Flying on the Mat

What a week!  Even still, I found time to fly on my mat, thanks to a great Wednesday session by Josh.
Summer is ending, dear readers.  Soon, it's time to acclimate myself (and my children) to a regular daily schedule, which will be unlike any other September that has come before.  This is mainly because I'll be heading back to school for my Yoga Teacher Training.  I've never been a "student" while being a mother, let along a working professional (unlike a lot of my colleagues, I completed my Masters Degree before I started my teaching career).  Thankfully, I'm comfortable in my skin as both a mother and a teacher, so I feel like I'm up for the challenge - fully admitting that it is going to be nothing short of a challenge.
I digress.  I have roughly one week left to squeeze in as much yoga as I can.  I do feel that "yoga as I know it" is going to change, once I enter the teaching program, so I want to experience flying under someone else's guidance while I have the opportunity, and that's just what Josh presented this past Wednesday - so fitting, as he announced that a sub will be filling in for his class next week.  You all know how I feel about substitute yoga teachers.  This week was enough to last two weeks - as we worked heavily on Balancing postures, which are my strong suit.
It's been a while since I've felt like I've been flying on my mat.  Maybe I've been distracted (trying to recall/practice Sanskrit, thinking about what I should blog, worrying about my bra showing), maybe my focus hasn't quite been on-point, maybe instructors haven't felt much like having us fly.  Whatever the reason, it's been a while, and this past Wednesday, I got a sweet taste of flying.  It renewed everything I love about yoga.
I don't know if it's an "official" posture or asana, but we moved via swandive into a crescent lunge.  For that brief moment before your back foot touches down, you're balancing on one leg, and it makes you feel like you're flying.  I love this feeling, so I extended my leg for as long as I could - Imagining myself as a graceful bird taking flight. I savored the feeling, and whenever the opportunity arose within the practice to do it again, I balanced.  I let my leg go long and slow, my arms go wide and expansive, my breath come in deep, just to prolong the feeling of flying.
Flying doesn't come often on the mat - you have to be in the right zone - but when the moment arises, carpe diem, friends, and enjoy every second!  Maybe when I'm a yoga teacher, I'll try to work in a little flying with every session.  That's how good it feels.


" Be sure to breathe... Hold the posture, not your breath" - Josh

Can't stop thinking about this.

Get ready to be blown away.  I have been since I first saw this video, and can't stop thinking about it.
Okay, Yoga isn't about this.  But it is no less awe-inspiring to see a talented practitioner and wonder what it takes to get there.  I can't begin to imagine how many hours of practice Briohny has logged in to reach this stage of lithe...and she's probably not snacking on Pirates Booty as she sits at her laptop blogging away (that would be ME).  The thing is, it always brings me back to the realization that there is always somewhere for my yoga practice to go.
7 years in, I can do some pretty impressive things - things that I couldn't dream of doing when I started.  But, like LIFE, my practice is a journey.  A journey that can't possibly be complete after 7 years on the mat or 70 years on the mat.  Truth be told, as serious as she is, Briohny is likely having FUN, and I can't wait to have fun, too.
Please share your thoughts on the video.  Crazy?  Inspirational? Soft porn?  A lofty pipe-dream?  Plain and simple, I just love it.

Here's the motto of the Month for Sagittariuses (courtesy of Harper's Bazaar): No amount of darkness can hide a spark of light.  For Leos: Be good or be good at it.  

Are you afraid?

