Yoga, According to Brian

I took my first yoga class in 1997 with a friend in Atlanta.  Class was very difficult but I did attempt every posture and gave it my all.  We kept going back once a week for about six months.  I felt something after my first class I had never really felt before- a sense of being completely content and not needing or wanting anything.  This, I found out later, is common with new students.  We come to yoga because we are looking for more in our lives.  We start searching …   After years of practicing yoga I realized I was having yogic experiences at other times in my life that weren’t in a yoga room.  Some are very unique and unconventional.  Yoga means to yoke or bring together, to join.  We can sense this union when we start feeling that body, mind and spiritual connection.  When have you found yourself connecting on a soul level while not on the mat?

The scene for me: 1986,  Toad’s Place, New Haven Connecticut and we are 16 years old.  I arrived at the venue with my best friend.  We were very excited and filled with anticipation of a great show.  This was not our first concert. We felt a little apprehensive because we were 25 miles from home and in an unventured city late at night.  Nine bucks to get in.  The Ramones came on stage and kicked asana for 2 hours straight.  No breaks, pauses, long talks or gaps of silence.  1,2,3,4 was the only break between songs.  I lost my friend in the crowd seconds after the show began.  We squished and squashed with everyone for what seemed like hours.  No fighting, or violence was seen at all that night.  I did see mutual admiration and respect from all of us.  We were connected in a completely different way.  Johnny played fast and furious all night and we all sang with Joey and Dee Dee  to every song.

Outside of Toad’s Place, after the show, it looked like a vinyasa flow class letting out.  All of us sweating, beaming with energy and spiritually filled.  Words were not needed to communicate.  The look in our eyes said it all. In yoga terms:  We arrived from all different types of places, geographically, spiritually and emotionally.  The Ramones brought us together with the high energy of the music and as we left, we became calm and centered.  We became one.  Seeing everyone leave in a sattvic (balanced) state was magical.  I can go back there any day and still feel the energy.  Some might go as far as calling this an out of body or mystical experience. I call it my first Ramones show.  Still have the t-shirt.

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Random Acts of Kindness

Maureen’s gift

Last week we hosted our 7th anniversary party at Greenville Yoga.  We decided it was time to truly celebrate this community- not just the teachers, but the students and their dedication to living their yoga.  Through the night we had over 100 visitors of all ages and it was fun!  But one of the real gifts of the evening was being able to present Maureen Nery of UU World of Children a donation check for $3600 worth of donations from our students.  Every Sunday we offer a Karma Yoga class (Karma= service) where donations go to a local charity.  This was a year’s worth of offerings that we saved up for a small montessori preschool dedicated to diversity and learning.  This was awesome…

However, I think the true highlights of our celebration came out later.  Yesterday we came home to this email:

Just thought I would let you know that twice since your anniversary party two completely different students came to class put a $20 on the desk and said treat the next student to their yoga class – don’t tell them who treated them.

And this was received in the mail:

I want to thank you for teaching me yoga and leading me in your teacher training.  Please pass this anonymous gift to someone who needs yoga. (Enclosed was a check for $500.)

 

Kindness Is Sometimes Found in the Offering of a Smile

These random acts of kindness renew your faith in people- especially at a time where politics and opinions are running rampant.  What we really need to focus on is one another.  How can we make someone’s day (including our own) a little brighter?  How can we best serve our community?  In what way can I shine a light when someone else’s light is getting dim?  Money and paying for things is not always an option.  So I want to hear from you…

 

What are some creative ways we can “pay it forward” today?  

 

I may just have to head to Coffee Underground and pay for the next person in line.  Or maybe I’ll go do lunch duty for my son’s teacher so she can have lunch in peace?  What can you do this weekend as a random act of kindness?

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Thoughts from a Novice Yogi (part 2)

On Monday, we shared Part 1 of Ted’s story and journey beginning yoga.  His words shared more than he may realize… just yesterday one of our students handed us a two page paper with her story.  Ted- Your writing has inspired others to share their transformation too.  I cannot thank you enough for having the courage to share and for inspiring this community (Brian and myself included)!  This post is one of my favorites… Enjoy!

