Friday's Practice

Baby, It's Cold Outside. As this wind tries to permeate our bodies heat yourself up with the fiery breath of ujjayi pranayama.
As you move your bodies this morning thread each pose together with deep sounded breath. If you breathe ujjayi correctly you can sweat just sitting comfortably! Hear the whisper of the breath as you constrict the back of your throat. Don't forget to keep your mouth closed - keep all that heat inside of you!

Start standing in Tadasana.
3 Sun Salute A's
3 Sun Salute B's
Handstand (at the wall) 10+ breaths
Standing Shoulder Stretch
Vinyasa to Down Dog
Pigeon both sides, vinyasa between to Down Dog
High Plank, Vashistasana Left Side to 3-legged Dog, Right Leg Up
Right Foot Forward Thigh Stretch Left Leg
Runner's Stretch or Hanuman
High Plank, Vashistasana Right Side to 3-legged Dog, Left Leg up
Left foot forward Thigh Stretch Right Leg
Runner's Stretch or Hanuman
Badakonasana/Paschimottasana
Savasana

Promise in progress

My father is a quiet thinker. So much so that my brother, sister and I would always say “he’s in it right now”. He gets this look on his face where he puffs out his cheeks and stares off into another world. It only takes a second to know he’s here but not here. Fortunately or unfortunately, I inherited this trait. As much as I hate to admit it, I spend so much time off in my other world. Though I would like to think I am the only one that knows about my time spent elsewhere, clearly as seen with my father, I am not. That simple realization brought about my promise to talk aloud, to share my thoughts with others. It sounded simple. Just talk more. Oh but it truly frightened me. We all know how difficult it is to break highly developed habits. Deep down I knew that if I could share more of myself, if I could give others my full attention, my relationships would deepen immensely.

Sometimes I wish I could flip a switch and the change would be made. But I also know that wouldn’t be as rewarding. It’s the things in life that take time and honest dedication that bring about the most abundant rewards. I practiced violin for almost 15 years before playing at Carnegie Hall. This promise I have made to myself and really to others is worth all the time in the world. After just one month I see a change. It may be small but it is there. I may be able to count the number of attempts I have made but now there is something to count, something that counts.

If you feel that you have lost motivation, just take a look around. When I woke up this morning my dog Ysabelle, luckily was not sleeping on my head but next to my head, gave me a morning kiss. Then came the smile from my husband. Our mornings are filled with thoughts shared aloud and lots of laughter. We’ve had mornings like this for over five years now but it was just this morning that I realized our mornings together are sacred. I fully participated in each moment and each moment was truly beautiful. There wasn’t anything that was necessarily different about this morning just that I chose to see the beauty that has been right in front of my eyes.

As we reach the end of our 32 day journey together, I am realizing that 32 days is just not enough. However, 32 days is enough to see that promises can be made, promises can be kept and most importantly promises can be positive affirmations of who we are. Now we just need to keep the progression going. I want to, don’t you?

Listening generously

"When you listen generously to people, they can hear the truth in themselves, often for the first time" This was a quote I read this morning and I reflected happily on how much better I have been at slowing down and really listening, truly hearing my son. How much this affirms him as a person, not only telling him what he needs to be doing, but participating in what he wants to do, share and be. There was a time (and sometimes there still is) when I answer the phone, read the mail, try to finish the dishes or whatever else needs to be done rather than fully engaging the people I am with. I am happy that is now the exception and not the rule so much.

I was feeling bad yesterday because I hadn't been participating in the Promiseland as much as I would like but then I read through the posts of this past week, they were so thoughtful, personal they engaged me, I related to each and every one, Mitchel's bad day, Liz's fire, Katie's mantra, Lisa's peace, Nicole's winding and then realized I was participating, I was listening with my heart, I am not only reading or hearing the words that people say, but I am opening myself up to allow their expression, I am sharing in their experiences, I am drawing upon the inspiration of my community (see, my promise is fulfilled ;)). I know that I have learned to listen by sitting quietly, hearing all my thoughts come and go, by taking the time to practice and learning to live in the present moment. That right now is all that matters (and right now, and right now). So, perhaps I am not participating in the promiseland live, I share so much of the feelings, the emotions, the meaning of this experience I am more involved than I really knew. So as the week comes to an end and we move past the physical experience of the promiseland, it will be all the realizations all the lessons, all I've "heard" that will stay with me, it lives in my heart, it is part of my truth.

Love,
Vicky

Winding Down

We've had a long day. Filled up with this and that. Time to unwind and sift through what' s necessary and what's not really serving us right now.

Take a comfortable seat.
Close your eyes.
Soften your face, create a space in between your teeth.
Be in the company of your breath.
Listen to the breath.
hamsa
The breath as it's own natural mantra.
hamsa
Sit for the five minutes listening to ham (inhale) sa (exhale)
I am that.
Listen.
Start to recieve the breath.
Start to experience your stillness.
When you really listen to the breath and you start cultivate awareness and experience stillness, the mind becomes present, relaxed, alive and whole hearted - all at once,
then you will start to recognize your soul, the voice that speaks your deepest and most genuine desires.
Listen to your breath.

Thoughts on Peace

This was contributed by Lisa Boyle:

Thoughts on Peace

Among my first thoughts when I read the word “peace” on the slip of paper which I picked at random out of the basket at the Joint the other week was of a stunning photograph that appeared in the New York Times Magazine (I think) a few years ago. In the photo, a woman sat in the heart of Times Square at rush hour, meditating. Despite everything going on around her, all the traffic, people, lights and noise, she appeared immune to the buzz around her, the epitome of peace. This exquisite example of one able to shut out the world and enter a different one within suggests that peace is a state of mind, like a lovely place to which you can go without moving, that can be accessed anywhere at any time.

A second thought was of a story we used to listen to in the car when my children were younger. The tale, whose specific details I will misremember, told of a poor farmer and his wife who hired a wise old man to help quiet their noisy household of crying children and howling dogs. The family did not have much money, but they were so desperate, they scrounged and collected a small sum to pay the wise man if he was successful in helping them. One by one, the wise man brought the farmer’s animals from the barn into the house, adding to the noise and chaos rather than reducing it. Then, just when the noise became unbearable, he lead the animals back to the barn, again one by one, and gradually returned the house to the state in which he had found it, crying children, howling dogs in tact. Even though there was no difference from where they started, the farmer and his wife thanked the wise man profusely and happily paid him the sum of money. They had unwittingly found peace as they learned to experience the same world differently.

Yoga combines these two pathways to peace. Focusing on the rhythms and sounds of breath immediately transports the mind to a still place. Often before the body moves into the day’s first asana, a brief centering has already quieted the constant hum of thoughts, pleasant (a greeting from a friend, the wag of a tail), mundane (a grocery list, an errand to run), and stressful (a pile of bills to pay, an argument from the night before with a loved one), that can so easily crowd one’s mind. Further rhythms - chants of om or a series of sun salutations - sustain the stillness. Then, the focus and exertion of a strong physical practice fills the heart with desire and the mind with a willingness to experience the extraordinary in movement that is familiar and knowable.

Coming to practice at the Joint is a literal crossing over a threshold of peace (om shanti). But the peace found there is also a learned state of mind, a practiced one, which is available throughout the day, on or off the mat and inside or outside any set of four walls. It is both nourishing and necessary; it can be as simple as recognizing the peace of a beautiful day or as deliberate as invoking a calming mantra when your heart is breaking. This is the peace that yoga brings to me.

Practice for Monday

Practice for Monday

Take a comfortable seat, close your eyes and listen to your breath. Hear the sound of it and recognize the beauty of it. Tune into the sounds around you and allow for all of it but stay tuned in to your breath. Sit for 10 ujjayi breaths. Come to Downward facing dog

R leg lifts swing forward low lunge 5 breaths (option forearms on floor)

switch sides - back to down dog

inhale Plank exhale Chaturanga inhale Cobra 2 breaths

Down dog

step or hop forward Uttanasana

inhale to stand

2 Sun Salutations A ending in forward bend

L leg back High Lunge hold 3 breaths

L arm down R arm up twist - hold for 3 Breaths

fingers to floor or blocks straighten both legs - hold for 3 breaths

Vinyasa ending in forward bend

switch sides R leg back ending in forward bend

feet hip distance Shoulder stretch - 3 breaths

Vinyasa

from down dog R leg Warrior II - 3 breaths

wide stradle w/ shoulder stretch

Release hands walk over to R leg Side Angle pose (forearm to thigh or fingertips to floor)

Step back 3 legged dog R knee to Pigeon

Switch sides

from pigeon on Left step back Down Dog

Inhale to Plank Exhale Chaturangha Hold for 2 Breaths lower to belly

Salabasana 3 breaths

Downdog step or hop forward

Malasana squat 3 Breaths come to sit

Janu sirsasana R leg bent fold in between knees hold for 5 breaths

Switch

Badda Konasana hold for 5 breaths

end with legs up the wall hands at your belly or heart or both - be grateful for your breath and your body, take a breath and be grateful for someone or something in this moment, say thank you out loud - stay in this gracious space for as long as you choose

What A Glorious Day!

