 Not all stretch is created equal. There are several factors that can support stretch and depending on your currently level of mobility some might work better for you than others. The short story is there are essentially 4 main components to stretch that when mixed in different ways add a different utility to the poses and encourage different results. 4 Components of Stretch Below we have listed some stretching vocabulary and techniques. There are many “methods” and “brands” of stretching, but all movement cobines these elements to create a specific way to invigorate and release the tissues of the body. Static Stretching (No Motion) Static stretching means a stretch is held in a challenging but comfortable position for a period of time, usually somewhere between 15 to 30 seconds. In the case of some styles of static yoga stretches they may be held from 30 second up to 2 minutes or more. Static stretching is considered safe and effective for improving overall flexibility. However, we may consider that static stretching may be much less beneficial than dynamic stretching for improving range of motion for functional movement, including sports and daily activities. Dynamic Stretching (Motion) Dynamic stretching means a stretch is performed by moving through a challenging but comfortable range of motion repeatedly, usually 10 to 12 times. Although dynamic stretching might feel more challenging to some students as it requires more coordination than static stretching (because of the movement involved). Note that dynamic stretching should not be confused with bouncing or ballistic stretching. Dynamic stretching is purposful, smooth, and deliberate, whereas bouncing stretching is uncontrolled, erratic, and jerky. The risks that may occur in a bouncing stretch far out way the rewards. Controlled moments lend stability and therefore decrease the chance of injury. Flow Yoga works in continuous motion in a dynamic way. Passive Stretching (No muscular contraction at that joint) Passive stretching means you’re using some sort of outside assistance such as body weight, a strap, leverage, gravity, another person, or a stretching device to help you achieve a stretch. With passive stretching, you relax the muscle you’re trying to stretch and rely on the external force to hold you in place. Effort in a passive stretch should be minimal. Please use caution as there is always the risk that the external force will be stronger than you are flexible, which could cause injury. Active Stretching (Muscular contraction of the opposite side to facilitate stretch) Active stretching means you’re stretching a muscle by consciously contracting the muscle in opposition to the one you’re stretching without the use your body weight, a strap, leverage, gravity, another person, or a stretching device. With active stretching, you relax the muscle you’re trying to stretch and rely on the opposing muscle to initiate the stretch or you are working with an eccentric contraction where the muscle is trying to contract as it is lengthening. Active stretching can be challenging because of the muscular force required to generate the stretch but is generally considered lower risk because you are controlling the stretch force with your own strength rather than an external force. ____________________________________________________________ In Addition to these 4 component/ types of stretch there are 2 more techniques of stretch that movement professionals will consider. They are Isometric and PNF. Isometric Stretching- This type of stretching is Static. It alternated between and active engagement of the muscle being stretched and relaxing the muscle you are trying to stretch. For example if you are in a seated forward fold hold it for a few minutes you would alternate between contracting and releasing the hamstrings and calves while in the pose. PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation)- This style of stretching requires a partner of a facilitator and acts similarly to Isometric Stretching. PNF stretching most effective way known to increase static-passive flexibility. PNF is an acronym for proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. It is not really a type of stretching but is a technique of combining passive stretching and isometric stretching in order to achieve maximum static flexibility. Example: Supine One Leg Hamstring Stretch: The receiver would press into the facilitators hand with the back of their leg to create resistance engaging the hamstrings. When the receiver releases the contraction and the muscle becomes passive, the facilitator will keep the resistance on the limb guiding it deeper into the pose. This alternating contraction and release may go 3-5 rounds. Types of Yoga currently offered at Boundless Yoga Studio and How stretch applies. (Schedule is subject to change and can be found HERE) RESTORATIVE YOGA (Static/ Passive) - Passive, relaxed positions using full support and gravity to gently open the body in comfortable positions. Great to release stress and go within. 7:00 am WED Gentle Yoga (also included some basic flow) w/ Kate Deangelo 7:15 pm THURS Body, Mind Meditation- Restorative Yoga w/ Karen Iracane YIN YOGA and ALIGNMENT CLASSES (Combination Static/ Active and Static Passive)- These classes use longer held positions often with active engagement to facilitate a deeper opening in the myofascia. * Yin classes are more seated and supine poses good for overall range of motion. Alignment classes will work the full spectrum of postures and do not hold the poses as long as the Yin style. Easy to adapt to all levels of practice. 