When I am anxious or stressed, I drink a litre of . . . air.

Yoga is a technique to become present. I don’t know about everyone else, but my brain constantly leaves this moment and drifts to tomorrow, a year from now, thirty years from now and it gives me a headache! Yoga really brings me back to ‘now’. What a relief.

This morning I felt uneasy. Yoga practice (sadhana) brought me back to rational thinking. The body can help or hinder the brain, just like the brain can better or worsen the body. It’s all inter connected. When you have mental stress it will transfer to your immune system and hormonal system etc.

When my body feels decompressed and strong, my brain follows.

We all have mental stress don’t we, maybe just a thread of it, or maybe a ginormous mass. What will you do with it?

Molecular genetics to blow your mind

What is a gene? The first step in it’s activation is DNA that are copied into RNA.

How many genes do you think are needed to make a fruit fly? 14,000! The human body contains only 25,000 genes and yet the brain encapsulates trillions of neurons. How did we grow under those circumstances?

All mammals (including mice) have about 25,000 genes (the same as humans)!

What differs between the genes of humans to other mammals then? The sequencing of the genes. (Which are quite different, for those of you who are creeped out).

The DNA sequence between you and your neighbour are 99.9% similar. Scary. However, there are 3 Billion DNA bases in the human genome.

Frogs have 5 – 10x more DNA per cell than a person. Is it just me, or is that really weird?

2% of DNA are responsible for encoding. An estimated 3% have regulatory functions (for organs etc). Scientists are not sure what the other 95% of the human genome does?

These facts blow my mind.

How does this all relate to yoga? How does it not? Yoga teaches us that the universe is one. We are all one species, one life. The more we accept this, the more we will be at peace with each other. But it is also so humbling that humans have only discovered 5% of our own genome.

Scientific observations from the amazing book ‘designer genes’ Steven Potter, Ph.D.

Sirsasana on the beach

Beach sirsasana is great for the sinus’. Not only does your circulation refresh breathing but the salt water air is also cleansing. The only caution may be the heat of the summer combined with an inversion could lead to light headedness. A bonus however, if you lose your balance, falling backwards into the sand is safe.

Connection

In yoga we know that everything is connected. I am you. You are me. Air is water. Water is air. Earth is fire. Fire is Earth. Without a hip bone the thigh bone would not be of much use. Without a brain, the heart would not beat for long. One of the yogas is karma, the yoga path of action which decides your fate. What is, will become. A seed grows a tree, which grows fruit, which harbours fruit with seeds inside again. Your carbon footprint creates a consequence.

I watched the documentary ‘Force of Nature’ with David Suzuki. He gave a lecture on air, which massively impacted me. A scientist (Harlow Shapley) calculated what happens to one breath of air; it only takes 1 year to rebreathe in the same argon atoms after they have travelled the around the world.

“We think we are an intelligent creature, but what intelligent creature, knowing the role that air plays in our lives, keeping us alive and connecting us to the past and into the future, would then proceed to use air as a garbage can and refuse to pay for putting carbon and all our pollutants into the atmosphere? We have much to reflect on the way that we use this sacred substance”. – Dr David Suzuki

Knowing how connected air is around our planet should influence people not to pollute it. Knowing that within one year you will breathe in the pollutants you exhausted. We breathe in the chemicals we use. We drink the chemicals we use. The chemicals we use are deadly.

Everything is connected.

Yoga is union.

Anatomy of the day

What? Quadratus Lumborum

Where? A deep muscle (1 on each side) in the lower back, from the tip of the iliac crest (top of hip / ilium) to the 12th rib and it also attaches to 4 transverse process’ of the lumbar spine.

Why? Lower back pain is often caused by this muscle when it is strained (lifting heavy objects in one arm or on one side) or underused (sitting in a chair often).

When? When you bend laterally to the left, the right Q.L engages to hold your torso against gravity and when you bend laterally to the right, the left Q.L contracts to support your torso against gravity.

When the Q.L contracts it works in conjunction with the psoas (the muscle of verticality) to wrap around the lumbar spine for stabilization.

How? Trikonasana: Triangle pose on the right side lengthens and strengthens the Q.L on the left side and vice versa.

 

Yoga in the animal world!

Often contemplate the consequences of actions? I draw these lines all the time. I think about the biosphere inside of my ‘human body’ and what it needs. If I give my body organic food, an outdoor walk and a rest with a water view, it will be happy and treat me with health. Every action has a reaction right? Positive leads to positive and vice versa with negative actions. Most of the time!

The more cows that produce dairy, the more pesticides that farmers use on their crops. Chemically sprayed land, devastates the bee population. Bees pollinate a lot of our food, you may know. So the more dairy we buy, the less fruits, nuts and vegetables we will have available. Long story short: Chemicals = Death. A lack of unprocessed food will kill us.

Yoga is union. The universe is connected. This is why I disagree with having ‘smoking rooms’ on trains or in airports. Air travels and so does karma.

Having fun with yoga

Have fun with yoga at home and increase your strength, stability and balance!

 

Pain in the . . . ?

Backbends are invigorating yoga poses. They instantly deliver a wind of energy through our spine and brain. They strengthen the often forgotten muscles in our posterior bodies, developing a more vertical posture. Strengthening the spine and keeping it elastic, often rehabilitating slipped discs. Backbends do not have to look acrobatic and to me probably shouldn’t!

Salabhasana (above with clasped fingers): On on exhalation lift the head, chest and legs. For those with lower back aches, bend the knees making the shins perpendicular to the floor and lift the thighs off of the mat.

Protecting the lower back while backbending: The sacrum (located between the two hips) performs the action called nutation (tipping forward). The tailbone is tucked. These actions occur naturally during backbends unless you are hyper mobile in the lumbar spine. If you are hyper extending, engaging the lower core can help. Try firming the circumference of the pelvis rim, which will activate the transverse abdominals. These conscious actions assist the protection of the sacroiliac joint!

Widen your collar bones, open your chest, move your shoulders back. Firm the inner thighs. Bring your thoracic spine forward.

Tree in Tokyo

Shibuya crossing is the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world. Shibuya subway station is the busiest station in the world with 2 million people passing through per day. I thought I would take a deep breath in the middle of it all!

Tree in Shibuya crossing, Tokyo