Pratyahara: Withdrawing the Senses

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Originally written by Zara M on 29 November 2013

I may have mentioned in a previous blog about a kind of calm and meditative state that I happened to enter during a yoga class, which was similar to the kind of feeling that many of us also have the pleasure of experiencing when dancing Tango? Well, apparently in yoga there is a word for this – it is called the practice of Pratyahara. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the Yoga4Tango class last weekend in which the practice of Pratyahara was to be the theme, so I decided instead to do some practice at home by myself to explore the subject a little deeper. I didn’t have much luck with it though, and I will tell you why…

Pratyahara is often referred to in yoga as the fifth limb, and described as “the conscious withdrawal of energy from the senses”. It refers to the possibility of a person being present in a particular environment (i.e. aware of activity), yet detached (in a responsive sense) from what is happening around them, and also from what is happening inside of their own head (i.e. thoughts).

You would think that it would be far easier to detach oneself from outward thoughts and observations, and funnel that energy inward in order to focus on the ‘self’, when in the privacy and quiet of one’s own bedsit; in my experience, this turned out not to be the case! Actually, I found that practicing yoga alone challenged my concentration, focus and the possibility of entering a meditative state more than usual, and left me feeling rather frustrated.

I was at home with no distractions, and I couldn’t seem to drift off into that peaceful state at all during my practice, because I was thinking about how awkward my downward dog was, how short my hamstrings are, and whether my landlady was about to knock on my door and demand rent. The funny thing is that I can lose myself in this wonderful mental state of conscious detachment during a tanda, in a dancehall full of couples interweaving on a dance floor; movement, conversation and movement happening all around me. So what is the secret? How do you actively turn your mind off to the point where your mind is aware, but does not respond to all of this mental and physical activity? Is it something you can control, or does it just happen sometimes, like magic?

Perhaps it is similar to the experience of taking one’s work to do whilst sitting in a busy coffee shop, which is where I am right now. I am sitting here; working and episodically staring at my laptop screen. Behind me is a group of rowdy students who feel the need to shout over each other in order to get any attention. Over there is a mother whose screaming child wants to get out of the buggy, but the mother isn’t having any of it. At the front of the shop the coffee machine is making such an unnecessary racket, and the guy behind the counter is barking each order back at the overworked Barista. I can’t concentrate on my work at all of course, but I do keep slipping off into a weird meditative state, whereby I am staring at my screen, not really thinking about anything at all; still totally aware of the chaos happening around me, but not taking any active part in it. Am I slipping in and out of a pratyahara state right now, without even realizing it? How annoying, when I struggle on the yoga mat at home, failing to focus when actually putting my mind to it! Or is that the key? Not to put your mind to it?

Maybe it is easier for a person like me to slip in and out of such a state of mind when in this buzzing sort of public environment, simply because I am so used to feeling quite separate from the world around me anyway. When I am alone however, at home, suddenly I find that I am not so alone after all because I have a head full of voices; an internal monologue that just won’t shut up, unless it is drowned out by a world happening around me.

Sometimes I sit on a busy bus during rush hour and I stare out of the window not really thinking about anything or looking at anyone, but conversation and life is happening; on the bus, outside of the bus, next to me, in front of me, behind me… and I am oblivious. Often I am just focusing, without really realizing it, on the feeling of the bus moving around my body; and yet I am on it, moving with it, we are moving together, the bus and I. Is pratyahara about merging with your environment? Sometimes when I am at a milonga I find myself not really taking part in one-to-one conversations properly, because my mind and body has already merged with the environment. I’m sure people must think I am rude, but I really can’t help it. Or perhaps I don’t want to.

I wonder if any of you have the opposite experience to my dilemma? Do you find it easier to enter a state of pratyahara when you are alone? Is that because you are more used to interacting with the world around you when you are in it? Is our experience of pratyahara in yoga affected by whether we are introverted or extroverted people? If so, then maybe we can use this self-knowledge to challenge ourselves and learn how to adapt and merge with the different environments in which we practice yoga?

Yoga is all about constant self-discovery, and taking what we learn about ourselves back out into the world. I want to learn to quiet down the incessant inner monologue that separates me from the world I inhabit. Perhaps through my exploration of pratyahara in my personal yoga practice I will learn how to clear my mind when I most need it, when I am at home by myself; and then when I am out in the world I will be awake, with less thought clouding my mind, and I will be ready to interact!

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3 Minute Sun Salute Yoga Sequence

Originally written by Zara M on 20 November 2013

I was very excited about the yoga class this week because I have recently acquired my own yoga mat (it’s bright pink), and so I was looking forward to learning an effective sequence of yoga poses to incorporate into my individual daily practice at home. Up until now I had clumsily been throwing together what I remembered from classes, in no specific order, as an alternative to just lying on my belly and inhaling the glorious new rubber smell of my pink mat! Now that I know the 3-minute sun salute, it is time to get serious.

To be honest, I pretty much knew the sequence all along, which is one of the great things about attending these Yoga4Tango yoga classes in London on a regular basis; you pick up all the basics as you go along without realizing it, and the more sessions you attend the more natural it begins to feel. It starts to feel like a natural instinct, and the sequences become ingrained into your memory.