9:30 am MON Hatha/ Align w/ Chris Loebsack 5:30 pm TUES ( L0-1) Beginners Plus (may also add some flow) w/ Devon Blakely 8:15 am WED YIN w/ Tracy Gross 8:15 am FRI YIN w/ Tracy Gross FLOW or VINYASA CLASSES- (Dynamic/ Active) These classes work the muscles through their full range of motion while moving fairly consistently. Example- Sun Salutations. Great for students who like to move. 8:15 am MON Open Level Flow 5:30 pm MON Level 1-2 Zen Flow 9:30 am TUES Open Level Flow 5:30 pm WED Open Level Flow 7:15 pm WED Brand new Beginner Flow 9:30 am THURS Progressions to Expressions (Moderate to experienced practitioners) 5:30 pm THURS (MAY 9th-30th, 2019) Introduction to AcroYoga- Partner Practice 9:30 pm FRI Yoga Conditioning Open Level 9:30 am SUN Level 1-2 Flow Many classes to some degree will use a little bit of all types while some classes specialize. YIN Classes will be primarily static/ active while something like our Dynamic Stretch Classes will focus on moving through a comfortable range of motion in a dynamic/active way. Passive assists from teachers will help to encourage the body to find where it can potentially go. Staff NOTE: There are always new classes and more workshop and weekend training offerings on the schedule, we hope you enjoy trying some of our highlighted features. Send us your yoga questions so we can keep Chris busy writing more blogs! info@boundlessyogastudio.com  About Chris Loebsack
Chris Loebsack, 500 E.R.Y.T, fell in love with yoga in 1995 and began teaching in 2003. Chris uses the power of yoga to create a space for students that cultivates trust, playfulness and Divine connection with themselves and with community. Living by her mantra, Clarity, Integrity and Love, she draws upon her partner yoga practice to share the healing power of touch and safe intimacy. A passion for discovering subtlety in movement has lead Chris to deepen her education with the Anatomy Studies for Yoga Teachers® kinesiology program. Her playful yet focused classes are filled with user friendly gems of applied anatomy leaving students with a greater understanding of how to find comfort and space in their bodies and smiles beaming across their faces. She encourages teachers to set a higher standard of excellence through knowledge and has become a valuable mentor to many upcoming yoga educators. Chris teaches privates, classes and workshops across the globe. She is currently the director of the Boundless Yoga 200 hr and 500 hr Teacher Training programs and an Adjunct Teacher Trainer for the Om Factory® School of Yoga NYC 200hr, BambooMoves, Bhakti Barn Yoga, Just Plain Yoga, and NearMe Yoga 200hr Teacher Training Programs. She has also been featured in Fitness Magazine®, Yoga Journal: Yoga Mentor, Good an Well, Local Flair Magazine and the New York Times. In addition to yoga you are likely to find her laughing with friends and family or quietly meditating with her cats (Sukha, Fuzz-butt, and Squirrel) or traveling and teaching with her husband Brian M. Davis as Boundless Motion. Boundless Yoga Studio Classes: Alignment and Anatomy of Yoga (All Levels) Mondays 9:30 am Zen Flow (Level 1/2) Mondays 5:30 pm Flow (Level 2/3 Progressions to expressions) Thursdays 9:30 am (MAY 9th-30th, 2019) Introduction to AcroYoga- Partner Practice 5:30 pm THURS Flow (Level 1) Sundays 9:30 am
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Movement has always been a major part of my life. When I was young, I was always outside in the yard helping my father and through my schooling I was busy with sports and marching band (Yes, it’s a sport!). Then a scary time came when I had to obtain a job that would sustain the lifestyle I chose. This meant paying this person “Bill” every month, who had other Bookies named “College-Loan”, “Rent”, “Insurance” … you get the picture. I eventually found an amazing job! But it was a desk job. I was always on the move, and now would be glued to a desk, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I started to panic about how my body would handle the transition. IT WAS AWFUL. I felt tight, stiff, achy, inflamed; I couldn’t bare the aches and pains. But then, one day in a yoga class, a few instructors bestowed upon me information that was as clear as day. “Why not try some warm-up exercises before a class to help the joints lubricate?” “What??” I thought to myself. I’ve been running for the past 12 years, practicing yoga for 10, and that didn’t occur to me? That “Aha” moment hit me hard and ever since, I have been incorporating it into my own home practices AND at my job! That achy body isn’t as stiff and grumpy! HALLELUJAH! Just these simple movements have helped me:
Neck Releases: Depending on your body or the time of day, you may want to try something as gentle as releasing your ear to the same side shoulder and hold. Repeat on the other side. This could also include looking side to side and up and down-bringing your chin to your chest. Wrist Circles: Make fists with the hands and circles with the wrists will help open up the wrist joints. If you have a job where you use your hands, fingers and wrists a lot, this will help you relieve some of the tightness. It will help get into the connective tissue of the hands/wrists. Also, try to bring the wrist joints together and make circles outward in front of you, then switch and go inward toward the chest. -Ankle circles can be done with flexed and pointed feet, also! Cow/Cat: Start with a neutral spine, relaxing the stomach-letting it move toward the floor, having a U-shape in the spine, gazing upward. This will also have a nice opening of the chest! Slowly move the gaze toward straight then downward, pulling in the stomach and rounding the spine upward toward the sky, like a cat. Make sure to actively ground down through the hands, round the spine, and engage the core! My Life Force: How yoga helped me with postpartum depression- by Yoga Educator Daniela Hosier11/23/2018   About four years ago I was in a depression. I had just had my second child, and my life was falling apart; in my mind- I had nothing. I spent my days trying to make everyone else happy. By nature, I’m a people pleaser, it makes me feel good to serve others but somehow, I lost myself. Who was I?