My children are deathly afraid of the dark.  This fear makes it very hard to "take care of business" during winter months, when the sun sets earliler than during other times of the year.  Neither of my kids will venture into a room where the lights are not turned on.  If we're out and return after 5pm to a dark home, they won't leave the foyer until the lights to the next room are turned on.  If I commence with cooking dinner, getting busy in the kitchen, and one of them needs to use the bathroom (which is on the second floor), they need me to stop what I'm doing, wash my hands of whatever food I'm preparing, and walk them upstairs.  They won't even agree to walking upstairs, turning on lights as they go.  I must escort them, lest a "Death Eater" (my older son is WAY into Harry Potter) or "Ghost" come and spirit them away.  In the modern age of energy conservation and environmental conscientiousness, it's pretty much ingrained in me that we can't leave lights on unless we are in that room, so I'm pretty much stuck with this station in life.  To be fair, this fear of the dark *does* work itself to my advantage.  If there is a room where I don't want my children to enter and make a mess, I just leave the lights off.  But overall, my life is inconvenienced by my children's fear.
Is fear justified?  As far as my children and the dark are concerned, yes.  This is despite the fact that my husband and I are vigilant about what these boys are exposed to.  Knowing that the 4th Harry Potter novel is far scarier than the first 3, I've been reticent about letting my older son delve in, despite protests that all his friends are reading it.  The boys haven't even seen Finding Nemo, we've sheltered them so much from "scary things".  Can it be conquered?  Ask the 7-and-under set - the answer is No Way.  Mom's help is needed.  But what about us grown ups - you know, those of us for whom "Mom" is no longer at beck-and-call?
When it comes to your yoga practice, what is it that you fear?  Is it something simple, like a challenging posture?  Are you afraid of flying in crow?  Are you fearful that your Ardho Chandrasana is going to land you on your face? 
Maybe you have no idea of what I'm talking about - let's address you neophytes:  are you afraid of trying yoga?  What is holding you back?  The beauty of yoga is that you take away from it what you want (unless what you want is a hard-driving sweaty workout.  Then again, we've got you covered with Bikram!).  There really is nothing to be afraid of.  It's not too girly (in fact, I'd venture to say that there were more men than women in the class I took with Heidy this morning...and the Tuesday night class I've been aiming to catch with Eileen always has at least 3 men who are regulars).  It's not too intense (there are modifications for every single posture).  Remember that it even took God 6 days to make Earth.  You're not going to fly in crow on the first day - you work up to every posture, honoring your body and respecting your intentions with each practice.  You'll get there.  And when you feel like you've "arrived", you realize that there's somewhere else to go with the posture.  Your practice is never finished. 
So maybe that's what you're afraid of - the fact that there is no "end" to yoga.  There's always somewhere else to take your practice.  When you think about it, that's nothing to be afraid of.  It's exciting that your relationship with Yoga is not going to reach a "dead end".  There's room for improvement, room for growth.  The longer you spend growing your practice, the more you appreciate it, and not that other's opinions should matter, you'll have more respect. 
In a practice last month, towards the end of the hour, the teacher guided us into crow.  I was game to try, knowing that I wasn't strong enough to hold the posture (which is a rather intense arm balance that also incorporates abdominal strength).  There were two women on mats behind me that scoffed at the thought: "Oh, there's no way...", but as I attempted the balance: "Oh, look, she might have it...oh, she doesn't...wait, maybe she's got it...ooops, nah".  Why weren't these women focused on their own practice?  Why weren't they attempting to conquer the pose?  The answers don't matter.  They were fearful of something, and they let their fears get in the way of trying.  And this, in turn, got them nowhere. 
So, the lesson to be learned here is to put things into perspective.  My kids need to put it into perspective that the dark is simply the absence of light.  The same things that are there in the light are there in the dark.  Conquering this (hopefully) will come with age.  Right now, they haven't much life experience, so the fear of the dark is understandable.  As we gain more experiences, we realize that certain aspects of life are left in the proverbial "dark" - there are things we can't see or understand.  Maybe we're not meant to understand them, maybe we need patience to deal with them.  Either way, give them time and patience, and the light may be turned on, hopefully conquering our fear.  Treat your yoga practice with the same perspective, and one by one, each posture will come to you.  It will be like turning on each light as you go upstairs to the second floor.

POW! - Pose of the Week

This week's pose: Crow - because we're not quite done with inversions!

