Our Bodies

Over the years, so many of my students have expressed varying levels of self-loathing. They're not strong enough, flexible enough, skinny enough, dedicated enough, etc., etc. So many come to yoga to lose weight and look pretty. So many don't come, because they want the same thing, but don't think yoga can do that for them. I came across this fantastic menagerie of human bodies today and had to share.
Yoga makes you confront yourself, and - with practice - it helps you become more introspective. You have to confront the shame as well as the hubris. You also have to confront change. I've had two babies. My body looks different, feels different, and acts different. So be it. It sounds flippant, but I do the work that gets me to that place of acceptance.
Since having kids, I'd forgotten how amazing it is to drag yourself out of bed and get to an early-morning practice. The act of not hitting the snooze button again is another step toward confronting yourself and charging forward into the day. And, gosh, it sure is lovely to hear the splashing water and the opera of the birds. Monday, I reached up toward the crystalline sky to demonstrate trikonasana (triangle), and not only saw clear lavendar and blue, but white flower petals falling upon me from the trees lining the steps. MAGICAL. This morning, four Mallard drakes chased a female across the sky in a cacaphony. LIFE.
I wish there was a cure all. I wish I could say a few words of support that would allow people to love themselves unconditionally. The fact is that practice is the only way. In the words of Guruji, "Yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory.” or "Practice and all is coming."

Looking for a Studio

Well, here it is.
I'm teaching Sunrise yoga on Cravath Lakefront in Whitewater, WI from 5:30-6:45 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays.
I'm teaching Hot Vinyasa Yoga at Ivy's Holistic Arts from 5:30-6:40 p.m.
And, I'm teaching a TGIF 1:00-2:15 p.m. class at Cravath Lake on Fridays. I suspect the Friday class will change a bit, as I'm taking over another teacher's class. It's hard for me to imagine that will be a popular one, since most people still work in the summers. But we'll see.
My husband wants me to open a studio, since there is a ton of space downtown. He thinks I can get something cheap. We'll see. It'll be bare bones.
But then this article popped up today and got me thinking about how yoga used to be back when I started practicing 20 years ago.
The wheels are turning.

A Great Post about the Benefit of Inversions

Judith Hanson Lasater is one of the originals in American yoga. This woman knows her stuff. My students ask me often what pose they should practice if they only have five or ten minutes, and my answer would be an inversion.

Yoga Dork is also a great resource.