I went to bed before eight last night. Yesterday I was off. I was tired, a bit cranky. I had a lot of ups and downs. I felt unwell, an unwell reminscent of when I was ill. This frightened me. At 6pm I wished it were 8pm so bedtime didn't seem so odd. I watched a few comedies and at 7:30pm I prepared for bed. I went to sleep knowing that today would be a better day.
Due to my early bedtime an early rise was inevitable. I awoke about 4:30am. I put my eye pillow over my eyes and breathed deep for 100 breaths. I figured this would either send me off to sleep or better prepare my day. As I lay there I thought about doing an early morning practice in my living room, maybe some candles or a fire burning. When I removed my eye pillow it was still pitch black in the bedroom and I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Alas, my husband began to snore and I thought, practice it is!
I tiptoed around the house, both to give my husband the space to sleep but also to keep the house to myself for as long as I could. I lit some candles and made a fire. What a gift to practice fireside in a dark room. I breathed deep ujjayi breath and sparked my own fire as I listened to the wood crackle. Every so often I took a peak at the fire and was soon captured enough by it's beauty that I would pause my moving practice and simply stare and smile.
After some poses close to the floor I stepped into my first lunge. As I reached my arms overhead, Voila! The sky was lit up pink as the sun began to rise. How luck am I? That is all i could think. Smiling, breathing, taking in the colors of the sky, the sound of the fire, the cool air by my fingers above and the warmth of the fire on my toes below. It surely doesn't get better than this. Simplicity at its fullest.
I talked a lot this week about mindfulness practice. Earlier in the week I read a great quote: "Mindfulness isn't difficult. What's difficult is to remember to be mindful." (I highly suggest reading the article this quote appears in http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-brain-work/200910/the-neuroscience-mindfulness)
The article talks about truly taking everything in, eyes open, senses aware, enjoying it all. I did this as I practiced this morning. I didn't practice the most difficult poses but I practiced with every sense involved. I would break from movement, add a log, watch the colors shift. I thought of my practice as a reflection of this fire, a nice bed of embers maintining my awareness and the layers of breath and movement keeping the flames excited. My heart was excited. My mind calm. My body at ease. I practiced for a while, even as my husband awoke and shared the room with me. I took his presence in as much as the fire, mindfully, aware, with a greater sense of gratitude.
I finally sat to close practice. As I sat in agnistambhasana I realized I was in firelog pose. How appropo. I decided to close with this posture. A fine ending I thought. Next I settled in to a comfortable seat. Eyes open I watched the fire. Suddenly I am warmed from a glow beyond. I look to my left and out the window is the sun rising above the trees, perfectly aligned with the seat I took in front of the fire. It just keeps getting better. Simple. Beautiful. Quiet. The words, "I am at peace," came to mind and I made this my mantra. I repeated it over and over not knowing if I was more warmed by the words or the sun or the fire. I was being cradled by warmth, a deep knowing that everything is ok, that I really am at peace. The sun seemed to bounce with glory and happiness inside of it's glowing rim. I have never seen the sun dance but I am now convinced it does and with great pride.
My husband noticed me staring out the window and came to see the sun. He asked if I was praying to the sun for good health. I just smiled. He gets me. I break from "I am at peace" for one moment and again repeat to myself, How lucky am I? He stays near, suddenly moved to rearange some books on the shelves, clean up the dining room table from the night before. I am not disturbed. I am mindful. I am grateful.
I am entranced by the mantra, the fire, the sun. I could've sat there all day. Instead I say for a few more minutes. With great gratitude I thanked God for this glorious day.
I was reminded of some simple lessons this morning: Carve out a special space to practice. Keep it simple. Smile. Breathe deep. Have Gratitude. Be Mindful. Take It All In.

5 Minute Practice: Breath in the Positive Momentum

This week, one of my mentors at work said to me, “You’ve changed over the last year. I can’t quite pin point what it is, but you seem to be more at ease, more comfortable.” This comment was made in the scope of a larger and unrelated discussion, but it stuck with me. I thought about his observation and considered the root cause of this outward change. At first, I considered that I am a bit older and more settled in my new community and job. But when I really dug into it, I realized that I am more at ease in the world because I understand more about who I really am and what is important to me. Even more, the choices that I am making are more consistent with the kind of life that I want to live. Upon further reflection, I came to the conclusion that yoga, meditation and asana is helping me process of self-discovery.

So instead of an asana today, my suggestion is…

#1 Take 3 minutes to reflect on 2 concrete positive things that you have noticed about yourself since practicing yoga. These 2 things can be physical, mental, spiritual… what ever you notice.
Below are some examples as idea starters:
-“The pain in my shoulder has significantly decreased.”
-“I am stronger”
-“I am more loving towards people that I care about”
-“I have forgiven a loved one”
-“I am less reactive”
-“I am more grateful”
-“I am more self aware”
-"I matter" (borrowed from Liz's class)

#2 For the next 3 minutes, close your eyes and really breath in this positive momentum that you have identified. And just be with this for a few moments. Breath deeply… And observe.

Use the positive momentum as inspiration to keep practicing :)

"Posing" with a Smile :-)

I have noticed lately that when I practice I often wear a frown when I am in hamstring and hip opening poses. Truthfully, these grimaces translate into fewer results for my tight muscles. I am keeping myself from relaxing and releasing; thus receiving less fruits for my effort! So, this week I promised myself that I would recognize this behavior and I would smile more while practicing on my mat. What I noticed was that my more cheerful facial expression (though possibly quite silly looking) translated to the rest of my body! Try it yourself with this Saturday Mini Practice...

Sun Salutation A - x2
Sun Salutation B - x3

Step back to Downward Dog

Low Lunge w/Right leg - hold 3 breaths
Jump Switch legs & hold Low Lunge 3 breaths

Jump switch legs & raise torso for High Lunge - hold 3 breaths
Bend back/Left leg at knee for Crescent Moon - hold 5 breaths

Exhale hands to ground & straighten both legs for Parsvottanasana - hold 5 breaths
Jump Switch legs & raise torso for High Lunge - hold 3 breaths
Bend back/Right leg at knee for Crescent Moon - hold 5 breaths

Exhale hands to ground & straighten both legs for Parsvottanasana - hold 5 breaths
Step Left leg back, Plank Pose

10 slow Push Ups

Push back to Downward Dog

Bring Right leg high and swing it under the body for Runner's Stretch - hold 5 breaths
Step Right leg back to Downward Dog
Repeat on Left side

Step Right leg forward for Warrior III - hold 3 breaths
Release hands to floor for Splits Pose w/Left leg high - hold 3 breaths
Exhale Uttanasana

Vinyasa

Step Left leg forward for Warrior III - hold 3 breaths
Release hands to floor for Splits Pose w/Right leg high - hold 3 breaths
Exhale Uttanasana

Vinyasa

Walk feet to top of mat, lie down for Happy Baby - Hold 5 breaths

Come up to a seated position for Janu Sirsana on both Left & Right sides - hold 5 breaths

Separate both legs for a Seated Wide Leg Straddle resting head on a block

Remain here for Savasana - 5 minutes (with a smile!)

Friday Mini Practice

It’s Friday. It’s a reason to feel joy. Even when I was jobless and school-less, hanging around the house in my pajamas, Friday held some sort of excitement. There is this magic about the end of the week, as if the potential (promise?) of something great happening on Saturday or Sunday is the best part of the weekend. Let’s use the Friday energy for a heat-building burst:

Start in Downward Facing Dog - 5 breaths

Step forward with your right foot to a low lunge – 3 breaths

Step forward with your left foot to meet the right in uttanasana – 3 breaths

Step back with your right foot to a low lunge – 3 breaths

Sun Salutation A x 3

5 Swinging Dogs with right leg forward

From Down Dog, step right foot forward to Warrior 2 – 2 breaths

Vashistasana on the left hand, left foot – 2 breaths

Vinyasa (Plank, Caturanga, Cobra, Downward Facing Dog)

5 Swinging Dogs with left leg forward

From Down Dog, step left foot forward to Warrior 2 -2 breaths

Vashistasana on the right hand, right foot – 2 breaths

Vinyasa

Step forward with the right foot to Parsvakonasana – 3 breaths

Straighten right leg to Trikonasana – 3 breaths

Step forward to Ardha Chandrasana – 3 breaths

Uttanasana

Vinyasa

Repeat on left side

Handstand against the wall (or in the middle of the room!)

