Autumn's Arrival and the Breath in Yoga

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Photo via Miss Moss.

Fall is here! It's time to walk fearlessly toward cold weather... knowing, of course, that we've  also got cozy slippers, candle-lit fireplaces, crockpot meals, and a whole lot of cuddling together on the couch headed our way.

As the seasons change, we are refreshed by new, crisp air.

Last night at the end of Bikram class, I was enjoying our rounds of kapalbhati breathing. I love that this practice is built into the end of the series. It is our last chance to invigorate and cleanse the lungs, which in turn move energy throughout the body. Our whole yoga class has been leading up to this, essentially: the movement of the breath.

Photo by me.

Perhaps this is all there is to yoga: stillness and the breath. Stripped bare, this is all that remains. We need nothing else.

Photo via Closet Visit.

The breath: our beginning, our ending. The sounds of pranayama and of blowing in firm unite us, giving shape to our focus. The breath is made visible in a new way.


Photo via Pinterest.

With Open Arms

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Photo and quote via Lauren Ross on Tumblr.

"Learn to be quiet just as you learn to talk, because if talking guides you, being quiet protects you. By being quiet, you attain two characteristics: you are able to take knowledge from those more knowledgeable than you, and you are able to repel the ignorance of those more ignorant than you."
-Abu adh-Dhiya 

The Search for Self Improvement

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Photo via FYeahYoga.

There's a lot of literature out there these days about self-help and self-improvement. Do you engage in any practices that are purely meant to help you become a better person?

In many ways, this is the heart of yoga. To engage in the life-long quest for improving ourselves from the inside out.

I believe this involves two important steps:

Be open to new things. And know your resources. 

A reader of Alive in the Fire recently shared a lovely resource for those of you out there looking to be better, and to encourage others in their quest to do so. It's a site called Betterfly (aptly named, don't you think?) I suggest you check it out, especially if you're ready to search for new yoga classes.

Photos via Betterfly.

The only way to grow is to keep an open mind. This way you can accept others for who they are and accept unexpected situations as they arise. 

Photo via I Can Read.

Yoga Bums

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Photo via Love More Fear Less on Tumblr.

Pretty people, upside down. A little inspiration for your Friday afternoon -- may you witness the way you can keep your cool, even when the whole world seems to be standing on its head!

Photo via Yoga Journal of a Not Very Calm Character on Tumblr.

I like to imagine the conversations the pair below had while experiencing the jarring reality of the body efforting against gravity. A discussion like that would be as surreal and playful as yelling underwater (did you do that with your siblings as a kid? I sure did.)

Headstands and handstands cultivate deep awareness, and allow us to observe the weight of the body, and yet there is an experience of floating upward. We can eliminate our own heaviness -- by strength, curiosity, courage.

How else is this sort of release possible?
Photo via Yoga Journal of a Not Very Calm Character on Tumblr.
Photo via Yoga Journal of a Not Very Calm Character on Tumblr.
Photo via Yoga Journal of a Not Very Calm Character on Tumblr.
Photo via Yoga Journal of a Not Very Calm Character on Tumblr.
Photo via Love More Fear Less on Tumblr.

Fall is Happening

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Photo via Pinterest.

September, September, already half gone. Fall is sliding through town and the days are growing shorter. Last night I cuddled on the couch under not one but two blankets! Which for me, is quite lovely.


I love cozying up.


And drinking apple cider and enjoying anything pumpkin (seriously).


I'm thinking about trying to make this syrup for my own homemade pumpkin spice lattes.


What fall adventures have you been enjoying lately, yogis?


Photo via Carl Zoch.
Photo via Pinterest.

What Have You Found?

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Today has been one of those days when I have trouble letting go. I am trying to remind myself of a new mantra:


It is just you and your breath, and all the emptiness.


Presence, balance, strength, courage: what yoga builds in us. It takes years -- a lifetime -- to earn our own trust, to piece ourselves together. Sometimes, though, I just want to be somewhere.


Satisfaction in arrival -- we give this up in hope for something greater. And without a destination, we are allowed to wander, to experience all that is around us.


I would say I will get there someday, but that would defeat the purpose, now wouldn't it?

Balancing Stick and Celery Sticks

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Photo via Flickr.

I strolled back into the hot room last night, excited to take class with one of my favorite teachers. She greeted me happily at the front desk when I walked in. "Hey, how have you been?!" As the answer, "Great!" came out my mouth, the thought that crossed my mind was: "And about to get better!"


I know it's been a while since I've Bikramed when I set up my mat and can't help but look around the room. I found it funny last night, observing all of the little pre-class rituals people have. I watched an older guy hold a headstand, his legs swaying off to the left like the undercurrent of a stream. I was surprised how well he could balance there, slightly off-center.


A lady in front of me who always parks in the front row performed her little dance/stretch routine, bending in deep squats, pushing her joints around to align the muscle groups, rolling into a quick plough pose. I wonder how she would survive class without her little warm up routine; I don't think I've ever seen her come in and meditate in stillness before class.


I watched ladies in the back push into down dog, relieved that I'm not the only one to bring non-Bikram poses into the room.


Photo via Flickr.


I was pleased that I could do every posture in the series, and even happier to find that I actually enjoyed every pose! Standing Forehead to Knee proved an enjoyable challenge. I loved that our teacher demonstrated step one -- leaning forward to grab the foot -- since this seemed to motivate all of us to move more quickly into the posture. She also did this with Balancing Stick, joining in with the movement of the arms overhead and the bending forward at the waist to take the shape of a capital letter "T."


