Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Soft and Kind


Theme: practice life on the mat. When fasted with different poses (circumstances) practice being soft and kind. 
Antidote: We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us
so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid,
or we can let them soften us, and make us kinder.
We always have the choice.
Dalai Lama
Heart quality: kindness 
Poe: outer body soft (1st principe) 
Apex: hanumanasana

Warm up: 
Sun a 3x 
Sun b 3x

Basic: 
Hrl- tree- eagle 
Hrl twist- w2- rev w
Parsvakonasana 
L.l quad- Trikonasana 
Hrl twist - scandasana- half moon

Harder:
Standing pigeon
Utkatasana twist - Side crow  
Half hanuman 3 positions of front leg to target each hamstring muscle (straight forward/wide/ and across) - standing splits-handstand hop 
Heros pose with blanket roll 
Uttanasana on blanket roll
W1  
Parsvotonasana with ankle loop- s.s- tad balance- w3 3x- w1

Apex:
Hanumanasana

Cool down 
Root femurs 
supta twist 
Supported child's pose with bolster and block 
Supported shavasana with bolster and block 

Friday, September 25, 2015

Full Moon


Theme: experience your fullness
Antidote: Super Blood Moon eclipse on night of September 27 2015 +
Story of Ganesha breaking the moon into 16 pieces (phases we experience of the moon) with his tusk
Heart quality: Joy
Universal principle of alignment focus: First Principle. In tantric belief they say the sun is in your solar plexus and the moon is in your feet and crown of head. We will use our foundation (feet) pressing down lift our crown up toward the sky lengthening our sides bodies and performing inner body bright. These three actions (foundation, side bodies long and inner body bright) make up first principle, Open to Grace. 

The moon phases remind us of the beauty and joy that come from revelation and concealment. If something we love, like a favorite food (from Ganesh's story) was alway available and eaten at every meal it would no long be a favorite and we would start to dislike it. Or if the moon was always full it wouldn't be as magical. Our body won't always be held in perfect alignment or feel super open but I when it is we can recognize the fullness and find the joy in it. We can also remind ourself of this when we are faced with moments of concealment, remembering something wonderful is yet to be revealed.  This is a lesson the moon constantly teaches me as it pulsates into and out of fullness. 

Moon details: It’s the Northern Hemisphere’s Harvest Moon, or full moon nearest the September equinox. It’s the Southern Hemisphere’s first full moon of spring. This Septembers full moon is also called a Blood Moon, because it presents the fourth and final eclipse of a lunar tetrad: four straight total eclipses of the moon, spaced at six lunar months (full moons) apart. This will be the first supermoon eclipse in 33 years and the next such event will be seen in 2033. The Earth's shadow will begin to dim the 'supermoon' at 8:11 p.m. EDT on Sept. 27, which will also be a harvest moon, according to NASA. The total lunar eclipse will start at 10:11 p.m. EDT, giving the moon a reddish tinge, and will last an hour and 12 minutes.

Sequence: 

•  5-7 min -  Centering seated. 5-7 min.

•   5 - 10 min - Dynamic Warm ups - movement with breath, no holds, not technical, large muscles
Childs 
Cat/cow 
AMS - Tadasana 
Standing half moon side stretch 
Sun A 3x 
Moon Salutation 2x (Tadasana- uttanasana- Anjaneyasana - knees/chest/chin- AMS- Anjaneyasana- uttanasana- Tadasana) 

•   10 min - Poses that safely and effectively open hips and shoulders easier to perform, teach the actions
Lunge with side stretch- tree with side stretches 
L T arms twist- W2- reverse warrior 
L T arms twist- rev- hrl twist- low lunge quad stretch with twist

•  10 - min Climax - poses that require the most strength, stamina and flexibility.
Parsvakonasana - ardha chandrasana  chapasana 
Trikonasana 
Wild thing- falling Trikonasana 
Handstand 
Pincha manyurasana
Sirsasana
Pec stretch at wall

•  5 - 10 min Apex Pose 
Camel block on chest to encourage side bodies long 2x 
Urdhva prep on bolster 2x 
Urdhva danurasana or bridge 

•  10 min -  Counter & Cooling and quieting poses 
Root femurs 
AMS head on bolster 
Baddha konasana twist- bow- supta on bolster 

•  7+ min Savasana

•  2- 5 min -  Meditation
Sit in a comfortable cross-legged position. Slowly become aware of the space between your eyebrows. Within this space, visualize a full moon in a clear night sky, shining brightly on the waves of the ocean. The full reflection of the moon penetrates the deep waters, and the cool shade of moonlight catches the tops of the waves as they dance.
See the image clearly and develop an awareness of the feelings and sensations that are created in your mind and body. Slowly let the visualization fade and again become aware of the whole body.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Autumn Equinox: Balance

Theme: moving toward balance 
Antidote: fall equinox the mark of equal hours of night and day 
Heart quality: balance 
Universal principle of alignment emphasis: muscle and organic energy. balanced action root to rise 

Yippie it's Autumn Equinox! This time of year always reminds me of balance. In yoga we call balance Satva. Satva is one of three gunas  (qualities) the other two called Rajas and Tamas. Rajas is like the summer—hot, full of energy, and dynamic. Tamas is like the Winter—slow, low energy, and inert. Satva is the perfect balance between the two. Balanced just like we experience on the equinox when there is an equal number of night and day time hours. 

