The host, Tom Ashbrook, played a clip from a Corepower Yoga class. Emerick replied that she didn’t recognize what was going on in that class as yoga—her Iyengar training is light years away from what happens in a Corepower class. That the two styles are vastly different is no surprise. The problem arises when we consider the snobbery of deciding that your training is the proper pursuit of a discipline. In all the movement formats I study, teach, and pay attention to, yoga is by far treated as the most precious.
Which is, in part, why I don’t write about yoga as much as in the past. The above is not a new argument. The struggle for the ‘right’ yoga was not only apparent when every swami and guru that could find an American sponsor transformed this country’s spiritual landscape in the early twentieth century, it has been a debate since what we call yoga emerged from a number of disparate ideologies three thousand-plus years ago. There has never been a ‘true’ yoga; we’ve been making it up as we go along.
The pretensions of thinking that you’ve hit upon the one direct lineage serve to bolster your ego more than reflect historical evidence. At this point I only claim to teach yoga because that’s what is says on the schedule. I’m way more interested in movement, getting bodies and minds moving, inspiring people to breath and expand the boundaries of their possibilities, sharing an hour or so of sweat and playfulness in a room of like-minded explorers. I’m more mutt than purebred: connections between yoga postures and transitions in other fitness formats are delightful to discover. I’m constantly challenged to create a movement vocabulary where one might not be apparent, to thread postures and transitions in unique ways.
Purism is troublesome as nothing is pure—everything is built out of its influences. It’s understandable that some gravitate toward the same sequence every time they step onto the mat. I would never criticize such a practice if it’s bringing that person inner peace, focus, a sense of accomplishment. I prefer diversity of movement, however, which, according to the literature is what our brains desire. To limit yoga to a specific guideline reminds me of what John J Ratey and Richard Manning discuss regarding exercise in their book, Go Wild.
The term “exercise” is an artifact of our industrialized, regimented, domesticated lives. If the brain is to take full advantage of what we now understand about the importance of movement, then you don’t have to exercise; you’ve got to move. You’ve got to be nimble.
Throughout the book the authors argue for a range of movements, preferably on uncertain terrain. Yoga, for example, is extremely helpful in creating focus, flexibility, and calm, but does not do much for our cardiovascular system, which is one of the more important considerations in heart health and staving off dementia, as well as boosting our memory power in general. Yoga is a piece of the puzzle; it is not the entirety of the puzzle. In the movement dictionary it plays a pivotal role for millions of Americans. But so does a number of other disciplines. The notion that we can “find our true self” and all the other New Age verbiage now associated with yoga is a neat marketing trick reflective of the capitalistic filter that the multi-billion dollar business has found itself spiraling through. Not that we can’t learn about ourselves in yoga. Yet we can also learn similar lessons running, jumping around in HIIT, and on a bicycle. Advocates of those formats simply don’t exhibit the same pretensions as many yogis I hear from.
The sheer number of emails I receive from various health websites selling yoga-related products is astounding. To be clear, I take no issue with someone trying to make a living—I’ve made a large part of my career teaching this format, among others. The continual grandiosity that seems to inflict yoga is the problem, something I only see, perhaps, with hardcore advocates of Crossfit, and even that is tame in comparison. You’d think yoga is a panacea for every ailment in the world, along with its associated essential oil, mat, juice cleanse, and whatever else could be sold under an umbrella term so large now that it nearly engulfs the sun.
It all comes back to the difference between thinking “I’ve found the way” instead of “I’ve found a way.” Once that treacherous slope is walked any number of ludicrous sentiments emerge. In the last year I’ve heard from a number of senior teachers expressing their frustrations with trying to survive in a market dominated by such mindsets. I certainly don’t have any solutions. There is no island of yoga, just a million small ships overcrowding the same harbor, and all the noise is deafening.
But what a beautiful movement it is, which is why I return. All this chatter dissolves in the midst of the flow. It is that place that unites the disciples of all forms of yoga: the moment when your dopamine receptors are flooded and a healthy dose of cortisol is stressing your body in just the right way for the final release to occur. When the moment is all that matters, which draws us back again and again to the mat. The pretensions of this or that are gone—this is why I’ll return over and again, foreseeably for the rest of my life. There is so much to share and love with this Indra’s net of movement it simply baffles me that anyone would tell someone else the way they do it is wrong.
*This article appeared originally on derekberes.com
About the Author:
Derek Beres is a multi-faceted author, music producer, and yoga/fitness instructor based in Los Angeles. He is the creator of Mosaic Method and Flow Play, an innovative program that fuses yoga, music, and neuroscience, designed exclusively for Equinox Fitness. He has published eight books, including The Warrior’s Path: Living Yoga’s Ten Codes, Global Beat Fusion: The History of the Future of Music. Beres has written for Women’s Health, Yoga Journal, National Geographic, Rolling Stone Middle East, Departures, AOL and MTV. He is currently a columnist for Big Think, where he writes the weekly 21st Century Spirituality. Beres is one half of global music producers EarthRise SoundSystem. He is on the teacher-training faculty at Yogis Anonymous, Strala Yoga, and Buddhi Yoga, where he teaches modules on yoga philosophy and music and neuroscience. He also served as the Creative Director of the Tadasana Festival of Yoga & Music. Derek is ACE and AFAA certified.
When people tell me that I’m naturally flexible I hear two separate things: The first is that I came to each pose easily, without any effort. The second is that they can never have the practice I now have. I think the second is worse.
Now, some folks don’t want an advanced practice. And that’s ok. Doing fancy yoga poses won’t fundamentally change your life. They won’t make you a better person. And they also won’t make you enlightened. But asana is a precursor to meditation – after all, the discipline required to master your body is nothing compared to the will and years of dedicated practice required to master the mind. So, if asana is part of your practice, and you want to advance, here are four ways to do it.
FIND A GOOD TEACHER
I cannot stress how important this is!
I have seen many young and flexible yoga practitioners on social media claiming to be self-taught. That’s great – I also started studying yoga with VHS tapes and books. But without a guide at your side to help you build good habits many poses will forever be beyond your grasp. Without a teacher you won’t know when you are doing a pose incorrectly, or even more importantly, when you may be risking an injury.
A good teacher watches a class, correcting and adjusting students. A good teacher modifies poses for students depending on their need, and encourages them to do their best. A good teacher will help students develop good habits, and thereby avoid the common repetitive stress injuries seen in yogis.
A good teacher may not even be able to do all the poses, but they can show you how to do them.
The best way to find the right teacher for you is by going to studios and gyms and checking out every teacher they have. It’s time consuming and frustrating, and it will cost you money. But it’s worth it!
GET UNCOMFORTABLE
A woman once walked into an advanced class I was teaching and proudly told me she had been practicing yoga asana for over 25 years. I was impressed and excited. I wanted to see what 25 years of practice looked like. As the class came into their first forward fold I saw that she bent from the waist and not her hips, her hands hovering at her knees. As the class progressed I saw her growing frustration. At one point, she loudly exclaimed “But! You’re not supposed to be uncomfortable in yoga!”
I was taken aback. Not supposed to be uncomfortable? Really? Now, asana is merely physical, but even in meditation you have to face your very worst, and that is far more uncomfortable!
In my experience I have found that growth only occurs when we are uncomfortable. When we are comfortable, we do not strive for anything better, we become complacent. It is only through a desire for change that we can actually achieve it.
Being uncomfortable is not the same as pain. One brings about change, the other brings you to the hospital. If you experience pain in an asana or a class, stop what you are doing. Change doesn’t require an ambulance or surgery.
But comfort does not help you advance, it only hinders you.
TAKE CLASSES FOR THE LEVEL YOU WANT TO BE
Staying in an intermediate level class is no different than staying comfortable. You have to challenge yourself to grow.
Now, a beginner should not jump into an advanced practice class – that’s dangerous! Once you have an understanding of basic poses, and have developed a strong sense of your own physical body, it is time to start exploring your limits in more challenging classes.
The best way to learn how to do a pose is by doing that pose. Sometimes that means modifying the pose, using props, or relying on a someone spotting you. Pair this with the right teacher guiding you and you can achieve your goals!
DO THE WORK
A yoga practice (and that includes asana, pranayama, jappa, meditation, puja, etc.) will only be as good as the amount of time you invest in it. There are no shortcuts. You can’t buy it. You can only earn it. And that means putting in the hours.
Yoga is called a practice. Practice means “the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to theories relating to it.”
Sitting around and talking about yoga is fun – trust me, I actually do it a lot! But, it won’t give you any kind of practice, advanced or otherwise. The surest way to find advancement in your practice is to show up on your mat or meditation cushion as often as you can, be present, and put all your effort into the work you are doing at that time.
When you find the discipline and dedication needed for your practice you will realize that true advancement happens in your mind and spirit, not just your body.
Originally posted at BrahmalokaOrBust.com
Maya Devi Georg is a yoga teacher, writer and editor at www.BrahmalokaOrBust.com. She is also the co-founder and co-director of MahaLakshmi Yoga School and its Teacher Training Programs. She has studied with Swami Bua, Swami Jnanand, and Yogi Gupta (among many other amazing teachers). Studying since 1999, and teaching since 2002, she has also lead teacher trainings since 2004.
She currently lives in Stuttgart, Germany with her partner Chris Kourtinatos, and their dog Spitha Canis.
Hayley Hobson is an author, speaker, Kick-A$$ Business Guru and 7-Figure MOM-treprenuer. She's passionate about empowering others to live the life of their dreams and is based in Boulder, CO. Hayley creates lifestyle transformations by coaching her clients to become the best WHOLE version of themselves possible.
She can be increasingly found speaking at many global Business events and is also a doTERRA Certified Oil Double Presidential Diamond. Her insights and articles can also be found on her personal blog, on Mindbodygreen, Positively Positive and Elephant Journal.
She has also been featured in Pilates Style magazine, Natural Health magazine, Bridal Magazine,Triathlete Magazine, doTERRA’s Leadership Magazine, the Four Year Career by Richard Bliss Brooks and the Network Marketing Times.
She is also creator on the online business mentorship training programs called Your Whole Biz, Social Downline and Whole MOM-trepreneur.
She has fun living, working and playing in the mountains with her husband, former world-ranked triathlete, Wes Hobson, and their two beautiful daughters, Makenna and Madeline.
To learn more about her programs and courses and events she's hosting, go to hayleyhobson.com or follow her on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest. Hayley's book, Hayley Hobson's Hip Guide To Creating A Sexy And Abundant Life is available at Amazon.
OK yogis, are you ready for the ultimate test of your practice?
Its 2016, election time in America and here it is: finding compassion for Trump supporters.
That’s right! It’s time to find compassion for bigots and bullies, people who punch young nonviolent protesters and shove young black women to the ground. People who support the degradation of Muslims, Mexicans, women, people who are handicapped…sadly, too many to list.
Are you up to it?
Because finding compassion for these people and helping them heal will be the key to healing the rifts that divide our country.
While the media likes to characterize Trump supporters as angry, when I listen to their words what I hear is fear. Among the loudest and most active of his supporters you hear people trapped in fear, their amygdala firing on all cylinders. They feel left behind and given the pace of progress and change in the country, they feel their own existence is under threat.
I’m seeing yogis and even yoga teachers talk about the 2016 campaign as a “battle of good and evil.” Yoga means ‘union’ and if we are divided because of politics or beliefs we are not truly living our practice. We must unify our communities as well as our spirits if we are to call ourselves yogis.
This is not a fight or a battle, its an opportunity for us to come together.
We saw the same thing just a few years ago in the discussions on health care and torture and while one side ended up being in the majority, the fear at the heart of those against health care reform and those who supported torture was left to fester and grow.
At the same time, the economic “recovery” has been uneven with many people still worse off than they were before and with little hope left. They are desperate for answers not only to why it happened, but for who is to blame and for simple answers of how to fix it all. This is where demagogues find fertile ground to plant their seeds of division.
