I’m back from Sedona after shooting my new DVDs, resting up from the wild ride that was last week. And when I say “wild,” I mean it. To be transplanted from the concrete jungle that is Manhattan–where the closest I get to flora are the bouquets sold in front of every deli, and my fauna sightings consist of dogs on leashes and the occasional subway rat–was quite the experience. When I arrived at the location, a plateau in Red Rock State Park overlooking a basin and surrounded by rust-red mountains, it took my breath away. I took a big chance and decided to film the whole thing using a live microphone instead of adding in the sound later from a studio recording. Alas, the wind, sun, and occasional rain didn’t care that we were shooting a yoga video. Viewers will hear and see it all, just as it naturally happened. The light shifts, the dust swirls, and at one point I felt like I was in the middle of a Harry Potter -esque duel of elements. At one point, I was blown right off the mat in a Warrior Two–something you might usually only see on a video outtake. I came to the location thinking everything would be peaceful, leaving us to our Zen creation. Once I’d been there for 5 minutes, however, I knew I’d have to shift my expectations and transform how I would approach the experience. Yoga teaches us that the inability to go with the flow, instead trying mold the outer environment to suit your inner needs, is the greatest cause of suffering. This week I want to return to the idea of aparigraha , or nongrasping, and show you how to use it to your benefit when situations arise that you don’t expect. There are two choices whenever you find yourself in a state of duhkha , or suffering, because something’s not going the way you’d hoped. You can hang onto your expectation in a state of stress and strain, or you can shrug your shoulders, turn towards the new information, and say, simply, How can I turn this to my advantage? The great thing about aparigraha is that if you’re holding on too tightly to one perspective, you’re just as capable of picking up another, more empowering one, and holding it instead. The transition from “this cannot be happening” to “this is my teaching” is a hard at first. But like anything, with practice, it gets easier. Just as every yoga pose that challenges you and feels uncomfortable is another call to learn to move from a state of resisting intensity to using it to serve your ultimate goals. For me, it all comes down to not needing to control everything and thinking I know what needs to happen for me to be content. Instead, when I stepped on that mountain and things started getting crazy, I didn’t. I looked around, took a deep breath, and thought, “Here we are. Now, what are we going to do with it?” I heard from the directors that the footage we shot looks incredible, and that the wind adds to the teaching instead of detracting from it. But I still made sure to mention at the beginning of the video that we were in for quite a ride, and used it as a way to show that I was practicing what I teach. Even if it hadn’t turned out so well, I would have embraced that, taken it inside, and turned it into a learning experience to help me become wiser, stronger, and more prepared for the next time. We can all do this, no matter how easy or challenging the teaching that shows up may be. Remain watchful, open, and resilient. And when the opportunity arises for you to alchemize a disappointment or fear into something wild and free, grab onto it with both hands. Core Pose: Poet’s Pose (also known as a variation of Half Moon Pose, or Ardha Chandrasana, variation) This pose presents a wonderful way to experience the ebbs and flows of balance while striving to remain inwardly centered even when you topple over from the strong winds of change. As you approach it, remember to keep your breathing even and your drishti , or gaze, on the ground beneath you. Stand toward the front of your mat, feet sitting-bone-distance apart. Bend your knees and place the fingertips of both hands a little wider than shoulder distance in front of you. On an exhalation, bring your left knee into your chest and activate your lower abdominals and natural low back curve in and up towards the ribs. Maintain a long tailbone and open heart as you begin to open your left hip to stack over the right. With your core engaged, begin to lengthen your left leg out behind you at hip height, and unfurl your chest and left arm to the sky. Keep looking down as you play with bending your right standing leg and lifting your right fingertips off the floor and into your chest. Contract your topside waist as you press firmly and evenly into the floor with the right foot. Straighten your standing leg in time. Hold for 3-5 breaths. Return to Standing Forward Bend and give a sweet exhale through the mouth, releasing any tension you were holding inside. Repeat on the other side. 
    

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Embrace the Unexpected

I’m in Sedona this week filming my next two DVDs. I’d heard that this area is ideal for spiritual quests and uniting with your source energy, which is why I wanted to shoot here.  In addition to completing the videos, I have a goal: To find my spirit animal. On my time off, I’ve kept my eye out for the symbol of my spirit in animal form, something that the indigenous North American cultures hold sacred. The first two days, all I saw were ants and flies. I began to wonder if it was possible to have a spirit insect instead. Then today, while I was out walking, two jet-black ravens suddenly appeared and stood in my path.  One was tearing apart someone’s old sandwich and the other stood silently looking at me. We studied each other for a long moment, and then the sandwich-free Raven flew away, gorgeous and free, and the other remained to finish its dinner. I was both disgusted and awed by these creatures, and though I’d been hoping for something cool like a wolf or a scorpion, I realized how perfect these spirit guides were for me. Ravens are believed to be keepers of wisdom and secrets, and one of their jobs is to help those they are linked with become better teachers. Plus, since my take on yoga is that it’s found everywhere, both in the ugliness and the beauty of life, these two ravens taught me to remember to not only seek my lessons in comfort and ease, but also in times of discomfort and even when I don’t make myself proud. Like anything, spirit guides may or may not be “real,” but anything that leads us into a deeper awareness of ourselves is a tradition I can get behind. In yoga, we say that self-recognition in seemingly external sources is another way to practice svadhyaya , or study of the sacred and of the Self. Whatever leads you to directly contemplate your highest inner nature and use your actions to create a lifestyle of integrity is sacred study. Your svadhyaya might be a rock song, a Pablo Neruda poem, the Yoga Sutra, or a quiet walk in the woods. My ravens are only me, introducing myself to who I really am. Today, I invite you to keep your eyes open for your animal spirit and your ears tuned for voices of wisdom that may come from any and all directions. Maybe you’ve already got one speaking to you or maybe your guide will meet you along your path in an unexpected way. When we walk with presence and an open ear, we’ll receive our teachings that much more easily. So, who’s whispering to you–from you–right now? Core Pose: Eka Pada Galavasana (also known as Flying Crow) It’s as close as I could get to the raven, and it’s a great pose for teaching svadhyaya in action: moving from Earth to sky using your deep core connection. At any step along the way, if you find yourself losing integrity, back off, check in, find the pose variation that brings you to your personal edge of transformation, and play there.  In time, you might go farther physically. But either way, you’ll be accessing your source of presence and wisdom right where you are. 1. Come into Utkatasana (Chair Pose) and cross one ankle over the opposite knee.  Bring your palms together at your chest. Stay evenly grounded on your standing foot and begin to hinge forward from the hips. If possible, place your elbows in front of your standing leg’s shin, lift your belly in and up to lengthen the spine, and breathe. 2.  Bend forward and plant your hands on the floor shoulder-distance apart. Spread your fingers wide and parallel your wrist creases to the front of the mat. Dig deep to hook your top foot snugly around the opposite arm, and press your knee into the same arm. Lean from your heart and gaze forward as you align your elbows over your wrists. Root down through your hands, press your arms into your shin, and lift through your belly as you raise the standing foot off the floor. 3.  When you can hover in step 2, float the heart forward and simultaneously lengthen the back leg for a full flying variation.

