Silvia's Blog
CLASS PLAN BASICS HIPS AND HAMSTRINGS WITH SILVIA
CLASS PLAN BASICS: May 29, 2010
Theme: Trust, Trust is spiritual maturity, Trust is Healing
Focus: Hips, Hamstrings
OPENING
On Back with blanket under legs
Bridge tilts
Pigeon Twist to Supine Pigeon to Pigeon Abs
Savasana
Side 2
WAVE 1
Roll up to seated left leg in front
Cat/Cow seated
*Fists of Fire pulsation option to lift feet off ground modified boat
Seated Twist, other side
Twist/Side Bend
Boat to Twisted Boat
Lie down
Cobbler Abs, Supine Twist
Side 2 right leg in front seated
WAVE 2
Supine Lunge (half happy baby
Supine Cobbler, Cobbler Abs
WAVE 3
Roll up
Boat variations (Twist it this time)
Malasana
Forward Fold
Half Salutes (optional)
WAVE 4
Warrior A
Pyramid Flow together with half salute arms
Prasarita
Side 2
CLOSING
From Prasarita
Forward Fold
Squat, Garland Pose knees together
Transition to Supine: Sideways childs pose curled into ball
Supine Twist arms at T, both sides
Supine child’s pose
Savasana (with blanket under legs as an option)
5/29/2010 Tags: class plan, yoga classes, yoga poses, vinyasa flow, yoga flow Direct LinkCLASS PLAN LEVEL 1-2 MAY 27, 2010
OPENING
Handstand at wall
WAVE 1 – Mandala Namaskar
Mountain
hallf Moon A
Yoga Mudra FF
Chair arms up
FF
Standing Splits
Revolved Lunge
Prasarita (hold leg feel twist)
Standing Splits left leg
Forward Fold
K2 Mountain, Half Moon A hand behind head, Yoga Mudra FF, Chair, FF, Standing Splits
Pyramid
Revolved Triangle
Pose of Shiva K1 Twists, K2 side bends hand behind head, Breath of Fire, Fire Mudra
Prasarita
1 leg downward dog, external rotation
Basic vinyasa
Dog
Walk to FF
Begin side 2
WAVE 2
From 1 leg downward dog, external rotation right leg
Core Plank, 2 times
High Lunge
Arms high, bend knee headrest arms
Flying lunge
Hands to heart
High twist
Open arms
Cartwheel down
Inhale plank prep
Exhale core plank
Inhale 1 leg plank
1 leg basic vinyasa
Side 2
WAVE 3
Lunge
Quad stretch
Sunbird
Cow
Pigeon
Dolphin
Pose of the Heart
Bow
WAVE 4:
Closing practice
5/27/2010 Tags: class plan, yoga classes, yoga poses, vinyasa flow, yoga flow Direct Link
MEMBERS OF THE HUMAN FAMILY
May 26, 2010, What instrument would you play if you could play anything? At the start of class we went around and shared what that would be in this idea that coming together as a yoga class we create a symphony of humanity at its best. I of course love that!
“These two teachings, the supremacy of the heart and the uniqueness of each human being are very important to me. They give me the fullest understanding of my membership in the human family.” Robert Muller
When we truly love we are in harmony not only with our beloved but with all living things. Love is blind in that it makes no distinctions but extends to everyone and everything. This is the idea of Bhakti yoga. You either love everyone and everything or nothing at all. The uniting of ourselves through relationship of breath in class to others reminds of the one tribe we all belong to. We are all members of the Human Family and in this family, there is no divorce.
BHAKTI MEANS LOVE
WE are all united in the highest sense “At the highest level of existence, we are all united. This supreme condition as the joyous union between Shiva (masculine cosmicness) and Shakti (the feminine cosmic principle).
Relationship is what coming to class is all about: relationship between your heart and body (a love story); relationship between your arms and legs; relationship between you and the poses relationship with you and the other students, relationship with you and the teacher.
The funny weird PARADOX of relationship is that it calls on us to be ourselves and express who we are without hesitation and let go of getting too hardened into a single position. We have this play constantly between Shiva and Shakti. On the mat we experience this in a simple but profound way when lying on our back and we do a spinal twist with our arms at a “T” position. We want to extend our arms as us and yet there are other students to navigate around and so we co-create together making space for everyone. This is the harmony of bhakti yoga, and hence the beautiful music the asanas help us create through the instrument of our bodies.
