Taking Yoga to New Heights

Yep, that's me at the very top in the orange about 55 feet up.  Crazy huh?  What's even more crazy is how very yoga like it was.

 

One of my students, Paul, is an climber extraordinaire.  He has climbed rocks, mountain, ice and is preparing for a climbing trip next year to Peru.

 

Every time he talks about climbing he says how much like yoga it is.  How you are in the present moment, how much the breath comes into play. How very meditative it is.  Well after many months of gentle prodding on his part, my husband and I found ourselves at Planet Rock in Pontiac this past Friday night.

 

It is a huge old building that I am not sure what its' previous life was, but it seems to be enjoying it's present reincarnation.  The staff was very welcoming when we came in (very important to me, first impressions and all). We were paired up with Russ who took us through an intro for newbie's.  It took about 40 minutes or so where we learned all about knots, safety, harnesses, safety,  braking with the ropes, safety, belaying (the non climber on the bottom with the rope), safety, checking our harnesses, checking our partners harnesses and did I say safety.  Truth be told, my head was spinning just a little. And then it literally let us loose from the beginners wall and said have fun. Holy crap! Just like that.

 

Well he did follow us to the big walls to make sure that we could handle the rope if our climber were to start to fall and made sure we knew how to "break" for them when we were belaying.  Because my hubby is a tad heavier than me (giggles), my harness was tethered to the floor to make sure I didn't become Peter Pan if hubby started to fall. There was always staff walking around to make sure everyone was OK and Paul came over occasionally from his climbing partners to help out and give pointers. 

 

And this is where the yoga kicked in.  After tying the appropriate knots and checking each other's harnesses up I went.  And up and up.  The higher I went the more I seemed to become unaware of the others around me.  My concentration went deeper in as I determined where my feet and hands went next.  I would pause occasionally to make sure that I was breathing deep and full.  Others apparently were climbing within inches of me and I really didn't notice. In a sense I was meditating as I climbed! I reached the top, looked down and realized how high I was and it felt great.  Propelling down was just as much fun....weeee!!!! I went up a few more times taking a different route and still loved it.

 

The other aspect of where the yoga kicked in was with my physical body.  Using the strength of my upper body to pull me up (thanks to all those down dogs and chatarunga's),  the strength of my legs to climb (compliments of warrior poses, crescent, balancing poses when I had one foot planted as I figured out where to put the next one) and the awareness of my core muscles (bandhas) to bring it all together and of course let's not forget the breath. 

 

This practice of yoga is used every where we go and whatever we do in our daily lives.  What ever "mountain's" you have to climb in your life bring your yoga with you and don't forget to breath.

 

P.S. Thanks Paul!

 

 

 

 

 

Good Morning, Namaste

Good morning, Namaste. That was the note that greeted me this morning when I came to the studio, it was written on the back an envelope and tucked under the outside mat. How sweet I thought. 

Then I glanced over to one of the two benches that we have in the front of the studio for gathering purposes (or to cool off after hot yoga) and there was a brown paper bag.  I looked inside and low and behold, not to my surprise, were two empty wine bottles and two plastic cups.

My reaction was bouncing between amused and sadness.  Amused because they chose (since there were two cups I assume it was "they") our studio bench to partake.  Amused because they didn't drink straight out of the bottle, they had some class.  Amused that they neatly had the corks back in the bottles, glasses stacked and put in the bag which was placed to the side so someone wouldn't trip over it.

 

Sadness because they felt that they needed to find their peace and contentment from a bottle in the dark hiding from others.  Sadness because they may not know that there are others ways to find your inner peace that lasts much longer that the buzz from wine and doesn't result in a hangover.  Sadness because what they are looking for is just on the other side of the door that they left the sweet note.

 

Sadness because all they have to do is make the first step and.......just breathe.

 

 

Just A Coincidence?

I just got back Saturday from a trip my family takes each year to Ludington MI.  It started out 20 years ago with one cottage and around 12 of us. This year it was four cottages and including all the coming and goings we had 42 in attendance. That's al lot of Italians!

 

A few of my mom's grandchildren in their 30's (including two of my kids) came up for the first time.  They were way too cool to come up when they were in their late teens and early 20's.  Did time make the rest of us more cool or them less judging?

 

Two of the grandkids were unable to make it due to work commitments and this is where the story gets interesting. Nathan lives in Roseville and Kimberly lives in Royal Oak and they ran into each other at a 7 Eleven at 15 & Crooks.  It's never happened before to them and most likely won't happen again. Crazy huh! 

