Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Tapestry yoga

This is very cool. Lots of Yoga and other fine pursuits all under one roof. Next week marks the first week of classes at Tapestry Yoga in Viroqua. There are a whole bunch of classes and teachers to check out. And the first week of classes are free! Wahoo! The schedule is on Kathy's website and you can link to there through her blog. Look right.

I am going to be offering the Sunday practice for now. Starting this Sunday! I keep thinking that I can do more but in reality I keep doing less (except for canning, I keep on doing more of that).

So, I have really missed everyone lots and lots and I am really looking forward to seeing folks back on their mats. And some new folks too I hope.

I could go on, but I will keep it short. I have lots of interesting happenings brewing but they need to settle a little bit more before I can share them.

See you Sunday.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Last Call

So, tomorrow morning is the final horah at the warehouse. It has been fun to be there over the summer. Love you Val. And, contrary to my last entry, I am going to offer something at Tapestry Yoga for the fall session. I will keep the Sunday Led Practice going so that nobody thinks that I have disappeared completely into the arms of motherhood. It will run from 7 am until 8:45 and will be a fun time to get together and do a structured led practice. We will work on all class of poses and have an opportunity to go a little deeper than we might in classes. I am also going to offer an inversion workshop on a Sunday in November. Should be great. I love teaching inversions and really can't wait.

But for now. Tomorrow I am thinking that we are going to do a lot of hips and thigh openings and then work on some lotus variations. Why not. Seems like an auspicious way to end the summer. I hope folks can join me, otherwise I will see you later in the month back in the Landmark.

Friday, August 21, 2009

This morning's practice

It is a rainy day and oh boy is 6 am much earlier now than it was mid-summer. But I made it in and did a pretty mellow practice with some inversion and a little bit of backbend work. I am working on a great little nugget that I received from Chris Saudek in Lacrosee. It is really a gem and I think will help me really open up my backbends. That and a chair. Must really get a chair! Or at the very least finish the ones that Chris Newlin started like 2 years ago.

So we are going to meet at the warehouse until labor day weekend. But we will change the time to 7 and go until right around 8:45. Much more manageable.

And then that will be it. I am not going to offer anything this fall. Just take some time to regroup and work on my own practice. I am getting into a nice groove and I hope to just keep it going until the time is right to offer some classes. Hopefully, in January all of the pieces will have come together to support me in teaching 2 or 3 times a week.

So, until then, come in and join me for these last few group practices. I may try and offer a few special events during the fall. So keep checking here. I will be recreating this blog in the next few weeks to reflect this time in my life. It will still chronicle my own practice, but it will also have a lot of my reflections on mothering and living in a small rural community, both through the lens of yoga.

I hope that this is all as interesting to you as it is to me.

Love.

Monday, August 17, 2009

another 45

I want to share with you a fantastic sequence that i just finished practicing while my kids slept. Slept! This sequence was given to me by my friend and teacher Christina Sell, whom many of you know and likewise love.
But before I lay it out, I just want to say that it is simply wonderful to begin the week with a therapy appointment. It is marvelous to put everything into perspective before I actually have lost it entirely. So there you go. Perfect.

note: the times Christina has given me for the inversions are significantly longer. They are shorter here.

1 minute AMS
1 min uttanasana

5 minute Sirsasana (with variations, such as eka pada, parsvaikapada, padmasana)

10 minutes of standing poses- 1 minute per side

Parsvakonasana
Trikonasana
Parivritta Trikonasana
Parivritta Parsvakonasana
Uttanasana

5 minute virasana

10 minutes of forward folds- 1 min per side

paschimottanasana
janu sirsasana
triang muhkaikapada paschimottanasana
ardha baddha padma paschimottanasana
marichyasana 1
paschimottanasana

5 minute Sarvangasana with same variations as Sirsasana
halasana

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Friday, August 14, 2009

a new sequence

I have been errant. I know. I am so sorry. Here is a new sequence. Down and dirty.

Speaking of which, before I go any further, I want to share the fun of the day with you. I am home from the 2nd week of the Viroqua cyclocross races. I am utterly exhausted and happy. Doing it on a day when I wake up before 6 to practice is pretty insane, and also just right. I am here to say that everyone should come. It is a delightful way to spend a Friday afternoon with the whole family. So you heard it here. Check it out over in my blog roll. There should be some good pictures up later tonight.

OK. Yoga.

I have been taking a weekly class up in Lacrosee with an amazing teacher and so I am feeling very influenced by Iyengar Yoga. But my roots will always be Anusara. So everything right now is a bit of a smattering. Enjoy. I am too tired to say much more. Other than this: do come on Sunday! I am devising a sequence to really open up the shoulders and upper back. Besides, how much longer can we really get together at 6:30 in the morning anyhow?

Centering
1 minute each
Supta Padangustasana 1-4
jatara parivartanasana
navasana
Supta Virasana (3-5 minutes)
Adho Mukha Svanasana

Parivritta Trikonasana
Parivritta Parsvakonasana
Uttanasana
Urdhva Prasarita Eka Padasana
Ardha Padmottanasana
Uttanasana

Paschimottanasana
Janu sirsasana
Ardha Padma Pascimottanasana (support the knee with a blanket if you need to)
Paschimottanasana

Setubandha (sacrum on a block and feet at the wall- legs straight) 5 minutes

Wahoo!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

not quite back from vacation...

So, while I am back in town, I am not quite back in town.

I ran in to Valorie at the co-op and she reminded me that blog is far from up-to-date, and alas, she is correct. So here I am. Updating.

We are on for early morning practice for all of August. Every Friday and every Sunday. It is going to be great and it is also going to be hard. Why? Because we need it to be. Plain and Simple. It will be fun. Plan on a lot of standing poses tomorrow moving toward some deep hip and backbend work.

I am taking down my website, which is very exciting news for me. And I hope to re do the blog in the up and coming future. Just freshen things up and get a new perspective. Something that is representative of where I am headed as a practitioner and where we are headed as a yoga community. It really is about time.

Lots of folks have been asking me what will be happening in the fall and the truth is that right now, I really do not know. I haven't committed to anything, but I am also still hoping to find a space to host 2 practices as week. We shall see what happens.

The main thing, as always, is that we continue to get on our mat and remember that our essential nature is goodness.

Ahh.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

No Practice Friday

Sadly. I am flying solo this week and cannot make it in tomorrow. But hopefully everyone is having a great time practicing at home or with friends. I have been having a great time in my home practice which is wonderful. It is like reconnecting with an old friend. Or coming home. Both I suppose.
So, this Sunday is our last time to get together this month and then it is August. I am still really hoping that folks will get together to practice in my absence. I think that it is great to practice at home (of course!) but there is really something different that happens when we practice with community. We lift each other up and ask a little bit more of ourselves. And we are asked to reveal something at once tender and powerful in ourselves. Yes, in my opinion, practice with community, practice in good company, is essential.
So get together!
For now, plan on Sunday morning. i will not forget my timer this week and I think that it will be a real duzy.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Another 45 minutes

Here's a good one. And I think that with warmer days (and a timer) it should be no trouble at all getting warm enough for a few backbends. Backbends are definitely the type of pose that do not improve without attention and they also have a bit of a code for unlocking. One which can only become adept at when we give it the attention that it requires.

