tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61839491965158361232024-03-12T16:36:01.318-07:00Live Out Loud!A blog dedicated to the practice of yoga in every day life, as well as any other random joy or discoveries that feels worth sharing.Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-33865077811790080322011-06-18T18:33:00.001-07:002011-06-18T18:38:55.800-07:00New Website<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Please check out my new website,</span><a href="http://liveoutloudyoga.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> liveoutloudyoga.com</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, for future blog entries! Thank you so much for the support!</span>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-89426685306275945972011-06-18T06:04:00.001-07:002011-06-18T06:05:44.107-07:00Summertime Balance Sequence<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well yogis and yoginis, it’s summertime! Here in New York, it took us by storm. A week ago it felt quite lovely, cool and sunny. Now, it feels as if someone took Manhattan, poured gasoline over the streets, and lit a match. The entire city is locked in a humid, hazy, and all together overheated state. For me, I feel entirely out of balance, which translates to cranky, judgmental and snappy. Being a </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pitta</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, (one of the three personality types of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ayurveda, pitta</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> is a mixture of fire and water) summertime is particularly vulnerable for me and my potentially overbearing, controlling personality. I have to be particularly careful in the summer to slow down, take time to rest, meditate, wear cooling colors, and eat cooling foods. Not that I always do this, of course, but when I do, I feel my strung-out </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">pitta</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> unwind a bit.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Because I’ve been feeling so unbalanced, I’ve been working on a slower, more balance and grounding practice. I’ve creating this all levels sequence to help us all reground, and I’d like to share it with you. Please let me know your thoughts. This sequence is particularly fun and restorative to do outside, ideally on grass without a mat.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Summertime Balance Sequence <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- Start in Suhkasana. Feel your feet and sitbones ground into the mat as your spine gets long. Circle your arms around and up, reaching for the sky, then release them down, on your breath, about 3 times.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- Cat/Cow<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- Extended Childs pose<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- Downward Facing Dog (AMS)–-> Three Legged Dog à Cheetah - lift R leg back and up, forward into plank, knee into nose, back to three-legged AMS back to AMS. Repeat 3 times on each side.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- Walk or jump forward, uttanasana (forward bend) – take an extra long time here, allowing hamstrings to release<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- Surya A 4x – focus on the legs in every pose; rolling the inner, upper thighs up in plank/chattarunga and cobra/up-dog, firming thighs back and hips in in AMS. Play with lifting one foot at a time up in plank.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- In last AMS, step right foot forward, come to Vira II – emphasize front buttock rolling towards the back heel, and the back leg straight.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">***************************<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- Vira II à Trikonasana and back, 5x, end in Trikonasana<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- Trikonasana à Ardha Chandrasana – play with not stepping back foot in and going straight from Trik to Ardha Chandrasana à step back with control to Trikoanasana, and then back à Vira II<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- Prasarita Padotanasana A (PPA – wide legged forward bend, hands on floor in front of you)à walk fingers around to right foot, point right foot forward, step back to AMS<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">***************************<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Repeat above starred sequence on left side, except replace PPA with PPC (fingers interlaced behind you.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sunbreath with utkatasana 3x <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Surya B – 2x – focus on firming buttocks under (it is bikini season, afterall!) – play with adding a standing split after vira I.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Vira I – get grounded<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Vira III – float<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Vira I – reground – do the above on both sides<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lie down<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Supta bada konasana (lying down, knees bent, soles of feet pressed together. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Happy baby pose.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Supine twist.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Savasana in the grass.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I hope you enjoy!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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</div>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-77069081741988767772011-06-04T21:09:00.000-07:002011-06-04T21:09:59.882-07:00Earth Prayer - Mark Nepo<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I know it's been a while, and know that I am planning a number of blog posts, but I felt compelled to share this poem, which was shared with me and my class by the extraordinary Dana Flynn of Laughing Lotus.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Namaste. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Earth Prayer by Mark Nepo - </span><br />
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<div class="poetry" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 24px; padding-left: 100px; padding-top: 10px;"><span class="lgletters" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">O</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Endless Creator, Force of Life, Seat of the Unconscious,<br />
Dharma, Atman, Ra, Qalb, Dear Center of our Love,<br />
Christlight, Yaweh, Allah, Mawu,<br />
Mother of the Universe...</span></div><div class="poetry" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 24px; padding-left: 100px; padding-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Let us, when swimming with the stream,<br />
become the stream...<br />
Let us, when moving with the music,<br />
become the music...<br />
Let us, when rocking the wounded,<br />
become the suffering...</span></div><div class="poetry" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 24px; padding-left: 100px; padding-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Let us live deep enough<br />
till there is only one direction...<br />
and slow enough till there is only<br />
the beginning of time...<br />
and loud enough in our hearts<br />
till there is no need to speak...</span></div><div class="poetry" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 24px; padding-left: 100px; padding-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Let us live for the grace beneath all we want,<br />
let us see it in everything and everyone,<br />
till we admit to the mystery<br />
that when I look deep enough into you,<br />
I find me, and when you dare to hear my fear<br />
in the recess of your heart, you recognize it<br />
as your secret which you thought<br />
no one else knew...</span></div><div class="poetry" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 24px; padding-left: 100px; padding-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">O let us embrace<br />
that unexpected moment of unity<br />
as the atom of God...<br />
Let us have the courage<br />
to hold each other when we break<br />
and worship what unfolds...</span></div><div class="poetry" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 24px; padding-left: 100px; padding-top: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">O nameless spirit that is not done with us,<br />
let us love without a net<br />
beyond the fear of death<br />
until the speck of peace<br />
we guard so well<br />