The oldest political trick in the book, whether it’s a country, a city, or even a family, is to identify a scapegoat or scapegoats onto which the sins and ills of society can be placed to free others from responsibility for their plight. Its often used by those in power to deflect attention away from the actual causes of the situation (which can be complex and systemic) and to channel into political power to serve the ends of the person stirring the pot.
And as we’ve seen so far among Trump’s supporters, they need a scapegoat to blame for why they are falling out the bottom end of the economic ladder and see little or no future for their children. Misdirecting public ire at a scapegoat keeps the attention off the banks and plutocrats who are buying Congress, statehouses, and city halls.
These scapegoats are being chosen for them with the assistance of the outrage industry: the media. While most Trump supporters have fallen out of the middle class and into the bottom rung of American society, Trump (with the aid of the media) holds out the “others” (Mexicans, Blacks, Muslims, Women) as the scapegoats. It’s also no mystery that these are also many of the same people who are rising in society and taking their rightful place alongside everyone else.
People make poor and often very selfish decisions when they are ruled by fear.
To those who see the world as a zero sum game (where someone else’s gains means they must lose), the rise of the “other” presents an existential threat. If they can keep these ‘others’ down at least they won’t be on the bottom – and being treated the same way.
To them, making America great again means putting them back on top of the social and economic ladder; even if it means ruling the ashes of a decayed and divided society. Their main candidate speaks in terms of winners and losers which resonates in the winner-take-all culture of American society, and this needs to change.
This mentality pits us all against one another. Just because someone else gets a little more does not mean we get less. Just because gay people can marry does not make our own marriages less meaningful and just because women can earn as much as men does not devalue a man’s wage. And people who fear for their children’s future in the midst of such thinking can be convinced to respond in ways which are nasty. In those moments we need to overcome our instinct to react to them with disgust and instead respond with compassion.
Of course most extreme supporters will probably not be open to dialogue but its the large swath of people closer to the middle where we can make a difference. By engaging in dialogue with the more reasonable people (and choosing the right times and places to do it), we can help keep a toxic political movement from becoming a majority and send it back to the fringe. And before you call this entire idea naive, note that this kind of approach has actually worked in troubled countries around the world.
We all need to be able to see that when we’re all equal and work together, we can all “win.” No one needs to “lose.” There is plenty of room at the top and there should be dignity and a decent life for those who play by the rules, even if they don’t end up wealthy. Our social contract needs to be rewritten so it works for everyone. This is something we can only do together.
We have the ability and resources to feed and house everyone and provide them a good education, health care, and do it all in a safe and happy environment. And while we may slightly differ politically on ways we can achieve that, the politics of fear and the outrage industry (on the left and right) have taken our small differences and made them appear insurmountable. They have also made compromise a dirty word since once you’ve demonized the other side, you can’t be seen making a deal with them.
We can debate the facts all day long but as we’ve seen, some people are so mired in fear that they are impervious to facts. We can shame and call each other names but that only hardens everyone’s positions and deepens our separation.
Fear is the oxygen that feeds the fire of the Trump campaign and those like it. By reaching out with compassion and reducing levels of fear, we cut off the oxygen that feeds the fire of separation.
The less people are susceptible to fear, the less support there will be for such movements.
So how do we do that?
First, we listen. We listen with respect and not just for our turn to speak. We listen for root cause fear and motivation for why they support a policy or idea. We listen to find common ground so we can find areas of agreement from which we can build a consensus together. And when we listen, we also help to alleviate a great fear that runs throughout our body politic: the fear of not being heard.
When we engage in conversations with those we may not agree with, we need to listen and ask reasonable questions. The Socratic method, which involves asking meaningful questions, applies as much here as on the mat. And my favorite when asking about a policy they support is: How would that work, exactly?
By having them explain how their policy would work, we also help them to leave a place of emotion (fear) and come to a place of reason to explain how it would work (and we should expect them to ask the same question). When it comes to outlandish and unworkable policy proposals, a reasonable person trying to explain how they’d work is often forced to reconsider them. But even then, some quickly become frustrated and return to their more comfortable place of fear – but not before telling you why they are fearful.
If we can find out the root cause of their fear and discuss ideas reasonably, we can help change our understanding of one another and see that we are all on the same side. This is not something you’ll be able to do in the heat of a political rally, but in quieter moments when you can encounter and engage with people.
And please note that none of this means excusing or condoning violence or hatred and that engagement does not equal endorsement. We’ll still need to stop such things when we see them and make it clear they are not acceptable. But we also don’t stop making the effort to change the tone and tenor of our dialogue, realizing that it won’t be easy, but that its worth it.
If our dialogue keeps devolving into just more shouting back and forth, nothing will change. What we need is real, open, and kindhearted connection and dialogue.
In a time of separation we need more connection, not less.
How many of those people who want to build a wall to keep Mexicans out of America have ever met and gotten to know any Mexicans? How many have felt the love, compassion, and inspiration of having a Mexican friend? How many have seen how hardworking and kind the Mexicans who come to America are? How many realize that the cities in the United States with the highest numbers of immigrants are also its safest?
How many of those people shouting “All Lives Matter” in response to a person protesting that “Black Lives Matter” realize that the BLM protester is not saying that black lives matter more than anyone else’s do, but that black Americans are being killed and incarcerated at a much higher rate than other Americans…and that this must change? Wouldn’t they be saying the same thing if they were in her shoes? Wouldn’t they have a better understanding of what she is saying if they were able to sit down and talk together?
And how many of those who want to ban Muslims from entering the United States and want all American Muslims to be tracked by the police have ever met a Muslim? How many have felt the grace of being welcomed into a Muslim home for a meal or experienced the peace of being welcomed into a mosque?
How many of them realize that no one has been more terrorized by those falsely claiming to represent Islam than Muslims themselves? How many instead look with fear upon a woman wearing hijab or seeing a man facing Mecca to pray?
If you actually said hello and chatted with the woman in the hijab at the grocery store, you’d probably find that she thinks the produce is better at the place across town and that her son is heartbroken that Michigan lost to Notre Dame in basketball last night during the first round of March Madness.
And what you also probably did not realize is that yesterday you were chatting with two Muslim women and having a great time and not realizing they were Muslim since not everyone chooses to wear the hijab. So often we get separated because we see something which we’ve been told is supposed to separate us from others.
A great example of the kind of dialogue which can help us all to connect and find more compassion for each other is the “Ask a Muslim” project started by Mona Haydar and her husband Sebastian Robins.
They had seen a report on a man who had done an “Ask An Iraqi” effort so Mona and Sebastian decided to set up a stand outside a library in Cambridge, Massachusetts with a big sign which reads “Ask a Muslim.” They offered free coffee, donuts, and chance for people who have never met a Muslim or who have questions to stop by and talk. And the results have been incredible.
“We’re all just social creatures at the end of the day. We are afraid of what we aren’t familiar with. We wanted to remove the mystery and go out there and connect with other human beings on the basis of our humanity. I think that’s probably why people were so receptive and open to us. We went in wanting to love everyone and found that people wanted to love us right back. It was truly life changing and so inspirational to step out into the unknown, not knowing how people would react- and then to have that met with beauty, connection, friendship and love. Not to mention how much fun we’ve had doing it!” ~ Mona Haydar, Ask A Muslim
No matter what happens in November, we’re still going to have to live and work among people who are currently being influenced and guided by fear. And the more we can help them overcome this fear and find connection with the rest of us, the better our future together will be. We may still disagree on some things but with a lower level of vitriol and an atmosphere of mutual respect, we’ll be able to work peacefully and find common ground to solve our problems together.
E pluribus unum (Out of Many, One) ~ Motto on the Great Seal of The United States
We Americans are not a people bound by a single blood or religion, but by the idea that we can all live equally and peacefully side by side, no matter or origins, beliefs, gender, or sexual orientation. Its still a work in progress and we American yogis need to join in the effort to build bonds with our fellow citizens and bring our practice of compassion and unity to everyone.
No one is free until we’re all free.
About the author:
Chris Kourtinatos, E-RYT 500. Chris is a writer and yoga teacher based in Germany and Greece. Seeking transformation through spiritual sadhana and the integrity of daily living are what Chris most values on his journey as a teacher and student. Together with his wife Maya Devi Georg, he directs the Kenosis Yoga School. A dedicated yoga practitioner and teacher (who first learned from his mother at the age of seven), he combines three decades of practice along with over two decades of group fitness and outdoor leadership experience into his teaching and he enjoys helping students break through to new levels of ability and self-belief. His signature style is a slow vinyasa-based mix infused with humor, kick-your-asana power flow sequences.
Chris trained with Doug Swenson and his multi-faceted vinyasa style of yoga; Sadhana Yoga Chi and his teachers and influences also include Yogini Shambhavi, Meta Hirschl, David Swenson, and Tias Little. He currently teaches workshops, teacher trainings, and yoga festivals around the US and Europe and does karma yoga service to assist refugees arriving into Greece. A former warrior, journalist, and mountain guide, he is also an Iraq War veteran who teaches yoga to active duty military and veterans.
He has written for or appeared in Integral Yoga Magazine, Mantra Yoga + Health Magazine, Origin Magazine, YogaWorld (Greece) Elephant Journal, Joga ABC (Poland), Brahmaloka or Bust, Flow Yoga Magazine, LA Yoga, For Woman (Greece), Yoga Journal Online, and Politico. Chris’ work has been translated into German, Greek, and Polish. You can find him online at www.brahmalokaorbust.com
Our Salted Date Caramels are quite decadent but way healthier for you and your family than the typical peanut butter cup! They are super easy to make and you’ll be amazed at how close they taste to the real thing.
The main ingredient in these tasty morsels is dates, which are full of fiber, potassium, iron, and B vitamins. Like any sweet treat remember to enjoy them in moderation while on the 80:20 eating plan.
Simply whirl together a few ingredients in a food processor, dip in a rich dark chocolate thinned with a bit of coconut oil, and sprinkle with a bit of flake sea salt and you have a beautiful and tasty treat to tuck into anyone’s Easter basket this year.
With salted caramel kisses,
Salted Date Caramels
Yield: 12 caramels
Ingredients:
1 cup packed, soft Medjool dates, pitted 1 TB. creamy almond butter ½ tsp. vanilla 1 tsp. warm water ¼ tsp. fine salt 2 ½ TB. almond flour 9 ounces dairy free dark chocolate chips such as Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels 1 TB. coconut oil Maldon Sea Salt Flakes for finishing
Instructions: Place dates, almond butter, vanilla, water, fine sea salt, and almond flour in the bowl of a food processor and whirl until smooth. Scrape down the sides if necessary.
Lay a sheet of parchment paper flat on your work surface. Pat the date mixture into a square about 8” x 5” and ½” thick. The mixture will be sticky! It’s easiest to fold over the opposite half of the parchment paper to pat it into the correct shape and thickness. Wrap the date square with the extra half of the parchment like a present and place in the freezer for at least 2 hours or until firm.
Right before it’s time to take the date mixture out of the freezer, place the chocolate chips and coconut oil into a double boiler and melt until smooth. Take the date mixture out of the freezer and cut the larger date square into 12 smaller squares. While still frozen, using a skewer or fork, dip the date squares into the chocolate mixture tapping against the side of the bowl to remove the excess.
Place them on a sheet of parchment paper to set. Sprinkle with flake sea salt right before they completely harden. Chill in a covered container for up to two weeks.
Jo Schaalman and Julie Peláez are co-authors of the book The Conscious Cleanse: Lose Weight, Heal Your Body, and Transform Your Life in 14 Days, a best-selling, step-by-step guide to help you live your most vibrant life. Together they've lead thousands of people through their online supported cleanse through their accessible and light-hearted approach. They've been dubbed “the real deal” by founder and chief creative director Bobbi Brown, of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, beauty editor of the TODAY show.
