Roxy Yoga

Good Things Come in 3s August 12, 2010

I’m back from travels and have lots to say. You have been forewarned.

Prior to my epic three weeks of travel from which I just returned, I had a few crappy days.  I stuck to my morning yoga and meditation practice, but lets just say that my practice was more like a quick cook instant meal like ramen noodles rather than a nourishing, home cooked meal with fresh veggies from farmers market. Ever have those days?

I survived and felt like I learned a few things that were quite interesting.  When my “feelings get hurt”, it’s a hard feeling for me to shake quickly.  Rest and talking help.  Sometimes crying is necessary.  Good friends and loved ones are like medicine.  Clarifying my thoughts in writing and then editing those thoughts is very therapeutic for me.  I notice that once I’m hurt, I imagine all the worst reasons why the “offending parties” acted the way they did.  Why does it become so negative, what about the positive, or middle ground, or the fact that shit just happens?  What about my life philosophy that it just keeps getting better after every bump and hurt, so why dwell so much on the hurt, why not learn from it and find the positive sooner?  Situations become way more personal than they really are.

How does this relate to yoga? Not sure it does.  But I was happy to find a more positive, sane ground after three days.  I am calling it my “Three Day Rule”.  I allow myself to feel whatever I honestly feel for three days.  And it’s always better after that. And it’s usually time to move on after that.

Then I was on to three visit three countries in three weeks. My trip started in London with a little work and a little play and just enough yoga to carry me through the days. Then I found myself on the Emerald Isle, with nothing but a backpack of clothes, a rented bicycle, and a smile on my face. I cycled on the left side of the road, which took a few days to get used to. I stared in awe at so many stone ruins that after three days I forgot to take pictures of them. I enjoyed interpreting the Irish accent, especially when it was thickened by Guinness. I almost ran over a donkey, saw tons of livestock, countryside, fog, and mist while climbing through the Irish hills. Yes, they have hills, it’s not flat like the Midwest. In fact, I was quite humbled to have to walk my bike up a hill at one point. I bonded with a few locals and with a California-Jersey boy too. The food wasn’t bad, I had lots of toasted cheese sandwiches (don’t forget to get them toasted), cream of veggie soup, fish and chips, and even a dhal one night in the little surf town of Lahinch. A great vacation. I barely did traditional yoga postures even once. But I am of the belief that cycling, sleeping, smiling, eating, and relaxing are pretty good yoga practices too.

My final “country” was the great State of Michigan where humidity, family, friends, and Lake Huron welcomed me with open arms. I was able to visit Yoga Shelter in Royal Oak, where I took a heated vinyasa yoga class. It felt like a class I had taught before and I could see that who I am and where I come from is definitely reflected by my yoga classes and practice. I was pretty sore though and had to remind myself to take it easy after being off the mat for a while.  Why do I think it must hurt to count?

Now I am back in SLO-town, where the weather is like a comfort blanket, the food is breathing life into my travel weary feet, and I am slowly getting back on the yoga mat and bicycle this week. I noticed how getting back on the yoga mat after some time off always feels so much better than exercising ever feels after a hiatus. It’s not really as painful as one would think, it feels more like a breath of fresh air after being indoors too long. A yogi friend said that the transformation that yoga brings to the energy body, our cells, muscles, and whole being is so much more than a workout brings, and it stays with us longer. The changes are more permanent. Muscle memory perhaps? Must be.

This week I am teaching about mula banda, the lifting of the pelvic floor held during yoga practice. It is known as the energetic lock which allows a yogi to perform the most challenging tasks with little or no effort. Mula bandha is said to cut through brahma granthi, the energetic knot of our resistance to change. On the physical level, practicing mula bandha creates attentiveness in the supportive musculature of the pelvis. This increases the stability of the pelvis, and, since the pelvis is the seat of the spine, its stability creates a safe environment for spinal movement. Thus, mula bandha strengthens—and teaches the importance of—the solid foundation that should underlie any movement.  I am practicing a lot of basic standing poses and hip openers trying to engage my ever elusive mula banda to bring me back to reality safe and sound. I encourage you to try to keep it sucked in this week during yoga practice and see how much easier it makes your practice. Cheers to another day on the mat or bike or at the desk.

ahhh vacation July 21, 2010

After a week in London I am off to Dublin to begin my vacation exploring Ireland by bike.  My travel yoga practice in London consisted of a few sun salutes and meditation a couple mornings, a whole lot of walking, and a pint by night.  The pubs here are great, it’s sometimes confusing to get around the city as the street names change all over the place, you can’t find street signs, and the roads are nowhere near grid-like.  I was thankful for my shmancy smart phone often.  I loved the parks and old buildings, my hotel was cute and quaint and I felt like I was staying in a large home instead of a hotel.  My favorite British words that  this week are Cockfosters, Chiswick pronounced “Chizick”, and Leicester pronounced “Lester”. I totally embarrassed myself this week at our event mispronouncing British words. It was pretty funny. Yes, I am Americano.