I invited a newbie to join us this weekend after the tango classes and afternoon practica on Saturday afternoon at Tango Garden, and it highlighted how much I take for granted, having attended the yoga classes pretty much every week since they began. My friend admitted that a lot of the time he was side-glancing to check out what I was doing and copying me. He must have enjoyed himself though, because he attended the Sunday session the following day, and I expect we will see him again next week.

I think yoga is quite addictive, even for absolute beginners, because you leave feeling so refreshed and invigorated, which is often quite a new feeling for the body unless you practice some other form of exercise regularly. Personally, I feel like yoga practice is an opportunity to spend quality time with my body, so perhaps the addictive aspect is related to a sense of narcissism – I must admit that it does feel a little like self-worship once you really start getting into it – or is that just me? Of course, I am talking on a mental level as well as physical; I always avoid looking in mirrors when I am in the gym.

One thing I found extremely useful in last week’s yoga session was the demonstration of the 3-minute sun salute. It was very informative to just sit and watch a professional yoga instructor perform the entire sequence from beginning to end, because it gave a better idea of what the whole thing should look like, as one flowing movement. I found it particularly useful to watch how the instructor transitioned so smoothly from one pose to another. Her body was so bendy and flexible, and each pose was very clear and pleasing to the eye. Seeing her in action made me want to go straight home, get my pink mat out and do my thing!

I noticed that the instructor wasn’t moving all over her mat like I tend to do though. I always find myself positioned way off the edge of either the top or bottom of my mat and I usually have to wriggle back into the centre, usually during child’s pose and just before downward dog. It is very annoying and I can never understand why this happens. When I was watching the instructor during her demonstration, I paid close attention to how she positioned her body in each pose so that she was staying central on the mat, and I did notice a difference when it came to doing it all myself.

I suppose it is all about grounding your hands and feet into the four corners of the mat and using up all the space in between by pulling your body up and down the length of the mat into each pose, without being tempted to move your hands and feet too. Maybe if I’m feeling that I need to constantly move my hands and feet to catch up with the rest of my body, then I am not succeeding in fully lengthening my body? There is only one reason that could be happening – I’m not breathing properly!

I read that when you inhale you create space in your body, which allows you to lengthen it, and inhaling is an energizing kind of breath that prepares your body for movement. I don’t tend to breath in that deeply because I have an ongoing irritation in my throat and breathing in triggers a coughing fit. Maybe this is affecting how I lengthen my body. Maybe I could be lengthening it more?

I am just guessing most of this, I don’t know for sure what I am doing right or wrong, but this is the beauty of yoga; it is a personal experience and exploration, and your relationship with your body is your own. We may aspire to be as perfect as our yoga instructors, but at the end of the day we all know that they aren’t like us, they are super-human with special superhero powers that allow them to bend backwards and balance on their heads.

Just kidding. What I mean is that it is not about what the person next to you is doing, it is more about being mindful and paying attention to how your own body feels! The more you focus on your own personal development, the more likely you are to reach higher levels in yoga and gain superhuman status, if that is what you are aiming for. (I know I am!)

For now though, I am content to be using the 3-minute sun salute as a daily yoga body and mind conditioning. The more regular your make your yoga practice the more cooperative your body becomes because you are spending more time with it. One of the other ladies who attends the yoga class described the fact that she practices a short sequence everyday before work and she can’t believe that she can actually touch her toes now, which was something she couldn’t do at the start of the course – now that is a massive improvement!

The 3-minute sun salute is a combination of the poses we have been learning throughout the course put together in a satisfying, flowing sequence, and the idea is to stay strong and mindfully move into each pose and hold it for five breaths before mindfully moving onto the next pose. We were also given a lighter option for those days when the body isn’t feeling quite up to the physical challenge, whereby you move through each pose in the sequence with just one breath, and repeat the sequence a few more times instead. The idea behind holding each pose for five breathes is that it creates more strength in the body and more flexibility, and it encourages more observation and opportunity to self-adjust.

Right, that’s enough writing and waffle for me! Time to get out my pink mat and salute the sun.

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Yoga is Self Study, Self Discipline and Self Devotion

Originally written by Zara M on 13 November 2013

Have you ever gone into that calm, meditative state while you are dancing Tango; and though your eyes may be open, you’re simultaneously present and in a complete realm of your own at the same time? This is what I experienced during the Yoga4Tango class last weekend. Perhaps I was looking to escape the chaos in my head, and the yoga class helped me to switch off and let it all go. Sometimes I think of yoga as quite a self-absorbed activity, but never in a bad way; we all need to focus inwards once in a while, preferably on a more regular basis!

The session revisited “Tapas” which stands for “fiery cleansing” in yoga; and means to focus, with acute attention, on cleansing the body and the mind. Yoga is about self-study, self-discipline and self-devotion. During the class I let my mind empty of all the thoughts that had been contaminating it and causing my emotions and logic to become unbalanced, and instead I treated my body as a temple, for an hour and a half, drifting consciously through the pose sequences and feeling an intimate connection to each part of my body I felt working.

Often we are so focused on wanting to forge a connection with someone or something else that we forget how important it is to connect with oneself. It is so easy to become disconnected, and that is when your body and mind becomes a slave to society, it’s expectations and it’s pressures. Once you stop and pull away though, pulling your energy inwards, you can gain a crystal clear perspective on life.

