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The Yin and the Yang of Yoga

8/16/2019

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I must confess that I've been guilty of focusing on more of the Yang in my Yoga practice. I like the fire and the heat, the exertion and the sweat. But recently, probably because of the cold winter mornings, I've started implementing more yin inspired movements into my practice. Yin Yoga is a practice that works on the deep connective tissues of the muscles. You don't work yourself up into a sweat so you want to keep warm by wearing a few layers of clothing. Starting off the morning 'rugged up' with long pants and socks on is a new sensation for me on the mat, but I love it! Some mornings I'll do nothing but Yin, other days I'll mix up the yin with a Vinyasa flow. Check out this article about why Yin Yoga could be the refresher your practice needs. I'll be bring more Yin to my classes. More info to follow soon!
Namaste fellas..
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click  here for the article.
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Why do Yoga?

8/15/2019

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I started Yoga after my running 'career' left me with frayed Achilles Heels. I loved jogging up and down the hills of Redcliffs and Sumner in Christchurch, New Zealand, but my heels didn't. The constant flexion of the heel whilst running up the hill was not good for me. The knees also took a beating when I came down the hill (!) as I was using them as brakes, basically. So, I took up Yoga and haven't looked back. I read this article (below)  today which  made me think about my on/off journey and how I've now come to practice Yoga 4-5 times a week.

http://www.executivestyle.com.au/seven-reasons-why-every-man-should-take-up-yoga-graz22
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Using what you’ve got.

6/29/2019

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​We have 4 metal posts in the middle of the studio. The posts have caused some discussion. Mainly about how we can get rid of them. We weren’t fans.
After reading a web page about how to stretch the psoas muscle using a door frame. I came up with the idea of using the posts for the same stretch. 
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You can read the full article here- yogainternational.com/article/view/how-to-stretch-and-strengthen-the-psoas .The article has a warm up sequence which you should do prior to this stretch.
So, a good way to isolate the psoas stretch, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced practitioner, is to practice Virabhadrasana I (warrior 1) in a doorway. Find an open doorway (or a post) and step up close so that the right side of your body is just behind the door jamb. Step your left leg through the doorway, and place your right foot two to three feet behind you, with that back heel off the floor. Stretch your arms overhead and rest your hands on the wall. Bend both knees slightly, and align your pubic bones, navel, and breastbone with the door frame.
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To Class Structure, or not To Class Structure..?!

6/29/2019

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​I’ve been running the morning Yoga Classes at YogaJak for over 15 months now and have developed a set routine for the warmup. I like taking things a bit easy to start with. Especially at the moment with the cold weather. You need a good 10 minutes of gentle movements to get the muscles firing up which helps prevent injury. Once this has happened, its then onto the main part of the class which will either be a routine I’ve been working on or a request for something from one of the blokes in class. The most requested class is one with a lot of breath work and meditation, followed by a class focusing on specific areas.
The main physical areas of concern for men that I see would be shoulders, back, hips and hammies. These generally relate to the jobs they have. There are men who work in an office all day who have tight hammies from sitting down a lot, plus the rounded shoulders from working on a computer. Does anyone take a 5-10 minute break every hour as you’re supposed to? I doubt it. I have mechanics with bad backs along with sparkies, plumbers and any other manual trade really. Do you do a two man lift on anything over 20kgs? Again, probably not. So, with this is mind here’s a few poses you can do at work whether it’s the office, the site or the workshop. 

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​Sit on a chair, a pile of bricks (!) whatever you can find as long as your feet are hip width apart and flat on the floor.
Take a deep breath and reach your arms up to the sky. As you exhale drop your head down behind you and bend slightly from the upper back and chest. Imagine your chest rising up as you bend back. Keep your core sucked in as you perform this. Repeat 4 or 5 times.

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​Either use a desk or something for your hands to rest on (at desk height). Straighten your arms and bend your knees slightly to achieve a flat back. Gravity will give your shoulders a good stretch and counteract the hunching that can happen when performing certain tasks. Hold for about a minute, or until your work mates see you and start taking the piss.

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​Stand with your feet hip width apart. Bend knees slightly and fold from the hips. The knees need to be bent enough so you maintain a flat back. Just hang there and let gravity take effect. It’s a great one for counteracting gravity. It lengthens out your spine and decompresses your shoulders, plus the blood flow to the head will give your more focus and energy. If you want a bit more, try straightening out the legs so the hammies fire up. BUT don’t forget to keep the flat back, this protects your lower spine.

