Impermanence

Impermanence. 

Stuff that is exterior to us is always changing, meaning they have an end, they are finite. Often, they are more dense and more tangible like the seasons, our physical body, businessesadventures and relationships. However, they can be less dense like our thoughts and emotions. The stuff between the exterior things deep within ourself is a more subtle energy that resides inside of us. I like to think of this place as my true home. It is permanent, infinite, unending. We sing about this in the Anusara Invocation with the word “Nishprapanchaya” which means “is never absent.” This is our True Self our Inner Light. 

The place we get into trouble is when we attach ourself to the exterior finite things. The more we attach our happiness to these things that our outside of ourself the more suffering we will experience when these things eventually go away. For example,a student of mine shared a poem her dad wrote, who is an avid skier. In the poem he expresses the deep sadness he experiences at the end of the season as one of his biggest loves, skiing, is taken away from him. 

This cycle where things are born, grow, fade and eventually go away (sometimes quickly sometimes over a long period of time)is completely normal. To expect otherwise would be unrealistic and yet we do all the time. Another example is the real sadness I have knowing that we are on the last season of Game of Thrones (but why!). This is the cycle of nature and everything on this planet even the man-made stuff like plastic, is made of natureand thus goes through the cycle of nature.

This isn’t to say don’t enjoy the seasons, don’t get into relationships, don’t take care of your physical body because they will all disintegrate and it will make you unhappy. Instead develop a practice that connects you to the one thing that is always every present and does not go away, which is the source, the light, the link of our oneness that shines within the core of ourself. Through consistent practice you will experience a more subtle contentment. Then enjoy all the things, enjoy them as they are in full expansion and as they contract away and since your contentment comes from within when they eventually go away (and they will) it will disturb you less and cause you less suffering.  

One of the studios I teach at, Centered City Yoga, is moving studio locations. They are actually moving back to their old location one building over. This is what prompted me to write this post because it reminded me that almost all things are impermanent. In the past 13 years I have taught yoga at studios I have seen so many studios change locations, change names, close, and new ones open. It used to really upset me. These places were a big source of my happiness. Now that I am older and wiser, I have learned that if I put my happiness on something outside of myself, I am asking for pain. This is not bad, because pain is a wonderful motivator. We have more willingness to take action if we know it helps us to avoid pain.Let this encourage you to practice connecting to your infinite self with commitment and consistently so you become so stable in yourSelf that when stuff changes outside of you that it becomes a more beautiful experience of the cycle of nature then a heart break.    

Another teaching in yoga I love is forgetfulness. Meaning you will forget this teaching, but then hopefully and with practice you will remember you forgot, you will attach your happiness to something outside of yourself, you will experience pain and then you will remember. You will draw back in and do the work. The more you do this the father away from your center you will go and the more efficient you will get at coming back to center. We become listeners to the whispers of pain to readjust and realign instead of the screams of agony from the pain. 

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Home has Om in it and om is the vibration of the earth the world which is our home. Come home. We all have an inner child that can run the show this shows up as tendencies that run the show and one of the tendencies is, we get lost it we run away and we have to find our way back to our home our Center. And the more we forget. Leave. Remember come back. The easier it becomes to find our way back. Because we have broken trail, we don’tneed to bush wake.


Remembering home. Remembering to consistently commit to connecting to your deeper perminate always present self will help you navigate the fluctuations, the conning and goings of that which is finite. The stuff that doesn’t last. 
Our collective consciousness has made it to a place where we know we have to clean and care and connect to the subtle parts of ourself daily if we want it to operate effectively and if it doesn’t operate effectively your gambling with your happiness which is the most important thing we got. If you put your happiness in the conditions of the outside things that will fall away like a yoga studio location or a flower or a relationship your happiness or contentment is not steady. If you put your contentment and happiness based on the connection to your undying self then you can enjoy the outside stuff and even enjoy or suffer less when it goes away. 

Connection. Connected to what matters. Not at the surface level. Enjoy stuff at the surface level but hold onto what’s deeps. Yoga is the joining of self with Self

Apex- full Urdhva Dhanurasana

Universal Principle of Alignment: Muscle Energy to the midline. With some extra shoulder work.
Keep coming back home to your center, your midline. Go out and do all the things while being connected to YOU so you suffer less when all the things always change. 

