Well, this is pretty cool...

So excited about this!

www.yogatoday.com

 "Discover a new way to do yoga. Search, stream, and download from our library of over 200 one-hour video classes –in settings that harmonize with the postures and at the level and intensity that’s best for you.

Much more than a convenient practice, Yoga Today is a growing community where you can immerse yourself in a lifestyle of health and wellbeing. Interact with our expert instructors, expand your practice online, and discover the place where yoga lives today and everyday" - Yoga Today

 

Pictured above are Sarah, Neesha, and Adi, the regular Yoga Today instructors. You can find hundreds of videos with these great instructors on Yoga Today! They are truly knowledgeable and seasoned instructors, and I recommend their classes for anyone who can't make it to the studio!

This past August I was presented with the opportunity to travel to Wyoming, and work with the online yoga website Yoga Today.

I've been meaning to blog about it for months... it's almost mid October now. This intense procrastination has mostly been fueled by my inability to find the right words to accurately paint the fantastic people I met and experiences I had that week. There is much to say, but I've decided that I am going to keep it simple and let some of the photos do the talking for me.

In retrospect, part of me wishes that I would have had the time and discipline to journal my experiences as I was living them. On the flip side of that, I feel that sometimes it's better to stay out of your head, away from paper and pens and over contemplation--- c.o.m.p.l.e.t.e.l.y --- and simply be IN those great moments one hundred percent. And that's what I did.

Although I cannot reveal much about the content, and have no clue when the yoga classes will be released, I can say that teaching yoga in front of the camera and out in the wild is one of the most challenging things I've ever done as an instructor. It quite different than teaching in a studio/private setting. When teaching a class in a studio or group setting, there are so many things to balance and juggle. When teaching in front of a camera and in the wild, there are 100,000 more such things! To be frank, returning to the studio, at least that first week, seemed like a piece of cake! This experienced most certainly made me a better instructor ... and humbled me to the core! ha ha

I want to thank Kim, Rich, Sunny, and everyone else who took such great care of me while I was there, and truly made me feel at home. I was not ready to leave Jackson when time time came (which is maybe why I accidentally missed my flight and had to stay another day - ha ha).

Thank you, thank you, thank you a 100,000,000x to the Yoga Today team! (Also, big thank you to my friend Ashley, who connected me to Kim. I am very grateful!) I look forward to the day that I am able to visit again. Enjoy the photos. I guarantee if you have not been there before, they will make you want to visit!

Trying to capture the immense stillness!

That's a lot of love all at once.

Early morning outside the Yoga Today Van. This is my favorite photo.

Sunny putting on sunscreen on of of the yogi-extras! It was hot up in the mountains!

"One need not travel to distant lands, seek exotic mystical experiences, master esoteric mantras and treaties, or cultivate extraordinary states of mind in order to experience a radical change of heart and inner transformation. Spiritually speaking, everything that one wants, aspires to, and needs is ever-present, accessible here and now -- for those with eyes to see. It's the old adage all over again: You don't need to see different things, but rather to see things differently." - Lama Surya Das

Street Class/Art Crawl/Downtown Anaheim Photos

Below I've posted a few photos of The Street Community Class that took place this past Saturday, August 11th, right before the Art Crawl. For more photos visit:

http://www.facebook.com/TheYogaMatAnaheim

It was incredible witnessing all the yogis stay focused and present despite all the LIFE and NOISE unfolding around them. As a teacher, it was truly inspiring to observe.

In fact, while in Savasana, a student got her face kissed by two dogs who were walking by with their oblivious owner.  Although I almost started laughing, Dre, the student, remained in savasana with a beautiful smile. Her eyes never opened and her face never tensed. Talk about embracing the moment and going with the flow! It was a memorable moment, to say the least!

Thank you to everyone who came. It was a lovely way to spend a hot Saturday afternoon. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

I am sick. So what.

Today is the first Sunday morning in quite some while that I am not running out the door to take yoga. Instead, I am wrapped up in my sheets, feverishly drinking hot tea and obsessively researching the chakras and energetic anatomy (ha ha). I have acute viral rhinopharyngitis (or acute coryza) dun dun dun ... aka the common cold. Apparently, my immune system has checked out and gone to Bora Bora, because this is the 2nd time this month that I've been affected.

Common colds take about seven to ten days to resolve but can last up to three weeks, and who has that kind of time? Although I'd like to say that I've found acceptance, truthfully, I'm quite irritated with my body.  I've been doing all the "right" stuff -- hitting the sheets early, drinking vitamins, drinking sufficient amounts of water, practicing tons of yoga-asana and meditation. I even gave up my wine nights this month. I've been more attentive than ever, and yet my body seems to be retaliating more than ever. What is that about? 

