Can't wait to start up Simply Yoga classes next week. But have so enjoyed my two weeks off.
It is a tonic for me ... like a "restorative class"... to have a little time off.
See you all soon.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Freeform Yoga Practice
Freeform is a way of practicing that I have enjoyed for a number of years. I am now sharing this experience with a few of my intermediate students who come on Monday nights. One Thursday a month these yoginis join me for an hour of practice. This methodless method of home practice has apparently been around for eons, but I first learned about it from a master of yoga, Erich Schiffmann. There is no "external teaching" involved. Everyone does their own practice.
Freeform allows us to practice from our own inner teacher... Choosing poses that we are drawn to in the present moment. This involves listening to the body and the breath and seeing where it takes us. It is learning to trust our own wisdom and daring to veer in and out of any prescribed ways of sequencing or aligning in the pose. It is going beyond what we have learned into an exploratory experience. "What happens when I do this? How does it feel? Where do I feel spaciousness... where do I feel compression? Can I breathe more into this place? Can I just pause and linger here? Yes."
It is hard to describe this experience.... At first it may be daunting or scary to have this much freedom when you are used to a teacher telling you what to do next. However, it won't be long before you find joy in knowing that you really can practice like this and you have owned your practice in a whole new way.
Let me know if you are interested in joining us one of these Thursdays.
Freeform allows us to practice from our own inner teacher... Choosing poses that we are drawn to in the present moment. This involves listening to the body and the breath and seeing where it takes us. It is learning to trust our own wisdom and daring to veer in and out of any prescribed ways of sequencing or aligning in the pose. It is going beyond what we have learned into an exploratory experience. "What happens when I do this? How does it feel? Where do I feel spaciousness... where do I feel compression? Can I breathe more into this place? Can I just pause and linger here? Yes."
It is hard to describe this experience.... At first it may be daunting or scary to have this much freedom when you are used to a teacher telling you what to do next. However, it won't be long before you find joy in knowing that you really can practice like this and you have owned your practice in a whole new way.
Let me know if you are interested in joining us one of these Thursdays.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Restorative Yoga and Spring Quarter
Restorative yoga is coming up March 15th, 16th, 18th.
One morning class, two evening classes.
Sign up ASAP.
Registration: 383-3200
This will be the last restorative class I will be teaching for awhile.
During Spring Quarter I will do a Hip Opener class in place of the Restoratives.
Spring quarter registration is now open!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Open to All Possibilities
Surrender includes being open to whatever is happening... being open to the "now event".
This is easier sometimes than other times. That was brought home to me quite clearly last weekend when plans shifted because of bad weather and I ended up with two commitments for the same day. If I choose one I would be missing a 'celebration of life' for a dear friend. If I choose the other I would hurt someone dear to me by not following through on a plan made many months ago.
For some this might be hardly a dilemma at all. Yet for me it was very difficult. I knew what I had to do but was mentally and emotionally in resistance. When we resist, as I well know, it creates suffering. Over the next few days, as I studied my mental process, I learned a lot about resistance. As I moved more and more into my "wisdom mind" I began to see what was real instead of what my old perception was viewing.
As I look back, I recognize it was okay to be disappointed that I would not be able to attend the celebration of life, to feel those feelings. However when I failed to move on I got stuck in old thinking patterns that were not spacious and not full of possibilities, they were rigid and focused on "doing the right thing".
Sometimes "the right thing" is not what we think it is at all.
Maybe sometimes we need to let go of our perception of right and wrong and listen to a Bigger Voice.
This is easier sometimes than other times. That was brought home to me quite clearly last weekend when plans shifted because of bad weather and I ended up with two commitments for the same day. If I choose one I would be missing a 'celebration of life' for a dear friend. If I choose the other I would hurt someone dear to me by not following through on a plan made many months ago.
For some this might be hardly a dilemma at all. Yet for me it was very difficult. I knew what I had to do but was mentally and emotionally in resistance. When we resist, as I well know, it creates suffering. Over the next few days, as I studied my mental process, I learned a lot about resistance. As I moved more and more into my "wisdom mind" I began to see what was real instead of what my old perception was viewing.
As I look back, I recognize it was okay to be disappointed that I would not be able to attend the celebration of life, to feel those feelings. However when I failed to move on I got stuck in old thinking patterns that were not spacious and not full of possibilities, they were rigid and focused on "doing the right thing".
Sometimes "the right thing" is not what we think it is at all.
Maybe sometimes we need to let go of our perception of right and wrong and listen to a Bigger Voice.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
