Practice Yoga Daily - a how-to synopsis

It takes approximately 3 months to ingrain a habit, good or bad. 3 months to become accustomed to a new fitness regime. 3 months to solidify a diet, a lifestyle. 3 months to stop cracking those gosh-dern knuckles.

So how do we get to that 3 months without breaking, without going back to ways of old? I found a great and inspiring Wiki-how with steps to establishing and sticking to a yoga practice, a yoga lifestyle.

1.       Set aside the same time each day for your practice. Morning is often the best, most productive time for many people, as your body, mind, and spirit are well-rested and energetically rejuvenated. But perhaps another time is more ideal for you! I have a good friend who fits in a daily workout during her lunch hour.

2.       Be kind to yourself when you practice yoga. Be gentle on your body. Appreciate every step you’ve taken. Give yourself credit for practicing. Acknowledge those days when you need to practice very slowly and gently, and those days that you are filled with more energy.

3.       Be regular, not rigorous. Do not hold yourself to some insane standard day in, day out. Some days I practice yoga for less than 10 minutes. It’s about quality, not quantity, and about developing a commitment to the harmony of your mind, body, and spirit.

4.       Prepare well for each yoga session. If you’re often cold, have a blanket on standby. Do not eat some grandiose meal prior to practicing. Perhaps surround yourself with some stones, light a candle. Create an environment of comfort and peace.

5.       Study each posture. It will help you cultivate a deeper connection to the flow.

6.       Decide on your best starting position. This may evolve over time, and varies person to person. You want to choose a position that helps you retreat inwardly and focus.

7.       Rest between poses. Yoga is about soothing yourself, garnering a sense of peace, moving slowly, gently, and deliberately. Do not strain yourself, do not overdo it. Be gentle on yourself.

8.       Fit yoga into your daily life. When you need to take breaks from the office, simply google “office yoga” or “chair yoga” and you’ll find a surplus of easy, real-life poses. In the mornings if I do not have enough time for a full practice, I will lay on the ground against a wall with my feet toward the sky – a great energy boosting pose.

9.       Expect gradual improvement, not miracles. Again, my favorite phrase: be gentle on yourself! Be kind to yourself! Give yourself credit for every step you take, even the seemingly little ones. They are all important to your unique path. You are doing something wonderful for yourself! Pat yourself on the back. Love yourself.

10.   Balance your routine. As you increase your practice and become more comfortable with an array of poses, try catering to each part of your body and spirit – implementing a well-balanced practice of backbends, standing postures, sitting postures, and the like.

11.   Remember that time is always on your side with yoga. As you reach the 3-month mark, it will become easier. Do not stress if you miss a day here or there - or stretches of time – this is normal and natural and you need to respond to your own daily needs and feelings. The more you practice, the more ingrained your practice will become. What helps inspire me to practice on lazier days is a remembrance that yoga allows time to be less important, allows time to flow, allows you to flow with time, allows you to recall life’s true bounties.

be gentle on yourself

As the new job manifested (for which I am most grateful), I've had an on-and-off relationship with my daily yoga practice. I'd forgotten the importance of energy balance and attending to myself in this fashion every day - and I spilled all my energy into the new gig. Luckily, I've been reminded of the importance and of the significant difference in my life when incorporating this morning practice into my daily routine.

Energy balancing - something so foreign to so many of us, and something that requires loving attention. Beginning your day by attending to you - by sitting in silent meditation and quieting your mind - by loving and appreciating your body and nurturing you spirit - it is such a beautiful thing, and so helpful! I have noticed that by stopping a regular yoga practice prior to going to work, I experience much more anxiety and irritation for that day. I do things inattentively, I fall into old habits more easily, and I even observe more negative thoughts. And then, when I remember the intention for this commitment to myself, a beautiful peace overcomes me again. Rather than adopting an extremist attitude (which is easy to do in this go-go-go society), I've come to realize that the best way to slowly begin incorporating these energy balancing and self-loving practices into your life is to allow yourself missteps, and to allow yourself to practice yoga for 10 minutes one day, even if it is not your 45 minute ideal. Credit yourself for everything that you are doing, pat yourself on the back, realize that you are doing your best in every moment, be gentle on yourself. And then - you'll remember, again and again, the importance of loving yourself.

the power of breath

I usually do not practice Kundalini yoga, so I am an amateur of this school. But each time I have tried it, I LOVE the after-effects. Sometimes I am too lazy to Kundalini - that's the truth! It requires much more physical presence (for me, at least) than other yoga styles I am familiar with, most notably hatha.

