Hip Replacement Therapy with Yoga

Question: Hi Yogi Marlon

I have had hip surgery in Feb. and I have problems with my other hip and I was wondering if Yoga would help me. I can't get into the sitting position with my legs crossed in front of me. What can I do instead? I just got a DVD for Feeling Stronger Every Day. I haven't done exercise or Yoga before. Is it too late for me to start something like this?

Name: Carol

city: Yakima

state: WA


Hi Carol,

No, it’s not too late to start yoga. In fact, it sounds like a very good time to start a yoga practice, because yoga postures have almost no impact. That’s essential to good joint health, especially as we age. What’s more, yoga can create flexibility more than any other therapy I’ve seen.
Learn how to pair the breath with postures and you will see significant results.

I’m glad you purchased one of my DVDs, but the one you choose is not for beginners. Yoga for Feeling Stronger Every Day is meant for people who have experience in yoga and want to gain muscle strength and mass.

I suggest you try these other titles for a more elementary explanation. These titles have easier practices on them.
Yoga for Absolute Beginners
Yoga for a Healthy Back (my hunch this one is best for you)
Yoga for Couch Potatoes
You can find a description of all my titles on this page by clicking on the DVD cover, and from there you can see streaming video. http://askyogimarlon.com/dvd.html

If you cannot sit on the ground cross-legged, you can do some of the postures initially in a chair. If so, scoot forward so you do not use the back, but instead hold your posture erect yourself.

Do try and sit on the ground to loosen your hips. You can start by sitting on a stack of books or firm pillows. Later when you can sit with your butt on the ground, use a block, some books or a pillow to support under your knees. Work to remove the use of all props with your knees toward the ground and always with your spine tall. Remember to breathe deeply in all postures. Your body releases instead of grips when you do, especially on long slow exhales. Make special note of learning ujjayi pranayama (Sunglass Breath chapter on Yoga for Couch Potatoes) It’s an essential part of yoga practice and should accompany all the postures you.

I hope that is helps. Please let me know how it goes.

If anyone reading this has had hip replacement surgery and practiced yoga as part of your recovery, please post a comment and let us know what worked best for you. Let’s make use of this as an on-line community resource!

Om shanti,


Yogi Marlon

Getting Certified

Question: Hey Marlon,
I'm Anthony Cello's granddaughter Sandy. Your mom was telling us about your yoga DVDs. I have a friend who is going out to California to learn about yoga and pilates, and is also getting certified while she's there. She's teaches aerobics and also owns the gym I belong to. I was not sure where in California you practice, but I told her about you. Any suggestions for her?

Name: Sandra

city: Philadelphia

state: PA

Hi Sandy,
I practice at home in Los Angeles. That is after years of studying with my teacher, Rod Stryker, whom I follow wherever he is and whenever I can since 1994. I was very lucky to study with his teachers in NY before meeting him in LA and although I have sat with many teachers, I've found no one who is as steeped in and articulate about all branches of yoga than Yogiraj Rod Stryker. Your friend can access his teacher training programs at http://pureyoga.com. Frankly, if your friend wants unadulterated yoga in all its technical acumen while interlaced with its sacred depths (which is the only way I recommend it), there is no better teacher to my knowledge.

There are a multitude of programs out there what will give your friend a certificate in as little as an extended weekend, but I believe it lacks integrity and creates a liability to teach yoga after such a program.

When it comes to pilates, I know very little, so I cannot be of assistance there. After a few casual classes, I saw a number of exercises that could potentially create lower back problems, if one did not already have intensely strong abdominal muscles, so I sought it out no further.

I wish your friend a fortuitous journey into yoga. Please comment here if I can be of further assistance. That's what I'm here for.

Om Shanti,

Yogi Marlon

Alcoholism and Yoga

Question: Hello Yogi Marlon,
I am writing you again because I desperately need help in my life. I drink alcohol as a way of coping with the stress. I need something to substitute for this unhealthy habit. My stresses are financial and marital. My husband is critical and quick to blame me for the things going wrong in our lives. I need to protect myself mentally. What does alcohol do to the body? Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, M.

Name: Omitted to preserve her identity
city: Newborn
state: GA

Dear M,
There are so many times when I get questions from people how so desperately need to reach out for help. It's accurate to think of yoga as an appropriate therapy for any physical, mental or spiritual problem. Unfortunately, a case as severer as yours would require a yogi who could spend a great deal of time with you to really help. Additionally, since our Western system does not recognize yoga as the comprehensive science it is, there is a great liability for me to advise you. I do feel I can give you some simple guidelines here, but first I must impress upon you to seek professional help close to home. Alcoholism is life- threatening, so I'd never want to take it so lightly to offer you a few sentences in lieu of an intensive program for recovery.

From the standpoint of the tradition of yoga, I can tell you how it historically views such problems. Yoga says that all satisfaction that is sought through object identification is ultimately fruitless. That is, reaching for a substance such as alcohol or any object that is outside yourself, can only deliver maya, or loosely, the fleeting illusion of happiness. Instead, yoga teaches one how to derive what it views as a true sense of contentment thru a connection with God. There are many methods of mentally bringing one's focus inward through various yogic practices. They include postures linked with specific breathing techniques, breathing techniques on their own, meditation, mantra, focusing on yantras, service to others, etc, etc, etc. True yoga is a many-folded tradition with a multitude of techniques. After a concentrated effort one begins to find an inner peace, a genuine love for oneself and all others and things through this connection.

Yoga's techniques and values seek to continually promote purity in the body, the mind and emotions and the spirit. Alcohol abuse is antithetical to that. It stresses the whole organism. It creates a state of dehydration. Absence of water in the body robs it of one of the basic components of healthy cell reproduction. Stresses on the liver are widely known. Its effect on other organs is of great consequence as well.