becomes the world...</span></div>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-18833038955294707992011-04-23T19:01:00.000-07:002011-04-24T07:29:43.003-07:00Yoga and Stuff.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some days, I feel like I might be a step closer to living a truly yogic, sutra aligned life. And other days, like today, I just want an iPad.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Ge9SXc9311zietfRohmIfAdUZOr1nur3pc0VVndzaWUYqNu1V_wyO9hxpquOEnIui3xchCBUqoFRV5LHnssHxr0O-iKPAwjNWWHQopUM56QDh42CiMlrknKUMhbxslgpKyT0aIlCfUIf/s1600/ipad-wheel-cartoon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Ge9SXc9311zietfRohmIfAdUZOr1nur3pc0VVndzaWUYqNu1V_wyO9hxpquOEnIui3xchCBUqoFRV5LHnssHxr0O-iKPAwjNWWHQopUM56QDh42CiMlrknKUMhbxslgpKyT0aIlCfUIf/s320/ipad-wheel-cartoon1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I was in my teens, I used to be a typical zoned out...well...teenager. The moment I got home from school (which, notably, I attended from 7:00am to 6:00pm, including all my rehearsals and extra groups) I lived to zone out in front of the TV, surf the web for nothing, and claim that I was doing my homework all the while.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After that, a few years into college, I decided to start weaning myself off of my technology dependence, partly to save money, partly to save sanity. First we (my ex-boyfriend, and now dear friend) and I quit having cable TV, which was fabulous. No more advertising meant I wanted and "needed" to buy less, which meant I began the process of not comparing my insides to other people's outsides. Then, we cancelled our internet. That was hard. That meant we had to really just be together when we were together, which is a whole other blog post. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Since then, I've fallen madly in love with my partner, who is an extraordinary man. He also happens to be an IT professional, (the acronym really should be I.[I].T.A.T.T., professional, for "Information [Internet] Technology All The Time") which means that we most definitely require high speed internet at home. He also watches a lot of TV shows online (we both decided against having cable at home) and I have gotten back into them as well.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I admit, parts of this reconnection to the e-world I deeply enjoy, and parts of it make me feel icky. I was doing so very well without TV shows, and eventually without internet. I was so productive and sane. I was also quite happy without exposure to so many of the commercials and the subtle (and gross) messages that tell me I am not enough, I don't do enough, and I need more Stuff in my life.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I still try to temper my usage of these tools and treat them as just that: tools. However, I also appreciate convenience and things that make my life easier. As an up and coming yoga teacher in the 21st century in perhaps the most competitive market in the world, making myself a visible entity on the internet is an unfortunate but necessary part of my job. I facebook. I tweet. I blog. (I do like blogging, readers!)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hence, my lust for an iPad. I won't go into the reasons I want one, as Apple does an excellent job advertising it's product without any help from me. However, there are many ways it would be useful, from it's abilities as an e-reader to it being the most lightweight form of computer for one who can't carry anything heavier than a few pounds without risking spine reinjury. Plus, oh yes, it's shiny and cool.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sutra 1.15 says that "When the mind loses desire even for objects [...] it acquires a state of utter (</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">vashikara</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">) desirelessness that is called non-attachment (</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">vairagya</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">)."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The sutras lead you, step by step, to attaining oneness with the universe and connecting with your true self. On days like today, I realize how utterly far away I am from that goal, and how Earthly bound I truly am. This realization does make me realize and appreciate my vulnerability and utter humanity.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For today, I choose to both accept myself as I am today as being exactly where I am supposed to be, but also start working on releasing my attachment to objects that will not actually bring me any joy or satisfaction that I can't find in my own self and heart.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But maybe I'll work on that more after I get my iPad.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Have a peaceful week!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Namaste.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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</div>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-21353694449069584372011-04-12T14:48:00.000-07:002011-04-12T23:09:38.006-07:00My year of self-acceptance.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So, I just turned 24 a week ago. And I've decided to give myself the best birthday present ever.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I'm slender enough and have a beautiful body, and yet I spend so much time telling myself that I have to loose weight, that my love handles spill over my jeans, and that my abs are flabby. Everything I eat I wonder if the skinny people in my life would eat, and I often can barely enjoy my food.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I'm incredibly happy as a yoga teacher, and yet I beat myself up constantly for not yet having a master's degree, and wonder if being a yoga teacher is "good enough." I tell myself that my own happiness is not enough, that I should in fact be earning hundreds of thousands of dollars to save for "the future."</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I love practicing yoga, and yet I rarely truly allow myself to enjoy it, because of my chronic pain, and because my body is so tight. I spend so much time focusing on what I can't do in asana that I don't enjoy the things that I can do, or that I have been able to add to my practice, due to </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">abhyasa </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">(practice) and </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">vairagya </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">(non-attachment) like gomukhasana arms. Six months ago, my fingers were miles from each other, and now they touch on both sides. Do I enjoy that and support myself in that? Of course not. I'm too busy telling myself that I can't be a good teacher because I can't do a hand-stand. Fun times.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I absolutely adore my partner, who is brilliant and wonderful beyond measure. Yet, I spend so much of my time beating myself up for the fact that he is smarter than me, that he contributes more to the relationship than I do (and no, I have no idea what that means) that I often feel like I don't get to enjoy the precious time we spend together, because I am so obsessed with doing, being and having enough.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So, for my birthday, I have decided that I am giving myself a gift that I, as well as everyone, absolutely deserve. I am going to accept myself EXACTLY AS I AM, one day at a time, with love and compassion. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRrgDoIBCdDaNpInRjDb1Jbp0Ql9WOD-OHEsdTHhEghoIO9MZaR90jwn-TvBTgBiqeNOpsx0UzfJEoDHkteBtavK3A8NJ7OifVmDA9bMUiPdK_CR0IUGibcCiaPUcN4YQvq6I9plh9u5K/s1600/IMG_2387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRrgDoIBCdDaNpInRjDb1Jbp0Ql9WOD-OHEsdTHhEghoIO9MZaR90jwn-TvBTgBiqeNOpsx0UzfJEoDHkteBtavK3A8NJ7OifVmDA9bMUiPdK_CR0IUGibcCiaPUcN4YQvq6I9plh9u5K/s320/IMG_2387.JPG" width="320" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Yay Self-Acceptance!</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span> </span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I am going to enjoy my food and continue to make nurturing choices that are not based solely on calories, but also on taste and how it makes my body feel.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I am going to let go of my need to make more money. When I don't tell the universe to give me what I want, it always (ALWAYS) give me what I need.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I am going to release the results of my yoga practice, and continue to play and grow however I can, honoring my tight and still injured body. I will do what I can to stop competing in class, and be on my own mat and love it.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I am going to let my beloved be his own beautiful self, and not try to emulate him. Instead, I will honor him and his profoundly loving treatment of me by trying to see myself the way he sees me - as a beautiful, wonderful, smart and passionate woman who contributes enough just by being myself.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The oddest thing is, after a week of living this way, I find myself doing more cardio exercise, which I had constantly beaten myself up for not doing for months. I find my food is cleaner, and I am having much more fun.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">As my birthday "goodie bag" to all of you, I wish more than anything to give you this gift too. Just for one day, see what it would be like to passionately and absolutely adore yourself no matter what. Tell the constant </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">vrittis</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> (mind-stuff) that tell you you aren't enough to politely bugger off, and do something nice for yourself, just because. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">See what happens!</span></span><br />
