Enjoyment

Bliss, freedom, enjoyment … states unaffected by gain or loss. Maybe not what we experience most of the time :) It sounds wonderful. Can you believe it is possible? We practiced this last week in class.

So even if students came to class tired, frustrated, hyper, anxious or tight ….. I asked them, “Can you enjoy where you are?” “Can you enjoy yourself even if you fall out of a pose?” “Can you enjoy yourself even if you’re not good at a pose?”

Is there really a way to experience joy & freedom when things aren’t going your way? It seems worth trying, worth being in the conversation. The idea is: things can get messy & intense, yet inside of it all, can you somehow feel free? We let the practice open us up to this concept, this possibility.

Class started with 3 Oms as a way to consciously step into the practice together. Students practiced bellow breaths, strong standing poses such as parsva konasana with dwi hasta arms, a minute hold in dolphin, partner tree pose, strong balance work in dancer and warrior 3, pigeon, sky diver, Hanumanasana, janu sirsasana, a deep savasana & the loving kindness meditation to close. I playfully asked them to try to see if they could feel free and find pockets of enjoyment/bliss even in a strong moment of core or balance. Student showed great focus as they redirected the monkey mind back into the feeling body, back into the breath body and back into the present moment, remembering: Now is the time for yoga!

Namaste, Lynn

Renewal

This week the theme was renewal. Lining up with the start of spring as we see more daylight, more new growth, green hills, and feel the energizing affect of sunlight. Renewal is about leaving a little space, an opening for something fresh to arise.

In practice, we did some of the poses twice to notice what new might be born the second round. I instructed: if struggling with a challenge or conflict, allow for a something new to arise, emerge, be born …. maybe an insight, a mantra, new energy, dreams, hobbies or projects forgotten. We started with surya namaskar; each student allowing for their own metamorphosis. Letting their breath and their intentions and the poses liberate energy through their bodies. In warrior 1, we did circles with steeple mudra hands to churn out any stagnation and make room for rejuvenation.

Yogis were reminded that their movements are less important than their intentions behind them. I offered encouragement to let every movement be an exploration of . . .

* a new way of being

* a new way of breathing

* a new way of seeing themselves

* a new way of seeing the world

Some of the poses practiced twice included: warrior 2, parsva konasana, cresent twist, side plank, & eagle. Toward the end of class when students were warm, we played with Ganesha’s twisting trunk and bird of paradise. We ended in gomukasana making circles with eagle arms. After savasana, students repeated a Loving Kindness Meditation to themselves and to all beings everywhere:

May I be happy

May I be peaceful

May I be free

May I have ease

May I be safe

May I be healthy

Happy Spring, Lynn

Heart openers with mantra

This week we practiced heart openers with mantra. Mantra means a vehicle for the mind. It is a word or phrase that can soothe the mind and help the mind focus. The heart is usually associated with concepts of love, compassion & forgiveness. One definition of love is a universal identification with all beings, not just one. When you experience that kind of love … you’ve reached yoga :)

We did poses that opened the center of our hearts. Not just big backbends at the end of practice, but backbending shapes within standing, balancing and hip opening poses. Student picked a mantra that resonated with them. Usually one word or a phrase. Students were asked to think of an area where maybe their heart was closed off, and where did they want to open their heart? I offered up some suggestions:

I believe, I can, I will, I accept myself, I trust myself, I am enough, fearless, as ease, strong, ready.

We connected with our ujjayi breath and yogis chose a mantra. They were encouraged to pick something even if it morphed into a different mantra later in class or later in the day. I wanted them to have the experience in this class of working with mantra and seeing how it helped or shifted them. Sometimes mantra has the powerful way of making space for insights, relaxation, peace.

