If anyone’s listening from lululemon, I’m incredibly frustrated that you don’t deliver to overseas military addresses. What’s up with that? Would it really be so hard to use the U.S. postal system?
We need our lulu too!

[Editor's note: This is a guest post by Lindsey Lewis, yoga teacher and life coach, founder of www.libreliving.com.]

Getting going can be the hardest part. Some mornings, like today, I’ve been up late the night before, man oh man my mind is all over the place, and I’m convinced my body is telling me to go back to bed. “Don’t you think another hour’s sleep would benefit you more than meditation and asana?”

On days like this, I can spend almost a quarter of my allotted morning practice time just sitting on my mat, debating with myself. “Go back to bed; it’s okay.” “Don’t you get off your mat; you know how much better you’ll feel after you do this.” Then I sit and try to plan my flow, “Hey, at least I’m thinking about doing it.”

This morning, from beneath the banter, a powerful idea, which I credit to Danielle LaPorte, bubbled up: Just start. Stop planning. Stop debating. Stop over -thinking. Just start. I began with neck rolls. I moved on, to sufi grinds. Cat-cow. Downward dog. Surya Namaskar A. Aaaah, here it is. My flow.

7 Ways to Maintain a Home Yoga Practice

1. Do what feels right for you, not what your social self might think you ‘should’ do. Honour your body, mind, and soul. Yoga teacher Mark Whitwell recommends just 7 minutes a day, and figures it’s easiest to fit in in the morning. I prefer a morning practice, too, since once my day really launches I’m likely to get caught up in prioritizing other things. Plus, I like the peaceful vibe and quietness of the early morning. What amount of time and time of day feels right for you? Start with something that feels totally manageable.

2. Do some asana. Surya Namaskar A can be a nice place to start, but once you get going and used to doing a morning practice, I’d invite you to take some long yogic breaths and then move into whatever poses or series of poses you feel called to.

3. A bit of meditation. Ancient yogis and modern swamis tell us that the main point of asana is to be able to sit in meditation. Moving and breathing helps us to stretch our muscles, ease aches and pains, and calm our mind—which is the whole point of yoga—which helps us sit in meditation. There are lots of ways to encourage meditation, or dhyana and most of them are based on dharana, concentration. One of the simplest things to concentrate on is your breath. Just notice: Inhaling. Exhaling.

4. Breathe first. Let your breath guide your asana practice. If you’re not breathing, you’re probably not being mindful. BUT, don’t beat yourself up if you notice you’ve lost your deep yogic breath. Compassion and love is what it’s all about.

5. Your body knows best. Stay aware of your whole body during your practice. We tend to pay more attention to areas that are reaching—like hands lifting in the air. Remember your feet, or your sit bones. Feel everything. Breathe into it.

6. Mindfulness. Pay attention to your thoughts during your practice. What are you thinking? How is this making you feel? How is this affecting your practice? Just watch, without judgment. Simply notice. Remember compassion and love.

7. Most of all, don’t judge yourself. It’s your practice. Compassionate curiosity and self-inquiry will bring more self-enlightenment than trying to align with any kind of dogma or rules set by other people—no matter how experience a yoga teacher they might be.

Off the Mat. For every project we want to do, every dream we have, every goal we want to achieve, there comes a point where we simply need to Just Start!

Click to view slideshow.

Editor’s Note: This post is written by yoga teacher and life coach Lindsey Lewis who blogs at www.libreliving.com.

THE WAY IN

The mind has a way of taking control. Scientists and life coaches call our Amygdala—the region of our brain pretty much in charge of feelings of anxiety, fear, anger and negativity—our “lizard brain.” Why lizard brain? Because this area of our brain evolved a loooong time ago, back when our primal lizard-ish concerns were much more prevalent. This is why our biological stress response to, say, a looming deadline, is still as dramatic as it was when we were facing, say, a looming tiger.

The Amygdala, two small organs in the brain each about the size of a small almond, can become overstimulated by ongoing stressors and begin to run the show—our lives. The more we feel the stress response, the more the Amygdala are activated. The more the Amygdala stay activated, the more we begin to feel that this state is normal. Fear, anger and negativity become our primary modus operandus. The lizard brain takes over.

THE WAY OUT

Life Coach revolutionary Martha Beck teaches clients to not only identify their inner lizards, but to name them. Queen B, Mack, Merv and Miss Thang. Just some options to get you thinking about what you might call yours. Where’s the benefit in naming your lizard? We work with thoughts and label them as “planning” “rehashing” “fantasizing” or “imagining” in order to help us remember we are separate from our thoughts and don’t have to jump on board with them all the time. Naming our lizards helps us let them do their thing, so we can continue to do ours.

And what’s ours? Finding our freedom. Living our dreams.

Examples? You got it.
“You might not make any difference as a life coach.” (This is what my inner lizard says)

Here’s some examples from other people’s lizards that I’ve heard them report along the way:
“If you quit the job you hate you’ll be poor and living in a box on the street.”
“You can’t start your own business. It will ruin you.”
“Saying ‘no’ to that invitation will make that person stop asking you.”
“If you act as smart as you are, people won’t like you.”
“If you rest, your competition will pass you by.”

