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Savasana, Voted Most Favorite Yoga Pose

By the end of today's Gentle/Stretch class, every available prop had been taken down from the rack. Bolsters, blankets, blocks and straps are what's needed in a restorative yoga  class.

Those who have discovered ways to quiet their bodies and minds, find restoratives very peaceful and enjoyable. Every once in a while, I throw in a pose that is a bit of a challenge with the intent of increasing the benefits to these gentle practitioners.

The one pose that they have nearly mastered is Savasana,the Corpse Pose pictured above. No matter how full the class might be, everyone finds their own piece of heaven just inches away from another.

When I scan the room and observe the stillness, with no one fidgeting or glaring open-eyed at the ceiling, I feel that I have done my job. I give thanks to all of my teachers, thanks to Savasana as "proof of the pudding", and thanks to all who offer their trust and faith in me by attending class. Namaste.

Not Full Grown...yet.

We do not yet possess ourselves, and we know at the same time that we are much more.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not long ago, we were waiting for him to appear. Then we reveled and cheered when he finally (on time by his standards) showed up on the fourth of June. Now he's coming to yoga class every Friday (Yoga for Moms and Babes) and this past week decided that he was ready for a pose of his own, Upward in Downward Dog.

While I was cropping this photo of James Dylan Graves, I wondered what it would take for me to step onto my mat with the same wide-eyed, open body and fresh mind attributes of this baby. He hasn't learned to crawl, but he will. He hasn't learned to stand, but he will. He hasn't learned to walk, but he will.

What if he came to class and said, "I heard yoga was good for me but I gotta tell you, I don't crawl, I don't stand and I don't walk"? He might then never progress beyond that one pose, sweet as it is.

The magic word is YET. It holds so many possibilities and promises. Luckily, it was one of the first concepts I learned in yoga and it continues to draw me forward nearly twenty years later, on and off the mat. The inclusion of the word yet, does not allow my statements to become my sentences.

We would speak well for ourselves, and others, just by adding that simple three letter word. As for James, he's not talking, yet.

A similar topic:
Argue for Your Limitations and They're Yours by Richard Carlson.

Full of Me?

A wonderful little reminder from Tricycle Magazine about holding an open mind:

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the cup overflow until he could no longer restrain himself. "it is overfull. No more will go in."

"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?" - Paul Reps, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones From Everyday Mind, a Tricycle book edited by Jean Smith

When I was a realtor, I had a client who bought and sold investment properties. She had the amazing ability to patiently ask the same questions of everyone who had anything remotely pertinent to offer. "They all have different viewpoints," she explained. "When you buy an apartment building, the janitor, rentor, owner and neighbor all see it in a different light. I want to know what they all think."

Showing up full of our own opinions and speculations may save time, but it might make for a poor investment.

Life Works

When you look at what is working, then you generate a vibration within you that says my life works, and then, in everything that you approach - your life works.

-Abraham-Hicks

If you always regard the good things that happen to you as miracles, it's a telltale sign that you might be viewing hardships and disappointments as a fact of life and to be normal for you. The old "glass is half empty" model of thought. What would the converse look like?

The Abraham-Hicks quote continues:
You could have ninety-nine things not working in your life and only one thing working, and if you would focus upon the one thing that is going right, for a disproportionate amount of time, saying "my life works; my life works; my life works..." the other 99 things would fall in line with what is working.

A crucial component is the way you feel as you speak those words, "my life works". If you're just spouting the words and still feeling angry or fearful, you won't register very high, if at all, on the Richter Scale of Happiness & Well-Being. It takes practice. You saw that coming, didn't you? Practice.

When we are new to yoga, we often have to be reminded to breathe. As our practice expands, we learn to allow our breath to become the thread that weaves through our physical movements. Then, through further practice, we are able to think of something that brings us joy as we inhale into each of the postures.

At that level of practice, every yoga class is a joy to us. The teacher, style, location or size of the class matters not. Our personal practice time becomes something to look forward to, not just an item to be checked off a list. We are able to extract joy simply through the act of inhaling.

If you have not yet experienced yoga or that aspect of it, you could begin by changing your focus. Start looking for things to appreciate that are right under your nose...even if it's just a mirror that fogs up because you're breathing.

The last part of the Abraham-Hicks article continues to say:
So when we say to count your blessings or look at the positive aspects, that's just about deliberately activating what is working in your life. Because when you do that, you get more and more, and more of that. That's how the better it gets, the better it gets - the better it gets. That's when it's easy to accept that Well-Being is the order of this Universe.

Reference: Abraham-Hicks.com: "My Life Works", March 22, 2003.

Photo:roadtomingulay

Under the Watchful Eye

I am going to miss having a critical eye gazing upon my asanas. The last class of John Leebold's workshop was held this evening and because it was a small class, we all got special attention from a master yoga teacher. Not a single, critical inch gets past his eye. Yet, correction and encouragement are rendered with humor and compassion.

Everyone should be so lucky, to have a watchful eye be able to discern and describe your shortcomings, yet appreciate and celebrate your gifts. Mahalo, John, for a wonderful workshop!