At the beginning of the yoga class, the instructor made a reference to a recent Tango photograph he came across online, where a man and a woman were in an embrace and dancing, and the woman’s hand was pressed firmly against her partner’s back with her fingers spread beautifully in adornment, and all four corners of her palm making the connection with his body. I knew exactly what our instructor was talking about because I have seen this many times at milongas myself, and I have always admired it. The yoga instructor brought our attention to the fact that this woman was forming exactly the same kind of connection with the four corners of her palm on this man’s back, as we do with the mat in our downward dog pose.

The instructor then went on to describe how we should always look for this kind of connection when we are dancing, but that it is not always possible to feel such a connection back from our partners. When this is the case, he said, focus inward and on feeling your own energy, which you project outwards through the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet, come back to you. I really liked this notion of creating a connection with oneself, and this is exactly what we are practicing in every yoga session. We ground ourselves by pressing the palms of our hands and the souls of our feet into the mat, but the mat is not pressing back. We are forming that connection by ourselves, sending the energy outward and feeling it return to us.

I think it is important for us to always be conscious of where we are sending our energy out to, and how, because it will always find it’s way back to us.

During the class we flowed through sequences together in one smooth motion, and it was a wonderfully calming experience for me that evening. I found that my mind was so at peace and sort of working in a way that made me feel like part of it had shut down so that I could maintain an intense inward study of my own bodily movements. We kept coming back to the same stretching pose when we were lying on our backs, and we were prompted to observe how it felt each time. I felt like I was listening to my body and hearing what it had to say.

At the end of the session the instructor stated that in yoga we are constantly studying what our bodies are doing, and the same is true in dancing Tango. He said that with study, the fun is intensified, because the experience is understood on a deeper level and is therefore enriched.

I think that you have to be in the right state of mind for this kind of study to have a positive effect though, because sometimes, when your mind isn’t clear of all the outside noise; you know, those voices that tell you you’re not good enough, then you cannot enter that meditative and healing state of mind, where your self-study becomes a positive and rejuvenating experience.

I have often entered prolonged phases in my dancing where I feel completely hopeless, we all experience this at some point. The more I study myself during these phases, the more I fall apart. Why does that happen? I suppose it is a lack of self-belief and self-love. You can only be receptive to the benefits of self-study if you can believe that you deserve and are capable; and the way to be receptive is to empty your mind of anything that is contaminating it first – just like I did in the Yoga4Tango class.

There’s not enough love circulating in the world these days, so I think we should all save ourselves a bit of our own. I have to say that despite the cold and dark autumn evening, joining my fellow yogis after the class for a warming drink and inspiring conversation at the local Shopping Centre felt like all the positive vibes I had managed to reclaim during the yoga session had been reinforced. I left with my mind feeling at peace, my body feeling like it was a closer part of me, and a smile on my face that was hidden behind a big wooly scarf. I’m glad we still go for a drink after the class even though it is dark and jolly nippy!

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Happy Hips and a Downward Dog Discovery

Originally written by Zara M on 08 November 2013

The Yoga 4 Tango class last weekend promised to provide some “aha” moments. My personal revelation came initially in the form of a downward dog discovery, when the instructor illustrated her trick to eliminate common scrunched shoulder problems, in order to get the pose just right. It was beautifully simple, and showed that an understanding of anatomy and how the movement of your body works can help to simplify things in Yoga, so that you practice the poses correctly, and they feel comfortable. The Yoga class was rich with anatomical theory, which I found very interesting.

I am going to share with you the downward dog trick, so listen carefully. From child’s pose, when you raise yourself up into downward dog, instead of immediately straightening your arms, keep them bent. Then as you rise and straighten your legs into downward dog, slowly and purposefully bring your bent elbows inwards, towards your body as you straighten your arms. It will stretch the muscles out in your upper back and across your shoulders so that they don’t automatically scrunch, but instead they will relax. The downward dog is supposed to be a resting position, so shoulders shouldn’t have any tension in them. Getting the pose right and being well grounded helps to alleviate the tension.

I think what ignited the light-bulb in my head was actually seeing the contrast in the muscle arrangement when the instructor demonstrated it to us. I don’t normally think about which muscles do what, and what is connected to where. As far as I am concerned they are underneath my skin; out of sight, out of mind. Watching the muscles as they changed positions in the back when the instructor demonstrated her adjusted downward dog transition, made it all more visual though. I figure now, that if I can visualize what my muscles are doing because I have a clearer understanding of how my anatomy works, I am more likely to achieve more accurate poses and not develop any bad habits which could hold me back later on.

Understanding how anatomy works came into play when we started to explore the positioning and connection of muscles related to the hips and pelvic area. I was interested to discover that many problems people have with their bodies, such as back problems and leg pain, can actually be more to do with how we use the muscles that connect in our pelvic area and allow for most of our larger bodily movements. If we do not use or stretch these muscles enough then they can become shorter and less flexible, which is what can cause all sorts of problems related to the spine and posture, because these shortened muscles pull the spine out of shape.

Every social Tango dancer knows how important posture is! Not only does it make us look beautiful when we are dancing, but good posture also helps to keep us grounded, aligned and balanced, and not to mention connected to our partners. Good posture helps us to be better leaders and followers, but because we don’t necessarily know what it is about our inside anatomy that is affecting our posture, it is difficult to understand why we find it so challenging to get it right, and for it to feel natural.

