D.O.N.E. ... yet JUST BEGUN

25 August 2012

I just rolled up my yoga mat ... just finished AaAaAaaaaAAaALlLll my hours required for certification as a yoga teacher !! (!)  I did it!  I totally did it :)!  And I finished it all this summer ... all in one summer!  All within two months and seven days!  That's two months and one week ... I completed ALL my hours and requirements for certification!  I am a yoga teacher!  And the funny thing is that I feel like I now know enough to actually START REALLY learning about yoga.  In two months and 200 hours I laid just enough of a foundation that I know what I'm doing, and just enough of a foundation to see that I am just on the cusp of really grasping this whole yoga thing.  I feel like by accomplishing my 200 hour certification I hopped in a little canoe on a river and have rowed all the way to the ocean.  I've become pretty familiar with water (figuratively) ... and having completed the 200 hours I have just arrived at the mouth of the river (or is it the tributary? ... I can't remember which connects to the ocean) where it meets the ocean.  I'm looking back at my suddenly seemingly little stream realizing that I know just enough about water to start moving into and learning about/exploring the gigantic ocean.  That's how I feel in yoga ... like I know just enough to be prepared to enter much deeper waters.  It's a foundation that feels really fulfilling, filling, healing, grounding, and centering.  I feel SO glad that I have been in the canoe.  It's carried me back to myself.  And I value my little canoe that I'll take with me now as I venture out from the ledge on which I stand, ready to jump in.  Namaste little canoe and big (but now seemingly small) river.  And Namaste ocean awaiting me!

 Thanks Syl and Bodhi Yoga! http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

Some Photos of a Few of My Faithful Students :)

Benefits of Yoga in a Nutshell

 I learned in yoga teacher training about the Twelve Physiologies of the body. These are the systems in our body that make us up and keep us going as a living being.

1-Integumentary
2-Fascial
3-Skeletal
4-Muscular
5-Circulatory
6-Respiratory
7-Digestive
8-Eliminative
9-Endocrine
10-Neural
11-Mental/Emotional
12-Pranic

I also learned that EACH ONE of the twelve physiologies of the body BENEFITS from yoga!

Benefits of Yoga in a Nutshell

Integumentary (Skin)

-Healthy glow

-Resilient skin

-Youthful, healthy looking skin 

Fascial (Sheath inside that holds everything together)

-Releases fascial lock down

-Enhances fluidity throughout the body

Skeletal (Bones)

-Strengthens bone density

-Optimal range through joints

Muscular (Muscles)

-Strengthens

-Tones

-Lengthens

-Keeps muscles young and vibrant

-Structural alignment

Circulatory (Heart/Blood)

-Cleanses the circulatory system

-Tones the cardio-vascular system

-Oxygenates the blood

 Respiratory (Lungs/Oxygen)

-Increases overall lung capacity

-Oxygenates, strengthens, and tones all systems of the body

-Natural body detox

Digestive (Digestive Organs)

-Oxygenates the tissues

-Stretch and tone tiny muscles of the digestive system

Eliminative (Releasing toxins)

-Proper functioning of the colon, lymphatics, kidneys and skin 

Endocrine (hormonal)

-Balancing tonic for glandular flows

-Stimulates thyroid functiong

-Stimulates the Master Gland (pituitary)

Neural (central and peripheral nervous system)

-Increases nerve energy pathways throughout body

-Balances cerebral-spinal fluids

-Releases pressure on the nerves

-Soothes the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems

Mental/Emotional (brain and emotions)

-Balances right/left brain thinking capacity

-Increases conscious awareness

-Increases concentration abilities

-Balances brain chemistry

 

Pranic (life force)

-Increases life force to overall system of 

-Cultivates ability to direct energy to different areas of the body

-General sense of physical, spiritual, and mental well-being

-Caters to the electromagnetic field, the chakras, the nadis, and the marma points

With ALL of the benefits to our body, it's NO WONDER that yoga feels sooooo good!!!

**All information shared here was learned in the yoga teacher training taught by Syl Carson at Bodhi Yoga.  http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/certification.shtml

Welcoming ALL Experiences Into Your Guest House

Asana, the word used to describe the poses in yoga, means steady joy.  It's a good thing to remember when holding a pose.  There you are in the middle of a strengthening pose that is testing your endurance to the max, with your body begging you to stop, and you remember that "steady joy" is what you're engaged in (even though it doesn't feel like joy, and may not be that steady).  Remembering the purpose of holding the pose (steady joy) can help us breathe a little deeper and engage more fully in the pose.  It may cause us to wonder how steady joy can be the name for something so incredibly taxing and tiring.

Once again, our perception shapes our experience.  If I view the pose as hard and awful and something I can't wait to get out of, then asana will be much more of a mental and physical challenge.  But if I understand that the pose is simply a tool for advancing the body, mind, and spirit connection (as taught by Ganga White), it makes it easier to view my pose and its intensity as an experience in steady joy. As I welcome the intensity, the discomfort, and the effort, I begin to understand what the challenge is doing for me: enhancing strength, toning, and focus.  I realize that each challenge I face (mentally or physically) in yoga is there to teach me a lesson.  My perception on the yoga mat can be a mirror to my perception in life.

How does a pose in yoga translate into the yoga of life?  If in my practice I come to realize that I can hold a difficult pose longer than I expected, I realize that I have the capacity to sit with hard things.  If I can stay steady in the discomfort of holding a pose (which feels difficult), I start to see that I can stay steady in the discomfort of life.  Or if I find that I can actually do a pose the I thought I couldn't, I might gain a confidence to try things that I previously thought I weren't possible.