In many ways, bending backward is all about the breath. We need to let the breath really move so that we not only connect to the bigger energy that is actually moving us but on a physical level as well so that we may expand the inner body enough to have enough space to deeply take the head of the armbones back and curl the shoulderblades into the back of the heart. These are mighty actions that ask us to begin with enough spaciousness so that we can be free of pain and also go deeper in the bend.

Grab your timer...

Surya Namaskar A (5 min)
AMS (1 minute)
uttanasana (1 minute)
eka pada AMS (total 1 minute for both sides)
handstand (1 minute)
pincamayurasana (1 minute)

sirsasana (3-5 min)

standing poses (1 min ea side)
crescent
vira 1
anjaneyasana
parvotannasana
parivritta parvokonasana

virasana and supta virasana (5 minutes)

10 minutes of backbends
ustrasana
dhanurasana
pigeon prep with thigh stretch
lunge with thigh stretch
urdhva dhanurasna (3-5x)

halasana (with blankets and a lot of lift and extension through the spine
3-5 minutes)

Friday, July 10, 2009

Missin' this morning

I too missed this mornings practice! So sad! Please always check here to see whether class is happening. I always try to put it up here well in advance if class is not happening, this way I can avoid making phone calls or emailing folks. Just check here.

Chris' travel schedule is a little different right now and that in conjunction with our summer vacation make for a very inconsistent schedule. Shucks.

But this is what I think. I think that you all should still meet for practice anyway. Valorie has made the space available and it might as well be used for yoga. There could still be a $10 donation to go to the space and whoever it is that is leading the practice. I can even help you out on sequences. This sounds like a very empowering opportunity to me and I would love to do whatever I can to make it happen. Because really, I looked at the month of July and I couldn't teach today, I can't next Friday and then my family is gone until the beginning of August. So that means just this Sunday and next Sunday are happening unless someone else decides to take the plunge and lead the practice.

Like I said, I would be psyched to help this to happen. Everyone could just do one day (there are 5 times available...) or just one person take it on. Whatever works for folks.

I apologize to the folks that woke up this morning and made it up to the warehouse. Please make it a habit to check the blog the night before! I put this up well in advance so really everyone should have known.

OK. See you Sunday. I hope that everyone's practice is going well. More on that later.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

45 minutes of fun

This is going to be brief. I am so tired that I can barely see. But I need to stay up and digest some homemade strawberry ice cream for a little so I have a minute.

Here is this weeks 45 minute sequence. Go for it. It will be fun. All you need is a mat and whatever blocks you think that you might like. And a timer. A timer is key. That is what effectively makes it 45 minutes. You can do this any time. I find myself often practicing about an hour after lunch when at least one of my kids is generally asleep and my meal is digested. I eat light at that hour. Often I have Eider on his sheepskin for the entire time. It works out. If Maple wakes up before I am finished I ask her to sit on the couch and watch with maybe something for her to drink. It is good for her to see mom taking care of herself. I have even stopped for around 15 minutes in the middle to nurse someone back to sleep, but I always come back and finish. That is key. If you do not have very small kids this should really be a snap. 45 minutes is really nothing. You are going to love it.

This week there is no practice on Friday because Chris is away. So that means we will not meet until next Sunday and you should set the goal of trying to do this practice 4 times between now and then. It will get better when you have more sequences to choose from but this will be a good start.

Here you go.

1 minute Down Dog (AMS)
1 minute uttanasana
8 minutes Surya Namaskar A and B (set your timer)

Standing poses (1 minute each side)

Trikonasana
Parvakonasana
Parivritta Trikonasana
Parivritta Parvakonasana
Uttkatasana
Prasaritta Padotannasana

Virasana and Supta Virasana (5 minutes)

Janu Sirsasana
Triang Muhkaikapada Pascimottanasana
Marichyasana 1
Pigeon prep (eprk)
eprk with thigh stretch

Setubandha with a block supporting the pelvis (3 minutes)
Jatara Parivartanasana

Shavasana or sitting (5 min)

There you have it.

Here is little inspiration via my friend Darren Rhodes:

When we have the capacity to take every experience as nourishment, freed from the fear of what is going to happen to us or any concern about living or dying, then we can grow through every experience without trying to locate it in some set of pre-existing categories. Experiences that awaken us are not divorced from ordinary life. It is, in fact, in the context of the ordinary that such occasions occur, and at any moment. This means that any event, however small it may seem, can become the occasion for our transformation into the fully Real.
Swami Chetananda - Will I be the hero of my own life?

Friday, July 3, 2009

Lovely Morning

What a lovely morning practice we had! I am just loving the energy of the early morning for asana. The light, the quality of the air, the fragrance of everything in bloom. It is really wonderful. I imagine drinking it all in and filling every reserve in my body that is every lacking the fresh vitality of this time of year. And my body is feeling great. For the first time in so long, it feels as though I am coming back into an old friend. Remembering some things and noticing and appreciating the changes of other parts. I am into it. It is all very rich.

I am also going crazy with the strawberries. I have processed 40 quarts so far and have another 10 in my fridge. Strawberries are not even my favorite berry. I like them in the season when they are fresh, but that is about it. But I am wanting to build confidence canning on my own, I have always only been someone's helper and I want to take the reigns and get proficient. So I am practicing on lots and lots of strawberries. Lots. In fact, I got home too late from a birthday party tonight to make any headway, but there is definitely canning on the agenda tomorrow. Fun.

So, practice on Sunday. Early. After the 4th of July. I am not sure what we are going to do yet. But it will be great.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

July Transitions

I spent a short period this morning moving out of my studio in the Landmark Center. I will move the final little odds and ends out later today and tomorrow. It took surprisingly little time (with the help of Jess, Chris, and Maple) and it just goes to show that the content of the place was indeed quite minimal compared to the context. In some ways I am very sad about moving out but I am actually trying not to think about it too much and just ride the larger flow in which this choice is clearly a part of. A bit strange.

Especially because I am coming back into my own practice and rhythm with yoga for the first time in a year. Embrace the paradox. In some ways it is just a gesture to bring my practice back into myself and make that the primary flow right now. I have so much more to offer in terms of teaching yoga when I have attended to myself. Go figure.

So, in a very informal way we will be practicing early in the morning on Fridays and Sundays over at the Warehouse. Suggested donation on $10. Jessica is being utterly awesome as usual and letting us keep a few props in her space. I am not sure how we will orchestrate that yet, but I guess that we will see tomorrow.

