Aug 1, 2010 |
Or perhaps I should ask: Do you want to be mellow?
Since I’m kind of on a yoga music theme this week on the Daily Downward Dog, I thought I would keep it going and tell you about one of the mellowest songs I’ve heard in a long time. Seriously, if you need a song to help you decompress, download “Be Here Now” by Ray LaMontagne and crank it up when you are feeling stressed out.
I heard this song a few nights ago in yoga class while we were settling into Savasana, and I think it is the perfect complement to the restful journey that occurs during Savasana. Take a listen; I think you’ll like it!
[youtube]http://youtu.be/Vl3V0dTRDvI[/youtube]
“Be Here Now” can be found on Ray’s album Till the Sun Turns Black
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Aug 1, 2010 |
Tree pose is definitely one of my top ten favorite yoga poses. I love it when I feel totally balanced and can lift my hands up over my head and spread them out in a V. I push my lifted leg out farther, stand a little taller, and reach my arms up as far as I can. I feel like a tree flowing in the wind, my branches ready to bring in all the possibilities of life. It is so affirming.
When I began yoga I had horrible balance, so I started tree pose by just resting one of my feet up on my toes on the floor. When I started to feel more stable, I moved my foot slowly up my shin but always below my knee. Moving my foot up above my knee was just too risky; I’d lose my balance and wobble all over the place.
So today—I’m not sure why (maybe it was because there were only a few people in class to see me fall on my face), but I just decided to go for it, and I grabbed my foot and pulled it up above my knee and rested it there. Whoa! I immediately had to reach over to a wall to firm up my balance and then pushed myself back up straight. I could have abandoned the pose right then and there, but I held on and got my stability back and just stood there in all my glory with my foot above my knee in tree pose. Woohoo! I did it! Well, not quite; I still needed to lift my arms above my head and was wondering if I should even attempt it. Sure, why not? Go for it, I said and I raised my branches up into the air and experienced my full expression of tree pose. It was even easier the second time on the left side than it was on the right side.
So, the moral of the story is: Don’t be afraid to try new (more challenging) variations of a pose. When you’re ready give it a shot. Don’t be afraid of falling; you’ve got nothing to lose, and you may just find that you’ve graduated into another level of your yoga practice.
Jul 31, 2010 |
Warrior goddess. Just the name itself is cool! I had never heard of this pose, but we did it in my yoga class this week. I think I may have heard my yoga instructor wrong though, because when I looked up the pose, I found that it is called goddess squat or utkata konasana. What up with squat? If you are going to pair up the word goddess with another word, it shouldn’t be squat. I have to admit, I like warrior goddess much better.
I love the yoga poses that make me feel powerful, and when I get into this pose, I imagine myself as a true warrior goddess. Go ahead, try it and become the true warrior goddess you were born to be!
Jul 31, 2010 |
The other night in yoga class, we were in wide-legged forward bend (Prasarita Padottanasana), where the goal is to get your head to touch the floor. If you can imagine, my head is nowhere near the floor. The yoga instructor told us not to worry about getting our heads to the floor, but to do the best we could. He then proceeded to tell us it took him eight years to achieve this pose. Wow, eight years. I figure with one good year of yoga under my belt, I’ve got seven more to go. It didn’t really bum me out that it might take that long (or even longer). Instead, it inspired me that someday I will be able to achieve these difficult poses. In fact, I see little improvements all the time.
Jul 31, 2010 |
“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 to practice yoga that you will remain flexible and healthy as you age. No walkers or hip replacements for me! I think yoga devotees should get an extra discount on health insurance for the practice of preventative medicine.
Amrit Yoga and the Yoga Sutras
61 Point Yoga Nidra -Shavayatra
Or perhaps I should ask: Do you want to be mellow?
