Photo Credit: adamr

Coming back to the “ha” of hatha yoga, symbolized by the sun, today we acknowledge the aspects of yoga that can be seen.

Yoga asana, the practice of postures, helps to maintain the physical body and care for the health. We can witness an experience of another’s yoga as we see it, but we can never know how it feels to be in the other person’s body, experiencing the poses, or working with the breath and the mind as they do. We are each different. Hopefully, this seen aspect of our own or another’s practice can be uplifting and inspiring (which literally means “to give breath”) to others.

Pranayama, the breath work that helps us to gather a sense of our life force. Call this prana, chi, or life itself, taking this time to be with our experience of the breath is mostly an internal experience, though we can see the movements of the body.

Seva, or karma yoga, is the act of giving of ourselves without seeking personal benefit or gain. We offer the fruits of our actions for the sake of others. This act of giving can make itself seen in the sharing of food between friends, or the donation of money to fight cancer. It can be the offer of a smile to a child who appears nervous, or the lending of your truck to a friend who is moving. In any case, the offer of our own resources or actions for the benefit of others will always lead to a sense of connection with others, a sense of place in the community. This can be seen, though much of the benefit is still internal.

There are other aspects of yoga that can be seen, too. Would you care to write a few words about how you practice the seen aspect of yoga, or how this has impacted you?

Yoga Pose of the Day: Extended Puppy Pose: See the pose explained here:  http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/2476

Yogic Concept of the Day: to make sure I keep my yoga practice balanced, I can choose to make effort in the seen aspects of yoga: asana, pranayama, and seva. Doing so can keep me present with my community, whether they practice yoga or not.

By: xandert

Bringing the seen and the unseen together in a physical practice is nothing new. Of course, yoga is about 5000 years old. But it is not only yogis who bring what arises within out into the world.  Artists do this every day. The people who design doorknobs… artists. The people who imagine pink cars and paint them… they do this. If you are human, you do this. You imagine what you want for dinner, and then you create it or find someone who will. Everything we do works in this way. It brings us all a measure of delight when it is done well. 

So, how do we do this well in yoga? We do what is always done. We take what we feel and think inside, and bring it through – into the movement of the body, or out in the world through our interactions. This requires a balance of effort and relaxation. Push too hard, and something breaks. Don’t give enough of your attention to it, and you will get minimal if any results or interactions with others.

It is not big shocking revelations or swinging from insight to insight that makes yoga practice one that is executed well. That is all internal – (tha) moon. This is great, but there is another aspect to make sure we yoke together (yoga) with our internal work. We must share the process with the sun (ha), bring it into the open where others can see it. We offer our yoga as service to the person in front of us. Yoga is not just consistent effort and calm, it is sharing it. 

Yoga Pose of the Day: Offer something to another person.

Yogic Concept of the Day: Bringing what I find inside during asana practice can be offered in the world by sharing (my calm, my insight, my delight, my ideas, or anything else that arises as a possible gift to share).

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Today we see the moon. We work with the second part of hatha yoga, the asana practice which creates balance inside and outside the body, in ways seen and unseen. Today we consider the moon and the unseen aspects of practice.

The moon symbolizes rhythm and planning, the careful attention to the changes around us, and the ability to see in the dark symbolically as well as visually. The moon also offers romance, the promise of mystery turning into delight as we see our hopes and dreams come into view. The moon also represents emotional steadiness and support.

How do you allow your imagination and dreams to participate in your yoga practice? Do you offer yourself a rhythm in your practice, balancing rest and effort, strength and flexibility, imagination and actual work? Are you able to take principles from the mat into the rest of your life?  Do you provide vision and interest in your everyday efforts off the mat? Do you allow yourself to envision what you hope for and bring that emotional strength into space of work and home with you?

You can use the joy that your dreams and hopes provide you into your waking life. You can dream of calm and steady effort, a joy-filled home, a work life that is supportive to your home life. If you can imagine it, you can make it happen, though it may take effort, planning, and consistent work over many months. 

Hatha yoga can remind us that each day our effort toward the balance of emotional, physical, mental, and social effort and practice will create changes and build a reality consistent with what we know to be our goals. Whether our goals are for calm, peace, quiet, togetherness, kindness, or some other great experience in this life, we can do something to make them a part of our everyday lives, and share this with others.

