students enter the class with a rumble of thoughts and personal stress, and over the course of the hour, witness how the softness of breathing and stretching helps the mind calm down and helps them to think clearer thoughts.

As we learn to step back and observe what is happening to our bodies and our minds, we are taking the first step towards learning detachment. Detachment teaches us to not be so deeply involved in all the fancy stimuli and distractions you serve up daily. It shows us that we don’t need to get swept off our feet with every emotion or to let out lives fall apart when someone thinks something bad about us. Appropriate detachment is a tool that alleviates stress and in doing so, allows us to identify the real changes that we must make in our lives in order to better them.

I end each class with deep relaxation because it’s an important tool. Learning how to relax one’s body through a systematic relaxation, can also be used at any other important moment in life. I have had students practice the relaxation techniques we learned in class while riding the bus, before giving an important speech, or while conducting medical exams where absolute stillness was required. When people practice relaxation techniques with regularity, they can come to rely on them in times of stress. A weekly yoga class or a daily yoga practice creates this regularity and strengthens the cellular memory on the path to relaxation. This is one of the main reasons I teach yoga.

Yoga gives us many tools. Tools to breathe, tools to relax and tools to bring us inner peace. But to survive the life that seems to swirl around us regularly as a result of your active influence, my work is to help teach others to use these tools properly, how to alleviate all states of mind and emotion, and call on these tools when we need them so that we can live better lives.

Thank you for your time, Mr. Century.

Sincerely,

English Yoga Berlin

 

Understanding Sun Salutations

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If you have practiced any kind of yoga before, you are probably familiar with the Sun Salutation sequence. Many teachers begin their classes with a series of sun salutations, so it is one of the first things that most students learn.

But, what is a Sun Salutation?

Here is a bit of information about the history and practice of the Sun Salutation:

sun salutations in yoga kreuzberg

photo by Fern

The Sun Salutation (in Sanskrit, the Surya Namaskara–literally, the salute to the sun) is composed of 8 different asana, and 12 posture changes. Some asana are repeated in the sequence. The postures are performed with specific breath sequencing, which gives the sequence a rhythmic and meditative quality. In some traditions, students pause to chant a mantra in between Sun Salutations. The amount of Sun Salutations in a yoga class varies from teacher to teacher, but, for some, the ´daily limit´ is 108! In the Ashtanga tradition, solstices and equinoxes are celebrated with 108 Sun Salutations.

It is said that the sun salutations sequence was incorporated into yoga by yogis who were distressed by how their bodies atrophied during hours and hours of meditation. The Sun Salutation was discovered as an extremely efficient and meditative way of keeping the physical body healthy, which would allow the yogi to meditate with ease. This is because the sequence hits all of the major muscle groups in the body, stretching and strengthening the upper and lower body while simultaneously lengthening the spine.

If you are new to yoga in Berlin, or anywhere else for that matter, the sun salutation is a great asana sequence to begin practising at home. If you start performing three or four of them each morning, first thing after you get out of bed, you will see your flexibility improve significantly. This is also a great way to start the day quietly and touch base with your body and emotions. You can make the practice more challenging for yourself by slowing down your breathing and your movement. As always in yoga, practising with concentration and intention is the most important piece–try to keep your senses ´in ´ your body and you will be amazed at what benefits you feel from this ancient practice.


Your Body is not the Enemy

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berlin yoga classes

photo from Fern http://flickeflu.com/photos/36576881@N05

I had a student the other day sustain a painful injury by doing nothing. She had been having slight lower back pain for a few days and then one morning she woke up to find that she was unable to use her left leg without excruciating pain. A 33 year old woman in good overall health, there were no previous major injuries to justify this event and she hadn’t done anything recently to cause major strain other than the common psychological stresses of life. She expressed surprise, helplessness and frustration when several doctors could not find the cause. Finally a holistic chiropractic therapist figured out what was wrong and she started to improve.

The therapist suggested that my student stop doing yoga for a while, saying that it may be too strenuous for her pending recovery. But the student told me she explained that this version of yoga, Hatha Yoga, was actually very gentle and that the class was a very supportive environment for healing of all kinds. As she explained this to me she told me that she had tried many types of Yoga in her hometown of Los Angeles and that for the most part it was a flexibility contest- the winner of which inevitably wore the most trendy yoga fashion and excelled at head stands. She said that as a result of yoga in Berlin she understood that this practice wasn’t about abusing the body into meaningless contortions but more about making peace with the body and appreciating what it can do.

In some cultures “no pain, no gain” is a widespread fitness philosophy. But in many cases it gets us into the wrong frame of mind when it comes to our relationship with our bodies. The idea that if it doesn’t hurt a little you aren’t doing anything good for yourself is not only untrue but can really injure both your body and mind in the long run. It can spill into all parts of life, relationships, work etc., creating obvious dysfunction as we associate pain with something positive.

Now don’t get me wrong, growth does hurt and often we have to push past our comfort zones in order to make real progress in our development as humans. But perhaps the key is knowing yourself first- making peace with your body, mind and soul and then becoming more discerning about what kind of pain is good.  The body is an amazing thing that facilitates so much for our minds and our souls and its function should never be taken for granted. What have you done lately to celebrate it?