I first became aware of the difference between good and bad posture when I started dancing Tango, but because I couldn’t visualize any anatomical understanding of it, I made common mistakes, such as forcing my body to “look’ right by sticking my chest out too far and arching my spine so that my bum was also protruding in a duck-like fashion. If only I had known back then that by forcing my pelvis to tilt in such a way, I was doing the opposite of aiding my posture.

You’re actually meant to tuck your tailbone in because then when you bend the legs slightly you are working muscles that are hidden deeper inside of your body, which connect all of your bits together and allow for more flexibility and movement in your hips; which is essential for dancing Tango. I won’t try to name any of these muscles or explain how they connect together, because I’m not entirely sure, and I don’t want to give you the wrong information. All I know is that I was quite surprised when I performed the exercise in the class, tilting my hips forward instead, to feel the hidden muscle working. I hadn’t even known those muscles were there!

Apparently it is even more important for people who assume sitting positions for extending periods of time, to stretch out and work the muscles around the hips, because sitting doesn’t help these muscles maintain their natural resting length. Instead they acquire a new resting length, which is significantly shorter; which can in turn cause inflexibility around the hip area. One or two of the other students are regular cyclists and expressed that the sitting positions they assumed when cycling caused their spine to curve, affecting posture. For cyclists, and people like me who sit at a desk for extended periods of time, it is all the more important to focus on creating “happy hips” by practicing the kinds of yoga poses we did in the class. There was lots of slow stretching, and breathing further into stretches that specifically opened up the hips and lengthened the muscles in the thighs.

I am becoming a lot more conscious of how my body works in everyday life; and I appreciate more now more than ever, the control I have to alter certain things about the ways in which I use my body, in order to create a healthier posture, and a healthier future for my dancing, yoga and life in general. Yoga4Tango is teaching me how to connect with myself and maximize the potential of my body so that I can enjoy what I love to do, which is dance.

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Yoga Twists for Dissociation in Tango

Originally written by Zara M on 31 October 2013

Do you ever feel like your body is too stiff and tense on the dance floor? Last week, for some odd reason, my body was feeling decidedly ‘wonky’. One side of me felt tense and refused to move smoothly. It made certain dance movements decidedly awkward; my ochos, in particular were challenging as my body seemed to be battling against them, to the point of me not even being able to pivot naturally. The stiffness transferred to my embrace too and I felt off balance. It was most frustrating. The Yoga4Tango class focused on twists for dissociation. Talk about perfect timing!

I have also been a bit obsessed with posture recently, which may have had a psychological effect on my body. Being hunched over my laptop for most of the week resulted in a stiff neck on one side. I am always concerned that bad posture is causing me neck problems. Perhaps my obsession did something to my brain, because all week I have felt hyper aware of what my body is and isn’t doing. The problem is that when you focus too much on one thing it becomes even more magnified, until it completely takes over.

I remember in one of the earlier Yoga4Tango sessions being advised to distribute weight to other areas of the body in a more equal fashion, to help relieve unnecessary pressure on certain muscles and achieve better alignment for balance and grounding. I think that because in my head I have been focusing on my stiff neck, and trying to improve my posture, I was creating an imbalance in my body that translated to my dancing. I was reinforcing the stiffness in my body instead of letting go of it to allow for more movement.

The twisting yoga poses we did in the class felt so good! Sometimes when I think of posture and body alignment I am mistakenly thinking that my body must find a straight, upright position and maintain it; but actually, even the words I have just used to describe it are suggestive of stiffness!

I have discovered this week that good posture is not about standing up straight like a broom, it is just about extending the spine and opening up the body and chest, rather than closing it and hunching inwards or down. Yoga is wonderful for reminding you that you don’t have to tense up your body in order to remain grounded, balanced and aligned. In fact the more you can relax your body and calm your mind, the more flexible your muscles and joints become, and the more control you have.

During the class we were encouraged to take our poses a step further and try out a rather impressive looking twisted balancing pose that relied on strength in the wrists and arms, and an equal distribution of weight in the body. When the instructor first demonstrated the pose I think my mouth might have dropped open a little bit; yes was gawking at her. There is no way that I am going to be able to do that, I thought, without falling onto my head and knocking myself out! However, seeing as everyone else was giving it a go, I didn’t want to be left out. So off I went, slowly, ever so cautiously, tipping, tipping… No, no Zara, you can’t do it, come back down, don’t be suicidal…

Then the instructor explained that we just had to relax into it, and simply shift the weight over until the feet lifted naturally off the floor, and that all the strength was in the wrists, and the rest was balance. Something about the phrase ‘shifting weight’ flipped a switch in my head, and I realized that I didn’t have to be superwoman to do this; I just needed to focus, and to know my body.

Half the challenge is learning not to struggle against something. When it feels like something is too hard, you just have to calm your mind so that you are not thinking about it in a negative way, let go, relax and engage your muscles and find the right balance. When something feels like it is too difficult, you just have to think about how you can distribute that pressure you are feeling to release the extra tension in certain areas so that they don’t take over. I am discovering that yoga is more about release and adjustment than it is about forcing your body to hold on to a position that feels uncomfortable or difficult. If you can let go of something, you can do more.

