Keep Calm

This is what I tell myself right now. But all I want to do is run and jump and play and go shopping and hang out with friends and family and eat and drink and be merry. Ahh!!! It's the holidays and I miss and love everyone that I miss and love.

And we have 1.5 days of work left. So I have to buckle down.

A bit.

And I even wish I had more presents to buy or wrap, so I'm thinking of things to keep me in the merry spirit. Although I have been only living in it! Xmas music during sadhana every morning, during every drive to the gym, store or yoga...I'm in it dear sir.

I am just excited and trying to use brahmacharya to maintain the senses.....

PRACTICE practice practice.

Do the yamas and the niyamas ever get old?

Pun intended.

Love and be merry.

From someone who is soon to be married!

-Me.

It's Friday

And that means we get a release from the week of work! And the gift is a lightness and a freedom. And having the girls over for a sleepover. Woop!

Today I received this quote:

"A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song."

-Chinese Proverb 1831-1881.

A good quote to remember...let's all give what we're here to give. We don't need to solve the worlds problems! Just do our part. And do what we love. Cuz they go together.

LOVE.

On healing...

"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease."

—Attributed to
Thomas Edison

"I make the most of all that comes.

And the least of all that goes."

-Sara Teasdale (1884-1933)

This quote has stuck with me since I came across it. Only to recently research a bit more about its author. Turns out Sara was a poet who suffered from poor health most of her life. Her fate may have been dark, but her words, these words, prove a good reminder to me in how to face the waves in life.

With a smile.

:)

Satya

Truth in our hearts and our beings. This week's practice is with satya, the second nama or restraint in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. And I can't help but love even the written word! It's beautiful, inside and out. To me, this practice of satya reminds me to be honest with myself in my heart. What really matters to me? What is superficial and what is real? What will make my heart happy? What will help people? What will positively affect those that I love? There are so many ways to instill satya into your self. I have been doing it via chanting and reciting it as mantra (word or group of words capable of creating transformation).

Since the first half of Yoga Therapy training I have been waking up at 6am, meditating from 6:30-7 and doing asana from 7-8. The asana flows from what I feel I "need" with a few "regulars" that my body appreciates and a bunch of other asana/kriya that my body needs on a given day at a given time. So when I practice the asana I feel as though I'm creating space in my body, within my cells that constitute my bones, breath, blood, skin, ligaments, tendons...and within that space I place the intention of satya.

I want to instill that feeling of truthfulness in my heart as a "part" of me, as a physical and spiritual part of who "I" am. And really, who I am is really that which connects to everyone..that which we are all. A higher being, a higher love (no intended Steve Winwood props). And that is what makes me feel closer to the truth. It's almost a circle of truth. It takes me practicing to get in touch with that truth, and this truth is the universal truth upon which all beings connect. And it is from that truth that the world moves. I just like connecting to the source. It makes me feel pure. Like a big ball of light. It reminds me of what we all already know.

Which brings me to my job as a yoga teacher.

To remind people of what we already know.

Love.

Ahimsa

Non-violence. Practice this. (I'm talking to myself.) This weekend I felt I was doing things that were rude or not fair or my nicest self. And I have no idea why! I catch myself after the fact not acting out of my true nature or my highest self. For what reason? I have no idea. To be a brat I guess. It's too bad. So I find myself today with the mantra "ahimsa" or non-violence in sanskrit. I am trying to forgive myself for having behaved this way. And it's extremely difficult. I'm basically sitting around feeling bad, and only time can improve this. Which I know.

Perhaps I could have avoided the constant mantram today. Yep, if I was constantly practicing this yama (discipline). Many times people think it's ahimsa against other people, animals, etc. My most difficult practice is with myself. Giving myself a break for being human. And not even letting that be an excuse! Yes we are human, but we are all of a higher consciousness that connects to every living thing. Including yourself and your heart. You are lucky enough to be a part of this higher world, and just as much a part as anybody else. Don't forget it. Practice it if it helps to remember.

Repeat the mantra 9 times, as many times a day as needed. Say it under your breath or repeat it silently as you put away the dishes or make a phone call, take the puppy out, etc. It works, I'm telling ya. :)

Satya

The truth. The truth for you every day as well as throughout your life. Your sva-dharma or limitations for any length of time. Your straight-up dharma is, to me, more of the life-long path. Work within your sva-darma or limitations for today or for this week. In a posture as "mainstream" as trikonasana (triangle pose), I always have to honor my truth and I don't really get too deep in this posture. I attempt in teaching to help practitioners to see that they may not have to go so deep to feel the stretch in the back of the front leg and the twist in the torso. People see trikonasana with hands at the ankle or on the floor and want to mimic the posture as opposed to working with the posture to stretch, lengthen and strengthen. It's all good, unless of course you want to continually build and improve upon your base knowledge of yoga, both body and mind.

Take it slow. Focus on alignment. Feel.

And have fun!!

Inversions!