Berlin Yoga: Terminology Tuesday

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Enlish Yoga in Berlin

As yoga becomes part of our daily lives, so do the most commonly used yoga words begin to enter our every day vocabulary.   I find it beautiful when different languages merge, overlap, get reclaimed and used by people of all cultures. In these globalized times, English is no longer a language just for the English speaking nations, but it is the language that most peoples of the world use to communicate with one another, the language that makes it possible for people of totally different cultures and realities to meet, to communicate, and to fascinate each other.

In my Hatha Yoga classes in Berlin I choose to teach yoga in English. I love to see people from different corners of the world come to our Berlin yoga studio to practice yoga together. I use a lot of Sanskrit yoga words accompanied by an English translation while I teach.  Sometimes though, because of Sanskrit having such a different pronounciation to English, yoga students don’t always learn the words correctly or their meaning. That is why I started Berlin Yoga: Terminology Tuesday, a blog where I explain the basic words used during the yoga class.

This week’s words are Anuloma Viloma.

Anuloma Viloma – is also a form of Pranayama or breathing technique.  Anuloma literally means “in a natural order or direction” and viloma means “produced in reverse order”.  The Anuloma Viloma breath requires one to breathe in through the left nostril and breathe out through the right, and then to reverse that process, breathe in through the right and exhale through the left.  The natural way to breathe for a healthy person who practices Pranayama changes every 1 hour and 50 minutes.  There is always one nostril that is predominant and can breathe easier then the other, and after that time-frame the predominant nostril changes. By practicing Anuloma Viloma we are balancing out that effect.

Accessible language in Yoga

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Using accessible language to teach yoga in English makes yoga accessible to all cultures and peoples.

photo by Fern “Language can be a gate from which to liberate your thoughts and ideas”

When most people think of yoga in Berlin, they probably conjure up an image of a body contorted into wildly flexible shapes, or perhaps a solitary figure meditating. They might associate the practice of yoga with chanting, or maybe with the sound of a Tibetan singing bowl. But rarely do people consider language as a part of the practice–and almost never do they associate yoga with jokes, stories or slang.  Perhaps this is because of our cultural heritage in the West around spiritual practices. We expect them to occur in a sacred domain, and we can’t imagine something as everyday as language being involved. There is definitely a time and a place for silence, but I feel, actually, that language is an  incredibly powerful and important tool, in yoga and everywhere else in life, too! Teaching yoga in English has taught me  a lot about cultural translation–certain concepts, which have a lot of different layers of meaning in Sanskrit, have been ‘shorthanded’ into English and lost much of their content. The clearest example of this is the word ‘Karma’. English just doesn’t have the depth and breadth and subtlety of Sanskrit when it comes to discussing states of consciousness (though, to give credit where credit’s due, it’s a great language to talk about getting drunk in–so many adjectives!). This presents a very difficult challenge: how do you translate yoga ideas and yoga techniques from one language/culture to another?

It gets even more complicated in our yoga lessons, because we teach Vinyasa Yoga and Hatha yoga in English in Berlin, therefore often teaching yoga to non-Native English speakers. Thankfully, yoga concepts are often extremely simple. Not easy, but simple. This is where jokes, stories and slang come in–they make people feel comfortable, and comfort is half the battle when you’re trying to learn something new. They also make it a lot more difficult to take yourself too seriously! I really feel that accessible language is incredibly important in a practice like yoga.

What is Hatha Yoga- Yoga Styles Explained Part 1

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Different kinds of yoga in BerlinToday it is very common to hear about many different kinds of yoga in Berlin. And with so many variations to choose from, it can get rather confusing. In truth, there were originally only 4 types of yoga: Njana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Raja Yoga. These yogas were created so that people could practice the kind of yoga that was most attune to their own character.

 

My Hatha yoga in English classes stem from the original Raja Yoga style. Raja yoga focuses on controlling the waves of thought by turning our mental and physical energy into spiritual energy. The purpose of Raja Yoga is to attain inner peace through meditation. In order to do this one must gain control over the physical body and prana (or vital energy), so that meditation can happen naturally. Raja Yoga consists of eight steps. The third step (Asanas) and the fourth step (Pranayama) is what makes up Hatha Yoga. This is the only kind of yoga that actually deals with the body and the one that most westerners think of when the word yoga is mentioned.

 

All of the yoga styles that have to do with physical and mental control stem from Hatha Yoga. The kinds of yoga we hear about today in the Berlin studios around us have much more to do with marketing then with providing separate types of yoga. These types and names are more of a description of the teaching method. For example a Vinyasa flow class will concentrate more on teaching the asanas with a flow rather than remaining static in them. Power yoga teaching will work to make you sweat. Hot yoga will teach yoga in a (very!) hot room. And the list continues with no end. Last year, I even heard of bicycle yoga! After trying to figure out how such yoga would work and picturing headstands being performed on the saddle of a bike, I discovered that it was about riding bikes out to different places, getting off the bike and then practicing yoga. I must say that I was relieved!

