I sit here trying to put my thoughts together and I keep coming back to my students. Maybe it is because Thanksgiving just passed or maybe it is because I just finished teaching two classes a couple of hours ago. Either way, I reflect on what my students are. As I teach, I look out to each person and see an amazing potential and unlimited spirit. We join together, even for a short period of time, and walk a bit of our path together. I first heard one of my teachers long ago state that their students were their best teacher. At the moment, I guess I really didn't completely understand what that meant. Each class I teach, I am offered a little more of the wisdom in that simple phrase. My students are my best teacher.
No matter how stressful, outrageous or frustrating my day turned out to be, walking into that studio changes everything. It clears the slate and wipes away the troubles. My mind begins to clear and my heart begins to warm.
With much reverence and respect, I bow to you every time you step upon your mat, every time you face the present moment, every time you allow me to learn from you. As a teacher, I am continually in awe at the brilliance of those I am so lucky to encounter in class and out. I wish to thank you for each smile, each moment of understanding and the opening of your heart to allow mine to open even more then I thought it could.
namaste!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana
The month of October I have been having great fun playing with this pose in classes. I have found over the years that instead of sharing my love for standing balance asanas many have instead found great frustration. I can understand this. At first, it takes great focus and determination. But it doesn't have to be difficult.
In exploring poses like this, I found that taking the focus off of the physical body and into the energetic body, a shift begins to happen. I often teach the "opposition of force", meaning if you direct energy one way you must do the same in the opposite direction. Great steadiness and balance can then occur while allowing the muscle/skeleton body to become quite efficient. It has never been about "muscling". By this I can mean many different things. Have you ever tried to force a child to do something that they don't want to do? Yeah, it never works out well. There has to be an equal understanding of what you want and what they want.
So keeping with this thought, if you can direct energy through your standing leg to root deeply through your standing foot, at the same time as directing energy out the crown of your head, you not only get a sense of grounding but lightness. From here the adventure and exploration can really begin. Freedom found. Ease and a sense of relief from something that for many was dreaded. Have fun!
UTTHITA HASTA PADANGUSTHASANA - Extended Hand to Big Toe Pose
Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana is an asymmetrical standing balance that asks the yogi to
find patience, strength and fortitude. This pose will help develop confidence, balance and
coordination.
STEP BY STEP
Find a deep rooting in standing foot to lengthen standing leg. Hips should remain even and
spine should be lengthened. Heart remains open and shoulders relaxed. Breath should be calm
and steady.
MODIFICATIONS
If hamstrings or lower back are tight, don’t compromise the structure or your breath to force a
straight leg. Instead, bend the raised leg or use a strap around the foot.
VARIATIONS
• If appropriate, instead of holding big toe with index and middle finger, hold foot in hand
while keeping heart open and spine erect.
• Parsva Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana - Opening leg to the side of body, making sure hips
remain even.
find patience, strength and fortitude. This pose will help develop confidence, balance and
coordination.
STEP BY STEP
Find a deep rooting in standing foot to lengthen standing leg. Hips should remain even and
spine should be lengthened. Heart remains open and shoulders relaxed. Breath should be calm
and steady.
MODIFICATIONS
If hamstrings or lower back are tight, don’t compromise the structure or your breath to force a
straight leg. Instead, bend the raised leg or use a strap around the foot.
VARIATIONS
• If appropriate, instead of holding big toe with index and middle finger, hold foot in hand
while keeping heart open and spine erect.
• Parsva Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana - Opening leg to the side of body, making sure hips
remain even.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
IKEA Teaches Yoga
Walking through IKEA, I was amazed that I was seeing my yoga practice everywhere. I couldn't believe it. Sweden's own form of mega store giving you everything from furniture to plants and of course, if you are so tempted, Swedish meatballs. So how can I say that this megaplex of a store, that most people I know dread going to and will only go to on a weekday when the likelihood of mass amounts of rampaging families and out of control children are at a minimum, was teaching me yoga?
Simplistic in design. Clean lines. Options galore. But above all, function is the highest importance. We have the choice to make something so characteristic of IKEA to instead be characteristic of our own design. Picking and choosing what best suits us but given an outline of the many possibilities out there. Like my yoga practice, each time that I step there, I see something new, I experience something I hadn't before. I am given a choice. And like my practice, if I choose to add on to much, to get overzealous, I lose my way. My potential is cluttered. Sticking to the less is more concept generally works. If you look at the displays of room models, you begin to notice that they have just the right amount of details and thought given to it. No more, no less.
