Started the Year Right
Ekāgratā Śālā started the year with a workshop. 
Thanks to my teacher Clayton Horton! Here are a few pictures of the event.
Special thanks to my family for behaving during the weekend, Lester for all the support, and my Greenpath Boracay Yoga Teacher Training classmates who attended.
Just one of those days?
All you ladies know what I’m talking about, the natural cycle that occurs for a woman every month.
Students always ask, “Can we practice yoga during our period?” The answer is, it all depends on your body.
1. Do you have the strength to do the regular Led Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga (the class I usually teach)? If yes, then go to the next question… If no, stay at home and rest. Listen to your body.
2. Is your flow heavy? If yes, practice relaxed and restorative yoga. This means if the class is our usual Led Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, opt to stay home. If the class is a restorative yoga class or a moon series yoga class, you may still attend. If your answer is No, you can attend the class and jump to question 3.
3. Are you still bleeding? Have you ever done yoga and your period stopped? If your answer is yes to any of the two questions, i usually advice students to take it easy and replace their closing series (due to all the inversions) with Viparita Karani Asana (Legs up the wall pose). If your answer is no to both questions, then feel free to go on with the regular closing series but be mindful of what your body is telling you.
The book “Nawa Yogini Tantra” has an informative section about this. Actually I highly recommend that book to women who are practicing yoga. Since this book is not easy to get a hold of here in the Philippines, you can read up on other articles regarding yoga and menstruation through the articles listed below. I don’t want to sound like a pro (which I’m not) by simply enumerating different scientific reasons why and why not. 
What I do know is that we should listen to what our bodies are telling us…
Yoga Journal: Inversions and Menstruation
Yoga and Menstruation, Questions Answered by Geeta S. Iyengar
A woman’s Balance: Inversions and Menstruation by Mary P. Schatz, MD
Conclusion: LISTEN TO OUR BODY…
Namaste.
- Karen
Viparita Karani Asana what?
This is one of my least favorite poses for many reasons but mostly because I don’t like lying down by myself while I hear others doing their shoulder-stands and headstands. 
This is when I have to practice Ahimsa towards my body. I urge all my students to listen to their body and be nice to it. So what am I rambling about?
Viparita Karani Asana is the Legs up the wall pose. It is considered to be a restorative pose and a good substitute to the shoulderstand.
A good description of this asana can be found through this article in Yoga Journal. (Note: their pose has a bolster/blanket underneath.)
Instruction on how to do this pose (no props.):
- Sit on your mat right next to the wall. You may draw your knees towards your chest.
- Slowly lift your legs up to the wall while you lower your back to your mat. Use your elbows to support your self down.
- Put your hands away from your hips, palms facing up. (Stay in the pose)
- To come out of the pose, Hug your knees then roll to your side.
There are variations to this restorative pose.
- Legs together straight up (what we usually do)
- Legs in a V formation.
- Legs in diamond shape (soles of the feet facing each other).
- you may also use props like folded blankets or a bolster underneath you.
Namaste.
- Karen
* added gif of the pose. Note, you can bring your buttocks nearer to the wall. In the picture I’m kind of far from the wall.
Clean Yoga Mats
It’s important to keep your mats clean especially when you don’t use a towel over your mat.
I’ve used the advice of some of these sites.
Love to know- Their cleaning instructions are nice and detailed. I like using baking soda as an added ingredient to the soap. However, I read somewhere that using soap isn’t really good for your mat.
Yoga Journal- I like their advice on using a big fluffy towel to dry off the mat instead of hanging it out straight.
I used to do an intensive cleaning of my mat every week. That didn’t help my mat since it got worn out fast. Good thing I met Monica of Dharma and Indigo Baby. She introduced to me her product, yoga mat spray. It’s awesome!
I personally use Dharma’s Yoga Mat Spray. I like the fact that’s it’s handy and all natural. You can keep it in your yoga bag and just spray on your mat before and after your practice. I don’t have to worry about harmful ingredients while I have my bare skin on the mat. After practice, I spray a more generous amount and wipe it off with my towel. This way the sweat and dirt doesn’t accumulate. I have the bigger bottle since I use this on the studio/shala mats too.
If you’re interested in buying a bottle for yourself, I sell SOLSTICE (lavender) and WINTER SOLSTICE (peppermint) Yoga Mat Spray (100ml) in my shala for P220.
Remember to keep your mats clean to have a healthy practice.
Namaste.
-Karen
Ashtanga Yoga Workshop with Clayton Horton
Contact us for inquiries and reservations via email karen @ ekagratasala . com or mobile (+63917) 8436111