Dear Yoga Student,

Intensity is the impetus for change in yoga and in life, but
you have to be very careful with areas like your knees, neck,
back, shoulders, or elbows…

The truth is that most serious injuries are actually re-injuries of
a very small warning sign from your body that you didn’t listen
to or didn’t take very seriously.

Yoga done correctly will help you tune in and listen better to your
own biology.

Just like any physical activity, in yoga, you’re bound to feel
some aches and pains from time to time. It’s normal and
expected, so your job is to listen and react appropriately to
help your body heal, open and transform.

The shoulders are a trouble area for many students as they
tend to develop tension during long working hours at a
computer (can you relate?).

From there, people often move too quickly into body weight
or resistance weight training (including yoga) which can cause
pain.

The shoulder is a complicated joint, and here’s a quick
video that will help you understand the Rotator Cuff and how
to rehabilitate it if you find yourself “feeling” one of those
warning signs that an injury is imminent.

Hope that’s useful…

In health,

Lucas
YOGABODY Naturals LLC
Yoga Swing for Back & Neck Pain

p.s. Have experience with rotator cuff injuries? Please post below…

Dear Yoga Student,

If you’re a person who almost NEVER feels
“warmed up,” I have a couple quick tips that
I think you’ll find useful…

… all of which I first learned when I lived in New
York City and was starting out with Ashtanga
Yoga.

I practiced in a very drafty studio in Soho, and
at 7 a.m., it was freezing in the winter.

Plus, I was always so stiff.
Plus, the postures just felt impossible.

It was like I was NEVER warmed up – ever -
so I developed a practice I call “til the sweat
drips off your nose.”

It’s really simple. If your body is feeling cold
and locked up, just keep doing Sun Salutations
until the sweat drips off your nose. Sometimes
that takes 10 minutes. Sometimes it takes 20
or more…

… and if you’re pressed for time and that’s ALL
you do (Sun Salutes), that’s OK too. Because
the moment the sweat drips off the tip of your
nose, you are officially warmed up and that’s
when you can really go deep.

Stay bendy,

Lucas
YOGABODY Naturals LLC
Sun Warrior Protein

p.s. A very small, strong cup of fresh ginger tea
works well too. YOGABODY Stretch gives lots
of students that “warmed up” feeling as
well. YOGABODY Stretch

Dear Student Name,

I teach Gravity Poses for flexibility because they’re
safe and extremely effective…

… you already know this.

BUT, there are some funky stretching tricks that
do work for SOME poses. The reason I don’t teach
these all the time is students get over excited and
push too hard.

You’ve been reading with me for a long time though,
so I’d like to show you this one ninja secret to learning
the frontal splits quickly.

NOTE: please watch the video above and follow the instructions
carefully. Listen to your body, and don’t force anything.

Ok, disclaimers out of the way – watch the video!

Stay bendy,

Lucas
YOGABODY Naturals LLC
Yoga Swing

p.s. If you’ve got specific questions or comments, I’d
love to answer them below… post away!

Dear Yoga Student,

Yoga breathing can be very intimidating and complex if you’re just starting out…

… BUT the great thing is that everyone can do simple breathing practices with little or no training that will deliver immediate benefits.

Traditionally, there are different breathing practices for different purposes: some are cooling, some are heating, some are relaxing, some are stimulating.

But 99% of the time, for 99% of people, you’ll
use breath to (a) relax the body, (b) cool the
body, and (c) focus the mind.

So assuming any (or all) of those 3 are your aim,
we can accomplish that very effectively, very
quickly.

BEFORE WE START

(1) Take your index finger and put it underneath
your nose like this in the photo.

(2) Exhale through your nose quickly a few times.

(3) Notice which nostril is MORE open (more air comes
out).

RIGHT NOSTRIL DOMINANCE is associated with the left
brain activity and is conducive for active states like working,
eating, exercising, etc.

LEFT NOSTRIL DOMINANCE is associated with the right
brain activity and is conducive for meditative states, relaxation,
sleep, and creativity.

HOW NOSTRIL PREFERENCE WORKS

As your brain activity changes throughout the day, so
does your dominant nostril. And simply sticking your
finger under your nose is the easiest way to get an instant
read on where your head is at.

When you’re super hungry, for example, you’ll almost
always be in your right nostril.

When you’re about to fall asleep, almost always it’ll
be your left (and if you’re not, you should get there…
more on how to do that later).

Naturally, your body will switch every 90-120 minutes
(there’s no rule on this). So our breath tells us which side
of our brain is most active; and the cool thing is that we
can turn around and use the breath, control the breath,
to influence our brain.

It really does work.

This is why people get so excited about pranayama,
or yoga breathing. It’s a very powerful tool for “mind
control.”

