Cold Toes

You can find yoga sock patterns of www.ravelry.com

Last weekend brought a cold front into the Northeast that's lingered into the beginning of the week. It's supposed to warm up again soon, but meanwhile I'm dealing with cold toes during my yoga practice. If your part of the world is seeing hints of the frosty seasons to come, here's a few things you can do to warm up your yoga practice, without turning on the heat (let's remember Mother Earth, please).

1. Sun Salutations. That lovely flow that opens your whole body is also designed to warm you from the inside out. Start your practice with as many cycles as you need to get the heat into your toes.
2. Kapalabhati Breath. A fast breath of forced exhales followed by a natural inhale, Kapalabhati will light a fire in your core and cleanse your system. Practice it on its own or add Kapalabhati breathing to a pose like Goddess squat to get a good burn.
3. Yoga socks. Yes, there are socks out there for yoga. I knit my own toe-less, heel-less socks to practice in when my feet are chilly.
4. Dress in layers. The same advice we get for so many other activities applies to yoga, too. Two or three layered tops that can be removed as your practice heats up and donned again before your body starts to cool in Savasana will keep you comfortable throughout your practice. I can't think of anything worse than shivering in Savasana.
5. Insulate your mat. This is a trick I learned from one of my yoga students. Create a blanket sandwich with two mats. Lay one mat on the floor, lay a blanket on top, then put a second mat on top. The mats will keep you from slipping and the blanket will keep the cold in the floor. If you spread the blanket wider than the mats you'll have a warm place to rest your hands during supine twists and Savasana.

It's 39 degrees outside this morning. I'm thinking about practicing in a hat. Can you add anything else to the list?

My body loves prAna

One of the reasons I'm looking forward to fall is that I get to pull out my long-sleeved yoga tops. In the pile is my current favorite piece of clothing - my Julz Hoodie from prAna. 

Julz Hoodie by prAna (picture from www.prAna.com)

I'm long-waisted and many of the tops out there end right at my waistline. This was fine back in the day, before age and carrying two kids got the better of my mid-section. (I'm starting my Isagenix cleanse tomorrow to do something about that). The Julz Hoodie is tunic-length and falls nicely at my hips. The sleeves are long, too, and actually extend to my wrists. There's an extra-wide band around the bottom of the sleeves to keep them in place. 

Even though it was designed to be a warm-up piece (they don't need to practice in long sleeves in Southern California like we do in the Adirondacks), I've demoed plenty of asanas in my Julz and it stays in place. And it's beautiful. 

Vintage prAna top and newer prAna capris

I've been wearing prAna for years. I'm still practicing a top I purchased before I started yoga teacher training. One pair of capris has been worn over and over again to practice yoga, run and rock climb and they still look new. prAna makes quality clothes and it's a great company. They promote conservation and sustainability and they support rock climbers and yoginis like Chris Sharma and Shiva Rea. 

I also have to mention that their catalogs are art. I have a hard time finally putting each season's issue into the recycling bin.

Do you practice in prAna? What's your favorite brand of yoga clothes?

Bears

A black bear standing (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I saw an Adirondack black bear for the first time a couple of weeks ago. In the western Adirondacks, on the way home from my daughter's college, it ran across the road in front of our car. Luckily there was plenty of space between the car and the bear and he (or she) got safely across. Watching the bear run, one thing came to mind - I will never, ever be able to outrun a bear.

According to this article in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, and some wildlife experts I know, the dry weather has lessened the bears' usual food supply and they are spending more time around people, looking for a tasty morsel in garbage cans, picnic baskets and even camping trailers. A few miles up the road, a woman had to chase a bear out of her car after she opened the car door then went back into her house for something she'd forgotten. I'm sure the stories will get wilder as the bears try to bulk up before winter hibernation.

I have a wonderful divination deck called Medicine Cards: The Discovery of Power Through the Ways of Animals. The creators, Jamie Sams and David Carson, based the cards on the concept of medicine in the Native American way. Each card in the deck is a different animal and the accompanying book gives a lovely explanation of the animal's particular medicine and what it might mean when you pull that card. Whenever I encounter an animal for the first time, I make a point to read about it's medicine.

After the bear ran across the road, I discovered that bear's medicine, not surprisingly, is introspection. Hibernating in a cave during winter is a common metaphor for deep inner work and meditation. What's interesting is how much I've been drawn to that very thing lately.

This morning I drew a card and there was bear again, reminding me I need to spend more time looking inward if I want to achieve my hopes and dreams. I suspect more bears will be showing up in my life until I complete the necessary inner-looking. I only hope they stay out of my garbage.

Related articles

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• Their Food Scarce From Drought, Animals Dine in Town
• Black Bear Spotted in Princeton on Nassau Street Tuesday Night