Lines of Energy

In "Yoga as Self-Transformation" Joel Kramer talks about Lines of Energy. At this last teacher training I was able to feel what he was talking about. We were discussing a variety of postures and charting where the line of energy moves within each pose. I decided to focus on these energy lines, and adjust my body accordingly in order to get into them. Not only did focusing on these lines help me more accurately reach a pose, but I was able to go deeper in. I did not feel as much discomfort. I felt more at balance, because the energy lines were opposing each other and making me more stable. I feel the knowledge of how the energy works within each pose is so so helpful in deepening my practice. http://www.gobodhiyoga.com

Waking up early

Last time I wrote I said I was going to wake up early and do my own personal practice before school. Out of the four days I only got up two of those days. However, the mornings I did yoga Icould feel such an impact throughout my day. I could feel my body. I was so attuned to the needs of body. We were so connected. I love this feeling. I think so often we are outside of ourselves, thinking about the future, others, anything and everything. But there is such a power in just being in the present moment and feeling the ground beneath your feet, or the way your your cloths sit just right on your body. Or how your tense your muscles feel. Yoga allows me to bring more present and to connect not only to what my body has to say, but to what by spirit has to teach. Yoga is so profound. Every time i do it is different and i learn something different. It may seem hard or a daunting but i tell you not to be afraid to try it. It is literally changing my life. Namaste. http://www.gobodhiyoga,com

Personal Practice

Next weekend is the third weekend to my yoga training experience. I must say it is going by so fast, even to fast. At this next teacher training I have to teach the other members of my class a Tier from the Bodhi Flow. I am quite nervous. However, I am going to take this next week and really prepare for this opportunity. I am going to wake up at 5:50 a.m for the next four days and practice the Tier i want to teach for at least a half an hour. I want to know for myself how to get into each posture, once I do this then I will put it into a whole flow. I am excited about this task. The more i do yoga the more i realize how my much my body craves it when i do not do it. I will let ya know how this weeks go.

http://www.gobodhiyoga.com/

"Something Borrowed" by Molly M. Ginty

When one starts to take their personal yoga practice and teach it many worries and concerns may arise. One of these concerns is about if they are stealing another instructors moves, or way of teaching. I know as I have practiced teaching yoga i say the same phrases as Syl. This is because it was the way I learned them. I was worried that I was cooping her. However, after reading the article written by Molly Ginty I feel much better. It really brings in the line of when one is coping someones work and not giving them credit, and when one is innocently using material.

To learn more about Syl and the wonderful yoga she is teaching me go to www.gobodhiyoga.com

Yoga as Self-Transformation by Joel Kramer

I recently read "Yoga as a Self-Transformation" by Joel Kramer. This article was published in Yoga Journal May/June 1980. For anyone who is interested in yoga, who want to know more about how to approach yoga, this is a great article. I love how this article covers the mind, body, and spirit in his approach of yoga. Kramer really does a fabulous job of describing the physiological aspects of yoga. This article has given me a profound respect for yoga, and ones own practice.

If you want any information about yoga, or want to take a class go to. www.gobodhiyoga.com

Teaching Yoga

I had the opportunity to teach yoga to my roommates and friends. There were a total of three. Stacey and Kelsey are my roommates, and Jordan is a young man who lives in the apartment below mine. I am grateful for their willingness to participate in me learning to teach yoga. I taught them three basic moves. The sitting pose, the child pose, and Ujjayii yoga breath. Stacey has already been practicing yoga for some time. Jordan served a mission in Korea, so he learned and gained some basic flexibility. Kelsey has taken a few classes so she has some basic knowledge. They did great. While teaching I felt so calm. I really enjoyed teaching them. I know I am on the right path.

If you would like to learn more about yoga go to www.gobodhiyoga.com

The Gunas

The more I study and try to understand Yoga the more I learn how deep it really is. There are so many different levels and understandings of yoga. For some it may just be a way to stretch there body, but for others it can be a deep healing and spiritual experience. Also understanding the deep ideas of yoga are so helpful in ones practice. One such principle of yoga are the Gunas. In sandscrit Prakriti means nature. The idea is that Prakriti has three ways of manifesting herself into the physical whelm, these are the Gunas. There are three Gunas:Rajas, Tamas, and Sattva. Each Gunas has a different expression. They show up in every thing we do, and govern all physical activity.

Rajasic movement is dynamic, insistent, and passionate. When it comes to yoga one who is dominate in Rajas would be seeking power, stimulation, in nailing a posture. On an emotional level Rajas is expressed through anger, willfulness, manipulation.

Tamasic Energy is heaviness or lethargy. In a mental state it would be ignorance or inability to perceive. On the emotional level Tamas shows itself through slothfulness, inattentiveness with low mental activity. An example would be from the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, when King Theoden is in that trance like state. In yoga Tamasic energy would be what keeps someone from trying a posture or from participating.

Sattvic Energy is light, delicate, clear and graceful. An example of this would be the sunlight touching a still pond. Sattva means The Source. Sattva is "the pure mind with neither judgment nor self-awareness." Sattva is free from negative thoughts and emotions which in turn creates enlightenment and self-realization. A Sattvic example would be Spock from Star Trek. In yoga Sattva would view a yoga practice as a journey "with each yoga postures as a potential for both steady joy as well as challenge."

Gunas are so fascinating. The more I dive into my practice the more I hope to realized how each Gunas effects what I am doing.

**The information presented from this post comes form Syl Carson and Bodhi Yoga. If you would like to learn more about Syl Carson or Bodhi Yoga go to www.gobodhiyoga.com **