Tons of em today. I am working with an Anusara book and trying new sequences, one "group" or session per week. Luckily this week's was only one page long and took about 1/2 hour...mainly because this "week" didn't start until today. And it's Wednesday.

Pincha Mayurasana, sirsasana, handstand, 50 variations of each, sarvangasana to halasana with 100 variations. I exaggerate. But whatever, it was cool. Only when you have to do you do that much inversions. This year has definitely been the one in which I've stood on my head or hands the most. What does that mean?

My heart needs to be above my head more than it was before. And that's for damn sure.

I practice to teach and teach for myself

Ever thought about what we can control and tangibly feel versus what we cannot control and that which is intangible to us? Of course. Well what then, do we make of this? What level of importance do we give to the subtle? There are few locations phsycially, spiritually, mentally where we can access this subtle body. For me, this has been when I am at peace, inside and out (since outward peace is reflective of inward). That occurs to me with regular meditation and asana practice. I get up in the mornings, take a green drink (thanks Tony Robbins) and head upstairs to my little personal altar. After taking my mala, the rudraksha beads that sit next to my skin, I sit. Then I chant. And I physically demonstrate my thankfulness (umm or gratitude) for my entire being. I am so darn lucky, which I can save for another post. After my Ganesha and Mercury mantras I delve into more customary Sivananda mantras and offer simply spiritual appreciation and connectedness, bhakti yoga. Then comes the asana. I play around for a while with whatever feels good and work though an Anusara book of postures to build new "sets" for my weekly hot vinyasa class. Private clients and students from the local high school benefit as well! I practice asana for them, all of them. And I teach for myself. I read that idea recently from a teacher in yoga journal and it speaks very true. My practice is to teach and my teaching is for myself.

So, where was I going. Oh yeah, I can only access this part of myself, this true nature, my dharma, path, my heart, via the avenues mentioned above. Believe me, I've tried searching without myself and it just takes a whole buncha time and money. And annoyance.

Darn my puppy is cute.

Peace out!!

Clean & New

Seane Corn and Cora Wen. In the same weekend. Some kinda crazy intense fun amazing stuff with Seane Corn in Virginia Beach who I've wanted to meet and work with for years. And who has been coming up to me from various people in my life for some time. And then Yoga Therapy with Cora Wen back in the hometown. It's awesome how things come to you when you need them. Like adding our first foxtrot class last night. Thanks Universe. Jeeze I'm the luckiest.

Did I also mention that I have an amazing gorgeous boyfriend and a puppy who is a little piece of heaven? Cuz I do. Shoot, I'm doing something right. We just got finished with a week-long cleanse. Yeah, ouch. Except it really wasn't that bad. Doing it with my partner was really nice, sharing and supportive. And so you can always expect a cleanse to brings out a bunch of feelings and things and then whoosh, they wash away. But this time it was different being so busy during the week and doing it with E. And I didn't really get to acknowledge or really process what was coming up. So this week it's creeping up. And E doesn't understand or believe in that part of a cleanse, perhaps it's not for everyone. It rings true to me. And it happened, just later this time. So this week has been "clearing". The cleanse brought up some things that had been bottling up inside and now, afterwards, am I able to process them. I needed a little time "not" talking about what was on my mind. Just processing time. Which is all good, and actually pretty comforting. Quiet time can be very healing. Now I feel a bit more healed, and now things are clearer, which is probably why I'm writing about it!

I am a huge proponent for getting to the bottom of everything. I don't like to leave things buried and not addressed. This week, however, I learned that not all these things can be dealt with right away. Processing takes time, and time is our friend. Time shows us what we want to know. It's a difficult way for those of us impulsive or impatient fiery pitta/Aries girls. But what the hell, it's sure worth it.

And then you get the gifts of love of your favorite people and new journeys to practice yoga with the best! Thank you thank you.

Universe.

And E, my partner, for letting me go through stuff and supporting me all the way.

Liftoff

Sometimes life takes on this crazy when it rains it pours kind of pace.

That would be now:)

All good I would add! And usually it is. That is not to say it offers its own special challenges. And so what to do? The same stuff, but more of it. Centering, breathing, meditating, mantra, asana, yoga living.

The best is chanting the Ganesha mantra with our brand new puppy yesterday morning. She went ape! For good reason.

So here's the thing: Liftoff. Things going into full-fledge mode. In life, and on the mat. Or perhaps better said that when it happens in life please for the love of all things good take it onto the mat. (Me talking to me here.) Which takes me to pushing an edge or trying something new. The newest thing I did in yoga asana wasn't necessarily a new pose, but a maneuver for lack of a way nerdier word. Just turning from reverse warrior (or triangle) into half-moon (traditional not Bikram) by turning and facing the back of the room where I was leaning toward for reverse warrior. It's just a little flip. Was fun.

