tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5182993915935883012024-03-12T19:40:14.095-07:00Yoga DazeSearching for Equilibrium Through MovementJulianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.comBlogger268125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-81293273429688879292013-07-23T15:48:00.000-07:002013-07-23T15:48:00.272-07:00Reflection<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I sat on top of Mount Doug last night next to the woman I love most in the world, my mum. We sat next to each on the hard bedrock breathing in the ocean air that always hovers around Victoria. Mount Baker stood tall and white capped far across the Juan De Fuca Strait. The Gulf Islands lay peaceful covered in Douglas fir and cedar trees. The ocean was so calm it gleamed up at us like an ice covered lake. The mountains to the west were coloured like a Roger Dean painting in purples, mauves and blues that only ever exist in my dreams. A fog hung low to the south east blanketing the Olympic mountains, giving them the appearance of small hills.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We were on top of the highest point in Victoria to watch the sun set behind the mountains and the full moon rise through the blanket of fog simultaneously.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As I took in the beauty surrounding me I couldn't help reflecting on where I was a year ago. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A year ago, the sun didn't shine for me. I lived under a constant gray cloud that drizzled on me even in my dreams. When the rainy clouds of November arrived, it didn't faze me at all. Mum remembers asking me to go watch this natural phenomenon last year and I didn't want to. It is amazing what emotions and depression can do to you. How powerful these emotions are, how they take control of your mind and rule your life. To be fair to myself, last year was very difficult and I have come out the other side a stronger, calmer, more compassionate person.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With the help of my yoga teachers and my asana, pranayama and meditation practice, the most valuable thing I have learned in the last year is how to practice mindfulness in my life. I am learning how my mind works and how to be more conscious of my thoughts. In Brené Brown's book, The Gifts of Imperfection, she defines mindfulness:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Mindfulness requires that we not "over-identify" with thoughts and feelings, so that we are caught and swept away by negativity."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For myself, mindfulness has become a very useful tool when it comes to my emotions. Emotions are triggered by things that occur around us or memories that we experience. I have always been an emotional person, I experience my emotions very strongly. Through my life they have often debilitated me to the point that I couldn't get out of bed or they would consume me so much that I could not focus on anything else. I have learned how to allow myself to feel the emotions, to breathe them in completely, wallow in them if I need to, accept them and then to detach from them. They do not define who I am, they are only something I need to feel in order to truly experience what I need to so that I can process what is occurring in my life. This is by no means easy. I work with this every day. I practice it everyday. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some people need to learn how to calm different parts of their mind. It could be learning how to still the constant monologue that occurs while you are practicing yoga. It could be becoming aware of when you are constantly planning the future, that you are existing in the future so much that you forget how beautiful the moment of now can be.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Something powerful happens when you learn to control your thoughts. You learn to have compassion for yourself and others. You discover there is space in your life for peace. Listening becomes something you want to do. You begin to take responsibility for your own hang ups. And the biggest thing for me has been that I am learning to let go of having to control everything all of the time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sdKEMRdV7FA/Ue8E654kCHI/AAAAAAAAAPY/j2DDRC7505Y/s1600/MtDoug.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sdKEMRdV7FA/Ue8E654kCHI/AAAAAAAAAPY/j2DDRC7505Y/s320/MtDoug.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The sun turned bright red as it dipped behind the mountains and the moon rose serenely out the fog and into the azure blue of the sky. I couldn't help but think that this is what life is like. Sometimes we shine brightly and with great power like the July sun and other times we rise graciously and calmly knowing the power we hold exists deep within us, it need only be given a chance to shine. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As Mum and I walked down the mountain I felt so grateful for my life. These priceless moments, the hardships and the amazing people are so precious, I must have won the lottery in a past life.</span>Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-5433542639353880372013-07-02T08:48:00.000-07:002013-07-02T08:48:47.148-07:00Which Way?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
“Cheschire-Puss,” Alice began, rather timidly. “Would you tell me, please,
which way I ought to go from here?”</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></o:p> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said
the Cat.</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></o:p> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“I don’t much care where—“ said Alice.</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></o:p> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></o:p> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“—so long as I get somewhere.”</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></blockquote>
<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’ve spent my life—as many of us do—making plans as to what I will do next. Feeling in a panic if I don’t have the next step lined up. Worrying about failure or worse, looking like a failure to the outside world.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In this beautiful western world of abundance and choices,
sometimes there are just too many choices. We are inundated with ideas,
temptations, other people's opinions and success stories; we lose touch with what exists in our own
hearts.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;">I ask you to reflect on what happens when you make a decision that comes from your heart and what happens when you do something because you think you should. </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have noticed that when I make a firm decision with my mind and my heart in sync everything that needs
to happen just falls into place. When I make a decision
because I think I<b> should</b> do something, it is an upward battle the entire