To learn more about “Jo and Jules” and to download a free e-cookbook for a sampling of the delicious food served up on the Conscious Cleanse, please visit their website.
Conscious Cleanse Detox Flow - Jo Schaalman
Heart Opening Forrest Yoga Flow - Jo Schaalman
Traditional Hot Yoga - Julie Peláez
Another private client I work with was devastated when, after only a few short months of marriage, he found out his wife was having an affair. With a solid, loving partnership, he attributed it to her tendency toward self-sabotage – not knowing what to do when things are actually going well.
One of the most common reasons we don’t end up meeting our goals is due to conscious or unconscious self-sabotage. But, why?
The bottom line is: If your actions are not lining up with your deepest truth and ultimate goals, you are in some form of self-sabotage.
Here Are 4 Basic Steps to Overcoming Self-Sabotage:
1. Reincarnate. Is there an old identity, belief, or story about yourself you’re holding onto?
Compassionately scan your past. Is there any old trauma, wound, circumstance that left a deep imprint and which you now identify yourself by? For example, did you grow up a product of divorce, an only child, or in a drab, not particularly happy family life? Perhaps your story is that marriage or family life is difficult and a burden and that you’re better off alone.
Or were you rejected by your peers in junior high school or while rushing a sorority/fraternity in college? Is your story that you “never quite fit in,” and it’s hard to trust or get close to people?
Carefully examine what you “think” is true about any scenario and rebuild new, positive, empowering versions.
2. Identify who you are trying to protect.
Often our fear stems from a fear of success, not failure. Is there a parent, friend, business partner, sibling, child, or lover that you are hesitant to “surpass?” Is there someone you think may be offended or may reject you if you are more successful or happier than they are?
Do a cord cutting ritual. Drop into a simple meditation, call their Spirit before you, and have a clear conversation stating that you release them to live their own lives and that you will no longer play small out of a mistaken belief that you are protecting them. Instead, you know that living your best life inspires and uplifts all.
3. Use affirming words to describe your actions.
Instead of “I can’t.” “I won’t.” “I’ll never be able to…”, use words that affirm. Catch yourself the next time you say “I can’t” and reverse it.
As Henry Ford eloquently stated,“Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.”
These words symbolize and concretize your inner beliefs. You can begin repatterning your beliefs from the outside in. Work on changing your language to change your mind. Choose empowered, encouraging statements.
If you really struggle with a negative inner dialogue, ask yourself to whom that voice really belongs. Where did it start? A coach? Nun? Teacher? Parent?
Speak as your highest good, your inner power, your Buddha nature. As my dear friend and collaborator Terri Cole says, “Words have wings.” Use them wisely.
4. Reward yourself for every positive action.
Many of us self-impose an invisible glass ceiling on our happiness. Our systems literally do not know what to do with satisfaction, joy, goodness.
What was your early family life like? Were you happy as a kid? Joyful? Do you remember laughing and feeling genuinely good, at peace and at ease – knowing things were going to turn out well? If not, it is quite possible you unconsciously hold yourself back because your brain does not recognize and register the good. Was there a time when this feeling good stopped? When? Why?
Get to the root of where your positive worldview shifted. Challenge yourself to begin rewiring your brain to recognize and register happiness, goodness, and satisfaction.
Every time you complete a task, meet a goal (large or small), have an enriching conversation, finish a workout, eat well, save money, open up in vulnerability, whatever, consciously recognize your positive attributes. Mirror back to yourself positive self-regard. Literally, go to a mirror, look in your eyes, and say out loud a positive, affirming statement.
I began doing this a couple years ago, and now after almost every workout, I get in my car, look in the rearview mirror, and say “Great job! You kicked ass! I’m so proud of you! You’re worth the effort.” I promise you will feel better; it will begin to stick, and as you will build self-trust, your worldview will shift back into it’s rightful place – believing in yourself and the world.
Please share in the comments below what specific tactic works for you to overcome self-sabotage. What one particular area of your life do you tend to sabotage the most?
Share, like, tweet, pin, google, enjoy, eat, pray, love.
xo
Ashley
Ashley Turner is an innovator in personal development bridging yoga, psychology and neuroscience. She is an acclaimed yoga–meditation instructor, registered Marriage + Family Psychotherapy Intern, writer and Initiated Priestess in the 13 Moon Mystery School tradition. She has graced such lists as MindBodyGreen’s “100 Women to Watch in Wellness,” DETAILS magazine recently named Ashley Turner “1 of the Top 6 Trainers to watch in 2014,” and Dr. ShareCare.com calls her”the #2 Online Influencer for Stress Relief”. She is the creator of the wildly popular MEDITATION 101 Virtual Conference (over 25,000 participants in 2014), creator of several online courses, co-creator of the Urban Priestess Modern Day Mystery School, has 10 best-selling yoga dvd’s, and is co-author of Aroma Yoga. She also works with clients worldwide via Skype and leads transformative events to power points around the globe. Ashley lives by the ocean in Marina Del Rey, CA. www.AshleyTurner.org
Practice yoga with one of Ashley's Yogadownload classes below!
I love this quote so much because it speaks the ultimate truth. And the ultimate liberation toward this constant selfless action in life requires eradicating separateness. Because what’s so epic about this idea is that … when we are serving ourselves we are actually serving others … but when we are serving others … in truth we are only serving ourselves.
And we must not have attachment to the outcome because that would not be classified as an offering. That would be a “doing” …
Odd. But it’s true.
And then I started thinking about how we are in a state of manifesting all the time. How in every moment, we are actually experiencing creation with our thoughts, our words, and our deeds. That moment, when we actually realize that we ARE the creators of our life, is extremely potent if we truly recognize that we hold that power. It’s like magic really. And we CAN create all that we want to experience and enjoy in this lifetime. And then I of course, had to ask myself:
What is all this for?
I mean the “things” we create. The house, the job, the partner, the relationships, the connection, the heartache, the family, the experiences … what is it all for? And it came to me pretty quickly.
We are creating so we may offer up ourselves in deep service to the Divine. In every moment we are offering up bits and pieces of ourselves so we may serve what is in alignment with our soul’s purpose and reason for being here. And it may be a lesson for us, or for them, or for no one at all … but it’s an offering nonetheless.
And then I started thinking about all the human beings on this planet and how each of us, individually has something to offer. We all come here with a gift you know … something to offer up to the Divine as our “work”. And honestly, our only job is to know what that is and then give it away. Our whole life – know it, be it, and then just give it away.
And THEN I started to think about what happens when we actually recognize what that offering is for ourselves. And then subsequently have the courage to go out and share it. How magical that moment is when we step in and say … “Yes .. .yes … this.”
And how sometimes that can seem scary and quite preposterous. But the magic that happens after that leap is epic.
You see, when we have the courage to believe in the support and abundance of the Universe; when we believe that the whispers from the Divine actually mean something and they are okay to follow; and when we believe in our own ability to make or dream a reality just by offering up ourselves … you know what happens?
We attract more people just like us - offering it up, and we are supported. We begin collaborating with each other, which makes us sustainable, accountable, and unstoppable in serving the Divine just by courageously offering it up.
Yeah … that.
Do it … offer yourself up in all your glory, in your truth, in your wisdom, in your fear and in your courage. I can guarantee you there will be someone, or even a team of people offering it up with you.
By Dana Damara
“My passion on the mat is proper alignment, powerful breath and effortless flow so you feel that off your mat. Your practice becomes sacred space where you arrive to find more meaning, depth, authenticity and integrity in your life." - Dana Damara: mother, author, yoga instructor, speaker and yogini.
For more inspiration and to purchase Dana's new book, Oms From the Heart, visit www.danadamara.com
Click here to download or stream one of Dana's YogaDownload classes!
So first, if you’ve been with me for a while and took some time in the beginning of the year to set some intentions, take a moment to revisit those.
Then, I’ve got a few practices for you to celebrate the equinox.
Yoga practice
Normally I would film a video for you, but my video production capabilities are on hiatus currently for multiple reasons. Videos will be back soon!
In the meantime, I want to share with you a taste of the stick figure practices I share with myprivate clients to help them develop a normal yoga practice routine.
This way, you get to make the practice your own.
Move at your own pace, do your best with your understanding of the postures.
The most important thing is to breathe!
Alignment-wise, make sure your stack your joints. That means in lunges your knee stays over your ankle
Have fun with it!
*And yes, I give you permission to laugh at my stick figures. I’m a writer, not an artist! It makes me human, right?
Spring equinox playlist inspiration
If music is your thing, I’ve been listening to a Bon Iver Pandora station recently that for some reason motivates and inspires me. I’m not a big music person, but in case you want some ideas for pairing up some music to your practice, here are some of my favorite artists, yoga-related and not:
Bon Iver Pandora station Desert Dwellers Snatam Kaur Thievery Corporation Iron & Wine Of Monsters and Men Band of Horses The Head & the Heart DJ Drez Ratatat
Pranayam Practice
Take a moment to breathe. Turn off the music for a moment and bask in silence, even if it feels uncomfortable. Let your breath be your music instead.
Use Dirga breath to get clear and calm before you move on to the contemplation and intention-setting exercises below. Even if you don’t get to the contemplation, this breathing exercise alone is enough to get you grounded and reset your nervous system.
Take your time with it and nourish your body, mind and soul.
Here’s how to breathe:
Lay down on your back. On your inhale, feel your belly, rib cage and chest expand. On your exhale, let your chest, rib cage, and belly fall back to neutral. Let the expansion create space in the front, sides, and back of your body. If it’s helpful, you can visualize a warm, golden light spreading through your body as you breathe. Take at least 10 breaths, but if you can, stay for 5 minutes. Notice the pauses at the top of the inhale and the bottom of the exhale. See if you can lengthen your exhale longer then your inhale.
Contemplation
If you’re a writer, get out your journal and use these prompts to help you do some reflection and contemplation.
Ask yourself these questions, even if you didn’t set intentions at the beginning of the year.
How has your year been so far? Be honest! Mine’s been, well, intense. What have you learned about yourself? How have your intentions served you? What has kept you from taking the actions needed to live intentionally every day?
Intention setting
If you set intentions at the beginning of the year, do those same intentions still serve you or do you feel compelled to set new ones?
Setting intentions will give you focus in the month ahead. I do this seasonally so that I don’t have to think about what I’m going to be doing in December. Life changes fast! This is a more flexible approach that has built-in check-in periods to make sure we stay on track.
What has worked in the last three months? What hasn’t worked for you in the last three months? What do you want to achieve in the next 3 months? What do you need to DO to live intentionally every day? Do it!
Play
Lastly, choose one thing to do this weekend that allows you to play.
Do something you wouldn’t normally. Be spontaneous. Be in nature. Play with kids. Play a game. Be silly. Tap into that child-like quality of awe within you. I know it’s still there.
Taking time to play is a great way to get out of our minds and into our body. So, a card game or a board game, as much as I love those, doesn’t count. Move your body!
Enjoy your spring equinox!
Namaste
By Ashley Josephine
I started practicing yoga to stay in shape and release stress. What I learned was how to love my life. How to have faith. How to find your community of people who support you and love you unconditionally. How to get back control. Today, it is my mission to help busy Type-A overachiever women like me gain back control of their lives, live pain-free, and love the life they want to live through yoga lifestyle practices. Visit www.ashleyjosephine.com to get free yoga lifestyle tips to help live healthier, happier, and pain-free.
Navigating the airport for healthy food choices can be a serious, not to mention, costly endeavor. Our list below has lots of easy-to-find and easy-to-pack meals that will let you focus less on meal planning stress, so you can get onto the fun part – your vacation!
Check out our 5 Travel Food Commandments and the list of meal ideas broken down into a few categories so you can take the guesswork out of planning healthy food for your trip.
Have a great Spring Break. Stay vibrant, have fun, and be sure to share your healthy airplane meal ideas with us below. We’ll be posting our own on Instagram and Facebook too so be sure to stay in touch.
