5 Tips to Strengthen Your Practice After Being Away

Some illnesses have a lasting effect on the body and require many days to be spent in bed, relaxing and recovering. These sick days may also mean you are without your yoga mat or without your meditation practice for a period of time.

You may find that when you are finally feeling well enough to return to your normal routine, your body feels out of sync and your practice seems a little unfamiliar. Finding the strength to meet your body where it is, even after an illness, requires patience and understanding.

Here are a few suggestions for making your practice your own after being sick:

1. Start slow - Begin with a seated meditation, which can centre your thoughts back to the mat and away from your illness. Keep in mind that five good minutes on the mat can be more restorative than 50 uncomfortable ones. Scan your body through the meditation and send your breath, consciously and with awareness, to the places where you are feeling discomfort. After meditation, continue on with simple warm-ups that don’t require much twisting or rolling of your body. Practice lengthening the arms and spine by lying on your mat and extending the arms overhead and then back down. Other warm-ups, like Cat Cow, can also be done.
2. Relax into poses – Make your way into the asanas slowly and with purpose. Feel free to linger in them for awhile, really taking your time. Take care not to rush in and out of poses. Stay in poses for two to three minutes initially, allowing the body time to warm back into the practice.
3. Back off if you start feeling sick – If you began to feel lightheaded or sick at any point during the practice, make your way into seated or a relaxing child’s pose. You may even find that just lying back and meditating is exactly where your practice leaves you feeling well. If Sun Salutations are part of your normal routine, incorporate them back in with ease. You may want to slow down your movements as you flow through them. Not only can this take your practice to a new perspective you may not have experienced before, it will also ensure that you don’t overdo it.
4. Modify - Most of the time, meeting ourselves where we really are can be difficult. We don’t want to be held back by an injury or an illness. But making space for your body and making modifications can help to strengthen the body.
5. Meditate restoratively - At the end of your practice, lie back on your mat for a restorative Savasana or choose a seated, moving meditation, which may help restore depleted energy levels. For the moving meditation, start seated with one leg comfortably in front of the other. Place your arms down by your sides. As you inhale, bring the arms up and overhead. Touch the palms lightly and then, as you exhale the breath, bring your arms back down to your sides. Flow through this a few times, linking the movement to the breath.

By Kelly McLendon
Kelly McLendon is a yoga teacher and writer. She enjoys teaching yoga basics and restorative classes and believes that yoga should be accessible to everyone. 

Shamwari Game Reserve
Boasting success with water and electricity saving as well as waste and education management, Shamwari, on the banks of the Bushman’s River in the Eastern Cape, offers  both five-star luxury and award-winning conservation, so you can really feel a part of the peace during your stay. A winner of many wildlife awards, book your stay at this Big 5 reserve and become a supporter of their many wild life initiatives. Visit www.shamwari.com for more information.

The Oyster Box
Situated in Natal in Umhlanga |Rocks, The Oyster Box is high fashion with an eco edge. This historical hotel, recently revamped, certainly does it’s bit to reduce it’s carbon footprint: grey water harvesting, solar heating, waste treatment and energy efficient lights are just some of the practises employed on-site and, this newly Green-Leaf certificated holiday spot, offers this up to nature, guests and the environment along with unparalleled sea views. Visit www.oysterboxhotel.com for more information.

Three Tree Hill Lodge
Employing the skills of its local community, Three Tree Hill Lodge in the Drakensburg focus on environmental ecology and locally produced goods, foods and services certainly gives it the nod in terms of eco credentials. Horse trails, hiking, nature walks, guided bush walks (tracking white rhino), mountain hiking, birding and mountain biking are just some of the activities on offer at this owner managed lodge whose passion for sustainability means that their methods of energy, water, procurement and waste programmes ensure the lodge existence is as close to nature as possible. Visit www.thetreehill.co.za for more information.

