Showing posts with label change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label change. Show all posts

Friday, July 12, 2013

Finding Balance Amid Chaos

via Candid Musings
I am currently deep in the process of moving. My days are all over the place. Between packing and gathering paperwork and scheduling movers and all that mess I am always seeking some semblance of balance. 

I have to remember somewhere in my mind that if I don't make time for myself - for my yoga, my artwork, and my family - then I will burn out quickly.


Somewhere in the chaos I have to stop and turn inward. I must find the stillness to reconnect with my center and breathe. Even while the world around me seems to be going at warp speed. Just like in my yoga practice - the transition needs to be treated with as much skill patience and equanimity as any other time.

"Yoga doesn't take time it makes time." - Ganga White

via Candid Musings

Friday, June 21, 2013

Walking a New Path When the Old One is Comfortable

You are a creature of habit. I mean, we all are - so don't think you're an exception.

Sometimes we try to learn a new habit on purpose - like brushing and flossing twice a day, not eating animal products, or doing yoga every day. That's really hard to do and sometimes people talk about how long it takes to build a new habit. That isn't always the way it works, really. Some of us (like me) just don't seem to learn new habits. I can learn to do something the same new way for 3 years and then just stop doing it one day. No matter how much better I felt for it or loved doing it - it's suddenly like it never happened. Why? 

Michelle Dawson by Robert Sturman

Some of us, it turns out have worn such a distinct path with our original habit - that the new one just can't compete. So it's not so much that you don't form a habit - you just formed the last one soooo well that it's harder to UNDO it than anything. It can be done, but it's going to be a more difficult journey.

What's my point here? Do I have one? I thought I did when I started.

If you're having trouble picking up a new habit - like doing yoga regularly (or ever) - go easy on yourself, but keep trying. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was your habit of not doing yoga.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Are You Sleeping Through Your Life?

Via Sylvia Mordini - on her Twitter

New experiences are easy to find. You can create them at any moment. In small ways or big ones. In your yoga practice they may look like a new studio, a different teacher, a new location in the room, a pose you've never tried... music, mats, outfits, friends to practice with, chanting... 

All these things create a slightly different experience. Some of these are small things, but they are the same small things that people fight against as if they were epic monsters. They actively avoid placing their mat in a different place in the classroom. The front row is pretty unpopular. 

Your comfort zone can become like a prison if you move in full time. Your ego may try to trick you into believing it's not worth the risk. Remember that feeling when you first tried (and loved!) yoga?  

Try something new this week! Don't sleep through your life.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Shake Up Your Downward Dog

Downward Facing Dog is a classic. It's featured in almost every class and people usually love it or hate it. It's a nice hamstring opener, but it can open up more in your legs than just that main corridor down the back center if you get creative.

Throw in some goofy-footed dogs. Seriously. Try it. Especially if you've been doing calf work or you wear heels often. Take it slow and pay close attention to knee/hips/ankles - just in case. Hold for 5 - 10 breaths.

Simply by turning the angle of your feet completely changes the feeling for your legs. Keep the rest of the pose the same as usual.

Toes in, Heels out.
Heels in, Toes out.
In general, this sequence is for anyone, but please don't try this sequence without speaking to your Dr. first if you have any medical/physical problems (Especially knee/hip problems). Seek Peace At Your Own Risk! 

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Yoga Calendars 2013

Around Thanksgiving I bought the Cute Overload Wall Calendar with the decision to forgo my usual yoga-themed calendar in 2013. While I love cute animals I was later disappointed to run across a yoga calendar I really wanted. I don't need two so I can only tell you guys about the best yoga calendars available for 2013 (that I know of), and be happy that I chose death by cute.  Hopefully this will help you avoid the same fate.





