March Participation #1

Cara F.'s All-Levels class in the a.m. on Monday, 3/16/09.

My main objective this morning was to closely monitor the breath and match it appropriately to whatever movement the class was doing. This is important for everyone who practices Viniyoga (or most any kind of yoga), but doubly important for me because my breath is compromised. I don't have much, so I have to watch it.

There were two other guys in class this morning, so I didn't feel like an interloper.

We started as usual by bringing our full attention to the breath while seated, then stood up and began asanas with Tadasana, then a forward bend. My movements were fluid and easy after kind of a stiff first rep, and we had complete running instructions on matching inhale and exhale to the appropriate segments of each pose. Breath came easily. So far so good.

We transitioned into the "chair" pose called Utkatasana. This one requires some fairly serious muscular exertion, and I ran out of breath and started huffing after a couple of reps, stopped, and stood up to catch some wind. Cara moved to the back of the room and discreetly checked to make sure I was all right (which I was), and after a minute or so I was recovered.

I went through the rest of the practice without incident.

It was a thorough class, worked every part of the body, stayed focused on matching breath and movement throughout, and included a balance pose of a type important for people with Parkinson's disorder to practice regularly. I walked out of the studio breathing easily and deeply, caught sight of myself in a floor-to-ceiling window, and noticed that I was postured up, shoulders back, and walking with energy, springing along like some healthy young dude. So I would say "Yoga been good to me."

Through these classes that I observe and participate in, and the reading we do for teacher training, I find myself looking for techniques and resources that might be used one day to help develop an approach for people with COPD who are committed to reversing some of the damage they've done to themselves. Yoga practice is just one element in an overall rehab scheme optimally suited to the needs of such people. Other elements include dietary changes (usually), lots of rest, and avoiding the destructive habits or environmental conditions that cause this disease.

One excellent resource for the kind of asana practice I'm looking for is in Gary Kraftsow's sample routine outlined in "Yoga for Transformation," pages 70-88. Some of the postures in this practice involve staying in position during each repetition of the movement for one full breath cycle longer during each successive rep, encompassing four reps altogether. I find this works better for me than doing the specified movements once for each breath cycle. Another valuable resource is the adaptations of the asanas supplied by AG Mohan's "Yoga for Body, Breath, and Mind," many of them employing a chair and designed for people whose mobility or energy for movement is compromised.