Love/Hate relationship

Ardha Chandrasana (half-moon pose) is a pose I used to hate. Actually, I secretly liked it or at least the idea of it and hated that I couldn't do it. I'd start, standing or in Trikonasana (Triangle pose), nice and open feeling and then struggle in the process of getting into balance. Once in the pose I didn't feel open and strong, I felt unstable and saggy.
I think for many people the act of trying it can be a great first step. I've had many students say they were surprised to just get their back leg up in the air at all! Props such as a block under your hand or doing the pose against a wall can then really give you a feel for the strength, balance and openness you can experience in the pose.
Working on other balance poses like Vrksasana (Tree pose) or Virhabdrasana III (Warrior 3 pose) can help strengthen the standing leg and aid in practicing balance. Trikonasana (Triangle pose) gives the same feel of the upper body both in the position of the arms and in the openness of the heart center/chest.
If you also have a love/hate relationship with this pose, take heart (no pun intended)! I now feel that strength and openness when I practice it! If this is a pose you've worked on, I'd be interested to hear what you've done in growing to love it (or hate it) too.

Study Point of the Week: Ardha Chandrasana

Let your focus be opening your heart from Trikonasana (Triangle Pose) all the way through the pose.

Help for the Savasana (Relaxation Pose) Challenged

Do you have difficulties relaxing in Savasana? In our culture, it is simply not unusual to find those who cannot surrender in that position. Savasana is actually stimulating to our nervous system! Now I don’t mean stimulating like backbends or headstands, but a bit. The back body is about stimulating (hence the effect of backbends) and the front body relaxing and surrendering (hence the effect of forward folds). We do Savasana on our backs to keep us a little alert. Savasana is supposed to be conscious relaxation, not falling asleep. But when someone already has a very stimulated nervous system (in other words, stressed -- not uncommon in our world!) then Savasana can further stimulate it, rendering relaxation impossible.

If you need help relaxing, use Asavasana. (Whenever an “A” is placed in front of a Sanskrit word, it changes the word to its opposite.) Lie on your stomach over a bolster. You can see me here in the photo demonstrating it. I like to hang my head just a bit over the edge (letting the forehead have a downward angle helps relax the brain) but if that is uncomfortable for you, rest your head on the bolster, turning it to the other side halfway through the relaxation.

Yoga in Costa Rica - Join Us!

~ Engage the Body and Open Your Heart ~

Want to join us in Costa Rica for a fabulous yoga retreat? We will be at Samasati Yoga and Nature Retreat Center January 24-31st. You will enjoy 3 daily yoga sessions with Laura and assisted by Karen (an early morning wake up, a before dinner stretch, and an evening relaxation.)

During the day enjoy the Costa Rican jungle. You can take a guided eco-tour trip organized by the center, including activities such as a zip-line ride through the jungle canopy, a white water rafting trip, or a kayaking paddle (you have 12 choices!) Or maybe you’ll take a 7-minute shuttle ride to black or white sand beaches and stroll through town mixing with the locals at the local internet café. At the center you’ll enjoy comfortable accommodations with a jungle and/or ocean view, delicious vegetarian meals and a hot tub. You can also have a treatment at their spa.

So?

Before we move on to our next pose, tell me, how did you do with the challenge? Did you do Savasana every day? Did you at least do it more often or longer? What happened?

The Art of Manifesting Your Dreams

~ To Live Your Authentic Life ~

The Art of Manifesting is learning how to make more conscious choices about what you put out into the world with your thoughts. You will learn to think differently by uncovering the false beliefs you have and revealing your fear areas so they no longer control you. As you do so, you will experience a new level of joy about your life. We believe that you will then be living “authentically”. Authentic living is living your true purpose; what resonates on a deep level as “right” for you. When you are living authentically, each day is joyful, easy, free, full of possibilities and opportunities. You will be able to see thing from a new perspective and appreciate all, even the challenges because you know there is a purpose to them as well.

Each session will have an introduction to the topic, followed by group discussion. You will then be encouraged to explore each topic more deeply though homework assignments – delicious homework that involves moving closer to your dreams!

Live classes begin quarterly and teleclasses begin January 2009. More information.

Awaken to Joy

"Discover Joy in the Life You Are Already Living"

Join Marya and Laura for a unique teleclass program with monthly topics and weekly inspirations. The program will take you step-by-step through bringing more positive influences into your life and making the negative ones more conscious so you can make different choices. Join us for a month or for a year.