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</div>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-72913458349432845962011-03-18T14:25:00.000-07:002011-03-18T14:33:35.632-07:00My Yoga Playground<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I, like…I don’t know, everyone who isn’t 5, have a mild fear of falling out of inversions. Note, this fear has been downgraded from a 9.6 to a 4.2 after a lot of practice and play, but it’s still definitely there.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After picking up “Light on Yoga,” B.K.S. Iyengar’s masterwork instructing the hows, whens and where’s to do the vast majority of asana, and reading his thoughts on headstand, (he advocates doing it in the middle of the room sooner rather than later, so as to encourage confidence in the beginner) I decided to swallow my fear and work on shirsasana in the middle of the room. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">However, since I am indeed a bit of a chicken, I decided to make a landing pad, consisting of two floor pillows and a beanbag chair. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have to admit, the hours I have spent practicing headstand have been some of the most enjoyable I have experienced since early childhood, mostly because I fall almost every time. Since I am falling into a pile of softness, however, I am able to relax, giggle, take a moment and start again. It has really helped take the fear away from falling.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Do I necessarily advocate this as a methodology of practice? No. If you are an uninjured, intermediate to advanced practitioner, I’d say that practicing in the middle of the room without props is perhaps the best way to overcome fear once and for all, because goodness knows, I’ll have to start again when the beanbag chair goes away. However, the addition of the pillows has made headstand and falling out of headstand a child-like adventure, and made me feel safe to explore and test the boundaries. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What do you do in your practice that’s unconventional but has helped you?</span>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-54775828199770207642011-03-11T10:41:00.000-08:002011-03-11T10:41:11.590-08:00My deep, dark secret...<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">My deep, dark secret.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have, until very recently, had a deep, dark, secret. Well, it’s not really a secret, as everyone in yoga class (my students and teacher very much included) can see it clear as day, but it’s something that, for some reason having much to do with my ultra-powerful ego, I never wanted to admit.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Ok, here it goes. Until about one week ago, my arms didn’t straighten.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’d be in class, in urdvha hastasana, and would just wait for the inevitable, “straighten your arms, Kat! No, really, straighten them!” Or in down dog. “Press your arms down to straighten the elbows, Kat!” <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And trust me, I was trying. I wanted so badly to look just like my teachers, and like my fellow students, but due to some combination of genetics and muscle tightness, my arms hypo-extend. And no, that’s not a real word. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Le sigh.<o:p></o:p></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After years of dealing with this, I finally went to my mentor, Chrissy, and asked for some help. She gave me some fabulous instructions (bring your arms out in front of you, rotate the biceps towards the ceiling and the triceps to the floor, then raise the arms from there, stopping when they start to buckle. Let the inner edge of the shoulder blade up towards the sky, and the outer edge descend.)<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After a week of doing the correct modification for me, my arms are vastly straighter, and I can come to straight arms fairly easily from most positions. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Which caused me to ponder, if it only took a week to correct the imbalance, why did I wait so long to talk about it, to ask about it, to question it?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It’s that old ego coming into play – the one that insists that I look, act, and perform just like everyone else, or else I am inadequate. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Once I let go of needing to be just like everyone else, and started to love my body for it's...well...quirks, I found myself able to focus on my own practice, which quickly transformed.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This apparently is a lesson I have to keep learning over and over, through injury and disappointment, but it’s a lesson that I hope will actually sink in someday soon. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Until then, I’ll just keep plugging away, for a long period of time, with passionate interest, and without attachment to result.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Thank Goodness for the Sutras, right?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-11168555866407897522011-02-09T13:51:00.000-08:002011-02-09T13:55:17.071-08:00The golden Guidelines, or what does a non-veg yogini eat, anyway?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Recently, after my one of my previous articles had been published on Elephant Journal, I was asked to write for a diet website. When I received this request, I admit that my first reaction was to giggle. When I was asked to contribute to a website on diets, I giggled. Me, write about diets? I hate diets! I think they are absolutely useless, as they rely on a short-term mentality to solve a long-term problem. In my experience, the best ones force you to rely on their system that is rarely sustainable for anything outside of a regular life-pattern (and as someone who has my hand in four separate businesses, calling my lifestyle regular would be pretty far off course.) The worst teach you to starve yourself, mess with your metabolism, loose some water-weight, and gain it all back the instant the diet has run it’s course (and often gain even more.)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">When it comes to weight loss and nutrition, I am a firm believer in the “moderation in everything, even moderation” way of life. This has worked quite well for me, as with few changes (due to illness) my weight has stayed consistent within a few pounds for the past six or more years. I am certainly no stick figure, but I have a lovely, curvy and athletic body that looks fabulous in clothes (and I’ve had no complaints from my boyfriend, either!)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">However, as a yoga teacher and a personal trainer, I constantly have people coming to me asking how to lose weight, how to have shapelier thighs, how to make their bum tighter, flatter abs, bigger boobs, smaller nose (well, not really the last one.) And on a website about diets, having the opportunity to be the voice of moderation and sensible, healthy choices for the every day yogi or yogini in all of us felt like an awesome way to put my mantra where my mouth is. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">So, I thought I’d let you know how I try to eat every day, and succeed about 80% of the time. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">All right, so how do I personally eat, if I don’t diet or restrict, but still want my tight jeans to fit? Well, I just follow the Golden Guidelines, and all is taken care of for me.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Here they are: the Golden Guidelines I stick to (80% of the time, anyways):<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Vegetables at every meal, including breakfast. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>For every meal, half a plate of veg, ¼ plate of carbs, and ¼ plate protein. Which looks something like this:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cpmc.org/images/learning/platemethod.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://www.cpmc.org/images/learning/platemethod.gif" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Small meals every 3-4 hours, preferably including a vegetable.