In the photo he is having a zen moment:)

The hook is to quiet the mind enough to notice our reactive nature and not react against our intentions.

In Tibetan language there is a word called Shenpa. Shenpa is the urge, the hook that triggers our closing down and separating. It's an addictive response that feels like attachment.

By pausing and bringing our attention inward and back to our positive intentions, we can learn how to unhook right at that moment when something uncomfortable is presented to us. We decide not to go crazy about it.  We let go of the rope and make peace right then and there. It doesn't mean we aren't confused, overwhelmed, angry or hurt. It just means we can sit back and let it wash over us without causing ourselves or others harm. Usually it wasn't that big of a deal and we forget about it quickly anyway. That's real "letting go."

If we start each day with the intention of not causing ourselves or others harm we are growing our practice of loving-kindness. This way of being is nice. It makes life more pleasant for everyone.

Stand in Mountain until you feel within your body fully. Breathing steady.

Move into Tree pose balancing on your left foot. Let the Tree blow and move freely. Practice on each side with steady breathing.

Practice 6 rounds of Sun Salutations with steadiness.

Move into Crane pose balancing on your left foot. Then take Warrior 3 on the same side and fold into the Standing Splits. Take forward fold. Pause in Mountain and practice on the other side. Let your awareness guide you.

Bringing your arms into Chest expansion and then rising into Garuda on each side. Balancing without over effort and grasping. Keep it simple. Follow your breath.

Back to Mountain then moving into Triangle pose and Revolved Triangle into Pyramid. Flowing through a vinyasa and switching to the other side. Feel strong, steady and awake. Back to breath....

Squat and take Garland pose holding long enough on each side to open new territory....feel expansion and breathe into it.

Jump back to stick pose and hold for several breaths. Feel warm, solid and engaged. Move into upward dog and downward dog and childs pose. Practice several rounds of this.

Standing in Mountain step your right foot back and take Warrior 2 then reverse Warrior and vinyasa. Practice on each side like this twice.

Bring your arms up and move into powerful Warrior pose with grounded front heels and reaching fingertips. Breathing into your rib cage feel the space you are opening.Vinyasa afterwards. 3 times like this.

Step back into stick pose pausing then lowering to ground and move into Locust. Practice 3 times without hardening into it. Empty each exhale fully.

Bow pose next with a light lifted feeling. Sink your tailbone and lift your limbs. 3 times.

Sitting now with your legs extended forward take seated forward fold and breath your back lungs wide open. Stay here for awhile. Empty empty empty.

Roll to your back and take Happy Baby! and smile. Then knees to chest and smile again:)

OM OM OM

You have a story about what happened, but that story is immediately suspect because in it, you are the hero. You use logic and reason, the opinions of others, support from friends or colleagues, to bolster your story. You are right!

But remember, when it comes to blame, reason is a weapon you use when you do not want to acknowledge your anger.

Or, depending on your predilections, you turn it around. You still have a story and you still have a privileged role, but this time, you are wrong. It's all your fault.

The first instruction says to lay all your problems, everything that is wrong in your life, at the doorstep of one pattern: wanting things to be different from what they are. Blame is a wonderful reminder here of how deeply you want the world to conform to your expectations.

The second instruction says to meet whatever arises. Don't avoid it, internally or externally. When things turn out differently, meet that situation, not the one you wanted or expected.

One last point. Blame is a form of mind killing. It reduces the complexities of a situation down to one emotionally charged point. It blinds you to the role of other factors. It provokes reactions that lead people to act against their interests.

Thus, when the blame game is running, stop. Stop right there. Step out of your story. Step out of your judgments. Step out of your obsession with who's right and who's wrong. Step out of your racing mind.

Take a breath and meet the world you are in.

Many publications such as HuffPost, Elephant Journal and others explore the ups and downs of yoga from all sides. Recently another "yoga celebrity" was busted for sexual misconduct. A well respected guru type is exposed for being a bit of a cad around women. Lots of negative press surrounding all of this. Shocking? Not really. Another story of a powerful man or woman getting lost happens all around us.

Teaching yoga is one thing and practicing is another. When teaching I take the role of helping others as a guide into the physical and mental aspects of this ancient practice. I want to encourage and keep it genuine. In my own practice I explore my human qualities and gain insights into what makes me tick including where I need to expand and where I feel most vulnerable. I can settle into my body and rest my anxious mind. I just want to relate to the practice as it unfolds.

Being a seeker has a downside. If one is always seeking the best teacher, the best style, the best of anything...where does it end?

Yoga has reached a saturation and maturation in American culture. We've morphed it, dissected it, disrespected it, capitalized on it and brought it to Wall Street. There is much good in the yoga of today and that is where I would like to focus my energy. As a teacher I choose to keep it real and stick to basics. I'm not sure I want to know everything that's going on "out there." It will be interesting to see where the next wave is.  Can you feel rumblings of a new paradigm?

Sitting meditation helps to calm and stabilize our busy minds, asana practice often begins with standing poses, which strengthen and stabilize our legs and arms. They are considered organs of action in yoga and when they are fully functional-strong and aligned-they provide the fluid, yet stable base necessary to support the heart, lungs, visceral organs and vertebral column.