As for what is on the agenda tomorrow, I can't quite tell yet. I am thinking that I want to do a whole bunch of standing poses but I am also feeling a nice full spectrum practice coming on. We shall see.

Something that I have been mulling over for awhile now is how I can support folks in their practices the rest of the week. And I think that essentially I will just offer what I am offering to myself. I am making the effort right now to get on my mat at least 5 days every week. This is including the group practices. The days at home I can really only have 45 minutes, but I make those 45 minutes really count. I use a timer and I have the sequence laid out before I begin and I make every minute count. Christina gave me an alternating backbend and forward fold sequence that we have dubbed "Meg's 45 minute survival practice" and it really works. And then at some other point during the day when I am alone I spend at least 10 minutes on a focused meditation. (I will offer more on that as it unfolds for me more.)

This is what I am thinking of for you. Over the weekend I will put together a 45 minute sequence with each minute accounted for. And you can print it out and there you go. If you make it to practice on both days, then all that you have to do is roll out your mat at home 3 times. And give yourself 45 minutes. How amazing is that. And trust me on this. It works! This will put you into your practice in a way that 2 times a week simply will not.

So check for it on Sundays. This will be sweet.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Summer Yoga

It is hard to believe that it has been almost a week since the workshop and I am just now getting to this blog. In fact, I really did not want to write anything but Chris is essentially making me. And besides, I am waiting for the granola that I am making to be done, so here I am.

It is hot around here and I am getting into the swing of summer and all of the things that I love: Swimming holes, long days, eating straight from the garden, riding bikes, squirting kids with hoses and early morning practices.

Ah, that is a good one and I am really looking forward to tomorrow morning. 6:30 am. Can't wait actually. I am thinking that I want to unearth an old sequence that is standing poses and arm balances all intertwined. Sounds fun to me. I have also been thinking about asking the folks that come to practice to sit with a contemplation during the week and I will post about it here and this could also serve as a place for people share any reflections, insights and such. I have not quite gotten that together but the intention is definitely out there for me.

It came up because I began thinking about how potent a weekend workshop is and how when something comes up after such an experience it is of real value to contemplate it and even journal about it in order to aid in the digesting of the experience. I really think that it is sometimes even the seemingly unrelated stuff that presents itself following a workshop that might actually hold the most juice for us when we take a closer look and consider it through the lens of the Yoga.

I have heard a number of different things directly and indirectly about the varying experiences that people had over the weekend and afterward. I find this very exciting and am really wanting to support people in their individual processes as much as I can. It is my belief that any deep experience of the heart (even ones that we may not even see as such. But believe me when you are in a room with someone who has generated a lot of Shakti, you are going to be affected), is going to trigger all sorts of mechanisms in the mind as it tries to regain primary control.

This is interesting to me and always has been. It is how we begin to cultivate the witness and also how we generate a deeper capacity toward Satya within our very selves. I would love to hold the space for folks to journal about this, contemplate, reflect.

There is much more I could say about the weekend directly, but that will have to wait for another time. My granola is done. See you in the morning.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Solstice Weekend Workshop with Christina Sell

It is here folks. Really the yoga event of the year here in Viroqua. Really the yoga event of the year in Wisconsin in my opinion, but that is another story. We have a great and a varied group of people signed up for various sessions throughout the weekend. And, of course, it is not to late to register. Not at all.

I myself am very excited. In fact, I have seen a number of folks around town who appear to actually be vibrating with excitement. And not the ungrounded, up, outside of myself excitement at all. It is more along the lines of really knowing deeply that I and quite a number of my community members are going to be participating in a weekend experience that has the primary intent of connecting us each more deeply to our own greatness, our own potential and the grace that abides in each of our own hearts. That sounds like magic to me. And I know that I keep on saying how great that it is happening right here in our very own town, but it is and this is why. When you go away to a yoga workshop you have an experience that is deep and magical and trans formative on many levels. And then you go home and there can be a little bit of shock and let down that everything is exactly the same as how you left it. You had this experience out of the context of your everyday life and transforming your life to support such an experience can be hard to do once you are back in your life. You may feel at a real loss. (Not that going away for workshops or retreats are in any way bad. They are not. They are wonderful and something that I myself love and always look forward to. But there is always a great deal of reintegration involved upon return home). On the other hand, being IN the context of your own life and participating in something as potent as a weekend with a master yoga teacher is a real gift. Not just for all of the logistical reasons but really for the the fact that we get to really practice being our best selves and recognizing that in ourselves and one another in the the flow of our life. This is at the heart of cultivating a functional discipline toward our practice and in fostering sangha, when you are rolling out your mat next to the person whose house you bike by everyday.

So the weekend will be great. The longest days of the year are here and what better way to honor such fullness than 3 days of yoga. Can't wait.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

wow what a week

And so it was. And so it is.

I have really been all over the place as this week started out a little bit backward around here. Chris was home Monday and Tuesday as I had some medical concerns that we had to address early in the week. And then was ordered to rest from said concerns and then Chris hit the road on Wednesday. Very odd for us.

I have recently started to take advantage of the light in the early morning to get up and enjoy some personal ritual. It has been awhile. It looks like this: wake up, neti, nasya, tea, meditation and then maybe a few poses before Maple inevitably comes padding out and we do all of her morning rituals. This has been great, save the fact that Maple is on to me and is waking up about 10 minutes earlier every day... The little rascal! Foiled!

But this is my theme right now. Do whatever I can, whenever I can, to attend to my well being. And even when it does not work out exactly like I had hoped, there is still just the beauty of maintaining that intention for myself. I am having some very interesting and seemingly powerful things up for myself lately: I have made a return to therapy after quite a few years, I have dove back in to my meditation practice, and I have started to look at some things in my life through new eyes, taking some bold steps toward allowing my own perspective of me to shift. Wow. So it is good. Ultimately good.

And I am gearing up for the workshop. I am so delighted to host Christina again. In one week. Believe it or not! We have a great group of people signed up and even more to come.

We will not be having class tomorrow as Chris is away. But Sunday is on. 6:30. It is amazing to do a full practice at that time of day. Perfect for summer.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Christina Sell's Workshop

OK. I am unable to put the pdf of the flyer for the workshop up on this site. bummer. So please contact me for any information and to register. 608-630-0228. Or scoopie7@yahoo.com. 2 weeks folks. 2 weeks.

Things are going well on the home front. The use of the early morning is becoming a reality. One that is working quite well for my family. Hoorah! So tomorrow we will be meeting for practice at 6:30am. Can't wait. Plan to work on lotus variations as well as sarvangasana to setubandasana. Sounds fun hunh?

The garden is going great guns which also makes me very happy. Eating Arugala and Salad greens now. Love it.

