I am stronger than before but I am less attached to those imperfections that once bothered me incessantly. I can do more, but what I'm doing matters much less than my presence while I'm doing it. I know so many profound truths that I'd been previously unaware of, but I am more interested in sharing them. My perspective has changed, and I never even made the goal to change it. It turns out that I had very little to do with it after all. Namaste bitches, xx.
Showing posts with label yoga everywhere. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yoga everywhere. Show all posts
Jun 6, 2015
Mar 26, 2015
Jan 9, 2015
Jan 7, 2015
12.5.14
the perfect chaturanga
Dec 18, 2014
11.14.14
ubhaya padangusthasana
my audition went awesomely! this month i'll be subbing regularly at soul tree studio in addition to my classes at peak yoga. progress. slowly but surely.
Dec 8, 2014
10.23.14
I haven't been posting the yoga content as I was about a year ago. It's not for lack of yoga that's for sure. I would actually say that my practice now is stronger than ever. I'm teaching 4 scheduled classes a week at a Boulder studio, which was a big goal of mine, and I have an audition later this month at a studio near my home in Lafayette. I'm enrolled in a 500 hour ytt program and I've been loving it. It's sort of the opposite of my 200 hour training in Costa Rica. Rather than an intensive it's spread out over the span of the year. We meet twice a month and then supplement required hours with electives of our choice. We have a lot of homework, alot of reading and projects that keep me pretty busy. With that on top of my personal practice, class creation, and teaching it's pretty much all yoga all the time around here.
I have a feeling that soon my blog may better reflect that. But for now I'm still loving hiking and being outside in Colorado during the best season.
p.s. yes this is the exact location of zephyr's portrait from a few days ago. i went back with the idea for this photo but of course the light was all different. oh well.
I have a feeling that soon my blog may better reflect that. But for now I'm still loving hiking and being outside in Colorado during the best season.
p.s. yes this is the exact location of zephyr's portrait from a few days ago. i went back with the idea for this photo but of course the light was all different. oh well.
Aug 15, 2014
8.1.14
this was the best hike of the summer. we got an early start and the trail to ourselves; woke up wandering through the most amazing display of wildflowers i've ever seen, came across an elk mama, made our way up towards timberline in swirling mists. we were both silent for at least an hour - it really felt like hiking into another world. i'm posting the most pictures so far - there are so many good ones!
What is Wilderness?
The Wilderness Act defines Wilderness as....
What is Wilderness?
The Wilderness Act defines Wilderness as....
Jul 28, 2014
7.15.14
hiking with my dad is never so much hiking as it is tracking; which is why it's hardly surprising that we didn't turn back when signs of bear activity appeared everywhere. we bushwacked our way down the canyon until, of course, we came across a bear.
then we turned back.
then we turned back.
Jul 22, 2014
7.5.14
We didn't really do much on the 4th so to celebrate America's (belated) birthday we headed to the mountains, hiking to Fern Lake and Lake Odessa. It was a really beautiful morning. I'm posting more than just one photo!
"Once there were brook trout in the streams in the mountains. You could see them standing in the amber current where the white edges of their fins wimpled softly in the flow. They smelled of moss in your hand. Polished and muscular and torsional. On their backs were vermiculate patterns that were maps of the world in its becoming. Maps and mazes. Of a thing which could not be put back. Not be made right again. In the deep glens where they lived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery."
~ Cormac McCarthy
"Once there were brook trout in the streams in the mountains. You could see them standing in the amber current where the white edges of their fins wimpled softly in the flow. They smelled of moss in your hand. Polished and muscular and torsional. On their backs were vermiculate patterns that were maps of the world in its becoming. Maps and mazes. Of a thing which could not be put back. Not be made right again. In the deep glens where they lived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery."
~ Cormac McCarthy
Jul 4, 2014
May 14, 2014
5.6.14
Resorative yoga is something everyone can enjoy. Here the students are relaxing in "legs up the wall". Try it!
- Unroll your yoga matt against the wall (or use cushions as the students did here).
- Get your bum as close to the wall as possible and extend your legs.
- Place a bolster under your sacrum, allowing for a slight elevation. It should feel as if your sacrum is lifted and supported - not as if you are sliding off the bolster.
- You may want a blanket or bolster under your neck.
- Extend your arms to the side, or if you are on a cushion, into cactus arms.
- Close your eyes, breathing deeply and focusing only on your breath for 10 minutes.
- Very, very, slowly come out of it by bending your knees, rolling onto your side and pressing yourself up to seated.
- Unroll your yoga matt against the wall (or use cushions as the students did here).
- Get your bum as close to the wall as possible and extend your legs.
- Place a bolster under your sacrum, allowing for a slight elevation. It should feel as if your sacrum is lifted and supported - not as if you are sliding off the bolster.
- You may want a blanket or bolster under your neck.
- Extend your arms to the side, or if you are on a cushion, into cactus arms.
- Close your eyes, breathing deeply and focusing only on your breath for 10 minutes.
- Very, very, slowly come out of it by bending your knees, rolling onto your side and pressing yourself up to seated.