With love and sunshine,
Conscious Cleanse Travel Food Commandments
Start the trip with a green juice. Obviously you know that taking liquids through security is a big no-no. So that the good folks at security don’t take any of the precious food you have brought along enjoy your green drink on your way to the airport. Speaking of liquids and security, if you decide to pack some Beet Hummus to take on the plane, just make sure to keep it thick and pack veggie sticks on the side in the same container. It gives the illusion of solid not liquid!
Pack your own utensils. We are obsessed with these Bamboo Utensil Sets, and besides, nonmetal works best for security purposes.
Pack foods that are easy to eat. We all know how hard it is to move about on a plane so it’s best to pack meals that only require one or two reaches into your carry on bag. Your neighbors will thank you!
Pack foods that don’t need to be refrigerated. You may be away from refrigeration for the better part of your trip so plan accordingly. Eat the most perishable items the first day of travel. These days most hotels have a mini-fridge for storage as well. If you don’t see one, be sure to ask!
Don’t forget to include a sweet treat. By the time you make it to your destination you will be ready to celebrate. You survived the airport and ate healthy while doing it! A little raw chocolate or a few joy balls go a long way. You’re on vacation after all.
And now onto the good stuff. Remember, when you’re traveling, you may be eating several small “snacky” type meals, versus a proper meal. Be flexible and eat when you’re hungry–not just out of habit or boredom.
10 Meals to Pack on an Airplane
BREAKFAST
Individual nut butter packets with a banana or rice cakes.
Mashed avocado “toast.” Use Mary’s Gone Crackers for dippers.
Instant green juice.
LUNCH
Jarred or canned tuna + raw crackers or some spinach in a plastic tupperware that you don’t mind ditching once you arrive.
Curried Garbanzo Beans and sliced veggie sticks.
DINNER
Salad from the salad bar at Whole Foods or a local health food store.
Quick and easy Collard Wrap.
Beet Hummus with assorted veggie dippers and raw crackers.
SNACKS
Rawmio Raw Chocolate Bar. Be sure to pack a few extras!
Baggie of Nut Free Joy Balls.
Deciding what is right for us is no small matter, and, the eclipse that coincides with this full moon does not let us get away with hiding or shrinking. Lunar light shines at its fullest upon us and the contents of our unconscious, giving us new and deeper insights into the matter at hand. A helpful angle with the planet Saturn pushes us to make things happen! Furthermore a significant triumvirate with Saturn, Jupiter and Neptune offer us the opportunity to put the law of attraction to work at this time, in order to manifest the choice we make. Decisions are rarely easy….unless we act in accord with our higher self (Neptune energy). When we are in touch with our soul’s purpose at this time, the creation of it is at hand (Saturn energy) and we are unstoppable (Jupiter energy). The time is right to stop denying yourself the choice that sets you free and moves you forward on your unique journey.
Use the ritual below to honor the Libra qualities of this extraordinary full moon and help you with creating harmony, balance and self-honoring choices that serve your highest good!
Alchemical Ritual for the Libra Full Moon
As an air sign, Libra likes to take an expansive view to witness all sides of a situation, or all levels of artistic beauty. On the low side, however, that overview can lead to indecisiveness and stagnation, with others waiting on you to make a move. This full moon ritual for Libra helps to generate clarity and confidence around whatever decision is at hand.
Libra is ruled by Venus, so focus on creating a loving, supportive energy around you for the ritual. Anything green or copper can aid in bringing in Venusian energy. Draw an imaginary circle (or a real one with chalk, or some other natural marker) to contain your ritual and place in the center any sacred stones (jade, rose quarts or emeralds are good choices). You can also bring in elements of rose or sandalwood (essential oils, prayer beads, or live flowers), as well as a lit candle or two. Use sage, sweet grass or palo santo to cleanse yourself and the space by casting the smoke over yourself and encircling your own body three times.
Bring into the circle a pen, and paper, and come to sit quietly inside the circle. Spend a few moment in quiet contemplation on the decision to be made. Write down what the ideal outcome feels like…rather than try and force a certain outcome, get into the state of being that the outcome generates. Write down how the outcome makes you feel, alleviates any tension, improves relationships, etc. Don’t plan the outcome, just feel it. Once your writing is complete, close the eyes and say the following invocation out loud:
May the energy of Libra, Venus this Full Moon, and its eclipse illuminate the decision that serves my soul’s highest purpose.
Spend a few moments in quiet contemplation. Clear the mind of thoughts completely. Feel the sensation of the outcome in the body. Impose no images or specific desires or plans on the outcome, simply allow yourself to experience the feeling of it. With the mind clear, allow the light of this full moon to shine clarity on your situation.
When complete, chant Om three times, and snuff the candles. Place the piece of paper in prominent view and whenever you see it, call up the sensation of the outcome until the final decision is made. You may find that the choice becomes clear. You may find that it does not. Rest assured, this ritual catalyzes the unconscious and your intuition to show you the way. The path before you will be revealed at the right time, be patient and know that all that is in your heart is heard and recognized.
Alanna Kaivalya believes Yoga is for everyone and each student can develop the self-empowerment needed to embark on a personal journey to meaningful transformation. On this principle she founded The Kaivalya Yoga Method, a fresh take on yoga emphasizing the individual path while honoring tradition. Teaching students since 2001, teachers since 2003, Alanna has written and developed teacher trainings worldwide for top studios and independently. In January she debuted a comprehensive 200hr-online teacher training with YogaDownload. She holds a Ph.D. in Mythological Studies with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, has authored numerous articles and two books: Myths of the Asanas, an accessible practitioner’s guide to stories behind beloved poses; Sacred Sound, a yoga “hymnal,” illustrating the role of chant and mantra in modern practice. Look for her third book, Yoga Beyond the Mat, in Autumn 2016.She lives in New York City with Roxy the Wonderdog.
Click Here to learn more about Alanna's 200hr Online Teacher Training with YogaDownload.com
Last week, I had the privilege of teaching a yoga class for Manduka Yoga’s press day in NYC for the launch of their new eco-friendly, sustainable clothing line.
I co-taught a class with Sara and Alan Finger of ISHTA yoga with a slew of massive yoga influencers and inspiring hearttribe brothers and sisters from around the country. What a thrill to meet you all.
It was such an amazing opportunity to teach and get to know incredible up-and-coming teachers who are reshaping the face of yoga. Most of the other yoga teachers and students in the class have upwards of 100,000 followers on instagram! I have a lot to learn from them.
Everything Manduka does is #MadeForYoga…birthed by beloved yoga teacher, Peter Sterios. They have (lucky for us) stayed super close to their roots of YOGA.
I was most inspired by @mynameisjessamyn, Jessamyn Stanley (pictured above) who is advocating more authenticity, DIVERSITY, body positive love and transparency in the yoga world. AMEN, sister!! It’s time we move past the vanilla version of yoga we have been sold for the last 30 years…for good.
It’s so refreshing seeing social media darling Jessamyn pivoting the conversation of yoga to include all colors, shapes and sizes. Finally.
If you’re passionate about body love, healing our body image epidemic, diversity and the changing face of yoga…please also check out my soul sister Melanie Klein’s incredible work and the ongoing #WhatAYogiLooksLike media series she and Yoga Body Image Coalition have been working on with Yoga International.
In this time of instagram yoga superstars…and the obsession with sexy, flashy yoga poses and posts…may we always remember that the nature of yoga is transformation and evolution of psyche and soul. This incorporates the vessel of the body (mind-body-spirit are inseparable)…which gives us tangible training ground to build discipline, focus and precision in breath, body and thought…but, the practice has NOTHING to do with pressing up to handstand…although that’s cool and I definitely wish I could do it (maybe one day…although I don’t practice asana long enough each day to attain it…so I guess that shows where my priorities lie). On our panel debating the Future of Yoga, Jessamyn charged us before we post on social media to ask: Is this post for ego-gratification or to be purely of service?
Yoga by nature is a titillating, aspirational practice…it is mysterious to the masses to wonder how such feats of strength, flexibility and balance are possible. It’s why yogis were brought to circuses to perform around the world in the 1800 and 1900’s and kept on staff by kings of India. Cirque de Soleil is a modern derivative.
Instagram is a visual platform well-suited for the exquisite showmanship of advanced asana. The body is beautiful. Celebrate it. My prayer is that we not get lost in the flash + splash.
Please post in the comments below your favorite instagram yogis and body love inspiration!
What’s a yogi to do? You don’t want to eat a huge meal and feel sick during twisting triangle, but you don’t want to fall over when trying to balance in Bakasana either.
For stamina and endurance, we suggest you have an easy to digest carbohydrate-based snack, with a little protein and fat an hour or two before class.
Here are 5 great pre-class snacks to try:
1. Bananas - are potassium rich, friendly to stomach, and full of B vitamins. 2. Almonds -A small serving of raw, unsalted ones are rich in potassium, magnesium, Vitamin E and healthy fats. 3. Apple and almond butter - A filling, delicious, alkaline snack full of water and fiber. 4. An energy bar - try one with less than 250 calories, low sugar, and 4-10 grams of protein. 5. A green smoothie - Make a simple recipe with kale or spinach, ½ a banana, almond milk or coconut water and a scoop of vegan protein and ice. The greens are excellent to boost energy and the protein will keep you full. Avoid adding too much fruit or simple sugar. . Experiment and see what works for you.
Post-Yoga:
After class it is important to refuel within about an hour. Seek a snack or meal with lean protein and healthy fats with less focus on carbohydrates. Protein helps your muscles to recover and if your class was a vigorous one, you’ll need it. Try a protein shake, hardboiled eggs, quinoa with vegetables, a handful of pumpkin seeds or a full meal with lean protein and green vegetables.
Set yourself up to feel strong, centered and balanced when you step onto your mat!
Why the back? Last week we were “highly recommended” to vacate our house immediately due to fears of its imminent collapse.
Fine. If I can’t live in my house, I’ll live in the backyard (at least for this sunny, early spring afternoon).
The house story is a long one that won’t be going away anytime soon, unless of course the structure does collapse and then the story will evolve much more quickly.
But what it’s left me with is vast uncertainty. I’m struggling to feel focused and grounded knowing that the foundation of my home is failing.
Getting grounded in uncertainty
This is all about chakra uno, if you want to get metaphysical.
Whenever there are issues with basic needs like shelter, home, foundations, earth, this all lives in the realm of the first chakra.
Chakra one issues are a big deal because we can’t really function in the world if we don’t have our basic needs met.
And yet, the universe has a funny way of asking us to really get serious about what matters most. Do I need to live in my house? No.
Yes, I need a place to live, but it doesn’t have to be in MY HOUSE. I’m forever grateful to friends and family who are helping out and providing a bed and a functioning bathroom with running water. My basic needs are met, just not the way I might want to meet them.
Stand on your own two feet and feel the Earth beneath you. You are supported, whether it feels like it or not.
Getting outside of our comfort zone requires us to draw upon the other chakras – relationships, willpower, compassion, communication, intelligence, and surrender. While the chakras represent different qualities individually, the entire SYSTEM fosters an interconnectedness that is stronger then just one wheel turning. When out of balance, the other wheels have an internal repair mechanism that allows us to continue functioning even when one wheel is a little (or a lot) off kilter.
Finding support in community
This ordeal so far has reminded me how grateful I am for sangha, or community. My community continues to surprise and impress me.
Friends and family and community are more important then a house.
I think the universe also decided I need to get out a little more. I spend most of my days at my house. Doing work, of course, but still. Time to find other places to hang out.
What do you value most, and are you living in accord with those values? Are you prioritizing your values day-in and day-out?
Are you hiding your greatness in your office? What do you believe in and want to share with others? Or, if you’re not the sharing and caring type (yet), what do you want to learn more about? Go out there and be seen!
Yay vulnerability! I know, it’s tough.
