“Blessed are the flexible for they will not get bent out of shape.” – Anonymous

This quote is so commonly used within the yoga community that it may be cliche to those that have been practicing for a while.

Flexible about what?

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The great majority of men are bundles of beginnings.” Are you merely a starter, or are you also a finisher? When the entusiasm for a new idea fades, when the odds against you increase and the results diminish, when it looks as if success is impossible, you must keep forging ahead. Admiral Robert Peary attempted to reach the North Pole seven times before he finally succeeded. Oscar Hammerstein produced five shows on Broadway that were flops before staging “Oklahoma,” which was seen by almost five million people during a record-breaking run of 2,212 performances. Quitting is more about who you are, than where you are or what you’re up against. We all have our excuses. The truth is external things don’t stop us; it’s what happens to us on the inside! Most of us stop ourselves from reaching our potential. We can pretend that people, things, and situations outside of ourselves are to blame, but in reality most failures are just the result of a lack of bulldog-like tenacity. Leonardo da Vinci said, “obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed on a star, does not change his mind.” You must have a mindset to tenaciously pursue your dream. The only guarantee for failure is to stop trying. There is no insurmountable barrier except your own inherent lack of purpose and persistence.

(My mother sent me these words of encouragement the other day btw…Mom’s are the BEST!)

Yoga makes you flexible in more ways than one…

For the beginner this may seem like mumbo jumbo, but for anyone that has spent even 6 months plus on their yoga mat this makes perfect sense. Patience has a bend; gratitude has a bend; humility has a bend; reaction time to those things that annoy you has a bend; etc…
Yoga transcends all the poses, and all of the sweat, and all of the work you do on your 12sqft of mat space. It is the MOST common analogy made: what you practice on your mat helps you off of your mat. When you practice being patient with yourself over the frustration of not being able to do a pose today, that practice makes you patient with yourself over all aspects of your life. It’s as if you have a patience muscle that you spend 60-90 mins doing reps with, challenging it sometimes beyond fatigue. This is why yoga changes us and why, when you start down the path, for most you can never turn back. The yoga journey never ends. It sort of reminds me of when Neo was offered the Blue pill or the Red pill. Once you have taken the Red pill (yoga) you can’t turn back; the lights are on and you start to see the world in a whole new way!
Hooray for Yoga! Hooray because through the yoga practice people find balance in their lives, renewed strength in their bodies, and conviction in their souls! Hooray that moms can take yoga so they don’t want to kill their children or gnaw off the heads of their husbands! And hooray that because of yoga you meet people that you may have never met and that have inspired you to do things you may have never done! And finally hooray for yoga… because otherwise I wouldn’t have a yoga studio, with a yoga website, where I created a yoga blog, and I get to share my excitement over quotes my mom sent me about overcoming obstacles and making them your little bitches!

Love you all!

Peace
TB

The Following are for demonstration purposes. Modify the practice for yourself!

Sun A

Sun A w/ Handstand

Sun B

Backbending to a Beat

Y2 Power 1 Sequencing

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We began teacher training last weekend and are off to an awesome start. Some of the themes of teacher training lie in being the same person you are inside the studio when you teach as you are outside of it. This simple message transcends teaching yoga though. We ALL should be who we are regardless of any room we are in or any situation we are in. To deny who we are only leads to unhappiness, resentment, and unnecessary anguish. We all want to be happy; there was a poll taken somewhere some time ago that confirms this. So why do we fake it?

The average person tells 4 lies aday or 1460 a year; a total of 87600 by age 60. And the most common lie is: I’m fine

 

Fear… False Evidence Appearing Real. We are afraid that people will not like the real us. We are afraid that if we don’t act like this person or that person, or act a certain way around certain people that they will reject us.

