Strength from within

What brings most people to the yoga mat is a desire to increase flexibility in their joints or build strength in their arms, legs or backs, but what keeps people on their yoga mat day after day, year after year, is the strength they build from within. On the surface, yoga looks like a purely physical routine, but the more you do it, you as the yogi begin to peel back the layers of your self, and go a little deeper. Suddenly this consistent yoga practice is helping you handle life's ups and downs on a multitude of levels.

This is why it's imperative that after you have crossed over the threshold of doing one class a week, you build a consistent home practice, because doing so will help build this inner strength. You'll begin to tap into resources you never thought you had so that you can ride the emotional waves of what's going in your inner and outer world. Yoga is a great equalizer, bringing equanimity to your thoughts, your energy, your faith and your physical body. And it offers you the opportunity to stay true to yourself and follow your Dharma (truth) with purpose.

So if you are taking a consistent yoga class, why not experiment with building a home practice to deepen your knowledge and experience of this ancient tradition and cultivate strength from within.

Namaste,
Susan

Cross training

I am preparing for my first 5K run this weekend. Am I excited, nervous, a little scared? You bet. But I'm also prepared and I've set my intentions to have fun, pace myself and have patience. It also got me to thinking how my yoga practice has prepared me even beyond what I've done running on the trail.

Yoga compliments my other forms of exercise, whether it's running, tennis or racquetball. All very yang sports to be sure, but yoga creates a place where I can stretch deeper in my body and helps me to take full advantage of my breath. It's all interconnected.

Years of performing Warrior poses, twists, downward facing dogs, balancing poses, vinyasas and pranayama (breath control) all has prepared me for this one little charity run this weekend. I can even call upon my meditation practice to guide me through. Don't believe me? What happens when you do any sport of endurance? It eventually becomes a mental game. It's you and your thoughts either propelling you forward or stopping you all together. In yoga, we call this monkey mind, "chitta."

It's really quite amazing how it all comes together. And you can use so many aspects of yoga to enhance your physical fitness. So, if you are one of those recreational athletes who thinks that yoga is too easy or too hard, just remember that some of those very same stretches you do to warm up, are the very ones I teach in class. You are already doing yoga and you don't even know it.

Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend. I'll see you on the mat and on the trails.

Blessings,
Susan

Thanks mom

So this Sunday is Mother's day and I'm going to be just a tad self indulgent as I focus this week's blog on thanking my mom. There are alot of people in this world who have lost their moms or who had moms that were critical or abusive or just plain ineffectual. This was not my mom. My mom was no Donna Reid and we didn't see eye to eye all the time, but looking back on what I know now, she was exactly the perfect person for the role to shape me into who I am today.

My mom is funny, fiery, loving, spiritual and one of my very best friends on this whole planet. She worked full time, as did my dad, raising us 4 kids and she spent seven years going to night school to get her bachelors degree in finance, all because she really wanted that college education. She has fought cancer twice and lived to tell the tale and she continues to be an inspiration to others who are still fighting it. She's just an all around hip gal and I continue to learn from her.

But what I really want to thank her for besides her strength and grit, is that she taught me about my humanity and about spirituality. I found yoga because of her. She was practicing it long before it was fashionable or trendy and somehow that yoga gene got passed on to me in a big way. I am now a teacher and I don't think I would be if not for her laying down the tracks for me to follow. Yoga has become one of the most important things in my life that has given me direction and a rock to cling to during the tough spots and so I thank my mother for sharing this with me and continuing to practice with me. I don't know what I'd be without that or without her, so thank you mom. And Namaste.

Susan

Getting out of a rut

As with any exercise routine, your yoga practice can sometimes get to be, well routine. How do you shake off the doldrums and rekindle the passion of why you started practicing yoga in the first place? One way to do that is to try a different class or try a different teacher. Getting a new perspective on your practice and hearing it presented in a different way, is sometimes all you need to jumpstart your practice to the next level.

As a teacher, I face the same challenges. I'll practice on my own at home, but I get caught up in the teaching so much that I lose focus for a bit. It's at that point that I need to take a class and be a student again. It's amazing the new things I learn that fuels not only my personal practice, but my teaching as well. It's all a big circle, and I'm fortunate to pass on the teachings of the great masters that have come before me.

So, if you are feeling in a rut with your yoga practice, check out some local yoga studios and try a different style or try another teacher. It just may be what you've been needing to shake things up a bit.

I'm going to take my own advice and practice with a master yoga teacher this weekend, Rod Stryker. If you are interested, please check out the Yogahome website and see if there are spots still available. It's worth it to study with one of the great Western yoga masters, especially in our own hometown. This doesn't happen often, folks.
http://www.yogahome.net/

Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you on the mat.

