June 2012
76 posts
MIRACLE-GROW
Some of us become quite discouraged when we feel as if our yoga practice isn’t improving or getting any better, even with regular practice. Some of us think that we’re never going to conquer a pose. Some of us assume that we’re never going to be good at yoga. Some of us don’t even want to START a yoga practice because we’re already fearful of the postures. Hey, cut it out. Listen (or read).
That’s your ego talking. It’s normal to want instant gratification- we’re human; but please realize that you are a magnificent machine and your body is capable of sooooooooo much! Give your body a chance, and nurture it with patience and belief.
Trees, flowers, grass, plants…there are no two plants that grow at the same exact speed. That is a beautiful thing! Why? It’s so that we ALWAYS have little miracles around us to witness in life. A sprout from a seed…miracle! A little leaf coming out of the sprout…miracle! Blooming flower…miracle! A treeeeee…miracle! It’s the same with our bodies :) Maybe tomorrow, you’ll find your arms coming closer to a bind…maybe you’ll discover that two months from now. Maybe today, your back bend is deeper. Maybe in five years, you’re flying in crow pose. Maybe right now, you didn’t lose control of your breath. One of my mentors was able to get into Reclining Hero Pose after nine years of practicing yoga! Wherever you are in your practice is exactly where you should be; and that’s perfectly okay. Be patient, and just know that you will eventually get there. Realize that your body has little miracles to witness as you go along your journey, and be grateful for each one.
You are enough, you have enough, it is enough.
Namaste.
May 2012
130 posts
Where would you love to travel or visit?
A LOVE STORY…KINDA
I don’t remember when, but the beau and I went to this healthy spot for some dinner. It was so delicious! I believe we had tofu quesadillas for appetizers, and I recall having some sweet potato tahini soup…and some other noms. The table we sat on had a little drawer. I opened it and nothing was in there! I thought to myself, ‘Why is nothing in here?! How can somebody see this drawer and not put ANYTHING in here?!’
And so, I found some paper in my bag and ripped off a piece; took my pen and wrote something on it, and stuck it in the drawer :) I mean, it would be fracking awesome to go back to this restaurant, sit at the same table, open the drawer, and find this piece of paper still there, right?! It’s like a message-in-a-bottle-that-got-lost-at-sea kinda thing…
Well, last night, an old coworker of mine posted a picture and tagged me. “Look what I found! Awwwwww…” she said.
It was there all this time :) How cool is that? Someone found it, someone I KNOW. Just too cool, man!
^__^
*EDIT: So THAT’S when we went there! January 21st! Haha
TRUTH
I like my butt. Yoga does my butt justice.
BLESSED
Just accepted a job offer with Providence Health and Services, and had to turn down another offer with them also. I feel blessed, hands down :)
Easy Does Not Equal Lazy →
stralayoga.com
The first time someone very wise (Tara Stiles!) told me that if something was too hard, it probably wasn’t right, and that perhaps I should consider not doing it (she phrased it much more eloquently), my reaction was: that would be such a lazy way to live life! But, then when I finally started living that way: moving in the direction of things that were coming easily and moving away from things that were a struggle, it was a whole new universe! Life became such a happier, incredible (even, gasp, enjoyable) experience!
Now, I am not saying that finding ease is easy for everyone. It’s not. For those of us who were raised to be type-A, go-getters, alphas, ambitious, call it what you will, letting go of the desire to obtain whatever it is you set out to attain, to change course for what may be a better thing, can be very difficult.
At the beginning of my yoga practice, I was so upright in my wide-legged seated forward fold that the thought of ever coming anywhere near the ground with my forearms, let alone torso was just plain crazy. I was told that if I just kept showing up to my mat, and breathing and trying to let go, that one day (perhaps not in this lifetime, I thought), the muscles would eventually release. So here is the thing: when you see someone flat against the ground in a wide legged forward bend, most likely, they did not get there because their first go at it, it just happened. They are easy in their forward bends because they took the time to show up to their mat, to their body: they took the time to find their breath, and they allowed for their body to let go. One day, after showing up to my mat every day for many months and not pushing or pulling to desperately get to the ground (which I certainly did at the beginning), my muscles simply released with my breath as I moved forward, and there I was, on the ground. It didn’t change my life, but it was neat to see that showing up and not forcing does create change.
There was a time when I used to get incredibly annoyed when people would constantly say to me, “Oh, it’s so easy for you, you never had to struggle” or “You are so lucky, because you are so naturally flexible” or “Must be nice to have the genetics to be so muscular”. Really? Who actually believes that anyone just waltzes into a yoga studio for the first time, or anywhere in life, with the innate ability to do anything? In order to win the lottery, one has to buy a lottery ticket, right? In order to find ease, one has to practice ease; for some people, that is a lot of work. Ease might not “just happen”, especially if you are impatient to “be easy”. For many people, finding ease takes working through a lot of old, long-instilled patterns, and letting go of ideas or habits that no longer suit his or her current life.
My yoga practice is a constant evolution: a balancing act. I show up, every day, and I work with what I have in any given moment. I take the small steps to strengthen, lengthen, open and release. I do what feels right, what feels “easy”, and I have learned to dial back, and steer clear of anything that doesn’t feel right. To me, there is nothing lazy about that.
Practice showing up for yourself: every day. Practice ease. That is when real change can happen. Ease may not come easily to everyone, but ease is easy if you let it be. What do you think? Do you think that “following the path with less resistance” is lazy? Is ease easy for you?
xx, Heidi
FRIDAY, FRIDAY
So basically:
1) Pull-up bars with the beau.
The things he does with that bar, ugh…I hate him, haha. It is such a great tool for increasing upper-body strength!
2) Yoga, too.
He’s a jiu-jitsu ninja, my love. He’s practiced martial arts since the age of seven and he is currently a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. So it’s safe to say, he’s a BAMF. I’m so proud of him. He is such a source of inspiration for me in many ways, especially when it comes to keeping active and eating healthy. Not to mention, he is the most zen freaking person ever. I don’t understand how he does it sometimes! But anywho, last night marked the beginning of his yoga journey :) I am so excited for him. He finally asked me to teach him yoga. He’s never done yoga before, and so we started off very slowly and very basic. We worked on the breath, and the union of breath and movement. I took him through an easy and simplified Surya Namaskara. In the end, he loved it so much and was so impressed by how “cool” it was. How lucky of him to have his own private yoga instructor, pshhhh…haha :P
3) Noms
Went for a short coffee and green tea latte run…iced for me! I love matcha, mmmm :9 Baked some Triscuits with almond pepperjack cheese, to snack on during the movie. Made some frozen smoothies (because he was craving ice cream), strawberries, blueberries, vanilla almond milk, and vanilla soy protein powder.
4) The Grey
Good ass movie and Liam Neeson is the shit. That’s it.
The weekend is young, y’all! Please have a safe and wonderful Memorial Day weekend :) And if it’s okay with you, take the time to remember a fallen solider or even thank one.
Namaste.
