good life project

Jonathan Fields sits down with author and meditation teacher, Susan Piver to discuss mindfulness, serendipity and the unplanned life.

My favorite quote from the interview :
The only possible spiritual path is your own experience.

heart opening 30 min flow w/ ekhart yoga - do it.

Bumper sticker reads : Namaste.  Love People. Cook them good food.

:)

matthew sanford

Matthew Sanford was paralyzed in a car accident from the chest down at the age of 13.  He has dedicated his life to teaching yoga to the disabled and pioneering for a new healthcare system that doesn't take years to reconnect mind and body.

savasana: corpse pose

Michael Stone looks at corpse pose - read the full article here.

Savasana is the art of practicing our death, little by little, every day.  "If student does not get up from savasana," says Pattabhi Jois, "or lifting student up (and he/she) is like a stiff board, savasana is correct."  The aim of yoga practice in daily life is to live vividly from moment to moment without being stuck in thinking or the idea of not-thinking.  Wood floor, open window, blanket, cushion, t-shirt, wool socks -- there is something profound just here.  We are not trying to create an experience; we are making room for experience to happen.  Experience, like the present moment, is always waiting for a place to happen.  The architecture of savasana requires us to continually let the ground we are lying down on, literally the ground of our thoughts and our bodies, to fall away, until the constructs that frame our experience pass on.  This is an act of both dying and being born.  Our imagination makes us very busy exploring the world of choices.  In the end, there will be no choice, just death.  So in the center of your bumbling human life, where you are always looking around for something better, notice how the present moment is just a small death away.  

interview w/ paula lynch

what if ?

what if religion was each other?

if our practice was our life?

if prayer was our words?

what if the temple was the earth?

if forests were our church?

if holy water - the rivers, lakes, and oceans?

what if meditation was our relationships?

if the teacher was life?

if wisdom was self-knowledge?

if love was the center of our being?

                                                         - a poem by ganga white

bus mates

I live in Brooklyn, NY and my family lives in Gaithersburg, MD.  For the past 10 years, I have taken the bus back n' forth between the two states countless times.  I'm a bus veteran.  Bus aficionada.  I know my buses well.  I have taken the dangerous Fung-Wa bus from Chinatown, Megabus to Baltimore, Vamoose Bus and Tripper Bus to Bethesda.  I've seen the amenities of bus offerings grow and evolve over the years.  I often joke with my friends about random encounters with strangers on the bus but secretly love it.  Bus diaries, I call it.  Sometimes, the solo ride to and fro will be filled with quiet gazing out the window with my ipod and books.  Other times, I find myself in a 4 hour conversation with my bus seat mate discussing the state of the world.  Travel in any capacity is amazing.  It momentarily makes you more present, vulnerable and open to being inspired by your surroundings.  Get to know your bus mates.

What's your Dosha?

In Ayurvedic Science it is believed that the mind/body physiology is made up of three doshas : pitta, kapha, and pitta.  Each person has a unique proportion of these three doshas.  Lissa Coffey has a simple quiz that helps you determine your dosha here!

Yoga Makaranda

or

Yoga Saram

(The Essence of Yoga)

First Part

Sri T. Krishnamacharya

Mysore Samasthan Acharya

by: mantraBand

hannah brencher : love letters to strangers

Hannah Brencher writes love letters to strangers.  She strongly believes in the power of pen and paper and started a global initiative that encourages strangers to exchange love letters. Poetic.

human anatomy

6 Experts weigh-in on antomy & yoga connection on YogaDork

7 chakras

7 Chakras for Beginners by: MindBodyGreen

1.  root:  feeling grounded/base of spine in tailbone area/survival

2.  sacral:  ability to accept others and new experiences/lower abdomen/sense of abundance, pleasure, sexuality

3.  solar plexus:  confidence and in-control of our lives/upper abdomen & stomach/self-worth, self-esteem

4.  heart: ability to love/center of chest above heart/love, joy, inner peace

5.  throat:  ability to communicate/throat/communication, self-expression of feelings, the truth

6.  third eye:  ability to focus and see the big picture/forehead between the eyes/intuition, imagination, wisdom

7.  crown: ability to be fully connected spiritually/top of head/inner & outer beauty, pure bliss

happy diwali ~

Diwali: The Festival of Lights

"just coloring inside the lines won't help you succeed.  more esoteric character strengths like optimism and zest are things that can be taught and are also predictive of success."

