Endless Knots

Aspirational Yoga: The Sequence of the Bear

A few years ago, Daughter #2 spent a month in yoga teacher training, something I’ve always wanted to do. When she completed the course, she moved home for a few months (lucky us) and taught me the yoga routine I’ve been doing ever since.

Over the past week, we’ve had the opportunity to practice together every day. Here’s this week’s routine, strongly recommended. Warning: Don’t try it all at once if you’re new to yoga or have been taking some time off. The length of holding poses requires some conditioning but…lordy, lordy, it feels soooo good. And be sure to rest for as long as you want between poses.

NB: Have a clock nearby to time yourself. “Poses” listed here without links (see my comment below as I've added links for these thanks to a reader) are for conditioning only. This routine takes us about 90 minutes; lengthen or shorten depending on time available. AND remember never to hold a pose if it’s causing real pain. You know the difference between the discomfort of stretching and true pain.

One more thing: The popularity of yoga has come a long way since I started practicing. I’m forever grateful to Sally Leonard (where is she now?), who taught me basic hatha yoga in 1969. Our “studio” was a small stucco house with a concrete floor located on the beach near Merida, Mexico. Our “mats” consisted of towels. Our “yoga clothes” were bikinis. I mention this by way of saying that as a form of exercise, yoga is a lot like walking. The only thing you absolutely need is the intention. For people like me who hate gyms (never mind paying the membership fees), pulleys, weights, and treadmills (the symbolism alone repels me), yoga is the no-fuss, always-on solution.

The Sequence of the Bear

20 Sun Salutations
10 single leg lifts (left side, right side)
10 double leg lifts
100 bicycles (or 150 or 200 or 20, ahem)
Headstand – 5 minutes
Child's pose – as long as you want
Dolphin – 20 reps
Shoulderstand – 5 minutes
Bridge —2 minutes
Wheel – 30 seconds (or in my case, 1 quintillionth of a second)
Fish – 30 seconds-1 minute
Bound angle pose – 1 minute
Half-forward bend, right leg bent, left leg straight – 2 minutes
Half forward bend, left leg bent, right leg straight – 2 minutes
Seated side angle pose – each side, 1 minute -- (Ed. note: name of site for this link = YogaJess.com!)
Seated forward bend, both legs straight – 10 minutes
Cobra – 3 times, 30 seconds each
Half locust - each side for 30 seconds
Full locust - 30 seconds (scroll down on link page to see what this really is)
Bow Pose—one minute
Pigeon – left side, 2 minutes (fyi, we bend forward in this pose)
Pigeon – right side, 2 minutes
Spinal twist – both sides, 1 minute each
Crow (aka Crane) pose – as long as you can hold it (if you can hold it, double-ahem)
Standing forward bend with hands interlaced and extended your head—2 minutes
Triangle pose - 2 minutes each side
Sivasana - at least 10 minutes

What's the ROI on collaboration?

I was interviewed yesterday by a technology research firm for a study they''re conducting on collaboration. I'm not giving anything away by mentioning this as nearly every tech research firm - and consulting company of any size - is, has, or will be conducting/ed such a study. Who decides whether to invest in collaboration? How important is senior leadership in encouraging collaboration? On and on the questions go until the dirty little one surfaces: What's the ROI on collaboration?

I wish I'd kept a tally on how many times I've been asked this question.

McKinsey, which, for the record, was not the firm conducting yesterday's interview, published such a survey, Building the Web 2.0 Enterprise, just last month (July '08). It's the second year that the venerable research and advisory giant conducted this survey. Results are not surprising:

The usage of Web 2.0 tools remains uneven among the workforce at many companies. Only about one employee in four uses Web 2.0 tools, except for Web services. But this finding masks significant differences. At the quarter of companies that are mostly satisfied with the deployment of Web 2.0 technologies, more than half of all employees are using them.

Four pages into the report comes the ROI question, buried in the multiple choice answers, but there nonetheless: "What are the top three barriers, if any, to success of Web 2.0 initiatives?" Answer #1 with more than a quarter of respondents (28%) replying yes is this: "My company doesn't understand the financial return of Web 2.0 technologies." This reply ranked considerably higher than "My company's structure is too hierarchical" (17%) and "The legal/HR risks...are perceived to be greater than the benefits" (15%). The ROI response is higher than the rest of the reasons for resistance though, frankly, I don't think it's that high.

