Mysore Style

I just experienced my first Mysore style Ashtanga class and loved it! Mysore style is a specific way of teaching Ashtanga Yoga as first taught by Sir K. Phattabhi Jois in the city of Mysore in India. It is way, way different that what most westerners are used. First of all the class is not "led" by the teacher as a whole. Think of it as private lessons for all of the students that are practicing at the same time. The teacher assists each student individually by giving physical adjustments & verbal instruction then the student goes at their own pace. Usually the teacher will give you a part of the sequence to work on and repeat it until it becomes more familiar to your body and breath.

The main focus of your practice is your breath, your dhristi (your gaze or focus) and your posture.  No pop music blaring in the background, all you hear is the deep ujjayi breath and the gentle movements of the bodies in the room. No comparing your triangle to the persons next to you  because they are in extended side angle pose, not triangle. I will admit that the concept was a little distracting at first but then I got the hang of it.

What is also different is that students come in during the time frame of the class as they wish and leave when they have finished the series that they came to do. You then go to the finishing room to practice the ending poses as not to disturb the students who are still flowing in the practice room. Did I mention yet that I loved it!

When I go to another studio I don't like to mention that I am a teacher, I just want to be a student and learn just like everyone else, because of course I will always be a student of yoga. I went into the practice room with no ego (it's very liberating to practice without an ego, try it sometime) and imagined myself a brand new student of yoga, a clean slate so to speak. Wow, my body felt lighter, I really paid attention to what I was doing and let go of any and all expectations.  

It is amazing of the things that  you can accomplish when you let go of the ego and ....just breath!

Monkey Mind

In the meditation side of yoga, we have something that we like to call monkey mind where we can't quiet the mind.  Imagine a monkey swinging from vine to vine to vine to.....ok you get the picture.  Well it's been a combination of writer's block/monkey mind and being off the grid for a week that I haven't written.  so I thought I would share some words of wisdom.  Be back in form soon.  Blessings...and just breath.

It is I who must begin 

It is I who must begin.

Once I begin, once I try --

here and now,

right where I am,

not excusing myself

by saying things

would be easier elsewhere,

without grand speeches and

ostentatious gestures,

but all the more persistently

-- to live in harmony

with the "voice of Being," as I

understand it within myself

-- as soon as I begin that,

I suddenly discover,

to my surprise, that

I am neither the only one,

nor the first,

nor the most important one

to have set out

upon that road.

Whether all is really lost

or not depends entirely on

whether or not I am lost.

~ Vaclav Havel ~

The Impermanence of It All

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Jennie circa 1945

I had my soon to be 88 year old mom spend the night with us last weekend as we were hosting Easter for the family. It was going to be a very small group this year as some have moved out of state while others had in-law obligations.  I felt bad for my mom, this was not the Easter of her past, especially with my dad being gone almost seven years now. I remember big loud affairs, kids running all over the place, makeshift tables in my Grandparent's basement in East Detroit (that's what is was called back then) with dishes stacked one atop  another to accommodate all the different courses that were served.  After dinner the ladies would clean up, us kids would go into a sugar induced coma and the men would play cards with their pants unbuttoned from eating way too much pasta.

My mom is not in good health now and often says to me "I never thought growing old would be like this".  I constantly have to bite my tongue, the sassy part of me wants to ask her "well what the hell did you think would happen".  She has watched her parents, siblings, husband and countless other relatives make their way to the other side...but she didn't think it would happen to her?  I know, I know, I did say it was the sassy part of me.

As I was peeling potatoes for dinner she was taking yet another nap even though it was just 11:00 am.  I was using the process of potato peeling as a kind of meditation.  You know,  a one pointed focus (meditation comes in all forms, not just sitting on your bottom and chanting "ommmm") and wondered how could I make this Easter like the ones of her past, I wanted to make her happy.  Then I remembered I can't recreate the past, no one can.  This was the 2013 version of Easter.  Next year will be different and so will the one after that.

The Buddha taught us that everything is impermanent. Most of us think of impermanence as a unpleasant thing but it is the cycle of life. The world we live in is constantly changing whether we accept it or not. This is where the pain of suffering (dukkha) comes from.  I know that this is not a comfortable topic for most westerners to talk about let alone think about.  I am reminded about it every time I look into the mirror and see another gray hair or wrinkle, but then I say to myself this is me today.  I am not the same as yesterday nor will I be the same tomorrow.  I have learned to be OK with impermanence after all we will all die one day.  

My mom is in constant pain due to age related issues and inactivity, but I wish she could try and embrace the blessings that she has in her life today, family love, support of friends, a roof over her head, food, heath insurance. I wish she could make a little more peace with the Jennie of 2013. She wants to be in the past where she was young, healthy, very beautiful and could dance the night away wearing ankle strap high heels.  

As she naps I check on her often to make sure that that her chest is moving up and down, watching her as she just breathes....

There's No Hangover with Yoga.

Every morning on my way to the studio I pass by a local bar and I have made a guessing game of sorts out of how many cars will be in the parking lot left over from the night before.  The other morning it was four.  My first thought is usually, well I am glad they had the common sense, or someone  they were with, not to drive home in an inebriated condition.  But then my second thought is what is going on in their lives that they had to get there in the first place. Some days the same care is still there, staying there for days waiting for the owner to come get it.  What are they doing that they couldn't come back the next day.

If I am sounding somewhat judgmental, I don't mean to be.  Just curious as to what path they are on that has taken them to this point.