5 Ways to Work With Your Inner Lizard Brain

1. Name him or her. Giving your lizard a name helps us to remember these thoughts are coming from an area of our brain, not our whole self. They are not necessarily “Truths.”
2. Treat them with compassion. Compassion is the only way through. Resistance breads persistence. Treating our lizards with love and compassion helps them feel they can calm down—and maybe take a nap long enough for us to do what we really wanted to, anyway.
3. Witness what they have to say. From the compassionate place, we can witness and hear what our inner lizards have to say.
4. Breathe deeply. Our breath is the greatest connection we have to our nervous system. Breathing deeper is the fastest, quickest, scientifically-proven way to get our nervous system back into a place of balance; and help ourselves come back to a place of less stress, anxiety, anger and negativity and more neutrality.
5. Act. Practice doing it anyway. Act as if the fear, anger or negativity your inner lizard is feeling about whatever it is you want to do was never there. You haven’t ignored it. You’re not pretending you don’t feel it. You’re simply acknowledging its presence, and taking the leap anyway.

I'm gonna try to open up a little more... (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Daily Cup of Yoga used to be my own little personal yoga blog universe. I remember the first week I started the blog and how excited I felt to have 20 people serendipitously happen upon it. I had no idea where they came from, but somehow people slowly started following the blog, linking up in the yoga blogosphere, and coming back for more. I didn’t really start the blog for social interaction though (I’m mostly an introvert)–I started it because I love yoga and wanted a place to talk about it…even if it was just to myself–but I’m not going to lie…it was kind of a thrill to watch the blog grow over the years. And then Twitter came along, and Facebook, and then Tumblr, and then Pinterest, and man, it all started to steam roll and it was just so cool to link up with all these other yogis all over the world. I’m so grateful to all of you, whether old or new readers, who comment, link, share, and inspire me in so many amazing ways! THANK YOU!!

Like all of you, I’m busy with family, busy with work, busy with life in general–all good things really–but I guess juggling a blogging/social network presence late at night after the kids go to bed has been fun, but it’s not been my #1 priority. That’s a good thing, but sometimes I definitely feel that gnawing in my stomach (maybe my ego…) to keep the wheels of Daily Cup of Yoga turning.

With that said, may I digress and perhaps mildly rant for a moment...

Now that Daily Cup of Yoga isn’t really a tiny little yoga blog anymore (tiny little yoga blogs are some of the best!), sometimes this whole blogging thing feels like a crushing weight on my time and sanity. There’s no doubt the blogging passion comes and goes, but the last thing I want to do is send out crappy content to thousands of blog followers, and so I’ve started to feel the pressure every time I hit the publish button. I’m not sure whether to call it a waxing or waning moment–perhaps a little yin balancing the yang–but my current blogging attention span is about as long as…I’m not sure how to describe it…it’s just not very long right now.

In fact, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr–social media in general–they all just feel kind of dull to me right now. Like I said, at times I’ve loved them and really enjoyed the interaction they brought with other likeminded yogis, and sometimes they just feel like a time-sucking, distracting burden. And then I sit there and wonder where in the world 10,842 10,848 twitter followers came from (six new followers while I wrote this)…Never saw that coming either! But I’m grateful to have them, even though sometimes these social networks also add a little pressure to share bits of sage advice or helpful yoga wisdom, maybe even just to keep people coming back for more and (should I say it?) validate my presence in the yoga blogosphere… You know what I’m talking about…and it’s true.

There’s no doubt my personal blogging here on Daily Cup of Yoga has been doggie-paddling along for some time now (at least that’s how it feels to me). Luckily, we’ve had many wonderful contributors to Daily Cup of Yoga who have taken up the slack and provided interesting and relevant articles for yoga lovers to enjoy on a regular basis. When I started Daily Cup of Yoga I never envisioned this would be a place for others to find a voice and audience in the yoga community, but that’s kind of how it’s evolved. Most of the time I’m pretty happy about that, even if some of the contributors are just looking for a cheap linkback. Not everyone who sends me stuff gets published, and sometimes I have to edit the crap out of some of the writing, which actually takes a lot of time, but guest bloggers have definitely been an added bonus that have contributed to Daily Cup of Yoga’s growth and success. Bottom-line, if there’s a nugget of helpful yoga wisdom, I’m usually willing to share it. Many thanks to all of the contributors over the last few years! Please keep sharing!!

I know I’ve opined a little bit more than usual in this post, but I’ll end by saying that in all honesty, I’ve had a ton of fun creating this website, expanding into the online social yoga community, and creating a place for others to share their insights about yoga. Who knows where it will go next? Like most of you, my life does not revolve around blogging about yoga and I hope you’ll forgive those times when the blog tends to wane more than wax eloquent, but I also hope you won’t mind if Daily Cup of Yoga remains a place where I can occasionally get a little more personal again about my life and my yoga.

Namaste!

Arthritis is more than occasional aches and pains. The condition is caused by inflammation of the joints and can lead to swelling, difficulty moving and severe pain. It can affect almost anyone, from children to the elderly, and may cause the simplest activities to become a challenge. Medications are often prescribed to relieve the pain and inflammation, but many health care providers now also recommend yoga for arthritis relief.

Yoga consists of a combination of gentle movements, stretches and breathing exercises. Researchers at John Hopkins University have determined that arthritis patients who regularly perform yoga are likely to experience less swelling, increased mobility and reduced pain. This is because the movements performed during yoga increase fluid around the joints.

Getting Started

There are a few things that arthritis sufferers should consider before beginning a yoga program. A visit to the doctor is necessary to make sure that the individual is healthy enough to perform the exercises and that other conditions won’t be exacerbated by yoga movements. It’s also important to choose a yoga class with a certified instructor, preferably one who is knowledgeable about the benefits of yoga for arthritis patients.  There are also chair yoga classes that are helpful for arthritis sufferers who cannot sit on the floor.

