Adele Cassidy Yoga

Wow!

2012-03-02T07:20:00.000-08:00

I pretty much knew that yoga is amazing and healing for all kinds of people and for all kinds of reasons. What I hadn’t fully appreciated is how frickin’ fast that transformation can be. I guess that once you’ve been practicing a while you get used to being able to make a shift in a few poses. You get used to feeling good most of the time and when you don’t, how you get back to balance. Suddenly feeling good is the norm, feeling “off” is well, “off”.

So this week I’m taking a moment to pause.

Because when we pause we notice. We notice where we were, where we’ve been and that gives us more confidence as we tread forward into the future. Because it’s when we take that moment to pause and notice that we navigate more skilfully. When we try and power through we’re like a fly crashing into a window, we’re just never going to get out into the fresh air.

And with spring on the horizon, I definitely want more air, more breath, more “wow, that’s was incredible!” moments.

Yes, spring time!

2012-03-01T07:05:00.000-08:00

I’ve been hanging out with my meditation cushion a lot of late. Here’s what I’ve been practicing in honour of my friend who’s no longer with us. She taught me so many things, this meditation is a sliver and with spring well on the horizon it’s a good ‘un.

Sit down and make yourself comfortable. Set your timer: 5, 10, 60 minutes – whatever time you have.
Close your eyes and find your breath.

Imagine yourself in an empty field full of the brightest of bright green grass with the sun shining.
Start to think of all the things you have in your life which you’re grateful for. I like to go through different categories of things each day, like: everything within myself, everything within my world, every part of my past, present and future, all of my relationships, all of the things which make me laugh... you’ll find more.
Every time you think of something you get to plant a daisy. Some days daisies will grow quickly, sometimes not so much. What’s important is to look.

When you’ve come up with all the daisies you can, step back and look at your field. Enjoy your breath and being bathed in beauty.

We often forget all of the things we have which make us blessed. Take a few moments today to remember. I promise it will make you feel better.

It is Valentine's day this week...

2012-02-12T09:49:00.000-08:00

I’ve read a lot of letters this week. This is my letter, my love letter to yoga.

Dear yoga

I love you, unconditionally and forever. I love that you have landed me so gently in a place in my life which feels perfect. You’ve gave me my life back.

I love that you beckon me silently and persistently to practice every day to open my heart and be vulnerable.

I love the crazy poses, I love that one Addho Mukka Svanasana can shift me. All I have to do is show up, line up and open up.

I love that you’ve brought me some of the most amazing and loving people into my life. People for whom words cannot express my delight at knowing them, it’s simply the echo of a heart calling to a heart.

I love that you make me fearless and emboldened simply by learning to know myself better. I know truly there is nothing to be fearful of.

I love that you weave a rich tapestry of consciousness through each moment. Making each moment is a beautiful expression of beauty in my unique experience.

I love that I can choose to see all of this or choose not to.

May I always stay true.

Sweet patience

2012-02-03T09:07:00.000-08:00

I’ve done a lot of yoga this year. Yes, I’m aware it’s only February. However, I think it’s fair to say 65 hours is a lot of practice. I count, don’t ask, I do.

There are days when inspiration seems to pile up in the expression of movement. There are days when I can’t seem to put one asana in front of another. There are days when I just want to be able to do that pose. I get that a lot, being impatient. Right now I suspect strongly it is my Sadhana, this is a less I need to learn and the Universe is going to keep on giving it to me until I get the hint. Or don’t.

The Universe is like that.

So I can choose to rebel against or I can try and figure out what it really means to me right in this moment. That’s all we’re ever invited to do. Live in this moment, what is there right here, right now that I can dedicate myself fully to. We might not like it, we might not think it’s “perfect”, nothing ever is. We just get to show up and participate.

That’s when it all gets a bit juicy. Seriously, anything can be a life enhancing moment. I sing in the shower, I actually sing everywhere. It makes people smile and it definitely makes others smile.

Be the star you are!

2012-01-11T08:54:00.000-08:00

London is dark. It’s raining. So how come I feel like a seed reverberating underground, ready to shoot forth new green shoots?

