Dream Bigger than Big.
I have these day dreams about teaching in the new city I will be living in. Instructing vinyasana flow to people who have never experienced the version I have been taught. In my head I have like 30 people in a class room everyone is happy to be there, and I always leave feeling great as do the students! I know it will take time to build a following, and teaching at peak hours will help facilitate that. I also know for now this is what I want to do, and that’s cool. The last few years have been a weird vacuum of time trying to work out where I wanted to go after I decided fashion and I were no longer a good fit.
Yes, I broke up with my last profession. Now instead of talking about label sizes, current silhouettes, hems, and colors I talk about philosophy, meditation, and anatomy. After that’s over I go to school to talk about more philosophy. A few years ago I enrolled in two classes to brush up on Microsoft and Photoshop. After that semester was over my education took on a path of its own. I stayed in school to finish my BA. A year into school I got the idea to become a yoga teacher. This is where I am today and probably tomorrow.
It is interesting to me that I have become one of those people I always wondered about. I wonder how I got to this place in my life. I gave up a good career path. I was making wonderful money but that was not fulfilling my life lacked depth. Giving it all up to start over and do something completely different was just in the stars for me. It has not been the easiest of transitions but there is ease and contentment in my life that has never been here before.
I was happy in my last profession designing women’s knits. I was successful and my previous business only really had four bad months. Bringing this business based background into my future will allow me to be a successful teacher. I am sure I look at myself as a new product to sell. It is exciting to start a company again, but this time teaching not producing. That is like 300 less people to yell at. I only have to be accountable for myself.
I know economists may be disgusted by this because they would see this venture unable to grow, duplicated, sensationalized and sold while I was asleep. That’s ok, and here is why life is not always about making 100 million dollars. No one can take my intellectual property, not deliver on time, or make a mistake that could cost me thousands. It is just me and I only have myself accountable for the new venture I am creating. If I don’t work I don’t get paid. It is so easy.
I am going to dream bigger than big, build a new type of business and love every minute of my new life path. I will have time during the day to do whatever I want. All I have to do is hustle, then sit back and receive.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Popping my cherry!
Popping my cherry!
My teacher Clair said this best as each teacher trainee got up in front of our whole class and taught a sun salute. It’s time for you to get a chance to pop your cherry…. She was right. Our class has a great mixture of yogis of all ages and levels. Some are current teachers who just wanted a little more training. I would dare to say we were all nervous to teach each other even though we all want nothing but the best for our fellow classmates. I did get a little nervous, and my hands did shake a bit so I clenched them in a fist for a second and took a deep breath.
Obviously I want to teach, and to do so I have to get up in front of a class and give instruction. However, there was this part of me that just wanted to be told what to say. I was a fledgling learning to fly, fly, fly. I did feel really good to teach that little segment. I felt challenged in a good way, and know my comfort level will increase as I teach more and more. This week a teacher of mine wanted me to do just that.
On Saturday teacher X called me to see if I was in her class, and called the studio to have them tell me to warm up the class. Teacher X was stuck in traffic. She did tell me that she thought the idea of being put on the spot would freak me out, and she was right. However, I would have done it if I was there. I was at teacher training. If I had more notice I would have zoomed over there to warm up that class. I would have been nervous, but I believe you just have to jump in with both feet. With any thing in life that’s the way to go. If you never step out of your comfort zone you will never know what it’s like to dream bigger than big, and accomplish it.
My teachers at Rising Lotus had to do this to encompass what they have built for themselves. They teach our class giving us the tools they were not given in their training. Maybe they stood in front of a classroom once and taught a sun salute. Not in this training we get into postures, give notes, break into groups to teach one another, and learn from each other. We will also be teaching something new to our class until our 200 hours are over. Our teachers really want us to succeed after we are certified.
They learned from their experience of being a new teacher, and tried to put a program together to nurture our teaching. This training has come from the heart. It’s not a process where a student is bussed through. It is a process where we discover our practice, our teaching, and our teaching voice along with our tick. It is so much fun and so rewarding to do this in this way. Training on Saturday and Sunday are going to be so rewarding.
My teacher Clair said this best as each teacher trainee got up in front of our whole class and taught a sun salute. It’s time for you to get a chance to pop your cherry…. She was right. Our class has a great mixture of yogis of all ages and levels. Some are current teachers who just wanted a little more training. I would dare to say we were all nervous to teach each other even though we all want nothing but the best for our fellow classmates. I did get a little nervous, and my hands did shake a bit so I clenched them in a fist for a second and took a deep breath.
Obviously I want to teach, and to do so I have to get up in front of a class and give instruction. However, there was this part of me that just wanted to be told what to say. I was a fledgling learning to fly, fly, fly. I did feel really good to teach that little segment. I felt challenged in a good way, and know my comfort level will increase as I teach more and more. This week a teacher of mine wanted me to do just that.
On Saturday teacher X called me to see if I was in her class, and called the studio to have them tell me to warm up the class. Teacher X was stuck in traffic. She did tell me that she thought the idea of being put on the spot would freak me out, and she was right. However, I would have done it if I was there. I was at teacher training. If I had more notice I would have zoomed over there to warm up that class. I would have been nervous, but I believe you just have to jump in with both feet. With any thing in life that’s the way to go. If you never step out of your comfort zone you will never know what it’s like to dream bigger than big, and accomplish it.
My teachers at Rising Lotus had to do this to encompass what they have built for themselves. They teach our class giving us the tools they were not given in their training. Maybe they stood in front of a classroom once and taught a sun salute. Not in this training we get into postures, give notes, break into groups to teach one another, and learn from each other. We will also be teaching something new to our class until our 200 hours are over. Our teachers really want us to succeed after we are certified.
