Link to Prana Chant

I had many requests for our Prana chant after teaching with it at the SYTAR event, so I created a hidden page on my website that contains the text and an audio clip of me reciting it.

Anatomy Homework for January 24, 2007

Hi All.

First a commercial announcement.

We have arranged for a special discount for any of you who wish to take Tom Myers' workshops "The Anatomy of Inversion – Friday-Saturday, February 23-24" or the Part II: Neck, Shoulders, & Thorax: The Soft Tissue Approach - February 25-26. The Advanced Studies discount is $275 for either workshop (regular price is $325.)

Your class stubs can be used for 15 hours per each workshop (30 stubs for all 4 days). The remainder ($110.00 ) of the fee can be paid directly to The Breathing Project. All hours spent studying with Tom Myers are applicable to our 100 or 200 hour certificate.

Needless to say, I highly recommend Tom's work. He is truly one of the top educators of the human body on the planet, and we are very fortunate to be his "home base" in NYC.

Also, here's a link to Matt Taylor's excellent Yoga Therapy intake form:
http://www.myrehab.com/screening.pdf


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Homework:

In addition to last weeks' assignment (see below) I'd like you to also try your hand at a flexion/extension haiku. Here's mine:

Exhale rounds my spine,
Inhaling lifts me open.
Flexion, extension.

(Last week)

Please BRIEFLY (just a few sentences each) define:

Forward bending

Backward bending

Spinal flexion

Spinal extension

Also, give at least three examples of how we can observe the qualities of sthiram/sukham in the structure/function of the spine.

I look forward to seeing you next week, when we will examine the degrees of spinal range of motion in axial rotation (twisting) and lateral flexion.


Leslie

BMC & Yoga: Body Systems - Workshops with Amy Matthews

As you all know, I am a very big fan of the teaching of Amy Matthews, and I'm thrilled to recommend these upcoming workshops at The Breathing Project.

If you've studied with Amy, you know what an extraordinary teacher she is. If you haven't, what are you waiting for?

embodied asana presents:
BMC & Yoga: Body Systems
Saturdays: February 3: Organs
April 7: Nervous System
May 5: Ligaments
June 2: Fluids




These one-day workshops explore the ways that Body-Mind Centering® supports the practice of yoga . . . as well as the ways that asana practice supports the embodiment of BMC™ principles.

Each day will focus on one body system: the morning session will be an asana practice, and the afternoon will include anatomy, individual exploration, and discussion.

All levels of movement experience are welcome, and no yoga or BMC™ experience is necessary.

The Breathing Project: 15 W 26 St, 10th Fl (b/t B’way & 6th Ave), NYC
11 am – 5 pm: 11 am-1 asana practice & 2-5 pm workshop
$75 day: email register@breathingproject.org to register
morning session can be taken separately, for $30

Amy Matthews, CMA, SME, RYT, RSMT/RSME has been teaching movement since 1994. She is a Certified Laban Movement Analyst and a Body-Mind Centering® Practitioner. Amy is certified as a yoga teacher by Heart of Yoga and Yoga Union, is registered with ISMETA and Yoga Alliance, and is certified as a Motherhand Shiatsu practitioner.

Amy has been on the faculty of the Year-Long Certificate Program at the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies since 2000, and teaches embodied asana classes and workshops at Movements Afoot, as part of the Advanced Studies Program at the Breathing Project, and at the Society for Martial Arts Instruction. Amy works privately as a movement therapist, integrating Laban Movement Analysis, Bartenieff Fundamentals, yoga and Body Mind Centering®. She teaches anatomy workshops for LIMS, co-teaches “Still Moving” karate and yoga workshops with Sensei Michelle Gay for the Society for Martial Arts Instruction, and has co-taught with Alison West on Yoga Union's Teacher Training program.

Questions? Call 917-843-9537, or e-mail spiralamy@aol.com

Yoga Anatomy Homwwork for Jan. 17, 2007

Hi All.

Greetings from sunny Los Angeles (well, it's still dark outside, but it will be sunny in a few hours).

Here's your assignment based on this week's session:

Please BRIEFLY (just a few sentences each) define:
Forward bending
Backward bending
Spinal flexion
Spinal extention
Also, give at least three examples of how we can observe the qualities of sthiram/sukham in the structure/function of the spine.

I look forward to next week's lesson, when we will explore the degreees of range of motion of the various section of the spine in flexion and extention.

Have a great weekend.

Leslie

Yoga Anatomy Homwwork for Jan. 10, 2007

Hi All.

My apologies for the delay. It took me a while to do a full update of all the new e-mail addresses for this trimester.

