More UK Yogis!

Hi YM,
I was fortunate enough to pick up two DVD's that were offered free of charge by The Daily Mail Newspaper (UK) recently and have been following Part One since the beginning of the month. I am already beginning to notice some changes (for the better), I just wanted to ask what 'type' of Yoga this is? It doesn't specify on the DVD cover. Also, is this DVD enough to work with or should I also enrol in a Yoga class for optimal benefits? And finally, I can see from your website that there is an 'ask Marlon' field box for questions - if I filled in my query there - would I receive a personal response from Marlon or would it be published on the website?
Would love to hear your views.
Many thanks,

Anonymous

Hi Anonymous,
These days I usually publish answers to all the questions on my blog page. I can do that anonymously very easily and often do at the inquirer's request, as I have here. I answer all questions myself. I feel it’s an important part of my dharma at least for now.

I think you could go either way. Enroll at a yoga studio that has high recommendations or learn much more from me by getting my other 6 DVDs. My popularity is immense in the UK now, due to the newspaper inclusion. That is a thrill. I hope to come to the UK this spring or summer to teach some workshops as a result.

My background is in Tantra. Within this ancient tradition there are many subdivisions. In a single session a student is apt to encounter these various branches of yoga: Raja, Swara, Laya, Kundalini, Jnana, Kriya, Bhakti, Hatha + a bit of ayurveda. For more in my background you may want to check out my bio.

Please do log on to the blog often. I think you will see people are generally thinking about the same issues. I’m very happy if you contribute your experience to other bloggers by hitting the white comments button at the bottom of any entry.

Fare thee well, yogini! Many thanks for writing!

Om Shanti,

Yogi Marlon

How Long for Yoga for a Healthy Back

Hello,
I just wanted to let you know that i purchased your cd for back exercises and have been doing them regularly for nearly two weeks, and feel so much better and free of pain excellent cd recommend it to everyone who suffers with their back.
Do you recommend doing these exercises on a long-term basis or should i move on to another cd.

thank you again

Linda Davies
Worcestershire, England

Hi Linda,
I’m so glad you are having success with the DVD, Yoga for a Healthy Back. It’s very kind of you to write to tell me so. I am particularly gratified on the results that are reported to me on this title. So many people who gave up hope of having a pain-free back are amazed at the results they are seeing from doing such easy exercises. Much of the success is because its designed to create the muscular structure holds discs and vertebrae in proper spinal alignment.

In regard to your question on how long to continue with that DVD title, I can give you this guideline: Slowly work your way through the successive practices when the one you are currently doing seems easy. Particularly in this DVD, the individual practices go from easiest to hardest. If you can get all the way through the third practice on this DVD, you can most likely approach the practices on my other yoga DVDs. Although I do recommend the practices on the DVD you have long term, you might want to expand you knowledge of additional postures and breathing techniques. Feel free to shop in line. I’m mailing DVDs to England very often now.


In light and love,
Om shanti,

Yogi Marlon

Yoga DVD Reveiws

Hi People!
I'm getting a lot of email with your compliments one or more of my DVDs. I'm so very grateful for the opportunity to teach you yoga that facilitates a positive change in your life. I'm starting this blog topic so you may converse with each other on topics like which DVD you are doing and why, which practices you get the most out of, any you are confused on, and the comparision of titles and anything else you want to talk about. Do you like how I make most of the practices only 25 minutes long. Almost no excuse not to do them, right?!!! Yup, I planned it that way. Who's got an hour to spare these days. : )

So please do add your comments and questions here. Ahh and by the way, many thanks to all the good people in the United Kingdom who are recently receiving my DVD with Associated Newspapers. Your feedback has been tremendous. Lucky for both of us that some of you who would have never thought to give yoga a try and now doing it and reaping the benefits. Hats off to you and ok, is it too cliche if i say "Cheerio!"

xoxoxo
Yogi Marlon

Running Is For Horses-Quotes from Kavi Yogiraj Mani Finger

Dear Yogi Marlon
I am a yoga teacher and have been quoting this for many years; a student of mine wondered where this quote was to be found? I have mistakenly been saying that it was BKS Iyenger’s assertion, but after many hours of reading and research I came across your ‘Zen and Now of Running’ but I still can’t find the source for this quote.
Could you help me please? Do you know if and where this was written? Meantime I am still going through my many yoga books in the hopes that I may track this down for my student who wishes mention it in an article she has to write and who needs the references if she does.
Thank you for your time and patience.
Yours in the spirit of yoga
Om shanti – Namaste
Rosina