Hope everyone is well. See you in the am.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Something to consider

This morning's practice was lovely. Lovely. I have been getting on to my mat so infrequently that often when I do it just feels like ironing out all of the kinks. But today was a great flow of energy. Did I say lovely? And then after practice we appreciated what a beautiful day it is and how it is hard to get yourself to go indoors on such a beautiful day, even if it is to practice yoga with friends. And now that it school is out for the summer, and it is so light out so early, there really is nothing stopping us from moving the practice times up to an earlier slot. This was the conversation. And then my family arrived. And there was a full meltdown happening. Papa is super with his babes, but Eider likes to take a morning nap right around nine, and he is still really in the groove of mama making that happen for him. Can;t really blame him. So I started thinking. Eider really does not nurse in the early morning. In fact he is usually asleep until at least 7 (sometimes even 9, but I won't go into that) and never wants to nurse when he first wakes up. (Can you tell that he is having a hard time taking the bottle?) So, practicing from 6-8am might really work for my family. I shared this idea with Chris and he was nervous that it may wake folks, especially Maple, up before 6 which would be sad. But it may not. And I think that it is worth checking out. And there is big spectrum of earlier times: 6-8, 6:30-8:30, 7-9. We could play with it.

This brings me to another topic, which is something that I have been thinking about for awhile. I have been thinking about taking a break from teaching for a bit, mostly because of how much I am needing to get my own practice on track. And teaching without having much practice in my own being has always seemed silly to me not to mention downright challenging. So, after Christina's workshop (which is a mere 3 weeks away!), the Friday morning class will become a led practice, just like Sunday morning. I hope that this works out well for folks. I am certainly still available during these times to answer questions and to generally help folks out, but I will be practicing too, which I am much looking forward to.

So this week: Friday class as normal 9:30-11:15. And then Sunday, let try 6:30-8:30 am. Why not? And then we will see how folks would feel about moving up the Friday class time. I think that it will work quite well for folks. Just for the summer.

One final note, Christina Sell is coming! Send me your registration immediately! We are going to have an absolute blast. And if you haven't been exposed to the major marketing campaign of Kathy O'Rourke, I hope that you have the opportunity to experience her in action soon. She is amazing.

I will confirm the schedule later in the week. In the meantime, get into the garden, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy the sunshine!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

No class Friday

Hi Gang,

I apologize for the late notice but we are not having class tomorrow morning. I am off to Maple's Kinderhaus for a sweet little ceremony to send off all of the children who will be going to kindergarten in the fall. Very sweet.

We will have practice on Sunday 9-11am. I am not sure what focus right now, but I am thinking many timed standing poses and some hips, forward folds and maybe sirsasana, sarvangasana. I still have something wicked in my lungs that I am attempting to navigate around.

I also want to take a minute to apologize for my recent neglect of this site. I am exploring some pretty challenging situations in my parenting and between that, the garden and trying to do anything with my own practice, I am left without any time to spare.

I am going to put a link up over the weekend for Christina's workshop so that you can just download the pdf for registration. That should make things easier for folks.

Alright. Enjoy the holiday weekend. It is beautiful out.

Friday, May 8, 2009

reflections

What a lovely class this morning! We had a nice group and I think that everyone had some great openings with the sequence that we did. The magical Anusara template. It is highly effective.

I shared some personal stuff at the beginning of class and I think that softened folks up a bit, and when we can get soft and open like that right off the bat it really makes the practice sweet. Really.

Anyhow. I love teaching, I love practicing, and I love guiding people toward an opening. So with all of that, it was a pretty fabulous morning.

I hope to see some folks on Sunday. I know that it is mother's day, but I cannot really think of a better way of starting mothers day than with a practice. I am going to follow another JF sequence. Magical.

Also, please let me know soon if you are interested in Christina's workshop. It is only 6 weeks away!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

mmmmmm

Springing into summer that is for sure.

Well, everything is moving here, that is for sure. It is pretty much non-stop. All thrilling of course.

Kids are great. Maple is almost a free bird for the summer and I think that she will be a bit sad about that unless her mama comes up with a slew of brilliant activities. I am thinking lots of friends and lots of swimming... Eider. Well Eider is just splendid. we are all in-love and in-awe of Eider.

I have opened up a huge patch of earth for the new garden. Nothing is planted as of yet as I wait for it to stop raining so much and for my neighbor to get in there again with his super tiller. But the plans have been made and that is exciting now as we watch them unfold.

The chicken plan is still in the works. I will keep you updated. But hopefully many chicks sometime in June. We need to refab one of the sheds for them. Can't wait. Really.

Also, Chris just got me a new bike which I am both very grateful for and also very excited (scared!) to learn how to ride. The women's group ride is starting up this Tuesday and I hope to be there every other week when Gramma is here. I need to get out sans bebes and get my but in gear. We all need that of me...

And Yoga. Hmmmh. Lets see. Where to begin? Well, I need to come up with a better plan than my current one. That is for sure. My current one has me with child(ren) non-stop from Monday until sometime on Thursday by which point I have officially lost my mind and I do not even know how to go anywhere once given the opportunity. So my practice is really suffering for it and I am needing to reconfigure my use of time. I am even contemplating hanging up my hat after Christina's workshop (nigh 6 weeks away! Oh My!). But there is no telling as of yet. I just need to strengthen my relationship with my own practice. Which for anyone who knows me knows that this is a very big deal as this has most often come very easily for me. I am blessed in this way as far as my physical practice has been concerned. That is not to say that it is not hard for me it is more to the point that getting and being on my mat has never really been very hard. Right now, different story. Which is kind of catapaulting me into an identity crisis of sorts. More on that later perhaps.

So this weekend is mothers day and as a gift to you and to me, class tomorrow is going to be a led practice, free of charge. Sequence a la John Friend. Wahoo. So I hope this pleases.

I am off to put the eyes on Maple's horse. It turned out very well (in case there are any knitters who actually read this...)

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

another update

I am on the upswing after what was really a very horrific experience. My much belated apologies to any mother who once told me that she had mastitis and to whom I smiled and nodded sympathetically without understanding the full gravity of their condition. I am so sorry. Again. Wow. But thanks to the support and suggestions from many folks in the area I am feeling almost as good as new. Almost. I hope to make it in to practice tomorrow with my little audience of one (this is an entry for a later date, because oh, there is so much to say).

I was thinking today about why I have not been writing for awhile. I have really not been contemplating anything deep or anything that I thought has been worth sharing. Chalking it up to baby brain. But today I realized that what is really happening is that I have been deeply captivated by the simplest parts of my day. The way the wind blows the maple buds directly onto my porch, the way sod slumps when it is in a roll, how spry goats are when chicken are not sitting on their backs, my three year olds dream sharing, a simple and delicious recipe, the standing pose sequence in the primary series, the breath, how soft children look in sleep. And then I realized that these are all such comforting and lovely things to let my thoughts go to and that really aren't they in some ways where I am trying to get when I am working through different contemplations?

So that is that. Spring is here and I am full of glee. My girl is sleeping in a fairy dress and I am loving holding young ones and then breathing and stretching my body. How lovely. It occurs to me that if we ever want to dip into the sensuous we should read what someone who loves food or nature has written about it. It is full of bliss. Just the experience. Not the directions toward the experience. Yum. Anyhow.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

quick

This is just a quick note from an errant blogger...