Part of me thinks it’s best not to ask. However, the yogi in me can’t help it.

Here’s my theory: last year I spent a lot of time going inside, asking questions of myself. Why yoga? Why teaching? Why this, let’s own it, craziness?

I got answers, I got more questions, I got a frown and a smile. What I mainly got was a deeper awareness of myself, what does motivate me and why I do come back to the mat day after day.

The reason is pretty simple. I got to be the person I always thought I was inside but never quite knew how to be. It’s not like yoga changed me, more like it unveiled me. In a good way, not an emperor’s new clothes way. I’m not there yet, no way. Where I am though is at a point of no return, again... in a good way. This is the point at which my mind quiets and I move from a place of deep inner knowledge. Definitely not every moment, I do travel on London Underground daily and I am human. Although I do now have knowledge and a memory of feeling this amazing, like that seed ready to burst forth my heart yearns to know itself and connect with every other heart. Yoga gave me the ability to be the person I always thought I was but never knew how to be. It’s that simple, that complex and always evolving.

However, that’s a bit of a mouthful though and I spent a number of weeks rolling it around in my mind, trying to put make it clear, universal. One day, I was on the train, flicking through my ipod and My Way by Ian Brown came up. I love that album, I love Ian Brown. He can’t sing and he can’t dance and yet... oh yet, he’s like a magnet to me. I can listen over and over and over to those tunes.

My favourite song on that album is called Stellify. It’s a crazy song with a beat and the accompanying video is basically him and a brass brand marching around Manchester. I guess harking back to F.E.A.R. when he rode a bike backwards around Soho. Something about it sucks me in and makes me play it again and again. Brown says it's the first love song he's ever consciously written.

It struck me that morning when I played that song. That’s it. That’s why I do yoga, why I keep doing yoga and why every time I teach I wish to transmit that feeling. Stellify means to become starlike, to be a star. The paradox that we are stars, each and every being, we just get to shine even brighter and connect like a constellation around the earth. Like so much else, what it boils down to is love.

That's it, be the star you are!

“Ouch! It really hurts when I do that...”

2012-01-09T01:57:00.000-08:00

How many times have we all said or heard that?

I think most of us get physical injuries at some point, sometimes on the mat, sometimes off it. However ‘good’ you are at yoga asana, however strong/flexible/experienced you are, there’s gonna be a time (or several times!) when something goes twang in your practice or in your life and it hurts.
Fortunately, help is at hand!

John Friend, the founder of Anusara yoga, explains that each person has what he calls an ‘optimal blueprint’ for their body, a perfect (for them) alignment.

Each person’s optimal blueprint is as unique as they are.

There are two big upshots of this. Firstly, if we can learn to bring our body into alignment with its optimal blueprint (for example through the practice of yoga asana) then we are waaaayyyyy less likely to injure ourselves in the first place, and secondly, if we do injure ourselves, we can help our body to heal by putting ourselves back into alignment with our optimal blueprint, and this is the core of yoga therapy from an Anusara perspective. If you talk to an Anusara yoga teacher about an injury, they will use the Universal Principles of Alignment to help you move towards your optimal blueprint, and the closer you get the less it will hurt and the faster you’ll heal.

Easy, right?

Sadly, it’s not so easy, of course. You think you work hard on the mat now? Wait till you’ve tried therapeutic yoga! It’ll make you sweat for sure – you don’t overcome a lifetime of misalignment without a LOT of effort. Before you even start therapy you really need to commit 100% to doing it. It’s first principle stuff – Open to Grace. Are you really open to the possibility of getting better? Are you really ready to work hard every practice, or every day, to get rid of your pain? Or is it serving you in some way? Is it an excuse to avoid something? Is it something you can hide behind? What is your injury trying to teach you? Was it a misalignment that injured you or was it your ego?

When he’s not busy being a yoga therapy geek and Anusara addict, Chris is a yoga teacher, massage therapist and reiki master in and around central London and one of my best yoga buddies!

For more information, or to contact Chris, check out www.chriscarmona.co.uk or Like “Yoga with Chris Carmona” on Facebook.