They learned from their experience of being a new teacher, and tried to put a program together to nurture our teaching. This training has come from the heart. It’s not a process where a student is bussed through. It is a process where we discover our practice, our teaching, and our teaching voice along with our tick. It is so much fun and so rewarding to do this in this way. Training on Saturday and Sunday are going to be so rewarding.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Time is running out
Time is running out….
My time management skills are really suckey right now. This week really got away from me. I know I will finish all that needs to be done, but regardless I am overwhelmed. I have put together a study schedule to time my week. Like a rough draft of things that need to be done. I know by Monday I will be fine. Between apprenticing, yoga teacher training, and school I will have a lot on my plate for the next month and a half. Last night it was my day to apprentice Jay Averill.
He is an Iyengar teacher so the class will do many poses, and hold them. There is no vinyasa flow in between the held postures. Jay did a restorative class because it was the last Friday of this month and a full moon. He always has a theme for his class either an emotional goal for the students or a physical goal. Last night he wanted to make everyone happy. To facilitate that he had the class practice many chest openers, but half way through the practice Jay set the students up for restorative poses.
After the last pose, the energy in the room was grounded and content. People left with a smile on their face. It was a good feeling. After I helped clean up, I ran to practice in my favorite Friday night class. I was about 20 min late, and I missed the warm up. My inner things paid the price about 10 minutes into the class. We started to do the warrior series. In warrior one my legs were burning. I had to keep straightening my front leg on both sides. I could not hold the pose. Once my body adjusted to the stretches I was ok, but OMG that killed. I am not even sore today thankfully. I think I have a lot physical of work in my teacher training today.
Today in teacher training we will start to teach our class mates namascar c series. I have been teaching this sequence in my private lessons, but I am a little nervous about standing in front of my peers. My Sanskrit is still relatively bad I do keep trying to repeat the words I do know. I do know the English translation for the majority of the poses and will probably stick to that in my verbal instructions. We will see how it goes.
I am off to class.
My time management skills are really suckey right now. This week really got away from me. I know I will finish all that needs to be done, but regardless I am overwhelmed. I have put together a study schedule to time my week. Like a rough draft of things that need to be done. I know by Monday I will be fine. Between apprenticing, yoga teacher training, and school I will have a lot on my plate for the next month and a half. Last night it was my day to apprentice Jay Averill.
He is an Iyengar teacher so the class will do many poses, and hold them. There is no vinyasa flow in between the held postures. Jay did a restorative class because it was the last Friday of this month and a full moon. He always has a theme for his class either an emotional goal for the students or a physical goal. Last night he wanted to make everyone happy. To facilitate that he had the class practice many chest openers, but half way through the practice Jay set the students up for restorative poses.
After the last pose, the energy in the room was grounded and content. People left with a smile on their face. It was a good feeling. After I helped clean up, I ran to practice in my favorite Friday night class. I was about 20 min late, and I missed the warm up. My inner things paid the price about 10 minutes into the class. We started to do the warrior series. In warrior one my legs were burning. I had to keep straightening my front leg on both sides. I could not hold the pose. Once my body adjusted to the stretches I was ok, but OMG that killed. I am not even sore today thankfully. I think I have a lot physical of work in my teacher training today.
Today in teacher training we will start to teach our class mates namascar c series. I have been teaching this sequence in my private lessons, but I am a little nervous about standing in front of my peers. My Sanskrit is still relatively bad I do keep trying to repeat the words I do know. I do know the English translation for the majority of the poses and will probably stick to that in my verbal instructions. We will see how it goes.
I am off to class.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Being a student and teacher
I’ve started to teach private lessons, and writing down sequences for flow classes. At this point in teacher training we will be teaching each other sequences in class. I happen to be very excited about this, but I may be a bit nervous about teaching my fellow teacher trainees. For a very basic reason if I mess up they will know, but Joe x on the street would have no idea.
Teaching a class is like watching a dancer. You have to be a dancer to see the mistakes. We digress. This week alone I have already practiced three times, and attended two classes I was not practicing in. Tuesday morning I apprenticed with Sarah at Rising Lotus. During this time you have to balance yourself being a student and teacher. It is imperative to listen to the teacher and make appropriate adjustments. An example: When an instruction is being given about X do not adjust Y. It is too confusing for the student. At the same time I am mentally taking notes about the instruction the teacher is giving, so I can use parts of this instruction in my teaching.
Sarah is very educated. She attended an ivy league, and knows extensive amounts of anatomy. Apprenticing with her was so good for me. Partly because I am a full time student and she speaks my language. I also apprentice with Jay on Friday nights. He is an Iyengar teacher and listening to him explain postures has given me so much to work with. Iyengar classes are very instruction heavy. If you pay close attention there is so much to learn.
After my Tuesday apprenticing I ran to a class with Garth Hewitt. He teaches at Equinox where I am a member. Garth is also heading up a teacher training for Equinox starting this week. I have been his student for a few years now, and he knows I am in teacher training. I believe Garth gives me verbal corrections just so I learn how to teach, and because I know exactly what he is talking about.
Garth is one of my yoga teachers that really understands posture based on the skeletal structure of a person which is important. I have previously stated everyone’s body is different. It can be concluded that everyone’s yoga practice will be different. All of the teachers I gravitate towards believe this to be true. It is a reinforced theme in all of their teaching styles.
Garth’s class is not so easy. It is a mixture of a flow and holding postures. So in between the postures we have a vinyasa. However, we hold the poses for a while. I will admit that after his classes I am done with yoga for a good 24 hours. This is the same reason I go back. His style really speaks to me and his sequencing teaches me a lot. Even though I am practicing here I am still learning. I think he is going to really enjoy teaching teachers. His awareness of instruction has really changed in the last few weeks.
The next day aka 24 hours later I went to Michelle’s class also at Equinox. Hands down my favorite vinyasana flow class. There is always something new in Michelle’s class, and she inspires my practice. Every time I leave her class I add something to my personal practice. I hope I will get to teach classes like hers. Her sequences are easy to remember, but difficult to do. There is always a modification ( easier version) offered if needed. Last night for what ever reason I modified the whole class. I was exhausted but left full of new ideas, and transitions. My last class this week will be with not just a teacher but a good friend.