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Small amount of “good” fats (olive oil, nuts, avocado) daily<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">-<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span>Alcohol, cheese, processed food (including gluten free products, for wheat-free folks like me), nuts and other saturated fats in intense moderation.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">While this might sound difficult, not enjoyable, or even nuts (Brussels sprouts for breakfast?!) once you get used to it, it becomes fairly simple to follow, transportable around the world, and absolutely delicious. Plus, I really do get to eat as much as I want, whenever I want, provided it fits in the framework above. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">So, what does my daily food look like?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> Breakfast: Two corn tortillas, 2 egg whites, arugula and 2 tbps mint ‘hummus’ (recipe to come next week!) extra cooked left-over veggies (if eating out, an eggwhite omelette loaded with veggies)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Snack: A rice-cake or two with almond butter, with half a sliced cucumber, a cup of tea sweetened with stevia and some almond milk,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Lunch: Veggie-bake (more in a later post) with a small piece of protein (small can tuna (line caught if I can find it), left-over chicken breast, etc.) optional piece of gluten free bread, OR vegetable based soup with a piece of gluten-free bread.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Snack: Mary’s gone cracker’s with hummus, and/or steamed Brussels sprouts, a glass of wine (occasionally two) in the evening.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Dinner: (options:) 2 sushi rolls with brown rice and hijiki salad, OR veggie-bake with protein, OR vegetable soup with chicken sausage, OR chicken with arugula and chickpeas, or, once a fortnight, gluten free pizza or pasta. YUM!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Now, that said, this meal-plan works really well for me and for my body. While I don’t necessarily advocate this exact food plan for everyone, as everyone has their own nutritional needs, the golden rules listed above have really helped me maintain a great figure, have plenty of energy, great skin and hair, excellent health, and a calmer, happier attitude in general. I couldn’t recommend them more highly. In the coming weeks, I’ll write more information about all this, with recipes and research, etc. Namaste!</span>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-66609547092519658272011-01-18T09:13:00.001-08:002011-01-18T09:14:13.817-08:00Tapas: Not just Spanish munchies<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I love sanskrit and philosophy so much that it borders on the weird. Particularly for me, who has always battled with foreign languages, the fact that I just eat up whatever sanskrit (an Indo-European language that no-one actually speaks any more) I can get my hands on is just odd. But that's not the point.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The point is a particular sanskrit word, </span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">tapas.</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Tapas, as told to me by the brilliant Jenny Aurthur, is "the willingness to endure intensity for the sake of self-transformation." </span></span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">WOW. Read that a few times, if you would. The willingness to endure intensity for the sake of self-transformation. HOLY COW. (Ba-dump-bump.)</span></span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I first heard this term, I interpreted it as any former triathlete would. I used it as a tool to kick my own ass. When holding plank, I would mutter "tapas" under my breath, press my hands more firmly into the floor, grit my teeth and hold it. Tapas meant press my chest more firmly towards my thighs in dolphin, open my inner front thigh more fully during vira II, etc.</span></span></b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHevAWwUtmaIF7Z6PWQaGc2vf0ruidIVOF170BfW1RfdWMcePIttb0HwxhvY8t2j_8Y_jo3cEKwsdqhjGF429epgyfAsGdkeH4VWQdp-8PojltxzPk163sg2Fm1eyllKQZGeMKbPvmPyaq/s1600/photo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHevAWwUtmaIF7Z6PWQaGc2vf0ruidIVOF170BfW1RfdWMcePIttb0HwxhvY8t2j_8Y_jo3cEKwsdqhjGF429epgyfAsGdkeH4VWQdp-8PojltxzPk163sg2Fm1eyllKQZGeMKbPvmPyaq/s320/photo.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Me before a triathlon, doing a modified plank to warm up.</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And then, like many former (and current) triathletes do, I took it too far, and got injured. AGAIN. I have a history with ITB syndrome, a painful over-tightening of the illiotibial band that runs from the hip to the knee, and causes intense knee pain and often compensation of other muscles in the area. </span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, all of a sudden, any pose which involved a straightening of the leg or a forward bend caused horrible pain. Which, in case you don't practice yoga, is about 60% of the asanas. </span></span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At first, I pushed through. Hard. Ignoring the pain, I kept pressing, and pushing, and fighting against my own body, still attending class 5-6 days a week, jumping to chattarunga and ardha uttanasana EVERY time during every surya namaskar, and basically ignoring the nagging voice in my leg that said, "hey lady, give me a break, will ya?" </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then, after many months of this, I had to stop. My doctor, who is a genius who I deeply respect, told me to take two weeks off from yoga, which I interpreted to mean, "just a little." After two weeks with no improvement, he clarified that he meant, "No, really, NO yoga."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">All of a sudden, the meaning of tapas became slightly more illuminated, and particularly the meaning of intensity. If I thought my practice was intense, not practicing felt agonizing. I felt like I was ready to crawl out of my body, I was anxious and frustrated. And for two weeks, I sat through it. I meditated, I reached out for support, and I sat through it. And when I returned to Chrissy's class, while my leg was certainly far from perfect, I was able to be so much more present and aware on my mat than I'd ever been.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> For me, for today, intensity is not pushing myself as hard as I can, come hell or high water. If we do that, what comes to mind is another expression: "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten." Tapas means LISTENING to our bodies and our needs in that moment, and ignoring whatever external or internal pressures there are to push or be pushed. So, for today, when I only come down half-way in a forward bend, or lie flat on my belly in lieu of child's pose, I just mutter "tapas" and smile.</span>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-17887299954583368302011-01-04T08:49:00.000-08:002011-01-04T08:49:58.884-08:00Coming back...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After a rather intense and <i><b>tapas</b></i> (trans., willingness to endure intensity for the sake of self-transformation, more on this later!) filled month, which involved three major holidays, one major move, and zero yoga classes due to injury (again, more on this later) I felt like I was going balmy. </span><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yesterday was my first class back, and what a gift it was. I walked into Chrissy's class after a month away, and it was packed. A 12:45, level one class, there were at least 35 people in the class, and perhaps more. I snuck in the back, as the class was about to start, and heard Chrissy say, "Kat! So great to see you! How's the knee going?" I hope one day to be the kind of teacher that can be about to start a class filled to the brim and still take the time to check in with individual students. Amazing.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We started the class, and I admit, it was challenging to hold myself back the way I had to to protect my leg. No jumping for me, no intense knee bends, which included no child's pose. No child's pose?! </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">However, I used the opportunity to focus on the things that I could do that challenge me. Staying with my own body and not comparing my practice to other people. Learning how to listen to myself more fully. Doing my own practice.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the end, I was simply grateful. Grateful to be able to feel so at home in a class filled with laughing, joy-filled students, grateful to have such a tremendous teacher, and grateful to be exactly where I was that day.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What are you grateful for?</span></div>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-60752788377664914942010-12-03T11:17:00.000-08:002010-12-03T11:20:41.639-08:00Just love this. Plain and simple.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: GoudyBookletter1911Regular, georgia, 'times new roman', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hi everybody!