Phantom Forest
Nestling in the Afromontane Forest just seven kilometres from Knysna, Phantom Forest holds several eco awards including Africa’s Leading Green Hotel in 2010. From the start, their building principles were sustainable and their elevated tree suits are made from alien vegetation that was removed during renovation. The floors, furniture, roofs and boardwalks were all a part of this construction process meaning their intrusion on nature is minimal and a harmonious balance has been created with the natural environment that is home to over 150 bird species, bush pig, bushbuck, grysbok, the rare blue duiker (one of Africa’s smallest antelope) and a variety of smaller game. It is also a unique biodiversity of Cape coastal fynbos and an estuarine wetland. Visit www.phantomforest.com for more information.

The Peech Hotel
The epitome of responsible tourism and stylish sustainability, The Peech Hotel is located in Melrose, Johannesburg, and sets the trends for eco city living. With amenities that include solar heating, green design and recycling, The Peech Hotel further provides community support to children’s home, Little Eden in Edendvale. The Peech Hotel’s eco philosophy has earned it its green stripes and makes the vity traveller’s stay in Joburg a better, more conscious one. Visit www.thepeech.co.za for more information.

By Angela Wood Myers

While we all may dream about the “paperless office”, it is a still-out-of-reach concept for most. But, there are ways to reduce our carbon footprint at work and Green Office Week is all about educating you in ways to do just that….

The week of 18 to 21 April  2011 is Green Office Week in South Africa, and it’s something that we believe everyone should be passionate about. Intended to both raise awareness of the importance of eco-friendly offices as well as inform office workers that they too can make a positive impact on the environment while at work, this initiative by Dictum Publishers, that was launched in 2010, is fast taking root.

Looking at not only the economic benefits of reducing energy and resource requirements, small, medium and large business are urged to make a commitment to sustainable goals during this week and intend to have met them by the following year, each year decreasing their footprint exponentially.

What is a green office?
According to Dictum, a green office is a smarter and better office, because it’s:

• Ecological (using nontoxic, recycled, environmentally friendly products and supplies);
• Efficient (using as little energy and other resources as possible, and putting out the smallest amount of waste as possible) AND
• Healthy (with as little visual, noise and physical pollution as possible)

Get involved!
Everyone at the office should get involved – from the cleaner, tea lady and drivers to buyers, sales staff, bookkeepers, secretaries, HR dept and right up to the executive suite. Each and every person has a role in reducing unnecessary waste and in using green products. A green office is everyone’s business and creating a healthy office environment by engaging in behaviours which will see you recycling more, saving more energy and buying more intelligently. Every little bit counts – count the earth as one of your friends!

These are some of the many possible green office practices:

• Turn off lights in unused spaces. Eco-friendly companies encourage employees to turn off lights in bathrooms, supply closets, conference rooms and offices when they are not being used and to shut off power to equipment at the end of the work day.
• Replace fluorescent lights with energy efficient lighting and, where appropriate, install automatic motion sensor lighting.
• Buy and replace computers and other office equipment with energy efficient equipment.
• Use both sides of paper when printing.
• Provide recycle bins throughout the workplace to recycle paper. Recycle paper instead of throwing away.
• Reuse packing material when possible and opt for packing materials such as eco-friendly bubble wrap or biodegradable packing.

Green Office Week (GOW) South Africa and will take place annually in April to coincide with Earth Day which is celebrated on 22 April every year. Earth Day aims to inspire awareness of, and appreciation for, the earth’s environment. It is currently observed in more than 140 countries around the world. For more information on Earth Day visit www.earthday.org

For more information on Green Office Week click here.

Bringing the healing energy of crystals into your garden not only increases and enhances the energy vibrations of your garden, it will make your plants sing too…

The powerful, healing effect of gemstones and crystals, is not only beneficial for the individual who invokes and internalises their special qualities, they work also to absorb and transmit those qualities you wish to bring to your outer environment too, namely your garden. Being the aesthetic treasures they are, they add enormous beauty and, of course, wonderful focal points of interest. Plants are well known to respond to subtle energies such as words and music and, therefore, bringing the harmonious effects of crystal energy into your garden will revive, reinvigorate and encourage growth in your plants, flowers and trees.

Crystal Power
Crystals are conceived deep within Mother Earth. As volcanic eruptions bring magma to the earth’s surface, so they bring with it the minerals and gasses which are essential ingredients for the development of crystals. As this magma cools and starts to solidify and harden, the atoms begin to bond with each other. This determines the composition and shape of the crystals being formed.

