From Teacher to a Student of Yoga: Thoughts that Arise

 Ever since I began taking yoga classes I have brought a journal with me to write my thoughts as I sit on my mat. In addition, I take note of the practice I am in; the moves, the breath, the feelings that arise. At each studio I visit there is a special place I like to land. This place feels like my own little island; where I can be myself for a time. I would like to share some of the tips, the thoughts, what I have discovered while being the student. 

Alignment Tips: 

• When on the back to do a crunch, do not lift the tailbone off the mat; instead tailbone on the mat & "knit" ribs down. If you pick your tailbone up you do not work the upper portion of the rectus abdominis.

• Trikonasana/Triangle: Open hips stand with hips parallel to the outside of the mat. 

• Forward Fold/Uttanasana: Put hands on your shins before coming all the way up. Less stress on lower back. 

• Support your head when on your back so forehead is even with cheekbones. Otherwise the neck is pinched and tightens down the spine (Andrea). 
• Alignment: 1. Three fundamentals: Grounding-Roof of mouth-Exhale. 2. Pre-yoga exercises (get ready for the theme). 3. R=recipe: intro, warm, peak, cool down. 4. A=action & resistance: taking & going down one more layer. Use your mind to add the resistance. 5. W= win/win alignment: natural alignment. 

Chanting: 

- Nervous; freak out the practitioner

- Not interested; move on

- Uncomfortable; uncomfortable with voice/ or both

+ Getting and staying in alignment with Yogic tradition

+ Power of Mantra-channeling energy

+ Energetic quality of the class

Breathing: 

Breathing in-welcome breath. Come home to your body. 

The breath we share, we share with others. As we heals so we heal others. Our breath reminds us that we are alive....live. 

Andrea: Look at modern life & its impact; balance. Breath is what is, don't try to change or manipulate it. 

Guide your breath to areas of the body. 

Finding stillness in a world of constant motion. Pelvis the seat of grounding. Whether the challenge is physical or whether the challenge is a part of life. Inhale: easy & effortless. Exhale: ride the breath all the way out & pause. 

Bumble Bee Breath:  Immune boosting; Stimulate the lymphatic system & thymus gland. Vibration of the body. Reduce anger & anxiety. 

Ujjayi Breath: Ocean breath. Heat building. Clearing/channeling tapas. Comfort & clarity. Notice imbalance of breath. Hand in front of face; exhale and feel the heat on your hand. Close mouth/hand down/constrict back of throat on inhale. More of a "working breath." Do while practicing Sun Salutations. 

Diaphragmatic Breathing: Inhale belly button/Exhale sternum. 

Teaching Tips: 

• Think about the format of my classes so that I can focus more on the spiritual side of yoga; meditation at least five minutes. 

• Feel the connection  between your body & the earth. 

• Ground to counter the stress of the holidays. 

• Five "B's" Help find the "root to rise" action
• Blueprint
• Breath; become centered, connect with stability
• Balance: find center 
• Bandhas: internal support; help direct prana
• Bliss: look of peace; sense of equanimity

• Constructive Rest: grounding, profound effect on the body. 1. Weight of the body draws down roots. Go through body parts that are on the Earth. 2. Gentleness & Kindness toward our bodies. 3. Follow Breath. 

• Fascia: webbing that covers muscles, tendons and ligaments. It is a "net" that protects us. Back Fascia Line: toes/heel, inner knee/hamstring, bum back to over the skull to eyebrow. Front Fascia Line:  toes tips/ankles front/shin bone over knees-quads/hip crest, pubic bone to sternum, divides SCM muscle to behind the ear/over the skull. Yet it can get twisted, bound up causing immobility & pain. Elasticity through stretching.

• Pulls heels towards each other in Open Hip Asanas to ground your foundation.

• Protraction: out / Retraction: in. Feel the shoulder blades moving forward (protraction) and moving back (retraction).

• Tap into your Intuition: listen to your body & what it is telling you. Use your inner teacher to guide you. 

• Transverse Abdominus: "corsett." Center point-grounding, take pressure off of the lumbar. Neutral spine. Stop the pee. 

• Bringing in "new elements" to share with your students??!! Expose them to a practice(s) taht are a part of the yogic tradition with out bringing in a sense of trepidation or fear. Why is that? Do we fear opening ourselves up-going outside the pre-made box? Are gender norms been instilled since birth; that we fear "new?" Do we keep our expressions, our openness, our voice silent?! To add to the stress of expression, now when I do open my voice for all to hear-am I loved? Am I on cue? Am I holding to long? Are people watching me?