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The Animal Within

Last weekend at the Yoga Journal Conference was a whirlwind, and a whole lot of fun. Since I wasn’t teaching until Sunday, I had the opportunity to take some classes. I studied with Gary Kraftsow, Desirée Rumbaugh, Seane Corn, and Leslie Kaminoff. I was in the audience for Deepak Chopra’s evening talk, and I listened in for bits of talks from Matthew Sanford, Beryl Bender Birch, and Rodney Yee. I narrowly missed Julie Gudmestad and Bo Forbes, but I’m hot on their trails, too. Over the years, I’ve studied with just about every well-known yoga teacher there is, and many others. What strikes me is that although we share the same title–yoga instructor–we can be so different in just about every way: personality, poses, focus, knowledge, opinions, and communication style. Yet this weekend, the core message was the same from everyone: Find balance, live in balance, and take actions from balance. I heard it again and again, in every conceivable way. I was fortunate to have conversations with the people who put on the conference, and this parity was also part of their vision of creating a community offering where people could be equally exposed to the healing benefits of yoga, no matter what teacher they resonated with the most. It did my heart good to hear this. I’ve seen pockets of separation in the yoga world, stemming from a “my style, your style” mentality. It’s the reason why I specifically didn’t want to create a style of yoga, but rather a “take” on yoga that anyone could use, whether they’re an Ashtanga yogi or a Kundalini practitioner. The thing is, there are many doorways into your true nature, all that lead to your inner teacher in the lifelong process yogis know as svadhyaya , or self-study. If you can honor that the guru you seek is so often the Self, then you are less likely to dismiss teachers that don’t work for you or revere the ones who do. (You also won’t hang on to blame, anger, and resentment in relationships of any kind.) You can thank your teachers for the fact that, whether you choose to embrace their ideals or not, they have helped you remember who you are–and who you aren’t. In this way, they have all been instrumental to your growth and transformation. This view can bring more sukha , or ease and freedom in everything you do. Yoga can be frustrating, because the lessons from different teachers are sometimes contradictory, and there can seem to be no clear “right” way to do it. But that’s also the wonderful thing about this path. It’s yours alone.  The practice asks you to gather information and listen to your instructors, but then ultimately to turn inward and claim the personal style of yoga that you need at that moment, and to keep the channels of inner communication open for a lifetime. Yoga is a journey that always, and unerringly, leads back to you. That is both its greatest challenge and its most fabulous gift. Core Question: Are you able to thank your teachers; ones you liked, and ones, well, not so much, for helping you realize who you will and won’t be? Tell us about your experience! Core Pose: Utkatasana Twist (Chair Pose), variation This twist will help you turn inward as you remain grounded, centered and balanced–all good tools for your inner teacher practice. Stand with knees bent and feet and knees pressing together. Inhale your arms up, keeping your spine long. Spin your chest to the left as you place your right elbow onto your left knee. Roll your left shoulder back and engage your obliques to help balance the work of the arms with core strength. This twist has a twist: Look down instead of up for a sweet stretch of the neck and shoulder. Remain here for 5-10 breaths then move into a gentle forward fold. Return to Chair Pose and repeat on the other side.

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Thanking All Your Teachers

I was leading a Core Strength Vinyasa Yoga practice for a group of yoga teachers the other day, and one of them asked me afterwards why I prefer to cartwheel out of an overzealous handstand rather than drop over into a backbend. Poses that require lumbar movement are a real challenge for me, not because of a lack of flexibility or strength–my lumbar spine has hardly any curve. It’s a bone compression thing, one I won’t be able to change no matter how hard I try. And, believe me, I tried WAY too hard for years. I’m more than slightly competitive by nature, so naturally when I began my yoga practice, I coveted all the stately, arching poses I couldn’t do. From the first Sun Salutation, I rushed past Cobra in favor of Up Dog. To me, Bridge wasn’t a pose, just an impatient pit-stop on my express lane into Wheel. I held a death grip on my ideal pose: Forearm Stand Scorpion … and I wouldn’t let it go, until it became the straw that (literally) almost broke my back. One day, spine be damned, I forced myself past my healthy edge. The result was a herniated disc that pressed right into my sciatic nerve, and for 6 months, I was regressed to prenatal Cobra Pose. One day, while grumbling through the tiniest seed of low Bridge Pose while the rest of the class was in full Wheel, I realized something amazing: This backbend actually felt good!  It was well-supported and my heart was able to expand from the strong root underneath. My newfound awareness of how backing off had actually helped me find the equilibrium I’d sought, opened my eyes to the fact that grasping for external success at the expense of internal balance wasn’t just my tendency in the yoga pose, but also in my life. I looked around me and saw jealousy showing up everywhere. My inability to be confident in my own skin was causing all my relationships–and me–to suffer.   If my partner spoke to someone I thought was better looking than me, I would feel immensely insecure. I had a hard time feeling truly happy for my friend who got a sudden financial windfall because I didn’t have as much. Whether on or off the mat, I wanted more, to be better than everyone, to have nothing left to want or attain before I would be satisfied. Yogis call this parigraha , the yogic term for “grasping at externals,” or being unable to let go of the ego’s desires and access your own inherent satisfaction. It’s one of the biggest causes of dukha , or living in pain. As I progressed in my yoga studies, it became crystal clear that I was wasting a lot of energy looking outside of myself for my center. Getting conscious meant I had to surrender my grasp on the fantasy and step into the reality. I began to let go of my idea of what I “should” be able to do, and started owning who I was and be where I needed to be. The happy result of this practice of owning my truth is that I relaxed at a deep core level, and chronic jealousy disappeared from my life. I can honor my friends and students for their accomplishments, because I’m just as fully at work rocking who I am. When we practice aparigraha , or releasing the death grip on externals as our only source of happiness, we actually create another kind of hold–this time a powerful merging with our own core connection. We unite with our natural wellspring of self-created joy and can truly become a positive part of our community. My body may not backbend beyond a cranky full wheel, but it is made for poses that require core strength like handstand and arm balances. Since we teach what we know, I’ve made this strength into my style. I’m so glad I finally saw that who I was would serve me better than who I wasn’t. I encourage you to do the same, in any aspect of your life where you perceive something (or someone) outside of you as the thing that controls your confidence, empowerment, and peace. The power of yoga, or unity with one’s truth, is that coping and co-dependence dissolve in the light of your self-generated OK-ness. It’s an old cliché, but to do this, you have to decide to believe that you’re enough, just as you are–and then take actions that mirror that view.   In time, this shift from parigraha to aparigraha will become your new truth. Now, when I teach, I make sure to give multiple variations, and encourage the students to find and play their own unique edges. “No matter what your level or ability, your poses are all equally valuable as your personal vehicle of transformation,” I say. And I notice that if I don’t grasp at their practices, or enforce attainment of the more advanced poses, it tames the green-eyed monsters in the room to hear it. Do I still covet the effortless rainbow spines of my fellow yogis? Sometimes. But now I know it doesn’t define me. I listen to my body in any given moment, let my ego take a backseat, and say with an inner smile, “This is my pose … and I’m sticking to it.” Core Question: Where in your yoga practice have you been letting something external define your happiness? How about in your life? What will you do differently to practice aparigraha in these situations? Core Pose: Heart-opening Sukhasana variation into Crossed Boat. This is one of the poses I do to prepare for backbends. It gives all the chest-opening and upper back and core strength needed without diving too far, too fast into the lumbar curve. Come into Sukhasana (Easy Pose). Inhale and stretch the chest and arms up as the shoulders and tailbone lengthen down. Exhale, rock back onto the sitting bones, firm the lower abdominals, and bring fists to the outer hips for a core strength mudra I call Fists of Fire. If possible, lift your knees and/or crossed ankles off the floor. Whatever variation you choose, make sure it’s one where you can maintain the natural curve of your lumber spine. It must draw in as you lift the legs to counteract the movement of the front body. Repeat 5 times.