Friday, October 5, 2012

The Color of Change

The energy of autumn can be a little bit frenetic because it's a sort of "nesting period" for mammals. It's a time dedicated to preparing for the barren, cold, winter. Like squirrels racing to make sure the food rations are there and bears fattening up for winter hibernation. People tend to do things like rake leaves, make apple cider, gather pumpkins, and other autumn rituals as we transition into a darker quieter environment. Make this fall all about shedding that which doesn't support you on your path, and preparing to nourish your spirit deeply during winter.


In addition to body practices and the internal work you can do - give a little TLC to your living space.

Small changes add up in shifting the energy of your space and life. Little additions like leg warmers, hot drinks, rugs, and fuzzy pillows can add a cozy feeling that you just want to nestle into at the end of the day.

Colors and textures create moods and either nourish or drain your energy. Put some extra thought this season into these things that can affect your psychological and emotional state.


I'm changing the color scheme at home right now. My large pieces are deep purples, reds, and dark woods. I have accents of greens, aquas, whites, and oranges that I can shift and swap out for the cooler seasons. I don't buy all new decor every season or even every year. I only buy things I intend to keep for a lifetime. This fall I'm simply putting away the aquas and bright whites - and pulling out lush comfortable dark grays and spicy orange tones. I'm adding dark throw blankets, artfully placing my favorite decorative pillows, and rearranging so the earth tones are in the spotlight together. In my art studio I'm taking down most of the work on the walls to clear space for fall/winter creative mind.

My autumn revamp is like spring cleaning, but geared toward fall. Throw out your expired food items, make a donation of your excess stuff, organize your keepers, and create a supported feeling in your environment this season.


Friday, September 21, 2012

Healing Longterm Injury in Yoga with Kino

In this great video Ashtanga teacher Kino MacGregor discusses how to approach longterm injuries. If you get or have an injury that lasts for months or years - this video has some worthwhile advice for you.


Readers via Email - Click Here for the Video.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Resistance to Practice: Lighten Up!

Doldrums, disinterest, lack of motivation... Whatever you want to call it - it can be a veritable brick wall. The first time this happens to you isn't really much different than the 50th time. It's always uncomfortable. Everyone deals with it differently. When the last thing you want to do is practice - how do you handle it?

I suggest that you lighten up!

My asana practice has been dragging ass for a few months. The very sight of my mat kinda makes me groan at the notion of practice.

Finally I realized that if I relax my requirements of what counts as practice then I might do more yoga. I started doing yoga in my pajamas in the grass of my backyard, at the gym in the middle of the "stretching area" in my sneakers, or in the carpeted living room while wearing socks. Turns out I just need a new perspective for a while.


My practice is different (again) and I've sort of distilled it down to the pieces I enjoy the most. I've removed the "fluff" and I'm doing lots of lunges, hanumanasana, and pigeon mostly. I've made huge strides in my poses by doing this. That doesn't mean I never do the other stuff. I just mostly focus on my big loves and loosening my expectations is treating me well.

When you want nothing to do with yoga - focus on what you love.

By immersing my practice in joy and letting go of the picky details like always having to be barefoot I'm reconnecting to why I love the practice and this slump will pass.

    Tuesday, April 3, 2012

    In the Art Studio

    My posts have become slightly less reliable lately. For this I apologize, and I'd like to offer an explanation.

    Little known fact - I used to be an artist. There's always this argument about whether yoga is art and I just transitioned into a different art style, but I consider the two to be too separate to be related. For me anyway. Nothing even remotely compares to drawing and painting. As long as this exists - there is no other art to me.


    Once upon a time I did some art school and I was offered money for my work and people thought I had talent or something. However, it's hard to pay the bills as an art major so I went into biology instead (clearly I threw that idea out the window when I ultimately chose yoga). Anyway - with both art and yoga in my every day - I'm finding a ridiculous amount of happiness and fulfillment.

    My latest project - and my first foray into soft pastels.

    I recently cleared some space and started a home art studio. I got tired of sitting in the kitchen floor to draw and paint all hours of the day. So now I have this room all to myself and it's quiet and full of sunlight and I am spending all my time there. Sometimes I wash the colors off my hands and climb into bed in the wee hours of the night/morning - forgetting all about the blog-post I was supposed to write. So forgive me and be patient as I figure out how to arrange my schedule/life of activities - again. It's always something.

