Ashtanga Lovers Listen Up

ASHTANGA PRIMARY SERIES MASTER CLASS

What:  Full form - no mix or short form
When:  Tuesday, October 26th from 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Where:  LightHouse Yoga Studio, 120 Seaboard Lane, Franklin
             www.lighthouseyogastudio.com,  377.YOGA(9642)
Fee:  $10
*PLEASE pre-register

Heavenly Hip Openers - REPEATED

In case you missed the first one, here is another opportunity

to attend this month's Weekend Workshop!

“Heavenly Hip-Openers”

with Keleah Anderson, RYT, ACSM-HFI

Have tight hips haunted you for years? 

Join October’s Weekend Workshop

and explore 360 degrees of hip opening. 

The focus of this practice will be to:

• Open areas that are chronically tight
• Perfect for athletes
• Learn post workout poses for quicker recovery & injury prevention                           

Sunday, October 24^th  1:30 – 3:00 p.m.

Hosted by:  LightHouse Yoga

120 Seaboard Lane

in Cool Springs

*615.377.YOGA (9642)

http://www.lighthouseyogastudio.com/

Workshop Fee:  $20 (Cash or Check only please)

*To Pre-Register Call LightHouse Yoga @ 377-YOGA

Pose of the Week - "Paschimottanasana"

What is it about seated forward folds that feels so yummy?  Especially, when used as a counter stretch.  Forward bends are calming and soothing to the nervous system.  They bring deeper internal awareness.  They release tension by opening up the entire backside of the body: hamstrings, buttocks and lower back.  They also improve digestion and increase circulation to lower extremities, to name just a few yummy benefits. The KEY to this pose *lead with your heart rather than your head.  Maybe we should also make this the key to life in general.  In fact, I think I'll try it tomorrow.  What does my heart want to do?  Dance in a field of flowers with my husband (whose been away for 4 days!), eat strawberries dipped in chocolate and laugh at his jokes until my belly hurts......

Okay, sorry back on track!

1.  Sit tall, press hands down into floor, draw lower back inward and upward

2.  Inhale bring arms over head lengthen spine

3.  Exhale grab big toes with index and middle fingers.  Press big toes forward while resisting back.

4.  Inhale and extend lower belly thru top of head. Slide hands to outside of feet, widen elbows and draw sternum toward toes.  Keep legs straight and active.  *Lead with heart not head.

Modification for tight hamstrings / lower back:  Sit on folded blanket to elevate hips.  Use strap around feet.

Variation:  For deeper lower back release, bend knees taking the hamstrings out of the equation and puff kidneys to back of mat, rock gently side to side.

Dristi ("gazing point"):  Toes (or shins)

FALL into your FORWARD FOLDS like never before.....enjoy the yummy!

Environmental Distractions

If you have ever taken one of my yoga classes, it didn't take you long to figure out that the environment I teach in is huge to me.  Little distractions, such as someone snapping their Yoga mat when they come in late vs. quietly rolling it out, or the air/heat kicking on or off, people talking (yelling) in the hall, etc. etc....  make me crazy!  The past few weeks as I have ventured into some new teaching environments, I have truly been bombarded with "environmental distractions" I will call them.  First in my church Yoga class, the space is limited and the kick off night we had 48 women!  We overflowed (like that I used that word?) into the foyer and every person on campus decided to walk by.  I want bore you with every detail of every class....but let's just say every environment I taught in offered new challenges....cold rooms, groups talking next door and then the new Zumba class next door at the Y took the Cake.  How do you breath to Zumba beats?   Cold & loud are my Yoga pet peeves and it seemed everywhere I went to teach was just that.....Cold & Loud!  I was about to throw in my Yoga towel, when God gave me a new perspective. 

One of my quiet time readings last week was entitled "In ME..... peace." John 16:33
Paganini, the great Italian violinist, once stepped onstage only to discover there was something wrong with his violin, just as the audience was ending their applause.  He looked at the instrument for a moment and suddenly realized it was not his best and most valuable one.  Momentarily, he felt paralyzed, but he quickly turned to his audience telling them their had been some kind of mistake and he did not have his own violin.  He stepped back behind the curtain, and discovered someone had stolen his and left an inferior one in it's place.  After remaining behind the curtain for a moment, Paganini stepped on stage again to speak to the audience.  He said, "Ladies and gentlemen I will now demonstrate to you that music is not in the instrument but in the soul."  Then he played as never before, and beautiful music flowed from that inferior instrument until the audience was so enraptured that their enthusiastic applause nearly lifted the ceiling off the concert hall.  He had indeed demonstrated that his music was in his soul.  (by: Charles Francis Richardson)

My reading continued saying:  Dear tested and tried believer, it is your mission to walk onto your stage of this world in order to reveal to all of heaven and earth that "your music" of  life lies not in your circumstances or external things but in your own soul.   I hear you Father......Yoga IS an expression of my soul.  And, when I teach....I express not the external circumstances but the internal.  He said to me loud and clear, "teach from your soul....tune into the spirit within you as you teach not the environmental distractions that Satan sends.  He'd like nothing more then for you to throw in your towel.   Don't let him win!"

And so, For Today...."I teach from my soul, NOT my circumstances."

Caught the Bug - Ashtanga Yoga

I have one week left subbing Primary Series at the Cool Springs Y.  I have to admit, this has rekindled my passion for Ashtanga.  This summer prior to my starting this 6 weeks commitment, I challenged myself to practice Primary Series every day for 30 days.  I was reminded how a daily practice of Ashtanga strengthens ALL your yoga.  The consistency not only grew me as a teacher, it grew me as a student.  I find myself wanting to teach it and practice it more......it's contagious.  (Thank God for Beryl Bender's DVD!)

I just wonder, if I did a master class of FULL Primary Series (I mean ALL the vinyasas & all the poses, NO Short Form or Mix!) would I have students???????  Has anyone else caught the bug????????  I would love to know.

Heavenly Hip Openers

“Heavenly Hip-Openers”

with Keleah Anderson, RYT, ACSM-HFI

Have tight hips haunted you for years? 

Join October’s Weekend Workshop

and explore 360 degrees of hip opening. 

The focus of this practice will be to:

• Open areas that are chronically tight
• Perfect for athletes
• Learn post workout poses for quicker recovery & injury prevention                           

Saturday, October 9^th  2:00 – 3:30 p.m.

Hosted by:  LightHouse Yoga

120 Seaboard Lane

in Cool Springs

*615.377.YOGA (9642)

http://www.lighthouseyogastudio.com/

Workshop Fee:  $20 (Cash or Check only please)

*To Pre-Register Call LightHouse Yoga @ 377-YOGA



Week 4 of Flow Yoga @ A-game in Cool Springs

I am settling into The Flow at A-game.  Classes were warm & yummy Thursday.  What can I say,  I love it!  :-)  God has been so faithful to show me "just teach" and I'll take care of the rest (more about that in a later blog).

Hope to see you join The Flow very soon!

*Practice Reminders:

Tuesday & Thursday, 9:30 - 10:45 a.m. upstairs in "The Overlook" Room

5-class pass = $60
10-class pass = $110
20-class pass= $200

Be Blessed Today & Be a Blessing!