You will find that the same types of crystal that comes from different parts of the world will not all have the same shade of colour or give off the same vibration, though their healing properties will stay the same. Crystals are also influenced by the magnetic field of the earth and this field varies from place to place. Some people find they are drawn to crystals from a specific country. This is because crystals were exposed to different conditions and energies from the earth at the time they were being formed. Here, one must go with your inner feeling and use the crystals you are drawn to, even though it may not be the most attractive or flawless. Use the ones that are in tune with you.

Quartz Crystal
Quartz crystals with their unique ability to receive, contain, project, refract and reflect light vibrate to a very high and exact rate that is beneficial to the whole planet. Here we take a look at three of the most popular quartz crystals, their qualities and how they can be used in your garden space to create just the right effect and feeling…

Clear Quartz
Crystals with a milk base that gain more clarity as they reach the terminated point symbolise our path from being in a cloudy and dull state of consciousness as we progress to a higher, clearer state of consciousness.

Clear quartz helps to give a clear picture to those that are confused and need direction in life. When worn, it works as a mental energiser that protects the aura and amplifies the person’s energy field. The clear white light they vibrate, contains all the colours of the spectrum and so brings a stimulating vibration and re-energises and uplifts.

Clear quartz is also closely linked to the moon. Their energies peak at full moon and slowly fade until the new moon. Clear Quartz cancels the harmful effects of radiation and is good for vertigo, skin, digestive, kidney and bladder disorders.

Use in your garden: Placing Clear Quartz at the entrance to your garden will work for the good of all and bring a good Yang (male) energy to often overly feminine inclined gardens, balancing and protecting these subtle energy frequencies. Place near/under plants that are in dark corners or places where little sunlight is received at the time of full moon to maximise its healing effect.

Milky Quartz
This translucent, opaque, white-form of quartz is calming and reassuring for those who worry a lot. Used to reduce tension, Milky Quartz also keeps the mind clear and focused and helps it to retain information. Possessing the Yin (female) energy, Milky Quartz is a wonderful pacifier and can be used in times of disturbances on all the physical, mental and emotional levels.

Use in the garden: Best placed near water, the receptive energies of this crystal assist water plants to retain the year-round vigour. Keeping the crystal near water will also help to keep the crystals naturally cleansed.

Rose Quartz
This sometimes transparent off-white, pink to dark rose pink crystal is closely linked to the Heart chakra. It helps with self love, brings about inner peace, tranquillity and helps heal wounds on the subtle level. Breaking down the walls we tend to build around ourselves, Rose Quartz is good for attracting romantic partners and bringing peace to our relationships. A dispeller of negativity, Rose Quartz also releases toxins from the body and is excellent for heart and lung conditions.

Use in the garden: Because of their wonderful overall beneficial qualities, it is suggested to place as many Rose Quartz crystals in the garden as possible. Generously scatter them in places where extra soil and plant nourishment is needed and watch your garden come back to life again. They will imbue your garden with peaceful energy and invite and introduce new bird and animal life to your ecosystem. Offset the energy of plants that encroach on others with these crystals and also those that just need an extra little love.

Smokey Quartz, Tangerine Quartz and Rutilated Quartz are other suggestions for Quartz crystals that stimulate growth and expansion and can all be used in the garden to protect, heal and nourish. Gemstones  like Obsidian, Jasper, Tektite, Moldavite and the stones from the wonderfully colour-rich Calcite family bring not only colour  and therefore joy and creativity but a presence of earth energy, that been lifted from the very depths of Mama Gaia to your garden. By introducing crystal energy into your garden you will immediately reap the benefits and feel the shift in energy and bring  even more positive, loving and entirely green benefits with them.

By Angela Wood Myers & Ian Davies

Premium organic clothing store – Earthaddict – has launched its 2011 Winter Collection and this beautiful range of nature-friendly clothes is perfectly in keeping with yogic ideals and sentiments for winter. Reflecting on and drawing inspiration from shadows – a bright moon that shines through the trees, or leaves falling to the earth, the colour palette is breathtaking and includes Midnight Purple and Charcoal Melange and is lightened with whites, greys and soft mauves.

