Art of Sequencing: Asana Modifications by Melina Meza

by Nina

“Another reason that modifications are dear to my heart is simply the fact that they help more people practice yoga!” — Melina Meza, from Art of Sequencing: Asana Modifications

I’m sure you’ve all realized by now that we here at Yoga for Healthy Aging are huge proponents of modifying asanas. In my post 7 Reasons Why You Should Love Yoga Props, I listed the many reasons why using props is so beneficial. And in my post Making Yoga Accessible, I explained that we had started including four different versions of every pose we feature with the intention of making the poses accessible to as many people as possible.

So I was very excited to see Melina Meza’s beautiful new book, Art of Sequencing: Asana Modifications, which she has just released. Because her book contains only photographs (no instructional text), Melina was able to include a huge number of modifications of a large range of classic poses within a single book. There are over 1,000 photographs! As an example, here are the modifications she provides for Noose pose (Pasasana).

How wonderful to have all these photographs! As a long-time yoga teacher, Melina’s reasons for focusing on modifications are the same as ours. In her introduction she writes that she realized there is a wide array of people who can benefit from having a repertoire of modifications at their disposal, including those who never learned use of props and modifications in the first place, those who have an injury and need new ways to practice now, those who are teaching and need new ways to help students, and those who just like to try new things. I’d add to her list people like us who are aging and find they need to modify their yoga practice to adapt to age-related physical changes. She herself used modifications to recover from a back injury that left her with pain and restricted movement.

In addition to the pages showing modifications, the book also includes sequences for you to practice. Baxter himself reviewed the entire book before publication to ensure the modifications and therapeutic sequences were generally safe and beneficial for those with the specified conditions. He wrote the forward:

“Whether you are a student new to yoga, or one with some experience but wanting more for your personal practice, this book will help you to understand how to adjust your poses for an optimal fit. For new teachers or those working with functional challenges or age-related bodily changes, this book will dramatically expand what you can offer your students.”

To order this new book which is the third volume in her “Art of Sequencing” series, go to melinameza.com. 

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New Photo Galleries

by Nina

Bhavani Cooper, Age 56
barbara-e-cooper.healthcoach1.integrativenutrition.com

Our first photo contest (see Photo Contest and Friday Q&A: Why Only Women in Your Photo Contest?) has turned out to be a huge success. I have to say, I’m just thrilled. It’s taking me some time to go through all the photos submitted so far, but there are going to be a large number of prize-winning photos for sure!

So I’ve decided to create some new pages on the blog that are photo galleries of the prize-winning photos, one for women and one for men (that second photo contest is coming soon).

See Photo Gallery: Women Over 50 and Photo Gallery: Men Over 50.

The only reason I’m creating two separate pages for the genders is that I’m concerned that having too many photographs on a single page might cause technical problems on the blog. Later on, I may divide them up in some other way. Actually if you have suggestions for a better way of splitting them up, let me know.

Richard Rosen, Age 67, photographed by Melina Meza
richardrosenyoga.com

So far, I’ve only put up a few photos on these pages, but you can keep checking back. Basically, if your photo or photos “win,” you’ll eventually be in the gallery. If not, you’ll receive an email or Facebook reply from me explaining why I’ve rejected your photo. 

Reasons for rejection typically include:

• Photo is out of focus, partly out of focus, or too small (low resolution)
• Background is cluttered or unattractive
• The lighting is poor
• There is a very tiny image of you in a big landscape (that won't work on the blog)
• Body parts are cropped off (feet not showing, fingertips not in the frame, etc.)
• Face is shaded and dark, while background is bright (wearing hats definitely causes this problem as does strong back lighting) or your face doesn’t show at all (exceptions will be made for certain poses)
• Alignment of the pose looks unhealthy in my opinion, for example, the head and neck are not in line with the spine

Although I don’t by any means require professional photos, typically a quick snapshot done with your phone, unless it is really special, is not going to make the grade. So if you want your images to be seriously considered, take some time in creating them. Arrange the setting and move that plastic water bottle somewhere else. Have someone look at your alignment and give you some cues. Take multiple shots to get one good one. Take off your hat and sunglasses. Smile. Like these:

Judith Sims-Barlow, Age 72

Nancy LaNasa, Age 60

And if I reject your photo, you can always try again with a different photo. There are no deadlines for these contests.

But if you are interested in having your photo taken by our staff photographer, yoga teacher Melina Meza, she is available for hire. You can see her photographs of yoga practitioners on Flickr. To contact her, to the Contact page on her web site melinameza.com for her email information.

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Yogis in Nature: Photography Series by Melina Meza

by Nina

Baxter Bell in Nature by Melina Meza

If you’ve been reading our blog for any length of time, you've surely noticed the beautiful photographs by Melina Meza that we often use in our posts. Melina is both a long-time yoga teacher and a photographer (find out more about her melinameza.com). Recently, these two passions have come together in a new series of photographs she has done called “Yogis in Nature.” 

“Yogis in Nature” is a unique collection of yogi portraits inspired by Ann Dyer’s vision to see Mountain Yoga’s teachers and staff immersed in the natural elements surrounding Montclair Village. Melina explains:

"Historically, yogis have always practiced yoga in nature and this return to nature for portrait work led to some stunning images of yogis dancing with the elements or quietly listening and responding to the impulse of nature.

"Within the health science of Ayurveda, there is a belief that nature heals and that we are composed of the same basic five elements—ether, air, fire, water, and earth—as every material object around us. Through this lens, I aimed to capture the powerful union between person and place, and to bear witness to the joy that arises when we return to nature as a place for healing."

