Your hand opens and closes and opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralyzed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as bird wings." – Rumi
This week in class we are exploring the dynamic play of Muscle and Organic energy. For those who are unfamiliar with this:
Muscle Energy- A contracting energy that moves from outside to in beginning from periphery to core. You can describe the sensation like that of hugging the muscles to the bone, or drawing up from the earth deep into your center. This action creates stability and strength. The idea is that you have to be strong in order to be soft.
Organic Energy- An expanding energy that moves from inside out-- beginning from the core and expands out evenly in all directions through the periphery. This action is finding depth from which to move from. In this energy you find freedom from the deep and powerful stability of ME. You cannot expand without first hugging in. You cannot be free until you are stable. You must root to rise.
A way to play with this to “get it” is to come to a lunge and rise up onto your finger tips. Lift and spread you front toes (that is muscle energy) and draw your legs towards the midline (squeeze them together like your hugging a wall between your legs) focus on pooling energy from earth into your pelvic floor—simultaneously bow into your heart and feel your spine round and belly tone. From this place of deep muscle energy--consciously from your centermost experience--radiate energy out pressing from the center through your front shin and back heel and lifting the heart while pressing the hips back (elongating the spine in both directions). Do that a few times—inhale ME and exhale OE.
The idea is that in every pose you reach in and touch something deep, something strong, and from that place of inner recognition of profound power--expand out and find freedom.
This concept is really helpful in poses like down dog in which we could check out in several ways. As we check out the shoulder may collapse, or we may roll out onto the outer edges of the hands and the wrists could hurt. Essentially we could be in the pose and not really be in the pose. Another thing that happens is when the legs check out and the heels roll into each other. It is important to note that none of these things make you bad, and doing the opposite doesn't make you good or right. What can happen though is that by seeking something powerful within yourself and touching it, tasting it, and so throughly understanding it---you become that very power. Then from the penetrative power of that understanding you have so much depth to come from that when you do expand out, when you do "stretch" it is a satisfying, illuminating, and touching experience.
In down dog to have that deep remembrance take a block between your legs. Be soft for a moment and know what it is to be soft and feel the sweet hum in all your muscles. Feel the anticipation building, the desire of freedom budding in every cell of you body. Then starting with your hands let the muscles in your hands accept the strength of muscle hugging to the bone squeezing arms towards each other isometrically and then press it back down to the earth sending the heart to the thighs. Keep that and then work your legs--spreading toes and feeling the shins hug in while you firm your thighs up and press the thighs back. When you connect to this work your tail bone down to the heels--strength and steadiness, grace and fullness.
Pulse with this a few times. Hug arms and legs to the midline simultaneously and then press out from the heart to hands and from hips to heels. You can also try this another way engaging the dynamic play of opposites in back and front bodies. Inhale come onto the toes lifting heels and round the spine like cat pose, then take that strength and press it out through the hands and down through the heels. Pulse with the breath and discover how deep you can dig in and how dedicated you can be--to touch something inside yourself that you never knew was there. You will discover gems. You just have to be willing to shine them!
Play with this dance this week. Reach in and find your power, and extend it out playfully, joyfully, and completely.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Magic Mystery and Awe
“Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel the artistry moving through and be silent”
The magic of practice is finding the sacred in every day moments. You begin to shift energy from the external world of needing to be entertained or “do” something and allow the opening to awe in what’s already happening right in front of you, all around you, and inside of you.
The way to experience the magic of the now in all its simplicity and complexity is to realize that this very moment, this very point in your life, is the moment you have been waiting for (Notice how often we get taken away from what we are doing only to be seeking the next thing). Now is the time to show up for your life.
Having this reverence for life begins very simply by taking an interest in all the details of your life. Not in a neurotic way but in an appreciative way. Soaking in the details of what is going on grounds you in what is actually going on. It creates a process from which you shift from thinking to awareness. This awareness is the opening to a fertile and potent magic. When all of our energy is directed and focused in what we are actually doing it paves the way for more power to be drawn forth into the actions we do—this is a state of supreme aliveness.
By having a reverence for life, we enter into a spiritual relation with the world. By practicing reverence for life we become good, deep, and alive. Albert Schweitzer
If all of us began the practice of finding the sacred in every moment think of the implications. Every word we uttered would be of reverence. Every action we put forth into the world would be one to uplift peace and harmonize relations. Life would stop becoming a busy dance just for the sake of busy dancing—but would rather become a dance with a beat to connect to the beat of the universe.
The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.-Joseph Campbell
Aligned with nature and in rhythm with the universe we tap into the power of the creative energy of the world. Magic then is the ability to harness that power in real and tangible ways. Magic is not something found only in Harry Potter books or fairy tales but it is the power to open doors and windows into the shed that contains the tools of a transformative life.
“When we begin to live the greater life--not "seek" it, so much as simply choose to participate in it--then and only then do we find that it's all around us, all the time."--Marianne Williamson
As we become full participants in life, life grants us access to its tool chest of magic. In fact life has granted us all a special power that can only be used if we are in the moment and in our lives as active co-creators-not spectators. ABRACADABRA means create as you speak--so literally as we think, as we speak, we begin to create. However, what we conjure with our spells only works if we are in the mystery (now) and the magic uplifts the vision and mission of creating harmony with life. Meaning we don’t get what we want, but through clear intention align with what we need. The magic is creating the connection that aligns heart and head to create a powerful life. We have to be mindful crafters of our words and use spells to uplift our heart, and to put forth our vision into the world with integrity. It is not about the attainment of things but about the fulfillment of life. So the spell is not “God grant me and give me more stuff”, but rather “God grant me the ability to seek and find life--to live and love from a wild and passionate heart”. “Give me grace to create beauty in the world and to send magic and miracles to the world to heal and uplift”. “Give me the strength to move mountains and alchemical prowess to transform hate into love”. You can probably think of many spells on your own—but you get the point. The magic of the universe only works when it’s aligned with the highest purpose of divine love.
“When the heart of your heart opens, you can take deep pleasure in the company of the people around you . . . When you are open to the beauty, mystery, and grandeur of ordinary existence, you "get it" that it always has been beautiful, mysterious, and grand and always will be.” - Timothy Ray Miller
Take time right now to align with the mystery. Take notice of the beauty around you and inside of you. Feel connected to the spirit of awe and to the community of souls that have joined with you to create this critical moment in history. Feel the breath you are breathing now and know it comes from the same source that all others on this planet are breathing now too. As you breathe out know that all others breathe out into space creating fertile compost from which creation sparks forth new visions of possibility.
What you are a part of is far greater than you ever could imagine and so simple is your task. You only need to align with the divine (now) and channel grace (magic) into the world. The rest quite simply is in higher hands.
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. Albert Einstein
The magic of practice is finding the sacred in every day moments. You begin to shift energy from the external world of needing to be entertained or “do” something and allow the opening to awe in what’s already happening right in front of you, all around you, and inside of you.
The way to experience the magic of the now in all its simplicity and complexity is to realize that this very moment, this very point in your life, is the moment you have been waiting for (Notice how often we get taken away from what we are doing only to be seeking the next thing). Now is the time to show up for your life.
Having this reverence for life begins very simply by taking an interest in all the details of your life. Not in a neurotic way but in an appreciative way. Soaking in the details of what is going on grounds you in what is actually going on. It creates a process from which you shift from thinking to awareness. This awareness is the opening to a fertile and potent magic. When all of our energy is directed and focused in what we are actually doing it paves the way for more power to be drawn forth into the actions we do—this is a state of supreme aliveness.
By having a reverence for life, we enter into a spiritual relation with the world. By practicing reverence for life we become good, deep, and alive. Albert Schweitzer
If all of us began the practice of finding the sacred in every moment think of the implications. Every word we uttered would be of reverence. Every action we put forth into the world would be one to uplift peace and harmonize relations. Life would stop becoming a busy dance just for the sake of busy dancing—but would rather become a dance with a beat to connect to the beat of the universe.
The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.-Joseph Campbell
Aligned with nature and in rhythm with the universe we tap into the power of the creative energy of the world. Magic then is the ability to harness that power in real and tangible ways. Magic is not something found only in Harry Potter books or fairy tales but it is the power to open doors and windows into the shed that contains the tools of a transformative life.