Pose of the Day: Half Moon – Ardha Chandrasana

Yogic Concept of the Day: I can practice what I hope for.

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This week, we will be looking at balance. Balance has a lot of meanings… today we consider the concept of “ha” – the sun. Hatha yoga literally means sun-moon yoga. When we practice asana, or hatha yoga practice, we engage the mind the body and the spirit in practice for greater health, well-being, and more effective participation in the world around us. Hatha yoga supports our seen and unseen aspects of growth and contribution to the community. 

Consider all the sun offers. A universal symbol of understanding, the sun also can represent a lack of fear, and reasoning, as well as a sustainable source of warmth, the support of food and growth. Today, consider the meaning the sun can have for you in your own practice.

The sun can also symbolize awareness and energy. How can you energize your yoga practice, the conversations around you? What is it about you, and how you naturally are, that provides others with this support even if you don’t try?

Effort and energy does not always require big bursts, like an explosion, but sustained and predictable effort. How do you support this in yourself, and in others?

What can you do today to shed light on your own practice, help it to grow, or just sustain a real consistency in practice?

Pose of the Day: Upward-facing Dog

Yogic Concept of the Day: I can bring light, awareness and attention to my yoga practice as well as to those around me.

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Today I challenge you to make extra time to move. Get some cardio this weekend! I hope you will add at least an extra hour in each day, but for some people this is not likely. Right?

Still – your challenge is to do something. Run, walk, skate, jump rope, clean the house, shovel snow. Get moving.

And remember – Movement does not equal stress. If you are walking running, booking it – you don’t have to stress about it. You can rush without feeling rushed. Try it out. Practice makes perfect!

‘Nuff said.

Pose of the Day: Sun Salutations – 15 or more! You can break it up if you really need to… but try it!

Yogic thought for the day: Movement does not equal stress. It is just movement. I can move and still feel at peace.

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There are a lot of ways to approach tailor-making your home yoga practice. Today I want to focus on a really simple key idea.

Strength and Flexibility need to go hand in hand.

The picture above would be lacking if there was only one color, one texture, one type of viewed object, but it is intriguing because there are so many unknowns and so many aspects of the image that pose questions to the mind. Our bodies need this kind of attention. We can work with a variety of movements to make a balanced and interesting array of abilities with it. When I look at this picture, I am so unfamiliar with everything. I don’t even know what I am looking at. We must be open to learning new ways of looking when we view unfamiliar objects. We must be open to new ways of feeling when we experience yoga. 

If you naturally want to go for the strength builders, you may not be getting enough of the flexibility work in your yoga practice. If you have a naturally bendy body and just love love love flexibility work, it is imperative that you make sure you are building strength as a part of your yoga and overall exercise habit.

People who are naturally flexible often miss the key step off building strength, which keeps their range of movement in check. Please do not abandon strength building. In fact, I recommend that those who are particularly flexible (able to hyper-extend some joints, no problem touching toes – ever) should be sure to make at least 1/3 of their physical exercise specifically strength-building and weight-bearing. It is common for flexible people who do yoga to end up with destabilized joints if they do not build adequate muscle strength.

If you naturally love the strength work and tend to skimp on the flexibility work, be sure that you work with your patience first, and just stay with the flexibility work. I would recommend making flexibility training at least 1/3 of your physical work in the week. This means doing a lot. But remember that you can let gravity teach you how to work with the lengthening of the muscles. You do not need to push into the poses with force to “get somewhere.” I have noted many people who decide this is not true end up taking longer to gain flexibility in the long run. It just isn’t worth the struggle. If you struggle you will slow your progress! The body is like quicksand… spread out the mind. The harder you try the more you get stuck. If you are struggling with flexibility, then give up and just wait in the pose. Use concentration methods (offered last week) to also help the mind with this process. It may actually be that once the mind can become more at ease without constant doing, the muscles will also become more at ease. Why not try it?

Peace to you. Have a great Thursday!

Pose of the Day: Strength – Chaturanga Dandasana; Flexibility – Open Angle (Upavistha Konasana)

Yogic Concept of the Day: It is necessary for me to spend some time working with poses that are uncomfortable to keep the muscles balanced between strength and flexibility.

Photo Credit: think4photop

I think most people feel they could use a little more rest. But sometimes what we need is actually more exercise.  If you are already doing exercise, it can be a little confusing to figure out what it is that the body needs to improve how you feel.

