Yoga in the Park

Last weekend I went to a free class in the park offered by Lululemon.  The community class in the park is something Lulu offers every Saturday in every town I've ever seen a Lululemon, but I've never gone to one. Believe it or not, I'm really shy about trying new yoga classes and locations.

The class was at 9am in a park downtown and it turned out to be really nice. I like trying new teachers and practicing outside is one of my favorite things ever. It's always a little exercise in beginner's mind when you're meeting new teachers and experiencing their style. Gets you out of your head a little better than a home practice if that's what you do most often. I'm glad I went and I intend to keep going to these community classes. Getting outside of my comfort zone is a good thing and I can try a few different teachers.

This pic is from Wanderlust, but you get the point.

Get involved in your local yoga community. It can be with a lulu class in the park, a community class given by fresh new teachers (usually free or cheap), or just a meetup with some friends to try a new DVD... just get out there!

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 

a Timeline of Events at Bay Shakti to get caught up.

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.

Book Review: Tales from the Yoga Studio

I received an email a while back asking if I'd like to review this book - and jumped at the chance. Tales from the Yoga Studio seemed exactly like the type of happy colors, bright stories, fictional yoga book I seek out.

When the book arrived I immediately sat down to read it - almost in one sitting. I've mentioned before that I don't generally do much reading because it makes me sleepy. In my determination to read and enjoy this book - if I got sleepy, I didn't notice. The book is broken into bite sized pieces - perfect for a non-reader like me, or a busy yoga mom. It's the first in a series by Rain Mitchell about five women "who flock to yoga at turning points in their lives and find the gift of lasting friendship". - Penguin.com

To quote more from the publisher's page:

"The yoga studio is where daily cares are set aside, mats are unfurled, and physical exertion leads to well-being, renewal, and friendship. An aggressively expanding chain of Los Angeles yoga "experience centers," has Lee and her extraordinary teaching abilities in its sights. They woo her with a lucrative contract, a trademarked name for her classes, and a place for her handsome musician husband. But accepting the contract means abandoning the students at the homey studio Lee runs in L.A.'s Silver Lake district- and leaving behind four women whose friendships are suddenly more important to her than retirement benefits and a salary increase."

Everyone seems to love this book. I wanted desperately to love this book.

Tales from the Yoga Studio hits on a lot of familiar life issues between mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, studio owners and students which made the characters seem fractured yet endearing and well meaning. The focus on the Kula (Community of the Heart) these five women want so badly to save is relatable to anyone who has ever belonged to a resident studio. The stock characters recognizable in most any class in America: the unprofessional studio owner barely making ends meet, the dancer, the stress junkie, the reformed bad girl, the guy that goes commando, and the uncertain newbie - we've all seen them. This allows you to be drawn into the story - like you already know the characters.

To me, the book brings to mind "Desperate Housewives" in that it showcases the cracks underneath the seemingly perfect exterior of the people in the story. I felt the drama was a little too overdone. The pace of the story seemed like it was all drama with little to keep it grounded enough to avoid a soap opera feel. I think it's a bad sign that the only character that seems to have her head on straight is Katherine, the former junkie. Mitchell lends too much space to skewering the more redonkulous douche bags of the yoga scene and not enough time focusing on the characters actually enjoying the yoga that has deeply affected their lives. At times it seems like this book is meant to point and laugh at the yoga community more than it is meant to make you want to be a part of it.

My feelings about this book - the story and the writing - went back and forth. I had waves of enjoyment and waves of irritation. Sometimes I was laughing with the characters, but other times I was left cringing at redundant filler information.

For me, this book gets a solid 2 out of 5 stars. ♥♥