Sun A teach strong legs in cobra
Down Dog
L- tree- tadasana eagle arms- vinyasa with knees bent like Dhanurasana prep
L- eagle - tad vinyasa with knees bent like Dhanurasana prep
W2 arms bring up upper arm bone positioning and when is not home, and where is home that connects us back to the midline
Dancing warrior
Cow face with prone pec stretch prep - triceps stretch - fish twist - mod side plank prep set up collapse into shoulder and then push it away (inner body bright) keep that and squeeze arm bone into heart into home into the vibrancy of love, light, andintelligence (vibration of hOMe of our center)
High runners lunge twist
Low lunge twist- Low lunge quad twist
Cobra squeeze block between feet- push into hands plank on top of feet (Kidney Loop) - chaturanga- cobra 5x
Block between inner thighs Dhanurasana prep on forearms – to full Dhanurasana 
Roll onto back keep squeezing block between inner thighs during the transitions
Supta feet off floor in line with knees, knees over hips crunches
Squeeze blocks bridge
Tadasana Urdhva Dhanurasana shoulder prep work: arms forward hands in line with arm pits- hold block between hands squeeze to midline – broaden shoulders- arm bones back- scapula tips together. Keep that then bend arms at elbow bringing hands over elbow- then straighten 5x
Repeat but this time extend arms over head. Urdhva hastasana: hold block between hands, hands to sky- squeeze to midline – broaden shoulders- arm bones back- scapula tips together. Keep that then bend arms at elbow bringing hands over elbow so the hands should face the wall behind your head- then straighten 5x
Urdhva Dhanurasana prep on top of head integrate shoulders into sockets and back of heart 
Urdhva Dhanurasana prep- full. From the stop of your head. From the connect to yourself, your home press arms straight (just like in the drills above)
Or optional supported bridge
on back Asyemtical femur root - half happy baby- mod pada c- mantra missile
Supta Baddha konasana
meditation

Anusara Yoga Universal Principles of Alignment: Review Time

In August there was the first ever Anusara Instagram Challenge called #weareanusara. It lasted 5 days and focused on one universal principle of alignment (UPA) a day. I had a lot of fun coming up with my caption describing how I practice each UPA on and off my mat. Here they are, I hope they can help deepen your understanding of these vast and wonderful principles. 
#weareanusara! Day 1- Open to Grace.
Elements of Open to Grace:
Breath Foundation Side Bodies Long Inner Body Bright- Outer Body Soft

Opening to Grace, is not just something we should do at the beginning of our practice but is the foundation that we should carry throughout our practice and into all areas of our life. This principle asks us to soften, become more sensitive, feel and connect to our breath, body/ mind/ heart and the world around us with awareness and openness. It's from this place that we can respond optimally. We have the opportunity to begin our practice, and each new day humble, open, willing and hopefully excited!

Lately in my practice I have been thinking of Open to Grace as being Open to a Revelation. To opening myself up to an ah-ha moment that can remind me more deeply of my true essence and in that opening release limiting beliefs that hold me back. Opening up to the to truth that darkness is not a bad thing, challenges are not a bad thing. When I Open to Grace I am reminded that it’s the dark that nurtures growth and helps the light shine more brightly.

Open to Grace and see the light that surrounds you and that is you!!!



The second universal principle of alignment in the Anusara method= Muscle Energy.
Muscular Energy literally pulls us into our center. It creates security, firmness and power.
On the mat creating this integration steadies us and sets us up to do refinements (inner spiral/ outer spiral) and then extend our (organic energy).

My favorite place to practice muscle energy is off my mat. Can I draw into myself, get steady in my intention? That is muscle energy the drawing in! This helps me make refinements if needed before extending out. It's my tendency on and off the mat to skip the getting steady part and go straight for the freedom of extending for example into a pose or into a conversation.

However I have found that more freedom and joy comes when I slow down, draw in and reconnect (muscle energy). The steadiness of muscle energy leads to much more freedom in organic energy.

On the mat there are three ways we can engage our muscles:
1. From the skin to the bone.
2. To the midline
3. From the periphery—hands, feet and head—along the core lines to the Focal Point.

