Summer greetings, yogis and yoginis!

Sweet, sun-kissed days are upon us. May the delights of outdoor living nourish and energize you.

With so much fun to pack into just a few short months, will your focus be hiking, backpacking, swimming, golf, tennis, soccer, ultimate frisbee, or perhaps a whole lot of idle sweet nothing lazing under crystal blue skies?

As the mercury rises, the cool canopy of Alberta’s wooded areas or the sizzling sidewalks of Whyte Avenue may beckon louder than your yoga mat.

Winter made it easy to nurture a regular yoga practice. But why salute the sun from your mat when you can hit the beach and worship Her Radiance in person from a waterfront beach towel?

Here, at Lion’s Breath Yoga and Pilates Centers, we think there are plenty of reasons to keep nurturing your practice in the coming months, so we’ve come up with some exciting ways to help your yoga practice stay relevant and keep bearing fruit this summer.

Read more to find out about our new line-up of outdoor and cross-training classes for gaining a mind-body advantage in your chosen sport.

Yoga as cross-training was recently touted in Runner’s World and Yoga Journal as the perfect complement for athletes looking to improve their game.

Whether you want to strengthen your tennis backhand, stretch out tight runner’s hamstrings or sharpen your short game on the golf green, yoga can help you gain a competitive edge while making you stronger, more agile and less accident-prone. “Low resistance hatha yoga is ideal for relaxing muscles that are tight from competition,” says Ralph La Forge, a North Carolina physiologist in the Yoga Journal article. Of all yoga’s components, he says breathwork has the biggest influence on sports preparation and recovery. “Anytime you take large inhales and exhale slowly, it’s followed by a period of relaxation. The other thing that is going on cognitively is just taking time out from tension — you’re distracted from the stress, ” says La Forge.

The articles recommend the following poses for three popular summer sports:

• TENNIS:
  
  Downward-facing Dog: to strengthen shoulders, arms and wrists, which will steady the racquet against the impact of the ball. Lengthens tight hamstrings.
  
  Gomukhasana (Cow-faced pose) combined with Baddha Konasana (bound angle pose): targets rotator cuffs that may be tight from overhead serving. Opens muscles around hips, which are shortened by running on the court. (Yoga Journal, June 2008 p89)
• RUNNING:
  
  Balancing pose (pyramid): promotes stability and stretches hamstrings. Stand with left leg in front. Hinge forward from hips, tilt pelvis and keep back straight, knees slightly bent. Interlace fingers behind back and stretch them).
  
  Lunge with revolved twist: stretches hips. Lunge with right foot, left knee on ground. Left elbow comes to outside of right knee. Palms together in prayer.
  
  Reverse tabletop: strengthens abs and back. Hands behind you under shoulders, and feet on the floor hip distance. Push up through hands and feet until torso and thighs are parallel to floor.
  (Runner’s World, June 2008, p50).
• GOLF:
  
  Cobra pose: tones the glutes while building strength in the lumbar thoracic spine.
  
  Revolved-side angle pose: improves flexibility and range of motion in hips, torso and back.
  
  Garudasana variation, eagle pose on back: stretches external hip rotators and glutes, which need to be flexible to generate power for your golf swing. (Yoga Journal, June 2008, p 95.)

Here are some eco-friendly tips to keep in mind this summer:

• When barbecuing use a gas grill instead of charcoal briquettes and lighter fluid. Gas is better for the environment because it doesn’t create fumes in the air like charcoal grills. Alternative: switch to hardwood charcoals.
• If you have a pool or hot tub, research alternative water-treatments to keep it clean and bacteria-free like UV filters, ozone generators, and ionizers to reduce or eliminate the need to use chlorine. Keep pool covered when not in use. Your pool stays warmer and lessens evaporation process.
• When picnicking, forgo the plastic and bring serving ware made of recycled paper and bio-plastic that is compostable. For bugspray, bring citronella candles and space them evenly around your site. Make sure it’s a high concentration of oil.
• For summer potlucks, make home-made decorations, ask guest to bring a favourite seasonal dish made of local produce.