I suppose that is why the resting poses are so important. They remind us to keep ‘letting go’. Towards the end of the class we were each given a rolled up yoga mat to place vertically underneath us along the spine as we lay down. It felt a bit unfamiliar, but I loved how it encouraged me to open up my chest, and feel my spine straighten out and extend. It was exactly what I needed to feel after a week of struggling with posture issues and stiffness. I lay with my hips wide open and the soles of my feet pressed together. I have recently acquired a yoga mat of my own for home practice; it is bright pink and I love it. I have a feeling that after working on my laptop for a few hours, that I will using this technique of relaxation to straighten everything out!

We finished the session with breathing. Our instructor soothingly told us to inhale bringing peace into the body and mind, and then exhale and smile. It felt strange to lie on my back in a gym, spread-eagle, inhaling, and then exhaling with a smile on my face. I have no idea why it felt strange to smile to myself, but it did. We smile when we engage with other people, but the body needs to relax and smile by itself sometimes too, so why not put a smile on your face when your body is smiling? My body had lots to be happy about

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Yoga4Tango is Good for your Social Life!

Originally written by Zara M on 15 October 2013

Everybody went off to dance Tango in London after the class, but I decided not to follow the crowd. Instead, I went home to spend some quality time with my self, and reflect on the Back to basics Yoga4Tango session, which was held at the very cool and hip Vibe Bar on Brick Lane this week.

I love the fact that the Yoga4Tango sessions have been held at the same venues as the weekend Tango classes, Practicas and Milongas recently. It makes sense to combine the two. Plus it is a great way to try and spread the word and get more people involved. I love being part of such a new and exciting concept that links both Yoga and Tango. I think that once people in the Tango community become more aware and familiar with what we are doing, then the good vibes will expand and spread.

A friend of mine asked me why I do yoga instead of just going to the gym. I told her that my idea of a gym is an intimidating and competitive place where people go to improve their bodies and health. I have never really liked the idea of going to a gym, especially not by myself. I’m not very inspired by solo exercise, even if it is in a gym full of other people all doing the same thing.

Yoga, for me, isn’t just about the exercise, I also benefit greatly from the social aspects. I get to see my friends, make new friends, have a laugh, and go for a hot drink afterwards. This weekend we had the added bonus of coming out from the class onto Brick Lane, which was buzzing with life on a Sunday afternoon. My new yoga friends are also people who share my interest in dancing Tango and I can find out about anything that may be happening within the Tango community, like performances and events. A few weeks ago one of the girls decided to throw a private Milonga house warming at her new flat after the yoga session. When you put Yoga and Tango together, only good can come of it!

Personally, I go to a Yoga4Tango session to stretch and challenge my body to it’s full potential within a relaxed, friendly and supportive community of like-minded people; and clear myself of all the bad toxins and negative energy that makes me close up, hunch over and scowl at anything that seems to cause conflict in my life. I find that I am not only physically opening up my chest and hips in each session, but also my mind and heart, inviting all kinds of opportunities in.

I try to go to the yoga sessions regularly every week because I feel like I am doing something good for my body, my soul and my lifestyle. It is that feeling you get when you start off your day with a healthy breakfast, and as a result you glide through the day feeling energized and focused, and then at the end of the day you have been so productive that you don’t feel guilty about going out to relax with good friends. Consistent good intentions and a regular routine get great results. I already feel after just 10 weeks of starting Yoga for the first time in my life, that my body, my mind and my social scene has benefitted greatly from it.

My body seems to be adapting well, which is being highlighted in the Back to basics sessions I have been attending. Today I felt like I was sweeping through the pose sequences like a pro. The hour went so fast, I wanted more!

Grounding all four corners of my feet and hands into the ground feels extremely satisfying now that I am used to doing it. I feel solid in my poses. In fact I’m experiencing a rather pleasant sensation when I arrange myself into a pose, that seems to combine a feeling of strength and softness – which I believe is what we are all aiming for.

I am remembering to relax the parts of my body I don’t need to use, like the muscles in my shoulders, which don’t need to be hunched. Hunching my shoulders plays no part in assisting with any of the poses we do, so why on earth am I always tensing them? Talk about wasting the opportunity to open up and breathe into a stretch! Becoming more aware of relaxing certain muscles in the yoga sessions has also made me become more aware of how I hold my body on a daily basis throughout the day.

When I am writing, for example, I try to write at my desk instead of on the sofa, and I feel much better when I use my core muscles to hold my own weight and improve my posture, rather than slump and collapse into the chair. Improving posture also makes me feel more assertive in everyday life. I feel like people notice and take me more seriously when I stand up tall and pull my shoulders back.

I am also finding my attention being brought more actively to my hips in many of the yoga poses. I am appreciating that my hips don’t have to be tight in order to keep my balance. In fact, if I loosen up and draw strength from other muscles, then my hips can open up, and for some reason that helps me to balance and stretch a whole lot better; perhaps because I am spreading my weight evenly and focusing on the bigger picture, rather than pulling all the energy in and focusing it on the small areas where the tension is.

When we were all preparing to get into the tree pose, our Yoga Instructor drew a comparison between loosening the muscles at the hip joint of the free leg so that the leg can move flexibly, in the same way as when we are on the dance floor and we want to loosen the leg at the hip to follow a Boleo or Gancho; which I found to be a relevant point, and something I hadn’t thought of before. My Ganchos and Boleos are always a little on the stiff and over-performed side. This is probably because Ganchos and Boleos are supposed to happen naturally within the movement, energy and flow of the dance. When you allow your focus to spread out to the bigger picture rather than force your body to behave in the way you think it should be, then your body is more willing to what feels right,

I am looking forward to integrating this newfound nugget of knowledge at the next Milonga. Sometimes Yoga4Tango provides great general chitchat for those awkward conversations in between songs!

