Walking a New Path When the Old One is Comfortable

You are a creature of habit. I mean, we all are - so don't think you're an exception.

Sometimes we try to learn a new habit on purpose - like brushing and flossing twice a day, not eating animal products, or doing yoga every day. That's really hard to do and sometimes people talk about how long it takes to build a new habit. That isn't always the way it works, really. Some of us (like me) just don't seem to learn new habits. I can learn to do something the same new way for 3 years and then just stop doing it one day. No matter how much better I felt for it or loved doing it - it's suddenly like it never happened. Why? 

Michelle Dawson by Robert Sturman

Some of us, it turns out have worn such a distinct path with our original habit - that the new one just can't compete. So it's not so much that you don't form a habit - you just formed the last one soooo well that it's harder to UNDO it than anything. It can be done, but it's going to be a more difficult journey.

What's my point here? Do I have one? I thought I did when I started.

If you're having trouble picking up a new habit - like doing yoga regularly (or ever) - go easy on yourself, but keep trying. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was your habit of not doing yoga.

Yoga Every Damn Day Challenge

A couple years ago I offered up the 30 Day Yoga Challenge. Well, a couple of it's videos are missing, and it's been a while - so here's a new fun current challenge being offered up by someone else.

The 2013 Yoga Challenge : Yoga Every Damn Day

Click through for Rules/Details and to Join on the the ChallengeLoop page.

by 1Shot Photography - via Tumblr

From the Description:
The #yogaeverydamnday challenge has been ongoing since January 1, and it's open to all. Every month we have had a new twist (to bring gratitude into our daily lives, to meditate etc) but there will not be a twist this month. I want us all to go back to what's at the core of any yoga practice: to practice every single day. I want you to find the joy of living your yoga, on and off the mat, and to remember that yoga is not a pose but a practice! This does not mean you have to take a full sweaty 90-minute class every day (feel free if you like!), but that you incorporate yoga into your life somehow, every single day of this month.

This is just an excerpt, so head on over there to learn how to join and share your practice progress.

Last I checked there were just shy of 5,000 participants!
There are even prizes - Yoga Every Damn Day tanks from yours truly (creator Rachel Brathen) and @seasonfive

via Yogaholics

Weekend Flow (Video)

This video shows the quiet grace and ease that yoga is all about.

Weekend Flow from KC and Sara on Vimeo.

Good Alignment is Good Therapeutics

It's an unfortunate fact of having a body - injury happens. I'm pretty accident prone, so I'm quite familiar with this fact by now. I always seem to hurt myself doing something mundane instead of something that obviously could hurt me. I hurt myself doing things like getting up off the floor, reading a book, or just plain existing. The last 2 weeks I've been healing up a mild knee sprain and it's coming along great, but I'm just now getting around to adding some really basic yoga back into the mix.

As I introduce sun salutations back into my days (and lots of lunges) I just have to remind myself that:

Good Alignment is Good Therapeutics

As long as I watch my alignment closely I can probably do almost anything and it will assist healing. By anything I don't mean playing soccer, but I do mean things like squats, lunges, inversions, backbends, etc. Mostly stationary and slow careful movements for a while. It's just another reminder to bring awareness to everything I do and practice mindfulness.

via http://fuckyeahyoga.tumblr.com/post/46435892141

Find Your Yoga Circle

This might be the best yoga infographic I've seen this year. Do you find this accurate for your practice? Maybe you're looking for something new to try. Maybe this collection of popular yoga circles will help you find your next big thing.

Meditation for Spring

Tiffany Cruikshank and Lulu via Awakened Lotus

Seek out a tree and let it teach you stillness. - Eckhart Tolle

Occasionally I like to share my Grounding Tree Meditation, and this quote reminded me that today would be perfect. This meditation is great for beginners that have trouble sitting for extended periods and those with a lot of trouble controlling their monkey mind.

Lotus via Yoga, Water, Sun, Light 

Challenge Yourself to Create Balance

What have you been avoiding because it looks difficult or pulls up emotional funk? Is there something you've been ignoring that you could be working towards?