Chilled Avocado Soup from Peter Berley and Melissa Clark’s cookbook "Fresh Food Fast"

Ingredients

• 3 limes
• 3 cups of water with ice
• 3 avocados, halved and pitted
• 1 glove of garlic, minced
• 1 small jalapeno pepper with seeds, chopped
• 1 tsp. coarse salt
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large flour tortilla, cut into strips (optional)
• sour cream (garnish)
• fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped (garnish)

Directions:

Cut half of one lime into wedges and set aside. Squeeze others into blender and add ice, avocado, garlic, jalapeno and salt. Blend until smooth and place in fridge while you prepare tortilla.

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Fry tortilla strips about 2 minutes, until crunchy. Place on paper towels to drain and sprinkle with salt. Or don’t fry and each plain. Ladle soup into bowls with spoonful of sour cream on top, followed by tortilla strips and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges on side.

Each of our bimonthly newsletters features an interview with a different Lion’s Breath instructor so you can get to know each teacher’s style, yoga philosophy, personality and practice better. Video footage included of the featured instructor doing their least-favourite pose.

Interview with Dawn Lamothe

When did your yoga journey begin?

Six years ago, I was a marathoner and tried yoga for the first time and hated it. My husband, Jeremy, got me to try Ashtanga and I loved it. It was challenging, yet soothing and peaceful. It met spiritual and emotional needs that I never met through running. I was hooked, and my ego expanded beyond planetary sizes!

When and why did you start teaching? What is your style?

I started teaching one year after I opened Lion’s Breath. It proved difficult to work with contract teachers without knowing myself about that side of things. My style is to cut my own tracks. Keep things light and humorous, while incorporating a different theme each week. I do lots of pranayama (breathwork) and postures are hatha-based. I believe breath is the key. Know your body and come to it, wherever it is.

What is your most inspiring read lately?

Paulo Coelho’s The Pilgrimage: A Contemporary Quest for Ancient Wisdom and The Witch of Portobello. Both are about finding spirituality in modern society.

What is your favourite saying?

What you resist, persists.

What is your favourite pose?

Scorpion and handstand. It’s play-yoga for me. I forget about everything and remember just how much fun it is to be in my body.

What is your least favourite pose?

Backbends. My shoulders bother me. I’ve broken my wrist in soccer and I’m stuck near the heart and sternum area, so I find it challenging.

What are you listening to these days?

Music in India. Sacred chants from India: Invocations from the Mother and Sufi Splendour.

Do you have another job?

Owner of Lion’s Breath and a mom

Dawn teaches Ashtanga Beginner Saturdays at 11am at Wolf Willow and Inspired by Iyengar Saturdays at 1:00pm downtown and offers private sessions.

 

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This Father's Day give dad the gift of improving his game - whether it's golf, tennis or running – with yoga

Yoga is becoming a popular cross-training compliment for sports enthusiasts and athletes looking for a performance edge. Yoga sharpens your focus, improves strength, flexibility, balance and injury resistance. These new summer classes are tailored to participants' specific sport needs. Check the schedule for details.

Check out the following new offerings on our summer schedule:

Yoga in the park: Can’t bare the thought of staying indoors to practice when the sun is shining outside? Drop-in for one of our outdoor yoga classes, weather permitting, locations to be announced, but they will be near each of the studios. Practice with Mother Earth beneath your feet and Shanti winds in your hair. Check schedule for class listings.

Crucial Cross-training: A 10-week pre-registered class to maximize your strength and flexibility for tennis and golf by focusing on the torso and rotational range of motion. For those with training needs in running, cycling, soccer or triathlons, emphasis will be on the IT band, hamstrings and increasing suppleness in hip joint movement. Gain a competitive edge, become less injury-prone and rise to a new level in your sport of choice.

International Series

Stepping into the Currents of Grace: A weekend of Anusara Yoga with Barrie Risma

September 19 – 21st, 2008

Akhanda (holistic) Yoga and the Five Pranas with Yogi Vishvketu

August 16th, 2008

For more info check http://lionsbreath.ca/events/events.htm.

Prenatal Partner

Date: Sunday April 20th
Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Price: $50 + GST
Instructor: Clare Newman

Partner Yoga

Date: July 20th, 2008
Time: 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Instructor: Megan Rosborough
Price: $30 + GST (per couple)