Journal Posts
One of my first experiences with yoga was a kundalini yoga class at a YMCA in Oregon. My friends and I would attend every week. Although, I had no idea why the woman leading the class wore a turban on her head, it was the highlight of my week. One of the poses we practiced was Urdhva Prasarita Padasana. As we lay down on our backs, our arms remained along the sides of our body while our feet extended up to the ceiling. Instead of stretching the palms, we created fists with our hands and beat the ground with our fists for about 60 seconds. Afterwards, we bent our knees and rested on our backs for a few moments before moving on to the next pose. (Which was always something like Virabhadrasana II while breathing Kapalabhati Pranayama.) Even at the very early stages of my yoga practice, I understood that this relatively simple practice was hugely effective for releasing anger and I have practiced it several times since. It was the first time that I truly comprehended the mind body connection; that I can do something...
posted: 4 years 5 months ago
posted: 3/29/19
As a Virgo, I believe I have organization loaded into my DNA. It somehow comes naturally. I have always loved stationary stores & school supplies. But I never really had a method for my madness. When I merged households with my husband, clutter started to take hold.
Several years ago, I learned of Marie Kondo and quickly read, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up". I followed her method and was immediately inspired by its effectiveness, so I wanted to share a brief synopsis so you can try it for yourself. I highly recommend reading her book, too!
The method is to collate...
posted: 8/1/18
One of the people most exemplifying the path of compassion is Yeshi Donden, the Tibetan Physician for the Dalai Lama. Every day he recites this Buddhist Prayer:
“May all living beings be free of suffering and the cause of suffering….May everything I do go to ensure that they be free of suffering and the cause of suffering…May everything I do go to ensure, to remind them they are in fact living in joy and have the causes of Joy. May all living beings interrelate fully, lovingly, compassionately and joyously with one another, without any discrimination or partiality of near...
posted: 7/15/15
”The ultimate renunciation is when one transcends the qualities of nature and perceives the soul. “ – sutra I.16 - bks iyengar, light on the yoga sutras of patanjali As I learn about the Gunas, I cannot help but relate to my studies in Ayurveda and the interplay of the doshas – vata, pitta, kapha, the three constitutions, which are made up of the five elements – earth, air, fire, water and ether. Vata is made up of air and ether, pitta is fire and water, and kapha consists of earth and water. Like the Gunas, all elements and doshas are constantly present,...
posted: 5/27/14
Sauca santosa tapah svadhyaya isvarapranidhanani niyamahCleanliness, contentment, religious zeal, self-study and surrender of the self to the supreme Self or God are the niyamas.”(II.32, iyengar)Sauca – cleanliness - I tend to be regular and routine about showering, practicing yoga, meditation and pranayama, eating whole local organic foods, breathing clean air, drinking clean water and maintaining the small farm where we live to nurture the environment which sustains us. The yoga sutra promise that “cleanliness of body and mind develops disinterest with others for self...
posted: 5/12/14
“In his search he discovers the three noble ways of word (jnana), work (karma), and worship (bhakti), which teach him that his inner light is the only guide leading to mastery over his own life.”- BKS Iyengar, Light on Pranayama The three great paths of Yoga are Jnana Yoga - the Yoga of Wisdom, Bhakti Yoga - The Yoga of Devotion, and Karma Yoga - The Yoga of Action and its results. These are all paths that lead towards the same goal, that of Self-Realization, and are suited to practitioners, or sadhakas, of different temperaments.Sadhana is a methodical, sequential means to...
posted: 5/12/14
ahimsa satya asteya brahmacarya aparigrahah yamah
Non-violence, truth, abstention from stealing, continence, and absence of greed for possessions beyond one’s need are the five pillars of yama.
sutra II.30, light on the yoga sutras, bks iyengar
“The yamas are the great, mighty universal vows, unconditioned by place, time and class.” (II.31, iyengar) I came to yoga because of a physical need, an ilial-sacral injury, but the first time I practiced yoga, I was immediately drawn to the way it made me feel, physically, but also emotionally. It gave me a sense of peace and...
posted: 3/20/14
Spring Session 2013When I traveled to SE Asia to work for the US Peace Corps, I had only recently found yoga. I was determined, however, to travel to India after I completed my two years of service. On my way to India, I visited a dear friend in northern Thailand and unexpectedly fell in love with Traditional Thai Massage and Meridian Theory. I still wanted to go to India and made plans to meet my sister in Kathmandu. After hiking, I fell into a serendipitous arrangement with a Nepali Women’s Yoga Teacher and spent 6 weeks with her as if I were living in an Ashram in...
posted: 10/8/13
“Yoga is a science which liberates one's mind from the bondage of the body and leads it towards the soul." – BKS Iyengar, Tree of YogaMany scholars have searched for the date of the first reference to yoga, but BKS Iyengar reminds us in The Tree of Yoga, that Yoga, like Ayurveda, is apauruseya, not given by man. "Brahma is the Founder of Yoga” and also "Lord Siva is the Founder of Yoga, which he first taught to his wife, Parvati." (156). Yoga is one of the six orthodox systems of Indian philosophy, which was organized by Patanjali, in his classical...
posted: 12/22/10
I could not think of a better class to start my Winter Solstice 90 days with than a kidney sequence with Sarah Powers. I consider Sarah Powers to be one of my teachers, even though I have only practiced with her in person TWICE! She came to Virginia and I followed her from Richmond to Yogaville. But this is the power of media and why we created iHanuman. I can bring her into my living room as if she is giving me a private lesson and I really needed to hear what she had to me tell last night. Winter time is Kidney time in the Chinese Medical Tradition. Kidneys govern the water element, which...
posted: 12/15/10
I had so much fun with my 30 days of gratitude that I am commencing on another project, 90 days of yoga!�� 2011 marks the tenth year of my serious studies as a yoga student. And I will take back the seat of the teacher in the Spring of 2011! I finished my teacher training in 2004 and immediately began teaching. It was something I absolutely loved! But then we started iHanuman which took up a tremendous amount of time and energy and I could feel my energy for teaching begin to wane. I also had some personal healing to attend to.
At the end of 2008,�� I decided to take a short sabbatical...
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