I’m working with my student — Carolina in this video. She’s trying to stop locking her arms in the Plank Pose and in the Upward Dog.
Sun Salutations.
Kula Yoga crew working on Chatturanga in our Sun Salutation Workshop on the weekend! Check out the beautiful alignment on Amanda Gammisch. Fun day! So great to see you all. Thank you for coming!
The Sun Salutations are a big part of yoga. The Sun is another symbol of our inner Light. We connect the idea of the lightest and brightest thing in our world with the lightest and brightest (and most subtle) aspect of who we are.
Experiencing suffering to grow.
This girl had such a big weekend in my intensive at Kula Yoga this past weekend! Look at your King Pigeon — Samantha! Beautiful. We did so many backbends in my Backbend Workshop on Saturday afternoon. My teacher — Dharma, would be proud of us. Backbends are such great teachers. They are energizing, uplifting, stimulating, and intense — taking us out of our comfort zone and deep into the fire. They teach us about surrendering in the middle of the fire. They teach us about breathing into the discomfort. They teach us to open our heart and to let go of the ego. How quickly can you get past your fear and resistance?
Holding space.
Individual sharing at our Closing Ritual. Holding space. Active listening. Supporting each other. One of the most powerful things that happens in this Teacher Training program is witnessing the students allow others to see who they really are and seeing them getting more comfortable with themselves. Peel off the layers. Drop the mask. Who is in there? Trust. You’re enough. And you’re not too much. You’re perfect exactly the way you are and that’s who we want to get to know. We don’t have another you! Over and over again (in the program) I kept encouraging the students to be authentic. Spirituality is real. It’s grounded in reality. It’s intense, and challenging, and hard work. Walking a spiritual path is not filled with unicorns and rainbows and sunshine. It’s about getting to the truth and in order to do that we’ve got to peel off so many layers. Simple connection. Really listening and paying attention to someone. Seeing them and allowing yourself to be seen. Such deep connection with this group. Such beautiful communication from the heart at our Closing Ritual. Speak your truth, Yogis! Share yourself with the world.
Friends on a similar journey.
Friends on a similar journey. The power of community. We talked over and over during the past month in my Shiva Yoga 200hr Teacher Training program about holding space for each other, supporting each other, being respectful and kind, and creating a sacred space where we all could feel vulnerable and work outside of our comfort zone. This group did such a great job holding space for each other. It was incredible! And we got to go very deep and get a lot accomplished. How quickly can you move past your fear and resistance and go towards the discomfort? I learned a lot from everyone and together we created a space where everyone felt comfortable enough to take a look at the yoga mirror and all the things that were being brought to the surface. It’s not an easy journey. It’s hard to look at the things that you are doing that are holding you back and all the ways you are avoiding things. Proud of these yogis for taking the journey. Digging in and taking a closer look at themselves.
Communication is everything!
Communication is everything! I think you can solve most problems as long as you are willing to stay open and communicate. It’s hard when there’s a challenge between two people. It’s hard when there’s confrontation. Can you stay open and move towards the confrontation with an open heart and an open mind. This is yoga! If you shut down, close off, stop communicating, and run away — you’re not really practicing yoga off your mat.
The lower chakras.
Most of us spend most of our time living in the lower chakras. Energy is constantly flowing down, through us, and out into the world. The first chakra is all about survival, the second chakra is all about pleasure, and the third chakra is all about power. I need to survive, I want to feel good, and I want to be in control. These three chakras are governed by the ego.
Flowing with my students!
I always practice a couple of Sun Salutations with my students every class. I love practicing yoga!
I think it’s helpful to flow a little along with the class, and to demonstrate or mirror some poses for them as well. I am always so inspired when I practice with my teacher — Dharma Mittra, and he demonstrates something, or practices a pose with us. We have to be careful demonstrating too much when we teach, though. Students who are Tamasic often feel defeated when they see the teacher’s demo, and students who are Rajasic often feel competitive and resent having to watch someone else demonstrating the pose.
Let it go!
We have come together from as far away as Dubai, Japan and Brazil, from Los Angeles, the Bay Area, San Diego, Mexico City, and some of our group is from here in Cabo too! It’s been an incredible month. I will miss this wonderful group when our training finishes in a few days. Time is passing so quickly. Breathe into every moment. Enjoy this incredible time as much as you can. Love everyone.