With the shift of the seasons, we can also work with the equinox as a reminder to cultivate balance on every level of self: mental, emotional and physical, remembering that what's balanced for one person is not for another. 

When we talk about balance I love to look at the doshas in Ayurveda which tells us we are composed of three different qualities: vata (windy, creative) tamas (earthy, steady) and rajas (firey, passionate).   We will each have a unique combination of these three that make up our individuality. When we move toward balance we are working with our individual composition of these qualities.  For example, I am a fiery person, my balanced state will never look like my husband who is a very an earthy person but we will both be able to do certain things to make ourselves balanced in relationship to the way we are composed. (I hope that make sense. That was a big ah ha I had that helped me stopped chasing other people's balanced state.)

This is very similar to a yoga posture we will all be performing the same actions just like we are all composed of the same qualities but the amount we do each action is going to be largely based on our personal individuality. I am gonna scoop my tailbone a whole lot more then someone else who doesn't have my body .  

Happy equinox 

• 5-7 min -  Centering seated. 

•   5 - 10 min - Dynamic Warm ups - movement with breath, no holds, not technical, large muscles
Sun a salutations 3x 
Sun b salutations 2x 
Moon salutation 2x (Tadasana- uttanasana- Anjaneyasana- AMS- knees/chest/chin- Anjaneyasana- utt- Tadasana)

•   10 min - Poses that safely and effectively open hips and shoulders easier to perform, teach the actions
High runners lung- standing hip stretch- tree
AMS press into foundation and lift up 1-2 limbs 
Plank and handstand work At ledge in studio feet on ledge. Pressing feet down to lift femur bones up. 
Partner plank stacked on top of each other 
W2
Modified Parsvak- warrior 2- reverse warrior

•  10 - min Climax - poses that require the most strength, stamina and flexibility.
Reverse warrior- parsvakonasana 
Ardha chandrasana 
Pigeon 
High runners lunge- standing balance modification of Tadasana- w3 3x- w1

•  5 - 10 min Apex Pose
Handstand partner hand on foot for OE 
Pincha manurasana 

•  10 min -  Counter & Cooling and quieting poses 
Uttanasana (maybe sitting on block)- reverse plank 
Baddha konasana now forward (place bolster on floor behind back maybe use bolster to elevate hips) 
Supta Baddha konasana on bolster 
Twist on bolster 
AMS head on bolster 

•  10 + min Savasana

•  2- 5 min -  Meditation 

Monday, September 21, 2015

Forgiveness

Tuesday 
Props: bolster, block, strap 
Theme: forgiveness 
Actively engaging the forgiveness process begins a journey toward deeper understanding and the rememberence that everything happens for a reason. When we can gain wisdom from past drama and traumas we gain knowledge. And looking back we can cultivate gratitude for the things that happened to us for helping us to grow, become more aware and bringing us to where we are now. 
Antidote: I watched a Maya and the Bee last night with my son which reminded me of this bee fun fact: when a bee gathers pollen to make nectar. The bee actually take a little poison along with the pollen, and when it's brought to the hive the poison becomes carefully transformed into nectar. This is like learning to turn a negative situation into wisdom and compassion. 
Quote: forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. - Mahatma Gandhi
I forgive, heal and release everything that consciously or unconsciously could delay or block the complete evolution of my being. - Mario Liani
Heart quality: forgiveness and compassion 

Choosing to forgive is an act of discipline with compassion for both yourself and anyone else involved. It's choosing to live more open and with ease instead of being weighed down with anger and regret. 

We can relate this to the Anusara alignment principle shins in thighs out (S.I.T.O), which we will be focusing on in tomorrow's class with an emphasis on the upper body so technically forearms in upper arm bones out. Just like it's an act of compassion to forgive, bringing lightness to our heart. Practicing S.I.T.O in the upper body is an act of compassion we take for ourself. The expansion we experience in the upper body releases held tension so, just like with forgiveness, we can experience more ease. 

