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YOGALIGNtm
YOGALIGNtm is a safe, painless, precise exercise system that increases vitality, strength and flexibility. A unique flow style yogic practice, it develops beneficial patterns and blueprints for core natural alignment, effortless breathing and a deep kinesthetic awareness of the body, mind and spirit. It is a transformational tool for loving and nurturing the self that develops deep core strength and graceful effortless posture. It's like one-stop shopping - YOGALIGNtm practitioners feel like they have been to a strength, flexibility and alignment session, done Pilates, had a massage and chiropractic adjustment, and undergone therapy with deep breathing while meditating all at the same time. YOGALIGNtm is the style of yoga I've developed during the course of my 30+ year personal yoga practice and decade of teaching yoga, and performing deep tissue massage as a trained, licensed massage therapist. I have spent years studying the anatomy and physiology of the body through my work and practice. Recording and performing professionally as a musician and vocalist for the last 25 years has also helped me to develop many of the unique aspects of YOGALIGNtm. I participate in many sports including swimming, surfing, windsurfing, kayaking, biking, hiking, skiing, horseback riding, running and childrearing. In my 50's now, I am injury-free and more mentally, emotionally, and physically fit than I was as a teenager. YOGALIGNtm is safe and accessible to people of all ages and body types. I am actively teaching professional athletes such as world class surfers Andy Irons and Laird Hamilton, Olympic gold medallist swimmer Dick Roth, actress Mariel Hemmingway, producer John Welles, and many other men, women, and children with diverse lifestyles and activities. YOGALIGNtm works on a multilevel dimension so that everyone in the class is able to progress, transform and find an edge no matter their level of yoga.
Many of us baby-boomers are adventure and weekend athletes who unfortunately have to spend a great deal of time sitting in chairs or driving in cars with the spine collapsed and the head carried too far forward while oftentimes wishing we were somewhere else. Serious athletes do repetitive movements causing imbalances that set the stage for serious joint and muscle injuries. Most have compensated for these activities by developing dysfunctional patterns in body alignment, muscle balance and breathing. Ease, comfort, strength and
presence are the building blocks of YOGALIGNtm. The techniques guide people
to first eliminate unnecessary tension in the body, relax the mind and
develop the ability to reside fully in the present. YOGALIGNtm practitioners
are taught to move from the core of the body from the psoas, diaphragm
connection. Arms are kept deep in the socket while lifting from the core,
increasing the range of motion while stabilizing the muscles and ligaments
of the joints. Self-massage techniques are woven into classes to stimulate
energy meridians and give the body the signal that it is not under attack
and can go deeper into the postures. One of the reasons people are drawn to yoga is to find peace in the mind and body. Unfortunately many of these people are finding that some ways of practicing yoga can hurt and they are getting injured or feel pain, tension and frustration from attempting postures that are taught and performed in an externalized, competitive, goal-oriented manner. Many give up, deciding that they just cannot do yoga. I have found some of the popular sequences being taught in many yoga classes to be harmful to the natural alignment of the hips, spine, neck and shoulder girdle. People are being asked to climb a mountain so to speak before they know how to put in the proper protection. YOGALIGNtm recognizes the innate intelligence of the body and gives people tools to transform themselves and truly become their own best teacher. In my years of teaching YOGALIGNtm, I have found that this process of transformation does not have to become a long, arduous task. Practitioners of YOGALIGNtm feel relaxed, energized and aligned from the very first class. They learn a process of yoga that they can apply to all aspects of their lives to become truly present and in union with the body, mind, and spirit. Yoga poses are powerful templates
that can heal you or harm you. The practitioner must become his or her own
best teacher by learning to develop deep awareness of the quality of energy
in the mind and body.
Note the extension from the core of the body using the abdominals, psoas and back muscles in synergy. The flow of the pose comes out of the center of the body through the crown of the head strengthening the internal neck muscles.
In this version of the airplane, notice the overstretching of the front of the neck and shortening of the back. Again ask yourself if you would stand in this position with your neck and head. YogAlign emphasizes neutral natural spine in all yoga poses.
SOS means Save Our Sacrums! Yogis Unite! Yoga injuries are epidemically on the rise and the most common injury is related to the sacrum. Time magazine just printed an article called When Yoga Hurts. The truth is thousands of people are getting injured, many think they cannot do yoga, and some are sustaining serious injuries. Most people think it is because teachers are inexperienced or people are pushing too hard. However I have discovered what I believe is the biggest reason. Certain yoga poses are not natural for the human body. These yoga poses put the trunk of the body at a right angle to straightened legs. When the legs are straightened and the feet are flexed as in boat pose and seated forward bends, there is a tremendous compressive force put on the spine and sacrum. These are not natural human positions and there is no right way to do them. We are designed to squat! Primitive people who do not have furniture stay fit and flexible into extreme old age because they never sit in chairs. If you hate seated forward bends, read on because you are very correct to dislike them. They are actually quite harmful for your body. YogAlign encourages the practitioner to use discernment and natural alignment models to decide when a pose in beneficial.
We sit in chairs all day compressing our spine and sacrums and there is an epidemic of back pain because of it. The oxymoron of yoga is that many poses put your spine in the same compression that sitting in chairs causes. If we sit on the floor and try to extend our legs, inside the body the psoas muscles compress the spine at the origin in the lumbar sacral area. Many people teach that your feet should be flexed as well when bending forward. When you flex your feet and extend through your heels, the abdominals which connect through the fascia when you flex, then engage and restrict breathing. When the abdominals are pulled in, the diaphragm and psoas cannot function well for deeper breathing. These type of poses deliver a double whammy, you get a compressed spine and discs, weakening of the psoas and an inhibition of the diaphragm. In the YogAlign system, poses are used only to strengthen natural spinal alignment and diaphragmatic breathing. Any pose which reverses the natural curves in the spine is considered contraindicated and unnatural. Even what is dysfunctional can start to feel normal. In other words we get used to pain and compression and we begin to disassociate from our bodies. For many people, this includes forcing to do yoga poses which are unnatural and ignoring signals from the body to stop. In my years of teaching yoga, many people have come to me with yoga injuries from practicing boat, staff, and seated forward bends. If you have any problems at all with your sacrum or SI joints, do not do these straight legged poses. For the highly flexible who do the poses with ease, you may be causing long range destabilizing of the sacrum. It is not a good idea to stretch your ligaments as you will destabilize joints by doing so. Look in a mirror at your body from the side in the lower back sacrum area. If your sacrum does not have a natural uplifting tilt and you look flat in the butt, you are chronically overstretching your sacral-lumbar ligaments. The natural vaulted bridge position of the sacrum has an anatomical purpose. If it is flattened, body weight then compresses into your hip and knee area. I have found many yogis who continue to practice these poses or do the tuck your tailbone adjustment for years and they are having hip replacements, SI joint pain and back surgeries. For those of you who are not flexible, you run the risk of disc herniation as you compress forward. Sitting is not the way to get flexible legs! We are designed to squat. Think about how bad your back feels every time you have to sit in a chair. It is not natural. Imagine in the lower picture what happens to your sacrum, spine and discs if you lift your legs into the straight legged boat pose or bend forward with flexed feet. Ouch! SOS
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