I completed a whole long entry about a week ago and then somehow never put it up or saved it. i think that I must have been distracted by some sort of baby adventure. I will give more of an update soon.

This morning, however, I just need to let folks know that there will be no practice. I think that I have my first case of mastitis (I never had this with Maple in almost 3 years of nursing) and was up all night with a fever. And all there really is to say about that is WOW. I had no idea.

But I had a great sequence planned and I hope to save it for next weekend. I will let you know. There may be a little bit of shuffling next weekend as Chris may have a race.

Love to all.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

few and far between

Wow. Rough week at the Newlin house. We have entered a new phase and I cannot say that it is awesome. Eider has started having a harder time falling asleep (read: more crying) and this in turn sets Maple off and she gets loud and crabby which makes it harder for Eider to fall asleep or stay asleep and then Maple becomes more upset and it just goes on and on. And I was solo for a few days. Awesome. I finally sent Maple off for a few hours today so that she could have some much needed fun and Eider could have some much needed sleep. And now papa is home. ahhhhh....

Anyway. Is this a yoga blog or what?

I am going to be updating the website in the next few weeks so check it out. On there you will find the pdf for Christina Sell's workshop to be held in Viroqua in June. Can't wait. Really.

Last Sunday I did an amazing forward fold heavy practice with Kathy Doerfer. It was great. I love practicing with Kathy. She is such a dedicated practitioner and is very skilled at tuning in to herself. It was fun. I am really not in condition. I am making valiant attempts at regaining some strength but it is pretty challenging when I only make it onto my mat 2x a week. Alas. I was imploding after 2 1/2 minutes in Sirsasana. Wow. Onward we go. I am learning a lot.

This Friday is good friday and we are still having class. Because class is good. That is all there is to it. Less talk, more asana. Sunday is Easter, and there will not be a practice. Easter egg hunt for 3 year old trumps Mom's yoga gig. Go figure. I will however, be making it in to the studio for a practice at some point over the weekend I just have to confer with Chris about when that will be. Same deal, 2 hours, led format. I will post with details for that tomorrow.

Until then, goodnight. Everything in life changes. Enjoy it all. Even the muck.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

into it

First class happened on Friday. Yippie! I was so excited to begin teaching again that I was practically vibrating. Small turn out due to spring break but I have high hopes for this class. First off, it is all levels, great for anybody of sound body and a lot of curiosity (read the previous blog entry). This is my intention for this class: CONDITIONING. We are looking to cultivate strength and flexibility in poses on the first syllabus and to do so in a way that is full of self honor. Friday morning is a time to get psyched to do something great for your body and nourishing foe your heart.

Sunday is for working on some poses (because you are so conditioned from Friday!), Tomorrow we are doing a bunch of work to get into a very delicious hanumanasana.

On a personal note: I thought that practicing before class on Friday would work out great for all parties involved. Wrong. It went just swimmingly for me, but not so for the big and little men. Oh well. Can't push it. Thursday will have to be one of my times for my practice instead. Really, I am looking at being able to get on my mat 2 or 3 times a week max. So I have to be a laser. Get down to business and utilize every minute (read: the opposite of what I was doing when I was pregnant),

But right now I have a sweet little baby sleeping on my chest and it doesn't really get much better than this.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Wow.

It really is like coming up for air.

I made it in to the studio yesterday morning following a great entrainment by David (who just welcomed a new baby at his house too!). This was all following Chris' return home after his usual 3 days on the road. It was my first week since Eider was born that I was completely on my own for the full time and it was made a bit more interesting when we woke up on Wednesday morning and Maple began throwing up. She is generally a very healthy girl and this totally caught me off guard. She definitely had it bad. She was, however, such a good girl throughout, really well behaved and mature about being ill, sharing Mom, and being on our own. Love her. Eider was exceptionally cooperative as well. And all in all, even though the 3 days were amazingly intense and rugged, they were also somewhat ecstatic in the sense that all we had room to do was handle the moment and prepare however feebly we could for the next. It was beautiful in a way and definitely a real practice in staying supremely present in the moment. As a result I am feeling so much love and appreciation for my children and also a lot of connection to myself. Who would have guessed? It touched on an aspect of what I love most about practice, which is that when it gets intense you can either go with it and be transformed by it, or you can be dragged kicking and screaming and still be transformed but maybe miss some of the wisdom within the experience.

So my practice was great. I am really starting to see little glimmers of myself coming back and that is both thrilling and terrifying as I know that there is a part of me that is permanently altered. Thank God in a way.

Class is up and running starting next Friday. Practice on Sundays. It should be great. I have not gotten the schedule back from the printers yet so if you happen to read this please spread the word.

It is a great time to start coming as everyone has been out for awhile and the Friday is a mixed level so everyone is welcome so long as you know what your limits are and can respect them. The theme for the year is the fun of coming together and sharing practice with one another. Can't wait! That and maybe throw a leg or 2 behind your head....

Monday, March 9, 2009

Where is Spring?

It really is hard to tell what season it is in western wisconsin in March. We will have 50* one day followed by a winter storm the next. It is very similar to the cosmic hide and seek of Shiva and Shakti except add is the explitives tbat come out of the Wisconsinites mouth at yet another snowy day. At this point we are just plain over it and ready to move on to all of the immense work of Spring. And there really is a lot of that around here. There is the general clean-up from winter which forus involves a ton of stick and branch pick-up from winter storms. But there is also all of the gathering of readying of seeds and earth for planting. Not only garden vegetables but each year a few new trees need to go into the ground as well as quite a few herbs and flowers. It is a very fun time, but very busy. There is also much to be done with all of the animals. The goats need to transition to a rotational grazing lifestyle and new chicks arrive sometime in the late spring. i think for me that will be after all of the garden is in. This year I am moving my garden to a sunny locale and expanding it by more than double. This is a big undertaking, especially as the place that I am moving it to is prone to flood so I need to build accordingly.

This is all very fun and exciting to me as all I have been doing is sitting around and scheming for so long that I am really chomping at the bit now. I still actually have to keep my feet up a bit more, and I really think that my biggest challenge might be to make myself go as slow as I need to. I like to do a lot, and lets just face it, this was not a pregnancy of doing much. I am not the pregnant lady that feels so great she is ready to take on the world. Maybe it is just my way of having at least one time in my life that is not completely Vata- visciating, where I really just do nothing.

Anyway, now I am ready to do a lot. And I am, I am doing a tin of diapers, I am nursing around the clock and I am reading many stories and doing many puzzles with Maple. And I am fantasizing about Spring and about Yoga.

I am looking for a venue for Christina's workshop this week. Very exciting. And I am having my schedule made for classes. This is great. The coming classes are up and to the right. I really cannot wait to get back into the studio, at least one more week home though, I think. I left the house for the 1st time in 2 weeks today and went with the family to get entrained. Very Sweet.

