The Yoga of Watching the Presidential Debates

Inhale...Exhale...Inhale...Exhale...

One should practice a lot of deep breathing (pranayama) to get through a presidential debate.

Sitting in Sukasana (crossed legs) can help focus one's mindframe while listening to a debate.

The debates, as with poses like Navasana and Warrior II, are painful sometimes, but necessary.

We can fall over and hurt ourselves, while watching, so be careful.

Sometimes there will be an involuntary yelp, or sigh of relief, when President Obama or VP Joe Biden fight back and tell it like it is.

The next day, we all feel sore.

Trying to Find (yogic) Inspiration

Inspiration is what keeps us coming back all sorts of practices.

I read somewhere that in order to build a habit, a person needs do something for 30 days. But it's not just about doing it; you need to feel good, satisfied, and happier at the end of that something (for 30 days). That feeling of joy is inspiration for the next time.

If you are trying to build a habit of practicing yoga, practice so that you feel good afterward, don't drive yourself nuts!

It would be lovely to remember your practice as a moment when the sun came through the clouds and made everything bright.

I am going to try that.

Lovely Quote

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.
- Albert Camus

That just about says it all!

xoxo,
eva

Yoga meets Pilates

I've tried Pilates classes before in a group class, on a mat. A natural move I thought, from yoga mat to pilates mat, but it didn't work out. There was too much neck soreness, and except for the toe pointing stuff that made me feel like a ballet dancer (fun!), there was too much stress and tension.

Private lessons, while pricey (yes, in yoga too) are very much worth it! The machines are really fun and make the sound of chatting sperm whales as they glide back and forth. There are lots of fun loops and straps (some padded with furry fabric!) to thread your arms, legs, feet and hands through. These straps give you something to reach into or away from, and help you find an incredible amount of length. Add to this mix a funny, energetic and experienced teacher (Nathaniel Lee) and some serious healing is going to take place.

Its very different than yoga. It is not an, "I feel like I am going to cry because my body/mind/soul/breath are all in harmony!", feeling that can happen in yoga. Nathaniel says it's because we are working on one thing (our middles) while yoga works on a myriad of things.

Pilates more subtle, and feels like you are doing the not seen but most important foundation stuff. Like if you hire a contractor who needs to do a ton of work behind your walls, where no one will really notice, but your house will fall down without. Its not flashy, but its solid, and stretchy too, a place where I hope to be heading.

Yogic Cat

There is something very yogic about this cat.
Maybe it's the focus and knowledge of placement in space.
It could also be the slow deliberate movements, and lovely music.
Whatever it is, this cat is a yogi, no doubt.

Dou Yoga

I met a lovely gal in the park today who recognized me from the yoga videos, and that made me very happy, especially because it was the first time that's ever happened!

She had with her an awesomely handsome and mellow dog named Bob, and her neighbors sadly neurotic dog named Fiona.

She told me about a new spot in Clinton Hill Brooklyn called Dou Yoga. She said it was so wonderful she ended up buying a 6 month pass. I liked the gal, and thought her yoga taste would probably be taste to trust, so if you are in the neighborhood, go check it out!

Yoga of Food

We had some friends over for a "kiddie seder" on Saturday, and it was really fun! My friend Lena took photos of the place settings and food and the funny lampshade we use on the ceiling, and put them on her blog.

I was very tickled and also reminded of how yoga on a mat is only one small element of what yoga is. Yoga is also beauty and symmetry, light, and a bowl full of matzoh balls.

yum!

 Its magical!

Here is the link to Lena's blog (thank you Lena!):  ~>O<~

Baby Knees Chest Chin Pose

A very interesting variation, photographed at the Monument, Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, NY

What precise form!

Next came an exuberant rendition of Downward dog moving toward Plank.

Makin' my momma proud.

His momma was so proud she flipped!

yeah, whatever, I could do that no problem.

 What pose will be next?  Stay tuned!  Or go to my momma-blog for baby-ness to the max.

*If you are looking at this on my website, come here for the pics!

Living Room Yoga is Alive and Well!

We have just been to busy standing on our heads to post much these days.....

Christy, impressing us all

flying bear pose!

teddy-bear-asana?

(if you are on my website, go to the living room yoga blog to see the pic!)

do-ga

This blew me away.
The focus, and intensity of these doggies, and their handlers (something about that word too) bespeaks of yoga on a much larger scale then we usually imagine.
It is about war, but then Bhagavad Gita was too.

the yoga of man and dog

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/05/04/war_dog

Baby Eagle's Nest

Here is a neato webcam of an eagles' nest in Iowa, chock-full of cute eaglets!

What prana!
Serious Life Force!

An amazing note: this eagle nest is about 1,000 pounds!, 6 feet across and 4 feet deep.

Eagle Pose: Stand with your feet close together and bend your knees slightly. Wrap your right leg around your left, and if you can, hook your right toes around your left calf. Open your arms wide, and then wrap the arms around each other as well, left elbow in the crook of the right. Place the palms so that they touch. Focus your gaze past the arms, to take in the world all around you.
To come out of the pose open the arms wide stretch the right leg out to the right, and feel yourself soaring! Set your two feet down and enjoy standing tall.
Same thing on the left.
Right and left; mother and father eagle poses.

New Yoga Book - Poser

Claire Dederer actually manages to talk about yoga and not sound like a cheeseball!
Her new book has many topics dear to me:
My homeland, the Pacific Northwest
New Motherhood
and
Yoga, of course.
I'm only three chapters in, since new motherhood doesn't allow for much recreational reading, but its got me gigglin', and feeling understood.
Thank you Claire!

yoga =love

I think that the essence of yoga is love.
The very deepest part, the part that escapes a little in Savasana, or in that quiet feeling when you sit tall and press your hands in prayer pose.

Poe's Four Conditions for Happiness

I just found this, and like it a lot.

1. Life in the open air
2. The love of another human being
3. Freedom from all ambition
4. Creation

Yay Poe!

Headstand Poem

This poem is by Shu-Ching Jean Chen, Jeremy's friend and former co-worker in Hong Kong.

Headstand

Like a toddler, learning to walk for the first time
I hold up my feet to an unknown sky
The earth is my extended body,
My anchor of sanity

The passing sunlight
Shines on television, lamps, computer
And a transient reality
All disconnected from my senses

The whole world is to be tilted, twisted, slanted,
At my fingertips
Turned upside down, and shredded into dots and lines
Each reflecting on one dimension of an uneven truth

What comes from the heart
Goes straight into the mind
Earth has never be so close
The invisible law of gravity, so clear

winter lungs

Every winter, I see those beautiful tree branches without leaves and think, "lungs!, lungs are what those trees are!",
"Big huge, mega-lungs."

No New Year's Resolutions in 2011!

I'm very excited and happy to report, that here, in my living room, there will be no new year's resolutions to speak of, wish for or worry about.
It will be business (life: breathing, eating, loving, sleeping, reading, walking and talking) as usual!

Oh, Snow!

How I love thee, lovely snow.
You make me see in the snowy way of blankets and quiet.
Hot cocoa inside this ship of an apartment.
And you, snow, looking so pinky outside.

a yoga practice

If the definition of yoga is union, then doing a yoga practice could be like braiding your hair, everyday.

Or drawing together what you are doing and you who is doing it.
Your breath and your body (of course).
Cooking (always cooking, possibly my favorite yoga practice).
Eating something delicious, really fantastically delicious.
Riding a bicycle in NYC, or anywhere where you must pay attention...
Sweeping the floor smooth.
Hiking in the PNW
Oh the list is endless.
Infinity is yoga too!