way and it never really works out.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As I struggle with wanting to know which way I should go right now I have decided to become quiet. I have decided to become in touch with me. I have decided to carefully filter the opinions of others, to sift through all of the many choices I have and to find what sits right with me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What exists in your heart may seem too big or ridiculous or out of reach at the moment but if it's your path follow it. It will take you where you are supposed to go.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R6EnEKNOx_A/UdClKnwlS7I/AAAAAAAAAPI/FsEM4mbjzBo/s1600/PathToOcean.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R6EnEKNOx_A/UdClKnwlS7I/AAAAAAAAAPI/FsEM4mbjzBo/s320/PathToOcean.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-83275118498287885492013-06-25T08:59:00.001-07:002013-06-25T08:59:55.975-07:00Practice Brings Strength<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I lay on my back. Yoga towel underneath me. Knees bent. Feet on my mat. Hands on my stomach. Eyes closed. Letting my mind run away with all the thoughts and feelings I've been experiencing the last few days. Anger and sadness. Exhaustion.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Out of nowhere I hear Harmony's voice, breaking me out of my cloud of despair.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Juliana, what's going on? Keep going."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"I'm only doing half primary today." I whispered back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Why? What's wrong?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Nothing I'm just doing half primary today."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She gazed at me with her intense blue eyes and walked away.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I closed my eyes and started with little bridge. I pressed my feet into the mat, lifted my hips, drew my shoulder blades together. I took a deep breath. And then something came over me. I rolled up. Came down into chaturanga and continued into my next asana. And the next and the next until I had completed my entire practice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As I stood up and dropped back into back bends. I thought, if I can do this I can do anything.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Learning how to focus on one thing has given me the power to pull myself away from my brooding mind. Learning how to practice with intention and calmness, with grace and humility, with acceptance for what is has taught me how to forgive myself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If I can take my crazy thoughts and accept them for being there and then continue on with what I choose to do, if I can find one pointed focus during my practice then the rest of the day will be easy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In Paschimottanasana, a seated forward fold that is done after back bends, Harmony lay on top of my back and squished me, deepening the contrast from the back bends.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I whispered, "Thank you for questioning me."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She laughed quietly and said, "You're stronger than you think."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We are all stronger than we think are. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Strength resides in us all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-77773906707112786512013-06-17T09:46:00.000-07:002013-06-25T14:00:38.856-07:00Buddhism and Business<div class="MsoNormal">
The evening light streamed through the two-story windows. I
sat on my meditation blanket on the floor of my mum’s living room with four
other people. Eyes closed, I tried to focus on my breath. The light and the
tree branches made shadows behind my eyelids. A robin called outside. A fly buzzed
in the air above my head. Someone swallowed. A stomach rumbled. I was aware
that somewhere in the room there was a timer counting down the
seconds—slowly—for 20 minutes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I felt the pads of my finger and thumb press lightly
together. My toe rings dug into my foot uncomfortably. I shifted my seat. My
shoulders ached. I brought my awareness to them and tried to accept the
sensation. My mind wandered. How much time had passed? My mind focused on my
breath. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale… And somewhere a harp chimed. The 20
minutes were up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I opened my eyes. Just off to the right sat David, a man
with a buzz cut of white hair and very clear blue eyes. In the chair beside him sat his wife. On the floor next to me sat my mum and to her left was her friend.
We were gathered to share a meditation space and to hear David’s story of
Eastern philosophy and Western success.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 1994, David sold all his worldly possessions and moved to
a Buddhist monastery to live a life of poverty. He traded in a life of creature
comforts for meditation, a bed of wooden pallets, celibacy and one meal a day. For
three years he lived with monks and nuns. He helped them construct a new
meditation center. He ate gruel. He meditated. For three years he worked on
himself—I can only imagine how well he must have gotten to know his own mind. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On his return to Canada in 1997, David was broke. He had no
credit and nothing but an old Chevy to his name, but had the idea that he would
build a window-washing business from the ground up. Through coincidence or luck
or fate, David met with my mum the day he went in to apply for a business loan.
Seeing a power within him or peace, perhaps, she provided him with a small
business loan to fuel his vision.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Driving through upscale Victoria in his truck with rust up
to the door handles he met a man who would become his first client but not
without some resistance. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As David
approached the man on his property, the fellow responded in a way that seemed
rude. He informed David that soliciting in that area of town was not allowed
and to get off his property. However, as luck would have it, David found out
the homeowner was a very successful businessman, allowing David to appeal to a
kindred spirit. He asked the fellow how his salesmen found new business. The
homeowner responded that he would have them make cold calls. David answered that
was exactly what he was doing. The homeowner became his first client, which
quickly turned into a recurring contract to clean the windows of all his
storefront locations.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NlnFitjoGFk/UcoE1sBElRI/AAAAAAAAAOw/Tg4Xno-olj4/s1600/Padmasana3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NlnFitjoGFk/UcoE1sBElRI/AAAAAAAAAOw/Tg4Xno-olj4/s200/Padmasana3.JPG" width="149" /></a>As David’s company grew he began to hire employees and was
able to replace his rust-mobile with a fleet of new trucks. He had one
important condition that his employees had to observe—they had to recognize and
follow the Buddhist teaching of Ahimsa—to do no harm. This was to be adhered in their own lives right down to the lives of the insects that lived on the
windows that they washed. Each spider that they encountered was removed from
the window and placed out of harm’s way.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This astounded me. That a man would base his company on the
foundation of the Buddhist eightfold path. In a world where spiritual beliefs
can be construed as flaky, cult-like or dogmatic, David followed his path and
lived his truth.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It worked. David kept his employees for more than 10 years, which
is unheard of in a window-washing company, and just recently sold his business
to his manager. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I sat on the floor across from a man who exuded a calmness
and peace that I rarely see, I became <br />
inspired. My faith in my own practice
grew. The work I have been doing for the past five years has not been in vain. This
last year and a half of an intense practice of yoga and meditation where I have
felt like my entire soul has been ripped out and put in front of me to witness.