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Back to Basics Yoga4Tango Beginner’s Class

Originally written by Zara M on 09 October 2013

This weekend we were stretching, balancing and staying grounded for charity at The Ultimate Danceathon for Save the Children. It was wonderful to see and welcome new faces, and to enjoy our Yoga4Tango practice in a new venue, at the Negracha London Tango club. I do enjoy practicing yoga in new environments, and I love that the Yoga4Tango sessions travel about to different Tango venues.

I have to say that I was expecting a very chilled out session; nothing too strenuous or sweaty, as we were to be taking the Tango classes afterwards and also dancing Tango at the Masked Charity Ball. Going back to basics doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to be given an easy time though, as my fellow Tango-yogis and I were soon to discover.

I don’t think we were quite prepared for the ‘Warrior Pose’ strength exercises; it is not an easy task to keep your arms extended for lengthy periods of time. The pressure on the muscles in your thighs can also be quite intense if you are not distributing your weight onto the back leg properly; which is an easy thing to forget when you are leaning forward into the ‘Warrior Pose’.

With yoga you really do have to make sure you bring your body and mind in optimum condition. It isn’t about lying around with your eyes closed in a variety of cool-looking positions. Yoga requires concentration, focus and strength, whether you are taking it easy or pushing yourself to the limits. I think you get most out of a yoga session, be it a serious workout or a restorative one, when you approach it with one hundred per cent effort, and fully immerse your body and mind in the overall experience. I seem to get a kind of clarity at the end of a session when I have given it my all, which then transfers into different areas of my life.

I don’t think I was one hundred per cent ‘present’ in this weekend’s ‘Back to Basics’ session, because I am suffering from an insistent cough which affects my ability to take part in the deep breathing exercises. Breathing is an essential part of yoga, it helps with everything! So not being able to inhale deeply for fear of collapsing into a coughing fit did get me down a bit during the session, and I felt less inclined to take part as fully as I usually would.

I was however, pleasantly surprised at how much easier it was for me to move through the sequences in comparison to my first ‘Back to Basics’ class ten weeks ago; which proves that I have come a long way, and that I must be much stronger than I used to be. Sometimes it is difficult to judge for yourself whether you are showing progress, but attending a ‘Back to Basics’ session helps to highlight how far you have come.

We concentrated on really grounding our feet and hands into the floor to create stability and body alignment. The instructor’s descriptions at the beginning of the session drew our attention to the importance of using all four corners of the palms of our hands and the soles of our feet to push down, and feel the energy surge down into the mat. He explained that we can experience the same sort of connection and springy energy transference dancing tango, when we embrace and press our palms into the palms of our dancing partner’s hand. The same goes for our feet; by working on the relationship between the four corners of our feet and the floor we can discover a more satisfying experience of dancing, and one that is both balanced and responsive.

I was interested to see what effect yoga would have on dancing when practiced before and after, so it was good to have the opportunity to practice yoga before the Tango classes and The Masked Ball. I already know that I thoroughly enjoy the restorative Yoga4Tango sessions on Saturdays; they are a really nice way to come down after taking the Tango classes and dancing at the afternoon Milonga at Tango Garden. In a strangely opposite way, a yoga practice before dancing seems to energise the body and put your mind into a relaxed and clear state.

The Saturday and Sunday Yoga4Tango sessions are very different. Sundays are an invigorating and very physical learning experience, whereas I find the Saturday evening sessions much more spiritual, and I seem to be able to connect more with my inner self, and I come away feeling much more philosophical about life.

Last Saturday, Franzi, our instructor, ended the session with a quote that touched my soul for some reason;

“To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake, is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man’s-land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh. To live is to be willing to die over and over again.”

Pema Chödrön.

I’m not sure why it touched me. Maybe I have just had a rough week, and it was nice to be reminded that life is challenging for positive reasons. That’s another thing I love about yoga, it isn’t just about exercise; it is about tuning in, and gaining insight and illumination.

I am looking forward to getting rid of this cough so that I can fully open up my chest and take in all the air I need to get the most out of my yoga practices. At the moment I feel I am being stopped halfway, unable to reach the heights of fulfilment I crave. I wonder though, how much of it is physical prevention and how much is in the mind. The more you think you can’t do something, the more crippled you become.

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Fluid Movements and Restorative Yoga4Tango

Originally written by Zara M on 03 October 2013

This was an exciting weekend for me. Not only did I attend the weekly Sunday class, but I also attended the new Saturday Restorative Yoga4Tango Session with Franzi after the Tango classes and practica at Tango Garden, in order to get the full Tango/Yoga experience.

It was new and exciting to practice in a new venue with new faces, especially in the evening straight after the afternoon Tango. The session had a completely different vibe and structure. The experience was very continuous and calm, which suited the venue with its high ceilings, and windows looking out into the evening as night fell.

I thought that practicing yoga after dancing all afternoon would be a bit of a slog, but actually it was a wonderful come-down from the high-energy of Tango. We took everything nice and easy, and for newcomers it was the perfect yoga beginner’s class.