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm back after a long Thanksgiving break from the blogosphere. I had a fabulous time at my sister's for the holiday, and then spent the weekend in Saratoga. It was fantastic and restorative and a great place to do yoga...and see the first snowfall of the season!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have a confession.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Nine days out of ten, I feel this way, but some days, like today, I just want to yell it from the rooftops. Today is one of those days.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I LOVE MY LIFE!</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH8GNnaaALWu3Unq1QVtYGh6O3DNsCSbqXLwlDqoN4_iG4WAMvTJJfhpEOgLeaq00JBEy13OvrcqbkhMYBReOyYx15FLfhzmhKk7o9SNGEIzW9_eziy4Ll099lyG2dRNLzfU1hkBRyyeKb/s1600/32537_824448316835_3418750_47014142_4214808_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH8GNnaaALWu3Unq1QVtYGh6O3DNsCSbqXLwlDqoN4_iG4WAMvTJJfhpEOgLeaq00JBEy13OvrcqbkhMYBReOyYx15FLfhzmhKk7o9SNGEIzW9_eziy4Ll099lyG2dRNLzfU1hkBRyyeKb/s320/32537_824448316835_3418750_47014142_4214808_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On Destiny Retreat, a life changing transformational week with Jana and Miranda Saunders</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some days, I admit I feel a bit weird for feeling this way. With so many miserable people in the world, what right do I have to be so happy, to have so many people I cherish in my life, to have a job that makes me grateful each day to jump out of bed, to have such beautiful friends and such bounty of love in my life?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have two answers for that. One, I work freakin' hard at it. I wasn't born this way, nor have I always been this way. I work with a brilliant life coach, </span><a href="http://freeandalive.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jana Saunders</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, who has taught me incredibly valuable tools to bring in the positive things I want, and release the negative or toxic things I don't.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Secondly, I've learned that, while I don't believe my mind controls my reality, (as in, I don't believe the "think positively and you'll get exactly what you want...NOW!") I believe my perception deeply influences it. If I choose to believe something is possible, that there are no problems, only solutions waiting to be found, and I work hard to find and get it, it usually happens. A friend of mine posted this recently, and it seems to summarize beautifully exactly how I feel about this.</span><br />
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<blockquote style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 1.125em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 2.222em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 18px; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Every generation has a limit to what it believes can be real. At one point we thought the world was flat, that it was impossible to fly or that putting a man on the moon was impossible.</span></i></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 18px; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The same thing can be said about how other people perceive you when you have a vision or a dream.</span></i></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 18px; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Not everyone will see it. Many will doubt it. In the beginning almost none will help make it happen.</span></i></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 18px; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But the magic lies in this: KNOWING, AFFIRMING and BELIEVING that your inner world creates your outer world. The thoughts and vision you are thinking about creating the life of your dreams, are the blueprints of your eventual success.<br />
When you are inspired, don’t seek the approval of other people before you begin taking action. Just take action and produce results. You will learn from the action you take and if you take consistent and daily action eventually you will begin to show positive results.</span></i></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 18px; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When you show positive results, instead of other people saying, “Ah, that impossible”, they’ll start to ask you, “How’d you do that?”</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 18px; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></i></div></blockquote><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></i></span><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- Mastin Kipp, The Daily Love, Daily Email - Nov. 5th, 2010</span></i></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span> </i></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What are you thoughts? What have you brought into your life that you want, and how did you do it?</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Have a great day, and keep practicing!</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kat</span></div>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-38663684179557132632010-11-22T20:14:00.001-08:002010-11-23T05:19:50.239-08:00My Sphere of Influence<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My boyfriend is absolutely brilliant. I really mean it. Issues and problems that I struggle and wrestle with, he seems to inherently understand, and know exactly how to deal with them. He is simple one of those people who draws in the energy and resources he needs, and puts them to good use.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One of his key tools for dealing with any problem is one that I have since borrowed and use almost every day. When a situation comes up that seems difficult to handle or challenging to fix, he looks at it and asks a simple question: "Is this in my sphere of influence, or is this not?" If it is, he moves forward with finding a solution. If not, he </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">lets it go.</span></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizE9uQhfL6_V4hevlG1JcoISBdmOVoTIoCVaCZDtqYViGUl0aohCwDmDLqKerxAqNmSepRZH6OeFQGO8XdkmxKgKPRE2Mcoam1cFoBUl-IHvDC1COYx6HfKybYpoyzfdsStEoVxoi9Qgim/s1600/PC002D_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizE9uQhfL6_V4hevlG1JcoISBdmOVoTIoCVaCZDtqYViGUl0aohCwDmDLqKerxAqNmSepRZH6OeFQGO8XdkmxKgKPRE2Mcoam1cFoBUl-IHvDC1COYx6HfKybYpoyzfdsStEoVxoi9Qgim/s320/PC002D_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sphere of influence. Note, this is not at ALL a plug for Anthony van der Hoorn's photography. Photo credit: Midday, by Anthony van der Hoorn, Anthonyvanderhoorn.com.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ah, letting go. What a subtle and complicated art form that can be. We muse so much in yoga about </span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">vairagya </span></i></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(non-attachment) but then, we come to a pose that is particularly challenging for us, and we fight against our own bodies to wriggle ourselves into some semblance of the pose, often foregoing common sense or safety to do so. Or, off the mat, we stress and worry about if we're getting a promotion at work, if the guy will call, when that purse will go on sale, or thousands of other little problems that we ooze energy dealing with instead of letting the universe take care of it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is what I tell my students. (And, of course, myself.) Today, where we are, we have very little control over our level of flexibility or strength. Both of those things take a great deal of time and </span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">japa </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(repetition) to build. In the context of a yoga class, you really can't get too much more flexible, or much stronger, in that moment. However, in each session, we can choose to deeply focus on the things within our personal sphere of influence. When you are transitioning from pose to pose, are you just thinking about getting there, or on bringing mindfulness to the space between the asanas? When you stand in poses that are familiar to you, do you rely on your old habits to get you there, or try to learn something new? Transitions, mindfulness, and single-pointed attention - all of these things, as yoga practitioners, are in our sphere of influence. </span></span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">An invitation: Just for your next yoga class, let go of the need to improve at the asana itself, and focus simply on the things that you can directly control. Center your mind on making the transitions as clean as possible, on being mindful of the subtleties held within each pose, and keeping your mind focused on your own mat. You may be surprised by what you find.</span></span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Have a gorgeous night, and keep practicing!