The end... the beginning

2012-01-05T06:34:00.000-08:00

I’ve been a bit shy this week about writing a blog this week. It’s because there are like a million out there advising new starts, resolutions etc. etc. Not that I have a problem with that at all, it always great to know when deep in your heart that you want to make a change and to commit to that. It’s just that I’m not really one to jump on a bandwagon. Right now I’d rather talk about endings.

Last year I committed to practicing yoga for 365 days in a row. I blogged about it a few times during the year to keep myself in check but pretty much once I’d committed to it and said it out loud there wasn’t really any question that I’d complete my self-imposed challenge.

And without a doubt it was the single most influential decision I made in 2011.

What is boiled down to was surrender. Which is a tricky word for someone who loves to be in control, if I surrender, who’s going to be running things? What I know now though is that you’re surrendering to your own heart: that part of you deep inside which already knows everything you need to know and is complete. This is Purna, one of the characteristics of the divine, that which is ever present and perfect. That’s what I gave myself over to, because it was hard. Getting up in the morning and doing asana, rushing through a few poses when I had to get out early, dragging myself to my bolster when I was ill, making myself get on my mat when I really wasn’t feeling very perfect. That’s when it was hard.

What I learnt, however, was that those were exactly the times when I needed to be there. More than when life was flowing beautiful.

I ended feeling so grateful for that decision that I kicked my own butt at New Year’s Eve and did a six hour eye of the tiger practice. Now that’s rock and roll!

What’s in store for 2012? I'll just say that an end is the beginning of something new...

Pause

2011-12-22T04:27:00.000-08:00

I gladly got back on the meditation cushion this week. It’s a bit like when you don’t do something for a while and you realise the cobwebs have started to gather a little. Yes, my mind is a little full of cobwebs. It needed a clean!

So it’s the same thing. Whether you meditated yesterday, have never meditated or have been a little neglecting of the practice recently the method is the same. Come back to your mat, plonk down your bum, set a timer for 1-100+ minutes, close your eyes and tune into the breath.

There are a million different practices out there which are profound and life changing. It might take a little time to play with which some to find one really helps you to do that cobweb clearing the best. There’s no need to be attached to a particular method, when it’s not working for you, try something else. The point is, just like with an asana practice to keep coming back, come back to the cushion, and come back to your breath whenever you can.

There is no goal, nowhere to get to; it’s your time for yourself to let everything settle and for the important stuff to bubble up. It may be a while but I’ve found that creating a little space for my sitting practice opens up all facets of my life and boosts my creativity.

Guest Blog: Yoga and Its Global Reach

2011-12-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

Yoga is all about community so I'm delighted to introduce a new guest blogger Allie Brooks currently lives in Florida and has just graduated from University of Mississippi, with a degree in biomedical anthropology. She is studying in the field to finish an ethnography on the effects of biomedicalization on Bolivian cultures.

How yoga can ‘fix’ just about everything
Yoga is a global movement and this 5,000 year old practice is becoming increasing popular. Yoga teachers are becoming more traveled, all age-ranges of people are beginning to practice, and different reasons for yoga are being addressed. There is something for everyone in yoga and this is why the mind-body therapy has such a global reach.

Since there is much emphasis on health and fitness, yoga has become popular for those trying to shed a few pounds or tone up. Many different forms of yoga are focused on toning the body and are more physically challenging. Some postures, breathing routines, and movements are aligned with a cardio-rich music track to keep the body moving and burning calories. Hot yoga, or Bikram, is another type that is used to release toxins, stress, and help increase the body performance to get into shape.

Restorative yoga is available for those that are tired and/or injured. The poses associated with this yoga form are deeply relaxing and revitalizing. They encourage the body to rest and help to revive the mind-body connection for further healing. This yoga is admired by weary travelers who are homesick and stressed or patients undergoing severe treatments or surgery recovery. Many hospitals offer restorative yoga classes for patients with a stressful cancer diagnosis, like a non-hodgkin’s lymphoma or mesothelioma prognosis.
Acro-yoga is for everyone that cannot wait for the circus to come back in town. It is a fun way to meet new people or practice with a friend, since two yogis normally work together to achieve acrobatic fun and therapeutic release. Not only is this form of yoga great for all age groups, it combines all the “wanted” aspects of yoga. Acro-yoga is fun, physically intense, and a stress-alleviator. Many schools and parents use acro-yoga to keep the children engaged and fit.

