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. :-)

Not everything goes as planned...

My detox day yesterday didn't go very well. I was feeling OK till lunch time and then got headache during the afternoon. By the moment I came back home from work the headache was so strong, that I could only lay in bed in the dark and try not to move, so that it doesn't get worse. So I spent probably 2 or 3 hours like this until my boyfriend convinced me that I'd better take a pill. Luckily for me it did work and after a while I did feel better, but I had to eat something and also had a coffee with milk. I should have known better. I know it's normal to get a headache when making a detox, but mine was more like a migraine. Really bad. I felt sick. And this has happened to me before as well, when for some reason I couldn't eat for extended period during the day. I guess my blood pressure was also too low, because I had this pulsating pain on the back of the head and the neck. So, I guess I won't be trying this any time soon. Maybe a modified version. The good thing is that around 22 h after I felt better I was able to do my Yin practice - the Liver sequence from Sarah Power's Insight Yoga. I enjoyed it very much. It's been months since I did Yin Yoga for the last time. I'll have to do it more often. I even plan on getting her book as well.

Today I did my practice in the late afternoon. I chose Seane Corn's Live Class 2. I was wondering in the beginning if I shouldn't do Yin Yoga again, but then went on with it. Seane's classes are not easy. I sweated a lot but felt great at the end. I love it that she gives so much instruction about proper form. I've noticed that I often tend to hyper extend my knees, so was really mindful about it. I try to engage the toes, relax the neck and wrap the shoulders as in Forrest Yoga. I also stayed in bridge and didn't do urdhva dhanurasana. I was warm enought and could have easily pressed myself up in wheel, but this is not the point. I wanted to be careful about tucking the tailbone and pressing the pelvis upwards to protect the lower back.

Tomorrow I may go to a class in the yoga studio nearby. There's some guest teacher from India so I may check him out.

Let's see...

... if I'll be able to spend the day today eating only fruits and drinking no coffee but tea or watter... I bought yesterday grape and bananas and have apples as well. I did the beginner practice from Seane Corn's Detox Flow Yoga. It's 1:15 h long and Seane gives alot of instruction on proper alignment and also explains why we are doing some of the asanas in this detox routine. It begins slowly with half saluts, then goes on with Sun Saluts A & B (modified in the beginning); standing poses, twists of course, and some backbends - locust, bridge and wheel. I like it.

Blissology

I'm getting better at going to bed earlier - yesterday I turned off the lights only a little after 22h. Surprisingly, it doesn't make the early get up so much easier, I had to convince myself to not simply squeeze the alarm and stay in bed. Eventually I got up around 6:10h (wow, this would make almost 8 hours of sleep!! :) and had to choose a quicker practice. So I finally used the Power Yoga for Happiness 2 Surf Edition by Eoin Finn. I did the quick 42-minute Bliss Rider routine and have to admit that I quite liked how it made me feel. I was literally smiling from ear to ear at the end! :-) I'd say that the DVD is very loosely based on the Ashtanga Primary Series with some "funky twists" as Eoin calls them. :-) The flow moves quickly, and you don't stay much in a pose, you really move with the breath. I prefer longer holds normally but I liked it nevertheless. Eoin has a very soothing voice and gives also some cues for proper form. Not much of backbends apart from the upward dog but I'd say that it was a well balanced routine - standing poses, shoulder stretches, hips, forward bending, some abs work, twists... I liked it. :-)

And I signed up for another workshop! :-) Next weekend I'll attend a 4-hour Meditation for Beginners workshop. I hope with my 5-10 min per day I would qualify as beginner. :-)

Oh, and Eoin Finn's wife, Insiya, has a very nice blog on yoga-ecology-fashion, called yogue.

Detox

I want and also believe I need a detox. I just read this article and am really motivated now. I've done day-long ones before when I ate fruits only and that's what I'll probably do now as well. As for the yoga practice on that day, I could do one of the yoga practices from Seane Corn's Detox Flow Yoga in the morning, and then the Liver practice from Sarah Power's Insight Yoga. :-) I'd like to do it on a day when I'm working in the office, so that I don't think of food the whole day and have to make sure that I eat enough, so that I don't start shaking or something. I read somewhere that it's good that such fruit-only days should be done regularly on weekly basis (that is, one day every week). Yes, maybe I'll do it tomorrow or on Friday...