Let me describe every individual on the planet: Day one they were born. Between day one and the present they had good experiences that made them incredibly happy, and shitty experiences that left them feeling angry, ashamed, saddened, and even gravely depressed. There were ups and there were downs. They made mistakes and the had huge successes. The good things always felt good and the bad things always felt bad. There are things that they wanted the world to know about them and their lives because they were proud of them, the felt empowered by them, and they were uplifting to others; and there were things that they kept secret because it made them feel ugly or embarrassed, or because they didn’t want to hurt someone else’s feelings, or because they cheated on their taxes and didn’t want to face a penalty or jail time…

It is the juxtaposition of all the BLISSFUL experiences that you have had along the way lined up beside the shitty ones that makes life worth trucking along for!

Drop the oars and follow YOUR bliss in the direction of that which makes you light up inside and do not worry if others come along or not; they may not. Those that do will add their light to yours and together your lights will shine brighter.

Have the courage to stop faking who you are and be yourself! You have innate gifts and talents that ONLY YOU can offer the world. To deny that uniqueness and offer the world a knockoff of the real you is a disservice. There are things that makes your fire burn it’s brightest that no one else gives a rats ass about and when they do it they suck at it! But YOU…you run circles around “that thing” because that is where you passion lies! We need you to be you because in doing so you will unleash that fire to the plane, because that’s where change comes from; NOT in offering a cheap imitation of your neighbor, or your co-worker, just because you see others accept that model of behavior as “okay”.

This morning I was treated to an AMAZING class with Jen D. (AKA @jdecurtins, AKA Peanut Butter Runnner AKA follow her blog at www.peanutbutterrunner.com). Besides being a kick ass class that fed every yogi their fix, she offered us a little gem she found on the internet.

It was a downloadable affirmation meditation called You Have Permission. (Right click on that link and select “Save As” to download)

To read the original post click here.

Be you and be awesome, you have permission!

Peace
TB

Yoga mat for sale. Used once at lunch hour class in December 2009. Usage timeline as follows:

11:45a
Register for hot yoga class. Infinite wisdom tells me to commit to 5 class package and purchase a yoga mat. I pay $89.74. Money well spent, I smugly confirm to myself.

11:55a
Open door to yoga room. A gush of hot dry air rushes through and past me. It smells of breath, sweat and hot. Take spot on floor in back of room next to cute blonde. We will date.

11:57a
I feel the need to be as near to naked as possible. This is a problem because of the hot blonde to my left and our pending courtship. She will not be pleased to learn that I need to lose 30 pounds before I propose to her.

11:58a
The shirt and sweats have to come off. I throw caution to the wind and decide to rely on my wit and conditioning to overcome any weight issues my fiancée may take issue with. This will take a lot of wit and conditioning.

11:59a
Begin small talk with my bride to be. She pretends to ignore me but I know how she can be. I allow her to concentrate and stare straight ahead and continue to pretend that I don’t exist. As we finish sharing our special moment, I am suddenly aware of a sweat moustache that has formed below my nose. This must be from the all the whispering between us.

12:00p
Instructor enters the room and ascends her special podium at the front of the room. She is a slight, agitated Chinese woman. She introduces me to the class and everyone turns around to greet me just as I decide to aggressively adjust my penis and testes packed in my Under Armor. My bride is notably unfazed.

12:02p
Since I do have experience with Hot Yoga (4 sessions just 5 short years ago) I fully consider that I may be so outstanding and skilled that my instructor may call me out and ask me to guide the class. My wife will look on with a sparkle in her eye. We will make love after class.

12:10p
It is now up to 95 degrees in the room. We have been practicing deep breathing exercises for the last 8 minutes. This would not be a problem if we were all breathing actual, you know, oxygen. Instead, we are breathing each other’s body odor, expelled carbon dioxide and other unmentionables. (Don’t worry, I’ll mention them later.)

12:26p
It is now 100 degrees and I take notice of the humidity, which is hovering at about 90%. I feel the familiar adorning stare of my bride and decide to look back at her. She appears to be nauseated. I then realize that I forgot to brush my teeth prior to attending this class. We bond.

12:33p
It is now 110 degrees and 95% humidity. I am now balancing on one leg with the other leg crossed over the other. My arms are intertwined and I am squatting. The last time I was in this position was 44 years ago in the womb, but I’m in this for the long haul. My wife looks slightly weathered dripping sweat and her eyeliner is streaming down her face. Well, “for better or worse” is what we committed to so we press on.