A beginner’s yoga class is the best choice in most cases because the movements are easier to perform.  Stretching, breathing exercises, or even chanting, may also be done before actual movements begin. These help the body to relax and are an integral part of many yoga routines.

A variety of gentle poses will be performed during the class. Some may be a bit difficult at first, but will become easier as muscles grow accustomed to the activity. Arthritis patients should only perform those poses that they feel comfortable with. A little soreness is to be expected after the first few classes, but any positions that cause extreme discomfort should be avoided.

Home Practice

While classes are essential to learning the proper yoga techniques, relief from arthritis pain is greater if the exercises are also performed on a daily basis at home. There are numerous yoga videos available, including some geared toward arthritis sufferers. Since the condition tends to flare up at particular times, such as during extremely damp or cold weather, it may be helpful to increase yoga exercises during these periods.

Here are a two gentle poses to try at home:

• Cat/cow pose: The cat/cow pose strengthens and stretches your spine.   Begin on your hands and knees.  For sore knees, use a towel or blanket for extra cushion.  For sore wrists, make a fist rather than palms on the floor. Round your back up toward the ceiling, tuck in your glutes, and drop your head. Come back to neutral position, and then lower your stomach toward the floor creating an arch in your back. Keep your head up slightly, look straight ahead.  Repeat slowly with deep breaths.
• Side stretch: The side stretch improves balance and stretches your hamstrings.  Start by standing with your feet shoulder width apart and take a big step back with one foot.  Clasp your hands behind your back, bend forward at the waist and relax your head and hold for a good stretch.

Yoga seems like an unlikely remedy for those struggling with arthritis pain, but it has very real benefits. Not only does it increase relaxation, which makes everyone feel better, it helps to lessen discomfort and increase muscle strength over time. It’s a wonderful way for even those with limited mobility to get moving and find lasting relief.

Nathan Joynt works with Gaiam TV, a leading lifestyle media company that produces a wide range of health and wellness videos including award-winning yoga videos and yoga for arthritis tips.

Related reading

• Yoga for Arthritis: The Complete Guide by Loren Fishman and Ellen Saltonstall
• Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing by Timothy McCall

RANDOM RUN-INS WITH NOT-SO-RANDOM INSIGHTS

I was sick of being tired, and tired of being sick. I had scored my dream job—assistant editor at a top-earning Canadian magazine.  Scratch that. It was all I’d dreamt it would be, it just didn’t feel like a dream. I wasn’t sleeping, wasn’t digesting food, wasn’t at ease, wasn’t happy. My anxiety was through the roof. One day I saw an ad in the magazine for a health and wellness company. I felt a tingling in my spine all the way up to the top of my head. I called the number, sent an email, met a dark-haired woman who hired me practically on the spot. I was out. I was free.

I had a thriving copy-writing, communications consulting business, where I scored new clients nearly always by word-of-mouth. I was teaching yoga, too (I’ll always be teaching yoga, too). The work was full-time. I wasn’t full-filled. I got an email from a friend, a forwarded job posting for an online yoga company. Work from home, be part of a great team, share the benefits of yoga, 15 hours a week. My mind said, “It’s 15 hours a week. Where would you find that time to add that to what you’re doing? And it’s not enough to replace what you’re doing.” My body and beyond all that said, “You should go for it. Good things will come from this.” I sent an email, met a strong-as-iron, gentle woman who hired me practically on the spot. Soon I was working every day for what I love. I was in. I was still free.

I was in line at the airport security check. It was long. I spotted the one to my right—much shorter. I took two steps over, looked back at the desk I had been originally headed for, and felt that I should stay put. I stayed put, the man at the desk for the line-up I was going to switch to shut it down, and everyone headed to the back of my line.

I was co-conducting an interview. After, my colleague asked me what I thought of the candidate. I felt that she would leave soon, had a visual image of her walking away. My mind asked me if I was crazy—the girl was perfect! I said I thought she was great and we should hire her. (I was tired of looking.) We offered her the job. She accepted. The next week she sent us an email with her apologies: she realized her heart wasn’t in it.

I was about to cross a street, had taken one step off the sidewalk and was lifting my other foot. The image of a dark grey sedan careening around the corner flashed through my mind. I paused. The dark grey sedan careened around the corner, narrowly missing my foot.

The stories go on. And yours might, too. If they don’t, and if you’re thinking, “What kind of woo-woo juju is this gal on?” then feel free to move along. If they don’t, and you’re thinking “I don’t care if this is woo-woo juju, I want some of it,” then feel free to read on.

Intuition isn’t weird, unusual, or strange. We’re biologically hard-wired to be able to know without knowing. That is, we can understand something and have knowledge of it without thinking we do. We take the knowing out of our rational mind. We go beyond it.

FACTS ABOUT INTUITION

The August issue of Oprah magazine has a comprehensive article on the scientific basis of our intuitive instincts. Here’s some facts worth noting:

• Our bodies send us signals long before our mind catches on. Sweaty palms, a subtle increase in heart-rate or blood pressure, tension in our stomach, shoulders and throat.
• We can see with our eyes closed. Fact: People who have gone blind because of brain damage can often still navigate an obstacle course.
• Few wild animals were killed in the tsunami that crashed around the Indian Ocean in 2004. Researchers surmise they were alerted by sound waves or ground vibrations. Researchers also state that humans have this ability, but have stopped paying attention to it in today’s busy, distraction-laden society.

