Simon Borg-Olivier

Here is an old photo of me practicing the 'Front splits' (Hanumanasana) posture, which is not really suitable for most people but which can be really fun to do while on the beach and elsewhere. *** To safely do the splits you need flexible hamstrings and flexibility at the front of the hips. ***** To improve hamstring flexibility it helps to do the following: *** activate the muscles at the front of the hips (hip flexors) by trying to lift the front thigh away from the floor, in order to reciprocally relax the muscles at the back of the hips (hip flexors); and *** activate the muscles at the front of the knees (knee extensors) by 'pulling up the kneecaps' in order to reciprocally relax the muscles at the back of the knees (knee flexors) including all the hamstring muscles. ***** The final posture (the splits) significantly mechanically lengthens the hamstring muscles but if they are not first relaxed using this method the posture can be dangerous. The final posture must never be forced or you can damage the lower back, the hamstrings or the sciatic nerve in the front leg of the posture, and/or the hip flexors and femoral nerve in the back leg of the posture. ***** To improve flexibility at the front of the hips it is important to lengthen the psoas muscle by virtue of it attachments and actions. This can be facilitated by conscious activation of the muscles at the back of the hips (hip extensors) by squeezing the buttocks muscles and/or by pushing the feet apart as if to 'stretch the mat'. This will reciprocally relax the muscles at the front of the hips and allow them to lengthen more easily. It is also helpful to do conscious abdominal breathing because the psoas muscle has attachments to the diaphragm. The resultant increase in the flexibility to the front of the hips will also minimise any risk of back pain due to spinal compression in general, but this will be especially so in the splits posture. ***** Thanks to Dhyan for this photo of me some years ago Watagos beach, Byron bay, one lovely sunrise some years ago. *** You can learn more about the therapeutic applications of posture movement and breathing in our new online course at www.Yogasynergy.com

"Clear recollections came to me of a distant life, a yogi amidst the Himalayan snows. These glimpses of the past, by some dimensionless link, also afforded me a glimpse of the future." I love this quote from the great yogi Paramahansa Yogananda. It now reminds me of the thoughts that flooded my brain while on my Himalayan trek exactly 30 years ago (Dec 86-Jan87). We walked 8 hours a day for three weeks. The best meditation. Yet, in that state, my mind would drift from a dreamy long-gone past, to that present time walking barefoot in the snow, to an uncertain future, all in an instant. Yet somehow it was all one totally present life-changing moving meditation. But I never imagined that in 2017 the world and our lives would be as they are today. Who knows what we can expect in 2047! **** Thank you Amanda for this great memory of an incredible adventure.

Are your hamstrings okay? Do you have a hamstring tear? Over-stretching can easily damage your hamstrings and if you keep 'trying to stretch them out' they can get more damaged and take years to heal. Long walking can make the hamstrings a little tighter but it is often in a good way. Definitely don't try to stretch out a hamstring tear because it would slow down the healing process. Minimize any sense of stretching at the back of the thigh in forward bends by pushing the sitting bones into your heels, by bending the knees slightly and plantarflexing the ankles (press the base of the big toe further away from you). To strengthen the hamstring, w hitch can help healing of done properly, stand on your good leg and step the bad leg about half a meter behind you and come to your toe tip, keep the hips level, keep your lower back lengthened by pushing the tailbone down and turn the thigh of the bad leg inwards (internally rotate the hip) and lift the leg off the floor with your knee straight. This can help your knee health too. Thanks to Dhyan for this photo of Bianca Machliss and I in Krounchasana some years ago. You can learn more about the therapeutic applications of posture movement and breathing in our new online course at www.Yogasynergy.com

