Who Do You Inspire?

My Yogi Tea bag handle reads…Inspiring others toward happiness brings you happiness.  We all have something to offer, something inspiring that helps others shine.  In the day-to-day chaos, we often forget that we’re each unique in our own way.  It’s our uniqueness is what makes us inspirational.    

Who inspires you?  Why?  Who do you inspire?  How?  I believe we all have at least one answer to each of these questions.  You might inspire a group of people or just a handful.  It might be your dog or cat.  It could be the kid down the street.  Give it some thought.

P.S.  Is there a name for the piece of paper that attaches to the string on the tea bag? 

My Daily Yoga Off the Mat

I do yoga when I walk my dog.  It’s actually the most challenging form of yoga I currently practice.  What is it?  Chanting. 

Given I spend a good hour everyday outdoors with my Walker Coonhound, I have found chanting offers a way to make these walks more meditative as opposed to feeling like they’re a chore.  Chanting offers a wonderful way to create space in my mind and keep me in the present moment.  I find that while chanting I’m able to drown out the sounds of traffic, construction, etc.

The challenge for me is staying focused on the chant I select.  I often get distracted from the chatter in my head or my surroundings.  I’d like to blame the dog for some of the distraction but that’s an excuse.  Frankly, it’s usually the chatter in my head (i.e. to-do list for the day, what’s for dinner, etc.) that gets me off track and takes me away from the present.

To make it easy and to experience the effects of chanting, I stick with the same mantra for a month.  Currently, I’m working with the bija mantra (seed mantra), Shrim.  I have actually found chanting this one sound over and over is even harder than when I chant a phrase.   Regardless of the challenges, chanting has been a wonderful way to practice yoga when I can’t quite make it onto the yoga mat or take some quiet time to meditate.  

Gym Yoga vs. Yoga Studio

While attending a business networking event on Thursday night, I was asked “is there a difference between yoga at a gym vs. yoga at a studio?”  In my opinion, the answer is YES for several reasons.  In an effort not to go overboard, I’ll focus on training requirements, teaching style and environment differences.

To start, the training required to teach yoga at a gym is usually not nearly as extensive as the training required by yoga studios.  A teacher for a yoga studio usually must have a minimum of 200 hours of training.  This training covers more than just asana (yoga poses).  It includes yoga history, philosophy, anatomy, physiology, meditation, chakras, pranayama, teaching skills, assisting/adjusting students, yoga teacher ethics and more.  A gym teacher can get certified to teach yoga in one Saturday afternoon.  Hmmm…do I need to say more? 

Not to keep picking on the gym yoga teacher…a gym yoga teacher is usually at the front of the room practicing yoga with the students.  This is a big no.  The verbal cues a teacher provides should address what’s going on in the room.  The teacher should know the poses from personal practice (and not just via text book instruction) and be able to convey asana cues in a way that will deliver a yoga experience for the individuals in the room.  Cues given in one class might be different than those offered in another based on the students’ level.  So I ask…how can a teacher who is practicing in the front of the room with 25 students see what’s going on in the room and provide the appropriate instructions?  Also, a teacher that practices the entire time is probably unkowingly posing greater risk of injury to the students.  A teacher that floats around the room, like in a yoga studio, can help students safely set up and deepen poses.  Finally, the energy level of the class is much different in a gym than when taking a class at a studio where the teacher floats around the room and speaks to what is happening.

Environment.  This should be obvious but for those who have never entered a yoga studio they might not realize how different the experience can be from a gym.  Yoga at a gym is typically taught in the aerobics/group exercise room which is covered in mirrors.  Mirrors provide a huge distraction in a yoga class.  For more on mirrors, read my post “why don’t yoga studios have mirrors”.  Secondly, the teacher has no control of the temperature which results in people practicing yoga in a sometimes frigid room.  Typically yoga studios are warmer than a gym (even those that aren’t hot yoga studios).  Finally, the sounds heard in a yoga gym class – thumping music, clanking weights and the buzz of cardio machines – aren’t really conducive to providing a real yoga experience.  Again, visit a yoga studio and you’ll immediately feel the difference.

Don’t get me wrong, yoga at a gym is better than no yoga.  The gym is a great place to start if you are under financial constraints —since most gyms include yoga classes in the membership.  But if this is the only yoga you’ve tried so far and you’re still on the fence as to whether yoga is for you; go to a yoga studio to get a richer experience.  And try a variety of studios and styles if you have the luxury of several studios in your area.  Each will have something different to offer.  Happy studio hopping!

It’s DC Yoga Week

Get on the mat.

Try a new studio.  Change is good. 

Experience a new teacher.  Everyone has something to share.

Try a new yoga style.  It’s good for the body, mind and soul to mix things up.

Most classes are free.  Some are just $5. 

For details visit  http://www.dcyogaweek.com.

Daily Vacation

Who doesn’t need a mini-vacation everyday?  Or better question, who doesn’t want a daily break from life?  Remember McDonald’s slogan…”you deserve a break today”.  Well, it’s true!

Vacations are healthy.  I personally believe a real vacation needs to be a minimum one week as it takes the first few days to unwind and let go.  In my experience, I spend a lot of time those first days reminding myself that its okay to disconnect from reality.  That’s the point of vacation, right?  By mid-week, I finally feel its okay to be offline.  It can be an foreign experience when you really can allow yourself permission to “let go”.  For me, my head is clear.  I feel rejuvenated and alive.

The reality is not all of us can afford the time and money to take a minimum of 7 days vacation as often as we would like or need.  That’s where meditation can offer some daily downtime.  Of course, it’s not the same as breaking out of life for a week but it’s a start and necessary if you want to keep your head clear and fully experience your life.  Daily meditation, whether it’s 5 minutes or 25 minutes, is an opportunity to break through the chaos and clutter of life and check-in to your own internal hotel.  This is luxury at its best. 

Similarly to a long vacation, I find during my meditation practice it takes the first few minutes (sometimes as much as 10 min of a 20 min sitting) to really release from the day and relax.  It requires patience and persistence.  It requires dropping expectations of what meditation should “look like” or “be like”.  It requires me to stop thinking and simply focus on my breath, a word or phrase.  Regardless of how hard those first few minutes are for me to sit still, I know that it’s part of the process.  The more I return to meditation, the easier it gets to sit still physically and mentally.  Best of all, I get more in touch with myself.  I am getting clarity on what’s important to me, why am I here, what do I want in life, what can I give, etc. 

So what’s the point of this entry?  You deserve a break today!  Make the time to sit for at least 5 minutes a day, breathe and not think.  Your 5 minute breaks will eventually add up to a week of vacation and you’ll start to feel alive and get clear on what matters most to you.  And if you have vacation time, by all means use it!