Joy To The World....

Day 3 started off with the " Peace, Love, Joy, Gratitude" dance again led by Beth. I love this dance! I think I'm gonna have to do it with my Kindergartners in the fall. What a great way for them to start their day. Then we danced out of the room and made our way to our level 4 training which started with another one of those insane 3 hour Masters classes. This one focused on hip-openers which happens to be my strength so I didn't struggle too much with the poses. But I do have to say my inner thighs are burning right now as I type this. Each day our trainer has had a theme for their masters class that also carries on throughout the day. Our theme today was JOY. Hence the title of this post. In fact, we ended the masters class dancing around the room to the song Joy To The World. Not the christmas carol version, but rather the cool one by Three Dog Night. I remember that being my favorite song when I was in like the second grade. And as we danced around we had to hug 5 different people before we could leave the room and go to break. We also did our warm up stretches to Bob Marley's "Don't Worry, Be Happy". So you can see it was a very JOYFUL day.
Today was also a day filled with not only lots of music and singing and dancing, but with a lot of chanting as well. Something I have not had a lot of experience with until this weekend. We chanted our mantra for the day which was "Lokah Samastha Sukino Bhavantu" which means: May this world be filled with a sense of well being and happiness, and may my thoughts, words, and actions contribute to that happening. But my favorite chanting activity we did was one called Kirtan. That is where you chant a mantra like singing a song in rounds while playing a variety of musical instruments. My favorite one was one that included a phrase from each of the major religions of the world. As we sang them at the top of our lungs you couldn't help but feel the barriers that separate these organizations dissolve as we were all interconnected in song. It was so cool. And I also got to play an instrument called a Tibetan Singing Bowl that made the most amazing sound just by running a mallet-like tool around the edge of the bowl.
We also practice more Sanskrit words by playing games and doing partner yoga activities. But my favorite Sanskrit activity was when we got to do what our trainer Kristen called YogaFit line-dancing. Of course being one of those people who was borderline obsessed with Country Music line-dancing back in the early 90's I was totally into this. We did a fun version of the Electric Slide that included a yoga pose for 4 beats of the music. Great way to practice the language and the movement at the same time.
We ended the day with another session on the philosophy of yoga that included a very interesting discussion about the word and symbol OM. Here's the deal. It is the sound of the universe, and it represents our oneness with everything in the universe. It carries the 3 energies needed to have a full life. The first energy being that first breath you take when you are born, the third one being the last breath you take when you die, and the second one being all of the breaths that make up your life inbetween. That is why it is the most sacred of all the mantras and so important in the yoga philosophy.
We also learned about the deity known as Ganesha. That is the elephant-headed statue that is so often portrayed in pictures pertaining to yoga. He is usually sitting surrounded by lots of mice and eating dessert. This deity is symbolic of the idea that you can live among the peasants of the world (the mice) and still live a life full of joy (I guess that's what the eating desserts part symbolizes).
As I drove away from the resort this evening I couldn't help but realize how all of the organized religions of the world seemed to all be saying the same thing. And how they all seem to have similar stories and symbols to represent the same concepts. And it just goes to show you that we truly are more alike than we are different.

Feel The Strength of The Mountain and The Heat of The Desert

Day 2 started with a warm up class with Beth Shaw, founder of YogaFit. I've been looking forward to this conference for many reasons. One of them being to finally take a class from Beth. She started her business in the mid 90's peddling it out of the trunk of her car, and is now the head of the largest yoga training method in the world. Pretty amazing. She was a marketing major in college and it shows. Class with her this morning was beyond inspirational. She oozes peace, love, and joy from her very being. She just got back from India and shared with us some fun techniques. My favorite one being her flying bird flow that ended with you giving yourself a hug.
After an hour with Beth it was time to begin the second day of level 4. We started off with another Masters class that lasted for 3 hours. Yes I did say THREE HOURS! This was probably the most challenging yoga I have ever done, yet it somehow was the most enjoyable as well. Our trainer, Brett, has an amazing style with just the right balance of intensity and relaxation that makes a really great yoga instructor. He had us doing such complicated acrobatic combinations as Down Dog to Wheel and a walking Scorpion down the wall. Intense, I'm telling you. If I get a chance to practice these insane postures I might even be brave enough to post pictures by the end of the weekend.
After lunch we spent most of the afternoon talking about the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras. Neither of which I have even begun to wrap my mind around so I won't even try to explain them yet. But I will say this, I think the Gita is becoming one of my favorite pieces of literature. The interpretation we were required to read for this training included several stories about the many lessons to be taken from the Gita. Our homework assignment last night was to read 3 of these stories and then discuss them in small groups today. I know, it sounds kind of boring. But get this, after we discussed them we got to act out one of our favorite stories. So of course my group decided to act out the one called "The drunken Boatmen." The moral of the story is that you can practice something all you want, but until you practice detachment you will never get anywhere. And I got to play the wiseguy bathing in the River Ganges who points this out to the intoxicated boatmen. This was definitely the highlight of a very long and tiring day. As far as the Yoga Sutras go, I will need to spend A LOT more time reading and re-reading it to be able to explain it to anyone. But this much I know so far: Sutra 1 shows us that yoga is about being present, and Sutra 2 shows us that yoga is about clearing the mind. Both are really important things that we all need to bring into our daily lives.