 

It reminds me of the movie Casablanca when Humphrey Bogart's character Rick say to Ingrid Bergman's character Ilsa "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into min". Well, in all of the 7 Eleven's in all the towns...you get the idea.

 

We are all share the same energy, no matter who or what we are.  Was it the energy of the family coming together, often mentioning that we had wished that they could have made it, that drew them toward each other.  Was it their energy, knowing that they were the only ones not up north that brought them together. Either way there was some intense sharing of energy going on to make that happen.  Of course we will never know, this is one of those mysteries of the universe.

 

Every thought, action, and word that we put out there does make a difference. It's energy in one form or another.  It connects us in ways beyond our comprehension.  They create situations  that make the hair on our arms stand up.  Most of them we don't realize, they aren't as "in your face" as the 7 Eleven encounter, but they happen.

 

Moral of the story?  Really pay attention to the energy that you put out there because remember the law of Karma, what you put out comes back. 

 

So before you open your mouth, think a thought and take action, ask yourself, do you want this coming back to you at some time in the future.....and just breathe.

     

$100 Worth of Karma

I went to get the mail the other day and there was an envelope addressed to Santosha Yoga without a return address.  I opened it up and out fell a crisp $100 bill along with a two page typed letter. It took me a second or two to process the money and I admit that I held it up to the light to make sure it was real.  It was.

The letter went on to explain the reason for the money.  It was an anonymous gift to Santohsa Yoga to use for 10 classes for students in need of yoga who maybe couldn't otherwise afford it.  The donor went on to explain that they came upon some unexpected money, that is was too difficult to truly explain but similar to finding money in a purse that you hadn't used in a while. We were to use it as we see fit, taking our time to decide who needs its.

The writer shared how yoga has changed their lives and they are ever so grateful for Santosha, the teachers and fellow students (as am I of course).  They was a lot more soul baring but you get the idea.

I re-read the letter several times first just to absorb the essence of it and then trying to play detective.  Hmmm, who could that be.  Must be a female because of the purse reference.  No, it could be male just trying to throw me off track.  By then I came to my senses and felt gratitude for this wonderful gift.

I have given out 4 classes so far of those I feel deserving at the time.  One is to a teenager who uses her babysitting money to take classes, another to a young gal who I know is struggling with school and bills. But as I give each one of them away, I tell them it has strings attached.  They must pay it forward.  They must preform a random act of kindness for someone else and it doesn't have to involve money. They have all assured me that they would.

Just think, that $100 worth of Karma will turn (not can) I repeat, will turn into so much more.  That's how is all starts.  That is the magic of yoga of the mat. Studies have shown

I was so excited by all this generosity that I had to remind myself......to just breathe.

The Real "Rock Stars" of Yoga

This past Friday night I attended a workshop that was being taught by yoga teacher extraordinaire, Jason Crandell.  Jason was recently named “one of the next generation of teachers shaping yoga’s future” by Yoga Journal. Jason is well know in the world wide yoga community for his skillful, unique approach to vinyasa yoga.

 

It was a great workshop and I was impressed with his humility and logical approach to teaching.  I really enjoyed it and was disappointed that I was unable to make the rest of his classes while he was in town. The weekend was sponsored by Yoga Association of Great Detroit (YAGD) which is primarily based in Oakland County.  That group of volunteers do a great job in bringing teachers of this caliber to the area.

 

We arrived at the workshop quite early since we were coming from Chesterfield and unfamiliar with Farmington Hills and then of course I always have to factor in time for getting lost.  Good thing too because the GPS on my phone decided to take us through the scenic route and since I didn't know any better, I let it (we figured out a better route coming back).

 

The place was buzzing with excitement, everyone waiting to meet and greet "the star".  But truth be told, in my humble opinion, the true stars of the show were some of the fellow yoga teachers and students that were there.  When we came into the space we were greeted by Claudette who introduced herself and showed us around.  She was pumped.  You could literally feel the energy bouncing off of her.  She told us that after the class, which ended at 9:30 PM, she was going dancing! She then proceeded to tell us that she just turned 70....70!!!!  Wow, she had the energy of a teenager at a Justin Bieber concert.

 

As the room started to fill up I took note as to the ages of a good portion of the other participants, which was clearly 60 and up.  In the ladies room I over heard others talking about a certain teacher who is still teaching in her 80's.  This area is an older more established yoga community, yoga has been around there for quite a while which would account for this. Watching these ladies and gentlemen practice was inspiring.  Yes, yes I know I was suppose to be concentrating on my own practice, but I did have to leave and go to the rest room at one point and just happened to glance here and there.