Kundalini really works your body aerobically, focusing on the breath and specifically this style called "rapid fire breathing" - which awakens the "kundalini" energy within you, creates youthfulness, and engages every part of the body. For me, this form of yoga most effectively ties my breath to movement - because every series of postures completely revolves around deep breathing and rapid fire breathing. I found another great introduction to Kundalini on youtube - and this time, not yogayak! It's from "Yoga Today" - and once again both the instructor and the flow are wonderful. I like this sequence specifically because of the guest yogis - they express their humanness during the flow - giggling, messing up, talking occasionally - which makes me feel relatable to them, and is oddly encouraging! I had to stop once during the frog posture - but that's it - and my body now feels totally revitalized. Also, my body even vibrated during this flow, because of the intense breathing, so I experienced a bodily high that is a personal rarity! I want to delve deeper into Kundalini - this is great!

yoga musings

Three exciting links to share today:

1) Another awesome, very gentle hatha yoga flow and meditation with Diane from...you guessed it! Yogayak! Soon I'll try other sources - but Yogayak just seriously has it going on!

2) A short yoga flow for energy - I used this yesterday evening when I needed an extra boost and it definitely provided that!

3) A raw food Thanksgiving menu! I'm especially excited to try the cream of mushroom soup :)

"For breath is life, and if you breathe well you will live long on earth." - Sanskrit proverb

more great yoga!

Yogayak really does a superb job of offering free quality yoga flows for those at-home yogis. I've discovered yet another soothing hatha yoga flow complete with a closing meditation. This one is nice because it is a little longer than the others, and I enjoy the back-and-forth repetition of each posture introduced by the instructor. This is a new technique I haven't yet experienced, and I like it - my body feels very lucid and engaged. It really is one of the most natural-feeling practices I've found online so far.

Also, an excellent raw foods diet account is found here (which can really benefit a regular yoga practice :)).   Life Coach Steve Pavlina embarked on a 30-day trial and reports on his experiences, day by day, and a 30-day summary. He returned to cooked foods post-trial, and some months later, decided to make raw foods a dedicated lifestyle - explains the reasons why, his bodily changes, and the alterations he made the second time around to make the plan more realistic for permanency. I find it to be quite inspiring, comprehensive, and relatable to the average person!

And I'll leave you with this beautiful piece of wisdom:  "Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured, and endure what cannot be cured." - B.K.S. Iyengar

Desiderata

Youtube is amazing. Really, really amazing. Another great hatha yoga class discovered today! And requires even less effort than renting from the library! I feel I may exhaust the selection! :)

After the practice, I became inspired to post a beautiful poem I've recently discovered. It is entitled "Desiderata" written by poet Max Ehrmann - given to me in calligraphic poster-form from a friend this past summer. The form I present varies slightly from other versions I've found, but it is beautiful nonetheless.

O placidly amid the noise & haste,  and remember what peace there may be in silence.  As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly & clearly, even the dull and ignorant have their story.  

Keep interested in your career, however humble, it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. But do not compare yourself with others or you may become vain or bitter; for there will always be greater or lesser persons than yourself. 

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is, for many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the council of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Do not distress yourself with imaginings; many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and stars. You have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And, whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, be at peace with your soul. 

And remember, that with all its sham, drudgery & broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. 

Be careful with life. Strive to be happy.

appreciate yourself for choosing to practice!

A good instructor - in-person or virtual - is key to a fruitful yoga practice. And in my experience, I've only had good instructors - so the calling to become a yoga instructor seems to be legitimately responded to and intuitive. The very fact that these instructors universally possess a great sense of calmness, of gentleness, is enough to validate the benefits of yoga over and over again. My favorite part to every yoga practice is when the instructor closes the practice by usually saying something along these lines: "bow to yourself to thank yourself for choosing to practice today" or "take this moment to appreciate yourself for the changes you are creating in your body and in your life." These lines always make me smile, and they always make me feel closer to myself and to everyone and everything around me. And it's so true! Any amount of time that you dedicate to a yoga practice = you dedicating time to yourself, to nurture your whole being, and that, my friends, is more and more manifesting as the key to a healthy, harmonious, balanced existence full of love. :)

Youtube Yoga

The instructor who got me hooked on Yoga and inspired me to continue is Dagmar Spremberg, whom I've only encountered virtually, but who is an amazing teacher, offering free yoga via a site called Yoga Yak. My absolute favorite youtube free yoga with Dagmar is available here - it is a mere 50 minutes long, and a great way to start the day. Following the spirit of other yoga teachers, Dagmar is incredibly gentle and possesses a soothing voice and encouraging demeanor. This session is at the intermediate level, but definitely manageable even for beginners. I used to religiously practice with Dagmar - either the aforementioned morning practice or her afternoon practice. They both really leave you feeling refreshed and as though you've done some bodily work.

