Savasanas for a Reason

/
How's your savasana? Photo via Bikram Women's Retreat on Facebook.

Ever wonder why the second half of a Bikram class involves what can sometimes feel like about a million savasansas?

Today, I realized why.

And it's not just because Bikram designed the floor series so your body can rest in between every posture, and receive all of the physical benefits that are meant for you.

It's also because switching between 100% exertion and 100% relaxation is a skill we all need-- not just in the hot yoga room.


Life's a blur. Photo via FYeahYoga on Tumblr.

Sometimes we need that ability to let go in an instant. We need to be able to switch off our stress in a single moment. Sounds tough to do (and often it is!), but once you know you are capable of letting go here and now, things change. Things get easier.

I guess it's been on my mind lately because I seem to be posting a lot about it... but sometimes yoga teaches you more about how to live your life than how to make your body flexible. Lately, it's been teaching me more about how to handle situations than how to get my forehead to the floor in Standing Separate Leg Stretching pose.

I'm learning more about how to love myself for who I am than how to come up higher on the toes in Awkward pose.

More and more, I find myself relying on what I've learned in the hot room to get through the day. And not just to "get through" the stressful moments, but also to savor and enjoy the beautiful ones. To commit to memory those details I never want to lose. To build love into my daily experience, my hourly experience, my reality.

Let me explain. :)

Letting go makes all the difference. Photo via Lululemon.

Know that feeling you sometimes get when you wake up feeling flustered, or in the middle of a dream? You feel sluggish before your day has even started. You wish you could hit "refresh" on the computer that is your brain, but you can't find the button.

Or maybe you're more familiar with the kind of day at work where you hardly feel like you get a chance to rest or think since you're moving between so many projects and conversations and worries. You leave the office feeling a little worn down, rush home, start dinner, and hardly even give yourself time to decompress from the day.

I've been there, done that; perhaps, too, I am there, am doing that. And I'm learning how to use what I know about savasana to make things work and be happy.

In a sense, I'm re-learning (as I have before in my life) that it's possible to do both. We need both.

And I'll bet you've experienced the ins-and-outs of a modern, busy life, too, and sometimes you wish you could just make it all stop. If only for a moment.

Well, because of savasana -- that pose we so often cast aside as nap time, or that we forget to take seriously -- you can.

Yoga comes in the everyday. Photo via Lululemon.

In the room, savasana means: the standing series is done. Over. Not something you need to worry about again today.

It means you can let every muscle relax so deeply that you aren't holding any tension.

In the world, savasana means: no more texts buzzing in your pocket; no more emails piling up in your inbox.

No more to-do list a mile long. No more procrastinating on what really makes you happy in order to fulfill the basic survival elements: food on the table, roof over your head, plans in line to ensure a successful future.

Savasana means you are in the here and now, giving yourself the rest you need.

Letting go of whatever came before, and whatever you know (or think you know) is coming up next in your day.


Ask others to help you let go. Photo via FYeahYoga on Tumblr.

Once you can train your brain to let go in an instant, the world is yours. Because that means no matter how stressful a day has been -- or a week, a month, a year -- you can let it go. Right now. And you can relax, revive, move on.

You can move forward.

Only by soaking in the relaxation that you've earned can you move forward.

That, my dear yogis, is savasana: a pose we do for many reasons, a pose that helps us survive. A pose that helps us live.

Funny how we don't even have to lift a finger... in fact, doing the posture right means not even the fingers or toes twitch. Nothing moves.

  
Namaste to you, reader. Photo via Lululemon.

Note: I realize that reading this post may lend itself to a couple of perplexing questions. You might find yourself thinking, "So how do I actually do that? How do I let go in an instant?! I've tried that before, but it doesn't work. What do I actually do?"

If those questions are something you've wrestled with, my challenge to you is this: try again. Keep practicing. Let every yoga class you take stand as its own experience.

Let yourself be OK with the fact that every day is different, and even if you rocked your Bikram series yesterday, you might find yourself feeling winded, dizzy, and defeated today. Accept that the body changes over time, and so does the mind.

Give yourself permission to try again -- no expectations -- and see if you can let go. Sometimes trying again can mean all the difference. And don't get me wrong, sometimes I don't let go of what's bothering me until the end of class; sometimes I'm never able to let go during class at all. But I can guarantee when you find that moment and you do let go of whatever internal monologue is holding you back -- whatever doubt, whatever fear, whatever negative thought -- once you're free of it, things will be easier. The postures, the relationships you build, the life you live.

