Simon Borg-Olivier MSc BAppSc (Physiotherapy) is a Co-Director of Yoga Synergy, one of Australia’s oldest and most respected yoga schools. The Yoga Synergy style is based on a deep understanding of yoga anatomy, yoga physiology and traditional Hatha Yoga. Simon has been teaching since 1982. He is a registered physiotherapist, a research scientist and a university lecturer. Simon has been regularly invited to teach at special workshops and conferences interstate and overseas since 1990.
While on The Yoga Rainbow Festival earlier this month I got to meet and hang out with Simon Borg-Oliver and discuss over breakfast, lunch, dinner as well as while walking up and down mountains, among other things, the breath, kumbhaka in particular as well as it's possible health benefits, bandhas and how to employ them to effectively push blood around the body, keep down the heart rate during practice and make you fancy a salad rather than a steak after practice.
The Interview is below
My friend Mick, you may remember his guest post recently,(CASE STUDY: "The Benefits of employing Kumbhaka (retaining the breath in or out) during Asana." Guest post by Mick lawton) insisted I asked Simon lots of questions about the health benefits of kumbhaka and seeing as I couldn't exactly take notes over breakfast we decided to make a short interview and try and cover some of the topics we had been discussing while breaking bread or in Simon's case consuming huge bowls of salad.
Over the last couple of days I've tried to use Youtube's sub-title/caption tools but have lost the work three times. I can't bare to hold of on publishing this any longer so here it is, I'm going to be uploading an extra copy of the video tonight and will work on subtitles and a full transcription over the following week.
The interview revolves around the question of Kumbhaka and it's possible health benefits. I begin the interview by reminding Simon about my Ashtanga friend Mick Lawton and the the hereditary illness he suffers from and how his healing seems to be improved when he employs kumbhaka in asana and pranayama.
"I have a rare genetic auto inflammatory disease. As a result I am in the fortunate position that I get extensive blood and medical checks performed on an almost weekly basis. Without going into huge medical details, the tests include full blood test, inflammatory markers, kidney and liver fiction, blood pressure, blood sugars............, the list is endless". Ideal for a case study.
As someone who has a genetic disease there are times when I can flow through Primary and Intermediate without ever questioning the sequence. However, during times of active disease I have to modify and question the sequences, often changing things to best serve the therapeutic repair of my body."
During the periods when I employed Kumbhaka during asana practice I generally enjoyed an improved state of health. This was reflected in my blood tests that showed lower CRP, lower SAA and lower cytokine markers for inflammation.
Generally speaking, all my markers for inflammation were lower during the periods I employed Kumbhaka during my asana practice.
This effect was further enhanced if I employed pranayama within 10 mins of Asana practice.
The period when my inflammatory markers were at their lowest was when I employed Kumbhaka during asana and then immediately followed the asana practice with 20 mins of pranayama.
I also advocate a slow, deep inhalation and exhalation.
I wanted to ask Simon if this apparent healing effect made any sense to him from his Molecular Biology, Physiotherapy and Yoga background and if so why.
We talked about the breath and how CO2 could be increased through different methods in the body, allowing greater release of oxygen to the cells due to the Bohr effect (which Simon explains with a Big toe example). Krishnamacharya's use of kumbhaka in asana and how this might be a useful method of directing blood to particular areas of the body as well as the use of bandhas was also discussed. We talked about how the PH levels in the body could be effected through particular approach to the employment of bandhas and how this could effect whether you fancied a steak after practice or a salad. One of my concerns as a kidney stone sufferer is to sweat less in my Ashtanga practice ( I need liquids to flow through my system, through my kidneys rather than miss them altogether through sweating excessively). Simon relates sweating to heart rate and how this can be controlled during practice, again through the use of bandhas and our approach to breathing. We discussed different approaches to breathing and use of bandhas in Ashtanga vinyasa practice as well as within yoga in general.
Here's the interview (with transcription to come).
NOTE: "I have apologise that on the video at 7:30 - 7:45 i made a mistake in what i said - I actually meant to say "The only way to ensure oxygen gets to the cells is by increasing CO2" and by not by decreasing CO2 as in unintentionally spoke - thank you Mick Lawton for pointing this out
thank You to Eva Kincsei for filming this and getting the video to Anthony". Simon
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from Simon's book Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga |
Preparing for the interview
Simon's YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/yogasynergy
Some extra background info from Simon on topics raised in this Interview from his Yogasynergy blog https://blog.yogasynergy.com click on the title to continue reading.
To Breathe or Not to Breathe!
Is it Correct to ‘Pull the Navel towards the Spine’? Answer: Yes and No!
Many people in the world of yoga, Pilates and fitness tell their clients and students to do something like ‘pull the navel to the spine’. If you google this expression you find articles that give a flurry of controversy on whether on not it is a good idea to ’pull the navel to the spine’.
In this video, exercise-based physiotherapist and yoga teacher Simon-Borg Olivier, discusses core stability and different ways to interpret the instruction “pull the navel to the spine”. This can be a confusing instruction and is often misunderstood, depending on the experience and the body of the practitioner.
However, just what exactly does it mean to ’pull the navel to the spine’. It turns out that when people are given this instruction they actually appear to move the navel towards the spine in 3 main ways. Neither of these ways can be said to be wrong or right as such, but they do have different effects....
Exhale for Pleasure, Strength and Freedom
In this short video below I discuss the seven main ways you can exhale and how by understanding and mastering these ways of exhalation you can stimulate the pleasure centres of your brain, improve core strength, save energy, reduce stress, make your spine more mobile and flexible, and massage your internal organs to improve the function of your digestive system, immune system and reproductive system.
The body can derive benefit from making passive minimal exhalations, which are seemingly effortless and help promote a calm restful state; and complete exhalations, which benefit the body by eliminating toxins from the body in the ‘stale’ air. The seven (7) main ways to exhale shown in this video and some of their applications are as follows:
1. Passive Abdominal Exhale
2. Passive Chest Exhale
3. Passive Postural Exhale
4. Active Postural Exhale
5. Forced Oblique Abdominal Exhale
6. Transverse Abdominis (TA) Exhale
7. Active Chest Exhale
See also
Preview of Simon's excellent book Applied Anatomy & Physiology of Yoga
http://anatomy.yogasynergy.com/book
Also information on Simon's Online Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga
See also my earlier post on Simon's book
The nine bandhas (yes Nine) in the APPLIED ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY OF YOGA of Simon Borg-oliver and Bianca Machliss
And this just in a blogtalkradio interview today
Five Things that Block Energy and 10 Ways to Move Them With Simon Borg-Olivier