People tend to get all too cozy in their comfort zone. They don't focus on their weaknesses very often (if ever) - which allows them to get weaker and weaker. In the meantime your strengths get stronger and stronger. This creates an ever-expanding gap in your abilities. Sounds like a huge imbalance. The more advanced your yoga practice gets the more your imbalances can come back to haunt you. The smallest weak spot can completely throw off a pose and lead to injury. Easily avoidable if you just do the work - all the work, all the time.

via FuckYeahAshtangaYoga

Take a good look at your practice. Is there an entire direction you aren't moving? Is there a category of poses you avoid? Is there a tweaky chronic pain that needs to be addressed?

Don't think that being a beginner or an intermediate practitioner excuses you from this. That's exactly when you need to be creating good habits of introspection and filling in the gaps.

Challenge yourself by looking into those spaces before you have the Grand Canyon of imbalances staring you in the face.

via Yoga, Water, Sun, Light

Sometimes You Suck

Sometimes yoga is all about aiming for perfect alignment and holding a solid pose for ages. Other times you just want to get out of your head and into the flow. Sometimes you need to expand your horizons and try a new pose.

When you're in the flow - channel the breath and let go of expectations of perfection. If your practice has been slipping - your poses may not be as easy or pretty as they once were. When you're trying something new you have to get comfortable with the idea that you'll probably suck at it. You might fall on your face, your ass, and your ego. Even poses you've done a thousand times can surprise you on a bad day. Some days you will suck. And that's okay.

For teachers - sometimes your students will not be any good. Maybe they're doing their best but they're new; maybe your class is too fast-paced to get all the kinks worked out in each pose. These things can be fine. There's a place for the single beat pose class and the beginner's flail. Take care of your students, help them out, keep them safe but as one of my teacher trainers told us - Sometimes you just have to let them suck.

Benefits of Meditation

Meditation doesn't have to be a huge ordeal. Most sane people don't just start with 30+ minutes a day of seated meditation. In fact, meditation can be done lying down, sitting in a chair, walking down the street - or wherever. Start with this One Moment Meditation to easily jump start a functional meditation practice.

Shake Up Your Downward Dog

Downward Facing Dog is a classic. It's featured in almost every class and people usually love it or hate it. It's a nice hamstring opener, but it can open up more in your legs than just that main corridor down the back center if you get creative.

Throw in some goofy-footed dogs. Seriously. Try it. Especially if you've been doing calf work or you wear heels often. Take it slow and pay close attention to knee/hips/ankles - just in case. Hold for 5 - 10 breaths.

Simply by turning the angle of your feet completely changes the feeling for your legs. Keep the rest of the pose the same as usual.

Toes in, Heels out.

Heels in, Toes out.

In general, this sequence is for anyone, but please don't try this sequence without speaking to your Dr. first if you have any medical/physical problems (Especially knee/hip problems). Seek Peace At Your Own Risk! 

Yoga Video for the Winter Blues

Today is the Winter Solstice (some people think it's also the end of the world but let's focus on the more likely instance of winter).

I live in Idaho these days. In a pretty upbeat part, but still kind of northward as far as weather is concerned. Living up north can suck. I don't like wind, cold, or grey skies... and snow gets old real fast. The suckitude of winter can take an especially dark turn for those prone to seasonal depression.

Whether you suffer from S.A.D. or only get a little lacking in motivation for the darker months - you can benefit from today's sequence made specifically for Winter Blues. I guess if you're concerned about the end of the world - this might be for you too. At only 34 minutes long it won't be hard to squeeze it in.

Good for beginners. Do this as often as you feel like.

Readers via Email - Click Here for the Video.

Recycled Post: Stress Relief

Only 11 days 'til Christmas, so it must be time for a recycled post.

Stretch Out Your Stress

Shoulder stretches, for really any time of year, come in particularly handy in December.

Christmas Yoga Advent Calendar

Bonus Weekend Post!

It's always interesting to see what the yoga community comes up with to keep yoga fun for the holidays, and today's addition is no different.