Students also get a kick out of kriyas using hanumanasana, just sayin. The best thing about being a yoga teacher is practicing on your own and creating things that you aren't sure were done before, and then sharing them. Like kneeling on one knee with the other in front of you as if you're going to step up and standing on the one let lifting the other into the air for standing hanumanasa. Then put your hands in prayer mudra and continue. Right on.

Going to rock out with Seane Corne this weekend for a few hours. Why? Cuz I'm ridiculously lucky. I'm sure she'll take me to that next place, that next step or kriya or asana. Then I get to share it with my students. Win-win. (Also a good movie we just saw with Paul Giamatti. Speaking of, the Warrior was an outstanding film.:)

Much love to the world! Spread it. Today.

Nature Curing Nature & People Curing People

Dear Hurricane Irene,

I know a lot of people were scared of you, me included, but I have to say I get what you did. The big you, the earth Mother, nature. Like three things you did, really.

First, we sure needed some rain, what with months of burning forest along the Outer Banks. And also, the leaves on the trees were going to fall off soon for fall anyway, so you were almost just aiding the process. The power outages definitely lead to some real quality time spent by families together without the noise of the world. And those of us that evacuated and were lucky enough to do so with the ones we love got a cuddly weekend away because of you.

Then there were all the people that came out to help others. Cut down a neighbor's humongous tree trunk so that they could get into their driveway. Help clear branches and leaves, broken class, from the yard so that kids can play. Sweep up debris so that at least a mom can look out her porch and see a bit of peace! Even spending time with kids so that they have something fun to do helps people out.

Finally, you are a stark reminder that this is really just stuff. I know that people lost a lot of things that they put their energy and time into building, into making their surroundings comfortable and livable and happy. And it made me sad to see their faces when it was (almost) ruined. And it takes one to know one. Shoot, I love living in a place filled with beauty and love, a place put together, a home. It puts me at ease and helps maintain peace, inside and out. It's just that if all else goes, that is just stuff. We are lucky enough to be safe and have the love of our people and animals and beings.

Nature curing nature. People helping people. Well if that isn't yoga off the mat I simply don't know what is.

Peace.

And I just realized the title of this post is redundant. Awesome.

:)

Viniyoga...what IS that?

Yeah, seriously.

According to the American Viniyoga Institute it's a trademark name for the comprehensive yogic pathways (asana, pranayama, bandha, sound, chanting, meditation, personal ritual and study). The prefixes vi and ni plus yoga is an ancient Sanskrit term that implies differentiation, adaptation and appropriate application. From what I understand (shh) it was created by Gary Kraftsow whose approach evolved from the teachings transmitted by T. Krishnamacharya and T.K.V. Desikachar of Madras, India.

What's up in the September Yoga Journal

There is a pretty cool set of poses in the following sequence. I'd like to try em! Not with my private (yoga session) today, though. To each their own, and this set is definitely better geared toward a limber or just open yogi(ini).

• Malasana (squat pose)
• Marichyasana I (one legged forward fold)
• Baddha Konasana (cobbler's pose)
• Upavistha Konasana (wide angle forward fold on ground)
• Kurmasana (tortoise pose) - go from upavistha konasana to sliding hands underneath legs. Look like a 5-pointed star! Torso through chin on earth. Knees pointing up to sky.

Isometrics - food for thought.

Well it's the opposite of food. Since it's about working out. But anyway I've heard this word forever, and would really love to know its "true" definition. I say the "true" like that because I'm looking online for answers. C'est la vie. My mom used to do these types of exercises in front of the TV when I was little. Then there was the pilates craze, of which I was a part. And now (well always but now for the public) yoga. So I thought they were just flexing and holding your muscle strength without full extension or contraction of a joint. Is that right? I don't know, so I looked at wikipedia.

From what I understand, there are isometric exercises and dynamic exercises. While dynamic exercises are slightly better than isometric exercises at enhancing the twitch force of a muscle, isometrics are significantly better than dynamic exercises at increasing maximal strength at the joint angle.

There are also overcoming and yielding isometric. Yielding is when the joint and muscle are in a static position held by resistance. An example of this is a bench press when you're holding the bar at a given spot even though you could go higher (or lower) and you're "feeling" the burn. In yielding isometric, one is pressing the exact amount of pressure necessary to negate the resistance, neither falling below or above it. Overcoming is when the joint and muscle are up against an immovable force. An example would be pressing the bar up into some type of resistance contraption that prevent you from pushing any higher (could be the length of your arms). In overcoming isometric, one can continue to exert more and more force, but the "bar" won't move.

Isometric exercises:

• Are a type of strength training in which the joint angle and muscle length do not change during contraction.
• Are static exercises that typically use the body's own structure and ground for resistance.

Healing Energy and Love

There is an abundance of healing energy and love to be sent to those in need. I have been sending all of mine to the wives, children, parents and other loved ones of the heroes from the tragedy in Afghanistan on Saturday. August 5, 2011, the single deadliest day for American trooops in Afghanistan since the "war" began. Over thirty servicemen, Navy Seals and others, left their bodies that day in war. War times. Their helicopter was shot down by the enemy in the middle of the night. They had come in to save the day and end the battle when ground troops need assistance. They had won, and were on their way out. A rocket hit their vehicle, and they didn't make it home.