Well, a lot has happened since I last posted a Pose of the Week for you. There was Christmas (totally ate too much!), there was New Year's (totally drank too much!), there were 3 sessions of Bikram (totally sweat too much!), and now here we are - finishing up my series on inversions. Before you think that I've totally inverted you too much, Bakasana (known as Crow or Crane) is only technically an inversion because your hips are above your head. Whenever I find myself in Crow, I don't think of it as an inversion so much as a balancing act!

Bakasana is a fun little arm balance which strengthens your wrists, forearms and abs (OH yes, you will feel your abs in this little pose - it's unwittingly half of the posture. If you aren't using your abs to support your core, there is no way you'll find yourself in Crow/Crane). This posture also improves your digestion (ahem, c-o-r-e-!-!) and opens your hips and back.

There are a lot of ways to get into this arm balance. Each time I am in class and an instructor shows a new variation on settling into this posture, I get psyched that I'll finally find the secret to Crow. I'll finally be able to fly. I'll finally be able to nail it. Then I get into the posture, and see how much of it involves the abs, and I'm just not as well "developed" in that region, so I can't hold the posture for long.

This past Wednesday, I was able to squeeze in one of Josh's classes, and how pleased was I that he directed us into Crow towards the end of the class, especially given my dissatisfaction with my Bikram sessions?!? It was great! (I dedicate this post to my bestie Liz, by the way. I remember when she shared that she had held crow for a few seconds and it felt so great. We all have had a similar feeling throughout our practices, so we all know she deserves to have that effort honored!)

So, this is how Josh brought us into Bakasana: We started with feel hip-distance apart, and began with a squat. Once comfortably in our squats, we placed our hands on the floor in front of us, with our elbows pressing against our inner knees. Using the elbows to press the knees apart while using the knees to hug the elbows together, we had to engage our abs in order to lift our toes off of the floor. One leg up was an achievement, but both legs up was quite the accomplishment! Yes, I nailed the posture for precisely 3.5 seconds - but I did it! And it felt like flying!

Will you go flying this week? Give it a try...you just might take off with a whole lot of grace!

Whether you give or share, are kind or not, never let your grace fail.

POW! Pose of the Week

Pose of the Week - This week's pose: Virabhadrasana III - because you knew it was coming! Warrior 3 is the final pose of the Warrior series (thank goodness, because after this, you can only imagine what could be next!). Of course, it improves your balance - how else could you form a Capital letter T with your body? - and improves your posture, but it also strengthens your ankles and shoulders while toning your abdominals. Believe me, you are not going to be able to support this posture without using your abs!

You can find yourself tipping into Warrior 3 from standing (mountain pose), leveling out from Ardha Chandrasana (half-moon pose), or swooping out from Trikonasana (triangle pose). In this way, Warrior 3, though extremely challenging, is versatile! It turns out, that this month's issue of Yoga Journal has an article that discusses the "stories" behind some of our favorite yoga postures. Much like the Greek and Roman legends describe the formation of the Constellations, there are stories and legends to explain the origins of the Sanskrit names for yoga postures. The author of the article didn't go into the legend of the Warrior series, but a simple online search revealed the story behind Virabhadrasana (a powerful hero born from the hair of the god Shiva), and the story almost compels you to follow the asanas in order (Vira. I, Vira. II, and finally Vira. III), so that's how I'll take you there!

Starting from where we were last week, Virabhadrasana II, your front knee is bent, toes pointing straight ahead, looking to the future. Your back leg is straight with the foot at a 45 degree angle, hips are open to the side. Arms stretch forward and back, palms facing down. Sweep your back arm overhead and bring it in line with your forward arm while rotating the hips and back foot forward. Place your weight on your forward foot, and lean into it. Balance on the front leg while you allow the back leg to lift off, coming parallel to the floor. Your torso also will tilt forward in line with the back leg, parallel to the floor. Wrists, shoulders, hips, and ankles should all be level. From the side, you will look like a giant, capital T. Now you're flying!

Allow the balance of this series to help you seek balance and happiness in your life!

POW! (pose of the week)

Pose of the week: Garudasana - because sometimes when you're all twisted up, you loosen something that lets you fly like an eagle! Or maybe I heard a Steve Miller band song on the radio today.