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No More Grasping

This week, I’m preparing to teach at the Yoga Journal Conference in Boston. (I’ll share my experiences with you next week!) This is the first time I’ll be presenting during the main conference, and I’m thrilled by the new direction my teaching is taking. But I didn’t always feel this way.     I spent the majority of my career telling people (and myself) that I had absolutely no desire to become “one of those touring yogis.”   I don’t know if this attitude came out of my belief that it would never happen, and so I thought, why pursue it? Or that I was daunted by the work it would take, so figured, why begin it? Perhaps it’s that I’m a Scorpio and like to hide out under my self-created rocks and write. Who knows?   Regardless of the reason, I was 100 percent sure that the way my life looks now would never be my reality. Then one day, I got the call. Or, rather, I made the call.   I was speaking to someone at Yoga Journal about an unrelated matter, and we began discussing my interest in leading a Friday evening, pre-main conference class at the New York City event. As soon as I was asked to do it, my heart and mind leapt at the chance.   Now, I had no idea I would want to do this, much less really, really want to do it. I was as surprised by my reaction as I was by the 98 beautiful people who showed up to my workshop on the appointed night.   But at the moment of invitation, I clearly saw that my highest satya , or truth, was not that I wanted to live a quiet, hermetic life and never be inconvenienced by travel. It’s that I want to serve and share the healing modality of yoga with as many people as possible. And so my lesser resistance was broken by the simple power of my Dharma uprising.   In the year that followed, I was nearly inundated with offers to present at other conferences and at healing centers and studios. Before I was open to accepting this aspect of my teaching life, very few opportunities appeared. Yet the moment I said yes, they opened to me in the most rewarding and exciting ways. I have now become “one of those touring yogis”– and I’ve never been happier.   As I take this next step along my teaching path, I’m struck by what the simple removal of resistance can do. It also occurs to me that in order to break through the walls we erect that block our life’s path, we can’t just stand by passively and do nothing. We have to meet resistance with Resistance.   I capitalize the word “Resistance” to distinguish between the constructive actions that serve us and that push back against the destructive resistances that don’t serve us. Another name for this is satyagraha , or way of truth. Gandhi made satyagraha the focal point in his life through positive, or nonviolent, Resistance.   In your own life, both on and off the mat, I invite you to look at where you’re hitting up against resistance to what might actually serve you. Kids do this when they refuse to try broccoli. Adults do it when we choose an unhealthy meal over a yoga class or self-criticism over confidence.     Don’t think for a minute that I’m free of the push and pull of limiting behaviors and beliefs. Every one of us experiences the drag of resistance. But as yogis, it’s what we do from there that can either transform us or keep us stuck in the mud.     So the next time you stumble upon a personal roadblock, take an action from satyagraha: Instead of turning to old habits, use your spiritual stubbornness to break through.   I’ll see you on the road!     Core Questions : Where are you meeting resistance? Are you afraid to release your old stories, to adopt healthy habits, or to form nourishing relationships? Most of all, do you exist in a consciousness of lack or thrive in a mindset of abundance? Share your struggles and victories with us. Core Pose : Lakshmi Kick I designed this pose to release old, stagnant energies; tone the lower body; unlock the hips; and literally kick down the doors of inner resistance. It’s named for Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity, abundance, wisdom, and beauty–attributes that can only be achieved through the practice of satyagraha.   Come to the front of your mat, feet slightly apart. Fold forward and plant your fingertips a few inches in front of your toes.   On an inhalation, draw one knee into your chest. Exhale the sound “Ha!” as you mindfully and strongly kick your leg up behind you. The sound not only firms your abdominals to support the kick, it’s a mantra to the Sun as well as to your individual brightness and your possibilities.   Repeat 5-10 times; then switch to the other side. Rest in Child’s Pose when finished.         

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Breaking Through Resistance

When I meet people outside the context of a yoga workshop or training, and they hear that I’m starting to travel nationally to teach and receiving other major opportunities to share my message on a larger scale, they often have the same question: “Why you?”     I usually say something like, “I think that people are attracted to the process of finding, then living from, their center, all while getting a great whole body transformation.” And I do think that’s true. But it’s not the whole truth, and I’d like to share with you the part I usually leave out.   I think some of my success in the yoga world is happening not just because of my style, but also because of me. It’s difficult for me to say this, as I tend to keep myself out of the equation lest it seem like I’m tooting my own horn. After all, when I’m in front of a class, my words and inspirations seem to come not from me but through me, and I spend most of my classes just trying to keep up with my Inner Teacher’s voice. I always say my main job is as a translator of Spirit, not of Sadie.   But there’s more to it than that. A crucial aspect of expressing my universal energy and wisdom–and doing so in a way that my students resonate with–is to make them my own. My personal backstory, woven with its challenges and victories along with a guiding focus of accessing and expressing core strength in its many forms, helps me do that strongly.   I don’t know about you, but I find it much more interesting when a teacher, or anyone, shares their unique voice with me, based on their experiences, beliefs, and perspectives. These personal elements are what make each of us special. They also impact the way we filter yoga philosophies and poses and their meaning, which will differ depending on our worldview.   When I began teaching, I would sound like whoever was my favorite teacher at the time. I’d read the texts I thought I was supposed to, and I’d talk in the language I heard other teachers use. My own voice was so lost in the sauce that it took me years to find it and then claim it.   What I learned is that sharing who we are–our struggles, our fears, our stories personal growth–doesn’t diminish our yoga. It’s a magnifying glass we hold up to the expanse of pure consciousness. The realities of our lives focus the all-pervasive prana and make it something those around us can relate to and empathize with. This creates its own yoga, the union of likeminded individuals who understand and support one another as we seek a common way toward the light.   Furthermore, when we make the universal personal, we not only step into our dharma (the path of most life force) but into svadharma –our very own translation of universal energy that, like a snowflake, has no exact match. This is otherwise known as Being Real.   You’ll notice that those who are successful in their fields bring their own dynamic, clearly “them-ness” to the table. They use their intuition, inventiveness, and insights to create a message from their core.   And then they stand by their satya , or truth, no matter who agrees or disagrees or who comes or goes because of it.   I think it’s important that in our quest to find union with our universal nature, we should allow and, in fact, we should rock who we are as individuals, so we can give the world something unique. By sharing who I am–the self within the Self–in these pages, in the media, or in a classroom, I don’t expect my students or supporters to become clones of me. I want to show them how freeing it is to be unapologetically oneself, and therefore, encourage them to become even more of who they are … both wonderfully human and essentially divine in equal measure.   To me, that’s core strength at its finest.   Core Question: Have you ever chosen to be like someone else instead of being yourself? How? And how did you finally decide to take action and claim your own path?   Core Pose: Charlie’s Angel’s Pose   This is one of my signature poses and one that helps students strengthen their foundation and root down, two things that lead to a stronger core connection on all levels.   Come into Malasana with feet wide and turned out slightly in the direction of your knees. Lower your hips to squat as low as is comfortable, or rest your forearms on your thighs and begin in a higher stance.   Interlace your fingers, point your index fingers straight ahead in the “Charlie’s Angel’s” mudra, and draw your shoulder blades naturally onto your back.   Inhale while in the lowered position. Then, exhale, grounding your feet and lifting your hips a few inches while engaging the pelvic floor and lower belly both in and up. Inhale, lower a bit more. Exhale, engage, and lift a little higher. Do this 3 to 4 times.   Return to Malasana, release your hands and head towards the floor, and slowly rock from side to side. Repeat the entire sequence 1 to 3 times.