12:40p
The overweight Hispanic man two spots over has sweat running down his legs. At least I think its sweat. He is holding every position and has not had a sip of water since we walked in. He is making me look bad and I hate him.

12:44p
I consider that if anyone in this room farted that we would all certainly perish.

12:52p
It is now 140 degrees and 100% humidity. I am covered from head to toe in sweat. There is not a square millimeter on my body that is not slippery and sweaty. I am so slimy that I feel like a sea lion or a maybe sea eel. Not even a bear trap could hold me. The sweat is stinging my eyeballs and I can no longer see.

12:55p
This room stinks of asparagus, cloves, tuna and tacos. There is no food in the room. I realize that this is an amalgamation of the body odors of 30 people in a 140 degree room for the last 55 minutes. Seriously, enough with the asparagus, ok?

1:01p
140 degrees and 130% humidity. Look, bitch, I need my space here so don’t get all pissy with me if I accidentally sprayed you with sweat as I flipped over. Seriously, is that where this relationship is going? Get over yourself. We need counseling and she needs to be medicated. Stat!

1:09p
150 degrees and cloudy. And hot. I can no longer move my limbs on my own. I have given up on attempting any of the commands this Chinese chick is yelling out at us. I will lay sedentary until the aid unit arrives. I will buy this building and then have it destroyed.
I lose consciousness.

1:15p
I have a headache and my wife is being a selfish bitch. I can’t really breathe. All I can think about is holding a cup worth of hot sand in my mouth. I cannot remember what an ice cube is and cannot remember what snow looks like. I consider that my only escape might be a crab walk across 15 bodies and then out of the room. I am paralyzed, and may never walk again so the whole crab walk thing is pretty much out.

1:17p
I cannot move at all and cannot reach my water. Is breathing voluntary or involuntary? If it’s voluntary, I am screwed. I stopped participating in the class 20 minutes ago. Hey, lady! I paid for this frickin class, ok?! You work for me! Stop yelling at everyone and just tell us a story or something. It’s like juice and cracker time, ok?

1:20p
It is now 165 degrees and moisture is dripping from the ceiling. The towel that I am laying on is no longer providing any wicking or drying properties. It is actually placing additional sweat on me as I touch it. My towel reeks. I cannot identify the smell but no way can it be from me. Did someone spray some stank on my towel or something?

1:30p
Torture session is over. I wish hateful things upon the instructor. She graciously allows us to stay and ‘cool down’ in the room. It is 175 degrees. Who cools down in 175 degrees? A Komodo Dragon? My wife has left the room. Probably to throw up.

1:34p
My opportunity to escape has arrived. I roll over to my stomach and press up to my knees. It is warmer as I rise up from ground level – probably by 15 degrees. So let’s conservatively say it’s 190. I muster my final energy and slowly rise. One foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other. Towards the door. Towards the door.

1:37p
The temperature in the lobby is 72 degrees. Both nipples stiffen to diamond strength and my penis begins to retract into my abdomen from the 100 degree temp swing. I can once again breathe though so I am pleased. I spot my future ex wife in the lobby. We had such a good thing going but I know that no measure of counseling will be able to unravel the day’s turmoil and mental scaring.

1:47p
Arrive at Emerald City Smoothie and proceed to order a 32 oz beverage. 402 calories, 0 fat and 14 grams of protein — effectively negating any caloric burn or benefit from the last 90 minutes. I finish it in 3 minutes and spend the next 2 hours writing this memoir.

3:47p
Create Craigslist ad while burning final 2 grams of protein from Smoothie and before the “shakes” consume my body.

4:29p
Note to self – check car for missing wet yoga towel in am.

• Location: Bellevue
• it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

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Laughing is good for you!

Wine Does NOT Make You FAT

It Makes You LEAN..
Against Tables, Chairs, Floors, Walls and Ugly People.

Laughing may just be the best medicine for you!

So she went to check it out. She went to the Western Wall and there he was,
walking slowly up to the holy site.

She watched him pray and after about 45 minutes, when he turned to leave,
using a cane and moving very slowly, she approached him for an interview.