Today I didn't get up as early as yesterday, but still had about an hour time for Yoga Mind & Body with Erich Schiffmann. It was probably in February the last time when I practiced in the mornings somewhat regularly (and then switched again to an evening practice) so I can't really remember if I also felt so stiff then. But now I'm being really gentle and attentive to myself, which I think is ultimately a good thing and I believe that my body is also very slowly adapting to a morning practice again. The other thing I noticed is that I have difficulties with the balancing poses - tree or half moon, etc, and was wondering if it's a morning thing or because of the dimmed lights? Probably the lights though...

Early morning

I love early mornings. The problem is that I'm somewhat of a "night owl" or simply restless and have troubles going to bed early enough. Though maybe it's just a habit that can be changed. Last night I went to bed around 22:45 h and this morning got up at 5:30. So I should have more than 6 hours of sleep. I don't think it's enough, but I can't imagine going to bed before 22:30h. I wanted to do a different practice than yesterday, but was pressed for time and couldn't decide quickly so just went with Erich Schiffmann's Beginner Yoga again. It was good. Calm and peaceful. I noticed that I actually feel stiff mostly when doing forward bends. Maybe if I did some more sun saluts in the beginning it would've felt better? I will try it tomorrow and see how it goes. My breath was deeper and longer than normal, maybe because it was so early and I was really paying attention, but several times I was slower than Erich's count because of that.

I also sat yesterday for 5 minutes before bed (used this online mindfulness bell). Just sat there with my eyes open and tried to concentrate on the outbreath, label my thoughts and let them go. It was not easy and my "monkey mind" jumped from one thought to the other. :-)

Meditation

So, I've been listening to Kino MacGregor's Podcasts, and I have to say that I LOVE them. My favorite are probably the Zurich Talk on Yoga Part 2, where she answers with a nice story to a question from a lawyer and Meditation Talk - Episode I. So I've been thinking about trying again to sit. I've tried before - the Candle meditation from Dharma Mittra's DVD, Pema Chödrön etc., but it never lasted long. Anyway, what's important is that I try again and again. :-)

Bow and knee joint

For the first time since months I managed to get up at 5 and do yoga before going to work. I wanted something relaxed and did Erich Schiffmann's Beginning Yoga. I was really stiff but had a nice practice nonetheless. Didn't turn on the lights but had only the screen of my laptop on so it was really peaceful.

I thought I must be somehow not "normal" because I have this strange feeling in the knees while doing bow or bridge. But I checked Anatomy of Hatha Yoga and it seems it's quite normal, because the knee joint is simply not made to be used in positions like this. So, again, patience is needed until the connective tissue capsules of the knee joints get tough enough so that one can get higher in the pose.

Signed up!

Oh, and I already got my confirmation - I'll be going to the "Burning Karma" workshop with Max Strom!

The body contains our vikarma. (negative karma, and negative inherent tendencies) Yoga burns vikarma and harmonizes our system, then craving, grasping, and wanting begin to recede. This unique practice is designed to ignite the strength and energy of the body and the courage of the heart. This class is both challenging and very healing and is open to all levels. It will include a short talk, vinyasa-flow, non-dogmatic philosophy, breathing, and meditation.

Have to read more about anatomy

I've diagnosed myself with flat feet - my arches are weak, so they collapse and my knees are turned inward (article). I guess this would also explain why I feel like I feel in bridge - the muscles on the inner side of my legs are weaker so I get unequal pull on both sides of my knees. I can't really explain it and I'll have to read more about it.

Then, the sensitivity in my low back that I wrote about yesterday - I've been wondering if it's not actually my sacrum? And caused not by wheel or camel but by the lunges? Again, I may be using th wrong terminology here, but I feel that I'm pretty flexible when it comes to a sideward (outward?) movement of my hips, which, when in a deep lunge without the hips leveled could lead to unneeded pressure on the lower back and the sacrum. I have to read more (maybe this one and Anatomy of Hatha Yoga).