A final note to consider: yoga is a mind game. Especially Bikram yoga.

The mirrors in the room, the dialogue, the sweating, the heat, the smells and sounds, the teacher yelling at you... it's all built in to mess with your head. Because guess what? Once you let it go, you realize you can let go of anything. And just get your butt into savasana because you need it.

Way more than you need the wiping, the fidgeting, the resisting. :)

I'd love your thoughts on this, yogis. Please share your stories below in the comments section or feel free to send me an email at aliveinthefire@gmail.com! There's nothing I enjoy more than connecting with you and hearing about your yoga. Namaste!

On the Dialogue, and Being Beautiful

/
Photographs via Lululemon.


I recently read a post on Facebook about the Bikram dialogue. The writer references Bikram Choudhury's reflections on a problem I've heard a lot of yogis talk about when it comes to the difference between Bikram yoga and other forms of yoga. A lot of people get caught up with how strict the Bikram dialogue can be.


The Boss himself puts it this way:


"People always say to me -- and you may be thinking this right now -- 'Bikram, don't you know a dialogue is when two people are talking with each other? Since you're the only one talking in class when you give instruction, this should really be called 'the Monologue.'


Let me tell you something: My English may not be perfect, but I know the difference between a monologue and a dialogue. When my teachers and I are talking to a class, tell you what to do, there is a response. From what we can see as you struggle to perform the asanas properly, your body is giving us information as well -- it is talking back. There's a connection, there's communication, and that's why it's a dialogue."


Have you ever taken a Bikram class and come out feeling like the teacher was delivering a monologue?


Me too. But guess what? That means we weren't listening.




When you take class with a great teacher -- and you turn your listening on, and truly engage with the dialogue -- the results are different.


Your body sings.


The teacher has your back; you don't need to worry about making decisions. You can get out of the way, go along for the ride, and move with the words.


One of my favorite Bikram teachers ever (who now has her own studio) used to say this at the beginning of class:


Your body; my words.


Try your next class with that as your mantra, and see what happens. You may be pleasantly surprised at how you can let go and just do your yoga.


You may be surprised by the way you stop judging yourself, or letting the mirrors become distractions instead of a method for connecting with your true self.


Once you let go, you are beautiful.


Introducing Rich

/
Photo via The Vagabond Bond.

Happy Monday, oh blog world! It's been a while. How was your weekend?

I hope you all had time to do some yoga, relax, and enjoy the inklings of spring. We had plenty of sun here in Chicagoland, but the temperature has still been freezing! I can't wait for some warmer weather.

It's been a couple weeks since I introduced you to a sponsored yogi, and I've got another one to add to the mix today -- welcome, Rich! If you're following the blog, you've read some of Rich's work before, like his post from the Real Men Do Yoga series, or his recent poetic reflections on his practice and what it means to be a warrior.

I've had the privilege of meeting with Rich and practicing at each other's studios -- we did a hot vinyasa class at TruHarmony in the city a while back, and he joined me for a Bikram class at Bikram Yoga Evanston not too long ago.

Rich has an incredible positive outlook on life, and he's super dedicated to his practice. You'll be hearing more from him in the months to come! In the meantime, this is his story on how he discovered yoga and why it's changed his life for the better. Enjoy!


 Photos courtesy of Richard Krzyzanowski.

From Rich:


My life was a mess. I had to give up on something that I had dedicated myself to for three years. I had been hit by a car, a bus, and lightning (the lightning was indirect). I was having a horrible time. 


Every time I saw my sister, she was this smiling, happy, ball of sunshine. Not to mention that she looked great. So I asked her what she was doing. 


She told me yoga.


I thought at it for minute and decided that I wanted to try it. For my birthday, she got me a mat and a few private lessons at TruHarmony Yoga. I knew immediately that this was something that I would be doing a lot of. 


 
 Photos courtesy of Richard Krzyzanowski.


I started practicing two days a week at first. On the days that I wasn't practicing, I found myself wishing I was at the studio. So I started practicing three days a week. 


I felt amazing. My head was clearer than it had ever been. My body was in better condition than it had ever been in. I noticed that my interactions with others began to change. I was looking at my entire life differently. 


I started practicing six days a week. That is where I currently am.


Namaste,
Rich

"This Yoga Saved My Life"

/
 Above photo via the Bikram Women's Retreat on Facebook. Photo below via FYeahYoga.