No matter what’s the niche, there is a form of yoga for anyone. From curing homesickness to acting as a healing catalyst, yoga can facilitate any goal one could have. Since any form of yoga is a fun way to get fit, get tone, have fun, and relax it should be the new way to bring in the New Year. Around this time, everyone is setting goals and making resolutions, so why no jump start that goal with yoga? Get your friends together or make your significant other drops plans for the plans for the gym and go to a yoga studio. It is a fun way to form human connections, get in shape together, and have fun while you all de-stress.

Contact Allie

The play of Lila

2011-12-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

My last word in my series of three is joy. It’s that time of year, there’s a lot of it around. It’s pretty common for me to get caught up in the detail and really lose sight of I’m doing stuff in the first place. I do think of myself as pretty playful these days and take more time to notice the sweetness; it all goes to make life that little bit more exquisite. I admit though, it took me a while to refind my inner child and give her some playtime.

That’s what Christmas ends up being about for me, going back home and slotting right back into the family unit. No matter who you are now, your nearest and dearest don’t see you that way. They still see you as the person to “pile on” and squish in the back seat. So this Christmas, I say let the inner child. Let Lila come out to play.

Sometimes there is no other reason to get on your mat other than for the pure joyous exaltation of it. There’s nothing to do and nowhere to go, just enjoy the spaciousness of the practice, the amazing feeling and the little smile which escapes.

Making music

2011-12-19T09:39:00.000-08:00

Continuing my three class series, the next in the run is elegance. I just love this word. How I got to it is that I’m a planner and an organiser, there is no getting away from this personality trait.

However, what I realised is that I’m this way for a reason, I’m this way because when I put my mind to something I want it to be beautiful and at the same time I know that I ultimately can’t control the outcome.

For me it’s Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra.1.12: Sanskrit:abhyasa-vairagyabhyam tad-nirodhah, or dedicated practice and non-attachment. The concept is that we put in our best effort and then ultimately let it go. Like a symphony coming together. It’s not like an orchestra magically appears out of nowhere: there’s planning, practice, logistics, a million and one different things come together to make that moment of beautiful music arise. And there’s always going to be something which didn’t quite come out like you planned, something which makes that event completely unique, a moment in time which will never arise again.

So yes, I’m a planner. However, I’m also a music maker in every single moment. Constantly playing a harmony of dedication and letting go.

Counting my blessings...

2011-12-05T09:16:00.000-08:00

As a preparation for my 2012 theme, I sat down with one of my good friends and figured out what we feel is really important to us. Yes, it’s true; I can’t go out to dinner any more without some kind of yogic element! It was a really interesting discussion which I’ll be sharing some of the outcomes of over the next few weeks.
When we boiled it down, there were five words which really resonated with me. They resonated so much that I wanted to build a series of three classes around them to close out this most phenomenal year. They come in the order in which they felt most sequential.

First is gratitude. This is a theme which occurs and reoccurs for me regularly and one which I can so easily forget. The point is that when we take time to appreciate everything we have to be thankful for a few things happen. First, we notice things which we didn’t notice before, like a couple of weeks ago I looked outside and saw a few of London bathed in gold as the leaves were turning into their autumn shade.

Then, I’ve found that (and it’s not as if all the bad stuff goes away, it’s not that at all), it’s just that it seems less relevant when stacked up next to all the blessings. It takes practice, that irritating email which stays with you and you take it home and grumble about it to your partner all evening. You know what, when you remember something you really like about yourself the email doesn’t matter so much.

What happens next is pure alchemy and I’m definitely. Can I see the tough stuff as blessings aswell? Woah. I mean really, when I got back on my mat after several days of child’s pose, it felt unbelievably good. Can I remember that next time my life creates a situation where I can’t practice in my usual way how amazing it is that I got to practice at all?