Am I not paying enough attention?

So I did the Day 3 practice and really enjoyed it. I guess it's my favorite from the 5. I tried to really take it easy and not push too hard. There are a lot of lunges to prepare for the backbends and although I do use a blanket below my knees it still feels a little uncomfortable. So this is one thing I have to be careful about. The second is that after the practice my lower back feels a little sensitive. I'm not sure if this is normal or I'm again going too far? I really don't think I did too much. Maybe because of my knees I didn't pay enough attention on my low back during lunges? I must say that the practice is perfectly sequenced - plenty of preparation and then release of the back and relaxation. So the only thing that could go wrong is if one is not listening to and respecting their own body.

An article & workshops

A little after I wrote the post yesterday I read an article by Kino Macgregor - Finding Lifelong Inspiration In Yoga. I so much recognized the same patterns she describes in my "relationship" with yoga. So I guess it's quite normal. Sometimes you can't get enough of your practice and sometimes you have to drag yourself on the mat. Sometimes you feel the flow, and sometimes you're stiff. But the magic is working anyways so you just have to persevere. I guess this is the real challenge for me. I'm probably the most impatient person in the world. I'm also one who is used to learning things quickly and was quite good at sports in school. And now there's yoga, and things are not happening as fast as I wish. :-)

I was thinking about going to some of Ana Forrest's workshops in Berlin, but unfortunately it's going to get really expensive with flight and hotel, so I'll not be able to do it. Hopefully I will get a chance to meet her one day. On the other hand, Max Strom will also be having some workshops in Zurich, right before my birthday. This will also be interesting. :-) I didn't know much about him, so I googled his name and found a video on YouTube and a talk on his website.

Ok, enough rambling. I'm going to do Day 3 from Ana's Intensives now. I tried to shorten it a bit but it didn't really work. I just think the practice is perfectly sequenced as it is - one pose prepares you for the next. So it's backbending for me today.

Hard

I just did Day 2 from from Ana Forrest's Intensive Workshop. And it was so hard, I almost lost heart. I've been doing Yoga daily for a little more than a year now and probably subconsciously have been expecting to be able to do the most fancy asanas by now. Although I know that this is not the goal of yoga and not why I have started doing it as well. I had a period when I almost lost my desire to do yoga and really did only the minimum I could convince myself to do. Now the desire is coming back and I remembered why I love yoga so much but my body feels so weak. I've been doing Erich Schiffmann's Beginning Yoga and maybe that's what I need. To slow down a bit and not rush to get more advanced. I also think that Ana Forrest and Erich Schiffmann are similar in a way. They both teach to find the pleasure in each pose and move slowly and go deep. I was wondering, is there a way to adjust the 2 hour practice from Ana's Workshop so that I can fit it in days when I'm too tired and short of time (during the week because of my job)? Maybe just squeeze whatever I have time for between the opening part (usually the first about 30 min) and the closing poses? We'll see.

Getting back on the mat

In the last 2 months I've been strugling to get on my yoga mat. I was too busy, too tired, not feeling good, too hungry, there were too many other things that were more interesting at the moment... So I did skip a day or two in a row. Often. And decided that it's better to do something lighter than nothing. I was at a point where I almost thought that if I didn't do 1.5-2 hours of yoga (Forrest or Power or whatever made me really sweat and feel every muscle), it wasn't worth it. And on some days I really wasn't up to such a challenge. So, I went back to Yoga Mind & Body. It's a 45-50 min very gentle practice and I had no excuse not to do it. I normally don't do yoga on music, but I really like the music here. And I was also lucky enough to do it on the balcony a few times when the weather was nice. It was so nice!! I had never done yoga outside before and I enjoyed it very much. Tried not to think about the neighbours who could see me. :-) What I also did on some days was just the intro (about 30 min) of any of the 5 practices from the Forrest Yoga 5 day intensives. Sometimes I really miss doing a stronger practice but I decided to not push it and give myself time. Main thing is that I'm still getting on my mat.