Dear, M, please take responsibility for your own actions and well-being. I am sending you my greatest wish for the release of alcohol's grip in your life. I am also sending my prayers to all divine beings to guide you to sobriety, fulfillment and deep and meaningful joy.

Om shanti, shanti, shanti,
Yogi Marlon

Gayatri Mantra: Video and Translation

Question: Hi Yogi Marlon, I just bought one of your DVDs and at the end you chant the gyathri mantra. Could you please email me a script of the mantra. Thanks

Name: Niva
city: Brisbane
country: Australia

Hi Niva,
I put the translation as well as the video for all to see up on my website here: http://askyogimarlon.com/gayatrimantra.html.
I hope you derive as much as I have from chanting this mantra.

BTW, I did not know my DVDs were being sold as far as Australia. That's very exciting for me. Can you please tell me at what store or website you purchased it?

Yoga for Arthritis

Question: Hi Marlon,
I have arthritis in my hands and in my knees. I think it is spreading to my hip and back and elbows. I can't afford to go to the Doctor. Can yoga help me?
Name: Mary
city: Newborn
state: Georgia

Hi Mary,
The information I can give you is no substitute for a doctor's, but there is much that yoga's school of medicine has to say about arthritis. Please consider what I tell you as the impetus to do further research and make a determination of your own, hopefully with the help of a doctor when that becomes affordable.

Ayurveda is the oldest known school of medicine existing today, pre-dating Chinese medicine by centuries. Within ayurveda, there is a system used to determine one's constitution or dosha. Most people have a combination of the three doshas, vata, pitta and kapha with predominance in one or two at the time of their birth. Ayurveda seeks to maintain the balance of one's individual dosha blueprint throughout one's life through a series of practices that are tailored to that blueprint.

Generally speaking, arthritis is a disease from which people of primarily vata constitution suffer. Vata’s nature increases in old age for people of all constitutions. The resulting us more dryness, coldness, and that which contains air. To lessen the overabundance of vata’s characteristics, one would seek warmth, moisture and being grounded. Practically, that would mean lifestyle habits such as choosing hot soups over cold salads, warm, balmy weather over cold, dry weather, yoga postures that have a stabilizing effect. (See Yogi Marlon's Eggplant Feta Soup recipe here: http://askyogimarlon.com/eggplant_feta_soup.html ) Staying out of drafts, consuming enough fat and water to keep the body moist and lubricated, practicing abhyanga (More about that at: http://askyogimarlon.com/abhyanga.html) are all good steps to maintaining one’s optimal influence of vata energy.

You can find much more information about ayurveda's approach to arthritis at:
http://arthritis.about.com/od/ayurveda/Ayurveda_for_Arthritis_Ayurvedic_Treatments_for_Arthritis.htm

Thanks for writing, Mary. I wish you good health.
If anyone reading this blog has any suggestions for Mary, please feel free to post them here. Let us know if you have any valuable links, as well.

Om shanti,

Yogi Marlon

Kundalini Yoga Dangers

Question: Hi Yogi Marlon
First, I would like to say that I am a student of your teachings. I have had miraculous benefits from your teachings. I wanted to ask you a question. Is Kundalini Yoga safe spiritually?
Name: LaChandra
city: Delta City
state: Mississsippi,
country: USA


Hi LaChandra and thanks for writing.
You've asked a question that has a conditional answer. If a teacher who is close to you and highly experienced in Kundalini yoga is advising you on practices that are appropriate specifically for you and monitoring your progress closely, Kundalini yoga can be quite safe.

Kundalini practices focus upon raising shakti up the central energetic channel, the sushumna, which can propel one's spiritual evolution very powerfully. It is fairly common for practitioners of Kundalini experience mild to severe ramifications of the practices when they are not fully prepared for the practice by way of purification on physical, mental and spiritual levels. This means the prolonged and steady practice of a pure diet, drug-free mental and emotional stability, and spiritual preparedness amongst other things.

I did have verification from my teacher some years ago, that the ill effects of Kundalini practice can create a state that is best described as mental "blow-out". The ability to cope with everyday situations can drive one to intense instability for short or very long periods lasting as long as several years. An extreme reaction is, of course, rare. I am not aware of what the spiritual difficulties would be, but I strongly surmise they could be equally as deep. For this reason, I do not advise group Kundalini classes for yoga novices.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a teacher who is highly experienced and who is willing to closely track any Kundalini practices you may choose to do. My advice is to take a gentle path to spiritual development, starting with Hatha yoga to orient your entire being into the practices of yoga. One can generally safely go on to Laya (chakra) Yoga, some Kriya practices (which aim to purify).

I hope that serves a guide for you. Please feel free to comment here.

Om Shanti,
Yogi Marlon

Yoga for Toning

Question: hi yogi marlon, i use ur dvd regulary!!and im wonderin if i keep usin it will it tone up my body??

Name: niamh
city: dublin
country: ireland

Hi Niamh,
I'm always thrilled to know that people in far away places are practicing yoga along with me on my DVD. The answer to you question is a resounding Yes! If you continue with any of my 7 DVDs you will indeed tone your body. The DVD that is most directed at developing muscle mass and strength is "Feeling Stronger Every Day".

Please respond here to let my readers know what your progress is and if you have any quesitons along the way. This blog is intended to create a worldwide community of yoga practitioners.

Also, would you please tell me where you got my DVD in Ireland? I'd love to know.
Many thanks for your quesiton

Om Shanti (Peace)
Yogi Marlon