Grateful

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope everyone is having a wonderful long weekend.

This has been a great week of yoga for me.  I've attended three classes at my studio including today's 2 hour Detox Flow.  Amazing!  I really feel I've turned the corner in terms of my attitude towards this process.  I now look for opportunities every day to either read The Bhagavad Gita, Light on Yoga or work on one of my homework assignments.  I think my days of avoidance are over.  And for this I'm truly grateful.

What are you grateful for this holiday season?

Peace~

Upside Down!

Holy Cow!  That's all I can say.  This past weekend was another teacher training weekend and the focus was on inversions.  Three straight days of going upside down.  I don't have a regular inversion practice so this was a huge challenge for me.  And yes the reason I don't have a regular practice is because of fear.  Well I addressed that fear head-on this weekend and as a result I was able to get up in FOUR different poses:  headstand, handstand, forearm stand and shoulderstand.  This was a personal best for me and I hope a turning point in my practice.  I learned the component parts of these poses and now have a good idea how to prepare my body to go upside down.  And I can't wait to start practicing on my own!!!

Namaste'

Bhakti Yoga

Bhakti Yoga can be defined as the path of pure spiritual devotion to the Divine.

I just finished an article in Yoga International about Bhakti Yoga and I think I had a revelation.  And it came at all places while I was on the treadmill at the gym.  But I guess that doesn't really matter; what matters is that I think I see a way through my mind-stuff.  Since I started this teacher training I have been focusing on the "I" or "Me" aspect of this experience.  What can "I" get out of it or what's in it for "Me".  I realize now, after reading this article, that it's not about me at all.  It's about dedicating this experience to something greater than myself and using the knowledge I gain to help others.  WOW!

So going forward I'm changing my approach.  When I step on the mat I will now dedicate my time and efforts to the greater good and send that energy out to the Divine.

To quote the article by Irene (Aradhana) Petryszak, "....it's having the courage to face ourselves at the deepest levels of our being, and offer everything we are to the Divine, both the good and the bad, without holding anything back."

Namaste'

Sutra 1.30

Greetings -

I finished reading my Sutra assignment this afternoon and came across one that really resonated with me:  Sutra 1.30.  From the translation by Sri Swami Satchidananda the sutra is: Disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, sensuality, false perception, failure to reach firm ground and the slipping from the ground gained - these distractions of the mind-stuff are the obstacles.  Could there have been anything better for me to read during my time of struggle?  I don't think so.  Gurudev finishes his translation of this sutra by stating:  Remember, Yoga practice is like an obstacle race; many obstructions are purposely put on the way for us to pass through.  They are there to make us understand and express our own capacities.  We all have that strength, but we don't seem to know it.

Do you have a favorite sutra?

Namaste'

Fear

I'm still struggling somewhat with a motivation issue.  I'm wondering if I'm not harboring some unspoken fear of this whole process.  Fear that I've made a mistake in spending this time and money on what some might consider a strange passion.  Fear that I won't be able to do the poses in the next training (inversions).  Fear that I won't pass the quiz (she does word things strangely!).  Fear that I will choke when it comes time to do a teaching sequence in front of the class?  Obviously I still have some work to do on my mind-stuff!

What do you fear?

Peace!

Passion

My passion for yoga has been reignited!!  And none too soon since my November teacher training weekend is right around the corner.  I took a Flow class this morning and was back to the studio this afternoon to attend the study group session from 3-5.  My in-between time was spent reading the Sutras.  I am feeling good about my practice and where I am in the training.

The goal for the week:  two classes tomorrow night (Core Flow followed by Yin) and an Iyengar 2 on Wednesday.  Not sure about Friday, but definitely classes on the weekend.  

Though I'm feeling better about the training I still have not been bitten by the "teaching" bug.  I am not putting pressure on myself.  That may not come.  I'm just along for the ride.

Namaste'

Study Group

My positive intention for the week has already paid off and it's only Tuesday.  How's that for the power of positive thinking?!  Michael (a participant in my teacher training) sent out a wonderful email to the group suggesting we get together and work on some of the homework/sequences assigned by our teacher.  Thank you Michael!  This came just when I needed the support and the push to get past my yoga slump.  So this coming Sunday a few of us will be meeting at the studio and I can't wait.  I also plan to take a class on Wednesday and Friday.  This will be the first time in I don't remember when that I have attended more than one (or even two) classes at the studio in one week. Yea me!!

How's your week going?

Cheers!