“When we begin to live the greater life--not "seek" it, so much as simply choose to participate in it--then and only then do we find that it's all around us, all the time."--Marianne Williamson
As we become full participants in life, life grants us access to its tool chest of magic. In fact life has granted us all a special power that can only be used if we are in the moment and in our lives as active co-creators-not spectators. ABRACADABRA means create as you speak--so literally as we think, as we speak, we begin to create. However, what we conjure with our spells only works if we are in the mystery (now) and the magic uplifts the vision and mission of creating harmony with life. Meaning we don’t get what we want, but through clear intention align with what we need. The magic is creating the connection that aligns heart and head to create a powerful life. We have to be mindful crafters of our words and use spells to uplift our heart, and to put forth our vision into the world with integrity. It is not about the attainment of things but about the fulfillment of life. So the spell is not “God grant me and give me more stuff”, but rather “God grant me the ability to seek and find life--to live and love from a wild and passionate heart”. “Give me grace to create beauty in the world and to send magic and miracles to the world to heal and uplift”. “Give me the strength to move mountains and alchemical prowess to transform hate into love”. You can probably think of many spells on your own—but you get the point. The magic of the universe only works when it’s aligned with the highest purpose of divine love.
“When the heart of your heart opens, you can take deep pleasure in the company of the people around you . . . When you are open to the beauty, mystery, and grandeur of ordinary existence, you "get it" that it always has been beautiful, mysterious, and grand and always will be.” - Timothy Ray Miller
Take time right now to align with the mystery. Take notice of the beauty around you and inside of you. Feel connected to the spirit of awe and to the community of souls that have joined with you to create this critical moment in history. Feel the breath you are breathing now and know it comes from the same source that all others on this planet are breathing now too. As you breathe out know that all others breathe out into space creating fertile compost from which creation sparks forth new visions of possibility.
What you are a part of is far greater than you ever could imagine and so simple is your task. You only need to align with the divine (now) and channel grace (magic) into the world. The rest quite simply is in higher hands.
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. Albert Einstein
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Heart Wide Open
Inspired by my yogi's tonight I am offering up a progression towards Urdhva Dhanurasana (wheel pose). Have fun with this and please take your time to really feel that the body is granting you permission to do this. Ease your way into the pose breath by breath and feel invited into the pose rather than forcing your way into it.
"A kind of deep flame of inner ecstasy burnt more and more strongly in his heart."--Dostoyevsky
Begin standing in Tadasana (Mountain pose) First begin by deepening your breath as you place your hands stacked on top of each other on your heart center. Spend a few moments circling your hands clock wise over your heart and set the intention to let the deep flame within your heart burn to inner ecstasy. Backbends are a celebration of life so allow the celebration to be expressed in every breath. Take a moment right now to give thanks for all that you can celebrate within your life.
Now invite life fully into your body. Lift and spread your toes and draw energy up your thighs--as you hug up--also root down through the heels from the power of the tailbone and hips. Feel the top of the head lifting up to the sky bringing length and space into every vertebrae in the spine.
Inhale lift your arms up to the sky--plug your shoulders into the back and as you plug reach up more through your fingers to the sky. Maintain the deep rootedness in the heels while lifting up your thighs (hugging muscle to bone).
Exhale fold forward and interlace the hands behind your back. Microbend the elbows and draw your armbones (top of the shoulders) to the neckline then hug shoulder blades on the back more and pull arms straight. Fold more deeply. Keep the heels grounded as you shift more energy towards the toes. Microbend the knees lean forward stretching the arms more to earth, plug the heel deeper and press your thighs back. Take a deep breath into the spine and soften the heart to the earth,. Pulse with the breath this way a few times--sinking deeper into the fold while rooting fully into the earth and pressing thighs back.
Inhale free the hands and step the right foot back for a long lunge. Come up onto the finger tips. Keep rt fingertips on the ground and twist lt up to the sky. Press your thighs back (think back thigh to sky) then press even through front shin and back heel. Keep working lt hip back and pull navel and heart open to sky. Curl head back and bring shoulders back too. Legs are stable and strong so that the upper body can be free.
Step back to down dog. Come to down dog in a way that gives apace to the shoulders. Bend the knees a little and then press your thighs back. Shift awareness to the hands and spread the finger out so much that the webbing of the fingers stretches. Root the hands so that you know they are grounded. Squeeze your arms together and lift the armbones up to the sky creating space in the armpits. Keep that space and press the heart to your thighs. Notice if the shoulders collapse--try to keep them lifted--armpits buoyant.
Shift forward to plank. Keep sides of the body long. Thighs firm and heels press back. Soften the heart to earth (blades move together) and lower all the way to earth. Come onto finger tips, armbones back, head back, cobra pose. Feel that you are pulling forward and up at the same time. Keep the legs grounded (toes spreading and thighs firm--tailbone lengthening to the heels).---check in with Cobra ask if the body is liberated or oppressed, celebrating or over partying. Soften more--breath into the heart expand bright from the breath inside--expand from inside out.
Press to table top. In table lengthen your sides and soften the heart--press the soft heart to your thighs as you lift up to down dog.
Step the right foot through for lunge. Come onto the finger tips, keep lt hand grounded and twist right arm up. Then lower it and step forward fold.
Repeat that opening sequence a few times to warm up--you can also add in side plank to spice it up (vasisthasana).
Main Sequence:
Warrior 1 with Garudasana arms
From Down dog step the rt foot forward between the hands and root the back foot down 45 degrees. Lift and spread toes and hug legs to the midline. Press strongly through the legs. Take both hands on to the rt thigh. Bow in and feel the back body expand. Take the expansion and lengthen the spine up to the sky--arms lift up. hug arms together and bring shoulder blades on the back. Cross rt arm under lt elbow and bind hands as best you can coming to eagle arms. Lift elbows up and hands away from the face--feel a stretch between the shoulder blades.Curl head back (by pressing through the back of the skull while lifting up the tops of your ears up and back. Keep length and space in the neck).
Release arm bind and lower hands to earth.
Lower left knee to ground and shift it back some. Step right foot our 45 degrees. Keep toes active. Left hand roots down and the rt hand reaches back for the left foot/ankle for twisted thigh stretch. Tail bone is grounding to the earth, navel and heart twist open. Think cobra with your spine. Press through the back shin. Stay alert and active everywhere--celebrate the pose give it life through the breath.
Release and step back to plank. Pivot to outer edge of rt foot and keep right hand grounded. Step left foot behind right knee about 5-8 inches. Come on the toes of the left foot. Press your waistline back and tail bone to the right heel. Shift hips and heart to the sky and curl into a back bend with the upper body--Wild thing vasisthasana.
Release and bring left knee to chest--puff the spine up to the sky and step back to plank. Lower slow all the way to the earth.
Come to sphinx elbows under shoulders. Legs grounded. Focus on the pelvic floor and hug legs to the midline. Hug energy from toes to pelvic floor and extend back out from pelvic floor to the toes.Pull heart forward as you feel the legs press back.
From here grab rt ankle with rt hand -Ardha Dhanurasana press through the shin and you try to touch heel to sky. Lengthen upper body forward as you stretch the heart to sky. Switch sides. If you want take your opposite hand out in front on finger tips place it way off to the side and lift up you front body to deepen the stretch.
Repeat standing pose sequence second side.
When finished with standing sequence second side come down and do full Dhanurasana (bow pose) --Before you come up make sure you press your thighs back--it helps to lift the butt up and feel the sit bones spread then press the tail bone into that space then thighs firm and shins back--then you'll get a big heart lift.
Handstand
Go to a wall and practice the handstand L (come to table top feet against wall. Make sides of the body long and back body full (cat pose) rise up to dog pose and then walk feet up the wall) Keep shoulders buoyant. and press powerfully from heart into earth and follow the echo of that movement up to the tail bone and then press the tail bone into the heels and root deep into the wall with your heels.
Take it deeper:
Face the wall and from down dog step one foot forward half way and come onto the toes. Lift back leg up and squeeze thighs towards the center. Lengthen your sides and firm the belly. Look toward your fingers. Just lean and lift as far as you can into the handstand. Harness the wildness and discipline it into powerful yet soft lifts into the handstand. Even if it's a inch off the ground--your learning to lift lightly.
Intermediate/Advanced option:
Measure fingertip to elbow away from wall. Place hands where elbows were. Lift up to hand stand and bring both legs to the wall. Press your butt to wall so that your thighs are pressed back all the way--lengthen your tailbone up to the heels. Pump your heart out to the front of the room opening up the shoulders--think wheel pose here while legs are against the wall. This may trigger a fear factor :0 Keep arms steady by hugging in and root the hands down--while pressing up through the heels.
Forearm balance.