How many years have you walked around holding a grudge because you didn't want to forgive a situation, and in doing so you were the one who held that poison and it made you sick. You might have been sick in this way for so long you don't even realize your sick. Just like with chronic tension in the body created by habitual posture. I know I walked around for years holding my body in a way that accumulated more tension in myself especially around my neck. I was so used to feeling so uncomfortable I didn't even realize the freedom I was missing until I discovered the blessing of alignment based yoga. Anusara to be exact. :) 

As you move through this class with compassion let yourself open up, release and forgive. Do you can move forward with more knowledge, ease and gratitude. What situation in your life can you bring some forgiveness to? For me a big person in my life who needed my forgiveness was myself. 

Warm up:
Sun a 3x 
Tadasana block sito arms 
Tadasana step back to lunge with block sito arms 
Table- AMS 

Basic:
Partner down dog sito 
L clasp- L twist 
Dolphin block and strap 
Mod. Parsvak partner 
W2 clasp hands behind back- bow- Parsvak 

Harder:
Anjaneyasana clasp opst elbows above head - Anjaneyasana quad 
Handstand at wall
Pincha at wall 
Dancer at wall sito arms 
Danurasana 
Bridge strap around forearms 

Apex:
Urdhva prep with bolster under back- head 2x

Cool down: 
Root femurs 
Cow face with arm and Kidney loop 
Fish twist with kidney loop 
Baddha konasana 

Shavasana optional supported supta Baddha konasana with bolster and 2 blocks 

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Tension is a Theft

Anusara yoga class! I offer Anusara Yoga Tuesday Thursday and Saturday @ 9am in SLC, UT at Metric Yoga
Theme: What are you offering?consciously respond vs. instinctually react. 
Antidote: "tension is a theft" - Vanda Scaravelli 
How often do we instinctually respond from a place of stress, fear or doubt. This sends tension throughout our body and into our life. On the mat make it a practice of being aware of the kind of energy you are sending out. When we are conscious of what we send out we can choose to send out ease, love and patience.
This is a daily and often a moment to moment effort. Noticing how you are responding to life, what energy are you offering and how is it effecting you and those around you. 
*Can you make your offering on the mat a practice for the way you offer yourself in your life, off your mat? 
*So often we blast our words, gestures,actions from a place of doubt, worry, fear. Instead can we consistently and softly assess and respond to what is really happening? This practice helps us turn away from tension of perceived problems and stay steady in reality with ease. 
*consider a current situation in which is causing you stress and draining your energy. In this pose practice evenly sending out energy of ease and peace with that situation in your mind. 
Heart quality: peaceful 
Upa: muscle and organic energy emphasis on focal point 

Sequence:
Warm up
AMS- plank 3x expansion 
Pigeon Active. Organic energy strongly blast energy clearing out the body 
Lunge
Tadasana 
Vinyasa

Basic 
AMS- 1/2 moon- w2- rev warrior 
3 leg AMS - high runners lunge- standing splits- handstand hop- lunge
Utt tippy toes handstand prep- handstand 
Pigeon- quad stretch 
AMS- half moon- w2- rev warrior- parsvakonasana  
L twist- L 
Dolphin 1 min 
Utt- clasp hands- tad clasp bands  

Harder
Danurasana prep knees bend hands clasp together 
Siraasana 1 min 
Childs pose 1 min 
Pigeon twist quad stretch 
Supta threaded needle 
Bridge 
Bridge extend leg
Urdhva dhanurasana 
Urdhva danurasana extend leg 

Cool down 
Supine T arm twist 
Supta root femur bone 

Shavasana 
Notice the stillness, the evenness in your body. 

Centering 
In all we do may we consistently refine how we offer ourselves. 

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Shit


Theme: concealment and revelation. Look for the good. 

Antidote: "The Gold is found in the shit." -Carl Jung 

I believed when I was a child, life was full of rainbows and pots of gold. As a teen i found out this wasn't the case I fixated only chasing after that which made me feel good and avoiding anything that made me confront the darker, messier parts of myself. This turned into a path of addiction and unhappiness. 

Now as a women I know life isn't all good or all bad. And it is through engagement of our shit (as Mr. Jung puts it) that we experience the revelation of our true Self and of our truth. Walking the path of recovery has been tremendously hard and has put me face to face with my biggest fears.  Has made me sort through messy situations of my past that I tried so hard to numb and avoid. The gold that has been revealed is compassion. Compassion for myself and compassion for my fellows. Now when challenges come up wether it is inter personal or an injury I know that it is through engaging the challenging situation that revelation happens. And revelation is one of the greatest joys in my life. The reminder that I am whole, worthy, good (in this moment) and a part of Grace!