To me, this is a reminder to be present. To live your dharma. Well to know your dharma by following your heart. You can only listen to your heart when you take away a lot of the blockages covering your heart and intuition. This is where yoga and meditation come in.

These men were following their dharma. I don't think you could have placed them in any other vocation. Their loved ones say they would have done it all over again. And I just got the chills.

Let us be grateful. Let us celebrate their contribution to our lives and our freedom. Let us send healing energy and love to their loved ones, their wives their brand new babies their parents. Let them know we're all in this together, and we feel their pain and we take it away.

Love and light to all, no matter the inevitable suffering.

Your suffering isn't useless

...how 'bout them apples?!

Thanks Ana.

Ana Forrest's Book Rocks

Have you ever done a Death Meditation before? Most likely not unless you've taken her teacher trainings or are reading the book. At first it might read morbid or scary, but fear not. And that's exactly the point.

:)

This type of meditation comes to you when you need it, as it did me. It's really ironic, as it's actually a way of deciding what you're living for. I wanted to refocus on why I am here. That is actually the point, isn't it?!

The meditation took me to realize that I need to get back on track with my sva-dharma (path). Not the small one, that can take me within my limits for a day. That one I'm friends with. It's the other one, the life-long path, the one I'm here for. That's the one I need(ed) a little work on. And yes I'm ending many a sentence with a preposition. Ahh literary Freedom! Gotta love it.

The path...it's basically the same as the title of this blog. My truth.

I'm here to give of myself. Hands-on. Teaching yoga is one way. What is the other? Perhaps personal training? Chiropractor? Perhaps mentally through being a psychologist (yes it took me 3 times to spell that correctly)? Social worker? I don't know, but it does have to do with Duke, probably Duke Integrative Medicine. So that's pretty cool, and 2.5 hours away. Not a far climb for your spirit's duty on this earth. In this lifetime. Shoot, it's taken me how many lifetimes to even get this far? I don't know, I'm only human. My Self knows though. Perhaps if I meditate long enough it'll tell me. Who cares?! I bet it'll say as long as anything existed, or even before. Before a thought was a thought, before the physical. We were all one spirit.

Well there's my answer.

Love to the world!

Let's DO this.

Thanks for the eye-opening meditation Ana. I know I will never forget this. And I hate to use the word never. And the word hate.

:)

Twists

I've been learning a bit more through webinars with Judith Lasater. The first was on twists, and really focused on the fact that twisting is less about compression of the spin and squeezing the discs and more about massaging the viscera (group of organs in the midsection). She also stressed that you can't twist (rotate) without a side bend. Same as you can't do a side bend without twisting (rotating). Also, twists flush organs. Hmm what else...

The spinal column is designed to be in curves. "Tucking the tail" isn't in accordance with our natural curvature. Intended curvature at the lumbar to "house" the delicate viscera right in front of it. When you "tuck the tail" the organs move from the front toward the back body. Perhaps they don't have enough room back there to be free and move with pranic intelligence and cleanse themselves?

Along the right side of the viscera is the liver, gall bladder is the tiny thing underneath, and kidneys that wrap around. The left side carries the stomach and the spleen. The middle houses the intestines and beneath those is the bladder. When we create a turnicate effect with the liver, heat is released and this may cause nausea. The omentum literally means apron and is the sac that contains all the organs. I think it starts beneath the diaphragm. Pelvis means basin.

Twists can be standing, seated and supine.

Judith shared a quote along the lines of "we think life is strong and love is fragile...but it's really the other way around".

:)

Thanks.

Santosha

So this might be the topic of my posts for a while, off and on. Until it sets in! When you're going through big change that affects all aspects of your psyche and physical and emotional bodies, umm, you gotta pull out all the stops. My stops have been getting up at 6am to do an hour of sadhana (spiritual practice of silent meditation, mantra and asana). And then today it came to abyanga (soft brushing of skin to clean skin and move lymph and coconut oil massage for cooling). That was of course after an hour of sadhana and a(n attempt to) run:). C'est la vie.

Santosha

Contentment.

Work on it.

:)

Kind of goes along with comfort. Kind of. My boyfriend thinks that's the number one thing in a relationship...I'm sure not all people agree. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I do think it's very important. Comfort and contentment allow you to be you, freely and fully. First, if you're comfortable in your own skin, you're comfortable anywhere and with anybody.

My recent battles with santosha stem from my desire for more...I think. I want everything from people, I want fun and laughter and insight and engaging conversation. I want people to care about me and what I do and what I think. And here I sit, it's all about me! Me me me, what I want. Get OVER yourself. (That's me talking to me.) Get onto other things and helping other people. Santosha will set in.

It is in giving that we receive. A quote that, for me, never gets old. A Universal Truth.