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Rocking your true core strength

I arrived home from the Toronto Yoga Conference yesterday minus one important thing: my voice! Fortunately it didn’t happen until the very last minute of my last class. The students had to do the OM on their own, leading to a rousing rainbow of notes, but they got all the information I needed to offer. The key for next time I accept a conference position, is not to talk less. I’m a very verbal instructor, and what I hear from my inner teacher, I translate in its entirety for my students. The solution is to do slightly fewer classes. This is hard for me to admit. I’m the type of person who will stagger into my house carrying eight grocery bags to avoid two trips. I would rather power through my day than take a nap, and I’m more likely to give a massage than to get one. Whether I’m doing a six-hour Core Strength immersion or a one-hour private, I tend to give everything I have to help steer people toward their Source. Sometimes, in my quest to open them to center, I neglect to hold my own. No matter who you are, there is a particular shiny object in your life that tends, like a bluebird decorating her nest and seeing only the glint of silver on the ground–but not the wolf waiting in the bushes–to draw one’s attention away from the predatory dangers of misalignment, depletion, and suffering. For me, the shine, my utter passion, is helping others to remember themselves, to contain their prana, and then send it out into the world in ways that reflects their deepest truth. To do this, I share my personal path: the realizations, actions, and type of yoga practice that helped me to empower, self-nourish, and stop a vicious cycle of chronic fatigue and dysfunctional relationships that were causing me a world of hurt. I know that this important message is a positive way to use my energy. However, even a positive can become a negative if it begins to drain the offerer in favor of the offering. In yoga circles, we refer to this process of striking personal balance as the daily see-saw between sukha and dukha. The words translate to mean “good space” and “bad space.” We can also interpret them to mean ease and suffering. In fact, we tend to invite experiences into our lives that appear as repetitive drama cycles, like getting into the same struggle in your romantic relationships over and over (’Haven’t I dated you before?”), or running into the same problems with different business partners. These seemingly external experiences don’t have to be seen as random. They can be our teachers, illuminating the lessons of how not to take the road of craving and instant gratification, but rather to make the more intense, rewarding choices that help us come back into our natural state of equilibrium, self-respect, and peace. Today, as I rest, cuddle with the cats, and let my voice return, I’m aware of my own responsibility to myself and my students not to be a hypocrite–I have to both talk the talk and walk the walk. Now that I’ve received my teaching, I will use it to tip my balance back in favor of giving in enough, rather than giving out too much. From here on, I’ll set better boundaries and let workshop organizers know what I can offer (12 hours or so should be win-win for us both), and make sure that I don’t let my zest for teaching override my personal nourishment. After all, if I’m to lead by example, then what better way to do it than by sharing my own learning curve? And, even for teachers, it’s sometimes steep. Core Question : What’s your biggest energy drain or repeating drama, and how can you come back into balance around it? Core Pose: Anahata Twist Your mid-back is the first place twists can freely occur, so sometimes we get stuck in our more hyper-mobile spots. This pose will bring your twist higher–into the upper spine, shoulders, and neck in a variation designed to nourish the area around the heart and throat. Lie on your side in a fetal position, place both hands on the mat, and spin just your heart to the floor–legs stay like they were. Place your arms on the floor, elbows bent, forearms, and palms down in a cactus shape. Turn your head away from the direction your knees are pointing for the most spinal rotation, or to the same side for less. Breathe into the back of your heart and higher for one minute or more, then repeat on the other side.

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Coming Into Balance

I taught an eight hour Core Strength Immersion in Vancouver this weekend, and two day worth of workshops before that. Suffice it to say, becoming a student again and taking a yoga class this morning was a sweet relief. Today I get to relax and recharge before heading to The Yoga Conference in Toronto tomorrow. Then it’s 18 more hours of teaching in four days for good old Sadie. And I will rise to the challenge. But today: hot chocolate, yoga, lunch, a stroll by the water, and then whatever the heck I feel like for the rest of the day. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do. But I give everything I have while I’m leading my intensives. So after that, I need to simply be . After a strong, sweaty Anusara class with my friend and fabulous instructor Christine Price Clark, she blessed me with a foot massage in Savasana. Tears came to my eyes–a total surprise to me, since I wasn’t emotional before that at all. I realized that I wasn’t sad, but rather, my cup of happiness had runneth over and begun to come out of my eyes. I was full. As I walked home from class, gingerly, as if to keep the cup from sloshing around and spilling my bliss, I thought of you, the community I adore. I wanted to remind you, as I was reminded by the humble gesture from my teacher, that the practice of ahimsa, or nonviolence, also applies directly to the relationship between you and your Self. If you don’t regularly pause along the cycle of giving to nourish yourself properly, it begins another cycle: one of fatigue, resentment and an existence characterized by just barely getting by, instead of living large from your inner reservoir of prana. Yes, ahimsa is a yama, which means that we’re encouraged to participate with the world around us in a loving way. But one thing we must not forget is that each of us is also part of the world to which we’re supposed to be offering! As a yogi, you can absolutely include yourself in the relationships you have to navigate every day and practice brightening. In addition to filling other people’s cups through respectful actions, it’s perfectly appropriate, and in fact crucial, that you take the time to regularly pour goodness into your own. If I was dating someone who said to me ,”Wow–you’re so fat! I can’t believe you’re eating more of that birthday cake. Make room for Queen Cellulite! I’d break up with them. However, on a more regular basis than I’d care to admit, that same old critical voice creeps in again, trying to tip my hand and dump my self-esteem down the drain. Often as yogis, we seek the light, striving to offer positivity towards those around us, but we neglect and hurt the longest-term partner we’ll ever have: ourselves. Today, look within yourself. How is your Core Connection? Is it a love match, or so dysfunctional you’d be perfect for the Jerry Springer Show? In this moment, I invite you to become your own soul mate again, and start acting, thinking, speaking and acting in ways that reflect your newfound love affair. Namaste, Sadie Core Question: Is your cup full or empty? Have hurtful inner voices and outer actions caused you to exist in a state of depletion? If so, what actions will you take to pour the energy, life and self-love back inside? Core Pose — Waterfall Pigeon: This pose lets you experience the fluid balance between giving out, and giving i n. From Down Dog, come into Pigeon with your right knee behind the right wrist, and foot forward somewhere between the left hip crease and left wrist where your knee is comfortable. Stretch your back leg out long behind you. Maintain the level sit bones and hips centered in space. Walk your hands back beside your hips as you ground the legs down for support. Inhale, move your spine, shoulders and head back and up as you offer your heart higher. Exhale, cascade your spine forward as you lower your forehead towards the earth. Support the low back with your low abdominals as you inhale and wave back up again. Repeat the flow 5-10 times, then rest in Low Pigeon with head on your hands or a block for one minute. Breathe and receive the new energy you’re unlocking! Move to Down Dog and repeat Waterfall and Low Pigeon on the left.