My doctor recommended I try exercise, but I didn’t know where to start. While up late on a 2am breastfeeding call I saw an infomercial for a fitness program. I ordered it hoping to lose some baby weight and of course obey doctors’ orders. The program came, and I started right away- it was 5 days of solid HIIT and body weight training and the sixth day was active rest- yoga. I had never done yoga before, but I was sore and figured why not try. The instructor said close your eyes and breathe-I smiled and chuckled to myself. Didn’t she know that my newborn was sitting in a bassinet right next to me and her secret power was screaming whenever I closed my eyes? I followed along, like a good student, doing what I could, and I liked it though I didn’t fully reap the benefits as my heart was not 100 percent in it. I was rushing through hoping my youngest daughter wouldn’t stir and my toddler wasn’t destroying the house. I continued through the program and as time passed, I looked forward to my active rest recovery days. I even started to close my eyes and I started to focus on my breath- pranayama. Focusing on my breath allowed me to relieve my stresses and increase my mental clarity- I felt so good. Poses started to get easy, I flowed, it began making sense. A weird thing happened almost in tandem- my life started to make sense. I got the hang of two small children, and I found myself again. Months passed, and I gained an incredible peace and I started to pursue my practice. I listened, I closed my eyes and practiced breath control and knew my world would come together not fall apart. New moms get so much advice from sleep training to breast feeding, but nothing for mental health or self-awareness. I wish someone would have given me yoga in my darkest moments- but I’m thankful yoga somehow found its way to me. I hope it finds you too- new mom or not. Try it with an open mind and heart, close your eyes and go on the journey to find your best self. Not only will it make you a better person, but also a better wife, mother or friend. Years later I started yoga teacher training, I look forward to the part where I get to close my eyes and practice pranayama (directed breathing)- my life force. It is in the moments with my eyes closed tight that I remember how lost I was with my eyes wide open. Daniela Hosier is currently registered n the Boundless Yoga Teacher Training Program and is set to Graduate in May 2019. Breathe into open hips with support. These pigeon pose variations will open up the whole body. Remember what ever chair you might try to use should be stable. This is NOT for a rolling office chair.
Foundation(s): Option 1- Face the back of the chair. Place a blanket over the edge of the chair. Step back 1-2 feet away from the chair. hold onto the back of the chair. Option 2- Face the seat of the chair. Place a blanket on the seat of the chair. Action(s): Option 1- Lift one knee up onto the chair and externally rotate the hip until part of the shin and thigh rest on the Option 2- While holding onto the back of the chair, bend one knee and as you externally rotate the thigh place the shin and thigh on the seat of the chair. Slide your free leg long behind you until it is fully extended. You may choose to keep the toes tucked to get more of a calf stretch or place the top of the foot on the floor for a deeper ankle and shin stretch. If you keep the arms straight and lengthen the spine you will get a deeper hip flexion stretch and a back-bend. If you bow forward and rest on the back edge of the chair you can focus on the stretch in the outer hip of the bent leg. Details/ Notes: In the first option students with a longer stride may feel more stable if they turn the foot out slightly. In the second option is a student is taking the back-bend variation be sure that they elongate the spine and add some firmness to the belly. It is common for students to simply push back too far too fast into compressing the low back. While a mild compression is fine we do not want students to overdo it where they may cause strain in the low back. This is for informational purposes only. Students should check with their doctors before beginning any exercise program and instruction is always best when under the direction of a qualified professional. Model- Chris Loebsack Blog by- Amy Annonsen and Chris Loebsack Want more Chair Yoga? Join Amy on Tuesday night at Boundless Yoga in Stroudsburg PA at 7:15pm Learn how to practice chair yoga sequences for your self or to teach others: Chair Yoga Advanced Studies with Amy and Chris November 2-4, 2018 Warrior One: Essential- Full Body Pose