Try to hold for at least 3 breaths, repeat as many times as you like!

Child’s Pose for 10 breaths

Namaste

Did you make time today?

Yesterday was a tough day for me. One of those days where life feels sticky, in fact the whole weight of the day seemed to close in on me in ways that no matter how hard I tried to find a little space and peace from it all, the more resistance I came up against. It was a day of impatience, and frustration, of regret, of guilt. It felt consuming and heavy. I took many deep breaths, had some helpful conversations, and ultimately time was what helped my mood shift. It was later in the day, where I allowed myself the freedom to receive some loving advice. I opened up to the words, and tried them on slowly to see if what was said had that special effect I craved -- to sink in and part the ways for a better mood, a lighter place with myself. And sure what was said, I had heard before. It rang something to the tune of taking in the little events of the day. The "put one foot in front of the other" scenario. And for whatever reason, call it timing, call it readiness, it just made sense and felt right for me to soften the weight of my internal blows - to feel the successes of small moments - - not measure my whole existence by the sum of my bad day.

There were those small moments that ultimately added up to a larger picture - a picture that changed perspective from bleak and heavy to softness and love. I believe in those steps - if I can follow just my inhale in that moment, or the exhale. I was successful. Later in class, I talked about paying attention to the task at hand. In the Mormon culture, I learned recently, that this is a huge underlying life philosophy that is practiced. It seems so simple really, "To pay attention to the task at hand." When you drive a car, just drive a car. When you eat a meal just eat the meal. Etc. I take great comfort in that little phrase. That by focusing the lens of my fleeting attention onto the moment I am engaged in, well, then I most likely will be more successful. More attentive. More engaged with my whole heart. I love that word, "wholehearted."

So, today. We forgot to pose the mini -practice. But instead of getting into Down Dog, take time out of your night, to take in a single moment... And maybe, if you get the urge, go and tell the people in your life whom you surround yourself with that you are crazy about them.

The Lotus in Your Closet

Today's practice brings us off the mat...and into our closets! We all know what it is to feel crowded, to surround ourselves with too much stuff, whether the stuff be thoughts, things, obligations, guilt, unfulfilled promises, doubt, etc. - essentially the muck that tends to heavy us down. If you would like to start with a bit of asana today, then roll out your mat and move through a variation of the following:
3 - 5 few sun salutations
Shoulder stretch with hands clasped behind back, folding
A handstand or 5 jumping dogs or hold forearm plank for 10 breaths
and then pick one or two standing poses of your choice and make sure you get them in on both sides (you can move from a wide stance or add a vinyasa in between)
Lower the knees and spend 5 slow ujayi breaths in child's pose.
That's your warm-up.
Time to move to your closet.

No matter how organized and efficient you may be, chances are you are holding on to clothing in your closet that you don't wear and certainly don't need. For us as individuals, the unnecessary stuff we hold onto often dilutes the stuff that holds greater meaning for us. For example, in thought, we often crowd the more meaningful thoughts with distracting chatter. What if we could be more efficient with the way we frame our thinking? Simplify. Clarify. In our closets, maybe we can't see that awesome shirt that could use a night out 'cause there's just too much other stuff crowding it. This is the yoga - to make the choice if what is worth keeping and what we need to put back into the universe and get rid of.

So today, take one or two items from your closet or bureau (start with one or two and maybe you'll surprise yourself with where this goes) and put them in a bag to bring to Goodwill or Salvation Army (there are deposit bins all over Fairfield County). The greater benefit of this practice is that as we simplify for ourselves, our personal unnecessary stuff may be great stuff for someone else. As we transition into chillier nights, there are plenty of people all around us who could use that sweater or shirt that we haven't worn in 3 years. Give them the gift. Dakshana. Follow through with this promise. Place the bag in your car so that you make sure it gets to where it's needed.

A nightcap of sorts

some yummy seated poses to cap off your day.....
remember when you get to the floor: roll your inner thighs in and outer thighs out, and widen the back of your pelvis behind you, to release the groins down and back to keep the pelvis in optimal alignment.

start with 3 sun A moving with the breath, pausing in down dog for 3 breaths.
right leg Parsvottanasana 5 breaths
right leg lo lunge 5 breaths
bend left knee down - straighten right leg runners stretch 5 breaths
bend right knee - left leg thigh stretch - be sure to grab the foot from the inside edge 5 breaths
down dog
left leg Parsvottanasana 5 breaths
left leg lo lunge 5 breaths
bend right knee down - straighten left leg runners stretch 5 breaths
bend left knee - right leg thigh stretch - be sure to grab the foot from the inside edge5 breaths
down dog
float forward plank 5 breaths
bring knees to the floor and top of the head to the floor - (like a lifted child's pose) clasp hands behind your back and stretch away from you 5 breaths
press up and back down dog
walk your feet thru your hands, come to sitting
Janu Sirsasana right leg folding , left leg straight folding in between the legs. 5 breaths
Janu Sirsasana left leg folding , right leg straight folding in between the legs. 5 breaths
Baddha Konasana 5 breaths
Agnistambhasana right leg on top 5 breaths
sticking with the right leg Ardha Matsyendrasana 5 breaths
unravel straighten and shake legs out
Agnistambhasana left leg on top 5 breaths
sticking with the left leg Ardha Matsyendrasana 5 breaths
unravel straighten and shake legs out
Paschimottanasana fold over 2 straight legs 5 breaths
laying down
Ananda Balasana ( happy baby) 5 breaths
Savasana ahhh........

Halloween, Yoga & The Promiseland

An offering from PJ Papale:

I attended a lecture by John Friend (the founder of Anusara Yoga) last Friday night at Tulane University. John spoke about the origins of Halloween and the significance of this time of year as relates to yoga. In times past, 3000 years ago or so, the Celts celebrated a holiday called Samhain (pronounced sow-in). This festival commemorated the “end of summer”, a middle time between the Autumn Equinox (our end of summer around September 20^th) and the Winter Solstice (our beginning of winter around December 20^th) when our days start to become dominated more by darkness and less by daylight.

This is a time of transition, similar to dawn and dusk, similar to the pause between our inhales and our exhales. These times of transition are important in spiritual practices as they are an auspicious (marked by good omens; the promise of success or happiness) time when practitioners can connect more with themselves and with the divine. It is a time to reflect on our lives, on what has transpired, and to set some intentions for the future. The Celts and other cultures also used this time to connect with the spirits and memories of their ancestors, and to avoid harmful spirits. It was a time to honor those who had gone before by visiting their graves and bringing them gifts. It was a hallowed (holy; regarded with great respect) time, thus the night before was the eve of all hallows or Halloween.

John explained that as yogins, this time of year affords us a great opportunity to reflect on our lives and set some good intentions for the coming months. It is a time to connect with those who have gone before us for we are a part of them. It is an auspicious time that affords the chance to connect with our spiritual side and plant the seeds of a promise for the future.

In following this advice, I have been reflecting on my parents these past couple of days. My relationship with my parents both while they were alive and even now that they are not has been a struggle. My usual thoughts were that they did not give me what I needed emotionally or spiritually, and that I suffer because of it. However, after thinking about John’s lecture, it occurred to me that, hey, they are my ancestors, that I am a part of them and they me, and that maybe, just maybe, I can shift my position from a judgmental one to an accepting one. Can I embrace them as my parents with all of their faults, drop my critical thoughts, focus on how they loved me, and become more whole in the process? I think so. And, what promise does that hold for me?

Take Ten. Find Zen.

Today is one of those days where there is just not enough time in the day. I am sitting at my desk with a To Do list that keeps growing and growing. I just cannot seem to cross a single item off the list (the most satisfying part of having a To Do list!!). I am trying to do five things at once and of course that means not one will get done. So it is time to slow down, simplify and start from the top. Sometimes we just need to step away from our stressful state of mind to find neutral so that whatever task or however many tasks are at hand they can be met with clarity. Whether you too are in the office buried under stacks of paper, or anywhere else buried with thoughts and lists, take a few minutes to find your center. Who knows, maybe you will see a different and more focused approach to the day. So here is my suggestion for your mini practice:

Come into downward facing dog and close your eyes.
Take 10 deep breaths here.
Right leg forward, high lunge for 5 breaths. Step back to downward facing dog.
Left leg forward, high lunch for 5 breaths. Step back to downward facing dog.
In hale forward to high plank. Exhale lower down chaturanga dandasana. Inhale to cobra for 5 breaths. Exhale downward facing dog.
Repeat plank, chaturanga & cobra series two more times ending in downward facing dog.
Walk or hop forward uttanasana. Inhale urdhva hastasana. Exhale tadasana.
Take your feet mat distance apart and parallel, clasp your hands behind you for a shoulder stretch.
1 Sun Salutation A ending in downward dog.
Inhale forward to plank. Exhale lower down to your belly. Clasp your hands behind you. Inhale lift your chest forward and up, shalambhasana for five breaths. Exhale back to downward dog.
1 Sun Salutation A ending in downward dog.
Pigeon pose on the right side. Then pigeon thigh stretch. Switch sides.
Camel pose for five breaths.
Downward facing dog with knees bent for 5 breaths. Then legs straight for 5 breaths.
Take a comfortable seat, close your eyes, and take 10 breaths.
Namaste.

