It's been a while!

As some of you may have noticed, I have taken a short hiatus from blogging. This was due in part by an extremely office job/yoga schedule, but I am going to try to post more often, for the tens or even dozens of people who may read this from time to time.

"Real love is only possible whe you see everything as yourself." -Sri Swami Satchitananda

Delving in to the Sutras a bit, Sutra 1.24 says: "The Divine Conscioness is self-effulgent like the sun". So, if the Divine is always in our hearts, why do we need to call it forth at all? The reason is that many of us became stuck and stagnant, having closed off our heart, from ourselves and eachother. So, as we are able to open up the hearth through practice, our Divine self is revealed. The true miracle here is that if we are able to open our hearts like this, overcoming self-doubt or self-judgement will happen naturally, over a course of time.

And down the road in the future, those once-intense feelings of self doubt will simply begin to become more comfortable in your own skin. This is an amazing transformation. Over time, you will feel grounded, at peace, and able to deal with any wobbles life may through at you. As I'm fond of saying in class, life is never going to stop throwing wobbles, some big, some small, but what we can learn to do on and off the mat is to stay very calm, tap into our inner resources of our inner-balance and equinimity, and BREATHE! .......knowing that wobbles, intensity, and firey feelings in the muscles are not a hinderence to your practice, but a gift, not only serving to strenghten you physically, but also mentally.

Sutra 11.7: "Excessive fondness for fleeting pleasures (Raga) causes longing."
Sutra 11.8: "Excessive avoidance of unpleasant experiences (Dvesa) causes pain."
Don't let these sutras put you off. All they are saying has been said many times before by very wise people - "Everything is fine in moderation." In yoga, we try to figure out how to walk the middle path. Being an Ashtangi or yoga practitioner should not create more stress, tension, and self-comparison to yourself and others. If this is where you're at, take a nice deep breath and remember that things are always impermanent & will shift for you.

I know it's incredibly hard to drop judgement sometimes, but like everyhing else it's a learned skill. Finding a little detatchment from our ego-dramas does not me we devalue ourselves or our emotions. Instead, it means we are doing more to help them, but not feeding more negative energy into the system. Over time, we can learn to be far more compassionate towards others, including ourselves (meaing ourselves as individuals, as well as the entire human race).

Ashtanga yoga is a highly individualized learning process for each individial person, and it's important to remember that, when you're feeling frustrated, those feelings will pass. I promise. Please always: Work compassionately with your body, always being gentle instead of forceful. If you ever want to talk about frustrations, or any other topic, you can find me at the studio, email me at lindsay.yoga@gmail.com, or give me a call at 734.846.4366. I am always very happy and honored to chat and assist, so please don't hesitate to get in touch. Namaste, everyone, and have a safe and happy up-coming Halloween!!
Blessings to all beings. -L

Sutra 11.15 "Intuitive wisdom empowers us to expand beyond the constantly changing natural world ("the seen") to the abode of the Divine Spirit (The Seer).

"When we are able to know the self, all else is known." - Bhagavad-Gita

Pose of the Day: Backbends!

As you probably know, there are many varieties of backbends available to us. Supported Bridge, Up Bow, and Camel, to name just a few. There are also poses like Natarajasana (King Dancer) which have strong backbend elements to them.

No matter which backbend you are doing, keep your butt muscles engaged!! Those of you who practice with me have heard me say this over & over again, but it's because it's so important. Engaging the glutes protects the lower back. Think of contracting the back of your body to open the front of the body to the sky; open heart, long belly, open hips. Make sure to rest in between backbends with the knees in, spine in a reversed position.

What are some potential obstacles in backbend? One is lack of flexibility in the spine. The answer for this is more practice, challenging though it may be! Work closely with an instructor if you have a very rigid (or rigid area of your) spine. Another obstacle is lack of strength, usually in the arms. This needed strength can be built up by lowering down correctly through plank during Sun Salutations. Ask your teacher! Your instructor can show you other ways to strengthen these muscles, as well as how to use a strap to stabilize the arms. Fear can also be a tremendous obstacle here, especially if you have had a less-than-positive backbend experience in the past. As always, be patient and compassionate with yourself. Keep breathing. Backbending can be both physically and emotionally intense, as the heart expands and becomes open and vulnerable. Learn to trust your body, including when to challenge yourself, when to let go, and when to back off. Never hesitate to ask for assistance if you need it!

In general, students start off with Supported Bridge Pose. From there, you will likely progress to Up Bow. Up Bow can take several modifications; once it becomes easily accessible you can begin to walk the hands toward the feet, eventually grabbing one or both ankles. (**This is very advanced!!! Please do not attempt without an instructor!!**) But you don't have to be able to hold your ankles to begin to learn Drop-Backs. These often start with "walking down the wall" into a backbend. This helps us understand how the hips need to shift forward in order to counter-balance the weight of the body as it bends backward. Walking back UP the wall is harder, and requires very strong Bandhas and stomach muscles. Once you get the feeling of having a very stable base in the legs and hips, Drop-Backs without the wall are possible. Have an instructor assist you to a lessening degree, until you are completely in control of the backward descent. Again, coming back up is more challenging and requires Bandhas, belly strength, and a little momentum somtimes :)

Remember, always practice at your own level. Everything comes in time. With that being said, here is an awesome, must-see video to demonstrate the principles I've been talking about:
http://xchange.orgfree.com/videos/view.php?id=z8wXJPUY2L0
(thanks, yogabodynaturals.com people!!)