Those of you in the Seattle, WA area that are interested in political change should check out Yoga for Change.
Held on Friday, October 10th, the event supports the Obama campaign and will include a large group yoga practice and social mixer with the goal of raising funds and awareness to help get Obama into the White House.
I know several of the teachers that will be leading the group practice and they are excellent. Should be a fun time!
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Doing anything 108 times might sound a bit repetitive and simple, but sometimes simple things can also be the most challenging. I experienced this first hand during our Global Mala event yesterday. It was a lot of fun, but boy am I sore right now!
There is significance in the number 108 in Hindu tradition, where it is deemed a highly auspicious number for a number of reasons. Japa Mala’s (which have become a fashion accessory for many nowadays) are formed with 108 beads. Many deities are referred to as having 108 names. The actual number is also thought to mathematically embody such precision and symmetry as if to embody a divine sense of order.
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Tomorrow is UN International Peace Day, and the Global Mala Project is a gathering of the Yoga community on this day to celebrate in a great way. Started by Shiva Rea, the Global Mala Project is now in it’s second year, and features yogis coming together around the world to celebrate through 108 sun salutations, kirtans, meditations and charitable giving.
I’ll be participating at Shakti Vinyasa (and leading a few of the sun salutations!). It’s a great cause and something you should participate in if you can. There are Global Mala events in many major cities around the world, check out their website for more info.
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I‘m heading to the Yoga Journal Conference in Estes Park, Colorado this weekend! This event is supposed to be the largest yoga gathering in the world.
I’ll be soaking up a full week of classes with Master Teachers, including 3 days of instruction by John Friend, as part of the Anusara Yoga North American Grand Gathering. I see this conference as a chance to explore and take classes with a variety of teachers and learn more about various styles of asana practice, and the other limbs of yoga.
I’m also enrolled in workshops with:
On top of all this, there will be several Kirtans, Kundalini sessions, meditations every morning and lots of vegetarian food!
If you are planning to be there, please drop me a line (ravi@theyogasalon.com)!
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Communicating is one of the most important and impactful things we do during our lives. It’s how we teach, influence, support, connect and share. Being a great communicator is also an important aspect of being an effective Yoga instructor.
Regarding this important topic, Slideshare recently held a World’s Best Presentation Contest.
While not Yoga-specific, I do think that these presentations have a lot of insights to offer in terms of how to communicate a message effectively.
The winning presentations were dynamic, light on words, vibrant in use of colors, conveyed a simple yet profound message and fit together in a well defined story. For those of you who are Yoga teachers out there….how well do these aspects apply to the way you teach?
It’s easy to drift into auto-pilot and fall into the traps of talking for the sake of filling up “silent space,” or to impress others with your voluminous knowledge, but this rarely makes for a memorable experience for the person on the receiving end.
Next time you teach, try saying half as many words as usual. Make every one count. Make ever one “land” in your listeners ears. Try it out and see what happens.
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I love my yogitoes. I started my regular asana practice almost 8 years ago, with Bikram Yoga. Practicing in a hot room (ok, sweltering….around 105 degrees!) for 90 minutes left my towels powerless against the deluge of sweat.
For years I just used large (but thin) towels on top of my yoga mat. This arrangement was less than optimal for a number of reasons. First of all, the towels would tend to stick to my feet and move with me during any type of vinyasa. Super annoying. They would also get soaked pretty quickly and start “squishing” around. One solution to this was to use a thicker towel, but then it felt like I was practicing on jello…..not good. I like the firm feel of my mat.
Inevitably, I would just wait until the last possible minute to throw down my towel. That is to say, I would wait until my feet were practically slipping out from under me!
I got my first yogi-toes about 6 months intro my switch to practicing Baptiste Vinyasa Yoga at a Baptiste Affiliate studio here in Seattle (Shakti Vinyasa). Since then, I’ve invested in two more. What a great investment.
Paying $60-70 for a glorified towel might seem like a bit much, but it was well worth it. They take a lot of abuse, allow you to practice safely and don’t hinder your practice. I’ve been using my yogitoes for the past two years and they are still going strong. They also hand-wash easily and dry fairly quickly (great for multi-day yoga retreats and trainings).
The only small annoyance, is that they are fairly slick when dry. As a heavy sweater, this doesn’t pose much of a problem for me. I just throw it down once I break a sweat (usually 20 minutes into a Power Vinyasa practice). Others just sprinkle some water on them and the problem is solved.
What do you like (or dislike) about your yogitoes?
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There is something special about taking a yoga class, surrounded by people all practicing together. I’ve had a consistent asana practice for the past eight years, and while I occasionally practice at home, I tend to get far more out of my time spent in the studio.
I don’t know if it is the synchronization of movement and breath that intensifies the effect of the poses, or maybe just the heat (my studio is a warm room, set at 88 degrees)….but I always come away feeling glad that I made the trek over.
Listening to a teacher guide a class also frees up my mind to really feel the poses, and not worry about what is to come. There is an element of uncertainty, not knowing what is to come, that adds to the overall effect. I also always walk away from an advanced class having learned something new. A new pose, sequence or bit of philosophy.
Ultimately, cultivating my home practice is something I am continuing to do, but I don’t see that ever taking totally taking the place of classes at my studio.
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