(this is from the yoga Journal blog website, i can't remember exactly where or i'd link to it)Some how this cracks me up. Mr Iyengar blogging just like me.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Iyengar Blogasana
(this is from the yoga Journal blog website, i can't remember exactly where or i'd link to it)Some how this cracks me up. Mr Iyengar blogging just like me.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Anusara Update
the universe will provide for us if we just ASK for it. or so it seems.
i'm slowly but surely making my way down the path towards having Anusara yoga in my life again. HOORAY! several things are coming together to give me momentum
first, i started my Anusara Immersions up at willow street (for #1) and plan to continue those throughout 2008. i'll probably do parts 2 and 3 with Todd Norian and Ann Greene in Columbus Ohio. (fly or drive? fly or drive???) Immersions are the first step towards being able to teach this method so i'm starting at the beginning and am happy to do so. so many times i've jumped into the middle of something and felt lost on the basics. so this is good. then hopefully by next november i'll be ready to start Todd's teacher training and head towards "Anusara-inspired" around summer 2009.
Second, my former teacher is back around a little bit again. so we're able to practice together once a week on thursday afternoons. it is SO completely joyful for me. an Ananda-full experience. she's not even teaching me but just being in the same room and able to chat about Anusara stuff and get her to help fix me up! that's great. (plus it counts as one of my hours weekly of practice) and she's going to be teaching again this summer i think because she needs just a few more teaching hours to get her Certification. yay!
Third, i've also made my way into a class taught by a woman who did teacher training with Desiree Rumbaugh. the woman teaches at the gym where i work. so while it isn't a "TRUE" anusara class, at least she is using the language and teaching from a theme. plus, she's really nice and excited to have me there working from a similar perspective.
Fourth, well, to become a teacher you have to study with one. so i've decided to make the commitment to driving up to DC once a week to take class from a certified teacher. so on Tuesday nights that's where i go. unfortunately i've only made it to one class so far but i enjoyed it. again it will be great to have a teacher with anusara eyes checking my poses. i think i've registered for a class that is lower than my level, but i had to go with my own time availability. and again, basics are a good thing. i can always play around with new poses with vicki if i want to.
and Finally, an anusara certified teacher has been hanging around YS a bit. she's from out of town but it sounds like she may be relocating to Richmond. that would be AWESOME!! then i could go for free and let go of driving to DC. plus, the more Anusara there is the better, not just for me, but for the entire richmond yoga community and for the entire richmond community as a whole.
so. things are looking up. i just have to keep on moving through and looking for opportunities when they present themselves, even if it means driving 2 hours each way some of the time. it will all be worth it in the end.
i'm slowly but surely making my way down the path towards having Anusara yoga in my life again. HOORAY! several things are coming together to give me momentum
first, i started my Anusara Immersions up at willow street (for #1) and plan to continue those throughout 2008. i'll probably do parts 2 and 3 with Todd Norian and Ann Greene in Columbus Ohio. (fly or drive? fly or drive???) Immersions are the first step towards being able to teach this method so i'm starting at the beginning and am happy to do so. so many times i've jumped into the middle of something and felt lost on the basics. so this is good. then hopefully by next november i'll be ready to start Todd's teacher training and head towards "Anusara-inspired" around summer 2009.
Second, my former teacher is back around a little bit again. so we're able to practice together once a week on thursday afternoons. it is SO completely joyful for me. an Ananda-full experience. she's not even teaching me but just being in the same room and able to chat about Anusara stuff and get her to help fix me up! that's great. (plus it counts as one of my hours weekly of practice) and she's going to be teaching again this summer i think because she needs just a few more teaching hours to get her Certification. yay!
Third, i've also made my way into a class taught by a woman who did teacher training with Desiree Rumbaugh. the woman teaches at the gym where i work. so while it isn't a "TRUE" anusara class, at least she is using the language and teaching from a theme. plus, she's really nice and excited to have me there working from a similar perspective.
Fourth, well, to become a teacher you have to study with one. so i've decided to make the commitment to driving up to DC once a week to take class from a certified teacher. so on Tuesday nights that's where i go. unfortunately i've only made it to one class so far but i enjoyed it. again it will be great to have a teacher with anusara eyes checking my poses. i think i've registered for a class that is lower than my level, but i had to go with my own time availability. and again, basics are a good thing. i can always play around with new poses with vicki if i want to.
and Finally, an anusara certified teacher has been hanging around YS a bit. she's from out of town but it sounds like she may be relocating to Richmond. that would be AWESOME!! then i could go for free and let go of driving to DC. plus, the more Anusara there is the better, not just for me, but for the entire richmond yoga community and for the entire richmond community as a whole.
so. things are looking up. i just have to keep on moving through and looking for opportunities when they present themselves, even if it means driving 2 hours each way some of the time. it will all be worth it in the end.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Because i got high, because i got high....