Mindfulness and My Practice

Being so new to Yoga, I can’t really say much about the technical aspects of my practice. Beyond Downward Facing Dog, Warrior II, Plank, the dreaded Tree, and Savasana, I can’t “name the parts” of any particular asana, and I can’t say I’m proficient at any one of the many poses.

What I want to talk about, instead, is my understanding of what underlies the asana. I describe this as “My Practice,” and the pole star of Practice for me is Mindfulness and Intention. I want to be very careful here to emphasize that all of this applies only to one man’s understanding of Yoga; one new student’s understanding. My Practice comprises only my application of what I perceive to be going on. Each of you will have your own, different, understanding, and Your Practice will, of necessity, be different from mine.

When looked at in the most general sense, My Practice fans out to cover every aspect of how I live my life; at the narrowest, My Practice focuses on regulating my breathing and performing the present pose as well as possible, or simply lying, mindful and at peace, in Savasana.

My Practice is now the execution of Intention, and Intention is the expression of Mindfulness in my life.

Mindfulness is the awareness of all around us and how we affect it, as well as how it affects us.

When you are driving and someone near you does something that affects you—cuts in front of you, changes lanes without signaling, etc. —you have choices about how you will react. Of course, first you make sure you are safe and not endangering others in your response, but then you choose to let your irritation dictate how your further actions will impact those around you. If you let your annoyance take control, you may make unsafe decisions and try to retaliate against someone who may not even be aware you are there. You will retain an elevated pulse rate and carry distracting irritation within you for hours.

But, if you decide to put your natural emotional response in perspective and consciously calm yourself, you can simply drive on and be at peace with yourself and those around you. In this case, you have engaged your Intention to acknowledge outside influences on Your Practice, and to put them aside as beyond your control. By taking a few deep breaths and concentrating on your Intention, you have improved your life, and perhaps that of a few people around you, for a brief period. We face choices like this many times every day, and many times we do not take the opportunity to apply our Intention. The heart of Our Practice is in recognizing these opportunities and acting in a Mindful manner.

Mindfulness is awareness, and the more aware we are of ourselves in all aspects of our lives—physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, etc., if these distinctions really hold any water—the better prepared we are to define our Intention, first as a guide for living a Mindful life and, moment to moment, to define our Intention for applying Our Practice to whatever is in front of us, be it driving, preparing for a class, or executing the next pose in our class.

While Yoga in the broadest sense encompasses all of life, the purpose of our attendance at any Yoga class is to increase our awareness of ourselves—our Mindfulness—through our Practice of set Yoga asana, and help us more clearly to form the idea of our Intention, so that we may direct Our Practice to fulfillment of this Intention.

All of the instructors I have encountered at Greenville Yoga are accomplished, and ever-attentive to the individual needs of their students. Clearly, the greatest part of their Intention is to help each of us, by guiding us in our poses and helping us control our breathing; to develop our personal awareness and define our Intention in leading a more Mindful life. Our instructors, however, cannot hand us our own Intention, or define Our Practice. That is up to each of us, and is a lifelong process. I have just begun this new phase of the recognition of Mindfulness and Intention through the Practice of Yoga. I hope to learn and expand my awareness for many years to come.

Namaste/”The Spirit In Me Acknowledges The Spirit In You”

Ted Balk

September 5, 2012

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Experiential Learning or Parroting?

This blog mainly goes out to yoga teachers.  Even if you aren’t a teacher, you still may resonate or know exactly what I mean…

Have you ever taken a class and the things the teacher asked of you just didn’t feel right?  Have you had a teacher come home from a weekend workshop or training and then experiment on you?  When I returned home from training a lot of people said they were excited to see what I had been learning.  The problem?  I like to take time and practice it before asking students to do it.  True learning in the body takes time.  I like to experiment on myself, see what feels right, then add into class.  Little things I have been able to implement that just make sense with what I do.  But the big things… those will take a little time to trickle into class.