I went early to the Tango Garden intermediate class, and was then dancing for the length of the practica. It felt like after using my brain to concentrate and learn in the class, and then my body to dance in the practica, the yoga session at the end of the day allowed me to let go of all the frenetic energy, and focus instead on my soul. I don’t consider myself to be a very spiritual person, but yoga has a funny way of opening your mind to these things, if you let it.

The focus of the Saturday session was on breathing and fluidity, flowing through the sequences in an almost meditative state, rejuvenating the body and calming the mind. I really enjoyed it. The instructions were clear and mesmerising, and visually inspiring. My favourite part was at the end where we lay in the still silence and let everything melt away. Little tea lights were lit all around the edges of the hall, and with our eyes closed, we listened to the instructor’s hazy descriptions of fields, flowers and sky. I left feeling very satisfied, calm, and I have to say that I slept very well indeed!

As you can imagine, I felt particularly prepared for the class the next day. The Sunday Yoga4Tango session reinforced last week’s teachings. We were encouraged to experiment and explore fluid movements further by practicing the Ujjayi breath and ‘letting go’ of our muscle tension as we moved smoothly into each pose. First we went through the sequences in a structured manner and then we were set free to do it by ourselves, in our own time, counting our own breath and going from one pose to the next once we had prepared ourselves individually to move further on through the sequence.

I really like being given the freedom to move through the sequences independently. It feels very raw and natural and personal. Like I have a personal relationship with my body and the yoga itself, and we are having our own steady conversation through these fluid movements, with each of my muscles taking part in the conversation that is being led by my breath. I feel that when you bring your focus inward, you can completely surrender your body and your mind, and just go with the motion; a bit like allowing yourself to drift in water, back and forth, and mindfully moving each part of your body through the waves.

Goodness, listen to me! I sound like a free-spirited hippy, hee hee. It is a good feeling. I am looking forward to the midweek early morning Yoga4Tango practice session next week, and working on my Ujjayi breath. I have been finding it difficult because I have bit of a cough and the deep breathing triggers it and jerks me out of my poses, but we’ll see what happens.

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Creating an Inner Glow

Originally written by Zara M on 25 September 2013

I have just come back home from a Yoga4Tango early morning mid-week practice session and I am feeling refreshed, focussed, and ready to embrace the day. It is my first experience of practicing yoga first thing in the morning, mainly because I am not normally a morning person; but would you mind if I said that the experience has quite literally opened my eyes?

The practice sessions are silent, without instruction, and they provide an opportunity to go through the sequences that were taught in the previous class in one fluid motion by simply following the instructor. I wanted to wait until I had attended the practice session before writing up my blog this week so that I would be able to express what it is like to move through each sequence and pose independently, without stopping for instructions, or theory, or having to come out of my meditative ‘zone’.

Also, the focus of our last class was on incorporating the deep breathing technique or Ujjayi breathing throughout our practice in order to build up a relaxing, yet energising inner warmth, to facilitate fluid movement and mental concentration. I figured that to get the most out of this deep breathing it would be best to experience a kind of continuity that perhaps isn’t one hundred per cent possible when actively ‘learning’ in a lesson situation.

I found that the deep breathing felt much more natural during this morning’s silent practice than during the classes. I suppose this is because during the class my attention is divided between keeping up with everyone else, listening to theory and verbal instructions, and learning more about my body as the yoga assistant comes around to re-adjust me. There is a lot more going on, and of course it is all necessary in the class; but my experience of the silent practice session has made me realise the importance of taking away what I learn in the class and practicing the sequences in full by myself, either at home or at a silent practice session.

It was wonderful to practice yoga before the day had started, in a peaceful room with soft music playing. There was still the sound of the city outside; but although I could hear the traffic and external noise, it didn’t penetrate my consciousness enough to affect my focus and the inner calm that was being created by the deep breathing. I think I finally get what our instructor always refers to as being able to clear your mind yet still be aware of where you are, and being mindful of the space and activity around you, not allowing your mind to wander, and always bringing it back to your breathing.

It really did feel like I had entered a realm of my own, and even though I was aware of the fact that I wasn’t the only person in the room going through the sequences, and the city was buzzing away outside the window, I still felt very focussed on myself; on my breathing and on what my body was doing. It felt very natural and I felt completely in control.

I don’t think I’ve quite got the hang of the Ujjayi breath, mine doesn’t sound like the ocean just yet. I can definitely feel the difference though. It feels like I am sucking up air through a hollow tube that runs all the way up my core to my throat, and then pushing the air back down through it again. It is a very nice relaxing feeling and I feel it helps to centre and ground me.

In fact I have proof… This morning in the practice session when we came to the Tree Pose, where I usually wobble all over the place and eventually topple over, I was as sturdy as an actual tree. I couldn’t believe it. And then when we extended the leg back and reached forward, I was able to stretch out so pleasantly, and without feeling like I had to tense up every single muscle in my body and twist at awkward angles to stay in the pose. It was like a miracle had happened, and I was secretly smug.