5 WAYS TO BOOST OUR INTUITION

1. Meditate. A 2005 study found that people who meditate had more gray matter in the brain regions associated with sensitivity to the body’s signals and sensory processing.
2. Do a somatic, mind-body practice. Yoga works here, but any physical practice done mindfully, where you become increasingly attuned to your body’s signals, will work, too.
3. Trust your in-sight. Images that flash across your inner vision can be gone in seconds, but like in my case with the careening car, can also save you for the rest of your life. Paying attention to these images, combined with your awareness of your body’s signals, can lead to a smarter decision.
4. Practice mindfulness. Simply practicing paying full, conscious attention—to whatever you’re doing—can help develop your mindfulness muscle. This is the muscle that will enable you to tune into subtle environmental changes—like the wild animals who survived the tsunami—so you can survive your next meeting with your unpredictable boss.
5. Build your intuitive muscle. Take a somewhat inconsequential activity and practice using your intuition. For example: While grocery-shopping, and looking for a particular item, see if your instincts can tell you which aisle it’s in. Or, when observing someone, let yourself go with your gut in terms of what that person might be feeling at the moment, and interact with them based on that, rather than what they are consciously projecting. Or close your eyes and take a walk—in a safe space.

Good luck! You can do it!!

Lindsey

Related articles

• Stressed? 10 De-Stress Yoga Tips (dailycupofyoga.com)

Believe it or not, I went to an actual lululemon store for the very first time yesterday. As the kind sales-folks at the Seattle Pacific Place store can attest, I probably tried on every piece of guys clothes they had in the store..twice. It was a little embarrassing and  I’m not sure I’ve ever spent that much time in a dressing room, but I had a lot of time to burn, and I sure as heck wasn’t walking out of there with clothes that didn’t fit perfectly. Trust me though, time to burn in a lululemon store can be a dangerous thing. It’s not hard to find clothes that fit perfectly…

A few impressions after my first visit:

First impression–the place was busy, packed with men and women, young and old, rifling through clothes racks and stacks of yoga pants. Maybe it was a normal Saturday afternoon in downtown Seattle or maybe Seattle-ites just love posh fitness gear.

Second impression–shopping at lululemon can be a real psychological experiment…at least it was for me. Unless you have an unlimited budget, you kinda need to know what your shopping priorities are, otherwise you may end up eating ramen for the rest of the month. I walked out with six items and I’m sure the price I paid for the men’s Presta pants has some symbolical yogic meaning… Not sure why, but the price tag for nearly everything ends with an eight.

Third impression–as I walked around the store I kicked myself for not buying lululemon stock when the thought first crossed my mind a few months ago… Since late December 2011, I’ve watched lululemon’s stock rise from $46 to an all-time high of $72 on March 8, 2012. Not too shabby for a yoga/running clothes company. That’s what I call “run-da-li-ni rising!”

To be honest, until recently I hadn’t given much thought to yoga clothes. Running clothes–yes; yoga clothes–not so much. The beauty of practicing yoga at home is that even underwear seems to work just fine, or at least it did until I got my hands on a few lululemon samples. Of course you can also practice yoga in Levi’s, but until you discover the sweet bliss of four-way stretch and luon fabric you don’t know what you’re missing out on.

I won’t exaggerate and say I could never live without lululemon, but I will say that until a few weeks ago I wouldn’t have been caught dead wearing a pair of capri-style yoga pants out in public…and let’s just say a couple days ago I proudly stood in line at the ATM (on a military base no less) for twenty minutes in a pair of lululemon down dawg 3/4 length pants (aka “manpris“).

Final impression–when can I go back?!?

As unique beings we all have different hopes, fears, conditioning, expectations, and agendas around our health and our relationship to food and eating. Over the years of teaching and doing nutritional counseling, I have found it valuable to establish my own set of personal ethics in regards to my health and that of the planet. As Marion Nestle says, “We change the world by what we eat or chose not to eat.” I believe this to be true and am a firm believer that each person choosing with their fork CAN make a difference!

I’ve used the Yamas from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras to make a wheel of ethics, which support and frame my holistic lifestyle. From my own experience I have found a great deal of benefit from weaving these principles – compassion, honesty, non-stealing, moderation, non-hoarding, cleanliness, contentment, heat, self-examination, and faith – into my daily life routines beyond the yoga mat. As a nutritionist, I find exploring these moral values in relationship to food and eating fascinating. UCLA Professor Peter Sellars poses the question, “Can you put your belief system into your body?” It’s a question like this that moves me to look deeper into my own ethics with food and eating. I often ask myself, “Am I putting my belief system into my body?”

The Yamas prepare you to see how you and Nature are one. How you treat the outer world (Nature) reflects how you care for your inner landscapes. John Robbins does a wonderful job incorporating the essence of the Yamas in this statement in the book The Food Revolution, “I don’t care whether your diet is politically correct. I care whether your food choices are consistent with your love. I care whether they bring you health, uphold your spirit, and help you fulfill your true nature and reason for being alive.”

It is through conscious application of the Yamas that you will learn to see that compassion is your birthright, trust begins with yourself, healthy boundaries make healthy relationships, and balance is not as bad as it sounds. Although the Yamas are all interrelated and work together, if one Yama stands out more than the others, consider spending some time deepening your relationship with that one principle.

Here’s a brief questionnaire to get you started reflecting upon these ideas. I’ll be discussing this arena in more detail in my upcoming workshops at Piedmont Yoga Studio in Oakland, CA (March), and Surya Yoga in Yakima, WA (April), Savannah Yoga Studio, Savannah, GA (April).

Ahimsa (non-violence): You, Food, and the Environment

·        How do I practice ahimsa towards myself?

·        Towards others/community?

·        Towards the planet/environment?