Beginners--just come to dolphin--elbows under shoulders--arm bones forward to neckline then soften heart. Keep kidneys buoyant. Lift legs up like down dog and press heart towards thighs--while keeping sides of the body long (waistline to armpits stays spacious while your melt the heart and press it back).
Intermediate. Take block between hands (thumb on front rooted into earth and fingers spreading around sides of block flat against the earth). Prep same as dolphin but have feet against wall like the handstand prep. Press up feet against wall--press heart to wall(you'll be like the handstand L except in forearm prep).
Come down to earth and onto your back. Come to Robot pose (feet grounded, knees up, arm bones grounded, forearms and finger tips lifting to the sky, palms face each other--think robot on its back.
Press through arms and skull and feet and lift just your chest--a curve will enter the spine. Keep the hips down and just try to work the shoulder back while lifting the heart. Feel the shoulders and the skull looping back into the earth to open your heart.
Repeat this a few times.
Wheel:
Face a wall and place a rolled up blanket right against the wall/floor corner.Go wide with the hands and place them against the rolled up blanket--palms pressed into the thickest part and fingers facing your head spreading out wide. Turn your fingers out at an angle just slightly. Spread your toes and make your legs strong. Inner thighs press down to the earth--and tailbone lengthens into that space as you lift your hips up. Plug you shoulders in again here as you press up onto your head. Use this moment to go a little wider with your hands and hug your shoulders in more--shoulder blades are supporting you. Then start to press your skull back and your heart to the wall.
Wheel Two--set up the same but place two blocks at the wall and place your hands on the blocks and try to lift up this way into the pose.
Now try it without any props :)
The key is to keep the shoulders plugged in and the legs strong. Notice if the feet are turning out--if this is the case for you squeeze a block between the thighs.
Also many people skip the step of coming onto the head--don't skip this part. Press onto the top of the head, then go wider with the hands and spin them out to an angle. Draw the shoulder blades on the back then press up like a push up--press strong through the legs and arms. Make sure the hands are solidly connecting to earth from the power of your heart.
If the low back is hurting in this pose make sure that you begin with thighs back(sit bones spreading, curve in low back, and thighs pressed down to earth--and that the tailbone lengthens into this just a little bit. What happens for most is that we have too much outer spiral in this rather then a strong inner spiral.
Have fun!!! Let me know if you have any questions on this.
"A kind of deep flame of inner ecstasy burnt more and more strongly in his heart."--Dostoyevsky
Begin standing in Tadasana (Mountain pose) First begin by deepening your breath as you place your hands stacked on top of each other on your heart center. Spend a few moments circling your hands clock wise over your heart and set the intention to let the deep flame within your heart burn to inner ecstasy. Backbends are a celebration of life so allow the celebration to be expressed in every breath. Take a moment right now to give thanks for all that you can celebrate within your life.
Now invite life fully into your body. Lift and spread your toes and draw energy up your thighs--as you hug up--also root down through the heels from the power of the tailbone and hips. Feel the top of the head lifting up to the sky bringing length and space into every vertebrae in the spine.
Inhale lift your arms up to the sky--plug your shoulders into the back and as you plug reach up more through your fingers to the sky. Maintain the deep rootedness in the heels while lifting up your thighs (hugging muscle to bone).
Exhale fold forward and interlace the hands behind your back. Microbend the elbows and draw your armbones (top of the shoulders) to the neckline then hug shoulder blades on the back more and pull arms straight. Fold more deeply. Keep the heels grounded as you shift more energy towards the toes. Microbend the knees lean forward stretching the arms more to earth, plug the heel deeper and press your thighs back. Take a deep breath into the spine and soften the heart to the earth,. Pulse with the breath this way a few times--sinking deeper into the fold while rooting fully into the earth and pressing thighs back.
Inhale free the hands and step the right foot back for a long lunge. Come up onto the finger tips. Keep rt fingertips on the ground and twist lt up to the sky. Press your thighs back (think back thigh to sky) then press even through front shin and back heel. Keep working lt hip back and pull navel and heart open to sky. Curl head back and bring shoulders back too. Legs are stable and strong so that the upper body can be free.
Step back to down dog. Come to down dog in a way that gives apace to the shoulders. Bend the knees a little and then press your thighs back. Shift awareness to the hands and spread the finger out so much that the webbing of the fingers stretches. Root the hands so that you know they are grounded. Squeeze your arms together and lift the armbones up to the sky creating space in the armpits. Keep that space and press the heart to your thighs. Notice if the shoulders collapse--try to keep them lifted--armpits buoyant.
Shift forward to plank. Keep sides of the body long. Thighs firm and heels press back. Soften the heart to earth (blades move together) and lower all the way to earth. Come onto finger tips, armbones back, head back, cobra pose. Feel that you are pulling forward and up at the same time. Keep the legs grounded (toes spreading and thighs firm--tailbone lengthening to the heels).---check in with Cobra ask if the body is liberated or oppressed, celebrating or over partying. Soften more--breath into the heart expand bright from the breath inside--expand from inside out.
Press to table top. In table lengthen your sides and soften the heart--press the soft heart to your thighs as you lift up to down dog.
Step the right foot through for lunge. Come onto the finger tips, keep lt hand grounded and twist right arm up. Then lower it and step forward fold.
Repeat that opening sequence a few times to warm up--you can also add in side plank to spice it up (vasisthasana).
Main Sequence:
Warrior 1 with Garudasana arms
From Down dog step the rt foot forward between the hands and root the back foot down 45 degrees. Lift and spread toes and hug legs to the midline. Press strongly through the legs. Take both hands on to the rt thigh. Bow in and feel the back body expand. Take the expansion and lengthen the spine up to the sky--arms lift up. hug arms together and bring shoulder blades on the back. Cross rt arm under lt elbow and bind hands as best you can coming to eagle arms. Lift elbows up and hands away from the face--feel a stretch between the shoulder blades.Curl head back (by pressing through the back of the skull while lifting up the tops of your ears up and back. Keep length and space in the neck).
Release arm bind and lower hands to earth.
Lower left knee to ground and shift it back some. Step right foot our 45 degrees. Keep toes active. Left hand roots down and the rt hand reaches back for the left foot/ankle for twisted thigh stretch. Tail bone is grounding to the earth, navel and heart twist open. Think cobra with your spine. Press through the back shin. Stay alert and active everywhere--celebrate the pose give it life through the breath.
Release and step back to plank. Pivot to outer edge of rt foot and keep right hand grounded. Step left foot behind right knee about 5-8 inches. Come on the toes of the left foot. Press your waistline back and tail bone to the right heel. Shift hips and heart to the sky and curl into a back bend with the upper body--Wild thing vasisthasana.
Release and bring left knee to chest--puff the spine up to the sky and step back to plank. Lower slow all the way to the earth.
Come to sphinx elbows under shoulders. Legs grounded. Focus on the pelvic floor and hug legs to the midline. Hug energy from toes to pelvic floor and extend back out from pelvic floor to the toes.Pull heart forward as you feel the legs press back.
From here grab rt ankle with rt hand -Ardha Dhanurasana press through the shin and you try to touch heel to sky. Lengthen upper body forward as you stretch the heart to sky. Switch sides. If you want take your opposite hand out in front on finger tips place it way off to the side and lift up you front body to deepen the stretch.
Repeat standing pose sequence second side.
When finished with standing sequence second side come down and do full Dhanurasana (bow pose) --Before you come up make sure you press your thighs back--it helps to lift the butt up and feel the sit bones spread then press the tail bone into that space then thighs firm and shins back--then you'll get a big heart lift.
Handstand
Go to a wall and practice the handstand L (come to table top feet against wall. Make sides of the body long and back body full (cat pose) rise up to dog pose and then walk feet up the wall) Keep shoulders buoyant. and press powerfully from heart into earth and follow the echo of that movement up to the tail bone and then press the tail bone into the heels and root deep into the wall with your heels.
Take it deeper:
Face the wall and from down dog step one foot forward half way and come onto the toes. Lift back leg up and squeeze thighs towards the center. Lengthen your sides and firm the belly. Look toward your fingers. Just lean and lift as far as you can into the handstand. Harness the wildness and discipline it into powerful yet soft lifts into the handstand. Even if it's a inch off the ground--your learning to lift lightly.
Intermediate/Advanced option:
Measure fingertip to elbow away from wall. Place hands where elbows were. Lift up to hand stand and bring both legs to the wall. Press your butt to wall so that your thighs are pressed back all the way--lengthen your tailbone up to the heels. Pump your heart out to the front of the room opening up the shoulders--think wheel pose here while legs are against the wall. This may trigger a fear factor :0 Keep arms steady by hugging in and root the hands down--while pressing up through the heels.