"Yoga saved my life. I now have the flexibility to cope, the calm to breathe, and the strength to hold on."


Have you ever heard a story like this? Or perhaps your yoga journey involves one that's similar?


I recently read a Patch article starring a yogini with a comparable tale. It reads:


"This yoga saved my life," said Curnett, who said she went went from having terrible asthma and allergies, being overweight, and being stressed out to becoming more forgiving, patient and loving. She's also given birth – twice – and returned to her pre-pregnancy weight both times.


I'm constantly astounded by the way a strong yoga practice can change a life so intensely. Yoga opens up so many possibilities, so many opportunities to grow -- both physically and mentally.


I'm taking a Bikram yoga class tonight after having been away from the studio on a slight hiatus. While I'm a little nervous to return to the heat, I can also feel by body longing for the medicine it so needs and has been missing. Then I've got a massage afterward... can't wait!


How has your yoga changed you lately? Do you find that change comes in waves when it comes to your yoga?


Sometimes it seems like what's happening in our lives is mirrored by what's happening in our yoga practice. Our strength on the mat leads to our strength in the world... and that, dear readers, is a wonderful thing.


 Above photo via Clayton Austin Photography. Below photo via Max Wanger.

Namaspray: An End to Your Stinky Yoga Mat

/
Photo via YayEveryday.
Photo via Coffee and Yoga.

Every Bikram yogi knows: the nose matters.


If your mat stinks in class, life is not good. Mostly because your face gets pretty close to your mat during a lot of the postures in both the standing series and the floor series. 

Having a clean, odor-free yoga mat is the difference between having a great class and suffering through. 


We've all been there...


You start your first week at a lovely, well-kept Bikram studio. You're rockin' your yoga and discovering new flexibility and strength that you never knew you had. Perhaps you're even losing weight, burning off toxins, and feeling better than you have in years.


But then you find out that being lazy after class doesn't serve you. You've been too tired to wipe down your mat at the end of class and by the end of only a handful of sweaty classes, your mat smells. 


Branding images via the Namaspray site.

Well, I have an easy solution for you. Check out Namaspray. This line of yoga mat disinfectant is my favorite, and comes in the best scents around. You can go for eucalyptus (my vote), minty fresh (a close second), or spicy orange (also wonderful!).


Branding images via the Namaspray site.

Namaspray is awesome because it doesn't have harsh chemicals, comes in an easy-to-carry size, and is made to be used on a wide variety of surfaces (anything from yoga mats to flip flops, gym bags, or workout machines!). For the full list of where you can put it to great use, read here.

Sweaty guys, sweaty gals: treat yourself to a little Namaspray. Your nose will thank you, and so will your Bikram yogi neighbors!

PS You can also shop for Namaspray on the Yoga With Style site, where there are hundreds of yogi-wear and yogi-accessory choices! :)
Branding images via the Namaspray site.

Parisian

/
I'd wear a hat like this if I lived in Paris. Photo via Emily Takes Photos. 

I had breakfast with an incredible professor of mine from Northwestern. It was so fun catching up and enjoying crepes and coffee with her. Professor Vaux is about to pack up and head to Paris for three months. She and her husband are renting a flat in the Montmartre area.


We've been working on her book about Eastwood films and theology for over a year now, and I know I'll be missing her while she's on leave. But I'm also so excited just thinking about her sitting in Parisian cafes and working on her next book :)


Photo via Emily Takes Photos. 

Wouldn't it be fun to sit in the cafes of Paris while you work on your manuscript? I can just picture her there, enjoying the afternoon sun, a good book of poetry, a tiny cup of rich espresso, or an art exhibit at the Louvre.


Would you go abroad for a long trip?


I love reading about families who do. Like Gabrielle at Design Mom (she's in France, too), and David and Sarah (they've been traveling in the Middle East). Bonjour!


Photo via Etsy.

Advice Needed on Full Camel

/
Photo via Benitasana, the awesome website of a yoga teacher.

Morning, all! So I just saw an awesome article about having a yoga pose-off in the park on Yogapedia that got me thinking about Full Camel.

Full Camel is a pose I think I will be able to pull off "eventually or in the future" (ha, Bikram dialogue moment!)... but I still have qualms about how to get into it. Anyone have suggestions?

How do you get from regular camel pose to full camel pose? Anyone know of any special stretches or backbend suggestions for improving flexibility in the low back to get into that more intense version of camel?

I'd love your suggestions, especially Bikram teacher readers out there. Thanks!