I gotta say, though, that moving to a new town, a military town, and living in a military-ish lifestyle, I have some things to which I have to get accustomed. And there's a grace period, or at least I tell myself that. But does there have to be? No. Then why I have been such a pain in the ass to myself lately? Probably because I'm busy worried about things that I want and how other people should fulfill me, and less on how I can fulfill myself.

That whole "I'm responsible for my life" idea fits in well here. Another universal Truth.

Project Santosha.

1. Be grateful for what you have.

2. Understand that there is fun and perfection in every moment.

Sounds simple enough...here goes nothin!

And by that I really mean somethin:)

Truth is Everlasting

That's today's quote from my daily green tea kombucha. You can sure learn a lot from having a bit of green tea-a-day. :)

The truth is...

I've been away from this website for way too long! The first excuse I would have used is that I was on vacation in the DR for my niece's baptism. Then I would have said I got home and was busy with work and household things. Then we had guests in town. Then more of the second item. Then more guests. Then the second item. Then went to DC for a walk in support of cures for pancreatic cancer. Now home. At least I jumped back on the horse! Now I want to take care of it, my site that is. Here's to gettin back into the yoga...that is this release.

Love and light!

Anatomy #1

Articulations (Joint Movements)

• abduction = movement away from the body axis
• adduction = movement toward the midline (think "add" it back to the body!)
• extension = straightening out; making a flexed part straight
• flexion = bending movement at a joint
• hyperextension = overstraightening; overextending
• circumduction = the proximal end is fixed while the distal end moves in a circle
• rotation = turning around on an axis or fixed point
• pronation = turning the palm posteriorly or downward
• supination = turning the palm upward
• dorsiflexion = bending the foot so the toes move upward toward shin
• plantar flexion = bending the foot so the toes move downward
• eversion (e-vur-zhun)= turning outward
• inversion = turning inward

Thanks to my rockin awesome brother Russ who is a board-certified and state licensed prosthetist and orthotist for his killer anatomy books.

Parvati

There was a special article on Parvati in this month's Yoga Journal magazine. And as an aside on the magazine itself, I have to say I really didn't like that magazine when I first subscribed about 5 years ago. It was the time I learned to love yoga, realize it's potential and its healing nature, and thereby decided to teach. I was in graduate school and figured "I love yoga" so I might as well read the magazine. But since I was so new to the practice and all that it encompasses, I suppose I wasn't ready for "all of it", as in, the literature. I thought it was super boring and bladdy blah blah.

Now, fast forward to today. I pretty much can't get enough of yoga vedanta and literature. My favorite magazine is Yoga Chicago, beautifully created by editor Sharon Steffensen, and my first yoga true yoga teacher. The magazine is amazing, and worth looking up at www.yogachicago.com. I miss it...I've been in NC now for about a month and a half and well, I guess I miss a lot of stuff from home. At the same time, I know I'm in the right place. Listened to my heart and thereby followed my dharma...pretty sure I can't go wrong. But it's hard.

What was the title of this post again? Right. So back to Parvati. It can be pretty confusing learning the Hindu deities. I started about a year and a half ago at 7 Centers (www.7centers.com) and continued after I went back to Chicago for about a year at the Chicago Sivananda Vedanta Center (www.sivananda.org/chicago). Even when chanting their names I wasn't so sure which wife of Shiva they were, or which incarnate of Shiva for that matter, yet the devotional practice was quite strong. Now I'm beginning to put the pieces together...

Parvati was Shiva's second wife. She's actually a reincarnate of his first wife, Sati, who he mourned up until Parvati won him over. When she finally did, they married and went to spend thousands of years in wedded bliss aka "love play" (ha)...which of course birthed tantra. The beginnings of which are introduced in the Vijnana Bhairava tantra. It also happens to be the work that has peaked my interest above all others. Something about it speaks to me, and it's actually one of the agamas or esoteric tantric texts. It begins with Parvati asking Shiva how to attain the ultimate state. Shiva responds that the deepest most pure meditative practices are really done while eating, drinking, making love. The latter being that which gives tantra a silo-ed rap... about crazy sex. It's a lot of things, including a deeply spiritual/physical connection through sex. That doesn't suck. :)

The two are known for their strong, independent union. Parvati is a strong woman who aims to reunite the masculine and the feminine, urging them to live together in harmony, both being true to their natures yet coexisting and even benefiting from that life together. If left alone, the masculine will live alone in its world of ideas, detached from the feeling state (abava). Parvati supports the benefits of balance in the world and amongst relationships. She also fashioned Ganesha (my favorite!) when Shiva said he didn't want to start a family. Ha! Awesome. (PS her other son is Kartikeya, another name I've chanted for years and finally know what it means:) So she's strong and powerful in the feminine, and acts upon it, showing the rest of us to be assertive. She encourages it for the betterment of everyone. Nobody needs an imbalance of yin/yang I mean come ON.