When asked the question, I have a few stock replies:

1. Who's really asking the question? Finance? The business? IT? My hunch is that proponents of innovation often perceive that they'll be asked the question and want to be ready with a killer reply - but that not everyone who has the yea or nay authority actually asks it.

2. What did your organization's last face-to-face meeting of, say, 20 people actually cost? I recently asked this question of a small group that was meeting for a week. They figured it was easily $100,00, possibly closer to $200K. Most Web 2.0 investments would earn back their investment in a handful of meetings. See "When do we need face time?" for more on this.

3. What's the ROI on better/easier/faster/more transparent communication? Has anyone calculated that? Stated slightly differently, what is the ROI on non-collaboration?

To be clear: I'm not trying to hawk Web 2.0 for the vendors. Just gobbling up lots of it is not the point. But I am for anything that makes it easier for people to talk across boundaries, to work across organizations, to simplify getting things done, to provide everyone with better information. These barrier-breaking technologies are platforms for all of this...but not without introducing the sociologies for working in new ways, which I've droned on about plenty here.

So, dear readers, how do you respond when asked the question? No matter how flip my replies, we can all be sure the question is not taking the bus out of town any time soon.

"You could not fit another toothpick in the room"

When my friend Ruth Nemzoff told me she'd be reading at the Newton Free Library on August 19, I was worried. Many people are away on vacation and, even if they are in town, the library is hardly the place you'd expect to find them on a late summer night.

Check your assumptions at your local portal, friends. One hundred ninety (190!) people showed up for her reading from Don't Bite Your Tongue. As she put it in her ebullient email today, "SRO!!! People stood not only at the back, but along the sides. You could not fit another toothpick in the room."

This is wonderful news. Good books happen to good people and everyone else finds out. Congratulations, Ruth. So, everyone else, buy her book now and you'll be in on the second printing - or you may have to wait for the third.

More on blogging in the Army

Social networking and its cousins may not be the answer to world peace (see "Why Twitter may lead to world peace") but that's not stopping some highly placed military folks from promoting it. Paul Levy has done a thoughtful post over at Running A Hospital about the efforts underway at the US Army's Combined Arms Center under the direction of Lt. General Bill Caldwell, which I've written about before ("Let soldiers blog, post to YouTube"). Now Caldwell has introduced a blog central kind of device that "encourage[s] intellectual comments and debate."

Paul calls out an important point about perceived risks when senior executives open the windows to information exchange and debate as Caldwell is doing:

It is impressive, too, that General Caldwell has not been held back by the traditional view that public disclosure of military topics represents a breach of security. As we all know, many of these topics are in the public gristmill anyway, and many claims of a need for secrecy are overstated. While I am sure that some areas will always have to remain off-limits for national security reasons, it is good practice for military officers and others to express their ideas in a public forum and experience the nonhierarchical give-and-take of social media.

Makes me very happy to see people like this hospital CEO and this three-star general turning popular assumptions upside down. Adding blogs to the traditional military arsenal (Caldwell) and replacing bureaucratic double-speak for simple disclosure (Levy - see his blog generally for this ongoing campaign) are exactly the leadership strokes that will indeed lead to peace.

No meetings on Friday? I've got three

Anything familiar here?

The meeting was set for 10 AM Friday. Melinda was there, as was Jeff, as was I, "there" being a relative term, i.e. we'd dialed in. But where was Matt and what about Ron, both key members of the team? Ron couldn't make it, Melinda said, due to another meeting; RJ was at the "calendar scrub;" Matt was expected in a minute.

Calendar scrub? Once a week, the organization goes through the calendar with a representative from each department, making sure that all events are "real," that important ones aren't being cross-booked. Big stuff, conferences and the like, not individual little meetings like ours.

On we proceeded, taking care of the small stuff, and within a few moments, the sound of a door, shoe scuffles, and the inevitable "sorry, sorry" coming from Matt. "We've got 3-4 different calendars," he said, "and I've got three meetings at the same time today and Friday is the day we're not supposed to schedule any meetings, a rule that we reinforce every week."

