Namaste' ... I Am Thankful for ME!!!

We often forget the FULL depth of saying Namaste'.  The simplest explanation of this greeting is "I bow to you" , and it is often extrapolated out into "The Light within me salutes the Light within you."  It is a gesture of respect for the person standing in front of you as you recognize how special they, and all beings are!!!

But don't forget the person standing in front of the person standing in front of you.  YOU.  That same wonderful Light!!!  Your Light was there before you had the career which may have come to define you.  That Light was there before your significant other and/or your good friends who may have come to define you.  That Light was there before all your possessions that may have come to define you.    That Light was there before you came into this world and a name may have come to define you.  And that Light will be there after you leave this world and all those things no longer define you.  That Light is the Essence of You!!!

Practice being thankful for YOU!!!   I am thankful for all of YOU!!!  YOU are that Light!!!

Namaste'

Kate

A Place to Start ... Let Yoga Move You ...

The Many Pieces of Savasana – Part II - The Inner Smile

At the heart of Savasana is Anahata Chakra ... the Heart Chakra.  Anahata is the midpoint in our climb up through the chakras.   In Savasana we find rest and balance in Anahata, that space between the primal chakras and the more ethereal chakras.

When we come to Savasana, we can bring to mind a person, a place, or a thing that makes us really Smile.  Then we let that Smile actually come to our lips and light up our face.  That Smile helps to relax and warm both the face and the mind.

Then we bring that Smile to Anahata Chakra, home of the Inner Smile.  We can bask in the warmth of that Inner Smile and allow its healing energy to spread all through the body and mind.

In Savasana we allow that Smile to carry body and mind into relaxation and rest.

Namaste'

Love Story

This post hasn't got anything to do with Yoga, except that it has everything to do with Union ... bringing together two parts into one whole.  That is what Yoga does, and when you find a true Love Story that's what love does.  So in honour of Valentine's Day just past, and Family Day today, here is a Love Story from my Family.

When I was 3 years old, I already realized that my brother had 2 great loves in his life.  One pre-existed me by a long time since my brother was almost 17 years older than I was, and that was HOCKEY.  He loved playing hockey.  He played organized hockey locally until he was well into his 60's. Here he is with his first love.

But a beautiful lady came into the picture back when he was a young man and shoved hockey out of first place.  So much so, that when an NHL farm team came knocking my hockey crazy brother said "no".  To take them up on their offer would have meant being away from his lady.  And he couldn't do that.

When I was 4 years old I was flower girl at their wedding, and they have been happily married ever since.

My brother and his lady retired to a Seniors' Apartment just a little while back.   But I found out this weekend that he had left the Senior's Apartment  because he required a 24 hour care facility ... his health failing.  I rushed over there yesterday to see how he was doing ... very much afraid of what being separated would be doing to both of them.  Much to my surprise and relief, when I arrived I found both their names on the door to their room.  It is just a small room, like a semi-private room in a hospital, and his lady could have stayed in the Senior's apartment in comfort.  But that would have meant being away from her husband.  And she couldn't do that.

Being An RYT

I recently received a new and improved logo from Yoga Alliance.  I thought I would explain to you what that logo represents.

The RYT means that I have studied with a Registered School, for at least 200 hundred hours.  The cost of that varies, but since I chose to go to an in-residence school at quite a distance, for a full month, the total cost of the courses, the transportation, and the accommodations was appx $10K.

The "E" in front of RYT indicates that I have taught at least 1,000 hours since I became an RYT.

The RYT  500 means that I have pursued another 300 hours of formal teaching from trainers who are designated  E-RYT 500.  Again, the "E" designates that they have taught 1,000 hours since becoming an RYT 500.  I chose less expensive routes (no in-residence), so that cost was about $8K.

In order to keep my designations, I must do Continuing Education each year and hold Teacher's Insurance. Coverage and pay dues. Those 3 things cost about $2K a year.

I also now qualify as an E-RYT 500, but I have not claimed that designation because with each addition to one's credentials the "Union Dues" get higher per year, and unless I want to open a Yoga Teacher Training School it does not really apply.

So the little logo is fairly expensive, but I am committed to supporting it, because I see too many folks teaching Yoga who had very little formal training, no live mentor, no anatomy, physiology, kinesiology,and psychology training ... and RYTs have all of those.  So when you are looking for a Yoga Teacher, look for an RYT.

Namaste'

Kate

My Lifetime Sankalpa - Ascending the Chakra Verbs

• Muladhara - I am 
• Svadisthana - I feel 
• Manipura - I do 
• Anahata - I love
• Visuddha - I speak
• Ajna - I see
• Sahasrara - I understand

The Verbs of the Chakras all sound very simple, but there is a lifetime of meditation involved in actually ascending them.

Below, I have added a few thoughts to each.  Do that for yourself

• One Chakra at a time
  
• Explore my thoughts
  
• Add your own thoughts
  
• See what arises

Muladhara - I am - my Foundation - my Tribe - Material World - Existence

Svadisthana - I feel - I Sense I Am a Separate Physical Being - I Hold a Place of My Own

Manipura - I do - I Have Power - I Have Control 

Anahata - I love - I Accept & Love Myself - I Accept & Love Others

Visuddha - I speak - Communication - Express Self - Trust Others

Ajna - I see - Trust Intuition - Develop Insight - Release Negative Thoughts

Sahasrara - I understand - Knowingness - Connection to the Infinite

Shoulders Can Be a Pain in the Neck, and Elsewhere!!!

Using your Bandhas is important.  It is important to your Yoga practice and it is important to just plain living comfortably.

Other important things to use are your Lower Trapezius muscles.  Here is a diagram of your Trapezius muscle.

There are three parts of the trapezius muscle: the upper fibers (shown in YELLOW), used to bring your shoulders to your ears, the middle fibers(shown in BLUE) that bring your shoulders up and also inward, just like the rhomboids, and the lower fibers (shown in RED) that pull your shoulder blades downward.

Try pulling your shoulder blades down.  Not so easy?  Outside of a Yoga class, when was the last time you remembered performing this kind of action?  Probably not very recently, as we don’t spend a good deal of time with our shoulder blades back and down.

Now, lift your shoulders towards your ears – fairly easy?  This action is performed readily when the “fight or flight” syndrome is engaged; pulling our shoulders towards our ears is a protective mechanism.  What else feels tight when you hold your shoulders there?  Well, if you hold your shoulders there long enough, you might feel several things

• the base of your neck may feel tight
• an uncomfortable pulling in your rhomboids (in between your shoulder blades)
• tight contracted feeling in your chest
• even discomfort in your rib cage
• tension headaches, stiff neck, achy shoulders 

I've been incorporating some deliberate moves in my Yoga classes lately to get an "anti-shrug" happening.  Let's work on it!!!