How do I get from the above photo to the one below? Camel pose. For the win!
Above photo via Comfort in Style Magazine. Below via Bikram Yoga Portsmouth.

Update: Check out Joslyn's guide to getting into the posture on Miss Fit Bliss. Totally going to try that! I'll let you know how it goes...

Back to the Bike

/
Photo via Andrew Sheperd.

Biking season has returned! Sort of :)

I have been bundling up and biking my way to work the last few days and it feels so  good. It's amazing how great fresh air can be after months of winter weather and having to drive. Even if that air is freezing, it's refreshing to be outside again.


Being on the silver steed makes me think of summertime, spring colors, wearing sandals and shorts, and going for long rides by the lake. I can't wait for those warmer days! Right now it's still pretty chilly and we have to wear earmuffs and gloves, but it's worth it.

Once the seasons change, I definitely want to bike the lakeside pathway down to the city, as well as up to the Chicago Botanic Gardens.

Two photos via Sarah Rhoads. 

Do you bike for fun or to work? Are you enjoying springtime outdoor activities yet? 

Good Morning, Family

/
Photo via Our Labor of Love.
Photo via Jaquilyn Shumate Photography.

I'm up early today. Whispers of spring are here, just outside the window.

The sun breaks through, the sparrows flit and emit their fleeting chirps. I've got the radio on with the kinds of songs I only listen to when I'm alone. 

I've been thinking about family lately. The progression of love. The meaning of the relationships we build, and how we sometimes tell ourselves we don't really need them, and then realize how much we do.

I think of my girls. My bridal party. Grandmothers. Cousins and friends. Mom. Stepmom. The women I've spent my life looking up to, the women who have looked up to me over the years, the women I couldn't be me without. 

All subsequent photos via Jaquilyn Shumate Photography. 

I think of siblings. How precious the bond between a brother and a sister, a sister and her twin, a bond that would be suffering to lose. Stretched so distantly from each other; needed so much. I think about the joy of a phone call with my brother or sister, how hearing about their lives always cheers me up.

Who wants to come visit once spring hits Chicago, eh?

I think of my nephew and how every time I see a new picture, it feels like I've missed years.

Families are precious these days, it seems. Sometimes in the early morning, the house quiet, I think of the family I have and the ones I hope to one day grow in a world of love.

How have you loved your family lately? Any of you out there starting your own little families?



Introducing Nicole

/
All photos courtesy of Nicole Crist.

Who do you know that can dance upside-down like a trapeze artist, is a successful entrepreneur and blogger, and regularly practices yoga in the Big Apple?

No one, right?

Well, think again. Cuz now you've met Nicole Crist, an extraordinary Alive in the Fire sponsored yogi. She does all of these amazing things! 

Nicole stands out among the crowd because she is fearless, fun, and super fit. She always has something passionate (and compassionate) to share on her blog space, and her work as an artist is inspiring.

I'm excited to welcome Nicole to Alive in the Fire and couldn't be more stoked that you'll be hearing lots from her soon. For more info from Nicole about her yoga and her life, read below!

 

I am a self-employed entrepreneur and love to balance my three businesses while sitting in a toe stand. I am super excited to be a sponsored yogi for Alive in the Fire and passionate about sharing all my sticky Bikram experiences with you! 

Still fairly new to yogi-ism, I can't do a yoga headstand but I can hang upside-down! I am a professional 'aerialista' with my dance company, Altitude Aerials (my favorite biz of the three). I am also a blogger myself, writing about her aerial adventures and living fit, confident and creative on Moving Life Blog. 


For more about Nicole's business, read here. And yes, you will see her 'hanging around' here quite a bit in the months to come. Welcome, Nicole!

Yogi Tattoos: Got One?

/
Photos via the Bikram Women's Retreat on Facebook.

Hey yogis! Happy Thursday. Hope you're having a rockin' end to the week.

Are you practicing your yoga? I'm excited: I'm heading to a class tonight at Grateful Yoga of Evanston, a local studio I love. Nick and Lela, the owners and head teachers there, are amazing people. So full of heart! I'll be posting about them again soon.

Plus, tomorrow I'm going to be teaching a little mini yoga class at Northwestern's huge philanthropy event Dance Marathon. I'll be leading the group's highest fundraising individuals (probably around 20-30 undergrads) in a short flow class. It should be fun to incorporate the most invigorating postures so they don't fall asleep on me! During the event they dance for 30 hours straight, and the class is being held about half way through... so I'll be making it as engaging and fun as possible. No savasanas :)

It should be a fun and yoga-filled end to the week. Where are you practicing?