Kino MacGregor Workshop

I'll probably be able to attend a workshop with Kino MacGregor next month... I have heard only good things about her and was really impressed after seeing videos of her on YouTube. So I thought, although I'm not practicing Ashtanga (have only tried the Primary Series a few times), it would be interesting to see her. She's offering one Mysore class and 3 Workshops - 1. a short demonstration with meditation, chanting and Q&A, 2. assists in the 1st Series and 3. Inversions, handstand and the art of balancing. I'll probably go to the 2nd workshop (assists), because I can't do handstand :-). I was searching for some reviews and impressions from her workshops but couldn't find much... We'll see.

Yoga, Mindfulness and Injuries

I just read (or reread, I guess I had seen it before) this article. And promised myself to practice being mindful and respect my body in my yoga practice. Although I'm generally careful, I tend sometimes to push myself a little too much. And we all know that it's the breath that comes first, so if I can't maintain my ujjayi breath and/or feel some irritation, then I should simply back off a little. This again brings me back to my previous post - yoga is a mindfulness practice.

It's late now and after a shower I'll go to bed and read in my Yoga as Medicine book.

Btw, there are some interesting articles on Doug Keller's website on the topic. Maybe I should buy also his Yoga as Therapy books. They sound interesting.

Yoga Students

I just read this today at Prana Journal and just wanted to share it, as I really liked it (Desiree is Desiree Rumbaugh, an Anusara Yoga teacher):

Desiree said that you can tell when a yogi is advanced because they take their time getting into poses. It almost looks as if they were practicing in slow motion. That's because they are observing and parsing all the information coming back from the far reaches of their limbs with scientific rigor: how do the muscles feel, have they reached their edge, is there a risk in pushing beyond the edge, do I feel at ease, can I dwell in stillness in the pose, how can I get out of this knot, what emotions and energies are released by this pose, what am I revealing about my mind or spirit in this vulnerable pose and so on. A beginner will zip through the vinyasa, and in and out of poses, as if he/she is sprinting to a finish line. The intermediate yogis are the ones who get themselves injured, Desiree pointed out, because they are pushing recklessly beyond what is physically safe and worth the risk for the practice.

I guess that's why I like Forrest Yoga, I mean, it works for me in a way that slows me down with its long holds (I'm one who's always in the hurry), and makes me listen to my body. I still have a lot to learn until I get to the stage she's talking about, though.

Day 4 Strength

It's Sunday, but I had to work (luckily from at home), and have been quite tired. The practice was also extreemly hard and I asked myself several times why am I actually doing it. I mean, I could have laid and watched TV or whatever... Not that i have a TV, but...

So, back to the practice. It starts with making your theme (for me it was my shoulders) and some pranayama (10-10-10-10 ratio) in sitting, and the holding after the exhale is with holding Uddiyana. Then we continue with forward bend in baddha konasana and some twists. Actually the twists were a big theme in this class, including some more advanced asanas. Then of course Dolphin (I still can't touch down with my heels here), followed by abdominals. Now it seems like this with variations is the typical beginning of a Forrest Yoga class. They are followed by Agni Sara, side stretch in forward bend and standing forward bend with neck traction (which I ADORE, it's great for releasing the neck, I could stay hours in this position). Then we heat up with Sun Salutations, B-Series and standing poses. OMG! I guess this was really the most challenging part - long holding of Warrior II, while working on the shoulders, Reverse Warrior, Interlock Warrior, Ostrich, Head to Ankle, Twisting Warrior, Twisting Warrior with interlock - all of these with one leg before coming into Pigeon and Standing Tortoise and then repeating with the other leg. And this is not all - we continue with balancing poses. After Standing Pigeon follow Forearm Balance (I did the beginner version of Dolphin on the wall), Forearm Balance in Straddle (I skiped it and just relaxed in Balasana), Scissors (I had difficulties here even lifting only the front leg, but hey, it's also a beginning). Next is again series of twists - Twisting Half Squat, Half twisting Vine, Pashasana, and then, to top it all off - twists and arm balances combined - Side Crow and Twisting Scissors. After this one would be very happy to lay down, but we are still not ready to relax - Leg behind head and Yoganidra are done before we finally release the back with Twisted Root spinal twist and relax in Savasana.