"The Awaken to Joy program has transformed my life. Through the monthly topics,
I am able to explore my thoughts, beliefs and my life, releasing
those things that no longer serve me. It has taught me the path of joy.
Every day is filled with joy of many types. My personal life is happier.
My job life is happier. My family relationships have improved dramatically.
Taking this course is one of the best decisions I have ever made."
Tracy Whipple

Sleep, blessed sleep

This morning I came back to Savasana. I've been wanting to do it much more than I actually have. Not for lack of want because I want so much to relax (or at least that's what I think).
This morning I had the opportunity to sleep in which happens so infrequently. I'm staying at a hotel with several girlfriends without kids - I'm running on my own time. So what happens? I wake up - wide awake - at 6am. ugh. What did I do? I laid myself out on the bed in Savasana and focused on my breathing. I'm not sure how long I laid there. Eventually I rolled to my side and fell back asleep. Thanks Savasana!

I fight: Savasana

Back in May of this year, I found myself avoiding savasana. I wrote this about my experience and what I learned about the avoidance. I forgot about it because I do not practice a long savasana - ever - until this month's challenge - and - my yoga class last night.

I forgot that the last Wednesday of the month is restorative yoga. Usually, I don't attend that class except on the days I forget that it is the last Wednesday of the month. That class always ends with a long savasana. There I was again, a few minutes in wanting, wanting, and waiting for it to be over. Why? Again, why do I dislike this pose. Oh yes, it hurts! When I begin to really relax, my very loose joints and very open body feels like it is spilling across the floor and nothing is holding it together.

Here is the final paragraph of my post from May. I'm printing it out - nice and big and putting it in my yoga room where I am headed now to practice savasana.

i fight: the feelings of instability in Savasana by accepting them and trusting that I will learn whatever they are here to teach me.

(And perhaps all I need to do is set myself up in the Judith Lasater version of savasana - many, many blankets - and I will be just fine.)

The Challenge: Update

We are now three weeks into the month...how is the challenge going? Have you done Savasana daily? Or, at least, more often or longer than usual?

Savasana "Did You Knows"

Did you know...

...it takes 15-17 minutes for the body to relax? It is then that Savasana really begins...

...your hands and feet must be warm for your body to relax?

...the room must be darkened?

...there are three stages of Savasana:
1. Physiological relaxation
2. Pratyahara -- When you are no longer distracted by your senses.
3. Ashunya -- You only know you have achieved this after the fact. You have a feeling of having "returned" from somewhere. Your teacher maybe had to "wake" you but you know you weren't asleep.

...Savasana is the MOST important of all the poses and

...I suspect the one most skipped...

...Savasana will help reset your nervous system barometer to a slower level. (In other words, it helps you relax.)

...Savasana helps you reset old patterns, physiological, emotional, mental, spiritual, you name it!

...Savasana helps you absorb the benefits of your practice.

...can be done anytime, not necessarily right after your asana session. Do it right before bed!

Savasana: This Month's Challenge

We challenge all of you! Do Savasana every day for the month of September. Let us know how it affects you! If you need some assistance, here is a podcast from Laura for a guided 20-minute Savasana. Enjoy!

Maricyasana III: Study Point of the Week

How can you get more deeply into your upper back? When we twist, we tend to keep the twist in the mid-back, around T-11, T-12, and L-1. Getting it into the upper back is a powerful way of increasing the twist and making it deeper.

Maricyasana III: Study Point of the Week

There are two ways to turn the head in this pose, looking behind you and looking toward your toes. Play with each one. Which do you prefer? Why?

Bhujangasana and the Core

(Laura) I have never spent much time studying Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose). I used it to warm up and strengthen my back and breezed past it whenever I was doing Sun Salutations. This month I studied it and taught it. In fact, I challenged myself to teach it each week in one class so I needed to come up with fresh information each week which necessitated new insights.

My most illuminating insight came from the importance of the core in Bhujangasana. I knew that extending the legs was important but I didn’t realize that I wasn’t using my inner thighs enough and, therefore, wasn’t engaging the core muscles in my torso. Without the core of my torso, my backbend sat in my lower back.

So? Practice this idea in Vajrasana or Sukhasana. Feel the length in your spine. Arch high up in the upper back. Now, from that position, let your belly go slack. Feel the back bend sink to your lower back.

The same thing happens in Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose) when you allow your legs to go slack (the legs support the work of the core muscles in the core – something you can feel in Tadasana (Mountain Pose)). When legs go slack, the backbend sits more in your lower back. The key to effectively activating the core is the inner thighs of the legs. Use those muscles to get the action into the torso as well.