Many traditional yogic practices try to help us rise above the murky water of the unconscious and renounce the darker forces within us.  In Anusara and non-dual Tantra we actually choose to go into the darker realms because that is where the gold really is. We don't focus on our breath and avoid our injury we dive into the injury and in the process we learn more about ourself and find healing. This is the invitation of Tantra to dive into the muddy water to find the gold from the inside out.

 I forget when I am in the shit that this is where the gold is. But once I am through it (and sometimes it takes a while) I can look back and see how much gold I was able to mine during that experience. For example 12 years ago I was a professional slope style snowboarder on a path toward the Olympics and I broke my back. I was told I might not properly walk again. This sucked! I was heart broken. But that experience lead me to yoga. Which not only healed my body it helped me face my anger, sadness and addiction and has brought me into so much healing. Talk about striking gold! 

Another great thing about Anusara and fellowship is we can remind each other to look for the good even when things are hard.  Life is not full of pots of gold but it sure is full of challenges and messy situations. If we can change our perspective to see the shit as an opportunity  to find gold we will be very rich. 

We ended class with a nice meditation: softening and breathing out our resentment and hurt with our exhale and bringing in lightness and forgiveness for ourself and others involved with our inhale. Because we can see that our challenges have turned into some of our biggest blessings. 

Universal principle of alignment emphasis: shoulder loop. Focusing on arm bones going back and bottom tips of shoulder blades pressing into heart i.e melting heart

Props: 2 blocks, 2 blankets, strap 

Sequence:
Warm up 
Cat/cow 
Sun B with Lunge arms in cactus 3x muscle energy and then move finger tips and arm bones back as elbows and bottom shoulder blade tips come forward to lift heart. 

Basic
AMS 1 min timed 
Supta heart over blanket roll for passive shoulder loop 
Crunches active kidney loop
Supta heart over blanket roll passive shoulder loop with active kidney loop 
AMS 
Dolphin 1 min timed 

Harder 
High runners lunge twist 
Parsvakonasana 
Trikonasana 
Anjaneyasana 
Upright L handstand prep at wall 
L handstand 
Handstand
Pincha 
Pigeon quad 
Pigeon mermaid or full eprk 

Apex 
Fish 
Fish with arm rotation 
Bridge 
Shoulder stand 2 blankets 

Cool down 
Childs pose 
Twist 

2 blankets supported shavasana 2 blocks for under forearms to help arm bones flow back 

Friday, September 4, 2015

No Effort is Ever Wasted

Theme: no effort is ever wasted 
Antidote: a quote from Theodore Roosevelt and the Bhagavad Gita

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatlyso that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. 
Theodore Roosevelt

^^This is my theme inspiration for my Anusara yoga class tomorrow at Metric Yoga. 

Throw yourself into the arena of transformation and give yourself to it fully. Assume you are going to make mistakes, assume you are ging to get "off track", assume that it is going to be hard, challenging and difficult. And  assume it will be worthwhile! Assume you will be supported by Grace, assume that you will be in good company and assume that no effort is ever wasted and no gain is ever lost.

As Krishna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita (2.40) “On this path effort never goes to waste. And there is no failure. Even a little effort toward spiritual awareness will protect you from the greatest fear.”

Heart Quality: perseverance (and forgiveness for ourself when we do stumble on our path)

Universal Principle of alignment: shoulder loop (side bodies long, inner body bright, arm bones back, bottom tips of heart press heart forward) 

Sequence: 

Warm up 
Cat/cow 
Sun A 3x
High runners lunge twist 

Basic
Mod. Parsvak
Warrior 2- reverse warrior- 1/2 moon 
Partner Tadasana shoulder loop exercise 
Parsvakonasana hand inside of foot 
Prasarita padottanasana clasp behind back with strap - trikonasana 
Partner trikonasana shoulder loop on bottom then top shoulder 
High runners lunge twist- anjaneyasana quad stretch twist- scandasana upper body like janusirsasana

Harder
Cobra on finger tips one side at a time shoulder work then both 
Pigeon thread needle twist
Pigeon quad stretch 
Janusirsasana 
Upavista konasana  (long sides soft hearts)
Matsyendrasana fish twist
At wall pec stretch set up like chataranga arms at wall apply shoulder alignment to the shoulder you will be twisting away from then turn hips chest and feet in opposite direction while keeping shoulder anchored. 
"" while sitting on block prep for 

Apex
Parsva bakasana- dvi pada koundinyasana 
Sucasana hands on floor behind back. To lift heart 
Bridge 
Urdhva danurasana 

Cool down 
Twisting core 
Both legs straight root femurs 

Shavasana 

Intention and Testimonials

Testimonials & My Intention

My Intention It is my intention as a yoga teacher to help you bring more health and vibrancy to your body, ease and alertness to your mind...