These last six months where I learn daily how I cope, how I communicate, how I
express my viewpoints. As I step into my new role as an entrepreneur, a
businesswoman, a yogi, these are lessons I carry with me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I looked across the room at David, as the sun dipped behind
the oak trees and felt refreshed to have been privileged to meet someone who
lives a life of humility and authenticity while being a successful entrepreneur.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-43969419965410831152012-08-05T16:43:00.000-07:002012-08-05T16:43:20.768-07:00Om Shantih, Shantih, Shantih.Oh, how life has dealt me some blows in the last few months.<br />
<br />
Through my tears, my sad faces, my anger I've managed to finally lay down a second a job and pick up some yoga classes to sub.<br />
<br />
And through those days where all I want to do is pull the covers over my head, I get up, sit on my cushion and practice my pranayama. Some days I get to the yoga shala. Some days it's a half practice. Some days my body aches. Some days I touch my fingers in Supta Kurmasana with my ankles crossed. There's progress even in the twilight - or maybe this is the sunrise. <br />
<br />
I find myself impatient with the human race. Someone pointed out to me that maybe I am simply observing my own impatience with myself. I opened my blue book this morning - my yoga book, where I write my yoga teachings - to read about the 6 enemies that cover the heart or the arishadvargas, according to Pattabhi Jois (as taught to me by my teachers, Jeff and Harmony Lichty).<br />
<br />
1) Kama - desire<br />
2) Krodha - anger<br />
3) Lobha - greed<br />
4) Moha - delusion<br />
5) Mada - pride<br />
6) Matsarya - jealousy<br />
<br />
Pattabhi Jois is quoted to have said, "these are not external enemies; but in fact, all our external enemies are born from the arishadvargas, from the internal enemies, so that what we have inside us, what our heart says, is what we are forced to see outside."<br />
<br />
So, for me this essentially means, what I see, what frustrates me, what saddens or angers me are mirror images of what exist inside of me - emotions that I need to let go of or become detached from.<br />
<br />
Pattabhi Jois also explained that these enemies are destroyed through chanting mantras and through the practice of surya namaskaras (sun salutations). The mantra he deemed the most important is the mantra from the Krsna Yajur Veda, which I refer to myself as the Bhadram mantra.<br />
<br />
<i>Om</i><br />
<i>Bhadram Karanedhih shrunuyaama devaah</i><br />
<i>Bhadram pashye-maakshabhir yajatraah</i><br />
<i>Sthirairangais tushtuvaagumsas tanubhih</i><br />
<i>Vyashema devahitam yadaayuh</i><br />
<i>Om Shanthi Shaantih Shaantih</i><br />
<br />
(There is more to the mantra but this is the part I learned while in TT and it is short enough for me to repeat three times in the morning before my pranayama.)<br />
<br />
It translates as,<br />
<i>"O gods, may we who are engaged in the pursuit of spiritual knowledge, hear only the auspicious with our ears, see only the auspicious with our eyes, not evil ones, please make my body strong and firm, so that I may have the power to speak only auspicious and divine things, and please make my words unwavering in their value." </i><br />
<br />
I've combined two translations that I have because this is how it sits with me and how I feel it when I repeat this to myself in the mornings.<br />
<br />
So this morning I tried to embark on the day with feeling no anger to any one person and above all to try to avoid reacting to anyone's emotions. I think it was successful, I had to remove myself from a situation once in order to not take someone's bad day personally but I left my job today with no resentment, no annoyance and no anger. <br />
<br />
It most definitely wasn't easy. But nothing's been easy lately. I might as well embrace it. I've heard that the faster or more easily someone climbs, the harder they fall. So maybe it's better that my climb is difficult. Maybe one day I will land softly.<br />
<br />
I hope everyone has a soft landing. <br />
<br />
Om. Shantih. Shantih. Shantih.<br />
<br />
Namaste.<br />
<br />Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-68742139807688218042012-06-08T16:40:00.001-07:002012-06-08T16:40:25.337-07:00Taking It Off The MatSomewhere in the last 5 months yoga has become something I try to do everywhere, especially away from my mat. I don't mean asanas. I mean developing a firm strong mind. I mean being compassionate, happy, strong at the hardest times. I mean actively thinking the opposite when a negative comment pops in my head. I mean when my brain starts to spin out of control, to focus on my breath. <br /><br />Oh my god this is not easy. Monday night I let myself crack. I sat on my living room floor bawling. And I don't mean no pretty Hollywood cry. I mean absolute grief and sadness. My brother came and literally picked me off the floor. It was symbolic I think. My little brother pulling me up. And the fact the entire time I was breaking down - Johnny Cash sang in the background - I felt like I was observing myself. I knew I just had to sit up, draw my shoulders back and take a deep breath but a part of me wanted this. Wanted to feel the pain physically. <br /><br />And now as I sit in my car waiting to go see a man about a job - again - I desperately want to curl up into a little ball and cry. But if I let my intellect be present it only makes me realize that I am feeling sorry for myself. I'm letting my mind get the best of me and I'm letting my ego be bruised. <br /><br />I just have to remember - as my teacher told me - one breath at a time, one step at a time. <br /><br /><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-16643739420099973002012-04-14T11:39:00.000-07:002012-04-14T11:39:19.931-07:00First Classes Successful!Wow, what a surreal experience. I taught two classes on Thursday to two separate PE 12 classes. First off, I don't think I've interacted with a teenager since I was in high school. Second, they are so much younger than I ever felt at that age! Third, they were there because they had to be so it was a little different then working with students in the mysore room who WANT to learn yoga.<br />
<br />