FIRST BREATHING PRACTICE

To start, let’s better understand our current mental state.
Do this “finger-under-the-nose” test through the day today.
Do it before every meal, right when you wake up, and right
before sleep… you’ll likely discover some imbalances right
away.

Take notes for the next 24 hours, and then we’ll move
on to some new practices.

Stay bendy,

Lucas
YOGABODY Naturals LLC
Yoga Exercises & Yoga Poses

p.s. Ever wonder why people who sleep on their side
always sleep on their right side? To learn why, go
to Yoga Breathing 102

Dear Yoga Student,

I’m going to teach you a dirty little inside secret
that most yoga teachers will never tell you…

… your balance is directly related to how flexible your
feet, ankles, and calves are!

I’ve spent thousands of hours in class watching people
trying to stand on one foot (and I’ve spent 3 times that
much practicing myself) so I can tell you with absolute
certainty that people with flexible feet can balance as solid
as trees!

Here’s the challenge: the shoes you wear squish your feet
into tight little bundles of tissues and your poor little toes
never get to be free!

I’ve lived on an island and worn flip flops for two
years, but you’re probably not so lucky. So here’s
what you can do.

Check out chapter 7 on “Wrists, Twists, & Ankles” in the
YOGABODY Handbook, and try to do that sequence at least
2x per week.

And here’s the dirty little secret I promised:

Go to a shop where they sell nail polish and get some of
those foam things that ladies stick between their toes when
they’re getting a pedicure.

Put those on before bed and wear them as long as possible.
Sometime, you’ll wake up after 2 hours with a deadly cramp,
but soon enough, you’ll get through the entire night with them
on…

… and when you wake up, your balance will be double what it
was the day before. I’m not exaggerating, and that’s why I
wear those stupid pink foamy things every night (don’t tell
anyone, hey?).

All for today…

Stay bendy,

Lucas
YOGABODY Naturals LLC
Yoga Flexibility Tools

Dear Yoga Student,

I get a lot of questions from people asking
how to do backbend dropbacks where you
go from bridge pose to standing, and then
back down… again and again.

Dropbacks are not really that difficult, but
it can be scary when you’re learning. In this
video (follow link below), I give some basic
instructions on how to practice.

*Watch* the Video Above

Things to remember:

1. Don’t be in a hurry to get to the floor
2. Lower body strong, upper body soft
3. Hang as long as you can
4. If the floor is too far away, drop back
to the wall (or a bed) at first to practice

Ok, that’s all for now! Don’t forget to practice
the back-opening series of poses in the YOGABODY
Handbook as preparation for deeper backbends
like this.

Stay bendy,

Lucas
YOGABODY Naturals LLC
Brown Rice Protein by Sun Warrior

p.s. Note from a student:

“I tried your YOGABODY Stretch for 3 weeks and gradually
feel the effects – recovery time from almost 1 week to 2
days, and some asanas like headstand I pick up more easily
and stable than before.” (Whimy, Hong Kong)

Seen my live food kit yet? Live Kefir & Kraut Starters HERE

Dear Yoga Students,

Did you know that hundreds of people get knee surgery every
single day?

Just in the last year, 4 of my close friends had surgery! One
was a yoga teacher, another was a runner, and the last two
hardly did anything physical at all.

So what’s up with our screwed up knees?

Here’s what’s going on: we wear shoes all day long that support
our arches, pad our feet from the earth, and do an amazing job
of creating MASSIVE muscular imbalances that make our
knees prone to injury.

Let me make it really simple for you:

     High Arches = Strong Knees
     Flat Feet = Knee Problems

“But what if my feet are naturally flat?” you ask.  

Well, then you’ve got to strengthen your arches to protect
your knees, and here are some exercises to get you started:

ARCH STRENGTHENING EXERCISE #1: run up stairs or
run on a stair-climber. Strong calves muscles create strong
Arches; and stairs keep you “on your toes” and build arch
strength very quickly.

ARCH STRENGTHENING EXERCISE #2: put a towel on
the floor, and using your toes, grab the towel, lift it off the
ground, and then drop it. Do this again and again until you
feel your foot and calf muscles starting to fatigue.

ARCH STRENGTHENING EXERCISE #3: with your feet hips-
width apart, stand up high on your toes, and bend your knees
halfway down. Extend your arms parallel to the floor, and hold
for 60 seconds (if you’ve ever done a Bikram class, this is part
2 of the Awkward Pose series). After 60 seconds, rest, and then
do it 4 more times…

… or you could skip all of the above and move to an island
like me where you can wear flip flops and go barefoot
all year round:)  

Stay bendy,

Lucas
YOGABODY Naturals LLC

p.s. If you’re knees are REALLY a problem, I’d also suggest
focusing on the “Writs, Twists, & Ankles” series (day 5) in my
YOGABODY Stretching Handbook.

Stretching exercises & yoga postures made easy