Asana Rx
Issue #31
Alternative yoga guru Kimberlee Jensen Stedl teaches how to be fitter, happier, and more productive — the punk rock way
By Kimberlee Jensen Stedl
Published: March 1st, 2007 | 12:00am
You know that yoga can do wonders for your health and mental well-being, but if you’ve ever tried it, you may have run into some less-than-welcoming folks who looked at you like a three-headed alien because you’re a yoga virgin. Who wants that kind of intimidation?
When I started Punk Rock Yoga in Seattle in 2003, my goal was to experiment with live music and yoga and teach in a nightclub setting, creating the kind of approachable atmosphere and yoga experience I would have killed for when I was 17. The more I taught and the more I immersed myself in the professional yoga community, the more I made it my mission to scrub the elitism from yoga and present its healthy wisdom to everyone — not just those in a certain established demographic. Having received encouraging feedback from people across the country who have started punk rock yoga classes in their own cities, I know I’m not alone in this desire.
Part of that mission involves rejecting the notion that yoga can only be beneficial if you practice it religiously. While you certainly can take the full yoga plunge by reading the texts, going on retreats, living in an ashram, and restructuring your life, you also can reap many benefits of yoga by simply adding a few poses, breathing exercises, and meditation practices to your regular routine. Yoga teaches us to teach ourselves, heal ourselves, take accountability for ourselves, and, of course, do it ourselves. Even if you never buy a yoga mat, a few simple yoga practices can help you keep your body healthy and your mind happy.
WAKE UP
You know too much coffee is bad for you, but it’s hard to wake up in the morning and even harder to stay awake through the afternoon. This backward-bending pose, called upward facing bow (urdhva dhanurasana), gives your system a quick boost sans chemicals.
1. Stand two feet away from a wall, facing away, with feet shoulder width apart.
2. Bending your knees, reach your arms overhead and touch the wall behind you. Keeping your elbows bent, walk your fingers down the wall. Keep your lower back long and allow your tailbone to drop by pulling your belly in and bending your knees.
3. Walk your hands back up the wall tocome up. Follow this backward-bending pose with a forward-bending one, such as trying to touch your toes.
WIND DOWN
Ever lay awake at night because you brought the stress of the day to bed with you? Breathing and meditation techniques from yoga can help you wind down and fall asleep … not to mention stay calm while sitting in traffic. Yogis say this breathing exercise balances the right and left sides of the brain, while the mantrum helps the mind concentrate.
1. Close off your right nostril with your right thumb.
2. Inhale through the left nostril, thinking the word “let.”
3. Close the left nostril with your right ring finger and open the right nostril. Exhale through your right nostril thinking “go.”
4. Inhale through your right nostril thinking “let.”
5. Close the right nostril with your right thumb and open your left nostril. Exhale through your left nostril thinking “go.” Repeat this alternation for several cycles, lengthening the breath each time.
RECOVER FROM TOO MUCH FUN
When you’ve partied hard and your body is kicking you for it the next day, one of the best ways to speed your recovery is to do some twists. Twists such as this one — the half lord of the fishes (ardha matsyendrasana I) — stimulate the excretory organs, allowing the body to rid itself of toxins.
1. Start seated and bend your right knee, placing your right foot on the floor next to your left hip.
2. Bend your left knee and take your left foot over your right leg, placing your left foot to the outside of your right knee on the floor.
3. Sit up tall and take your right elbow around your left knee, placing your left hand on the floor behind you.
4. Keep your shoulders away from your ears and your chest open as you twist to the left.
5. Repeat on the other side.
RELIEVE MENSTRUAL CRAMPS
Cramps suck. And some months they super suck. You might think nothing could ease the pain except a sledgehammer to the head. We advise you to try this variation on reclining bound angle pose (sputa bada konasana) before you try the sledgehammer.
1. Start seated with the soles of your feet pressed together.
2. Place a pillow under each knee so that your knees are supported.
3. Lie back onto your elbows, then come flat on your back.
4. Take your arms out to the side and bend your elbows so the backs of your hands lay on the floor.
5. You can put additional pillows under your back for support or under your feet for comfort.
6. Rest and breathe deeply for at least 10 minutes, or until you no longer feel like biting someone’s head off.
Visit punkrockyoga.com for more information.
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