PRIVATE LESSONS

It never occurred to me that I'd find a holistic approach to living by practicing yoga.  I thought I might get more flexible; maybe quiet my constantly ruminating and planning mind, at least a little bit, 2-3 times a week when I was at class.  Maybe, just maybe, I'd get a "yoga butt".

Two out of three of those things has happened.   And so much more....

I've become aware that my minor degree of scoliosis and how my bones and muscles interact has for most of my adult life been the culprit for so much of my back and leg pain.  I've discovered that one of my lungs is unable to expand as fully as the other due to a shorten musculature that holds my ribcage tight.  I've discovered that my Ayurveda type contributes to my desire for warmth, quiet, and calm and this is why I find it so uncomfortable, jarring, and exhausting to be cold and in noisy, chaotic environments.  It also urges me to sugar binge, sabotaging on a regular basis my healthy eating plan!

These are not negative things....these are areas of self-discovery I'd have never understood or been able to address without yoga.  As I've said over and over in this blog, yoga is NOT just about pretzely poses...yoga is life.  Yoga is a guide to living fully and mindfully to our highest and best purpose.

This week I started a series of private sessions with YCS teacher, Elizabeth, who has a practice  providing therapeutic yoga to clients.  If you've attend her classes, you know how gifted she is at crafting a class specifically to the physical needs of her students.  Often I come away from class feeling like we've barely moved (especially in gentle classes), yet my body is loose, relaxed, and renewed -- any aches and pains vanished.  I am always amazed.

She started our private session with reviewing a lengthly questionnaire she'd asked me to complete ahead of time.  It was very detailed with questions about all aspects of my life -- physical, psychological, spiritual.  Then she did a detailed postural assessment from which she will determine how best to craft an asana home practice I can use to help counter the effects of my scoliosis, with poses that will encourage muscles to stretch instead of contract, with asymmetrical breathing that will help me expand lung capacity, with reminders to be mindful of the millions of times a day I revert to unbalanced postures and how to realign myself.  We talked about diet, hydration, and my Ayurvedic type and how to counter coming out of balance by incorporating foods and activities that are its opposite -- or when my day requires the energies of a different type, how to find comfort and "home" by incorporating foods and activities of my dominant type to ground me.

She also is reminding me to be accepting of "is-ness".  We are not working to overcome or "fix" my scoliosis or even my tendency to sugar binge.  We are accepting of these givens and finding and employing the very best tools to help me live my best life with who I am... and to love the journey.

I've only just begun this new exploration of how therapeutic yoga can help me.  I'll keep you posted.  For now, I'm really excited to enhance my practice with personalized attention and with learning actions I can take throughout my life to remain as strong, flexible, balanced, and as aware as I can be about myself and how to "take actions on my own behalf", as Karen (YCS owner and lead teacher), often reminds us in class.

Mind, body, spirit = Yoga.©

Namaste,  donnajurene

Photo Credit:  www.pixabay.com

WHAT IS A MALA ANYWAY?

One of the things I love about yoga, and most studios, is the shopping.  I know that sounds very shallow given the ancient deep practice of yoga.  I respect that too.  I do!  But the cool yoga accessories are also a draw.

Admit it.  You've shopped for a beautiful mat in your favorite color, maybe with a design that appealed to you.  You might just throw on a pair of loose pants and T-shirt -- I do some days -- but you might also try on a number of yoga pants in all the cool colors, maybe also with a little secret pocket in the waistband.  (What are those for anyway?  What can possibly fit in there???  Certainly not my giant iPhone 6s!)  There are zillions of yoga top options -- racer back spandex, soft flowing shirts with "om" symbols emblazoned on the front, the ubiquitous lotus flower -- all in a plethora of colors.

And I'm sure you've noticed some people wear beaded bracelets, many with a colorful tassel.  You might even notice sometimes a beaded necklace with a similar feathery tassel at the bottom.  Now we are in mala territory.

A mala is a string of beads used for meditation.  The long "necklace" malas have 108 beads -- the auspicious number of repetitions of a mantra.  While reciting the mantra, the practitioner touches one bead for every repetition until completing a cycle of 108.  Many malas are shorter, with a fewer number of beads for shorter mantra meditation.  Bracelets also fall into this category.  Repetitions should always be to a count of 7, 21, 28, or 108.

Doing mala mantra meditation is called doing "Japa".  From Wikipedia:  "Japa" is a Sanskrit word for the meditative repetition of a mantra or a divine name.  It is a practice found in Buddhism, Hinduism, Janism, and Sikhism.  The mantra or name may be spoken softly, enough for the practitioner to hear it, or it may be spoken within the reciter's mind."

Some might even carry their mala in a "japa bag" which they wear around their necks sort of like a small purse.  I've seen folks sitting quietly, hand inside their japa bag,  doing japa meditation on the bus, or at a meal, or listening to music, even in conversation.  Many find it calming.

I have a number of malas -- both the long "necklace" variety and the short bracelets.  I love wearing them as decorative jewelry honoring my spiritual traditions.  But I also use them, the long ones especially, for mantra meditation.  I was given a mantra by my meditation teacher years ago.  When my mind is especially playing "monkey" with me, repeating the mantra while also working my mala helps focus both mind and body with a place to rest in the meditation.

At the Yoga Circle Studio store there are lovely malas for sale, made by a local artisan and YCS student.  Check them out.  These, or any number of many other varieties, might appeal to you as a way to enhance your practice.  Plus, they are beautiful!

Namaste,
    donnajurene

More mala info:  https://www.gaia.com/article/how-use-mala-beads-yoga-and-meditation