The poem "The Guest House" by Rumi illustrates this concept of welcoming what appears hard in order to allow growth.

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Here's to steady joy along our path of welcoming the arrivals at our guest house of yoga and life!

http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/ 

 

Today I Made a Modest Life Change

I would say that my entire life has been spent living in the mindset that seedless watermelon is better than seed-ed watermelon.  The way I've seen it (as passed to me by those who I've eaten watermelon with all these years), a seed is a nuisance that gets in the way of fully enjoying the juicy flesh of the watermelon.  Having to pick through and de-seed has seemed an annoying part of the process.

Today after yoga, I ate watermelon with Francis.  I was picking through the pieces (not touching them, don't worry) to find the ones with the fewest seeds and I noticed that she was just plopping the pieces into her mouth without spitting any seeds out.  I asked her about it, and she told me that she eats the watermelon with the seeds and that she likes it because it gives it a little bit of a nutty flavor.  So I tried it, and I was taken back a little when I realized that it took the stress (small as it may have been) out of eating a piece of watermelon.  When I viewed the seeds as a treat, something nutty and crunchy in my watermelon (much like crunchy peanut butter), the seeds weren't seen as a nuisance.  I could eat watermelon without thought and effort.  I liked it!

It made me think about how our perception so often really is JUST our perception.  Our perception is often built on experiences that have created a false sense of reality.  Thankfully, we can examine our perceptions and check in to see if they are working for us ... and if not, we can change the way we think about things and it can actually benefit us.  For me, being on a yogic path has really been one big process of breaking down false perceptions and opening up to higher truth.  I look at things differently as a result of learning yoga philosophy and connecting with my inner knowing.  Yoga has enhanced my prior understanding of myself, life, the universe, existence, Divinity, and so on.  I now live from what feels like an expanding perception, always open to consider that other way of thinking that could transform things for my good ... for instance, how I eat watermelon.

Learn a little yoga and the philosophy behind it (which often comes as nuggets of truth shared in passing by a teacher during class).

Join us on the path of awakening at Bodhi Yoga. http://gobodhiyoga.com/provoyogaclassesutah.shtml

The Paradox of Giving/Receiving

I am exhausted.  (Disclaimer: I am not complaining ... I'm stating facts.)

I'm in the middle of my last week here in Utah with my hefty goal of becoming certified as a yoga teacher by the end of the summer hovering over me.  (Yoga teacher trainees at Bodhi Yoga are given 18 months to finish all of the requirements to become certified to teach ... and I'm three days away from finishing my certification requirements in 2 months.)  I've been squeezing yoga into every nook and cranny of my life possible. 

And now that it's the final week, any and all procrastination that occurred earlier in the summer must be taken care of now.  Today I taught from 8:30-10:00am, then did personal practice for an hour, then taught three more classes from 3:00-9:00pm, and then worked on my yoga blog.  Tomorrow I'll attend class from 8:30-10:00am, then participate in a special yoga video recording that Syl is doing from 10:00am-12:30pm, then do an hour and a half of personal yoga practice, study anatomy for an hour and a half, and write more blogs.  And so it goes until Saturday.  I'm saturated in yoga.  And I really am exhausted because yoga is physically intensive.

BUT (note the caps to emphasize my point), surprisingly, even though I'm exhausted and doing yoga from dawn until dusk (actually past dusk), I feel totally content, happy, motivated, directed, purposeful, and fulfilled.  Most jobs or work that I do all day long flat out tire me (including my mood).  Yet yoga, as intense as it is, just keeps giving back to me.  Despite my sometimes loss of physical and emotional steam this week, I feel really excited to be involved in something that is so personally fulfilling in both my own practice, and especially in sharing with others the things I'm learning.  I LOVE teaching yoga.  And although I'll be relieved when my certification requirements are done and I can just practice yoga at a more "normal" pace, I'm so totally okay with giving every ounce I have in me for now.  My past year of grad school never had me feeling this rejuvenated despite the exhaustion.  Yoga is unique in that it fills the cup even while it's being emptied.  I give and empty my cup, only to look down and see my cup full again.  At least that's how it is for me.  Awesome.  Final stretch ... hang in there ... whatever your final stretch is about, you can do it!

(Note: This entry was written at 4am when I would have thought my body would be recuperating from all the yoga, but, to my dismay, is wide awake thinking about things I want to blog about.  Forgive any nonsensical writing... :)).

http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

If at First You Don't Succeed...

Try and try again!  (See title.)

It dawned on me tonight while lowering through a plank (pushup) that I COULD ACTUALLY slowly lower down correctly.  This was cause for a small celebration (in my mind) because when I began my yoga teacher training on June 18 I COULD NOT lower through a plank slowly.  I simply dropped to the floor quickly because my arm strength was pretty pathetic.  I remember feeling a little discouraged at the time, recognizing the effects of not having practiced yoga for several months and seeing my body lacking in strength it once had.  And so I modified appropriately by lowering my knees for each plank pushup.  I don't know at what point I stopped lowering my knees, but somewhere along the course of this summer in the conglomeration of teaching, personal practice, and class attendance, my arms mustered up enough strength to lower me down through a regular plank.  And tonight as I strongly lowered through a plank (or two, or three, or four ... I think I did 24 unmodified planks today) I realized that a transformation had unknowingly taken place in my biceps (awh yeah!).  Consistent practice has some pretty thrilling results.