Yes, I do understand why this class is called "Strength". ;-) But the truth is that after all this hard work, laying down in Savasana feels pretty good and I'm sure that I will do this class again. I was only wondering if I would be able to sqeeze this whole class once monthly. The classes are 2 hours long, which is a lot of time, when you're making overtime at the office and commuting... And they are designed so, that each class builds upon the work done in the previous one, so they should be really done in a row. We'll see.

Notes on The Yoga Matrix - CD 1

I have decided to start listening to The Yoga Matrix CDs from Richard Freeman. I thought it would be good, if I also make notes, in the effort to understand better what he is saying. So obviously it will take some time until I'm finished, and in the begining I will just try to extract the main points. Hopefully I will add my own thoughts on the second or third time I listen to the CDs and will edit what I have written here.

01 Introduction

02 Where does yoga begin

Yoga begins with listening, so giving space to what is. Yoga begins in the now - atta (sp?). Yoga is freedom. All reasons we may possible have (to have healthy body, to calm the mind, etc.) are honorable points to begin the studing of yoga. It's very important to start exactly where you are - to see things as they are and to accept them as they are. There are many different styles, methodologies and philosophies of yoga but there is a pattern, that connects all of them together - the Yoga Matrix.

03 The systems of yoga

Hatha Yoga is the most common conception of yoga - we investigate the true core nature of the body (through the practice of asanas) and in doing so investigate the true nature of the mind.

The other type of yoga is Dhyana Yoga - the yoga of wisdom/insight - it concentrates on understanding the mind.

The next is Ashtanga Yoga (eight limbs) - it involves deep meditative awareness, and also uses the practice of yoga asanas, pranayama.

Bhakti Yoga - yoga of love and devotion. Looks deep into the heart, into the emotions.

Tantra Yoga - all practices are concentrated on opening up the central axes of the body, so that we can enter with all of our attention deep into the heart and all along the central axes of the body (the sushumna nadi). According to tantra yoga our everyday life and activities are sacred.

04 Roots of an ancient tradition

The teachings of yoga have been developed over thousands of years and each school has their scriptures, which were written in sanskrit - a sacred language. They were created in such a way, so that they are easy to memorise and memorising and chanting of the sacred texts in itself and of course reflecting on their meaning afterwards, was considered a practice.

In the heart of every school we have to face ourselves, we have to face reality. Yoga is freedom from tradition by fulfilling the very purpose of tradition.

05 Entering the matrix of yoga

06 Intuiting the sacred beneath the surface

07 Chant - Salutatuon to the king of the nagas

08 Awakening the yoga process

09 The body as a medium of our practice

10 Watching the intelligence of the body

Many of the beginning yoga practices reveal the profound process of yoga. When we observe the body or the breath during our practice, what we are really looking at is the process of inteligence. The mind loves to represent things (through symbols, categories) based on past experiences so that they form patterns. This is the process that the Ego loves. Ego is the confusion, which occurs between what is the process of pure consciousness and the contents of consciousness. The Ego likes certainty, it likes to know for sure.

11 The self-reference paradox

Our yoga practice is the microcosm of our whole life. The patterns, which occur in our practice reflect the patterns of avoidance and attachment in our relationships with other people, food, job, money, etc. So this is one of the values of the practice - that we are finding out these core patterns that define our whole existence. Whenever we think about the world, or about other people, we are doing it via the sensations of our own body.

12 Observing the patterns of attachment and repulsion

13 Tapas - the heat of change

Day 3 Go Deeper

For my theme for this class I chose my shoulders, but I actually tried to concentrate on the whole neck-shoulder area. I'm not sure if it's because the class is really intense, or because I was simply paying more attention, but I noticed how much tension I put on my neck and shoulders. It will take a lot of work till I really learn to relax them. The good thing is that Ana always reminds you even in the most intense asanas to relax the neck and pull the shoulders down the ribs.

