The style of yoga I teach - heated power yoga - can be pretty challenging. The room is heated to around 90 degrees, we move alot - it's a physically challenging practice, and you move your body in ways that are unusual & atypical in everyday life. I usually don't play music, so there's no distraction. It's just you, on your mat, in your body, with your breath.
At times, it can be uncomfortable. New poses, new sequences of poses (class is never exactly the same twice), the heat, holding poses longer than you might like. I remind seasoned students & new students alike to try walking their feet father apart, to sit their hips lower, to raise their arms higher. In essence, I encourage them to move out of their comfort zone & try something different - dig a little deeper. I also repeatedly remind students to rest when they feel it's needed. For many, this is moving out of their comfort zone.
Even though this style of yoga is challenging, it's not about pushing & doing more. It is about finding your strength. Your calm. Your center. You learn (I've learned) that if you can find these things within in you as you hold a challenging pose, if you can take rest when everyone else is moving, then you just might be able to find these qualities I your life when things get uncomfortable.
It is about taking your practice off the mat.
You can now find my blog at the Register Citizen: http:http://www.registercitizen.com/blogs/life/
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is tomorrow & with it, the start of the holiday season for many.
Thanksgiving Day - a day for Giving Thanks. A day of Peace & Grace. Pretty simple.
And yet, in my visits to the grocery store & those "big box stores" this week, what I have seen has been anything but peaceful & graceful...people arguing over parking spaces & yelling at the cashiers.
And tomorrow night, many stores will open around midnight to give people a jump start on Black Friday shopping deals. Pretty complicated, if you ask me.
It can be simple. It can be a day spent with others - sharing time, perhaps a meal. Giving thanks for what we have & sharing that with others.
It can be a day full of Peace & Grace. A time to pause & enjoy life.
And the thing about Thanksgiving, is that it doesn't have to be limited to a single day in the year.
Thanksgiving Day can be every day. Every day can be a day to Give Thanks for who & what we have in our lives. Every day can be a day of Peace & Grace. And every day we can share this with others - people we know & love or complete strangers.
Every day can be simply a day of Thanksgiving.
May you enjoy your Thanksgiving Day - may it be full of Peace & Grace. And may every day be Thanksgiving Day.
You can now find my blog at the Register Citizen: http:http://www.registercitizen.com/blogs/life/
Thanksgiving Day - a day for Giving Thanks. A day of Peace & Grace. Pretty simple.
And yet, in my visits to the grocery store & those "big box stores" this week, what I have seen has been anything but peaceful & graceful...people arguing over parking spaces & yelling at the cashiers.
And tomorrow night, many stores will open around midnight to give people a jump start on Black Friday shopping deals. Pretty complicated, if you ask me.
It can be simple. It can be a day spent with others - sharing time, perhaps a meal. Giving thanks for what we have & sharing that with others.
It can be a day full of Peace & Grace. A time to pause & enjoy life.
And the thing about Thanksgiving, is that it doesn't have to be limited to a single day in the year.
Thanksgiving Day can be every day. Every day can be a day to Give Thanks for who & what we have in our lives. Every day can be a day of Peace & Grace. And every day we can share this with others - people we know & love or complete strangers.
Every day can be simply a day of Thanksgiving.
May you enjoy your Thanksgiving Day - may it be full of Peace & Grace. And may every day be Thanksgiving Day.
You can now find my blog at the Register Citizen: http:http://www.registercitizen.com/blogs/life/
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Snowstorm
I missed posting for a couple weeks because, a couple weeks ago, our part of CT was hit by a massive snowstorm - a nor'easter, a blizzard. Two feet of snow. Record numbers without power. No heat, hot water, electricity, cable, internet, phone service. A real white out, if you will.
We are fortunate - we have a generator, so being without power was only a minor inconvenience. We were still able to shower, cook & even watch TV (videos). And our electricity was restored pretty quickly - after only 4 days.
Other folks weren't so lucky. Many were without electricity for almost 2 weeks. Many people woke up in cold, dark houses, went to work (if they were lucky - it was warm there) & came home to cold, dark houses.
For us, the good thing about the storm was spending more time with extended family & friends. We invited people to eat with us & stay with us. There was more time to connect & talk & enjoy one another because we weren't rushing off to check our email or watch TV.
And when power was restored, it was a huge relief. Life is, obviously, so much easier with electricity - with heat, lights, hot water & phone service.