What she stands for speaks to me at this stage in my life. Moving into the military life, it's stereotypically assumed that the masculine energy is pretty taught in the relationship, and for us that's true. While in Chicago I noted much more of my feminine energy muddled with my own masculine to balance it out. And now, here, I see my feminine holding strong in order to be balanced by his masculine, as opposed to my own internally. It's a beautiful thing, really. Shows to me that still, in this spiritually-forward society and my own spiritually independent self, we can really share in balancing out relationships. And I'm very thankful to mine for that.

And to Parvati of course. Or shall I say to Yoga Journal for finally teaching me something about the deities? Thanks to all, it's all part of the message that's coming my way...word.

The Pearl & The Oyster

"The pearl is in the oyster. And the oyster is at the bottom of the sea. Dig deep." - Kabir

I'm not sure who Kabir is but this is one sweet quote. Also from Sally's meditation book, as are most of my writings lately. In the book she discusses the benefits of reading something along the meditative/yogic track throughout the "three week meditative cleanse" or whatever. I agree with the fact that what you do before bed affects your sleep...too bad some of the only QT I get with my boyfriend is in front of the TV around 9pm +?! Boo. C'est la vie. Once I recognized how I was (not) sleeping after watching The O'Reilly Factor minutes before going to bed I quickly changed that. QT just has to come in other forms, simple as that.

I also recognize the importance of writing things down that you experience through meditative practice. I haven't been very good at journaling lately, particularly because I aim to record thoughts of this period of my life on here. Shoot, as long as it's somewhere...

Ever notice how sometimes you can have too much asana? Sounds weird, but too much of anything can be just...too much. I'm having too much of a sweet craving lately. Started to get into some bitters to counteract. I loved when Sally said to recognize where you need work. I think that to be one of the biggest lessons I've learned throughout the journey. To see what I'm doing and amend my actions/thoughts accordingly. Not to sit around and be upset about them, but to acknowledge that I will have them, hell I'm only human! While along this path to enlightenment, I can only expect to. And frankly it keeps me on par with everybody else, which I like. We're all part of the same energy, and moving along our sva-dharmic paths in some linear or non-linear format. Either we're all shuffling around in circles or mis-shapen orbits or we're walkin a straight path. Doesn't so much matter. Although the idea that my path may not be linear is pretty much lightening-bolt-ish. Maybe some days I'll be spinning around on the orbit of one thought/idea. Maybe one will last months! Maybe one area of my body/chakra will need attention and will create a whole universe of small movements to give that area what it needs. How cool is that! Kinda like that time in high school hanging out with my best friends when I realized that there could be another universe after our universe. I was bewildered. I am.

Now now, off to bed or to meditate for a bit and then to sleep. My honey's working late but I shall get the pleasure of his smile in the AM before I head to work (ok it's upstairs in my house) and then to 500 hour training which I LOVE. Night night.

-me

The Little Things

Ain't life grand? One thing that makes it so is when you get home on a Tuesday night after a long day and your boyfriend is all changed out of his pilot uniform, already fixed his lunch for the next day and says hey I thought we'd go out on a date tonight if you're up for it? Umm, heck yeah...lemme just get outta my yoga clothes. It was one of those weird events where I craved meat too, which doesn't happen lately in my life as I pretty much stick to a fish and well I guess anything-other-than-meat. So while after a bit of lamb and pork tapas and a martini, I felt a bit more relaxed. Just felt good to get out. Not so much along the veggie/yogic lifestyle, but I'm sharing it cuz it's my yoga, the union of my body and mind that worked for me, at that time. The kind that chills you out from your regular routine cuz you feel a vibe and act on it. Just keepin it real yo. Or something.

:)

So back to the other yoga...I read a very sweet story in my Meditation book...it's from the King Arthur / Camelot days, some of my favorite things to watch/read about. First Knight anyone? Anyway, in the storyKing Arthur traveling through the forest when he's surprised by a dark knight. The knight unhorses Arthur; instead of holding him for ransom, however, he says he will give Arthur a riddle for which Arthur has one week to answer. If the king fails, the entire kingdom will be forfeit to the knight. So the riddle is this: What does a woman really want? Like any man throughout history, Arthur doesn't have a clue:) As he rides away he comes across an old hag that begs him to get off his horse and stop to listen to her. The story refers to her as a crone, which of course makes me think of Robin Hood Prince of Theives, and anyway the crone is obviously ugly and covered in warts and bald. She says she'll give him the answer to the riddle if he agrees to her price. He says yes, anything is better than losing his throne. The price is the hand of his friend, Sir Gawain, in marriage. When the king weighs his friend's likely sucky life if he marries the crone versus losing the kingdom, he goes with the kingdom and asks for the answer to the riddle. She says, well it's simple (isn't it always?!) - what a woman wants is to have her own way. HAAA!!! So, sure enough, the kingdom is saved and poor Gawain has to marry the crone. Gawain marries her out of loyalty to the king. He takes the crone to his bed the night after they are wed, and she insists on a kiss. He is freakishly appalled, but kisses her nonetheless. And upon the kiss she turns into a beautiful young woman. Who woulda thought?! She was freed from a spell, and he has saved her.