My first class was bumpy. I had nothing prepared - I didn't know what to prepare, any time I tried to write up a lesson plan I felt lost so I decided I would just teach what I practiced. Easier said than done when you've got 20 awkward teens trying to understand what you're telling them to do. It was so much easier walking my brothers through a class. I got a little lost and while I definitely kept my cool, I was unsure of myself and I finished the class 10 minutes early because my mind drew a blank. I discovered the students really liked the balancing poses, they had fun with them, they hated downward dog - so much grumbling and I must admit this intimidated me a little bit. I felt a little deflated after the first class but I gathered myself and took myself for a coffee armed with my David Swenson practice book and my notebook and made a lesson plan. I wrote down the asanas in groups of three so that I could easily repeat three asanas again if I needed to extend the time.<br />
<br />
For the second class I felt much more confident. I was prepared and ready. I took control of the class and joked about the complaining that a few of them did. I took my time getting them to poses. I added in Tree (Vrksana) and Warrior 3, which is similar to Balancing Stick in the Bikram class. I actually didn't have enough time to finish everything I planned to teach. I think that next time I will choose less postures and do them a couple times. I want to stay true to the Ashtanga system but I also feel as though kids, who are being essentially forced to try yoga, need a little different approach. I also need to find my footing as a teacher :)<br />
<br />
If I already noticed a huge difference between the first and second class, just imagine what is to come.Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-77183476297913653422012-04-11T20:00:00.000-07:002012-04-11T20:00:06.662-07:00YS 2:33I'm nervous. I feel like I did in university the night before a big exam. I am the type of student who studies right from the beginning. I don't cram. I can't. My brain will not process information that way and I get way too stressed out to retain any information. Tomorrow I lead my first class. I've been trying to study the asanas but I can't. I am full to the brim with information and right now anything that I read will not stay in. So I'm trying to chill out. Relax. I picked up my copy of Yoga Sutras and randomly opened it to Yoga Sutra 2:33.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Vitarka Baadhane Pratipaksha Bhavanam</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
When disturbed by negative thoughts, opposite (positive) ones should be though of. This is pratipaksha bhavana.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Fitting, I think.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Namaste.</div>Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-70642295116697971992012-04-10T21:14:00.000-07:002012-04-10T21:14:10.703-07:00Sirsasana, Tapas and FearFor the last week or so I am able to get up into headstand completely on my own, without Jeff or Harmony standing close by to catch me as my body wants to slam backwards onto the wood floors. I have no love for Sirsasana. It comes at the end of my practice when my body is tired and I just want to lay down in Savasana. Placing my forearms on my mat at the end of practice; cupping my head in my palms; becoming so focused that all I am doing is breathing and finding a lift in my core; lifting my legs straight up into the air as I press into my forearms and find strength in my shoulders takes every ounce of focus that I have. For at least a couple breaths I think of nothing except breathing and lifting. My brain always manages to intervene on this intense moment by freaking out a little and going WTF are you doing here upside down! But I feel - proud, is not quite the right word - accomplished, is maybe a little better. I have been putting in the effort and it is showing. <br />
<br />
One of the Niyamas that Patanjali lists in his Yoga Sutras is Tapas. Tapas are a form of austerity or self discipline. Tapas literally means heat and implies effort. Tapas help lead us to self mastery (<a href="http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/YamasNiyamas.pdf">Himalayan Institute</a>). I feel as though every day since the beginning of January, I have been performing my tapas. Every morning I wake and practice my pranayama, given to me by my teachers. I chant before my pranayama - to some people this may sound strange, weird, crazy but it focuses me. It gives meaning to my daily routine of pranayama. It is acknowledgement to the greatness that exists all around us - within us. It is truly a moment in my day where I simply sit with myself. This focus on one of the Niyamas (observances) within the 8 limbs of Yoga is giving me a strength I didn't know existed within me.<br />
<br />
This strength is being tested. On Thursday I teach my first yoga class to a Grade 12 PE class. Part of me is freaking the fuck out - when I let myself. But I'm noticing a different part of myself that is becoming detached from this emotion - a part of myself that is acknowledging this emotion and trying really hard to just move on. (Much easier said then done but this self is trying.) I am also being given a brand new opportunity for work and this is making me extremely uncomfortable. It is a risk - financially but mainly for my ego. I feel as though I am trying to stand on my head in Sirsasana and Jeff or Harmony may or may not be there. There may be someone to catch me if I lean too far in one direction and there may not. The key thing is that I need to trust my own self - my own strength - my own inner light. Sirsasana "literally turns your world upside down" <a href="http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/178">(Yoga Journal</a>) and probably helps you deal with the comfortable life you're used to living being shaken up and jostled about.<br />
<br />
So between Sirsasana, Tapas and Fear, my yoga practice is lending a most welcome helping hand to this so called life of mine. I am eternally grateful for my practice, my teachers and the life that I have.<br />
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<b>*Disclaimer*</b> In absolutely no way has this new found trust in my yoga been easy. It's taken me months to even venture forth and share any of what I've been exploring in the last few months on this page again. This practice brings up a lot of crap - internal crap, external crap and just plain old crap. It tests you, it teases you, it picks you up and hugs you and then promptly spits you back out again. But it's teaching me to trust my self, to love my self and to be my self with no expectations.Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-85832557292960368262012-03-23T18:18:00.000-07:002012-03-23T18:18:47.172-07:00Infinity and Constant Change<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Life has been a consistent stir of change lately. Feelings grabbing me and shaking me around. Jobs being insecure. Pranayama practice bringing me deeper - to what? Seasons changing. Sun coming out and making me hot. Vivid dreams. Random meetings of people I haven't seen in ages. Being surrounded by people who get what I'm learning and experiencing. Being surrounded by people who don't - understanding that it's all personal. Having a shift in what I enjoy doing in my downtime - reading the Yoga Sutras before going to bed. Going vegetarian. Feeling older yet younger and more vulnerable at the same time. Wondering what has brought me to this point - is it all Karma? Trying to grasp for something tangible yet feeling as though what I am searching for is elusive and I should go with the flux and ebb of life. Beginning to believe I've lived before. Feeling as though I'm finally discovering what I've wanted to understand for years. Having no clue how to discuss any of it. It is simply happening to me and I feel this deep inner change occurring within me. Deeper than my brain. It's happening in my core.</div>