Going without modern conveniences made me realize, once again, how fortunate we are for all that we have. Being able to enjoy friends & family made me realize, once again, how fortunate I am to have these people in my life.
Gratitude is something I have written about before. It's worth writing about again. We get stuck in our heads & the challenges of our lives & forget about how much we really have & how lucky we really are. It shouldn't take a snowstorm for us to remember this.
Gratitude is the highest vibration there is. When you find it & feel it, everything shifts. Within you & around you. Try it. Look at who & what you have in your life right now. Find & feel gratitude.
You can now find my blog at the Register Citizen: http:http://www.registercitizen.com/blogs/life/
We are fortunate - we have a generator, so being without power was only a minor inconvenience. We were still able to shower, cook & even watch TV (videos). And our electricity was restored pretty quickly - after only 4 days.
Other folks weren't so lucky. Many were without electricity for almost 2 weeks. Many people woke up in cold, dark houses, went to work (if they were lucky - it was warm there) & came home to cold, dark houses.
For us, the good thing about the storm was spending more time with extended family & friends. We invited people to eat with us & stay with us. There was more time to connect & talk & enjoy one another because we weren't rushing off to check our email or watch TV.
And when power was restored, it was a huge relief. Life is, obviously, so much easier with electricity - with heat, lights, hot water & phone service.
Going without modern conveniences made me realize, once again, how fortunate we are for all that we have. Being able to enjoy friends & family made me realize, once again, how fortunate I am to have these people in my life.
Gratitude is something I have written about before. It's worth writing about again. We get stuck in our heads & the challenges of our lives & forget about how much we really have & how lucky we really are. It shouldn't take a snowstorm for us to remember this.
Gratitude is the highest vibration there is. When you find it & feel it, everything shifts. Within you & around you. Try it. Look at who & what you have in your life right now. Find & feel gratitude.
You can now find my blog at the Register Citizen: http:http://www.registercitizen.com/blogs/life/
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Get 'er done!
There was a period of time, recently in fact, when I would go to bed at night thinking about all the things I would accomplish the next day.
Literally, I would lie in bed thinking "ok, tomorrow, I'll get up, shower & eat & get out of the house & get STUFF done!".
And then the next morning would roll around.
And I'd get up & my son would want to sit on the potty & have stories read to him.
And then we'd get a banana & I'd check my email.
And then I'd throw some clothes in the washing machine & empty the dishwasher.
And then my son would want me to play with his trains with him.
And then we would talk our dogs for a walk.
And then I'd take a shower & we'd have breakfast.
And then....
Well, you see how it goes. Next thing I know, it's almost lunchtime & we'd "wasted" half the day.
At some point, I took a look at my thinking. My need to "get out of the house & get stuff done".
I'm not sure where it came from. Maybe years of getting up & out of the house to go to a 9 to 5 job? Maybe years of societal conditioning? Maybe just me...
But once I started looking at it, I started to let it go.
I started practicing (again) living in the moment. (I've been trying to practice this for as long as I've been teaching, but sometimes I forget).
Having an idea of things that need to get done in a day, but also having the flexibility & ability to go with the flow. Remembering that I am fortunate to have the time to spend with my son. Waking up & enjoying being awake & at home. Knowing that we'll get where we need to go, but more importantly, enjoying whatever the route is that takes us there.
We put alot of pressure on ourselves to "get stuff done". And most of the time, we will accomplish what we need to do. But we can often accomplish it without the added stress that we usually create ourselves.
It's easy to get sidetracked. The practice is to enjoy being sidetracked (or at the very least, to stay calm & centered when it happens). The practice is to enjoy the unpredictability of life - each moment of it. Once that moment is gone - it's gone. So enjoy it.
"Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone" - Lin Yutang
You can now find my blog at the Register Citizen: http:http://www.registercitizen.com/blogs/life/
Literally, I would lie in bed thinking "ok, tomorrow, I'll get up, shower & eat & get out of the house & get STUFF done!".
And then the next morning would roll around.
And I'd get up & my son would want to sit on the potty & have stories read to him.
And then we'd get a banana & I'd check my email.
And then I'd throw some clothes in the washing machine & empty the dishwasher.
And then my son would want me to play with his trains with him.
And then we would talk our dogs for a walk.
And then I'd take a shower & we'd have breakfast.
And then....
Well, you see how it goes. Next thing I know, it's almost lunchtime & we'd "wasted" half the day.
