What legacy do you want to leave future generations? Karma Yoga

Theme: what is the legacy you want to leave? cutting cords of negative habits for future generations! 

Anecdote Bhagavad Gita

karma yoga is the path of skillful ACTION by serving others. Our yoga practice of looking deep within and refining our alignment to:

 ➡️mentally 

 ➡️emotionally

 ➡️ spiritually 

we can engage with the world in a more harmonious way because of the inner work we are doing (skillfull action) we are not passing down dysfunctional patterns to future generations. We are cutting the cord!

The Bhagavad Gita tells us that karma yoga - the path of service to other - is a fast lane to spiritual fulfillment. 

This is so so so SO important to me. Specifically around body image and beauty obsession. Society is teaching us this false image of beauty of being thin and overly manicured. I can look back and see how the adults around me modeled this to me along along with society. It's even worse now with photoshop and Instagram. I DO NOT AND WILL NOT PASS THESE LIES TO MY CHILDREN. Coupled with my awareness and my yoga practice I will not pinch myself in the mirror and call myself fat. In fact "fat" and "skinny" are swear words in my house. I will teach my children that our bodies are containers for our soul. We want to take care of them so we can feel vital in our bodies and contact to our soul and have clear thinking. It's hard to connect to our sparkling spirit and our mind when our body is injured and not cared for. However, speaking from personal experience, I can get to caught up in my body and appearance so much that I miss the fact that it's the experience of my soul and being of serve to others that really matter. I know that loving myself, my body and modeling a healthy body image for my kids is karma yoga. Because I am consciously cutting the cord of addiction and eating disorders for them. This is a practice I am deeply committed to!

Alignment focus: lengthening the psoas with muscle energy, thigh loop, kidney loop and organic energy  

We have really been hitting psoas and will continue for the rest of the month. The psoas is a perfect example of something inside of us all that is tight that we tend to not look at that can contribute to chronic pain and poor posture 

Heart quality discipline and freedom 

Apex Bridget's cross 

Warm up 

Sun A 3x

Cat/ cow 

Basic 

Table shalabasana 

Mod. Bridget cross

Lunge 

Anjaneyasana 

W2  - rev warrior 

Mod. Parsvak- parsvak - rev warrior 

Anjaneyasana 

L.l quad - standing splits- handstand hops 

Lunge twist 

Anjaneyasana twist - low lunge twist quad 

Apex

Bridget cross 

Cool down 

Pigeon- cow face 

Uptivista konasana prep 

Uptiviata konasana parsva (with strap) 

Supta extend leg and same arm psoas stretch 

Laying in back root femurs 

Shavasana 

Meditation 

How I shift my mood with yoga asana, manta and 2 children

my home practice

Sadhana

• Theme sadhana the discipline following your goal spiritual practice. 5 components of sadhana: Presence. Courage.  Commitment. Devotion. Regularity 
• Ancedote: shiva story. Feeling doubtful unsure defeated questioning. He comes to a cliff, does he withdrawal? Or look forward and speculate? no he takes a step forward and a lotus flower rises and blossoms to meet him. Bks iyngar says like an oil seed needs to be crushed to release the oil. Like wood needs to be soaked to release the fire. We need sadhana to ignite our spirit 
• Heart quality: perseverance 
• Apex Ashtavakrasana 
• Upa muscle energy midline 

• Warm up
• Chataranga bolster 
• Sun A 3x watch chatarangas 
• Urdhva a hastasana side stretch 2x 
• Clasp - utt
• Basic 
• W2
• Mod. Parsvak 
• Parsvak 
• Hrl twist- scandasana- half moon - standing pigeon - by btkeagle- L
• Dolphin 
• L.l quad twist- anjaneyasana forearms 
• W2 clasp bow - hrl shoulder under 
• Crow (chat. Arms) 
• Double pigeon 
• Compass 
• Dandasana bow and arrow pick up 2 blocks
• Apex
• Ashtavakrasana 
• Cool down 
• Fish Twist 
• Bridge 
• Supta eagle leg twist 

Turn it all into sweet nectar

Theme: Returning again and again this to our practice. Turning into all our experiences. To all the flavors and situations of life and taking them all back into our center and extracting the transformational essience that they offer. 

