By Jennifer Whittemore

For me it was headstand. Every time the teacher said the word—in English, in Sanskrit—it didn’t matter, I felt my forehead tighten and my breath seize. I just couldn’t do it. Or I should say, that I could physically move into the posture, but never without paying for it with panicky feelings, soreness in my neck and between my shoulder blades.

Even with fabulous instruction and dedicated practice, I found myself getting so discouraged, so fixated, so self-berating that often I pretended to have my period rather than go upside down. My attendance at class became more irregular because the thoughts and feelings headstand would trigger would poison the rest of my day.

So clearly, my problem wasn’t just physical.

The headstand was emblematic of a larger issue in my practice. I had achieved a certain physical competence with the asana that can be learned like any other physical discipline, but somehow my body was slamming on the breaks and I needed to know why.

Unlike my previous study of dance, yoga does not follow the usual rules of learning new motor skills. At some point, physical progression will stop until the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of one’s being catches up and integrates. This is the experience of hitting a plateau.

Here are the telltale signs that this might be happening to you:

• ·      You find yourself in a quagmire of comparing or judging thoughts.
• ·      You notice that your practice is surfacing difficult emotional states.
• ·      You measure your practice by physical accomplishments and are disappointed if you don’t see progress.
• ·      You think that you’re the only one in the room with these problems.

If this resonates, unpleasant though it may be, I’d like you to keep a journal after your next two or three classes/practices that documents these things:

• ·      Name of the pose or activity that triggers this negative thought pattern
• ·      The basic thought form that arises (i.e., I’m not good enough)
• ·      The emotion attached to the thought (i.e. fear)
• ·      How long it lasts

After you collect some data, post your reflections below or email me directly at jennwhittemore@gmail.com. My next entry will respond to your comments and questions as we explore this deep topic of how to recognize and move through plateaus.

Jennifer Whittemore is the founder of Conscious Kinesthetics, a comprehensive energy therapy and movement discipline in which she combines her practice as a yoga and somatic movement teacher with integrative manual therapy (IMT) and Ayurvedic philosophy.

Why do you practice?
I practice to remind myself that the box I tend put myself into is only a perception.  True freedom comes from contacting the
f e e l i n g
of unlimited inner space that fully embodied movement gives me.  I practice to remind myself that that imaginary box is made of my illusions that I need to be perfect.

Why do you teach?
I teach for the singular delight the wells up within me when I witness a student make contact with that inner space and the possibilities within it.  LIke when a student feels the psoas lifting the leg and the freedom that provides.

Inspirations?
Seeing the progression in my students.  It’s like a light goes on in a part of the body that radiates into the face and through the eyes that sometimes looks like an infant tasting ice cream for the first time.  I live for these moments.

Who have you trained with?
I have studied Pilates with Margaret Lane of Pilates Nature -- she is my hero because I never wanted to become a Pilates instructor and she saw and nurtured my potential.  I have also studied with Pilates Elder Mary Bowen, and Connie Borho.  I have studied the Trager(R) approach and Mentastics (R) with Roger Tolle, Amrita Daigle, Bill Scholls and Gail Stewart.  I studied choreography with David Gordon, Mark Morris, Remy Charlip, Bill T. Jones and Carole Armitage.

What style do you teach?
I teach Classical Pilates, a form that seeks to stay as true to what Joseph Pilates  intended.

What’s your favorite food?
Cookies, cheese and red wine!!  Never in moderation

What’s your nickname?
My nickname is actually Lee, but my whole name is, are you ready, Virgil Leonidas Kelly, IV.  Some of my friends (yes you Lori Guth Moffet) call me Virge.  When I was in Junior High School, when a teacher would take role, the other kids would holler, “Virgil virgin”  My husband calls me “Poopie” and finally my Drag name is Mitze Peterbilt -- you asked!!

Do you own any animals?
I do, I have two white and gray tabby cats who look like they are brothers, though we adopted them at different times.  Miles has a tilted head because of an inner ear infection early in his life that messed up his vestibular system  I love the way he looks at me when I talk to him. It always looks like he is paying close attention to what I am saying.  Gilles by contrast simply looks proper -- often in the other direction.

What’s on your playlist right now?
the LipSynch for your Life station on Pandora

What’s your favorite Pilates accessory?
The foam roller, because it helps to balance the spine as well as giving a killer deep tissue massage.

What style influences your teaching? 
My dance background also informs my cuing and delivery.  I like to give my students an opportunity to feel as though they might be able to become dancers in the next life.