"New practitioners of Patabbhi Jois’ astanga vinyasa yoga tend to hyperventilate during the entire physical part of their practice with deep relatively fast breathing. Although this type of hyperventilation confers several benefits – trunk strength, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness and mental focus – it can elicit many adverse reactions including emotional instability, excessive hunger and others listed above. These can usually be countered by a subsequent period of supine relaxation (savasana) of ten to thirty minutes in which natural hypoventilation (minimal breathing) is performed". p.364 ***** "Supine relaxation (savasana) for 5-15 minutes at the end of each yoga practice has many benefits. Recent studies [Bera et al., 1998] have revealed that the effects of physical stress were reversed in signifcantly shorter time in savasana after a practice, compared to the resting posture in a chair. p.66 ***** "While the aim of your yoga practice should be to remain as relaxed as possible during the practice, for most people at the end of each yoga practice it is important to take at least 5 – 15 minutes of relaxed sitting or supine relaxation (Savasana) ". p.265 ***** The above extracts about Savasana were written by Bianca Machliss and I and are from our book the 'Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga'. They have just been brought to my attention by my friend and yogic genius blogger Anthony Grim Hall. I highly recommend his blogs on all things yoga. ***** Thanks to Malwina Ostrowska for this photo from last years Yoga Synergy intensive training in Goa, India. I am really looking forward to our March 2017 training

It has often been observed that if you practice some sort of yoga or if you are simply 'in the zone', it is attractive to animals and children. This is me practicing a handstand in Goa, India in 1995. First the puppy came to sit between my hands then came young Misha who had not been able to walk for so long. I just had the extreme pleasure of meeting Misha again a few months ago, where he lives in Stockholm, Sweden. He now towers above me and is an amazing young man.

Journalist Sarah Berry interviewed me for her article just published in the Sydney morning herald today. I commented on the safety and effectiveness of modern yoga and gave the following suggestions: ________________________________ My basic guide to healthy exercise and yoga: *** avoid painful practices *** avoid stressful practices *** move more naturally *** do more things like walk and swim and dance and climb _________________________________ Look for teachers and practices that: *** Improve flexibility without feeling intense stretch *** Improve strength without feeling tense or stressed become more relaxed without needing to be completely passive *** improve energy levels without having to breathe more than normal *** promote circulation without needing to make the heart beat faster *** improve intelligence of the body cells without having to over-think *** satiate appetite and feel nourished without having to eat more *** feel rested and rejuvenated without having had to sleep more ________________________ When practicing try to: *** move actively into postures (rather than using external forces such as gravity or one limb pulling another or momentum to get into posture) *** move from the core rather than locking the core *** breathe naturally in the practice rather than forcing the breath *** move fluidly and smoothly in the practice http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellbeing/fitness/yoga-does-it-promote-or-prevent-injury-20170116-gts5yn.html

Sequence for the male reproductive system recommended by Sri BKS Iyengar in 'Light on Yoga'. Guruji often said that he didn't really want to put sequences like this in his book but it was his publishers wishes. In 'Light on Yoga' there are about 100 sequences like this one for a variety of musculoskeletal problems and medical conditions. One of the most common questions I get is 'what are some postures to fix 'this' problem?' Mr Iyengar was a master therapist and I saw him help many people in this way, but he was very clear that no one posture or set of postures alone will have any particular effect. Rather it is to do with how each posture is done at a particular time. Two postures can look exactly the same on the outside but can have two totally different, or even opposite, effects. Factors changing the effects of postures include the following: *** when different muscles have been voluntarily activated (tensed or 'switched on'), *** when different breathing methods are applied *** when a different intent or mental focus has been made *** what are the postures before and after. For example, if you have voluntarily activated all the lengthened muscles in a posture as opposed to if you have voluntarily activated all the shortened muscles in a posture, then the effects on blood flow and the nervous system alone are profoundly different. With this particular sequence I am demonstrating in this photo montage, which Mr Iyengar said is for the male reproductive system, I often wondered what exactly it was for. Was it to turn the practitioner in into sex expert or into a celibate monk? They are a bit different really. Not knowing exactly how to do these postures exactly could mean the difference between getting either effect. It would be a bit of dice game really for most people! +++++ If you are interested in how to obtain particular effects and outcomes with your personal practice or in your capacity as a therapist then you might be interested in our new online course on the 'Therapeutic applications of posture movement and breathing' available at https://yogasynergy.com/shop/yoga-therapy-online-course/ .