    Tuesday, February 28, 2012

    The Anusara Drama - I'm Over It

    Like many in the Anusara kula - I have felt a whole spectrum of emotions the last few weeks. At times I have been indifferent, defensive, angry, sad, just plain anxious, and more. It's been a little exhausting for everyone I'm sure. The drama has been flying. Even when you aren't directly involved in the story it's hard not to get defensive when people start accusing you of being in a cult. All this considered - I have been silent on the whole issue here at Hearts Expanding. I've been absorbing all the information I could and assessing what action, if any, was the right action for me.



    In case you've managed to miss the whole John Friend controversy - you can go see 

    Some people's reaction to the news.

    People that I know and love, teachers I respect - almost everyone is kind of scattering to the wind. Some declared their loyalty while others declared their resignation. At first it was like I wasn't 100% sure what to do with myself with all my teachers no longer under the same umbrella.

    Since I never went all the way through with getting my Anusara-Inspired certification (I started but changed my mind some time last year) I have been looking at this entire debacle primarily from the eyes of a student. After a lot of inward contemplation I came to recognize that I have been following certain teachers more than Anusara itself. I never followed John Friend individually. He is not and never was my teacher.

    As I recognize that my practice is so much more than that - I no longer list Anusara yoga as my primary yoga; but I will still practice it as long as some of my favorite teachers are involved in the method. I will continue to try new systems and be open to yoga as a whole. Some of my teachers are choosing to stay with Anusara, and some have chosen to leave. I fully respect and support both decisions. I will study both inside and outside of the Anusara community. As long as their teachings resonate with me - I will study with them wherever they are.

    TL;DR
    Here at Hearts Expanding, I'm not attached to John Friend or Anusara Yoga.
    I just love Yoga and the teachers that made me.

    Wednesday, February 1, 2012

    25 More Letters

    A little note to keep in mind if you're falling off your new year's resolution wagons.

    After that, there's an infinity of numbers.

    Wednesday, January 18, 2012

    Trying Ashtanga

    You all know I'm a big ol' Anusara junkie, but I tried something like 9 styles of yoga or more before I got all cozy with Anusara. There's plenty more styles around too so I'm making a conscious effort to branch out and try new styles in addition to my regular practice. Maybe I'll learn a few things.


    I got this Kino Macgregor Ashtanga DVD for christmas and I've started following along with it once or twice a week. It's the primary series with beginner and advanced variations for most of the sequence. While I know that DVDs are far from being representative of the classroom experience - I have to say I was a little too scared to visit an Ashtanga class. Maybe later. Ashtanga is challenging. Not crazy difficult - just definite work. My hop forward to hover in handstand is getting stronger and my upward dog is getting more practice than ever. I'm enjoying it for sure.

    Next stop - Bikram, Iyengar, and Aerial Yoga classes.
    I'm especially psyched out of my mind about that last one.

    Monday, December 12, 2011

    Calendar Time

    It's that time of year again. 2011 is drawing to a close and I need a new calendar. Does everyone keep a calendar? I'm wondering if calendars are a massive waste of energy, money, and paper; but with all the things I write on mine I can't imagine what I'd do without one.

    For quite a few years now I've been buying this one from YJ, but I've been feeling antsy. I like it because it's huge and pretty. However, the pictures are starting to feel stale and oft-repeated. I need something else.

    Source: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ashtanga4life

    I'm really considering this one from the Ashtanga4Life Etsy shop. It's smaller than I'm used to which poses some challenges for me. It's so pretty and the images would be new to me. Yoga Sutra text over each month would be awesome... and I'm intrigued by the lack of binding. This seems like it just invites creativity and original thinking. I feel like a big frame (for one page at a time) and dry erase markers might be my answer.

    What do you guys usually do? Does anyone go calendar-free? Certainly lots of people do.
    Toss me some ideas.

