जीवन - Jiivana

Jiivana is the sanskrit word for Life or even more Giving Life.  In our western culture I have come across it as being applied to prenatal yoga. But for me I translate it into more. It is my life, the energy around me and  that which fills our cups when we wake up in the morning.  It is the life I try to nurture in my plants and more often than not forget about. It is the past, the present, and the future.


Life is a complicated topic. But remember one thing, life is in all of us. Life will always come in the future and lost in our past.  


Jiivana is within us all and surrounds us. So use it.  Be strong.


जीवन


Lots of love.

Inversions

I have become obsessed with inversions.  At home I am constantly practicing my kick-up and dolphin and any arm/shoulder strengtheners and openers.  I think that to accomplish a handstand and maybe a headstand one day will prove my spine wrong. I can in fact do anything, and unlike the spine surgeon I won't have to wait for my disks to seize to be pain free.

Actually the thought of allowing the disks in my neck to seize is the most unpleasant concept.  The idea of spending the better part of my life not being able to move my upper body defeats everything I love to do.  I have images of me in my 50s walking down the street with my back hunched over a walker and having to tip my entire body to the side so that I can look up and forward. A human version of the leaning tower of pisa.

Although I can never look forward to my disk being completely healed, but if I can keep myself limber and neck juicy and strong then I will happy.  This will mean that pain is infrequent and that I will always be able to do what I love.  Inversions here I come!

This is my latest inversion "coach".  This video is from Yoga Journal's podcast videos by Katherine Budig.  It provides a good warm up with a little shoulder opening and back strengthening and then a great progression of kicks and different inverted stands. ( Headstand I, Tripod Headstand, and Handstand)


Enjoy!

"What Style or Lineage of Yoga do you Practice?"

I practice Hatha yoga, yet I rarely ever go to a "Hatha" class.  Hatha is at the heart of all styles and lineages of yoga.   I am particularly drawn towards Anusara and Vinyasa Flow.  For years past I always practiced Hot and Bikrams classes, but I enjoy enjoy Anusara and Vinyasa so much more these days.  In these classes I always feel I work harder to sweat and I feel more challenged to expand and grow my practice.  In Anusara, I find the spirit and beauty of yoga; Vinyasa, the flow and rhythm built within the sequences that develop and challenge my practice.  Within both, there is a strong emphasis of playfulness and of a heart-centred practice that I constantly find myself yearning for.  I still love the occasional hot class, but mostly for its detoxifying sweat that always feels so refreshing.  I love yoga, so no matter what style I might be practicing, I am happy to be on my mat and practicing Hatha yoga.

**I'm curious why do you practice what you practice?**

"How Long Have You Been Practicing Yoga?"

I will always remember my first class, it was a hot class. I actually had no idea what I was getting into; though I never would have admitted it at the time.  My sister was visiting and she dragged me completely across the city of Toronto just so we could take a hot class at this one studio simply because they had a cheap first visit prices.

Today I will admit that it was at least another year before I would step into a class.  I think it took that long for me to forgot the pain and suffering I felt during that first class.  What I did remember later and what always draws me back to the mat is the peace and meditation that develops in a class, a moving kind of meditation.

Although that first class was well over 7 years ago, those first few years were sporadic and widely spaced but yoga always made its way back into my life.  For the last three years I have developed a consistent practice for myself.  I don't remember exactly where or why that turning point happened, but I think I realized that I had developed this not so secret love affair that needed some consistency, just like any other relationship.

YTT application Questions

I have decided to commit myself to Yoga Teacher Training in the fall and I have 98% (school always make me nervous) decided that I will do this with Langara College. I have chosen Langara for multiple reasons, the three most important to me being the timeframe it provides, that it is a reputable college, and its teaching body seems well rounded and reliable.


To ensure myself a placement in the school I want to complete and submit my application form in the near future despite its due date of August 20th.


So over the next weeks it is my goal to answer the following questions which will then be compiled into an essay for my application.


• How long have you been practicing yoga? 
• What style or lineage of yoga do you practice? 
• Do you have a meditation practice? 
• Why are you interested in teaching yoga? 
• What do you hope to receive from this program? 
• How do you plan to use your teacher training in practice?  


I've decided to publish my answers as a way for me to ensure my answers are honest and not flakey.  Also I find that the blog is actually a great tool for editing.  I have a nasty habit of not thoroughly editing essays for school and when I look back at them I always see flaws.  It's the same with this site, I try to fix most of the mistakes before I allow anyone to read.  But I will always come back hours later and find more edits.  Truth be told I do not have any false ideas of being published beyond this blog.  For that I can never expect my writing to be completely flawless, but I will always strive to try to improve. (and continue to prove my school teachers wrong!)


Fingers crossed that I will manage with success.  And at the end find myself forming a comprehensive essay to submit with my application.


Oh, did I mention the length is only a page... I think my already drafted answer to the first question is already half of a page...ouch.

Dolphin Pose not Dolphin Plank Pose

In my quest to master a "yoga" handstand and in the future headstand I learnt something today about dolphin pose.

For a year now, I have been doing Dolphin Pose completely wrong. This I don't *think* is a fault of my own.  Either that or I really never pay attention to people around me!  When an instructor asks us students to take Dolphin Pose during ground work I, like everyone around me, go into what would be called Dolphin Plank Pose. As far as I can tell is great for our core muscles, and for that, I do love it.

But actual Dolphin pose is set up the same but is more similar to Downward Dog in composition.