Seeking Your Own Truth....

That's what became the mantra for Day 1 of my level 4 training at the Mind & Body Conference here in Palm Springs. "Seeking your own truth." Could possibly be the mantra for my life right now I suppose.
But let me start at the beginning, which began at 4 am this morning when my alarm went off signaling me that it was time to head off to my first YogaFit conference. I made the drive in under 2 hours and was blessed to watch the sunrise over the mountains of Southern California. When I arrived in the desert the temperature was already 94 degrees, an indication of what was to come later in the day.
Because this training is at the conference the location is not at a gym or a yoga studio, but rather at a resort in the older part of town. As I walked through the resort I was amused at the stark difference in the decor. The interior appeared to have been decorated by Liberace and looked like what I could only imagine hell would look like if it were an old-fashioned resort. Lots of red and black furnishings straight out of a movie from the 50's. The landscape outside looked more like what heaven would look like in a Hollywood movie, with lots of peaceful gardens to meander through if you like the heat.
Because I was not staying at this resort and because I did not want my laptop nor my perishable produce to be ruined in the heat of my car all day, I schlupted my way through the entire resort with my computer and a small ice chest along with my regular training supplies: yoga mat, bagful of books, pillow, blanket, and anything else I felt I couldn't live without for the next 8 hours. Unfortunately I forgot to grab the new bottle of red wine that I had picked up to enjoy later on that evening. And when I went out to my car at the lunch break I was horrified to find that the heat of the desert had uncorked my wine. Looks like I will need to attend more remedial wine-care classes with a private tutor perhaps.
After checking in and shopping in the boutique we were ushered into a room to meet all of the trainers and hear opening remarks from Beth Shaw herself. After her inspirational words we did the "Peace, Love, Joy, Gratitude" dance and then headed off to begin our 4 day training of level 4.
Our Masters class began with chanting and then warm-up stretches done to a tune called "Do you ever find yourself walking down the street with a big smile on your face?" Again, could possibly be the soundtrack to my life right now. I can tell this training is going to be right up my alley. The warm-up was followed by a series of Sun Salutations done without any verbal cueing which was a nice change of pace from the previous trainings I have been to these past few months.
After getting my butt kicked in this challenging class we settled into some pretty heavy-duty learning.
First we learned about the Sanskrit language, which is the language of yoga. Something cool about it is, it's what is known as a vibrational language. Meaning that the sounds are based on vibrations that are meant to bring out the energy within us in qualities such as being flexible and easy going or very strongly grounded. So that also means that some of the words do not have a direct translation. We practiced the vowel and consonant sounds first and then quickly moved into more complicated words such as: adho and supta, which mean downward and supine. Then we ended this session practicing phrases such as:
Adho Mukha Svanasana which means Downward Facing Dog, one of my favorite poses.
Another cool thing I learned was that about 5000 years ago the Earth made a slight tilt on it's axis that caused the gravitational pull to change. This made the ancient yogis feel the need to add movement into their personal meditation practice to help them become more balanced. So they looked to animals and how they moved to create the poses. And that's why we have poses such as Downward Facing Dog that look just like what a dog does every morning when he wakes up. When we do this we are simply connecting to the energy of the animals. Cool huh?
After lunch we continued with our study of the philosophy of yoga with a very lengthy yet interesting discussion about Koshas which are 5 different layers of your body that include your physical body, your vital energy body, your mental or emotional body, your intellectual/intuitive body, and your bliss body. It was interesting to talk about how our behavior can come from us acting from any one of these bodies. Made me think: what Kosha am I acting from?
We finished the day with an introduction to the Bhagavad Gita that included a homework assignment that is calling my name even as I type this post.
But before I get going on my homework assignment, I just want to finish up with one of the many great quotes I heard today:
Life should not be the pursuit of happiness, but rather the experience of happiness.
I was told that level 4 would be life changing. I think I can feel that already.

Do you feel something pulling or is it just me?

