What I'm Reading Now: Spoiled Yogi: If I Owned a Yoga Studio ...

OH boy, this one speaks to me. I firmly believe that what you put out there comes back to you at least tenfold or more. I really believe in Karma yoga, that is giving back to the community. I LOVE teaching yoga to people who have never practices yoga, and students are not risking anything by coming to a free class. That being said, I also need to feel valued and in our society that means getting paid. ;) Also helps pay for the groceries! But there is a happy balance and I like what this blog suggests: at least one free class a month. That and all of the OTHER things she mentions.... Read for yourself and feel free to let me know what you think... c'mon, be daring... COMMENT.

Spoiled Yogi: If I Owned a Yoga Studio ...: "... I'd have at least one free class a month. And when I say free, I mean FREE!, not donation-based or almost free. Why? Because people who ..."

On another note, kind of along the lines of having a studio EXACTLY the way I'd want: Something that I do that isn't always popular is that I am happy to recommend another yoga teacher or another studio to a student. After all it is all about the student, not about the teacher, not about the studio. And that isn't something that is unique to yoga... it is called CUSTOMER service. I'd like to think that I treat a student as I'd like to be treated: with honesty and authenticity. It really IS possible to make a living while staying true to your principles. It might not always be easy... but if it where, then it wouldn't be so rewarding!

Namaste my friends and as always, take a few minutes to connect to your breath each and every day!

From Spoiled Yogi - What Does Your Favorite Pose Say About You?

Oh my, I FORGOT to add this blog posting! I love this blog anyway but this particular one stood out...

Spoiled Yogi: What Does Your Favorite Pose Say About You?

It is a hoot to think about your favourite pose and what it might say about you! HA! Frankly my faves change with the seasons and my moods and the mobility of my body. Not to mention the sports that I am currently doing.... for example today I was skiing and so my hips are feeling the need to open. My quads are in need of stretching... and I NEED restorative yoga. During the summer months when I am gardening, paddling and cycling and the weather is warm and sunny all the time, I have other needs.

What about YOU?? Send me a comment!

Radiohead - Lotus Flower

Sometimes I feel like I should be in a 12 step program:

Hello, my name is Heidi and I am a voracious reader of yoga blogs....

BUT, I can't help myself. There are a lot of great blogs out there and I absorb from so many sources. So much to learn and so little time, it seems.

I read the Flying Yogini and today she posted this great video that I just had to share. It is Radiohead's Lotus Flower... the dancing just got to me and I had to get up and join in as it played. Think I'll be adding this song to my yoga playlist... which changes frequently, as my students know!

Get up and dance....

What I'm Reading Now: The Daily Bandha: A Cool Tip for Deeper Breathing in Yoga

More important reading for Pranyama Month! I absolutely LOVE this blog and I learn something new every time I read it. And especially in light of my focus this month, I am learning more.

I have Ray Long's books and use them constantly to inform and reaffirm my teaching. The illustrations by Chris McIvor make it all come together so well. (Image courtesy of DailyBandha.com)

This is what Ray has to say:

So, here’s a cue for activating one of my fave accessory muscles—the serratus anterior (SA) and his buddies, the rhomboids. Pause for a second. Rest your hands on your thighs. Now, exhale naturally and then gently draw the shoulders back to bring the scapulae (shoulder blades) towards the spine. As you inhale, imagine pressing the sides of your shoulders and upper arms against an imaginary wall, like a doorframe. Feel how this expands your chest. Repeat this cue two more times before reading on . . .

Click on the link to read on....

The Daily Bandha: A Cool Tip for Deeper Breathing in Yoga

And, as always, IF YOU FEEL like commenting... please do so. Really, I know people read my blog but sometimes I feel like I am talking into a VOID!

Just saying, is all.... ;)

What I'm Reading Now: Men and Yoga: What's the Biggest Misconception?

This is a GREAT posting MindBodyGreen blog. Click on the following link to read the whole thing: Men and Yoga: What's the Biggest Misconception? - MindBodyGreen



SO the guy whose picture I have included in this posting is Michael Taylor who teaches at Strala in NYC. Here is what HE had to say about what he thinks the biggest misconceptions are:



Michael Taylor: Can I pick two? One is that yoga is weird -- for odd-balls! The other is that yoga might give a good stretch, but we need to get strength and fitness elsewhere. For the first -- yoga is a health system, designed at a time when health meant our Whole health, and when we couldn't turn to surgeons or pharmaceutical dispensaries as a last resort. So there's nothing intrinsically weird about a system that gives us self-reliance and control over our physical and psychological well-being. No doctors required. True, some of yoga's teachers over the past few decades have been a bit strange, but the system itself is very straightforward and uncomplicated. My wife (and yoga teacher!) Tara Stiles is making this very clear -- and her approach is vastly expanding yoga's reach and impact now. It's not about adopting new languages, or anyone else's religions or philosophies -- it's simply up to your own direct experience.

What do YOU think?

Wonderful Day

Hi All,

What a wonderful day this turned out to be... my cold (why am I calling it "my" cold?) is ALMOST gone and we had snow up at the mtn so I went skiing with my daughter, her boyfriend and a good friend of mine. It's amazing how GOOD it feels to feel... GOOD. Can never take that for granted. Any day on the mtn is a good day.

Also I am working on putting together a series of workshops and that seems to be coming together nicely... more details to follow for my gorge-area friends and fellow yogis.

I have been enjoying bringing more pranayama practice to my yoga classes and am looking to expand to the chakras next month and beyond. My pranayama practice made me think a lot more about the heart chakra... OK, maybe it was VALENTINE'S day or reading Donna Freeman's posting on elephantjournal that did that. Whatever the reason. I have also been doing a lot of heart opening and softening poses in my classes.

I took this photo yesterday afternoon from the dining room window at our house... it just looked so neat and made me feel artistic again. I have been letting that side of me... rest... for wont of a better word, for a while. I have set an intention to let it flower again.

Maybe it is that spring is in the air? The days are getting longer, albeit SLOWLY, and I see the little changes in the garden so perhaps that is feeding my creative energy.

March isn't so far away after all....

Namaste

What I'm reading: Spoiled Yogi: A Yoga Story: Sofia

Spoiled Yogi: A Yoga Story: Sofia: "Yoga discovered me a couple of times in my young life, but I was only truly captivated by its immense power within the last year. Growing up..."