We floated in and out of the postures, growing stronger with every series.


Complete side note: celery sticks make an awesome post-Bikram snack! I was happily surprised to find how much I enjoyed them. They're watery, with a pleasant crunch, and they satisfy that side of you that's longing for pure, natural hydration after class. Normally I'm not so fond of celery, but now I know when to eat it. I also highly recommend salt and vinegar chips and YogaEarth Purity coconut water. Refreshing!

Burnout

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We have an edge off the mat, too. How long can we hold there?

And a better question: why do we force ourselves to?

Consider what you can let go of in your life -- what pain you could confront. Only by facing the mirror can we begin to change ourselves.

Forward Fold

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Photo via Satya Is Truth.

Having a rough day?

A forward fold can be the perfect dose of calm.

Personally, I like to integrate Uttanasana into my breaks at the office. It's one of my all-time favorite poses, really: so calming, and a lovely stretch for the backs of the legs (especially when my calves are tight from bike riding).

Photo via Best Soy Latte.

Then there's always child's pose, for when you have a little more time and you're home from a long day. Settle in, let the hips drop into the earth, and allow a falling-out breath to tumble out.

If you're in class and you're lucky, your instructor might add a little press to your lower back for even more spinal stretching and stress relief! (You could always make a request of your loving spouse or friend to help with this, too.)

A Solid Base

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All photos by yours truly.

For a long time, inversions had me nervous. I didn't like the disorienting feeling of being upside down; I felt so heavy, like one wrong move could leave me in a pile on the floor.

Step by step, I've been building a stronger foundation.

Now, I enjoy the set up: building a strong base with clasped hands and flexed forearms, toes tiptoeing in until there's nowhere else to go except up the wall. And the best is that moment where I'm hovering, completely in my own body, nothing but sturdy.

And the freedom in tightening the shoulder blades, drawing them down, creating space for the cervical spine to breathe. That's when I know I'm most free: my whole body on top of me, and yet, no pressure on the neck. 

I was so inspired, smiling as I launched myself upside down, over and over again. I even managed a few headstands in the middle of the living room, too, no wall to fall back on. 

This is the only way we can change ourselves, too: slowly tracing the steps over and over until one day, they are comfortable, easy, normal. Eventually speaking my mind will be as effortless as hanging out upside down. For now, I'm happy knowing I have a foundation to work from.




No Storm Here

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Photo via Everyday Musings.

Yesterday I woke up first. I made myself a cup of joe (I've been enjoying them again lately). And I sat in the bowl chair by the window, the sun coming in, the breeze whispering through, and I was perfectly content.

Literally, the thought 

I have no desires

passed through my mind.


Photos via Pinterest. 

Lately, too, I have been in love with the breeze that blows through our apartment.

It's just the right temperature. A reminder of heaven.

I also adore the sound of the night once the sun has set. Like a murmuring outside: frogs peeping, crinkling of window unit air conditioners, the occasional far-off dog bark, and a thick, dark quiet.

I am calmed by our little place, our home.

Enchanted

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Photo via Carl Zoch Photography.

Where do your dreams take you?

Being
     at the bottom of my own heart
a passageway through:
to the deep fears

hovering spider,
my brother's casket being lowered,
letters on a gravestone,

release, release
not far          up through the black water
a pearl -- dark liquid dries and turns to ash, is stirred up

Father, Father

picturing myself talking again

a fist, a wrist, fingers
filling up the space
of the heart

Side Crow and Developing a Playful Yoga Practice

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I recently discovered the wonder of flying. Side crow is awesome!

A couple weekends ago, some friends and I headed north to Two Rivers, Wisconsin for an end of summer adventure on Lake Michigan. We watched people kayak, sunbathe, and bird watch. I was more interested in testing my own bird-like abilities :)


Don't you love when you get to a place with certain asanas where you can just play? Lately, I've been dedicating my practice to the joy of playing with yoga. What will happen if I kick my leg out? What tension can I let go of? What will happen if I smile now? What will happen if I just laugh and fall out?


Dare to be silly in class. Last night, one of my favorite instructors reminded us to acknowledge the importance of reverence. He prompted us to consider the difference between "precision" and "precision driving for perfection." And he brought up an important point: we never get to a place where we can execute an asana perfectly. That's not the point of yoga. The point is to be fully present for the journey.



Instead of wondering, "Why won't my body do what it could before?" or telling yourself, "I'm not good at this," or celebrate what you can do. 


Arm balances and inversions sometimes feel like the most serious of yoga postures. Once you've mastered handstands and scorpion, you're in the big leagues, right? All focus, determination, no nonsense now.


I say: let that go!


Choose to define yourself by your presence, not your postures.  

  
Yoga is in the body and the mind. If you can't be lighthearted and free, you're missing all the good stuff.


Our adventure north was all about feeling whimsical: windows down, music blaring, wind whipping the hair. Dancing on the sand. Trespassing to climb around on lighthouses. Dashing into the freezing water with no qualms. And enjoying how refreshing that big body of water is, even when the waves leave you covered in sea moss. :)  





I hope you will join me in pursuing joy, even in the hard postures. As Nick likes to say, "Someone's getting a little levitation practice in!"

And I agree: light body, light heart, light mind. The way to freedom is not in perfect execution of advanced postures; all you have to do is embrace a little levity.