</span></span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kat</span></span></b>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-1840264037749866162010-11-18T14:28:00.000-08:002010-11-18T15:47:26.080-08:00Love the Present<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Looks can be deceiving. Today, while it appeared that I was simply walking to my afternoon yoga class along Amsterdam avenue, I was in fact in arround twelve different venues far away from my earthly body. I was in Sedona, Arizona with my boyfriend, trying to figure out flight schedules, while I was at my computer dealing with bills, while I was back at work dealing with a student's knee replacement and how to accommodate her, while I was in Costa Rica...just because. So, </span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">vrittis </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">fluctuations of the mind, also known as, thoughts!) </span></span></span></i></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">flying, I was stopped short by this window display at Banana Republic, and just cracked up.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEishioUr5ru-8_5xg8R8AzdkSI_lfPPVCdE1M4Ht7oZUXkPTK-jf6b43vrabpqHo7WM8-fk2OxMSCAto0VDCpMf05zAjmU0SFbkoOq5HHCJrh9xSqte1RJj2rT3__1sCUcc1vsYqB9Z-2IE/s1600/IMG_0110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEishioUr5ru-8_5xg8R8AzdkSI_lfPPVCdE1M4Ht7oZUXkPTK-jf6b43vrabpqHo7WM8-fk2OxMSCAto0VDCpMf05zAjmU0SFbkoOq5HHCJrh9xSqte1RJj2rT3__1sCUcc1vsYqB9Z-2IE/s320/IMG_0110.JPG" width="238" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Love the Present. I do find it slightly ironic to have a sign that says "Love the Present" with mannequins holding gift-wrapped boxes advertising Christmas a week before Thanksgiving even happens, but I appreciate the sentiment nonetheless. Sometimes, it feels like the universe just sends messages when you least expect and most need them. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And this is why we do yoga. Sutra 1.2 - 3 says, "we do yoga to calm the mind down so we can get to know our true selves." While people come into yoga for a multitude of reasons (to get in shape, get flexible, because their girlfriends do it, etc.) if you stick around long enough, chances are you will find the amazing side effect that is the original intent: the ability to be exactly where your feet are, for however long you can be. For me, this used to be for just a moment at a time, even during class. These days, most of my class time is spent exactly where I am, working to find the most elegant alignment in my body. (Of course, I slip out of it, and will occasionally have a teacher chortle, "Kat! Your feet are doing ballet while your arms are doing yoga!" or the like) And even more often, I am becoming aware of when my mind does slip away, and I am starting to be able to bring myself back to where I am. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In reality, the present moment is all we have (as we know.) The past is gone and the future doesn't exist. The most important moment in the universe is this moment. And this moment. And this moment. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What actions can we do today to help ourselves stay in the present? There are so many tools, and yoga isn't the only one by a long shot. For some people, it's running, knitting, or dancing. For some people, it's just finding a quiet corner to sit and breathe. Today, for me, it's taking a moment to be grateful for exactly where I am and what I have at that moment. Right now, at this instant, I am sitting on a warm bed in a lovely room with everything I need and most of what I want. I have quiet, and peace, and love. What else could I ask for?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A few tools to ground yourself in the present:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1) Stand in tadasana (mountain pose.) Standing with your feet together or slightly apart, lift your toes up to ground your feet down. Press back through the thighs while you rotate your buttocks towards your heels. Feel the energy from the earth coming up through your legs and spreading through your body. Spread your palms on your thighs. Breathe.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2) Scrape a stainless steel spoon on the bottom of your feet. Sounds weird, but it works.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">3) Touch something natural and connected to the earth, such as a tree trunk. Place both hands on it and connect to that energy. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4) Make a list of ten things you are grateful for in that moment. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">5) Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What do you do to bring yourself back to the present? Feel free to comment below. </span></div>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-76017275768648138922010-11-14T05:05:00.000-08:002010-12-12T13:11:05.328-08:00Upanishads and Private yoga<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There is a wealth of yoga philosophy that I find totally fascinating and highly recommend reading. I will go into more detail in a later post of particular recommendations of editions and translations, but Patanjali's sutras, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Upanishads all have one thing in common - they were originally passed down from master to student orally, and individually. In fact, Upanishad is literally translated as "Sitting down near"which basically means, "sit down and I'll tell you a story about how to live your life. Or how you could live your life. Or about cheese."(I'm actually not joking about the cheese - read Satchidananda's translation of the Sutras and you'll know what I mean.) </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGT1HbemFwpnWCei4AUhXYn04sWsUvKmHHricMwRjl3Xaf37OnFVkBY3jwlZTm4lBjkeGPMF4zL2wRUU-KHlA9AXwe2G-olS8_beaWJqooW4ZIpJNIUuj28rgXpKzwnCVU11GAV78ErA9N/s1600/getImg.php.gif.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGT1HbemFwpnWCei4AUhXYn04sWsUvKmHHricMwRjl3Xaf37OnFVkBY3jwlZTm4lBjkeGPMF4zL2wRUU-KHlA9AXwe2G-olS8_beaWJqooW4ZIpJNIUuj28rgXpKzwnCVU11GAV78ErA9N/s1600/getImg.php.gif.png" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As yoga was meant to be taught intimately from teacher to student, it's interesting to see how far away we are from that in the yoga industry. In the business side of yoga, classes ideally have 20 or more students to be lucrative to the teacher and the studio. Don't get me wrong - I love the community aspect of a large class taught by a wonderful teacher - there is a feeling of "all for one and one for all" as well as the inspiration of seeing someone else's asana and learning from others. However, as my teachers always say, "what do you gain, and what do you loose?" While you gain a significant amount of excitement and strength from a group asana practice, you definitely lose the personal care and and consideration that comes from a private teacher.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">While yes, I do know that I am a private yoga teacher so this may sound like a pitch to study with me (hey, what a great idea!) I so want to recommend so many other teachers to study with, as well. For example, I study with </span><a href="mailto:laurelbeversdorf@gmail.com"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Laurel Beversdorf</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, a YogaWorks teacher trainer, who has totally shifted my practice. While I wish I could study with her regularly, whenever I can have a lesson with her, it is always amazing - she is an utterly brilliant teacher with a keen eye for and understanding of alignment and musculature, which is essential for me. </span><a href="http://livingnowyoga.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Juliana Mitchell</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> is another wonderful New York based teacher - incredibly wise, warm and knows exactly how to challenge you according to your needs.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Who are your favorite teachers, and what do you think about private yoga lessons versus public classes?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Share your thoughts below, if you would, and have a beautiful day!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Keep practicing!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kat</span><br />