Every time I practice with Dagmar, I become again entranced by Costa Rica. She lives there, and opened up her own studio in Montezuma. The youtube videos depict some of the beauty of that land - and I have only been there for a one-time short stay, but I fell in love. The land is beautiful. I have always wanted to pick up and move to Costa Rica, to be among such serenity, such beautiful nature, such peace. When my friend and I visited, we met a few U.S. citizens who moved to CR and began their new lives. It is very tempting, and Dagmar reinforces this desire :). 

the correlation of yoga and raw foods

This site explores the parallels between the yoga and raw food lifestyle philosophies. Here are the most notable shared themes:

1. Ahimsa (non-violence)
2. Aiswarya (self-reliance)
3. Health and well-being
4. Vairagya (non-attachment)
5. Ahamkara (ego - separateness)

Essentially, if you take care of your body, you are also taking care of your mind, and nurturing your soul. If you feed your body from the crux of the earth, in a non-violent fashion (not eating animals), are reliant on only what the earth offers, attend to your health of body/soul/mind, embrace a closeness with nature, and just let go of everything, you can attain optimal health of being. It's neat that both philosophies promote these values, and that they are so greatly inter-connected. It is difficult to participate in yogic flows when consuming foods that weigh you down and cause bodily harm, so raw foods is the way to go. Furthermore, both philosophies embrace this natural, pure living, believing that the health of any part of the you-trifecta (body, soul, mind), affects the health of all three. All must be aligned! That is what I am striving for on this raw foods diet, and incorporating yoga and subsequent meditation into my daily lifestyle has become much more manageable with my change in diet - I am now more cognizant as to how my body is affected by everything - food, movement, sleep, drink, my thoughts - nothing is separate from our health, happiness, and sense of well-being.

Yoga and the raw foods lifestyle both encourage a sense of lightness of being - physically, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually. My mind feels less cluttered, as does my body - and if these two are happy, so is my soul.

Kundalini with Gurmukh

My new favorite style of yoga is Kundalini. I am a huge fan! Apparently this is the original style of yoga, also. The GAIAM instructor on this video I picked up from Madison Public Library is "Gurmukh" - and she is SO awesome! So full of peace, positive energy, and light. She is inspiring throughout the hour-long session - using a lot of encouraging words to keep us going. Kundalini yoga is neat because it is a little more physical, involving extensive aerobic movements, so it feels like your blood is really pumping, and then closes with a meditation. It is challenging, and you really feel as though you've gotten a succinct workout. Plus, her voice is so soothing, so calming, so wonderful. I really love this video. It helps that the back of the DVD features a quote by David Duchovny, star of X-Files and Californication, and celebrity crush of mine:  "Gurmukh is my first yoga teacher. Her gentleness, discipline and sense of fun were instrumental in my practice of yoga. She's part guru, part mom ... one-of-a-kind." Well put, Mr. Duchovny, I couldn't agree more. Gurmukh takes a challenging style of yoga, and gently encourages the viewer throughout - and she is so serene, so beautiful, so confident and inspiring. I am sad to see this DVD go...I just may have to move up from the ranks of renting :).