Satya (truth/honesty): Eating Healthy Food & Knowing the Benefits of Healthy Food

·        How do I practice satya towards myself?

·        Towards others/community?

·        Towards the planet/environment?

Asteya (non-stealing): Rotate Seasonal Practices & Eating Frequent Meals

·        How do I practice asteya towards myself?

·        Towards others/community?

·        Towards the planet/environment?

Brahmacharya (moderation): Moderation vs. Extreme in Everything

·        How do I practice brahmacharya towards myself?

·        Towards others/community?

·        Towards the planet/environment?

Aparigraha (non-hoarding): Sharing Resources, Time, and Community

·        How do I practice aparigraha towards myself?

·        Towards others/community?

·        Towards the planet/environment?

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Melina Meza, BS Nutrition, 500-RYT

Melina has been exploring the art and science of yoga and nutrition for over 18 years. She combines her knowledge of Hatha Yoga, Ayurveda, whole foods nutrition, and healthy lifestyle promotion into a unique style called Seasonal Vinyasa. Her devotion to yoga and eating well, to teaching and nutritional counseling, and to traveling and experiencing different cultures combine to create a colorful and enlightening perspective from which to share that which she loves about yoga in its entirety. Meza is the author of the Art of Sequencing books and Yoga for the Seasons – Fall Vinyasa DVD. www.melinameza.com

What is Seasonal Vinyasa – Yoga for the Seasons?

Seasonal Vinyasa describes an artistic style of sequencing asana and seasonal daily rituals. The main inspiration for Seasonal Vinyasa comes from the Hatha Yoga and Ayurveda traditions, two complementary sciences that promote health in body, mind, and spirit. While inspiring the self-knowledge to adjust day-to-day choices and align with what is occurring outside in nature, Seasonal Vinyasa emphasizes the teachings of the yogis—that there is no separation between humans and nature.

Related articles

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Courtesy of Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles, CA.

The writings of Paramahansa Yogananda have been a guide to me ever since I took up yoga more than 10 years ago. You may or may not know that March 7th marks the 60th anniversary of Paramahansa Yogananda’s mahasamadhi (a yogi’s final conscious exit from the body at the time of physical death). The spiritual legacy of Yogananda –– author of Autobiography of a Yogi, founder of Self-Realization Fellowship, and one of the preeminent spiritual figures of our time –– continues to flourish today, with evermore seekers internationally turning to the sacred science of yoga meditation.

As so much of Yogananda’s life work and teachings focused upon the inward journey, on this important anniversary, we offer the following quotes on meditation from the master himself:

“Through meditation one can experience a stable, silent inner peace that can be a permanently soothing background for all harmonious or trialsome activities demanded by life’s responsibilities. Lasting happiness lies in maintaining this evenly peaceful state of mind.”

– from Inner Peace: How to Be Calmly Active and Actively Calm by Paramahansa Yogananda

“The moon’s reflection cannot be seen clearly in ruffled water, but when the water’s surface is calm a perfect reflection of the moon appears. So with the mind: when it is calm you see clearly reflected the moonèd face of the soul. As souls we are reflections of God. When by meditation techniques we withdraw restless thoughts from the lake of the mind, we behold our soul, a perfect reflection of Spirit, and realize that the soul and God are One.”

– from Where There is Light by Paramahansa Yogananda

“Through meditation I will stop the storm of breath, mental restlessness, and sensory disturbances raging over the lake of my mind. Through prayer and meditation I will harness my will and activity to the right goal.”

– from Metaphysical Meditations by Paramahansa Yogananda

To discover more information on the Self-Realization Fellowship teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda visit www.yogananda-srf.org.

[Quotes and photograph provided courtesy of Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles, CA. All rights reserved].

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• Make New Determinations: Be What You Want to Be! (dailycupofyoga.com)

The modern professional is seemingly caught in a lose-lose situation. While these individuals may benefit more than just about anyone from exercise, the demands of their jobs often make it difficult to be as physically active as they would like to be. This underscores the importance of finding alternative ways to be physically active.

There are a number of ways individuals can increase the amount of exercise they get on a daily basis without squeezing in extra time at the gym. A few simple activities can be incorporated into a daily routine. While these methods may be very easy and almost incidental, they can add up to major health benefits when practiced regularly.

Taking the stairs is near the top of the list of simple activities that improve fitness. Whether you live in a third- or fourth-floor apartment or your office is located several stories up, you likely have many opportunities to add more stair climbing to your day. And what a workout it is!

Experts say that climbing stairs can burn a significant amount of calories. This means that the time you would normally spend avoiding awkward encounters with coworkers in the elevator can be put toward a major workout that improves your fitness. Everybody wins.

Of course, this is far from the only way to work more physical activity into your normal daily routine. It is possible to practice a few simple yoga positions right at your desk. Yoga can be a very good workout and finding ways to practice it while at the office may remove many of the barriers that often prevent people from pursuing yoga.

Traditional yoga classes can be expensive at times. Furthermore, many people have a difficult time devoting the necessary time to classes. These commitments turn many individuals off of the concept of yoga.

However, practicing yoga at your desk may solve many of these problems. One of the most relaxing yoga moves that can be done at your workspace is the neck roll. It can be performed while sitting in your seat by gently swinging your head from side to side in slow circles. Focus on your breathing while you perform this motion. This helps clear the mind, which is considered one of the primary benefits of yoga.

Next, try a position that will alleviate the tension in your shoulders. Start by standing up and bringing your arms behind your back. With your hands clasped, bring your arms up as high as you can without straining. Extend your chest out forward to maximize the stretch. Again, taking deep, slow breaths is an important aspect of this exercise.