On Friday night after I apprentice Jay’s Iyengar class I go straight to Equinox for this class. She has a very relaxed way of teaching, and after five years her sequencing is really solid. I learn structure and ease from this teacher. So even when I am practicing I am still a student thinking of ways to incorporate my vision through these great mentors. Even through all this process and mind chatter I remember the sequencing, turn of the world around me, and move through my meditation as I am practicing in class. I have no idea how this happens for me I wish I could explain it but I cannot.
For the record this is just my yoga practice, it doesn’t include my schooling, or social life. You really have to make a choice to dedicate yourself to the process of becoming a teacher. You also really have to like it. If not all the yoga practices, meditations, classes, apprenticing, homework, and philosophy will be lost on you. This is also why I made the choice to take this training at Rising Lotus in a really nurturing small setting.
I’ve started to teach private lessons, and writing down sequences for flow classes. At this point in teacher training we will be teaching each other sequences in class. I happen to be very excited about this, but I may be a bit nervous about teaching my fellow teacher trainees. For a very basic reason if I mess up they will know, but Joe x on the street would have no idea.
Teaching a class is like watching a dancer. You have to be a dancer to see the mistakes. We digress. This week alone I have already practiced three times, and attended two classes I was not practicing in. Tuesday morning I apprenticed with Sarah at Rising Lotus. During this time you have to balance yourself being a student and teacher. It is imperative to listen to the teacher and make appropriate adjustments. An example: When an instruction is being given about X do not adjust Y. It is too confusing for the student. At the same time I am mentally taking notes about the instruction the teacher is giving, so I can use parts of this instruction in my teaching.
Sarah is very educated. She attended an ivy league, and knows extensive amounts of anatomy. Apprenticing with her was so good for me. Partly because I am a full time student and she speaks my language. I also apprentice with Jay on Friday nights. He is an Iyengar teacher and listening to him explain postures has given me so much to work with. Iyengar classes are very instruction heavy. If you pay close attention there is so much to learn.
After my Tuesday apprenticing I ran to a class with Garth Hewitt. He teaches at Equinox where I am a member. Garth is also heading up a teacher training for Equinox starting this week. I have been his student for a few years now, and he knows I am in teacher training. I believe Garth gives me verbal corrections just so I learn how to teach, and because I know exactly what he is talking about.
Garth is one of my yoga teachers that really understands posture based on the skeletal structure of a person which is important. I have previously stated everyone’s body is different. It can be concluded that everyone’s yoga practice will be different. All of the teachers I gravitate towards believe this to be true. It is a reinforced theme in all of their teaching styles.
Garth’s class is not so easy. It is a mixture of a flow and holding postures. So in between the postures we have a vinyasa. However, we hold the poses for a while. I will admit that after his classes I am done with yoga for a good 24 hours. This is the same reason I go back. His style really speaks to me and his sequencing teaches me a lot. Even though I am practicing here I am still learning. I think he is going to really enjoy teaching teachers. His awareness of instruction has really changed in the last few weeks.
The next day aka 24 hours later I went to Michelle’s class also at Equinox. Hands down my favorite vinyasana flow class. There is always something new in Michelle’s class, and she inspires my practice. Every time I leave her class I add something to my personal practice. I hope I will get to teach classes like hers. Her sequences are easy to remember, but difficult to do. There is always a modification ( easier version) offered if needed. Last night for what ever reason I modified the whole class. I was exhausted but left full of new ideas, and transitions. My last class this week will be with not just a teacher but a good friend.
On Friday night after I apprentice Jay’s Iyengar class I go straight to Equinox for this class. She has a very relaxed way of teaching, and after five years her sequencing is really solid. I learn structure and ease from this teacher. So even when I am practicing I am still a student thinking of ways to incorporate my vision through these great mentors. Even through all this process and mind chatter I remember the sequencing, turn of the world around me, and move through my meditation as I am practicing in class. I have no idea how this happens for me I wish I could explain it but I cannot.
For the record this is just my yoga practice, it doesn’t include my schooling, or social life. You really have to make a choice to dedicate yourself to the process of becoming a teacher. You also really have to like it. If not all the yoga practices, meditations, classes, apprenticing, homework, and philosophy will be lost on you. This is also why I made the choice to take this training at Rising Lotus in a really nurturing small setting.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Mala
Global Mala
Yesterday was the first time I ever participated in a Mala and every year I will try to participate in the global mala. It was such a fun experience. The only reason I had not participated before is because I did not think I would make it through the class. A mala is 108 sun salutes. The global mala is when people around the world are participating in the same ritual. If you have done a flow class it’s the sequence where you bow down, jump back to plank, upward facing dog, downward facing dog, step up to your hands, and as you stand circle your arms up to the sky. After this is done you continue to do the same thing over and over again. There are three different types of sun salutes but this would be the most common.
The class was filled with yogis of all levels, and the room felt good. The teacher (Holly) picked out great music, and brought a drummer to keep the beat along with the music. It was so fun. In preparation for this class I did not go to yoga for a day. I wanted to be very present, and physically able to do all the sun salutes. I definitely over prepared . I believe we did a little more then half the mala. Most of the participants in the room could not complete fifty four sun salutes. That’s fine they did what they could. If I wanted I could have kept going through the salutes but felt responsible for the kid next to me.
Yes, there was a kid next to me. Not a teenager, but early twenty’s. I am not sure he had ever done a yoga class before, and if he had it was nothing like this. He kept looking to me to help him. I told him to follow me and if he got tired just to go into child’s pose. He did watch me and did go into child’s pose for a good half of the class. I am sure he was wondering how I could keep up. Using the same muscles over and over again becomes tiring. However, I just had such a huge amount of energy. I kept my intentions running through my mind and powered through it. Unfortunately I had to leave early for my Teacher Training. I ran home, ate a huge bowl of cereal, jumped in my car, and sped off to training.