And are you sporting a sweet tattoo at your yoga studio? Lately I've been a little obsessed with them.



I'm also planning a blog post featuring yogis I know with awesome body art. Want to be included? Send me an email with an image of your tattoo! (You can reach me at aliveinthefire at gmail dot com.) You can also leave a comment below and I'll follow up with you. 


Hope to hear from you (and see your sick tatts) soon, yogis!


PS Check out Teeg's awesome response to this post. Namaste.




Losing the Ego

/
Photo via Bikram Yoga Chaswick in London.


I came across an awesome article on Yoga Journal today about important lessons that will transform your yoga practice. It's inspired me to reflect on some of the same topics, especially what the place is for ego in the yoga room -- which is nowhere.


There is no place for the ego in the yoga room. The effort of yoga is to lose the ego, to experience motionless, to embody effortlessness... while exerting maximum effort.


Can you try harder? If you can, you must. Photo via the Bikram Women's Retreat on Facebook.

Once you learn to give up your own ego in the room, on your mat, and at your studio, then your heart opens to what yoga truly is.


Yoga is not about judging. It is about forgiving. And not just others around you, but forgiving yourself. For being imperfect. For sometimes judging yourself based on your ability to execute a posture rather than on your own personal character and true worth.


Yoga is about meeting your edge in class, not comparing yourself to others and risking injury.


Yoga is about taking care of yourself in the room, while also listening to your instructor's words to push, push, push you to do your best.


Yoga is about not being scared to fail and try again. Like if you fall out of a posture, you get right back in. Or if you fall on your face because you tried a ridiculously hard arm balance, you laugh it off and are proud of yourself for giving your best effort.


Photo via Yoga Dudes on Tumblr.

Yoga requires effort. Yes, we relax in savasana and in child's pose or half-tortoise pose, but a majority of our class is spent focusing our energies toward specific muscle groups. Flexing those muscles. Learning what power we have. Finding a perfect marriage of the heart and lungs. Or maybe even having a mini heart attack now, so we won't suffer one later!


If you're not sweating, concentrating hard, and challenging yourself, you're not making the most of your yoga experience. And this goes for both heated and non-heated classes :)


Now that's yoga that requires effort: Balancing Stick pose! Photo via Bikram Yoga Richmond.

In yoga, you learn to let go. Even if you're annoyed by the yogis around you, or the teacher at the podium, or the stuff that happened at work before you came to class.


Unless you allow yourself to clear your mind by engaging your body, your yoga gets you nowhere.

Photo via the Bikram Women's Retreat on Facebook.

Clinking

/
From this lovely blog.

Anyone else for a pastry and tasty drink break? 

Sometimes I imagine myself somewhere fancy, where soft light is streaming in the windows and there are only the sounds of a far-off fireplace -- flames dancing, wandering around the wood -- and the soft clinking of silverware on fine ceramic, glasses clipping the saucers they're held on, evidence of people gathered together, sitting alone in a full room.

Introducing Hans

/
Photos courtesy of Hans Park and taken by Cara Grimshaw Photography.

Meet another Sponsored Yogi! I'd like to introduce you to Hans, who's representing Alive in the Fire from Canada and who you first met through the Real Men Do Yoga series.

Hans is the kind of yogi who's definitely dedicated to taking great classes on the mat, but who also loves the challenge of another sport or another kind of workout. For him, the alternative to yoga is roller derby. It makes sense, since this is another intense mind-body experience that, like his Bikram practice, requires acute concentration as well as flexibility and strength. I'll be excited to learn more from Hans about both of his preferred workouts, plus hear details on what the culture of Bikram yoga studios is like in the Vancouver area.



More from Hans on his unique background and yoga practice:


I currently work for Environment Canada and provide operational support to the Envivronmental Enforcement Officers. If you can picture CSI, I am like the guy in the lab that appears in every episode who supports the investigators who do the field work (except I do administrative and supply work). That description seems to work for most people. 

I also work for the Canadian army part time as a Combat Engineer. Before the career change, I worked in Africa in humanitarian aid. I hope to continue this in a short-term consulting role in the future. 

In my spare time, I watch a lot of live music and take photos of the bands for fun, take my teenage cousin to the movies, exercise regularly, and enjoy the west coast Canadian lifestyle. I also started skating with the men's roller derby team around the same time I started practicing yoga, and both are a lot of fun.