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Remember September is Yoga Month! Some studios are offering one week of yoga for free. Check out your local studios for more information.
Namaste
Please join me for our Kick Asana Celebration! After one month of practicing our chosen asana (pose), lets celebrate our accomplishments! By this date, you will have tracked your progress through pictures taken in class.
You can RSVP at either this Evite link or on the Facebook Event Invitation.
Kick Asana - Week 2
As we move into our third week of Kick Asana, how are you making peace with your chosen pose? I encourage you to meditate on your asana on and off the mat. Making peace with your asana doesn’t necessarily mean you should rigurously practice the pose on your mat. It’s as simple as laying in corpse pose and visualizing yourself reaching your goal. Click on my picture below and take a look at a slideshow of my students working on their asanas. Thank you to my students who have chosen to share their pictures with us!
What are you doing to make peace with your asana?
Namaste!
Questions About Making Peace With Your Asana?
Coming to terms with your chosen posture goes deeper than the physical aspects of the posture. Our minds, bodies, and souls must surrender, open, and listen. Take a moment to be in the body and discover the uncomfortableness. Where is the tension, fear, and the anxiety? Take a breath. Where the mind goes, prana flows!
Hip openers
If you are in a hip opener, begin to ask yourself about relationships you have. Where do you need to improve with people in your life? What can you learn from the relationships you have? Be grateful for all that have crossed your path for learning. Money and sex are located in the hips and into the second charka. Can you let go of the fear of having too much or not enough? Ground yourself to be in the moment of life and recycle the negative energy into the mat with breath.
Backbends
Backbends are all about support. The vertebrae support the entire back from the tailbone to the neck. Ask yourself, “Do I feel supported by family, career, love (partners), or self?” How can I open my heart to feel supported? When we extend the back, the heart opens up automatically. Let yourself be supported by the people around you. But most importantly, believe in yourself. Let love in!
Balance Poses
Balancing is about feeling the earth under you and claiming your spot. We must set an intention and ground ourselves in our beliefs. When balancing on the right side (sun) think about our male relationships, giving more, and being active. Feel yourself placing roots into your mat or floor and extending self deep into your mat. If your balance is off on the left side (moon,) question your female relationships? Or ask, “How can I let go of my pride and receive from others?” Or give yourself a day of rest! That simple!
*Having a dristi (focal point) is one of the keys to balancing. Choose an object that does not move and bring it into your awareness as you balance.
Neck and Shoulder Poses
If your tension resides in the neck and shoulders ask yourself about responsibility. Are you taking on too much work, stress, or unnecessary tasks? Can you relieve the stress by delegating and involving others? Or do you need a change in occupation? Take your time, and breathe into your muscle soreness. Imagine the stress of the shoulders or neck dissipating with every breath.
Leg Poses (Warriors and Lunges)
How can I connect with my time here on Earth? What is my passion? Think about digging into the ground with the feet. Know you are safe and there are no wrong choices in life. We learn from mistakes. Feel your breath and the power of stability through your choices! Hold your ground!
Core Poses (Headstands, Arm Stands, Core Holds)
Flight or fight? What do you do in conflict? Do you stand up for self and fight, or do you run away from conflict? Find your inner strength by connecting to your true power. Do you listen to your gut feeling? Or do you ignore it? The core is about awaking your intuition and standing strong. Too much fire in the belly can create anger and ugly words. How can we pull back harsh words and get our point across without hurting others? Not enough fire in the belly causes us not to speak up and be heard. How do we ignite the energies in the belly to be true to ourselves? How do we open to speak truth, exposing our truth? The core holds the upper body and lower body together. We must build a balanced core to grow!
*An over worked core is about too much ego. How do you step away from an ego filled self to become humble?
30 days to look inward and discover a petal of your ever changing blossom!What a gift!
What questions do you have about your chosen pose for Kick Asana? Post your questions in the comment section below.
Kick Asana! “Making peace with your asana”
Kick Asana month has begun! We are facing the asana (posture) that causes anxiety, frustration, or that cringing sensation. Congratulations to all the yogis that have decided to dig in deep and discover the process of surrendering! Each week there will be time set aside at the end of class to work on your chosen asana (pose). A picture will be taken of you on Week 1 and Week 5 so that at the end of Kick Asana you will be able to see your progress. Pictures will be emailed privately to you via my Flickr account unless you have chosen to share them publicly. Kick Asana celebration will be on Sunday September 18th at Alpha Fitness Chalet. Please RSVP on Facebook or Evite.
No judgments, just pure love towards self and the posture of your choice. The goal is not to “get” or conquer the asana. Rather to question why? Why do I feel this way in this position? How can I let go and surrender to the prana (breath) and life force. Then, we can make peace in the mind, body and soul! 30 days to question, ask, and discover! EXCITING!
Every time I think of Natarajaasana or Lord of the Dance Posture, I cringe. My mind becomes worrisome, and the voice within tells me to skip the posture. “Why put yourself through that?!” it screams. As a youngster, I loved this pose. As a rhythmic gymnast, it was mandatory for every routine. I could catch my ankles and spin as I held this posture with a smile. Now as a Mama, my body and mind has changed. Having two children has caused a shift in my body. Life has changed. Imagining putting my foot over my head and extending, forget-a-bout-it! I rather curl up in bed and dream about this posture. But, I going to breathe deep and surrender to Lord of the Dance. Giving Natarajasana my very best.
Lord of the Dance, will you dance with me for 30 days? I humbly invite you to a Waltz.
What asana (pose) have you chosen and why?