I already know the answer to that question. It is just me. And it's a really strong pull. After playing yoga games all day in Sacramento at the Healthy Habits studio I felt like my entire being was being pulled farther and farther away from the bureaucracy of my public education life. And I know yoga isn't the only thing pulling it.
Since I always talk about where my trainings are held let me talk about Healthy Habits first. It was an old Victorian house that had been converted into one of my many dreams. I say many because I have quite a few. There's the horse ranch complete with the hunky cowboy wearing wranglers and boots, there's the funky little bakery attached to a funky little used bookstore with a sign hanging on the door that says: "gone hiking.....please put your money in the coffee can next to the plate of chocolate chip cookies", and there's the driving around the country side in an RV camping in every state along the way. And then of course there's the yoga studio. This one had it all. Two studios downstairs along with a Zen Den, which I'm guessing was used as a meditation room. The upstairs had at least 4 massage rooms that I think were rented out by the month to local massage therapists. Another profession I thought about pursuing. Out of all of the trainings so far, this location is definitely my personal favorite for many reasons besides just this cute victorian.
Rose, the owner of Healthy Habits, was our trainer for the YogaFit Kids class. She had just the right balance of bubbliness and that calming persona so prevalent with yogis. We pretended to be six-year-olds and played games such as "bowling for butterflies". I was totally in my element and finally had the opportunity to share my own personal experiences with teaching yoga to my own students. By the end of the first day my desire to bring yoga to children and perhaps others was firmly cemented into my soul.
And then came the Anatomy Class. Two very long days of too much sitting and listening and not enough doing. Our trainer's name was Theresa and she really knew her stuff. By lunchtime on the first day my brain was on complete overload and I felt like it was going to implode at any given moment. I found myself playing with my iphone and wishing I could be somewhere else. Fortunately we got to finally move on the second day. We did an hour-long class where all of her verbal cues included words such as lateral flexion and for the first time in two days it started to make sense. Now that that class is behind me I can plow through the 3 manuals and absorb the information at my own pace. Hopefully most of it will sink in before I attend Level 4 on the conference in Palm Springs. But for now I will continue to take it slow and steady and enjoy my glorious summer vacation from public education.

What's Next?

No that is not a picture of me after 2 glasses of wine, although I have probably been known to resemble that posture on more than one occasion. It is actually a preview of what is in store for me next with my Yoga Fit journey. After my last day of fourth grade I will be making the all too familiar trek up to Northern California. But this time it won't be to see family. I have a 3 day yoga marathon planned that includes a day of Yoga Fit for Kids and then two days of Anatomy and Alignment. Sounds like the opposite ends of the spectrum of my knowledge of yoga so far. I've been doing it with my Kindergartners for several years so the kids class should be a no brainer. It's the anatomy one that has me mildly concerned. Especially since I haven't finished reading the textbook yet. I'll just try to fit that in between the other 3 books I am currently not finishing. So this picture is from that unread textbook that includes sentences such as:
"Contracting the anterior fibers of the gluteus medius internally rotates the hips and releases stress at the sacroiliac joint created by contracting the gluteus maximus." That's the description they gave for the picture above. Hmmm, I think I might need to study a bit more.

Because I have one of those brains that constantly requires mental stimulation I have to admit that I am excited about the anatomy class. After enduring levels 1, 2, and 3 completely in the dark about muscles and bones and how and why they move the way they do I am eager to see if this class will help put all of the pieces together for me. Of course my trip up north is exciting in more ways than just my love of yoga but I will stick to that passion in this blog for now.

Then in July I will be heading to Palm Springs for the big Yoga Fit Conference. It's a 4-day training that includes only level 4, so I'm thinking it's going to be pretty intense. But more about that in July.

Super Foods and Whatever Else I Like.....

