Recharging Your Practice

As I mentioned in my last post about coloring, Yoga Life Studio hosted a workshop this weekend entitled "Recharging Your Practice".  Krista Shirley, Owner of The Yoga Shala in Orlando, FL came to Jacksonville, FL to lead the workshop.

Krista Shirley is a dedicated student and practitioner of traditional Ashtanga yoga.  She travels to Mysore, India each year to spend time studying at the Krishna Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute (KPJAYI).  Krista humbly gives thanks to her teachers, Sharath Jois and Saraswathi Jois, for their guidance and love.  "It is a true honor to study with Sharath and Saraswathi so that my own practice and teachings may continue to grow on the right path under their tutelage."  Krista is a level 2 authorized Ashtanga teacher and founder of The Yoga Shala in Winter Park Florida where she teaches traditional Ashtanga classes in the Mysore method.

Over the course of the weekend, I was able to take some great - and yes I mean GREAT - pictures during the Mysore sessions (Just wait until you see the pics below.  Some of them are truly amazing!).

For those of you that don't know, the Mysore style of yoga practice is a particular way of teaching yoga within the Ashtanga tradition, as taught by Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois in the southern Indian city of Mysore.  The main differences in this method are:

• the class is not "led" as a whole, but rather all instruction is given one-on-one within a group class setting;
• students practice their own portion of the Ashtanga sequence of asanas at their own pace; and
• the teacher assists each student individually by giving physical adjustments and verbal instruction. (source)

Therefore, in the pictures below you will notice that students are practicing a variety of asanas simultaneously, and Krista travels the room offering individualized adjustments, modifications, and advice.

OK - Enough of my jibber jabber.  

Let's get to the photographs!

Just getting started!

Adho Muka Svanasana - Downward Facing Dog

Trikonasana - Triangle Pose

Parivritta Trikonasana - Revolved Triangle Pose

Parivritta Utthitta Parsokonasana - Revolved Side Angle Pose

Virabhadrasana I - Warrior I Pose

Virabhadrasana II - Warrior II Pose

"Lift the heart; lengthen the spine."

Janushirsasana - Head to Knee Pose

Stunning!

Urdhva Dhanurasana - Upward Facing Bow Pose (i.e. Wheel Pose)

Kurmasana - Toirtoise Pose (Mia in her little shell) :)

Holy core work!

Sarvangasana - Shoulderstand

Hmmm...not sure what to say other than WOWZA!

Everyone moving on their own.  Simply BEAUTIFUL.

Double WOWZA!

By the end of the morning the studio was filled with sweat and surely didn't smell like roses (hahaha!), but we all felt thoroughly worked, relaxed, and at peace.  Ahhhhh - yoga. :)

In case you were wondering, I WAS a part of the Mysore practice.  However, my main responsibility was to take pictures (thus the reason you don't see me at all).  Regardless, it was an amazing, inspiring, and invigorating practice that I won't forget for a long time to come!

I am SO. SO. SO. blessed to be a yoga teacher...

...living my dream life...

...serving everyone that I can.

Question of the Day:


Do you LOVE what you do for a living?!  If so, tell me ALL about it in the "Comments" section below!  


I love hearing from people that love their jobs as much as I do. :)

Blessings,
Ally and Bo

On Fire for Yoga

I am on FIRE!  

(No, no, no...not like "The Girl on Fire" from The Hunger Games...Trust me, I'm no Katniss Everdeen!)  

I mean that I am on fire because this past weekend has left me so enlivened and excited about my yoga practice!

What, might you ask, about this past weekend has left me so energized?!

Well, in large part, my enthusiasm can be attributed to a beautiful yogini named Kathryn Budig.  Just so you have a idea of who I am talking about, here is a short little bio:

Kathryn was trained under the expert eye of Maty Ezraty and Chuck Miller.  She teacher regular Vinyasa Flow classes influenced by Ashtanga, arm balances, inversions, core work, and laughter, all offered in an accessible and playful way.  She is the co-founder of "Poses for Paws", an organization dedicated towards raising money for animal shelters through yoga.  Kathryn is the contributing yoga expert for Women's Health Magazine, a blogger for The Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen, Gaiam, and contributes regularly to Yoga Journal through articles, blogs, print, and postcards.  She currently travels internationally leading workshops.

Source 

And she likes dogs too (that's her dog, Ashi, by the way)!  Anyone that loves dogs must be a good person, right?  Well, that's my logic, and I'm sticking to it!

Anywho - back to what I was saying about being on fire.

