City Yoga Blog

Make this video go around the world...

2008-05-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

Six Days a Week...

2008-05-13T06:11:00.000-07:00

I must say that I feel my practice has already progressed. I don’t, however, know if it strictly a change in my intention, or physical development as well. Intention is such a catch phrase in much of the yoga literature that I have read. “Be in the moment” “Focus on the now”. Well yeah, I sure do feel in the moment when my thighs are burning in Virabatrasana A and B. Figuring out how to “stay in the moment” and continuously focus on breath, bandas, and alignment is where the difficulty lies. I do feel, however, that the commitment that I have made has certainly made me more aware of my intention. I come to the mat with much more presence in the current moment rather than dwelling on what I haven’t been able to do in the past and what I’ll likely not be able to do today. I also seem to be more aware of subtleties during my practice. I am improving on my ability of self-observation and the ability to translate that into adjusting my postures. Rotating this and extending that is starting to make much more sense to me. If I could just remember to breathe! It is fairly exciting to report that last night I was able to lift up off the floor (briefly) for this first time in Utplutih. And what do you know, it must not have been a fluke as I was able to do it today as well. I am starting to celebrate each of these small victories.
I have received many words of encouragement over the past week and remain touched that so many people support me on this journey. The community that has grown at City Yoga is full of many caring, encouraging and supportive people. Knowing that I have a silent cheering section beside me during my practice keeps me motivated on those early, early mornings. Many of those people have also said the same thing to me, “Don’t be surprised if you get more out of this experience than you expect”. I already feel that I have and I can’t wait to see what more is in store for me. I look forward to sharing my experience with all of you and returning the favor of support.

Six Days a Week...

2008-05-08T06:36:00.000-07:00

Trepidation. That’s what I felt when I began to contemplate the journey of 6 days a week of practice. Could I do it? And at what cost to my family? Will this affect my boys? Will it take time away from them? Immediately, thoughts of guilt set in. It’s amazing how good I am at feeling guilty since I became a mother. At the end of this internal argument I came up with the following…Yoga has taught me patience, self respect, and strength (physical and emotional). If those characteristics can make me a better mother, providing a strong example to my boys, a committed practice was worth a shot. My hope is that with a dedicated practice I will continue my journey not only in developing strength and flexibility in the asanas, but more importantly continue to celebrate my spirit, encouraging self love and self respect.

In order to commit to this challenge, I had enlist the support of my husband, kids and friends. I knew I couldn’t do it alone and I am pleased to say all have stepped up and provided me with support. Attempting to schedule practices in my week has already been difficult. My good intentions have been interrupted by LIFE. I have, however, made it to the mat 5 days this week. In addition to 2 led classes I have introduced 2 EARLY morning practices and one home practice.

How do I feel? Tired. But invigorated at the same time. I am also proud of myself. I have successfully completed my first week without taking time away from my family and without feeling (much) guilt for what I sometime perceive as selfishness. I think that is going to take a while for me to get over.

Early morning practices are different than the afternoons. I takes me longer to warm up and I find that my hamstrings and hips take longer to open up. This morning I attempted to stand up from urdhva dhanurasana and it just wasn’t going to happen. I initially felt frustration and some anger. “Why the heck is this hard today?” but then I forced myself to step back and appreciate that fact that I had made it to the mat. Be happy with that! Practicing by myself has also forced me to be self motivating and accepting to the fact I may not always have an energized practice.

One week down, many, many, many to go. Goals for this journey….lifting up and jumping back without using blocks, binding in supta kurmasana, generally improving my strength. More importantly I want to live yoga. Not only asana but incorporating the philosophy of yoga into my life. Lofty? Yes. Attainable? Hopefully.

Lindsay will be posting her practice journal over the next four months. She has been practicing at City Yoga since the early days in the Steamplant, works and has two little children. When she expressed some frustration to me about her progress in her practice which was pretty consistently 3-4 days a week, I suggested that she try for a period of time to practice six days a week, taking off moon days and the first three days of her menstrual cycle. She was up for the idea and started right at the beginning of May. Not a small task to bring add on to an already busy life, she has to fit practice some mornings, and some evening but she is making it work! Lindsay, thank you for sharing this with all of us.

The Opening Mantra...

2008-05-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

We posted the article written by San Francisco Ashtanga teacher John Berlinsky last June and a lot of people really liked it so we are posting it again. Now you can also hear David Garrigues doing the opening mantra.

Ashtanga practice is traditionally begun with the recitation of the mantra. What we call the Ashtanga Mantra is really two shlokas from different sources. The first is a verse from the "Yoga Taravalli" by Sri Shankaracharya and the second verse is from a longer prayer to Patanjali.