Monday, Monday

I only have few minutes to log onto the blog this morning, so here is my Monday Morning Mini offering.

Om 3 times (if you have never om'd on your own give it a try, such a lovely way to feel the vibration and affirm yourself)
3 Surya Namaskar A (Sun Salutation A)
3 Surya Namaskar B (Sun Salutation B)
Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II right toes forward)
Trikonasana (Triangle right toes forward)
Wide straddle (Prasarita Paddotanasana) with a shoulder stretch
Virabhadrasana II Warrior II (Left toes toward back of mat)
Trikonasana - Triangle (left toes toward back of mat)
Prasarita Paddotanasana (wide straddle brings your hands to the floor)
Optional: Tripod headstand
Vinyasa
Bada Konasana
Upavishta Konasana (wide straddle sitting)
Passchimotanasana (seated forward bend)
Seated meditation (*suggestion count 25 breaths inhale and exhale is one breath) * This can take about 5 minutes, so add it in at the end of the day if your out of time.

Daily Mini Practice.

If you heeded Casey's advice and restrained from eating a belly full of candy, then this practice will wind you down from the Trick or Treat madness.

Sit comfortably and go where it's important: To Your Breath
Take a moment to acknowledge that you are breathing and be grateful.
Take a moment to acknowledge that you have taken this time with yourself and check in.
On your next inhale take your breath to the places that might feel stuck, and exhale.
Exhale out. Whatever should not be in.
Come to childs pose - stay for 5 breaths
DownDog - 10 breaths
High Plank on your inhale
Down Dog on your exhale
Inhale raise your right leg, bend your knee and twist open to the right
(be sure to keep your left arm engaged - look underneath your left arm to facilitate this)
Keep your right leg raised, come into 1 legged dog
Exhale, step your right foot forward
Inhale: High Lunge - 5 breaths
Exhale your finger tips to frame your front foot
Inhale - two straight legs - Parsvottonasana
(be sure to move your right hip back and your left hip forward)
4 breaths here.
Exhale Low Lunge - forearms on the inside of your right foot - 3 breaths
Exhale - keep your forearms on the mat, step your right foot back - forearms plank.
3 breaths
On your next exhale: forearm dog - 2 breaths
Inhale forearm plank
Exhale - regular plank .... Vinyasa
Switch Sides- end in Down Dog
On the end of your next exhale step or lightly jump to the top of your mat
Uttanasana - forward standing bend.
Inhale raise belly chest/ Exhale Bow over straight legs
Inhale up/Exhale Bow all the way down.
3 Sun Salutations
Down Dog
Inhale/Exhale step your right foot forward bring your left knee to the ground - Thigh stretch
Release - Runners Stretch
Down Dog 2 breaths
Switch Sides end in Down Dog
Childs Pose
Lay on your back for a supine twist on both sides
Savasana.

The Sattvic Practice on Halloween

So, my two-year old walked into the kitchen at 7:30 am, with a 3 Muskateers in his hand...after rifling through the Halloween candy, he decides this would make an excellent breakfast. As much as I would sometimes agree with him, I can't give my child chocolate for breakfast! Right!? I guess I could, but then I would be breaking my promise of being the best I can be, which includes being the best "Mom" I can be. So, on a day where candy is the center of the universe, you have to ask yourself, "is this the best possible thing I could be giving myself"?...probably not, but I am a firm believer of everything in moderation. Yogis are known for eating a "Sattvic" diet which promotes clarity and calmness of mind and enhances spiritual growth. It is "sweet, fresh, and agreeable" and includes most fruits, nuts, seeds, vegetables, particularly green leafy vegetables, whole grains, honey, pure water and milk (with the reservation that commercially produced milk may not nowadays be so sattvic...). Given the amount of pesticides and chemical fertilizers used on commercial crops, only organic products still qualify as Sattvic, and frozen foods certainly don't. For the most part, I try and eat this way, but we're not all perfect all of the time...:) And, as yogis and yoginis, we still have to find "Santosha"...or contentment. So, today, maybe don't go for the third Reese's Peanut Butter cup, and just have one. You'll feel better tomorrow! However, if you sit patiently waiting for the non-existent Trick-or-Treaters and proceed to eat the entire bowl of candy, here's a heat building practice to burn it all off:

Down Dog - 15 breaths

Plank - hold for 1 minute

Chaturanga - hold for 5 breaths

Cobra - hold for 5 breaths

Down Dog

R High Lunge - hold for 1 minute

R side Parsvottasana...vinyasa

L High Lunge - hold for 1 minute...vinyasa

R Warrior II - hold for 30 sec.

Utthitha Parsvokansasa - hold for 30 sec...vinyasa

Repeat L side

childs pose

Forearm Plank - hold for 1 minute

Childs pose

Down Dog

Plank

Side Plank R&L...vinyasa

Malasana

Nivasana

Ardha Nivasana

Nivasana

A supine twist of your choice

Savasana

Take it off the mat today... Donna Jackson

I got up this morning and was planning on a really hard 'self' practice. But, all those plans came to a halt when my orthopedist said, "Every time you practice deep hip opening on the left side you push your joint to it's limit and your gonna be in pain".. the result of a labral tear in my left hip socket. Then he told me I was just like Alex Rodriguez and that I will need to learn how to practice without injuring myself. In other words a really deep hip opening practice is not in the cards for me unless I wanna be in pain for the next 24 hours. This he said is something I will have to live with. A tear in the labrum is basically untreatable. Not life threatening news. In fact, it's the kind of news that most people would not be that upset about. I, however, am pretty upset. My practice is so much of who I am. I love moving my body and I love practicing really hard. To me 3 hours on a yoga mat, breathing, and sweating and moving my body in a really deep way is just about as beautiful as it gets. So I decided to call some people who I know will make me feel better...

My dad (being the guy who once sold peanuts at Yankee stadium) said, "My daughter is just like A-Rod, I kinda like that". Massimo (being the look at the bright side kind of guy) said, "So you'll be a better handstander". MB (being the healer and fixer kind of guy) suggested taking a strap and some tape and doing all sorts of wrapping me up before practice. I was grateful for all of these conversations because they made me feel loved and supported but I needed to get this from myself. So I decided to take my conversations on this subject to a deeper place inside, off the mat. I shut off my cell phone, and took to the beach for a walking meditation. My kids had playdates and I had enough of a window in my day to make it happen.

Home now I can only say it was a beautiful experience. I took deep breaths. I didn't speak a word. I walked and I repeated the mantra "May I be peaceful, may my spirit be free" to myself a lot. It was a beautiful experience. I feel like I did what I needed to do for myself. Grateful for the water and the sun and the beautiful light and grateful for the opportunity to get to know & understand myself a little bit more.

And so lovely creatures of "The Promiseland", my suggestion for your self practice is just that: A walking meditation. No cell phone, no I-pod. No friends (even if they 'promise" to not speak to you). Make sure you're warm and cozy and just go... go and be quite.. go and breathe... get to know yourself and be grateful..

love, donna

10/29 Practice

Yoga as Communion
Today, if you come to the Joint you will receive another gift. Place this gift at the center of your heart and get cozy.
Sit or Lay. Maybe set an alarm for 5 minutes.
Join the Inhale and Exhale in a seamless wave. Begin each inhale and exhale in your low belly and move the breath in and out of the whole upper body. Ride this wave of breath as you contemplate your gift. Let the image or word permeate each inspiration and give great space on your exhale.
After 5 minutes Journal what may have arose during your contemplation.
Take Down Dog for 5 breaths. Option to kick up to a Handstand for as long as you like.
Take a standing forward bend with a shoulder stretch.
Sit for Janu Sirasana on right and left.
Agni Stambasana and Ardha Matsyendrasana on both sides.
Return to your seated or laying position for a little savasana.
End with a thought of gratitude.

Delicious Hip Opening for a Rainy Evening

Option to ponder as you simmer in some of the longer holds: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that frightens us most." - Marianne Williamson

What can you let go of so that you can more fully embrace your own light and power?