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​Your back can get achy from sitting or hunching over all day.  A seated twist will get the blood moving around the spine along with helping your digestion.
Sitting down with your feet flat on the floor, lift up so your spine is tall and straight. Inhale, and on the exhale twist to one side, from your abs mainly but also a little bit from your upper back. If you’re sat in a chair use the armrest that you’re facing to grab onto. If not grab the leg you’re facing. Hold for a few seconds and release. Then do the other side. 

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​This can be done ANYWHERE! Well, almost. Stand with your feet hip width apart. Inhale and stretch your arms up to the sky. Imagine someone’s got hold of your wrists and is trying to lift you up. Take your arms wide, drop your shoulder down. Lift your chest to the sky. Engage your core and lean back. Drop your head down behind just like the seated back bend.
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Winter.

6/29/2019

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Winter is here. ‘Sunny Coasters’ as the name suggests live in a very sunny part of the world. The sun coming up at 4.30am in the height of summer makes for an area full of early risers. The same cannot be said for the winter though. The early morning Yoga classes at YogaJak start at 6am during the week, and at the moment you’d arrive to class in the twilight of dawn with the temperature anywhere from 5 – 15 degrees.
Even I am finding it very hard to get up out of the sack and to come to class, but I have a good motivational reason as I’m taking the practice! I do find that once I’m on the mat and moving I’m glad I made it. Plus I pump the heating up to 24 degrees to remind us all of what summer was like, so it’s not that bad.
So, as the saying goes, ‘The hardest part of a yoga practice is getting to the mat’. This is true, but once you’re there, you’ll be glad you did make the effort. The early morning sessions set your muscles up for the day by lengthening and strengthening them which helps to prevent injuries during your day. You’re also working on clearing the mind of its usual chatter and creating focus and calm. This is why I love the Vinyasa Yoga style. It kills two birds with one stone! Exercise for the body and the mind.
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Byron Bay Hypnobirthing & Yoga Retreat for Couples

2/8/2019

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​As some of you are aware my wife, Carrie runs Hypnobirthing and Pre-natal Yoga Classes from the studio. The beautiful lady has put together a Luxury Babymoon Retreat package to the Byron Bay hinterland for 3 days and 3 nights at the stunning Gymea Eco Retreat.
The retreat will offer quality education for the ‘mum and dad to-be’, learning proven skills, techniques and coping mechanisms for the birth.  For the men there’s education on how to support your partner during the birth of your baby.
There’s yoga for the men. I’ll be running those classes along with offering Thai Yoga Massage.
SO if you’ve got any mates and their partners who are looking for some quality birthing education to prepare them for birth, along with lots of other stuff then get them to this link below.
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Gymea. Eco Retreat. Byron Bay
Click here for details
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Thai Yoga Massage

2/8/2019

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I'm now a Level one Thai Yoga Massage Practitioner. I’m offering my services for a full 90 minute massage. Thai Yoga Massage is different from a normal massage in that it’s fully clothed and uses no oils. It uses a sequence of flowing movements and rhythmic massage to loosen and stretch the recipient’s muscles and to help with the range of motion in the joints.
​It can help with pains in your back, neck, shoulders, hips, legs and much more. It’s also great for stress relief and brings about a feeling of calm afterwards.
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Click here for details
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More Yoga Goals

2/8/2019

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I took part in a Level 1 Thai Yoga Massage Course at the end of last year. It will be a great complement to my Yoga teaching. I shan’t be giving anyone a full-on Thai massage in class (!) but an occasional adjustment and extra work in a stretch or the use of an elbow to apply pressure will do the trick. No walking on any ones back though.  I doubt they’d get up off the floor afterwards.
(BUT! Thai Yoga Massages are available - next paragraph!)
I have a few other courses planned for the year and a hopefully a Meditation retreat will be slotted in.  All of this extra knowledge will keep on enriching my teachings which means all the blokes will benefit as well. So, everyone’s a winner. Choice.
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A new pose for class???!!
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Yoga Goals