• Muscles Two Main Functions: 1. to produce movement, by moving the bones of the skeleton. 2. to maintain posture/body position. LOCKED SHORT: muscles get stuck in the contracted position (tight in). Stretch at the end of the contraction. LOCKED LONG: pulled on, act like straps, "contracting." SOLUTION: muscles are designed to contract & relax in succession=increase circulation to the area, bring nourishment & develops muscle tone & strength. "Contract/Relax, Contract/Relax..... Then stretch (if appropriate). 

• BUCKET: Depleting your bucket/depletes your energy level. Filling your bucket/energizes you. Fill your bucket. Pelvis is your bucket. 

• Kriyas: Kri: action.... Ya: atman/soul.... Sort of action or effort involving your transcendental self. Increasing access to subtle energy & then channeling that energy in different ways. Channel your energy more efficiently.  One can more easily control the fluctuations of the mind through controlling one's energy, one's life force. Shift our awareness so that we think thought instead of thought thinking us; take spontaneous right action. 

• Svadhyaya (Niyama) self-study in addition to physical practice. Open our hearts & minds to this deeper inquiry. Ground & center us. Flexible in body & mind. 

Meditation: 

Start with the scalp to toes; relaxing, bringing to light where the tension is & focusing to relax. 

Ground, Center, Be Present. "Social Face," Settled & Present. 

Bring in our past experiences. Allow these to drop down; seep into the ground. Grounding: pre-prep for practice. Roof of Mouth: spacious. Exhale: feather moving in the wind. 

Meditation: Intention & Visualization. Path of Breath. Identify a feeling that brought you here to your mat and create a visual around it. 

Lying Meditation: Grounding, pause-be still to find balance. Moment to moment awareness with our perceiving bias or judgment. Find techniques to tether the mind. Bring "peace in"-"peace out." 

What I See When On My Mat: 

Blowing in the Wind: Milkweed.... Soft breeze....strong gust....even the stalk itself bending in the wind. Is it trying to hold onto its seeds or does it know it is time to let them go?

Robin looking in the window. I wonder what it thinks as it sees these beings moving on their mats. 

PEBBLE

Field of Awareness: But in a removed, detached way. To look at the obstacles that may hinder or block our path. Hold a pebble close to your eyes. I appears larger, then as you move away you truly see its true size. So it is with your obstacles... if we let them be our only focus, we may never realize how small they are. 

Appreciate yourself fore what you are, how far you've come & all that you have to look forward to. 

Life around us is ever changing....but our "true self" is unchanging. Who we are is good enough. 

What goals are really important to our lives, our world, our wellbeing? ANSWER: "Vairagya'" non-attachment & appreciation of ourselves. 

Practicing with a Cold: Sore joints, head full of ****... It is truly good for you to do your practice with a cold? Energy level is low, to move takes great effort, balance is off, lowering my  head puts pressure on the eyes; feels like they are going to pop out of my head! And yet, here I am. I want to bring movement to my body to clear the toxins out of my body. Working through discomfort to a place where I forget that I "can't" breath well & my head hurts. To take myself out of my body & feel the flow. 

Practicing in the Warmth of the Sun: April 2018.... April should be a month of growth of rebirth. The mornings may be cool, but by afternoon the sun has warmed up the earth and the plants that have slept during the winter months begin to emerge. Rains come to water the earth, to wash away the remnants of winter; to cleanse and renew the earth. This April has been quite different; cold mornings continue through the day; even though the sun has shown itself. Rain has turned to sleet, ice & snow blanketing the plants that have begun their journey. For the farmers, plowing the fields has been put on hold, waiting for the ground to dry. For those of us that have waited for Spring to come, patience is their mantra. We can not change what Mother Earth may send us, so we need to have patience; hoping that the cold will diminish, the snow will melt and the earth will warm. All of these thoughts showed themselves today as I went through a most wonderful practice in the Sun. Though the landscape outside was one of snow; the sun shined bright and warmed my island, my space, my mat. 

Energy: Recharge....Plug-in.... Feel your body& where it is at. Do you need to challenge yourself more & increase your energy level or have you expended  your energy by doing to much all the time & you need to bring yourself down. 