Here's your simple task for this week.

Based on our exploration of the evolution of the spine, please **briefly** explain the following:

* the primary curves of the spine

* the secondary curves of the spine

Please try to relate your answers to the principle of sthiram/sukham.

I look forward to seeing you next Wednesday, when we'll talk about the curves of the spine, the basic movements of flexion/extention, and how they relate to inhale/exhale.

As a bonus, here's a link to my article" The Evolution of the Spine."


Leslie

Homework for December 13, 2006

Hi All.

Your homework for this week is to come up with any questions or topics you want me to cover next Wednesday, which will be a review session.

I was hoping to bring Adreinne Jamiel in to do something, but we had a scheduling conflict. We'll bring her in next year for something special during the Winter or Spring trimesters.

Here are the wonderful haikus that were sent in last week:



lift the pelvic floor
soften sphincter but keep the lift
say mula banhda

exhale round the spine
lift shape change without unhaling
say uddiyana

drop the chin to chest
lift front throat to back throat no breath
say jalandara


Ujjayi support
deep cavities as you bend
pressure for the spine


Alicia Ohs


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from the ground up
mula roots, uddiyana lifts
steady and energetic


sustainable and focused
ujayyi stabilizes the core
warming our pliable structure


Eileen O'Sullivan

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Inner energy
supporting. Stabilizing
bandhas: one, two, three.

Internal pressure,
Subtle hissing, larynx braced,
Stabilize the spine.


Jaymie Meyer

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Mula uddiya
Stability from your root
Creates space above


Breath like a whisper
Helps the rib cage stabilize
To protect the back

Lauren Ohayon


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energy grounding
I glance down and fly through space
open and stable

sounds like the ocean
a valve to monitor breath
gives my spine support



Leah Thomas



-----------------------

Pulling up the root
to fly is so much trouble--
better to crawl along.


Holding back the breath
like slow drinking when thirsty--
I prefer to gulp.


Tim Regan

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Stable root below
gives support to upward flight...
...mula - uddiya.


Leslie Kaminoff


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Draw base up and in
Feel inward strength give ribs lift
Let chin and chest meet

Streaming the breath brings
Longer inhale and exhale
Supporting the spine



Weena Pauly


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Homework for December 6, 2006

Hi All.

Here are some homework questions:

1. How would you BRIEFLY explain the bandhas? Pretend a beginning student heard the term in class and was confused by it, and you're trying to help clarify.

For extra credit, try a haiku. Here's mine:

Stable root below
gives support to upward flight...
...mula - uddiya.

2. How would you BRIEFLY describe the relationship of ujjayi breathing and support for the spine? Pretend a beginning student heard the idea in class and was confused by it, and you're trying to help clarify.

For extra credit, try a haiku. Here's mine:

Ujayyi's a valve
that stiffens my cavities
to protect my spine.


3. Click on the following link to a charming BBC website that contains a discussion relevant to our "scared shitless" question:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A641206

Be prepared to discuss.

--------------------------------

I'm REALLY looking forward to next week, when we will explore the upper airway structures of breath and voice, and experience the thrill of Sanskrit phonetics. This is definitely one of my favorite things to teach, so be prepared to have fun with sound!

Have a great weekend.


Leslie

Yoga Anatomy Homework for Nov. 22, 2006

Hi All.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. I spent mostly quiet time with my family, decompressing from the intensity of the past few weeks.

The only assignment this week is to read some text from my book. It's the end of the chapter on breathing that deals with accessory muscles and the bandhas - which we will begin discussing on Wednesday.

See you then!

Leslie

Yoga Anatomy Homework for November 15, 2006

Hi All.

Well, it was entirely predictable that I'd be late with this e-mail this week - due to all the activity surrounding our Thursday benefit and weekend open house.

This week, your task is easy. Please read the attached piece of writing, think about it, and come to class prepared to discuss its relevance to our studies.

After doing that, we will have a unique opportunity to view the latest footage from Gil Hedley's Integral Anatomy Series on the cranial and visceral fascia - which includes the diaphragm and lungs. This volume has not yet been released to the public, so thanks to Gil's generosity in sharing it with me, we will be some of the first people to view it. I'm very excited about sharing this with you - almost as excited as Gil was when he handed it to me at the benefit on Thursday.


See you Wednesday.


Leslie


Please read - and meditate on its significance...


A Tale of Two Farmers - A Parable


(based on the Yogasutra of Patañjali, Chapter 4, Sutra 3)
"Change in the characteristics of matter or mind can be achieved through profound intelligence (Prakriti-Apurat - lit: "by the inflow of nature")...