Similarly, a few weeks ago my nephew Caleb had an interest in learning how to do a headstand.  He was having trouble getting up (his core strength needed a little work), so I taught him how to do a yoga handstand using the corner of the wall.

From there he tried on his own, surrounded by lots of pillows for support.

He took the headstand home and practiced over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.  A week(ish) later he came back to me having improved his headstand, being able to sustain it for a couple of seconds.

He continued to practice working into his headstand and sustaining it over the next week or so, showing me his latest improvement every time I saw him.  And tonight in our kids' yoga class he moved himself into his headstand and sustained it longer than I've ever seen him do before.  His core is being strengthened through regular practice.  His balance is also improving.  What was unattainable to him just several weeks ago is now a pose that comes with great ease.

What often seems far off or even impossible in our yoga practice is actually often not far off.  The power of a regular yoga practice is that through a sustained and consistent practice changes come about at all levels of our being (physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc.).  So if at first you don't succeed, don't sweat it.  Just keep at it, and your success will unfold before you.


http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

Lean In

Finishing up my personal practice today, I sat in a seated forward fold with my legs crossed and my body bent over my legs.  Though this is a simple pose, I noticed extreme discomfort in my IT band and gluteus medius muscles.  I immediately moved up and adjusted my body to ease the discomfort, yet when I settled back into the pose the muscles still felt uber tight.  I thought first to readjust, but then stopped myself and remembered that if it's not a torqued pain, BREATHE into it.  Rather than move away from it, I settled INTO the discomfort and breathed.  I focused all of my thoughts on my breath, envisioning the breath moving directly to ease the pain in my side.  I stayed in the pose and let the breath wash over the tightness.  The trick to meeting my edge was not to move away from it (because then I never could stretch it enough to settle into it and transform it), but to lean into it with the support of my breath, thus giving it just the stretch it needed to loosen up.

So it goes with life.  Often when pain and discomfort roll onto our path, we immediately react by jumping away from it so as to avoid any discomfort.  We hurl ourselves in the opposite direction to not come close to feeling any pain.  As in yoga, so in life, when we lean into our pain and discomfort, breathing to keep us calm rather than trying to move away from it, we are better able to accept and deal with (thus transforming) the discomfort.  Pain is not something we are immune to, nor can we avoid it, whether it's physical, emotional, mental, or social ... discomfort is part of the package of life.  It becomes easier to sit with when we do just that: sit with it and not run from it.  When we run, it doesn't take away the pain.  It simply prolongs the process.  So take deep breaths and lean in.  All will be well ... eventually.

http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

Awaken Your Kundalini

Tomorrow morning at 8:30 I will be teaching a Kundalini-Style yoga class at Bodhi Yoga (come one, come all!).  Of all types of yoga, Kundalini is one of my favorites!  Yoga chanting is a traditional part of Kundalini Yoga, wherein the practice begins and ends with a chant.  Typically, the chant "Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo" is sung, which is translated to mean, "I bow to the Divine Creator, to the inner knowingness, the teacher, and to the love of God inside me" (learned in Bodhi Yoga teacher training).    Chanting in a group has such a powerful centering, calming, and grounding effect on those involved.  Even just listening to this chant on my iPod gives me the chills.  Here is a sample of this beautiful chant sung by Snatam Kaur.






http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

Don't Just Do Something...Sit there!

We seem to be engrained with the idea that the faster we go, the more we do, and the further down our checklist we get, the better we are.  We're used to hearing/saying, "Don't just SIT there, DO SOMETHING!"  I remember feeling that my worth was based on how much I DID and what I accomplished.  It wasn't until I had to face a long and difficult battle with depression, in which simply getting myself out of bed each day was a grand accomplishment, that I began to learn that who I am and my worth as a living, breathing being has nothing to do with my finished checklist or my latest bragging rights.  For years I have been learning that independent of ANYTHING I do, my worth and greatness simply ARE.  Who I am at a soul-level, who I've always been, the me that is housed in my mortality could do NOTHING for the rest of my life and yet would still have merit and be worthy of love and appreciation and belonging.  My worth as a living being has its own claim on me regardless of what I've learned or how many degrees or certifications I have.  That's the beauty of being offspring of God.

It took yoga and a summer detached from my normal reality in which I SLOWED DOWN to realize the merit in sitting rather than doing.  I remember attending a Buddhist Zen House for a meditation and worship service as a part of my university requirements, and for the first time that I could remember in my entire life, I sat for 30 minutes straight with nothing in front of me (i.e. book, screen, earphones).  I just had to sit there for 30 minutes.  I knew nothing about meditation at that point, so I just took advantage of the time as best as I could by pondering and thinking about things that mattered to me.  I was in awe that I had actually sat still for 30 minutes with nothing to do but think.  There was no reading, no writing, no listening to talks no music ... nothing.  And I actually found it really refreshing.  And so began my entrance into a world in which just sitting is allowed and even applauded ... where breathing is as worthy of my time as getting my to-do list done.  And now, my goodness, I LOVE the nothingness. 

After I had begun studying meditation and practicing yoga my mom clipped out a newspaper article for me entitled, "Don't Just Do Something, Sit There!"  The article spoke of the great benefits of slowing down enough to sit still ... to bring meditation into our lives.  It's a new concept for a lot of us: sitting ... emptying the mind ... being still.  Surprisingly, it's NOT a waste of time.  Really grand things happen in stillness ... internal things that can't happen when our pace on the outside pushes us too fast and hard.  Few experiences in life compare with the one when your mind really does become clear and releases the thinking burden it doesn't even know it's carrying.  "Be STILL and know that I am God."  It has been in the stillness in which I've been able to connect with that Source and my own true nature better than in many other ways.