These simple techniques only add a few minutes to your daily routine, but the effect they have on your overall health and fitness can be significant. Think of it as a small investment that will pay major dividends down the road. The hectic nature of your work life may make it seem like there is no room for exercise, but a few minor adjustments to your lifestyle can have you in top shape in no time.

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Dahn Yoga is one of the largest yoga and tai chi companies in the world with its own unique style and brand of yoga.  Dahn yoga is rooted in the rich history of an ancient Asian mind-body practice, Sun Do, and in the wisdom of the Chun Bu Kyung.

The venerable tradition of yoga may be downdogging itself right into the realms of Olympic glory. The topic seems to have been debated and covered for as long as I’ve been writing about yoga. As yoga continues to evolve, it’s pretty much inevitable that it will enter daring new frontiers…and I’m quite positive that a lot of these new yoga frontiers piss a lot of people off.

Without a doubt, most of you have some sort of yoga-trend pet peeve–something that just drives you insane. This one’s been around for a while, but I, for one, sincerely dislike and shun anything having to do with animals and yoga, especially practicing together (although I did fall for this grumpy looking yoga cat once…). Can’t stand it…but I like to think my mind is open enough to realize that my love for good old-fashioned vanilla yoga just doesn’t get some people off…and I guess for some people that means they love to have their dog slobbering all over them and their mat. Okay, that seems really gross to me, but whatever.

I’m just not a big fan of niche yoga trends. However, here’s my bold declaration: I think I could really wrap my mind around enjoying yoga as an Olympic sport. Heck, I sit around half the day watching yoga videos on the Internet anyway, so why wouldn’t I get fired up to join millions of yoga fans, meditating in front of our TVs to some flawlessly executed yoga poses. Maybe we’d even do a little “chant” for our favorite yogi…I think that’s actually a yoga trend I could get excited about. I’m serious.

This snippet from an entertaining Wall Street Journal article explains perfectly why yoga may stand poised to take the Olympics by storm:

First, consider audience and reach. Yoga is not a marginal activity in 2012. Baseball, maybe; yoga, no. Where I live, it is easier to do yoga than get a haircut. You can find 10 studios within a 10-minute walk. Conversely, I need to charter a helicopter, three ferry boats and a space shuttle to play a round of golf. Yoga has become a lifestyle, a passion, an ongoing cultural conversation. People do it to get in shape, to relax, for spiritual centering or any number of personal reasons; participants are young and old, growing in numbers and increasingly male. Bring up yoga next time you’re at a dinner party. That will inhale the next half-hour. Then bring up the All-Star Game of any major sport. Crickets.

I think yoga will be an Olympic sport someday…and I think I’m going to like it.

For more on yoga’s quest for Olympic glory, check out USA Yoga’s website.

“Be yourself. Life is precious as it is. All the elements for your happiness are already here. There is no need to run, strive, search or struggle. Just Be.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

[Editor's note: This is a guest post by Lindsey Lewis who blogs at Libre Living.]

Yup, I’m a yoga teacher—among other things—and generally speaking an all-round happy-go-lucky gal. Life is FULL of wonder, peace, love, and flow.

“Oh sure, but you’re a yoga teacher. You have less stress than other people do.” I know, I know, I’m a yogi, so I spend all day on some mat or another, meditating, chanting, or deep breathing. In my hemp clothing. With my double-strand mala beads. Om.

In reality, I–like most  people trying to make a living being of service–am working my buns off, as I blog, teach, life coach, facilitate corporate lunch ‘n’ learns, market all these offerings, and do other projects to keep my income reasonable.

Here’s why I’m telling you this: my life now is busier, more demanding, and takes more energy and time than it did before I quit my former 9-5 dream job so I could “help people live healthier, happier lives.” But I’m way less stressed today. I spent a good chunk of my life struggling with pretty debilitating anxiety–basically an ongoing stress response that doesn’t go away–and finally got to the point where “the pain of remaining the same became greater than the pain of changing.” The pain of remaining the same translated into insomnia, an inability to digest food properly, regular panic attacks–even at the office–and a constant sense of feeling someone’s hands around my throat, squeezing tightly. Fun! At least I can say I developed a lot of strength.

I also developed a keen desire to feel differently–to feel peace, strength and happiness–and to share what I learned with other people. I’ve been boosting those skills since 2006, when I signed up for yoga teacher training.

Here’s some of my top take-aways I learned along the ever-calmer and stronger ride—and now teach to others.

1. Labelling thoughts. Thoughts are thoughts; it doesn’t matter if they’re worrying ones, planning ones, rehashing ones, or imagining ones. We can practice labelling our thoughts as simply “thinking,” or get more specific with “worrying,” “rehashing,” “planning,” or imagining. Either way, by labelling them we often find some space between our essential, ultimately calm and strong selves, and our worrying mind. The labels help us to recognize what’s happening and take charge of what’s happening in our head, rather than letting our monkey mind run the show. “I’m imagining, and I know I do that when I’m worried or feeling anxiety. It doesn’t actually help. So I’m going to let those thoughts go, and move onto something else.”

2. Be here now.The best something else we can move onto is this present moment. This moment, though it might seem overwhelming, can become a tool for anchoring into grounded stability and strength. Mindfulness techniques using our senses enable us to focus our attention and intention.