As teachers it is easy to get eager to try something cool you did in someone else’s class.  It feels nice to offer students something different.  But what if it hasn’t had time to properly percolate in your body or mind?  When we don’t take the time to experience something for ourselves, we become parrots.  We speak others’ words and everyone around you feels it in some way, shape or form.  This is why continuing a daily practice as a teacher is so important.

I know I use so many of Max’s verbal cues.  They are excellent for teaching proper alignment quickly.  Several years ago, I had a friend (also a student of Max Strom) who took my class.  She told me I was too much like Max.  I was devastated.  Then I spoke with Max and his response, “Elizabeth, I would be offended if you weren’t like me.  Did you not take my training?”  This made me feel so much better.  Last week, Sarah Powers added a new piece to this learning as she said, “The more you practice and truly experience your practice the more authentic you become.  So even if you were to use my exact words, they would become yours.  In this way you have had experiential learning and are not simply a parrot.”

Teachers, remember experience is your greatest teacher.  Don’t sacrifice your practice.  It will mean the world to your students!

Namasté,

Liz

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Yoga Camp: Part 2 & Re-Entry

home for 10 days

How do I write and explain all that happened the last five days of my time away?  How do I explain all the little things I noticed in myself and others?  How do I put in to words all of these bittersweet emotions and discoveries?  I don’t think I can do it justice.  I guess I can explain it all via my last text of yoga camp to Karen and Mickey:  “This one time at yoga camp… I discovered I like who I am and that I am a good yoga teacher.”  This may sound simple to you, but huge for me.  Even now saying it aloud in this blog, my heart beat quickens and my hands start to get a little shaky. This is new territory for me.  I guess I have this fear (because I have seen it in other yoga teachers) that once I believe in myself I will have an ego the size of Texas.  What I realize is there is a difference between self-assurance and ego.  Self-assurance, to me, is that quiet, grounded place inside that remembers everything is as it should be.  I don’t think I would have found this place without the practice of social silence.  This inner quiet and non-distraction let me see things so clearly.  If I had been allowed, I would have returned to my room and escaped to a good novel.  This was not permitted.  We were to stay in silence with no external distractions.  This was a true gift that taught me so much.

last day of training

Needless to say, I left our training empowered and full of new insights.  On my return home, I wanted to write something about how this was life changing.  But I knew I hadn’t returned to my life to see if I could include it all.  Sunday provided me with such a slow transition as I got to spend the day in New England with a good friend just talking about matters of the spirit and good books.  I arrived home to Brian and a quiet home.  This was more than I could have asked for.  Waking up the next day various forms of chaos broke open- kids fighting, another leak in the new floor, people not thinking before they speak.  At first I felt overwhelmed, hyper-sensitive and really raw.  My friend Alón has spent time with Sarah in training and said to me, “Re-entry is a bitch.  Tell Brian to take extra good care of you and you just rest.”  I took his advice to heart.  Yesterday was the first day I was not on the verge of tears each moment.  The tears weren’t bad, simply an openness and a feeling of being raw and not sure how to manage it.

As I have slowly returned to real life (versus retreat life), I see that my time away was life-changing.  So many lessons learned.  So many wonderful practices to add into my day.  So many ways to wake up and see life exactly as it is.  What a gift.

 

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Yoga Camp- Part 1

So I have been sending Karen texts repeatedly with the title “This one time at yoga camp…” and have been filling her in on the small tidbits of fun and not so fun moments.  I came here wanting to learn more about meditation, and yin and yang yoga.  So how is it that I ended up on a stage in front of sixty people with Anodea Judith (the author of “Eastern Body, Western Mind”)?

Each day we wake up at 6:30am.  I say we because I am in a dorm with 5 other yoginis.  Meditation starts at 7am, eat and have morning session (which is more meditation and yin yoga) is from 8:30-11:30am.  We break for lunch then return from 2:30-5:30pm for more meditation and yang yoga.  Dinner and shower and evening meditation from 8:30-9pm.  Evening meditation begins our practice of silence until lunch each day.  The schedule is full.