I never was a big drinker, I was what you called a cheap drunk.  One glass of wine and I was done for the night.  But the hangover would last longer than the buzz.  I remember one of my first teachers told me the only reason he tired yoga was because someone told him he could get a "high" from it.

Can you get a high from yoga, yep! If you googled "yoga buzz" you will come up with tons of information about it.  It really does exist.

How does it work? You move and you breath, simple as that.  Working the "outer body" you increase the circulation of the blood, bringing in needed nutrients with your inhales and releasing toxins with your exhales.  With the postures you wring out the organs and strengthen and lengthen your muscles. You start to release the "issues that hide in our tissues".  This magic just doesn't happen with a kick ass hot yoga class, it happens with the most gentlest forms of yoga.

On the website urbandictionary.com there is even a  bonafide definition: "Yoga Buzz: the high or elated feeling upon completion of a focused hatha yoga or meditation practice.  The sensation that arises upon connecting the oneness of the universe".  Just reading that gets me a little loopy.  

We all have drama and obstacles in our life that we need to deal with.  With a chemical high when you come down  the problems are still there and  you haven't learned any coping mechanism.  With a yoga high or buzz when and if you come out of it, you have learned that there is another way. After all yoga is a journey of self realization.  So just don't put a band aid on your drama, hoping that you can drink it away.  Give yoga a try and start to change your life for the better and of course....don't forget to breathe.

Look at Me Ma!

I used to teach chair yoga where my 88 year old mother lives, a community for "active seniors" and if you call it a nursing home she will most definitely take you down, all 4'10"of her.  But I am getting off my topic of choice. I  loved seeing all the little ladies come into class all styled out, heavily dosed in Chanel No. 5.  Hats, broaches ( decorative pins for those of you in a younger age group), scarves, they were adorable. There were a few men here and there, but just like other yoga class, the ladies dominated.  And if you think you can't work up a sweat doing chair yoga, you my friend are sadly mistaken. try it sometimes.  Again I am getting off the topic.

Truth be told, the only reason my mom would attend the class was because I was teaching it.  She loved to show me off to her lady friends, just busting with pride. There were times when she wouldn't let me start class until I showed the students how I could do head stand.  She and I would argue but of course she would win and up (or upside down) I went.  She would just gush and everyone would clap.  Only then was I allowed to start class.

I thought of this recently when I was trying to remind someone yet again that the true essence of yoga isn't about getting up into handstand, even if your mom makes you.  It's about the breath, it's about practicing Seva (selfless service), it's about being there when someone reaches out.  It's so much more than the physical practice.  If you have read my blog in the past, you know that I bring this up time and time again.  But it needs to be.  We get so caught up about the "what about me" mantra that we forget where true happiness comes from. Not happy in your current life, good chance that it's all about you.  All about  showing off in handstand, headstand or what ever advanced pose that you can do. Here is a simple formula for you to follow: you + Seva = happiness.  Get it? Got it? Good!

If your ego is attaching your happiness to the pose of the month, what happens when you find yourself in a chair yoga class. Don't think that's going to happen to you, guess again people  I guarantee neither did any of the lovely ladies in the class that I taught.  

Moral of the story, stay active, move, eat right, practice yoga, but most importantly practice Seva....and don't forget to breath.

Happy Valentine's Day

“Without love,
all worship is a burden,
all dancing is a chore,
all music is mere noise.
All the rain of heaven may fall into the sea.
Without love, 
not one drop could become a pearl.”
~ Rumi ~

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yoga for One Please!

I remember when I was first interested in wanting to start a yoga practice..  I tried to talk everyone I knew into taking it with me.  Good Lord I didn't want to go alone, way too crazy.  Sisters, girlfriends, cousins, spouse, I couldn't fine any takers.  Years went by and the more I read about it the more I wanted to take it and one day I just put my big girl pants on and went all by myself.

 

I was reminded of this the other day when two new students came in for class and a third friend who was suppose to join them didn't.  Of the remaining two, one looked at the other and said "boy aren't you glad I came or you would have been all by yourself". Alone in a yoga studio?  Highly unlikely.  She said it has if it was such a bad thing, even though I am sure that she didn't mean it that way but that's how we perceive it.  What is so bad about being alone with yourself.  First of all most anywhere you go you really aren't by yourself.  You are surrounded by countless others, you may not know them but you truly aren't alone.

 

Why are we afraid to venture out on our own? To try a new experience, meet new friends, to put our big girl (or boy) pants on and embrace the world.  What is on your "to do" list that hasn't been done because you can't find anyone to do it with.  What if you never find someone to do it with, if you continue on the path that you are on you will miss out on it.

 

A few weeks ago I was to meet a friend for lunch, we got our signals crossed and I ended up eating lunch alone and enjoyed my own company. I was tempted to go to the car and get a book, but I didn't.  My neighbor went to the show by herself the other day to see a movie and enjoyed her own company.  Of course taking a break from 2 active sons was an added bonus. And please explain to me why some women need a bathroom buddy?  I have never understood that one.

 

Most often we aren't afraid to be physically alone but internally alone.  That means we will have to have a conversation with our own thoughts.  Horrors! What is so bad about being by yourself.  What are you afraid of. Yoga and meditation is a discovery of self realization. Learning about our body and our mind, what makes us move and what makes us tick.  No one else can do that for us or with us .

 

If I eventually didn't pursue my journey of yoga by myself I wouldn't have the wonderful full life that have today. There are no do overs in life. So listen up everyone, put your big girl or boy pants on and take that leap of faith....and just breathe.