WHAT IS THE YOGA WALL?

By Patricia Pietrzak, M.Ed., E-CYT

The Yoga Wall has been around for decades, originally

wall hooks to assist students with various yoga poses. A

newer version of this wall with a system of adjustable

straps, swings and bungies to assist any body type with

various postures. The new system was designed by

Kedric Wolfe in the early 80's after he injured

his foot on one of the older system's wall hooks. And

from this came our current wall system design which

allows the user more ease and versatility.

At ShriKula Yoga located in Rocklin, California, yoga instructor and studio owner, Trish Pietrzak, has created various methods of teaching full 90 minute yoga classes using the Yoga Wall system exclusively. "Our studio was designed to house two yoga studio rooms: one is used as a traditional Hot studio room (the Shakti room), and a separate studio room to house the Yoga Walls." says Pietrzak. The Yoga Wall help improve overal flxibility and mobility in the joints and spine, and builds strength in both the large and small muscle groups. This type of yoga both helps wth the ability to access various muscle groups in poses that students may not yet be able to achieve on the mat. This system also offers many therapeutic benefits helping individuals heal from athletic injuries as well as arthritis, degenerative disc disease, and Sciatica.

We also use Wall Yoga to aid competive athletes with cross-training

and prepare for competitions. There are hundreds of poses that

can be practiced with the help of the Yoga Wall system. Trish has

created a number of physically and metally challenging

classes, " that take students right to their edge. Unlike a

traditional yoga class, our Wall classes are high energy and

embody a lot of laughter and love. They help students work

through fear and build confidence so that they are able to

take what they've learned on the Wall onto their mats and into

their lives," comments Pietrzak, "we use gravity as a natural

form of resistance and help students develop strong core muscles."

The Yoga Wall studio room, also known as the Shanti room, holds 17 Wall spaces for students. Additionally, this studio was also designed so that students can work in a pose on the wall and reach across the room holding onto specialized bungees developing upper body strength.

At the end of each class the students are treated to a deep spinal stretch, realigning the spine to its natural curve. The beauty of the Yoga Wall is that the traction begins at the low back, supported in the pelvic girdle compared to inversion tables which first traction the ankles, knees and hip, pulling from smaller joints and occassionally even creating crisis in the body. The Yoga Wall usses specific postures and positioning, movent and breath, and awareness to open the joints, connective tissue and joints. Other poses that are practiced on the Yoga Walls include standing postures, forward and back bends, twists and inversions.

HANGING OUT THE YOGA WAY

By Rachel Krentzman, PT, E-RYT

Many of you may have experienced both the exhilaration and peaceful state that a yoga practice provides. One of the reasons we feel so good after doing yoga is because it is a balanced physical practice designed to open the spine in every direction.

This is also what sets it apart from your average sport. Most sports are a function of repetitive movements that can often cause repetitive stress on the body or tightness in certain areas because of the posture adopted during that specific sport. In yoga it is said that "you are only as old as your spine." In other words, as long as you have a healthy and flexible spine, your ability to participate in life is endless. The spine is your vitality; it houses all the nerves that keep your muscles and organs functioning optimally. It is also the home of the central channel or "Shushumna Nadi" in the yoga tradition, which is where we hold our "Prana" or life force.

For the spine and joints, gravity is not always our friend. It causes wear and tear over time, loss of height, osteoarthritis in the joints and loss of mobility. Imagine what the possibilities would be if we could open the spine in every direction without compression, in other words in a state of traction. The only way to do this would be to practice while hanging upside down. Impossible? Not so. The Great Yoga Wall ™ makes it possible.