Getting focused
My yoga and meditation practice has reminded me to focus. Focus on other things besides reading insurance policies and lawyer documents. Keep living life because life must go on.
My yoga practice has reminded me to breathe when it feels like I’m suffocating.
Just a simple breath break is enough to break a cycle of negative self-talk, too-long pity parties, and useless worrying about uncertain outcomes. The fact that we spend so much time worrying about things that may or may not even happen is pretty silly.
For me, my work helps me focus. My to-do list is a comfort. I start crossing things off. I get distracted. I pull my planner back out and look for something productive to do.
I also have changed my mind about what counts as productive. There are some other things that need to be taken care of in my life these days, like meetings with contractors and figuring out where I’m going to sleep tonight. So I get done what is immediately in front of me, focus on my work when I can, and practice compassion with myself knowing I am doing my best.
Having fun with creative thinking
When my mind does wander, because I know it will, it’s more enjoyable to stay positive. Apparently the stars are all about manifesting our thoughts right now, so whatever we’re dedicating our energy to may appear in our lives in the next 6 months. I’d much rather manifest a new house then a collapsed one.
It’s way more fun to think about building a custom home with the hundreds of thousands of dollars that are going to mysteriously windfall into my lap then the grim potential of bankruptcy or foreclosure.
I’ve often said practical thinking helps keep disappointment at bay, but real-life, big situations move beyond mere disappointment and practical thinking only seems to keep things crappy. I’m all about moving beyond the crap.
In my effort to play to my strengths, I’ve researched long-term house-sitting opportunities, pitch angles for talk show hosts and reality television, and organizations I could contact to help us through this rare, unfortunate debacle. Way more exciting then…well anything else I could be doing.
Being the warrior
I’ve always loved how strong the warrior poses make me feel. And there has never been a time in my life when I needed that warrior spirit. The battle I’m about to embark upon may be long and finicky, of the legal variety. As much as I want to be angry, that emotion hasn’t reared its head yet. Instead, I’m sad. I’m fired up. I’m uncertain.
That is a strange combination of emotion, yet a common set of experiences for a leader. I’ve always wanted to step up and lead, so now is the best time to do it.
I lead through my work helping others. I lead by showing up and teaching. I lead by being present and listening. And I lead by fighting a different fight. A fight for what is right in the right way. Intelligent. Compassionate. Values-driven. Collaborative.
True warriors are emotional at the same time that the emotions don’t get in the way of the fight.
I wanted to write something of value for you today. A “6 ways to master Blank Yoga Pose” or “The real meaning of Sutra 579812” (don’t worry there aren’t that many sutras and Blank Yoga Pose isn’t a real thing ;)). Content marketers beg bloggers who want to influence and be known to follow the rules for the best reach, social proof, and blah, blah, blah marketing jargon.
But you know what, there is nothing more valuable then understanding how yoga can be applied to the struggles of daily life.
This is my struggle and how I’m dealing with it in my best moments. There are ugly moments too.
What is your struggle and how do you choose to let yoga guide you? Send me an email or reach out on Facebook. I’d love to hear from you!
Namaste.
A few days before the official announcement, I received an email from Andrew Tanner, the official spokesperson for the YA, letting me know that a big thing was coming and asking if I wanted to record a podcast about it. Of course I did, so we arranged time for the following day. In that conversation, I learned for the first time that the YA has decided to limit the language that yoga teachers are allowed to use on their YA profile page. Based on legal advice, the organization felt it was necessary to make sure that no one is claiming YA registration as a credential for yoga therapy.
The concern is that certain language makes the YA liable for potentially actionable medical claims. According to an article in Law360, it is only a matter of time before the lawsuits start coming. The Yoga Alliance decided to get ahead of the game and created criteria for language that is not permitted and a list of recommended alternatives. The restrictions apply not just to the term “Yoga Therapy” but to related phrases that might suggest that the yoga instructor can diagnose and/or treat a mental or physical health condition. For example, the YA’s legal team has determined that “therapeutic yoga” is a problem but “therapeutically-oriented yoga” is not.
“Yoga therapy is the process of empowering individuals to progress toward improved health and well-being through the application of the teachings and practices of Yoga.” - International Association of Yoga Therapists’ official definition of Yoga Therapy.
At the core of the issue is that no one has ever really been able to make a distinction between yoga and yoga therapy. While some attempts have been made to make yoga therapy more specific to dealing with medical conditions, the official definition has always resisted limiting the profession to a clinical application. That is because even in the world of yoga therapy, couched in the language of research and academia, effective work is often still more intuitive than scientific. The process of transformation that is healing through yoga does not lend itself to standardization and there is a difference between prescriptive and processed-based models. But if we are to go by the IAYT’s official definition, all effective yoga teachers are essentially providing yoga therapy.
What makes yoga therapeutic or not, or whether stating as much constitutes an illegal claim is unclear. If I claim to help address something that the doctors don’t have much of an answer for, say back pain or stress, then I’m still safe under the umbrella of “holistic health and wellness.” But if I say that yoga can heal your fibromyalgia or herniated discs then I might be stepping on the American Medical Association's toes. And, in the past, the AMA has gone after other emerging alternative healing modalities that treaded into their territory. Of course, this is profoundly ironic given how many doctors are recommending yoga classes to their patients without distinguishing between those that are therapeutically-oriented and those that are not.
Setting aside the lack of transparency at the YA, and legitimate debates about the merits of YA standards and the credibility of yoga teacher training programs, the reason for the new policy has little to do with yoga and everything to do with politics.
Most folks who pay annual fees to YA often question why, when it seems that the organization doesn’t do much for them. The reality is that the registry is not designed to serve yoga teachers or studios, but rather “the public good.” The Yoga Alliance is not just one organization but two: it consists of the registry (501-C3) and membership benefits (501-C6). They set up the membership part to assuage complaints back when the public feeling about YA was at its all-time low. A percentage of all annual fees does fund the registry but this amounts to the yoga community contributing to the public interest, not their own per se.
I must admit that it rankles me a bit to have decisions about yoga teaching and the public good arrived at in a black box, and then dropped on the industry professionals it affects most in such a heavy-handed manner. That is the precedent I find unsettling. I am certainly not a legal expert but it’s hard to believe that if I were to be sued, whether it says “therapeutic” or “therapeutically-oriented” on my website is going to make the difference in the case. Moreover, if I adopt the recommended YA language and I still get sued, there is no reason to believe that the YA is going to come to my defense. While many yoga teachers are still able to work just fine without YA registration, more places are requiring it and the undeniable truth is that yoga centers with teacher training programs cannot remain viable unless they are in the YA system.
What does all this really mean to yoga teachers and studios?
The one good thing that the Yoga Alliance is doing for the yoga community, not to be undervalued, is taking a stance against government regulation of yoga. This is a contested issue but most insiders understand that outside regulation of the industry will not make yoga safer and will impede the individual freedom of yoga teachers to conduct their work as they see fit. Fact is, if the YA is going to fight against government intervention under the pretense that the industry is self-regulating then they can’t be seen as enabling illegal medical claims at the same time.
For the majority of yoga teachers and studios who are not working within a therapeutic orientation, none of this matters much now. If you didn’t get flagged with a language infraction then you might not have even noticed. Nonetheless, the YA has stipulated particular language to distinguish what RYT’s and RYS’s do from yoga therapy. And if you want to be registered, you have to agree to that despite any ambiguities . There is no more pretending that the YA is inconsequential. The YA is now officially “the man.” We can either choose to play ball or risk surviving on the margins. But if history has taught us anything, it is that once birthed, the piper will likely need to be paid.
Listen to my conversation with Andrew Tanner:
By J. Brown
J. Brown is a yoga teacher, writer and founder of Abhyasa Yoga Center in Brooklyn, NY. His writing has been featured in Yoga Therapy Today, the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, and across the yoga blogosphere. Visit his website at jbrownyoga.com
On the other hand, everyone also always asks how to heal and prevent back pain, and Theraputic Yoga For Hips and Back is routinely the most popular of all my videos on Yoga Download, month after month. So I have decided to write and share this article with you, because it is important to understand that the two are intrinsically related: strengthening the abdominal muscles, and especially the lower fibers of the abs in conjunction with the pelvic floor and the adductor muscles of the inner thighs, is the perfect complement to a therapeutic practice for the hips and back. The problem is that most people, including even many teachers and practitioners, have no idea how to isolate the lower ab muscles from the perennially tight psoas muscles, resulting in ever more tightness in the hips and vulnerability in the lower back, in spite of the best intentions. The good news is that there are simple solutions - once we understand the deep dynamics of the hips, abs and back.
The psoas muscles, which are the primary hip flexors, bring the torso and thighs towards one another. If you imagine the torso coming towards the thighs or the thighs towards the torso, you might notice that from the outside this looks like any classic abdominal exercise. However, there is no guarantee that bringing the torso and thighs towards one another will efficiently tone the abs, since it is all too easy to overuse the psoas muscles and bypass the all-important stability muscle fibers in the lower abs. What most people call ab work is predominantly just hip flexion - and nobody needs tighter hips.
Moreover, since the psoas muscles wrap around the spine and attach to the lumbar, they directly affect the stability and posture of the lower back. Therefore, a lot of so-called ab work ends up mostly tightening the lower back as well as the hips, and can eventually lead to injury and pain. Emotionally, the hip-flexing psoas muscles are the first responders to fight-or-flight signals, as flexing the hips is the first action both in closing off the front of the torso to protect the vital organs, as well as in preparing to lunge - whether in order to attack or to flee. In our modern world, where we are mostly removed from the food chain and do not normally have to escape or fight carnivorous predators, this relationship between the psoas muscles and the fight-or-flight mechanism has been mostly sublimated into traumatically stored tension in response to any and all perceived danger, whether physical or emotional. So, again - nobody needs tighter hips.
The well-intentioned but sadly harmful message that so many of us get from a very young age, namely to suck our gut in and keep it in, actually makes affairs worse. Imagine what would happen if you walked around all day with your elbows flexed and your fists held tightly by the shoulders in a classic muscle-man pose; would this result in strong and supple biceps, or weak and exhausted ones? The same is doubly true of the abs: a truly strong muscle must be able to fully extend, as well as fully flex. Strength without mobility is merely tightness, and flexibility without stability is merely weakness. What we want is truly strong and supple muscles, throughout the body in general, and in the abdominal muscles in particular.
Thankfully, there is a simple action that is the initial key to healing the hips and back and gaining true access to the abs. It is an action that, by nature, we should all be doing easily and perfectly, virtually all the time: deep, diaphragmatic breathing. Of course, due to the very same physical and emotional tensions at the root of the problem, nearly nobody actually breaths perfectly well all the time, to say the least. In order to begin to heal the breath, and hence the abs, hips and back, we would do well to understand the structure of the respiratory diaphragm.
The respiratory diaphragm is a dome-shaped mass of muscle and tendon fibers that separates the hydraulic (liquid system) abdominal cavity in the lower torso from the pneumatic (gas system) thoracic cavity in the upper torso. It basically connects the bottom of the ribcage to the diaphragm's own central tendon at the top of its dome. In order to inhale, we engage the diaphragm muscles to pull its central tendon down towards the abdominal cavity, which results in expanding the lungs. Since the lungs are connected to the atmosphere in a pneumatic, air-pressure system through the air canal, nostrils and mouth, the expansion of the lungs creates an air-pressure difference between the lungs and the atmosphere. In turn, the lower pressure in the lungs, relatively to the atmosphere, causes air from the atmosphere to rush into the lungs. You have literally never "taken" a breath. All we do is engage the respiratory diaphragm, and mother earth virtually breathes into us. Talk about opening to grace.