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The Loving Cup

I left Brooklyn and arrived in Vancouver yesterday, to teach a weekend Core Strength Immersion. In five days, I’ll fly to Toronto for the Yoga Conference. I’m not a fan of being away from home for long periods of time, but the smell of freshly cut grass (lawns! How quaint!), the view of the Vancouver mountains, the cherry blossoms,and the fireplace in my hotel room have almost made up for it. No matter where I travel, the students meeting me on the mat all have one thing in common: they’re trying to make a change. Whether it’s learning something new, improving their strength and flexibility, accessing more of their inherent centeredness or a combination of these, no one I’ve met shows up to a yoga intensive with a burning desire to stay exactly the same. After all–shift happens. We’re all in constant state of flux, from our cells and thoughts, to our outer environments and relationships. Your experience is as transient as a hobo on a country railcar. The question is–in what direction do you want that train to roll? If you allow life, and the external opinions, requests, and demands of others take you where it wants to go, you’ll spend a lifetime getting steamrolled from the outside. Enough of that, and your heart will feel as flat as a pancake. If you want to fill your mind, body and spirit with the goodness of inspiration and transformation, you’ve got to do one thing for certain: Get to work. Remember: intention without action is just a beautiful pipe dream. In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali offers clue about how to change things according to your intentions. It begins with ishvara pranidhana. This word literally means “love of God,” but like so many other concepts in the yoga teachings, it has alternate meanings. Ishvara pranidhana can also mean “to take your highest action.” Have you noticed that in any moment when you’re called to make a choice –Do I go to yoga class or skip it? Should I yell at my partner or take a time out? Should I take the job I hate for more money or the one I love for less?–there is usually one that will serve your highest good, and one that will, well…not so much? When you take action that helps you express who you most want to be in the present, it will keep you on the road toward goals you want to reach later. I’m certain of this, because it’s taken me from a dysfunctional practice and stressful life to inner strength and outer abundance. It will work for you too–but you have to work it. Yoga is not a spectator sport. It asks for your full and unflinching participation. It can be scary, constantly facing down the unknown, but if you can go there–whether by hugging your thighs more in that Crow Pose, taking a deep breath when you want to say something hurtful, or choosing the high road in a situation where your habits and fears conspire to make the low one an attractive option–all your hard work will absolutely pay off. In fact, the beauty of yoga is that it pays its dividends instantly, with a rush of prana, or empowerment, and the personal satisfaction of becoming more of yourself in the moments that you focus, intend…and try. This is the offer of Kriya Yoga, the yoga of action, and it’s something that we can practice both on and off our mats. After some ginger-green tea (instead of my old nemesis: coffee!), I’m off to teach this afternoon with a group of teachers, most of whom I’ve never met. I will take my own advice, and instead of holding back, I’ll fully share from my spirit, which is always a vulnerable process. I’ll let you know what happened in my next post! Namaste, Sadie Core Question: What actions can you take, this week, to start making your intentions a reality? What has held you back before this? Core Pose: Earth to Sky Triangle Here’s a pose I use to teach my students the power of conscious action as they build Trikonasana (Triangle Pose). It can help you access deeper core strength and maintain a safe stretching point by building the posture from the ground up: Step 1: Come into a Utthita Parsvakonasana (Side Angle Pose) and place your bottom fingertips beside the outer foot. (Beginners: Bring your forearm on your knee.) Draw your navel in and up towards your chest as you lengthen the tailbone. Now lift your free arm to the sky. Wrap your top arm around your back in a half bind, and press the hand into your back ribs or palm into the thigh. Roll your top shoulder open, then look down to stretch the neck and shoulder. Step 2: Keep everything you’ve created, but begin to move your front hip crease back and ground into the big toe mound to straighten your leg (Beginners: Place the bottom hand on the thigh, shin, or ankle). If you lose your core connection, bend the knee slightly and play the edge of integration and expression here. Step 3: Unfurl your top, bound arm into full Triangle Pose. Now you’ve removed the obstacles (tight shoulders, compressed hip joints, a stiff neck) to your pose, let the freedom of your energy move through your entire body with each breath.

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You Better Work!

On Saturday, Seane Corn came to teach at my home studio: YogaWorks in SoHo, NYC. I’ve taken one workshop with her before and really enjoyed it. Plus, we see each other around on the conference circuit. So, since she was right in my ‘hood, I decided to enroll in her weekend classes on vinyasa sequencing. When I arrived on my mat, multiple people, some of them my regular students, came up to me with baffled looks on their faces. “Why are you here?” someone said, as if I had nothing left to learn. My answer was the same as it always is at moments like this: “I know what I know. I want to find out what I don’t know yet!” And I learned a lot, or as Seane might say, I remembered more of what I already know in her daylong sessions. I’m proud to show my students that my role as a teacher doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped being a student. Knowledge is fluid and always evolving, just like I am, and my teaching will mature and shift as I do. I refuse to hide my process of studentship for fear that my students will think I’m less of a teacher. I’m confident in my abilities and my unique perspectives on yoga, so I rest in my truth, and let others think what they will. It reminded me to remind you that life gets so much easier when you stop seeking approval from those around you and instead focus on accessing your deepest truth, or satya. If you lose your center the moment someone else has an unfavorable opinion of you, you’ll become everything for everyone, but very little of yourself. When I began teaching yoga, I would change the way I taught based on every student’s critique. In one month, it led me to teach faster, teach slower, talk less, talk more, make it easier, make it harder, and on and on. It was maddening, and my truth was lost in the quest to please everyone. Nowadays, I come into a workshop, speak my truth (which is not the only truth), give them a million percent of what my spirit is directing me to offer, and then I go home. Most people love it, a few think it’s pretty good, and there’s almost always one who can’t stand me.   And you know what? That’s OK. It used to bother me for days if I got negative feedback from someone. But as I teach more, I see that will always be the case, no matter how I change my message. So I stick to my core. Finally, I’ve learned to go into any classroom with one intention: I’m not here to cater…I’m here to teach. In your life, you can spend all your time and energy shape shifting to accommodate everyone’s needs or you can focus on living from your center. This is the exact moment when taking it personally transforms into the practice of giving it personally… …and you need no one’s stamp of approval but your own to do that. Core Question: Have you ever over-compromised your truth to please those around you? What happened when you decided to be fully yourself? Core Pose : Crossed Navasana with Fists of Fire This is one of my signature Core Poses. It’s meant to draw you out of your head and down into your center. Come into a cross-legged position like Sukhasana (Easy Pose). Place one foot in front of the other. Inhale, roll forward as you reach up, and lift the hips a few inches off the mat. Exhale, roll onto your sitting bones, engage the navel and low back in and up as you lift knees and feet higher. Repeat 5 to 10 times, then end in a forward fold from Easy Pose.

