Mar 13, 2020

Finding Stillness in Frenzy

Finding stillness.  That’s my focus right now.  Walk slower.  Move slower.  Give space to recognize feelings.  Space to recognize that we are not our feelings.  Space to think.  Space to understand the difference between a snake and a rope.  Space to keep my mind in the present.  Not dwelling on past or worrying about future.  Remembering that my thoughts color what everything looks like.  When I remember I have agency, I can start to realize that the “good” or “bad” sensations are labels that I can change.  To realize that if they are changeable they aren’t real...

Everything is still happening and always will.  Read the Bhagavad Gita.  We learn that even abstaining from everything - our bodies are still working.  Everything is happening and always will.  So how to deal?  How to be a human in the world?  In society?  How to people?

This is the time to focus on practicing the 8 limbs of yoga.  This is the time when even a little knowledge can make a massive difference. Even before asana practice comes the yamas and niyamas.   This is a time to bring these into focus.

Non-hoarding, aparigraha...  Think about minimalism.  Think about FIRE.  Think about what really is important in life.

Remember to take care of each other.  What about the children who will be home for three weeks without free school lunches?  How can we help them?

Remember to take care of ourselves.  Remember to keep up our asana practice or maybe it is an opportunity to begin.  Maybe it helps us to process thoughts, emotions, energy.  Maybe it helps reduce stress and keeps us healthy and infuses us with the vitality to be able to help others and the world more.  That would be nice.

Oh and also from the yoga sutras:

maitri karuna muditopeksanam sukha duhkha punyapunya visayanam bhavanatas citta prasadanam
“By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness.”

Mar 9, 2020

How to have a home practice - inspiration and tip checklist

Keeping and maintaining a home practice doesn't need to be complicated.  You only need to want to do it and continue to do it everyday.  Some days will be easier than others.  At times it will be very hard.  I have found that at the end of the day there is a dialogue between your body and mind.  If one goes dark, the other follows and vice versa.  A big part of being able to continue to show up is to observe this pattern and always be looking to encourage it toward the center.  Whatever that takes. Not too light and not too dark.  Not too hard and not too soft.  Not too much effort and not too little effort.  Not too tight and not too loose... etc.  Whatever that means to you on that day.

I love this practice of yoga.  It continues to feed my body and mind and I want that to continue for the rest of my life.  In order for that to happen, it needs to be sustainable.  After 20 years of practicing yoga I have found that the way to do that is to follow the only instruction that the Yoga Sutras give on asana -- that it should be "steady and sweet".



With "steady and sweet" in mind, here are some of my top tips on how to have a successful ongoing home practice.


It starts the day before
Set out your clothing - saves time in the morning.
Decide the location - time saver and also you don't want to get lost in thoughts trying to get ready.  You just want to be ready.
Try to eat for practice - a completely individual topic.  Maybe start with drinking more water and eating clean or eliminating processed foods.
Get your sleep.
Set your alarm.

Schedule it
Decide the day before what time you will start your practice.  Oh, and actually show up on your mat at that time.

Ramp up
Practice as close as you can to the time that you woke up.  Less time to get distracted.  It just makes things easier.
No screens - it will make life easier.
Bathe, brush teeth...basic hygiene.
If there's time between when you wake up and your practice time, try to fill it with something uplifting... read, meditate, burn incense, chant etc.

Set the scene
Essentially the fewer distractions, the easier it will be to get on and stay on your mat. Consider temperature, smells, sights, scents...


Practice
If you don't have one, start here - practice sheet and 5- minute yoga practice video
If you have one - keep it simple (breathing, vinyasa, dristhi, bandha, positive thoughts)
If you need help focusing - here is a list of free led classes on youtube

After practice
Take care of your temple - your body and mind
Sounds - Podcasts, youtube, chanting, music, nature, positive people, silence
Smells - fresh air, plants, essential oils, incense
Sights - Nature, read
Tastes - eat nourishing food
Be kind and patient with your self and others

Stay inspired
Join a class with a teacher when you can
Go on a yoga retreat or trip


This is just a quick list... I'll circle back. This post feels like a work in progress.




Mar 7, 2020

2020 Ashtanga Yoga Retreat Wishlist

You have a week (ish) off work.  You want to keep up your practice.  You want to study with an authorized or certified teacher.  You want to be surrounded by other Mysore people.  You want to focus on your practice.  You want to travel and explore and learn...

Where to go?

Some of these include your stay, some don't...