“As a student progresses on the path, he arrives at a highly sensitized condition when dealing with the world, and this becomes painful at times. The problems which thus arise cannot be eliminated, for increasing sensitivity is a natural result of finer mental and emotional development. However, the reaction to difficulties caused by this can be controlled.” Paul Brunton
This is very much true in spiritual practice. As you become more integrated and sensitive to the relationship you have between your mind and body then you become more sensitive to all human relationship outside yourself. The yoga makes us all experts in humanity. And we can use that for good: Love everyone, serve everyone or promote disconnection that serves no one and destroys us all. But I promise if you practice regularly and practice with love the choice will be easy. Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia
5/26/2010 Tags: bhakti, love, humans, connection, sensitivity Direct LinkCLASS PLAN MAY 26, 2010 WITH SILVIA
Class plan Level 1 May 26, 2010
THEME: Member of Human Family, Connection, Relationship, Yoga of Humanity
OPENING:
Supported Bridge Pose with blanket under pelvis and strap around legs
WAVE 1
Vajrasana on block
Sankalpa all the way up
Cow face arms, side bend
Neck stretch
Side 2
Dog
WAVE 2
Plank belly Plank Dog 3-5 x’s
Plank progressive Chatarunga
Locust with Yoga Mudra
Locust with hands on ground
Cobra
Basic vinyasa
Dog
Forward Fold
WAVE 3
Sun Salute A
Half Moon A with cowface arms
Sun Salute B with variation: Half Lunge, cow arms, half moon B while in half lunge
WAVE 4
Sun Sal B with variation: Warrior A cow arms
WA to Pyramid flow
Prasarita Fold
Prasarita twist
Transverse lunge tick tock side to side hands in sankalpa mudra
Side 2
Return Side 1
WAVE 5
Sunbird hold foot
Cobra
Half Frog
Forearm plank
Dolphin
Dog
Dancer Dog hold foot like half bow
Side 2
CLOSING
Wide forward fold mid mat
Malasana
Cobbler
Supine Cobbler
Knees to chest
Savasana
5/26/2010 Tags: class plan, yoga classes, vinyasa flow, backbends, silvia mordini Direct LinkCLASS PLAN LEVEL 2 MAY 25, 2010 WITH SILVIA
CLASS PLAN LEVEL 2: May 25, 2010
Peak Poses: Bow Pose, Wheel, Tripod Headstand to Half Moon B, Downward Facing Bow to King Dancer, King Dancer
Key Points: Shins in Thighs Out with Arms, Backbend focus
Theme: Power of Intention, I FEEL GOOD, Video of Jessica
OPENING
Vajrasana on block
Sankalpa all the way up
Cow face arms, side bend
Neck stretch
Side 2
Dog
WAVE 1
Plank belly Plank Dog 3-5 x’s
1 leg dog core plank to half plank Chatarunga
Kneeling side plank dip to Chatarunga
Open to Kneeling half bow
Core plank, 3 part plank
Basic vinyasa
WAVE 2
Half (Low) Lunge
Revolved Lunge to Parsva (side) lunge
Transverse lunge
Prasarita
Basic vinyasa
WAVE 3 – Mandala Namaskar I from Shiva Rea
INHALE -- Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana (1 Leg Downward Dog)
EXHALE – Anjaneyasana (Lunge)
INHALE – Parsva Anjaneyasana (Side Lunge)
EXHALE – Skandasana (Transverse Lunge)
INHALE – Ardha Anjaneyasana (Low Lunge)
EXHALE – hands down
INHALE – Ardha Plank (1 legged Plank)
EXHALE -- Chaturanga Dandasana
INHALE -- Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
EXHALE -- Chaturanga Dandasana
INHALE -- Plank
EXHALE -- Adho Mukha Svanasana
WAVE 4
1 Leg Dog left leg
With Right leg step into Half Moon B
Half Bow variation to King Dancer to Downward Facing Bow to Standing Splits
Basic Vinyasa
Dog Pose
Jump to Malasana
PEAK – Tripod Headstand to Half moon B
Jump Back basic vinyasa
Side 2
WAVE 5
Pigeon
Quad stretch
Half Frog on belly
Quad stretch
Side 2
Bow
Bridge then Wheel
CLOSING
Supine twist, Apanasana, Supine Cobbler, Savasana
5/25/2010 Tags: class plan, yoga classes, yoga poses, vinyasa flow, yoga flow Direct LinkFOCUS YOUR ENERGY USING LAW OF ATTRACTION
May 25, 2010. The law of attraction simply states that like attracts like. This includes all form of energy, including our thoughts. One of our greatest strengths as human beings is our power to focus our thoughts. And key things to know are (1) if you don’t focus your thoughts they will end up scattered in all directions starting and stopping and running about. (2) if we make no effort at all in directing our thoughts to something positive they will tend towards the negative or catastrophic. A philosopher said, “in a civilized world, if our strength are not determined to be valuable, we spend our life shoring up our weaknesses.”
When we practice yoga we practice focusing our thoughts (which then determine our actions). We on purpose set up our hands flat and wide fingers spread in table or plank or downward dog. And we stay focused on them otherwise if we don’t check in with the placement of our hands or feet they will get away from us like our thoughts if left unattended. On the mat we apply our minds to performing the poses and controlling our breath as a means to focus our attention. Yoga is all about the mind. We just happen to use the body as the technique to gather this energy.
The other main thing to really commit to memory is that applying the law of attraction means that our thoughts (and all energy) is like a magnet. The less distracted our thoughts the more powerful they become at attracting similar thoughts. Undistracted thought energy is highly potent. It works like this, the longer we are able to hold a positive thought in our mind the more powerful the positive energy becomes around us. And eventually brain science proves that we don’t need to focus on the action and controlling so much because we are already surrounded by the positive vibrations that draws more of what we want to us.
Like attracts like.