May 13, 2014
4.30.14
morning ritual
today's schedule:
5:30 - yoga and meditation
6:30 - breakfast
7:30 - kayak to isla chora, snorkel, eat pineapples, kayak back
10:00 - thai yoga massage class
12:00 - lunch
1:00 - thai yoga massage class
4:00 - free for the rest of the day
May 10, 2014
4.19.14
garudasana
i'm sort of slacking on the yoga-ness of the blog lately. i am still, in my life, practicing yoga. but we've moved back to the states, i haven't been teaching and i'm feeling uninspirational. i'm learning a lesson lately, having nothing to do with asana and having everything to do with acceptance.i'm learning about accepting life's unexpected trials, accepting another imperfect person's imperfections, accepting my own. i'm learning about not struggling to change what i can't change. i'm learning about allowing. these are hard for me. as a perfectionist and a control-freak i subconsciously (or consciously) feel like my actions can dictate outcomes. but sometimes, especially when it comes to other people and their behaviors, they can't. sometimes it's best to just realize that control is a complete illusion.
it's liberating, also scary, this acceptance trip. it requires courage, trust, love and faith even as it tests those virtues. when you're a fighter and a survivor the instinct to struggle and overcome is as vital as oxygen. but to evolve you have to lay aside these instincts - rooted as they are in fear and restriction - and you have to allow. so that's what i've been working on lately; allowing. accepting. and loving.
but here's a yoga pose anyway, for good measure. namaste bitches, xx.
"To find ease and a feeling of freedom in the pose, it might help to think about the myths behind Garudasana's name. Garuda, though often translated as "eagle," is actually a mythical bird in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. As the vehicle of the god Vishnu, Garuda is said to be the king of birds. In Tibetan traditions, the garudas are considered a magical species; they are often described as "outrageous" because of their extraordinary ability to fly and fly and fly... and never land. They never have to land because they never get tired. And they never get tired because they ride the wind.
In Garudasana your body might feel awkward and constricted, but you can still ride the wind like an eagle. "Riding the wind" means riding the flow or energy of any situation or any challenging pose. Not to be confused with going with the flow or getting bowled over by circumstances, riding the energy of a situation means remaining open to what is occurring and finding a way to become stable, spacious, and steady within that situation, without resistance. When you resist, you're more likely to get tired and give up. In Garudasana, resistance will likely cause you to tense up and lose your balance. But when you stay open to possibilities, even when faced with obstacles, you may find that your energy renews itself endlessly."
-yoga journal
Apr 12, 2014
4.10.14
This pose combines the strength and balance of Natarajasana (or dancers pose) with the invigorating back-bending of mermaid. Needless to say - it's challenging. Don't even try it unless you're warmed up, and/or super bendy. This is one of those poses that really demonstrates how important it is to breathe and focus while remaining both strong and fluid. You will probably fall if you rush it. There's a metaphor in there somewhere....
* Shift your weight into your standing leg (let's say your left).
* Bend your right knee and take hold of your inner ankle with your right hand (palm facing out).
* Keeping your hips square, lift and press your foot up as you shift slightly forward and start bringing a bend into your back, as if you are going into dancer.
* Instead of pressing back with your foot, and reaching with your arm; keep lifting your foot up and work your toe, foot or ankle into the crook of your right elbow.
* Keep lifting, back-bending and balancing as you reach straight up with your left hand.
* Breathe.
* Slowly bend your left elbow and reach back to clasp your right hand.
* Breath deeply, opening your chest, arching your back, squaring your hips, and lifting your right leg.
* To come out slowly release your clasp, then gently release your right foot. Take a few deep breaths standing in mountain pose, then do the other side.
* Once you've done both sides, do a nice, lazy, bent legged forward fold to release the tension in your back.
Namaste bitches, xx.
* Shift your weight into your standing leg (let's say your left).
* Bend your right knee and take hold of your inner ankle with your right hand (palm facing out).
* Keeping your hips square, lift and press your foot up as you shift slightly forward and start bringing a bend into your back, as if you are going into dancer.
* Instead of pressing back with your foot, and reaching with your arm; keep lifting your foot up and work your toe, foot or ankle into the crook of your right elbow.
* Keep lifting, back-bending and balancing as you reach straight up with your left hand.
* Breathe.
* Slowly bend your left elbow and reach back to clasp your right hand.
* Breath deeply, opening your chest, arching your back, squaring your hips, and lifting your right leg.
* To come out slowly release your clasp, then gently release your right foot. Take a few deep breaths standing in mountain pose, then do the other side.
* Once you've done both sides, do a nice, lazy, bent legged forward fold to release the tension in your back.
Namaste bitches, xx.
Mar 31, 2014
3.29.14
dolores river canyon daytoday i went to my happy place; a beautiful dusty canyon near my home which i've yet to see any other person in. it's the kind of place that makes you feel humble, and small, but thankful to be part of such a world. a world where winds now blow through a red rock desert that used to be the bottom of a prehistoric ocean. we found fragments of bones, hundreds of millions of years old; bits of teeth and proof of aquatic life here, in the driest of places. we hiked through stone and sand and sage, following the river and the same trail that carried cowboys and outlaws and ranchers and indians. indians who left record of their comings and goings on stones along the trail, mysterious markings whose meanings are clear and murky at the same time. and now us. adding to the layers of time in this place that keeps records. adding to the wonder, the quiet conversation, adding to the echos, and remnants, and proof of existence that this valley holds in silence. forever. i'm posting more photos today, click below:
Mar 30, 2014
3.28.14
open your shoulders open your practice: it's been a while since i posted a shoulder opener, here is my personal favorite; pashchima namaskarasana, or reverse namaste. this is a fantastic shoulder opener that stretches your wrists, opens your chest, stretches your arms and reverses that nasty hunching shape we all assume over computers or smart phones. learn how to get into the posture here.
(if you want to see all the shoulder opening poses together just click on open your shoulders open your practice, below in my label section.)
(if you want to see all the shoulder opening poses together just click on open your shoulders open your practice, below in my label section.)
Mar 27, 2014
Mar 22, 2014
3.18.14
i don't usually enjoy posting photos of poses i haven't totally mastered. so in the spirit of conquering my ego here is my standing split photo. this pose is super hard. and even with help from the tree my form makes me cringe. let's see though, where i am in a year.
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