• Sight. What do you see? If you’re supposed to be concentrating on talking to your son, daughter, or even a group of work colleagues but you feel unable to focus, try lasering in on one visual aspect: a forehead, pen, or friendly face.
• Sound. This works the same way. Try lasering in on the sound of someone’s voice, or a sound outside the room.
• Touch. What do you feel? Bring your intention and attention to one sensation you can physically feel–your toes moving in your shoes, or your fingertip on the table or presentation stand.
• Smell. What can you smell? Try narrowing in on a scent that’s pleasing or even soothing to your aural palette. Lavender is a good one–you could even have some in your pocket.
• Taste. This is my least favourite one, but it works, too. Pop a mint and keep on keepin’ on with whatever you’re doing, but noticing the tastes that arise on your tongue.

3. Walking meditation. Anytime you’re walking anywhere is a good time to practice mindfulness. Notice the sensations beneath your feet, when your heel connects with the floor and then your weight rolls to the ball of your foot. Just notice it, and you’ll notice yourself coming deeper into your physical experience of the moment, and out of your overwhelmed, anxious mind.

4. Multi-tasking myth. Nobody can truly do more than one thing at a time. (I like to talk on the phone while folding laundry or doing dishes, but, as my mom is quick to point out, when I do that the conversation is a lot less involved.) We’re most comfortable and calm when we’re mindful and that’s easiest to do when we’re doing one thing at a time. I know, it’s not always possible. But most of us can do less multi-tasking. Check email every 20 minutes instead of every time one comes in. Turn your cell phone alerts off so that you’re in charge of when you respond to texts or emails. Consider letting the phone ring if you’re in the middle of something. Give yourself permission to focus on what’s important to you.

5. Body boost. Our body is right here, right now. Bringing our attention and intention into our body is a highly effective way to counteract the overwhelmed response–where we feel scattered and unfocused. Simply notice what’s happening–especially around your neck and shoulders, chest and throat and stomach. Are your ears up around your neck? Is your throat constricted? Is your breath stuck in your chest and is your stomach tense?

6. Get physical. Once you’ve noticed what’s happening in your body, you’re already halfway towards counteracting the overwhelmed response. The mind and emotions are not separate from the body. They are somatic. So changing your physical reactions will change your emotional-mental reactions. Want proof? Smile. Hold it for at least six seconds. Notice the physiological reactions. So when you notice your shoulders up around your ears, let them drop. When your breath is stuck up in your chest, take your inhale and exhale all the way down to your belly. Feel the difference.

7. Use your breath. On that note, long, deep yoga breathing brings balance to your nervous system by activating the calming systems in your body, including our parasympathetic nervous system, while de-activating the activating systems in our body, including our sympathetic nervous system.

8. Use your breath II. Need something more powerful? When I need to really bring up and let go of some deep stress or tension I do a minute or two of rounds of deep exhales through my mouth.

9. Practice loving-kindness. You are who you are for a reason. We come into this life with mental and emotional patterns (samskaras, in yoga-speak) that I believe can help teach us how to be the best we can be—even ones we perceive as negative. Every worrying pattern, stress pattern, or losing your temper pattern is a tool that we can use to evolve towards our best selves. How? Loving-kindness. Surround that ‘negative’ reaction with unconditional love. Instead of beating ourselves up for feeling overwhelmed, anxious or angry, we just sit with that feeling, noticing everything there is to notice about it. Getting curious about it. “So this is overwhelmed. Huh. I feel this in my stomach, this way in my chest, this way behind my eyes. I seem to be having a hard time accepting the fact that I feel this way. I’m going to shift that into accepting that I feel this way—because feeling this way is an indication of my deeply open, ultimately loving nature.”

10. Lovingly let go. Once we get into the habit of practicing loving-kindness towards ourselves and our patterns, we can get into the habit of letting those patterns go. Because, as Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung said “What we resist persists.” When we stop resisting our patterns, and instead dive right into them, they minimize and sometimes even vamoose—all on their own.

Good luck! I sincerely hope you found these de-stress yoga tips helpful,

Lindsey

I’ll concede that more yoga is usually better, but a lot of us forget that a little yoga every day can still have a dramatic impact on our lives. It’s definitely better than no yoga. Unrolling the mat every day, even for just five minutes, proves that sometimes less is more…

Here are a few resources I’ve used lately to help me get on the mat even when time is short:

• I’m a huge fan of YogaGlo, which offers unlimited access to streaming yoga classes for the price you would normally pay for a live class or two each month.  When you’re in a time-crunch, YogaGlo has options to sort archived classes according to teacher, style, level, duration and specific use. Makes it super simple to find a 10 minute class when that’s all the time you have. YogaGlo has an excellent lineup of instructors and the videos even stream on your iPhone or iPad so you can practice just about anywhere! Click here to see a sample of a 30 minute morning yoga class by Kathryn Budig.
• Yoga Journal’s free YouTube page features home practice videos ranging from 15 to 25 minutes–perfect for those days when you need a quick yoga pick-me-up. Lest you procrastinate, here’s a 15 minute practice to get you moving:

Filed under: videos, yoga Tagged: backbends, daily practice, home practice, yoga journal, yogaglo ]]> http://dailycupofyoga.com/2012/02/20/daily-yoga-practice-sometimes-less-is-more/feed/ 8 anusara-yoga bc call anusara-yoga http://dailycupofyoga.com/2012/02/13/the-awol-yogini-by-kelly-morris-wanderlust-speakeasy-2011/ http://dailycupofyoga.com/2012/02/13/the-awol-yogini-by-kelly-morris-wanderlust-speakeasy-2011/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:05:10 +0000 Brian http://dailycupofyoga.com/?p=4055 ]]>

Video description:

Kelly Morris is the founder and director of The Conquering Lion Yoga Teacher Training Program/NYC. A close student of Geshe Michael Roach and Lama Christie McNally, Kelly’s Conquering Lion Yoga reunites two sacred lineages that were once One: the precious Tibetan Buddhist insights of karma and emptiness with the Indian vinyasa tradition. By practicing both the out vinyasa of breath and the inner vinyasa of intention and aim, an unsurpassed opening in the heart of the aspirant occurs. It is this opening that permits the practice to reach it’s final aim: complete and utter self-transformation, from flesh and blood to being of light, in this lifetime. Kelly teaches that with correct understanding and application of these precious and ancient insights, your life will be transformed from suffering to unlimited joy.

