A New Approach
I had a very strong home practice today, perhaps my strongest to date. And I did it without any preparation - I just focused on poses that I need and do not necessarily like. My focus was primarily on hip openers; something I have not been able to do much of since breaking down at the John Friend Workshop in LA a month ago (not without considerable anxiety anyways). It felt really good, empowering even. I also focused on some sitting poses - I intensely dislike these! They didn’t hurt as much as usual, but I definitely had to remind myself to breathe which helped immensely. I even incorporated some handstands and headstands.
I started and ended practice with an invocation - something I rarely do unless at the studio. I topped it all off with some journaling. Now if I can just keep it up! Honestly, I think it helped to have a beginning and an end, it extended my practice time to about a full hour without the journaling - not bad for a home practice. It was nice to spend some quiet time outside enjoying the day. Even better to be doing yoga while enjoying the day and the garden patio.
I’m feeling very happy with myself, quite the accomplishment really. I think have come to a place where I need to opt for a home practice more often (skipping studio classes a couple times a week) - shorten my asana practice time just a tad and take that extra time, plus what I gain from not having to travel, and use it to add consistent meditation and journaling to my practice.
One of those days…
Ever have one of those days? Its only 7:30a and its ALREADY been one of those days! First, my alarm did not go off and then I get to work and there is no Internet. And no Internet, means no work. Of course this would happen on a day filled with work, yoga and multiple appointments. A day that, literally, has every minute planned out with no room to stray from the schedule.
My first reaction is to be annoyed. But after multiple attempts to speak to a tech support representative to find the office closed my annoyance quickly turns to frustration. However, I have decided that letting this frustration take over my morning, and possibly my whole day, is the worst way to wake up. Instead, I am taking this time to journal and get in a short morning meditation. Two things, I’ll admit, I don’t make enough time for. Blessing in disguise? Probably.
Unexpected Meditation
I have just started a regular meditation practice, literally, as in today was the second day. Ok, so maybe that can’t be categorized as regular just yet, but its a start, and my intention is to do a minimum of 10 minutes a day, so that’s regular. I had been debating what is the best time of day for a meditation practice and came to the conclusion that (for me) unless it is a weekend day, the evening is the best. I find that from the moment I awake up during the week my mind begins racing with all of the things I have to do that day, particularly as it relates to work and this point in the game that is way too much distraction for a beginner like myself.
So today, my intention was to meditate just before settling down for the night. As often happens in life, my intention was thrown off course by unforseen circumstances. The day did not start out great, it was the first day back to work after the daylight savings time change and I didn’t wake up until much later than I had planned. Grogginess had taken over my body and I practically had to drag myself out of bed. Upon arriving at work I immediately had to deal with a disgruntled client and an employee that was MIA. As the day unfolded and I dealt with both of these situations I could feel that I was ready to lose it, I was on the verge of a breakdown. It was all I could do to compose myself enough to announce that I was going for a walk and that I would be back. As I walked down the stairwell and out the building all I could think about was how sad I felt that my uplifting weekend of inspirational yoga was being followed by such a crummy day. That being the case all I wanted to do was get back to that feeling from the weekend, I wanted to remember and feel those heart qualities from class. So, I decided to walk across the street to the park, sit in the grass, close my eyes and meditate. Read the rest of this entry »
Learning to Meditate
Today was my first real attempt at establishing a home meditation practice. It was a gorgeous Spring day and I was contemplating just where I should meditate. I thought about heading to the beach or even sitting out on my patio. In the end I opted for a sunny spot on my living room floor with no music and only the sound of the wind chimes outside my window. That, and the chirping of the birds. In the beginning I actually felt a little anxious. I remember thinking to myself, “Is this really anxiety? Why in the world am I feeling anxious right now?” I came to realize that this more of a feeling of excitement rather than fear, I was excited that I was actually carving out time in my day to do this thing I had thought about doing for so long.
I meditated for 10 minutes today and it went by much faster than I had anticipated. More surprisingly, I actually felt a tremendous amount of groundedness as my lower body settled into the floor beneath me. And yet my head was light, almost as if floating. Super cool and unexpected for only 10 minutes. I’m excited for the day I can work up to 30 minutes! First, I have to find a way to take the tension of sitting out up my upper back and shoulders. Any veterans out there with suggestions?
Snowboarding with Grace
Woo Hoo! I’ve done it! Today was the day it all clicked for me, I can snowboard…finally! This is my third season snowboarding (most seasons consisting of 2 days on the mountain) and today, from the moment I got off the first lift, I was doing it. The initial learning stage is over and I can carve down the mountain. So excited, I can’t even tell you. I’ll just say that I have been walking around all day with perma-grin.