The third universal principle of alignment in the Anusara method is Inner Spiral. This is a refinement principle that comes AFTER Opening to Grace (1st principle) and Muscle Energy (2nd principle).

Inner Spiral is an expanding energy that runs from the feet through the pelvis into the waistline area to rotate the legs IN, move the thighs BACK and WIDENS the pelvis.

Inner Spiral in the arms draws the head of the arm bones in to the shoulder sockets, back and widens the scapula's. (Inner spiral in the arms can be confusing because the rotation changes depending on what plane the arms are in but the expanding results in the scapula's is the aim).

Practicing inner spiral off the mat just like on the mat comes after I open myself up, then I draw IN, and BACK into myself to see what is going on inside. Looking to see what is working well, what isn’t working, if my actions are in alignment with my intention (attitude). I can NOT figure this out if I don’t deeply look within. For me this often includes journaling.

After this I can anchor down (outer spiral) and extend out (organic energy) from a more clear and aligned space.

The fourth UPA in the Anusara method is Outer Spiral. Like inner spiral, outer spiral is a refining principle that comes after opening to Grace and setting the foundation (1st UPA), engaging the muscles (2nd UPA), creating space (3rd UPA).

When you create space in the pelvis with inner spiral there is often a collapse in either the low back, knees, ankles or a combination of those. Outer Spiral starts above the back of the pelvis and travels down to the feet. This engages the glutes, lessens or stabilizes the lumbar curve, narrows the sit bones, widens the knees, and draws the shins in. (There is also outer spiral in the upper body that narrows the scapula tips together just like the sit bones of the pelvis. Balance inner spiral and outer spiral of the upper body also help to align the wrists and elbows).

Inner spiral and outer spiral go together and everyone will have a different amount of each spiral to help them move from a place of too much, or not enough and into a place of JUST RIGHT (sattva). It is from this just right place that we will extend our from with the next UPA, Organic Energy.

Off the mat for me outer spiral comes after I open, reconnect to my center and draw deep into myself and get clear on what actions I should take to move me in the direction of my intention.
Outer spiral is the fire that fuels the commitment to take these actions to grow my intention.

Organic Energy the 5th UPA!
To review:
1st principle Open to Grace- connect to your breath, ground into your foundation, expand your inner body
2nd principle Muscle Energy- Engage you muscles and feel stable
3rd principle Inner Spiral- create spaciousness, align the heads of the femurs in the hip sockets create an in and up lordotic curve above the scrum
4th principle Outer Spiral- engage the glutes hold or lesson your lordotic curve align the knees towards the 2-3 toe
And now 5th principle!
After all the refining of bringing the bones and the muscles into a place better function ability and healthy it’s time to extend out! Physically, you keep the integration of Muscular Energy, and then extend and stretch out from that place of feeling really plugged in along with the refinements of inner and outer spiral. The brightness of the inner body expands out in every direction with joy, playfulness, freedom and the full expression of the pose is honored.

3 kinds of Organic Energy:
1 away from the focal point
2 away from the midline
3 away from the core and out through the skin

I think one of the most magical things about a yoga practice is it can change the way we extend our Self out to the world.
When I practice yoga (on or off the mat). I am a more kind, more patient and more helpful human. When I interact with people from a centered place it creates a positive ripple into the world. This is organic energy it’s being intentional with the way you extend out.
Organic energy for me can look like smiling at a stranger, spontaneously dancing with my kids, taking a deep breath and expanding when I see the sunset, or being able to articulate my feelings in a kind way during a challenging conversation.
The universal principles of alignment help me to co participate in life and set my intention, choose optimal alignment to lead to my intention and a way of taking action from that place of alignment.
Anusara Yoga and the UPA’s have changed my Asana practice and my life!

Brahmacharya class plan

Theme: Brahmacharya      

“One who sees divinity in all is a brahmachari.”  –B.K.S Iyengar

translated many ways: “To walk with God,” “To move in truth,” “To merge with the one.” “moderation” “walking in awareness of the highest reality,” “remembering the divine”

Behaving with love and integrity without selfishness or manipulation (previous yamas).

think about where we’re putting our energy – sexual or otherwise. And, if we’re expending it in useless places, to figure out how to redirect it.

brahmacharya is about allocation: using your resources effectively to achieve your aspiration… conserve and not waste energy on things that do not serve our purpose.

we always have a choice to use our energy on not-so-purposeful actions (and thoughts and worries), and directing them towards those that will serve us better and lead to more happiness, purpose, sense of union.

