If you have less fear, then you will have more love.

There is a way to tell how much love you have for others.  

Sit down quietly and calmly examine your fears.  

The more fear you have, the less love you have.  

If you have less fear, then you will have more love.  

Your fear will tell how much love you are capable of.  

So learn to live in love and not in fear. 

 Always be cheerful, compassionate and giving. 

 Let Providence work, and trust that you will receive what you need.

~Swami Rama~

If only I could put into words exactly what I am feeling and make it feel profound and quotable, that's what I would say.  I have had times in my life when I have had so much fear, fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of harm......that I couldn't open my heart and all my fears came true.  With experience and maturity (age) I have learned that the only thing I have to fear is fear itself.  Okay, so I used another profound and quotable moment from someone else, but it was so perfect.  Open up your heart and let the sun shine in...(you're welcome for the ear worm)  

Pulling The Weeds Out of Your Practice

When you begin to practice, you may fell very bound in your body and mind, not unlike the densely woven crabgrass of my garden.  You can choose to fight with yourself, pulling and tugging on yourself as a way to force your own metamorphosis. If you've ever encountered a weed with deep roots, you know the futility of pulling at the stem knowing full well some digging is in order?  There's a moment when you can cheerfully accept the task and set to it with full vigor, or turn sour and miserable in the face of such work.. Theres' a moment when you can resign yourself to the patient work ahead or give in to the impulse to pull at the stem before the ground has been dug deep enough. The first step is accepting that some deep work needs to be done and deciding to make this a positive, uplifting experience. - Donna Farhi


We have all over done practice at least one time.  I have done it ALOT.  I have learned over the years, the more I surrender and let the practice the better I feel physically and emotionally.  Remember the deepest expression of a posture is not always the most effective.  Your body and mind are different everyday and what you did yesterday or last month is not a measurement for where you are to day.

I see it mostly in beginners pressing themselves through a practice and pushing beyond breath.  If you can't breathe in a posture you are too far, release a little, find the breath and learn to soften into the space.  Begin to find the wonder of the practice not just the pain and ability to touch your toes.

Adapting Yoga for Disabilities Workshop Recap

As my mind races to process and absorb all the information that was presented at this amazing workshop, I can only think of words like Hope, Inspiration, Need, Awe, Humbleness, Renewal, Gratitude....  The list could continue but I'm assuming you get the idea.

Thank you to Matthew, Andy, Julie, Pat, Jeff, Tiffany, Joe, Tom, LizAnne and all the other teachers that opened my eyes and my heart to so much hope for a better life and unity of spirit among us all.  There were so many times I felt as if I was the person with the disability because there were times I didn't know how to move properly and couldn't draw in all the information.

Only a quarter of the class was from Minnesota, the rest were from all over the country to learn and bring back the information to their communities. There is great need.

Yoga is truly the union of body, mind and soul and guiding ALL of us to find that connection will unite us all.  If we begin to look past the exterior of a person and take a peek into their heart we are all striving to move in the same direction to find inner peace, connection and lightness.  We may call it something different and arrive in different cars and take different routes, but the destination is the same.

Take a little time to browse the Mind, Body Solutions website and learn how yoga is changing the lives of so many.  We are all students and all teachers, listen for the lesson.

Namaste,

Sigrid

(Not So) Random Thoughts

Yoga means union.  The union of the individual soul with the Universal Spirit is yoga.  But this is too abstract a notion to be easily understood, so for our level of understanding I say that yoga is the union body with the mind and of mind with the soul. - B.K.S. Inyengar


What changes would you make in your life to begin if you truly began to move forward with mind, body and soul united?

(Not So) Random Thoughts

Yoga is not a paint-by-numbers affair.  Nor does yoga require blind faith in an outside authority or dogma. Nor is it a religion, although the practice of its central precepts inevitably draws each individual to the direct experience of those truths on which religion rests.  Rather, yoga is a way of living and being that makes real happiness possible.  Yoga is also a science that incorporates a broad range of practices and techniques that can be tailored and adapted to best suit your personal constitution and personality. - Yoga, Mind, Body & Spirit ~ Donna Farhi

Donna Farhi is one of my favorite authors.  She is constantly writing about ways to integrate Yoga into your life everyday.  It's not all about the physical practice but also how you go about your day.  How do you bring Yoga into your life and share it with those around you?

(Not So) Random Thoughts

No knowledge is gained instantly.  In fact knowledge has a beginning but no end.  This is all the more true of Yoga.  One's progress in this field depends entirely on one's inner strength and endurance.  One need not feel disheartened if progress is slow.  -  Yoga a Gem for Women ~ Geeta Iyengar

In the fast paced world we live in we want instant results.  It's called a practice for a reason.

