25 yoga questions

I found this on tumblr and thought it might be fun. I haven't done a questionnaire thingy in ages!

1.      How long have you been practicing yoga? How did you get into it?  I’ve been practicing 5 years now. An old 90s video and my sister-in-law introduced me.

2.      Have you gotten other people into yoga? I believe I have. I have a couple of girl friends tell me they started because I talk it up so much, haha.

3.      Are you a yoga teacher? If not, do you plan on becoming one? No, I am not. I plan on getting my certification. Whether I teach with it or not remains to be seen.

4.      What do you look for in a yoga teacher? What is their most important quality? I enjoy laid-back teachers that know to not take yoga (or themselves) too seriously. I like teachers that demonstrate different variations of any given pose.

5.      What do you enjoy the most about every yoga class? The full warm up. A lot of times when I’m at home I rush through warm up.

6.      How often do you practice and/or attend classes? I usually get on the mat 3 times a week. I’m working up to 6.

7.      Do you practice yoga at home? Self-guided or Yogatoday.com

8.      Strangest place that you have ever done yoga? Hmm… I hit a lot of birthday parties, haha.

9.      Favorite asana(s), least favorite asana(s), most difficult asana(s) for you? Favorites: Eka Pada Rajakapotasana, Gomukhasana, Vrksasana, Sirsasana, Malasana, Trikonasana, Camatkarasana, Ustrasana, Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana. Least favorite: Anything requiring a deep stretch in the hamstrings. Mine are very tight :( Most difficult for me: Anything requiring a deep stretch in the hamstrings, Adho Mukha Vrksasana.

10.         Something your yoga teachers adjust the most on you during yoga class? Probably my hips.

11.         Favorite type of yoga? Anusara, Kundalini, Hatha

12.         Are you Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, or GURU? I’d put myself somewhere in the beginner/intermediate range.

13.         What type of music do you like when practicing yoga? Instrumentals usually. Chanting. Nature sounds.

14.         What is your preference, morning, afternoon or evening yoga? All.

15.         What is the first thing you do right after yoga class? If I’m home, eat. If I’m at the gym I sit in the hot tub.

16.         How does yoga help you? What changes have you noticed in your lifestyle because of yoga? Yoga helps me stay calm. I’m much more patient and aware. My reactions stopped being volatile.

17.         What is easier for your body type: strength, flexibility, both? Hmm… I’m not sure. Both, maybe.

18.         Have you ever done partner yoga? No! But I’ve been wanting to try it forever!

19.         Have you ever injured yourself during yoga, if so how and what? I pulled my back once while doing Natarajasana.

20.         What do you bring to yoga class? What do you wear when practicing yoga? I bring my mat, strap, blocks and water. I usually wear yoga pants or capris and either a tank or short sleeve.

21.         Hot yoga- awesome or dangerous? I’ve never tried it, but my intuition leads to feel it’s dangerous.

22.         Front of the class or back of the room, near the wall or the center of the room? Wherever I can squeeze in!

23.         Have you or would you attend a nude yoga class? I have not and don’t know if I would…

24.         Favorite yoga videos, CD, app, etc? YOGATODAY.COM!

25.     What is the oddest thing that you have started thinking about in the middle of a yoga class? Oh man, I can’t recall. I know I’ve thought some pretty wacky things though!

we are not our habits

I've been going through a lot of changes lately; physically, mentally, and emotionally. I've uncovered many hidden aspects of myself I've been too scared to face. And I've started working toward changing them and bettering myself.
Something that's been coming up a lot in my reading is the idea that we are not our habits. Our habits, both negative and positive, are called samskaras in Sanskrit, and Patanjali assures us in the Yoga sutras that they do not define us. They're just habits. And habits can be changed.
This ties back to my (still inconsistent) meditation practice. I've been meditating on my bad habits a lot lately. I've been doing tons and tons of self-reflecting on the habits and patterns that don't serve me. I've been trying to "own" my bad habits, instead of projecting them onto others, so I can truly overcome them. That just means being completely aware of the nasty parts of myself that hurt me and others.
I've been starting with something small, that I've been aware of for a long time, but haven't ever really tried to fix. And that's my bad habit of procrastinating. I'm a professional procrastinator; a postponer of action. Not acting and procrastinating are basically synonyms. I'm not proud of it, but I'm owning it. Every night I check-in with myself to see where I successfully overcame procrastination and where I fell short (and always staying non-judgemental and compassionate toward myself). When I check-in I also set intentions for me to tackle the next day. Taking a calm, slow, conscious approach has been incredibly helpful. I don't feel overwhelmed, or that I'm not doing "enough". I'm working at a pace that serves me, and I think the past 2 weeks have been the most productive of my life! And that is the most encouraging feeling of hope I've had in a long time.

