November 2009 4 Tufts Medical Center 4 class series

Hello everyone,
It was great to see you today!

Here is the list of poses for this four class series. I will let you know what I hear about December 4th. There will be no class on November 27th.

Namaste!
-Heather

Addressing Our Scapular Stabilizers

What constitutes a shoulder joint that is prone to injury? Could it be weak rotator cuff musculature? Maybe it is joint laxity and instability? What about capsular restrictions or the work we do on a regular basis? Or, is it possible that weak scapular stabilizers could play a role in shoulder injury?

The answer is, all of the above reasons could contribute as the cause of a shoulder injury. Although shoulder injuries are often complex, many do happen to be related to one common problem: weak muscles that support the shoulder blades, otherwise known as scapular stabilizers.

The scapula (shoulder blade) is a very involved structure of the body. Not only does this bone articulate with the humerus (upper arm bone) and clavicle (collar bone), it is also the attachment site for many muscles in the shoulder itself, as well as the back, the chest, the arm, and even the neck. It is therefore easy to comprehend how a weakness in this area could affect many others in the body.>>Addressing Our Scapular Stabilizers

Yoga Natasha Rizopoulos - Learn a Pose: Sun Salute A

Yoga Natasha Rizopoulos - Learn a Pose: Sun Salute A

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How to Make Exercise a Daily Habit (with a May Challenge) | from the Zen Habits blog

I highly recommend this blog-Heather

From the blog, "Zen Habits"
Recently my friend and fellow blogger Scott Young did a great post entitled, “New to exercise? Make workouts daily“. It was an excellent post, and perfectly timed as it mirrors my own recent efforts at making exercise a daily habit.

The problem with trying to make exercise a habit, and it’s something that we’ve all faced, is that you usually try to exercise 3 or 4 times a week … and that makes creating a new exercise habit difficult. The reason is that the more consistent an action is, the more likely it is to be a habit.

Therefore, as Scott points out, and it’s something I fully agree with, exercising every day is more likely to result in a habit — something that becomes almost automatic, and much easier, instead of a constant struggle.

I’ve been implementing this idea in my daily life>>

Yoga Journal - Yoga Philosophy - Savor Life's Delights

Yoga Journal - Yoga Philosophy - Savor Life's Delights

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Daily Insight Newsletter June 19, 2009

Daily Insight Newsletter June 19, 2009

Compassion

Daniel Goleman on Compassion

Why you should listen to him:

Daniel Goleman brought the notion of "EI" to prominence as an alternative to more traditional measures of IQ with his 1995 mega-best-seller Emotional Intelligence.

Since the publication of that book, conferences and academic institutes have sprung up dedicated to the idea. EI is taught in public schools, and corporate leaders have adopted it as a new way of thinking about success and leadership. EI, and one's "EIQ," can be an explanation of why some "average" people are incredibly successful, while "geniuses" sometimes fail to live up to their promise.

"Emotional Intelligence, Goleman's highly readable and wide-ranging exploration of the best research available by modern psychologists and educators, provides important insights into the true meaning of intelligence and the qualities it encompasses."

David Perlman, San Francisco Chronicle

New Series of 5

Hello!
So we begin our next series of 5 classes together.

We meet in Jaharis 155 at noon until 1.

Here is the sequence we will be using for the next 5 weeks. I recommend doing these at home as well!

Tufts Second Series of 5 Class Sequence

Ear Plugs to Lasers: The Science of Concentration

By JOHN TIERNEY
Published: May 5, 2009

For the focused life, forget multitasking and try meditating.
Imagine that you have ditched your laptop and turned off your smartphone. You are beyond the reach of YouTube, Facebook, e-mail, text messages. You are in a Twitter-free zone, sitting in a taxicab with a copy of “Rapt,” a guide by Winifred Gallagher to the science of paying attention.>>

Meditation posture

Woman meditatingIt’s not only important to be able to sit comfortably for meditation; the way we hold the body has a profound effect on the emotions and mental states that we experience. Something as subtle as the angle that you hold your chin at affects how much thinking you do.

In this section we explain how to use your body effectively in meditation, so that you can relax and at the same time develop alertness. Although relaxation and alertness may appear at first to be opposites, they can in fact coexist during a meditative state.>>

Yoga Poses from our 5 Week Session

I have been trying to upload our yoga sequence but have not been able to get the yoga journal site to open the sequence builder. Hopefully I'll have that this weekend.

I am enjoying seeing our class get into the groove of the poses as we get to know each other. I've seen quite a bit of improvement in our short time so far.

Here is the link to the lecture on play that I was referring to today. It is quite inspiring and fascinating. Have FUN this weekend.

Yoga and Pregnancy

In any class there is bound to be someone who is pregnant or gets pregnant. A general rule of thumb is to avoid twists, and be aware that your ligaments are beginning to loosen in preparation for the birth. Listen to your body and don't do anything that is uncomfortable. As the pregnancy progresses you will need to modify further to make room for your changing body.

Practicing Yoga during pregnancy

Yoga Poses to Avoid When Pregnant

Welcome Tufts Medical class!

I am so happy to have the opportunity to work with you all. We will begin on April 10th and go until May 8th. If you have any questions at all feel free to email me at heather.mcmorrow@tufts.edu or heather@heathermcmorrow.com