Winter provides a great opportunity to mix and match garments for a range of different looks and Earthaddicts collection allows you to express the real and natural you with both comfort and style. Using  lots of bamboo cotton, the knitwear boasts scarves and cropped cardigans, tunics, dresses and leggings, in it’s unique Earthaddict style that leaves you with the happy knowledge that your impact on the environment has been minimal.

Available across all nine national Earthaddict stores, for more information about the collection, or to find your nearest store, visit www.earthchild.co.za

The no-slip towel mat with silicone nubs…

There’s very few yogi’s who haven’t experienced the interminable “foot-slide” in Trikonasana – when, just as you gain balance and equanimity…. there goes your left foot! Now, finally South African yogis can practise asana without slipping on their mats – Terra Bands proudly introduces an extra-long slip towel that ensures maximum stickiness to your mat. The silicone nubs on the underside of the towel help your hands and feet grip the mat, while absorbing any sweat or stickiness from the body, so you can distribute your weight evenly and freely while attempting even the most difficult of positions. Adding to safety and reducing the risk of injury while on the mat… it’s pretty clever, we think! Machine washable and dryer safe, it’s a must-have for all yogis and yoginis!

Available at Sportsman’s Warehouse for R299.95. For more information, email info@terrabrands.co.za

You may notice a natural inclination towards vegetarianism after some time on your yoga mat. The question is how to do this safely without ill-health, and how to make your transition a lifelong, successful one…

The main concern most new vegetarians have is whether they will get enough protein. An unknown fact is that women only need about 45g of protein a day (a little more if they are pregnant, breastfeeding or very active) and men need about 55g (more if very active). This equates to a very small piece of red meat. In fact, many dieticians recommend that red meat in particular should be eaten only once or twice a week, if you are going to eat it at all.

Getting Started
In making your transition from full meat-eating to vegetarianism, it is strongly advised to go slowly. Over the course of weeks, months, or even years, begin to eliminate certain protein foods and substitute them for vegetarian alternatives. Most people first cut out red meat, then chicken, then fish. Ensure you are comfortable with a few substitutions before you stop eating animal protein altogether.

Give yourself time to adjust to your new food intake and to ensure you get sufficient protein while your body learns that change is underway and adapts to it.

Allow your mind to overcome the attachment to a lifestyle of meat eating. If you try to do this too quickly, or too forcefully, your mind will reject the change and becoming vegetarian might be a short-lived fad for you.

Listen to your cravings and if you are craving red meat in the early stages, eat a small amount, and realise that perhaps your substitutions aren’t working and you need to pay more attention to your protein intake.

Vegetarian Proteins
As a vegetarian, your protein can come from many sources, including:

• Nuts – hazels, brazils, almonds, cashews, walnuts, pine kernels etc
• Seeds – sesame, pumpkin, sunflower, linseeds
• Pulses – peas, beans, lentils, peanuts
• Grains – wheat (in bread, flour, pasta etc), barley, rye, oats, millet, maize (sweet corn), rice
• Soya products – tofi, tempeh, textured vegetable protein, soya milk
• Dairy products – milk, cheese, yoghurt (not butter and cream as they are very poor sources of protein)
• Free range eggs

There are 20 different amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein, and we can make most of them in our bodies by converting other amino acids. Only eight amino acids – the essential amino acids – cannot be made in our bodies and have to be provided for by the diet. By mixing plant foods together correctly, we get all the essential amino acids we need. Single plant foods do not contain all the essential amino acids we need in the right proportions, but the deficiency in one is cancelled out by the excess in the other when combined properly, forming a complete protein.

A few examples of complete vegetable protein: are beans on toast, muesli, rice and peas. Adding dairy products or eggs also adds the missing amino acids, e.g. macaroni and cheese, quiche and porridge with milk.

New research has shown that the body has a pool of amino acids so that if one meal of deficient, it can be made up with the body’s own stores. Because of this we don’t have to worry about complementing amino acids all the time, as long as our diet is generally varied and well-balanced. Even those foods not considered high in protein are adding some amino acids to this pool.