On a final note- I am so deeply appreciative of the meal wheel, I cannot even begin to put it into words. Every night we are receiving the most beautiful and delicious food from everyone. It is the most supportive and loving gift that I could imagine getting right now. Not to mention the financial strain that it lifts for us during this time and how I am aware of everyone supporting us like that. We really live in a magical place and I cannot imagine raising my family anywhere else. Now lets get some rockin' yoga going again and some warm weather and we will be all set!

Love.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Eider Atticus Newlin!

Well, he's here. Born last Tuesday, February 24th in water at home. He is pretty cute, if I say so myself. We are all adjusting pretty well I think. Maple is doing well and is very sweet to Eider. It is pretty magical to see the two of the, together.

This is brief. But here are some pics. Just wanted to let everyone know that we are well and plus one. The love and support from everyone has been amazing. The meals are wonderful and much appreciated. I think that we are all feeling very acutely right now how truly wonderful this community is that we live in. So much love and gratitude to you all. Big love to Denise Doerr, the most fabulous midwife ever!

Love.







Saturday, February 21, 2009

Fresh Snow

I am actually very happy to wake up to a fresh blanket of snow. It is just so lovely and in my opinion, if it is going to be cold there might as well be some snow. Also, in the Midwest, the reality of Spring is a reality of grey and mud and the uncovering of everything that was never put away in the fall. It can be ugly. And right now it is sparkly and beautiful instead. I love it.

Today is my due date today. I am still pregnant. The baby feels very low but does not feel like he is coming out. Hmmmhhh. I would like to meet him soon so I hope that he makes an appearance soon. We have been having a lot of nice family time and I have been feebly trying to tie up loose ends before baby. This has been much more challenging than one would think as my normally mushy mama brain is totally and utterly spacey. Which could be considered a really good sign of readiness, but is not so helpful when you are trying to organize yourself a bit. I did manage to complete my portion of our taxes, and now I am on to nagging the other half. What I am stalled on now is putting together the flyer for Christina's workshop in June. A mere 4 months from now! I am also trying to organize classes and the studio for my return.

I am desperately missing teaching and the regularity of my practice. Even though I am really treasuring this time at home and without the usual structure of my personal schedule, I will be excited to create a new structure once the time is right.

I spend a good deal of my space out time (which is vast) scheming about what I hope to participate in this year. Check out Christina's blog for a look at some pictures of the final phase of the immersion that she taught with Darren Rhodes in Tucson. This is definitely in my radar for 2009. There are also some very compelling events taking place in the region in the Iyengar community, which is always utterly attractive to me when I am craving some more structure and discipline in my practice. Yum. At any rate, it is going to be a fabulous year in oh so many ways.

So, I will have a babe soon. Any day. Any minute.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Hey Hey Hey

I made it into the studio today with much success. My recent attempts have seen me in 40+ minute savasanas. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but today it felt great to get in there and move and breathe a bit. I even finished my pre-natal sequence with some pranayama. Good Stuff. How was this possible for you today? You may be asking.... Well, it's pretty simple. I slept for over 11 hours both of the last 2 nights. Never underestimate the power of a good nights sleep. At any rate, that was great and now I am utterly exhausted.

I had my blessing way on Sunday, we had brunch, and that was really wonderful. I guess that we are just about as ready as we can be for our new arrival. I am still hoping that I can get the kids room a little more organized in the next week or so and also get the majority of my seeds ordered for spring. I am also still compulsively knitting things for both the babe and Maple. This is really good for me because it keeps a usually up and at 'em mama in her chair. That and it has been fun to connect with all of the other mama's in the knitting group. I wonder how they will all respond when I begin relentlessly pushing yoga on all of them? Hmmh? It has been so fantastic to take a break from being the yoga teacher and just be another mother.

Right now I am watching Maple launch her baby doll over a box and down the stairs, landing on her face. Maple insists that she really likes this which has prompted a conversation in what we must never ever do to our real baby. This is oddly more concerning in this moment than it probably should be.

Also on the docket is getting flyers made for Christina's workshop and also for the spring schedule. This is all very exciting to me as I am already feeling the nig surge toward renewed practice and classes. What great fun. Keep your eyes peeled for some rockin' marketing material.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

No Class Wednesday....

I am really sorry gang, but I am fighting off a sinus infection and it is really taking all I got. I am bummed to miss class tomorrow as it is our last scheduled class for quite some time. I hope to be in to practice on Thursday and Sunday mornings, but these will not be led practices as I can no longer subject everyone to my funny variation of yoga. (Thank you Hallie for doing the pre-natal yoga sequence with me again!)

Please do check back in here often as I will have all different sorts of news to report on. Such as, the arrival of the newest Newlin! And also when Sunday practices will start back up again (sometime in March?), and when the Friday morning class will begin (beginning of April?). On that note, it is looking like the later time meets people's fancy a bit more. That would be 9:30-11:15am.

I am also working out the details to the workshop that we are hosting with Christina Sell this summer. I will put that information up as I have it.

Anyhow, thanks everyone for being great and for being so patient with a near delirious pregnant yogi.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Sunday

It was just Kristina and I at practice this morning, so I decided to do Geeta Iyengar's pre-natal sequence from her book "Yoga: a Gem for Women". This is all that I really did for my entire 3rd trimester with Maple, but I had only done it once this pregnancy. It was great. Utterly perfect. We omitted the inversions as those are just out for me at this point (except for pinca mayurasana which still feels so good to my upper back). It was the first time in about a month that practicing felt really perfect. The Iyengars are such masters at sequencing, you can really feel alchemy happening as the practice unfolds.

This is what we did. I may be forgetting something because I do not have it in front of me...

AMV
AMS x3
Uttanasana x3
Trikonasana x2
Parsvakonasna x2
Virabadrasana 1
Vira 2
Parsvattonasana
Ardha Chandrasana
Parsvattonasana
Ardha Chandrasana
Prasaritta Padotanasana x2
AMS
Setu Bandha
Eka Pada Setu Bandha (back and forth- felt great on my sacrum!)
Janu Sirsasana x3
Baddha Konasana x2
Supta Baddha Konasana
Uppavista Konasana x2
Bhardvajasana x3
Virasana cycle
Supta Virasana
Padmasana
Savasana

at this point I was really ready for some pranayama but my nose is still unbelievably stuffed from my cold. But I am thinking that I will be focusing much more on pranayama and meditation now. At any rate, it was great. I remembered why I loved that sequence so much. (note: the repetitions are mine and are note stated in the book. We also added Setu bandha).

I have decided that this is going to officially be the last week of classes. They are just taking it out of me. I may start using the time a bit more for my own practice, or I may just stay home and knit or sleep. If you are interested in coming in to do your own practice when I am in the studio, that is great. I will ask for a small donation for the use of the space. I have plenty of sequences available, and also folks might be interested in doing some of the therapy sequences. (Jessica has found a new appreciation for L-pose.)

