School's in session

I've blogged a couple of times for students building a yoga practice, the importance exploring other teachers and other styles of yoga, to cultivate the appreciation of the vast knowledge that yoga can give us. It's also important for teachers to continue on in some capacity of continuing their education whether through workshops, trainings, or even picking up a new yoga text. At least for me, taking other styles or teachers keeps my own practice fresh and allows me to create new sessions for my students.

As some of you know, I've decided to take that next step and go back to school for massage therapy. What I'm hoping to gain besides skills for a new career, is experience and knowledge that I can bring to teaching yoga to my students. Because yoga is so much about the body, I am so excited to learn more about anatomy and physiology and healing techniques. I will still be teaching my normal classes (just on different days) but I can't wait to bridge the gap of what I don't know and apply it to what I do. And best of all, my students will be the beneficiaries of that knowledge and those healing techniques.

If you are in the area, I will be teaching Monday nights at Meadowland Chiropractic (6-7:15 pm) in Alexandria, KY.

http://www.meadowlandchiropractic.com/

And Wednesday nights at Yogahome Bellevue (6-7:15 pm) http://www.yogahome.net/

I hope to still see you on the mat.

Blessings for a wonderful weekend,

Susan

Usually at the end of my yoga classes, I will remind my students to drink plenty of water. And talking with one of my students after class, who is also a nurse, she pointed out that yoga teachers need to emphasize more to their students to drink water. Our bodies make up 70% of the stuff, but are we putting back in what we lose? Doubtful.

When you take a yoga class, no matter how gentle or vigorous or how hot the class is, you are getting rid of lots of toxins...through your sweat, and by moving in the poses, through the muscles as you stretch or contract them and through drainage of the lymph system. Water is the fastest and purest way of flushing out your system to move those toxins on.

There is a caveat, however to drinking water during a yoga class. In yoga, we work with the breath and with the postures to build heat in the body and create subtle body energy or prana to flow freely. When you drink water during a yoga class, you douse the fire it was taking you through that class to build. And on a subtle level, you can change the energetics of the class. Of course, let common sense be your guide. I'm not the water police. If you are taking a hot class or doing round after round of vigorous Sun Salutations, then yes, you may need to drink some water to stay hydrated. Just try to drink the rest of it after class and more throughout your day.

Blessings,

Susan

Feeling S.A.D.?

Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of depression that occurs the same time every year. It can start from the fall months and go all the way through the winter into March. For me, I know I feel much different at this time of year when the light and warmth leave and is replaced by the dark and coldness of winter. I don't have as much energy or motivation and can feel out of sorts and even irritable.

There are quite a few remedies for S.A.D. Light therapy or light boxes seem to be a traditional way. Some people may even go to a tanning bed to get the light and vitamin D their body is craving. While I haven't tried those and do not recommend a tanning bed, per se, I have tried simpler methods, like eating foods that perk me up a bit, like oranges or grapefruit. Something about the smell of citrus wakes me up. But you can also turn to your yoga practice as well.

Restorative yoga poses, while sounding too restful, actually can help with S.A.D. They allow you to go deeper and offer benefits in a much subtler way. And they calm the nervous system. Try holding these poses in a supportive way for 5-20 minutes. Combine this practice with breathwork and meditation, and you'll have a powerful tool to manage depression at this time of year.

Below are some links for more information for S.A.D. and some restorative yoga poses to try.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder/DS00195

http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/finder/browse_categories/restorative

Blessings,
Susan

Mind the Gap

When my husband and I were in London a few years back, we took the underground train or the "tube" to get around. Besides walking, it was one of the best ways to see the city and get from one little district to the next. On the trains, an announcement would always chime out to "Mind the Gap" as you exit and enter...a little reminder to watch out for the 2 inch gap between the train door and the platform.

But in my spiritual readings lately, Pema Chodron, a Buddhist monk, reminds us to not only mind the gap, but to create one. She poses this question every morning of her life, "as I go into this day, what is the most important thing? What is the best use of this day?" We go through our routines, our patterns, but are we becoming compassionate, more aware, more awake to ourselves and those around us? Or are we staying more enveloped in our cocoon, staying stuck in what we've always done?

She proposes instead to look at those habitual patterns, so that when you feel like you are on autopilot, to practice pausing or creating a gap. "We can stop and take 3 conscious breaths, and the world has a chance to open up to us in that gap. We can allow space into our state of mind." This breath awareness is one way to create a gap.

Another way is to cultivate a meditation practice. When you let your thoughts go in meditation, you are creating gaps. "If you don't fill up your practice time with your discursive mind, with your worrying and obsessing and all that kind of thing, you have time to experience the blessing of your surroundings. You can just sit there quietly. Then maybe silence will dawn on you, and the sacredness of the space will penetrate."