In turning vegetarian, vitamin B12 is the only vitamin that may cause some difficulty, as it is not present in plant foods. Fortunately, only tiny amounts of B12 are needed and are present in dairy products and eggs.

Iron is also needed for healthy red blood cells and, although vegetable sources of iron are not as easily absorbed as animal sources, a good intake of vitamin C will enhance absorption. Drinking a glass of orange juice after a meal is a great way to enhance the absorption of iron from your meal. Iron is found in leafy green vegetables, wholemeal bread, molasses, eggs, dried fruits (especially apricots and figs), lentils and other pulses.

The Healthy Vegetarian Diet
As a rule, vegetarians who are careful about what they eat are healthier than meat-eaters: they generally eat less fat and more fruit and vegetables than meat eaters and have an increased intake of phyto-nutrients, which protect cells in the body against damage that could lead to disease, particularly cancer.

Vegetarians have a higher intake of fibre because their diets include more fruit, vegetables, whole grains and plant proteins, like lentils. Fibre intake is vital to keep us regular and has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Vegetarian diets also tend to be bone friendly, because they are usually lower in protein than meat eaters and include more foods rich in magnesium. This means the body loses less calcium and bone formation is aided.

Vegetarian food is generally cheaper than meat and fish-based meals, and it can be much healthier, tastier and more exciting, as well as being friendlier to our beleaguered planet.

The Case for Vegetarianism
There are many reasons to choose vegetarianism, from personal, physical and mental health to environmental concern and moral activism, to spirituality.

Consider the following facts which appear on www.vegsoc.org:

• In the UK almost 800 million animals are slaughtered for food each year, about fifteen live animals per person per year.
• Roughly one quarter of all methane emissions come from livestock giving off gas (farts) contributing to global warming.
• Ammonia from animal waste and agricultural fertilisers contributes to acid rain, which kills aquatic and plant life.
• Intensive grazing causes soil erosion and nutrient depletion, which can make soil infertile, creating deserts on previously fertile land.
• It takes up to 10 kilos of vegetable protein to produce one kilo of meat. It takes 900 litres of water to produce 1 kilo of wheat but 100 000 litres to produce a single kilo of meat.
• Commercial fishing has decimated fish populations to the point of near extinction and many governments, including ours, have had to implement stricter fishing quotas.
• Recent health scares such as E-coli and BSE (Mad Cow Disease) which resulted in the slaughter of millions of animals.
• Research has shown that a vegetarian diet could help reduce risks from certain cancers by up to 40%; decrease the possibility of dying from heart disease by 30%; restrict the chance of suffering from kidney and gall stones, diet-related diabetes and even high blood pressure. It could also lower cholesterol levels and reduce health problems related to obesity.
• Over 90 percent of all food poisoning cases each year in the UK are related to the consumption of animal products.

Yoga and Vegetarianism
For those who have adopted yoga as a lifestyle, it is strongly suggested to turn vegetarian. The above listed reasons are the strength behind the philosophy of non-violence – ahimsa – one of the back-bones of yogic philosophy.

Yogis believe that by consuming the flesh of an animal you are consuming the emotions that the animal has stored in its lifetime. Animals treated badly store this energy in their bodies and this energy gets transferred to us when we eat their flesh. We spend time on our mats to expend emotions we store in our own bodies; it would seem odd then to replace that with the emotions of another life.

Vegetarianism prevents the yogi from creating karma due to violence toward the planet, toward the co-inhabitants of the planet and toward the yogi personally through ingesting impure foods.

In the Bhagavad-Gita, it is beautifully stated that the nature of the food we eat is a wonderful signpost to what is going on inside our minds. If you are craving hot, spicy foods, the mind is ill-at-ease and there is unrest within. If you are craving heavy, dead foods (meat, chicken, fish) or find yourself craving stale foods, the mind is depressed and dark, if you are craving pure foods (of a primary source of energy, with limited intervention), the mind is still and calm. You are what you eat. By putting certain foods into your body, you process and manufacture certain states of mind. You can be in control of the quality of your life through a greater awareness of what and how you eat.