Yoga Terminology
We are deep into our study of yoga philosophy in our Shiva Yoga 200hr Teacher Training program! It’s not easy to make sense of the different systems of philosophy that inform the practice. There’s even a lot of confusion with terminology and even understanding the difference between modern styles of yoga and traditional systems of practice. It helps if we break things down a little. We have ‘modern styles of yoga’ — like Iyengar Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Dharma Yoga...etc. These ‘modern styles of yoga’ are using different ‘traditional systems of yoga practice’ to take you on a journey to the center of your Self. The most common ‘traditional systems of yoga practice’ are: Raja Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga and to a lesser extent — Mantra Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, and Laya Yoga. We also have different yoga and yoga related philosophies — like Classical Yoga, Samkhya, Vedanta, Jainism...etc. These philosophies influence the different ‘traditional systems of yoga practice’ and help to explain what the experience is when you reach the center of your Self. When you divide things up into these three categories, it makes it easier to understand and make sense of things.
Honoring our teachers.
We do a lot of studying in my Shiva Yoga® 200hr Teacher Training program and the students work on a lot of creative projects together. One of the chapters in the training manual is on Lineage and how important it is to honor our teachers in yoga. We owe a big debt of gratitude to our teachers and to their teachers and to the original teachers who were trailblazers.
The Lord of the Fishes.
Hatha Yoga
Hot and sweaty twisting themed Shiva Power® class! We are exploring a lot of cleansing, mudra, bandha, and pranayama this week in my Shiva Yoga 200hr Teacher Training program.
Hatha Yoga uses the physical body and the energetic body to move beyond the mind and ego and experience the Ultimate Reality. Tantra philosophy tells us the Universe is a balance of masculine and feminine. When you find perfect balance in yourself you get to experience the Ultimate Reality! Before you practice mudra, bandha, and pranayama — first use the cleansing practices and asana to purify the physical body. Remove excess mucous (kapha) from the respiratory system, remove excess wind (vata) from the digestive tract, and stoke the digestive fire (pitta) to help remove excess body fat and prevent digestive problems. Awaken the subtle sense perception with Trataka. When the body is ready — use mudra, bandha, and pranayama to bring the masculine and feminine energy together, unite the opposite upward and downward forces, and balance the nervous system.
Who Am I?
Dharma talk before class in our Shiva Yoga 200hr Teacher Training Program — meditation and the technology of concentration, meditation and Samadhi.
Learn to ride your horse to the destination. Yoga answers the question — Who am I? What’s the true nature of the Self? Quiet your mind and in stillness experience the true nature of your Self.
Focus on the positive.
Focus on the positive. What did you do really well? What could you improve upon? Analyze your experience. When you start teaching regularly you won’t get feedback from your students like you do in a Teacher Training program. The students who don’t have a positive experience just won’t come back to your class.
What is yoga practice?
We started our Shiva Yoga 200hr Teacher Training this week at Baja Soul Yoga in Cabo San Lucas! We are off to a great start. This is a really nice group of trainees and future teachers. Here’s some highlights from our first day together. Our first class on Wednesday morning was a big hip opening Shiva Power class. It’s hot here in Cabo and this was a hot and sweaty morning. I had fun practicing with this group and taking them into the fire. Lots of fun variations and peak poses.
Growth comes in waves.
Growth for me has always come in waves. It’s non-linear. We spiral up, always moving forward but sometimes feeling like we are moving backwards, or even standing still. There’s that old saying of — 2 steps forward and 1 step back. I like to think of life as a series of plateau’s, broken up by rapid increases in elevation. I feel like I am in one of these major growth phases right now. A sharp increase in elevation! The next level of evolution on my journey. Rapid expansion! It feels a little like I have been walking along for sometime at the same speed and I feel like I have just stepped on one of those moving walkway’s at the airport. Whoa! Accelerated growth! It’s a little scary. A little exciting. I feel a little vulnerable. This is the place to be. Right here. Right now. What’s next? What’s on the other side? Where will this next phase of growth lead? Not sure. Surrendering into it. Trusting the Universe has a plan. No fear. No resistance. Just breathing and enjoying the ride.
Sometimes we support others.
Sometimes we support others and sometimes they support us! Community is so important. Feeling the love and support from those on a similar path. Connecting with others who share our struggles. Celebrating our triumphs together. One of my favorite things about being a part of a yoga teacher training is the powerful bonds of friendship that form.
Out of your comfort zone.
So much pressure.
There is such pressure on us these days to always be sparkly and bright. Isn’t there? I was feeling that pressure yesterday. I was feeling a little overwhelmed. Lots on my plate right now. Trying to breathe into it. My body was feeling tired and my brain was exhausted from a day of editing one of my training manuals. I didn’t feel like holding space for anyone and I was glad that I didn’t have any classes to teach after teaching one private lesson in the morning. When I get really tired like this my mind goes very negative on me. I battled through a practice last night and that helped a little. I watched some comedy on Netflix and that helped too. I did some reading. I knew I really just needed some alone time and a good night of sleep and I’d feel better today. And I did.