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Living Your Truth

I’m in Boston today, wiped out but happy after a day of teaching two back-to-back workshops at the fabulous South Boston Yoga . I taught for nearly five straight hours, and it was glorious. Teachers of all styles were there, alongside beginners, and yogis of all ages and abilities. They breathed together, stuck their tongues out for resounding Lion’s Poses, and even laughed freely at my silly jokes. Example: “Why is the pelvic floor like Elvis? Because it always leaves the building.” (insert groan here). At the end of class, we sang the following Bon Jovi Chant as one rockin’ voice. (Come into Easy Seat, Hands at chest in Namaste, then fingers interlaced): Whoa….We’re halfway there Who-oh! Living on a Prayer Take my hand, We’ll make it, I swear, Who-oh! Living on a prayer (repeat 3 times, and after the last verse, immediately sing the following line) Living on a prayer. . .OM. See it here . For a moment in time, a bunch of people who were strangers just three hours before were transformed into a kula, or community of the heart. It’s something I’ll never forget. Even the studio owners, the immensely knowledgeable David Vendetti and Todd Skoglund, planted themselves in the front row, and practiced next to their students, as students themselves. Though I was a new presence in the studio, and the SBY students are very loyal to their teachers, they received my instruction with a gung-ho excitement to try something new. Instead of meeting resistance as a foreign yogi in a new land, I felt like I’d come home to the wild welcome of yoga brothers and sisters I didn’t know I had. Yoga gives us all a chance to find a family of like-minded souls, and to share the experience of moving to and from Center together. When we embrace that family of choice, it enriches our personal yoga journey far more than just going it alone. As Jon Bon Jovi says, “Take my hand . . . we’ll make it, I swear.” To me, Core Strength starts with making a connection to your deepest Self, and from there, developing the courage to offer your truth to others. Receiving their offering of love and respect in return makes the challenges (burning thigh in Warrior 2, anyone?) you endure to get there so completely worth it. So thanks, Boston Family, for reminding me of that. Core Question: Where is your yoga family? Tell us how you knew you’d found a home! Who can you recognize with gratitude for welcoming you as one of their own?

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Boston Family

I’m going to go ahead and admit it: some days I really, really don’t want to teach. I know–I’m always supposed to be a bright, happy yogi who would rather chop off an arm that have to miss a yoga class, let alone miss the opportunity to make someone else’s day brighter through teaching–but, you know what, some days the natural light and love that brought me to yoga teaching in the first place just cannot find a way to shine through. On those days I grumble and complain and wish I didn’t have to teach and then drag my sorry little behind to the yoga studio. And then a funny thing happens. As my students start to walk in I find my mood lifting. I start to teach and I completely forget all of the reasons I really didn’t want to be there in the first place. And by the end, I almost always leave feeling lighter, happier and wondering why I don’t teach a whole lot more often. That, to me, is the power of teaching. Hopefully my students gain a thing or two from a class but I know that I always, always gain so much from them. Now all I have to do is remind myself of that each time I get the teaching grumps.

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For Those Times When You Just Don’t Want to Teach

Twenty hours ago I departed from the Entebbe Airport in Uganda and I’m still one flight away from home. As I  sit here in the  Newark airport Starbucks  I’m filled with a flood of emotions and memories:  the joy of being only hours away from seeing my family, the sadness of leaving so many behind, the smiles of the Shanti Uganda women in Kasana who danced and sang for us, the looks in the eyes of  the  HIV/Aids positive children at the New Hope orphanage when we said good bye to them, watching my fellow seva challengers work so hard in the mud and rain side by side with the men, women and children of the surrounding villages to help build a school through Building Tomorrow. Going to Uganda through The Off The Mat Into The World 2010 Seva Challenge was a little like doing a strong shot of Tequila. It was fast and furious, incredibly powerful and once it began there was no turning back. And like downing a strong shot, while I felt the initial jolt of the experience immediately, I have a feeling that my strongest responses are still to come. Not only am I certain that we made a difference in the lives of so many, but that I gained invaluable insight into myself: both where I shine and where I need to continue to work to break down the walls that keep me from truly stepping into my own power, my own truth. I look forward to the days, weeks, months, and perhaps even years that I will spend digesting these past 2 weeks. I know that the ripples of this experience will carry me to new and beautiful places filled with the deep waves of joy and inner peace that can only be felt through our continuous efforts to serve others and to serve the God that dwells within each one of us. If anyone out there reading this blogg is trying to decided wether or not to participate in next years 2011 Seva Challenge, I would like to put in a strong vote for, “Do It!”. The process of fund raising can be difficult at times but as Krishna teaches us in chapter 2 of the the Bhagavad Gita:  ”On this path of Yoga, no effort is wasted and there is no failure. Even a little effort towards spiritual awareness will protect you from the greatest fears” In other words, any amount money and awareness you raise will carry with it them karmic seeds of positive change both for the recipient of your efforts and for you. Take that first step. Make the commitment to try and see where the universe leads you.

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Departure by Sofi Dillof

If you can walk you can dance, if you can talk you can sing – Zimbabwean Proverb We have been here in Uganda for close to two weeks now and I am in utter bliss!  Throughout this entire trip, each time we make our way to our destination, we are greeted by profoundly joyful songs and dances.  The 20 women chosen to become staff at the Birthing Center created a welcome birthing tunnel of sorts and as each of us danced our way through the greeting lines we were sung to and strung with copious necklaces made of the paper beads that are such a strong part of the commerce and sustainability of this place.  Then as we gathered in the straw thatched round “community house” where community meetings are held and decisions made, we were treated to songs in Swahili and English with each woman introducing herself by singing her name and as the dancing began some of us were plucked out into the center to tie around our waist the fur covered bustle that is made to enhance our behind and shakes like a giant lions tail.  And we in turn sang back …a song we had sung together in yoga that morning…a reminder to be present to the gifts around us…”see through my eyes, sing through my voice, open my heart, to the beauty of the world.”  As we arrived in the Shanti Uganda village for a bonfire and feast under the stars, another procession by the women and children playing plastic water jugs for drums and smiling as they welcomed us into the dance.  Then I brought out my own drum, at first playing with the children as they gathered around and then finally gathering the whole village into a snakelike spiral dance that erupted into applause and celebration.  Later that evening, as I sat by the fire, I tried my own hand at the water container drum and sang with the 15 or so local children, improvising and exchanging nonverbal melody lines in the universal language of sound.  At the New Hope School, a more formal line of boys and girls comprised a chorus that sang a well rehearsed welcome song in English and that stuck in our heads for days “for our God is good and allowed you to come… we are happy to see you today!”  And finally at the Building Tomorrow site, the unforgettable sight of 150 children gathered to meet us and all taking turns at playing whatever rhythm I banged out on the drum right back to me – most with an amazing and natural sense of timing and rhythm.  That same number of kids following Seane and Nikki as they contorted their bodies into the funniest of yoga poses and remembered long sequences of dance moves as led by Victoria (who is now “reinspired” to bring dance to children).  Every day in so many ways, we were surrounded by this unselfconscious expression of the life force and joy of using our bodies and voices as instruments of beauty.  As a musician and teacher I have dedicated my life to helping others find their own voice and feel safe and empowered enough to give it form…and I come up against the fear, self consciousness and perfectionism that keeps all of that truth and beauty stifled and silent.  I have worked to release those critical voices inside of myself and to help others to truly appreciate the joy that comes from creating art in each moment.  I am not talking about the Art that we buy and sell and which must be packaged and sold to the over saturated ears of western culture but the sheer joy of allowing sound and movement to come through us.  The sheer sensuality and aliveness that lies at the heart of each of us…an innocent and childlike voice, a voice that can express the full range of our human experience without thought to how it sounds and with only a willingness toward how it feels.  This, in my opinion is our birthright and this is what brings us closer to our own divinity and this is how I wish to celebrate life in all its glorious complexity and this is what I love.  I will never forget sitting on the red earth of Africa, surrounded with laughing children as we sang song after song into the starry skies together.  More real, more alive and more truly grounded than ever before.  My hope is that every child (and every child inside every adult) can find their own song and know the freedom that can come from allowing that song to be sung – into the beauty of the world.  