Photo: Dr.Pat

Practice Chase

I expect to see the sun rise, and to see it set, because it has happened every day of my life. My practice, my time on the mat, depends soley on me and that is a daily challenge.

I could follow the suggestions for a steady practice:

1. Set aside the space and time.
2. Create a goal, a focus or an intention.
3. Dedicate your practice to someone or something.
4. Vary your postures, have a purpose.

...etc.

It may not seem as natural as the turning of the earth, but after yoga sensitizes you I think it begins to magnetize you from the core. You stray, then return, time after time after time. I yearn for the day when my daily practice becomes as effortless as the sunrise with no thoughts, just joy. Until then, I guess it means more practice.

Photo: Eugene Ortiz

Masking Tapes

Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.
-James A. Baldwin

Has your personality changed in the last five years? Psychologists have determined that we have five main characteristic traits: conscientiousness, neuroticism, agreeableness, openness, and extroversion. Once believed to be genetic and static after age 30, new research suggests that we do change quite often and quite a lot.(1)

It's not certain if we change in response to the situations in our lives or, if the changes we make bring about new circumstances. It's probably a combination that varies but can you imagine operating with the same habits and beliefs developed at a time when your intentions were different?

Many times, change is already under way when a person steps onto the mat for the first time. He is open to the nuances of yoga but comes to class with old methods of learning and moving his body. I see a willing body, waiting for it's owner to change his mind.

As I have been taught, I instruct "feel, don't force your body". Then, there is a visible tug-of-war between feeling and forcing. The two are welded together like conjoined twins. When the separation occurs, it is like removing a mask to reveal the joy underlying the struggle.

I've come to believe that a lot of the negative self- talk we constantly listen to are nothing but old beliefs. They sound off in the background like an ignored, but persistent TV. We exist in the present with our fresh, new personality waiting to unmask.

Photo: Veneto's Attractions
References:
(1) Personality Changes Throughout Life. New Scientist.com

Shaken AND Stirred

                          "I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center."
-Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Yeow! Who asked for that wake-up call? A 6.3 or 6.5, whatever the final 'score' , it was still the biggest earthquake I've ever felt. According to one of my brothers, I slept through a bigger one that took place in 1975. Well, I was wide awake for this one.

Once my neighbor and I verified that we were both still alive and well, our first acts were to make contact with our families. When the power is out and phone lines taxed, computers and cellphones are useless. We wished for 'ye old battery powered radios', of which we had none.

My first outside contact was with my brother in New Jersey via IM:

7:29 AM me: Jay! we just had the biggest earthquake
7:30 AM phones aren't working but the power's back on

Jason: hey talked to mom she had called just before and then after

me: they're okay?

Jason: yep
7:31 AM scared, stuff fell down cabinets crashed, glass broke but they were OK -- were there more aftershocks? there was one when we talked (after the first one)

me: i felt that too. sounds like it was bigger in kailua

In the next few hours, I had to rely on my brothers and niece on the mainland to contact my family in Kona and get back to me either through e- mail or cell phone.

I think we all have had our senses overloaded so all I will say for today is that Kona Yoga is open for business and classes will be held as scheduled.

Krista Anderson Graves and Krista Olson are holding a special Art and Asana for Expectant Moms this Saturday from 2-6pm. There are spaces still available so call Krista Graves at 938-0103 to register.

I took the photo above, of my only near catastrophe: Mr. Art Model was about to fall from the shelf in my bathroom and into the loo (lua). We live such a charmed life here in Kona, let's not wait for another earthquake to acknowledge that.

Namaste.

Days 11,12 & 13

I've erased the word hectic from my vocabulary because it's not a condition I want to create, anymore. So let's just say that the past few days were full of action. That's a good setting.

Day 11. Tuesday, September 12. My yoga sequence was done at home at 7:40pm. I was tired and hungry, so I did the abridged version. It made me happy and complete, knowing that I was able to fit all of the poses into my life.

Day 12. Wednesday, September 13. At the studio, again the abridged version at 3pm because I had a 3:30 massage to give and there was no time between that and an appointment in the evening. It's very interesting how a 15-20 minute practice can reset my pace. I wonder if it's in the particular poses themselves?

Day 13. Thursday, September 14. I began at 5:50pm, at home with candlelight and music. A rather long and physical day followed by a strong and focused practice.  I might have allowed myself to be talked out of it, absent the commitment.

Day 10

Day 10. Monday, September 11. At 5:50 pm, I rolled my mat out. The air was nice and cool, with the sun set below the horizon. The ambiance ("amby-ants", as my friend Allison from Texas, would say) was the only variation. I lit a few candles for my own 9/11 tribute and played "Speed of Balance", music by Doc Lew Childre of the HeartMath Institute, meant for emotional and mental regeneration.

This was a first. I usually prefer silence but since I've been experiencing such amazing results with HeartMath's emWave device, I gave it a try. It's not my preferred style or sound: electronic on most of the cuts and reminiscent of the disco beat. After a few minutes though, it blended into the background and I found myself just focused on the yoga sequence. My mind felt comfortable keeping quiet and just watching. In fact, there were a couple of instances where I felt as though I was sitting on the side, watching.

I have two other CD's from HeartMath to try...I'm curious.