Forearm balance.
Beginners--just come to dolphin--elbows under shoulders--arm bones forward to neckline then soften heart. Keep kidneys buoyant. Lift legs up like down dog and press heart towards thighs--while keeping sides of the body long (waistline to armpits stays spacious while your melt the heart and press it back).
Intermediate. Take block between hands (thumb on front rooted into earth and fingers spreading around sides of block flat against the earth). Prep same as dolphin but have feet against wall like the handstand prep. Press up feet against wall--press heart to wall(you'll be like the handstand L except in forearm prep).
Come down to earth and onto your back. Come to Robot pose (feet grounded, knees up, arm bones grounded, forearms and finger tips lifting to the sky, palms face each other--think robot on its back.
Press through arms and skull and feet and lift just your chest--a curve will enter the spine. Keep the hips down and just try to work the shoulder back while lifting the heart. Feel the shoulders and the skull looping back into the earth to open your heart.
Repeat this a few times.
Wheel:
Face a wall and place a rolled up blanket right against the wall/floor corner.Go wide with the hands and place them against the rolled up blanket--palms pressed into the thickest part and fingers facing your head spreading out wide. Turn your fingers out at an angle just slightly. Spread your toes and make your legs strong. Inner thighs press down to the earth--and tailbone lengthens into that space as you lift your hips up. Plug you shoulders in again here as you press up onto your head. Use this moment to go a little wider with your hands and hug your shoulders in more--shoulder blades are supporting you. Then start to press your skull back and your heart to the wall.
Wheel Two--set up the same but place two blocks at the wall and place your hands on the blocks and try to lift up this way into the pose.
Now try it without any props :)
The key is to keep the shoulders plugged in and the legs strong. Notice if the feet are turning out--if this is the case for you squeeze a block between the thighs.
Also many people skip the step of coming onto the head--don't skip this part. Press onto the top of the head, then go wider with the hands and spin them out to an angle. Draw the shoulder blades on the back then press up like a push up--press strong through the legs and arms. Make sure the hands are solidly connecting to earth from the power of your heart.
If the low back is hurting in this pose make sure that you begin with thighs back(sit bones spreading, curve in low back, and thighs pressed down to earth--and that the tailbone lengthens into this just a little bit. What happens for most is that we have too much outer spiral in this rather then a strong inner spiral.
Have fun!!! Let me know if you have any questions on this.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks--Tennessee Williams
I just got done listening to an amazing speech from Patricia Clarkson from which she quotes Tennessee William's Epitaph "The violets in the mountain have broken the rocks".
She began with those words and then went on. "To me, its meaning is simple. The hard, the cold, the oppressive will--at long last--be broken apart by a force that is beautiful, natural, colorful, and alive.
We're a bunch of violets breaking through the rocks. And it is happening. The rock is cracking away. The rock of hate and falsehood is being broken apart."
I haven't seen the Tennessee Williams quote used in this way before, but I love it.
I am applying those words to my practice this week and allowing what is beautiful, natural, colorful, and alive to break through the rocks in my life and the boulders in my heart, mind, and body.
Most of the time what is needed in practice (much like society) is just a change of heart or mind. The biggest breakthroughs (the sweetest violets) are the moments where perception shifts--this is because the thickest rock is usually a thought through the form of attachment.
How many times do we cause harm to ourselves because we force things too quickly? How many times to we oppress ourselves in the search for freedom because we're attached to freedom meaning something outside of us--rather than in us? Freedom is a state of mind that then permeates the body. The purpose of practice is to find that place and work from it rather than think we have to start from scratch. Freedom is a place that is already in us and yoga is the art of recognition.
There is a gentle strength within us that seeks the light and finds the light no matter what. The violets in the mountains will break the rocks. The light in our soul will break through our rocks--because that's what violets do---from the rich nourishment of the earth they lift up to greet the sun.
In practice nourish yourself with the breath. Feel the mountain that you are a part of and breathe to expand inside it-feel how much space there is. While solid there is still permeability to the mountain--openings for new life from your already fertile seeds to spring forth and cover the mountain top; and sides, and to extend in all directions to the farthest foothills. Be soft as you begin your practice and allow the breath to animate your body. Be filled with a deep strength filled with the support of spirit. That way when you start to engage the muscles they wrap around the spaciousness of the breath and can extend out from that breath. As you begin to move in to the body recognize the violets within you--feel their roots and allow a gradual blossoming to unfold. We don't have to take dynamite to the rocks--our light of transformation is explosive enough.
When we finally recognize the essence of the violent within us than all that is oppressive from outside of us and inside us will fall away. When in reflection of the beauty of the violet within we will become reminded that something that beautiful can only be grown from love--and all hate from outside won't stop our growth, and all hate from inside will be composted into love.
The beauty and aliveness within you has broken through the rocks. Enjoy the freedom.
She began with those words and then went on. "To me, its meaning is simple. The hard, the cold, the oppressive will--at long last--be broken apart by a force that is beautiful, natural, colorful, and alive.
We're a bunch of violets breaking through the rocks. And it is happening. The rock is cracking away. The rock of hate and falsehood is being broken apart."
I haven't seen the Tennessee Williams quote used in this way before, but I love it.
I am applying those words to my practice this week and allowing what is beautiful, natural, colorful, and alive to break through the rocks in my life and the boulders in my heart, mind, and body.
Most of the time what is needed in practice (much like society) is just a change of heart or mind. The biggest breakthroughs (the sweetest violets) are the moments where perception shifts--this is because the thickest rock is usually a thought through the form of attachment.
How many times do we cause harm to ourselves because we force things too quickly? How many times to we oppress ourselves in the search for freedom because we're attached to freedom meaning something outside of us--rather than in us? Freedom is a state of mind that then permeates the body. The purpose of practice is to find that place and work from it rather than think we have to start from scratch. Freedom is a place that is already in us and yoga is the art of recognition.
There is a gentle strength within us that seeks the light and finds the light no matter what. The violets in the mountains will break the rocks. The light in our soul will break through our rocks--because that's what violets do---from the rich nourishment of the earth they lift up to greet the sun.
In practice nourish yourself with the breath. Feel the mountain that you are a part of and breathe to expand inside it-feel how much space there is. While solid there is still permeability to the mountain--openings for new life from your already fertile seeds to spring forth and cover the mountain top; and sides, and to extend in all directions to the farthest foothills. Be soft as you begin your practice and allow the breath to animate your body. Be filled with a deep strength filled with the support of spirit. That way when you start to engage the muscles they wrap around the spaciousness of the breath and can extend out from that breath. As you begin to move in to the body recognize the violets within you--feel their roots and allow a gradual blossoming to unfold. We don't have to take dynamite to the rocks--our light of transformation is explosive enough.
When we finally recognize the essence of the violent within us than all that is oppressive from outside of us and inside us will fall away. When in reflection of the beauty of the violet within we will become reminded that something that beautiful can only be grown from love--and all hate from outside won't stop our growth, and all hate from inside will be composted into love.
The beauty and aliveness within you has broken through the rocks. Enjoy the freedom.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Mandala Namaskar-Journey to the center
"The word "mandala" is from the classical Indian language of Sanskrit. Loosely translated to mean "circle," a mandala is far more than a simple shape. It represents wholeness, and can be seen as a model for the organizational structure of life itself--a cosmic diagram that reminds us of our relation to the infinite, the world that extends both beyond and within our bodies and minds.
Describing both material and non-material realities, the mandala appears in all aspects of life: the celestial circles we call earth, sun, and moon, as well as conceptual circles of friends, family, and community.
"The integrated view of the world represented by the mandala, while long embraced by some Eastern religions, has now begun to emerge in Western religious and secular cultures. Awareness of the mandala may have the potential of changing how we see ourselves, our planet, and perhaps even our own life purpose."
(From Mandala: Journey to the Center, by Bailey Cunningham)
This week in practice we are engaging in the ritual invocation of the mandala. Carving out a sacred space from which we connect to all that is. We step out of the rectilinear pathway that so often takes up space in the practice and instead invite the spherical--a living embodiment and reflection of nature. We invite ourselves to the center of creation and find it to be the source of our nature. The circle reminds us of our infiniteness and paves a pathway to shift our awareness from external sources to the rich internal planes of consciousness that take us to the evolutionary "big bang"--the recognition of the fertile energy inside us.