Theme: Brahmacharya continued

We can practice Brahmacharya in yoga by:
*Practicing focus and redirecting distractions
*Not bringing sexuality into the classroom (think about: what you’re wearing, how ego influences how you move into poses, and maintaining professional boundaries)
*Redirecting excessive energy towards something greater (intention, mantra, breath)

We can practice Brahmacharya in life by:
*Redirecting excessive energy towards something greater (intention, mantra, breath, a cause you believe in)
*Direct energy to focus on what’s important (notice how much time you’re spending online, on your mobile device, watching TV—what else could you being doing with your precious energy?)
*Noticing where in your life you could practice moderation (drinking too much? eating too much? spending too much time on social media? not doing enough yoga?)

brahmacharya is a call to use our energies mindfully, wisely, so that we may experience how exquisitely interconnected we are with all of life.

Heart Quality: mindfulness

How are you using your energy?

the practice of brahmacharya is being mindful of the highest reality, remembering the divine, or practicing the presence of God. (1^st principle, OTG)

Being mindful of the preceding yamas: practicing non-violence, non-lying/ manipulating and non-stealing we respect this one energy that precedes all form and we build up more inner energy to be used for seeking connection with the divine or a higher purpose.

Anecdote

Personalize the teaching with some connection to your own experience or insight making it relevant to your students

Judging other people.

FEAR! Being in fear about past WORRING and about future (violent, not true, stealing moment from myself, wasting my energy and not connecting to divine)

Being selfish wanting what I want and not anting what I don’t want… now I pray to remember a higher source and I try to be useful to others.

PLUGGING INTO MOTHERBOARD/ WATER PARTICALS IN OCEAN

Alignment focus

alignment element tied in through all of the poses

Foundation of feet/ hands

Connecting with the earth through the four corners of the hands and the feet.

How are you connecting with the world? Are you acting from a place of depletion or radiance? Do you have energy to give and offer up to a higher source or a purpose you believe in?

Focal points

There are three possible focal points, which one is active depends on which is most weight-bearing. The focal point in the pelvis, is active when you’re primarily weight-bearing on the legs, as in all standing and seated poses, as well as in supine poses. The heart focal point, is active when you’re more weight-bearing on the arms, as in downward-facing dog, handstand, forearm stand, and most arm balances. And the palate focal point, at the juncture where the soft and hard palate meet, is active when your weight-bearing on the head, as in headstand and shoulder stand.

Muscle Energy to a focal point

 draws together the upper and lower parts of ourselves bringing integration and stability

How do you draw into yourself to regulate your energy? How do you take the world in with moderation and boundaries to not get overwhelmed? What self-care practices do you have that cultivates your life force energy?

Organic Energy from a focal point

Organic Energy first grounds from the active focal point into the earth and then it stretches up and out toward the sky.

How do you extend your life force energy to the world? Do you deplete your outgoing energy with drama, fear, tv… or do you extend your life force energy into a bigger purpose, with deep intention?

Heart quality = Mindfulness. Can you use mindfulness on and off the mat to notice the pulsation of your energy so you can allocate your resources to up level your offering to the world?

Sequence

Mediation/ Chanting

meditation

Warm up 

Standing tad side stretch 

Utt- Ardha utt 3x 

Ardha utt- tad 3x 

Sun A 3x 

Table shalabasana 

Basic

Ams 

Active pigeon side stretch 

Prasarita padottanasana 

W2

Mod. Parsvak 

Trikonasana- half moon - trikonasana 

Harder 

Bridget's cross 

Ams 

Upright L 

L pose 

Handstand upright or modify 

Quad stretch at wall

Apex: 

Hanuman at wall 

Cool down  

Bridge 2x

Supta pada A, B, C 

Root femurs 

Shavasana/ meditation

Apex: hanumanasana 

Intelligent therapeutic sequencing building to apex

Hip/ hip flexor openers

Quad openers

Hamstring openers

Calf openers

Modifications:

Ardha hanumanasana

Blocks

Remember Action over form!