On the way to my training I decided to try to do a half mala on my own in my home practice at some point this week. I was going to share this with my class but once I got into the studio my mind shifted into student mode. Everyone was up beat and cheerful in the studio. We went through philosophy, and how we are doing on adjustments in the classes we have been apprenticing. I personally felt uncomfortable making adjustments in sukhasana (corpse pose), or the last pose in a yoga class where you lay on the floor. Yes, it is an actual pose and there can be adjustments made. You have to straddle (standing) the person to do half of the adjustment. I don’t have a problem doing this to a person I know. To do this adjustment to someone I don’t know is too awkward. Since our workshop last night I have decided only to do this to people I know. This portion of our teaching flew by and before I knew it class was over. I went home made dinner and called my boyfriend. It was the perfect end to such a great day.
Yesterday was the first time I ever participated in a Mala and every year I will try to participate in the global mala. It was such a fun experience. The only reason I had not participated before is because I did not think I would make it through the class. A mala is 108 sun salutes. The global mala is when people around the world are participating in the same ritual. If you have done a flow class it’s the sequence where you bow down, jump back to plank, upward facing dog, downward facing dog, step up to your hands, and as you stand circle your arms up to the sky. After this is done you continue to do the same thing over and over again. There are three different types of sun salutes but this would be the most common.
The class was filled with yogis of all levels, and the room felt good. The teacher (Holly) picked out great music, and brought a drummer to keep the beat along with the music. It was so fun. In preparation for this class I did not go to yoga for a day. I wanted to be very present, and physically able to do all the sun salutes. I definitely over prepared . I believe we did a little more then half the mala. Most of the participants in the room could not complete fifty four sun salutes. That’s fine they did what they could. If I wanted I could have kept going through the salutes but felt responsible for the kid next to me.
Yes, there was a kid next to me. Not a teenager, but early twenty’s. I am not sure he had ever done a yoga class before, and if he had it was nothing like this. He kept looking to me to help him. I told him to follow me and if he got tired just to go into child’s pose. He did watch me and did go into child’s pose for a good half of the class. I am sure he was wondering how I could keep up. Using the same muscles over and over again becomes tiring. However, I just had such a huge amount of energy. I kept my intentions running through my mind and powered through it. Unfortunately I had to leave early for my Teacher Training. I ran home, ate a huge bowl of cereal, jumped in my car, and sped off to training.
On the way to my training I decided to try to do a half mala on my own in my home practice at some point this week. I was going to share this with my class but once I got into the studio my mind shifted into student mode. Everyone was up beat and cheerful in the studio. We went through philosophy, and how we are doing on adjustments in the classes we have been apprenticing. I personally felt uncomfortable making adjustments in sukhasana (corpse pose), or the last pose in a yoga class where you lay on the floor. Yes, it is an actual pose and there can be adjustments made. You have to straddle (standing) the person to do half of the adjustment. I don’t have a problem doing this to a person I know. To do this adjustment to someone I don’t know is too awkward. Since our workshop last night I have decided only to do this to people I know. This portion of our teaching flew by and before I knew it class was over. I went home made dinner and called my boyfriend. It was the perfect end to such a great day.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Teacher Training.
The very last eighty hours of Teacher Training started this weekend, and I have mixed emotions about the final leg of this journey. It is a bitter sweet process. When I started the certification process I was just as excited as I am now. This time I know my classmates, and have some apprenticing under my belt so I more or less have a better understanding of what these last hours will be all about.
The sad part is that my favorite two hour yoga classes are coming to an end. This will be the last time I see many of the faces I have come to know, and that it ends as my time in Los Angles will also be close to ending. The awesome part is the weekends will be free, and I will feel much more comfortable actually teaching a class with my hours completed. Any time a person is in the middle of a project you always set your sights on finishing the task at hand. I have done this in this instance, and instead of focusing on the end I am just going to be present in every class. This way I will make the effort to learn more from my teachers.
During the summer I was doing quite a bit of research and development to make my teaching voice stronger. I guess that is a poetic way of stating all I did all summer was yoga, bike riding, traveling and eating. The training teaches you to explore new styles of yoga and new teachers through this you will find where you are most comfortable. This comfort will lead you to your teaching style.
Knowing where my practice is makes it better to finish the last leg of training in this way. This training was split into two different segments the first one hundred twenty hours and a few months later the remaining eighty hours. At first I hated the idea of the time in between, but now I understand why we did it this way. I am also glad we did. Other studios just pound out the process without time in between. Our time in between we have been in class learning, teachers teaching us, and exploring out practice. It has helped bring all the information together in my head, and probably my fellow teacher training class feels the same.
To start up again with all this knowledge digested is great. My blog is going to document this last few hours and what it teaches me. If you have ever wondered what a teacher training is like maybe now you will understand and want to try.
The very last eighty hours of Teacher Training started this weekend, and I have mixed emotions about the final leg of this journey. It is a bitter sweet process. When I started the certification process I was just as excited as I am now. This time I know my classmates, and have some apprenticing under my belt so I more or less have a better understanding of what these last hours will be all about.
The sad part is that my favorite two hour yoga classes are coming to an end. This will be the last time I see many of the faces I have come to know, and that it ends as my time in Los Angles will also be close to ending. The awesome part is the weekends will be free, and I will feel much more comfortable actually teaching a class with my hours completed. Any time a person is in the middle of a project you always set your sights on finishing the task at hand. I have done this in this instance, and instead of focusing on the end I am just going to be present in every class. This way I will make the effort to learn more from my teachers.