Each of the mandalas I have crafted for this week's practice are rooted in one of the elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Air. Connecting the elements in way that allows us to experience the sustaining, nurturing, and transforming qualities of those elements. To invite the ritual of connection and celebration of co-creation with the elements.
Earth- A very real sense of groundedness, nurturing, support. Something that we can root into so that we can rise. Something symbolic that we can compost our issues into that will transform into rich nutrients for our soul.
Fire- Giver of life, spark of divine energy. To burn through whatever separates you from you. To create from the depths of spirit.
Water- Ritual cleanse. A current from which we can navigate life. An ocean of power and support. Shiva Rea a teacher of mine often points out “Our bodies are 70% water, which nourishes and purifies and is the conductor of prana, nutrients and life energy.” For Shiva, the way to tap into the potential of our fluid being is to connect to the wave motion within the body and nature. “How do we relate to the fluid beings we are?"
Air- The freedom of flight. The vast spaciousness which reflects the nature of consciousness itself. The wind that cuts through our obstacles and free us.
Sequence
Child's pose (I am grounded, I am supported)
Table Top
(Flow between the two with breath--and then eventually add in half push-up)
Exhale Child's pose, Inhale Table, Exhale half push-up, Inhale Table etc..
Transition- Down Dog
Grounding in the earth element. Focus on what is touching earth and feel the nourishment in the hands and feet. Hug the rich nutrients from the earth into the body and then compost it through deep attentive breathing and give it right back to the earth through your fingertips and your heels.
Inhale to plank (push-up) and press through the hands and feel the support of earth, then press through the heels to send that energy through the body. Make your heart soft and lower all the way down to earth. Become rooted through the legs, making them strong (spread the toes) Keep the legs rooted and rise through the heart for a low Cobra. Feel the hands isometrically pulling towards you so that you rise forward and up simultaneously.
Exhale Back to Down Dog
Mandala Prep:
Inhale the Rt leg up behind you. Stay strong in your body--feeding the earth element from hands to feet. When you lift a leg up the shoulder could become unstable and sink--squeeze your arms towards each other-- that will help to keep your arm bones lifted--stay lifted then press your heart to the legs.
From single leg down dog step through for low lunge. Come up onto your finger tips inviting more lift. Inhale bow to the heart (look into it) the spine will round and belly firm and exhale lift the heart and press energetically through both the legs. Do this a few times. Keep the back leg active with the exhale so you feel a stretch at the top of the thigh. Think front shin pressing forward and back heel presses back. In this pose you can also squeeze hips together with the inhale (like you have a block between the thighs).
Inhale spin to the left facing the side of your mat for squat. Turn feet out 45 degrees and grab the inside of your ankles. Lift and spread the toes and ground the heels. Traction knees over ankles and align elbows with knees. Inhale bow to the heart and round the spine (back of the body becomes full and spacious) and Exhale pull heart forward as you press your thighs back. Repeat three times.
Inhale spin to the back of the mat lunging lt leg. Three pulses like first side.
Inhale step back plank. Hold it--be strong. Exhale lower down all the way heart first to earth, Press up Cobra. Exhale Down Dog.
Leading with the rt leg again. Inhale leg up behind you and exhale step through for lunge. Repeat earlier steps to circle back through the the front.
You make a full circle.
Repeat circle with Left Leg (make sure to make a full circle and keep leading with the left).
Now if you want to do one more round of the Mandala prep--you can, or you can deepen it if you like by adding in Maha Pigeon instead of lunge (go to outer edge of foot and walk hands out further in front. Leg is like pigeon and you press through the outer edge of the foot while keeping it strongly engaged and foot flexed/ankle strong. Inhale same process of bowing in and then exhale like a push up come down and widen the outer thigh bone of to the side. Head of thigh bone goes into the hip socket more fully.
Then rather than malasana squat you can do sideways lunges side to side (skandasana) Foot pivots out 45 degrees, knee over ankle, press thighs back and upper body pulses in and out of a push-up shape.
End the earth element with Bakasana (Crow)
Ground your hands, and expand your back body (round it with power and depth) go wide with your hands and shift into your finger tips like your clawing the earth, and then squeeze your feet to your butt. Feel that your kidneys are lifting up more than your butt.
Fire-- I am burning. I am creating. I am Rising
Begin in down dog. Inhale extend rt leg behind towards to sky. Invite fire by hugging to the mid-line-spread toes to feel fire all through the legs. Step through to lunge, rise up crescent warrior (arms to sky). Pulse in the warrior, Inhale bow to the heart and firm the legs and exhale curl the heart open to the sky energize the arms and press proudly through the legs. When you inhale the back body puffs up and as you exhale the spine elongates and expresses the fullness and power of the back body.
Inhale step into warrior three (back leg lifts up arms stretch out in front of you). Stay in the fire and lift your belly. Keep arms and legs pulsing with the aliveness in your center. The rt leg is grounded into earth from the top of the hip to the bottom of the heal. The back leg is reaching to the wall behind you. The back foot is flexed so you can press through the heel--like stepping into earth.
Step back crescent. Inhale pivot to the left high squat. Feet turn out 45 degrees. Clasp hands behind head. Press thighs back and deepen the squat (this is a wide leg squat. Knees over ankles. Exhale side bend to the right,and inhale back to center, exhale to the left and inhale back to center. Do this several times, lengthening the sides of the body and strengthening the core.
Pivot the the left facing back of mat and when ready step forward into warrior three second side. Hold for 5 breaths.
Step back to lunge then to plank. Lower down to earth. Interlace hands behind back and rise up bound locust. Keep legs grounded. Press up down dog.
Continue the circle leading with the right leg.
Second circle begins with the left and you lead with the left the whole time. If you want to deepen the fire experience you can add in bound warrior three--hands interlace around the back ankle--ends up looking like Nataraj.
Water: I am bathing in. I am washing away. I am in the current of.
Continuing the journey of the circle. Begin in down dog but add the element of water. Bend your knees and shift onto your toes lifting the heels. Scoop your tail bone and begin to round the spine shifting towards plank. Get to plank and bends the knees to the earth and press butt back towards the heels and keep doing that--creating a wave in your spine.
Then lift the right leg up. Exhale knee to chest and circle leg off to the side and repeat 5 times. On the fifth step through to lunge. Rise up Warrior Two. In warrior two inhale make the front leg straight and bring hands to heart. Exhale lunge back into it and radiate the arms our in both directions. Express even energy in the legs. Inhale you hug muscle to bone and hug energy from earth to pelvic floor and as you exhale send the energy out in all directions.
After a few times--pivot to the left and come to wide leg squat. Embody water element here (this is like a loosely inspired tai chi movement) The arms become like the ocean swaying side to side as you sink to the hips more.
Pivot to second side warrior two. Repeat pulse. Lower to earth and step back to plank. Lower all the way down to the earth. Come up to cobra and sway side to side and floss the shoulders out, let a river run through and remove the silt of tightness.
Repeat leading with the right side again. Second circle you start with left side.
Air: The freedom of flight. I am spreading my wings. I am free.
Handstand/Tripod circle
(Note this round is for advanced yogi's only) If you are newer than go to a wall and practice the handstand L (come to table top feet against wall. Make sides of the body long and back body full (cat pose) rise up to dog pose and then walk feet up the wall) Keep shoulders buoyant. and press powerfully from heart into earth and follow the echo of that movement up to the tail bone and then press the tail bone into the heels and root deep into the wall with your heels.
If you want to move into the circle from down dog step one foot forward half way and come onto the toes. Lift back leg up and squeeze thighs towards the center. Lengthen your sides and firm the belly. Look toward your fingers. Just lean and lift as far as you can into the handstand. Harness the wildness and discipline it into powerful yet soft lifts into the handstand. Even if it's a inch off the ground--your learning to lift lightly.
Then pivot to the left wide leg forward fold. If your head easily touches root the head and hands in prep for tripod. Press into the head--rooting it. Head of arms bones forward and shoulder blades on the back. Come onto the toes lifting heals up and rise up tripod headstand. Lift through the heals as you squeeze your thighs. Come down. Pivot to the back leg lunge and try handstand with second side. Repeat circle.
Bringing back to the earth. Child's pose
Finish practice with some forward folding and then a sweet long resting pose.
Enjoy!
So what you just went through is the experience of finding your connection to the sacred pulse of the all that is. Your place in the larger circle of life.
