Yoga Day

Hi everyone,

I hope this blog finds you all well and that you haven't given up on your New Year's Resolutions to get fit this year. It's never too late to start and it's never too late to get back on track. If you have always wanted to try a yoga class, but been too hesitant or not sure you want to invest the money, here is a great way to check it out.

This Saturday, January 24 is Yoga Day USA! It is a national day to celebrate yoga and all across the country studios are offering wonderful classes for free or by donation. And if you can't make it to a studio, you can always pick up a DVD and practice at home and celebrate with fellow yogis across the country.

I know the Yogahome studio in Oakley is offering some great classes if you want to check it out. They are a great studio and where I received my teacher training.

http://www.yogahome.net/ Go on to their "upcoming events" tab and you'll see "Yoga Day USA" information.

You can also check out the main website for this event and explore other opportunities.
http://www.yogadayusa.org/


Have a wonderful weekend and hope to see you on the mat.

Blessings,

Susan

Sister Science

If you study or practice yoga long enough, you are bound to become acquainted with Ayurveda, (pronounced I-your-vaeda). Ayurveda which means the "knowledge of life" is the sister science of yoga, an ancient Indian healing system that encompases diet, lifestyle, and the subtle energies of the body. It sounds like it would be extremely difficult to understand or apply, but I bet you already do it and don't even realize it. It's all about listening to your natural intuition when you exercise or eat a meal.

For instance, in the summer time do you naturally gravitate towards eating hot, rich foods and hot drinks or do you "crave" a light salad, cold fruit and water? Maybe it's not a craving after all. Without knowing it, you are applying the ancient healing system of ayurveda by feeding your body what it naturally needs, at the right time, the right season, and the right amount to feel healthy and nourished. You eat the foods that are in season; you feed your physical body by exercising outside and you feed your subtle body energies by giving it sunshine, fresh air, and time in the garden.

When you realize this, you begin to understand how everything is intertwined. And this is true for yoga too. You'll begin to intuitively know what poses will work more efficiently for you to keep you at your optimal best. You'll have to experiement and decide, for instance, if in the winter time you do a hot, yang yoga practice or you switch to a slower, yin practice. It will take some time, but you'll get it.

Floor Yogi

Ever wondered why people of certain cultures have better posture or are more flexible? For instance take the Indian culture. And this could be the native people of our country or the Indians across thousands of miles, namely Hindus. These two cultures of people do something on a daily basis that we Westerners don't do often do at all, and that is sit on the floor. They sit, squat even lunge and they are the more flexible for it.

Oh we sit plenty, but it's not the "right" type of sitting. We sit in our cars or sit at desks all day in front of computers. When was the last time you actually sat on the floor? Were you 4 years old sitting in "circle time" at preschool?

Consider how tight are bodies have become over time because we sit in hard chairs that do nothing for our posture or our weight. We sit, sit, sit all day feeling our shoulders round, our backs slump, our hips tighten and our thighs widen. Everything just feels tight and miserable.

Take a cue from these wonderful people and sit on the floor once in a while. What are the benefits you ask? How about supple joints, a better posture, a stronger back and more open hips. The only drawback I can think of is for some, having the difficulty of once getting down on the floor, not getting back up.

So, start out small. Sit on the couch with crossed legs or feet together in a butterfly position. Your knees may start up pointing towards the sky, but eventually with time, they may open up. Sit up tall with a nice straight back, roll your shoulders back and down, and start to notice the change.

Blessings,

Susan

A Compass to Live By

There are so many physical benefits of yoga whether you practice daily or just a couple of times a week. But there are benefits to the subtle nature of ourselves as well, particularly if you have ever felt anxiety or stress. Yoga has a way of helping to balance our emotional lives, calming our nevous systems, even improving depression.

Often times when things are not making sense in my life and I'm not sure of some of the things I'm doing on my personal path, it's my yoga practice that centers me. I've done lots of different things with my life in regards to personal and professional pursuits, but yoga is really the only common denominator that has stayed present in my life. When things are off kilter and I'm feeling that fight or flight angst inside, yoga becomes the compass that steers me back on course. It lets me know that I need to take time for myself to practice or even "up" my practice even more.

No matter where you are on the path, I hope you let 2009 be the year you dip your big toe into the great cosmic pool of yoga and allow it to bring about whatever transformation you need.

Blessings,

Susan

Song for a Winter's Night

"The night was clear and frosty, all ebony of shadow and silver of snowy slope; big stars were shining over the silent fields." ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery

December 21, 2008 marks the winter solstice which jump starts the beginning of winter and it's the shortest day of the year. Just the thought of that makes me feel like this day is particularly dark and lonesome. But this wintertime doesn't have to be that way, especially after the luster of the holidays wears off and we must face another year with its challenges, stresses, joy, excitement and uncertainty.