Luckily, we have been given step by step methods for meditation and watching the mind.  Really all this time in one’s own head can be quite difficult.  As I told Karen yesterday- “This one time at yoga camp… I decided meditation really sucks and I don’t like looking at my own neuroses.”  Last night Anodea Judith (the author) was leading a talk on Chakras.  I was curious as I have heard great things about her books and she is quite magnetic in person (very similar to Max).  So she gives her talk and ends up selecting me to be her volunteer.  Here is how it goes:

“What is your dream?” she asks.

My what?  I blurt out, “To write a book.”  (Who said that?)

“What is your stumbling block?”

“Who am I to have something to share?  I don’t have the confidence to put myself out there?”  (Now I am all about vulnerability with all of you because you know and love me, but this?)

“Okay, your intention is ‘I am confident.’  Now act out your stumbling block.”

I do the best I can and she tells me not enough and to do it again.  And again.  And again.  Each time I have to act out and whine “I am not good enough.”  Then I have to stand tall and repeat “I am confident.”

Funny enough after 15 minutes, flushed cheeks and a lot of sweat I felt confident.  Maybe it was the 60 smiling faces cheering me on.  Maybe it was putting my neuroses out there so they don’t feel so dark and tangled.  I went to bed and still couldn’t believe what I had done.  My worst fear was what will people think of me?  Well, in the morning people told me I looked more confident and one sweet woman came up and told me I was a goddess that I said what everyone in that room felt but couldn’t say.

The truly amazing part is today my meditation practice was centered, grounded and I was present for each moment.  I didn’t check out.  Maybe it is days of repeated practice.  Maybe it really was the time with Anodea.  Who knows?  The truth of the matter is it will all be different tomorrow and it is what it is.  At least I know that now thanks to a TON of meditation.

I have to run to class.  After class, let the silence begin- no reading, no talking, no email, no phone for two days.  Just wait for that blog post!  I am sure it will be a long one.

Namaste from Summer Camp!

With love,

Liz

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Hello Fear

Today I left Greenville and flew to Kripalu in Lenox, MA.  This is the start of my 500-hour training with Sarah Powers.  I told Brian two days ago I didn’t want to leave.  So many reasons flooded my mind:

• don’t want to leave Henry & Claire
• I will miss my ritual of late night discussions with Brian
• don’t want to leave our students
• don’t want students to leave me while I am away
• too many trips this summer
• don’t like to fly
• I have to live in a dorm for 10 days with 8 women
• communal bathrooms
• no a/c
• etc. etc. etc…

None of the above bullets were the real issue.  These things are all workable and manageable.  It really boiled down to fear.  I read this piece by Thich Nhat Hahn that seemed to speak directly to me.  He says when we have fear, we don’t need to run from it.  Instead we welcome it.  We don’t react or cling. We say, “Hello fear.  How are you today?”  This seemed to be my mantra as I boarded the plane.  I am sure it will be my mantra as we are practicing extended meditation and doing yoga from 7am until 9pm each day (with breaks for meals of course).

So, here I am with a beautiful view of the Berkshires and a lovely lake.  The laptop and phone are going to disappear shortly.  As I welcomed my fear and saw it for what it was, I slowly got excited about the journey I am about to begin.  I wonder what else I will have the opportunity to welcome over the next week.  Who knows, but at least I have some words to guide me along the way.

What do you do in the face of fear?

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Why I Practice Kneeling Warrior

Kneeling warrior is a fantastic posture to stretch the quadriceps and hip flexors.  All of these muscles in the thigh and frontal hip area get overused on a daily basis from  walking, standing for extended lengths of time, running and cycling to name a few.  When the thigh muscles get shortened from constant movement the results start to show up in our standing and walking bodily positions.