The new slogan i'm adopting:
BACK BENDS for a DRUG-FREE AMERICA
Thank you.
(i didn't think it up, Kate Miller quote, but i whole heartedly agree)
BACK BENDS for a DRUG-FREE AMERICA
Thank you.
(i didn't think it up, Kate Miller quote, but i whole heartedly agree)
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Blog Comments
hello world
somehow i just assumed that no one would really actually READ the blog. maybe my mom would check it out when she figured out where it was on my personal webpage, but not actual people. especially people i don't know.
but. people did apparently. and some people left comments. hooray for that! of course, the comments were left in November and i only just realized that TODAY (january) but right on. i'm open to comments. i love support, and why the heck else would i put it out there except to keep that flow of energy going.
hooray. so keep on commenting whenever and i'll actually read them and respond in a more reasonable time frame.
nice.
somehow i just assumed that no one would really actually READ the blog. maybe my mom would check it out when she figured out where it was on my personal webpage, but not actual people. especially people i don't know.
but. people did apparently. and some people left comments. hooray for that! of course, the comments were left in November and i only just realized that TODAY (january) but right on. i'm open to comments. i love support, and why the heck else would i put it out there except to keep that flow of energy going.
hooray. so keep on commenting whenever and i'll actually read them and respond in a more reasonable time frame.
nice.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Old Friends
The other night i went to YS to teach the Power Vinyasa (which i am totally enjoying) and i saw some students i had never seen there before. i looked on the sign-in page and recognized the name but couldn't really place it. so then right before class the girl comes up to me and asks if my last name is P... and i say Yes and she is from my hometown and then the guy introduces himself as someone i went through years of grade school up into high school with. NUTS! he looked very different and i look totally the same but how cool was that. i got to give them a practice that they seemed to enjoy and at the end we had a few minutes to catch up. this is someone i might have pegged as becoming a lawyer or dentist or something but no... he's going to school for Ayurveda starting this month. totally cool.
it never occurred to me that my yoga practice could hook me up with people from my past and shine a light into my future at the same time. Rad.
it never occurred to me that my yoga practice could hook me up with people from my past and shine a light into my future at the same time. Rad.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Immersion 1 weekend 1
This weekend I started my Anusara Immersion 1 at Willow Street Yoga in DC with Kate Miller and Moses Brown. This first weekend was led by Kate Miller
Yogini's Journal: "if nothing else my practice should become more refined and much deeper through this process. Who knew you could work so deeply?? Wild.
Quick personal practice notes: Today what i got that i had been leaving out was the hugging to the midline in the legs in Tadasana. So that is happening now with the heels spinning in to combat the effect of inner spiral of the thighs. And i'm in uttanasana and my gut is lifting up, not collapsing over my thighs because my heart is soft and my legs are engaged.
also, got Chateranga is done with the hands at chest level. just like a weight lifter bench presses to the chest, chateranga is with the arms there, not at eye level. (i was already working that after talking with vicki but the weight lifter image really helps). Then soften the heart and melt into the pose, weight into the fingers. Prasarita Padottanasana i worked the muscle energy so so much I felt it wrap around my pelvis and up into my abdominals. deep deep work in my hips too. and my goodness she is COOKING us in downward dog!
So, it's Sunday of the first weekend. we're on lunch break which is weird because it's 3:30 and we started at noon. But, ok, it's lunch. The practice today was slow and detailed and hard work, but good. The lecture was about the five principles and the three As. I was surprised how much i knew and could recall on demand. good.
So this time, I feel a qualitative difference. In my last teacher training i really pushed myself socially to connect and be chatty. This time i'm sitting alone in a corner on our lunch break happy as a clam to be quiet and writing and off on my own. Last time i would be so annoyed with myself thinking "I NEED to make connections" this time i'm thinking "I NEED to honor myself and take this quiet time so i can be fresh and open to receive in the classroom" such a difference. a SOFTENING and allowing for myself to just be ok with who i am. even if i'm an introvert (gasp!) Now i'm in a different place and surely that has to do somewhat with using my practice to know and ACCEPT myself more fully. honestly, it feels good to take the break i need and NOT to be down on myself for needing it. I used to spend a lot of time steamrolling myself without even thinking. Hopefully not so much anymore.
Two other bits about today. First i practiced dead center front row, i could reach out and touch the teacher. That is totally NOT me. I don't want to be back row (except when i'm practicing somewhere as a teacher getting a freebie) but i'm not usually absolute front. I try to blend in to the crowd and often to disappear. No. now i'm working on really allowing my light to shine and my self to be seen. (no wonder i could use a break right now)
Also today in Savasana, after all that deep work, i found myself thinking about the hospital where i used to work and the climate there right around the time that i left. As i'm writing this i realize that this is about the same time that Vicki stopped teaching and so i had no more Anusara classes. that's interesting - as soon as i get my body back into alignment it spits out the last things i was working on before this big break. i know i also thought of Vicki at some point either before class or in savasana and a real sense of mourning and loss came up. When i got word that we could practice together it really felt like she was coming back from the dead. so i'm just joyful to be able to see her if and when possible. I hope our thursday practice really takes hold and she becomes Certified sooner rather than later so i can keep on working with her.