...but such intelligence can only remove obstacles that obstruct certain changes. Its role is no more than that of a farmer who cuts a dam to allow water to flow into the field where it is needed."

Once upon a time, there was a farmer. He owned fine fields that had good soil and water nearby. When planting time came, he put his seeds into the ground in long, straight rows. Since the seeds needed water, the farmer’s next job was getting the water to his fields. He used the same tools for this task that his father, his father’s father, and all his ancestors had used before him.

His watering tools were two large buckets with rope handles, and a wooden carrying stick that fit across the back of his shoulders. With his stick and buckets, he went up the hill near his fields to a pond that was there. At the pond, he filled the buckets with water and slipped the ends of the carrying stick under the rope handles. Balancing the stick on his shoulders, he then carried the water-filled buckets down the hill to his fields, where he emptied them into the furrows where his seeds were planted.

In order to water his crops fully, the farmer had to repeat this process hundreds of times. It was hard, backbreaking work, but the crops grew. In time, the farmer’s family grew also, and he had to plant even more crops in order to feed them. As soon as his children were old enough, they were given buckets and sticks of their own so they could help their father in growing their food.

In this manner, the farmer and his family managed to survive on the food they grew in their fields. It was a difficult life, filled with hard labor that left them hungry and tired at the end of the day. They did enjoy a respite from their labors in the cold season, when they ate the food they had stored up, mended their buckets and carved improved versions of their carrying sticks.




Miles away from the first farmer and his family lived another farmer who owned fine fields that had good soil and water nearby. When planting time came, the second farmer also put his seeds into the ground in long, straight rows. But when it came time to water his fields, the second farmer used a different tool than the first farmer.

The tool that the second farmer used to water his fields was a shovel.

With his shovel, the second farmer dug a set of channels alongside the rows of seeds he had planted. He made sure that these channels all connected with each other, and then joined them to a wider channel that he began digging up the hill that was next to his fields. It was hard, backbreaking work that took him days to complete, but when the farmer finally reached the pond at the top of the hill, he paused to rest and view the result of his efforts. Then, picking up his shovel once more, he delivered a final, precise blow to the last bit of earth that separated his channel from the pond.

The farmer watched with satisfaction as the water gushed into the gap and flowed through the wide channel that ran down the side of the hill. From there, the water flowed freely into the network of smaller channels that fed the furrows where his seeds were planted.

When his fields had been sufficiently watered, the farmer used a lever to lower a large stone into the channel where it connected to the pond. In this manner, he was able to precisely control the flow of water to his crops.

Armed with his shovel, some leverage, and his knowledge of water’s tendency to seek its own level, the second farmer not only survived, but prospered. His family grew, as did his farm. In fact, he produced more food than his family needed, and was able to share his surplus with his neighbors. All year round, his well-fed family enjoyed many creative activities, including weaving, sewing, and producing beautifully crafted shovels—which they generously taught their neighbors how to use.

Eventually, one of those shovels found its way to the first farmer—who, after learning how to use it (and making the proper apologies to his ancestors), happily abandoned the use of his buckets.


© Leslie Kaminoff

Yoga Anatomy Homework for November 8, 2006

Hi All.

In our usual G.O.B.S. format, please BRIEFLY describe the following breath patterns in terms of diaphragmatic and accessory action:

"Belly Breath"

"Chest Breath"

and for extra credit:

"Kapalabhati"

Key words to use would be diaphragm, intercostals, abdominals, stabilize, mobilize, support, release, contract, relax.


I look forward to seeing you next Wednesday, when we will practice "seesaw breathing," explore more principles of Brahmana/Langhana and get more specific about the names of the accessory muscles.

Have a great weekend.


Leslie

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Links:

David Hykes website:
http://www.harmonicpresence.org/

Referenced book:
"Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self" by Allan N. Schore

Homework for Nov. 1, 2006

Hi All.

First, I'd like you to click on the link for my article in the posting below.
After reading the article, please briefly explain the following, *GOBS*
The location of the diaphragm in the body
The relations of the diaphragm
The origin and insertion of the diaphragm
The action of the diaphragm

Don't worry bout getting it perfect at this point - we'll have another few passes at this before we're through. This is just for me to see how much you've absorbed so far.

I look forward to seeing you next week, when we'll begin discussing the accessory muscles.

--------------------------------
Also, we are actively searching for a replacement for Jen Harris. The job description is attached below. If you or anyone you know is interested, please contact us ASAP.
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Have a great weekend.


Leslie

==========================================================

The Breathing Project's Yoga Studio seeks part-time administrative help.