Favorite Pilates pose? 
Open Leg Rocker -- because it is merely a trick of physics that when mastered allows for a thrilling ride.

Favorite quote?
“If you seek world peace, practice inner disarmament” -- H.H. Dalai Lama

What is your favorite TV show of all time?
Of ALL time?  So you think you can dance

What would you call yourself if you could choose your own name?
I always though my name should be Frank because i tend to be rather blunt.

Your favorite item of clothing? 
The linen cuban shirt that I knitted for myself.  I toiled over it, completed the shirt and then tore it apart because it did not fit.  I made it again (thank you Angie Hay for rewriting the pattern!) Leave it to me to learn to knit with a complicated pattern involving lace work!

What did you want to be when you were little?
A Ballerina!!

In the animal kingdom, which animal would you be? Why?
A lion, cause I like to hide and watch then walk in as though I did all the work.

Best trip you’ve taken, or dream trip you’d like to take?
A cruise to St. John/St Thomas with my husband Dickie.  It was so romantic and life affirming for us.

What word describes you best? 
Leekelly

What drives you every day? 
The shear delight of what might happen next.

Whom do you admire?
Anyone with the courage to make their passion their life’s purpose.

What is your mission? 
To foster curiosity and abandonment in those around me.

What is the kindest thing anyone has done for you? 
Trusting me with their well-being.  Every hour I spend with clients and students is a precious gift.

Fun fact about you?
I am currently in training to become a Drag Superstar.

What books are you reading right now? 
I’m not reading because I am too busy writing scripts and stand-up comedy routines and going to rehearsals.

By Linda Oshins

Yoga students in asana classes are taught several forms of the “yoga breath.” In Ashtanga classes, the entire practice, excluding Savasana, is done while using a breathing technique called ujjayi. Ujjayi, which translates as victorious breath, slows, smooths and regulates the breath by slightly narrowing the throat, thereby providing a little more resistance to the passage of the breath in and out of the lungs. In Hatha classes, students are taught the 3-part breath which has them fill the lungs from the bottom up, making sure that they breath low in the body rather than high in the chest. Before doing some of the other pranayama practices (yoga breathing practices) students must have trained themselves to breathe in a healthy fashion. So what is a healthy breath?

Here are some facts about the breath that define “healthy.”

The diaphragm is the primary breathing muscle by far, ideally responsible for 75% of inhalation force. The secondary breathing muscles are the intercostals between the ribs and the abdominal muscles that girdle the front of the belly. The tertiary breathing muscles are in the neck and upper chest[1].  [2] A healthy breath uses the diaphragm as the primary breath muscle and allows it to determine the rhythm of the breath and to drive the coordination of the other muscles. Hyperventilation is the main dysfunctional breathing pattern in the population today, and it transfers too much of the work from the diaphragm to the chest and neck muscles. It is rapid, shallow and high in the body. The 3-part breath teaches diaphragmatic breathing and the correct coordination of breath muscles.

A normal breath rate is 10 to 14 breaths per minute (BPM) with 20 or more indicating a panic attack. Optimal oxygen/carbon dioxide interchange occurs at 6 or fewer breaths per minute. A relaxed pause at the end of the exhalation releases the diaphragm briefly from the negative and positive pressures exerted across it during breathing.  The 3-part breath is usually taught to students while they are lying down, relaxing, and after practicing it they find that they are breathing much more slowly than before. In fact, in many yoga classes we have determined our breath rates after practicing the 3-part breath and found that we are breathing at 6 breaths per minute exactly. Some of us are breathing even more slowly.

Breathing through the nose is healthy and mouth breathing is not. Breathing through the nose provides at least 50% more resistance to airflow than breathing through the mouth, which maintains normal elasticity of the lungs and good heart function. It also warms and filters the air as it enters our bodies. Mouth breathing negatively affects our posture, our ability to get a good night’s sleep and various systems in the body including the immune system, the cardio-vascular system, and the secretion of some hormones. In terms of the respiratory system it results in reduced oxygenation of cells.

According to Carl Stough, who rehabilitated end-stage emphysema patients and helped Olympic athletes to achieve personal bests by teaching them to correctly coordinate their breathing patterns, a healthy breath is relaxed, never forced, and involves “back breathing.” By back breathing he means that the whole circumference of the ribcage expands on the inhalation, giving one a sensation of breath in the back body, not just the front body.[3]

Visit a pranayama class to learn the 3-part breath or ask your asana teacher to lead a 3-part breath exercise before Savasana. Practice ujjayi in an Ashtanga class to learn to regulate your breath during vigorous movement. Take the time to explore the relationship between a sense of pervasive well-being and a full relaxed breath.

