I'm back from vacation and ready to share! Here are a few insights I experienced while practicing yoga in New Zealand and Australian hotel rooms, and on the grass and beaches of the Fiji Islands:
- Knowledge of yoga was a God-send for the grueling thirteen-hour flights! Because the weather was clear I used a "Forward Bending Wall Hang"---I'll describe this in next week's blog---while gazing out the window of a 747 jet near the bathrooms to experience the best view of the country below. The New Zealand countryside is especially magnificent from the air. I had no idea that the "Southern Alps" would be so fully snow-capped and extend all the way down to the tip of the South Island.
- During air flights longer than an hour it's advisable to get out of your seat to walk the aisles and change positions to prevent the fluids from pooling in the lower extremities. "Airplane yoga" requires modified positions like "Seated Forward Folds" (paschimottanasana) by extending the legs straight under the seat in front of you. Remember to synchronize the breath with movement by inhaling to press actively through the heels with flexed feet, hugging muscle to bone, and then exhaling to point the toes under the seat in front of you. Repeat this activity to increase the circulation in the legs, ankles and toes. It also helps to relieve back tension if you add a "Forward Fold", drawing the tail bone back and leaning lightly on the seat back in front with the forearms folded, but be thoughtful of the passenger in front of you!
- In inner city hotel rooms where there isn't enough floor space to practice without bumping into a wall or built-in furniture, a hard mattress will suffice for some positions. This is especially true for meditation and kneeling poses such as "Hero Pose" (virasana and supta virasana) and "Couch Pose" (paryankasana) described in the late May/early June blogs.
- An abbreviated yoga session every day with just a few positions is better than not practicing at all! Yoking body, mind and breath with your Creator is a fabulous way to prepare the body and mind with enough energy for each day's new experiences. Read the first week of January blog that describes a squatting position helpful for the forward lean of skiing. I also synchronize the weight changes involved in skiing with conscious yogic breathing. Inhale to rise up and unweight the downhill ski, and then exhale as the weight shifts to the inner edge of the uphill ski and begins to carve the turn to become the downhill ski. A smooth rhythmic breath can enhance smooth and fluid turns on the slopes.
- A mindful yoga practice, no matter how brief, can also cultivate the awareness necessary to fully appreciate each moment while sight-seeing or participating in any available sports. Skiing "Coronet Peak" and stopping to look out over Lake Wakatipu to the snow-covered peaks of the "Remarkables" was most memorable.
- Snorkeling challenged my habitual yogic style of pranayama---"deep breathing through the nose only." It took total concentration to remember to breathe only through my mouth! I really experienced "conscious breathing" that forced me to remain present and aware of each breath. When I decided to end my snorkeling explorations for the day, I noticed that the nose portion of my snorkeling mask had created an unusually tight suction seal by my automatic attempts to draw air in through my nose. Several times I almost stopped breathing in shock when I noticed how the usually brilliant coral reefs had turned brown and were dying from our polluted waters. What a different experience from a past vacation when we took our whole family snorkeling off the crescent-coast of Molokini and actually saw coral-colored reefs. This disturbing imbalance in nature will require each nation around the globe to take responsible action in order to clean up the floating debris the size of Texas that has collected in the Pacific Ocean! It makes us wonder how this could continue to occur in a world that supposedly cares about being "green!" Yogis around the world unite!
- Traveling with a group of eighteen women made it difficult to find private time to practice yoga alone on the beach at our Fiji resort. The solution was to awaken before the sun to experience sunrise over the "Sleeping Giant" mountains and across the water. It was breathtakingly distracting as the soft pink rays of light broke behind blue-gray morning clouds and held my gaze for the first several breaths in each position. After 4-6 deep breaths of gazing outward and upward, I forced my eyes to close so that I could shift my attention inward to experience "withdrawal of the senses" called pratyhara. Finally, my breathing and body sensations moved to the forefront as I enjoyed the cool moist energy that flowed into my nasal passages and lungs. Only minutes after the sun was up the air warmed and the humidity became uncomfortable. My stomach rumbled to alert me that it was time for breakfast!
- My daily yoga practice renewed me each day and kept my perspective on the inner experiences of my holiday that renewed and refreshed my body, mind and spirit. Each day was truly a "holy-day" as I remembered the apostle Paul's words: "...though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day....While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." (II Corinthians 4: 16b and 18, KJV)
- Meeting people around the world really does "broaden your horizons!" Hello to Mark, a Christian youth mentor who uses surfing to introduce his faith and wants to begin practicing yoga. In future blogs I'll target some yoga positions that will improve balance on your board.