Here are my top picks:

APRIL


Susanna Finocchi Galavasana

Germany
April 13-May 9
Susanna Finocchi (L2) & Lakshmish Bhat



MAY



Brazil
May 9-15
Thiago Villa Verde (L2) & Xico Rodrigues (L2)






Thailand
May 15-19 (postponed until 2021)
Sharath Jois

JUNE



Turkey
June 7-13
Harmony Lichty (Certified)
Australia
June 9-14
Sharath Jois






JULY

Finland
 July 29-August 2
Petri Raisanen (Certified)







AUGUST


Bali
August 28-September 6
Eileen Hall (Certified)






SEPTEMBER



Spain, Serbia, Greece
September 2-19
Sharath Jois








OCTOBER



Tanzania
October 15-23
Tarik Thami (Certified)






NOVEMBER



Egypt
November 2-13
Philippa Asher (Certified)

Mar 2, 2020

On Retreat with David Robson & Jelena Vesnic





The thing is that once you have a steady Mysore practice, it goes with you when you travel.  Sometimes the particulars of making that happen are easy but in my experience they usually are not.  Most often I find myself sandwiched between two beds on a carpeted floor keeping my drishti so that I wouldn't have to see what was lurking under the bed with the AC blasting in my face.  Then there is the food disaster where yes, you are grateful you have food but are also mentally preparing yourself for how this highly processed meal is going to feel tomorrow in Marichasana D (foot in gut now twist).  Or Pasasana (squat and thighs smash guts now twist). Or Purna Matsyendrasana (more foot in gut and twisting action).  

These are things you don't want to have to think about.



Enter yoga vacation aka yoga retreat.  You get to have your practice and eat well too. Sometimes you want to mostly vacation, sometimes you want to mostly retreat, other times you want a healthy mix of both. My recent retreat with David Robson and Jelena Vesnic was just that.





Sayulita is a small surfer town north of Puerto Vallarta. You can take the bus or taxi or have a car arranged by your hotel.  You don't really need a map because vegan and vegetarian and organic and farm fresh local food and taco stands are waiting to be discovered around every corner. Design-forward local makers abound.  Eco-conscious mostly everything and recycling bins aplenty.  The beach...





We stayed at Hotelito de los Suenos where we also had our morning Mysore practice. Rooms were simple, clean, and with air conditioning.  Post-practice breakfast was offered daily with everything from chilaquiles (kind of like breakfast nachos) to avocado toast.  Lately, I have preferred to have my first meal around noon so after practice I would wander off through town just as it woke up.  I love this moment anywhere.  The air is different.  The birds in the trees.  The "just before".  I would wander through the sleepy streets to Organi-k for the "No Bad Days" smoothie (alt milk, cacao, banana, chia, hemp, peanut butter...) that I would have for lunch.  It is really something that bringing your own reusable cup is starting to be the standard everywhere.






We had three workshops - just the right amount.  I'm not so into geeking out on these things so much these days but sometimes we all need a little encouragement and reassurance that we are on the right path.  When you practice on your own most of the time, you need this.  (Well, I suppose you don't need it, but it is nice.) And when your teacher is in India and you aren't, reassurance takes longer to receive. You'd think that being authorized means that everyone is offering the same information.  This isn't always the case.  Life can get lonely.  But with David and Jelena, I felt right at home.










Feb 27, 2020

All the musings

It has been a long road.  I recently published all of my blogs onto one platform.  Since 2007 I have had 29 blogs.  That’s close to 800 posts.

That sounds like a lot.

They are on a variety of topics but the main story line — my diary or travel journal — is what I’d like to have in once place.  I am slowly reading it through, editing, deleting irrelevant posts.  It is so interesting to observe all of the realizations and changes with the perspective of time.  Yet, I have already also learned from some of the lessons I have forgot. I am currently on a yoga retreat (rather than leading one) and haven’t decided yet what I’d like to publish about the trip.  Mat reflections?  Observational wormhole comedy travel essays? Gonzo journalism?  They are eating ayahuasca outside my window...  For now, I’m just going to finish my pumped up coffee and offer this: https://eliseespat.blogspot.com/
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Feb 23, 2020

Sharath Jois 2020 World Tour




If you're up for some travels or happen to live in the area, Sharath's going to be in town:

Thailand May 15-19 info
Australia June 9-14 info
Mysore July and August info
Spain Sep 2-6 info
Greece Sep 8-12 info
Serbia Sep 14-19 info

Check the shala website here for updates.


From the archives...

Toronto tour 2009:







Me, 2012 Encinitas Tour




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