Beautiful Day....

There is something just so wonderful about a crisp fall day... when the sun is shining, the colours are bright and the clouds in the sky are fluffy white and change is in the air. Oh and Halloween isn't too far away!

Standing outside you breath the air in and you just naturally feel like sweeping those arms overhead and gathering in all that is good to your heart.... well, at least that's how I feel on the nice sunny, fall days... when it's raining, I just want to curl up with a mug of tea and a good book, curling myself into a ball and keeping that heat at my core. That is what is so neat about this time of year though... every day inspires a different feeling, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. But FEELING is the key!

I have been taking the last weeks to read through more yoga texts, read through my mountains of amazing yoga newsletters, watch yoga DVD's and online classes as well as all my many yoga teacher materials and feel it all just percolating inside of me... Ready to share with all my wonderful students... AND anyone who would like to become a student. Please feel free to link to my blog or pass along my info to anyone you think may benefit from private yoga instruction OR who would like to attend one of my classes around the Gorge.

Lately I have been thinking a WHOLE lot about yoga and the workplace. I have put together a wonderful series of classes that I am eager to share with any business that would like to hire me to teach yoga to their employees... Contact me for details!

As the U2 song says:

It's a beautiful day,

Don't let it get away,

It's a beautiful day....

Namaste everyone

Matthew Sanford, Yoga Teacher

A few years ago I heard of this fellow on NPR and listened to the podcast many times afterwards. I still have it in iTunes... He is a truely inspiring man and helps us all keep our lives in perspective. Now I am hearing about him again on the YogaDork blog that I follow. Matthew Sanford, Paralyzed Yoga Teacher Inspires Disabled, and Everyone Else

If you are interested, check out his website at: Matthew Sanford - Waking Mind and Body

Whenever we think we can't... we need to remember that we CAN. One foot in front of the other, we can. We ALL have something to offer.

Food for Thought

Read a great blog posting this morning on Yogamint about cultivating non-attachment... one of the yoga Sutras... Read on:

http://www.yogamint.com/_webapp_3190128/Surf_Life

Grace & Gratitude

What a week so far:

Canadian Thanksgiving on the same day as my beautiful, amazing daughter's 18th birthday. The weather is crisp, clear and fall-like, making my every-other-day runs invigorating and inspiring.

Yesterday took a beautiful drive up to Mt Hood and marvelled at being in the moment, appreciating all the views, the sounds, the smells of the season.

Today we watched the HS Air Guitar routines (VERY big at our town's school), realizing it is the last one we will watch with one of our kids. BTW, the seniors rocked.

Oh, and I am waking up at night, sweating. Yeah. Yippee.

SO my yoga teaching this week has been centered on change and accepting that change with grace and gratitude.

I have been thinking about that a lot...

My daughter the HS senior, just turned 18 is looking at colleges all over the US (just not near us). And my 21 yr old son, a senior at university, is back at home, taking a break from school trying to figure out where he stands in the world.

It's been a big birthday year for us: 50 for both my husband and me, in addition to the kids' big days... all of us embarking on new journeys and stages of our lives. Exciting and yet.... makes me want to grab a cuppa tea and plunk myself down into bed!

Learning to find the calm amidst all the "noise" around me is key to getting through the turbulent times. Listening to my breathing, allowing the beating of my heart to be my music.

Posted this today on another blog in response to "things to know about yoga":

"A little yoga can go a long way. Make time each and every day for your yoga practice... that can be as simple as breathing mindfully as you wake up, or wait in line or on the phone. As simple as sensing how you are feeling inside and out as you stand under the shower. As simple as a few yoga poses as you brush your teeth, make your coffee... wait for a bus. Life is yoga, yoga is life."

Change....

This time of year is so amazing.... I always love fall. Well, maybe it is a love/hate sort of thing. I LOVE summer (OK, so that is not something that my friends and family will find as a surprise) and I am not ready to give up those wonderful warm rays of sunshine, the beautiful light, the flowers and the fun we have outdoors... not to mention wearing FLIP-FLOPS. But as an easterner, I simply love the reds, oranges and yellows of the trees, the crisp air, the CHANGE in the air. And Halloween. Thanksgiving: sharing & gratitude.

Also, I do so love winter... LOTS of snow: skiing, snowboarding, cold air making your nostrils stick together, hot coco, snuggling under the covers... even shoveling snow. I LOVE shovelling snow, yes that is strange. I know.

It is just such a bother to have to change from one to the other when I am not ready.

But when are we ever ready?

Change can be disorienting, so uncomfortable.... but also so exciting.

Transitions..... breathe through them... embrace the change.

In my practice I use this time to shake things up a bit. I find I need to look to different poses to engergize and engage me. In summer I look to cooling poses. At the change of seasons, twists are always good although I prefer them in the spring. However, I still am attracted to those twists... they are just slower and more meditative, perhaps reclined. Helps to increase the blood flow to vital internal organs.

In fall I focus on de-toxing, but my practice is more gentle. As always the yummy forward folds, energizing back-bends, the wonderful Warriors. The air-ways may need some support so I find I am also attracted to a deeper breathing, full and slow Ujjayi Pranayama.

Perhaps that is the urge to ponder, share and embrace the gratitude for all that we have in our lives. All that challenges us, all that makes us be the best we can be.

___Update after yoga class_______________________________________________

Somehow that topic of change came up in my noon class today, perhaps because a few of us were feeling a little creaky, maybe a little sore. So we had a slow, meditative flow practice, focussing on grounding through sitbones when sitting, through our hands & feet in other poses. Coming back to centre between sets. Moving mindfully through our sun salutations and when need be modifiying poses to make sure we were right where we needed to be..... ahhhhh....... ommmmmmmm.


I love my yoga community.

Namaste

This Just Sounds Right....

*

Loka samasta sukhino bhavantu.

means:

May all beings experience the blessings of great happiness.

*

It's All About Balance....

It's all about balance... balance in our lives: in our relationships, in our yoga, our work & play, even our diet.

Finding that sweet spot between effort & ease. Between challenging ourselves and being comfortable with where we are. Right here, right now.

Striving to be mindful as we navigate through our days can often be quite the challenge. I find that as I teach I can be so focused on my students that I am not as mindful of my own body, my own practice as I move through the poses alongside them. However I hope that as I share my vulnerabilities, it helps everyone to find that balance, that mindfulness & ease with being in the moment. At least it can make us laugh (balances!)... and we all need more of that!

The Only Constant in Life is Change....

Now that I have made my Blogger page look so good, I have decided I might want to change my blog to Wordpress... It has some great features.... but so does Blogger. Stay tuned while I work this out of my system :)

Taught Vinyasa yoga at noon today and of course had to bring up "change"... any kind of change and how we react to that change. Including the change of seasons, changing times of our lives (especially with regards to kids) and really wherever change occurs. Could be as simple as changing from cow's milk to soy milk.

Sometimes that change is welcome, sometimes not. And that old adage: "the only thing we can count on is change" is just so true. Especially during the change of seasons, things can get churned up and we need to sit with those emotions. Always come back to the breath....

On that note... I am liking Blogger a little more than Wordpress. Maybe I am resisting change. Or maybe I am happy with what I have?

Stick with me; I am finding my groove....