This past weekend I attended a three-day workshop with Kathryn hosted by Lotus Yoga, a studio here in Jacksonville, FL.  Although I do not teach at Lotus Yoga, I have gotten to know the studio's co-owners and attend classes there on a semi-regular basis.  When one of the co-owners approached me about attending Kathryn's workshop, I was skeptical (to say the least).  Kathryn is an A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. yogini (Just check out some pics of her here)!  She can do asanas that I don't think I could even do in my dreams...much less in reality.  Regardless, all nerves and ego aside, I decided that a physical challenge might be just what I needed to push my personal practice to the next level.  And push it did!

Source 

On Friday evening (6:00-8:00PM), we spent the first 30-45 minutes discussing what it means to "aim true."  The concept of aiming true is one of Kathryn's main teaching points...you might even say that it is her personal philosophy.  During our powerful and candid discussion, Kathryn reminded all ~75+ attendees of a few important things:

1. "Be yourself.  Everyone else is taken." - Oscar Wilde
2. ALWAYS choose love over fear, hope over disbelief, and faith over doubt.
3. "The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." - J. Campbell
4. Find the strength to be yourself, as opposed to being ruled by the expectations of others.

To conclude our discussion, Kathryn had us shout out asanas that we were afraid of (remember, always choose love over fear, she said).  She wrote them down, and then we immediately transitioned into a 75 minute flow class in which she incorporated every. single. one. of the poses that we feared.  

Go figure.

Talk about a wake-up call.

Source

Saturday was a long, but wonderful, day.  In the morning session, from 10:30AM-1:00PM, we worked exclusively on inversions (tripod headstand, handstand, etc.) and arm balances (Flying Crow, Grasshopper, 8-Limb Pose, Forearm Balance/Scorpion, etc.).

It was hard work, but also a ton of fun!  Sometimes we forget that you can laugh in yoga...especially at yourself!  When you let go of your ego and give yourself permission to fall...and fail, suddenly yoga becomes a fun play-time. :)

I fell and failed a LOT.  But that was OK.  One thing that really stuck in my mind that Kathryn said during this session was to make a distinction between admiration and jealousy.  It is good to admire fellow practitioners abilities.  However, it is never good to be jealous of a fellow yogi's practice.

Admiration is good.  

Jealousy is bad.

There were plenty of people in the room that were more physically advanced in their hatha practice that I was/am.  However, that is one of the most powerful aspects of yoga.  The physical practice is just one of the eight limbs of yoga.  In case you didn't know, or forgot, yoga is an art and a science dedicated to creating union between body, mind, and spirit.  To seek this union, there are eight branches/arms of yoga, none higher or more important than another.  

1. Yama - morality (i.e. non-violence, truthfulness, and non-greed)
2. Niyama - obervances (i.e. purity, contentment, and study)
3. Asanas - physical postures
4. Pranayama - breathe exercises
5. Pratyahara - control/withdrawal of the senses
6. Dharana - concentration
7. Dhyana - meditation
8. Samadhi - union

As a former dancer, I find asana to be a particularly powerful branch of yoga.  I feel "unified" when I work with my body, as opposed to against it.  For me, asana is akeen to a moving meditation.  There are times when I feel as though I am in communion with God when I am practicing yoga.  And for that unity, I am so very thankful.

Enough of my musings.

Let's get back to the workshop, shall we?!

Source

By the end of the morning I thought my arms were going to fall off.  I am not speaking hyperbolically here...my arms felt dead.  Thankfully, Bo came and rescued me and took me to an awesome lunch!  By the time I returned for the afternoon session at 2:30PM my arms and I were feeling alive again!

From 2:30-5:00PM Kathryn led us into some DEEP hip openers.  Typically I like hip openers, but doing anything that intense for over two hours will change your mind.  By the time the session came to a close, my legs felt like Jell-O.  On a brighter note, I learned a ton of new poses and modifications that I plan to introduce to my classes in the coming weeks!  Oh, my students are just going to love me. :)

Then again, they are probably going to hope that I never go to another intense workshop again...hahaha!

Source

When I woke up on Sunday I was S.O.R.E., sore!  But after a hot shower, a good breakfast, and a few sun salutations I was feeling a little less stiff.  The final session of the weekend-long workshop was from 9:00-11:30AM on Sunday.  I arrived on time, ready to jump into two and a half hours of deep heart openers and back-bends.  Over and over again Kathryn kept instructing us to:

"Manifest physically what your heart is feeling in the pose."

Previously, I had never thought of my back-bending practice in this way.  However, when I began to lead with my heart into every back-bend I found the poses to be much easier.  Instead of just putting my body into a particular shape, I was feeling my way into the shape.  It's hard to put into words...it's just something that you feel, as opposed to something that you know.  It's a heart thing.  Not a mind thing.  Which, I suppose, is a good thing since heart openers are the most vulnerable poses in the hatha tradition.

