the yoga of...

I often try to think in this way.
Like for example: What is the yoga of waking up early? It is a new day, and a new breath; you can surround yourself with quiet.
What is the yoga of animals? They are present in each moment, and don't know if they are pretty or silly looking.
The yoga of biking? Relaxing as the bumps come and go. There is concentration and grace in action.

Now with Thanksgiving in two days and with my baking skills warming up, I am wondering now: What is the yoga of Cheesecake!?

:)

Remember this~

Yoga does not = Perfection!

pulling silk

I try to teach my students how to use enough muscular effort to be in a pose, but not so much that they squeeze the possibility out from what it is that they are doing.

There needs to be some tension, but just enough to vibrate the energy within them.

I learned recently that in Tai Chi, there is a way of moving that is called pulling silk.

Besides the fact that I like to say "pulling silk", I think that imagining the idea of pulling silk can soften your yoga practice into something even more beautiful than it is already.

yoga health

I'm thinking about how health is not gained by beating yourself up.
Yoga is not the pursuit of strong muscles.

Yoga can be what roots you to the earth so that your tree isn't blown over quite so easily,
The health that comes is effortless, in the fruit of that tree.

Resistance

happens when you come up to something and then back away from it.

Within your person, resistance can happen when you come up to a sensation and your body/mind changes the subject. It happens in a snap.

Then what happens after the snap!?

where your spine begins

Your spine doesn't begin in the back of your head.
It begins the very center. *

Close your eyes and mentally map where your spine begins.
Does knowing it's location change how you hold your head?

I find this so fascinating!


*for those of you reading this on my website, see the image on my blog!

The key to happiness as quoted from the Buddha

"Learn to let go. That is the key to happiness."

Its cool. I'm cool. We are cool..., :)

Or as my friends and I used to chant in middle school,
"I wanna, I wanna, I wanna be a buddha!"
Though of course we really had no idea yet what it was we were aspiring to.

*

How should it be taught?

"In the spirit of a grand tea party!" was how Alexander answered when asked how his technique should be taught.

My teacher Chloe recounted this story, and now I tell you.

Learning in a forced environment can only scare a person away from performing at his or her best. While a tea party environment encourages relaxation and effortless being!

Joy creates many more wonders, and besides, its just so much more fun!

Yoga in the News 10/06

Check this out!

Yoga for dowager’s bump

it works!, yes it does. If you practice, a lot.

Lovely students

I just received the nicest email from Carolyn. She is doing a challenge to get fit with 3 friends and using the LRY video to yogify herself.
She has lots of energy and excitement for the practice, so if you need a little inspiration/infusion, look at her blog!
Her words make me really happy. Making the videos was a lot of work. And then I sent them off into the world like baby birds.
Knowing that they are flying about, and finding good homes is really quite wonderful.