Down Dog
Low Lunge (deeper option: forearms down; come onto the outside edge of your right foot; allow your right knee to fall open to the right)
Vinyasa
Warrior 2 on right; hold for one minute
Plank; hold for one minute
Vinyasa
Warrior 2 on left; hold for one minute
Pigeon Pose; hold both sides for at least two minutes
Seated Wide straddle
Fire Log Pose
Bound Angle
Savasana

To Whom Do You Promise?

The other day Tracy asked me, “When you do something, are you thinking what the other person is going to think of you?” She was specifically asking (in the context of our conversation) if I think what she is going to think of me: will she think I’m sexy, kind, smart, etc? I didn’t think twice before saying, “No.”

Of course there are always parts of us that crave and love the recognition of what we have done (especially if it was for someone else), and there is no doubt that we do the things we do out of our desire to be seen a certain way by loved ones, colleagues, friends, or society. There is something purely gratifying about the external props we get for a job well done. But that is exactly what it becomes, a job when we do things for the praise from others. A job is a transaction, a condition – do this and get that. Fulfill this promise, get a reward: praise, compliment, recognition. “When we live for the fame, we die with the blame,” as my teacher used to say.

When we make our promises to someone (or something) now we are obligated to them, not for our self but for the other. For instance marriage, we make a vow to the other, but really the vow should be to our self. When we make the promise to the other person we feel contracted to fulfill it and when we do, dammit, we want some recognition that we just lived up to our end of the bargain. We stop making the promises to ourselves and are only living other’s promises. We end up needing to be seen, to be praised, to be confirmed by someone other than our self. It becomes an endless cycle of samsara – conditioned experience where everything we are is based on the transaction of life. Life just becomes work.

So when Tracy asked me the question and I answer, “No,” what I said was I do things to make myself the best person, not for the other person. What will make me better will most likely end up being better for the other person or people, animals, universe, but the motivation comes from within. That is I make my promises to myself, and by keeping them I’m truly fulfilled not just gratified by the outcome. It certainly is not easy, but try it. What if the promises you have made so far and the ones you're continuing (and promises can be the same as the actions or choices you make) switches from being for someone, to your self? The odds that you will keep them and grow them and be more fulfilled in the things you are doing will increase greatly, and that will make everyone around you see you more. You will be both confirmed by others, but more importantly you will be affirming your self. Now that is a promise worth keeping!

let it shine

I am sore. Seriously sore. Anyone else? I am also addicted to my practice again. Anyone feeling the same?
As some of you know I was a bit ill for a while and was unable to join in at the joint for some good ol fashion rockin yoga for, well, about a year and half! I became quite accustomed to my restorative practice, it went something like this: take bath, perferably with alex's lavendar salts but epsom salts and bubble bath were in the rotation too; after bath lay with my legs up the wall and wait for my pounding heart to return to normal. If a nap wasn't the next posture then it was pigeon on both sides and a restorative forward bend. Ah....savasana.
I tried a few classes here and there when I thought my body was feeling good. I remember taking one of Tracy's classes on a Saturday and being on the couch for three days straight afterwards! I did some home practices, steering clear of backbends because they felt awful and set my nervous system on fire. I went back to the above sequence more often than not. I finally got some stamina and started to practice a few times a week, on my own, very carefully. How good it felt to move! The stretches were more nerves than muscles for a while but I was breathing and flowing and sitting in child's pose and aching for savasana. I started taking Donna's basics class. SO DIFFICULT!!!! Gosh, we make these beginners hold poses forever! My legs still aren't capable of the long holds!
This summer I began taking an open class a week. My home practice began to move away from the wall and off the floor. My muscles started to strech, my nervous system at bay. Enter The Promise Land (this is sort of like when Metallica's Enter Mr. Sandman plays during the Yankees games, meaning Mariano Rivera, the Closer, is coming in to finish off the opponent): A 32 day challenge to close a very long chapter of my life.
I still take Donna's basics class on Tuesdays, I am addicted. It is both good for my body and my teaching. I take as many open classes as possible when I a not working. I practice everyday in some shape or form. I even ventured out in New Haven and took a class, GASP, at another studio! It was nice to practice so close to home, something a lot of you feel about Saraswati's. I still take baths and put my legs up the wall (a great practice, ill or not). I still sit in pigeon often and love a restorative practice.
I am enlivened by the promise. The studio's promise to encourage all of it's students to move as he or she is meant to that day on his or her mat. The promise of my fellow practitioners to breathe me through a tough practice. The promise of The Joint's teachers to hold my space sacred for me. So I show up as often as possible. I show up at the joint, on my mat and off it, being as present as I can. I feel gratitude for every stretch that opens me and every pose that challenges me. I am thankful every time I step on my mat for the will to place myself in a posture, breathe there and watch myself unfold. I appreciate every moment I need to take rest and for the times when I feel light and strong and take flight. It's amazing how differently I hold my practice in my life now, how perspectives have shifted, wants and needs adapting. I am not sure I really understood those difference when I was younger, more fit, healthier. This month long Promise Land couldn't have come at a better time in my life. I can honestly say I am happy to have been ill. Like sunshine after rain I am ready to shine.

We're 10 days and 2 master classes in, and we want to hear from you.  How has your experience been so far?  Please comment and let us know about your journey throughout the two workshops (the comments floating around the studio about them are nothing but awe inspiring - please share).

We want to hear of the positive encounters you have had with others, and yourself and the challenges you have faced on, and off your mat.

You have heard a lot from the teachers, our thoughts, our challenges - but we need you.  Your journey only adds to ours.

It's easy to comment below - if you have any trouble, please email us right away.

The View from where I stand

So, just like we have been taught in our yoga practice; that the riskiest poses, the ones that take great effort, are also the most healthful for our bodies and ultimately, our spirits, so it is with our promises. A promise, or commitment, if meaty enough, once fulfilled often as the potential for life changing results.

However, what keeps coming back to me about this whole journey of The Promise Land, is the scope of our promises. Just like Sarah, Liz, Vicky and so many of us have said – you gotta keep it simple and you gotta do the work.

Sometimes it feels as if these big, grand sweeping vistas of promises (and intentions) are just that – Grand. They’re too big and esoteric and expansive and seemingly too risky to get to. It doesn’t mean they are not attainable.

You can look out across a field, or a sweeping plain, and be drawn into the expansive, endless horizon and all the possibilities that it presents in your metaphor, or you can take a moment and look down at your feet. You can look down at the ground beneath you and see the phat (I have always wanted to use that word as I expand my American vocabulary) blades of grass & the sea of dandelions and ladybugs (if you’re in Wilton of course) and all the action and activity at work, going on to create the possibilities that exist in that horizon. But they have to exist together.

So many of us spend so much time looking at the ‘big picture’, going for gold – staring at the horizon thinking of all the possibilities. Our ‘promises’, or our intentions, can sometimes be written in that horizon and yet, if we just spent a little moment bringing our attention to the ground beneath us, staying close to what we can touch we will see such great beauty, and intelligence and just as much possibility.

It is in the eyes of your children. It is in the smile of a stranger. It is in the kindness you bestow on someone you didn’t want to. It is in turning off your cell phones and listening to the birds (or ordering your coffee and actually engaging your barista). It is in stopping and asking yourself about your day, not waiting for someone else to ask you. It is in resisting the urge to talk negatively about someone else and focus on something beautiful about ourselves. It is in stopping in front of that homeless person and looking at him/her in the eye, and saying hello. It is actually stopping to take a breath.

I made a promise to get really clear on what I want in life (and in my days) and then ask for it. That is a big promise, and it has all the fixings to be vague and esoteric but I am starting at my feet. I am working every day at bringing my focus, and my attention to the ground beneath me. I will look up at the sweeping views, the horizon – that has its place – it all exists together - but I just start with what I want for Breakfast ;)

I have quickly realized that what I want doesn’t always present itself for me to ask for it, sometimes the work comes in me saying no, and sometimes the work is someone else’s no to me, but I have to trust that both are always my Yes. I am staying within sight of my possibilities, my promise, but my work is on the ground. Beneath my feet. In my heart. And that can be the riskiest pose of all.

I read this in class yesterday and this is one of my favorite excerpts from one of my favorite books: The Last Song of Dusk by Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi

‘In some fundamental way, we are all in total control of our destiny. Because destiny is what we build each day with our correct action. With our work, our Dharma, with the actions that are in complete abeyance to the Law of our Being. Now that’s precisely what makes it so crucial that you should never again see your life in terms of one singular existence, but rather try and imagine as if it were like the water…….see that rain? Well our life is like the water that tumbles from the sky and into the stream….and then some day, the stream arches into the river. Running with a mad fever, this river heads for the ocean. Where it rests and plays. See? But before you know it, that same bead of water will rise up from the ocean’s chest and soar into the great old sky to become the cloud it came from…and so, life starts over & over again. Thunder unfrees the drop, lightening announces its return and the earth sighs at its inception…oh, the old sky we all are, and the ocean we will always be’

Lyn G.

