Fasly-Kam

"Release what holds you back, and the universe will provide." - byomyoga (inspired by just about everyone she knows) Just a few shots from the amazing Yoga with Provisions class held yesterday at San Diego Creative Arts Project. 15 beautiful souls joined together to move, breathe, be, release, and welcome in the provisions of the universe (and a few cocktails providing by Polite Provisions afterwards). Thank you all for sharing the experience with me. Thank you Laura at San Diego Creative Arts Project , for the idea and the space, thank you Heidi at hphart.com for the photographs that bring out the joy, thank you Aaron at Polite Provisions for the whatever-it-was-was-delicious victuals! Starting savasana - cultivating body awareness and centering ourselves Adjustments in Durga-Go (cat cow sequence) Balance - ah yes, balance. Spinal flexion/extension Prepping our shoulder for poses to come in Urdvha Hastasana (upward hands pose) Anjanayasana - option on the knees, reach for ...

In a rare occurrence of lucidity, dream-me thought "shit, why am I whinging at the dream-person that is frustrating me? why am i being the opposite of who I want to be?" I woke up sad, but aware of the rarity of that "aha" moment. To that end, in a particularly challenging yoga class today I was actually brought to tears; not big sobbing ones, but hot weepy ones that come on stronger when you hold your breath. I was carrying the frustration of the dream and personal conflict, plus a sympathetic nervous system response (adrenalin surge and anxiety spur) to a particular difficult asana. I needed to STOP making my blissful practice the opposite of what I wanted it to be.I needed to be lucid about what I was experiencing and not victimized by it. So I sat my sweaty ass down, took a deep breath to loosen my throat lock that was just holding in all that negativity. I wanted this practice to be joyful, and I had to choose to make it that way.  I wiped away my tears, breath...

I am very excited to invite you (all?) to my newest social yoga venture called Yoga with Provisions . The hour long yoga class will be hosted by the San Diego Creative Arts Project , a 501c3 organization providing theater/voice/fitness/dance lesson for kids and adults, with cooperation from Polite Provisions / Soda and Swine restaurants. Tickets are just $15 and include the yoga class plus special discount at the restaurants directly following the class. Email me to reserve your spot (spaces are limited) or with any questions. The yoga will be an eclectic blend of hatha and vinyasa styles, with props provided to assist, as well as a very groovy soundtrack and extra soothing savasana at the end. Link, share, like, tweet!

The last time I traveled to Sacramento I went to one of their local hot yoga studios. In fact, it seems like that's most if not all of what is up there, which is fine at least there are studios that I can afford. Don't get me wrong I enjoy a good sweat just fine, and luckily after 11 years I (usually) know how to gauge myself to keep it real and out of potential injury (and I guzzle more water than probably two or three hot devotees put together). I'll usually position myself in back and just do the class a lot slower, because I know that if I build up too much heat I just pass out, or I render myself unable to stand up for a day or two because I've overstretched. When the instructor asked who was new, I raised my hand as I hadn't ever attended one of her classes before. She started class with the usual "pace yourself, embrace the process" standard patter, but even though there were just a few newbies, neither she nor her unshirted mail assistant came by m...

If every yoga class you walked into started with the same breathing chants, same movements, same flow, same timing, same pattern from start to finish, would you be bored, or would you embrace the routine? Would the routine become dogmatic movements or could you, would you, keep refining and exploring your breath, your postures, your movements so that they were seamless and graceful, fluid and strong? Would you be able to vary your effort and modify the poses based on how you felt that day, or would you keep trying to "perform" the same every single day? Sometimes, you just have to change things up completely to break the ritual to prevent it from becoming habitual. No where that I have studied has it said that you MUST do Surya Namaskar A exactly as in a textbook. No teacher that has imparted their wisdom has faulted me for exploring different ways to express my movements. In order to make yoga mine (or, yours), it must fit what you need, integrate your essences and help you ...

I am not a doctor. Nor physical therapist. Nor any kind of licensed health worker. I am a certified yoga instructor. I am a science-curious, anatomy-fascinated, yoga practitioner who studied so that she could share information about yoga with other people in a safe, productive, interesting and functional way. I am learning about how the body works (or doesn't work) through my own practice, and self-study, and hope to inspire other people to do the same. That being said, I MAY have had an experience or studied about an experience that MAY be able to help you improve your practice AND prevent injury during it. I MAY, however, not be able to. Some yoga instructors in fact ARE PTs or MDs or PhDs in the health profession and may be able to not only diagnose a problem but also offer a route to wellness. So, if you have a condition/problem/ache/pain that has been bugging you for more than, oh, say, two weeks and hurts MORE when you practice yoga (or when you are still), PLEASE go see a qu...

"Yoga has always been hard for me - I get SO frustrated in some classes." "I hate that I can't touch my toes." "So, how long do I have to practice before I'll be able to (do some posture)?" "What level is this class because I have been taking beginner classes for a while and I want to make sure that I'm improving so I want to get to more advanced classes." Any of those sound like you? Or someone close to you? Or overheard in class? Yeah, probably. The thing is, we may just be "condemned" to wanting to constantly improve, hone, and perfect things we do. You may call that ego, but in some cases (like, running from predators or enhancing job skills for better wages) it may just be a function of biology, or financial survival (sociological impacts). Regardless, trying to turn that off can be difficult, even seemingly impossible. We are raised on superlatives (big-bigger-biggest, bendy-bendier-bendiest) and comparisons (grade poi...