I’d also like to point out that in keeping with our Yoga for Healthy aging body image message that “every body is a yoga body,” the yogis in this series are of a variety of ages, races, and body types.

Now I’m thrilled to announce that Melina will be having an exhibit of this new series of photographs at Mountain Yoga in Oakland, California. There will be an opening reception on November 21.

yogis in nature: a photography exhibition

by melina meza

Opening Reception Friday, November 21, 7 - 8:30 pm

Mountain Yoga
2071 Antioch Court, Suite 100

Oakland, CA. 94611

510.339.6421 

For those of you who are not local or who cannot attend the exhibition, Melina will be creating a special flickr account where you can view and/or purchase her Yogis in Nature photographs. I’ll add a link to that account on this page as soon as her account is activated.

To end, here’s another photograph and quote from Melina about this series:

Ann Dyer Cervantes by Melina Meza

“In Nature my muse comes alive with the company of the elements: gazing at clouds, playing with reflections, driving down the freeway pre-sunset, kneeling before plants of all kinds, and capturing the personality of the seasons with one simple click of the camera. I believe that being creative is food for the soul and look forward to each opportunity to walk out into nature, camera as my companion, and chase the light.”

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New Contributor: Melina Meza

by Nina

I’m excited to announce we have a new contributor to our blog, Melina Meza, who will be contributing photographs on a regular basis. What’s particularly interesting to me about Melina is that in addition to being a photographer, Melina is a well-known yoga teacher. And taking photographs has become a daily practice for Melina like meditating or doing yoga. She believes that being creative is food for the soul and is as important as eating your organic kale. To learn more about the creative process last year, she embarked upon a project called “Photo of the Day,” for which she committed to taking and sharing one photograph a day for 365 days with her Facebook community. You can see the project in its entirety on her website at www.melinameza.com as well as information about her regular teaching schedule and workshops around the country.

Having this intention of adding one new element—taking photographs—to her daily routine helped her understand that practice is simply practice, not the final performance. In letting go of the end result, she discovered a freedom to respond more intuitively to the moment and to others around her. Here are some of her thoughts about the concept of practice as it applies both to yoga and photography:

"Abhyasa (diligent and continuous practice) and vairagya (non-attachment, unattached awareness) are two Sanskrit words that capture the essence of what my Photo of the Day project was all about. Abhyasa urges us to go deep into life experiences rather than stay shallow. Vairagya is what keeps us humble and reminds us on a regular basis that we may not be ultimately in control of everything.

As daunting as it might sound to add one more practice to your already busy life, I found that the rhythm of daily practice became its own habit and therefore grew easier over time. In fact, taking pictures became the highlight of almost every day! To me, abhyasa was like a lighthouse—a solid, stable, shiny beacon that drew my attention back home to my shores when I felt overextended by life’s busy-ness and my muse was lost at sea. Daily picture-making created its own fuel that energized me rather than depleted me, fostering a surplus of energy and joy that allowed me to do more each day!

Hibiscus by Melina Meza

I feel that abhyasa kept me on course and vairagya allowed me to adjust to the unexpected. Having the companionship of abhyasa and vairagya strengthened my relationship to self-inquiry, art, people, and nature. It allowed me to trust that what I do daily makes a difference in this journey and adventure called life.

In the early phase of this practice I observed many fears. These included “stories,” such as “I won’t have time,“ “I’m not an artist and therefore the photos won’t be interesting,” “I’ll get bored or distracted,” “ I’ll be too busy to do this everyday,” and “What was I thinking making a commitment such as this?”

How many times do you repeat these kinds of phrases to yourself? How many times do these mantras interfere with your creative process? One of the amazing things about these self-talk statements is that they are usually not experience-based. For example, we anticipate that we will be bored with an experience that we never had; it is only a hypothetical outcome that we are projecting since we really can’t know whether or not we will truly be bored. We make a judgment based upon some rattling of fear or inhibition that only serves to get in the way of undertaking an activity that will likely surprise us with how much it can actually offer to our personal and creative unfolding.

Within the first month of my practice, I discovered that all of the fears I had held were false. In fact, I discovered that the opposite of the assumptions I had held were true. For example, there always was and is time. I understood that it was simply a matter of how I chose to structure or spend my time. Some days I dedicated only five minutes to taking pictures and it was the perfect amount of time. Other days I spent all afternoon hunting for images. Regardless of which range of the spectrum the practice fell upon, there was always the perfect amount of time to create what wanted to be created that day. I learned that every day is different and how important it is to be flexible with different amounts of free time or lack thereof. It was helpful to honor the natural rhythms and flow of the day in relationship to work, social life, eating, and other self-care practices, and try not to force the creative process to happen. And when I did this, it just happened.

In some ways, my year with the Photo of the Day practice ended up being the practice I needed to discover my own truths around time management and commitments, as well as to experience the healing potential in nature and art. I also saw how having a creative practice helped to round out and balance my wellness focus. For example, I found that being out in the late afternoon was the best time to catch light, step away from work, and tap into the changing rhythms of the day. And as I did this and enjoyed the sense of vitality that came from it, it energized me so greatly that I found I wasn’t turning as much to coffee or chocolate for a late afternoon energy pick-me-up!

After this year of making pictures, I am completely transformed. I am able to see myself with a much wider lens than ever before. Who would have known that such a simple daily practice could have produced such a deep and lasting gift?

Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote, “A single new habit can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us.” This was my personal experience as I discovered and danced with this beautiful new stranger, who was truly none other than facets of the unexplored me."

—Melina Meza

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