When you think about it there is never any reason compelling enough to hold onto a single negative thought. Not even one. Why? Because we don’t have time to waste our energy on negativity which only produces more negative energy. Life is too short to live like that. There is never any reason to focus on anger, fear or disappointment. Instead you are in charge of your life, your best life and responsible for making each moment count. As Deepak Chopra says it so simply, “happy thoughts create happy cells.” I get that. I apply it, And my life is forever changed for the positive and I want yours to be too! Love yourself, Love your day, Love your life! Silvia
5/25/2010 Tags: law of attraction, mind, positive energy, thoughts, control, responsibility, energy, focus Direct LinkI CAN DO ANYTHING GOOD, THE POWER OF POSITIVE AFFIRMATION AND INTENTION
May 24, 2010. I started class by showing this youtube clip of advanced Yogini Jessica starting out her morning with her own affirmation ritual. She explempifies the power of intention! She clearly is setting a high expectation for her day, herself, and her life. You can’t help but be inspired by her. The Yoga practice teaches us that YOU ARE ASKING FOR WHAT YOU WANT THROUGH YOUR DOING. This life we are living right now is NOT as mere participants. This is not a passive endeavor where life is being done to us. Instead it requires active living where life is being done FOR US. If you start the day and intend for it to be amazing, you offer gratitude for everyone in your life and say to yourself I CAN DO ANYTHING GOOD, well that is you telling the universe what you want and because your message is so clear the universe will deliver. Here is what Jessica had to say:
I CAN DO ANYTHING!
I LIKE MY HOUSE!
I LIKE MY MOM!
I LIKE MY DAD!
I LIKE MY COUSINS!
I LIKE MY SISTERS!
I LIKE MY HAIR!
I LIKE MY HAIRCUTS!
I LIKE MY PAJAMAS!
I LIKE MY ROOM!
I LIKE MY HOUSE!
MY WHOLE HOUSE IS GREAT!
I CAN DO ANYTHING GOOD, YEAH YEAH YEAH
I CAN DO ANYTHING GOOD!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg&feature=player_embedded
Dr Wane Dyer says, “Change your expectations for yourself: Expect the best, expect your fortunes to change, expect a miracle. Reacquaint yourself with that vision." So today how did your thoughts and actions and THIS YOGA CLASS INSPIRE YOU TO BE MOVING TOWARDS MEETING YOUR EXPECTATIONS?
This is behind the idea in yoga of Tapas. Tapas helps us to take action to fully participate and be awake to our lives. To be active means we must articulate our intentions and practice with a solid determination to hold true to our dreams and visions for ourselves. Through yoga which is a system for mental, physical, and spiritual health we have full, democratic participation. On the mat we don’t even have to push ourselves to excel, all we have to do is show up and do the practice as best we can with full hearted effort. Just take part in your life make it active, keep it active and forget about over perfecting it. Remember YOU CAN DO ANYTHING GOOD! Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia
5/24/2010 Tags: Tapas, power of intention, affirmation, expectations, love, positive thinking, self-love Direct LinkCAN YOU BE HAPPY IF DOING WITHOUT?
May, 23, 2010. I have found selling my house an opportunity for continuous spiritual growth. The last 3 weeks I went without hot water, not even warm water. All I had until yesterday was COLD (no make that Very Cold) water. The first couple days showering like this was ok. Not the end of the world, but as week one became week 2 and then 3 it was liking camping indoors except I wasn’t doing it on purpose. Then with the help of friends finally I had hot water again! YES! I was so grateful.
During the time my house has been on the market I moved my unsightly microwave to a dark corner of my basement on the ground for that was the only place I could figure to plug it into an outlet. I don’t rely heavily on microwaving, actually am trying to break myself of the habit 100% but being merely human yes I succumb to its ease. Except during the last 3 months in order to warm anything up I had to travel long and far into the nether regions of my basement to sit on the floor to open its little door and sneak my food in. It was very much like being Alice in Wonderland, I’d be small then once warmed I could grow big again and return to the land above ground. Not the end of the world, but gosh as each month wore on it became a chore. This weekend my house sold and I was able to return my microwave back to the kitchen, on the first floor and stand up while using it. YES! I was so grateful.
Many years ago I was run over by a car by a very sweet apologetic 80 year old man while I was walking from my garage to my townhome after church on a sunny Sunday morning. One moment I was mobile and easily walking, moving, breathing and then next (since the car was bigger than my petite frame) I was lying on the ground. Eventually through yoga and the love and support of doctors, family and friends I recovered to a place of healthy even beyond what I had before. YES! I was so grateful.
So I have been asked many times over the years why or how did I begin teaching. The main reason is that I don’t want you to experience having to lose anything and do without in order to get the lesson that GRATITUDE unlocks the fullness of life. As Melody Beattie says and goes on to say “It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." Sometimes all it takes to reconnect to active Gratitude is coming back to the mat to gently remind us of how fortunate we are in this moment. You don’t have to be without Hot water to give thanks when you shower each day of what a cool blessing it is that you just turn a faucet and out it comes. You don’t have to loose mobility to realize how awesome it is to walk onto the mat of your own volition. When I need a simple kick in the pants I return time and again to the words of the Buddha:
Let us rise up and be thankful,
for if we didn't learn a lot today,
at least we learned a little,
and if we didn't learn a little,
at least we didn't get sick,
and if we got sick,
at least we didn't die;
so, let us be thankful.