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Becoming aware that life is not about something holding you up - being reliant on one thing. It's about holding yourself up and being fluid within the change that is happening within your life. Accepting change and surrendering to the power that exists within yourself and all around you. Having faith. "It's all happening." It's constantly happening. Constantly shifting. Constantly evolving. Focusing on being brave and shinning bright while my whole world is shaking up around me.</div>
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<br /></div>Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-85097119744772163042012-03-01T12:36:00.003-08:002012-03-01T12:36:39.140-08:00Yoga Sutra 1:33<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Hello lovelies, it's been a while since I've even thought about venturing into this part of the web. Since beginning my yoga training in January, I have learned so much or I guess more precisely I have been given so much knowledge and I am slowly letting it sink in. I have been practicing 6 - 7 days a week and am in training Friday evenings, all day Saturday and all day Sunday.</div>
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I have also been struggling with letting go of this so called control we have over lives. Yes, I can make choices as to what I do but if I learn to quiet my mind and listen to my heart these decisions seem to be a lot easier to make. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali have opened my eyes, my mind to many different thoughts.</div>
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Yoga sutra 1:33 is one that I think we should all follow, that would make our own lives a lot easier.</div>
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<i>Maitrii karunaa muditopeksaanaam sukha </i></div>
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<i>duhka punyaapunyaa visayaanam </i></div>
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<i>bhaavanaatash citta prasadanam.</i></div>
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By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy,</div>
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compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous,</div>
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and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff</div>
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retains its undisturbed calmness.</div>
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My interpretation of this is to celebrate with those who are happy - be happy for them. Show compassion to those who are having a hard time or are unhappy. Appreciate the virtuous that you may encounter - try to learn from them. And the last one and most important for me to remember in my own life - ignore those who do no good, who are cruel or wicked. There is no sense in getting angry or trying to share some of your own thoughts with them, most likely they will not listen. It is a waste of your own precious energy, it disturbs your mind and only causes you stress and unhappiness. </div>
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</div>Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-91803079314953255942012-02-05T17:03:00.000-08:002012-02-05T17:03:05.116-08:00It's In My Blood<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Mum told me this morning that she practiced prenatal yoga with me while she was pregnant as well as post natal yoga with me as a baby.</div>
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I wonder if this is why I feel so at home on the mat?</div>Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-69619004319021839862012-01-31T08:40:00.000-08:002012-01-31T08:40:59.904-08:00Self Doubt<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
We all doubt ourselves on a daily basis. Did I speak to my boss in an annoyed tone? Did I make the right decision in going to law school? Did I leave the oven on when I left the house? They can be huge situations in which we doubt ourselves or tiny little nagging thoughts that represent a part of us that may be forgetful, scared or lazy. This doubt is one obstacle that is placed in front of us when we have a practice. Whether this practice be a yoga practice, a musical practice, a pranayama practice, a writing practice or a painting practice. When we doubt ourselves we are less inclined to practice. </div>
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In Sri Swami Satchidananda's translation of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sutra 1:30, it is stated that doubt is one the 9 obstacles that may restrict us from practicing. I see this doubt as doubt of the self. Doubt that what you are choosing to practice is not good enough or that you are not good enough, not smart enough, not flexible enough, not fast enough. </div>
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I had this thought the other day in training during a discussion about Sankhya and Vedantic philosophy. There we were all seated on cushions making notes in our books about Indian philosophy and I swear I felt like a deer caught in the headlights. Words like monoism, dualism, Prakrti and Pushura bouncing off the walls and around my mind. Trying to catch just a little bit of the conversation while it seemed that everyone else was having an easier time grasping the concept. I gave up trying to follow the discussion at one point and my mind started berating me - informing me that I wasn't good enough to go through this training program that I would never understand Yoga philosophy and why in the hell did I even have a Yoga practice, what was the point? I came home absolutely exhausted - mentally wasted.</div>