Poses included anjenayasana, big goalpost arms in cresent, humble warrior 1, warrior 2, parsva konasana & triangle. We added a backbend in our tree pose at the end of a balancing sequence of eagle and dancer. In pigeon, we clasped our hands behind our head to open the chest space. The closing of practice included camel poses, purvotanasana and a second round of the beautiful, heart-opening anjenayasana. Some yogis chose the option to place a block under the bottom tips of their shoulder blades in savasana to continue with the gesture of heart opening. Thank you for a lovely practice …. namaste, Lynn

Reciprocity

Hope you guys are having a fun St. Patricks Day. This week the theme was reciprocity. We listened to the feedback in our foundations, be it hands, feet, shins, belly.

We focused on the Earth element, the most dense element. It’s a really wonderful, stabilizing force. The practice was one of noticing the reciprocal relationship we have with Earth. As we press down, root down, get grounded . . . we feel the rebound response of the solid Earth beneath us holding us up, offering up support, structure and expansiveness into our bodies.

Its just healing to touch the Earth and connect. We have all felt that at the beach or on a hike …. touching sand, rock, water, leaves. Feeling that energetic exchange.

Students kept their focus on whatever was touching the ground. That awareness/intelligence of the Earth’s reciprocity. This kind of practice is a great remedy for over-thinking. When you really feel into the silent strength of the Earth …. you notice how calming & quieting it is for the mind and nervous system.

Asanas included: surya namaskar; standing poses; the balancing poses: half moon to revolved 1/2 moon, tree & dancer; Temple pose playing with toe placement; supta virasana to open quads & increase flexibility in the knees and hips & to tone the arches of the feet; bow backbend to feel the belly communicate with Earth; pigeon, shoulder stand, fish & a deep forward fold to feel the back of the legs release into the support of the Earth. Some core was sprinkled throughout and yogis got the chance to take 2 minutes of free to time to explore a pose of their choice. Thanks yogis for a deeply connecting practice, Lynn

Bellow breathing

This past week in class we explored bellow breathing. Bellow breathing really opens the chest, lungs and mid back. It’s good at clearing out any physical or mental fogginess or stagnation. Throughout the vinyasa practice, we brought bellow breaths into several poses and specifically into one breathing exercise.

Students centered themselves with their breath. After setting intentions and singing Om, we practiced our first bellow breaths. Students sat in sukhasana. On the inhale, they stretched their arms straight out to their sides and a little behind them to really open the chest; on the exhale they rounded their backs a little and touched their palms together, arms stretched in front of them and their face turning toward the floor. They did 8 rounds, and each student chose a pace that suited them. Next, we took the arms overhead with hands clasped in steeple mudra. It’s hard to hold the arms and hands like that if you have tightness in the shoulders. I encouraged students to notice how their shoulders and upper back opened up over the course of the practice as they took steeple mudra several times.

Our flow was less traditional this week. We went into standing poses before surya namaskar B. We did a temple-triangle flow in which we took bellow breaths in temple pose and then into steeple mudra overhead. Yogis opened their hamstrings in parsvottanasana, opened their backs in cobra variations, got grounded in a Warrior 1 flow with bellow breaths, plus some deep twists such as cresent twist and chair twist with steeple mudra. Challenging transitions kept strength pulsating throughout the practice.

Students listened to the feedback of their bodies in yoga poses to see what was being asked to be noticed, so they could act in a way that supported those needs. We all accumulate tension in our bodies, and sometimes its because we’re not listening to those cues. We deepened into standing pigeon and half moon & later into crow, pigeon, camel and boat.

Towards the end of class, we practiced kapalabhati breath… another form of bellow breathing. Students kneeled, and I explained the whats and whys of this technique. We did a practice run, and then 3 rounds of 30 breaths per round. After each round, we held our breath for about 3 seconds and then let it out with a big exhale. Working with the bandhas in that way of retaining the breath and energy and then letting it out allows you to flood your body more strongly with breath to create some great energy moving through the body. A nice savasana allowed students to quiet down, slow down and receive deep rest. From my heart to your heart, Lynn