So if your little inner critic is on your case to get moving and do something, feel free to let go of that voice and replace it with an allowance to just sit still.  It really IS okay to not just do something ... and rather, just sit.

http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

Transforming Sadness

One of the reasons that I have pursued yoga teacher training is because as both a therapist in training and a yogini in her evolution, I find a powerful connection between the power of movement and emotional healing.  I feel that my certification in yoga teaching is an important piece of what I will utilize in my work as a therapist.  Tonight I read a meditative healing exercise in Yoga Journal for working with sadness, loss, disappointment, and/or heartache which aligns directly with the philosophies I use in helping therapy clients (i.e. learning to sit with difficult/painful emotions without masking or numbing them, nor pushing them away/burying them).  Rather than trying to move away from your emotions (thus allowing them to get buried and stuck inside), try sitting with them and letting them move through you.  Try this experiential and see how it works for you:

Working with Heartbreak

Sadness can be a powerful doorway into the heart. The next time you feel loss or sorrow, try this practice for transforming sadness.

By Sally Kempton

1. Begin by fully feeling your sadness. Perhaps there's a sense of heaviness associated with it, or you feel tears rising. Become aware of the sensations in your body associated with the sadness. Feel the sensations as fully as you can. Breathe with them. Let go of the story.
2. Let your attention drop into the heart area. Sense that you are breathing in and out through the heart.
3. Bring the energetic sensation of sadness into the heart area. Simultaneously, become aware of a field of space or sky stretching out behind you. Imagine that it has a color, maybe gold or deep blue.
4. Begin to breathe the feeling of sadness in through your heart and into the sky behind you. Then breathe out, imagining that you are breathing out the sky, with its color, through the feeling in your heart and into the room. Continue this for a while.
5. Think of others who might be suffering sad feelings. You'll find images coming up quite spontaneously—people who lost loved ones, people who failed at something important, people you know, people in the news.
6. Inhale with the sense that you are taking in these people's sadness, letting it pass through (not remain in) your heart and dissolve into the beautiful sky behind you. Exhale, breathing the color and spaciousness of the sky back into the sad people. It's important here to breathe the sadness through the heart and into the sky, and to breathe the sky back through the heart and into the sad images you have drawn in. You're not holding the sadness in your heart, but rather, using the heart as a portal to let the sadness dissolve into the spaciousness of the sky.
7. Pay attention to the inner states that arise as a result of this practice. There may be an awareness of your intimate connection with all others or a sense of the impersonal nature of sadness. As you practice this over time, you may notice that it does arouse feelings of true compassion, love for yourself and others, and a recognition of your own soft heart.   http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/2514?utm_source=MyYogaJournal&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=MyYogaJournal

Come try moving meditation (the bodhiflow class) at http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/.

Personal Practice

As a part of the yoga teacher training certification, I am required to spend 20 hours doing personal yoga practice, which includes just my mat and me.  Before taking the teacher training I always only attended yoga classes or practiced yoga with a DVD.  I remember hearing my yoga teachers talk about one's personal practice, and I couldn't imagine doing yoga on my own.  I didn't feel like I'd have known what to do.  Now it makes more sense to me as I've been studying the poses and sequences more thoroughly.  The idea of a personal yoga practice in which I learn to listen to my body's needs and move accordingly feels exciting and nurturing.  Although attendance at class is definitely a favorite of mine, the fact that I can practice on my own, with no teacher nor dvd feels very liberating and relieves some of the stress I sometimes feel when living in a schedule and trying to get to class.  As I envision my post-summer life picking up again with school and internship and the trillion other things I do, I feel a great sense of relief in picturing myself on my yoga mat alone in my apartment in Boston, taking care of yoga in my own way without having to rush off to a yoga class.

In order to complete my yoga teacher training and qualify for certification by the end of this week (my goal), I have several things left to do, one of which includes 8 more hours on my mat in personal yoga practice.  In the 12 hours I've already done, I've started becoming familiar enough with the practice that these last 8 hours seem like they'll be a nice experimental plot of space and time through which I'll delve deeper into knowing my body, the practice, and the internal peace that accompanies a regular and consistent yoga practice.  Whether it's a class, a dvd, a youtube video, or your own personal practice, I invite you to delve into your practice to see what greater depth and knowing you can experience.

Yoga.  Mmmmmmmm.

http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

The Iliopsoas--A Means to Smoother Transitions

In my anatomy study I recently learned a few things about the Iliopsoas, the strongest of the hip flexors, and an important group of muscles used in standing, walking, and running (not to mention lunging in yoga).  See photo here: http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1200&bih=639&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=tiLCMS9HpY7_2M:&imgrefurl=http://venixflytrap.net/2010/12/07/ow-my-iliopsoas/&docid=uOY9TUJDOcj_IM&imgurl=http://venixflytrap.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/iliopsoas.jpg&w=160&h=246&ei=vIw2UOvhNKWxiQLt7IDQAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=129&vpy=323&dur=504&hovh=124&hovw=81&tx=95&ty=95&sig=117355545460020260684&page=1&tbnh=124&tbnw=81&start=0&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:0,i:142.

Often in yoga, when moving from a downward facing dog into a crescent lunge, triangle, or warrior II, our leg will not automatically come all the way forward to meet the planted hands on its own.  Thus, it becomes necessary to help the leg forward with the hand.  A major reason for this is due to tightness in the Iliopsoas.  Here is a stretch to help this muscle loosen up a bit, allowing the leg to move into position more easily.