"Micro to macro
Representing the universe itself, a mandala is both the microcosm and the macrocosm, and we are all part of its intricate design. The mandala is more than an image seen with our eyes; it is an actual moment in time. It can be can be used as a vehicle to explore art, science, religion and life itself. The mandala contains an encyclopedia of the finite and a road map to infinity.
Carl Jung said that a mandala symbolizes "a safe refuge of inner reconciliation and wholeness." It is "a synthesis of distinctive elements in a unified scheme representing the basic nature of existence." Jung used the mandala for his own personal growth and wrote about his experiences.
It is said by Tibetan Buddhists that a mandala consists of five "excellencies":
The teacher • The message • The audience • The site • The time
An audience or "viewer" is necessary to create a mandala. Where there is no you, there is no mandala. (from: You Are the Eyes of the World, by Longchenpa, translated by Lipman and Peterson)."
Find out more about symbolic meaning of mandalas at http://www.mandalaproject.org
Describing both material and non-material realities, the mandala appears in all aspects of life: the celestial circles we call earth, sun, and moon, as well as conceptual circles of friends, family, and community.
"The integrated view of the world represented by the mandala, while long embraced by some Eastern religions, has now begun to emerge in Western religious and secular cultures. Awareness of the mandala may have the potential of changing how we see ourselves, our planet, and perhaps even our own life purpose."
(From Mandala: Journey to the Center, by Bailey Cunningham)
This week in practice we are engaging in the ritual invocation of the mandala. Carving out a sacred space from which we connect to all that is. We step out of the rectilinear pathway that so often takes up space in the practice and instead invite the spherical--a living embodiment and reflection of nature. We invite ourselves to the center of creation and find it to be the source of our nature. The circle reminds us of our infiniteness and paves a pathway to shift our awareness from external sources to the rich internal planes of consciousness that take us to the evolutionary "big bang"--the recognition of the fertile energy inside us.
Each of the mandalas I have crafted for this week's practice are rooted in one of the elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Air. Connecting the elements in way that allows us to experience the sustaining, nurturing, and transforming qualities of those elements. To invite the ritual of connection and celebration of co-creation with the elements.
Earth- A very real sense of groundedness, nurturing, support. Something that we can root into so that we can rise. Something symbolic that we can compost our issues into that will transform into rich nutrients for our soul.
Fire- Giver of life, spark of divine energy. To burn through whatever separates you from you. To create from the depths of spirit.
Water- Ritual cleanse. A current from which we can navigate life. An ocean of power and support. Shiva Rea a teacher of mine often points out “Our bodies are 70% water, which nourishes and purifies and is the conductor of prana, nutrients and life energy.” For Shiva, the way to tap into the potential of our fluid being is to connect to the wave motion within the body and nature. “How do we relate to the fluid beings we are?"
Air- The freedom of flight. The vast spaciousness which reflects the nature of consciousness itself. The wind that cuts through our obstacles and free us.
Sequence
Child's pose (I am grounded, I am supported)
Table Top
(Flow between the two with breath--and then eventually add in half push-up)
Exhale Child's pose, Inhale Table, Exhale half push-up, Inhale Table etc..
Transition- Down Dog
Grounding in the earth element. Focus on what is touching earth and feel the nourishment in the hands and feet. Hug the rich nutrients from the earth into the body and then compost it through deep attentive breathing and give it right back to the earth through your fingertips and your heels.
Inhale to plank (push-up) and press through the hands and feel the support of earth, then press through the heels to send that energy through the body. Make your heart soft and lower all the way down to earth. Become rooted through the legs, making them strong (spread the toes) Keep the legs rooted and rise through the heart for a low Cobra. Feel the hands isometrically pulling towards you so that you rise forward and up simultaneously.
Exhale Back to Down Dog
Mandala Prep:
Inhale the Rt leg up behind you. Stay strong in your body--feeding the earth element from hands to feet. When you lift a leg up the shoulder could become unstable and sink--squeeze your arms towards each other-- that will help to keep your arm bones lifted--stay lifted then press your heart to the legs.
From single leg down dog step through for low lunge. Come up onto your finger tips inviting more lift. Inhale bow to the heart (look into it) the spine will round and belly firm and exhale lift the heart and press energetically through both the legs. Do this a few times. Keep the back leg active with the exhale so you feel a stretch at the top of the thigh. Think front shin pressing forward and back heel presses back. In this pose you can also squeeze hips together with the inhale (like you have a block between the thighs).
Inhale spin to the left facing the side of your mat for squat. Turn feet out 45 degrees and grab the inside of your ankles. Lift and spread the toes and ground the heels. Traction knees over ankles and align elbows with knees. Inhale bow to the heart and round the spine (back of the body becomes full and spacious) and Exhale pull heart forward as you press your thighs back. Repeat three times.
Inhale spin to the back of the mat lunging lt leg. Three pulses like first side.
Inhale step back plank. Hold it--be strong. Exhale lower down all the way heart first to earth, Press up Cobra. Exhale Down Dog.
Leading with the rt leg again. Inhale leg up behind you and exhale step through for lunge. Repeat earlier steps to circle back through the the front.
You make a full circle.
Repeat circle with Left Leg (make sure to make a full circle and keep leading with the left).
Now if you want to do one more round of the Mandala prep--you can, or you can deepen it if you like by adding in Maha Pigeon instead of lunge (go to outer edge of foot and walk hands out further in front. Leg is like pigeon and you press through the outer edge of the foot while keeping it strongly engaged and foot flexed/ankle strong. Inhale same process of bowing in and then exhale like a push up come down and widen the outer thigh bone of to the side. Head of thigh bone goes into the hip socket more fully.
Then rather than malasana squat you can do sideways lunges side to side (skandasana) Foot pivots out 45 degrees, knee over ankle, press thighs back and upper body pulses in and out of a push-up shape.
End the earth element with Bakasana (Crow)
Ground your hands, and expand your back body (round it with power and depth) go wide with your hands and shift into your finger tips like your clawing the earth, and then squeeze your feet to your butt. Feel that your kidneys are lifting up more than your butt.
Fire-- I am burning. I am creating. I am Rising
Begin in down dog. Inhale extend rt leg behind towards to sky. Invite fire by hugging to the mid-line-spread toes to feel fire all through the legs. Step through to lunge, rise up crescent warrior (arms to sky). Pulse in the warrior, Inhale bow to the heart and firm the legs and exhale curl the heart open to the sky energize the arms and press proudly through the legs. When you inhale the back body puffs up and as you exhale the spine elongates and expresses the fullness and power of the back body.
Inhale step into warrior three (back leg lifts up arms stretch out in front of you). Stay in the fire and lift your belly. Keep arms and legs pulsing with the aliveness in your center. The rt leg is grounded into earth from the top of the hip to the bottom of the heal. The back leg is reaching to the wall behind you. The back foot is flexed so you can press through the heel--like stepping into earth.
Step back crescent. Inhale pivot to the left high squat. Feet turn out 45 degrees. Clasp hands behind head. Press thighs back and deepen the squat (this is a wide leg squat. Knees over ankles. Exhale side bend to the right,and inhale back to center, exhale to the left and inhale back to center. Do this several times, lengthening the sides of the body and strengthening the core.
Pivot the the left facing back of mat and when ready step forward into warrior three second side. Hold for 5 breaths.
Step back to lunge then to plank. Lower down to earth. Interlace hands behind back and rise up bound locust. Keep legs grounded. Press up down dog.
Continue the circle leading with the right leg.
Second circle begins with the left and you lead with the left the whole time. If you want to deepen the fire experience you can add in bound warrior three--hands interlace around the back ankle--ends up looking like Nataraj.
Water: I am bathing in. I am washing away. I am in the current of.
Continuing the journey of the circle. Begin in down dog but add the element of water. Bend your knees and shift onto your toes lifting the heels. Scoop your tail bone and begin to round the spine shifting towards plank. Get to plank and bends the knees to the earth and press butt back towards the heels and keep doing that--creating a wave in your spine.
Then lift the right leg up. Exhale knee to chest and circle leg off to the side and repeat 5 times. On the fifth step through to lunge. Rise up Warrior Two. In warrior two inhale make the front leg straight and bring hands to heart. Exhale lunge back into it and radiate the arms our in both directions. Express even energy in the legs. Inhale you hug muscle to bone and hug energy from earth to pelvic floor and as you exhale send the energy out in all directions.
After a few times--pivot to the left and come to wide leg squat. Embody water element here (this is like a loosely inspired tai chi movement) The arms become like the ocean swaying side to side as you sink to the hips more.