I am super excited about being on vacation.  Rest, relaxation, and fun are my yoga practices during this next adventure.  I hope the mat keeps you good company while I explore the Emerald Isle.

i’m almost official June 3, 2010

I survived my 10-day yoga teacher training immersion with Shiva Rea and have landed in my sweet little apartment in SLO in one piece. With this training’s end I have officially completed the “classroom” hours required for my 200 hour certification with Shiva’s Samudra School of Living Yoga. I can also get registered by Yoga Alliance, which is the governing board of yoga teachers here in the US. I feel so amazing after spending 10 days with Shiva. She was even more grounded, radiant, funny, and real than she has been in the past. I’m afraid to type this, but I’m not sick either! Both of my prior training/immersion experiences left me depleted and sick for at least a few days or almost a week afterwards. Not this time, babe. I am energized, inspired, renewed, excited about being able to share this great practice with those around me.

To get my certification I still need to read and report on six yoga books, have someone take photos of some key yoga poses, have someone film me teaching a class, and doing a living sadhana which is sort of like lent, where I’ll give up or dedicate myself to something for 30 days, from new moon to new moon. I’m not terribly hung up on getting a piece of paper, but I feel like I have so much to learn from Shiva, and this is one of the best ways for me to continue to learn from her. So, it’s almost official. I’ll have that shiny piece of paper to hang in my office next to the McCarthy’s calendar

On another note, I will be writing about my experience at training on here, so expect to see a blow-by-blow account of what went on and how I felt about it. I also want to document exactly what I did for my spring Ayurvedic cleanse for my yogi friends who keep asking about it. I will also start posting the sequences I teach on a weekly basis so that any of my students or yogi friends can see what I’m up to and even practice the sequence outside of the studio (what a concept, I know).

whew May 20, 2010

All I have to say is whew right now. I’m at JFK airport waiting to board to LAX, on my way to yoga teacher training, the final 100 hours to complete my 200 hour certification.  Just finished another event on behalf of MINDBODY and there is no rest for the wicked, or so I hear.  I literally taught and met with clients all the way up until getting into a cab for JFK.  Then I started feeling car sick in the cab, all that stop and go, and he wouldn’t turn the AC up and the Turkish music was very surreal while I suppressed my nausea.  At the airport my luggage was 4 pounds over so I had to be one of those people pulling shit out of my bag, but tell me how you pack for 2 weeks of travel, business, yoga, and casual clothes required, without going over 50 pounds!  That’s one reason to like US Air over United, I think their weight limit is 60 lbs not a measly 50.  The guy at United negotiated with me, “just get 2 lbs lower and you’re ok.”  Then I get through security, get my food for the plane, and the CEO of MINDBODY calls.  “Roxanne, I need the presentation I’m supposed to be teaching right now.” F@#!  So I whip out my laptop on a counter top, get online, send the presentation, remember I have 5 more things I need to do online for MINDBODY before I’m in teacher training land and who knows when I’ll come up for air, shit my plane is about to board.  Whew!

Will be back online as I’ll try to document teacher training and maybe even a tidbit or two from my week in NYC. It’s amazing how you find energy when you like what you’re doing   (apologies for grammar, typos, and incessant rambles)

flowing with grace April 10, 2010

I keep writing these short, cryptic descriptions of my experience at the Yoga Journal Conference Boston on Facebook and playing phone tag with my loved ones trying to feel connected and grounded.  Spending time in Boston with yogis, some of whom are trying to start businesses and spread the health and wellness that yoga brings, has been grand indeed.

The Business of Yoga Conference is always an amazing experience.  I taught a group of 70 people Online Marketing strategies and techniques.  Online marketing is one of the best guerrilla marketing strategies you can employ to help spread health and wellness to the world, to get your message out there efficiently and effectively.  That is my favorite thing about marketing and sales:  you’re not trying to push something people don’t want on them, you’re trying to share something that you believe in and encourage others to experience the joy and benefits that you experience.  Coming from a math & software background this was something I didn’t really understand until now.  It feels good to  share your passion, thoughts, and true self with others, and more likely than not there are always a few people who resonate with what you have to say, if you come from a place of truth.