But, of course, there was a catch. He can only have her beautiful young self either during the day or at night. So of course he's like, oh it'd be cool if you looked good during the day while we kicked it, but also I'd like you to look hot when we hook up at night. Not knowing what to do, he defers to her and answers with "you choose", and the spell is lifted completely! Because he gave her the freedom of choice, they were both freed. He gave her kindness despite her appearance and ultimatum, and that made all the difference. It was reverence for her goddess within. Love this story, what a good reminder to allow people to surprise you. Trust in them, and let them be free to be themselves, and their true light will shine and you will be blown away. Love them fully, and you will be gifted in return with the best of them, and the best in you.

I had a similar situation happen with my love, the best guy I know. For a bit there in the beginning, I wanted him to be certain ways, and do certain things. And my ego would point out more of what he was not, or so what I thought. But then once I surrendered to my higher Self and allowed him to be his true self, turns out (of course:) that he was all those things, all along. It was my lack of faith in him, and lack of true unbinding free love for him that disallowed me to see that. And he was always more than anything I could have imagined, but I couldn't see behind my opinions and perceptions and my egoic self acting all high and mighty. If I could give some advice, if anybody would listen, it's just let that selfish opinionated seemingly-smart part of you fall by the wayside and act by following your HEART. You can clear away all the cobwebs around your heart through meditation, asana, pranayama, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, etc....just do it and you'll be way better off. Everyone will be.

Much love.

-Me

Assists:

Just watched "Hands On" Assists with Jennifer Yarrow & Danial Orlansky and it reminds me of all the good points that have stuck with me over the years of being a studen.

1 - Let the yogi get into the pose in their own way and let them be for a few minutes. Watch to see what you feel may help, then go for it.

2 - Use intuition. What may want to be lengthened? Stretched? Torqued? What may want to be left alone? How might this assist help move the flow of energy, down the sushumna, ida or pingala?

3 - Remember to breathe with the yogi and encourage long deep rhythmic breath, if that feels good.

4 - Remind yogi that everyone has their sva-dharma of their lives, and of the day. You know where your path goes, and limits lie, even down to moving within a pose. No two moments are the same...luckily! (Insert Legally Blonde quote*)

5 - Lengthen whatever you're trying to lengthen on the exhale.

6 - Be solid and grounded..in general, but before touching them. Let the yogi trust that they can fall into you.

7 - Be patient. In everything!

*Legally Blonde quote, went a litte something like this:

Here, use my lucky scrunchie for your test; that's how I aced Spanish Class.

-You aced Spanish because you gave Professor Montoya a lapdance during the final.

-Yeah, luckily!

On that note, more tornados are around here today. Gonna go do some stuff before I have to take cover or something.

LOVE!

And Ohm Shanti...

-me

Man me ram, hath me kam

"In the mind, God; in the hand, service."

I think some olds sage was really onto somethin...

Mwah:)

Simple

That is what i'm shooting for in yoga, in life, and as a teacher. I want it to be one place without tons of things (props) and ideas and things to pack in. Simple. I want to share simple.

AWESOME.

Now that that's off my chest, I'll write on this site when compelled. Itried every weekday, but life/work caught up with me, and this felt like work. not good energy for y'all. and by that I mean to put out there to anybody, the world.

But today i did think of something to say. sometimes you spend lots of time, energy, potentially even money on something, and you get to walk away with one significant message or lesson learned. when I think about a lot of amazingly talented teachers i've studied with or places I've studied, I can say that i've learned one big thing from each of them.

7 Centers Yoga Arts - Stand tall and grow roots. (and during my 200-hour, i learned the WORLD!)

Ana Forrest - Loosen up your neck muscles. how can your heart and head talk if nothin can get through there?!

Paul Grilley - Everybody's bodies are different. inherently. deal iyengar-lovers! (and that includes me:)

Paulie Zink - Have fun, be like a kid, and you can make up yin poses to be any animal.

And most recently, I've realized that meditation can be fun. my mantra works wonders, and it will be with me forever, as will a few of my sankalpas. but trying different things while sitting can really make it fun. thanks to Sally Kempton and the book i'm reading for opening my eyes to that.

Oh and PS -

My mantra is ohm strim brahm briyaspataye namaha.

Sankalpas are there is perfection and fun in every moment and nothing is really that important! You know, other than love and family.

Gotta love it. Works wonders.

Gotta finish watching American Idol. And by that I don't gotta do that at all, and can hardly believe I wrote it. Thanks mom! Jeeze. but it makes me kinda happy, so there is the yoga.

Love to all!