During the summer I was doing quite a bit of research and development to make my teaching voice stronger. I guess that is a poetic way of stating all I did all summer was yoga, bike riding, traveling and eating. The training teaches you to explore new styles of yoga and new teachers through this you will find where you are most comfortable. This comfort will lead you to your teaching style.
Knowing where my practice is makes it better to finish the last leg of training in this way. This training was split into two different segments the first one hundred twenty hours and a few months later the remaining eighty hours. At first I hated the idea of the time in between, but now I understand why we did it this way. I am also glad we did. Other studios just pound out the process without time in between. Our time in between we have been in class learning, teachers teaching us, and exploring out practice. It has helped bring all the information together in my head, and probably my fellow teacher training class feels the same.
To start up again with all this knowledge digested is great. My blog is going to document this last few hours and what it teaches me. If you have ever wondered what a teacher training is like maybe now you will understand and want to try.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
year 1
Yoga year 1
My first official teacher was an Iyengar teacher and during one of my private lessons he made a statement I will never forget. I am paraphrasing but here is the idea; The first year you start taking yoga classes 3-5 times a week the practice shifts your life in unexpected ways. I did not understand that statement until two years later. My life was much different, and it was because of the awareness and meditation yoga had brought into my life.
When I started yoga I owned a manufacturing company and worked 15 hours a day. I had a few friends, but no real boyfriends or lasting relationships in general. My social life was also in the toilet. It was a really lonely time, and I would lay awake in bed wondering why I was single, and why my friendships lacked depth? I did know it stemmed from how hard I was working, and my lack of effort to cultivate any types of relationships. What I did not know was how to bring myself out of the hole I was in.
A year into my yoga practice I closed my company and ended up changing my whole life. Was it yoga? I think it was either way the things I gravitate towards now are much different from the things I brought to myself in the passed. There is clarity in my life, and I know all the choices I make are done with consideration and thought before they are made. I no longer act out of anger or impulse. Thinking things through is my new path.
Trust me it is so easy to be nasty, but how are you going to feel after you lash out? If it is something you may regret later then you should not have said or done a thing. My new rule of thumb is if there is any way I would regret saying something to someone then I don’t say it. If I choose to be nasty trust me I have gone there feeling 100% like it’s the way to go. I am no Gandi, but I am an asshole sometimes. I live by this new rule.
Rules about my future include happiness, love, success and more love. Yoga has truly taught me to go forward and be the architect of your future. Year one brings out what path in life you should be on if you are there then awesome, but if you are not things will change quickly. Many of my friends have been starting to try out yoga mostly because I love it, and I try to persuade them to try new things. I always tell them about the first year of yoga.
One friend in particular started practicing 4 times a week and we had a really long conversation about the shifts in your awareness. I did warn her about what could happen in her life, but I think she ignored me a bit. However, within 8 months she was divorcing her current husband, and had met a new man she is now serious with. These things do happen. They even happened to me a bit slower on the relationship front, but change just the same.
When It comes to me I am happy every day. I do have bad days, and can be grumpy, but at one point every day I am content. I thought success, and money would bring me that feeling, but it did not. All it brought were success and money. As friends go I have found some good ones, and they don’t lack depth. My relationships started to exist after my company closed. I feel because my focus shifted my life bounced back on track. With every passing year my awareness grows and my life opens up. Hopefully after 10 years of practice I should be able to levitate.
My first official teacher was an Iyengar teacher and during one of my private lessons he made a statement I will never forget. I am paraphrasing but here is the idea; The first year you start taking yoga classes 3-5 times a week the practice shifts your life in unexpected ways. I did not understand that statement until two years later. My life was much different, and it was because of the awareness and meditation yoga had brought into my life.
When I started yoga I owned a manufacturing company and worked 15 hours a day. I had a few friends, but no real boyfriends or lasting relationships in general. My social life was also in the toilet. It was a really lonely time, and I would lay awake in bed wondering why I was single, and why my friendships lacked depth? I did know it stemmed from how hard I was working, and my lack of effort to cultivate any types of relationships. What I did not know was how to bring myself out of the hole I was in.
A year into my yoga practice I closed my company and ended up changing my whole life. Was it yoga? I think it was either way the things I gravitate towards now are much different from the things I brought to myself in the passed. There is clarity in my life, and I know all the choices I make are done with consideration and thought before they are made. I no longer act out of anger or impulse. Thinking things through is my new path.
Trust me it is so easy to be nasty, but how are you going to feel after you lash out? If it is something you may regret later then you should not have said or done a thing. My new rule of thumb is if there is any way I would regret saying something to someone then I don’t say it. If I choose to be nasty trust me I have gone there feeling 100% like it’s the way to go. I am no Gandi, but I am an asshole sometimes. I live by this new rule.
Rules about my future include happiness, love, success and more love. Yoga has truly taught me to go forward and be the architect of your future. Year one brings out what path in life you should be on if you are there then awesome, but if you are not things will change quickly. Many of my friends have been starting to try out yoga mostly because I love it, and I try to persuade them to try new things. I always tell them about the first year of yoga.
One friend in particular started practicing 4 times a week and we had a really long conversation about the shifts in your awareness. I did warn her about what could happen in her life, but I think she ignored me a bit. However, within 8 months she was divorcing her current husband, and had met a new man she is now serious with. These things do happen. They even happened to me a bit slower on the relationship front, but change just the same.
When It comes to me I am happy every day. I do have bad days, and can be grumpy, but at one point every day I am content. I thought success, and money would bring me that feeling, but it did not. All it brought were success and money. As friends go I have found some good ones, and they don’t lack depth. My relationships started to exist after my company closed. I feel because my focus shifted my life bounced back on track. With every passing year my awareness grows and my life opens up. Hopefully after 10 years of practice I should be able to levitate.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
every day is different.
Every Day is Different.
