Lessons from the Yoga Mat

Many of life’s lessons can be learned from simply committing to a few minutes a day on the yoga mat.  Hmmm…how so one might ask?

Hold Warrior I for 5 minutes and observe what happens within.  This posture will start to deliver a wonderful burn (think of it as blissful discomfort) for many in the quads, while others may feel the shoulders fire up.  Point is the pain is tolerable but it’s so easy to give up, step away from it and become frustrated.  What happens if you stay and breathe?  5 minutes isn’t a lifetime, right?

Now think about when you’re faced with an obstacle in life.  In life, pain is inevitable but there’s always a lesson in it if you chose to experience the pain and learn.  Or is your tendency to flee instead of working through the challenge to find out what’s on the other side?

Yoga asana practice is a lab for which we can experiment with how to tolerate the pain that can’t be avoided and how to transform the pain that can.  The pain you face on and off your yoga mat acts as a teacher.  It makes us stronger for the next event and/or pose.  By doing the work on the mat, you’ll be stronger for the pain encountered off the mat.

Life’s journey is unpredictable.  To find peace and to truly live, we need to go through the ups and the downs and see that each has its own lesson to offer.  As hard as it can be at times, it’s important to remain strong and receptive through the good, the bad and the ugly.  No doubt that this can be a lot of work, but like with most things in life we have to work through it to reap the rewards that life has to offer.

Celebrate Yoga

The ninth annual nationwide Yoga Day USA, presented by Yoga Alliance, is set for Saturday January 26, 2008.  Yoga studios nationwide will be participating by offering special events.  Check out your local studio to see what they’re doing to celebrate yoga or visit www.yogadayusa.org to find a free or low cost yoga workshop near you.

Washington D.C. Yogis:  Be sure to check out the Mid-Atlantic Yoga Association’s Yogathon.  It’s an all day event on Saturday with a cool blend of workshops taught by several well-respected local yoga teachers.   Can’t commit to an entire day of yoga?  Go to Tranquil Space on Yoga Day USA and you’ll get 15% off class passes and tranquility boutique purchases.

Out of town on Yoga Day?  Participate in World Yoga Day on Sunday, Feb 3 2008.  Yoga teachers and schools around the world donate their time and space to a two hour yoga session devoted to human rights in China through Amnesty International.  Georgetown Yoga will be supporting this cause by offering an Ashtanga Primary Series class (minimum donation $5).  Visit www.georgetownyoga.com for details.

See you on the mat!

Bow Your Head to Your Heart

“Get your mind out of it and follow your heart” is what I sometimes tell my yoga students when they seem to be analyzing vs. being in a pose.  So often we let our minds rule our world.  The result?  The life you have at this moment.  I’m not saying don’t use your smarts. God gave us brains for a reason, but he also gave us hearts.  What if you followed your heart first then let the mind join in for the ride.  How different would your life be today?

I feel lucky and happy in my life for many reasons.  At the core of my happiness is I took a big step late 2006 and ignored the logical path to follow my heart’s desire.  I always wanted my own business but didn’t think I could build one, particularly around something I enjoyed.  My passion is living my yoga journey, and always learning.  I’m doing it.  I teach yoga.  I am constantly learning from my students.  I have a successful yoga business.  I’m learning how to improve it each step of the way.  I’m a yoga student always seeking more.  I’m always evolving but I’ve learned to move from my heart and not so much from my head.

Don’t get me wrong.  There are areas in my life I’m struggling and as I type this maybe I’m using my head too much to analyze the situations.  Hmmm…something for me to consider.  Maybe it’s time to follow my heart and start listening within for all areas of my life.  Start listening within vs. letting my head do the work –can it really be that simple?

Right under My Nose

I’ve been in search of a specific item.  I was in need of a funky container/small piece of furniture to house my yoga practice stuff (DVDs, straps, blocks) in my all-in-one home office/yoga studio.  This seemed like a simple task so I started my search at Target, Pier I and all the other local places that might have what I desired.