Wintertime is nature's gift for encouraging introspection and contemplation. Don't you naturally feel like turning within and tending to your own personal business at this time? For me I feel less like watching tv and more like sitting quietly with a good book or journaling.

The solstice also marks the gentle return of the light. But until that light comes, we must keep it kindling within ourselves. How do we do this? We do this by re-connecting to our yoga practice, by re-connecting to our meditation practice and by re-connecting to our practice of breathing and being aware and awake in our lives.

I know these days seem darker than most years because of everything going on in our world and in our country, but truly if you can afford a $20 yoga mat, you have all that you need to transform your life and create more light in your physical body. And if you can sit on a pillow or comfortable chair for just 5 minutes a day, you have all that you need to create lightness in your mind.

I encourage you this winter as you are celebrating with family, friends and co-workers, to take some precious time for yourself and re-connect to those practices that will bring more stillness, light and joy in your life.

Happy Winter!

Susan

To Veg or not to Veg...

Much like the common misconception that you have to be flexible to practice yoga, there is also a question of whether or not you have to be a vegetarian as well. This comes from the idea of not harming animals, a practice called Ahimsa discussed in previous blogs. You can go very deeply into this topic and talk to people on every plane of the spectrum from those who eat a very specific plant based diet to those who occassionaly eat meat.

I wrestle with this concept too. I was a vegetarian for about four years before switching back to eating meat. For me it was a very personal decision and mainly one based on wanting to feel better. When I was a vegetarian, I just didn't feel like I had a lot of energy and the massive amounts of soy I was consuming was actually exacerbating other health conditions. This was my experience with it at the time.

It was then that I decided that I really just wanted to be a healthy eater and having a nice balance to my diet. I eat mostly a plant based diet and incorporate fish, lean poultry and Gasp....the occassional steak. Is it wrong? Is it right? I believe it's neither wrong nor right, it just is, what it is. It's right for me. Does that make me a "bad" yogi or care less for animals? Should I stop practicing yoga altogether because I ate a turkey burger? It's absurd isn't?

As yogis we have to honor our own individual bodies and what that means to keep us healthy. We also have to honor other people's choices and try not to impose our own personal belief systems on others just because it's written down somewhere in a book. Afterall, isn't that "harming?" Yoga teaches us compassion; compassion for ourselves, for others and for every being we share the planet with.

The great thing about yoga is that as you continue to practice, you will intuitively begin to know what types of foods will feed your body in healthful ways and which foods will make you feel sick. And then you can begin to make conscious choices for your diet, vegetarian or somewhere in between.

Love and light,

Susan

ps A nice reminder for feeling healthy in the new year...Lotus Yoga. Space is limited, so register now!! http://www.radiantfitness.com/lotusyoga.html

Crafty Yogi

With our hard economic times, many people, myself included, have decided to scale back on how much they spend for gifts during the holidays. Maybe for the adults and children in your life you can give them something simple, beautiful and from the heart.

If you are seriously wanting to live like a yogi during the holidays, then applyAparigraha to your gift giving. Aparigraha means non-coveting or GREED. If you are always wanting, more, more, more than take your cue from the current times and simplify. Here are some ideas to start:

For the Baker or Chef, you can make a gift of assorted homemade cookes, candies, or fudge. Create a cookbook or recipe cards of your favorite foods and give them as gifts. Create a soup, pasta, or cookie mix that you "jar" yourself and give those out. A nice blend of teas is always nice in the winter time.

For the Crafty, you can make scented eye pillow, beaded jewelry, blankets, scarves, etc, or handmade photo album with scrapbook supplies.

For the yogi in your life, a gift series to some classes is nice, as well as a new mat or mat bag, yoga book, dvd, or cd is awesome too.

For the children in your life, this is a tough one but maybe this year Santa can bring them one "big" special gift and the rest be smaller toys, books, clothes, etc. Check out some the toys that came out when you were a kid. Toy companies are manufacturing them again. You can also shop at antique stores too. Many vendors sell great things from yesteryear.

For the rest, how about choosing a name and spending only a certain amount on that person, or buying a grab bag gift. One of my students says her family chooses a name and they buy that person a book they think they will love. Could be used or new. Now that's pretty simple and great.

Just some ideas to make it simple yet beautiful this year. You can always flip through catalogues or online sites and find great gift ideas for any type of interest and scale it down so you are not breaking the bank.

The point is you don't have to spend a fortune, just be a little resourceful. Who are you buying for and why? If you take just a little time to think about what that person really loves, you can find something lovely that won't run your credit card up. And isn't the peace of mind of no bills waiting for you in January the best gift of all?

Love and Light,

Susan