(Not So) Random Thoughts

When complimented, a sincere "thank you" is the only response required. - Life's Little Instruction Book

I've seen it and done more times than I care to think, someone pays a compliment and it's immediately discounted.  This weekend try to accept every compliment with a sincere "thank you" and nothing else.

(Not So) Random Thoughts

Turn your face to the sun and the shadow fall behind you. - Maori proverb


I saw this proverb posted on Facebook and had one of those moments when you think, "That's deep dude."    If you could turn and face the light and see the joy in life what could you leave behind?

Adapting Yoga for Disabilities

It's almost here...I have been waiting for months

This weekend I will be attending a workshop to learn to adapt yoga for disabilities.  I got an email from my friend Desi telling me about the workshop and she wanted to know if I was interested in attending with her.  Why not, I love to learn something new.

I immediately bought Matthew's book 'Waking", and I was hooked.  Matthew is a paralyzed from the neck down, but through yoga has found the mind-body connection.   

Matthew teaches at national yoga conferences, studios and institutions around the country. Although he teaches people of all abilities, Matthew is a pioneer in adapting yoga for those living with disabilities. “We all live on a continuum of abilities and disabilities,” he says. “The principles of yoga apply to all people, to all bodies.

I will report back next week to pass along some of the highlights.

(Not So) Random Thoughts

Our breath is constantly rising and falling, ebbing and flowing, entering and leaving our bodies.  Full body breathing is an extraordinary symphony of both powerful and subtle movements that massage our internal organs, oscillate our joints, and alternately tone and release all the muscles of the body.  It is a full participation in life.  - Donna Farhi


Take a moment today to stop and take ten deep inhales and exhales.  Notice the changes that happen physically and emotionally as you release into the breath.

(Not So) Random Thoughts

If nothing else, my life has taught me one thing:  The mind and body that I have are the only mind and body that I have.  They deserve my attention.  And when I give it, I receive so much more in return.  Learning to fall gracefully through one's mind-body relationship is not submission.  One learns to fall gracefully in order to roll.  -Matthew Sanford from "Waking: A Memoir of Trauma and Transcendence"


Where do you need to learn to fall gracefully so you roll and not stumble?

(Not So) Random Thoughts

We can easily practice santosa in the beautiful moments and joyous experiences of our lives.  But Patanjali asks to be equally willing to embrace the difficult moments.  - Judith Lasater


Santosa is contentment.  Have you ever learned to be ok with a difficult moment and learn from it?

(Not So) Random Thoughts

Acting with deep compassion from within my own being, I dispel all ignorance-born darkness with wisdom's resplendent light.  - Bhagavad Gita

Where can you show compassion today?

(Not So) Random Thoughts

When my master and I were walking in the rain, he would say,  "Do not walk so fast, the rain is everywhere."  - Shunryu Suzuki


What are you running away from?

(Not So) Random Thoughts

We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own or to other people's models, learn to be ourselves, and allow our natural channel to open. - Shakti Gawain


Have you realized your true potential today?

The Jonny Undo

Check out the Suz News Blog from Suzie Finger.  Suzie Finger is an elite triathlete, coach and personal trainer with amazing ability and a great smile.  Learn how yoga has enhanced her training program. 

Interested in adding something new to your training program?  Come on over to Optum Health Performance Wednesdays at 5:30 pm and experience Tri-Yoga.  Designed specifically with triathletes in mind this class will help "undo" all those hours of training and bring strength, flexibility and focus to your next race.

(Not So) Random Thoughts

Every action taken or not taken affects the whole.  And when it comes to making the world a better place, what we choose not to do can be just as important as what we do.  -Madisyn Taylor www.dailyom.com

(Not So) Random Thoughts

Try to do everything in the world with a mind that lets go.  If you let go a little you will have a little peace.  If you let go a lot you will have a lot of peace.  If you let go completely, you will know complete peace and freedom.  Your struggles with the world will have come to an end.  - Achaan Chah


What do you need to let go of today?

(Not So) Random Thoughts

Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape. -Michael McGriffy, M.D.


Where can you be more flexible in your life?

Welcome to Yoga for Life!

Thank you for checking out my blog.  Yoga for Life will bring you ideas on how to integrate yoga into all of your life.  Your first foray into yoga may be the one hour class you take at your local health club or the Namaste Yoga program as you flip through the channels.  BTW all the changing backgrounds on that show make me dizzy.

Yoga for Life will attempt to infuse humor into your practice as well as philosophy, friendship, technical alignment of postures, upcoming events, Thai Yoga Bodywork and share the way yoga is changing peoples' lives.  Yoga for Life is about breath, movement, compassion, food and enjoying the day in your yoga pants.  Learn how to integrate yoga into your entire life an not just for an hour at the club.

Join me on this new adventure.

Namaste,

Sigrid