Once you have made your decision of what path to go on, you are directed to start at the beginning again. You must pick up your furniture from the bins and take it home to assemble yourself. Like a yoga practice, we don't get the easy out. We can't skip steps and expect to get the same results. We must practice patience, attention, focus, and determination. We are given all the tools needed but not necessarily with hands held. The last time I had to put together furniture, I found myself frustrated and amused at the same time. Instructions are all given in pictures with no wording. I was forced to open my mind to imagination and perceive the images as reality. Of course if your attention drifts from the moment, you end of hammering in many tiny nails into a particle board backing backwards, in which you will never be able to take off and fix. Lesson learned again. Yoga is everywhere and in the most unlikely of places.
Simplistic in design. Clean lines. Options galore. But above all, function is the highest importance. We have the choice to make something so characteristic of IKEA to instead be characteristic of our own design. Picking and choosing what best suits us but given an outline of the many possibilities out there. Like my yoga practice, each time that I step there, I see something new, I experience something I hadn't before. I am given a choice. And like my practice, if I choose to add on to much, to get overzealous, I lose my way. My potential is cluttered. Sticking to the less is more concept generally works. If you look at the displays of room models, you begin to notice that they have just the right amount of details and thought given to it. No more, no less.
Once you have made your decision of what path to go on, you are directed to start at the beginning again. You must pick up your furniture from the bins and take it home to assemble yourself. Like a yoga practice, we don't get the easy out. We can't skip steps and expect to get the same results. We must practice patience, attention, focus, and determination. We are given all the tools needed but not necessarily with hands held. The last time I had to put together furniture, I found myself frustrated and amused at the same time. Instructions are all given in pictures with no wording. I was forced to open my mind to imagination and perceive the images as reality. Of course if your attention drifts from the moment, you end of hammering in many tiny nails into a particle board backing backwards, in which you will never be able to take off and fix. Lesson learned again. Yoga is everywhere and in the most unlikely of places.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Sanctuary
Every once in a while, usually out of what seems like nowhere, we are thrown into a tail spin. Have you ever had those days or weeks that you feel like nothing you do is right? You try and try and it feels like you are making more steps backwards then forwards. You are not alone. More important then the explanation, is the journey back to a calm mind. It does not serve us to banish ourselves into a world of self-doubt, ridicule, or worry.
Recently, I have been feeling this familiar scenario and it has affected me more then I wish to admit. After a particularly difficult day of constant bombardment of self punishment for mistakes I admittedly made, I have had a difficult time picking myself out of the desire to crawl into bed and feel sorry for myself. That pity party, an invitation for one, affected my enjoyment of the first beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest in a long while, affected my relationships with those I work with and the relationship with myself. Enough is enough. But how do we change the course of action?
Sanctuary. Find a place that gives you an opportunity to find peace and safety. Whether this is a physical place or even a place within your mind. Sanctuary. Here things are not nearly as horrible as they seem. We are blessed to be alive. We are blessed to be able to learn from our mistakes if we can open our minds to let in the lesson. Sanctuary. A place of safety. Once we feel safe, we can find clarity. We can face the present moment and not feel as though we are falling continuously into the past. This falling does not serve us. Sanctuary.
Recently, I have been feeling this familiar scenario and it has affected me more then I wish to admit. After a particularly difficult day of constant bombardment of self punishment for mistakes I admittedly made, I have had a difficult time picking myself out of the desire to crawl into bed and feel sorry for myself. That pity party, an invitation for one, affected my enjoyment of the first beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest in a long while, affected my relationships with those I work with and the relationship with myself. Enough is enough. But how do we change the course of action?
