Love is all around

Whew - this has been a rough week! There was an avalanche at Stevens Pass on Sunday that took the lives of three people - including a close friend of mine. Then the next day I found out another friend was diagnosed with breast cancer and is having a masectomy in two weeks. It's always hard to watch horrible things happen to wonderful people. Normally I am an optimistic person and try to look for something positive in tough situations, but this time I just couldn't do it. That made me feel even worse because it seems very un-yoga-like, ha ha! As an instructor, shouldn't I be able to handle this with wisdome and grace rather than bawling my eyes out and cursing?

The thing that is carrying me through the week is the incredible love I feel from the community. I was talking to a friend today and she said "Facebook has changed the way we grieve." That sounds really strange but it's true. As soon as the news broke about the avalanche, people started posting pictures and telling stories in rememberance of the three victims. I was instantly connected to all these people I had never met before by sharing this moment together. A page was also started for my friend with cancer where people are posting inspriational quotes, pictures, and favorite memories to make her smile. It's amazing how people from all across the country, and even internationally, are coming together to show support and caring for one another. I've been blown away by all the kindness and love that surrounds me, so that is the theme for my class today: love is all around.

Ski Bunny

I had the cutest Valentine this year - my sweet little niece! I took the day off work to take her skiing for the first time (she turns 4 next month). She loves sledding and playing in the snow, so she was excited to try out skiing. We had a wonderful time together and she was much more adventurous than I expected. I tried to show her how to slow down and make turns, but she just wanted to go straight down the hill as fast as she could! Ha ha, a girl after my own heart :)

Full moon

Yesterday was a full moon, and like all things of a watery nature (we are about 70% water), we are affected by the phases of the moon. The energy of a full moon corresponds to the end of inhalation when the force of prana is greatest. This is an expansive, upward moving force that makes us feel energetic and emotional, but not well grounded. During the full moon we tend to be more headstrong and vulnerable to push beyond our limits.

You may notice that it's more difficult to balance during a full or new moon. This can be frustrating when you fall out of poses that you can normally hold steady. Often times when this happens, we try to push ourselves harder...and when that doesn't work we get mad and say things to ourselves like "what's wrong with me? why can't I do it? I should be better" etc.

We tend to attach our self-worth to outcomes: achieving a certain pose, getting good grades, winning the match, etc. The trouble with this is that the satisfaction of victory is only a tiny moment in time. By telling yourself "I'll be happy when__fill in the blank__" you are setting yourself up for days, weeks, months, even years of feeling inadequate. 

The next time you find yourself in a situation like this, take a deep breath and let it all go. We are infinitely more powerful that we think we are - it's our thoughts that limit our abilities. 

There are a few different yoga principles that come into play here:

• First is ahimsa which means non-harming. We tend to think of ahimsa in relation to others - not harming another individual. However, it also applies to how we treat ourselves - when we beat ourselves up and tell ourselves that we aren't good enough, we are causing ourselves harm.
• In yoga we also practice vairagya which is the Sanskrit word for non-attachment. It's easy to become attached to an outcome or to our thoughts about a situation. Thoughts are just thoughts - they only become real when we believe they are true. Take a moment and see if you can detach from a thought and see it for what it really is - separate from you.
• Finally, we are contantly looking for balance in sthira sukha. Sthira means strong, steady, stable; and sukha is comfortable, at ease, relaxed. Finding a blend of strength and ease leads us to a place where we can establish harmony in mind and body.

Here is the playlist for class today

San Fran

This past weekend I was in San Francisco visiting friends. Our original plan was to go skiing in Tahoe but there wasn't enough snow to make the 4 hour drive worthwhile. Instead we stayed in the city which ended up being better because I got to see a lot more people!

On Friday, Kelley picked me up from the airport and we went to Rainbow Grocery. Kelley has been telling me about Rainbow for years and I was super excited to finally go there! It's the biggest natural/organic market I have ever been to - I could have spent hours there. If you are ever in San Fran, make sure to check it out!

Then we went back to Kelley's apartment and had lunch before attending a yoga class at Urban Flow. The studio was beautiful - huge windows, brick walls, and hardwood floors. I loved having the sunshine pour into the room and we even got to watch the sunset towards the end of class. The studio is entirely donation based which I think is amazing!