The search existed for a good 6 months.  During that time, I brought home a couple different things, sat with them in the space and inevitably packed them back up to be returned.  Then last week as I was emptying out a metal container that we no longer needed to store our dog’s stuff (yes, he has stuff too), I began to wonder “now, what I’m I going to do with this empty metal container”.  Ahhhh, like magic, I realized this is the perfect container for my home yoga space.

How often does this happen?  We search and search for something; yet we neglect to look under our own feet, around us, or simply directly in front of our eyes.  Don’t try hard, try easy is one of Baron’s principles listed in Journey Into Power.  It’s such a simple idea and hard to believe until you try it.  More and more, I have personally discovered in my yoga practice and my life, the easy way is sometimes the answer.

The Alchemist, an inspirational read on following your dreams, offered this point as well.  We have everything we need but often look outside ourselves for the answers.  What we really need is to simply look within.  How easy is that?  This idea has been tough for me to grasp over the last few years.  It always sounded so esoteric when my yoga teachers would say this, but I think I’m starting to get it!

To whole-heartedly grasp something, whether it’s the practice of yoga, the thrill one gets on a roller coaster ride or the pain experienced from a tragedy, one has to live it.  One has to be in the moment to understand all the feelings associated with the experience.  So after my own experience of many years practicing yoga and almost 36 years of living life, I’m just now finally starting to get a few things.  Life shouldn’t have to be so hard, and often times it really isn’t.  Sometimes, we just need to get out of our own way.   

The next time you’re in a life struggle or you can’t quite get the bind needed for Bird of Paradise, slow down and maybe even stop to smell the roses.  The answer might be right under your nose.  And this silly container that I already owned for several years is the perfect fixture for my yoga stuff.

Reflecting on Death and Birth

When I started teaching two years ago, I never imagined I would be dealing with the death of a student.  It’s just not an issue that crossed mind when thinking “I’d like to be a yoga teacher”.  Though death is a natural part of life regardless of the path you opt to take.

On Wednesday morning I learned that one of my private clients passed away on Friday, January 4^th.  Though I probably only met with this particular client 10-15 times, a friendship developed.  It happens, it’s natural.  It’s part of being human.  I’m sad to write that I’ve lost a friend.

As a yoga teacher one of the most challenging things to manage is the relationship with private clients.  It’s a balancing act.  As a yoga teacher I must be open so that my students can be open with themselves and more importantly trust themselves.  The balancing act is in learning how not being too open and not too closed.  The teacher-student connection is a professional relationship, but like all long-term professional relationships you start to get to know each other on a personal level.  Simple yet personal conversations transpire and build over time about such things as each others’ families, pets, vacations and hobbies.  As a result friendships form, such as the one I had with my student and friend who left us on Friday.

The other thing that has unexpectedly happen through teaching yoga is I find myself many times learning from my clients.  I become the student.  This was the case with my client who passed away.  He was in his early 70’s practicing vinyasa yoga with a partially paralyzed arm.  He went through many chaturangas, upward-facing dogs and downward-facing dogs with a vibrant attitude.  He never complained when something was challenging.  He knew when to modify.  He practiced between our sessions together.  He asked excellent questions.  He was focused.  He had a strong spirit on the yoga mat as well as off the mat.

On the same day my client passed a way, a few hours later my sister gave birth to a baby girl.  This is a very happy event and has the opposite sound of death.  Birth and death are two natural life events.  They hold different meanings and offer different feelings yet both are natural occurrences that everyone encounters at some point.  And both offer opportunities for reflection.

Ahimsa, Asteya and CatalogChoice.org

Ahimsa and asteya are two yamas listed in the Yoga Sutras.  In some ways, they overlap.  Ahimsa means non-violence.  Asteya means non-stealing.  Both invite us not to harm or steal from others as well as ourselves.

“Others” is an elusive term.  It’s natural for us to think of “others” as only meaning human beings but others can also include animals, the environment and objects.  Consider the harm being done to the planet by all the unwanted catalogs received in the mail daily…we’re robbing the environment of energy, trees and water.  Look at these facts posted on catalogchoice.org regarding the 19 billion catalogs mailed annually to American consumers:

• Number of trees used – 53 million trees
• Pounds of paper used – 3.6 million tons of paper
• Energy used to produce this volume of paper – 38 trillion BTUs, enough to power 1.2 million homes per year
• Contribution to global warming – 5.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equal to the annual emissions of two million cars
• Waste water discharges from this volume of paper – 53 billion gallons of water, enough to fill 81,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools

How many catalogs do you get in the mail weekly that go straight to the recyclying bin?  Personally, I probably get at least 20-25 a week.  What if you could eliminate them all together?