Reiki and Energy Healers say that the majority of illnesses are caused by energetic and/or emotional blocks or imbalance. As much as I am trying to be lighthearted with my quest for answers, a part of me is genuinely concerned. Am I ignoring something? And on that note, am I over thinking this common cold? What about my rib popping out in Monday's class and leaving me in terrible pain for an entire week. Is that a part of it?

The fifth chakra, located in the throat, understood to relate to communication and the power of choice, has captured most of my attention. While researching this chakra in one of my favorite books, The Anatomy of the Spirit, I came across something that I had highlighted when first reading the book a few years ago:

"Sometimes the greatest act of love is to withhold judgement of another or of oneself."

I paused there and closed the book. It struck me. As hard as it can be to (genuinely) practice non-judgement towards others, I find that for me, it's 10x harder to (genuinely) practice non-judgement towards myself. Maybe today that is my yoga, that is my work: to stop badgering myself about being under the weather again.

I am sick. So what.

So here's what's on my agenda for today: Netflix and all sorts of yummy hot tea. What triggered this chain of events in my body is still unclear to me, but my body is achy and tired and sending me a message to rest. I am downshifting until I receive a signal that I am ready to pick up the pace. I imagine at some point, knowing myself, I'll get too anxious sitting around so I've prepared and made a little list of poses that I will allow myself to practice:

• Supta Baddha Konasana
• Supported Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge)
• Upavistha Konasana (Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend)
• Vipariti Karani (Legs-up-the-Wall Pose) 
•  Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand).

ART by Woo

While I worked on marketing today, my beautiful friend, Woo, sat across from me and drew me in King Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)

He used a photo I had in my archives. Even after a proper hip, back, and shoulder opening sequence, modeling this pose for more than a minute would have felt like borderline torture. Modeling this pose while working on marketing, proper openings or not, would have been 100% torture. : )

Just wanted to share his art work! Once he gets a website up, I will add that information on here. Thanks Woo.

Feed Your Happiness, Not Your Suffering

In asana, I always emphasized to my students the importance of learning to trust ones intuition; to practice listening to the subtle voice within. Naturally, I too seek guidance from others, but I’ve consistently and firmly believed that all the “right” answers, on and off the mat, already exist within. This idea became my personal truth, the foundation upon which I built my practice.

So, a month ago, when my life turned upside down due to choices I made, based on what I felt was intuition, I was severely devastated.  On a gloomy morning walk along the reservoir, a friend and fellow yogi asked me what hurt the most about the unexpected turn of events.

At the mercy of my emotions, I explained that I was experiencing a huge sense of loss. It wasn’t the loss of money or time--I felt that I parted with a precious friend, a once trusted voice, and all the confidence that went along with her. My once proud roar turned to no more than a distant murmur—I found myself listening passively as everyone else told me how to get back on my path to happiness.

I never found their path. Beneath my feet was pitch black--an old, molting yoga mat that accompanied me since teacher training.

As I stood there, eyes closed, digging my toes into the worn out rubber, I remembered reading somewhere that although winning the lottery usually tipped the emotional scales at first, most people returned to a certain grade of happiness within three months. As I began my sun salutations, I hoped that this freshly resurfaced statistic worked both ways. My emotional scales may have been tipped, but as long as I fed myself the right nutrients, it would be a mere matter of time before they tipped back. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, author, poet and peace activists comments eloquently on this concept:

Nothing can survive without food, not even suffering. No animal or plant can survive without food. In order for our love to survive, we have to feed it. If we don’t feed it, or we feed it the wrong kind of nutrients, our love will die. In a short time, our love can turn into hate. Our suffering, our depression also needs food to survive. If our depression refuses to go away, it’s because we keep feeding it daily.

Asana awakens the witnessing part of the self. Deepening the physical practice has been a hands-on way for me to reawaken my inner knowing. Even when all external things, which can mask themselves as the source of happiness, things like relationships, cars, jobs, fall away, the inner truth remains: life is divinely perfect. Seeking shelter on the soil of my mat enables me to refuel my truth, what is left and still emanating from my center when all else vanished.

I feed myself the right nutrients. Mainly, I incorporate more uplifting poses into my personal practice (headstand, handstand, backbends). Placing the desire to be happy at the center of my asana, allows me to prioritize my intention to consciously grow joy off the mat. In my trials, I forgot what was available to me. Happiness is an innate quality already within, like the capacity to breathe or be compassionate. As I’ve begun to reconnect to my ability to breathe life into joy, effortlessly, the bond between my intuition and my heart is slowly healing and deepening as well. Once again, I am reminded that there is a reason we call it a practice and not graduation. It’s okay to fall, to break, and rise back stronger.

While in the heart of my trials, I took a wonderful road trip with beloved ones that helped me clear my mind and create space. Sharing some photos from that beautiful experience.