No matter who we are or what our situation is, we can always find something for which we are grateful. It is most often when we work too hard, or stretch ourselves too thin that we have a tendency to feel impoverished which Trungpa Rimpoche called, "poverty mentality." If unsure just breathe and remember to be grateful that you were chosen to be alive today! Gratitude is a form of meditation and promotes an elevated attitude to any negative thoughts. This is known as Chapter 2.33 Pratipaksha Bhavana. A simple favorite of mine is:
Inhale: I welcome happiness,
Exhale: I am grateful
Inhale: I welcome inspiration
Exhale: I am grateful
Inhale: I welcome love
Exhale: I am grateful
Inhale: I welcome hope
Exhale: I am grateful
My sincere hope every class I teach is that the gratitude meditation becomes part of us and we never have to lose something to recognize how grateful we are to have that person, that situation or that circumstance in our life. From this point forward say thank you to everyone you meet for every kindness they offer you. It will change your life! Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia
YOU ARE LIKE A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH
May 22, 2010, The pressure life brings us gets a bum rap. It’s not all bad. Actually, that’s the way diamonds are formed. They become refined through really intense pressure and heat. The end result is magnificent! In yoga the same thing takes place with our physical selves and energetic selves as well. This process of cleansing through the letting go old pain brings us back to our most beautiful. We engage some pressure to create the heat to transform the old heaviness into radiant strength.
We move from being a diamond in the rough where we are cut up in limited self-belief to a state of being diamond like where we believe in our highest potentiality, we believe in the impossibility of things! This achieved lovingly and safely through the asana and pranayama. It is known as ORVAJRA DEHA, or “diamond body.”
Every pose, every breath connects us to who we really are. We feel more, understand better and think more clearly. It helps us to be our real selves, our best selves. The light is shed from the inside out to see that we were limiting our perceptions of who we are by doing things like feeling ashamed, embarrassed, jealous, angry, stressed. And as each pose progresses to take us deeper we create heat and the old stories drop away and we find ourselves shining out. Some of the best ways to polish the diamond in the rough that we are is to practice forgiveness and compassion towards ourselves, remembering that at the heart of yoga the highest practice leads to ultimate self-acceptance.
And the more you radiate the brighter you are then the more light you bring into the world to those around you. Your luminescent quality inspires all others to shine out and discover their best diamond selves too! Can you imagine a world where we all get to be ourselves and radiate love and happiness? Well, yoga teaches that day is now, that world is here inside each and every one of us! May you come to see all your challenges as means to reveal your true beauty. Love to you, Silvia
5/22/2010 Tags: love, self-acceptance, diamond body, pressure, limitation, beauty, strength, reveal Direct LinkINNER STRENGTH
May 19, 2010, Tonight we focused on hugging in to our center. To cultivate that awareness of our own best strength. And what is inner strength really? Well it is love, that’s all. "We are kept from the experience of Spirit because our inner world is cluttered with past traumas....As we begin to clear away this clutter, the energy of divine light and love begins to flow through our beings." -Thomas Keating
We experienced this return to ourselves through a series of poses and mantras flowing through the elements such as:
Earth: I am grounded
Fire: I am rising
Air: I am free
When our minds and hearts are scattered in their energy we lose track of self-love and it always starts there in laying the foundation for a healthy life. So we come to the mat to rebuild. Beginning with the earth element and drawing nutrients and support from the earth to help us return to stillness. The healing then expands and as we return to our center by engaging principals of alignment such as hugging to the midline and muscular energy we return to our most powerful selves. We feel the confidence and enthusiasm of the third chakra. There is an aliveness and energy that expands out and up! And from there we connect to the air element of the fourth chakra feeling the lightness and freedom that are our true nature. We are once more in the home of our hearts, we are in love with ourselves and with our lives. You see inner strength is love…that’s all. With metta, Silvia
5/19/2010 Tags: inner strength, love, mantra, fire, earth, air, muscular energy, principals of alignment, chakras, self-love, self-confidence Direct LinkCLASS PLAN LEVEL 1 HIP OPENERS WITH SILVIA
Theme: CELEBRATION!
WAVE 1
On Belly, Gecko
Child’s pose
Vajrasana
Flow1: Vajrasana Mudra high, exhale child’s pose, inhale table, exhale dog, inhale table, exhale child pose
Flow2: Vajrasana Mudra high, exhale child’s pose, inhale cobra, exhale dog, inhale table, exhale child pose
Flow3: Camel Mudra high, exhale child’s pose, inhale cobra, exhale dog, inhale table, exhale child pose
From Dog pose, inhale plank, exhale 1 leg dog, inhale plank, exhale 1 leg dog, inhale plank, exhale basic vinyasa
Inhale prepare, exhale jump Forward Fold
WAVE 2
Half Moon A
Half Sun Salute A
Jump basic vinyasa
1 leg dog
Low lunge half moon A, Yoga Mudra
Basic vinyasa
WAVE 3
Repeat above high lunge from Yoga Mudra Warrior 3, standing splits, forward fold, inhale repeat half moon A and as above
WAVE 4
Lizard
Side Angle
Shiva Pose with Eagle arms
Humble Warrior with Eagle arms
Warrior 3 Eagle arms
Forward Fold
WAVE 5
Seated half cow half forward fold
Standing cow
Eagle
Forward Fold
CLOSING
Malasana
Seated Cobbler with Eagle Arms
Supine Pigeon
Supine Pigeon Abs with Eagle Arms
Supine Child’s Pose
Savasana
5/19/2010 Tags: class plan, yoga classes, yoga poses, vinyasa flow, yoga flow Direct Link
IS YOGA SPIRITUAL
May 18, 2010, I have this conversation with someone or many folks quite frankly every week without fail. Is Yoga Spiritual? And the first thing I do when I receive this question is ask (as I am doing here with you), What does it mean to you to be Spiritual?