Standing poses are physically challenging and it doesn’t take long before your legs begin to quiver, your body gets warm, and your arms feel very heavy.  This natural process is what we humans have to go through to develop muscular strength. The problem that arises is that when we work hard on a physical level, we tend to get hard in our minds and hearts too. We tend to think that exercise is supposed to be intense and so we work too hard. Then the activity becomes too hard and so do we.

We know that some yoga poses are not easy; they take physical effort and concentration. So we have to watch our tendencies to grip, tighten and tense during the intense moments of practicing our pose. Often in class when we start standing poses we may react by feeling tired or bored or wanting to move on to something else! Eventually the standing poses will stimulate our digestive system, strengthen our heart and lungs, and purify our intestines, liver and kidneys. Internal toning. We learn to stay loose and open while we are exerting and finding our breath to relax into the pose, instead of pushing away.

The joy is to witness how we use our physical and mental effort evenly, during the standing poses. This type of focused exertion is called “tapas,” which translates to “fire or heat” and refers to the sustained discipline and commitment needed to walk the path of the yogi. Tapas helps ignite the hearth of yoga and connect to the brilliance of this beautiful practice. Just paying attention and being honest with yourself helps us stay balanced and in the middle ground we need to stay in, so that we don’t burn out and give up on our practice before we feel the lifelong benefits. The real challenge is to discover the exact amount of tapas-focus, effort and awareness-that allows us to abide in these positions without mentally or physically dropping out of the intensity of the experience altogether (burnout), or without putting our heart, mind and body in a chokehold and just hanging on until it’s over.

Allow the challenge of the warrior poses remind us of the path.  The sacred warrior helps us to stay open to working through our negative thinking.  We develop the skills to stay connected to our full range of feelings by using the warrior’s weapons of precision, gentleness, opening and natural intelligence.

In Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior: “The ideal of warriorship is that the warrior should be sad and tender, and because of that, the warrior can be brave as well. Without the heartfelt sadness, bravery is brittle, like a china cup. If you drop it, it will break or chip. But the bravery of the warrior is like a lacquer cup, which has a wooden base covered with layers of lacquer. If the cup drops, it will bounce rather than break. It is soft and hard at the same time.”

As a teacher who really cares about their students progress and wants them to benefit and love yoga I'm very sensitive to all of the variations that arise. The longer I teach the more I realize that in a class of 20 students there are 20 distinct experiences going on and each student is entitled to their own. I am just a guide and the students are teaching themselves.

If yoga feels stressful to you there might be a good reason. Are you always rushing around and doing too much? Then expecting to come to yoga and instantly relax into your yoga personality?  What are your expectations? Try attending class with an open mind knowing that you might not love every moment of it and that's ok. You might feel weak or strong, happy or sad, steady or shaky.  Yoga is emotional, physical and mental. It takes practice to blend those elements to find the center. Practice shedding the right way or wrong way thinking. Focus more on whatever is occurring moment by moment with acceptance, and it might be a more holistic experience. When you sit down on your mat create a mantra that fits you. Keep it real to your nature and have fun with it. An example might be: "Right now I'm here practicing yoga and I can suspend all forms of judgement." 

Peace,

Yoga Jane

Wild things found in nature are enjoyed in this way, and sometimes in an instant.  Spend some time attuned to the natural world in a non-doing manner. Be quiet and hold space for whatever arises.

What may happen during yoga practice? Attend to what is happening moment by moment to witness and learn something new. How do I enter, what is my attitude, how do I place my attention on my intention?  When you bring your usual suspects in, you might miss the transformational qualities yoga offers. As a teacher I notice how challenging it is for students to "enter the yoga zone" from their busy lives. Often seeing other yogis in class is a social time and a time to connect. Talking too much before class can be the norm.

It's important to connect to self during yoga as much as possible. Try entering class and sitting quietly on your mat for awhile. Get your head into it. Practice breathing and prepare. During more challenging classes you will be grateful for the centering time before class. We are sensitive creatures and turning a switch on and off is not easy.

Of course there is always a risk of disappointment with what happens, but if we decide in advance what must happen, there is a risk for even greater disappointment, and worse yet, we will be unlikely to discover anything new.

 Before we flow through a sequence of asana on the lightness of our breath, our bodies can do things that grab our attention. Sometimes it's a tight area that calls out, sometimes we notice a degree of discomfort. Many times tightness is in our mind.  Everyone has their own filters by which they see, but seeing is not only done through the eyes. We see with our hearts,  souls and bodies.

I swear by the healing qualities of yoga, but discomfort should not be allowed to dominate our attention. Our minds are glittering with messages, but what is the intention during yoga practice as it relates to life?  I find it fun to be bold and open-hearted during yoga and wonder if I can be bold and open-hearted as I move through my day. I like to ignore images of mind, the little reminders of what I "should be doing." Noticing how we shut down, and let our fears control our practice is an important teaching of yoga.

During practice, we don't have to keep our eyes on outcome as much as experience, and hopefully not the clock either. Yoga can be approached like a musician approaches their instrument; learn the positions, practice the positions, and then just play! For starters, I suggest that we set our gaze, and become something of a work of art.