2/8/2019

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​My Yoga Pose goal for next year is going to be a handstand without the aid of the wall behind me.
I started doing handstands probably 4 years ago. This was the first time I’d been in a handstand EVER, but I only really started concentrating on them since starting the YogaJak classes. Before this it was something that I did, upon request (in a Yoga Class) but wouldn’t just have ‘a go’ at home or wherever.  When I was a kid at school the boys were all playing cops n robbers or cowboys and Indians, the girls were all doing handstands. I should have joined in with the girls as you have no fear when you’re a kid. I’d have just got stuck in and popped up no worries.  As you age though you tend to look at things first and then make the call on whether it’s a good thing or not. I didn’t think it was a good thing!!
If you’ve ever tried to do a handstand you’ll know that the hardest part, in the beginning is getting up. There’s certain little things that you need to do which make it easier and obviously, practice makes perfect. There’s also certain alignments and rotations (of the shoulders) that you need to be aware of. Once you’re up, your next goal is to see if you can get your feet off the wall for a bit of ‘glide time’. This is where I am now. I like the feeling of knowing the wall is there behind me, to support me, should I need it, and I do need it, still.
The main movement I need to be able to execute is called an, ‘exit strategy’, it’s exactly what is says, a way of getting out of the pose without just falling into a heap on the floor and possibly damaging something. So the ‘exit strategy’, will be to do a cartwheel and elegantly (!) landing on my feet should I lose my balance and go over.  First though, I need to learn how to do a cartwheel!
Can you think of a pose that you’re keen on mastering? Make it a goal in class. Let me know what you’re focusing on and we can work towards it. 
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A bit of a 'Meddo'

12/21/2018

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​I started Yoga, as most people do, for the physical benefits. But you become aware (quite quickly) that there is so much more to it. The physical postures make your head stay in the present as you become mindful of what your body is doing. This is a form of meditation. It can be that simple.

I’ve been getting quite into my meditation recently. It took me a long time but the main ingredient missing in my meditation practice was my consistency of the practice!  So now after a morning class I come home and sit on the deck outside.  The easiest way is to start meditating is just to close your eyes and simply listen. Start by listening to the sounds of the birds and the wind in the trees, along with babies crying, dogs barking, people singing in the shower!.. etc., etc. The secret is not to get annoyed at the sounds but just to accept them as background noise. Try not to give a name to them just let them wash over you like a wave of sound.  By doing this you’re concentrating on the ‘here and now’.

This is important as the brain does like to wander off and start thinking about ‘stuff’. ‘Stuff’ will include events that happened in the past and events that are going to happen in the future. I find myself thinking about past events and thinking how I could have changed the situation. Obviously not happy with the original outcome! Also future events are played out. In these I’m thinking how I’m going to handle a situation.  It’s silly really. But the brain loves it AND, it needs to do this, but it also needs calm.

So all this ‘chatter’ happens in the left side of the brain. Whilst the right side of the brain concentrates on the present. If you can concentrate on the present then the left side of the brain is quiet and you’re making space in the brain. Calming it down. We have so many things that stimulate the brain, in this modern High-tech world. It needs to be quiet sometimes.

Now it’s easy to get a glimpse of the calm. But inevitably, for me the left side will suddenly crank into life and it’s off on its merry way, thinking about ‘stuff’. The trick here is not to get annoyed at it. Just push it to one side and tell yourself you’ll deal with it later.

After a while of taking in the ‘wall of sound’ around me, I then start to take the concentration inside my body. The first thing I concentrate on is the breath. By using the breath you’re concentrating on the present. The breath is always in the present. I take the concentration to the end of my nose and feel in the air and it rushes in, renewing life, and then the exhale as it purges the body of toxins.

As I mentioned earlier, the key is consistency in the practice. There’s a lot more I could tell you about my experiences. Some of the experiences stop at the feeling of the breath at the end of the nose. Others go on to an amazing place where I’ve felt like there was a dome sat over the top of me and I was conscious that the dome was the space inside my head. Sounds like I’ve been smoking something, doesn’t it?!  Honestly I haven’t.

p.s. The title for this article came from one of the blokes in class. We do like to abbreviate words (A LOT!) in Oz. and of course, once you've butchered the word the best thing you can do is stick an 'o' on the end.!! 
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Stevo    
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YOGAJAK

Yoga For Men
Maroochydore 4558
Caloundra West 4551
Brighton 4017
Queensland

T: 0400 611 957

  • Home
  • About
  • CLASSES
    • Yoga for Men
    • Yoga on the Lake.
    • Workplace Yoga
    • Beginners Video Series
  • REVIEWS
  • Registration
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  • CONTACT
  • Gift Vouchers