In yoga, our complimentary breathing and meditation practices help us to still the unending chatter in our minds and to create a space of stillness and awareness to go deeper into our poses. Now we can utilize them even more to dwell in that precious gap of sacred space where we can be fully present, fully awake in the moment, even if it's only for a few seconds.

Blessings,

Susan

New Year's Intentions

It's almost the end of January and I have to ask, how are those resolutions coming? Are you keeping them or have you given up? How about replacing that dreaded "R" word with a better one...Intention. In my yoga classes, we set our intention at the beginning of each class. It becomes less about a direct tangible goal, then it is about creating the type of energy you want from your practice that day. I call it the "one word mantra" or gem you can come back to for focus or energy. An example for a yoga class intention could be, "Patience" or "Courage" or even "Surrender." Again, just a one word gem that's easy to remember, yet hits home to what you really need at the time.

So, how can you replace a New Year's Resolution with an Intention? It's easy, but still requires a certain amount of discipline, but in a different way. So the biggie for most people is to lose weight, get in shape, eat better. But when you seat this type of goal for yourself there is always this huge expectation hanging over your head as well as failure if you don't succeed. And invariably something will detour you from your goal of perfect health and fitness. What happens then? Do you try harder or end up putting on the camel hair cloak and start beating yourself up and quit?

How about this year instead of making the Resolution stated above, you make the Intention of "eating mindfully" or "doing something active for 2o minutes today." (I know these are more than one word, but you get the idea) Keeping an intention is different because you surround it with a different energy and within that is something that is a smaller goal and achievable, but leaves room for growth and being human. And who knows? Something like that intention may lead you to your ultimate goal of losing weight, getting in shape and eating healthier.

One of my New Year's Intentions is "Patience"... at work, home, driving in my car, everywhere. And within this intention is the energy that I will be less reactionary at work and less judgemental with myself and others. And when I lose my way, I can come back to my one word mantra for guidance. Ahhhh Patience.

Blessings,
Susan

Finding the light

The winter solstice is almost upon us, December 21. The shortest and darkest day of the year. Other than Christmas, I never fully enjoyed this time of year because I am so affected by light. When it' s dark out and cold out, I just don't have the motivation to leave my warm house or bed, for that matter. But, since practicing yoga, I've come to full appreciate this time of year.

The lesson of winter is to teach us introspection, to slow our pace down, to go within to find that light to carry us to the spring. Maybe instead of letting this time of year with the crazyiness of the holidays get to you with it's dark and coldness, you actually take time for yourself. Really try to get off the crazy merry-go-round for just a little bit and give yourself that much needed time of rest. You will need this going into the next year.

And if you have a yoga practice, check in with what you need from that at this time. If you are devoted to a faster pace of class, try slowing it for a restorative or gentle class. Conversely, if a slower pace is your game, maybe a hot class is enough to bring the warmth and light back into your light. Just make sure you are healthy to take this type of class on.

And lastly, a simple and beautiful way to increase the light at this time, is to take up a mediation practice. Even, if it's only 5 minutes a day, that time of complete silence devoted to peace within will work wonders for you and help you set the intention for the coming light.

Blessings,

Susan

Practicing Asana-2 things

Most yogis will tell you that probably the most important book you can read to really deepen your yoga practice and essentially living a yogic lifestyle is by reading Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. It's not the easiest book to read. Actually one really can't read it, one must study it. Yes, it's one of those kinds of books that you can pick up time after time and savor it's truth and wisdom.

He only devotes a few sutras to the actual practice of yoga, but one sutra I explored in a workshop recently said this about practicing any asana or yoga posture, "Two essentials for posture: Yoga has been defined as the mastery of the thought patterns of mind field (1.2), so that Self-realization can be experienced (1.3). To be able to do the meditation practices that allow this, it is essential that the posture be (2.46): Steady and Comfortable. Yoga teachers will say these qualities are called: sthira = steady, stable, motionless and sukham = comfortable, ease filled.

Think about that for a moment when you are in a pose, any pose. Say you are in Warrior 1 and you are kind of just going through the motions. Your mind is everywhere but on the mat, your breath is shallow and physically you might be feeling labored, shaky, underchallenged, over challenged, or maybe even bored. Are you really doing yoga? NO...my friends you are not. Try it again only this time, bring attention to your breath which will help steady your mind and bring those 2 gems to the practice: sthira (steadyness) and sukham (ease) and see how that transforms your pose. Only then will you be truly practicing yoga instead of something that is posing (no pun intended) as yoga. So commit to the choice (I will too) of truly practicing yoga as opposed to a nice stretch class.

Blessings,
Susan