Machig Labdrön

Confess your fidden faults.

Approach what you find repulsive.

Help those you think you cannot help.

Anything you are attached to, let it go.

Go to places that scare you.

I've been listening to a lot of Pema Chödrön's teachings lately, and it's from her that I hearned about Machig Labdrön (excerpts from her biography). She was a tibetan yogini and what I cited above is the advice she got from her teacher.

Hanuman

I just love this song from MC Yogi:-)

Last week I did a free class dedicated to Hanuman on iHanuman.com in which Cynthia Woodring told the story of Hanuman while leading through preparatioan poses to Hanumanasana. So, without it ever being a goal of mine, -i now think that with some patience and time this asana is not impossible for me. :-) We'll see.

Practice

I have had a very nice and steady practice in the last month. I've been doing mostly powerful vinyasa flow practices (Seane Corn, Bryan Kest) and also Forrest yoga (the intensives and an audio workshop). I tried also some new teachers from YogaVibes - Kathryn Budig, Sadie Nardini, Stephanie Keach, Michael Gannon... Kathryn Budig is very playful in her teaching and she makes you believe arm balances and inversions are available for everyone. I liked Sadie as well, with the focus on the core strength and again nice tips for some arm balances and jumps. I also loved the modified primary class from Stephanie Keach, maybe my favorite class from all I tried. So, I have given another chance to Ashtanga, and it's been pretty addictive. :-) In a few weeks I'll get a copy of Gregor Maehle's Ashtanga Yoga: Practice and Philosophy and am very excited about this. I also started studying the Yoga Sutras with the commentary of T.K.V. Desikachar in his book The Heart of Yoga. I found audio of the yoga sutra's chanting on many sites, like this one for example. There's also an introduction from Tim Miller on iHanuman. Unfortunately I haven't been very diligent with my meditation practice, but I'll work on that. :-)

What's behind the pink

http://www.nofamilyhistory.org/

Nutrition

I just read a very interesting discussion, which formed in the comments of a review of one of Dr. Fuhrman's books at Amazon. It's amazing how much the modern science still doesn't know about such "simple" everyday things as what we should eat. Maybe the best thing is really just to listen to the own body and eat this, which makes us feel good? And check our values to confirm it. I don't know. There was a period, when I had absolutely no desire to eat meat. I think it lasted several months. Then I went back to normal and do enjoy eating meat, as well as cheese and drink milk. It is also true that I have enjoyed foods that are surely not healthy... It's so confusing...

Update

First, I just wanted to share a link - free vignettes @ YogaVibes.

As for my yoga practice - I've been back to doing Yin Yoga often and enjoy very much reading Sarah Power's book Insight Yoga. I love that she gives some info on traditional chinese medicine and meridian theory, pranayama, Buddhism and insight meditation. She has created different routines (yin & yang) and gives some guidelines on sequencing to create a different mind-body experience.

The other book I'm reading at the moment is Eat to Live from Dr. Joel Fuhrman. I find it quite interesting and am determined to implement in baby steps some of his suggestions (as I see it rather as a lifestyle change than a diet for weight loss). The basic formula from the book is Health = Nutrients/Calories. So the key to good health is to eat foods with high nutritional values and little calories - vegetables & fruits.

The other thing I've been interested lately is anatomy. I saw the Körperwelten exhibition and bought a DVD - Anatomy for Beginners/A live autopsy. I offered some friends to watch the DVD but surprisingly nobody was interested. Strange. ;-)

I also finally ordered the anatomy DVD from Paul Grilley and Judith Hanson Lasater's book Yogabody: Anatomy, Kinesiology, and Asana. Can't wait. :-)

Oh, and the workshop with Max Strom was great. He started by answering someone's question about fear, then continued telling us about what karma is and what are the different types of karma. He linked "burning karma" (this is how the workshop was entitled) to tapas, and lead us through a nice vinyasa practice. We were probably only about 20 people so he could pay personal attention to everyone. I personally got several adjustments. So, I'd be happy to go to another workshop with him, when he comes to Europe again next year.