At some point, I took a look at my thinking. My need to "get out of the house & get stuff done".
I'm not sure where it came from. Maybe years of getting up & out of the house to go to a 9 to 5 job? Maybe years of societal conditioning? Maybe just me...
But once I started looking at it, I started to let it go.
I started practicing (again) living in the moment. (I've been trying to practice this for as long as I've been teaching, but sometimes I forget).
Having an idea of things that need to get done in a day, but also having the flexibility & ability to go with the flow. Remembering that I am fortunate to have the time to spend with my son. Waking up & enjoying being awake & at home. Knowing that we'll get where we need to go, but more importantly, enjoying whatever the route is that takes us there.
We put alot of pressure on ourselves to "get stuff done". And most of the time, we will accomplish what we need to do. But we can often accomplish it without the added stress that we usually create ourselves.
It's easy to get sidetracked. The practice is to enjoy being sidetracked (or at the very least, to stay calm & centered when it happens). The practice is to enjoy the unpredictability of life - each moment of it. Once that moment is gone - it's gone. So enjoy it.
"Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone" - Lin Yutang
You can now find my blog at the Register Citizen: http:http://www.registercitizen.com/blogs/life/
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Connection
When I opened my studio (http://www.sanctuarypoweryoga.com/), I heard alot of "you've got to get on facebook. You've got to start a blog". I had never been a fan of FB & rarely read blogs. But I'm all about getting the word out about heated power yoga in Northwest CT, so I jumped in.
The first time I hit the "publish" button for this blog - it was scary. Suddenly, what I thought, felt, believed was out there for EVERYONE to read.
Blogging & Facebook are still amazing to me. I do check FB almost everyday to see what's going on & how I might be able to promote the wonderful things going on at my studio. And I see how you could get "sucked in" & waste your day away. I'm amazed at the details that people share about the themselves & the things that get written, posted & shared.
It seems that as we become more separate from one another, more & more we seek out this artificial connection. Our friends on FB are strangers. We read & judge intimate details of strangers' lives. And more amazing than what is written on FB & in blogs are the comments posted about them.
People judge, criticize & ridicule. Others applaud & encourage. They become involved & entangled in strangers' lives online (kind of like reality television!). And while they sometimes know the blogger or the FB friend personally, other times the blogger or friend is, again, a complete stranger.
Yoga is about connection. With your breath, your body, your heart & spirit. Yoga is about community. Connecting, in real time, face to face, in person, with others. Yoga is about acceptance - of yourself, just the way you are. And of others.
Blogging & FB are great marketing tools. They're great ways to spread information & ideas quickly. But they are no substitute for real life connections, with real life people that you know, or could get to know. Instead of investing your time & energy in someone else's life online - invest in yourself. Turn off your computer & get into a yoga studio. Make a connection & maybe a real friend.
You can now find my blog at the Register Citizen: http:http://www.registercitizen.com/blogs/life/
The first time I hit the "publish" button for this blog - it was scary. Suddenly, what I thought, felt, believed was out there for EVERYONE to read.
Blogging & Facebook are still amazing to me. I do check FB almost everyday to see what's going on & how I might be able to promote the wonderful things going on at my studio. And I see how you could get "sucked in" & waste your day away. I'm amazed at the details that people share about the themselves & the things that get written, posted & shared.
It seems that as we become more separate from one another, more & more we seek out this artificial connection. Our friends on FB are strangers. We read & judge intimate details of strangers' lives. And more amazing than what is written on FB & in blogs are the comments posted about them.
People judge, criticize & ridicule. Others applaud & encourage. They become involved & entangled in strangers' lives online (kind of like reality television!). And while they sometimes know the blogger or the FB friend personally, other times the blogger or friend is, again, a complete stranger.
Yoga is about connection. With your breath, your body, your heart & spirit. Yoga is about community. Connecting, in real time, face to face, in person, with others. Yoga is about acceptance - of yourself, just the way you are. And of others.
Blogging & FB are great marketing tools. They're great ways to spread information & ideas quickly. But they are no substitute for real life connections, with real life people that you know, or could get to know. Instead of investing your time & energy in someone else's life online - invest in yourself. Turn off your computer & get into a yoga studio. Make a connection & maybe a real friend.
You can now find my blog at the Register Citizen: http:http://www.registercitizen.com/blogs/life/
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Dreamers
We ask children all the time "what do you want to be when you grow up?"