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</span>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-65665199763127143172010-11-14T05:00:00.000-08:002010-11-14T05:06:14.053-08:00Music of the Body - Asana and Song (with playlist!)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The first class that made me realize that I wanted to do yoga for the rest of my life was a class I took with </span><a href="http://jenniferpastiloff.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jennifer Pastiloff</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> in Los Angeles. (No, it wasn't this exact class, but it's one of hers. And as it's winter in New York right now and freezing both on the street and in the studio, I wanted to give you a bit of fantasy-land.)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I had taken yoga before, in high school, in college, and at <a href="http://go2yas.com/">YAS</a> (a studio with the tagline "I'm not your Guru - You are" and "the No Om Zone" - no sanskrit, no chanting, just plain ol' asana - I thought it was perfect for me at the time. Now, a few years later, I'm a sanskrit addict who chants on days even when I don't practice. Weird how you can change with time!) I could take yoga or leave it, and certainly didn't "get it" (not that I remotely "get it" now - I just know that I don't "get it" and am enjoying the ride of discovery.) </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">However, I walked into Jen's class, and was forever changed. For one thing, while it was OH SO HARD, it was FUN. I had always experienced yoga as a serious practice for serious people. Jen's class was, and is, the antithesis of this. She encouraged self-exploration, silliness, and challenging yourself simply for the sake of growth. Her light-hearted attitude allowed me to try asanas that I would never have thought possible for my body, and her knowledge of alignment allowed me to try them safely and with relative ease.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One of the aspects that got me seriously hooked was her use of music. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Other classes had used "traditional" (read: new age) music for the practice, which was fine, but certainly never inspired me to keep coming back. Jen, on the other hand, used Sinead O'Connor, Adele, and so many other contemporary artists with a rock-ish flair. It had a beat, which was incredibly useful for sun salutations. It was also another element that allowed me to get more deeply into my own body - yet another example of how transporting music can be. These days, many teachers I know use contemporary music as a tool for asana, but Jen is really a master of knowing what music to use and when.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">While I have mixed feelings about smartphones and my personal dependence on them (more on that later), I must say that my iphone has become an indispensable tool for teaching privately. I have a number of yoga playlists on it for any style of practice. Here are some suggestions for a restorative/morning/gentler playlist that I love and really help me get into my practice when it feels like nothing else will. </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Chain</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ingrid Michaelson</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The cannon aspect of this song makes it really nice for Surya Namaskaras, and anything else done in a flow.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sea of Love</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cat Power</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Great for backbending or forward bending.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kathy's Song</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Eva Cassidy</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Great for supta padagustasana, supta badha konasana, or anything supine and held for a long period of time.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Naked As We Came</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Iron and Wine</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Classic and beautiful - I use it for everything.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lua</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bright Eyes</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Twisting, any gentle poses that are held for a long period of time. </span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What are some of your favorite songs to practice to? Please share your comments below!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Have a gorgeous day, and keep practicing!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kat</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-13451427943563063442010-11-10T06:26:00.000-08:002010-11-14T05:06:59.186-08:00Yoga Mind, Yoga Body - Parsva Bakasana<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I think one of the reasons I love yoga is the mystery of it. Truly, sometimes it doesn't make any sense to me. There are periods where I practice every day for hours a day, and my body feels as unflexible as a steel pole. Other times, I don't practice at all for a few days, come back and feel like jello. (Or, as jello-ish as I can be, which is probably closer to frozen-yogurt in consistency.)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A few days ago, in Chrissy's class, we practiced arm balances, culminating in Parsva Bakasana. Here is Chrissy demonstrating beautifully (Parsva Bakasana is the last pose.)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIyc9nRAl6Qs6UaaXqdrVKreX-Gvik24o_O3n-k-HdxJFUbyYiwyajcgc9cMNi4xjqEBt3IKIUp4Uc7-4-IFi6BbpoO-uS5LzuVqdwc-f07Do3QJXrkmQK7AKH1oQOmf7YLPafPaHdwWD/s1600/parsva+bakasana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIyc9nRAl6Qs6UaaXqdrVKreX-Gvik24o_O3n-k-HdxJFUbyYiwyajcgc9cMNi4xjqEBt3IKIUp4Uc7-4-IFi6BbpoO-uS5LzuVqdwc-f07Do3QJXrkmQK7AKH1oQOmf7YLPafPaHdwWD/s320/parsva+bakasana.jpg" width="151" /></span></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It's SUCH a gorgeous pose when done correctly - the asymmetry from the front (of the legs to one side) creates a certain symmetry on the side (with the shoulders being level with the knees) that is totally breathtaking to me.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">However, when I attempted it, I felt much closer to </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU7FzglAdIx4oILNM0cwyelSOiXGTODzEjR8tCC_fdm8ZAQoo7S3hWOxvr_cQyZTAbxFlNnBed1dNGI6uvulf5YPSwLvRG3bSFpgT76ChgeXxDvS2INABVRHg4UcZ2Elzw5Ybv38wXPzIT/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU7FzglAdIx4oILNM0cwyelSOiXGTODzEjR8tCC_fdm8ZAQoo7S3hWOxvr_cQyZTAbxFlNnBed1dNGI6uvulf5YPSwLvRG3bSFpgT76ChgeXxDvS2INABVRHg4UcZ2Elzw5Ybv38wXPzIT/s1600/images.jpeg" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It was just one of those days when I felt like I didn't know my knee from my nose. I understood the mechanics of the arm balance, but somehow it just wasn't translating into my body. I left the class feeling a bit miffed, but quite certain that with months and months of diligent </span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">abhyasa </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">practice), I would eventually get the hang of it. (Ah, how challenging it is to detach from a practice when it doesn't go your way!)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">However, the next morning, I woke up, and decided on a whim to try it at work. (Yes, I love my job - I work in a playground. Did I say a playground? Sorry, I meant a gym.) And voila! We have lift-off! Did it look like Chrissy's pose? Not quite. Was it recognizable as parsva bakasana? Absolutely. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It was such a lesson to me in how silly it is to decide a timeline for things that I have no control over. I truly thought it would take me months to even get off the ground, and there it was, happening the next day. Also, it was a fabulous experience to just try something without expectation of it actually working, and...guess what! It worked! If it feels good to you, try it sometime - take something that you "know" you can't do, and do it anyway. Even if it doesn't happen, you may be closer than you think, and even if not, it's probably a good excuse for a good laugh!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Have a great day, and keep practicing.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">P.S. For more information on practicing parsva bakasana from Chrissy's very funny perspective, check out her <a href="http://yogachrissy.blogspot.com/2010/04/home-practice-parsva-bakasana.html">blog.</a> It involves a golden retriever. Just saying. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-37240149396442974612010-11-08T06:39:00.000-08:002010-11-14T05:03:32.942-08:00Adventures in Ashtanga - Yoga for the everyday teenage boy?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm currently in the last part of my 200 hour teacher training at </span><a href="http://Yogaworks.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">YogaWorks</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, led by the majestically wonderful </span><a href="http://yogachrissy.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chrissy Carter</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and </span><a href="http://Jennyaurthur.