    Friday, November 11, 2011

    Shifting with the Seasons

    I can barely believe it's almost halfway through November. The deciduous trees are shedding leaves and letting the evergreens have the limelight for a while. The wind is faster and colder. Occasionally we're even getting snow here in the northern hemisphere.

    I've made it no secret that I'm not a fan of the cold. Now it's time for me to hibernate like a small bear and I'll gladly do so. Wrapped in a blanket with a cup of hot tea all I can think about is turning on the fireplace one of these days. I've never lived somewhere with a fireplace before and the whole idea is charming.



    I've been sick so I haven't really had an asana practice recently. I read somewhere that someone "heard" that every single day that you don't practice you lose a weeks worth of progress. I really hope that's not true because if it is I'm doomed.

    In the spirit of the season slow down your practice today and quietly turn inside. Shed your leaves and let your bones rest for a bit. Take great care and nurture yourself maybe for the entire weekend. Moisturize and warm your skin, make your muscles supple, get sufficient sleep, and slow your monkey mind so you are better prepared for the cool weather and stressful holiday season that is coming.

    Here at Hearts Expanding I've got some great stuff coming up. Giveaways, gift guides, book reviews and more! Stay tuned and take care of yourselves.

    Monday, October 3, 2011

    Friday - Looking Back

    Friday was a lot of things...including but not limited to: the end of the month, my 11 year anniversary (since our first date), and the first time I got one of my feet behind my head.

    Now as October begins - it's becoming harder to deny that my favorite season Summer is gone. The weather is still mostly here, but the cooler mornings and nights are creeping in for sure. I'm trying my best to accept Autumn, but the idea of wearing pants and starting to wear sweaters soon is not thrilling. Hopefully the increased opportunities to bake and celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays will help.


    My anniversary was nice - nothing too horribly exciting, but good. Our wedding anniversary is coming up soon so we don't tend to make a huge deal out of the dating anniversary. Basically we went out to a nice restaurant and had what turned out to be mediocre food. Despite my best efforts I really don't like polenta or red cabbage. The live music was fun though. I definitely enjoyed that.

    Oh yeah, and I got my foot behind my head... which is barely even noteworthy. That's how I've been feeling anyway. If you've been around a while you may recall that after my foot reached my head in King Pigeon pose - that Eka Pada Sirsana was my next big goal. Every day I feel equally distant from that goal as the day I set it, but Friday it just kinda happened. Now I always thought that achieving this feat would be like - "Fuck Yeah!", but it turned out to be a half smile, and then I pretty much forgot about it. I've been terribly underwhelmed about the whole thing. Does that mean I'm becoming less attached to the fruits of my labor? Maybe. If so, I'm okay with that. I only managed it with one foot... so one of these days I'll be an ambidextrous foot-behind-header and that'll be neat. For pictures at least. Something I don't have any of yet.

    Kino Macgregor - Ashtanga Badass and Teacher

    So what is all this rambling about? Well - as the seasons change and the earth gets a bit quieter it's a good idea to turn inside and do some assessing. See where you've been, check out where you are, and realize where you're going. Shed your attachment to the past, try to make the most of your present, and if your future does not look promising - either learn to accept it or take action to change it Now.

    Photo Source: The top pic is mine, but the bottom pic is from KinoYoga.

    Wednesday, September 14, 2011

    Awakening with Yoga


    "To the disciples, Yogananda often said, “Be patient in your yoga practice. A plant won’t grow the moment you plant the seed. ‘Make haste slowly,’ as the saying goes. It may take time to achieve the results you long for, but the more you practice, the more you will see your life changing. “The day will dawn at last when you won’t even recognize yourself as the person you were." - “The Essence of Self-Realization: The Wisdom of Paramhansa Yogananda”

    Something to keep in mind as you practice, but especially if you are just starting.

    Yes, this is my dog.