Perhaps all the deep breathing helped to expand the inside of my body and create balance? In the class the instructor touched on an idea that I thought was very interesting and quite profound. He said that there is a lot of space inside our bodies. I immediately associated this idea with a video I watched recently online where a science teacher presents his class with an empty mayonnaise jar; he fills it to the top with ping pong balls, and asks the class if the jar is full. The class says yes, and then the teacher takes a smaller jar full to the brim of pebbles and empties every single one into the mayonnaise jar of ping pong balls. The class agrees that the mayonnaise jar is now full, but the teacher then produces yet another jar full of sand and empties all of it into the mayonnaise jar of ping pong balls and pebbles. The class is adamant that the jar is now definitely full… and what does the teacher produce next? A can of beer; he empties the entire thing into the jar.

I have honestly never thought about the physical space inside my body before. I always imagine that it is crammed full of organs. It makes sense though, that if you breathe deeply; you expand and create more space inside. Most of us never practice deep breathing and we are therefore none the wiser that there is actually a lot more space in our bodies than we imagine. Deep breathing allows more air into our bodies to circulate, causing more friction and therefore generating heat. When you breathe deeply, you expand your body, and you claim the space around you, and assert the space inside of you.

I’m not sure how, but I think that breathing deeply, continuously for an hour, gave me the strength and stability to hold that Tree Pose and then extend without falling over. I left with my inner glow radiating outward, and I swear to God, four different people said good morning to me with a smile on my way home. This is London we’re talking about, nobody is interested in anyone else before 9:30am, yet I got four hellos from complete strangers. I guess my deep breathing must have generated a lot of positive energy that bounced off me in all directions this morning; either that or I just felt so good that I had a cheesy grin plastered to my face, and walked down the street with a bounce in my step.

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Contra Muscles Working in Opposition

Originally written by Zara M on 11 September 2013

I love how these yoga classes open up my awareness of how the anatomy of my body works, and make suggestions for subtle changes and shifts in muscle tension and release that allows me to expand the movement of my body even further. It is a wonderful feeling to allow certain muscles to relax and expand by focussing on one muscle’s tension and on your breathing, and then feel yourself able to stretch even further into a pose. It is a constant reminder that you are always capable of more, and that only your own mind is hindering your body’s freedom.

Last week we focussed on what our instructor calls ‘contra muscles’. This refers to the fact that muscles act in pairs and in opposition to one another. We used this information to concentrate on the contraction of one muscle and the subsequent lengthening of the other.

To illustrate, we were all asked to sit on the edge of a platform with our feet planted flat on the floor, so that our legs settled at a right angle. We were then encouraged to explore which muscles in our thighs we could feel contracting when we alternately pressed our heels into the ground, and then our toes.

My personal experience of this exercise was that the differences I felt were very subtle, almost unrecognisable. I suppose this is partly because my leg muscles are not very well developed, but also because I am not used to having to differentiate between the different muscles in my legs and so the feelings were unfamiliar. As long as my legs are working and I can stand up and walk about, that is all I am generally concerned about.

By developing an awareness of how the muscles in your legs actually work though, you can then use this information to your advantage when dancing to gain a much better sense of grounding and fluidity. You will be able to recognise which muscles you are contracting and using for stability, and which you are then able to lengthen and allow for larger movement. The result, I suspect, is a much more dynamic dancing experience, for you and for your partner. Walking about in your day-to-day life is after all very different from walking on the dance floor!

I was interested to learn how many office-workers develop bad habits for their leg muscles by sitting incorrectly, which means that they are not engaging their hamstrings. This happens when the feet are not fully placed on the ground. I am a massive culprit! I tend to always sit with my heels pressed up against the legs of my chair so that only my toes are in contact with the ground. I also sit like this when I am on the bus, or on the tube. I have been sitting like this for years so it makes perfect sense to me now why I can’t touch the floor with my hands whilst keeping my legs perfectly straight – my hamstrings are way too short. I imagine that wearing high-heels for years has not exactly helped matters either! All is not lost though; apparently it is the perfect opportunity when sitting at the desk, to use one’s feet to practice engaging different muscles in the legs, in the same way that was demonstrated in class, with us all sitting on the platform.

The whole point of these exercises is to encourage us to be conscious of which muscles we are using. We can then transfer this awareness to the dance floor in order to help improve our Tango walk. In order to walk with elegance and be in control of the walk instead of falling into each step without thinking about it, we have to be conscious of how our muscles are working. In the same way, we can experiment with the use of our stomach muscles in order to help open up the body and keep it aligned. It is all about contracting one muscle, while releasing and expanding the opposing muscle at the same time.

It seems like quite a lot to think about while you are dancing, but I guess if you take your time to enjoy the experience of connecting with your own body whilst in your partner’s embrace, the result will eventually be instinctual. I don’t know about you, but I find that most of my focus goes into trying to remember to relax and expand, rather than contracting my muscles. Contracting and tension seems to happen without me thinking about or even being aware of it, often to the point of me suddenly realising that I am moving like I’ve got a stiff pole down the back of my neck! During the yoga classes the yoga assistant constantly has to readjust my body so that the tension in my shoulders releases and I can relax better into the pose. For me, developing an awareness of how sets of muscles react in opposition to each other will hopefully remind me to let go and lose the tension that builds when I am deep in concentration, trying to get something right.

Tango and Yoga is not about forcing your body to do what you want it to do, it is about playing with elements of control and freedom, and this all starts within the mind. Focus and free your mind first and let your body do it’s thing. Sometimes when I am practicing yoga I feel like there is a dance happening within my own body, muscles are responding to each other, my limbs are working in unison with my mind and my breathing. It is all one beautiful movement that can only happen when everything connects.

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