 
Or, try this sequence taught to me by Syl Carson (http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/), which is very helpful in stretching the iliopsoas and working you into a smoother transition from downward facing dog to your lunge, triangle, or warrior poses.

First

 Then slightly lean back and bring up your left arm

Then plunge forward with your left leg (right arm comes up)

Next lean into your lunge

Then slightly arch your back

Lift and hold your back leg with your hand

Then all fours

Child's Pose

And finish up here...

Then do it all on the opposite side!

Happy transitioning! 



http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

Quinoa, Red Pepper, & Cucumber Salad with Avocado and Lime

Yoga practice feels so cleansing and refreshing.  Couple your practice with cleansing and refreshing food to feel even better!  Here's a recipe that may give you just such a refreshment:

Quinoa, Red Pepper, & Cucumber Salad with Avocado and Lime

Kosher Salt
1 cup quinoa
1 garlic clove,  pounded to a smooth paste with a pinch of salt
1 large shallot, finely diced
3 1/2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice, plus more as needed
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium red pepper, halved, seeded, and finely diced
1 small- to medium-sized cucumber, peeled and seeded, if necessary, and cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro, plus sprigs for garnish
2-3 ripe avocados, sliced

1 Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and season generously with salt.  Rinse quinoa under cool running water, lightly rubbing it between your fingers for a few seconds.  Add it to the boiling water and cook until tender, 12 to 15 minutes.  Drain the quinoa well and spread out on a baking sheet to cool.
2 Put the garlic, shallot, jalepeno, and lime juice in a small bowl.  Season with salt and stir to combine.  Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup of the oil and whisk to combine.  Taste; add more salt or lime juice if necessary.
3 Put quinoa, red pepper, cucumber, and chopped cilantro in a medium bowl.  Drizzle about half the vinaigrette into the bowl and gently fold to combine.  Taste, and add more salt, vinaigrette, or lime juice if needed.
4 Arrange the sliced avocado on a platter or individual serving plates.  Season the avocado with salt and drizzle the remaining vinaigrette on top.  Spoon the quinoa salad on and around the avocado.  Garnish with cilantro, and serve immediately. 

(Yoga Journal, p. 36)


http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

Family, Isn't it About ... Yoga!

Tonight our family's business was that of yoga.  My sister-in-law, five nieces, one nephew, and yours' truly (moi) gathered in the basement of my brother's house for a family yoga session.  It was a first time yoga session for four of them, and honestly, it thrills me to see my family involved in yoga.  Specifically, I feel so happy to see them resting in Savasana, the final resting pose, after having worked through a challenging vinyasa and asana practice, and finally falling deep into relaxation, stepping (for the first time in a long time) out of the busy hub-bub of life.  It's in that place of Savasana that my emotional, mental, and physical systems renew.  So to see those I love the most getting a taste of that which fills me so deeply truly tickles my fancy!

In addition to those who joined me tonight, I have an aunt who has been attending my yoga classes on Good Karma Tuesdays.  She and my uncle came the first week and she has continued on each week.  Her daughter jumped on the yoga bandwagon during our yoga on the ranch in Montana which led to a path which she's taking to practice yoga regularly at a local studio in Las Vegas.  She's taken it a step further and has her husband attending classes with her.  And then this week, unexpectedly, my aunt showed up with her son who joined us for a restorative class and seemed to find it helpful and relaxing.  I've got nieces and nephews all over the state joining me for classes both at the studio and in their homes.  It tickles me to pieces to see the joy of yoga spreading throughout my family.

And doing yoga as a family makes it even more fun because we have our moments of entertainment (like when I told them that this pose pictured above is called "legs up the wall," and Sydney [in the middle] pipes back in a playfully sarcastic tone, "Well that seems appropriate" [which seemed so funny after hearing all of the other poses such as "Badakanasana" and "Janu Sirsasana]).  We laughed, lying there with our legs up the wall.  Being together as a family in this circumstance felt fun and was a uniting force for us.  It makes me think of a line from The Family: A Proclamation to the World (https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation) in which the prophets say, "Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities."  I'll second that!

Yoga by itself feels like a piece of heaven.  Yoga with my family feels like a piece of heaven with whipped cream and a cherry on top.  Family and yoga is a good mix! 

(A special thanks to McKahl, Sydney, Chloe, Emma, Claire, Kyle, and Nicki for making this night possible!)

Practice yoga with your family by taking them to http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/.

Starry Night Meditation

   In light of the recent meteor showers, this is a very fitting meditation to try.  It ends with a really powerful lesson on how we see others, and how we can change our preconceived notions to more fully experience people and that which surrounds us.  (This meditation appeared in the Yoga Journal at http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/2576?page=2).  I do hope you enjoy!

  Starry Night Meditation

The following meditation ... works best on a relatively clear night, preferably away from bright city lights. Find a place outdoors where you can lie down on the ground and view the night sky. Gaze up at that vast ocean of darkness that sparkles with infinite stars until you find the cluster of stars known as the Big Dipper. Officially part of Ursa Major, the Great Bear constellation, the Big Dipper consists of seven stars broadly spaced apart. Four stars make the shape of a large rectangle, and the other three splay out horizontally to the left from the top of the rectangle, so they resemble a large dipper, or a saucepan with a long and slightly curved handle.