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Freedom Song by Suzanne Sterling

There are hard facts of life here in Uganda. You can find depressing statistics about the incidence of rape, the HIV percentages or the challenge of educating girls.  All have so much effect on what it means to be a women here…but its really not so different at home in North America. Maybe that’s why it was so hard to write this because in all of the women we meet I see my mother and my sister and myself.   There are equally positive statistics to quote about the number of women in government in Uganda and the ways the government is trying to get more girls into post secondary schools and all of the work that the people we meet are doing.   I met with a journalist friend here who is writing about the gay community in Kampala and the proposed new bill. He is looking to write a story on a lesbian who has been raped. I think he was expecting me to be shocked to find out that that is what happens to ‘cure’ lesbianism here. But the rape story has been told over and over and over to us in so many ways that I wasn’t shocked. I just added it to the list of the how’s and the why’s it can be difficult to be a woman. And then we were at a birth. I lack the words to describe the power and the beauty of that experience. This 17 year old girl, who was alone with her sister, who is now a mother has quite a job in front of her.  That baby girl might have the odds against her but I have to be hopeful for her future.   Mothers, sisters, daughters, women get to be all of those. I will get to be all of those. At 32 years old, I did not arrive in Uganda a girl but I feel like I am leaving a woman. I had dinner at a womans house named Bubeera last night.  She lived in a 6′x8′ room with her 10 year old daughter. (her 3 sons hours away with their grandmother). We sat on the floor and ate by lantern light/cell phone flashlight.   She is HIV+.  She is alone and raising her child. She is very very lucky.   Bubeera was chosen out of 600 applicants to be part of Shanti Uganda’s  www.shantiuganda.org <http://www.shantiuganda.org>  income generating group.  They make jewellery out of paper beads which they also make.  This group brought 26 women together chosen for their dire circumstances (to qualify you have to be HIV+, widowed or raising children/grandchildren on your own) and they are taught how to make the jewellery, run a business, and manage money.  They have a self elected leader and full control over all of their profits.  The money they make is used to pay for their homes, send their children/grandchildren to school and to buy better more nutritious food.  Better food improves their health which makes it easier to deal with HIV. So, Bubeera is lucky.   Lucky that she now has some control of her life.  Lucky that she now has some choices.  Her daughter is lucky too…as now she has a chance at going to school. Pardon my over simplification but education is the key to poverty.   They say you educate a woman and you educate a village/nation.  I think you give a girl access to education and you give a girl access to choice.

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Women in Uganda by Davian Den Otter

“Souls don’t have races or sexes or religions. They are beyond artificial divisions.”  Beliefs separate, loving thoughts unite us.  Today started off with intrigue, curiosity, excitement and ended with joy, yet sorrow.  The orphanage was built first with a vision, then came the passion, then it took strength to reach out and New Hope School and Orphanage was born.  The man who started it was Godfrey in 1997.  He started New Hope on his own.  The kids are street kids – some have no mothers, some have no fathers, some have neither.  Most of the children are HIV+.  New Hope provides a safe environment to educate, learn and thrive.  In order to do so it takes visitors like us, OTM, to raise money and support these children so they have clean water, food, shelter, and education.  OTM has helped this year by creating a water filtration system, supplying mattresses, and school supplies.  Upon arrival we were greeted with song in our native language from the children that made my heart dance with joy:   It’s a long, long way from oh Canada to Uganda Passing over mountains and sandy rivers But our God is good who has allowed you to come We are happy to see you today   All day long we were engaged in activities with the children.  We played with frisbees, jump roped, read books, parachute games, and engaged in playful yoga postures.  Leaving the games on our way back to join others, one of the children grabbed my hand.  It made me realize how the children crave any sort of human contact, love, or affection of any kind. During the course of the day many pictures were taken of these beautiful children.  At one point I turned to show the children their picture through my camera lens.  They giggled with excitement at their own reflection.  I realized right then, how much we take for granted – some of these children might have never seen a reflection of themselves before.  We left a mural on their school wall so dreams and the magic will and can continue.  Leaving the school was hard for most of us. A feeling of sadness loomed when asked when will we return? The children of New Hope are thriving for love, support and just a hug. I hope I can go back and give each of them a hug.  I hope that other volunteers continue to build on this wonderful foundation.  It became apparent to me that a sponsorship program is needed at New Hope in order for these children to continue on this positive path of learning and growing, feeling safe and loved.  I am so humbled and honored to be part of these children’s lives.

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New Hope by Carrie Herscovici

I have a confession: I have been avoiding my yoga practice lately. After being sidelined for a few weeks by holiday travel, illness, and a pesky hamstring injury, I haven’t been able to get myself back on my mat. Now, I know in my head that the minute the asanas start flowing I’ll feel stronger and calmer and more centered — more me. My body, however, is rebelling. It seems to think its much nicer to sit on my couch and channel surf instead. But then I realized: This is the perfect time to recommit myself to my yoga practice. It’s the start of a new year — a new decade even — and I know this one will be the best one yet. As a student, as a teacher, we sometimes need these opportunities of renewal to remind ourselves what is most important to us. We are given the opportunity to commit and recommit to these things in a thoughtful and meaningful way. For me, my yoga practice will be a key focus to work back into my routine in the new year. What will it be for you?

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Recommitting to Your Yoga Practice

There appears to be an unspoken debate about using music in yoga class . Sometimes classes are accompanied by soothing melodies, devotional chanting, or even all out of rock. Other classes lean towards no music at all. It’s gotten me to wondering — is there a version that’s best? Or, like most things in yoga, does it simply come down to what feels right for you? In my own teaching I have covered all sides of the spectrum. When I started teaching, music always accompanied my words. I found that music helped to calm my new-to-teaching-nerves. It created an anchor that I could draw inspiration from to structure a class and inspire my students. Plus, some of my favorite teachers use music woven masterfully into their classes so I thought it seemed like a great idea to follow suit. And yet, after a few years of teaching and, frankly, listening to my small selection of mixes over and over and over, I decided I needed a bit of a musical break. I’d like to say I was inspired by the desire to move towards stillness but, really, I was just tired of all my songs. I’m not a DJ and I didn’t want to be one. So I turned the iPod off and just taught. And then an interesting thing happened. I found that, for me, turning off the music helped me to focus on the energy of the room and the rhythm of my students’ breath. It allowed me to feel more in sync with my students and it felt like they were able to reach a depth of stillness that I hadn’t seen before. And so it stuck. Has this experience caused me to swear off all music in yoga? Definitely not. Sometimes it feels like the room (or maybe me) could use a bit of a musical lift and so I pull my iPod out. I also love live chanting so I weave that into the beginning and end of class as often as I can. I love going to yoga classes with music and without. So I guess I would say I am firmly planted somewhere… in the middle. For those days that you lean more towards the musical side, visit our monthly playlists for inspiration or check out this Jivamukti sequence set to a downloadable musical track .

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Does Music Have a Place in Yoga Class?

I was recently watching Yoga Journal’s latest DVD: Yoga For Strength and Toning with Flow teacher Stephanie Snyder. (Full disclosure: Stephanie is my main teacher so I am thrilled that she just released this brand new DVD.) Strength and toning seems like a great reason to do yoga but it got me thinking: I wonder how many different reasons there are that people practice yoga? Some super-busy students of mine do yoga to de-stress; others to stay in shape. Some sporty students do yoga to stretch out after their workout.  I do yoga for different reasons on different days but mostly because it makes me feel good: mind, body, and soul. (And sometimes I joke that I do yoga because it makes me a little bit less crazy.) I know my students do yoga for some many reasons. What are those reasons for you? What brings you to the mat?

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Why Do You Do Yoga?

