Ellen Saltonstall's Blog

The ABCs of Yoga: Awareness, the Balance of opposites, and Creative expression

B.K.S Iyengar said, “The study of asana is not about mastering posture. It’s about using posture to understand and transform yourself.” My teacher, Mary Dunn, taught her own version of this: “First you learn about the asanas, and then you learn about yourself in the asanas.” I have pondered this a lot over my 34 years of practice. What are we really practicing? We are not just making shapes, stretching, getting a workout – there’s so much more to it. My thoughts have been greatly influenced by my teachers, but at a certain point I felt the need to distill my personal approach into a paradigm. It can be summarized as ABC: Awareness, the Balance of opposites, and Creative expression. We focus on the ABCs in my upcoming workshop, Yoga Anatomy and Therapy. A for Awareness In asana, the practice of awareness can take many forms. The first and most important step is to become … Read more

Wear shoes that fit

“The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.” (Leonardo da Vinci) Are you a fashion victim? Do you wear shoes that are too tight, too floppy, too stiff, or too heavy ? I recently found the best pair of boots I’ve ever had. They are light, flexible, waterproof, and they fit my foot shape, which has a narrow heel and a wide toe box. It’s amazing what a difference it can make in daily life to have shoes that really fit well. Our feet need to move and stretch throughout the day to remain healthy. Often our shoes restrict us, while providing “support” and protection. I see many clients whose feet are weak, and sadly collapsing under the weight of the rest of the body. This collapse affects everything else in their posture. They may say “I’ve always had flat feet” but actually in most cases, the arch is … Read more

Is Yoga Safe?

Attention: Media scare: Yoga is dangerous for stiff men and flexible women. Generalizations like this amaze and disturb me, because people read this and are scared to try yoga, or scared to continue if they already do it. Big message here: Not all yoga is the same. People need to use discrimination in choosing an appropriate style of yoga and a good teacher. A well-educated, well-intentioned teacher can give instructions that will protect students from the errors that are easy for anyone to make: poor alignment, over-efforting or under-efforting. As one teacher taught me years ago, there are two mistakes in yoga: doing too much and doing too little. Beginners might tend to do too little, and experienced people might tend to do too much, although that’s another generalization, so feel free to disregard it. Yoga is not about imitating a shape, it’s about inner transformation. It’s not meant to be competitive, but it is … Read more

Gratitude for the practices

Every time I practice, I feel better, more alive, more connected to myself and therefore more able to connect to others. The practice could be just ten minutes, or better yet 30 minutes, an hour or more. “Practice” for me means not just asana, but meditation, chanting, and Kinetic Awareness ballwork. I usually manage to do each of these every day. Any one of these practices brings about a shift in energy, an inner resonance, a movement of prana that has a direct effect on how I feel physically and emotionally. Even when I’m dealing with a physical injury or a major life issue, something feels better. The inner subtle channels open, and whatever needs to happen at that time, can happen more clearly. The challenges are often still there – physical pain, strong emotions, decisions about work or relationships, the long to-do list – but I feel connection to the inner resources I need to meet … Read more

The ABCs of Yoga: Awareness, the Balance of opposites, and Creative expression

Wear shoes that fit

Is Yoga Safe?

Gratitude for the practices

Ellen’s Blog Posts

Search

Categories