Hi Rosina,

I heard the comment with my own ears in about 1993, when I was sitting with the man, who was the teacher of a few of my teachers. His name is Kavi Yogiraj Mani Finger. He may well have been quoting one of his teachers when he said, verbatim, “Heh! Running is for horses!” but I think not. It was Mani’s way to scoff at what he perceived as nonsense, and truthfully, I’ve never found anything he dismissed, to be worthy of more. Mani was controversial particularly in his expression, but I’ve found joyfully, that his seemingly impolite nature consistently cut through the fluff of the New Age thinking, and revealed truths that otherwise may have taken years longer to assimilate. I think it is with little risk, that we can fairly attribute the quote to dear Mani.

By the way, I am told that on his 85th birthday, Mani did a 45-minute headstand to celebrate the occasion. This vision and my memory of his sense of true mirth, I expect will continue to inspire me through all my years. It was a privilege, an honor and a lovely piece of grace to have sat before him. I wish for you that someone of such unique inspiration will cross your path equally as indelibly.

Mani also said that same day, "The intellect is over-rated," which is a concept I've learned through and through. So much of our culture focuses on the mind, when it’s such a fraction of the totality of our existence. Ask many and they will agree that we are not our bodies, but ask more, and they will tell you we are the stuff of our thoughts and personality. They'll say it is our ideas that make us who we are. If one looks at the kind of work that is valued today, physical labor is looked down upon as inferior to "brainier" jobs. Why? Who says using your brain or mind is superior to using your body, and if so, why? Our culture has a judgment that it is more admirable, but to my eyes it’s merely a single step more subtle or refined. I don't agree it makes it necessarily better. It's clearly more desired in our culture and perhaps even for me, but better? No.

To take the point further, Mani said, "Believe everything until proven untrue." For many who think of themselves as intellectual beings, this idealogy refutes logic. For them science is the sole indicator of truth. I say that's even more absurd, because the scientific theory as a method of proving what is true or false has only existed for about 150 years. Another huge factor is the enormous amount of funding and time it takes to conduct the process of hypothesis, experimentation, and conclusion. What about all the things that are never studied? Do they all cease to exist because they are not scientifically proven? Of course not. Furthermore, quantum physics, a science, has proven that the expectation of the experimenter significantly contributes to the actual outcome of experiments, not just the interpretation of the data.

If alternatively, we do not wait for proof, we open the possibilities in our lives. This is not to say that we fly in the face of logic at all. It simply suggests that we no longer have a "prove it to me" attitude and its resulting standoffishness before we give something a try. Instead we employ our innate powers of intuition. We believe that grace has a hand in what occurs in our lives. We instead learn to trust that what is before us in our lives is precisely the teacher we need to propel our spiritual growth. As a result of all these thoughts, I try to read the signs and apply my will to create a life for myself. I invite you to do the same!

Thanks for writing.
Om shanti,

Yogi Marlon

How Much Yoga Is Right?

Hi Yogi Marlon,

I've been doing your beginners yoga dvd for about three weeks, I'm not sure if i'm over doing it. I do about an hour, six times a week, this is the only form of excercise i do.
Not sure if it helps but i'm an ex gymnast as well.
Many thanks.
Lisa

lisa amor
surrey
west byfleet, england

HI Lisa,

I think that is a terrific amount of yoga to do! I wish all my yoga DVD viewers were that consistent.

By the way, in my years of observing who maintains in good physical shape well into their years, I have very often found those who have been gymnasts remain incredibly fit well into their old age. Yoga will certainly help insure that.

Best of luck with your practice.
PS I might come to the UK this spring to teach pranayama and bandha practices. If you want to be on the mailing list, please let me know.


Om Shanti,

Yogi Marlon

How Much Ujjayi Pranayama Is Best?

Hello Yogi Marlon,

First let me say, I recently started watching your yoga for absolute beginners video. In it you speak of being mindful of our breath. I have tried very hard to focus on my breath during practice, but I sometimes find myself breathing in this way throughout my day. Is it the goal, through much practice, to learn to breath like this in our day-to-day life, or should it be limited to our practice and meditation? Thank you for any advice you may give and I look forward to being able to continue to follow your teachings.