And so we turned our attention to the topic, how to hold effective meetings.

And why headstanding is a good idea

Thanks to keen reader, Annie Marascia Luongo, I've been alerted to "Why standing on your head may improve your health," by Sheryl Walters. Honestly, I didn't know any of this when I took up yoga - and can't claim 39 years later that headstanding has had this effect on me but...read on and then try it! Few believe this: headstand is one of the easier yoga poses, mainly requiring a little bit of courage, some arm strength, and some ab work. Caution: Do not try it without a spotter until you are absolutely confident. Once you're up, however, stay there for a few minutes. You'll be amazed at its effect on calming the nerves, straightening the spine, and opening up the lungs. Possibly my fave pose, after my all-time #1, forward bend.

(NaturalNews) It is very rare that we are able to see the world upside down, and regularly viewing the world from this angle can bring a variety of amazing benefits to our life. Turning ourselves upside down is not only an amazing practice for health... but for beauty as well.

Headstand and Yoga for Skin Care

A headstand can reduce facial wrinkles, and if practiced regularly, is a natural 'face-lift'. This is because it reverses the effects of gravity and allows the skin to rest in the other direction.

Furthermore, yoga for skin care increases the circulation to the face, which brings much needed nutrients and oxygen to rejuvenate and remove wrinkle causing toxins. The result is smoother, clearer, brighter and glowing skin.

Thicker Hair, Fewer Grays

A headstand can actually convert gray hair back to its natural color! It will certainly delay the onset of gray hair. This is due to the increase in blood supply and nutrients to the hair follicles in the scalp.

Balding can also be prevented or slowed, and thicker, healthier hair is produced...

Click through for the rest of this article. If you practice headstand, the claims will make you feel quite virtuous.

Yogini alert: avoid sneezing in headstand

It's not a good idea. I made it as far as the lead-up to the sneeze, you know, the attempt to suppress the oncoming heaving chest while still straight up and then...the ignominious descent. If anyone has managed to retain the posture while sneezing, I will name you Reader of the Week (not the Weak).

August showers bring strange flowers

This summer has brought tornados, microbursts, and record rainfall to New England. Yesterday, I spotted this flower growing out of the crease where a limb was removed a few years ago - and these 'shroomy growths. Anyone know what these are exactly?

Berry Summer Smoothie

There are recipes galore for this summer delight. Here's mine; probably much like yours. Makes about 32 oz of super-delicious drink in less then five minutes. Very filling.

Berry Summer Smoothie

2 bananas
3 cups of fresh fruit* cut up
1/2 cup of yogurt**
1/4 cup of juice***

Throw it all in the blender, yogurt last. Blend on high to desired consistency (I like it chunky so not very long, less than a minute). Pour. Savor.

* This one has two peaches, 1 nectarine, 1 cup blueberries, 1/2 c raspberries, and a handful of grapes. Yesterday's had watermelon, canteloupe, and strawberries. Any combination you like.

** If lactose intolerant or you're off dairy, use soy yogurt. Or tofu. If you don't have plain yogurt, throw in a fruit yogurt.

*** OJ, passion fruit, grape juice - whatever you have on hand works fine.

I like serving it in a special glass. Here, my favorite, with the insignia, Pottstown Symphony Orchestra.

Ruth Nemzoff reads - and makes headlines

Ruth Nemzoff reads from Don't Bite Your Tongue this coming Tues, 7:30 PM, August 19, at the Newton Free Library, here in our beloved hometown. (Ruth lives just a few miles from me here, or as some of us say, everyone lives in Newton.) Very nice portrait of Ruth today in The Boston Globe, "Parents, speak up - at right time," by Susan Chaityn Lebovits. Having read it, I can attest that the book has good practical advice as per the article:

Nemzoff said that she believes one of the most important factors in maintaining a healthy relationship with adult children is forgiving both yourself and your child for not being perfect. "And the definition of perfect changes daily," said Nemzoff. "One day it could mean being compassionate, and another day it could mean being high achieving with conflicting desires, so there is no perfection."