What yoga is and what it isn’t is often hotly debated. My best friend just sent me a link to a movie called Yoga, Inc which also includes this topic. Our 6th chakra Ajna sensibility is really about perception. The encyclopedia of events in your life influence how you define the circumstances and attitudes of your life. To me the key point is that you get to decide what your thoughts are and you are responsible for managing your view of your life. It’s that old saying:
“Watch your thoughts for they become words
Watch your words for they become actions
Watch your actions for they become habits
Watch your habits for they become character
Watch your character for it becomes your destiny!”
My all time favorite definition of yoga that I take on as my own as well is by David Frawley, Yoga and Ayurveda:
“Yoga is one of the most extraordinary spiritual sciences that mankind has discovered. It is like a gem of great proportions, containing many facets whose light can illume the whole of our lives with great meaning. Yogic methods cover the entire field of our existence – from the physical, sensory, emotional, mental, and spiritual to the highest Self-realization. It includes all methods of higher evolution in humanity – physical postures, ethical postures, breath control, sensory methods, affirmations and visualizations, prayer and mantra, and complex meditative disciplines. Yoga understands the nature and interrelationships of the physical, subtle and formless universes into the boundless infinite beyond time and space, and shows us how these also exist within each human individual.”
So I guess there you have it. You now know for sure I believe this is a spiritual practice, or at least it is for me, and can be for you if you want to make it such. And if you don’t believe yoga is spiritual you gain all these amazing benefits anyway. So I say, let everyone do their own yoga. And if it makes us all nicer and kinder than regardless of anything more, we have succeeded in making the world a better place right now. Love to you all, Silvia
5/18/2010 Tags: spiritual, self-study, freedom, ayurveda, yoga, practice, what is yoga, destiny Direct LinkWHAT COMES NEXT? OPENING TO GRACE & SURRENDER
Monday May 17, 2010, SO WHAT COMES NEXT? I am so inspired by life, my students, my friends to bring the best yoga ever this week! I thought we'd dedicate this week to The Power of Grace and how we can tap into our own inner strength to face the unknown of life. Marianne Williamson says: "When we surrender to (Grace) we surrender to something bigger than ourselves - to a universe that knows what it is doing."
The key words I’m meditating on this week are:
GRACE
INNER STRENGTH
UNKNOWN
This idea of Opening to Grace is a term often associated with yoga practice. It is a way of living life with an open-hearted attitude of infinite possibility and universal support. A way of seeing the world as being on our side and not against us. I especially like this expression of "Opening to Grace" from Marianne Williamson's book, "A Return to Love".
"To open to Grace is to ask that only loving, helpful thoughts remain in our minds, and all the rest be let go". When we surrender to (Grace) we surrender to something bigger than ourselves - to a universe that knows what it is doing. When we stop trying to control events they fall into a natural order, an order that works. We're at rest while a power much greater than our own takes over, and it does a much better job than we could have done. We learn to trust the power that holds galaxies together can handle the circumstances of our relatively little lives".
So you see this is a yogic paradox, to open and let go all at the same time. But it makes sense, we have to create space for what comes next but none of us knows exactly what that is. We are for sure co-creating with the universe but even with our hand on the tiller going along in our little boat we don’t know what the current of grace has in store for us. It requires a great deal of our own best strength to commit to participating in our lives with both feet in and simply believe that that in if we wake up the dream will be our reality. Or in the words of Krishna Das, “Grace wakes us up when we are asleep, brings light to where there is darkness and removes obstacles from our path”. us up when we are asleep, brings light to where there is darkness and removes obstacles from our path”. Join me and take that next step into your best life ever! Love yourself, love your day, love your life, Silvia
CLASS PLAN MAY 16, 2010
FOCUS:
Physical – Twists
Philosophical – No more procrastinating, take action now
OPENING
On back supine cobbler
Cobbler abs
Jathara partivatanasana twist
Pigeon abs
Pigeon twist
More Pigeon abs
Roll up to Forward Fold
WAVE 1
Inhale Mountain
Exhale backbned
Inhale Mountain
Exhale Forward Fold
Inhale Monkey
Exhale Ball Pose
Inhale Mountain begin again
WAVE 2
Sun Salute A
WAVE 3
Chair Tip Toe Chair
Basic Vinyasa
1 Legged Downward Dog
Inhale High Lunge
Exhale Flying Lunge
Inhale Prayer Lunge
Exhale High Lunge Twist Hands in Prayer
Inhale High Lunge Twist Arms in T
Exhale Warrior B
Inhale Reverse Warrior B
Exhale through Basic Vinyasa
Chair Tip Toe Chair Twist
WAVE 4
Chair Tip Toe Twist
Side Crow
Crow
Jump Back
Basic Vinyasa
Jump to Seated, lie down more ABS
Roll up Forward Fold
WAVE 5
Chair to Crane
Pigeon Chair Twist
Crane to Warrior 3
Wave 2 flow with K2 Full Prayer Twist
Basic Vinyasa
Side 2
WAVE 6
Jump to seated
Seated Pigeon, twist it
Double Pigeon or supine
Arm balance Yogi Dandasana
Double Pigeon
Cobbler
Upavista Parsva variation
CLOSING
Supine Cobbler
Bridge or shoulderstand
Savasana
5/16/2010 Tags: class plan, yoga classes, yoga poses, vinyasa flow, yoga flow Direct LinkNO MORE PROCRASTINATING SET YOUR GOALS TODAY
May 16, 2010 Finally after 3-4 years of procrastinating I set out to finish up a project yesterday and I did! It took all of an hour. Yup. That’s right. I spent years worrying about, putting it off, debating it, starting and stopping it but when all was said and done it took one hour. Spiritual practice has taught me that procrastinating is a perfectionist tendancy. And as one psychologist I read years ago put it, “perfectionism is the worst form of self-abuse.” So I am back on track and went back to basics asking myself “what are my goals: personal, professional and health related”? What are your’s? In class we wrote them out for ourselves. I would love for you to do this now in 5 minutes.