So try this when you meditate: count your blessings. Spend the entire time building up all the things you’re grateful for: what’s stable in your life, your relationships, your history, yourself and your skills, your achievements, every person who touches your day and you never see...

If you don’t have a meditation practice, take some time when you’re in a queue and do some counting.

A mo for slo

2011-11-30T13:46:00.000-08:00

There are a ton of colds going around at the moment, it’s that time of year. I tend to feel like the cold I have right now is slowing me down and stopping me getting to all the stuff I need to do. That is until I change my perspective around it a little.

If I believe in Anusara yoga then I need to figure out what it means at any situation:

Anusara - [a-nu-sar-a] means “to be in the flow”, “flowing with Grace”, “the soul in the flow with the Universe”, “following your heart”
Anusara Teacher Training Manual, John Friend

Honestly, when I first heard this, it felt a little passive. Like I didn’t have a lot to do with it and that made me feel disempowered, which is definitely not why I do yoga. However, what I’ve learnt and continue to learn every day is that there is a huge difference in being swept along with events and truly knowing, then following what is in your heart. Again, following the “heart”, as in the energetic centre of your body as opposed to the internal organ, is definitely something I had to learn. It sounded very esoteric and intangible when I first heard it.

What I have learnt, through many hours on my mat and listening to some really fabulous teachers is that my heart is where my true knowledge lies, what we call Cit. As yogis what we get to do is tune into this, become more skilled in recognising it and then follow it. It comes from way inside yourself and in truth, may look kinda crazy to the outside world. Yoga is, as the Bhagavad Gita tells us, skill in action... and that’s empowering.

So what does all of this have to do with my cold? My cold is a message, a pretty strong one, to take it easy. It is officially winter now, all around us nature is slowing down and I need to align to that, to flow with it. My heart knows that and rather than assume that I know best, like the adverts which say “take this remedy and don’t miss a single day”, remember that this is the time to rest, look after myself and turn inwards, to attune to the bigger pulsation of nature. I think I'm going to enjoy my slightly involuntary break!

Couldn't resist... Harry Potter yoga

2011-11-28T14:26:00.000-08:00

When I saw this article: Harry Potter and yoga are evil', says Catholic Church exorcist I admit I smirked. I smirked because the sprite in me met with the yoga teacher in me and I asked myself the question: what about Harry Potter yoga, is that double evil or do two negatives make a positive?...

...because I’m a Tantrika and make it my business to see intrinsic goodness in every situation (no matter how H.A.R.D. that may be), I’m going to say it’s positive.

So, since it’s positive and yoga is all about seeing the good, what would a Harry Potter yoga class look like?

One of the few things I know about Harry Potter (I know, I must be the only one on the planet) is the Dementors who pray on the positive emotions of their victims (yep, I got that from Wikipedia). Of course, and hurray, the Tantrikas got there first, sorry JK... they call this the Malas. It’s ok, you don’t have to boo, remember, there is good in Dementors too. The Malas are a film which clouds your heart of your super-naturalness (allow me that one pun...). It’s what stops you seeing how miraculous you really are.

Now, because the Tantrikas were so wicked they knew that the film of Malas is - because everything is - a good thing. Wait, how can something which clouds your heart be a good thing? Because, get out my wizard’s wand, wave it, cast a spell: if it wasn’t there you would have no contrast. If you didn’t go to wizarding school and have bewitching teachers, how would you get to be such a great wizard? If you didn’t have sticky situations to conjure yourself out of, how would you learn? If you had nothing as comparison, how would you know?

Abracadabra, one Harry Potter yoga class!

For the geeks (note: late at night with a cold, please refine - oops, there’s my Malas, Anava if we’re going technical):

Key Actions - Hugging to the midline and full extension from the core to finger/toenails
Heart qualities - super-natural power and magic sparkles
Apex - um, oooh let’s go Eka Pada Galavasana I, or pretty much any arm balance/hip opener combo

Go, do magic...

Tiger's growing up...

2011-11-21T05:16:00.000-08:00

Next installment of Tiger practice build up, four hours worth, officically in the Zone!!!