Theme rasa 

Ancedote: bees. Bees go out into the world and bring their experiences (pollen) back to the beehive to transform those experiences into sweet nectar 
Alignment focus: inner spiral and outer spiral 

Quote: Last night as I was sleeping,

I dreamt—marvelous error!—

that a spring was breaking

out in my heart.

I said: Along which secret aqueduct,

Oh water, are you coming to me,

water of a new life

that I have never drunk?

Last night as I was sleeping,

I dreamt—marvelous error!—

that I had a beehive

here inside my heart.

And the golden bees

were making white combs

and sweet honey

from my old failures.

Last night as I was sleeping,

I dreamt—marvelous error!—

that a fiery sun was giving

light inside my heart.

It was fiery because I felt

warmth as from a hearth,

and sun because it gave light

and brought tears to my eyes.

Last night as I slept,

I dreamt—marvelous error!—

that it was God I had

here inside my heart.

Antonio Machado

Heart quality. Love  

Upa: muscle energy to the midline 

Apex vashistasana 

Warm up 

Sun a 3x 

Tree- quad- Standing pigeon 

Malasana

Basic 

Supta modified a - b - c 

Supta pada A - b - c STRAP

AMS 

Side plank - side plank 

Side plank- Active pigeon- twist quad stretch 

W2- Mod. Parsvak- rev w

W2- Parsvak- rev w 

Harder 

L T arm twist- rev- hrl twist- quad stretch 

Half hanuman 4 ways 

Trikonasana 

Scandasana- half moon- tree 

Scandasana- half moon- standing pigeon - utthita pada b prep 

Utthita pada b 

Side plank tree 

Apex

Vashistasana - Wildthing 

Cool down 

Wide leg forward fold - side- Parsvak strap 

Supta pada A B C 

Baddha konasana 

Beltane

Theme: align with nature. Celebrate life 

Anecdote Beltane is a celebration of the potency of the earth and the forces of nature. It's the cross quarter holiday between spring equinox and summer solstice and marks the beginning of the most active part of the year. All of life is bursting with fertility, sap is rising, birdsong fills the air and growth is everywhere. It is a time to express your self, but also to remember to stay grounded. 

Ask yourself what you wish to give energy to? Where will you put your focus? What can you change for the better? What actions can you make that will help the spread of goodwill and love in the world? All to soon this highly fertile time will be spent, so make the most of its raw energy for initiating plans and visions. Everything you do now will bring you closer to your goals, as the expansive energy of the moment carries you along. 

The intentions we give energy and passion to during this time will be coming into fullness in 7 months. What do you want to give your energy too? My Beltane intention for growth is more self LOVE and to move away from fear and towards trust. Trust in the resilience and abundance of life. 

Heart quality: passion 

Upa: Turning in (inner spiral) and rooting down (Outer spiral)

Apex: eka Prada bridge. Or eka pada urdhva 

Warm up 

Tad side stretch 

Is/os blocks sun A 3x 

Cobra block 3x - frog quad 

Table shalabasana glute workout - mod 1/2 moon 

Basic 

Mod. Mod. W2- mod. Mod. Parsvak 

W2 - mod. Parsvak- rev - half moon 

W2- L - twist T arms - rev L - l.l quad twist 

Anjaneyasana clasp hands open heart  

Harder 

Anjaneyasana quad 

Camel block is os 

Ardha hanhmanasana - standing splits- handstand hops 

Hero 

Virasana- supta virasana 

Prone pec stretch 

Spinx quad 

Danurasana 

Apex

Bridge block 

Urdhva danurasana 

Eka pada urdhva danurasana or bridge 

Cool down 

Supta root femur 

Down dog 

Utt- ardha utt 3x root femurs 

Malasana  

Upright Fish twist 

Baddha konasana 4x block 

Shavasana 

Meditation 

Soul Questions

The past ten  + years that I have been diving headfirst into spiritual evolution, one of the biggest tools I use is journaling. Pen to paper! It works when almost everything else fails. A great book I refrence and refer to others is An Artists Way. One lesson from this book is called morning pages where you journaling three big pages (or about 20-30 minutes) every morning free flow writing. The pen is always moving. This has helped me uncover and work through many issues and cultivate subtle and radicle change in my life. I highly recommend it.

 I also love using journal promps (An Artists Way) also includes many prompts. I am in a year  long apprenticeship program with Sianna  Sherman and Ashley Turner and was recently given these Soul Questions to write about. They touched me deeply and required deep thought and contemplation. I wanted to offer them to you. Enjoy!

