FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: What’s the difference between Yoga and Pilates?

A: Yoga and Pilates are opposites, yet simpatico –complement each other! First, the intention of Yoga is to unite with The Divine; unlike Pilates, which engages a body-mind connection without focus on spirituality. Second, in practicing Pilates, there’s not one moment when the abdominals are not contracted –sucked in powerfully and drawn back toward the spine. In traditional Yoga, the stomach remains relaxed so sufficient energy flows through the belly without tension. And third, Yoga postures are often held exploring stillness, spaciousness and equanimity in a pose; whereas Pilates exercises are performed in a rhythmic flow –like a dance, moving from one exercise to the other.

Q: How can I strengthen a weak low back?

A: In all my years of teaching, I have never come across a weak low back. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Over-weak abdominals overburden the low back (along with postural compression), and the imbalance leaves lower back muscles vulnerable to strain and injury. Letting the lumbar spine take over to do the work of the lower abs that should be supporting the core, initiates stress and imbalance. Learning to relax the low back and strengthen the stomach muscles is the solution. The problem often identifies examining postural alignment. If we tend to have an anterior tilt of the pelvis, meaning the pubis bone tips toward the back, allowing the tailbone to shift back and out of alignment, we misalign and carry stress in the low spine. Ideally, if we think of dropping a plumb line from the crown (top center of head) through the sternum (breastbone) and through the tailbone, we stack each vertebra in the same plane and align with gravity. This is a neutral spine and stress-free. When the tailbone is posterior (behind) to the sternum, the misalignment induces swayback, a condition that puts stress on the lumbo-sacral spine and other muscles as well. Optimal pelvic alignment, neutral spine, requires body awareness to maintain proper body mechanics.

Q: Why is it when I do a sit up, my neck and back hurt?

A: The strain is often due to inability to release the tension in the solar plexus –the mid-chest, ribcage region of the body. If the mid-back is tight, there’s a tendency to arch the low back and also pull on the neck when doing a sit up. Flexibility is necessary in the solar plexus to release tension the mid-back. The solar plexus is the ‘emotional dumpster’ of the body, and stress stores here. If we cannot exhale all the air (tension) out of it as we crunch forward, the tightness in the front ribs will not allow the middle and lower back to relax. Also, when you crunch forward, try to leave the weight of your head in your hands as you lift the sternum off the floor (head and neck simply come along for the ride). With both hands behind the back of the head, be sure to anchor or draw down the scapulas (wing bones) away from the ears, as you crunch forward, without hunching the shoulders and pulling on the neck. Try to keep the elbows open as you crunch forward, exhaling and looking straight ahead (rather than down). This takes the stress off the back and neck.

Q: What is the most effective cardiovascular exercise machine for losing weight?

A: The one you’ll do! All cardiovascular machines are great for heart conditioning and burning calories, but I strongly recommend the recumbent bike (bike with a back on it). The recumbent bike makes you thrust energy from your core as you extend legs outward and downward, targeting the stomach, hips, buttocks, thighs and hamstrings. Tip: Be aware as you pedal to keep the outer corner of the knees over the baby toes and sit tall. Program a resistance level ( ‘Manual’ is excellent) that puts you in a target heart rate zone –meaning at the end of a 45 minute session, sweat is dripping sweat down the back of your neck and down the arms. Try to keep the RPMs between 70-90. (If this is easy, increase the resistance). To lose weight, six days a week of cardio brings results. If you’re just maintaining, four days a week may suffice. Remember, ‘The Training Effect’ applies three principles: Frequency, the number of days per week; Load, the resistance level; and Duration, the length of the workout. Adherence to all three brings desired results.

Q: Is there a point where cardiovascular exercise becomes excessive and detrimental to health?

A: Anything done to excess has counter affects. Studies show that implementing a daily program of cardiovascular exercise is stress reducing. Well-documented are reports showing that aerobic exercise develops a healthier response to stress. Positive effects are experienced physically, mentally and emotionally with clearer thinking, faster reaction and sounder sleep. Research from The Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, reveals cardiovascular exercise provides stimulus to the brain and produces more brain cells.

However, exercising too long or too hard can have detrimental effects on the hormonal and immune system. Over-exercise and over-intense exercise can literally produce free radicals in the body, producing catabolic results. Stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, increase with aerobic exercise. It is safely recommended that forty-five minutes of daily aerobic exercise within one’s target heart range is beneficial. Target Heart Range refers to aerobic intensity. Rule of Thumb: one should be able to carry on a labored conversation (without panting) while exercising. In the 2005 Tremblay study, 40-80 minutes of aerobic exercise daily led to a net decrease in cortisol. The cardio jolt of adrenaline burns extra fatty acids, releasing cortisol into the bloodstream. Aerobic exercise forces the body to burn these stress hormones and by-products, as it accumulates ‘stress particles’ in the blood and oxidizes them, leaving the system clean. Building a highly responsive adrenal system via cardiovascular exercise renders a mood elevating effect that relieves stress and anxiety for several hours post-exercise.