Once you locate this constellation, try to let go of any preconceived ideas you have about it, and look at the cluster of stars without fixating on the shape of a big dipper. Allow yourself to see seven bright dots amid black space. Notice each star individually. Notice the stars in their context in the sky, within the vast field of shining lights. See how the stars are located in relationship to other stars not in this particular constellation. Observe the spaces between each star. As you continue the meditation, notice if you go in and out of being able to see the stars themselves, without the idea or image of the dipper. If in moments you find it difficult to let go of seeing the Big Dipper, shift your focus to other parts of the night sky. Try looking at just part of the constellation, along with other stars outside the constellation.

Close your eyes for a moment, relax your body, and then open your eyes and refresh your attention using a soft gaze. Let your vision be broad and spacious, and look at the stars without thinking about them, yourself, or anything else ... just rest in open awareness. Another approach is to stare at the Big Dipper for a long time; after a while, the concept or memory of a dipper may fade and the stars will return to just being individual lights in the sky.

Once you practice this meditation, you can apply the technique to other constellations, seeing the stars without their associated imagery, taking in the simple reality of what is, and experiencing the vastness of the night sky. Try doing this meditation for up to half an hour, taking time to alternate between simply resting your awareness in the vastness of sky, and noticing whether you get caught up in concepts about specific constellations. You can also expand this practice to include other objects and people—you might try looking at a rose bush without the concept of a rose.

The more you do this, the more you'll begin to see how using only our preconceived concepts to approach the world can limit our experience and our awareness. Simple concepts can in no way describe the fullness and complexity of any experience or thing, including something as simple as a single, unique maple leaf or mushroom, or something as vast as constellations in the sky.
This technique can also help us approach people with a fresh awareness every time. Try looking at an acquaintance or a loved one without fixing on a preconceived idea about who they are, what they are like, or what they will do. We often get stuck in our concept of who someone is, which limits both people in the relationship. 

A dear friend of mine sits his teenage daughter down every year, and they do a playful exercise in which they look at each other, and he says, "I am not your father," and she says, "I am not your daughter." This attempt to break down the narrowness of the concepts of "father" and "daughter" allows them to see each other more completely as people, rather than seeing only the parts of each other that relate to the roles they know each other in.

So when you look at someone, notice what concepts arise about them: man, woman, parent, child, waitress, taxi driver, lover. See how your approach to them changes based on your ideas of what it means to be old, young, sick, cute, shy, loud, extroverted, or smart. See then if you can let go of the labels and look at them without these concepts interfering with your perceptions of who they are. Notice their form, movements, and expressions, and try to get a sense of their essence beyond their surface appearance, movements, and expressions. When we look at people or anything in this way, we get to see the world anew, with fresh eyes. We come closer to experiencing the truth of how things actually are, undimmed by the concepts in our minds.

Learn more about meditation at: http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

A Yoga Chant to Accompany Your Viewing of the Meteor Showers Tonight

I genuinely loooove yoga chants.  Some of the most beautiful music I've heard is the simplistic and repetitive sanskrit words (mantras) put to a melody.  Yoga chants and mantras are based on the principle that sound has the power to build consciousness and manifest energy to awaken us internally.  "Sacred sound awakens the life force that is within us, sending it out into the world.  Sound in the Sanskrit context takes over the body, and before long you can't tell where your voice ends and another begins, where your body ends and another begins" (Bodhi Yoga Teacher Training Manual - http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/certification-utahyogateachertraining.shtml).  Additionally, I find the meaning behind the words sung in a mantra when translated to be deep and significant.  Here I share one of my current favorites with you:   Mul Mantra.

Meaning: 

One God, the true name, the creator, without fear, without hatred, timeless, self-existent, made known by the Guru.

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What Price Are You Willing to Pay?

This evening when I was finally home after a day out at yoga classes, lunch with friends, and checking off my to-do lists, I sat still for the first time since I'd gotten out of bed this morning (after sleeping only two hours last night). I was wiped out and so I dozed in and out of sleep while trying to prepare to teach tomorrow's yoga class. Before I knew it, the time had come for me to gather up my things and head to the yoga studio for the second time today for more yoga teacher training. 

While driving I rounded the corner that heads from Springville to Provo and saw the familiar road and I realized just HOW MANY times I've made the jaunt from home to the yoga studio. I had driven that route this morning, two days before, and three days before that.  And that was just this week.  Basically, I often make the trek to and from the yoga studio several times a week which roughly equates to almost three hours spent just in driving back and forth between home and the studio. 

In my overtired state tonight I wondered, "What am I doing???  Tonight I should take a break ... I'm exhausted!"  For a split second I wondered about the effort it takes to train and certify as a yoga teacher in two months time (my choice made so that I could have yoga training under my belt before I start back into grad school). The reality hit me tonight that to practice yoga takes discipline and effort.  I was so tired from not sleeping last night that I wanted to rest rather than try and sit through a training.  And yet I realized just how important yoga is for me, and the reason why. 