Soul Questions:

• What fears are controlling you?
• Where are you hiding your power?  
• Where do you need to cut the cords?
• What do you want to protect or defend?
• Where are you staying too safe or complacent? 
• Where in your life are you ready to initiate change?

Forgiveness.... lower body loops of Anusara Yoga

Tuesday's Anusara Yoga class at metric Yoga
Theme: forgiveness

We all make mistakes, cause wreckage and have a history. Let go of blame, guilt and shame and open that space up to LOVE and UNDERSTANDING. Forgive! Forgive!

It has been said that “to forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” When we hold onto resentment, whether we realize it or not, it becomes a deep pain within us. That pain can manifest itself in different ways that can negatively impact our lives. Whatever you are holding onto tightly, let it go, and forgive! Forgive! Forgive! Forgive! Yourself and others. Don’t let hate be the story of your life. Choose to forgive.

The first paragraph of Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts, teaches us to discern between hate and forgiveness, no matter what the circumstance. “It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while i was chained to a wall and being tortured. I realized somehow through the screaming in my mind that even in that shackled, bloody helplessness I was still free, free to hate the men who were torturing me, or to forgive them. It doesn’t sound like much, I know, but in the flinch and bite of the chain, when it’s all you’ve got, that freedom is a universe of possibility. And the choice you make, between hating and forgiving, can become the story of your life.” Gregory David Roberts, Shantaram
Ancedote: Martin Luther King day
Apex: hanumanasana
Heart quality: forgiveness

More quotes:
- "I forgive, heal and release everything that consciously or unconsciously could delay or block the complete evolution of my being." Mario Liani
-“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving.” Dale Carnegie
-"We must developand maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies." Martin Luther King, Jr
Principle of emphasis: lower body loops. Ankle loop (creates arches, sets foundation for rest of body) ankle loop (times calf, prevents higher extension) thigh loop (governs health of low back, creates lumbar curve) pelvic loop (tones low belly, stabilizes and maintained lumbar curve, grounds energy)
1. Ankle Loop – Starts at the base of the shin bone just above the ankle. It moves down the back of the heel, forward along the bottom of the foot, then back up through the center of the arch to the front of the shin.
2. Shin Loop – Starts at the back of the shinbone just above the ankle. It moves up the back of the calf muscle to the top of the shins just below the knee, forward through the top of the shin, then down the front of the shin back to the base of the shin.
3. Thigh Loop – Starts at the top of the thighbone in the core of the pelvis (pelvic focal point). It moves down the back of the thigh to the top of the calf muscles, forward through the top of the shin, and then up the front of the leg through the lower abdomen back to the Focal Point.
4. Pelvic Loop – Starts in the core of the abdomen in line with the middle of the lower spine and a place just below the navel. It moves down from the middle of the lumbar to the buttocks in line with the bottom of the sacrum, forward through the floor of the pelvis (pelvic focal point) to the top of the pubic bone, then up the lower abdomen to just below the navel. The Pelvic Loop has the same direction of rotation as the Thigh Loop. However, they have opposite effects on alignment of the body. The Thigh Loop moves the top of the thighs back. While the Pelvic Loop moves the top of the thighs forward in opposition.


Sequence:
Warm up
Sun salutation one legged from down dog- Lunge- urdhva dandasana- tadasana 4x
Basic
Tadasana lower body loops demo
Tadasana- half moon stretch
High runner lunge twist - scandasana
Parsvotonasana- manual AL- standing splits- handstand hops TL
Uttanasana AL SL TL (bend legs- work loops- keep actions- straighten legs)   3x
Harder
prasarita padotonasana  (bend legs- work loops- keep actions- straighten legs) - Trikonasana  (bend legs- work loops- keep actions- straighten legs) - half moon (bend legs- work loops- keep actions- straighten legs)
 High runners lunge - urdhva dandasana- warrior 3- standing splits - handstand hops TL
Pigeon- add quad stretch
Apex
Half hanuman - hanumanasana
Cool down
Bridge
Bridge wall feet out TL PL windshield wiper
Seated Dandasana
Pachimotonasana
Partner supta loops partner stands on yogis upper thighs to root thighs back (thigh loop) yogi bends elbows and presses elbows into ground to lift heart (shoulder loop)
Supta loops
Shavasana
Meditation