At just one pose a day the Christmas Yoga Advent Calendar by Nicola Jane Hobbs makes yoga totally accessible. Start today to finish in time for Christmas Corpse Pose. If you want more - it could also be done together as a full sequence. You could even add on each day until you're doing the full sequence on Christmas.

Available to Download and/or Print. Free!

Recover with Sleep

Autumn and winter are a time for rest. Menstruation is a period for rest and rejuvenation. At least once a week you should have an "off-day" no matter your fitness plan. Part of a healthy lifestyle is rest. Make sure sleep is a priority. Some people need 7 hours - some people are zombies unless they get closer to 12 hours. Get the right amount of sleep for you.

• Create a bedtime routine that soothes and quiets your system.
• Remove stimulants like caffeine and electronics from your evening.
• Make your sleep space a haven.
• Make it dark - like really dark.
• Oil your skin and wear cozy clothes (if you wear any).
• Don't exercise too close to bedtime.
• Practice calming nighttime yoga if you just have to do something.

Drop Backs for Beginners

If you want to work on improving your backbends and working towards drop backs - this video from Kino MacGregor is for you. I've been sorta stalled out on the 3rd option with straight arms for a long time. Mostly 'cause I'm a slacker and I don't work on it very often, but I do the first two versions all the time for fun.

Readers via Email - Click Here for the Video

Books for New Yogis

October's almost over which means the weather is perfect for settling in with a blanket, a hot chocolate, someone to snuggle with, and a great book. That book can totally further your yoga education if you pick one of my top 10 beginner-friendly books. Listed in no particular order.

• Yoga Body, Buddha Mind. Some philosophy and a lot of practice. Has little stickman sequences in the back.
• My Body Is A Temple: Yoga As a Path to Wholeness. Mostly philosophy, and I really like the author.
• The Mirror of Yoga: Awakening the Intelligence of Body and Mind. Haven't read it, but I hear it's accessible and humorous.
• How Yoga Works. Pretty much covers the yoga sutras, but in fictional story form.
• Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness. Constantly declared one of the best hatha yoga books ever.

via http://www.cutestpaw.com/images/need-him/

• Yoga Beyond Belief: Insights to Awaken and Deepen Your Practice. Really good book. Hard to explain quickly... theres a long description on the amazon page.
• Jivamukti Yoga: Practices for Liberating Body and Soul. Lots of philosophy, also some sequences and poses with plenty of pictures.
• Myths of the Asanas: The Ancient Origins of Yoga. Fun stories teach you where poses came from.
• Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life. "off-the-mat practices to guide you in deepening your relationships..."
• The Secret Power of Yoga: A Woman's Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras.

There are a lot of great books that are considered yogi must-reads that didn't make this list because of their ability to overwhelm newcomers. Leave your suggestions in the comments.

Mindful Practice Yoga Sequence

Today's sequence from The Mindful Body takes about 30 minutes -

"The following yoga poses are help to awaken the body and prepare the mind for meditation. Hold each pose for the time shown in parentheses."

For more detailed information, a printable practice, and a video of this sequence visit The Mindful Body

TED Talk: Sarah Kay

I was lucky enough to stumble across this video of Sarah Kay giving a TED Talk about living out loud and making connection with others through spoken poetry. It's 18 minutes long, but so moving and inspiring that it's more than worth the time.

Other than the obvious fact that her talk can be taken AS IS and be perfect for my whole mission with this blog I felt that some of the points directly apply to a physical yoga practice too.

Just like she says about poetry:
Practice what you know 
Practice what feels authentic to you... not just what you've seen
Not just the way you think it's supposed to be or look
But what organically feels right in your energy/body of the moment

Healing Longterm Injury in Yoga with Kino

In this great video Ashtanga teacher Kino MacGregor discusses how to approach longterm injuries. If you get or have an injury that lasts for months or years - this video has some worthwhile advice for you.

Readers via Email - Click Here for the Video.

Find Your Yoga - Infographic

A fun little infographic for those of you that love them as much as I do. National Yoga Month is almost half over - this is the perfect time to try out a new style. Give the flowchart a go and see where it takes you. 

via YogaTrail