Words

Language has the power to shift energy. 

Quoted or original a well worded message stays with its audience 
for long enough to elicit emotion & in special cases action. 
To follow are some of my favorite uses of language:

"How you do something 
is 
how you do everything."
-Inspired by Colleen O'Brien-Mcfall

Mindful thoughts, smart words, and poised vernacular,

unique to human experience, are the creative tools we have

to connect to one another. Use them with wisdom and kindness. 

Love, 

Adriana

A good way to be.

Sthira Sukham Asanam:

Tips for creating a steady ease in your practice and life.

We have all had days that start sideways, take us backwards, and finish feeling like we’re upside down. The same can be true sometimes on the mat. Sthira Sukham Asanam is a sutra that says all yoga poses should be steady and comfortable.  The following are tools that can help you move more evenly through a hectic day and challenging yoga practice. 

1.     Slow your reaction by taking bigger breaths.

Before you have the chance to shout at the driver that cut you off in traffic or mentally curse your yoga teacher, pause and take 3 big inhales and exhales. When you replace the stress hormone cortisol with fresh oxygen the brain operates more efficiently. Breathing in place of reacting sharply, will move you through your practice and commute more happily.

2.     Relax your face.

Start by taking a small space in between your teeth and dropping your tongue from the roof of your mouth. Feel heaviness in both cheeks like they belonged to a hound dog. Connect the upper and lower eyelids and feel the corners of your eyes widening. A relaxed face brings focus back to the breath and brings a kind easiness to your words.

3.     Clean up.

Get rid of clutter. Leave all non-essentials (jewellery, bags, phones, etc.) out of sight when practicing.  Work to have at least one small space at home that is junk and noise free. Living in a space free of distraction will improve your focus and promote introspective thoughts.

4.     Have a ritual.

Find a favourite class (day, time, and teacher) and attend it ritually each week. Over time you will see a development in your physical practice and become more aware of how your body fluctuates. Tapas is a practice of self discipline, that leads to a life of focus and principle.

5.     Laugh.

There is no better way to feel good and gain perspective. A Yoga practice is ultimately a vehicle to bring us to more happiness. Go straight to the source and laugh out loud every day. For more development towards your Laughter Yoga practice visit http://www.laughteryoga-canada.org/.

Just Be Normal

Hello again. This attempt to break through the writer's block of months gone by will have a more personal tone than the few previous posts. Initially I'd hoped to keep myself out of the equation in these writings, however, purely informative writing simply won't do. It is personal experience that guides our view of life and where we fit in the world. With that, let's march on.

Kate Moll a lovely person and wildly skilled Yogi & teacher, was a pivotal inspiration to me when learning to teach. From her I learned to teach as the truest version of myself. She bid adieus to our graduating class by wishing us to go forth and be living embodiment of dancing in the rain.

She told a story that went like this: 

At a certification course held by Dharma Mitttra, a fellow student of Kate's exhibited a level of reverence to her teacher that bordered on lunacy. Tears, big sighs, and obsessive attention paid to her guru eventually become a distraction to the others in the course. Finally, at the graduating ceremony, Dharma Mittra lovingly passed out certificates to each student. Pausing at his worshiper, he hands over the paper, then grabs it away quickly. Looking this student straight on says: JUST BE NORMAL.

Not to say the girl’s behavior lacked integrity, but that the exertion in her reverence clouded her intention. Others around her, Dharma Mittra included, felt an air of melodrama and theatrics rather than gratitude and lightness.

The Lesson? 
Authenticity comes from your bones. Revealing your true self can come as easily as a fulfilling breath. The trick is remembering to inhale.

Painted Poses

Yoga is a mailable practice; it changes with country, times, and the individual practitioner. For some, the body is a temple that should not marked. For others, the skin represents a blank, movable canvas for tattoos displaying thoughts, texts and deities that inspire and inform their practice. 

Modern values trending toward greater acceptance of tattoos, it's quite common to see heavily covered practitioners in studios all over the world. Works of art, stretched across shoulders, chests, arms and legs, may be tucked away during the workday. But when clothing comes off, as it often does in yoga studios, they are on display for all to see.