We discussed e-newsletters and e-blasts, online advertising, online analytics, using blogs as websites, website design, social networking, and more.  Many of the students were enthusiastic and had great questions, it was a great forum for yogis of all technical abilities to connect and share.

Last night I took a hip opening class with Natasha Rizopoulos of YogaWorks.  I really enjoyed her description of the actions of the hips: external rotation, internal thigh stretching, pelvis neutral so your bowl isn’t spilling, front hips coming towards bottom ribs, tailbone descending, bring the floor to your hip in pigeon so the weight isn’t in your knee, your knees are expensive.  She adjusted me in Warrior II and I’m really not sure what happened, but it felt totally different than my usual stance.  I was on my right leg doing a lunge, back foot flat, back leg straight, and she pushed into my left hip crease forward toward the front of my mat and immediately my front knee caved in towards the center of my mat to alleviate the stretch in my tight ass hips.  What’s funny is that I really love Warrior II and the stretch it gives and it was interesting to learn that I have been totally taking it easy in the pose.  Now the hard part will be to figure out if I can do it again.  Two actions for me to remember: back hip crease moves forward, tuck the tailbone down towards the floor, pray to god your hips don’t detach from your legs and that you don’t fall over or grunt from the force of Your Tight Ass Hips.  I also really enjoyed doing Crescent Lunge with my back knee bent and exaggerating the same actions of the tailbone descending, front pelvis towards bottom ribs. Ahhhh, try it now while you’re sitting.  Feel your core engage?  Feel your shoulders come back? (not you Kristen

Today I took an Anusara Vinyasa Yoga class with Desiree Rumbagh.  Anusara means “flowing with grace”, “flowing with nature”, “following your heart.”   Anusara yoga teaches a few basic principals of alignment that you bring to all of your yoga practice which were kind of difficult, but felt really good the few times I got it.  In general you are always: “hugging your shin bones in, take your hips back and apart (kind of like you’re sticking your butt out in reality), tucking your tailbone under.”  Does that make any sense at all?  It sort of does when you see her incredibly strong body exaggerate the movements.  I have to say that all of my poses felt better and my body and mind felt great after class and I probably only “got it” half of the time.  I really liked her personality, she was having fun and it was just the right amount of yoga babble and asana to connect with.  Anusara is a style I’ll definitely try again.

Then I came back to my hotel room to enjoy lunch to ponder my practices. While I was in savasana or relaxation I noticed how my mind was alternating between pointless chitter chatter about past memories and this desire to create drama in my life.  I have been trying to create drama while traveling!  I noticed it twice this weekend, once when work got a little stressful.  The next time was when I still couldn’t connect with my loved ones over the phone.   I noticed both of these negative and frustrated reactions where I was angry and upset and thought, “what is this? what am i really feeling? how do i want this to change? what can i do to change this?”  In both situations I was quickly able to take a breathe and realize that the stress of travel has me reacting in ways that maybe aren’t my usual or most loving self. I wanted to take the stress of travel out on my loved ones for not being there when I wanted them to be, during the few moments I had to myself.  I wanted to force my work habits and expectations on others.  I wanted to take others stress and internalize it and make it my own.  The density of yogis in this hotel must have helped to clear my mind.  Yogi-ness must be permeating through these walls, I can feel the ooooommmmms resonating, or maybe that is the elevator making noise again.

I had a lot to say!  If you made it to the end of this you get a Gold Star!  May you find a little breathe in the drama and stress of life this weekend. Xoxoooooo.  Oh, and I encourage you to open your hips in thread the needle. Do it. Right now. Hold each side for 2-5 minutes and use a pillow under your neck if you need it.  It will make you feel better, I swear.

Bean town April 8, 2010

This morning I awoke to an amazing sunrise over the Charles river in Boston, MA. I put my kicheree on my hot plate, cleared my sinuses with my netty pot (this saves me after flying), meditated for 10 min while doing yin yoga poses, vinyasa yoga for 20, then started my day with breakfast while watching Boston come to life. Life is good when you can enjoy your routine and the tiniest sliver of time to practice yoga.

Here is a good mini practice that I did this morning. I did exactly what my body asked for once I hit the mat after flying across the US yesterday. I held the poses for 5-8 breathes.