I will keep updating this, so check back often.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

addendum

I would love if anyone who is planning on coming to practice tomorrow could come with at least 2 and as many as 5 poses that they would like to do. This not only would be fun, but would be a great big help to me as well. Then you do not all have to being pre-natal yoga for the duration. Hope to see you then.

on and on...

I am slowly slipping off of the planet. Think: lots of knitting, lots of reading. Its pretty nice. I do not have much of a drive to leave my house. (However, all of my compulsive scheming goes on and on.) I am laying low. 36 weeks. And they say no 2 pregnancies are the same. This is a case in point. I was so much more active with Maple at this point. I was practicing still daily, walking and swimming several times a week. Now.... nothing. Minimal yoga and that is really it. And when I say minimal, I mean minimal. I did get the cold that Maple had, but really that just gave me an excuse. Alas.

So teaching is really wearing me out, and I keep saying that I will teach just one more week of class, but then I think about just sitting around and waiting for a baby and that doesn't sound very good at all. So as of right now, I really do not know. We will have class this next week. And then I will probably just decide what to do from there.

I am going to be at the studio tomorrow from 9-11. I am not sure what this will mean. My intention is to do some asana, but it may be utterly basic so I am not ruling out talking anyone who shows up through a sequence. We shall see.

Lots of love. The outlook for next week is up on the right.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

yes! class!

Yes we will be having class tomorrow! Hoorah! Gramma is going to stick around long enough for class if I can promise to end on time and get home asap. Hard contract but I am going for it! We really have to have class after such a world changing day today anyhow. I don't know about you but I am pretty filled up with love.

Whoops!

I may have actually taught one of the worst classes of my life last night. Here's a tip: at 8 months pregnant, showing up for a 6pm class without having eaten is very ill advised. At any rate, class happened, and I hope that those of you that were there benefited in some way. I promise to be better fed from now on. By the end of class, I was so blown out that I really was functioning at a very low level. Fortunately, Hallie completely saved my life and invited me to swing by her house on my way home so that she could run out a give me several slices of pizza that her hubby had made. Yummy! And really probably saved me from a much larger break down. The fact that I never cried at any point in time is really quite impressive.

So that is my shameful confession. I had a great sequence planned but I got so wrapped up in the moment and we spent an inordinate amount of time practicing bunny hopping forward from down dog to uttanasana. It was really great fun and it generates such a sense of playfulness and childlike abandon. I had fun at any rate and was really living vicariously through everyone.

I am also very grateful for everyone's adaptability with the uncertainty of the schedule. It is my preference to be much more planned out and organized when it comes to the projected schedule, so it is nice to see everybody being so open to the unknown with me. In fact, it may happen that we do not have class tomorrow morning as Maple is quite ill and might not be going to the kinderhaus in the morning. If this is the case, I need to be with her and do some good mothering. I will most likely not decide until late tonight, early tomorrow. I apologize in advance for any confusion or inconvenience in advance. It is my intention to be there, but I shall have to see.

That is all for now. Carry on.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Sunday Practice

We had a very nice practice today. A great sequence, I thought, with a lot of standing poses and working toward lotus with great success. I appear to have left the sequence at the studio so if you are interested in it, let me know and I will make a point to post it this week. I felt very good, which is probably why practice went on for over 3 hours. It was good and I really feel like these days that I need to take what I can get. I do not have much more in me I think.

One thing that we do need to dress is the increased tardiness that we are experiencing. I am equally to blame as I am often arriving just a moment before the class start time. But also we are really pushing the boundary on how late is too late to show up for class. In the past I have been very allowing as I really want everyone to be able to come to class. I have really taken into consideration everyone's personal circumstance and been OK with just about whatever. However, I think that now it is appropriate to tighten things back up a bit and now if you are going to be more than 15 minutes late, you have missed class. I have a plan for the time that we have together and I want to make the most of it. I promise from now on to begin by 5 after at the latest. I know that it can be hard to get everything together to make it on time, but the extra effort is important and we all benefit from it.

There was some discussion about when class will come back after our baby arrives. Because we are hosting Christina Sell in June, I really feel that it is important to start class up again by the beginning of April. Of course, everything is pretty unknown right now as I really have no clue what our new little person will be like. Sunday Practice will come back first, sometime in March I would guess. And then Friday morning is going to be the best day for us to have a class. I mentioned this last week in class, but we are looking at either early 6:30-8:00 or 8:15am or 9:30-11:15am. On either side of morning assembly for those of you who have children at Pleasant Ridge. Let me know your preference. The folks this morning were feeling the later time slot.

Here are some great pictures from the morning. Jessica, Kristina, Kae and Kerri. Good fun. See you tomorrow at 6pm.







Friday, January 16, 2009

The new update

Alright, so this was in many ways a very weird week. Beside the fact that it has been in the negative digits all week (we are talking highs in the negative digits), I have not practiced at all or done much of anything else for that matter. Despite feeling relatively rested and renewed after my week in the sun and 3 weeks with my little family, I pretty much got home and got the wind totally knocked out of me. I was doing OK until about Wednesday morning(and by OK I mean not doing anything other than showing up to teach 2 classes and then proceeding to put my legs up immediately following), and then I just went down. My back began to really ache and I started to have pretty regular contractions, not the major ones but definitely ones that commanded my attention. So Wednesday and Thursday were pretty much a wash in trying to get that under control, which thank to my amazing husband, midwife, and a whole arsenal of incredible herbs, I have. I am feeling very well today, like going for a walk (treadmill, I'm afraid...) and doing a light practice (think dog, uttanasana, supta virasana, and baddha konasana) might be on the radar.

So to anybody who showed up yesterday- even though I seriously doubt that anybody did with the temperature hitting a high of 10 below- I am very sorry that I was not able to make the space available yesterday for practice. I hope to have the practice this Sunday, and if things keep looking up the way that they are, we will.

Needless to say, we had a very small group on Wednesday morning but a really great class. We worked on taking the arm bones back evenly (inner deltoid, bottom tip of the shoulder blade, and outer elbow) and it went smashingly well. Everyone in class made some serious gains toward understanding the actions even more clearly and then really applying them consistently.

Because my practice is leaning very exclusively toward prenatal, I am brainstorming some ideas for folks who still want to be coming to the practice and need guidance in what to work on. One thought is that people could work off of some therapeutics sequences that I have that might be interesting to anyone working with a tweak. Just an idea. Let me know what you think. This Sunday will be led, however. Just very slowly. Think "Slow Yoga" much like "Slow Food"....

Desiree Rumbaugh is teaching this next weekend in Minneapolis which should be great fun. A whole big group from Viroqua rallied last January to make the trip up there for a great weekend of yoga. I am very sad to not go this year. I love Desiree and Ali Certain (Anusara Minneapolis) and would love to converge. Especially with a fantastic V-town showing. Oh well. I think that Des will be somewhere in the region later this spring and that might be a possibility. Anyhow, it is very cool to think that that was one year ago and to reflect on where everyone was in their practice then and where they are now. Much progress has been made.