Pivot to second side warrior two. Repeat pulse. Lower to earth and step back to plank. Lower all the way down to the earth. Come up to cobra and sway side to side and floss the shoulders out, let a river run through and remove the silt of tightness.
Repeat leading with the right side again. Second circle you start with left side.
Air: The freedom of flight. I am spreading my wings. I am free.
Handstand/Tripod circle
(Note this round is for advanced yogi's only) If you are newer than go to a wall and practice the handstand L (come to table top feet against wall. Make sides of the body long and back body full (cat pose) rise up to dog pose and then walk feet up the wall) Keep shoulders buoyant. and press powerfully from heart into earth and follow the echo of that movement up to the tail bone and then press the tail bone into the heels and root deep into the wall with your heels.
If you want to move into the circle from down dog step one foot forward half way and come onto the toes. Lift back leg up and squeeze thighs towards the center. Lengthen your sides and firm the belly. Look toward your fingers. Just lean and lift as far as you can into the handstand. Harness the wildness and discipline it into powerful yet soft lifts into the handstand. Even if it's a inch off the ground--your learning to lift lightly.
Then pivot to the left wide leg forward fold. If your head easily touches root the head and hands in prep for tripod. Press into the head--rooting it. Head of arms bones forward and shoulder blades on the back. Come onto the toes lifting heals up and rise up tripod headstand. Lift through the heals as you squeeze your thighs. Come down. Pivot to the back leg lunge and try handstand with second side. Repeat circle.
Bringing back to the earth. Child's pose
Finish practice with some forward folding and then a sweet long resting pose.
Enjoy!
So what you just went through is the experience of finding your connection to the sacred pulse of the all that is. Your place in the larger circle of life.
"Micro to macro
Representing the universe itself, a mandala is both the microcosm and the macrocosm, and we are all part of its intricate design. The mandala is more than an image seen with our eyes; it is an actual moment in time. It can be can be used as a vehicle to explore art, science, religion and life itself. The mandala contains an encyclopedia of the finite and a road map to infinity.
Carl Jung said that a mandala symbolizes "a safe refuge of inner reconciliation and wholeness." It is "a synthesis of distinctive elements in a unified scheme representing the basic nature of existence." Jung used the mandala for his own personal growth and wrote about his experiences.
It is said by Tibetan Buddhists that a mandala consists of five "excellencies":
The teacher • The message • The audience • The site • The time
An audience or "viewer" is necessary to create a mandala. Where there is no you, there is no mandala. (from: You Are the Eyes of the World, by Longchenpa, translated by Lipman and Peterson)."
Find out more about symbolic meaning of mandalas at http://www.mandalaproject.org
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Is there a goal?
The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature. ~Joseph Campbell
If there were a goal to our practice of yoga I would like think of it as being something along the lines of what Joseph Campbell describes. There is instant recognition upon reading the words "to match your nature with nature" of what occurs within the practice of yoga. The very act of breathing with consciousness starts the journey of alignment to our nature--the return to primordial essence. Primordial essence in this case refers to a concept laid out in "SHAMBALA The Sacred Path of the Warrior" as meaning without condition.
It is a place that we can attune to through a disciplined engagement of movement and breath--synchronizing mind and body to unite with Spirit. It is through this union that the heartbeat of the individual connects with the beat of the universe.
It is an amazing discovery that can be made on the mat with a dedicated practice. The promise of practice, rather than the goal, is a heightened sense of connectedness to the underlying current of aliveness contained within the world around us. The poses and breath unite to act as pathways into the rich energy of the universal beat--which provides a cosmic metronome for us to step into rhythm with.
For brief yet increasing periods of time we march to a larger rhythm than ourselves and rather than being the sole instrument, we play in the grandest orchestra that surpasses all that we have ever felt, heard, or played for.
The practice and life it offers us deepens our relationship with the world and all sentient beings because it connects us to the source of where we have come from and where we are going. For moment after precious moment that we are in this space--which is spaciousness itself, we are all that ever was and all that ever will be.
Stepping onto the mat is an act of celebration, creation, performance, giving, receiving, acknowledging, sacrificing, surrendering, and opening. It gives us access to the cycle of life and the story of our place in it. It is the wow factor, the hugeness of what we are actually a part of--and the recognition of the sacredness of being alive.
"There are moments when one feels free from one's own identification with human limitations and inadequacies. At such moments one imagines that one stands on some spot of a small planet, gazing in amazement at the cold yet profoundly moving beauty of the eternal, the unfathomable; life and death flow into one, and there is neither evolution nor destiny; only Being." ~ Albert Einstein
If there were a goal to our practice of yoga I would like think of it as being something along the lines of what Joseph Campbell describes. There is instant recognition upon reading the words "to match your nature with nature" of what occurs within the practice of yoga. The very act of breathing with consciousness starts the journey of alignment to our nature--the return to primordial essence. Primordial essence in this case refers to a concept laid out in "SHAMBALA The Sacred Path of the Warrior" as meaning without condition.
It is a place that we can attune to through a disciplined engagement of movement and breath--synchronizing mind and body to unite with Spirit. It is through this union that the heartbeat of the individual connects with the beat of the universe.
It is an amazing discovery that can be made on the mat with a dedicated practice. The promise of practice, rather than the goal, is a heightened sense of connectedness to the underlying current of aliveness contained within the world around us. The poses and breath unite to act as pathways into the rich energy of the universal beat--which provides a cosmic metronome for us to step into rhythm with.
For brief yet increasing periods of time we march to a larger rhythm than ourselves and rather than being the sole instrument, we play in the grandest orchestra that surpasses all that we have ever felt, heard, or played for.
The practice and life it offers us deepens our relationship with the world and all sentient beings because it connects us to the source of where we have come from and where we are going. For moment after precious moment that we are in this space--which is spaciousness itself, we are all that ever was and all that ever will be.
Stepping onto the mat is an act of celebration, creation, performance, giving, receiving, acknowledging, sacrificing, surrendering, and opening. It gives us access to the cycle of life and the story of our place in it. It is the wow factor, the hugeness of what we are actually a part of--and the recognition of the sacredness of being alive.
"There are moments when one feels free from one's own identification with human limitations and inadequacies. At such moments one imagines that one stands on some spot of a small planet, gazing in amazement at the cold yet profoundly moving beauty of the eternal, the unfathomable; life and death flow into one, and there is neither evolution nor destiny; only Being." ~ Albert Einstein
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Power of Prayer
What I know for certain is that when I remember to pray miracles happen. While I am not sure prayer changes anything about the situations in my life--it changes me. A Course in Miracles says that a miracle is just a shift in perception and that's exactly what prayer does.
It had been a long time for me since I have prayed--somehow in the midst of all the practices I do (yoga and meditation) I forgot just how cleansing and cathartic prayer can be. Prayer also helps me to clarify what I am willing to put forth into the world and what I need support from the universe for that vision to happen.
Today in the middle of a really hard feeling state I remembered to pray. It was very simple but it shifted things enough to create a miracle. I simply just asked to be supported in bringing more light and love into the world and to be led and guided for the right words to say to my classes and the best actions to take with my students today. I asked to be inspired so that I may inspire, and then I just spent a few minutes in gratitude--deeply appreciating the circumstances of my life.
Einstein has a quote that I love that says "The problems of the world cannot be solved from the same level of thinking that created them" so literally we have to pray so that our minds can be lifted up out of the level they are at in which we were suffering. That is exactly what happened for me today.
So while I am not sure praying "gets" us anything it surely does align us with the right frequency so that we are clearer and in tune with the will and energy of the universe.
I was humbled by this remembrance--that a tool so powerful is always available to create a miracle. Thank you universe for such an awesome blessing!
It had been a long time for me since I have prayed--somehow in the midst of all the practices I do (yoga and meditation) I forgot just how cleansing and cathartic prayer can be. Prayer also helps me to clarify what I am willing to put forth into the world and what I need support from the universe for that vision to happen.
Today in the middle of a really hard feeling state I remembered to pray. It was very simple but it shifted things enough to create a miracle. I simply just asked to be supported in bringing more light and love into the world and to be led and guided for the right words to say to my classes and the best actions to take with my students today. I asked to be inspired so that I may inspire, and then I just spent a few minutes in gratitude--deeply appreciating the circumstances of my life.
Einstein has a quote that I love that says "The problems of the world cannot be solved from the same level of thinking that created them" so literally we have to pray so that our minds can be lifted up out of the level they are at in which we were suffering. That is exactly what happened for me today.
So while I am not sure praying "gets" us anything it surely does align us with the right frequency so that we are clearer and in tune with the will and energy of the universe.