Then consider what is it that prevents you from going for your goals more fully and making them and keeping them important enough to check in on week to week? I would hazard to guess that the traitors of self-doubt and fear influence us to procrastinate. The antidote is to stay actively involved in your life yet slowing down enough to remember to wake up to what improves the quality of your life. What if everything you ever wanted came true? Yogic practice stands up to say of course that is not only possible it is your birthright to co-create with the universe the life of your deepest dreams, to tap into your greatest potential. So why not start today?
To help us take a moment to write in your Accomplishment Journal about all the things you’ve accomplished this week. Use this in tandem with your goals and intentions to see how far you’ve already come and to provide yourself the validation you need to know you can do this! Don’t put anything off a moment longer that holds meaning to you. Heed the words of Danna Falds and FALL AWAKE to your life! Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia
Soul Prayer by Danna Falds
“Lord, grant that I may fall awake, and not miss a moment of the mystery.
Dancing with the dawn, may I draw this day to my breast like a lover.
Rocked with laughter, let me lay waste the fields of doubt and fear,
finding there nor more substance than dandelion seeds flying weightless on the breeze.”
5/16/2010 Tags: goals, procrastination, intentions, awake, be present, self-doubt, fear, perfectionism, journaling Direct Link
INTUITION POWER OF INTENTION AND VISUALIZATION
May 14, 2010, “It is dark. Eyes closed, we lie as if asleep, dreamless, ignorant of all around us. Floating in a sea of emptimenss, we are cradled in darkness – unseeing, unknowing, at peace. We breath slowly, in and out, in and out, stretching and relaxing our bodes as we settle into the warm, peaceful darkness inside. We are home. We are safe. We are deep within ourselves, feeling, hearing, being – but not seeing.
Somewhere in the darkness, we hear a sounds a distant note, a voice, a scuffle of movement. We feel the flutter of a breeze upon our face, feel a warmth upon our shoulders, feel the pull to rise and flow and follow but we know not where. Our bodies cannot see and dare not move. They are dark and still. They call to use for direction, wisdom, guidance. They call to intelligence, they call to memory, they call for clarification of the pattern. They call to light.
We hear this call and our own mind hungry for answers, quests outward. We long to see, to know, to behold at once the wonders that surround to. To fill our minds with recognition, the certain steps of knowing, the safety and the peace that light, too, can bring.
WE OPEN OUR MIND. WE OPEN OUR EYES. WE LOOK ABOUT. THE MIND OPENS AND RECEIVES.
But there is too much and the light is blinding. We call to the dark to shade us, to temper, to bind the patterns into meaning. And the dark comes softly hand in hand and shadow to the light, defining, shading, intertwining, ordering. What do you wish to see? What do you call forth to your inner vision?
From inner vision, insight revealed, nothing can remain concealed. From inner vision reaching out, seeing truth, removing doubt. Inside we open, watch, and wait, while wisdom’s visions spin our fate. Illumination shows the way, our inner light turns night into day. Within our minds, we light the way!” --By Anodea Judith, Wheels of Life: A User’s Guide to the Chakra System (and one of my favorite books of all time)
If you take one thing away from this practice of Ajna is that once you start paying attention and honing the power of intuition, this inner seeing, then you understand how to influence your reality through creative visualizations and meditations. You create your reality. While holding a difficult pose you create a story in your mind of easeful power and then the pose becomes what you want it to be. And even taking this a step further. “To hold an image in our mind increases the possibility it will materialize.” Think about that. Say it aloud, write it down, repeat it. If you see something in your mind you will manifest it. But if you don’t know how to harness the power of your mind into that image and stay with it then you water down the opportunity to tap into your greatest potential. Today, tell yourself the story of the next chapter of your life, outline your intentions but then talk yourself through what that looks like in your life and see for yourself the magic of the 6th chakra at work! Love to you, Silvia
5/15/2010 Tags: 6th chakra, ajna, intuition, manifestation, intention, Anodea Judith, visualization, opening, receiving, meditation, light Direct LinkAJNA PRACTICE CLASS
6th Chakra Theme: Tree Cards
OPENING:
Supine pigeon tree
Supine pigeon
Supine pigeon twist
Side 2
Supine Cobbler
Apanasana (supine Child’s Pose)
Roll up to Forward Fold
WAVE 1
Plank: Hip Hikers
Dog: Hip Hikers
Basic Vinyasa
Dog to 1 Legged Down Dog
Dog to Forward Fold
WAVE 2:
Sun Salutation B (with 1 leg dog included as modification)
K1: Walk the Dog: Forward Fold Hasta Pada K1 to Mountain, Half Moon A, Tree, Tree with Half Moon A
WAVE 3:
1 Legged Down Dog to 3 part plank (optional push up)
Warrior B: eagle arms
Side Warrior: eagle arms
Side Warrior: niralamba hold wrist, relax bottom arm
Side Warrior Straight Leg
Triangle
(Level 1-2: Parsva Vasci exit to twisted plank to one leg dog, optional basic vinyasa)
TRANSITION: K2: Walk Dog Chair, Eagle arms with Chair, Eagle, Warrior 3 with Eagle arms, Standing splits, Walk to 1 Legged Down Dog
Side 2 of Wave 3 begins straightaway
WAVE 4:
1 Leg Dog step Forward to Standing Splits
Revolved Lunge (stay or Side Plank with Tree Leg)
Transverse Lunge
K1: in middle
K2: sit to side hold big toe and reach
K3: like Parsva janu Sirsasana
Prasarita (optional tri-pod)
Half Lunge transition into Half Splits or Full Splits
Half Virasana
(In Level 1-2: Koundinasana 1, jump back option)
Garland
Chair with eagle arms
Tree with eagle arms
Forward Fold
(In Level 1-2 Warrior 3 with Eagle arms to Warrior 1 with Eagle arms, Basic Vinyasa)
Side 2
WAVE 5: CLOSING
Malasana
Cobbler
Supine Cobbler (2 trees together!)