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The following day we discussed Sutra 1:30 and I felt clearer. It was like this heaviness had been lifted from me. I realized that this training that I am doing is an extension of my practice - an expansion of Yoga that takes me off of my mat and I was allowing my mind to distract me from my practice.</div>
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So, practice. Practice your writing. Practice your musical scales. Practice your yoga. Practice your singing. Practice your gardening. Don't stop. Don't doubt. Question but please don't listen to that nagging voice of doubt. Listen to your heart.</div>
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P.S. Bind in Mari D successful 2 days in a row! Heeheee!</div>
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<br /></div>Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-61193874552999456302012-01-30T17:47:00.000-08:002012-01-30T17:47:02.136-08:00Yogas Citta Vrtti NirodhahThis morning I found a mantra that works for me. Whenever my mind started wandering during my practice, I repeated to myself, Yogas citta vrtti nirodhah - To restrain the whirl pools of the mind is yoga (Yoga Sutra 1:2). It simply popped into my head while I was practicing and it is the one Yoga Sutra of Pantanjali that I have been able to remember in Sanskrit.<br />
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As soon as my mind wandered to what I had to do during the day - what we were going to have for dinner, work, yoga training, my lack of a career, my inability to bind in Marichyasana D - I repeated this in my mind with real conviction and belief. Now to say that this worked is just me telling you it did but I have actual proof. As I reached Marichyasana D I kept repeating my mantra while slightly smiling so that I was focused and in a decent frame of mind. I went into the asana with no expectation on the second side and what do you know I actually was able to clasp each hand, bind and hold the asana for 7 breaths without an inkling of pain in my right ankle! I can tell you that at that moment I broke into a real, genuine smile - it was a moment of pure bliss. The moment I chose to let go and just be was when what I have been striving for actually surfaced.<br />
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Now we'll see if I can do it tomorrow :-)<br />
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Namaste.Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-54393569207751079092012-01-26T08:50:00.000-08:002012-01-26T08:50:18.811-08:00Smile<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Today I smiled through my practice. I tried to invite love into my practice and tried to send love into my self. When the going got tough, I smiled. I lifted the corners of my lips ever so slightly and breathed. The lift that I physically created in my face helped lift my core, my chest and my spirit.</div>
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When I reached Mari D - which nearly brought me to tears yesterday - I had a little pep talk with my self and the yoga. I decided that I was going to choose to love Mari D, no matter what it looked like or felt like on any given day. There will be no more forcing, no more roughness. There will be no more dislike of the asana - I don't think that negative energy is helping my right hip, knee or ankle release any faster - there will be no more impatience. I will be gentle, I will accept it for what it is and I will smile and breathe.</div>
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Namaste.</div>
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<br /></div>Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-3414872970696095352012-01-24T08:41:00.000-08:002012-01-24T08:41:48.747-08:00Gentle Breath<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
It was lovely to be back in a class setting this morning. The sound of others breathing, the movement of peoples bodies and the smell of the subtle incense helped me to find my focus.</div>
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Three words that Jeff said to me this morning that I will try to bring forward into my practice everyday.</div>
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Breathe.</div>
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Smile.</div>
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Gentle.</div>
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Gentle. </div>
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Smile. </div>
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Breathe.</div>
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Smile. </div>
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Gentle.</div>
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Breath.</div>
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Breath.</div>
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Gentle.</div>
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Smile.</div>Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-19730634051278338162012-01-22T22:36:00.000-08:002012-01-22T22:36:39.405-08:00Short Update<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
It's like I'm being tested this last week and a half. After the welcome yet overwhelming information last weekend, I have been unable to get to the yoga studio. The first couple days were out of choice, I was happy to be home. Then the following days were a struggle. It was snowy and icy and I did not want to drive. Then finally on Saturday, I was excited to start my week with a full primary led class on Sunday. But I went to start my car on Saturday to head downtown and my car was dead. So instead of practicing this morning at the studio, I did a very short practice of the opening series and the closing series before I dealt with getting my car to the mechanic.</div>
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My asana practice may have been a little wonky this week but I'm learning the peace invocations, I can almost chant them from memory. And my introduction to pranayama has continued. Nothing to complain about, really, it's just different. I am really looking forward to walking into the studio on Tuesday.</div>Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-32987922112359018562012-01-20T11:27:00.001-08:002012-01-20T11:27:34.595-08:00PJ YogaI practiced in my pajamas this morning. I made no promises that I would complete my full practice. I simply started with the sun salutations and allowed myself the choice of whether or not I wanted to do the next asana. It worked. It took the pressure off. It kept me focused. The practice of chanting and pranayama was still there but it was as though it was casual Friday. <br />Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-63771024179760501172012-01-19T10:29:00.000-08:002012-01-19T10:29:36.193-08:00And Now The Other Side<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