15 minutes Sun salutations
5 x Surya Namaskar A
5 x Surya Namaskar B

Handstand and Pinca...
7.5 minute handstand
7.5 Pinca mayurasana

Staying upside down...
15 minutes Sirsasana I, in 2 installments
5 minutes Sirsasana II

On your feet... 1 minute holds or 1 minute per side
Uttansana
Low Lunge
High Lunge
Parsva Uttansana
Parsvattonasana
Virabhadrasana II
Reverse Virabhadrasana II
Trikonasana
Ardha Chandrasana
Parsva Trikonasana
Utthita Hasta Padagustasana, bent knee
Utthita Hasta Padagustasana, leg straight
Utthita Hasta Padagustasana, leg to the side
Vrksasana
Vrkshasana (half lotus)
Garudasana
Twisting lunge pose - knee on floor
Prasarita Padattonasana

Open them hips... 1 minute holds or 1 minute per side
Baddha Konasana
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana prep - torso lifted)
Triangmukhaipada Paschimottanasana
Baby cradle
Ardha Padmasana
Krounchasana
Agnistambasana

Crunch time... 2 minutes each, yep, 2 minutes
Abdominals
Navasana
Navasana to Ardha Navasana
Bridget crunches
Frog crunches
Twisting straight legs

Flip onto hands... 1 minute holds or 1 minute per side
Kickstand Vascistasana
Lolasana
Vasisthasana straight legs
Bakasana
Vasisthasana leg in tree
Vasisthasana hold foot
Eka Pada Bakasana
Wild thing
Parsva Bakasana
Tulasana
Eka Hasta Bhujasana
Dwi Hasta Bhujasana
Tittibhasana
Astravakrasana

Luscious backbend time... 1 minute holds or 1 minute per side
Salabasana (torso elevated only)
Salabasana (torso & legs elevated)
Bhujangasana
Eka Pada Bhekasana
Urdva Mukka Svanasana
Dhanurasana
Eka Pada Dhanurasana (holding opposite foot)
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana I prep, 1 leg bekasana
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana II prep, 1 leg bekasan
Purvottanasana
Ustrasana
Setubandha Sarvangasana
Urdva Dhanurasana
Ardha Salabhasana
Viparita Salabhasana prep
Mermaid pose 1
Paryankasana
Supta Virasana

Best foot forward... 1 minute holds or 1 minute per side
Virasana
Gomukhasanana (forward fold)
Janu Sirsasaana
Marichyasana I
Upavista Konasana
Parsva Upavista Konasana
Eka pada gomukha paschimottanasana
Eka pada rajakapotasana prep
Vajrasana
Paschimottanasana
Longhorn pose
Ardha Padmasana
Padmasana
Siddhasana
Baddha Konasana with forward bend
Malasana - arms in front

Home stretch...
10 minute Shoulderstand
5 minute Sharvangasana II - arms clasped
5 minute Sharvangasana II - arms straight
5 minute Halasana

Here we go...
10 minute meditation
15 minutes Savasan

Awesome, aswesome, yoga is awesome :)

Breathe in... breathe out...

2011-11-18T05:53:00.000-08:00

What have I learnt on my mat this week? I’ve learnt, yet again, to pause, soften and be lead by my breath. Something I’m trying hard to cultivate in as I frantically search for a document I spent an hour working which has disappeared...

I’ve learnt that I can engage my adductors even more, yes, that much, so they’re firing on all cylinders and interestingly that the right doesn’t like to play as much as the left. This is more than a physical action, it’s grit and determination to stick to what I believe in no matter what...

I’ve learnt to find room for my femininity, to giggle and be playful, to dance. That makes life just that little bit sweeter...

I’ve learnt that playfulness needs to be appropriate to the situation and that having an open heart means to keep listening...

I’ve learnt to shine out in my poses with unabashed joy in all directions and without reservation, to be vulnerable and open...

Yet again, I’ve learnt the lesson of Spanda, pulsation, where everything in the universe expands and contracts and to find equanimity wherever I am in that cycle. Breathe in, expand, breathe out, contract, I will never get tired of that...