:)

what's your style?

I found this cute flow chart that's supposed to provide insight into which style of yoga is best for you. Who knows how accurate it is, really, but I liked the aesthetics of it and the idea behind it quite a bit. When I did it for me, it led me to Sivananda yoga. I thought this was funny because I'm currently reading The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga by Swami Vishnu-devananda, the founder of Sivananda yoga. I think it only lead me to that because of my interest in diet philosophy. I've been vegetarian for 9 years already, and am adamant about practicing ahimsa in every aspect of my life. So I tried it again. Another option for me was Kundalini yoga. I haven't practiced that style much, maybe only 2 or 3 times, but I enjoy learning about and opening the chakras. So, what's my style? Who knows, I'm still searching.

Where did the flow chart lead you?

:)

this month

I've felt myself waning. My mind has been a jumble of distractions and stress. Having surgery has really affected my personal practice; energy spent on moving preparations have left me with little else to go on. I miss my practice, and yet when I unroll my mat I feel a sense of confusion. I don't know what to do or where to go with it. I've become separated from my flow. Disconnected.

The move is in a week and a half. I feel like if I can get myself through the final touches of it all I'll have more time, or energy, or clarity, or whatever it is that I need, to connect with the Universe again.

I had such big plans for this month last month, and nothing has truly manifested itself. I suppose this is how things typically go. The one thing I can say for certain is that this challenging month hasn't pushed me away from my desire to learn more about yoga; it has been an opportunity for me to truly take my practice "off the mat" and apply what I have learned to my busy, daily life. Some days are more difficult and scattered than others (and this healing process has been way less than pleasant) and I definitely have a lot more practice and learning to do. But it feels good to know I'm starting a new chapter in my life.

on meditation

Elena Brower on meditation.

This finally makes sense to me! I'm seriously lacking in my meditation practice; something about it has always eluded me. I've had trouble truly grasping it. My monkey brain, obviously, is seriously flighty. I've been giving this huge amounts of consideration lately and have generally been thinking about how beneficial a steady meditation practice would be for me right now [and always]. Reading that short piece by Elena pushed out the last little bit of haze in my mind concerning meditation. She's brought the heart into the picture! Lucky for me, I spend a lot of time in my heart as it is. [People have told me before that I actually feel too much. Is that possible as a human? To feel too much? I'm not sure about that...] I've always understood meditation as a quieting of the mind. Reaching that stillness seems easier when I consider what my heart is doing while my mind is slowing down. Elena's approach makes so much sense to me. I literally felt a breath of fresh air and renewed inspiration after reading her wise words.

:)

under-developed

My beautiful friend Lacy is currently doing her teacher training in anusara yoga. She's been throwing lots of tips and resources my way lately. I don't know much about chakras so she sent me this chakra test. It's pretty simple but helpful, and I found it to be pretty accurate for my person.

My root, throat, and third eye chakras are under-developed. I don't know much about the chakras, so this is a good opportunity to see where I'm unbalanced in my life and practice. My test results showed that my heart chakra is pretty open, and that is comforting because I've been focusing on "leading with my heart." That's one of the phrases I've heard the most over the past 4 years I've been practicing, and recently I've been taking it to heart. (Har-har, pun intended). But really, lately my practice revolves around expanding my heart. Knowing that my efforts to open my heart are working I think it's time to start incorporating some focus on the other chakras. Before I took that little quiz I noticed that sometimes I'll close up the back of my throat or clench my jaw in a pose. Closed throat chakra. I think this is a good place for me to start.

Source

I don't have too many resources on opening the chakras, but I'm working on it. And of course I'll post whatever I find here. Right now though, I feel so incredibly blessed to have the positive influences in my life that I do. I practice with my best friend and my boyfriend when I can, and my other friends offer tons of advice! Like how to open chakras by focusing my awareness and then spiraling it. I'll definitely be practicing that!

dewdrops on leaves

this is taking a new direction.
i realized today that awareness is paramount to me. it's important for human survival. therefore, it's important for the earth's survival.
humans are destroying the planet; it's really no secret if you choose to open your eyes to the horrors committed every day.
so in an effort to do my part in building a better future, i feel compelled to pass on the knowledge and awareness i find-- no matter how "small" or obvious it might seem. i believe every little bit helps and if anything is going to be helped on a large scale it needs to start small scale. it needs a solid foundation. good habits as part of a productive lifestyle. smaller parts building up to the whole. you know.

so.
let the sharing begin.