I was humbled by this remembrance--that a tool so powerful is always available to create a miracle. Thank you universe for such an awesome blessing!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Ahimsa--Cultivating peace
It has been said that the foundation of a yoga practice is built on the concept of Ahimsa which means "non-violence", or the cultivation of peace. I like to think of it as a simultaneous expression of what we don't do and what we do to ourselves and others.
As I was recently engrossed in Pema Chodron's book "Comfortable with Uncertainty" I came across her chapter on "Not Causing Harm" and deeply appreciated her perspective on this path of peaceful living.
She writes that "non aggression has the power to heal and transform society". Her premise is that the most harm, the most aggressive act we can do to ourselves or others is remain ignorant by not having the courage and respect to look at ourselves truthfully and gently. She states that the ground of not causing harm is mindfulness. With mindfulness we gain clarity and compassion for what we truly see--without hiding, denying, suppressing, or imagining things to be some other way.
When we look sincerely and openly at ourselves we see how we are in the world and we see how much aggression and violence (thoughts, actions, etc) we put out into the world. Without judging we just see, truly see, and that is what creates space for grace. Without seeing we can't do anything about it and live as though we are not leaving a trail of suffering behind us. First notice, then create space, then operate from that deep and profound space that allows room for growth--for love to take its course.
Ahimsa has many expressions but I have to agree mindfulness comes first. Before we act we have to act from a place of knowing. It's like the difference between speaking off the cuff, or taking time to dig deep and come from a place of depth as you begin to give birth to words in the world.
Peaceful living means we allow ourselves to be with things, our lives, as they are. We just sit with and open to life as it is. At the same time we stay open to the moment and remember that nothing is fixed. This is why acceptance of this moment is key. Without acceptance without opening--there is gripping and clinging which can only lead to violence as we try to change rather than allow what needs to unfold to unfold. We open and stay open. We feel and simultaneously explore all the possible options and paths that the freedom of openness in the moment allows for us.
There is freedom that comes from this opening and the freedom creates space for peace. It's a steady peace that does not rely on things "working" or becoming "fixed" but it's a peace that fueled on the knowledge that life is a wild ride filled with adventures and growth expeditions (we came here to grow). Peace begins when we truly get on the ride and quite trying to stop it, or change it, or get off it.
Peace externally begins from the peace of deep opening within us. The more you open and allow, the more allowing and grace flow through you. Then Ahimsa is not a thing you do--but it is a thing you are---and that makes all the difference.
As I was recently engrossed in Pema Chodron's book "Comfortable with Uncertainty" I came across her chapter on "Not Causing Harm" and deeply appreciated her perspective on this path of peaceful living.
She writes that "non aggression has the power to heal and transform society". Her premise is that the most harm, the most aggressive act we can do to ourselves or others is remain ignorant by not having the courage and respect to look at ourselves truthfully and gently. She states that the ground of not causing harm is mindfulness. With mindfulness we gain clarity and compassion for what we truly see--without hiding, denying, suppressing, or imagining things to be some other way.
When we look sincerely and openly at ourselves we see how we are in the world and we see how much aggression and violence (thoughts, actions, etc) we put out into the world. Without judging we just see, truly see, and that is what creates space for grace. Without seeing we can't do anything about it and live as though we are not leaving a trail of suffering behind us. First notice, then create space, then operate from that deep and profound space that allows room for growth--for love to take its course.
Ahimsa has many expressions but I have to agree mindfulness comes first. Before we act we have to act from a place of knowing. It's like the difference between speaking off the cuff, or taking time to dig deep and come from a place of depth as you begin to give birth to words in the world.
Peaceful living means we allow ourselves to be with things, our lives, as they are. We just sit with and open to life as it is. At the same time we stay open to the moment and remember that nothing is fixed. This is why acceptance of this moment is key. Without acceptance without opening--there is gripping and clinging which can only lead to violence as we try to change rather than allow what needs to unfold to unfold. We open and stay open. We feel and simultaneously explore all the possible options and paths that the freedom of openness in the moment allows for us.
There is freedom that comes from this opening and the freedom creates space for peace. It's a steady peace that does not rely on things "working" or becoming "fixed" but it's a peace that fueled on the knowledge that life is a wild ride filled with adventures and growth expeditions (we came here to grow). Peace begins when we truly get on the ride and quite trying to stop it, or change it, or get off it.
Peace externally begins from the peace of deep opening within us. The more you open and allow, the more allowing and grace flow through you. Then Ahimsa is not a thing you do--but it is a thing you are---and that makes all the difference.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The thrill of revelation
I have written on the concept of concealment and revealment before on this blog (like maybe a year ago). With all things as we grow in practice, the practice reveals more to us about a given subject including ourselves, and so in the spirit of evolutionary growth, I offer my thoughts on the idea of concealment and revealment.
In Hatha yoga and meditation there is an opportunity to open up to ourselves in such a way that anything that is concealed (hidden) can be brought forth into conscious presence so that we can align with it, create with it, or allow it space, or to release it. We are like the sculptor who in the moment has a slab of concrete and through his or her art form (yoga, meditation) reveals the art beneath the slab. They do not create anew, but reveal the inherent beauty that is there already. They allow space for the form to emerge from the formless. They release the heaviness and allow freedom for the art to express itself.
The practice is this, and yet, I am finding it is much more in the context of revealation. Not only is it the total process, but also the individual moments of practice. Each breath, each pose, reveals to us, if we pay attention--something that has been concealed or something that can assist us in freeing up more space and beauty inside ourselves.
Each pose can reveal what we are holding back, how we respond to fear, what excites us, what we are passionate about, what makes us laugh and smile, what challenges us and how we respond to challenge, what feels sensual, what feels pleasurable, what bores us and how we react to boredom. All these things and so much more are revealed to us within a moment, within a practice.
Our task then when on the mat is to practice being with the revelations without judgment and remain open to the process of self study that this provides for us. We allow what has been hidden or stuck to come forward. We have tremendous freedom in opening up to the revelations because the more we allow what is concealed to be revealed--we know more about ourselves but also allow more space around everything.
From this place of deep and healing space our inherent spaciousness is revealed and we remember that in any given moment we can align with that as infinite creative energy. From this energy we can sustain our artistry and allow our artistry to expand to new heights.
Sit with this passage from the radiance sutras:
#20
The radiance of space permeates the body
and all directions simultaneously.
Space is always here,
Already here before your noticing of it.
What we call space is a presence,
Permission to exist
And worlds within which to express.
Without thinking about it,
Without forming mental images of it,
Rest in this vast expanse,
Friends with Infinity.
(find out more about the radiance sustras www.lorinroche.com)
In Hatha yoga and meditation there is an opportunity to open up to ourselves in such a way that anything that is concealed (hidden) can be brought forth into conscious presence so that we can align with it, create with it, or allow it space, or to release it. We are like the sculptor who in the moment has a slab of concrete and through his or her art form (yoga, meditation) reveals the art beneath the slab. They do not create anew, but reveal the inherent beauty that is there already. They allow space for the form to emerge from the formless. They release the heaviness and allow freedom for the art to express itself.
The practice is this, and yet, I am finding it is much more in the context of revealation. Not only is it the total process, but also the individual moments of practice. Each breath, each pose, reveals to us, if we pay attention--something that has been concealed or something that can assist us in freeing up more space and beauty inside ourselves.
Each pose can reveal what we are holding back, how we respond to fear, what excites us, what we are passionate about, what makes us laugh and smile, what challenges us and how we respond to challenge, what feels sensual, what feels pleasurable, what bores us and how we react to boredom. All these things and so much more are revealed to us within a moment, within a practice.
Our task then when on the mat is to practice being with the revelations without judgment and remain open to the process of self study that this provides for us. We allow what has been hidden or stuck to come forward. We have tremendous freedom in opening up to the revelations because the more we allow what is concealed to be revealed--we know more about ourselves but also allow more space around everything.
From this place of deep and healing space our inherent spaciousness is revealed and we remember that in any given moment we can align with that as infinite creative energy. From this energy we can sustain our artistry and allow our artistry to expand to new heights.
Sit with this passage from the radiance sutras:
#20
The radiance of space permeates the body
and all directions simultaneously.
Space is always here,
Already here before your noticing of it.
What we call space is a presence,
Permission to exist
And worlds within which to express.
Without thinking about it,
Without forming mental images of it,
Rest in this vast expanse,
Friends with Infinity.
(find out more about the radiance sustras www.lorinroche.com)
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