Monday, February 22, 2016

Goals

"Doing yoga without a clearly stated goal is beneficial, yet it is like going for a drive without knowing where you want to go.  The optimist will find beauty and adventure, regardless of where they go, while the pessimist may experience that their time is being wasted in foolishly rambling around an unknown terrain.  Being optimistic and being directed is ideal." Mukunda Stiles

9 Reasons to Stretch

For the article "In Defense of Stretching" by Jean Couch.

1) Muscle contraction stimulates its neurological brain (the muscle spindle) to define the muscle's resting length. Unless movements go through complete range of motion in an aligned manner, the muscle spindle resets the joint into a restricted position.

2) Stretching allows muscles to relax and receive increased blood flow and oxygen

3) When injury or imbalances physical activity hinders a joint's mobility, other joints make postural compensations

4) Tight muscles on one side of a joint create weak opposing muscles (antagonists) on the other side of the joint

5) Tight muscles pull the body out of alignment from the ideally balanced anatomical position

6) A muscle that is too tight loses its power due to less mobility

7) Ligament, having no inherent contractile property, need full joint motions to maintaing their integrity.

8) Random tightness diminishes the stretch reflex and the body therefore loses its efficient functioning

9) Internal organs dependent upon vascular flow may not perform optimally as a result of structural misalignments

Monday, February 15, 2016

YogArt Book


"In yoga philosophy, the universe is composed of a trinity that has both masculine and feminine aspects. " - Mukunda Stiles

Creative Force - masculine is Brahma, feminine is Sarasvati
Nurturing Force - masculine is Vishnu, feminine is Lakshmi
Transformative Force - masculine is Shiva, feminine is Kali



"The microcosm is the same as the macrocosm... When we affect a positive change within ourselves, we are also positively affecting a change in the world around us." Stiles, Mukunda












Butterfly Pose



Art/Yoga Fusion Mandalas

This are some YogArt Mandalas I made in December.