So, readers, I promised a good one this week, and Eagle is a great pose! It's going to build focus and develop willpower like any good yoga pose, but it's going to strengthen the lower body while it stretches the upper body. I'm talking about opening up your shoulders and back while working those feet, ankles, calves, and thighs.

You start in mountain posture and then shift your weight onto one leg (let's start with the left). You'll wrap your right leg up, over the left thigh and wrap your right lower leg around your left, hooking the right foot behind the left calf. Sound's crazy, right? I had a friend in high school who would sit comfortably like this all the time. Anyway, hooking the right foot behind the calf helps to hug your legs together for a strong, stable pillar. Now you can move on to your arms.

Once the legs are twisted around each other, hold the arms out in a T. Remembering that the right LEG is on top, you'll now entwine the arms together similarly with the opposite ARM on top. So you'll place the left upper arm over the right upper arm and wrap the lower arms, ending up with palms facing. Hold the touching palms right at your nose level, elbows shoulder height, and you've arrived!

Another thing I like about Garudasana is it's versatility. What I mean is that you can do this standing or lying on your back! I always seem to have an easier time doing this one on the floor. I know that the whole "balance" thing is taken out of the equation here, but I'm able to wrap my legs more completely here, and it feels like I'm working my abdominals a tad more when I'm on my back.

Oh, here's another example to help you out:

Just kidding! I don't recommend doing this variation first time out...although I must point out that she's wisely using the wall to support herself. Slacker.

PS - Thanks to a shout out on hubby's facebook yesterday, I think we may have picked up a bit of traffic over here on YATS. If you wouldn't mind posting a comment or feedback just to let me know you stopped by, I'd love it! In the meantime,

I want to fly like an eagle, to the sea. Fly like an eagle, let my spirit carry me...

Flying!

Do you ever find yourself flying during practice? It sounds crazy, but sometimes you settle in, your focus is there, and it happens!


I was able to fit in a practice with Josh (more on him in a future instructor's post!) on Thursday afternoon. It took a lot of rushing on my part and prodding of my sluggish children to get there in time, but we made it. I checked the boys into the childcare and dashed across the gym to the studio to find it was packed! Everyone was already prone on their mats, and Josh was chatting with someone about modifications. I squeezed my bright yellow mat in between 2 mats, just as he resumed the warm up.


I like Josh's instructional style - a lot - and obviously, so do a lot of other people (hello: packed studio!)...but to a first timer in his class, the warm up must seem inordinately l o n g. It's been a long time since I've had the chance to practice with Josh, and I'd forgotten just how long his warm ups can be. And this one was long. And slow. And my mind started to wander...

"what am I going to blog about THIS class? I'm going to lose readers my first week out!"
"I didn't have time to check Husband's voicemail before practice. What if it's something that can't wait an hour?"
"Did I turn my phone to vibrate? What if it rings in the middle of class?"
"Can I make it for the full hour today?"
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera...


After nearly 30 full minutes of windshield wipering our legs, table pose, cat/cow, modified side planks, we got into the first downdog. I knew what was coming next (or at least I hoped was coming next): full plank. I was hopeful. Full plank might mean we would finally start a vinyasa (a flow series, for those of you newbies to yoga terminology). And Josh rewarded us: Plank pose, top of a push-up. A couple of leg raises...and then it happened. The next pose was Chaturanga, not a particular fave. Yet, as I lowered myself into the "crocodile", I felt that long, purposeful warm up pay off in spades.

I have no idea how, because I don't recall working our shoulders in the warm up, but my deltoids were warm and strong. I felt my full body, still straight as a plank, hovering inches off the ground, and there it was: I felt like I was flying! It felt great. I swooped up to updog, rolled back to downdog, ready for more. A nice "hop to the top" of the mat capped off the flow, and we continued on with the rest of the practice. Some more flows, warriors, some crescents, a bind - if we could, and before I knew it, Savasana.


Time literally flies - and sometimes, so do you - when you're having fun!


Namaste