My smiles are not so much for the fact that I can now snowboard, although don’t get me wrong, I am VERY excited about it; but it is also do to the Anusara First Principle, Open to Grace. I think today was the first example where the First Principle has come to light for me so brightly off the mat in my physical life. The concept of Open to Grace and seeing all things as life affirming in aspects such as my attitude, choices and relationships is not so new. Physically speaking, I’m still waiting for a major breakthrough in my yoga as a result of Open to Grace. That is not to say that I have not had any (I get hits of it most days), but I’m talking about being a able to do an awe-inspiring pose, something that seems impossible to the mind. An inversion in the middle of a room is one of the first to come to mind. I guess I should probably work on my inversions against the wall more first. Read the rest of this entry »
Finding My Groove, and A Revelation
The only thing worse than being late or rushed for a yoga class is missing it all together. Today an hour before class I ran out to pick up some Japanese pastry to share with my co-workers. This should have been plenty of time as it is a relatively short mission - no more than 12 miles round trip. When I arrived at the pastry shop I was feeling pretty good and thinking to myself “I am making great time”. In typical fashion, I had jinxed myself because as I was getting ready to pay I realized that I didn’t have my wallet on me. To make matters worse, I wasn’t even sure where I had left it. 
Remembering that I had gone out to dinner the night before and didn’t have my wallet then either, I headed home assuming it must be there. Sure enough it was in my backpack from my Monday trip to the gym, so I headed back to pay for the pastry, get back to the office, change and then head out to my noon yoga class. I ended up arriving to class with only a couple of minutes to spare. And despite the fact that I wasn’t late, it was apparently enough to throw me off because I found it impossible to get into a rhythm. I literally felt as though it was my first ever yoga class, as every movement and pose felt foreign to my body. Read the rest of this entry »
My Introduction to Acro Yoga
I did it! I went to my first Acro Yoga class tonight! Three words…AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!! I went by myself, since ’someone’ was too intimidated by the thought of it to join me (you know who you are). Going into it I was very excited and I ended up having even more fun than I imagined. Honestly, I’m a little concerned, the last thing I need is to become even more consumed with my yoga practice. I take that back, I don’t mind. Besides, I can think of far worse ways to spend my time. The question is where do I find the time?
Home Asana Practice Tips
In my Immersion, Michael has been strongly recommending a regular home asana (posture) practice. This is something that I have avoided in the last 3 1/2 years. For the first year after moving to Southern California, a home practice was the only practice that I had. I have since abandoned it because of the many distractions I find at home. I also found that as I started exploring styles outside of Kundalini that it seemed my home practice was becoming less and less productive. The most difficult part for me being finding a flow. I don’t care for videos and have avoided many bikram classes due to the monotony of doing the same poses every class. For awhile I even subscribed to sites that offered free class downloads but found it many times required too much of my attention to follow the teacher’s instruction (some teachers just aren’t that articulate). Other times I would have video streaming issues midway through the class. Looking back on it now, it seems that the reason my home practice was so successful early on was two-fold. Not only did I had a designated space at home in which to practice, but the style of yoga I was practicing at the time was very conducive to it. Kundalini yoga kriyas are comprised of a sequence of postures/exercises, usually practiced for a specified amount of time. I found that it was easy to get into a flow with my Kundalini home practice since the sequencing was already done. I always knew where I was going next and for what amount of time, and to keep things from getting boring I would mix and match kriyas based on how I was feeling any given day. Read the rest of this entry »
Will and Grace
I recently had the opportunity to attend a class taught by an SEO friend’s mother, Myriam. A class, that I might add, I have been meaning to get to for ages and I couldn’t be happier that I finally did. Since attending her class a couple of weeks ago I have been back many times and vowed to add her to my ever-expanding list of regular must-see teachers (I’ve become a bit of studio hopper, pretty consistently attending about 3 different studios a week by my last count). As Myriam says, her favorite of all the Anusara principles is muscular energy and moments into the class you are reminded of it! Despite her sweet demeanor and small (yet muscular) physique she is a really tough teacher. In her class I am constantly being pushed to my limits, the best part is that thanks to her great sense of humor I have a smile on my face the whole time (ok, maybe not the whole time, but most of it anyway).
In that first 90-minute class we played with the idea of letting go of our desire to control our body and ourselves in the poses and, instead, simply allowing ourselves to ‘be’. Throughout class I was reminded of the difficulty I sometimes have establishing intentions before many of my yoga classes. I think this is a good example of how not all things can be both controlled and truly experienced. In the case of setting intentions it seems that the more I try to will an intention into my practice the more detached from my practice I become. If I hold on to the need to will that intention then the purpose is defeated. I find that in the end, that desire for control takes me away from the authentic experience I seek in my practice. Read the rest of this entry »
To Yoga or Not to Yoga
Its funny how some days its as if the yoga class was designed just for me. I randomly pulled a muscle in my upper back this morning and almost thought about skipping out on my Kundalini Yoga class. As it turned out, I couldn’t have attended a better class. Read the rest of this entry »