Saturday morning we went to the farmer's market and loaded up on fresh produce that we later used to make dinner. Kelley is an awesome chef so I was spoiled with delicious food all weekend! My favorite stand at the market was Mariposa Baking Co. which had all gluten-free baked goods that were incredible! It definitely rivals New Cascadia in Portland for the best gluten-free bread I've ever had.

Saturday afternoon I met up with Dasha (friend from Bali) at Gracias Madre for amazing vegan Mexican food! Dasha lives in Sacramento so it completely made my day that she drove an hour to come see me!!! We had the best time together - I couldn't stop smiling :)

Sunday I went for a long bike ride with Kelley & Roko - my friend Ali was nice enough to let me use her bike! We rode from their apartment in the Mission, across the Golden Gate Bridge, up and over the Marin hills to the Pacific Ocean, through a tunnel that led back to the Bridge, and then back to their apartment. It was about 30 miles - a fun ride with lots of hills, but we were rewarded with beautiful scenery. We met up for dinner with Ali & Morgan at Source which was another great restaurant featuring local, organic, and seasonal food. Yum!

Monday was my last day in town and I was happy to meet up with more friends from Bali! Eliette, Melisa and I went to a yoga class together and then out to brunch so we could catch up. I had such an amazing time, I didn't want to leave! Luckily it's just a short 2 hr flight away so I'm sure I'll be back again soon :)

Whistler

Oops, I'm a bit behind in my blog posts. Two weekends ago we went up to Whistler for the weekend with a group of Marc's classmates. There were 15 of us total and we had a great time skiing, shopping, and eating at great restaurants. Here are some pics from the winter wonderland

Soham सोऽहम्

Last week we had a big snow storm in Seattle and people were stuck home for multiple days - I got a little bit of cabin fever but overall I thought it was a lovely introspective time. It can be easy to maintain focus and clarity when I'm alone without distractions and obstacles, but it's more challenging to recreate this state of being in the midst of regular life.

One of the things that helps me maintain focus is to chant a mantra. The Sanskrit word mantra means "instrument of thought" [man = to think; tra = tool or instrument]. A mantra can be a sound, word or phrase, and repeating a mantra can help quiet the stream of thoughts that play in your mind.

The mantra we are using in class today is Soham which means "I am that" or "I myself." I love how it looks in Sanskrit, so beautiful! सोऽहम्
Soham acts as a natural mantra to control your breathing pattern, to help achieve deep breath, and to gain concentration. As we inhale, we think the sound Sooooo... and as we exhale, we think the sound Hummmm...

When most people hear the word "yoga" they think of the physical practice of various poses. This is called asana and it is only one of the eight limbs of yoga. Pranayama, or breathing exercises, is another one of the eight limbs of yoga. One of my favorite breathing exercises is called Nadi Shodhana (nah-dee show-DAH-nah) or Alternate Nostril Breathing [nadi = channel; shodhana = cleaning, purifying]. In Nadi Shodhana, you inhale through one nostril, retain the breath, and exhale through the other nostril (then repeat). This leads to a balance between your logical (left brain) and creative (right brain) thinking. Here is a great article on some more benefits to Nadi Shodhana.

Today in class we are using the Soham and Nadi Shodhana to even out our breath bringing balance to our mind and our postures, which will then translate into our lives.

Here is my playlist for 1/25 Yogis at UW

music and quotes

This quarter I'm super excited about teaching classes every other Wednesday for Yogis at UW. I'm going to post my playlists and quotes I read for each class here on my blog. For the students, you won't have to try to remember what we did because it's all right here. For those of you who can't make it to class, I hope you will still find inspiration in reading these posts. Here's the first one for today - the quote is from Neil Gaiman:

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life. Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it. Make your mistakes, next year and forever.

Here is the music playlist:

In class today we are going to do a lot of hip openers (which can bring up emotions) and back bending (which can bring up fear). When we are receptive to our emotions and in touch with our fears, we are in a perfect place to try something new! Exciting and scary at the same time :)

Make mistakes, make magic, make miracles! It's all the same - it's all movement. Moving towards what? Who cares??? Goals can be great, but if you are so focused on getting somewhere, it's hard to enjoy being here. Have you ever experience getting "there" and feeling let down? "I thought if I got that job I would be happy then...I thought if I made that much money, I would be happy then...I thought that if I lost that much weight, I would be happy then...etc..."

For me, 2012 is going to be all about living now and I hope to share that with my friends, family and students.