Yet, tension in the abs from holding them in and from emotional trauma restricts the proper descent of the central tendon of the respiratory diaphram. In lieu of the respiratory diaphragm descending, we must then overuse auxiliary respiratory muscles in the chest, upper back, shoulders and neck. Muscles such as the intercostals between the ribs and the upper trapezius that connect the back of the head and neck to the collarbones were designed to assist inhalation, especially under the pressure of aerobic activity, but not to bear the brunt of respiratory effort. As a result, so many of us end up with tightness and pain in the shoulders and neck. So, if you'd like to heal or help prevent shoulder and neck pain, you can certainly benefit from the Therapeutic Yoga for Wrists, Shoulders and Neck on Yoga Download, but ultimately you must also learn how to breath more efficiently with your diaphragm.
This is why both Therapeutic Yoga for Hips and Back and The Best Damn Ab Isolation Ever! start with deep belly breathing. Strengthening the abs and healing the hips and back are deeply related, and both find their roots in diaphragmatic breathing. Then, as I teach in The Best Damn Ab Isolation Ever!, you can learn how to recruit the mula bandha principle at the pelvic floor, as well as the hip adductors in the inner thighs, to isolate the lower fibers of the abdominal muscles from the psoas and begin to gain real freedom in the hips and back, as well as perfect functional power in the core.
The technique depends on going slowly enough to notice whether you are able to retain perfect stability and stillness throughout the body as you perform minute and precise supine leg lifts, it also includes many, many levels of challenge, and it is crucially important to stick to the level that still allows you to keep perfect core stability, in order to prevent the psoas from taking over and making matters worse. When it is virtually effortless at one level, it is time to move to the next. Once you are able to lift and lower straight legs from a supine position with perfect stillness in the rest of the body, you will have perfect functional core stability. Then yoga (as well as Pilates, dance and athletics) will be much safer for your back, and more likely to do good than harm in the long run.
Lastly, you can learn how to expand the sides and the back of the waist during deep diaphragmatic breathing, so that you can keep the lower abs and pelvic floor lifted while still breathing deeply. As I learned in my university education in music and vocal performance, any excellent opera singer knows that breathing "into the kidneys" allows for the best breath support for vocal projection. During more actively challenging yoga asana practices, it is also the way to get the best of all worlds: deep breathing, uncompromising core stability, and perfect relaxation in the neck and shoulders. This is why I emphasize, in strength building classes such as Slow Flow and Twists and Backbends, lifting the lower belly and the pelvic floor. This action allows us to open the hips and breathe deeply into the sides and the back of the waist, while keeping the upper torso and neck surrendered. From a more esoteric, energetic perspective, this is also the first step towards uddyana bandha. We can thus also begin to learn how to use the lift in the lower belly and pelvic floor like an energetic magnet for the vital energy of respiration, drawing prana into the body's center of gravity and power at the base of the torso.
While it takes time and practice, dedication and patience, when we truly gain an experiential understanding of the dynamic relationships between our hips, abs and back, as well as our breath and vital energy, we open the door to a lifetime of fitness and wellness in body and mind that translates into great freedom and joy, even unto old age. Thank you for reading and please share with all who could benefit! May all beings be free of suffering and enjoy true happiness, and the roots of true happiness.
Well into his third decade with yoga, Shy Sayar is a teacher and therapist with tens of thousands of hours of experience bringing yoga to students of all levels, treating patients, and training yoga teachers and therapists around the globe. Shy has offered coursework on education and pedagogy, as well as yoga philosophy and classical Indian literature at the University of California, Berkeley. In his yoga teaching, Shy integrates his experience in higher education with skillful attention to different learning styles, making even the most complex teachings approachable to every student. His unique Tantravaya Yoga Therapy method has shown remarkable results in posture correction, pain relief and improved balance, as well as healing emotional trauma and addressing the roots of psychological symptoms, such as anxiety and depression. www.tantravaya.com
Click here to download or stream one of Shy's YogaDownload classes!
It begins with the breath
Yoga breath flows lightly in and out through the nose. Avoid manic huffing and sniffing and simply softly constrict the breath in your throat, like you would do if you were whispering to someone. When you breathe deeply you should feel and even see movement all the way down to your belly. If you find yourself exhaling when the teacher is asking you to inhale, don’t worry about it. It takes practice to breathe in steady rhythm and match that breath to movement in a group setting.
Bend those knees
Most people don’t walk into a yoga class with deliciously long hamstrings. When forward-folding or going into downward-facing dog, give yourself and your legs and your lower back a break and bend your knees to relieve tension. Once you find yourself in the pose, you can slowly re-straighten the legs and find the stretch. As a general rule, prioritise the actions of the spine over the legs. Meaning, let your spine release in a forward fold before you try to challenge it with straight legs. Let your spine lengthen in down-dog, before you challenge it with straight legs. For now, give your spine more love and as your practice deepens you can work more on the legs.
Hands Up!
When you raise your arms over your head, make sure your palms face towards each other and your arms are straightening as much as they can. If you find that your shoulders are crowding up towards your ears, widen your hands further away from each other and feel that your shoulder blades are spreading out rather than purely lifting up. It’s important to get stretch and reach across the back of the shoulders and side body – so go for it!
Walk the Line
As you learn standing poses, like Warrior II, side angle or Triangle, align your front heel with your back heel as a default setting. As you develop your practice you may explore front heel to back arch alignment for a deeper opening, or if you find yourself restricted, in pain, or unstable you may explore a tiny gap between the heels. But as a general rule, stick with this alignment for now.
Keep your balance
Being able to balance in tree pose, or high lunges, or whatever else finds you wobbly is not just about strength. Find one un-moving spot in front of you and fix your gaze on it. Breathe slowly and deeply through the nose as you keep your eyes fixed on this spot. This should help you stay upright and increase your ability to concentrate!
Sitting ain’t easy
As Westerners, we’re not used to sitting on the ground. Due to tightness in the legs and hips we may get all sorts of downward pull that makes us slump and ache when we try to sit cross-legged or kneel. The best way to help yourself is to sit on a blanket or a block or two. Give your bum and spine a bit of a lift to balance out the muscular forces pulling it down. It may still be difficult and take some time to overcome, but try this simple adjustment for now.
It’s a practice
Remember that yoga is a practice that accrues cumulative results. Everyone will be on a different schedule and all you can do is pace yourself and get on your mat. It takes awhile to figure out how to make the shapes and flow, just as it takes a bit of time to move from piano scales to sonatas. As you get confused, ask your teacher for advice rather than getting frustrated. Most teachers have had all sorts of struggles with practice and found a way to work through it. Be kind to yourself, stick with it, and see what happens
Find out more about my beginners courses
By Adam Hocke
Adam has been practicing vinyasa flow yoga since 1999 and has trained extensively with Jason Crandell. He offers precise, strong, and accessible classes to physically awaken the body and develop mindfulness both on and off the mat. His teaching is down-to-earth and direct, exploring traditional practices from a modern perspective. A native of South Florida, Adam spent ten years in New York City before becoming a Londoner. He teaches studio classes, workshops and courses throughout London, and retreats across the globe. As a writer, Adam contributes regularly to magazines and web publications on yoga. Visit Adam at www.adamhocke.com
My mat of choice is the Jade Fusion, it was an absolute game changer. Given that I have some of the boniest knees on the planet, I tried numerous mat and supplemental padding permutations. When I found the Fusion mat, my life changed. No more folding mats or setting up towels, I could just kneel and focus on the stretch, rather than counting the seconds until I could get back up. I have several of them that I let clients use just so they can see the difference.
This is not to say I think this is the right mat for everyone, it has some downside. First, it cost a small fortune by comparison to other mats. Second, it weighs as much as my cat, so lugging it around can be a burden. And, because of the extra density, it makes balance poses a bit more challenging. But to me, those are prices I am more than willing to pay.
Oh, that’s why its so heavy…
My standard advice when buying a mat is look for density. There are some nice mats out there that won’t break the bank. If you have been practicing for a while and are ready to treat yourself to a premium mat, check out Jade and Manduka. I have a Manduka mat that I use at my office and it is really nice, not quite as dense as the Fusion, but a really good mat at about half the price.
There are good options at places like TJ Maxx and Target. Gaiam is probably best known, they have a premium line which I am seeing a lot of and people seem pleased with them. When looking at mats, try to find a minimum density of 5mm, you can generally tell by the size of the roll how dense the mat is, if it looks like a taquito, it is probably 3mm so move on.
Also, consider length. Standard length is 68” which is fine if you are 5’8 or shorter. If you are taller, there are longer mats available, you just may have to order them. For taller clients, I recommend they spend the extra few bucks for the 74” mat, it is a rarely regretted decision. Extra wide mats also exist, so don’t just buy the first thing you see, get what you need.
While there are plenty of mats which will serve you well out there, I have definite opinions about those big puffy “fitness mats.” Stay away from them. They are not designed for yoga, they have no grip, the ends roll up, and they condense to a tissue thin sheet when you press on them. I cannot tell you how many people have bought them thinking the puffiness will make them more comfortable, only to be disappointed and frustrated when they don’t work.
This guy, yeah stay away from him
Bottom line when buying a mat, consider how often you practice, if it’s more than once a week, spend a little more for a premium mat. If you practice once a week or less, get yourself a nice quality 5mm from one of the mass retailers. A final word of warning, if you float the idea of getting a mat as a present, be specific about the mat you want, otherwise the decision will be made on color and price and that does not always end well.
By Tara Kestner
Previously published on Next Level Yoga's Blog
Tara Kestner is a registered yoga instructor who specializes in working with athletes of all levels. She designs programs based on specific sport requirements and challenges. Utilizing the principle that strength plus flexibility equals power, her classes give athletes the tools they need to enhance their performance. Tara is the owner of Next Level Yoga, Ltd., in Toledo, Ohio.
Start down the road to enlightenment with the following YogaDownload "focus exercise" Classes:
Yoga Nidra - Celest Pereira Arrive in the Present Moment - Jackie Casal Mahrou
We’re using forbidden black rice as the grain base for this Yogi Bowl because it is so beautiful, naturally sweet, and of course–ridiculously good for you. Forbidden rice is a nutrient dense food and a great source of iron, vitamin E, and antioxidants (more than in blueberries!). We’ve loaded the bowl up with a variety of cleanse-friendly veggies like carrots, bok choy, snow peas, mushrooms, and avocado. Feel free to change up the roster to use up what you have floating around in your refrigerator.
The dressing used here is one of our favorite go-to vegan, non-dairy, “creams.” It’s made by soaking cashews overnight, adding cilantro, lime, and some spices before giving it a whirl in the blender until creamy and smooth. It adds a nice pop to the bowl and is completely plant-based. This recipe will make approximately three bowls, which means you will have plenty for a few lunches as well as a quick dinner too!
Do you have a favorite Buddha or Yogi Bowl combo? Share it with us in the comment section below.
With lots of yogi nectar,
Serving: 3 bowls
Instructions: In a medium saucepan, bring water, salt, and forbidden rice to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 25 minutes or until water has evaporated and rice is soft. Turn heat off and let stand covered for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, put ½ cup of water into a pot with a steaming basket and bring to a boil. Place carrots and snow peas in steamer basket, cover and steam for 5-7 minutes. Finish by steaming the bok choy for 2 minutes the same way.
In a skillet on medium heat add coconut oil and wait until melted and glossy. Add mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes or until seared on each side. Season with sea salt to taste.
To make the Cashew Cilantro Dressing place the 2 tablespoons of avocado, soaked and drained cashews, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, garlic powder, sea salt, and water in a blender. Puree the mixture until smooth. Add more water as needed to get things moving in the blender and to get your preferred consistency.
To assemble the bowl place 1 cup forbidden rice on the bottom of a large bowl. Arrange the carrots, bok choy, snow peas, and mushrooms as you see fit over the rice. Place a few slices of avocado on top and the sesame seeds to garnish. Pour over a few tablespoons of the Cashew Cilantro Dressing. Enjoy!
