i'm always amazed at how easy it is to get caught up in the busyness of life!
it's only been about 10 days since we arrived home from our vacation, but it feels so much longer than that. did we have a vacation? it may have happened to you as well. you have a great time while you're gone and then once you get back you hit the ground running with the daily routine of life, back to school, work, rehearsals, etc., and before you know it that calm feeling you had during your vacation has turned in to an all but distant memory. this is what prompted the "theme" of my classes yesterday, mindfulness.
i really asked my students yesterday to become aware to be mindful of each movement they did during class. one of the exercises i asked them to do yesterday happened while in tree pose. give it a try it you'd like.
come to a standing position and begin with your left foot as your foundation, the right foot next to left, hands in anjali mudra. bring your awareness to the left foot. notice everything about that foot and how it feels coming in contact with the floor. feel the bottom of each toe touching the mat, the inside & outside edges of your foot, the ball of the foot & the heel. (there is no judgement here, no fixing, just awareness)
from the foot, bring your awareness to that knee. notice how the knee feels, is it locked & tight or is it soft? allow the knee to be soft.
moving your awareness to the thigh and allowing the quadriceps (the front of the thigh) to soften and relax bringing your focus to the hip lifting & extending the torso.
hold here for just a moment, focusing on the breath and really noticing how your body is feeling while fixing your gaze forward, feeling the palms of the hands pressing against each other.
move your awareness to the right foot and as you inhale, bring the right foot onto the left leg above or below the knee. notice how the bottom of your right foot feels against the left leg and at the same time how the left leg feels against the bottom on the right foot.
when you feel ready while keeping hands in anjali mudra, lift arms up over the head. as you lift the arms take your awareness to that movement and notice the micro-movements while you push your arms through the air. should you choose, as you exhale, you can open the arms. keeping your gaze fixed ahead, focusing/listening to the breath, hold & enjoy. when ready release from the pose and repeat on the opposite side.
here's what i noticed with my students. usually in tree pose, there will be some who can balance very well, but then there will be quite a few others who struggle. yesterday in both classes, everyone maintained their balance, some longer than others, but there was no struggling. there was no frustration or falling out of the pose, just a calm focus.
it was amazing to me to see the difference that having awareness/mindfulness can make during class. think about what that kind of awareness can do for us off the mat. let's talk about in a future post!
peace
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Let Your Light Shine
Recently read this quote and was reminded how much I love it. Thought it was definitely worth sharing:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” - Marianne Williamson
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” - Marianne Williamson
Friday, November 27, 2009
yoga to the people
while discussing with my niece the possibility of attending a yoga class here in nyc, she mentioned having attended a studio by the name of, Yoga to the People. She mentioned that it was a flow-style of class (vinyasa) and the couple of classes that she had taken were really packed. she also mentioned that she thought the classes were free, which of course really peaked my interest.
during the course of our conversation i was telling her about a studio i had heard about in austin (i believe it's the black swan, but will have to confirm) that offers classes on a donation-based fee system and that this is a business model that i had really wanted to implement myself back home. this led me to tell her about when i attended Bryan Kest's studio in Santa Monica some years back and how amazed i was to go to this very well-known yoga teacher, he actually taught the class, and the fee to attend class was strictly donation-based. i think that was the first time i had heard of this concept and was fascinated how one could operate and sustain a business with no set fees!
so of course the first i thing i did when i had a moment was go online to look up this Yoga to the People. Classes are offered in I think 3 different major cities, NYC and San Francisco are two of them; unfortunately the 3rd one escapes me at the moment, sorry! in reading about the program who did i discover founded this program? Bryan Kest!! the guy i was telling her about from santa monica....who knew!
well, this is a very interesting concept to me and one i wish to pursue. i would love to be able to offer classes so that anyone who wanted to participate in yoga could without cost being a prohibitive factor. i know for me there were and are times that i would like to attend classes at a particular studio but are unable due to cost. take a moment and check out Yoga to the People, read what they are about. i think you'll resonate with their philosophy, i know i did. who knows, perhaps one of these days in the very near future we can do the same in san antonio.
yoga for everyone! peace out!!
during the course of our conversation i was telling her about a studio i had heard about in austin (i believe it's the black swan, but will have to confirm) that offers classes on a donation-based fee system and that this is a business model that i had really wanted to implement myself back home. this led me to tell her about when i attended Bryan Kest's studio in Santa Monica some years back and how amazed i was to go to this very well-known yoga teacher, he actually taught the class, and the fee to attend class was strictly donation-based. i think that was the first time i had heard of this concept and was fascinated how one could operate and sustain a business with no set fees!
so of course the first i thing i did when i had a moment was go online to look up this Yoga to the People. Classes are offered in I think 3 different major cities, NYC and San Francisco are two of them; unfortunately the 3rd one escapes me at the moment, sorry! in reading about the program who did i discover founded this program? Bryan Kest!! the guy i was telling her about from santa monica....who knew!
well, this is a very interesting concept to me and one i wish to pursue. i would love to be able to offer classes so that anyone who wanted to participate in yoga could without cost being a prohibitive factor. i know for me there were and are times that i would like to attend classes at a particular studio but are unable due to cost. take a moment and check out Yoga to the People, read what they are about. i think you'll resonate with their philosophy, i know i did. who knows, perhaps one of these days in the very near future we can do the same in san antonio.
yoga for everyone! peace out!!
day after turkey day
even if you're vegetarian its easy to overindulge in holiday dinners. so what can you do if that happens?
twist, twist, and more twists!!!
twisting asanas are a fabulous way to detox after over indulging. some of my favorites include, twisting chair, revolved triangle, and revolved side angle pose. start with a few sun salutations to get the body heated up and add in a few of these twists and you'll be feeling better in no time!
enjoy :)
twist, twist, and more twists!!!
twisting asanas are a fabulous way to detox after over indulging. some of my favorites include, twisting chair, revolved triangle, and revolved side angle pose. start with a few sun salutations to get the body heated up and add in a few of these twists and you'll be feeling better in no time!
enjoy :)
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