Dot-Dakshana

I was handed my beautiful pink rose today and didn't think much about who I would give it to before I headed into class. I watched a few students give the rose to one of their teachers and it made me think more about who I wanted to give it to. I wanted to truly give it without expectation in the spirit of its meaning, so I mentioned to beth I may give it to this woman at my deli who always seems all wound up and could use some brightness in her day. As I was passing Tracy on the way out of the joint I said I am going to give my rose to a complete stranger, it just kind of came out and I thought what a great idea. I left the rose in the car and when I went out at lunch I thought I better find someone before it no longer looks like a gift. As I was running errands I was in the Stop and Shop parking lot in Westport and there she was, this beautiful old woman working her way slowly to her car, with whispy white hair and gnarled knuckles gently holding the carriage, she had such a grace about her, but I could sense a tinge of sad. I knew in my heart of hearts she was the one. Now I got to my car and resisted at first, feeling a little funny about what I might say, but then remembered the promiseland offers me the opportunity to step outside of my comfort zone. So as I approached her putting groceries in the car, I walked to her side and caught hold of the biggest most beautiful forest green eyes, I felt like she held me for a moment with her gaze quizzical but very trusting as I introduced myself and handed her the flower and said I just thought this might brighten your day a bit. She flashed her gorgeous eyes in a gesture of deep appreciation and perhaps a little shy, in that moment my heart just melted, I could see her as a little girl and knew I had touched her as deeply as this moment touched me. I asked her name and took her hand in mine and she said Dot. I almost laughed on the spot, not only was it the most perfect moment in my day, what a perfect name "Dot-Dakshana".

Thinking it through…

Staring at the Promise board in the lounge a student laughed and said, I’m signed up but I haven’t made a promise yet. She was so convinced that her promise was either going to be false or unattainable or so attainable it wasn’t really a promise. I figured she wasn’t alone.
It is so common in our culture, particularly the lives we lead as busy east-coasting-Fairfield-county-goers, to talk the talk. We are great at making the gratuitous promise. Not to say there isn't "intent" (more on that in a moment) but rather we speak without consideration. If we remember that our thoughts and words carry as much weight as our actions we might actually speak more thoughtfully. You don't run across the street without looking both ways nor should you speak without contemplation. This is a hard lesson for a blunt-talking Italian girl. I think my father put it best most recently, “you need a filter.” So, when considering my promises, my conversations, my words, I try my best to think before I speak, not only about my own words but the reactions the words may have. On another front, as my life coach said, “You need a calendar.” Well, I have a calendar; I just need to use it. Some of the most mundane promises are the ones I have failed at, the “I’ll be there” promises to which I failed to keep because I forgot to write them down or didn’t realize my inability to keep such promises out of sheer over-scheduling. But “I’ll be there” are some heavy words and can mean so much with a little follow through.
Promiseland Checklist
Filter: almost fits, hard to replace the "off the cuff" look I've worn forever.
Calendar: Check, blackberry is a very helpful little tool.
Intentions clear: hmmmm…

I wish the whole Joint could've had read Lyn's hilarious email to her staff regarding the wonderful excuses we hide behind as "yogins": the full moon, mercury in retrograde, and I am adding INTENTION. I am definitely one of those who overuse the powerful word intention. I use it more as a sarcastic point of reference these days than a truthful process of contemplation. I would need to slow down, breathe deep, let my thoughts calm to fully involve myself in my intentions. When I don’t, shit happens, sometimes I break promises, we all do. We easily move on from a broken promise with the simple excuse of “it wasn't my intention.” Then what were we intending? To prove our inconsistency? To make our word worth zilch? To create an expectation that can't be fulfilled?
I don't believe it is the promise that is inherently wrong, I believe promises can be a powerful tool to help realize one's dreams in the most expanded text and be a better friend on the simplest of terms. It is our process that needs some work. We need to slow down. Let the thoughts move from the jumble of run-on sentences to the well punctuated. Once our thoughts are clearer our words can be spoken with authority. We would make promises we want to strive to keep. We, ourselves, might actually believe what we are saying. Our word would mean something. Our friends would trust us. Our dreams would be reality. It may not start with a promise but the journey towards The PromisedLand is full of them. So how do we slow down and punctuate are thoughts? Great question!
We meditate more. Join your fellow Promis-ers this Saturday. Donna’s Asana Sandwich class will guide you through pranayama and meditation, two invaluable tools to help you make, keep and relish in your promises.

Oct 22nd's Daily Practice

Once you get the motivation to practice at home or while traveling, the most challenging thing can be figuring out a sequence that flows nicely and is healthy for you. These daily suggestions are just that, suggestions. Please be playful and listen to your own body and desires. Make sure you are mindful of what feels good for you.

You may already know the sequence for a Sun Salutation A, but here is a recap for you. It is an amazing sequence that you can trust to be healthy and always go back to. Enjoy!!!

Tadasana- Standing at top of mat
Inhale- Urdhva Hastasana (arms extend overhead)
Exhale- Uttanasana (fold forward over acticve legs)
Inhale- Ardha Uttanasana (Lift belly away from thighs)
Exhale- Chaturanga (step or jump as you bend elbows and lower body towards floor)
Inhale- Cobra ( belly backbend)
Exhale- Down Dog (stay for 3-5 breaths)
As you finish your last exhale- walk or hop to top of mat.
Inhale- Ardha Uttanasana
Exhale- Uttanasana
Inhale- Urdhva Hastasana
Exhale- Tadasana

So here is today's "suggestion":

3-5 sun salutations

If time allows: Hold Warrior 2 on each side for 5-10 breaths and then repeat with triangle pose

Child's pose- stay here as long as you want/can with eyes closed and listening to the breath for savasana or lie down.

With love,

Janine

As I was lying in bed the other night still trying to find a promise that felt true to me I couldn't help but laugh when I thought of what promises were like growing up. Do you remember when a promise was a pact sealed as if you would give your life (swear on your life! or better yet how about your mother's?!?) or required you to maim yourself (cross your heart, hope do die, stick a needle in your eye!). How many of us remember making these pacts with childhood friends or siblings? You could feel the depth of these promises deep inside and you knew these words, this pact had real meaning, it always felt a little risky, but yet exciting. Now maybe these seem extreme, but they held real power for me, they held me to a deeper connection, they tested boundaries and offered integrity. In essence, I believe they really helped me to grow. I realized a promise fore me is more about the relationship, binding myself to something and what it creates within me rather than what it is. This first week for me has been about the experiences that we create together, the pact of making a commitment to ourselves with the support of a loving community or friend giving it real substance (fleshing it out, if you will). So after the first week of this collective journey, I have realized it is less about making the promise and more about keeping it. The importance of this pact is having all of you reflect back to me the strength of my desire and sharing in something sacred together. So, I have finally made my promise thanks to all of you. "I promise to draw upon the inspiration of my teachers/students (which can be one in the same), to share in this beautiful collective energy of the promiseland and I promise to hold space for all of you to experience the depths of your promise" Cross my heart!
In love and light,
Vicky

POEMS FROM HOLD ONTO YOUR SEAT

As promised, I mentioned last Saturday that I would post some of the poems and excerpts from my special P-land class. Here are some of the chosen pieces:

David Whyte "A House of my Belonging"
Ok, I have rediscovered the relevance, the sheer potency and beauty of this English poet. Just brilliant stuff on paper- and there are so many that work great for class, as well as evoke a lot of great thought, reflection. I often use his words to jump start me on some concepts, or questions.

Here are the poems I selected among a bountiful collection of great poems:

"All the True Vows"
"The Opening of Eyes"
"It is Not Enough"


Then I read from Dani Shapiro's upcoming memoir, DEVOTION. It will be available in a few months, and the only reason she graced me with a copy is because she happens to be my college writing teacher way back when, and she is a student of the Joint as well as a beloved friend to Mitchel and me. Talk about holding onto your seat... the book is flooded with a sharp, honest, tender relevant spiritual seeking that is so personal to all of us. I could have read the whole book and enraptured you with the truth of her experiences. The experiences and questions we all have as we take our seat in this quest to live a meaningful life, to make sense of our choices, to ask ourselves the question, as Dani writes, "what is to be done?"


If you would like me to write out the section I read about Faith, let me know and I will be happy to oblige.

Happy poetry hunting.

Restorative Night Cap

So, as my jam packed day is winding down, my legs are aching, my back is throbbing and I have a headache...and, I'm ignoring the list of chores that my house appears to have given me. Instead, I'm laying down, hips elevated on a bolster, legs up the wall and voila, I feel better already. So, if this too describes your day, try this pose...you can even throw your legs up your headboard and read your favorite book. You will receive the many benefits of a restorative inversion - reducing swelling in the legs, detoxifying the minerals that build up in your feet, relieving back pain and muscle aches by supplying fresh oxygen, regulating your metabolism, and the list goes on...