And i had another John Friend dream last night. This time he was teaching and i got to learn from him and so did my best friend. There was some time when i couldn't find him or something and my next door neighbor from childhood was helping. crazy. i do like having John Friend dreams. they feel very reassuring in some way."
Yogini's Journal: "if nothing else my practice should become more refined and much deeper through this process. Who knew you could work so deeply?? Wild.
Quick personal practice notes: Today what i got that i had been leaving out was the hugging to the midline in the legs in Tadasana. So that is happening now with the heels spinning in to combat the effect of inner spiral of the thighs. And i'm in uttanasana and my gut is lifting up, not collapsing over my thighs because my heart is soft and my legs are engaged.
also, got Chateranga is done with the hands at chest level. just like a weight lifter bench presses to the chest, chateranga is with the arms there, not at eye level. (i was already working that after talking with vicki but the weight lifter image really helps). Then soften the heart and melt into the pose, weight into the fingers. Prasarita Padottanasana i worked the muscle energy so so much I felt it wrap around my pelvis and up into my abdominals. deep deep work in my hips too. and my goodness she is COOKING us in downward dog!
So, it's Sunday of the first weekend. we're on lunch break which is weird because it's 3:30 and we started at noon. But, ok, it's lunch. The practice today was slow and detailed and hard work, but good. The lecture was about the five principles and the three As. I was surprised how much i knew and could recall on demand. good.
So this time, I feel a qualitative difference. In my last teacher training i really pushed myself socially to connect and be chatty. This time i'm sitting alone in a corner on our lunch break happy as a clam to be quiet and writing and off on my own. Last time i would be so annoyed with myself thinking "I NEED to make connections" this time i'm thinking "I NEED to honor myself and take this quiet time so i can be fresh and open to receive in the classroom" such a difference. a SOFTENING and allowing for myself to just be ok with who i am. even if i'm an introvert (gasp!) Now i'm in a different place and surely that has to do somewhat with using my practice to know and ACCEPT myself more fully. honestly, it feels good to take the break i need and NOT to be down on myself for needing it. I used to spend a lot of time steamrolling myself without even thinking. Hopefully not so much anymore.
Two other bits about today. First i practiced dead center front row, i could reach out and touch the teacher. That is totally NOT me. I don't want to be back row (except when i'm practicing somewhere as a teacher getting a freebie) but i'm not usually absolute front. I try to blend in to the crowd and often to disappear. No. now i'm working on really allowing my light to shine and my self to be seen. (no wonder i could use a break right now)
Also today in Savasana, after all that deep work, i found myself thinking about the hospital where i used to work and the climate there right around the time that i left. As i'm writing this i realize that this is about the same time that Vicki stopped teaching and so i had no more Anusara classes. that's interesting - as soon as i get my body back into alignment it spits out the last things i was working on before this big break. i know i also thought of Vicki at some point either before class or in savasana and a real sense of mourning and loss came up. When i got word that we could practice together it really felt like she was coming back from the dead. so i'm just joyful to be able to see her if and when possible. I hope our thursday practice really takes hold and she becomes Certified sooner rather than later so i can keep on working with her.
And i had another John Friend dream last night. This time he was teaching and i got to learn from him and so did my best friend. There was some time when i couldn't find him or something and my next door neighbor from childhood was helping. crazy. i do like having John Friend dreams. they feel very reassuring in some way."
Friday, January 11, 2008
Winter at Maymont
here are some photos from our afternoon at Maymont the other day. 70 degrees in January! hmmmm....
First on the bridge in the Japanese Garden. i'm really not doing this pose right but i wasn't warm or anything. i DO like the spirit involved though
Second actually IN the fountain of the Italian Garden Virabradrasana II, also i like the spirit more than the execution of the pose
First on the bridge in the Japanese Garden. i'm really not doing this pose right but i wasn't warm or anything. i DO like the spirit involved though
Second actually IN the fountain of the Italian Garden Virabradrasana II, also i like the spirit more than the execution of the pose
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Peace is Every Step
Peace is every step
The shining red sun is my heart
Each flower smiles at me
How green, how fresh all that grows.
How cool the wind blows.
Peace is every step
It turns the endless path to joy.
Thich Nhat Hanh
The shining red sun is my heart
Each flower smiles at me
How green, how fresh all that grows.
How cool the wind blows.
Peace is every step
It turns the endless path to joy.
Thich Nhat Hanh
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