Yoga does not only exist on the mat, however it is your choice how deeply you wish to integrate it into your lifestyle.

By Kerry Weavind and Nadine Fawell

Kerry runs the Haum of Yoga

Article first published in Complete Yoga, 2005, Volume 7

Subtle (and calorie-free) winter remedies…

In wintertime, we tend to eat a little bit more to help compensate for the cold. Extra calories can be burned off to keep us warm and a little more body fat will do the trick, too. However, more food also makes us lethargic, and when you are used to a steady weight accompanied by a certain “body feeling”, it can make you uncomfortable and unfamiliar within your physical home.

There is a belief that the hot spices in the Indian diet are responsible for the high incidence of heart disease and high blood pressure among Indian souls. However, strictly speaking, it is not the spices that are the “baddies”, rather the modern instruction and liberal use of cooking oil (rather than the moderate use of cold-pressed sesame, mustard, coconut oil and ghee) and white flour for rotis, puris etc.

Spices help to stimulate the body towards self-healing and provide a fine-tuning of the body. However, there seems to be two types of people when it comes to spices: those who enjoy spices (and sometimes feel bad about having them!) and those with whom they don’t agree at all. To the first group, one would suggest, “Please enjoy them!”, and to the second group, “Practice makes you perfect. You can slowly raise your tolerance level!”

A wise way to deal with winter’s austerity is to rely on the warming and invigorating natural medicines that Ayurveda, the ancient “sister” of yoga, discovered many thousands of years ago. These are subtle and calorie-free remedies and go a long way to working small changes into the way we feel and experience. Spices are natural medicines and can be warming or cooling. Here we look at a few of the prominent warming ones:

Turmeric (also known as Haldi or Borrie)
Turmeric has a mellow, warming effect. It “lubricates” the body by harmonising all the mucous membranes functioning. Do you know that dry, cold feeling inside? Turmeric will help balance the air element and is rejuvenating, a natural beauty remedy and a good blood purifier. It creates that glowing, youthful look on yogis and yoginis which makes us wonder “is this person 30 or 50 years old?”

If you suffer from cracking joints, turmeric too will take care of that. Cheap as it is, I suggest you buy a big packet and start taking it now!

Original turmeric recipe:
Simmer 1Tbsp in water for 8 minutes, then add milk, bring to the boil, add a touch of ghee and serve it up with a bit of honey. Have this daily for 40 days and appreciate the effect is has on you.

Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne pepper increases circulation and provides vitamin C. Mountain climbers have been known to rub Vaseline on their feet and put a sprinkling of cayenne pepper into their socks before putting them on, to keep their feet buzzing and warm. Cayenne pepper acts as a natural anti-depressant (against winter blues?) and stimulates without harmful side-effects. It gives you a pleasant “lift” and puts an unreasonably happy smile on your face. Cayenne pepper also assists nutrient absorption and allows us to better metabolise food.

Yogi cocktail:
When you feel a cold coming, heat up some fruit juice and add 1Tsp each of honey and cayenne pepper (less if desired). This is called a “yogi cocktail”. You may have it twice a day and it goes a long way towards coping with your flu, in conjunction with your Echinaforce or whatever flu remedy works for you.

Black Pepper
Black pepper has similar qualities to cayenne pepper. It contains vitamin C and acts to clean the colon. It prevents constipation and gas. Freshly ground is best, so why not buy one of those beautiful pepper mills and sprinkle it liberally on salads, pasta, steamed veggies, mushrooms etc.

Ginger
Ah, glorious ginger creates enough heat to make you sweat! It is very soothing for coughs and sore throats, flu and congested sinuses. Ginger is a digestive aid, neutralises toxins and has a wonderful effect on the nervous system.

If you want to start enjoying spices in their pure form, try and make a delicious formula called Gota. Gota purifies the breath and palate safter lunch or dinner.

Gota spice recipe:
Toast half the amount of aniseeds over medium heat in a pan (preferably heavy cast-oron), taking care not to burn them, until they are pleasantly fragrant. Mix with the other half of untoasted aniseed. Add 6 times the amount desiccated coconut and add the contents of 1 green cardamom pod per each tbsp to the mix. Add 1Tbsp brown sugar per each cupful of the mix. Store in a screwtop bottle and offer to your friends!