Despite my exhaustion, yoga called and my deeper commitment to this process of becoming a certified yoga teacher pulled me off my bed, put me in my car, and drove me down the route that I've driven so many times that I think I could drive it blind folded.  It's the same inkling that pulls me out of my bed most mornings when I'm tired and yet make it to Syl's yoga class (albeit late).    In two months time, my own yoga practice and preparation as a yoga teacher have helped transform me at levels inside me that for months felt extremely chaotic, and have helped calm down an aggravating inner battle.  When I compare where and who I am today to where and who I was two months ago, the discipline, time, and effort that has been required for this process yields extremely satisfactory results.  Peace is much more familiar company to me now than I enjoyed prior to beginning my training as a yoga teacher and re-starting my regular yoga practice.  When yoga has never been a part of our lives, we may not miss it.  But my experience, and that of the people that I talk to who practiced yoga and then fell out of practice for a time, is such that we notice a wilt in our lives.  The benefit of being in yoga training tonight outweighed the cost of not resting.  I was able to overcome my exhaustion tonight because I knew that I'd be filled at a deeper level that would sustain me over time.  The way in which I feel filled with satisfaction and joy in being able to guide others towards a calmer self and more peaceful life invigorates me.  

"Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions.  The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving and our becoming (Dallin H. Oaks)."  I feel cozily content in where my desires are leading me this round.  See where yoga will take you...

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Having Trouble Sleeping?

Syl Carson, founder of Bodhi Yoga, is my yoga teacher and my guide in yoga teacher training.  When I first started practicing with Syl in late summer of 2010, I learned, what to me, is magic in dealing with the realm of sleep issues. If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep or needing a quick midday pick-me-up, watch Syl's AWESOME tips for easing into a more rejuvenating sleep.

http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

That's Good! No, that's bad! No, that's good! No ...

In Kids Bodhi Yoga today I read a story entitled That's Good! That's Bad! In the Grand Canyon by Margery Cuyler in which a little boy goes with his grandma on vacation to the Grand Canyon and very quickly stumbles into trouble.  After he falls off of a cliff the author exclaims, "That's bad!  ... No, that's good," because at the bottom of a cliff is a mule walking along, which the boy lands on for an easy ride down.  In response to the boy landing on the mule the author comments, "That's good!  ... No, that's bad," because then the mule starts running out of control and ends up bucking the boy off.  At this point the author inserts, "That's bad!  ... No, that's good," because the next part of the story tells of how fortunate his fate is ... until again the role is reversed and it again turns bad.  So goes the story, back and forth, forth and back ... good then bad, bad then good.  Everything that we, as readers, react to as something bad turns into something good.  On the flip side of the coin, all of the things that appeared good turned out to be not so good.  

 And so goes life.  Things, people, and experiences occur in our lives on a daily basis, all of which we are inclined to react to, labeling the pieces of our lives as either good or bad.  But just as this story illustrates, that which is good is not always what it seems, and sometimes that which appears bad really turns out being not so bad after all.  This realization helps me to see life from a more yogic perspective.  It helps me find relief in the moments that I do end up labeling as bad because it reminds me that what appears as bad to me in this moment may actually turn out to be something good (or at least good for me).  It also helps me cherish the moments labeled as good.  By knowing that in the next moment things may shift, I try and take advantage of this moment as it is now. 

This story also reminds me to let go of doubting and worrying and wondering and labeling ... and rather, accept whatever is.  If I get attached to the idea that something happening in my life is good, then the moment it shifts in any way, shape, or form, so does its label and my sense of security in that thing.  And then I tend to fret a whole lot more than if I were to simply accept the situation without a label and without an attachment, knowing that shifting will happen, for better or worse, and then again down the road more shifting will happen, for better or worse ... all of which I can't control.  Letting go and trusting rather than attaching and controlling lends itself to a much calmer way through life.  I'm more at peace when I strive to detach from an outcome or an expectation and simply accept things in each moment as they are, and then again in the next moment as they are then, and the next and the next. 

If you're inclined to use the label "good" or "bad," remember that those labels are likely to fade, shift, or change.  So you won't need to hold on to them too tightly.  Let go, trust, be present in each moment, and breathe a little easier.  

http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

A Video So Totally Worth Watching

"You can do it.  It's very easy to not do it.  It's very easy to say I can't.  And then you can simply retreat back into inability, retreat back into fear, retreat back into lack of control.  And then you're saying, 'It's not my fault.  It's not my responsibility.  But the simple realization that you can change, that you can become more, places upon you the obligation to do more, to be more."  ~Arthur

http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

Sunday's Salamba Sirsasana

Salamba Sirsasana ... Sanskrit for "Headstand" ... a more challenging pose ... one which I have not attempted for over a year.  Okay, so it's not that hard, but it has seemed incredibly intimidating to me sitting amidst accomplished head-standers.  I didn't want to attempt it for fear of hurting myself, and because the process of getting into the pose seemed too time-consuming in a class where everyone else was just popping into the pose without a problem.  I figured that by the time I found a corner to prep in, they'd all be done and moving on to the next pose.  So I've avoided it. 

However, tonight I was inspired by my eleven-year-old nephew Caleb who wanted to do a headstand.  He tried getting into a headstand for a long time in the middle of the living room floor, with the rest of the family eating and talking around him.  Then it dawned on me that I am a yoga teacher in training who is "in the know" about how to work into a headstand pose.  So I pulled out my notes, found my tricks of the trade, and Caleb and I headed to the playroom to work on it. 

The trick to getting into a headstand pose is to find a corner (where two walls meet for any who are confused at this point).  Your fore arms rest against the corner walls with the elbows down, and fingers clasped making a little space for you head.  Then you place your head into your hand space, and walk your legs up almost as if you were moving up into a downward facing dog.  With your legs up, you are closer to the wall and then you can kick one leg, and then the next, up to the wall. 

As I explained it to Caleb, I ended up showing him what I meant, and suddenly found myself in a headstand in the corner!  I was so pleased to be there in a pose that I hadn't attempted for a year and a half!  Wahoo!  Then Caleb worked on it, and finally got up.  I explained that the corner helps us become familiar with the core and arm work that goes into the pose, and that with practice, our strength would increase so that we wouldn't need the corner. 