The Ashtanga mantra has been translated a number of times with various interpretations of the individual words. Instead of looking at the mantra as a literal translation of the Sanskrit, I see the mantra as an invocation and living part of our yoga practice.

Read more...

Watch this video...

2008-04-28T13:03:00.000-07:00

and the band Five for Fighting will donate $.40 to Autism Speaks. Also in the video they talk about early intervention and alterative therapies - one of which happens to be yoga. For more information about yoga for children with autism contact Amy at Spokane Youth Yoga.

I could never do that...

2008-04-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

We've all done this: watched someone effortlessly perform an amazing, seemingly impossible asana, and thought to ourselves any number of judgemental, self-degrading, negative thoughts along the lines of: "I'll never be able to do that, I've been doing this so much longer than him and why can he do that and I can't, I suck, why am I even trying to do this, ____(insert your favorite judgemental thought)_____." Or maybe you take the self limiting tack of "why would I ever want to do that to myself!"

It is a natural function of being human; we have this brain that is capable of many layers of thought. We can be editing, monitoring and judging what we are doing, and then editing, monitoring and judging what we are thinking about what we are doing and so on and so on. Of course we all know by now that the goal of yoga is to some how take respite from this "ability". Patanjali's yoga sutras focus on the aim of learning to control the wanderings of the mind; yogas citta-vritt-nirodhah. Learning to somehow for a moment see past the veil or maya of the conditioning of our lives - so that we can see things as they are, be present.

So here we are getting on our mat either at home in our living rooms, or coming to a class. We look around and compare ourselves to the people around us and we begin to have these thoughts (see above), so we question the value of practice, we look for a new teacher, a new studio, a new thing, but inevitably, eventually those same thoughts come back. Before we know it five years later we're in the same confused place, as Richard Freeman says with a lot of shallow wells all around us.

Consider this: Practicing with total attention within the body is advanced yoga, no matter how easy the posture: practicing with your attention scattered is the practice of a beginner, no matter how difficult the posture. (David Coulter, The Anatomy of Hatha Yoga) Let yourself be inspired by the people joining you on their mats and then go back inside, listen to your breath, do your best and try to learn from what you are feeling. Keep coming back to your mat, dig a deeper well, the effortless beauty of asana will sneak up on you one day when you least expect it.

Enlighten Up!

2008-04-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

Looks like an interesting film.

A little about Karen....

2008-04-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

Where are you from originally?
I'm originally from Colville, WA.
What brought you to your first yoga class?What was your experience?
My initial yoga experience is a little different as I didn't attend my first class until after I'd been practicing regularly on my own for over a year. After some reading, somehow a light bulb kind of went on in my head one day that said yoga was the thing that was missing in my life. I bought a couple of books and starting going through the practices in the books. One of those books was Beryl Bender Birch's "Power Yoga". From my first practice on, my back pain from an old auto accident injury was significantly improved. I went on to teach myself the entire primary series from Birch's book before I ever set foot in a yoga studio. When I finally decided to find a teacher I was hooked on Ashtanga and at that time there was no one teaching Ashtanga in Spokane. I started attending Alison Rubin's Iyengar classes at Harmony Yoga to make sure I was learning the alignment properly to avoid creating potential imbalances or injuries. My experience of taking that first "public" yoga class was that it felt strange to take something that had been very private and personal for me and start doing it in a room full of people. I found that there was wonderful energy, support, and learning to be had in a group class setting.

Do you participate in any other kind of consistent physical exercise?
I love any kind of activity that gets me out in the woods. I hike (and sometimes trail run) consistently all year. More intermittently, depending on the season, weather, etc., I like to get out and mountain bike, kayak and rock climb.

What are you reading right now?
In addition to the latest Yoga Journal, right now I just started an old book from the mid-seventies that I came across called "Indian Thought".

Do you have a hobby or interest that you have that we don't know about?
I think everyone knows that my husband and I love to travel, but we also love 40's style swing dancing. And when I have a snippet of spare time I'm hooked on Sudoku puzzles.
Karen has been teaching at City Yoga since we opened in 2003. Though she works full time as a school psychologist she also maintains a daily ashtanga practice and teaches every other Thursday night at 5:40pm and regularly subs.

Time to Spring into Home Composting...

2008-04-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

Spokane Master Composters will host their Spring Compost Fair at the John A. Finch Arboretum on Saturday, April 26th from 11AM – 2 PM. Just in time for spring yard clean-up, participants will learn how to turn yard and garden debris into valuable soil amendments and reduce garbage disposal costs. The Fair is being held in conjunction with the Arboretum's Arbor Day festivities.