summer school + yoga

Yoga has gotten me through a lot. A lot.
Currently, yoga is seeing me through an utterly hectic 12 credits over summer. I didn't quite realize how challenging that would be. When I tell people my course load they look at me like I'm insane, they ask me, "Are you insane?!" and honestly, sometimes I do feel insane over it. But now, as the semester nears its end, I feel incredibly confident and strong. Like a flower opening up to the sun, day after day, ready for whatever winds, rain, and insects might come. I attribute this serene feeling during such a hectic time in my life to a few things: First, I'm not working this summer. It goes without saying how much that helps. Second, I have an incredibly supportive web of friends and family. They cook for me when I'm too busy to do it myself, they get me out of the house when I'm at my wits end, and they offer unceasing encouragement through the whole process. Third, I have refused to let yoga take a backseat to my homework. I think this has helped me the most.
I first registered for summer with 14 credits. I had signed up for a 2 credit yoga class that I thought I'd be able to handle because I do yoga so frequently anyway. After the first week of school I realized the extra day of driving and the extra, albeit simple, assignments would be too much for me. I wanted to take the class because, lets face it, I'm lacking any sort of formal training; I've never been able to stick with a teacher, or even a studio for that matter. Taking yoga through school was an opportunity for me to earn credit and progress in my beloved practice under a legitimate teacher. Two birds with one stone, essentially.
Before I committed myself so much to yoga, I was a ball of stress and nerves, anxiety and anger. I know for a fact that if I had neglected my practice during these 3 months I'd be crying daily, waking up and going to bed angry, and basically hating the world around me. I know yoga is the reason I've been able to rise above those hurtful and angry emotions. If it weren't for yoga, I wouldn't be able to express my gratitude to my loved ones that have helped me oh so much these months. It's obvious to others that knew me before my yoga immersion how much this has helped me. It's helped me not only to deal with stress, but to grow into the woman I know I am deep down. It's helped me tap into, and radiate, my true Self.
Surprisingly, it's been in the past 3 months of crazy school work that my abilities have skyrocketed. Before this summer, I couldn't balance on my arms, I couldn't stand on my head, and I wouldn't dream of trying a jump through. Now, I can balance on my arms (sideways, even!), I can stand on my head, and I'm very close to clearing my feet when I try to jump through! The joys I experience when practicing far outweigh whatever other challenges I'm facing in life.
But alas, with 2 weeks left in the semester I caught a cold. I haven't been sick in 3 whole years. My friends assure me students tend to get sick near the end of a semester, so I guess that's why. The cold kept me away from a full practice for nearly a week. Thankfully, I got a full hour in today; the rest of the week is still uncertain. Add that to 7 exams in 2 weeks and you get a compromised practice.
With the end of the semester nearing I've tapped in more to my breath. Deep breathing and silent chants are my salvation this week. And probably next week, until the semester ends. I can hardly think of anything else besides school right now, but I keep having this little thought creep into my head: practice, practice, practice! It's not demanding, it's exciting. I can't wait to dedicate some serious thought and effort into my practice. There are so many things I want to try and refine, but I must be patient. Patience is another thing yoga has taught me ;)
So the moral is: Yoga can get me through anything.

my yoga

I'm passionate about yoga.

My other blog encompasses every aspect of my life, from family and friends, to food, to personal challenges, and things that make me smile or stop and think. This blog is meant to be all things yoga, especially pertaining to my personal journey through this beautiful lifestyle. Yes, yoga is a lifestyle for me. I want to live it, breathe it, dream it, eat it.

I began dabbling in yoga in 2007. About a year and a half ago I realized my life was empty, cold, and severely lacked discipline and direction. I began to hate myself. Then one day, I found absolute solace in my simple daily practice. It was around that time, gradually, that yoga became a big priority to me. It allowed me to stop, breathe and live. I felt alive practicing yoga when my bad moods engulfed my life.

There is still a lot I have to learn about Yoga, but I feel that [finally] I'm on the right path for me. Thus far, asanas have been the bulk of my practice, but I'm very eager to start studying and learning more about pranayama and meditation. Books help. Oh, how I love books.

I'll use this blog to keep me motivated. I'll also share whatever I might discover on the internet that helps me in my journey so that, hopefully, it can help some one else in their journey. But mostly, this is a blog, an online journal of sorts, to help me track my progress and notice the things my body is telling me at any given time. In the past year that yoga has been a driving force in my life, I've become much more aware of my body and its needs. I've noticed that sometimes, some weeks, some asanas are beyond my grasp. I might lose sirsasana for a week, or find out I can't do uttanasana when I'm sick. And that's okay. These things don't keep my from my mat, instead they encourage me to look for alternative paths so that I can practice yoga every day, in every aspect of my life.

Namaste :)