And, if you like this pose, stop by for your restorative tune-up tomorrow night at 7:45, following Erin's class, and you'll get to feel this first hand...Night night.

Casey

My love affair

I realized today that I have a secret love affair with Urdhva Dhanurasana (UD). I have to laugh out loud thinking, what if my husband read this blog and thought UD was another man? He would be shocked. But, seriously, I am so in love with the pose. It always makes me feel so good. And, as with any relationship, it requires commitment in order for me to be able to do it, to keep it going.

The build up to it during a class or during my home practice makes me pine for it and want to go back to it over and over again. It's like waiting for that kiss at the end of a date; you spend the evening enjoying and learning about someone and can't help but hope that it ends with something intense, like an amazing kiss(or more????). The time on my mat is the same; a time of enjoyment and self discovery with a UD very often being the climatic point of the practice.

I have probably learned the most about my body from UD than from any other pose. I have learned what areas of my body are strong and what needs more attention and what areas need opening. And this goes beyond just the physical, UD has been there for me through thick and thin and has even brought me to tears on many occasions, opening me up to a deeper part of my soul.

UD keeps me in the moment, knowing that I have to work my body, mind, and heart as a unit in order to truly reap the benefits of it. I wish I could remember this when it comes to my husband sometimes. There have been times that I have actually found myself up far longer than expected or actually moaning from the rush of emotions and physical sensations (ok, another comparison to an intimate relationship!).

There is such an art in forming this pose. Like the stroke of a paint brush, each move works together to create the final picture. It makes me feel beautiful, inside and out.

It is only appropriate to be called wheel not only for it's visual comparison. As we move through our lives we are constantly turning, facing new experiences but our core, the center of the wheel stays put.

I am sure someone else could easily argue another pose as their pose of passion, but for me it is definitely Urdhva dhanurasana! So, my husband is going to have to accept this love affair because I am not willing to end it!

A Promise of Faith & Some Thoughts on Meditation

Sitting in my bed last night reading "Faith", by Sharon Salzberg I came upon her discussion of a promise. She was talking about the night the Buddha became 'enlightened'. According to Sharon, what was significant to this part of the Buddha's story was Moras' (killer of virtue and killer of life) attacking of the Bodhisattva's faith in his own potential. The Bodhisattva asks the earth to bear witness to his right to be sitting there, in essence asking the earth to affirm his 'right to be free'. The Buddha sat all night under the bodhi tree in deep meditation and was enlightened by morning. Sharon remarks about how this is a story of a 'promise'. The Buddha's promise that freeing the mind from habits of fear and anguish is a real and attainable goal. She says this goal is not just for him alone but something we can all attain. After all, didn't the Buddha promise this?

Hmmm.... I thought to myself, not being Buddhist but being a person who spends a lot of time meditating and practicing the art of freeing my mind from habitual thoughts that stem from insecurities and fear, is this goal actually attainable? Is this promise of being free and happy and unencumbered by anguish, a promise that wasn't meant for me? Does it set up an notion that if I can't 'meditate' myself into a state of freeing my mind where I am completely happy, then I've failed? After all, I spend a lot of time meditating. I make great effort to free myself from fearful thoughts. Hell, I've made incredibly courageous life altering decisions after deep meditation and contemplation. Recognizing that I have the ability to make choices that might not be easy (like the Siddhartha sitting under the bodhi tree being attacked by Moras), but that will give my life more meaning if I persevere.

After sitting with this for a while, I realized that maybe its not the promise of something 'attainable' like freedom from suffering that keeps me meditating and practicing yoga but just maybe it is in-fact the promise of a journey that keeps me coming back. The journey into myself and the getting to know and experience myself. Not a promise of 'happiness' but a promise of recognition and a promise of learning and experiencing all of it- the sorrow & the pain, the love & the joy. All of it a choice and none of it an obligation.

Donna Jackson

20. What are the things that would take you out of your comfort zone?

Recently, I was given a questionnaire to fill out and one of the questions was: What are the things that would take you out of your comfort zone? This was a difficult one for me to answer – two reasons. One being, I’m not really sure what would take me (or take to get me) out of my comfort zone, and secondly – more importantly, I knew the person reading it would hold me to it, challenge me in some way I might be uncomfortable with. So, I wrote I’m already living outside of my comfort zone, blah, blah, blah. But, am I? No. Not really.
Yoga on the mat is a metaphor, a practice for how we want live off the mat. So this is how it goes: no, today I won’t go into Laghu Vajrasana, my shoulders aren’t open enough; no, I can’t do a headstand without the wall; no, I don’t have enough power in my back leg for Visvamitrasana, and the list goes on and on – We’ve all been in those situations before, the feeling that we just don’t have it in us, yet. This is not to say never, that we’re not determined to get there eventually. And it’s not about pushing yourself or giving 110% of your effort (B.T.W. which is 10% too much) or to power through it.
Instead, what if it’s about expanding our boundaries a bit, maybe to us giving 90% feels like 100% because we’ve been in it so long that it becomes our comfort zone?
If you can’t grow, expand, test, your boundaries with something or someone you love, where it’s safe to explore, how are you ever going to be able to tap into that inner source for growth, expansion, strength when you’re in a compromised experience, when you need to be able to see all the possibilities?
Yoga is your lab and the joint is your playground, so get playful on your mat, maybe this is the month you come up into handstand at the wall, or in the center of the room. Maybe this is the month you… who knows? The possibilities are all there, inside you, you just have to know they’re there, trust in it.
Also, as my 12 year old told me today, ‘If you work out of your comfort zone so often it eventually becomes your comfort zone.’ Ahh, out of the mouths of babes.

Wednesday's Practice

Ahhhh....just got home from Mitchel's advanced class and I feel great. Very inspired by the level of arm balances that we attempted, some found the Sattva, however, I did not :)..., so here's today's practice if you feel up for the challenge, and you know that you can always modify if you don't :)...enjoy!

Down Dog

R leg lifts, 3 legged Dog

R lunge forward, take your forearms inside your R leg, gaze at your back leg

runner stretch R side

Down Dog...vinyasa

Repeat L side from 3 legged Dog

Down Dog...vinyasa

Plank...hold for 10 breaths...vinyasa

3 Sun Salutaions A (more if you need more heat)

Trikonasa R side

Ardha Chandrasana R side

Standing Split

Step L leg back, lower the back heel, and dip R shoulder under R leg...vinyasa

Repeat L side from Trikonasana...vinyasa

Malasana

Bakasana, tripod headstand, back to Bakasana, jump back chaturanga...vinyasa

Warrior II R side

Uttitha Parsvakonasana, stay there, or move into Vishnamatrasana, into Kondinyasana I, into chaturanga...vinyasa

Repeat L side from Warior II...vinyasa

Malasana

Bakasana, try taking one knee off of each upper arm, dipping it to the center and placing it back, jump to chaturanga...vinyasa

R knee forward Pigeon, add the thigh stretch

Repeat L side

Boda Konasana

Pachimottanasana

Savasana

I couldn't find my "Light on Yoga", so I apologize for any misspellings :) Love to you all!

Casey

Keep it Simple

I was just having a conversation with Lyn about making our promises accountable. For some of us, just deciding what to promise has been difficult. It's easy to stay vague, and want to just be "better" or "more organized" or "more compassionate" but there's no clear way to measure such grand sweeping notions. If you're still vacillating, and feeling maybe a little less inspired than you had hoped for your experience, then make it simple. In class this morning I asked students to pick one thing, just one, to be excited about for their day. It could be the after lunch cappuccino that magically transforms the afternoon, it could be the 5 minutes that you have with your children in their pjs before tucking them in, or maybe it's just the first few words of the next chapter of the book that your savoring, but keep it simple. Pick one thing. See if you can do the same with your promise. Make it simple.

And then check in. Liz often talks about having a check-in buddy, which I love and don't do often enough. If you already have a buddy to check in with, great. Know their promise and ask them a question today that goes beyond, "How's the Promiseland going for you?" Ask them about their promise, specifically. If you don't already have a Promiseland buddy, you'll see plenty of beautiful yogins carrying around a Promiseland journal. That's the signal to jump in - introduce yourself. Make today simple - and maybe you'll find yourself delightfully surprised in its fullness.

Share a Story.............

I am not going to make it to the joint today so I need a little of the joint's love and energy sent my way via this blog! Please share an uplifting experience you had at the joint. It could be a turning point in your practice, a conversation with a teacher or student, making a new friend..... whatever.