I haven't been to the yoga studio since Sunday. Normally - when Victoria has not been hit by snow and there is no ice on the roads and I don't have to sweep snow off my car at 5:30 in the morning - I would have gone to two morning mysore classes by Thursday. This morning, I did not want to do anything. I enjoyed my chanting and my preparation for pranayama - probably because they are so new - but my asana practice was rough. The entire time, from my first Surya Namaskr, my mind would not shut the hell up. It just kept trying to convince me that I did not want to practice. This is when being in a class with other people and a teacher is so very helpful. There's peer pressure to keep moving, to keep going. I closed right before Marichyasana A. I was done. I rested in child's pose after Savasana, that seemed to help ground me.</div>
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So whereas <a href="http://yogadaze.blogspot.com/2012/01/why-i-love-my-practice.html">yesterday</a> I was in love with the fact that I could create my own practice in my own living room without the need for a teacher. Today would have been the perfect day to have someone gently coax me forward.</div>
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There's always two sides to the story.</div>Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-51416515700967917832012-01-18T10:36:00.000-08:002012-01-18T10:52:27.835-08:00Why I Love My Practice<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
As I inhaled, held my legs firmly together, lifted my hips, kept my toes firmly planted on the ground and my gaze (dristi) rested on the tip of my nose I realized I'd forgotten two standing poses. Two! Utthita Hasta Pandangussthasana and Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana slipped away from my practice as I gazed out the window at the waving trees and the blowing snow.</div>
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This is the beauty of a personal practice. You are your own teacher. You are forever responsible for keeping your mind in the present moment. There is no voice to remind you which asana comes next. There is no teacher gently calling you back into the room. There are no other bodies to watch and compare yourself to. You need to be fully present and aware of each movement, each breath or you will forget asanas and possibly lose your balance and fall on your ass.</div>
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This is why I am falling in love with the traditional Ashtanga yoga method, the mysore method. I practice a few days a week in a yoga room full of people who are in all sorts of different stages of their asana practice. Some start at 6 am, some at 7:30. Some are just beginning and are learning the sequence of the poses and spend time working with the teaching. Some are working right through the primary series and have been given a pranayama practice. The teacher walks around the room observing and assisting. Sometimes encouraging students with physical assistance, sometimes by voice alone. The yoga room always feels peaceful yet is never quiet. You hear people breathing, mats squeaking, feet sticking to the wood floors. Sometimes the room thunders when someone falls from an arm balancing pose. It is a perfect example how silence and sound can exist in harmony. </div>
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I feel welcome whenever I walk in. I am greeted by the teacher, whether it be a smile as they help someone twist into an asana or a pat on the back and how are you today. Some days I get many corrections, many assists in poses. Some days I am left completely alone except for a voice from the other side of the room telling me to lift my heart as I stretch forward.</div>
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The days that I don't get myself to the yoga studio, I practice in my living room. This is especially useful on days when the weather is so gross out I don't want to leave the house. The mysore method has taught me that I am able to practice yoga anywhere I can. I have learned to remember what I was told in the studio. I have been able to become more aware of myself. I am able to take the peace and tranquility that I find in a led class or a mysore class and bring it right into my very own living room. This is a gift that I would never trade for the world. The gift of self discovery and practice. The gift of learning how to find your own peace. I am truly grateful to be a student of yoga and to be consistently learning and growing within my self.</div>Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-9400984322524689912012-01-17T21:08:00.000-08:002012-01-17T21:08:35.936-08:00Adding To The Practice<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Yesterday I began adding a few practices to my morning yoga practice. I wake up and on an empty stomach I practice <a href="http://www.allgoodthings.com/yoga/postures/nauli.html">Uddhiyana Bandha Kriya</a>, <a href="http://subodh-gupta.wrytestuff.com/swa38959.htm">Kapalbhati</a> and <a href="http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/2487">Nadi Shodhana</a>. Then I drink some water and chant the peace invocations in Sanskrit, preferably 3 times each.</div>
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I love the chanting. I think I love it so much because I love learning new languages and Sanskrit sounds so beautiful when it is pronounced correctly. We went over the proper pronunciation of Sanskrit letters on Sunday so I think I'm getting the hang of it. </div>
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The breathing exercises are another story. Uddhiyana Bandha Kriya, I seem to understand. Kapalbhati is more difficult. Where it is similar to the Kapalbhati that is done at the end of a Bikram class there are some subtle differences. First of all you exhale through your nose, the mouth is closed and the contraction in your stomach comes from the lower belly just above your pubic bone. It helps to engage the Mula Banddha as you are pumping the lower belly. This definitley requires more finesse. Finding and activating my lower belly is tough but it is like any practice, I just have to keep trying. Nadi Shodhana is simple in theory but when one of your nostrils is plugged every morning, it definitely makes the practice more challenging. Apparently placing a rolled up t shirt under your opposite arm will help unplugged the nostril. This still hasn't worked for me.</div>