Surya namaskar a x 2
Surya B x 1
Warrior 1
Warrior 2
Big toe hold forward fold
Standing thread the needle
Bridge
Headstand
Supine twist

spirit of vegas February 15, 2010

I’m stationed at the San Francisco Airport eating stuffed mushrooms and pondering my most recent travels and health tribulations.

While in Las Vegas last week I noticed how much the city had been effected by the current “economy” when I went for a walk one morning. There were a lot of vacancies and empty buildings and it was kind of odd, yet normal within such an excessive landscape. As much as evidence of the economic climate depresses me, I also feel some of it’s effects are fair and not so bad. I feel like expansion and contraction are normal parts of life’s cycles and I wonder where we will be after the current contraction. My gut tells me it’s far from over and I wonder where it will take us, how many people will have to suffer, will we ever make real changes, and how many corporate crapholes will get much needed reality checks, if any. There is always a positive side to every negative and I’ve appreciated the reminder to simplify my life, stop spending money on crap I don’t need, and focus on the parts of my life that inspire me and build up those parts more. It’s all about living my passion and sharing it in whatever ways I can. I have not enjoyed worrying about myself or my loved ones and watching them suffer unnecessarily. There are no guarantees in life, that’s for sure.

My three-day adventure in Vegas was actually quite enjoyable despite my original misgivings. It’s always so excessive, smoke everywhere, too much partying, too much everything. It is possible to be healthy when life gets busy and challenging I am finding. The hotel had a gym at which I was able to move my legs a bit after getting my arse kicked at a personal training session with friends before I traveled. My legs were quite sore and out of desperation I attempted to do some strength training on a squat machine to ease the pain. It helped despite my yogic aversion to gyms these days. I prefer to get my movement on my yoga mat, bicycle, and two legs while enjoying the great outdoors if possible. I have to say though, it did feel good to challenge my body in a different way. The hotel even had a good food. My travel routine sustained me. I enjoyed KÀ (a Cirque du Soleil show), a heroic journey of love and conflict, set within a dynamic theatrical landscape, on an enormous stage with a captivating display of acrobatics which left the audience in awe. I admit I’m not a huge fan of live theatre, but the synchronized fights, water rescue, and acrobatics were amazing and I really enjoyed the show.

I decided to look up the definition of Ka to see where the show got it’s name from. The Ka (k3) was the Egyptian concept of spiritual essence, that which distinguishes the difference between a living and a dead person, with death occurring when the ka left the body. This resembles the concept of spirit in other religions. Hmmm the concept of spirit is one shrouded in history and opinion and I’m not up for that discussion today.

viva las vegas February 10, 2010

I came onto this dreaded computer after an exhausted day on it already to laugh and share a bit of the joy of teaching software and working in Las Vegas, of all places. This morning I emerged from the elevator to very loud rock music. The volume of the rock music doesn’t change throughout the Hard Rock Hotel, no matter the time of day. It was a bit jarring at 8am. You would think they would switch to sappy hard rock ballads at that hour. It was funny walking through the hotel and casino in business clothes with my laptop while others where still partying from the night before. There are always drunk people here. There area also rugby players everywhere as there are 14 teams staying here for some sort of playoff game.

I’m really enjoying teaching to this size group, 30 people. Last year teaching 90 was a bit chaotic. I think this must be the golden mean size of a class for classroom teaching.

I don’t really think Avril Lavigne has earned as much play as she gets in this hotel.

Did I bring my yoga on this trip to Sin City? Why, yes, how dare you question my dedication I exercised a bit last night, meditated and practiced this morning, and exercised a bit tonight. I feel pretty good considering the lack of fresh air I’ve been inhaling. We’ve been eating good food. Life feels good today.

No yogi lessons for me today. Except to breathe when busy. Just breathe. Ahhhhhh.

toilet magic February 7, 2010

“Woody. I just wrote a top 40 song on your toilet.” said Michael Franti to his friend Woody Harrelson, whose house he was staying at.
“Michael, was it #1 or #2?” said Woody in return.