Some days I wake up and run to the coffee machine, but others I barley need the coffee in general. Lately the weather change in Los Angeles has made many people sick with colds, allergies, headaches and just a random feeling of blaaaah. Weather can affect us in many different ways. Our emotional state, the food we eat, and way we sleep also has an effect on our bodies.
I bring this up because I want to bring some awareness to this inner conflict. My mom recently asked me why she felt amazing in some yoga classes and like a buffoon in others. The answer is basic . About two years ago I took my mom to her first yoga class, and I watched her like a hawk the whole time making sure she did not hurt herself. Her practice was much different then mine. Her hips are much more open and she could easily get into postures I have difficulty with. To this day her body is open in some areas and closed in others.
Hip openers are no problem for my mom but balancing postures are her greatest challenge. On days when she feels sluggish, has a head ach, or did not eat right her balancing poses become extremely taxing. At times she may not even be able to do them. Sometimes she has to go into child’s pose in the middle of class just to relax. On days she feels fine her balancing improves greatly. Every day is different but in yoga classes it seems to be magnified.
I could go into a medical reason, or get really abstract and explain this through metaphysics but let’s not go there. A rule of thumb: If you are tired going into a class expect nothing from yourself. Pat yourself on the back for even being present in the room. If you feel amazing expect nothing from yourself just breathe. I say this because without expectations you will not “fail” or “prevail” you will just be. Accept where you are in the moment and do what ever you can do.
I know we are American and we strive to be the best we can be, but yoga was not founded in America it was brought here as a gift from a different culture. This being said there is no rule that states if you don’t stand in Tadasana, or tree pose you are a looser. It just means today was not the day, but maybe tomorrow is. When you can accept this you know you are a yogi. For six years I have been practicing and every day my practice is different. When I am in a level three class and I get tired I take child’s pose, because that is where I am in that moment on that day.
I have been in class with a ton of energy and could barley make it through my class. Other times I have been really tired and had great inner strength in the class I was taking. When I travel it takes a few days to get back into the swing of my normal practice. In Vancouver my practice was all over the place and poses I can always do I could not even attempt. For the record that drove me crazy, and my ego went nuts. So nuts that during one shivanasana I kept my eyes open the whole time waiting for the next instruction. Even As I wrote the last sentence it annoyed me that I ruined a shivanasana the best pose in the whole world. Every day will be different just accept this. Yoga is not a spin class, or weight training, or the elliptical. Its mind, body, and soul since this always changes, your practice will too.
Some days I wake up and run to the coffee machine, but others I barley need the coffee in general. Lately the weather change in Los Angeles has made many people sick with colds, allergies, headaches and just a random feeling of blaaaah. Weather can affect us in many different ways. Our emotional state, the food we eat, and way we sleep also has an effect on our bodies.
I bring this up because I want to bring some awareness to this inner conflict. My mom recently asked me why she felt amazing in some yoga classes and like a buffoon in others. The answer is basic . About two years ago I took my mom to her first yoga class, and I watched her like a hawk the whole time making sure she did not hurt herself. Her practice was much different then mine. Her hips are much more open and she could easily get into postures I have difficulty with. To this day her body is open in some areas and closed in others.
Hip openers are no problem for my mom but balancing postures are her greatest challenge. On days when she feels sluggish, has a head ach, or did not eat right her balancing poses become extremely taxing. At times she may not even be able to do them. Sometimes she has to go into child’s pose in the middle of class just to relax. On days she feels fine her balancing improves greatly. Every day is different but in yoga classes it seems to be magnified.
I could go into a medical reason, or get really abstract and explain this through metaphysics but let’s not go there. A rule of thumb: If you are tired going into a class expect nothing from yourself. Pat yourself on the back for even being present in the room. If you feel amazing expect nothing from yourself just breathe. I say this because without expectations you will not “fail” or “prevail” you will just be. Accept where you are in the moment and do what ever you can do.
I know we are American and we strive to be the best we can be, but yoga was not founded in America it was brought here as a gift from a different culture. This being said there is no rule that states if you don’t stand in Tadasana, or tree pose you are a looser. It just means today was not the day, but maybe tomorrow is. When you can accept this you know you are a yogi. For six years I have been practicing and every day my practice is different. When I am in a level three class and I get tired I take child’s pose, because that is where I am in that moment on that day.
I have been in class with a ton of energy and could barley make it through my class. Other times I have been really tired and had great inner strength in the class I was taking. When I travel it takes a few days to get back into the swing of my normal practice. In Vancouver my practice was all over the place and poses I can always do I could not even attempt. For the record that drove me crazy, and my ego went nuts. So nuts that during one shivanasana I kept my eyes open the whole time waiting for the next instruction. Even As I wrote the last sentence it annoyed me that I ruined a shivanasana the best pose in the whole world. Every day will be different just accept this. Yoga is not a spin class, or weight training, or the elliptical. Its mind, body, and soul since this always changes, your practice will too.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Intention
Intention
Many teachers will start a yoga class sitting in a cross leg position or even in mountain pose and speak about intentions. Like keep a thought of something you want to dedicate your practice to, or something you want to meditate about. This should start to focus your thoughts, but sometimes it dose not, and this can be really weird for a new comer. So what is an intention and how should we set one?
Intentions are not meant to be random thoughts your mind begins to focus on. The first second you try to keep your mind still 5,000 different ideas will flood your consciousness. For example things like: What should I eat for lunch? He is so on my nerves! I hate those shoes. I need a pedicure. What is that smell? Did he just fart? That’s disgusting! These are not intentions. Winning the lottery while appealing really is not an intention either.
Intentions are good thoughts, feelings and sometimes an image we hold onto in class. It is meant to focus your thoughts to eventually bring you into a meditative state. This sounds weird, but I can explain better with an example. For the last five years my intention has been to find love, and not just with a partner but within myself and those around me. My new intention has become love and success. In my first attempts to focus my mind on love many different thoughts got in my way.