Whatever next?!!!

2011-11-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

A little update on my 365 day yoga challenge: in summary, the very cool think about yoga is it doesn’t burn you out. Well, it might for a couple of days as your muscles screech at you but in general, you’re revitalised. That’s how come I can get up early, do my practice and get through my day relatively unscathed. I feel more tired when I don’t practice in the morning, which, honestly hasn’t really happened this year... so far. The 365 day yoga challenge isn’t really a thing anymore, it just is. I practice yoga every day. Somehow I find a way.

This is really why I felt like: hmmm, what would happened if I leapt for the stars and built up to a full blown tiger’s practice as a little Christmas present to myself (follow the blog if you want to see what this entails, they’re not just words, I’m really doing these practices and they are so awesome). It’s pretty amazing to me the effects that three hours of practice have on my body and mind. Sure, I’ve practiced that much but never alone, just with some music and some poses in my head. They say that every time you step onto your mat something shifts. That definitely happens and I’m just finding that when I shift if up a gear, like right now, it’s tectonic. I really can’t wait to see where this journey goes next...

Almost crazy enough to be true...

2011-11-16T12:37:00.000-08:00

For the last couple of months I’ve been cultivating the idea of intuition, or, well, let me just put it out there - psychic ability... OK, so all those still with me, yes, that might sound a little off the wall. However, I deeply believe that we can tune into that part of ourselves that just knows, how many times have you thought: “dammit, I knew that was going to happen?” or “I had that feeling”. Guys, that’s being psychic, it’s true and you know it!

So, the first step is the open up to the possibility that this might be possible and you may be a magical, psychic being. Seriously, you are, own it, strut it, walk it. Take a huge breath, get big inside, find spaciousness and say (you may whisper quietly), “yeah, I want some of that, I want to know”.

That’s a huge step and you get to totally have an awesome party, do the dance, clap and jump up and down like a little kid. However, there’s always more, when you’re turning inside and listening and you know your heart’s desire, what then?

Then you get to act on that intuition, on that feeling, let your heart lead the way. It will guide you. Onto the fullness of your inner body, let the heads of your armbones move back as a natural continuation of having a massive, bright heart.

That’s when you get to move from a place of deep intuition out into your life, to flow through each moment. Even when your intuition is warning you, forewarned is forearmed. A life lived from the heart is a life lived in fullness. And I for one want more of that!

Tiger Tiger

2011-11-15T05:24:00.000-08:00

Still going strong, more tigers a-coming... this one's about 3 and a half hours... oh my goodness, that's halfway!!!

15 minutes Sun salutations...
5 x Surya Namaskar A
5 x Surya Namaskar B

7.5 minutes (you can go up and down !)
Handstand
Pinca mayurasana

10 minutes Sirsasana I
5 minutes Sirsasana II

1 minute...
Tadasana
Uttansana

1 minute each side...
Low Lunge
High Lunge
Parsva Uttansana
Parsvattonasana
Virabhadrasana II
Trikonasana
Ardha Chandrasana
Parsva Trikonasana
Utthita Hasta Padagustasana, bent knee
Utthita Hasta Padagustasana, leg straight
Utthita Hasta Padagustasana, leg to the side
Vrksasana
Twisting lunge pose - knee on floor
Prasarita Padattonasana

Sit down...
Sukkhasana

Baddha Konasana

One minute each side...
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana prep - torso lifted
Triangmukhaipada Paschimottanasana
Baby cradle
Ardha Padmasana
Agnistambasana
Krounchasana

Here come the abs... two minutes per pose people!
Navasana
Navasana to Ardha Navasana
Bridget crunches
Frog crunches
Twisting straight legs

On to the hands... one minute hold per side... spot the odd ones out
Kickstand Vascistasana
Lolasana
Vasisthasana straight legs
Vasisthasana leg in tree
Vasisthasana hold foot
Wild thing
Bakasana
Parsva Bakasana
Eka Hasta Bhujasana
Astravakrasana
Tittibhasana