Caleb was determined to achieve a headstand sans corners tonight and worked on headstands again in the middle of the living room floor for the rest of the evening.  All of his motivation drew the attention of other nieces and a nephew who jumped on the headstand band wagon.  Eventually, the intrigue caught on with my brother-in-law who popped right up into a headstand (abs of steel, Brett!).  Yoga became a family affair tonight.  It's catchy ... people like it ... it's irresistible in a way.  I absolutely LOVE seeing the people I LOVE involved in the thing that I LOVE! 

Caleb Freestyle (no corner)

Fiona (2 years old) working into a headstand...

With a little help (the corner and my hands)

Eliza (7 years old)

Brett (woot!)

http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

Turn Your World Upside Down

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to do yoga suspended in mid-air?  I never had until it occurred to me that I had a prime opportunity as I was ZIPPING down a zip line in Provo Canyon today.  I took advantage of my position in life (suspended in mid-air flying through the sky) and rolled over into a full back bend bridge pose with my body folded in half backwards, arms and legs dangling, and my head hanging, staring face down at the mountains of Provo Canyon which was at least one hundred feet below me.  What a feeling!  What made it even cooler is that it's a pose that I haven't gotten into for a couple of years, but which came quite effortlessly with gravity on my side and nothing to get in the way.  The beauty of yoga is that it takes regular life and enhances it.  I could have just sat, legs down, and zipped through space enjoying the ride.  But thanks to yoga, my ride down the mountain turned my world upside down (literally) (in a good way) and gave me a view that regular riding couldn't.  Add yoga to your life to turn your world upside down (in a good way), and start seeing the world differently (literally)!

(Note: This is not actually a picture of me doing the back bend.  No one was shooting photos during that line.  This is actually a shot I took of my five year old nephew.  Rock on, Nolan.)

P.S. Practicing yoga at Bodhi Yoga literally turned my world upside down in a good way.  I see the world in a whole new light.

http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

When is the Best Time to Start Practicing Yoga?

When is the best time to begin practicing yoga?  Now.  It’s simple, really.  There's no wrong time to start practicing yoga.  The right time to start a yoga practice is when you desire it and feel like trying it out.  Maybe the best time to start practicing yoga is when you finish reading this blog.  It's never too soon or too late to do yoga.  There's not a right or a wrong time ... there's just time that we seek to fill time with worthwhile things.  I have found that when I make time in my life for yoga, the rest of my time in life (outside of yoga) feels much more calm, easy, and content.

I've been teaching a kids' yoga class for four weeks now.  For the first two weeks I had an eight-year old boy and his grandma join me.  They are a delight.  Last week my five-year-old nephew and three of my friend's kids ranging from three to eight years old joined us.  They totally got it.  My forty-one-year-old sister texted me that night to say: "I just had my first official yoga lesson with Nolan, the best instructor ever!  Cow, lion, child, giraffe, monkey, elephant, snake, and cobra!  He even walked around my body pushing certain areas down to the ground.  Hilarious!"

Today I added my four-year-old and two-year old nieces to the mix ... and goodness gracious, I learned that it's never too early to start practicing yoga.  Little Fiona (2 years old) followed every move I made and every breath I took.  She sat next to me on her mat, with her stalky little two-year-old body in seated pose breathing in and out deeply.  Her little body popped right up into downward facing dog!  She was all over it.  We learned tonight just how useful this pose is when her mom, after she successfully used the toilet (potty training success!) told her to bend over to wipe, and Fiona popped into her yoga pose and yelled, “Downward facing dog!”  Voila!  

In 2009 I traveled to China for two weeks during Thanksgiving and saw a multitude of very old people out in the grown-up exercise parks bending in ways that I couldn’t even get close to.  I was in awe with their flexibility, vigor, and health!  I told myself that whatever they’ve been doing all these years is what I wanted to do because I wanted a body like theirs’ at 80+ years.  Their exercise is Tai Chi (which I’ve tried only once).   I connected with yoga, and I’ve found that the benefits of yoga are comparable to what I was seeing in those Chinese elders.  In fact, at Bodhi Yoga I am incredibly inspired by a man who is in his eighties who practices yoga three times a week.  He began practicing when he was sixty-nine years old, and he swears that he is younger today than he was in his fifties.  He has had a healthier body for the past fifteen years than he did for many younger years leading up to this time.  And he has yoga to thank for it.  It really is never too late to begin.  

You may think you’re too old, that your body isn’t flexible enough, that you’re too big, or that it’s too hard for you.  Those are false thoughts that are blocking you from experiencing greater health and happiness.  Put them aside and repeat to yourself that you are the perfect age to begin yoga, that your body is exactly how it needs to be to begin a yoga practice, and that your ability is just right to begin to learn what yoga is all about … BECAUSE THESE THOUGHTS ARE TRUE IN YOGA-LAND.  Yoga isn’t about being flexible or achieving some phenomenal pose.  It’s a very simple act of stretching and moving slowly in a way that opens your body and mind over time to a more enlivened and awakened state.

So how old are you?  What is your body like?  … Oh perfect!  You are EXACTLY where you need to be to start practicing yoga.  Find a class for you (Beginner’s, Restorative (yum!), Kundalini, Bodhiflow, Vinyasa, Hatha, Hot Yoga … whatever suits YOUR fancy) and let the games begin!