    Wednesday, July 6, 2011

    Small Steps to Big Balance

    Do you ever just feel "off"? Or maybe you have some small irritating pain in your wrist, knees, or shoulder? These things are generally created by a lack of balance. I don't mean the kind of balance that lets you stand on the head of a pin with one toe on top of a high rise. I mean the kind of symmetry we all Don't Have in our habits. A real obvious silly one is driver's tan. If you drive in the same places all the time then you'll get a tan (or sunburn) on one arm. Switch it up! Drive at different times, take a different route, be a passenger, or GASP - walk.


    Small things can create bigger problems or at least big imbalances in your day to day and your asana practice. Luckily you can find balance in small simple acts.

    • Carry your purse/bag on the opposite arm sometimes.
    • Carry your child on the other hip
    • Hold hands on the other side (with others or in clasped hand stretches)
    • Step off the curb with a different foot forward - You probably tend to always use the same one.
    • Check how you stand - Is most of my weight on one side? Shift into the middle; weight evenly distributed through all 4 corners of both feet.
    • On a subtle level - If you always practice yoga in the same spot or do handstands at the same piece of wall you may end up imbalanced because of small angles of the floor.
    Everything you do can have big effects - most of these listed can cause one tight hip flexor or a pinched nerve in one shoulder. Think about your small actions.

    Monday, June 20, 2011

    Update For Now

    It's been a while since I mentioned the move - and even a while since my last post. Today is a great day for an update.

    Everything I said in my last post about moving - has changed. Everything except the fact that we're moving. We're still moving, but since my moving post on June 6th - a lot has happened so I'll give a super short summary. Adam got an offer from Bodybuilding.com, for a lot more money, so we decided to go with that one - and now we're moving to Boise, ID. He actually starts his new job today, so send lots of good thoughts and positivity his way.


    That's right - he starts his new job today and we haven't moved yet. We're still looking for a place to live in the Meridian/Boise, ID area. In the meantime I'm still living in Oregon and Adam is staying in Idaho during the weeks. We have a place kind of lined up on July 15th (assuming it works out), but we're hoping to get into something else before then so we don't have to live apart for a full month. Not only is that sucky, but it's also really expensive.

    For now I can totally devote the majority of my days to yoga and writing posts... so the posts will get back on track for a while.

    Monday, June 6, 2011

    Packing Up

    Good News! Adam got a job! in Austin, TX. So we're moving... and pretty quickly. It's a rush job and we're going halfway across the country (just shy of 1,800 miles) so I'm going to be pretty busy in the next couple weeks. Trying to fit in some yoga will be challenging... it might be just my simple morning practice + meditation for a while. I'll try to keep the blog updating on schedule, but don't be surprised if I miss a couple days between now and July 1st.


    Photo Source: Dunno. A quick Tineye search yielded 0 results.

    Wednesday, May 4, 2011

    Big Beautiful Hair

    I know that as a yogi I'm not supposed to want things... yearn for something... or be kinda envious. I know this. Regardless of this fact - I also know that I have spent the last week wishing I had Seane Corn's Hair. Her hair is awesome. If you've been around the yoga scene very long you've almost certainly heard of Seane Corn. She's a top notch vinyasa yoga teacher, and she's often known as "the one with the hair".


    Seane Corn has splendid full-bodied curls. If you do a few internet searches for long curly hair - you'll find her photos everywhere. I've seen her in person, and her hair was just as amazing as it is in pictures. I've been needing a haircut because my hair is mostly one length and curls don't look great like that... not at this length. I've been cutting my own hair since I was 17, but I don't trust myself to add serious layers to my hair - which I know is what I really need to take this limp mess and make it spring back to life.


    The whole thing is pretty scary. The last time I actually went to a salon and asked for layers I was in the 9th grade (like 15 years ago) and left with a terror inducing botch job on my head that took AGES to fix. Never again I said. Never again. Now I've grown up and know that I need layers if I'm going to keep growing out my hair - I just don't trust anyone to do it.

    I'm not sure if there's a yoga for that.