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What I love most about all of this, is that suddenly my yoga practice is no longer just an asana practice. I have been studying the yamas and niyamas, I've started reading the Bhagavad-Gita, I am learning some of the Yoga Sutras, the one I can remember in Sanskrit - Yoga Citta Vrtti Nirodha, Yoga is the practice of channeling the whirlpool of the mind, ego and intellect. The saying that yoga is not just about the physical is beginning to make sense to me - I'm starting to believe it.</div>
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But as Sri Pattabhi Jois says, "Whole life is practice. That is method." We should never forget our practice. Whatever it may be.</div>Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-36879790349100136542012-01-15T17:07:00.000-08:002012-01-15T17:07:37.023-08:00Absorption<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Two full days of yoga philosophy, text and pranayama. I am overwhelmed, ecstatic, exhausted and desperately trying to absorb all that I've heard and read in the last 14 hours of discussion. We are chanting the yoga sutras. Chanting the peace invocations. Learning Sanskrit letters and pronunciation. And sitting. Sitting a lot.</div>
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Here is one of the peace invocations that I really love.</div>
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<b>Om. Asato Maa Sadgamaya.</b></div>
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<b>Tamaso Maa Jyotirgamaya.</b></div>
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<b>Mrutyormaamrutam Gamaya.</b></div>
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<b>Om. Shantih. Shantih. Shaantih.</b></div>
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Om. From the unreal lead me to the Real.</div>
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From darkness lead me to light.</div>
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From death lead me to immortality.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Om. Peace. Peace. Peace.</span></div>Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-4393524073594224312012-01-12T10:40:00.000-08:002012-01-12T10:40:24.035-08:00Mari D - Success!<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
This morning I successfully grasped my opposite fingers while my left leg was in lotus, my right leg bent up close to my chest, my torso twisted to the right, my right arm wrapped around my back and my left arm wrapped around my bent right leg. </div>
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With the sound of Jeff's voice across the practice room urging me on, I
was finally able to hook my finger tips and then pull my hands
together. It felt amazing. Like I'd climbed Mt. Everest.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thesecretsofyoga.com/ashtanga/MARICHYASANA-D.html">Via</a></td></tr>
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<br /></div>Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-22038397665322914792012-01-11T15:20:00.000-08:002012-01-11T15:20:32.178-08:00To Take or Not To Take<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
My right shoulder has been bothering me lately and I'm not sure why because during my practice I notice no pain or discomfort. I told my teacher yesterday morning. He looked at me with all seriousness, OK here's what we should do. He took a deep breath, I felt a little intimidated. Let me know if this offends you in any way. OK, what the hell is he going to ask me to do? I had images of rubbing stinky oils on my shoulder (which I would do), or buying strange herbs (I would try that too). I want you to take ibuprofen with dinner for a week and see if we can bring the inflammation down. You've moved through your practice quickly since you've started, the body is probably tired. Ibuprofen!? Sure, I'll take that stuff! I have a bottle on my bedside table!</div>
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I had to chuckle to myself because I know some people would never dream of taking something like ibuprofen or aspirin. Me? I have no problem with it. </div>Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-518299391593588301.post-44749676913023512202012-01-10T09:14:00.000-08:002012-01-10T09:14:56.035-08:00Bringing Life To What's Around You<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
I am currently reading Writing Down the Bones by <a href="http://www.nataliegoldberg.com/">Natalie Goldberg</a>. LW gave this to me a year, maybe two, ago and I read some of it but lost interest. Since I've kept up a pretty steady writing practice on here I decided to pick it up again and I'm devouring it. </div>
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In her chapter, Be Specific, Natalie writes, 'When we know the name of something, it brings us closer to the ground. It takes the blur out of our mind; it connects us to the earth. If I walk down the street and see "dogwood," "forsythia," I feel more friendly toward the environment. I am noticing what is around me and can name it. It makes me more awake.'</div>
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And that, my friends, is exactly how I felt when I learned all of the native herb, shrub and tree species of British Columbia. Suddenly, all those green bushes that surrounded me had a name. They had different characteristics. They grew where they did because they were meant to. It wasn't just a fluke. For instance, now when I see a Spruce tree (on Vancouver Island) I know that the ground in which it is growing is generally moist. I know that when I see Horsetail, we've got a water issue. I know that Ocean Spray likes dry, rocky soil and I know that Salmon Berry seeds can lay dormant for 50 years, patiently waiting for a tree to fall so they can receive enough light in order to sprout.</div>
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I remember the world took on a new light when I realized that everything around me was so unique in nature. Fabric, the hair on people's heads, the clouds in the sky and every single person that crosses our path. We are all unique and special in our own little ways. I needed that gentle reminder today.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://namethatplant.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/watermark_950.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://namethatplant.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/watermark_950.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ocean spray or Holodiscus discolor</td></tr>
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<br /></div>Julianahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17142920440772296933noreply@blogger.com0