 

Do I really need to explain to you all what the moral of this story is?  I again experienced the miracle of what this practice of yoga can do for us. I witnessed what I have been telling everyone and anyone that yoga is not just for the young and nubile. 

Yes of course their bodies have changed over time but they adapted their practice to accommodate that.  Jason kept on telling us all through the class to quit beating ourselves up, to accept and be proud of the bodies that we have today.  He reminded us that we are already "whole" when we come to the mat. Yoga just helps bring it out of us.  These beautiful, seasoned students of yoga were moving, breathing and going dancing.  

 

It's not too late.  Get off the couch, get away from the computer, stop texting so much and get on the mat....and just breathe.

My Yoga Off the Mat Day

This past Sunday I had the privilege of practicing yoga off the mat with a vengeance.  If your not sure what yoga off the mat means think of the last time you were stuck in traffic and late for work or an appointment.  How did you react, were you fuming, honking the horn somehow thinking that the the sound of your horn would create a miracle of sorts and make the five mile up back up in front of you move.  Or did  you use the time to breathe, count your blessings, listen to some mellow music, you get the idea.
 

This past Sunday was another great day in downtown New Baltimore for Yoga in the Park from noon to 1 PM at Burke Park (shameless plug).  It was hot but we were going to have fun as we always do.  My PA system that worked great the week before was not cooperating at all.  I moved it all over the place trying to find a balance, it wasn't going to happen so most of the class I ended up talking really loud and for those who know me that's not hard to do.  I am Italian after all.

  

Mid way through class I noticed a small group of people walking toward the water near where we were having class and then a wedding commenced! The event was being video recorded and I didn't want this sweet couple 50 years from now watching their ceremony and hear me in the background yelling "inhale and reach your arms up". I stopped the class as we waited for them to take their vows and of course we all applauded when it was done. 

  

Class started up again when one of the students motioned to me that a wonderful police officer of New Baltimore who was just doing his job was not real happy where I parked my car.  I again stopped class to discuss the situation with him.  OK, I admit it my car wasn't parked all that legal, but as I explained to him we collect so many canned goods donations for St. Mary's food pantry (thank you everyone) it  was just easier to have the car closer to put the food in at the end of class. Seeing that he wasn't impressed with my story, I promised not to park there again.
 

Practicing yoga off the mat in spite of the heat,  I kept my cool.  Although it was very tempting to toss the entire PA system into the lake, I resisted.

  

I let go of everything that happened and went on with my day.  I didn't let it determine my mood for the rest of the day. Remember the phase "just laugh it off"?  Exactly.  I told you that we have fun at Yoga in the Park. I cant' guarantee that much fun every Sunday but I will do my best. 
 

Remember.....to just breathe on and off your mat.

Yoga and the Ones You Love

Ok, one more quiet rant.

 

You just discovered yoga and it was love at first down dog. You want everyone to experience the buzz that you do.  Or that hot yoga class that kicked your asana, sweat was flying everywhere and all of your toxins along with it and you want to share it all with the world.  So what do you do, your next hot yoga class you bring your mom (sister, dad, friend.....fill in the blank) with you.  They have never done yoga before and haven't been off the couch in a while. You love them so much that you bring them to a hot yoga class? What happens next is the well meaning gesture usually backfires and the newbie is never to be seen again. Your journey into yoga is not the same for someone else.

 

I have seen it first hand countless times. Students coming out of the middle of class near tears, one gal admitted that her "friends" forced her to come, she was not happy when she left. Siblings who wanted their mom to be healthier brought her to a vinyasa flow class.  When I suggested to them that it might be better to bring mom to another style class they assured me she would be fine, mom is still MIA.

 

I have been silent long enough! I applaud all of you for wanting the people you love to be healthier and happier and  yoga will help them get there but find the style that best suites where they are today.  Do you love them so much that you can put your ego aside and accompany them to a basic or gentle yoga class. Boring you say?  Take that opportunity not only to bond with whom you brought but also to really tune into your alignment and breath with the slower pace. They may never progress to a more vigorous style as you may have but at least they are off the couch and you should be ecstatic for the progress they have made.

 

 

I had a student tell me this happened to her years ago and she never tried yoga again until recently because she thought that all yoga classes were alike.  She now knows different. And so do you. I have seen anger, frustration,  and embarrassment on the students faces. The practice of yoga is suppose to bring you peace, not make you feel as if you failed.

 

 

 

Share your love of yoga with everyone, but take into consideration what their needs are when you invite them to come and be honest with yourself as to what your intention is.  Help them on this journey and remind them that the most important part of yoga and life is to .......just breathe.