Archive for the ‘Diet’ Category

1. Yoga Synergy Online Course: Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga:

2. Live Course: Practical Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga in Sydney May-August 2011:

3. Live Course: Practical Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga in Singapore 14-17 May 2011:

4. RMIT University Online Course: Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga:

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1. Yoga Synergy Online Course: Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga:

This course, entitled ‘Practical Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga’, was written and devised by physiotherapists and yoga teachers Simon Borg-Olivier and Bianca Machliss.

Initially run as a face-to-face course from 1995 to the present time this course is now available in a totally online format.

Your investment of $587 (or $387 for people who have previously done our 36 hour live course) provides you with:

• comprehensive learning in 14 weeks
• detailed information around 12 essential learning areas
• the opportunity to learn at your own pace (log in at a time that suits you)
• approximately 12 hours learning per week.
• guided learning objectives designed to enhance your physical wellbeing, your yoga practice and/or your yoga teacher training.
• the latest version of the textbook ‘Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga’ by Simon Borg-Olivier and Bianca Machliss (PDF version), which is downloadable and searchable
• streaming video of lecture material with written summaries for each of the 12 main Topic titles
• access to a moderated online discussion forum
• optional practical exercises,
• Yoga Synergy certificate of completion, which is assessment and examination based (optional)

For a small fee you can have additional access to the online content after the completion of your course to maintain your learning experience.

2011 Course Start Dates:

• Monday 9th May

Late enrollments are accepted up until week 2 of each course.

Read more about the course and the text book, contents and testimonials at:

http://anatomy.yogasynergy.com (This site also has a link for enrolling in the course)

http://blog.yogasynergy.com (Video and article material related to what is taught in the course)

http://www.yogasynergy.com (Other Yoga Synergy Practice and Lecture  DVDs, class times)

Although there is no requirement in our Online Course to get face to face teaching we do run classes and courses at our schools in Sydney and elsewhere and attendance at these classes can be of great benefit. Details and timetables are also available from our main school website at:

http://www.yogasynergy.com

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us via email ‘yoga at yogasynergy dot com’ or ring the Yoga Synergy office on +61 2 9389 7399.

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2. Live Course: Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga in Sydney May-August 2011:

Enhance your yoga practice, improve your yoga teaching – this is a must-do course for anyone interested in yoga!

The course provides yoga teachers and students with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand the basic workings of the body while practicing asanas (static postures),vinyasas (dynamic exercises) and pranayamas (breathing exercises) of Hatha yoga. Learn how to safely increase strength and flexibility whilst minimising the risks of injury due to incorrect practice and promote the healing of injuries with guidance on yoga therapy.

This is a very practical course taught in a similar fashion to a yoga workshop. READ MORE

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3. Live Course: Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga in Singapore 14-17 May 2011:

This is a very practical course taught that will improve your yoga practice and teaching ability. You will be shown how to increase strength flexibilty and energy levels. You will also be shown how to prevent injury and promote healing.

Simon Borg-Olivier Yoga Anatomy Workshop Singapore May 2011

 

 

 

 

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4. RMIT University Online Course: Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga (Semester 2 2011):

This is the RMIT University version of the Online course on the Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga. This course goes into more depth than the other courses listed here and is geared towards the Postgraduate students of the RMIT Masters of Wellness Degree. This course can also be done by undergraduates and as an external student. This is an excellent course. READ MORE

This video was shot in the Bahamas in October 2009 at William Truebridge’s Freediving Masterclass where I had the honour of being invited to teach these amazing elite athletes yogic techniques of how to be relaxed in stressful situations. The video shows me using breath-control techniques (pranayama) to slow my heart beat from 88 to 32 beats per minute in 45 seconds.

The ability to do this comes from years of yoga training certainly but that it can happens at all is related to the ‘diving reflex’. The mammalian diving reflex optimises respiration which allows mammals to stay underwater for a long time. It is seen most in aquatic mammals, but exists in a weaker version in other mammals, including humans. The slowing of heart beat (bradycardia) is the first response from the diving reflex. Immediately upon facial contact with cold water, the human heart rate slows down ten to twenty-five percent. Some sea animals such as seals can go from about 125 beats per minute to as low as 10 when they are diving. Making the heart rate slow down lessens the need for bloodstream oxygen, and leaves more to be used by the brain and the heart.The reflex is triggered specifically by cold water contacting the face, which in this video demonstration I am obviously not doing. The diving reflex is also triggered by sudden increases in carbon dioxide levels. So in this video I spent about 3 minutes doing natural minimal diaphragmatic breathing very similar to what essentially approaches kevala kumbhaka (spontaneous cessation of breath, in this case still with about 2 litres of air in my lungs, yet without any conscious effort). Then I simply and suddenly exhale fully and held my breath out and did a gentle (not forced) uddiyana bandha (a thoracic Mueller manoeuvre). The most important thing was I did not do any deep fast breathing first as this would have significantly dropped the carbon dioxide levels. The sudden change from normal levels of carbon dioxide to increased levels of carbon dioxide seems to trigger the diving reflex even though there was no cold water applied to my face. I was also holding jalandhara bandha (having my head moved forward and my neck moved backwards) and a type of jiva bandha (tip of my tongue gently pressed against the back of my upper teeth and the roof of the mouth. I believe these two things also had a role in the slowing of the heart. The best thing of course is the feeling after. The exercise causes an increase in blood flow to the brain so I was left with a sense of immense peace and clarity, and focused alert energy.