 

Berlin Yoga: Terminology Tuesday

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Yoga in Berlin can come in all shBerlin Yoga: Terminology Tuesday ASANAapes and sizes. Everything from the  truly devout practices to the trendy, cult-like fashion of yoga- there are many styles and many different kinds of people practicing. Because there are so many people from all over the world who currently find this amazing city to be their home, we specialize in teaching Yoga in English. And because we believe that it can actually change lives, we teach the practices of Hatha Yoga and Vinyasa Yoga.
Although the classes are in English, sometimes I use Sanskrit words in our Berlin Yoga classes when wanting to describe a pose or the reason behind something we are supposed to do. As a consequence I often see confused faces looking up at me.  I think many yoga teachers take their students understanding of these terms for granted and just keep going. But in an effort to be very clear and to make understanding of why we do things as simple as possible, last week I started something I call Berlin Yoga: Terminology Tuesday. Each week we will be posting info about a term to help increase depth of understanding within your practice.
 
This week’s word is the basis for Hatha Yoga:
Asana – literally means posture in Sanskrit. All the yoga postures we do in class are asanas. A specific asana has a name describing the posture and then the word asana at the end of it. For example take Matsyasana, Matsya literally means fish and asana posture- in plain English- it’s the fish pose.Berlin Yoga: Terminology Tuesday ASANA

How to Create an Effective Sankalpa

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planting seeds

Always returning to the same sankalpa is like watering a seed after you planted it.

In my last blog, “What is a Sankalpa?”  I explained that this short, positive phrase can have a very positive impact on changing your subconscious. But changing your life takes clear, focused work and commitment. As an instructor of Hatha yoga in Berlin, I have seen many students come in with some very sincere desires for personal change. When they come to my class, I try to explain the main components of creating the most effective Sankalpa to stimulate this change.

Simplicity
The subconscious does not express itself with spoken language. It can be said that the massive amount of information stored in the subconscious is in symbolic form. Symbols and images are what the subconscious uses to express itself, the most common example being our dreams.  The images and symbols we dream of could be a way that our subconscious is trying to communicate with our conscious self. But this communication is hard when the conscious does not understand the language of symbols used by the subconscious and vice versa. Through our Sankalpa, our conscious world is trying to communicate to the subconscious world. In order to do this the language used must be as simple, short and as clear as possible, so that the meaning is able to penetrate the subconscious.

Positivity
The type of wording used is also important. In this way, a Sankalpa is not like a New Year’s resolution in that it does not focus on what is wrong, but rather on what will be right. If one wanted, for example, to work on his/her stress levels then it is better that the Sankalpa formed is something like, “I can relax at will” rather than it being “I am not stressed”. We want our subconscious to pick up on the word “relax” rather than on the word “stressed”, so that we imprint energy on what one wishes to achieve rather than its opposite.

In Your Own Language
When asked to repeat your Sankalpa mentally in class, you are also asked to repeat it with feeling and emphasis. Even though I teach yoga in English, I understand that most of my students of yoga in Berlin are not mother tongue English speakers. Repeating it in the language you feel the most connected to will have a more powerful effect on your personal progress and make emphasis more natural.

Stick with your Sankalpa
It is said that one must not change their Sankalpa until they feel it has become true. If we were to take the analogy of the Sankalpa being a seed that we are planting into our subconscious, if each time we go into relaxation we plant a different seed, then the energy we wish to imprint on the subconscious would be too dissipated and our plants would not be able to grow. We should instead always return to that same seed to water it and take care of it until it is a full grown plant – able to stand on its own.

What is a Sankalpa?

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As an instructor of yoga in Berlin, I am often asked about the various parts ofthe practice I teach. One of the most recent questions was one coming from a new student in my Hatha yoga in English class. She asked. “What is a Sankalpa?”

Changing your life starts with setting the right intention. A Sankalpa is a very powerful tool that can help do just that.

Yoga Nidra at English Yoga Berlin

photo by Fern

Sankalpa is a Sanskrit word meaning resolve or resolution. It is a short, positive phrase that we use in order to build up an aspect of our character that needs strengthening. Take, for example, a person who wants to stop smoking. This person can very well understand all the reasons to stop smoking and even agree that being a non-smoker would be best for their health. But this understanding and agreement would be coming at the level of the intellect which is ruled solely by the conscious mind.  And that is often not strong enough to take lasting action. By using the Sankalpa during relaxation, we have better access to the subconscious and have it work together with our conscious mind towards a common goal. This way the change that the Sankalpa brings into our lives is a more whole and permanent one.

My Berlin yoga class includes 70 minutes of positions and 20 minutes of relaxation and visualization in which we introduce aspects of yoga Nidra (conscious deep sleep). As we relax after yoga, we let go of our defenses, we become more vulnerable and the subconscious becomes more sensitive and receptive.  That is the moment that we repeat our Sankalpa. When we first create our Sankalpa, we are planting a seed in our subconscious. Every time we go back to it and repeat it in our relaxed state, it is as if we were going back to it and watering it, caring for it so one day we can reap its fruits. For this reason, we keep the same Sankalpa until it becomes a reality in our lives.