Sanctuary. Find a place that gives you an opportunity to find peace and safety. Whether this is a physical place or even a place within your mind. Sanctuary. Here things are not nearly as horrible as they seem. We are blessed to be alive. We are blessed to be able to learn from our mistakes if we can open our minds to let in the lesson. Sanctuary. A place of safety. Once we feel safe, we can find clarity. We can face the present moment and not feel as though we are falling continuously into the past. This falling does not serve us. Sanctuary.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Vrksasana... a tree grows from a seed
Likeness with the seed, a tree has a magnitude of life. Once your warm wish, kind thought, magnificent moment comes to fruition, does it stop there? Of course not. In nature the tree never stands still. The wind moves in, through, and around its branches and leaves. Throughout the course of its life, it starts as a seed, takes root and works its way up through the earth. Its environment helps shape and nurture the tree, giving it a place among the others in the community. Each season a tree will change. In Spring, it is reborn from the cold winter's slumber. The buds slowly emerge and open up. In Summer, the tree is alive and alert. In Autumn, the tree prepares itself for another cycle of life. The leaves slowly change into it's brilliant colors and eventually sail to mother earth. Althrought the seasons of change, the tree is stable and constant, but still it moves and breaths.
Rooted to the ground while lifting and growing to the sky. So must our thoughts and minds, remain ground while having the inclination of thought and confidence to change and sway.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Sankalpa and the new year
It still is making me reel a bit that we are not only welcomed into the new year but into a whole new decade. As we work our way through the hardships of this year past, we are looking to the future for a sense of ease and relief. But is it an intelligent, or more importantly, a wise stance to look forward so much so that we forget where we stand? As the calendar has turned, we are asked what is your new year's resolutions? Can we move away from resolutions and move closer to intentions?
Resolution vs. Intention
A resolution tends to take on the persona of something that we wish to give up. Something that we don't like about ourselves or our habits. Something that has a negative spin on our life. We resolve to "give up sweets", or to "lose ten pounds", to "quit smoking." Even when we try to put a positive spin on it such as, "I am going to take 3 yoga classes a week" or "I am going to try to treat myself better", it turns into an empty promise that we hope we can achieve in a selected amount of time. But what happens when the pressures of life steps hard fast in front of our progress? We become discouraged, insecure or even angry with ourselves. Those set backs after a short amount of time throw us for a tailspin. This happens because the resolution set is, by nature, a formal, firm, binding and breakable venture.
Instead of setting this near impossible goals for ourselves, wouldn't it be better to find intention of our actions. Intentions can be defined as an aim, direction, ambition, approach, nature, significance, sense or heart. It is an understanding. It is the root of action. It is the purpose or attitude toward the effect of one's actions or conduct. Intention can be looked at not only as the mind-set but a reason or purpose to make something happen. It is taking ourselves and our mind out of the future and into the present moment.
Sankalpa
In Sanskrit, the word for intention is Sankalpa. "It is not just a wish, it is a conviction. It is faith in oneself. Faith that one can do it." "It is trust and faith in oneself, in one's own strength and courage". Deepak Chopra explains, "it is like the seed structure of intelligence around which time, space, and matter consolidate into a manifested event." After reading this, I realized the mistake made year after year. We tend to set ourselves up for failure. The mistake made has to do with the oversight of the nature of intention. Intention helps to fulfill resolution. Without it, it is nothing more then a empty wish. Without intention, the foundation of our efforts, we become lost and misdirected.
Finding our way to Sankalpa
Just breathe. Follow each breath as it cycles. Noticing the connection made between each part of the breath. Isn't it interesting that without effort the breath just comes. The intake of breath comes with fluidity and alertness, pauses for a mere moment to turn around with gratitude to find that it is the exhale. Only when we want to dive in to pick apart the breath do we visit the intricacies that the breath can become. How it can effect our state of being. But on the most basic level, the breath, or prana, brings focus onto the present moment.
Be present and open to the moment. Ignore the unknown, the anxieties, or the insecurities of what the future has to hold. Learn from but don't dwell in the past. Be here now. Where else do you have to be? We have yet to learn how to time travel so we are forced to take each moment as it comes. One right after the other. But we find ourselves fixed into a state of discord and distraction. If you were not in the moment while breathing, what would happen if you inhaled again and again with out fully exhaling. You would most likely hyperventilate. Without taking each moment, or each part of the breath, as it comes we create a harmful state. To be present in the mind, body and breath we reach a contented and peaceful state of being.
Open yourself to the possibilities of what you possess. We are all incredibly strong and courageous. We have the capacity of compassion and kindness. So often when striving for these acts of kindness, compassion and courageousness, we use it towards others and forget about ourselves. Find the trust within ourselves so we can find within ourselves that positive light; the same compassion and kindness given away. This is not a selfish act but a courageous one. Open your heart and you will be present within your own destiny. Find gratitude towards all, including yourself.