(Does this recipe sound confusing? This is how original Indian recipes work. Cooks manage to remember an infinite amount of recipes just by picturing the different proportions to each other).

By Pritam Hari Kaur Khlasa
First published, Complete Yoga, Volume 3 1993

We’re all born flexible. But some are more flexible than others. Despite the fact that yoga instructors always reassure me that “flexibility is not the aim of yoga – it’s a side effect” I cannot help but wish that I too could bend my body into pretzel shapes with zen-like grace. Usually my attempts at flexibility result in much huffing and puffing, grunting, wheezing and squishing, with little effect.

But what is flexibility and why do some people seem to come by it so much more easily than others? Is there any real physical advantage to being flexible? How can you attain pretzel status?

What is flexibility?
To put it simply flexibility is the extent to which you can move your joints through their entire potential range of motion. Some joints have a greater potential range of motion than others (for example, your elbow will only ever extend to 145 degrees, while your shoulders can technically rotate a full 225 degrees).

Every joint consists of several components – bones, synovial joint lining, muscles, ligaments and tendons. Each one of these components determines your flexibility. Tight or bulky muscles usually result in reduced flexibility, as do shortened or inelastic ligaments and tendons, arthritis or injury to the bones and synovial joint lining. The shape of your bones at each joint can also determine your flexibility.

Is flexibility genetic?
Yes, but not always. Some people are naturally more flexible than others. They have joints which are shaped to be more flexible or they have ligaments and tendons which have greater elasticity than others.

This can come at a price. Many naturally flexible people have hypermobility syndrome. Hypermobility is a medical condition where the ligaments and tendons are too elastic. These individuals are at higher risk of damaging their joints and developing arthritis from their super-bendy activities.

Are women more flexible than men?
Yes. There are advantages to oestrogen. Men generally have to work harder at being as flexible as women. There are several reasons for this:

Hormones: Oestrogen, one of the predominant female hormones has a loosening effect on joint tendons. This leads to increased flexibility especially in the few days before the menstrual cycle when oestrogen levels are at their highest. During pregnancy the hormone relaxin is released which further relaxes the ligaments (in preparation for pregnancy).

Anatomical: Women also have physical attributes and structure which makes them more flexible. For example, according to Dr Katherine Whitcome of Harvard University, who led a study on flexibility in women (published today in Nature), the curve in women’s lower lumbar spine is spread of three vertebrae compared to two vertebrae in men. This gives them extra bendiness. In addition, women’s spinal vertebrae are more flared, giving greater mobility.

Ageing and flexibility
We are all born flexible. Watch any baby and you can admire how easily they touch their toes. This is because children are still developing and their joints consist of soft cartilage rather than bone.

Once the bones are fully formed children start losing their inherent flexibility (unless they actively pursue activities like yoga or gymnastics). In general this starts to happen in boys from the age of around 10 and in girls from around 12.

From there on we continue to lose flexibility. As we age our ligaments and tendons tend to become more brittle, calcium deposits aggregate in our tissues and fragmentation and dehydration lead to reduced flexibility of the joints.

Not naturally flexible? Don’t worry.
If you take your time to quiz your more flexible fellow yogis the majority will tell you they were never “naturally” flexible. Repeated stretching is the one sure way to improve your flexibility. It doesn’t, sadly, happen overnight.

There are two types of stretching which can help you improve flexibility namely static or dynamic stretching. Static stretching is essentially stretching the muscles to a certain point and then holding that stretched position for 30 seconds to 2 minutes (downward facing dog would be an example). Dynamic stretching on the other hand is a controlled movement which results in muscle streching (Ardha-Chandrasana and Pada-Hastasana are examples of such poses). The stretch is in the movement. Yoga obviously incorporates both of these types of stretches.

To improve your flexibility stretch to the point at which you feel tightness and a slight burning sensation in your muscles. A stretch should be mildly uncomfortable but not painful. Any sharp pain is not a sign of stretching – it’s a sign of damage.