I want to clarify that I believe the breath-control practice in the experiment I described in a recent previous post of hyperventilation (over-breathing) following by hypoventilation (holding the breath in for 6 minutes), although having amazing results and being very powerful in its effects, is nevertheless very complex and potentially dangerous. I practice this because was taught basic pranayama more than 50 years ago, and have been practicing breath-control ever since. For those interested in beginning breath-control I have a safe and accessible breathing sequence that i feel safe to share with people on my blog and at http://simonborgolivier.com/breath-training-for-health-and-longevity/ Many people in the world today are attempting this sort of exercise that I have described in this experiment and i think they are potentially causing or at least risking harm. I think that hyperventilation following by substantial hypoventilation is safe and effective but the two have to balance each other. However, hyperventilation which is done first in this practice, is easy to physically do but physiologically unsafe if thats all you do; yet hypoventilation, which is done second in this practice, is physically much harder to do yet physiologically much more beneficial than hyperventilation. For a breath-control beginner to attempt this practice seems to me as silly and dangerous as taking someone unskilled at free-diving and attaching a large weight to them and dropping them to 100 metres depth underwater, such a person can easily go that deep but rarely has the physical, physiological or mental capacity to safely swim the 100 metres back up to the surface and survive the trip and the effects of the depth. Hence I think that the experiment i have described (again below) is not only unsuitable for most people it is also unsafe to attempt. That hyperventilation alone causes less blood to the brain, less oxygen transfer between lungs and blood, less oxygen transfer from the blood to the body cells and less calmest to the nervous system, can be read in any medical textbook. It is simply not a practice to encourage a beginner to do.

It's not our heart rate that we want to increase, but rather it is our circulation we wish to improve. There are 11 other main ways to pump blood to the body other than the heart. If you can utilise these other ways to encourage the flow of blood then you appear to be fit and you can run fast without the heart beating faster than normal. In this photo I am enhancing circulation using an active posture that effectively improves blood flow without needing to increase heart rate. This happens because this posture automatically creates regions of high pressure (in places such as the front of the left hip, the back of the left hip, the back of the right shoulder and the front of the right shoulder) due to obligatory muscle activity and tissue compression, that 'push' blood away from those regions. In conjunction with this 'pushing' effect, due to the reciprocal reflex and also by focusing on lengthening and relaxing in this posture you automatically create opposing regions of low pressure that effectively 'pull' blood towards them. Low pressure regions here include the front of the right hip, the back of the left hip, the back of the left shoulder and the front of the left shoulder. Simple active movements such as this one effectively turn the entire body into one giant heart, while giving strength without stress, flexibility without stretching and relaxation without having to lie down. It is not that it's wrong to get your heart rate up but can you do more exercise without getting your heart rate up? Because that is what fit people do! Whereas if you simply get your heart rate up while not doing much exercise that is what unfit and unhealthy people do. It is ideal if you can get your fingers and toes to be able to get warm before your heart starts to beat faster. It is also true if you wish to improve fitness after you've done what I said then there comes a point where every once in a while it is good to get your heart rate up because you're exercising hard. But even modern physiologists suggest that you should only be doing this 10% of your exercise time. Most people do this much more than that in their exercise time. Then the negative effects include overstimul