And the responses vary greatly - doctor, actress, astronaut, scientist, clown, hairdresser, surfer, yoga teacher...
Kids dream big & their plans for the future reflect that.
Most responses are met by adults with enthusiasm, if not occasional wonderment ("where did they get that idea"??!!).
A funny thing happens as we grow - those big dreams, those interesting responses, get met with more wonderment & less enthusiasm. And in some cases, the plans flat out get dismissed.
Big dreams become silly or unrealistic. And being a dreamer becomes impractical.
But what about the Wright Brothers. Who would have thought at the time that people flying was possible?!? What about all the children over time who HAVE grown up to be doctors, actressess, astronauts, scientists, clowns, hairdressers, surfers, yoga teachers...
And the responses vary greatly - doctor, actress, astronaut, scientist, clown, hairdresser, surfer, yoga teacher...
Kids dream big & their plans for the future reflect that.
Most responses are met by adults with enthusiasm, if not occasional wonderment ("where did they get that idea"??!!).
A funny thing happens as we grow - those big dreams, those interesting responses, get met with more wonderment & less enthusiasm. And in some cases, the plans flat out get dismissed.
Big dreams become silly or unrealistic. And being a dreamer becomes impractical.
But what about the Wright Brothers. Who would have thought at the time that people flying was possible?!? What about all the children over time who HAVE grown up to be doctors, actressess, astronauts, scientists, clowns, hairdressers, surfers, yoga teachers...
All these adults had dreams as children. Dreams that they realized. They were dreamers - they are dreamers. An thank the Universe for them & their dreams. Where would be today without them?
If we can dream it, we can create it. We just need to believe - in ourselves & the power of the universe.
You can now find my blog at the Register Citizen: http:http://www.registercitizen.com/blogs/life/
If we can dream it, we can create it. We just need to believe - in ourselves & the power of the universe.
You can now find my blog at the Register Citizen: http:http://www.registercitizen.com/blogs/life/
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Run Away!?
We have two dogs. When it comes time to put on their leashes & take them for a walk (which they love!), one dog runs away from us.
Now, it's not that she doesn't want to go for a walk. In fact, she gets super excited about it. She barks & runs around - runs over to us & the door. Then as soon as you reach for her to put on her leash...she dashes off.
(And yes, I realize this could probably be addressed with proper training - but that's another story altogether).
The other day, as this was going on, it occurred to me that people do this too.
We want something. We talk excitedly about wanting that something to happen. We imagine it happening. We wait & wait for that something to happen.
And then when it happens - when what we've been waiting appears before us...we run away from it!
For instance...I've had more than one friend complain about having lousy luck with men. And talk about wanting to find a "nice" guy.
And then when she meets that guy & goes out with him, she decides he's too nice - that there's something wrong with him. She runs away.
When we ask for something & talk about & get excited for it & imagine how it will feel - we set the wheels in motion to bring that something (or someone) into our lives.
But we're so surprised, and sometimes frightened, by our ability to create what we want, that when it appears, we back away from it.
We think that we don't deserve it, or that we should have to work harder for it.
When we ask for something - we need to be ready to receive. We need to be open & realize that we don't have to struggle for what we want. We just need to believe that we are deserving of it.
And then accept & enjoy it.
Now, it's not that she doesn't want to go for a walk. In fact, she gets super excited about it. She barks & runs around - runs over to us & the door. Then as soon as you reach for her to put on her leash...she dashes off.
(And yes, I realize this could probably be addressed with proper training - but that's another story altogether).
The other day, as this was going on, it occurred to me that people do this too.
We want something. We talk excitedly about wanting that something to happen. We imagine it happening. We wait & wait for that something to happen.
And then when it happens - when what we've been waiting appears before us...we run away from it!
For instance...I've had more than one friend complain about having lousy luck with men. And talk about wanting to find a "nice" guy.
And then when she meets that guy & goes out with him, she decides he's too nice - that there's something wrong with him. She runs away.
When we ask for something & talk about & get excited for it & imagine how it will feel - we set the wheels in motion to bring that something (or someone) into our lives.
But we're so surprised, and sometimes frightened, by our ability to create what we want, that when it appears, we back away from it.
We think that we don't deserve it, or that we should have to work harder for it.
When we ask for something - we need to be ready to receive. We need to be open & realize that we don't have to struggle for what we want. We just need to believe that we are deserving of it.
And then accept & enjoy it.
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