 

  

Iggy Pop!? Close, but no.
 DAVID LIFE, 61 "Tattoos mark a moment in time you want to give credit to," said Mr. Life, a Lower East Side resident since 1979 and a co-founder of the international Jivamukti Yoga School.

Tattoos, in fact, are not wholly apart from yogic tradition. Application of temporary tattoos called Henna is an ancient Vedic custom still practiced today.

Henna tattoos, also known as Mehndi, uses a paste made from the powdered leaves of the Henna plant,  Its active dye, Lawsone, binds with the keratin in skin, fingernails, and hair. Traditional henna is drawn in delicate patterns on the hands and feet, but modern henna is applied in all sorts of designs anywhere on the body.

 

Dogs!

There is nothing that brings joy quite like a good dog. 

These unconditionally loving and naturally assured critters embody the best capacities in their human counterparts. My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am. Today's dedication is to god in the dog.

 In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semi human.  The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog.  ~Edward Hoagland


 Downward Facing Dog 
Ahdo Mukha Svanasana
(AH-doh MOO-kah shvah-NAHS-anna)

 

  

  Start on the floor on your hands and knees. Set your knees directly below your hips and your hands slightly forward of your shoulders. Spread your palms, index fingers parallel or slightly turned out, and turn your toes under.

 Exhale and lift your knees away from the floor. At first keep the knees slightly bent and the heels lifted away from the floor. Lengthen your tailbone away from the back of your pelvis; imagine someone is lifting your waist up and back. Press into the hands to slide your shoulders down your back away from the ears. Drop the head and relax the neck. 

 

Then with an exhalation, push your top thighs back and stretch your heels down toward the floor. Straighten your knees but be sure not to lock them. Firm the outer thighs and roll the upper thighs inward slightly. 

Rotate the arms inward so the inner elbows look at one another. Use the padding under the index finger and thumb to root into the floor while simultaneously lifting through the back body.

The subtle nuances of this pose are endless. When I get frustrated with an Asana I think about how long it took for my to "Get"downward dog. With time hamstrings loosen and heels reach the floor, arm strength develops and so the pose is restful rather than rigorous, and the body and mind sync up and align.

"Practice and all is coming."- Guruji

Trees!

This week saw the turn of the Spring Equinox. This lovely time of year puts us on the precipice of thinner clothing, good fruit, and green landscapes. In anticipation of nature's wake up call, here is a tribute to trees:

Yoga is an incredible vehicle to reshape one's perspective. It often takes an avaunt guard expression to break one's view of the world out of its comfortable box. This photo project is a grand example of the power within us to cultivate a magnificent horizon.


http://www.zanderolsen.com/Tree_Line.html


I love to climb trees. Apparently so do Moroccan goats.


http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2008/08/19/the-incredible-tree-climbing-goats-of-morocco/

Tree Pose
Vrksasana
(Vrik-sha-sana)

The challenge of the Vrksasana is maintaining balance on one leg. Poor balance is often the result of a restless mind or distracted attention. Regular practice of this posture will help focus the mind and cultivate concentration (dharana).

"Standing straight on the left leg, bend the right leg and place the right foot on the root of the left thigh. Stand thus like a tree on the ground. This is called vriksha-asana."
Gheranda-samhita II.36

When practicing Vrksasana it may help to imagine or picture a tree in the mind and apply the following technique: Imagine that the foot you are balanced on is the root of the tree and the leg is the trunk. Continue by imagining the head and outstretched arms as the branches and leaves of the tree. You may be unsteady for a while and find the body swaying back and forth, but don't break the concentration. Like a tree bending in the wind and yet remaining upright, the body can maintain balance.

Aim to achieve the "rootedness" and firmness of a tree. Regular practice of the Vrksasana improves concentration, balance and coordination. Because the weight of the entire body is balanced on one foot, the muscles of that leg are strengthened and toned as well.

As you advance in this posture and are able to remain standing for more than a few moments, try closing the eyes and maintaining your balance.