First Chakra...root it down

So I have been working in classes and in my own practice on the first Chakra....The root chakra, the base, the origins of US. This is the chakra that holds us up and stabilizes us. This chakra taps into our feelings of needing to belong to a tribe (ie, family, community etc...). However, if we do not root down in the essence of ourselves first, feeling that stability and comfort from inside- we will look to our tribe to provide all of the groundedness in our lives. If the tribe becomes unstable, so do we. I think of it like this- if a tree cannot send it's roots down deep into the earth instead sending them out on the surface, with the first hard rain the tree will come crashing down. If however the tree sends roots down deep, the roots it spreads out closer the surface will make it stronger. If those surface roots are ever compromised the tree will remain standing. We are like that tree....if we find strength and power inside of us first- when a lover leaves, a family is compromised, a friend is sick, a parent is emotionally unavailable etc....we are still standing. Sad, challenged, angry, frustrated- perhaps. Rocked to the point that we can not function and shut down? No.
So breathe, dig deep.....root down.
Next week the second Chakra- we are working our way up the entire chakra system!


Asanas for the first Chakra
Warrior 1
Warrior 2
Extended Triangle
Garland Pose
Noose Pose

 

Friday Feelings (Just Breathe)

A dear yogi I know once told me that "The joy and pain in life is like peanut butter and jelly. They just go together." Simple....sweet...true.

I adore this song by Pearl Jam- it to me has all the feelings I get when I eat a peanut butter and jelly...sometimes a little sticky and hard to swallow, but sweet and gooey all at the same time.

Yoga? (Random Thursday musings)

Yesterday I wore my sandals to work. See, I have pictures to prove it....
Woke up, looked at my boots and thought "NO." That was really the only logic I have for that (well, I guess that is not logic, more than it is a declarative 1 word statemtent). It only got to 38 degrees, and I didn't care. People looked at me like I was crazy.... didn't care. It just felt so good to able to see and wiggle my toes. Reminded me that spring really will be here....someday. I think I will start wearing my sandals in winter on a regular basis.

Poetry Mondays

Ahhhhh- Already Poetry Monday? This is a poem by Pablo Neruda, an amazing poet and one of my favorites and also the favorite of a dear friend of mine. I hope you enjoy....his words paint the most lovely (and sometimes heartbreaking) pictures....

And Because Love Battles
And because love battles
not only in its burning agricultures
but also in the mouth of men and women,
I will finish off by taking the path away
to those who between my chest and your fragrance
want to interpose their obscure plant.

About me, nothing worse
they will tell you, my love,
than what I told you.

I lived in the prairies
before I got to know you
and I did not wait love but I was
laying in wait for and I jumped on the rose.

Mark Whitwell? Yup, you pretty much rock.

Mark Whitwell- a constant source of inspiration in my life both on and off the mat. I would love to follow up this video with something completely brilliant but er....it's Mark Whitwell- can't follow that.


Thank you to all of you who came to the class on Saturday to support the relief efforts in Haiti. To those who couldn't make it- your support and love was felt though you weren't there in the studio. We will be having more fundraiser yoga classes for Haiti in the upcoming weeks and months. They will need our support more than ever in a few months when the world at large has moved on. Don't worry dear Haitian brothers and sisters, we will help hold you up when you need it the most. We are strong.

Love love love to you all!

Now you can know where I spend  a lot of my life if not on my mat....

(yep-behind my computer screen)

Thoughts on love in a time of great sorrow....

Every blade of grass has an angel that bends over it and whispers,  "Grow, grow".
-The Talmud


The past few days have been heavy, hard. It's almost as if the collective cries of all of our brothers and sisters in Haiti have gathered in waves and moved across the ocean, washing over me continuously...until I feel completely pulled under. Of course that question that can't be answered or needs to be answered keeps running through my head...WHY?

Have a Little Faith ( in me).... (I'll have a LOT of faith in you:)

I love this song....Michael Franti and Spearhead...speaking love and truth!
(I hope this song lifts you up if you need it today)
Shanti-


Have a Little Faith  click on title to  listen to song

Poetry Mondays

Sigh....Mondays...can be uninspiring to say the least. I think that I will post my favorite poems every Monday- a tad bit of inspiration on a day that can be er....challenging.

Tonight I think I will work on heart openers in my fundamentals class.

The Angry Vegetarian

Okay- I admit it...sometimes I want to eat meat. I mean really want to eat meat. I don't want the taste, really....that's not it. Something in my cells seems to be screaming out for it...almost primal. I don't eat it though, and I am left with that longing...the craving...and I'm HUNGRY-and being hungry all the time really makes me feel angry. Hence...THE ANGRY VEGETARIAN.

gratitude

Yesterday I had a lot to work out on my mat...A LOT to work out. When I woke up my first thought was"Ugh- I don't have it in me to teach....not today. Too much." I moved through my usual morning routines in a haze...get dressed, get Alden dressed, unload the dishwasher, pack lunch, make breakfast, feed dog, start car.... at 8:40 I found myself at the studio- my sweet Shambhala- welcoming as always. This morning though I didn't feel my usual Christmas morning thrill when I walked in and smelled the familiar, sweet smell of incense. The exhaustion was mounting "Oh I can't do this today...any day but today- maybe no one will come and I can practice a bit and go home.... Hide." Of course though as usual the universe had other plans, and people came.

First time is the hardest?

So friends have been asking me to start a blog for what seems like forever....I have had a million VERY good reasons (I know watching reruns of Top Chef counts as a reason) not to do one. But I have been inspired by a few very cool ladies to just do it allready....so here I am. Yup....here I am...with my keyboard in front of me- waiting for pithy brilliance to trip out of my brain and onto the keyboard...First time is the hardest- right?