-me

Lamb Cake

I didn't stand a chance against the remainder of the lamb cake we made for Easter. Or shall I call it the lamb cake that was the most highly-discussed topic for all of Easter weekend...anyway, I thought it was just okay at first. But not tonight...I was powerless against it and pretty much just at the entire abdomen. Oops:)

Anyway! On to more comfort things...comfort foods and what else? I had a few other comfort moments this past weekend, and those nostalgic times always give my heart this huge warm hug and make me smile. First, I received the Footloose DVD in my Easter basket. Umm, yeah, I know! Wasn't I just the luckiest. Thanks Easter Bunny. So after watching that with Eric and Rachel and reciting almost every line cuz I'm that cool, I purchased the CD on ituens and went for a run with all that music. It made me laugh a lot in the midst of a mid-day run in 80 degree high-humidity Carolina sun. Loved it. Then, today I was taking a walk on my daily path and realized for the first time as I cut across the golf course that the pine cone shards and dirt path reminded me of when I used to go to Eagle River, Wisconsin almost every summer when I was little with my best friends Lisa and Becky and their most amazing family. I love them like they were all my own! And it just made me smile and I literally felt like THE luckiest person in the entire world. I was warm and fuzzy all over and laughed, like, is this really life? How lucky.

So, I guess the moral of this story is that life is awesome, and the yoga of it is that if you recognize and allow yourself to see what's going on around you, expand your awareness, that it'll just give you a big fat hug. And make you laugh. And perhaps entice you to put one foot after another on what may have otherwise been a grueling run. Use it, it works:)

On to a meditation update, the coolest thing I read today was to attempt to look at yourself as if you were outside your body looking down on you, and you're able to see yourself from all angles. And just imagine, if you're able to take this into other "regular" life. Omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence. That is Satchidananda's thing. Why can't it be ours too? We're all one in the same, really. And to be connected to people that I respect that much...feels pretty cool.

Eric's sister Rachel lent me a book that has been monumental in her life, that she can just pick up every so often and learn more and more...and she hands out to everybody. Kinda like me and The Mastery of Love. Anyway, hers is Sex, Love and Dharma. I'll keep you posted. Pun intended! Eew I know sorry:)

Love and light...comfort and softness,

K

Day 2 - Good Friday

And a good one it is! Gorgeous weather here in Eastern NC...and lots of family coming in town for Easter. Not to self...get off computer and get onto making the lamb cake! :)

Today I read more from Sally Kempton, and also checked in with one of Paul Grilley's new books. (Sidenote: those Kindles are really onto something.) She said a few things that lightened my spirit about meditiation, something I've been doing for a year and a half but only consistently (nearly daily) for about 5 months. And that is to take a step back from your average pratice or routine and view meditation as 1) an experiment and 2) as playful! She went on to portray how it made her feel this overwhelming sense of love and kindness towards people when she was on a full meditation-swing, and by that I mean times where your Self is calling you, early afternoon, later on in the day, whatever, to sit and be still and listen. Then, after those times, there is this bright and airyness, this colorful soul filled with laughter and love for anyone she encountered in the remainder of that day. Even people that used to annoy her. :) I just loved the idea that this can transform, and I think it stems from the fact that it has transformed me at times. The truth is in the pudding. Or is it the putting? I think it's both.

Gotta love it. And by that I mean everything, because we are all the same.
Love to you!
K

Day 1 - April 21, 2011

Why whatever shall I say? I'll begin by stating how grateful I am to "have to" create this blog, as part of my 500 hour yoga teacher training...something I've been looking forward to ever since I completed my 200 hour at 7 Centers Yoga Arts in Sedona in 2009. Lucky me!

It's called "truth" because truth or satya in sanskrit is very important to me. The practice of satya makes me feel good, so I spread it!

Hmm...books. I'm currently reading Patanjali's Yoga Sutras (finally) by Swami Satchidananda simultaneously with Light on Yoga (finally) by B.K.S Iyengar. How does one get their 200 hour without reading both full volumes? Umm, probably by reading a bunch of other books and teachings that all include those very ideas. :)

This morning I read that the sound of OM, or the word OM actually, is the word for God. And it's not tied to a religious sect, but rather even alluded to in the Bible as "first there was the word of God". I guess Patanjali thought that word was OM. Makes sense, if you're into that kinda thing. :)

I'm also listening to Shirley Maclaine's new biography on my Ipod when I go for walks. She is very insightful, and I like the way she practices yoga. Nothing is hard, and all is as it should be. Or at least that's what I glean from what she's said so far.

I haven't gotten enough sleep lately, and am trying to remember that all is as it should be. There's perfection and fun in every moment. Guess I needed a day to slow down, because that seems to be all I'm up for! It's nice...now.

Now onto more reading. Gotta figure out a way to put all my favorite yoga-is-a-way-of-life-related books on this site, to share with whoever ends up reading it. For now it's just me! Oh and probably Kas, my 500 hour guru. (Hi:)

Much love and light...and understanding that the calm always sits inside us, even in the middle of a hectic trip to Walmart before the in-laws visit for Easter.

<3

K