Okay, I'll admit that I got a bit sassy on that last post when I talked about eating muffins. It's just that I find it interesting that it's okay to comment on how a person looks when she is thin. I can't tell you how many times I've been called "skinny bitch". If I ever said something so rude to someone who is battling their weight it would be considered, well, rude. And I find it really annoying when someone calls me that while eating their second bearclaw for breakfast. Okay, done venting. So here's some more useless advice for those of you who have asked.
I said in that last post that what you look like is directly related to what you eat and how you move. So I'm going to reveal to you my secret weapon when it comes to food. Get over it! The purpose of eating is not to feel better. The purpose of eating is to give your body the nutrients that it needs to survive. And when you view food from that perspective you let go of your need to medicate yourself with it. We all have "holes in our soul" and everyone finds their own way to fill them. Some use drugs or alcohol, or shopping, or sex. And many people use food. Either in abundance or, in my case, the lack of. That's right. I have struggled with an eating disorder for most of my adult life. I won't go into the details of it here because that could go on for days. But I will say that I have had a very unhealthy relationship with food for a really long time.
One of the games you play when you struggle with an eating disorder is the "good food/bad food" list. And everything you eat fits neatly into one of these categories. You'd be surprised what makes it on the good food list. With the help of a very good therapist I learned how to manage this game by replacing my "good food" list with what you probably know as super foods. And if you don't know what super foods are, you should, so google it.
So here is what now makes the "good food" list for me on a regular basis:
Oatmeal with fresh blueberries, an orange, a boiled egg, and a cup of green tea. That's my breakfast pretty much everyday Monday through Friday. On the weekends I eat whatever happens to come along.
Lunch is where I pack in most of my nutrients. I usually have a really big salad of fresh spinach, with whatever fresh veggies I have picked up at the farmer's market that weekend. So lots of broccoli, carrots, big fat juicy tomatoes, red and orange bell peppers, or any other brightly colored veggies that happen to catch my eye. This salad usually has at least 3 or 4 different kinds of vegetables in it. I always throw in some form of protein such as salmon or tuna, or sometimes black or kidney beans. Then I have some type of fruit with my salad. Usually apples that I buy from the cutest little Japanese lady, but sometimes some type of melon or berry depending on what's in season.
Then for dinner I usually have my lightest meal. Maybe a bowlful of steamed veggies from the market with or without some form of protein like chicken or fish.
And then sometime throughout the day I snack on something like yogurt or cottage cheese.
You will notice that I do not mention any bread. That's on the "bad food" list. See, I still play the game. Actually I love bread. That's the problem. Too much of anything that refined is not a good thing for me. So I always try to keep it real when it comes to food. By that I mean eat real food. You know, the way it comes from nature. The more it's processed the less nutritional value it has for you. And remember, getting nutrients is what eating is all about.
It's not that I don't think eating should be a form of pleasure, it's just that that shouldn't be the primary reason for doing it. And besides cooking and sharing a meal with someone has a lot more to do with who that someone is than what it is that you're eating, right?
A few other words of advice when it comes to food:
It's more about what you eat on a regular basis that counts. So an occasional brownie isn't going to kill you.
Go for fresh, colorful foods that don't come in a box or a can.
Front-load your meals. That means eat most of your food before 3 in the afternoon.
Reduce that amount of "white food" you eat. Stuff like white flour, white rice, and white potatoes. That's how you get that muffin top.
Throw out that scale in your bathroom. It doesn't matter what the number on it says. What really matters is how you feel.
And lastly, always remember beautiful people come in all shapes and sizes. And it's not who you are on the outside that counts, but who you are on the inside that's going to make a difference in this world.

Muffin Tops and Bat Wings?

I was standing in line at the grocery store catching up on all of the negative publicity that the headlines at the counter had to offer when a women's health magazine caught my eye. On the cover were blurbs of what I am assuming were meant to be helpful articles for women in regards to developing or maintaining a healthy lifestyle. But I couldn't help notice that all of the headlines were about the way a woman should want to look. Titles such as: "Get Bikini Ready in 10 Days" were splashed all over the cover. And then down at the bottom in very small print was something about "The 5 Foods You Should Eat To Avoid Cancer". Seems to me that article might be more important for maintaining a healthy body than any of those bikini articles. Mind you this magazine was called Women's Health not Women's Shape. I though it was interesting that most of what is being marketed to women in regards to our health still has to do with how we look. Ladies, have we learned nothing?
Then I was flipping through a magazine that my friend loaned me that had an article about yoga and how it can help women banish their "problem parts" such as our muffin tops and our batwings. Seriously? If you don't want your waistline to resemble a muffin top then don't eat muffins. It's not rocket science.
Anyway, that's what lead to this next series of posts. People are always asking me what I do to stay so thin so I thought I would just share my secret here with you once and for all. It's really quite simple: It's all about what you eat and how you move. Below this post you will see two series of photos (thank you to my personal photographer Jay) of a basic series of yoga poses that I do everyday. Yes, everyday. It only takes a few minutes. When my alarm goes off in the morning I head downstairs, fill up the tea pot, and while it's brewing I roll out my mat and run through these poses. You've gotta wait for the water to boil anyway right? So you might as well be doing something productive while you're waiting. Remember my post about Chakras? Well guess what, doing these two series of poses helps to maintain balance in almost all of the chakras. Cool huh?
You will notice that I split the photos into two series. One is called Sun Salutations and the other is simply a series of standing poses that I put together to do in addition to or in the middle of a sun salutation. You will notice as you watch the Sun Salutations series that I step back with my right foot, and then step forward with my right foot. That means this set of poses is only one half of a sun salutation. You have to do all of the poses again stepping back with your left foot to complete one round of sun salutations. As your watching the slideshow of pictures wait for the one where I am standing straight with my arms down to my sides. That's the beginning of the series. So while I am waiting for my tea water to boil I do at least 5 complete rounds of them. In fact, I know just where to fill up the water in my tea pot so that it will start to whistle just as I finishing up my left side of my 5th one.
So tomorrow morning start your morning brew and then roll out your mat and start working on getting rid of your muffin top. Who knows you just might do something that goes way beyond what your waistline looks like as well.