Why do you practice?
Honestly, I don’t know how anybody makes it through life without a yoga practice or something like it. I’ve practiced for different reasons through the years, depending on the challenges in my life, and yoga has always been the basis for change, growth, acceptance and, at some point, joy.

Why do you teach?
I teach to be part of the big practice—mine and other peoples’ experiences.

Inspirations?
I am grateful to a large number of teachers who have helped me through the years, but true inspiration for me comes from nature. The body/mind, part of the natural order are endlessly miraculous.

Who have you trained with?
Too many to mention. Right now, my teacher is Richard Miller. Also, Marcia Miller was my first yoga teacher and continues to be a inspiration today.

What style do you teach?
I used to teach what YOHI calls “hatha,” a style that uses props and sequences each class or personal practice differently, depending on the class feels at the time. Discerning ours actual needs is a practice in itself. Now I teach breath awareness practices, pranayama, and meditation, especially yoga nidra.

What’s your favorite food?
Bread, and I try not to eat it. But I love to cook and eat a wide range of veggies prepared in all different ways.

Do you own any animals?
I don’t have any live-in pets but I’m an avid bird watcher and know the birds at my feeders personally. Some are trained to take seed from my hand.

What’s your favorite yoga accessory?
Round bolster.

What style influences your teaching?
Iyengar; Angela and Victor’s energy based, internal practices; Richard Miller’s body sensing practices; Richard Miller’s iRest yoga nidra work.

Favorite yoga pose?
Back bend, any variation. Love to  open that front body!

What would you call yourself if you could choose your own name?
Lily or Rose

Your favorite item of clothing?
Loose pants!

What did you want to be when you were little?
A fiction writer

Best trip you’ve taken, or dream trip you’d like to take?
A trip to Morocco for a friend’s wedding. Being part of those festivities was unforgettable.

What is your mission?
My mission right now is to leave a legacy for younger yogis as I move toward retirement. I want to make opportunities for other people to realize their dreams.

What is the kindest thing anyone has done for you?
Marcia and Martha, along with a small group of my other close friends, saw me through the death of my husband. That was a long commitment. They were there supporting me for a couple years through the most intense period of grieving.

What books are you reading right now?
Rereading The Heart of the Yogi by Doug Keller because Jasmine asked to me write up a short, concise summary of the difference between dualism and non-dualism. I checked a couple good quotes and before I knew it I was deep into philosophical history again. Dipping into Making Love with Light as a daily contemplation; this book was a present from Marcia and has already earned a place on the bookshelf forever. For fiction, I’m reading Fall of Frost by Brian Hall, and poetry-wise it’s Stanley Kunitz’s Passing Through. I’m also addicted to Japanese Death Poems (my non-yoga friends think I’m crazy). They were written by Japanese monks on the verge of death. Here’s one by Daido Ichi’i.

A tune of non-being
Filling the void:
Spring sun
Snow whiteness
Bright clouds
Clear wind.

5 Common Misconceptions of a Mysore Style Ashtanga Practice

By: Taylor Hunt

The Morning Mysore group was started by Jasmine Grace and me about a year ago.  I had recently moved and no longer had a place to practice at my house. So, I asked Jasmine if I could practice with her at the studio before work. We originally started practicing at 6:00 am, but soon moved the time to 5:00 am so that we could still make our practice a priority in the midst of our busy schedules and family commitments. Word began to spread and a few people started to join us in the mornings until there were about six of us. The Morning Mysore group was born; and I eventually moved my own practice time even earlier so I could teach the class. I never imagined it would get much bigger and to tell you the truth it was a hard sell at first.  “We practice Ashtanga yoga at 5:00 am, everyday!” “Huh, you do what!?” But, more people continued to show up to practice with us in the mornings. A lot has changed over the past year and the Yoga on High community has embraced this new program with open arms.  Morning Mysore has grown into a group of amazing people! And, I feel really blessed to be a part of it all.

Here are five common misconceptions to help everyone understand what happens in a Mysore style Ashtanga class:

1.      Time…You don’t actually have to show up at 5:00 am. Yay! One of the many benefits of a Mysore practice is that you may show up when it suits you.  If you need to be at the studio at 5:00 am to fit your practice in before work, you are welcome to join us at this time, but a lot of people arrive closer to 6:00 or as late as 6:30. You can come to our Morning Mysore classes at any point as long as your practice is finished by 8:00 am.

