TRUE DAT

Our yoga allows us to experience life in a richer, fuller HD format. The inhibitions and barriers start to crumble away as we begin to weave ourselves into the world community and explore culture, customs and languages foreign to us as well as our own native speaking dialects. Enjoy my images capturing life off the mat in New Orleans...

Make Your Own Space

Where ever you are, where ever you go, just carve it out of somewhere. Make that space for asana, pranayama and meditation. A baseball tournament put me on the road to Mobile, Alabama; this of course means finding a yoga studio that works with the tournament schedule or practice on my own. By the photo, you can tell I had to default to the later-which turned out to be bliss.

A breezy, sun dappled area combined with the bubbling water of the nearby hot tub made a great yoga space. I’m getting pretty good at turning inward and withdrawing from distractions (i.e. the sounds of traffic), by focusing on the water feature I was ‘in my zone’. I wasn’t bothered by anyone when I rolled out my mat due to the early hour of my practice, only a curious housekeeper peeking at me while she was cleaning the windows. 

It is so fabulous to practice outdoors, my gaze is directed to unique perspectives of nature. It’s is good way to help me off the mat and see different angles to a problem or challenge, or to be able to see a situation from someone else's chair. 

Even those pesky mosquitoes were in harmony with my practice, they didn’t  bite me once! What’s your favorite outdoor space?

Namasté

The best of Puppy Poses

Share these photos with your teenie yoginis to inspire them in their own yoga journey.

Charlie demonstrates the super challenging pose Parivrtta Trikonasana (Revolved Triangle). Charlie tells us that this pose stretches the hips and spine as well as opens the chest. This pose also improves breathing and relieves mild back pain. Charlie is so intent with the spreading of the toes! 

Lizzy took on the flexibility challenge pose Krounchasana (Heron Pose), she has such an elongated spine. Lizzy wants us to know that this posture stretches the hamstrings and stimulatesthe abdominal organs. She is such a graceful yoga model!

Kerrigan is so adorable, he could have hung Ardha-Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose). Doing this pose helps to strengthen that puppy belly, improve coordination and balance as you grow into those big paws and strengthens the ankles and spine. 

“Build it, and they will come”...or not (May 20th, 2012)

I can’t believe what I am seeing here, almost like a mirage in the Southern Delta desert. There stands an incredible junior college football stadium outfitted with turf, yes a TURF field, a Jumbo tron and a very likable press box. Next to this desirable stadium is a freshly built baseball stadium, all shiny and new with a fabulous batting cage, roomy press boxes and dugouts- Oh, I bet the locker room is pretty sweet as well.

This is why my son and I are here, to tryout for the East Mississippi Lions baseball team, a junior college in Mississippi that can’t be located on a Tom Tom. I think that every time my husband typed in the town of ‘Scooba’ the auto correct changed it to Scooby. My twitter photo pretty much captured my expression as we turn off highway 45 onto route 16, just blocks away from campus (I couldn’t send it, no service). As we turned, there before us stood a very fat and happy cow grazing on the side of the road-no he was not inside a fence, but literally just off the shoulder of the road. Later, I started to wonder if the AstroTurf football field was a necessity after all, to keep the cows from grazing and pooping on it. 

My yoga tells me not to judge; I am doing more yoga now from a stadium seat than I have in the last 7 days. My mind can’t help but evaluate, critique and rank things as I slowly roast in the Delta heat. “Where did all the funds come from to build such star quality facilities? Are those dorms, converted from old motels? THAT is the student center?

I’m closing the Mac to sit for a few minutes and breathe, shut up Judge Judy and send positive thoughts  to my son. But deep down inside I'm hoping he will take the offer from Southwest.

Writer’s Block

It happens to anyone who puts pen to paper (or finger tips to keyboard)- regardless of your experience or skill level, you feel like you haven’t an intellectual bone in your body and nothing to express. Heck, you can lock up when writing in your own diary or journal!  You may have the writable, reportable experiences, but they may be too raw to organize and communicate, hence the freezing action I suppose. It takes immense effort, meditation and pranayama to quite those nasty voices. 

I am back on the blog track and I recently returned back to social media after a several week hiatus. I was caught up in the throws of this disorder called “Senioritis” and it can be quite gripping. My last child graduated high school last month and ordinary events or rituals became “this will be the last time you ___, sniff sniff”. The month of April and May felt like one long roller coaster ride at Six Flags as we experienced senior projects, prom, Senior Awards, the last baseball season, final exams - and rumbled right into baccalaureate and graduation. What a spring 2012 was.

If you are not aware of it, there is a completely opposite end of the spectrum to the disorder known as Senioritis, and I was experiencing this version in tandem with the more youthful Senioritis. My father’s failing cognitive functioning skills (associated with Parkinson’s disease) started to drop off right before I had to place my mother in a nursing home as she is anchored in the severe stages of Alzheimer’s. So you see, I have had a lot on my mind and plate...and it was covering up my mat.

Some incredibly insightful moments took place during this time, and a lot of light appeared amidst the grey. When the time is right, I’ll be blogging about a few of them under the heading of Senioritis. 

Metta and Ananda to you all yogis and yoginis

29 February 2012

My last day in Utopia

I dislike the feelings that swell up like a tide pool when I have to leave the beach. Regardless, I do have to thank my lucky stars (and planets) for my time in this little paradise: no flight delays getting here, no inclement weather and memorable experiences. 

My morning walk on the beach was bright and communal, just enough other folks with the same idea sharing a beautiful moment in time. The ocean was mirror smooth in a cool hue of aquamarine and the air was practically still-just an occasional light breeze.

The ocean invited me to sit for a while, 

So I knelt down into virasana posture to...I don’t know, 

But I closed my eyes and        sat.  

The ocean spoke slightly above a whisper:

Draw in

Draw within 

Rest your awareness 

In the first moment 

When The Spirit

Hovered over the water

And I did

And it became so quiet

Like I had slowly submerged under the water

But I still felt bright and warm from the sun

I felt like my spirit and my body temporarily separated

Experiencing calm and wonder 

Then the ocean asked me to breathe with her

And I did

28 February 2012

Surfing the Vinyasa Wave

Yes, I told myself to not fixate on asana for a while and look deeper in the meaning and relationship of my yoga. But, I can’t help it...the Power Yoga at Bala Vinyasa Naples was mind blowing! Feeling the energy of the Bala tribe this morning just set my practice into motion and I hovered and floated through class. I realized that it is not very often that I get to practice at a Baptiste affiliate studio, so my time on the mat seemed more sacred. 

Paddle boarding the day before set my perspective and attitude in such a positive tilt. I only wish I was able to jump into the ocean every 10 minutes to wash the enormous amount of sweat off of my body, I was really getting nasty from lotions and moisturizers on my sunburned skin. Self, make a mental note to rinse off in the shower right before a HOT yoga class and things will flow smoother for yourself, ok?

Bala Vinyasa is about to open another location in Coral Gables, Florida, so here they go into my contact files--in case I happen to visit Miami or come back to Naples, a gal has to stay on top of things, you know? The vacation getaway is nearing it’s end and with it, the sadness of have to leave this little piece of paradise.

 It’s late in the evening, but I still have the Bala shatki pulsing through my body.