1. To start, go into table top pose with your arms directly below your shoulders, one by one bend your elbows keeping your elbows below your shoulder. Do a check by touching your hands to your elbows.

2. Once that is set up, loosely clasp your hands in front of you so to create the peak of a triangle.

This is where it gets different...

3. Without moving your knees, tuck your toes under your feet and slowly raise your hips to the ceiling.

4. Do not allow your head to touch the floor rather allow your spine to remain neutral and as straight as possible (looking somewhere just past your elbows).

5. After you feel as though your back is not rounded and your shoulders are open and on your back, you are ready to further strengthen your arms, shoulders, and core muscles.

6. Without moving your feet or your elbows you can then push forward with your hips and go into a semi-plank position. Due to your feet being so close to your elbows you will not be able to completely straighten your body.

7. When ready push your hips back into dolphin pose, and hold.

Repeat
When you feel tired, do two more ;)

And just wait, one day you too will be able to a headstand!

Outdoor Yoga

There is something that is so inspiring about practicing yoga outdoors. With the beautiful weather we have been having in Vancouver over the last week I have found myself spontaneously doing a few rounds of sun salutations wherever I might be.

This weekend my partner and I were up in Squamish climbing and I was at the base of a crag waiting for him to set the rope up and the sun was shining on me and well, it was perfect. The only thing was that the crag we were at is close to residences so there is a lot of broken glass on the ground. Because of this  I only did one full round before stopping for fear I might cut myself.

Then later that day we were at the beach and yet again, it was perfect. I would like to say one thing though; sand is not the greatest surface to be trying to hold your balance! It brings a whole new meaning to slippery.

Because the sand was so malleable I thought that maybe the sand would be a good medium to attempt a headstand.  This actually was not as great of an idea as I had thought.  Having a spine injury, placing undue pressure onto the disks (specifically my neck) is something I avoid, which means doing headstands is something I shouldn't consider (outside of using a "headstand helper").  I immediately felt the pressure pinching my neck with a little bit of discomfort, but happily three days later I am still pain free!  So hopefully if I take it slowly and continue to build strength I might actually be able to do a headstand again one day!

Then on Sunday I "ran" the Sun Run, a 51, 419 person run!  I don't run, I have never run, I have never enjoyed it, it is just something that my brain does not understand.  So when I managed to complete a 10Km run in 1 hour and 24 minutes, saying I was a little surprised is a bit of an understatement.  I managed to run somewhere around half of the race and speed walked the rest.  Keep in mind though, this is with zero training, outside of yoga.  awesome eh?  I am still paying for it two days later, oh man the pain will not let out, my ankles are the worst.

Surprisingly as my partner, myself and two other friends were walking home Mark remarked that we should stretch!  This is the man that it feels like I have to drag kicking and screaming onto a mat.

Of the three locals, this was my favourite.  the lush green grass, Falls Creek beside us, Science World at the end of the paths and of course the view of the city behind us.  Although my muscles were pretty tired I also felt strong.  I actually got into Crane pose! three times!  The first time I hadn't even realize, it wasn't until one of my friends commented on how cool it was whatever it was I was doing.  so I showed them crow pose and then showed them the difference of two.  I'm waiting until my muscles juice up again before I even attempt crane since I can hardly walk at the moment (so sad!)

 I quickly realized I had two willing participants and mark was getting excited about it too, so we showed them "the backpack" and a shoulder opening partner pose. and then I had them doing the downward dog backbend that I loved so much from the acro yoga workshop along with attempting to fly one of them.

And that was my amazing weekend in a very small nutshell!

Yogis Anonymous

Like Yoga to the People in New York, San Francisco, and Berkley, and Yoga for the People in Vancouver, Yogis Anonymous is Los Angeles' Donation Based Yoga Studio.  I came across Yogis Anonymous from Joni's Blog, The Accidental Yogist who is a fabulous resource for Los Angeles Studios, different great yoga blogs around the world, videos and podcasts, other reading resources, as well as locals for all your yoga shopping needs.

It was her Say Cheese post where she explains her earlier life fear of being on the receiving end of a camera and her recent surprise to find herself being recognized for her blog and for her involvement with Yogis Anonymous and their film initiatives (live casting classes and amongst other spontaneity). I was so impressed by what she wrote about them, I shared the Yogis Anonymous facebook video (you need to have a facebook account to view) on my own profile and joined their fan page.

Now to get to the reason of this post (sorry for the lengthy lead in...)

Over the next week Yogis Anonymous will be hosting four live broadcast classes that you can stream from home. If you can not make them at the time when they are streaming live I believe they are saving and posting them on their events page just as they have done for their previous broadcasts since March. I don't know that they will be available right after the live stream or if they will be added shortly after (a day or two). Either way, having partially watched three of the already available classes, they look like they are all very talented instructors and we all are very fortunate to have this resource being donated to us as yogis. The classes are all mostly full 90 minute classes and be prepared to sweat!

Bring it on!

The Broadcasts are as follows...
You will stream straight from this link http://yogisanonymous.com/live_test_viewer.htm, and at the bottom you will find all past broadcasts.

Sunday May 2 12:00PM with Charlie Samos - All Levels

Monday May 3 9:00AM with Krista Cahill - Levels 2/3

Tuesday May 4 6:30PM with Brock Cahill - Levels 3/4

Sunday May 9 12:00PM with Ally Hamilton & Tracey Bleier - All Levels

Although I'm not certain I am strong enough for the level 2/3 or the 3/4 classes, I plan on trying to keep up. If anything, it will make me stronger! I'll be sure to let you know how it goes...

Have fun everyone!