2.      The sequence…You don’t need to know the sequence before you come. It would be ridiculous if you had to memorize over 50 poses of the primary series before you stepped foot into the Mysore room! Poses are taught one at a time based on the individual’s ability. In the beginning, you start with a shorter practice allowing time to learn the fundamentals of breath and movement. As you begin to commit the sequence to memory and gain understanding in the postures, poses are gradually added in subsequent classes. This is the traditional method of learning Ashtanga yoga and is the safest way to approach the practice.

3.      Commitment… It would be difficult to understand what is happening in the Mysore room by just coming to one class. If Mysore class intrigues you, the best thing to do is commit to practicing for a month. In the beginning, learning occurs gradually allowing you time to adjust as you develop more strength, flexibility, and familiarity with the sequence of poses.  Throughout this time, transformation begins to occur.

4.      Led class vs. Mysore style…Led classes are a great way to learn about the breath and vinyasa, but Mysore-style is where you follow your own breath to deepen your focus and meditation skills. Both styles are beneficial and teach the same postures, but come from a different place.  In a led class, the student follows along to the teacher’s count and everyone does the same pose at the same time.  In a Mysore class, the practice can be tailored to fit each person. Everyone in the room does their own practice and progresses at their own pace.  In a led class, you may just skim over a difficult pose, but in Mysore style you have the opportunity to work one-on-one with the teacher.

5.      Teacher Involvement… In a Mysore class, each person in the room is receiving private instruction within a group setting.  In the beginning, new students receive more attention.  As they become familiar with the practice, they are allowed more independence, getting adjustments and assistance only when needed.

And, this one goes without saying, but just in case you didn’t know…Mysore is open to everyone from new beginner to advanced practitioners.  All levels and all ages are welcome!  Oh, I guess that’s six misconceptions.

Interested in what’s going on in the Mysore room? I encourage you to join us and experience it for yourself. We practice Morning Mysore every Monday through Friday from 5:00 am to 8:00 am; and Sundays from 8:00 am to 11:00 am. We have also recently added a Mysore Beginner Drop-in class on Wednesday at 7:00 am and Sunday at 10:00 am. Check out the online schedule for more details.

Why do you practice?
I practice to learn about myself. Using what I learn on the mat to help me live a better life off my mat. I practice to create more space within myself, so that I have more room for prana and feeling.

Why do you teach?
I teach because I love yoga and have experienced how it can improve my life. I want to share this love with my students but mostly I want my students to learn about themselves.

Inspirations?
I am inspired by anyone with a smile on their face. Seeing other people happy makes me happy and inspires me to live with an optimistic outlook.

Who have you trained with?
Devarshi Steve Hartman, Megha Nancy Butterheim, Jovina Chan, Richard Freeman, David Swenson, Cyndi Lee

What style do you teach?
Vinyasa, slow flow, and power flow

What’s your favorite food?
Pho

What’s on your playlist right now?
My playlist is always changing but right now I’m probably listening to alt-j and the xx the most

What’s your favorite yoga accessory?
My 85” Manduka Black Mat!!!!!!!

What style influences your teaching?
I blend the mindfulness of Kripalu with a powerful Vinyasa practice

Favorite yoga pose?
Bakasana – I love the lift through the bandhas and balance it takes to come into bakasana. It also takes trust in myself as I move my weight forward out over my hands.

Favorite quote?

“Through practice, I’ve come to see that the deepest source of my misery is not wanting things to be the way they are. Not wanting myself to be the way I am. Not wanting the world to be the way it is. Not wanting others to be the way they are. Whenever I’m suffering, I find this war with reality to be at the heart of the problem.” -Stephen Cope

What is your favorite TV show of all time?
Firefly, and I’m still kinda upset about it being canceled.

Your favorite item of clothing?
For practice and teaching nothing is better than Lululemon Run: response shorts.

What drives you every day?
I absolutely love what I do and know that it brings joy and benefit to others.

Whom do you admire?
David Williams

What books are you reading right now?
I’m always reading “Light on Life” by BKS Iyengar, “Ashtanga Yoga Practice and Philosophy” by Gregor Maehle, “The Radiance Sutras” by Lorin Roche, and Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

The new book I’m reading currently is “The Great Work of Your Life” by Stephan Cope