Last Friday I attended a yoga class with Sean Corn and Michael Franti with 400 yogis at the Yoga Journal SF Conference. The energy was incredible and the message they shared was profound. They reminded us to take action in whatever ways we can, right here, right now. No one else is going to be the change we want to see. We have to be that change. It reminded me how truly blessed I am. She started a challenge last year for anyone who could raise $20,000 in their communities (not just giving their own money) and if you met the goal you were able to join her in a 3rd world country to help build and create infrastructure to help those in need. She raised half a million dollars last year for Cambodia and is going to South Africa next year. Wow. They built a school, a birthing center, and more. It actually brought me to tears. They encouraged us to sit down and make a plan. I have a sort of plan, but I wonder what else I can do to to be the change I want to see. What really bothers you in this world, what do you want to change? Part of my plan is to take better care of myself so I can bring my best self to the world. One of Michael’s goals is to write a top 40 song this year and he told us a pretty funny story about it coming to him in the shower and the toilet. Isn’t that how it works, the best ideas come out of random places, and random times, as if magic, pixie, dust just appeared out of nowhere. Voila!

I returned from Yoga Journal SF a week ago and have been pedaling my hardest to keep up with this epic climb known as life. How did I maintain my yogi ways while away from home, you ask? I cooked kitcheree for breakfast the first day and it was awesome and I had leftovers the next morning. Even though it’s not considered “breakfast food”, it was really nice to have the mornings to myself, cook a nourishing breakfast, meditate, and do yoga, if only for a little bit. Sleep is imperative when traveling. I never sleep as well when I travel, so getting 8 hours is the only way to feel remotely normal. I usually am not a walker, but I really enjoyed walking every morning before my long days began. It was very meditative, relaxing, and the fresh air was like medicine for the body. I ended up sharing my hotel room with a friend unexpectedly. Although it disrupted my routine a bit, it was fun and good to help share yoga, even if it wasn’t directly through teaching. I didn’t eat all my snacks and food, but it was better to be over prepared. Kitcheree, trail mix, apples, tea, and vitamin c are the travel companions of champions.

I am on my way to Las Vegas and Seattle this week so I hope to bring my yoga and life practices with me for another week away from my nurturing routines. This is when it gets challenging, when the intensity and busy feeling stay for more than a week. I feel like this is it. If I can’t take care of myself under the stress of travel, how is a single mom going to do it, or a lonely grandma, or an executive, or student? We have to bring our yoga with us everywhere. And your yoga may be something very different than mine. I am thankful for and enjoy how much my yoga practice brings to me in day to day life, but I really want to find a way to bring it with me everywhere.

yogis in the city January 28, 2010

I’ve arrived in San Francisco yesterday for the 7th Annual Yoga Journal Conference. The drive from San Luis Obispo was so beautiful, the hills of California were dotted with happy cows and luscious green grass. It was so lovely that even my phone camera was able to capture a tiny bit of the bliss. I highly recommend a road trip to enjoy the beauty that the winter weather has brought your way. It reminds me of how winter forces us all to slow down and how it’s definitely nourishing, even if our productive lives don’t allow us to slow down and renew as much as the earth does during winter. I am reminded to give myself the rest I need. We arrived last night and immediately went to dinner at Greens, quite possibly my favorite restaurant ever. We enjoyed fresh spring rolls, artisan cheeses, butternut squash crepes, mushroom pot pie, dessert, wine, and catching up with friends. We are all on “Bev Time” which is when our co-worker Bev is on East Coast Time and wants to go to bed at 9pm West Coast Time so we were all in our rooms by 9pm. It was wonderful to me as I had to work a long day today and woke up to yoga, meditation, and kitcheree for breakfast. That is the way to start a long day if you ask me.

Today at the Business of Yoga Conference we shared some great advice for people in the “yoga business”, but in reality a lot of the advice is relevant for many. As much as many people would like to just do yoga and meditate all day, sharing yoga is still a business in many respects, albeit one that should come from the heart. We enjoyed a video of Snoop Dog doing yoga. Take care of yourself as you would your own children, you don’t let them get too hungry or too sleepy, right? We were reminded to set goals rather than make more vague resolutions. To cover our bases regarding the more difficult parts of owning a business (and possibly our lives?), rather than burying our heads in the sand. Finally, we were reminded to just say no to free yoga classes, don’t do it, just don’t.

Right now I was supposed to be setting up the MINDBODY booth in the Yoga Marketplace but somehow our freight did not arrive on time and we’ll have to wake up early to set everything up. Hopefully I’ll be able to get my yoga in first. That’s one of the lessons of traveling, you just have to roll with it some of the time. Setting up the booth is quite the job though, setting up heavy kiosks with huge computers and this crazy backdrop that requires super strength zipper skills. I teach Online Marketing Strategies tomorrow, but tonight, I am off to enjoy some of the bounty San Francisco has to offer, Osha Thai it is! I hope you find some winter beauty to enjoy as soon as possible and don’t forget to roll with it when life demands it.