Not only will you help your students self-regulate in a positive and empowering way, but you also will learn techniques to decrease stress levels for yourself as a teacher.
This week, I’m highlighting the yoga asana, or pose, Salamba Sarvangasana, or supported all limb pose, which is more or less the English translation from Sanskrit. More simply referred to as supported shoulder stand, this pose keeps us on the floor and it moves us in the same direction in which we were moving the body with bridge posture. Because the pose is symmetrical, be mindful of keeping your breath in sync with the step by step movement of the posture.
To do supported shoulder stand pose, sit towards the front half or middle of your mat:
To come out of supported shoulder stand, reverse the steps above, moving mindfully and gently.
Be mindful of any impingement along the back, shoulders, or neck during supported shoulder stand. All the weight of the body should be supported by the arms and shoulders. There should be no weight on the neck. A folded blanket can be placed under the shoulders to help provide some cushioning for comfort if needed.
Some of this pose’s more specific benefits are that it strengthens the abdomen and hips. Supported shoulder stand pose also helps to regulate blood pressure and aids in intravenous return. Some of this pose’s contraindications are for those with any neck or shoulder pain as well as high blood pressure.
Highlighting some of bridge pose’s Ayurvedic points to consider (I hope you figured out your dosha!):
Also, from the perspective of Ayurveda, if you’re one dosha, but one day you’re feeling like another, try the modification for that dosha. The modification could be beneficial as a way to return you to balance with your own dominant dosha.
If you’re interested in learning or practicing yoga, please feel free to attend one of the yoga classes offered in the John A. Danzi Center, right on the SJC Patchogue campus (free for students, faculty and staff; $5 for alumni and guests).
Suppose I asked
you “when is your birthday?” After
all, it is a day set aside for celebrating your life
here on Earth. I am sure you would answer rather
quickly. But what if I asked you “what day is Earth Day?”
Why such a day is set aside celebrating peace,prosperity and
the planet as a whole… celebrating the Earth, which allows for your
birthday to be a thing. It allows for you to be a thing. The Earth – just
a mass of stuff. But a very particular arrangement of stuff. So particular
and specific in fact, that on this mass of stuff, moving at cataclysmic
speeds around a giant nuclear-fire-ball hurdling through the chasms
of oblivious space about a dark pit of massiveness to which light
cannot even escape yet here this arrangement is where there
is such a thing as water, cells, organisms, plants, animals,
people, our minds… amongst this chaos, upon
this mass of particular stuff that we call
Earth… we can exist. We
can say Life is.
So let us celebrate why we have birthdays at all. Tomorrow, April 22nd, is Earth Day.
Enjoy the Earthy video from Robert Revol:
View amazing waterfalls cascading from the sheer basalt walls of the Columbia River Gorge. Daily hikes will take us through riotous wildflower displays and to views of Mts. Adams, Hood, St. Helens, and more.
HIGHLIGHTS
INCLUDES
This week, I’m highlighting the yoga asana, or pose, Setu Bandhasana (or Setubandhasana), or bridge lock posture, which is more or less the English translation from Sanskrit. More simply referred to as bridge posture, this pose keeps us on the floor and it moves us in the opposite direction in which we were moving the body with head to knee posture. Because the pose is symmetrical, be mindful of keeping your breath in sync with the step by step movement of the posture.
To do bridge pose, sit towards the front half or middle of your mat:
Be mindful of any impingement along the back of the body during bridge pose. Focus on pressing the chest up and out as this helps in keeping the spine long, as well as the chest and front of the shoulders open. The goal of the posture is to open the front of the body and strengthen the back of the body.
Some of this pose’s more specific benefits are that it lengthens the spine and opens the chest. Bridge pose also helps to strengthen the back, glutes, and legs. It also provides a gentle message to the kidneys. Some of this pose’s contraindications are for those with any knee or low back issues. The use of props can aid and support you as your bridge pose develops.
Highlighting some of bridge pose’s Ayurvedic points to consider (I hope you figured out your dosha!):
Also, from the perspective of Ayurveda, if you’re one dosha, but one day you’re feeling like another, try the modification for that dosha. The modification could be beneficial as a way to return you to balance with your own dominant dosha.
If you’re interested in learning or practicing yoga, please feel free to attend one of the yoga classes offered in the John A. Danzi Center, right on the SJC Patchogue campus (free for students, faculty and staff; $5 for alumni and guests).
Do you fear blank forgotten pages
Those with no words
Only the edges define the emptiness
And collapse into oblivion
Like when the Earth was flat
The stark dead space
Where the only thing seen
Across the reincarnated branches
Heated and cooled
With chemicals and machines
Is the shadow of a hand
Shaking as the pen that hands hold
Doctrines such irrelevant purpose
Without the pen there is no hand
And so goes the shadow and the page
Like a flattened Earth.
Do you fear blank forgotten pages
Those with no words
Or is that you fear those
That are without yours?
On our paths through and to the day-to-day today, reflect on what it means to communicate with others and to express yourself through words. So often we say, “it is the way it is” and, “if it’s not, then it’s not.” Likewise, if the sun is the sun, and the moon is the moon, and we are as we are, then it is as it is no matter what we say about it. However, the difference comes from how we express it — and what a difference that is.
…So how will you express it?
No matter who we are we all have THAT day. The day when we don’t want to get out of bed, go to work, or do anything else for that matter. You just have to remember you have a purpose and this too shall pass. I have put together a list of ways to help you have a better day!
Around the w0rld, people are lighting it up blue to raise awareness regarding Autism. According to the DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), Autism can be classified as a complex disorder of the brain development where social interaction, verbal and non- verbal communication, as well as behaviors can be affected to varying degrees. Intellectual abilities, motor coordination and physical abilities can also be affected. To learn more about the characteristics of Autism and Autism Spectrum Diagnosis, please click here.
World Autism Day was started in December 2007 by the United Nations General Assembly to encourage countries and states to raise awareness regarding autism and encourage early diagnosis and intervention. The goal is to bring to light the high rates of autism around the world and the developmental challenges that come with this diagnosis. All around the world countries are lighting up buildings in blue, people are wearing blue, pinning blue ribbons to bring autism organizations together to celebrate individuals with autism. To read more about World Autism Day, please click here.
Wellness at St. Joseph's College 