SCIENCE EXPERIMENT: My best meditation ever after first holding my breath in for 6 minutes: My breathing was scientifically tested in a laboratory at RMIT University. I was hooked up to a calorimeter with a gas mask to measure energy use in terms of the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels In my expired air. THE EXPERIMENT: 1. Breathe more than normal for 5 minutes (hyperventilation) 2. Hold my breath in for 6 minutes (hypoventilation) 3. The best meditation I have ever had with the computer saying I did not breathe for about 8 minutes, but for me I was feeling like I was totally peaceful, calm, energised and clear and just no thought of breathing in my head and no measurable breathing according to the computer. DETAILS: In this experiment I hyperventilated (breathed more than normal) first using ten full breaths per minute (50 litres of air per minute) as opposed to the normal 5 litres of air per minute. Then I held my breath as long as I comfortably could, which turned out to be just over six full minutes. That day amazed me. According to the computer I hyperventilated for 5 minutes then did a conscious very easy breath retention for 6 minutes. This was the longest I have ever consciously held my breath, and it was without straining, yet I decided to stop in case I fainted since, hyperventilation can give you a false sense of not having to breathe that can cause blackout. After holding my breath I consciously took two normal breaths. Then according to the computer I didn't breath for the next 8 minutes. But to me, I was not conscious of my breathing at all as I was having the best, most clear, most grounded, most energised and most blissful meditation of my life. The energy and positive feelings I got from this practice lasted for days. This is what I presume meditation (and yoga) is meant to feel like and the true purpose and method for breathing more than normal (hyperventilating) before holding the breath (hypoventilation) and then meditation. Thank you so much to Professor Marc Cohen, not only for helping conduct this research, but also for all the dedication and work he has put into the health sciences, especially in creating the RMIT Masters degree.

Here is a link to our latest Yoga Synergy blog. We discuss in detail the following: FUNDAMENTALS OF POSTURE, MOVEMENT AND BREATHING: 1. Begin each exercise with active movements 2. Before learning any complex breathing learn to breathe naturally into your abdomen 3. Focus on moving your spine 4. Grade the level and intensity of your postures BEFORE DURING AND AFTER YOUR PRACTICE: 1. Relax 2. Flow 3. Shift your attitude https://yogasynergy.com/blog/choosing-2017-review-fundamental-principles/

Santa came from the North Pole, To a land down under, He stuck head into a hole, And gripped his mula bandha. *** Now santa was a happy chap, Who is everybody’s friend, Even though he squashed his cap, He keeps laughing to the end. *** Even though we have work with us, And places we have to be, You just can't be too serious, When you are with your family. *** No matter whether rich or poor, Or what your beliefs may be, The only thing Santa says for sure, Is that we are all one family. *** Please excuse my poor pseudo-poetry and my silly photo but I think that whether are you are religious or not, whether you celebrate, Christmas or Solstice, holiday season or just the new year it doesn't matter. I think this is a great time for all of us to remember to live lovingly and in service to each other in this beautiful world we live in. To me the real essence of yoga is the realisation that we are all connected as one family in love, that giving is the essence of connection and also to be in gratitude for all we have been given, to realise that happiness is always everyone's choice, and to help others find that choice if possible is our life duty on this wonderful earth that we are lucky to be born into. Much love and thanks to you all for a great 2016 and best wishes for the new year to come Simon Borg-Olivier #yogasynergy #love #happiness #christmass #yogafun #santa #santayoga #yogaeverydamnday (at Yoga Synergy)

Underwater yoga has been a favourite pastime of mine since I was a kid. My father (George Borg-Olivier) was a freediver in the Mediterranean Sea and he taught me how to swim a lap of an olympic pool underwater before I swim on the surface. In my late teens my Tibetan Lama told me that traditionally (in the system he learnt) that postures where help for a long as one breath retention. So progressively I developed my underwater yoga practice know finding it the easiest place to hold the breath and be in a pose. In this practice I take a breath in, hold my breath, go underwater and get into a posture, hold for some time floating just under the surface, then exhale fully and sink down underwater (to the bottom if it is not far!) and hold my breath out and perform uddiyana bandha, mula bandha, nauli and lauliki (rolling my abdomen with my chest expanded etc). Then, I swim to the surface (often still in pose such as the lotus as in the video above) and when I break the surface I inhale to begin the next posture. I regularly practice a 30 minute sequence of up to 30 postures in this manner. This video is of our children swimming in matyasana (fish posture) in the pool last week. We don't teach them yoga as such. It's just a good way to love and live life and they have good time.