That is all for now. The schedule for the next week is up. Time for a snack.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Going going going....

This is amazing news! The furnace is actually running all the time in the Landmark this winter. For real! So be ready for hot! Which to me is such a vast improvement over freezing that I really am quite thrilled. Here's to it.

I just read Christina Sell's post and it was really fabulous. Per usual. It was definitely geared toward teachers and teacher trainees but I think that in general it is great information for all. So zip on over and read it. Then tell me what you think. In the meantime, as I have been thinking about all of the poses that I want to work on in my own practice this year and also where I want to go with classes and working toward some more advanced poses publicly, here is the idea: '"What actions are necessary to achieve that pose?" What does a student need to be able to be proficient at so that when they are at their edge they can access something familiar that will make the pose move more into possibility?' (I am telling you, read the post)

This is a great question not only because of what it is asking but also because of all of the other questions that it is answering as well. Such as giving real meaning and clarity to what we are working on from the very first class and in every subsequent class. Everything exists in relationship to everything else, and this is no less true when it comes to asana. For example, to be aware of the possibility of where you are headed when you root your thigh back and then to practice that continuously in a variety of poses. Then grow with the action so much so that when you are asked to apply that and maintain it as you apply additional actions and move into something deeper. Something that is asking you a whole lot more not just physically but psychologically as well (think leg behind the head or lotus with you pelvis off the ground!). This is Yoga! Can you hold in the space of your awareness and your whole practice all of your knowledge and experience?

This becomes even more important to ask ourselves when we start to notice little glitches showing up. Such as a tweak or a pinch that we do not address and eventually becomes a full blown issue preventing us from not only working into the advanced postures but also in all of the "basic" poses that it wasn't really bugging us in before so much.

Hmmhhh. I often say that there is a lot a stake and it really is not just an idle threat. Not at all. I want students to really get the method because when you do truly a whole world has opened up for you. And inevitably, if you skip a step or a piece is missing, there is going to come a point where you have to get off the bus. (You must work your inner thighs enough to maintain deep groins and space across your sacrum before you scoop your tailbone or externally rotate your femur head!)

This is a little bit of a rant but I feel quite passionate about it. Read Christina's post.

OK. So class tomorrow. It is supposed to be quite cold tomorrow, but warm in the studio, Hooray! I am wanting to work specifically with moving the head of the armbones back in a variety of postures (big surprise) and move toward some backbends. Warm up our hearts so to speak. Because it is January 13th and there is a lot of winter ahead of us. And we love where we live and we live here for a reason (or many)!

Hope to see you tomorrow!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Monday

It is snowing snowing snowing. Seems more toward the 4" end of the spectrum. Yes there will be class tonight and hopefully I too will make it in to practice beforehand. I think that I have been convalescing for long enough and I could probably do some asana.

I am feeling very happy and very sleepy and very pregnant. I know that Maple was a very active baby, but I think that this one is even more active. (What does this mean?!!) Rut ro.

I think that tonight we will work toward headstand and maybe some variations. I really want to focus on the feet and the continuity of Tadasana foot all the way up and into inversions. So we shall see. I am looking forward to seeing everyone again and to talking about and practicing yoga. Love it.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Sunny Florida

Not much to report on the yoga front. The beach, sun, and surf are great and unbelievably restorative. I have never been in warm weather this pregnant before and I have to say it is pretty great. (The flight here, not so great) It has been wonderful to be with my family, at the end of the week it will have been 3 straight weeks for Maple, Chris and I all together with no nights away. Chris is really helping work on some sleep issues with Maple which is really grand as my due date is less than 7 weeks away... I really felt like I went through a major threshold during the yoga spree as far as feeling hugely pregnant. I feel really pregnant now. Really pregnant. So, other than playing at the beach I have just been taking it slow and doing a ton of knitting. Love it!

The schedule is up for next week. No changes yet. My main focus when I get back will be to get promotional information going for Christina Sell's workshop in June. Other than that, I will be knitting and getting seeds together for the spring. (I am aiming for a whole new starts system which I am very excited about).

I have some great pictures which I will put up when I get home. I forgot my cord for my camera...

Maple turns 3 on Friday. My, my, my.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

New Years Day, really.

I just have to say, this is a great community. We had a lovely practice today, mellow and sweet in the company of one another. Kristina, Anne, Hallie, Kae, and myself. I am not exactly sure what we did, but it was great! I am feeling very pregnant suddenly and quite a few poses are now throwing themselves into the asana heap, not to be touched again until I am post-partum. It is kind of awesome in a way. Just letting it go and surrendering to the temporal nature of everything.

Which is part of what the New Year is about in a way. Sure, there is the whole aspect of being resolute about your intentions, and I am all in favor of that for sure. But there is this whole other side of returning once again to the beginning of a cycle and acknowledging the ways in which you are at once back where you have been before and yet deeply transformed from how you were 5 years ago, or even last year for goodness sake! It is exhilarating to have an new opportunity for beginnings and there can be a ton of grief wrapped up in it as well.

I don't know. I have really been feeling the bitter sweet quality of the day all day today.

It was great to see folks today and share the love of yoga with them. I can't even begin to express how much that means to me. I also am forever indebted to how much life advice I always receive. For example: How was I to know until Kristina informed me that indeed a passport and birth certificate will not suffice for air travel. I must have a valid driver license. So it looks like I am swinging through the Richland Center DMV on our way to Milwaukee tomorrow. Because, yes its true, we are headed to the beach for a week. You may have noticed from the yoga spree photos that the folks here in Wisconsin are looking awfully pale. Matching the walls (light blue), and the snow (well, um, white). So we are out of here for a bit. And then when we return it will just be time to hunker down and get ready for baby. Which for us means a ton of home fix it projects and lots of knitting (I have realized that this is my version of nesting, its OK really). And Kinderhaus for Maple. Hopefully Chris and Maple will do lots of ice skating and skiing. While I knit. Or sleep. Or get Kae to make chocolate eclairs for me ("no, its not a long john"). Wow, I am really rambling now.

The big news is that it doesn't look like John Friend is making the swing through Chicago next summer. I was pretty sad about this until I realized that it totally opens us up to host Christina Sell again next June. She will come back for the same weekend that she was here last year. June 19-21. The summer solstice. It is going to be great! let me know soon if you are interested. We will have a minimum that we need this year to get the workshop to fly. I am really looking forward to it. Nothing better really. Summer. Farmers market. Swimming. World class yoga instruction that you can walk to in your tiny town (Or the amazing progressive rural community that you are visiting for a world class yoga weekend getaway!).

That's all for now. I will be posting on my trip, so if you need a little reminder that the sun is still shining somewhere.... come visit.
Love.