A variety of hands-on demonstrations will be highlighted --- including a "hot" compost pile and worm bin. Participants will learn about the materials to use in composting, how to build and turn a compost pile and how to choose the appropriate bin. Participants must arrive by 1:30 PM to complete all of the activities by the 2 PM closing time.

This event is free and open to the public. Spokane County attendees (with identification verifying residency), can receive a free compost bin (one per household) after completing the various activities.

The John A. Finch Arboretum is located at the intersection of Sunset Highway and "F" Street. For more information, call the Recycling Hotline at 625-6800 or visit http://www.solidwaste.org

Philosophy Study Group Tuesday 4/22 at 7pm

2008-04-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

In our series on meditation, two additional meditation techniques.

7:00pm - 8:15pm - counts as one class.

This weekend - thank you David and all!

2008-04-20T15:05:00.000-07:00

Restorative Yoga this Weekend

2008-04-10T08:51:00.001-07:00

This Sunday night at 5:15pm - please pre-register, maximum is 16 unless you can bring your own chair! Hope to see you there at the end of the beautiful day we are suppossed to have!

More from Charleston...

2008-04-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

Here is another picture - this is Jennifer, my dear friend from Charlottesvile. She hosts Tim there once a year and David as well. And that is Tim - below is a link to an article that Tim wrote - good reading.

http://ashtangayogacenter.com/alchemy.html

Hello from Charleston!

2008-04-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

I almost don't want to post these pictures as Dan told me that there was still snow on the ground there! I hope you enjoy them - we've had a really nice trip, I'll be writing about more of the details later. I found an ashtanga studio "the practice space" to practice at and may have re-ignited the yoga bug for my mom and her two sisters. Tim Miller was here last weekend so I spent some time with him, he did a mysore class, a led primary series class, and what he calls "improvisation" which is a lot like what I do on saturday mornings, he also did a lot of talk, most of which I had to miss, except for the sutra discussion, which is always good. As some of you know, Tim was one of the first westerners to practice with Guruji, and has been teaching this method for nearly 30 years in Encinitas, CA at The Ashtanga Yoga Center. My good friend Jennifer Elliott from Charlottesville, VA drove the eight hours to Charleston to see me and Tim which was really amazing of her. We have one more day, and then leave tomorrow night. I'll see you all this weekend!

Philosphy Study Group this week...

2008-03-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night, March 25th at 7:15pm, no experience necessary, all are welcome. Counts as one class.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2008-03-17T09:28:00.000-07:00

Come celebrate with us today!

Vacuum bags and more...

2008-03-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

When we make the choice to come to class, to put down our mats and to practice we may also be making any of (not limited to) the following choices: to hire a babysitter, to not clean the house, to not make breakfast or dinner for the rest of the family, or to leave babies, or children or spouses or __(fill in the blank)_______ . Any number of things must fall into place in order for us to actually make it to our mats. Some days are better than others, some excuses to not come to the mat are better than others.

For me today the issue was vacuum cleaner bags. Some time last week our vacuum cleaner bag at the studio was totally full and I tried to empty it out so that I could keep using it, but in doing so ripped it. Alas, I was going to have to go out and buy some new ones! You might not think that vacuum cleaner bags could really be that integral to the running of a yoga studio but let me explain something. We often use the analogy of "peeling back the layers of an onion" to describe the process of yoga. Well what we don't mention about that is the peeling of layers of skin, toenails, and hair that is also a part of the process. You might not believe how much of this, plus all of the dust and fibers from blankets that we accumulate on the floor after just one class. So we use the dry mop to sweep the floor, and then we vacuum the debris from the mop - so the vacuum cleaner is pretty important.

So what I now know is if you are in need of vacuum cleaner bags don't go to Walgreens, Fred Meyer, Albertson's or Target (at least if you have the kind I have). After these four trips, finally I went to JJ's Vacuum Store this morning and after two trips there, I finally had the right bag.

This, was what was almost going to keep me from my practice today. Two things made me do it, one is that I feel better when I practice, it is fun, I enjoy it, it is a time for me to focus on myself and on what makes me me, and two because Lars was going to meet me :). As I started my first sun salutation I smiled thinking to myself "do your practice...all is coming...even vacuum cleaner bags..."

On to the green mats...

2008-03-05T07:25:00.000-08:00

The new eco mats that are coming out are pretty much made out of rubber - Mary sent me some great information about them. Thanks Mary!

Rubber, being tapped from trees (as is maple syrup) is a natural material that turns to dust in the landfill. I just got my new one, a Harmony mat, from matsmatsmats.com http://www.matsmatsmats.com/yoga/yoga-mat-fusion.html

Their Fusion mat is 5/16" thick and 8 pounds. I bought the Pro mat which is only 3/16" thick and about 5 pounds. I may regret it in the long run...don't know yet. They both come in 68" or 74" lengths.

