The Daily Downward Dog Blog
Inspiring Stories, Cool Yoga Playlists, and Yoga Tips!
What I Learned at Yoga Day Camp – The Final Lesson!
"Fire the judge and hire the witness." --Gurudev Shri Amritji So many times in yoga class I look around and compare myself to others. Why can't I reach my toes like her? Will you just look at that show-off over there doing the head stand. Why is my body so inflexible?...
What I Learned at Yoga Day Camp – Lesson 9
Let your mind go and let the prana choreograph your body. --Gurudev Shri Amritji Prana is our energy, breath, and life force. When I'm in yoga class, if I follow this advice, it is amazing how much more enjoyable and rewarding the class is. Quieting the mind, focusing...
What I Learned at Yoga Day Camp – Lesson 8
Don’t mind your mind—let it go and it will stop. When you are having negative thoughts, don’t react to them. When you react to your thoughts, they become real. Wow, that is not only some deep stuff, it is also nearly impossible to do. I’m going to put this into...
My Out of Body Experience – Yoga Day Camp – Lesson 7
If you have followed my blogs about the Yoga Nidra workshop led by Gurudev Shri Amritji (Yogi Amrit Desai), I’m sure you are probably wondering what the Yoga Nidra experience was like. How did it feel to enter the zero-stress zone? Is this a trip I should take? All I...
What I Learned at Yoga Day Camp – Lesson 6
“When you change yourself, you change everything.” —Gurudev Shri Amritji (Yogi Amrit Desai) Making a change can be really simple. All you have to do is change your negative or false perceptions of life and the people you interact with, and you can change everything....
What I Learned at Yoga Day Camp – Lesson 5
Fall in love with your practice. Well, I really didn’t need to learn this because I already love my yoga practice. At first, I was doing yoga for exercise and to help my back; now I'm doing it more for the spiritual aspects. I hope you're enjoying all of my takeaways...
What I Learned at Yoga Day Camp – Lesson 4
“If you maintain your energy, your mind won’t get old.” —Gurudev Shri Amritji (Yogi Amrit Desai) Gurudev is in his seventies and still vibrant and active, a perfect testament that the practice of yoga keeps us young at heart. I've heard many times that if you continue...
What I Learned at Yoga Day Camp – Lesson 3
We cannot solve the problems of the future. This is a tough lesson to learn, but how often do we spend time worrying needlessly about something that hasn’t yet happened? Where does all that worry get us? Nowhere! Gurudev Shri Amritji reminded us at the workshop that...
What I Learned At Yoga Day Camp – Lesson 2
I recently attended a Yoga Nidra workshop led by Gurudev Shri Amritji (Yogi Amrit Desai), and I’m having a hard time trying to decide what the most important takeaway was. I learned so much but here’s one of the lessons I think is best. We create our own world by how...
Love Your Body
"Yoga is really trying to liberate us from ... shame about our bodies. To love your body is a very important thing -- I think the health of your mind depends on your being able to love your body." --Rodney Yee All you need is love. Love the one your with. Let your...
What I Learned at Yoga Day Camp – Lesson 1
Well, it wasn’t exactly camp, but I did recently attend a yoga workshop, “From Self-Image to Self-Discovery through the Zero Stress Yoga Nidra Zone,” with Gurudev Shri Amritji, who is recognized as one of the pioneers of the authentic teachings of yoga in the West....
D.D.D. – April 2010 Archive
The Daily Downward Dog (D.D.D.) - April 2010 Archive April was a great month in my yoga journey as I entered into the Zero Stress Zone! Starting April 28, the D.D.D. changed formats and will now show up as a daily posting, so be sure to stop by for your daily dose of...
In Search of Great Yoga DVDs Part 1
Over the weekend I was out of town and needed a yoga fix, so I went to the local library in search of a yoga DVD. I was anxious to try a new workout video and hoping to find a great new instructor. Unfortunately, the selection was not the best and included titles like...
D.D.D. – March 2010 Archive
In case you missed some of the meditative musings or the instructions on how to give yourself a hug...here's the archive of March 2010 Daily Downward Dogs! Wednesday, March 31, 2010 The winter snow has melted away, the weather is getting warmer, my daffodils are...
D.D.D. – February 2010 Archive
In case you missed these daily delights in February - here's the archive of February's Daily Downward Dogs. Friday, February 26, 2010 – It was Olympic week at MariaMedia, so the Daily Downward Dogs from Feb 22 through Feb 26 were Olympic themed. "If you are ever going...
My Top Ten List of Reasons Why I Love Yoga
I started taking yoga about five years ago and fell in love with it. Not only was it a great workout, it was just what I needed to stretch and strengthen my back, and it provided a much needed sense of calm at that time in my life. Unfortunately, I was swallowed up by...