To learn more about Kelly Morris and the Conquering Lion Yoga Teacher Training Program, please visit http://kellymorrisyoga.com/

Related articles

• Seane Corn on Embodying Spiritual Activism – Wanderlust SPEAKEASY 2011 (dailycupofyoga.com)
• Meet the Fockers of Wanderlust…SPEAKEASY 2011 (dailycupofyoga.com)

 “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” – Gandhi

This morning while reading the newspaper over breakfast at my hotel, I came across a review of a book I hadn’t heard of yet. The book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, purports to extol the value of those who shun the spotlight and instead seek solitude, simplicity, and quiet contribution in the noisy world around them. The book sounds intriguing and probably has appeal for a lot of yogis out there who understand the virtue of inner reflection. It’s now on my list of books to read.

The review also got me thinking about the great American introvert, Henry Thoreau, and his two year experiment of living simply and alone at Walden Pond. Although many of us might not have the same fortitude or desire to shut ourselves away in a cabin for a couple years, I think many of us yogis share similar spiritual and contemplative aspirations. As the following passages illustrate, much can be said for the inner conversation that takes place in the heart of one whom the world would describe as an introvert.

Indeed, Thoreau is considered by many to be America’s first self-described yogi. In a letter penned in 1849, Thoreau wrote:

“Free in this world as the birds in the air, disengaged from every kind of chains, those who practice the yoga gather in Brahma the certain fruit of their works. … Depend upon it that, rude and careless as I am, I would fain practice the yoga faithfully. … The yogi, absorbed in Contemplation, contributes in his degree to creation; he breathes a divine perfume, he hears wonderful things. Divine forms traverse him without tearing him, and, united to the nature which is proper to him, he goes, he acts as animating Original matter. … To some extent, and at rare intervals, even I am a yogi.”

In Walden, Thoreau further described his meditative reverie in this beautiful passage:

“Sometimes, in a summer morning, having taken my accustomed bath, I sat in my sunny doorway from sunrise to noon, rapt in revery, amidst the pines and hickories and sumachs, while the birds sang or flitted noiseless through the house until by sun falling in at my west window, or the noise of some traveller’ s wagon on the distant highway, I was reminded of the lapse of time. I grew in those seasons like corn in the night, and they were far better than any of the work of the hands would have been. They were not time subtracted from my life, but so much over and above my usual allowance. I realized what the Orientals mean by contemplation and the forsaking of works.”

Beautiful words for “quiet” hearts who want to shake the world, but in a gentle way…

Related articles:

• Henry David Thoreau – “We become like a still lake of purest crystal” (Transcendental Meditation Blog)

Video description:

Come meet the Fockers of Wanderlust! One of the central purposes of Wanderlust is to create community around shared values. Meet the founders of Wanderlust, Jeff Krasno, Schuyler Grant and Sean Hoess, to discuss how to grow this community and define its values. Hear about the inspiration behind Wanderlust from Yoga to Yoda and share your ideas on how to evolve the event.

Wanderlust was created by three friends with a long and deep relationship: the 20+ year husband and wife duo of Jeff Krasno and Schuyler Grant, and their mutual friend (and Jeff’s business partner of a decade), Sean Hoess. We all met back in college during the dark ages of the late 80s. Long before Wanderlust existed, we loved to throw a good party and that hasn’t changed much.

But Wanderlust is more than a party. While it’s a great time, from the beginning we wanted to infuse it with meaning. We saw an opportunity to create an event that is fun but also based on a series of underlying ideals. We hoped to create a unique event where attendees were actually participants, an event where people left feeling better than when they came, an event that could be – at the very least – a good time and – at the most — personally transformative.

Finding a clear and concise purpose is a process both for a business and an individual. It’s very hard to distill & it can change. For Wanderlust, our core purpose is to create community around shared values. It has been incredibly gratifying to see such a large community growing around the pillars of mindful living – yoga, the arts, personal spirituality, environmentalism, organics and conscious consumerism – and to know that Wanderlust is becoming a central gathering point for this community.

The cauldron of talent at Wanderlust never ceases to amaze us and while we continue to seek out diverse and gifted artists, teachers, speakers and leaders — it often feels like the festival is being equally shaped by the talent of its participants. The scholars, buskers, acroyogis, hoopers, and artists that have organically integrated into the event have created the kind of exchange of ideas and energy that could never be replicated by any traditional festival or concert experience.

Wanderlust continues to evolve to include a broader range of experiences, including hiking, biking, running and other outdoor activities, a more diverse array of lectures, expanded food and wine events, movement and burlesque workshops, and even a community garden project. Wherever possible, these new activities will involve interaction and interactivity, so our attendees can learn and create as part of the event.

Wanderlust 2012 will be bigger and better than ever. There’s a lot to do, and many more locations at which to do it. We hope you can come take advantage of all of it, but don’t plan too hard. Always let yourself wander, because life’s most beautiful moments come in the spaces.

Please visit www.wanderlustfestival.com to learn more about the lineup for 2012!