What Motivates Your Practice?

Yoga quiets the mind, real yoga isn't physical (has the person saying that ever seen a
Vinyasa or hovered in Chaturanga?? So what motivates your practice? Quieting the mind, maybe, but how hard is that when your back or knees are screaming or it hurts when you try to do head rolls. When I began practicing yoga it was about getting over two dramatic events in my life. One had to do with career/job and the other a personal relationship. Both unfortunately happening at the same time!! Emotionally & physically I was drained and well, felt beat up!! There had to be a better way that I could cope with all of this and the rest of my life. Something that I could learn and make a part of my life. So I started to seek out my alternatives and meditation was my first option....so I began my practice......started to feel better.......then I found yoga which at first was just physical after all I had meditation. But then I had a break though on the mat and did a posture I was totally afraid of doing. I gain a sense of courage, strength...now I knew I could tap into that courage & strength...as I continued to practice I began to notice little things about myself, the noise in my head started to quiet down, I was reacting differently, physically I felt stronger and more balance and my thinking was clearer and started to live in a much more positive way.....it all connected and spread into my life off the mat.......to me that's real yoga!! No, it didn't happen overnight, it's gradual, it take time, commitment and practice. It takes showing up, mostly to yourself.

Whatever the reason we come to yoga, we should know that we've got nothing to apologize for or hide from. Balance postures give us permission to play & challenge us. They teach us it's ok to fall...they show us how to land on our feet. Forward folds teach us how good it feels to release our tight grip on our legs, and well maybe our life! Inversions show us the world from another perspective while back-bends teach us to be vulnerable and to trust. Maybe other postures won't give us enlightenment, but we sure learn about practice and patience while trying.

So yoga is what it is......it's "your" yoga.....whatever "you" want it to be....a cure
for pain....a quiet mind....great arms or abs. The important thing is that we practice everyday. We show up for ourselves.....

In gratitude I bow to you all for honoring me to be your teacher in past, present or future..........

Love, light & peace always
Cyn

Approaching the New Year 2011

As we all approach the New Year we make "new year resolutions" in different areas of our lives. But somewhere down the calendar year we fall short of completing these promises. We loose our focus, our drive and the stamina it takes to really change. Our breath....how we take our breath...I should say has a lot to do with it. We need to take a deep breath from the lungs so that our brain (our mind), our body (internal organs) and heart (our spirit) can get enough oxygen to supply all these things to run smoothly and connected. This is called the "yoga breath" or "deep abdominal breath". The more focus on the breath the quieter the mind gets allowing us to breath deeper into the lungs allowing the body to function at it's optimal. Calming the mind allows us to stay focused and to think & feel with a clear mind and heart. Thus,leaving us with less stress in our lives leaving room to stay focused, to think & feel clearly. Giving our bodies more stamina because we are not bogged down with the "junk". Bringing the mind, body & spirit together to complete those "new year resolutions". Wishing you all a peaceful, happy, healthy New Year full of big deep breathes..................

Life Lesson's

Some people approach their yoga practice as a break from the world, a separate space where they can recover from life's stresses and strains. Once they've pulled themselves back together, they return to their families and jobs renewed.

But what we really want to learn is how to incorporate our yoga practice into the rest of our lives and to respond to life's challenges without adding tension and stress. It is at this level that yoga really becomes a deeper practice. You can be under tremendous stress and come back into experiencing feeling grounded as though it were just another moment of Tadasana (Mountain Pose); or you can receive a big disappointment and be able to drop into your breath, realizing it's just another moment of practice; you can be in the daily tension of your everyday life, and allow the breath to move the feelings through your body allowing you to relax.

Close your eyes, relax, get centered, get balanced and breathe.............Namaste Cyn

Apply Vinyasa to Daily Life

Vinyasa yoga teaches us to cultivate an awareness that links each action to the next—on the mat and in our lives. Applying vinyasa in your yoga practice and daily life has many parallels to our breath in class. Moving through life demands a synchronization with natural forces that requires skill and intuition, the ability to set a course yet change with the wind. You have to know how to assess ourselves; in our physical, emotional, and spiritual states.

The teachings of yoga include a view called parinamavada, the idea that constant change is an inherent part of life. To proceed mindfully with any action, we must first assess where we are starting from today; we cannot assume we are quite the same person we were yesterday. We are all prone to ignoring the changing conditions of our body-mind; we often distort the reality of who we are based on who we think that we should be. This can show up on the yoga mat in any number of inappropriate choices: engaging in a heating, rigorous practice when we're agitated or fatigued; doing a restorative practice when we're stagnant; going to an advanced yoga class when a beginning class better suits our experience and skills. In order to avoid such unbeneficial actions, we need to start out with an accurate assessment of our current state.

Be who you should be each and every day (it will be different).............

Insecure Moments

We all have moments of insecurity—moments where we really dread something is about to happen. When maybe fear, anxiety and maybe even anger are about to set in! So how do we change those feelings into insight, freedom or a sense of calm.

During these insecure moments, we need to examine our feelings, acknowledge them, which with practice will bring us back to a sense of calm. It won't change the situation but it will change the way we react to it.

But that's easier said than done. One technique is paying attention to the feelings that accompany them. Then turn your focus on your breath, each time you relax and listen to your feelings, you open yourself to acknowledging that they are present.

When you simply witness our feelings first rather than just reacting to them, we allow our life to unfold with connection and we open ourselves to greater sympathy and understanding. Most important, we start to develop our capacity to be mindful in an often challenging life.

One breath at a time.........Cyn

The Importance of Breath!

Yoga has been called a "breath practice" by many experienced yogis. That's partially because many styles of yoga link breathing and moving. But it's also because the breath can reveal the truth about our condition, even when the external form of the body does not. The breath never lies!

When we practice yoga, our hope is to approach our edge in each pose, while keeping focused and centered, with the breath full and steady throughout. You can use the breath to sink deeper into the pose making it as intense as you release to. If you're ever unsure whether you're doing too much or not enough, listen to your breath. If you can't keep breathing evenly in a posture, it's a signal that you should back off to a simpler version of the asana—or take a rest.

This is also true of our daily lives. When you find yourself feeling tense, stressed, or overworked, try checking in with your breath. If it's even, calm, and rhythmic, then you're probably going to be OK. If it's choppy, short, and strained, then take a break, find a moment of relaxation, and wait for it to return to normal.

Just Breathe.........Cyn

Keeping Your Practice Real

Do you ever look at an another yoga student in an awe-inspiring pose and think to yourself, "I would never be able to do that!" or "I wish I could do that"?

Your not the only one thinking that. Most yoga students can relate to being envious, overwhelmed or discouraged when they see another student doing what seems to be an unobtainable pose. Instead of concentrating on your own shortcomings, come back to your breath and try to focus on the potential in your yoga practice. If not physical, then certainly spiritual. Think of how far you have come on and off the mat.

There will always be exceptions, most intermediate and advanced yogis didn't come out of the womb with the abilities to do those awesome postures. They used yoga as a tool to gradually improve their flexibility, strength, and concentration. Just like you're doing! Remember, yoga isn't about being able to shape your body into a pretzel. It's about what you learn about yourself while you practice on and off the mat. This is what truly matters.

Just Breathe.....Cyn