We both remember the "carpet pad" mats and how they ate up your feet. This commercial rubber mat does NOT--at least not to my experience so far. It feels much much cushier than the carpet padding too.

The cons of rubber are listed on the website:

This mat should not be left outside in the sun, since natural rubber is very sensitive to direct sunlight - the material can dry out, harden and lose its grip.

Natural rubber always has a "rubber" odor that will diminish over time [never completely in my experience-you have to get used to it]

People with latex allergies should avoid natural rubber.

I can attest to the first caveat -- the summer of "108 days of yoga" when I came to class virtually every day, I left my mat in my car much of the time. And yes, it started to slide all over the floor at practice. I deep-sixed it out of frustration! With my new one I must remember NOT to do that. But I loved the deep red color (Sedona red) of my new one and bought it as much for that as the "green" aspect. We'll see...

The Yoga School of Spokane

2008-03-01T14:16:00.000-08:00

Announcing the Yoga School of Spokane, yoga teacher training certification program! The Yoga School is actually a bunch of teachers from a bunch of different yoga schools here in town, working together to offer a multi-faceted, multi-lineage in depth study of yoga. The 200hr program is already open for registration which you can do online or in person.

Mastering the Basics

2008-02-26T13:53:00.000-08:00

Wow - here are the latest graduates from the Mastering the Basics class. I wish there was no audio but alas you can here me too! The next MTB class begins next Monday, March 3, I am limiting the class size to 20, so you may want to register in advance. You can sign up online, or call us at 509-869-4121

Philosphy Study Group - This Tuesday at 7pm

2008-02-25T07:03:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, February 26th at 7pm
This class counts as a regular class.
Register now!

Yoga From the Inside Out

2008-02-24T11:29:00.000-08:00

"The hatha yoga practitioner uses the body as the vehicle of consciousness, as the terrain for practice, exploration and ovservation. To practice self-observation in hatha yoga we use the asanas to witness the sensations of the body, the thoughts of the mind, the feelings of the heart, and the majestic simpliciy of the spirit. Paying attention to people is one of the best ways to show them that we love and care for them. In the practice of hatha yoga we can hone our ability to pay attention to the physical alignment of the body in space, our attitudinal alignment with our heart's desire and the spiritual alignment we have with the Divine. By paying attention to ourselves through self observation in our yoga practice we show ourselves that we are worthy of our own attention, making our practice into an act of love. In this spirit of love, yoga can become an offering of peace."

An excerpt from Christina Sell's book "Yoga From the Inside Out". Christina will be at Garden Street Yoga in Coeur d'Alene, April 18-20, 2008.

I think we've all felt this way...

2008-02-24T09:13:00.000-08:00

"Upon entering the yoga classroom my mind was filled with much confusion, and my body with doubt. That Monday night i left with a different look and yoga and at myself. It all started with a clearing of the mind for the first few poses. That was followed by focusing on breathing, and bondas. The rest just fell into place. With every breath heating me up from the inside and every pose becoming easier, my body began to mold into one with my mind. It is a feeling that i have never felt before. A feeling that can not be explained with words, but by experience alone. I have played may sports and none has given me such a rewarding feeling. I want to thank all the Teacher of City YOGA and keep up the great work." A student from the Mastering the Basics class

ja*lu: grow up organic

2008-02-21T09:19:00.000-08:00

ja*lu is a local company started by an entrepreneurial, philanthropic, eco-conscious mom. go to their website complete with online store and wholesale options for more information or read below..

the motivation

What can I say, having children changes the way you look at life, and it's been no different for me. I love staying home with my boys, but also craved the sense of accomplishment I had in the professional life. My goal was to create a company that allowed both and could actually make a difference in areas that are important to me. That is when I came up with the idea for an organic line of baby gear. I see it as an opportunity to take care of our environment and our babies with products that are made with both in mind, after all, they both deserve our best.

the philanthropy

ja*lu believes in giving back and will be donating 5% of profits to selected charities. Listed below are a few of the charities ja*lu will be supporting through product and financial donations.

Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital: This hospital holds a special place in our hearts as it has served my own family through various illnesses and continues to serve the community of Spokane and the Inland Northwest. If you would like to learn more about this special place, please visit the Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital at www.shmcchildren.org

International Breastmilk Project: This amazing charity, founded by Jill Youse , sends donated breastmilk to orphans in Africa, who were orphaned due to poverty and AIDS. The gift of breastmilk is life changing, and life saving. If you would like to learn more about how they are changing the world, please visit their site at www.breastmilkproject.org

Sunshine

2008-02-20T08:51:00.000-08:00

Pretty soon we will have sunshine streaming through the windows again. The days are already starting to get longer... yeah spring!