Have you ever seen a person who walks with pronounced “duck feet” ?  The result of tight hip flexors.  How about a person who looks physically healthy, but can not sit on the floor without rounding their spine and looking miserable.  When the hips and thighs get shortened from years of abuse and the body starts to adapt and change. The tightened muscles start to shape and change the body.  When someone has tight hip flexors, the walking gait is changed and the feet turn out, the sense of the core working when we walk is gone.  Then the stomach starts to stick out and we lose all core stability.  This is one example of many situations that can develop from a neglected area in the body.

Physical reasons brought me to this posture, now I have found the posture to be an excellent way to focus the mind, let go of all expectations and live in the present moment.  This posture can deepen the internal aspects of your practice.  Complete focus on ujjayi breathing and softening the thigh muscles as they stretch in this demanding posture will teach you how to release on go deeper in all postures.  ” Going deeper “can be described as getting so comfortable in a posture that it becomes meditative.  This pose can also help you become nicer.  Releasing the quadriceps and thighs, releases aggression.  So, quite literally, this pose can change your life in more ways than one.

This is how to practice kneeling warrior:

• Bring the short end of your mat to the wall.
• Position a blanket flat on the end of the yoga mat that is closest to the wall.  The blanket must look smooth.
  

  kneeling warrior

• Bring the right knee to the edge of the wall where the blanket is so the right foot and shin go up the wall.  The top of the foot is on the wall and the ankle of the raised foot is slightly to the outside of the right hip.  This is so the buttocks has room to move towards the wall and not hit the foot.
• Bring the other foot out front so the ankle is positioned under the knee and the sole of the foot is flat.  You might already feel massive amounts of stretching in the thigh muscles.  Remember no pain and no straining.
• If there is no pain, move the knee on the blanket one inch from the wall.  Settle in and focus on the breath.  Some will be able to bring the chest upright and the spine moves closer to the wall, hands may rest on the front knee.  This is very intense.
• You must move slowly and only go to the point where you can breathe through the stretching sensations.
• Start with thirty seconds on one side and then switch sides.

Variations:  Level two repeat on each side.  Level three start adding more time.  I usually add thirty seconds when I repeat sides.  In my evening classes we breathe deeply here for two minutes per side.  Enjoy and see what happens.

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You Can Go Home Again

I have hesitated posting this because it is so bitter sweet… Laura is one of those people who felt like she just “fit” here.  I keep thinking if I don’t post this blog Laura will somehow stay in Greenville.  Alas, I know this is not the truth.  Laura– Thank you for being who you are.  Open.  Loving.  Kind.  We are truly grateful for your presence and the gift of writing you continue to share with us. Namaste. Liz

 

By Laura Garren

I just read with interest the recent post, “Summer’s Intention,” by Vanessa Lucas. I’d like to applaud her for selflessly and articulately revealing her struggle. Her willingness to be vulnerable has the potential to help others. She certainly motivated me to reflect on my own summer’s intention.

I have a problem similar to the one Lucas describes, commonly called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), only in reverse: I suffer it during the summer months. I absolutely hate the turgid Southern summer, the air so thick you can scoop it with a spoon. I hate walking outdoors and being overcome by waves of calidity; getting into a car so hot I can bake bread on the dash; and being trapped in the house, unable to walk my dogs, waiting anxiously for fall. I am happiest October through May, including during the winter months, because I can comfortably spend time outside. I love wrapping up in scarves, pulling on hats, gloves and vests, and setting off on a long walk in the country with canines Rupert and Caper.

I used to easily combat this summer depression, when I lived in Pendleton and within five miles of Lake Hartwell. I simply substituted swimming for walking. Almost every day, I would pile chairs, towels, canine personal floatation devices, and drinks into the car and drive to the lake, where the dogs and I spent hours paddling back and forth across a cove. Afterward, we felt exhilarated and spent. Engaging in a physical activity in a beautiful outdoor setting, with my best friends, enabled me to be happy during those hot summer months.