Not much to say...

Did a nice sweaty Vinyasa class at home this evening (Seane Corn's Audio Class 3). I like it that she gives so much alignment instructions. It makes you really pay attention and the asanas are more difficult when you don't just rush them. There were nice long holds.

I like the freedom I have when I practice at home. I do what I need and depending on how I feel. After a stressful and busy week when I could only do more gentle practices, this one felt really good.

I've been reading again Pema Chödrön and doing short 10 min meditations every night. Tomorrow is the meditation for beginners workshop. Hopefully I will not get disappointed. I believe I should stick to one type of practice for some time (shamatha for now) before moving to something else... Hearing someone else's perspective and experiences with whatever practice they may have should be interesting thou...

Yin again

So I did again Yin Yoga today, this time it was the Kidney sequence from Sarah Powers DVD Insight Yoga. I plan on doing her Vinyasa Flow Practice from the same DVD tomorrow morning. I have to admit that although I bought the DVD some months ago (probably even in January) I have only tried the both Yin practices but never the other 2 "yang". I believe her personal "yang" practice is even now Ashtanga. I found a very nice interview with her and can't wait to get her book. Have to be patient for another 2 weeks...

Now I'll read a little and then do her guided meditation before bed...

Chakras and meditation

While standing in a traffic jam this morning I looked to the car on my left and noticed that the young man in there was holding a mala and turning its beads. What a good idea, I thought to myself, maybe I should also try it in order to stay calmer on my commute (it takes me over 40 min for about 10 km).

Yesterday I didn't do asana practice. It's that time of the month when my body needs more rest and relaxation. I have been practicing probably 7-8 days in a row, so a day off was needed anyways. Instead, I watched Paul Grilley's Chakra Theory and Meditation. It's probably the second time I'm watching the DVD, and I guess I'll watch it again because I find that it's very well organised and explained. And before bed I did the guided Ham Sa - So Ham Meditations.

Here's a video excerpt from the DVD I found on Google Videos:

This evening after work I'll do a gentle evening Yin session depending on how I feel - probably again the liver sequence from Sarah Power's DVD.

A class with Swami Sudhir

My cat didn't let me sleep very well this night so I woke up feeling tired and was thinking of staying at home instead of going to yoga class. To be honest, I prefer practicing at home. I do what I wish and as I wish. It may be that I have very high expectations as to who my teacher should be. I mean, I wouldn't like to have as a teacher someone who knows less than I do, or who teaches simply "gym yoga". I realize also that this is of course quite limiting and we can actually learn something from everyone, if we are open and ready for this. So I finally went to the yoga studio and I must say I'm happy I did. The teacher, Swami Sudhir, is young and has university degrees in Hindu and yoga from different universities in India. I had difficulties understanding his English, but he demonstrated all so it wasn't such a big problem. I guess I will get used to his accent if I continue visiting his classes. I haven't been to many yoga classes, but this was quite different from what I've experienced until now. We started with lunge salutes with long holds and between each sun salut he had us concentrate on a different chakra starting from top downwards. Then we did some standing asanas, twisting, agni sara and nauli in sitting. I was thinking "WOW!!" when he demonstrated Nauli. It was really impressive what control he had. "You just try!", he said, then one day we will also be able to do it. We had to also do some more advanced asanas, but he again said "You just try! Try it!". :-) He was also very flexible. All asanas were hold for several breaths. No vinaysas apart from the sun saluts in the beginning. We did a little pranayama as well - alternate nostral breathing, first without retention, then with. And he helped me get in headstand (which he demostrated as well), for which I'm very thankful. :-) We had time for a short meditation as well, and then in Savasana he sang something very softly which was very relaxing. So, as I said the class was very different to what I've experienced before, but I think I'll go next weekend again. So on Sunday I will spend the most of the day in the yoga studio. :-) First the class for 1.5 h and then another 4 h for the Meditation for Beginners workshop. :-)