It’s also important to be consistent about stretching if you want to improve flexibility. You need to practice every other day to improve flexibility. Long breaks between stretching will land you right back where you started.

Forcing flexibility is a “no-no”. Bouncing, jolting or forcing joints into the range of motion you wish to achieve is extremely dangerous. The sudden force can damage to muscles and tear ligaments and tendons.

Are you healthier if you’re bendier?
There’s much debate which rages around the value of flexibility in health. Some studies such as that published in the October 2009 issue of American Journal of Physiology suggests that if you’re over 40, your bodily flexibility could reflect the elasticity of your arteries and blood vessels. Being less flexible could indicate an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

If you’re an athlete then flexibility is important to overall performance. Flexibility allows athletes to optimize (expand) limb movements. This allows for more efficient and powerful movement.

For the rest of us common mortals it’s unlikely that being super flexible has any real health benefits. The benefits come from the practice of doing the yoga. Not from whether you can do the splits. Nonetheless, I still wish I could bend it like Bikram!

By Karen Koch (MBCbB)

Aphrodite - Goddess of Love and Beauty

Beauty is the food of the soul and, therefore, needs to be exalted if we are to achieve true union with life

Although we are constantly bombarded with stimuli of all sorts from every direction, the Repression of Aesthetics is still of particular pertinence in our time. Psychologists have seen the overlooking and the undervaluing of the aesthetic life as a prime factor in the malaise of the psyche, which directly affects the inspirational and creative expression of the soul; its vibrancy, luminosity and ecstasy.

James Hillman, an original thinker and a leading spokesperson of psychology, in his “re-visioning” of psychology, sets a trend to make therapy more art than science. More precisely, Dr Hillman makes the point that “beauty is the major repression in our time”. Beauty is personified by Aphrodite/Venus. Aphrodite is, of course, Love; and aphrodisiac (Gk, aphrodisios – belonging to Aphrodite), the exciting of sexual desire. The goddess Aphrodite (born out of the froth of emotions when the old man Uranus’s genitals are cut off), is also the mother of Love, Eros. Her other remarkable progeny are Priapus and Hermaphrodites.

If love, that “multitudinous splendour”, is the raison d’etre (reason for existence) and music, as Shakespeare says, “be the food of love”, then beauty must be, the food of the soul.

The criteria of aesthetics – unity, line, rhythm, tension and elegance – are a set of qualities for appreciating the world around us. As living beings, we are affected by what we perceive around us. It requires a sensitive and sensory involvement – we cannot be truly involved with anything without it touching the soul. The soul craves and needs this experiential involvement for its evolvement – its individuation, and simply to live.

Aesthetic bankruptcy is synonymous with spiritual stasis. The message is clear: see beauty in things!

See beauty in things, not just as a perceptual quality of surface texture, but the feeling that arises from involvement. Reflective insights alone are not enough. The soul thrives on emotions, for emotions move, stir, evoke, moisten, awaken, open, engender. When feelings are exalted to ecstasy, amrita (divine nectar) flows. This personal nectar of bliss is much more than a downpour of liquid that causes the lotuses (chakras) to blossom; it is a powerful elixir that is simply transformative. Milan Kundera terms this “state of grace” as the “incredible lightness of being”.

Naturally, beauty and aesthetics, like everything else, also casts a broad, dark shadow: the pseudo or shallow glorification of beauty as narcissism or self-indulgent ego pursuit.  Hillman recommends that to revive the aesthetic sense, man might look to animals and see the beauty they reveal in expressing their own nature’s so directly. “Man’s proper form of display is rhetoric, our fantasy-filled capacity to speak, to tell stories, paint, sing, make music, build buildings, write letters, make movies and so on. The beautiful and therefore the soul, is in the everyday display of our natures.”

The only way to experience things truly, fully, completely – creating a direct link with nature, with life, with all situations, spontaneously and intuitively, with “naked insight” – is through the practise of meditation. Through meditation, we can cut through neurotic patterns, dissolve the ego, remove the veil of delusion and those “filters” that cover the clear light of pure awareness, which is beauty, along our paths and in our quest for union.

By Ushka
Article first published in Complete Yoga, 1993, Volume 4