We moved to Greenville three years ago after my husband’s stroke, in order to be closer to friends, more social outlets, and medical facilities. Unfortunately, I did not anticipate how much I would miss being able to walk my dogs off leash in the country, or how important those summer swims were to my wellbeing. I can walk the dogs in Greenville, at the park, but it is just not as much fun for various reasons. (Rupert hates other dogs. I hate picking up feces.) And when the weather gets hot, we don’t walk at all. Both dogs, who are black, don’t tolerate the heat any better than I do. Luckily, we have a huge, fenced backyard where they can run around, work off excess energy, and then rush, panting, back into the air-conditioned house. I have searched desperately for somewhere to swim, but have had no luck. So, in order to avoid my summer SAD, I have taken to driving the 30 miles (one way) to Lake Hartwell once or twice a week, just to get outside and get some my dogs and myself some exercise.

Of course, I have yoga, which has saved me in many ways; but dogs don’t do yoga. (I am aware of the fad called “doga” but have a jaundiced view of this, yet another, way of exploiting yoga by tapping into people’s tendency to project human qualities onto their dogs.) Yoga gives me another weapon in my arsenal against summer depression, for which I’m grateful. However, I like spending time with my dogs, other than sitting around in the house waiting for cool weather. I miss sharing time with them walking in the country when its cool, swimming in the lake during summer. I derive such joy, from watching their joy, when we engage in these activities.

What do to? After three years of trying to adjust to life “in the big city,” and trying to let go of my attachment to my former modes of being (walking in the country, swimming), I have concluded that it’s time to think about moving. While I gained a lot from being in Greenville—yoga being the most important, but also the opportunity to interact with friends—I still feel as isolated here as I did in Pendleton (where I also have friends). A wise friend pointed out that she thought “the isolation you feel is because you are there with Chuck all the time and have limitations on your whole present and future life because of that. You don’t ever come out and say that though. I know you’re trying to deal with reality, but in terms of isolation, where you live is a moot point—I imagine.”

Her statement resonated deeply because it revealed a truth I hadn’t realized. I moved to Greenville thinking I could escape my isolation through friends. I know now that I must address, not try to escape, my isolation, which may be a permanent state. Meanwhile, I need to be able to do the things that best fulfill me, things I can do that don’t depend on anybody else. In effect, and perhaps ironically, I need to embrace the isolation and coexist with it. In order to do so, I need to be where I can do the things I love the most, which means moving so that I can have access to them. Granted, they are simple things, but they mean so much. My summer’s intention is to prove that you can go home again.

 

 

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A Heart Wide Open

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” –Ghandi

This week Brian and I took the kids to an IMAX movie called “Born to Be Wild.”  It tells the story of two women who started raising animals who were orphaned in the wild (because their mothers were killed due to poaching or deforestation).  They raise the animals and give them the tools to be released back into the wild.  These women began their programs over fifty years ago and raised their own children in the animal sanctuaries.  So many moments in this documentary made my heart break open.  I found myself crying through most of the film.  At one point Henry looked at me with tears in his eyes.  It was the moment several orphaned elephants were brought to a refuge getting ready to be released.  As the trucks drove up, herds of older elephants showed up to welcome the new elephants and their caregivers.  The older elephants were all former residents of this refuge.  They ran up and greeted the caregivers and hugged them with their trunks.  It was an overwhelming moment shared between animals and humans.  If you can, watch this movie.  Watch it by yourself.  Watch it with your children.  It will shift your view of the world.

This documentary reminded me that there is so much pain in the world and I don’t want to contribute to it in any way, shape or form.  My heart felt wide open watching these women take action and love these animals just as they are- wild, scared, scarred, and loving.  While watching the move a prayer kept circling in my head, “Please don’t let me contribute to any pain in the world.  Let my actions bring light to all those whose paths I cross.”  I know I am human and I know I am imperfect, but I know I can strive to live this as best I can.  May my actions not cause heartache or pain in others.  May my life be an expression of the love I feel in my heart when it is broken wide open.

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