I would say it took years to drown out my inner roommate who was constantly nagging me about this or that. When I finally did wonderful things started to change in my life for the better. At one point years ago I would just focus on the picture of a big red heart in my mind. I did not know at the time that this energy was so positive I only came to understand this lather through teacher training. This was the beginning of my moving meditation. What I projected in my mind is what I became surrounded with in my life.
Good and bad come with this type of process. Before this intention/meditation I was drawn to messed up people, but not any more. I have lost good friends, but gained different positive people who understand me on a much different level. I have met great boyfriends who have been nothing but awesome to me while I was with them. The break ups are never so great, but you have to accept and move on. My current boyfriend spoils me more then I could have ever hoped for and he makes ma feel good every day. He is an unexpected present that I would have never expected. I do feel lucky to have him.
Friends that I have lost hurt the most; I had a life long girlfriend I had to move on from. To this day even though we were awful to each other at the end of our friendship I still miss her jokes, and sarcasm. I have gained a really good friend recently and feel she is the new life long friend I needed. We have a lot of the same philosophies about life, love, learning, education, and enjoy spending time with one another. The void I once felt about loosing that older friendship has been filled with a much more appropriate one.
If your mind is full of what you cannot do, and your laundry list of nonsense you will never get in touch with what you really need. If you want success intend it, love, happiness, friends, and thing you want is out there all you have to do is ask. Be careful and don’t be unrealistic you have to be a participant in what you want to achieve. Participate, get through the bad and the shiny red bow is out there waiting for you.
Many teachers will start a yoga class sitting in a cross leg position or even in mountain pose and speak about intentions. Like keep a thought of something you want to dedicate your practice to, or something you want to meditate about. This should start to focus your thoughts, but sometimes it dose not, and this can be really weird for a new comer. So what is an intention and how should we set one?
Intentions are not meant to be random thoughts your mind begins to focus on. The first second you try to keep your mind still 5,000 different ideas will flood your consciousness. For example things like: What should I eat for lunch? He is so on my nerves! I hate those shoes. I need a pedicure. What is that smell? Did he just fart? That’s disgusting! These are not intentions. Winning the lottery while appealing really is not an intention either.
Intentions are good thoughts, feelings and sometimes an image we hold onto in class. It is meant to focus your thoughts to eventually bring you into a meditative state. This sounds weird, but I can explain better with an example. For the last five years my intention has been to find love, and not just with a partner but within myself and those around me. My new intention has become love and success. In my first attempts to focus my mind on love many different thoughts got in my way.
I would say it took years to drown out my inner roommate who was constantly nagging me about this or that. When I finally did wonderful things started to change in my life for the better. At one point years ago I would just focus on the picture of a big red heart in my mind. I did not know at the time that this energy was so positive I only came to understand this lather through teacher training. This was the beginning of my moving meditation. What I projected in my mind is what I became surrounded with in my life.
Good and bad come with this type of process. Before this intention/meditation I was drawn to messed up people, but not any more. I have lost good friends, but gained different positive people who understand me on a much different level. I have met great boyfriends who have been nothing but awesome to me while I was with them. The break ups are never so great, but you have to accept and move on. My current boyfriend spoils me more then I could have ever hoped for and he makes ma feel good every day. He is an unexpected present that I would have never expected. I do feel lucky to have him.
Friends that I have lost hurt the most; I had a life long girlfriend I had to move on from. To this day even though we were awful to each other at the end of our friendship I still miss her jokes, and sarcasm. I have gained a really good friend recently and feel she is the new life long friend I needed. We have a lot of the same philosophies about life, love, learning, education, and enjoy spending time with one another. The void I once felt about loosing that older friendship has been filled with a much more appropriate one.
If your mind is full of what you cannot do, and your laundry list of nonsense you will never get in touch with what you really need. If you want success intend it, love, happiness, friends, and thing you want is out there all you have to do is ask. Be careful and don’t be unrealistic you have to be a participant in what you want to achieve. Participate, get through the bad and the shiny red bow is out there waiting for you.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
just an idea.....
If you want to try…..
Many people want to try yoga but are unsure of where to go to start, so here is a recommendation. Look for deals for new students. Rising Lotus currently has a 15 day package. Yoga works has a similar package, and many other popular yoga companies do as well.
While I was in Vancouver for a month I did take full advantage of these offers. Many studios up there offer the same packages they do here. I went to many different types of yoga classes, experienced different teachers, studios, and styles. I did like one studio more then the others, and would go back for sure. I think it is really helpful to do this to find a studio that works for you.
Trying out a studio will also dictate a feeling to a new comer. You can feel welcome, unwelcome, comfortable etc. That feeling could color all experience a person has in a studio setting. It is just like joining a gym. You probably want to join a studio that attracts the same type of people you would be come friends with.
I do not belong to a studio, but when I do take studio classes I take them at Rising Lotus Yoga in Sherman Oaks. This happens to be the same place I am getting certified. When I was talking to some of my favorite yoga teachers they recommended this place for teacher training. I did audit a class with one of the owners and it spoke to me in a very welcoming way. I signed up right then and there for their teacher training course. That being said I would recommend their two week trial. I would also suggest Yoga works, mostly because it is a very well known company, and many of the teachers they have trained are some of the best teachers I have gone to.
However, I am bias because I really like yoga. Some people will not like it in general. A lot of people feel it moves too slow, or they don’t like studios, and for some other reason there is this idea that Bikram yoga is the standard practice. For the record Bikram is not the industry standard. Anyone who is my age and has taken a Hatha class has said it’s slow and boring, I can see why. If you are younger I would suggest vinyasa flow not Hatha. I would also suggest a beginning class or Iyengar classes, but these are going to focus more on alignment, and posture so they will be slower.