Blessings,

Susan

Compassion towards Mother Earth

This week marked the annual observance of Earth Day. With all of the marketing around this event, it simply reinforces a wonderful principle or guideline to follow and that is Ahimsa or non-harming. We hear it so much in relation to being kind to ourselves and our fellow man and showing kindness towards animals. But we can't forget about showing loving kindness to our home.

There are so many simple ways that you can help reduce our collective planetary carbon footprint, like recycling, composting, changing to energy efficient lightbulbs, etc. If you are feeling really resourceful, check out your local library or bookseller for books and activities on how you can go "green."

As a yogi, you can practice Ahimsa during your yoga session with a few of the following suggestions, along with helpful links:

1) Give up bottled water. How many of those plastic bottles end up in landfills? According to the Sierra Club, 1.5 million barrels of oil are used to make plastic water bottles. Switch to a PVC free stainless steel water bottle and fill it with tap water. http://www.kleankanteen.com/

2) Change out your PVC yoga mat for an eco mat. I, for one, have used the traditional yoga mats you find at Target, etc and have stopped using it in favor of my rubber yoga mat from Jade. I love it! It gives me more stability and cushioning, plus, I'm helping the environment. No need to throw out the old yoga mat though. Repurpose is as a lining in your car trunk, under a litter box or potted plant, etc. http://www.jadeyoga.com/store/home.php

3) Practice in organic cotton, hemp or bamboo clothing. http://acaciacatalog.com/default.asp, http://acaciacatalog.com/default.asp, http://www.gaiam.com/

4) Use a recycled bag to carry your yoga mat or clothes. These can also be used for grocery shopping too to replace plastic or paper bags. I used these and love them!!! http://www.envirosax.com/

I hope you find these suggestions helpful. It's definitely a step in the right direction as we take care of ourselves and our momma...earth.

Namaste,

Susan

Spotlight on the Spine

Lately I've been getting many "messages" about the spine, mainly the lumbar spine or the lower back. Whether it's feeling tight in my own body or hearing about other people's major back issues, I thought I would focus this week's blog on the all important back.

"You are only as young as your spine." One yoga teacher and maybe more have said this over time. And isn't it true. When you are in devasting back pain don't you feel like you are 106? But when your back is feeling strong and healthy, it's like we're kids again and we can do anything. The health of the spine is so important to the overall health of your body. And this includes the strength of the abdominals as well.

On the positive side, our bodies are all interconnected. On the negative side, our bodies are all interconnected. Meaning if you are misaligned in your back somewhere, you will feel it elsewhere in your body. Like skipping a stone on a pond, the ripple effects extend out. For example, let's say you have a problem in your lower back. If not addressed, you could begin to have pain and misalignment that could travel up your spine causing pain in your shoulders, neck, jaw and head. In addition, it can travel down your body causing pain in your hips, knees and feet. All because one thing is out of whack.

Do you see how important it is to address the problem right from the beginning? Do you see how important it is to stay physically fit and exercise on a regular basis? I'll say it again. You are only as young as your spine. So start today. You don't have to have a major yoga practice to benefit from yoga. You can incorporate simple poses like twists or back strengtheners like cobra or sphinx pose into your daily stretches. There are lots of gentle stretches you can do to keep your spine healthy and supple as you age. And by keeping your spine healthy, you create a stronger abdominal core. Keeping these bones and muscles strong and flexible allows you to grow older gracefully. And you'll still feel like a kid, even if you don't look like one.

Namaste,

Susan

Surrender

“I’ve learned to trust what I call the Braille method of living – relinquishing grand plans and schemes in favor of an intuitive approach, feeling my way from tree to tree, relinquishing my attempts to control the world and learning, instead, to trust a discerning surrender.”
Stephen Cope

I've been using this beautiful quote in my yoga classes this week. It really resonated with me at this time of year as I contemplate this faith-filled time of Easter and Passover. What does it mean to surrender? For some, it depicts weakness, resignation or giving up, but for me, surrendering marks that pivotal point when deep down you know that you need to call on something higher to get you through. To surrender means you allow something to be sacrficed so it can be transformed into something "better."

Is there something in your life that you need to surrender? Do you need to let go of mental or emotional habits that are keeping you stuck? Do you need to let go of physical habits that are keeping your body from feeling it's blissfully best? Do you need to surrender a relationship that is no longer feeding you? What do you need to lay on the perverbial "alter"so you can be free from what is holding you down?

From this standpoint, surrendering is not such a bad or scary thing. If you are willing to let go to get something more beautiful, wouldn't you do it?

Have a wonderful and safe Easter or Passover holiday. Enjoy the spring. Enjoy your family.

Love and Light,
Susan