Tuesday Practice

Centering/Meditation

If you don't have time or space to do your physical practice, just do the meditation. You can be sitting upright parked in your car, sitting at your desk, standing in the grocery line. I just did this meditation while waiting for my students to come back from gym. Ahh... more centered more what's next!

Begin with your hands on your belly. Direct your breath towards your hands so you can feel your belly fill up into your hands on each inhale. As you move your breath towards your belly, also allow your awareness to shift towards your belly. Notice how whatever thoughts that feel agitating, distracting, or uncomfortable when you think about them in your head, begin to feel more manageable when you move them out of your head into your gut/heart. Notice how by simply breathing deeply into the belly, your feel more settled, more grounded, more balanced to move into each moment.

Practice

Down Dog

Shoulder Stretch while bowing forward; feet as wide as mat

Intense Side Stretch Pose both sides (SYJ: Two Straight Leg Pose)--Parsvottanasana

Handstand

Down Dog

Extended Side Angle Pose on right--Utthita Parsvakonasana

Vinyasa

Extended Side Angle Pose on left

Vinyasa

Boat Pose--Navasana

Vinyasa--stay in cobra 5 breaths; focus on lengthening belly forward on each inhale, curling deeper on each exhale

Thigh Stretch--on belly or from low lunge

Vinyasa

Bow Pose--Dhanurasana

Runner's Stretch both sides

Down Dog

Camel--Ustrasana

Lying on back straight leg stretch--Supta Padangusthasana

Savasana

Love

A Promise to myself: Slow Down :)

Have you ever found yourself so caught up in the internal dialogue in your mind that you realize that you have driven to the grocery store, shopped, checked out and driven home and you don’t even remember how it happened? Have you ever had a phone conversation with someone and not really, I mean really listened? Do you find you’re worrying about how and when and where you need to be and what you should be doing in the future?

Welcome to my internal world :) My mind can take on a life of its own, thinking a million miles a minute about all sorts of ideas, goals, plans, “to-do’s” and where I am headed in life. When my mind runs wild, I often feel signs of tension, stress and anxiety about all the things that I should do or could be doing. And sometimes, I start to take action on these things filling my schedule with stuff… For the most part this behavior has driven me to be, what our society considers, a very pretty productive person. However, what I have realized is that while I am planning for the future, the opportunity to enjoy the little moments in life is passing me by… Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of fun and lots fulfilling moments in life, and I laugh a ton... but I believe I would have even more meaning in my life if I could just slow down a bit.

This week at the studio both Tracy and Mitchel, in different ways, spoke about the notion of slowing down in order to make each moment more sacred. I find such relief in this notion. Fortunately, I can slow down while I am on my mat at the studio. I can breath, like really breath. I can feel how precious each moment is with out the urge to look to the future.

Now how can I take this off my mat? How do I slow down when I leave the studio? How do I bring more meaning to each moment in the real world? My promise to myself is to give it a try. For me, for now, the first step is just bringing a sense of awareness to this tendency so that when I find myself getting “busy” or going too “fast”, I notice it. Once I notice it, I will try not to judge myself for it. Instead, I will take a break and breath for a few moments. I will keep you posted on how it goes.

Any thoughts, ideas or comments are welcome and appreciated!

Hugs-Kt

Practice for Monday

If possible, start your practice today with a 10 minute walk or jog...outside! It's beautiful out so what better way to get into the body, breath, and mind than a little fresh air. If you've never walked around your block just for the sake of walking around your block, then today's your day. Observe your breath while walking or jogging, especially the space between the inhales and exhales.

Once you're home, roll out your mat and take Downdog. Notice your breath now, especially that space between the exhales. Make the inhales and exhales last.

Right foot forward, low lunge.
Left fingertips down, right arm up for a twist. 3 slow breaths
Release right hand down and turn your right foot in, left foot out so they are parallel, folding, prasarita padottanasana, 5 slow breaths.
Turn left foot open, right heel up, low lunge. Raise left arm up for a twist. 3 breaths.
Turn feet parallel, folding, prasarita paddottanasana (option to clasp hands behind back for shoulder stretch). 5 breaths.
Turn right foot forward and step back high plank.
Lower down to belly.
Cobra, five slow breaths.
Down Dog.
Right foot forward, lower back knee. Runner's stretch.
Stretch right knee forward. Bend left knee and grab hold of foot with left hand. Thigh stretch in a lunge (take thigh stretch on belly if the lunge is too much).
Step back to downdog and switch sides.
Right food forward, triangle pose.
Step back to plank and lower to belly.
Cobra, 5 slow breaths.
Downdog.
Step Right foot forward, triangle pose.
Step back to plank and lower to belly, cobra, downdog.
Left foot forward triangle pose.
Step back to plank and lower to belly, cobra.
Lower knees to floor, thighs parallel, virasana (hero's pose).
Supta virasana as option.
Close your eyes, listen to your breath. What about the breath is similar to when walking, jogging? What in breath is different?

Sunday's Practice

First and foremost, how great was yesterday's workshop?!? If you are too sore to make it to the joint today then here is a little practice for you to try at home.


Downward facing dog (5 breaths)
Walk to the top of your mat
Uttanasana (5 breaths)
Inhale rise up to Urdhva hastasana
Release your hands by your sides - Tadasana
1 Sun salutation ending in downward facing dog
Right leg forward - low lunge (option to keep hands framing right foot or both hands inside and lower down to forearms)
Press back three legged dog (right leg lifts)
Right leg forward - Parsvottanasana (two straight legs, both feet point towards top of your mat)
Press back three legged dog (right leg lifts)
Right knee forward - Pigeon Pose
Downward facing dog
Repeat on the left side starting with low lunge
From downward dog inhale forward to high plank
Exhale lower down to your belly
Belly thigh stretch on each side
Cobra (5 breaths)
Roll over onto your back
Bridge pose (5 breaths)
Full body stretch (arms overhead & feet flexed)
Hug your knees into your chest
Roll up to sit
Upavistha konasana (legs open wide, feet flexed, bow down between your legs)
Baddha konasana (soles of feet together, knees out wide)
Lie down in supta baddha konasana or shavasana or stay seated if you have a few minutes for a meditation

Meditation suggestion: As you sit with your breath, think of a moment this weekend where you or someone you witnessed felt complete joy. Feel the warmth this brings to you. Focus on sending this warmth and love to someone in need (yourself or others!).

Enjoy your evening.

Namaste.

correction to the practice -oops

Sorry folks - at the end of the practice - lie down and take SUPTA BADDAKONASANA! not PADAGUSTASANA!

Enjoy...

Saturday Practice - no weight baring

hey all,
It's been a beautiful beginning (so many beginnings are) to our month long Joint adventure here on our way to the Promiseland. So, for today's practice: If you haven't made it to the mat, or your motivation is on the low end, then spend 3 - 5 minutes doing the following:

Start in pigeon pose (a good 5 breaths or so)
switch sides
lie down and do supta padagustasana (lying on back holding back of straight leg)
switch sides
breathe in supta padagustasana (lie on back with knees bent a and souls of feet together)
Stay there at least one full minute. eyes closed.

Om.

Resolution vs. Promise

How are resolutions different from promises? I often make resolutions as a joke, knowing full well they will be long disregarded before I get to the bottom of my champagne. January 2010, this is the year I … (fill in the blank) It seems almost as if it’s a running gag - come the holidays ‘So what’s your resolution this year? I didn’t keep it, I never did it. To be honest with you, it’s almost as if it’s hungover (ha) our heads January 2nd, one more thing to make us feel bad - one more barometer on how we disappoint ourselves and yes, yet another box to check on the never ending ‘to do’ list we create for ourselves. Now, don’t get me wrong, it all starts off with good intentions, great intentions, earnest intentions, in fact. Yet, even the most strong willed of us falters by February 26th.

Resolution defined: firmness of purpose. Firmness of purpose? By that definition alone it almost seems as if we are set up for failure from the start. It seems boundried, and, the boundaries are fixed, meaning there’s nowhere to go. That’s not yoga’s intention, yoga asks you to move within your boundaries, but to know they are not fixed, they are always expanding and always changing, growing, just as you ebb and flow so do the boundaries you define yourself with, maybe this time is a time to challenge those boundaries a bit, maybe it’s a time to explore securely within them. Know that a promise, well that’s something quite different then a resolution indeed. It’s an indication of future excellence, a declaration of something that will be done. It’s hopefulness. So whatever promise it is that you’ve made to yourself this month; realize: A promise is an affirmation. Yoga is an affirmation; yoga’s purpose is to affirm life – your life. Let the promise be the yoga.

Remember though, the funny thing is - is that resolution starts with good intentions, it’s something to be resolved, to transform by any process – to clear away, in essence : to make space – optimal space, and, isn’t that yoga’s goal? So I ask you this - Can you be resolute in your promise? That’s what yoga asks after all………