yoga to calm the mind

Today I had an audition for a popular, awesome Madison band that wants to make music their life's work. They are phenomenal, have a great set-up, and they had really great energy. But because I haven't auditioned for anything for quite some time, I was pretty nervous, and the familiar singing butterflies started forming in their familiar stomach-home. In times past, I would just try to take some time before auditioning to compose myself, and usually I'd just deal with the nerves. But now that I have moreso adopted a regular yoga/meditation routine, I feel better equipped with the right tools to combat that stage anxiety. Even though I wanted to spend every last minute preparing and practicing, about an hour and a half before the audition I started getting nervous, and I knew I had to do something. So I popped in Rodney Yee (LOVE HIM!) 20 minute power yoga, and this helped me beyond belief. I then followed up the yoga session with a short meditation, visualizing myself succeeding, reciting relevant affirmations. This seems so simple, and to be honest even to this day I doubted if such a practice could make any difference in situations of anxiety (interviews, auditions, first dates). And...IT DID! Hugely. I also am a fan of Bach's Flower Remedies (http://www.bachflower.com/), and so I took a couple droplets of a few of the remedies prior to the audition, for self-confidence. The remedies are supposed to balance your vibrations essentially. Even if they were a placebo effect, I don't care, it worked! In my car right before the audition, I did another short breathing exercise, and I hardly experienced any nerves during the audition. It helped to have people with awesome energy around, but nonetheless, I am so surprised! This is not a normal occurrence. Another example of how meditation and yoga can save your life :-).

Fear

Have you ever wondered why during meditation, yogis suggest the pressing of your thumb and forefinger together, separate from the remaining three fingers?

The other day while participating in a yoga flow dvd from, again, the Madison public library, I learned that the thumb symbolizes "self," the forefinger - "spirit" - and the so the joining of these two fingers represents the harmonious union of the self with spirit. The three remaining fingers represent the three primary factors that prevent us from reaching this union - "attraction," "aversion," and "indifference."

Attraction, aversion, indifference. Behaviors and temptations we all fall into, and I fall into often. Impulses. Seemingly temporary comforts. Habits. And what does it all come down to? Fear. Emotional dependency. Fear of self-reliance, fear of letting go, fear of accepting oneself, fear of unconditional life, fear of living. 

To unite our self and spirit in continual harmony, let us release fear. I release all fear. I release all negativity. I release pain, jealousy, envy, resent, regret, sorrow, anger. I release anything holding me back from my highest self, anything that does not contribute to my greater good. I release all fear. Fear is merely a construct of my mind. Fear only exists because I let it exist. I unite my self and spirit. I am free from fear. I am fearless.

the hardest part: establishing a routine

With anything in life, above all the most difficult thing to achieve when starting a new venture: a routine. I can't count the number of times I have started something - yoga or otherwise - and have ended up stopping cold turkey, unable to establish that routine.

They say it takes 3 months to ingrain a habit. 3 months to get into a regular workout habit. 3 months to stop cracking your knuckles. Getting past that initial hump - in order to program your body and your mind to just believe this is what you do, naturally, every day - that is tough. But it is so worth it.

My symbolic - and literal - Monday began again today. And I couldn't be more excited.

Yoga is so invigorating, so strength-producing, so empowering, so miraculous. If I keep reminding myself of this, incorporating the practice into my daily life will not be an issue.

The divine in me recognizes the divine in you - Namaste :-)

the journey begins

This time around, I'm committed to yoga as a lifestyle. a series of life changes have brought me to this point, as I suspect is the case for most when beginning yoga or other healing and spiritual modalities.

I will say this, a lack of high-speed internet is highly disadvantageous to the shy yogi in a new city. my previous reliance on youtube flows has ceased (and boy, there are some good ones out there! When I have internet up and running I will send along my favorites). however, I have found a temporary solution for the do-it-at-home yoga practice: your public library! The Madison Public Library has an array of yoga dvd's for free weekly rental, and they will order from other libraries if need be. I just completed an excellent yoga dvd practice from dvd "Ashtanga Yoga" with Nicki Doane. I highly recommend this dvd, whether you're a beginner or deeper into your practice. I have been out of the yoga loop for a few months, and felt this program catered to my needs quite adeptly.

As it always goes, during this practice, I felt an immense sense of peace overcome me. The building anxieties of my move over the past few weeks have really erupted in my heart chakra in particular, and I've been a mess of emotions. Just through my practice today, and silent reflection afterwards, I am reminded as to why yoga is so effective, and so beautiful. I feel at peace with myself, with others whom I hadn't earlier felt peace with, and a general sense of bodily calm. It's really refreshing, and I hope - no, I intend - to keep this up in my day-to-day life. The benefits are too positively impacting! For an emotional woman in the middle of an ongoing quarter-life crisis :), I can't think of any better way to keep the inner and outer peace alive. Daily yoga, meditation, affirmations, gratitude - these are my goals. My hope is that more of us will unite in such lifestyles, endeavoring together to achieve this goal.

For now, goodnight. Love and light to all.