Take a break in your day or work into a full chair yoga practice. Either way you can feel great after this amazing power pose. Warrior one opens the spine and shoulders. The deeper variation stretches the hips. *The seated “L” Shape is a great adapted position for the warrior poses or for any seated pose that requires a straightened back leg. It is also a good starting point for students to assess their hip flexibility and to familiarize how their body corresponds in relationship to the chair. Foundation(s): Begin in Seated Mountain with “L” Shape legs with length in spine slide the front leg with bent knee and torso to face sideways on the chair straighten through the back place the sole of the back foot on the earth. Take hand positioning of choice: hands placed somewhere on the chair, at hips, heart center, bent elbows, overhead, or touching palms. Action(s): Preparing the foundation first which may be a variation of sideways L-stance or any degree of a straightened back leg being mindful to keep the sole of the back foot in connection to the earth in whatever position is chosen. Selecting the arm position that best serves. Details/ Notes: Pressing though both soles of the feet concentrating on bringing energy to the outer edge of the back foot. Find length in spine, soften the shoulders, relax the face. Breathe…. and rock your new warrior energy! Model- Chris Loebsack Blog by- Amy Annonsen and Chris Loebsack Want more Chair Yoga? Join Amy on Tuesday night at Boundless Yoga in Stroudsburg PA at 7:15pm Learn how to practice chair yoga sequences for your self or to teach others: Chair Yoga Advanced Studies with Amy and Chris November 2-4, 2018 |
Boundless Yoga Staff & StudentsWe are continuously interested on how our reactions and responses to our personal journeys, albeit travel, adventure, new job, etc. mirror and reflect our social, emotional and spiritual ups and downs. We try every day to apply what we learn about ourselves on the yoga mat to our personal lives. Thank you for tuning in as we share some of those aspects with you. Archives
April 2019
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- HOME
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- May-Sept Yoga and Hiking (off Site)
- 5/9-30 4 Wk Intro to AcroYoga Series
- 6/4 Book Club Discussion
- 6/22 Shining Light on Surya Namaskar
- 7/11 Beach Day Yoga Road Trip: Ocean Groove NJ
- 7/20 Moving Meditation: the breath body connection SBG
- 8/16 Flow and Glow
- Chair Yoga Monthly Summer Series
- AUG- Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, AcroYoga Immersion
- Contact Us
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- Brian M. Davis, ERYT 500
- Chris Loebsack, Owner E-RYT 500,
- Devon Blakely 500 CYT, Restorative Yoga CYT
- Diane Stanton, RYT-200
- Emma Kate Keller - Student Support Representative
- Jamie Sullivan CYT 200, Restorative Yoga CYT
- Jenna Brown 200 RYT, Heck Yes Yoga!
- Karen Iracane 200hr RYT, Restorative Yoga CYT
- Kate Deangelo RYT 200, SUP, Restorative, Aerial Yoga
- Katie McHugh-Connolly, Teacher Trainer, E-RYT 200, 300hr Candidate
- Motina Austin-Watson 200 RYT, 500 CYT
- Tracy Gross 200 ERYT, 500 RYT
- Blog: Insights from our Staff and Students
- Studio Rental
- Community Resources
- Community Service
- Media and News
- Yoga Podcast: Chats from the Mat w/ Brian M. Davis
- HOME
- Schedule
-
- May-Sept Yoga and Hiking (off Site)
- 5/9-30 4 Wk Intro to AcroYoga Series
- 6/4 Book Club Discussion
- 6/22 Shining Light on Surya Namaskar
- 7/11 Beach Day Yoga Road Trip: Ocean Groove NJ
- 7/20 Moving Meditation: the breath body connection SBG
- 8/16 Flow and Glow
- Chair Yoga Monthly Summer Series
- AUG- Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, AcroYoga Immersion
- Contact Us
-
- Brian M. Davis, ERYT 500
- Chris Loebsack, Owner E-RYT 500,
- Devon Blakely 500 CYT, Restorative Yoga CYT
- Diane Stanton, RYT-200
- Emma Kate Keller - Student Support Representative
- Jamie Sullivan CYT 200, Restorative Yoga CYT
- Jenna Brown 200 RYT, Heck Yes Yoga!
- Karen Iracane 200hr RYT, Restorative Yoga CYT
- Kate Deangelo RYT 200, SUP, Restorative, Aerial Yoga
- Katie McHugh-Connolly, Teacher Trainer, E-RYT 200, 300hr Candidate
- Motina Austin-Watson 200 RYT, 500 CYT
- Tracy Gross 200 ERYT, 500 RYT
- Blog: Insights from our Staff and Students
- Studio Rental
- Community Resources
- Community Service
- Media and News
- Yoga Podcast: Chats from the Mat w/ Brian M. Davis
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