Savasana
5/14/2010 Tags: class plan, yoga classes, vinyasa flow Direct Link
ABOUT LOVE
“A great deal of people's physical and mental diseases are due to the lack of love and attention. Each of us carries a lot of sorrow and pain from past experiences. These sorrows create many wounds within. Each of us is going around, afflicted with hundreds of such festering and infected wounds. The cure for these maladies is to develop love, compassion, and reverence for our fellow beings. This will heal the wounds. Love is the universal remedy. When there is mutual love, attention, and understanding in life; when we have faith in each other, our problems and worries decrease. And when this love, attention, and faith increases, problems will thereby decrease. Love is the foundation of a happy life. But we are ignorant of this fact. We knowingly or unknowingly are neglecting this. Just like our bodies need proper food to live and grow, our soul needs love to grow properly. Pure love can give more vigor and strength than the mother's milk. We all live for and crave this love. We are born for this and we die in search of this love. By loving each other, children, become united in Love.” ~Amma
5/13/2010 Tags: love, amma Direct Link
BIGGEST OBSTACLE TO HAPPINESS
May 10, 2010, Gosh when you think about the biggest obstacle to feeling happy is letting our minds get all dirty with worry, stress, fear (basically all the unhappy thoughts). If you think of your mind like a load of laundry and yoga is the washing machine we come into the practice to engage our breath which is like the detergent that cleans us on the inside. Today, how big a load of laundry do you have to do?
Start there.
Then we have a better idea of how much work we have to do in order to Yoga citta vritti nirodhah, to calm the disturbances or dirtiness of our minds. This is Yoga Sutra chapter 1 verse 2. If you can engage in mindful movement connected to your breath you slow down and help your mind from being so agitated. Otherwise, the mind stays in this cycle of obsessive churning and never actually let’s you get clean and easeful in your thoughts. And our thoughts are the predecesors to all our actions as Einstein says.
The biggest obstacle to a happier life is our own busy mind. Once we access that contented, peaceful state that yoga brings where we no longer struggle in our thoughts then we can actually remember we have the key to our happiness and joy. Or as Danna Faulds puts it so poetically,
“Within us lie the answers to our deepest questions and the antidote for all our fears.
The divine is not an abstraction – it’s as clear and intimate as a heartbeat or a whisper.
No matter how identified we’ve become with mind and body,
we can release the thoughts that blind us to the truth.
Seek the still point where the words “you” and “I” lose meaning,
where we meet and merge as One.”
5/10/2010 Tags: happiness, questions, stress, yoga sutras, peaceful, contentment, joy, fear Direct Link
LOVE IS THE ANSWER
May 10, 2010 Nischala Joy Devi puts it like this, “We miss life if we allow others to dictate the direction of our thoughts and feelings. But when our heart guides the focus of our consciousness, love is ever present in our life.” So whatever the question you are struggling with is in your life the answer yoga teaches us is simple. LOVE IS THE ANSWER.
If you can accept and embrace that our true nature is joy beyond the ups and downs and complexities of our humanity we are meant to live in love. In yoga Bhakti means love. Bhakti is love in ACTION. Love is active.
Right now you could be living more in love with your life. There is no reason to wait for your life to be better when it can be better right now. So why delay? Well what often happens is we start to identify with our grumpy selves or sad or angry or critical selves and even come to believe that it us. It is not us. Those are just some fluctuations. To get back to our true nature we have to do something. Love is active. (Chapter 1 Verse 4)
The Yoga Sutra this is based on is Chapter 1 Verse 3 United in the heart, consciousness is steadied, then we abide in our true nature, joy. The expansion of this joy is infinite LOVE, which encompasses and then transforms everything it touches. Everywhere we look, we see the reflection of our joyful nature.
Make the practice of Bhakti of actively living in love your experience this week and see what happens, I know what happens…for that’s how I’ve chosen to live every day I have in this earthly body. I don’t want to waste a moment and hope you won’t any longer either. Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia
5/10/2010 Tags: Love, Bhakti, yoga, action, yoga sutras, heart, consciousness, joy Direct LinkLOVE IS YOGIC: GUEST BLOGGER FROM ELEPHANT JOURNAL
Love Is Yogic
By Dylan Barmmer on May 7, 2010
I have always been deeply and madly in love with Love.
I was named after a romantic poet. I was raised by a would-be Priest and heart-on-his-hairy-sleeve hero of a father. I started falling in love with girls when most boys were pulling their pigtails and screaming about “Cooties”. I listened and felt and sometimes cried to The Cure, The Smiths, REM and U2. I thought John Lennon was the baddest rebel lover ever – even if my Catholic Programming suggested I should condemn him for “imagining there’s no Heaven.”