12 hours a week/ $200 dollars (possible commissions in the future)

Position involves:

Updating website and managing weekly newsletter; designing and updating flyers and other marketing materials; answering phones and taking messages; selling memberships, class cards and workshops; interacting with yoga students, teachers and visiting presenters; pursuing workshop presenters in line with the studio's philosophy and focus; tracking income and running reports on Quickbooks; writing bios and descriptive text for classes; assisting owner and staff as needed.

Skills needed: Familiarity with Macromedia Contribute, Photoshop, Illustrator, Quickbooks and HTML. Familiarity with basics of yoga postures and philosophy Excellent communication and people skills a must. Excellent writing and editing skills. Able to work independently. Business background a plus, but not required.

Perks: Free yoga classes, free attendance at yoga workshops, able to work at home for part of the weekly hours, fun, informal work atmosphere, possible discounts on Advanced Studies Programs.

Link to New IAYT Journal article by Leslie Kaminoff

This is an article I'm particularly fond of. It's title is: "What Yoga Therapists Should Know About Breath Anatomy." It has just come out in IAYT's annual International Journal of Yoga Therapy.

It sums up very nicely most of the key concepts I teach in the Fall trimester of my Yoga Anatomy course. Please feel free to follow this link to the online and PDF versions. You may print out a single copy for your own use. Also, please use the comments feature of this blog to post any questions or reflections you may have.

Seeking Volunteers for Fundraising Event on November 16th

If you are interested in volunteering for our big benefit event on Thursday November 16th, please contact The Breathing Project's Director of development, Carolyn Arnold.

We are especially in need of people who can be available starting at noon on the day of the event, and others who can stay late, to help clean up afterwards. The event starts at 6:00PM, and will end at about 10:30PM. Aside from the time commitment on 11/16, there will be a planning meeting that will take place earlier that week, day and time to be announced shortly.

Although we can't afford to give volunteers totally free admission, there are significant discounts available. Carolyn will be happy to discuss the arrangements with you.

I look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.

Leslie

Announcing the new blog for my Anatomy Course

This is a private blog, just for current and former students of The Breathing Project's Advanced Studies Program.
Each week's homework assignment will be posted here, as well as the upcoming topic for next week.
E-mail notification will be sent to this private list every time a post is made.

Let me know what you think by using the comment feature.

If you have any information, links, ideas or articles you'd like to share, please post them as comments. This space is for you to use to dialogue and share.

Leslie

Homework for October 25, 2006

Hi All.

This is the first official homework assignment for the Fall 2006 trimester of our advanced studies course. These messages also go out to all the graduates and former students of the previous three terms of the course, as well as all the Breathing Project teachers. If anyone reading this wishes to be removed from this distribution, just let me know, and I'll take you off the list.

For all A.S.P. graduates, please remember that you are welcome to drop in (for free) on any of my Wednesday classes between now and the end of June. This includes the Yoga Anatomy from 2-4PM, and my ABC sessions from 4:15 to 6:15PM. You are also welcome to attend my Wednesday evening open class, from 6:30-8:00PM (that's not free, but it's worth it).

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First, some administrative business:

IMPORTANT GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING HOMEWORK:

1. Please send your homework as text within the body of a reply email - NOT AS AN ATTACHED DOCUMENT.

2. Using a "REPLY" e-mail insures that the original subject header (eg: re: Anatomy Homework for October 25, 2006) appears in your subject line. This is how I sort your message into the proper folder. Without that header, your assignment will definitely get lost among the approximately 300 e-mails I receive every day.

3. Make sure to delete everything form your reply except your answer (including the question). This saves me a lot of time and trouble when I prepare to print out and review your homework (so, if you follow this guideline, I will not see this guideline in your reply).

4. If you have a question related to the homework, please include that in your reply, but any other messages, links, or information not directly related to your homework should be sent to me in a separate message, with a relevant subject header.

5. Make sure I receive your homework no later than midnight of the Tuesday preceding class. Assignments submitted later than that will not make it into my review.

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OK. Now that that's out of the way, here's your simple task for this week.


Please briefly describe, as if explaining to a group of beginning students, the three dimensions of breath movement in the thoracic cavity. Use any relevant images or hand placements that work for you.

(Since the phrase; "Please Briefly Describe, As If Explaining To A Group Of Beginning Students" will frequently be used in these assignments, it will henceforth be abbreviated as: GOBS, which is a shortened version of PBDAIETAGOBS).

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I look forward to seeing you next week, when we will learn about the location, relations, origin, and insertion of the principal muscle of abdomino-thoracic shape change - the diaphragm.


Have a great weekend.



Leslie