Of course any health conditions can complicate the picture, but a good guideline can be seen below.

If you need more sleep: 

1 You fall asleep when you don’t mean to (i.e. watching tv, after dinner,during movies if you sit for a little while).

2. You feel tired, irritated, and may have difficulty concentrating during the day.

3. You have difficulty organizing or remembering what you were doing, or where your car keys are.

4. You get drowsy when driving.

If you need more exercise: 

1. You already get 8+ hours of sleep per night.

2. You feel a lack of energy, but aren’t sure why.

3 You may frequently have sugary snacks or drinks.

If you are really unsure why you have a lack of energy, you may want to talk to your physician about what a healthy exercise regimen may include.

Pose of the Day: Sun Salutations (10) – Get moving! And get plenty of rest tonight.

Yogic Concept of the Day: I need to have at least 30 minutes of activity each day (most days)  in addition to my yoga practice. What Can I do that I would enjoy?

Great examples of activity to do each day include: shoveling snow, cleaning the house, swimming, roller or ice skating, and brisk walking…

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In yoga there is a lot to learn about love.

How to learn well and how to love ourselves as well as others.

We learn how loving ourselves matters, and teaches us how to offer a good quality of love and caring for others. There is something so special about being loved well, and loving well. It has everything to do with attention. A great attention for the other person involved.

Spend some time today thinking of how to let the whirring, spinning thoughts in the mind relax – fade into the background so we can bring the person we love into focus. Proper focus means we listen twice as much as we speak. Sharing warmth and whatever we have to offer of ourselves, we can see that there are so many things to be shared. It is a delight.  We discuss what matters to the other person and keep the eyes and minds looking for what is good and valuable instead of what the problems are.

Today, I invite you to share your appreciation for somebody who has no idea that you care for them. Maybe there will be someone at a store or your work who decides to give a smile instead of a hard time. Maybe you can send an email to someone who has no idea you would be thinking of them in appreciation. Maybe you know one person without a sweetheart this Valentine’s Day and getting a simple card would mean more to them than you can imagine.

Spread the Love!

Pose of the Day: Hugs

Yogic Concept of the Day: Appreciation communicates love to people who may not have much sense of being loved. Let me be someone caring in a world that does not always feel so loving.

Here is a link to the study: http://www.annals.org/content/153/7/435.abstract

So my challenge to you this week is to work to get to bed a little earlier.

Pose of the Day: Child’s Pose

Yogic Concept of the Day: Rest and Sleep actually help me to meet my goals, even if my goals are to do more or increase my strength.

Photo Credit: anankkml

Today – I want to ask you to work on your ability to concentrate.

Yesterday, there were several options for concentration practice suggested. Today you really get to choose one and plan to work with it each day this weekend. You will be able to work with it on and off the mat. This is beneficial to you in several ways.

Developing concentration 1.allows you to prepare the mind for meditation. It 2. allows you to let go of worry and other unpleasant emotions more easily. It also 3. helps you to get work done in shorter amounts of time, so you can free up more time for yoga! Unfocused effort in any work will mean the need to spend more time to get it done. We can apply our concentration in any aspect of our lives and see more swiftness in action. You will amaze yourself, but not just in how much you get done.

You will be amazed at how pleasant your experience of the day becomes.

First: choose a type of concentration to work with. (1. mantra or repetition of words that are peaceful to you, 2. focus on a specific feeling in the body- such as the breath, or 3. another form of concentration – yes, there are others)

Second: Begin to apply it at every moment you remember to. While waiting in line at the grocery store, while doing any repetitive tasks or simple tasks. While washing dishes, while cooking dinner, while eating. Any time you practice yoga, you can withdraw the senses and then begin your concentration practice. It is recommended to use eyes open when beginning this application of the practice unless you are working with a tradition which uses eyes closed (such as Integral Yoga).

Third: Begin to use your concentration technique during your meditation practice – at the beginning. In this way, you will be able to more readily move into a deeper meditation.

Consistent work with concentration will pay off greatly in multiple areas of your life. Learning to apply your concentration will help you to feel more peaceful, a sense of ease, and will give you a practice to make times of waiting or discomfort more comfortable and a part of your yoga practice instead of a waste of time.

I hope you will share some of your experiences.

Pose of the Day: Your chosen challenging pose.

Yogic Concept of the Day: I can apply my concentration to any moment. It is just a matter of remembering to do so.