Catalogchoice.org is a great, easy and FREE way to help you make a difference.  It allows you to block catalogs you don’t want by keeping clutter (at least some of it) out of your mailbox.  In return, you’re helping to cut down on waste and benefiting our environment.  Consider catalogchoice.org as an invitation to practice asteya and ahimsa.   

Start with Self Acceptance

Yoga is a practice of conscious movement and an invitation to see who we are right now.  Other forms of movement are about improving —running faster, cycling longer, lifting more, etc.  Yoga is not a self-improvement program; it’s about self-acceptance.

Ahimsa is the first yama (yama = restraint) and means non-violence to others as well as oneself.  An understanding of ahimsa is necessary in order to grasp yoga as being a practice of self-acceptance.  Ahimsa is the first step of learning how to be centered, confident and appreciative of what you have to offer this world as well as what others can offer.  Ahimsa is the foundation from which all choices, on and off the mat, evolve.

Committing to ahimsa enables you to change habitual patterns of thinking and doing that cloud your heart and cause harm.  Patterns such as criticizing, judging and negative chatter about you and others.  Ahimsa opens your eyes to accepting others as they are.  Ahimsa enables you to see that where you are today is a place to work from.  With an open heart, self-accepting mindset and consistent practice, the judgemental tendencies can fade and the work can begin towards creating change.  Judging creates suffering.  Suffering leads to violence, internal and external. 

Challenge:  The obvious is to notice the harm in your words and actions towards others.  Go further…Start to pay attention to what you silently say to yourself about you and others.  Notice how you treat your body.  Notice your reactions to events, people, places, etc.  Do you criticize?  Do you judge “a book by its cover”?  Are your words harsh?  What happens if you just listen and don’t react?  On your mat, for instance in Paschimottanasana, can you ease your hands down your legs consciously with breathe verses just automatcially grabbing at your feet when the pose is called?

Ahimsa is a starting point.  Practicing ahimsa on and off your yoga mat builds the foundation needed to expand your yoga and journey of self-acceptance.  This is where positive and powerful changes can occur.  Once you can accept yourself and others, you’ll move from a place of groundedness.  You’ll feel more centered.  You’ll feel more alive, on and off your yoga mat.

Setting Resolutions and a 2008 Mantra

For many the New Year is the perfect excuse and time to commit to some very lofty and not so lofty goals, a.k.a. resolutions.  I currently have a living list of about 15-20 things I intend to accomplish this year.

In keeping the list realistic and balanced, I’ve labeled each intention as being personal, health or professional.  In order to achieve goals in a healthy manner, it’s important to write each one down, think them through (why is it on your list?) and foresee the area(s) of your life the goal will impact.  More importantly, you need to be aware of the area of your life you might be ignoring in order to achieve your goal.

For example, if all your resolutions are professional you may be jeopardizing your health.  As you run through your list, it’s feasible that some of your intentions overlap labels.  For instance, one of my commitments is to start a nightly home yoga practice.  As a full-time yoga teacher and yoga business owner, I find this intention falls under all three labels –personal, health and professional.  Based on the law of probability, my assumption is if an intention falls under all three labels there will be a greater chance of following through and accomplishing it.  Take some time as you craft your list.  Also, know that it is a living document and you can add to it as the year goes along.

Finally, set a mantra for the year that cast light over all of your intentions for 2008.  Keep the mantra simple, personal and positive.  Repeat it often.  If you feel at anytime you’re off track in reaching your goal(s), return to your mantra.  Breathe your mantra.  Meditate on it.  Let it become a part of your day and serve as a simple reminder that you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it.

“What is possible” is my mantra for 2008.  It’s simple.  It’s personal.  Most of all, it reminds me that life is full of possibilities and I can do anything I want if I commit to it.