Surrender the head to your heart,...

...or in other words: Jalandhara Bandha, chin lock. In Light on Pranayama, B.K.S. Iyengar says this relaxes the brain and also humbles the intellect.

Jalandhara Bandha is performed by lengthening the back of the neck, then extending the chin forward, and then lowering the chin towards the chest, as if one would holds an orange between the chin and the chest. Or imagine, you are baby kitten and mama cat picks you up by the back of the neck: It is a relaxed, lengthening sensation in the neck area. The chin is not forced towards the chest, but rather the chest moves closer to the chin on every inhalation. This creates space in the throat area and allows the throat to relax, the 5th chakra to open.

Lastly the frontal brain relaxes down towards the heart, while the chest keeps lifting upwards, allowing the thinking mind to listen to the heart for a change.

Especially since I learned the cue about the frontal brain, I enjoy Jalandhara Bandha in poses such as Sethu Bandha Sarvangasana or Salamba Sarvangasana.

Ear Candling

This afternoon I tried ear candling. It was quite a surprise - my friend Heather got some candles and treated me to a treatment.

Basically I was lying on my side and had my head supported. I also had a blanket between my ankles and knees, which made it even more comfy. Heather cut out a big piece of cardboard with a hole in the middle to pass the ear candle through. The ear candle is hollow, made from beeswax and cotton. Heather sat next to me and cut off the burnt pieces of the candle, as it burnt down slowly. Knowing that Heather was there to ensure I didn't catch on fire made it a very relaxing experience.

We did 2 candles per ear; the theory being the first candle is the warm-up (literally) and the second the end spurt. Hearing the crackling of the flame, feeling the warmth enter my ear and sensing the air moving was all very soothing.

People's opinion on ear candling differ drastically. School medicine and even Health Canada say it's dangerous and should not be undertaken. They report burns and a punctured ear drum. Promoters say it's an ancient way of healing used by the ancient Greeks and Romans and Shamans and some say it can change the energy field of the body.

All I can do is speak from my experience: I neither got a burn or injured my ear drum (but I did have a competent person around). Afterwards I felt relaxed and my head felt clearer. I'd do it again.

Sirsasana

I have had a crazy week. Lots to do at work, and each evening I have been busy meeting people too. It's good, but I notice how the busy-ness competes with my time for asana practice. Not good for my stress level. ESPECIALLY when life is busy, a regular practice would be so beneficial. But, hey, I am human.

I do try to get Sirsasana (head stand) and Salamba Sarvangasana (shoulder stand) in every day. According to the Iyengars, these two poses are the king and queen of asanas. And I can see why. They definitely do magic.

Just did my five minutes each and I feel MUCH better.

I am in the process of re-learning sirsasana . I had issues, or more specifically neck pain, when I was in sirsasana for an extended time. But I think I found the solution: I was not on my crown, but a little too far on towards my forehead. I was looking down towards the floor, which created a misalignment in my neck. After a few minutes, some of the little muscles in my neck started screaming. Now I adjusted my crown position and I know put my gaze towards the corner between the back wall and the ceiling, in other words slightly up, not towards the floor. It seems to work. My neck was fine! I have gone back against the wall though, as the change in position means that I am a little wobbly, so i stable wall behind helps me to not roll over. I am sure it's just a matter of time until my muscles adjust and I will find my balance and can go back into the middle of the room to do sirsasana.

Good Pain - Bad Pain

Father Joe in supported Salamba Sarvangasana

At his Restorative Yoga Workshop two weekends ago, Father Joe said, there is no Iyengar yoga class without pain.

I have to go into the pain to transform it. Breathing loving attention into the area of the physical body that is tense can do wonder. By going into and through the good or healthy pain the bad or unhealthy pain is removed. Through diligent practice, that is. And to do this safely, I need to have sufficient body awareness and wisdom to distinguish between good and bad pain. Better safe than sorry - aka better gentle than forceful. Especially after I heard from a chiropractor that he has seen more ripped hamstrings from yoga than from any other exercising program!

Iyengar Yoga Blogs

I have been searching for Iyengar yoga blogs, but currently, the interim mission report would say that it appears that Iyengar yogis and yoginis spend more time on the mat than on blogger or typepad.

But this morning I was successful, when I stumbled upon Brenda Plakan's blog Grounding thru the sit bones. She is a Iyengar yoga practitioner and Yoga Journal contributor. I look forward to following her blog - it looks like a great resource.