Another benefit of this type of reduced breathing practice is that it reduces your appetite. I used the technique daily about 18 months ago to undergo a 55 day juice fast while travelling internationally and teaching with no problems at all.

Another interesting phenomenon was that just before I completed the exercise the relative values of systolic and diastolic blood pressure switched. So instead of blood pressure being about 140 over 70 (about normal) just before I inhaled at the end the blood pressure went to about 90 over 120. This is very strange but on the day we actually reproduced this result in 3 people including William Truebridge (who was remarkable in his attempt). We presume this shift of blood pressure (an apparent reversal) is due to peripheral circulation being reduced due to the the diving reflex.

Thanks to Freediving world record holder William Truebridge for teaching the technique (he can do it better than I can), and thanks to static apneoa national record holder Glenn Venghaus for use of his heart monitoring equipment and his learned advice. Also thanks to other inspirational members of Williams Masterclass all of whom can hold their breaths far longer than my ‘modest’ 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I would like to add that that even though I have been holding my breath in for underwater swimming since my father (George Borg-Olivier) taught me in 1966 and have practiced uddiyana bandha since i was taught it by Basil Brown in 1968 I can in no way compare my abilities to these freedivers who in my opinion are master hatha yogis

In this short video I am talking about pranayama and what I learnt from traditional yoga teachings and also from western medical science. If you are interested you may consider coming to my one day workshop on Sunday July 11 2010 – you can find out more at www.enlightenedevents.com.au

Posted on our facebook site by Simon Borg-Olivier on September 3, 2009 at 2:27pm

Hi Everyone, 
As many of you know I gave a 3 hour talk on nutrition, diet, exercise and breathing a few weeks ago. Because of the huge interest generated (the talked booked out at 120 people, and we had to turn quite a few people away) we have decided I will be giving a shortened (1 hour) free version of this talk next Friday night (4th September 2009) at our Bondi school. Again the talk will focus on the relationship between yoga, exercise and the way you breathe with how that relates to what you eat and how your body attempts to digest it inside you. The long version of this talk I gave earlier this year is now available for sale as a 3 hour DVD that you can order online from www.yogasynergy.com or from our office at +61293897399 in case you are interested. 
I will be talking about how the way you breathe can affect your ability to digest food and also your desire to eat food. The only scientifically proven diet is the calorie reduction diet. It basically says that the fewer calories you eat the longer you live. But to do this without feeling hungry is hard unless you can balance this with the right type of breathing for your diet. The way to do this while maintaining the health of your bones and body systems is to make the main component of your food as fresh as possible with an emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables. After 40 years of pranayama (yogic breath-control in the form of learning how to actually breathe less than you normally do and not more than you usually do) I am happy to say that I eat whatever I like whenever I want to. However, I only ever feel like eating fresh healthy foods. I never feel like having processed foods or heavy foods. It is ok to restrict yourself for a week or even a few weeks but it is not healthy (physically or psychologically) to feel like you restricting yourself for long periods of time. 
I would like to share some of the many tricks that allow diet and lifestyle to harmonise with exercise and breathing. To assist me my wife Vitoria Borg-Olivier and exercise physiologist Sam Mower will be presenting some great food supplements and superfoods that can help you make the transition to a healthy lifestyle and also be of assistance in raising kids. They will also have some of these often hard to get superfoods for sale if you would like to try some. Vitoria has done amazing work in bringing up our kids eating unprocessed (not from packets and without chemicals) fresh food. Sam Mower will also be talking about the relationship between regular exercise and diet. He is also an expert on nutrient supplements and talks about the many beneficial effects of fruit and vegetable juice powders such as ‘Juice Plus’ which has had many scientific trials done on it that validate the benefits of fruit and vegetables. I live on fruit and vegetables and so have many great yogis past and present. This is a really important factor that helps you have excellent health and allows you to do better yoga and exercise. This especially helps your ability to hold the breath for pranayama (breath-control exercises), kriyas (internal cleansing exercises) and mudras (energy-control exercises). Once breath-control is established concentration, relaxation and meditation are much more achievable.