Namaste,

Amanda
Cameron, NC

Hi Amanda,
That’s a question I had myself at one time. The traditional teaching is that the specialized breathing techniques are to be used as a tool, not to be idealized as the optimal breath for normal waking life, when we are engaged in a variety of activities.

After several years of yoga practice, I discovered that on most days as I transition from sleep to wakefulness and then again as I transition from wakefulness to sleep, my breath is spontaneously takes on the slow, deep rhythm of ujjayi. I relish these moments to do a bit of yoga “off the mat.” It brings to mind what one of my first yoga teachers, Alan Finger, taught me. He used to say, ”If you want to be a yogi, you can’t wake up with coffee and the newspaper.” I’ve learned to utilize the first minutes of my day in deep contemplation. I know ujjayi pranayama enables my step through that door, and it’s an essential part of my day.

Additionally, I utilize a few ujjayi breathes at a time throughout the day to release stresses as they arise. It is very effective in dissipating tension. I use it when I am waiting on line, stuck in traffic, or doing something I find completely mundane. I would personally choose to do hours of ujjayi if I were healing in some way, but that is as far as it goes in my waking hours. I do not recommend more than occasional or momentary uses of ujjayi in normal waking life (outside of yoga practice) although other knowledgeable yogis may have discovered others. The reason is that ujjayi lengthens the brain waves, and most everyday tasks in our culture are best done without that extension. Most of us are not leading monastic lives, so overusing the technique could make one overly ethereal and unable to perform one’s daily work.

It seems a logical place to suggest here, that you may want to explore a variety of pranayama techniques with a qualified teacher. Though they are not often taught viloma, pratiloma, bastrika, are 3 pranayama techniques well worth knowing.

For instruction on ujjayi pranayama, please download this video file:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7504960285051502940&q=yogi+marlon

I hope that answers your question satisfactorily. I wish you all the best with your yoga practice and spiritual exploration.


Om Shanti,

Yogi Marlon

DVD as therapy for Back Pain

Hello

Do you do a yoga dvd for people with bad backs or can you recommend one i need to strenghten my back i have done a bit of yoga but am frightnened to do any at the momment due to my back.
what exercises should i be doing for my back?

thank you

Linda Davies

City: Worcestershire

Country: England

Hi Linda,
I do, in fact, have a DVD specifically for back problems. When I decide what DVD to do next, I look at the current statistics on what’s commonly ailing people. I had found that the percentage of people in America with chronic back problems was alarming. It has a lot to do with how we live today: sitting at a computer, in a car a lot of the time, rarely ever bending over to touch the ground or stretching up to reach for something. In response, I created Yoga for a Healthy Back. After the 2 introduction chapters, there are 3 separate 25-minute chapters of follow-along posture sequences. I created each of the practice segments according to years of training I’ve had on the spine and vertebrae, because for someone with back problems, the postures followed must respect the structural challenges very carefully.

In the first one, I make the assumption the practitioner is in pain, possibly even intense pain. The postures are extremely gentle. Mostly, the goal is to un-wrench the bound muscles. The result after just one session is more range of movement, eased tension of the back muscles and more oxygenation to the system. I recommend people continue to do the first sequence until it is very, very easy for them before moving on to the next one. My directions should be followed very, very precisely to achieve the desired result

After “Relax the Back” is done several times, the practitioner will have more knowledge about which movements present challenges. For instance, if one’s vertebrae are posterior displaced, or pushed outward toward the back, bending forward is most likely the motion that causes pain. If vertebrae are pushed interiorly, it’s the backward motion that most often creates pain. In the second segment, “Strengthen the Back”, the goal is to create the muscular structure to hold the vertebrae in the proper alignment—the place into where one’s chiropractor adjusts the spine.

After the second segment is very easy and creates no sensitiveness, its time to move on to the third segment, that contains vigorous back exercises. Doing this practice will create good posture through erect alignment of the vertebrae, which is a large part of protecting one’s back.

In one of the DVD chapters of Yoga for a Healthy Back, I recommend that people consider the posture their car seat, desk chair, or evening sofa puts them in. Because the fasciae, the mesh netting around the muscles, reshapes after just 11 minutes in a particular position, it is important that one’s back is in alignment in every situation. That may mean having a couch re-stuffed or putting a pillow at the small of your back in the car. Lifestyle habits can either support or detract from the positive effects of a yoga practice designed to give you a healthy back!

If you’d like to purchase this DVD, please click on the link above.

Best of health to you!

Om Shanti,

Yogi Marlon