Yoga Traveler

 Do Halloween and Yoga really go together?  For me they do!  I love to change the names of my yoga poses the week before Halloween- Uttanasana becomes "Bat", Dolphin becomes "Sea Monster", Crow becomes "Edgar Allan Crow", and there is no need to change Corpse Pose!  I always enjoy mood lighting in my yoga classes and it is easy to bring electric flickering candles and strings of Halloween colored lights.  I have a favorite bat patterned yoga shirt gifted to me from a friend and I have been known to add a little makeup.  So, yes, Halloween can certainly work into my yoga lifestyle! Here is my yoga Halloween playlist.  I have been known to blast it outside of yoga class... 1. The Blob- The Five Blobs 2. Carmina Burana- The Philedelphia Orchestra 3. Cry Little Sister- Gerard McMann 4. Danse Macabre- Camille Saint-Saens 5. Don't Fear the Reaper- Blue Oyster Cult 6. Ghost Riders in the Sky- Riders in the Sky 7. Grim, Grinning Ghosts- Disney 8. Hall of the M...

 Let's talk about an aspect of the yogic lifestyle, Svadharma.  This principle belongs in the Bhagavad Gita, an antient Hindu text that embodies the themes of realizing one's true essential nature.  Svadharma means that we should live according to our own nature, live our truth.  People who decide to follow their true natures lead successful and rich lives.  To know if you are living according to your own nature, look at the decisions you make.  If they are based on your essential nature regardless of what society expects, you are living your full life. I am feeling this way a little as I find my political views in the minority within the community I am living. I am not outwardly political and I do not post my views on FaceBook.  However, I have a strong conviction in my free agency and my duty to vote.  It is my god given right to choose from my conscience and values and that may not match up with those around me.  I have felt a strong impre...

The Wall.  Not just an excellent Pink Floyd album or a phase for exasperation (you drive me up the wall), but a useful yoga prop. Have you ever used the wall to assist your practice?  Here are some ideas to get you started: I love this restorative pose.  We can relax our core and back as we reap the benefits for our circulation and metabolism. Move the couch out of the way and swing your legs up the wall! The wall can be a powerful assist when learning the alignment needed for a handstand or head stand.  It is just simply less scary to be upside down when there is a strong wall behind you! The wall can assist us in alignment while in forward folds.  It is easy to lean too far back on our heels when in Uttanasana or Prasarita Padottansana.  The wall will push us to line the hips with our heels and get a deeper stretch for the hamstrings. Try out this sequence that uses the wall as an assist.  I think you will enjoy your experience! https://youtu.be/V7yf...

 Let's talk about the yoga block!  I love that to practice yoga, we do not need a lot of fancy equipment.  A block or two, a strap, and a mat and we are ready to go.  The tools are pretty portable too so we can use them in the studio, at home, or on the road.  If you don't have a set of blocks, I suggest you remedy that! Amazon has plenty- just search yoga block sets. How are blocks used in a yoga practice?  Let me suggest some ways for you to try out today: The block can be used as a gentle chest opener.  You can place it along the spine or under the shoulder blades lengthwise.  You will open your chest and heart by letting the shoulders roll back.  Your throat is open, stimulating the thyroid.  Knees bent will release pressure in your lower back.  If your head does not reach the ground, use a second block under the head. Use the blocks as a guide for alignment in chaturanga.  Placing shoulders on two blocks will help you to f...

Meditation...Let me admit something to you.  I am not great at meditating.  Most of the time, my meditation involves lying on the floor with a Mexican blanket on top of me, my Calm app talking to me, as I promptly fall asleep for ten minutes.   I know that this is not what I am supposed to do in meditation, but most days lately that is what my body needs.  And I always feel better when I am done.  There was a period of time when I got pretty good at sitting without falling asleep.  I was teaching a 200 Hour Yoga Alliance Teaching Training program and I regularly meditated between 10-30 min a day.  I felt the benefits, I craved the silence, and I need the mental break.  But now I am in a different place in my life and my meditation has evolved into "active rest."   Yoga is a practice.  We practice the principles as we move through our life, through the ebbs and flows that we have.  Meditation makes up one of the eight limbs...

 If you have been following this journey with me through the Ashtanga Primary series, you will know that we now arrive at the "bread of the sandwich": the closing sequence.  This portion of the practice is primarily focused on back bending.  When I do a back bend, I like to focus also on the forward lengthening of the poses.  This way, I will find balance and not overtax my back.  This lifting and lengthening is made possible through a strong focus on the hands and feet creating the base of the pose.  We must find a solid grounding point for the hands and feet.  If we do not utilize our legs, we take all the strain into the arms and lower back.  The legs and feet must create a balance for the arms and hands. Please note that I would add Urdhva Danurasana (wheel pose) and Paschimottanasana (forward bend) before the shoulder stand. Back bending poses are always countered by forward bends.  This brings us back to a neutral point. Back bending as...

  The Standing Sequence "Seeking the Balance" The standing sequence of the Ashtanga Primary Series  initiates weaving of one asana into the next form which K. Parrabhi Jois called "a garland of asanas."  Think of this as a sandwich; our first piece of bread is Surya Namaskara, the peanut butter is the standing sequence, the jelly is the seated sequence, and the last piece of bread the finishing sequence.   In the standing sequence we challenge our balance and learn to understand how the forces of gravity work on our body.  In all the asanas there is an "equality of opposition where we find the greatest sense of stability and comfort." (David Swenson)  We equally root to the ground and energize upward.  Our feet establish our base and we root them deep.  From there, we can grow and expand to lengthen and lift through each asana.  Practice the asanas along with me: https://youtu.be/CTm0xeq0IVE The practice of yoga is a place to explore the...