Handstand Class, tips for pushing your boundaries and using fear to empower you

Apex: handstand 

Principles of emphasis: open to grace (foundation, breath), muscle energy (stability), shoulder loop (shoulder integration), kidney loop (core integration), organic energy 

Heart quality: playful, courageous 

Theme: lila having fun while pushing the boundaries of our comfort. Using fear to empower us but not make us reckless. 

We have to know boundaries going to far and not going far enough. If you don't practice going to far you'll be afraid. We don't want fear to scare us but to empower us! It's not the absence of fear but courage in the face of fear. But It's not wrecklessness. 

Anecdote: learning a handstand. I had to learn what wasn't enough of a hop and what was to big it a hop. I had to be curious and courageous to find the just right spot with stability. I had to confront my fear instead of reimagining to scared to try but I also had to honor my fear so I didn't get hurt. 

Having fun (lila). Having to much fun getting into trouble. I definitely pushed this when I was little. Vs. Not having enough fun.... which is not fun. 

Disciplining my children. I am constantly in this process of what is to little discipline and get walked all over and having utter chaos in the house and what to much discipline is that also doesn't serve our family. I have to be in touch with my deep compassion and remain courage on this parenting journey of raising loving, kind, useful humans. I need to have the fear knowing there are some things I can never do like spank or something that will damage them but there is also fear that if I don't do any discipline they won't know how to cooperate with this world. Just like handstands I need to find that sweet balance of discipline with compassion. 

Handstand Tips:

Arms straight for power (muscle energy, organic energy)

Integrate shoulders press from core engage upper ab muscles (shoulder loop and kidney loop) 

Leg straight for power (muscle energy, organic energy)

Kick from hip not heal (thigh loop)

Bending in arms is loss of will power and often leads 

Dd lift armpits lift more weight at front of hands so you get lighter on heals of hands 

Sequence:

-Hand theraputic work (flex wrist back see budge (flexor retinaculum) compress around wrist and retinaculum while moving hand. Engaging the muscles with good foundation in hand weight baring poses will prevent wrist/elbow/shoulder injuries and keep the retinaculum hugging in

-Table foundation of hands (hands outer shoulder distand apart index fingers facing forward. Melt heat to integrate shoulders)

-Table shalabasana keeping straight joints. Flex front wrist like a handstand index finger facing up. Don't bend bottom arm repeat. Focus on arms legs straight 

-Sit ups with lordotic curve activating upper core (kidney loop)

-Cat/cow (alternating between shoulder integration/ shoulder loop and core integration/ kidney loop)

-Table shalabasana again same as first time but add the support of the core muscles

-Uttanasana- ardha uttanasana 3x

-Tadasana - urdhva hastasana interlace hands palms up, integrate shoulders, integrate core. Look up straighten elbows arms vertical. If your elbows bend in handstand you'll dump weight into heals of hands. 

-Optional jumping butt to wall 3x in pike

-Sun A 3x 3x with like jumps and string foundation in hands 

-Tree- w3 prep- lunge- sanding splits- uttanasana

-Eagle- w3 prep- lunge- standing splits - uttanasana 

-Standing pigeon- w3 prep- w3- lunge- half moon 

-cartwheel middle of room (deliberately  let the momentum carry you past midline and over. Go both ways. Swing through vertical midline. Not like downdog. This teaches us how to eat out of handstand. Shift weight pivot and turn out of it. Learn to fall out like that comfortably. We want to get comfortable falling out of handstand in the middle of the room. When we get it comfortable we can balance and remove the fear.)

-Hero blanket rolled up between calf and hamstring start and knee join and move back towards sit bones and heels)

-anjaneyasana quad- standing splits- handstand hops 

-Torture pose anjaneyasana knee in floor shin up wall (kidney loop)

-Supta handstand feet on wall, thighs down, ribs in, shoulders integrated, extend

-Kick up handstand at wall. Practice kicking up with both legs. 

(If still can't get up put 2 bolsters stacked on top of each other at wall get a running start and through yourself up wall straight arms and top leg. Takes intense amount if courage and energy once you get up you can start taking some if the power out.)

-Cow face wrist massage, bind with strap keep working shoulder and core integration

-Double pigeon 

-Shavasana on 2 blankets zilophone folded with blanket used to support cervical curve