An ex-girlfriend of nearly four years even told me I was too in love with Love – after insisting to her other lover and I that we had never made love. But that’s Another Story for Another Day (!).
I’m listening to Enigma while writing this. And chatting with a friend about the beauty of Unconditional Love. And hoping and dreaming I catch a good case of The Cooties soon.
What can I say? I’m a Hopeful Romantic. I’m a Leo. I’m a poet.
I guess it’s like Osho says so beautifully in “Emotional Wellness”:
“If you are rational, really rational, you will become a scientist. If you are really emotional, you will become a poet.”
But I wasn’t always so good at loving myself. In fact, sometimes I was downright terrible at it.
Yoga changed all that. And continues to do so.
I’ve tried a lot of different things to patch that hole in my Old Soul through close to 36 years of living this life on this beautiful earth, and I can’t say I’ve ever found anything that makes me as happy or alive or truly in love – not just with the idea or feeling of love, but with life and truth and beauty and others – as my yoga practice.
But most importantly, yoga has taught me to love myself. Unconditionally. Without judgment. Without fear. Without reason. Without boundaries or borders or limitations. All ways.
Always.
And it’s not just because it’s honed and toned and sculpted my 30-something body into the best it’s ever looked (though that doesn’t hurt). No, it’s way beyond that. It’s more about how I feel inside. How present I am. How aware. How passionate. How compassionate.
I’ve always been highly passionate, tactile, affectionate and sexual (I am a Leo Man, after all). And I’ve always been fascinated with living and loving at the intersection of The Sacred and The Profane. The link between The Divine and sexual passion has also always fascinated me (consider the use of bedroom talk like “Oh God that feels good!” or “Jesus, that’s it right there!”). The one Truly Tantric sexual experience I’ve had (thus far) literally rocked my world, and opened me up to a whole new dimension of Love and Freedom and Expression.
Anyway, my mom might be reading this (if so, Happy Mother’s Day. I love you!). So I’ll stop there. The point of all this is that yoga, at its very core and elemental essence, is really all about Love. Love of The Divine. Love of all other beings. Love of life. Love of service. And, most of all, love of self. Because it all starts from within – and radiates outward. You know, kind of like the sun.
So I wrote this poem – after a yoga + poetry class I had the honor to help create and facilitate with my amazing friend Cindy Sitara Lee at my beloved Yoga Swami – called “Love Is Yogic.” And I’ve been performing it more and more lately.
You might even say I’ve fallen in love with it.
Following are both the written form of the poem, as well as a link to a videotaped performance prior to a class in the Yoga Swami yurt (home to a true Abundance of Love). Enjoy. And tell your mother you love her on Sunday – and beyond!
5/8/2010 Tags: love, bliss, yoga, dylan barmmer, romantic, poetry Direct LinkLove Is Yogic
Love is an asana
it comes and goes, ebbs and flows
how long can you hold it?Love is a sutra
it binds and holds, folds and unfolds
connecting at The SourceLove is a mantra
it is O! O! Ommmmmmmmm…
waves of bliss, an endless kissLove is a journey
it starts within and where it ends
is entirely up to you
SHRI IS CONTAGIOUS! LAST DAY TO VOTE LOVE FOR TBY BEST YOGA STUDIO
May 7, 2010: When I started this studio many years ago I built it upon Shri. I would look for the good in every student, celebrate my teaching team and find the best about myself. Well today is the last day to vote for TBY as best yoga studio and so much more! And I have to say I think the Shri, this celebration of inner beauty and goodness has worked out amazingly well!
To think that we are even nominated for Best Yoga Studio by Mindful Metropolis is such a true honor. It shows the power of Shri, that it is contagious beauty and by its nature abundant, ever expanding and growing! This outward expansion inspires, vibes with others so they begin to feel and express Shri from the inside out too. So today think of your most powerful intentions, those things that you want to see blossom and grow (even the most unbelievable!) and dedicate yourself to them. I promise if you in the words of John O'Donohue allow "the breath of light to awaken color, the dawn will anoint your eyes with wonder."
Believe in the impossibility of things, look for the good in you, in your potential, in others and the viral expression of Shri will help you manifest the best life ever. It has for me and I love all of you for voting for us. We will find out May 21st if we won but we have already won in celebrating the coming together in a community of the heart. Love to you all in all ways, Silvia
UNCONDITIONAL HAPPINESS
May 3, 2010: At all times you have the potential for great joy in your life. You just need to find it within yourself and bring it into consciousness. This understanding is the first step. If you don't buy into this then what happens for many of us is that we convince ourselves we have to EARN our happiness. And we place all sorts of conditions and prerequisites on ourselves before we can be happy.
I know about living with conditional happiness.
I was really good at this from childhood. I would demand that I earned certain grades before I could be happy, or went to a particular college or in college got pinned, engaged, bought a small house, bought a big house, got a great job got promoted to a better job...it never stops. In the meantime life is just going by.
Happiness is not a paycheck you have to earn. There are no prerequisites to happiness just like going to yoga class requires nothing more than showing up.
Once you let this reality set in everything in your life gets easier. Happiness is the goal of all other goals. It is our birthright and here right now. Happiness is the purpose of my life! The universe wants this for us unconditionally. So go on, be as happy as you want to be...Love in all ways, Silvia