I discovered them at our favorite local café and work spot Café St. Jorge. If you ever make it to San Francisco, you must try this spot. The owner, Andrea De Francisco, is a Bay Area native with Portugese heritage, which means you’ll find traditional Portugese pastel de nata alongside creative vegan treats and Stumptown coffee.
I used to treat myself to Andrea’s Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, but when I was looking for something with less sugar, she turned me onto these. They are rich and decadent and really easy to make! If Sofia-Rose and I can do it, I know that you can, too.
ALMOND BUTTER CUPS
Makes 14-16 servings
Note: Silicone baking cups work well for these. If you don’t have them, use a cupcake pan with greased paper liners. I tested both and silicone cups are much easier! I got mine on Amazon for about six bucks.
INGREDIENTS
For the almond butter filling: 3 cups almond butter 1/2 cup agave 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 3 tablespoons vanilla extract
For the chocolate shell: 2 cups chocolate chips 1 teaspoon salt Maldon sea salt (to top)
HOW TO 1. Make the filling by combining the almond butter, agave, salt, and vanilla. Stir together well and refrigerate. 2. Now we need to melt those chocolate chips. (You don’t need to temper the chocolate for this, so you won’t need a thermometer.) Heat up some water in a saucepan or a double boiler. 3. Put your chocolate chips in the top of the double boiler or in a metal pan or metal bowl. 4. Rest the chips pan on top of the boiling saucepan. 5. Stir until the chocolate melts. 6. Using a spoon, put one scoop of melted chocolate in each silicone baking cup. Use back of the spoon to spread the chocolate up the sides and bottom of the silicone cup. You should not see any silicone liner. If you do, add a tiny bit more chocolate and spread it around. 7. Chill the chocolate cups in the freezer for at least 5 minutes, or until they harden. (If you’re using the paper liners, pop them into a muffin pan to help them keep their shape.) 8. Take out your chocolate shells and place a large spoonful of the almond butter filling inside. 9. Place one more spoonful of melted chocolate on top and thinly and evenly spread on top. 10. Top cups with a pinch of Malden sea salt. 11. Put them in the freezer or fridge until they set, then carefully pop them out of their liners.
Eat and enjoy. Don’t get too addicted!
By Andrea Ferretti
Andrea Ferretti and Jason Crandell are a husband and wife team who have been teaching, writing about, and living their yoga for nearly two decades. Andrea is the former executive editor of Yoga Journal and is now creative director for Jason Crandell Yoga Method. Jason is an internationally recognized teacher known for his precise, empowering, down-to-earth approach to vinyasa yoga. They live together in San Francisco with their full-time boss, Sofia-Rose Crandell, age 3. To read their blog or to learn more about Jason's upcoming teacher trainings, please visit their web site www.jasonyoga.com
Allow for some creative and individual expression here as an exploration of the internal landscape has no boundaries or rules, so you must not be surprised by what you find.Be careful in this time not to numb out or go adrift in order to avoid the calling. These are classic Pisces pitfalls. Consuming drugs or alcohol, engaging in martyrdom or ignoring the issues glosses over what is really necessary at the time and does not solve the problem. Pushing away your deeper needs is a dangerous business, as that type of repression undoubtedly arises more fiercely in the future. An interesting aspect to the new moon with oppositional forces (Jupiter and Saturn) ask us to think outside the box and expand our faith and awareness in order to get this very important work done. There is a smoothly supported aspect to Pluto that encourages your ability to transform yourself and eliminate what is no longer necessary to find the fullest expression of your spiritual self.There is a great potential that your core wound is touched at this time and something about that very old hurt triggers the need for this deep spiritual exploration. Let it happen. This can propel you into a profound awakening under this influence. While it isn’t without sacrifice, what you must let go of is necessary to thrive and open to your truest, fullest manifestation of being.Alchemical Ritual for Pisces New Moon:Pisces is a water sign portrayed by two swimming fish. This displays the fluidity of emotions and incredible, empathic sensitivity that is second nature to Pisces. All these feelings can be overwhelming without the right outlet to deal with them. This ritual aids in allowing you to make your way through the emotional turmoil that occurs in deep spiritual exploration in order to feel fully what is alive within you and bring it to a balanced, integrated state.This ritual requires water. If possible, take a bath before the ritual to immerse yourself in the natural element of Pisces. You may fill a sacred cup or vessel with water and place it in your ritual space. Gather your favorite crystals (Aquamarine, Amethyst or Lapis Lazuli are good choices if you have them) and a candle or two in front of you. Use sage, sweet grass or palo santo to cleanse yourself and the space by casting the smoke over yourself and encircling your own body three times. Find a symbol that activate you spiritually and makes you feel connected to source. This can be anything—a religious icon or relic, a picture or an object. Light your candles, sit comfortably in your space and hold the symbol as you close the eyes and say the following invocation:May the highest qualities of Pisces and this New Moon allow me to transcend all that holds me back from my highest spiritual connection and my deepest soul purpose.Spend a few moments in quiet contemplation as you absorb the connection to source inspired by the invocation and ritual. Feel what comes up from inside you as you clear your mind and allow your soul to communicate your highest needs. Be delighted at what arises. As you receive insights, place the ring finger (or first finger) of your right hand into the water you’ve place in the ritual space and anoint yourself with it by lightly touching your forehead, your sternal notch at the base of the throat, and your heart. Do this as many times as necessary.When your ritual feels complete, bring your hands to prayer at your heart, chant Om three times, and snuff the candles. Anoint your symbol with the sacred water and place it somewhere that you see it everyday in order to be reminded of the connection you have cultivated in this ritual. Let it be a reminder of how to connect to your source, and also, of how connected you are at all times.
By Alanna Kaivalya
Alanna believes Yoga is for everyone and each student can develop the self-empowerment needed to embark on a personal journey to meaningful transformation. On this principle she founded The Kaivalya Yoga Method, a fresh take on yoga emphasizing the individual path while honoring tradition. Teaching students since 2001, teachers since 2003, Alanna has written and developed teacher trainings worldwide for top studios and independently. In January she debuted a comprehensive 200hr-online teacher training with YogaDownload. She holds a Ph.D. in Mythological Studies with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, has authored numerous articles and two books: Myths of the Asanas, an accessible practitioner’s guide to stories behind beloved poses; Sacred Sound, a yoga “hymnal,” illustrating the role of chant and mantra in modern practice. Look for her third book, Yoga Beyond the Mat, in Autumn 2016.She lives in New York City with Roxy the Wonderdog.
Enter our new feature “Pose of the Month” to give you the What, Why, and How. If you want a visual demonstration, check out our free pose breakdown videos.
Our inaugural pose of the month: Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog):
Downward-Facing Dog is one of the primary foundational poses in yoga. Even if you’ve never stepped onto a yoga mat before, you’ve likely heard of Down Dog. Or, seen your dog perform it when he wakes up from a nap.
The Benefits: • Stretches the shoulders, back, hips, hamstrings, and calves. • Creates strength in the upper and lower body. • Creates a sense of calm because your head is below your heart—it is an inversion. • Energizes the body and reduces fatigue. • Boosts circulation and blood flow.
The Way: • Start on your hands and knees, with your knees directly beneath the hips and hands slightly in front of your shoulders. • Spread your fingers and root down into all your knuckles especially your thumb and index finger. • Exhale and tuck your toes under, pressing your tailbone toward the sky. Keep your knees slightly bent to start. • Firm your thighs, pressing your thighbones back, bringing more of your weight into the lower body. • Press your heels toward the ground; it is okay if they don't reach it today or ever! • Broaden your shoulder blades away from each other. • Maintain a long straight line from your tailbone to the crown of your head. • Breathe deeply and hold for up to 3 minutes.
As anxiety can often be triggered by stress, there are ways you can help your body relax. Yoga has been proven to benefit your physical health but it can also benefit your state of mind. Exercise naturally releases endorphins that helps you feel relaxed and relieves any stress you’re feeling. As yoga is a soft and spiritual exercise, it can be very beneficial against anxiety.
Here is how yoga can help you:
Reduces Stress
An anxiety attack can be caused by stress. Feeling stressed can increase your heart rate and rush your breathing.
Doing yoga naturally reduces stress. Slow and controlled exercises can help you feel calmer and more relaxed. Deep and controlled breathing is commonly recommended for anxiety sufferers because it helps reduce your heart rate and achieve a state of calm.
Controlled breathing combined with yoga exercise can help reduce stress. If you practice yoga just a few times a week you’ll be able to see the positive effects it has.
Improves Sleep
Lack of sleep can often make you feel more stressed. There are different reasons that can cause you to struggle to get the recommended sleep you need. Drinking caffeine and eating late are common reasons, but stress can also cause a lack of sleep. As yoga can help you feel more relaxed, it can help you sleep better at night.
Doing 20-30 minutes of yoga in the evening can help you meditate and relax before you go to bed. As yoga is a low active exercise, you could do your exercise in your pajamas.
Benefits Immune System
Along with stress, feeling unwell can trigger anxiety attacks. Keeping fit can benefit your immune system and increase blood flow in your body. As yoga helps you exercise different parts of your body and engage muscles that aren’t regularly used, it can help improve your physical and mental health. Relieves Pain
Chronic conditions and injuries can increase your stress levels. Gentle yoga exercises have been known to help relieve pain from arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome and other chronic conditions. Relieving pain naturally benefits your mood and helps against anxiety.
Relaxes Your Body and Mind
Practicing yoga and meditation has proven to help relax the body and the mind. Basic yoga exercises like the Mountain Pose or the Tree helps release tension from your body. Often, after an exercise, you can feel more relaxed because you’ve removed all the stressful tension inside you.
As yoga is a soft and slow exercise, it gives you the opportunity to focus on your controlled movements and your breathing. Yoga exercises often feel very cathartic because they help you release stress and feel relaxed. Feeling relaxed helps relieve anxiety.
Yoga is a popularly recommended exercise because it helps battle against many different physical and mental ailments. Yoga has proven to be especially helpful against anxiety because it helps relieve stress.
By Benjamin Fry
Benjamin is a psychotherapist, accredited by the BACP, who contributes to the media in the UK and is politically active in lobbying for better access to better treatment for all sections of society, working with the Centre for Social Justice and through his own social enterprise Get Stable. He set up Khiron House after experiencing a serious mental illness and getting no effective treatment for it in the UK. You can find out more about him at his website."
I admitted to my Yoga for Anxiety workshop participants over the weekend that I felt like I should be in the classroom with them instead of in the front of the room teaching them. This was right after I learned that my house is falling apart and will cost at least $100,000 to repair.
I’ll never forgot something Seane Corn once said at a Yoga Journal Conference: “We teach what we most need to learn.”
I’ll also admit I’ve been having a little pity party for myself the past few days. And I’m trying so desperately to snap out of it.
In perfect timing, my mentor recommended I take a day off last week. Now I’m agonizing about how I’m going to be able to do that when I’m staring down serious house repair bills, in addition to the fact that giving something up is never easy. I’m really good at working hard. I’m right there with you learning how to relax and let go.
I share all of this to show you that I’m imperfectly human just like you. And of course, there is a yoga lesson on its way.
But if you’re feeling stressed, anxious and overwhelmed and like life is kicking your butt right now, you’re not alone. I feel that way too.
Stay positive
First thing’s first.
It’s positive affirmation time.
Repeat to yourself silently, “this too shall pass.”
All of this, whatever this is, is only temporary. Temporary has different deadlines for different people, but I promise, it’s only temporary. Happiness, growth, smiles, laughter, joy, and righteousness are right around the corner. But only if you allow yourself to have those things. Only if you believe you deserve them.
Now let’s get to the yoga lesson.
Brahmacharya=energy management
In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, there is a set of values outlined to be the purest and most universal values all yogis can strive to live by. These values are called the yamas.