Reexamination and reminding yourself of your sankalpa when distraction sets in. At some point, you will be distracted. You will be pushed out your present state of mind and into a state of reeling chaos. Find compassion and the excitement that we can begin again. As we grow and as we move throughout our lives, we change and evolve. Let your intentions evolve with you. Allow those intentions to stay in the present moment with you or they have somehow morphed into a resolution, steadfast and unwilling to change.
Sankalpa is not making a wish every new year. "It is taking a step forward and once you take a step forward, stepping back has no meaning."
Resolution vs. Intention
A resolution tends to take on the persona of something that we wish to give up. Something that we don't like about ourselves or our habits. Something that has a negative spin on our life. We resolve to "give up sweets", or to "lose ten pounds", to "quit smoking." Even when we try to put a positive spin on it such as, "I am going to take 3 yoga classes a week" or "I am going to try to treat myself better", it turns into an empty promise that we hope we can achieve in a selected amount of time. But what happens when the pressures of life steps hard fast in front of our progress? We become discouraged, insecure or even angry with ourselves. Those set backs after a short amount of time throw us for a tailspin. This happens because the resolution set is, by nature, a formal, firm, binding and breakable venture.
Instead of setting this near impossible goals for ourselves, wouldn't it be better to find intention of our actions. Intentions can be defined as an aim, direction, ambition, approach, nature, significance, sense or heart. It is an understanding. It is the root of action. It is the purpose or attitude toward the effect of one's actions or conduct. Intention can be looked at not only as the mind-set but a reason or purpose to make something happen. It is taking ourselves and our mind out of the future and into the present moment.
Sankalpa
In Sanskrit, the word for intention is Sankalpa. "It is not just a wish, it is a conviction. It is faith in oneself. Faith that one can do it." "It is trust and faith in oneself, in one's own strength and courage". Deepak Chopra explains, "it is like the seed structure of intelligence around which time, space, and matter consolidate into a manifested event." After reading this, I realized the mistake made year after year. We tend to set ourselves up for failure. The mistake made has to do with the oversight of the nature of intention. Intention helps to fulfill resolution. Without it, it is nothing more then a empty wish. Without intention, the foundation of our efforts, we become lost and misdirected.
Finding our way to Sankalpa
Just breathe. Follow each breath as it cycles. Noticing the connection made between each part of the breath. Isn't it interesting that without effort the breath just comes. The intake of breath comes with fluidity and alertness, pauses for a mere moment to turn around with gratitude to find that it is the exhale. Only when we want to dive in to pick apart the breath do we visit the intricacies that the breath can become. How it can effect our state of being. But on the most basic level, the breath, or prana, brings focus onto the present moment.
Be present and open to the moment. Ignore the unknown, the anxieties, or the insecurities of what the future has to hold. Learn from but don't dwell in the past. Be here now. Where else do you have to be? We have yet to learn how to time travel so we are forced to take each moment as it comes. One right after the other. But we find ourselves fixed into a state of discord and distraction. If you were not in the moment while breathing, what would happen if you inhaled again and again with out fully exhaling. You would most likely hyperventilate. Without taking each moment, or each part of the breath, as it comes we create a harmful state. To be present in the mind, body and breath we reach a contented and peaceful state of being.
Open yourself to the possibilities of what you possess. We are all incredibly strong and courageous. We have the capacity of compassion and kindness. So often when striving for these acts of kindness, compassion and courageousness, we use it towards others and forget about ourselves. Find the trust within ourselves so we can find within ourselves that positive light; the same compassion and kindness given away. This is not a selfish act but a courageous one. Open your heart and you will be present within your own destiny. Find gratitude towards all, including yourself.
Reexamination and reminding yourself of your sankalpa when distraction sets in. At some point, you will be distracted. You will be pushed out your present state of mind and into a state of reeling chaos. Find compassion and the excitement that we can begin again. As we grow and as we move throughout our lives, we change and evolve. Let your intentions evolve with you. Allow those intentions to stay in the present moment with you or they have somehow morphed into a resolution, steadfast and unwilling to change.
Sankalpa is not making a wish every new year. "It is taking a step forward and once you take a step forward, stepping back has no meaning."
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