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jenny Aurthur</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. I'm sure I'll write a whole entry (or four) devoted to how amazing they are, and how much they have both changed my practice. Before I started my 200 hour training, I was "teaching yoga" privately to some of my personal training clients. Now, of course, I realize that while I thought I was teaching yoga, it was much closer to, "hey, we're both in the same English class - want me to help you with your homework?" than actually teaching. With the 200 hour training, I feel vastly more confident and able to offer concrete tools to my students, who thankfully are growing in number rapidly.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anyways, during yesterday's teacher training, we had an Ashtanga practice, led by Jenny. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTKkss6NrGb5veKlMRqZkBtUnlJTn6x2brrNK-rKISjm46J0KlgmgWWKP5y33qrzKXXwB76Q_MQdoaYEpRKs9qBk-vScLNzWeuyaMOKOxyrKS2fCZZ6LyZqkKoYf1MlhkbwJU5NcC77UZ/s1600/jenny_arthur_446x251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTKkss6NrGb5veKlMRqZkBtUnlJTn6x2brrNK-rKISjm46J0KlgmgWWKP5y33qrzKXXwB76Q_MQdoaYEpRKs9qBk-vScLNzWeuyaMOKOxyrKS2fCZZ6LyZqkKoYf1MlhkbwJU5NcC77UZ/s320/jenny_arthur_446x251.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Jenny Aurthur, one of my teachers. She is, to put it mildly, BADASS.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Ashtanga yoga, created by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, is a fascinating form of yoga that is meant to be practiced six days a week, in a set series of poses, usually at your own pace (So, not let by a teacher.) It is vigorous and athletic, originally created for teenage boys to release excess energy. (For more information on the practice, you can read more </span><a href="http://www.ashtanga.com/html/background.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">.) The YogaWorks method is a combination of Ashtanga and </span><a href="http://www.bksiyengar.com/modules/FAQ/faq.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Iyengar</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> yoga, so it was a great experience to have a "pure" Ashtanga practice.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This was one of the more difficult practices I have ever attempted. Ok, let's be honest - it was by FAR the hardest practice I have ever attempted. Five </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2AC5aZanlU"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">surya namaskara A</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'s (and no, mine does not look quite like that), five</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S94_5zvx3MY"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> surya namaskara B</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'s (nor that), followed by more vinyasas (complete with jump forwards and jump backs) than I could shake a stick at. I could barely get through half the postures, and the other half didn't look quite so elegant, either. I realized about 20 minutes into it, I had two choices for the practice - laugh or cry. It would have been very easy to just give up or be miserable or self-criticising, but thanks both to Jenny and Chrissy's humor-filled attitude, and my own growth in the past few months, I treated Ashtanga like a playground of discovery. The most fascinating part of the practice was, there were quite a few areas that I had previously been struggling with that just came naturally during Ashtanga simply because I didn't have time to think about them.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anyways, it was really an adventure and an experience I am so grateful for. In particular, I am so grateful that I chose the YogaWorks method, which makes the most sense for my particular body and spirit - it's thoughtful, alignment based, adventurous, playful and athletic. The Ashtanga sequence was also a great opportunity to practice </span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">vairagya</span></i></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (literally colorlessness, more regularly translated as "non-attachment") and just let the practice be what it was without judgement. Of course, that didn't quite happen, but it was a nice thing to try, anyway.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Have a great day, and keep practicing!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kat</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">P.S. To see what it's like to take a class with Jenny (a YogaWorks, non-Ashtangi class, that is!) check <a href="http://www.yogavibes.com/store/recently-added/product/yogaworks-back-bending-flow-jenny-aurthur-yogaworks-new-york-ny/">this</a> out - it's FABULOUS!</span>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6183949196515836123.post-80008149025342067732010-11-06T17:34:00.000-07:002010-11-14T05:02:14.004-08:00Virya - Absolute enthusiasm<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizehd6CLe_vFCUum-BEhodF3lLfQkdtvBYZ0X9IFnYvruCNPU6BlwdeiqglAH9juuebdL77SKiabS6-ExBWJ6pjQ6we5dgMqj6gdQwrf4el1HmMSVlMFXAKkExWalzTBFR1opaawBBRwXO/s1600/30593_418337510906_682720906_5716534_4276701_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizehd6CLe_vFCUum-BEhodF3lLfQkdtvBYZ0X9IFnYvruCNPU6BlwdeiqglAH9juuebdL77SKiabS6-ExBWJ6pjQ6we5dgMqj6gdQwrf4el1HmMSVlMFXAKkExWalzTBFR1opaawBBRwXO/s320/30593_418337510906_682720906_5716534_4276701_n.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On a yoga retreat led by Jennifer Pastiloff, assisting a fellow student in adho mukra vrksasana!</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ok, here’s a few useful pieces of information about me. (I gotta say, it’s so strange to be writing to readers who don’t yet exist. However, I’m choosing to look at blogging from a yogic perspective. </span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ishvara pranidhana</span></i></b><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, which means “letting go into the creative source from which we’ve emerged” I interpret to mean, do the work for works sake, and let go of the results.) So, here we go, entering the blogosphere, for no other reason than to enter the blogosphere.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ok, useful pieces of information. Just in case.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1)</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am pretty much obsessed with yoga. I talk about it, live it, breathe it, and of course do it pretty constantly. Please note, however, when I say “yoga” I don’t mean, “I am obsessed with getting the bottom of my foot to touch my head, effectively turning myself into a human pretzel.” No, I mean yoga in the larger sense. Yoga as life, yoga as a philosophy, yoga as a way to practice humanity. And if eventually the bottom of my foot touches my head, that would be ok as well. Just sayin’.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2)</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I love to discover new ______’s, and share them. The ______ May be bands (which are sometimes actually new, and more often are “new to me”) yoga classes, lipsticks, restaurants, etc. But I get really excited when I find something, and yes, I’m one of those people who has to tell everyone I’ve met about what I’ve discovered. And apparently, those I haven't met. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">3)</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am utterly incapable of taking myself too seriously during asana (physical) practice. Thank Goodness for that. See, I was not born a flexy-bendy person. In fact, I seem to have been born with an invisible straight jacket that prevents me from having true flexibility in my shoulders, hamstrings that are less ham-string and more ham-rocks, and a tailbone with a total mind of it’s own. I am learning the loveliness of single-pointed focus during an asana practice, but in reality, I practice what my first key teacher, <a href="http://Jenniferpastiloff.com/">Jennifer Pastiloff</a> cited as a class rule: “If you fall, you laugh. If you don’t laugh, I will make you laugh.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4)</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What I lack in flexibility, I make up for in </span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">virya</span></i></b><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, which is translated as “absolute enthusiasm” or “vital energy.” I believe in bringing a sense of curiosity and excitement to everything I do, and encouraging my yoga students to do the same. It’s so refreshing to look at a new experience or challenge with the attitude of “wobbling like an infant learning to walk” rather than the “I’m such a freakin’ idiot that I don’t get this.” It’s a fun challenge – next time something baffles you, be it at work, home or in a relationship, see if you can shift your attitude from self-denegrating to process-adoring. It’s pretty powerful stuff.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That’s enough for now. Have a great night and keep practicing!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Kat</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>Kat @ Where the Sidewalk Endshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14192500508373192047noreply@blogger.com0