There are 5 of them, as follows:
Ahimsa (don’t harm yourself or other living beings) Satya (tell the truth and seek the truth) Asteya (don’t steal – possessions OR time) Brahmacharya (manage your energy) Aparigraha (don’t hoard material possessions, people, time, energy, anything)
Sutra 2.38 expands upon the purpose of managing your energy:
brahmacharya-pratisthayam virya-labhah
Originally, in classical times, brahmacharya referred to celibacy. Since yoga is now for the householder and we’re living in the world, not in caves, the more modern interpretation is to manage your energy (all energy) appropriately.
My favorite translation of this sutra is from Jnaneshvara (with my own interpretation mixed in):
When we are able to successfully manage our energy], then a great strength, capacity, or vitality is acquired.
In other words, the secret to gaining more energy is to figure out how to appropriately manage it.
Those sneaky yogis. So simple. Yet terribly, annoyingly complex. No magic pills on this path.
Different perspectives on how to manage your energy
There’s an article making rounds on the internets about how Randi Zuckerburg has said entrepreneurs can only pick 3 of 5 very important life categories to focus on if they want to be successful. She says between family, work, friends, fitness, and sleep, you can only have 3. This is an example of energy management, however harsh it sounds.
Another way to look at energy management is understanding all the activities in your life that drain you and all the activities in your life that fill you up. We want to maximize the energy-giving activities and minimize the energy-draining ones. Sometimes that means making hard decisions. And yes, that means learning how to say no.
Energy management is learning how to live in the middle. We can go to the extreme of being so busy we burn-out, or we can hold ourselves back and watch the world go by because of a fear of failure.
There’s another way (there’s ALWAYS another way) and it’s somewhere in the middle.
Fine, mom and dad. You win. They always liked to remind me that “moderation is key.” I naturally ignored them or scoffed at their petty wisdom. Of course, I was wrong and they were right. So thanks for planting the early seeds and being gentle with me as I found my own way back to the same exact concept.
The middle way
It’s really hard to live in the middle. This is because so much of the world that we aspire to live in dwells in extremism. I’m not talking about terrorists or radical religions here.
I’m talking about the extremism that is the voices in our heads telling us we’re too fat because we don’t look like the models and celebrities we see on TV.
I’m talking about the extremism that is diet plans based on restrictions because now we’re all suddenly gluten-, lactose-, fruit-, legume-, nightshade-, and processed food-intolerant. Don’t get me wrong there are some people that have serious food allergies or even diseases and I’m not knocking that. To truly know yourself, you have to spend time with yourself. You have to conduct experiments. You’ll probably suffer. A lot. And then, you’ll have an answer. Only then. Reading a magazine article probably isn’t enough to confirm a food intolerance.
I’m talking the extremism that is working 60 hours a week and calling that normal, because it’s just what it’s become. I’m calling myself out here on this one. I work too much. We all work too much. There’s a better way to manage our energy.
It starts with self-awareness.
Choose the game you want to play
A couple weeks ago I was looking at my schedule thinking to myself, I’m really going to need a vacation soon. But I have so much going on there is no time for a vacation (and now that my house is falling apart, no money).
I felt deeply that I needed one even before all of the last 2 weeks unfolded. And I didn’t listen to what my body knew. I didn’t make the hard choice because I let my mind override my body.
This yoga journey is a lifelong process people.
Energy management is about sustainability. It’s about playing the long-term game. And I know, the long-term game is no fun. But until you step on the train to the long-term game, you’ll constantly be thrown off the tracks of the short-term one. There is no end to the short-term game. Just more. More stuff, more goals, more money, more suffering.
If you choose the short-term game, you’ll sacrifice the benefits of sustainable living, but gain quick hits of happiness (and then crash and experience the lowest of lows when you fail).
If you choose the long-term game, you’ll sacrifice the quick reward in favor of a larger, more beneficial reward down the road. You may experience sadness up front, but the investment in bettering yourself is always worth it.
Energy management action plan
What can you do now to make energy management a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly maintenance practice? Here are some ideas:
Look at your calendar and say no to one thing. What are you not looking forward to? What is not ABSOLUTELY necessary?
Find 5 minutes a day to spend time with yourself to breathe, practice yoga, read, or engage in some activity that helps you relax and forget about the rest of the world.
Take a day off. Reschedule clients and meetings. Cancel engagements. Rearrange. Give yourself one day off in the next couple weeks.
Plan your next vacation. It doesn’t have to be far. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Pick more then one day, think about something fun you’ve wanted to do for awhile and put it on the calendar. You could take a vacation reading novels, visiting museums, staying with family, or taking art classes. Choose something that is not work. And make a pact to yourself that you won’t work.
Start to notice the activities that fill you up and the activities that drain you. Take notes so you can remember and notice as patterns start to build up. This will help you when you’re looking at what to say no to and what to let go of.
Get clear on your values and priorities. Do I think you can only pick 3 of the 5 categories Zuckerburg mentioned above? It rings pretty true for me. So what is most important to you? Is that what fills your life right now?
Stay active. Move your body at least once a day. Take a walk, dance for 5 minutes, jog, yoga, swim, whatever it is, just move. This does not mean you have to spend hours at the gym or attend exercise classes. I saw the app Sworkit on Shark Tank this past weekend and it looks really neat. Check it out!
Get organized. Our lives won’t always go according to plan, but like my former client/boss and friend Charlie Gilkey likes to say, if you’re planning effectively, you’ll always be changing your plans.
In addition to energy output, pay closer attention to energy input. What are you feeding your body and is it giving you the energy you need to show up and do your best every day? I’m not going to tell you what to eat, but I do believe that food and nutrition is a big piece of staying healthy and managing your energy. I’m having a hard time with that right now, but I keep trying!
Have some compassion for yourself. Be patient. Love yourself. Take care of yourself. It’s okay if you fail. As Aaliyah sang: “If at first you don’t succeed, get yourself up and try again.”
Good luck managing your energy this week!
“Love.” “I love you.” “I love my life.”
Love has been around forever... Love has been a part of you since the second you were conceived. The minute you were created by the heavens, you became love. Love is infinite and so is the energy from the heart. The heart was formed first when we decided to incarnate. Think about that for a hot minute. When doctors look for a baby nestled in the womb, the first thing they search for is a heartbeat. Even that thought takes my breath away and brings a tear to my eye. I still remember the first time I heard the heartbeat of my two children. It is a miracle, honestly.
The heart.
It is the epicenter of everything. It holds everything. From the second we are alive in our mother’s womb, we begin feeling. We felt our mother’s heartbeat, her indecisions, fears, joys and desires. Immediately, our heart started writing stories that we carry, for at the very least, this lifetime.
When we were born, we yearned for our mother’s breath, her touch and reassurance. That relationship sets the tone on how we define love. Our heart seeks love... our bodies crave touch. It’s a fact. This feeling of love and intimate touch evolves as we get older and we seek out partnerships to fulfill that need, but the fact is, we are meant to feel and love another.
But I’d like to add something that I can’t prove, I just know it—it’s in the fabric of my being and yours too. If love is infinite, wouldn’t it be safe to say that even before we incarnated, we were love? That we already came in knowing that we were divine love? That, before we were even born, we were love. I don’t know for sure, but when I sit and feel into that, it feels right.
I mean, when you feel something that frustrates you, hurts you, or creates contraction in the body, it is not love. And you know it. Whether or not you pursue it is based on your patterns. As you move along this path of life you are continually defining and redefining love and what it really means to you based on how you feel.
The heart is a beacon, it knows truth and it vibrates YOUR truth. And throughout your life, your heart has been nurtured, filled up, stepped on, mended, broken, ignited, full and then empty again and again. It is this amazing vessel of infinite capacity.
Your heart laughs, cries, embraces and screams. Think about it... it does so much. And, by the way, it beats and keeps you alive without you having to do a thing.
Another tidbit: The depth of hurt your heart has held acts as a springboard to catapult your heart into an immeasurable feeling of love and gratitude. So, the deeper your hurt, the more capacity you have to rebound into love that skyrockets.
Yes, we are molded by our mother’s patterns and thoughts on love. Yes, we draw in ideas and fantasies about love with every relationship that we wit- ness from the time we are born. Yes, we fall “into” love and stumble around blindly when the feeling of love envelopes our heart. Yes, we crumble when love ends in abandonment, or neglect or is not reciprocated. But the heart is infinite... it knows love. It knows that it can always repair itself. It just has to go inward and heal.
This is what I know to be true:
My heart broke many times throughout my childhood. My heart filled up when I got married many years later. When I write about love or connection, it flows off my fingertips without thought. Love flows from me every time I step on my mat and move my body. My heart broke again when my marriage ended in divorce. When my child says, “I love you, mommy” my heart leaps and almost explodes. When I watch my children in a dance recital or school function, I cry—every single time. When I look deep into the eyes of my lover, I see love from his heart—our love connection, and it’s magic. But most importantly... when I look into the mirror and see myself, I see love.
Beyond the fear, guilt, hurt, shame and mistakes and beyond the paths I’ve taken that led nowhere, past the indecisions and decisions I made that turned out different than I expected, I am love. We all are.
At the foundation of it all, you are love. Alone. You aren’t love WITH some- one... you’re just expanded love when that union happens. Alone... just you... you are love: infinite love to be exact.
I am done skimming the surface of life, moving and breathing from a place that only excites my body and my mind. Let’s excite the heart! Rewrite pat- terns that put fear before love! Let’s put love first! Let’s give the heart a chance to feel into the depths of the pain so it can come up for air fully healed and ready to lead you to more love!
Revisit whatever it is fully and then come up for air. We are waiting with open arms.
This blog is an excerpt from my new book Oms From the Heart. If this resonated with you, I invite you to buy the book. It's available now on Amazon.
Our Kale Superfood Salad is packed full of superfoods like kale, red cabbage, coconut, goji berries and hemp seeds.
Goji berries are a beautiful bright coral-hued dried fruit that just happens to be the most nutritionally dense fruit on Earth! Containing all essential amino acids, goji berries also have the highest concentration of protein of any fruit. They’re also loaded with vitamin C, contain more carotenoids than any other food, have twenty-one trace minerals, and are high in fiber. Boasting 15 times the amount of iron found in spinach, as well as calcium, zinc, selenium and many other important trace minerals, there is no doubt that the humble goji berry is a nutritional powerhouse.
Another powerhouse in this salad is the hemp heart. Hemp seeds are a complete protein and contain high levels of the essential fatty acids omega 6 and omega 3. They add great texture and flavor to any salad!
Make a big batch of this salad and enjoy it for lunch or dinner knowing it’s chock full of good-for-you vibes.
Enjoy!
With love and superfood smiles,
Kale Superfood Salad
Yield: 4 servings
6 TB. extra virgin olive oil 3 TB. apple cider vinegar 2 TB. balsamic vinegar 2 tsp. pure maple syrup, or to taste 2 tsp. dijon mustard 2 garlic clove, minced ½ tsp. fine grain sea salt Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 8-10 cups lacinato kale (about 2 bunches), destemmed and finely shredded ½ head red cabbage, thinly shredded ¼ cup goji berries 2 pears, cored and thinly sliced, optional, omit if on the cleanse* ½ small red onion, thinly sliced ¼ cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut 2 TB. hemp hearts
Instructions: In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, dijon, garlic, sea salt, and pepper. Adjust to taste if desired and set aside.
In a large bowl place kale and cabbage. Add half of the dressing and with your hands, massage the kale and cabbage until everything is coated nicely. The kale will reduce in volume and become softer. Add more dressing if you see fit. Let this marinate for a half hour or so.
Add goji berries, pears (if using), onion, coconut, and hemp seeds to the bowl and toss lightly as not to bruise the pear. This salad is best eaten the day that you make it.
*Special Note: We’re bending our “eat it alone or leave it alone” fruit food combining rule in this one because the pear is easy enough to omit while on the cleanse. If you decide to go with it, enjoy and just notice any gas, bloating or constipation, post-salad.