"What type of mats are those?" asked the young high school boy who was helping me load groceries into the back of my car yesterday AFTER I had scooted a pile of yoga mats over to make room for my bags.
"Yoga mats," I responded.
"What is yoga anyway?" he asked.
Ummm....this is where I went blank. After all the times I've explained to people what yoga is, I couldn't for the life of me come up with a quick 30 second explanation that I thought effectively explained to my young helper the wonderful practice that is yoga. I finally settled on:
"It's an exercise where you do various poses that help build strength and flexibility."
"So it's not just stretching?" he clarified.
"No, a little more than just stretching." I said.
"Oh. I always wondered what yoga was." he said as he started to push the cart back towards the store entrance, wishing me a good day.
It was a brief exchange of words, but at the same time has made me ponder should it happen again, what will I say. How do you verbalize the wisdom of thousands of years of such an amazing and rich practice in 30 seconds or less?
I'm curious, what would you say?
namaste
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
And No One Left Early...
This past week I had the privilege of guest instructing in a PE class at Grinnell College. I was asked last semester by the instructor teaching the class, a conditioning class, if I would be interested in helping expose the class to yoga. I offered to teach 2 classes. One to dialog about yoga, the history, the practice, styles of asana practice, and to set some foundation (breath, grounding, etc) work for an asana practice during class 2. It was well received and I was invited back this semester.
It's a fun class and the students have been engaged and eager to learn. Both instructors mentioned before hand that there may be a number of students leaving early. But it didn't happen. Even though our class ran a little long on Thursday, everyone stayed quiet and relaxed through savasana and leisurely rolled their mats before heading out the door. It was lovely and peaceful.
I'm hoping guest instructor for this class can be a regular occurrence. It's been a great way to expose 15-18 college aged students, sometimes for the very first time, the the benefits of yoga. And even if they don't pick up the practice now, or ever, I hope it sparks a thought the next time they think about the needs of their whole being.
namaste
It's a fun class and the students have been engaged and eager to learn. Both instructors mentioned before hand that there may be a number of students leaving early. But it didn't happen. Even though our class ran a little long on Thursday, everyone stayed quiet and relaxed through savasana and leisurely rolled their mats before heading out the door. It was lovely and peaceful.
I'm hoping guest instructor for this class can be a regular occurrence. It's been a great way to expose 15-18 college aged students, sometimes for the very first time, the the benefits of yoga. And even if they don't pick up the practice now, or ever, I hope it sparks a thought the next time they think about the needs of their whole being.
namaste
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Welcome YJ Conference Alumni!
Welcome to all of you who are visiting Happy Daisy Yoga for the first time, having linked from the Yoga Journal Conference Connections newsletter. I do hope you enjoy reading about my YJ conference experience in Wisconsin this past March.
One of the most special aspects of yoga is the wonderful community which it fosters. I do hope you'll join the HDY community and visit for a little yoga conversation from time to time. Comments and your personal perspectives are always welcome!
namaste
One of the most special aspects of yoga is the wonderful community which it fosters. I do hope you'll join the HDY community and visit for a little yoga conversation from time to time. Comments and your personal perspectives are always welcome!
namaste
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Decompressing...
If you've ever attended a workshop/training/retreat, yoga focused or otherwise, you know how it takes some time to fully decompress the event. A return to the normal rhythms of my life has been nice this week. I've enjoyed re-entering into my duties at home, a little calmer, a little more mindful. I've felt fresh in my return to classes, sharing a bits of the wisdom passed on at conference. But I also still find myself processing.
For example yesterday while doing dishes, the work we did in Jason Crandall's session in relationship to arm balances came to mind. Something I had completely forgotten to mention when I was writing up my thoughts here on Saturday. Basically we "did" our arm balances with our backs on the floor first, allowing our bodies to get the feel of the engagement and shape of our anatomy, before we flipped over to a more traditional approach. It was a fabulous experience and right away I thought "What an accessible way to work on arm balances with my seniors!" Not to mention when we did flip over to work with crane I was able to more easily access the balance, core engagement, and ease of breath that allowed me to lift my toes from the floor. For a split second I was doing it! Then I thought about the fact I was doing it and lost it. But the fact I could find the lift necessary even for a short while was totally empowering and inspiring.