Now the back... one minute holds
Salabasana (torso elevated only)
Salabasana (torso & legs elevated)
Bhujangasana
Eka Pada Bhekasana
Urdva Mukka Svanasana
Dhanurasana
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana I prep, 1 leg bekasana
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana II prep, 1 leg bekasan
Purvottanasana
Ustrasana
Setubandha Sarvangasana
Urdva Dhanurasana
Ardha Salabhasana
Viparita Salabhasana prep
Eka Pada Dhanurasana (holding opposite foot)
Mermaid pose 1
Paryankasana
Supta Virasana

Final stretches... one minute holds
Virasana
Gomukhasanana (forward fold)
Janu Sirsasaana
Marichyasana I
Upavista Konasana
Parsva Upavista Konasana
Eka pada gomukha paschimottanasana
Eka pada rajakapotasana prep
Vajrasana
Paschimottanasana
Longhorn pose
Ardha Padmasana
Padmasana
Siddhasana

Turn it all upside down...
10 minute Shoulderstand
5 minute Sharvangasana II - arms clasped
5 minute Sharvangasana II - arms straight
5 minute Halasana

We made it!
10 minute Meditation
10 minute Savasana

Tentative tiger practice...

2011-11-14T05:48:00.000-08:00

Buckle up, it's the next instalment of the Tiger's practice build up... this is a couple of hours worth :)

Surya Namaskar

5 x Surya Namaskar A
2 x Surya Namaskar B

'ish

5 minute handstand & Pinca Mayurasana

15 minute Headstand

One minute holds...

Tadasana
Uttansana

One minute holds per side...

Parsva Uttansana
Sukkhasana
Virasana

One minute holds...

Navasana x 2
Bridget crunches
Twisting straight legs

One minute hold each side...

Kickstand Vascistasana
Vasisthasana

One minute holds...

Salabasana (torso elevated only)
Salabasana (torso & legs elevated)
Bhujangasana
Urdva Mukka Svanasana

One minute holds...

Eka Pada Bhekasana
Gomukhasanana (forward fold)
Janu Sirsasaana
Paschimottanasana

15 minute shoulderstand

5 minute Halasana

...and relax
10 minute Meditation
15 minute Savasana

Making Space

2011-11-08T05:43:00.001-08:00

Note to self...

2011-10-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

As the nights draw in, some days it’s hard to get on the mat. What I find even harder though (and always have) is the ability to sit down to meditate. It’s pretty crazy what your brain does if you sit and watch it for even a few minutes, not to mention how looooong those few minutes can be. I definitely know when I’m overstretching myself because being able to settle down to mediate is near impossible and definitely the first thing to get dropped off the to do list.

So that leads me to think it’s probably the thing I need to do most – you love asana so much though (says my inner dialogue) – which is true – and there’s so many other things to do (it continues). So why should I meditate? I have a solid practice and I feel like I’m a pretty nice person... most of the time. The thing is, when I do find the time to meditate, the world kind of expands for me. It’s weird, it’s like the to-do list is somewhat irrelevant and yet I manage everything with so much more style. Not that I really expect to “get” anything when I meditate, it’s just nice to notice what comes up. What I’m noticing right now is I need to get my butt on the cushion more often and make a bit of space for me.

Dancing Diwali

2011-10-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday’s workshop with Chris Chavez was super awesome and fun. There’s a whole load there on what he taught and why it was great but that’s for you to go and check out with him :). What I got from it is what I wanted to explore. There’s a lot around about having ideas, doing things and going somewhere. This happens so much that sometimes it’s easy to forget why we’re doing it in the first place.

That’s why it was so awesome to be guided by someone else, to put yourself in their hands, even just for a little bit, don’t worry, it’s not for ever, just so that you can refind yourself and your real mission. So it wasn’t just that I got to rock out and do yoga, it was that I got to rock out and do yoga with my friends, with candles and incense, in a sacred space and that makes it a little bit more special. I’m so grateful to be able to get on my mat every day (note: day 299 of #yoga365), it’s just that when you get to do it in a room with other amazing souls you get lifted up by their light and it becomes an effortless dance, like a flickering Diwali candle in the breeze.