                                        ~ paul tough

     

yoga workshops in new york city by studio:

genny kapular

• anatomy workshop, tuesdays 5:30-7:00pm

jivamukti yoga studio

• november monthly inversion workshop 11.10 6-8:30pm
• headstand conditioning mini workshop  11.18 8-9:00pm
• december monthly inversion workshop 12.9  6-8:30pm

ishta yoga

• joythi: finding your joyful inner light w/michael bartelle 11.8 6:30-8:30pm
• restorative yoga nidra workshop to balance muladhara chakra w/mona anand 11.9 2-4:00pm
• depths of sa ham kriya with alan finger 11.10 9-11:00am
• world of medicinal grade essential oils, intro w/catherine garro  11.11 2-3:30pm
• yoga and the shoulder w/dr. loren fishman and cathy lilly 11.15 7:30-9:30pm
• master class : inversion clinic w/ marco rojas 11.18 9-11am
• essential oils : natural immune booster w/catherine garro 11.29 7:30-9:30pm

laughing lotus nyc

• 3 week beginners series  nov.10,17 & dec. 1   3-4:30pm
• 3 week lotus meditation series dec. 1, 8 & 15  3-4:30pm
• monthly inversion workshop 12.2 2:30-4:30pm
• ayurveda : vata immersion season 12.8 2:30-7:30pm
• holiday restorative relief & aromatherapy 12.9 2-4:30pm
• rodney lee & colleen saidman 12.19 6:30-8:30pm
• rasa restorative 1/25-1/27 fri-sun

the breathing project

• anatomy and breathing clinic, wednesday's 4:15-6:00pm  free*

iyengar nyc

dharma yoga center 

yoga works

• anatomy & movement w/paula lynch  11.10 1:30-5:30pm
• yin yoga journey series 11.11-12.9 2:15-3:45pm
• arm balances 12.1 1:30-4:30pm

sacred sound yoga

• detox & relax post thanksgiving workshop 11/24 3-5pm
• yoga immersion w/fergus higgins 12/2 1:45pm-5:15pm
• chaturanga: a workshop w/ sara nicole baxley 12/9 2-4:00pm

teaching this thurs. at cynergy spa in ft.greene ~

Yoga class this Thursday night 11/8 7-8:15pm at

Cynergy Spa

87 Ft. Greene Place

Brooklyn, NY 11217

Limited Space. RSVP to reserve a spot.

email: digyoga@gmail.com

November 2012 : Ujjayi Breathing

Hello Friends,

Get your vote on. ~

I hope this note finds you and your loved ones safe midst the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.  St. Jacobi Church in Sunset Park, Brooklyn is a hub for distribution of supplies and volunteers needed at this time.

November Focus:  Ujjayi Breathing

Yoga instructors often guide you to breathe in/out of your nose in class with your lips sealed.  Ujjayi or 'victorious breath' invigorates your practice.

Why?

• The nose/sinuses warms and filters the air as it enters your lungs
• Sinuses produce nitric oxide when air passes through them
• Nitric Oxide kills bacteria and stimulates tissue for better exchange of gases between blood/air
• Expands the nostrils, which are linked to emotions
• Ujjaji breathing expands your chest and stimulates confidence and communicates power (ie. sunken chest vs. lifted heart)

References

Yoga Anatomy, Leslie Kaminoff

Mid Walsh Blog, Dancing Crow Yoga

Respiration - 3D

Hurricane Sandy Relief

Hub for Supplies & Volunteers:
St.Jacobi Church
5406 4th Ave
Brooklyn, NY
Contact: 347-470-4192