Source

I woke up Monday with an incredibly sore body: outer hips, upper shoulders, and middle back.  But it was a good sore.  It meant that I had grown.  I now had growing pains...which I was, and am, totally OK with.

Today, I'm committed to being myself.  

Because, as Kathryn said, everyone else is taken.

Next time - a breakfast recipe that reminds me of childhood...but is even better as an adult!

Question of the Day:

Have you ever attended a workshop in your profession that truly and deeply inspired you?  If so, I would LOVE to hear about it in the "Comments" below!

Blessings,
Ally and Bo

Asana: What does that REALLY mean?!

First things first, I have to apologize for being MIA these past few days.  Our internet has been acting VERY strange lately (i.e. not working more than half of the time), which has severely impaired my ability to write a blog post.  I have had several ideas for new posts floating around my head recently, but what you will be reading today is actually none of the ones of have been contemplating.  Because...

...today a light bulb went off when I was teaching my 6:30-7:45 a.m. Integral Yoga Hatha I class.  DING!

1. I realized that although I had practiced hatha yoga for over six years before I became a teacher, I never truly understood the fundamental concept of an asana;
2. it was only through my Integral Yoga Hatha I training at Satchidinanda Ashram-Yogaville (i.e. in spring 2011) that the term asana starting to have real meaning for me; and
3. consequently, the majority of my students probably do not know or understand the definition of an asana (outside of it being a yoga post, that is).

Keep in mind, almost all physical postures performed in a yoga class fall under the umbrella of an asana.  Therefore:

• in a 60 minute class, a student practices approximately 15 asanas;
• in a 75 minute class, a student practices approximately 20 asanas; and
• in a 90 minute class, a student practices approximately 25 asanas.

Note:  These figures do not represent mudras (or seals, in Sanskrit), yoga nidra/savasana, or pranayama exercises (i.e. breathing practices).

So today, as I was teaching, it struck me that my students might not have the most basic (and therefore the most important and profound) understanding of the postures they were practicing.  I paused, I briefly explained the source of the definition of an asana, and I decided to come home and right this post for any and all that are reading.  

If you currently practice yoga, ever plan to practice yoga in the future, or for that matter perform any type of physical exercise, this definition might serve you well.

Asana = steady and comfortable posture

Frequently referred to as the "father of yoga," Patanjali codified his thoughts and knowledge on yoga in the yoga sutras. In the sutras, Patanjali defines eight limbs of yoga; the third of which is asana - or the physical practice of yoga.  He defines asana by stating that "the posture of yoga is steady and easy."  Notably, in other translations the term "easy" is translated as "comfortable."  Additionally:

Although Westerners often consider the practice of asana or postures as an exercise regimen or a way to stay fit, Patanjali and other ancient yogis used asana to prepare the body for meditation. To sit for a lengthy time in contemplation required a supple and cooperative body. If you are free of physical distractions — such as your foot going to sleep — and can control the body, you can also control the mind. Patanjali said, "Posture is mastered by freeing the body and mind from tension and restlessness and meditating..." (source)

The term "steady" might also be understood as stable, constant, or motionless.  Therefore, as a student of yoga it is important that you develop your asana in a way that is stable for your body, and where you are able to maintain a constant physical position while breathing.

The term "comfortable" might also be understood as "filled with ease."  For instance:

• Can you breath comfortably?
• Are you relatively relaxed?
• Are you peaceful?
• Are you experiencing a "comfortable" stretch and/or release into the asana?

Sukhasana - Easy Pose

Now, I would like to take a pause here to note the distinction between easy/comfort and laziness.  As Swami Satchidinanda would say, "Be easy, but don't be lazy."  Unless you are in a restorative yoga class, you should be exerting some physical effort into your practice.  However, that effort should never result in:

• an inability to breathe deeply;
• sharp pain in the muscles or joints;
• intense strain; or
• extreme mental or emotional discomfort.

For all of these reasons, and many more, I always try to emphasize that your yoga practice is exactly that: YOUR yoga practice.  Not mine.  Not the person's on the mat beside you.  Not your ego's.  

And with that, I will close with a final point: there is no perfect asana.  Period.

There is only YOUR perfect asana

And ironically, your "perfect asana" will change in every living moment.  So we are left will little choice but to embrace the golden present, for it is all we have...in asana...and in life.

P.S.  To view other yoga posts that I have written, visit the ABC blog "Yoga" page!

Question of the Day:

What does being "steady" and "comfortable" mean to you?  Or rather, how can you apply this concept to your life?

Blessings,
Ally and Bo