“Pardon me, sir, I’m Rebecca Smith from CNN. What’s your name?

“Morris Feinberg,” he replied.

“Sir, how long have you been coming to the Western Wall and praying?”

“For about 60 years.”

“60 years! That’s amazing! What do you pray for?”

“I pray for peace between the Christians, Jews and the Muslims.”

“I pray for all the wars and all the hatred to stop.”

“I pray for all our children to grow up safely as responsible adults and to
love their fellow man.”

“I pray that politicians tell us the truth and put the interests of the
people ahead of their own interests.”

“How do you feel after doing this for 60 years?”

“Like I’m talking to a fucking wall.”

Chakra Seven- Crown Chakra
Sanskrit Name –Sahasrara meaning “thousandfold”

Crown Chakra Associations

• Color – violet or white
• Number of Petals – 1000 or infinite
• Physical Location -top of the head
• Area of Body Governed – top center of the head, midline above the ears
• Sound – AUM
• Sense organ – pituitary gland
• Purposes – intuitive knowing, connection to one’s spirituality, integration of the whole, to become completely clear and balanced spiritually
• Spiritual Lesson – spirituality, living in the NOW
• Indications of Blockages – inappropriate self-control, mystical depression, diseases of the muscular system, skeletal system and the skin, chronic exhaustion not associated with physical ailments, sensitivity to light, sound, environment. Laziness. Migraine headaches
• Indication of Health – Total selflessness. Divine love of all. Altruistic, humanitarian, giver, lover of life, charming and charismatic from the power of love itself. This Chakra helps us to think and express ourselves to others fully. When it is open, one sees the everything as one. Dreams are powerful.
• Physical Dysfunctions-mystical depression, diseases of the muscular system, skeletal system and the skin, chronic exhaustion not associated with physical ailments, sensitivity to light, sound, environment
• Mental and Emotional Issues – discovery of the divine, lack of purpose, loss of meaning or identity, trust, selflessness, humanitarianism, ability to see the bigger picture in the life stream, devotion, inspiration, values, ethics
• Information Stored Inside Crown Chakra – duality, magnetism, controlling patterns, emotional feelings (joy, anger, fear)
• Key Words – Infinity, self-realization, inspiration, thought, cosmic rays, transcendence, wisdom, bliss, understanding, complete oneness with all, soul, karmic, causal body, cosmic consciousness, spirituality, the Sun (patriarchal), the Moon (matriarchal), universal identity, meeting place of Kundalini Shakti and Shiva, oriented to self-knowledge. Samadhi (enlightenment) comes to one who reaches this Chakra and goes beyond.

Crown Chakra Lessons and Path

To open oneself to spiritual awakening without fear or judgment, this Chakra is also considered the seat of the intuition and higher knowledge. One learns to live in the Here and Now, and to experience Yoga—which means Unity.
There are no words that can truly describe the experience of being 100% conscious in the human body, conscious of self, conscious of ALL. The only way to understand it is to be it. So much has been written, but each one of us has our own special belief system that we have put together in order to survive the best way we know how. It is either our own way of bringing the most happiness and peace into our lives, or for others—or it’s just self-destructive and unconscious. There is not one answer about everything from anyone, anywhere or anything. It is up to each of one us to believe that we exist, and that our existence means something the short time we are here. Whatever road we take to help us get there is not to be judged by anyone else, unless it is being done without love in the heart for others. When we experience love in it highest form—for everyone and everything—compassion is the result. No judgment. Just abiding compassion.

Crown Chakra Affirmation

My crown chakra projects inspiration

Feeding Your CrownChakra
Opening and Clearing the Spiritual Communication Center

• Air: fasting / detoxing
• Incense and Smudging Herbs: sage, copal, myrrh, frankincense, and juniper  Incense and smudging herbs are not to be eaten but are ritually inhaled through the nostrils

Crown Chakra Exercises – exercise your crown chakra through prayer or meditation.

Crown Chakra Yoga Postures

• Fish (matsyasana)
• Seated Yoga Mudra,
• Shoulder Stand (sarvangasana)
• Chanting
• Meditation