Recently I came across An Offering of Leaves by Jivamukti yoga teacher Ruth Lauer-Manenti. This new book is a collection of “‘dharma talks’ — stories from her life that accompany her classes and represent the yogic commitments to ahimsa (non-violence), compassion, and service.” Usually when I pick up books based on yoga philosophy, all full of enthusiasm to absorb some yogic wisdom, I get lost after three pages and end up abandoning ship. Thankfully, this book was a very welcome exception. Ruth writes with such simplicity, humor and authenticity that I was immediately drawn into each story. It was easy to see the connection to the Sanskrit verse with which the story began. By the end I felt like I had delved into the ancient texts of The Yoga Sutras and The Bhagavad Gita in a way I never had before and in a way that made sense to me. I’m hoping I can bring this new-found knowledge into my days and to my students. What other books have helped you deepen your understanding of yoga philosophy in an easy and accessible way?

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Sharing Wisdom through An Offering of Leaves

This weekend I had the pleasure of teaching an Intro to Yoga workshop to a shiny, new crop of yogis. Some of them had never done yoga. Others had done yoga a bit but had never gotten the basics. And yet they all had one thing in common: they were super-eager to learn. It was as if just by signing up for a workshop called “Intro” they had taken on the “Beginner’s Mind” and embraced it. And oh what a wonderful thing that was. In case you’re not familiar, we often refer to a “Beginner’s Mind” in yoga as that space where you examine everything as if it were new. By opening ourselves up to the possibility that there is always something new to learn (even when you have done the “same” downward facing dog a thousand times) all kinds of things can shift and change and evolve. I found myself inspired by my beginners. Not only were they discovering yoga with all of its possibilities but they were so open and receptive to everything I (and yoga) had to offer. I found myself wanting to give as much of myself as I possibly could. I wanted to learn more and absorb with the same openness and fearlessness that they were exhibiting. And so, my beginners, for this I thank you. And I ask you, my readers, where could you benefit from applying your Beginner’s Mind?

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Beginner’s Mind

I’ve always liked pranayama. I like the high feeling you get after I do it for a while. I like how it seems to clear my nostrils and sinuses and makes it easier to breathe. But I have to admit, all the talk about how it moves energy … I never really understood all of that. Until now. After a morning class with Deskichar on how the breath affects your whole being and another class with Rod Stryker about how the bandhas relate to all of it, I think I’m finally starting to get it. Stryker explained that you could think of the body as a container of energy. In meditation, the mind goes where the energy, or prana, is. If you haven’t prepared properly your energy is all over the place–moving out of your container. (This is why when you sit down to meditate your mind wanders.) According to Stryker, the purpose of asana is to remove blockages so your energy inside can move more freely. Then, pranayama collects more energy from around you and brings in inside of you so you have MORE prana in that container. Bhandas focus that prana and hold it in. It all works together to help your meditation practice–which is the whole point of yoga in the first place! Ah ha! There’s my light bulb moment!  

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The Power of Pranayama

The last time I came to the Estes Park Yoga Journal conference two years ago, I was NOT prepared. Other YJ Conferences I had been to were in hotels. You roll out of bed, walk downstairs, and take class… but Estes Park is different. You have to go outside and walk around a campus to find your classes. And sometimes it SNOWS in September. Let’s just say my yoga clothes, sweatshirt, and flip flops were not sufficient. This year, I brought warm clothes (and socks!) and I can’t WAIT to get outside and do some exploring tomorrow. Tomorrow’s itinerary: –Desikachar: The Yoga of Breath and Mind –Rod Styker: ParaYoga: Theory and Application of Bandha –Twitter Yogis Spontaneous Yoga 1pm (outside the admin building) –Panel Discussion “The Power of Women in Yoga” –Podcasting 101: Expanding Your Message Beyond Studio Walls –Seane Corn: Anahata Flow: Love, Compassion, and Forgiveness

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Fired Up! Ready to Go!

As a yogi I try to keep my crankiness to a minimum. But I have to say, nothing puts me on the cranky-train faster than a poorly done yoga teacher headshot. You know the ones – where your favorite yoga teacher (who is cute as a button and radiates sunshine) looks like a blurred-out, fuzzy mess who quite possibly has just finished an all night bar crawl with her ten closest friends (who are of course whooping it up in the background of the tiny image.) Or the one where your teacher is twisted up so far into a pretzel that you are not sure where her legs end and her head begins and you just want to look away because, frankly, that looks like it hurts and you just don’t want that to happen to you because you quite possibly will get stuck. Forever. Come on folks. Let’s get our headshots together. Often a yoga teacher’s headshot is the first thing that you will see when deciding if you want to take your class. Wouldn’t a happy, meditative, in-focus yogi convince you to take a class more than a lot of the pictures out there? I beg of you – if you are a student and your yoga teacher’s headshot is just not up to par, let them know. Take a snapshot yourself if you must. You’ll be helping them, I promise. And if you are a teacher – take a quick look. What is your headshot saying about you? For articles with some lovely headshots check out our Yoga Mentor Experts .

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Your Yoga Teacher’s Headshot: Is it Up to Snuff?

Recently a friend and newly anointed yoga teacher asked me for advice on how to pick a yoga studio to teach at. I thought it was a great question from a newbie since I see so many new teachers salivate over ANY class they can call their own, even if it’s at 4:30am AND 20 miles outside of town AND they have to pay for cleaning AND the list goes on… After several years of trial and error I think the best way to ensure success is to make sure you consider all aspects of any teaching opportunity: Do you like the studio & its students? A studio you teach at should be a place you feel at home in and you would want to practice there yourself. Every studio has a very different personality so some will fit and some just won’t. Do you like the owner? The owner/management has so much influence on a studio and your experience in it. Make sure your personalities mesh before committing to a class Do people like working there? Talk to other teachers and get their experience. Are you going to get a time slot that works well? While it can be good experience when you’re starting out to get any slot (especially at a studio you really want to teach at), it can also be a real bummer to show up and have just a few students (or none at all some days). Figure out what attendance that slot currently gets and what you are willing to live with. What don’t you know yet? Do you get paid per student or a flat-fee? Is there a minimum you will be paid or if you show up and no-one else does do you go home empty-handed? Do they take anything out of your pay per month (like insurance or a cleaning fee)? Are you required to have liability insurance on your own? How often are you paid? Do they have front desk people working or do you have to sign people in? How early are you expected to be there for your class? Are you responsible for getting your own subs? Is there a sub list or can you get anyone to sub? What is the process? Are there any other things you will be expected to do? For those more seasoned teachers out there—what else do you consider before committing to a new studio or new class? Need ideas on how to get your chosen studio to notice you? Learn how to catch a studio’s attention .

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Where to Teach

Hannah O’Reilly is Yoga Journal ’s Online Production Manager by day and a San Francisco Flow Yoga Teacher by night (and sometimes early morning). She simply loves yoga and wants to share it with as many people—in as many ways—as she can. She is thrilled to be contributing to Yoga Journal’s Teacher Tells All blog as a new way for her to talk about and form community around yoga. As a yoga teacher, Hannah is known for her joyful spirit, flowing movement, focus on the breath, and occasionally, some kick-your-butt ab work. Hannah pulls yogic inspiration from far and wide including yoga teachers Stephanie Snyder and Jason Crandell, San Francisco city life and (more often than you might care to know) reality tv. She encourages lightheartedness on and off the mat and finds laughter every day playing with her pup Zeke. For more information about Hannah please visit her website or become a fan of Hannah Yoga on Facebook.

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Meet Hannah