Hummingbird.... As we were going through our practice today a hummingbird appeared by the window. It's wings fluttering so fast, its beak tapping the window. As I watched, I wondered, "why was this beautiful bird drawn to this particular window? What did it see that drew itself here? What was it expecting to find? Was there another bird that looked like itself?" Friend or Foe?  I smiled and laughed to myself. What a wonderful surprise on this sunny day. A sunny day after what seemed like days of dark clouds, thunder & rain. This sighting brought such joy to my heart that I didn't think there would be sadness. And yet, there was. Not knowing what was forcing the bird to keep tapping on the window, it soon fell to the ground. 

Turkeys Feeding in the Fields.... Turkeys were feeding in the fields as we practiced. First, they moved across the field to the side of the hill and then a while later came back across the field. I wondered why they chose to come back from where they were?? Can I/we use this to apply to our lives; first go one way and then go another, only to come back to where we were? 

Spring Day & the Sun is Shining.... The sun is shining it warmth spreads throughout my body. After days of heaviness, of wetness in my body, I was feeling weighted down. My mood was one of negativity, questioning life! To have the sun greet me has brought a renewed sense of hope. 

Why Do I Do This? I read, I write, I practice, I teach and yet, I feel like I am not truly "living" what I teach. I work hard to research and understand the book side of yoga; but I need to go beyond this and truly internalize. Let go of whatever I seem to feel/think is holding me back. Who am I trying to prove to? Me or everyone else? I want to be at peace with myself & my life's journey. When does this happen? Be at peace with in you! Whatever happens.... You/me need to let go of the outside & inside expectations. Be you. Know you. Love you. 

Cold, Brisk Day.... I love sitting on my mat looking out the window as it brings me peace. And, you never know what you will see. Today, part of the prairie was in the sun & the other part was in the shade. The wind has created beautiful drifts with swirling edges. 

To Be Remembered.... Pres. George HW Bush's eulogy by his son. We should live our lives how we want our eulogy to be. How do we want to be remembered? I spent too much time worried about my outer being; so much time wasted on something so meaningless. What would Sid say, what would the girls say, what would be grandchildren say??? 

Describe your Paradise.... Living for health or living in paradise? Do we create our own paradise because we fear reality.... Ans as a result our paradise, though fake, becomes our reality? To live healthy, I believe is to live for your health. How would you describe your paradise? In todays society for some or for many, paradise would be valued by the material wealth one has, the power, the toys one has. 

Feeling at Peace.... Feeling at peace where you practice. Feeling no pressure to perform where you teach. Yoga should not be about the numbers: how many or how much. And yet, this is what I see and experience in some of the places I teach. When and why has yoga become a business? Where the bottom line is more important then those you serve, than the peace you bring! 

Questions to ask of a studio: 

What is your philosophy?

What is the focus of the studio?

Spiritual practice vs exercise?

Community Involvement?

Teacher expectations? 

Spiritual: 

Ganesh: Remover of obstacles. God of success. Don't sit & dwell; remove obstacles. New experiences-pray to Ganesh. SPRING: earth changes as does the person, the more you practice the more you can overcome. 

Santosha (Niyama): Contentment. Accept things as they are. Positive relationship with ourselves. Ethical concept. Satisfaction. Accepting & appreciating what we have & what we are already & moving on from there.  Bring about a space that is an opportunity for growth. 

Bhagavad Gita: not to look outside ourselves for happiness, but to realize that peace & happiness lies within. 

Vata: Time of the year (Fall to Mid-Winter). Skin is dry, air is dry, body's joints are dry & need lubricating. Fluids

Kapha: (Spring to Summer) Time of "mud." Water & Earth. Heavy, sticky, cold, moist. One may feel lethargic & cold. Opposites balance: create warmth in the practice. Twisting postures. 

Prana: "chi" life force-energy systems in our bodies. Essential to our health & well being. To awaken our higher consciousness. Keep the uninterrupted flow moving; don't become sedentary. Eat food which are not refined or processed. 

Transition from Pitta to Vata; from Summer to Fall. From heat & humidity to cold, dry & mobile. Feel the earth; work on stability. How do you feel? (heavy-light, moist-dry) What do you need to support you? Turn your attention to the feeling of breathing; cultivating our prana, our life-force (Andrea). 

Saucha (Niyama): Purity of speech, body & mind. Cleanliness of speech, body & mind. Notice your thoughts, actions and negative thoughts. Try to be content, to accept things as they are.