Q: I tend to be very muscular and weights only make me look bigger, huskier. What’s best for me?

A: Working from the inside out! Connective tissue may need a makeover, and deeply oxygenating the muscles through vigorous inner core conditioning like Pilates and Yoga, converts density to buoyancy and awakens the ‘gazelle’ in you.

Q: How often should I change my routine?

A: If working out 3 times a week, mix it up every 8-12 weeks. It’s good to keep your muscles guessing. Variety is the spice of life, and shaking it up recruits different muscle fibers, enervating all parts of a muscle, spiking power and performance.

Q: What is the most I can expect to lose in a week and stay healthy?

A: Watching television’s, The Biggest Loser, we witness those who drop 10 pounds a week. The average is 2-3 lbs per week. Keep in mind someone weighing 300 lbs. will lose a lot more than someone who weighs 130 lbs. Weight loss is due to many factors; and initial water loss from the body tissues and hormonal changes differ in every individual. After all, no two people digest food exactly the same way! The more we decrease caloric intake while increasing caloric expenditure, the more we lose. What goes in must come out. It’s not rocket science, only a numbers game.

Q: I try meditating, but I get these little aches in my body sitting cross-legged and can’t seem to stop thoughts from flooding my mind. How to I keep the mind empty and the body still?

A: For many, sitting quietly cross-legged with the spine straight is no easy feat! More specifically, anchoring the sit-bones and floating up out of them, lengthens the low spine. And lifting the sternum floating up from the front and back ribs lengthens the mid-spine. Then drawing the back of the neck long while gently anchoring the wing bones lengthens the upper spine. Climbing up out of the sit-bones, the pelvis, the shoulders and floating through the crown without tension. . .Whew! These are the actions that create space along the entire spine while ‘grounding and rebounding’ seated upon your mat. If this is not possible, lean up against a wall to support your back straight. If you have trouble sitting cross-legged, you can extend your legs straight or bend your knees –even try sitting cross-legged upon blocks, elevating the pelvis higher than the knees. This allows you to bring more length up and out of the low back. Find a position where you can breathe fully and deeply without strain. Sometimes, sitting on a chair with ankles crossed is the only thing that works. It’s perfectly fine. Stay with it and breathe!

Breathing is the most important aspect of yoga. It’s the life-force energy that fuels the posture. Without the breath, it’s just some calisthenics exercise –faux Yoga! If your mind cannot be still, focus on the breath. Close your eyes and go inward. Watch the breath and follow your inhale and exhale. Notice where the breath begins in the body and where it ends. Try breathing into the side ribs and back –outward, like an accordion. Become your breath. This takes practice and discipline, but the rewards are beyond words.

Q: So are chakras real lights in the body?

A: Yes and no. The chakras are the energy centers of life-force energy (electromagnetic) located just outside the body –two to four inches from the physical body in the auric or pranic field. Each chakra corresponds with the nerve ganglia of a hormonal gland. Our physical body emits light, photons, or units of electromagnetic light. This energy is both inside and outside our bodies and emanate through electromagnetic fields. We radiate light (vibrational frequency) through the chakras, energy centers located along the spine, which stimulate the neuro-endocrine system.

Q: When I Google ‘Tantra’, what pops up on screen looks a marathon sexual practice.

A: Our western culture has difficulty with the concept of sex as an act of spiritual union. Tantra practice includes meditation, ritual, mantra, yantra and mudra discipline, giving sex no primary focus. Tantra is the path of pleasure and sexuality is certainly this path, as we are sexual beings. Yet of the 112 tantric meditations, only six address the spiritual aspects of lovemaking; and only three are sexual meditations. Tantra is a science that does not give you the answer, but offers the technique to find it. Tantra is discovery through direct experience; and every action is a relationship between lover and beloved. Its deeper teachings cannot be embodied outside the language of unconditional love. Vigyan Bhairav Tantra is a means of going beyond consciousness. Eastern philosophies teach we are unconscious and unaware, needing to bring the unconscious conscious. Yet Tantra teaches us to go beyond both. It is beyond all worldly teachings and, ultimately, the path of transcendence. Only the tantric heart can lead us to the highest wisdom that unites us with divinity.