Purchasing a trial opens you to many different teacher types and then you can get a real idea of what classes are out there, and how each teacher teaches. I do not belong to a studio. I do belong to Equinox because for the price I felt it was a better deal. Many people will not sign up to Equinox because it is expensive like my ex-boyfriend who calls Equinox, “the rich people’s gym”. ( This statement always bothered me. First of all he belongs to a gym and this means he can afford to pay for a gym. Many people around the world cannot so isn’t he rich as well in comparison? Anyways we digress….) The teachers I take at Equinox also teach at the best studios in LA. With the economy in the shape it is in many studios are dropping prices and offering many packages to make the classes more affordable to everyone. If you are willing to learn there is something out there for everyone.
Many people want to try yoga but are unsure of where to go to start, so here is a recommendation. Look for deals for new students. Rising Lotus currently has a 15 day package. Yoga works has a similar package, and many other popular yoga companies do as well.
While I was in Vancouver for a month I did take full advantage of these offers. Many studios up there offer the same packages they do here. I went to many different types of yoga classes, experienced different teachers, studios, and styles. I did like one studio more then the others, and would go back for sure. I think it is really helpful to do this to find a studio that works for you.
Trying out a studio will also dictate a feeling to a new comer. You can feel welcome, unwelcome, comfortable etc. That feeling could color all experience a person has in a studio setting. It is just like joining a gym. You probably want to join a studio that attracts the same type of people you would be come friends with.
I do not belong to a studio, but when I do take studio classes I take them at Rising Lotus Yoga in Sherman Oaks. This happens to be the same place I am getting certified. When I was talking to some of my favorite yoga teachers they recommended this place for teacher training. I did audit a class with one of the owners and it spoke to me in a very welcoming way. I signed up right then and there for their teacher training course. That being said I would recommend their two week trial. I would also suggest Yoga works, mostly because it is a very well known company, and many of the teachers they have trained are some of the best teachers I have gone to.
However, I am bias because I really like yoga. Some people will not like it in general. A lot of people feel it moves too slow, or they don’t like studios, and for some other reason there is this idea that Bikram yoga is the standard practice. For the record Bikram is not the industry standard. Anyone who is my age and has taken a Hatha class has said it’s slow and boring, I can see why. If you are younger I would suggest vinyasa flow not Hatha. I would also suggest a beginning class or Iyengar classes, but these are going to focus more on alignment, and posture so they will be slower.
Purchasing a trial opens you to many different teacher types and then you can get a real idea of what classes are out there, and how each teacher teaches. I do not belong to a studio. I do belong to Equinox because for the price I felt it was a better deal. Many people will not sign up to Equinox because it is expensive like my ex-boyfriend who calls Equinox, “the rich people’s gym”. ( This statement always bothered me. First of all he belongs to a gym and this means he can afford to pay for a gym. Many people around the world cannot so isn’t he rich as well in comparison? Anyways we digress….) The teachers I take at Equinox also teach at the best studios in LA. With the economy in the shape it is in many studios are dropping prices and offering many packages to make the classes more affordable to everyone. If you are willing to learn there is something out there for everyone.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
back in baby's arms
Back in Baby’s Arms
Now that I am back in L.A. my practice is back to normal. Well its kinda back to normal. After all the walking, hatha, and biking many things have changed when it comes to my body. To start I can do things I could not do previously, and cannot do things I could once do.
For example forward folds are all good. I can now grasp the balls of my feet in all of the postures. Before my trip I could not. I can also put more pressure on my knee when I am in pigeon. For the record I could not even get myself into pigeon before my trip. I may have to break up with pigeon again eventually. I keep loosing my balance because my hips are more open then they have ever been and I keep falling out of Warrior three and tree pose. It’s my hips and thighs that have changed. Who knew all this different exercise would change all this for me. I did not. The side effects are somewhat annoying.
To be specific my thigh muscles are so tight and bulky that in my massage last night they would barley relax and loosen up. They are also larger then before I left for my trip. I am having flash backs from High School where my fellow students called me man legs. Long story short, I was a dancer and maybe my thigh muscles were much much much larger then a teenage boys. Maybe just maybe they were envious. Either way they teased me too much and when I look at my thighs sometimes I cannot help but see man legs. Don’t get me wrong I am still all woman just with larger thigh muscles then teenage boys. Not like that is a difficult in general.
Back to the subject at hand it feels so good to be surrounded with my favorite teachers again. Getting deeper into my poses and even falling over in others. I have my vinyasa flow back. It’s like my favorite pair of sexy shoes. I put them on and feel as of I can rule the world.
Now that I am back in L.A. my practice is back to normal. Well its kinda back to normal. After all the walking, hatha, and biking many things have changed when it comes to my body. To start I can do things I could not do previously, and cannot do things I could once do.
For example forward folds are all good. I can now grasp the balls of my feet in all of the postures. Before my trip I could not. I can also put more pressure on my knee when I am in pigeon. For the record I could not even get myself into pigeon before my trip. I may have to break up with pigeon again eventually. I keep loosing my balance because my hips are more open then they have ever been and I keep falling out of Warrior three and tree pose. It’s my hips and thighs that have changed. Who knew all this different exercise would change all this for me. I did not. The side effects are somewhat annoying.
To be specific my thigh muscles are so tight and bulky that in my massage last night they would barley relax and loosen up. They are also larger then before I left for my trip. I am having flash backs from High School where my fellow students called me man legs. Long story short, I was a dancer and maybe my thigh muscles were much much much larger then a teenage boys. Maybe just maybe they were envious. Either way they teased me too much and when I look at my thighs sometimes I cannot help but see man legs. Don’t get me wrong I am still all woman just with larger thigh muscles then teenage boys. Not like that is a difficult in general.
Back to the subject at hand it feels so good to be surrounded with my favorite teachers again. Getting deeper into my poses and even falling over in others. I have my vinyasa flow back. It’s like my favorite pair of sexy shoes. I put them on and feel as of I can rule the world.
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