I think one of the things that's taking me some time to fully process is how this experience relates to where I am in my practice and my teaching path. Last year when I came home from the Midwest Yoga Conference (and after the couple of shorter workshops I attended last year) I felt like I had a whole list of new things I wanted to share with my students. New ways to approach familiar poses. New ways to access unfamiliar poses. I don't have that same feeling post conference this time. It's true that a great amount of information, good solid information, was presented. I'm simply having a hard time figuring out how to apply it in my teaching. I'm finding there's less in relationship to anatomy and sequencing that feels fresh when I attend sessions. More that feels comfortably, confirmedly, familiar. Granted in Monday night's class I did share an adjustment with those in class for Down Dog. And today in my senior focused class we spent extra time talking about the knee joint and creating stability in various common poses. But I find myself thinking, "Now what?" when I think to future studies.
In general what I find myself thinking is "It's time for depth." In the past 10 years I've explored a broad amount of yoga knowledge, and now I'm feeling that the time has come to find depth. To go beyond the physicality of asana. To deepen my understanding and ability to make connections between one's practice of yoga and applications in life.
Cyndi Lee made the comment this weekend during a panel discussion that as practitioners of yoga, our practice informs our life. Whether it be in relationships, in business, in personal choices, one's choice to practice yoga affects more than jsut the physical being. I found that to be more and more true over the past couple of years as my commitment to study beyond asana strengthens.
What I haven't yet figured out is where searching for that depth will lead me. I have a sizable yoga related library. Books. DVDs. Every Yoga Journal issue I've received in the past 10 years. But I crave more. I crave a teacher. Someone to be my mentor. Someone who I can dialogue with about this fabulous mouth-to-ear tradition we know of as yoga. Someone whose knowledge I can learn from for months/years to come, instead of for a short 2-6 hours, one time at a workshop session. Someone who challenges me, yet who provides a safe environment for questioning and growth.
I somewhat run into a mental roadblock when I try to figure out how that craving fits into my current life. As a mid-westerner. As a mother of small kiddos. As a small town girl who has no intention of relocating simply to make it easier to travel this path.
Processing and decompressing...
namaste
For example yesterday while doing dishes, the work we did in Jason Crandall's session in relationship to arm balances came to mind. Something I had completely forgotten to mention when I was writing up my thoughts here on Saturday. Basically we "did" our arm balances with our backs on the floor first, allowing our bodies to get the feel of the engagement and shape of our anatomy, before we flipped over to a more traditional approach. It was a fabulous experience and right away I thought "What an accessible way to work on arm balances with my seniors!" Not to mention when we did flip over to work with crane I was able to more easily access the balance, core engagement, and ease of breath that allowed me to lift my toes from the floor. For a split second I was doing it! Then I thought about the fact I was doing it and lost it. But the fact I could find the lift necessary even for a short while was totally empowering and inspiring.
I think one of the things that's taking me some time to fully process is how this experience relates to where I am in my practice and my teaching path. Last year when I came home from the Midwest Yoga Conference (and after the couple of shorter workshops I attended last year) I felt like I had a whole list of new things I wanted to share with my students. New ways to approach familiar poses. New ways to access unfamiliar poses. I don't have that same feeling post conference this time. It's true that a great amount of information, good solid information, was presented. I'm simply having a hard time figuring out how to apply it in my teaching. I'm finding there's less in relationship to anatomy and sequencing that feels fresh when I attend sessions. More that feels comfortably, confirmedly, familiar. Granted in Monday night's class I did share an adjustment with those in class for Down Dog. And today in my senior focused class we spent extra time talking about the knee joint and creating stability in various common poses. But I find myself thinking, "Now what?" when I think to future studies.
In general what I find myself thinking is "It's time for depth." In the past 10 years I've explored a broad amount of yoga knowledge, and now I'm feeling that the time has come to find depth. To go beyond the physicality of asana. To deepen my understanding and ability to make connections between one's practice of yoga and applications in life.
Cyndi Lee made the comment this weekend during a panel discussion that as practitioners of yoga, our practice informs our life. Whether it be in relationships, in business, in personal choices, one's choice to practice yoga affects more than jsut the physical being. I found that to be more and more true over the past couple of years as my commitment to study beyond asana strengthens.
What I haven't yet figured out is where searching for that depth will lead me. I have a sizable yoga related library. Books. DVDs. Every Yoga Journal issue I've received in the past 10 years. But I crave more. I crave a teacher. Someone to be my mentor. Someone who I can dialogue with about this fabulous mouth-to-ear tradition we know of as yoga. Someone whose knowledge I can learn from for months/years to come, instead of for a short 2-6 hours, one time at a workshop session. Someone who challenges me, yet who provides a safe environment for questioning and growth.
I somewhat run into a mental roadblock when I try to figure out how that craving fits into my current life. As a mid-westerner. As a mother of small kiddos. As a small town girl who has no intention of relocating simply to make it easier to travel this path.
Processing and decompressing...
namaste
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