This was my favourite movement pattern in 1980's and 1990's. We used to do 108 flip overs every Friday with Mr Iyengar. He was amazing. In 1988 I once proudly told him my best time was 108 flips in 5 minutes 30 seconds and he grinned and cheekily said his best time was 4 minutes 30 seconds. But after many car accidents and other non yoga related injuries over the decades My joints are now too stiff to do this extreme movement so I now just do very simple spinal movements and yet somehow my yoga is so much better. The backflips were fun but simple spinal movements are just as much fun and much healthier in the long run I think. Most people know that yoga is not about stretching but many don't realise that when you don't feel any stretch but instead move freely and effortlessly the yoga actually begins, first on a physical level and can then can progress to the energetic and mental level and the then finally to the most important level into your daily life. Peace out.

Cardiovascular work is very important. But many people have it the wrong way. Cardiovascular health is when the blood flows and circulates very easily but the heart hardly has to beat. Many people, especially in Australia, shorten and abbreviate words and by calling 'cardiovascular exercise' simply 'cardio' this puts the emphasis in the wrong place. The emphasis should be on the 'vascular' (i.e. move blood through the blood vessels) and not the 'cardio' (make the heart work). Fit healthy people can exercise, do lots of work and run fast without their heart rate increasing much. That is one definition of being fit and healthy. With good cardiovascular health, with good circulation and with healthy 'exercise' you should be able to quickly become warm in the cold weather, and easily stay cool in the hot weather. Good circulation should give calming useful energy while breathing less and eating less than normal and make the blood flow easily without the heart racing. Five things retard blood flow and healthy circulation. 1. Too much stretching or unbalanced posture 2. Too much muscle tension or tissue compression 3. Too much breathing (hyperventilation) 4. Too much thinking (especially mental stress) 5. Too much eating There are 12 ways to move blood through the body. The least effective way to move blood is the heart. This is why the yogis of india used to say that 'a yogi counts his life not by the number of years they live but by the number of beats their heart makes and the number of breaths they take'. These 12 ways of moving blood, many of which healthy people do naturally but are actually the secrets of real hatha yoga, are elucidated in our book and online courses available at www.yogasynergy.com . .

Dvanda Sayanasana in Londons Central Park a few months ago while teaching a Yoga Synergy workshop at the Indaba Yoga Studio. This is such a fun variation of the forearm balance that really opens up your upper back and neck, but it is quite hard to do alone so thank you to #KostyantynYaremenko for being my great partner of fun in this summer adventure in the park. Also special thank you #KristinaKashtanova for your amazing photography, to @ohmmeyoga and #Loui Lauriston for the great clothes.

No need to stand in your head anymore - stand on someone else's head!!! We always want our kids to get a head in life. We would like to think that they can learn by standing on our shoulders - or better still standing on our head. People often suggest it's good to stand on your head, but unless you really know what to do with your neck muscles I think it's safer to stand on someone else's head maybe ! This is my idea of kids yoga - mind you my daughter is no light weight anymore at almost 13 years old. This is also acro partner balance too - as old as the hills really. Nothing new - even Sri Krishnamacharya was doing it in the 1920's. If you are attempting the bottom part that I am doing here however it's good to know to keep your neck stable by gently trying to push your throat forwards and your chin upwards to co-activate the opposing muscles around the neck joint complex (tha-jalandhara bandha) and thus give stability and safety for the neck. And if you are doing the top balance like my daughter then it's helpful to grip with the toes, keep the knees a bit bent, and look at the floor for balance. Oh and one more thing ... having a soft landing field like a pool is ideal for practice. Standing like this on the hard ground is definitely more advanced. Beware also if you have a large nose as just before this photo was taken my son slid off my head right into my nose. And like a wise man man once said to me it's not good to pick your nose therefore better to pick other people's noses - oh no - only kidding now - maybe I am going to far!!!