So, the class begins with Kapalabhati done in Shoelace pose. It's a little difficult to do shoelace at the begining without first warming up, but it feels also good to release the hips. I have done Kapalabhati before watching the Maha Sadhana I video from Dharma Mittra, so it wasn't something new. Then there were of course some abdominals, and boy did they make me sweat! But again it feels good, because I feel how they became more accessible after each time I do them. There was of course Dolphin, Agni Sara and a lot of lunges to open the front side of the hips and to prepare for backbends (the focus of this class). I really have to work on opening the front of my hips, and I feel that it will also help my right knee, which sometimes feels uncomfortable in Bridge or in lunges and dancer as a back leg. From the arm balances we did Bakasana, which I can happily hold for several seconds. Then follows Elephant trunk, which I do only on the stage 1. Ana uses horse stance with back traction to lenghten the back after all the lunges, cobras and dancer, and it feels very good. I did the beginner versions of the most advanced back bends - Bridge instead of Scorpion and Wheel instead of Scorpion Forearm balance. On the cobra push-ups with a roll my hands were already tired, but it still releases nicely the lower back. Then you go again with abdominals :-), again with the purpose of releasing the lower back. After some twist comes the long awaited Savasana. As they say, Ana is really very good at sequencing, and I really like listening to her voice and paying attention as she says. But I splitted the 2 hours and took a pause in between the 2 CDs, not because it was too intense, but because I started getting distracted *blush*. I also sometimes lost my ujjayi and was struggling to keep breathing at all (which shouldn't happen), but this only means I still have a lot to work on. :-)

Nauli, Agni Sara & Uddiyana

Ana Forrest always includes at least one of these in all of her classes. The common between the three is that they are done after full exhalation and on holding the breath while moving the belly. I still find them difficult and get tired soon. From what I understood, the goal here is to stimulate the intestines and the digestive system and they should have detox and calming effect on the mind and body.

So, in my beginner mind rose of course the following question: in what are uddiyana bandha, Agni Sara and Nauli different? They looked pretty much the same to me...

According to this site:

"Nauli (which means "to churn") is a close cousin of uddiyana and navi kriya. The difference is that nauli is geared more toward purification and ecstatic activation of processes in the GI tract, an important element in the overall rise of the spiritual neuro-biology throughout the body. Nauli is part of the "shatkarmas," or cleansing techniques. We will be discussing those in a later lesson. Uddiyana and navi kriya are more vertical in the body, affecting the spinal nerve in particular, lifting from root to third eye. Uddiyana means, "to fly up." Navi kriya is about flying up much more, and integrating upper and lower body mudras and bandhas into a single whole body mudra. The results of this upward flying inner energy will be felt in every aspect of our practice and daily life."

Agni Sara also uses Uddiyana. I found a nice explanation in Anatomy of Hatha Yoga.

OK, I have to admit that I'm still having difficulties getting the difference, but I guess this will come with practice.

Forrest Yoga - Day 2 Integrity

I did day 2 from Ana Forrest's 5-Day Intensive Course. The class focuses mainly on the hips and works them in standing, sitting poses, and at the end even in shoulder stand. No Sun Salutations, and almost no backbends (only a few while working the hips and hamstrings in launges). It's 2 hours long, so I did it after I came back from work. I got hungry a little after the middle (after the standing poses), so I made a break to eat and continued after I felt ready. It was hard. Really hard. But I enjoyed it. The right side of my neck and my right shoulder hurt, so I was very careful and didn't hold the arm balances as long as she says. I still find Dolphin pretty hard, and am trying to shift the weight off from my shoulders and to the hands and chest mussles. Forearm balance and handstand I do only on the wall, and even there only halfway (legs paralel to the floor). I'm still a little afraid, although I have done handstand as a child. Hope to do the next 3 days from the course in the following days...