Headstands at the beach

[Guest guest]

Just received my new issue of longboard magazine

and on the inside backcover is a picture of someone

doing a headstand to "try a bit of yogic concentration

to encourage an increase" in wave size. Might have

to try that sometime....

[Guest guest]

doing head stands sure beats burning surf boards for wave sacrifices--probably

works about as well too

[Guest guest]

Try it on a long roller like Honolulu or

Rincon.<br><br>Another good inverted trick is head stand on horseback. I

learned to ride after being able to whip out the advanced

series. I was being taught to vault in the Del Mar area

(for the uninitiated-this is where the horse is in a

ring or arena riding around in a circle tethered to a

person giving commands to the horse) Anyway my teacher

had me doing all of these moves that were much like

variations of the yoga series. After I had managed to do

most of the moves my teacher knew, I asked her what

was next. She said, well, I've never seen it except

on TV or in a book but you could stand on your head!

Puzzled, I asked how my head would balance on the saddle

(which is a special saddle for this event) I also

wondered how I could do a handstand with my hands on the

angle of the horse's back. I soon realized that I would

have to put my shoulder on the center of the saddle

with my head to one side. There are small handles to

hang onto, so up I went and around and around went the

horse. OM! I said to him as I laughed going around in a

big circle. Another variation on the yoga

life.<br><br>Yours in yoga,

[Guest guest]

a long roller. you've been in del mar so you know

how laughable that notion is around here. there's the

occasional day, yeah, but most days....headstands on the

beach. <br><br>other surfing variations of asanas:

prasarita c--the venerable head dip; chataraunga--the

posture you hold when you're undecided about taking off

or not, i.e. "is this thing going to close out

too?"; simhasana I & II--used to attempt to intimidate

your way into the line up at black's or swami's; garba

pindasana--posture of supplication and self protection of vital

structures--used commonly by haole's who don't listen at

velzyland; viparita salabhasana--typical finishing posture

by those failing to make the drop at pipeline;

savasana--posture held while while waiting on the beach for the

evening glass off, advanced practicioners have been know

to hold the posture for hours at a time

[Guest guest]

There have been many times when I packed the

truck with three boards (long, fun, short) and my yoga

mat. Just being a boy scout and being prepared for any

condition. <br><br>On the thought of different activities,

does anyone practice yoga and work out (bike, run,

surf) on the same day? I have slowly phased out my

other activities, except surfing, ever since I started

practicing. I've surfed in the early am and gone to a class

in the middle of the day and that pretty much wiped

my day and evening out. I guess it is all about

balance.

[Guest guest]

Boljsd- on Sundays I usually either rock climb

for several hours or road bike 50-80 miles with

friends before going to a led 1st series class at 4pm.

Typically I time it so that there's a 1-2 hour break

between the end of the sports activity and the start of

the class. This works great for me. I have tried

riding after an early morning mysore class and don't

feel as comfortable. After class some of us have

dinner at a nearby Thai restaurant and then I have just

enough energy left to go home and get some things done

like pay some bills or do the laundry. A perfect day.

[Guest guest]

i don't really work out but i do golf--not quite

the same thing. i've found that playing after

practice has almost no effect on my golf game but if i

golf before practice, it definitely affects my

practice--i'm way more stiff. i haven't surfed in a while so i

can't comment on how that goes. i would think that

surfing prior would really make you stiff because of the

water temp. i've been thinking about getting back out

in the water lately. after am practice in encinitas,

i'll go to the lookout over moonlight beach and watch

the surfers. kind of a good way to spend the vibe

that comes from practice--better that than wasting it

in traffic. watching them kind of stirs the old

juices. if there was just more time. i have a friend who

has recently taking up hiking in the trails near our

house. she feels that it makes her stiff as well.

somewhere on line there is an interview with david swenson.

in it he made the comment that the other activities

in his life, like his running or the care of his

ailing fathe, make his yoga more difficult.

[Guest guest]

I know from personal experience that Sri KP

prefers one be focused on yoga and that other exercise is

not high on his list. That being said, I've done the

advanced practice with Guriji and walked outside and swam

two miles in Hawaii on several occasions. I have a

picture of myself and the Guru with my speedo and gogles

on preparing for a big dip, Guruji is just saying,

"Why?". He will tell you about breathing through your

mouth and how this is not correct. I explained to him

that rough water swimming and breathing through the

nose are not compatible. However, I am able to keep

mula bandha while swimming and inhaling through my

mouth. I've gone into advanced the day after a 60-70

mile big rides with the big triathletes. I know I put

myself at a disadvantage to the others in the class who

spent the previous afternoon resting or in padmasana.

Would I change anything and do less activities.

Absolutely not. To live the life of a yogi does not mean to

live in isolation, either geographically or socially.

As I've said here in previous posts, take your yoga

to the streets, be it through golf, singing,

politics, farming or flying airplanes. Let the yoga prana

permeate the planet!<br><br>Yours in yoga,

[Guest guest]

"To live the life of a yogi does not mean to live

in isolation, either geographically or socially. As

I've said here in previous posts, take your yoga to

the streets, be it through golf, singing, politics,

farming or flying airplanes. Let the yoga prana permeate

the planet!"<br><br>Takeitup2000--you rock! If I

wasn't married I'd probably chase after you!

<br><br>My experience with other physical activities and

ashtanga: I've gone on some pretty tough all-day hikes

after practice and came out energized, not necessarily

stiff so much as sore in the quads for a few days.

Found also that mula bandha helps with balance and

control on the descent, and crossing streams on mossy

logs and rocks. These are my least favorite part of

hiking. I HATE going downhill. My legs get rubbery and I

feel like I'm gonna fall and get a

boo-boo.<br><br>Also we've got a tandem mountain bike and have gone on

rides the same day as practice. I'm on the back seat so

can focus on bandha and the scenery, which helps stop

me from complaining.

[Guest guest]

It is nice to see that there may be hope for

me... in a long, long, time- far into the future to get

towards advanced series as I also like to practice my

yoga and ride my bike and run and xc ski...<br>Thanks

for the inspirational words and yogic insights that

are not 'spewed' out as if they were gospel. You come

across as someone that I would stop to listen to, unlike

some others that "profess to know" all re: astanga.